Politics Plus

Yesterday I was out and about, walking to the mailbox, to the bank, and to the corner store.  I mailed my vote for Suzanne Bonamici.  There is a late breaking story that Newter has released his Freddie Mac contract, but it is so uninformative that the only thing worthy of note that it contains is that Newter was to report to their top lobbyist.  That disproves his claim that he was consulting as a historian, and not as a lobbyist.  The local NBC affiliate did not air the Republican debate, correctly realizing that sitcoms are more relevant.  I hear it was a yawner.  I’m current with replies.  Today I will be doing volunteer work in prison and will get home late, after missing a sleep cycle.  Therefore there may be no articles tomorrow, and, if there are, they will probably be late.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 5:05 (average 5:50).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: SHOCKING: How One Bank Gets Big-Time Profits From Food Stamps

The filthy Banksters have their fingers in EVERYTHING!

From Reuters: Republican Senator Rand Paul was stopped at an airport on Monday for setting off an alarm and refusing a patdown, prompting his father, U.S. presidential candidate Ron Paul, to accuse security officials of being part of an "out of control" police state.

In a harshly worded attack on the Transportation Security Administration, which handles security screenings at U.S. airports, Ron Paul, known for his strident libertarian views, said the TSA "gropes and grabs our kids and our seniors and does nothing to keep us safe."

I actually agree that it was inappropriate for the TSA to try to pat down Rand Paul.  That extremist should be strip searched instead.

From TPM: A super PAC supporting Paul, Revolution PAC, is selling action figures of the candidate to raise money for their efforts. There are two options seen on the website [InsaniTEA delinked] — the “Commander-in-chief Ron Paul” model, complete with a snug fitting black suit and a rolled up copy of the US Constitution in his hand, and “Super-hero Ron Paul,” in which the congressman wears a blue and red suit like Superman.

Now the acolytes of the Paul cult can have an icon of their deity to put on their dashboards next to their KKK cross and Supply-side Jesus (not the real one).

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Yesterday I slept late and didn’t get much done, except for my daily research.  I fell asleep watching the returns, so I’m running a little late.  I’m current with replies.  Tomorrow is a Higher Holy Day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:20 (average 4:41).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: President Obama will use his election-year State of the Union address on Tuesday to define an activist role for government in promoting a prosperous and equitable society, hoping to draw a stark contrast between the parties in a time of deep economic uncertainty.

In a video preview e-mailed to more than 10 million supporters on Saturday, as South Carolina Republicans went to the polls to help pick an alternative to him, Mr. Obama promised a populist “blueprint for an American economy that’s built to last,” with the government assisting individuals and businesses to ensure “an America where everybody gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share and everybody plays by the same set of rules.”

It pains me that I’m going to miss this, but I’ll be in prison doing volunteer work at the time.

From Daily Kos: House Republicans, undaunted by the payroll tax holiday debacle that dinged their conference last month, said Friday that they were considering using the Keystone XL Pipeline as a chip in the next round of negotiations over the tax break, as part of their overall efforts to push back against White House policies this year.

This more Republican terrorism, holding the people hostage to benefit a few corporate criminals.

From PRWatch: Indiana Republicans, who hold solid majorities in the state House and Senate as well as the governor’s mansion, have once again taken up "Right-To-Work." Indiana tried passing anti-union legislation last year but the effort stalled amidst public outcry. Despite this, Right-to-Work legislation was one of the first pieces taken up by the GOP majority in the 2012 session.

Both houses fast tracked the bills — Senate Bill 269 and House Bill 1001 — hoping to push them through in the face of stiff opposition from both Indiana Democrats and labor activists. “Fast tracking” was necessary as Republicans want to put this legislation to rest before the Super Bowl here in Indianapolis next month. As game day approaches the fight over this right-to-work legislation may turn into a national discussion on the issue.

I hope Indiana Democrats stand firm on this and do whatever is necessary to stall it.  Since so many working class people are also football fans, controversy at the Super Bowl could be immensely helpful educating America that Republicans do NOT represent them.

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Yesterday I felt tired and slept late.  Because the GOP Debate was not worth watching, I did not watch it.  Well I did flip it on for a moment during a commercial.  I saw Ron Paul perform his ongoing whine that he is being ignored.  That was enough for me.  I’m current with replies.  Tomorrow I have the same paperwork to do and an email backlog to catch up.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:14 (average 4:51).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Reuters: Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has a blunt message for voters such as Jim Shackleford who are trapped by falling housing prices: You’re on your own.

Santorum and other Republican candidates say the government should do little, if nothing, to ease the housing crisis that plunged the country into recession and continues to weigh on the recovery.

YOYO is the Republican solution for everyone except millionaires, billionaires and corporate criminals.

From Washington Post: Former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.) officially won the Iowa caucuses Thursday — 16 days after the last vote was cast — when state GOP officials said a final count showed him 34 votes ahead of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

I understand that Iowa Republicans still cannot certify the vote.  If Republicans are unfit to run caucuses, they they are unfit to run America.

From SPLC: With W-2s and 1040s in the mail, tax season is getting into full swing. And even white nationalists have to pay their taxes if they’re not living off the grid. But where does a proud Aryan go to find a tax preparer who understands the special needs of white people?

They needn’t look any farther than the classifieds at Stormfront.org, the massive Web forum run by a former Alabama Klan leader in West Palm Beach, Fla. Under “Tax Preparation” is this ad: “Please stop using main Jew owned tax services from H&R Block and use one of your own! Please share and pass along.”

Click on it, and it takes you to a Web page for Garfield Accounting Services, “a full service accounting firm specializing in small and individual owned businesses” based in New Berlin, Wisc.

Well, I can make a pretty good guess at who does Scott Walker’s taxes.

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Yesterday I went out to run errands.  The cold air set off my COPD.  When I returned my research was repeatedly interrupted by four power failures, so I had a difficult day.  I’m current with replies.  Today I have some paperwork and bookkeeping to do.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:20 (average 6:13).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Chicago Tribune: Several hundred demonstrators with the Occupy movement rallied outside the U.S. Capitol building on Tuesday to denounce what they called the influence of money in Congress.

“It’s important to let people know we’re not going to take it anymore. People are really mad about the way things are going and we want Congress to understand that,” said protester James Cullen, 30, an unemployed social worker from Greenbelt, Maryland.

Bravo!  I just hope they had to foresight to leave CPC members unoccupied.

From Think Progress: The date has been set — Monday, January 23rd – for a third round of demonstrations organized to put pressure on the Obama Administration. The White House is also getting pressure from Congressional Republicans, who slipped a provision into a last-minute tax cut package that forces the President to make a decision on Keystone XL by February 21st. An executive decision could come this week.

I have signed petitions, emailed the White House and called the White House several times to support the demonstrators.  I hope those of you, who cannot demonstrate, do too.

From TPM: Rick Perry said in Monday’s South Carolina debate that Turkey may have been taken over by “Islamic terrorists” based on their ruling Islamic party. The answer came in response to a question over whether Turkey should remain a NATO ally, which Perry said was a conversation worth having.

Turkey is very irate over this and with good reason.  Republican foreign policy is both obscene and insane.

From The Examiner: Jere Brower, his wife Clara, and his 4-year-old daughter Ana, have a very good reason to believe Texas Congressman Ron Paul when he said people view his supporters as “dangerous.”

The 38-year-old Atlanta man and his family have been targeted by militant Ron Paul supporters, one of whom threatened to “kneecap” him, then rape his wife and young daughter.  Mr. Brower said he has also received death threats from supporters of Ron Paul.

Paul and his cult of crazed acolytes are beyond the pale!

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