October 2015 – Politics Plus

On the Edge–10/31/2015

Posted by TomCat at 1:26 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 312015

Happy Halloween! There are monsters in Republican sheets and hoods chasing you. Be VERY afraid. I’m in a bad typing position.

Short Takes:

From Crooks and Liars: This mashup from Media Matters is so great, because it highlights all the crap they spew year round. Yes, today is Halloween, but for them, every day is Halloween.

Be VERY afraid!

From the New Yorker: Corrected by Squatch

In the biggest free-agency acquisition of the 2016 Presidential contest, the billionaire investor Paul Singer has acquired Florida senator Marco Rubio for a rumored eight-figure sum, pending a physical.

Just hours after the deal was inked, Rubio was flown by private jet to Singer’s training facility in East Hampton, where the senator will submit to a series of gruelling drills before the deal is finalized.

“We are making a four-year deal with Marco, with an option for another four,” an associate of Singer’s said. “We like what we’ve seen of him on tape, but we want to be sure that he has what it takes to go the distance.”

Andy forgot to tell us on what, besides deportation and welfare for billionaires, Border Buster will be tested.

From Daily Kos (classic 1/2015): Sen. Bernie Sanders wants to talk about the deficits. Yes, plural. The ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee says the next budget should address a series of deficits in investment in the American economy. Income inequality, lack of jobs and especially good jobs, poor infrastructure, bad trade deals, retirement insecurity, and a failure to invest in education—these are deficits that affect the entire American economy, dragging it down and slowing growth. That's what Sanders wants to address:

Spot-on Bernie! Click through for more.

Cartoon:

A Hallowe’en Hanky Warning

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 8:15 am Politics

Oct 312015

It is rare when a big company with hundreds (thousands?) of chain stores does something totally touching and worthy. But that's what happened this year with Target Stores.

Jen Kroll, a mother of three who lives in Grand Rapids, MI, got so excited when she opened last week's Target flyer that she rushed to Facebook to say thank you to Target – thank you for this:

You see, Jen's youngest child, Jerrensia, just happens to love Elsa from Frozen. Here's Jerrensia:

Jerrensia came to her family on a medical visa from Haiti. You can read more details about her diagnosis and treatment on Upworthy. But the condensed version is that her hip sockets never formed properly, two years of therapy didn't accomplish much, and the difficult decision was made to amputate both legs through the knees. Today, Jerrensia "walks and RUNS everywhere on prosthetic legs and uses arm crutches to compensate for the lack of muscular development in her legs."

Jen Kroll is very articulate, and can probably tell her (and Jerrensia's) story better than anyone else. So I encourage everyone to click through to Upworthy and/or to my other sources for this article. But what is so important to Jen, as the mother of a child with a disability (and I suspect also as a compassionate human being), is what normalizing disabilities through media and through advertising can accomplish, not just for kids wih disabilities, but for everyone else in the world.

When abled people look at a person with a disability, they tend to see the disability, not the person. Special needs people, special needs families, are virtually invisible to "normal" people. To quote Jen again: "As far as media is concerned — there is a vast emptiness of children with whom she can relate. A Target ad with one precious little girl dressed as Elsa met her where she was and made the world a little more beautiful and friendly."

These sources were used for this article:
http://www.upworthy.com/a-moms-post-about-a-halloween-costume-is-going-viral-on-facebook-thank-you-target?c=upw1&u=6ffb12f2d750fff1c628f4ed4366938bb526f1d5
http://www.today.com/parents/special-needs-mom-cheers-target-ad-featuring-girl-crutches-t52246
https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/priceless-target-ad-goes-viral-for-all-the-right-184054339.html
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/10/27/target-ad-model-disability/20905/

10/31/15 – Poll Results for “Best Horror Movie of All Time”

Posted by SoINeedAName at 7:41 am Politics

Oct 312015

Once I figure out how to actually CLOSE the "Best Horror Movie of All Time" Poll voting, I’ll do it. (Dear Lord, PUH-LEAZE let it be easier than posting the thing!)

And the big winner was …

“The Exorcist” – with 7 votes (35%)

Followed by, in descending order

“You Name It” – 5 (25%)

“Psycho” – 4 (20%)

“The Silence of the Lambs” – 2 (10%)

“The Shining” – 1 (5%)

“Rosemary’s Baby” – 1 (5%)

Tabulating the “You Name It” folks …

Patty went with “Night of the Living Dead”

Terrie C. Williams named one that almost made the list – “Jaws”

“The GOP Debates” (Good one, Joanne)

And one Swiss-like abstention by gene

I was surprised by how many folks commented they did NOT like horror movies, as I really tried to avoid a lot of slasher-movies.

If you want to get into the proper Halloween “spirit”, for those of you who missed it and are looking for some holiday hoots (but not the owl-type), here’s a Link to “Friday Fun – A Spooktacular Boonanza of Fun”

It was a hoot to put it together, so head on over that way …

And I hope you have as much fun enjoying it as I did putting it together.

Fall Back — Time for a change!

Posted by Lynn Squance at 2:30 am Uncategorized

Oct 312015

It is that time of year again when leaves are falling, temperatures are cooler, and days are getting shorter, which conversely means nights are getting longer. It is also time to turn the clocks back by 1 hour.

Remember to set your clocks back by one hour before you go to bed Saturday night to adjust from Daylight Savings Time, which officially ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, November 1.

This is also a good time to remember to check your smoke detector and change the batteries.

Now, enjoy that extra pillow time and remember, it is a limited time offer!

Good night!

The Pitchforks Are Coming … For Us Plutocrats

Posted by Lynn Squance at 2:29 am Politics

Oct 312015

Several years ago now, TC had a short take featuring the billionaire Nick Hanauer. I was very impressed with Hanauer and his clarity of thought on who the job creators were. A billionaire was recognising the middle and working class people as integral parts of society and the economy. In the article, you'll read about his background. But even better, you'll be able to share his perspective.

I see pitchforks.

At the same time that people like you and me are thriving beyond the dreams of any plutocrats in history, the rest of the country—the 99.99 percent—is lagging far behind. The divide between the haves and have-nots is getting worse really, really fast. In 1980, the top 1 percent controlled about 8 percent of U.S. national income. The bottom 50 percent shared about 18 percent. Today the top 1 percent share about 20 percent; the bottom 50 percent, just 12 percent.

But the problem isn’t that we have inequality. Some inequality is intrinsic to any high-functioning capitalist economy. The problem is that inequality is at historically high levels and getting worse every day. Our country is rapidly becoming less a capitalist society and more a feudal society. Unless our policies change dramatically, the middle class will disappear, and we will be back to late 18th-century France. Before the revolution.

And so I have a message for my fellow filthy rich, for all of us who live in our gated bubble worlds: Wake up, people. It won’t last.

If we don’t do something to fix the glaring inequities in this economy, the pitchforks are going to come for us. No society can sustain this kind of rising inequality. In fact, there is no example in human history where wealth accumulated like this and the pitchforks didn’t eventually come out. You show me a highly unequal society, and I will show you a police state. Or an uprising. There are no counterexamples. None. It’s not if, it’s when.

Many of us think we’re special because “this is America.” We think we’re immune to the same forces that started the Arab Spring—or the French and Russian revolutions, for that matter. I know you fellow .01%ers tend to dismiss this kind of argument; I’ve had many of you tell me to my face I’m completely bonkers. And yes, I know there are many of you who are convinced that because you saw a poor kid with an iPhone that one time, inequality is a fiction.

* * *

The most ironic thing about rising inequality is how completely unnecessary and self-defeating it is. If we do something about it, if we adjust our policies in the way that, say, Franklin D. Roosevelt did during the Great Depression—so that we help the 99 percent and preempt the revolutionaries and crazies, the ones with the pitchforks—that will be the best thing possible for us rich folks, too.

Click through for the rest of Hanauer's memo to the rest of his fellow Zillionaires.

These videos are from 2014 and 2015 respectively, and the article is from 2014, but the background of the discussion doesn't change, whatever the year.

Squatch’s Open Thread 31/10/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 2:28 am Open Thread, Politics

Oct 312015

Today has been very busy. I still have my cold but I am feeling much better than earlier in the week. Now to get rid of the cough. My babes run off when I cough too much! To be sure though, I am availing myself of Lona's cat naps. I hope I don't deplete her supply too much. Please keep TC in your prayers and thoughts as he heads back into surgery on Monday. For those who will out Trick or Treating, please be careful. For those partying, I hope the Great Pumpkin doesn't catch up to you. At least you get an extra hour of sleep tonight!

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:11 (average 6:08). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.

Short Takes

Politico — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid tore into Sen. Marco Rubio on Thursday, calling on the Florida Republican and 2016 presidential contender to resign his Senate seat as he racks up no-shows on his voting record while campaigning for the White House.

Rubio seems to be drawing fire for his performance as a senator from various sources, not least of which is Jeb Bush. The Sun-Sentinel has called for his resignation too.

Think Progress — Sen. Ted Cruz, candidate for the highest office in the land, thinks that climate change — a phenomenon widely accepted by the scientists who study it — is a religious belief.

“Climate change is not science. It’s religion,” Cruz told Glenn Beck on Thursday.

To back up his claim, Cruz pointed to the way we talk about climate change.

Click through for the rest of Cruz's imbecilic nonsense.

Common Dreams — Texas politicians love to sprinkle their orations with words like liberty and freedom but even they must concede that all societies establish formal and informal rules governing individual behavior and virtually all interfere to some degree with someone’s freedom of action. No matter how extreme our libertarian bent, most of us accept the need for driving licenses and the restrictions one-way streets and stop signs impose. And however reluctantly we agree that the government can take our money even while profoundly disagreeing on how public money should be spent.

Most of us also accept that property rights are not absolute. Just because we own land doesn’t mean we can build a 30-story building or a slaughterhouse in an otherwise residential neighborhood.

Who should make the rules? Again I believe most of us prefer that decisions be made closest to those who will feel the impact of those decisions that is, by local government. More remote levels of government should defer to governance closer to the people except in rare circumstances.

Keeping this framework in mind, how did the tension between democracy and liberty play out in this year’s Texas legislative session?

Democracy came in a distant second.

Only in Texas can things get this screwed up.

My Universe —

And this one is especially for TomCat to honour one of his frequent sayings

h/t Carol B and Ted W (Care2)

Bears shit in the woods!

Squatch’s Open Thread 30/10/2015

Posted by Lynn Squance at 5:57 pm Open Thread, Politics

Oct 302015

Well today was one of those days when I was hoping to get something done . . . like laundry! So that didn't happen but I did manage a nap of several hours. I hear the rain so I think that is my clue to go to bed and snuggle with my babes! Tomorrow is physiotherapy with the promise of neck traction and exercises I missed earlier because I was sick. Update — It's Friday at 5:30 pm and I just arrived home after a full and tiring day. I awoke with a blood sugar low (I am diabetic) which prevented me from getting the article up before going to physio. Sorry about that!

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:12 (average 5:42). To do it, click here. How did you do? Did I mention that I used to swim competitively in high school? No umbrellas, but lots of lane markers!

Short Takes

Common Dreams — "The conference of Presidents decided that the Sakharov Prize will go to Saudi blogger Raif Badawi,"said Martin Schulz, the Parliament’s president. "This man, who is an extremely good man and an exemplary good man, has had imposed on him one of the most gruesome penalties that exist in this country which can only be described as brutal torture."

Schulz then went further, calling on the Saudi king "to free him, so he can accept the prize."

"Freedom of expression is the air that every thinker breathes, the spark that lights his thoughts. Over the centuries, nations and societies have only progressed thanks to their thinkers."
—Raif Badawi

I have signed many petitions for the safe release of Raif Badawi who has a home in Canada, where his wife and children were given asylum, when he is released. Sweden announced some time ago that an arms deal with Saudi Arabia was cancelled. Afterwards there were many apologies. I am hoping that the new government in Canada will step up diplomatic efforts with Saudi Arabia. Following are four petitions calling for the release of Badawi, some of which you may already have signed.

Amnesty International, UK with over 1 million signatures

Amnesty International, Canada with almost 92,000 signatures

AVAAZ GoPetition

IBT — Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain has become the latest in the restaurant industry to show his dislike for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his controversial position on illegal immigration. During a recent interview on SiriusXM's StandUp With Pete Dominick, Bourdain defended undocumented immigrants in the US and took a shot at The Donald. … According to Eater, Bourdain would go on to say that if Trump won the general election and fulfill his promise to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US, "every restaurant in America would shut down."

I wonder if Trump will try suing Bourdain like he is suing two other chefs. Mind, they pulled their restaurants out of a Trump Hotel project. I wonder, if Trump should ever become POTUS, would he ever put all his business dealings and assets in a blind trust? Nah! . . . and I don't think he'll be POTUS!

Huffington Post — The new EU proposition specifically asks countries to "drop any criminal charges against Edward Snowden, grant him protection and consequently prevent extradition or rendition by third parties, in recognition of his status as whistle-blower and international human rights defender."

Will the EU member countries stick to this or will some cave to US extradition attempts should Snowden leave Russia? Will Russia allow him to leave if he chooses? Some unanswered questions for now.

Alternet — … debates took place in an alternate reality, where facts are made up on the spot and history doesn't matter.

Here are some of those lies, distortions, and misrepresentations.

1. The fake “forced…socialism” of Obamacare.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) said that the Democrats “forced Obamacare and socialism down our throats.” That ignores the fact that the Affordable Care Act is far from socialist; it was based on a plan implemented by Republican Mitt Romney in his state, and mirrors a proposal from the conservative Heritage Foundation. After all, Obamacare is based on expanding care through private health insurance plans. It's worth noting that we do have socialism in our system; the Veterans Administration and Medicare, and Americans love both.

Click through for the other seven lies and distortions. With all the demonising of CNBC at the 3rd debate, word has it that the campaigns are plotting a revolt against the RNC . . . "to plot how to alter their party’s messy debate process — and how to remove power from the hands of the Republican National Committee."

My Universe —

On the Edge–10/30/2015

Posted by TomCat at 12:31 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 302015

I’m waiting for lunch and wondering how bad Viv will whup my butt at fantasy football. I think I have everything organized for my surgery. Thanks and hugs to you all.

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush announced that he was dropping out of the race for the Republican Presidential nomination, while standing in front of a “Mission Accomplished” banner draped over the façade of his campaign headquarters, in Miami.

Speaking to his remaining staff members who were seated in a dozen folding chairs, Bush thanked them for the hard work that led to the triumphant completion of their mission.

Stop teasing, Andy! We should be so lucky!

From Daily Kos: A crucial part of Marco Rubio’s big debate victory came directly out of his ability to lie with conviction and an innocent look in his eye. Not just about his tax plan, but about his own personal finances. Here it is:

Senator Rubio, you yourself have said that you’ve had issues. You have a lack of bookkeeping skills. You accidentally inter-mingled campaign money with your personal money. You faced foreclosure on a second home that you bought. And just last year, you liquidated a $68,000 retirement fund. That’s something that cost you thousands of dollars in taxes and penalties. In terms of all of that, it raises the question whether you have the maturity and wisdom to lead this $17 trillion economy. What do you say?

RUBIO: Well, you just – you just listed a litany of discredited attacks from Democrats and my political opponents, and I’m not gonna waste 60 seconds detailing them all.

Discredited attacks? As Florida Republican Joe Scarborough said Thursday morning:

“Marco just flat-out lied to the American people, there,” he continued. “And I was stunned that the moderators didn’t stop there and go, ‘Wait a second, these are court records. What are you talking about?”

Click through for the rest, Border Booter Rubio lies so much that he typifies the Republican Party.

From NY Times: At one point during Wednesday’s Republican debate, Ben Carson was asked about his involvement with Mannatech, a nutritional supplements company that makes outlandish claims about its products and has been forced to pay $7 million to settle a deceptive-practices lawsuit. The audience booed, and Mr. Carson denied being involved with the company. Both reactions tell you a lot about the driving forces behind modern American politics.

As it happens, Mr. Carson lied. He has indeed been deeply involved with Mannatech, and has done a lot to help promote its merchandise. PolitiFact quickly rated his claim false, without qualification. But the Republican base doesn’t want to hear about it, and the candidate apparently believes, probably correctly, that he can simply brazen it out. These days, in his party, being an obvious grifter isn’t a liability, and may even be an asset.

And this doesn’t just go for outsider candidates like Mr. Carson and Donald Trump. Insider politicians like Marco Rubio are simply engaged in a different, classier kind of scam — and they are empowered in part by the way the grifters have defined respectability down.

Click through for the rest of this Paul Krugman editorial. Grifters’ snake oil is fine wine, compared to Republican InsaniTEA.

Cartoon:

TCTemp

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