Weekly Roundup, October 10-16, 2011

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Virtual Brainstorm

In any investigation, it’s helpful to periodically look again at all the clues. Leadfoot got us started on a virtual brainstorming session by comparing photos of Trig and Tripp and Bristol, to see if we could collectively come up with any new insights. She asks some excellent questions, and the comment thread is full of ideas about them. In short: photos of “blue sweater” baby and Tripp resemble each other, but Kathleen provides pretty convincing images showing that the first baby is Trig. Perhaps they resemble each other because they’re brothers? Why does Tripp sometimes look much bigger than he should be for his age? Don’t know. How pregnant was Bristol in the summer of 2008? Maybe more than was reported. Could she still be the mother of both boys? Yes. Overall: the timing of the births is still questionable and there are definitely some pieces of the puzzle that don’t seem to fit.

Wednesday/Thursday, October 12-13, 2011

Nomad Revisits Clarence Thomas, Part 1 and Part 2

Thurgood Marshall, the nation’s first black Supreme Court justice, retired in 1991 and George H.W. Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to fill his seat, if not his shoes. On this twentieth anniversary of Thomas’ gripping confirmation hearings and appointment, Nomad reexamines who Clarence Thomas is and how he got to the Supreme Court. He was a competent but unremarkable student and lawyer who begrudged and resented insinuations that his successes were due to affirmative action. Yet it is difficult to ascribe his meteoric ascension to the SCOTUS to either brilliance or achievement. Undoubtedly his reactionary politics and his connections, especially to Senator Danforth of Missouri, played a big part in his success. He seems to have shaped his politics, career and jurisprudence as a reaction against the black community. To be continued…

Friday, October 14, 2011

Joe McGinnis on the Radio

JulaUSA’s fine guest post highlights an excellent radio interview of Joe McGinniss; do listen! Joe emphasizes Sarah’s extreme religious, anti-scientific beliefs and her ties to Dominionism. He quotes Sarah’s father about her discomfort around dark-skinned people and notes the firing of black state employees and Todd beating senseless a 7th-grade black student. He gave Track the copy of Going to Extremes, hoping that Sarah would read the book and want to talk with him – right! He points out that her story of Trig’s birth doesn't make sense; it’s either reckless endangerment or a hoax, and that is an open question that still deserves an answer. Her carefully constructed image as “hockey mom” is false; she uses her children as props and is MIA as a mother. He talks about her "sexy librarian" appeal and points out that the MSM did a lax job reporting on her because they were star-struck. In his opinion, this was her moment -- she'll never have another chance. He says he can live with her being a scammer, but doesn’t want Dominionism to be forced on our country. Well done, Joe!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Clarence Thomas, Part 3: Anita Hill’s Testimony

In Part 3 of his series on Clarence Thomas, Nomad recalls the confirmation hearings during which Anita Hill testified that Clarence Thomas repeatedly sexually harassed her when he was her supervisor at the EEOCC. Her gripping testimony described in obviously painful, graphic detail his inappropriate and arguably illegal conduct, as he continually harassed her because she declined his overtures. This led to a smear campaign against Hill, led by Danforth, and aggressive efforts by Thomas to, ironically, defend his “right to privacy” regarding what he did in the bedroom. As Nomad correctly points out, there was never a question about what he did in his bedroom; the question was about what he did in the office as a public official apparently violating the law. The vote was 52-48. That’s how close we came to avoiding having this strange, hostile, bitter and possibly pathological man as a justice of the Supreme Court. The silver lining was that Anita Hill’s brave testimony emboldened many people to speak up and fight back against sexual harassment.

Some comments and links:

MadamDeal: If I am suddenly on my deathbed I want Nicolle Wallace and Steve Schmidt to tell me everything so I can die laughing.

ProChoiceGrandma: Good grief!! Sarah sticking her neocon warmongering nose into a delicate situation in which "she doesn't know anything" (to quote Steve Schmidt). If that doesn't tell people that her ignorance is dangerous, I don't know what else would. Three years ago, she didn't even know there was a North and South Korea. Jo Byoung-jae was being far too polite in saying he was not criticizing Palin, but you can betcha that off camera, the South Koreans must be furious! Perhaps now someone will ask "who in hell invited that dimwit to the World Knowledge Forum"??

Sunshine1970: Yep. White symbolizes death in Asian cultures. Not purity as in the Western cultures. She just proved to the S. Koreans that she and her policy talk is DOA. (dead on arrival)

Sallyngarland,tx: She is absolutely foolish and a troublemaker.

Ltl1: they are all Koch funded and trained candidates. No wonder you can't tell the difference. No matter which one wins the nomination, Koch wins. The candidates are like Koch Industries' hand full of cards in a bad poker game.

Grandmalorraine: While palin will now continue to get out there and spew her hatred of President Obama, intelligent people should now be recognizing what she is all about. She has absolutely nothing to offer to help move America and ALL her people to move forward. Her hatred and divisiveness has done nothing but hurt our great country.

As far as her "political views"? What did we see her get out and screech about in Seoul, Korea? She doesn't have a clue, nor does she in any way speak for America. She is not only a national, but an international embarrassment. She needs to get a clue and try to heal her dysfunctional marriage and family - she sure does not make a positive difference in helping America and ALL of us! Wonder if FOX news still thinks she's "hot" and will bring in awesome ratings?

Cheeriogirl found this on Wall St firms hiring NYPD. The plot thickens (and sickens).

Mmboucher found that David Frum has principles, which led him to resign as commentator on Marketplace.

MadamDeal pointed this out – Nicolle Wallace on Palin’s signs of mental instability.

Joey linked to the WaPo reporting on how regressive Cain’s 9-9-9 plan is.

Maddies_Mom urged us all to read this excellent article by Frank Schaeffer.