Politics Plus

It’s another real scorcher.  When I arose at 4:00 AM to heed nature’s call, the temperature in the buildings hallways and rest rooms was still 92°.  When I took my shower, a bit later, I was sweating, before I was dry.  I cannot cook on the stovetop, because I cannot open the door to keep cooking fumes from setting off the smoke detector, because super-hot hallway air floods my apartment when I do.  That is why extreme heat is such a problem for me, even with A/C in the apartment.  Today’s high is forecast at 95°.  ARGH!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:42 (average 8:31).  To do it click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Presidential candidate Donald Trump revealed a little-known episode of personal heroism from his youth on Saturday, telling an Iowa audience that he narrowly avoided capture in Vietnam by remaining in the United States for the duration of the war.

“The Cong were after me,” Trump said, visibly stirred by the memory. “And then, just in the nick of time, I got my deferment.”

The former reality-show star said he had never shared his record as a war hero before because “I don’t like to boast.”

He said that he only disclosed the episode now because “the way this nation treats our deferment veterans is a disgrace.”

Trump complained that he received no official commendation or medal for his heroism, calling the lack of recognition “shameful.”

Andy May have missed the point. It would have been heroic, if Hairball had been captured. If he had, Vietnam would have released all prisoners much sooner, just to get rid of him too.

From NY Times: A group of protesters repeatedly confronted Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland during a town hall discussion with liberal activists here on Saturday, demanding the Democratic presidential candidates address issues like discrimination and police brutality.

Chanting, “What side are you on, my people, what side are you on?” and “Black lives matter,” the demonstrators moved to the front of the ballroom about 20 minutes into the event as Mr. O’Malley discussed proposed changes to Social Security. They remained there, heckling the candidates and posing questions, until organizers shut down the event, one of the centerpieces of the annual Netroots Nation conference.

The protesters included members of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and GetEqual, as well as Patrisse Cullors, a founder of the Black Lives Matter movement. A representative of the demonstrators took the stage to inform the event’s audience of what was happening, specifically that they were seeking policy proposals from the candidates on racial issues.

Both Sanders and O’Malley tried to answer the protesters, but the demonstrators prevented any discussion that was not related to their issue. While I fully agree that racial issues are very important, and we need to address them, they are not the only issues we face. While I fully agree that black lives matter, I’d like to think that even though I’m not black, my life matters too. Speaking as an activist that started organizing and demonstrating for civil rights in the 1960s, I cannot support people and organizations, whose behavior is what I would expect from the Tea Party. I remain an activist in support of equality for ALL.

From Daily Kos (classic 10/2013): Judd Legum, editor-in-chief of Think Progress, provided the perfect illustration of what it means to Republicans when they demand "compromise" from Democrats:

Nothing has changed since.

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Yesterday morning I reached Store to Door.  Someone had misplaced my grocery order, so it had not been filled.  They had not called, because they were gone by the time I called them, and they had not realized there was an order to call about.  They had just found my order and were very apologetic.  hey did an emergency shop for me and delivered mf food around noon.   After I put them away, I slept fore the rest of the day and night.  I’m feeling groggy, but relieved.    We have three more days of very hot weather forecast: high 80°s today and 90°s Saturday and Sunday.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:37 (average 4:42).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: By easing tensions with Cuba and now Iran, President Obama is “recklessly squandering America’s precious supply of enemies,” the leader of a conservative think tank said on Tuesday.

“Our adversarial relationships with Cuba and Iran took years of frostiness and saber-rattling to maintain,” Harland Dorrinson, the executive director of the Washington-based Institute for Infinite Conflict, said. “Thanks to the President, decades of well-crafted hostility have been thrown out the window.”

According to Dorrinson, fears abound in conservative circles that the President might be “capriciously casting about for other powder kegs to defuse” during his remaining time in office.

“If his shameful record is any guide, he’ll probably try to disarm North Korea,” Dorrinson said. “That’s the doomsday scenario.”

Oh Andy!! Down with that Kenyan!! If world peace were to break out, it would destroy the Republican party, who need hostility to feed the fires of hate and fear.

From Upworthy: Business can thrive on kindness.

If this is the first time you’re hearing about Rosa’s, check out our interview with Wartman. And of course, pay it forward and pass it on.

Click through to see how well this wonderful company has done, since Upwsorthy first told their story back in March. Isn’t this better than how Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians use their businesses to propagate hatred?

From NY Times: A 24-year-old Kuwaiti-born gunman opened fire on a military recruiting station on Thursday, then raced to a second military site where he killed four United States Marines, prompting a federal domestic terrorism investigation. Three other people, including a Marine Corps recruiter and a police officer, were wounded, according to law enforcement officials.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation identified the gunman, who also died Thursday, as Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, who became a naturalized United States citizen and went to high school and college in Chattanooga. Although counterterrorism officials had not been investigating Mr. Abdulazeez before Thursday’s shooting, federal officials familiar with the inquiry said that his father had been investigated years ago for giving money to an organization with possible ties to terrorists.

At a late night news conference, F.B.I. officials said that thus far they did not have “anything that directly ties” the suspect to international terrorist organizations.

For now, there is not enough public information about this terrible crime for me to comment, but I would like to say two things. The Republican attempts already springing up misuse this tragedy to generate hatred against Muslims in general are shameful. I offer condolences, thoughts and prayers for the surviving victims, their families and the families of the slain heroes, and all who loved them.  Please join me in that.

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InsaniTEA Bags

I have a busy day today.  I’m trying to keep pace with the news, watching Obama, and it’s a grocery delivery day, so I have all that work to do..  It’s also quite muggy.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:12 (average 4:51).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: The former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would bring much-needed dignity to the 2016 Republican field, a new poll shows.

According to the poll, conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, Palin’s ability to articulate her positions on issues with precision and restraint is sorely lacking among other entrants in the G.O.P. race.

Additionally, voters said that the former governor’s breadth of knowledge in the fields of economics, foreign affairs, and American history would place her head and shoulders above the current crop of Republican hopefuls.

In the words of one voter who was surveyed, “When I hear some of these candidates talk, I sure do miss Sarah Palin.”

Dang Andy! As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. Bloody Bullseye Barbie is rather tame, compared to the Clown Car.

From Daily Kos: I wonder if Rep. Steve "Melon Calves" King is going to commandeer Republican anti-LGBT policy like he commandeered the party’s anti-immigration policy.

It would have no force of law, but U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, on Friday announced he has introduced a House resolution for representatives to formally disapprove of the June ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that legalized gay marriage nationally. […]

King said the "resolution expresses the sense" by the House that the court ruling "unconstitutionally and indefensibly perverts the definition of marriage," that states are not required to license gay marriage and that "individuals, businesses, churches, religious groups and other faith-based organizations are encouraged, empowered, and protected to exercise their faith without fear of legal or government interference."

Since a Sense of the House resolution does nothing, this serves only as one more opportunity for Republican to voice their hatred and display their sedition.

From NY Times: A federal appeals court Tuesday handed the Obama administration another victory in its effort to guarantee coverage of contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act, rejecting a challenge by the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Roman Catholic nuns.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in Denver, found that the nuns could opt out of a requirement to provide contraceptive coverage under an “accommodation” devised by the administration. The rule does not impose a “substantial burden” on the nuns’ free exercise of religion, the court said.

Four other federal appeals courts — in the District of Columbia, Philadelphia, Chicago and New Orleans — have issued similar decisions upholding the accommodation, which is intended to address the concerns of nonprofit religious organizations that object to providing contraceptive coverage for women enrolled in their health plans.

Another win for women.

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I did manage to get some sleep last night, and I also want to rest today, before things get busy again.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:02 (average 4:26).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: In a blistering interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit, Piketty blasts Germany and it’s history of repayment of debt over the years, and it’s attitudes toward its fellow EU neighbor, Greece…

…In brief, Piketty tells the interviewer in no uncertain terms that Germany never repaid their loans; yet hold others to a higher standard of responsibility.

ZEIT: But shouldn’t they repay their debts?

Piketty: My book recounts the history of income and wealth, including that of nations. What struck me while I was writing is that Germany is really the single best example of a country that, throughout its history, has never repaid its external debt. Neither after the First nor the Second World War. However, it has frequently made other nations pay up, such as after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, when it demanded massive reparations from France and indeed received them. The French state suffered for decades under this debt. The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.

Please Mr. Piketty, tell us all how you really feel….  And don’t hold back!  Piketty goes on to give examples of moral clarity about just how Germany is hypocritical in its position of having been the perfect financial responsible citizen throughout history…  But not so fast says Piketty:

Piketty: When I hear the Germans say that they maintain a very moral stance about debt and strongly believe that debts must be repaid, then I think: what a huge joke! Germany is the country that has never repaid its debts. It has no standing to lecture other nations.

Ouch.

This is what I brought up before regarding Germany’s hypocrisy.

From The New Yorker: Serving notice that he intends to go toe-to-toe with the controversial real-estate mogul, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker used the official announcement of his Presidential candidacy to assure Republican voters that he is as horrible as Donald Trump.

“Donald Trump has grabbed a lot of headlines over the past few weeks by spewing bigotry and venom,” Walker told an enthusiastic crowd of supporters. “I want to make it clear that when it comes to those things, I take a back seat to no one.”

Concluding his speech with a line that triggered a standing ovation, Walker said, “To those who thought Donald Trump was the only sociopath in the race, let me say this: not anymore.”

Prior to his announcement, aides to the Wisconsin governor had privately fretted that by establishing his identity as an arrogant and ill-informed merchant of hatred, Trump had appropriated Walker’s brand…

It’s been so long that Andy really had me worried. He’s back in prime form, pegging the Fartfuhrer of Fitzwalkerstan perfectly!

From NY Times: …But on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, another Republican presidential candidate, sharply attacked Mr. Trump and his message and called on his party’s chairman and other candidates to speak out against him.

Mr. Trump is a “wrecking ball” for the GOP as it tries to appeal to Hispanic voters, Mr. Graham said.

“To all the candidates who think that Donald Trump is telling the truth, I think you have lost your way. As to the Republican Party, if we do not reject this way of thinking clearly, without any ambiguity, we will have lost our way,” he said. “We will have lost the moral authority, in my view, to govern this great nation.”…

Lindsey Poo fears what already is. The Republican Party lost their moral authority to govern this nation the day they adopted the Southern Strategy and Republican Tinkle Down economics.

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