I’m writing very early for tomorrow to sleep all I can before my Broncos’ worship in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb with the evil Chargers. I’m still feeling horrid.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:34 (average 4:16). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Religious Ecstasy:
Wooo Hooo!! 🙂
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: At a hastily called press conference today, Chris Christie revealed that he only became aware that he was the governor of New Jersey in the past seventy-two hours.
“Unbeknownst to me, some people I thought I could trust were secretly working to elect me governor of this state,” a visibly stunned Christie told reporters. “I have acted swiftly and fired them all.”
While asserting that he had terminated all of the people who were involved in the scheme to elect him, he said that, if he finds additional conspirators, “I will deal with them accordingly.”
Christie struggled to explain how he remained in the dark about being governor, a position he has held since 2010: “I guess I’m just not much of a detail person. People think I’m a micromanager. I’m not. If a bunch of people are going behind my back and plotting to make me the governor, that’s not the kind of thing I pick up on.”
That’s only slightly less absurd than his real BS.
From Raw Story: The U.S. Supreme Court announced on Friday that it is preparing to hear a challenge to an Ohio law prohibiting candidates and political groups from making false statements in campaign advertising. According to Huffington Post, anti-choice group the Susan B. Anthony List maintains that Ohio’s False Statement Law stifles their right to free speech.
In short, the question before the Court is whether Republicans have the Constitutional right to lie in their campaign ads. This case could prove most interesting.
From Robert Reich: The U.S. economy created a measly 74,000 new jobs in December, and a smaller percentage of working-age Americans is now employed than at any time in the last three decades (before women surged into the workforce).
What does this have to do with the fact that median household incomes continue to drop (adjusted for inflation) and that 95 percent of all the economic gains since the recovery started have gone to the top 1 percent?
Plenty. Businesses won’t create new jobs without enough customers. But most Americans no longer have enough purchasing power to fuel that job growth.
That’s why it’s so important to (1) raise the minimum wage at least to its inflation-adjusted value 40 years ago — which would be well over $10 an hour, (2) extend unemployment benefits to the jobless, (3) launch a major jobs program to rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, (4) expand Medicaid to the near-poor, (5) enable low-wage workers to unionize, (6) rehire all the teachers, social workers, police, and other public service employees who were laid off in the recession, (7) exempt the first $20,000 of income from Social Security payroll taxes and make up the difference by removing the cap on income subject to the tax.
I fully support all seven of Reich’s proposals.
Cartoon:
22 Responses to “Open Thread–1/13/2014”
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So sorry to hear you are still so poorly TC – but at least it doesn't seem to be getting any worse(!) – scant comfort, I know, but we are all worried about that, so we take comfort where we may! (Am still praying…).
Robert Reich is wonderful – intelligent, clear, incisive and right – as always! I clicked through to the article and it was true – the Democrats aren't strong enough to stand up for their voters – and all the population – against the 1%.
Loved the New Yorker piece – glorious!
Republicans go ballistic if Obama puts his feet on his desk in the oval office. When he did, it bacame "deskghazi." But let one of their own do something genuinely horrible and they will whine and whine about how they are being picked on by cruel leftists. My guess is that it could conceivably come out that Christie had somebody killed – and he will get every republican vote he was going to get anyway. They just don't care about right v. wrong. They only care about "my side" v. "your side."
Love the cartoon. My Niners are also in religious ecstasy. 23-10. They will meet the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday in Seattle. There will be parties and I will be the only one cheering on the Niners. Don't care.
I heard on the news this morning that the Seahawks have limited online ticket sales to Seattle area residents only as a way to reduce the Fortyniners cheering section. Hmmm. . . .
I have been out of the loop because I'm still in the hospital but I saw this in the morning newspaper and wanted to share. You may have already done so but if not, prepare for total bewilderment. How on God's green Earth do people continue to re-elect self absorbed megalomaniacs to represent them? I don't know how to insert a link using my tablet so please look into this. It is an AP article titled – "Food stamp cut hits Kentucky county harder than most" by BRETT BARROUQUERE AND DYLAN T. LOVAN.
Sorry if you have already posted this. I haven't stayed current being in hospital. Stay healthy.
Patty, are you back to chasing the good looking male doctors and nurses? You are incorrigible!
Hope you are doing better and will soon be out chasing Shane instead! Take care of you!
of course I am. nurses never break that habit
I came home last night but I haven't had Shane bring my laptop up to the bedroom yet. I'm living up here for a while. It was a better alternative to going to a rehab facility for a while. I'm not really ready for rehab yet. I'll have in home physical therapy in a while when I'm ready.
Patty, it shames me that my state voted for Rand Paul. He didn't win by a landslide, but a win is a win. His opponent, Jack Conway, would have made a wonderful senator, but paul had more money to spend on ads and convinced the ignorant that Conway was a socialist because he believed in helping the poor.
Puzzle — 3:57 I didn't get the point of that one!
3:07 Stick a pin in it!
The minimum wage should be high enough so that a person working 40 hr/wk earns enough not to need government assistance. That is about 150% of the poverty level. We should not have to subsidize the cost of labor for businesses. Let them carry the full load. If a business cannot do that, let them fail. If the demand is there, another one will come along that is more efficient and will provide the product/service at a price that people are willing to pay.
It is call free enterprise and capitalistic system.
Puzzle — 3:57 I didn't get the point of that one!
New Yorker — AB is so spot on! Anyone who believes that Christie didn't know about the bridge issue has been smoking wacky tabacky! Had he been talking in August like he is now, that is one thing. But to take the current stance at this time is, in my mind, a clear indication that he knew and he didn't want to jeopardise his re-election. Personally, I hope that Christie is removed from office like was being hinted on in the Canadian news. The decision for a separate election that put Cory Booker in Washington and cost NJ taxpayers additional unnecessary funds was already a politically motivate issue. Christie didn't need the Washington Bridge issue on top of that. Let's hope that the blue state of New Jersey becomes even bluer with the exit of Christie!
Raw Story — Oh that is rich! . . . a conservative dominated SCOTUS ruling on a conservative request. Another conservative activist decision coming in the name of "justice".
Robert Reich — Reich missed the most important proposal of all: put every Republicanus/Teabagger politician in the unemployment line. Do this and the other 7 proposals will be much easier to accomplish and the country can get to recovery and growth!
Cartoon — Absolutely perfect!!!!!!
Glad to see you back, Lynn. I have missed you.
Thanks Edie! I'm not quite back yet as there is still a lot of work to do. But I am in a slow period between stages of the renos. I just love sewer backups etc.
4:16 my shoulder is still pinned back.
Christie – Yeah, makes about as much sense as anything.
SCROTUS – It says so much that Republicans are not ashamed to even ask the question! A book could be written on just that.
Reich – I wonder how much strength the Democrats would actually have if we started – and by we I mean those in office – to try to use it.
Here's the link Patty asked for (since it's AP there are other links to the same story, of course):
http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20140113&id=17252374
Cartoon: All equally valid, but only one is actually trying to maintain his statement is factual.
3:59 – Best time ever…. yipee 😀
I think I'll watch my movie tonight, "Inequality for All"… ❗
The New Yorker: Your cartoon last night said it as well as this does.
Raw Story: Of course they have the right to lie in ads, they must have, since corporations are people and the Republicans are all owned by corporations.
Robert Reich: He now ranks right up there with Bernie Sanders for me. I "liked" him on Facebook, now I get his articles, and my Repub friends have to see them, some of them read them, too.
Cartoon: YEP!
Thanks everyone.
Welcome home, Lynn. 🙂
I was so tired the last time I commented (ranted?) a few days ago that I had no business doing any writing, because I answered my own question. I came across a short video featuring Al Roker, the weather reporter on the Today Show, kicking Rush Limburgercheese’s ass regarding the polar vortex. Here’s the URL:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/08/1268115/-Al-Roker-tells-Rush-Limbaugh-to-Stuff-It.
It’s hilarious and I hope it cheers up Tom and Patty and anyone else feeling down.
I also came across this other video. Remember Gabby Gifford, the Democratic Congresswoman who was shot in the head a few years ago? She has now recovered enough to make a video of her skydiving. The URL:
https://secure.americansforresponsiblesolutions.org/page/share/skydive.
I offer it as an inspiration to all and a tribute to her gutsy way. Unfortunately, I was unable to watch the video because of the way my computer was set up. So I would appreciate it if some of you more savvy PC types could let me know how it was. Stay well, all!