It’s another real scorcher. When I arose at 4:00 AM to heed nature’s call, the temperature in the buildings hallways and rest rooms was still 92°. When I took my shower, a bit later, I was sweating, before I was dry. I cannot cook on the stovetop, because I cannot open the door to keep cooking fumes from setting off the smoke detector, because super-hot hallway air floods my apartment when I do. That is why extreme heat is such a problem for me, even with A/C in the apartment. Today’s high is forecast at 95°. ARGH!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:42 (average 8:31). To do it click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: Presidential candidate Donald Trump revealed a little-known episode of personal heroism from his youth on Saturday, telling an Iowa audience that he narrowly avoided capture in Vietnam by remaining in the United States for the duration of the war.
“The Cong were after me,” Trump said, visibly stirred by the memory. “And then, just in the nick of time, I got my deferment.”
The former reality-show star said he had never shared his record as a war hero before because “I don’t like to boast.”
He said that he only disclosed the episode now because “the way this nation treats our deferment veterans is a disgrace.”
Trump complained that he received no official commendation or medal for his heroism, calling the lack of recognition “shameful.”
Andy May have missed the point. It would have been heroic, if Hairball had been captured. If he had, Vietnam would have released all prisoners much sooner, just to get rid of him too.
From NY Times: A group of protesters repeatedly confronted Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland during a town hall discussion with liberal activists here on Saturday, demanding the Democratic presidential candidates address issues like discrimination and police brutality.
Chanting, “What side are you on, my people, what side are you on?” and “Black lives matter,” the demonstrators moved to the front of the ballroom about 20 minutes into the event as Mr. O’Malley discussed proposed changes to Social Security. They remained there, heckling the candidates and posing questions, until organizers shut down the event, one of the centerpieces of the annual Netroots Nation conference.
The protesters included members of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and GetEqual, as well as Patrisse Cullors, a founder of the Black Lives Matter movement. A representative of the demonstrators took the stage to inform the event’s audience of what was happening, specifically that they were seeking policy proposals from the candidates on racial issues.
Both Sanders and O’Malley tried to answer the protesters, but the demonstrators prevented any discussion that was not related to their issue. While I fully agree that racial issues are very important, and we need to address them, they are not the only issues we face. While I fully agree that black lives matter, I’d like to think that even though I’m not black, my life matters too. Speaking as an activist that started organizing and demonstrating for civil rights in the 1960s, I cannot support people and organizations, whose behavior is what I would expect from the Tea Party. I remain an activist in support of equality for ALL.
From Daily Kos (classic 10/2013): Judd Legum, editor-in-chief of Think Progress, provided the perfect illustration of what it means to Republicans when they demand "compromise" from Democrats:
Nothing has changed since.
Cartoon:
