Today I got tied up in the paperwork I have been putting off and ran well beyond the time I normally spend on research. In addition, my COPD was severe last night. I slept little, and, although I want to push myself, I think it unwise. Therefore this is today’s only article. I’m current on replies. Tomorrow I should have no trouble with normal posting.
Special Announcement:
I trust many of you remember Lee Evans, who commented regularly here for a time. I sent him a message when he stopped coming by suddenly, and heard nothing back. Today I heard about him from mutual friend. Here is her email. I added his picture.
Hi there TC…I have a favor to ask of you
After weeks of worrying and calling, I finally got a hold of Lee Evans on the phone a little while ago…He has been having his good and bad days, but i feared the worst as he is on palliative care due to prostate cancer…i broke into tears when he answered the phone i was so glad to know he was still with us!
Anyway, his computer is toast, and his money is low, so he couldn’t email anyone to let them know…and just like the first time you got ill, people have been asking me where he’s been at for months now.
The first one he asked about was you, followed by HHH, Bee, and all the regulars that post on Politics Plus…So if you could find a way to put a footnote in open thread or somewhere to tell every one that he is okay, and that he misses all, i would surely appreciate it.
In the meantime i’m going to see if i can’t find a tablet or inexpensive used laptop to send him.
Being all alone, and sick is bad enough…but he loved being part of this little family on care2, as we were all he had on a daily basis, and that really helped keep him going.
I don’t know if you ever saw any of my photos, but my profile pix is of him (cropped out) and i when he visited his son here in Seattle over Thanksgiving last year and we got to finally meet.
So anything you can do to let everyone know he misses them and thinks of them daily, and wishes everyone the best would be truly appreciated…1love, ellen
I hope you will join me by keeping Lee in your thoughts, hopes, prayers, or whatever you do.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:42 (average 5:15). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From MoveOn: What Paul Ryan’s Budget Could Mean For Your Family
This certainly shows who Republicans do and do not represent.
From NY Times: Mr. Sarkozy is in deep trouble and is looking, for now, as if he could be the first one-term French president since 1981. He appears to be running neck and neck with his main challenger, the Socialist candidate François Hollande, in the first round of voting on Sunday, when 10 candidates are competing. But all the opinion polls show Mr. Sarkozy losing to Mr. Hollande in a face-off two weeks later…
…A victory by even a centrist Socialist like Mr. Hollande, who has advocated higher taxes on the rich and a greater emphasis on growth over austerity, would create immediate strains with Germany and rattle financial markets that are already nervous about the size of France’s debt. Mr. Hollande has also said that he wants to pull French troops out of Afghanistan sooner than NATO has agreed to do. Still, he says that his first visit abroad would be to Berlin, no matter how chilly the reception.
I think this may be an excellent development for France, and would help to curtail the failed austerity programs imposed by European conservatives. Republicans will surely claim that Hollande is a Communist, so they can accuse Obama of consorting with him. That is a lie. A French Socialist is a social democrat, not a communist.
From CBS: A judge has granted bail for George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, but would not allow his release Friday, citing further discussions needed about the terms, including whether or not he would be allowed out of state.
Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester also said that Zimmerman must not have any contact with the victim’s family; must wear an ankle monitoring bracelet; and adhere to a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. The judge’s order also states that Zimmerman cannot be in possession of firearms; and must not consume alcohol or controlled substances.
I think the $150,000 amount of the bail is way too low. In my volunteer work with prisoners, I know many, who were accused of far lesser crimes, but whose bail was considerably more. Therefore it reeks of favoritism.
Cartoon:
