Friday Open Thread

Posted on August 4, 2017 by rikyrah

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA! Yes, I said it.

This entry was posted in Barack Obama, Celebrations, Current Events, News, Open Thread, Politics, President Obama and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

58 Responses to Friday Open Thread

  1. vitaminlover says:
    August 4, 2017 at 9:32 pm

    Happy, blessed and wonderful birthday, President Obama! And many, many more!

    Reply
  3. SouthernGirl2 says:
    August 4, 2017 at 7:31 pm

    Just shut the place down already. They’re predators preying on women.

    https://twitter.com/yashar/status/893629287563243520

    Reply
  4. Liza says:
    August 4, 2017 at 7:16 pm

    The Democratic Self-Sabotage Continues
    There’s only one way out of our current crisis of government.
    BY CHARLES P. PIERCE
    AUG 4, 2017

    I swear to god, if you invited 20 Democratic and/or liberal partisans to a four-star, five-course meal at the finest restaurant in all Provence, at least eight of them would get up, cross the room, and start fighting over who gets to eat out of the dog’s bowl. Presented with a legitimate national crisis in the White House, and presented with the golden political opportunity that said crisis is almost entirely the fault of the Republican Party, which has demonstrated that it is wholly incapable of handling it, the Democratic Party has a chance to realign the electoral map over (at least) the next four years. All that’s required is shrewdness, patience, and the ability to resist cannibalizing themselves long enough to watch the dry rot collapse the other side entirely.

    Fat fcking chance.

    Right at the moment, the main issues within the Democratic Party seem to be, in no particular order: 1) Kamala Harris: Threat or Menace?; Cory Booker: Sure, Legal Weed But Wall Street?; and, that evergreen squabble, Bernie Or Hillary; Why 2016 Will Never End. This is like that old Twilight Zone episode where The Major, The Clown, The Tramp, and The Bagpiper are all stuck in a windowless, impenetrable tube. Eventually, we discover that these characters are all dolls, and that the container is filled with a little kid’s playthings. The current counterproductive exercises render promising Democratic politicians—including Harris and Booker—into toys for the ideological imagination, and not real people with the real potential to help end the political and governmental crisis in which the country placed itself last November.
    …
    On the surface, the fight between the progressive left and what can be idly called “the center” would seem to be a healthy one, the kind of thing that can clarify issues going forward. But those 2016 primaries, a miserable cur of a campaign driven by suspicion, personal invective, and heroic struggling over trivialities, all of which were further inflamed by some well-timed Russian ratfcking immediately before the party’s national convention, grinds on into the future with no end in sight. This struggle isn’t manifesting itself as a battle over ideas and/or visions of where the country should go, but as a grubby tussle over issues already decided last summer and over the definitions of words like “neoliberal.” The undying fantasy of a Third Party is being revived again, mostly by people who absolutely have no idea the kind of work that would entail—hint: ask Lani Guinier—and absolutely no idea of how futile the whole effort might be.

    Read more…

    http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a56823/democrats-fighting/

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      August 4, 2017 at 7:17 pm

      “I swear to god, if you invited 20 Democratic and/or liberal partisans to a four-star, five-course meal at the finest restaurant in all Provence, at least eight of them would get up, cross the room, and start fighting over who gets to eat out of the dog’s bowl.”

      LMAO. I love Charles Pierce.

      Reply
  7. rikyrah says:
    August 4, 2017 at 3:53 pm

    he coulda wiped out any of those boats

    https://youtu.be/gUYqmSrbyJI

    Reply
  8. rikyrah says:
    August 4, 2017 at 3:45 pm

    Are We Returning to Jim Crow?

    Monique Judge

    Wednesday 5:15pm

    ……………………….

    Nothing Sessions has done has been done in secret, and the latest
    move by the Justice Department may be the very thing that tips us over the edge from “Are they doing what I think they are doing?” to full-on “Holy shit! They are doing exactly what we think they are doing.”

    On Tuesday night, the New York Times broke the news
    that it was in possession of a Justice Department document outlining a plan to redirect the resources of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division toward investigations of and lawsuits against colleges and universities with affirmative action admissions policies that the department deemed discriminatory against white applicants.

    Let that sink in.

    ……………………

    First of all, keep in mind that if this were truly about real
    instances of white people being discriminated against in college
    admissions, the Justice Department has a division that handles issues related to schools and education issues; it’s the Educational Opportunities Section, and it was put in place to enforce court decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education
    and federal legislation mandating that schools may neither segregate students by race nor discriminate against students based on sex, national origin, language barrier, religion or disabilities.

    So why not go through that department? I’ll tell you why.

    My theory is that the reason the Justice Department is going at this from the civil rights angle, and the reason it is attacking colleges and universities with affirmative action policies first, is that this is the
    low-hanging fruit that will lead to the ultimate victory: wiping out
    affirmative action in all aspects of American life, including
    employment.

    If the people at the Justice Department are able to get a court victory that sustains their belief that affirmative action policies are
    prejudicial against white people, that opens the door for employers to say, “Hey, then why do we have to have affirmative action?”

    You know what that also does?

    It opens the door for open discrimination in housing.

    It is the opening to dismantle the Civil Rights Act from a long-con approach.

    Reply
  9. rikyrah says:
    August 4, 2017 at 3:35 pm

    uh huh

    The Ta-Ta Towel May or May Not Be the Most Ingenious Invention of Our Time
    Boob sweat, be gone.
    Elizabeth Loganat Teen Vogue
    Aug 3, 2017 5:36PM EDT

    A new product called the Ta-Ta Towel is a towel that slings over your neck and holds your boobs up when it’s hot and you’re shirtless. And it’s making us feel a lot of feelings. Feelings like, “what’s so bad about the bra-lette?” and “can’t the gals just hang out?” and “does it come in fun patterns?”The Ta-Ta Towel started out as a solution to a simple problem: boob sweat. According to the company’s website, Ta-Ta Towels creator Erin Robertson came up with her invention on a hot day in L.A., and it quickly took off (the company was founded in 2015):

    Reply
  10. rikyrah says:
    August 4, 2017 at 3:28 pm

    Thus, the actions of the KKKeebler Elf this week:

    The majority of Harvard’s incoming class is nonwhite

    By Deirdre Fernandes
    Globe Staff
    August 03, 2017

    For the first time in Harvard University’s history, the
    majority of students accepted into the incoming freshman class are not white, a milestone for an institution that prides itself on educating future presidents, CEOs, and world leaders.

    But Harvard’s push to broaden the diversity of its student ranks comes as the Trump administration intensifies its focus on affirmative action policies and suggests it will investigate how colleges shape the racial makeup of their campuses.

    The US Justice Department is preparing to redirect resources from its civil rights division toward investigating and suing universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants, The New York Times reported this week.

    ………………………………..

    Of the freshmen students admitted to Harvard this year, 50.8 percent are from minority groups, including African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, and Native Hawaiians. That’s up from 47.3 percent last year, according to the university.

    Reply
  11. rikyrah says:
    August 4, 2017 at 3:14 pm

    5 Multi-Billion-Dollar African Railways Changing the Continent
    by Fredrick Ngugi, at 04:00 pm, July 27, 2017, Lifestyle

    By the year 2050, the African population is expected to double, putting more pressure on an already overstretched economic situation. Governments across the continent are therefore working around the clock to put up infrastructure that will help them deal with the rising population.

    With the explosive growth, the continent is staring at a major disruption in the transport sector, considering that Africa still has the poorest transport network. That’s why most African governments are investing heavily in the sector by extending road networks, expanding airports, and constructing new railways. Over the past decade, several mega railway projects have been completed across the continent.

    Here are the top five multi-billion-dollar African railways that are impacting the continent now and in the future.

    Reply
  12. rikyrah says:
    August 4, 2017 at 3:09 pm

    Teen soccer star living in Maryland who earned college scholarship is deported back to El Salvador with brother

    A teen soccer star living in Maryland who earned a college scholarship and was considered “one of the best in the country” was deported back to crime-ridden El Salvador this week, along with his brother.

    Lizandro Claros Saravia, 19, set to attend Louisburg College in North Carolina, and 22-year-old Diego were sent back to Central America on Wednesday.

    The brothers, who both graduated from Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, were arrested on July 28 by ICE officials in Baltimore.

    “These kids did nothing wrong — but that is too low a bar. These kids excelled,” teacher Heather Bradley told the Washington Post.

    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/maryland-teen-soccer-star-slated-college-deported-article-1.3380871

    Reply
  13. rikyrah says:
    August 4, 2017 at 2:56 pm

    76 Percent Of Black Millennials Now Disapprove Of President Trump

    10 percent of black millennials feel the president is doing a good job.

    Blavity Team

    According to GenForward, a bimonthly survey conducted by the University of Chicago, most white millennials now disapprove of Trump.

    They join millennials of other races, who the same poll found have always disapproved of the president.

    The change comes as disapproval of Trump among white millennials rose from 47 percent to 55 percent in the most recent poll, which was conducted between June 23 and July 10.

    Black, Latinx and Asian American millennials have maintained a much higher disapproval rate than that of their white peers. The poll found that 76 percent of blacks, 68 percent of Latinxs and 67 percent of Asian Americans disapprove of Trump. This is in line with the results of previous polls.

    There are some young Americans who feel that Donald Trump is doing a good job. His approval ratings are currently 10 percent among black millennials and 29 percent among white millennials.

    The racial divide continued when pollsters asked whether Donald Trump would do what is right for the country. 58 percent of whites said that he would do what is right most or some of the time, whereas the majority of black and Latinx respondents responded that Trump never would.

    The survey displayed an even more explicit racial divide when respondents were asked how elected officials should govern.

    The majority of black, Latinx and Asian American millennials advocated for “explicit resistance” to Trump, whereas 63 percent of white millennials argued that Democrats should cooperate with Trump and other Republicans.

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      August 4, 2017 at 2:28 pm

      “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. PRESIDENT!”

      “WHAT’D I SAY?”

      “LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING”

      ‘SWEET HOME CHICAGO”

      ‘ALL I DO IS WIN”

      when you

      “WALK ON BY”

      “DAVY CROCKETT”

      I’m so

      “CRAZY IN LOVE’

      I’ll be your

      “CHAIN OF FOOLS’

      “HEY JUDE”

      “LET’S STAY TOGETHER’

      in the

      “PURPLE RAIN”

      It’s

      AMAZING GRACE

      OBAMA OUT!

      DROPS MIC……

      Reply
  26. SouthernGirl2 says:
    August 4, 2017 at 1:06 pm

    #ObamaDay President Barack Obama —True Colors

    Reply
  27. Liza says:
    August 4, 2017 at 12:39 pm

    Satire from The Borowitz Report
    Trump Says Mueller Just Called Him and Said He’s the Most Innocent Person Ever

    By Andy Borowitz
    August 3, 2017

    WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—The special counsel, Robert Mueller, just called Donald Trump to tell the President that he was “the most innocent person ever,” Trump told reporters on Thursday.

    “It was the middle of the afternoon, and he just picked up the phone to say how innocent I was,” Trump said. “He said I was the most innocent person he’d ever come across, and maybe in history.”
    “He said he had been over all of the evidence and that he and his staff would spend hours just looking at each other in amazement at about how unbelievably innocent I was,” he said.

    Trump said that he asked Mueller why, in his opinion, the media had reported so many stories about his campaign colluding with Russians. “Bob said to me, ‘Are you talking about the failing New York Times and CNN?’ ” Trump reported. “ ‘They have been very unfair to you. They are bad (or sick) people. Sad!’ That’s what Bob said to me.”

    The conversation wound down with a series of “pleasantries,” Trump said, with Mueller complimenting him on the size of his 2016 victory, including his enormous win in New Hampshire.

    http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/trump-says-mueller-just-called-him-and-said-hes-the-most-innocent-person-ever?mbid=social_facebook

    Reply
  29. SouthernGirl2 says:
    August 4, 2017 at 12:13 pm

    Happy Birthday, Mr President. My President forever!

    Reply
  31. Ametia says:
    August 4, 2017 at 11:15 am

    The Top Headlines One Year From Today (Guess Who’s No Longer President?)
    A prophetic sneak peak at the leading stories for July 28, 2018

    x-President Teams With Bannon/Breitbart To Launch Anarchy News Network
    (from the New York Times)
    Donald Trump, who left office last August in disgrace after it was conclusively proven that he colluded with the Russians to fix the 2016 presidential election, announced today that he will launch a new, 24-hour cable news channel in the fall. According to reliable sources, the television network will be called the Trump Anarchy Network (TAN), where Mr. Trump will hold the dual titles of CEO and Casting Director for Female On-Air Talent. Mr. Trump is partnering in the venture with his former White House advisor Steven Bannon, in addition to far-right news website, Breitbart, where Mr. Bannon used to be executive chair…

    https://extranewsfeed.com/top-news-stories-for-july-28-2018-exactly-one-year-from-today-a0c794df5201

    Reply
  34. SouthernGirl2 says:
    August 4, 2017 at 10:41 am

    Jeff Sessions sitting on his #WhitePrivilege throne to prosecute people who leak when he can’t even follow the fking law. But he gets a pass?

    Reply
    • yahtzeebutterfly says:
      August 4, 2017 at 12:06 pm

      I agree with ALL of her points.

      Reply
    • Liza says:
      August 4, 2017 at 12:32 pm

      I agree. There are so many good stories out there that have never been told, and many will never make it to film. What we don’t need is “alt-history” which is nothing more than a lot of made up nonsense that some pseudo-creative people pull out of there a$$e$. And, in the case of this “slavery porn”, there could be some very bad consequences.

      Good grief. This should be obvious.

      Reply
    • Ametia says:
      August 4, 2017 at 2:40 pm

      I.CAN’T EVEN.WITH.THIS.FUCKERY.

      Reply
  38. Liza says:
    August 4, 2017 at 9:42 am

    LMAO. Yes, indeed, PBO is MY president until the day comes when another respectable, decent, honest, intelligent person is elected.

    Reply
    • yahtzeebutterfly says:
      August 4, 2017 at 9:43 am

      Maxine Walters when asked if she thought GOP Congressional representatives would support impeachment if the dots are connected: “I believe patriotism will win in the end.”

      Reply
  40. Ametia says:
    August 4, 2017 at 9:12 am

    Scientific evidence?

    CRIMINALS

    Reply
  42. Ametia says:
    August 4, 2017 at 8:49 am

    Israeli police confirm Netanyahu is suspect in fraud investigation

    Court document reveals for first time that prime minister is subject of inquiries into alleged ‘fraud, breach of trust and bribes’

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/04/benjamin-netanyahu-suspect-fraud-investigation-israel-police?via=newsletter&source=CSAMedition

    Reply
  43. rikyrah says:
    August 4, 2017 at 7:32 am

    Happy Birthday 44!😄🍦🎂🍰🍷🎆🎇🎈🎁

    Reply
  44. rikyrah says:
    August 4, 2017 at 7:32 am

    Good Morning, Everyone 😄😄 😄

    Reply

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