Thom Tillis, Cory Gardner, Joni Ernst (Credit: AP/Chuck Burton/Reuters/Rick Wilking/Brian Frank)


2014 was bound to be a difficult year for Democrats.

History suggested nothing less. The incumbent president’s party almost invariably loses congressional seats in midterm elections, and the six-year itch was always going to be difficult for Democrats to overcome. Moreover, the Senate map was especially unforgiving; 21 Democratic-held seats, including seven in states won by Mitt Romney, were up, against just 15 GOP seats, only one of which (Maine) was in a state President Obama carried in 2012. Given that the GOP only needed to net six seats to capture control of the chamber, the party’s ultimate triumph hardly counts as an upset.

So a Republican Senate takeover was always more likely than not; history and simple arithmetic could lead you to no other conclusion. Claims that bolder presidential proclamations or a more sympathetic news media could have turned the tide, therefore, merit a healthy dose of skepticism.

Nonetheless, it bears noting that the mainstream political press corps all but abdicated its responsibilities this year. Unlike 2010 and 2012 — when media coverage exposed the lunacy of Christine O’Donnell, Ken Buck, Sharron Angle, Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin — reporters gave free passes to equally fringe candidates this year, taking care not to draw too much attention to the hard-right views espoused by some of the GOP’s star recruits.

...more at link

http://www.salon.com/2014/11/30/gops_fake_new_makeover_how_the_media_sat_down_on_the_job_in_2014/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

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We are witnessing nothing less than the deliberate gohmertization of our legislative processes.

"Fifty Years with Peter, Paul and Mary" is airing on PBS. Lots of tape not seen before. Family and friends talking about Mary's life, very touching. Catch it, it's very worth it.

Posting this in GD because, for so many of us, PPM have been a significant part of our awareness for much of our lives.

“I had never had somebody just run over me like this. I’m an American, I have property, I have rights. And here comes corporate America saying, ‘No, we’re just going to do what we want.’ I had lived a sheltered life until that moment.” - Eric Ewing, Weld County resident

http://breakinggroundweld.jessfarris.com/


PLEASE -- go to the link, read the article. You'll get some idea of what it's like to live in what has come to be known as a "sacrifice zone". I love it here, I was born in this state 66 years ago, and have lived in this community for 35 of those years. My doctors tell me that I'll live longer if I move away. And the mere thought of leaving my home is breaking my heart.

“I had never had somebody just run over me like this. I’m an American, I have property, I have rights. And here comes corporate America saying, ‘No, we’re just going to do what we want.’ I had lived a sheltered life until that moment.” - Eric Ewing, Weld County resident

http://breakinggroundweld.jessfarris.com/


PLEASE -- go to the link, read the article. You'll get some idea of what it's like to live in what has come to be known as a "sacrifice zone". I love it here, I was born in this state 66 years ago, and have lived in this community for 35 of those years. My doctors tell me that I'll live longer if I move away. And the mere thought of leaving my home is breaking my heart.

*Beggars can't be choosers

After struggling with lousy teeth for years I was referred to a program that donates dental care to senior citizens on low fixed incomes. At the time of my application I was told that the waiting period was two years, and that’s almost exactly how long it took. Not surprising, there are many applicants; Medicare does not cover dental.

Anyway, my name finally percolated to the top of the list. The dental office took a full series of X-rays that revealed deterioration too extensive to be repaired. I would have to have them all removed and replaced. They made the necessary impressions, and when the dentures were ready I went to the oral surgeon. After the teeth were out, the dentures were inserted.

What followed was a few weeks of very soft food and frequent adjustments to the dentures. Fast forward several months, I just had the final re-line on the dentures. I can now bite and chew foods I hadn’t been able to eat in years; I can also enjoy ice cream again.

But there is a bit of weirdness. My smile is completely different, because the new teeth show a definite tilt that my natural teeth never had. It’s quite noticeable. When I asked the dentist if it could be corrected with the final re-line he told me that the dentures just follow the line of my jaw and that I shouldn’t worry about it.

Make no mistake, I’m very thankful for the ability to chew. I’m very thankful for those who donated their time and efforts - dentist, nurses, oral surgeon, the dental techs who made the dentures, the office receptionists who called and checked up on me. But with all that, I do wonder if someone who had the ability to pay for the service would be expected to not worry about having their facial expressions reconfigured.

Ah well. Happy chewing, y’all.

It is now confirmed that Officer Wilson fired multiple shots at Michael Brown, ostensibly in self-defense. However, there was no discussion about how many shots were fired by the cigars held by Michael Brown.

Yesterday I posted about this in the Colorado forum. Since then, the President has given his immigration speech.

First, profound apologies from Colorado’s 4th district for sending Ken Buck to congress. His presence there, as you might gather from his facebook post, will only serve to amplify the grotesqueries of Steve King and Louis Gohmert and their majority buddies.

For the record, we had a terrific Democrat in the race; but gerrymandering and piles of outside money (Buck boasted about being endorsed by Citizens United) made it uphill from the get-go. We could have had someone who would genuinely represent all of the residents of the district. Instead, we got Ken Buck.

You might remember Buck from his unsuccessful run for the senate a couple years back: “Vote for me because I don’t wear high heels”, and his assertion that being gay is a disease like alcoholism. But around here, Buck is best known for engineering the 2006 pre-Christmas ICE raid on our meatpacking plant, a raid that devastated the entire community and left some children without either parent. He followed that by helping to remove the Republican mayor who went to D.C. and presumed to testify that immigration requires more humane approaches. Next, he collaborated with the sheriff to raid a tax service and confiscate the files to go looking for lawbreakers because that tax service caters primarily to people who speak Spanish; for that, he did get smacked by the state supreme court, but the bill for his appeal ($150K) went to the taxpayers.

Now Buck is all ga-ga because he’s been named “president” of the GOP freshman class. If they were looking for someone to serve as poster child of their Obama-hating anti-immigrant anti-minority platform they picked the right guy.

Just thought all of you should know. And keep an eye on his facebook page, chances are high that his deeply seated misogyny will show up in short order.




https://www.facebook.com/buckforcolorado/photos/a.399806704386.183136.74184744386/10152609151434387/?type=1&theater

:large
Ken Buck @BuckForColorado
Perry and I were having lunch at We The Pizza near the Capitol. Lost my appetite. #COPolitics
4:37 PM - 20 Nov 2014

http://coloradopols.com/diary/65516/ken-buck-really-doesnt-like-president-obama

Ken Buck tweeted this from DC today. Yup, our new congressman is proud to boast the maturity of a 12-year-old. gahhhhhhhhhh