I was sitting here trying to concentrate but the neighbours were setting off fireworks starting at 8 pm. Over 2 hours of louds cracks. Unfortunately, I have mountains and highrises around me so the noise ricochets and grows louder before finally dying off. My furbabes were relatively calm as long as I was there with them. What a great excuse for a nap with the baby curled up under the blanket and solidly at my waist.
Puzzle — Today’s took me 4:44 (average 7:06). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.
Short Takes
Mother Jones — In his new book, Anything for a Vote, Joseph Cummins looks back at more than two centuries of campaign sleaze and scandal, from twisted words and unfounded rumors to blackmail and burglary. While this grimy lens can be a hilarious way to look at the history of presidential politics, it's often a sobering one as well—colored by policies of discrimination and assaults on voting rights that are still relevant today. It's enough to make Donald Trump's Twitter-bullying look pretty tame.
OK, I thought you might enjoy this little activity, afterall, it is the day after Hallowe'en and some might be recovering from partying. I am not promoting the book, just having a bit of fun. How did you do?
Huffington Post — Most of us imagine that we will grow old with the ones we love, surrounded by family members and friends until our final days. But the reality is, 35 per cent of senior women and 17 per cent of senior men live alone.
It is these people who are sometimes forgotten and left to fend for themselves.
Click through and watch the 10 minute video about Mary, age 98 years.
Some of you will know that my mother is 87 years old and lives in a specialised care centre for people with dementia. I visit her regularly, but I also spend time with many of the other residents, some of whom do not have visitors or family. I keep music going; we dance and sing; and we laugh! Now you might be wondering why I included this on a political blog. With an aging population, many in my generation, the baby boomers, have already headed officially into our senior years. True, we may be more active for more years than previous generations, but we are still slowing down, or as I like to say, maturing like a very fine wine. So think of some of the things going on in many Republican dominated states.
As noted in Richard Zombeck's article GOP Begins Assault on Elderly, Poor, Disabled, Math, and Reason, Elizabeth Warren says "House Republicans should stop playing political games to put America's most vulnerable at risk.", and the most vulnerable include disabled citizens and senior citizens. Richard Eskow, in his article The GOP’s Anti-Elderly, Pro-Billionaire Agenda, talks about various Republican policies such as the cuts to Medicare and social security. "There’s a through-line between the GOP’s embrace of Social Security cuts and its attempts to cut and privatize Medicare. In both cases, benefit reductions are being offered to distract voters from a simpler and fairer approach. And in both cases, private interests would profit: Wall Street would have more retirement income to manage (for a costly fee), and health insurers would receive a flood of new customers."
It is so important to protect programmes for the most vulnerable in society. The only way to do that is to vote out Republicans.
Mother Jones — At first glance, there are just two groups of presidential contenders when it comes to climate change: those who think it's real and urgent, and those who don't. But take a closer look, and the picture blurs. The matrix above depicts subtle differences, at least in the Republican field, in the extent to which the candidates believe the science and want to act on it. Of course, selecting each set of coordinates wasn't an exact science—many of the White House hopefuls have a history of confused and contradictory statements on the issue. But here's a short analysis of the candidates' positions on global warming and an explanation of how we came up with this graph.
It is interesting to note that Ted Cruz is more than "stuck in the mud" having told Glenn Beck recently that climate change is really a religion. He should be moved to the far left lower corner.
My Universe — OK, cuteness is big in my universe, even with puppies!
