Politics Plus

I’m writing for tomorrow and listening to news coverage of the Reynolds High School Shooting a few miles away (see lead article).  I had a long talk with the Director of Public Relations at my Medical Equipment Company.  She took responsibility and admitted that there was absolutely no reason they could now have waited until next month for by blood O₂ levels.  In future they will send a med-tech here to get them, which they should have done this time.  The woman who overstepped her authority and acted so imperiously to my doctor’s assistant is in trouble.  Tomorrow is grocery delivery day, and I have lots of cleaning to do.  Day 51.

Breaking:

I’m overjoyed to announce that Eric Cantor (R-VA) has been TEAbuggered!  A Bagger beat him ion the primary!!  It is the first time a sitting Majority was defeated in a primary since 1899.  Bratt said he won because of Republican Supply-side Jesus (the polar opposite of the real Jesus) and ran on hatred for Latinos.  Hid Democrat opponent and he are professors at the same college, and the Dem is more popular among the students  than the Bagger, but the district is one of the most heavily Gerrymandered in the country, so engineered to protect Cantor.  No doubt Cantor will become a well paid lobbyist.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:58 (average 5:26).  To do it click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) ripped former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s new book, “Hard Choices,” today, telling reporters, “I read it, and honestly, I didn’t find anything in it worth plagiarizing.”

Calling the new book “disappointing,” Sen. Paul said, “I read a lot of books, and it’s rare that I don’t find a passage or two to lift here or there. I just read the second Harry Potter book and I thought there was some dialogue of Voldemort’s that could work well in my stump speech. But this Hillary book? Nada.”

Hillary’s book must really be horrid. Before this, nobody had ever written anything so bad that Idiot, Son of Idiot, Named after Idiot wouldn’t steal it!

From Daily Kos: A new poll by Lake Research Partners finds some reasons for that. Walmart’s reputation is suffering among consumers, with 28 percent saying they have an unfavorable view of Walmart, compared to just 13 percent unfavorable for Target and just six percent unfavorable for Costco. Walmart’s low wages and bad treatment of its workers are registering on shoppers; just 27 percent say that "treats its employees well" is a good description of Walmart, while 42 percent say it is not. The numbers are even more skewed when people are asked if "well paid employees" applies to Walmart. And those views of the company are affecting how much people shop at its stores.

That’s great news. I can summarize my Wal-Fart shopping advice in one word: DON’T!

From NY Times: He is a Democrat in a marquee Senate race, pressed by a strong Republican in a state with a challenging political environment. So when a new proposal to limit power plant emissions was seen as posing a threat to allies of the Obama administration, Senator Mark Udall of Colorado acted quickly: He embraced the plan.

“Coloradans have seen firsthand the harmful effects of climate change, including severe drought, record wildfires and reduced snowpack,” Mr. Udall said in a statement shortly after the Environmental Protection Agency plan was made public last week. “The E.P.A.’s draft rule is a good start, and I will fight to ensure it complements the work we have already done in Colorado and provides states the flexibility they need to make it successful.”

The E.P.A. proposal to reduce carbon pollution from power plants was deemed a political gift from the Obama administration to Republicans running for Senate seats in the coal-producing states of Kentucky and West Virginia, and an anchor around the necks of their Democratic opponents. Elsewhere, the threat of higher electricity bills and Republican attacks about another federal power grab were supposed to send Democrats scurrying for cover and distance from the White House.

But Mr. Udall’s example shows that not all Democrats look at it that way.

Kudos to Mark Udall. The way to seal with opposition to the plan is to expose the Republican lies on which all such opposition is based.

Cartoon:

I’m writing for tomorrow and resting up for what is sure to be a boring, frustrating day.  Because of being away from home almost the entire day tomorrow getting a useless test, it is probable that I shall have an Open Thread at most to post on Tuesday.  They say that confession is good for the soul, and especially since Lynn is blackmailing me with a pic from the motel’s hidden spy cam (She wants all my catnip for her cats!), I suppose I’d better share that pic of how I got in trouble on my trip.  Day 49.

What can I say?  That was some excellent catnip!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:52 (average 4:39).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Upworthy: It’s easy to assume that when you’re super successful, it’s because you earned it. There have been many times in my life when I thought that, too. But here’s one successful man who knows otherwise. He wrote a book that got turned into a Brad Pitt movie, guys — he KNOWS about success.

I agree with him, as far as he goes. Fortune does indeed play a role in success, and the fortunate are morally obligated to help those who are not. What he does not cover so well is the degree to which we all contribute to the success of those who are fortunate by providing the environment in which success is possible.

From TPM: President Barack Obama is prepping new executive steps to help Americans struggling to pay off their student debt, and throwing his support behind Senate Democratic legislation with a similar goal but potentially a much more profound impact.

Obama on Monday will announce he’s expanding his "Pay As You Earn" program that lets borrowers pay no more than 10 percent of their monthly income in loan payments, the White House said. Currently, the program is only available to those who started borrowing after October 2007 and kept borrowing after October 2011. Obama plans to start allowing those who borrowed earlier to participate, potentially extending the benefit to millions more borrowers.

This is clearly a good step, but what we really need is education-for-service plans. Graduates spend X years after graduation teaching, nursing, doctoring, etc. in an underserved poor community, and the feds (we all) pay off their student debt.

From Raw Story: Thousands of bicyclists, many of them stark naked, poured into the streets of Portland, Oregon on Saturday night for the 11th annual World Naked Bike Ride, a protest that promotes bike riding as an alternative to driving cars.

Nude cyclists with lights flashing in their tire spokes rang bells as they barreled down avenues lined with cheering spectators, while a naked, apparently pregnant woman rode in a bike trailer.

“This is a party, but it’s also a protest,” said Carl Larson, a ride spokesman. “It is about oil dependence, cycling vulnerability and body” image.

Cyclists showed up in Normandale Park an hour before the ride, shedding garments according to the ride theme “as bare as you dare”.

The rides are held in more than 75 U.S. cities and in more than 20 other countries, but Portland’s is believed to be the largest, with more than 8,000 participants last year.

But unlike events in other cities, the Portland ride works with local police, being considered as a protest. Officers direct traffic during what is generally a trouble-free event.

This is one parade that did not pass under my window.

Cartoon:

I’m back, alive and writing for tomorrow.  I decided not to push myself, because I need rest.  Tomorrow the grand Floral Parade will be under me.  My Insurance company wants my O₂ levels checked and won’t wait until my routine appointment next month, so I’ll need to spend 5-6 transit/waiting hours on Monday to get 15 minutes of testing done.  ARGH!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me3:50 (average 5:52).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Me:

This is just a quick note to tell you I arrived safely in Salem.  After the bus trip and long meetings, I’m quite tired.  But the Motel (see below) is comfortable, and I’ve gotten some sleep.  Tomorrow will be a 12+ hour day.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:28 (average 4:24).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?