Politics Plus

I’m writing for tomorrow, and I think I’ll start counting months, instead of days.  It’s over three now.  I really was tired after yesterday, because I overslept this morning, and now it’s almost bedtime.  Now what am I forgetting?  That’s it!  EAT!! ;-)  Fantasy players check your lineups for Thursday night’s game.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:48 (average 4:24).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MSNBC: ObamaCare or the ACA?

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

America’s big problem is that sheeple like these reproduce… and vote!!

From Raw Story: Fears were mounting Wednesday that a fight over the government’s debt ceiling will overtake the budget battle that has paralyzed Washington, threatening to trigger an unprecedented US default.

Republican lawmakers, frustrated that they have not won any concessions from Democrats over health care reform, have threatened to roll the two issues together.

That signalled [sic] not only that the government shutdown could run for two weeks, but also that there could be a battle to the brink over the borrowing limit that would frighten global markets.

Whatever damage Republicans do, caving-in to their seditious terrorism will only demonstrate to them that they can get away with doing it again. They must be taught, once and for all, that the political price they pay for anti-American behavior outweighs the benefits they hope to gain!

From Salon.com: A nuclear bomb just exploded in the world of Bitcoin libertarianism. The FBI has busted the Silk Road, the online black market emporium in which nearly anything illicit imaginable could be purchased — but only via the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. On Wednesday, the FBI arrested Ross Ulbricht, a.k.a “Dread Pirate Roberts,” a man whom they believe to be the founder and chief operator of the site, on charges of narcotics trafficking, computer hacking, and money laundering. The criminal complaint filed by the FBI also alleges that Ulbricht solicited a “murder-for-hire” hit on another Silk Road user who was attempting to extort Ulbricht.

The complaint makes for lurid and fascinating reading, along with providing a decent tutorial on how to use the Tor anonymizing network and Bitcoin currency. If the details reported in the complaint are true, over the past several years, thousands of Silk Road users bought and sold illicit substances worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Ulbricht was reportedly arrested in possession of 26,000 Bitcoins, currently worth around $3 million.

But the most interesting aspect of the complaint has less to do with its voluminous allegations of criminal activity than its implications for cyber-libertarian dogma. Countless articles about Bitcoin, the supposedly untraceable, uncrackable digital currency, have referenced the Silk Road as an example of how the crypto-currency enabled an online marketplace that could scoff at the oppressive totalitarian attention of law enforcement or the tax man.

It was easy to tell that Bitcoin, so loved by TEAbagger extremists,  was a right wing scam. How?  That’s easy!

Cartoon:

I’m writing for tomorrow day 109.  Because the Republican budget crisis is coming to a head tonight, I may delay the September Monthly Report from the second to the third.  Speaking of overloading myself, every single politician and/or organization, for whom I have signed a petition or made a small donation, has been sending me multiple email solicitations for money daily.  I need a full time secretary just to delete all the damn things!  So today, I went on an unsubscribing rampage, and unsubscribed to everyone who has dunned for money in the last 24 hours.  I unsubscribed from 154 lists!  ARGH!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:56 (average 4:51).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: In a special Sunday radio address, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) delivered a health tip to the American people, advising them to delay getting cancer for a year.

“We’re involved in a high-stakes fight over our freedom from centralized government control of our lives,” said Mr. Boehner, speaking on behalf of his House colleagues. “You can do your part by delaying getting cancer.”

He added that heart disease, emphysema, and diabetes were among a laundry list of conditions that would be “patriotic to avoid for a year.”…

…In closing, he reassured the American people that in the event of a government shutdown, members of Congress’ health benefits would remain intact: “We want to be in tip-top shape to continue to do the excellent job we’re doing for you.”

Those who refuse to delay are still welcome to the free RepubliCare Death Benefit, and will not be charged for dying. As for Agent Orange, his insides are already embalmed.

From NY Times: This may be the way the world ends — not with a bang but with a temper tantrum.

O.K., a temporary government shutdown — which became almost inevitable after Sunday’s House vote to provide government funding only on unacceptable conditions — wouldn’t be the end of the world. But a U.S. government default, which will happen unless Congress raises the debt ceiling soon, might cause financial catastrophe. Unfortunately, many Republicans either don’t understand this or don’t care.

Let’s talk first about the economics…

Krugman does a superior job of explaining the meanings of and the difference between a budget shutdown and a more harmful debt limit default. Click through for the entire article. As for Republicans, he calls them "Rebels without a clue!"

From TPM: The Democratic-led Senate is expected on Monday afternoon to rebuff the latest temporary spending bill passed by the House, keeping the pressure on House Republicans just hours before a federal government shutdown at midnight.

Democrats will bring up one motion to table the GOP’s amendments to delay Obamacare for a year, repeal the law’s medical device tax and allow employers to opt out of contraception coverage for employees, leadership aides say. It would require 51 votes. House Republicans were furious that Senate declined to return to session Sunday after the lower chamber voted to amend the continuing resolution late Saturday night.

"The Senate will do exactly what we said we would do and reject these measures," said Adam Jentleson, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), on Sunday. "At that point, Republicans will be faced with the same choice they have always faced: put the Senate’s clean funding bill on the floor and let it pass with bipartisan votes, or force a Republican government shutdown."… [emphasis added]

This is just how I said it would happen yesterday.  By the time you read this, you should know what the House Republicans did.  Update:  They threw in an extra iteration, but because the end result was the one I anticipated, there is no need for me to change the cartoon I placed in this article yesterday morning.  See below.

Cartoon: