May 072016
 

George is furious at TriMet.  We saw the lift bus pass the door three times yesterday, but we often see Lift buses that aren’t mine go by.  I called, and dispatch told me that the driver had come here at 12:35, and I was not here.  I told her that was untrue.  I’m guessing that the driver went to the wrong building, because I had been waiting in the lobby since 12:20.  I talked to customer service and filed a complaint.  I had to cancel my appointment with Sarah, and George did not get his new ankle.  I’ll have to reschedule, after I know what’s going on with my eye.  I’m getting a late start today, because Julie was here from 7:30 – 11:30,  She helped me shower.  I’m a pampered puddy tat.  Then we worked together to do the dreaded task, cooked a half a dozen chicken breasts, and did some light cleaning.  After she left, I had lunch and did my research.  I’m getting tired already.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:38 (average 4:48).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Jeff Merkley Channel): Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley outlines the ‘Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic (SAFE) Lending Act,’ legislation to crack down on some of the worst abuses of the payday lending industry and protect consumers from deceptive and predatory practices that strip wealth from working families.

 

Oregon and Senator Jeff Merkley still lead the way!!

From Daily Kos: Cassandra McWade got into a car accident on a stretch of highway in North Carolina. The 25-year-old McWade was fine, but her car wasn’t in any shape to drive and she needed a tow. Enter self-described “conservative Christian” Kenneth Shupe. He’s the tow truck driver that was called in to help McWade out.

When he saw “a bunch of Bernie Sanders stuff” he said he told the woman, “very politely,” that he could’t tow her car because she was “obviously a socialist” and advised her to “call the government” for a tow.

"Every business dealing in recent history with a socialist minded person I have not gotten paid," Shupe said. "Every time I deal with these people I get ‘Berned’ with an ‘e’ not a ‘u’."

Holy. Shit. There are too many things wrong here. First, should McWade call the government that employs tons of tow truck operators and pays for their services with citizens’ money? Second, I’m not calling Kenneth Shupe a liar when he says that “socialist minded” people have not paid him but let me put it this way—Kenneth Shupe is a liar.

Shupe, who runs Shupee Max Towing in Travelers Rest, said he is a conservative Christian who supports Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Shupe said he has drawn a line in the sand not to do business with Bernie Sanders’ supporters.

Trump supporters reflect the love passed down from their Fuhrer, Rump Dump Trump.

From NY Times: In a Europe struggling with a rise in Islamophobia, riven by debates about the flood of Syrian migrants and on edge over religious, ethnic and cultural disputes, London has elected its first Muslim mayor.

Sadiq Khan — a Labour Party leader, a former human rights lawyer and a son of a bus driver from Pakistan — was declared the winner after a protracted count that extended into Saturday. He will be the first Muslim to lead Britain’s capital.

The victory also makes him one of the most prominent Muslim politicians in the West.

If Rump Dump is elected, he would make the Mayor of London ineligible to visit the US.

Cartoon:

0507Cartoon

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  13 Responses to “Open Thread–5/7/2016”

  1. I am glad you filed a complaint. 

    I like the sandwich of good things surrounding the rotten core (OR and London are wonderful bread).

  2. 4:15  Any fish in the water are yours for all of me, if you're not too tired to get them.

    Hey, this might help you destress – A game site that exists just to mock the GOP. You can play "Trump Toss," or "Good Guy with a gun," or "Bomb the right place," or …..

    YouTube – He certainly does.  I think I have already signed to support this, but if not, I'll get invited soon and will do so gladly.

    DKos – Yes, what a sweetheart of a tow driver.  That could have been me.  There was speculation in the comments on site whether it was a AAA tow, and agreement that, if so, AAA would want to hear about it (also if so he certainly would have gotten paid had he not been a dick).  In my case it would have been a USAA tow – which is exclusively available to military (active duty and veterans) and their families – do you think his head would have exploded?

    NY TImes – I read this with enjoyment.  I'm sure he will be a great mayor (BTW, if anyone here is British – is it no longer "Lord Mayor"?  Wouldn't that be delightful?)

    Cartoon – No?  Well, maybe they would prefer to be annihilated.  They are certainly acting like it.

  3. YT: Excellent! This should be enacted in all the states… I see that Texas doesn't wanna do this, they rather rob the folks anyway they can. ugh!!

    YT: Boy, it sure is rough in NC now. (I used to live there too). I'd hate to be stranded, and be refused service like this driver. What a narrow minded individual. Geesh, nothing like being helpful to a disabled woman who's stranded. Pure meanness. WOW!

    NYT: Great news, and I wish the new mayor well !!

    Cartoon:  "On May 6th General Alfred Jodl arrived at General Dwight Eisenhower’s temporary headquarters – a small schoolhouse in Reims, France – to sign the surrender document. Four versions of the surrender document were required: in English, French, Russian and German. At 02.30, ten Allied officers entered the room. The Germans were summoned a short time after to sign the Act of Military Surrender."
    *historylearningsite.

    How unfortunate for you and George! I'm also glad that you filed a complaint. I hope that the driver knows what building you are in, the next time you are to be picked up. I'd be mad too. I'm so glad that you found Julie, she sounds like a great professional. I'm happy for you. I hope that you relax, and get some rest. Enjoy your evening, take care, and Thanks, Tom.

  4. Glad you got cleaned and primped; hope the complaint does some good.

    YT: Good stuff!

    Muslim Mayor of London…sounds good.

    DK: One good Christian, who can not follow the law, who would bitch like crazy if Sharia law were enacted, and, perhaps, said that he could not work on certain days, or be stoned to death.  Yes, at bottom, it is the same thing, just from a different religious perspective.   

    May 7, 1945, around the time an older cousin partook in the liberation of a concentration camp, you know, those "made up" things, and found that one of the survivors was his own cousin!  I knew them both, have seen a number of survivors who had their numbers tatooed on their wrists.  General Eisenhower is supposed to have said, when he ordered filming of the camps, that it had to be done (the filming) "Because some, or one, day some dumb bastard is going to say this never happened!"  It is sad how many dumb bastards there have been, and are!

  5. I hope you get good results from your complaint. Could your bus driver be a Trump supporter?

    YouTube:  Kudos to Merkley and to Oregon for electing him.

    Daily Kos:  Typical reaction from a pseudo Christian. 

    Cartoon: No, they won't.

  6. Puzzle — 3:46  If you find any fishies, they're yours!  I'm too tired to go fishing . . . or anything else for that matter!

    Youtube — Payday lending, an industry that definitely needs reform and regulation.  Here, the max rate that can legally be charged is 60% under usury laws.  With our disclosure laws, certain fees must be calculated into the adjusted interest rate which cannot be more than 60%.  But there is still a lot of room for improvement.  60% is still way too high.  Way to go Merkley!

    Daily Kos — I read about this a day or so ago and was totally disgusted!  Christian?  my ass!  Drumpf's supporters are pseudo Christians at best.

    NY Times — As I recall, the previous Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, was a person whose vitriole was almost on par with Herr Drumpf's.  To have a Muslim elected to this high office is a big victory.  Also, as I recall, there was a petition earlier to ban Drumpf from Britain as well as a motion in Parliament.  It didn't pass.

    Cartoon — They won't surrender but they will hopefully be annihilated!

  7. Sounds like you had a VERY rough day! Too bad George didn't get his new hardware. I figured that you and George would be out painting the town by now!

    Good on Jeff Merkley! 

    What an $$$hole tow truck driver! I didn't know they could refuse a car that had been in a wreck! Especially one that was undrivable! Rump Dump Drumpf strikes AGAIN!!!

    Wow, London has a new mayor. How cool! 

    That cartoon is right ON spot!

  8. You must have been one mad Cat after waiting for hours in the lobby and to mis your appointment after all, TomCat. Some of these drivers don't bother to think for themselves and do nothing unless specifically instructed to do so and rather leave a client out in the cold – well heat, it was I believe – than use their brains and at least call in to ask if they're at the right building. The complaint you put in was well deserved. Good thing Julie came in early yesterday morning to wash the irritation out of your fur.

    YouTube: Way to go, Jeff Merkley! Excellent video for an even more excellent bill, but rather shocking in as far that I was unaware of these criminal practices that up to this moment have a smokescreen of legality they can hide behind. Payday lenders are a new phenomenon here too, freshly imported from America like so many of these scams, but although the interest rates are ridiculously high compared to normal loans, they aren't as criminally high (300-500%) as Merkley pointed out and our government is already in the process of putting a cap on these rates.

    DK: America may not have it's promised trickle-down economy, but it seems to have caught a severe case of trickle-down Drumpfism which is rapidly spreading and expected to reach it's peak in November. A lot of lying and bullying with a punch here and there thrown in for good measure to look forward to, folks. Enjoy.

    NYT: It has been a battle between a upper-class "green" millionaire Zac Goldsmith  and lower-class Muslim Sadiq Khan, common sense prevailed over money and the suburbs won from The City. A Muslim "Paki" winning riffled the feathers of some racists, but Londoners were having non of it: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/sadiq-khans-election-as-first-muslim-mayor-of-london-prompts-rallying-against-londonhasfallen_uk_572e1014e4b0e6da49a65d2e " rel="nofollow">Sadiq Khan's Election As First  Muslim Mayor Of London Prompts Rallying Against '#Londonhasfallen'</a> Londoners can be really proud of themselves and their city again. And I can think Boris Johnson can forget about him talking over Torrie leadership from Cameron now.

    Cartoon: German Nazis may have surrendered then, but fascism never did.

  9. Sympathies on the screwed up appointment, TC – wouldn't it be nice if everyone just did their job the way they are supposed to?

    You are fortunate to have Jeff Merkley … one of the good guys.

    I have decided to never call Kenneth Shupe for any reason as he is a total idiot and does not fit my interpretation of a good human being….

     

  10. Thanks and hugs to all.  Getting tired here.

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