Politics Plus

It is pouring rain right now and I can here wind gusts whipping around my building.  My babes are snuggled in bed together having feasted on fresh cooked cod, their 3rd favourite dinner after chicken and turkey (white meat only thank you very much).  I have managed 2 loads of laundry so the world is a safer place.  I have physio in the morning followed by teaching.  I think I can say that my cold is gone, but I still intend to indulge in some cat naps.  Thanks to Lona for the supply!  You're such a sweetheart for those cat naps.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:56 (average 5:02). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.

Short Takes

The Guardian — Carol’s grim demise forms the plot of Unexpected, one of hundreds of evangelical Christian theatrical twists on haunted houses that are produced by American churches each year in the run-up to Halloween. They aim to scare the wayward on to the path of righteousness with a rather more serious question than “trick or treat?” – heaven or hell?

I was taken aback by the whole idea of churches promoting a hell house to offer twists on haunted houses before Hallowe'en.  And their goal . . . to scare people to Jesus.  I should preface my comment here.  I am a Christian, a very liberal Christian, but I will not stand infront of someone and tell them what to believe.  I will not be as the very conservative fundamentalist Christians in the US, and elsewhere, forcing my beliefs down the throats of others, and trying to legislate that faith as the faith of the nation.  What to believe is a very personal choice. Creating a climate of fear to "scare souls to Jesus" is ludicrous, and only adds to the general fear in society.  When fear is the motivator, no matter the area of life, then we stop listening to each other.

Mother Jones — The massive size of the fire trucks' engines, combined with their inefficient combustion in cold weather, means that the air reaching us is replete with fine and ultrafine particles—specks of waste at least 36 times finer than a grain of sand, often riddled with toxic combinations of sulfate, nitrate and ammonium ions, hydrocarbons, and heavy metals. Though we have long known that these tiny particles cause and exacerbate respiratory problems—like asthma and infections and cancers of the lungs—they are also suspected to contribute to a diverse range of disorders, from heart disease to obesity. And now cutting-edge research suggests that these particles play a role in some of humanity's most terrifying and mysterious illnesses: degenerative brain diseases. …

The good news is that air pollution is one of the United States' greatest environmental success stories. Particle emissions have been dropping steadily since the 1970s, along with other pollutants governed by laws like the Clean Air Act. The EPA regulates levels of coarse- and fine-particle pollution, and two years ago it strengthened the national standards for fine particles. But there is still no regulation for ultrafine-particle pollution, here or in any other country. 

Click through for the rest of the article.  As I read this long but interesting article, I could not help but think of my mother, succumbing to dementia. For 40 years, she lived in a mill town where the rotten egg smell of the pulp and paper mill was always prevalent.  Add to that the ever present thick coating of greasey black ash which burned paint off of vehicles and buildings.  I can't help but find the information in the article compelling.  I remember several years ago reading about a town in Wisconsin (?) where whole neighbourhoods had higher than average cancer diagnois and death rates thought to be brought on by high toxic pollution in the river that runs by a Koch Industries plant. We know from their actions that Republicans don't give a tinker's damn about clean air and water if it comes at the expense of their profits.  Just read The Fall of King Coal which I posted here on 05/10/15 to look at profit versus people.  It is past time to demand more be done . . . to put people before profits.

Alternet — In this, Wallace was using the classic definition of the word “fascist”—the definition Mussolini had in mind when he claimed to have invented the word. (It was actually Italian philosopher Giovanni Gentile who wrote the entry in the Encyclopedia Italiana that said: “Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.” Mussolini, however, affixed his name to the entry, and claimed credit for it.)

As the 1983 American Heritage Dictionary noted, fascism is, “A system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism.”

Click through for the rest of this interesting article.  The word "fascist" is thrown about a fair amount, but do we have the correct context and meaning?   For some, this discussion is not new.  For others, it may well be.

Think Progress — Ben Carson is seeking to rally Republican candidates to end most actual debating at future Republican debates. Instead, candidates would spend most of their time taking turns delivering speeches.

Click Rachel Maddow to see Friday's segment where Rachel explores the fallout from the last Republican debate and what is likely ahead.  She certainly does become very animated.

Sorry, I can't embed the show as it isn't on YouTube yet.

My Universe —

I found IT!!!

I was sitting here trying to concentrate but the neighbours were setting off fireworks starting at 8 pm. Over 2 hours of louds cracks. Unfortunately, I have mountains and highrises around me so the noise ricochets and grows louder before finally dying off.  My furbabes were relatively calm as long as I was there with them.  What a great excuse for a nap with the baby curled up under the blanket and solidly at my waist.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 4:44 (average 7:06). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.

Short Takes

Mother Jones — In his new book, Anything for a Vote, Joseph Cummins looks back at more than two centuries of campaign sleaze and scandal, from twisted words and unfounded rumors to blackmail and burglary. While this grimy lens can be a hilarious way to look at the history of presidential politics, it's often a sobering one as well—colored by policies of discrimination and assaults on voting rights that are still relevant today. It's enough to make Donald Trump's Twitter-bullying look pretty tame.

OK, I thought you might enjoy this little activity, afterall, it is the day after Hallowe'en and some might be recovering from partying.  I am not promoting the book, just having a bit of fun.  How did you do?

Huffington Post — Most of us imagine that we will grow old with the ones we love, surrounded by family members and friends until our final days. But the reality is, 35 per cent of senior women and 17 per cent of senior men live alone.

It is these people who are sometimes forgotten and left to fend for themselves.

Click through and watch the 10 minute video about Mary, age 98 years.

Some of you will know that my mother is 87 years old and lives in a specialised care centre for people with dementia.  I visit her regularly, but I also spend time with many of the other residents, some of whom do not have visitors or family.  I keep music going; we dance and sing; and we laugh!  Now you might be wondering why I included this on a political blog. With an aging population, many in my generation, the baby boomers, have already headed officially into our senior years.  True, we may be more active for more years than previous generations, but we are still slowing down, or as I like to say, maturing like a very fine wine.  So think of some of the things going on in many Republican dominated states.

As noted in Richard Zombeck's article GOP Begins Assault on Elderly, Poor, Disabled, Math, and Reason, Elizabeth Warren says "House Republicans should stop playing political games to put America's most vulnerable at risk.", and the most vulnerable include disabled citizens and senior citizens.  Richard Eskow, in his article The GOP’s Anti-Elderly, Pro-Billionaire Agenda​, talks about various Republican policies such as the cuts to Medicare and social security.  "There’s a through-line between the GOP’s embrace of Social Security cuts and its attempts to cut and privatize Medicare. In both cases, benefit reductions are being offered to distract voters from a simpler and fairer approach. And in both cases, private interests would profit: Wall Street would have more retirement income to manage (for a costly fee), and health insurers would receive a flood of new customers." 

It is so important to protect programmes for the most vulnerable in society. The only way to do that is to vote out Republicans.

Mother Jones — At first glance, there are just two groups of presidential contenders when it comes to climate change: those who think it's real and urgent, and those who don't. But take a closer look, and the picture blurs. The matrix above depicts subtle differences, at least in the Republican field, in the extent to which the candidates believe the science and want to act on it. Of course, selecting each set of coordinates wasn't an exact science—many of the White House hopefuls have a history of confused and contradictory statements on the issue. But here's a short analysis of the candidates' positions on global warming and an explanation of how we came up with this graph.

It is interesting to note that Ted Cruz is more than "stuck in the mud" having told Glenn Beck recently that climate change is really a religion.  He should be moved to the far left lower corner.

My Universe — OK, cuteness is big in my universe, even with puppies!