May 24, 2013

Sunday Open Thread: West Wing Week

March 17, 2013 by 82 Comments

President Obama discusses the need to harness American energy in order to reduce our dependence on oil and make the United States a magnet for new jobs. He highlights his all-of-the-above approach to American energy — including a proposal to establish an Energy Security Trust, which invests in research that will help shift our cars and trucks off of oil.

 

Filed Under: Open Thread, West Wing Week
  • lamh36

    Good Morning Obots. I’m so used to being up by 5:30 for work, even when I’m off I can’t help but get up early. So I just usually stay under covers & rest my eyes cause I can never get back to sleep…lol

    so I tweeted Kim Coles bout watching Living Single episode where Synclaire kissed Shemar Moore & she re-tweeted & replied back! Luv it when celebs actually tweet back fans!

    #Woowoowoo RT @psddluva4evah: watching the episode of Living Single where @kimcoles got to kiss @shemarmoore. Go ahead Synclaire!

    Have a good Sunday yall

    • JojoRaze

      Good morning Lamh! Great going on getting Kim Coles to respond.

    • GreenLadyHere

      Good Sunday Morntin’ lamh36 — – -***BIG HUG*** :>) –

      – — -LOOK AT-CHoo! :>) – - Luv it when celebs actually tweet back fans! – —Woo! Hoo! – –CONGRATS! annnd THANKS.

      —Good info. — -LUVED THAT SHOW!! – —:>) Have a good day. :>) – - –[PRAYIN' 4 your MOM/FAMILY]

    • qosine

      Great tweet exchange. Congratulations, lamh36!

  • rikyrah

    Good Morning, Everyone …have a good day

  • GreenLadyHere

    HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY [Greeeeen] – - -:>) -

    - – -GOOD SUNDAY MORTIN’ ALEXANDER2/POU FAM♥ –*** BIG HUG** :>) – - -REALLY NEED 2 GIVE MR. PRESIDENT – -ENCOURAGEMENT – -on HIS JOURNEY —THIS WEEK! :>) – -ENERGY -JOBS FOCUS annnd GOIN’ 2 ISRAEL!!- —BLESS U SIR. :>) —LET’S – — -GET READY 2 – —MOVE FORWARD — –>

    – —–President Obama plans listening mission in Israel, West Bank
    ——–The White House seeks to lower expectations for Obama’s Mideast visit this week, avoiding any anticipation of a breakthrough on peace talks.

    President Obama heads to Israelthis week with quiet hopes, but little real expectation, that by smoothing rough relations he can help restart the Middle East peace effort that went nowhere in his first term.

    [President] Obama will not carry with him a detailed proposal for how Israelis and Palestinians might resume talks, such as the one he offered in 2010.He instead plans a listening tour in Jerusalem and in Ramallah, West Bank, to solicit views on what the two sides want and to explore what may be possible.

    – - – - -TOP o’ the MORNTIN’ 2 YA BREAKFAST/BRUNCH. :>) —B BLESSED 2-DAY. :>) – —

    - – - -The TOP ‘O’ THE MORNTIN 2 U –ALEXANDER2 –HAVE a GOOD DAY. :>) –

  • GreenLadyHere

    ALEXANDER2 – — -WATCHIN’ — -

    – —-Judge to rule Sunday in Ohio rape case —

    — A judge is expected to hand down a decision Sunday morning in the trial of two Steubenville star high school football players accused of raping an allegedly drunk 16-year-old.
    Judge Thomas Lippssaid he will announce his decision after reviewing evidence presented over four days of testimony in the case against 17-year-old Trent Mays and 16-year-old Ma’lik Richmond.

    The ruling will bring an end to a trial that has gained national attention for its lurid text messages, cellphone pictures and videos, and social media posts surrounding the alleged sexual abuse of the girl.

  • GreenLadyHere

    ALEXANDER2 – ——AS I SAID — –Zzzzzzzzz – —LOL

    —-Sunday Talkers — -

    ——–Morning lineup:
    Meet the Press: Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA); Roundtable: Chris Matthews (MSNBC), Former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating (R), Former Matlamd Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D) and Republican Strategist Ana Navarro.

    Face the Nation: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI); Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN); RNC Chair Reince Priebus; Roundtable: David Sanger (New York Times), Danielle Pletka (American Enterprise Institute), David Rohde (Thomson Reuters) and Richard Haass (Council on Foreign Relations).

    This Week: House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH); Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), Repuvlican Strategist Matthew Dowd, Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) and Audie Cornish (NPR); Foreign Policy Roundtable: Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chair Gen. James Cartwright.
    – - – -ETC., – — – -BLAH! – - – –BLAH! – - – - -BLAD. – - [EXCEPT 4 da D's :>)] – - -

    WATCHIN’ – — -”creepy crowley” — -YUCK! – - – -Dr. Ben — -”coonin’”. Says he a REG. INDEPENDENT.

    YEP! – - -He is INDEPENDENT of – — COMMON SENSE!! –

    —[Sorry. Gotta "bounce" EARLY. - -- MISSIN' U/VCARRYIN' U - --IN MY♥. B BLESSED. :>)]

    • qosine

      BLAH! – - – –BLAH! – - – - -BLAD. – - [EXCEPT 4 da D's :>)]”
      LOL

      I just love Rep. Chris Van Hollen. He presents very well.

      • conlakappa

        Due to redistricting, he’s now my rep. No more Donna “darling of the PL” Edwards for me.

  • goldenstar

    This is totally OT. With this new comment system, the comments are arranged/displayed by Best, Newest, or Oldest. The system defaults to Best. I want the Newest. How do I get Newest to be my default?

    Thanks!

    • qosine

      goldenstar,

      1. Click on the down arrow next to Discussion.
      2. Select Newest.
      3. Refresh.

      • goldenstar

        Thanks, but this works once I check Newest. This does not work if I refresh; it reverts to Best.

        • qosine

          Ok, I’ll see what I did again. Be back in a moment.

        • qosine

          I also closed the blog, then opened it up again. Perhaps that will work?

        • Aquagranny911

          Just click “Newest” stay logged in and keep reading. If you click “Newest” & then “Refresh” it seems to revert to “Best” which is the default. Or that’s what has worked for me so far.

  • http://pragmaticobotsunite.blogspot.com/ Sepia

    Steubenville Football Players Guilty in Ohio Rape Trial

    By CHRISTINA NG (@ChristinaNg27)

    March 17, 2013

    Two Steubenville, Ohio, high school football players accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl have been found delinquent by a judge — the juvenile court equivalent of guilty.

    The teens could serve prison time until they turn 21.

    The verdict comes after a four-day trial that included tearful testimony
    from the accuser who said she was “embarrassed and scared” after
    hearing about the night she was allegedly sexually assualted while
    intoxicated.

    “I honestly did not know what to think because I didn’t remember
    anything,” she testified. The teen pieced together the night’s events
    from Twitter, Instagram photos, a YouTube video, text messages and
    witnesses.

    MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/US/steubenville-football-players-guilty-ohio-rape-trial/story?id=18748493

    • Admiral_Komack

      Good riddance to the bastards.

    • Tafr

      Good! These stupid kids will now spend the rest of their lives as registered sex offenders which is the price you pay when you rape. I heard Candy Crowley has a sad because these boys lives are ruin. I guess Candy has not thought about what the victim will have to go through for the rest of her life. I cannot say I feel sorry for these boys they got what they deserved.

    • rikyrah

      without that blogger, this case would never have come to light. the adults were involved in covering up this cesspool of criminality.

  • http://pragmaticobotsunite.blogspot.com/ Sepia

    Sell-outs finna get PAID!

    RNC to spend $10 million to reach minorities

    WASHINGTON — The head of the Republican National Committee says the party will spend $10 million this year to send hundreds of paid staffers into communities to talk with Hispanic, black and Asian voters.

    RNC chairman Reince Priebus on Sunday said the party would send employees from coast to coast to build the party’s credibility in racial and ethnic communities that supported President Barack Obama over GOP nominee Mitt Romney last year. Priebus says the party cannot “parachute” into communities in the months before an election and expect to have clout.

    Priebus is scheduled to outline his plan for the party on Monday. Priebus tells CBS’ “Face the Nation” that part of that plan will be a nominating convention in June or July instead of August and fewer debates during the primaries.

    MORE:http://www.ajc.com/news/ap/top-news/rnc-to-spend-10-million-to-reach-minorities/nWtjt/

    • Lisa M

      That’s funny!! They just don’t get it and at this rate will never get it.

    • Kennymack1971

      Yep. The lawn jockeys are going to be fighting each other to get that cash.

    • GN

      The GOP uses offensive and obvious race-baiting in order to receive votes from Americans interested in preserving white privilege. I can’t see how they can continue to do so while appealing at all to voters of color. It’s why strongly culturally conservative voters of color yet and still are less likely to support the GOP. A $10m ad campaign can’t fix that.

      • conlakappa

        But spreading money all over the place worked for them so well last time. Oh, wait…

        I’m on the train headed back to NYC and it was crowded as a mug. I wondered why for a Sunday afternoon. Took a look around. Saw lots of pinched faces and a guy wearing a sparkly new NRA hat and thought, “ah, CPACers.”

    • Miranda

      heh……you can expect to see prime cooning in the next few months. It will be epic.

    • trose1

      The fact Black people can make boat loads of cash by peddling bs to these people is sort of funny.

      A Black man is doing a seminar at CPAC about racism. He suggests they call themselves Frederick Douglas Republicans?
      How much is he getting paid?

      Tara Walls was doing outreach for Romney? What did she produce.

      The week of the election there was a commercial telling Black people to vote for GOP because of Abraham Lincoln? It was on heavy rotation in my tv market.

      Black people are getting rich making up bs and selling it to the GOP. GOP believes these schemes are going to bring in the Blacks.

      I need to think up some bs and try to sell it to the GOP.

      http://atlantablackstar.com/2012/11/02/ohio-polls-drive-gop-to-use-slavery-ad-to-target-african-americans-for-romney/

    • TyrenM

      Oh wow. GOP jobs program to POC.

  • lamh36

    Rikyrah, I’m catching up on Person of Interest & just watched the ep where they got caught in a storm. The scene when the lightning struck and illuminated the room made me jump a little & then laugh my ass of!

    • nellcote

      Love that show. I’ll be pissed if it’s not renewed for next year.

      • crazycanuck

        What! are they thinking of cancelling it?

    • rikyrah

      I have loved that they are doing different kinds of shows, with different angles. Never thought the number spitting out all those numbers would be the victims…that was a good twist.

  • http://pragmaticobotsunite.blogspot.com/ Sepia

    Well lookie here…

    Kimani Gray Cops Were Targets Of 5 Federal Lawsuits Prior To Shooting

    The two NYPD officers involved in the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Kimani Gray last week have reportedly been the targets of five federal lawsuits, with plaintiffs alleging civil rights violations.

    Sgt. Mourad Mourad and Officer Jovaniel Cordova, who are accused of
    fatally shooting Gray seven times on March 9th, have reportedly cost the city about $215,000 in court settlements. Mourad was sued once in 2009 and two times in 2010, and allegations include a stop-and-frisk in which Mourad and fellow cops pulled down a suspect’s underwear, in addition to a claim of an illegal arrest in which the plaintiff says he was slammed into a car. Cordova was sued in 2011 and 2012, with one plaintiff claiming the cop punched him in the eye. The city’s issued no admission of wrongdoing, but a lawyer who’s filed four out of the five suits against the cops says otherwise. “Our clients’ interactions with Sgt. Mourad and Officer Cordova expose a disturbing pattern of unconstitutional and aggressive stop-and-frisk practices,” lawyer Brett Klein told the Daily News. “In each case, Mourad and Cordova attempted to cover up their misconduct by falsifying and fabricating evidence.”

    MORE:http://gothamist.com/2013/03/16/kimani_gray_cops_were_targets_of_5.php

    • GN

      Not surprised by this at all. Not at all.

    • trose1

      Instead of NAACP worrying about soda pop they really need to start taking on real issues in our communities I don’t know what happened in the Gray case. The fact that these cops are involved in so many lawsuits is disturbing.

      • GN

        How about all of these drone warriors? Because they are mainly privileged, they have full access to the media and can air out mainly paranoid and overblown “what-ifs” about drones. Out of touch black “leadership” jump on that bandwagon. Meanwhile far less empowered African Americans face our kids gunned down on the street with nothing but the word of police officers (or in the even more ludicrous scenario, self-appointed neighborhood watch) that those kids were engaged in activity meriting lethal response. It’s just utterly and completely amazing. These folks are in for a surprise if they believe that black folks are going to continue to come out in PBO-like numbers only to be told that our concerns are moot (“fix your own lives”) while all sorts of esoteric pet causes involving mainly privileged white people should be our priority too. Forget about it.

        • trose1

          Yes the Black leaders came out to stand with Rand.
          I have not seen a tweet, read a story of one Black leader standing with the Gray family.
          I don’t see any of these Black leaders saying one word about the emergency manager appointment in Detroit.
          I am sickened.

          • dannie22

            so am i sis. we have no leadership. our elected officials have failed

          • conlakappa

            I think that those elected officials are quite content with letting the President do the heavy lifting and having to don his metaphoric and actual flak jacket on the regular. Takes attention away from them and allegations of ethics violations, doesn’t it? Mission accomplished.

          • GN

            Because the GOP is so extreme, Dems use that as cover to not give a flying f- about black issues. The situation is untenable.

          • nathkatun7

            You are not alone, trose1! Pretty soon they will be out there blaming President Obama for what’s happening in Detroit.

    • rikyrah

      FIVE?
      FIVE DAMN LAWSUITS?

  • Lisa M

    Good morning everyone! Today is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it!!

    And…Joy Ann Reid needs her own show. She is fantastic.

    • nellcote

      Joy Ann Reid needs her own show.

      ===
      That two hours flew by. She’s great!

      • BoomerGal

        Joe would NEVER have that!

      • Alma98

        I think if she had her own show they would stifle her truth telling.

        • Admiral_Komack

          Word.

        • crazycanuck

          Totally agree

        • Aquagranny911

          Yes! Look what happened to MHP. I marvel that Rev Al has managed to “keep it real” but he is probably the only one holding their ratings so they don’t get in his way too much. A lot of my family & friends only watch him & Bashir.

          You might get a chuckle. My Sis said if MSNBC ever fire the Rev “he should go to Uni, listening to him in Spanish would be a hoot!”

          • Alma98

            LOL! I would love to see Rev. Al teaching a class.

          • Aquagranny911

            I would love that too! I bet he would have a waiting list for that a mile long. I did put him on my bucket list of people I want to have lunch with. If he ever invites me I will bring Sis & you along!

  • Alma98

    Good morning POU peeps!

  • MsKitty

    This is a follow-up to the Philadelphia Magazine cover story that was posted here about what a fine and dandy place Philly would be if only so many negroes didn’t live there. Well, the only full-time black staffer on the mag wrote a counter editorial and she. goes. in.

    This month, I have the pleasure of representing a publication that felt the best way to spark a discourse about race was to feature a lopsided, conflagrant editorial – that teetered on the brink of fear mongering – as its cover story. At the crux of Bob Huber’s story, “Being White in Philly,” is the notion that black people are essentially what’s wrong with the city, and that the white people who live here are afraid of them.
    —
    The all-white staff of a city magazine, a city whose black population makes up 44 percent of its residents, is ill-equipped to spearhead any kind of enlightened discussion about race. Why? Because its hiring practices have made it abundantly clear that black people and their opinions have no place in its discussions. And I don’t just mean discussions about race. I mean discussions about Philly’s best salons and boutiques, restaurants and nightclubs, playhouses and theaters; discussions about local politics, education, enterprise, and government. The magazine’s positioning of itself as the voice of progressive racial discourse in Philly is the equivalent of Chris Brown being a marriage counselor or Lindsay Lohan being a sober living coach.
    –
    Bob Huber seems fixated on what white people are allowed to say about black people. Some would say he risked a lot in his quest to find out. Well, I have no idea what black employees are allowed to say about being black at Philly Mag, but I guess it’s time I find out. I’ll let you know who took the bigger risk.

    http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130317_The_only_black_person_in_the_room.html

    • Alma98

      Oh boy the comments smh.

      • GOVCHRIS1988

        Like President Truman said, just tell the truth and let them think its hell.

        • Aquagranny911

          LOL!

      • Miranda

        I didn’t see any comments on that one…was there a link to them?

        • Alma98

          I guess they closed them up because they were there when I read the article. of course they were racists in content, I guess they didn’t want to prove her point so they shut them down.

          • Admiral_Komack

            You still have comments on Bob Huber’s article, however.
            They prove her point.

    • jds09

      God Bless who wrote this. Yes indeed…she went all in. Wow.

    • rikyrah

      GODDAMN.
      She didn’t pull back one friggin’ bit.
      Fist in air!!!!

      • JojoRaze

        She’s basically daring Philly Mag to fire her to prove her point that white dude gets of with insulting black people gets press and approval while a black woman at the same paper will catch hell for fighting for her people’s right to dignity. The covo at philly mag will be interesting this week.

    • nathkatun7

      Kudos to Ms. Adrienne Simpson for her courageous act in writing this editorial response pushing back against sophisticated racists. We need more courageous Blacks in the MSM to confront the increasingly overt racism, from both the right and the left.

  • lamh36

    Fav House Husbands ever!!! Half-naked Boris Khodjoe!!!!

    When the black lady gives Boris a thumbs up for his naked body…LMBAO!

    “You know it means when your wife is your beady friend …it means you ain’t got no damn friends.”

    • rikyrah

      My favorite line was, when they were talking about pre-nups, that Boris didn’t have one.
      ” Who would want to leave me?”
      that was hilarious

  • jds09

    Bummer…Disqus is eating my posts.

    • Aquagranny911

      I’m trying to hunt down a fax# on the folks who run Disqus so I can “have a few words”…..

      • crazycanuck

        Go AG, you tell em!

  • GN

    Worldly at 35, and Shaping Obama’s Voice

    WASHINGTON — As President Obama prepares to visit Israel next week, he is turning, as he often does, to Benjamin J. Rhodes, a 35-year-old deputy national security adviser with a soft voice, strong opinions and a reputation around the White House as the man who channels Mr. Obama on foreign policy.

    Mr. Rhodes is drafting the address to the Israeli people the president plans to give in Jerusalem, but his influence extends beyond what either his title or speechwriting duties suggest. Drawing on personal ties and a philosophical kinship with Mr. Obama that go back to the 2008 campaign, Mr. Rhodes helped prod his boss to take a more activist policy toward Egypt and Libya when those countries erupted in 2011.

    …

    Now that influence is being put to the test again on the issue of Syria, where the president has so far resisted more than modest American involvement. After two years of civil war that have left 70,000 people dead, Mr. Rhodes, his friends and colleagues said, is deeply frustrated by a policy that is not working, and has become a strong advocate for more aggressive efforts to support the Syrian opposition.

    …

    In writing Mr. Obama’s speech next week, Mr. Rhodes is likely to focus on America’s unshakable support for Israel. But if history is any guide, he will slip in a reference to Syria’s democratic future.

    “Ben always holds on to the pen,” Mr. McFaul said. “Because of his close personal relationship with the president, Ben can always make policy through the speeches and statements made by President Obama.”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/world/middleeast/benjamin-rhodes-obamas-voice-helps-shape-policy.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&hpw

    *********************************
    I have nothing against the Syrian people but I am sick and tired of foreign adventurism. What about helping the people HERE who put President Obama into office in the first place?

    • Miranda

      Only 35, so impressive!

      • GN

        I’m ambivalent about someone who counsels unconditional support for israel and foreign adventurism. Especially considering the crises taking place here at home. We have 14% black unemployment and millions of people locked up in jail. We’re told to fix our own lives and get over it; why can’t some of these other countries be told the same?

        • Miranda

          Because more than likely its some US interference bullshit from the past that f’ed up their country to start with.

          • crazycanuck

            Probably, that is where a lot of the hate comes from in these countries.

          • Aquagranny911

            You NAILED THAT also!!!

          • Aquagranny911

            NAILED THAT!!!

          • BoomerGal

            Bingo! We have a winna!!!

        • Aquagranny911

          PREACH!!! I so agree! I’ve felt like Israel has been our 51st state & that they don’t give a plugged peso about any of our interests. We seem to always have to support them 100% no matter what they do. The Palestinians are no rosebuds by any measure but what Israel has been doing to them is just unconscionable.
          Their actions are not of a nation that wants to peacefully co-exist but one that wants to dominate.

          As far as our involvement with Syria…why do we always have to be the world’s police? Imo, too many of the problems we have today in foreign relations is because the US put their sorry ignorant nose into the issues & politics of countries we had a scarce understanding of for reasons that are way less than humanitarian. And we are still paying for it.

          my two pesos…

  • Miranda

    Army veteran still thinks about Iraq War ‘every single day’

    It’s taken Joel Robertson of West Richland five years to reconcile
    himself to the permanent ways his life was changed by serving in Iraq.

    The former Army infantryman came home from two tours, totaling 28
    months of combat, with injuries to his brain, back, shoulder and knees,
    and post-traumatic stress that gave him nightmares.

    He came home to a divorce and non-military friends who didn’t want to
    hear about the horrors he had seen, even though he needed to tell
    someone — needed for someone to understand.

    A decade after it started on March 19, 2003, the Iraq War likely isn’t
    on the minds of many people not directly touched by it. Troops have been
    withdrawn, news coverage has dropped off, life has moved on.more here: http://www.stripes.com/news/army-veteran-still-thinks-about-iraq-war-every-single-day-1.212131

    • Aquagranny911

      I don’t know if I shared this before but I have a niece who is a double amputee due to an accident. She has been volunteering with her local VA hospital since 2006. In the beginning, it was the idea that she could show them how to adapt to their prosthetics & give them hope that even though their lives were now different, they could still lead full & meaningful lives.

      She soon found out that the visible marks of battle were but the tip of the iceberg for the trauma so many have endured. She keeps on keeping on to do what she can to help. For her, life will continue to be twice a week at the VA doing whatever she can for our troops. She is one of my personal heroes.

      I get so angry about the maiming of so many young lives that it makes me loco. We cannot forget, ever!!!

      • conlakappa

        Living in the town closest to Walter Reed with things to do, I used to see amputees all the time, most of them not looking more than 23 years old. When we’d go shopping at the Walter Reed Annex, I’d estimate that 1 in 4 of the people there was missing at least one limb. It was startling and saddening. This was at the beginning of the war and the awareness of IEDs wasn’t so deep at that point.

        • Aquagranny911

          Kiddo, some of the men & women she has worked with were not even 20. She hopes it helps them to find out that she was only 19 herself when she lost her legs & that she can still, bike, ski, swim & jog. She teaches second grade & has a full life.

          She does believe that the mental trauma is way worse than the lost limbs & she said that families can be the Vet’s worst enemies sometimes. Girlfriends & boyfriends disappear, wives leave, parents cry too much & you really find out who your friends are.

          She said these soldiers don’t want pity. They want help & understanding. This may sound callous but she said that prosthetics has been revolutionized by the needs of over 70 thousand Vets & this is something good from a lot of bad.

  • Miranda

    Evening thread is up!