Open Thread–5/22/2013

 Posted by at 2:33 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 222013
 

This will be today’s only article, because I had a rough day yesterday.  I wracked up my leg again by stumbling and catching myself on it the wrong way, and the pain interfered with my rest.  So I think I’d better not push myself at this point.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:12 ( average 4:45).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws on a bipartisan vote, sending the most significant immigration policy changes in decades to the full Senate, where the debate is expected to begin next month.

The 13-to-5 vote came as the committee reached a deal on one of the final snags threatening the legislation — and agreed to hold off on a particularly politically charged amendment, which would have added protections for same-sex couples.

After intense behind-the-scenes negotiations, Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, struck an agreement with the group of eight senators who drafted the original bill to address his concerns about visas for skilled foreign workers who could fill jobs in the high-tech industry…

It is truly sad that the only way to get this bill past Committee Republicans had to include a hate offering and a greed offering. Gay couples should have the right to apply fore green cards for their spouses. American workers will take big pay cuts or lose their jobs to foreign skilled workers, but there will be no savings for US consumers, just more profit for the 1%. Nevertheless, in spite of all its flaws, it is the most significant step toward immigration reform in a generation.

From The New Yorker: President Obama’s handling of controversies about the I.R.S., the Justice Department, and Benghazi has raised “grave doubts” about his ability to cope if he ever became involved in an actual scandal, prominent Republicans said today.

“If this is how he handles this stuff, Lord have mercy on him if he ever has to deal with a real scandal,” said newly elected Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S. Carolina). “Quite frankly, I don’t think he has what it takes.”

“The true test of a leader is this,” Rep. Sanford added. “When he gets in a fix, does he have the presence of mind to lie about his whereabouts? Sadly, I don’t think President Obama passes that test.”

Mr. Sanford’s concerns mirror those of another leading Republican lawmaker, Sen. David Vitter (R-Louisiana).

Perhaps Trail Walker and Diaper Dave should head up a new federal agency: the Department of Adultery.

From The Nation: Here are just five examples of bogus 501(c)(4) groups that deserve more scrutiny under the law:

The American Action Network is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit run by corporate lobbyists like Vin Weber (of Sallie Mae) and Tom Reynolds (of Goldman Sachs)…

…The Commission on Hope, Growth and Opportunity is a 501(c)(4) organization reportedly set up by lobbyist Scott Reed…

…The American Justice Partnership is a 501(c)(4) group run in part by Republican consultants Dan Pero and Cleta Mitchell…

…The American Future Fund is a 501(c)(4) group set up by a number of Republican operatives, and has aired millions of dollars in attack ads against President Obama and Democratic candidates for Congress…

…The 60 Plus Association is a front group designed by Republican operatives to appeal to senior citizens…

…It’s clear why these Republican operatives used 501(c)(4) organizations as tools to move millions in political money. Big publicly traded corporations have been eager to exploit the Citizens United decision but have avoided Super PACs because Super PACs face regular disclosure requirements. 501(c)(4) never have to disclose donors. For instance, health insurer Aetna accidentally revealed that it had provided $3 million to the American Action Network, a fact the company apparently wanted to keep secret…

Click through for much more, including the details of how these Republican groups are using anonymous donations to fund political activity illegally. Where there are Democratic organizations that do so as well, the extent of Democratic crime does not begin to compare with Republican.

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Open Thread–5/21/2013

 Posted by at 5:03 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 212013
 

Yesterday I caught up on sleep.  Thoughts and prayers to all caught up in the Oklahoma maelstrom.  Since the area is solidly red, I trust aid should be forthcoming without objection.  I only hope that Wayne LaPierre does not crawl out of the woodwork, raving that every American has the right to own a tornado.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:02 (average 4:46).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: Even as Apple became the nation’s most profitable technology company, it avoided billions in taxes in the United States and around the world through a web of subsidiaries so complex it spanned continents and went beyond anything most experts had ever seen, Congressional investigators disclosed on Monday.

The investigation is expected to set up a potentially explosive confrontation between a bipartisan group of lawmakers and Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, at a public hearing on Tuesday…

This is wha1 I call vulture capitalism. Instead of making THEM pay, Republicans are trying to raise YOUR taxes.

 From Alternet: A woman died on a courthouse floor because Alabama sheriff’s deputies refused to give her her medicine – after arresting her for an old traffic ticket, the woman’s daughter claims in court… [emphasis added]

The cruelty this woman endured is what the Republican Party proscribes for the poor, the RepubliCare death benefit.

From Daily Kos: The media and Republicans may be screeching about President Barack Obama’s scandals, but the American people are seeing through the bullshit.

CNN reported on Sunday that 53% of people questioned in the survey said they approve of the job the president is doing, with 45% saying they disapprove. The president’s approval rating was at 51% in CNN’s previous poll, from early April. The two point rise was well within the survey’s sampling error.

The new numbers indicate that Obama remains popular, with 79% of Americans saying the president is likable.

But it’s not just Obama. The Democratic Party went from a 46-48 favorable-unfavorable rating a month ago, to 52-43 in this latest poll. That’s a net gain of 11 points.

As for impeachment-screeching Republicans? They’re DOWN a net eight points from 38-54 a month ago, to 35-59 this week…

Fool me once? Shame on you. Fool me twice? Shame on me. Fool me 500 times? Even some sheeple aren’t THAT stupid!

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Open Thread–5/20/2013

 Posted by at 10:24 am  Open Thread, Personal, Plus, Politics
May 202013
 

Yesterday, I intended to nap during the day, but I could not.  They were doing maintenance on the building all afternoon and evening, causing the power to go out over and over again.  Each time it does, it sets off an alarm on my O2 system that wakes me up, so I could not sleep until late last night.  I’m feeling fatigued, so I have only this message.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:49 (average 5:20).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: The board of Yahoo, the faded Web pioneer, agreed on Sunday to buy the popular blogging service Tumblr for about $1.1 billion in cash, the companies announced Monday, a signal of how the company plans to reposition itself as the technology industry makes a headlong rush into social media.

When StumbleUpon changed format and drove away most of their members, many of them fled to Tumblr. As with other network acquisitions, I trust that this shall be a bad development for Tumblr members.  Thank God for Care2.

From Think Progress and Think Progress: If a woman in Virginia has a miscarriage without a doctor present, they must report it within 24 hours to the police or risk going to jail for a full year. At least, that’s what would have happened if a bill introduced by Virginia state Sen. Mark Obenshain (R) had become law.

And yet, the Virginia Republican Party wants to make Obenshain into the state’s top prosecutor. This weekend, Virginia Republicans selected Obenshain as their nominee to replace tea party stalwart Ken Cuccinelli (R) as the state’s attorney general.

But if voters don’t like him, the Republican party offers another choice.

Here are some of the most alarming facts you need to know about E.W. Jackson:

  • He has said gays and lesbians are “very sick people, psychologically and emotionally” whose minds are perverted. He has also said homosexuality “poisons culture, it destroys families, it destroys societies”
  • He led an “Exodus Now!” movement encouraging African Americans to leave the Democratic party because opposition to same-sex marriage and government endorsement of religion means “Democrats are engaged in a concerted effort [bigots delinked] to do away with all symbols of our Judeo-Christian culture.”
  • He rallied against hate crimes legislation as a “virulent strain of Anti-Christian bigotry and hatred.”

Residents of Virginia had better elect Democrats for their own protection.

From Huffington Post: Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) confirmed on Sunday that he is proposing an amendment to the upcoming farm bill that would eliminate the "Monsanto Protection Act."

Officially known as the Farmer Assurance Provision, the controversial agricultural provision was surreptitiously tucked into budget legislation — passed by Congress in March and signed into law by President Barack Obama — that was intended to avoid a government shutdown. The provision, which the public at large caught wind of only after the bill’s passage, allows agricultural companies such as Monsanto to ignore court orders against selling genetically-engineered seeds.

As HuffPost’s Ryan Grim explained last week:

Federal courts have recently ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had failed to consider the potential harm some genetically engineered crops may have, and acted too hastily in approving their sale. The industry fought back with the [Monsanto Protection Act], preventing the enforcement of court rulings.

I don’t want to hear Obama blamed for not vetoing the bill. This was, after all, a minor provision in the bill to end the Republicans’ seditious attempt to shut down the entire government. Sign Jeff’s petition, please. Once again, Oregon leads the way!

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Those two images were so boring that I chose a more recent graphic.

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Open Thread–5/19/2013

 Posted by at 10:02 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 192013
 

Yesterday I did more here to organize my recovery, but rested most of the day.  Today I have one more article and will distribute the link on only one of the sites I haunt.  I’ll go day by day from there.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:18 (average 4:32).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: And for one problem in particular: “the backlog,” the huge and probably still growing inventory of claims for disability compensation filed by wounded or ill veterans. As of Monday, just under 600,000 claims qualified as backlogged, meaning they had been pending for over 125 days.

Though the numbers have grown, delays in processing disability claims are nothing new, and neither are complaints about the backlog. Just last year, some veterans advocates tried to make the backlog a presidential campaign issue. They failed. But this year, something changed: the criticism grew louder and perhaps more partisan, and began reaching a wider audience.

This should not be a partisan issue, as Republicans scurry to blame Obama for the backlog. This, as usual, is Republican projection, because they have opposed veterans’ spending. Even worse, Republicans have actually tried to cut benefits for disabled veterans.

From Crooks and Liars: Jim DeMint’s Heritage Foundation is busy at work figuring out how to make sure Republicans are completely marginalized in 2014. As their faux scandals fall apart as rapidly as they’re concocted, DeMint’s minions are instructing Eric Cantor and John Boehner to please, please just keep attacking the president and forget about governing altogether.

If I understand this, he is telling them to make this four years like the last four years.

From Washington Post: President Obama will deliver a speech Thursday at the National Defense University in which he will address how he intends to bring his counterterrorism policies, including the drone program and the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in line with the legal framework he promised after taking office.

A White House official, speaking Saturday on the condition of anonymity to describe the speech in advance, said Obama will “discuss our broad counterterrorism policy, including our military, diplomatic, intelligence and legal efforts.”

“He will review the state of the threats we face, particularly as the al-Qaeda core has weakened but new dangers have emerged,” the official said. “He will discuss the policy and legal framework under which we take action against terrorist threats, including the use of drones. And he will review our detention policy and efforts to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.”

I have been a little less critical of Obama’s performance in these areas. I expect to disagree with much of what he will have to say, but knowing this speech was coming, I thought it better to wait until I hear what he has to say and have something currently concrete with which to disagree. That said, remember this. As much as we would like President Bernie Sanders, we can not have him. On his worst day, Barack Obama is infinitely better than Little Lord Willard would have been on his best day.

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Open Thread–5/18/2013

 Posted by at 6:32 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 182013
 

Yesterday I took several hours implementing the changes recommended, while I was in the hospital, including establishing a tentative quit date, subject to having the necessary materials, on 6/7.  I am continuing to improve.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:47 (average 4:42).  To do it. click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: Congressional Republicans, not resting with the Internal Revenue Service scandal, are moving to broaden the matter to an array of tax malfeasances and “intimidation tactics” they hope will ensnare the White House.

Republican charges range from clearly questionable actions to seemingly specious allegations, and they grow by the day. On Friday, lawmakers sought to tie the I.R.S. matter to the carrying out of President Obama’s health care law, which will rely heavily on the agency.

How completely absurd! This is a Republican product, began and carried out mostly during the Bush regime, by Bush people, and continued under Obama by Bush holdovers. They want us to believe that Obamacare is to blame?!!? You can fertilize your veggies with that InsaniTEA!

From Think Progress: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) expects a showdown in July over a potential second round of filibuster reform, and he’s prepared to push for a sweeping change to the minority’s ability to unilaterally obstruct judges and other nominees. According to reporting by the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent, Reid “is eyeing a change to the rules that would do away with the 60-vote threshold on all judicial and executive branch nominations.” The test, according to Sargent, of whether Reid will push this reform is whether Senate Republicans lift their blockades on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, Labor Secretary nominee Tom Perez, and Environmental Protection Agency leader-in-waiting Gina McCarthy.

It’s about time that damn Nevada Leg Hound got off his arse, but why wait until July? Even more, why limit it to nominees?

From Right Wing Watch: Pete Santilli is the kind of person we normally wouldn’t cover here – an unhinged Internet ranter who exists somewhere to the crazier side of Alex Jones. Santilli’s broadcast – on which he details conspiracy theories on everything from 9/11 to Sandy Hook –  doesn’t even have Jones’ audience: he describes himself as “a radio talkshow host ready to take my show to national syndication; that is, of course, if the FCC regulated AM/FM radio stations can handle my truth & honesty.”

But in the past couple of months, Santilli has attracted two major gun activists to his show: National Rifle Association board member Ted Nugent, who used the opportunity to call President Obama a Nazi, and Gun Owners of America director Larry Pratt, who worked with Santilli to flesh out his theory that President Obama is raising a private army to overpower the U.S. military. Pratt, in particular, is taken remarkably seriously among the GOP – he has been partially credited with taking down a background checks measure in the Senate last month.

So, we started paying attention to Santilli, and we learned pretty quickly what Nugent and Pratt felt perfectly comfortable associating themselves with. On his show last week, Santilli went on a disgusting, violent rant [hatemonger delinked] in which he called for the entire Bush family and President Obama to be “tried, convicted and shot” for “treason” (and in George H.W. Bush’s case “involvement with his cronies in the John F. Kennedy assassination”) and for Hillary Clinton to be “tried, convicted and shot in the vagina.”

There are few names I did not call GW Bush, aka Crawford Caligula, aka Potomac Pinocchio, aka Neocon Nero, aka Texas Torquemada, etc. They provide truth through humor. I called for his arrest and incarceration, and I still do. But never once did I ever suggest employing violence against him, and I criticized those few who did. This is the level to which the NRA and the Republican Party have descended.

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I spent many hours sweeping and sending samples to online friends all over the country.

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Open Thread–5/17/2013

 Posted by at 8:46 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 172013
 

I’m in quite a bit of pain from my bad leg, but at least I have an Open Thread today.  I’d like to share a quote from the writing of one of my guys in prison: “We cannot find peace or freedom while sowing the seeds of discord with dishonesty, intolerance, irresponsibility or disrespect.”  If only someone would teach this to the Republican leadership.  My activity here should increase gradually.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:01 (average 4:44).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: With the House set on Friday to convene the first of its hearings into the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service, the lessons learned from the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, which cost Republicans in elections in 1998, have been on display in recent days.

Listening to the hearings, I learned that the abuse, which Republicans are blaming on Obama, occurred during the Bush Regime under his appointees.  Under Obama, the same people continued the same policies.  In any event, this is clearly not a Democratic attack on Teabaggers.  If anything, it’s an attack by the 1% wings of the Republican Party to limit the power of their Tea Party storm troopers, the monster they created, and now, cannot control.

From The New Yorker: Today Speaker of the House John Boehner issued the following letter to the American people:

Dear American People,

Yesterday, your hardworking House Republicans tried, once again, and failed, once again, to repeal Obamacare. And I really thought we had a good chance this time.

That’s because we were all united in our hatred for this infernal and takes-too-long-to-read law. Every last one of us cast his vote to strike it down, from crazy little Paul Ryan to that arrogant bastard Eric Cantor.

And I wish you could have seen the faces of those freshman Republicans as they voted to repeal Obamacare—so innocent, so full of hope and wonder. As I told them yesterday, “You’ll never forget your first time.” …

Since retaking the House in 2010, Republicans have averaged 5.4 minutes out of every hour to repealing Obamacare.

From MSNBC: Deficits are shrinking at a historic pace.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

In spite of everything Republicans have done to sabotage our economy for political gain, the policies taken by Obama and the Democrats are working. The reason Republicans don’t cake is this. Everything their party does is a smokescreen for one of two Republican goals: either transfer of worth from the 99% to the 1%, or establishing a permanent regime of totalitarian Republican rule.

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Open Thread–4/21/2013

 Posted by at 1:25 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 212013
 

Sadly the spring pollen is still playing hell with my COPD, and I am spending the days coughing up very thick phlegm, which keeps me from sleeping.

Jog Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:42 (average 4:40).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: In a sweeping format change that marks the end of an era for the nation’s first cable news outlet, CNN announced today that it would no longer air breaking news and would instead re-run news stories of the past “that we know we got right.”

The rebranded network, to début nationwide on Monday, will be called “CNN Classic.”

“Breaking news is hard,” said the newly installed CNN chief, Jeff Zucker. “You have to talk to sources, make sure their stories check out O.K., and then get on the air and not say anything stupid. I, for one, am thrilled to be getting out of that horrible business.”

Perhaps, if they go back to the early 1990s, they can find a few things they got right.

From Right Wing Watch: On his radio broadcast today, Bryan Fischer renewed his call for a ban on immigration from majority Muslim nations, claiming that our immigration policy should simply consist of the question "do you believe that the Quran is the holy book of God"?

 

Authentic Muslims do not take those obscure references seriously, just as authentic Christians go not believe in executing people who shave, as the Bible demands.

Nevertheless, Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians always scream about their rights and their freedoms, but want to deny them to Muslims.

From Think Progress:

As police surrounded Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Friday night, Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) mocked the deadly situation with a joke about global warming. Stockman, notorious for making tasteless jokes about LGBT issues, abortion and gun control, and President Obama, tweeted the following at 8:08 PM:

“Suspect thought he could escape in backyard boat after hearing Gore speak on global warming.” — Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX)

Sadly, this Republican fool thinks that both terrorism and destroying the planet are laughing matters.

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Open Thread–4/20/2013

 Posted by at 1:35 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 202013
 

I wish I had some good personal news, but yesterday my COPD was very severe.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:02 (average 4:50).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NBC: The arrest of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ended the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers, but it set in motion an equally intense phase of the case that will begin with the grilling of the man who – for now at least – is the only surviving suspect.

An indication of the complex investigation ahead came Friday night, when an Obama administration official told NBC News that Tsarnaev would not be given a Miranda warning when he is physically able to be interrogated after receiving medical treatment.

Instead, the official said, the government will invoke a legal rule known as the "public safety exception," which will enable investigators to question Tsarnaev without first advising him of his right to remain silent and to be afforded legal counsel.

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Republicans are screaming to try Tsarnaev as an enemy combatant, stripping him of virtually all rights afforded criminal suspects by the Constitution. Using the Public Safety Exception is also wrong. The worst domestic terrorist in US history, Timothy McVeigh, whom Republicans have celebrated by scheduling Open Carry events on an anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing, was read his Miranda Rights, as is the right thing to do. So should Tsarnaev. As for Republican military tribunals, considering their almost universal record of failure, as opposed to civilian courts’ universal record of success, when trying terrorism suspects, I’m glad DOJ is defying the Republican Party and going the civilian court route.

From Think Progress:

Three times in American history, the loser of the national popular vote became President of the United States — most recently when George W. Bush entered the White House with an assist from his fellow conservatives on the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, even in elections where the American people ultimately see their choice become president, candidates focus their efforts on just a handful of key swing states — Ohio, Florida, Colorado, etc. — while largely ignoring most of the country. If a plan passed by the Oregon House yesterday becomes sufficiently widespread, however, these practices will end and future presidents will be determined solely according to the will of the voters:

The legislation would require Oregon to cast its seven Electoral College ballots for the candidate who wins the national vote, rather than the one who gets the most votes in Oregon.

It would take effect only if a compact is enacted in states with a majority in the electoral college.

Nine states with 132 electoral votes have enacted it, about half of the 270 needed to win the presidency.

In addition to preventing incidents like the 2000 election, where the loser of the popular vote becomes the winner of the only vote that matters, this National Popular Vote plan would also prevent Republicans from enacting two plans they’ve proposed to rig the Electoral College.

This is the plan I’ve supported for years, because it makes all states and all voters equal.  For more info visit National Popular Vote.  Kudos to Oregon.

From Bill Moyers Journal: Biologist, mother and activist Sandra Steingraber joins Bill to talk about the need to build awareness about toxins that contaminate our air, water and food — and threaten our children’s health. With government captured by the very industries it’s supposed to regulate, Steingraber says she’s lost patience with politicians and corporations, and the time for direct action is now.

Steingraber also talks to Bill about her arrest for illegally blocking the driveway of a natural gas company as part of a protest against the controversial energy extraction process known as fracking. Steingraber went to jail on April 17, the day after this conversation was taped. She is currently serving a 15-day sentence.

 

What more can I say? These polluters need to shut the frack up and stop fracking!

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