TomCat

Open Thread–7/18/2014

Posted by TomCat at 12:07 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 182014

I’m writing for tomorrow, say 88. I’m rushing, because I have physical therapy in the morning, I’m tired, and I’m running out of day. Depending on how badly the PT wipes me out, I may be AWOL for Saturday articles.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:48 (average 4:37). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Upworthy: Having cash in the bank, stocks, a 401(k), and a house (or houses) full of stuff worth money — that’s all wealth. And it’s great to have for two basic reasons: (1) It’s handy when the goin’ gets tough (e.g., expensive medical emergencies, car troubles, making tuition, etc.), and (2) having more wealth means having more freedom to think about and plan for the future, including retirement.

But over the last several decades, rule changes that benefit the rich have made wealth harder to come by for most of us. Take a look below.

0718rich

If you haven’t guessed, in the GOP War on the poor and middle classes, they’re winning.

From Daily Kos: If you think House Speaker John Boehner’s pre-impeachment lawsuit against President Obama for failing to implement Obamacare quickly enough makes him look like an obstructionist jackass who is more interested in political stunts than doing the right thing for the country, you’re not alone:

A majority of Americans view House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) lawsuit over President Obama’s delayed implementation of ObamaCare’s employer mandate as a “political stunt,” according to a new poll released Monday.

The survey, commissioned by liberal advocacy group Americans United for Change, found that 51 percent of voters don’t believe the lawsuit is legitimate, versus just 41 percent who do.

Moreover, 56 percent say the lawsuit is wasteful spending, with just 36 percent saying it is a good use of taxpayer dollars.

That’s exactly what I said, when Agent Orange first announced it.

From AlterNet: The Associated Press is reporting that a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane was allegedly shot down in Ukraine near the Russian border Thursday. An advisor to the Ukraine’s Interior Minister confirmed the report at 11:40am. The plane was flying at an altitude of 33,000 feet when it was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, Ukraine officials are reporting on Facebook.

A Russian aviation industry source told Reuters news service that the 777 did not enter Russian airspace when it was expected, but crashed in eastern Ukraine.

The Boeing 777 had 280 passengers and 15 crew members, Interfax reported citing an an aviation industry source. It is reported that all passengers and crew have been killed. Twenty-three Americans were reportedly on the flight.

Political tensions and violence have been high in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border. The Ukranian government is alleging that separatist rebels shot down the plane, and the separatists are blaming Kiev.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims’ families. Of course Republicans say they know who is at fault.

Cartoon:

0718Cartoon

Republicans on Parade–7/17/2014

Posted by TomCat at 1:01 am Politics

Jul 172014

RepublicansOnParade2

Here is the fifty-first article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s honoree is GOP State Representative and US House candidate Adam Kwasman. He is so honored for demonstrating his Republican hatred, racism and stupidity.

…As you might expect, there’s been a major boneheaded failure already in these nascent attempts at pretending to have “compassion” for the migrant children and pretending that the desire to send them back is borne out of this “compassion”. Adam Kwasman is one of those frothing-at-the-mouth anti-immigrant state legislators in Arizona—naturally, he’s also running for Congress—and he was trying to strike the “I just care so much about these kids!” pose by describing what he said was a bus full of migrant children that he believed were afraid.

In pure politician bullshit mode, Kwasman said, “I was actually able to see some of the children in the buses. The fear on their faces…. This is not compassion.” He went on to imply that the Obama administration is somehow failing at “border security” and that being stricter about it in some abstract way would prevent the “sad” kids, presumably by allowing them to die quietly in the desert instead of make it across the border. Compassion!

The problem is that the bus he saw was not actually a bus full of migrant children. It was a school bus full of kids on their way to a YMCA camp…

Inserted from <Raw Story>

The video in the article could not be embedded, but I was able to find one with similar content. This fool thought he had succeeded in intimidating a busload of refugee children. Watch him squirm, as he realizes he has TEAbuggered himself.

Regardless of whether or not the children were foreign, or whether or not they actually were afraid, Kwasman considered striking fear into the hearts of refugee children something to brag about. It’s hard to get more Republican than that!

When you consider the determination and courage it took for such refugees to make it here, let me suggest that, given the chance, they would become far more productive citizens than the Republicans who are blocking the roads, waving their guns and venting their hatred.

Open Thread–7/17/2014

Posted by TomCat at 1:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 172014

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 87. It’s largely a rest day for me, except for cooking, cleaning and the many hours I spend in research and writing. I am tired from being unable to sleep this morning.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:11 (average 4:42). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Upworthy: One Quote From Abraham Lincoln Might Just Surprise You

0717lincolnLaborQuote

It’s hard to believe that once, Republicans were the liberal party, not the class warriors for the greediest billionaires that they are today.

From Daily Kos: Boy, Dick Cheney really is determined to caricature himself:

During an event sponsored by Politico, Cheney said the next president needs to "turn around the whole trend" of cutting defense dollars.

"That ought to be our top priority for spending. Not food stamps, not highways or anything else," Cheney said. "Your No. 1 responsibility as president is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. [Obama] is the commander-in-chief and he’s absolutely devastating the United States military today.”

War always was ChickenHawk Cheney’s highest priority, except when he was hiding behind five deferments.

From The New Yorker: A new study released Tuesday indicates that wearing glasses does not make a person look smarter, but standing next to Texas Governor Rick Perry does.

In the study, when participants were shown photos of a person with and without glasses, they registered little or no change in their view of the person’s intelligence.

However, when the photo of the same person was juxtaposed with a photo of Governor Perry, participants suddenly said that the person looked “much smarter” or “brilliant,” with some participants even using the phrase “like a genius.”

While Andy is certainly correct, wouldn’t comparing folks to Crawford Caligula have an even greater effect?

Cartoon:

Blacks Beat the Bagger

Posted by TomCat at 1:06 am Politics

Jul 162014

There is now sufficient evidence that shows that mostly black Democratic voters, who voted in Mississippi’s Republican primary allowed Thad “Farmyard Fun” Cochran (R-MS) to defeat Chris “Bagger” McDaniel. The InsaniTEA and Theocon wings of the party are screaming bloody murder, saying that only Republican votes should have counted.

Newly released data of the Mississippi runoff for U.S. Senate between Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) and state Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) reinforce the claim that Cochran won through a surge of votes from African-Americans and Democrats.

Since the runoff McDaniel and his supporters have complained that McDaniel actually won the Republican vote in the runoff and Cochran was only the winner through getting African Americans and Democrats to vote for him.

As The New York Times’ Upshot blog notes, Cochran won 92 percent of the votes in the precincts that are Democratic strongholds. President Barack Obama won 99 percent of the vote in those precincts in 2012. Cochran won those precincts by 3,889 votes, or more than half of his margin of victory in the runoff over all. With those votes, Democratic votes in other parts of the state could have cleanly brought Cochran over the finish line in the runoff, even with Republican voters in those precincts going for McDaniel.

An important data point to keep in mind also is that in historically Democratic-dominant places like Hinds County, one of the most densely populated counties in Mississippi, turnout wasn’t especially large (7.4 percent of the 2012 general election numbers) — but with runoff voters going 92 to 8 for Cochran, it would be enough to move the race in Cochran’s favor…

Inserted from <TPM>

McDaniel’s complaint appears to have some merit. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to have an open primary, until you understand it’s true purpose. Historically, before Republicans sowed the wind by embracing hate-filled TEAbuggery, Republican primaries have featured an uncontested or barely contested candidate, while Democratic primaries have often been more hotly contested. In states with open primaries, Republican voters have crossed the line for years to ensure that the least worthy candidate becomes the Democratic nominee. In some states the Democratic nominee is nothing more than a Republican plant, such as Alvin Green in SC in 2010. Republicans have been trying for years to get Oregon to adopt an open primary without success.

So what we have here is nothing more that an old Republican dirty trick at work. That it is causing Republicans grief could not be more appropriate.

Anyway, now we know how to keep Thad Cochran off the Senate floor. Just put a Black Sheep in the Senate cloak room.

Poll Results–07/16/2014

Posted by TomCat at 1:05 am Blog News, Politics

Jul 162014

Here are the results of our SCOTUS Rating Poll. Politics Plus Polls are not scientific, because those who respond are not balanced according to demographic categories. Therefore, we do not accurately reflect the makeup of the US population. Nevertheless, our polls are often both accurate and indicative of the nation’s view.

0716Poll

And here are your comments.

Showing comments 1–9 of 9.

Posted by Phil July 9, 2014 at 10:16 pm.

I voted "Horrid" because you neglected to add "Outrageously Stupid."

Posted by Lynn Squance July 5, 2014 at 7:53 pm.

I voted "HORRID". While there may be minor acceptable judgements, preponderance of conservative activism is absolutely disgusting. It seems to me that SCOTUS, or should I say the SCROTUS wing of Injustices, is nothing more than a wing of the Republican/Teabagger party. I like the 3 women justices and Breyer, but I wish Justice Ginsburg were younger so that she would be around longer.

Posted by Edie July 5, 2014 at 5:23 pm.

They have sunk so far in my estimation, that horrible isn’t even an accurat)e description.(devious

Posted by SoINeedAName July 4, 2014 at 3:26 pm.

Not only "HORRID" – but HORRID for a long, Long, LONG time coming.

Pandora’s Box will be busy for decades.

Posted by Rixar13 July 4, 2014 at 2:33 pm.

Horrid…

Posted by gene jacobson July 1, 2014 at 8:45 am.

As noted, there were one or two minor things done the way I think they should have been, John Roberts siding with the four decent justices in both instances, but narrow and meaningless decisions they were. For the rest, the vast majority, this is the rottenest and in truth, corrupt Court we have ever had – corrupt comes with Thomas and Scalia out there making tons of money advertising how they will vote on various issues. Which encourages suits on those issues. Which makes them corrupt, evil and impeachable in my opinion. If the House truly wants to impeach someone it should be those two fools.

Posted by Joanne D July 1, 2014 at 4:45 am.

I want to qualify my vote of "horrid" by saying that it only applies to the SCROTUS Five. Unfortunately, they rule for now. Yes, there were one or two decent decisions, so minor I can’t even remember what they were. We will be decades cleaning up after these animals – and we can’t even start yet.

Posted by Lona Goudswaard July 1, 2014 at 12:56 am.

I’m completely prejudices of course, because the only rulings I see from this SCOTUS are the ones I get presented with on this blog, Care2, Daily Kos and such.

There were one or two surprise rulings this last term, but they were on very minor issues and didn’t stretch very far, but every other ruling I’ve heard off has been absolutely disastrous for this country.

Posted by Patty July 1, 2014 at 12:02 am.

I was going to say "Horrid" but there have been a couple good decisions.

I voted with the majority. While there have been a couple decisions that weren’t that bad, even the “good ones” have included concealed attempts at sabotage. A perfect exampled is deciding for the ACA, but allowing state governments to deny federally funded Medicaid to poor citizens.

A new poll is up. Vote now, and vote in November.

Open Thread–7/16/2014

Posted by TomCat at 1:05 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 162014

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 86. Last night I lay down for what was supposed to be a short catnap,. and I was out for hours. I’m feeling tired, still, but my groceries are unpacked and stowed, my research is done, and I just have to write tomorrow’s articles. Cravings are severe, and I think that getting off Chantix may be behind the sleep irregularity. Sleepy smile

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:08 (average 4:59). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Oklahoma had a very busy weekend, at least according to the richter scale.

GUTHRIE, Okla. (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded seven small earthquakes shaking central Oklahoma in a span of about 14 hours.

The temblors are part of an increase in earthquakes across Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas that some scientists say could be connected to the oil and gas drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, and especially the wells in which the industry disposes of its wastewater.

Sunday’s quakes ranged from magnitude 2.6 to 2.9 and were centered in the Guthrie, Jones and Langston areas, 15 miles to 30 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. The USGS said the quakes were recorded between 7:57 p.m. Saturday and 9:51 a.m. Sunday. No injuries or damage were reported.

Those follow four other quakes, including a 4.3-magnitude temblor near Langston recorded shortly after noon Saturday. The other Saturday morning quakes ranged in magnitude from 2.9 to 3.2.

Prior to fracking, this part of the country used to be geologically stable. While Republicans may call this the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy, the many occurrences of temblors in other tectonically stable areas after fracking help form an inductive basis for cause.

From The New Yorker: The Church of England, an institution whose origins date back to the sixth century A.D., has far more modern views about the rights of women than Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, experts said today.

“In recognizing that women are the equals of men, the Church of England has embraced a position that is centuries ahead of Scalia’s,” Davis Logsdon, a professor of religion at the University of Minnesota, said. “This is a remarkable achievement, given that Scalia was born in 1936 and the Church began in the late five hundreds.”

But Dr. Carol Foyler, a history professor at the University of Sussex, took issue with that assessment. “I date the beginning of the Church of England to 1534, when it was officially established under Henry VIII,” she said. “But regardless of whether the Church is fourteen centuries old or five centuries old, it’s unquestionably more modern than Scalia.”

Amen Andy! To find view’s on women’s rights worse than Scalia’s, one must eclipse the dawn of recorded history! Rolling on the floor laughing

From NY Times: Two Texas lawmakers say they plan to introduce a bipartisan bill on Tuesday intended to combat the humanitarian crisis at the nation’s southern border and make it easier to send migrant children from Central America back to their home countries.

The legislation is expected to encounter resistance from some congressional Democrats. It comes as the White House has signaled a willingness to work with Republicans to win passage of President Obama’s request for $3.7 billion in emergency funds to confront the surge of Central American migrants into the United States, with a heavy concentration of them in Texas.

The legislation by the two Texas lawmakers — Senator John Cornyn, the chamber’s No. 2 Republican, and Representative Henry Cuellar, a Democrat — would amend a 2008 law intended to stop sex trafficking that grants migrant children from Central America extra legal protections when they cross the border, protections that Mr. Obama has said make it harder to return the children quickly to their home countries.

Those protections for refugee children need to stay right where they are. Furthermore, calling the bill bipartisan is a crock. Cuellar is a virtual Republican, a perennial traitor to his both party and his people. He endorsed Bush over Gore in 2000, and he is the reddest Bush Dog DINO in Congress.

Cartoon:

0716Cartoon

Last Week’s Deranged Republican Comments

Posted by TomCat at 2:43 am Politics, Religion

Jul 152014

Every week, Republicans join a competition to see who can say the most outlandish things, and in the process, every week they push the envelope on just how deranged InsaniTEA can become. I trust that you will believe it, when I tell you that last week was no exception.

Pastor Robert Jeffress is pretty sure Jesus would have built a fence to keep out those kids at the border.

People often ask themselves “What would Jesus do?” for guidance on issues both big and small. Sometimes they ask themselves whether Jesus would have salad or French fries on the side. Right-wing ideologues ask if Jesus prefers AK-47s or some other assault rifle.

One such holy man, Texas megachurch Pastor Robert Jeffress has prayed mightily to the lord and searched his own conscience to find a humane solution to the problem of unaccompanied minors from Central America coming across the border. That’s how much he cares. And he has concluded that what Jesus would do is suggest we build a fence. Maybe this is because Jesus was for a carpenter, and he wants more work.

But it is also because, as Pastor Jeffress told Fox News on Thursday, building a fence is the truly compassionate thing to do.

“What we are doing by having these unsecured borders is we are enticing children and mothers to make this dangerous journey,” the Christian leader said on Fox News this week. “The most compassionate thing we can do is secure the borders.”

Oh, so the whole serving the poor thing, washing their feet, feeding the multitudes and forgiving people their sins, those weren’t the most compassionate things?

No, not according to Pastor Jeffress, who has previously expressed the very compassionate view that President Obama is preparing the U.S. for the Antichrist…

Inserted from <AlterNet>

I guess Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians (the exact opposite of authentic Christians) never heard of the Good Samaritan. The real Jesus would NOT be building a fence.

This is just one of six deranged Republican comments from lasi week alone. Click through for the other five.

Open Thread–7/15/2014

Posted by TomCat at 2:42 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 152014

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 85. Last night I crashed big time, making me late in getting my articles posted. I ordered my groceries from Safeway, because Store to Door shops at Fred Meyers, and this week, their specials stink. So Tuesday is a grocery delivery day.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:58 (average 4:47). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: A recent tour of the United States-Mexico border by Texas Governor Rick Perry has had the unintended consequence of convincing thousands of immigrants that anyone can succeed in America.

After Gov. Perry and the Fox News host Sean Hannity toured the Rio Grande on Thursday, news quickly spread that the two men were actually among the most powerful in America, fueling the immigrants’ impression that the U.S. is a place where anyone can make it.

“When we learned that these two men were the governor of a large state and a top broadcaster from a major news network, it seemed too incredible to be true,” said an immigrant from Honduras, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “We all said to ourselves, if those two can succeed in America, imagine the wondrous things we might achieve.”

LOL! Andy needs to tell the poor immigrants that those two make it here only because of their willingness to sell their souls to and betray the America for the 0.1%.

From NY Times: The deal that Secretary of State John Kerry brokered to ease the Afghan election crisis with a sweeping audit of the vote was quietly built on an even more profound reshaping of the entire government system, American and Afghan officials confirmed Sunday: The sides have agreed to gradually create an empowered prime minister post after years of an all-encompassing presidency.

Nearly a decade after American officials pushed a Constitution that enshrined near-dictatorial powers for the president, it is a tacit admission that changing to a more parliamentary system — a fraught undertaking at any time — is now seen as crucial to holding the country together after years of mounting political crises and ethnic and factional hostilities, officials said.

The Bush Reich never intended the original Afghani government to be a real republic. They intended to create a fascist puppet dictatorship under Hamid Karzai, a pipeline expert working for Unocal.

From Think Progress: Last January, the two lawyers behind Speaker John Boehner’s lawsuit claiming that President Obama is not implementing Obamacare fast enough authored an article in Politico Magazine laying out the legal theory behind this litigation. Yet, this article contains a glaring misrepresentation of a recent Supreme Court decision that undermines much of the basis for this lawsuit.

David Rivkin and Elizabeth Price Foley are the lawyers behind Boehner’s lawsuit. In their Politico piece, they correctly acknowledge that the biggest obstacle to suing Obama is something known as the “standing” doctrine. Standing is the requirement that a plaintiff bringing a lawsuit must have actually been injured in some way by the person that they are suing. But neither Speaker Boehner nor any other member of Congress has been injured by President Obama’s decision to delay implementation of a provision of the Affordable Care Act requiring employers with more than 50 employees to pay a fine if they don’t offer a minimal level of health insurance coverage. Boehner has not lost his health insurance because President Obama delayed this provision. Nor has this delay cost Boehner a single cent.

Of course, all Boehner wishes to do here if to get his lawsuit tied up in the courts until after the elections. As I have said before, it is a mere pretense, and it’s only intent is to stop the Baggers from embarrassing the rest of the party by trying to impeach Obama.

Cartoon:

0715Cartoon

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