Politics Plus

Yesterday was very difficult.  After blogging, I napped until health techs from my O₂ company came to give me saturation tests.  They confirmed that I still need O₂.  Shortly after I dozed off again, the delivery guy from my 0₂ company came to exchange my empty tanks for full ones.  By then it was too hot to sleep.  Yesterday was our first really hot day.  It reached 84° outside, but the sun superheated the enclosed “breezeway” outside my windows to 112°.  My apartment reached 98° and at 2:15 AM is still 86°.  Needless to say, this Open Thread is all for today.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:57 (average 4:24).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Alternet: The background to the story is that in January, a vote within the new House Republican caucus occurred on whether to keep Boehner on as speaker. Some conservatives were upset that Boehner had allowed a deal to be struck that averted the so-called “fiscal cliff,” and they wanted Boehner out because of it. But in the end, only 12 GOP members voted against Boehner. That was short of the 17 needed to force another vote on the Speaker slot.

Yesterday, the Washington Post revealed new details about why Boehner kept his slot in a story published about the Republican Party’s warring factions. One reason why Boehner wasn’t ousted is because “several Republicans, after a night of prayer, said God told them to spare the speaker,” according to the Post’s Paul Kane.

I’d bet that God, in this case, are the brothers that pay the Tea Party to be Koch suckers, or the guy that inspires turds to blossom.

From Daily Kos: At a press conference this afternoon, Republican Gov. Chris Christie announced that a special election to fill the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s Senate seat would take place on Oct. 16 (a Wednesday), with a primary to be held on Aug. 13. This move will undoubtedly please Democrats, who will have the chance to replace Lautenberg quickly. And Christie, who is up for re-election this November, gets to avoid sharing a ballot with a popular Democrat such as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who has long had his eye on the Senate.

Republican partisans will probably be upset, though, since an interim pick (which Christie did not yet announce) could have conceivably served through at least November 2014, giving the GOP one extra vote on the Senate floor for almost 18 months.

I disagree with this author. Chris Hayes explained why well.

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By squandering $12 million that belongs to NJ taxpayers Christie has made sure that voters who turn out for Corey Booker will not be there to oppose him and down ballot NJ Republicans, unless they male a separate trip to the polls just three weeks later to do so. This makes it more likely that Republicans will win the state’s seats in the US House, the NJ House, and the NJ Senate, even if Christie would have won either way. His solution was as sleazy as it was brilliant.

From Huffington Post: House Republicans are scheduled to vote on two separate budget bills this week, each of which would reject funding for the poverty activism group ACORN, despite the fact that ACORN disbanded three years ago.

ACORN, also known as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, came under heavy fire in the fall of 2009 after conservative videographer James O’Keefe released a set of selectively edited videos that appeared to show its employees offering advice on tax avoidance related to prostitution and child smuggling. Independent investigations by the California attorney general, the Massachusetts attorney general and the Brooklyn, N.Y., district attorney would later clear ACORN of criminal wrongdoing, and an investigation by the Government Accountability Office would clear ACORN of charges that it mishandled federal funds.

But in the fall of 2009, Congress banned federal funding for ACORN using broad language that applied to "any organization" that had been charged with breaking federal or state election laws, lobbying disclosure laws or campaign finance laws or with filing fraudulent paperwork with any federal or state agency. The funding ban also extended to any employees, contractors or others affiliated with any group so charged.

Struggling with the bad publicity and loss of federal funds, ACORN dissolved in early 2010. Just to be sure, however, Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) included this language in a government funding bill introduced on May 28 of this year: "None of the funds made available in this Act may be distributed to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) or its subsidiaries or successors."… [emphasis added]

I have no doubt that Congressional Republicans know that they have already defunded ACORN and that it disbanded over three years ago, so this is just one more example in the long list of non-existent scandals that the Republican Party is using to drum up fear, racism and blood lust in their rabid base. However, given their total ignorance on this document, House Republicans probably do not know that the US Constitution forbids bills of attainder, such as this one.

Cartoon:

The kite flew after Ben followed his wife’s advice that he needed more tail, even though she had told him to go fly a kite the night before.

ARGH!  The best laid plans of mice and men.  Before leaving to my doctor’s appointment, I swapped in my last unused O₂ bottle to meet my needs during the trip.  It was empty, and with no oxygen  I cannot go.  I called and left a message.  I just hope I don’t have to pay for a missed appointment.  ARGH!   That is why I have this for you today, albeit late.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:33 (average 4:33).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: Since the American-led invasion of 2003, Iraq has become one of the world’s top oil producers, and China is now its biggest customer.

China already buys nearly half the oil that Iraq produces, nearly 1.5 million barrels a day, and is angling for an even bigger share, bidding for a stake now owned by Exxon Mobil in one of Iraq’s largest oil fields.

“The Chinese are the biggest beneficiary of this post-Saddam oil boom in Iraq,” said Denise Natali, a Middle East expert at the National Defense University in Washington. “They need energy, and they want to get into the market.”

Instead of the issue of 4 US deaths in Benghazi, shouldn’t we be still be asking about 4,000+ US deaths in Iraq. It is ultimate failure that $1 Trillion+ and all those irreplaceable lives spent on Bush’s Republican War for Oil and Conquest has brought Oil for China and a new client state for Iraq.

From Alternet:

In football terms, "piling on" means jumping on a player when he’s down. In the economic new normal described by Bernie Sanders, it means taking most of the wealth and all of the income, moving profits and jobs overseas, and making impoverished people pay the bills.

1. Taking ALL the Income

Charles Koch said, "I want my fair share — and that’s all of it." He’s been getting his wish lately. In the first two years of the recovery, the richest 1% seemingly impossibly captured  121% of the income gains, while incomes for 99% of Americans declined, with the median household income  dropping by 7.3 percent.

More and more people are working in respectable but  low-wage positions in food service and retail.  Low-income jobs ($7.69 to $13.83 per hour) made up one-fifth of the jobs lost to the recession, but accounted for three-fifths of the jobs regained during the recovery.

I urge you to click through to see three more ways in which the 1%, aided by their Republican lackeys, are screwing the rest of us.

From Crooks & Liars: Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Sunday said that Washington should stay out of the business of ensuring equal pay because "what women want" is just to be "recognized."

During a panel discussion on NBC about a recent Pew report that found women had become primary source of income in 40 percent of U.S. households, Blackburn said that it was "up to companies to make sure there is a level playing field and that women are not shortchanged as they try to get on that latter to success."

It’s up to companies to ensure equal pay for equal work, just like it’s up to foxes to ensure safety for the residents of hen houses. She says that recognition is more important for women that equal pay. TEAbuggery!! Companies recognize the value of workers through pay and benefits, because the only language spoken in corporate America is $$$.

Cartoon:

Republicans are already trying to ban what they consider degenerate art.  Notice any similarities with how Republicans portray Obama?

Yesterday there seemed to be an unwritten law: TC will get no sleep.  My plan was to catch up on sleep, but every time I fell asleep, I was awakened by a UPS delivery, an unexpected visit from a volunteer, a telephone call from my podiatrist to remind me of my appointment Monday, a phone call from my O₂ provider to schedule an oxygen saturation test, and the list goes on.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

today’s took me 3:13 (average 4:19).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: Republicans are doing their best to persuade Americans that the Affordable Care Act will drive health insurance premiums so high that consumers will experience “rate shock.” That fear-provoking tale seems much less credible now that the rates proposed by health insurers for individual coverage on the new health care exchanges have been made public in several states. For the most part, the premiums will increase only slightly or even decrease for individuals and family coverage on the exchanges, electronic marketplaces in which consumers choose among a variety of plans with differing benefits and costs.

The reported rates are in states that have elected to run their own exchanges, which are set to start enrolling people in October for coverage that begins in January 2014. Many states with Republican governors have refused to set up exchanges and have left that task to the Obama administration. In 19 states where the exchanges will be entirely run by the federal government, more health insurance companies are entering the markets and injecting competition that should help hold down costs, the administration said on Thursday. Premiums are subject to many competing pressures, but, in several states, competition appears to be offsetting factors that might push rates up.

In California, officials announced last week that 13 insurers were awarded contracts to sell policies on the state’s health care exchanges next year. The companies submitted bids, which came in much lower than virtually all experts and actuaries had forecast…

When Republicans first started making this claim, before ObamaCare had even become the law, largely because of two things. First companies have to submit bids and be accepted to even offer their products on an exchange, replacing collusion with competition. And second companies are required to spend 80% of premiums collected on benefits. These pluses for US customers make Republicans all the more frantic to spread lies about ObamaCare.

From The New Yorker: In the latest scandal to rock the Obama Administration, a leading Republican congressman accused the President today of using his position to obtain free government housing for himself and his family.

According to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), Mr. Obama “has arrogantly exploited the office of President to gain access to a fifty-five-thousand-square-foot residence that could double as a museum.”

“While the average American is struggling to pay his bills, President Obama is living in a luxury home, adorned with priceless paintings and antiques as far as the eye can see,” Rep. Ryan alleged.

Additionally, the Wisconsin congressman said, the President has availed himself of “sumptuous free meals—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—all on the taxpayer’s nickel.”…

Dang! I’m sure no white Republican President would even dream of committing such a vile act! 😉

From YouTube: Bill Maher – New Rules – 5/31/2013

Despite the obvious irreverent hilarity, he made an excellent point about the failure of Democrats to embrace a natural issue for us. After over 30 years, I have no desire to start using it again, but I see it as a nonviolent activity that could become a valuable source of tax revenue instead of a harmful distraction to law enforcement and a far too expensive contributor to the shameful condition that the US incarcerates the highest percentage of our citizens in the world.

Cartoon:

Yesterday afternoon and last night, one of my neighbors repeatedly overloaded the electrical system, tripping the circuit breaker.  This kept me from sleeping, because every time the power goes out, it sets off an alarm in my O₂ converter, so this Open Thread is all I have for today.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:23 (average 5;10).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Boston Globe: Independent Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee (CHAY’-fee) is joining the Democratic Party ahead of his bid for a second term.

The former Republican U.S. senator left the GOP in 2007 and was elected as the nation’s only independent governor in 2010.

Two Democratic sources say Chafee plans to change his party registration to join the party.

Chafee has been saying for months that he was thinking about the switch, noting that he shares many positions with Democrats and that joining the party will help with fundraising.

He is a supporter of President Barack Obama and spoke at last year’s Democratic National Convention…

That is the only reasonable course for any Republican, who has not given up on common decency and rational thought.

From Think Progress: Thousands of people signed up to attend an armed march on Washington over the course of the last month. But now, the leader of the march is setting his sights much higher than a single demonstration — he wants his armed followers to help overthrow the American government.

About a month ago, a gun activist named Adam Kokesh called for thousands of people to join him in an armed march on Washington, D.C. to “put the government on notice that we will not be intimidated & cower in submission to tyranny.” As of this writing, nearly 5,200 people have RSVPed for Kokesh’s armed march.

Late last week, however, Kokesh decided to abandon this march in favor of a much larger effort to bring down the entire federal government. In a statement written from a jail cell in Philadelphia (Kokesh faced charges for allegedly resisting arrest during a pro-marijuana rally. He now says he’s been released), the gun activist called for his supporters to form a secessionist “army”…

It goes without saying that Kokesh is a Republican. He founded Veterans for Ron Paul. He also ran for the Republican nomination for Congress in New Mexico’s 3rd congressional district. He received endorsements from Ron Paul and the Republican Liberty Caucus. He should be charged with sedition.

From Raw Story: Fox Business personalities had a collective freak out on Wednesday night after learning that mothers were now the primary source of income in 40 percent of U.S. households.

Fox Business host Lou Dobbs asserted women earning more than their husbands was an indication of the dissolution of American society. Fox News political analyst Juan Williams agreed, describing it as a sign of the disintegration of marriage that would have negative consequences for generations to come.

Fox News contributor Erick Erickson went one step further, saying nature itself commanded that women be subservient to men.

“I’m so used to liberals telling conservatives that they’re anti-science,” Erickson explained. “But liberals who defend this and say it is not a bad thing are very anti-science. When you look at biology, when you look at the natural world, the roles of a male and a female in society and in other animals, the male typically is the dominant role. The female, it’s not antithesis, or it’s not competing, it’s a complimentary role.”

I’m not surprised to see that the Republican Ministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, is carrying out the Republican Party’s plan to make themselves more appealing to women.  LOL!

Cartoon:

This prompted the immediate invention of the match by 19th century feminists. 😉