Yesterday I spent most of the day in prison, working as a volunteer. The high points of the day were addressing over 100 men on why helping others is the most selfish thing we can do and learning that a ,man I’ve worked with for years has a parole date. The guys never cease to inspire me with their dedication to remake themselves. A few of the men are aggravated murderers, justly sentenced to life without possibility of parole. They will die there. But they have realized the magnitude of the grief they have caused and joined in that grief. They have found peace through changing themselves and helping others to change, return to society, and enjoy freedom that they will never know. These men are a big part of my opposition to capital punishment. I got home late, as I always do on prison days, and it is now about eight hours past my bedtime. If I can I’ll reply to comments, and this article will be my only one today.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today it took me 4:57 (average 5:29). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Bloomberg: Creating jobs is a more important mission for Congress and President Barack Obama than reducing the deficit, according to a poll of likely voters in the 2012 U.S. election commissioned by a manufacturers’ group.
Sixty-seven percent of those questioned said they would prefer that politicians focus on employment, according to a report by Washington’s Mellman Group and Ayres McHenry and Associates Inc., of Alexandria, Virginia. The study, released today, was sponsored by the Washington-based Alliance for American Manufacturing.
Republicans don’t to talk about jobs. They have created loads of jobs… in China.
Barney Frank said what I said yesterday.
Once again Republicans have proven they are too incompetent to govern.
From MSNBC: Lawrence O’Donnell reports on Boehner’s inability to pass his bill.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Cartoon:
15 Responses to “Open Thread–7/29/2011”
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5:38
Scary cartoon! 😯 That must be Boehner’s girfriend! Tea will stain your skin orange. 😈 They can all go to hell! 👿
LOL, Johnny.
Damn! They’re just as ugly on the outside as they are on the inside….shit, just burned my eyes!
Sorry Ellen. 😉
TomCat,
Good for you! I take it, though, that you told the inmates that helping others is the most UNselfish thing we can do, rather than the most “elfish”…
Jack, I meant selfish. When we help others we get as much or more out of it as those we help. In addition, it helps us form and maintain the habit of being the kind of people we want to be.
WOW! 4:11
I hope you get some well-deserved sleep, TomCat. Your prison work must be very rewarding for you. Bless you for your caring.
Good one. Looks like you’ve got your game on, now. Today you are number 1, but tomorrow is a new day.
Congrats, Patty! I’m number 3. See my reply to Jack.
Tom – I’ve got a lot of respect for you! I’ve never been inside a prison – not that I’m lily-white – are any of us? I’ve been against the death penalty – but I’d come across so strange in prison – I don’t think the folks there would respond!!! It’s hard enough for the general public to put up with me! You do a lot to benefit others – I hope you get the appreciation you deserve! Thanks for everything 😀
Lee, I get far more appreciation from that guys than I think I deserve, and they bend over backwards to show it.
4:31 🙂 I am 69 out of 210 (329).
Today I think is mine.
Flashback of an interesting Boehner interview he did last December with The New Yorker magazine discussing how to handle the in-the-future debt ceiling issue:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/12/13/101213fa_fact_boyer?currentPage=all
So Boehner comes up with a plan that his own party members have described as “dangerous,” “a disaster,” “foolish,” and “unrealistic.”
… So much for “Adult Moments”
Perhaps we should change his mane from Argent Orange to Baggers’ Bitch Boehner.