(Not quite so) Terse Tuesday Tidbits January 19, 2016

Posted by jla at 12:41 pm Politics

Jan 192016

WATCH: Survey Reveals a Startling Truth About White Christians (text and video)
“Most polls don’t matter much. But this one does. A recent Public Religion Research Institute survey has revealed a devastating truth: While about 80 percent of black Christians believe police-involved killings — like the ones that killed Tamir Rice, Laquan McDonald, and so many more — are part of a larger pattern of police treatment of African Americans, around 70 percent of white Christians believe the opposite … that they are simply isolated incidents.”
https://sojo.net/articles/watch-survey-reveals-startling-truth-about-white-christians

Paul Ryan’s Forum on Expanding Opportunity Won’t Expand Opportunity
“This past weekend, in my congressional district, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott hosted a presidential candidate forum titled “Expanding Opportunity.”
http://talkpoverty.org/2016/01/12/paul-ryans-forum-expanding-opportunity-wont-expand-opportunity/

I Served 11 Years in Prison. This Is What I Learned
“Last week I attended a presidential forum in Des Moines with nearly 1,000 grassroots activists from across the Midwest. The focus of the event was on a real economic recovery—one that creates economic security for struggling Americans and invests in underserved communities.
I felt it was important to be there. I wanted to ask candidates how they would reform a criminal justice system that is ripping apart our most vulnerable communities, especially communities of color.”
http://talkpoverty.org/2016/01/14/served-in-prison-what-i-learned/

The wealthy are ruining American health care
“Campaign contributions from the superrich foist unpopular policies on the public”
http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2016/1/the-wealthy-are-ruining-american-health-care.html

Jakarta Attack May Signal Revival of Bloody Campaign in Indonesia

“Hundreds of Indonesians have traveled to Syria to join the Islamic State over the past two years, and more than 50 have been killed there, according to the Indonesian government.
“But in recent months, Indonesian jihadists appear to have increasingly sought targets at home. Now, security analysts say that the violence in the capital, Jakarta, on Thursday may portend a revival of an intermittent but bloody campaign, often against symbols of the West, that has plagued Indonesia for the past decade and a half.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/15/world/asia/indonesia-islamic-state.html?WT.mc_id=SmartBriefs-Newsletter&WT.mc_ev=click

New study finds positive economic development benefits associated with bus rapid transit projects

“Bus rapid transit is a type of bus service that travels faster and more reliably by providing level boarding, triggering traffic signals, providing pre-board fare payment and running in dedicated lanes separated from traffic, among other typical characteristics. For the first time, a new peer-reviewed research study, unveiled this morning, provides compelling evidence that BRT — often with a price tag far lower than other transit investments — can provide ample economic benefits for cities large and small.”

http://t4america.org/2016/01/12/new-study-finds-positive-economic-development-benefits-associated-with-bus-rapid-transit-projects/

Detroit Teachers Shutdown Public Schools in Protest of Deplorable Conditions (video and transcript)

“Public school parent Stephanie Beal says she supports the teacher protests and the idea of an elected school board to ensure a quality education for all”
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=15449

Ceasefire Needed in Turkey
“Richard Falk says a new ceasefire and renewal of the peace process between the Turkish state and the Kurdish militants are required to end the bloodshed”
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=15446

Tommy Chong: Here's My Trump Conspiracy Theory, Man
“Everyone's got a crackpot political theory on the Presidential race — even Tommy Chong — who may actually be on to something … or just on something.”
http://therealnews.com/t2/component/hwdvideoshare/viewvideo/80164

Paramedics help people avoid emergency rooms

“A new initiative is underway around the country to use firefighter paramedics to keep people out of hospitals and direct them to appropriate primary care or other services. And, it’s working! With support from the California Health Foundation, firefighter paramedics in the Golden State are being trained to identify individuals who use hospital emergency rooms frequently for non-emergency situations and, instead, pay them regular visits. The goal is to get them needed care so that they don’t call 911 or need to use the emergency room. The paramedics call on them in their homes and connect them to regular doctors or other services that can keep their health on track.”

http://justcareusa.org/paramedics-help-people-avoid-emergency-rooms/

SNL Re-imagines GOP Debate (video)

http://kpdailyfunnies.blogspot.com/2016/01/snl-re-imagines-gop-debate.html#.Vpzan5MrI1g

Personal Update–1/19/2015

Posted by TomCat at 6:57 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 192016

I’m afraid I have no time for anything this morning as I have an appointment with Dr. Lin. She the surgeon who amputated my leg and then dis the skin graft needed to enable a meeting between Stumpy and George. I leave in a little over an hour.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:33 (average 4:37). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

0119Cartoon

Pollution Health Concerns in Michigan

Posted by jla at 1:35 pm Politics

Jan 182016

Periodically we hear complaints about how news sources do no more on so many stories than just printing press releases from government agencies, politicians or political campaigns. We also hear of stories the European press covers in greater depth than found in the U.S. The term media conglomerate has become a part of this conversation. The latest data I've seen spoke of 20 companies owning 796 of U.S. newspapers–and at least some of those companies also own magazines and/or radio and/or TV stations. The first story in MI apparently got little attention until one or more residents brought it to Rachel Maddow's attention…but it wasn't MI's first major pollution story in recent years that may have gotten too little attention nationally, so I include the second for some of the context.

Today is a day honoring MLK whose words on silence included:

"Your life begins to end the moment you start being silent about the things that matter."

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people."

"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."

"There comes a time when silence is betrayal."

May this help motivate us to speak up to the right people when we learn things giving us cause for concern.

Flint
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2016/0116/Flint-water-crisis-Obama-says-it-qualifies-as-federal-emergency?cmpid=ema:nws:WS3&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Welcome%20Series%20Email%20%233

Detroit
http://samuel-warde.com/2016/01/proof-the-koch-brothers-caught-literally-poisoning-detroit-video/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SamuelWarde+%28Samuel+Wynn+Warde%29

The 4th Democratic Presidential Debate

Posted by TomCat at 11:00 am Politics

Jan 182016

I know my opinion will be very unpopular among fellow progressives, but since I’m not a Republican with my head in the sand or somewhere smellier, I’ll deal with an unpleasant truth, rather than pretend it does not exist. Hillary Clinton clearly won last nights Democratic Presidential Debate. Often by distorting facts, she kept Bernie on the defensive for the entire night, so the debate focused on his perceived shortcomings far more that on the actual issues themselves. I have the complete video and transcript, so you can judge for yourselves.

Hillary Clinton targeted Bernie Sanders’s electoral appeal with some of her strongest language yet in a debate on Sunday night, seizing on Mr. Sanders’s recent policy shifts on universal health care and gun control to try to undercut his image as an anti-political truth teller.

Mrs. Clinton also repeatedly aligned herself with a former political rival, President Obama, as she sought to portray her current one, Mr. Sanders, as a fringe candidate who did not stand with Mr. Obama on major issues like Wall Street regulation. Mr. Sanders, in turn, gave no quarter as he criticized Mrs. Clinton as dishonest in her attacks.

With Mr. Sanders gaining on her before the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, Mrs. Clinton cast herself as the defender of Mr. Obama’s record and Mr. Sanders as playing into Republican hands with proposals like replacing the Affordable Care Act with a single-payer plan, which Mr. Sanders describes as “Medicare for all.”

“We’ve accomplished so much already,” she said. “I don’t want to see the Republicans repeal it.”

“That is nonsense,” Mr. Sanders said. “What a ‘Medicare for all’ program does is finally provide health care for every man, woman and child as a right.” He added that 29 million people still lack health insurance.

Mrs. Clinton was pointed in her critiques of Mr. Sanders but relatively restrained in tone and words as she sought to raise doubts about what many liberals see as Mr. Sanders’s greatest virtues: his integrity and consistency on policy issues.

She chose not to accuse him of “flip-flopping” on gun control bills as she had earlier on Sunday, but rather said at the debate that she was “pleased” he had “reversed” himself.

For Mrs. Clinton, it was enough to note Mr. Sanders’s changes in policy: By doing so, she raised doubts about his consistency, but stopped short of eviscerating his positions and potentially alienating a restless liberal base that largely favors Mr. Sanders.

Her tactics left Mr. Sanders appearing frustrated at times, such as when he called her “very disingenuous” on his gun record, or when he sighed audibly and rolled his eyes as she implicitly questioned his principles on health care… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

I agree with Bernie that Hillary’s tactics were disingenuous, but the problem is that, unless someone is thoroughly well educated on the issues, they won’t realize that.

Here is the complete video.

And here is the transcript of the Democratic Debate.

Here’s a note of criticism for the Congressional Black Caucus. If an organization is going to host a debate, they should not officially endorse a participant in that debate until afterwards.

In conclusion, I think Hillary is a far more skillful politician than Bernie is. That’s a big reason that I favor Bernie.

Open Thread–1/18/2016

Posted by TomCat at 11:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 182016

Yesterday I posted my MLK Day article a day early. I knew I’d be covering the Democratic Presidential Debate today, and was uncertain if I’d have time for both, as I have PT coming and my helper friend coming to organize clothes. Tomorrow I have a final follow-up appointment with the surgeon, who whittled my leg down to create Stumpy, so I may have just a Personal Update or an Open Thread.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took mw 2:26 (average 4:50). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Religious Ecstasy:

0117Broncos23-Steelers16

It was much closer than the score indicates. Phew!!

Short Takes:

From Christian Science Monitor: What does the federal government do with your money? Take our taxes quiz.

I answered 19 of 25 questions correctly for a total score of 76%. Average reader scored 40%. Click through to take the quiz.

From Alternet: “He’d never beat Trump or Cruz in a general election.”

Wrong. According to the latest polls, Bernie is the strongest Democratic candidate in the general election, defeating both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in hypothetical matchups. (The latest Real Clear Politics averages of all polls shows Bernie beating Trump by a larger margin than Hillary beats Trump, and Bernie beating Cruz while Hillary loses to Cruz.)

This is just the first of six responses to Bernie skeptics from the Reich on the left that is always right, Robert Reich, not the Reich on the right that is always wrong, the Republican Reich. Click through for the other five.

From Raw Story: Musician Carlos Santana mocked Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in an open letter posted on his Facebook page, according to International Business Times.

The message, obtained by Clutch magazine, praised President Barack Obama after his State of the Union address, and then compared Trump to an angry ape. But the open letter was deleted from Santana’s page a few days after he posted it.

“Regarding Mr. Trump,” Santana wrote. “I remember when I was a child living in Tijuana…I often crossed the border to visit the San Diego Zoo. I would hear loud screams and commotion in the distance. As I came closer to the sound, I noticed everyone was staring at an ape in a glass cage. The ape was staring back at the crowd that gathered. With an angry look of disgust, the ape defecated in his hand and threw it at the crowd. This is what I hear when Mr [sic] Trump speaks.

LMAO!! Here’s some refreshment.

Cartoon:

Squatch’s Open Thread 17/01/2016

Posted by Lynn Squance at 4:07 am Open Thread, Politics

Jan 182016

Today was an uneventful day . . . church, lunch, snuggling with the furbabes, short nap, snuggling with the furbabes, reading and preparing this post, snuggling with the furbabes, and so on. This coming week will be busy with various appointments/commitments as was last week, so relaxing was the order of the day. I hope you all did some relaxing too!

Short Takes

The Nation — The whole mess has also cost Planned Parenthood millions of dollars—so the organization claims in a major lawsuit filed Thursday against CMP and affiliated individuals. The 65-page complaint accuses the group of racketeering, fraud, and a variety of other charges. It seeks compensation for financial losses due to the videos and the public backlash, as well as other damages. Although Planned Parenthood has sued a handful of states that sought to revoke public funding in the wake of the videos, this is the first legal challenge the organization has made directly to the makers of the videos. Planned Parenthood waited months to file the suit because it was a “very complex conspiracy,” according to Executive Vice President Dawn Laguens, who spoke with reporters Thursday. “It really has taken some time to investigate the network of people who perpetrated this fraud and the multiple laws that they broke in the process.”

I for one am extremely happy that Planned Parenthood is taking this step. It should not be necessary, but extremists have made it so. As to the first amendment rights of CMP, surely those rights do not extend to the fabrication of erroneous claims!

Washington Post — Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders would raise income taxes across the board — and by substantially more on high earners — to pay for an ambitious single-payer health-care plan, under details released Sunday night.

The senator from Vermont said the $1.38-trillion-a-year plan, which was outlined before a Democratic debate here, would ultimately save most families thousands of dollars a year on out-of-pocket health-care costs.

Sanders would pay for it largely through higher income taxes. Those making more than $250,000 a year would pay a marginal tax rate of 37 percent, up a few percentage points from what they now pay.

Sanders would add three more tax brackets, with marginal rates topping out at 52 percent for those making $10 million a year — significantly more than the current top rate of 39.6 percent.

Do I like the idea of universal health care? . . . absolutely! Assuming that Sanders' numbers are correct, go for it. However, I also know that the Congress as it stands, will never approve it. There has to be a wholesale political revolution that says 'No' to the party of 'No' before universal health care can rise.

Foreign Policy — It has been more than a decade since warring parties signed a deal to end Liberia’s bloody conflict. Fueled by the pillaging of the country’s rich natural resources — diamonds, gold, iron, and timber — the two civil wars that raged across 14 years left more than 250,000 people dead and displaced more than 1 million others. When the final peace deal was signedin 2003, however, the resources that had sustained the war for so long were not mentioned at all. The oversight, though common, has often proved disastrous for countries trying to break free from years of violence.

According to a new report by the international nonprofit Forest Trends, which analyzed more than 800 peace agreements signed since 1945, fewer than 15 percent mentioned natural resources. Even fewer take the necessary steps to prevent these resources from being used to sustain — or even restart — fighting. It is a glaring omission considering that the U.N. Environment Program estimates that at least 40 percent of conflicts have a link to natural resources. About half of all peace agreements fail within five years, often because the warring factions exploit resources in order to fuel the return to conflict.

As globalization drives growing markets for more commodities and a changing climate upsets existing patterns of resource use, the international community must take the governance of natural resources much more seriously — simply as a matter of peace and security. Restarting resource extraction post-conflict before rebuilding broken governments not only fails to deliver on promises of a revitalized national economy — often a primary goal in rebuilding war-torn countries — but also threatens the peace. And without the safeguards of governance, unregulated extraction risks returning countries to conflict by reviving the unsustainable and inequitable practices that fueled grievance in the first place.

What are most, if not all, wars about? . . . power . . . the acquiring of and maintaining of power. To do that requires money for manpower and materiel. And money is generated by exploiting natural resources. Natural resources must be acknowledged in the peace process.

My Universe —

cute-baby-and-cats-love-milk

Who needs Brauny papertowel when you have a toddler and 3 cats?

Monday Morning Musings (on MLK Holiday for CA)

Posted by jla at 5:20 pm Politics

Jan 172016

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.
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”
–Desmond Tutu

“Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.”
–Jonas Salk

Let us first turn to Clio (guitar):
These California Maximum-Security Prisoners Are Making an Album (text along with a video and audio links)
http://www.motherjones.com/media/2015/02/new-folsom-prison-music-project-zoe-boekbinder-ani-difranco

Before Taylor Swift and Shania Twain, There Were Sara and Maybelle Carter

"America's original country superstars have a lasting legacy."

http://www.motherjones.com/media/2016/01/winding-stream-maybelle-sara-carter-family-johnny-cash-documentary

Sounds hopeful to me, how about you?

Perhaps Erato would claim this as a love poem? (hanky alert for this video):

Syria's Young Talent
https://www.facebook.com/aworldatschool/videos/657896257684671/?&utm_medium=email&utm_source=awas&utm_content=1&utm_campaign=2016_01_14_SoS&source=2016_01_14_SoS

Was this a good example of how to respond to tragic events?

Continuing with Terpsichore (education):

One photo captures the power of a teacher's support — and it's making the rounds

http://www.upworthy.com/one-photo-captures-the-power-of-a-teachers-support-and-its-making-the-rounds?c=upw1&u=6ffb12f2d750fff1c628f4ed4366938bb526f1d5

Does this inspire you?

Clio (also history) reminds us of history many of us never learned:
Sikh Soldier Allowed to Keep Beard in Rare Army Exception

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/14/us/sikh-soldier-allowed-to-keep-beard-in-rare-army-exception.html?_r=1

Is this history we will become glad it became past tense?

And then to Thalia (Colbert comedy video clip with a sting and advice and election commentary)

Killer Mike Educates Stephen Colbert
“Rapper and Activist Killer Mike of Run The Jewels stops by The Late Show to talk about racial justice, Bernie Sanders and formal sweats.”

http://therealnews.com/t2/component/hwdvideoshare/viewvideo/80141

Would you follow this advice?

And Terpsichore (also dance) brings this inclusive delight for us to end
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hTfCwLpbaw

Thank you dear reader for joining me on this journey of discovery and quest for hope (and please forgive the large amounts of blank space that hours have not been sufficient for me to solve)

On MLK Day!

Posted by TomCat at 9:05 am Holiday, Politics

Jan 172016

It was a pleasure to work with Dr. King on Vietnam Summer. Of all the people I have met in my life, he stands head and shoulders above the rest.

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