TomCat

Oregon Shocked Over School Shooting

Posted by TomCat at 12:03 am Politics

Jun 112014

0611reynolds

I still know very little. A gun-nut opened fire at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, OR, a few mile away. The shooter is dead. One student is dead. Neither has been identified and we know nothing about the what motivated the perpetrator. One teacher was wounded, but was treated at the scene. By the time I post this, we will probably have more info.

Update: The victim is 14-year-old freshman Emilio Hoffman. The shooter, an apparent suicide, has still not been identified. He uses an assault weapon: an AR-15.

Tuesday morning's fatal shooting at Reynolds High School is the 74th shooting on an American school campus since a lone gunman's attack on Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012.

The list of shootings, which includes 13 school shootings in the first six weeks of this year, was compiled by Moms Demand Action for Guns Sense in America.

The 73rd shooting, according to the group, was last week's shooting at Seattle Pacific University, which claimed the life of a 19-year-old Westview High School graduate.

"We continue to keep it updated," said Stacey Radnor, a spokeswoman for the organization…

Inserted from <The Oregonian>

I feel a bit stunned. It hits home harder when it’s local. But the list above makes it crystal clear that it’s local if far too many places. Gun violence in schools has become epidemic.

From the right, the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, seems to care only about demeaning the people who want responsible laws passed.

Fox News resident psychiatrist and Medical A-Team member Dr. Keith Ablow used an active shooting situation at an Oregon high school to pre-emptively attack “anti-gun nuts” for wanting to talk about gun saftey laws.

As the news was breaking of a shooting at Reynolds High School in Troutdale that reportedly left at least one person dead, Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle asked Ablow to talk about what could have led to the shooting…

Inserted from <Raw Story>

Dr. (using that term MOST loosely) Ablow failed to mention that the reason that the mental health delivery system is so shoddy in this country is that Republicans keep cutting the funding to the agencies that provide those services. However, all he cared about was labeling reformers as “anti gun-nuts”.

Good gun reform will not solve the problem of school-shootings. No single thing will, since our culture is dysfunctional in so many ways, but if common sense gun reform laws, like closing the gun show loophole, will save the life of one child, wouldn’t it be worth it?

As for Faux Noise and Republican Ammosexuals. they can take a long flying frack off a short pier!

Open Thread–6/11/2014

Posted by TomCat at 12:02 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 112014

I’m writing for tomorrow and listening to news coverage of the Reynolds High School Shooting a few miles away (see lead article). I had a long talk with the Director of Public Relations at my Medical Equipment Company. She took responsibility and admitted that there was absolutely no reason they could now have waited until next month for by blood O₂ levels. In future they will send a med-tech here to get them, which they should have done this time. The woman who overstepped her authority and acted so imperiously to my doctor’s assistant is in trouble. Tomorrow is grocery delivery day, and I have lots of cleaning to do. Day 51.

Breaking:

I’m overjoyed to announce that Eric Cantor (R-VA) has been TEAbuggered! A Bagger beat him ion the primary!! It is the first time a sitting Majority was defeated in a primary since 1899. Bratt said he won because of Republican Supply-side Jesus (the polar opposite of the real Jesus) and ran on hatred for Latinos. Hid Democrat opponent and he are professors at the same college, and the Dem is more popular among the students than the Bagger, but the district is one of the most heavily Gerrymandered in the country, so engineered to protect Cantor. No doubt Cantor will become a well paid lobbyist.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:58 (average 5:26). To do it click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) ripped former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s new book, “Hard Choices,” today, telling reporters, “I read it, and honestly, I didn’t find anything in it worth plagiarizing.”

Calling the new book “disappointing,” Sen. Paul said, “I read a lot of books, and it’s rare that I don’t find a passage or two to lift here or there. I just read the second Harry Potter book and I thought there was some dialogue of Voldemort’s that could work well in my stump speech. But this Hillary book? Nada.”

Hillary’s book must really be horrid. Before this, nobody had ever written anything so bad that Idiot, Son of Idiot, Named after Idiot wouldn’t steal it!

From Daily Kos: A new poll by Lake Research Partners finds some reasons for that. Walmart’s reputation is suffering among consumers, with 28 percent saying they have an unfavorable view of Walmart, compared to just 13 percent unfavorable for Target and just six percent unfavorable for Costco. Walmart’s low wages and bad treatment of its workers are registering on shoppers; just 27 percent say that "treats its employees well" is a good description of Walmart, while 42 percent say it is not. The numbers are even more skewed when people are asked if "well paid employees" applies to Walmart. And those views of the company are affecting how much people shop at its stores.

That’s great news. I can summarize my Wal-Fart shopping advice in one word: DON’T!

From NY Times: He is a Democrat in a marquee Senate race, pressed by a strong Republican in a state with a challenging political environment. So when a new proposal to limit power plant emissions was seen as posing a threat to allies of the Obama administration, Senator Mark Udall of Colorado acted quickly: He embraced the plan.

“Coloradans have seen firsthand the harmful effects of climate change, including severe drought, record wildfires and reduced snowpack,” Mr. Udall said in a statement shortly after the Environmental Protection Agency plan was made public last week. “The E.P.A.’s draft rule is a good start, and I will fight to ensure it complements the work we have already done in Colorado and provides states the flexibility they need to make it successful.”

The E.P.A. proposal to reduce carbon pollution from power plants was deemed a political gift from the Obama administration to Republicans running for Senate seats in the coal-producing states of Kentucky and West Virginia, and an anchor around the necks of their Democratic opponents. Elsewhere, the threat of higher electricity bills and Republican attacks about another federal power grab were supposed to send Democrats scurrying for cover and distance from the White House.

But Mr. Udall’s example shows that not all Democrats look at it that way.

Kudos to Mark Udall. The way to seal with opposition to the plan is to expose the Republican lies on which all such opposition is based.

Cartoon:

0611Cartoon

Personal Update–6/10/2014

Posted by TomCat at 12:08 am Personal, Politics

Jun 102014

I’m writing for tomorrow after what has been a thoroughly frustrating, wasted day. The TriMet LIFT bus picked me up at 8:50 AM and dropped me at the doctor’s office at 10:00 AM for my 11:00 appointment. The doctor’s assistant came and got me and measured my resting blood O₂ level at 95%. Then I climbed a flight of stairs twice, without O₂, and she measured it at 88%. I climbed them again with 0₂, and she measured it again at 93%. I was done at 11:15, and all we learned is what we already knew. The culprit is not the insurance company, but the medical equipment company that the insurance company uses exclusively. They notified my doctor’s office late on 5/30, so her staff did not see the fax until 6/2. My doctor’s assistant called them to ask if they could do it during my already scheduled appointment on 7/14, and explained that, due to mobility and transit issues, an extra trip would be a hardship for me. They said no. It HAD to be done right away. I know the name of the person who made that demand, and I have a call in to the manager of her department. When I get done, they both may be candidates for rectal replacement. The TriMet LIFT bus picked me up at 1:20 PM and, after several side trips, dropped me off at 3:45 PM. Needless to say, it’s too late to begin research. Day 50.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:10 (average 5:46). To do it, click here. How did you do?

O₂ can be a real pain!

Last Week’s Republican Lunacies

Posted by TomCat at 12:04 am Politics

Jun 092014

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

…Virtually every Republican after new EPA rules came out: I’m not a scientist but… here’s a bunch of idiotic stuff I learned in grade school.

The “I’m not a scientist, but” statement of faux humility was the most popular refrain this week in Republican circles, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and press conferences. It was almost always followed by either second-grade level science like, “but carbon dioxide is good for plants, why do we have to limit it?” Or some other nonsensical argument against the new, much needed regulations.

There is, of course, only one retort to, “I’m not a scientist, but ….”

It’s, “That’s right, so shut up and listen to what actual scientists have been saying about this for, like, ever.”

We know, we know. We live in dreamland.

The stupid reactions to Obama’s announced coal restrictions ran the gamut.

You can read about them here. And here. But if we had to pick a favorite, just on the grounds of moronic immaturity, the prize has to go to this pathetic imbecile:

“Thanks to the Obama administration’s EPA and the new regulations released today, America is poised to become the ‘no pee’ section of the global swimming pool,” said Marita Noon, executive director of some bogus right-wing group called Citizens Alliance for Responsible Energy. “Just because we declare that we won’t pee in the pool, won’t stop the others.… We’ll be stuck in our little no-pee section with a crippled economy while the rest of the world will be frolicking in unfettered growth.”

Well now, that is a terrific way of deciding on matters of vital national (and international) interest. C’mon everybody, let’s keep peeing in the pool, until, well, the pool is entirely urine, and no longer any water whatsoever. Or, they catch us, whatever comes last…

Inserted from <Alternet>

Now this is the second in a list of six Republican lunacies from last week alone. These people belong in a padded room, not running the country! Click through for the other five.

Bill Maher on Open Carry

Posted by TomCat at 12:03 am Politics

Jun 092014

Any time I get an opportunity to share a Bill Maher clip with you, I do, hoping that it is not gone before you get to see it.

Last night, Bill Maher tore into the "ammosexuals" who want to open carry everywhere…

Inserted from <Daily Kos>

There is nothing I can add to mage that funnier or more accurate!

Open Thread–6/9/2014

Posted by TomCat at 12:01 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 092014

I’m writing for tomorrow and resting up for what is sure to be a boring, frustrating day. Because of being away from home almost the entire day tomorrow getting a useless test, it is probable that I shall have an Open Thread at most to post on Tuesday. They say that confession is good for the soul, and especially since Lynn is blackmailing me with a pic from the motel’s hidden spy cam (She wants all my catnip for her cats!), I suppose I’d better share that pic of how I got in trouble on my trip. Day 49.

0609Busted

What can I say? That was some excellent catnip!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:52 (average 4:39). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Upworthy: It’s easy to assume that when you’re super successful, it’s because you earned it. There have been many times in my life when I thought that, too. But here’s one successful man who knows otherwise. He wrote a book that got turned into a Brad Pitt movie, guys — he KNOWS about success.

I agree with him, as far as he goes. Fortune does indeed play a role in success, and the fortunate are morally obligated to help those who are not. What he does not cover so well is the degree to which we all contribute to the success of those who are fortunate by providing the environment in which success is possible.

From TPM: President Barack Obama is prepping new executive steps to help Americans struggling to pay off their student debt, and throwing his support behind Senate Democratic legislation with a similar goal but potentially a much more profound impact.

Obama on Monday will announce he’s expanding his "Pay As You Earn" program that lets borrowers pay no more than 10 percent of their monthly income in loan payments, the White House said. Currently, the program is only available to those who started borrowing after October 2007 and kept borrowing after October 2011. Obama plans to start allowing those who borrowed earlier to participate, potentially extending the benefit to millions more borrowers.

This is clearly a good step, but what we really need is education-for-service plans. Graduates spend X years after graduation teaching, nursing, doctoring, etc. in an underserved poor community, and the feds (we all) pay off their student debt.

From Raw Story: Thousands of bicyclists, many of them stark naked, poured into the streets of Portland, Oregon on Saturday night for the 11th annual World Naked Bike Ride, a protest that promotes bike riding as an alternative to driving cars.

Nude cyclists with lights flashing in their tire spokes rang bells as they barreled down avenues lined with cheering spectators, while a naked, apparently pregnant woman rode in a bike trailer.

“This is a party, but it’s also a protest,” said Carl Larson, a ride spokesman. “It is about oil dependence, cycling vulnerability and body” image.

Cyclists showed up in Normandale Park an hour before the ride, shedding garments according to the ride theme “as bare as you dare”.

The rides are held in more than 75 U.S. cities and in more than 20 other countries, but Portland’s is believed to be the largest, with more than 8,000 participants last year.

But unlike events in other cities, the Portland ride works with local police, being considered as a protest. Officers direct traffic during what is generally a trouble-free event.

This is one parade that did not pass under my window.

Cartoon:

0609Cartoon

Maher Spot-on About GOP Gulag

Posted by TomCat at 1:42 am Politics

Jun 082014

The more I learn about Bergdahlghazi, the more I become convinced that Republicans have been breathing their own self-produced methane for too long. Bill Maher had a fascinating panel discussion about the five Taliban prisoners released from the GOP Gulag at Gitmo in the exchange. His final conclusion is so obvious that most journalists could have failed to discuss it only by intent to withhold the most pertinent fact.

It’s been a very long week watching the right-wing freakout over the the prisoner swap for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, with everyone from John Bolton, to Ted Cruz, to the hairpiece Donald Trump, to you name it sticking their two cents in on whether we should have negotiated to get Bergdahl released and on whether the trade for the prisoners at Gitmo was worth it.

During a panel discussion on this Friday’s Real Time with Bill Maher on the topic, Maher finally said out loud what’s been missing from the discussions we’ve been hearing in our corporate media, and that’s why we could not have just tried these "terrorists" being held at Guantanamo Bay in a court of law — we tortured them.

You can debate all you want to, as the group did here, over whether these are bad people or not, and whether they might pose a threat to the United States at some time in the future or not, and who we should and should not be classifying as terrorists.

None of that matters much if, as Maher pointed out at the end of the clip above, we can’t try them because the Bush administration decided it was a good idea to torture them, and we can’t hold them any more because we can’t call them enemy combatants if we’re going to draw down and get out of Afghanistan. Maybe one of these days the so-called "journalists" we’ve got out there who are following Fox’s lead and drumming up their latest fake controversy could bother to point that out to their viewers as well…