It is hard to believe that Ben Carson is a serious contender for the Republican nomination for POTUS. To have a Republican candidate for president "guilty of being president while being black" is truly mind boggling since that has been the Republican attitude towards Mr Obama. Perhaps there is some nefarious purpose that even Carson does not know about.
Now we know for sure that education is no hedge against mindblowing irrational thinking. Our proof? None other than Dr. Ben Carson, highly trained pediatric neurosurgeon, man of science, leading GOP presidential contender and batsh*t crazy Bible-thumper in the first degree.
Last week, the soft-spoken former doctor, continuing a surge begun in late summer, closed the gap with longstanding frontrunner Donald Trump. Carson accomplished this feat after weeks (nay, months, years!) of spewing what can only be regarded as stupefying nonsense, including last week’s argument at the Values Voter Summit that a blatantly unconstitutional religious test be administered to Muslims seeking office in order to protect the Constitution. …
1. Gayness must be a choice, because prisoners who are raped come out gay.
Like any generic homophobe, Carson has no problem repeating tired falsehoods about how legalized gay marriage will lead to bestiality and pedophila. But he got some points for originality when he told Chris Cuomo in an interview that homosexuality was absolutely a choice "[b]ecause a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight— and when they come out, they're gay."
Cuomo’s jaw dropped long enough for Carson to add: "So, did something happen while they were in there? Ask yourself that question."
This could absolutely take the cake for comedic idiocy, if only homophobic violence and prison rape were not horrific real-life problems.
What it proves is that Carson will say anything. And that, even when it comes to medical science—the preponderance of which indicates that homosexuality is not a choice—the doctor is out.
Read the other six follies brought to you by Ben Carson, Republican presidential candidate. OMG!!! The thoughts of Carson as POTUS is absolutely sickening. Please someone, tell me I'm having a nightmare!
In addition to teaching English to Lucia whom I have mentioned before, I also do some advocacy work for her. That is how I started my day today. Then it was off to buy a bouquet of balloons . . . bright coloured mylars . . . and off to my mother's. She gave me a big smile when she saw the balloons. I passed on your greetings. After feeding her lunch, we sat listening to some music. She was the bell of the ball as people admired her balloons and wished her Happy Birthday, staff and residents alike. As I left, she had fallen asleep. I imagine she will sleep well tonight.
Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:19 (average 4:44). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.
Raw Story — In a badgering and bullying performance that would have made House of Un-American activities interrogator Roy Cohn proud, a Republican congressman from Ohio interrupted the head of Planned Parenthood 19 times in five short minutes in a hearing on Tuesday.
Appearing at the GOP-led witchhunt — coordinated between virulent anti-abortion extremists and hard right conservatives — Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards repeatedly came under attack from the Republican-dominated committee.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan (R) is, in my opinion, an arrogant bully, a pugilistic SOB that should never have been elected to Congress. Cecile Richards was composed despite Jordan's antics. He reminds me of Darrel Issa, yet another Republican SOB.
Upworthy — While you were probably wondering if you'd pass the driver's test at 15 years old, Nicole Ticea was working to revolutionize HIV testing.
How? By trying to make HIV tests as easy as pregnancy tests.
Brilliant! This additional information from CTV News:
Another Vancouver teen, Nicole Ticea, won the Intel Foundation Young Scientist award and received a prize of US$50,000 for her disposable and electricity-free HIV testing device.
The easy-to-use tool provides results in an hour and should cost less than US$5 to produce. Ticea has already founded her own company, which recently received a US$100,000 grant to continue developing the technology.
The 16-year-old York House student said she created the device to help combat the high rate of undiagnosed HIV in low-income communities.
"Over time, I really realized there was a story to be told with this entire HIV epidemic that not only involved how we create better testing, but: 'How do we make testing more accessible? How do we get individuals to actually submit and want to be tested?"' she said. "It's very interesting and very complex."
Alternet — With the debate over Planned Parenthood heating up, liberal Catholics are on the defensive again, scrambling to protect Planned Parenthood and its vital services from the GOP outrage machine. Leading the charge is a group of 60 Catholic State leaders from over 25 states, "Catholics for Choice", which is taking out a full-page ad in The Washington Post today to make the social justice case for Planned Parenthood. Not only, do they note, is the latest attack on Planned Parenthood an attack on women, it's an attack on the poor and vulnerable . . .
This is a Republican attack on the poor, on women, and on the vulnerable, the very people that Republicans despise and wish to disenfranchise by any means possible.
Well today is my momma's birthday — 87 years old. I will going up to her care centre for a visit in the afternoon and take some brightly coloured balloons to bobble about and catch her attention. I remember thinking as a child that my parents were really old at the age of about 40, and that I would never make it that far. I knew my grandparents, even great grandparents, but that their ages were greater than my parents didn't seem to register the same way. Now I am in my mid 60s, a mother to three cats, an honourary grandmother to 7 little humans (one named after me), and my mind still says I can do anything, but the body sometimes protests.
Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:29 (average 4:35). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.
Short Takes
Daily Kos — By now we all know GOP Presidential wannabee Carly Fiorina has been telling everyone that she saw a video of an aborted fetus "with arms and legs kicking while Planned Parenthood people dissected the baby looking for its brain."
Her story is bullshit of the highest order — HOWEVER — there is a tiny element of truth in the story.
And now the House wants to set up an investigation of Planned Parenthood after 3 states and the FBI have finished investigations and found no wrong doing. Those fiscal conservatives really do like to throw good money after bad!
Raw Story — Global financial regulators pledged to draft rules by November that will prevent taxpayers from having to bail out struggling financial institutions, according to reports. The announcement of the upcoming rules, which seek to combat banks and other institutions being “too big to fail,” followed a Friday meeting of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a group of global financial regulators, in London.
Welcome news indeed. My career was spent in banking management doing, among other things, Operational Risk Management and auditing. Of course, the largest banks like JP Morgan Chase and Citibank are opposing the move. They would be required to carry higher capital requirements to offset risks. For banks, that is considered to be "dead" money . . . money not making money so to speak. Check out the rest of the story at Raw Story and additional info at Meeting of the Financial Stability Board.There will be a lot of lobbying going on in Washington.
Alternet — Earlier this week, GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said that he didn’t want “stupid” people — i.e. people who won’t vote for him — to vote at all. Then a Republican state representative in Florida was caught suggesting that the party beat Rep. Corrine Brown by redrawing her African-American-majority district to include a large population of prisoners, who are not allowed to vote in Florida.
These are just two of the instances of Republican lawmakers admitting that their electoral strategy hinges not just on winning votes, but on suppressing the votes of people who they think will oppose them.
Read about the others. It could not get much more blatant than that! I often wonder when the DOJ, or another government agency, is going to put the screws to the GOP for its flagrant voter suppression!
My Universe — Just sticking my head in to say hello!
As Puddy Tat always says "Almost every week, Republicans join a competition to see who can say the most outlandish things, and in the process, they push the envelope on just how nutty InsaniTEA can become. I trust that you will believe it, when I tell you that last week was no exception."
3. Jeb manages to insult black voters a la Romney’s 47 percent gaffe.
At a campaign stop in South Carolina, Jeb Bush was jawing away in front of one of his typical lily-white crowds, when someone asked him how Republicans might appeal to African-American voters. First, Bush mentioned that some of his best staff members are black, and explained how when he speaks Spanish, he does not mean it as an insult to America. Then he proceeded to insult black people in a way that immediately conjured up Mitt Romney’s infamous 47 percent remark.
Here’s what he said:
Think about it this way, Republicans get 4-7 percent of the African-American vote…If you double that, you win elections in Ohio, Virginia. And we should make that case, because our message is one of hope and aspiration. It isn’t one of division, “get in line, we’ll take care of you with free stuff.” Our message is uplifting, that says, “You can achieve earned success. We’re on your side."
You gotta hand it to him. Bush packed a remarkable amount of insulting and offensive racial stereotyping in that one little tone-deaf statement. Romney’s 47 percent theory was bad, but not explicitly about black voters, though certainly that code was embedded in his theorizing about the 47 percent of people who would vote for Obama no matter what and are dependent on the government.
Nope, Bush just came right out and said that black voters like free stuff, and they don’t know about “earned success,” so we'll teach them about it.
That "uplifting" message is bound to win over African-American voters big-time.
No doubt Bush, a la Romney, will attempt to explain how he did not actually say what he said, was quoted out of context, or perhaps did not understand the question, or was himself, misunderstood.
This is the third of 5 Nutty Right Wing Moments This Week. Read the rest at Alternet.If they were notso pathetic, they might be funny in their total stupidity!
The four of us who have been working both in front of and behind the scenes (Lynn [aka “Squatch”], JLA, Joanne D, and myself, SoINeedAName) are now glad to add a fifth person who has been very helpful in providing us first-hand information. It’s someone TC has worked with related to his prison program, and she has had the opportunity to actually visit him in the hospital!
We know we still all share your desire for as much information on TC as possible. But we will continue to respect his privacy, and recognize the hospital has an ethical and legal obligation by HIPAA to also protect his privacy.
I had the good fortune to have a 15 minute discussion with TC’s nurse last night. (I know I’m a tad late sharing the good news – but I have out-of-town guests, so it’s a bit difficult to break free.)
Folks, the good news just keeps coming! TC no longer requires any mechanical assistance with his breathing! He still remains on supplemental oxygen – but he was on O2 for his COPD even prior to his hospitalization. And they have been able to gradually titrate his O2 requirements down! So there has been some very definite and encouraging improvement from his respiratory status.
Additionally, TC is now able to communicate with the medical staff, although not as fully as they or he would like. But they’ll be working on that this week according to the nurse.
In addition to the chaplain being a regular visitor, he’s also had several friends stop by to visit – which is always good for the psyche. In fact Lynn has called hoping to be able to speak to him, but the nurse has said he’s too sedated at the times she’s called. But they are working at weaning him off his pain meds, so down the road maybe …
While I don’t want to be a “Debbie Downer” – I will repeat my caveat from Update #4that for all of you in the medical profession, as well as anyone who has been critically ill themselves or had a family member who needed ICU care, know – there will always be bumps on the road to recovery. Some of them may be anticipated, and some unanticipated. It’s just the nature of the beast.
But for now, we're able to share some very good news on several fronts!
Lynn has graciously offered to serve as a point source to relay cards you would like to send to him. This is from her earlier post:
A reminder for those wishing to send cards to TC, please address them as follows:
"TomCat"
c/o Lynn Squance,
436 Lehman Place,
Port Moody, BC
Canada
V3H 3Z6
For US residents: Please note: International Postage required!
Here is the seventy-sixth article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s honoree is Carly Fiorina, Republican presidential candidate. She is so honoured for her incessant lying and disassociation with reality.
During last week's Republican presidential debate, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina described the doctored Planned Parenthood sting videos that have spurred the ongoing effort by congressional Republicans to defund the women's health care provider. Her voice rising, she recounted a grisly scene: "I dare Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, to watch these tapes. Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain."
The audience erupted in applause. Fox News called it "the moment of the night." The only problem? None of what she described ever happened in the heavily edited videos. …
As it turns out, Fiorina's tendency to embellish—or altogether avoid—the facts goes back much farther than last week's debate. Below is a partial compilation of some of her less-than-truthful moments:
1. Claim: Fiorina was not fired from her job at Hewlett-Packard because of performance.
Facts: In February 2005, Fiorina was dismissed from her post as CEO of HP by a board of directors that she's since called "dysfunctional." At the time, she roundly told reporters that the firing was not about performance. She struck a similar note in her 2006 memoir, Tough Choices, writing that after more than five years leading HP, by December 2004 she had pulled the company toward success. She cited a strong fourth quarter, despite a third-quarter "stumble." In fact, the stumble was an enormous shortfall: HP missed its earnings projections that quarter by 23 percent. "When companies miss by a few pennies, it doesn't mean all that much," the New York Times wrote of Fiorina in 2006. "When companies miss by 23 percent, Wall Street starts wondering if the people at the top have a clue as to what's going on in the various businesses." The Times also pointed out at the time that although Fiorina wrote in her memoir that HP missed its numbers on her watch only three times, "in fact, the company fell short at least nine times on either revenue, profit or both."
This list is anything but complete, but you can read seven more less than truthful moments in Mother Jones.
We know that Republican politicians lie, misinform, distort and generally wreck havoc on anything with which they come into contact. Fiorina is no different.
Pope Francis has just concluded his first visit to the United States. I am sure that the analysis will go on for weeks as American politicians and pundits try to grapple with, in my opinion, the admonitions of this Pope.
On climate change: "…to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity. I am convinced that we can make a difference and I have no doubt that the United States—and this Congress—have an important role to play. …"
From Alternet: In response to a question during an interview,
"[Robert F Jr] Kennedy replied, “The public and press and corporate America begin recognizing that this is a moral imperative, that we can no longer lie to each other and lie to the public about global warming, that that’s a sin. A sin is an injury to a relationship, an injury to another person, and we are injuring whole generations of humanity as well as the rest of God’s creation. We need to start looking at it that way rather than looking at it as a political battle, or Republicans vs. Democrats, we have to understand that this is a moral issue.”
Kennedy is a Catholic so he speaks in somewhat religious terms but he is absolutely right in my opinion. Climate change IS a moral issue, and a moral issue is not necessarily a religious issue. Likewise, a moral issue is not a political issue, but in the US, and elsewhere, politicians, our elected representatives, must embrace climate change and find workable comprehensive strategies to save the planet, future generations, animals etc. Rape is morally wrong, yet that is what we are doing to the planet.
On abolishing the death penalty: "…every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. …a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation."
From The Nation "… Harry Blackmun, wrote in 1994 that he would no longer “tinker with the machinery of death.” And in 2008, John Paul Stevens wrote that his review of hundreds of cases had persuaded him that the penalty is both profoundly unworkable and unconstitutional.
What has Breyer learned to put him in such company? Plenty. In his dissent, he argued that the death penalty is seriously unreliable and arbitrary in application; he believes the long delays undermine its penological purpose; and he is convinced that we have executed the innocent."
I do not agree with capital punishment, which in my opinion is state sponsored murder. Look at the costs outlined in The Nation article: $3 million average cost to execute a death row prisoner versus $1.1 million to keep a prisoner incarcerated for life. Too many prosecutors amp up their conviction rates for political and career gain. And as Justice Breyer related "…we have executed the innocent." Once a person is executed, there is no going back, guilty or innocent.
On abortion: "The Golden Rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development." (This was his only direct reference to abortion in the speech.)
"Francis talks of the “responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage” but then instead of continuing on to talk about the need to end abortion, he pivots to the death penalty."
When I think about the intersection of various issues, how can a society endorse the death penalty but take a very staunch conservative stance on banning abortion, even in the direst of circumstances like rape, incest or the imperiled life of the mother? To take the intersection further, how can a society then ignore children living in dire poverty where there is not enough food and social assistance (SNAP benefits) are cut back? I could link other things in like a living wage, but I think you get my point.
On same-sex marriage: The closest he came to addressing same-sex marriage was in a passage about the importance of family. "I cannot hide my concern for the family, which is threatened, …"
What is FAMILY anyway? Wikipedia defines family as follows:
"In the context of human society, a family (from Latin: familia) is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity (by recognized birth), affinity (by marriage), or co-residence and/or shared consumption (see Nurture kinship). "
Family is about commitment, love and nurture. There is no reference to the absolute imperative of "one man and one women" as conservatives espouse. The saying that "it takes a village to raise a child" is so true. But in the cloistered hall of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Francis did say more. Read more at Huffington Post.
On Iran and Cuba: "…This has required, and requires, courage and daring, which is not the same as irresponsibility. A good political leader is one who, with the interests of all in mind, seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism. A good political leader always opts to initiate processes rather than possessing spaces."
Both sides, however, acknowledge that normal diplomatic relations have created a new framework for engagement—and a bilateral mechanism to conduct a dialogue about the issues that will need to be resolved before relations are fully normalized. …
From Alternet — The last American that the Pope named, the theologian Thomas Merton, was cited as a direct call on Congress stop partisan bickering and start showing constructive results. He called Merton “a man of dialogue and promoter of peace for people and religions” and then reminded Congress what statesmanship consisted of.
With regard to Cuba, Republicans are caught in the McCarthy era looking for communist boogiemen behind every door. But I also think that Republicans don't like having a defiant yet small nation just 90 miles off its shore.
As to Iran, in the 20th century, it was a large producer of oil and natural gas. There was heavy foreign investment in the oil and gas industry. But then in 1951, the new prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, nationalised all oil and gas works including US operations. In 1953, the US and Britain engineered a coup d'état taking back their oil and gas interests. But the nationist Islamic revolution of 1979 put Iran back in control. Is it any wonder then that such emnity should exist?Republicans however, hawks that they are, will never give up that which they think was theirs, but never was theirs. And Iran is not going to give up their sovreignty.
On the refugee crisis: "Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the Second World War. … thousands of persons are led to travel north in search of a better life for themselves and for their loved ones, in search of greater opportunities. Is this not what we want for our own children? …"
Much like today's refugees, many of our ancestors from the 17th and 18th centuries were refugees fleeing religious persecution in Europe. Others were political refugees. Why do we balk at providing the same opportunities that we received?
On immigration: "We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners. … Building a nation calls us to recognize that we must constantly relate to others, rejecting a mindset of hostility in order to adopt one of reciprocal solidarity, in a constant effort to do our best. …"
"Francis is clearly reminding his audience that the United States is part of a larger whole — one America in the Americas, where immigration is a deeply rooted part of history. He offers guidance on how to respond to the world's latest migrant crisis, urging lawmakers to treat migrants “with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated."
In his article in The Nation, George Zornick commented:
He continued: “We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome. Let us remember the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’”
Jeb Bush commented on immigration as seen in The Daily Kos
We should not have a muticultural society … America has done immigration so much better than the other countries because it's a set of values that people share, that defines our national identity—not race or ethnicity or where you come from. And when you create pockets of isolation—and in some cases, the assimilation process has been retarded because they slowed down—it's wrong … So I think across the board, education, English—being able to speak English—a common language is important. We need to get back to that. We're creeping toward multiculturalism and that's the wrong approach.
The Pope would be apalled at this xenophobic attitudes towards immigrants.
Lucia, who is my ESL student, fled Sudan with her husband because of the civil war. She fled to Uganda where she lived in poverty for about 8 years. During those 8 years, she gave birth to her oldest 2 children. There were unspeakable crimes committed against her and her family. They escaped Uganda and came to Canada. Here she has been welcomed and supported by myself and other members of my church. ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’
On poverty: "I would encourage you to keep in mind all those people around us who are trapped in a cycle of poverty. They too need to be given hope. The fight against poverty and hunger must be fought constantly and on many fronts, especially in its causes. …"
A petition at Daily Kos says (follow the link to sign):
Government programs that feed the hungry and heal the sick must struggle for funding, while billions of our tax dollars are still being sent to Big Oil in the form of tax subsidies and other special interest giveaways.
Now, we need to send Congress a message about the social spending we need and the corporate handouts we don’t.
Getting the Republican dominated Congress to stand by programmes such as SNAP, social security, Medicare/Medicaid, a living wage and more is like asking the sun to go away or the stars not to shine in the night sky. But all must continue to push and push hard for a more compassionate society.
On the arms trade: "Being at the service of dialogue and peace also means being truly determined to minimize and, in the long term, to end the many armed conflicts throughout our world. Here we have to ask ourselves: Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? …"
There can only be one answer to this question: GREED! Think of the NRA. Why does it push the 2nd amendment right to bear arms? Surely, with the numbers of deaths caused by guns in the US, it would back off. But it is ostensibly "owned and operated" by the weapons manufacturers who are in business to earn profits. How do you change this without changing the mindset of a nation?
On religious fundamentalism: "We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. … But there is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners."
All fundamentalism, whether Christian, Judaic, Islamic or any other religion or rite such as atheism, leads to the exclusion and marginalisation of many. As the Pope says, fundalmentalism is "the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners." I doubt few of us, no matter what religion would see ourselves in such black and white terms. We also see this in the way that the right wing Christians in the US refer to the country as having been established as a Christian nation. Republican presidential candidate said that he had no problem with a Muslim becoming POTUS providing he recanted Islam, became a Christian, and took the oath of office on a bible. That is closeminded fundamentalism.
OK, it has been a very long day. I started by doing some research for the blog and then I went to get some things like 18 kg (40 lbs) of cat food out of my car when my 2 boys dashed out the door for a frolic. Fortunately, they stay very close to the front door. Unfortunately, they are not want to come in the house when called. So I waited outside with them until they finally came in. That however made me 15 minutes late picking up my student, Lucia. We went to Costco for her very big shop. Fortunately, that is now done and I am at home with my leg up for a bit and back to working on the blog.
Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:26 (average 5:14). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.
Short Takes
PoliticusUSA — Lawmakers had agreed not to reach out for handshakes from Pope Francis as he entered the House chamber, so it was a pointed and deliberate move when the Pope saved his only handshake for Secretary of State John Kerry.
Read the rest of this very short article using the link above.
Huffington Post — With the bang of a gavel, international leaders approved an ambitious 15-year plan Friday to tackle the world's biggest problems, from eradicating poverty to preserving the planet to reducing inequality. Now comes the tough part: Drumming up support and money to achieve the goals and transform the world.
Pope Francis gave his backing to the new development agenda in an address to the U.N. General Assembly before the summit to adopt the 17-point plan opened, calling it "an important sign of hope'' at a very troubled time in the Middle East and Africa. …
The document, titled "Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,'' not only outlines 17 broad goals but sets 169 specific targets.
The non-binding goals succeed the eight Millennium Development Goals adopted by world leaders 15 years ago. Only one of those has been achieved: halving the number of people living in extreme poverty, due primarily to economic growth in China. At least one other is close – cutting in half the proportion of people without access to clean water – and there are still three months until the goals expire.
In my opinion, the primary goal must be the cessation of ALL hostilities in the world. That does not mean that we wait until that happens, otherwise nothing will be done. But there needs to be respect . . . respect for people and culture; respect for religions or atheism; respect for the planet; and respect for the fruits of the planet.
Raw Story — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani suggested over the weekend that the Republican presidential candidates were so “laughable” that “the people of Iran look at them as a form of entertainment.”
“Sometimes when I would have time some of [the Republican presidential debates were] broadcast live and I would watch it,” Rouhani told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “Some of it was quite laughable. It was very strange, the things that they spoke of.”
“Some of them wouldn’t even know where Tehran was in relation to Iran,” the president said with a smile. “Some of them wouldn’t know where Iran was geographically, not distinguishing that one is the capital of the other. What they spoke of was quite far away from the truth.”
Read the rest. I think we would agree that the Republcan presidential candidates are quite laughable if the prospects of a Republican POTUS weren't so dire.
The New Yorker — As Pope Francis makes his historic first visit to the United States, millions of Americans are turning out to thank the Pontiff for temporarily displacing Donald Trump from the news.
As the Pope visits Washington, New York, and Philadelphia, people from every walk of life are expressing profound gratitude that the news media is offering non-stop coverage of Francis’s every move instead of Trump’s, if only for five days.
I swear, Andy is straight reporting yet again!
My Universe — "How undignified! Put me down this second you brute . . . there are people watching!"
