Politics Plus

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 6.  I have a lot of housework to do today.  I’ve been procrastinating.  Tomorrow would normally be a prison volunteer day, but the Activities section is closed for the holiday, so I can’t go.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:48 (average 4:23).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos (Hat-Tip JL A): How Native Americans Beat the Kochs in ‘America’s Most Competitive’ Congressional District

Click through for an interesting grassroots success story.

From Upworthy: I hope we can all agree that it’s what’s on the inside, not the outside, that counts, right? So why are some people so determined to define someone’s sexual habits by their clothing — or at all, for that matter?!? In this video, vlogger Hannah Witton asks, "Do I look like a slut?" to show just how silly this question is.

I agree with her on every point but one. There is such a thing as a slut.  Here’s proof:

From The New Yorker: Saying that he wanted the remainder of his second term to be as active as possible, President Obama announced on Friday that he had ordered a two-year supply of crossword puzzles.

In signing an executive order for the puzzles, which range in difficulty from medium to advanced, the President laid out an ambitious plan to complete as many as thirty of them a day, for a total of ten thousand by the time he leaves the White House, in January, 2017.

The President said that he hoped that Republicans in Congress would support his plan for the puzzles, but added, “I don’t need their support. All I need is a pen.”

What Andy forgot to tell is that the Republican response will try to impeach him for such tyrannical behavior.

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I’m writing for tomorrow, day 4.  I got a few hours last night and feel almost feline again.  Tomorrow isa a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb.  My Broncos worship with the Raiders, but the service won’t be televised locally.  Our CBS affiliate, KOIN, is serving up paid programming, because the damn Seachickens are on the other network.  Grrr!!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:51 (average 5:30).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Fox News announced on Wednesday that it is terminating its coverage of the Ebola virus effective immediately, because, in the words of the host Sean Hannity, “Our work is done.”

Hannity commended the work of the Fox Ebola team, which provided non-stop coverage of the virus during the month of October, but added, “This story is officially over.”

Fox’s decision to bring its Ebola coverage to such an abrupt close raised eyebrows in media circles, but Hannity offered an explanation for the move after his broadcast concluded.

“There’s like, what, one case of Ebola in the United States?” the host said. “At most, two or three. The point is, the chances of any of our viewers catching Ebola are next to zero. We’re not in the business of scaring people for no reason. Let’s all move on.”

Andy’s reporting real news again. The Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, successfully spread lies right up to the election to convince voters that the Obama administration had placed them at risk, completely contrary to the efficient, professional and effective way the Obama administration handled and is handling the problem.

From Upworthy: As a gay man who grew up in a Roman Catholic household, I know the push and pull of being a good Christian versus being exactly who God made you, especially if you’re part of the LGBTQ spectrum. But those things don’t have to be mutually exclusive, do they? This grandmother from Australian TV comedy "Please Like Me" doesn’t think so.

Just wait for the last line.

That’s the kind of courage we need to see much more on this side of the pond!

From Daily Kos (Hat-Tip Joanne Dixon): Democratic strategists have been segmenting the electorate and seeking individual self-interest-based issues in each electoral block.  The strategists also keep suggesting a move to right.  This has left no room for the Democrats to have an overriding authentic moral identity that Americans can recognize.

Those strategists form an infrastructure that all Democrats have come to depend on; not just the candidates, but also the elected officials, Democrats in government, and citizens who either do, or might, find progressive policies morally and practically right. The strategic infrastructure includes PR firms, pollsters, consultants, researchers, trainers, communication specialists, speechwriters, and their funders. 

It is an important and powerful infrastructure and we all depend on it. I believe it is vital to separate this infrastructure from the strategies it has been using. I believe the strategies can be greatly improved so as to give a true, deep, and moral picture of what progressive politics is about — one whose content and authenticity will resonate with, and inspire,  a majority of Americans.

Click through and read this article, please. It is important, because it makes suggestions on how the Democratic party should fix their fatally flawed campaign strategy. To be understood, it must be read in its entirety. When Joanne sent me the link to this article, her subject was, "This is exactly what you have been saying all along."

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I’m writing for tomorrow, day 2, even though 11-7 feels no luckier than Tuesday, which came up snake-eyes.  Obviously, I’m still not a happy camper, but I didn’t give up after the disasters of 2000, 2004, or 2010.  We should have another chance to save this nation in 2016, so campaign 2016 starts now.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:01 (average 4:54).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Congressional seats are on pace to fetch a whopping four billion dollars on Tuesday night, a record-smashing sales figure that has exceeded the expectations of even the most optimistic insiders.

The seats, which include four hundred and thirty-five in the House of Representatives and thirty-six in the Senate, have attracted buyers from a broad spectrum of industries, including investment banking, energy, pharmaceutical, and gun.

“With all of the uncertainty in the world today, the United States Congress is considered a very safe place for the rich to invest their money,” said Charles Michollot, of the auction house Sotheby’s. “Congressional seats are like Manhattan real estate—they aren’t making any more of them.”

But Anton Pickardin, of the rival auction house Christie’s, sounds more skeptical. “I hate to be a wet blanket, but these sales figures lack rhyme and reason,” Pickardin said. “When someone is willing to pay millions of dollars for a pre-owned Mitch McConnell, you know that people have lost their minds.”

Given that this came out on election morning, before any returns were available, Andy proved himself a prophet, not just a comic.

From Upworthy: The Great Barrier Reef is in real danger. A lot of good folks are drawing attention to what’s going on and calling out companies that are doing the literal dirty work. How dirty? Very dirty.

Sadly any help the US might have been in curtailing the use of fossil fuels in the next two years just went up in smoke. This is just one of the reasons campaign 2016 begins now.

From NY Times: All told, Republican outside groups spent about $205 million on television advertising in Senate races, according to a Democrat tracking media purchases, who agreed to share the information on condition of anonymity, while Democratic groups spent $132 million.

Note that this does not count the spending after the reporting deadline that has not yet been reported. Republican spending during this period was so massive that there was no ad time left for candidates to buy.  We have the worst Legislature money has ever bought.

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I’m writing for tomorrow, day 198.  I have no idea what tomorrow will bring, but I suspect that the wait will not be over.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 5:52 (average 6:02).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football Report:

Here’s the latest news from our own fantasy football league.

Scores:

Standings:

Tied with the Bigfoot!!

Short Takes:

From Upworthy: I beamed in to "The Colbert Report" to deliver a message to citizens of the galaxy. I’ve always wanted Stephen Colbert to take me out, and he did. It was transportive, literally. Hope you enjoy this piece, which ties "Star Trek: TOS" to the upcoming midterm elections.

LMAO! Also… Amen!

From The New Yorker: The reëlection [sic]campaign of Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) went into a tailspin on Monday with the emergence of a leaked photograph showing the Senator reading what appears to be an advanced science text.

The picture, which appeared on the gossip site TMZ, shows a visibly absorbed McConnell reading a scholarly volume entitled, “The Man-Made Causes of Global Warming.”

For McConnell, who has repeatedly punctuated his public statements on climate change with the claim that he is “not a scientist,” the scandalous photo threatens to torpedo his reëlection bid.

In the hours since the image was leaked, McConnell has plummeted between five and seven points in statewide polls as voters demanded to know what he was doing with the type of book only a scientist would read.

Swinging into damage-control mode, McConnell appeared at a hastily called press conference in Lexington and offered a terse denial. “It is true that I was holding the book, and that the book was open. But I was not reading the book,” he said.

What Andy isn’t telling us is whether or not he had the book upside down. Of course he wasn’t reading it. Bought Bitch Mitch is as capable of understanding science as Crawford Caligula was of understanding My Pet Goat.

From Daily Kos: Sarah Palin took to Facebook again to declare how terrible Barack Obama is and how opposed he is to moms and apple pies and the flag but mostly moms. Apparently she’s of the opinion that Obama saying this:

“Sometimes, someone, usually mom, leaves the workplace to stay home with the kids, which then leaves her earning a lower wage for the rest of her life as a result. And that’s not a choice we want Americans to make.”

… was an attack on motherhood, because Obama wanting better pay for mothers that return to the workforce is, um …

You know what? I have no clue. That’s the thing about Actual Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin, she has the Gohmertian quality of being able to spout a thirty foot high geyser of words without ever once getting to a recognizable point.

Bloody Bullseye Barbie, aka Drill Baby Dingbat,  is at it again. Would it be too much to hope that she tops the Republican ticket in 2016?

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