I’m writing for tomorrow and am feeling quite tired out after the exertions of yesterday and today. I arose at 3:00 AM and spent several hours completing my most hated chore, and I still have lots to do to prepare for my two-day prison volunteer trip next week. I have had a couple cat naps since. Day 40.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:49 (average 5:41). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: OR-Sen, -Gov: PPP’s first post-primary poll of Oregon finds both of the state’s top Democrats, Sen. Jeff Merkley and Gov. John Kitzhaber, with comfortable leads over their GOP opponents. Merkley currently beats physician Monica Wehby, whose public image has recently taken a hit thanks to stalking allegations, by a 50-36 margin. Wehby’s favorables stand at just 26-40, while Merkley sports a decent 41-34 job approval score.
Except for one impossible-to-believe survey from Republican pollster Vox Populi, Merkley’s always had double-digit leads, so PPP’s numbers seem plausible. However, as Tom Jensen notes, most of the undecideds don’t like Obama (even though this is a blue state), so the race will likely tighten.
Kitzhaber, meanwhile, holds a similar 49-35 advantage over state Rep. Dennis Richardson, even though Kitz earns just a 42-46 approval rating. Richardson is little-known, though, and again, things are likely to tighten up. But Oregon’s demographics simply make victory for Republicans, especially against incumbents, very difficult.
The undecided voters that don’t like Obama are mostly further left than he is, so there is no danger of them voting for a billionaire loving stalker like Wehby, as Merkley is one of the most progressive Senators in the US. The danger is that too many may stay home.
From NY Times: President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority asked Rami Hamdallah, the prime minister, on Thursday to form a “government of national consensus” that would unite warring Palestinian factions for the first time in seven years and could send Israeli-Palestinian relations into a tailspin.
The new government, made up of politically independent professionals, would formally ally Mr. Abbas’s Palestine Liberation Organization, which is dominated by the mainstream Fatah faction, and its rival, Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, under the terms of a unity pact reached last month. Palestinian officials said the new government would most likely be announced in the next few days, with Palestinian elections to be held in about six months.
I see this as a good thing for the Palestinians, as Israel has been using a divide and conquer approach to achieve a one-state solution by attrition, in clear violation of the Helsinki Accords. Without a united Palestine to negotiate for all Palestinians, there can be no hope for lasting peace in the middle east.
From Upworthy: Maya Angelou was a poet, novelist, and public figure who became an American treasure in her 86 years on earth. Her work has received accolades, and in particular, her autobiography "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" — about her early life overcoming racism and trauma by turning to the written word — has become a literature classic. Listen to a popular poem of hers, one I distinctly remember reading in the newspaper as a child, below.
She is and will be very missed.
Cartoon:
18 Responses to “Open Thread–5/31/2014”
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3:25 The golden arches?
3:49 I got stuck under one of the arches with Tom.
3:41 Golden for you, Lynn, but more like a tarnished brown for me.
6:25 – Puzzle (hides head) 😥
Daily Kos ~ So far it's looking good for the good people of Oregon.
NY Times ~ It's about time something positive happened over ther. The Palestinians need solid representation and they have been divided for too long. The tribes have to get together, If they can't agree with each other how do they expect ousiders to agree with them?
Upworthy ~ No matter what life brings…And still I rise.
I posted a link to your Blog on my FB page since I reactivated it this month. I hope it brings you some more followers.
Time 3:38 – It seemed like a an easy one, I was wrong.
The cartoon gave me a giggle, when I can not find Callie, she will often be in the dryer or in a cabinet.
I would agree that Oregon is probably in a safe zone. That is if the democrats get out and vote and not feel secure because of polls that are fully dependent on the voters showing up and VOTING.
The US and many of our states are so dependent on oil revenue that freeing ourselves of this very old technology is a battle we have yet to address.
When someone with the huge influence of Maya Angelou leaves we all feel their passing. Though I believe her influence will go on to the generations not yet born. Her words are not just for the yesteryear's, her writings speak to the human in all of us. Rest In Peace.
Abbas is an older man now, could he still unite the Palestinian people? Being a united front would give them a much stronger place at the negotiating table. I don't pretend to have the answer but I do believe that peace or least some form of the word is desperately needed.
Thanks TC – laundry is the one thing that I too hate, but still have not found a way to avoid. Paper clothes?
I'm two minutes under the average and still only number 3!
5:23 Let's enjoy it before sea level rise gets it. It looks so pristine, too.
Daily Kos – Saw this and figured any Dems not happy with Obama had to be coming from the left. But of course their staying home is a very real danger. I'd sure hate to lose Jeff in the Senate
NY Times – I never say I am a member of anything, because I am not in a position to pay dues to them but there are a number (OK, a big number) of groups I suport and sign petitions for. One is Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP). I have n't seen my email yet today, but I expect to hear something positive from them on this.
Upworthy – My husband and I used to joke that you're nobody unless you've been on Sesame Street. Under that joke was the seriousness that people accept invitations to Sesame Street not just because they are famous, but because they are accomplished. care about children, have something valuable to share, and are willing to share it. If indeed that makes a person somebody, and I believe it does, Dr. Angelou was somebody many times over. Incidentally this was the only venue in which I was lucky enough to see and hear her (till now LOL, thank God for the Interwebs)), but it was enough for me to fall in love. We are the poorer for her loss.
Cartoon – I used to have a photo of my B&W Archie, when he was a kitten, sitting in the dryer like that, but with a totally different cattitude. Clearly he thought he was Captain Kirk and the dryer was the starship Enterprise. (For anyone who ia saying "ARCHIE???!?" it was Goodwin, not Bunker. Please.)
Daily Kos: It sounds like Oregon will remain blue. I hope it does. Signs are hopeful that Ky will at least be purple after the Senate election. Grimes has been either even or 1 point ahead of Mitch in all the polls. I am watching closely.
NY Times: I hope this happens. There are children in Palestine who have never known anything but war and fear. If the country can unite, perhaps peace can be negotiated with Israel.
Upworthy: Maya Angelou was a remarkable human being who gave hope and inspiration to millions of us. She will be sorely missed.
Cartoon: Looks like my tuxedo cat, Rocky, who went over the rainbow bridge three years ago, still miss him., Beware to all cat owners, my next door neighbor did not know her cat had jumped in the dryer with the clothes until it was too late. Always make sure they are out of the dryer before you turn it on.
Personal NOte: If you have room in your apt. get your own washer/dryer combination, then you can throw in a load of laundry while you are doing your research. It really makes the job easier when you only have one load at at time to do.
Puzzle — 3:25 The golden arches?
Daily Kos — The old football cheer from my youth is appropriate here . . . Roll 'em back! Roll 'em back! Way back!!! That is roll the Republicanus/Teabaggers way back into oblivion!
NY Times — I fully agree with you TC. "United we stand, divided we fall."
"I see this as a good thing for the Palestinians, as Israel has been using a divide and conquer approach to achieve a one-state solution by attrition, in clear violation of the Helsinki Accords. Without a united Palestine to negotiate for all Palestinians, there can be no hope for lasting peace in the middle east."
Today I received a link to a 1 hour video called Jewish Woman exposes Israel Apartheid and Ethnic Cleansing. In the video, "Anna Baltzer, a Jewish-American woman, gives a presentation on the Israeli occupation and how Palestinians are systematically deprived of human rights."
Upworthy — "…But just like life, I rise. … Up from a past rooted in pain, I rise. … I am the hope and the dream of the slave …" Very thought provoking! One could take the word slave literally or take it as being a slave to something. Example, being a slave to cigarettes or a particular behaviour that controls.
Cartoon — Well move over! I was to do laundry today but my knee was so swollen again that I ducked it. Now it awaits me, tomorrow!
Well it seems that I did not do that hot link properly so here is the url for the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIyJpW4F_1M
I fixed the top ling for you. Now both work.
Thank you. What did I do wrong?
Hard to tell. The whole thing was discombobulated so bad that I just redid it from scratch.
Good night!
Computer probs – sorry!
Cannot understand how the election could be close.?(bearing in mind the Repugs record!. (hint they have NONE.Just DO NOTHING!).
Here is the answer. The American Voters. (those who bother to turn off the TV!.)
Same old,same old.YOU CANNOT FIX STUPID!. Sorry. kind if sad. TC loved your kitty cat.
A wonderful story and she will be missed… 😆