Politics Plus

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 117.  It’s been a busy day with lots of chores, plus I made a chicken, rice and green bean casserole from scratch.  My sleep schedule is running later than normal today.  Tomorrow (Saturday) morning is our fantasy football draft.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:55 (average 5:07).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos:

MSNBC resident blowhard Joe Scarborough just couldn’t resist bloviating about the arrests of Washington Post’s Wesley Lowery and the Huffington Post’s Ryan Reilly. Scarborough’s idiot opinion? They must have gotten arrested because they just "want to get on TV."

Lowery had a thing or two to say about that, when CNN interviewed him about his experience, and Scarborough’s comments.

"Well, I would invite Joe Scarborough to come down to Ferguson and get out of 30 Rock where he’s sitting and sipping his Starbucks smugly," Lowery said during a Thursday morning appearance on CNN. "I invite him to come and talk to the residents of Ferguson, where I’ve been since Monday afternoon having tear gas shot at me, having rubber bullets shot at me … I would invite Joe Scarborough down here to do some reporting on the ground, then maybe we can have an educated conversation about what’s happening here."

Those who claim that MSNBC is the "liberal" should remember that this guy has as much air time as Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow, and Lawrence O’Donnell combined.

From NY Times: Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said Thursday night that he had agreed to relinquish power, a move that came after days of crisis in which his deployment of extra security forces around the capital had raised worries of a military coup.

Mr. Maliki’s decision held out the prospect of a peaceful transition of power, based on democratic elections and without the guiding hand of American military forces, which would be a first in modern Iraq’s troubled history of kings, coups and dictatorships.

A few days ago, I said that I doubted this would happen. OOPS! When I’m, wrong I say so. I had good reasons for thinking otherwise, but good reasons do not always guarantee accuracy.

From Upworthy: Utah Drug-Tested Almost 5,000 People On Welfare, And The Results Almost Made Me Throw Something

I wonder what Utah thought they’d find when they implemented mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients? I doubt this is it. The moral of the story? I’d say the "sketchy drug addict" narrative that continues to be assigned to people on government assistance isn’t really that accurate … or fair.

Those are results that Republicans do NOT want you to know, because it trashes their dishonest stereotype.

Cartoon:

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 116.  It’ s humid sticky day, but one on which I can catch up on a little rest.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:16 (average 5:27).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Upworthy: According to these two singers, Maddie and Tae, they were sitting around in their studio one day, listening to country by their favorite male artists, and they realized a few issues with how women were being treated in them. So they wrote a song about it. Take a look at the great video below.

OMG!! Bubba in a Bagger Butt Bikini!!

From Daily Kos: It is open season on President Obama. He is a weak president. He is too cautious, they say. Even Hillary Clinton has jumped on the bandwagon.

As always, the Republican Reich is trying to blame Obama for what they did.

From BBC: The US says it is unlikely to launch a mission to save Iraqis fleeing Islamist fighters on Mt Sinjar as there are fewer people there than expected.

On Wednesday, the UN said tens of thousands from the Yazidi religious minority were on the run from fighters from the militant group, Islamic State, who have threatened to exterminate them.

But US Special Forces who carried out a reconnaissance mission to the mountain say the number is not as high as previously thought.

It’s nice to learn good news from the region for a change.

Cartoon:

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 115.  I did a lot of house cleaning today in preparation for my grocery delivery.  Then I put everything away.  I feel a little tired, because I still haven’t found a stable sleep schedule.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:04 (average 5:00).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Patriots on Parade:

There’s been some misunderstanding, as several people have sent me links to articles about other people.  You are the people I want to feature, the people who participate in this blog, whether it be here or on Care2, or somewhere else where my articles or posted.  People whom you know personally would also work.  It’s the everyday heroes like you that will be the ones to make a difference.

Also, there has been some discomfort over my choice of the term Patriot, because of its Republican connotations.  That’s exactly why I chose it.  Republicans stole the word.  They didn’t earn  it.  It does not describe them.  They don’t deserve it.  My intent is to take it away from them and give it to people who have earned it, whom it does describe, and who do deserve it: you.  You are the authentic patriots who are making your country better in countless small ways.  It’s your word, not theirs.  Haven’t we been allowing Republicans to define the terms of our national discourse for far too long?

Finally, those that don’t like to toot their own horn can just give me the info.  I’ll do the tooting!!

Fantasy Football:

Players, don’t forget that our live draft is Saturday morning at 9:00 AM Pacific Daylight Savings Time.  That’s 10:00 Mountain, 11:00 Central, Noon Eastern.

Short Takes:

From Raw Story: An Oklahoma man has been charged with threatening to kill Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his family, according to court documents obtained on Wednesday.

Charles Jason Moreland, 31, of Tulsa, is suspected of sending profanity-laced email messages in April directed at the veteran Democratic senator from Nevada that said if Reid “ever steps foot out of D.C., he will be done. You’re a dead … man Harry Reid,” according to the documents.

A lawyer for Moreland was not immediately available for comment. Reid’s office was also not available for comment.

Moreland was arrested on July 31 and the court documents had been under seal until this week. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

When he gets out the RNC will have a job waiting for him.

From Common Dreams: Following criticism of Hillary Clinton’s hawkish foreign policy remarks published Sunday, Senator Bernie Sanders said in an interview on Monday that Clinton shouldn’t be presumed as the Democratic nominee for president since the U.S. political process isn’t one in which "we anoint people."

Sanders also hinted at his possible willingness to challenge her for the Democratic nomination for president.

Sanders spoke in an interview with ABC’s Jeff Zeleny a day after The Atlantic published an interview with Clinton in which she slammed Obama’s foreign policy, saying "Great nations need organizing principles, and ‘Don’t do stupid stuff’ is not an organizing principle." Sanders indicated his respect for the former Secretary of State, while at the same time cautioning against assuming that she will be the Democratic nominee before she’s even announced her candidacy.

I would back Bernie over Hillary in a hot minute.

From AlterNet: It’s become fashionable for politicos to predict that 2014 will be another boffo election for Republican candidates at all levels.

The New York Times this week reported that the GOP is likely to emerge with new majorities in perhaps nine state legislative chambers. Republicans currently control 60 of America’s 99 state assemblies or senates, and have monopolies on power in 36 states—the most since the 1950s.

But a closer look reveals that 2014 is not going to be a slam-dunk for the GOP in state legislatures. Instead, Democrats stand a good chance of breaking the Republican grip on power in five states—Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa, Arkansas, New Hampshire—while maintaining current partisan divisions in others. That’s nowhere close to reversing 2010’s Republican wave, but it’s not merely holding the line, either.

Click through for more detail.  Let me say this one more time. It’s all about turnout. Vote and get out the vote!!

Cartoon:

Article 11 reads:

Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,—as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen [Muslims],—and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan [Muslim] nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries. [emphasis added]