Today was not as busy as yesterday, but thanks Lona for the cat nap. I availed myself late this afternoon. Too bad because it was a wonderfully sunny day and not hot. Very pleasant! One thing that I have noticed is that while the trees are turning colours and losing their leaves, some shrubs are actually showing new growth like in the spring. The drought took its toll, but more growth is starting as a result of the rain. Thank you all for your birthday wishes for my mother. I did indeed pass them on to her.
Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:47 (average 5:51). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.
Fantasy Football — I can't provide the excellent report that TomCat does, but a simple copy/paste works to give everybody an idea where things stand.
I see Vivian you have fixed your "bye issue" for now. Any more questions just send me a message.
| Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | W-L-T | Pct | Stk | Waiver | For | Against |
| 1+1 | 3-0-0 | 1.000 | W3 | 5 | 353.58 | 250.06 | |
| 2-1 | 2-1-0 | .667 | L1 | 4 | 306.14 | 243.64 | |
| 3+1 | 2-1-0 | .667 | W2 | 9 | 246.72 | 238.50 | |
| 4-1 | 2-1-0 | .667 | W2 | 3 | 329.20 | 319.64 | |
| 5+2 | 2-1-0 | .667 | W1 | 10 | 262.64 | 229.14 | |
| 6-1 | 1-2-0 | .333 | L2 | 2 | 274.96 | 329.86 | |
| 7+1 | 1-2-0 | .333 | L1 | 8 | 230.94 | 226.46 | |
| 8-2 | 1-2-0 | .333 | L2 | 1 | 305.14 | 400.34 | |
| 9+1 | 1-2-0 | .333 | W1 | 7 | 252.02 | 265.30 | |
| 10-1 | 0-3-0 | .000 | L3 | 6 | 251.38 | 309.78 | |
* Rank change shown is from week 2 – 3
Short Takes
Daily Kos — h/t Pat B — The hypocrisy ran rampant during the congressional hearing on Planned Parenthood funding. The disrespect shown to Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards bordered on misogyny.
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform chair Jason Chaffetz should be ashamed of the entire hearing. The congressman's attacks on Cecile Richard illustrated that, in fact, his party's war on women is real. It is not made up.
Please make a point to see the video at Daily Kos with Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings offering a fierce and cogent response to the attack on Cecile Richards during the Planned Parenthood "hearing". Here is Rachel Maddow with Cecile Richards.
Alternet — John Boehner was awful, or as Paul Krugman writes in Monday's column, "a terrible, very bad, no good speaker of the House. Under his leadership, Republicans pursued an unprecedented strategy of scorched-earth obstructionism, which did immense damage to the economy and undermined America’s credibility around the world."
The trouble is, Boehner was merely a symptom of a far worse strain in the Republican party that, with his exit, will be unleashed on us with even fuller fury.
And Bill Maher commented on Boehner's resignation in a monologue.
The New Yorker — Just hours after NASA revealed the discovery of water on the surface of Mars, a spokesman for Koch Industries said that the company would spend billions to become the red planet’s first major industrial polluter.
“At Koch Industries, we are well aware that our practice of spewing over six million pounds of toxins a year into Earth’s water is not sustainable,” said the billionaire Koch brothers’ corporate spokesman, Harland Dorrinson. “That’s why this discovery of water on Mars is so exciting.”
Is Andy channeling future events that will come to pass, or sitting in on a Koch wet dream?
My Universe — I am feeling a little hen pecked! My kids are sitting on the floor around me but reaching up to the keyboard on occasion!
16 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 01/10/2015”
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That hearing displayed ghastly behavior unbecoming of elected officials.
I do like Krugman's word choices.
Someone has been selling tickets to Mars–perhaps the K. Bros. bought some (thanks for the dose of AB).
Bill is always welcome
5:31. With limited mobility I can't walk too fast.
Daily Kos – Many people are saying one place or another how proud her mother (Governor Ann Richards of Texas, before Texas became what it is now – not that there aren't still wonderful people there) would be of her. I concur.
Alternet – And what is he a symptom of? Well …
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/psychologist-puts-trump-and-gop-couch
Maher – Did I hear him correctly at the beginning? Did he know it was your Mom's birthday?
New Yorker – So Rush was wrong! There won't be a liberal spin put on it! BTW, if you see a "We Are Koch" ad sitting there on the Internet, don't play it – if on TV, grab the mute button. I took a survey on them and the only thing that kept me from puking was knowing I was getting a (small but non-zero) reward – from their money.
Universe – Gotcha!
No, you did not hear correctly. Bill was commenting on the audience being happy.
BTW, great article! Perhaps Edie should post it on FB for all her right leaning friends and family!
Daily Kos: The republicans on this congressional hearing should all be ostracized for their behavior towards Cecile Richards. Glad that Cecile showed composure and intelligence during the grueling 5 hour witch hunt on her and Planned Parenthood.
Alternet: Excellent article by Paul Krugman. Bill Maher gave a funny but pointed monologue.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 10/1/15
Kevin McCarthy, speaker-apparent, exposes GOP Benghazi committee ploy
Rachel Maddow helps viewers get to know Republican House Majority Leader and expected next-Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, and reports on the political damage he has done to his own party with his admission that the House Select Committee on Benghazi is a political device for attacking Hillary Clinton to hurt her chances for the presidency in 2016. Duration: 17:40
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/speaker-in-waiting-exposes-gop-benghazi-ploy-535721027734?cid=eml_mra_20151001
Kevin McCarthy is also responsible for helping members of the Tea Party get elected. Kevin is the least experiences person to ever chair the Speaker of the House. If you are able to read the comments by the viewers in the video, be sure to have a read. Viewers are saying that Kevin McCarthy is just plain dumb. Don't forget that McCarthy is 3rd in line for presidency should anything happen to the President and Vice President.
In my opinion, Kevin McCarthy will be worse than John Boehner.
New Yorker: Not far from the truth about Koch's polluting Mars. lol.
Universe: No "hen pecking" here today. lol.
Daily Kos: Kudos to Democratic Rep. Mr. Cummings for setting the story straight. She was lambasted, and kept her composure. ID's at their worst.
AlterNet: Great article by Mr. Krugman, and Bill is good to listen to.
New Yorker: Can't the brothers just go there and stay to check it out?
My Universe: How cute!!!
Hope you enjoy the rest of your day, Thanks, Lynn and all.
Can you say bully…Fascist…misogynist….Teathuglican?
Daily Kos: Rep. Cummings took apart the whole Republican argument for defunding Planned Parenthood. I wish we had more like him in the House. Chaffetz looked green while he was talking, he knew he had been outed. This whole investigation has been a sham to defund women's health care.
Alternet: From all that I have read, the man who will replace Boehner is even worse.
The New Yorker: Andy is probably right.
My Universe: Since I only get to be on the computer after everyone else is asleep, my kitties don't care. Gracie is asleep on my feet, Sparky and Oreo are sacked out on the couch, and Granny is in her own private room.
You're very welcome, Lynn. Give us a shout when you need more, because I've got the feeling you'll be doing this for a while before TomCat has made a full recovery. Your observation in your garden is very similar to mine. For tha past 4-5 years a lot of flowering plants have started a second bloom in Autumn after a dry spell. My Rhododendrons are like that and in the end it destroys them and others like it, because it takes too much of their energy or because their 2nd bloom gets destroyed by frost more often than not.
Daily Kos: There are days when I'm rolling on the floor from laughing about the way American politics and Congress in particular works, and there are days I'm absolutely disgusted by it, with nothing much in between. And the number of days I'm disgusted are increasing, especially by the way politicians act in committees like these. It's one thing that it is all to obvious that Republicans cant legally prevent abortions, so they go for destroying any agency that provides them, no matter how little they do in comparison to other health services and no matter how many people, or women mainly, are affected by it. It is another however, to see these misogynists pouring out their hatred in a commission like this, no longer even pretending that this is a hearing. If these politicians were working for a company, even one of the Koch's, they would be fired for doing such a bad job and putting the company to shame. Oh… wait…they are working for big companies. Guess the Koch's don't mind that Congress is put to shame as long as their name stays out of it. But then their anti-abortion think tank was mentioned, wasn't it?
Alternet: John Boehner is definitely "a terrible, very bad, no good speaker of the House.", but in the words of Bill Maher: This is the Republican Party, it always gets worse."
The New Yorker: Thanks Andy, for another big laugh. Satire at its best, with that base of truth in it. You've got to laugh otherwise you'd cry.
My Universe: Chickens make excellent pets too, I hear. Their "talking" is just as relaxing as purring, but if they start to check up on you…?
Thanks Lynn, just checking in due to kidney stones, sorry about that….
Pat, I hope you're having those kidney stones looked at by a doctor. They are nothing to mess with as you know already. Prayers for less pain and a recovery that is fast and strong.
Bless you Lynn, I am starting to think I will have to see the doctor, even if the local doctors are on automatic 'patronise, patronise, patronise' the pain does get to be sometimes worryingly bad, and it seems connected with other pains….
Covered Bridge P puzzle time; 5:40. I started doing Tom Cat's puzzles during one of the most difficult times in my life. They helped me through it. Now things are way better but I do the puzzles all the time. They let my mind settle while I enjoy the beautiful scenery and animals and interesting things. I wish I could give back TC what he gave to me.
Gloria, every time you say his name or a little prayer, you are giving back. That's the kind of giving back that he needs now.
Glad you are enjoying the puzzles.
You guys do the 48 piece puzzle. I do the 70 piece bulb version because I find the pieces so aesthetically pleasing. :^).
Congressional hearings used to be about fact finding, generally in relation to bills or policy under consideration, since the Tea Party revolution in 2010 though they have been about calling people in front of whatever committee so that republicans could pollute the atmosphere with lies, obfuscations and wildly inaccurate statements – get themselves on television and help with their next campaign. They are a joke. And so are the damn fools running them. They think no one sees the "emperors" have no clothes and they are wrong. They may get plaudits on Fox, but they get nothing but disgust everywhere else. Why the media plays this stupid little game with the stacked rules is beyond me – it is as if journalism schools stopped teaching the elements of a story, who, what, when, where and why. Hearings are now just a platform for politicians to behave like the tinhorn peacocks they are. And they are a complete waste of taxpayer time and money.
If anything in the politics of our Congress must change it is this – because the last three Congresses have been the least productive in history and the nauseatingly noisiest. They stink, they reek of partisanship. There are not statespersons anymore just shills and they are an embarrassment to the world because the world thinks that they are what Americans are like. And we aren't, just puffed up fools in suits are, the rest of us care about many things but one would never know that if all one watched or heard of was C-Span and Fox. We are a great nation, we should act like it rather than the spoiled brats our Congress makes us appear to be.
Amen Gene! Amen!