In yesterday’s Open Thread, I forgot to tell you that I have a medical appointment. I think I’ve mentioned that I decided to fire my primary care physician, the one about whom I’ve told you all the horror stories. My appointment this morning is my initial visit with the woman I chose to replace her. I need to leave before 9:00 and will not return until after noon, so this is today’s only article.
Jig Zone:
Today’s took me 4:40 (average 5:52). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
I was up to see my mother today, not arriving home until 22:15. She is doing as well as can be expected, and ate all of her dinner with gusto which is nice to see. It is good that she eats well when fed, but it is also a sign that her mental condition is deteriorating . . . she doesn't "fight" for her dignity anymore. This week will be very busy with physio, teaching, getting my mother to a doctor's appointment, and meeting with the other members of the Family Council for mother's nursing home. So I may be short, or I may have to skip a day. We'll see.
Short Takes
Mother Jones — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has a plan to make America great again: Add nine new amendments to the Constitution. On Friday, fed up with Supreme Court rulings that have gone against conservatives as well as the regulatory actions of the Obama administration, the first-term Republican issued a 92-page report outlining his proposed tweaks to the founding document and calling for a national constitutional convention to make it happen.
Click through for Abbott's suggestions contained in the report, and the report itself. These are nine more reasons why progressives must get out the vote for state and federal elections. As I understand, any changes to the constitution require a 75% vote in favour — that's 38 states. How many states are now controlled by Republicans? I don't expect all Republican states to buy in, but . . .
Think Progress — Mark Zuckerberg, new dad, … shared an image of his daughter with a note that it was time for the six-week-old baby girl to get vaccinated.
Doctor's visit — time for vaccines!
3,103,434 Likes · 81,576 Comments · 29,938 Shares
Now normally, I'd be inclined to say "who cares what Zuckerberg writes" but this is different. As a new parent, he has studied the literature and made an educated decision to vaccinate his daughter. Thank you Mr Zuckerberg for making the decision to vaccinate your daughter very public. My maternal grandfather was afflicted with polio at the age of three, about 1910, and never walked again. His body was twisted so that his hips and legs faced sideways and his head and arms, forward. There was no vaccine then. He wished there had been.
Huffington Post — Canada plans to kick-start a long-stalled international effort aimed at ridding the world of the key ingredients needed for nuclear weapons, The Canadian Press has learned.
The renewed push this week by Canada's United Nations ambassador to Geneva to spearhead the creation of a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty or FMCT, comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to attend U.S. President Barack Obama's Nuclear Security Summit.
Trudeau's presence at the Obama summit, March 31 and April 1, would come just three weeks after his scheduled March 10 gala state dinner at the White House.
Canada's renewed focus on nuclear non-proliferation efforts has been in the works for months, but the effort has new urgency because of North Korea's recent claim to have conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb.
During the now infamous Harper years, Canada's role as a peaceful nation took a hit. Harper scorned the United Nations at every turn. He was trying to show that he was wearing his big boy pants and was able to go it alone. Unfortunately, he was the class clown. Now Trudeau is trying to draw people together to discuss where this world wants to be . . . a place of peace and growth, or a nuclear cesspool of death and destruction. I support Trudeau's efforts and all those countries which stand with us. With the state of affairs today, I doubt he'll have the success necessary, but I choose to live with hope. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
My Universe — h/t Christeen A, Care2
Some will do anything for a meal!
Yesterday turned out to be pretty busy. I did some paperwork. My helper friend came and we took a trip to the instant teller machine three blocks away, did laundry and cooked six meals, I now have 12 suppers that need only be thawed and reheated. Then i meditated on the Orb! May the holy Ellipsoid Orb bless your team on this high holy day.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:02 (average 4:54). To do it, click here, How did you do?
Pat A: I forwarded your responses to her. Here is her reply:
Oh TC – this made me cry – you are all so wonderful! Thank you so much – may God bless you for your kindness!!!
I hope to be back to PP in the next few weeks some time. I hope my sister will come to help me here for a while now that she has retired – she offered nearly a year ago to come for two weeks, and actually came last Autumn for three days (but very welcome for all that) – she has never suffered from long term ill health, so has loads of energy. She promised to be back in the New Year to do the remaining days she had promised … which would have been before now, so I hope still, but am not holding my breath! Her offers of help have, looking back over the years, about a one in twenty chance of being fulfilled… still, onwards and upwards, and I must do what I can when I can, and she set me some tasks before she left and I am still plodding away at them!
I also discovered ancient Victorian mould the day before yesterday under wallpaper in my living room, so I must (having allergic asthma) get rid of it ASAP – it will take me at least all week to do this as I can only do a small amount every couple of days, but I am very determined. I had wondered for years where the slight smell of mould came from as none was visible – now I know (plaster put on the wall cutting through the Victorian plaster [with mould] when I had the damp course done many years ago has not a trace of mould on it, so the mould on the Victorian plaster is truly ancient). Vinegar, tea tree oil, a multifibre cloth and/or a sharp scraper, a very good face mask, Futuro splints for my osteoporitic wrists, and a LOT of elbow grease are doing wonders – but it is a long job and will take one week or perhaps (please not!) even two weeks. Prayers for my safety would be most appreciated as I do fall a bit! (Nicky M would know if I had an accident – we speak/email daily).
Hugs and prayers and blessings
Pat
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos (classic: 2/2015): Walmarts are everywhere. They take up tons of space. Superbowl space. They sell everything, they succeed where mom-and-pop businesses fail—and sometimes, they shut down. What happens when a huge edifice, parking lot, highway exit closes in a place? Well, in McAllen, Texas:
They transformed it into the largest single-floor public library in America.
It’s not often that I have an opportunity to post about Texans doing something right.
From The New Yorker: Last month, reporters at the Las Vegas Review-Journal undertook a remarkable investigation into the secret identity of the buyer of their own newspaper. The paper had changed hands in early December for the wildly inflated price of a hundred and forty million dollars; New Media Investment Group (formerly GateHouse Media), which had purchased the paper only months earlier, reported flipping it for an estimated sixty-nine-per-cent profit. Six days after the sale was announced, on December 16th, Review-Journal reporters revealed that the acquiring company, News + Media Capital Group, which had been represented in the sale by an executive named Michael Schroeder, was in fact controlled by members of Sheldon Adelson’s family—and that, as many had suspected, the money had originated with the casino magnate himself. “My money that the children have with which to buy the newspaper is their inheritance,” Adelson told the Macau Daily Times. He said that he wasn’t directly involved with the purchase, and wasn’t interested in owning a newspaper.
Adelson is a keen participant in the U.S. political process and a mega-donor to Republican candidates, having spent, at minimum, ninety-eight million dollars in political contributions in the 2012 cycle, not counting dark-money contributions. He also owns an Israeli tabloid, Israel Hayom (Israel Today), which is brazen in its support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line positions on Palestinian rights and other issues. To many observers, Adelson’s background, combined with the initial attempt to keep his family’s ownership interest in the Review-Journal secret, does not augur well for the future editorial independence of the paper, which was founded in 1909 and has a circulation of about a hundred and sixty-five thousand, the largest in Nevada. But the response from inside the paper demonstrated that, even for a determined billionaire and his family, it may not be so easy to gain control of a newspaper.
This is tragic for Nevada residents. The change will be gradual, but within a year or two the paper will be positioned far to the right of the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise.
From NY Times: Hillary Clinton has released an aggressive new attack ad, fanning fears about the main Republican presidential candidates to make the point that she, and no other Democrat, “can stop them.”
I disagree with Hillary, in part. She correctly describes the Republican threat, and she could defeat a Republican candidate. However, she is not the only Democrat who could. Bernie can too, and he is a better choice for the poor and middle classes.
Cartoon:
Yesterday was busy. By the time I arrived home, I couldn't seem to stir myself to prepare an Open Thread in time for publishing. The one short take I had morphed into today's lead article. So I threw up my hands, watched a video, and did some major cat cuddling. My little girl, Annie, was asleep under my desk earlier, but now my big ginger, Winnie, is there, his paw and head resting on my foot.
Short Takes
Think Progress — On Monday, Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson released his tax plan, the center of which is a flat tax of 14.9 percent.
Rather than different tax brackets for different income levels and categories, the flat tax levies the same rate on all personal and business income, although Carson’s 14.9 percent rate would only apply to people who have incomes above 150 percent of the poverty level, or $36,375 for a family of four. Those who make less would have to make a small tax payment: “Even those who earn little income will pay taxes, no matter how small their contribution might be,” Carson says in his plan. Currently, 46 percent of Americans don’t have to pay federal income taxes because their incomes are too low.
Shades of Mr 999! Republicans have been in a sweaty dither about the national deficit during Obama's presidency, and now Carson wants to significantly reduce revenues? He probably thinks it will help him at the polls. What a jackass!
Politico — Charles Koch is “disappointed” with the line-up of Republican candidates in the 2016 cycle, and is surprised by the lack of influence he and his brother have wielded so far. …
Koch, his brother David, and their network had pledged to spend $889 million on policy and political battles headed into November 2016. But Charles Koch said in October that the political network of donors revised its estimate and instead planned on spending $750 million on politics over two years.
So Charles isn't feeling the love? Poor baby. I can hear him now as the campaign finance laws are reformed and Citizens United is overturned! The reduction is still a drop inthe bucket!
Mediaite — Cruz defiantly scoffed off recent criticism by Republican opponent Donald Trump regarding his citizenship by proclaiming that the question is “settled law.” Here is the thing. It is not. In fact, the meaning of natural born is just simply not defined in the U.S. Constitution.
There are three basic requirements for presidency. First, the President must be 35 years old or older. Second, he or she must be a “Resident” of the Unites States for fourteen years. But the third one is vague and is the heart of the controversy. The President must be a “natural born Citizen.” Mr. Cruz – a Harvard Law grad, an attorney and former state solicitor general – should know that.
Certainly, Trump is test driving his "birther" screed on Cruz, but so far, not as vehemently as he did with Obama . . . yet! And then there is the notion put forth in Talking Points Memo that Cruz's mother may have become a Canadian. Personally, I doubt it. And of course, the Coultergeist, a Trump supporter, weighed in on the issue in her usual flip-flop style in Mediaite.
My Universe — h/t JL
I could not get the video embeded so click here to watch. When the picture appears, click in the middle of it and the fun begins.
I'm ready for the video! Who's got the popcorn?
Yesterday my Prosthetist adjusted George, so he no longer leans me to the left, putting excessive pressure on the outside of my knee. My friend that had a mastectomy called last night. She had let worrying compound into the beginnings of panic. I was able to help her restore calm. Then I had trouble getting back to sleep, so I feel a bit pooped today. My helper-friend may be coming to do laundry. May the holy Ellipsoid Orb bless your team.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:58 (average 4:37). To do it, click here. Hoe did you do?
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: A day after President Obama held a nationally televised town hall about guns in America, a new poll shows that a majority of Republicans would rather actually be shot by a firearm than agree with him.
In an indication of the challenges facing the President in persuading Republicans, those surveyed named a wide variety of specific guns that they would choose to be personally shot by rather than seeing eye to eye with Obama.
When asked to state their preference, forty-three per cent stated “handgun,” twenty-seven per cent replied “shotgun,” twenty-one per cent responded “assault rifle,” while only two per cent named “agreeing with Obama.”
Andy, with tongue deeply embedded in cheek, I think these Republicans should be accommodated.
From Daily Kos: There is new divide in the Oregon Y’all Qaeda militants who’ve taken over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. RawStory.com has the details:
Joe Oshaugnessy, an Arizona militiaman, has been actively seeking volunteers through social media to join the occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
But his friends tearfully announced that Oshaugnessy, who is known as “Capt. O,” had left the refuge Wednesday and was instead staying at a motel nearby — as some others associated with the militants have apparently been doing, according to sources.
Some of the militants have reportedly been spotted eating at area restaurants during the standoff, as well.
A Y’all Qaeda spokesperson said he drank away the donations:
Peltier said Ritzheimer had confirmed that Oshaugnessy had kept the money he had raised through social media for himself and had spent at least some of it on a drinking binge.
Y’all Qaeda supporter Cai Irvin posted a tearful video (which has since been removed) saying Oshaugnessy’s betrayal “is like finding out there is no such thing as Santa.”
From NY Times: A combative Gov. Paul R. LePage of Maine, who has a history of making blunt, sometimes racially tinged remarks, found himself in a familiar position on Friday as he sought to walk back a comment that had drawn widespread condemnation for its racial overtones.
On Wednesday, he said out-of-state drug dealers come to Maine and “impregnate a young white girl” before leaving.
“These are guys with the name D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty — these types of guys,” he said while discussing the state’s heroin crisis at a town-hall-style meeting in Bridgton, Me. “They come from Connecticut and New York, they come up here, they sell their heroin, then they go back home. Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing because then we have another issue that we’ve got to deal with down the road.”
On Friday, Mr. LePage, a Republican, characterized the statement as a slip of the tongue.
Rachel Maddow covered this well.
Rachel has him dead to rights. The rest of my comment is today's cartoon.
Cartoon:
I’m hurrying to leave in two hours to see my Prosthetist. Tomorrow and Sunday are high holy days in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. I will be worshiping, but my Broncos have a first round bye.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:07 (average 4:18). To do it click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Me: The following is an email conversation with Pat A.
Hi Pat,
We’re all worried about you, because we have not heard frim you in so long. Are you OK?
Hugs!!
TCDear TC
I’m still here, though not at all well (surprise!) – just lots and lots of things draining the energy out of me for decades. I have spent years online typing cheerful encouraging things and so often it is with tears of pain and exhaustion running down my face, and I have quite run out of puff, and just don’t seem able to do it for the time being. I do hope you are better – mind you with the support network you have, and all the prayers sent up for you by those who love and care for you, I should hope you are positively levitating with buoyant health!
Please give everyone my love, and if it is possible could you ask for some prayers for me –
Many thanks
Hugs
PatHi Pat,
Just so you know, we who love you do not require you to say cheerful and encouraging things. As much as you love to support others, we would consider it a privilege to support you. So please stop in, even if only to say you’re alive and bitch a bit. I’ll relay your message to the group.
As for me, I am gradually learning how to live as an amputee. My brush with death was so close, that I’m just grateful to be alive.
Hugs, prayers, and love,
TC
I trust that you will all pray or however you connect with the infinite) for her.
From Media Matters: MSNBC’s Maddow Highlights WND’s Profitable Relationship With Trump And His Attacks Against Obama’s Citizenship
Rachel Maddow: "WorldNetDaily Has Proclaimed That Its Man Of The Year For 2015 Was Donald J. Trump"
Hairball’s World Nut Daily endorsement defines him as insane. Rachel, as always, is spot-on.
From Think Progress: Young undocumented immigrants, beware: Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz will unabashedly tell you to your face that if he’s president, he would deport people like you.
At a campaign event in Iowa on Wednesday, Ofelia Valdez — an undocumented immigrant brought to the country as a teenager from Mexico — explained to Cruz that she was covered under President Barack Obama’s executive action known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides temporary deportation reprieve and work authorization to some undocumented individuals. Almost 700,000 undocumented immigrants have been approved by the DACA program since its inception in 2012.
But Cruz has previously stated that he would strip the DACA program using any means necessary, including leading a government shutdown. Valdez told the GOP candidate that she’s worried about the 2016 election’s potential consequences for her future.
“As a DACA holder myself, I worried about whoever comes next to the presidency and what’s going to happen to people like us,” Valdez said in the video uploaded by the Democratic Party. “I think of myself as a part of this community and you know, first day of presidency, you decide to deport, you know, people like myself, you know, it’s just very difficult to process it.”
With Rep. Steve King (R-IA) standing in the background, Cruz nodded through her explanation, then told her that there were consequences for breaking the law — like deportation.
Barf Bag Alert!!
Coming from a fellow immigrant, that’s heartless.
Cartoon:
No earth shattering events today. Tomorrow will be busy, and next week unbelievably busy.
Short Takes
Huffington Post — A widely circulated post on social media alleging Syrian refugees receive more money for food than Canadians on welfare is not true, say federal and provincial officials who also debunk other widely circulated claims.
The Facebook post, which also appears on Instagram, began circulating on Dec.18, and government officials say it is the latest in a series of false claims on social media. …
Federal and provincial officials told CBC News that the figures are simply "not correct," and federal monthly support for Syrian refugees is based on provincial and territorial welfare rates.
The haters are at it again! Unfortunately, there will always be people who will hate, who cannot see justice except for themselves.
The Nation — From the look of the presidential campaign, war crimes are back on the American agenda. We really shouldn’t be surprised, because American officials got away with it last time—and, in the case of the drone wars, continue to get away with it today. Still, there’s nothing like the heady combination of a “populist” Republican race for the presidency and national hysteria over terrorism to make Americans want to reach for those “enhanced interrogation techniques.” That, as critics have long argued, is what usually happens if war crimes aren’t prosecuted. …
The recent history of US torture, he [Obama] said, “needs to be understood and accepted. We have to as a country take responsibility for that so hopefully we don’t do it again in the future.”
So what is this "we"? The average American had no say in the use of torture and other war crimes (ie carpet bombing). I suppose some might argue that "we the people" elected the leaders, but why? Surely it wasn't to commit war crimes. Now the Republican presidential aspirants openly advocate policies to use methods of war classified as war crimes. The article mentions a report, “No More Excuses”, released 01/12/2015 which makes the following recommendations:
To US Authorities
To legitimately be the leader of the free world, the US and its government officials must walk the talk, respecting international law. That will mean holding leaders and former leaders accountable. To agree with the trials of Milosevic and Hussein at The Hague, but not ratify the creation of the ICC, is the height of disrespect for international law.
Huffington Post — Democratic lawmakers in Maine plan to move forward with a motion next week that could result in Gov. Paul LePage's (R) impeachment. …
The House order would establish an investigatory committee to look at eight separate charges against LePage, including the one regarding Good Will-Hinckley. It would report back to the legislature with its findings by April 1.
"This would set up a House investigation committee to look at all eight counts in their totality to see if there is a clear pattern of abuse of power, misuse of public assets, any violations of state law," Chipman said. "We feel pretty confident there have been violations of law and that we'll probably be voting on impeachment."
Another "Divisive asshole" and bully. I wonder if LePage is a Trump wannabe. This is not LePage's first threat of impeachment, the first being in June 2013.
Travelogue — I thought I might, from time to time, show you some beautiful locations. The Earth as art!
The Grand Canyon
The Wave, Arizona
My Universe —
I have another busy day today. PT and OT are both coming this morning. Then I’m going to cook dinners for several days and put them in compartmentalized trays for freezing. Tomorrow I have an appointment with my Prosthetist, because George probably needs some adjustments. So expect no more than a Personal Update or Open Thread tomorrow.
Later: B9ith have come and gone. Arvilla (PT) worked me hard. Then Tracy (OT) agreed that supervising my cooking would be a good project for today, so I have four meals od Salisbury steak with gravy, cheese whipped potatoes. and mixed veggies.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:12 (average 5:35), To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Tales:
From The New Yorker: \Republican Presidential candidates ripped President Obama on Tuesday for what they called his stubborn insistence on linking gun violence with guns.
In campaign stops across Iowa and New Hampshire, the G.O.P. hopefuls pounded the President for irrationally concluding that guns have played a role in the nation’s epidemic of mass shootings.
“How any reasonable person could look at gun violence and say that guns are involved is beyond me,” said Texas Senator Ted Cruz. “And yet, somehow, President Obama always finds a way.”
“I would very much like to have a conversation about gun violence, as President Obama has said he wants to have,” said Florida Senator Marco Rubio. “But as long as he keeps falling back on this tired, unproven connection between gun violence and guns, there’s just no point.”
The former Hewlett-Packard C.E.O. Carly Fiorina said that Obama’s persistent linking of gun violence with guns was “sad but not surprising, from a man who believes that people’s health can be improved by access to health care.”
“He isn’t thinking straight,” she said.
But Andy, there is no link between gun violence and guns… in a pig’s eye!!!
From Daily Kos: It appears that Katherine Prudhomme O’Brien, the NH GOP lawmaker [Republican delinked] screaming and flailing her arms in the video, has been stalking Hillary for several years now.
She tried the same stunt in 2007, during a Clinton campaign appearance.
She tried it again today and Hillary shut her down to the roar of the crowd.
Reading through many of the comments on her Facebook [Republican delinked] , her appearance failed spectacularly.
Sorry about the self promotion by the person that prepared the video. The one in the article had no embed code. The lying Republican legislator was accusing Bill of having multiple rape victims, and Hillary, of covering it up.
From NY Times: In the days after the Paris terrorist attacks last November, world leaders denounced the shooting massacres. On Wall Street, the money manager Louis Navellier saw a buying opportunity.
Shares of the two leading gun manufacturers, Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Company, popped onto Mr. Navellier’s computer screen. Their stock prices were rising as a result of strong sales. He began accumulating positions in both companies.
Two months later, those bets have paid off. The stocks of Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger spiked again after the San Bernardino, Calif., shootings last month. They also moved sharply in advance of President Obama’s announcement on Tuesday of measures to curb gun violence.
How about that. Banksters are not content to let gum manufacturers profit from the panic they help cause by arming criminals. The Bankster want to cash in on it too!
Cartoon:
