Open Thread–6/10/2013

 Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 102013
 

I’m writing early again, because it is hotter than expected.  I still feel out of it, so I’m pretty sure it us the Chantix.  That should go away, but tomorrow, I double the dosage.  We’ll see about distributing links after midnight.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 5:19 (average 5:47). To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Reuters: Jury selection begins on Monday in the murder trial of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012 and then famously walked free for 44 days, triggering nationwide protests and calls for his arrest.

Lawyers estimate the long-awaited trial will last four to eight weeks. Much of that time is expected to be spent picking a six-person jury that can be open-minded despite extensive publicity about some of the explosive issues, including racial profiling and self-defense, surrounding the case.

"They’re going to have a tough time picking a jury. At this point who doesn’t know who Trayvon Martin is and who George Zimmerman is," said David Weinstein, a former state prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer.

I plead guilty. Like just about every other political pundit, not to mention the racist hatemongers from the Republican Ministry of Propaganda. Faux Noise, I have written extensively about this case. To do otherwise would be to permit Republican lies to go unchallenged. But once again, we face the great flaw in the US justice system, other than judges appointed by Republicans. This jury will consist of people who have already been influenced about the case, even if they believe they have not. Many other nations impose a gag order on all criminal cases, keeping them out of the press until after the trial is complete. Networks would sell much less soap, but trials would be much more fair.  Even Zimmerman deserves a fair trial.

From Raw Story: In a statement [Goose-stepper delinked] released Saturday, Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) said closing the Guantanamo Bay prison facility would be a victory for terrorists.

The conservative senator warned that terrorists “would spread violent extremism from within our borders” if the the current push to close the controversial prison was successful.

“It appears to me this latest push to close GITMO is because the terrorists have begun a hunger strike,” Inhofe said. “Specifically, the far left has used this as a rallying cry to revive their continuing obsession with closing the base despite strong support from Congress to keep GITMO open. But this misses the fundamental point. Is this hunger strike not a political act designed to attempt to change American policy? My question to the far left is: if you close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay are you not letting the terrorists win?”

The reasons that the Guantanamo Bay Prison, aka the GOP Gulag, remains open have nothing to do with Barack Obama. Lets reserve getting pissed off at him for scenarios in which he deserves it, like transparency.

From Huffington Post: Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) had some harsh words for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) while speaking at an event for the Jefferson County Democratic Party in Kentucky.

"I can be really brief tonight and just say, Mitch McConnell sucks,” Yarmuth said Thursday, according to the Washington Post.

I have to admit it. I could not have described Bought Bitch Mitch better.

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Republicans want to bring back that textbook, despite this irrevocable proof of the Theory of DEVOLUTION.

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Open Thread–6/6/2013

 Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 062013
 

It was one degree cooler today than yesterday, but it was hotter inside, because the heat absorbed by the building’s brick work had not yet dissipated when reheated today.  It’s still 89° inside, and I’m wilted.  Unfortunately tomorrow looks like another hot one.  I’ll try to get some sleep  and do what I can of tomorrow’s writing, before it heats up tomorrow.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:21 (average 5:05).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Based on another audio clip from the "Battlefield Dallas" meeting that Battleground Texas just posted, it is evident that the TX GOP is no longer even trying to pretend that they’re not waging a war on black voters:

Question: "What are the Republicans doing to get black people to vote?"

Ken Emanuelson: "Well, I’m going to be real honest with you: The Republican Party doesn’t want black people to vote, if they’re going to vote 9 to 1 for Democrats."

…

That Republicans believe that how black people are likely to vote morally justifies depriving them of that right is the most despicable thing about this statement.

From TPM: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said Tuesday that he’s prepared to vote against the very immigration reform bill on which he’s taken a leading role and ostensibly staked much of his political future.

Rubio told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt [Propagandist delinked] that "a sizeable number of Republicans" are prepared to vote in favor of immigration reform, but not until amendments are added to the Gang of 8′s proposal that will strengthen border security and limit the discretion given to the Department of Homeland Security in the bill’s ultimate implementation…

Chris Hayes and his panel provided perspective.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Do you remember how Lindsey "Poo" Graham (R-SC) pretended to support and work on ObamaCare, only to stall and weaken it, but pulled out the rug at the last minute? I think that this is also a bad faith effort to destroy immigration reform, maintaining the charade that he favors reform, while catering to the hatred of the Republican base.

From Think Progress: 

Earlier this week, several civil rights groups filed an official complaint against Judge Edith Jones, a former chief judge of the powerful United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, alleging that she claimed that African-Americans and Hispanics are predisposed towards violent crime and that the death penalty is a public service because it allows inmates to “make peace with God.” Though these allegations will need to be proven during the formal ethics process, they are entirely in line with Jones’ past record. Here are some other facts you should know about Judge Edith Jones:

1. Edith Jones Waved Off Horrific Sexual Harassment

A paper mill worker named Susan Waltman’s supervisor told her to have sex with a co-worker, “pinched her buttocks with pliers and tried to put his hands in her back pockets,” and fellow employees hung used tampons from their lockers. When she complained to a manager, she was told she should “expect this type of behavior working with men.” After she complained, an employee of another company that worked in the mill grabbed her arm while she was carrying a vial of hot liquid, and another worker stuck his tongue in her ear. One of her co-workers told her “he would cut off her breast and shove it down her throat.” He later dangled her over a stairwell thirty feet above the floor. Though she met with senior managers about these incidents, the harassment continued. At one point, a co-worker “grabbed Waltman’s breasts and directed a high pressure hose at her crotch.”

Judge Jones wrote a dissenting opinion claiming that this woman’s sexual harassment suit should be thrown out.

2. Edith Jones Thinks Victims Of Employment Discrimination Should ‘”Take A Better Second Job Instead Of Bringing Suit”

In a speech at the University of Texas, Jones claimed that employment discrimination suits “seldom turn on evidence of race- or sex-based discrimination” and generally involve “petty interoffice disputes, recrimination, second-guessing and suspicion.” She advised workers claiming discrimination to “[t]ake a better second job instead of bringing suit,” according to the Houston Chronicle.

3. Edith Jones Thinks A Man Whose Lawyer Slept Through Much Of His Trial Should Be Executed

Judge Jones joined an opinion holding that a capital defendant could be executed despite the fact that his lawyer slept through much of his trial. Though that opinion was eventually reversed by the full Fifth Circuit, Jones dissented from that reversal.

 

Click through.  There’s much more to come.  She should certainly be disbarred. Only one word comes to mind that adequately describes her complete lack of decency. Edith Jones is a Republican!

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Open Thread–5/29/2013

 Open Thread, Politics
May 292013
 

I have a second article today, but I’m still feeling pretty weak.  As time goes on, this should get better.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:51 (average 4:53).  To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Media Matters: On May 10, ABC News reported what it characterized as a major "exclusive" on the consulate attacks in Benghazi, Libya.  Claiming to have "obtained" key administration e-mails, the report appeared to illustrate White House and State Department aides editing out references to terrorism in talking points for political reasons.

The story seemed to vindicate conservatives, who for months had been screaming about a cover-up.  But when the e-mails in question were released to the public, they differed substantially from those ABC News "exclusively unearthed" in the scoop.  Soon after, the truth came out:  the reporter, ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl, was quoting not the actual e-mails, but rather summaries of the e-mails provided by a Republican source.  Despite repeated on-air claims, ABC News had never "obtained" the e-mails, and the damning "quotes" that triggered the "exclusive" turned out to be misleading.

 

To Tell ABC to correct their disinformation, sign this letter.

From Daily Kos: I’m not sure how he managed to get past the network’s thought police, but Bob Dole went on Fox News Sunday and said this about the party that nominated him for president in 1996:

“I think they ought to put a sign on the national committee doors that says ‘closed for repairs’ until New Year’s Day next year and spend that time going over ideas and positive agendas,” Dole said when asked about the state of today’s Republicans.

Dole also said he doubted he could make it in today’s party.

“I doubt it,” Dole said. “Reagan couldn’t have made it. Certainly Nixon could not have made it because he had ideas. We might have made it, but I doubt it.”

Okay, first, the obvious point: Can you imagine a former Democratic presidential nominee saying that Franklin Delano Roosevelt couldn’t make it in today’s Democratic Party?

I found the video:

It is also amazing that it was put on the air by the Republican Ministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise.

From MSNBC: Chris Hayes covered the D.C. Circuit.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I touched on this yesterday. Hayes and his panel did an excellent job fleshing it out. To Republicans, ‘appointed by Obama’ constitutes an exceptional circumstance. Nuke the filibastards!

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Open Thread–5/28/2013

 Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 282013
 

I need to make today another short one, with this article only, because leg pain kept me up.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:55 (average 4:49).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Think Progress: 1.5 million low-income Texans may go without health care coverage after lawmakers in the state voted against expanding Medicaid using $100 billion in federal funds offered under President Obama’s health care law. The decision comes almost a year after the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government cannot require states to enroll more Medicaid beneficiaries.

The proposal, sent to Gov. Rick Perry (R) on Sunday, says state health officials “may only provide medical assistance to a person who would have been otherwise eligible for medical assistance or for whom federal matching funds were available under the eligibility criteria for medical assistance in effect on December 31, 2013.”

Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government fully funds Medicaid expansion until 2016 and gradually reduces its contribution to 90 percent in 2020 and subsequent years. Texas — which has the highest percentage of uninsured residents — would never pay more than 7 percent of the cost of providing coverage to Texans, but Texas Republicans argued that “even $1 in the name of ‘Obamacare’ was a dollar too much.”

Texas Republicans will provide RepubliCare, marking 1.5 million residents for the RepubliCare death benefit.

From McClatchy DC: The exact location of the anti-poaching operation is secret, as is the number of rangers who will be on duty. Also confidential: where the drones will fly as they search out poachers intent on slaying rhinos for their horns – one killed every 11 hours in South Africa alone.

But over the next several days, Tom Snitch thinks that his project, at a private game farm adjoining South Africa’s famed Kruger National Park, will prove that unmanned aerial vehicles can end the scourge of rhinoceros poaching.

God help the poor rhinos that have the misfortune to be saved through the use of those evil drones!! ;-)

From Daily Kos:

The D.C. Circuit federal appeals court has unusual power, acting as a feeder to the Supreme Court and holding jurisdiction over cases involving federal agencies. That makes it a prime subject for Republican obstructionism, and until the confirmation of Sri Srinivasan last week—the first confirmation of an Obama nominee to the D.C. Circuit—there were four vacancies out of 11 spots on the court. Srinivasan’s confirmation brings Democrats into parity with Republicans on the D.C. Circuit, at four judges each. But, writing at Dissent, Moshe Z. Marvit shows that the court’s Republican skew has been much stronger than those numbers imply:

However, this simple count ignores a key feature of the federal judiciary: senior judgeships. Many judges do not retire, but instead choose senior status, which makes their seat officially vacant but places them on part-time work.

On the D.C. Circuit, there are six senior judges, which is almost the number of active judges, with five having been appointed by Republicans. In all the cases decided in 2013, almost 70 percent of the three-judge panels included at least one senior judge. As a result, almost 80 percent of the panels in 2013 were composed of exclusively or a majority of Republicans.

…

The D.C. Circuit will become a lot more controversial in shout order, because Obama intends to nominate judges to fill all three vacancies at once. Expect intense screams to come from the Judiciary Committee, where the Republicans are virtually all wing nuts: Grassley, Hatch, Sessions, Graham, Cornyn, Lee, Cruz, and Flake.  What a collection of InsaniTEA!

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Open Thread–5/26/2013

 Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 262013
 

Yesterday I slept poorly, and when I finally did sleep, I slept through most of my research time, so this article is all I have today.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s tool me 4:27 (average 4:46).  To do it. click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Alternet: It’s been another week of the insane, inane, and outright offensive. Here’s your top ten:

  1. Pennsylvania governor can’t find any Latinos to work for him. Gov. Tom Corbett (R-PA) told a Spanish-language newspaper this week that  he didn’t have any Latinos working for him. There are approximately 18,000 Latinos just in the Harrisburg, PA area alone.
  2. Pennsylvania governor remembers single Latino who works for him. A day after saying he didn’t have any Latinos working for him,  Corbett suddenly remembered a single Latino appointee working in his administration.
  3. Conservatives freak out over Boy Scouts decision to admit gays. Here’s the ten best conservative freak-outs over the group’s decision to admit gay scouts while maintaining a ban on gay leaders.

…

Click Through for the rest of the ten craziest things Republicans did last week.

From Common Dreams: Notorious Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio engaged in racial profiling and violated drivers’ constitutional rights, a federal district court ruled on Friday…

…"Singling people out for traffic stops and detentions because they are Latino is unconstitutional and just plain un-American. Let this be a warning to any agency trying to enforce the ‘show me your papers’ provision of SB 1070 and similar laws — there is no exception in the Constitution for immigration enforcement," said Wang.

"Today’s decision vindicates the rights of Latinos in Maricopa County who’ve been terrorized by discriminatory MCSO practices and have had their communities torn apart," added Dan Pochoda, legal director of the ACLU of Arizona. "The court recognized that racial profiling within the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is a pervasive and widespread problem that can only be addressed through substantive, meaningful changes to eradicate this egregious practice and begin rebuilding public trust."

It could not have happened to a more deserving goose-stepper.

From Daily Kos: Writing in Thursday’s Washington Post, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell provides evidence that he says substantiates his assertion that President Barack Obama is responsible for a "culture of intimidation" that "goes well beyond one agency or a few rogue employees."

For example, McConnell says:

The president’s lawyers circulated a draft executive order in 2011 that would have required anyone bidding for a government contract to disclose political donations. The message was clear: If you want a government contract, be careful which causes or candidates you support because the White House will know.

Yep, you read that right. According to Mitch McConnell, requiring firms that do business with the government to publicly disclose how much political cash they’ve given to the politicians from whom they seek contracts and special treatment is all about intimidating companies into silence. Of course, that was not the idea at all. The real idea was to let the public know whether companies that made anonymous political contributions were getting special treatment from the government.

Leave it to Bought Bitch Mitch to twist reality into InsaniTEA. McConnell is certainly intimidated, but he’s really afraid of being primaried by a Bagger.

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Open Thread–4/11/2013

 Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion
Apr 112013
 

Yesterday I got the rest I needed to recover from my long volunteer day in prison.  I’m current with replies.  Tomorrow appears routine.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:24 (average 4:51).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: The military prosecutors seeking to have Pfc. Bradley Manning convicted of violating the Espionage Act over his release of secret government files to WikiLeaks will face an additional burden at his court-martial under a ruling on Wednesday by a military judge.

The judge, Col. Denise Lind, ruled at a pretrial hearing that prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Private Manning had “reason to believe” that the files could be used to harm the United States or to aid a foreign power. Prosecutors had contended that they should be required to prove only that he willfully disclosed defense-related files to win a conviction under the spying law.

I think the judge made the right decision. Unlike many on the left, I believe that Manning should receive some punishment. In Civil Disobedience (one of my favorite books), Henry David Thoreau made it clear that the moral authority for civil disobedience is that the perpetrator considers the issue so important that he or she willingly accepts the consequence of punishment to emphasize that point. That said, I also believe that after being convicted of a charge less than espionage, he should be sentenced to time served and released. He has been punished more than enough already.

From Huffington Post: Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) turned to the Bible on Wednesday during a congressional hearing, using the Great Flood to support his claim that climate change isn't man-made…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Great Flood really exists! It is a flood of BS, and the B stands for Barton.

From The New Observer: An N.C. House lawmaker is equating any prayer to the Islamic God with terrorism.

In an email exchange with a constituent, Republican state Rep. Michele Presnell of Burnsville was asked whether she was comfortable with a prayer to Allah before a legislative meeting. Presnell responded: “No, I do not condone terrorism.”

The first-year lawmaker who represents a district in the North Carolina mountains is a co-sponsor of House resolution 494, a measure asserting that North Carolina can establish a state religion. She did not return a call for comment Monday about the string of emails obtained by Dome.

This is what happens when bigoted Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians ignore the First Amendment.

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Targeted by Republicans for repeal.

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Open Thread–3/13/2013

 Holiday, Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 132013
 

I’m still tired, but I’m back.  Yesterday was supposed to be a volunteer day, but the prison is still closed for activities.  Turning 39 for the 27th time is just like it was the 26th time.  I’m current with replies.  Tomorrow appears routine.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:31 (average 5:29).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: The Obama administration has decided that it will appeal to the Supreme Court a sweeping ruling by an appeals court in January that President Obama violated the Constitution when he bypassed the Senate in making three recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board last year.

While the dispute grew out of a narrow and novel legal question — whether brief “pro forma” sessions by the Senate could prevent the president from making recess appointments during a lengthy winter break by lawmakers — the appeals court blew past that issue and called into question nearly two centuries of recess appointments by presidents of both parties.

The three-judge panel of the appeals court in Washington ruled that presidents may bypass the confirmation process only during the sort of recess that occurs between formal sessions of Congress, rather than other breaks throughout the year. The gaps between formal sessions generally arise just once a year and sometimes — as in 2012, when the Senate had not formally adjourned before the next session began — are skipped entirely.

This is judicial activism taken to extremes. None of the matters on which the court ruled were even before the court.

From The New Yorker: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) was jubilant today after his newly unveiled budget plan picked up a key endorsement from the novelist Ayn Rand.

It was a rare public utterance for the late Ms. Rand, who has been damned to eternal torment in Satan’s lake of fire since 1982.

“This is a budget I wish I had written,” said Ms. Rand, pausing to scream as white-hot flames licked her face. “Paul Ryan is a great man and I look forward to meeting him someday.”

To be sure, if that’s where she is, they will get to have a very long chat. Winking smile

From The Star-Telegram: George Prescott Bush filed the paperwork Tuesday to run for Texas land commissioner next year, hoping to use a little-known but powerful post to continue his family’s political dynasty in one of the country’s most conservative states.

That’s too high a post for a Republican let alone a Bush!

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