Jack and Jill Politics - Latest Comments in Afternoon Open Thread

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

Admiral_Komack — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:34:30 -0000

Did The Yes Men float a shiny balloon for the media?

Just wondering.

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

rikyrah — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:53:58 -0000

EVENING OPEN THREAD IS UP

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

pjamma — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:45:33 -0000

I'll add Mellody Hobs.

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

RobM — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:34:38 -0000

"That they sent another message, of weakness, was probably unintentional and unavoidable in the face of good questioning." WTF!

isn't the point of sending people out to show the flag to show the flag, the public option? Isn't the point of having a communication department to go over HOW TO ANSWER QUESTIONS, isn't it to avoid unintentional answers(do you know who Andy Reid is?)? Isn't it possible to explain that you are negotiating in conference to achieve the the public option? Isn't it possible to act like its a done deal?

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

RobM — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:25:48 -0000

After Y2K one would think you don't believe the hype!

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

RobM — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:24:23 -0000

Here is one Bessie Coleman

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

RobM — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:12:02 -0000

No gonads!

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

Mothsmoke — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:53:34 -0000

FLOTUS TO APPEAR ON LENO THIS FRIDAY (VIA SATELLITE)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id...

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

pjamma — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:44:57 -0000

And thank you for bringing up these trailblazers in business that aren't celebrated enough. Maybe we can put together our own JJP 25 and, like you said, rewrite our story.

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

Mothsmoke — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:25:23 -0000

My general point is that the same women seem to be celebrated. Thanks for letting me know my options.

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

pjamma — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:15:09 -0000

Yes there are some of the usual suspects but there are a few that I would not have thought of, like Mae Jemison. I'm happy to celebrate black woman all the time, and I love looking a pictures of these amazing women, so I saw the list and thought I would share. Click or don't click.

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

Mothsmoke — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:08:24 -0000

Without even looking at the list, I bet we could all guess who's on it because they're always on whatever list that defines us. Off the top of my head, what about Faye Wattleton, Ann Fudge or Ursula Burns? Reminds me of Black History month when the same 2 or 3 civil rights leaders are trotted out every year. You'd think the civil rights movement began and ended with I Have A Dream.

Really, we have to get better at celebrating our own achievements and telling our story.

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

pjamma — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:02:02 -0000

I missed you this weekend, Myth. I gave you a shout out because I was watching Wanda Sykes HBO special and she was talking about your pirate.

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

rikyrah — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:59:31 -0000

CNBC, Reuters fall for climate hoax

By LISA LERER & MICHAEL CALDERONE | 10/19/09 11:38 AM EDT
Updated: 10/19/09 2:44 PM EDT

n a dramatic shift, the Chamber of Commerce announced Monday that it is throwing its support behind climate change legislation making its way through the U.S. Senate.

Only it didn’t.

An email press release announcing the change is a hoax, say Chamber officials.

Several media organizations fell for it.

A CNBC anchor interrupted herself mid-sentence Monday morning to announce that the network had “breaking news,” then cut away to reporter Hampton Pearson, who read from the fake press release.

Pearson quickly followed up with a second report saying the “so-called bulletin” was an “absolute hoax.” Smelling a rat, CNBC’s Larry Kudlow demanded to know whether the White House had been involved.

In a story posted Monday morning, Reuters declared: “The Chamber of Commerce said on Monday it will no longer opposes climate change legislation, but wants the bill to include a carbon tax.”

Reuters updated the story to acknowledge the hoax, but it was too late: The Washington Post and the New York Times had already posted the fake story on their Web sites.

"Reuters has an obligation to its clients to publish news and information that could move financial markets, and this story had the potential to do that,” said a Thomson Reuters spokesperson. “Once we had confirmed the release was a hoax, we immediately issued a correction, and in keeping with Reuters policy, the story was subsequently withdrawn and an advisory sent to readers."

The Yes Men, a left-leaning activist group that often impersonates officials from organizations they oppose, took responsibility for the hoax.

Andy Bichlbaum—an alias the activist uses for Yes Men demonstrations—told POLITICO that his group is targeting the Chamber for what he considers “retrograde” positions on climate change.

“Clearly, there is a question of who is hoaxing who,” Bichlbaum said. “I think the Chamber is hoaxing the American public at this point.”

Bichlbaum said that activists will continue targeting the organization. Bichlbaum said the Yes Men got help with their prank from members of the AVAAZ Action Factory, an activist group, and BeyondTalk.net, an environmental website.

AVAAZ has not returned calls for comment. But a post on the group’s Web site said it had plans to “make this the worst Monday ever for the anti-climate PR machine at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “

http://www.politico.com/new...

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

Guest — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:59:17 -0000

Thanks pjamma!

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

rikyrah — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:56:58 -0000

POTUS visits Sidwell schools
By ALEXANDER BURNS

President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to the Sidwell Friends schools Monday morning, stopping at both ...

... Sidwell Bethesda and Sidwell D.C. to join the first lady for parent-teacher meetings.

He returned to the White House just after 9 a.m.

http://www.politico.com/pol...

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

rikyrah — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:55:11 -0000

October 19, 2009
Categories:

* 2009,
* Hillary Clinton ,
* Newspapers,
* Secretary of State,
* State Department

Official writes in to defend HRC

A U.S. official writes to push back against an Al Kamen piece on Hillary Clinton and her "gatekeeper" chief of staff Cheryl Mills today. The latter "has made entry to Clinton's suite something like penetrating the Green Zone in Baghdad," Kamen writes. Though the official doesn't want to be identified, it's fair to say that he's a policy staffer who was aligned with Obama's campaign and is not part of HRC's inner circle.

"I trust you saw the piece this morning on complaints about Secretary Clinton maintaining a closed circle and the fingerpointing at Cheryl Mills. I wanted to push back on that. Secretary Clinton has gone out of her way to interact and engage with career State Department staff at every turn. She regularly takes turns to congratulate and praise staff on jobs well done -- in late September, she spoke to the many Department staffers who helped out with the preparations for the UN General Assembly meetings, including the President's chairmanship of an unprecedented UN Security Council session. Today, she is stopping by at an awards ceremony for staff in the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs."

"More broadly, this Secretary has maintained an open door when it comes to soliciting outside advice. She regularly holds roundtables in her 7th floor offices with Department staff to hash through issues. She enjoys hosting dinners at her home where she can engage with outside experts and get a reality check."

"There are other, valid criticisms of the Secretary. Contending that she is a remote figure who has walled off the people working for her at State is unfounded and absurd."

More from Ben, who previously reported that "Mills been a hard-liner during the Clinton campaign, pushing for sharper-edged attacks on Obama. She brought some of that stance to State, where she fought tooth and nail in the early days of the administration to control mid-level staff jobs, like the agency's White House liaison, and to ensure that those jobs went to 'Hillary people' rather than 'Obama people.'"

http://www.politico.com/blo...

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

rikyrah — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:51:14 -0000

Serious Question

by BooMan
Mon Oct 19th, 2009 at 03:28:55 PM EST
Support for the Republican Party remains stuck below support for chlamydia and is trending toward the public approval rating for gonorrhea. However, with a seven percent approval rating from women, John Boehner is in a heated competition with cervical cancer. So, why do we care what these people think again?

http://www.boomantribune.co...

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

ochyming — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:35:15 -0000

"We Were Once A Fairytale" by Spike Jonze with that poser Kanye West.

It is just a movie made by Spike Jonze after all.

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

Webb — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:34:21 -0000

Ain't that some shyt? W.E.E. are talking about it too.

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

ronnieb — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:29:42 -0000

Although it's not the same thing ...

imagine for a moment, that we're talking about Civil Rights legislation instead of Health Access. And the public option is really the voting option. Would we be as blase about phrases like "compromise" and "middle ground" and "bipartisanship"? Would Democrats who represent Black and Brown constituencies be so ardently against a voting option because it represents "big government" or "an expanded deficit"?

That's what we ought to consider when our leaders try to convince us that there's something almost as good as a voting option.

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

BlackAmericanPrincess — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:23:22 -0000

oh my goodness, I saw that mess too, they ain't slick!!

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

pjamma — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:56:59 -0000

From The Grio:

Top 25 Trailblazers Who Define the Modern Black Woman.

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

caribgirl — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:52:07 -0000

This guy is echoing what I've been saying all along.

Re: Afternoon Open Thread

Acts Of Faith Blog — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:49:41 -0000

Today's Conversation: A Change IS Gonna Come! http://bit.ly/Fozv1