I’m writing for tomorrows, and it’s late in the day, as I’ve been busy with a variety of tasks. Good news! I got the word that phase one of my formal volunteer training has been approved, and I’ve been scheduled for phase two, institution specific training at OSP. I’ll be spending two nights away from home early next month. Fortunately I’ll be staying in a motel, not a cell. :twisted: Let’s see… should I stay at the Super 8 Motel I used the last trip down, or the Motel 6 I used the trip before that? ;-) Tomorrow morning I have a Podiatrist appointment for my quarterly surgery to cut the growth from my foot. Therefore I may have little or nothing for you on Wednesday. Day 15.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:57 (average 5:42). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From NY Times: Last week, House Republicans released a deliberately misleading report on the status of health reform, crudely rigging the numbers to sustain the illusion of failure in the face of unexpected success. Are you shocked?
You aren’t, but you should be. Mainstream politicians didn’t always try to advance their agenda through lies, damned lies and — in this case — bogus statistics. And the fact that this has become standard operating procedure for a major party bodes ill for America’s future.
About that report: The really big policy news of 2014, at least so far, is the spectacular recovery of the Affordable Care Act from its stumbling start, thanks to an extraordinary late surge that took enrollment beyond early projections. The age mix of enrollees has improved; insurance companies are broadly satisfied with the risk pool. Multiple independent surveys confirm that the percentage of Americans without health insurance has already declined substantially, and there’s every reason to believe that over the next two years the act will meet its overall goals, except in states that refuse to expand Medicaid.
Paul Krugman went on to say that Republicans will not admit they were wrong. I agree with him, and American voters must be informed over and over again that they are lying, until after they stop.
From Alternet: Lie number one: The rich and CEOs are America’s job creators. So we dare not tax them.
The truth is the middle class and poor are the job-creators through their purchases of goods and services. If they don’t have enough purchasing power because they’re not paid enough, companies won’t create more jobs and economy won’t grow.
We’ve endured the most anemic recovery on record because most Americans don’t have enough money to get the economy out of first gear. The economy is barely growing and real wages continue to drop.
We keep having false dawns. An average of 200,000 jobs were created in the United States over the last three months, but huge numbers of Americans continue to drop out of the labor force.
This is just one of Robert Reich’s four biggest Republican lies about inequality. Click through for the other three. As always, the Reich on the Left is right and the Reich on the Right is wrong.
From TPM: Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer’s attempt to lure Charles and David Koch out of the shadows appears to have fallen short.
Steyer had challenged the conservative benefactors to a public debate on climate change. But the brothers aren’t interested.
“We are not experts on climate change,” Koch spokeswoman Melissa Cohlmia in told the Wichita Eagle in an e-mail on Friday afternoon. “We do believe there should be free and open debate on the climate issue and it should be based on sound science and intellectual honesty."
For guys who claim not to be expert, they sure spend a lot of $millions convincing sheeple that climate change is a hoax. What hypocritical cowards they are!
Cartoon:
16 Responses to “Open Thread–5/6/2014”
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3:15 It looks like the door hasn't been answered yet. Will anyone get an answer before I do?
4:31 I'm still knocking on the door.
3:45 I had more trouble with this one that I thought I would. Must have been overconfident. I got knocked instead of the door.
Bigfooted!
6:47 – Puzzle 😆
"The truth is the middle class and poor are the job-creators through their purchases of goods and services. If they don’t have enough purchasing power because they’re not paid enough, companies won’t create more jobs and economy won’t grow.
"We’ve endured the most anemic recovery on record because most Americans don’t have enough money to get the economy out of first gear. The economy is barely growing and real wages continue to drop."
How the 1% manage to get nearly 50% of the population to believe that they and they alone need tax breaks to get a recovery started is beyond me – Robert Reich tells the truth as always! Thanks TC
6:30 I had to beat it into submission.
NY Times – I don't think these lies are going away any time soon. It's true that they didn't pull this sort of thing over Social Security or over Medicare, but, although there were plenty of people then (there always have been) whose mantra is "My mind is made up, don't confuse me with facts," they didn't have Fox News and a license to lie. I agree that American voters must be informed over and over again that they are lying, until they stop, but if I would be around to collect on it I would be happy to bet that climate change will destroy the world before they stop.
Alternet – I don't think these lies are going away any time soon. It's true that they didn't pull this sort of thing over Social Security or over Medicare, but, although there were plenty of people then (there always have been) whose mantra is "My mind is made up, don't confuse me with facts," they didn't have Fox News and a license to lie. I agree that American voters must be informed over and over again that they are lying, until they stop, but if I would be around to collect on it I would be happy to bet that climate change will destroy the world before they stop.
TPM – I don't think the Koch brothers' lies are going away any time soon. But I've already repeated myself once and need to move on.
Cartoon – Yeah, I was thinking XVI was a wrong number. Gloria picchetti on Care2 has good reason to know! Also Alexandre Dumas and the Man in the Iron Mask.
TC, Congratulations on your progress. Do stay in the right motel, do do well at the podiatrist, and keep those days coming. Lona (Care2), "Liberace style," how vivid! Arielle (Care2), classes for Dems is a brilliant idea. Or even getting graduates from the classes onto their PR staff to write their speeches and advertising.
Sorry Joanne D. BUT you give the "American voters too much credit. They have a problem getting out to vote on a "good"day. and for the mid terms they could care less!. The incredible lack of ,at least,curiosity re. news on both the home and overseas front , is both amazing and shocking.and heaven forbid that they could place newsworthy areas of interest on a map . (Ukraine in the mid west of America!!) .
In conclusion ,the majority of American public will believe anything in print OR Faux news.HOW SAD!
Congrats on approval for your new classes. I'm glad you can stay in one of your favorite motels instead of in a cell. Good going on Day 15.
NY Times ~ Those Americans who are FAUX NOISE adherents will continue to believe the lies no matter how often they are proven false.
Alternet ~ They lie? Surely you jest! 1.Consumers and the REAL small business are the true job creators. 2. Don't even think CEOs and common workers are paid what they're worth. 3. The truth is anyone can make it in America if they were born with a silver spoon in their mouth nowadays. 4. This one might be the biggest lie of all.
TPM ~ If they are not experts on climate change why do they continue to deny it?
Cartoon ~ A Bankster's dream come true.
"TPM ~ If they are not experts on climate change why do they continue to deny it?"
. . . because their Bible told them so!
I'm pretty sure they have never seen a real Bible.
Time 4:43 – Ouch, that was a tough one! —SPAM – flagged and reported
Congratulations TomCat! I think we all knew you would do well.
Everything leading to the open enrollment for ACA was exaggerated and many things were out right lies, that lies continue is no surprise. These folks are determined to have the ACA seen in a poor light so that Obama's center piece legislation is seen poorly. I was not surprised that the bigger numbers came in late, we are Americans and we do procrastinate. I am more disturbed by the people who will not do their own research and just take the word of a local politician or some blurb on TV.
The worst part of the health care system was that it was eroding the national budget, and no amount of Congressional yakking could change that. I also see this as acts of desperation. Many from Ted Cruz and so many others staked their reputation on the complete failure of the ACA, so when it is actually working they must go out and yak about false numbers that prove they were right along. Though this began with a sputter, a faulty web-site, it continues to grow, the more who are able to get on board the better this will work for everyone.
I guess by now everyone knows that Governor Rick Scott made the error of asking a large group of Florida residents how they liked the ACA, not one complaint. They do not have what many other states do have and that would be an ability to sign up for state Medicare with federal money, but still no complaints.
Overall, the real job creators or those who have always done the most hiring are small business, and because loans are so hard to come by, jobs pay so poorly that we are going to see fewer of those. Well paying jobs allow people to save, both for their own retirement and vacations but for those determined to open a business, the ability to save is crucial. Though with out a main stream of disposable income, people can not feed the economy, they buy nothing more than what must be purchased for survival.
Tom Steyer has lain down the gauntlet and the Kochs are unable to pick it up. The truth is they can not say they do not believe that climate change is real, these are exceptionally well educated men. They know and have known it's very real, but as climate change continues they are making not billions but trillions of dollars. As the arctic and Greenland ice recedes, it also opens up the area for more drilling. The drilling of and burning of fossil fuels has led us to this terrible situation but has also opened up a huge area for more drilling that had been blocked by ice. That is a wicked irony.
Puzzle — 3:15 It looks like the door hasn't been answered yet. Will anyone get an answer before I do?
NY Times — An excellent Krugman piece. He asks questions at the end that should concern everyone. But alas, there are too many sheeple that will just follow along without using any common sense or discernment. As Shakespeare said in Hamlet, "Aye, there's the rub."
Alternet — As you say TC, the "Reich on the Left is right and the Reich on the Right is wrong."
TPM — The response from the Kochs is a good piece of comedy writing!
For people who do not support science nor honesty, and only believe in free and open debate if it is on their terms and supports their view, this is quite a statement to make. It is 100% certified bull shit. These Republicanus/Teabagger fraudsters are only milking things for greed.
Cartoon — Actually, it was Louis XIV that opened the Palais de Versailles in 1682. The French Court was located there until 1789 when it was forced back to Paris near the beginning of the French Revolution. I visited the Palais de Versailles in 1978 and was truly taken aback by the splendor . . . lots of gold leaf etc. Much of the Palais was closed then for renovation/restorations.
IMO, too good for a bankster! The ideal lodging for bankster is a prison cell.
Good luck with your podiatrist. Didn't the last place far exceed the first that you stayed in/ that should make your decision on where to stay. Glad you are forging ahead in this endeavor.
NY Times: I am sure the Republicans are gnashing their teeth at the success of the ACA. They are hell bent on destroying anything Obama tries to do. McConnell is lambasting us with ads about Obama's war on coal right now and declaring that he is the salvation for coal miners. Funny, he forgot they existed until the election loomed.
Alternet: As usual, Reich tells the truth, but so few are listening, they would rather listent to the Republicans and Faux news/ That way, they don't have to think.
TPM: Of course, the Koch's don't want a debate, they know they would lose it.
Cartoon" Sigh, I should have been a bankster!
Thanks everyone. Totally pooped here. 🙂
~~From NY Times:
The 1% aka Republican & Tea-Bags spin everything positive for the working class in a negative light (Lie).