Frosty on the Friday OPEN thread
Northern Indiana this morning | Photo by Ron May
“In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen,
snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago.”
Christina G. Rossetti
Thanks for the photo, Ron!
December 21, 2012 - 10:03 AM
House right wingers are determined to run the economy into the ground. Sad.
I noticed this morning that the MSM’s unfair all-out war on Coach K as predicted by suzie is continuing to take its toll — a player who some folks say is just the number 2 prospect in the country verbally committed to Duke. Sad.
gdad, I’m sure that #2 prospect is a godless, left-wing commie Muslim sleeper agent with a forged transcript, forced upon Duke and Coach K by Obama himself.
Hadn’t considered that angle, dobbs. Thanks.
Nosaj asked yesterday what band we would like to see. Well, for me, I wish I could have attended an early Springsteen show. I am told he played Mem Gym at U Va once upon a time. Wish I could have been there.
Other John
Sorry about the Lions. Pretty disappointing.
Finally, some delicious winter weather! I remember when I was young, every winter we would get a couple of snows here in Roanoke measuring 12 inches or more. Usually, a bitter cold spell would follow, and that snow would freeze hard enough for a young fella to walk on. My cousins and I, being fans of the old Salem Rebels (minor league hockey), would play hockey with brooms and a real puck. When we were frozen to the core, hot chocolate and a cozy fire waited patiently in the house.
Roanoke has such a great balance of all four seasons. Warm and humid Summers gave way to crisp and colorful Falls. Winter promised just enough snow to make for great sledding and temps that required a crackling fire. And our wet and
windy Springs teased us with the occasional mild day or two that left us impatient for a Roanoke Valley Summer. Nature’s balance rejuvenates the spirit. For me, Roanoke will always represent renewal.
Happy Winter folks!
Old Blue, great choice!
right, sure gdad, who spent 5 trillion in th epast 3 years, it was Republicans babe
For two years I have posted on this blog as “dave” David is my first name.
But my family and my friends have always known me by my middle name.
Today, on my 70th birthday, I believe that a better way to promote civil discourse on this blog is to identify ourselves and take ownership of our opinions and remarks. So from now on, I will be who I am, Wayne Goodman. I wish you all a wonderful Christmas season, happy holidays, and a joyous new year.
Thanks, Old Blue…they have been difficult to watch this season to be sure. With discipline, they could easily be 4-5 wins better than their current 4-10. But when you play without discipline, make killer mistakes, give up defensive touchdowns…you’re going to lose. They have resumed their regularly-scheduled medicority!
Wayne Goodman (aka dave), Happy Birthday!
Nice to “meet” you Wayne, you have never said anything that you would not have signed your name to. You are honest and forthright and I am happy you are here. Happy 70th, that is a big deal!!
wayne goodman:
“I believe that a better way to promote civil discourse on this blog is to identify ourselves and take ownership of our opinions and remarks. So from now on, I will be who I am, Wayne Goodman.”
I agree and thank you sincerely for having the courage to own your remarks. I have more respect for you as a result. Hopefully others will follow suit.
Happy darn birthday Wayne-who-I-will-continue-to-think-of-as-Dave!!!!!! Have a fabulous day. And just in the interest of fairness…I am Miriam. That isn’t a false name. Not going to post my last name because I disagree that it matters so much as a sign of one’s integrity online. Unless of course one is a troll. And I’m just a mini-troll
Have a great wonderful birthday!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/21/nra-press-conference_n_2346382.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmaing10%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D248862
LaPierre finally crawls out of his hole just to open his mouth and say something stupid. For the Right Wing in this country, today just might be the apocalypse after all. So much complete fail in a single day.
Aggravating, ain`t it ?
Aw, Shucks…Is Harry Reid gonna finally have to do(after 4 years of non-compliance) what he is required by law to do each and every April 14th……Create a budget ? Lets just continue to spend more than we bring in..you know, the `sound, down-to-earth financial principles of the left.`
Happy Birthday Wayne!!
Happy Birthday Wayne, and please forgive me if I continue to address you as dave for a while…my aging brain takes time to accomodate change.
Happy Birthday Dane, uh, Wave, I mean… okay, it might take me a little while, but I’ll adjust. Seriously, Sandi’s right that you’ve never posted anything not worthy of taking credit for (and although I know I can’t expect any further disclosure, I’ve wondered about the avatar because of the headphones. VOTBR, perhaps).
I’ve always used my real first name, and I intend to follow your example and give my last name as well on my 70th birthday. Aside from the notorious troll of dubious gender, anyone who complains about others’ choice of screen name, particularly when it’s real, ought to consider whether they simply have a superiority complex about all their other personal security choices as well.
Oh, one more little thought…disarming innocent people does not protect innocent people.
It’s the end of the world as we know it. Do you feel fine?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY
The winter solstice begins tonight as well. (If you don’t subscribe to Bad Astronomy, you should.)
http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2012/12/21/winter_solstice_2012_the_axial_tilt_of_the_earth_is_the_real_reason_for.html
Kristen:
“LaPierre finally crawls out of his hole just to open his mouth and say something stupid.”
LaPierre made several good points but missed a few opportunities. The best part, to me was the various violent video games, one named “Kindergarden Killer”, that his staff found for sale, but the media either couldn’t or wouldn’t acknowledge. This is a very good point, but he didn’t stick up for the video gaming industries First Amendment rights the way he ought to and demand better of the parents and role models, just as the video gaming indutry could fairly ask of the gun industry. A client of mine’s seven year old often plays slaughter house violent video games, has no strong male role models and she doesn’t care. Here’s a problem in the making long before that child ever fires his first gun.
Happy Birthday, Wayne!!
…seriously?!
Emergency officials are on the scene of a deadly shooting in Frankstown Township, in Blair County.
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/12/21/4-dead-3-state-troopers-injured-in-blair-county-shooting-2/
Happy 70th Birthday David Wayne Goodman!
pammala, if we go over “the cliff” (whatever exactly that means), voters will rightly blame the right wingers.
Well the NRA came through its news “conference” (no questions allowed) just as nutty sounding as expected. For one thing, they want Congress to come up with the funds to put armed guards in every school that wants it. Right. Then there’s this crap from Wayne.
“LaPierre blamed mass shootings on “vicious, violent video games” such as”Bulletstorm,” “Grand Theft Auto,” Mortal Kombat” and “Splatterhouse.” He also reached back in time to place blame on movies like “American Psycho” and “Natural Born Killers” for portraying “life as a joke and murder as a way of life.”
….
He also criticized the media for vilifying guns and gun owners, and for publicizing inaccuracies about guns.”
Sorry, if I had looked more carefully I would have seen that Kristen already posted the NRA insanity.
Dave’s not here. HBD!
Check it out. The earliest recovered recordings of Christmas yet:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20772246
JohnW, he’s paid to push the Second, not the first. Nothing’s going to interfere with the prime directive.
I don’t disagree with you about your client’s kid, but it might be easier to do something about guns than to outlaw stupid parenting. And unless we’re going to blame carjackings and prostitution on Grand Theft Auto, I don’t see that the theory has much legs.
Gdad, he’s pushing a bonanza for the arms industry. I’m sure there will be a little extra in his stocking this Xmas.
Happy birthday, Wayne Goodman (aka dave)!
Here’s a 1%er stepping up.
http://www2.wsls.com/news/2012/dec/21/franklin-county-free-clinic-gets-1-million-donatio-ar-2429631/
Ferrum College President Jennifer Braaten says philanthropist Guy E. Beatty and his wife Betty, made a $1 million donation. Beatty is a longtime friend of Braaten’s, and also the founder and chairwoman of The Beatty Companies in northern Virginia.
LaPierre never once said what a sad day it was when those children and adults were slaughtered. Not one word of compassion for those families…
Of course it isn’t guns that kill people! NO! Violent video games are the culprits! We MUST be the only country in the world with access to “violent” video games, otherwise how do we explain these massive murders in the good ole’ USA and not as a worldwide phenomenon? Time to ban video games while keeping every assault weapon readily available…
BTW, the video game, Grand Theft Auto, was created by a British gamer…and it has always been available in Britain. I wonder if the Brits had violent auto thefts spiking as a result…just wondering.
We borrow .45 on the dollar just so we can operate. Look how far we have already fallen. Obama’s position as of noon today was to increase revenue by $1.3 trillion and cut spending $800 billion. So Barry wants to spend MORE money we don’t have. In theory, the goal of the negotiations were to have 3 times more in cuts than increases in revenue. And somehow gdad, you want to blame the right wingers.
If you offer to buy my house for $50s and I refuse because that is not a reasonable offer, would it be my fault we didn’t get the deal done? Of course not! Same thing with Obama, if he would make a reasonable offer that has significantly more cuts than revenue, a deal could get done. Stand firm House….you are the only ones fighting for something close to fiscal sanity.
Boehner has lost control of his caucus and short of capitulating to the president and House Democrats is incapable of passing any meaningful “cliff” legislation. The situation now mirrors TARP, where Republicans held their nose and pulled the lever alongside their Democratic counterparts rather than take the blame for tanking the economy. Boehner’s days as Speaker are numbered, Cantor is measuring the drapes.
I fully expect them to stand firm, AnotherChuck. I’m counting on it.
I am a little surprised they declared themselves on vacation when they could have stuck around, read the Constitution outloud, name a few more Portapotties after Reagan, and voted again to repeal the ACA. Truly doing the people’s work.
“Stand firm House….you are the only ones fighting for something close to fiscal sanity.”
Comment by Another Chuck — December 21, 2012 @ 3:44 pm
Another Chuck – no, they are fighting to protect their own millions and those of their corporate overlords’ billions. Republicans are in the wealth-protection racket, not caring to be in the business of governance – they accomplished their goal and can now go home for the holidays.
Republi-”cants” working on middle class tax cuts is like putting Colonel Sanders in charge of the health and welfare of chickens.
Thanks for the birthday wishes. Seems like Christmas with the cold weather today. So I’m listening to the Blind B oys of Alabama, sipping a little Makers Mark, and waiting for a celebration to start. Glad the world didn’t end today!
Happy birthday Wayne!!
Happy Birthday, Wayne! Merry Christmas, Happy Winter Solstice, and I hope you have a splendid New Years!
i am sipping on some New Castle, and Johnny Walker Black, Cheers! Stay warm!
“When we were frozen to the core, hot chocolate and a cozy fire waited patiently in the house.” comment by Nosaj
Hot chocolate’s an unbeatable classic, but for an Irv Sharp approved Roanoke specialty beverage, does anyone else remember hot Dr. Pepper?
Republi-”cants” working on middle class tax cuts is like putting Colonel Sanders in charge of the health and welfare of chickens.
Comment by Hillary — December 21, 2012 @ 4:53 pm
George Bush created the current middle class tax cuts. Lack of growth and spending is the problem. Obama refuses to address the real issues.
GWB & his Republican congressional colleagues took budget surpluses that would have paid off the total national debt by 2013 and turned them into record deficits. They did that with tax cuts, two unfunded and unnecessary wars, and unfunded Medicare drug benefits just to mention a few things. The tax cuts would not have totally created the mess by themselves, but the folks(Republicans) who now want budget cuts couldn’t find a spending bill they didn’t like. Now they want to balance the budget by protecting their millionaire and billionaire buddies and charge it to those who are least able to pay the cost.
Truth is AC that everybody from the top to the bottom of our economic system is going to have to pay more in addition to any cuts in spending.
Fellow bloggers, my lovely wife & I begin our annual journey to New York to spend Christmas with her family and our sons. Tomorrow will be a long travel day & I am likely not to have access to the blog. Depending on how busy the next few days get with the family, I may or may not drop by for a comment or two. In the event that I don’t get in let me say again, a big happy birthday to Wayne (dave)!! To all the rest of you, Merry Christmas! I have enjoyed this time of year all my life. Not just because I get more gifts than I should, but because of the time it permits me to spend with my wife, our sons and our extended families. It’s my hope that each of you have that same experience this year. Bless you all.
George Bush created the current middle class tax cuts. Lack of growth and spending is the problem. Obama refuses to address the real issues. Comment by Another Chuck — December 21, 2012 @ 8:40 pm
George Bush started two unfunded wars, pushed through the Prescription D plan with absolutely no funding, and then, while the US was concurrently prosecuting two wars by borrowing from China, Bush decided to cut taxes…not on just the middle class, but on [the1%] millionaires and billionaires at a time the deficit was skyrocketing. Please do not point to George W. Bush as a fiscally responsible President.
“[B]y the time [Bush] left office eight years later, the debt had nearly tripled, to $2.7 trillion
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/George_W._Bush%27s_First_State_of_the_Union_Address
And BTW, GW lied when he promised this:
“We will not pass along our problems to other Congresses, to other presidents, and other generations.”
—George W. Bush, State of the Union address, Jan. 28, 2003
Yeah, right..
Hot chocolate’s an unbeatable classic, but for an Irv Sharp approved Roanoke specialty beverage, does anyone else remember hot Dr. Pepper?
Comment by Warren — December 21, 2012 @ 8:38 pm
Warren, I mentioned hot Dr. Pepper and how good it was just the other day! I think my first was at a Virginia Tech football came in the early 1970s. I remember Irv Sharp, too. Seems like just yesterday …
Re: wayne goodman @ 12:11 pm
Good move dave.
And welcome to the Septuagenarian subset of bloggers.
Happy Birthday, Wayne! Enjoy your Makers! Due to a wicked flu, I’m enjoying ginger tea but I will busting open some codine laced Robitussin in bit.
GWB & his Republican congressional colleagues took budget surpluses that would have paid off the total national debt by 2013 and turned them into record deficits. They did that with tax cuts, two unfunded and unnecessary wars, and unfunded Medicare drug benefits just to mention a few things.
obama spent more than all the previous presidents combined, but libs aren’t really interested in that thorny detail. The Bush tax cut (which went disproportionately for the poor and middle class) wouldn’t make a dent in obama’s unprecedented deficit ballooning.
Ron, budget surplus is a DC term for spending slightly less than anticipated growth. More money is still spent than taken in!!! You know this. I blame Bush too. I hope you enjoy your trip and Merry Christmas.
#53 Note how suzie just dodges.
The mug is uglier, the BS is the same. Congress spends the money, not the president.
SteveC, mix up some Theraflu and add whiskey and honey to it. Makes being sick almost worthwhile.
Feel better soon, Steve C. Kristen, I remember a couple of friends who had bad colds posting on Facebook last winter about how bad they felt but they were making hot toddies. An hour or two later they were both posting about how good they felt. Another friend told them, yeah it’s because you’re both drunk.
Warren, I remember hot Dr. Pepper. I love it with orange slices. Lemon slices are good too, but with DP I prefer oranges. I also remember seeing an episode of the show Barney Miller where one of the cops had put Dr. Pepper in the coffee pot. Barney poured a cup and then spit it out yelling, what the hell is this!
The mug is uglier, the BS is the same.
Very civil of you, Art. Oh, that’s right, the Summit didn’t apply to libs.
Debbie, I will try hot Dr. Pepper with oranges tonight!
For what it is worth, my name is Jason Perdue, and I will post that way from now on.
I hope you like it, Jason!
Some things literally never change. For those who still maintain a relationship with honesty, the economy of the United States collapsed, but cons are not “really interested in that thorny detail”. The Bush tax cut (which went disproportionately to the wealthy) cannot be ignored as the reason for less revenue than needed even as he started wars and gave away boons to insurance. President Obama had no choice but to spend, he still doesn’t. Do you folks even realize how close we are to another recession?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/opinion/this-time-it-really-is-different.html?_r=0
I notice the “fiscal cliff” has lost it’s urgency according to the media. I guess it’s because people would blame obama. Still, the media is focusing only on the Republicans not ‘compromising’.. obama is never asked to give up any of his spending, even though that is the only real avenue for the needed reform. Same old CPUSA/MSM.
As it is, there is only ONE group interesting in stopping the spending insanity, and that’s the Tea Party. God is with those brave patriots, but there is no telling how much misery America will be allowed to endure when so many have turned their backs on God.
I see where President Obama withdrew all spending cuts from the negotiations and reasserted his original position of seeking continuation of the Bush tax cuts for all Americans earning less than $250,000 annually. I think Dan is exactly right about this. If the GOP doesn’t come to the table, we will go over the cliff, and the GOP will bear the lion’s share of the responsibility. The President will work with the new Congress to inact common sense tax cuts and spending cuts, and he and the Dems will get credit for keeping us out of another recession.
Oddly, such a scenario may help the GOP in the long run. With such a massive failure on economic policy, moderates will return to power and marginalize the Tea Party contingent. The GOP will turn to younger, more inclusive members to rebuild the party and welcome peoples from all backgrounds. The smart money in the GOP will get behind these efforts to moderate, because, well, they are the smart money.
The people have spoken two election cycles in a row. The GOPOOWG (Grand Old Party Of Old White Guys) are out of touch with the US of the 21st century.
The approval rating of Congress is 14%. Obama will not be the one getting blamed for the fiscal cliff.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/20/republican-poll_n_2337757.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
The Bush tax cut (which went disproportionately to the wealthy)
Leftwing Brookings disagrees, hon.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2010/08/11/liberal-think-tank-destroys-media-myth-bush-tax-cuts-favored-rich
President Obama had no choice but to spend, he still doesn’t. Do you folks even realize how close we are to another recession?
So, let me get this straight. Our recession was caused by Bush spending, but to get out of it, obama has to spend even more. Hmmm.
The boom of the late 1990s that Clintont took credit for, Washington’s spending increases were very low. This of course was due solely to the GOP Congress, as spending was much higher in 1993-94.
“Very civil of you, Art. Oh, that’s right, the Summit didn’t apply to libs.”
OK, now suzie is claiming that her avatar is actually a picture of her. You need serious help, darling.
#65…Hey Debbie….If George Bush were sitting in the Oval Office at the time of this `fiscal cliff`, who would YOU blame ?????? Yes, Obama WILL be blamed…lets all repeat it real slowly children………………… R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y !!! It comes with the office.
Boehner out ?? Paul Ryan in ?? Secret Vote ?? Go House.
“So, let me get this straight. Our recession was caused by Bush spending, but to get out of it, obama has to spend even more. Hmmm.”
–Comment from Suzie
Nobody here has written that “Our recession was caused by Bush spending.” Nobody who’s sane has written it anywhere else either. That’s just made up stuff — typical.
JasonPerdue, good for Obama. He also needs to pull SS and Medicare off the table. No reason for him to give on anything when they’re standing firm in their idiocy. He’s not going to be the one to lose here.
Hey Frank, Jason Perdue put it very well at 12:04 am.
“Our recession was caused by Bush spending,…”
We’ll wait for you to show us where anybody said this.
Crickets.