I’m writing for tomorrow, day 6.  I have a lot of housework to do today.  I’ve been procrastinating.  Tomorrow would normally be a prison volunteer day, but the Activities section is closed for the holiday, so I can’t go.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:48 (average 4:23).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos (Hat-Tip JL A): How Native Americans Beat the Kochs in ‘America’s Most Competitive’ Congressional District

Click through for an interesting grassroots success story.

From Upworthy: I hope we can all agree that it’s what’s on the inside, not the outside, that counts, right? So why are some people so determined to define someone’s sexual habits by their clothing — or at all, for that matter?!? In this video, vlogger Hannah Witton asks, "Do I look like a slut?" to show just how silly this question is.

I agree with her on every point but one. There is such a thing as a slut.  Here’s proof:

From The New Yorker: Saying that he wanted the remainder of his second term to be as active as possible, President Obama announced on Friday that he had ordered a two-year supply of crossword puzzles.

In signing an executive order for the puzzles, which range in difficulty from medium to advanced, the President laid out an ambitious plan to complete as many as thirty of them a day, for a total of ten thousand by the time he leaves the White House, in January, 2017.

The President said that he hoped that Republicans in Congress would support his plan for the puzzles, but added, “I don’t need their support. All I need is a pen.”

What Andy forgot to tell is that the Republican response will try to impeach him for such tyrannical behavior.

Cartoon:

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 5.  I’m also grumbling that the Seachickens will be in the only late game televised here, because CBS has pushed out my Broncos in favor of paid programming.  Grrr! 🙁

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:44 (average 5:48).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Religious Ecstasy:

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: President Obama is under increasing pressure to work closely and coöperatively with a group of people who are suing him in federal court, the people suing him confirmed today.

“Over the past six years, President Obama has been stubborn, arrogant, and oppositional,” John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House, said. “His refusal to work with people who are suing him is just the latest example.”

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, echoed the Speaker’s criticism, adding, “Time and time again, the President has refused to pick up the phone and talk to me, despite my saying that I was doing everything in my power to make him a one-term President.”

Other members of the G.O.P. caucus blasted the President for being aloof and frosty to Republicans who had questioned his American citizenship, the authenticity of his birth certificate, and the legitimacy of his Presidency. “That’s no way to get things done,” Senator James Inhofe, of Oklahoma, said. “He’s got a real attitude.”

Andy sure knows how to nail hypocrites, doesn’t he?

From Upworthy: This might not be the first instance you’ve heard someone toss out this idea, but it’s possibly the funniest.

There is a big difference between a racetrack and the Senate. Instead of cars being wrecked, it’s the country.

From Common Dreams: The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday announced it will take up a legal challenge brought by conservative forces against the Affordable Care Act, the law claimed by the Obama adminstrative to be its signature domestic policy achievement.

The challenge to the sweeping legislation that overhauled many aspects of the for-profit U.S. healthcare system is directed at whether or not federal subsidies designed to make now-mandated private insurance policies more affordable can be offered to people who live in states that decided against establishing their own insurance exchanges and instead opted to depened [sic] on exchanges built by the federal government.

As the Washington Post reports:

The challenge focuses on four words in the massive bill. It said people would qualify for tax credits when they buy insurance in a market “established by the state.”

Only 14 states have established such exchanges. The law authorized the federal government to establish exchanges in those states that did not act, and it has done so.

Under a rule issued by the Internal Revenue Service, consumers can claim tax credits in any market. The administration says that is consistent with the law’s goal of making coverage available to all Americans.

In my opinion, the states that opted to depend on the federal exchange, rather than create their own still have an exchange established on their behalf. The only reasons for SCROTUS (Republican Constitutional VD) to rule against the ACA are political, not judicial. It would be most unwise, unless they want millions of people telling their friends and neighbors how Republicans took away their health care, between now and 2016.

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I’m writing for tomorrow, day 4.  I got a few hours last night and feel almost feline again.  Tomorrow isa a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb.  My Broncos worship with the Raiders, but the service won’t be televised locally.  Our CBS affiliate, KOIN, is serving up paid programming, because the damn Seachickens are on the other network.  Grrr!!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:51 (average 5:30).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Fox News announced on Wednesday that it is terminating its coverage of the Ebola virus effective immediately, because, in the words of the host Sean Hannity, “Our work is done.”

Hannity commended the work of the Fox Ebola team, which provided non-stop coverage of the virus during the month of October, but added, “This story is officially over.”

Fox’s decision to bring its Ebola coverage to such an abrupt close raised eyebrows in media circles, but Hannity offered an explanation for the move after his broadcast concluded.

“There’s like, what, one case of Ebola in the United States?” the host said. “At most, two or three. The point is, the chances of any of our viewers catching Ebola are next to zero. We’re not in the business of scaring people for no reason. Let’s all move on.”

Andy’s reporting real news again. The Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, successfully spread lies right up to the election to convince voters that the Obama administration had placed them at risk, completely contrary to the efficient, professional and effective way the Obama administration handled and is handling the problem.

From Upworthy: As a gay man who grew up in a Roman Catholic household, I know the push and pull of being a good Christian versus being exactly who God made you, especially if you’re part of the LGBTQ spectrum. But those things don’t have to be mutually exclusive, do they? This grandmother from Australian TV comedy "Please Like Me" doesn’t think so.

Just wait for the last line.

That’s the kind of courage we need to see much more on this side of the pond!

From Daily Kos (Hat-Tip Joanne Dixon): Democratic strategists have been segmenting the electorate and seeking individual self-interest-based issues in each electoral block.  The strategists also keep suggesting a move to right.  This has left no room for the Democrats to have an overriding authentic moral identity that Americans can recognize.

Those strategists form an infrastructure that all Democrats have come to depend on; not just the candidates, but also the elected officials, Democrats in government, and citizens who either do, or might, find progressive policies morally and practically right. The strategic infrastructure includes PR firms, pollsters, consultants, researchers, trainers, communication specialists, speechwriters, and their funders. 

It is an important and powerful infrastructure and we all depend on it. I believe it is vital to separate this infrastructure from the strategies it has been using. I believe the strategies can be greatly improved so as to give a true, deep, and moral picture of what progressive politics is about — one whose content and authenticity will resonate with, and inspire,  a majority of Americans.

Click through and read this article, please. It is important, because it makes suggestions on how the Democratic party should fix their fatally flawed campaign strategy. To be understood, it must be read in its entirety. When Joanne sent me the link to this article, her subject was, "This is exactly what you have been saying all along."

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