Politics – Page 1076 – Politics Plus

Open Thread–1/1/2015

Posted by TomCat at 12:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Plus, Politics

Jan 012015

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 57. This is the time of great transition in your email boxes. The dozens of organizations that have been harassing you five or six times a day that you need to give to/buy from them before it’s too late will change to harassing you five or six times a day that you need to give to/buy from them to start the new year off right. As for me, I’ll be quite bust for a few days with year-end record keeping for myself and my volunteer organization.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 6:04 (average 7:07). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Upworthy: …That’s not all there is to discuss. Learn more, like whether you can catch up on sleep. And remember, sleep is not overrated.

Obviously, this Short Take is dedicated to Lona at Care2.

From Daily Kos: Chalk up another win for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and in fact, another win for the American consumer. In this case, it’s members of the military who have new protections from predatory lenders. The CFPB worked with the Pentagon to develop new rules for how the military discretionary allotment system works. Military personnel can designate a portion of their paycheck to be paid automatically to financial institutions or to people, and previously had no legal protections if they used those automatic payments for personal property—vehicles, appliances and consumer electronics. That’s where unscrupulous companies could exploit them.

The new rules shut down that loophole, and will only allow the automatic payments for "the purpose of savings, insurance premiums, mortgage or rent payments, support for dependents, or investments." That’s one of the final loopholes closed by the CFBP—the agency that Republicans want to gut—for military personnel who have been big targets for consumer fraud. With all these protections, the CFPB has recovered over $98 million for thousands of service members. You know, the troops Republicans supposedly have so much respect and feeling for.

As of the agency’s third birthday back in July, it had recovered more than $4.6 billion—yes billion for consumers harmed by illegal practices by financial institutions.

Cheers for Elizabeth Warren, the CFPB and our troops. Jeers to the Republican Party, who oppose all three.

From YouTube: Racism in the United States: By the Numbers

Clearly, we have a lot of work left to do. It would help to get rid of the party that support and foster racism.

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Republicans on Parade–12/31/2014

Posted by TomCat at 1:06 am Politics

Dec 312014

RepublicansOnParade2

Here is the sixty-fifth article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s honoree is US House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA). He is so honored for keeping the KKK in GOP.

Back in 1999, Roll Call interviewed white supremacist leader David Duke about the possibility he would seek the House seat vacated by the resignation of Republican Rep. Bob Livingston. As part of that report, reporter John Mercurio also talked to up-and-coming Louisiana politicians, current Sen. David Vitter and current House Majority Whip Steve Scalise.

“I honestly think his 15 minutes of fame have come and gone,” said state Rep. David Vitter (R), a wealthy Metairie attorney who holds Duke’s old seat in the state House and is “seriously considering” a Congressional bid. “When he’s competed in a field with real conservatives, real Republicans, Duke has not done well at all.”

Another potential candidate, state Rep. Steve Scalise (R), said he embraces many of the same “conservative” views as Duke, but is far more viable.

“The novelty of David Duke has worn off,” said Scalise. “The voters in this district are smart enough to realize that they need to get behind someone who not only believes in the issues they care about, but also can get elected. Duke has proven that he can’t get elected, and that’s the first and most important thing.”

…Scalise addressed Duke’s European-American Unity and Rights Organization back in 2002…

Inserted from <Roll Call>

The Republican leadership has accepted Scalise’s disingenuous excuse, that he did not know. How pathetic! That an LA politician to claim ignorance that Duke was Clan could not be more incredible. Even Diaper Dave knew that Scalise embraces Duke’s racist values. But then, every time a black voter is turned away from the voting booth, it proves that those are also the values of the Republican Party.

Open Thread–12/31/2014

Posted by TomCat at 1:05 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 312014

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 56, and it’s the last Open Thread of 2014. It’s also cold enough in Portland to freeze the kitty dingles off a brass TomCat!

Jig Zoned Puzzle:

Today‘s took me 5:32 (average 6:28). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Move-on: As we head into 2015, it’s important to remember how quickly change that once seemed radical becomes inevitable when enough people make a ruckus!

Please watch Robert Reich’s uplifting summary of 2014, and then share it as a New Year’s greeting with family and friends:

If you have friends who didn’t vote, tie them in a chair, tape their eyes open, and show them why the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right! The Reich on the right, The Republican Reich is wrong!

From The New Yorker: House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said on Tuesday that he would introduce a new bill requiring clearer labelling of white supremacists.

The White Supremacist Labelling Act of 2015 would require white supremacists to wear 4-inch-by-6-inch name tags clearly designating them as members of an official hate group.

“Right now, it’s impossible to tell the difference between neo-Nazis and collectors of WWII memorabilia,” Scalise said.

The Louisiana congressman said that proper labelling for white supremacists should make it easier for lawmakers to know what kind of organizations they are addressing in the future.

Right on Andy, but shouldn’t he think the sheets and hoods might have been considered a hint?

From NY Times: It was one of Capitol Hill’s most salacious scandals, featuring a senator’s affair with a campaign aide, an outraged husband, tens of thousands of dollars in hush money, illicit lobbying deals with Las Vegas power brokers and a dramatic intervention by a leading Christian ministry.

Now, three years after the fall of former Senator John E. Ensign of Nevada, thousands of pages of previously undisclosed documents reveal new details about the evidence the F.B.I. gathered against Mr. Ensign, who briefly flirted with running for president in 2012. The documents, which show that Mr. Ensign’s behavior was more brash than known at the time, also offer new specifics about the intense debate within the Justice Department over the decision to not prosecute Mr. Ensign, despite an aggressive F.B.I. investigation into the scandal.

Although the broad outlines of the case against Mr. Ensign have been made public, the documents disclose for the first time how much Mr. Ensign strong-armed political donors and business associates in 2008 to find lobbying work for Douglas Hampton, a top aide and close friend. Mr. Ensign was seeking the work in an attempt to placate Mr. Hampton because Mr. Ensign had an affair with Mr. Hampton’s wife, Cynthia Hampton, a campaign aide.

If you remember, The Republican Senators and Reps living at and involved with C-Street, part of The Fellowship, were helping Ensign try to cover up this scandal at the same time they were drafting legislation to impose the death penalty in Uganda for being gay. Fortunately that failed, because it was intended to be a test bed to work out the kinks, before employing it here. Fortunately they had to back off it, because we on the left exposed what they were doing.

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Open Thread–12/30/2014

Posted by TomCat at 12:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 302014

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 55. We have more bad weather coming in, the kind that sets off my COPD. In addition to a high wind warning, it may be a couple days before we see the warm side of 32°. That may not seem bad, but here, temperatures below 32° are unusual. Not getting above it is extreme. It’s also such a dead news day that MSNBC has “Lockup” on in prime time. This is today’s only article.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:09 (average 5:07). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Fantasy Football Report:

Here is the final report of the season for our own fantasy football league, Lefty Blog Friends.

17Playoffs

What can I say? CAT is where it’s AT!! :-) We had a fun season and will be back next year. We’ll have room for a couple more players, so, if you’d like to play next season, please let me know. Congrats to all who played!

Short Takes:

From NY Times: Suppose that for some reason you decided to start hitting yourself in the head, repeatedly, with a baseball bat. You’d feel pretty bad. Correspondingly, you’d probably feel a lot better if and when you finally stopped. What would that improvement in your condition tell you?

It certainly wouldn’t imply that hitting yourself in the head was a good idea. It would, however, be an indication that the pain you were experiencing wasn’t a reflection of anything fundamentally wrong with your health. Your head wasn’t hurting because you were sick; it was hurting because you kept hitting it with that baseball bat.

And now you understand the basics of what has been happening to several major economies, including the United States, over the past few years. In fact, you understand these basics better than many politicians and commentators.

This another excellent Paul Krugman editorial. Click through fpr an explanation of his economic optimism.

From Daily Kos: The U.S. Senate has courageously just stood up to the Christian-supremacist bullies in the House of Representatives. Oh yes, the Senate has just completely ripped away from their religiously bigoted, House counterparts a would-be treasured bible-thumping bonanza of immeasurable, unconstitutional proselytization. This erstwhile prize of legislative plunder had been specifically designed by these Congressmen and Congresswomen from the House, in nefarious collaboration with their legions of fundamentalist Christian parachurch allies, to be embedded deep within the confines of the 2015 Pentagon authorization/funding act.

Fortunately, the plan by these Christian crusader Members of the House failed. Please let me briefly explain, my friends.

Click through to learn how the Senate stripped provisions from the NDAA that would guarantee forced attempts to convert our troops to Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christianity. In the past, Republican strength has come from the different wings of the Reich being ready to goose-step behind each others’ insane positions. You can be sure that the Theocons will have their revenge against the Corporacons, Neocons, Plutocons, and the InsaniTEA wing.

From Huffington Post: Bracing to do business with a Congress run solely by Republicans, President Barack Obama is serving notice he has no qualms about vetoing legislation he dislikes.

This would be a significant change in style for Obama, come January when the new Congress will be seated with the GOP not only in command in the House but also the Senate as well.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

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Last Week’s Most Absurd Republican Moments

Posted by TomCat at 12:00 am Politics

Dec 292014

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 absurd InsaniTEA can become. I trust that you will believe it, when I tell you that last week was no exception.

Koch-backed, pro-fossil fuel group seems very mixed up what exactly torture is.

Much as Bernard Kerik compared largely peaceful protesters to 9/11 terrorists, the American Energy Alliance, a Koch-backed pro-fossil fuel group, says it is being tortured by environmental regulations. Tortured, they tell you. Rectal feedings and everything. That’s what it’s like when the EPA tells you to limit your smog emissions.

In a short and extremely comical recent blog post [Whatever suckers delinked] called "The EPA Torture Report," the group claimed that the EPA's proposed limits on smog-forming pollutants and carbon dioxide were comparable to the tactics used by the CIA on post 9/11 detainees. In fact, the post implied the EPA’s efforts to reduce pollution were even worse than torture. How could that be? Because it is being done to Americans, that’s why "[I]t's clear that the CIA isn't the only government agency engaged in torture," the post read. "At least the CIA isn't torturing Americans."

Seriously, they said that.

So save a spot in the line for war criminals to be tried at the Hague. Right behind Dick Cheney et al, those evildoers at the EPA…

Inserted from <Alternet>

This is just the last of last week’s five most absurd Republicans moments. Click through for the other four.

Open Thread–12/29/2014

Posted by TomCat at 12:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 292014

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 54. I’m surprised I was able to find content today, and am hurrying to finish, before the broncos dine on pirate parts, even though CBS has a different game on late here. I can still follow the play by play.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:06 (average 5:51). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Religious Ecstasy:

1228-Broncos47-Raiders14

They were televised locally after all. Wooo Hooo!!

Short Takes:

From NY Times: The governors of New York and New Jersey, defying the unanimous votes of both their Legislatures, on Saturday rejected a bill aimed at curbing political interference and patronage at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, more than a year after lane closings at the George Washington Bridge set off a scandal that looms over the agency to this day.

Rare as it is to find a meeting of the minds between Cuomo and PIGnocchio, I’m not surprised that the governors of the nation’s most corrupt Republican state and most corrupt Democratic state would agree to block curbing the corruption. Corruption is the primary activity at the Port Authority for both states.

From The Hill: Hillary Clinton holds a massive lead over Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in a new poll released by CNN.

The CNN/ORC poll released Sunday finds that Clinton leads by 57 points, 66 percent to 9 percent, over Warren. That lead is essentially unchanged from a CNN poll in November, when Clinton was up 65 percent to 10 percent.

There could not be a more potent demonstration of American voters’ political ignorance.

From Crooks and Liars: An anti-gun ad shows a teenager bringing his parent’s gun to school to keep his house free of dangerous weapons. The Fox News brigade goes bananas.

Naturally, the 2nd Amendment patriots at Fox News misunderstand the aims of a public service announcement. When a teenager finds a gun (it didn’t specify if it was loaded or not), he brings it to school and hands it to an adult teacher.

Barf Bag Alert!

Let’s follow the illogic of their rant through. If anyone should commit a hate crime after the encouragement so commonly broadcast on the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, the on-air propagandists should face charges too.

I substituted the same video from YouTube, because I refuse to post video that links back to Faux Noise.

Cartoon:

Reasons for Hope

Posted by TomCat at 12:44 am Politics, Religion

Dec 282014

More often than not, when IU share an article involving religion, it’s about Republican Supply side pseudo-Christians demonstrating through their intolerance, hatred and greed, the exact opposite of authentic faith. A friend emailed me an article citing positive examples of faith, so I’m passing it on.

It has been a difficult year around the world with wars, conflicts and disease afflicting far too many people. Religion has too often played an unhelpful or even harmful role.

However, throughout the year there have been people of all different religions standing up for what is right, increasing understanding and peace between peoples, helping to serve humanity, and offeingr a prophetic witness for justice.

Here are 14 religious moments during 2014 that give us inspiration and hope for 2015.

Clergy took a major stand for racial equality.

As soon as protests broke out in Ferguson over the shooting of Michael Brown, clergy were on their feet and in the street with messages of equality, justice and nonviolent action. Pastor Renita Lamkin took a rubber bullet for the cause. Others sacrificed sleep and countless hours, opening the doors of their worship houses. When protests erupted in New York for Eric Garner’s death, clergy continued working tirelessly for racial equality, providing the moral backbone of a movement that will continue growing as we move into 2015…

Inserted from <Huffington Post>

Hat-Tip: Pat A.

How refreshing, and I’ve shared only one example. Click through for the other thirteen.

Open Thread–12/28/2014

Posted by TomCat at 12:44 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 282014

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 53. I’m catching up on sleep. Because I want to make the other story full article, I have only one Short Take today. Tomorrow is the last Holy Day in the church of the Ellipsoid Orb, before the high holy days begin. My Broncos are entertaining the Raiders, but sadly, the service will not be televised.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:23 (average 5:37). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Take:

From Common Dreams: Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) announced Friday that he will decide by March if he will enter the 2016 presidential race—and whether he’ll run on a Democrat or Independent platform.

I will support him as a Democrat, but if he runs as an Independent, he will hand the Presidency to the Republicans.

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