Politics Plus

My helper friend called yesterday and said she could not make it until 10 AM today.  It’s Noon and I’m still waiting.  I slept most of yesterday, needed it, and could probably use another few hours.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:02 (average 5:02).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: By a huge majority, Americans support laws legalizing marijuana and criminalizing Congress, according to a poll released on Thursday.

While the poll reflects a relaxation of attitudes about recreational pot use, it also suggests that many Americans now view membership in Congress as a problem ravaging the nation.

Harland Dorrinson, an activist who has spent years mobilizing support for the criminalization of Congress, said that “this poll reinforces what many of us have been saying for a long time: Congress destroys lives.”

Never has Andy’s satire been more true.

From Media Matters: Fox News Host Sean Hannity is criticizing singer John Legend’s Oscars speech, which invoked the civil rights movement and the ongoing fight for racial and social justice. In response to Legend’s completely accurate statement that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is under attack today, Hannity disagreed and appeared to argue that the seminal civil rights law was irrelevant to strict voter ID laws.

On February 22, Legend and co-writer Common won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Glory," from the film Selma, a historical drama about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s fight for equal voting rights. In his acceptance speech, Legend noted that the civil rights struggle represented in the movie continues "right now": "We wrote this song for a film that was based on events that were 50 years ago, but we say that Selma is now, because the struggle for justice is right now. We know that the Voting Rights Act that they fought for 50 years ago is being compromised right now, in this country, today."

Barf Bag Alert!!

Everything Legend said was true. Fowler was completely accurate when Hannity wasn’t overwhelming him with the loudest mic. Innis is just a token paid to betray his people, and said nothing of import. Hannity opened his mouth, with no food going in. You know what that means.

From Daily Kos: Earlier today, when asked about ISIS, presidential hopeful and current Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said that his response to the peaceful labor protests in Madison in 2011 prepared him to stamp out international terrorism. Apparently that means that in case of a terrorist attack he would sneak in and out of the White House via a not-so-secret rat tunnel and consult on the phone with bloggers pretending to be billionaire David Koch.

Here’s just one image the foolish Fartfuhrer of Fitzwalkerstan inspired. Click through for a bunch more.

Cartoon:

Prosper

It’s prisoner volunteer day, and I’m hurrying like crazy.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:38 (average 4:55).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From PRWatch: The Wisconsin Senate held a hearing of sorts on the GOP proposal to make Wisconsin a "right to work" state.

The bill pushed by Wisconsin Senate leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) bears a striking similarity to the American Legislative Exchange Council "model" bill of the same name (see CMD’s side-by-side comparison here). In his opening statement, Sen. Fitzgerald claimed that right to work legislation would "protect every worker" from being forced to join a union. He added that the legislation would save families from being uprooted by having to find non-union employers elsewhere. He presented no data or even anecdotal evidence to support these claims.

The argument that the bill would protect workers from "forced" unionization is a red herring. The U.S. Supreme Court has long stated that nobody can be forced to join a union, or be forced to pay unions dues, or to have their dues go to political campaigns. What current federal and Wisconsin law allows, and what the right to work law would make illegal, are "fair share" agreements and fees in union contracts that make all represented workers, including those choosing not to join the union, contribute to the costs of worker representation on the job.

Click through for more detail on how Fartfuhrer Walker’s vile minions are whoring themselves for Koch rocks.

From The New Yorker: In the hopes of appealing to Republican primary voters, candidates for the 2016 Presidential nomination are working around the clock to unlearn everything that they have learned since the third grade, aides to the candidates have confirmed.

With the Iowa caucuses less than a year away, the hopefuls are busy scrubbing their brains of basic facts of math, science, and geography in an attempt to resemble the semi-sentient beings that Republican primary voters prize.

An aide to Jeb Bush acknowledged that, for the former Florida governor, “The unlearning curve has been daunting.”

“The biggest strike against Jeb is that he graduated from college Phi Beta Kappa,” the aide said. “It’s going to take a lot of work to get his brain back to its factory settings.”

At the campaign of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, the mood was considerably more upbeat, as aides indicated that Walker’s ironclad façade of ignorance is being polished to a high sheen.

“The fact that Scott instinctively says that he doesn’t know the answers to even the easiest questions gives him an enormous leg up,” an aide said.

Andy’s satire is so accurate, that it might as well be factual.

From Think Progress: Texas State Rep. Debbie Riddle (R) has introduced two new bills that seek to criminalize the use of bathrooms by transgender people. Not only could trans people face jail time and fines for using gender-segregated facilities that match their gender, so too could businesses who make their facilities open to trans patrons.

Businesses might post "Trans patrons peeing on Republican Reps permitted!"

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I just gave my grocery order to Store to Door for delivery tomorrow.  I have lots od housework to do, and I hope to sit outside for a half an hour or so, as it’s the last nice day before crappy weather returns.  I slept poorly last night, so I’m fading.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:50 (average 5:27).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Instead of resisting calls for reform, Ron Smith—the head of the Seattle Police Guild is trying to lead Seattle police in a more positive direction—even if he has to do it the hard way:

Last week, however, the union called on members through Facebook to be careful on social media after officers were caught posting racially inflammatory comments online, warning: “Times have changed and we must also change to adapt to societal expectations.”

Asked by the Stranger to elaborate on those comments, Smith said: “If you don’t like the politics here, then leave and go to a place that serves your worldview.” He said this was a message that new recruits were now reminded of when they enrolled with the union.

“There are more than enough places across this country that are hiring law enforcement that have a different political landscape than here. And I don’t know why [disgruntled officers] don’t just go there,” he added.

Kudos. That move needs to be repeated across the country.

From Upworthy: Underrepresented actors often have been complicit in creating ethnic stereotypes in the media. For my own part, I rented out my Asian face to Jerry Lewis back in the day.

Now we’re not only speaking out, but creating, writing, and portraying who we are — as we are — in our great, dazzling diversity. As we contribute our authentic selves, the comedy becomes specific and real, the drama is distinctive and identifiable, and our society grows enriched and involving.

Hollywood and the media now have the opportunity to actively engage with the talented diversity that comprises our entire society. But is it "to be or not to be? That is the question." — George Takei

George is so right, and this is so true. Of course, if minorities are not presented stereotypically, the studios lose the entire Republican audience.

From Think Progress: …A lawsuit called King v. Burwell would take health insurance away from millions of Americans, returning them to the world that existed before Obamacare. The case relies on a few words of the law that, if read out of context, seem to deny tax credits intended to help people pay for their health insurance to people who live in the wrong states. Once those words are read in the context of the entire law, however, it becomes clear that tax credits are available in all 50 states.

A brief filed on behalf of multiple public health scholars and the American Public Health Association, estimates that “over 9,800 additional Americans” will die if the justices side with the King plaintiffs. It reaches this conclusion by starting with an Urban Institute study showing that 8.2 million people will become uninsured in this scenario. As other research examining Obamacare-like reforms in the state of Massachusetts found that “for every 830 adults gaining insurance coverage there was one fewer death per year,” that translates to between 9,800 and 9,900 deaths if the justices back the plaintiffs in King.

Another method produces slightly less grim numbers, although it still indicates that thousands will die unnecessarily if the Supreme Court does not uphold the tax credits at issue in King. The Harvard study mentioned above concludes that there were “approximately 44,789 deaths among Americans aged 18 to 64 years in 2005 associated with lack of health insurance.” It also states that, at the time of the study, “46 million Americans lack health coverage.” The 8.2 million people who will lose health care according to the Urban Institute equals just under 18 percent of 46 million. Thus, assuming that the pool of 8.2 million people who could lose health insurance in King has a similar mix of healthy and sick individuals as the 46 million examined by the Harvard study, that suggests that approximately 8,000 people will die every year if the King plaintiffs prevail.

King could not be a more obvious decision. The question comes down to this. Will all the Fascist Five Injustices value breaking the law to coddle extremists enough to murder thousands to do it?

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Today I have a lot of housework chores, and I have to plan my menu and shopping list for this week.  I am also suffering from Orb withdrawal.  Sunday just feels incomplete.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:27 (average 5:48).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Hilarious Full-Page Ad in NYT Skewers Boehner

It looks like Bozo Boner chose Butcher Bibi.

From the New Yorker: In his weekly radio address, President Barack Obama reaffirmed his love of country, telling the nation, “I love America—even its idiots.”

Expanding on this theme, the President said, “America is made up of all kinds of people: young and old, weak and strong, smart and dumb. And when the really dumb ones get up and act like total clowns, I still love them, because they are part of America. In fact, a really big part.”

Andy and Obama can love the idiots. I’ll keep identifying them as Republicans.

From Politico: Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday the U.S. is facing more terrorist threats than ever and defunding the Department of Homeland Security would be the worst possible thing to do.

Some Republicans aren’t supporting a bill to fund the agency unless it scuttles President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration. But the South Carolina senator said he hopes fellow Republicans will allow the immigration issue to play out in court after a federal judge in Texas issued an injunction last week blocking Obama’s immigration actions. Graham said he supports the judge’s decision.

If Republicans fail to fund DHS, he said, they’ll get blamed as a party.

OMG!  Somebody shoot me!!  I agree with Lindsey Poo!!!  EWWW!!!!  Of course there is a reason Republicans will be blamed, if they defund DHS.  It will be completely their fault!

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