Open Thread

18 Comments

1. 

   Brendan Skwire on May 31, 2014 at 11:23 am

   Unemployed, but a job interview scheduled for Wednesday. Mildly depressed, but that’s nothing new. Trying to motivate myself enough to go outside, eat some food and get a haircut.

   Lots of shit to do around the house. Very disappointed that I had to cancel my trip to Seattle, but at least my mac is replaced.

   • 

     WaterGirl on May 31, 2014 at 12:50 pm

     Wishing you well on your job interview – I hope you find them to be a place you would like to work.

     I was away for a bit and apparently missed the cancelled trip and the new mac.  Did you have to cancel because of the interview?  Also, what mac did you end up getting?  (If that’s not too nosey.)

     • 

       Brendan Skwire on May 31, 2014 at 2:20 pm

       I had planned to go to Seattle and Portland from May 21-June 5, but had to cancel because I needed a computer. I got a refurbished IMac 9.

       • 

         WaterGirl on May 31, 2014 at 3:38 pm

         Darn money, I don’t understand why we can’t spend it twice!

   • 

     Anonymous on May 31, 2014 at 5:56 pm

     What kind of work?

     I suppose it’s a crazy longshot to hope that anyone here knows of an opening …

     Good luck.

     • 

       Brendan Skwire on June 1, 2014 at 9:19 am

       I have an interview for a grant writing job on Wednesday. The trip to Seattle/Portland was to look for writing, media, and brewing work, all of which is there in spades.

2. 

   lamh31 on May 31, 2014 at 12:06 pm

   trying to plan a trip to DC for late July.  I think I’ve got the transportation down to and from DC from NOLA, but I’m struggling with finding a nice place to stay that’s affordable and still easy access from attractions.  Also hoping to get a WH tour but I’m thinking that my request may be too  close or when we want to go.

   any suggestions of accommodations or any other way to do DC on a somewhat limited budget?  I’m into planning ahead and I’d like to have as much of our plans wrapped up as possible by end of June

   • 

     JeffL on May 31, 2014 at 12:49 pm

     About 3 years ago, we did well with the Courtyard Washington Convention Center – It’s a Marriott property.  It’s very close to things.  The rate is highly dependent on the day of week you go there.  Fridays  and Saturdays are the cheapest –  that may be the key for any accommodation in that neighborhood.  We got a some 10% discount off the $140 rate at the time.  One of the ways we saved though might not be there.  We didn’t always pause for dinner, so we took advantage of the free hors d’ oeuvres available in the lobby in the late afternoon.  I don’t know if they still have that.

     We didn’t need transportation during the day other than a Metro ride once and we saved a lot on food so the location and hotel worked out well.

     Click on “view rates” to see the calendar:

     http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/wascn-courtyard-washington-convention-center/

     • 

       lamh31 on May 31, 2014 at 12:57 pm

       Ooh, I’ll look into this one for sure.  My aunt works for Marriott here in NOLA.

       Whenever I can she lets me use her family/Assoc discounts and it does offset cost.

       So I have been trying to go with a Marriott site.

       • 

         JeffL on May 31, 2014 at 12:58 pm

         Great! Hope it works out.

       • 

         JeffL on May 31, 2014 at 1:01 pm

         BTW, if you like art:

         The Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery is just across the corner from that hotel.  The location was so nice, I wandered through there a couple of times.

   • 

     IL JimP on May 31, 2014 at 1:07 pm

     I stayed at a Best Western in Arlington that was close to one of the Metro stops, it was nice enough to sleep in and easy walking distance to the Metro.

3. 

   lamh31 on May 31, 2014 at 12:06 pm

   well it seems Jorge Ramos is on a roll. first calling out Boehner to his face on camera, now calling out O’Reilly while on his show.

   Bill O’Reilly Stunned When Jorge Ramos Calls Him Out For GOP Bias (VIDEO)
   

   Jorge Ramos offered a blunt and critical assessment of the American press this week. but Bill O’Reilly wanted to make sure the popular Spanish-language broadcaster wasn’t talking about him…

   But surely Ramos recognized there are exceptions to the rule, asked a smirking O’Reilly. The Fox News pundit did not like the answer he received.

   “Of course there are exceptions, but we all have biases,” Ramos said. “You have your own biases. I mean, whenever you’re covering Obamacare or Benghazi or supporting the Republican Party more [than] the Democratic Party.”

   O’Reilly, who has called himself a “traditionalist” for years while insisting that he’s every bit as tough on Republicans as Democrats, couldn’t believe his ears.

   “Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa,” O’Reilly said. “Have you ever seen me do a softball interview with anybody?”

   Ramos said he had indeed seen O’Reilly conduct tough interviews, but he added that he’s also seen O’Reilly “supporting more Republicans than Democrats.”

   O’Reilly said that might be true “editorially,” but “never in an interview.” When O’Reilly lamented that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) won’t come on his show, Ramos observed that the program probably doesn’t have trouble attracting Republicans…

4. 

   JeffL on May 31, 2014 at 12:57 pm

   I’ve got Coates reparation article, Maya Angelou and James Baldwin on my mind a lot.  It’s really time for Dems – both the pols and the voters – to jack up the dialog on reparations IMO.  22-24% of Dem voters are African American.  

   Particularly along the lines that Coates discussed:

   And so we must imagine a new country. Reparations–by which I mean the full acceptance of our collective biography and its consequences–is the price we must pay to see ourselves squarely. The recovering alcoholic may well have to live with his illness for the rest of his life. But at least he is not living a drunken lie. Reparations beckons us to reject the intoxication of hubris and see America as it is–the work of fallible humans.

   Won’t reparations divide us? Not any more than we are already divided. The wealth gap merely puts a number on something we feel but cannot say–that American prosperity was ill-gotten and selective in its distribution. What is needed is an airing of family secrets, a settling with old ghosts. What is needed is a healing of the American psyche and the banishment of white guilt.

   What I’m talking about is more than recompense for past injustices–more than a handout, a payoff, hush money, or a reluctant bribe. What I’m talking about is a national reckoning that would lead to spiritual renewal. Reparations would mean the end of scarfing hot dogs on the Fourth of July while denying the facts of our heritage. Reparations would mean the end of yelling “patriotism” while waving a Confederate flag. Reparations would mean a revolution of the American consciousness, a reconciling of our self-image as the great democratizer with the facts of our history.

   • 

     MikeInOhio on May 31, 2014 at 1:33 pm

     I’ve read the Coates article a few of times.  And it seems that each time I come out with another nugget on which to ponder.  Certainly a lot in there for me to digest.

5. 

   lamh31 on May 31, 2014 at 1:14 pm

   @ABC  19s
   UPDATE: Sr. Defense official: In exchange for Sgt. Bergdahl release, 5 Guantanamo detainees to be released to Qatar: http://abcn.ws/1oV2lZ0

6. 

   lamh31 on May 31, 2014 at 1:15 pm

   @USATODAY  1m
   U.S. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl freed in Afghanistan http://usat.ly/1kicttP

7. 

   LosGatosCA on May 31, 2014 at 3:45 pm

   What mind?