May 19, 2013

Wednesday Afternoon Thread: A Christmas Dedication to Mitt, Karl and Grover

December 5, 2012 by 132 Comments

Seems like just yesterday Mitt, Karl and Grover were kings of the hill huh? Today…not so much.  The holidays gonna be pretty tough. *snicker*

Filed Under: Open Thread Tagged With: , , , , , ,
  • rikyrah

    About Rove getting benched at Fox…

    call me a tinfoil hat wearer…but it was the OHIO reaction that did it. that went viral.

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

      Word. His reaction exposed them all and now Fox is trying to distance themselves from what they planned to do in Ohio. Mofos ain’t slick!

    • Aquagranny911

      Joining you with the tin foil, rikyrah. I do believe they thought they had Ohio locked up & stolen.

    • http://themidnightsolution.blogspot.com LTMidnight

      “…Ailes is worried that viewers who have isolated themselves inside the Fox News terror dome will start to ask questions. And viewers who ask questions are dangerous to the long term health of Fox. If the folks at home start to wonder why their trusted source for news got it all wrong, Roger will have a big problem on his hands….”

      http://www.politicususa.com/fox-news-wash-stench-defeat-benching-karl-rove-dick-morris.html

      DING DING DING

  • rikyrah

    Harry Reid Says He Will Change the Rules
    by BooMan
    Wed Dec 5th, 2012 at 01:03:59 PM EST

    I’ve been wondering whether or not Harry Reid has enough votes in his own caucus to change the rules of the Senate next year. It sure sounds like he believes that he does. He says he is going to change the rules and that he isn’t going to settle for any handshake agreement from Mitch McConnell. I guess that this means that Reid is at least locked into making an effort to change the rules, and I doubt he would commit himself this way if he didn’t feel pretty confident about his prospects of succeeding.
    I suppose it is possible that he is bluffing in an effort to convince McConnell to make concessions, but I think it is more likely that Reid actually does have enough support to make the changes if McConnell refuses to come to the table with a serious proposal.

    It will be interesting to see what actually winds up happening. I like the proposed reforms, but I worry that we’ll get relatively little out of them compared to the risk we will incur down the line.

    http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2012/12/5/13359/3693

  • Alma98

    Miranda you just taunting the trolls now huh lol.

    • Miranda

      *giggle*……..who? me?

  • rikyrah

    Dems unveil ‘FAST Voting Act’
    By Steve Benen – Fri Nov 16, 2012 9:56 AM EST.

    In the days and weeks leading up to Election Day 2012, it became painfully clear that voting problems have reached scandalous levels in many parts of the country. The fear was, once the election was over, attention would shift, policymakers would move on to other issues, and memories of voters waiting seven hours to cast a ballot would fade.

    Fortunately, it looks like some members of Congress are keeping the issue alive.

    Yesterday, Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) unveiled a bill they’re calling the “Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely (FAST) Voting Act.” Under their proposal, states that “aggressively” pursue election reforms would be rewarded with federal grants.

    And what kind of reforms are proponents looking for? It’s not a short list, but the Warner/Coons bill calls for flexible registration opportunities, including same-day registration; expanding early voting; “no-excuse” absentee voting; and “formal training of election officials, including state and county administrators and volunteers.”

    As best as I can tell, because the FAST Act is roughly modeled after the Race to the Top education initiative — it’s a competitive grant program, not a set of federal mandates.

  • MsKitty

    Knowing how much you hate that song, it must have killed to make such a heartfelt dedication (LOL).

    • Miranda

      LOL! You remembered! I hate this song like Mitt hate James Earl Carter IV!

  • rikyrah

    Pennsylvania GOP to reconsider electoral-vote scheme
    By Steve Benen – Wed Dec 5, 2012 9:00 AM EST.

    Republican Mike Turzai, Pennsylvania’s House Majority Leader, made quite a name for himself over the summer when he boasted that the state’s voter-ID law, ostensibly about the integrity of the electoral process, “is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania.”

    That plan didn’t go well — courts rejected the voter-suppression effort and President Obama won the Keystone State with relative ease. But Turzai isn’t done rolling out election schemes (via my colleague Laura Conaway).

    A Pennsylvania lawmaker is proposing making the state the only one to divide its electoral votes based on a presidential candidate’s percentage of public support, a method that would have helped Republican Mitt Romney on Nov. 6.

    Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, a Republican from Chester, wants to replace the winner-take-all system, which gave President Barack Obama the state’s 20 electoral votes, with one that divides them to reflect the proportion of votes cast for each candidate. His method would have awarded 12 votes to Obama and eight to Romney had it been in force this year.

    http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/12/05/15697011-pennsylvania-gop-to-reconsider-electoral-vote-scheme?lite

    • isonprize

      We STILL have work to do here in Pennsylvania. I am, for one, AM NOT TIRED. This BS cannot stand. People have GOT to pay attention to what goes on in ‘off’ election years.

      If folks would have come out in force in 2010, we not have had “Cut it” Corbett as governor of Pennsylvania. These folks are hateful and mean. They do not like losing nor do they play fair.

      • trose1

        The national GOP is allowed to separate itself from the racsim being done in the states by their party.
        It must stop.

  • Miranda

    Yes….the real housewives of Atlanta go to church…….*facepalm*

    Offensive or entertaining? ‘The Sisterhood’ reality show about preacher’s wives in Atlanta

    Earlier this year reports emerged of a new Atlanta-based reality show that would focus on the lives of preacher’s wives. Today, TLC, the network that recently brought us the hit series Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, has released a trailer of The Sisterhood, which is basically The Real Housewives of Atlanta with an element of church.

    According to an exclusive preview granted to People, the show will take “viewers behind the pews and into the lives of some of Atlanta’s “first ladies,” as preacher’s wives are often known in the evangelical community.”

    In the beginning of the trailer two of the wives set tone for the premise of the show, “A first lady has to appear perfect because she sets the standard for the congregation. But if you pull back the curtain and see us for who we truly are you’d be shocked.”

    more here
    http://thegrio.com/2012/11/30/offensive-or-entertaining-the-sisterhood-reality-show-about-preachers-wives-in-atlanta/

    • Alma98

      NO! NO! NO! Enough already!

      • Aquagranny911

        Agreed! I’m seriously thinking about dumping my cable. We lived without TV for many years off & on & we can do it again. We never even had cable until they took away antenna broadcast. I can’t believe I have to pay for caca like this!

        • Alma98

          We’re looking into other alternatives right now. Because cable TV charges so much money for crap TV.

          • Aquagranny911

            Exactly! Hubby keeps saying: “I can’t believe we are paying for this!”

            My daughter dumped hers & is using one of those converter boxes to get her local channels. She has netflicks & hulu to get films & stuff for her kiddos. She lives in CO.

            We did try that converter box thing here but couldn’t get it to work. I babysit some of my grandkiddos a lot & they like PBS kids.

          • Alma98

            The problem is they put the popular channels in the higher numbers, so you have to pay a hefty price to watch BBC and others. This was done on purpose.

          • Aquagranny911

            What I think is that each channel should be assigned a fee & you can pick & choose those you want. All this tier stuff with a bunch of channels you never watch is pure BS!

          • qosine

            And all those infomercial channels.

          • nellcote

            and really hateful religious channels. I get 5 of them!!!

          • qosine

            I didn’t know that. Makes sense.

    • qosine

      sux

    • MsKitty

      More shucking and jiving disguised as reality TV. Whee!

      • gc

        Nobody forces anybody to watch anything. It is the image of lazy, stupid, greedy americans I despise – the viewers and cynical presenters of this crap. The term STAR should never be defned by the descriptive tern “celebrity.” They are mutually exclusive. I blame the Kardashians. The Reps and the media – our dumbed down sopciety. But Showtime’s Homeland, which is my favorite is doing well. If they
        build it” they will come, perhaps. Ken Burns’ stuff does well. Honey BB is gonna need a couple of couches before she’s through.

    • AxelFoley

      SMH at this mess.

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

    *smh*

    John Sununu: Obama base gets handouts
    By KATIE GLUECK | 12/5/12 12:12 PM EST

    John Sununu says that President Barack Obama owes his reelection in part to voters who are dependent on “government policy and government programs,” according to a report, echoing Mitt Romney’s comment that voters chose Obama because he offered “gifts.”

    “They aggressively got out the base of their base, the base of their base that’s dependent, to a great extent economically, on government policy and government programs,” Sununu charged, according to a report in the Concord Monitor. Sununu was speaking at a political forum with fellow former Republican governors Craig Benson and Steve Merrill in Concord, N.H.

    Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/john-sununu-obama-base-gets-handouts-84633.html#ixzz2EDHmivvB

    • Alma98

      So sayeth the thief who stole taxpayers money.

    • http://themidnightsolution.blogspot.com LTMidnight

      Yeah as if had Romney won, people like Sununu wouldn’t be getting “gift” as well.

      Excuses a plenty

    • Town

      TRANSLATION: NIGGAS WANT WELFARE. –John Sununu

    • AxelFoley

      Someone that ugly shouldn’t talk shit.

      I wanna punch him in his grill just because of his looks.

  • MsKitty

    This really puts yesterday’s assholery in clear focus…

    Disability community shocked and hurt by last-minute GOP treaty reversal

    David Morrissey, the executive director of the United State International Council on Disabilities, told The Cable in an interview that his group and many others had been assured by numerous GOP senators that they would vote in favor of ratification, but then disabilities groups were given no warning when those senators reversed themselves and voted “no.”

    –

    The scene both inside and just outside the Senate chamber Tuesday before and during the vote was heart-wrenching, several observers said. Wounded war veterans and other disabled people filled the gallery above the floor and the hallways outside the chamber, expecting to celebrate months of effort, only to have those hopes shattered as the roll call vote was read aloud.

    “That was one of most shameful moments I’ve witnessed during my time in Washington,” one longtime senior Senate aide said. “I thought it was utterly appalling.”

    “The reaction was one of emotional hurt. There was weeping in the gallery,” said Morrissey, who added that disability groups will remember the GOP senators who torpedoed the treaty ratification effort and groups have labeled the 38 the “wall of shame.”

    • Aquagranny911

      Each & every one of them should be shamed! They should each be targeted to lose their seats in the next election. This was absolutely evil!

    • qosine

      “Shocked and hurt” – yes

    • rikyrah

      how the hell are they shocked and hurt?

      how could they be surprised by the GOP?

      • malletgirl02

        Exactly really they should not be surprised. This is par for the course for republicans.

      • AxelFoley

        Thank you. Nothing those fuckers do surprises me.

      • nellcote

        They need to name names of the senators that lied to them about voting yes.

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

    Like a Bawse!

    The World’s Most Powerful People

    [...] U.S. President Barack Obama emerged, unanimously, as the world’s most powerful person, for the second year running. Obama was the decisive winner of the 2012 U.S. presidential election, and now he gets four more years to push his agenda.The President faces major challenges, including an unresolved budget crisis, stubbornly high unemployment and renewed unrest in the Middle East. But Obama remains the unquestioned commander in chief of the world’s greatest military, and head of its sole economic and cultural superpower.

    MORE: http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2012/12/05/the-worlds-most-powerful-people/

    • AxelFoley

      When was the last time a black man was the most powerful man in the world? Between 1 A.D. and 33 A.D.?

    • nellcote

      The President faces major challenges, including
      ===
      INSANE republicans in the US congress.

    • TyrenM

      Back up Sepia and Forbes, just who the fuck was the most powerful person in the world 2009 and 2010? Go ahead, I’ll wait.

    • Admiral_Komack

      They should have inserted the obligatory “BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” into the story.

  • qosine

    Love your Dedication. LOL
    Plus Joy Ann Reid is SO great on Bashir right now.

  • qosine

    So Govs Jindal, Donnelly (sp), and Kasich went to Vegas to kiss
    Adelson’s ring. Pathetic

  • Miranda

    This too will break your heart.

    Son Jumped By Whites, Sentenced To 12 Years: Mom Demands Justice! [VIDEO]

    In October of 2006, the Jackson family of Solomons, Md., would be rocked, when their 21-year-old son, Brandon (pictured), was reportedly jumped by 7 to 8 White males. Six years later, Brandon would be sentenced by a nearly all-White jury to 12 years in prison for attempted murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a weapon for defending himself against one of the “victims.” Struck down but buoyed by faith, Brandon’s mother, Gloria Fisher, spoke with NewsOne about how she won’t stop until she gets justice for Brandon.

    more here
    http://newsone.com/2036891/brandon-jackson-case/

    • rikyrah

      and make you mad as hell

    • Alma98

      WTF! I have no words absolutely none, this could have been my son. I can’t imagine the pain his mom is going through.

    • GN

      Unbelievable.

    • malletgirl02

      Wait a minute, A white man can go around and shoot a black teenage and could possibly get off, but this black man gets twelve years for defending himself from getting a beat down from a mob? So “stand your ground” doesn’t apply to black people. What was he supposed to do stand there and get beat to a pulp. I’m so tired of this. I thought this was 2012 and not 1952.

  • Miranda

    Oh…I would definitely have to kick somebody’s azz!!!!!!!! ROFLMAO

    Zombie Elveator Prank Freaks People Out (VIDEO)
    http://main.aol.com/2012/12/05/zombie-elveator-prank-fre_n_2245525.html

    • Alma98

      LOL! I watched this yesterday, somebody would definitely get a beat down.

    • crazycanuck

      Whoa, they lucky they didn’t get sued with this stunt. What if someone had a heart attack or something?

  • MsKitty

    Fast Eddie is now on Twitter ( @govedrendell ). I hope he’s stocked up on asbestos drawers, he’s gonna need them.

    • isonprize

      Fast Eddie needs to go sit down somewhere. I’m sure there will be a blonde bimbo somewhere close by…

  • PBomb

    So.. yeah…errr…ummm…and the award for epic “Derp” goes to….
    _______________________________________________________________

    The Walking Stupid! Long Island man arrested after shooting girlfriend over argument about possibility of zombie apocalypse like one on TV’s ‘The Walking Dead’

    The Walking Dead? Try the walking stupid.

    That might be at least one way to explain Jared Gurman, the 26-year-old Long Island man accused of blasting his girlfriend in the back with a .22-caliber rifle following an inexplicable argument over the hit show “The Walking Dead,” according to authorities.

    Gurman allegedly shot his 27-year-old girlfriend, Jessica Gelderman, outside his Williston Park home, according to CBS 2 News.

    So what was the pivotal plot point in the show that led to the shooting? The couple got into a heated argument over whether a zombie apocalypse was actually possible, NBC 4 New York reports.

    “He felt very adamant there could be a military mishap that would result in some sort of virus being released that could cause terrible things to happen,” Detective Lt. Raymond Cote said a news conference. “She felt it was ridiculous. He’s passionate about it. And it escalated from there.”

    Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/long-island-man-shoots-girlfriend-zombie-tv-show-article-1.1213739#ixzz2EDk3Zkvd

    • qosine

      Help.

  • lamh36

    Alright, I talked to my apartment management office and I do have an early termination policy in my lease. It’s basically 1 month’s rent (with no discounts) plus a pro-rated amount for Jan (I’ll be moving out on the 11th, so 11 days pro-rated), plus any discounted amount on rent that I was given for the time I stayed on lease (7months). That still is a good chunk of change, but still basically 1 full paycheck (luckily I have like 3 more coming).

    Still that’s good news. I still had like 7 months left on my lease and 7X my rent is way more than 1 paycheck. So I came out of this good.

    God is good!

    • rikyrah

      good news, lamh.happy that this worked out for you.

    • dannie22

      glad everything is working out for you sis

    • GreenLadyHere

      HEEY lamh36 –***BIG HUG*** – –

      - – –Yaaaaa 4 U! – - – —-Annnnd – -THIS – -4 DA RENT SITUATION:>) —LOL

      – - -Sooo HAPPY 4 U .:>) – - -CONTINUIN’ PRAY 4 your mom/U/FAMILY. :>) – - -B BLESSED. :>)

      • TyrenM

        Congrats Lamh.
        GLH. I thought u were headed to “ain’t nothin goin on but the rent.” Have a good night all.

        • GreenLadyHere

          HEEY TyrenM. ***BIG HUG** :>) —

          LOL- -Ooooo-Kaaay! – — – LOL – -FIXED!! LOL- -

          Good 2 C U TyrenM. – - -Have a good one. :>)

  • lamh36

    I scheduled a short 15min meeting with my Lab Director, Lab Manager, and Section Supervisor for tomorrow. They have been very understanding of my situation and I think I owe them for how easy they made it for me to be able to go home or in this case it’s them allowing me to work 7 on and 7 off that made it easy to go back and forth to NOLA and Cincy when my mom had her heart attack. The reason for the 7 on/off schedule was to make it easier to go back and forth to home. It was a blessing and a gift from the Lord cause no less than 1month after I started that schedule, my mom had her heart attack and I’m be back and forth every other week since. So even though my resignation letter is just a simple form letter, in this meeting, I will talk to them and explain what’s going on. I don’t think I’m going to tell ‘em about the job (cause I”m paranoid/superstitious about most things and I just don’t want to jinx the new job), but I will update them on my mom and tell them all in person that I appreciate how easy they made everything. Plus, I’m giving them a 6 weeks notice instead of 2 (actually 3 weeks, because due to my on/off schedule, I only really work 2 weeks a month) and I’m working through the holidays so they don’t have to worry about scheduling when so many people are off for the holiday.

  • http://themidnightsolution.blogspot.com LTMidnight
  • http://pragmaticobotsunite.blogspot.com/ Sepia
  • Aquagranny911
    • rikyrah

      RIP. Mr. Brooks.

      thank you for what you did to make this country better.

    • Alma98

      RIP Mr.Brooks and thank you.

  • lamh36

    Ok guys, here is my resignation letter. I need a bit of advice though, I have 3 supervisors above me who will be in the meeting, the lab director, the lab manager, and the microbiology supervisor. I’m having trouble trying to figure out who to address the letter to. Is “To Whom It May Concern” too formal for the sentiment in the letter, or do I need to address it as “Dear…” and include all there names?

    Anyway, here is the letter:

    With this letter, I hereby submit my resignation from “blah blah” effective “blah blah”. I want to acknowledge with deep thanks your many kindnesses to me during the past year that I worked with you all.

    It’s not everyone who is able to work for a company that has given me not just one, but a set of bosses who are consistently cooperative, generous, and understanding, and I feel that I have been blessed. Not only have I enjoyed working under you all; I have worked alongside some excellent colleagues, and have had so many opportunities to grow and develop in my career field.

    I will never forget my time at…

    Sincerely,

    • angee

      Looks great.

    • TyrenM

      Messrs. … & Ms.:
      OR To Whom It May Concern:

    • nellcote

      You could address it to “name of business” if there isn’t a person in HR that would be more appropriate.

  • angee

    I know we have all seen the pics of Halle Berry’s Canadian-French baby daddy getting the beatdown of a lifetime by her Spanish-French fiancee. Well Peter from RHOA has a perspective that I agree with:
    http://bossip.com/690427/rhoa-hubby-peter-thomas-gives-halle-berry-a-ho-sit-down-for-how-shes-handled-co-parenting-that-little-girl-is-going-to-grow-up-and-hate-her-mother/
    “My beef is that, if it was two black men who go to work on each other like that, they would say that ‘it’s expected of us,’ ‘we’re criminals,’ ‘we belong in jail’ and ‘they should take the kid away from the woman and put her in a foster home.’ If this man, who just won a custody battle, is coming to drop off his kid in the driveway, Halle Berry had the power to shut all that down. This is a very volatile situation that she’s put herself in once again. He’s dropping off his daughter and all Halle had to do is come out of the house, meet the baby half way just because they don’t like each other and keep it moving and that man can go about his business. But, for the fact that her man, her current boyfriend, had to have something to say and then homeboy had the beatdown of life by a boxer, he should have gone to jail. When I looked at the pictures, that beatdown was severe. That’s a beatdown and a half, stitches, black eye. I’m surprised he didn’t knock out a couple of teeth while he was at it.”

    and this:
    “There are no winners in the Halle Berry’s situation because one day that little girl is going to grow up and she’s going so see those pictures of what that man did to her father and she’s going to hate that man for putting hands on her father and she’s going to hate her mother. There’s no way around it. Little girls love their fathers. To me Halle Berry needs to check herself because she has control over the situation. She should have told her new man that ‘I don’t care what me and my baby’s father is going through don’t you ever disrespect him because that will carry over to my daughter and I don’t ever want her to hate my guts.’ She has the power to shut all this [ish] down. That new man has no respect for Halle Berry and no respect for Halle Berry’s daughter in order for him to put his hands on that man the way he did. As far as I’m concerned, that dude has issues.”

    I always thought Peter was crazy and domineering with Cynthia but I gotta agree with him on this one. Halle should have checked herself decades ago.

    • crazycanuck

      That is exactly what I said, that Halle better check herself. Let’s face it angee Halle is one eff up chick.. She’s crazy. She wanted this to go down the way it did.

      • angee

        Yep. I can imagine her pumping Oliver up with some bs waiting for gabe to show up. Gabe being a dumbazz and caught up in his feelings thought, “I can take his old azz thinking he’s gonna take MY CHILD out of the country to live hell naw” and started popping off in the mouth and pumped up Oliver had a flashback to his boxing days and beat the shit out of the boy. Meanwhile, Halle in the house with Nahla smirking as she calls the cops.

        • gc

          She has asssimilated the lesson that violence solves problems. She seems a loving mother to Nahla, but this is fucked up. Poor Nahla. It will fall into the hands of her teachers. So what else is new.
          Sometimes I think people – meany “celebrities” should be forced to prove they are child rearing-worthy.

          • crazycanuck

            She has asssimilated the lesson that violence solves problems.

            yup. She needs some serious therapy. Her mother needs to stage an intervention.

    • itgurl_29

      Halle is unstable and lives for the drama. And she’s a narcissist who’s using her own child as a way to try to move to France just to follow behind a man. I can’t stand her.

      • angee

        I’m surprise covergirl/maybelline/revlon haven’t cut her yet. If she keeps up they will and she know she can’t afford that. It’s not like she’s getting any starring roles nowadays. All she’s getting are cameos and she got child support to pay to “I don’t have to work for the next 14 yrs” Gabe

    • lamh36

      crazycanuck and I both said this same thing when all this shit happened. Halle knew exactly what she was doing.

    • lamh36

      Halle is really full of shit with this mess. You mean to tell me you been trying all the time they were together to have a baby and NOT ONCE did you realize ole dude was prejudiced or racist? Really Halle, really. I call BULLSHIT. Now I can believer that Halle Berry has no Black friends if she has friends at all, you never hear about friendship with other Black actresses do you? Still if Gabriel Aubry was a bigot, you would damn well know about it.

      • AxelFoley

        Yup. Forgot about that.

        I guess she must’ve been his black fantasy. Like I said, the girl is a mess. She got issues that years of therapy prolly won’t help.

    • Alma98
      • crazycanuck

        Call me cynical, but who did Halle pay to have them say that.

        • Alma98

          LOL! The whole thing is a shame cc.

          • crazycanuck

            She’s a nutcase, and believe me mr new guy will figure that out soon enuf

    • AxelFoley

      Halle’s a straight up mess. To think, I used to love this lady back in the early 90′s. Boomerang Halle was my Boo.

      But her love life–sheesh. She sure can pick ‘em, can’t she?

      • TyrenM

        My Swordfish boo. The rest, agree.

  • rikyrah

    JET Magazine Features First Gay Couple In Weddings Section

    Though he was speaking about politics, the same can be said about media and its bandwagon tendencies; and in that context, Jet Magazine, by making the editorial decision to include the first gay couple within the pages of their Weddings section, has proven to be a leader.

    The Advocate reports:

    The December 10 issue of Jet, which hit newsstands today, highlights the wedding of Ravi Perry, an assistant professor of political science at Mississippi State University, and Paris Prince, a licensed real estate broker and compliance officer for the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. They were married in August at their home in Worcester, Mass.

    “The biweekly feature, which traditionally showcases straight couples, includes a short bio of the couple and explains how the couple fell in love,” GLAAD reports in a press release saluting the magazine, which is aimed at an African-American audience, for featuring the wedding of the two men. Jet featured its first lesbian wedding last year, with the union of Nyema Vernon and Tenika Jackson

    http://blackamericaweb.com/78114/jet-magazine-features-first-gay-couple-in-weddings-section/

    • trose1

      I stopped reading Jet, Ebony and Essence a long time ago.

    • lamh36

      yeah, I stopped reading Jet and all a while ago, but I commend them for doing this regardless.

    • jds09

      I remember as a kid, Ebony did a story about Johnny Matthis and his “special friend” and their beautiful home in Bel Air or another similar area. My Mom explained to me what a “special friend” meant. She was factual and without judgement. Ebony and Jet did push the envelope back in the day.

  • creolechild

    Your move, GOP!

    Geithner: Administration ‘Absolutely’ Prepared To Go Over Fiscal Cliff

    Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday that the Obama administration was “absolutely” prepared to jump off the so-called fiscal cliff should Republicans not agree to raising tax rates on the country’s top earners, according to Politico: “Oh, absolutely,” Geithner replied. “There’s no prospect in an agreement that doesn’t involve the rates going up on the top 2 percent of the wealthiest.”

    “The size of the problem in some sense is so large it can’t be solved without rates going up,” Geithner said about the country’s fiscal challenges. “I think there’s a broad recognition of that reality now.”

    http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/geithner-administration-absolutely-prepared-to-go-over-fiscal

    H/T Igor Bobic

  • creolechild

    Navy mine-hunting dolphins to be replaced by robots

    Some 24 dolphins that the US Navy uses to hunt mines will be replaced by mine-hunting robots within five years, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The dolphins are part of the Navy’s $28 million marine mammal program, which trains and employs 80 bottle-nosed dolphins and 40 California sea lions to detect and clear mines and other dangers from ports, the Union-Tribune reported.[....] Now, however, the Navy has designed a 12-foot torpedo-shaped mine-hunting robot that can be built more quickly than training a dolphin for the task, which takes seven years.[....]

    Read more: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/navy-mine-hunting-dolphins-replaced-robots-marine-mammal

    H/T Samantha Stainburn

    • nellcote

      Good. I never liked them using dolphins for that.

  • creolechild

    Defying Rick Scott, Florida Legislators Introduce Bill To Restore Early Voting Days

    Last year, the Republican-led Florida legislature slashed the state’s early voting period in half and cut out voting on the final Sunday before the election — a day when many African American churches turned out parishioners in high numbers. As a result, long lines were the norm for Floridians this year; some even had to wait six hours or more to vote.

    After witnessing the negative effects of reducing early voting from 14 days to 8, a number of state lawmakers have introduced legislation to restore those days that had been axed. State Sens. Arthenia Joyner (D) and Gwen Margolis (D) have pre-filed two bills, SB 80 and SB 82, that would re-institute 14 days of early voting in Florida, beginning on the 15th day before an election and continuing through the Sunday prior to Election Day.[....]

    Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/12/05/1288451/early-voting-florida/

    H/T Scott Keyes

  • creolechild

    Growing something out of nothing: The story of D.C.’s Wangari Gardens

    [....] Now, as it completes its first growing season, Wangari Gardens, named for the late Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai, is a good example of the kinds of roller coasters scrappy new community gardens often face — and the power of persistence. It all started in late 2011 when Singer, a graduate student studying history at George Mason University, noticed a grassy park sitting vacant in his food desert neighborhood.[....]

    Soon the garden was helping area residents eat healthier on a budget.[....] Some also see the garden as a safe haven. “It’s hard to be a parent in this city. The yards are small, the freaky people are many,” says plot holder Nat Malkus, an education research analyst and father of three. “[Wangari] is a setting that we need.” It helps that Singer and McLaughlin “really have a heart to not just have the young hipsters and the young professionals involved in Wangari,” says Angela Strange, coordinator of a kids program in the area.[....]

    Read more: http://grist.org/food/making-something-with-nothing-the-story-of-d-c-s-wangari-gardens/

    H/T Rhea Kennedy

  • creolechild

    Faith Leaders Slam Rick Perry For Refusing To Expand Texas’ Medicaid Program

    Even though Texas has the highest uninsurance rates in the nation — nearly a quarter of the state’s population lacks health insurance — Gov. Rick Perry (R) has refused to expand the Medicaid program, prioritizing his continued opposition to Obamacare over the opportunity to extend health coverage to an estimated 2 million low-income Texans.

    [....] That’s why Rosen’s group brought a diverse group of church and community leaders together for a rally and religious service on Sunday to emphasize what’s at stake in the battle over Medicaid expansion.[....] Yesterday’s event also kicked off a state-wide petition drive to pressure Perry to reconsider his stance on Medicaid.[....]

    Earlier this year, a group of over 100 national, state, and local faith leaders also urged Republican governors to accept Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, explaining that “depriving struggling families of healthcare is wholly incompatible with the teachings of our faiths and the ideals of our nation.”[....]

    Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/12/03/1270551/faith-leaders-perry-medicaid/

    H/T Tara Culp-Ressler

  • creolechild

    Emissions Per New Car Driver Fell 20 Percent In Five Years

    U.S. drivers of new cars produced an average of 20 percent less emissions per driver in September 2012 than in October 2007, a reduction that occurred thanks to the purchase of more fuel-efficient vehicles, a new study from the University of Michigan found. Here’s a chart showing the trend, with emissions in green, fuel economy in red and distance driven in blue:[....]

    Read more: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/emissions-per-new-car-driver-fell-20-percent

    H/T Carl Franzen

  • Elie
    • itgurl_29

      Diva on the runway, bitches!!!

    • qosine

      Attitude!

    • rikyrah

      that’s our FLOTUS!

    • JojoRaze

      And she was modeling for good! The caption says it was for a fundraiser or Ethiopia. FLOTUS always combined her love for fashion with her love for service!

      • AxelFoley

        B-b-but, FLOTUS and POTUS don’t do jack for black folk!

        Tavis an’ nem–never mind. Fuck them coons.

        • isonprize

          BOFE of ‘em!

          • Alma98

            There you go using ebonics again hahahaha!

    • AxelFoley

      Work it, girl, work IT!

    • GreenLadyHere

      HEEY Elie. ***BIG HUG*** :>)

      SHE betta – –so dat –”RUNWAY STROLL” – –:>) – -Woo! Hoo!! – -

      - – -WERQUE -IT!! – - -:>) – - -OUR BELOVED FIRST LADY! — :>)

      SERVIN’ – -PEOPLE – - WITH STYLE!! :>) – - – -Woo! Hoo! —

      Thank U -4 da JOY — Elie. :>) – -Good 2 C U. :>) – -

  • MonieTalks

    Just when I think the era of sheep music is over with Keith Sweat, here comes Trey Songz.

    I was busy around the house and had the TV turned to VH1 soul. OMG.. Trey Songs was literally baa-baing in some parts. He is singing a sheep mating call on that “Dive In” record.

    Blue eyed soul singers like Allen Stone and Daley are putting today’s young R&B mere sex symbols to shame.

    • Alma98

      You know not to mention Trey Songz around me Monie hahahaha!

  • GreenLadyHere

    Good Evenin’ miranda/POU FAM♥ – —***BIG HUG** :>) – -

    – –BWAHAHA – - –LUVIN’ THIS THREAD!! – — -Annnd THIS –What Tavis and Cornell gonna do for Xmas? LOL – –

    - — – - — – -Prolly – - -Spend it LIKE THIS!! – - -

    – - — -THIS – –is 4 — -ALL the REST of ‘EM – - -LOL – - -

    Good TOPIC. LOL – - – -IMMA look 4 MORE. LOL – -

  • GreenLadyHere

    miranda – –LOL – - – -THIS SHOULD HAPPEN 2 —ALLA DEM!! – -LOL – - -

  • GreenLadyHere

    miranda- – - -WONDA — -how many CORNERS – - -Ms. Soledad HAS?? –LOL

    SHE STR8 B PUSHIN’ —RE-THUGS INTO THEM! – -LOL – — -

    - – — GOP Rep. Has No Answer For Why Republicans Won’t Vote For Middle-Class Tax Cuts – -

    – — -Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), the incoming chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, could not explain during an interview on Wednesday why House Republicans are holding middle- and low-income tax cuts hostage to the cuts for the wealthiest Americans in the fiscal cliff showdown. When pressed by CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, Hensarling first cited complaints about spending, but when O’Brien asked why he couldn’t set spending levels aside and compromise on taxes first, he had nothing but unrelated talking points:

    O’BRIEN: Why don’t Republicans and Democrats vote to keep the taxes lower for middle class and people at lower income and let the other ones expire? And you could do that now. And we wouldn’t go over the fiscal cliff.

    HENSARLING: What the Speaker has done is exactly what the President claimed he he wanted. The Speaker has put on the table a balanced approach. …
    O’BRIEN: You can’t be surprised that the president said no go to that, right? Within only a couple of hours — because it did not increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans, which he has consistently said.

    HENSARLING: The President won 51-49. He has an electoral college victory. It’s good enough to get him re-elected but not enough to give him a mandate.

    Watch it:

    – - -SNIP – - -

    —Hensarling’s electoral analysis is equally irrelevant and misleading. Not only did he get the numbers wrong (Obama won the popular vote by roughly double the margin Hensarling suggests), but Democrats made big gains in the Senate and actually won the majority of votes cast for candidates in the House.
    THERE IS MORE – - — -LOL – — –

    – -I ‘ON’T KNOW – -”WHYCOME” THEY KEEP comin’ on her show; – –ONLY 4 — – THIS – —2 HAPPEN!! – -LOL

    • AxelFoley

      I’m surprised GOPers keep trying to test Soledad. They should know by now she don’t suffer fools gladly.

      • GreenLadyHere

        HEEY AxelFoley: ***BIG HUG*** :>)

        – - -***fist bump*** — -I KNOW -HUH?? – – -LOL.

        SHE STR8 B – –KICKIN’ BUTT — -annnnd TAKIN’ NAMES!! – -Annnd – - PUTTIN’ ‘em – –IN A CORNER!! LOL – –

        Good 2 C U AxeFoley. :>)

  • AxelFoley

    LMMFAO @ What Tavis and Cornell gonna do for Xmas?

  • rikyrah

    BWA HA H AH AH HA HA HA HA HA

    jacqlyn smith @deepdimlpes ….pssst!!!…Ann Romney had actually purchased new furniture, dishes, & linen 4 the whitehouse.. ugh!!..return line on left >>>

    • jds09

      I wanna see her private transition pinterest board. lol

      • nellcote

        I’m surprised no one’s started one already.

    • AxelFoley

      LOL, the fail is SO strong with them.

  • GreenLadyHere

    miranda – - – -WHA’??? – - – -WAITAMINUTE!! – - -NO! – -SEEEE! – –

    -WAITANOTHA — FLIPPIN–MINUTE!! – - – - – -

    — – — -CHAVIS CARTER 2.0?? – - – -NO! — – -WAY!!!! – -

    – – -Handcuffed high school student allegedly shoots self in back of police car – – - NO! – -FLIPPIN’!! — – WAY!!

    - — – -A handcuffed Houston-area high school student shot himself in the head Wednesday while in the back of a police car, officials said.

    The student was rushed to Ben Taub Hospital. His condition was not released, but officials said he was conscious and breathing when he was transported,
    No one else was hurt.

    The incident began when police were called to North Shore Senior High School in unincorporated Harris County to investigate a report of a student with a firearm, said Capt. Jon Moore with the Harris County Constable Precinct 3.

    The student was searched, handcuffed behind his back and placed in the back of a patrol car but apparently still had a gun, Moore said. – –WHA’????

    The student then shot himself, Galena Park Independent School District officials said.

    District spokesman Jonathan Frey gave the following account:

    – - -HE! WAS! SEARCHED!!! — -
    THERE Is MORE. — -

    - – - -NOW CAN we TALK ABOUT — -HAND GUN CONTROL!!??? — — “WHYCOME” – - -the POLICE COULDN’T –CONTROL –THAT GUN?? – - –

    THEY SEARCHED!!!!???? – - – - — –Prayin’ 4 him/family. AMEN. – -

  • rikyrah

    Pelosi: Dems must say No to raising Medicare eligibility age

    Posted by Greg Sargent on December 5, 2012 at 3:34 pm

    It’s a perennial fear among liberals: In the quest for a fiscal cliff deal, the White House and Democrats will ultimately acquiesce to GOP demands to raise the Medicare eligibility age. But one Democrat is drawing a line against this possibility: Nancy Pelosi.

    “I am very much against that, and I think most of my members are,” Pelosi said in an interview with me today. “I don’t see any reason why that should be in any agreement.”

    The argument against raising the eligibility age is that it would leave hundreds of thousands of seniors without health coverage and wouldn’t raise that much money for deficit reduction, since many of those seniors would go into Medicaid or the Obamacare exchanges, offsetting savings. The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that it would save $125 billion over 10 years.

    Pelosi echoed this complaint succinctly, saying: “Show me the money.” She also said flatly that she didn’t believe raising the eligibility age would be in the final deal, despite GOP demands: “I don’t anticipate that it will be in it.”

    It’s unclear how much influence Pelosi will have over any final deal. The Beltway chatter holds that she will have very little. But if tax hikes are in the compromise, there may be major Republican defections, meaning as many as 100 or more House Dems could be needed to pass it. Public statements like the above are meant to signal to the White House what her caucus can accept.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2012/12/05/pelosi-dems-must-say-no-to-raising-medicare-eligibility-age/

  • rikyrah

    Today in the Coming Republican Coalition

    [ 35 ] December 5, 2012 | Erik Loomis

    On all fronts, the Republicans are making remarkable progress in building a coalition that will appeal to people who aren’t old and white.

    1. John Sununu dismissing Obama’s victory as a group of people dependent on the government.

    2. A Subway owned by Republican Congressman John Fleming of Louisiana refused to serve a Muslim couple and told them that was the reason.

    3. The rejection of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Disabled treaty.

    If there’s three things that appeal to young voters, it’s denigrating why they voted for Obama, Jim Crow-style treatment of brown people, and hating on the disabled because of anti-world government nonsense.

    I can’t wait for the coming immigration debate.

    http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2012/12/today-in-the-coming-republican-coalition

  • isonprize

    This, this, THIS BULLSHIT RIGHT HERE… is why we have so much more work to do in Pennsylvania!! (my personal editorial comment — um, just ignore the first sentence…)

    How Philly Works: Did Your Provisional Ballot Count?

    The presidential election is long over. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have mended fences at the White House.

    But it wasn’t until today that 27,355 Philadelphians got the first word on why they came to the polls on November 6 expecting to use the voting machines but were instead forced to vote by paper (or “provisional”) ballot. That’s more than twice as many as in the 2008 presidential election.

    Astoundingly, many of these voters had been voting at the same polling place for years, sometimes decades. Days after the election, one long-time voter compelled to vote provisionally told us: “I am very angry over this situation.” She isn’t alone. Lots of new voters showed up at the polls with their registration cards in hand – and had to vote by provisional ballot too.

  • GreenLadyHere

    miranda – – - – — – -***sniff!- —sniff!*** — -

    —Letter to Santa makes wish come true for Compton girl – –

    – -The U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday kicked off its annual “Letters to Santa” campaign with a story of a Christmas wish fulfilled.

    Celebrating its 100th year, the program, also called “Operation Santa,” allows donors to respond to letters written to Santa by underprivileged children.

    One of those children whose letter was adopted is Shimaya, a shy but fun loving 9-year-old girl from Compton. Her story is a example of the power of Operation Santa.

    – –Shimaya was born deaf, missing one ear and with only a partial ear on the other side. She has endured countless hours of surgeries to get what she has always wanted.

    “Her mom was very sadden by the fact that Shimaya would ask her all the time to please have ears like her baby sister so she could get her ears pierced,” said Dr. Sheri Lewin, a craniofacial and pediatric plastic surgeon in Santa Monica who specializes in ear reconstruction.

    – - – - -SNIP — -

    — The most recent was last Friday, in which Shimaya was given ear lobes.
    THERE IS MORE. L) – -

  • GreenLadyHere

    - – -Dear POU FAM♥ -G’NIGHT. :>) MAY U HAVE BLESSED SWEET DREAMS. -♥ – -♥ :>)- – -AMEN

    – -It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas – –:>)

    – – - – -UNTIL THE MORNING LIGHT -♥ :>) — -