Politics Plus

Yesterday the furnace in my building broke down, so I spent most of the day in bed to stay warm.  I have caught up on comments.  Today I’ll be going down to Salem to do volunteer work in the Prison, so tomorrow’s offering may be thin and late.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 3:35 (4:30 average).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, who leads the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, said Wednesday that he was ready to go to Gaza and meet with Ismail Haniya, the leader of the Hamas government, who on Tuesday had invited Mr. Abbas and Fatah to resume unity talks. Mr. Abbas said the purpose would be to reach agreement on the formation of a new government that could prepare for Palestinian presidential and parliamentary elections within six months.

This is a smart move for both.  As long as Palestinians remain divided, Israel will use the division to block a negotiated two state solution.

From Politico: The top two Democratic leaders in the House have twice split on whether to approve short-term government funding bills that cut billions from federal accounts. Senate Democrats haven’t put forward a long-term spending plan that can move through their chamber, and Democrats on both sides of the Capitol say they have no idea where the White House stands or who’s running the show.

Obama needs to show some leadership.  During his campaign, he promised that if the rights of working people were under assault, he would be on the picket line himself.  Where is he?

From Truthdig: Lucky for him. Raymond Davis, the CIA contractor who was nabbed in January after shooting and killing two men in Pakistan (the news of which wasn’t released until February), has been freed from detainment after the payment of “blood money” to the victims’ families.

Clinton denies it.  I don’t believe her.

Cartoon:

Watch out for Japan donation scams!

My doctor was overbooked yesterday.  Counting my travel time, my 15 minute appointment and 10 minute vampire session took 4.5 hours.  The worst is that I had just taken a shower, and while getting dressed, I forgot to apply an nicotine patch.  It was a gruesome trip.  I’m up to date on comments, but I have mid-month paperwork to do.  Also, I slept poorly and feel quite exhausted.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:19 (5:16 average).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NPR: Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations sent forces to Bahrain after a request from Bahrain’s royal family. Protesters have been demonstrating for more than a month against the island nation’s government.

Iran is busting a gut over this, as the population is Shia, bit the rulers, Sunni.

From Alternet: State Rep. Martin Harty (R-NH) has resigned from the New Hampshire House of Representatives following his comment to a constituent that mentally challenged people and other "defective" people should die in a modern-day Siberia.

By spreading the word, when the MSM would not touch this story, we helped bring this GOPSOB down!

From FOK News Channel: Evan Bayh, Alleged Democrat, Joins Fox News As Paper Lion Punching Bag Commentator, Months After Complaining Of The Shrill Partisanship In The Senate.

What an accursed DINO liar he is!  He could not have chosen a more partisan environment.  That’s what to expect from a DINO that almost always goose-stepped with the Reich.

Cartoon:

Tuesday is kindness to animals day.  Feeding Republicans to your pets is not safe for their health.  (The pets’ health!)

Being 39 for the 24th time feels no different than it did for the 23rd time last year.  I’m up to date on comments, and plan to rest up for a very busy week next week.  I hope your weekend is a great one.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:55 (4:49 average).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Aljazeera: The United States has thrown its weight behind the Arab League’s call for a United Nations no-fly zone over Libya, where government troops backed by fighter jets are battling rebels seeking to remove Muammar Gaddafi from power.

Washington, which would play a leading role in enforcing any no-fly zone, called the declaration an "important step", but it stopped short of commitment to any military action and made no proposal for a swift meeting of the UN Security Council.

The Arab League’s call for a no-fly zone was announced on Saturday by Oman’s foreign minister, Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, at a press conference which followed a meeting of the bloc’s ministers in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

I worry about this.  Establishing a “No Fly Zone” as part of a UN mandate, worries me mush less that the blind unilateral charge favored by McConJob and LIEberman.  But if the US provides the military component, it is imperative that other nations pay the entire cost of carrying it out.

From Crooks and Liars: I don’t always like him, but I always laugh!

From Daily Kos: In honor of Women’s History Month, President Obama this morning devoted his weekly address to women’s rights—most notably pay equity and education issues.

He lamented the failure to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which Republicans blocked this past November, and declared that he’s not planning on letting the matter drop: "I’m going to keep up the fight to pass the reforms in that bill."

I hope he follows through.  Republicans will probably block it again, but having them alienate women works for me.

Cartoon:

What’s up?

Wednesday’s activities must have really worn me out, because I dozed intermittently mist of yesterday.  I am up to date with comments.  Tomorrow’s articles may be late, because tonight I will be co-facilitating our CoDA group and will be out late, so I may sleep later than normal.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:16 (5:22 average).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: With little hope of a budget deal being reached before the end of next week, House Republicans are preparing another short-term spending measure to give the House and Senate a chance to come to agreement over a broader plan to keep the government operating through Sept. 30.

Republicans are afraid to kill their hostage, but refuse to let it go.

From Alternet: Western powers head into pivotal Libya crisis talks Friday divided over a British-French push for formal recognition of Moamer Kadhafi’s opponents and a Paris plea for limited airstrikes.

Emotionally I like the idea of airstrikes against Daffy Kaddafi, but my practical side says no.  Without a clear goal and a planned exit strategy, we could be opening another bottomless pit.

From Crooks and Liars: You know, I used to have some respect for Jack Cafferty even though I knew back then that we were on primarily opposite ends of the political spectrum because he spoke out against the Bush administration when that wasn’t necessarily the most popular thing for a conservative to be doing, but he just lost me completely here. Calling Social Security a "welfare program" is just shameless.

Is it any wonder this country is going to hell in a hand basket when CNN sounds just like Fox.

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TGIF!!