Personal – Page 684 – Politics Plus

Open Thread–11/29/2010

Posted by TomCat at 12:56 am Open Thread, Personal

Nov 292010

Yesterday I kept up to date replying to comments. The leak keeps slamming my sleep schedule. I should know more today.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:33 (average 5:28). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Religious Agony:

DenWeek12

Short Takes:

From Dallas Morning News: Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday he would support sending U.S. troops into Mexico to fight the drug war.

That’s the latest country in the long and growing list of places Republicans want to invade.

From Salon: Sen. John McCain said Sunday it was time to discuss "regime change" in North Korea, but the former Navy combat pilot didn’t say how he advocates changing the government in the repressive and secretive dictatorship.

Bomb-Bomb McConJob strikes again.

From News Hounds: Fox News pundits such as Sean Hannity, Bill Kristol and Michael Scheuer have been salivating for the U.S. to attack North Korea but behind the scenes the parent company of News Corp is not only doing business with the regime but the kind of business that could bolster North Korea’s cyberwarfare capabilities.

The Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda is in a sorry state here.

Cartoon:

OGIM!

Open Thread–11/28/2010

Posted by TomCat at 12:28 am Open Thread, Personal

Nov 282010

Yesterday I had a lot of personal catching up to do after the morning flood when they ran the heat. However, I did manage to catch up on comments. Today is uncertain, because this situation is still kicking my butt, plus it’s a holy day for the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. It was a slow day for news.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:05 (average 4:58). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Common Dreams: A second exodus has begun here, of Iraqis who returned after fleeing the carnage of the height of the war, but now find that violence and the nation’s severe lack of jobs are pulling them away from home once again.

It appears Petraeus’ mighty surge was effective only as long as the US kept paying off the Sunni faction.

From The Guardian: Peace talks conducted with an impostor who posed as a Taliban leader, and which led to a meeting with Hamid Karzai in Kabul and thousands of dollars in "goodwill payments", were started by the Afghan government and approved by the former American commander, Stanley McChrystal, the Guardian has learned.

This account sharply contradicts claims made by the Afghan presidency, which has put the entire blame on Britain, apparently supported privately by US officials.

McChrystal was Petraeus’ hand-picked boy.

That today’s Short Takes demonstrates Petraeus’ incompetence in two different countries was not planned.

Cartoon:

May you be blessed by God, nature, yourself, or nothing based on in what you place your faith.

A Terrorist Attack Seven Blocks From My Door

Posted by TomCat at 2:25 am Personal, Politics

Nov 272010

As much as I’d love to relate a tale of my danger, excitement, and bravado, I had no idea it had happened until late last night, and I was never in any danger, because the Feds disarmed the terrorist long before he launched his attack. Still, it is chilling to think that he tried to set off a bomb in a spot were I walk at least weekly.

The FBI thwarted an attempted terrorist bombing in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square before the city’s annual tree-lighting Friday night, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon.

A Corvallis man, thinking he was going to ignite a bomb, drove a van to the corner of the square at Southwest Yamhill Street and Sixth Avenue and attempted to detonate it.

However, the supposed explosive was a dummy that FBI operatives supplied to him, according to an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint signed Friday night by U.S. Magistrate Judge John V. Acosta.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, a Somali-born U.S. citizen, was arrested at 5:42 p.m., 18 minutes before the tree lighting was to occur, on an accusation of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The arrest was the culmination of a long-term undercover operation, during which Mohamud had been monitored for months as his alleged bomb plot developed.

"The device was in fact inert, and the public was never in danger," according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The investigation involved the FBI, Oregon State Police, Portland Police Bureau, Corvallis Police Department and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

Mohamud will appear in U.S. District Court in Portland on Monday… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <The Oregonian>

Kudos to the FBI, who handled this incident that way we should be defeating terrorism in America, through law enforcement. Nobody was even groped in the process. I’m sure we will hear Republicans trying to spin this success as a failure, but I thank God that Republicans are no longer in charge of National Security. Had they been, it’s far more likely at the beautiful center of my city and the lives of hundreds of my neighbors would have been shattered.

Open Thread–11/27/2010

Posted by TomCat at 2:22 am Open Thread, Personal

Nov 272010

For most of the day, yesterday, I was bleary eyed after sleeping around the clock. Little has changed. My research is far more difficult, because my normal work-area is disrupted. If this had to happen, at least it’s happening on a slow news weekend. I hope I can catch up on comments today.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:28 (average 5:42). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The Guardian: US officials, including the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, have been trying to brief allies, including Cameron, on what they expect to be in the documents.

The coming dump is diplomatic communiqués from US Embraces to Foggy Bottom. I sincerely hope that the dump is scrubbed of items that authentically threaten national security, such as the names of agents, etc. At the same time, I also hope that material that sheds sunlight on actions that are embarrassing due their hypocrisy, regardless of whether they expose the Bush regime or the Obama administration.

From The Portland Examiner: Rather than enjoying turkey with her family on Thanksgiving day, Sarah Palin engaged in a self indulgent pity party. On Thanksgiving day Palin released a bitter rant against the mean old lame stream media.

Dingbat-Squawk Dictionary: Lame Stream Media – any source that criticizes Drill Baby Dingbat at any time.

From SPLC: As if travelers don’t have enough to worry about when they go through airport security, the leader of a prominent anti-gay hate group has added a dollop of his personal agenda to the mix. With the controversy growing over whether the new full-body scanners and more-aggressive pat-down searches are excessive invasions of privacy, Peter LaBarbera, long-time anti-gay activist and director of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) is worried that gay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees will “get turned on” while patting down travelers of the same sex.

Why not train Chippendale guys and Hooters gals to replace the current TSA employees, and allow travelers to be groped by the hottie of their choice? Winking smile

Cartoon:

Have you recovered yet?

Open Thread and Update–11/26/2010

Posted by TomCat at 10:33 am Open Thread, Personal

Nov 262010

Yesterday I juggled catching drips, cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and packing up my computer corner to clear the area for them to break open my ceiling this morning at 8:00 AM. The dinner came out well, and afterwards, I dropped from exhaustion, sleeping from 3:00 PM yesterday until 6:00 AM today. Needless to say, the hours I spend in daily research to produce this blog did not happen, so this is today’s only post. 8:00 AM came and the work crew looked at my ceiling, found problems they had not anticipated, and backed off. My computer area will remain dissembled at least until Monday, so my blogging may be erratic until the matter is resolved. Please keep coming back.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:01 (average 4:44). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Did you eat the whole thing?

Justice DeLayed

Posted by TomCat at 12:49 am Personal

Nov 252010

It is said that justice delayed is justice denied, but in this case, it’s still sweet. Years ago, before the charges, I used to visit Tom DeLay’s blog on occasion. Sometimes I would post respectful rebuttals to his articles. They never survived moderation. God forbid that Republican sheeple should be allowed to read an alternative view from his. The only thing his censor approved from the left is an occasional ignorantly stated insult, so the sheeple could get a false perspective on lefties. So I consider his conviction a personal victory of sorts.

After nearly half a decade of legal proceedings, former US House majority leader Tom DeLay was convicted today in a Texas court of money laundering and conspiracy related to a 1903 Texas law that bans corporate contributions to state political campaigns.

At issue was some $190,000 in corporate contributions to Mr. DeLay’s political action committee that prosecutors said was illegally passed on to GOP state candidates in 2002, helping Republicans gain control of the state legislature for the first time since Reconstruction.

The jury deliberated 19 hours before reaching a guilty verdict that carries a penalty ranging from seven years to 20 years for the conspiracy charge to life in prison for criminal money laundering. DeLay said that he plans to appeal the conviction.

A force in the GOP rise to power both in Texas and the US House of Representatives, DeLay won his nickname, “the Hammer,” for his rigid enforcement of party discipline. His ties with Washington lobbyists drew criticism from public interest groups as well as four warnings from the House ethics panel over issues ranging from threatening a trade association that failed to hire a Republican as its president to accepting expensive gifts and trips in violation of House rules.

For several years, DeLay’s 2002 bid to help Republicans gain control of the Texas Legislature was widely viewed as his crowning triumph. The new Republican majority quickly drew up a new redistricting map favorable to Republicans.

In fact, DeLay was so entwined in the Texas legislative power struggle that he asked the Federal Aviation Administration to track a plane believed to be carrying Texas Democrats escaping the state to avoid a quorum call for a vote on the GOP redistricting plan – a move that also drew a warning for DeLay from the House ethics panel.

In the end, the new Texas redistricting map helped Republicans topple five Democratic incumbents in the US House elections of 2004, accounting for the entire Republican net gain that year.

But an indictment by a Texas grand jury on Sept. 28, 2005, turned the triumphal mood on its head. House Republican caucus rules mandated that any party leader step down after a criminal indictment, but DeLay did not resign his position as majority leader until Jan. 7, 2006. Three months later, he gave up his House seat… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Christian Science Monitor>

Here’s local video coverage.

It is sad that he will not face justice for the vast majority of his criminal acts, such as his dealings with Jack Abramoff. I look forward to his sentencing on December 20 and hope he does time. If he does, I hope he decides to habilitate himself and hope that there are men like the ones I volunteer to help to show him the way.

Open Thread–11/25/2010

Posted by TomCat at 12:45 am Open Thread, Personal

Nov 252010

Yesterday I managed to keep up with comments, but that is all. The steam return in the ceiling above my desk gave way, causing a severe water leak through a crack in emy ceiling, directly above my computer desk. So I’ve been playing water tag with towels and buckets. I’m typing on my bed, using a piece of 2 x 6 as a mouse pad. I completely dismantled my computer system and jury rigged my home WI-Fi network on the other side of the room. I have had no sleep. On Friday morning a crew will come and tear into my ceiling to find and repair the problem, so I will be thoroughly discombobulated for a few days. So if there are no posts from me for a day or two, please do not worry. I’m alive and expect to stay that way.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:18 (4:22 average)(a miracle given current conditions). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Huffington Post: Elizabeth Warren was the first senior Obama administration official to recognize the potentially incendiary impact of a bill that would have made it significantly easier for mortgage companies to foreclose on homes, and her subsequent warnings played a crucial role in persuading the President to veto the measure, according to freshly released documents and people familiar with the deliberations.

The disclosure that Warren was instrumental in halting a bill that would have streamlined the foreclosure process comes as she confronts fierce criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill for the way she was appointed to construct a new consumer financial protection bureau, and characterizations that she is inclined to take an overly punitive tack with Wall Street.

She just proved she is Obama’s best appointment.

From Washington Post: Republicans are the only group that favors racial profiling at airports, with a majority of them supporting the policy, while Democrats and independents are strongly opposed to it.

Even TSA groping is more tolerable than Republican hate and racism.

From Alternet: The US government on Wednesday designated “critical habitat” for polar bears who live on Alaska’s disappearing sea ice, a move that could impact new oil and gas drilling projects in the Arctic.

The Fish and Wildlife Service set aside 187,000 square miles (484,000 square kilometers) off Alaska as the threatened bears’ habitat, which means any project that could impact the animals’ way of life must undergo careful review.

Far more is needed, but this may be bearly adequate.

Cartoon:

Give thanks!

Open Thread–11/24/2010

Posted by TomCat at 2:22 am Open Thread, Personal

Nov 242010

Yesterday I replied to comments and returned visits. We’re having a cold spell in Portland, and the temperature change is setting off my COPD, so I felt drained and breathless most of the day. However, I did take the time to try to help an author friend with a video trailer for her book and to call one of this blog’s most loyal readers, who had been feeling down. Today I hope to keep up, but I have some work to do preparing tomorrow’s turkey dinner, which will be sharing with a woman in my biulding who is more disabled than I.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 3:32 (average 4:51). I had an unfair advantage. To do it, click here. How did you do?

Lefty Bloggers Plus:

Remembering the religious aspects of the holiday the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb will hold televised services tomorrow from Detroit and Dallas. Players, be sure to set your lineups.

Short Takes:

From Raw Story: Fox News has declined to air an ad advocating for repeal of the "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy that bans gays from serving openly in the military, a source at the public policy think tank Palm Center informs Raw Story.

The 30-second spot by the Center, called "Business As Usual," includes testimony from military leaders of NATO allies arguing that lifting the ban on gay soldiers is a "non-event" and does not diminish combat effectiveness.

"Fox’s reason was that the policy is ‘on hold’ so plans for repeal are ‘incorrect’," Cathy Renna, a spokeswoman for the Center, told Raw Story.

What a BS excuse! I have seen plenty of corporate campaign ads on MSNBC, even during the progressive shows, but MSNBC presents a broad spectrum of views. Foxtopia, on the other hand, shows once again that they are the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda.

From The Vile Plutocrat: Despite a stubbornly sour national economy congressional members’ personal wealth collectively increased by more than 16 percent between 2008 and 2009, according to a new study by the Center for Responsive Politics of federal financial disclosures released earlier this year.

While some members’ financial portfolios lost value, no need to bemoan most lawmakers’ financial lot: Nearly half of them — 261 — are millionaires, a slight increase from the previous year, the Center’s study finds.

Perhaps the reason Congress is so inclined to support the rich is class loyalty.

From Right Wing Watch:

Randall Terry to Run for Presdient So He Can Air Graphic Anti-Abortion Ads Nationwide.

This is the guy behind so much of the violence against clinics and doctors that privide this service. Networks, by law, cannot refuse to air or edit ads from candidates for public office.

Cartoon:

What’s on tomorrow’s menu?

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