This morning I cleaned my apartment.  I dusted, swept, mopped, and disinfected.  I finished right before Lu came to de-stink me, so I’m a pleasant-smelling puddy tat, once again.  Then I did m,y daily research, took a brief (< 1 hr.) nap, and made a pastrami on rye with horseradish for lunch.  It’s now 62°, with 65° forecast, so I have the windows and door open to air out the place.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:26 (average 4:59).  (Somebody beat me please!  I don’t want to eat something smarter than a Republican!!)  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Contradicting their professed interest in creating jobs, Senate Republicans resolutely refused to put even one American to work this week.

The Republicans, in fact, went to extreme lengths to prevent a single job from being filled, thus risking being called job-killers during an election year.

“You have a job opening and a highly qualified applicant, but you’re blocking the applicant from taking the job?” Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez said. “That doesn’t sound like you’re very interested in creating jobs.”

While voters across the country questioned why Republicans would refuse to let even one American find employment, Washington insiders speculated that G.O.P. senators did not want to do anything to contribute to the improving jobs picture while Barack Obama is still President.

Andy, perhaps the Republicans might agree to create that job, if Merrick Garland agrees to work for a migrant farm worker’s pay, less than minimum wage.

From Daily Kos: The Supreme Court may be about to strike down Republican-drawn maps that use a right-wing gerrymandering tactic known as "bleaching" where Republicans purposely pack minority voters into as few districts as possible in order to eliminate their voices in the rest of the state.

A ruling like that would strike a crushing blow against racially discriminatory gerrymandering across the country.

Join the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and Daily Kos in demanding an end to right-wing racial gerrymandering.

Paid for by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC).

Click through to sign, please.  I did.

From Raw Story: The first month of taxable commercial sales of recreational marijuana in Oregon generated nearly $3.5 million in tax revenues, far exceeding projections, the state Department of Revenue has reported.

Oregon’s marijuana tax receipts from January also surpassed the first-month tallies from recreational cannabis sales in Colorado and Washington state, the first two states to legalize general commercial distribution of pot for adults.

Colorado collected $2.9 million in taxes when recreational sales launched there in January 2014, a sum that included revenue from both recreational and medical cannabis purchases.

Washington’s recreational industry, which started slow with just 18 stores licensed to sell pot, yielded $1 million in tax revenue when it debuted in August 2014.

By comparison, Oregon’s 300 licensed cannabis retailers sold $13.9 million worth of marijuana in January, generating $3.48 million in taxes, according to a revenue report issued on Thursday.

Personally, I gave it up 30 years ago, but when it comes to high society, Oregon leads the way.

Cartoon:

Lu arrived a day late, yesterday.  She had lost her wallet, and with it, her bus pass.  I became a sweet smelling Puddy Tat.  Today I am about go to to my PCP appointment with Ellie, Megan’s PA.  Color me hurried.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:22 (average 4:27).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: In an indication of shifting global attitudes toward the United States, the nation has become the laughingstock of the world for something other than its gun laws, a new survey of foreigners indicates.

According to the survey, which was conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, America’s gun laws, which used to inspire the most derision toward the country from people around the world, now place a distant second.

In another startling result, the U.S. Congress’s position on climate change, which in the past had been a leading candidate for making the U.S. the world’s favorite punch line, also finished far out of the money.

Davis Logsdon, who supervised the poll for the University of Minnesota, said he was struck by the unanimity of foreign respondents when they were asked to name what, in their opinion, currently made the United States the laughingstock of the world.

“In all the years we’ve done this survey, we have never had ninety-four per cent of respondents give an identical answer,” he said.

Andy has the US pegged. Pathetic, huh?

From NY Times: Of all the ways Donald Trump has shocked the political system, one of the most significant is how he wins primary after primary with one of the smallest campaign budgets.

He still doesn’t have a super PAC. He skimped on ground organization and field offices. Most important, he spent less on television advertising — typically the single biggest expenditure for a campaign — than any other major candidate, according to an analysis by SMG Delta, a firm that tracks television advertising.

When Networks give Trump free air time, we should be calling the sponsors that advertise in these segments and threaten to withhold patronage.

From NY Times: With more than half the states having now held their nominating contests, Donald J. Trump and Senator Ted Cruz are quietly directing their attention to a second, shadow election campaign — one that is out of sight, little understood but absolutely critical if Republicans arrive at their national convention with Mr. Trump short of a majority of delegates.

This parallel campaign is to select the individual delegates who will go to Cleveland in July for what could be the first contested convention in American politics in more than 60 years. Chosen through a byzantine process in each state, most of the delegates will become free agents if no one wins a majority on the first ballot.

The mere prospect that delegates could deny Mr. Trump the nomination led him to predict Wednesday that violence could erupt in such a situation.

Click through for a good explanation about how the Criminal Convention could be contested. It’s so like Hateful Hairball, alias Fecal Dump, to threaten violence.

Cartoon:

Yesterday turned out to be a thoroughly frustrating day.  My LIFT Bus arrived over 45 minutes late.  Once it became apparent that I could not make it to my appointment on time, I called my doctor’s office, explained, and asked if I could come in late.  They told me not to come and to reschedule.  I said I would call as soon as I could get to my computer, where I keep my calendar.  When I did, they told me that Megan is going on maternity leave until July.  (Rest assured, I didn’t do it).  She wasn’t even showing when I saw her before.  Fortunately Ellie, Megan’s PA, who took care of me, when I had pneumonia, can fill in for her until she returns.  I was very happy with her too.  In any case, I rescheduled my appointment for Thursday morning.  I’m waiting for Lu to arrive, as I really need to de-stink.

Jug Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:49 (average 5:38).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Republican front-runner Donald Trump was crying foul on Monday after Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders allegedly dispatched an army of vegan thugs to attack a rally of peace-loving Nazis in Cincinnati.

According to Trump, he had begun to address a group of “orderly and civil Nazis” at a downtown arena when his audience was suddenly set upon by an unruly mob of angry vegans, many menacingly clad in Birkenstocks and sustainable garments.

The Sanders supporters, singing an alarmingly militant version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “America,” marched into the arena and began “intimidating and threatening” the Nazis, Trump said.

“Make no mistake about who is starting the violence at these rallies,” Trump said. “It’s the vegans.”

Is Andy quoting Hateful Hairball? It sounds like one of his lies.

From Daily Kos: It is a probably too late, but a Republican SuperPAC is finally hitting Trump especially hard with a new ad.

These Republicans made an excellent ad. The irony here is that women would be no better off in their Republican role as chattel under any of the other three Criminal Clowns.

From NY Times: The Obama administration is expected to withdraw its plan to permit oil and gas drilling off the southeast Atlantic coast, yielding to an outpouring of opposition from coastal communities from Virginia to Georgia but dashing the hopes and expectations of many of those states’ top leaders.

The announcement by the Interior Department, which is seen as surprising, could come as soon as Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the decision who was not authorized to speak on the record because the plan had not been publicly disclosed.

The decision represents a reversal of President Obama’s previous offshore drilling plans, and comes as he is trying to build an ambitious environmental legacy. It could also inject the issue into the 2016 presidential campaigns, as Republican candidates vow to expand drilling.

Kudos to Obama. Could it be that this decision might spark the reemergence of Drill Baby Dingbat, aka Bloody Bullseye Barbie?  Barf Bag Alert!!

Cartoon:

Many years ago I started dealing with birthdays following the example of Jack Benny.  I’m 39.  If you don’t get it, rejoice!! You’re still comparatively young.  My birthday present to me is a Dominos pizza for supper.  Tomorrow I have a follow up appointment with Megan, my Primary Care Physician, so expect no more than a Personal Update, please.  Note:  Due to server issues with out HSP, the site was down for about two hours this morning.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:19 (average 5:26).  (Who sent them a pic of me?)  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan hired a law firm using up to $800,000 in taxpayer money to help his administration navigate through a throng of civil and criminal investigations. Both candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination have called for him to resign.

On Thursday he faces a grilling by a congressional committee in Washington. And as voters went to the polls on the state’s Primary Day last Tuesday, a group led by a Detroit pastor began an effort to recall him in a statewide referendum, a repeat of the movement that in 2012 targeted a fellow Republican, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin.

Using taxpayer funds for his own criminal defense is itself a crime. May the recall of Sturmbannführer Snyder be more successful than it was with the Fartfuhrer of Fitzwalkerstan.

From Raw Story: Rachel Maddow: It is ‘impossible’ to call clash at Trump’s Chicago rally an accident

Enough Hairball to necessitate Barf Bag Alert!!

I agree with Rachel. Hateful Hairball intentionally provoked the criminal violence his supporters are now committing.

From Addicting Info: On Friday night, Megyn Kelly decided to weigh in on the protest in Chicago that sent Donald Trump packing. She, like must conservatives, accused the protestors of denying Trump and his supporters their first amendment rights.

Bimbette Barf Bag Alert!!

I knew that the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, would not withhold their support from Hateful Hairball for long. What their favorite low-cut blonde fails to recognize is that the First Amendment guarantee to freedom of speech does not extend to speech violating the rights of others by inciting violence against them.

Cartoon:

\