Politics Plus

Yesterday I felt tired out and napped most of the day.  Perhaps it was laundry, or perhaps it wears me down that my nicotine craving has not abated one iota since day one.  I am up to date on comments.  Tonight I will be hosting a CoDA group during my normal sleep time, so tomorrow’s articles may be late and/or abbreviated.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 3:25 (4:31 average).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Think Progress: House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) seemed taken aback this afternoon when the four chiefs of the armed forces testified that they had not run into any major problems in implementing the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Republicans are horrified that the sky did not fall.  Poor little hate mongers!

From Salon: The George Allen comeback is already off to a great start. The former Virginia governor and U.S. senator was once considered a credible presidential candidate, until he committed a "gaffe" by revealing himself to be an unreconstructed racist. Now he is back on the campaign trail, trying to win his old Senate seat. Today, he asked a tall black man, "What position did you play?" For the second time.

Should we be surprised that Macaca Man is still a Republican racist?

From Washington Post: For the past three Aprils, a mishmash of musicians, activists and members of Congress have gathered on the Mall to celebrate Earth Day, encouraging Americans to go green.

This year, they’ll go silent. The Earth Day Network, the nonprofit organization behind the annual celebration, says it won’t be hosting its annual flagship event this year because it overlaps with the Easter and Passover holidays.

I trust the real Jesus would be happy to share the day, but Republican Supply-side Jesus would object.

Cartoon:

TFIF!

Yesterday my appointment was late so I returned home later than expected.  I’m up to date with replies to comments, but today is my day to co-facilitate a therapy group for a dozen convicts, and then I have to do my online shopping for the month, so I’ll be quite scarce.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:39 (5:02 average).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From CNN: Workers scored a key victory Wednesday in their struggle to gain the upper hand in the weeks-long crisis at the Fukishima Daiichi nuclear power facility, but a top Japanese official cautioned that the fight was far from over.

At daybreak, authorities with the Tokyo Electric Power Company noticed that water was no longer gushing into the Pacific Ocean from the turbine building of the No. 2 reactor, one of six operated by the utility at its plant.

Any good news there is a welcome change.

From Reuters: With bipartisan support, the Senate voted 87-12 to pass legislation sponsored by Republican Senator Mike Johanns that repeals a requirement for businesses and landlords to file a Form 1099 document with the Internal Revenue Service for purchases of goods and services exceeding $600 a year.

The tax filing requirement did not directly relate to healthcare but was intended to help pay for the healthcare law that is considered one of President Barack Obama’s top legislative achievements.

That’s one of the things I don’t mind losing.

Cartoon:

Happy hump day, but don’t let Republicans hump you!

Yesterday turned out busier than I expected.  I went out to run errands in the morning, and in the afternoon I rewrote the meeting format from scratch for one of my volunteer groups.  But I’m current on replies to comments.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 3:33 (average 5:05).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: So the joke begins like this: An economist, a lawyer and a professor of marketing walk into a room. What’s the punch line? They were three of the five “expert witnesses” Republicans called for last week’s Congressional hearing on climate science.

The real scientist in the group was doing research, financed by the Koch brothers, to prove there is no global climate change.  To their chagrin, he actually testified that his research did not yield the results wanted. Ha!

From Crooks and Liars: Bill Maker pokes fun at Democrats for not supporting gay marriage.

Gotta love him!

From NY Times: The United States, which long supported Yemen’s president, even in the face of recent widespread protests, has now quietly shifted positions and has concluded that he is unlikely to bring about the required reforms and must be eased out of office, according to American and Yemeni officials.

Good.  The fewer dictators we support, the less hypocritical we become.

Cartoon:

OGIM!

Yesterday I I was so tired that I returned to bed as soon as I finishes putting up the blog.  Noise in the building kept me from sleeping as much as I needed, nut today is not as bad.  I am up to date with comments.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 3:58 (average 4:56)  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Boston Globe: A group of public workers that was predominantly made up of teachers have rallied in New Hampshire’s capital to protest a $10.2 billion state budget recently passed by the House.

The spending plan would make deep cuts to social programs and strip unions of much of their bargaining power.

Yet another front in the Republican war on America.

From Washington Post: Facing an energized Republican Party and deep-pocketed conservative groups, President Obama is kicking off his 2012 reelection campaign with a concerted push for help from wealthy donors and liberal groups unbound by spending limits.

The strategy — which could begin in earnest as early as Monday with the formation of an official presidential committee — suggests a notable shift in emphasis for a president who has long decried the outsize role of money in politics.

I don’t like the looks of this at all, but in the unconstitutional election environment in the wake of Citizens United, he may have no other choice.

From NY Times: Even as the two parties struggled over the weekend to reach a deal on federal spending for the next six months and avert a government shutdown at the end of the week, House Republicans were completing a budget proposal for next year and beyond. It is likely to spur an ideological showdown over the size of government and the role of entitlement programs like Medicaid and Medicare.

It’s going to be ugly.  See the article above this one.

Cartoon:

Pray for the political parties.  Ask for hearts for Republicans.  Ask for balls for Democrats.