Politics Plus

Yesterday I spent a lot of time in bed, because it was so cold the heat had trouble keeping up.  Today, I have lots of calling and scheduling to do.  And there are lots of Republicans to put in the unemployment line in November.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:51 (average 5:12).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Religious Ecstasy:

Thanks to the world’s best backup QB, Denver has a week off and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Fantasy Football Report:

Here are the final results from Lefty Blog Friends, our own fantasy football league.

Congrats to all, especially Jack, Patty Monster, and Rob.  In sixteen years of play, this was my worst showing ever, after being unconscious/delirious for the first six weeks.  Next year I should do better.

Don’t forget that you all get to keep two players from your current teams, instead of drafting in the first two rounds, if you so choose.

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: A Pennsylvania man identified by Butler News as "John Pisone" (he’s now deleted his Facebook page) took time out of his busy day to stop and harass a group people protesting against fracking in Pennsylvania.

As the video starts, Pisone is chastising the protesters, questioning if they’ve ever had a job. Only seconds later, he turns to cameraman Tom Jefferson (who is black) and let’s loose a vulgar string of obscenities:

Pisone: This chimp right here (pointing at the camera). 
Unidentified protester: What did you say?
Pisone: Yeah, chimp. This fucking nigger right here with a mop on his head.
Protestors: You better get out of here!
Pisone: I don’t give a fuck. He’s milking my fucking tax dollars. 
Protestors: You better leave! You better get out now!
Pisone: I don’t give a fuck what you have to say.

He repeatedly made monkey noises at the cameraman and continued his racist rant (seen in the video below).

Tom Jefferson uploaded to the video to YouTube and it didn’t take long for outraged internet sleuths to contact his employer, MMC Land Management, who promptly fired John Pisone, releasing the following statement:

Today, we were disgusted to learn that one of MMC’s former employees used racial slurs and made racially charged comments during a peaceful protest in Mars, Pennsylvania, outside of work hours at a location with which we have no affiliation. We are sorry that this incident occurred. Whether at work or not, we do not condone hate speech – EVER. Inclusion and diversity are among MMC’s core values. We believe in equality for everyone, regardless of race, age, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. MMC has terminated this employee and will never do business with him again in the future.

Republican Barf Bag Alert!!

This is the face of the Republican Party!

From NY Times: Renewing his emphasis on the need for more gun restrictions, President Obama will participate in a live televised town-hall-style meeting on Thursday to discuss gun violence in the United States, according to the White House.

The hourlong event, at George Mason University outside Washington, will be televised on CNN at 8 p.m. On Monday, Mr. Obama will meet with Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch to discuss what executive actions he can take to curb gun violence.

Republicans have their own solution: put more guns in the hands of people, who love to hate.

From Common Dreams: Ringing in the new year in Des Moines, Iowa, Bernie Sanders told crowds that the state has the power to "lead the political revolution" as his campaign cheered rally turnouts that "seem to be getting larger every day."

The choice is clear. We have revolution, or we have devolution.

Cartoon:

Yesterday I spent most of the day resting, although I did cook myself a steak, cheese whipped potatoes, Asian veggies, and chocolate cake  (bought).  I successfully moderated portions, as my glucose level this morning was 97.  Sleeping without sheets is very uncomfortable.  And my helper-friend is still AWOL.  Tomorrow is a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb.  My Broncos’ meditation with the chargers will be televised.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:45 (average 4:46).  To do it. click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos (classic 11/2015): Sixty million people died in World War II, but fascism won. It didn’t win on the battlefield. It didn’t win right away. It won because the same fears, the same greed, the same hatred that fueled its growth in the first part of the twentieth century never went away. The symbols of fascism became anathema, but the causes … went deep. And gradually, slowly, one step at a time, all those vices became first tolerated, then treated as virtues, and then as the only acceptable view.

Godwin’s Law—the contention that any argument will eventually come round to warnings about Hitler—is twenty-five years old, but for much longer than that, we’ve been taught that the use of that… f-word, is not to be taken seriously. Sure, every government program, new or old, is open to accusations of communism and warnings of a slippery slope toward some failed dictatorship. That’s expected. But to even acknowledge our long, stumbling lurch to the right; the building force of corporate power; the relentless need for war; a police whose power of enforcement is divorced from law; a preening nationalism that rewards the full rights of citizenship only to those who fit an ever-narrower mold… You can’t call it fascism. People will only laugh.

Godwin’s Law – a common meme used by Republicans, other fascists, pseudo-intellectuals, and people with their heads in the sand, or in smellier places, whenever anyone points out the verifiable commonalities between today’s Republican Party and Germany’s National Socialist Party, before Hitler became dictator. The Republican Reich must be stopped.

From NY Times: For decades, the south steps of the State Capitol have served as a staging area for rallies on issues ranging from abortion to immigration rights, but Friday was the first time that demonstrators walked around here with handguns on their hips.

On a chilly, overcast day, more than 100 Texans gathered carrying an array of holstered weaponry — Glocks, Smith & Wessons and more — to mark a change in the law that lets them openly display the fact that they are armed. The practice had been banned in Texas since 1871.

Similar demonstrations were held in several other Texas cities.

Look! The Republican Ammosexuals are exposing their penises.

From Alternet: A self-described “pro-family” conservative said on Facebook he should be allowed to grab the nipples of breastfeeding mothers if a law banning women exposing breasts in public didn’t pass. New Hampshire state Rep. Josh Moore (R) deleted the comment, but it was archived and posted by Slate.

How about grabbing Moore’s balls in public… with pruning shears?

Cartoon: