Politics Plus

I’m about to leave for my CAT Scan.  I have one every year, because I have COPD.  I won’t have the results until my Pulmonologist appointment  next month, but I’m certain that it will be no worse than last year, because I quit smoking.  Last Summer, an old window air conditioner in the building lost integrity and dumped rusty water and coolant on a pedestrian pushing a baby stroller.  She sued.  The management company has outlawed window A/Cs, so even though my A/C is in excellent condition, it comes out tomorrow.  My new A/C, a floor model with a tube to window-vent hot air, should arrive Wednesday.  I hope they can install it immediately, because Thursday is forecast in the 80°s.Back!!  The cat said meow!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:33 (average 4:46).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

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Last night I slept poorly and felt so tired this morning, that I was dozing off, while doing my research, so after I finished, I uncorked a much needed Lona nap.  That’s why I’m running late today.  Tomorrow I have an appointment with my kitty cousin Scanner.  Sadly he’s quite aloof, and every time I go in for my annual Cat Scan, he refuses to come out and play.  In any case, I may have no more that a Personal Update.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:46 (average 5:46).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos (classic 9/2011): Why would anyone vote Republican? Well, here are 10 reasons.

1. You are a bigot

It’s true that not all Republicans are bigots. But if you ARE a bigot, the Republican party will be much more your group than the Democratic party. Remember that there are lots of ways to be a bigot: You could be a racist, a homophobe, an Islamophobe, or lots of other things.

2. You like eating, drinking and breathing poison.

Many Republicans are calling for or voting for shrinking or eliminating agencies that protect us against poison. They seem to think that the corporations will do the right thing, without any pressure from the government. Uh huh. Read The Jungle.  Look at the way Monsanto is hiding facts about Round Up. Look at food safety and outbreaks of E. Coli. 

Corporations exist to make money. They will do so any way they can. The government needs to stop them from doing so in ways that hurt people.

3. You think the rich don’t have enough money

The idea that giving more money to rich people (via tax breaks) will help poor people is nonsensical and has been shown wrong time and again in history. Huge tax breaks for the rich (a la George Bush) don’t work.

4. You don’t support our veterans

The Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran’s Association (IAVA) rates every member of congress on how well they support our veterans.  In the Senate, 9 people got A or A+: All were Democrats. 30 got D or F: 29 Republicans and one Democrat.  More on this

How little they have changed!! I shared the first four. Click through for the other six.

From NY Times: The wall of Republican opposition to the nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland to the Supreme Court has been shored up by two Republican senators revoking their support for holding confirmation hearings.

Their moves highlight the immense pressure that Republican leaders are placing on senators as they try to build unified opposition to President Obama’s choice to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February.

As the White House heralds the growing number of Republicans agreeing to meet with Judge Garland, Senators Jerry Moran of Kansas and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have reversed themselves and say they now back the decision made by Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, not to hold hearings.

The Republicans who agreed to meet with him were trying to appear responsible, but were really, as I predicted, just stalling for time.

From Raw Story: SNL took on one of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters who frequently pops up on cable broadcasts to defend the actions and words of the consistently offensive candidate.

I hope you enjoyed the laugh. Sadly the blonde on the right caricatured a voter even smarter than Fecal Dump Trump’s actual supporters.

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The previous summer, while planning events for Vietnam Summer, he said the government would not allow him to live much longer.  Watch this excerpt.

Less than 24 hours later, he was dead.  Isn’t it clear that he knew they were closing in?

Just as I gave up yesterday and lay down to take a Lona nap, Lu showed up.  I finally got my shower and am, once again, a pure puddy tat.  We spent the rest of the day doing the dreaded task, cleaning, and researching her personal issues.  I just heard from JD that Carrie B had unexpected abdominal surgery last night.  The word is that she’ll be OK, but she’ll be hospitalized for a few days and wants you informed.  Please join me in prayer for her or however you connect to the infinite.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:24 (average 5:33).  To co it, click here,  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos:  John Kasich has managed to make himself look like the responsible moderate in the horror movie that is the Republican presidential primary, but it’s important to recognize that he’s neither responsible nor moderate. If he seems that way to you, it’s a measure both of how awful and extremist his competitors are and of how effectively Kasich has flown beneath the radar. Kasich showed off some of his reality, though, in a Wednesday night town hall, blaming high infant mortality on “the minority community:”

I will tell you this: The issue of infant mortality is a tough one. We have taken that on, and one of the toughest areas to take on is in the minority community, and the community itself is going to have to have a better partnership with all of us to begin to solve that problem of infant mortality in the minority community, cause we’re making gains in the majority community. We don’t ignore any of this, Chuck. These are serious issues and they need to be addressed and I don’t put my head in the sand and if I’ve got to get people upset doing it, that’s life.

Way to spin worsening racial disparities as the fault of the people being left behind!

He’s no moderate! He’s KKKasich!!

From Alternet: The first mystery guest on The Late Show’s wheel of news Thursday night was Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. Host Stephen Colbert put Sanders in the hot seat and grilled him on asking Hillary Clinton’s superdelegates to switch.

As much as I hate to say it, Bernie contradicted himself. He says Superdelegates should switch to him in states that he won, because they should reflect the will of the people. I fully agree. He says Superdelegates should switch to him in states that Hillary won, because he’s the strongest candidate. I think Superdelegates should reflect the will of their state’s voters.  He can have it one way or the other, but not both.

From Orlando Sentinel:  U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson received the backing of two of the biggest national grassroots progressive groups in his campaign for U.S. Senate.

Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a Washington, D.C.-based PAC, and Democracy for America, based in Vermont, both endorsed Grayson Tuesday in his race for the Democratic nomination for Senate against U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter.

"If you liked bold progressive Alan Grayson in the U.S. House, you’ll love him in the U.S. Senate," said PCCC co-founders Adam Green and Stephanie Taylor in a statement. “Every step of the way – from Wall Street reform to expanding Social Security to being a national leader for Medicare expansion – Alan Grayson has stood with progressives as one of our boldest and most reliable allies.”

I would happily support Alan for the Senate, based on his past stands on progressive issues.  His “Die quickly” statement on the House floor is what gave me the idea die for “The RepubliCare Death Benefit”.  However, I’d hate to see his ethics investigation derail his campaign and hand the seat to a Republican.

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