Well it seems that after several very late nights and very busy days, my cold is back with a hacking cough. Fortunately I see my doctor this afternoon. I wonder if he'll nail me with the flu shot? I get it every year but have not had this year's yet. Yesterday was all missions accomplished and then some. In a few days, when I am feeling up to it, I am going to be sitting down with the young lad who had problems last weekend and having a chat. There is never a shortage of things to do it seems.
Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:44 (average 5:53). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.
Fantasy Football
| Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | W-L-T | Pct | Stk | Waiver | For | Against |
| 1 | 7-2-0 | .778 | W2 | 10 | 912.10 | 646.92 | |
| 2+2 | 6-3-0 | .667 | W3 | 9 | 849.04 | 702.98 | |
| 3+3 | 5-4-0 | .556 | W1 | 8 | 869.74 | 829.72 | |
| 4-1 | 5-4-0 | .556 | L1 | 7 | 841.32 | 737.42 | |
| 5-3 | 5-4-0 | .556 | L1 | 6 | 808.62 | 805.66 | |
| 6+1 | 5-4-0 | .556 | W1 | 5 | 791.62 | 766.26 | |
| 7-2 | 4-5-0 | .444 | L2 | 4 | 763.60 | 882.54 | |
| 8 | 4-5-0 | .444 | W2 | 3 | 877.30 | 909.76 | |
| 9 | 3-6-0 | .333 | L2 | 2 | 807.78 | 912.54 | |
| 10 | 1-8-0 | .111 | L8 | 1 | 594.62 | 921.94 | |
* Rank change shown is from week 8 – 9
Short Takes
Alternet — On "Last Week Tonight," Oliver broke down the almost insurmountable obstacles faced by ex-cons after release, which helps explain America's high rates of recidivism. Over 50 percent of released prisoners end up back in jail.
Click through for the rest of the short article but most is in the video.
Huffington Post — Speaking at the National Religious Liberties Conference in Iowa, Cruz joined other GOP presidential candidates for a discussion about the persecution of Christians in the U.S. and around the world. After some very extreme, very weird comments about homosexuality, right-wing pastor Kevin Swanson introduced Cruz to the stage to ask him how important it was for candidates to submit to Jesus Christ as "the king of the President of the United States."
Barf Bag Alert!!! Barf Bag Alert!!!
Unfortunately I cannot embed the video for you so click through to see the it.
Right Wing Watch — On her program last night, Maddow filled her viewers in on Friday’s Republican campaign event, showing videos of Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal and Mike Huckabee engaging in question-and-answer sessions with extremist pastor Kevin Swanson, who then went on to say that he would smear cow dung over his body to protest a gay couple’s wedding and urged the government to execute gays in the future if they don’t repent.
As Maddow also pointed out, Swanson’s views on homosexuality were well-known even before he hosted the weekend’s National Religious Liberties Conference, and he wasn’t the only speaker at the conference who had called for homosexuality to be treated as a capital crime.
Barf Bag Alert!!! Barf Bag Alert!!!
Her remarks on the right-wing conference start at the 5:55 mark.
Unfortunately I cannot embed the video for you so click through to see the it. I did watch the video and as a Christian, I can say I have never seen such a display of raw hate. Swanson is NOT a true Christian, and in my opinion is inciting violence and murder.
My Universe — courtesy of the Animal Rescue Site
Now, if this had been one of my cats, there would be meowing into the receiver!
16 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 10/11/2015”
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4:03 I got tripped up in the forest.
4:48 I got tripped up too…and a tree fell on me!
Gotcha! 😀 I have to savour these moments now because once TC is back to doing puzzles, I'm toast!
Well, the car got the ringing thingy to SHUT UP! That was FANTASTIC! My cats would have been slinging all over the place and screeching!
Progressive Underdogs got my lunch and ate it right in front of me! Ah well, so it goes! Next week, next week! I'll get ya!
I can't take the sound of RepukkklicanTs talking in the videos! Rachel probably made mince meat out of them, but I feel dumber every time I watch or read ANYTHING from the so called "Christian right"!!!!!
Great job, Lynn. You can often fing the same video as the one from HP, that you could not embed, at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dkVu14Q_bw
Barf Bag Alert!!!
Cat is where it's at!!
So much for that! Seems someone has a problem with the person posting this.
5:16 Looks like fall.
AlterNet – I went straight to the comments because I wanted to see how many on AlterNet said "So what, they're convicts" or words to that effect, as we always see so many say on Care2. Surprise. Only one out of 15, and that one was both comparatively mild and immediately addressed by two others. I wish we could see that level of understanding on Care2. Politics Plus is better.
HuffPo – Tes Cruz – Where did I read, surely just this morning, that he's got a phone app that collects personal information from his supporters, not just theirs, but everyone's in their contacts lists? Oh, yeah, it was here: http://samuel-warde.com/2015/11/what-ted-cruz-doesnt-want-you-to-know/ (H/T JL's friend Barb)
Right Wing Watch – Matthew 7:21-23 KJV: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Universe – Oh, you have a secretary? Cool.
Thanks for acknowledging Barb's find!
My Sooter (RIP) meowed loudly when I recorded my message on my answering machine. I could not understand why I was getting a bunch of giggling messages and then hang ups. Turned out to be my mother who got the giggles listening to Scooter sound off.
I answered a call the other day and my Winnie was there. He started rubbing against the receiver and purring very loudly. The other person (a survey) started laughing but very much appreciated the purring. She is a cat person.
AlterNet: The facts: How very, very sad. Depressing actually. Laws need to change to take care of our ex-cons. We cannot set up situations that fail these people. Work on success, rather than negative. Kudos for the interview with Mr. Chapman. Excellent video.
Right Wing Watch: Great Scripture, Joanne. Repugs are dangerous. Ted Cruz is an A – – !!
My Universe: Kitty takes matters into his/her own paws. Well done!
Good luck at the Dr's. Hope your cough goes away, and that you get better. Thanks, Lynn.
Thanks, Lynn, for all your hard work.
Alternet: I am all too aware of the problems associated with parole violations, and lack of rights for those who have been in prison. I have mentioned my nephew before. He is 36 years old now and still paying for something that happened when he was 18 years old. It keeps him from finding a decent job,he cannot vote. He served his sentence, got married, had a child, and has lived a decent life since then, but is still being penalized. If prisons are meant to rehabilitate and let people live productive lives, our system has woefully failed.
Huffington Post: I am not sure where all this "persecuting Christians" is coming from. Seems to me these right wingers are persecuting the rest of us by trying to pass draconian laws that fit their religion and force the rest of us to live by them. The Starbucks debacle is an excellent example. Our local news tonight reported that eight Baptist churches have hired a lobbyist to help them promote their religious views to our state legislature. This seems to me to be a clear violation of separation of church and state, and I think, if they choose to engage in politics, they should lose their tax exempt status.
Right Wing Watch: I have seen that video and it is disgusting.
My Universe: I saw that video last night, it is so funny. A friend of mine had an answering machine and anytime her mother would call to leave a message, her cat would hit the button to stop it before the message was finished. Her mother thought she was doing that. She finally set up a stealth camera and videoed the cat, to prove to her mom that she was not responsible.
Take good care of yourself, Lynn. The nasty cough coming back may be a sign that you didn't take long enough to recuperate completely. I know, we all get warned not to start too early and none of us have the patience to do that 😉 So good of you to have a talk with the eldest of the mother you teach English. Ending up in hospital after getting beat up (in a robbery, was it?) is a serious matter for a 16 year old boy and he could do with someone to talk to.
Alternet: John Oliver has dealt with the American justice system from beginning to end now, and at no point there's been a sparkle of hope that some aspect could redeem it. It's biased, unjust, and cruel from beginning to end. It's there to punish only, to get revenge and, now with private prisons, to make money. And because of that and the almost unsurmountable problems people face after their release, 50% never make it out of that system. Even if you're set free after doing time for 30 years on na wrongful conviction, you may end up in jail again if all you have to show for these lost 30 years is a $20 food voucher and nothing else. The system is kaput, rotten, sick… and should be overhauled from start to finish.
Huffington Post: In another video we already saw Bobby Jindal go through the same motions, but at least he had the courtesy not to push himself as the perfect Christian and therefore the perfect president as Ted Cruz did. But what is most barf bag filling, is the fact that they literally trample on the constitution and tread Freedom of Religion in the mud by forcing Christianity on the whole of America (only a Christian can become president and then even he must bow before the King of Kings). Goodbye to religious freedom for Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and all other religions, but most of all for atheists.
Right Wing Watch: This really hit home with Rachel and she didn't mince her words: Cruz, Jindal and Huckabee knowingly made an appearance at a "Kill the gays" rally. Thank you, Rachel, that put things in perspective for me too. First of all, no matter how much my understanding of American politics and the American Constitution have grown in the past few years, I still have absolutely no understanding how Freedom of Speech allows people like Kevin Swanson to call out for the government to execute gay people. In my (Dutch) book this is hate speech, inciting violence and a crime. And these "candidates" going there and maybe not agreeing openly with this, but agreeing with most else Swanson said have made these three unfit to be candidates for any party, even the GOP. They should be struck off, but then the others should be struck off for other reasons and who would be left? But if the rest of America ever worried about how the rest of the world thinks about them and the politicians that represent them, then now is the time to protest these disgusting aberrations.
My Universe: Cats, don't you love them?
Judi, No flu shot today, not while you are showing symptoms.
Now, I am thinking my comment should have been directed to Lynn.
Actually Dotti, I always thought the same so I mentioned that to my doctor. He said there shouldn't be a problem. I had the shot on Tuesday so we'll see. So far, so good, but then it is only Wednesday night.
Thanks everyone!
I had a 3.5 hour catnap this evening so I am behind on tomorrow's open thread. On my way!