07/21/2013 archive

Capitalism causes cancer,

both the kind you’re thinking of,

and another kind:

cities.

Cities are tumors on the Earth,

our precious home planet.

July 19, 2013 – During tonight’s Real Time, Dan Savage told Bill Maher about his reactions to this year’s monumental Supreme Court rulings on gay marriage, the most laugh-out-loud awful anti-gay arguments, and one of his favorite ways to troll Christian conservatives. He also explained to Maher how gay male couples are most likely to be promiscuous, while lesbian couples are most likely to be monogamous, leading him to conclude that the problem with monogamy is simply “dick.”

Savage credited all of the people brave enough to come out to their families as one of the biggest contributing factors to the social progress that’s been made in the United States. One significant achievement was that, while years ago, “if one of those douchebags who’s always threatening to kill me made good on it,” as Savage put it, his family would not get the same kind of benefits straight couples would when one of the partners dies.

h/t Mediaite

The 100th Edition of Le Tour de France comes to a close today under the lights for the first time ever on the Champs-Élysées.  By tradition there will be no actual racing except for a 10 lap sprint from the Place de Etoile to the Place de la Concorde.  This could in fact change a few results which I’ll list first below, but for the most part we are already done.

You may ask yourself, well, how did we get here?

Chris Froome, the Maillot Jaune, has continuously worn it since Stage 8, Castres / Ax 3 Domaines, first day in the Pyrenees featuring a Beyond Category and Category 1 climb, when his kick in the final 5 km put him :51 ahead of his team mate Richie Port and about a minute and a half ahead of everyone else.

This lead was cemented the very next day on Stage 9, Saint-Girons / Bagnères-de-Bigorre featuring 4 Category 1 climbs, when Froome overcame the absence of Porte and finished even with every other major contender, 1:25 in front of his closest rival, Alejandro Valverde.

It was as close as things got.

The standout from this year’s Tour has to be Nairo Alexander Quitana Rojas who not only won the Young Rider competition (eh), but also King of the Mountains(!) and finished 2nd in the General Classification.  Pretty damn impressive.

Your penultimate standings in the order of Classifications that may see any change at all-

The overall Points title goes to Peter Sagan walking away 100 points clear of his nearest rival, Mark Cavendish.  Where you might see some movement is in the 5th and 6th slots were Alexander Kristoff and José Joaquin Rojas are separated by a single point.

Points

Team time is determined by the top 3 riders to finish so it’s barely possible there may be a swap between AG2R in 2nd and Radioshack in 3rd.

Team

I suppose Andrew Talansky could fall off his bike but 1:20 is much larger than it looks.

Young Rider

King of the Mountains is done.

King of the Moutains

C’mon, you’ve got to be kidding me.  Any actual change would be a huge scandal of bad sportsmanship, even if someone did fall off their bike.

General Classification

Hope you enjoy the stately parade.

Sites of Interest-

• Wikipedia
• Versailles / Paris Champs-Élysées (83 miles, Le Tour)
• Versailles / Paris Champs-Élysées (Guardian)
• The Guardian
• Guardian Interactive Route Guide
• Le Tour

The Stars Hollow Gazette Tags-

• Le Tour
• 2010 Le Tour
• 2011 Le Tour
• 2012 Le Tour

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

Click on images to enlarge

July 21 is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 163 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day in 1861, the first battle of Bull Run.. In the first major land battle of the Civil War, a large Union force under General Irvin McDowell is routed by a Confederate army under General Pierre G.T. Beauregard. . . .

On the morning of July 21, hearing of the proximity of the two opposing forces, hundreds of civilians–men, women, and children–turned out to watch the first major battle of the Civil War. The fighting commenced with three Union divisions crossing the Bull Run stream, and the Confederate flank was driven back to Henry House Hill. However, at this strategic location, Beauregard had fashioned a strong defensive line anchored by a brigade of Virginia infantry under General Thomas J. Jackson. Firing from a concealed slope, Jackson’s men repulsed a series of Federal charges, winning Jackson his famous nickname “Stonewall.”

Meanwhile, Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart captured the Union artillery, and Beauregard ordered a counterattack on the exposed Union right flank. The rebels came charging down the hill, yelling furiously, and McDowell’s line was broken, forcing his troops in a hasty retreat across Bull Run. The retreat soon became an unorganized flight, and supplies littered the road back to Washington. Union forces endured a loss of 3,000 men killed, wounded, or missing in action while the Confederates suffered 2,000 casualties. The scale of this bloodshed horrified not only the frightened spectators at Bull Run but also the U.S. government in Washington, which was faced with an uncertain military strategy in quelling the “Southern insurrection.”

Bull Run was the largest and bloodiest battle in American history up to that point. Union casualties were 460 killed, 1,124 wounded, and 1,312 missing or captured; Confederate casualties were 387 killed, 1,582 wounded, and 13 missing. Among the latter was Col. Francis S. Bartow, who was the first Confederate brigade commander to be killed in the Civil War. General Bee was mortally wounded and died the following day.

Union forces and civilians alike feared that Confederate forces would advance on Washington, D.C., with very little standing in their way. On July 24, Prof. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe ascended in the balloon Enterprise to observe the Confederates moving in and about Manassas Junction and Fairfax. He saw no evidence of massing Rebel forces, but was forced to land in Confederate territory. It was overnight before he was rescued and could report to headquarters. He reported that his observations “restored confidence” to the Union commanders.

The Northern public was shocked at the unexpected defeat of their army when an easy victory had been widely anticipated. Both sides quickly came to realize the war would be longer and more brutal than they had imagined. On July 22 President Lincoln signed a bill that provided for the enlistment of another 500,000 men for up to three years of service.

The reaction in the Confederacy was more muted. There was little public celebration as the Southerners realized that despite their victory, the greater battles that would inevitably come would mean greater losses for their side as well.

Beauregard was considered the hero of the battle and was promoted that day by President Davis to full general in the Confederate Army. Stonewall Jackson, arguably the most important tactical contributor to the victory, received no special recognition, but would later achieve glory for his 1862 Valley Campaign. Irvin McDowell bore the brunt of the blame for the Union defeat and was soon replaced by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, who was named general-in-chief of all the Union armies. McDowell was also present to bear significant blame for the defeat of Maj. Gen. John Pope’s Army of Virginia by Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia thirteen months later, at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Patterson was also removed from command.

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”.

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The Sunday Talking Heads:

Up with Steve Kornacki: This Sunday;s guests were not listed.

This Week with George Stephanopolis: Guests are; Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX); and Detroit Mayor David Bing.

Guests at the roundtable are : Former Obama White House Green Jobs Adviser Van Jones; former Bush White House Press Secretary Dana Perino; ABC News’ Cokie Roberts; ABC News Political Analyst and Special Correspondent Matthew Dowd;  ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl; and ABC News Senior Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas.

Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: Mr Schieffer’s guest is Speaker of the House John Boehner.

Sitting at the roundtable are: The Washington Post‘s David Ignatius, USA Today‘s Susan Page, TIME‘s Michael Scherer and The Wall Street Journal‘s Gerald Seib.

The Chris Matthews Show: On the panel this Sunday are Chuck Todd, NBC News Chief White House Correspondent; Katty Kay, BBC Washington Correspondent; Kelly O’Donnell, NBC News Capitol Hill Correspondent; and David Ignatius, The Washington Post Columnist.

Meet the Press with David Gregory: On MTP this Sunday is Governor Rick Snyder (R-MI).

On a special panel discussing the aftermath of the Zimmerman verdict are Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League and former Mayor of New Orleans; Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; Tavis Smiley, Host of the “Tavis Smiley Show” on PBS; Charles Ogletree, Professor at Harvard Law School; and Michael Steele, MSNBC Political Analyst and former Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

At the political roundtable are : Marc Morial; along with former Democratic Governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm; NBC’s Political Director and Chief White House Correspondent, Chuck Todd; and columnist for the New York Times David Brooks.

State of the Union with Candy Crowley: Ms. Crowley’s guests are; Congressional Hispanic Caucus member Xavier Beccerra and Congressional Black Caucus member Cedric Richmond.

On a special panel discussing race and justice are  New York Times columnist Charles Blow; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund president Sherrilyn Ifill; and conservative commentator Crystal Wright.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) offers his take on sexual assaults in the military, U.S. involvement in Syria, and the path to immigration reform in an exclusive interview.

Japan election: Abe set to win key upper house vote

21 July 2013 Last updated at 06:47 GMT

The BBC

Voters in Japan are casting ballots in upper house elections expected to deliver a win for PM Shinzo Abe.

Half of the 242 seats in the chamber are being contested.

Polls show Mr Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its allies could secure a majority, meaning a ruling party would control both houses of parliament for the first time in six years.

The deadlock in parliament has been seen as a key factor in Japan’s recent “revolving door” of prime ministers.

Polling stations opened at 07:00 (22:00 GMT Saturday) and will close at 20:00 (11:00 GMT).

On this week’s segment of “What We Know Now,” Steve, along woth his panel guests Molly Ball, The Atlantic; Bob Herbert, Demos.org; Perry Bacon, Jr., TheGrio.com; and Carries Sheffield, The Daily Caller, discus what they have learned this week.

David Young Says Chuck Schumer Should Convert To Christianity, The Iowa Republican Reports

by Chris Gentilviso, The Huffington Post

Amid a crowded field of candidates to replace retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), one Republican appears to have separated himself from the pack with a wacky proposal involving Jesus and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

David Young, the longtime chief of staff for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), appeared at Monday’s Faith and Freedom Coalition event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Iowa Republican reports that when asked about the Christian “brotherhood,” Young vowed that if elected to the U.S. Senate, he’d invite Schumer to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Marjorie Margolies, Chelsea Clinton’s Mother-In-Law, Fundraises Without Help From The Clintons

by Paul Blumental, The Huffington Post

Marjorie Margolies reported on Monday that she had raised $185,345 in her bid to reclaim the Pennsylvania congressional seat she lost in 1994, but she did so without contributions from her in-laws: Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton.

Chelsea Clinton married Margolies’ son, Marc Mezvinsky, in 2010. Mezvinsky, who works for a hedge fund, did not donate to his mother’s campaign either.