For rent on the Friday OPEN thread
Shot by Dan
“The real estate agent had to go door-to-door in the apartment building we wanted to rent, asking if it was OK for this interracial family — my mom is white and I was a 1-year-old half-African kid — to live in the apartment building.”
Tom Morello
December 7, 2012 - 10:00 AM
On a day during which, I hope, we remember our Pearl Harbor veterans and the sacrifices they made, know that the battle to support our veterans goes on. The article linked below tells a part of the story.
Thanks to all the veterans on this blog!
http://www.nationalmemo.com/yet-another-battle-for-vietnam-veterans/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/ann-coulter-gop-taxes-obama-hannity_n_2249545.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
“You’re saying capitulate to Obama?” Hannity stammered.”
What a tool. Hannity, you already lost, and even Ann Coulter has figured it out. “Capitulate”? Who precisely do you think you are.
Tom Morello usually paints the words “Arm the Homeless” on his guitar. I must assume he is a big proponent of 2nd amendment rights.
Ron May, I have noticed that most of your links are from the National Memo. They lean so far to the left that I don’t see how they remain upright. My point is, that the folks on this board tend to criticize the Fox news viewer for ignorance. National memo is no different, just a different point of view. As for Fox news, Ed Henry is the only WH correspondent asking tough questions…in other words, he is the only one doing his job.
How about that!!
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/jobless-rate-drops-4-year-low-economy-creates-146-000-1C7488578#
In 1978 a friend was waitressing at a seafood restaurant in Topsail Beach, NC when an interracial couple with a child came in. She said that the management seriously debated whether to serve them but then relented.
2.How about that!!
I-81 North milemarker 32
Billboard reads:
Looking for work?
Factory jobs available
call — — —-
(I can’t remember the phone#)
First time in a while I have seen ads looking for workers.
I think things are slowly getting a little better.
I’m relieved to see that Christmas might have returned to Roanoke City. Today, the paper called the city tree a Christmas tree, whereas in earlier listings it was called just the Roanoke City Tree. I’m also glad to see that the HV and CS choirs will sing at the tree lighting, which means we’ll get good old conservative Christmas carols, not any of the new-fangled stuff.
What’s going on here? Can we get a story/explanation? What’s the inside scoopage?
http://fromtheeditr.blogspot.com/2012/12/local-daily-continues-to-lose-top.html
OK, so now we know explicitly that Another Chuck is a Fox News fan.
Not explicitly, Dan. But there are some very bright news people at Fox. I am also a fan of Tom Morello’s chops on the guitar. Since fiscal conservatism is now in the minority, shouldn’t we be allowed to Rage Against the Machine?
In 1978 a friend was waitressing at a seafood restaurant in Topsail Beach, NC when an interracial couple with a child came in. She said that the management seriously debated whether to serve them but then relented.
Angela Allen,
I remember how racist my dad’s side of the family was back in the 80′s. My Aunt married a black man, and you would have thought the world had come to an end. They had one child and my grandmother refused to recognize her existence until she dies in 2008. Some people never get the chance to truly love your fellow human.
I am so glad that the world is changing and accepting folks for who they are.
We’re headed to the Salem Civic Center tonight for the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra Holiday POPS concert. Never been before. Did I spend my money wisely?
Well whodathunk
From the CQ dailybriefing newsletter email:
**
DECEPTION IN THE SHOW ME STATE: Turns out, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and its chairman, John Cornyn, totally broke their promises that the group wouldn’t spend anything on behalf of Todd Akin last fall. What had been rumored for weeks became almost indisputable because of FEC filings released this morning. The NRSC gave $760,000 to the Missouri Republican Party the week before the election, and at virtually the same moment the previously cash-strapped state party spent almost the same amount on a last-minute TV buy on behalf of the congressman. (The delay in the disclosure meant that Democrats could not do what they sure hoped to do — which was to crow all over the country about how the national GOP was trying to help “the legitimate rape guy” defeat Democrat Claire McCaskill) “It is not only wrong that the NRSC would provide funds to support a dangerous extremist like Todd Akin; it was underhanded and dishonest that they would purposely mislead the public about their actions,” Matt Canter, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said this morning. (In the end, McCaskill won by 16 points.)
**
A friend was booking a trip to Jackson Hole and in working on the dates the reservation clerk said “the recession is over here”. I think we have turned the corner on some things and we are digging our way out. If 4-5% unemployment is considered “normal”, we are not that far away.
Another Chuck, I am sorry that you think Progressives or Liberals cannot also be fiscally responsible. No one really wants to waste money or spend into bankruptcy, no matter how many times it is said, it is not the truth.
No one doubts that FOX has some intelligent right wingers, we all know they exist, even if we cannot fathom the way their minds work. The issue, whether politics or budgets or statistics, is not whether someone is biased. It is whether they are wrong. FOX chooses to push on into wrong more often than credibility allows. National Memo, collects stories and information from all over the nation, like the Huffington Post does. The “messenger” is only the issue when the messenger gets it so wrong they lose all integrity and credibility. FOX is not wrong for being biased and neither is MSNBC (or anyone else). They are only wrong, when they are wrong.
Alfred, I have never done it, but from what I heard, you are in for a treat. Enjoy!
Half a million people fell out of the labor force last month(Not In Labor Force went up). Hence the drop in the unemployment rate. The number of people employed actually fell last period.
Full time employment is 8.1%.
http://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea03.htm
#8 I certainly can’t tell you why each of those folks is leaving or has left, mattyr, but I understand that at least one simply retired because this person has the money to do so. Would that person have remained if the situation had been better? Can’t say.
The paper has advertised at least one photography spot, so it’s not as if they’re leaving that department at the current level. That doesn’t address the loss of institutional memory, which is indeed problem at a place like a newspaper, but there are still some veterans around.
The collapse of the Soviet Union. Was it for the best or for the worst(for America, the world, and the residents of the former Soviet Republics)?. I have my own opinion, but will wait if anyone would like to share first.
The funniest thing of the day! The GOP obstructionist nuts look even more foolish. McConnell tries his usual bluster and bully tactic and ends up having to filibuster his own damn bill!
http://news.yahoo.com/debt-ceiling-debate-twist-sen-mitch-mcconnell-filibusters-233346015.html
I need expert advice on local cuisine. Is there a good Mexican restaurant in Salem?
Sandi, check out this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323353204578127374039087636.html#articleTabs%3Dcomments
When you add the unfunded mandates, we are actually $87 trillion in debt. My fiscal wrath towards Obama is mostly based upon the fact he is in office now. All recent presidents and congresses have overspent, including Clinton. How do we solve $87 trillion of debt…that is my real question?
I get your point on National Memo when they report news stories. However, their editorial writers and articles are way to the left. Fox news does some good reporting too..
Comment by Henry — December 7, 2012 @ 2:08 pm
During the month of November Henry 300,000 people turned 65. In fact, every day for the next 20+ years 10,000 people will turn 65. Most of those will leave the workforce within 3 to 6 months of that day.
Alfred, the Mexican choices in Salem are Xinachtli in downtown (300 E. Main St.) which is excellent but tiny, and an El Rodeo in west Salem (Wildwood Road), which is as good as the other El Rodeos in the valley, meaning often very good. But also consider the Cuban cuisine at El Cubanito on the corner of College Ave. and 7th street.
Ron, that was not the stat Henry was referring too. He was referring to the folks that have choosen to remove themselves from the job market. Retirement does not count in that stat. Department of labor has 2.5 million people in that catagory.
Labor dept link: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.a.htm
They also may have fallen off. 32% of the unemployed are 52 weeks or over.
http://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea35.htm
“Is there a good Mexican restaurant in Salem?”
No, but for good Cuban try El Cubanito 311 East 7th. You won’t be disappointed.
I agree with Ron’s sentiments in 10:05 post. Those who protect our liberty are all to often (and too soon) forgotten.
Didn’t know about Xinachtli, thanks for the tip.
Henry, the election was last month. Obama won. Deal with it.
Henry, Re: 2:08
Surely you must understand that the exodus from the labor force is because the obama administration’s policies have been so successful that people feel they can retire early on all the wealth they have gained in the past four years; counting on that to tied them over for the next 20+ years; and if not, we know that there is plenty of money we can get from taxes on your kids and grandkids or we can just print some more (it’s only paper).
Xinachtli is a cool place. It’s right on the corner of College & Main. I ate there with a pal once, and it was good. He’s from Calif, and looks dimly upon most of what passes as Mexican food in these parts, and he was very impressed. So are the reviewers on Yelp.
Warren is correct that it’s tiny, though. And last time I checked, their hours were limited.
Do they serve beer?
Alfred, I forgot to mention Rancho Viejo, which is at the corner of Fourth St. (alt.460) and W. Main St, in front of Lowe’s. I’ve heard it’s good, it’s convenient and it’s midway between the others in location and size. Xinachtli is in the very tiny (12 seats) space on the corner across from the courthouse, and has some irregular hours. El Rodeo is fairly big, and near I-81.
Another Chuck,
What you & Henry don’t seem to understand is that the labor force, since 1/1/11 and for the next 20+ years will continually lose 300K or thereabouts people in the labor force. Our birth rate cannot keep up with that pace. I understand that some have given up looking for work. However, the biggest change driving our labor force in the next 20 years are those who are leaving it due to retirement.
Art,
You are correct obama won “his” election.
However, do you also understand that there were hundreds of elections won by others, who represent their constituencies?
We did not have an election for a dictatorship; we had an election for a representative republic.
Art,
You are correct obama won “his” election.
However, do you also understand that there were hundreds of elections won by others, who represent their constituencies?
We did not have an election for a dictatorship; we had an election for a representative republic.
Comment by mikeO
Indeed! And by the way, you know that Bill of Rights protects minority rights, correct? Here’s what that means: So long as one porridge-for-brains right-winger in America objects to anything Obama or other Dems try to do, then it’s a violation of the constitution for them to do it.
/sarcasm font off
A ggod point was made in a submission in today’s RT op/ed section:
Republicans in Va. won a little over half the vote and took 2/3 of the Congressional seats. Anyone want to deny the effect of gerrymadering now?
good
Ron,
Our labor force does not have to lose 300k (although I understand what you are saying). The mandates on employers are pushing them to purge older (more expensive) employees; (which, btw, I believe is very shortsighted as we lose much institutional knowledge).
You are correct that our projected birth rate cannot keep pace. Some might argue that commercial abortion policies is part of that problem (but that is another issue).
Given the current factors, it seems the only alternative is to have an immigration policy that would satisfy our needs; however we must be careful that the policy does not incentivize immigration for purposes of taxpayer funded benefits, but for a positive benefit to our society.
Dan, YIKES…
I assume you wanted to get your “porridge-for-brains right-winger” comment in before your company “changed” your blog into less “name calling”.
I hope, in the future, you can abide by your bosses wishes…
In trying to discern your relatively incoherent rant I will only suggest that you familiarize yourself with the constitution and understand the separate of the branches of government.
The wingnuts still haven’t grasped how badly they were thumped. Obama is the only president to win back-to-back elections with more than 50% of the popular vote since Ronald Reagan. Not only did the GOP not take the Senate, the Democrats increased their majority. The tea party gains of 2010 were all but erased in the House, with Republicans holding onto the gavel by the thin skin of their teeth. The failed policies of McConnell and Boehner have put the Democrats in their strongest bargaining position in years. Taxes on the top 2% WILL be raised and the debt ceiling will no longer hold America hostage. Even the kooks at Fox News realize the demographics have changed and are being dragged kicking and screaming to the new reality. The people have spoken, Obama and the Democrats won. Deal with it.
This is a great interview between Jon Stewart and Chris Christie and he really nails it in clip #2. He ties the aid for Hurricane Sandy directly to health care and tells Christie that “if you have cancer and you don’t have health insurance, that is your “Hurricane Sandy”! Right on Jon Stewart!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/07/chris-christie-jon-stewart_n_2257198.html
Dave Hicks at 1:43 pm and all that money went down the drain.
I haven’t been to the Cuban place in Salem but some friends told me that it’s great.
Another Chuck, I had seen that editorial. I disagree with their opinion and their numbers. Check out this explanation of why: Entitlements Scare Tactics
“From the 75-year budget perspective, the present value of the additional resources that would be necessary to meet projected expenditures, at current-law levels for the three programs combined, is $38.6 trillion. To put this very large figure in perspective, it would represent 4.3 percent of the present value of projected GDP over the same period ($907 trillion).”
The appropriate number to compare $86 trillion to is the present value of all future GDP. The Medicare trustees give us the present value of GDP over the next seventy-five years, which is $907 trillion. So $86 trillion is a big number (and I’m still not sure where Cox and Archer got it), but $907 trillion is a much bigger number.”
It is ALL in how you look at it. Trying to scare people for political partisan reasons, and IMO to fight a tax increase that has to happen, is crass.
Dean Baker (the Economist) also rained disdain on their opinion piece.
Halloween Might Be Over, but the Deficit Hawks Are Still Trying to Scare People
Is Our Debt Burden Really $100 Trillion?
Fiscal Cliff Primer: Should Obama Take Advice From Regulator Who Missed Bear Stearns And Madoff?
The “inside baseball” stuff about how the sausage is made is obviously dangerous in the wrong hands and you (and all of us) should check with much more than one source or POV before you run with an opinion.
In point of fact, I think the TP/R’s in the House of Representatives is trying hard to prove they are dictators. The nation has said in poll after poll and in their support for President Obama that we support raising taxes on the wealthiest 2-3% so that the cuts we will live with have us ALL giving something more to our country. Why is that so hard to grasp?
We voted for shared sacrifice and shared sacrifice it will be.
http://weaselzippers.us/2012/11/06/pic-giant-obama-mural-at-d-c-polling-place/
And on the taxpayer dime. Cool.
The 50-foot statues are next, folks. You know, the ones where Our Leader has his arm benevolently extended?
Sandi, I know what you are saying and I agree the debt number is debatable, but, the number is astronomical either way. The lack of leadership addressing the real issues is the only thing that is non-partisan in DC.
Weaselzippers.us, again! LOL
Another Chuck, “the number” isn’t even the number. Please be more careful.
“you know, the ones where Our Leader has his arm benevolently extended?”
I hear ya.
And if there was a school/polling place with a George Bush or Dick Cheney mural??? Must churches take down overt religious symbols to be a polling place?
Here is another school that can never be a polling place. I am sure you will agree with me.
http://www.insidenova.com/news/article_a5177a44-7a76-529e-ac13-1f50ce54cf49.html?mode=image
I hear ya, too.
Is that a real picture Dan, or was it doctored?
And I don’t suppose we should even mention the subject of naming schools after Presidents?
http://dallasisd2008bond.org/index.php/schools/detail/George_Herbert_Walker_Bush_Elementary_School/
Hey Another Chuck, here is another one for you:
“Social Security, let’s lay it to rest once in for all…Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit. Social Security is totally funded by the payroll tax levied on employer and employee. If you reduce the outgo of Social Security, that money would not go into the general fund to reduce the deficit. It would go into the Social Security trust fund. So Social Security has nothing to do with balancing the budget or erasing or lowering the deficit.”
http://boldprogressives.org/ronald-reagan-in-1984-social-security-has-nothing-to-do-with-the-deficit/
“Is that a real picture Dan, or was it doctored?”
Not sure, Debbie. Here’s another one.
Sandi Saunders:
“And I don’t suppose we should even mention the subject of naming schools after Presidents?”
I bet a Barack Obama Elementary School in Chicago wouldn’t bother you a bit.
Weaselzippers…
Are they the ones that predict Fatima like events
for a monthly web fee?
“the number is astronomical either way.”
Yes, it is. So what?
That one looks a little different, Dan. It looks like he’s responding to someone. It doesn’t make him look like Hitler. The other picture did.
Is it fun (and easy) picking suzie’s posts to pieces or what?
“…according to longtime political observers Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein, campaign coverage in 2012 was a particularly calamitous failure, almost entirely missing the single biggest story of the race: Namely, the radical right-wing, off-the-rails lurch of the Republican Party, both in terms of its agenda and its relationship to the truth.”
Yep!
How the Mainstream Press Bungled the Single Biggest Story of the 2012 Campaign
Re: Mexican food in Salem:
It’s not in Salem, proper. And I not sure most folk would call it a restaurant.
However, the best Mexican food, which I have had, in the Salem area is one mile out of the Salem City limits @:
El Charly Y Familia
4029 Melrose Avenue Northwest
Roanoke, VA 24017-2635
(540) 362-5557
Weaselzippers, looks like somone is channeling Al.
No John Wilburn, it wouldn’t. Neither did the George H.W. Bush School, or the Reagan Airport. I have no problem with honoring Presidents. I did not start the line of thinking.
John Wilburn, when the time is right, I think schools, be they elementary, middle, or high, named after Barack H. Obama would be fabulous. Such naming would make it evident that diversity and opportunity is what makes the United States of America.
#20 Alfred,
I know this is a bit out of the way but there’s a taco truck on Williamson Road across the street from the new Advance Auto that has incredible tacos. I had the guy pick out two tacos for me; one of them was beef tongue and it was absolutely delicious. He’s only open Friday and Saturday after 5 I think.
#63 Dave H,
I’ve never eaten at El Charly Y Familia but have always been curious about the food. I’ll have to check it out.
Steve, order the carnitas with green sauce at El Charly. Good!
Grandin Rd Texaco is being forced to close over obama and his tyrannical policies. gee thanks for ruining a man’s life work you jerkwad
It’s popular to blame business failures on the Pres these days. Perhaps you can inform us which “tyrannical policies” are to blame this time pammal? I can’t wait!!
Ron, fyi, the place is called Grandin Automotive. It’s been there for years. Until 2010 it was a Texaco. Now it’s a Pure station.
I haven’t heard any news about the place lately. What do you know, pammala?
#69 Suuure, pammalala. And you were selling your “businesses.”
BTW, don’t count on pammalala answering. Any time you ask for something of substance or proof of anything, she’s gone.
Maybe you should check it out Dan, since it’s close to home for you.
Pillis Bros. in Salem, which sold gas in the same location for 75 years, and most recently under the Pure brand just like Grandin Automotive, has just given up gas sales and gone to a service only business model. That tells me that market factors, and possibly specific Pure affiliated factors, are at play.
But perhaps Obama controls the entire retail gasoline market. If so, how dastardly that he has spent his time plotting the downfall of a specific station’s gasoline sales in the Roanoke Va. area. Could a 7/11 be next?
The oil companies have been forcing independent dealers out of business for years by pricing them out of the market while underselling them at company owned or franchised convenience store type outlets which enjoy the advantages of bulk pricing. The ones who have hu ng on have done so because of the service component of their businesses and are better off in most cases for giving up the attempt at gasoline sales.
Yet another example of civility from pammala. This is going to be a real uphill climb, and no I will not unilaterally disarm.
As predicted, pammalala has nothing more about the alleged collapse of a gas/service station due to Obama.
Perhaps the station owner on Grandin has been losing business because of the anti-Obama sign(s) he had up. And I sure as heck know I’m not going there to pay 30 cents per gallon more than I can get it elsewhere (even less when I buy at Kroger with my card).
Gdad,
Zach and I stopped by there today around 4. It was closed. But there were cars in the bays, and on the lot. I wish pammala would tell us what she believes she knows.
#79 Dan, I was by there about 11 a.m. and they were working on or had been working on cars. I also wish pammala would tell us what she’s talking about, but as you know she typically throws stuff out there — some of it unintelligible and some of it untrue right-wing talking points — and then disappears.
The folks who were there were busy so I didn’t bother them (plus it’s a little difficult to explain that you’re following up on a rumor from an anonymous blog person who frequently exaggerates). We know the station owner doesn’t have 50 employees, but given the price of gas there, I can imagine he might not sell a lot of that. Maybe his tanks aren’t up to code?
Anyway, I used to go to the Texaco for repairs back when Dallas owned it, but after he retired (I think that Pee Wee took over but my memory is fuzzy) I found somebody else who we really like a lot.
Oops, Dan, sorry for using the number on my last post. It will take me a while to break that habit. I did want to add that I wasn’t kidding about the anti-Obama sign on the station. The owner had at least one. Not a Romney campaign sign, an anti-Obama sign. Seems pretty dumb for a businessman.
Agreed, Gdad. The Rocovich building by Tanglewood had a bunch of “Defeat Obama” signs out front during the election…I laugh at them now every time I drive by that building, which is a lot. Businesses that feel the need to advertise their political leanings deserve what they get. If you’re ok with turning off half your population, great.
Is the Grandin Texaco the same service station that was a defendant in the church bus accident lawsuit some years ago? If so, does anyone know the outcome of that lawsuit?
“Is the Grandin Texaco the same service station that was a defendant in the church bus accident lawsuit some years ago?”
It would seem to be, Contra, although the current owner is a different person.
http://www.roanoke.com/sports/highschool/12344.html
This was a sad and frightening event. My wife and kids had moved from Virginia Heights to another church shortly before this happened. My daughter would have been in the van. We knew most of the kids, including the girl who was killed and the girl who suffered the brain damage. The good news there is that the injured girl recovered.
In 2010 he was planning on being there for a while…
http://issuu.com/theroanokestar/docs/rss-mar.5-lowres-final