I’m writing for tomorrow, day 143. I feel quite tired after yesterday’s prison volunteer day. It was a CoDA meeting, and I was only working with five guys, but their intensity made up for their low number. I learned that one now has his release date, so I told him that he had been stinking up the prison for far too long and it was about time they threw his useless ass right out of the prison. The wonderful thing about short timers with a brand new release date is you can do anything to them. Nothing wipes away the smile, :twisted: On a more serious note, we discussed dealing with a higher power and how different people have different concepts of what that means. Views ranged from evangelical to devout atheist, but the beauty is that the men honored each others beliefs. Store to Door will be delivering groceries soon and I’m still quite tired.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:30 (average 5:07). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Upworthy: Laverne Cox (“Orange is the New Black”) tells a personal story that touches upon tough questions of race and gender identity and expression. Her courage to be who she is, and to remain compassionate in the face of open taunts and public shaming, is truly inspiring.
Every moment of her talk is compelling, but if you’ve only got a few minutes, jump ahead to 4:37 to hear why she does not descend to the level of her attackers. The answer—and the question she poses—puts so much of bullying into simple, elegant perspective. Bravo to her for speaking up and speaking out.
I understand how people can oppress out of pain. What I don’t understand is how Republicans can look in the mirror when they exacerbate that pain and exploit it for the profit of the 0.1%
From Daily Kos: Rep. Robert Pittenger thinks it would be terrible, just terrible, if the law prohibited employers from firing people for being gay. Kind of like how smoking bans are terrible:
After assuring ThinkProgress that he “respects everyone” and “loves people,” Pittenger said he believes companies should have the right to fire or refuse to hire someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“You need to respect the autonomy of somebody running their business,” he said. “It’s like smoking bans. Do you ban smoking or do people have the right to private property? I think people have the right to private property. In public spaces, absolutely, we can have smoking bans. But we don’t want to micromanage people’s lives and businesses. If you have a business, do you want the government to come in and tell you you need to hire somebody? Why should government be there to impose on the freedoms we enjoy?”
Denying the rights of others is not a freedom. It’s a Republican act of InsaniTEA.
From The New Yorker: Harshly criticizing the current occupant of the White House, Dick Cheney told reporters on Wednesday, “Iraq would be stable today if I were still President.”
“ISIS is a problem that President Obama has made possible,” Cheney said during a press conference on Capitol Hill. “I never would have let that happen when I was Commander-in-Chief.”
I give up, Andy Where’s the satire?
Cartoon:
