Day 64. I’m writing for tomorrow. The woman I pay to help mw with housekeeping called yesterday to say she could not come today, but could yesterday. Cool! But a lot of the work she he4lps me with are things that require two people, like cleaning behind the kitchen counter, so it became a work day for me too. I’m more than a little tired, but the major cleaning is all done for another couple of months.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:39 (average 4:40). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Upworthy: Mo Asumang is a German TV host and filmmaker, and what she pulls off in this video is amazing. Not only does Mo speak with groups of people who claim to hate her (which she does with grace and compassion), but she actually gets a few of them to let down their guard and reveal they might just have a heart. It’s fascinating to witness and probably the one and only context in which you can root for a racist — to stop being racist!
Dang! Republicans are exporting TEAbuggery to Europe! She has the heart of a saint to put up with those Republican racists.
From NY Times: Representative Kevin McCarthy, the next House majority leader, said Sunday that he would allow the Export-Import Bank of the United States to expire when its authority was up for reauthorization in the fall.
In his first national television interview since being elected Thursday to be the No. 2 Republican in the House, Mr. McCarthy, of California, said Congress had decided in a previous vote that the bank, responsible for supporting American exports, should be phased out.
“One of the biggest problems of government is they go and take hard-earned money so others do things that the private sector can do,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” [Faux Noise delinked] “That’s what the Ex-Im Bank does.”
He’s starting to show his true colors. Exports create jobs here. He is favoring vulture capitalists, who send our jobs elsewhere.
From Crooks and Liars: A police officer suffered fatal injuries while performing a pre-dawn no-knock raid on a local residence to search for drugs. Several officers were shot by a resident as they tried to enter an apartment through a ground-level window under the cover of darkness.
Detective Charles “Chuck” Dinwiddie, an 18-year veteran of the department — died two days after being shot on Friday morning. Approximately 5:30 a.m. on May 9th, the Killeen Police Department sent its SWAT team to execute a surprise raid on a middle-aged couple because they allegedly possessed substances without government permission.
Dinwiddie and several other SWAT agents snuck up to a window and tried to breach it to gain entry. The commotion caused one of residents to fire on the unidentified intruders, and Dinwiddie was struck in the face. Three others were shot; 2 were shot in the armor and 1 was shot in the thigh…
…Oh, and you guessed it: No drugs were found. Is the shooter a bad guy? I have no idea. But because this is Texas, and the guy who shot the cop is black (unlike this guy), I imagine prosecutors will tie themselves in knots to get him. [emphasis original]
Texas has a "stand your ground” law, but apparently it does not count for a black man with no drugs, who shoots an unidentified cop breaking-in in the middle of the night. The law did work for the white guy in similar circumstances who actually did have drugs.
Cartoon:
14 Responses to “Open Thread–6/24/2014”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
2:57 I must have been dragon my butt.
3:03 I guess that means I was dragon more than just my butt.
2:43 I was dragon a bit too. I was in awe of the jewel toned iredescent colours! Magnificent!
Wooo Hooo!!
4:16 – Puzzle 🙄
Good for you on reaching Day 64! Keep up the good work. All ex-smokers know how hard it is. We still get cravings. You just have to learn to throw them aside.
Upworthy ~ Mo has a heart bigger than she is to embrace those racists who insist they are not racists. It is people like her who will change the world if that is at all possible. Bless her.
NY Times ~ The TeapublicanTs have chosen an apt replacement for Cantor. He is the poster boy for Big Biz and is posing right now. He doesn't want to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank because they help small business. ast year alone, they assisted over 3,000 small companies either start or expand their export business. They help large ones too. They helped Boeing sell aircraft when they were u against Airbus. I think if the TeapublicanTs succeed in shutting down the Ex-Im Bank, they will be hurting themselves because they are hurting small and big businesses alike. This doesn't have to do with jobs, it has to do with porducts. If something is manufactured overseas by an American company , export-import laws still apply.
Crooks & Liars ~ I see a shitstorm on the horizon.
Cartoon ~ My paw is up in the air.
4:53 Computer retrograde today.
Upworthy – Yes, Republicans are exporting Teabuggery and hate (if that's not a tautology.) Probably not to Germany though; they didn't invent it, but have had shreds of it hanging around for a long time. It must be tough for the sane people – and there are many – to have to live with that. Heart of a saint indeed. Wonderful, brave woman.
NY Times – Export-Import Bank. Are we going to stop accepting imports too, so we have to manufacture our own stuff? Oh, heck, I'm sure Republicans will find away around that. I wonder if Kevin McCarthy would recognize "hard-earned" money if it came to the door and showed ID. I'd bet a chunk of my own money he never had to "hard-earn."
Crooks and Liars – Oh, good God. What a tragedy, and probably for everyone involved. I had a friend who was once falsely raided, in a motel, at midnight. It was terrifying but funny: the police had a tip that a doctor in a particular model car would be staying there with drugs. As it happened there were two groups matching that description (my friend was a PhD) and they raided both simultaneously – but only arrested one – needless to say, not my friend. And they didn't need to sneak up; the management cooperated with keys. No one was hurt. I can see the case in the article is not going to end so happily.
Cartoon – I did vote in today's primary, by mail, two weeks ago. Paws up!
Day 64 – As Patty says, good for you. Also as Patty says, all ex-smokers know how hard it is. I actually don't still get cravings, but only because, sometime in year two, the addictive allergy that had me hooked morphed into a repulsive allergy so that even being in a building where no one is smoking now but many people have over a long time so it is in the walls interferes with my breathing and kind of chokes me. Being around active smoke is even worse. So that helped. But for years after that I was lighting up n my dreams – from pure ha
Just to give you an idea of how "Republican" and how gullible some Canucks are, an Angus Reid poll asked "Would you vote for Stephen Harper in the next election?"
Yes — 40%
No — 59%
Needless to say, I voted a resounding "NO!"
Although Angus Reid is a respected pollster, I'm not sure of how this is balanced demographically if at all.
Police should HAVE to have a warrant AND identify themselves in Any situation! I don't care if it's a drug den in a vacant building!!!!!! This "no-knock" Breaking & Entering is illegal!
Puzzle — 2:43 I was dragon a bit too. I was in awe of the jewel toned iridescent colours! Magnificent!
Upworthy — I like the part where she is talking to the fellow in "the sheet". He says he is not a racist, to which she asks why he is dressed in the white "sheet". It's for ceremony he says. I wonder if it ever occurred to him that there was no ceremony at the time so his reply is so transparent? It was certainly brave of Mo to step out and confront these Neo Nazis. But when she did, it wasn't to intimidate, it was to understand and be understood.
NY Times — A Republicanus/Teabagger only respects two things . . . power and greed. His true colour is black, just like his heart.
Crooks and Liars — The rampant racism in the pseudo Christian South is beyond belief, but nonetheless very much alive. I am absolutely stunned that the descent people of the South have not risen up and dumped these pseudo Christian Republicanus/Teabaggers squarely on their asses in the unemployment lines. November 2014 is coming!
Cartoon — We have 16 paws raised here for 2015 and the end of Harper and his harlots.
Glad you got all your cleaning done. Could I borrow that lady for a couple of days? 🙂
Upworthy: I grew up in a multi racial community, the coal camps had many different ethnicities, so fortunate for me, and my mother would never tolerate any of us using terms we heard from other children. It totally bewilders me when I hear others who lived in the same town utter racist comments, even while declaring themselves to be Christians. This woman is doing a public service for her area and kudos for her that she is brave enough to do it.
NY Times: Kevin is just following in the footsteps of previous Republicans. Most of our decent paying jobs for the middle class have been sent away, to support the greed of the manufacturers who contribute so heavily to Republican campaign chests.
Crooks and Liars: Stand YOur Ground is meant to protect White folks from all those others. Of course, a black man cannot expect it to work for him. Too many towns have SWAT teams these days who act as though they are in a war zone. I suspect this will not be the first policeman killed by someone who is awakened by a break-in at his home.
Cartoon: Hand raised. I have voted in every election since I was 18 years old.
Thanks amd amen to all! Keep those paws UP through November!
"I'm not a racist" White KKK rag on head….