56 thoughts on “Potatoes On Mars”

  1. beware,  the eyes of mars. the eyes on martian potatoes are all seeing

    purple reminded us last thread: “Dems like to protest, not vote, per Barney Frank.”  and those protestors who do vote on perfection principle as they perceive it have given us folks like nixon and dubya.

    purple, I too got the 500 error message and tho’t I was to blame for linking an impure comment castigating Bernie peeps.

    dexter,  you asked re palestine and what alternet says were Bernie‘s views over the years

     

     

  2. At the rate human beings are trashing this planet, NASA had better hurry.  We are going to need a spare.  Once we kill off the elephants this place will get pretty boring anyway.

    100,000 per year

  3. X-R asked who should have coached Hillary about mentioning Charity.  Here are the most recent tax info.  Almost $15 million went into the family foundation which then dispenses to charitable cause.

    As for char­it­able dona­tions, the Clin­tons gave just un­der $15 mil­lion over the eight-year peri­od, which is 10.8 per­cent of their total in­come. The vast ma­jor­ity of that — about $14.8 mil­lion — went through the Clin­ton Fam­ily Found­a­tion, the vehicle the Clin­tons fre­quently use to make per­son­al dona­tions, and an­oth­er $57,000 went to the Clin­ton Glob­al Ini­ti­at­ive. The Clin­tons’ oth­er dona­tions were to the Nel­son Man­dela Found­a­tion ($60,000), Hu­mana Chal­lenge ($46,000), the First Meth­od­ist United Church ($20,000), Ex­plor­ing the Arts ($4,100), St. Steph­en’s Ar­meni­an Apostol­ic Church ($2,500) and the Hot Springs Class of ‘64, Bill Clin­ton’s high school gradu­at­ing class in Arkan­sas ($200)

     

  6. My main take away from last night’s town hall.

    Neither candidate spent any time telling us how afraid we should be of everything.

    Nothing like the republican fear fests we have witnessed.

  7. wapo’s rampell makes a lot of sense in her “The sexist double standard behind why millennials love Bernie Sanders”.  her 1st reason is socialism and her 2nd is as follows:

    It is precisely Sanders’s au-naturel-ness that endears him to his young fans: his unkempt hair, his ill-fitting suits, his unpolished Brooklyn accent, his propensity to yell and wave his hands maniacally. Sanders, it appears, woke up like this.

    These qualities are what make him seem “authentic,” “sincere” even — especially when contrasted with Clinton’s hyper-scriptedness. Sanders, unlike Clinton, doesn’t give a damn if he’s camera-ready.

    This is, of course, a form of authenticity that is off-limits to any female politician, not just one with Clinton’s baggage.

    Female politicians — at least if they want to be taken seriously on a national stage — cannot be unkempt and unfiltered, hair mussed and voice raised. They have to be carefully coifed and scripted at all times, because they have to hew as closely as possible to the bounds of propriety available to both their sex and their occupation. They can’t be too quiet or too loud, too emotional or too cold, too meek or too aggressive, and so on.

    But they also can’t appear to be trying too hard, either. At least if they want the kind of enthusiastic millennial support that Sanders enjoys.

  9. Yay…   finally a Democratic debate worthy of the name debate.  I thought they both did well.  And since I’ve already voted, I didn’t view it as “who is convincing me”.  I just enjoyed it.

    For me the interesting thing was when Bernie said (paraphrasing)…  people ask me how I will work with Mitch McConnell…  when he looks out his window and sees all of you out there, he’ll work with me.  Finally…  Bernie alluding to the fact that it’ll take protests in the streets of Washington D.C. to enact his political revolution.  The problem is that today’s young people would rather go the local coffee shop and text each other while sipping their lattes than go vote…  let alone getting off their butts and protesting.  But I would love it if they proved me wrong.

  11. OSH…   I know that life has been chaotic for you.  If blogging here is causing you stress, I don’t blame you for your decision.  Rick and I will come visit you when we get back to the Cape in June.  Until then…  take care, my friend.

  13. chuck toad and msnbc make up issues and the pound them to death even though no one else gives a damn

  14. Imagine the self actualizing, contribute nothing millennials that will be produced en masse if one candidate’s agenda is adopted. Then consider whether a group of talented individuals from that American cohort are likely to work together to produce an outcome such as this walking group from Japan. Why, that’s silly, you might say. Of course it is. So consider the likelihood of a group of talented American millennials sacrificing their individuality in favor of a group accomplishment requiring a similar degree of self discipline. After all, the building of a America was a group effort.

  15.  
    I believe in the old adage of fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I was hoodwinked by Obama, shame on Obama. 
     
     
     
    In 2008, Obama promised us hope and change, recovery and prosperity. He promised transparency, Single payer universal medical insurance, improving NAFTA for American workers, etc… When Barack Obama was elected with strong majorities in both houses of Congress, he had an unprecedented opportunity to shape American history by bringing the country’s financial oligarchy under control.  For Obama, too big to fail equals too big to jail.  Obama could have done great things. Instead, he gave us deterioration, poverty, despair and steadfastness.  Obama seems to be getting his wish of being a transformative president. Everything he touches turns to dross.
     
     
     
    Elizabeth Warren pointed to a time when donors’ interests may have changed Hillary Clinton’s position on bankruptcy laws. 
     
     
     
    Warren in the 1990s wrote an editorial opposing a proposed piece of legislation tightening bankruptcy laws. Warren explained to Hillary Clinton, at the time the first lady, that it would disproportionately hurt single mothers. Afterward, Clinton returned to Washington and, according to her biography, persuaded Bill Clinton to veto the legislation.
     
     
     
    But when Hillary Clinton was elected to the Senate and another version of the same bill came to the floor, she did an about face and voted in favor of it.  I think single mothers out number big bankers as constituents but not as donors.
     
     
     
    Hillary has learned well from her husband Bill.  Hillary declared herself the winner in the Iowa caucus with 20% of the precincts still to report. Bill Clinton declared himself the winner in the 1992 New Hampshire primary.  Paul Tsongas won and Clinton actually came in second, but declared himself the “comeback kid” and the press bought it.
     
     
     
    In Tom Frank’s new book “Listen, Liberal or Whatever Happen to the Party of the People“ about the shameful history of the “New Democrats’” alliance with the Wall Street plutocrats.  Reading simply the passages explaining Bill Clinton’s shameful effort, in a cynical deal with New Gingrich, to begin to privatize Social Security in order to transfer tens of billions of additional dollars from the American people to Wall Street and put our Social Security funds at risk.
     
     
    I do not trust anything that Hillary Clinton says.  I am trying to avoid the shame on me. I try to learn!  Sanders has been consistent for decades.

  16. Sanders has been consistent for decades.

    PIT…   I will concede that point…   Sanders is like a pitbull with a bone and has been for years.

  17. wonkette does a number on todd’s performance last night.  here’s a small excerpt of a rather tough critique on master chuck but a love-in revue of both hillary and bernie:

    Fortunately, both candidates refused to play along with Chuck’s bullshit-baiting, because they are not Donald Trump. Both are actual serious human beings who understand they’re running for the nation’s highest office, not to be President of Who Gets to Spongebathe the Koch Brothers Weekly. Bernie basically said, “why are we even talking about this?” Then Hillary dropped an epic “are you kidding me with this shit”:

    TODD: Secretary Clinton, will you participate in some sort of audit, if that’s what the party wants to do? You good with that?

    CLINTON: Whatever they decide to do, that’s fine.

    Quotes can’t describe the glorious eye-rolliness with which Madam Secretary greeted that that question, but trust us, it was righteous.

  18. unt oh there must be something in the speeches theydon’t want to release

  19. msnbc  getting frantic  tamara hall (?)  can’t say ennough bad things

    every woman senator but Warren has endorsed clinton so hall’s question is what wrong with Clinton that E Warren won’t edorse her

  20. I really don’t understand how upChuck is able to perform on a major network. He has the look and phoniness of a weather guy in a small media market. He and his hydrocephalic bro matthews pretend that they aren’t repubs and get away with it ! The former makes me want to upchuck, and the latter makes me want to vomit.

    The candidates are good people. I want to stress that my comment about Ms Clinton’s coach meant that she should (not bragging) talk about where the money goes, to express her passion for people. I think that she or the campaign is too afraid that it’ll be construed as bragging. Her biggest problem is to show her motherly love  for all of us without looking like a phony or braggart. But, if she makes it clear that all this moneymaking is about love, her love for people, there won’t be a problem. That is what the coach needs to work on with her. She’s hiding her brightest light under the bushel.

    Sure, what I’m talking about is risky, but if she doesn’t take this kind of risk she might as cede the contest to Sanders, who wears his heart on his sleeve.

  21. Clinton and Sanders should straight up declare that their campaigns, that this election, is about love and justice. Love of people, love of the USA, love of one another. Here’s the finale to The Speech :

    The republicans keep trying to sell America, you, on fear and hate, and miserliness. That’s why they are going to lose. Fear, hate, and miserliness shrink America’s potential, block our possibilities, and starve your creativity.

    Love conquers all. In November, Love will win in a landslide ! And, on Love’s coat tails will come Hope and Charity.

  24. fyi, poohbah, that phrase  was [with emphasis supplied just to gig you]:

    first recorded in Shakespeare’s Othello, 1604. In the play, the treacherous Iago’s plan was to feign openness and vulnerability in order to appear faithful:

    Iago:
    It is sure as you are Roderigo,
    Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago:
    In following him, I follow but myself;
    Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
    But seeming so, for my peculiar end:
    For when my outward action doth demonstrate
    The native act and figure of my heart
    In compliment extern, ’tis not long after
    But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
    For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.

  25. Let’s stop bidging about the candidates, and improve and augment them instead. This election, every election, ought to be a celebration of our personal independence and power to influence our destinies.

    Carping and whining, pointing and blaming, are not celebratory.

  27. Hey, Pat !

    And so, Bernie/Iago urges America/Othello to strangle Desdemona/Hillary ?  I know that’s not what you intended to convey. It’s just where my brain went, ‘cuz my mind has been fuddled by contact with fakes news and the NYT.

    Anywhat, there must be a better way to campaign for office than working to utterly destroy one’s opponents. (Unless they’re Canadian wetbacks or gouging NYC landlords, of course. Then it’s okay. smirk.)

  32.  
    Since this research paper was written in 2005 it missed the long term pain of the 2008 Financial Crisis and Great Recession caused by the 1999 repealing of key provisions in the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act and the concept of self-regulation of the over-the-counter derivatives market.
     
     
     
    Short-Term Gain for Long-Term Pain: The Real Story of Rubinomics
    By Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research, November 11, 2005
     
    A mythology has developed around the economics of the Clinton era. According to the mythology, the policies designed by Clinton’s Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin laid the basis for the prosperity of the late 1990s. These policies centered on getting the deficit down, and later running budget surpluses. The short-term pain associated with higher taxes and lower spending had a payoff in the form of more investment, more rapid productivity growth, higher job growth and rising real wages and income.
     
    This is nice mythology, but it is almost completely at odds with the reality. The growth burst of the late 1990s had little to do with deficit reduction (at least directly) and had everything to do with two unsustainable bubbles – a stock market bubble and a dollar bubble. The Clinton administration chose to ride the prosperity from these bubbles, even though it should have recognized that this prosperity was artificial, and would inevitably lead to a crash, followed by a painful adjustment process.
     
     
     

  33.  
    Who Are the Middle Class?
     
    By Nicole Woo, Kevin Cashman, and Cherrie Bucknor, Center for Economic and Policy Research, February, 04 2016
     

    Back in 2008, Barack Obama pledged not to raise taxes on households making less than $250,000 per year (and individuals earning less than $200,000). During his administration, almost none of the tax proposals that have come from the White House have crossed that line, in effect forgoing potentially tremendous amounts of revenue. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has made a similar promise if she is elected president.
     
    All this, in the name of avoiding tax increases on the “middle class.”

    While $250,000 per year may seem like a “normal” income for inside-the-Beltway types, it is actually the 97th percentile of households in America.[1] That means that 97 percent of households make less than that. For individuals, $200,000 per year falls above the 98th percentile. On most scales, being in the top two or three percent would not be thought of as being in the “middle.”

  34. I thought Bernie’s best moment was when he said experience means nothing if you still get it wrong (or unspoken – don’t have the guts to do the right thing.)  referencing the Iraq war vote

  36.  
    National poll: Sanders and Clinton neck-and-neck
     

    (CNN)—Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton are running even in a new national poll tracking support for the Democratic presidential race.
     
    Clinton garnered 44% to Sanders’ 42%, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Friday. A sizeable 11% say they are undecided.
    The poll appears to signal a dramatic tightening of the Democratic race following Clinton’s razor-thin victory over Sanders in the Iowa caucuses.

  37. So does Bernie have a shot at beating the Republicans, 6 political scientist discuss this

    “I’d say it’d have to be considerably higher than 2 to 3 points. I’m thinking the loss would be in the vicinity of 6 to 10 points,” Miroff said.

    Republicans would find it easy to tie Sanders to the “socialist” label, Miroff said, adding that only 25 percent of the public trusts the government to carry out policies effectively.

    “(Sanders) really has made radical, socialistic statements in the past about the redistribution of wealth and the expropriation of the oil industry,” Miroff said. “The full force of a Republican attack would find Sanders to be a convenient target.”

     

  38. So what has Bernie done besides draw a public paycheck for 25 years?

    According to this list of bills   introduced by Mr Sanders. It includes both Senate and house. It is a long list and you will scroll for a long time one thing for sure Bernie  does believe in introducing lots of bills.

     

    So how did he do in  25 years ?

    Introduced? hundreds if not thousands

    Passed? I found 4.

    One was  renaming a post office, another was a change in the VFW charter to add the word  “women” , another was a sense of congress vote approving the formation of a regional water pact between Vermont and Rhode Island. Last but not least, he got March 4 1991, declared Vermont bicentennial day.

    Yeeep, quite the record.

    Jack

  39. Jack

    I’m not a Bernie fan, but just to give him his due, he has successfully added amendments to bills to extent that he is referred to as the “Amendment King”.  It would take a whole lot more research to determine which if any you found to your liking, but he hasn’t been lazy about it and he does have an 83% approval rating in Vermont so one would have to assume he is doing something right for his state.

     

  40. Xr,  good to hear you haven’t lost your voice.  I agree with the kumbaya moment last night about Bernie or Hillary being 100 times better than any of the pugns.  I only hope that Bernie is electable since his star seems to be rising. If he beats out Hillary I’ll be voting for him without PUMA anguish (but I might as well vote for Mickey Mouse for what good my vote will do in WV).

  41. I’d like to see comparison of Hillary and Bernie’s voting records while they were both the the Senate.  May go do a little research… Instead of listening to this  presentation on the WV medical professional liability act.

  42.  
    Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics   
     
    Consumer Price Index All Urban Consumers – (CPI-U)  
     
    Series ID: CUUR0000SA0, Not Seasonally Adjusted
     
         Change in CPI-U Index Ranked High to Low
     
    9    Eisenhower    11.394
     
    11   Kennedy        3.550
     
    8    Johnson        13.578
     
    3    Nixon          33.100
     
    4    Ford           28.172
     
    1    Carter         44.809
     
    2    Reagan         43.503
     
    7    Bush (GHW)    18.653
     
    6    Clinton        22.722
     
    5    Bush (GW)      25.030
     
    10   Obama          10.086
     
     
     
    Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
     
         Percent of Change Ranked High to Low
     
         BEA Table 1.5.5. Gross Domestic Product, Expanded Detail     
     
         Line 54 National Defense Expenditures
     
    6    Eisenhower    (4.754)
     
    4    Kennedy        11.002
     
    3    Johnson        27.540
     
    11   Nixon          (21.196)
     
    7    Ford           (5.305)
     
    5    Carter         0.963
     
    2    Reagan         46.146
     
    8    Bush (GHW)    (10.148)
     
    10   Clinton        (21.133)
     
    1    Bush (GW)      53.978
     
    9    Obama          (10.752)
     
             
     
         Line 57 Nondefense Expenditures  
     
    2    Eisenhower    44.363
     
    1    Kennedy        44.451
     
    4    Johnson        31.573
     
    5    Nixon          28.114
     
    9    Ford           7.614
     
    10   Carter         5.196
     
    11   Reagan         (1.496)
     
    6    Bush (GHW)    18.657
     
    8    Clinton        7.825
     
    3    Bush (GW)      33.412
     
    7    Obama          9.481
     
             
     
         BEA Table 3.12. Government Social Benefits
     
    1    Eisenhower    101.578
     
    9    Kennedy        20.030
     
    3    Johnson        54.581
     
    2    Nixon          59.589
     
    7    Ford           27.973
     
    11   Carter         5.444
     
    8    Reagan         21.987
     
    6    Bush (GHW)    29.203
     
    10   Clinton        16.320
     
    4    Bush (GW)      46.933
     
    5    Obama          32.948
     

  43. You know where Hillary could seem authentic, but doesn’t?  In the delivery of her speech.  That article of Patd’s pointed out the double-standard of the accepted appearance of men and women.

    Every candidates has some scripted speech.  Not everything Bernie says is off-the-cuff.

    But with Hillary, I don’t know if she even believes what she says.  And when she tries to sound passionate about something, it sounds…well, it’s her version of Jeb! asking folks to “please clap.”

    Either you are with someone or you’re not.  Hillary isn’t with the voters she is courting.  She is with the 1% who won’t care until every coal mine-canary is dead and they finally realize they were too greedy and uncaring.

    * We need a new recipe for fixin’ Martian taters.

  44. Who Hates Obamacare?
    by Paul Krugman
    “But the truth is, Mr. Sanders is just amplifying left-wing critiques of health reform that were already out there. And some of these critiques have merit. Others don’t.
    Let’s start with the good critiques, which involve coverage and cost.
    The number of uninsured Americans has dropped sharply, especially in states that have tried to make the law work. But millions are still uncovered, and in some cases high deductibles make coverage less useful than it should be.
    This isn’t inherent in a non-single-payer system: Other countries with Obamacare-type systems, like the Netherlands and Switzerland, do have near-universal coverage even though they rely on private insurers. But Obamacare as currently constituted doesn’t seem likely to get there, perhaps because it’s somewhat underfunded.”
    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/05/opinion/who-hates-obamacare.html?ref=opinion&_r=0

  45. Bernie Sanders Needs A Big Win In New Hampshire
    But how big is “big”?
    By Harry Enten

    ”

    One easy answer is that the press will go with the simplest angle: Clinton has no business losing to Sanders. She led in New Hampshire by nearly 40 percentage points in early June 2015 after all. It doesn’t matter if she loses by 9, 17 or 31 percentage points. Add a loss in New Hampshire to her near loss in Iowa, and you can see a narrative building that Clinton is in serious trouble. The press has the added incentive of knowing that Sanders is all that’s standing between Clinton and an easy waltz to the nomination. It can be quite tempting to cover a competitive race.”

  47. Seattle’s Absurd, Discriminatory Trans Bathroom Panic
    WuDon WAN

    “Like most other people who undergo chemotherapy, Danni Askini lost her hair, leaving her bald and, overall, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. But the chemotherapy was necessary so Danni could have a successful bone-marrow transplant to correct a condition she had.

    After her treatment in 2013, Askini—still bald—was approached by a woman in a public restroom in . “Hey, are you in the right bathroom?” the woman asked.

    “This is the women’s room, right?” Askini replied.

    “You look like a man to me.”

    “I’m recovering from a bone marrow transplant.”

    “You shouldn’t be in here.”

    “I just need to pee,” Askini said.

    Askini identifies as a transgender woman and is the executive director of the Gender Justice League, a non-profit organization based in Seatle that serves the transgender community and its allies.

    Her bathroom experience highlights a struggle that many transgender people already encounter in their day-to-day.”

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/05/seattle-s-absurd-discriminatory-trans-bathroom-panic.html?source=socialflow&via=twitter_page&account=thedailybeast&medium=twitter

  49. I just contributed another $10 to Hillary.  A great car magnet will be coming in the mail soon.

  50.  

    “But with Hillary, I don’t know if she even believes what she says.  And when she tries to sound passionate about something, it sounds…well, it’s her version of Jeb! asking folks to “please clap.”

    Oh Blue

    Rinse, repeat and I feel the complete opposite.. Hillary is so sincere and wonderful and i pay attention.. Jeb Bush like, wow, now that’s one of the worst slams yet.. I feel dirty..

  51. Hi OD

    Good idea and i’m heading to Hillary for America and give another $50 because i just love the passion she exudes, despite what you read to the contrary..

  52. The way of fossil fuels:

    Several years as a joke, my son gave his sons “coal” in their Christmas stockings for all the bad things they had done throughout the year.  This took the form of 10 shares each in a coal mine.

    Fortunately both boys are grown up now and have obviously been way too good this year, and Chris just got a notice that the coal company declared bankruptcy.

     

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