Monday Open Thread [1.13.14]

Filed in National, Open Thread by on January 13, 2014

Delaware’s iconic license plate was chosen as the least favorite in a some stupid poll somewhere. You can rate the 51 different license plates here.

Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the last real Israeli Prime Minister who actually wanted a peace deal with the Palestinians, died over the weekend after suffering a comatose state for 8 long years (yeah, the former Prime Minister should have had a living will). Some think that Sharon’s successor, Benjamin Netanyahu, is now warming to peace himself.

Over the coming weeks, Netanyahu will likely find himself in the difficult position that Sharon found himself in the run-up to the Gaza withdrawal: hard-pressed to explain to the right-wingers in his party and his coalition why he is abandoning the principles he stood by for decades. He will of course trumpet the achievements of Kerry’s framework agreement: the Jewish-state recognition, the security guarantees, and the belated Palestinian acceptance of reality on the refugee issue. He will say it in his best Likudish.

But Netanyahu will more likely emphasize what Israel faces should it not accept the Kerry plan: a jilted American administration, a ramped-up Palestinian U.N. campaign, European sanctions, a global-divestment campaign on steroids, a growing Palestinian binational-state movement, a brewing third intifada, and—oh, by the way—the likely collapse of his government. In other words, this time Netanyahu may find that the path of least resistance lies in crossing the rubicon.

Some good news from the Supreme Court: Arizona’s unconstitutional abortion ban is so blatantly and obviously unconstitutional that the Court will not even consider hearing the state government’s appeal of a lower court’s similar finding of unconstitutionality:

The Supreme Court without comment declined to review a lower court’s decision that struck down an Arizona law that banned most abortions after 20 weeks. The ruling on Monday means Arizona’s abortion law will remain off the books.

Last May, a federal appeals court struck down the Arizona law as unconstitutional, citing an “unbroken stream” of Supreme Court decisions upholding abortion rights. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled at the time that the government had no right to ban abortion before a fetus is viable — currently measured at 24 weeks. About a dozen states around the country have passed laws similar to or more restrictive than the Arizona law.

All of those laws will now be struck down too. Thank you, you conservative theofascists, for wasting all of our time since 2011 in passing all of these new abortion laws. You now have nothing to show for your work.

I have never understood why people bother complaining to the FCC about what is on TV. If they really dislike a program, do they not know that they can change the station and never watch the offending program or station ever again? Check out some complaints the FCC has received about the Simpsons.

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  1. Jason330 says:

    Thanks to a shit ass media, and prostrate Dems like Carper and Carney, the GOP suffers no penalty for being wrong. Meanwhile, the GOP base makes sure they suffer big penalties if their statements aren’t hysterical an unhinged enough.

  2. bamboozer says:

    The Supreme Courts refusal to review the case is a partial victory, they’ll be back with modified laws and seek a review at that time. In the mean time enjoy the gnashing of teeth and the curses in the darkness of social conservatives and the Republicans that do their bidding.

  3. Joanne Christian says:

    Leave our license plate alone! It’s the last vestige in the US of playing any roadgame w/ a kid and being able to spot a state 3 lanes and 1200 feet away. Everybody has boutique plates now within their state, so you can’t just see maroon and white anymore and know it’s OHIO. Even that rare RED and YELLOW New Mexico has forced me into being an aggressive driver, and tailgater to see what the heck state that car is REALLY from……Try telling that to the judge! 🙂

  4. FenceSitter says:

    I hear you on the FCC complaints. Can’t help wondering, though, where you stood when Fonda, Steinem and the rest of the New Ministry of Popular Culture declared jihad on Limburger and Clear Channel.

  5. Delaware Dem says:

    FenceSitter, if I recall correctly, that was not an FCC complaint. That was an advertiser’s boycott. And that is perfectly legitimate, and it is a perfectly capitalist form of expression and protest. If enough people are that upset about what they see on the Simpsons that they want to organize a boycott of all the advertisers that buy ad time during the 8 pm Sunday time slot on Fox, that is fine by me. Indeed, it is more conservative and Republican to do that than to complain to the government in the hopes that the government would take it off the air.

  6. liberalgeek says:

    An interesting lawsuit here:

    http://www.itworld.com/it-management/399838/ex-oracle-salesman-claims-complaining-about-wage-discrimination-got-him-fired

    The guy was fired because he complained that Oracle was trying to low-ball a guy because of where he came from.

    They offered “good money for an Indian”

    The guy got fired and is suing.

  7. FenceSitter says:

    DD, my recollection could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure they were trying to lobby the FCC to get Limburger banned. Liked the Simpson complaints. Makes me wanna see the South Park complaints. Got a link to those?