Politics Plus

Yesterday I went to my podiatrist for my routine quarterly surgery on my foot.  I was tired, because I slept poorly.  It was probably nerves about tomorrow.  I’m current on replies.  Today, I’ll be out running errands.  It will be my last chance for a few days.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 3:30 (average 5:22).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From LA Times: When it comes to the 2012 election, Donald Trump is so fired.

I said from the beginning that I thought it was a publicity stunt.  But it sure took in the racist Republican ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-ase.

From Xinhuanet: Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the prosecutor said at a press conference on Monday.

Two other arrest warrants were also issued for his son Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, and his brother-in-law Abdullah Al-Sanousi, Libya’s head of intelligence, for "war crimes and crimes against humanity," said Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor.

"The case is now before the judges, they can accept the request, reject, or ask for more evidence," said Moreno-Ocampo, "in the meantime, the office of prosecutor will continue the investigation."

The court shouldn’t need rocket science to figure this one out.

Cartoon:

Send a Republican to Jerusalem with Glen Beck (one way ticket).  (That WAS intended to be a factual statement.)

Yesterday I was busy with chores.  I’m current with replies, but I’ll be busy today unpacking and putting away a grocery delivery this morning.  It will be much more difficult that usual, because it will contain many foods that I’m not used to buying and storing in my limited space.  Starting Wednesday I’ll be on a toothless diet for two weeks, and planning for that has been a pain in the Republican.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 3:49 (5:14 average).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Reuters: IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, arrested by police in New York for sexual assault, is the front-runner in opinion polls to win next year’s presidential election in France and replace incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.

Strauss-Kahn, a 62-year-old Socialist who starred as finance minister in the late 1990s, left for Washington in late 2007 to head the International Monetary Fund, just as the world’s worst economic downturn since World War II hit.

The polls show Strauss-Kahn, who has yet to officially declare, trouncing Sarkozy and also leading all other potential challengers in what many in his home country expected to be a dirty campaign leading up to an election set for next April.

I hope that the charges against this man prove to be unfounded.  I understand that the bogus scandal to discredit opponents is almost as common by European conservatives as it is by Republicans.  The way conservatives are screwing up Europe, Sarkozy must be desperate.

From Politico: Mike Huckabee opted against a run for the 2012 Republican nomination Saturday night, saying that despite all the signs saying yes, “My heart says no.”

The former Arkansas governor’s decision instantly reshapes the contest, creating a wide-open field in Iowa, where Huckabee won the 2008 caucuses, and an opening for some of the second-tier hopefuls who could appeal to Huckabee’s base of conservatives and evangelical Christians.

I have to credit the Huckster for brains, even though he was lying.  Although his heart says yes, all the signs say know.  Even though he had a chance of winning the nomination, he knows he’d get his butt kicked in the general.

From Alternet: Shirley Sherrod is back at the United States Department of Agriculture, almost a year after she was forced out by a misleading video spread by conservatives falsely accusing her of discriminating against white farmers.

Sherrod will not take her old position, reports Politico, instead rejoining the agency to work on civil rights. In her new job, she’ll lead a program designed to improve relations with minority farmers.

After the disgraceful performance by the Obama administration in falling for and overreacting to a scam by O’Keefe, Breitbart and the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda (Faux Noise),  I’m glad to see Shirley back with the USDA.

Cartoon:

Teabaggers get a discount at the Fukushima Hilton! (That was not intended to be a true statement.)

Yesterday I tried to watch the Senate hearings on big oil, but could not find them, and did lots of chores around the house.  I am tired, because my pharmacy called in the middle of my sleep time to tell me they can’t reach my doctor’s office to renew a prescription.  I love my doctor, but her back office stinks.  I’m current on replies.  One story just hearing now is that John McCain went to Leon Panetta and asked him, point blank, if the torture practiced by GW Bush had anything to do with locating bin Laden.  It did not.  He publically debunked the Republican lies claiming it did.  It has been years since McCain stopped goose-stepping long enough to visit the world of honesty.  I thank him for so doing.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 3:36 (average 4:54).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The Oregonian: Oregon’s economy has hit full recovery mode, state economists reported Thursday, not only boosting worker payrolls but also giving a welcome lift to the recession-battered state budget.

For the first time in two years, lawmakers learned they will have more money than expected to spend on state programs, not less. And though the news of an estimated $129 million extra for the 2011-13 budget didn’t cause dancing on the House floor, it came as a clear relief.

What’s Oregon’s secret?  We had the good sense to raise taxes on millionaires and big corporations!  Come on America!  Follow our lead!

From Alternet: Were you absent the day your history teacher informed the class that the Reagan Revolution was powered by a divine intervention from God? Did you fall asleep during the lesson on black, unemployed people who, at one time, completely lacked ethics? Don’t worry — Mike Huckabee has made a tool to school your entire family on these subjects.

Click through for video.  For just $9.95 per month, Upchuckabee will fill your head with Republican Supply-side Theocon BS too!

From Ars Technica: Meredith Attwell Baker, one of the two Republican Commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission, plans to step down—and right into a top lobbying job at Comcast-NBC.

The news, reported this afternoon by the Wall Street Journal, The Hill, and Politico, comes after the hugely controversial merger of Comcast and NBC earlier this year. At the time, Baker objected to FCC attempts to impose conditions on the deal and argued [PDF] that the "complex and significant transaction" could "bring exciting benefits to consumers that outweigh potential harms."

Yet another Republican is laughing all the way to the bank for screwing the consumers of the industry we paid them to regulate.

Cartoon:

TGIF!! (That was intended to be a factual statement.)

Yesterday I was out and about running errands.  My COPD flared up and I had to take frequent breaks to catch my breath.  I felt bushed when I returned home, but I am current on comments.  Today it’s back to the denturist.  They may or may not be pulling teeth.  If they do, I may have to take tomorrow off here, or posts may be abbreviated and/or late.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 3:43 (average 4:46).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Washington Post: The killing of Osama bin Laden has given President Barack Obama a new applause line for fundraising events.

Obama boasted at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser Tuesday night that thanks to the U.S. military and American intelligence agencies, “Osama bin Laden will never again threaten the United States of America.”

Now, if only he could be as effective against the greater threat, Al Dubya.

From You Tube: Bill Maher thinks Obama is a black ninja gangsta President.

He’s hilarious, as usual, but his point is dead on.  It is Republicans, not Democrats, who are weaklings on national security and defense.

From The Daily Caller: Maine Republican Senate candidate Scott D’Amboise, who is challenging sitting Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe in the upcoming 2012 primary, called on Snowe to resign from her seat immediately.

D’Amboise issued a statement Tuesday morning calling on Snowe to resign after the U.S. Department of Justice joined a lawsuit against Education Management Corporation (EDMC), a company that has employed her husband, former Maine Gov. John McKernan, for the past 12 years. The suit alleges that EDMC had defrauded the government of financial aid funding.*

D’Amboise said Snowe has “directly benefited” from her husband’s financial activity, which he describes as, “defrauding of taxpayers, pocketing millions of dollars – millions of our hard earned tax dollars.” D’Amboise also said Snowe “became a millionaire with our money.”

Bear in mind that D’Ambrose is a Teabagger, but if he can unseat Snowe, that’s a seat Democrats could pick up.

Cartoon:

Today is hump day, so use a Republican to give a camel a second hump: tie camel, lift tail, and insert Republican.  ;-)  (That was not intended to be a factual statement.)