May 172016
 

The weekend was not kind to me.  Instead of feeling better each day, I was totally wiped out by Sunday afternoon.  Monday I stayed down and did not go to physio.  Apparently, there is a bug about which may be the cause of my malaise.  But it could also be cottonwood allergies that caused the sinusitis.  Either way, wearing glasses adds additional pressure to my nose and does not help the headaches.  No glasses, no reading.  My three beautiful furbabes have been wonderful companions.

Short Takes

National Law Journal — Although the right to peacefully protest is enshrined in the Constitution, there is no constitutional or other legal right to commit criminal acts to make a point. Earlier this month, criminal disrupters in Arizona prevented many people from hearing Donald Trump by blocking a major highway leading to his rally and creating a 10-mile backup. The threat of arrests — only three reportedly occurred — and fines weren't much of a deterrent. What happened in Arizona was only the latest example of major disruptions of presidential rallies, with even larger ones now being openly planned.

The criminal justice system can't handle the problem alone.

Now spreading to political campaigns is what we have unfortunately all too often tolerated on college campuses — ­protesters who interrupt speakers to prevent ­others from hearing them, who physically block attendees' access, and who threaten violence to squelch speech. Unless we do something about it, the problem will persist — and could get worse.

I do not agree with all the points made by the author.  Based on various newscasts, police pay plenty of attention to disruptors.

"Disrupters who violate criminal laws know that their chances of actually being arrested are small, as more police forces yield the streets to their ­blockades, their "die-ins," and their tactics of ­chaining themselves to things. Police often are afraid to make arrests. There's also the ­attitude of allowing them to "let off steam," and, at times, there is sympathy with their cause."

But what the author seems to forget is the incitement of violence by politicians like Drumpf and that little has come legally against this incitement.  I also seem to recall that anti OWS protesters interfered with the peaceful OWS protesters with little backlash.

Alternet — Charles Koch is known for being CEO of industrial giant Koch Industries and a chief financier of the massive conservative political operation he runs with his brother David. In recent years, student activists and investigative journalists have exposed another of Koch’s hats: mega-donor to hundreds of colleges and universities, often funding free-market-focused academic centers housed at public and private schools alike. One Koch-funded program is advocating cutthroat economics to grade school students, even sacrificing lives for profits.

Anti-tax industrialist billionaires like Charles and David Koch stand to gain a lot by financing higher education programs tailored to their ideologies. Richard Fink, the Kochs’ right-hand man for decades, laid out their “Structure of Social Change,” the plan they devised in the late 1970s to shape society with their libertarian ideals. The plan begins with funding academic programs that favor laissez-faire economics, resulting in academic papers promoting the free market and chastising regulation and taxation. Next, think tanks they fund repackage the academic work into more easily digestible policy proposals that “citizen activists” (actually Koch-funded “social welfare” groups like Americans for Prosperity) use to pressure lawmakers.

"Common sense economics" . . . what a misnomer!  The Kochs have learned too well that "wars" are fought on many fronts.  On this front, they are fighting for the future of their way, the Koch way, by indoctrinating future generations.  That is long term planning.

HuffingtonPost — Legislation to extend human-rights protections to transgender Canadians will be tabled in the Commons on Tuesday, says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  …

"We must continue to demand true equality," Trudeau said. "We must carry on the legacy of those who fought for justice by being bold and ambitious in our actions and we must work diligently to close the gap between our principles and our reality."

This is a good start to enshrining legal and human rights protection to transgender people across Canada.  This from a CBC article today:

"I'm proud to say that moments ago, I introduced legislation, Bill C-16 … that would ensure that Canadians will be free to identify themselves and to express their gender as they wish while being protected against discrimination and hate," said Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould adding that, "because as Canadians, we should feel free and safe to be ourselves."

Now, to work on changing the attitudes of the people who will oppose such legislation.  Kudos to Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice, and the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau.  Trudeau's father, PM Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and his Liberal government were responsible for the Canadian Human Rights Act in 1977.

My Universe —

 

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Monday Musings May 16, 2016

 Posted by at 5:03 pm  Politics
May 162016
 

In politics it is said, that when not fueled by hope there is a vacuum for fear to fill. Since artists turn to the muses, Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Ourania and Calliope we are exploring what they can offer us for inspiration to have the hope fueling politics.

“Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.”
– Joseph Addison
                                                                                                                                                            forgotten-muses-1226788

“Hopeful thinking can get you out of your fear zone and into your appreciation zone.”
-Martha Beck

Let us first see reminders of how alike we all are courtesy of Terpsichore (brief dance videos):
[BangtanBoysVN] [VIETSUB] BTS – Fire (Dance Practice)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjf3Gp_PxGE

and
A DANCE SHOWCASE (INDIA) | MARQUESE SCOTT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iUhhFAxrDc

and

VIXX (빅스) – 다이너마이트 (Dynamite) Dance Practice (Mirrored)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSxXO61Te54

and

I《EXCITING》 AKMU(악동뮤지션) – RE-BYE @인기가요 Inkigayo 20160515

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj4dX2SUOAs

Reminds me that hope springs is universal, how about you?

 

Now for some added fun as Thalia (comedy) joins Terpsichore:
Fik-Shun | FRONTROW | World of Dance Las Vegas 2014 #WODVEGAS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg6-SnUl0A0

And the grand finale as Ourania (celestial) joins Thalia and Terpsichore:
Boogie Storm make Simon’s dream come true! | Auditions Week 5 | Britain’s Got Talent 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax7tmaYObIQ

I feel hope after watching these, how about you?

Thank you dear reader for joining me on this journey of discovery and quest for hope.

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May 162016
 

You may tell me that I sound like a broken record, but this message is so important, that I’ll be hammering on it until I see plausible evidence that it has sunk-in.  Nobody wants Bernie to win more than I do, but the more time passes, the more that looks like pie in the sky.  "Bernie or Bust" people say that they don’t have to be loyal to The Democratic Party.  I agree. but loyalty is not the reason that voting Blue is imperative.

Trump-Bird…

Michael Moore loudly endorsed Bernie on the eve of Iowa caucuses and continues to have plenty of differences with Hillary. But when it comes to the general election, it’s a no-brainer:

Michael Moore is an avowed Bernie Sanders supporter and has been for years. But while the outspoken filmmaker and liberal activist says he’s with Sanders till the end, he quickly notes he’ll support former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton if she’s the nominee.

“Oh absolutely. She’s better than the alternative and she will do some good,"Moore said in an interview on Sunday.

Then there’s this philosophical giant who uses the same a-word when it comes to his support in November:

Noam Chomsky would “absolutely” choose Hillary Clinton over the Republican nominee if he lived in a swing state, but her primary challenger, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, “doesn’t have much of a chance," the MIT professor and intellectual said in a recent interview…

“Oh absolutely…my vote would be against the Republican candidate,” Chomsky told Al Jazeera English’s Mehdi Hasan…

Chomsky cited “enormous differences” between the two major political parties.“Every Republican candidate is either a climate change denier or a skeptic who says we can’t do it,” Chomsky said. “What they are saying is, ‘Let’s destroy the world.’ Is that worth voting against? Yeah.”

Bill Maher has also repeatedly made clear that he supports Sanders for the nomination, but he can see the writing on the wall and used a different a-word regarding the choice in November.

Last week on Real Time with Bill Maher, the brazenly liberal host tore into Sanders supporters who claim they’d rather vote for Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton. After outlining key differences between a Trump and Clinton presidency, Maher proclaimed,“That’s your choice. Don’t be assholes about it.”

These are just three examples, but there’s plenty more where that came from and much more on the way shortly. All you have to do is listen.

Bernie or bust? Are you sure about that? Because what it really means is that you’re fine with our entire country going "bust" in every way imaginable (economically, morally, judicially…you name it) for many years to come under the disastrous rule of *shudder* President Donald J. Trump.

If you care about what Bernie Sanders has stood for his whole life and what he continues to fight for to this day, "bust" is simply not an option… [emphasis original]

Inserted from <Daily Kos>

Like I said, loyalty is not the reason that voting Blue is imperative.  Saving your way of life, the nation and the planet is the reason.  Bernie said that, if he did not win the nomination, he would do everything he could to keep a Republican out of the White House.  Bernie said the on her worst day, Hillary is infinitely better than any Republican.

Sadly, some Bernie or bust folks are actually saying Trump is no worse than Hillary.  I even saw one comment that maybe Hillary and Rump Dump are in collusion.  We are disrespectful to Bernie, if we spout wild conspiracy theories, with zero supporting evidence.  That’s what Republicans do.  Lets not imitate them.

Listen to me!  Listen to Michael Moore!  Listen to Noam Chomsky! Listen to Bill Maher!  And most of all, listen to Bernie!!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who!

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May 162016
 

I’m quite busy today, as I needed another Lona Nap this morning, so please pardon my brevity.  My posting may be limited tomorrow, as I have to go out for labs for my pre-surgery physical.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:49 (average 6:32).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NPR: If Democrats take back the Senate in 2016, they’ll likely have women to thank for it.

The party is likely to have at least six female nominees who are challenging Republican incumbents in their top-targeted states, helping them flip the four seats necessary to take back Senate control, if Democrats hold the White House.

And Democrats believe they have the perfect storm brewing to help them do that — likely the first female presidential nominee coupled with a probable GOP nominee who has a well-documented history of controversial remarks about women.

"With Donald Trump’s toxicity permeating the Republican Party, never has there been a better time for a slate of Democratic women who remain focused on issues rather than insults," said Marcy Stech of EMILY’s List, whose group helps recruit pro-abortion rights women to run for political office.

And if women win in these top-targeted races, they’re on pace to break the current record of 20 women in the Senate. If Democrats run the table, women could make up nearly a quarter of the upper chamber come January 2017.

A woman’s place is in the House, and in the Senate, and if we can’t have Bernie, in the White House.

From OPB: Voters in Oregon are going to the polls Tuesday to vote in their presidential primary along with a host of state and local races. But Oregonians aren’t actually going to the polls because all of the state’s 2.3 million voters get their ballots through the mail.

In a special election in 1996, Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden became the first person ever elected to Congress exclusively through a vote-by-mail election. He remains a big fan of the system, which the state adopted for all elections in 2000.

Wyden held a press conference this month at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem to announce a bill that would expand the system nationwide.

“We’re interested in taking the Oregon way, vote-by-mail, into precincts all across America,” he said.

Wyden’s proposal would require all federal elections to be held through the mail. States could still do as they please for state and local races. He’s tried expanding vote-by-mail before to no avail. But he said maybe this year will be different. Wyden points to reports of people standing in line for hours to cast ballots in presidential primaries.

Once again, Oregon leads the way. If the US adopts Sen. Wyden’s proposal, the nation will be better off due to voter convenience, and a paper record.

From PoliticusUSA: In a shameful display, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough did his best to defend Donald Trump’s history of sexism, sexual harassment and misogyny that was uncovered by The New York Times…

…Here are some of the behaviors that Scarborough left out. Trump sexualized his then 16-year-old daughter by asking other men if she was hot. Trump made unwanted advances towards women. Trump engaged in inappropriate physical contact with women. The presumptive Republican nominee was revealed to have demonstrated a consistent pattern of sexual harassment towards women that he had the ability to exert authority or control over.

Barf Bag Alert!!

 

And MSNBC, the so-called librul network has 20 hours of Morning Jerk every week.

Cartoon:

0516Cartoon

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May 152016
 

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

Trump confidante says completely unhinged thing about Hillary Clinton.

0515roger-stoneIn fairness, saying completely unhinged things about Hillary Clinton is Trump’s longtime friend, confidante and adviser Roger Stone’s stock in trade. The larger-than-life Republican dirty trickster spent some time with his favorite nutty conspiracy theorist Alex Jones again this week.

Per RightWingWatch: Stone told Jones and another guest, Gary Heavin, the founder of the fitness business Curves who just happens to be a 9/11 truther and right-wing movie producer, that he fears for his life because his nemeses Bill and Hillary Clinton own and operate a "machine that has a trail of bodies as far as you can see.”

This from a man who has called for Hillary Clinton to be executed, also that treasonous socialist, Bernie Sanders.

Would-be Stone assassins should be aware that he has increased his security, because those evil "Clintons have a track record” of beating and killing anyone who stands in their way.

No one really doubts that Stone has already written much of the script Trump will follow in the general election against Clinton. [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Alternet>

I found video of Stone’s absurd claims.

Barf Bag Alert!!

This just the fifth of five worst Republican moments listed from last week alone.  Click through for the other four, if you dare.

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May 152016
 

I’m running way late today, because I overslept this morning, and I still felt so tired, I needed another Lona nap after completing most of my research.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:13 (average 4:45).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football Report:

The light from the Holy Ellipsoid Orb will soon shine forth to bathe the world in blessing!

We have a Live draft which is set for Saturday, Aug 20, 2016 at 1:00pm PDT.  If you played last year, but cannot do so this year, please let me know ASAP.

The new season kicks off on Thursday. September 8, the same way the last one ended. The Panthers will look to exact a measure of revenge for their defeat in Super Bowl 50 over the now Peyton Manning-less Sick smile Broncos.

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos (Classic 3/2016): This November 1922 article about Hitler in the New York Times should be a stark reminder just how dangerous rhetoric can be:

But, several reliable, well-informed sources confirmed the idea that Hitler’s anti-Semitism was not so genuine or violent as it sounded, and that he was merely using anti-Semitic propaganda as bait to catch messes of followers, and keep them aroused, enthusiastic and in line for the time when his organization is perfected and sufficiently powerful to be employed effectively for political purposes.

A sophisticated politician credited Hitler with peculiar political cleverness for laying emphasis and over emphasis on anti-Semitism, saying: “You can’t expect the masses to understand or appreciate your finer real aims. You must feed the masses with cruder morsels and ideas like anti-Semitism. It would be politically all wrong to tell  them the truth about where you really are leading them.”

I’m not saying a Trump presidency would lead to mass genocide on the scale of the Holocaust. But, his rhetoric is already dangerous.

Does that sound like the lies that fascist Republicans are spewing about Rump Dump or what?

From NW Herald: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is abolishing the agency that currently investigates police misconduct and replacing it with a civilian department he said will have more independence and resources to do its work.

Emanuel’s announcement late Friday came a month after a task force recommended the move in a report that said police in the nation’s third-largest city have “no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color” and have alienated blacks and Hispanics for decades by using excessive force and honoring a code of silence.

The Task Force on Police Accountability had recommended replacing the “badly broken” Independent Police Review Authority, or IPRA, with a “new and fully transparent and accountable Civilian Police Investigative Agency.”

Dang!! That sure doesn’t sound like Rahmbo, He must be desperate to save his job to behave so far out of character.

From Crooks and Liars: Don’t look for old Stabby Ben to pull a Cheney and pick himself as Drumpf’s running mate, but he did give us a preview of who may be on his short list, and oh joy, and it includes the Quitta’ from Wasilla:

SNL had fun with Rump Dump’s VP search.

If Rump Dump actually picked Bloody Bullseye Barbie, aka Drill Baby Dingbat, I would have just two words: Woooo Hoooo!!

Cartoon:

0515Cartoon

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May 142016
 

RepublicansOnParade4

Here is the eighty-fifth article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s honoree is South Carolina barber Larry Thomas. He is so honored for pushing Republican racism to the next level and doing it in an Ammosexual manner.

0514hillthomasSouth Carolina barber Larry Thomas is facing charges of “pointing and presenting firearms at a person” after refusing to serve a black man, Arthur Hill, who came into his shop for a shave:

"He said, ‘I don’t do black hair,’" Hill recalled. "I asked him does he shave, can he shave me, and he said, ‘I don’t do black hair.’"

Hill says he had never been to the barbershop in the 2100 block of Celanese Road before. However, he says he was pressed for time and needed a shave before work.

Arthur Hill asked him to clarify:

"I  said, ‘Are you referring to African American hair?’ He said, ‘Yeah,’ and at the time I noticed he already had his hand gripped on a .38 snub nose chrome revolver."

Needless to say, Arthur Hill left and called the police. Larry Thomas only spent one night in jail and was back at his shop the next day…

Inserted from <Daily Kos>

Seldom have we seen. a better example of the Republican approach to race relations. Hill may well be better off. That typically racist Republican barber had one lousy haircut. And poor Thomas can no longer get it up, because the authorities took away his gun.

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