Friday Open Thread [11.8.13]

Bless this woman, who is about to have a double mastectomy. She decided to dance. That is how you deal with adversity. You say fuck it.

Another day of good economic news, which is surprising given the treasonous efforts of Republicans in Congress to cripple our economy through austerity, government shutdowns and threats of default. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the private-sector added 212,000 jobs in October. The federal government shed 12,000 jobs, but local and state governments added 4,000, bringing the total gain for the month to 204,000. The official unemployment rate calculated in a separate survey rose slightly to 7.3 percent. The unemployment rate rose due to the government shutdown, for the furloughed workers were counted as unemployed for the 16 days of the shutdown during first part of the month of October. But for the shutdown, the rate would have fallen. Also, the BLS revised September’s numbers up to 163,000 from 148,000, and August’s numbers up to 238,000 from 193,000. So, all in all, this was a pretty surprising and good jobs report. Now if you Republican could stop trying to sabotage America, that would be great.

New York Times: “The correspondent for the disputed 60 Minutes’ segment about the attack on the United States Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year apologized on the air Friday morning, saying it was a ‘mistake” to put on a security officer whose credibility has since been undermined by his diverging accounts of his actions that night.”

Charlie Cook: “One takeaway is that while McAuliffe ran up slightly higher margins among Democrats and liberals than Cuccinelli did among Republicans and conservatives, the fact that Cuccinelli could win the independent vote by 9 percentage points yet lose the election by 3 points is a reminder that the gap between self-identified Democrats and self-identified Republicans is getting so wide that, in many races, winning the independent vote isn’t enough for a Republican candidate to bridge the gap. Remember that Mitt Romney won the independent vote last year by 5 points but still lost the election by almost 4 points. Brand damage has hurt the GOP in party identification, and that, in turn, is hurting Republicans on Election Day.”

Kavips or Kilroy, I can’t remember which, said recently that we were still obsessed with George W. Bush. I think it was said in jest, but still. I racked my brain to think of any posts that concentrated on the former disasterous President. I came up with nothing. If anything, we are preoccupied with the current Republican Party and its horrible members. So here is a GWB item, so we can live up to the Kavipsian or Kilroyian characterization. And its a doozy. It would seem that the former President has an interesting speaking engagement on his calendar:

Next week, former President George W. Bush is scheduled to keynote a fundraiser in Irving, Texas, for the Messianic Jewish Bible Institute, a group that trains people in the United States, Israel, and around the world to convince Jews to accept Jesus as the Messiah. The organization’s goal: to “restore” Israel and the Jews and bring about about the second coming of Christ.

So W is now a “Jew for Jesus?” And he is not just speaking:

This year’s event is designed to bring in funds for the group’s proselytizing operations. And the former president is helping out with more than just speech-making. The most expensive of the ticket packages, which range from $100 to $100,000, includes 20 invitations to a VIP reception and photo opportunity with Bush, 10 signed copies of Bush’s book Decision Points, and passes to tour the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

He is actively raising funds. The only way the former President could be more devoted to this cause is if he stood in an airport handing out pamphlets. Or is that the Jevohah’s Witnesses.

At last year’s event, members of the MJBI’s board of directors explained the organization’s mission of converting Jews to an audience of hundreds who were seated on a professional football field, wearing formal clothes, and eating pork barbecue. Rabbi Jonathan Bernis, a leading Messianic Jew and televangelist who chairs MJBI’s board of directors, maintained that “our numbers are growing and growing,” because “the Bible predicted that the day would come when the blindness would come off the eyes of the people it all began with.” He was referring to Jews. The Bible, Bernis continued, “tells us that the day will come when all of Israel will be saved.” The MJBI, Bernis said, “is one of the ministries that God has raised up to bring that to pass.” Other featured speakers last year included David Barton, the religious right’s discredited “historian.”

Oh boy. There … is … just … so much… too many W rants and jokes and comments coming into my .. head all…. at once. Must resist… temptation…

There. He finally broke me.