Politics – Page 979 – Politics Plus

Climate Change Attacked US in 2015

Posted by TomCat at 9:19 am Politics

Dec 272015

For a large part of the year, I was pretty oblivious to my surroundings, so I was not aware of the extent to which global climate change has propagated disasters here in the US. Therefore the news that FEMA has actually issues 77 disaster declarations this year.

In the warmest year on record, Mother Nature wrought havoc across the country, with large swaths of the west coast ablaze during the summer and the north-east blanketed in snow for most of the winter

2015 has been the warmest year, globally, on record, with the lower 48 states of the US experiencing their balmiest autumn ever measured.

This kind of exceptional heat provided an appropriate setting for the Paris climate summit, where 196 nations agreed to curb greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the sort of dangerous climate change that contributes to floods, drought and damaging sea level rises.

But the past year has also seen a number of severe natural disasters, climate change-fueled or otherwise, that have battered the US. The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued 77 disaster declarations in 2015. Here are some of the disasters that tested Americans this year.

January snow storms

For New Yorkers, the snow in January was something of a near-miss – US National Weather Service warnings of a “potentially historic blizzard” proved erroneous. The subway was shut and driving was banned for what turned out to be just a light coating of snow.

But for those in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Massachusetts, there was no such escape . Thousands of people lost power, flights were cancelled and sports events were called off as more than 2ft of snow settled in parts of the region. High winds and coastal flooding, with winds gusting to 80 mph in Massachusetts, pounded the Atlantic coast. For many cities in New England, winter storm Juno, as the blizzard was unofficially dubbed, was one of the heaviest snowstorms on record, with at least two people dying as an indirect result of the conditions.

Boston was smothered by snow, with February its snowiest month on record . In total, around 8ft of snow fell on the city, which ran out of places to dump cleared snow. This immense downfall prompted several people to throw themselves from their windows into huge snowdrifts – while videoing the experience, of course. Mayor Marty Walsh was enraged: “This isn’t Loon Mountain, this is the city of Boston!”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Raw Story>

Click through for several more types of disasters and lists of examples. Then remove Republicans from power, before it’s too late.

Open Thread–12/27/2015

Posted by TomCat at 9:19 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

Dec 272015

It’s a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. My Broncos have the Monday Night service with the Bengals. Otherwise I have to figure out how to combine six drawers into three and free up 1/3 of my desk space. ARGH!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:55 (average 5:53). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos (Best of 2015): I am a Christian business owner in Indiana…

…Not really. But If I were, this is the sign I would put in my door.

"Dear Valued Patrons.

Due to my sincerely held religious beliefs, and in light of the RFRA, recently signed by our Dear Leader Pence, I will no longer be doing business with the following persons; nor permitting them in my establishment:

1. Divorcees. Matthew 19:9: “And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery.”

2. Anyone who has ever read their horoscope or called a psychic hotline. Leviticus 20:6: "As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people."

3. Anyone with a tattoo. Leviticus 19:28 "You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord."

4. Anyone born illegitimately. Also, anyone who, back to ten generations, is descended from someone born illegitimately. If you can not PROVE, using appropriate church sources, that ten generations of your family were born in wedlock, I will have to err on the side of caution and not serve you. Deuteronomy 23:2 "No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the LORD; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the LORD."

Click through for the other four. And don’t forget Leviticus 25:44. I get to own a Canadian!!

From The New Yorker:

Within this cycle, it’s been a delight to publish Andy Borowitz’s humor column—and to be continually reminded that, sometimes, the only way to make sense of what’s happening in American politics is to laugh. In that spirit, here are fifteen of my favorite Borowitz Reports from the past year, arranged chronologically.

Joe Biden Releases Both E-mails Written While Vice-President
Iran Offers to Mediate Talks Between Republicans and Obama
Indiana Governor Stunned By How Many People Seem to Have Gay Friends
New Hillary Clinton Ad Features Just Kittens
N.F.L. Sentences Brady to a Year with the Jets

Thanks Andy! Click through for the other 10 links.

From NY Times: After decades of debate in South Carolina over the Confederate battle flag, it seemed the matter had been settled in July, when state officials stopped flying the flag on State House grounds and relegated it to a museum for “appropriate display.”

Then came the price tag.

This month, consultants for the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum [Seditious state agency delinked] here introduced a $5.3 million plan to expand the facility and show off the flag, along with an electronic display of the names of the state’s Civil War dead.

That idea proved to be a bust among Democrats who view the flag as an affront to African-Americans, and among members of both parties who balked at the cost.

$5.3 million?!!? Dang!! For 50¢, I’ll commemorate that flag!! Just give me the flag, a big bowl of my five alarm chili, and an outhouse!!

Cartoon:

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Squatch’s Open Thread 26/12/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 3:13 am Open Thread, Politics

Dec 272015

I have had a very relaxing, nay, lazy day today. It is supposed to snow tonight but we'll see. Snow and Vancouver drivers don't generally mix well. Some of us have a lot of experience driving in snow (like me), while others don't change their wild driving habits for anything! I have church in the morning and then I may try to go see the new Star Wars movie. Just to let you know that since TC has taken back the puzzle, I will probably scale back my postings in January sometime.

Puzzle — You,ve been finding the puzzle here for over 3 months, but starting today, TC has taken back the puzzle. Maybe I should try something like Suduko if I can find one on the web that is embedable so we're all doing the same one.

Short Takes

Alternet — … the question to ask is whether this film can spark a political revolution just in time for the 2016 election. …

“Where to Invade Next” begins with the observation that the United States has not won a war since World War II. It then comically imagines the Department of Defense calling on Moore to step in and save our nation. His plan? Invade nations not to take them over, but to take their good ideas. We then see a hilariously ironic shot of Moore on a ship draped in the American flag and heading out on his quest.

Moore then embarks on a tour of a series of European nations and one in Africa where he finds society getting it right. From debt-free education to paid leave, women’s rights, prison reform and delicious school lunches, Moore offers viewers a world where people simply live better than we do here.

This is a short trailer for the movie.

Michael Moore is interviewed by Stephen Colbert.

I have not seen the movie and probably won't for some time even though it debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2015. I can't find any distribution information for Canada but it is rolling out in the US in the lead up to the New Hampshire primaries. All of us need to think of our national issues in new creative ways. BTW, MM weighs in about "where he got his international outlook growing up in northern Michigan (“I blame Canada”)". Now I, as a Canadian, can accept that notariety! Michael Moore in “Where to Invade Next” : "The American dream seems to be alive and well everywhere except America."

Mother Jones — At least 96 children died at Dozier between 1914 and 1973, according to school records, and while state officials say there’s no proof, former students insist that some of the deaths were the result of foul play. Boys of all races were routinely, brutally, and even fatally beaten by staff, they allege; some were raped, and “runners” were fired upon—at least seven kids were reported dead after trying to escape.

Tens of thousands of boys passed through Dozier’s gates between its founding in 1900 and 2011, when Florida officials shut it down (citing budgetary reasons) amid a Justice Department investigation that found ongoing “systemic, egregious, and dangerous practices” at the school.

I stumbled upon this 2014 article and found the level of violence unimaginable, yet evidence as noted in a Tampa Bay Times follow up article bears witness to the stories of former residents. Was this a stop on the school to prison pipeline?

CBC — Siham Abu Sitta, a social worker, and her two daughters fled Syria for Lebanon in February 2013 after her husband was killed by a sniper.

She is Palestinian, but grew up in Syria in Yarmouk, a permanent Palestinian refugee camp close to Damascus that has been the scene of vicious fighting between anti-government rebels, Syrian forces and, more recently, ISIS.

A long siege of Yarmouk has led to several hundred deaths from starvation.

While a refugee in Lebanon, Siham met a Canadian-Lebanese filmmaker Carol Mansour who made a short film about her and four other refugee women as they struggled to get by.

The film, Not Who We Are, won two international awards and, earlier this year, caught the attention of Fairlawn Avenue United Church in Toronto, whose congregation reached out to sponsor Siham and her daughters.

With the prospect of moving to Canada, Siham and her twin girls, Joudy and Jana, have been working hard to become fluent in English.

Syrian refugee crisis

This picture taken on Jan. 31, 2014, and released by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, shows residents of the besieged Palestinian camp of Yarmouk, queuing to receive food supplies, in Damascus. (UNRWA via AP, File)

Click through to read Siham's story about her husband's death and her life in Lebanon with her very young twin daughters. So why are refugees like Sirham still rejected by the US? Sirham and her daughters have now arrived in Canada.

My Universe — Cats can be sooooooooo melodramatic!

The Government Money is Buying

Posted by TomCat at 9:15 am Politics

Dec 262015

I’ve heard a lot of crowing about how funding for Planned Parenthood survived the budget deal passed by Congress. Don’t misunderstand me. I’ll all for Planned Parenthood. It’s one of few organizations that received a small year-end gift from me, in spite of all my medical expenses. However, I almost wish their funding had been cut, instead of a couple of the provisions that Republicans slimed in there.

As untold millions of dollars pour into the shadowy campaign troughs of the presidential candidates, voters need to be reminded of the rosy assumptions of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision that legitimized the new spending frenzy.

In allowing unlimited spending on candidates by corporations and unions, the court’s decision, in 2010, blithely pronounced, “A campaign finance system that pairs corporate independent expenditures with effective disclosure has not existed before today.” Effective disclosure exists?

The court majority in the 5-to-4 decision should have been watching this month when the Republican-controlled Congress, which has firmly bottled up all campaign disclosure legislation, voted to further cripple disclosure at two of its most vital points.

In the new budget bill, Republicans inserted a provision blocking the Internal Revenue Service from creating rules to curb the growing abuse of the tax law by thinly veiled political machines posing as “social welfare” organizations. These groups are financed by rich special-interest donors who do not have to reveal their identities under the tax law. So much for effective disclosure at the I.R.S.

In another move to keep the public blindfolded about who is writing big corporate checks for federal candidates, the Republicans barred the Securities and Exchange Commission from finalizing rules requiring corporations to disclose their campaign spending to investors. It was Citizens United that foolishly envisioned a world in which: “Shareholders can determine whether their corporation’s political speech advances the corporation’s interest in making profits, and citizens can see whether elected officials are ‘in the pocket’ of so-called moneyed interests.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Everything Republicans do is intended to further one of two goals. The lesser goal is the transfer of wealth from the poor and middle classes to the 1%. The second is the establishment of a permanent Republican Reich, a totalitarian plutocracy in which ece3ctions exist for show only. These provisions support both goals. To clarify my earlier statement, how long do you think Planned Parenthood funding will last, is Republicans succeed in establishing their permanent Republican Reich?

Open Thread–12/26/2015

Posted by TomCat at 9:15 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 262015

Yesterday was an enjoyable holiday. I did quite a bit of cooking for a friend, but only wore George for the time I needed to stand up. I made ham steaks, cheese mashed potatoes, assorted fresh veggies, fresh pears, and store-bought pumpkin pie. Then I ate moderately enough to keep my blood sugar below 120. I was pretty pleased with myself. For the next couple days I want to rest up, as my desk will be replaced with a smaller unit on Monday, and I have both PT and OT coming Tuesday.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:10 (average 6:02). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos (best of 2015): The most racist areas in the United States

1226racismmap

I did not realize the extent to which parts of the Midwest and Northeast are even more racist than large parts of the South.

From NY Times: Foreign arms sales by the United States jumped by almost $10 billion in 2014, about 35 percent, even as the global weapons market remained flat and competition among suppliers increased, a new congressional study has found.

American weapons receipts rose to $36.2 billion in 2014 from $26.7 billion the year before, bolstered by multibillion-dollar agreements with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Those deals and others ensured that the United States remained the single largest provider of arms around the world last year, controlling just over 50 percent of the market.

Isn’t it sad that death is a key and growing US export?

From Alternet: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: ‘Wack Flag.’

It was Jon Stewart’s final season at "The Daily Show," which dismayed many yet made for plenty of memorable moments. After terrorist Dylann Roof murdered nine African-American churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, the team over at Fox News couldn’t wait to take to the airwaves to criticize those who dared label the crime for what it was. Sean Hannity even took a moment to self-righteously call discussion of Roof’s hate crime and calls for gun control a leftist agenda-advancing “sickness.” “Yes, it’s a sickness, this rush to use tragedy to advance your narrative,” Stewart responded. “Combine that with an inability for self examination, an almost comical degree of self-exculpatory rhetoric, flag pins, a little bit of leg, and a complete immunity to irony: you got yourself a full-blown case of Fox-abetes.” Then he showed footage of how Fox anchors responded to the killing of two New York City cops weeks earlier (spoiler: it involves a lot of blaming Obama, Mayor Bill de Blasio and suggestions of racism), as glorious a display of hypocrisy as has ever been on television.

This is just one of the seventeen best instances of political comedy this year. Click through for the other sixteen.

Cartoon:

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Squatch’s Open Thread 25/12/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 5:09 am Open Thread, Politics

Dec 262015

I am sure that today has been hectic for most . . . family, children running about, Christmas dinner or other festivities. I had Christmas dinner Thursday night with friends, and I contributed yams baked in olive oil and honey with generous amounts of ginger and a bit of garlic but absolutely no salt. Today, I had a slow start but then in the afternoon headed out to see my mother. Staff were having a potluck dinner and I was invited to share the bounty. It was good to share a delicious meal with the people that look after my mother so well. I hope your day was equally enjoyable.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:51 (average 4:54). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes

Alternet — Outsourcing to these 1099 workers has become the preferred method for America’s business leaders to cut costs and maximize profits. This is only the beginning; we have yet to see how these trends will affect the labor force over the next decade or so. But already we can see that the so-called “new” economy looks an awful lot like the old, pre-New Deal economy. “Jobs” amount to a series of low-paid piece work – they’re called micro-gigs today—offering little empowerment for average workers, families or communities. We’re losing decades of progress, apparently for no other reason than because these on-demand companies conduct their business over the Internet and apps, somehow that makes them “special.” Technology has been granted a privileged and indulged place where the usual rules, laws and policies often are not applied.

The work requirements were changing at the end of my career, and not necessarily for the better, moving towards this new idea. Will this "sharing" economy continue? I don't know but I do think it will kill the idea of the American dream which of course Republicans will continue to tout as achievable if one works hard. The new way almost sounds like indentured servitude.

Mother Jones — Climate change will have some pretty terrifying consequences. Experts have predicted everything from deadly heat waves and devastating floods to falling crop production and even increased political instability and violence. But according to some of the world's biggest companies, these future disasters could also present lucrative business opportunities.

In a remarkable series of documents submitted to a London-based nonprofit called CDP, big-name corporations describe global warming as a chance to sell more weapons systems to the military, more air conditioners to sweltering civilians, and more medications to people afflicted by tropical diseases. CDP, which stands for "Carbon Disclosure Project," asks companies all over the world to disclose information about their greenhouse gas emissions and how the changing climate will impact their operations. Each year, thousands of companies send in responses. Below, we've compiled a list of some of the most striking—and, in some cases, disturbing—scenarios laid out by those businesses.

In my mind, climate change and global warming are huge challenges to the world as we know it. The human need for survival is paramount. If that survival is in doubt anywhere, people will rise up. With economies the way they are, who will be able to afford these "fixes"? Click through for the rest of the details.

Think Progress — A National Rifle Association lawsuit seeking to immunize gun dealers from a recently enacted tax was rejected by a state trial court on Tuesday. If Judge Palmer Robinson’s decision is ultimately upheld on appeal, the tax will fund gun safety research as well as programs seeking to prevent gun violence.

Last August, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray (D) signed an ordinance providing for a $25 tax on each gun and a 2 to 5 cent tax on each round of ammunition sold within the city. The NRA, along with several other pro-gun groups and individuals, sued, claiming that the law violates a Washington State law preventing municipal governments from enacting any “regulation” of guns. As Judge Robinson explains in his opinion, however, the power to tax is separate from the power to regulate. Among other things, he notes, the ordinance does not “place any burden or restriction” on gun dealers beyond the obligation to pay the tax.

Personally, I hope that Judge Palmer Robinson’s decision is upheld. It is a start.

My Universe —

My Christmas Card

Posted by TomCat at 7:54 am Holiday, Politics

Dec 252015

CMasPP

This year, once again, I wish you a very Merry Christmas, or whatever holiday is appropriate to your beliefs. I have collected a few Christmas Songs for your enjoyment.

Performed by Olivia Newton John

Performed by the Harry Simeone Choir

Performed by Martina McBride

Performed by Celtic Woman

And finally, Happy Holidays to our Republican visitors. Here’s what you want most. 😉

Performed by Bing Crosby

Open Thread–12/25/2015

Posted by TomCat at 7:53 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 252015

Ho! Ho!! Ho!!! Tell SantaCat whether you were naughty or nice! I have friends visiting today, if they show up. So for me, today will be a learning experience on how much I can do. Merry Christmas or whatever greeting you prefer for lefties, centrists, and sane conservatives. Happy Holidays for insane conservatives, aka Republicans.

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos (classic: 12/1014): Did Ayn Rand send Christmas cards?

According to Scott McConnell’s 100 Voices: An Oral History of Ayn Rand she did indeed. Unfortunately, none are included in McConnell’s 656 page book.

Fortunately, with a little help from the Ayn Rand Archives*, we’re able to present to you this exclusive, never-before-seen collection of Ayn Rand favorites.

1225ayn_rand_03

Click through for 20 more examples of Republican Christmas love.

From Media Matters: On The Bill Press Show, Media Matters’ Katie Sullivan Runs Down The Worst Of Fox News Sexism In 2015

Of course Faux Noise is sexist!

From Common Dreams: Capitulating to the demands of the infamous Kim Davis is not all the newly-anointed Kentucky governor is up to these days.

Less than one month after taking office, Republican Governor Matt Bevin late Tuesday issued a series of executive orders that rolled back the minimum wage, stripped tens of thousands of their right to vote, and sent the state spiraling into regressive new territory.

After his election, Bevin—known as a Tea Party "darling"—vowed that he would pass a measure "right away" that would remove county clerk’s names from marriage licenses to appease those, like Davis, who object to issuing licenses to same-sex couples.

That promise was fulfilled on Tuesday—along with many other gifts to the conservative base.

Among them was a directive to reverse an order issued by his predecessor, Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, which restored voting rights to felons. Bevin’s order strips the new rights from roughly 140,000 former felons who are "overwhelmingly African American and lower income," according to reports.

Merry Christmas, Kentucky, from your Republican Reich!!

Cartoon:

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