Personal – Page 571 – Politics Plus

Open Thread–6/22/2013

Posted by TomCat at 2:44 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 222013

Going into day 8, I’m having a major problem with my patches. Can anyone tell me how to make the damn things stay lit? :-( We’ve has comments from a right-wing celebrity and his militia. You may want to revisit Free the ATF!. Please remember the rule that here, we treat those with opposing views with respect.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:07 (average 4:25). To do it click here. How did you do?

Fantasy Football:

We still have room for two more players in our lefty league. For more info. click here.

Short Takes:

From KGO-TV: A gathering of liberal bloggers and activists is drawing some big name politicians to San Jose this weekend.

I’ll have Jeff’s video, when I can find it. Once again, Oregon leads the way!

From The Hill: Momentum has shifted in the battle over immigration reform, putting Senate Democrats in a position to pass a bipartisan bill with well over 60 votes.

Republican lawmakers predicted Thursday that as many as 15 Republicans could vote for comprehensive immigration reform legislation, putting the bill’s sponsors in striking distance of their 70-vote goal.

The bill’s sponsors scored a victory Thursday when they announced a deal with Republican Sens. Bob Corker (Tenn.) and John Hoeven (N.D.) to double the number of border patrol agents to 40,000. The compromise also mandates the construction of 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border and an increased deployment of surveillance technology.

Since border crossing has equalized in recent years (zero net change), doubling the border agents is a waste of money. After his failure yesterday, I doubt that Boehner will put anything forward in the House without support from a majority of Republicans. Also, what about those politeness terrorists to the north? 😉

From Washington Post:

Former Vermont governor Howard Dean, who in 2004 lost his bid to become the Democratic presidential nominee, says he’ll consider another run for president in 2016.

Dean — an outspoken liberal — told CNN’s Peter Hamby that he will run if other candidates aren’t addressing the issues that are important to him.

“I am not driven by my own ambition,” Dean said. “What I am driven by is pushing the country in a direction that it desperately needs to be pushed, pushing other politicians who aren’t quite as frank as I am who need to be more candid with the American people about what needs to happen. I am not trying to hedge. It’s a hard job running. It’s really tough. I am doing a lot of things I really enjoy. But you should never say never in this business.”

How interesting! I’m more confident that Hillary could win the General, but Dean’s policies align more closely with my own. If he runs, I will probably support him early, knowing that he has little chance to get the nomination, and in spite of reservations about Hillary, would support her in general election over any Republican.

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Open Thread–6/21/2013

Posted by TomCat at 3:34 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 212013

I’m writing early, and feeling quite tired today, because a helicopter moved in low over my building at about 5:30 AM and stayed there for almost two hours. By then I felt too angry to sleep, so I’ll write tomorrow’s (day 7) articles and return to bed.

I’m late because I overslept.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:35 (average 5:27). To do it. click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Supporters of the United States’ twelve-year quagmire in Afghanistan cheered the news today that the U.S. would strive to achieve a seamless transfer of that quagmire to Syria, effective immediately.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sought to reassure those who were concerned that the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan signalled a wavering of the nation’s commitment to being mired in open-ended military muddles.

“I can tell you, right here and right now, that the U.S. is every bit as determined to engage in an ill-defined, ill-advised and seemingly interminable mission in Syria as we were in Afghanistan,” Gen. Dempsey said. “All that’s changing is the Zip Code.”

I’m sure Dempsey did not say that, but he should have!

From MSNBC: The New GOP Agenda

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

I never thought we’ see another serious challenge to Glen Beck for depth of InsaniTEA? Bring on the Cruz Control. Then a parade of wing-nuts piled-on. Even the de facto head of the Republican Party, Rush Limbarf is jumping in. Obama must have super-socialist/Kenyan power to turn the conservative Republican in charge of that IRS division into an obedient zombie. Comparing these Republicans to schizophrenics is an insult to schizophrenics!

From Weird Facts: Weird Texas Law

A recently passed anti-crime laws requires criminals to give their victims 24 hours notice, either orally or in writing, and explain to the nature of the crime about to be comitted [sic].

One must acknowledge a supreme being before being able to hold public office.

Up to a felony charge can be levied for promoting the use of, or owning more than six dildos.

…

Could this be why ladies from Texas can be so …um… boisterous? 😉

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Open Thread–6/20/2013

Posted by TomCat at 12:58 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 202013

I’m writing early, and tomorrow will be day six. I had a brief lapse yesterday. A friend walked into my apartment with a lit cigarette. I took it from her and took a puff, over her apologies and protests. Then I felt guilty and gave it back, but for a couple minutes, I was one happy cat! I’m not holding it against myself. The battle continues.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:28 (average 4:44). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Fantasy Football:

We still have two openings in out fantasy football league. Let me know if you want one. It really is fun. 🙂

Short Takes:

From NY Times: After contradictory stories emerged about an F.B.I. agent’s killing last month of a Chechen man in Orlando, Fla., who was being questioned over ties to the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, the bureau reassured the public that it would clear up the murky episode.

“The F.B.I. takes very seriously any shooting incidents involving our agents, and as such we have an effective, time-tested process for addressing them internally,” a bureau spokesman said.

But if such internal investigations are time-tested, their outcomes are also predictable: from 1993 to early 2011, F.B.I. agents fatally shot about 70 “subjects” and wounded about 80 others — and every one of those episodes was deemed justified, according to interviews and internal F.B.I. records obtained by The New York Times through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

The last two years have followed the same pattern: an F.B.I. spokesman said that since 2011, there had been no findings of improper intentional shootings.

At all levels, federal, state, and local, only civilian review boards can protect US citizens from abuse of power.

From MSNBC: The GOP doesn’t want to compare Gitmo to Food stamps!

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

The difference is $900K/prisoner/year vs $60K/year and the $60K is only for the worst ones. That could feed a lot of hungry children, but Republicans are stealing their food. The Bible says, not what hatemonger Fincher said. It says that a man should not eat, if he REFUSES to work. It can hardly be called refusal for the many whose jobs were outsourced by Republicans to countries where the can increase profit with slave labor, severe pollution, and unsafe conditions. The Bible makes ample provision for meeting the needs of the poor, but Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians care only for poor billionaires.

From Think Progress: Following a critical series of articles in three Maine newspapers this week, Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s (R) office has cut off those papers’ access to administration officials.

The same week the Portland Press Herald, the Kennebec Journal, and the Morning Sentinel published an in-depth analysis of the administration’s work to undermine environmental protections, a spokeswoman told them they would no longer respond to requests, even for public documents, because the newspaper’s parent company “made it clear that it opposed this administration.”

The papers conducted an extensive investigation into a former corporate lobbyist appointed by LePage to be commissioner of Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). What they found was that Patricia Aho has fought environmental laws and enforcement since her appointment in 2011. The positions she has taken include blocking implementation of a 2008 law to protect youth from dangerous chemicals, reducing enforcement on land developers, rolling back recycling programs, and purging information from the Department’s website. Each of these efforts benefit her former clients in the chemical, drug, oil, and real estate industries.

RepubliSpeak Dictionary – Freedom of the Press: freedom to goose-step as the Republican Reich directs. Otherwise, forget it!

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Open Thread–6/19/2013

Posted by TomCat at 1:47 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 192013

I’m writing early, and tomorrow will be day five. I’m having trouble with irritation with patches. I scratched one off in the middle of the night and woke up craving. Grrr!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:36 (average 4:14). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Fantasy Football:

I OOPSED!! We filled three out of five spots for our fantasy football league. For more information about the last two spots, check Monday’s article.

Short Takes:

From NJ.com: Two liberal groups say they’ve found a “smoking gun” in a century-old state law that could force Gov. Chris Christie to schedule the general election in November.

New Jersey Citizen Action and New Jersey Communities United in a brief today, told the state Supreme Court today that the state’s 1915 law on filling U.S. Senate vacancies said that unless the vacancy occurred shortly before the next general election, it should be filled at the closest general election.

The purpose, according to drafters of the original law, was to “avoid the expenses of special elections for United States Senators and Congressmen.”…

I would love to see it, because, if both the Senate vote, and the General Election are combined, as they should be, turnout for Booker will assist down-ballot Democrats, and that's exactly what Christy want's to spend $12+ million of NJ taxpayer's money to avoid.

From MSNBC: Is Miss Utah planning a career in Congress?

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

She had her talking points, and she was bound and determined to stick with them regardless of the question asked. It's sad to see such goose-stepping at such a young age. That she comes from a Red State was quite apparent, because her opinion trumped her intellect.

From Alternet: Bank of America’s mortgage servicing unit systematically lied to homeowners, fraudulently denied loan modifications, and paid their staff bonuses for deliberately pushing people into foreclosure: Yes, these allegations were suspected by any homeowner who ever had to deal with the bank to try to get a loan modification – but now they come from six former employees and one contractor, whose sworn statements were added last week to a civil lawsuit filed in federal court in Massachusetts.

“Bank of America’s practice is to string homeowners along with no apparent intention of providing the permanent loan modifications it promises,” said Erika Brown, one of the former employees. The damning evidence would spur a series of criminal investigations of BofA executives, if we still had a rule of law in this country for Wall Street banks… [emphasis added]

Click through for the rest of this highly enlightening article. BofA employees were told to lie to customers to trick them into foreclosure. Bring on the DOJ!

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Open Thread–6/18/2013

Posted by TomCat at 2:34 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

Jun 182013

The struggle continues into day four tomorrow. I’m writing early, I’m here.

jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:05 (average 5:18). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From TruthDig: You don’t need me to tell you, but it’s a whole lot tougher leading a garage band than being a superstar. What you might not have known is just how much harder.

If you want an example of growing inequality, try the rock ‘n’ roll industry. Between 1982 and 2003, the share of concert income taken home by the top 1 percent of performers more than doubled, rising from 26 percent to 56 percent. The top 5 percent collected almost 90 percent of all concert revenues…

Dang! I did not realize that I’ve been listening to InsaniTEA. 🙁

From Christian Science Monitor: At the adolescent-unfriendly hour of 7:10 on this rainy spring morning in tiny Loachapoka, Ala., classes won’t start for another half hour in the public school. But already the science lab at Loachapoka High School is coming alive with the banter of 13 teens sloughing off backpacks and settling in to learn – not about chemistry or biology, but about faith…

Click through for a comprehensive and interesting article. I have no problem with using school facilities for religious purposes on the students’ own time, if and only if, those facilities are equally available to every religion, including the atheist faith. Otherwise, this practice violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

From Salon.com: Failed Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain warned attendees at the annual Faith and Freedom Conference that America is headed toward communism and socialism, and called for supporters to “take our country back” in 2014.

“This train is running full speed down the tracks towards socialism and towards communism,” Cain said, The Washington Post reports. “Yes, I said it. Before we stop it and reverse it, we got to slow it down. That’s what we do in 2014.”

Like most Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians, Mr. 9-9-9 displays complete ignorance. Socialism and Communism are mutually exclusive. Under actual Communism, there is no state. It will have withered away, no longer needed. Under actual Socialism the government owns all the means of production. Neither comes even close to describing the Republican Welfare state handed down by the Bush Regime: Vulture Capitalism.

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Republicans celebrate the day by counting how many they can violate.

Open Thread–6/17/2013

Posted by TomCat at 1:09 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 172013

I’m writing early, as usual. Day two is proving more difficult. In spite of the Chantix and a 21 mg. patch, I’m Jonesing big time. nevertheless, I remain committed.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:20 (average 4:47). To do it. click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Alternet: Military contractor Booz Allen Hamilton of McLean, Virginia, has shot into the news recently over two of its former employees: Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who has just revealed the extent of US global spying on electronic data of ordinary citizens around the world, and James Clapper, US director of national intelligence.

Clapper has come out vocally to condemn Snowden as a traitor to the public interest and the country, yet a review of Booz Allen’s own history suggests that the government should be investigating his former employer, rather than the whistleblower.

Clapper worked as vice-president at Booz Allen from 1997 to 1998, while Snowden did a three-month stint at their offices in Hawaii in spring 2013 as a low-level contract employee. Both worked on intelligence contracts, which are estimated to make up almost a quarter of the company’s $5.86bn in annual income. This past weekend, Clapper condemned Snowden’s leak…

I’m going to disagree with this author, in part. Because Snowden, by his own admission has leaked US sources and methods to China regarding electronic surveillance of that nation, he should certainly be investigated, and in all probability prosecuted. However, I agree with the author that Booze Allen Hamilton should be investigated for criminal negligence, and Clapper should be fired and criminally investigated for corruption.

From Common Dreams: An interactive database allowing users to search more than 100,000 secret companies, trusts and funds created in offshore tax havens including the British Virgin Islands has gone online.

The data, part of a cache of 2.5m leaked files that has already led to a series of exposes of the offshore financial sector by the Guardian and other global media organisations, has been launched by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The ICIJ, a non-profit organisation that has analysed the files with more than 100 journalists in dozens of countries and is continuing to do so, hopes the Offshore Leaks web app will trigger further investigations and revelations by making the information more widely available.

This resource may be difficult to use, but I consider it an extremely valuable tool to ferret out the 1% vulture capitalists that the Republican Party represent exclusively. Major kudos to the ICIJ!!

From Huffington Post: Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) criticized President Barack Obama while speaking at the annual meeting of the Faith and Freedom Coalition Saturday, saying the United States should not intervene in Syria while he’s in office.

“Until we have a commander in chief who knows what he is doing… let Allah sort it out!” Palin told the conservative crowd, according to The Hill.

God forbid that I I should ever be perceived as agreeing with Blood Libel Barbie, aka Drill Baby Dingbat, aka Mooseolini. I think intervention in Syria is a mistake for different reasons, and it should be noted, the ones who are pushing hardest for it are Republicans, but Obama painted himself into a corner when he threatened increased US involvement if Assad was proven to have used chemical weapons.

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Don’t tell Republicans it’s from France, or they’ll send it back!!

Open Thread–6/16/2013

Posted by TomCat at 12:51 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 162013

I’m writing early, and it’s day 1. A forecast heat wave looks like it will be far less severe than anticipated, so today will likely be the only hot day. I have remained silent on Syria intervention, which I consider a mistake, because I’m wafting for specifics to which to respond. For now, McConJob is still insane!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:00 (average 4:57). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Think Progress: One week after conceding that it underestimated the negative impact of austerity measures in Greece, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is condemning American lawmakers’ rapid turn to spending cuts. The fund’s analysts say that “an excessively rapid pace of fiscal deficit reduction” will cost the country between 1.25 and 1.75 percent points of GDP growth this year, and it now projects just 1.9 percent total growth for 2013.

The IMF notes that the wound is self-inflicted and offers three specific suggestions for salving it:

• Repeal the sequester and adopt a more balanced and gradual pace of fiscal consolidation. […]

• Raise the debt ceiling to avoid a severe shock to the United States and the global economy.

• Adopt a comprehensive and back-loaded set of measures to restore long-run fiscal sustainability. […] New revenues could be raised through a reduction in tax exemptions and deductions, as well as though the introduction of a carbon tax and a value added tax. Spending measures would need to curb the growth in public health care and pension outlays.

The report also notes that sequestration’s damage will carry on past the near future and warns that its “arbitrary reductions in education, science, and infrastructure spending could also reduce medium-term potential growth.”

From this one might think that the Republican Party is ignorant with respect to the effects of their austerity programs. Think again. They know exactly what the effects are, and it’s intentional. Sabotaging the American people is sedition.

From Raw Story: Bank of America employees regularly lied to homeowners seeking loan modifications, denied their applications for made-up reasons, and were rewarded for sending homeowners to foreclosure, according to sworn statements by former bank employees.

The employee statements were filed late last week in federal court in Boston as part of a multi-state class action suit brought on behalf of homeowners who sought to avoid foreclosure through the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) but say they had their cases botched by Bank of America.

Since the evidence is apparent, DOJ should be using it in a criminal complaint against the Banksters.

From The Hill: A recent briefing by senior intelligence officials on surveillance programs failed to attract even half of the Senate, showing the lack of enthusiasm in Congress for learning about classified security programs…

…Only 47 of 100 senators attended the 2:30 briefing, leaving dozens of chairs in the secure meeting room empty as Clapper, Alexander and other senior officials told lawmakers about classified programs to monitor millions of telephone calls and broad swaths of Internet activity. The room on the lower level of the Capitol Visitor Center is large enough to fit the entire Senate membership, according to a Senate aide. [emphasis added]

What can I say? This is a national shame!

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Open Thread–6/14/2012

Posted by TomCat at 1:46 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 142013

This is today’s only article, because I’m going for my quarterly surgery to remove a recurring growth on my foot. No worries. It’s routine. Happy Flag day to all. The best way to celebrate the day is to unwrap a Republican at every opportunity. I am, once again, writing early.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:13 (average 4:30). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MSNBC: How Republicans get war on women legislation passed.

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

Unwilling to cede the status of most fascist Reich in America to Teafuhrer McCrory and McCrorystan, the minions of Fartfuhrer Walker and Fitzwalkerstan are charging hard.

From NY Times: Deaths exceeded births among non-Hispanic white Americans for the first time in at least a century, according to new census data, a benchmark that heralds profound demographic change.

The disparity was tiny — only about 12,000 — and was more than made up by a gain of 188,000 as a result of immigration from abroad. But the decrease for the year ending July 1, 2012, coupled with the fact that a majority of births in the United States are now to Hispanic, black and Asian mothers, is further evidence that white Americans will become a minority nationwide within about three decades.

No doubt the halls of Republican Party HQ are now filled with great wailing and gnashing of teeth.

From Right Wing Watch: TPM’s Perry Stein today reports that the Virginia GOP, fresh after nominating the ultraconservative ticket of Ken Cuccinelli and E.W. Jackson, has now appointed Rev. Joe Ellison as the party’s Director of African-American Engagement.

Republican Party of Virginia chairman Pat Mullins hailed [Republican Party delinked] Ellison for his “knowledge and experience,” and Ellison said that he will help build “the future of our party” by showing black voters that they “share far more values with the Republican Party than they realize.”

As Stein notes, Ellison in 2010 announced that he is “declaring war against Planned Parenthood” and applauded televangelist Pat Robertson’s claim that Haiti was devastated by a deadly earthquake as divine retribution for making a “pact with the Devil” 200 years ago.

Voodoo already yet?!!? The Republican Party has goose-stepped into a state of pseudo-Christian InsaniTEA! He’s supporting the same Pat Robertson who prophesied that God would punish Orlando, Florida with a hurricane to punish them, because Disney World had adopted a policy of non-discrimination against LGBT employees. The next hurricane to make landfall damaged Robertson’s own Virginia Beach HQ. God just may have a fantastic sense of humor.

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The Republican claim that this stems from our founding fathers is a lie.

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