Saturday Open Thread

Posted on October 31, 2015 by rikyrah

Have a great weekend, Everyone!

ICYMI

Top prize goes to ‘LIL POPE’

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet a young child dressed as the Pope and riding in a "Popemobile" as he hands out treats to children trick-or-treating for Halloween on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 30, 2015. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet a young child dressed as the Pope and riding in a “Popemobile” as he hands out treats to children trick-or-treating for Halloween on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 30, 2015. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Barack Obama arrives to hand out treats to children trick-or-treating for Halloween on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 30, 2015. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Barack Obama arrives to hand out treats to children trick-or-treating for Halloween on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 30, 2015. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Barack Obama greets a young child dressed as the Pope and riding in a "Popemobile" as he hands out treats to children trick-or-treating for Halloween on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 30, 2015. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Barack Obama greets a young child dressed as the Pope and riding in a “Popemobile” as he hands out treats to children trick-or-treating for Halloween on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 30, 2015. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hand out treats to children trick-or-treating for Halloween on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 30, 2015. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hand out treats to children trick-or-treating for Halloween on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 30, 2015. AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

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90 Responses to Saturday Open Thread

    • Liza says:
      November 1, 2015 at 7:59 am

      OMG, just look at the immense effort that went into this. Absolutely adorable and the little girl is an exact miniature copy of FLOTUS.

      Reply
  5. rikyrah says:
    October 31, 2015 at 9:34 pm

    What is a mother to say when your daughter says..

    For Halloween Mommy, I want to be YOU!

    I bet Viola Davis had to excuse herself to go somewhere private and do the ugly cry.

    Viola Davis’ daughter.

    https://instagram.com/p/9hnz7FtZ95/

    Reply
  8. rikyrah says:
    October 31, 2015 at 8:29 pm

    Peanut just stopped by between her two Halloween parties to share some loot with me……..LOL

    Reply
  10. rikyrah says:
    October 31, 2015 at 7:02 pm

    About this week’s Scandal:

    About Olivia telling Mellie about Papa Pope killing her son…… I think it was retaliation for Mellie revealing that it was HER involvement with Damascus, and the killing of the Jurors that led Fitz to kick her out of the White House. It was obvious that Olivia had no clue that THAT was the reason that Fitz kicked Mellie out. We never saw a conversation where he revealed Mellie’s part behind the juror’s killing, and so, until that moment, I had assumed Olivia knew the truth. But, she didn’t. So, Fitz brought her into the White House without telling the truth about MELLIE’S ACTIONS that caused her to be kicked out. She wasn’t kicked out of the White House because of Fitz’s undying love for Olivia. She was kicked out because of something MELLIE did – which, from a relationship standpoint, is totally different. So, that, was another strike against Olivia marrying Fitz.

    The only disappointment in the entire episode was Susan Ross…I was like, Girl, you accepted the Vice-Presidential position..what did you think that means? But, everyone else was fabulous! The choice of music…how it all went down….Papa Pope AND TOM free, on the loose. Killing Jake’s Boo so soon – knew she wasn’t any good. Mellie was fabulous. Finally being the Mellie I thought she could be.

    Reply
  11. rikyrah says:
    October 31, 2015 at 6:41 pm

    water is wet news

    but, post-racial America…right?
    ………………….

    Biased Lending Evolves, and Blacks Face Trouble Getting Mortgages

    By RACHEL L. SWARNS

    OCT. 30, 2015

    They steered clear of black and Hispanic neighborhoods as they opened branches across New York and Connecticut, federal officials said. They focused on marketing mortgages in predominantly white sections of suburban New Jersey and Long Island, not here or in Bridgeport, Conn.

    The results were stark. In 2014, Hudson approved 1,886 mortgages in the market that includes New Jersey and sections of New York and Connecticut, federal mortgage data show. Only 25 of those loans went to black borrowers.

    Hudson, while denying wrongdoing, agreed last month to pay nearly $33 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Justice Department. Federal officials said it was the largest settlement in the history of both departments for redlining, the practice in which banks choke off lending to minority communities

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/nyregion/hudson-city-bank-settlement.html?smid=tw-share&_r=2

    Reply
  12. SouthernGirl2 says:
    October 31, 2015 at 6:39 pm

    Trick or Treat

    Reply
  13. Liza says:
    October 31, 2015 at 6:38 pm

    Bernie babies. I haven’t seen any Hillarys yet.

    Reply
  23. rikyrah says:
    October 31, 2015 at 6:08 pm

    Russell Simmons needs to be run out of town on a rail.

    Just one of the lives impacted by his crappy Rush Card. THIS is the reality for those who live on the financial edge in this country:

    Wright says the income stored on his card was meant to cover their family’s expenses while she is on leave after spending two weeks in the hospital to treat her brain tumor and pulmonary hypertension. “With my husband now having to take the sole responsibility of our bills, it was very critical that we have access to our money,” she said. “This has brought a ton of stress when I should be resting.”

    Two weeks after losing access to their account, Wright says the family is down to just $15. “We don’t have gas money, I’m out of meat to feed my children,” she said. Their water is due to be shut off on Sunday or Monday after they missed a payment that was due on Wednesday. Saturday is the last day Wright has to make a payment on her car before it’s counted as late and impacts her credit score.

    http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2015/10/30/3717811/rushcard-announcement/

    Reply
  24. rikyrah says:
    October 31, 2015 at 6:02 pm

    ON THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING MORE BLACK KIDS “IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME”
    Shamira Ibrahim, 10/30/15

    On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of attending the annual gala for the Harlem Educational Activities Fund (HEAF), an inner-city organization that I have been involved with since middle school. It was a fantastic event all around. I even had the honor of having an extended conversation with Neil Degrasse Tyson, who serves on the Board of Directors, but one moment in the evening stuck with me.
    Preeminent scholar and sociologist William Julius gave a speech. During his talk, he spent a considerable amount of time discussing the necessity of Black people needing to be in the right place in the right time, detailing his transition from faculty member at UMass Amherst to University of Chicago. Unbeknownst to him, the University was actively pursuing a tenured Black faculty member and was open to giving him a chance even though he hadn’t fully completed the general prerequisites at the time (namely, publishing a book). In short, while he was certainly an accomplished individual full of potential, as time has ultimately proven, if it wasn’t for a little bit of luck, or being in the right place at the right time, he wouldn’t have gotten the career advancement that helped catapult his academic career in the direction that landed him where he is today.

    His words made me consider the impact of being in the right place at the right time had on my life. If I wasn’t in the right place at the right time when my fifth grade teacher let my not-quite-English-speaking mom know of the chance to apply to a charter program that would give me more opportunities, would I have ended up going to one of the top performing high schools in New York City? Odds are that I wouldn’t be, considering my mom had to fight to make sure the same opportunities were available to my younger brother when he went through the process — opportunities that are supposed to be free and available to everyone in the NYC Education system.
    It’s a humbling thought to realize how much luck goes into making sure your potential is realized. I don’t think it takes away from any of the hard work I’ve put in myself to get to where I am today. Ultimately, I’m still the one that wrote the papers, studied for the tests, and aced the interview. But the fact remains that I didn’t make all of my accomplishments without some sort of support, which puts all of those right turns into perspective.

    http://verysmartbrothas.com/on-the-importance-of-getting-more-black-kids-in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time/

    Reply
  25. Ametia says:
    October 31, 2015 at 5:54 pm

    TEE HEE HEE

    Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      October 31, 2015 at 5:32 pm

      Same heifer:

      Why Did Eva Moskowitz Publish a Student’s Disciplinary Record?

      The head of Success Academies may have overreached in her response to a PBS NewsHour report.

      By Michelle Goldberg

      Anyone who has reported on campus sexual assault knows that school administrations rarely respond, even when they feel unfairly maligned, because they fear violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA. Passed in 1974, FERPA is a federal law that bans the release of students’ personal information without their consent. “Schools are not supposed to talk about their students, even when the media is saying, ‘Hey, I can’t believe you did this,’ ” says Derek W. Black, a professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law who specializes in education law. “And sometimes that means the media doesn’t get the story straight, but it does protect the student.”

      That’s why it was so surprising when Eva Moskowitz, the high-profile head of Success Academy, a network of New York City charter schools, responded to a negative PBS story by releasing the disciplinary record of an ex-student featured in it. Black says this was probably illegal, and it has left the student’s mother, Fatima Geidi, furious and frantic with worry over her 10-year-old son’s reputation. “For a grown woman, an adult, to attack a child is disgusting,” Geidi told me. “There’s no other way around it.”

      ………………….

      With the help of Leonie Haimson, co-founder of the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy, Fatima Geidi sent Moskowitz a cease-and-desist letter, demanding that her son’s information be taken down. “I’ve seen violations of FERPA, but not in such an obvious, egregious way,” Haimson told me. “Not in a press release sent to the media and posted online. I have not seen this level of violation.”

      Moskowitz is unapologetic. In a letter to Geidi, she wrote, “The First Amendment limits a person’s ability to use privacy rights to prevent others from speaking. When somebody chooses to make statements to the press, they waive their privacy rights on the topics they have discussed, particularly when, as here, those statements are inaccurate.”

      http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2015/10/success_academies_eva_moskowitz_published_a_student_s_disciplinary_record.html

      Reply
    • Ametia says:
      October 31, 2015 at 6:22 pm

      DEVIL INCARNATE, RIGHT HERE

      Reply
  41. Ametia says:
    October 31, 2015 at 1:58 pm

    We Mapped the Uninsured. You’ll Notice a Pattern.
    By QUOCTRUNG BUI and MARGOT SANGER-KATZ OCT. 30, 2015

    They tend to live in the South, and they tend to be poor.

    Politics matters. Though several states with Republican leadership have expanded their Medicaid programs, many have not. Over all, Republican-leaning states continue to have more uninsured people than Democratic-leaning ones. But they also tended to have many more uninsured people at the start.

    http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/31/upshot/who-still-doesnt-have-health-insurance-obamacare.html?&utm_medium=email&utm_source=obama&utm_content=5+-+++++++++Who+Still+Doesnt+Have+Health+In&utm_campaign=em15_x_TT_20151031_x_x_ofa_tt&source=em15_x_TT_20151031_x_x_ofa_tt&refcode=em15_x_TT_20151031_x_x_ofa_tt&_r=0

    Reply
  42. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    October 31, 2015 at 1:16 pm

    Lego Halloween:

    https://youtu.be/-fxezpR7WE0&rel=0

    Reply
  58. rikyrah says:
    October 31, 2015 at 8:36 am

    Good Morning, Everyone :)

    Off to swim and run errands.

    Reply

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