I was up most of the night coughing and need to stay in bed. Good riddance Strike Three Shrub.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:37 (average 5:34). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Feb 212016
Feb 212016
Were I still working, I would be working 15 hour days as this is the last week for retirement savings plan contributions for the 2015 tax year. Can you see me doing my happy dance now that I am out of that rat race? Mother is doing "well" and we had a good visit. This week will be a little quiter than last but that is OK by me. Hope you are all having a good weekend.
Short Takes
Huffington Post — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) suspended his campaign Saturday after a disappointing finish in the South Carolina primary, ending a dismal presidential bid that was built to “shock and awe” his opponents but barely made them flinch.
"I am proud of the campaign we have run to unify our country. To advocate conservative solutions that would give more Americans the opportunity to rise up and reach their God-given potential," Bush said, choking back emotion. "But the people of Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina have spoken, and I respect the decision, so tonight I'm suspending my campaign. I congratulate my competitors that are remaining on the island on their success, for a race that has been hard-fought."
Based on Saturday's South Carolina Republican primary, how long will it be before Kasich and Carson drop out? They both placed lower than Bush. I read somewhere that Bush staffers started sending out résumés late last week.
YouTube — And now, a word about voting rights from John Oliver.
I love John Oliver's way with words.
Rawstory — On Friday night, Donald Trump recounted for his supporters an inaccurate story about John Pershing, the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, who he alleged decided to summarily execute 49 of 50 Muslim prisoners while helping to put down a rebellion in the Muslim region of Mindanao from 1909-1913. The icing on the cake? The bullets were, as he noted, dipped in pig’s blood.
The fiftieth prisoner was left alive, presumably to go tell his friends of the horror; Trump claimed there was thereafter no more violence for twenty-five years. …
What’s so egregious about all of this is that America’s Muslims, nor really any of the world’s Muslims, conceived of nor orchestrated the Iraq war that has since spawned a terrorist movement – Isis – that Americans currently fear more than any other.
The Dumpfuhrer
Photo from Huffington Post Front Page US Edition
It is telling when at the end of every Trump article in the Huffington Post, the following note is printed:
Editor's Note: Donald Trump is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist,
birther and bully who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.
And THIS is who many Republicans want as their president?
Truthdig — Albert Woodfox, the last of the men known as the Angola 3, was released from a Louisiana prison on Friday.
He had spent over four decades in solitary confinement at the notorious Louisiana State Penitentiary known as “Angola.”
His release, on his 69 birthday, comes after he pleaded no contest to charges of manslaughter and aggravated burglary in the 1972 death of a prison guard. Though his previous convictions of murder for the death were previously thrown out, the state had blocked his release. He had always maintained his innocence.
Finally released, but will justice ever be done?
My Universe —
Feb 202016
The Republican party has made it possible for all manner of racists, bigots, homophobes, and misogynists to come out of hiding, because their hatred is now socially acceptable within Republican circles. But not everything they do is out in the open. Here a Georgia lawmaker is cleverly hiding KKK support in a bill designed to legalize discrimination against LGBT folks.
Prior to the Georgia State Senate passing a “religious freedom” bill designed to offer protections to people who oppose same-sex marriage, a black lawmaker was stunned when one of the authors behind the bill blithely dismissed the fact that it would also protect the Ku Klux Klan.
The Georgia First Amendment Defense Act was sponsored by GOP Sen. Greg Kirk, who was asked on the floor of the senate by black State Senator Emanuel Jones, if he understood the implications of the bill he authored.
“We’re all familiar with the terms KKK, meaning the hate organization Ku Klux Klan,” Jones asked Kirk.
“I’ve read about them, yes,” Kirk responded.
“Some of my heritage have done a lot more than just read about them,” Jones bluntly stated. “My concern is, couldn’t that organization — if they chose to do — so identify themselves as ‘faith based’?,” Jones asked, referring to the hate group which has a history of calling itself faith-based… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Raw Story>
It wouldn’t surprise me if the racist GA Republican homophobe, so blasé about supporting the KKK, is a member himself.
Feb 202016
I’m still feeling sick as a dawg. Lu came and helped me with my shower. As soon as my articles are up, I’m going back to bed for the day.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:24 (average 6:13). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: Conspiracy theorists believe that the Republican Party did not die from natural causes but was instead the target of an elaborately planned killing, a leading conspiracy theorist has confirmed.
Harland Dorrinson, whose basement walls are covered with photos of suspects in the killing of the G.O.P., has spent countless hours connecting those photos with different colors of yarn in the hopes that a larger pattern would emerge.
“Because the Republican Party is one hundred and sixty-one years old, it’s assumed that it was time for it to die,” he said. “The truth is, that’s exactly what the people who killed it want us to think.”
While some conspiracy theorists have focussed on the billionaire Donald J. Trump as the most likely suspect in the death of the Republican Party, Dorrinson favors a “two-killer” theory that involves Arizona Senator John McCain and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
“McCain tapped Palin to be his running mate, and that led directly to people like Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, and Donald Trump being considered credible candidates,” he said. “There is no logical reason why McCain would have chosen Palin unless he wanted to kill the Republican Party.”
Dang!! Andy is reporting news again!!
From Daily Kos: Chris Wallace has made a career of pretending to be a serious journalist. Wallace is to Fox News what pipe cleaners are to high art—sure you can probably get some high level art done with it, but usually, it’s fun to twist things up with … and colors!
This past Sunday he had presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on his show via satellite for a little interview. Chris and Bernie spoke about some of the Sanders campaign’s talking points and then Wallace went in for his gotcha question: Bernie Sanders likes to say that the wealthiest Americans have “rigged” our country, but, according to Wallace, back in 1981 (the year where Ronald Reagan slashed taxes on the wealthy down to 17 percent) taxes on the rich were so low and now they’re so high (37 percent). Doesn’t this mean that the rich aren’t doing a good job of “rigging” the system?
Bernie smiles because, like anything coming out of the mouth of something looking at a Fox News camera, this is not the newest thought or an unheard of argument. Forget about the fact that Reagan had to subsequently sign huge tax raises not once but twice because of the disaster his original 1981 tax cuts were. Bernie smiles and begins to laugh, and you have to watch it because it truly tickles Bernie, you can see it in his eyes, to be asked something so patently false. You get the feeling that Bernie Sanders begins laughing because of all the idiotic things he knew he might have to hear during an interview on Fox News, this was not going to be one of them.
Wallace got Bernie Blasted!!
From NY Times: The United States Supreme Court declined late Friday to stay a lower court ruling that has forced North Carolina’s Republican-dominated legislature to redraw its congressional electoral maps on the grounds that the original maps amounted to racial gerrymandering.
As a result, the state must now follow a contingency plan, also devised by Republican lawmakers, that tries to comply with the lower court’s ruling by making significant changes to the boundaries of the some of the state’s 13 congressional districts.
The changes take effect less than one month before the originally scheduled March 15 primary, which has forced the legislature to set up a second election dedicated exclusively to the congressional primaries, which will now take place June 7.
The contingency plan was approved by the state legislature on Friday, hours before the Supreme Court announced that it had rejected North Carolina Republicans’ application for a stay. But the approval of the contingency plan came over the strenuous objection of Democrats, who claimed that the new congressional maps were hyperpartisan — giving Republicans 10 safe districts to the Democrats’ three — and still failed to protect black voters’ interests…
…State Senator Josh Stein, a Democratic candidate for attorney general, noted that North Carolina was the state that President Obama most narrowly won in 2008 and most narrowly lost in 2012. “North Carolina is a 50-50 state, and yet this map all but guarantees 10 out of our 13 congressional delegations will be Republican,” he said. “We live in North Carolina, not North Korea. The voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around.”… [emphasis added]
What Republicans cant win with lies, they try to win with theft.
Cartoon:
Feb 202016
The week is done. I renewed my annual car insurance so I am good to drive. I paid my annual municipal utilities so I'll have water to drink and garbage/recycling pickup for another year. Physio is done til I start again on Monday, and English is done. It is absolutely pouring rain and is expected to do so all weekend. It is a shame that the weather is so wet as two of Lucia's kids, Jonathan and Loliyo, are at camp all weekend. This afternoon, I will go to see my mother and hopefully she'll be rid of her chest infection. Have a great weekend everyone!
Short Takes
The Nation — But in addition to the gridlock and rancor in Washington, the American political system has gotten much worse since Obama was elected, through no fault of his own.
The Supreme Court allowed unlimited secret campaign contributions and gutted the Voting Rights Act. Twenty-one states passed new voting restrictions targeting the core of Obama’s political coalition. Gerrymandering reached new lows following the 2010 election.
… Obama offered three ideas for how to repair America’s broken political system.
Is the tone of today's speech that much different than Obama's tone when he first became POTUS? As I recall, he was one who tried to build bridges, not erect walls. And I hear that reflected in today's speech.
An Homage to Faux Noise
H/T to Carol B and Ted W, Care2 for the picture
Alternet — Mexico’s unique and treasured native corn varieties could be under threat as Monsanto, the world’s largest seed producer, vies to plant genetically modified (GMO) corn in the country. …
However, community advocates and chefs warn that Mexico’s 59 indigenous corn varieties could be under threat by GMOs. As you can see in this video from the Financial Times, the country’s most noted chefs are speaking out against a possible takeover. Roughly 80 other Mexican chefs have also joined the fight against GMO corn.
Of course, two things that Monsanto does not say are 1) the GMO corn will contaminate the ancient varieties; and 2) farmers will be forced to buy corn seed from Monsanto which will further endanger the survival of these ancient varieties.
Politico Magazine — Senator Ted Cruz invoked President John F. Kennedy's name and legacy in a campaign appearance the other day, arguing that if he were alive today, Kennedy would be a Republican. Specifically, he said Kennedy “would be tarred and feathered by the modern Democratic Party.”
As Kennedy’s grandson, and as a student of his life, legacy and administration, I find this notion—and the suggestion that Ted Cruz is somehow taking up his mantle—absurd. Were my grandfather alive today, he’d be excited about how far we have come as a nation since 1963, he would feel a sense of urgency about the challenges that lie ahead and he most certainly would not be a Republican.
Click through for the rest of Jack Kennedy Schlossberg's piece. I find the idea that Cruz would even insinuate a comparison of himself to JFK Jr absolutely disgusting.
Mother Jones — Last month, solar power suffered a major blow in Nevada. Under pressure from the state's largest electric utility, NV Energy, state regulators agreed to drastically roll back a key financial incentive for rooftop solar installations. The move, which applied both to new solar users and to homes already equipped with panels, could leave existing customers on the hook for thousands of dollars in higher electricity costs. It also obliterated the economic case for prospective solar buyers. And it prompted a mass exodus of solar contractors in the state with the most solar jobsper capita. SolarCity, the country's largest solar installer, fired 550 workers; two of its main competitors, Vivant and Sunrun, plan to shut down their Nevada operations.
Getting support for solar power should be a pimary focus, but Republicans are so beholden to the fossil fuel industry that I doubt Republican candidates will even mention it.
My Universe —
Feb 192016
Stuff does happen 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."
To make a long story short, this situation appears to me to be one where the victims have been released from the custody of the actual vengeance-deserving criminals, but are now, though innocent, still being victimized by the ignorant. I think maybe you can put on your Eumenides panties* and deal with this.
It was the hashtag that turned the spotlight on the crisis of Nigerian girls and women being abducted by Boko Haram: #BringBackOurGirls. But now that government and humanitarian efforts are resulting in some women being rescued from the Islamic militant group and returned to their homes, it seems not all Nigerians are welcoming them with open arms.
According to a joint report released Tuesday by UNICEF and human rights group International Alert, many women and teen girls who were once held by Boko Haram are being rejected by their families and communities. People treat the former captives with mistrust over fears the women have become radicalized supporters of the extremists. But the suspicious behavior of family members tends to become explicit persecution if the former captives bore children after being sexually assaulted by members of Boko Haram.
The babies may be innocent, but they are seen by locals as being infected with “bad blood” from their rapist Boko Haram fathers, according to the report. “There is a belief that, like their fathers, the children will inevitably do what hyenas do and ‘eat’ the innocent dogs around them,” wrote the report’s authors.
The girls and women who have been rescued don't really include many, if any, of the 300 schoolgirls abducted from Chibok almost two years ago, and who were only 300 of over 2,000 women and girls abducted since 2012. My source doesn't say how many have been rescued – only that those who have, rejected by their families and neighbors, are being pushed into poverty, prostitution, homelessness, and the children into abandonment, discrimination, and violence..
The groups working on getting additional humanitarian aid towards the survival of these innocents appear to be UNICEF and International Alert. Both of course accept donations; neither, as far as I can find, has a system to earmark donations for any particular project.
By the way – when you finish helping these poor girls find justice – I don't think anyone reading this will be unhappy if you decide to scrap the Eumenides panties and go after Boko Haram.
* According to Aeschylus, Athena, with a combination of bribes and threats, convinced the Erinyes to direct their focus away from just vengeance and in the direction of simple justice, including the protection of the innocent. At that time they received the new collective name of "Eumenides" – kindly or merciful ones. My allusion to "big girl panties" was intended to tap into the "coming of age" implications of this myth.
The Furies and I will be back.
Feb 192016
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The author of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee, has passed at the age of 89. As though it were yesterday, I can remember seeing her novel on the coffee table of a good friend back in 1960 or 1961 when I was in junior high. His mother was reading it and I was intrigued by its title, and decided I would also read it. The love for that book, and Ms. Lee, was only deepened when the movie version starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch came out in 1962. While there are many memorable and powerful moments in the book, the movie version cemented mine at the end of the Verdict Scene when those in the Gallery rise to show their deep respect for Atticus. I would only make a small revision today:
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Feb 192016
Yesterday was another day of significant joint pain in the knees and hands so I stayed low and covered up until I had to go out to a meeting in the evening. Sitting at the computer is difficult and it is at times like this that I wish I had a laptop so that I could work with my legs stretched out and warm under a blanket. Maybe some day . . . Today is supposed to rain very heavily although it has not yet started which is odd. I will be off to teaching again this afternoon with Lucia.
Short Takes
CBC — Pope Francis said Thursday that Donald Trump is "not Christian" if he intends to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Trump immediately fired back, saying it is disgraceful for a religious leader to question a person's faith. …
Trump, a Presbyterian, last week criticized Francis' plans to pray at the border. He said the move was ill-informed and showed Francis to be a political figure …
"No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man's religion or faith," he [Trump] said.
So Trump would suspend the first amendment rights of the Pope, or any other religious leader for that matter, for commenting on the actions of another when those actions do not meet with the professed values of that person? Get over it Trump!
Alternet — Historians may someday see the 2016 election season as the turning point in how our society understands the Dominionist movement that is seeking to recast society in its own image. …
… discusses the influence of “seven mountains dominionism” on Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) – who may be the most openly theocratic candidate ever to be a serious contender for a major party presidential nomination. Perhaps just as remarkably, the Dominionism advocated by the likes of the Cruz family is wrapped in a claim that religious freedom is under assault in the U.S.
IMO, religious freedom — the freedom to believe or not to believe, to worship or not to worship — is under assault in the US, but NOT as Cruz and his ilk would have us believe. It is people like Cruz who would ram their pseudo Christianity down everyone's throats, who would legislate biblically based laws (Christian Sharia law) that all people, regardless of their beliefs, would have to follow.
Truthdig — But then comes the imbalance: If there is a common element in the rhetoric of all the Republican candidates, it is that Obama’s presidency is an utter disaster, and he is trying to turn us, as Rubio keeps saying, into “a different kind of country.” You’d imagine from hearing the Republicans speak (Kasich is a partial exception) that we are in the midst of a new Great Depression, have just been defeated in a war, have lost our moral compass entirely, have no religious liberty, and are on the verge of a dictatorship established by a slew of illegal executive orders.
Oh, yes, and the president who brought about all these horrors has lost the authority to name a Supreme Court justice, no matter what the Constitution—which should otherwise be strictly interpreted—says.
EJ Dionne is correct . . . the Republicans are hammering away at Obama's presidency in their less than truthful style. Democrats need to uphold Obama's presidency and call out Republicans for their action . . . or should I say, lack of any meaningful action for the country!
My Universe —
