Politics Plus

It's been a slow day part of which was spent at the dentist.  Do you remember the Crest Toothpaste commercials where the kid runs into the house waiving what looks like a school report card and announces "Look mom, no cavities!"?  Well that was me today.  Actually, I haven't had any cavities in years.  But I do get headaches from having my neck craned in awkward positions so the hygenist can do her work.  I should have spent more time with the blog but instead, I spent time with my kids just relaxing. Tomorrow is a busy day with physio and then teaching.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:09 (average 4:24). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.

Short Takes

Mother Jones — The charges in the case stem from a scheme by Paul's 2012 campaign to pay then-Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson more than $70,000 to endorse Paul in the days before the Iowa caucuses in late 2011. Four of the charges against Benton were dropped when a judge ruled that prosecutors had improperly handled the indictments. Benton still faces a count of making false statements to prosecutors after he denied any knowledge of the alleged plan when they asked him about it last summer. Kesari faces six charges, including federal conspiracy and campaign finance charges. Prosecutors also say Kesari attempted to convince Sorenson to not tell investigators everything he knew.

Do you suppose that this trial, which does not directly affect Rand Paul at this point, could be why he said "I would throw everybody out, myself included" in a piece that was reported yesterday in Raw Story by Rachel Maddow?

Daily Kos — I don't think she can straighten out her act, she's been an embarrassment to the entire party for quite some time. It is definitely time for her to step down. … "The person who is supposed to be leading us is not leading us.”  R.T. Rybak, DNC Vice Chair.

For the last while, I have seen reports of rumblings within the Democratic National Committee, and almost all of those rumblings involved Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the U.S. Representative for Florida's 23rd congressional district and the chair of the DNC.  Are the rumblings "sour grapes" or is this an issue of a Democratic clown run amok?  Whichever, the rumblings must be dealt with before the Republicans use them to derail the Democrats as they move towards the 2016 election.

Alternet — Over the last few years, Urban Outfitters has become known for three things (outside of carrying overpriced clothes that fall apart the first time you wash them): 1) Offending every possible marginalized group under the sun with apparel that features really tasteless messages; 2) allegedly stealing designs from up-and-coming artists and selling them as their own; and 3) having a president and CEO, Richard Hayne, who has given money to anti-gay marriage crusader Rick Santorum and other Republican politicians. Now the company is making news for its boldest action yet: asking employees to work for free!

How to look like you care when you don't.  My guess is that it was suggested salaried employees get behind the company's plans to help out at the fulfillment centre on a weekend to build camaraderie and keep the orders flowing.  Oh, did the company mention that this was on their own time?  Having been in a very similar situation myself, it was made abundantly clear that not participating would be reflected on my performance review.  How Republican: more profits for less overhead.

Huffington Post —  Ken Taylor, whose role in the 1979 "Canadian Caper" made him a hero on both sides of the border for helping shelter six U.S. citizens at the height of the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, has died. He was 81.

"There were folks who didn't want to stick their necks out and the Canadians did,'' [Ben] Affleck told a Toronto International Film Festival press conference.

"They said, 'We'll risk ourselves, our diplomatic standing, our lives to harbour these six Americans that we owe nothing to and just because it's the moral, right thing to do.'''

I bring this to you because this is part of our shared history, Canada and the US.  But for me, Ken Taylor represents an attitude that was previously prevalent in Canada, part of our national identity, that seems to have gone missing, especially under Harper.  I want my Canada back!  Thank you Ken Taylor, rest in peace.

My Universe — 

Me an' my friends are gettin' ready for Hallowe'en!

Well, here I am and very, very late.  I took advantage of Lona's proferred cat nap from yesterday and ended up sleeping through until now, 12:30 pm on Thursday.  Not good as I have a dentist appointment at 2 pm. Fortunately it is close by.  My furbabes didn't even wake me up!  Have a great day everyone!

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:08 (average 5:04). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.

Fantasy Football

* Rank change shown is from week 4 – 5

Short Takes

Huffington Post — Conservative Party advertising targeted at Chinese and Punjabi-speaking voters in Vancouver and Toronto is raising concerns in the Liberal Party.

The advertisement characterises Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau as supporting the sale of marijuana to children, and the establishment of safe-injection sites and neighbourhood brothels.

"It's absolutely not true," said Harjit Sajjan, the Liberal candidate for Vancouver South. 

This kind of fear based campaigning is much like the fear based rhetoric that is the hallmark of Conservatives and Harper.  Why is it that conservatives, no matter Canada or the US, feel the need to be so fear based when addressing constituents? Read on to see other instances of Harper's fear tactics.  The election is Monday 19/10/2015.

Raw Story — MSNBC host Rachel Maddow went from being bemused on Wednesday over Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) broadcasting himself on the campaign trail to suggesting some sympathy for him.

Unfortunately, I can't embed the video for you so you'll have to watch it at Raw Story.  The phrase "war weary" comes to mind.  There is no doubt in my mind that political campaigning is very tiring . . . being on top of the game while in public, the travel, often being away from home.  But the minute a candidate shows too much weariness, electors are going to start to wonder about their fitness for the job.  I think that is what is happening to Paul.  That and the circus that is the GOP right now.

The New Yorker — In a major slip that may prove fatal to his Presidential ambitions, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont treated his principal opponent for the Democratic nomination with dignity and respect on Tuesday night.

Me thinks that Andy is back to truth in reporting!  What a novel idea!

My Universe — 

Today has been a long day.  I was tired so slept in longer than normal.  I had physiotherapy for 2 hours and then I had to drive through rush hour traffic to get to a meeting of the Family Council of the care centre where my mother resides.  Since I was chairing the meeting, I could not duck out in favour of sleep.  I didn't get home until almost 10 pm and had to have some supper and feed the babes.  Today's 'My Universe' is so me!  As a result, this is today's only article.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:58 (average 4:50). 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 — There's no way a candidate can beat Stephen Harper in his own riding — or can he?

NDP candidate Matt Masters Burgener poses that question in what's already being called the "smartest ad" of this election campaign.

As some may know, Canada is in the midst of a federal election.  Election Day is Monday 19/10/2015, and 4 days of early voting ended last night. There were more than 3.6 million early voters, of which I was one.  That is a 71% increase over early voting in the 2011 election.  For many Canadians, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has to go to the political unemployment line along with his "Harlots" (caucus), which may account for the high voter turnout in the advanced polls.  The video above is one of the ads that his constituency New Democratic Party (NDP) rival has produced.  Watch the video very carefully, all the way through.  It is very clever.  A link to another ad is in the Huffington Post article.

Huffington Post — Despite global wealth decreasing by $12.4 trillion over the past year, mainly due to currency fluctuations, the global distribution of wealth has become even more unequal.

Today the top one per cent "account for half of all assets in the world," according to Credit Suisse's 2015 Global Wealth Report.

Check out the rest of the data at Huffington Post.  The rich get richer, and the poor . . . well they get poorer and seem to sink into insignificance as far as the wealthy are concerned.  There will be a revolution . . . 

Think Progress — From the heavily-edited videos that made Planned Parenthood staff look like insensitive fetal tissue profiteers to presidential candidate Carly Fiorina’s erroneous ad campaign, the past months have unveiled the general misinformation and coercion behind many anti-abortion groups. Now, one state has taken the leap to combat these types of harmful anti-abortion propaganda at the source: inside anti-abortion organizations disguised as health clinics. But not without a fight.            

On Friday, California became the first state to pass a law regulating the nearly 170 anti-abortion clinics in the state. Barely 48 hours later, two clinics had already sued California Attorney General Kamala Harris, deeming the new law unconstitutional.

California leads the way in providing protections to women from the predatory practices of the Crisis Pregnancy Centres.  It seems these centres feel it is their first amendment right to free speech that is being denied.  They think they should have the right to lie, misinform and deceive women.  California, thanks for doing right!  If this one small step is bugging the right, look out when it comes to bigger issues.  Read the rest of the article at Think Progress.

Alternet — Giant Wall Street banks continue to threaten the wellbeing of millions of Americans, but what to do?

Bernie Sanders says break them up and resurrect the Glass-Steagall Act that once separated investment from commercial banking.

Hillary Clinton says charge them a bit more and oversee them more carefully.

Most Republicans say don’t worry.

In my opinion, Bernie is right . . . Glass-Steagall must be reintroduced for the protection of consumers.  The big banks are addicted to making big money by risking large sums.  But did consumers sign on to have their savings used in such away?  Did those consumers who are highly risk adverse have any say?  Under Hillary's plan, yes the banks would pay higher fees, but those fees would be a business expense and therefore deductible from income before taxes.  And the risky behaviour is still present.  Have a look at the entire article at Alternet.

My Universe — h/t Christeen A (Care2) — This is so me today! . . . or perhaps Exhaustipated!