Today is the highest Holy Day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb, so on a scale of one to ten I plan to be bad… very bad!! Pizza order!! Yum!! Tomorrow I have a podiatry appointment, so I’ll be posting an Open Thread, at most. Go Broncos!!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:35 (average 6:51). To do it, click here, How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos (classic 6/2014): Multi-millionaire Nick Hanauer is no dummy. He sees the writing on the wall.
I’d strongly suggest you read this entire piece titled "The pitchforks are coming . . . for us Plutocrats"
And what do I see in our future now?
I see pitchforks.
At the same time that people like you and me are thriving beyond the dreams of any plutocrats in history, the rest of the country—the 99.99 percent—is lagging far behind. The divide between the haves and have-nots is getting worse really, really fast. In 1980, the top 1 percent controlled about 8 percent of U.S. national income. The bottom 50 percent shared about 18 percent. Today the top 1 percent share about 20 percent; the bottom 50 percent, just 12 percent.
But the problem isn’t that we have inequality. Some inequality is intrinsic to any high-functioning capitalist economy. The problem is that inequality is at historically high levels and getting worse every day. Our country is rapidly becoming less a capitalist society and more a feudal society. Unless our policies change dramatically, the middle class will disappear, and we will be back to late 18th-century France. Before the revolution.
And so I have a message for my fellow filthy rich, for all of us who live in our gated bubble worlds: Wake up, people. It won’t last.
Today this piece is even more relevant than it was then. Click through to read it in its entirety.
From NY Times: An opportunity to pass the most significant federal criminal justice reform in a generation may be slipping away — despite the tireless efforts of many top Republicans and Democrats in Congress, as well as a rare exhortation from President Obama during last month’s State of the Union address.
The bill, known as the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015, is the product of years of negotiation over how best to roll back the imprisonment spree of the past four decades, a period in which the federal prison population grew from just under 25,000 to more than 195,000.
Among other features, the act would reduce absurdly long mandatory minimum sentences for many nonviolent drug crimes, give judges more control over the terms of punishment and provide inmates with more opportunities to get out early by participating in rehabilitation programs….
…So what’s the problem? There are two, in fact — and both are serious threats to the bill’s chances of passage.
First, some congressional Republicans now say they will approve the bill only if it includes an across-the-board change in federal law that would make corporations and their executives harder to prosecute for environmental or financial crimes by imposing a new intent, or “mens rea,” standard on these crimes…
…It is already very difficult to prosecute corporate wrongdoers. A report released late last month by Senator Elizabeth Warren documented 20 cases from 2015 alone in which corporations or their executives broke the law but got off with little or no punishment, even when people died as a result of the violations. Speaking from the Senate floor on Wednesday, Ms. Warren called the push for the new intent provision “shameful because we’re already way too easy on corporate lawbreakers.”
The other obstacle to the reform bill’s passage is old-fashioned scaremongering about the release of “violent criminals” into the streets. This is simply not true: Most of the provisions are focused on low-level, nonviolent drug offenders, who make up nearly half of all federal inmates.
Senator Ted Cruz is leading this attack on the new bill. Yet just last year he called mandatory minimum drug sentences “unfair and ineffective,” and he sponsored reforms that would have reduced those sentences even more than the current bill does. Running for president on a hard-right platform has, apparently, changed his mind.
The sentencing reform legislation is not perfect, but it represents remarkable progress in what is often a harsh, oversimplified debate about crime and punishment in America. It should not be weakened, either by narrowing its reach or by sneaking in an unrelated mens rea provision.
The problem with this bill is that it doesn’t go anywhere near far enough but between Koch sucking members of Congress and TRUS "Uranus Inspector" Ted, we probably lose even this pitifully small step forward.
From Alternet: Bernie Sanders’ much-anticipated cameo on Saturday Night Live along-side host Larry David did not disappoint.
This is not the video included with the article. That has been taken down. I hope this one fares better.
Which Bernie is Bernier?
Cartoon:
After the game!
15 Responses to “Open Thread–2/7/2016”
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6:24 (6:51) A rocky road.
Blessings of the Orb be upon you!
DKos – Nick Hanauer is indeed no dummy. You think even he will ever reach people like Steve Schwartzman? Probably not.
NY Times – Yes, I've been getting updates on this, and it is indeed very likely that we will lose even the barest of reform. aybe we need a new definition of "violent" crime – to include whate collar crime that makes its victims destitute. Damn, if that isn't violent, what is?
Alternet – A hoot indeed.
Cartoon – DON'T FALL !!!!
DK: I don't have any rich friends, if I did, I'd send this to them. ''I am not against rich people. I am against rich people who try to make themselves richer by keeping the rest of us poor and miserable.''
AlterNet: Good video!! Love both these guys!! Go Bernie!
Cartoon: You got that right, get all comfy, as the Broncos are going to kick some A- – !!
I prayed fervently at church this morning. Enjoy the rest of your day, take care, and Thanks, Tom.
4:27 Was there a point to this puzzle?
Oh, The Super Bowl day! I have been waiting for this a long time. Hopefully, The Great Peyton will be successful in his last appearance in the game he loves so much!!! O hope that the Broncos have a splendid day, sacking and tackling the New Kid on the Block!! Peyton Manning DESERVES to win the Super Bowl and so does the Broncos!!!
Sorry, TC. I got Super Bowl fever and I can't deny!!! Politics and such aren't in my mind right now!!!
Oh, by the way, FEEL THE BERN!!!
Puzzle — 4:27 Was there a point to this puzzle?
Daily Kos/NY Times — I posted The Pitchforks Are Coming … For Us Plutocrats on 31/10/2015 (including videos) because it was so relevant even though it was from a year previous. Nick Hannauer is so spot on!
Absolutely, NO WAY!!! Corporate thugs have done more damage than any non-violent drug criminal, yet they weasel out of any meaningful punishment. Example, Don Blankenship of Massey Energy. Elizabeth Warren slams corporate wrist-slapping Blankenship literally got away with murder! And dare I mention all the lives that were inexorably changed for the worse because of corporate malfeasance during the 2008 financial crisis (just to name one period)! Maybe Congress could include penalties for bloviating Republicans who lie through their teeth just to obfuscate the truth!
Alternet — Actually, the original video is back up and it is funnier than the short one. It continues past "yuge" and touches on immigration and religion. Here's the embed code: https://youtu.be/3txJzdRDJRA
Cartoon — There could be a CATastrophe if you fall. Don't forget, you don't have opposable thumbs with which to grab the railing! Happy meditating!
love the kitty, loved the Bern snippet, hope you are wrong on reform and sad so many miss the writing on the wall
5:27 I got stuck on the cactus.
Assuming your past mentions of Podiatry appointments were for bilateral issues, one would hope, since you'll be bringing "George", you'll at least now be getting a 50% discount. 😉
FINAL:
So, exactly what cloud will we find you on? And I sure hope you enjoyed your pizza!
You don't suppose all those RWNJs who were sure the Panthers would win because it was predicted in the Book of Revelation and it would bring us a step closer to Armageddon (which they are salivating for) will back off now? No, I don't either, but it's not every day you get to have religious ecstasy and piss off Republicans at one and the same time. I hope it was nectar-ambrosia-and-catnip pizza.
The Puddy Tat is likely to be insufferable with his religious ecstasy! Would not surprise me if he did a post with video highlights!
WOOO HOOO!!!!
Congratulations on your Bronco's victory. I actually watched the second half and of course, had no idea what was happening.
Daily Kos: I believd he is correct, sooner, rather than later, the bottom 99% is going to be fed up.
NY Times: The private prison industry is really big business, and many of those in Congress who oppose this bill are beholden to that industry. The clause they want put in is also to help their real constituents, large corporations. We need term limits on Congress, preferably one term, but no more than two terms. We have too many in Congress now who are millionaires as a result of being elected to their posts. They no longer serve the people.
Alternet: I saw the skit, and I loved it.
Cartoon: Looks like a great plan, hope I can get one of those this week.
Your doters and caretakers may not agree with me, TomCat, but I think everyone deserves to be really bad once in a while, so I hope you thoroughly enjoyed the pizza during your Bronco's winning game.
Daily Kos: I've read this classic before from beginning to end and it's amazing how relevant this article still is. Perhaps now even more then when it was written in 2014, since things haven't changed for the better. If Republicans continue their hold on politics by gerrymandering, voter disfranchising, fraud and theft and when Democrats aren't convincing enough to turn out their voters, the pitchforks will come out.
NY Times: How Republican to undermine a good and sensible bill brokered with the last few sane Republicans in Congress. InsaniTea, led by Ted Cruz, couldn't let that mar their near perfect record of the past two terms, could it. Playing both sides, their criminal corporate masters by demanding even more protection from prosecution and their base with the usual scare mongering and flagrant lies, they now try to undo the good work some of their own did. And there's little hope these see the light now and leave the GOP to fester without them
Alternet: Nice cameo, bonus points for Democratic Socialism (huge difference)
Cartoon: You're not on the fence, are you?
Thanks all!! Hugs!! Exhausted!