It’s a crappy day. Lu did not come for my shower and to help me. She just called. She’s sick. I’ll just have to give myself a whore’s bath and do what else I can, while staying down as much as possible. ARGH! Lynn, I’ll need you to do the Monthly Report for February. Hugs.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:07 (average 5:25). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
More stuff has happened which seems to me to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with it. 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."
Incidentally, I have linked to the full page of each story, including the comments; therefore, the link may land you right at the top of the comments section. If so, Ctrl + Home should take you to the beginning of the article, and the comments will still be there,, so you won't have to load them separately.
To our list of, not thank goodness capital crimes (at least not yet), but societal offenses which will lead to serious humiliation, we apparently must now add "banking while Muslim."
A Muslim woman wearing the hijab went to the Security National Bank branch in Ohama, NE, hoping to open an account. She found the doors locked before she could make it to the teller line. Now, normally, at this point, I would think the branch was closing for the day; but that doesn't seem to have been it, because no one mentions it. Also, apparently, a bank employee told her to remove the hijab, and she did – but the bank would still not let her in.
The bank had been robbed at gunpoint during December by perpetrators who wore face coverings, so apparently it just then occurrred to them that maybe they ought to be able to identify people entering, so they initiated a requirement that everyone entering must remove all face, eye, and head coverings – not in itself unreasonable (although don't start me on prescription eyewear!)
It must have gone over their head that Omaha has an ordinance forbidding discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation, and some other factors.
Ferial Pearson, a friend of the woman in question (whose identity has not been made available to the press), says she has started receiving offensive and threatening messages on line, such as: “You are truly a disgusting person for putting such LIES on the internet!!!” one man wrote. “[T]hey had EVERY right to do what they did!! Waste your time some where else you heartless b*tch”
Megaera, I have confidence that you will be able to find the – um – grudging person who posted that, as well as posters of other threatening and offensive comments, and see if they can be taught some manners.
A second story just in passing, because I see possible but far from proven malice. I wouldn't even mention it except that it touches on allergies, and I feel that personally, having multiple allergies myself. (This additional article only touches on food allergies, which are only a small part of the picture, yet…)
This third story, though – this one definitely calls for the Furies, I would guess Tisiphone, but since I'm not directing anything particularly to Alecto this week, maybe she would help.
Joyce Curnell, 50, of South Carolina, died 27 hours after she was hauled out of a hospital and taken to jail over unpaid court fines. She had been taken to the hospital by ambulance and diagnosed in the emergency room – we are not talking about someone who was well enough to drive up and walk in.
At some point, a bench warrant was discovered, and someone alerted law enforcement. So she was taken to jail.
She was given neither water to drink nor intravenous fluids. She died of dehydration. Something highly preventable.
Yes, this happened in July – it's in the news now because the family is filing suit.
Her family filed a notice to sue the jail’s medical contractor, Carolina Center for Occupational Health, for malpractice — claiming medical staffers ignored requests by jail officials to help Curnell.
Court documents show Curnell was placed in a housing unit, instead of being taken to the jail’s medical facility, and she was given a trash bag to vomit into because she was too weak to visit the restroom.
State law requires medical care for inmates who need it, and the Bill of Rights demands humane treatment of incarcerated prisoners.
“It is very unfortunate to hear of another death of an African-American while in police custody,” said Shaundra Scott, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina. “If Ms. Curnell was denied medical treatment, then it is our position that her constitutional rights were violated.”
The Furies and I will be back.
I just returned from the Doctor’s Office. My PCP was gone for the day, so I had scheduled with another member of her team. They were quite thorough. They think I have a form of walking pneumonia that has been making the rounds. They sent me for a chest X-Ray and prescribed Azithromycin and Prednisone for five days. Because of the timer I had to take to get the X-Ray and fill the prescriptions, I would have missed my LIFT ride, so I had to cancel it and take the regular bus. It was the first time I’d ridden one with my chair. It went well. I’m exhausted. Hugs!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:18 (average 4:55). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
When thinking of Vincent van Gogh or Monet or Rembrandt, it’s easy for us to conjure up images of these artists sitting at their easels with paintbrush and palette in hand. But for Stephen Lund, his canvases are the streets of Victoria, British Columbia, his brush is his bike and his “paint” is his Strava GPS app.
And his results are nothing short of spectacular art!
Lund refers to his masterpieces simply as “GPS Doodles” so as to inspire people that anyone can be creative. He has his own detailed website called “GPS Doodles” explaining how he goes about creating each one.
A more lyrical term might be “Strava Art” as Strava is the GPS program Lund straps on that lets riders and runners track their workouts. Strava the route as data that generates a thin red line on a map that traces every move an athlete makes. (Apparently he also uses a Garmin GPS device, but I don’t know the difference.) And you can follow Lund on his Strava Homepage.
So how does Lund do it? Sometimes he envisions what he wants to create and then puts together a layered Google map and sets out penciling in his route to create his “Doodle” – like Darth Vader below. But that’s difficult because he has to find a route that runs in a continuous line. He then writes down the turn-by-turn directions for his GPS device to capture the route that he then uploads to the Strava map.
Here’s a detailed description of “Logistical Process”
Other times he begins with the Google map and then highlights major streets to see if anything jumps out at him – like seeing faces and objects in the clouds. That’s how he created his Giraffe Doodle.
Here’s a detailed description of what I’ll call the “Inspirational Process”
To be honest, for complex designs, he will sometimes turn his GPS off at one point and on again at another point to create a straight line via a “Connect-the-Dots” feature because it’s through an area his bike cannot go. Like with the Hummingbird below. But he uses this technique at a minimum, and a great many of his drawings are done with uninterrupted pedaling line.
Here’s a detailed description of the “Connect-the-Dots Process” that he used to create the WordPress Logo
Each Doodle requires about 70 km (44 mi) of pedaling, but the largest one —a mermaid he named “The Siren of the Salish Sea”— required 220 km of pedaling that took more than 11 hours of cycling over two days’ time.
[NOTE: The Salish Sea is a network of coastal waterways of southwestern portion of British Columbia and the northwestern portion of Washington]
He’s been featured on countless news sites as well as having given a TED Talk
Lund began this quest on January 1, 2015, and last year he cycled over 22,300 kilometers (13,857 miles) – a quarter of which were used in creating his 70+ ”GPS Doodles”. So let’s enjoy some of them …
Raccoon
T. Rex
Grasshopper
David
Queen Victoria
"Christ the Redeemer" – Rio de Janeiro
And a Link to a List of Favorites, (some of which I’ve used above)
I had my monthly ladies' lunch today and then hobbled home to put my foot up. It is very painful but not as much as before my physio worked on it Wednesday. I wish I knew what I did! Another very pleasant day today getting up to 17 C (63 F), sunny and the birds were having a party! I think there was some birdie nookie going on in the bushes.
Short Takes
YouTube —
With so many anti abortion related laws, I thought John Oliver did an excellent job. It should be, IMO, a woman's right to choose. The anti abortion movement is nothing less than one group, often a religious group, ramming their views down everyone's throat, believer or not.
Politicus — As the Republican Party appears poised to nominate Trump and get thumped in November, Rush Limbaugh is already making excuses and blaming President Obama for the hatred and bigotry that is allowing Trump to flourish in the Republican primary.
BARF BAG ALERT!!! BARF BAG ALERT!!! BARF BAG ALERT!!! BARF BAG ALERT!!!
Limbarf is in his usual rut . . . blame Obama for everything! More sponsors have pulled away so we can only hope that he will disappear soon.
Crooks and Liars — At one point in tonight's embarrassment of a debate, Trump really laid into Cruz for his smarmy, underhanded tactics in Iowa, which set Cruz off big time.
Welcome to Republican debate, or was it a slugfest?. I didn't watch the debate but from what I've seen and read, 3 year olds would have done a better job AND paid attention to the rules. In this last debate before super Tuesday, participants showed just how moronic they really are! Anyone who votes for any of these clowns needs to have their sanity checked.
Politico — But the Senate’s war over the Supreme Court has pushed those concerns into the background and united the party faithful behind Senate Majority Leader McConnell and the New York senator, the Democratic leader-in-waiting. With the backing of their respective bases, both leaders have a stronger hand in a fight that will shape the highest court in the land — if not their status as party leaders and relationship with each other.
It’s a stunning and sudden turn for two men viewed with intense skepticism by their party’s activist wings. After 14 months of relentless criticism from Ted Cruz and Heritage Action, McConnell is giving them what they want: the hardest possible line of obstruction on a new Supreme Court nominee, meaning no hearings, no votes and no meetings to fill the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death. And Schumer, who was hounded by the base for opposing President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, is winning praise for his confrontation with McConnell from groups that wanted to cut off his fundraising spigot last summer.
H/T Pat B who provided this link in her comments: Obama and the SCOTUS Nomination
And here is an e-mail from Sherrod Brown and petition that you have likely seen. If not, the links are active so you can sign the petition.
"McConnell: Not a 'snowball's chance in hell' I'll relent on SCOTUS" — Politico, 2/23/2016
Republican Senators are refusing to even consider a replacement Supreme Court justice. They say we should wait. They say we have to wait for the people to choose a new president, and that thatpresident should pick a nominee.
They seem to be forgetting a very simple and obvious fact: Whether they like it or not, we have an elected president. In 2012, more than 65 million Americans cast their vote for President Barack Obama. He was elected twice.
President Obama will fulfill his constitutional duty to nominate a qualified individual to the Supreme Court. The Senate must do the same.
Join me and tell Senate Republicans to do their constitutionally mandated jobs. Sign our petition.
No Supreme Court nominee in the last 36 years has ever waited longer than 100 days for hearings and a vote. In that same period of time, there has never been a Supreme Court vacancy that spanned more than one presidential term. And there has never been a vacancy for more than four months while the Court is in session.
It’s clear: Republican extremists are once again trying to have their cake and eat it, too. They profess fealty to the Constitution, yet they choose to ignore the Constitution when it requires that they work with a Democratic president whom they don’t like. There is nothing principled about this — this is power politics with the goal of delegitimizing a twice-elected President.
Thank you,
Sherrod
In an Alternet article by Jim Hightower, he asks the question that I am sure is on a lot of minds: Why Should You and I Have to Keep Paying Mitch McConnell's Salary? With all the shenanigans, the same question could be asked for all Republican senators. If they don't want to do their jobs, then get out!
My Universe — I stumbled upon this and thought "Ain't nature magnificent!"
I’m actually feeling a bit worse than I did yesterday, ran a low grade fever last night and am getting bloody nasal secretions, I’m calling my PCP fir an appointment, as soon as they open, I scheduled an appointment for tomorrow morning.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:39 (average 4:58). To do it. click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
I was in sufficient foot pain yesterday that I could not concentrate to produce an Open Thread. At physio today, my therapist looked at my foot and did some manipulations. It is still quite painful, swollen and red, but nothing compared to yesterday. Seems I have dislocated bones on the lateral side of my right foot so it is rest and ice with a follow up on Monday. I have no idea how I dislocated the bones. On a happy note, our gardens are blooming with crocuses, narcissus and forsythia. Some daffodils and tulips are about 12-15 cm high and just developing their buds. Even some of the trees are starting to bud! Today the temperature was 16 C (61 F) although tonight it is supposed to go down to freezing.
Short Takes
Huffington Post — Many of the progressive wish list issues Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) advocate for as they campaign were achieved in Oregon in the last year. …
Since taking office, Democratic majorities in both chambers of the legislature have sent Brown bills addressing such progressive measures as expanding voting rights, access to birth control and background checks for gun purchases, as well as enacting paid sick leave and making community college nearly free for thousands of students.
Brown has tried to balance "fighting for working families and making sure we open the doors of opportunity to every single Oregonian" and treading cautiously because she is acutely aware that voters did not actually elect her into office.
Normally, I would leave this for TC, but with him sick, I elected to pass on the positive news. The headline: The Political Revolution Is Close To Fruition In Oregon. As TC would say, Oregon leads the way!
Alternet — In October 2001, the U.S. launched its invasion of Afghanistan largely through proxy Afghan fighters with the help of Special Operations forces, American air power, and CIA dollars. The results were swift and stunning. The Taliban was whipped, a new government headed by Hamid Karzai soon installed in Kabul, and the country declared “liberated.”
More than 14 years later, how’d it go? What’s “liberated” Afghanistan like and, if you were making a list, what would be the accomplishments of Washington all these years later? Hmm… at this very moment, according to the latest reports, the Taliban control more territory than at any moment since December 2001. Meanwhile, the Afghan security forces that the U.S. built up and funded to the tune of more than $65 billion are experiencing “unsustainable” casualties, their ranks evidently filled with “ghost” soldiers and policemen — up to 40% in some places — whose salaries, often paid by the U.S., are being pocketed by their commanders and other officials. …
… economically speaking, how did the “reconstruction” of the country work out, given that Washington pumped more money (in real dollars) into Afghanistan in these years than it did into the rebuilding of Western Europe after World War II? Leaving aside the pit of official corruption into which many of those dollars disappeared, the country is today hemorrhaging desperate young people who can’t find jobs or make a living and now constitute what may be the second largest contingent of refugees heading for Europe.
Click through for the rest of this interesting article. Afghanistan is a country rich in natural mineral resources, but it is also a very poor country. One natural resource that flourishes in this harsh environment is the poppy. The economy, such that it is, is being supported by the poppy which makes its way around the globe. This from Wikipedia:
… The cultivation of opium [in Afghanistan] reached its peak in 1999, when 350 square miles (910 km2) of poppies were sown … The following year the Taliban banned poppy cultivation, … a move which cut production by 94 percent … By 2001 only 30 square miles (78 km2) of land were in use for growing opium poppies. A year later, after American and British troops had removed the Taliban and installed the interim government, the land under cultivation leapt back to 285 square miles (740 km2), with Afghanistan supplanting Burma to become the world's largest opium producer once more.
Foreign Policy — For nearly 17 years, K.T. has been living with a secret. In 1999, during the conflict in Kosovo, she was gang raped by Serbian forces.
When her son found out, she says, he had a question for her: “Why didn’t you ask them to kill you instead?”
If that was the reaction of her own family, what would the neighbors say? Fearing the humiliation, she suffered in silence. She says she tried to commit suicide. When she talks about that day, she still sometimes says it would have been better if she had been killed.
Thousands of survivors of the wartime sexual violence in Kosovo that took place when Serbia fought against an independence movement here in the late 1990s still suffer from stigma like K.T.. So it was a significant step when the country’s parliament moved in 2014 to recognize them as war victims, entitling them to a state pension, after years of refusing to acknowledge them. Nearly two years later, the government is expected to soon form the commission that will begin accepting applications. …
“I’m trying to convince other women who were raped to register, but very few will do it,” she said. “They’re afraid it will cause problems with their families — many are afraid their husbands would divorce and leave them. They say it’s been 17 years and we’ve gotten nothing, so why register now? The risk is too big.”
How would you react if your son said to you “Why didn’t you ask them to kill you instead?”, all because you had been gang raped by enemy soldiers during war? Society, by shaming these war victims, is blaming the victim rather than the perpetrator. We say "That is in Kosovo. It would never happen here.". But it does happen in the US. Just listen to Republican politicians talking about rape and abortion. Victims are stigmatised.
I kept hearing on the news that Trump said he likes uneducated people. I found that offensive. But it also tells us that he wants supporters that are uneducated so he can build his base with people that don't generally think critically.
The New Yorker — Making good on one of his key campaign promises, President Obama signed an executive order on Tuesday relocating the United States Congress to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
The President seemed to relish signing the order, calling the relocation a “win-win for America,” and indicating that Congress could be moved to its new headquarters “immediately.”
“We don’t envision doing any renovations to the facility down there,” he said. “It is ready to house Congress right now.”
The President did not specify what the current U.S. Capitol building would be used for in the future, but he hinted that it could be the setting for historic reënactments in the manner of Colonial Williamsburg.
Is Andy onto something or what?
My Universe —
Is this chick crazy? The cat certainly is patient and tolerant!
A Crying Mother Nature Iceberg
Yesterday, Judi’s “Terse Tuesday Tidbits” inclusion of “Incredible Glacier Art Pays Homage to Our Disappearing Ice” reminded me of an incredible photo of a “Crying Mother Nature Iceberg” that you would SWEAR had to be Photoshopped.
But it’s NOT!
The forlorn-looking 'Mother Nature' figure appeared to locals during a thaw, with the melting ice and snow falling towards the sea below.
The striking image … would seem certain to be heavily used by environmentalists protesting against climate change. Rising sea levels caused by melting ice caps are one of the most worrying effects of global warming and experts warn swathes of low-lying countries will be left under water.
The picture was captured by marine photographer and environmental lecturer Michael Nolan while on an annual voyage to observe the glacier and its surrounding wildlife.
The photo and story are from the “Daily Mail”
SCOTUS Nominee Obstruction – A Few Facts
For the record, and in case you want to arm yourself against the mendacious claims of Rethuglicans that they are well within “precedent” for their obstructing the President from carrying out his Constitutional duties of appointing a Supreme Court Justice (with their advice and consent), just share with them these quotes from St. Ronny Reagan and Mitch “McTurtle” McConnell:
REAGAN:
“The Federal judiciary is too important to be made a political football. I would hope, and the American people should expect … for the Senate to get to work and act.”
REAGAN:
Every day that passes with the Supreme Court below full strength impairs the people’s business in that crucially important body.
Mitch McConnell wrote in a 1970-71 law journal article that politics should play no role in Senate confirmations of Supreme Court appointments and that the Senate should defer to the president.
“The president is presumably elected by the people to carry out a program and altering the ideological directions of the court would seem to be a perfectly legitimate part of a presidential platform,” wrote McConnell.
Let’s Boogie!
And to end on a lighter note, how about the utter and absolute unbridled joy of 106-year-old Virginia McLaurin fulfilling her lifelong dream of visiting the White House and meeting (not to mention dancing with) President and Michelle Obama in celebration of Black History Month!
I’m sure we’ve all seen it, but it’s worth another look-see.
And a GIF so you can copy it for your own smile-inducement whenever you want:
