Politics Plus

It is late Saturday morning and I am finishing up today’s post.  Unfortunately I was late to rise but the kids are fed and lounging on the floor around my chair so here we go.  I emailed TC last night and his reply is below.  He has also posted an OT and another article for your enjoyment and comments.  We had a rain warning on Thursday followed by a severe wind warning on Friday.  Where I am north of the Fraser River, we definitely had the rain but the wind seemed to knock out power etc south of the Fraser and on Vancouver Island.  Even the ferries to Vancouver Island were shut down because of the wind.  Today is cloudy but dry but I may have to wear my swimsuit to church tomorrow!

TC Update: I’m OK.    The place they dumped me is 1/3 smaller, and I am skewed half sideways to type.  I lost Comcast and had to change to Century Link DSL, so I had to move over a dozen companies to a different email account.  Organizing has kept me busy full time since I moved.  I hope to start posting soon.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:14 (average 5:15). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

The Nation — What the hell is wrong with Paul Ryan? At a point when the whole world is demanding urgent action to end the Saudi-led bombardment and starvation of Yemen, the Speaker of the House has been scheming to prevent congressional debate on a resolution to get the United States out of a humanitarian crisis.

This is not about partisanship or ideology. As Ryan was blocking action in the House this week, 11 Senate Republicans—including some of the chamber’s most conservative members—voted with Democrats to open the Senate debate on ending US military support for the Saudi Arabia’s assault on Yemen.

The 60-39 vote to advance the bipartisan effort by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) to invoke the war-powers authority of the Congress to constrain military interventions and engagements by the Executive Branch, cleared that way for a 56-41 vote on Thursday in favor of the S.J.Res. 54: “A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress.”

“Today we tell the despotic regime in Saudi Arabia that we will not be a part of their military adventurism,” declared Sanders, who has for months made the case for congressional action on Yemen, waging a two-pronged campaign for the resolution. First, he made a moral argument, telling his colleagues they have a duty to end US support for Saudi abuses that have fostered a “humanitarian and strategic disaster” in Yemen—a crisis so severe that United Nations officials say it could lead to the worst famine in a century. Second, the senator made a constitutional argument, explaining that “The Senate must reassert its constitutional authority and end our support of this unauthorized and unconstitutional war.”

Unfortunately, Ryan continues to do the bidding of the Trump administration and the Saudi regime with which the president is so closely aligned. Ryan refuses to concern himself with reports on what United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund describes as “a war on children.”

“Yemen has become a hell on earth for millions of children. Today every single boy, every single girl in Yemen is facing extremely dire need,” says UNICEF regional director Geert Cappelaere, who reports that, on average, a child is dying every 10 minutes in Yemen—a country where more than 400,000 children are starving and an additional 1.5 million are acutely malnourished.

Some images of Yemen that Ryan is ignoring.  Are these children still alive?  Not likely.

These are some of the voices that Paul Ryan is ignoring as he fails to allow debate and a vote in the House.  Shame on Paul Ryan!  The Saudi régime, and the complicit US régime must be held accountable.  War is not a one sided affair, but when such as these are the target, I have a problem with it and so should the world.  MbS’s children (if he has any), indeed Saudi children are not being targeted, only Yemeni children.  And what of the current US régime?  Could these be US children if Trump continues to abuse the rule of law and set the US as an authoritarian state?  Trump, Ryan and any others that fail to act to rein in Saudi Arabia are complicit in these murders.

Washington Monthly — On June 3, 1973, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein signaled the end of Richard Nixon’s presidency with a big scoop in the Washington Post. They reported that ex-White House counsel John Dean had “told Senate investigators and federal prosecutors that he discussed aspects of the Watergate cover-up with President Nixon or in Mr. Nixon’s presence on at least 35 occasions” and that he was planning “to testify under oath at the Senate’s Watergate hearings, regardless of whether he is granted full immunity from prosecution.” …

People can be forgiven for not knowing what the future would bring, but we have this precedent now to help imagine our near future.

When Robert Mueller brings his case, however he brings it, it will not be the end of the story. He has built his case by interviewing nearly everyone in Trump’s inner circle, many of whom have become cooperating witnesses and many others of whom have doubtlessly opted to tell the truth rather than risk perjury or obstruction of justice charges. Their information is locked in FBI transcripts and grand jury testimony, and the individuals can be called before Congress to testify.

When the time comes, the witnesses against Trump won’t be members of the special counsel’s office. The witnesses will be people like former White House counsel Don McGahn and firsthand witnesses like Rick Gates and Michael Flynn.  …

They’ll watch the president’s lies fall like dominoes based on the say-so not of Fake News reporters and a biased Deep State, but based on the testimony of former right-wing heroes.

And all of that is before we get into the actual meat of the story, which is the degree to which Trump lied about his business ties with Russia and the extent to which his campaign coordinated with the Russians to exploit the hacked emails.

The idea many have is that the Republicans will have little trouble brushing all of this off, but I don’t see that as a sustainable position for them. What brought Nixon down was the testimony of his own people, and that’s what ultimately will bring Trump down, too. [emphasis added]

The article in AlterNet this week, The coming parade of witnesses against Trump, really is an extension of this Washington Weekly article from 06 December 2018.  Trump is a fool who thinks he is untouchable.  I hope the law shows him that nobody, not even him, is above the law.  May it be so!

Billboard — If you watched the recent Netflix documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, you know that Jim Carrey is way more than just a rubbery faced funnyman. The Mr. Popper’s Penguinsstar is also a deep, philosophical thinker and spiritual seeker, and, as viewers learned, an avid painter.

While the canvases in the movie were mostly giant abstract works, Carrey has been focusing his attention lately on portraits of real-life figures, most of them related to Pres. Trump and Republican/right-leaning figures.

Please click through this short article.  This picture, 50 Shades of Decay, is one of 13 contained in the article.  You might not get excited by Carrey’s work in movies etc, but he certainly does know how to represent political characters like Trump in paint.

Canadian Press — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, facing federal investigations into his travel, political activity and potential conflicts of interest, will be leaving the administration at year’s end, President Donald Trump said Saturday. In his resignation letter, obtained by The Associated Press, Zinke said “vicious and politically motivated attacks” against him had “created an unfortunate distraction” in fulfilling the agency’s mission.

Trump, in tweeting Zinke’s departure, said the former Montana congressman “accomplished much during his tenure” and that a replacement would be announced next week. The Cabinet post requires Senate confirmation.  …

Zinke, 57, played a leading part in Trump’s efforts to roll back federal environmental regulations and promote domestic energy development. He drew attention from his first day on the job, when he mounted a roan gelding to ride across Washington’s National Mall to the Department of Interior.  …

As interior secretary, Zinke pushed to develop oil, natural gas and coal beneath public lands in line with the administration’s business-friendly aims. But he has been dogged by ethics probes, including one centred on a Montana land deal involving a foundation he created and the chairman of an energy services company, Halliburton, that does business with the Interior Department.

Click through for what Zinke’s future might look like.  I wonder if he’ll ride Tonto off into the sunset on 02 January 2019.

My Universe

Dude!  Why don’t you come out to play?

I’ll share my nuts!

It is Thursday evening and I am getting a start on the OT because I am getting a haircut Friday morning.  It will be great to be able to see the computer screen and keyboard again!  Well Winnie did very well at the vet’s today.   His spot glucose reading was 6.4 perfect for a cat’s range, and his fructosamine results won’t likely be available until late Friday.  At this point, there are no more vet appointments until his annual checkup in May.  He is diet controlled, and hopefully, he’ll lose a little more weight which will help things immensely.  Oh how I hate that last word — Trump uses it to such excess!  Friday noon: Winnie’s results were wonderful and he is officially classed as “in remission”.  The haircut did not happen (no hairdresser) so I’ll have resort to ponytails pretty soon.  That should be fun.  I’ll look like these little girls, babies really, who have 3 cm (9~1 in) ponytails all over their heads!  Have a good weekend and stay safe!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:37 (average 8:07). To do it, click here. How did you do?

TC’s took me 4:32 (average 5:26). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

AlterNet — “The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand.” That’s freshly minted GOP vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan talking — statements he would eventually recant — at a party celebrating what would have been the prolific author’s 100th birthday,

Rand’s books are a big driver in the long-term right-wing campaign to delude millions of people into believing that there’s no such thing as society — that everyone must look out only for themselves.

1. How Ayn Rand Seduced Generations of Young Men and Helped Make the U.S. Into a Selfish, Greedy Nation

“When I was a kid,” AlterNet contribuer Bruce Levine writes, “my reading included comic books and Rand’s The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. There wasn’t much difference between the comic books and Rand’s novels in terms of the simplicity of the heroes. What was different was that unlike Superman or Batman, Rand made selfishness heroic, and she made caring about others weakness.”

Bruce Levine’s explanation of how Rand has captured the minds of so many is a must-read. “While Harriet Beecher Stowe shamed Americans about the United State’s dehumanization of African Americans and slavery, Ayn Rand removed Americans’ guilt for being selfish and uncaring about anyone except themselves. Not only did Rand make it ‘moral’ for the wealthy not to pay their fair share of taxes, she ‘liberated’ millions of other Americans from caring about the suffering of others, even the suffering of their own children.”

5. Billionaires and Corporations Use Rand’s Writings To Brainwash College Students
Pam Martens reported that Charles Koch, who pushes “millions of dollars through his foundation into economic programs at public universities and mandating approval of faculty and curriculum in some instances,” partnered with the “southern banking giant BB&T … mandating that Ayn Rand’s book Atlas Shrugged is taught and distributed to students.”

Click through for the other 8 influences of Ayn Rand.  I have always seen American capitalism as almost cruel and exploitative.  Unfortunately, Republicans display this same exploitative trait showing total disregard for the working, poor and middle classes.

The Atlantic — Opposition is building against a Trump-administration plan to allow certain groups of protected Vietnamese immigrants to be deported, a day after The Atlantic reported that the U.S. is reinterpreting an agreement with Vietnam that shielded some of them from being moved out of the country.

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My Universe

Les Folies Bergère?

TomCat dropped by  the site yesterday around noon to say that his move was a nightmare and he would likely be scarce for a few more days.  Hopefully, he’ll remember to take it easy and preserve his sanity.  Today is physio and teaching so my time is very tight.  Hopefully I’ll have an OT for Thursday.  Well all, have a great day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 6:03 (average 7:13). To do it, click here. How did you do?

TC’s took me 5:11 (average 7:51). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

Sojourners — Every year from Dec. 16 to 24, Las Posadas begin in many Latin American countries and immigrant communities in the U.S. Roughly translated, posadas means “inn” or “shelter.” Las Posadas recalls the events in Luke’s Gospel leading up to Jesus’ birth. It’s a Catholic Christian observance with a sung liturgy that’s performed on the streets rather than in church.

A posada begins with a street procession that reenacts Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter at an inn. Those playing the protagonists of the story, Mary and Joseph, are dressed in costume and carry candles as they follow along a prescribed route, knocking on doors. At each door they ask, through special posada songs, for room at the inn. In rural areas, Mary may even ride on a donkey.

The verses of the song are sung alternately by those outside and those inside the home. This creates a sung dialogue between Joseph and an innkeeper.

Joseph:

En el nombre del cielo                In the name of heaven

os pido posada,                            I ask you for shelter,

pues no puede andar                  for my beloved wife

mi esposa amada.                       can go no farther.

Innkeeper:

Aquí no es mesón                       This is not an inn

sigan adelante,                           Get on with you,

yo no puedo abrir,                      I cannot open the door,

no sea algún tunante.                 you might be a rogue.

Many people from the community follow behind, singing along with them. The neighbors participating in the posada open their doors, and each one purposefully sings their refusal to Mary and Joseph. Only at the very end of the route is there a designated household that finally allows Mary and Joseph to come in. There, too, is a party with Bible readings, food, and piñatas for the children. Now that the holy family has found their welcome, it is time to celebrate.  …

It is also one that ministers and immigration advocates have begun to use to represent the lack of hospitality at the U.S.–Mexico border. Their version is called La Posada Sin Fronteras: Shelter without Borders.

La Posada Sin Fronteras uses the exact same songs as the traditional Posada liturgy. But rather than walking through a neighborhood and knocking on doors, immigration advocates, faith leaders, immigrants, and other supporters gather on both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border. There they are watched carefully by the Border Patrol as they begin their reenactment of the journey of Mary and Joseph. The group on the Mexican side represents Mary and Joseph asking for shelter, while those on the U.S. side play the innkeeper, who repeatedly rejects their request for shelter. It’s a reenactment that “contextualizes the bitter drama” of displaced immigrants, writes Ched Myers in Our God Is Undocumented. And it brings participants inside the sacred story of God struggling to enter an inhospitable world.

Click through for the remainder of this fine article.  Now I know that not everybody is Christian, but one does not need to be Christian to be filled with love and compassion at this time of year, indeed at any time.  In the context of the Trump Republican régime, I think everyone can relate to this story, or should be able to relate in some fashion, even if they have not experienced such treatment first hand themselves.  I know my Muslim friends can.  Men, women and babes in arms are gassed by US Border Patrol agents lobbing teargas canisters across the border.  When will the US live up to its words at the Statue of Liberty — The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus?

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

OMG!!!  This would be hysterically funny if it were not so sad.  Trump is an absolute idiot and worse than a petulant toddler in the midst of a tantrum! Trump: “Yes, if we don’t get what we want, … I will shut down the government, absolutely.”  Remember those words because you are going to hear “I never said that.” And if the shut down happens, you know Trump will blame it on the Democrats as sure as it snows in January in Colorado.  He had his ass whopped by the Dynamic Duo, “Chuck and Nancy”!  Can the US population put up with this jackass for another 2 years!

YouTube — This is Part 2 of an ABC (Australian Broadcast Company) programme examining the Trump Russia relationship.  Some of this is ‘old hat’ while other parts may be new information.  Sarah Ferguson, the interviewer, talks with various people involved with Trump.  Tomorrow Part 3.

My Universe