Politics Plus

Yesterday I spent most of the day meditating on the mysteries of the Ellipsoid Orb, but I did spend a couple hours testing different smiley plugins.  Sadly, none worked so I’ll have to prepare a smiley reference page.  I slept longer than normal and am running behind again.  I’m current on replies.  Tomorrow I have volunteer work and housework to do.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 3:03 (average 4:21).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Religious Agony:

Short Takes:

From USA Today: One day after the funeral in Savannah, Ga., of longtime death row inmate Troy Davis, whose Sept. 21 execution generated global attention, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo has published an opinion piece in the News in which he complains that death penalty supporters assume the criminal justice system cannot make a mistake.

He’s exactly right.

From News Hounds: Bill Maher is a comedian who whose political satire is equal opportunity. His show is on HBO which is a pay for view channel. Yet, Fox Nation seems to have an obsession about him that belies the Fox Nation mission statement about being "opposed to intolerance." But inquiring minds want to know how the nomenclature of Bill Maher as "Pig Maher" (Incuding the most recent example, five times) comports with their commitment to "observing the rules of civility and mutual respect."

I do the same thing.  Crawford Caligula, Potomac Pinocchio, Texas Torquemada, ChickenHawk Cheney, Agent Orange, Blood-libel Barbie, Christine, O’Dingbat, Obtuse Angle, Bought Bitch Mitch and more are all TC originals.  So what’s the difference?  Fox claims to be a news channel that reports “fair and balanced” news.  They claim to “observe the rules of civility and respect” at all times.  In truth they are the Republican Ministry of Propaganda, not news, unfair and unbalanced, factually inaccurate, and disrespectful to the left to the point of hate mongering.  I, on the other hand, am a commentator, not a reporter.  I wear my bias as a badge of honor, but fact check my articles faithfully.  When I’m wrong, I do not double down.  I admit it.  I do not demand respect for public figures, only for people who comment here and me, regardless of political persuasion, and enforce that rule fairly.  I have lost friends for deleting personal attacks against people who left right-wing comments here.  So the difference is simple.  They are hypocrites.  I am not.

From Washington Post: Speaking at an event hosted by a prominent gay advocacy group, President Obama on Saturday night chastised the his GOP presidential rivals for failing to speak up when some members of the audience at a debate last month booed a gay soldier.

Also, for the first time, he publically called for the end of DOMA.

Cartoon:

Yesterday was a lazy day.  I slept late, changed the poll, and caught up on email.  I’m current on replies to comments.  Tomorrow is grocery delivery day.  Unpacking everything and putting it away will take hours and tire me out, but it’s a lot easier than hauling groceries up a double flight of stairs twice a week.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:55 (average 5:28).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Reuters: The killing of Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen on Friday by a U.S. drone strike is the culmination of two years of extensive U.S. efforts to track down the American-born member of al Qaeda and put him out of action.

Awlaki, identified by U.S. intelligence as "chief of external operations" for al Qaeda’s Yemen branch and a Web-savvy propagandist for the Islamist cause, was killed in an attack by missiles fired from multiple CIA drones in a remote Yemeni town, U.S. officials said.

Because of Awlaki’s US citizenship, the killing will raise some legal issues.  Technically, this was illegal, but the law needs to be updated to account for a struggle that has no uniforms and no set piece battles.  There can be no doubt that Awlaki is has assisted in killing Americans, so taking him out is good for the country.  However, instead of ignoring the law, Obama needs to get it changed to reflect the nature of the threat and set narrow limits on such operations.  That said, Obama has done more to damage Al Qaeda in less than three years than Bush did in his whole Regime.

From ABC: Hispanic students have started vanishing from Alabama public schools in the wake of a court ruling that upheld the state’s tough new law cracking down on illegal immigration.

Education officials say scores of immigrant families have withdrawn their children from classes or kept them home this week, afraid that sending the kids to school would draw attention from authorities.

There are no precise statewide numbers. But several districts with large immigrant enrollments — from small towns to large urban districts — reported a sudden exodus of children of Hispanic parents, some of whom told officials they planned to leave the state to avoid trouble with the law, which requires schools to check students’ immigration status.

This is exactly what the Republican bigots wanted when they wrote their hate-law.

From The Hill: Bank of America’s latest attack on the American economic recovery through big bank fees may well elect Elizabeth Warren to the Kennedy Senate seat in Massachusetts. The very bad news for Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Chris Christie and those Republicans who take big money from big bailed-out banks as donations, and then carry their water in Washington, is that they will be exposed again.

Bank of America, which might soon be called Bank of un-America, is the embodiment of what happens if Ron Paul or Rick Perry is elected. It has done consistent damage to the America economy from the birth of the mortgage fraud to the mega-bailout, from the massive layoffs to this latest fee on debit cards.

I dare Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Chris Christie, Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan and Sarah Palin to denounce the latest Bank of America attack on American consumers and call for the fee to be withdrawn. They won’t.

Of course they wont.  Republicans are Bankster bought.

From Alternet: Global warming is killing the world’s chocolate supply, agricultural researchers find. Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana together provide 53 percent of the world’s chocolate, but warming temperatures and changing precipitation mean rapid declines in growing conditions over the coming decades.

This could be the break we’ve waited for.  When millions of women, crazed from chocolate withdrawal, descend on Washington, government will finally take action.

Cartoon:

Yesterday, I co-facilitated a therapy group for former prisoners.  It pleased me to see that they are using the tools they have learned to deal with their issues, stay out of trouble, and stay free.  The down side is that to do it, I miss my morning sleep, and coming home there is a steep three block hill between the therapist’s office and the bus.  It’s difficult for me to climb, sets off my COPD, and leaves me exhausted.  To make matters worse, I’m doing laundry, as I write.  Nekked TomCats are a no-no around here.  I’m current on replies.  Tomorrow I defrost the refrigerator, do my online grocery shopping, and try to rest.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 3:57 (average 5:00).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

To our Jewish friends:

L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu!

Short Takes:

From ABC: A Massachusetts man was arrested today for allegedly masterminding a plot to hit the nation’s capital with explosive-laden remote-controlled airplanes followed by a ground assault, the Department of Justice said.

Rezwan Ferdaus, a 26-year-old U.S. citizen and Northeastern University graduate, was nabbed in an elaborate FBI sting after he told undercover officers exactly how he planned to arm "small drone airplanes" with explosives in order to hit the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol building before opening fire on the survivors, federal officials said in a statement.

I’m gratified that the Obama administration takes the threat more seriously and does a better job protecting the nation than the Bush Regime did.

From Raw Story: Two women who wanted to get married in a small town in a rural New York town are suing the town clerk who refused to sign their marriage certificate because she believes homosexuality is a sin.

The lawsuit will stand as a milestone test case in the wake of New York’s months-old legalization of same-sex marriage: whether government workers’ personal beliefs can trump the duties of their jobs.

Rose Marie Belforti, the elected town clerk for Ledyard, NY, refused last month to sign the marriage license for Deirdre DiBiaggio and Katie Carmichael, who are from Miami, according to the New York Times.

Since she refuses to do her job, Belforti should be fired immediately.

From Reason: Looking ahead to the 2012 presidential race, one might assume that Nader has little to be cheerful about.

Yet he says there is one candidate who sticks out—who even gives him hope: Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.

Ralph has been feeding at the Republican trough for so long now, that he is a mere shadow of his former self.  His endorsement of Ron Paul demonstrates that whatever credibility he might have once had is gone.

Cartoon:

Yesterday I spent paying bills, doing paperwork, cooking, cleaning and enjoying the cool weather.  I’m current on replies.  Today I have some major house work to do and preparation for volunteer work on Wednesday.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 3:18 (average 4:57).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From USA Today: After weeks of political brinkmanship in Congress, the threat of a partial government shutdown appeared to ease Monday with the disclosure that money to aid victims of natural disasters may last through the end of the budget year after all.

The revised estimate suggested there would be no interruption in assistance in areas battered by disasters such as Hurricane Irene and last summer’s tornados in Joplin, Mo., and also that lawmakers could act quickly on gridlocked legislation that is needed to keep the government running normally when the new budget year begins on Saturday.

The Senate passed the bill based on the revised estimate, and Teabaggers are crying in their Kool-Aid all over the country.

From Right Wing Watch: Judicial Watch founder Larry Klayman took to Renew America [Wing-nuts delinked] to demand Americans “take matters into our own hands and wage a Second American Revolution” against President Barack Obama, who he calls “our mullah in chief.” The conservative activist focuses on the bid to recognize Palestinian statehood in the United Nations to attack Obama and the “self-hating ultra-leftist Jews Obama surrounds himself with.”…

Here we have yet another example of Republican calls to violence, bigotry, racism and hate.

From me: Suzanne Bonamici is the first OR-1 special election Democratic candidate to air an ad.

I think Brad Avakian is more progressive, but would have no trouble supporting Susan, should she win the primary.

Cartoon: