Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

rpannier

rpannier's Journal
rpannier's Journal
October 1, 2015

Powell: I stay Republican 'because it annoys them'

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell joked that he identifies as a Republican to annoy the GOP’s right-wing.

“Yes, I’m still a Republican,” he said about his party affiliation during the Washington Ideas Forum in Washington, D.C., according to the Daily Mail.

“I want to continue to be a Republican because it annoys them,” Powell quipped to host Walter Isaacson.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/255501-powell-i-stay-republican-to-annoy-gop


good a reason as any i guess

September 28, 2015

Newsmax is garbage and they know it

Their ads are everywhere trying to get you to go to their site
In some places the put Newsmax and in others they don't (as if they know people won't click to the site if they knew)

But in their ads that appear everywhere, seldom do they list news it's almost exclusively
1. A Poll. 'Who do you think won the debate?'
2.Quakery: There have been three that have been in their ad tray for months: A fat burner that is 'taking GNC by storm', a quick way to remove wrinkles and 'Doctors are furious at this (insert age 60+) grandmothers secret for looking half her age and their new quack 'a brain pill' that is used by... Dr Carson, Donald Trump, (insert politician, business type, etc)
3. How to pay off mortgages, credit card debts, bankers are mad at...
4. The Warren Buffet Indicator says the stock market is going to crash this year (they've been advertising that since '09)
5. 'Americans are urged to search their names before this site is taken down.' - Been up since 2011 (maybe earlier)

No news. Nothing even mildly newsworthy in that.
I'd like to know what is so max about their news other than max at fraudulently advertising themselves as a news

September 27, 2015

Happy Chuseok to All

Today is Chuseok, the Harvest Festival in Korea
It is 8.15 on the Lunar Calendar

September 23, 2015

It Doesn't Matter Who the Guy Is or Was. He Is Not Running for Anything

I think by now most, if not all people at DU are familiar with Donald Trump and the Unidentified Guy Who Hates Muslims.
A talking point on the right now is that the guy was a Democratic plant sent to embarrass the Donald.
That somehow this guy must possess some great 'Aura of Disturbance' that trapped Trump, prevented him from properly stating how much he loved Muslims, but instead left Trump open to mockery and derision

Two facts about this are
1. Unlike McCain, Trump screwed up
2. It's irrelevant who this guy is or what his motives are

When asked the question he could have said the guy was wrong or that he disagreed with his comment and moved on.
Instead, being the churlish, not yet ready for real world politics ass-clown that he is he let the comment ride, even complementing the guy

If someone walks up to you and says something derogatory or slanderous about a group of people and you tell everyone how much you love the guy making the stupid, bigoted statement and people find out... guess what? That's your own damned fault. You agreed with it or at the very least never challenged him and certainly made it seem as if you shared the same opinions.

Donald knows (as a Presidential candidate and one man carnival freak show) he's always on camera.

Trump is correct, he isn't obligated to correct the man and his caustic statements.
But when you're running for the office of president people are allowed to expect more out of you than a typical Trump after-the-fact mea culpa of, "I love the Muslims." Kind of like he loves the Mexicans and the Blacks.

It doesn't matter who the guy is. The guy could have been Bernie Sanders in a mask or Obama's best friend from college or some Hilary supporter who saw his chance to embarrass Trump or a guy paid by the DNC. Hell! He may have been Jimmy Carter's grandson, the same one we were told gave the tape of rMoney's 47% gaffe that Faux News tried to spin as the real story.
It's irrelevant. He isn't important because he's not running for anything, he's just some guy running his mouth and saying stupid, bigoted things rooted out of fear.

Trump's handling of it is what matters. He's the guy who wants to be president, not the unknown guy.

September 4, 2015

So Kim Davis may not be able to cash in on Gofundme?



According to their site they will not let
Campaigns in defense of formal charges or claims of heinous crimes, violent, hateful, sexual or discriminatory acts.

Addictinginfo says they have checked the site and found nothing for her

I'm sure there is a site out there her supporters can exploit
Or maybe her husband will try an end around and make some claim and set up his own account at gofundme
September 4, 2015

Chiara Vigo: The last woman who makes sea silk

Silk is usually made from the cocoons spun by silkworms - but there is another, much rarer, cloth known as sea silk or byssus, which comes from a clam. Chiara Vigo is thought to be the only person left who can harvest it, spin it and make it shine like gold.

Villagers stare as I knock on the door of Chiara Vigo's studio, otherwise known as the Museum of Byssus, on the Sardinian island of Sant'Antioco. One sign on the door says: "Haste doesn't live here." Another adds: "In this room nothing is for sale."


snip

Then she hums a song with her eyes closed and fixes the bracelet on the girl's wrist. She reaches for the window and opens the shades to let the sunlight in and instantly the dark brown bracelet starts to gleam.

snip

Some believe it was the cloth God told Moses to lay on the first altar. It was the finest fabric known to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, and one of its remarkable properties is the way it shines when exposed to the sun, once it has been treated with lemon juice and spices.


snip

The raw material comes from the glistening aquamarine waters that surround the island. Every spring Vigo goes diving to cut the solidified saliva of a large clam, known in Latin as Pinna Nobilis. She does it early in the morning, to avoid attracting too much attention, and is accompanied by members of the Italian coastguard - this is a protected species. It takes 300 or 400 dives to gather 200g of material.

link:
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33691781

Just another reason to visit Italy. I'd love to see her work. It's kind of cool that she doesn't sell her wares. But she will make something special for special events like weddings and things

September 1, 2015

Oh Kim Davis, if you weren't such a theocratic, asshat, bigotted sponge this would be funny

Kim Davis the lazy, moocher who refuses to do her job while still getting paid had a worse day than many people know
1. She lost her appeal to the USSC for a stay. What made it particularly embarrassing for her according to SCOTUSBlog, was that her lawyers put forth all kinds of constitutional arguments, the Court turned her down without hearing anything from the couples suing her.
It's unusual and it doesn't bode well for Kentucky's most famous bigot (at this moment)

2. And this is funny.
According to courier-journal, Kim Davis gave a marriage certificate to Camryn Colen and his wife Alexis. Davis never asked to see Camryn's birth certificate. She only saw a man and a woman in love.
What Davis didn't know is Camryn is transgender and his birth certificate says female.

Poor Kim. Not been a good time for her.

“She saw just a straight couple in love, and she should see everybody like that,” Camryn said. “She shouldn’t just see straight couples like that.”

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2015/08/29/rowan-transgender-man-and-wife-got-license/71376626/

the interview was good
I am happy for them

August 31, 2015

Wide Receiver DeSean Jackson keeping it stupid

And you thought RG III was having it bad

DeSean Jackson instagrammed this little tidbit 'A woman who knows her place never loses her position.'
Now some people are defending him, like NY Giants Safety Brandon Meriweather, "I got to steal this one bruh." and New Orleans Saints Brandon Brower who deleted his post when he received a flurry of responses, most telling him he's an idiot.

Some have taken to defending Jackson by saying, "It doesn't mean what you're thinking. We're all misreading it."
Others say it's a joke. While others are defending him on free speech grounds.
I posted to one free speecher, pointing out that he had his free speech, now it's our turn to get ours in

It's being covered at sbnation
http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2015/8/30/9229821/desean-jackson-washington-nfl-sexist-instagram-post

August 6, 2015

Quick Quiz: Who was Planned Parenthood's treasurer in 1947

If you said Prescott Bush, you'd be correct
That's right... Jeb's granddaddy was a founding member of 'The Birth Control League'.
The name was changed in 1942 to Planned Parenthood because of the controversy of the name.
And when Bush ran for public office the name Birth Control League would have turned off a lot of Catholics
Prescott was PP's treasurer for their first national fundraising drive in 1947

Just a little tidbit of history

Profile Information

Gender: Male
Current location: Boseong
Member since: Fri Jan 30, 2004, 05:44 AM
Number of posts: 24,329
Latest Discussions»rpannier's Journal