Politics Plus

Yesterday was another bad air day, but I’m still going.  I’m putting off my errands until after the blog is up.  I’m current on replies.  Tomorrow I have to prepare a meeting plan for Tuesday’s volunteer work in prison.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:33 (average 5:20).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: What Have We Gained (And Lost) In The Two Years Since Obamacare Was Enacted?

Republicans are desperate that Americans don’t learn about this, let alone the parts yet to come.

From MSNBC: JP Morgan Chase and the Dark Markets

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

This is the best explanation of this Bankster scandal that I have encountered.

From NY Times: Leaders of the world’s richest countries banded together on Saturday to press Germany to back more pro-growth policies to halt the deepening debt crisis in Europe, as President Obama for the first time gained widespread support for his argument that Europe, and the United States by extension, cannot afford Chancellor Angela Merkel’s one-size-fits-all approach emphasizing austerity.

Merkel, whose party has lost six out of the last seven state elections to social democrats, is backing down. Now only US Republicans, and Canadian conservatives, are pushing this failed policy.

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Yesterday and today my COPD and bursitis have been severe, but since it’s cool, I can publish through that.  I’m current with replies.  Tomorrow I have errands to run.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:01 (average 4:42).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: Three Words In The Bible That Some People Totally Ignore

Perhaps that’s because Republican supply-side pseudo-Christianity is based on hate, fear, and greed, not love.

From LA Times: A group behind a costly endeavor to field an independent presidential ticket this fall acknowledged Thursday that its efforts to nominate a candidate had failed.

Americans Elect succeeded in getting on the ballot in 29 states, but none of its prospective candidates received the minimum support needed to participate in a Web-based series of primaries that were to be held this month…

…The top declared candidate, former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, had tallied about 6,300 clicks of support on the Americans Elect website by Thursday – far short of the minimum 10,000 required.

From the beginning, this has been a right wing attempt to field a left wing 3rd party candidate to draw votes away from Obama.  Good riddance!

From MS-NBC: Senators go after corporate miscreants.

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

Go!  Go!  Go!

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Yesterday the temperature outside did not reach up to 80°.  However, with accumulated heat radiating from my walls, the temperature at my desk has not yet reached down to 80°, so I need one more day of posting only this Open Thread.  I’m current with replies and hope to be back to normal tomorrow.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:16 (average 4:68).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: Bill Maher Issues A Wake-Up Call For Your Lazy Friends

Maher has hit on the tragedy of US political life today.  People who don’t vote and people who vote uninformed may yet be the death of this Republic.

From KGW: Charlie Hales and Jefferson Smith will face off in the November election for Mayor of Portland.

Eileen Brady, one of the front-runners for most of the campaign, appeared headed to a third-place finish…

…In other big races, Ellen Rosenblum defeated Dwight Holden in the Democratic primary race for Oregon Attorney General.

As you know, I was an Eileen Brady donor and supporter.  Given her loss, I now endorse Jeff Smith.  The AG race is noteworthy, because, as a US attorney Holden sought to prosecute legal distributors of medical marijuana, while Rosenblum supports medical marijuana and promises to make enforcement of criminal marijuana laws her lowest priority.

From MSNBC: Boycott Facebook!

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

These are two of the people trying to buy the US for the 1% by putting Republicans in power. Vote against them with your dollars.

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Today is the 15th.  I was so out of it yesterday that I thought I had uploaded this!

Yesterday the heat wave continued with the temperature in my enclosed breezeway reaching 129° and at my desk 91°.  Between the heat and the COPD, I had almost no sleep, so again this will be my only post for the day.,  I’m current with replies.  Tomorrow should be cooler, but it will probably take a day for the building to bleed off the accumulated heat.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:53 (average 5:34).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: 5 Huge Ways Tax Cuts For Millionaires Are Affecting The 99%

The Republican mantra: Greed over need.

From NT Times: This week, the House will take up the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, a bill that has already passed the Senate with bipartisan support. The White House has promoted the bill’s renewal as an important tool in protecting women.

But House Republicans have balked at the Senate’s version, preferring a version that White House officials and Democrats have derided as a way to weaken the legal protections for women. That could set up a contentious debate that may put Mr. Romney in an awkward position as he courts women voters.

Mr. Romney has said he hopes a version of the act can be reauthorized. But a protracted fight over the issue in Congress will give Mr. Obama and the Democrats another opportunity to accuse the Republicans of conducting a “war on women.”

How else could we reasonably describe promoting violence against women in this manner?  Of course it a war on women.

From Newser: Team Romney’s rule of thumb: Do the opposite of everything John McCain did in 2008, or so reports Politico in a look at the campaign’s strategy. The approach applies broadly, say advisers—focus hugely on the economy, fully engage in fundraising, integrate early with the Republican National Committee—but comes most into play in the search for a VP. The campaign doesn’t want to end up with its own version of Sarah Palin, so it is going to great lengths to avoid anyone who could be seen as unprepared. The goal, according to one official: Go with an "incredibly boring white guy."

Could this mean that Romney intends to be his own VP?

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