Displaying 1,501 To 1,530 Of 19,504 Comments Friday Comedy Singalong: “I’m Proud to Be A Democrat” Wow, well done, Kes!!! Love it! » Posted By AdLib On October 16, 2015 @ 11:34 pm Cheers Beatlex! » Posted By AdLib On October 16, 2015 @ 11:28 pm Thanks so much, slm! » Posted By AdLib On October 16, 2015 @ 11:27 pm monicaangela, I think there can be multiple causes for some moderate Repubs voting Dem this upcoming year. The Repub Congress causing a shutdown or even a refusal to raise the debt ceiling and causing economic havoc. And if Trump was to win the primary? Many Repubs have told pollsters they would never vote for Trump. If it’s Carson, Fiorina or Cruz? Same thing. Repubs are promoting themselves as The Repugnant Party and I don’t think we’re going to see that change. There’s no place for most Indie voters…and moderate Repubs to go other than to the Dems. » Posted By AdLib On October 9, 2015 @ 2:19 pm Why not “both of the above”? I agree with you about the establishment GOP having sold their souls to the TP and paying the piper now but I also think they’re cowards. Look how fearful they are of standing up to that minority of TPers in The House and running for President. How about, unprincipled, scheming cowards? » Posted By AdLib On October 9, 2015 @ 1:26 pm Nirek, I did hear about that rumor and whether it was true or not, the Tea Party Slime Machine was behind it. It’s kind of amusing to see them using their dirty tricks against themselves! Paul Ryan may end up saying yes but I’d think he’s not suicidal enough to take the job of Speaker. So it should be real chaos as the Freedom Caucus, the Tea Partiers in The House, refuse to compromise and insist that the new Speaker do their bidding. Pop a lot of popcorn, this is going to be entertaining for some time to come! » Posted By AdLib On October 9, 2015 @ 9:59 am Kes, the following post from 2013 seems very timely: [img]https://planetpov.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Boehner-End-is-Near.jpg[/img] https://planetpov.com/2013/09/30/the-end-is-near-for-john-boehner-and-the-gop/ » Posted By AdLib On October 9, 2015 @ 9:49 am PPO, I don’t think there is anything resembling leadership left in the GOP, just many spineless cowards afraid of being primaried by the backers of the TP (The Kochs, Adelson, etc.). Kind of funny that the impact of Citizens United was to strip leaders in the GOP of any real power. Wonder if any will wise up and fight with Dems to get rid of CU? At least out od self-preservation…or preservation of their spines? » Posted By AdLib On October 8, 2015 @ 9:52 pm Hi Escribacat! My first response to hearing McCarthy was not going to be Speaker was a bit of concern but the more I thought about it, there was no way he wouldn’t go along with whatever the RW Tea Party wanted anyway. So the net difference between McCarthy and whoever the Speaker will be, is nothing. Except, as you say, if it is a loud and hostile character. But in that case, while such a person would excite the RW, it would alienate indie voters who strongly dislike that. I think it would be better for us and worse for the GOP to have a Speaker who was openly reflective of the horribleness of the GOP. What could be a better ongoing advertisement for voting Democrats into power? I say this with all seriousness, we are in store for a rough year, with extortion being the main tool of choice by the TP and the shutdown of government and refusal to raise the debt ceiling likely disasters they will cause. Unfortunately, there are too many Americans who are uninformed about how destructive today’s GOP is towards this country and because of that, we’re going to have to go through some tough times where Repubs prove their animosity towards most of the country. We’ll recover from it eventually, down the line and they will lose so much when this year is over. How voters could even consider electing a Republican President when they see what anarchists Republicans have become, would be hard to imagine. So if this sets up a more probable Dem Presidency (likely nominating SCOTUS judges), a Dem controlled Senate and a smaller Repub majority in the House, things will get better for everyone except Repubs. » Posted By AdLib On October 8, 2015 @ 9:49 pm monicaangela, it is indeed a case of their Frankenstein monster turning on them and destroying them. McCarthy was a big supporter of getting them elected and now? They crush him. I do find all of this very gratifying. Yes, we will likely see a government shutdown and even a refusal to raise the debt ceiling but those were likely to have happened anyway. At least now, it’s a full throated GOP that will push its leaders to damage the nation and when things go very bad, with the election on its way, I think we’ll see huge losses for the GOP all the way around. Not much sane people can do at this point anyway, might as well prepare for some bad times over the next year and look at the big picture of destruction of the GOP for satisfaction. » Posted By AdLib On October 8, 2015 @ 9:37 pm Kes, I think there were several here (including yours truly) who have seen this GOP Civil War coming, the elections since 2008 have all pointed to it and the ongoing cowardice of Establishment Repubs, including Boehner, when faced with the lunacy of the Tea Party Repubs. I doubt Boehner’s enjoying anything now, he looks stuck in the torture chair as Speaker so far and he’s wrestling with Paul Ryan to take his place. So much pressure on Ryan now sacrifice himself, being misled that he’ll bring the GOP together while the reality is he’ll only become Speaker to then have the Tea Party turn on him or force him to walk the plank with them. It’s a lose-lose for Ryan if he agrees and a lose-lose in any case for the GOP no matter who the Speaker ends up being. This may indeed be the day that marks the permanent or semi-permanent decline of the GOP to minority party status…but there’s an entertaining civil war that’s the engine of their destruction and will be in overdrive through this election season and far beyond! Who knows, maybe if the Estab Repubs wrestle control of the party back, the Tea Party will split off and start their own party, truly reducing the GOP to a minority party. » Posted By AdLib On October 8, 2015 @ 9:32 pm Ben Carson Proves “Dr.” Doesn’t Equal “Smart” Now that is a very interesting proposition, monicaangela. It certainly connects the dots well. The bottom line is, if the public wasn’t told that he was a brain surgeon and just heard what he said, they would think him a complete idiot. So the only argument for Carson being smart is that he is a brain surgeon. What my mother taught me many years ago about doctors is that, you never know whether they graduated at the top or very bottom of their class, they’re all equally called doctors. I can’t imagine, from everything I’ve heard him say, and I mean everything, that he could have been at the top of his class in anything…other than having unrelated physical skills. There are many athletes who have great physical talents but aren’t automatically granted “genius” status because of that. At the very least, Carson comes off as a “jock”-like doctor, he has the physical skills but is intellectually challenged. The good thing is that neither he nor Trump, while making ideal candidates for RW Republicans due to their shared ignorance, have the capacity to win a General Election for the Presidency. At this point, I would really welcome a Trump/Carson ticket representing the GOP! The Dems would have their biggest wins ever! » Posted By AdLib On October 9, 2015 @ 2:11 pm Beatlex, I think you nailed it! It is indeed the mindless and truth-free RW Christian Fundamentalists who are giving Carson his moment in the sun but once the field narrows, Carson’s ceiling will keep him from going too far. Just far enough to help brand the GOP as the party of idiots. » Posted By AdLib On October 8, 2015 @ 9:14 pm Hey Kes, maybe what drove Carson to becoming a brain surgeon was his quest to prove to himself that at least other people have brains? I haven’t been blown away by Trevor Noah on The Daily Show but he had a funny bit this week about Ben Carson talking and moving slowly, having a thing for brains…maybe he’s a zombie! I think Carson just doesn’t want to or else doesn’t have the intellectual capacity to understand things that don’t validate his small mind. Yes, I heard about that incident with Carson and I find it amusing. We all know he would cower and wet his pants if faced with a shooter, his cartoonish representation of what a superhero he would be in a mass shooting sounds like what a 5 year old would say, so childish and ridiculous. Just didn’t expect he would be so perfectly called out as a fraud by himself! » Posted By AdLib On October 8, 2015 @ 9:06 pm A Little Bit Of This, A Little Bit of That What a delicious buffet of opinions and issues you set out! Now knowing that The Pope wasn’t approving of the loon Kim Davis, I think he hit a home run in his visit, focusing on Climate Change, immigration, and compassion for the poor and vulnerable. Nothing speaks better for Christianity than those who genuinely practice it and on that count, The Pope was hugely successful. We know why the DNC has slashed the number of debates to 6 and delaying the first one until next week (adding a “forum” where they can individually appear but not debate), to aid Hillary by keeping the spotlight away from Bernie and the other Dem candidates. Even so, Bernie builds his lead and I think he will get a bounce from the first Dem debate next week since it will be an introduction to many Dems who don’t know much about him yet (thanks to the DNC’s scheme). As for Black Lives Matter, how can so many in this country still be so terrified of admitting the blatant racism practiced by police? They see it again and again on their tvs but their fear of losing their white supremacy validates their denial of reality. They don’t like that black people are speaking truth about the racism and violence against them…so they participate in supporting racism as “victims”. Poor older white Christians, no one has suffered like them. Except every minority out there that didn’t own slaves or benefit from just having the “right” skin color. Excellent post, keep ’em coming! » Posted By AdLib On October 9, 2015 @ 1:57 pm Republicans Light the Fuse to Blow Up the U.S. Economy…and Themselves KT, the sad but true thing is, the most effective way to deny Repubs the WH and take back the Senate and House from them is to let them have and abuse power. They need to have this dimwit McCarthy representing them and shutting down government over something the majority of Americans won’t support. Over 60% of Americans want Planned Parenthood to continue to be funded, the TPGOP only have 30% of the country (IOW, the Republican Party) agreeing with them, And when the shutdown lasts a long time and hurts even that 30%? The GOP will be on its knees in a Presidnetial election year. It’s not going to be great to go through this year but when it’s over and we have another Dem Pres, a Dem Senate and more Dems in The House…and a GOP torn apart and devastated, it will be worth it. » Posted By AdLib On October 1, 2015 @ 12:18 pm Beatlex, it is indeed a case of the creation turning on and destroying its master. As in Blade Runner (or the GOP version, “Blame Ruiners”): » Posted By AdLib On October 1, 2015 @ 12:04 pm Hey Kes! No, I don’t think any of these misogynists and bigots in the GOP have any idea how they’re seen by the majority of Americans. They’re in their echo chambers, with their fellow nutjobs Repub Congresspeople, their rabid constituencies and their pandering campaign contributors. They are probably very pleased with how they looked, clueless that the majority of Americans just saw them act as assholes and bullies who don’t care about truth or dignity or working for Americans, When this year is done, Congressional Repubs and those running for President will have imprinted the image of Repubs as hateful bigots who beat up on women, blacks, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, immigrants, refugees, victims of police violence, Muslims and non-Christians. They will have cemented their party as an enemy of our nation’s government and President, a destructive force to our economy, war mongers drooling at starting new wars, and a dysfunctional, mentally limited group that won’t and doesn’t want to represent or serve the best interests of the entire nation. After losing in 2016, might we see for real what we had hoped we saw in 2008, a genuine and long term fracturing of the GOP, leaving it as a minority party for years to come? » Posted By AdLib On October 1, 2015 @ 11:54 am PPO, it doesn’t sound so dissimilar in Austrailia as it is in the U.S.. Federal law makes abortion legal in all states but each state can impose all kinds of limitations and restrictions on women, doctors and clinics. The cowardly Repubs have used very dishonest laws in red states to pile on invasions of privacy on women and insulting requirements while claiming their nearly impossible to follow laws on clinics having to jump through outrageous hoops to operate is all about protecting women’s health. Disgusting. A pushback will come once enough women get pissed about abortion being virtually prevented through heavy handed regulations and humiliations and difficulties forced on women trying to get them. The likely government shutdown in December over Repub’s’ insistence to cut Planned Parenthood or else, will add more fuel to the fire for women and other opponents of the religious extremists trying to control women, this will be the biggest miscalculation and backfire…until the next foolish decision they make. RW Repubs only care about serving their lunatic fringe in their districts, they have no concept of big picture strategy. Good! Looking forward to Dems keeping the WH, taking back the Senate and making good gains in The House (could a hugely imploding GOP open the door just a crack to Dems taking back the House? It’s a long shot but not impossible!). » Posted By AdLib On October 1, 2015 @ 11:40 am Hi VegasBabe! Yep, this is actually history repeating itself for the GOP. In the 1980’s they pandered to and manipulated the Religious Right in the South to support their greed agenda by lying about their support for extremist religious positions and the Moral Majority ended up taking over their party and destroying it and themselves. Once again, the GOP pandered to this new version of the Moral Majority named The Tea Party and once again, the Frankenstein monster they built to battle against Obama and the Dems has turned on them and taken over their party. I think we’re in the last act of this play, as they again take over the party and leadership and destroy the GOP’s viability and themselves. The lesson is, sometimes the nutjobs have to be given power so that when they abuse it, they are shunned by the majority for many years to come. As for the Moyers/Warren video, great find! I think I saw that episode too! Two of my favorite people and Warren’s story about Hillary is so validating of who she really is. It’s not that Hillary is a bad person, she has principles as the first part of the story showed but she is also so self-centered that she will compromise whatever it takes to serve herself and her ambitions. That’s who she still is today and though I would vote for her if she is the Dem nominee to keep out a Republican President, I sure hope we end up with someone else. » Posted By AdLib On September 29, 2015 @ 4:11 pm Heh! Nice soundtrack pick, Nirek! I do think Boehner will not only be singing Country but also be singing the blues for a long time to come! » Posted By AdLib On September 29, 2015 @ 3:55 pm Cheers, monicaangela! I do think that the Repubs in The House will have no choice but to shut down government in December, just in time to destroy Christmas vacations and holiday income for federal workers and contractors. There’s nothing we can do to stop that so we have to be zen-like in our acceptance of it. The destruction to the GOP (and their Presidential candidates) from a shutdown will be substantial so in order for the ongoing destruction of the GOP to accelerate and the prospects of a Dem sweep in 2016 to be realized…as we progress towards shrinking the GOP into a permanent minority party (nationally), I suppose this has to happen. And maybe the horrible fallout from that will scare them off from refusing to raise the debt ceiling as well. Silver linings… » Posted By AdLib On September 29, 2015 @ 3:50 pm Fox News Balances Pope Coverage, Hires Satan For Commentary gyp46, your points are well taken about many religions rising from the mysteries of existence that scared those in the early days and their need to create myths that explained them. I would however just offer that there are many intellectual people, even scientists, who are religious. Look at the Pope, I don’t think there would be any disagreement that he is a pretty brilliant guy himself. The specific, fundamentalist view of any religion makes it a big target for dispute because if looked at literally, the entire literal text of a religion’s core document, most of which were written before the invent of science, doesn’t hold up today. For many who are religious in the modern day (those who aren’t RW Fundamentalist loons, that is), there is an acknowledgement of holy books containing a degree of symbolism, not everything in the Bible, Koran, Torah, etc. is a factual documentation of events but a history of their religion’s origin surrounded with allegory and metaphor to more strongly express the sentiment and philosophy of that religion. A number of scientists describe themselves as non-religious but don’t necessarily say they don’t believe in God. Then, on the other hand, are the small minded people who only see religion as a quest to validate and impose the literal text of their religion on the rest of the world…and view those who don’t think like them or belong to other religions as “the enemy”. » Posted By AdLib On September 25, 2015 @ 10:01 am monicaangela, it is now a familiar hypocrisy that those who most fervently describe themselves and their views as being “Christian” are usually least in line with Christianity. Instead of following the teachings of Jesus, they label their obsession with the angry and intolerant God of The Old Testament as the basis of their Christianity. You’d waste your breath explaining to them why it’s called “Christianity”, they’d be too busy claiming their faith is under attack and spitting as they espoused their hatreds for minorities, gays, immigrants, etc. Jesus’ words were all about love, peace, the sin of greed, compassion for the poor…these hard right “Christians” seem more ignorant about the person their religion is based on than those who aren’t Christian. I’ve quoted this before but it comes to mind again, Woody Allen’s quote about this from Hannah and Her Sisters, “If Jesus came back and saw what was being done in his name, he’d never stop throwing up.” If he did come back, I don’t think he would be literally crucified by RW “Christians” but they would swiftly crucify him figuratively, on Fox News, in Congress, on Rush Limbaugh, all of them would quickly label him a traitor to their “Christian” faith, a “leftist politician” (just as Gosar and others have with the Pope) and a socialist commie who wants to destroy America. These RW “Christians” are nothing of the kind, they don’t worship the tenets of Christianity, the actual beliefs and words of Jesus, they worship the concept of a superior white clan and domination of others. As the white majority is becoming history, of course they have become more angry. And of course they are more insistent on cementing their “religious” views into U.S. law and embedding them in our society to force the growing majority to be dominated by their clan because otherwise, there would be no way for their clan as a minority to assert its superiority and control. It’s no coincidence that the rise of the Tea Party happened when a black man became President, it was a symbol of the loss of white superiority that has been coming and continues. Of course they want to “take their country back” to a time when being white was enough to feel superior over others. They are losing that and that scares them and makes them angry that their entitlement to superiority is being taken away. Hence, the intolerance of others who are different and have different views and the maniacal need to dominate. How can it not be an embarrassment to the GOP to have one of their Congresspeople snidely attack and insult the Pope? And have Jebby and other Presidential candidates of theirs tell the public to ignore the Pope on issues like Climate Change because “he’s not a scientist” (and he is a scientist, he has a degree in Chemistry…but aside from that, aren’t they also inferring that he’s deluded, stupid or ignorant and they, who aren’t scientists, should instead be listened to as superior in intellect to the Pope?) Now with Boehner quitting, the GOP may put a brighter spotlight on what ignoramuses and haters they really are which will hopefully make the 2016 election a bigger landslide for Dems. » Posted By AdLib On September 25, 2015 @ 9:11 am Thanks Fergie! As a result of his disrespectful action, Gosar the Gosarian was ordered back into his parallel dimension by an official government representative:
» Posted By AdLib On September 25, 2015 @ 8:40 am fjb, good point! They are indeed an equal opportunity hate group, they hate everyone! The troubling thing is trying to figure out if Gosar is a Klan fan or so hateful of “liberals” (i.e. “compassion for other human beings”) that he can’t even control himself from hating even the Pope when his hatred isn’t affirmed. Let’s see if he runs on an anti-Pope platform and wins in AZ. » Posted By AdLib On September 24, 2015 @ 2:06 pm UPDATE: Inundated with news and praise of Pope Francis’ words about showing compassion and acceptance towards all immigrants, Donald Trump was filmed spontaneously melting and howling, “I’m melting! Melting! Oh, what a world! What a world!” The gooey mess that Trump was reduced to was quickly and joyfully mopped up by an undocumented immigrant, whistling the tune, “Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead”. » Posted By AdLib On September 24, 2015 @ 12:58 pm Hey Daedalus, great to see you and welcome back! Thanks so much! That’s an interesting idea, hadn’t thought about it! Cheers! » Posted By AdLib On September 24, 2015 @ 12:45 pm KT – Great piece! This is such a core issue of equality in this country and one that people miss the big picture on. By feeding this prison corporations all the prisoners they can eat so they can get wealthier, society becomes poorer. A couple of quick stats: 1. While people of color make up about 30 percent of the United States’ population, they account for 60 percent of those imprisoned. The prison population grew by 700 percent from 1970 to 2005, a rate that is outpacing crime and population rates. The incarceration rates disproportionately impact men of color: 1 in every 15 African American men and 1 in every 36 Hispanic men are incarcerated in comparison to 1 in every 106 white men. 2. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one in three black men can expect to go to prison in their lifetime. 5. African American youth have higher rates of juvenile incarceration and are more likely to be sentenced to adult prison. There are more facts in the article linked above that should make any fair minded American very upset. The Prison Industrial Complex has created and is sustaining as racist and destructive system that benefits them. They use their ill gotten gain to buy up legislators to pass or protect racially oppressive sentencing laws. And those laws, with the help of racially biased policing and prosecution, take the futures away from many young people who are minorities and may have made some mistakes but not ones that should consign their lives to prison and greater crimes. Prisons are criminal factories. In the old days, there was a concept about prisons rehabilitating prisoners so that when they eventually got out, they could be productive citizens. That was of course seen as too liberal and “coddling” because, as our RW friends make clear, prison is all about wreaking harsh vengeance even on non-violent offenders. Recidivism is at a very high level for convicts, it only makes sense that when they get out of prison with no more abilities (aside from criminal ones) than they had when they entered prison, what else are many going to do to get money than turn to crime? And all those young black men whose lives are forever poisoned by that first stay in prison over a non-violent drug offense (that white people are far less likely to serve time for), how does having a criminal record and being hardened by prison prepare them to contribute positively to society when they get out? The Prison Industrial Complex is quite happy perpetuating a revolving door for prison since it assures them of ongoing wealth. And that wealth is spent freely on buying politicians and legislatures to keep racist and unfair sentencing laws in place. As with health care, the criminal justice system should not be for-profit because that in itself injects the element of greed that corrupts the purpose of that system. One can hope that efforts to de-privatize prisons will eventually succeed » Posted By AdLib On September 24, 2015 @ 12:14 pm Weekend Music Thread – All Around the World Thanks for the heads up! Fixed! » Posted By AdLib On September 20, 2015 @ 12:58 amComments Posted By AdLib
From the perspective of a strictly scientific observer, when one contemplates the hard-to-conceive concepts of The Big Bang and the creation of the universe, what was there before the universe was created and where did the material come from to create The Big Bang if the universe didn’t exist yet, the universe is infinite but it’s expanding (and what is in the space where the universe hasn’t expanded to yet?), such mind boggling mysteries do inspire one to leave the door open at least a crack to there being something bigger going on in the universe than we can imagine (not to mention all the amazing complexities of life and evolution, quantum mechanics, laws of physics and nature, etc.). What could be the answer? We’ll never know for sure…so the mysteries surrounding our existence is understandably inspiring to both those who follow a religion and those who don’t.
as the abuse and corruption continues to be exposed.
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