Yesterday I slept late. I ducked my email to finally attack that huge pile of paperwork and got it done in a few hours. I napped in the late afternoon. I’m current with replies. Tomorrow I have housework to do. What dominated the news today was Republicans attacking Republicans over attacking another Republican for acting like a Republican.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today it took me 3:44 (average 4:25). To do it click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From USA Today: The Justice Department is defending the legality of President Obama’s recent recess appointment of a national consumer watchdog and other officials from criticism by Republicans.
The department released a 23-page legal opinion Thursday summarizing the advice it gave the White House before the Jan. 4 appointments. Assistant Attorney General Virginia Seitz wrote that the president has authority to make such appointments during a congressional recess of the current length. Seitz argued the Senate’s periodic pro forma sessions in which no business is conducted have not enabled the chamber to advise and consent to regular nominations, as it is empowered to do under the Constitution.
That makes sense to me. The sham pro-forma sessions left the Senate out of session for purposes of fulfilling their duty to advise and consent.
From Crooks and Liars: Less than two days after the NYCLU demanded that Brookfield Properties remove the barricades preventing the public from accessing Zuccotti Park, the property management company has done just that. Tuesday evening, the barricades were removed and stacked off to the sides, permitting visitors to enter the park.
With freedom comes responsibility; according to one occupier, “Brookfield Security said unless we do something stupid the park will remain open!”
Good for them. I’m glad they got the park back.
From Alternet: It’s almost as if Republicans are actively striving to get a reputation for being mean to poor, hungry people. On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the administration of Gov. Tom Corbett plans to start restricting eligibility to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as the food stamp program). Specifically, the state is imposing an “asset test” — anyone under 60 years old with savings of more than $2,000 is no longer eligible for assistance.
Here Republicans are making certain that, before a needy family can get food, that have to be unable to buy medicine and pay medical expenses.
Cartoon:
12 Responses to “Open Thread–1/13/2012”
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Mitt is definitely a vulture, and the fact that he refuses to make public his tax returns shows what a tax-evading scoundrel he really is! He has dishonestly dumped millions into offshore tax havens and doesn’t want voters to know that they jave been paying a much greater portion of their much smaller incomes in taxes than has he! It’s high time Mitt is exposed for the total fraud he is! 🙁
No doubt about it!
Methinks your vulture smells the dead meat, AKA Obama administration. 😉
John, the reason I think you’re wrong is that Obama’s policies are beginning to bear fruit with the economy, despite everything Republicans have done to try to sabotage it.
3:54
I’m enjoying the “slugfest” of the RepublicanTs right now. I find it rather amusing to watch them trip all over each other.
The Senate shirked their duties and now they want to accuse the Pres. of wrong-doing? Priceless!
Good for OWS in Zuccotti Park!
The RepublicanTs don’t know the meaning of compassion.
Corporate vultures, all of them.
Only 10 sec. off me and 20 off Jerry.
So do I.
Exactly!
Yes!
Yes!
Yes!
I must’ve been thinking ahead in my response that made no sense yesterday! ie watching the WWW on the RNC channel – I had so many MD appointments this week – all just so miserable that my head isn’t quite on straight – but I’m getting back to my “old self” again for better or worse!
I hope you feel better Lee.
3:34 That one felt better.
The day is yours. Tomorrow may well be my turn.
DOJ — I agree with the DOJ. If part of the Senate’s mandate is ‘to advise and consent to regular nominations, as it is empowered to do under the Constitution’, then they have not been doing that during these pro-forma sessions, especially since they advised that they would not be transacting business during the 6 week ‘recess’. The Senate Republican/Teabaggers seem to want their cake and eat it too! I wonder how far these morons are going to take this? Will they spend more energy, time and money trying to get the SCOTUS to block the appoinments? When Cordray was appointed to the CFPB, he was not appointed to help only Democrat aligned consumers. He was appointed to help all consumers with sound protections against such things a predatory lenders.
Zuccotti Park — It’s good that it is back open to the public but I have to say, that based on the video, there doesn’t seem to be a lot happening. Maybe that will change. Perhaps just the fact that OWS has returned to Zuccotti Park is enough to let people know that OWS is not dead, even though the major press coverage has died off for now.
Pennsylvania — So what do you put first, medicine or food? As an individual and a diabetic, I need both. I’m not talking about wanting food and medicine, I’m talking about the need. If I don’t eat regularly and properly, I can go into a diabetic coma and die. Likewise, if I don’t take my medication, the effects on my body of diabetes will lead to death. So how does a person like me deal with the conditions put out there by the governor of Pennsylvania? Thank goodness I am a Canuck and not forced into that situation. How many others are there in Pennsylvania that fall into that category. What about families? This is wrong headed! I wonder if these Republican/Teabaggers have ever experienced such need!
Cartoon — Love the cartoon! Vulture capitalists just love to pick over the bones. But one thing is different between vultures and Mittens — vultures, for the most part, do not kill their prey! They are carrion birds, that is they eat the dead flesh, but they do not kill themselves (unless the animal is already three-quarters dead). And we all know that Mittens kills his prey and should be up on murder charges if corporations are truly persons. I wonder how SCOTUS feels about that one!
Lynn, I expect that the US Chamber of Commerce will file suit on behalf of the Banksters.
Winter in NY is very cold.
Whether they have or not, their premium health care that we pay for makes them immune now.
I think SCROTUS understood perfectly that they did what they did because they could.