Politics Plus

Yesterday I had a lot of personal catching up to do after the morning flood when they ran the heat.  However, I did manage to catch up on comments.  Today is uncertain, because this situation is still kicking my butt, plus it’s a holy day for the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb.  It was a slow day for news.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:05 (average 4:58).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Common Dreams: A second exodus has begun here, of Iraqis who returned after fleeing the carnage of the height of the war, but now find that violence and the nation’s severe lack of jobs are pulling them away from home once again.

It appears Petraeus’ mighty surge was effective only as long as the US kept paying off the Sunni faction.

From The Guardian: Peace talks conducted with an impostor who posed as a Taliban leader, and which led to a meeting with Hamid Karzai in Kabul and thousands of dollars in "goodwill payments", were started by the Afghan government and approved by the former American commander, Stanley McChrystal, the Guardian has learned.

This account sharply contradicts claims made by the Afghan presidency, which has put the entire blame on Britain, apparently supported privately by US officials.

McChrystal was Petraeus’ hand-picked boy.

That today’s Short Takes demonstrates Petraeus’ incompetence in two different countries was not planned.

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May you be blessed by God, nature, yourself, or nothing based on in what you place your faith.

Yesterday I juggled catching drips, cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and packing up my computer corner to clear the area for them to break open my ceiling this morning at 8:00 AM.  The dinner came out well, and afterwards, I dropped from exhaustion, sleeping from 3:00 PM yesterday until 6:00 AM today.  Needless to say, the hours I spend in daily research to produce this blog did not happen, so this is today’s only post.   8:00 AM came and the work crew looked at my ceiling, found problems they had not anticipated, and backed off.  My computer area will remain dissembled at least until Monday, so my blogging may be erratic until the matter is resolved.  Please keep coming back.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

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

Cartoon:

Did you eat the whole thing?

Yesterday I replied to comments and returned visits.  We’re having a cold spell in Portland, and the temperature change is setting off my COPD, so I felt drained and breathless most of the day.  However, I did take the time to try to help an author friend with a video trailer for her book and to call one of this blog’s most loyal readers, who had been feeling down.  Today I hope to keep up, but I have some work to do preparing tomorrow’s turkey dinner, which will be sharing with a woman in my biulding who is more disabled than I.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 3:32 (average 4:51).  I had an unfair advantage.  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Lefty Bloggers Plus:

Remembering the religious aspects of the holiday the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb will hold televised services tomorrow from Detroit and Dallas.  Players, be sure to set your lineups.

Short Takes:

From Raw Story: Fox News has declined to air an ad advocating for repeal of the "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy that bans gays from serving openly in the military, a source at the public policy think tank Palm Center informs Raw Story.

The 30-second spot by the Center, called "Business As Usual," includes testimony from military leaders of NATO allies arguing that lifting the ban on gay soldiers is a "non-event" and does not diminish combat effectiveness.

"Fox’s reason was that the policy is ‘on hold’ so plans for repeal are ‘incorrect’," Cathy Renna, a spokeswoman for the Center, told Raw Story.

What a BS excuse!  I have seen plenty of corporate campaign ads on MSNBC, even during the progressive shows, but MSNBC presents a broad spectrum of views.  Foxtopia, on the other hand, shows once again that they are the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda.

From The Vile Plutocrat: Despite a stubbornly sour national economy congressional members’ personal wealth collectively increased by more than 16 percent between 2008 and 2009, according to a new study by the Center for Responsive Politics of federal financial disclosures released earlier this year.

While some members’ financial portfolios lost value, no need to bemoan most lawmakers’ financial lot: Nearly half of them — 261 — are millionaires, a slight increase from the previous year, the Center’s study finds.

Perhaps the reason Congress is so inclined to support the rich is class loyalty.

From Right Wing Watch:  

Randall Terry to Run for Presdient So He Can Air Graphic Anti-Abortion Ads Nationwide.

This is the guy behind so much of the violence against clinics and doctors that privide this service.  Networks, by law, cannot refuse to air or edit ads from candidates for public office.

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What’s on tomorrow’s menu?

Yesterday was a holy day for the church of the ellipsoid orb, so I mediated upon the unblinking eye.  Today I have errands to run and want to try to get some sleep this afternoon, because tonight is a holy day, with the Denver and San Diego congregations worshiping on Monday Night.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:10 (4:23 average).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From USA Today: Worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide, widely blamed as the chief cause of global warming, dropped from 2008 to 2009, largely because of the global economic slowdown, according to a study released Sunday. It was the first decline since the late 1990s.

This is probably the only green thing Republicans have done.

From AP/Google: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Sunday that Iowa voters likely launched a national movement when ousting three state Supreme Court justices who agreed with a decision to strike a ban on gay marriage.

Huckabee was in Des Moines courting evangelical conservatives who pushed him to victory in Iowa’s leadoff precinct caucuses in the last election.

I think judges should be appointed and confirmed, not elected.  Choosing judges based on bias contradicts their proper role in society.

From The Vile Plutocrat: Hewlett-Packard has agreed to pay $16.25 million in a settlement with the Justice Department after an extensive investigation into allegations the company defrauded a federal program that brings Internet connections and computers to schools and libraries.

Aren’t you glad that California did not send the woman who did this to the Senate?

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OGIM!