Politics Plus

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 113.  It’s a muggy sticky day, and when I step out of my apartment, the heat is like a slap in the face.  Tomorrow I have a grocery delivery coming.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:18 (average 4:34).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From BBC: The appointment of Haider al-Abadi as prime minister-designate has been generally well-received in the mainstream Iraqi media.

Private television channels broadly support the move, and some pro-Sunni stations have strongly criticised outgoing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s refusal to quit.

State-run Al-Iraqiyah TV continued its pro-Maliki line on Monday evening, but by Tuesday morning it stopped interviewing guests critical of the move and has been running more neutral reports on Mr Abadi’s career and background.

Meanwhile, the non-partisan press has shown impatience with Mr al-Maliki, and news websites generally support the appointment of Mr Abadi.

Nouri Al Maliki (R-IQ) may try to stage a military coup, because his policies and practices have made him a man so hated that he sees a noose in his future. Although a recent report indicates he may step aside peaceably,m I don’t see how he can do so, without putting his life in jeopardy.

From TPM: One thing is certain: Michael Brown, 18, was fatally shot by Ferguson police officers on Saturday. His family has told the media that he was scheduled to start attending Vatterott College, a trade school with several Missouri campuses, this week.

Little else is agreed upon, though. A friend of Brown’s who was with him at the time of the shooting told MSNBC that a police officer told them to "get the fuck off the sidewalk" as they were walking down the street. An altercation ensued, Brown’s friend said, and the first shot was fired. Brown then attempted to flee the scene, according to the friend, but the police officer pursued and eventually fired multiple gunshots that killed Brown. The officer’s name has yet to be released, police say, because of "threats" made toward officers via social media.

The New York Times reported the police’s version of events. Brown had assaulted the police officer and then been shot in a struggle for the officer’s firearm, the police said. That account was met with skepticism from community leaders, especially as the police acknowledged that Brown had been unarmed.

According to two independent eyewitness accounts I have seen, the officer was chasing Brown down the street, and Brown had his hands in the air to surrender when the officer fired the fatal shots. The police assertion that Brown was going fire the officer’s gun is a standard police lie, when they murder an unarmed victim. Brown certainly was not going for the officers gun when the officer killed him. Most police officers are dedicated professionals, but far too many Republican racists are hired as police officers, and bring their hatred and need to abuse power to their jobs.

From Right Wing Watch: \Fox News commentator Todd Starnes appeared on “The 700 Club” today where he went through his usual talking points about how the Obama administration is waging “war” on conservative Christians while giving special treatment to Muslims.

Barf Bag Alert!!

When Pat Robertson gets together with a propagandist from the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, the result frequently fouls screens and keyboards.

Cartoon:

I’m writing for tomorrow, day 113.  I feel able to concentrate again, so I’m back in the saddle.  Tomorrow is a a prison volunteer day, but the person with whom I ride down has a conflict, so I can’t go.  That may be a disguised blessing, because we’re in the midst of a National Weather Service heat advisory, and the prison activities section, which is directly above the kitchen and poorly ventilated, is sure to be unbearable.  But I still would have gone, if I could have.  The new series I promised is coming soon.  I’m sad inform you that Robin Williams was found dead in his home, an apparent suicide.  Please join me in condolences, thought and prayer to all who loved him.  Nanu Nanu mode tearfully disengaged.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:52 (average 4:45).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takers:

From Irish Times: …US president Barack Obama has begun directly providing weapons to Kurdish forces who have started to make gains against Islamic militants in Iraq.

The US previously insisted on selling arms only to the Iraqi government. US officials say the administration is close to approving plans for the Pentagon to arm the Kurds.

I see this as the best Move Obama could make to avoid the potential need for US boots on the ground. The Maliki (R-IQ) regime has exhibited such a Republican level of both incompetence and corruption that arming the Iraqi government has effectively been arming ISIS.

From AlterNet: Disinformation: Proponents of a securities transactions tax look upon it as a way to punish  sinners [Murdoch delinked] (securities traders)

Provocative statements like this allow the editors to get their point across while implicitly suggesting that their opponents are the wacky ones. While the rest of us pay a steep sales tax for shoes and school supplies, investors pay ZERO sales tax on their million-dollar purchases. A speculation tax, given factual  analysis, is a logical and obvious and long-overdue tax.

More deception with the capital gains tax. WSJ  says [Murdoch delinked]: By reducing the penalty for transferring capital from one investment to another, these lower tax rates increased the mobility of capital. High-income taxpayers sold more assets, declared more income, and paid more taxes.

In other words, according to WSJ logic,  a lower tax rate means more tax revenue. A curious conclusion, even for WSJ. Based on  oft-discredited theory. But by using fine-sounding, meaningless phrases like "mobility of capital," and by posing a behavioral outcome that fits their philosophy, WSJ is able to sound like they know what they’re talking about.

This is just one of five ways in which the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda Lite, aka Faux Print, is ridiculous. Click through for the other four.

From Huffington Post: Chuck Todd is set to replace David Gregory as the host of "Meet The Press," Politico’s Mike Allen reported on Monday.

Todd, NBC’s political director and chief White House correspondent, has been viewed as the favorite to succeed Gregory, whose tenure has seen the venerable Sunday show sink to third place in the ratings.

Allen said Gregory, who has hosted "MTP" since 2008, is likely to leave NBC.

I welcome this change, although, to be honest, I’m not a fan of Chuck Todd. I’d rather see someone known for integrity, such as Lawrence O’Donnell, in that post. However, if given the choice between David "Raps with Rove" Gregory and a mentally substandard, flatulent Chimpanzee, with acute halitosis, and that masturbates and throws feces on camera, the ape is the clear winner.

Cartoon:

Although, in those days I used a more advanced computer than an IBM PC, I remember those day when, connecting at 110 baud, we watched documents download, one text character every two or three seconds.