Politics Plus

I have a busy day today.  I’m trying to keep pace with the news, watching Obama, and it’s a grocery delivery day, so I have all that work to do..  It’s also quite muggy.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:12 (average 4:51).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: The former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would bring much-needed dignity to the 2016 Republican field, a new poll shows.

According to the poll, conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, Palin’s ability to articulate her positions on issues with precision and restraint is sorely lacking among other entrants in the G.O.P. race.

Additionally, voters said that the former governor’s breadth of knowledge in the fields of economics, foreign affairs, and American history would place her head and shoulders above the current crop of Republican hopefuls.

In the words of one voter who was surveyed, “When I hear some of these candidates talk, I sure do miss Sarah Palin.”

Dang Andy! As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. Bloody Bullseye Barbie is rather tame, compared to the Clown Car.

From Daily Kos: I wonder if Rep. Steve "Melon Calves" King is going to commandeer Republican anti-LGBT policy like he commandeered the party’s anti-immigration policy.

It would have no force of law, but U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, on Friday announced he has introduced a House resolution for representatives to formally disapprove of the June ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that legalized gay marriage nationally. […]

King said the "resolution expresses the sense" by the House that the court ruling "unconstitutionally and indefensibly perverts the definition of marriage," that states are not required to license gay marriage and that "individuals, businesses, churches, religious groups and other faith-based organizations are encouraged, empowered, and protected to exercise their faith without fear of legal or government interference."

Since a Sense of the House resolution does nothing, this serves only as one more opportunity for Republican to voice their hatred and display their sedition.

From NY Times: A federal appeals court Tuesday handed the Obama administration another victory in its effort to guarantee coverage of contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act, rejecting a challenge by the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Roman Catholic nuns.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in Denver, found that the nuns could opt out of a requirement to provide contraceptive coverage under an “accommodation” devised by the administration. The rule does not impose a “substantial burden” on the nuns’ free exercise of religion, the court said.

Four other federal appeals courts — in the District of Columbia, Philadelphia, Chicago and New Orleans — have issued similar decisions upholding the accommodation, which is intended to address the concerns of nonprofit religious organizations that object to providing contraceptive coverage for women enrolled in their health plans.

Another win for women.

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I have a lot of volunteer paperwork to do today, and tomorrow is a grocery delivery day, so there’s cleaning to do in preparation for that.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:54 (average 4:07).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Yesterday, Denmark’s wind farms were able to produce 116% of the nation’s electricity needs.

By 3am on Friday, when electricity demand dropped, that figure had risen to 140%.

Major kudos to the Danes!

From TPM: The family of a black man who died after being placed in a white police officer’s chokehold reached a $5.9 million settlement with the city on Monday, days before the anniversary of his death.

Since part of the deal is that the city admitted no liability, I see this is blood money, paying off a family to duck responsibility for a crime against the entire city.

From Think Progress: The Oklahoma Republican Party is making the case [GOP delinked] against food stamps by comparing poor people to animals, reviving a stereotype that’s often deployed against Americans who rely on government benefits to feed their families.

In a Facebook post [GOP delinked] published Monday night, the Oklahoma GOP suggested that the millions of Americans receiving food stamps this year should not be enrolled in the program because “the animals will grow dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves.”

If you have ever needed, or might ever need, temporary help, this is what the Republican Party thinks of YOU.

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I did manage to get some sleep last night, and I also want to rest today, before things get busy again.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:02 (average 4:26).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: In a blistering interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit, Piketty blasts Germany and it’s history of repayment of debt over the years, and it’s attitudes toward its fellow EU neighbor, Greece…

…In brief, Piketty tells the interviewer in no uncertain terms that Germany never repaid their loans; yet hold others to a higher standard of responsibility.

ZEIT: But shouldn’t they repay their debts?

Piketty: My book recounts the history of income and wealth, including that of nations. What struck me while I was writing is that Germany is really the single best example of a country that, throughout its history, has never repaid its external debt. Neither after the First nor the Second World War. However, it has frequently made other nations pay up, such as after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, when it demanded massive reparations from France and indeed received them. The French state suffered for decades under this debt. The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.

Please Mr. Piketty, tell us all how you really feel….  And don’t hold back!  Piketty goes on to give examples of moral clarity about just how Germany is hypocritical in its position of having been the perfect financial responsible citizen throughout history…  But not so fast says Piketty:

Piketty: When I hear the Germans say that they maintain a very moral stance about debt and strongly believe that debts must be repaid, then I think: what a huge joke! Germany is the country that has never repaid its debts. It has no standing to lecture other nations.

Ouch.

This is what I brought up before regarding Germany’s hypocrisy.

From The New Yorker: Serving notice that he intends to go toe-to-toe with the controversial real-estate mogul, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker used the official announcement of his Presidential candidacy to assure Republican voters that he is as horrible as Donald Trump.

“Donald Trump has grabbed a lot of headlines over the past few weeks by spewing bigotry and venom,” Walker told an enthusiastic crowd of supporters. “I want to make it clear that when it comes to those things, I take a back seat to no one.”

Concluding his speech with a line that triggered a standing ovation, Walker said, “To those who thought Donald Trump was the only sociopath in the race, let me say this: not anymore.”

Prior to his announcement, aides to the Wisconsin governor had privately fretted that by establishing his identity as an arrogant and ill-informed merchant of hatred, Trump had appropriated Walker’s brand…

It’s been so long that Andy really had me worried. He’s back in prime form, pegging the Fartfuhrer of Fitzwalkerstan perfectly!

From NY Times: …But on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, another Republican presidential candidate, sharply attacked Mr. Trump and his message and called on his party’s chairman and other candidates to speak out against him.

Mr. Trump is a “wrecking ball” for the GOP as it tries to appeal to Hispanic voters, Mr. Graham said.

“To all the candidates who think that Donald Trump is telling the truth, I think you have lost your way. As to the Republican Party, if we do not reject this way of thinking clearly, without any ambiguity, we will have lost our way,” he said. “We will have lost the moral authority, in my view, to govern this great nation.”…

Lindsey Poo fears what already is. The Republican Party lost their moral authority to govern this nation the day they adopted the Southern Strategy and Republican Tinkle Down economics.

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I’m feeling especially tired today, having slept poorly.  Last night a group of black men kept me awake for over four hours, by walking up and down the street, screaming at the top of their lungs, and calling each other the N word.  I’m ashamed to admit that even I had more than one stereotypical thought about them.  It truly saddens me that thugs like these could trigger even a man like me, a man with a history of civil rights activism going back to the early 1960s.  I am very sorry.  I hope such behavior by very few does not counter the major positive influence exerted by the black community following the Republican attack on the church.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:38 (average 5:30).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football Recruiting:

Recruiting is now complete for Lefty Blog Friends, our fantasy football league.  Pam and her End the GOP are now onboard. Welcome  Pam!! For more information, click here.  I will be publishing an article of tips shortly.  The live online draft is on 7/25 at 11:00 AM PDT.

Short Takes:

From NY Times: If the scramble to hold together Europe’s single currency has highlighted one thing, it is that national mind-sets can be more stubborn than the 60-year-old mantra of the Continent’s “ever closer union” once supposed. And no national psyche is more important to the outcome at this moment than Germany’s.

In insisting that Greece can stay in the euro only if everyone sticks to the rules, Germany has acted almost classically to stereotype. Its fondness for orderly procedure — the foundation of its post-1945 democracy — has prevailed even over its desire to lead 21st century Europe.

If Germany is serious about following the rules, perhaps they should repay the loans they forced Greece to make when Germany’s version of the Republican Party was in power during WWII.

From TPM: Hillary Rodham Clinton plans to make boosting middle class income and wages the focus of her economic agenda. The Democratic presidential candidate will point to stagnant paychecks as the central challenge facing the U.S. economy.

Clinton will lay out the themes of her economic plan in a speech Monday in New York. Clinton’s campaign says in a preview on Saturday that the speech will emphasize the need for the real incomes of everyday Americans to rise steadily along with corporate profits and executive compensation.

While Republican candidate Jeb Bush has called for an annual growth rate of 4 percent, Clinton will say that the nation’s economy should not be judged by a specific growth figure but rather by how much income rises for middle-class households.

At least she will drown out the campaign opening announcement by the Fartfuhrer of Fitzwalkerstan.  I want to know how Hillary plans to recover some of the wealth that Republicans took from poor and middle class citizens and gave to the super-rich.

From Think Progress: People who “want to kill babies” don’t want women to see their ultrasounds.

Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson spoke in length to the NRLC about his experiences as a physician administering ultrasounds. He talked about the advanced technology of ultrasounds that exists today, saying fewer people have had abortions since the technology has improved and women can see their fetus in detail on a computer screen. “How can anybody think that’s just a mass of cells?” he said. “That’s one of the reasons that the people who want to kill babies don’t want you to see that.”

A recent study found that looking at an ultrasound doesn’t change a women’s decision to have an abortion because the vast majority of women who seek out abortion services have already made up their mind. Nevertheless, 13 states have laws on the book requiring doctors to perform an ultrasound before proceeding with an abortion.

This is one of the five most absurd arguments made at a Republican Barefoot and Pregnant convention sponsored by NRLPAC. Click through for the other four.

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