I’m writing for tomorrow, day 47. I’m way short of 100%, but I do have another article for you.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:45 (average 4:58). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: Seizing upon an issue that could become the cornerstone of a possible 2016 Presidential campaign, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said on Thursday that he would do everything in his power to block the twenty-first century.
“A lot of folks in Washington believe that the twenty-first century is a forgone conclusion, and that there’s nothing we can do about it,” Rubio said. “I say, ‘Not on my watch.’ ”
Explaining his strategy, Rubio said that he and fellow Republicans were exploring ways to stop funding any items in the federal budget that pertain to the current century. “We cannot stop time, perhaps, but we can defund it,” he said.
Andy must not realize we’re trying to get Rubio and the rest of the Republican Reich out of the 19th century, let alone into the 21st.
From Daily Kos: Sandy McElroy should be immediately charged with perjury. She was clearly told by the FBI and the prosecutors that lying about being there was a crime and was given chance after chance to back down. Instead she doubled down and added very specific and destructive details about what she saw Mike Brown do that day.
Furthermore, Sandy McElroy is not at all like an eyewitness who was actually there and sincerely believed she saw the events unfold in a way that may be different than the facts of the case. In her back and forth with the FBI, they even went so far as to clarify that it was not a crime to recall something you actually saw and state it in a way that is slightly off from what truly happened.
This is just one of the four things that should happen, now that we know that McElroy, a Republican white supremacist, made up her grand jury testimony. Click through for the other three.
From ABC: The gunman who ambushed and killed two police officers had made online posts that were "very anti-police."
Police Commissioner William Bratton choked up at a news conference Saturday afternoon as he talked about the fatal shootings of two officers in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
Bratton says gunman Ismaaiyl (IHSH’-mayl) Brinsley shot and wounded his former girlfriend in Baltimore earlier Saturday and made posts from her Instagram account.
Authorities didn’t get into the specifics of the contents of the posts, but two officials told The Associated Press that he posted about shooting two "pigs" in retaliation for the death of Eric Garner. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
What a shame. Condolences to all who loved them. Of course, Republican attempts to blame this on DeBlasio and Holder are patently absurd, and the police who turned their backs shamed themselves. The shooter was reacting criminally against innocent officers to criminal actions by police.
Cartoon:
19 Responses to “Open Thread–12/22/2014”
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I was so happy this AM when I read this I just had to share it with everyone. It's like an early Christmas present for those who use Dish.
https://tv.yahoo.com/news/dish-drops-fox-news-channel-fox-business-network-013901107.html
Dish did their customers a favour! Too bad all carriers didn't drop Fox, permanently. The IQ of the American voter, well at least some of them, would have gone up!
Sadly my building won't allow individial dishes.
3:35 It's almost Christmas. Let's rock and roll!
3:00 Rock on!
2:53 Rock around the clock tonight! . . . Canadian style!
A win for Santa Foot! 😉
4:53 average up to 5:07. Well, all righty then.
New Yorker – Do click through if you haven't. The last "quoted" sentence is priceless. Like so many things Republicans say, it is so false on deeper and deeper levels that picking it apart would take an article longer than Andy's.
Daily Kos – After humour, we get anger. Anger at what she did, and anger that she will not be called to account for it in this lifetime. Anger at the advanced privilege which makes that possible.
ABC – And now sadness. I have probably made way more than two posts myself that could be called anti-police, but I have not and would not post about shooting any. I would never consider it or attempt it. And among the dozens of reasons I wouldn't, one is that when someone shoots a member or members of a despised group just to be doing it, it is always the wrong ones who get shot. I echo your condolences, TC.
Cartoon – What? And give up their Big Macs?
Sorry TC – am very bleurrgghh myself today….
New Yorker ~ I thought they were still in the 15th century.
Daily Kos ~ I wish everyone would stop calling her a "witness". She witnessed nothing. I agree with all 4 proposals.
ABC ~ The gunman is obviously a very disturbed man. Would better gun laws have prevented this atrocity? We will never know but I think they might have. My heart goes out to the families and friends of the 2 policemen who were ambushed and killed. Would this have happened if the "bad" cops were held accountable for their murdering innocent men?
Cartoon ~ GMO fries with that?
Certified potato-free.
Sen. Marco Rubio's Hypocrisy: “China Si!!! / Cuba NO!” WHY? – Lawrence O’Donnell
http://youtu.be/_azJ6pDBPEM
It also looks like the Baggers are trying to contaminate our water supply in that cartoon…
Sounds like Brinsley had a meltdown of some kind since he shot his girlfriend first. And McElroy would ordinarily be deemed to have mental health issues warranting a mandatory psychiatric lockup and examination anywhere else.
Knowing what century it is is a type of math which the GOP has trouble with like science as exemplified with Ryan's budgets.
The New Yorker: I am not convinced that Andy is still writing satire!
Daily Kos: sandy should be prosecute for perjury and a new grand jury convened, immediately!
ABC: This is another horror story caused by a madman!
Cartoon:
Puzzle — 2:53 Rock around the clock tonight! . . . Canadian style! How fortuitous that this should be today's puzzle after the death today of Joe Cocker.
The New Yorker — I wonder if these doorknobs thought about their salaries?
"…he and fellow Republicans were exploring ways to stop FUNDING any items in the federal budget that pertain to the current century."
Daily Kos — Personally, I think all 4 points should take place without delay. McCulloch should be charged, not just asked to explain why he called McElroy. A Special Prosecutor and a new grand jury could then get at the real facts. As I see it, there is one potential problem . . . since the first grand jury's decision, has the pool of jurors been tainted by the fallout of the first decision?
ABC — Has the whole world gone off its rocker?
Cartoon — Funny, I have one of those in my backyard. I thought I'd barbecue Baggers as a gesture of international peace and goodwill towards you Yanks!
I have a favour to ask of everyone.
Our church's music director and his wife are going through a really rough patch and it won't get any better. She has cancer for the 3rd time and has now stopped all chemo. She has always been so positive and done alternative things as well as chemo to try and kick the cancer. Roy is taking the month of January off to be with her. Although I have not heard of any time lines, failing a miracle, I don't think the end of her battle is very far off. She is an excellent musician herself playing the trumpet. Anne's mother, who was a resident at the same care centre where my mother lives, died earlier this year so this is a particularly shitty time for the family.
Would you keep them in your prayers or thoughts? I would very much appreciate it.
Thanks guys!
Most assuredly! Why do people like Cheney live so long and people like her die so young?
Yes of course. To answer TC, Cheney's contract for his soul probably included a very long lease. He's a hard bargainer. Not to mention being too mean to die.
Thank's all. Needsless to say, I'm in mourning.