Politics Plus

I just gave my grocery order to Store to Door for delivery tomorrow.  I have lots od housework to do, and I hope to sit outside for a half an hour or so, as it’s the last nice day before crappy weather returns.  I slept poorly last night, so I’m fading.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:50 (average 5:27).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Instead of resisting calls for reform, Ron Smith—the head of the Seattle Police Guild is trying to lead Seattle police in a more positive direction—even if he has to do it the hard way:

Last week, however, the union called on members through Facebook to be careful on social media after officers were caught posting racially inflammatory comments online, warning: “Times have changed and we must also change to adapt to societal expectations.”

Asked by the Stranger to elaborate on those comments, Smith said: “If you don’t like the politics here, then leave and go to a place that serves your worldview.” He said this was a message that new recruits were now reminded of when they enrolled with the union.

“There are more than enough places across this country that are hiring law enforcement that have a different political landscape than here. And I don’t know why [disgruntled officers] don’t just go there,” he added.

Kudos. That move needs to be repeated across the country.

From Upworthy: Underrepresented actors often have been complicit in creating ethnic stereotypes in the media. For my own part, I rented out my Asian face to Jerry Lewis back in the day.

Now we’re not only speaking out, but creating, writing, and portraying who we are — as we are — in our great, dazzling diversity. As we contribute our authentic selves, the comedy becomes specific and real, the drama is distinctive and identifiable, and our society grows enriched and involving.

Hollywood and the media now have the opportunity to actively engage with the talented diversity that comprises our entire society. But is it "to be or not to be? That is the question." — George Takei

George is so right, and this is so true. Of course, if minorities are not presented stereotypically, the studios lose the entire Republican audience.

From Think Progress: …A lawsuit called King v. Burwell would take health insurance away from millions of Americans, returning them to the world that existed before Obamacare. The case relies on a few words of the law that, if read out of context, seem to deny tax credits intended to help people pay for their health insurance to people who live in the wrong states. Once those words are read in the context of the entire law, however, it becomes clear that tax credits are available in all 50 states.

A brief filed on behalf of multiple public health scholars and the American Public Health Association, estimates that “over 9,800 additional Americans” will die if the justices side with the King plaintiffs. It reaches this conclusion by starting with an Urban Institute study showing that 8.2 million people will become uninsured in this scenario. As other research examining Obamacare-like reforms in the state of Massachusetts found that “for every 830 adults gaining insurance coverage there was one fewer death per year,” that translates to between 9,800 and 9,900 deaths if the justices back the plaintiffs in King.

Another method produces slightly less grim numbers, although it still indicates that thousands will die unnecessarily if the Supreme Court does not uphold the tax credits at issue in King. The Harvard study mentioned above concludes that there were “approximately 44,789 deaths among Americans aged 18 to 64 years in 2005 associated with lack of health insurance.” It also states that, at the time of the study, “46 million Americans lack health coverage.” The 8.2 million people who will lose health care according to the Urban Institute equals just under 18 percent of 46 million. Thus, assuming that the pool of 8.2 million people who could lose health insurance in King has a similar mix of healthy and sick individuals as the 46 million examined by the Harvard study, that suggests that approximately 8,000 people will die every year if the King plaintiffs prevail.

King could not be a more obvious decision. The question comes down to this. Will all the Fascist Five Injustices value breaking the law to coddle extremists enough to murder thousands to do it?

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I’m pretty buried with preparing my grocery list for this week, housework, and getting ready for my volunteer day in prison on Thursday.  My mail-order pharmacy got back to me.  They admitted that they were at fault, apologized for my inconvenience, have removed the charge for the wrong medication, and are not charging me for the correct medication, which they mailed this morning.  They exceeded my expectations.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:12 (average 5:11).  To do it, click here.  How dod you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Why would anyone vote Republican? Well, here are 10 reasons.

1. You are a bigot

It’s true that not all Republicans are bigots. But if you ARE a bigot, the Republican party will be much more your group than the Democratic party. Remember that there are lots of ways to be a bigot: You could be a racist, a homophobe, an Islamophobe, or lots of other things.

2. You like eating, drinking and breathing poison.

Many Republicans are calling for or voting for shrinking or eliminating agencies that protect us against poison. They seem to think that the corporations will do the right thing, without any pressure from the government. Uh huh. Read The Jungle.  Look at the way Monsanto is hiding facts about Round Up. Look at food safety and outbreaks of E. Coli. 

Corporations exist to make money. They will do so any way they can. The government needs to stop them from doing so in ways that hurt people.

3. You think the rich don’t have enough money

The idea that giving more money to rich people (via tax breaks) will help poor people is nonsensical and has been shown wrong time and again in history. Huge tax breaks for the rich (a la George Bush) don’t work.

These aye just the top three. Click through for the other seven.

From NY Times: It was a memorable political ad [Barf Bag Alert!!]: Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin spoke directly into the camera in a 30-second spot last fall and called abortion an “agonizing” decision. He described himself as pro-life but, borrowing the language of the abortion rights movement, pointed to legislation he signed that leaves “the final decision to a woman and her doctor.”

That language was gone when Mr. Walker met privately with Iowa Republicans in a hotel conference room last month, according to a person who attended the meeting. There, he highlighted his early support for a “personhood amendment,” which defines life as beginning at conception and would effectively prohibit all abortions and some methods of birth control.

Mr. Walker has quickly vaulted into the top tier of likely Republican candidates in the presidential race, surging on the reputation he earned by taking on labor unions and surviving a bitter recall election in a swing state.

Was the Fartfuhrer of Fitzwalkerstan lying in that political ad last fall? Was he lying to Iowa Republicans? Has he ever told the truth?

From Crooks and Liars: Unlike CNN’s Gloria Borger who brought Paul Wolfowitz on this Sunday for some Republican rehab, MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry took former governor and GOP 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush to task for seeking advice from the former Deputy Secretary of Defense and reminded us of the fact that he was wrong about just about everything when he was working for Bush’s brother.

MHP and I have something in common. I also slammed Strike Three for tapping Wrong Way Wolfie.

Cartoon:

Today I have a lot of housework chores, and I have to plan my menu and shopping list for this week.  I am also suffering from Orb withdrawal.  Sunday just feels incomplete.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:27 (average 5:48).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Hilarious Full-Page Ad in NYT Skewers Boehner

It looks like Bozo Boner chose Butcher Bibi.

From the New Yorker: In his weekly radio address, President Barack Obama reaffirmed his love of country, telling the nation, “I love America—even its idiots.”

Expanding on this theme, the President said, “America is made up of all kinds of people: young and old, weak and strong, smart and dumb. And when the really dumb ones get up and act like total clowns, I still love them, because they are part of America. In fact, a really big part.”

Andy and Obama can love the idiots. I’ll keep identifying them as Republicans.

From Politico: Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday the U.S. is facing more terrorist threats than ever and defunding the Department of Homeland Security would be the worst possible thing to do.

Some Republicans aren’t supporting a bill to fund the agency unless it scuttles President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration. But the South Carolina senator said he hopes fellow Republicans will allow the immigration issue to play out in court after a federal judge in Texas issued an injunction last week blocking Obama’s immigration actions. Graham said he supports the judge’s decision.

If Republicans fail to fund DHS, he said, they’ll get blamed as a party.

OMG!  Somebody shoot me!!  I agree with Lindsey Poo!!!  EWWW!!!!  Of course there is a reason Republicans will be blamed, if they defund DHS.  It will be completely their fault!

Cartoon:

I get to take a comparatively lazy day, and I’m feeling somewhat lethargic, so I must need it.  I’m having a fight with my mail order pharmacy.  They sent me a different med than the prescription I told them to refill, and are questioning whether they should refund the charges, because they thought I had ordered it by mistake.  I’m waiting for them to review it, buy am ready to remind them that Portland has another mail order pharmacy.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:45 (average 5:34).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Upworthy: These racist idiots spray-painted a swastika on the dumbest location possible.

Of course, the Hindu swastika and the Republican swastika have virtually opposite meanings.

From The New Yorker: A largely forgotten man sought attention on Wednesday night before returning to obscurity on Thursday, according to reports.

The man, whom many Americans had difficulty placing, was making a desperate bid to remind people of his existence, experts believe.

His efforts were somewhat successful, as his widely reported outburst caused people across the country to rack their brains to try to remember who he was.

After briefly attempting to recall where they had seen the man before, many people gave up and moved on with their days, but for others, the desperate man’s remarks left a bitter aftertaste.

“There is no excuse for making comments like those, no matter who you are,” Tracy Klugian, forty-seven, of Springfield, Missouri, said. “Who is he again?”

Andy is saying the same thing I was saying yesterday. He’s desperate for attention.

From Daily Kos: …Here’s a synopsis of the questions O’Reilly is refusing to answer:

• How does O’Reilly explain his claim that he was in a war zone in the Falklands war between the United Kingdom and Argentina in 1982 when it appears that no American reporters were allowed in the war zone?

• What specifically was the "combat situation in Argentina during the Falklands War" that he "survived" to write about in a 2004 column?

• Can O’Reilly elaborate on the claim he made to Tucker Carlson in 2003 that "I’ve covered wars, okay? I’ve been there. The Falklands, Northern Ireland, the Middle East. I’ve almost been killed three times, okay.’" Like the circumstances in which he almost died?
• About that "war zone" in Argentina, where his photographer "got run down and then hit his head and was bleeding from the ear on the concrete" and O’Reilly heroically saved him: "When and where did this happen?"

Click through for an extensive article on this story. May I suggest that O’Lielly’s most dangerous war experience was disrespecting a troop of Brownie Scouts on a school bus. They beat him up and took his lunch money. They also tried to kick him in the gonads, but couldn’t find any.

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