Yesterday I got my errands and chores done and rested up for today. We had over 10,000 visits yesterday! This morning I co-facilitate a therapy group for former prisoners. Doing it is very fulfilling, but when I’m done, getting back to the bus line takes a four block walk up a steep hill that kicks my butt. I’ll be useless for the rest of the day.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today it took me 4:21 (average 4:49). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From BBC: Japan is to decommission four stricken reactors at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, the operator says.
The cost will be staggering financially and already is environmentally.
From NECN: The Oregon Senate voted Tuesday to allow some illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at Oregon public universities.
Its not right to punish students who were brought here illegally, when they had nothing to do with it. Bravo Oregon!
From Think Progess: Speaking at an Iowa homeschool event, Paul told the crowd that “in principle, nullification is proper and moral and constitutional.” “That is why,” Paul declared, “I am a strong endorser of the nullification movement, that states like this should just nullify these laws”.
Given the opportunity, Paul would return us to Jim Crow laws.
Last night Barack Obama gave a speech on the US involvement in the Libyan conflict. The speech had good and bad points. To bring you up to to date, here is the complete video of the speech, a link to the text, excerpts from two articles, two additional videos, including one of Republicans making fools of themselves, and some commentary.
President Obama defended the American-led military assault in Libya on Monday, saying it was in the national interest of the United States to stop a potential massacre that would have “stained the conscience of the world.”
In his first major address since ordering American airstrikes on the forces and artillery of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi nine days ago, Mr. Obama emphasized that the United States’s role in the assault would be limited, but said that America had the responsibility and the international backing to stop what he characterized as a looming genocide in the Libyan city of Benghazi.
“I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action,” Mr. Obama said…
I agree that Obama’s weakest link is his failure to adequately consult with Congress. However, he did consult with the leadership of both parties in both the Senate and the House. I am certain that, had there been any objections at all, we would have heard about it by now.
I do accept Obama’s explanation about the humanitarian need for intervention. Kaddafi not only promised violence against civilians, he has a history of extreme right-wing behavior. I am convinced the threat was real, because he even equipped his troops with condoms and Viagra to assist in the rape of women in rebel areas.
Walking through the corridors of the El-Mgareaf hospital, Dr Suleiman Refadi went from sadness, to boiling fury, to unhindered joy in the space of just half an hour.
The general surgeon had stayed holed up in the hospital in east Ajdabiya for the six days Gaddafi’s forces spent in his city after retaking control last week. He and a number of his staff risked being shot by snipers in the city or being arrested and taken away like so many others during this time.
Three of his doctors had disappeared on their way to pick up injured civilians just two streets away from the hospital. Only their shot up ambulance was found.
The surgeon told me about the women he had treated who said they had been raped by government soldiers. One woman was snatched from outside her home as she called for her child to come indoors. Another was inside her own house near the west gate to the city when soldiers broke in and raped her.
His sadness turned to bewilderment when the doctor described how he believed this rape was very much pre-meditated. He described how he had personally searched the bodies of Gaddafi troops that were brought into the hospital morgue: "When they bring the cadavers to the hospital I search their pockets. I have seen Viagra and I have seen condoms."
This, he ascertained, was because they had been instructed to rape… [emphasis added]
I do believe that, had we not intervened, there would have been a horrific massacre.
There is no humor in war, but it’s hard not to laugh at Republicans performing a double-reverse goose-step to redefine their positions. Rachel Maddow exposed them with Chris Hayes.
In conclusion, I still hate war, but I had to ask myself one question. How often do we see the commitment of US forces to protect rebels, who want self-determination, from an autocrat? In Iraq Bush tried to install Chalabi as his puppet and failed. In Afghanistan he installed Karzai as his puppet. Historically, when US forces have been used, it has usually been to protect autocrats from rebels, who wanted self-determination. If we are going to fight, I prefer the former. Also, we should not forget that the US Senate voted unanimously in favor of establishing a no fly zone in Libya, and the Senator, who, among others, introduced that resolution, was Bernie Sanders.
Yesterday did not go as planned. After breakfast, I closed my eyes to rest them for a few minutes and did not wake up until mid afternoon, so I did not even get all my errands and chores done. Today, we’ll see, but I’m up to date on comments.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today it took me 4:05 (average 4:45). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From The State Column: New York Republican Donald Trump likely understands how President Obama feels when people question the validity of his birth certificate.
Mr. Trump, who has gained national attention concerning his questioning of Mr. Obama’s birth certificate, attempted to present his own birth certificate Monday only to realize it was a copy.
Politico reported that the document presented by Mr. Trump is not, in fact, his official birth certificate.
LMAO! I still thing Donald Duck is a better choice.
From NY Times: Michigan, whose unemployment rate has topped 10 percent longer than that of any other state, is about to set another record: its new Republican governor, Rick Snyder, signed a law Monday that will lead the state to pay fewer weeks of unemployment benefits next year than any other state.
Ah, the fruits of sending Obama a message!
From Daily Kos: Anonymous Republican sources tell the National Review that polling in on the April 5th Wisconsin Supreme Court election between JoAnne Kloppenburg and incumbent David Prosser is "near even."
In case you don’t know, Prosser is a Koch sucking Walker clone. Vote JoAnne Kloppenburg!
Yesterday was taken up with errands and chores, but I am up to date on comments. I have a few things to do today, but might actually have time for some visiting.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today it took me 3:46 (average 4:44). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From AP/Google: Congress returns to Washington this week under mounting pressure to strike an agreement with President Barack Obama on a bill to fund the government.
I’m most worried about this.
From Marin Independent Journal: To strip away collective bargaining rights is to strip away human rights from the American worker. Public workers who keep our communities clean and safe, who teach our children and help those less fortunate, are under attack.
Right on!
From The Vile Plutocrat: General Electric, the nation’s largest corporation, reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States.
After I got the blog up yesterday, I spent a couple hours troubleshooting an IE9 problem and fixing a Firefox 4 problem. At around Noon, I crawled back into bed and that was it until got up at Midnight to begin my research. After two late nights of volunteer work this week, I obviously needed the sleep. Today I have errands and chores to do.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today it took me 3:42 (average 4:42). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From NY Times: Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces retreated from this strategic city on Saturday, running for dozens of miles back along the coast with Libyan rebels in pursuit in their first major victory since American and European airstrikes began a week ago.
That’s progress. I hope Libya dumps Daffy soon.
From Common Dreams: Some day soon, when pro-democracy campaigners have their cellphones confiscated by police, they’ll be able to hit the "panic button" — a special app that will both wipe out the phone’s address book and emit emergency alerts to other activists.
Egyptians charging their cell phones at Tahrir Square (credit: Samir Eshra) The panic are button is one of the new technologies the U.S. State Department is promoting to equip pro-democracy activists in countries ranging from the Middle East to China with the tools to fight back against repressive governments.
Egypt? China?? Hell! When is the US model coming out?!!? They are desperately needed in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Arizona, New Jersey, Florida, Texas and elsewhere!
From Think Progress: For years, former UN Ambassador John Bolton has been on a one-man mission to open up a new war in Iran. Last fall, he called for an immediate attack on Iran “in the next eight days.” When that didn’t happen, Bolton pointed to the downfall of former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak this winter as a reason to “speed that timetable up” on an Iranian attack.
ThinkProgress spoke with Bolton, who is weighing a run for the Republican presidential nomination, at the Conservative Principles Conference in Iowa. Despite current military engagements in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, Bolton urged the United States to also keep its focus on “the great risk” of Iran. When asked whether our bombing of Libya means we’re shifting focus away from Iran, Bolton argued for attacking both, declaring “I think a president’s got to walk and chew gum at the same time”.
If McConJob runs again, this clown would fit him perfectly.
Cartoon:
Pray for deliverance from the pseudo-Christian followers of Republican Supply-side Jesus (not the real one).
I was out late last night hosting a CoDA group, and am quite pooped, so what I do tor the rest of the day will depend on how much sleep I get and how I feel. I am up to date on comments.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today it took me 4:42 (5:01 average). To do it, click here. How did you do?
From Miami Herald: In a blow to public employee unions, the Republican-controlled Florida House passed a bill Friday that would ban payroll deductions of dues and require labor organizations to get individual members’ OK before using their payments for political purposes.
The Florida legislation, which still needs Senate approval, is part of a Republican push in several states to curtail the power of public-sector unions that generally support Democratic candidates.
And Republicans continue their assault on American workers with the intent to establish a 1,000 year regime of one party rule.
From Boston Globe: Facing growing calls for his resignation, Yemen’s longtime ruler told tens of thousands of supporters yesterday that he is ready to step down but only if he can leave the country in “safe hands,’’ while antigovernment protesters massed for a rival rally.
Depending on the meaning of “safe hands”, another US ally may be falling to democratic rule.
Yesterday I did went to the prison as a volunteer. It was our group’s annual banquet there, and I thoroughly enjoyed having the guys show off their families and talking to them about the work we do to help there. Needless to say, I’m running late and am exhausted. Nevertheless, I’m up to date on comments. However, tonight I need to be at our CoDA group here in town and will be home late, so tomorrow’s posts, if any, will be late and may be abbreviated.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today it took me 3:39 (4:38 average). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From NY Times: Japan’s effort to contain the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant suffered a setback, an official said on Friday, citing evidence that the reactor vessel of the No. 3 unit may have been damaged.
Ya think? I’d say the white smoke and steam we saw a few days ago was a dead giveaway.
From Daily Kos: On Feb. 11, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, his wife and three aides flew in a luxury jet to Washington for a weekend of politicking, including an appearance on Fox News Sunday and a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference. “Our problem is not that we tax too little,” Barbour told the gathering. “It’s that we spend too much.”
The potential presidential contender may have another problem: Mississippi taxpayers paid the tab for Barbour’s first-class travel.
Another typical Republican presidential hopeful.
From Alternet: Republicans are ramping up their push to reduce the deficit on the backs of the poor. The Republican Study Committee, the House GOP’s conservative caucus, is lobbying party leaders to include big cuts to food stamps, Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and other welfare programs for the poor. The proposal could "save as much as $1.4 trillion over a decade.
This is how Republicans define “shared sacrifice”. The share for the poor is 100%.
Yesterday my Firefox automatically updated from 3.6 to 4. The new version is not compatible with my password manager. I spent most of the day trying to fix it without success. ARGH! Today I return to Oregon State Penitentiary to do volunteer work there. I will be home late, so there may be no articles tomorrow, or if there are, they will be abbreviated and late.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today it took me 3:29 (4:26 average). To do it click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Miami Herald: Racial and ethnic minorities are expected to make up an unprecedented 90 percent of the total U.S. growth since 2000, due to immigration and higher birth rates for Latinos. Currently the fastest growing group, Hispanics are on track to exceed 50 million, or roughly 1 in 6 Americans; among U.S. children, Hispanics are now roughly 1 in 4.
That makes Republicans brown-streak-in-the-shorts scared. I say, “Bienvenidos amigos.”
From Xinhua: The nuclear crisis in Japan has left the global community heavily-concerned about Japanese food products. The United States says it will block imports of milk and fresh produce from areas of Japan, near the crippled nuclear power plant.
That’s a reasonable precaution, so there’s no reason for US media to duck the issue.
From TPM: Conservative provocateur James O’Keefe, fresh off his sting operation aimed at NPR, "must raise $50,000 quickly to keep moving forward" he said in an e-mail to supporters.
"Up ’til now, my friends and I have financed all of our work on our own — running up major credit card debt"
This is almost sufficient to win my support for debtors’ prison.
Cartoon:
Thursday is sanity day! Thou shalt not commit Teabuggery.
Walking through the corridors of the El-Mgareaf hospital, Dr Suleiman Refadi went from sadness, to boiling fury, to unhindered joy in the space of just half an hour.
