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Open Thread–5/10/2015

 Posted by at 10:51 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion
May 102015
 

My day off seems to have helped.  I’m still tired and swamped, but not so much so as to render me unable to function.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today;s took me 3:14 (average 4:59).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Huffington Post: More Americans feel comfortable with a presidential candidate who identifies as gay or lesbian than with one who identifies as an evangelical Christian, according to a new poll.

The latest WSJ/NBC poll listed a series of qualities in a potential presidential candidate and asked respondents whether they’d "be enthusiastic," "be comfortable with," "have some reservations about" or "be very uncomfortable with" a candidate with each of those qualities.

The results revealed that Americans are actually quite open to having a gay presidential candidate. Sixty-one percent said they would be either enthusiastic about or comfortable with a gay or lesbian candidate, while only 37 percent said they would have reservations or be uncomfortable.

That’s not a hard choice. Gay is certainly preferable to evil, a word that identifies Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christianity.

From Daily Kos: Own man, my foot. From The Washington Post:

When asked this week at an exclusive Manhattan gathering about who advises him on U.S.-Israel policy, Jeb Bush surprised many of the 50-plus attendees by naming his brother, former president George W. Bush, as his most influential counselor.

“If you want to know who I listen to for advice, it’s him,” Bush said Tuesday, speaking to a crowd of high-powered financiers at the Metropolitan Club, according to four people present.

That’s strike 4 on Strike 3!

From Alternet: As we’ve learned through the course of the month, David Letterman’s departure means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For Americana musicians, it means saying goodbye to one of the genre’s biggest champions. For POTUS, it means losing an “escape” after a long day at work. And for the 20-time visitor of the show, Tina Fey? It means saying sayonara to gendered expectations of wearing fancy dresses.

 

I came to love Tina, as faux Palin.  I bet Drill Baby Dingbat, aka Bloody Bullseye Barbie, is green with envy!

Cartoon:

0510Cartoon

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Personal Update–5/9/2015

 Posted by at 12:44 pm  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 092015
 

I think what kept me going yesterday was anger at my doctor’s staff. or perhaps this was a delayed reaction.  When I woke up this morning, it was like running into a wall.  I went back to bed.  Normally, I could have spent several hours in research by now, but since I have not even started, I decided this is a good day to take off.  Hugs to all!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:58 (average 5:48).  Ti do it5, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

0509Cartoon

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Capture the Leaking Methane!

 Posted by at 12:53 pm  Politics
May 082015
 

I was aware that leaking methane is a problem, both as a greenhouse gas, and as a lost source of energy and revenue.  However, I was unaware of the extent of the problem.  There are two methane clouds in particular that could boggle the mind.  Of course Republicans oppose the solution for one.  They are the cause of the other.

0508MethaneIn March, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell cited a methane gas plume the size of Delaware hovering over the Four Corners area in Northwest New Mexico as evidence that the Interior Department needs to cut “wasted gas that results from venting and flaring during oil and gas operations.”

This methane hot spot, which is located above an area that contains more than 40,000 wells, arises primarily from leaks in natural gas production and processing equipment spanning a large area of federal lands. While it may be the most visible instance of this issue, it is far from the only instance of methane — a powerful greenhouse gas that traps up to 34 times as much heat as carbon dioxide over the course of a century — being emitted into the atmosphere above public lands. A new report from the Government Accountability Office notes another unfortunate side effect of this inefficiency: the loss of tens of millions of taxpayer dollars each year.

The GAO has been urging the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an Interior Department agency, to cut methane emissions via flared or vented gas since at least 2010, when the government office found that 40 percent of this methane could be economically captured and sold. According to the 2010 report, “such reductions could increase federal royalty payments by about $23 million annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equivalent to about 16.5 million metric tons of CO2 — the annual emissions equivalent of 3.1 million cars.” … [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Think Progress>

Fortunately, dealing with this problem is part of Barack Obama’s greenhouse initiative, although Republicans are doing their worst to undermine it.

The other plume is far worse, and is not covered under Obama’s plan, because the noxious cloud not an energy related plume.  It comes from an overconcentration of bovine excrement.  Here’s a picture:

0508Methane2

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Open Thread–5/8/2015

 Posted by at 12:52 pm  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 082015
 

Here’s the rest of what happened yesterday.  Fortunately the LIFT bus dropped me off over an hour early, because I discovered that my doctor’s office sent me to the hospital Imaging Department, when I was supposed to go to the Professional Plaza Imaging Department down the street.  I called TriMet LIFT and they agreed to change my pickup location.  A walk up a steep hill later, I got to the Professional Plaza who discovered that my doctor’s office screwed up the paperwork for the X-Ray.  They called and found that her back office staff had just left for lunch.  I had to sit al hour waiting for them to return to fax them the right paperwork.  Apparently the order was unsigned.  After they got the paperwork I went into the queue.  The X-Ray only took 10 minutes, which was good, because I made it to the LIFT bus area with only a few minutes to spare.  I got to take the grand tour dropping off other riders, but there was no congestion from Obama’s visit.  I’ll be brief, because I’m worn out.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:04 (average 4:48).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: 10 Ideas to Save the Economy: Fight For $15

No one who works full-time should live in poverty. A decent nation ensures that all workers can pay their rent and feed their family.

 

Please click through to MoveOn to share this from there.

From The New Yorker: In a deepening humanitarian crisis, residents of the city of Austin report that they are completely surrounded by Texas, a situation that locals are calling “dire.”

Austin has traditionally enjoyed freedoms as a semi-autonomous region, hosting film festivals and literary events without the interference of its hostile neighbors, but there are growing fears that those days may be coming to an end.

Alarmingly, citizens of Austin report, extremists within the city limits have taken over the Capitol Building and installed a militant government with dominion over its residents.

In recent days, Austin has made desperate requests for assistance to the U.S. military, which will be conducting exercises in Texas in July.

From Andy we have the clarion call. Save Austin!!

From Reuters: Prime Minister David Cameron won a stunning election victory in Britain, confounding poll predictions that the vote would be the closest in decades to sweep into office for another five years with a clear majority and his Labour opponents in tatters.

My condolences to the people of the UK for demonstrating that the US does not have an exclusive on voter idiocy. Perhaps Pat can fill us in on why this happened.

Cartoon:

0508Cartoon

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Personal Update–5/7/2015

 Posted by at 5:01 pm  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 072015
 

Late yesterday afternoon my doctor’s office called.  At the last minute they could not get insurance company approval for the MRI, without a more recent X-Ray.  I have a bone to pick with them over scheduling me for an MRI before having the final approval squared away.  I get the X-Ray at the same place.  It’s a walk in item, but I learned too late to cancel my LIFT ride, so I have to do an X-Ray on an MRI schedule.  Grrr!  I’ll add another paragraph when I get back and let you know how it went.

The day was a complete mess.  I’ll explain it layer.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:37 (average 5:08).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

0507CartoonTC-XRay

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Stewart Calls for Cruz Control!

 Posted by at 12:46 pm  Politics
May 062015
 

We won’t have many more opportunities to see Jon Stewart, before he moves to his new job, sop I couldn’t resist the chance to share this with you.  Enjoy watching Jon take on the king of Texas TEAbuggery and suggest a plan for Cruz control.

0505stewIf there is a bigger fool in the Republican clown car of presidential aspirants than Ted Cruz, then bring it. Jon Stewart tried to do everyone a favor on Tuesday night’s show when he played a round of, "Let’s get rid of Ted Cruz."

It’s a very easy game to play. All you have to do is catch Cruz in a moment of utter demagoguery and hypocrisy, like any time he just talks…

Inserted from <Alternet>

I virtually always agree with John Stewart on many, many things. However, this time I have to disagree, and he should disagree with himself. One thing Stewart and I have in common is that we both mine extreme TEAbuggery as raw material for humor. When it comes to TEAbuggery, a Cruz campaign is the mother lode.

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Open Thread–5/6/2015

 Posted by at 12:46 pm  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 062015
 

With everything else going on, we had another fire in the building, sort of.  It turned out to be a false alarm, occasioned by cooking smoke.  The idiot just kept cooking and did not open his door to vent the smoke, until it got so thick that someone saw it coming from a window.  Today is grocery delivery day.  Tomorrow is my MRI.  Hopefully I will have a Personal Update, but if I don’t don’t worry.  Remember I have to fight downtown Obama traffic to get home.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:43 (average 4:37).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Chloe Hugh was in the middle of her final shift at Boss Hawg’s Barbecue in Topeka, Kansas when Governor Sam Brownback and his family sat down in her section. Upset by Brownback’s repeated assault on Kansas school funding, she decided to use her last shift to make a point and when she handed Brownback the bill, she left a tip of her own:

0506chloe

Kudos to Chloe. That Brownback ate there demonstrates that pigs are cannibalistic.

From The New Yorker: One day after the former Hewlett-Packard C.E.O. Carly Fiorina announced her candidacy for the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination, a new poll shows that she enjoys extremely high name recognition among the tens of thousands of former H.P. employees she fired.

According to the poll, conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, Fiorina’s name recognition stands at a hundred per cent among the legions of employees she terminated, with many of them calling the former C.E.O. “unforgettable.”

Additionally, a broad majority of the laid-off workers described their feelings about Fiorina as “intense,” and noted that very few days go by when they do not invoke her name in a vehement manner.

Andy’s doing news again. My former job in research gave me a front row seat to watch how HP transformed when she took over. Before, they were totally focused of quality, ease of use, and user satisfaction. Afterward, they were totally focused on profit margin. She would certainly do for America what she did for HP.

From Upworthy: If you’ve ever wanted a side-by-side illustration of how racism seeps into everyday situations like job hunting, driving, and even going to the doctor, this video from Brave New Films breaks it down flawlessly.

 

Some of this surprised even me.

Cartoon:

0506Cartoon

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