Squatch’s Open Thread 30/01/2016

Posted by Lynn Squance at 5:53 am Open Thread, Politics

Jan 312016

I completed the Open Thread and went to save it only to get a message of an error, and the content went into cyber purgatory never to be seen again. I wonder if it was something I said? Yesterday was busy with teaching. After finishing an ESL lesson, I tutoured grade 7 math and grade 3 English spelling. By the time I arrived home at 20:30, the furbabies were ready to lynch me and I was too tired so no Open Thread yesterday. Today has been much calmer, that is until I lost my thread.

Short Takes

Huffington Post — The poisoning of the majority-black population of the city is a product of a system failing the people of Flint on many levels over a long period of time. To really start unpacking the historical roots of the crisis, you have to go back to slavery itself, which debased the humanity and devalued the lives of black people from well before our nation's founding; followed by the Jim Crow era of legal segregation, discrimination, and violence against black Americans, which resulted in early 20th century migrations of black people from the segregated south to urban manufacturing centers of the northern United States. When they got there, they found cities without legal segregation, yet with de facto segregation and discrimination alive and well in both white attitudes and systems. The arrival and growth of black populations in northern cities was followed shortly thereafter by white flight to the suburbs, aided by discriminatory housing policies that effectively prevented the vast majority of black people from joining them and blocked the financing of black homes even in the cities.

I came across this piece and thought to share it and the following 28 minute video "America's Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America". Wallis talks of racism and white privilege as moral issues that are "…in the air that we breathe and the water we drink." At Politics Plus, we often talk about pseudo Christianity and authentic Christianity, especially as it relates to the political scene. We talk also about white privilege and the political effects. As Wallis says "So let's change the water — and the air."

Think Progress — The Ku Klux Klan has gotten a bad rap, according to one Georgia lawmaker. He says the terror group “was not so much a racist thing but a vigilante thing to keep law and order” that “made a lot of people straighten up.”

That leader is now hellbent on stopping the “cultural cleansing” of the South’s heritage. So far this year, State Rep. Tommy Benton (R) has co-sponsored two bills to preserve the Confederate’s legacy.

Another Republican nutter.

Mother Jones — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's presidential campaign never really caught steam. In Iowa, he's barely registering in the polls, and in New Hampshire (seemingly friendlier territory) he's generally in sixth place. So with the first votes fast approaching, he's settled on a strategy of attacking the non-Trump frontrunners, particularly Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, as dishonest politicians who are lying to voters.

This from Pignocchio whose nose is so long that he would be unable to do a field sobriety test of touching his finger to the end of his nose! That's rich!

Alternet — “It’s really frightening,” survivor Al Munzer told the newspaper. “When you see these mass rallies that Trump is able to attract, you really wonder: How are they buying into this message of hate?”

The most direct answer to Munzer’s question can be found in the words of Trump’s followers themselves, who aren’t so much buying into hate as they are enthusiastically supporting the guy boosting the hate and racism they already feel. For all his self-aggrandizement, even Donald Trump wouldn’t likely claim to have hypnotized his supporters. He’s merely speaking directly to a huge demographic of overwhelmingly white voters who want blacks, Mexicans, Muslims and others out of the country they believe belongs to them. This is what they mean by "making America great again."

We hear a lot of references to Adolf Hitler when talking about Trump and his racist, xenophobic ideas. I am not enamoured of such talk, but some survivors of Hitler's final solution see distinct similarities.

Huffington Post — A veteran MP losing his voice to the ravages of Lou Gehrig's disease found an innovative way to make himself heard in the House of Commons Wednesday.

mauril belanger

And Mauril Belanger made history in the process.

This is a story of perseverence and courage. Mauril Bélanger, MP has represented Ottawa-Vanier for 20 years. Immediately following the Canadian federal election of 19/10/2015, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrigs disease. Some thought he would step down, but that is not his style. His voice is greatly affected so he has come up with an idea to allow him to continue.

My Universe —

Open Thread–1/30/2016

Posted by TomCat at 1:30 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 302016

This morning I felt do tired that, when I had finished with m,y research, I returned to bed for a couple hours. I still feel tired, so please pardon my brevity.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:30 (average 4:41). My fishy? To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: It seems that Jeb Bush, now reduced to an asterisk (*) in the 2016 Republican Presidential contest, has concluded that the best way to quickly burn through those millions upon millions of dollars in campaign donations he received is to perform a supreme act of self-immolation, by resurrecting the infamous Terry Schiavo fiasco in a new campaign ad, paid for, morbidly enough, by a Bush PAC that calls itself “Right To Rise."

In addition to touting his high score with the NRA , the voice-over in Bush’s new ad celebrates how then-Florida governor Bush “fought time and again for the right to life," with an image of someone leaning over Schiavo, lying in a helpless vegetative state in her hospital bed.

And while the general electorate will likely recoil in horror at this kind of crass opportunism, Bush apparently hopes the Republican base will be shocked and awed as they are reminded of his role in forcing the irreversibly and profoundly brain-damaged Schiavo to cling to life in direct contravention of what her husband explained would have been her own desires, simply to bolster his credentials among the forced-birth crowd of ghouls who demanded that the poor woman be kept resuscitated at all costs, no matter how much pain it caused to others. Because abortion or something.

Bush Barf Bag Alert!!

The autopsy proved that what the doctors had said was right. Under no circumstances could she ever have become conscious again. When I named Jeb :Strike Three", was I right, or was I right?

From NY Times: Johnson Controls, an industrial and auto parts supplier headquartered in Milwaukee, announced this week that is was selling itself to Tyco International, a maker of fire safety products based in Ireland. The deal will let Johnson Controls pass itself off as Irish and, in the process, cut its taxes in the United States by at least $150 million a year.

Johnson Controls is not the first American company to avoid taxes by merging with a smaller company in a low-tax nation, and it won’t be the last. Nor is it the biggest. That distinction goes to Pfizer, which is in the process of becoming Irish, having merged last year with a smaller company based in Dublin.

Johnson Controls is, however, the latest and quite possibly the most brazen tax dodger. The company would not exist as it is today but for American taxpayers, who paid $80 billion in 2008 to bail out the auto industry. Johnson Controls’s president personally begged Congress for the bailout, which came on top of huge tax breaks that the company has received over the years, including at least $149 million from Michigan alone from 1992 to 2009, according to The Times.

What’s galling about this and similar maneuvers is that Congress has done nothing to stop them. Since 2008, some three dozen American companies have used gaps and loopholes in the law to change their tax nationalities, a process known as “inverting.”

Most Democrats are not the problem. Virtually all Republicans support the practice by blocking all attempts by Democrats to make inverted companies pay US taxes. Bernie opposes inverting.

From Crooks and Liars: Stephen Colbert Holds An All-Trump Debate

Barf While You’re Laughing Bag Alert!!

FOMCROTFPIMPLMAO!!!!

Cartoon:

Open Thread–1/29/2016

Posted by TomCat at 2:27 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 292016

I’m running quite late today. Yesterday afternoon, my helper friend and I made six meals. Last night I filled two barf bags, trash can, my coffee cup, my shirt pocket, and George. Today Jeannie (shower-aide) left me with soft shiny fur. Arvilla (PT) gave me a hard workout including a toilet transfer with my quad-cane, without using the disabled rails. Then I walked around 225 ft. with my walker. That’s almost double my previous best. Then I did exercises, and maneuvered from the sink, paste the range, past the counter, to the refrigerator and back without my chair or my walker, using the surfaces for support. I’m pooped!! TGIF!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:19 (average 5:41). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: The FBI has released video tonight of the shooting death of LaVoy Finicum to dispel any rumors that he had “had his hands up” and was trying to surrender to police. The FBI’s Special Agent in Charge Gregory T. Bretzing held a press conference to explain the events surrounding the arrest of Ammon Bundy (and others), along with the fatal shooting of LaVoy Finicum. Finicum can be seen running from the initial stop in his pick-up truck, with passengers Ryan Payne, Shawna Cox and a woman the FBI declined to identify. The video was captured by aerial camera and shows Finicum driving into a snow back, barely missing a law enforcement officer. He immediately jumped from the vehicle, at first with his hands up as he yelled at law enforcement, but then clearly reaching into his pocket multiple times, where the FBI says he did have a gun (update: a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.)

Here us a shortened, edited clip instead of the 26 minute clip included with the article. No significant parts were removed.

I have no doubt that the Republican terrorist was going for his gun, based on his previous statements and the loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol in the pocket. The officer was fully justified in shooting him. However, I would like to have seen a faster response time to try to save his life, if possible, after he was down.

From Media Matters: Student loan debt in America has reached a staggering $1.3 trillion, surpassing even credit card debt. But right-wing media figures have criticized efforts to combat student loan debt by pushing misinformation and blaming students for pursuing higher education…

…Blaming students for the student loan debt crisis ignores the facts and distracts from finding real solutions to America’s skyrocketing student debt burden.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Students should be able to pay for their education with their choice of military, national, or community service.

From NY Times: WHILE presidential candidates from both parties feverishly pitch their legislative agendas, voters should also consider what presidents can do without Congress. Agency rules, executive actions and decisions about how vigorously to enforce certain laws will have an impact on every American, without a single new bill introduced in Congress.

The Obama administration has a substantial track record on agency rules and executive actions. It has used these tools to protect retirement savings, expand overtime pay, prohibit discrimination against L.G.B.T. employees who work for the government and federal contractors, and rein in carbon pollution. These accomplishments matter.

Whether the next president will build on them, or reverse them, is a central issue in the 2016 election. But the administration’s record on enforcement falls short — and federal enforcement of laws that already exist has received far too little attention on the campaign trail.

I just released a report examining 20 of the worst federal enforcement failures in 2015. Its conclusion: “Corporate criminals routinely escape meaningful prosecution for their misconduct.”

Amen! Click through for the rest of this fine editorial by American National Treasure. Elizabeth Warren, and be sure to read her report.

Cartoon:

Republicans want to take your money and give it to the 0.1%

Squatch’s Open Thread 28/01/2016

Posted by Lynn Squance at 4:36 am Open Thread, Politics

Jan 292016

Sorry I wasn't here yesterday to post an Open Thread but my arthritis flared up, swelling my fingers and making it too painful to type or use the mouse, although I managed to respond to TC's articles. I suspect the heavy rains were the catalyst. It wasn't until late this afternoon that things started to normalise. Well I know I am in the dog house, so to speak, with my furbabes as Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday they ignored me, completely! I suspect it may be the reduced rations. It is amazing though — the power of food — as they started coming to me a bit more. I think I am forgiven now.

The Intercept — New FEC filings show that all of the $417,250 in monetary donations to a Super PAC called “Black Americans for a Better Future” comes from conservative white businessmen — including $400,000, or 96 percent of the total, from white billionaire hedge fund manager Robert Mercer.

donors-theintercept-graphic-v2

Call the PAC something that it is not in hopes that it will convince some African American voters to get behind Ted Cruz . . . Black Americans for a Better Future, thy name is deception.

Huffington Post — California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) is asking voters to overturn a strict sentencing law he signed nearly 40 years ago because of its "unintended consequences," including a surge in the prison population.

Brown, in a call with reporters Wednesday, announced a ballot initiative called the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016, which he said would likely reduce prison time for many of the 127,000 nonviolent offenders locked in the state's overcrowded correctional facilities.

Personally, I think this is a great move. Couple it with Obama's recent call to ban solitary confinement for juveniles and as punishment for low-level infractions in federal facilities, and you have the first steps of prison reform.

Global News — Months after being released from an Egyptian jail, Mohamed Fahmy is adjusting to the life of an academic at the University of British Columbia, talking to students about his experiences as a journalist.

“It feels very inspiring that I’m actually lecturing students and getting feedback about various topics,” he said.

He has no shortage of things to talk about. Fahmy spent more than 400 days in prison on terrorism charges after an Egyptian court case that was the subject of broad international criticism.

From CBC News

Click through for the interview and short videos to see what Fahmy is trying to do. I really don't know how much Americans know about the Mohamed Fahmy case in Egypt. Fahmy, Cairo bureau chief for Al Jazeera English and an award winning journalist, was arrested 29/12/2013 and accused of conspiring with a terrorist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, and fabricating news to portray Egypt in a state of civil war. His journey has been long, unnecessarily so, courtesy of ex-PM Stephen Harper who would not speak to the Egyptian president on behalf of Fahmy. I support Fahmy.

My Universe — h/t Ted W and Carol D, Care2

Open Thread–1/28/2016

Posted by TomCat at 1:02 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 282016

This morning, when I awakened, I found that the elevator is now working, so the dreaded task is now done, and I’m pooped. Unfortunately, now I’m too sore and tired to make half a dozen meals, which was today’s chore. My helper friend has disappeared again as she sometimes does. She was supposed to be here Tuesday and did not show up, and I have been unable to reach her since. That’s frustrating!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 5:19 (average 7:00). To do it click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Millions of Americans are expressing their resentment and outrage at being put in the appalling position of siding with the Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, a state of affairs that many are calling “intolerable.”

“Never in a million years did I envision a situation where I would be on the same side as Megyn Kelly,” Tracy Klugian, of Butte, Montana, said. “Now that I find myself in just such a situation, let me say this: it’s horrible. Truly horrible.”

“Putting people through the ordeal of siding with Megyn Kelly could be the worst thing Donald Trump has done in this campaign,” Jervis Kentwell, of Norwalk, Connecticut, said. “I know he thinks he’s invulnerable or whatever, but it’s hard to see him recovering from this.”

Andy is so right! I may sue Hateful Hairball over the pain and suffering it has caused me.

From Daily Kos: The latest massive offense the Obama administration has done to Wall Street is to come up with a rule telling financial services companies that their first duty is to their clients. That’s such an offensive requirement, Republicans in Congress have even been trying to derail it. Because nothing should stand in the way of profits for Wall Street, including the nest eggs of senior citizens. To prove how awful the whole idea is, American International Group Inc. (AIG) decided they had to sell off, admitting that if they can’t screw old people out of money, then why bother?

"It’s a business we are not the best owner of, particularly in the light of potential Department of Labor rules," [CEO Peter] Hancock said Tuesday in a conference call updating investors on AIG’s strategy. "With the new DOL rules, that was a big factor in thinking whether this was better owned by somebody independent of us." […]

Hancock said the broker-dealer network earned about $40 million in 2014, yet consumed a "disproportionate amount" of AIG’s compliance cost.

Considering that the taxpayers of America loaned AIG over $67 billion in TARP funds to keep them out of bankruptcy, their attitude that they don’t want to play, unless they are allowed to rip-off seniors can best be described as Republican.

From Alternet: A series of exposés released this week shed further light on an often-overlooked form of war profiteering: charity organizations that raise millions of dollars under the auspices of serving wounded military veterans, only to inappropriately spend those funds.

Specifically, the Wounded Warrior Project is under the microscope, with a New York Times investigation finding that the well-heeled organization has spent “millions a year on travel, dinners, hotels and conferences that often seemed more lavish than appropriate.”

Such spending is no small matter, notes journalist David Philipps, as the charity “has evolved into a fund-raising giant, taking in more than $372 million in 2015 alone—largely through small donations from people over 65.” In fact, according to Philipps, the group is the largest and most rapidly-expanding organization in the country.

I’ve been emotionally tempted to give to them on a couple of occasions. I’m glad that I didn’t. Isn’t it a shame that Republicans have infested secular charities and are just as corrupt as they have been for ages in pseudo-Christian charities?

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0128Cartoon

Open Thread–1/27/2016

Posted by TomCat at 1:39 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 272016

Yesterday I learned that I’m making such good progress that I will no longer qualify for home health care after February 12th. I can go out for PT and OT, but I’ll have to do it much less frequently, because of the copay and having to pay for transit, The big hurt is that I’ll lose my shower-aide. Medicare does not pay for long term personal care, and I make just little too much too much to qualify for Medicaid. I’m searching for a solution. The dreaded task did not get done, because the building’s elevator has been out since Sunday night. It was supposed to be fixed yesterday afternoon, but it was not. We’ve actually had three day’s of relatively nice weather, and I’ve been trapped here. ARGH!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:05 (average 5:28). Do I get a double dawgburger? To di it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Carrie: Donald Trump Fan ?

A teacher asked her 6th grade class how many of them were Donald Trump fans.
Not really knowing what a Donald Trump fan is, but wanting to be liked by

the teacher, all the kids raised their hands except for smart Little Johnny.

The teacher asked Little Johnny why he has decided to be different…

Little Johnny said, "Because I’m not a Donald Trump fan."

The teacher asked, "Why aren’t you a fan of Donald Trump?"

Johnny said, "Because I’m a Democrat." The teacher asked him why he’s a Democrat.

Little Johnny answered, "Well, my Mom’s a Democrat and my Dad’s a Democrat, so I’m a Democrat."

Annoyed by this answer, the teacher asked, "If your mom was a moron and your dad was an idiot, what would that make you?"

With a big smile, Little Johnny replied, "That would make me a Donald Trump fan".

FOMCROTFPIMPLMAO!!!

From Daily Kos: This has been a difficult diary to write—not because it is a difficult subject, but because it was so hard to narrow it down to just four governors. Describing the damage that the 31 current Republican governors have done to the United States (and to their own states) would likely take a tome the length of War and Peace. You don’t have the time to read that, and as these men and women are still in office it would be impossible to keep up with the garbage legislation they keep unleashing on their citizens. So let’s just keep it to the top (er, bottom) four:

4. — Maine Gov. Paul LePage. This is a man who does not have the qualifications to be the county dog catcher. Yet inexplicably, he’s the governor of Maine. He is so petty that shortly after he took office he ordered murals representing working men and women taken down, as they were “pro-union.”

Now, if that was all he did he would not have made this list. But Gov. LePage is the gift that just keeps on giving. He has no filter when talking about his opponents—think Donald Trump, but worse. In short, he is a bully. Oh, and a racist too.

But no, we aren’t done yet: He used his political power to have an opponent fired from a job at a charter school. This brief write-up only scratches the surface of Gov. LePage. He is an awful human being, on top of being a lousy governor.

LePage is just number four. Click through for the bottom three Governors in the US, Republicans, of course.

From Upworthy: One of the first women of country to really "tell it like it is" was singer Loretta Lynn. She was never shy about her life.

Her song "The Pill" — released in 1975, 15 years after the birth control pill was introduced— was no exception. Take a listen:

I loved her music. Forty years later, the Republican Party would organize a boycott of her music. Don’t forget what they did to the Dixie Chicks!

Cartoon:

Global warming, caused mostly by burning fossil fuels and Republican flatulence, causes extreme weather of all kinds, not just hot weather,

Squatch’s Open Thread 26/01/2016

Posted by Lynn Squance at 3:20 am Open Thread, Politics

Jan 272016

Today was a miserably wet day out and of course I had 3 waterphobic cats to get to the vet's for their annual exam. They love their vet very much and were purring and rubbing up against him. Winnie, my ginger, took the lid from the treats jar and almost got his head stuck in the jar. The good news: they are all very healthy! The bad news: they have all put on weight. Primo, my tuxedo is now 15.05 kg (33.11 lbs), Winnie is 13.1 kg (28.82 lbs), and little Annie is 11.45 kg (25.19 lbs) . . . that is 39.6 kg (87 lbs) in my bed each night! Is it any wonder that I was almost dumped on the floor a few nights back?! They were already on reduced rations so we will see what happens with reducing them a bit more. Apparently they are middle aged now . . . the boys turn 8 in mid April . . . so part of the problem is likely a slowing down of their metabolism. My vet says they have fattened up with love (no, I don't over feed them). Tomorrow is physio again so, as my stepfather would say, I'll be peddling my ass for another 40 minutes.

Short Takes

Alternet — Every candidate in the GOP presidential race is running on the same economic platform: slash taxes, slash spending, slash regulation. It’s the Republicans’ special formula, guaranteed to spark prosperity and opulence for all. …

Deregulate the private sector, shrink taxes for everybody, but especially corporations and the rich. America has been here before. These ideas are not new. Throughout the 1920s, they were policy.

An excellent article that puts historical context around current Republican economic platforms. Republicans just love their St Ronnie! Interesting how Republicans don't want to acknowledge the cause and effect of the 1929 stock market crash and the depression. It is laws like the original Glass Steagall that made a big difference.

CBC — The federal government discriminates against First Nation children on reserves by failing to provide the same level of child welfare services that exist elsewhere, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has ruled.

Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations and Family Caring Society, along with the Assembly of First Nations, filed a complaint against Ottawa with the Canadian Human Rights Commission in February 2007. …

Before final arguments were heard in October 2014, during which the tribunal heard from 25 witnesses, the federal government had racked up $5.3 million in legal fees.

A great ruling! In February 2007, Stephen Harper was Canada's Prime Minister. He ws not one to act on or coöperate in any way for the benefit of First Nations. But to be fair, previous governments, both Conservative and Liberal, did not handle First Nations issues well at all. It is past time that changed. I watched a brief statement by Charlie Angus, MP Timmins-James Bay, earlier as he recounted how there were some 89 Aboriginal kids on suicide watch a few years ago and the federal Conservative government in concert with the Ontario provincial government fired all the social workers leaving the kids and their families in dire straits. And of course trust the fiscally conservative Stephen Harper, like US Republicans, to spend money legal issues that should never have been done. Imagine the good that $5.3 million could have done for First Nations kids.

Huffington Post — The Canadian government has fired off a pre-emptive strike before American lawmakers hold a hearing in which the northern neighbour's Syria refugee policy will be on the hot seat.

It sent a note to members of a powerful U.S. Senate committee that has scheduled a meeting next week titled, "Canada's Fast-Track Refugee Plan: Unanswered Questions and Implications for U.S. National Security."

The U.S. Senate homeland-security hearing is, for the Trudeau government, an unwanted flip-side to the praise it received from progressives and foreign media outlets last month when the prime minister personally greeted refugees at the airport.

This will be far less laudatory, judging from the list of witnesses invited to testify before the committee next Wednesday: most have already publicly challenged Canada's plan to quickly accept 25,000 refugees.

Here comes the American paranoia over Muslims from the Republican dominated Congress and it is directed at Canada. The Canadian Ambassador to the US declined to testify "…citing a long-standing practice of avoiding appearances in that partisan domestic political chamber." Partisan is an understatement!

My Universe —

Open Thread–1/26/2016

Posted by TomCat at 1:15 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

Jan 262016

Yesterday I finally found a way to exchange my sharps. I cannot use the Metro facility, because it is hazardous for people in wheelchairs. The Lift bus won’t wait for me. Fortunately I found a private company that actually costs less than Metro, and they come right to my door. Jeannie (shower-aide), just left, so I’m a perfumed pussycat with shiny fur again. Arvilla (PT) will be here within the hour. She’ll set-up my quad cane and work me out, Tomorrow I hope to do part of the dreaded task, while Tracey (OT) checks me for safety.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:28 (average 5:32). To do it click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: The most hated man in America just gave another reason to be hated. As you know, there is a medical crisis going on in Michigan with every child in Flint potentially poisoned with lead. People, especially the poor, are still desperate for clean water. Ted Cruz has entered to do the Christian thing and donate—

But only for those who work in ultra-right wing, fake pregnancy “crisis” centers.

Likely, none of Ted’s water donation will get to the children who actually need the water. That would require working with a real charity, like the Red Cross. Instead, Ted’s campaign is coordinating water donations through Flint Right to Life only to be delivered to the ideologically-aligned wingnuts who work at these awful anti-abortion centers.

For those who don’t know, pregnancy "crisis" centers are places run by pro-life extremists, which are designed to fool women into thinking they are actual medical facilities. Instead, pregnant woman are bombarded with fake information in an attempt to trick them out of having an abortion. The people who work at these centers have no qualms about lying, instilling fear, or encouraging women in abusive relationships to stay put as long as there is no abortion.

It should be no surprise that, even in so-called charity, Uranus Inspector, however you spell it, acts just like a Republican.

From The New Yorker: On Saturday, the Times reported that the former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg “has instructed advisers to draw up plans for a potential independent campaign in this year’s presidential race.” From one perspective, that isn’t too surprising. The former mayor has long been eyeing a possible run at the White House, and there has been a lot of speculation about his intentions in 2016. Last week, a well-connected New York Republican told me that he thought Bloomberg would jump in if Donald Trump won the G.O.P. nomination.

While third party candidates on the left hurt progressives and only help elect Republicans, right-wing third party candidates are a blessing to America. They help elect Democrats.

From Alternet: Nationwide blowback targeting Muslim places of worship has now reached South Milwaukee, Wisconsin–where a group calling itself the Christian Civil Liberties Union (CCLU) is aggressively opposing the construction of a new mosque.

The religious facility–Masjid Al-Hudad–does not require prior approval from the city and has already acquired the property on which it will be built.

But that is not stopping the far-right, Christian fundamentalist group CCLU from mobilizing fierce opposition, including at a Common Council meeting last Tuesday.

At the public meeting, CCLU member Bob Braun issued an unclear–but highly alarming–warning. "There’s going to be, I predict, bloodshed one of these years coming up," he said, according to local media.

Here we have one more in the long list of examples of Republican domestic terrorism.

Cartoon:

0126Cartoon

Vulture Capitalism is the Republican way!

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