May 262016
 

Please Pardon my brevity.  I want to finish in time for a nap before it’s time to go prison.  I won’t return until late tonight, so please  expect no more than a Personal Update tomorrow.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:01 (average 5:12).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Me: Our Next First Lady

0526Bill

Since yesterday, I showed you what kind of nekkid first lady Rump Dump would bring to the White House, it’s only fair that I do the same for Hillary.

From Daily Kos: The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals began hearing ​a case Tuesday on the legality of the Texas voter ID law. It’s viewed as the most restrictive such law in the nation and the circuit court’s ruling could have impacts well beyond the Lone Star state…

…To prove how twisted it is: If all you have is a college student ID, that’s not acceptable for voting. But if you’re a college student with a gun permit, they will happily give the nod to that and let you cast your ballot.

So for voting in Texas, having a gun is more important than having a brain.

From NY Times: A bitter divide over the Middle East could threaten Democratic Party unity as representatives of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont vowed to upend what they see as the party’s lopsided support of Israel.

Two of the senator’s appointees to the party’s platform drafting committee, Cornel West and James Zogby, on Wednesday denounced Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and said they believed that rank-and-file Democrats no longer hewed to the party’s staunch support of the Israeli government. They said they would try to get their views incorporated into the platform, the party’s statement of core beliefs, at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July.

Bernie’s delegates could not be spot-on!

Cartoon:

0526Cartoon

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  19 Responses to “Open Thread – 5/26/2016”

  1. LOL – sounds funny, TC, to say you want to finish in time for a nap  before you go to prison….

    Is it just me or  does Bill seem a little more low key than we might have expected?  Or is he just saving it all up for later?

  2. I believe prisons won't allow you to get a good nights sleep, TomCat, but aren't you overdoing it a bit with cat-napping beforehand; they're letting you out again by nightfall, aren't they? 😉 You're wise to take precautions, my friend because it'll be another marvelous day seeing the other half of your guys after such a long time, but also a very exhausting one. Take care and come back to us in good health.

    Hillary Cartoon: I'm sorry, but Bill makes an awful first lady. They'll have to think on a new title for him if Hillary makes the cut. First gentleman sounds ridiculous and Former President won't get Hillary's approval. Sidekick then?

    DK: Oh, my goodness. This is so transparent: if a voter only has a college student ID he or she is obviously a lefty and not allowed to vote for a Democrat, but if a voter has a gun permit they slap him or her on the back because they're one of them and must be allowed to vote for NRA endorsed Drumpf. 

    NYT: Soon Netanyahu will denounce Bernie not only as a commie but also as a self hating Jew. Let's see how Hillary fares with this. I doubt she'll follow and risk being branded as anti-Semitic. A new, but valid point the Democrats can split over, I'm afraid.

    • Perhaps Bill could be "First Dude".  It has a bit more of the bad boy feeling w/o being too bad boy.

      • "First gentleman" doesn't sound at all ridiculous to me – but since it's a term I've been hearing kicked around off and on since at least Shirley Chisholm, it may just be something I am used to.  What do states do, does anyone know?

  3. WRT Cornel West, I'll take strong exception to characterizing him as "spot-on" – unless you're referring only to his stance on Israel-Palestine.

    Otherwise West has largely spent his time endlessly denigrating Pres. Obama

    On the whole, I do NOT much care for West.

    • I was referring only to his stance on that issue.  As a whole, I was not haooy that Bernie chose him.  It's like Obama choosing the three blind mice.  Bernie wanted to appoint a black delegate, and few have endorsed him, so his choices were limited.

  4. Have a wonderful time with your guys!!!

    5:23  Can you be sure this puppy is not an Arab terrorist? /s

    "Me" – /S

    DKos – "So for voting in Texas, having a gun is more important than having a brain."  Yep.  That's Texas.  In all fairness, it's many other states too.

    NY Times – Well, isn't this special – certainly an issue which arouses more emotion than reason in both sides.   And one which is not going away any time soon.My only consolation is that at least some of the people on the committee have more abilities to keep disagreements and disputes on topic than rank and file, inexperoienced supporters.  I wish them lots of luck.  They will need it.

    Cartoon – OK, Edmund Ross was not a really principled guy, and Johnson was a jerk who was impeding Reconstruction.  But it was still the right thing for Ross to do, even if, as seems likely, he did it for the wrong reasons.  And he certainly did pay for it.

  5. DK: I will assume, yes Iknow the risk, that having a gun permit, even in Texas, means that you have proved residency, while a college ID does not.  Still, I certainly hope the Texas law is thrown out.  Bill has never looked cuter.

    • I would EXPECT residency to be proved at the time the voter registers.  By the time he or she comes to the polling booth, the issue, if any, SHOULD only be his or her identity. Apparently that isn't the case.  Isn't there only one state, North Dakota I believe, that DOESN'T require voters to register before voting?  Do the GOP really think that County Clerks are systematically allowing terrorists to register?

  6. Your Picture: Oh, how funny!

    DK: Oh, Good Lord. Sometimes I'm embarrassed living in this state.

    Cartoon: So true, so true!

    I know that you will have a wonderful time with your guys, enjoy your visit with them. I have a very bad case of poison ivy or oak, so off to the dr's. tomorrow for a shot. I'm miserable. Safe travels, take care, and Thanks, Tom.

  7. I think that the cartoon of "the first lady" is hilarious.

  8. Perhaps Bill is currently focused on teaching Hilary how to show the leadership in unifying the party if she claims the right to win the position usually considered the head of the party (are all the voices saying Bernie should do so telling us they believe he has these essential leadership skills while she does not?)

    Another Voter ID law was declared unconstitutional not long ago–let us hope this one follows suit.

    The DEM party could use some challenge to historic positions that many view as less fitting with current reality in formulating an update to the two-state solution consistent with international law and standards consistent with international human rights.

    More grounds for impeachment of Bush than for the IRS person who wasn't even at the IRS when all the allegations occurred.

  9. Short Takes:  Bill will make a good first gentleman. Love the cartoon.

    Daily Kos:  So as long as you have a gun, you can vote, otherwise, you must have a photo id.  Is Texas still living in the 19th century?

    NY Times:   I am curious how this will be played out.  We have blindly supported Israel, even when they are wrong and demonized the Palestineans who have been forced out of their homes by "resettlements".  I think a revisit to our policies is long overdue.

    Cartoon:  I continue to hope that Dubya and his crew will be prosecuted somewhere for their war crimes.

  10. Puzzle — 6:32 on my laptop w/o mouse.

    Hillary's Bill — Well, he'll never make the White House pin-up calendar!

    Daily Kos — Warped law definitely geared to voter suppression.  Let's hope the 5th Court of Appeals rules against Texas.  I would think that decision would affect the status of similar laws in other states.

    NY Times — "For us, the concern is that it legitimizes and potentially puts into a major party platform” a point of view “that undermines the principles of the Israeli-U.S. relationship that have been bipartisan for decades,” Mr. Hoenlein said. — Perhaps it is time that the principles of the Israeli-US relationship were shaken up.  From what I have read, Sanders is not calling for the destruction of Israel but for justice for Palestinians as well as Jews.  I am with Bernie on this.

    Cartoon — Baby Bush et cie should have been impeached, but since that didn't happen, a war crimes tribunal at The Hague would be excellent.

    Hope your trip to OSP went well.

     

  11. Thanks all!!  Pooped Hugs!!

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