Politics Plus

I’m writing for tomorrow and am still down and continuing in minimum part-time mode.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:53 (average 7:40).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: I found this article on The National Memo about a speech given by Wendy Davis.

Apparently, she dared to give her definition of what it means to be "pro-life":

“I am pro-life,” she told a University of Texas at Brownsville crowd on Tuesday. “I care about the life of every child: every child that goes to bed hungry, every child that goes to bed without a proper education, every child that goes to bed without being able to be a part of the Texas dream, every woman and man who worry about their children’s future and their ability to provide for that future. I care about life and I have a record of fighting for people above all else.”

“This isn’t about protecting abortion,” Davis explained in the same appearance. “It’s about protecting women. It’s about trusting women to make good decisions for themselves and empowering them with the tools to do that.”

Republicans, on the other hand, are pro-death.

From NY Times: The Food and Drug Administration proposed measures on Thursday that would all but eliminate artery-clogging, artificial trans fats from the food supply, the culmination of three decades of effort by public health advocates to get the government to take action against them.

Artificial trans fats — a major contributor to heart disease in the United States — have already been substantially reduced in foods. But they still lurk in many popular products, like frostings, microwave popcorn, packaged pies, frozen pizzas, margarines and coffee creamers. Banning them completely could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year, the F.D.A. said.

I’m expecting a Republican counter-proposal banning all natural fats and allowing only corporate trans fats, with a special tax break for ones loaded with GMOs.

From TPM: Fox News host Bill O’Reilly said Friday that he can’t evaluate New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) policies because the governor won’t agree to appear on his show.

“He won’t submit to an interview with me,” O’Reilly said on “CBS This Morning,” as quoted by Politico. “Christie will not. He just won’t do it. So I can’t tell you policy-wise how versed he is because I’ve never seen him under that spotlight.

I trust I don’t have to tell you that I am NOT, a Chris Christy fan, especially since he is disappearing Sandy relief money, holding out on thousands of flood victims, who really need it. Nevertheless, when a Republican I dislike does something right, I admit it. Snubbing O’Lielly is ALWAYS a good choice.

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I’m writing for tomorrow, and I just returned from the building where I expect to move.  I saw the unit, and although not as large as I hoped, it’s bigger than where I am now.  It has three big windows, facing East and an elevator.  I can’t wait!  I’m coming down with a bronchial bug and feeling like something I forgot to bury in my kitty box, so this is tomorrow’s only article.  Fantasy football players, be sure you’re ready for Thursday night’s game.

Update:  I’m feeling really crappy, so I need to skip replying to yesterday’s comments, at least for now.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:40 (average 4:54).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: What the 1 percent thinks about you

It’s all so easy if you’re part of the one percent.

(Reuters) – I asked a financial services executive recently how our retirement saving system can be considered a success, considering that all but the highest-income households are approaching retirement with next to nothing saved.

His reply: "They don’t have any money while they’re working, so why would they have any money in retirement?"

It’s just that simple…

This is the super-rich reality upon which Republicans base their War on the 99%.

From NY Times: Terry McAuliffe, a longtime Democratic fund-raiser and ally of Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton, was elected governor of Virginia on Tuesday, narrowly defeating the state’s conservative attorney general, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, and confirming Virginia’s evolution as a state increasingly dominated politically by the Democratic-leaning Washington suburbs.

Add Rachel!

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Cooch screwed the pooch!!

From Truthdig: By trumpeting economic and civil rights issues, New York Public Advocate Bill De Blasio got himself elected Tuesday night to the highest office in the biggest city in America.

The New York Times reports that De Blasio’s win “cut across all of New York’s traditional divides. He won support from voters regardless of race, gender, age, education, religion or income, according to the exit poll.”

The triumphant candidate, who easily defeated his Republican rival, will be the first Democrat to run the city in nearly 20 years. He ran against the heavy-handed police tactics and pro-business policies put in place by his predecessors, Rudolph Giuliani and billionaire Michael Bloomberg.

Great for NY,NY!!

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I’m writing for tomorrow, and trying to get my body clock adjusted.  I hope that you are all having a fantastic week.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:34 (average 4:28).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: President Obama has imperiled his second term by lying to the American people, one of the nation’s foremost lying experts said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

The accusation carried weight, observers said, coming as it did from a legendary figure in the high-stakes world of competitive lying.

He was harshly critical of Mr. Obama’s fibbing, calling it “amateurish at best,” contrasting the President’s lack of lying experience with his own half-century of dishonesty.

“The American people deserve a President who is a world-class liar,” he said. “Sadly, they do not have that President.” …

Little Lord Willard, aka Rmoney, certainly was the world champion at etching his sketch.

From NY Times: Few topics in American society have more myths and stereotypes surrounding them than poverty, misconceptions that distort both our politics and our domestic policy making.

They include the notion that poverty affects a relatively small number of Americans, that the poor are impoverished for years at a time, that most of those in poverty live in inner cities, that too much welfare assistance is provided and that poverty is ultimately a result of not working hard enough. Although pervasive, each assumption is flat-out wrong.

Contrary to popular belief, the percentage of the population that directly encounters poverty is exceedingly high. My research indicates that nearly 40 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 60 will experience at least one year below the official poverty line during that period ($23,492 for a family of four), and 54 percent will spend a year in poverty or near poverty (below 150 percent of the poverty line).

Most of us fall on hard times, at one time or another, and the Republican recession makes this more true now than at other times . Republicans like to couch the safety net as takers taking from makers, but that is just projection.   They are describing their own welfare for the 0.1%, because we are the makers, and they are the takers. The safety net is us helping us, and we should.

From Truthdig: A new oil reservoir holding as many as 3.5 billion barrels was discovered directly beneath the 1948 armistice line that formally divides Israel from the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel has moved the border to get access to the well. Will Palestinians get a cut?

I think they will… right under the chin, unfortunately.

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I’m writing for tomorrow.  It will be a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb, but for me, it won’t be as holy, because my Broncos, as all teams must once a season, are demonstrating their solidarity with the LGBT community.  It’s their bi week.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:13 (average 5:15).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos:

Sen. Rand Paul got caught lifting bits of his speeches directly from Wikipedia articles about the things he was referencing. Not the biggest thing in the world, but he is determined to not understand what the problem might be:

“I didn’t claim that I created the movie ‘Gattaca.’ See, that’s what’s absurd about this. The plot line from ‘Gattaca’ belongs to one person, the guy, the screenwriter, and I gave him credit for that,” Paul said.

Paul said “a lot of people” work on his speeches so he can’t pinpoint one person responsible for the writing, and he dismissed the attacks as coming from “haters.”

Paul is confused. Nobody is pretending Sen. Rand Paul claimed that he wrote the movie Gattaca; people are pointing out that Sen. Rand Paul’s speech referencing the plot of Gattaca just happens to be a near word-for-word lift of the Wikipedia article about Gattaca.

It’s certainly possible that Idiot, Son of Idiot, Named after Idiot had never even heard of Gattica, before reading the word from his teleprompter. If that is the case, the perjury is from his speechwriter. On the other hand, if Idiot had any honest speechwriters, he would fire them.

From Upworthy: See Why We Have An Absolutely Ridiculous Standard Of Beauty In Just 37 Seconds

Madison Avenue exists to make sure we believe we cant live without no-flakes, getting the red out, a brighter, whiter smile, and being sure when we raise our hands. We need Jenny Craig for what sticks out, and Viagra for what doesn’t. Somehow, I think that beauty has more to do with who we are than what we look like.

From MSNBC: No, Obama is not ‘court packing’

How many times have you seen or read my opinion on this?

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