Politics Plus

The elevator is now working, but basking in the rain doesn’t quite cut it.  However, I have had a couple power naps and do have some interesting content.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:50 (average 5:50).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Media Matters: ABC News reported that it "uncovered errors" in Peter Schweizer’s upcoming anti-Clinton book, Clinton Cash. Schweizer has a long history of sloppy research and reporting — earlier this week, ThinkProgress revealed that the conservative author cites a hoax press release in the book.

On April 23, ABC News explained that their independent review of the source material used for Clinton Cash "uncovered errors in the book, including an instance where paid and unpaid speaking appearances were conflated." The book purports to reveal connections between Hillary Clinton’s time as secretary of state, donations to the Clinton Foundation, and paid speeches given by the Clintons, but Schweizer reportedly admits in the book he cannot prove his allegations.

In this Republican pseudo-scandal there is no quid pro quo. The quid and the quo exist, but the Republican propagandist is uses the post hoc ergo propter hoc deception and substitutes innuendo for the pro. Of course, the Republican bubble machine accepts innuendo as absolute proof.

From Daily Kos: In this visually beautiful and mesmerizing piece, 27 year-old Prince Ea apologies to future generations for what we are doing, and not doing, to the planet today. The six-minute video contains so many great thought-provoking quotes, it’s bound to be shared for many years. So far, in less than 48 hours, his video has garnered over 35 million views on Facebook.

Extreme Kudos!

From The New Yorker: In an urgent memo to the field of G.O.P. Presidential candidates, the Republican National Committee chairman, Reince Priebus, praised them for their relentless personal attacks on Hillary Clinton, but warned that their hatred for the former Secretary of State might be “peaking too early.”

Priebus called the candidates’ ongoing evisceration of Clinton “magnificent,” but expressed his concern that “no human beings, even an impressive group like yourselves, could possibly sustain such a high intensity of throbbing hatred for an entire year and a half.”

“Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint,” he wrote. “You need to leave some hate in the tank.”

In the conclusion of his memo, Priebus advised the candidates to take an occasional day off from hating Clinton so that they could “return to despising her with renewed freshness and vigor.”

Andy does have a point. The constant flood of filth from the clown car just tends to toughen Hillary, for now. I worry more about an eleventh hour lie that comes too late for the Democratic nominee to counter it effectively.

The 2016 clown car is getting crowded.

I actually got some sleep last night, but I’m still feeling pretty pooped.  I’m cleaning and waiting for my grocery delivery so I can put them away.  I’d like to spend some time in the sun, but the elevator is out of commission.  I hope it’s fixed, before Store to Door gets here, so the volunteer does not have to lug them up two flights of steps.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:04 (average 4:54).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Koch Industries is defending its acquisition of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker against charges that it overpaid for the Midwestern politician.

After co-owner David Koch revealed that Walker had become a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries, he set off a firestorm of criticism that the company had spent too much for a worthless asset.

“There was absolutely no bidding war for Walker,” an industry analyst familiar with the market value of politicians said. “Even Sheldon Adelson had no interest in acquiring him.”

While Koch Industries did not disclose the purchase price of the Walker subsidiary, it said that Koch Industries would spend nine hundred million dollars between now and November, 2016, for a variety of upgrades to the Wisconsin governor.

Andy should have added that, even if they paid only fifty cents for the Fartfuhrer of Fitzwalkerstan, they paid fifty cents too much.

From Daily Kos: On the latest Daily Show, Jon Stewart blasted Dick Cheney’s criticism of President Obama’s negotiations with Iran. Calling the former vice president "a man rotten to his very core, which is in itself a tiny black hole from which no joy or light can escape" and "the jagged-toothed forest demon who steals our children," Stewart went on to say that "now and then he [Cheney] slithers out from his lair inside a mountain of kitten corpses and goes on TV or radio saying awful things. Usually we ignore it … but sometimes, we just can’t."

Humor aside, Stewart demonstrated that Benedict Arnold seems like a patriot compared to ChickenHawk Cheney.

From NY Times: In her first week as a 2016 presidential candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton seemed to channel another high-profile Democrat. “The deck is stacked in their favor,” Mrs. Clinton said of the wealthy and powerful. “My job is to reshuffle the cards.”

The line echoed a phrase that helped make Senator Elizabeth Warren the populist icon of her party. “The game is rigged,” Ms. Warren often says. “Rigged to work for those who have money and power.”

Before that, there was Mrs. Clinton’s tribute to Ms. Warren in Time magazine. “She never hesitates to hold powerful people’s feet to the fire,” Mrs. Clinton wrote in the issue honoring the top 100 influential people.

For anyone who wondered what kind of economic message Mrs. Clinton would deliver in her campaign, the first few days made it clear: She is embracing the ideas trumpeted by Ms. Warren and the populist movement — that the wealthy have been benefiting disproportionately from the economy while the middle class and the poor have been left behind. And the policies Mrs. Clinton is advancing, like paid sick leave for employees and an increase in the minimum wage, align with that emphasis.

I must confess that Hillary’s rollout is a pleasant, albeit dubious, surprise, but even if this is mostly lip-serviced to the liberal/progressive base, the best of the Republicans is less progressive than Benito Mussolini.

Cartoon:

He’s still a Republican hero.

After another noisy night, I gave up on sleep at about 3:00 AM, and figured, as long as I was hating the night, I might as well do something to really hate it.  As you will see, change my name to Ulysses, so you can call me Useless for short.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:45 (average 5:20).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Because the weather turned warm, the street natives turned restless.  Last night, they partied yelling and screaming, all night long and kept me awake.  Therefore I’m taking the day off.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:51 (average 5:23).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon: