Politics Plus

I’m writing for tomorrow, and while I’m not back to 100%, I am well enough to put away my groceries from Store to Door and write articles for tomorrow.  Nevertheless, I shall be brief.  Day 59.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:02 (average 5:15).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Upworthy: There are plenty of folks in this country who still aren’t comfortable with marriage equality or even the fact that gay people exist. I don’t think that necessarily makes them bad human beings. However, I do think that makes them fair game for public shaming, especially when they’re being hypocrites about it. Thankfully, Anderson Cooper is on the task.

Isn’t it nice that CNN wasn’t acting like the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, for a change. When two men kiss in a celebratory manner, it doesn’t bother me at all, but as much as I hate to admit it, when two guys start getting hot and heavy, I do feel a little queasy. However, I recognize that it’s the aftermath from years of gay-hate programmed into me from before I can remember. I did not see the light until my late 40s.  I can’t help that, but I can and do choose to respond, instead, based on what I know, that their feelings are just as authentic as any I have ever had toward a woman.

From The New Yorker: Citing the deteriorating situation in the war-torn nation, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) on Saturday called for Congress to convene an emergency blame game on Iraq.

“This is a dire crisis,” McCain said. “It’s time to roll up our sleeves and do some serious finger-pointing.”

McCain said that he hoped Congress would act swiftly to assign blame to a long list of culprits he identified, including President Obama, the Joint Chiefs, the media, and everyone who did not vote for him in the 2008 election.

Did Andy peg McConJob, or what?

From Daily Kos:

Here’s another example to point to when opponents of a higher minimum wage claim that it would cost jobs. The minimum in San Jose, California, has gone from $8.00 an hour to $10.00 and then $10.15, and University of California-Berkeley economist Michael Reich has been studying the results:

[The minimum wage increase] directly and indirectly affected 70,000 of the city’s 370,000 workers, Reich says.

San Jose restaurants, which Reich says were most affected by the pay increase, raised menu prices by an average 1.75%, according to his study. He says there has been no discernible impact on employment.

The unemployment rate in the San Jose metro area, in fact, has fallen to 5.4% from 7.4% in March 2013. The San Jose Downtown Association says the number of restaurants in the district has increased by 20% the past 18 months.

That’s good ammo, but if the Republican is also an Ammosexual (likely), don’t bother. They have lost the capacity for thought.

Cartoon:

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I’m afraid I’m still down.  Add a fever and Republicitis to yesterday’s list of woes.  ARGH!  🙁 Day 57.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 5:03 (average 5:01).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

I’m writing for tomorrow, and I must still be pretty pooped, as I slept through the morning.  I hope the weekend is being kind to you.  Day 55.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:04 (average 4:34).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) unveiled an ambitious plan on Thursday to avoid making eye contact with outgoing House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) until Rep. Cantor leaves Congress, in January of 2015.

Speaking to reporters, Boehner acknowledged the difficulty of avoiding eye contact with the Virginia Republican for the next seven months, but he stressed the importance of his new plan.

“If I make eye contact with him, he might misconstrue that to mean that I want to talk to him,” Boehner said. “And, let’s be honest, none of us has to do that anymore.”

It’s only temporary, Andy.  All the Republicans will love Cantor, when he comes back to pass out those K Street bribes.

From Upworthy: An anonymous person took a bunch of old Coke ads and merged them into the most blunt and honest Coke ad ever. If all ads were as honest as this one, we’d be so much healthier. Of course, they’ll totally never do this. Either way, watch this.

Dang! Coke is almost as bad for Americans as Koch!

From Daily Kos: In a shameful and mind-numbingly insensitive move, CNN has decided that of the 74 school shootings which have occurred in the last 18 months, 59 incidents in which 25 people were killed and 40 were injured simply do not count.

This patently ridiculous conclusion can be found in an article at CNN entitled, "A closer look: How many Newtown-like school shootings since Sandy Hook?" It is within this article that the following rationale is given as to why we should ignore most of the incidents reported by gun control advocacy groups:

CNN determined that 15 of the incidents [gun advocacy group] Everytown included were situations similar to the violence in Newtown or Oregon — a minor or adult actively shooting inside or near a school. That works out to about one such shooting every five weeks, a startling figure in its own right.

Some of the other incidents on Everytown’s list included personal arguments, accidents and alleged gang activities and drug deals.

Let us stop right here. CNN has just discounted 59 school shootings in which there were active shooters inside or near a school because, well, why exactly? Because they didn’t look like Newtown? Because they involved gang activity, or personal arguments, or so-called accidents? Incidents in which 25 people were killed?

CNN is Faux Noise Lite on this one. How many of you think it shouldn’t count as a school shooting, if your kid gets killed or wounded as a bystander to a personal argument, a gun accident, a gang bang, or a drug deal gone bad?

Cartoon:

When Ben was flying the kite, his wife called out, "Ben, you need more tail!" Ben replied, "Last night you told me to go fly a kite!"

I’m writing for tomorrow and feeling quite tired.  Physical therapy was tiring and painful, and every time I’ve gotten to sleep, I’ve gotten a phone call.  Day 53.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:05 (average 4:43).  To do it. click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: In a development that few had thought possible, Republicans in the Seventh District of Virginia on Tuesday night found an even bigger tool than Rep. Eric Cantor to represent them in the United States Congress.

Apparently deciding that Cantor was insufficiently heartless to represent their district, Republicans turned out to the polls to elect David Brat, a man whose political views “border on sociopathy,” according to exit-poll responses from voters who supported him.

During his concession speech, Rep. Cantor reflected on the mistakes that might have led to his defeat: “Should I have cut more school-lunch programs for poor children? Perhaps. Should I have cast more votes to screw over disaster victims? Definitely. Should I have not said the thing about treating children of immigrants like human beings? Man, do I wish I could take that one back. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, but at the end of the day I was just too damn empathic for this district.”

Andy’s satire rings completely true.

From Upworthy: No one would argue that learning disabilities don’t exist or shouldn’t be diagnosed, but let’s take a step back to see what happens to some kids who get that label.

This picture truly IS worth a thousand words.

From Daily Kos: After only one day Fox News has already eliminated coverage of the Tea Party Cop Killers in Las Vegas who went on a murderous rampage Sunday. On Monday, Fox’s primetime programs (Bill O’Reilly, Megyn Kelly, and Sean Hannity) were silent on the subject except for four sentences on Kelly’s show.

On Tuesday morning’s edition of Fox & Friends, the curvy couch potatoes failed to mention Jerad Miller and his wife Amanda. Later, on Happening Now, Fox ignored the story entirely. Outnumbered also declined to report on the Millers, despite having guest co-host "doctor" Keith Ablow who has psychoanalyzed every criminal, politician, and other public figure this century (without ever examining, or even meeting, any of them)…

…Fox has replaced the Sunday massacre with older stories about the Bergdahl prisoner swap, the Veterans Administration, and Hillary Clinton’s book release and presidential aspirations. The producers and editors at Fox News have never been shy about reporting acts of alleged terrorism, even before any evidence has emerged. But for this story they have refused to even refer to the crime as terrorism.

There are some obvious reasons why Fox would skew their reporting and ultimately remove this story from their news coverage. And all of them represent biases that are a long-standing part of what can be called the Fox News Creed: Racism, Guns, Anti-Government, and Tea Party.

Is it any surprise that the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, is not covering an act of terrorism committed by a Republican designated patriot? If the sheeple found out, it could be very, very BA-A-A-A-A-AD!

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