Politics Plus

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 49, and Christmas eve.  I’ve been quite busy preparing for the holiday, but I was able to eke out material for articles.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:06 (average 4:22).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football Update:

Here’s the latest from our own fantasy football League, Lefty Blog Friends.

I’m pleasantly surprised to be alive and in the championship game.

Short Takes:

From PFAW: All of us here at People For the American Way wish you happy holidays and a very happy and healthy New Year.

We know there are major challenges to face in the year ahead, but we look forward to meeting those challenges with you by our side.

Take a moment to check out a video about just some of what’s in store with next year’s incoming Congress:

Kudos to PFAW for providing excellent information!

From Daily Kos: Remember the march to protest police brutality in Washington DC?

Remember the outrage on right wing radio and news outlets picked up a chant saying clear as day- " Kill a Cop"? I had my Facebook timeline filled with outrage after the New York shootings linking the double police homicide with the "evil" chants from Washington DC…

…Baltimore Fox Affiliate Fox 45 Took the audio of the chanting and made a cut to make it seem like protesters were chanting "Kill a Cop".

What really happened.

Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda edit

Totally despicable! Typically Republican!!

From Mother Jones (Hat-Tip Lynn Squance): On December 16, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush announced (via Facebook) that he plans to "actively explore the possibility of running" for president in 2016. It’s the first step toward formally entering the race.

But there are plenty of reasons why Bush should think long and hard before subjecting himself (and his family) to the ruthless scrutiny of a presidential campaign. His history is an opposition researcher’s dream—clouded by embarrassing family episodes, allegations of philandering, offensive comments to black voters, and dubious business dealings.

Many of these past deeds and misdeeds will no doubt be put under the microscope should Bush run in 2016. Here are 23 reasons why he might want to take a pass—and it’s only a partial list:

This an excellent resource for the dirt on Strike Three. Click through.

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I’m writing for tomorrow, day 47.  I’m way short of 100%, but I do have another article for you.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:45 (average 4:58).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Seizing upon an issue that could become the cornerstone of a possible 2016 Presidential campaign, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said on Thursday that he would do everything in his power to block the twenty-first century.

“A lot of folks in Washington believe that the twenty-first century is a forgone conclusion, and that there’s nothing we can do about it,” Rubio said. “I say, ‘Not on my watch.’ ”

Explaining his strategy, Rubio said that he and fellow Republicans were exploring ways to stop funding any items in the federal budget that pertain to the current century. “We cannot stop time, perhaps, but we can defund it,” he said.

Andy must not realize we’re trying to get Rubio and the rest of the Republican Reich out of the 19th century, let alone into the 21st.

From Daily Kos: Sandy McElroy should be immediately charged with perjury. She was clearly told by the FBI and the prosecutors that lying about being there was a crime and was given chance after chance to back down. Instead she doubled down and added very specific and destructive details about what she saw Mike Brown do that day.

Furthermore, Sandy McElroy is not at all like an eyewitness who was actually there and sincerely believed she saw the events unfold in a way that may be different than the facts of the case. In her back and forth with the FBI, they even went so far as to clarify that it was not a crime to recall something you actually saw and state it in a way that is slightly off from what truly happened.

This is just one of the four things that should happen, now that we know that McElroy, a Republican white supremacist, made up her grand jury testimony. Click through for the other three.

From ABC: The gunman who ambushed and killed two police officers had made online posts that were "very anti-police."

Police Commissioner William Bratton choked up at a news conference Saturday afternoon as he talked about the fatal shootings of two officers in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.

Bratton says gunman Ismaaiyl (IHSH’-mayl) Brinsley shot and wounded his former girlfriend in Baltimore earlier Saturday and made posts from her Instagram account.

Authorities didn’t get into the specifics of the contents of the posts, but two officials told The Associated Press that he posted about shooting two "pigs" in retaliation for the death of Eric Garner. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

What a shame. Condolences to all who loved them. Of course, Republican attempts to blame this on DeBlasio and Holder are patently absurd, and the police who turned their backs shamed themselves. The shooter was reacting criminally against innocent officers to criminal actions by police.

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I’m writing for tomorrow, day 45.  Last night there was another fire in the building.  The alarm awakened me from a sound sleep at 3:45 AM, and I had to dress for weather and prepare to be evacuated if need be.  I never smelled smoke and the alarm quit about twenty minutes later, but I was far too wound up to get back to sleep.  To make matters worse, tomorrow I have a semi-annual meeting that I must attend and cannot reschedule.  I get to go out into the worst part of the coming storm.  Half an inch of rain and high winds are forecast.  So today, I’m getting all the rest I can.  Do not be surprised, if I have nothing for Sunday, either.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:55 (average 4:58).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 43.  I’m waiting for Store to Door to deliver groceries.  I’m still feeling pretty crappy, but I do have a second article for you.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:58 (average 5:08).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: What some insiders are calling a “rash display of backbone” last week could endanger Senator Elizabeth Warren’s career as a Democrat, leading party operatives say.

Harland Dorrinson, a strategist who has guided the campaigns of dozens of Democratic candidates, said that the Massachusetts legislator’s “recklessly truthful” tirade about banks left him “smacking my head.”

“She stood up for what she believed in and didn’t try to water it down,” he said. “That is a serious violation of the Democratic playbook.”

Andy is on. Unlike the Nevada Leg Hound, Harry Reid, Liz does not hump a few Republican legs, while begging, whine, roll over, and play dead.

From Daily Kos: Yesterday, the former vice president of the United States and one of the architects of the American torture program explained why he was unconcerned about the torture of innocent prisoners.

CHUCK TODD: Let me go to Gul Rahman. He was chained to the wall of his cell, doused with water, froze to death in C.I.A. custody. And it turned out it was a case of mistaken identity.

DICK CHENEY: –right. But the problem I had is with the folks that we did release that end up back on the battlefield. […] I’m more concerned with bad guys who got out and released than I am with a few that, in fact, were innocent.

CHUCK TODD: 25% of the detainees though, 25% turned out to be innocent. They were released.

DICK CHENEY: Where are you going to draw the line, Chuck? How are– […]

CHUCK TODD: Is that too high? You’re okay with that margin for error?

DICK CHENEY: I have no problem as long as we achieve our objective.

I’d be happy to chip in for his ticket to The Hague.

From Upworthy: Housing is a human right. And an economy based on financial markets doesn’t care about human rights. Maybe it’s time for a new economy?

Click through for more info. This is what Republican rule is doing to Detroit and to America.

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