In a few minutes, I’ll be leaving for my post release checkup with my primary care doctor. I imagine, she’ll want to look at stumpy. I want her to do some paperwork, make some referrals, and review my meds. I shall be gone most of the day. In case you don’t get back here tomorrow, merry Christmas, and if you are a Republican, Happy Holidays.
Cartoon:
The eyes are good today and no longer subject to the drops used in the eye exam, so I am good for another year! It has rained most of the day, and it is particularly hard right now . . . I can hear it on the roof. I sure hope Santa has swim trunks because he is likely to need them! My post may be very brief tomorrow as I have Christmas dinner with friends and I am incharge of the roast yams in honey.
Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:02 (average 5:25). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes
Huffington Post — When government officials came to collect children from Jean Marie River for residential school, residents of the remote village in the Northwest Territories said they'd keep their kids at home, thanks very much.
In what may have been unique among Canadian First Nations, they decided to build their own school. And now, as Canadians grapple with the legacy of residential schools, Jean Marie River is trying to commemorate the fact it doesn't have to. …
Shingle Point Residential School & Home For Boys, Mackenzie District, N.W.T. in 1930
The Alert Bay Mission School in British Columbia in 1885
The school only taught the first six grades, but that was enough to ground kids before they went to Fort Simpson.
"It gave us a good, solid base as compared to people that went to residential schools that didn't have a nurturing mother, that didn't have a model of how to become a caring mother," Gladys Norwegian said.
"I think it helped me to become comfortable with who I am. I didn't really need to explain to anybody what being an aboriginal person means. I was comfortable in my skin."
For the people of Jean Marie River, saying no to the residential school system made for a stronger community, confident and proud. I will make no apologies for strongly disliking former Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative harlots. Only with a new government lead by Justin Trudeau has there been a commitment to Canadian Aboriginal peoples, a commitment to work in partnership and respect. Here is Trudeau's commitment, a renewal of the relationship between the government and Aboriginal peoples.
Politico — But there is a far bigger problem with Cruz: Donald Trump is not the most self-absorbed Republican running for president—Cruz is. Whether you like Trump or not (and I don’t), at least Trump makes no effort to hide his narcissism. In that sense, Trump is oddly genuine.
Cruz, on the other hand, takes great pains to be whatever he thinks you want him to be. And the troubling thing is he’s really good at it.
I sure am glad that this Republican is all yours! And if this conservative's view is not completely convincing of Cruz's narcissism, have a look at a Cruz campaign rally that turned into a prayer revival.
Global News — An Idaho lunch lady has been fired after she gave a hungry student a free meal.
Dalene Bowden, a former server at Irving Middle School in Pocatello, Idaho, was terminated from her position on Dec. 15 for “theft” when she gave a 12-year-old student free lunch because the young girl couldn’t afford the meal.
“I handed her the food and said ‘here we’ll take care of it in a minute,’” told Bowden to KPVI News.
How Republican of the school district and the supervisor.
Politico — As Iran prepares to announce it has dismantled its nuclear program and thus should have its sanctions lifted on what will be known as “Implementation Day,” probably in January, sniping is growing on all sides. Opponents of the nuclear deal in Congress are urging President Barack Obama not to go easy on Iran for its recent ballistic missile tests and other non-nuclear activities just to try to save the agreement. Iranian officials, meanwhile, are pointing to recent changes in U.S. visa laws as a potential violation of the deal, saying the new rules will damage Iran's economy by penalizing legitimate business travelers and innocent Iranian dual nationals.
If Implementation Day comes and goes without a problem, it will bolster Obama's theory that diplomacy is worth trying even with a longstanding U.S. nemesis. If it is delayed significantly or scuttled completely, it will damage a major piece of the president's foreign policy legacy. …
As part of the nuclear deal, the U.S. committed to refrain from policies that are “specifically intended to directly and adversely affect the normalization of trade and economic relations with Iran.” But Iranian officials view the new visa laws as damaging to their economy because they could scare off investors. Iran's foreign minister Javad Zarif has called the new restrictions "absurd." Some European officials also have warned that the changes could violate the nuclear deal. …
But Iranian leaders haven't been mollified. Some suggested Monday that lobbying by Israel — a staunch foe of Iran and the nuclear deal — prompted the new visa rules. Many Iranians aren't buying that their country isn't being singled out, asking why Congress targeted Iran but not Saudi Arabia or Pakistan in a law ostensibly aimed at stopping terrorism.
It would seem that the Republican dominated Congress is just itching to go to war with Iran. Personally, I think Iran has a point about the US targetting Iran. The halls of power are too often filled with political intrigue to which we are never made privy.
My Universe —
“I like to refer to it as aging gracefully, but whatever.”
"Did you just fart?"
“You’re getting sleepy. Very sleepy….”
Yesterday was a very hectic day, and tomorrow promises to be similar.Later this afternoon, I plan to try to give myself a whore’s bath in the sink. I’ll probably get a shower aide next week. I have a grocery delivery today. Tomorrow I will be gone almost all day to an appointment with my doctor way across town, so expect only a personal update, and that may be late.
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: New video details a tragic incident in which Paradise, California, police officer Patrick Feaster shot and killed an unarmed DUI suspect after a chase and fatal car crash. The Chicago Tribune reports:
Recordings show that police in Northern California initially dismissed a man’s claim he had been shot by an officer after a high-speed pursuit and rollover accident that killed another person.
Paradise, Calif., police Officer Patrick Feaster didn’t tell his commanding officer for 11 minutes at the accident scene that he had fired his gun, according to recordings obtained by the Paradise Post.
Trapped in the overturned vehicle, the man told officers twice that he had been shot, the newspaper reported Wednesday.
The shooting, which was captured by a dashboard camera, had prompted protests in Paradise, 90 miles north of Sacramento. The officer has said he accidentally shot the driver, who was paralyzed by a wound to the neck. Prosecutors concluded that there was no basis for filing criminal charges against Feaster, who remains on paid administrative leave.
Another Republican Ammosexual cop is getting away with attempted murder.
From Alternet: …Number of the richest people in the U.S. whose combined wealth, defined as total assets minus liabilities, exceeds that of the bottom half of the entire U.S. population: 20
Number of the richest U.S. households whose wealth exceeds that of the country’s entire 42 million African Americans: 100
Number of the richest U.S. households whose wealth exceeds that of the country’s more than 55 million Latinos: 186
The total wealth of those on the Forbes 400 list of richest people in the U.S.: $2.34 trillion
Number of those on the Forbes 400 list who are Latino: 5
Who are African-American: 2
Number of households in America’s richest 0.1 percent, whose net worth starts at $20 million:115,000
Percent of total U.S. household wealth this economic elite owned in the 1970s: 7
Percent it owns today: 20
Of the 10 states with the biggest gaps between rich and poor, number that are in the South: 6
Click through for more about how our economy has been Replicated. Take toilet paper. You’ll need it!!
From Crooks and Liars: A Wisconsin Republican state senator has been accused of inciting a "vigilante uprising" after he called on law-abiding gun owners to "clean our society of scum bags"
Rep. Bob Gannon (R) responded to a recent shooting at East Towne Mall in Madison by saying that the incident could have been stopped if more people were carrying guns. During the incident over the weekend, a teen was shot in the leg and suffered non-life threatening injuries.
More armed Republican Ammosexuals = more dead innocents than perpetrators.
Cartoon:
Well I had a full eye exam today, an annual event since I am diabetic. The good news . . . my baby blues are in excellent shape! The bad news . . . my eyes are tired and the light is bothering them, likely just a result of all the drops. Tomorrow will be fine. We had what I call thick rain today . . . snow mixed with rain and cold.
Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:43 (average 5:11). To do it, click here. How did you do?
GoodNewsNetwork — If you ever wonder whether you can make a difference in someone’s life, look at this 1988 picture from Children’s Nurse magazine.
The nurse on the left is Lynn Bartos, who spent years helping treat the little girl, Nichole Frye, who had been born with a serious birth defect.
The little girl called the nurse “Sweet Lynnie” and the nurse called little Nichole, “Ninni.”
After almost 25 years, the two met again by chance, and Lynn learned just how much she did make a difference in her patients’ lives, when the roles were reversed.
This time, she was the patient–in a hospital being treated for rheumatoid arthritis, when a young nurse came in to adjust her medicine.
Lynn felt something familiar about her and read the name on her name tag.
“Ninni?” she asked.
Sure enough, little Nichole, now 30, had followed in the footsteps of “Sweet Lynnie,” the nurse who inspired her as a little girl and nursed her through years of surgery and treatment.
Too often, we never get to know how we influence others. In my 20s, 30s and 40s, I was a Sunday School teacher and a youth group leader for junior and senior highs. The kids were somewhat rebellious with their parents, but things were different with me. There was always 2 way respect. But then my work sent me far north and those days of youth work were done. About 10 years later I got a call asking me to a wedding. One of my "babies" was getting married. Then, about 2 years after that, I received a call from this young man. I thought he would tell me that they were pregnant. He said his older brother was getting married and would I come? Of course I would be there. And then he said that they were pregnant. This little girl was named after her 2 grandmothers and me. Too rarely do we know how we influence others and it is a great privilege when such is revealed.
My Universe —
The news is mostly good. The shirker and elevation paid off, and George went on, without difficulty, both yesterday and today. Despite horrid weather, the trip to TriMet was uneventful. The lady explained why they have to measure chairs. Sometimes they send lift-equipped Taxis, if that’s more convenient for them, nut different taxis have different capacity ramps. Measuring lets them know which vehicles they can send. In my case, they can send any. My home health care begins today with a visit from my PT. She will probably arrive. before I finish this article. What I want most is my bath aide. I’m, getting a bit ripe. The news news is that the evil Patty Monster mashed my kitty butt!
Later: PT and OT have come and gone, and the RN will be here in less than two hours.
Fantasy Football Report:
Congrats to the winners. The bottom four seeds all won, except for me, of course.
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: State of Kansas mental health facilities and have seen a rough year under Governor Sam Brownback. Continued budget cuts and problems with overcrowding left facilities like Osawatomie overwhelmed, forcing many employees to work repeated double and triple shifts in order to keep the facility within operating requirements.
http://www.khi.org/news/2014/aug/18/kansas-mental-health-system-under-increasing-stres/
With the patient count so high, many of the hospital’s direct-care staff were pressed into working one, two and sometimes three overtime shifts a week.
“The place is over census and understaffed,” said Rebecca Proctor, executive director at the Kansas Organization of State Employees, a labor union that represents many state hospital front-line workers. “Conditions there are really, really bad.”
Angela de Rocha, a spokesperson for Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, confirmed that the Osawatomie hospital’s patient count on July 15 was “an overall high for the past 10 years.”
On Friday, the The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services informed the state of Kansas it will cease sending federal funds to the facility. Citing failure to meet compliance standards funding for new patients will end today, December 21, at the end of business day.
This is especially heinous, considering that Kansas has so many Republicans that the need for mental health services is as extreme as Brownback's pseudo-Christian response to that need.
From YouTube: Your Holiday Guide to Dealing with Uncle Bob
As always, the Reich on the left is right. You might consider spiking Uncle Bob's apple pie with ex-lax, considering what he's full of.
From The New Yorker: The Democratic National Committee made a big mistake staging the third Presidential-primary debate, which was held at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, on a Saturday night, when millions of potential viewers wouldn’t be watching. The debate was lively, informative, and civil. Apart from a brief diversion into whether former President Bill Clinton, should he become the first First Gentleman of the United States, would be entrusted with selecting flowers and menus for official occasions—his wife said that he wouldn’t—it was also substantive. And excluding, for a moment, Martin O’Malley, it reaffirmed the choice facing Democratic voters: experience, moderate reformism, and vigorous engagement abroad (Hillary Clinton) versus passion, an assault on privilege, and an abiding skepticism about overseas military engagements (Bernie Sanders)… [emphasis added]
The New Yorker documented the key difference well. As much as I prefer the latter, I expect to have to settle for the former. I'm sure Slick Willie Clinton will have no trouble selecting flowers: consider Flower Tucci.
Cartoon:
Sorry I am late once again. I was almost finished when I did a face plant on my keyboard last night. Busy day yesterday with physio and teaching. Today I have my annual eye exam which is no big deal and then a very quick grocery shop. I was invited for Christmas dinner on Thursday night so I must prepare my yams and apple casserole.
Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:11 (average 5:12). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes
Think Progress — This morning on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough asked Rick Santorum a simple question: What can we do to show the millions of peaceful Muslim Americans that they are valued and respected members of society?
Santorum rejected the question and said that onus was on every Muslim American to confront “the cancer within Islam.” Santorum said that “most Muslims” in America were shirking their duties to confront radicalism.
Co-host Mika Brzezinski had enough. “I’ll turn the argument around on you. Why aren’t you working on white men with guns?,” she asked.
Another Republican non answer! Santorum has no idea of what he tries to speak
NY Times — Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina suspended his presidential campaign on Monday, saying he had concluded that “this is not my time,” while arguing that his mix of hawkishness on foreign policy and pragmatism on immigration and the economy had made a difference in the race.
The withdrawal came on the last day that Mr. Graham could remove his name from the South Carolina primary ballot, sparing him possible embarrassment in his home state given his paltry standing in the polls.
“The centerpiece of my campaign has been securing our nation,” Mr. Graham said in a YouTube video announcing his decision.
IMO, there should be a lot more Republican presendentials following Graham out the door.
Think Progress — Just a few hours after congressional candidate John Oceguera announced he was terminating his lifetime membership with the National Rifle Association, the angry comments began flooding his inbox and Facebook page, calling him, among other slurs, a “pussy traitor,” “kool aid-drinking zombie,” and “libtard.” …
“The NRA does a lot of good things, like with hunting safety, but they’ve just become so stringent and won’t compromise on any issue,” he said. “It’s like you can’t say anything about commonsense gun reform without people screaming, ‘You’re taking our guns!’ or ‘You’re an idiot’ or a lot worse than that. When I made this announcement, I became enemy number one. But do I really want to belong to an organization where I can’t have an opinion that’s just slightly different?”
Of the several stories I read about John Oceguera, this is the most comprehensive. He certainly makes clear that common sense gun laws are required but that the NRA is not about to support such that bar mentally ill people and those on watchlists. Personally, I hope that he is able to influence the national discussion on gun control.
CBC — The photo shows local resident Markus Siivola throwing hot tea into the air as he bends backwards. In the –40 C [-40 F] weather, the tea freezes as soon as it's tossed.
Check out the story for more fabulous pictures of the Arctic. Having lived in an area of BC where the average winter temperature is -40 C, I can certainly relate and appreciate the beauty.
My Universe —
"Hug me tighter human!"
This morning I go to TriMet to get my chair measured. I’m a bit nervous, with winds gusting to 65 MPH, but it has to be done. In a few minutes I shall see if I can wear George yet. Wish me luck.
Religious Agony:
It was still a hell of a game!
Cartoon:
I slept in very late despite having set the alarm. I missed church, and since I was scheduled to count the collection, I'm likely in the dog house. The sleep was nice and important though. Tomorrow is another busy day with physio and teaching. OGIM!!!!!
Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:02 (average 5:00). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes
Alternet — A month later the national atmosphere had changed in the wake of the Paris and San Bernardino terrorist attacks. Numerous republican governors and presidential candidates began to scapegoat Syrian refugees, and Donald Trump became America's Bigot in Chief, calling for Nazi-like registries of Muslim-Americans and a total ban on Muslim immigration to the US. …
We’ve had a couple people at our rabbinical school speak about how important it is for the American Jewish community to stand in solidarity with the Muslim community. We have a lot of shared experiences of oppression and discrimination.” Diane Savona of Passaic, New Jersey said that she came with her husband in direct response to hate mongering by republicans. “It's sort of the opposite of listening to the Republican debates. It’s the antidote to the Republicans.”
I partially disagree with Nabil Ezzarhouni who is mentioned near the end of the article. The author states that "…he already appreciates the atmosphere of tolerance and multiculturalism." Certainly there is an atmosphere of tolerance and multiculturalism within some groups and areas, but xenophobic Republicans have whipped up their base into a frenzied paranoia that permeates the nation and defies professed American values. And that is what is too often portrayed in the MSM.
Talking Points Memo — The Augusta County school district in Virginia will be closed on Friday after parents inundated the school district with complaints about an Arabic calligraphy assignment at Riverheads High School that use the Muslim statement of faith.
The Dec. 11 assignment prompted "voluminous phone calls and electronic mail locally and from outside the area," according to NBC Washington. Augusta County Sheriff Randy Fisher toldCBS News that the "profane" and "hateful" prompted Riverheads High School to lock and monitor all of its doors on Wednesday and Thursday.
As the complaints increased throughout the week, law enforcement advised the school district to close all schools, according to CBS News.
Parents were upset over a geography assignment on world religions from teacher Cheryl LaPorte, who had students practice calligraphy by writing the Muslim statement of faith, which translates to "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah," according to Staunton, Virginia, paper the News Leader. Students were also shown a copy of the Quran, according to the News Leader.
So, this was an approved text and exercise, and not something devised solely by the teacher. Yet parents and others are venting their spleens over Arabic calligraphy. Both in Arabic and Persian (and perhaps other languages too), the formation of the script is in itself a work of art, a poem. It is beautiful and elaborate by western standards. Parent Herndon worries about indoctrination? Perhaps she should look at the indoctrination perpetrated by Republicans and right wing evangelical pseudo Christians.
Washington Post — It’s déjà vu in the Dallas suburbs.
Three months after “clock boy” Ahmed Mohamed’s homemade gadget was mistaken for an explosive device, another minority student in a neighboring community has been arrested for allegedly making a bomb threat at school.
The 12-year-old Sikh boy, Armaan Singh, was arrested on Dec. 11 for allegedly threatening to blow up Nichols Junior High School in Arlington, Tex. He was handcuffed, held in a juvenile detention center for three days and suspended from school.
But Singh says he is innocent, and that it was another student who caused the whole mess by mistaking his backpack for a bomb.
Does anyone in the Texas school system ever use any common sense? Did anyone question the child who made the accusations? Bomb threats are a very serious matter, but so are false accusations that can ruin a person's life. I think that the school administration could have done more before escalating the situation. Islamophobia is rampant in the US thanks to the Republicans and the MSM (their motto: if it bleeds, it leads), and now that phobia is being redirected to other minorities. Is it time to take away the Statue of Liberty?
My Universe —
