Weekend Open Thread

 

"Forest Whitaker" - Bad Books (A lovely live acoustic version of the song.)

Coming up for air here after another full week -- continuing to pay the price for a bit of fun in the sun.

- Contrary to what I suggested in my last post, it appears that the House Republicans -- or at least their leadership -- are not completely committed to crashing the economy or at least not immediately.  A bit of realism seems to have crept into the equation in recent weeks.  If that is the case, it will have the double virtue of backing down the crazies a bit while also reinforcing Obama's sense of resolve.  I like that combination.  But I remain skeptical -- I think the 90 day extension of the debt ceiling being floated by Republicans is more of a tactical move to give them a chance to unite around another unpalatable position.   

- In the words of a TPM commenter, Darwin smiled.

- I enjoyed this Jonathan Chait piece on David Brooks.  Brooks inadvertently lays out a rather good approach for the Democrats to further marginalize the Republicans and take back the House. 

- I wish I could get a better sense of what actually transpired during this Algerian hostage taking.  One gets the feeling that the Algerians were less meticulous in this matter than we might have liked.  Maybe the crudity of the response will ultimately discourage this sort of thing.  Or so I hope. Otherwise, it just seems exceedingly grim. 

Update:  Sorry about the comments.  Christ, that drives me crazy.  I will see what I can do. 

What's on your minds?

Comments

[low-tech cyclist]

Krugman asks: "since I am, as you can see, a devotee of adding relevant YouTube videos to blog posts, I was glad to see Jonathan Cohn bring the killer rabbit into the debt ceiling denouement — and especially gratified that I decided not to use the same thing, and went for a poker-playing cat instead. But this then raises the question: what if the Republicans bring out the holy hand grenade?"

The answer, of course, would be that they'd start counting "1, 2, 5,..." and keep right on going while the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch blew up in their face, because they've kicked everyone out of the party with the smarts to shout, "no, 3! 3!!"

[paula]

Really looking forward to the Inauguration. Weaving Myrlie Evers into the ceremony is a stroke of genius and Obama's most memorable HT to all civil rights activists. My heart sings just thinking about it.
Have other presidents used Lincoln Bibles? It seems like a no-brainer.
And, James Taylor, no less!
Once again, we're hosting an Inauguration luncheon right smack in front of the television, where, thanks to PBS, we'll offer our guests the best views available of the event without the hassle of tickets, parking or standing in the cold for hours. Shall I look for any of you in the crowd? Wear a white carnation.

[Sir Charles]

Paula,

I am afraid I am skipping this year. I am swamped at work and will use the day to try and catch up on a bunch of things, (notwithstanding being thrilled by Obama's reelection).

The last one was a thrill -- crowds that may never be seen again here -- but it was also cold beyond belief and really hard to get around. And inaugural balls are truly horrible. Going to one is really enough.

[low-tech cyclist]

Even if I'd wanted to go, I wouldn't be able to - today, when my son and I were out in the woods behind my house, I managed to slip on a rock and rupture my Achilles tendon. So I've got a useless right foot, am on crutches courtesy of the ER, and I'm hoping the orthopedist is open tomorrow, though that seems like a longshot.

Fortunately it doesn't hurt, but it's going to make mincemeat of the everyday logistics of life for awhile, and it'll mean that my wife will have to do pretty much every chore around the house that I usually do, which is gonna suck for her.

[Sir Charles]

l-t c,

Oh man, I am so sorry.

You aren't going to the ER? You're a tough man.

The good thing is that the surgery seems to be very successful -- although I think you may not be able to drive for several weeks.

Keep us posted.

[Joe S]

On a brighter note, I've been going through the Mountain Goats catalog on youtube and have bought two of their albums since you posted that song. Wow, what a great find. The lead singer's voice kind of put me off before, but what lyrics.

[nancy]

Oh, lt-c. That's dreadful. Can't imagine that this wouldn't hurt like hell. Take care. After you get looked after, I sure hope working from home is an option.

[Sir Charles]

Joe,

They are amazing live.

By all means make sure you pick up "Tallahassee" if you haven't yet. It's an extraordinary work.

The voice has its limitations, but John Darnielle's amazing passion and artistry overcome them.

[paula]

Oh no, l-tc! So sorry. Hope the orthpod puts you in some sort of cast that lets you can put weight on that ankle while it heals. Feel better.

[kathy a.]

hope you are feeling better, ltc!

[low-tech cyclist]

Thanks, all, for the good thoughts!

SC - been to the ER; didn't even try to go inside the house first after I crawled out of the woods, even though I was rather damp from my fall into the stream. Just sent the 5 year old in, he alerted my wife, and off we rolled.

nancy - the weird thing is, it really hasn't hurt at all, except when the ER doc prodded at it to verify that it was the tendon.

I just got Virtual Desktop, so I can access most work files and applications from home. I expect to do a good bit more teleworking than I've done in the past, though I'll need to go in at least one day to set some things up.

[Eric Wilde]

Home from India today and seriously f-d up biological clock. I've had no sleep for 24 hours and am wide awake at 3am.

A common question from colleagues in India is how the US economy will fare in the coming year. My answer was that the speed of recovery (or lack thereof) is largely due to politics and the shenanigans of the GOP could seriously derail our economic outlook. Most assumed it was due to corruption in the GOP instead of insanity, though I argued with them in favor of insanity. The insanity argument was easily accepted by most given their own parliament's behavior.

Still, the takeaway is that the world is concerned about the US economy and GOP hallucinations were largely lost on the world-wide audience.

[low-tech cyclist]

Eric - old-fashioned corruption would be easier to deal with, wouldn't it? Just negotiate a payoff (which would stimulate the economy) and off we go. Instead, we get insane ideological fanatics.

[Eric Wilde]

old-fashioned corruption would be easier to deal with, wouldn't it?

I realize this is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek response; but, all humor has left my tired bones at the moment.

Both corruption and blind ideology are quite destructive from what I can see.

[kathy a.]

i think maybe the corruption angle is just not as straightforward here as other places. we still need to do a LOT about campaign finances; and in fact we have gone backwards, with super-pacs + anonymous donations, and highly financed corporate "speech." the role of well-financed lobbyists is very outsized; and so is the tendency for government people to strike it rich after leaving office. not to mention the super-rich candidates -- romney was able to run for president for 6 years, in part because the man was making enormous profits from past work, with a big ribbon of tiny taxation on the vast fortune. (sensible taxation: another problem area.)

the role of money in all this is simply huge -- if grover norquist and/or the NRA say they are gonna destroy you if you do not do what they say, that is a credible threat. one should not discount the role of lying by big-money persons -- right wing media has the ability to crank lies and crazy by the ton. all in all, not the best example of democracy and thoughtful civic discourse in action.

despite all that, we failed to elect mccain/palin or romney/whatshisface. the economy has not yet fallen completely off the edge, and i'm feeling hopeful that the recalcitrant house GOP will continue to get lessons about actual math to counter the "magic trickle-down fairy dust." we got some health care reform. serious stuff's been done on equality. bin laden is gone, and we're headed out of the endless wars. i'm actually hopeful something will be done about guns, on accounta we are freaking sick of people getting shot the hell up.

still a lot to do. i'm not as exuberant about this inauguration as the last one, but there is a deep satisfaction that the crazies are starting to lose their grip, in some very important arenas.

[kathy a.]

also, good work, eric -- explaining the craziness while abroad!

i have an older friend in israel; she is a caring person, but used to send me just hideous right-wing political pass-along emails. (i think in part she was influenced by being raised in SA, in the olden days, so some of the muslim socialist dangerous crap about obama hit factory-installed buttons for her. and, a few years back, her town was hit by shelling from over the border, so there is that, too.)

but it's really interesting -- she pays attention when you explain why each piece of BS is factually wrong. when you explain the political context for some things, and what has actually happened. and even though she was passing along right-ring crap -- this is a woman who believes in equality for gays and lesbians; who is astonished that we do not have universal health care in the US; who can't grasp the insane efforts to restrict access to abortions and to contraceptive care; who is a believer in mental health care; and who is genuinely horrified by the gun violence in the US.

this friendship gives me hope. (no, she's not a US citizen, but some of her family are.) i have hope, even though one of my cousins was a romney supporter [and is a union member via the school where she works!], and a few of them are gun people -- there is stuff we agree on, important stuff. i have hope, because nobody wants their kid to be shot, or dog forbid, be the shooter; so they favor gun safety. i have hope, because reproductive rights matter; because having health care matters; because jobs matter -- all these things matter to people in our family.

[kathy a.]

musical accompaniment: roy zimmerman, "i'm in."

[oddjob]

When Trees Die, People Die

[Crissa]

Now I'm always going to think of James Taylor as an awesome glitchtronic artist.

Okay, maybe a public display system doing that in the real world is just a bit creepy.

[nancy]

Contraception coverage mandate = the Civil Rights struggle. Serious gubernatorial contender guy Cucinelli isn't hooted out of the room?

He must have missed the 'Virginia is for Lovers' tourist campaign. I remember the t-shirts. :)

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

Cuckoocinelli has been hooted out of every room containing intelligent Virginians since he first surfaced. Unfortunately he's welcomed with open arms by the others, and they seem to outnumber the first.

[Sir Charles]

nancy and Jim,

We have got to hope that turnout in Virginia is robust this time around. Although not a huge Terry McAuliffe fan, beating Cucinelli is as high a priority as I can think of in the next year or two.

[big bad wolf]

"There are always more fools in the majority than in the minority. Said Anatole France."

david markson

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

And, btw, while I still can't go into details much in public, that idea of mine is stampeding me right along. The company just retained a lawyer -- and if I were writing this as a story, I'd create him for the role. There are at least some people interested in investing, one of the two main stumbling blocks may be solved -- literally haven't had a chance to deal with the hardest one from a purely business standpoint, but assume there is a way of working it.

I know, 'where's Prup and who is this using his name?' I don't believe it either, and lord knows it could come crashing down, but we have a company, a product -- I know we can get it, just not sure we have the right supplier yet -- and a damn good lawyer, and an idea everybody who has heard, even my 70-year old Italian barber has thought was a sure-fire money maker.

I don't get it, but I'm enjoying it, and at least this time I'm not having to be a 'one-man band' as I did in my last business catastrophe.

{Btw, the venture, while it is vaguely related, has nothing to do with the possibility of a certain vaping company offering 'Prup's Party Packs.' I gave them the idea for free, asked them to use the name, and hoped it would be a toe in the foor for bigger things --- it wasn't the only idea I gave them after purchasing one of their products. For those who even know what I am talking about, the Arizer Solo is the machine of choice.}

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

I think the religious tide is waning, and that will mean Cuckoo will go down, but I agree that beating him is the high priority. I figure Quinn will get the Mayoralty here, and I can't see Christie losing, but VA is worth fighting for and not sleeping through.