HorsesAss.Org

Open Thread 10/24

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– Mars Hill break new ground in lying for Jesus.

– Assorted Thoughts on the Seattle/Tacoma UFCW non-strike

– “Tyson’s story,” and it is indeed quite a story, is hardly an “American original.” The powerful man who spends his life harming women, only to be publicly rehabilitated again and again, is about as routine as American stories come.

– There’s a piece in Grant’s memoir where he says that if the founding generation were alive they would think that instant communication across the Atlantic via telegraph was witchcraft. This Oliver Willis piece is a nice thing along those lines.

– Here’s an Indiegogo campaign for an academy to train women in software development right here in Seattle. Given our worst in the nation gender gap and reliance on tech for our economy, this seems like an important thing.

– The Affordable Art Fair looks like fun.

Comments

  1. 1

    I’ve read Grant’s memoirs, and I don’t remember the comment. But I was looking for his views on other issues, so I might have missed it.

    A lot of people confuse religion with society. The Saudis believe that Islam requires them to subvert women, cut off the hands of thieves, etc., but most other Islamic groups don’t believe that. Here, it takes other routes – people believe that their religion supports their social norms and any changes to the social norms is a challenge to religion. Technology is one item which drives such a change to social norms. I can remember families that refused to have televisions in their house because it “brings Satan into the home”. Unfortunately, there are a few that still believe that.

  2. 2

    The Seattle Times seems to be upset that the Washington State Supreme Court has a say on whether state employees have a vested interest in pensions. At issue are two provisions which were added to the pension plans as part of negotiations with teachers, and then revoked a few years later. The Seattle Times seems to think that (a) workers have no right to pensions they’ve worked for in the past, and (b) that the Seattle Times has a special say in how the state Supreme Court votes.

    Seattle Times argues with Supreme Court

    I hope the court rules against the state (and the Seattle Times) just on general principle.

  4. 4

    My take-away from the Mars Hill story is this:

    (1.) The leaders of Mars Hill seem to have figured out that the rich folks in Bellevue have more to toss in the collection baskets than the “New Ballard” yuppies.

    (2.) They’re getting evicted from their eastside digs by forces far more powerful than they are.

    (3.) Mars Hill probably won’t get the ST property, but they’ll milk this for all kinds of publicity. Who knows, though…maybe they’ll get some help from Kemper Freeman if they can make themselves look like a credible foe of public transit.

  5. 5

    @ 4 (3)

    Mars Hill has no claim to the property at all. It has already been sold to sound Transit, and the deal was finalized over a week prior to the claim made by MHC.

    Mars Hill is a parasite organization, nominally calling itself a “church” but is just another cargo cult organization that supports a rapist with a Mussolini complex. He controls his little catbox domain with an iron fist, but it’s still just a box full of shit.

  7. 7

    @3,

    Thanks. I’ve fixed it.

    @1,

    From Chapter XVI:

    The framers were wise in their generation and wanted to do the very best possible to secure their own liberty and independence, and that also of their descendants to the latest days. It is preposterous to suppose that the people of one generation can lay down the best and only rules of government for all who are to come after them, and under unforeseen contingencies. At the time of the framing of our constitution the only physical forces that had been subdued and made to serve man and do his labor, were the currents in the streams and in the air we breathe. Rude machinery, propelled by water power, had been invented; sails to propel ships upon the waters had been set to catch the passing breeze—but the application of stream to propel vessels against both wind and current, and machinery to do all manner of work had not been thought of. The instantaneous transmission of messages around the world by means of electricity would probably at that day have been attributed to witchcraft or a league with the Devil. Immaterial circumstances had changed as greatly as material ones. We could not and ought not to be rigidly bound by the rules laid down under circumstances so different for emergencies so utterly unanticipated. The fathers themselves would have been the first to declare that their prerogatives were not irrevocable. They would surely have resisted secession could they have lived to see the shape it assumed.

  10. 10

    # 7: Thanks for the quote from Grant’s memoirs. He could get a little preachy, spending a some time arguing that the Confederacy was little more than an “armed camp” justifying being treated as such, without distinction between civilians and soldiers. But his memoirs are widely considered the best among the civil war generals, even if he evades some of the more controversial issues. I’ll give him a pass on this because he was suffering from throat cancer and trying to finish his memoirs so his family would be supported after he died (Mark Twain had given him a loan). I think he died just a few days after the memoirs were completed.

  11. 11

    @10 I have what appears to be a first edition of the first volume of Grant’s memoirs that I inherited from the late (sniffle) Pop Rabbit, who lived to be 99 years old. Don’t know where he got it, maybe bought a used copy in his student days. It’s only worth about $30 on eBay, so there must be a lot of them floating around.

  13. 13

    What’s that joke? Republicans believe personhood begins at conception and ends at birth.

  16. 16

    Mass Shooting Of The Day (TM)

    “A gunman shot several people near a U.S. Navy base in Millington, Tenn. …. [A]n employee of the base … relieved of duty today … is suspected of shooting at random people after going to his car.”

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....58166.html

    Roger Rabbit Commentary: Hey, if you’re having a bad day at work, just grab a gun — they’re readily available everywhere, thanks to the NRA — and shoot up some strangers.

  18. 18

    What Goes Around, Comes Around

    “Former NSA Director Michael Hayden doesn’t seem too thrilled about having his anonymous conversations with reporters tweeted out for the world.

    “Progressive activist Tom Matzzie found himself on a train sitting near Hayden on Thursday, and quickly sent out tweets describing the former director’s conversation. Matzzie wrote on Twitter that Hayden was ‘blabbing “on background as a former senior admin official.”‘ …

    “Matzzie told HuffPost that … he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but Hayden ‘just kept on saying stuff.'”

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....59565.html

    Roger Rabbit Commentary: “Anonymous conversations with reporters,” are you kidding me? But that’s just the frosting on the cake of this story. The real meat here is a former NSA spymaster complaining about a private citizen eavesdropping on him — in public! I guess nobody likes to get karma shoved up their ass, hey?

  19. 19

    Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
    Over many a quaint and curious volume of Christian lore,
    While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
    As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
    `’Tis some liberal,’ I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door –
    Only this, and nothing more.’

    Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
    And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
    Eagerly I wished the morrow; – vainly I had sought to borrow
    From my books surcease of sorrow – sorrow for the lost Palin –
    For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Palin –
    Nameless here for evermore.

    And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
    Thrilled me – filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
    So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
    `’Tis some liberal entreating entrance at my chamber door –
    Some late liberal entreating entrance at my chamber door; –
    This it is, and nothing more,’

    Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
    `Sir,’ said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
    But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
    And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
    That I scarce was sure I heard you’ – here I opened wide the door; –
    Darkness there, and nothing more.

    Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
    Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
    But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
    And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Palin!’
    This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Palin!’
    Merely this and nothing more.

    Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
    Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
    `Surely,’ said I, `surely that is something at my window lattice;
    Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore –
    Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; –
    ‘Tis the wind and nothing more!’

    Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
    In there stepped a stately girl scout of the saintly days of yore.
    Not the least obeisance made she; not a minute stopped or stayed she;
    But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door –
    Perched upon a bust of Limbaugh just above my chamber door –
    Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

    Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
    By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
    `Though thy bonnet be green and neat, thou,’ I said, `art sure no craven.
    Ghastly grim and ancient girl scout wandering from the nightly shore –
    Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Bushonian shore!’
    Quoth the girl scout, `I have Thin Mints.’

  20. 20

    California ‘Dark Money’ Donors Revealed

    Gap founders, Charles Schwab, Eli Broad, Sheldon Adelson, Karl Rove funneled millions through Koch channels

    “Well-known corporate chiefs funded illegal ‘dark money’ contributions to groups in the Koch brothers’ political network involved in Thursday’s record campaign finance settlement in California, according to settlement documents.

    “Members of the Fisher family, founders of the Gap clothing chain, plowed more than $8 million into the dark money campaign to defeat Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax increase, Proposition 30, and to support the anti-union Proposition 32 in the 2012 elections, according to partially redacted documents supplied by … a group that handled contributions ….

    “Those documents also show that Charles Schwab … donated $6.4 million through Americans for Job Security. Philanthropist Eli Broad, who publicly backed Brown’s tax increase proposition, made a $500,000 contribution, according to the documents. Las Vegas Sands Corp. CEO Sheldon Adelson and his wife gave a combined $500,000. Crossroads GPS, the dark money nonprofit founded by Karl Rove, chipped in $2 million.

    “The donors were revealed in the documents after California’s Fair Political Practices Commission announced a record $1 million settlement in its investigation into how $11 million in dark money made its way through a network of conservative nonprofits linked to the billionaire Koch brothers …. The investigation revealed an additional $4.04 million in dark money funneled to the California Future Fund to spend on the ballot initiative campaigns.

    “The contributions were spotted by Common Cause California, which reported them to the Fair Political Practices Commission. ‘This case highlights the nationwide scourge of dark money nonprofit networks hiding the identities of their contributors,’ Ann Ravel, chair of the Fair Political Practices Commission, said at a press conference ….”

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....59516.html

    Roger Rabbit Commentary: If you do business with these companies, you’re helping fund rightwing anti-union and political operations.

  21. 21

    Polls Point To 2014 GOP Bloodbath

    Ryan, Issa, Reichert, Herrera-Beutler on GOP endangered list

    “Fifty-four percent of Americans now oppose Republican control of the House, according to a CNN-ORC poll released on Monday. And a series of polls commissioned by … Moveon.org … over the last several days indicate Democrats may have enough momentum to take back the House.

    “Democrats only need to lock up 17 additional seats in the November 2014 midterm elections to secure a House majority. The new polls show the recent government shutdown may cause as many as 37 Republicans to lose their House seats next year.

    “[P]ollsters surveyed 61 Republican-held congressional districts around the country from Oct. 1 through Oct. 18. They concluded that ‘Democrats not only have an opportunity to take back the House of Representatives next year, but that they could win a sizable majority if voter anger over the shutdown carries into 2014.'”

    The pollsters said, “Republicans will likely find this third round of surveys to be the most alarming yet, given that the new results show substantial Republican vulnerability in many districts that were not even supposed to be close.”

    The polls show GOP congressmen who could be gone in 2015 include Paul Ryan, Darrell Issa, Dave Camp, Peter King, Richard Hanna, Charles Dent, Frank Wolfe, and Washington’s Dave Reichert and Jaime Herrera-Beutler.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....52818.html

    Roger Rabbit Commentary: There may be a very noisy party at Drinking Liberally on Nov. 4, 2014! See you there!

  22. 22

    You know, I really don’t care what insanity the puddyloon spews in these threads tomorrow, because his bleating won’t mean a damn thing when voters mop the floor with Republican butts next fall. When you get right down to it, the majority of Americans are decent and hardworking and sensible folks, and they know what mule shit smells like (with apologies to mules). They know what has to be done — they’re gonna kick the Republicans out of Congress so America can get back to work again!

  23. 23

    18)Hayden did not think nobody would hear him talking out loud. I have not rode the Acela Express, but I assume it is not to noisy on the inside.

  24. 24

    Interesting Amanda Marcotte article about the convergence of politician with faith-healing charlatan on the Republican right.

    Interesting, Teddy Cruz’s daddy is associated with Purifying Fire Ministries (WARNING: if you follow this link, you may need to bleach your eyes afterward. You’ve been warned), run by Suzanne Hinn, the wife of preacher, er, showman, er, huckster Benny Hinn.

    A huge slice of America is in thrall to these parasites, gets their thoughts from them, are taken and spun and marked and duped and kicked to the curb by this big grift, our own puddibigot prominently among them.

    This is a stupidity crisis of national security proportions.

  25. 25

    “This is a stupidity crisis of national security proportions.”

    Dunno about that, but it’s certainly a stupidity crisis of national prosperity proportions. We’re all poorer thanks to these parasites and their fellow travelers.

  26. 26

    Wow — the Seattle Times says a 10-vehicle crash near Boeing Field backed up northbound I-5 for 15 miles this morning. The fire department evacuated 30 people and took 10 to Harborview, 1 critical. I’m sure glad I don’t have to commute to a job! The stock market is slow this morning — I’ve made only $336 so far — but that’s still 3 times better than the $15/hr. airport workers will get if the minimum wage initiative passes. Can you believe some folks don’t want them to earn even that much? I’ll bet none of those selfish anti-minimum-wage assholes works for $15/hr. They probably don’t work, period. They’re probably flipping stocks, like me.

  27. 27

    Wow — the Seattle Times says a 10-vehicle crash near Boeing Field backed up northbound I-5 for 15 miles this morning. The fire department evacuated 30 people and took 10 to Harborview, 1 critical. I’m sure glad I don’t have to commute to a job! The stock market is slow this morning — I’ve made only $336 so far — but that’s still 3 times better than the $15/hr. airport workers will get if the minimum wage initiative passes. Can you believe some folks don’t want them to earn even that much? I’ll bet none of those selfish anti-minimum-wage assholes works for $15/hr. They probably don’t work, period. They’re probably flipping stocks, like me.

  28. 28

    @20 “Americans for Job Security” (Snort!) A more truthful label would be “Oligarchs for Wage Busting”.

  29. 29

    A little humor from The World Nut Daily.

    I’ve been trying to pin it down. It’s form of thought disorder. Not quite schizophrenic, but almost to the point where people who do have a better handle on their own minds cannot but wonder if they should be edging closer to the exit while avoiding making eye contact.

    I cannot wrap my mind around the fact, that there are about 60 million people in this country that agree with these folks entirely.

    So is this too much lead paint? Maybe food poisoning or maybe just a lifetime of constant caloric intake with zero nutritional value? Maybe even something like congenital syphilis. I don’t know. All I know is, the derp is getting deeper.

  30. 30

    Don Yelton, fresh off resigning firing had something to say about his Daily Show appearance.

    “A Nigger can call a Nigger a Nigger and that’s no problem, and that’s racist,’” Yelton said. “That’s the most racist thing you can imagine.”

    Amazing this still needs to be explained but if you’re fighting for your right to call people Nigger, you’ve lost the argument before you started.

  31. 31

    @30
    That man must be given a very public, very prominent platform….he should be held up as a paragon of the new right, the neo-Confederacy….and people can choose sides.

  33. 33

    @32
    Indeed….but what I was getting at was peeling away the veneer that lets these fiends pretend to be about ‘small government’ or ‘states’ rights’ and forces them to be open about what really motivates them.

  34. 34

    @32
    Indeed….but what I was getting at was peeling away the veneer that lets these fiends pretend to be about ‘small government’ or ‘states’ rights’ and forces them to be open about what really motivates them.

  35. 35

    This article explains why Republicans are dead wrong about economic policy — what the economy needs to start growing again is not a balanced budget or austerity, but deficit spending on infrastructure upgrades to accommodate new industries and economic activities. If we get this wrong our fate will be decades of stubbornly high unemployment, stagnant wages, and slow growth. That’s why it’s so damned important for voters to terminate the GOP’s control of the House in next fall’s midterms. Our economic future is at stake.

    http://seekingalpha.com/articl.....st-decades

  36. 36

    On the Mars Hill story, they should have bought the property first, although eminent domain would still come into play if ST needed the property. Love the comments in the story on the stranger, especially saying that every ST staffer dealing with MHC should be a woman. The boss at Sound Transit is Joni Earl.

  37. 37

    I just read the Stranger Mars Hill story…pack of money grubbing grifters – no surprise there.

    One of the comments down low led to a blog that was looking into some financial statements made by Mars Hill, specifically a report from the Pastor to the flock.

    One tidbit from huckster/pastor Mark Driscoll….


    So if you hear, “Hey, Mars Hill’s canceled a few programs. The staff is shrinking a little bit. They’re making some transitions,” it’s not that anybody has sinned, or done anything wrong, or is in touble, it’s just that we had an economic model that wasn’t sustainable for our future.

    Analysis…

    Yes, in June 2012 Mark Driscoll was explaining the systemic deficits Mars Hill Church was running at each and every campus and explained that nobody sinned, MHC just had a financial model that wasn’t sustainable for the long-term future. Apparently systemic deficits don’t indicate even the possibility of any kind of sin within Mars Hill. Well, maybe giving needed to improve alongside scaling back staff and programs and, meanwhile, the month before Driscoll would share about systemic deficits someone with an affiliation to the corporate headquarters of Mars Hill bought a roughly million-dollar house in Snohomish county.

    WHAT? Million dollar house??

    Actually a $1,055,888.00 property at 22300 Woodway Park Rd, here.

    So, the church is losing money and the holy man is setting up housekeeping among the rarified precincts of Woodway. Hmmmm…I think I’m in the wrong business.

  39. 39

    OH NOES!!

    We’re getting spammed, just like pudgey’s page!!

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