Many places adjust their time to daylight savings time, but others don't. For others, the time change comes on a different weekend, although close to tomorrow. In still others, like Australia, they are moving into fall but they do change their clocks in some of the states — fall forward! Just don't hurt yourself Australia!
I have changed mine. Now if only I could easily change the time according to cats!
It has been raining all day today . . . but no snow! You've probably noted that TC is still sick but a physician's assistant did visit him at home and has him on medication. Rest my friend, drink lots of water and take your medicine. I am sure Wendy will be in to make sure you are fluffed and buffed, and ensure you are eating properly . . . maybe some chicken soup? Personally, I am going to have some beans and toast, comfort food for a rainy day!
Short Takes
Cartoon removed pending clarification.
Khalil Bendib@otherwords.org has a way with 'alternate' words! I think this sums up much of the current situation as far as Drumpfenfarten and Putin are concerned. Of course, this does not explain the 'why?', but it certainly does speak to the extent of the, shall I say, collusion.
The Hill — Preet Bharara, one of the most high-profile federal prosecutors in the country, said Saturday he was fired from President Trump's administration after he refused to resign when asked by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
"I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life," tweeted Bharara, who served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. …
"One hallmark of justice is absolute independence, and that was my touchstone every day that I served," he [Bharara] said in the statement released by the U.S. attorney's office. …
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) heralded Bharara as an "exemplary U.S. attorney."
"His relentless drive to root out public corruption, lock up terrorists, take on Wall Street, and stand up for what is right should serve as a model for all U.S. attorneys across the country. He will be sorely missed," Schumer said in a statement.
Rachel Maddow covered the replacement of 46 federal prosecutors and Bharara's firing in the following segment of her show.
Bharara was told by both Drumpf and Sessions that they wanted him to stay on as the chief federal prosecutor in the SDNY. Could it be that Bharara was just too damned good at his job and Drumpfenfarten and Sessions became nervous after looking at his accomplishments? After all, as Rachel says, Drumpf Tower where Drumpf carries out all his business dealings — you know, those dealings that are supposedly in the hands of his sons who do not discuss anything with their father — is within the SDNY!
Truthout — Autre Murray, 24, never planned to go to college. He thought he couldn't afford it — even with student loans. Besides, he wasn't thrilled with the prospect of ending up in "debt up to the neck." Instead, Murray planned to earn a high school diploma and find a job doing manual labor, maybe somewhere like a factory. He told himself he didn't need a college education to become successful.
But now he's on his way to obtaining a bachelor's degree, as are other members of his Kalamazoo, Michigan, hometown. That's thanks to the Kalamazoo Promise, a scholarship program first announced at a board meeting of Kalamazoo Public Schools in November 2005. The nonprofit of the same name provides scholarships that cover 65 to 100 percent of college tuition and fees for all graduates of Kalamazoo Public Schools who meet certain criteria. Students have 10 years from the day they graduate high school to use the scholarship. …
After Kalamazoo, Michigan, offered college tuition for nearly all high school graduates, dropout rates declined and the city's population began to rebound. (Photo: The Kalamazoo Promise / Facebook)
"The donors believe that a community's vitality — politically, socially, and economically — is closely related to the educational level of the community," says Bob Jorth, executive director of the Kalamazoo Promise. "In the knowledge-based economy that we're in, almost all good jobs require some kind of training and education beyond high school."
Kudos to the Kalamazoo Promise! I wonder how fast Betsy DeVos can put the brakes on such an innovation? . . . not that it is within her purview. When did that ever stop a Republican!
Huffington Post — Most of the migrants who recently made the difficult journey across the border into Canada were in the United States legally, making the trend hard to explain, says U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.
The majority travelled to the United States with the necessary visas, Kelly said Friday after a meeting in Ottawa with cabinet members including his Canadian counterpart, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.
"Everyone was perplexed," Kelly said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
"Many of them have only been in the United States a few days before they made the trek north, so it's something we're certainly trying to figure out."
"… it's something we're certainly trying to figure out." ????? There have been Somalis crossing into Manitoba in the dead of winter, literally risking life and limb — 2 have lost many of their fingers to frostbite. In Québec, at a well known crossing point, RCMP officers are often waiting there to arrest the people until they can chat them up properly and they can make their requests for asylum. And U.S. Homeland Secretary John Kelly is 'perplexed' about the migrant surge into Canada? Let's see 1) Donald Trump; 2) pervasive American discrimination of foreigners, particularly Latinos and Muslims; 3) overly zealous border agents; 4) keep adding to the list. My apologies to my American friends, but with the current administration, the US has lost ownership of Emma Lazarus' poem that is on a plaque in the Statue of Liberty.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
MOTHER OF EXILES. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
YouTube (GQ Channel) — Trump’s Amazing Speech Sure Didn’t Age Well | The Resistance with Keith Olbermann
Romney has been supplanted as Mr Flip-flop by none other than Drumpfenfarten. I remember a line from the movie "Clear and Present Danger" that went like this: "He cannot be clear when clarity is not exactly what he wants." White House aide or a Cabinet person talking about the president played by Donald Moffat. Sure seems appropriate to Drumpfenfarten.
Huffington Post — The idea was simple enough: publish as many absurd, obviously fake stories imaginable, and see if anyone actually falls for it. The results of this experiment were both fascinating and disheartening.
“BREAKING: Satire Makes Fools Of Gullible Trump Supporters.”
That’s the headline James McDaniel published on his intentionally fake news website, UndergroundNewsReport.com, earlier this month.
Within just two weeks of his website going online, McDaniel had already amassed more than a million views, thousands of comments on his stories, and hundreds of thousands of “likes” and “shares” on Facebook.
“While writing them, I was aiming for stories that no one would believe, but rather would be satirical in an age where disinformation is so prevalent,” McDaniel wrote on his website. “Just for fun, I decided to post some of the stories in Trump fan groups on Facebook to see the reactions.”
I just had to share this piece with you to give you some light fare, if not depressing, on the intelligence state of Drumpf supporters. Go to http://undergroundnewsreport.com/the-truth/former-white-house-aide-obama-gay-man/ or http://undergroundnewsreport.com/the-truth/obama-tweet-trump-must-removed-means-necessary/ and read the comments at the end of each article. There are several other satirical articles as well. These are SATIRE but sadly, Drumpf supporters believe it all. The world is becoming more dangerous every day.
My Universe
Resist and Persist!!!
Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. Even though there are always many more which I can't include. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as "unceasing," "grudging," and "vengeful destruction."
I am going to simplify things for the Furies this week, because, expected to come up next week, there will begin the confirmation hearings for the position in the Trump administration which has the greatest potential to do the longest lasting harm to the American people. More harm, and longer lasting than Scott Pruitt? I hear someone ask. Yes. I am talking about Neil Gorsuch, the Resident's nominee to the Supreme Court.
Paul Gordon, for People for the American Way, has prepared a report on Judge Gorsuch. It's called "Real People, Real Lives: The Harm Caused by Judge Gorsuch." Now, I am sure that even a President who is himself a Constitutional lawyer will ask for recommendations when there is a vacancy on the Supreme Court to fill. That isn't a problem. This is a problem:
When Donald Trump was running for president, he outsourced his future selection of potential Supreme Court nominees to two right wing organizations, the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation. They provided him a list of 21 people who were acceptable to them, Trump promised to select a nominee from the list they gave him, and they and their right wing colleagues agreed to support him. Neil Gorsuch was nominated as the product of this political arrangement.
Mr. Gordon, after this introduction, sets forth twelve cases actually decided by Judge Gorsuch during his tenure as a judge, and then ends with a conclusion. Here is his Table of Contents:
1 No Understanding of Sexual Harassment in the Real World
2 Medical Device Maker Pushes Misuse of Product
3 Gorsuch and Children with Autism
4 No Leave Extension for Leukemia Patient
5 Excessive Force
6 Worker Dies Due to Inadequate Training
7 Die or Be Fired
8 Defer to the Governor, Facts Notwithstanding
9 No Understanding of Another’s Perspective
10 Sex Discrimination
11 The Most Vulnerable
12 The Sixth Amendment: Undermining the Right to Counsel
13 Conclusion
That makes it sound like the report is practically a book. It isn't really. If you printed the whole thing out as a PDF, it would be 26 pages, or roughly 2 pages per case discussed. In 16 point type (you're used to seeing 12 point), with the chapter headings in 28 point, with a lot of space between them and the text before and after. So it's practically a walk in the park to read through (except for the ourageous results, which are hard on the blood pressure.) But I'll provide here a little information about a few of the cases whose nature is not obvious from the title.
In Chapter 5, for instance, titled "Excessive Force," the force in question was a taser aimed from about 10 feet away at the victim, who died of it. His bereaved parents brought suit against the City. Judge Gorsuch dismissed the case. made sure it did not even get to trial.
In Chapter 7, "Die or Be Fired," a trucker was hauling cargo in subzero weather, and his brakes froze. He stopped and reported the problem to the company, then waited for a repair person. Who did not show (may never have shown – it's not exactly clear who did come to do the repair.) The heater in his cab was not working, and, remember, this is subzero weather. After a couple of hours, he was numb and his speech was slurred. He called the company twice more, the second time to notify the company he was going to unhitch the cab and drive for help and return (already an iffy plan with the shape he was in.) The company told him not to leave the cargo (in the trailer with the frozen brakes. Right.)
He drove for help anyway, and returned within about FIFTEEN MINUTES with assistance. A week later, he was fired. For abandoning his cargo.
Fortunately this case did not end tragically, since the Labor Department found for him, and it was upheld upon Administrative Review in the Tenth Circuit. With Judge Gorsuch dissenting. The law, he said, protects a driver who refuses to drive an unsafe vehicle. It doesn't protect a driver who drives in a way he was instructed not to.
In Chapter 11, "The Most Vulnerable" applies to children with disabilities (and by extension to their guardians.) The case hinged on the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) requirement that before going to court, a claimant must have exhausted all IDEA administrative remedies. Simply put (and probably from a legal standpoint inaccurately), Judge Gorsuch's position was that if you get a school district to the point of agreeeing that your child has a disability (but won't do anything about it), you will never be able to exhaust administrative remedies, because you will have "settled." Gordon quotes another judge who explains how – um – against Congressional intent that is.
Dear Furies, I am not going to ask you to go after Judge Gorsuch. He ia a lost cause. No, instead I would like for Alecto to concentrate on all of the Democratic Senators and help them stiffen their backbones to filibuster and do whatever they can to prevent this confirmation. You can (and probably should) share this report with them and encourage them to ask hard questions in the hearings based on the stupidest of the decisions. Megaera and Tisiphone, I'd like for you to concentrate on the Republican Senators. If we can keep the Democratic Senators firm (I know, that's a big if – maybe Tisiphone should pick up Manchin), it will only take two Republicans to deny him confirmation.
Gorsuch is only 49. That is quite young for a Supreme Court Justice. He could be there for as much as forty years. I find that unthinkable. Ladies, best of luck.
The Furies and I will be back.
Cross posted to Care2 at http://www.care2.com/news/member/101612212/4041623
A physician's assistant came yesterday. She prescribed Doxycycline and Benzonatate. I still feel awful. Hugs! RESIST!!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today's took me 3:10 (average 4:31). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Sorry this is so late. With TomCat down, I told him I would put out an Open Thread but I wasn't anticipating computer issues. It kept freezing so I had to put it to bed for several hours.
Short Takes
msn.com — A first-term congressman who spent three decades as a physician — and is now part of a group of Republican doctors who have a major role in replacing Obamacare — is facing backlash after saying that poor people “just don’t want health care and aren’t going to take care of themselves.”
Rep. Roger Marshall, (R-Kan.), a member of the GOP Doctors Caucus, said comments he made to Stat News were not meant to suggest that poor people take health care for granted. The comments were published in a story last week about his burgeoning role in the fight to replace the Affordable Care Act. …
He added that “morally, spiritually, socially,” the poor, including the homeless, “just don’t want health care.”
Well isn't he just precious. I suppose this Republican idiot thinks everyone is made of money. Take a WalFart employee who is being paid the minimum wage. Many have used SNAP because their paycheques do not cover the cost of food for the family. It is people like this, the working poor, that want healthcare but cannot afford it. The arrogance of this doctor is astounding, but then I guess it should not be . . . he's a Republican.
Maclean's — Moscow has been waging an increasingly daring clandestine war against western democracies. Under the direction of President Vladmir Putin, Russia is targeting most of the major members of the western alliance. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned of Russian attempts at cyber attacks. In France, Moscow has funded right-wing populist Marine Le Pen and is alleged to be spreading false propaganda about her opponents. There are now reports from British parliamentarians that Russia may have meddled with the Brexit campaign. And, of course, Putin’s interference in the U.S. Presidential election has lit a tire fire in Washington that may bring down the Trump administration, and at the very least has left America’s political institutions reeling, and its alliances weakened.
So is Canada next? Or have the Russians already started their campaign of disinformation and lies. As the sub headline of the article says "The smear job on Chrystia Freeland is only the start." The Ottawa Citizen outlines just one such attempt.
Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s ambitious foreign affairs minister, is secretly itching to draw Canada into a showdown with Russia because of the seething hatreds she inherited from her Ukrainian grandfather, a Nazi collaborator and war profiteer she never told us about. She’s been lying about her family’s sordid past all along, and she’s been lying to Canadians about what’s really going on in Ukraine. She’s dangerous.
The main problem with all this is that it’s rubbish, from top to bottom. It’s also the hottest political news story in Canada right now.
All countries must keep their wits about them. And coming back to the recent US experience with Russia, it is interesting to note that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the Russian influence investigation but has not called for a special independent prosecutor, but he has called for a special prosecutor to investigate the accusations made by Drumpf that Obama authorised the wiretapping of Trump Tower. While wiretapping American citizens is illegal, the Russia affair is far more dangerous from a national security perspective. Misplaced Republican priorities?
The Hill — Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said his office on Monday would formally join a suit filed by four other states, Reuters reported.
"The administration persists in an effort to implement a policy that is inhumane and unconstitutional, but also makes us less safe, not more safe," Frosh said in a statement.
The states are pushing for a temporary restraining order similar to the one that halted President Trump's first order.
Maryland joins New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D), Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (D), Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D) and Washington state in challenging the new ban.
In addition to these five states, Hawaii is also launching a suit against the travel ban, but its suit is based on economic criteria and not constitutional criteria. May the force be with them! Update — Seattle U.S. District Court Judge James Robart on Friday declined to apply his first order to the new ban. Lawyers need to file more extensive court papers.
My Universe
I’m feeling really horrid, so I’m staying down. Hugs!! RESIST!!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:50 (average 4:37). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
And the truck is just around the bend and coming fast.
I feel like crap. This is today’s only article. Hugs!!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:49 (average 7:10). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: At a press conference on Tuesday morning, Ben Carson, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, told reporters that people who are pushed out of windows are “extremely lucky” because they get “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fly through the air.”
“Ever since the dawn of civilization, mankind has been enchanted by the dream of flight,” Carson said. “People who get pushed out of windows get to realize that cherished dream.”
“That’s what makes America a great country,” he continued. “People are pushed out of windows every day here.”
Sorry Andy. I don’t believe you. The link between getting pushed out a window and the brief similarity between falling and flight is far too great an intellectual hurdle for Braindead Ben. RESIST!!
From YouTube (GQ Channel): The Crisis of Trump’s Conspiracy Theories | The Resistance with Keith Olbermann
Like I said, the Resident is NOT a President!! RESIST!!
From YouTube (Full Frontal Channel): That Was the Week that WTF
Sam still has the Fuhrer down pat! RESIST!!
Cartoon:
I have come down with the flu, but I still have to go out. This is one meeting I cannot miss. I will post this when I return, so you will know I made it OK. I may or may not be writing tomorrow, depending on how I feel. Hugs!!
I’m back safe. Please pardon me while I go bury myself in my kitty box.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:38 (average 4:46). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
