Politics Plus

Writing for tomorrow, I just returned from my morning appointment and am now waiting for my groceries to arrive.  It was so late when I finally got todays articles out and the links distributed on Care2, I dared not return to bed.  While unfamiliar sounds wake me up, I have become most proficient at sleeping through an alarm clock.  At this point, I would describe myself as similar to the picture posted below, so doing research and composing articles is just out of the question.  However, leaving puzzle addicts unfulfilled would be too cruel, even for a pooped puddy tat.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:41 (average 5:48).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Too much exposure to Republicans also has this effect

I’m writing for tomorrow later in the day that usual.  I completed the manual/self-test portion of my prison volunteer certification training, ordered groceries, and did some emergency volunteer work on behalf of a prisoner about to transition.  I planned to make this the only article, until I came across a Republican desperately in need of a parade.  I have a morning appointment tomorrow, and grocery delivery in the afternoon so I may post only a Personal Update on Thursday.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:47 (average 5:33).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Right Wing Watch: Pat Buchanan devoted his column last week to adding his own racist spin to the issue of population decline in Europe, which he laments is turning "European Man" into "an endangered species."

Europe’s population woes, Buchanan writes, [World Nut Daily delinked] mean that “European Man is an endangered species” as since World War I “all the great European empires—British, French, German, Russian, Italian—have vanished” and “are being invaded and repopulated by African, Asian and Middle Eastern peoples they once ruled.”

He’s also upset about the growing non-white population in America, warning that by 2050, “most Americans will… trace their ancestry to Asia, Africa and Latin America.” In a column last year, he wistfully called this “the demographic winter of white America.”

Buchanan is an equal-opportunity Republican racist. He’s just as happy to export his hatred to Europe, as he is to try to impose it here in the US.

From Daily Kos: Forget the space race. The new arms race is over high-speed trains. China is in negotiations to build a high-speed rail network to India and Europe that would make a trip from London to Beijing last just two days.

This is what becoming a third-world country looks like.

From Raw Story: A man who argued with two other movie goers about the ending of a film was struck outside the cinema by a truck driven by his adversaries and killed, the Harris County [Texas, of course] Sheriff’s Office said on Monday.

The men’s discussion of the film grew more heated as the three left the theater and went to the parking lot after the late Sunday evening film. Two of the men then got into a pickup truck.

“The driver of the truck put the vehicle in reverse striking the victim and knocking him to the ground,” it said. The truck then sped away.

Behold the effects of InsaniTEA on our culture.

Cartoon:

This was the day pork became ham.

I’m writing for tomorrow and have a lot to do.  In fact, I may be a bit scarce for the next couple of days.  I’ve been tentatively approved for a level of volunteer authorization that will allow me to enter and move within the prison without direct supervision from staff.  To complete the approval process, I have to read a manual, complete a written examination at home, and submit it within the next few days.  Then I have to attend a training session in Salem early next month, and an institution orientation.  It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:57 (average 4:19).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:From Upworthy: Some people say America has the #1 health care system in the world. Those people are probably not counting the other 36 countries that are beating us. Aasif Mandvi decided to go investigate whether we really have the not-best system ever. What he finds is kind of appalling. At 4:00 is the most awkward 15 seconds I’ve seen in quite some time. If you live in Canada and have fancy universal health care, you can watch it here. (or here).

LOL!! That Republican liar was so dumbfounded that he was looking for a way to bury his head between his own nether cheeks!!

From The New Yorker: President Obama has sparked outrage in Congress and renewed calls for his impeachment by signing a daring Presidential memorandum that would pay workers enough to eat.

The memorandum, which is based on the President’s view that people should be paid for the hours they actually work, is shaping up as one of the most controversial and incendiary actions of his Presidency.

House Republican leaders held a press conference this morning to warn Obama that, by advancing his agenda of paying people for the work they do, he is “playing with political fire.”

“A Presidential memorandum is a powerful tool and should be used sparingly,” said House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). “It is not a vehicle for this President to enact his pet theories about people earning enough to survive.”

Andy did it again! Bingo!!

From Daily Kos: If you watch only one thing today, watch this.

Short version: The GOP is a staggering corpse that is fading into irrelevance and the real future is in the fight between pro-corporate Democrats and pro-worker Democrats.

Krystal did a superior job of elucidating something I’ve been saying for years. Instead of waiting for an election year and whining that Democratic candidates don’t represent them, as so many lazy lefties do, we need to be taking control of the Democratic Party at the grassroots level as though every year was an election year.

Cartoon: