I’m writing early as is becoming my practice. The temperature at my desk has cooled to a livable 78°, and today is not supposed to be as bad as yesterday.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:13 (average 5:08). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Truthdig: Since 9/11, American law enforcement has taken a disproportionate interest in American Muslims across the country, seeing a whole community as a national security threat, particularly in California and New York City. But here’s the thing: the facts that have been piling up ever since that date don’t support such suspicion. Not at all.
The numbers couldn’t be clearer: right-wing extremists have committed far more acts of political violence since 1990 than American Muslims. That law enforcement across the country hasn’t felt similarly compelled to infiltrate and watch over conservative Christian communities in the hopes of disrupting violent right-wing extremism confirms what American Muslims know in their bones: to be different is to be suspect.
I have said for many years that Al Dubya is a far greater threat to America’s freedom than Al Qaeda ever was.
From Think Progress: Antonio Vanegas may be deported because he filed a complaint against his employer over unpaid hours at a food court restaurant, according to the Huffington Post on Tuesday. The Guatemala native was detained for four days after exposing labor violations at the pita shop where he worked. He now faces a deportation hearing in August.
Vanegas, a federal contract worker at Quick Pita inside DC’s Ronald Reagan Building, said that he worked upwards of sixty hours a week, but did not receive overtime pay. He claimed that he was paid $6.50 an hour under the table even though federal law dictates that contract workers like Vanegas should make the local prevailing wage — $8.25 an hour in DC.
Vanegas’s legal status was never an issue during his three years of working at Quick Pita, even though numerous police officers and immigration agents made up his customer base. Only when he was vocal about being underpaid and overworked did the Federal Protective Service, a security branch of the Department of Homeland Security, show up to take away Vanegas’s work badge. At the same time, he was turned over to immigration officials. He also lost his job.
There could not be a better explanation of why Republicans want to retain a large undocumented work force.
From Crooks and Liars: A Libertarian activist who posted a July Fourth video of himself loading live ammunition into a shotgun in downtown Washington, D.C. was reportedly arrested late Tuesday.
Adam Kokesh’s producer and roommate Darrell Young told WRC that the gun activist’s home was searched by U.S. Park Police in connection with the YouTube video that shows the shotgun being illegally loaded in downtown D.C.
Fairfax County police assisted in the search and said that Kokesh was taken into custody and charged with possession of a Schedule I or II drug and possession of a Schedule I or II drug while in possession of a firearm.
It’s always good news to report such an event in the life of a ‘Republicans on Parade’ honoree. I hope that he receives a long opportunity to change his ways.
Cartoon:
The first Bankster to bite the dust! 😉
20 Responses to “Open Thread–7/11/2013”
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3:36 I'm no gazelle today.
Tom, your times have really sped up since you're not smoking and starting so early in the AM!
4:01 Wake me when the grass turns green!
Crunch time?
3:55 I'm a little slow today. My 13 year old granddaughter had spinal fusion surgery yesterday (7/11).
Jerry, I hope and pray she is OK and heals quickly.
She is doing great! They had standing and she actually took some steps the day after her surgery (yesterday 7/12).
I'm glad to hear it, Jerry! 🙂
TruthDig ~ The extreme Right Wing will never see the error of their ways because they think we have a Black Muslim President.
ThinkProgress ~ It was only when their pocketbooks were threatened that they realized he was illegal? HAH!
Crooks and Liars ~ Hooray for the U.S. Park Police and the Fairfax County Police! They did the correct thing.
Cartoon ~ They were both a couple of hotheads. I've read several biograorahies of the both. Good minds but short fuses.
They are blind by choice.
Bingo!
Amed!
I can believe that.
In reference to this blog you posted, https://www.7thstep.org/blog/2013/07/07/dont-fund-evil/, I decided to type Politics Plus into Bing's search and your blog is the Number 1 result. It is with Google too but I do prefer Bing for many reasons.
Patty, if I use terms common in our articles, Google more likely to repurn PP articles.
Puzzle — 4:01 Wake me when the grass turns green!
Truthdig — An excellent article.
It is not their religion that makes them more susceptible, but rather their persecution by so called right wing evangelical pseudo Christians that push them. It is not their religion that makes them more susceptible, but rather it is that they are perceived as "different" from the pseudo Christians and therefore suspect.
Sometimes, I think jihadists must be laughing themselves silly because US authorities are doing more to create paranoia and dis-ease than the jihadists could do.
Think Progress — What a crock of BS! All people need to be treated with respect and justice. For 3 years, everything was fine, but the minute that Vanegas complains about unjust working conditions, he is up for deportation. And the US is calling other nations on their human rights violations? Bit of a double standard!
Crooks and Liars — Glad to see that this idiot is in jail for now. I hope he stays there.
Non-aggression principle? Kokesh doesn't think that advocating taking over or taking down the democratically elected federal government is aggression? He doesn't think that inciting others to his cause is aggression? He obviously does not know the meaning of the word "sedition".
Cartoon — . . . and hopefully not the last! . . . just not by duelling! Let's do it the legal way.
Crunch time?
Whenever government makes us less free, because of them, they win.
Indeed!
Clearly true.
Legal woprks for me!
1864? Am I reading that right?
According to Wikipedia, it should be 1804. Good catch! I had to look up the incident in the first place but did not notice. Mind, I had a lot of trouble reading the wording on the cartoon.
You are both correct and the error was mine. I am the Kinh od Typo. That seldom effects caroons, but the recent heat has effected my concentration. My apologies.
I just checked and Christy Clark won the byelection in Kelowna-Westside with 62% of the vote, retaking a seat in the legislature. The final certified results won't be out until 17/07/13 and I don't know what the voter turnout rate was. Of course it is summertime so many people may have been away, but who knows. When Stewart, who stepped aside for Clark to run in a safe riding, won the seat in the May 2013 provincial election, he won with 58% of the vote.
That's rather what I expected, vut was pleased to see the NDP candidate come in second, and that Harper's Harlot could not even pull 1,000 votes. This did point out on area in which the US is ahead. To run, out candidates' primary reesidence must be in the didtrict. Establishing a secondary residence there upon victory would not fly.
We have a small Muslim community here in our rural area, and even have a Mosque. So far I have not heard of any problems, no one protested th Mosque being built and everyone seems to be getting along. I still remember after 9-11 how many innocent Muslims were rounded up and arrested, their families didn't even know where they were. Sad that we are still in the same mentality as a country as when all the Japanese/Americans were rounded up and put in camps during WW2.
I know very frw, but the ones I do know are worthy of respect.