It’s such a slow day for news, that even Daily Kos is recommending only hits from the past, and because I’m still short of 100%, I’m making this today’s only article.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:42 (average 6:40). To do it, click here. How dod you do?
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: A new poll shows that Americans who were unconcerned about climate change as it wreaked havoc around the world are beginning to worry, now that global warming is affecting the appearance of their lawns.
According to the poll, conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, rising sea levels, the destruction of habitats, and catastrophic weather conditions, such as hurricanes and tsunamis, have not served as the wake-up call to Americans that their lawns’ unsightly barrenness has.
In interviews across the state of California, residents expressed anger and outrage that climate change had been allowed to worsen to the point that it has now severely limited their choice of ground cover, shrubs, and other decorative plantings.
Sadly, Andy seems to have captured the soul of the American voter.
From NY Times: An exuberant crowd that included public-school teachers, union bus drivers and nursing home workers packed into New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church on this city’s West Side on Saturday afternoon as Karen Lewis, the president of the Chicago Teachers Union, issued an urgent plea.
“I am asking you, I am begging you, and — in my teacher voice — I am telling you, go vote,” Ms. Lewis, who wore a “Chuy” button on each lapel, called out, as a cheer rose through the high-ceilinged church. “Go vote!” she called out again. “Go vote!”At the heart of the campaign that has threatened to topple Mayor Rahm Emanuel are labor unions: Amalgamated Transit Union locals, the Service Employees International Union’s Illinois State Council and, perhaps above all, the Chicago Teachers Union. Jesus G. Garcia, the candidate known as Chuy, built his campaign on the backing of teachers, has received his strongest financial support from unions and was talked into running by Ms. Lewis herself. And the crowd inside this echoing church followed orders, scores of people streaming out together and marching down Madison Street to a polling location with less than an hour remaining for early voting in advance of Tuesday’s election.
Go Chuy! Chicago, give your heart to Jesus! (Garcia, not Republican Supply-side). Rahmbo acts more like a Republican than a Democrat!
From Alternet: A Georgia teacher — whose husband sits on the school board — is under fire for telling her students that President Barack Obama isn’t a Christian, and if their parents voted for him they are not Christians either, reports WMGT.
What a Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christian statement that is! Even I allow for the possibility that an authentic Christian might have voted for Little Lord Willard, if that Christian were sufficiently stupid and misinformed.
Cartoon:
31 Responses to “Open Thread–4/6/2015”
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Northern CA and their water districts have a long history of taking drought seriously with enforced restrictions while we watched water waste in Southern CA–HOPING Brown's announcements will get all in the South to do likewise finally.
Saw yesterday that while Katrina was the natural disaster closing a record number of schools and affecting the most students, Rahm has that honor for non-disaster school closures–makes sense the teachers and parents affected would want better policy.
Hope the GA teacher is at least on administrative leave.
Silence is the biggest enemy of social justice.
5:15 average still 6:40.
New Yorker – "Sadly, Andy seems to have captured the soul of the American voter." – There is nothing to add to that.
NY Times – I do wish the polling were better, but of course polling doesn't matter; the election results do. I wish Chuy all the luck in the world.
Alternet – What a textbook ChINO! And of course her husband is on the school board! Even in Georgia, it's possible she could have been fired if he weren't, although I grant not all that likely. According to the sound on the invisible video, she is still teaching.
Cartoon – in other words, both. Yes.
Got an email this morning including 3 articles (I share the link to one) and a link to the actual settlement document:
http://www.smh.com.au/world/200-girls-and-women-raped-now-11-of-them-win-better-compensation-from-the-worlds-biggest-gold-miner-20150403-1m7ibq.html
I find it very difficult to believe that Barrick was unaware of the rapes until Human Rights groups advised them. They had been looking the other way. So many women all over the world suffer this degradation with no recourse.
3:42 It looks like I'm wrestling with TC for this pretty peacock. Help me!
3:26 The cavalry has arrived! No peacock fricassée for you today Puddy Tat! Such a beautiful bird. And to think all that beauty is wasted on a male bird.
4:41 Any leftovers for me?
No Jerry! No fricassée today. But if he loses a feather, you can claim it.
I was still dizzy from smoking the catnip.
New Yorker ~ That's too true. If it doesn't affect them, it doesn't matter. The worst part is appearances are more important to too many.
NY Times ~ I just read some polls and this election is still very much up in the air. I wonder if we'll learn who wins by tomorrow night.
Alternet ~ What kind of teacher is she? She should lose her job.
Cartoon ~ Perfect!
The sooner we knoiw, the greater the likelihood that the nesa will be bad.
I have some interesting news Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul will announce his plans to seek the Republican nomination for president on Tuesday. Also Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to launch her campaign for president sometime in the next two weeks and will initially focus on intimate events, rather than soaring speeches to big rallies, as her team looks to put her in direct contact with voters in states with early primaries or caucuses.
The goal, according to two people close to the Clinton organization, is to make Clinton's second run for the White House more about voters and less about herself.
The fact Clinton learned something from her last run in 2008 has me excited. Rand Paul is what? A libertarian? A clown ? I don't think he even knows. He spents to much time being something. Like Romney 'I believe what I said what ever that was" Paul " I thought I was this yesterday but I read I was something eles today"
At the most, I think Rand Paul is a Glibertarian.
Saw that since Hillary now has leased office space, she has two weeks to file a letter of intent (or w/e the legal term for announcing is).
Is there a difference between a Libertarian and a clown?
Off topic – well, a little bit on Hillary –
"Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders don't agree on everything.
"Here's one thing they all agree on: they all back the framework deal on controlling Iran's nuclear program that President Obama, Secretary of State Kerry, and US diplomats, together with European powers, have negotiated with Iran."
from an email from Just Foreign Policy (justforeignpolicy.org).
I hope this means he has to give up his Senate seat to run.
Probably not. Currently Kentucky law prevents anyone from having their name appear twice on the same ballot. So if their current protocol of nominating people by primaries remained in place, he WOULD have to pick one of the other.
But it looks like he's convinced the KY GOP to switch from a primary to a caucus format for selecting presidential nominees – so he'll be able to remain on the Senate primary ballot.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/08/rand-paul-kentucky-gop-senate_n_6827818.html
If he WERE to be the GOP presidential nominee (chuckle chuckle), he then would have to drop out of the Senate race. But there are states that DO allow that. LBJ, Lloyd Bentsen, Joe Lieberman, Joe Biden and Paul Ryan have all run for two major offices simultaneously.
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2012/08/14/Ryan-stays-on-Wis-ballot-for-House-thanks-to-LBJ-Law/stories/201208140176
Thanks for the update, I had not seen that he had convinced them to have a caucus. Disenfranchising the voters seems to be no problem for the Republicans, does it.
Nameless beat me to this as he often does.
Something to share:
Puzzle — 3:26 The cavalry has arrived! No peacock fricassée for you today Puddy Tat! Such a beautiful bird. And to think all that beauty is wasted on a male bird.
The New Yorker — I don't think it's just an American thing. My father was tired of lawn care so he took out the grass and covered the front yard with stones — nothing larger than 5 cm. He had roses and green shrubbery (no Bushes) of various kinds so it looked attractive and no watering required. Gives new meaning to getting stoned.
NY Times — Building on JL's comment, shorting education is never a good strategy, and unfortunately it is showing up all over the country. Politicians and the like need to understand that education is an investment in kids and the future, not just rich kids, but all kids. I guess we'll see come the end of Tuesday what direction Chicago is going to go in.
Alternet — I am certainly not convinced that the superintedent handled the situation appropriately. She should have been suspended at the very least. Sensitivity and diversity training?
Cartoon — Well the elephant is ignorant among other things, but the same questions could be put to the electorate.
Lynn, I shared your quote on Facebook, love it.
That's fine with me but don't attribute it to me. I found it on FB (with no name attribution) when I signed up to go to a protest on 18/04/15 over Bill C-51, an anti-terrorism bill. A very facist bill that could render charter rights useless in various situations. That's Harper for you!
I did the same thing to my lawn, whan I lived in AZ.
What? . . . got stoned?!
I hope you get to 100% soon!
The New Yorker: Your summary is exactly right. When I moved here nine years ago, we had lots of frogs, lizards, salamanders, and praying mantis. The subdivision has been completed now and we have few of either because there are so many perfectly manicured lawns. There have been enough herbicides and pesticides used on those lawns to decimate a whole town! We tried to organize a community group to keep everyone aware of our restrictions and to make a real community here, only about six people bothered to come to the meeting. Apathy, indeed.
NY Times: I hope Chuy wins. I didn't like Rahm when he was in DC, and I agree, he acts more like a Republican than a Democrat.
Alternet: She should be fired, or at the very least given a suspension without pay. Since her husband is on the school board, that won't happen. Teachers are there to teach the subjects on the curriculum, not push their religious beliefs on the kids.
Cartoon: They ARE ignorant, and they DON'T Care! The latest incident with Bibi and the UN prove that!
Amen!
TY TC – I see Andy is again indulging in fact (as so often, where people are concerned they do nothing until their own little pleasures are curtailed – THEN they get up on their high horse – and blame others…).
TC…
Mine is more emphysema with COPD. I have been a smoker for 58 years come my birthday this Friday and is a contributing factor I'm sure. However, there is a long list of other factors that I'm also sure contribute much more too it.
I had over twenty years working in printing from the job shops IE: magazine, newsprint inserts and newspaper presses. The ink in the pressrooms was an airplane type ink which I'm sure you've notice would rub off the paper onto your fingers when reading them. Also cleaned the ink buckets for the color press units in a kerosene sink. At the end of the day or night depending which shift I worked my hands would be the color of the dirty kerosene and when one would blow their nose it would be loaded with ink looking black.
I also worked in garages where I did some brake work and I'm sure I have issues from the asbestos from the brake lining dust when cleaning the wheels off on brake jobs.
So as you can see I have a lot of contributing factors going against me. I also would get bronchitis in the spring and fall every year.
Right now its pretty bad and I am in pain quite a bit so I do not do too much but stay home since retiring. All the doctor gave me is an inhaler called Symbicort 80/4.5 which helps me some. I am still struggling quitting smoking though I am doing much better with fewer smokes a day than ever, though I know its still to much and I have too try harder than ever before.
I have lost over 40 pounds the last two years and went down from 152 lbs to 112 lbs. I have been seeing a cardiologist since I had to have a hernia repair a little over two years ago and on pre op tests showed an irregular heart beat. I have A-Fib and also found out I have four clogged arteries being 60/40/40/40 since If any were over 70 I would not have been able to have the surgery done. He told me at the time I did not need a stint and if I did need one he would have put one in during the test.
I also had a problem with the stuff they put me out with for the surgery and had to go the the emergency room the next day to have a cath put in since I could not go and I bloated up really bad which I feel still has left me with problems since.
Anyway thanks for your useful reply. I'm ready to go lay back down and see if I can get some rest now. Will look for your reply later or in a day or two.
Once again thanks and I hope you get to feeling better soon.
Have a good day. AP
You might want to talk toi the doc abouyt a long lasting med, like Advair..
Sorry to hear of your myriad of medical problems.
Congratulation on cutting back on your smoking and weight loss (assuming you were trying to lose weight).
Good luck on dealing w/ your medical issues.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 4/6/15
GOP candidates dogged by political baggage
Rachel Maddow talks to Courier-Journal political reporter Joe Gerth about Sen. Rand Paul’s imminent presidential bid and how several GOP candidates are dragging political baggage that could hurt their chances at winning the White House.
Duration: 19:05
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/gop-candidates-dogged-by-political-baggage-423919683802
May it get heavier.
Thanks all. Hugs!!