Politics Plus

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty busy day.  I answered three days of accumulated email, assembled and set up an indoor outdoor thermometer (so I don’t have to hang my head out the window with a hand held), emptied my cabinets and put stuff back organized, backed up this entire site and upgraded to WordPress 3.0.  Then I replied to 48 comments here.  After all that, I was too pooped to do any visiting, so I watched a movie.  Today I hope to get in quite a bit of blog visiting, but I have a grocery delivery to put away when it comes.  With my COPD, that can be quite tiring.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 3:55.  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football:

To join our fantasy football league, click here.

Short Takes:

From LA Times: Embattled BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward, who endured a ferocious daylong grilling this week on Capitol Hill, was replaced Friday as the point man for the day-to-day response to the gulf oil disaster, a move that drew praise from BP critics and suggested the company was growing increasingly concerned with damage to its image.

BP’s chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg, told Sky News television in Britain that Hayward was handing over daily operations to managing director Robert Dudley, a Mississippi native who started his career at Chicago-based Amoco Corp.

It looks like BP sent Tony “I know nothing” Heyward” to Congress as a sacrificial goat, not caring how angry Congress became at him, as he was about to be pulled back.  Congress should immediately subpoena Dudley and ask him all the same questions.

From Raw Story: The US government would be barred from buying any Chinese goods or services under legislation unveiled Friday by US senators angry at Beijing’s policy of buying only from domestic sources.

The prohibition would last until China, a World Trade Organization (WTO) member for nearly 10 years, signs on to the WTO’s "Agreement of Governmental Procurement," enabling Washington to challenge Beijing’s procurement rules.

I would support this legislation.  The US has been bleeding jobs to China, ever since we allowed them into the WTO, by removing our veto.  Due to the lower cost of living and lower worker pay in China, it’s difficult for the US to compete.  In those areas where we can compete, we cannot allow China to deny us that opportunity through unfair trade practices.

From Crooks and Liars:

Pelosi has it right.  While we, myself included, have been pointing the finger at Barton, we need to recognize that Barton was merely expressing the GOP party line.  I would be very surprised, if he did not do so under orders.  Other Republicans threw him under the bus, only when they saw how vehemently the public reacted to his vile statement.

Cartoon: from Cagle.com

What are you up to?

Yesterday  I went to co-facilitate the therapy group for former prisoners.  It was the therapist’s last day.  I’ve only worked with that therapist for a few weeks, but she has already become a friend whom I shall miss, as she is moving to the East Coast.  The group is moving to another therapy firm.  Although I have not yet been formally notified, I believe the new therapist will want me to co-facilitate there.  Today I have an appointment that will take up almost the entire day.  I shall reply to outstanding comments and those left today tomorrow and will start returning visits by Saturday.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:06.  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football:

To join our fantasy football league, click here.

Short Takes:

From The Oregonian: The Portland City Council voted unanimously to oppose a controversial Arizona state law that allows police to check the immigration status of anyone suspected of being in the country illegally.

The vote was 4-0, with city commissioner Dan Saltzman absent. The Portland resolution allows the city attorney to assist in legal efforts by the mayors of Flagstaff and Tucson to overturn the Arizona law. The resolution also allows city lobbyists to push for stronger Oregon laws against racial profiling.

It gratifies me to see my city standing with the people in Arizona victimized by GOP racism.

From Raw Story: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) offered an amendment Tuesday that would require drug tests for those who seek welfare and unemployment benefits. States have the authority to enact drug testing requirements for their welfare programs under the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton, but they are not mandated to conduct tests under current law.

Isn’t it enough that GOP greed has cost millions of people their jobs.  Now they want to humiliate them as well.  I have a better idea.  Let’s piss test all GOP Senators on camera.  Call it the Larry Craig Channel.

From Me: Last night, I watched the highly touted special on the rise of the new right with Chris Matthews.  I should have spent the time sleeping.  I consider any news special, which I can watch in its entirety without getting any information that I did not already know, a complete waste of my time.  A Tweety ego-trip.

Cartoon: from Cagle.com

Thou shalt not commit Teabuggery! 😉

Yesterday I was pretty busy, but I still managed to stay up to date with replying to comments and returning visits.  I expect to do the same today, before a couple very busy days later this week.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 6:06.  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football:

To join our fantasy football league, click here.

Short Takes:

From Raw Story: The Republican nominee for a New Mexico congressional seat suggested during a radio interview that the United States could place land mines along the Mexican border to secure the international boundary.

Asked Monday to clarify, Tom Mullins emphasized that he does not advocate doing so.

If he doesn’t mean it, then why is he inciting the rabid sheeple?

From Huffington Post: Middle class workers are the ones who die in coal mines and on oil rigs.

Afterwards, CEOs say anything to save the bottom line — the one that will determine their bonuses.

There is great wisdom here.

From Daily Kos: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has been fined by California’s Fair Political Practices Commission for failure to report nonmonetary contributions it made to the official campaign to pass Proposition 8 and outlaw marriage equality in California.

If the Church made contributions, monetary or otherwise, they violated the law that makes them tax exempt as part of the separation of church and state.  All churches who do so should lose their tax-exempt states for all the years in which the violations took place.

Cartoon: from Cagle.com

What’s news in your world today?

Yesterday was our first day of Summer weather in Portland, as we reached a high of 82°.  Unfortunately, as my apartment is situated it reached 94° inside, and it’s 85° now  in the wee morning hours, so I’m feeling somewhat wilted, and I slept poorly.  I caught up replying to two days of comments yesterday and returned visits.  I may or may not today, depending on how I feel.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

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

Fantasy Football:

To join our fantasy football league, click here.

Short Takes:

From ESPN: For USA, Saturday’s 1-1 tie with England wasn’t quite 1950 vintage, but the team will take it.

That’s ½ a game more that I thought we’d win.

From News Hounds: Just a few days after Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina was caught on microphone dissing Sean Hannity, she appeared on Fox News’ Hannity show to suck up clarify her remarks to him. Fiorina’s “explanation?” That she had really complimented Hannity when she criticized GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman for going on his show; that by saying, “I think it’s a very bad choice actually. You know how he is,” Fiorina really meant how good he is.

Carly earned her BS degree for that one.

From Raw Story: State Sen. Russell Pearce, the primary sponsor of Arizona’s new law allowing police to ask for proof of citizenship when they suspect a person is in the country illegally, says he plans to introduce a bill this fall that would deny citizenship to children born in the United States to illegal immigrants.

The bill would also require the children of illegal immigrants to pay tuition to attend public schools.

Does wanting to charge children who are US citizens mean that the GOP hates children?  Only the ones that aren’t all the way white.  What’s their next trick?  Maybe they’ll label black children ‘anchor babies’ too, because their ancestors snuck into this country in the holds of slave ships.

Cartoon: from Cagle.com

Have a great Sunday.  Have you prayed for a Republican today?  The need is great!