Thursday AM

The traditional Thursday open thread.

Comments

[DrJ]

First?

[henry]

So traditional we get a full day head start on comments. ;)

[Gentlejim]

Happy I was fully awake when I saw the thread title. Otherwise, I'd be one confused puppy.

[Buckeye]

And I was going to win the Powerball on Wednesday:)

[Captain Hate]

Are you always up this early, DrJ?

[DrJ]

CH,

Often I am up for an hour or two in the middle of the night, and then go back to bed. Tonight of one of those.

[Miss Marple]

Good morning, all.

I believe this will be the next big thing to occupy the media:

http://www.wral.com/three-killed-in-chapel-hill-shooting-46-year-old-man-charged/14438074/

The three victims were Muslim students. The shooter who has turned himself in is a 46-year old white guy and atheist, according to the story.

[Jane]

Isn't it Wednesday?

[Jane]

Shoulda read before I posted.

It's snowing here. It's not supposed to snow until tomorrow so I'm going to pretend it's not snowing here. But it's snowing here.

[Captain Hate]

DrJ, I was reading something about sleep patterns recently that stated before widespread use of interior lighting (gas or electricity I guess) that it was normal for people to go to sleep at sunset and then get up for a couple of hours in the middle of the night and do stuff, and then return to sleep until sunrise.

[Jack is Back]

Powerball is at $485 million. I figure a $20 ticket(s) gets us closer to St. Jane's Island:)

[Miss Marple]

Well, Jack, I bought a ticket yesterday.

I think today I will go buy a ticket at a small mom and pop store. I have noticed that at least here in Indiana winners seem to come from small convenience stores and liquor stores, not from big outlets like Kroger or Meier.

[James D.]

MM @ 7:51

I've already seen a post on FB about it:

"Three Muslims College Students murdered in the US by white middle aged man. Where are the headlines? Where is the outrage? We didn't wait for police comment before we were up in arms about the Charlie Hebdo killings - how and why is this case any different?"

I think you're absolutely right, and I imagine the tone of the coverage will mirror the post I'm quoting.

In the article you linked, they did mention that the shooter appears to be an atheist. I'm guessing that little detail (assuming it's true) will be downplayed or ignored when the story is picked up tonight on all the major network newscasts, and no doubt in a statement from the White House.

[James D.]

MM, sorry, I didn't read your post closely. You mentioned the atheism already. Oops!

[Miss Marple]

James D.,

From what I am picking up he is also a leftist, so I imagine the causes will cancel each other out.

He is probably just another nut case, which the Left seems to attract like flies to flypaper.

[Extraneus]

Not the dreaded backlash...

[Miss Marple]

Here's a little Twitter tweet to cheer up your morning:

Eric Boehlert ‏@EricBoehlert

not to be alarmist, but w/ Colbert and Stewart exiting, progressives have arguably lost their 2 most influential media voice of last 50 yrs.

[Ben]

Hmmm. I wonder why there's no 'Terrorism' cries of outrage.

Isn't atheism a belief system requiring faith, since there is no evidence God doesn't exist? What is the definition of Terrorism?

More than three dead?

[Janet]

An interesting post from Daniel Greenfield - http://www.frontpagemag.com/2015/dgreenfield/how-jon-stewart-gave-us-obama/

"The media found Stewart refreshing not because he kept them honest, but because he encouraged their worst partisan instincts for dishonesty. The news anchors at their desks wished that they could say the things that he said. And some of them began to say them. Today the line has blurred so much that NBC News was thinking of offering Stewart a gig on Meet the Press."

[Ben]

The best comedians use social commentary as the prop for jokes.

Material taken from politics is the easiest. So many buffoons to lampoon, so little time.

[Momto2]

The most shocking thing I read this morning - Kayla Meuller given to ISIS fighter as a "bride"!!! Not sure what to think about this - other than YUCK!! (please forgive if you discussed this previously - I only have a few minutes today and cannot catch up :) http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kayla-mueller-was-given-to-isis-fighter-as-a-bride-u-s-believes/

[Miss Marple]

More news on the atheist Chapel Hll shooter:

He was a Rachel Maddow fan.

I am beginning to think that we won't hear much of this crime on national news.

And prayers for the three Muslim students who were murdered, since they seem to have been very nice people who were simply unfortunately targets of this nut case.

[henry]

Jane, so the post title is a play on snow arriving a day early? Very sneaky TM!

[GMax]

Yeah if I had a little more time I could tell some funny stories about a professor passing feathers around to gullible students all while keeping a straight face and insisting he just knows he has some Indian blood in there somewhere...

[Old Lurker]

This is the real story that should be getting coverage regarding Kayla Mueller per Catherine Herridge at Fox. Sorry if it got discussed last night...

"By late May, specific intelligence had emerged on the hostage's likely location -- including a building, sources say. The intelligence was described to Fox News as "strong," "specific" and "perishable" -- but the White House did not sign off on the rescue operation until much later.

The mission was launched over the July 4 weekend."

[Ben]

WaPo

"Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby was asked Tuesday if there was any doubt who killed the aid worker.

He replied: “No doubt. ISIL,” using the initials the group is known by.

Kirby says U.S. officials still don’t know how Mueller died. But he added that officials are certain it was not in one of the airstrikes Jordan launched in retaliation for the killing of one of its pilots."

He used that bad acronym. How does he know how she died?

[Miss Marple]

Ben,

Apparently the terrorists sent proof of death to the parents, which is pretty horrible.

[Old Lurker]

Every time I see "Admiral" Kirby acting like Josh Earnest in a uniform, I am reminded how badly the military has been wussified and politicized at the top. So being a PR liar is a flag officer job now? DoT must cringe.

[Ben]

'Natch

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/ministers-knew-about-hidden-hsbc-swiss-bank-funds-in-2010-10038324.html

"The new disclosure came as the chief official at HM Revenue & Customs faced a grilling from MPs about why there were not more prosecutions of tax-dodgers using HSBC, and what was known by former HSBC boss Lord Green, who was made a minister by David Cameron.

Asked about what he knew in 2011, Mr Gauke told the Standard he did not know the bank itself was guilty of wrongdoing, only that clients were evading tax.

“The details we have heard this week in respect of behaviour like bundling up bricks of cash, the advice of ‘this is how you stay one ahead of the taxman’, that was information that we have been learning about in the last few days,” he said.

But a Labour source said: “It beggars belief that David Gauke can claim he didn’t know what was going on at HSBC when he and HMRC issued this press release in 2011.

“The government’s story is chopping and changing by the minute. They need to come clean and explain what they knew and why the head of the bank at the time was appointed a Tory Minister months after the government was given this information.”

A Downing Street spokeswoman initially said that neither Lord Green - who served as a coalition minister from 2011 to 2013 - nor any other member of the Government had “any knowledge that HSBC may have been involved in wrongdoing” in relation to its Swiss operation until the allegations were reported in the media over the past few days.

But she later acknowledged that she could not rule out ministers having read media reports about the scandal in the years since a huge cache of files relating to secret Swiss accounts was first passed to French authorities by an IT worker in 2007."

[GMax]

Yeah it looks like this has Tea Party finger prints all over it:

A review of the Facebook page of the man charged in these murders, Craig Hicks, shows a consistent themes of anti-religion and progressive causes. Included in his many Facebook “likes” are the Huffington Post, Rachel Maddow, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Freedom from Religion Foundation, Bill Nye “The Science Guy,” Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gay Marriage groups, and a host of anti-conservative/Tea Party pages.

Only not really, AGAIN... All dressed up and nowhere to go.

[Captain Hate]

not to be alarmist, but w/ Colbert and Stewart exiting, progressives have arguably lost their 2 most influential media voice of last 50 yrs.

How sad is that? Two comedians, one not even remotely amusing, although humor is subjective. But I guess that sufficiently depreciates the value of Cronkite, Rather and the rest.

[Ben]

Oh yes. I certain nothing will come of this. Full of sound and fury. signifying absolutely nothing.

http://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/feb/10/hsbc-us-prosecutors-criminal-charges-elizabeth-warren

"Renewed focus has been placed on the long-running investigation into HSBC Switzerland by the department, after a huge leak of secret bank data – passed to the DOJ’s tax division almost five years ago – was obtained by the Guardian and other media.

It shows that HSBC Switzerland helped some clients conceal millions of undeclared assets, and has immediately raised questions on Capitol Hill about the response from prosecutors and tax authorities.

US government officials said the investigation is not merely looking at HSBC’s US clients, and could also result in criminal indictments against the bank itself. “That has not been ruled out,” one official said, when asked if HSBC or its executives could be criminally indicted. “It is certainly something that is under consideration.”

[Threadkiller]

Loretta Lynch is immune from HSBC cut and pastes.

[Threadkiller]

Is Craig Hicks the leftist Appalled was looking for?

[Janet]

That Greeenfield link about Jon Stewart reminded me of Stewart's mocking of the Restoring Honor rally. Faith, Hope, & Charity just HAD to be mocked.

Stewart's rally with Colbert, Restoring Sanity, was on Oct. 30, 2010. Their musical guest was Yusuf Islam.
Restoring Honor was in August 2010.

Anyway...think of how scared the left/MFM machine was back then. They even had to pull out their comedy duo to put down Americans that celebrated faith, hope, & charity.

The IRS was targeting our groups.
JournoList was scheming.
CBC members were called on to act out a show & spread a false story.
Stewart & Colbert put on a mocking rally.

2010 was a huge year for useful idiots to be called on to slander & mock patriotic, concerned Americans.

[James D.]

OL, reading the link from the last thread with Zero's comments about the late and unsuccessful rescue mission was infuriating. Our President is a lying sociopath, and it is simply beyond me how anyone can read/listen to his words and still support him on any level.

“I deployed an entire operation — at significant risk — to rescue not only her but the other individuals who had been held, and probably missed them by a day or two, precisely because we had that commitment,”

Not "We deployed" or "Our military was deployed." No. all credit goes to Obama.

And note that when he talks about risk, he doesn't specify that the risk wasn't in any way at all to him, but to the soldiers who were sent, and to the hostages.

But I guess that makes sense, because in Obama's mind the only risk WAS to him - the risk of being forced to possibly answer a slightly uncomfortable question or to have to read a marginally critical news article, if the mission went wrong in a public enough way.

[Ben]

I see a bright future in Banking for Lynch. Our government is the best in the world.

[Threadkiller]

Obama also killed Bin Laden many many months after he knew where he was hiding. That intelligence did not dry up. It remained solid all the way up to the "birth certificate" launch on the Whitehouse website, where it was put to convenient use the next day.

[Threadkiller]

Which government is the worst?

[clarice]

Kayla should be an object lesson to naive young women who head off to the Middle east to help Hamas and then stick around and smuggle themselves into war zones. You have to have a heart of stone not to laugh at the tale of her teaching ISIS guards how to make origami cranes.

[Ben]

Oh yes, let's attack the aid workers. NGO's are just CIA recruits.

[NKvirusedand back]

Prayers for the family of the Chapel Hill murder victims. Terrorism? I do think we need to pay closer attention to the monsters that atheism breeds. They obviously have no respect for the Ten Commandments, and they will engage in the most vicious hate crimes.

[Marlene]

I don't understand how these families were being contacted by ISIS. Were their communications being monitored by the FBI? Diane Foley said they had credible information last year about the location of the hostages,but it was too late.
I don't want to judge Kayla's motivations,because she probably died a horrible death,as a "bride" (sex slave),but I agree with clarice.

[beester]

Cross post regarding Clarice and Janet's idea for a JOM news site...I'm liking it.
One minute videos on breaking news with "a few minutes more" for additional background. Perhaps some Western Civ from Daddy and Common Core/Sustainability exposes from RSE.

Hmmm, lots to think about on the treadmill.

[Jane]

"2010 was a huge year for useful idiots to be called on to slander & mock patriotic, concerned Americans. "

That's for sure, Janet.

[Old Lurker]

James,

Had that been my daughter, waiting from May to July to act on "perishable" information in a setting where the norm is to move hostages every week or two.... well words fail for what I would think of the CIC and, frankly, what I would think of the Generals who did not resign in protest. Why have a special forces cocked and ready to go if nothing happens for a couple of months.

[RickB]

It's a shame Meuller isn't available to provide her insight on the value of Strategic Patience. She could have expounded on the benefits clearly, without the need of the translators which would be necessary for the Yazidi and Nigerian and Libyan and Syrian and Iraqi women taken by the Moderate Mahometans holding to their moderate religious doctrine in a very moderate manner (they don't rape and kill everybody).

[exdemocrat]

Muslims should relax because my guess is only a statistical minority of leftist atheists are 'radical'

[NKvirusedand back]

exdem-- I see what you did there...

[Jeff Dobbs]

Let everyone's heart soar like the hawk today...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOT!!!

Turning LXXIV in Super Bowl years.

[henry]

HB Danube!

[Captain Hate]

I'm sure SNL will be all over this:

http://www.jammiewf.com/2015/incoherent-obama-on-why-he-lied-about-gay-marriage-stance-theres-a-whole-bunch-of-religious-sensitivities-out-there/

HB DoT.

[jimmyk]

Was this supposed rescue effort the same one that was referred to a couple of months ago regarding the other hostages? It sure seems to follow the same pattern: Intelligence arrives on where they are located; Obama dithers; then they allegedly attempt a rescue operation but "just miss" by a couple of days.

I'm not suggesting they intentionally failed, just wondering whether they really even tried.

[Lazybusy]

It is a rare instance that I agree with a statement that is issued from the White House. But, when commenting on the Kayla Mueller news, they stated that we are in a fight for freedom.
Unfortunately, our President is bringing semantics to a knife fight.

[NKvirusedand back]

Happy and Healthy B-Day DoT!

[James D.]

Exactly, OL.

With a President who actually cared about this country and its citizens, I could imagine giving the benefit of the doubt that there were valid strategic reasons or legitimate fears about the safety of the hostages that might explain delaying a rescue attempt.

But with this President and his demonstrated unconcern for the lives of the people under his command, and those that he swore an oath to protect...not so much.

[NKvirusedand back]

I refuse to read that link; so Obummer is blaming Christians, Jews and Muslims for his lying about homo marriage?

[Janet]

I think the time is past that the label of "aid worker" or "activist" gets to be some kind of automatic sympathy card.

Riots, vandalism, abetting our enemies,...

We need more info on the people involved...just typing 'they were an aid worker' or ' they were social justice activists' should NOT be a free pass for lawlessness & idiocy.

[Rick Ballard]

exdemocrat,

It would be wise to determine where Hicks was indoctrinated. Was he inflamed by the type of anarcho-communists who compose the faculty of Pitzer College? The ones who seethe with rage at the lack of any acts of violence against Mahometans after years of pretending Mahometans are under any duress whatsoever may be driving their peck and droolers to provide "evidence".

Fabricating "evidence" is about the only skill which progressive fascists possess so attention to the indoctrination center attended is rather important. There are a lot of Pitzer Colleges out there.

[James D.]

NK @ 10:09

Yeah, that's pretty much exactly what he's doing.

[James D.]

Happy b-day, DoT!

[Janet]

"Senate investigators continue to probe why Delaware state authorities accessed Ms. O'Donnell’s IRS tax file on a Saturday morning in spring 2010, right around the time she announced her candidacy and a story was leaked alleging that she owed back taxes to the IRS, which was later proved to be false."

from the Wash. Times.

[Janet]

Happy Birthday, DoT! Lots of love to you!!

[Extraneus]

‘I’m just not very good at bulls—ting,’ he said with a sigh after one such awkward exchange,” Axelrod wrote.

lol

[jimmyk]

Happy Birthday, DoT!

[Captain Hate]

404 is claiming Axelrod was wrong in how he characterized his position on homosexual marriage but then was so inarticulate on describing what that position is that it's impossible to make any sense out of it.

Maybe that's what the Ferret meant about him understanding things in ways that normal people can't.

[Marlene]

Happy Birthday, DoT!

[exdemocrat]

Fromm MM's link, this from the police: "We understand the concerns about the possibility that this was hate-motivated ..."

Since every first degree murder is 'hate motivated', this is language-abuse code for "We understand the concerns about the possibility that this crime was motivated by a type of hate the government deems worse than other types of hate."

Is there an official list ranking hatreds with appropriately ranked sentencing guidelines?

[Rick Ballard]

Happy Birthday, DoT!

[Extraneus]

2010 was a huge year for useful idiots to be called on to slander & mock patriotic, concerned Americans.

And who rose in their defense? Boehner? McConnell? McCain? Romney?

No. Breitbart, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh...

[jimmyk]

Got these e-mails from family members:

1: If Brian Wms gets 6 mos for his fabrication (harming NBC and himself), what penalty is appropriate for Geo W Bush and his cohorts for the lies, misrepresentations etc etc that killed thousands and continue their disastrous effects to this very day? Should I send this to David Brooks current editorial page philosopher?

2: Yes. I think that Rachel Maddow or one of her colleagues said the same last night.

3: While I agree with you, it is easier for Bush-Cheney defenders (and those who have a stake in not having the lies and distortions behind the Iraq war be fully examined and punished) to obfuscate and make the situation seem more murky.

Much as I would like to respond and completely refute this ridiculous line of argument, I just ignore.

No. 3 is really a tacit admission that the arguments are flawed.

[exdemocrat]

DoT - remember, LXXIV is the new XXXIX ;-)

[clarice]

Happy Birthday DoT!! Many, many more healthy and happy and scrappy ones.

[MarkO]

Happy Birthday, DoT. Rock on.

[Buckeye]

Happy Birthday DoT.

I heard TK has found a copy of your birth certificate and is disputing the date but otherwise agrees that you are a US citizen.

[Old Lurker]

Careful Buckeye

[Miss Marple]

Since in his request for a Congressional Authorization to act against ISIS, Obama will only refer to it as ISIL (the L standing for the Levant), Congress better include that he is prohibited from acting against Israel or Jordan.

I don't trust anything that those people do.

[Old Lurker]

HB, DoT.

For your birthday I shipped you one of my Maybee Nudes. Please return the favor on my birthday.

[Ben]

Body camera test case. Will there be missing minutes from the recording?

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/02/indian_citizen_stopped_by_madi.html

[Jane]

Happy Birthday Dot! Hope it's a great one!

[Miss Marple]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2949208/Brian-Williams-wanted-replace-Jay-Leno-host-Tonight-Show.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailus

Buried in this story is that NBC is also going over his expenses. This sounds to me like they are looking for a reason to get rid of him.

Happy Birthday, DoT!

[Extraneus]

What they're looking for is a way out of his contract.

[glasater]

¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ ░H░A░P░P░Y░Birthday DOT! (¯''•.¸*♥♥♥* ¸.•''¯)

[Ben]

ARod gonna keep his paycheck. Don't contracts include a clause proscribing performance-enhancing drugs?

[Ignatz]

--Hmmm. I wonder why there's no 'Terrorism' cries of outrage.--

Because the evidence so far seems to indicate an on-going dispute over parking as the cause?

[NKvirusedand back]

For Tennis Fans: I've always liked Caroline W since the days of her going to New Haven every August. Now I know why I liked her: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2947702/Caroline-Wozniacki-displays-athletic-figure-array-bikinis-Sports-Illustrated-s-Swimsuit-Issue.html

[henry]

In case you thought the John Doe was anything other than raw politics, an intro to SEIU's local 50-3c.

Meanwhile, another shadow group sikked the FEC on Walker's new website.

[Old Lurker]

NK, though I play no tennis, you now know why I am happy to take Mrs. L to the Opens. Why, Indian Wells in a few weeks, come to think of it!

[Rick Ballard]

Ignatz,

What's going on with log prices? Is demand holding?

[Old Lurker]

Nothing to worry about with these guys in charge...

(CNSNews.com) -- The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is holding a hearing today to receive public feedback on whether it should create new rules regulating political speech, including political speech on the Internet that one commissioner warned could affect blogs, YouTube videos and even websites like the Drudge Report.

[exdemocrat]

Fwiw, I feel horror and sadness for what Katya Mueller must have suffered, a cold hatred for the animals who abused her, and a deep anger towards all of those who one way or another contributed to her mental illness that caused her to put herself in such peril.

[Old Lurker]

And, lest you wonder where your country went while you were not watching:

"When a major snowstorm hit the east coast two weeks ago, two entrepreneurial teens in New Jersey were ready.

Until they ran directly into a real force of nature: government nannies.

Matt Molinari and Eric Schnepf, both 18-year-olds from Bound Brook, N.J., were going door-to-door in their neighborhood Jan. 27, handing out homemade flyers that offered snow-shoveling services. School had already been canceled for the next day, when a winter storm was expected to bury their portion of the Garden State under several inches of cold white powder.

But their offer of a free exchange of services for cash caught the attention of the local police force.

According to local news reports, the cops told the kids they weren’t allowed to solicit business by going door-to-door without a permit from the local government.

“We weren’t looking to break the law. We just didn’t know the law,” Molinari told

[Threadkiller]

Happy Birthday DoT!

Despite Buckeye's taunting, I refuse to pick apart your birth circumstances.

:-)

[Old Lurker]

And, TK, DoT could not ask for a nicer present from you.

[matt]

All the best, DoT!

Well played, buckeye...well played.

[Threadkiller]

Indian Wells, you say? Sounds like it may be time to meet up.

I regret not being able to see Bill in AZ while I was in Phoenix.

[centralcal]

Happy Birthday to my favorite guy under any name - Other Tom, Danube of Thought, Fascist Hyena - always pithy and wise. Have a wonderful year ahead.

[Old Lurker]

Where are you, TK?

[Threadkiller]

Greater San Diego area, OL.

[MarkO]

99