Politics Plus

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 25.  This is the only article, because today is a dead news day and a lazy day for a TomCat.  Tomorrow is a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb.  My Broncos’ service is with the Kansas City Chiefs, but in these circumstances, they’re just Officer Wilson’s team.  They have the Sunday Night game and will be nationally televised.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:46 (average 4:16).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Alternet: One of the ways reformers are trying to reduce the use of excessive police force is by requiring police officers to wear body cameras. Cities like Cleveland are moving toward requiring more officers to wear cameras to ensure accountability.

But a case out of Denver shows that not all police are so keen to be recorded. This past August, a group of police officers attempted to arrest David Nelson Flores for suspected drug possession. When he stuffed a sock in his mouth and refused to open his mouth, one of the officers struck him in the head repeatedly. “Those were the hardest punches I have ever heard, said Levi Frasier, a bystander who witnessed the beating. 

But police did not limit their use of force to Flores. They also tripped his girlfriend, who was almost eight months pregnant at the time. Luckily for Flores and his girlfriend, Frasier recorded the entire incident on his tablet. But the police took his tablet and deleted the video. At least they thought they deleted it. When Frasier got home he discovered the video file reappeared once the tablet synced with the cloud server.

I’m surprised that the local Fox affiliate is not goose-stepping with the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise.  This account makes it painfully clear that all police need to be wearing a camera that record their actions.

From Crooks and Liars: I’ve been arguing with fellow progressives for more than a decade about our lack of outreach to the white working class. It’s time. If we want to get a solid majority that lasts long enough to make real change, we’d damn well better start:

ATLANTA (AP) — Southern Democrats are joining others in the party who say that a return to advocating to lift people out of economic hardship and emphasizing spending on education and public works will re-energize black voters and attract whites as well.

"It’s time to draw a line in the sand and not surrender our brand," Rickey Cole, the party chairman in Mississippi, said. He believes candidates have distanced themselves from the past half-century of Democratic principles.

Amen.

From Raw Story: A staffer for Republican Rep. Stephen Fincher (TN) took to Facebook this week to attack Sasha and Malia Obama, President Barack Obama’s daughters, for failing to show what she deemed to be sufficient respect for their father’s annual pardoning of a Thanksgiving turkey.

According to Gawker, Elizabeth Lauten, former new media political director for the Republican National Committee, wrote an open letter to the two girls, attacking their facial expressions and clothing choices.

Nothing is despicable for Republicans.

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I’m writing for tomorrow, day 24.  It’s evening.  I did my research this morning, while the Macy’s Parade passed under my window.  Everyone in the parade was bundled against the cold and the rain.  The wind prevented any balloons.  Of all the parades that have passed under my window, this kept moving the fastest.  My COPD is acting up as another winter storm comes in.  Snow is forecast for tomorrow.  I cleaned up the mess and took a coupled long cat naps.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:09 (average 4:07).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Oh, no. According to a press release from the Supreme Court:

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent a coronary catheterization procedure this morning at MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute at MedStar Washington Hospital Center to place a stent in her right coronary artery. The coronary blockage was discovered after Justice Ginsburg experienced discomfort during routine exercise last night and was taken to the hospital. She is resting comfortably and is expected to be discharged in the next 48 hours.

My hopes and prayers are that she regains her full health. From a selfish perspective, I can easily see Republicans holding the Court to 3 Justices and 5 Injustices rather than confirm even a anyone left of a fascist goose-stepper. That would be horrible!

From NY Times: Earlier this week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced proposed regulations to curb emissions of ozone, which causes smog, not to mention asthma, heart disease and premature death. And you know what happened: Republicans went on the attack, claiming that the new rules would impose enormous costs.

There’s no reason to take these complaints seriously, at least in terms of substance. Polluters and their political friends have a track record of crying wolf. Again and again, they have insisted that American business — which they usually portray as endlessly innovative, able to overcome any obstacle — would curl into a quivering ball if asked to limit emissions. Again and again, the actual costs have been far lower than they predicted. In fact, almost always below the E.P.A.’s predictions.

So it’s the same old story. But why, exactly, does it always play this way? Of course, polluters will defend their right to pollute, but why can they count on Republican support? When and why did the Republican Party become the party of pollution?

For it wasn’t always thus. The Clean Air Act of 1970, the legal basis for the Obama administration’s environmental actions, passed the Senate on a bipartisan vote of 73 to 0, and was signed into law by Richard Nixon.

Click through for the rest of this excellent Paul Krugman editorial, in which he relates climate change denial to the growing inequality between the super-rich and us, upon whom they prey.

From Upworthy: ProPublica recently did an in-depth analysis and found that black kids between ages 15-19 are 21 times more likely to be shot and killed by cops than white kids of the same age. That’s an insane statistic. That’s per capita, not total. If you are a black teenage boy, you have a 21x higher risk of being shot by police than a white teenage boy.

Also, in 2010, federal prosecutors took 162,000 cases to a grand jury. You know how many DIDN’T go to trial? Eleven.

Mike Brown’s family will never get a state criminal trial to get justice for their son. And the testimony that denied them that right technically doesn’t make any sense. Seriously, go read it.

Police have a hard job. What they do is something I couldn’t ever do. But you know what they rarely have? Accountability. In this case, the prosecutor, Robert McCulloch, always gets indictments — unless it’s a cop. He’s had five cop-involved killing cases and zero indictments. Again, five cases against police haven’t made it to trial at all. He could get an indictment if he wanted one.

Click through for much more information about this police murder and prosecutor cover up. On a related topic, the criminal acts of Wilson does not invalidate the excellent public service delivered my most police officers. Similarly, the acts of a few thugs and criminals, who are using the protests as an occasion to destroy and loot, does not invalidate the message of the protestors, the vast majority of whom are non-violent.

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I’m writing for tomorrow, day 22.  It’s already evening, and I just started cooking, because I slept most of the day.  Yesterday’s CoDA meeting in prison was excellent.  We discussed what it means to be willing to make amends to the people we have harmed.  My guys showed authentic insight, but more than that would violate confidentiality.  I was especially exhausted, because having to meet my ride away from downtown upped my walking total to over two miles.  (Later:  I fell asleep at my desk and just woke up.)

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 6:44 (average 5:30).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Media Matters: Thanksgiving Survival Guide

Don’t let right-wing lies ruin your Thanksgiving dinner.

This year, be ready with the facts.

This is just one of twelve fact cards. Click through for the other eleven.

From NY Times: With negotiators nearing an accord on permanent tax breaks for businesses worth $440 billion over 10 years, President Obama rallied Democratic opposition on Tuesday and promised a veto.

“The president would veto the proposed deal because it would provide permanent tax breaks to help well-connected corporations while neglecting working families,” said Jennifer Friedman, a White House spokeswoman.

The deal, negotiated by House Republicans and aides to Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the outgoing majority leader, showed how much power has shifted since the Republican election victories this month. The negotiations fractured Democrats, and separated the Obama administration from Mr. Reid.

So he should. It looks like Leg Hound Harry is back.

From KGW: Hundreds of protesters clashed with police during a rally against the Ferguson ruling Tuesday night.

Seven people were arrested, police said, mostly for interfering with an officer and disorderly conduct. None of them remained in jail Wednesday morning.

Needless to say, the news coverage of Portland’s protest was biased.

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No pardon for this turkey!!

I’m writing for tomorrow, Day 21.  This is my only article.  I have to leave early and meet my ride to prison several miles away to avoid the Ferguson protests.  Tomorrow the cooking begins.

Excellent meeting.  Exhausted.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:24 (average 5:58).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football Report:

Here’s the latest from our own fantasy football league, Lefty Blog Friends.

Scores:

That was a last minute shock! 🙁

Standings:

There are only two weeks left before our playoffs begin.  Can I toast the toester?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: From NPR station KCUR:

Although gay and lesbian couples are getting married in at least 24 Kansas counties, Gov. Sam Brownback won’t allow any state recognition of the unions.

Brownback said Thursday that he won’t offer any of the benefits heterosexual couples get, such as name changes on a driver’s license or employee benefits for gay and lesbian state workers.

“There is still considerable legal ambiguity on the topic of same-sex marriage,” said Eileen Hawley, a Brownback spokeswoman. “Once that ambiguity is gone, the governor will direct state agencies to comply with applicable laws.”

When the Supreme Court refused to extend the temporary stay, he said [pseudo-Christians delinked]:

I swore an oath to support the Constitution of the State of Kansas. I will review this ruling with the attorney general and see how best we continue those efforts.

In other words: Marriage discrimination now, marriage discrimination tomorrow, marriage discrimination forever!

Is it realistic to think he is impeachable? This is the Theocracy that the idiots who elected him want.

From NY Times: Months of anger and frustration, in the end, led only to more anger and frustration.

Shops were looted and burned on Ferguson’s main street. There were smoke bombs, tear gas, thrown rocks and random gunshots. In Ferguson, the aftermath of the shooting death of Michael Brown was almost as bitter and hollow as his killing itself.

Brien Redmon, 31, stood in the cold watching a burning police car and sporadic looting after the announcement that there would be no indictments for Mr. Brown’s death at 18.

While I cannot support rioting, I understand the outrage. Even here, a major demonstration is planned. I lave to leave early and meat my ride to prison five miles away from my home, because the march will be under my window. I almost wish I weren’t going.

From Upworthy: How we treat individuals with disabilities is often colored by how we perceive them and the judgments we make upon first meeting someone with a disability. For this woman, that includes being thought of as a 2-year-old when she’s actually a college student who’s smart as a whip and just happens to have a physical disability. It doesn’t make her less than "normal."

One word: Kudos

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