It’s All The Tea Party’s Fault

Yesterday’s USAToday had a “they did it first” moment from New York Dem Rep. Steve Israel. He penned a defense for the sit-in by Democrats on the floor of the House a couple of weeks ago which was suppose to force a vote on gun control. Before he could get to the actual finger-pointing though he had to preen:

“I’m told I made broadcast history by being the first live interview from the House floor via FaceTime on CNN. Take that, Nixon-Kennedy debate.”

Good for you. Now the finger pointing.

“…the Tea Party can thank itself. Its candidates came to Congress starting in 2010, intent on tearing down institutions. They shut down the government, seethed at compromise. Their followers disrupted congressional town halls. They frothed and spat and vilified.

“… one protester defiantly turned his back on the Capitol. That would have been fine had he not also slid the back of his pants to his knees and bent forward. This set the tone within the institution.”

Recapping – six years ago, a protester at a Tea Party Rally during the Obamacare debates pulled down his pants and that provided the justification for the gun vote sit in.  Seems to me, he could have just written “We Were Frustrated” and left it at that. But dredging up a six year old butt hurt must have seemed to him much more satisfying.

Exit Question: How’s the Obamacare the Tea Party fought against working out for the nation now?

So, You Want Us to Lie!??

We all know about the meeting Donald Trump had yesterday with House Republicans. We also have heard not everybody was pulled in by the Donald’s, um, “charms”. But doggone it, that’s not going to make the GOP appear unified so Donald has a plan for that. The Washington Post says Trump advised lawmakers to just act like everything is honkey-dory in the Republican realm:

“If when we leave we could just go out and say, ‘We love Trump, he’s going to be great.’ I love you, we’re doing great. As a team, we can’t be beaten,” Trump said. “Say great things, because anything you say that’s even a little — well you know, they magnify it. Just say it’s great.”

Motivational speakers, gotta love them.

 Workers Needed

Back in 2014, oil prices began to slide. The slide turned into a plummet and towards the end almost 300,000 oil jobs were lost.  So those workers had to find jobs elsewhere. Now comes word from Goldman Sachs that oil companies need some workers back because oil is on the upswing:

“In Goldman’s view, high pay in the oil and gas industry will make it possible for U.S. oilfield services companies to attract the 80,000 to 100,000 employees the bank believes energy firms will need. The industry’s staffing needs would absorb about 8 to 11 percent of the unemployed population in energy-producing states, according to Goldman.”

Oil is not the only group that’s hiring. This Yahoo finance article said word came out today the US added  287,000 jobs in June.

 Quickhits

• Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson weighed in on the hostilities between citizens and police. He theorizes the nation’s “war on drugs“ is to blame.
• Pull ’em up buddy. Timmonsville South Carolina is fed up with pants down. A new town ordinance has gone into effect. It bans sagging pants or shorts that intentionally shows underwear. Violators get two warnings. After that offenses carry fines from $100 to $600.
• C-NET is checking out Robomower.  It’s sad. It’s an autonomous mower but didn’t live up to hype the first time tested.  Wet grass may be to blame. You have to lay down perimeter wire before it will mow. The test saw the mower cutting out swatches here and there through the grass for some reason. Its’ like a Roomba vacuum. Prices range from about a thousand to $2100.

Today is Collector Car Appreciation Day.  Basically a day to showcase hot rods and cool classic cars.

That’s it for today’s Water Cooler. Jump in down below on something you saw here or brought in from elsewhere. Water cooler is always an OPEN THREAD.

*All emphasis mine