Monday Open Thread

June Deniece Chandler (born June 3, 1950 in Gary, Indiana), known by her stage name Deniece “Niecy” Williams is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer who achieved success in the 1970s and 1980s. Williams, whose music has been influenced by Soul and Funk, is known for her hits such as “Let’s Hear It for the Boy“, “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle“, and for her many vocal duets with Johnny Mathis.

About SouthernGirl2

A Native Texan who adores baby kittens, loves horses, rodeos, pomegranates, & collect Eagles. Enjoys politics, games shows, & dancing to all types of music. Loves discussing and learning about different cultures. A Phi Theta Kappa lifetime member with a passion for Social & Civil Justice.
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45 Responses to Monday Open Thread

  1. Apparent Rand Paul Supporter Stomps On MoveOn Member’s Head (VIDEO) (UPDATED)

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/25/rand-paul-supporter-stomps-head_n_773857.html#comments

    An ugly scene took place outside the Kentucky Senatorial debate Monday night as what appeared to be a supporter of Republican candidate Rand Paul was captured by a local news affiliate literally stomping the head of a member of the progressive-activist organization MoveOn.org.

    The MoveOn volunteer, Lauren Valle, went to the hospital after explaining what had happened to local press. As of 11:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time she remained there, according to another MoveOn official. According to a local Fox station, Valle had attempted to approach Paul before the debate took place, dressed in a blonde wig and with a “RepublicanCorp” sign mocking him as a stooge of special interests.

    Attendees around Valle are heard screaming, “get the cops” as cameras captured her being dragged to the pavement by her red sweater. Once on the ground a man wearing white sneakers pushed the sole of his shoe down on her head.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbnEy_U9pYk&feature=player_embedded

    OMG! Throw this mofo in jail. Stomping on a woman’s head? These are dangerous b*st*rds! They’re ruthless thugs!

  2. Media Alert

    http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/23019

    President Barack Obama Speaks to Black America Tomorrow on
    The Tom Joyner Morning Show Saying “I Need You To Show Up On Nov 2nd”

    Interview to air on the nationally syndicated morning show on Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 8:00 am ET

    (Dallas, TX – October 25, 2010) –The Tom Joyner Morning Show gets an important message from President Barack Obama to share with listeners tomorrow, October 26, 2010, at 8:00 am ET (7:00 am CST). The audio as well as a transcript of the interview will be available at BlackAmericaWeb.com immediately following the broadcast.

  3. Caprio’s jab echoes nationwide as Obama visits RI / Video

    http://www.projo.com/news/politics/content/RI_OBAMA_VISIT_PROJO_10-26-10_MGKISNF_v36.230bfab.html

    What was to be a unifying day for the state’s Democrats disintegrated hours before Air Force One touched down on Monday when gubernatorial candidate Frank T. Caprio greeted the news that President Obama would not endorse his candidacy with two resounding words: “Shove it.”

    By the time Mr. Obama arrived in Rhode Island shortly before 4 p.m., Caprio’s remark on morning talk radio –– made in response to a Journal story about the non-endorsement –– had already gone viral, stunning many political observers.

    An Obama spokesman told reporters on Air Force One that “out of respect for his friend Lincoln Chafee, the president decided to stay out of the race” and not endorse Caprio. Chafee, a Republican-turned-Independent, served with Obama in the U.S. senate and endorsed him in 2008 over Republican John McCain.

    Even as Caprio’s comment reverberated around the state and nation, the president pressed on with his visit, designed to boost the campaign of Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline in his bid for the state’s 1st Congressional District seat, and raise money for the House Democratic campaign organization.

    President Obama traveled first to a Woonsocket factory to promote what he depicted as the virtues of his administration’s small business policy –– and the defects of Republican policy.

    Mr. Obama toured a section of the American Cord and Webbing factory where workers at sewing machines made belts with plastic buckles — including some belts bearing the names of first daughters Sasha and Malia Obama.

    Obama, in white shirt sleeves, expressed his delight in the belts, embraced and shook hands with workers, telling one, “You’re doing a great job.”

    The president called the company “a testament to American ingenuity and American entrepreneurship.”

    He was accompanied by the four members of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation –– all Democrats –– and Cicilline, whom he identified as “Dave Cicilline, soon to have another job.”

  4. NEWSWEEK Poll: Obama Approval Rating Jumps, Democrats Close ‘Enthusiasm Gap’

    http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/22/poll-obama-approval-jumps-dems-more-fired-up.html

    As the president’s numbers climb sharply, results suggest that Democrats may be succeeding in firing up their base.

    Despite doom-saying about Democrats’ chances in the midterms, the latest NEWSWEEK Poll (full results) shows that they remain in a close race with Republicans 12 days before Election Day, while the president’s approval ratings have climbed sharply. The poll finds that 48 percent of registered voters would be more likely to vote for Democrats, compared with 42 percent who lean Republican (those numbers are similar to those in the last NEWSWEEK Poll, which found Democrats favored 48 percent to 43 percent). President Obama’s approval ratings have jumped substantially, crossing the magic halfway threshold to 54 percent, up from 48 percent in late September, while the portion of respondents who disapprove of the president dropped to 40 percent, the lowest disapproval rating in a NEWSWEEK Poll since February 2010. However, his approval rating, which is notably higher than many recent polls of the president’s popularity, may be evidence of a closing “enthusiasm gap” more than a sea change in voter attitudes, and may not substantially affect Democrats’ fortunes come Election Day. In 1994, NEWSWEEK Polls showed a similar steep climb in President Clinton’s approval between late September and late October, but Democrats still suffered a rout in the midterms.

    However, his approval rating, which is notably higher than many recent polls of the president’s popularity, may be evidence of a closing “enthusiasm gap” more than a sea change in voter attitudes, and may not substantially affect Democrats’ fortunes come Election Day.

    ***sighs*** There wasn’t an enthusiasm gap, beyotches! You made that up!

  5. You guys have to see this picture.

    http://theobamadiary.com/2010/10/25/picture-perfect-no-8-2/

    Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a Republican member of the Cabinet, feigns being a blocking back for President Barack Obama as he arrives backstage to meet with GOP House leaders before speaking to their issues conference at the Renaissance Baltimore Harbor Place Hotel in Baltimore, Md., Jan. 29, 2010.

  6. Michelle Obama and Students Harvest Pumpkins

  7. Howard Fineman……….Smack!

    What Happens Next? The Complex Post-Election Landscape

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/25/complex_post_election_n_773440.html#comments

    WASHINGTON – Two years ago, Barack Obama united American politics as no one had done in decades. Next week — once the vote is in — American politics will lay broken in at least five uneasy pieces.

    The blame game for Democratic losses already has begun and the explanations include an intractable Great Recession, a legacy of rising public debt, Republican cynicism and the mistakes of the president.

    But even before glancing back, it’s worth looking ahead, because the landscape is clear. The simple, personal narrative of presidential hope, which won Obama the first semi-landslide in years and clear majorities in Congress, will be replaced by a complex, fragmented, parliamentary-style mess, with multiple, gridlock-inducing power centers — of which the White House is only (barely) one.

  8. Moving America Forward: Las Vegas

  9. Moving America Forward : LA!

  10. Democrats Try to Revive Female Voters’ Enthusiasm

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/us/politics/22obama.html

    SEATTLE — Women came out strong for Barack Obama in 2008. Now, with barely 10 days before the midterm elections that are looking increasingly perilous for his party, he is trying to win them back.

    Mr. Obama turned his attention on Thursday to convincing the female voters who helped deliver the presidency to him not to abandon the Democratic Party in its hour of need. In a series of orchestrated events, the White House sought to make the case that Mr. Obama’s two years in office have already been a boon to women all over the country.

    Campaigning on behalf of Senator Patty Murray of Washington, President Obama talked about his daughters, his wife (she knows more about the family budget than he does, he said) and his grandmother (she worked her way up to vice president of a bank but hit the proverbial glass ceiling). He even talked about a 16-year-old girl who recently visited the White House after winning a science competition.

    “She designed a new drug” to treat cancer, Mr. Obama said during a backyard event for women at a Seattle home. “Now she’s being contacted by all these labs right now.”

    Just so you know…Black women voters had the highest voter turnout & voted over-whelmingly for President Obama.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1083335/Breakdown-demographics-reveals-black-voters-swept-Obama-White-House.html

  11. Frank Caprio: Obama Can ‘Shove It’

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com//2010/10/25/frank-caprio-obama-shove-it_n_773307.html

    PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Democratic candidate for Rhode Island governor told President Barack Obama on Monday to “shove it” after learning Obama would not endorse him.

    Frank Caprio’s campaign last week said he would welcome the president’s endorsement. But on Monday, the same day Obama was set to make his first visit to Rhode Island as president and a day after the White House said Obama would not endorse anyone, Caprio angrily told WPRO-AM that Obama can “take his endorsement and really shove it.”

    Caprio’s independent opponent, Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican senator who served with Obama for two years, gave a high-profile endorsement to Obama ahead of the Democratic primary in 2008.

    With an attitude like that, maybe that is why the President isn’t endorsing him? GTFFOOH, Caprio!

  12. Here we go again, folks!

    For college students, it’s so not ’08

    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/44093.html

    On college campuses where Barack Obama made politics cool again, most students have moved on.

    They’ve quit bugging their friends about change, they’re no longer trying to sign up new voters and the knock-on-door day trips now draw only the most hard-core.

    One statistic from Rock the Vote, the most aggressive organization behind youthful political participation, illustrates the difference between now and 2008 — just 280,000 young voters signed up in its midterm elections voter drive, a fraction of the 2.5 million who eagerly put their name on voter forms two years ago.

    The bottom line: From coast to coast, universities that brim with liberal ideas and idealistic students won’t be sending nearly as many voters to the polls on Nov. 2. And that’s bad news for Democrats.

    Keep trying, Politico. I suppose you squeezed your eyes shut at the 37,000 at the Ohio Rally? A swing state remember? It didn’t work for you in 08 & it won’t work now.

  13. Ametia says:

    Brown widens lead over Whitman in California race

    A Los Angeles Times/University of Southern California poll on Sunday gave Brown, the state’s attorney general who first served as California governor from 1975 to 1983, a 13 percentage point lead over Whitman. Brown has 52 percent support, compared to 39 percent for Whitman among likely voters.

    In the same poll a month ago, Brown had a 5 percentage point lead over Whitman. The election is November 2.

    Sunday’s poll, conducted October 13-20, showed Brown has a 36 percentage point lead over Whitman among Latino voters, up from 19 percent in September.

    Latinos make up a fifth of the California electorate and are seen as pivotal in deciding the governor’s race.

    Whitman’s camp on Sunday dismissed the poll as old and inaccurate given that three more recent surveys show her gap with Brown to be nearer to 3 percentage points.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69N0XP20101024

  14. Ametia says:

    OH BROTHER…. I HATE CNN

  15. Ametia says:

    Thanks for holding it down this weekend, SouthernGirl!

    Here’s your morning cup of Java: http://topnews.in/health/files/cup-of-coffee11.jpg :-)

  16. Ametia says:

    THIS: Election Day could bring historic split: Democrats lose House, keep Senate

    By Karen Tumulty
    Washington Post Staff Writer
    Monday, October 25, 2010; 12:10 AM

    The question around Washington today is not whether Nov. 2 will be a difficult day for the Democrats who control Congress, but rather how bad it will be.

    “The President has lost the adoration of the people.”

    Memo to Karen Tumulty: Sane folks want a media that is COMPETENT, one that will report with neutrality and truth. That caption above, though lame is still a complete lie. More gloom, doom, and spin for the Dems. I LOATHE these mofos, really, I do.

    Folks don’t want a president they ADORE, they want a president who PRESIDES and one they can respect.

  17. Ametia says:

    SMACKDOWN!

    “If you don’t do both, you end up growing the debt,” Rubio said.

    That led to some cross-talk between Rubio and Meek, which Crist then interrupted and called partisan “bickering.”

    “You are seeing it right now, right here. That is why I’m running as an independent,” Crist said to applause.

    Meek then interjected with his own riposte to greater cheers.

    “Let me say this. We know why the governor is running as an independent. Because he couldn’t beat Marco Rubio! Let’s just put it that way, let’s just put it that way,” Meek said.

    http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/125563-crist-meek-try-to-paint-rubio-as-too-extreme-in-senate-debate

  18. Ametia says:

    I’ve been out of the political scene since last Thursday. Even with President Obama coming to my hometown. I see the media is still at it with the GOP polls and the Dem blood bath Nov. 2. One word…

    BULLSHIT!

    • Here’s a HP commenter’s take on the bullsh*t meme being pushed….

      “The only “wave” the GOP and/or Teapartiers have to ride is one manufactured by the bought and paid for media outlets. Bought and paid for by a teeny tiny percentage of extremely rich people/cor­porations. IF you believe that our nation’s governing bodies — legislative AND judiciary — should be all about the highest monetary bidder, then you have no place in a democracy, do you? Go and live in a rightwing dictatorship where money rules everything, where your rights are only semi-guaranteed by the amount of bribery you can afford.

      It has been proven time and again that the Tea Partiers are funded by a corrupt and corrupting handful of people/corporations and that Tea Party “members” are a very very small percentile of the overall US population. It has also been shown effectively that even diehard GOP voters are (this year) a small minority. It is only the whipped up drama and “close race” BS of the media that creates this alleged “wave” against Demos and Progressives. So cut the BS. No one with any sense is believing any of it anyway.”

  19. dannie22 says:

    Good morning all!

    • Ametia says:

      Mornin’ Dannie! :-) No, I didn’t get to the PBO rally for Dayton, and was really close by. I was at my church’s annual seminar at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Downton Mpls. was ROCKIN’ Opulent was there, and got to shake PBO’s hand. Too cool!

  20. Ametia says:

    Good Morning, Everybody! Happy Mun-dane… :-)

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