Politics Plus

Yesterday I did pretty well, considering the time I spent asleep, because I caught up with both replying to comments and returning visits.  Today, I should stay up to date.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:07.  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From McClatchy DC:

A strong showing by Iraq’s Sunni Muslim minority gave secular Shiite politician Ayad Allawi the narrow lead that he needed to win a landmark parliamentary election over incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, according to results released Friday by the Iraqi election commission.

Allawi’s mixed-sect Iraqiya coalition won 91 of the next parliament’s 325 seats, compared with 89 for Maliki’s State of Law bloc, the core of which is his Shiite conservative Dawa Party.

As Allawi supporters danced and unleashed celebratory gunfire in Baghdad and western Sunni-majority cities, a stone-faced Maliki appeared on live television to repeat his demand for a recount and assert that the tally released Friday "is not final."

"We do not accept these results," Maliki said, flanked by members of his coalition.

I sincerely hope that this does not turn into a new civil war there.

From Red State Update: The boys take on the aftermath of HCR passage.

Cartoon:

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What’s up for the weekend?

Yesterday I did catch up on replying to comments and returning visits.  Today is my volunteer day in the prison.  I’ll do what I can before I leave, but expect to be behind again.  Because I won’t get to bed until an hour before I normally get up to do my daily research, tomorrow’s articles will probably bed several hours late.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 5:53.  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Alternet: A protest by hundreds of students led organizers to cancel a Tuesday night speech by American conservative commentator Ann Coulter at the University of Ottawa.

This actually disappoints me.  In Canada, hate speech is illegal.  Since in any speech by the Colutergeist, hate speech is a given, I had been hoping she would be arrested.

From TPM: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has long been a vocal critic of the Democrat’s health reform efforts, but today he started taking credit for some provisions of the bill, and talking up his own role in crafting the legislation.

Although Snake in the Grassley is a complete hypocrite, he may be telling the truth, because Baucus gave him considerable opportunity for input in drafting the Finance Committee version (BARF).

Cartoon:

See Cartoons by Cartoon by R.J. Matson – Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com – Email this Cartoon

Have a great day.

Yesterday I caught up on comments after catching up on sleep.  I also followed the doings of HCR closely.  Today is going to be extraordinarily busy after a slow start.  I might not be able to post articles tomorrow or they may be much later than usual.  Please don’t worry.  I’m fine, and I’ll fill you in ASAP.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s handsome puzzle took me 3:28.  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Take:

From Raw Story: President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party took a severe drubbing from French voters Sunday in nationwide regional elections that were his last big national test before he seeks re-election in 2012.

As polling stations closed, initial estimates gave Socialist-led opposition electoral alliances some 54 percent of the vote, Sarkozy’s right-wing UMP 36 percent and the far-right National Front just under nine percent.

To the uninformed, which I readily admit I am, this looks good.  But in France, the right does not personify evil the way our GOP does.

Cartoon:

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OGIM!

Yesterday I played catch-up.  I replied to all the outstanding comments and returned visits to those who had posted them.  I also visited the first half of our blogroll.  I expect to stay up to date through Monday, but next week, you may see very little of me.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:54.  I was at a disadvantage.  It’s a dawg. :-(  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From LA Times: The nation’s largest association of doctors [AMA] and the AARP senior citizens’ lobby are endorsing President Barack Obama’s revised health overhaul legislation.

I think this may be a done deal it the House, but frar the Senate process.

From Huffington Post: Hoping to assuage progressive Democrats who remain disappointed with the content of the health care reform bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) committed on Friday to holding a separate vote on a public option in the coming months.

In a letter to two of his more progressive colleagues in the Senate — Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Bernie Sanders of Vermont — the Nevada Democrat implicitly apologized for his inability to get a government-run insurance plan into the final piece of health care legislation and promised to keep working to get the policy into law.

That’s great if it’s a reconciliation vote.  But if it’s the standard 60 votes to pass, it would be better to change the filibuster on the first day of the session next January and then vote on it.

From Think Progress: Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), a far right lawmaker who has led much of the opposition to health reform, took to the floor of the House of Representatives last night to deliver a diatribe against health reform. Previously, Broun had compared President Obama to a dictator who would impose martial law. But last night, Broun out-performed his reactionary colleagues and even his own track record of absurdity. Bellowing into the microphone, Broun said that “if ObamaCare passes,” a “free insurance card” (which is not in the bill) will be “as worthless as a Confederate dollar after the “Great War of Yankee Aggression“.

No wonder the GOP can’t fathom that elections have consequences.  These fools haven’t even come to terms with the consequences of the Civil War!  Not only that, but wasn’t that ‘Yankee Aggression’ the GOP policy at the time?

From Crooks and Liars: This is hilarious!

It’s the first time I’ve ever heard truth from either of them!

Cartoon:

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Whatcha doing this weekend?