Jul 072012
 

Yesterday the heat was severe, and it set off my COPD.  I could not sleep at all last night.  Therefore, this is today’s only article, so I can go to bed.  I am not current with replies, but will catch up ASAP.  Today is supposed to be even hotter, so tomorrow is uncertain.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:16 (average 5:19).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: Dear Climate Deniers, You’re Ridiculous. Warmly, Bill Maher & Neil Degrasse Tyson, Esq.

 

I knew animals were brighter than Republicans, but he made an excellent case that plants are too.

From Reuters: Oregon will soon qualify as the third U.S. state to ask voters in November to legalize marijuana for recreational use in a move that could put the state on a collision course with the federal government, proponents said on Friday.

Backers of the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act said they have collected 165,000 signatures on petitions seeking to put the measure on the ballot, nearly double the 87,000 they were required to submit by Friday’s deadline to qualify.

While I have not used the drug in over 30 years, I support its legalization. It is hypocritical that it should be more restricted than alcohol, a far more harmful drug. Law enforcement and correctional resources can be better used elsewhere.

From Livingston Parrish News: Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Watson, says she had no idea that Gov. Bobby Jindal’s overhaul of the state’s educational system might mean taxpayer support of Muslim schools.

“I actually support funding for teaching the fundamentals of America’s Founding Fathers’ religion, which is Christianity, in public schools or private schools,” the District 64 Representative said Monday.

“I liked the idea of giving parents the option of sending their children to a public school or a Christian school,” Hodges said.

Hodges mistakenly assumed that “religious” meant “Christian.”

HB976, now signed into law as Act 2, proposed, among other things, a voucher program allowing state educational funds to be used to send students to schools run by religious groups.

Of course, this throws public schools under the bus.  Not surprisingly, Republicans think freedom of religion means freedom for THEIR religion ONLY!

Cartoon:

7Cartoon

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  14 Responses to “Open Thread–7/7/2012”

  1. Sorry you're having COPD problems.  It wasn't too bad here last night — about 11 degrees and 25 during the day.  Today is suppose to be about 26 but tomorrow is supposed to be about 30+ around me — too, too hot!  My fan broke down so I purchased another yesterday and will have it put together before I head out this morning to take my mother to the dentist.  I start wilting at 20, and by 25, I'm thankful for the air conditioning in my car!  Tomorrow really sucks!
     
    Puzzle — No contest!
     
    MoveOn — Anything and everything is smarter than Republican/Teabaggers.  Everybody knows that ice sheets/glaciers are melting at alarming rates, all sorts of animals, fish and plant life in the oceans are moving north.  And this displacement is having adverse affects on the indigenous animal, fish and plant life.  To recoin a joke about solicitors — What do you call a hundred Republican/Teabaggers at the bottom of the sea? — a damn fine start!  Although with the amount they uselessly flap their jaws, my guess is that they would single handedly advance the warming of the oceans to an alarming degree.
     
    Marijuana — It will be interesting to see what happens in November in Oregon.  I am not a proponent of recreational marijuana use, but I quite agree that alcohol is a very dangerous "drug" yet is legal.  I am not proposing prohibition!  I'll just have to do more reading.  I also agree that too much time is spent on the correctional aspects.  Maybe I should think of the economic values of being able to export BC bud, apparently some of the highest quality marijuana!
     
    Louisiana — Keep religion out of schools.  If parents want to send their kids to a religious school, let them then pay full freight on the tuition.  How arrogant and stupid of this representative to think that such a law would apply to only Christian schools.
     
    Cartoon — The first woman Supreme Court Justice — a conservative and life long Republican.  I wonder what she thinks of the Republican/Teabagger war on women?  An amusing little anecdote from Wikipedia:
     
    In response to a carelessly written editorial in The New York Times which mentioned the "nine old men" of the Court, the self-styled FWOTSC (First Woman On The Supreme Court) sent a pithy letter to the editor:
     


    I noticed the following ….:

    Is no Washington name exempt from shorthand? One, maybe. The Chief Magistrate responsible for executing the laws is sometimes called the POTUS [President Of The United States].

    The nine men who interpret them are often the SCOTUS [Supreme Court Of The United States].

    The people who enact them are still, for better or worse, Congress.

    According to the information available to me, and which I had assumed was generally available, for over two years now SCOTUS has not consisted of nine men. If you have any contradictory information, I would be grateful if you would forward it as I am sure the POTUS, the SCOTUS and the undersigned (the FWOTSC) would be most interested in seeing it.

     

    • I had never heard that charming anecdote by Justice O'Connor.  Thanks for sharing it!
       
      You're probably familiar with how Justice Sandra Day O'Connor responded, during the heated Repubican primary race, on her thoughts of the matchup between Gingrich and Romney:

      “Well, one is a practicing polygamist … and he’s not even the Mormon!”

      • Yes, heard about it.  I thought it was hysterical!  Good sense of humour it seems, but lousy politics — a Republican!

    • Today is forecast at 32°C here, but the construction of my building makes it far worse.

      LOL!  Amen!

      Also, taxing it could generate mucho revenue.  The booze lobby will spend hand over fist to stop it.

      Agree fully.

      She was considerably to the left of Justice Kennedy.

      I still like mine: SCROTUS

  2. Two things I learned about Rmoney from his 4th of July vacation:
    [1] Is indifference to the well-being of sentient creatures isn't limited to dogs.  Take a look at how irresponsible he is taking small children for a boat ride:
    http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2012/07/Ten-Urgent-Questions-About-Mitt-and-Ann-Romney-on-a-Boat-Part-II
     
    [2] He's a bully – and not just to gay kids while in prep school, but even to his daughter-in-law when he tripped her just so he could win a race:
    http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/07/do-not-play-sports-mitt-romney/54122/
     
    The man is a putz!

  3. Hope you feel better.
    Do you have air conditioning?
    Everyone stay cool!
    It's dangerous out there and people have died.

    • Thanks Steve.  My building is 100+ and the electrical system is so limited that even a small window unit would trip the breakers.  I do have a tiny 200 unit.

      Right now my favorite possession is my 17" x 24" frozen gel pak.

  4. URGENT PSA!

     
    I almost forgot to remind you guys, but this evening (5 PM) is the huge Koch fundraiser for Rmoney at David's Southampton beachfront mansion.
    So gather your $50,000 that the Invitation "suggests" will get you in (or $75,000 if you're "A Couple" – although the Invite doesn't say "A couple of what?") and get yourself to
    880 Meadow Lane
    Southampton, NY
    Here you can view the details, complete with the Invitation and a photo of the place:
    http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/david-koch-to-host-50000-a-person-dinner-for-rom
     
    But for a better photo to appreciate what a $22 MILLION, 7 bedroom, 9 bathrooms, 4-acre beachfront property looks like, click away:
    http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/51633/2224748570082084340S500x500Q85.jpg

  5. 3:47.  Late, but not last.

  6. 3:57 Got it today!

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