Politics – Page 1010 – Politics Plus

5 Right-wing Absurdities this Week

Posted by Lynn Squance at 2:41 am Politics

Oct 182015

Almost every week, Republicans join a competition to see who can say the most outlandish things, and in the process, they push the envelope on just how nutty InsaniTEA can become. I trust that you will believe it, when I tell you that last week was no exception.

1. There’s a reason Rand Paul has become completely irrelevant.

The fact that Rand Paul was once touted as the savior of the Republican Party does not speak well of either of them. But just to drive the point home that Paul is definitely not suited to play the role of level-headed grown up in the room, the Kentucky libertarian got a little hysterical this week about Bernie Sanders.

Just a tad.

The word “socialist” can do that to right-wing libertarian types—sending them into paroxysms of wild-eyed terror. On a conservative South Carolina radio show, Paul suggested that a Bernie Sanders presidency might set off “mass genocide.” In his view, that’s what happens when you try socialism. Apparently, he has never heard of Scandinavia, where genocide really hasn’t been a thing.

“It amazes me and it actually kind of scares me,” Paul told radio host Vince Coakley. “I think it’s not an accident of history that most of the times when socialism has been tried that attendant with that has been mass genocide of people or any of those who object to it. Stalin killed tens of millions of people. Mao killed tens of millions of people. Pol Pot killed tens of millions of people.”

Granted, Paul is not the only Republican who is confused about Sanders’ use of the word socialism, and certainly not the only one using ridiculous rhetoric to scare people to death. Texas state Rep. Jason Villalba,

Villalba compared him to Hitler on Tuesday, later backing off, and going the other way to Stalin.a

So clearly, we can expect a lot more of this nonsense.

This past week, the former staffers of Rand Paul, who are also former staffers of his father, were on trial and Ron Paul was testifying. But in addition to waxing stupid over Bernie Sanders, Paul tried to, in his own inane way, divert attention from the trial. In the process, he managed to make himself even more irrelevant.

This is just one of the absurdities of right wing America. To be sure, there are more than five, but publishing space is limited. Read about the other four enumerated in Alternet.

Squatch’s Open Thread 18/10/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 2:41 am Open Thread, Politics

Oct 182015

Well, it is Saturday night and all through the house not a creature is stirring, not even the cats! That sounds like a somewhat familiar strain! Oh, I know . . . I did a bit of Christmas shopping today and it is rubbing off in my prose. I hope you are having a great weekend.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:53 (average 4:56). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.

Short Takes

Huffington Post — For the past four years, Texas oil billionaire and corporate raider T. Boone Pickens has been suing the Liberal government in Ontario under NAFTA, arguing he has been the victim of "unfair" backroom deals involving the province’s green energy program.

A NAFTA tribunal is expected to rule on Pickens’ $700-million lawsuit this month,The New York Times reported Friday, describing the dispute as the 87-year-old tycoon’s “last big battle.” [emphasis mine]

There is another law suit by Lone Pine Resources, a Calgary company with corporate registration in Delaware, over the Québec government's moratorium on fracking within its jurisdiction. Lone Pine wants to frack under the St Lawrence River and is suing Canada for $250 million under NAFTA. Now Pickens! As the article states, 70% of the law suits under NAFTA are against Canada. And of course, now countries are looking to approve the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which is pretty much NAFTA on steroids. Anybody else see a problem with this. It feels like good bye to national sovreignty over resources.

Think Progress — Two Wisconsin state lawmakers, Rep. Jesse Kremer (R) and Sen. Stephen Nass (R), have introduced legislation that would prohibit schools from accommodating transgender students who wish to use restroom and changing room facilities that match their gender. It would also empower anyone who notices a school respecting a transgender student as such to file a complaint and win damages against that school.

Read the article to get the full flavour of this Republican bigotry.

Raw Story — After interviewing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Friday, Real Time host Bill Maher explained how Republicans misunderstand Sanders almost totally.

“He’s the one who makes their heads explode when he talks,” Maher said …

Think Progress — On Thursday morning, Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Governor John Kasich will release a tax and spending plan that would give big boosts to the rich and the wealthy with severe cuts for everyone else. …

He would lower the top income tax rate paid by the richest from its current level of 39.6 percent to 28 percent, reducing it by nearly a third. While the campaign hasn’t released full details, nor has an analysis been done on his plan, a proposal from fellow Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush that would lower the top rate to the same level found that it would increase the incomes of the 1 percent by more than 11 percent.

And Rachel Maddow thought Kasich might be a Republican she could tolerate if she had to? Following Kasich down into his rabbit hole might call into question anybody's sanity! Could Kasich be anymore Republican?

My Universe — h/t Carol B & Ted W (Care2)

So much for the GREAT ESCAPE!!!!!

Squatch’s Open Thread 17/10/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 12:33 pm Open Thread, Politics

Oct 172015

It has been another long day. Besides waking up at 4 am and being unable to sleep again until about 6:30, I had physio, then taught my ESL student and finally I was home about 5 pm. My student's 4 year old daughter sees me as grandma and came to me crying after a tiff with her 8 year old sister. She usually comes to me in such situations just to be cuddled. When I was much younger, I did not want to have children. I can't change my decision, nor do I wish to, but sometimes I wonder if child rearing should be left to older people who have developed patience and wisdom. Don't get me wrong, her mum is a wonderful mum to all her kids but it is tough when there are 6. There is something to be said for a closeknit, multi generational family.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:45 (average 5:13). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.

Short Takes

Well. this is what I think h/t Joanne D

This is common sense, but it isn't as common as one might hope.

Politicususa — Jeb Bush is probably well aware that there is little direct political cost to ignoring American Indian concerns. Few Native Americans vote Republican, and if Bush can get some mileage out of mocking indigenous people to shore up his support from White racists, so be it.

Ah, the Republican bigotry raises its ugly head once again!

Mother Jones — The US government kills a lot of people who aren't military targets. War is an inherently deadly exercise, but the whole point of using armed drones, theoretically, is to minimize US military deaths and offer a more precise way to attack targets so that innocent people don't get killed. And while it's been known for some time that many innocent people die in US drone strikes, much of the information came from independent sources. The Intercept's package adds internal US military data to the conversation, putting into stark reality just how bad the accidental killing problem has been: Between January 2012 and February 2013, US drone strikes in northeastern Afghanistan killed more than 200 people, only 35 of whom were the intended targets.

It seems that human beings are overly occupied with killing each other, and drones are another way to try to "sanitise" killing. The saying "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes.", generally attributed to General Prescott at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 because his troops were low on ammunition, is a perfect example of NOT sanitising the war In other words, don't waste your shot; make it count even though you could get hurt. You can read the entire Drone Papers through The Intercept but it is long.

My Universe —

Friday night without a date can be depressing!

Fun for Friday with Fall Foliage

Posted by SoINeedAName at 1:35 pm Politics

Oct 162015

What better way to begin an overview of the splendors of autumn than with … well, an overview of the vast now no-longer verdant vegetation of the vales and vistas of Vermont?

NOTE: The Drone Video Is Best Viewed FULL SCREEN

Remind Me Again Why the Leaves Change Color

Most of us have a vague recollection of learning why leaves change color in the fall from our school days. But let’s do a quick recap.

To begin with, Jack Frost can stop taking all his bows, because it’s not his handiwork.

Trees, like the rest of, like to eat. But unlike you or me, they are able to manufacture their own food. This process takes place in the leaves in cells filled with chlorophyll via photosynthesis.

Chlorophyll is the green pigment that we all associate with leaf color. It plays a crucial role in using the energy from the sun to convert the water from the tree’s roots and carbon dioxide [CO₂] from the air into sugars and starches that feed the tree, and as a by-product gives off oxygen [O₂].

But sitting right along with chlorophyll in the leaves’ cells are several other chemicals, including carotene and xanthophyll which you see in the orange color in carrots and yellow in corn. They’ve been there all summer working just as hard as the green chlorophyll.

But in autumn when the days get shorter and the temperatures cool off, the production of chlorophyll begins to slow down, then breaks down and disappears. So now it’s the time for the oranges and yellows of carotene and xanthophyll to be noticed and take center stage. They were there the whole time – just masked by the green chlorophyll.

But some colors – viz., the reds and purples particularly associated with maples and sumacs – have NOT been hidden all summer long. They’re being made de novo. The sugars made late in summer or early fall, particularly with warm, sunny days, are chemically converted at that time of year to anthocyanins.

And the fact that the reds and purples of anthocyanins require bright sunshine is the reason that some trees are two-toned, with leaves at the top and outside a gorgeous red or purple, while inner and lower leaves deprived of all that sunshine display the more common yellows and oranges.

At the very end, I’ll post some solid Links with information used in putting this together that have more details, along with maps showing locations near you to enjoy Autumn’s Kaleidoscopic Color Show.

But let’s enjoy some of my favorite photos of the fantasia of fall …

RESOURCES

http://extension.illinois.edu/fallcolor/updates.cfm

http://extension.illinois.edu/fallcolor/education.cfm

http://www.foliagenetwork.com/

http://www.weather.com/maps/fall-foliage

Squatch’s Open Thread 16/10/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 9:08 am Open Thread, Politics

Oct 162015

It's been a slow day part of which was spent at the dentist. Do you remember the Crest Toothpaste commercials where the kid runs into the house waiving what looks like a school report card and announces "Look mom, no cavities!"? Well that was me today. Actually, I haven't had any cavities in years. But I do get headaches from having my neck craned in awkward positions so the hygenist can do her work. I should have spent more time with the blog but instead, I spent time with my kids just relaxing. Tomorrow is a busy day with physio and then teaching.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:09 (average 4:24). 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 — The charges in the case stem from a scheme by Paul's 2012 campaign to pay then-Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson more than $70,000 to endorse Paul in the days before the Iowa caucuses in late 2011. Four of the charges against Benton were dropped when a judge ruled that prosecutors had improperly handled the indictments. Benton still faces a count of making false statements to prosecutors after he denied any knowledge of the alleged plan when they asked him about it last summer. Kesari faces six charges, including federal conspiracy and campaign finance charges. Prosecutors also say Kesari attempted to convince Sorenson to not tell investigators everything he knew.

Do you suppose that this trial, which does not directly affect Rand Paul at this point, could be why he said "I would throw everybody out, myself included" in a piece that was reported yesterday in Raw Story by Rachel Maddow?

Daily Kos — I don't think she can straighten out her act, she's been an embarrassment to the entire party for quite some time. It is definitely time for her to step down. … "The person who is supposed to be leading us is not leading us.” R.T. Rybak, DNC Vice Chair.

For the last while, I have seen reports of rumblings within the Democratic National Committee, and almost all of those rumblings involved Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the U.S. Representative for Florida's 23rd congressional district and the chair of the DNC. Are the rumblings "sour grapes" or is this an issue of a Democratic clown run amok? Whichever, the rumblings must be dealt with before the Republicans use them to derail the Democrats as they move towards the 2016 election.

Alternet — Over the last few years, Urban Outfitters has become known for three things (outside of carrying overpriced clothes that fall apart the first time you wash them): 1) Offending every possible marginalized group under the sun with apparel that features really tasteless messages; 2) allegedly stealing designs from up-and-coming artists and selling them as their own; and 3) having a president and CEO, Richard Hayne, who has given money to anti-gay marriage crusader Rick Santorum and other Republican politicians. Now the company is making news for its boldest action yet: asking employees to work for free!

How to look like you care when you don't. My guess is that it was suggested salaried employees get behind the company's plans to help out at the fulfillment centre on a weekend to build camaraderie and keep the orders flowing. Oh, did the company mention that this was on their own time? Having been in a very similar situation myself, it was made abundantly clear that not participating would be reflected on my performance review. How Republican: more profits for less overhead.

Huffington Post — Ken Taylor, whose role in the 1979 "Canadian Caper" made him a hero on both sides of the border for helping shelter six U.S. citizens at the height of the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, has died. He was 81.

KEN TAYLOR

"There were folks who didn't want to stick their necks out and the Canadians did,'' [Ben] Affleck told a Toronto International Film Festival press conference.

"They said, 'We'll risk ourselves, our diplomatic standing, our lives to harbour these six Americans that we owe nothing to and just because it's the moral, right thing to do.'''

I bring this to you because this is part of our shared history, Canada and the US. But for me, Ken Taylor represents an attitude that was previously prevalent in Canada, part of our national identity, that seems to have gone missing, especially under Harper. I want my Canada back! Thank you Ken Taylor, rest in peace.

My Universe —

Me an' my friends are gettin' ready for Hallowe'en!

Bring In The Clowns

Posted by Lynn Squance at 1:02 pm Politics

Oct 152015

Filling Boehner's shoes, or rather his shot glass, is going to be difficult because of the Gang of 40 hanging around the Republican Conference.

Republicans are desperate for a leader in the House and until Paul Ryan sacrifices his personal political ambitions for the good of an ungrateful party, they’ve desperately proposed some rather outrageous alternatives to lead their fractured caucus into an election year.

Here are five of the most ridiculous candidates to replace an outgoing John Boehner as speaker of the House floated by some Republicans:

Dick Cheney

Courtesy of Arkansas freshman Republican Senator Tom Cotton, comes the suggestion of Dick Cheney as the gavel-wielding leader of an unruly GOP House conference.

Calling him “a man of the House,” Cotton told Politico that at “these are trying times for our nation. It’s important to have a steady hand on the helm during times like this.”

I think experience really counts in a matter like this,” Cotton continued. I think House leadership experience really matters. And as you know the speaker doesn’t have to be a member of the House: So therefore, Vice President Cheney for speaker.”

A U.S. News and World Report op-ed argued, “no more Mr. Nice Guy for speaker of the House. It’s time to bring back Dick Cheney.”

“Instead of another man with a big, mushy heart, how about a man whose critics wonder whether he has a heart at all,” the author argued in favor of Cheney for speaker. “Someone who commands respect and fear, is brilliant and decisive, who has literally lived without a pulse and now makes due with a donated heart.”

“Let Lord Vader’s dark force make a dent in Washington’s leadership black hole,” she concluded.

This is just the first of the five outrageous clowns! Read the list of clowns being floated for the Speaker's chair in Alternet ! Republicans never cease to amaze me. Why would they consider, even in jest, a war criminal, albeit, yet to be convicted war criminal?

Squatch’s Open Thread 15/10/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 1:02 pm Open Thread, Politics

Oct 152015

Well, here I am and very, very late. I took advantage of Lona's proferred cat nap from yesterday and ended up sleeping through until now, 12:30 pm on Thursday. Not good as I have a dentist appointment at 2 pm. Fortunately it is close by. My furbabes didn't even wake me up! Have a great day everyone!

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:08 (average 5:04). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.

Fantasy Football

Rank	Team	W-L-T	Pct	Stk	Waiver	For	Against
1+2	Monster Mashers	4-1-0	.800	W3	7	451.84	354.16
2-1	MittsMagicJock	4-1-0	.800	L1	6	515.18	405.54
3+4	BALCO Bombers	3-2-0	.600	W3	10	402.60	369.96
4-2	Progressive Underdogs	3-2-0	.600	L1	9	473.58	415.78
5-1	Size 9 Stompers	3-2-0	.600	W1	5	432.20	381.58
6	TomCat Teabag Trashers	2-3-0	.400	L2	4	437.96	481.86
7+1	Playing without a helmet	2-3-0	.400	W1	3	444.44	572.70
8-3	Lefty Hillbillies	2-3-0	.400	L1	8	415.96	399.72
9+1	Purple Demon	1-4-0	.200	W1	2	418.24	483.46
10-1	endthegop	1-4-0	.200	L4	1	373.80	501.04

* Rank change shown is from week 4 – 5

Short Takes

Huffington Post — Conservative Party advertising targeted at Chinese and Punjabi-speaking voters in Vancouver and Toronto is raising concerns in the Liberal Party.

The advertisement characterises Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau as supporting the sale of marijuana to children, and the establishment of safe-injection sites and neighbourhood brothels.

Embedded image permalink

"It's absolutely not true," said Harjit Sajjan, the Liberal candidate for Vancouver South.

This kind of fear based campaigning is much like the fear based rhetoric that is the hallmark of Conservatives and Harper. Why is it that conservatives, no matter Canada or the US, feel the need to be so fear based when addressing constituents? Read on to see other instances of Harper's fear tactics. The election is Monday 19/10/2015.

Raw Story — MSNBC host Rachel Maddow went from being bemused on Wednesday over Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) broadcasting himself on the campaign trail to suggesting some sympathy for him.

Unfortunately, I can't embed the video for you so you'll have to watch it at Raw Story. The phrase "war weary" comes to mind. There is no doubt in my mind that political campaigning is very tiring . . . being on top of the game while in public, the travel, often being away from home. But the minute a candidate shows too much weariness, electors are going to start to wonder about their fitness for the job. I think that is what is happening to Paul. That and the circus that is the GOP right now.

The New Yorker — In a major slip that may prove fatal to his Presidential ambitions, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont treated his principal opponent for the Democratic nomination with dignity and respect on Tuesday night.

Me thinks that Andy is back to truth in reporting! What a novel idea!

My Universe —

Easy-Peasy Answer to “Who Won Last Night’s Debate?”

Posted by SoINeedAName at 2:13 pm Politics

Oct 142015

The two big winners in general were “We, the People” and specifically, the Democratic Party.

While it seems the pundits have pretty much declared Hillary Clinton the winner, the bigger take-home is the stark difference in comparing the GOP Clown Car Carnivals to last night’s debate among serious adults discussing serious matters in an adult and civil way. It was like a breath of fresh air!

I think Sec. Clinton, Sen. Sanders and Gov. O’Malley all acquitted themselves admirably. But even with Chafee and Webb up on the stage, the average IQ was a good 30 to 40 points higher than with the GOP debates … at least!

And although there was no moment like Lloyd Bentsen telling little Danny Quayle,

“Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.”

… Or Pres. Obama to Romney,

Please proceed, governor.”

We were treated to the most memorable quote of the night when Sen. Sanders came to Hillary’s defense over BENGHAZI with

“Let me say something that may not be great politics, but I think the secretary is right — and that is that the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails,” Mr. Sanders said to cheers and a standing ovation from the Democratic audience.

[NOTE to Hillary: You owe him one!]

And Hillary gave the best one-word answer of the evening with a simple and gracious, “No.”

After Clinton and Sanders both agreed that the email scandal had become a sideshow, Chafee challenged Clinton on the email issue, saying the highest ethical standards should be a prerequisite for the next president. Next, Cooper turned to Clinton.

"Secretary do you want to respond?" Cooper asked.

"No," Clinton responded.

The audience cheered loudly.

Last night’s performance has most likely closed any doors of entry for Joe Biden tossing his hat into the ring – but you never know.

So without getting into the weeds, what were your take-home thoughts from last night?

Older Entries Newer Entries