I’m writing for tomorrow, day 57. This is the time of great transition in your email boxes. The dozens of organizations that have been harassing you five or six times a day that you need to give to/buy from them before it’s too late will change to harassing you five or six times a day that you need to give to/buy from them to start the new year off right. As for me, I’ll be quite bust for a few days with year-end record keeping for myself and my volunteer organization.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 6:04 (average 7:07). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Upworthy: …That’s not all there is to discuss. Learn more, like whether you can catch up on sleep. And remember, sleep is not overrated.
Obviously, this Short Take is dedicated to Lona at Care2.
From Daily Kos: Chalk up another win for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and in fact, another win for the American consumer. In this case, it’s members of the military who have new protections from predatory lenders. The CFPB worked with the Pentagon to develop new rules for how the military discretionary allotment system works. Military personnel can designate a portion of their paycheck to be paid automatically to financial institutions or to people, and previously had no legal protections if they used those automatic payments for personal property—vehicles, appliances and consumer electronics. That’s where unscrupulous companies could exploit them.
The new rules shut down that loophole, and will only allow the automatic payments for "the purpose of savings, insurance premiums, mortgage or rent payments, support for dependents, or investments." That’s one of the final loopholes closed by the CFBP—the agency that Republicans want to gut—for military personnel who have been big targets for consumer fraud. With all these protections, the CFPB has recovered over $98 million for thousands of service members. You know, the troops Republicans supposedly have so much respect and feeling for.
As of the agency’s third birthday back in July, it had recovered more than $4.6 billion—yes billion for consumers harmed by illegal practices by financial institutions.
Cheers for Elizabeth Warren, the CFPB and our troops. Jeers to the Republican Party, who oppose all three.
From YouTube: Racism in the United States: By the Numbers
Clearly, we have a lot of work left to do. It would help to get rid of the party that support and foster racism.
Cartoon:
20 Responses to “Open Thread–1/1/2015”
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Oh boy, do I know what you mean about those charities TC – and what really annoys me is that no matter how many times you give to them they still bombard you several times a day implying that you haven't given – and there is only so much that any of us can do!
Upworthy – I and other people I know who are chronically deprived of sleep have to manage on much less than the ideal amount – as do new parents and those caring for others. Mind you I have seen some good advice in a book by Dr Jacob Teitellbaum – From Fatigued to Fantastic – and I like him because a) I have found his advice works and b) [rarely amongst doctors] he knows what it is to suffer from illness and have the world crashing down around, and c) all the royalties from any products he has had a part in creating go to charity he doesn't get a penny from them [also rare!]. As we age/get ill long term our bodies can have problems producing enough stomach acid and other things to digest food, so we can need to add nutrients – its a complex subject, but if I can get it right (sometimes I do!) then I can add several hours to the sleep I was getting…
Daily Kos – well done the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – and God bless and protect Elizabeth Warren!
When you give, they see an easy mark and double their efforts.
YouTube: Racism remains alive and well in United States. Cold statistics do prove that racism does exist in all facets of life here in the USA.
Anyone know of any charity that gives you the option of once donating to NOT be bothered w/ emails or phone calls again until next year? I'd be sorely tempted to contribute to it just on principle.
Actually I do. I have never asked for a donation for Politics Plus, but still have received enough donations that our HSP is paid more than a year in advance.
6:30 average up to 7:46. Are they getting harder, or did too many people just – um – lose sleep last night?
And speaking of sleep – yes. I have for years used a sleep mask to keep light out of my eyes, and a noise generator to provide enough white noise to prevent anything short of a loud telephone or a fire alarm from waking me.You can call that sensory deprivation if you want. It works for me. I also note that food and sleep are interrelated in ways we hardly even dream of (pun intended). There is a French proverb "Qui dort dine" so it's nothing new, but the details are still obscure. One last thought is that in the Northern European tradition, which includes the US, work and commercial schedules are all set up for morning people, which means night people need to do a lot of adjusting, and I'm sure some of that is harmful. Hopefully the harm can be kept in the short run.
Back up to charities, my wish is that those of us (in the United States) who could not possibly file their taxes using Schedule A without noticeably increasing their poverty level could somehow get off lists that keep hammering "tax-deductible." Thats my pet peeve.
Daily Kos – I'm sure next week's appalling remarks list will include some of the things Republicans have been saying about this, and the CFPB in general.
You Tube – If you think racism is not existent, blatant, and ugly, you are simply not paying attention. Hey – I just described the Faux Noise viewer.
Cartoon – Cute litte baby. Let's hope he doesn't start getting beat up on too early.
4:42 Happy 2015!
5:49 This puzzle was tough on my eyes. I even had trouble finding the edge pieces.
Are you trying to say that you are 'over the edge' Jerry?
Yes, and you are not the first person to notice. 🙂
4:48 That was an eye bender and not surprisingly, the average is up to 7:46. Let's hope that 2015 is not as bent as the puzzle!
Every time I open my mailbox, I just select ALL check to see if there is anything of a personal note for me and hit delete. I did unsubscribe from a plethora of them earlier this month which helped a little.
Upworthy ~ I guess I average 6 to 7 a night. I go to sleep between 9 and 10 every night because I am exhausted and usually wake around midnight and stay up for a couple hours. I'm up by 6:30 every day without fail no matter how many hours I've slept.
Daily Kos ~ Kudos to Sen. Elizabeth Warren! Long may she prosper.
YouTube ~ We have our work cut out for us. I can tell that just from the people I know.
Cartoon ~ I hope the kitten can keep safe with Rethugs in control.
Just learned that Gov. Mario Cuomo (D-NY) has passed.
I'm certain that TC will have more on this at some point, but I'm reminded of his masterful 1984 Keynote Speech at the Democratic National Convention in rebuttal to Ronald Raygun's "shining city on a hill" speech – which dealt with reality of what was actually going on in America – for those of us NOT in the "One Percent"
A Liberal Giant blessed with amazing rhetoric matched by our current President. May Gov. Mario Cuomo, gone too soon, RIP.
Isn't ot ironic. He was a liberal giant on social issues, but equally in bed with banksters.
I have been deleting 20 to 30 emails a day, that are requesting donations. Good grief!
Upworthy: Since I retired, I get at least 8 hours sleep per night, and I really do feel better.
Daily Kos: Cheers for the CFPB! The only time our troops are valuable to the Republicans is when they are fodder for war.
YouTube: This is stunning, that we are still so far from racial equality after all the work that has been done in the last fifty years. I have been shocked to learn how many of my friends are racists since Obama was elected. It seems his election has given them a license to express their hatred. I really did not expect this.
Cartoon: I wish 2015 would have the personality of a cat! I will do what is necessary, but I will enjoy my life, and don't get in my way.
100+ here
Don't ANY of those sites offer an "Opt Out" option?!?
Puzzle — 4:48 That was an eye bender and not surprisingly, the average is up to 7:46. Let's hope that 2015 is not as bent as the puzzle!
Upworthy — I have been treated for depression for a number of years, and just before Christmas last year, I took a major dive. Sleep was a big issue for me, and still is from time to time, like last night. I fell asleep at the keyboard and just woke up before starting the Open Thread. Hopefully I will sleep well tonight.the sleep. But it would not have been possible without a pharmaceutical helper named trazadone, an anti anxiety nighttime drug. When I think back to high school, I did well on 5 hours a night. I guess it is payback time.
Daily Kos — In her book "A Fighting Chance", Elizabeth Warren describes joining up with Holly Petraeus back in mid 2011 to bring changes in support of military families with all sorts of lending issues. (pages 188-191 and 206). It is good to see that changes are continuing and making a difference. It does not surprise me that Republicanus/Teabaggers are targeting the CFPB. . . they make military members cannon fodder AND financial services fodder.
YouTube — I agree with you TC . . . make the congressional elephant and state elephants extinct and there will be a better chance of turning around attitudes. When over 50% of white Americans don't believe there is racism, one knows that there is a BIG problem. It would be nice to say 'no racism' but that is a pipedream and unrealistic. How about instead of the 1% referring to wealth, why not chop down that cherry tree and only 1% identify as racist.
Cartoon — Cute little fella! Will he be old and bedraggled at the end of 2015 or still full of 'piss 'n' vinegar' at the end of 2015?
Old and bedraggled.
Thanks all. Way pooped! My pillow calls.