Vox Populi – 1-18-2013

AdLib : Night all, have a great weekend!

AdLib : Murph, so true. The RW nutjobs have so overcommitted to this strategy of demonizing Obama that they have nowhere to go but this insanity. They are so over now.

MurphTheSurf3 : Well….good night…closing up tonight.

AdLib : Murph – so tr

MurphTheSurf3 : I wanted to make one more point. Look at the NewTown Truthers who are saying that Obama is either behind the shootings or behind the fiction of the shootings ALL in order to defeat the 2nd Amendment. Is there any low to which the O Haters will not go…I do not think so.

SallyT : And, I am done Murph.

SallyT : I took a potty break!

MurphTheSurf3 : I got bounced off the site 10 minutes ago. Are we done?

AdLib : Sorry all, a bit of a server issue there!

SallyT : And conspiracy theories were born!

choicelady : AdLib – I think I mentioned that a friend has a friend who is SS. He told my friend that the death threats are SO AWFUL the Obamas finally said for them NOT to tell them what has been said. Tell them what to do and not do – but never why. They couldn’t bear it. Remember how the Obamas had “date night”? They never do that anymore. They can’t. How incredibly sad.

AdLib : CL – I don’t think Obama could be more hated by the RW nutjobs than he already has been. Yes, the gun control thing could push a little bit more on these loons but from the beginning, Obama has been getting death threats each day and we’ll never hear about the kooks the SS have scared off or arrested along the way. They know there’s a real threat out there against him, I think the SS will be up to the task of keeping him safe.

SallyT : Those are the people I worry about CL. The Religious Right.

choicelady : Sally – the reason people don’t trust their government began on the Grassy Knoll. All the lies. All the things that followed – Gulf of Tonkin, WMD. It’s weird that the hype is MOSTLY on the Right, but the fact of distrust is real.

SallyT : And, Vietnam followed. More mistrust.

choicelady : AdLib – if you want a major creep out, the mystery stories written by Margaret Truman actually talk about the hidden, shadowy figures on the Religous Right behind major plots. She was well enough placed to have heard things we never will. Her last book before her death dealt with that very issue. It was written exactly as I’d imagined a plot would unfold. VERY scary.

SallyT : I do believe that we lost our innocence that day. It lead to doubt and mistrust.

MurphTheSurf3 : Choice- yes, your observation about Reagan and Bush being personally influential after leaving office has not been great but I think that is as much a function of how they were created (as in the case of Bush) or recreated (for Reagain) by those who are the standard bearers of a certain ideology/philoso phy. Obama will be seen as the author of a new approach….or the leader in the resurgence of older one

choicelady : AdLib – And I grow MORE worried every day. His strength is EXACTLY what goads the zealots into acting. And it’s not the people you see. It’s the ones you do NOT see who scared the bejeezus out of me. I will always think that “The Family” was behind JFK, MLK, RFK. Always.

choicelady : Sally – I was walking home from high school- we had half days – and heard from another student. I remember asking myself if this was the end of America. I think it was. Now, all these years later, we have a chance at renewal. I pray it does not get shattered again.

SallyT : rifle

AdLib : CL – I am actually growing less and less concerned for Obama’s safety as he grows stronger with each success. For some reason, it seems to make him appear less vulnerable.

SallyT : CL, I have those same fears. I remember a warm day and a handsome President with a beautiful wife in an open convertible. The country changed with a rife.

choicelady : BTW – Rachel’s coverage of abortion providers tonight brough it all back to me. I could barely watch. I know some of those folks she mentioned – and others unseen. So many people hurt, killed, maimed. It was very hard to watch.

choicelady : I think we are all in agreement about him and his ability to be transformational . Given my own sordid history though, I wake up every morning, turn on the news, and pray for happy talk, idiocy, and no bad news. I will never stop being afraid for him and his family.

AdLib : As I believe Obama will be seen as a great and transformational President as more time goes by, his keeping OFA rolling could be a living legacy with a lot of influence, something we really haven’t seen before in this way.

choicelady : I saw some montage around OFA today that had sign after sign ‘FIRED UP!’ and ‘READY TO GO!’ I thought that was wonderful. That one woman from NC he talked about has created a new energy for us ALL. And he has embraced her chant as his own – marvelous. Cannot remember any president taking something from a constituent that way before. He is the LEAST elitest person in the WH in my lifetime. And we understand that and love him for it. He makes this be about us, the people. Marvelous!

SallyT : And, I believe that those same people will make sure that he keeps hearing them. He goes out to them and they will come to him. They will hold him and push him and he will succeed because of that.

SallyT : I believe that the President spent so much time out on the campaign trail this last time among the people. He saw them stand in line for hours to vote for him. The emotions that he has shown of late leads me to believe that he wants to give back to them as much if not more than they gave to him. He shows his feelings more now because they are closer to the surface and he wants all to know he is on a mission. He wants them to know he heard them.

AdLib : Murph – Yes, Obama does seem to envision an ongoing influence and contribution to this nation which is very cool!

choicelady : Murph – I agree about Clinton as a person, but I think Reagan and Bush W. had a different kind of endurance. The presence of the Religious Right that was fixated on corporate power has left a structural presence we have to destroy. OFA as a system to create enduring change is both far more transparent AND transformative than what now lingers from the long, sordid past of the GOP. These long waves – 1980-2012 – of RW politics are beginning to change. Obama as a very public figure coupled with OFA will be a major force for change as FDR and the New Deal were.

AdLib : CL – The pundits just recycle their “conventional thinking”, as you say, because something happened a couple of times in the past, of course it will always happen that way (remember Chris Matthews stating as a fact that Obama could not win unless unemployment was under 7%?). Obama can indeed continue to achieve remarkable gains for Americans and his legacy despite the pundits BS.

SallyT : Reagan at the end of his term didn’t know where he was or did he care.

MurphTheSurf3 : Choice and CL….add to your assessment of the Obama 2nd term is his apparent intention to create a more lasting presence in the politics of the nation. OFA. It is as if Obama is seeing himself as one of those figures who can transform political philosophy (much as Clinton has emerged as a dominant figure in ways that neither of the Bush’s or Reagan did)

choicelady : Sally – LOL!!!

SallyT : I don’t know if Clinton dropped the ball but there were balls involved. However, Bush exploded all the balloons!

choicelady : Sally – It occurs to me that people miss the point about the second term. It’s not ‘lame duck’ as much as it is freedom to do what one wants. Bush and Clinton dropped the ball (Clinton’s was self inflicted over Monica) but Obama will run with it!

SallyT : That should have been any not and but you got it, CL.

choicelady : Sally – BEAUTIFULLY said!

SallyT : He is not running for office and more. He is now running the office.

choicelady : Sally – And what an inaugural present this gives him!

AdLib : Sally – On all those issues, just as with raising taxes on the wealthy and raising the debt ceiling, the Repubs are positioned against the wishes of the majority of Americans. It’s all bad for the Repubs, they have been exposed as only fighting for the elite and against the 99% and all of these issues underline that.

SallyT : I also think this win, a hard win it was even though the numbers proved all his, it was a fight and he won! That has put the wind under his wings.

choicelady : Sally – totally agree. I think his legacy will be amazing.

AdLib : CL – CYA is a pre-existing condition so after 2014, it is covered.

SallyT : Gun control, climate change, and immigration reform is on his agenda and I see him with blinders on. Yes, this tragedy move gun control on the list, I don’t think it was before. But, I do see him getting to so many other things he holds important to him to get done before he leave office.

choicelady : AdLib – Is CYA a covered condition?

AdLib : Murph – I do think the Repubs in The House have recognized what they most fear, that they have no leverage against Obama anymore and that they harm themselves more each time they fight Obama. So now, as you say, it’s all about CYA.

choicelady : AdLib – LOL!!! Those complicated extractions may or may not be covered! Wonder if they have deductibles – is stupidity a covered condition?

choicelady : Sally – yes, I agree. I do think he was trying last term to “unify the nation”. A noble effort since he had no idea about the pact made inauguration night! But he is STANDING FIRM now, and it’s GREAT! I do agree!

AdLib : Emos and Baggers will both be in line for nose transplants. The hardest part of the procedure will first be extracting their heads from where they’re inserted.

SallyT : I think you missed the point, CL, I was making. The President held firm that he wasnt going to negotiate with those he will never get to agree with him. He went ahead with his direction and never swayed to miss the elephant in the middle of the road. I see it that way. And, sorry, but I do think he worried too much about getting along with them before and now he is on a mission.

MurphTheSurf3 : Ad Lib. I think the GOP leadership has finally convinced its rank and file that they are playing into the Dem’s hands. So, they have crafted a tissue thin strategy that will give some of them some cover but with Boehner making it clear that the Hastert Rule is dead in the last three big House votes…they do not have much choice.

choicelady : AdLib – LOL!!! Nose transplants are indeed covered by ACA!

AdLib : CL – Fear and anger make people stupid, they make kneejerk reactions based on their emotions and cut off their noses to spite their faces…which fortunately is now covered by the ACA!

choicelady : AdLib – I wish the EmoProgs could see these things as clearly as you do.

choicelady : Sally – on the lame duck, the last debt ceiling, etc. Obama DID hold firm, but the MSM did a piss poor jobs of explaining what he’d accomplished. I never once worried he’d cave NOW since he’d never caved before. He let the GOP have crumbs – and THAT was called a sellout. It wasn’t. But now, post election, he is calling the shots clearly. And do you know – the EmoProgs are STILL calling it a ‘trap’. They are so clueless about policy they can’t see anything clearly!

AdLib : Are the Repubs looking like total losers or what? They keep howling about how they won’t accept any tax increase and will refuse to raise the debt ceiling…and they just collapse again and again.

choicelady : AdLib – I keep asking myself if the GOP are really THAT stupid, and the answer is yes. And the EmoProgs would do the same – sink themselves over some ideological nitpick. So I guess I have to believe this is the product of dumb.

SallyT : Well, I am glad something snapped them back in line. And, that the President held firm.

AdLib : CL – So true and so funny! The feds controlling health care in important red states? And Repub Govs are just handing it over to them? Hilarious!

choicelady : AdLib – one takes one’s allies where they are. At the moment fans of economic stability (us) are allied with the banks (yuck) for different reasons. But it gives us breathing room. That’s fine with me.

AdLib : It does seem pretty apparent and I heard news show hosts quoting Wall Street sources that they did not want the Repubs tanking the economy with profits so great right now. The Repubs got too big for their britches and their masters snapped them back in line.

choicelady : AdLib – I agree on the state exchanges, and the BIG joke is that the Red states without them but with FEDERAL programs are adding greatly to the rush to single payer or universal programs!!! Har-dee-har on them!!!

MurphTheSurf3 : Choice – yes…Rachel (and her staff) have a way of pairing very interesting insights. I suspect that the money folks are doing just as you say- warning the GOP- don’t go where you say you are going.

choicelady : AdLib – since all the GOP and Santelli are invested in “loss” calls, success and stability are their economic enemies. Awwwwww. TOO BAD!

AdLib : CL – I am a fan of the ACA and thrilled about how the state exchanges provide such a viable transition to a national exchange and a unique kind of single payer type system.

choicelady : Murph – I thought Rachel’s explanation of that was AMAZING, and it’s GREAT news. Lack of volatility and high ratings is GREAT. It makes me think that behind the GOP cave on the debt ceiling resides BANKS and investors threatening them quietly off stage. Funny who your allies can be…

MurphTheSurf3 : AD LIB..there is so much whimpering from the right at this point in time it is hard to discern the specific source.

AdLib : Great news Murph. Does that mean Rick Santelli is whimpering softly into his stock portfolio?

choicelady : AdLib – nope. They held up some provisions I liked (though can’t remember anymore!) but it was overall the House reluctance that kept Medicare for All from even reaching a vote. When you do the head count, you just have to figure out what is worth pursuing and what’s a dead horse. MFA was a dead horse right from the git-go. I LIKE ACA for the ground it lays for the future as well as the help it gives now to people such as Boomer and KQ and others. But it WILL be the path to some kind of universal if not quite Canadian style single payer. More like Germany, France, Switzerland.

MurphTheSurf3 : Did anyone see that the VIX the business anxiety level measure that is formally the Chicago Board Options Exchange Market Volatility Index is the lowest since before the recession and the stock market is the higest…HAPPY INAUGURATION BARACK OBAMA!

AdLib : AB – Have a wonderful weekend! And use some of those days to chill a bit!

kesmarn : You shouldn’t have put the tiara on those shelves, Frennie. Hope it gets better! G’night!

SallyT : Glenn, thank you and I will find a special something for you. You will have to guess which it is.

AdLib : Night Kes! Sleep well and thanks for everything!!!

choicelady : ‘Night night kes and AB. Sweet dreams!

AlphaBitch : NIght sweet peas. I’ll see you on Monday! I actually have an extra day off. Let’s see – all our shelving in the garage pulled out of the wall, and 10 shelves came crashing down. Welcome to my “weekend”. Bye!

kesmarn : I may follow glenn and KT and KQ out the door. Midnight here in Toodle-dee-doo as well. Have a great weekend, gang!

choicelady : AB – honest to Pete we need a progressive radio network again. Air America was GREAT but incompetent in business. We have to have that back. Pacifica out here is on the verge (again) of total collapse, and they’re too hair on fire anyway. We need Sirius to do what they can – and hope for the best on live streaming for others. It all needs to be “out there”.

SallyT : Well, get prepared for a lot of LANCE THE LYE MAN!

AdLib : Hope to see you on Monday night, glenn! Have a great weekend!

glenn : Sally–one more post before I go. Norquist has faded into the woodwork lately. Ain’t it wonderful? Don’t worry–I love your selection of cartoons even if the grover is missing.

AdLib : CL – Gotcha. Though we were just a couple of votes away from the Senate passing Medicare for all, weren’t we? I thought it was Lieberman and Nelson who sunk it.

kesmarn : Frennie, you couldn’t look like Jan if you pickled yourself in brine for 1000 years.

AlphaBitch : Yes, on Current, Murph. They will go away with AJ. But I think they may find some way to resurface. I get such a kick out of watching radio guys when they are on TV. The faces and eye rolls say it all.

choicelady : AB – OMG – get sleep! We can’t have you looking like JAN!!!

MurphTheSurf3 : Bye Glenn…

SallyT : Glenn, you do the same. I haven’t found any funny on your fav Norquist yet. But, I am still lookin’!

kesmarn : G’night, glenn. Have a great weekend and see ya Monday!

choicelady : glenn – there are a lot of us old fogeys on here. Some of us are just on the WEST coast and get to play longer. Have a great weekend and see you Monday!

AdLib : Murph – I understand your point. There’s a mercenary side to this, sometimes there is a better way and I would argue that the conservative rural agenda is not best for American society in the 21st century.

AlphaBitch : What time do you guys start on MOnday? I’m blurry eyed and I need some shut eye or I will look like Bonefinger tomorrow.

MurphTheSurf3 : AB….where to you tape Stephanie Miller…..on Current? I love her but fear she is going away soon with the El Jazeera buy out.

glenn : Okay, folks, it’s getting on to midnight here on the East Coast and the old people like me can’t stay up much past that. Have a great weekend all. Hope to be here Monday for the Inauguration.

choicelady : AB – Never occurred to me Jan was supporting Medicaid because SHE might need it! LOL!!!

SallyT : No, she counted the Mexicans in her backyard and knew that times they are a changin!

AlphaBitch : My ONE guilty pleasure these days is taping Stephanie Miller on Current and playing it back while I make dinner. I laugh so hard I’ve snorted a time or two…..

choicelady : AdLib – OH GOOD! I will keep in touch and go back and forth between hubby and PPOV!

kesmarn : It’s too late for redemption, Headless Jan….

AlphaBitch : She heard the cryptmaker calling her home, I guess, CL.

choicelady : AB – yes Bone FInger DID it and said it was the MORAL thing she had to do.Her freaking hypocrisy was breathtaking!

AdLib : CL – Sure, we will Live Blog on Monday for the Inauguration!

glenn : kes–I think she’s beautiful. For a tall woman, she holds herself with such grace and elegance. I’ve known many tall women who “stoop”, and Mrs. Obama just holds herself so proudly.

AlphaBitch : FLOTUS rocks the bangs, that’s fer shure.

kesmarn : I think I saw that too. Headless Jan had a moment of sanity? Sunstroke?

choicelady : AdLib – nope. The House did not support Medicare for All. We counted House votes – 98 was all I could get.They didn’t trust it. Same issue as CA – the single payer people did not do the groundwork to get the support. ACA lays the path to single payer – and the single payer people can’t even SEE it. But in 2010 – 98 votes. Period. And a handful in the Senate. Over all you HAD to have 278, both houses. We were nowhere near that just on HOUSE lack of support.

SallyT : I do like that she has several dresses off the rack and she wears them several times at several events.

AlphaBitch : So did I read somewhere that old BoneFinger Brewer had captiulated and decided to extend Medicaid?

kesmarn : glenn, I don’t think she realizes how pretty she is.

kesmarn : No…I liked the dress she wore at the convention better.

AdLib : CL – Well, The House appeared to support Medicare For All and all we needed was for the Senate to do so…that was single payer without saying it was.

AlphaBitch : Frennie – you and I can pretend we loaned it to her. To be honest, I did not really like the white ball gown last time.

MurphTheSurf3 : Ad Lib- and they would argue that Progressive leadership is exactly what they are afraid of.

choicelady : AB – no, but I drove some other weird road between Rock Springs and Laramie WY that was amazing. Of course my car broke down and had to be scrapped in Laramie, but that’s a whole long ugly story…coupled by the fact that 20 years later I broke down going BACK to CA and wound up in the same damned motel junking the rental truck. I now call it the Laramie Triangle…

glenn : Kes–a dress to die for to go with her new hairstyle.

AdLib : Murph – I would argue though that instead of holding the majority of the nation back and fighting progress, that WY and other rural states would be forced to follow the more Progressive ones.

kesmarn : Michelle’s gonna have a dress to die for. You know it.

AlphaBitch : Oooh – fashion watch Monday.

MurphTheSurf3 : CL- and yet the Framers were very cautious about the issue of basing representation solely on population. States with small populations always have few seats in the House but their charter membership in the Union is balanced by an equal number of seats in the Senate. The electoral college was meant to capture both notions.

choicelady : KT – have a good rest and great weekend. Ad Lib – are we doing anything live on the inauguration?

AlphaBitch : Anyone here ever drive Hwy 287 from Ft. Collins CO to Laramie WY? One of the prettiest drives in the US, IMHO.

SallyT : Night KT! I’ll watch for you later on here somewhere. I bet I know where, too!

choicelady : AdLib – I don’t think single payer would have flown in the House. I counted at MOST 98 votes for it there. The Senate did try (Baucus) to squeeze ACA, but they failed. I think things work out as they are going to anyway. So I don’t see the Senate as a problem. Of course today it’s the minority in the GOP that are THE problem in the HOUSE! As Gilda used to say – it’s always something. I just think, over all, the system pretty much works.

kesmarn : We would have both been wrong, Frennie. Orange.

AlphaBitch : Kes: what color was it? I would have guessed silver.

SallyT : Look, Wyoming is going to do as they please no matter. They are oil cowboys up there!

kesmarn : G’Night, KT!

AdLib : Heading out KT? Have a great weekend!

kesmarn : You snooze, you lose, Frennie! That tiara is MINE. (Even though I did guess the wrong color for the black box…

glenn : Good night KT–sleep well.

AlphaBitch : Mwah KT. Big wet one, bud.

KillgoreTrout : Well good Planeteers, have a wonderful weekend, and long may you run!

AlphaBitch : Kes: Frennie – I whipped your butt on dwarf trivia on MB, but never got to go back and claim the tiara. That sucked.

MurphTheSurf3 : Ad Lib….archaic in one sense but also part of the checks and balances that Framers considered. Even in 1789 the issue of population prejudice factored heavily into this structure. Wyoming has a tiny population – so it would have few members of the House and only one Senator- permanent minority status and diminishing influence….

AdLib : CL – When the Dems held The House, it was all about The Senate being dominated…the country being dominated by the small minded Senators from small population states. Tyranny of the minority…other wise, we would have had single payer and it would have happened in Obama’s first year.

AlphaBitch : Ad: I’m filling my pockets with Double Bubble gum and I’m gonna pop a pink “cap” on Gohmert’s ugly face.

choicelady : Murph – I think that’s quite true, but overall the vote is the vote. Wherever it comes from, majority rules. That’s democracy.

glenn : AdLib–another good wish. Is it just me, or does anyone else think we have really come to a “definitive moment” or moments, in our country, and it’s time to take a look at some of our governing structures and perhaps bring them more in line with equality for all? Some of these governing procedures were made for wealthy, white men only, and had no concessions for anything else. I believe that’s where we’re running into a lot of conflict because we are actually trying to include ALL citizens in the effort of voting and governing, and there were no provisions made for anyone else.

kesmarn : A dollar! AB, you can buy ad space for the Planet on the Rush Limbaugh show!!

SallyT : Murph, but that is true already.

AlphaBitch : CL: I do now own 2 – count ’em 2 – pink MB mugs. I have a very dear and sweet friend who always chooses THAT mug when she comes to visit. I decided to donate and get another mug, that way we can share and I won’t sit around in a snit.

choicelady : AdLib – I think the Senate is not a problem overall. That’s hard to hijack. But the proportional representation crap for the electoral college is a vile distortion since it reflects NOTHING of the vote which, at least putatively, it now does.

AdLib : AB – Take the weekend off. And here’s a dollar, by yourself something nice!

MurphTheSurf3 : Choice- the problem with undoing the Electoral College in favor of a population based election is that it makes the urban centers so powerful that they they would be the campaign –

AlphaBitch : My Congressional wish list is simple. Have stand alone bills. Period. Yea or nay.

choicelady : AB – I’m sure we can be persuaded to double your Planet salary. And time off can be extended indefinitely. Does that help? Sorry you’re so exhausted!

KillgoreTrout : AB, too much work and not enough play makes Debbie a very dull gal!

AdLib : Murph – I think that’s archaic though, states may have different POVs but we are now so integrated as one nation that giving Wyoming, with half a million residents, as much power to pass national health care as CA with 37 million people just isn’t good.

AlphaBitch : All this talk of gerrymandering is precisely why I want to quit the $$ job and volunteer to get something done – politically speaking.

kesmarn : Will send a note to the Blov to take you out to dinner and dancing.

choicelady : Murph and AdLib – I’m fine with the system AS IT HAS BEEN. I don’t want to tinker with it. I want it to work. And if we have to change anything, let it be the end of the electoral college. Otherwise it’s been effective, and we should muck up the original system as little as possible. If it aint’ broke – and most of it isn’t – do NOT fix it!

AlphaBitch : You’re not the boss of me, Ad. Well, OK, sometimes you are. Hey! I want a raise and more freakin’ days off, please.

AlphaBitch : Too much work, not enough fun. What’s new with you?

AdLib : AB – You aren’t allowed to be quiet or tired, it’s in your contract.

MurphTheSurf3 : Ad Lib- I like your idea of neutering the gerrymandering process for the House. The Senate…that one I am less convinced of as the Framers wanted to balance representation by population and representation of each of the individual states as entities unto themselves.

choicelady : Hey AB – you OK? How come tired?

AlphaBitch : AB in da house, CL. Just quiet and tired tonight.

kesmarn : Come down here, right now, young lady!

SallyT : Don’t you think with more computers that it will change in time?

AdLib : glenn – I would add one more wish for the Supreme Court, make them one-term 15 year appointments. Lifetime is crazy and getting stuck with bad justices like Scalia and Thomas for an entire generation is nuts.

choicelady : Come back AB!

glenn : Murph, Thanks for the info.

choicelady : Huh – AlphaBitch came and then disappeared. Sorry to see her go!

choicelady : glenn – As I understand it the founders did not trust democracy and the electoral college WAS a hedge against unfettered mob rule. It’s been a nightmare though – and with these efforts to hijack it, it’s time to END it.

glenn : AdLib–I like your magic wish.

MurphTheSurf3 : Glenn…recall that as originally laid out members of the Senate were selected by their state legislatures. In the original plan only members of the House were elected by popular vote. The Framers did not trust “the mob.”

KillgoreTrout : kes, they say God protects children and drunks. I think my friend had some sort of protector that night!

KillgoreTrout : Have a great weekend KQ!

SallyT : He was long gone, CL. He left the door open, too.

glenn : Sally–Sorry, I don’t know the answer to your question. I never understood why we had an electoral college in the first place, and just didn’t go with the popular vote.

AdLib : Night KQ! Take care my friend!

choicelady : Goodnight KQ – keep us posted on how you are and have a GOOD weekend!

choicelady : kes – they were wonderful cats. They were lousy “mousers”.

AdLib : Sally – If I could get a magic wish, it would be to revamp two Congressional things. First, make gerrymandering illegal, districts would only be created by a bipartisan committee but carving out safe seats would be illegal. And change the Senate so that each state only got one and the rest were distributed based solely on population. Allowing the minority to have so much power is self-destructive .

choicelady : Sally – that is pretty funny! I am presuming the driver who stole the car was long gone? How fuel inefficient of him!

SallyT : Well, Glenn, than why not the popular vote if it isn’t quicker the other way?

kesmarn : Oh, KT. He picked the wrong place to walk into!

MurphTheSurf3 : KQ hardly had a chance to say hello. Pleasant dreams.

choicelady : KT – EXCELLENT! We can’t end the supermajority vote on taxes in CA since we are tax phobic, but we now HAVE supermajorities in both houses. We shall see what this means.

kesmarn : G’night, KQ. Feel better soon!

KillgoreTrout : kes, I used to live in an old New England farm house, and we shared half of it with a local cop and his family. One night, my inebrirated friend wondered into the wrong half. He came within inches of being shot.

glenn : Good night KQ

kesmarn : You were kind, c’lady. And yes, you did have a bunch of Garfields there.

KQµårk 死神 : Good night folks.

MurphTheSurf3 : Kes- only one other country has a system like ours and that is Liberia which is a total mess. Most of the world uses a Parliamentary System of some kind.

choicelady : kes – I believe all other developed nations go with JUST the popular vote.

SallyT : CL, we woke up one morning to find a new car in our front yard still running. It had been stolen some 40 miles away.

choicelady : kes – I live trapped the rat and took it out to an island and let it go. No other took its place. But I was NOT happy with the cats who were all sleeping very nearby. I’m sure they were bribed.

glenn : Sally–I think it actually takes longer to certify the electoral results. If I remember correctly, the electoral votes for the presidential election were just certified on Jan. 1.

kesmarn : I should know the answer to this but– do other countries have anything like an electoral college? Or do they go with popular vote?

choicelady : kes – unfortunately the times when we could not lock our doors were long, long ago. Sorry you guys got a scare. I came home a few months ago to find someone passed out in my front garden, but at least he wasn’t inside! He was just homeless and tired. But…

KillgoreTrout : I have signe two different petitions now that call for the end of the supermajority. And the filibuster.

kesmarn : Oooooh…I would be avoiding that china cabinet, c’lady. Paper plates indefinitely until that guy was gone!

SallyT : And why can’t we elect on popular vote? I mean they do count those, too. Or is it easier for the election to be called quicker with the electral.

choicelady : kes – I’m surprise fat cats would bother with mice. I had three with a neighbor’s cat as regular visitor AND had a rat living under the china cabinet. I think the rat paid the cats off, and they were too well fed to care.

kesmarn : A drunken guy wandered into our house in rural CT years ago. Fortunately he was harmless. We were so dumb. After that we locked our doors.

KillgoreTrout : CL, I like that. Well said. My mom took care of a female, feral cat for 14 years. You know that cat would not let my mom pet her, at all. Mom didn’t care, she just loves cats.

AdLib : Murph – That’s a point that most of these RW no nothing about, Jefferson wanting another (if not more) Constitutions.

choicelady : Keep hitting the return – what if the fourth one got 5-10 percent and was an extremist? He or she would have EXACTLY the same authority as those who got significant wins. There is a belief that giving the GOP a “win” in San Francisco and the Dems a “win” in Orange county somehow makes things better. It’s not remotely true.

glenn : KT–yup–we had several of those hard-drinking friends in the “row houses” too.

choicelady : Damn – 5-10

choicelady : All – the phenomenon of minority rule is very recent. The founding fathers weighed in heavily against “supermajoritie s” that gave undue power to the minority. Even Liberals think proportional representation is a good thing – you could have districts made up of four Senators with the top four winners having equal power. Well, what if the fourth got only 5-10

MurphTheSurf3 : Choice/Glenn…o ur Constitution is really full of holes that have never been plugged – the Electoral College is one of them. What happens when a fundamental law can only be passed with compromises high and low. Jefferson assumed that after 12 or so years of trying it out a second Constitutional Convention would do a 2.0

AdLib : Murph – Yes, this is what concerns me, purple states having their electoral votes manipulated to favor the minority Repubs.

kesmarn : I do have nice neighbors, c’lady. AND…no mice.

KillgoreTrout : glenn, I had a hard drinking friend that would, on occasion, do the same thing

SallyT : The rural areas don’t like the metro areas deciding. That would change OR from blue to red. Those 25 people over there in eastern Oregon could change our color!

choicelady : kes – obese strays are the sign of a kind neighborhood.

choicelady : Murph – yuck. That is scary – recipe for disaster!!!

glenn : Murph–that’s even more scary.

kesmarn : There are about 5 strays in this neighborhood and I suspect I’m not the only one who feeds ’em. They are getting kinda obese.

KillgoreTrout : CL, the elderly that have made a point of always becoming, are the wisest of the wise.

choicelady : glenn – I knew about a cat named Slash who could open those levers. He was completely free in his own home since all the doors had them. NO one could stop him! Good thing your doors had locks!

MurphTheSurf3 : Glenn, KT, Choice, Ad Lib…THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE…preced ent is that stats decide how to distribute their electoral votes….see «link» for an example from Nebraska and Maine.

SallyT : Dah, I meant to say, that the population of many states probably wouldnt go along with the popular vote NOT counting.

choicelady : KT – I have to bang on my car every morning to make sure no cats are underneath. We keep the garage “person” door open so they have refuge in this cold. They have homes. They just don’t GO there. In that respect they are really dumb.

KillgoreTrout : Well sure Sally. Superman is getting up there in years!

glenn : CL–When I lived overseas, the outside doors had levers instead of knobs. The cat next door learned how jump up and push on the lever to let himself into the house. Since we lived in “row houses”, the cat sometimes got confused as to which house was his. We had to keep our door locked, so he just couldn’t walk in.

SallyT : I don’t think the population of many states would go along with the popular vote that counting.

choicelady : KT – I knew, worked with , and adored Maggie Kuhn, founder of the Gray Panthers. Her motto: Stand up and speak even if your voice shakes. Words to live by! She was about 85 pounds, absolutely gorgeous, and one of the smartest people I ever met.

AdLib : Supergramps!

kesmarn : Good for Mikey and the MRFF, c’lady!

SallyT : KT, I thought that was Superman?

choicelady : kes – these two cats are on my side. I’ve bribed them with kibble for years. I did hear about the West Point group – and I think Mikey Weinstein and Military Relgious Freedom Foundation had a LOT to do with that!

KillgoreTrout : Sally, my favorite group is the Grey Panthers. A combined effort among the elderly to fight for truth, justice and the American way! ‘)

AdLib : Sad how the Repub extremists both attack Obama as a “dictator” and meanwhile want their minority party to dominate the majority. Do they know what a “dictator” is?

choicelady : glenn – this IS the result of the EmoProg rant in 2010 “Don’t vote and send a message to the Dems”. So yeah – this is very scary. Only way around it is to court enough Dems in gerrymandered districts to overwhelm the redistricting OR to raise a citizens redistricting commission as we did here. Only states with initiatives can really get that done. It’s an uphill fight.

KillgoreTrout : Cl, we once had a cat that loved to get in peoples cars and go for a ride. More than once, we got a call from a stranger wanting to know if Sammy was our cat!

kesmarn : He may be a fundie cat, c’lady. Be careful. When they get a load of catnip, they can be dangerous. BTW, did you hear that a West Point think tank declared RW fundies a real danger to Homeland Security?

AdLib : As the Repubs “whites only” demographic shrinks, they can only try to rig the democratic system through voter ID, awarding electoral votes by district, etc. Of course, they could become a less batshit party but that ain’t gonna happen for some time.

SallyT : By george Kt I think it would!

KillgoreTrout : Sally, wouldn’t that be The Purple Panthers?

glenn : KT–To me, this is more scary than anything else the GOP has done so far. Even though the Dems had more votes than the GOP, they still hold the House (and still are holding the country hostage). They got away with that; is there any way we can stop this electoral college nonsense? At least they’re beginning it well before the elections so it can be brought to court, if necessary.

SallyT : The Pink/Black Panther?

choicelady : kes – we have a solid 2/3 majority of Dems in both houses. No way will this fly here. BTW – the black and white cat is now on my car in the drive. No end to the excitement on a Friday night.

KillgoreTrout : Frisk the Cat was too cool for school! Compliments of Ralph Bakshi!

AdLib : You’re just a cat, right, like I’ve never heard that one before!

choicelady : AdLib – it’s a BLACK cat. All is well.

kesmarn : That’s what I gathered, too, c’lady. What are Dems in CA planning, do you think?

choicelady : glenn – so far nothing has been done, but we are trying to see if it’s legal for states to do this differently or if there has to be ONE standard across the nation. We don’t know.

SallyT : Stick up your paws, you pussy!

KillgoreTrout : glenn, I don’t really know. I tend to think that it would require a congressional action of some sort.

AdLib : Or give it Friskies!

AdLib : CL – Frisk the cat!

choicelady : kes – the Red states that aren’t really Red such as OHIO, want to have electoral results mirror the Districts. Not the popular vote which has been heavily BLUE but the DISTRICTS. That could easily have handed the election to Romney. In CA there’s not a prayer this will work, but in those states that are more Blue voters but that have Red legislatures – it’s a huge danger.

AdLib : I wonder from time to time if there will be some incdent or moment that comes where there is a real Awakening for people in America…where they realize what has really gone wrong and what is really going on…and just say, “Enough!”?

glenn : KT–I’m well aware why the gop wants to change the electoral college; they know they can never win another election with their extremism. That’s why they use gerrymanding and fraud to win. But is it legal what they’re doing with the electoral college?

SallyT : AdLib, I am serious about those reality shows. I get a little put out that they show that lying, cheating, and deception is how you win the prize/money. What does that teach children?

KillgoreTrout : Good to see ya here Murph!

choicelady : OK – paranoia gives way to laughs. Our security lights just went on. Turned on the camera -it’s the neighbor’s cat walking on my car. Not EVERYTHING is the religious right up to no good!

kesmarn : c’lady, how do they plan to do that?

KillgoreTrout : glenn the GOP wants to change the electorial college because the electorial college handed Romney his hat and kicked him out the door. Romney was thoroughly trounced.

SallyT : Thank you, Murph!

MurphTheSurf3 : Sally….I would never pass you by or up intentioanlly

choicelady : kes – we even have a movement to parcel out electoral votes here in the VERY Blue state of CA!

SallyT : That is how I see it, too, AdLib. Acceptance of deception, that is how you win those reality shows too.

MurphTheSurf3 : Welcome KT

AdLib : glenn – That’s the bottom line, the illness that’s spread through our society. It doesn’t matter how horrible a person you are, if you win, if you make a lot of money, you’re to be respected.

choicelady : Sally – WE know you’re here! Murph’s just catching up.

kesmarn : glenn, I saw that too. I think that one would go all the way to the Supreme Court. The GOP is basically trying to gerrymander the entire country.

choicelady : glenn – a lot of Constitutional attorneys are trying to determnine if states can, willy nilly, start apportioning their electoral votes. No one ever tried this before. No one really knows.

AdLib : Sally – Yes, I think the public’s acceptance of deception is saddening, accepting that politicians of course are going to lie to you as are your heroes but as long as they say what they want to hear, it’s okay. There is a psychological disease in our society. So many who should be eschewed are celebrated or accepted at the least. What happened to principles?

SallyT : That’s okay, Murph, I have been passed over before.

KillgoreTrout : Very cool Murph, that’s for info.

glenn : CL–Winning at any cost reminds me of something else that I heard this week. Anybody know what’s up with republicans/tpar tiers trying to change how the electoral college counts states’ votes? Is it legal for states to amend the electoral college rules?

MurphTheSurf3 : Hello Sally and Funk…just trying to catch up based on the running lines…..

kesmarn : Here I was, feeling all sorry for Monti T’eo…

SallyT : Excuse me, Murph! But Funk and I are here, too.

MurphTheSurf3 : Hello to AdLib, Choicelady and Glenn. What are we talking about?

KillgoreTrout : LOL CL! Elephants are also compassionate! So much for them being an apt mascot.

AdLib : Manti Te’o is a proven liar about the phony girlfriend. Whether he knew at first or not is irrelevant, he lied later on after knowing full well it was a hoax. Lance Armstrong is a self-entitled shit who ruined many lives to fulfill his greed, no different than the GOP.

choicelady : SAlly – that is as good an explanation as ANY. Murph – I knew Nast created the symbol, but I’ve never been sure why.

SallyT : I thought it was an elephant because elephants love nuts.

MurphTheSurf3 : KT. The GOP Elephant. This symbol of the party was born in the imagination of cartoonist Thomas Nast and first appeared in Harper’s Weekly on November 7, 1874. See: «link»

choicelady : KT – the elephants had no say at all in being picked to be the symbol of a corrupt pile of politicians. Oh – that pile thing may be apt?

glenn : Hi Murph!

glenn : AdLib–what fraud of the GOP? I thought they were the “true Americans.” There are not words to describe how I feel about Lance Armstrong. Slime is too good a word for him. As for Manti Te’o, just someone falling for another scam. Or maybe just someone perpetuating another scam. Not enough info. on that one.

AdLib : KT – I don’t buy Manti Te’o’s story anyway, he’s already been proven to lie about it being a legit girlfriend, he’s a fraud.

choicelady : AdLib – I’m not sure about Manti Te’o – He may have been “had”, but the desire to win at ANY COST certainly afflicts the GOP and Lance. I can understand Lance, a cancer survivor, way more than the GOP who ARE a cancer.

kesmarn : c’lady, it would depend…

KillgoreTrout : I can’t understand why the elephant can be the mascot for the GOP! Elephants are smart!

SallyT : AdLib, do you think it is because we have just accepted that their is fraud in everything?

AdLib : CL – Elephants have been so tortured and murdered, very glad to hear all is well with them there.

choicelady : kes – the thought of riding Newt makes me ill…

choicelady : Hey Murph! Lovely to see you. I just joined OFA today!

AdLib : Hey Murph! That’s very cool news!

KillgoreTrout : I have no pity for someone who falls for such an internet scam. Don’t these folks realize that, on the net, you can be anybody you want to be?

choicelady : AdLIb – it’s an elephant sanctuary for a certain strain of elephants that would otherwise be extinct from poaching. I’ve forgotten what they are – but there are hundreds of them living on this island. Outside of ferrying tourists, the elephants have wonderful lives and great care.

AdLib : CL – That sounds very cool, my daughter would love that…until she gets sore from riding an elephant.

MurphTheSurf3 : Better late than never……plann ing an inauguration day event for Dems in the areas….kickoff to the new Organizing for Action that was Obama for AMerica.

funksands : Choice, that seems a bit pretentious to me. They should at least be forced to lasso the elephant and tame it.

AdLib : SO, does anyone see a parallel between the fraud of the GOP, Lance Armstrong and Manti Te’o as exemplifying a social system that has lost a modicum of integrity?

kesmarn : Can we saddle Newt Gingrich, c’lady?

choicelady : AdLib – my chiropractor and his husband went to Bali over Christmas and stayed at the ‘elephant resort’ a couple of days. You have a raised hut – very elegant – and come and go via a platform that lets you mount the saddle on your own elephant. They LOVED it!

KillgoreTrout : Lava hotel? Dante’s Inferno?

SallyT : Okay, I can see the connection….?? ??

funksands : Sally: Chuck Norris and Ice and Flu

choicelady : AdLib – oh yeah – LAVA hotel? NOT ON, thank you!

AdLib : Hey Sally!

SallyT : Okay, don’t make me scroll down, what are we talking about?

AdLib : CL – My wife wants to go to that ice hotel on a Xmas one day. Better I suppose than that lava hotel in the South Pacific.

KillgoreTrout : Sally is in da widget? Hey Sally, how goes it?

choicelady : AdLib – That’s Chuck’s limit OK.

choicelady : KT – you just put things into perspective. Indeed they have been.

glenn : Hi Sally!

kesmarn : Hey, Sally!

funksands : Hi Sally!

choicelady : Hey Sally! Great to see you!

KillgoreTrout : Ha, the Inuits have been staying in ice hotels for centuries now!

AdLib : CHUCK NORRIS: “You’re from Biloxi, that’s in Miss…er…The South.”

SallyT : Good evening all of you here!

glenn : KT–you took the words right out of my mouth (computer?). Norris would have had to someone else read the 4-syllable words for him and explain what they meant.

choicelady : funk – sorry your family is sick! Have you all been brought low by the flu?

choicelady : funk – I have friends from Portland who stayed in that “ice hotel” in Scandinavia or Lapland or somewhere. They spent ONE night and really liked it. But one night WAS enough.

funksands : Bad colds only I hope.

kesmarn : Awwww….flu?

KillgoreTrout : Ad, It wasn’t hard to believe. I don’t think I ever heard him utter more than 4 syllable words!

funksands : Kes, I’m well. The rest of family is sick as dogs, so I can’t stay long.

choicelady : AdLib – I’m a constant sucker for your “facts”! You say it. I believe it.

funksands : Ad, you ought to take your daughter to the Harbin Ice Festival in China. High on my bucket list. «link»

KillgoreTrout : Ad, see, that proves there is no global warming, or so say the anti-science crowd!

kesmarn : Funk! How are ya!?

choicelady : funk – that’s right out of “Thurber Carnival”: “Well if I called the wrong number, why did YOU answer the phone?” It was witty when Thurber wrote it. It’s paranoid when Chuck beleives it.

AdLib : CL – I was just joking about Norris and 4 syllables!

AdLib : CL – She’s only seen snow a few times but there shouldn’t be ice on the ground in LA!

funksands : Chuck Norris does not call a wrong number. You answer the wrong phone.

choicelady : KT – LOL!!!

KillgoreTrout : Ad, if you called him monosyllabic, he wouldn’t understand the word.

kesmarn : Twinkle***twinkl e***twinkle***

choicelady : kes – is it the wind causing your power issues? Yikes!

funksands : Choice, that’s what I was thinking. Humans are awesome.

choicelady : AdLib – so someone actually counted the numbers of syllables Norris uttered? That’s ALSO very funny!

AdLib : Kes – You won’t disappear as long as we all believe in you and clap our hands three times!

funksands : I did not know that.

AdLib : Hey Funk! Fun fact: Chuck Norris has never spoken a 4 syllable word on film.

choicelady : Hey funk – welcome and thanks – that is FUNNY!

choicelady : AdLib – she thought it was GLASS? Oh, my. You need to get her to Vermont in December to see snow fall, ice form, REAL cold. That’s evidence she’s TOO wedded to Southern CA!

funksands : Chuck Norris drank vodka once. Vodka passed out.

kesmarn : Folks, my lights have dimmed twice since I signed on, so if I vanish you’ll know I retreated to the dark ages.

AdLib : CL – If it was really about what they claim, it wouldn’t be so ugly. Just as with using the ACA to justify their racism and hatred of Obama and those they see as different, this gun issue is just another vehicle for justifying their expression of self-righteousne ss and hatred.

KillgoreTrout : That’s funny Ad!

choicelady : KT – nothing served up by Hollywood seems to be beyond their belief system. Chuck like Marion Wayne before him, wears makeup, recites PREWRITTEN lines, and stages carefully crafted stunts. You’re right – all rigged for safety. They honest to God think this is reality. And so do way too many movie viewers. Scary.

AdLib : Been freezing literally here in LA until today (my daughter saw ice in the gutter one morning and my wife had to explain it wasn’t broken glass). Santa Ana winds came in, suddenly warm today.

choicelady : All – the screaming over at PoliticusUSA on gun issues is beyond awful. Very scary how violent these people are. NOTHING moves them to rational discussion.

glenn : CL–It’s not a “paradise” the gun nuts are living in. It’s a fool’s paranoid cave.

kesmarn : I’m in for the night now, thank goodness. Had a dinner this p.m. Fun, but good to be home. What’s the main topic tonight? Gun control?

KillgoreTrout : Hey CL, Chuck Norris is a god to these gun nuts. You are absolutely correct, they don’t stop to realize that all of Chuck’s enemies are firing blanks and the explosions are rigged for safety. They also salivate over the Rambo films.

AdLib : I don’t think the Repubs truly believe all the BS they’re spewing. It’s all just ways to vent their fear, racism and hatred, that’s why it’s so irrational and absurd.

choicelady : kes – ah yes. WIND CHILL. The scourge of winter, IMHO. Well, stay warm INSIDE if you can!

kesmarn : “Only” in the low 30s here, KT and c’lady, but WINDY. Feels colder.

choicelady : AdLib – I’m familiar with that scence in “The Pianist”. The NRA dudes are living in a fool’s paradise. They all believe Chuck Norris defines reality.

choicelady : Hi kes – how is the weather there tonight? I get reports from Y’town, and it’s been bizarre.

AdLib : KQ – That has to be so painful! Hope you’re taking your painkillers and getting what sleep you can.

kesmarn : Hey, AdLib!

glenn : CL–Well, of course the Jews couldn’t have stopped the military forces. We all know that; why don’t repubs? Then, of course, repubs also say that MLK would “approve” of “gun appreciation day”. How did MLK die again?

choicelady : Oh gosh, KQ – that is definitely worth waiting around for. I have a friend – Mary Jo Laughlin – who is in Virginia and is a leading oncologist on exactly those issues. You can Google her and see if she’s available to help you. She was at Duke for a time but I think no longer. I REALLY want you to be able to get this to work!!! She was my landlady back in the 80s and her husband had leukemia. She went to med school and then became amazing in this battle.

KillgoreTrout : Hey kes, how’s my homie doing this evening?

AdLib : Hey Kes!

AdLib : CL – Watching the movie “The Pianist” also gives a glimpse. Rebels fire from a building, a tank turns and blows it up with a shell.

KillgoreTrout : I watched a video on youtube earlier, of an Apache attack helicopter, just wasting a well entrenched Taliban group. The helicopter turned on it’s miniguns, that fire 2000 rounds per minute. It took about a minute and a half, to completely wipe out the Taliban fighters.

kesmarn : Black ice is scary, c’lady. Glad you were spared that. KQ, will be sending good thoughts/prayers your way.

AdLib : CL – Should we at least get it to another legislator while we wait for Darrell?

choicelady : AdLib et al. – If anyone wants to understand the Warsaw ghetto, they REALLY need to read Leon Uris’s “Mila 18”. There was NO way that the Jews of the ghetto could ever have stopped the military forces. Not even early in the game.

glenn : Hi Kes–it’s cold here in GA too. We were supposed to have “black ice” with the rain yesterday, but thankfully, we were spared. Still cold, though.

KQµårk 死神 : Not quite CL. I’ve got a bit of a healthcare fight underway right now. They are trying to fix my bone marrow so I can make some better blood naturally.

choicelady : glenn – thank you!!!

choicelady : AdLib – I am worried we wont’ make Leg. Counsel which we HAVE to do. We may be stuck pushing this into a gut and amend (VERY bad idea) or waiting til next year. Sigh. I’m working everyone I can.

KillgoreTrout : Ad, that is the height of insanity while trying to seem sane. To think for even a minute that small arms fire could win out over all the deadly weapons our government has at it’s disposal.

AdLib : KQUARK! Great to see ya!

glenn : Hey CL–good to hear your good news all around.

kesmarn : Good Friday evening, kids. Just home from the Mercy dinner thing. It’s COLD here in the rust belt.

AdLib : CL – Will we hear something from Darrel’s staff next week? Time is short as you know…too short for dead horses!

choicelady : Hi KQ!!!! How are you? WHERE are you? You a Yankee yet?

glenn : Hi KQ.

KillgoreTrout : Hey KQ, long time no see.

choicelady : Gosh AdLib – my money was on Bubba and Lum, not Zeke and Lem. There’s where we libruals went wrong. Bet on the wrong mules.

KQµårk 死神 : Hey gang.

AdLib : CL – Good point, some did have weapons…but facing the might of the Nazi war machine, they had no chance…as these moronic RW gun nuts would have no chance against an actual tyrannical US with attack helicopters and killer drones…and a trained and heavily armed military. Yet Zeke and Lem are gonna save America with their stockpile of weapons?

KillgoreTrout : Ad, mind boggling, isn’t it?

choicelady : Hey glenn, KT – all is very good. I’m not a widow, my grant proposal is circulating, and I lost two pounds. What could be better?

KillgoreTrout : The thing that saved any remaining Jews in Warsaw, was the Russian army.

choicelady : Hey right back atcha, Ad Lib! Susan has the bill over to Darrell’s staff. Nothing more than that. She asked if I wanted her to send it to Dickinson, and I recommended others instead. He’s the proverbial dead horse…

glenn : Hey CL–what’s happening?

KillgoreTrout : Good to see ya CL! I hope all is well!

AdLib : Hey CL!

AdLib : KT – Yeah, those are brilliant arguments. If Nazis had only let Jews have machine guns and slave owners in the US had given rifles to arriving slaves…can’t imagine why they wouldn’t.

choicelady : Hi everyone – just caught up. The Jews DID have guns in Warsaw ghetto – and Molotov cocktails, etc. – fat lot of good it did. Thanks, glenn – had not seen THAT farce this time.

glenn : KT–The “logic” of the repubs never fails to astonish me. Sometimes it’s just jaw-dropping that they can say these things with a straight face. And then get insulted when people push back with facts. Of course, who needs facts when you have “god on your side”.

KillgoreTrout : I think the NRA is really feeling the heat. They won’t admit that Sandy Hook was the last straw for many, many Americans, but they do realize that it was.

AdLib : glenn – Wish it wasn’t the case but they won’t argue against that in their actions. They throw tantrums, they threaten to hold their breath until the nation’s economy crashed, they want ridiculous and unrealistic things, they are terminally and intellectually immature.

KillgoreTrout : Yeah glenn, I’ve seen that argument. Those brave Jews that did take on the Nazis in Warsaw, lost and dies in the gas chambers or were shot or hung in the streets of Warsaw!

glenn : AdLib–I keep trying to not look at repubs as emotionally retarded 10-year-old boys, but they keep showing me that they are.

AdLib : The thing about the Repubs is that they, like their real symbol, Romney, will take any side of an issue, even one completely opposite of where they stood yesterday, if they think it will help them “win” at least a round of “the game”. They are morally vacant, they have no principles or ethics, they are just consumed with greed.

glenn : AdLib–I know, diversity scares the hell out of them.

KillgoreTrout : The people in the civil rights movement were true Christians, not the “in name only,” ones.

AdLib : glenn – Once I started looking at Repubs as emotionally retarded 10 year old boys, it all seemed to make sense. The sense of entitlement comes from generations of racism, it is latent racism mixing with aggressive racism. Only whites should have power, whites who think just like them. Yep, that’s their idea of democracy.

glenn : AdLib–and the newest is that if the Jews had had guns in the Warsaw ghetto, then the Holocaust wouldn’t have happened. As Jon Stewart said, it didn’t matter that it took the combined forces of Britain, France, Russia, and the United States to defeat the Nazis, the Jews could have done it all by themselves if only they had had guns! Amazing “logic”, isn’t it?

KillgoreTrout : Excellent point glenn. They have not earned the right to believe they are owed some sort of entitlement or privilege.

KillgoreTrout : It’s like the old TP signage that says “keep your government hands off my Medicare!”

AdLib : KT – It’s just a stupid game. Hey, they’re saying how they wish black people had guns during the civil rights fight…really? Wouldn’t be many Repubs left in the South.

glenn : AdLib–I just can’t understand why repubs feel this sense of entitlement. What are they doing to make this country better? Or even more united? It really pisses me off that they do everything they can to divide the country, and then complain about President Obama being divisive.

KillgoreTrout : I think it’s quite ironic for these anti-government droids to complain about not having government protection!

AdLib : I want them out of “site”.

AdLib : Muzzle them, that is.

AdLib : glenn – The real problem with Baggers shooting their mouths off is that what they use for ammunition are dum-dums. We need to put a silencer on them.

KillgoreTrout : Hey glenn and Ad. Yeah Ad, save it for another half hour or so.

AdLib : glenn – Repubs feel an entitlement to power in this country, they feel that Obama has possession of something that’s theirs and he shouldn’t be allowed to use it or anything that goes with it. The NRA’s ad attacking Melia and Sasha for having protection as kids of the President seems to show this not-so-subtle racism and feeling of entitlement.

glenn : AdLIb–the biggest problem with republicans/tpar tiers shooting off their mouths is they’re usually shooting blanks. Kinda goes with their blank minds, though. Perhaps that’s why they need all those guns and ammunition.

AdLib : Hey Killgore! When the GOP shoots off their mouths, they shoot themselves in the foot. I have another anatomically impossible quote to make about the GOP but I’ll save it for now.

glenn : Hi KT–eeew–who wants to put a bloody foot in your mouth? Only our “friends” on the right.

AdLib : Hey glenn! Yes, I saw Kalima’s post, of course the black Dem President shouldn’t be given the keys to the presidency.

KillgoreTrout : Hi folks! The NRA did indeed shoot themselves in the foot, but I guess that makes it easier to put in the mouths!

glenn : AdLib–did you see Kalima’s post about the yahoos on yahoo who are complaining about taxpayers paying for presidential perks? It seems the people on the right are really reaching nowadays for things to hammer President Obama with. Whom did they think paid for all the presidential perks for other presidents?

glenn : Hi AdLib, and yes the GOP has shot themselves in the foot. I don’t know if they shot themselves BEFORE or AFTER they kicked the can down the road.

AdLib : Poor Repubs, having to admit defeat again and again, this week, proposing to kick the deficit ceiling down the road a few months. This is what losers look like.

AdLib : Don’t forget to say “hi” or “The NRA shot themselves in the foot” when you arrive!

AdLib : Vox Populi, our live chat about the week’s events begins tonight at 7 pm PST. Hope to see you then!