With 85° forecast, I expect a high near 90°, but after tomorrow, several cool days will follow.  Store to Door delivered my groceries, and I just finished lunch, after putting them away.  Fantasy football players, set your lineup by tomorrow evening.  Wendy is now returning from Seattle, where she took her son to the airport.  He is spending a year in Spain, as an ESL teacher.  I am very sticky and ready for my shower.  I figure she’ll need a hug, because, as proud as she is that her chick is leaving the nest, she’s still a mother hen.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:37 (average 5:14).  To do it, click here.  How did you do.

Short Takes:

From YouTube (GQ Channel): Trump is Destroying Puerto Rico

Monday’s national outcry against the Fuhrer’s criminal inaction prompted his handlers to send a hospital ship and other tokens of relief, but way short of the need.  We need to deploy thousands of US troops to establish communications, rescue and evacuate those who need it, allocate and direct resources to where they are most needed, and keep order. RESIST!!

From YouTube (MoveOn Channel): Voting Rights Restrictions and White Supremacy

The racist Republican War on Voting Rights must be opposed. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: Saddened and more than a little wistful, Senate Republicans acknowledged on Tuesday that their long-standing dream of keeping poor people from living longer was at its end.

Choking back tears, Senator Lindsey Graham admitted that his crusade to halt the longevity of the poor had turned out to be a quixotic one at best.

“We made a solemn promise to the American people that we would do everything in our power to keep the poor from living so darn long,” he said, his voice quavering. “We didn’t get it done.”

Andy is reporting straight news again.  That bill was a death panel on steroids.  RESIST!!

Cartoon:

It’s the only way his tiny hands are useful!

The sun has returned, and it hit the wall this morning, so I had to button up and turn on the AC again.  Starting tomorrow, we have a two day heat wave, but a couple 85° days is a lot more bearable than a couple weeks at or near 100°.  I tried a Quicken replacement.  It screwed the pooch.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:07 (average 4:34).  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:

Can anyone spare some Vaseline?

Standings:

Congrats to Pam for leading the league.  And look at Wendy go!  Also, congrats to our beloved Sasquatch for getting some underfooting.  I’m speeding toward her.

Short Takes:

From YouTube (GQ Channel): We Will Not Stand for Trump

I could not have said it better. In a wheelchair, nobody asks me to stand anymore, but I would put my hand on a shoulder, or if I had someone to help me back up, I would take a knee. RESIST!!

From The Rachel Maddow Show: Trump dangerous bellicosity raises nuclear war risk with N. Korea

Joe Cirincione, MSNBC nuclear security analyst, talks with Rachel Maddow about how Donald Trump’s insult-comic threats against North Korea have only escalated the threat of war with North Korea.

We are closer to nuclear war than we have been at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis, because the greater idiot took a break from tweets applauding Nazis and tweets demeaning women to provoke the lesser idiot. RESIST!!

From Upworthy: Down Under, Bernardi is known for, among other things, pushing climate change denial, vehemently opposing LGBTQ rights, and calling proponents of abortion access "pro-death."

So, at face value, a tweet he published on Sept. 20 probably wasn’t all that surprising.

"This gender morphing is really getting absurd," Bernardi said, linking to a story about a school in South Australia holding a "Wear a Dress Day."

The first problem with Bernardi’s tweet is that it’s wildly transphobic. The second problem is that it … sort of totally missed the whole point of what "Wear a Dress Day" actually is.

"Wear a Dress Day" has nothing to do with any sort of LGBTQ awareness campaign like Bernardi’s tweet suggests. It’s about girls’ education.

Student leaders at Craigburn Primary School near Adelaide had chosen to support One Girl’s Do It in a Dress campaign on their last day of term — a day in which students are typically allowed to wear casual clothes to class. 

Students who want to wear casual clothing can certainly still do so. But, in recognition of the campaign, students of all genders are also allowed to wear dresses — only if they wish to do so — to boost awareness of girls’ lack of access to education globally, a blog post by the school points out.

Condolences to my Oz friends, because you clearly have Republicans on your side of the world too. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

I have another busy day.  My interface with my banks via Quicken is not working properly.  I have hated that program for years.  Is anyone using a good Quicken alternative for PC?

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:03 (average 4:57).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Religious Agony:

I didn’t see it, but I hear it was ugly.

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Funny or Die Channel): Republican Tax Plan: Who Gets The Money?

The writers sure understand Republican tax policy, but they made one major mistake.  Because they had the idea, we can expect to see overpriced Trump Vodka on the shelves, as soon as Chinese factories can mass produce it. RESIST!!

From US Magazine: As previously reported, McCain, 81, was diagnosed with cancer during the summer. "Sen. John McCain underwent a procedure to remove a blood clot from above his left eye at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix," a statement from his family and the Mayo Clinic read on July 14. "Subsequent tissue pathology revealed that a primary brain tumor known as a glioblastoma was associated with the blood clot."

The Arizona senator underwent surgery in July for the brain tumor and has completed his first round of chemotherapy treatment. He told CBS that he asked doctors to "tell it to me straight" when they updated him on his condition.

"As you know, doctors are interesting," he said on 60 Minutes. "Some say 3 percent, some say 14 percent. You know it’s — it’s a very poor prognosis. So I just said, ‘I understand. Now we’re going to do what we can, get the best doctors we can find and do the best we can, and at the same time celebrate with gratitude a life well lived.’"

I think the time has come to retire the nickname, McConJob, which I gave McCain, at the time he abandoned most of his ethical principles, as required to win the Republican nomination for President. Thank you, Senator McCain, for refusing to goose-step with the Reich and opposing RepubliCare. Thoughts and prayers to you and yours. RESIST!!

From Media Matters: The Associated Press (AP) just published a report that looked at the first few weeks of Media Matters’ Stop Hannity effort and discussed the effect it’s having on Sean Hannity’s advertisers.

In August, Media Matters launched a Stop Hannity advertiser education effort. Hannity isn’t just a partisan talking head with a television show. He’s a full-blown propagandist and has been exposed for actively coordinating with the Trump administration to promote President Donald Trump’s interests, even if that means lying to his own audience. Hannity aggressively promoted the conspiracy theory about the murder of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich — which happened to help deflect attention from a negative storyline about Trump — even after Fox had retracted its own story…

…Media Matters said some dozen advertisers have told the organization they will not purchase commercials in Hannity’s show in the future; some have current contracts and are staying put until those commitments are completed.

That’s a start. Tell Hannity’s advertisers that, as long as they support him, you won’t support them.  For the advertiser list, click here.   RESIST!!

Cartoon:

A day of mourning for Republicans.

It’s a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb, and my Broncos are worshiping with the Bills.  The game is not televised here , but I shall meditate as well as I can.  May the divine Orb shed its blessed light on your team, unless they create a bison plucky hazard.  Today is a Wendy day, and I’m totally ready for a shower.

I let Wendy go a half hour early, as she has a busy day.  My Broncos are currently down 4.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:28 (average 6:07).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Washington Post: Oakland Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell catapulted himself into the national political discourse on national anthem protests, one intensified by President Trump’s comments over the weekend, as he knelt for the song preceding a game against the Texas Rangers.

Maxwell, a 26-year-old rookie whose family has military roots, is the first MLB player to kneel during the anthem, following in the footsteps of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began kneeling during the anthem ahead of the 2016 NFL season. Since then several dozen athletes, mostly NFL players, have followed suit, using the gesture to protest police shootings of unarmed black men and to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

Maxwell, however, knelt also to protest comments by President Trump, according to his agent, specifically Trump’s call on NFL owners to fire or suspend players for kneeling during the anthem. Trump continued that call Sunday morning on Twitter.

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners,” wondered the president at a Friday night rally, “when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out. He’s fired. He’s fired!’ ”

Kudos to Maxwell. Professional athletes have a guaranteed 1st Amendment right to speak out against the Fuhrer and his Republican Reich. Kneeling in protest does not disrespect the flag, and Trump would not care if it did. He cares only because it disrespects him by opposing the Republican de facto position that cops should kill minority demonstrators. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: Donald J. Trump on Friday capped a busy week of diplomatic activity by naming the former Alaska governor Sarah Palin the United States Ambassador to Nambia.

By naming Palin to this diplomatic post, the United States has become the first nation in the world to formally recognize Nambia’s existence.

In a joint appearance with Trump at the White House, Palin acknowledged that she “didn’t know a lot about Nambia” but said that she was looking forward to receiving a comprehensive briefing on the nation’s history, culture, and customs from the Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos.

“Then it’s Nambia, here I come!” Palin exclaimed.

Dang Andy! This is the only time I have ever agreed with the Fuhrer. Nambia is the perfect post for Bloody Bullseye Barbie.  RESIST!!

From NY Times: In an unpredictable political year across Europe, the German election on Sunday has been considered the boring final act. Angela Merkel, the Continent’s most powerful figure, is expected to win a fourth term as chancellor after a colorless campaign. Yet if many Germans seem satisfied enough with their leader, others are unhappy with the wishy-washy consensus of the main political parties.

Troubled by her migration policy and her long tenure, some Germans are turning more toward smaller, more ideological parties. For the first time in more than 60 years, they are expected to vote a far-right, anti-immigration party — the Alternative for Germany, known by its German initials, AfD — into the federal Parliament.

In recent weeks, the party has regained lost ground in the opinion polls. It could emerge as Germany’s third-largest party — and even become the leader of the opposition, if the current coalition of the two largest parties falls apart.

Such a scenario would represent a big shift in the consensus-driven style of politics in Germany. And the historical import is undeniable in a country still shadowed by the Nazi legacy of World War II, which is why the election is generating some angst.

Even the party’s entrance into Parliament “would be a dramatic milestone,” said Frank Decker, a political scientist from the University of Bonn. “In the past there were a few individual old Nazis who made it into the national Parliament, but there has never been a party on the far-right of the political spectrum.”

Our own nation is a sad example of what happens when Republicans take control of a government. It is critically important that other Nazi parties, like the AfD, be denied even the slightest toehold elsewhere. RESIST!!

Cartoon