Yesterday the hospital pulled a fast one on me. Although they have told me that they will mot discharge me until my bed arrives later this month, my insurance decided that I can rent a bed, while waiting for my bed to arrive, so they are discharging me next week. I’m feeling a bit freaked, because there is so much I don’t know how to do. I’m not confident that I’m ready. I may be intermittent over the next few days, as I attend to the details. I’ll keep you posted.
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: A Missouri state representative has pre-filed a bill that would make it as difficult to buy a gun as it is to get an abortion. According to St. Louis Magazine, Democratic State Rep. Stacey Newman’s bill would “require anyone buying a gun to follow the restrictions required of women seeking abortions, including a 72-hour waiting period.”
Newman is a longtime advocate for common-sense gun laws, and also a pro-choice activist, which makes her a fish out of water in the predominantly right-wing-Republican Missouri legislature, where she is regularly subjected to jeers, sneers and outright insults. Still, she has courageously drafted House Bill 1397.
Kudos to Stacey Newman! Click through for the details of her bill.
From NY Times: Only hours after news broke that a suspect in a mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., had a Muslim name, the well-practiced organizations that represent American Muslims to the broader public kicked into action, as they routinely do after each terrorist attack attributed to Muslim extremists.
They issued news releases condemning the attacks as inhuman and un-Islamic, posted expressions of grief on Facebook and held news conferences in which Muslim leaders stood flanked by American flags alongside clergy of other faiths and law enforcement officials.
“Groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda,” Salam al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said at a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, “are trying to divide our society and to terrorize us. Our message to them is we will not be terrorized and we will not be intimidated,” either by the terrorists or, he said, “by hatemongers who exploit the fear and hysteria that results from incidents like this.”
But the message is apparently not getting through. Muslims and leaders of mosques across the United States say they are experiencing a wave of death threats, assaults and vandalism unlike anything they have experienced since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
Authentic Muslims are not responsible for the terrorist acts of extremists , who twist Islam to suit their own hateful agendas, in the same way that authentic Christians are not responsible for the terrorist acts of Republicans, who twist Christianity to suit their own hateful agendas.
From Alternet: Cops Turn Off Body Cams Before Killing Man, Witnesses Watch Them Plant Gun and Drugs
Witnesses say they watched in disbelief as cops killed a man, then planted a gun and drugs ‘within arms reach’ of his lifeless body.
Click through. Another day, another murder committed by Republican racist police.
Cartoon:
12 Responses to “On the Edge–12/5/2015”
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Major kudos to Newman!
Thanks for highlighting the reality to possibly prevent some violence that might occur since the mainstream media gives this insufficient coverage–IMO a paragraph with one such statement belongs in each and every article written of San Bernardino's attack.
Somehow it seems that local law enforcement is modeling themselves after the CIA all too often these days.
NY Times: Very disheartening to read that the actions of haters who mass kill, are targeting Muslims.
AlterNet: Seems like this is happening every single day, somewhere. How can 'protectors' of the community get away with killing, and lying like this? The violent deaths of these young men stuns and saddens me.
I sure do hope that any anxiety and questions you have, is taken care of before you make your transition home. You need to feel comfortable and confident before you do. imho. Take care, and Thanks, Tom.
I think the hospital is just the messenger – the real villain is the insurer. Not that that helps. It's a dirty trivk whoever pulls it. Good luck, and don't worry about us if you have to be scarce.
DKos – She is a lady with real common sense. And a sense of proportion. And a telent for analogy. A couple of years ago she introduced a similar bill aimed at men getting vasectomies. I think that both should be law myself, along with one aimed at men getting Viagra (TM).
NY Times – "Why don't Muslims denounce these attacks?" They DO, you jerks, it's just that the mainstream media WON'T COVER IT. And then people complain Christans are abused. Pfaugh.
AlterNet – "Who are you going to believe, a fine, upstanding police officer, or your own lying eyes?" Yeah. Right. Well, Boykin is fired, which is a mixed blessing, because without a conviction he is free to apply at any other police department in the country. Two others are suspended, actually without pay for a change. The chief is gone. The assistant chief is gone. That doesn't sound great to me; it sounds like they may have felt compelled to leave because they couldn't in conscience support where the City Council wants to go. This one will bear watching (not that they don't all).
Cartoon – Right on the money.
WOW! Home So soon? It will seem weird at first, but you will get used to it, TC! You will learn more when you are home. Surely they are going to have therapy at home, right? Surely you will! It is a BIG step to go from hospital to home with no in between! I have confidence that they will give you a helper at home till you get adjusted and your new bed comes in! Hang in there, TomKitty!!!
Authentic Muslims are not responsible for these attacks, just like authentic Christians are not responsible for the PP killings. But someone has to get their shit together and let the EXTREMISTS know that they DO NOT REPRESENT THEM!!! They need to get it thru their thick heads that they at NOT doing ANYONE any good by KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE!!!!!
I'm so sorry that after all the good care the staff took of you, TomCat, hospital administration and your insurance company has ganged up on you and are throwing you out on your ear, so to speak. Having had no time to prepare for this and contradictory information is putting a lot of stress on you know and that's plain stupid because it undermines your healing and adaptation process. It also may undermine your confidence, because I think you are far better prepared than you realize and are ready to go home, but home not being prepared for your return has you worried and with reason. I hope you can get hold of your friends and anyone else that can help you to get your apartment ready by Wednesday. Please don't let this fast one (always just before the weekend, huh?) get you down. Take all the time you need, we'll be here. And you'll manage, I'm sure.
Daily Kos: Kudos to a very sensible Stacey Newman. She knows it'll never pass, but she made her point loud and clear and it can't be ignored.
NY Times: It is sad that it is necessary for the Muslim Public Affairs Council to start damage control as soon as the shootists names turned out to be Muslim and have so little effect even though their message is very clear indeed: Da'esh will not terrorize or intimidate them, nor will the hate mongers who exploit it. The trouble is, that despite being a well oiled machine with quite some experience the Muslim Public Affairs Council is up against the much larger, more experienced, and better financed fear mongering propaganda machine of the GOP which has the media like Faux Noise at its disposal as soon as a mass shooting occurs. This machine jumps into action in the opposite direction as soon as the mass shooting appears the work of home grown right wing terrorists. Nothing is left to chance by these hate mongers and they have had their base rallied up for a long time so nothing is needed to get a wave of death threats, assaults and vandalism going.
Alternet: Oh no, not another one. You'd think that with so many murders of black young people by the police exposed in the last year or so, even these bad cops would get the message and lie low for a while. But they seem to be so drunk on the power that they feel coming from wearing a uniform and carrying a gun, they actually believe nothing can hurt them. When are the good cops we keep defending here and their unions standing up against what they see happening in their PDs? Or has the festering gone too far by now. There seems to be some indication of resistance by the Chief and the Assistant Chief taking their leave and handing the investigation over to the FBI, but will that warrant a truly independent investigation?
Cartoon: Are they entitled to breath the same air as republicans?
Ricky Ball, may his death be long remembered, I hope, for a turning point in racist police practises! I know, donthold my breath, but it would be nice if, somehow, the prctice of planting "evidence" became very widely acknowleged as a resalt of this instance.
Many kudos to Stacey Newman!!!!!! Not hat this bill has a snowball's chance in hell of passing!
Muslim hate, stoked up by the likes of the Hairball, and other responsible, cognitively fuunctioning politicoes, is so much like all the oldhates of Jews, Blacks, Irish, Italians, whoever was not a lilly white Christian. President Eisenhower was, reportedly flabbergasted to once learn that half the population of the US was below average in intelligence; well, hre they come, in all their imbecilic glory!
I can certainly appreciate your misgivings at going home, especially after all that you have been through. But I know that you can do it, one step at a time. You are stronger than you think . . . and you proved that through your recovery. God took 6 "days to create the world" so you should be able to take at least 6 days to arrange things in your apartment WITH HELP! And as you progress, you will fine tune things several times in the weeks and moonths ahead. Here's to going home!
Daily Kos — Ah! There's that damn ditch! At least I was at the other end of it. Newman is spot on.
NY Times — "Authentic Muslims are not responsible for the terrorist acts of extremists , who twist Islam to suit their own hateful agendas, in the same way that authentic Christians are not responsible for the terrorist acts of Republicans, who twist Christianity to suit their own hateful agendas." Very well said and I agree 500%!
Alternet — "If history has taught us anything, it’s that more often than not, police will lie to fabricate a narrative to justify their violent escalation." This seems to happen a lot in the US. Having said that, there have been cases here too. One such case was the Robert Dziekanski death at the Vancouver Airport back in 2007. Four RCMP constables perportedly colluded to fabricate the details of the the situation. Two were acquitted and two were found guilty finally this year.
Cartoon — There's that bobblehead plastic Jesus again! He needs to come down off the dashboard so people quit following him!
TC: They are pushing you out the door. The insurance company found out that you have been chasing the cute nurses and "ketching" them. They also found out that you write a righteous blog.
Kos: Democratic State Rep. Stacey Newman is made of the right stuff. Her requirements are awesome, to say the least. Love her ideas in her House Bill 1397. The time has come to make obtaining firearms tougher. One or two additional requirements should be made: license to own and register any and all firearms with a ballistic bullet test, pay for gun insurance policy, safety locks, sign a paper to be totally responsible for your own actions in "Stand Your Ground".
NY Times: Big media is not interested in covering news about Muslims denouncing the multiple gun attacks of innocents. Big media prefers to whip up sensationalism against Muslims furthering its rhetoric for muslim bashing and stirring anti-muslims sentiments. Fear-mongering.
Alternet: Any copper found turning off his body cam during any incident should be fined and dismissed from the police force immediately with the recommendation that that police officer cannot be hired in another police agency.
So some insurance clerk made this decision for you, not your doctor. That shows how little has changed with the insurance industry. Surely there will be home health aides to get you settled and help you arrange your home.
Daily Kos: I love it! I wish I could vote for this woman. That is as "in your face" as it can be, and they should have their noses rubbed in it. Of course it will be defeated, but maybe it will open some eyes.
NY Times: The fear mongering by the current batch of Republican candidates has only exacerbated the problems Muslims are now facing in our country. Not all Muslims are terrorists, just as all southerners are not racists, and not all men are misogynists. This is so reminiscent of the way the Japanese-Americans were treated during WW2.
Alternet: How many more of these "incidents" will it take before the Justice Department investigates? The body cams and cameras in police cars are showing more and more misconduct by the police instead of the people they are shooting.
Cartoon: Very apt!
Sorry I have been missing in action, C2 has been giving me problems. Glad I was able to get here tonight.
Thanks, Rep. Newman (D-87)! You made me proud to be a fellow "Show Me" stater!
Thanks all!!
Hugs!!
Rushing!!!