Well, it is Saturday night and all through the house not a creature is stirring, not even the cats! That sounds like a somewhat familiar strain! Oh, I know . . . I did a bit of Christmas shopping today and it is rubbing off in my prose. I hope you are having a great weekend.
Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:53 (average 4:56). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.
Short Takes
Huffington Post — For the past four years, Texas oil billionaire and corporate raider T. Boone Pickens has been suing the Liberal government in Ontario under NAFTA, arguing he has been the victim of "unfair" backroom deals involving the province’s green energy program.
A NAFTA tribunal is expected to rule on Pickens’ $700-million lawsuit this month,The New York Times reported Friday, describing the dispute as the 87-year-old tycoon’s “last big battle.” [emphasis mine]
There is another law suit by Lone Pine Resources, a Calgary company with corporate registration in Delaware, over the Québec government's moratorium on fracking within its jurisdiction. Lone Pine wants to frack under the St Lawrence River and is suing Canada for $250 million under NAFTA. Now Pickens! As the article states, 70% of the law suits under NAFTA are against Canada. And of course, now countries are looking to approve the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which is pretty much NAFTA on steroids. Anybody else see a problem with this. It feels like good bye to national sovreignty over resources.
Think Progress — Two Wisconsin state lawmakers, Rep. Jesse Kremer (R) and Sen. Stephen Nass (R), have introduced legislation that would prohibit schools from accommodating transgender students who wish to use restroom and changing room facilities that match their gender. It would also empower anyone who notices a school respecting a transgender student as such to file a complaint and win damages against that school.
Read the article to get the full flavour of this Republican bigotry.
Raw Story — After interviewing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Friday, Real Time host Bill Maher explained how Republicans misunderstand Sanders almost totally.
“He’s the one who makes their heads explode when he talks,” Maher said …
Think Progress — On Thursday morning, Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Governor John Kasich will release a tax and spending plan that would give big boosts to the rich and the wealthy with severe cuts for everyone else. …
He would lower the top income tax rate paid by the richest from its current level of 39.6 percent to 28 percent, reducing it by nearly a third. While the campaign hasn’t released full details, nor has an analysis been done on his plan, a proposal from fellow Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush that would lower the top rate to the same level found that it would increase the incomes of the 1 percent by more than 11 percent.
And Rachel Maddow thought Kasich might be a Republican she could tolerate if she had to? Following Kasich down into his rabbit hole might call into question anybody's sanity! Could Kasich be anymore Republican?
My Universe — h/t Carol B & Ted W (Care2)
So much for the GREAT ESCAPE!!!!!
11 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 18/10/2015”
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Boat by the garden puzzle time; 5:30.
Bill Maher is too funny. Bernie is going to win!
I hope Tom Cat is getting better!
Puzzle ~ 3:42 I can't find the boat.
3:44 I can't find it either.
HP: The Billionaire get richer whether from the lands, or the people, and he doesn't care….an OPA official said that “In my view, many of Mesa Power’s failures were caused by its sloppiness and lack of care in preparing its application, and the consequent failure to satisfy clearly defined criteria,” procurement manager Richard Duffy said." Also, Pickens recently donated $100,000 to the Bush campaign, in the hopes that a Bush victory would lead to a green light for the Keystone XL pipeline. I hope the NAFTA tribunal turns down this lawsuit.
Think Progress: The teenage years are stressful enough, w/o having two reps trying to pass legislation that encourages bias, discrimination, and segregation. I would also question encouraging students or parents to file a complaint against a transgender student. Where do these Repugs come up with this stuff??? (gag)!!
Raw Story: So aptly done, Bill. Kudos! Go Bernie!!
My Universe: I hope no kitties were injured making this picture. Poor little baby.
I'm off to volunteer and support those firefighters that helped in abating the Hidden Pines fires the past few days here. We're @50% containment at present. Enjoy your day, and many thanks again, Lynn and others who get TC's blog up every day. Hugs to TC too.
Thanks for the update Pat! We just got measurable rain in Northern CA (not near as much as SoCal)–over 2 inches above 3000 ft. level so it looks like our fire season may finally be about over here.
3:58 I'll just sit on shore and knit today, thanks.
HuffPo – TPP is goodbye to national sovereignty, not just over reaources, but over marketing, over truth in advertising, over privacy [internet and otherwise], over public health, and over a number of things I am not calling to mind just now. While I frankly don't trust my government, I trust other governments even less, and have even less say in their schemes than I do with my own. I posted a petition on yesterday's open thread on encryption and how without it we could lose control of even our own cars – while driving! – and I fear that even if we can get our government to do the right thing, we will lose under the TPP any gains we make at home.
Think Progress – If they are going to get paranoid, I wish they would at least get paranoid about things which represent real dangers (see enctyption in above paragraph). But no, they are so hung up on sex (and skin color) that they couldn't see or hear a bullet train if they were standing in the middle of the track. Faugh!
Raw Story – This is hysterical, but it is only slightly exaggerated, alas. No, Republicans, Bernie doesn't want to take away your guns. I am the one who wants to take away your guns. Children who cannot play nice with their toys need to have those toys taken away until the children grow up enough to play nice. (And besides, children can't afford to buy marijuana. It should be issued to them. Snark.)
Think Progress – Kasich is every bit as dangerous as every other Republican. In fact, he may be a lot more dangerous exactly because he doesn't run around frantically screaming absurdities. With the other candidates acting like drama queens, it makes him look saner than he is.
Universe – Aaaaw. Poor baby. Was he trying to get away from Republicans?
Christmas shopping already? You're at it early, aren't you, Lynn? We have to get through St Nicolas on the 5th of December first. with lots of sweets and tiny presents left in shoes placed next to the fireplace overnight in the weeks leading up to it, and presents and accompanying poems, brought by St Nicolas on his grey horse and his helpers in a burlap sack on the 5th itself. And if children were bad during the year, St Nicolas will take them back with him to Spain in that same burlap sack. When we get closer to the 5th I'll perhaps go into more detail on that piece of Dutch folklore, nearly dead but for the presents. Of course.
Huffington Post: Excellent post, Lynn. This shows how neither NAFTA nor any of these "trade agreements" like TTP or TTIP have anything to with fair dealings or trade or even trade as such but are only implemented to give companies more leeway to do exactly what they want and damn the consequences. Republicans try to scare us for "big government" but if there is something we REALLY should be scared of, the it's these agreements that give all power to corporations as the "courts" where these lawsuits are taken are also set up by the same companies. Goodbye to Democracy, or what is left of it.
Think Progress: This is absolutely sickening. Republicans are good in making one type of law only: one that is unconstitutional and discriminates against people. This law, if passed, in fact makes it impossible for transgender kids to finish their education. Hand me the barf bag, please.
Raw Story: Thanks for that bit of Maher, Lynn; always good for a great laugh. Of course Republicans do not hear Bernie say these things, they haven't listened to word he's said, but that wouldn't be very funny to watch, would it.
Think Progress: Honestly, when I read these first lines, I had to go back to the source, because I thought it was another one of Andy's parodies in the New Yorker. Now I've got to wrap my head in bubble foil and ask Terry (Care2) to make some room for my head on her desk.
The Republican candidates are now going to outdo each other in the number of percentages they're going to give the rich in tax-cuts, and the amount of severe cuts for the other 90%? Please, there has to come a time when most of their rabid base is going to realize that they belong to the 90% who are going to be bled dry further and not to the 10% who's going to buy even more stock on Wall Street and not trickle it down to them?
well one thing is clear: each and every one of these candidates is complete interchangeable with the next, there are no "moderates", only greedy bigots.
My Universe: Awww, poor thing.
If anyone wondered, these trade agreements are for corporations to dictate policy to countries like these examples (pharmaceutical companies have done similar suits).
Sounds like another taxpayer rip-off in WI for something already deemed unconstitutional.
Bill nails it, as always, and was welcome humor.
Poor OH and poor kitty.
One of those rare times for us who are dear or w/ hearing deficits, you have to TURN OFF the CC to get the full effect of the Maher YouTube video.
Nameless, is there any new news on TC? I have been waiting with great anticipation to hear how he is doing now. I hope his recovery is running smoothly!
Huffington Post: If the TPP passes, this will be happening on the USA too. There has been so little press coverage of the TPP that many are not yet aware of it.
Think Progress: Kremer and Nass are Neanderthals who need to realize that transgenders have rights, too.
Raw Story: I saw this last night, it was hilarious, but also shows exactly what happens to Bernies statements when the right wing gets through interpreting them.
Think Progress2: I shared this one on Facebook. Yes, let us cut Medicare to our seniors, but by all means keep financing the war machine and give our wealthy donors a tax cut. He is a true Republican.
My Universe: So far, none of mine have done this one.