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News for Tax Resisters in the U.S.
NWTRCC (the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee) is holding its Fall, 2013 gathering in New York City from November first through third .
PBS NewsHour did a special report on the BerkShares variety of alternative currency that has been used in Berkshire County, Massachusetts since 2006 .
Robert Fernandes of Forks Township, Pennsylvania, paid his $7,143 in property taxes with 7,143 dollar bills, as a way of making a protest against paying for public schools that his children don't attend. "We don't even use the public system, yet I am being forced to pay all this money into a public scool system. I don't think that's really either fair or just or even ethical. It would be the equivalent if McDonald's were to force vegetarians to pay for their cheeseburgers." Friends of Fernandes videotaped the action and put it on-line. "I wanted to create a visual," said Fernandez, as a way to help taxpayers "see exactly how much taxes is being stolen from them."
The percentage of households in the U.S. who are among the "lucky duckies" who pay no federal income tax is beginning to recede slightly. But Howard Gleckman, at the Forbes blog, wonders if we've been overcounting ducks this whole time. There are a surprising number (millions) of people in the U.S. who fail to file income tax returns even though they have had taxes deducted from their meager wages all year and are probably due refunds. Because they don't file returns, they are usually categorized as non-paying "lucky duckies" — but because they have had taxes withheld from their paychecks, they really don't belong in that category.
Voters in Colorado decided to finally legalize recreational marijuana use. But the prohibitionists are fighting back by trying to enact a prohibitive tax on marijuana that would effectively recriminalize it — forcing it back into the black market and erasing many of the benefits of legalization. Legalization promoters there responded with a free marijuana give-away program in Denver (some coverage here, here, here, and here).
I missed this when it first came out in April, but here is Michael Izbicki's note on "Why (and how) I'm refusing to pay war taxes."
Here's yet another "suspicious white powder" incident at an IRS facility.
Thanks to NWTRCC's War Tax Talk blog for linking to my discussion of the varieties of tax resister in the American war tax resistance movement.
How you can resist funding the government → a survey of tactics of historical tax resistance campaigns → issue bomb threats, send disturbing packages → see also
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A free MP3-lecture about war tax resistance, some I.R.S. monkeywrenching, the results of a survey about taxpayer attitudes, and Time Management for Anarchists: The Movie.
An on-line game currency crosses over into Chinese meatspace. Also: the Vermont Republic and the Free State of New Hampshire vie for first state out of the Union honors. And: another "mysterious powder in envelope shuts down I.R.S. processing center" story.
I got another letter from the I.R.S. today asking for that money I refused to give them last April. Also: another "mysterious white powder" incident shuts down an I.R.S. mailroom.
Anti-war actions in the San Francisco area to commemorate the beginning of the seventh year of the Iraq War. Also: collecting rainwater that falls on your own roof may be illegal, an envelope of suspicious powder shuts down an I.R.S. mailroom, the Peace Tax Seven suffer a legal setback, and refuting "the free rider fallacy."
Not all tax resistance is nonviolent. There are also plenty of examples in which people have taken up arms against the taxing authority, have violently destroyed the apparatus of tax collecting, or have used threats of violence to intimidate or inhibit tax collectors.
NWTRCC's Ed Hedemann talks about war tax resistance and redirection on GRITtv with Laura Flanders. Also: the joy of teabagging your Congressional representatives. And: tax preparation tips from The Onion.
"The Sufferings of many, for Refuſing to pay the wicked Exactions of the Ceſs, Locality, Fynes &c. Vindicated." Also: details and registration info about the upcoming NWTRCC national conference. And: A C.I.A. torture manual excerpt. Also: more details about the grow-your-own tobacco movement. And: lets say you get caught mailing fake anthrax to the I.R.S. how much time are you gonna do for that?
Thoreau writes to Emerson about the peace movement of his day. Also: an envelope full of foot powder, sent to an I.R.S. processing facility from a prison zip code, evacuates the building for the afternoon. And: The Nicomachean Ethics shows the seams from where it has been stitched together from older sources.
A populist movement to get people to move their money out of banks and into credit unions has tax resistance implications. Also: I.R.S. workers discover they are very unpopular, cannot show their faces in polite society, and have to be paranoid of every envelope they open.
Maybe it was the British cops painting swastikas on their helmets and marching through Tel Aviv shouting "Heil Hitler," but many Jews decided they would rather not pay taxes to the British administration of Palestine. Decades later, the Palestinians feel much the same about the new boss.
Arnold Cuba, an undergrad at the University of Texas, started resisting the federal telephone service excise tax during the Vietnam War, and in 1972 had his VW seized by the I.R.S. to be auctioned off to cover $2.44 in resisted taxes. Also: the greatest value of Wikileaks may be measured not in any specific piece of leaked information, but in the disproportionate damage that leakage in general induces unjust, secretive conspiracies to inflict upon themselves.
A new edition of NWTRCC's newsletter is on-line. Also: bars in Lansing, Michigan fight back against a smoking ban with a tax resistance campaign; a profile of resister Martha Graber; and more "suspicious packages" force evacuations at I.R.S. processing centers.
Every tax day, Steve Magin visits the I.R.S. offering to pay his taxes in full if they'll assure him that none of the money will go to pay for war and armaments. Also: a "suspicious powder" incident shuts down the I.R.S. office in Ogden, Utah. And: tobacco smuggling is skyrocketing along with tax rates (who saw that coming?) Also: another dispatch from the liquor tax showdown in Cincinnati in 1884.
Tax resistance in occupied Mexican Texas in 1877. Also: Cindy Sheehan on "frivolous" conscientious objection, more background on the Greek tax rebellion, and Indian farmers using the power of poisonous snakes against a corrupt tax office.
The next NWTRCC national gathering will be in Chicago this May, coinciding with the NATO/G8 summit protests. Also: some facts and graphs about the 2012 U.S. military budget. And: the National Prison Divestment Campaign wants you to make sure your money isn't invested in mass imprisonment. Also: the I.R.S. gets a turd in the mail.
An update on Vickie Aldrich's "frivolous filing" case. Also: council tax rebels in Britain, including a group that stormed a tax bankruptcy trial and tried to arrest the judge. And: the I.R.S. facilitates the tax fraud industry by promiscuously distributing taxpayer ID numbers. Also: another "I.R.S. building evacuated due to suspicious package" story.
Reading between the statistical lines to infer a growing underground economy; Congress continues to demonize the I.R.S. for us; that agency is so afraid of bomb threats that it looks suspiciously even on boxes of tax forms; Cypriots are the latest to resist austerity taxes; and A.J. Muste loses a court case asserting constitutional protection for conscientious objection to military taxation in 1961.
While I was busy going through Friends Journal back issues, I didn't attend much to American tax resistance news in the here-and-now, so I'll try to give a recap today of some of the interesting items that caught my notice over the last couple of months.
An upcoming google hangout explores how to continue to resist war after the anti-war rally ends. Also: frugal living in the service of philanthropy, more evidence the I.R.S. is falling down on the enforcement job, the tax trouble of bitcoin, and another suspicious package evacuates an I.R.S. building.
Scotland officially throws in the towel and won't try to collect Thatcher's Poll Tax from people who refused to pay back in 1989. French tax officials are frightened out of their wits by taxpayer animosity. Greek resistance to the enfia tax grows. And: another "suspicious white powder" incident at an I.R.S. office.
Direct action convicts refuse to pay their fine, results of a tax day "penny poll," an I.R.S. building threatened by mad Squirrel, and one man's struggle against a "bachelor tax."
Today, a series of tax resistance news briefs and links about campaigns and campaigners all around the world, refusing taxes in the service of a variety of causes.
Participants in the 1963 Birmingham Campaign signed a pledge committing them to a daily, constant practice of nonviolent discipline, which was designed to help them transform more than just local public transit. Also: more links of interest, and an Education Act tax resister is released from jail in 1905.
The Guardian gives anti-Trump tax resisters some publicity. Americans are giving up their citizenship in record numbers. Trump's border wall is just the latest step in the militarization of the border. Another mysterious-white-powder scare shuts an I.R.S. office. And: say, isn't there a general strike today?
The I.R.S. made fewer property seizures, served fewer levies, and filed fewer liens last year than the year before, continuing a recent trend. Also: another example of a suspicious envelope of white powder causing the evacuation of an I.R.S. building.
More Thoreau bicentennial notes, including a surprising number in the German press. Also: forty businesses in Italy unite in a tax strike. Another report from the C.P.T.I. gathering. And some advice on keeping your fingers out of I.R.S. bomb threat plots.
A radical paper covers the jailing of Dr. Arthur Evans for contempt of court during the government's confrontation with his war tax resistance in 1963. Also: another "suspicious package" arrives at an I.R.S. mail room. And: A dramatic increase in the number of Americans failing to pay their quarterly estimated taxes.
Tax resistance news from Samoa, Greece, the United States, Brittany, Saudi Arabia, France, Italy, Zambia, India, Nicaragua, Uganda, and Valencia.
A documentary about war tax resister Larry Bassett, more news of I.R.S. failures, women take over the American military-industrial complex, speed camera destruction proceeds internationally, and more recent news of interest to tax resisters.
The Mennonite Church U.S.A. starts a redirection fund for churchmembers who are war tax reisters. An international conference on war tax resistance is upcoming in Edinburgh. The human war on traffic ticket robots continues. Facebook bans ads that discourage voting. Expatriate Americans consider renouncing citizenship to avoid tax burdens. Businesses in Pakistan go on strike over sales tax hike. And: mystery substance leads hazmat team to shut down Kansas City I.R.S. building.
A review of "Standing Up to the Madness" by Amy Goodman and David Goodman. Also: states issuing I.O.U.s instead of tax refunds (and making taxpayers angry), a prisoner serving a life sentence successfully files for millions of dollars in federal tax refunds (and the feds decline to prosecute!), a taxpayer pays his whole bill in coins, the agrarian tax revolt buzz in Argentina, a 35-year-old service gift economy, a water tax strike in Northern Ireland, and a way to make a buck or two from unused storage space in your home.
How you can resist funding the government → a survey of tactics of historical tax resistance campaigns → switch to alternative currencies → see also
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"Congratulations, you have defeated the ice dragon. You open the large wooden chest and find one million gold pieces, of which 35% will be withheld and given to the I.R.S." Could this be the future of on-line gaming?
A look at the underground economy in Chicago's South Side. Also: artists create a complementary currency. And: a libertarian conference on nonviolent resistance.
Tax resisters fight same-sex marriage discrimination, a reality show targets ordinary police corruption, Wendy McElroy chronicles a year of frugality, I.R.S. Offers in Compromise might be worse than nothing, Kristen McKee resolves to take command of her taxes, Francois Tremblay pulls aside the curtain of political power, and Milwaukee introduces a community currency.
Tax resistance on Facebook, U.S. leads the world in arms exports, the coming expansion of the U.S military, the celebrity endorsement of the guy who threw his shoe at Dubya, a disturbing new look at "Deep Throat", the rise of the informal economy, alternative currencies in Argentina, and the five developmental stages on the way to a life of Active Peace.
I'm being very urban homesteader, Francois Tremblay is examining taxpayer complicity, Steven Schallert is exploring war tax resistance, Murray Rothbard writes about nonviolent resistance and the insights of Étienne de La Boétie, Carl Watner reexamines the Whiskey Rebellion, two Cato Institute scholars worry that we might be the U.S. military's next target, the Church of the Brethren remembers war tax resisters Phil & Louise Rieman, the Taxpayer Advocate says it costs Americans $200 billion just to do their taxes (not including what it costs to pay them), the local paper notices that it's way way cheaper to take the bus than to drive, alternative currencies enjoy some limelight, Europeans reject military spending, but the U.S. spends upwards of $50 billion a year just on its nuclear weapons program. Whew.
Arrests, pepper spray, and more tension than typical at the Tax Day anti-war protest at the I.R.S. office in Rochester, New York. Also: a tax professor weighs in on the ambiguous tax law surrounding alternative currencies.
Election didn't work out they way you liked? Try some non-political strategies. Also: Bill McKibben on alternative currencies. And: suffragists use the scissors of two contradictory laws on married women's property to slice the government's tax enforcement mechanism to ribbons in 1911.
More news from the anti-austerity tax resistance campaigns sweeping Europe. The Greek government says it has lost €17 million just to the road toll resisters so far. Meanwhile an underground economy and alternative currency are making the Greek economy less taxable. And the soldiers marching in the Greek independence day parade had to be protected from spectators by lines of riot cops.
Manners as a libertarian-friendly spontaneous order, Wendy McElroy on frugality, libertarians squabbling over symbolic elements of ideological tribal belonging, and alternative currencies in the Eurozone.
Tax resistance by Catalan separatists and by Italy's Northern league, household tax resisters in Ireland and a council tax resister in England, the story of the Bardoli satyagraha, the I.R.S. seizes a bit of Cindy Sheehan's rent money, an American alternative currency martyr is profiled, and I.R.S. employees seem to be in a rush to get delinquent accounts off their desks. Also: a few more glimpses at the tax strike of Beit Sahour during the first intifada in 1989.
Tax strikes break out in Ethiopia and India. New technologies and employment trends may make it harder for governments to reliably tax people. India's abrupt removal of high-denomination currency seems to have helped its assault on the underground economy. And philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah argues against the tactic of tax resistance.
Switch to bitcoin to defund the war machine? Also: tax resistance news from Nicaragua, Indonesia, New Zealand, France, and Germany. And: the I.R.S. is redesigning its W-4 form, auditing much fewer wealthy people, and sometimes finding itself frustrated by bankrupt tax scofflaws.
How you can resist funding the government → the tax resistance movement → conferences & gatherings → Fall 2013 NWTRCC national in New York City
A short video about the successful Dublin water charge strike of the 1990s, some pictures from this month's NWTRCC national gathering in New York City, and "Your Faith, Your Finance" tries to promote responsible economic stewardship among Christians in the U.K. — which includes some examination of their tax responsibility.
The Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council released its annual report today, confirming that recent I.R.S. budget slashing "undermines the voluntary tax system, reduces government revenues, and promotes the underground economy." Also: some news starts to trickle out from the NWTRCC national gathering earlier this month.
How you can resist funding the government → other ways the government is funded → excise taxes → marijuana tax
How you can resist funding the government → about the IRS and U.S. tax law/policy → how is tax law/policy/administration changing? → "Lucky Duckies"
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If only the richest 59% of Americans are paying federal income tax, the U.S. tax system must be absurdly unbalanced and unfair to the rich, right? Not. Also: A Republican senator looks at the mess in Iraq, does a quick 180 turn, and says maybe it IS time for a military draft after all.
The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee is holding its National Strategy Conference in Brooklyn next month. Also: the Tax Foundation says only 40% of income in the U.S. is being taxed, Democrats notice the anti-pork high road is unoccupied, and "Americus" sees his colors starting to run.
More proposals from Dubya's tax panel, and some are worth keeping an eye on. And the Tax Foundation continues to get all Chicken Little about Lucky Ducky.
The Tax Foundation crunches the numbers on the 40% of Americans who live under the income tax line. And another bell tolls for the excise tax on long-distance phone service.
The Tax Foundation says that 60% of Americans take more from the government in benefits than they give to it in taxes. And if you believe that, here's a list of other absurd things you might believe.
I seem to have struck a nerve with my criticism of the recent Tax Foundation study on the redistributive effects of government tax and spending policy.
Can self-employed people avoid self-employment tax by paying themselves in dividends rather than in salary? It appears so. Also: the I.R.S. deceives a disabled veteran into signing his rights away. And: The Tax Foundation ignores its own advice and tells us our "Tax Freedom Day" this year will come on April 30.
The I.R.S. reveals that a third of those Americans who filed tax returns in 2006 owed no federal income tax at all during the previous year. Also: a timeline of the pundits and politicians who have been sharing that light at the end of the tunnel hallucination for the last four years.
The preliminary numbers are out for the 2006 tax year, and once again about a third of American households who filed their taxes paid no federal income tax at all that year. Also: The anti-war coalition group United for Peace & Justice encourages its members to "to nonviolently take matters into our own hands and encourage taxpayers to directly refuse to pay for the war." And: More on Daniel Jenkins's campaign for legal conscientious objection to military taxation. Also: How a frugalista philosophy allows you to work for your priorities instead of Uncle Sam's. And: Sure enough, the I.R.S.'s private debt collection outsourcing program has been an expensive boondoggle.
Dana Visalli shares his experiences with tax resistance and I.R.S. enforcement efforts. Also: a look at which households will be paying no federal income tax this year.
Right now about a third of American households don't pay any federal income tax at all. How would this change if Obama's or McCain's current tax plans were enacted?
The percentage of Americans who will be "lucky duckies" is likely to jump this year. A projected 43.4% of non-dependent Americans will owe no federal income tax at all.
The numbers are out on Lucky Duckies in tax year 2007. Also: actor Craig T. Nelson, a guest on Glenn Beck's Fox News show, talks up tax resistance among the sick-and-tired conservative set.
An update on the number of "lucky duckies" who pay no federal income tax — this year it's projected to be fully 46.9% of American households. Also: Pablo San José publishes a rejoinder to Ricardo Rodríguez's critique of tax resistance in Rebelión.
The numbers are out on Lucky Duckies in tax year 2008: more than a third of tax-filing households paid no federal income tax that year (and 2009 promises to be even better). Also: mothers resist a ridiculous baby carriage tax in Paris in 1913.
The number and percentage of "lucky duckies" who file tax returns showing that they owed no federal income tax all year jumped to nearly 42% in 2009, according to statistics released recently by the I.R.S. Also: "tax day" newspaper articles from years past cover the war tax resistance of Ed Hedemann, Jack O'Malley, Ralph Dull, Rita Snyder, Kathy Levine, Donald Ealy, Bill Ramsey, Jenny Truax, Rebekah Hassler, Tom & Suzanne Makarewicz, and Mary Loehr.
Forbes tax blogger Peter J. Reilly gets inspired to write up his thoughts on war tax resistance. Also: the Tax Policy Center forecasts how the ranks of "lucky duckies" (American households that pay no federal income tax) will swell or shrink in the coming years under different policies.
More and more Americans do not have to pay any federal income tax. You might think this would warm the cockles of the tiny hearts of the folks at the Heritage Foundation, but you'd be wrong. Also: Congress is thinking up some new ways to crack down on people behind on their taxes.
More than 40% of American households paid no federal income tax on any of the income they earned in 2010. Also: updates on current tax resistance movements in Greece and Ireland. And: the I.R.S. drags its heels on giving any payouts to informers who have ratted out their tax evading neighbors and employers.
Frida Berrigan writes up her impressions of the Tax Day protests in New York City. Also: as the baby boomers swell the ranks of the retired, the ranks of non-taxpaying "lucky duckies" will rise as well.
News on the next NWTRCC national gathering, and some reports from the last one. Also: Fyke Farmer refused to pay for the "illegal" Korean War in 1953. And: it looks like most American households get more money from the government than they pay in taxes (even if you don't count government employees or those who profit from government contracts).
Diverse tactics and grassroots organizing were key to the success of the poll tax resistance movement in the United Kingdom twenty-some years ago.
The latest I.R.S. statistics show how many million income tax filers were "lucky duckies" who paid no income tax in 2011. Also: do I really have to write something about this "sequester"? And, Jack Payden-Travers leads a war tax resistance workshop at the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.
There's a "Google Hangout" about war tax resistance coming up next week. Also: the numbers have just come out about how many tax filers in 2012 were "lucky duckies" who owed no income taxes all year.
The I.R.S. has released a new set of statistics that allow us to estimate how many "lucky duckies" in the U.S. filed tax returns showing that they did not owe any federal income taxes for all of 2013.
The I.R.S. releases preliminary 2014 tax year numbers that show, among other things, how many "lucky duckies" filed tax returns showing that they owed no federal income tax all year.
The new tax law may weaken the government financially and shield more people from the income tax. One thing it doesn't do is simplify tax filing. And for a low-income tax resister like myself, it doesn't make much of a difference.
The new tax law means most American employees need to fill out new W-4 forms soon, which is an opportunity to #resist. Also: the number of "lucky duckies" who owe no federal income tax is expected to rise. And: the government continues to be unexpectedly frustrated in its attempts to win prosecutions against anti-government protesters.
The latest tax evasion scoops, more about the continuing collapse of the U.S. government, I.R.S follies, and other miscellaneous news of interest to tax resisters.
Aristotle describes the minimal set of departments necessary to a well-functioning polis. And he notes the difficulty in maintaining a police force that isn't as harmful to the polis as those malefactors it is set up to combat. Also: the IRS released another set of tax filing statistics.
Miscellaneous tax resisters → individual war tax resisters → Michael Izbicki


When New Yorker Kenneth Watson agreed to advise small business owners in El Salvador for the Bpeace Fast Runners program, he never could have guessed it would involve actual running—six arduous miles' worth. But that wasn't the only surprise.
At the urging of a trusted friend, and with the support of the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Ken took on a week-long Traveling Mentor assignment with Bpeace, mentoring two very different Salvadoran companies—a fertilizer manufacturer and a digital advertising agency.
Ken's New York-area firm works with small and midsize companies on digital growth strategies, so he was able to advise Salvadoran advertising agency Plan B on how to move its interactive digital reach into Nicaragua and neighboring countries. He also helped them improve internal operating procedures to enable greater productivity.
Ken also guided fertilizer producer NR Consa through redesigning its website to sell its customized products globally, especially in the U.S. and South America.
One day, NR Consa's CEO invited Ken on an evening run with her friends. Ken, who runs the treadmill in his hotel, thought it sounded like fun. What he didn't know at the time was that CEO Margherita is an Iron Woman competitor who also runs in track meets, rides bicycles, jumps out of airplanes, parasails, rides horses and swims.
Still, Ken calls his run one of the highlights of a trip that also included invitations to dinner with families and a weekend beach getaway. "I met everyone's kids, their spouses, the whole bit," he says.
Kenneth Watson consults with small and midsize companies on how to use digital strategies to grow their businesses. He is also a freelance photographer in Westchester County, just north of New York City.


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Q: How many parallel process can I run? I have a corei7 processor with 8 logical processors.
I'm trying to run a parallel task in dotnet core 2.2 using parallel.For.
when I measure start time there are 9 tasks started in parallel.
Isn't it suppose to be just 8?
below you can see :
i => [ThreadId],[ProcessorNumber] == starttime - endtime

Parallel tasks result

A: You can run however many tasks in parallel that you want, but the processor only has 8 logical cores to process 8 threads simultaneously. The rest will always queue up and wait their turn.
So if you have 16 parallel processes, which each take 200ms to run, then you will run process 1-8 in parallel for 200ms, then 9-16 in parallel for 200ms, totalling at 400ms. If you had 4 logical cores, you would run process 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-16 in parallel, totalling in at 800ms.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Compelling, poignant, enlightening stories from former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell about growing up in Maine, his years in the Senate, working to bring peace to Northern Ireland and the Middle East, and what he's learned about the art of negotiation during every stage of his life.
It's a classic story of the American Dream. George Mitchell grew up in a working class family in Maine, experiencing firsthand the demoralizing effects of unemployment when his father was laid off from a lifelong job. But education was always a household priority, and Mitchell embraced every opportunity that came his way, eventually becoming the ranking Democrat in the Senate during the administrations of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
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Session B-1 Border-crossing and Ethnicity, East Asian Anthropological Association 2013 'Cultural Realms and Boundaries Crossing,' Xiamen University, People's Republic of China, November 15th 2013.
Panel 22 Mobility Makes the Heart Grow Fonder?: Migration, Repatriation, and Border Crossing Phenomena in Eurasia, Association for Borderlands Studies Annual Conference 2013 at Western Social Science Association 55th Annual Conference, Grand Hyatt, Denver, Colorado, USA, April 12th 2013.


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Rich Lowry reminds the Meet the Press audience of the lessons of Ferguson.
"Don't rob a convenience store. Don't fight with a policeman when he stops you and try to take his gun. And when he yells at you to stop, just stop."
Swimming in a sea of racism
The Ferguson verdict brings a new theory on race relations - white people can't see they are racist.
They'd agree with protesting the verdict, except they don't understand how upset blacks can be about feeling targeted.
Maybe there's misunderstanding, and it's not on the white side.
Maybe it's right to trust the police.
They are trying their best to do their job in a color-blind fashion - looking at the lawbreaking and not the lawbreaker.
If you ignore lawbreaking and focus on race instead, it's not going to be understood by someone hoping to be kept safe.
Maybe liberals are swimming in a sea of denial - ignoring the logical reasons for whites to support the Ferguson police department and their colleagues across the country.
Ready to lose
Blue Virginia wants answers before jumping on the Hillary Clinton bandwagon.
In one area, 2016 will be worse than 2008.
In 2007-2008, for a long time it was basically, "I'm the inevitable nominee, resistance is futile." Obviously, that didn't cut it last time around, and it seems even less appropriate this time around.
At least in 2008, there was some competition for Hillary.
Who can step up now?
Bueller? Bueller?
I hear crickets.
Hillary's terrible, and she's the best Democrats have in 2016.
Which is why Republicans are looking forward to the next two years.
The greatest Christmas movie ever
Al Gore's invention of the internet has one major success - Grumpy Cat.
Who is starring on a Lifetime TV movie Saturday.
It's part Home Alone.
Part Paul Blart, Mall Cop.
Multiple parts snark.
If you miss it Saturday, I'm sure Lifetime will show it plenty more times the next few weeks.
Watch out for Smoke from a Distant fire.
It's highly likely that I will be taking the day off from Facebook tomorrow, so I'll take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving. I'm blessed by all of you, and grateful for the island of relative sanity I find here. Y'all rock!
You can't teach height
A friend posted this inside college baseball recruiting story.
The dad wants to know why a coach isn't impressed with his 5'10" right-handed pitching son.
Look at your college and major league rosters.
Right-handed pitchers there usually have more height.
It might be unfair, but the same thing works in basketball and football.
You can call back when you grow.
But you can't teach height.
Hail to the Thin-skinned
The Redskins can't even wish the world Happy Thanksgiving without making some people upset.
Are the Redskins being offensive?
Or the easily offended just being themselves?
Black mark on black Friday
Ricohet gets the real message of the anti-Black Friday crowd.
The average Black Friday shopper isn't throwing punches or trampling the infirm. A big chunk of today's activity won't even be for gifts, but rather clothes, bedding and appliances for which families can't pay full retail. And most lower-income folks waiting all night for that PlayStation aren't doing it because they're greedy. It's because they want to put a smile on the face of their child and possibly assuage the guilt that they couldn't afford one before today.
And illuminates the disdain some have for those joining the shopping deal.
Retail stampedes are not my idea of fun. I start Christmas shopping early in the year buying mostly from vacation destinations.
How many Black Friday shoppers at K-Mart or Wal-Mart take a vacation, let alone have multiple destinations?
Another first Thanksgiving
In the first year of the first term of the first president, George Washington proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving.
We can be thankful for his words in that first proclamation.
Listen up, don't lie
BearingArms looks at the evidence of self defense for officer Wilson.
The forensic evidence collected at the scene includes blood droplet spatter that suggests Michael Brown did in fact turn and then advance upon Officer Wilson. Evidence collected inside the car, on Wilson's gun, from his uniform, and from Michael Brown's body in three separate autopsies are consistent with the claim that Brown was shot in the hand in the struggle over the weapon. Multiple eyewitnesses confirmed the physical evidence that Michael Brown was advancing upon Officer Wilson when he was shot and killed. While there may not be such thing as a "textbook" shooting, every single shot fired by Officer Wilson, from the first attempt inside the Tahoe until the final shot into the apex of a charging Brown's head, was entirely justified as a matter of self-defense.
This year's Thanksgiving sports menu includes healthy portions of Egg and Iron.
The battle for the SEC West title concludes Saturday with the Egg Bowl between Mississippi and Mississippi State at 3:30 p.m. on CBS, and top-ranked Alabama battles Auburn in the Iron Bowl on ESPN at 7:45 p.m.
Alabama or Mississippi State will claim the title by the end of the day. Auburn and Mississippi dropped from the top in November, but will celebrate knocking their fiercest rival off. The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs might both make the four-team playoff in January with wins.
It's a Maroon and Orange Friday in Blacksburg this year, with the Hokies and Cavaliers playing at 8 p.m. on ESPN. The winner between the 5-6 squads becomes bowl eligible.
ABC has a pair of Friday contests, with Nebraska taking on Iowa at noon before Stanford plays UCLA at 3:30 p.m.
Arkansas travels to Missouri on CBS at 2:30 p.m. and Fox shows the battle between Arizona State and Arizona at 3:30 p.m.
Undefeated Marshall hosts Western Kentucky on FoxSports1 at 12:30 p.m. while South Florida and Central Florida meet on ESPN2 at noon.
Notre Dame heads to Southern Cal on Fox Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
It's time for the Bayou Classic on NBC, with Grambling taking on Southern at 2:30 p.m.
ABC has a trio of games, starting at noon with Ohio State-Michigan. Penn State faces Michigan State and Baylor plays Texas Tech at 3:30 p.m., with the game not seen over-the-air in your area on ESPN2. Oregon's battle with Oregon State caps the day at 8 p.m.
ESPN starts its day at noon with South Carolina-Clemson. Florida State tries to stay unbeaten at 3:30 p.m. against Florida.
Louisville meets Kentucky at noon on ESPN2. Pittsburgh takes on Miami at 7 p.m., with Utah State facing Boise State in the nightcap at 10:15 p.m.
West Virginia battles Iowa State on FoxSports1 at noon, followed by Kansas-Kansas State at 4 p.m. and the Apple Cup between Washington and Washington State at 10 p.m.
The ACC network features North Carolina and North Carolina State at 12:30 p.m.
Boston College takes on Syracuse on Comcast at 12:30 p.m. and MASN2 brings Texas-San Antonio against North Texas at noon.
The NFL's Thanksgiving menu features a trio of NFC divisional matchups. Start your day in Detroit as usual, with the Bears visiting the Lions at 12:30 p.m. on CBS. The Cowboys host the Eagles at 4:30 p.m. before NBC carries the NFC West matchup between the Seahawks and 49ers at 8:30 p.m.
The Ravens host San Diego Sunday at 1 p.m. on CBS, followed by the Patriots heading to Lambeau Field. The Redskins travel to Indianapolis on Fox at 1 p.m.
Denver heads to Kansas City on NBC Sunday night, and the Dolphins battle the Jets on ESPN Monday night.
North of the border, Hamilton clashes with Calgary for the Grey Cup at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Virginia spends Thanksgiving weekend in New York, meeting LaSalle Friday at 9:30 p.m. on NBC Sports network at the Barclay Center Classic. Rutgers faces Vanderbilt at 7 p.m., with the consolation game Saturday at 7 p.m. and championship at 9:30 p.m.
ESPN has a pair of games from the Battle 4 Atlantis Thursday at 1 and 3:30 p.m. The third place game will be Friday at 2 p.m., with the championship at 4:30 p.m.
There's a game from the Orlando Classic Friday at noon, and two more Sunday at 1 on ESPN and 4 p.m. on ESPN2.
There's six games on ESPN2 Thursday, starting at noon with Santa Clara-Tennessee. Kansas takes on Rhode Island at 2:30 p.m., followed by San Diego against Xavier and Michigan State meeting Rider. Marquette plays Georgia Tech at 9 p.m. before San Jose State-Washington close the action at 11 a.m.
Sunday's action starts with Connecticut-Texas at noon, followed by Providence against Kentucky. The weekend concludes with the championship of the Wooden Legacy tournament at 10 p.m.
FoxSports1 has the Las Vegas Invitational, starting Thursday at 5 p.m. between Illinois and Indiana State. The consolation game will be Friday at 8 p.m., with the championship at 10:30 p.m. Providence plays Yale Friday at 4 p.m. DePaul tangles with Stanford Sunday at 2:30 p.m., followed by Delaware-Villanova.
Comcast offers Fordham against Maryland-Eastern Shore Saturday at 4 p.m.
Louisiana Tech hosts Samford Friday at 8 p.m. on MASN, and Charlotte heads to UNC-Asheville Sunday at 3 p.m. MASN2 shows George Washington against Seton Hall Saturday at 4 p.m. before Texas Tech tangles with Air Force Sunday at 2 p.m.
Tennessee takes on Texas in women's basketball Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on FoxSports1.
NBC has a Black Friday NHL game, with the Flyers hosting the Rangers at 1 p.m. The Capitals host the Islanders on Comcast Friday at 5 p.m. before visiting Toronto Saturday at 7 p.m.
Sunderland faces Chelsea on NBC Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Arsenal meets West Bromwich Albion on NBC Sports network Saturday at 7:45 a.m. before Hull City clashes with Manchester United. Manchester City faces Southampton Sunday at 8:30 a.m. followed by Tottenham Hotspur meeting Everton at 11 a.m.
It's the fifth match day in the Europa League, with Wolfsburg against Everton Thursday at 1 p.m. and Tottenham facing Partizan Belgrado at 3 p.m. on FoxSports1.
Over at DaTech Guy, Fausta gives thanks for blessings.
My most favorite quote is from Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American,
I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.
Here's what this sentence means to me:
I awoke this morning: I am conscious, in this new day
with devout thanksgiving: And I give thanks to God, the Creator who blesses us every day
for my friends,: For every person who honors me with their friendship, empathy, and support, including my family
the old: Friends I have had for a lifetime, or for many years, and also for friends young and old
and the new.: Because friendship is a garden that blooms throughout our lives, blessing us daily.
Happy Thanksgiving from the crew at WKRP in Cincinnati.
How to enjoy Thanksgiving
Hopefully you're lucky enough to have Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of conservatives.
You can share this story and laugh.
And prepare for stories from friends who had an aggressive liberal at their table.
Justice, no peace
Would an indictment of officer Wilson been a better outcome?
Or would it just push back the day of anger, like the George Zimmerman verdict did?
There's anger at the lack of indictment on one side - the prosecutor didn't press for an indictiment or the announcement timing was bad.
If it was a political decision against indictment, wouldn't a push to indictment have been a political decision also?
Leaving those who support law and order wondering if politicians support them.
If you indict Wilson, he's the scapegoat for all kinds of problem.
I doubt an indictment would have brought any peace.
You'll have to find peace by avoiding the problem situation in the future.
Wipers up
Almost time for the first big snow of the season.
Forecasters are trying their best to figure out an unusual storm on the biggest travel day of the year.
Time for wipers up before the storm hits.
Justice done - you can see yourself
The Ferguson police officer will not face charges for the death of Michael Brown.
The prosecutor spent plenty of time explaining the decision - the physical evidence didn't match the media reports.
Don't believe it - here's the evidence.
Does Obama want Hilary to win?
President Obama's actions since the election raise the question - does he want a Democratic successor?
Democrats across the country has suffered for his decisions in 2010 and 2014.
How does Hillary thread the needle in 2016 - getting support from Obama voters while not driving the rest of the country away?
George W. Bush has not had bad things to say about Obama's actions.
Do you believe Obama will be quiet after leaving office?
He might be on MSNBC every night, blasting his successor.
It would be easier for him if a Republican wins in 2016 - he can blast away and not upset Hillary's crew.
Awaiting the Gizzard Blizzard
By the end of Monday, we should have a better handle on snow potential for Wednesday.
While checking on the possibilities, I found this Maryland forecaster with a user suggested name for this weather.
The Gizzard Blizzard.
For those of you dreaming of a white Thanksgiving.
Walker and friends
Politico looks at one of the many groups of Republicans considering bids for the 2016 presidential nomination.
Scott Walker appears to be the frontrunner of this group.
Walker, 47, won national attention after beating back a labor-led 2012 recall attempt. He has pushed through a series of big-ticket bills, including requiring women to get ultrasounds before they have abortions and paving the way for more mining in the state. He's now preparing a legislative agenda that includes mandating drug tests for welfare beneficiaries, repealing the Common Core education standards and cutting property taxes.
A good legislative session in 2015 puts him among the top choices.
Just don't choose "Another one bites the dust"
Via Dustbury, an update on the most popular songs for funerals.
Waiting for Trey
While liberals rejoice at the latest Benghazi report, there remains Trey Gowdy's Select committee to release its report.
Powerline looks at the latest report, and talks about a point liberals probably didn't see.
The Committee states that, according to CIA security personnel, State Department security agents repeatedly said they were ill-equipped and ill-trained to contend with the threat environment in Benghazi. Indeed, they knew well before the attacks that they could not defend the State Department's facility against an armed assault.
These State Department agents told the CIA that they had requested additional resources. Their request was still pending on September 11, 2012.
If nothing could have been done - because they were put in a bad situation - that needs to be examined.
Turkey of a forecast
Planning to travel Wednesday night or Thursday morning for Thanksgiving dinner?
It might be over the river
Behind the snowplow.
The Macy's parade in New York might have to replace balloons with snowmen.
Social media rules
A Facebook friend posted the story of an ESPN analyst being suspended from Twitter, supposedly for arguing creation and evolution with Curt Schilling.
Reminded me of what I saw last night, where ESPN doesn't want religious signs at College GameDay.
If you want to ban religious signs from your shows, it makes sense to slow your employees from jumping into controversies outside the sporting realm.
Wonder if those unhappy with the analyst's Twitter ban know of the sign ban?
When you don't like my status, I get upset. When I get upset, I mope around the house. When I mope around the house, my wife gets mad at me. When my wife gets mad at me, I take it out on the animals. When I'm mean to the animals, my wife kicks me out of the house. When I'm kicked out of the house, I go over to RJs house. When I go over RJs, I get drunk. When I get drunk, I end up out on the streets. When I end up out on the streets, I need protection. When I need protection, I call cousin Chicky. When I call cousin Chicky, people end up wearing concrete shoes at the bottom of the Barge Canal. Don't end up wearing concrete shoes at the bottom of the Barge Canal, like my status. ( Happy Birthday Cousin Chick!!!!!!)
Lorde has a new version, but Tears for Fears has the one we remember.
Finish the job
The Senate races are down to one runoff - so the Ten Buck Friday crew has one last hurrah.
One last chance to boost Bill Cassidy - and boo Mary Landrieu.
One last chance to cheer the efforts of our crew.
Adrienne's Cornerhttp://adriennescatholiccorner.blogspot.com/
Diogenes' Middle Fingerhttp://suckersonparade.blogspot.com/
Fishersville Mikehttp://fishersvillemike.blogspot.com/
For God, Family, and Countryhttp://4gfc.wordpress.com/
Laughing Conservativehttp://laughingconservative.blogspot.com/
Left Coast Rebelhttp://www.leftcoastrebel.com/
Mind Numbed Robothttp://mindnumbedrobot.com/
Polinationhttp://polination.wordpress.com/
Political Clown Paradehttp://politicalclownparade.blogspot.com/
Proof Positivehttp://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/
Texas Conservative Newshttp://www.texasconservativenews.com/
Theo Sparkhttp://www.theospark.net/
Wyblog http://wyblog.us/
United States - the best place to be
Why are we having a debate on immigration?
People want to be here.
We're the greatest country.
What other country are people begging to get into?
This is the destination.
The question is - how to keep the country the best?
If the people coming in boost the productivity of the United States, it can be a good thing.
If they add to the welfare rolls and cause trouble with current citizens, then it's bad.
President Obama asks you to trust his vision.
His trouble?
We've seen his vision on health care reform - and don't like it.
And won't trust him on him.
LeBron James left the Wizards' division this offseason, but fans will get to catch the king in action Friday.
James and the Cavaliers come to Washington at 8 p.m., with coverage on Comcast and ESPN.
The Wizards hold the early lead in the NBA's Southeast Division, ahead of James' former team in Miami. Lebron excited the Cleveland fan-base with his return, but the team dropped to 5-5 after Wednesday's loss to the Spurs.
In the ESPN nightcap, the Bulls meet the Trail Blazers at 10:30 p.m.
The Cowboys visit the Giants on NBC Sunday night, while the Ravens return to the Superdome Monday night, meeting the Saints on ESPN.
Fox offers the Lions at Patriots Sunday at 1 p.m. CBS has the doubleheader, with the Titans at Eagles at 1 p.m. before the Redskins head west against the 49ers.
The college football weekend continues Friday when FoxSports1 has Rice against Texas-El Paso Friday at 8 p.m. ESPN shows San Jose State-Utah State at 9:30 p.m.
ACC newcomer Louisville faces Notre Dame on NBC Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Florida State hosts Boston College on ABC at 3:30 p.m., with other areas getting Wisconsin-Iowa. ESPN2 shows the game not on-the-air in your area. In primetime, Southern Cal takes on UCLA.
CBS stays in the SEC West, with Mississippi playing Arkansas at 3:30 p.m. Baylor clashes with Oklahoma State on Fox at 7:30 p.m.
Virginia Tech tries to become bowl eligible, taking on Wake Forest at 12:30 p.m. on the ACC network.
ESPN starts its day at noon with Minnesota-Nebraska, then it's Arizona against Utah. It's off to the SEC East at 7:30 p.m., with Missouri meeting Tennessee.
Penn State takes on Illinois at noon on ESPN2. Virginia closes its home season at 7 p.m. with Miami before Boise State meets Wyoming at 10:15 p.m.
Kansas travels to Oklahoma at noon on FoxSports1 and Stanford goes against California at 4 p.m.
It's Big South football on MASN at noon, with Gardner-Webb taking on Monmouth. MASN2 starts its day at noon with Western Kentucky facing Texas-San Antonio before Texas Tech travels to Iowa State at 3:30 p.m.
NBC Sports network brings "The Game" - Harvard against Yale - at noon followed by CAA contests between New Hampshire and Maine at 3:30 p.m. before Richmond meets William & Mary at 7:30 p.m.
James Madison takes on Elon on Comcast at noon, followed by Georgia State-Clemson.
North of the border, Montreal faces Hamilton in the CFL Eastern Division final Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN.
On the college hardcourt, ESPN2 has the championship of the 2K Classic Friday at 7:30 p.m. Sunday's contests start at 2:30 p.m. with Notre Dame against Providence. It's the third-place game of the Puerto Rico at 4:30 p.m. and the championship at 7 p.m. then the Charleston Classic final tips at 9 p.m.
MASN shows Morehead State-Louisiana Tech Friday at 8 p.m. Presbyterian meets Louisiana Tech Sunday at 5 p.m.
Kansas State takes on Long Beach State on MASN2 Friday at 10:30 p.m., and Marquette meets Nebraska-Omaha Saturday at 7 p.m. Oklahoma hosts Northwestern State Sunday at 3 p.m.
Creighton hosts North Carolina Central Sunday at 4 p.m. on FoxSports1.
The Capitals host Buffalo on Comcast Saturday at 7 p.m.
Notre Dame hosts UMass-Lowell in college ice hockey Friday at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
The MLS conference finals start Sunday at 2:30 p.m. with the Red Bulls taking on the Revolution on NBC. The Galaxy and Sounders meet Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN.
NBC shows Arsenal against Manchester United Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Chelsea clashes with West Bromwich Albion Saturday at 10 a.m. on NBC Sports network.
The Formula One circuit visits Abu Dhabi this weekend, with the race on NBC Sports network Sunday at 7:30 a.m. There's qualifying on Saturday at 8 a.m. after practice Friday at 8 a.m.
See you in court
Mickey Kaus wonders if a court case against the Obama immigration policy will take long.
On April 8, 1952, during the Korean War, President Truman seized crucial steel facilities. The steel companies immediately sought and got an injunction. On June 2, 1952, less than two months after Truman acted, the Supreme Court swatted him down.
Courts can move quickly when they want to. This smells like one of those cases.
Now serving number 9,000
Just over six years into this blog, we've reached 9,000 posts.
It promises to be an interesting run to 10,000 in the new year.
Obama hates Hillary
President Obama's immigration announcement Thursday appears to be setting the stage for a Republican winning the White House in 2016.
He may not have another campaign to worry about. But how will the Hillary Clinton campaign answer this?
Talking about illegal immigrants and drivers licenses didn't help her in 2008.
He thinks he'll have several million happy voters joining the rolls.
What about the intensely unhappy opposition?
Those people who will be paying extra thanks to his decision.
Blue Virginia thinks people want to do what Democrats want about global warming.
But look at the charts.
People support what won't cost them money.
The lowest support is for paying an average of $100 more per year for energy.
Thirty-six percent oppose that, either strongly or somewhat.
The percentage will likely rise as the price rises - or wind or solar energy supplies prove unreliable for what they expect in our daily lives.
If liberals would pay for our extra costs of renewable energy - instead of trying to profit from it - then their dreams might have a chance.
The first anti-Hillary
Jim Webb left the Senate in 2012, but wants to return to Washington in the White House.
Does he have a chance?
Webb is already 68 years old; by the time of the next election, he'll be 70, older than Hillary Clinton. That's not too old to run for President, but it's certainly old enough to wonder whether Democrats really need another aging Baby Boomer in the crowd. The Republican contenders are already much younger than the Democrats presumed to be in the race, and here comes a blast from the Reagan Era past to underscore that disparity and make it official. The youth vote that lifted Obama in 2008 will only be eight years older in 2016, not twenty-eight years older.
Let the fun begin.
Really lame duck
All year long, President Obama has said he would do something about immigration.
Now, he wants to announce his plan.
Unfortunately for him, the rest of government has a say.
And might look to look more closely at Obamacare after watching this exercise.
This might turn out to be the last gasp of a lame duck before the nation moves on.
Do legal immigrants get a refund?
All the talk about President Obama's legalization plan ignores the effort of those who followed the rules to become United States citizens.
They waited their turn to come here.
They attended classes and learned our history.
They gave up free time.
They spent their earnings to officially become Americans.
Now, President Obama opens this privilege up to anybody who ignored the rules.
Can legal immigrants get their money back?
Scaring you now
It's below freezing for the second straight day in Fishersville.
I'm supposed to be worried about a novel putting extreme global warming 29 years in the future?
If there's going to be two degrees of warming by 2100, where it is now?
With friends like these
Democrats mustered 41 votes against the Keystone pipeline.
Mary Landrieu's last gasp for re-election looks doomed.
Will they help her pack her office in December?
Be nicer on the internet
Mike Rowe likes dirty jobs.
Even dealing with internet trolls.
If only they'd listen to his advice.
Consider limiting each blurb to a single entry. When you post the identical screed four times in a row, it looks very much like a broken record sounds. This will lead people to conclude that you're either a) inept at posting, or b) deliberately obnoxious. Neither conclusion is likely to lead to a sale. Remember, most people see posts like yours as small piles of vomit that they can quickly step around. But when the same vomitus post appears multiple times, you force my friends here to slosh through a virtual lake of spew.
We lost and you're stupid
Blue Virginia gives space to another whine by a liberal about why Democrats lost Election Day.
Like Jonathan Gruber, the author blames the stupidity of the American voter.
1. Everyone lost. But we the citizens lost big time. The 1% has gerrymandered and vote-suppressed us in numerous ways. If only they turned their creativity into solving real problems. But this is a post-Citizens United world and the GOP and their voters are too obtuse to know they lost too.
You can believe others view things differently.
Or that they're stupid.
Which is probably the most stupid way to explain Democratic losses.
90 days until the big test
Megan McArdle tries to get a handle on how Obamcare is doing going into the second year of open enrollment.
Remembering that a big test comes from those who didn't enroll in 2014.
Another thing to keep in mind, however: This open enrollment period isn't the biggest test for Obamacare in the next 12 months. The biggest test will be what happens on or around April 15th. That's the first time all the people who didn't buy insurance will get hit with the individual mandate penalty, and the ones who thought that it was a nominal $95 fee are in for a nasty shock . April 15th will also be the first time that people who got too much in subsidies are going to be asked to pay back some of that money.
But will we have to wait until April 15 to see that impact?
How about February 15?
If you expect a tax refund, you file as soon as you can. You get your W-2 and sent it in.
H.R. Block will give you a loan in advance of your refund.
Except if there's no refund coming.
Soon after the W-2 come out, some people who usually have refunds will get their big surprise.
And they will not be happy.
What will Obamacare supporters do then?
The Huffington Post brings up the discussion of women's sports teams being called "Lady."
Old news for me.
Back in 1995, I printed a small headline for "Lady Cavs" at the Charlottesville Daily Progress.
I was immediately told they didn't use "Lady" for the Virginia women's program.
The term does help quickly tell which team is featured in an article.
But "Lady Vols" ought to rule as long as they want.
Those lazy, crazy days of winter
Dustbury tries to find a bright spot in the looming cold season.
He wasn't lazy when it comes to finding a winter booster.
However, if you take away the ice, snow, and slush, winter can be a lazy person's ticket to paradise. Although it may appear that I am trying to find the silver lining, trust me when I say: I lean more towards lethargic than evolved.
Internet never forgets
Now that videos of Jonathan Gruber have surfaced, the Obama team and Democrats want to say they don't know the man.
Except the archives show they did.
They worked closely with him.
We advised their plans.
Al Gore should have thought about this problem when he invented the internet.
Inside the Warren 2016 campaign
Staffer: I have an idea to boost your electoral chances.
Staffer: Meet a group that donates $200,000 a year to political causes and deride the influence of money in politics.
Clothes make the controversy
DaTech Guy sums up the comet guy shirt kerfuffle in two tweets.
The older brother of one of my high school friends tells the tale of Brussels Sprouts gone bad.
Another brother didn't want to eat the Brussels Sprouts on that night's menu.
He thought he found a spot under a built-in bench to hide them.
He didn't choose wisely.
Jerry's deceit was discovered when, a day or so later, a smell of rotting food began to emanate from beneath the bench, beside the register. As the Brussels sprouts decayed, the rotting was enhanced by the warm air coming out of the heat register. The smell was foul, and there was no way to clean it up, short of completely demolishing the built-in table and bench, which wasn't an option. So we just had to put up with the stench until the Brussels sprouts had completely decayed and stopped stinking.
Time for repeal-o
The videos keep coming with Jonathan Gruber tells how Obamacare snuck into law.
First, it was just a typo.
Or a speak-o.
Turns out Gruber would speak-o to anyone who would pay-o.
And tell-o the same story-o all the time.
Republicans and the Supreme Court are very interested in what he's got to say.
For Democrats, it's an oh-no.
Desire backed by faith does not know the word impossible...
The Keystone block didn't stop us
Blue Virginia highlights an Oklahoma oil man who says the Keystone XL pipeline isn't needed now.
I wonder if they read the whole story.
Why is Keystone unnecessary now?
The oil industry has worked around the Democrats' block of their project.
Hamm said his company, which had planned to use Keystone to ship some of its North Dakota crude, is already using other pipelines for half of its oil. And the percentage is growing.
"We're supporting other pipelines out there, we're not waiting on Keystone. Nobody is," said Hamm, a former energy adviser to Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, who made a vast fortune as an early investor in North Dakota's booming Bakken oil shale region. "That thing … needed action on it six years ago. I just think it's too late and we need to move on."
Liberals think they can keep the tar sands in the ground if they block Keystone XL.
The crude oil flows and their protests remind ineffective.
The official song of Democrats since Election Night - Dream on.
NASCAR's new Chase for the Cup format brings four top drivers together this weekend.
Whoever finishes best among them at Homestead wins the season's crown. ESPN coverage starts at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Kevin Harvick nudged his way into the final four with a win at Phoenix last week. Denny Hamlin, Joey Lagano and Ryan Newman round out the contenders. The rest of the field will be looking for a season-ending win as a stepping stone to win the Chase in 2015.
The Nationwide racers close their season Saturday at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2, and FoxSports1 has the Truck Series finale Friday at 8 p.m.
The Redskins host Tampa Bay Sunday at 1 p.m. on Fox, followed by the Packers against Eagles. CBS offers the Broncos at St. Louis at 1 p.m.
It's Patriots-Colts on NBC Sunday night, and the Steelers' trip to Tennessee closes the week Monday night on ESPN.
The college football continues Friday when Tulsa meets Central Florida on ESPN2 at 8 p.m.
Saturday's big game matches top-ranked Mississippi State and No. 5 Alabama on CBS at 3:30 p.m.
ABC offers three games, starting at noon with Ohio State-Minnesota. Nebraska tangles with Wisconsin at 3:30 p.m., then it's off to the ACC for second-ranked Florida State taking on Miami.
Notre Dame hosts Northwestern on NBC at 3:30 p.m. Fox brings two games, with Washington facing Arizona at 4 p.m. before Texas and Oklahoma State clash at 7:30 p.m.
ESPN starts its day at noon with Clemson taking on Georgia Tech and Oklahoma heads to Texas Tech at 3:30 p.m. Auburn tries to bounce back at Georgia at 7:15 p.m., and the night closes with Arizona State meeting Oregon State at 10:45 p.m.
Penn State plays Temple at noon on ESPN2, and LSU battles Arkansas at 8 p.m.
TCU aims to boost its chances to make the playoff field, traveling to Kansas at 3 p.m. on FoxSports1. It's North Texas against Texas-El Paso at 10 p.m.
ACC network offers Pittsburgh-North Carolina at 12:30 p.m.
In the CAA, James Madison visits Richmond on NBC Sports network at 12:30 p.m. while Towson takes on William & Mary at 3 p.m. on Comcast.
MASN has a pair of games from the Big South, with Presbyterian against Gardner-Webb at noon followed by Charleston Southern visiting Liberty.
Marshall hosts Rice on MASN2 at 2:30 p.m.
Edmonton faces Saskatchewan in the CFL playoffs Sunday at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
The Spurs visit the Lakers Friday at 10 p.m. on ESPN. The Wizards take on the Magic Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast.
The college basketball season gets going this weekend. New ACC member Louisville faces Minnesota Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
MASN has Elon against Florida Atlantic Friday at 8 p.m., while MASN2 offers a pair of Big East teams facing non-conference foes - St. John's meeting New Jersey Institute of Tech at 7 p.m. before Marquette meets UT-Martin at 9:30 p.m.
Georgetown faces Saturday at noon on MASN2, then Seton Hall battles Mercer Sunday at noon. Charlotte plays Elon at 5:30 p.m. on MASN.
Comcast has a pair of ACC teams against non-conference foes Sunday, with Samford-Pittsburgh at 1 p.m. and Virginia opening its home season against Norfolk State at 7 p.m.
Creighton clashes with Chicago State on FoxSports1 Sunday at 5:30 p.m.
London hosts the ATP World Tour finals this week, with coverage on ESPN2 Friday at 3 p.m.
The Capitals host New Jersey Friday at 7 p.m. on Comcast.
The United States meets Colombia in an international friendly on ESPN Friday at 2:30 p.m. Getting ready for Euro2016, Italy meets Croatia on FoxSports1 Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
MASN2 has the Conference USA men's soccer championship game Sunday at 2 p.m.
You're partisan and we're not
It's been a week since the Supreme Court decided to hear the case that might derail Obamacare.
A week for liberals to complain.
They see the Supreme Court being partisan in injecting itself into the case.
But why now?
The D.C. circuit of the Court of Appeals became more partisan this year.
And made a partisan move to remove a 2-to-1 decision in the case.
So it's not partisan to remove a case that would cause the Court to take a case.
But it is partisan for the Supreme Court to see that move and jump in anyway.
The Supreme Court defending the Constitution isn't partisan - unless one side ignores it so much the Court has to step in.
Stuck in the tar sands
It's enjoyable to watch the Blue Virginia crew moan and whine about the Keystone XL pipeline.
If only, they think, Democrats were true to their liberals ideals, life would be so much better.
But the Democratic leadership must think there is some benefit to pushing the pipeline now.
If the people opposed the pipeline as much as the Blue Virginia crew thinks they do, politicians would be against it.
Politicians know how to count votes - and usually join the side with the majority.
Inside the minority caucus
Staffer: I have idea to make Hillary Clinton's campaign sweat.
Staffer: Accept a leadership role among the Senate Democrats.
Money gruber
Allahpundit seeks a prize - a picture of Jonathan Gruber with members of Congress.
Maybe Nancy Pelosi took a picture and posted it on her facebook page.
Know your Grubers
Proof-Positive examines the family tree of Obamacare advisor Jonathan Gruber.
Hans underestimated John McClane as well.
Failure of Democracy
You have to go to the end of Talking Point Memo's piece defending Jonathan Gruber to get a quote I agree with.
"It's literally insane to think that because of a typo in the law," Gruber told MSNBC last week, "that that typo would bring down the law is just a failure of democracy."
How the law passed was a failure of democracy.
Failure by Democrats.
It's not a failure of democracy for Republican to point out mistakes and evasions that helped pass the law in 2010.
Not going to help
Before Election Day, Mary Landrieu said people in Louisiana were racist and sexist.
Now, before the runoff, she must think they are really stupid.
Why else would she think a quick vote on the XL pipeline would keep her in the Senate?
The votes of the eight states that replaced Democrats with Republican senators in the incoming Congress pushed the XL pipeline a step closer to reality.
Landrieu and her Democratic friends kept it bottled up for the past few years.
Not that gullible
Bloomberg finds the man who discovered the comments from Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber.
Weinstein dates his accidental citizen journalism back to the end of 2013 and the first run of insurance cancellations or policy changes. He was among the people who got a letter informing him that his old policy did not meet ACA standards.
"When Obama said 'If you like your plan, you can keep your plan, period'—frankly, I believed him," says Weinstein. "He very often speaks with qualifiers. When he said 'period,' there were no qualifiers. You can understand that when I lost my own plan, and the replacement cost twice as much, I wasn't happy. So I'm watching the news, and at that time I was thinking: Hey, the administration was not telling people the truth, and the media was doing nothing!"
This year, there will be more people losing their coverage.
And they'll have more incentive to find more discussion behind the Obamacare push.
Veteran's Day song
In honor of Veteran's Day, here's John Michael Montgomery's "Letters from Home."
Eugene as Obama
The Walking Dead had a big plot point this week - Eugene admitted he isn't the scientist who can save the world.
His lie provided hope in a tough time for Abraham Ford - giving him a focus that the world could be better. His mission was clear - get Eugene to Washington.
Now he's found that hope is a lie.
How will he react?
Btw, how will Democrats react now that their hope (Obama) has been exposed?
MSNBC - Moving sluggish, nobody cares
MSNBC isn't looking forward to the next two years.
If they have any viewers left.
MSNBC's problem is almost exactly the same as the Democrats' problem: It built its future around a vivid and dramatic hero who, unfortunately, turned out to be both opaque and conflict averse. MSNBC now has a lineup of ever-righteous and often sulky defenders of President Barack Obama, who seem, not just to conservatives but to many liberals, too, bizarrely tone deaf and lost in time.
I only watch MSNBC on Election Nights when Republicans win.
I wonder if they will still be on the air in November 2016.
Remember us?
It's enjoyable to watch liberals say Republicans have to go along with President Obama's immigration plans.
Like the only choices are give Obama what he wants or watch Obama impose what he wants.
They forget one group.
The Supreme Court.
The ones who decided to hear an Obamacare case they knew - knew - would not be challenged if there was no split among the circuit courts.
Yet, there's a challenge to be heard soon.
Whatever executive action President Obama undertakes, the court will have a say.
Republicans don't have to assist a bad bill.
They can work with the court to keep bad bills from taking effect.
Ready for drivers
For over a year, the Fishersville exit at I-64 has undergone construction to add two lanes to a mile of roadway.
This week, drivers can begin using the new road and bridge over the interstate.
Pay attention as you travel.
Coal hard facts
Politico sees a death knell for Democrats in coal country.
Although they try to boost the congressional Democrats ousted Tuesday.
With the defeats (Nick) Rahall (D-W.Va.), Bill Enyart (D-Ill.) and John Barrow (D-Ga.), "it is going to be much harder crafting bipartisan legislation on energy and environmental issues in the House," Wheeler said.
Enyart, a co-chairman of the congressional coal caucus, represented a southern Illinois district heavily reliant on coal, and Barrow and Rahall held the center on the House Energy and Commerce Committee as "go-to Democrats for sponsorship of Republican-led and industry-favored legislation and letters," Wheeler said. "Their defeat means it will be harder to attract Democrats to such efforts."
The trio didn't have much success convincing fellow Democrats to ease up on coal the past six years. Maybe their losses will wake up the remaining Democrats.
We hate him too
Bob Woodward has a scoop this Sunday.
HOST BOB SCHIEFFER: I'm wondering about the talk after this election, I think the president's relations with the Democrats in the Senate may be as bad as his relations with the Republicans.
WOODWARD: That's absolutely true. You get the Democrats in private, and they are on fire! Because he won't spend the time, because he won't listen.
At least Republicans listened and learned in this election.
Who will debate Hillary?
It appears Republicans will have a big policy debate as the 2016 primary season starts.
Will there be any debate on the Democratic side?
Howard Dean's Democracy for America is asking its supporters who should join the primary field.
Any of these excite you?
Think any could match Rand Paul or Marco Rubio with ideas?
They appear either too far left for the American public, or too far right for the Democratic primary voters.
The Democratic primary campaign debates in 2016 ought to be interesting - even if likely boring if Hillary's the only one taking questions.
Obama's shadow is on the ballot
How does the terrain look for 2016 now?
Politico ask pollsters for their opinions.
Reading between the lines, the battlefield will be the same in 2016 as today.
Do voters like President Obama and his policies or not?
If they like, Democrats have a chance in 2016.
If not, Republicans will have majorities in the House, Senate to go with the White House in 2017.
For all the discussions that Republicans have to get thing done the next two years, it ignores the shadow of Obama.
If Obama doesn't work with them, the negative feelings of gridlock stick to him.
Republicans have two years to express their agenda for the future.
Parts blocked by Obama become reasons to vote for them in 2016.
Parts becoming law become reasons to vote for them in 2016.
Over the past six years, Obama has not taken rejection well.
If that pattern continues, he'll be welcoming a Republican into the White House when he leaves in two years.
Today Obama said he heard the message of the two-thirds of eligible voters who did not vote. I would have to admit that Obama does represent Americans who stay at home and do nothing.
Posted by Mike at 10:53 AM 1 comment:
Feeling better after Tuesday's elections?
Brooks and Dunn offer their take on America's spirit.
I meant to do that
The newest Obamacare challenge should be a doozy.
Does intent overrule the wording of the law?
Democratic staffers know what they meant.
But if the law doesn't state what they intended, who's fault is that?
There is a bit of disagreement among staff over whether the actual language of Obamacare captures this intent — particularly in two key sections, 1311 and 1401.
Section 1311 is the section that indicates the rules and regulations for setting up a health insurance exchange, which 14 states ultimately decided to do in 2014. There's a separate section, 1321, that allows the federal government to run an exchange if a state decides to forgo the option — more on that later.
Section 1401 lays out the rules for who can get a federal subsidy. And there, the law says that the only people eligible for financial help are those who are "enrolled ... through an Exchange established by the State under 1311." And that is where the argument lies that only people who buy insurance on a state-run marketplace are eligible for financial help.
If the work was sloppy, Congress can always go back and fix it.
Except so many who voted for this aren't in Congress anymore.
That was the voter's intent.
The losing winner
How happy should Mark Warner be on his re-election?
His Democratic friends aren't happy with him.
The numbers look terrible.
And he's now a member of the Senate minority - where the only action will be helping Republicans.
Enjoy your new term, Senator.
Christmas comes early
Remember when Santa Claus didn't arrive at the mall until after Thanksgiving?
Then he started showing up the Friday before Thanksgiving.
Today, Santa arrived at Harrionsburg's mall - three weeks before Thanksgiving.
But that's okay.
Republicans got their Christmas present on Tuesday night.
The NFL has a special guest for its final London game in 2014.
The Cowboys face the Jaguars Sunday at Wembley Stadium, the first regular season appearance of America's Team in the British capital. Fox has coverage of the contest at 1 p.m.
Dallas dropped its last two games after starting 6-1, and may have to play without Tony Romo for the second straight week.
The Ravens try to bounce back against Tennessee at 1 p.m. on CBS. Fox brings the Giants and Seahawks in the late afternoon slot.
The Bears and Packers battle Sunday night on NBC, while ESPN shows Panthers and Eagles Monday at 8:30 p.m.
The college football weekend continues Friday at 8 p.m. when Utah State visits Wyoming on ESPN2.
CBS offers a pair of big games in the SEC West Saturday, with Texas A&M-Auburn at 3:30 p.m. before LSU battles Alabama at 8 p.m.
Notre Dame takes on Arizona State on ABC at 3:30 p.m., with the Big Ten battle between Ohio State and Michigan State at 8 p.m.
TCU takes on Kansas State in a top 10 battle on Fox at 7:30 p.m.
ESPN starts its day at noon with Georgia against Kentucky, then Virginia heads to Florida State at 6:30 p.m. Utah-Oregon caps the day at 10 p.m.
Minnesota meets Iowa at noon on ESPN2, and Michigan takes on Northwestern at 3:30 p.m. ACC foes battle when Louisville heads to Boston College at 7:15 p.m.
Baylor clashes with Oklahoma at noon on FoxSports1, then West Virginia visits Texas. UCLA faces Washington at 7 p.m.
The ACC network offers Georgia Tech against N.C. State at 12:30 p.m.
Duke takes on Syracuse at 12:30 p.m. on Comcast, followed by Elon against William & Mary.
In the Ivy League, Pennsylvania plays Princeton at 3:30 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
Liberty hosts Monmouth at 3:30 p.m. on MASN. MASN2 offers Texas-San Antonio against Rice at noon before Iowa State takes on Kansas at 3:30 p.m.
Eight NASCAR drivers head to Phoenix and only four will be competing for the Sprint Cup championship the following week. ESPN has coverage at 3 p.m. Sunday, and the Nationwide racers go Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPN. FoxSports1 has the truck series Friday at 8:30 p.m.
Formula One visits Brazil this week, with the race in Sao Paolo Sunday at 1:30 p.m. on NBC. NBC Sports network covers practice Friday at 11 a.m.
The Grizzlies visit the wounded Thunder on ESPN Friday at 8 p.m. and it's Cavaliers against Nuggets in the nightcap. The Wizards visit the Raptors Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Comcast and take on the Pacers Saturday at 7 p.m.
On the ice, the Capitals will be on Comcast-plus this weekend - against Chicago Friday at 8:30 p.m. and hosting the Hurricanes Saturday at 8 p.m. Comcast shows San Jose against Chicago Sunday at 7 p.m.
Boston University and Boston College clash on the college ice Friday at 8 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
D.C. United meets the Red Bulls in their playoff series Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on NBC. ESPN2 has a pair of games Sunday, with New England facing Columbus at 5 p.m. and the Galaxy against Real Salt Lake at 7:15 p.m.
NBC offers Queens Park Rangers against Manchester City Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Liverpool faces Chelsea Saturday at 7:45 a.m. on NBC Sports network, followed by Manchester United-Crystal Palace. Sunderland meets Everton Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and Swansea City takes on Arsenal at 11 a.m.
MASN2 has the Conference USA's women's soccer championship Sunday at 2 p.m. The Big East crowns its champion on FoxSports1 Sunday at 2 p.m. and the Big Ten has its finale at 4:30 p.m.
After the thumping
Peggy Noonan examines Election Day - and the president's reaction.
First, the reality.
It was not in the least a charisma election, a sweeping expression of support for a character or personality or movement. It was a message election. Sweeps like this come down to policy and governance. America on Tuesday told one party no, you're not doing it right, we don't like what we're seeing, and your preoccupations (birth control, "War on Women") are not our priorities.
The president said he was not on the ballot but his policies were. Those policies were resoundingly repudiated.
And Obama's reaction at his press conference.
His answers were long, filibuster-y, meant to run out the clock. It was clear the White House wanted to say he met with reporters for more than an hour. He did. At one point he tried to smile but couldn't quite pull it off; it came across as a Nixon-like flexing of the rictus muscles. (I tried to describe it in my notes. "Hatey" was the best I could do.)
Landrieu's debate challenge
I think Bill Cassidy's response to a challenge for six debates for the Louisiana Senate runoff.
One debate.
Another one if Barack Obama comes to the state.
Two more if he comes twice.
He'd probably let Obama share the stage with him and Landrieu.
Voting present
President Obama caused a stir Wednesday when claiming he heard the voices of those who didn't vote.
How could he do that?
He voted present 130 times during his time in the Illinois senate.
He understands not wanting to be involved.
Their apathy is his apathy.
If you're not against him, you must be for him.
Saluting Hogan's heroes
The best Republican win Tuesday was Larry Hogan becoming governor-elect.
NRO tells how.
"For the past year I've been telling everybody that this was the sleeper race of the year, and they would look at me like I was crazy," says Russ Schriefer, Hogan's media consultant and a veteran of several presidential campaigns. His belief was bolstered by polls he conducted over the summer showing that Brown's favorability ratings were low. "He's a Democrat running in Maryland and you couldn't blast this guy over 45 [percent favorability]," Schriefer says. In one poll, asked whether they would vote for a third term of the O'Malley administration, 58 percent of those surveyed said no.
Republicans have now won two of the four gubernatorial races since 2000. Maybe there's change in the air.
Bubblegum pops Democrats' dreams
I left West Virginia in 1995.
Back then, Democrats held both United States Senate seats and all three House seats.
Plus the state House and Senate.
After Tuesday, they only have Joe Manchin in the U.S. Senate.
Republicans won seven Senate seats Tuesday to knot the chamber 17-17, then state Senator Danny Hall switched sides Wednesday evening to give Republicans control.
The new senators include Jeff "Bubblegum" Mullins.
He was a college basketball player in the late 1980s at a local college when I arrived in the state.
I covered his play in numerous contests.
Now he's popped the Democrats' bubble.
The tallest dwarf
Vox stretches to find nine takeaways from Tuesday's election.
They even think Hillary Clinton was a winner.
Rand Paul doesn't agree.
See if you agree with the reasoning.
A more Democratic year could have led to some new stars who might have been able to challenge her in 2016. Instead, some potential challengers were cut down. Gov. Martin O'Malley, for instance, saw Anthony Brown, his lt. governor and handpicked successor, defeated in Maryland. That's not going to help him make the case that he can appeal to voters she can't.
She's the only candidate left.
She's the tallest dwarf.
Whoever the Republicans nominate won't be a dwarf like her fellow Democrats.
I love this picture from Tea Party Express.
We did good
The last two months, I've joined the Ten Buck Friday crew.
Seven wins out of eight.
Good to be part of the winning team.
How the Democrats lost
It didn't take long for the Washington Post to tell how Democrats lost.
And for their team to start pointing fingers.
Make 'em squeal
It's a day to enjoy seeing Democratic suffering.
While they struggle to find a few scraps of joy.
Ousting Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) and avoiding what would have been an unbelievable upset of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) are about the only small morsels that Democrats can hold onto. Otherwise, the map couldn't have been any worse for Democrats -- or better for Republicans.
Enjoy the wave
In the days to come, Republican victories Tuesday will be viewed by the media as a problem - will they be able to work together?
But it's not the major problem.
How are Democrats going to react to being back in the minority?
Will they work with the Republicans?
I just can't wait for Democrats to squeal.
This is the moment to get rewrite
Remember President Obama's big speech in June 2008, when he clinched the Democratic nomination.
After this mid-term, time to rewrite the ending.
Because we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we ended the national nightmare of strife; this was the moment when the rise of political hype began to recede and our nation began to heal; this was the moment when we awoke from our stupor and reclaimed our nation's status as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment - this was the time - when we came together to restore this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals.
Check the desk
Ace of Spades Decision Desk is live with your election needs.
Rooting for Hillary
Who might be the Republicans' best friend the next few weeks?
Hillary Clinton.
The one who wants to be president.
Some conservatives worry what kind of executive actions President Obama could take now that he's wounded.
Who's the only person who can slow him down?
Even if Obama doesn't care about 2016, she does.
She knows what actions will be impossible to defend while she's on the campaign trail.
She knows she's tied to him and his actions.
She can't trash his actions to Obama voters and have a chance to win in 2016.
She can's support his actions and have a chance to win over skeptical voters in 2016.
The more Obama does what he wants - without caring about the outcomes - and more Hillary's chances suffer.
The next few weeks will be fun to watch.
How long ya got?
The Washington Post asks "Where did Obama go wrong?"
Set aside some time.
It's a lengthy list.
Wrong number
Lynn Mitchell's friend heard a surprising voice on the phone today - President Obama asking him to vote for Mark Warner.
The friend looked out at his Ed Gillespie signs in the front yard and laughed.
The problem in three words
As Democrats whine in anticipation of Tuesday's whipping, Blue Virginia highlights an essay on the failure to correctly brand their party.
There's three words that explain their problem.
Democrats believe in an
active, competent government
They have not been that the past six years. Which is why they are struggling.
Did they think this in 2006?
The New York Times posted an op-ed Sunday about cancelling the mid-term elections.
Look at the cost.
Look at the different voter pool.
I'd rather look at the archives.
Did the authors write the same thing in 2006?
Will they push their proposal when a Republican is president?
Democrats' war on women
Iowa Democrats aren't happy Joni Ernst leads the polls.
"In this Senate race, I've been watching some of these ads," Harkin said at the Story County Democrats' annual fall barbecue last week honoring the retiring senator. "And there's sort of this sense that, 'Well, I hear so much about Joni Ernst. She is really attractive, and she sounds nice.'"
"Well I gotta to thinking about that. I don't care if she's as good looking as Taylor Swift or as nice as Mr. Rogers, but if she votes like Michele Bachmann, she's wrong for the state of Iowa."
It's good to hear when squeal.
Republicans ride the country roads
Don Surber offers his forecast for elections in West Virginia - and he sees very good things for Republicans.
And bad for Nick Rahall's attempt to win his 20th term.
Republican state Senator Evan Jenkins has run a tough but clean campaign. Rahall earned four Pinocchios from the Washington Post for his ad that said Jenkins would pull the plug on black lung benefits. Rahall ran ads against Jenkins that showed the bleak rural towns that Rahall has represented for 38 years. Those ads likely backfired.
Hey lady, great post
Dr. Helen defends catcalling against its attackers.
Often, women would complain that the men yelled out some kind of compliment or leer such as "looking good" or they would smack their lips. I can understand that this is not welcome for most women who just want to get to work or school without a leering squad. However, this is the only quality that these women remembered about the construction workers or men around the city who were providing services to them on a daily basis; the men's better qualities and what they were doing escaped them. Many of the women were very angry and wanted something done about the men looking at them on the street. Gathering them up and putting them in jail for simply looking was fair justice for some of these women.
MAC - Middle of the week Athletic Conference
With the World Series over, sports fans look for contests to tide them over until the weekend.
The Mid-American Conference provides that, with two games on Tuesdays and two on Wednesdays the next three weeks.
If you're not a fan of Big Bang Theory on TBS, you've got to find something to watch.
Sometimes, you're too far north for snow.
It snowed in far southwest Virginia today.
And the mountains of North Carolina.
Even in the capital of South Carolina.
Remember when people talking about global warming?
Won't you go home, Bruce Bailey
How can Democrats expect their candidate to win in Iowa if people don't know his name?
Maybe he's preparing to enter the witness protection program.
Getting trounced but not slaughtered
The New York Times continues to boost Democratic hopes in the face of the Republican wave.
First, it's touting the lead among women while men overwhelming reject their message.
Second, it's looking at early voting numbers as not so bad.
Sure, there's more Republican votes in the bank but they vote anyway.
Democrats just need Obama voters to come out one more time.
And vote for candidates who don't like how Obama has led the past two years.
Reading between the lines, these stories say Democrats have some hope Tuesday.
Slim and none.
And didn't I just see Slim leaving town?
Another Saturday morning to recycle aluminum cans.
It's now 50 cents a pound, a drop of five cents since mid-September.
What might that mean for the economy?
Playing "Candy Man" on the porch. Enjoying the various costumes and the enthusiasm these kids have!
Open the month with some Earth, Wind and Fire.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The objective in this study is to develop and pilot test a web-based self-care program that targets the barriers to self-care as experienced by chronically ill Veterans and their caregivers.
We will work with a web design company to develop an interactive user interface for SUCCEED that can be hosted over the web (Aim 1). Once complete, we will field test the web-based program with 30 patients and 30 caregivers (Aim 2). Under Aim 1, we will work with instructional designers and develop storyboards that finalize content, narrative script, and hyperlinks to optimize navigation within the program, and to allow for asynchronous access. We will conduct usability testing with 10 participants. Results of the usability testing will be used to refine the prototype. Under Aim 2, we will determine recruitment and retention procedures, assess acceptability of the program, pilot surveys, and conduct a qualitative evaluation using semi-structured feedback from participants.
We completed the website which went live in the fall of 2018. We have been recruiting participants for piloting this website. Initial feedback is positive.
The proposed research is relevant to Veterans' health because an effective and implementable strategy that improves self-care of chronic illnesses is expected to ultimately reduce costly hospitalizations, enhance quality of life, and reduce mortality. Results of the proposed pilot study have the potential of benefiting Veterans with chronic illnesses requiring intensive self-care.


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