Politics Plus

Yesterday I spent about three hours doing light housekeeping chores, and I was biting off more than I should have.  Today I have a grocery delivery coming, and more work unpacking and putting them away, so I’m straying down, otherwise.  I’m current with replies.  We’ll see what tomorrow brings.  May the Holy Ellipsoid Orb bless your team, unless it’s the Browns. 😉

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:57 (average 4:34).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: Republicans continue to embrace the no-new-taxes stand as a centerpiece of the party’s identity, even in the face of public opinion that strongly supports tax increases on high incomes. And some Republicans fear that the party’s commitment to prevent tax increases more and more is coming at the expense of those other, older kinds of fiscal responsibility.

“Republicans used to be interested in not running continual rivers of red ink,” said former Representative William Frenzel, a Minnesota Republican who as the ranking member of the House Budget Committee in 1990 helped to negotiate the deficit deal. “If that meant raising taxes a little bit, we always raised taxes a little bit. But nowadays taxes are like leprosy and they can’t be used for anything, and so Republicans have denied themselves any bargaining power.”

I agree with a broad premise of this article, except that it is highly inaccurate to call Republicans the party of fiscal responsibility.

From The Independent: Replacing the income tax with a wealth tax – 1 per cent on wealth between $500,000 and $1 million; 2 percent over $1 million – would bring in more revenue than all the income tax the federal government currently collects. It would be fairer, too. The very, very rich don’t rely on their incomes. They own things, like companies and securities, that yield dividends taxed at half the rate of incomes that most working Americans depend on.

I find this idea interesting enough to warrant consideration. In addition, the mere thought of such a system may cause the demise of the Koch Brothers from acute constipation. 😉

From Alternet: An Indiana man who pleaded guilty yesterday to setting an Ohio mosque on fire told a judge he was motivated by media accounts – specifically those on Fox News – suggesting Muslims were threatening Americans and were in control of parts of the federal government.

Details made public at the plea hearing also revealed that the arsonist, Randolph Linn, was carrying a pistol when he entered the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo on September 30, only minutes after several worshippers had left, and that he had more guns in his car.

As long as Republican Ministry of Propaganda continues to spew bigotry and hate, America will be a more dangerous and more violent place, than it would otherwise be. In this case, we were very fortunate to have avoided, by chance, another Republican massacre.

Cartoon:

Today I’m on a very light schedule, but I do have one additional article for you.  I’m current with replies.  Tomorrow I have a month’s grocery delivery coming, and I’ll be hard presses to just get it put away.  It’s also a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb.  My Broncos’ meditation with the Browns will not be televised here.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 5:20 (average 6:03).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Media Matters: Misinformer Of The Year: Rush Limbaugh

"Slut." "Prostitute."

These words defined Rush Limbaugh in 2012 after he smeared Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown law student who testified before Congress about women’s health care. Limbaugh’s misogynistic attack, which spanned three days of his radio show, did incalculable, long-term damage not only to Limbaugh’s brand, but also to the right-wing talk-radio format he helped to build and the conservative movement he has shaped for decades.

Limbaugh’s attacks on Fluke led to a paradigm shift in talk radio, as advertisers reassessed their support for inflammatory hosts. Limbaugh’s toxic rhetoric helped shine a glaring spotlight on the broader conservative movement’s policies toward women, focusing public attention on the radical right-wing effort to dismantle reproductive rights and the social safety net.

They could not have picked a more deserving recipient than Limbarf, the de facto head of the Republican Party.

From MSNBC: Wreckage of the GOP

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

Bought Bitch Mitch could not be more wrong. It’s Congress’ job to legislate, not the President’s. In my opinion, Obama has offered the Republicans far more than they have a right to expect. America’s problem is strictly a Republican problem.

From Think Progress: House Republicans let the five-year farm bill expire at the end of September without a new law to replace the massive measure covering billions of dollars in programs, including food stamps and agriculture subsidies. The Senate passed its own bipartisan, 10-year farm bill in June, and House Democrats and farm state Republicans attempted to force the House to consider a bill to replace it. But the GOP leadership steadfastly refused to vote on it.

As a result, milk prices could jump as high as $6 to $8 per gallon after Jan. 1, when the government will revert to following antiquated 1949 regulations without a farm bill in place.

Because they have declared war on America, may congressional Republicans find a lump of coal in their stockings, and may those stockings be in boots, and may those boots be buried deep between their nether cheeks.

Cartoon:

I did my online grocery shopping yesterday, but returned to bed afterward.  I’m current with replies.  Soon, I hope.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:58 (average 4:41).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: Joe Scarborough, Long-Time Pro-Gun Supporter, Changes His Mind After Newtown

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

The times when he and I agree are few and far between, but this is one. Kudos to Joe and to Barack Obama for supporting regulations to help prevent such tragedies.

From NY Times: Mrs. Clinton accepted all of the panel’s 29 recommendations and has already begun to make changes. The trick will be enhancing security for diplomats while not confining them so much that they cannot do their jobs. Two of her top lieutenants are scheduled to testify on the report to Congress on Thursday because she has been ill. But, as the secretary, she should also make herself available for public questioning as soon as possible.

If Congressional Republicans are truly interested in protecting American diplomats abroad they should support increased financing for improved security, without forcing the State Department to divert money from an underfinanced budget that has been earmarked for other uses.

Mrs. Clinton is seeking to transfer $1.3 billion slated for Iraq-related expenses to put $553 million into additional Marine security guards worldwide, $130 million for diplomatic security personnel and $691 million for improved security at overseas facilities. Even if the State Department makes the needed reforms, it will not be able to carry them out without a commitment of new money to the project.

Since it was the Republican Party that slashed funding for diplomatic security in the first place, they should stop making unjust accusations and join the Democrats to help fix the problem. I’m not holding my breath.

From MSNBC: Class Warfare Campaign Style

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

Had Little Lord Willard been able to lie his way into the White House, he would now be conducting class warfare through vulture capitalism against the American people. Thank God we defeated him!

Cartoon:

I’m still down.  I’m current with replies.  Tomorrow I hope.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 5:04 (average 5:42).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football Report:

Here is the playoff bracket from our fantasy football league, Lefty Blog Friends.

The underdogs (but not the progressive ones), won both games.  I hope that trend does not continue.

Short Takes:

From NY Times: So we have found real reason to find hope in the determination to effect change that followed the murders of 20 children and seven adults in Newtown, Conn., last Friday. President Obama said it unequivocally on Sunday — the enormity of controlling the culture of guns and the epidemic of gun violence “can’t be an excuse for inaction.”

Yes, Mr. Obama has said that before, after two previous mass killings during his tenure, and did nothing. The hurdles are just as big as they were before, but there are signs that people are willing to rethink their views.

Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Mark Warner of Virginia, Democrats with “A” ratings from the National Rifle Association, have both said it is time to talk about restrictions on gun sales and ownership. Joe Scarborough, the former Republican congressman and now morning host on MSNBC, said Monday that the Newtown killings had changed his mind about gun control.

This incident is so horrific that the NRA has been mute, too fearful to go to CT and hold a pro-gun rally, like they did after Columbine and Aurora. This is the best time there has been to act, because only the vilest Republicans will not be afraid to oppose reasonable firearms regulation now.

From MSNBC: The Great Gun Divide

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

I agree that there need be nothing to threaten the legitimate rights of gun enthusiasts who use them for legitimate purposes. As a former hunter, I can assure you that an assault weapon and an automatic pistol with a 30 round clip make for lousy hunting weapons.

From US News: Pursuing an archaic legal theory that punctuated pre-Civil War disputes between the federal government and states, South Carolina state Rep. Bill Chumley last week pre-filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would criminalize implementation of President Barack Obama’s 2010 healthcare reform law.

If his bill becomes law, any state official caught enforcing the healthcare law would be guilty of a misdemeanor and "must be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."

Federal officials caught enforcing the law, however, would be given stiffer punishment under the proposal.

Any federal employee or contractor enforcing the law "is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both," the bill proposes.

Nullification and InsaniTEA are still alive and well in SC.

Cartoon:

A shame for past Democrats.  A plan for present Republicans.