Doug C

If the hotel guy is telling the truth, and Scalia was lying in bed with a pillow over his head, in other words he saw Scalia's body up to the shoulders/neck, but then he saw a pillow instead of Scalia's head, I agree that it is pretty damned odd.

It isn't implausible. The sitting president is duty bound to nominate when a vacancy arises and the Senate is duty bound to give advise and consent. The parties in power aren't relevant to the clear Constitutional provisions.

Quick answer: Yes and yes.

Barack Obama is the duly elected president of the United States of America. Therefore, it is his Constitutional duty to nominate someone to fill a open Supreme Court vacancy, should one occur during his term in office. It is the Senate's Constitutional duty to provide proper advice and consent of said nominee. (Should Constitutional be capitalized in this context?) The people have spoken, twice, and said that any vacancy that arises during the President's term should be filled by him. That's one of the reasons the people elected him. The Republican Party, what a bunch of petty bullshit art

I agree. I am no fan of Scalia and hope that he will be replaced with someone that interprets our Constitution in a way more in line with John Paul Stevens, but I am not rejoicing in his death or denigrating him. I can imagine the Internet comments are over the top. There has always been a coarseness to politics, but people seem to lose all perspective with the anonymity of the Internet.

If it was in your pocket just before exiting, I can definitely see some d-bag snatching it. Best of luck on your search for a replacement.

I'm not saying that someone didn't steal your hat from your pocket, because the world is full of scumbags, but, it is also possible that it fell out and got lost in the masses and/or someone picked it up. When I walk the dogs, I stick a plastic grocery bag in my pocket and it has worked it's way out from walking several times, causing me to walk back to the pile and pick it up later with a new bag. I learned to shove it way down. My granddaughter got me one of those bag holders that clips to your belt so no more lost bags. If you are like me, a jumping around dancing Wilco fan, I can definit

Ditto. He was real. Truly dedicated to making a difference in society. The lies told about his memorial service were disgusting.

In the interests of keeping you fully informed, it must have been the work filter that wouldn't allow "tits". I googled imaged "purple monkey tits" from home and it offers up things just as weird and disturbing as "breasts". For instance, here is the 3rd image The Smokin' Purple Monkey Gang It just gets creepier from there.

Jaysus! I was going to make an attempt at levity by posting an image. But when you Google image "purple monkey breasts", some really weird and disturbing shit shows up. (Google said purple monkey tits found no matches, so check spelling etc.)

I don't care if he was going to pull out a foolproof plan for world peace. What he did was foolhardy and resulted in his death.

The strategy was that a road stop with a large police presence issuing directives of compliance would be the best way to arrest without fatalities. A well-trained law enforcement officer is almost certain to shoot you when you are part of an armed group that has made statements that they won't be taken alive and you reach into your jacket when confronted.

What are the chances that the right wing nutters will say, "If Mr. Finicum had only complied fully with law enforcement directives, he'd be alive today. That is the position that we have taken in all of the recent law enforcement shootings with black victims. Therefore, as rational people, we must be consistent in our logic."

I prefer Yokel Haram or Daeshbags.

You are correct. I am wrong. I reread the Washington Post article that I was referring to again, slowly, and realized that I referenced a line in the text that was actually a link to another article about his earlier statements regarding not being taken alive. Thanks, Hixter.

I understand that he is dead and left behind a loving family that needed him, that is tragic and I feel for them. It has been reported that he stated when the authorities stopped them that he uttered some version of "I'd rather be dead than live in jail". Hopefully, it won't parallel radical Islamic terrorism and cause survivors to take up arms. The foster children were removed in early January, at least in part because of his Oregon activities. Whether his motivation was to help troubled youth, make money or a combination, this anti-government nutter main's income was from the government.

I understand and share your reaction. I read this article about him from a link on NPR http://www.opb.org/news/article/robert-lavoy-finicum-dead-rancher-bundy-burns-oregon/ The last sentence of this passage also caused me to LOL - " He and his wife Jeanette were also foster care parents for troubled boys. Finicum estimates that over the past decade, more than 50 boys came through their ranch near Chino Valley, Arizona. The boys often landed there from mental hospitals, drug rehabs and group homes for emotionally distressed youth. Finicum said payments for foster care were his main source of i

I have no problem with differing political beliefs. Wanting Sarah Palin in a position of power isn't a political belief.

I don't believe that I could remain friends with someone once I found out that they consider Sarah Palin a serious politician that needs to be running the country. I can't imagine having enough in common with a person as described above to even want to become or be their friend prior to knowing about their Palin love. I wouldn't even consider someone like that an acquaintance, other than in the most literal sense, as in, "Yes. I know that idiot, so technically, I am acquainted with them". In all seriousness, are you really friends with them? And if so, how (and why) do you do it?

I believe that Moore would have likely done it anyway, it is a logical extension of his prior actions. I also believe that the Oregon states rights fiasco played a role in the timing of his decision. You need to relax and have a drink. Seal team 6? Shoot in the head? Calm down, Kevin.

Re the sheriff asking them to leave: so much for their expressed belief in Posse Comitatus. It truly has gone on far too long. They are basically being indulged like petulant children. I can understand the concerns about bloodshed, but it is baffling to me that they have been allowed flip off federal authority and the rule of law for almost a week. Sadly, I think that your prediction that they'll all be allowed to leave with no consequence will come to fruition. I'm certain that Roy Moore has been at least partially emboldened by Oregon. I agree that all of these fools need to be arrested/sa

Thank you. I appreciate you posting this. I doubt I would have read it otherwise and that would have been a shame. Thanks again.

Thanks Kevin, I understand now. As far as "dealt with" sounding sinister, I did mean "dealt with", as in doing something about the situation in an official capacity, i.e. arrest if warranted, cattle not returned and $1 million in fines and fees paid. No more, no less. Any group, regardless of their motivation, doing what Captain Moroni and company are doing, must be arrested and dealt with according to the law. I do believe that at some point, enough is enough and the government must say you have to surrender peacefully. If they do not, then cordon the place so that nothing gets in or out

Kevin, what are you on about? Armed confrontation? Revenge? I feel passionate about Black Lives Matter? If there is a BLM that I am passionate about, it's the Bureau of Land Management or Bowel Loosen Movement, but not Black Lives Matter. You keep addressing statements that haven't been made.

I agree. If Cliven Bundy had been dealt with, this Oregon nonsense would not have happened. Cliven won. He was given back his cattle and still owes the US government $1 million. The precedent was set, so why not?