I awoke very late after chasing someone's pet rat all night long! The furry critter kept getting away from me, so I chased it. I finally woke up to find myself cuddling one of my furbabes who bears no resemblance to a rat. Tomorrow is busy with physio and teaching.
Short Takes
Huffington Post — Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy was charged in federal court on Thursday with conspiracy, assault on a federal officer and obstruction of justice in connection with the 2014 standoff on federal land near his ranch.
Bundy was arrested on Wednesday night in Portland, Oregon, near the site of another standoff that previously included his sons. …
The takeover at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which began on Jan. 2, was sparked by the return to prison of two Oregon ranchers convicted of setting fires that spread to federal property in the vicinity of the refuge.
The standoff, which was originally led by brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy, came to a head after the arrest on Wednesday in Portland of their father, Cliven Bundy.
My first thought, I hope the cases against these characters is rock solid. In my mind, they have demonstrated that their "rights" supersede those of everyone else. I guess only time will tell.
Common Dreams — In a move being hailed as both "defiant" and common sense, Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House on Thursday introduced the "Keep It in the Ground" Act, which would permanently block all new fossil fuel leases on public lands and waters.
The bill, introduced by California Rep. Jared Huffman and cosponsored by 16 colleagues, specifically bars new leases and ends non-producing leases for coal, oil, gas, oil shale, and tar sands on all federal lands, as well as for offshore drilling in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico. Further, the bill outright prohibits offshore drilling in the Arctic and the Atlantic.
Although this action is sorely overdue, this has about as much chance of suceeding as a snowball in hell with the current Republican dominated Congress. Hopefully, that dominance won't last forever.
Mother Jones — Ted Nugent is no stranger to mounting outrageous defenses of the gun lobby. But this week, the musician's predictable inflammatory language reached new levels of offensive starting on Monday with the following anti-Semitic image posted to his Facebook page:
With a long list of seditious and other questionable acts, Nugent, the Pied Piper of Offensiveness, has outdone himself this time. I didn't think that was possible! Thanks to Cal M at Care2, here is a petition to TELL THE NRA: REMOVE TED NUGENT FROM YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
Common Dreams — The Pentagon budget the Obama administration unveiled this week calls for quadrupling spending on efforts to counter Russia.
The money would move more troops, tanks, and artillery into position near the Russia border. This last Obama budget would also fund another installment in a $1 trillion and 30-year plan to “modernize” our nuclear arsenal with new land-based missiles, bombers, and submarines. …
4. We can’t afford it.
We’re now spending more than the next 13 countries put together, more than three times as much as China, and nine times as much as Russia. Meanwhile the water crisis in Flint, Michigan points to the consequences of our neglect of our country’s infrastructure. According to the National Priorities Project, foregoing the cost of beefing up our nuclear arsenal for one year would enable the U.S. to send nearly 600,000 more students to college for four years. Instead we want to spend more to rekindle the Cold War?
Click through for the other 5 reasons. The proposed US budget would include funds for the nuclear weapons arsenal. Isn't the US a signatory to the Treaty for the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons? Yes, and this appears to fly in the face of that treaty. If the Republicans actually take the time to view the budget proposal, they are likely to start licking their chops.
My Universe —
I you can't go around, and you can't go under, go over but be nice about it!
Dedicated to all the Big Mouth award winners and their big mouth friends!
8 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 11/02/2016”
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When we spend half our budget on "defense" and it's for the most part never discussed by anyone that is just another indicator how much trouble we are in as a country.
HuffPo: These haters should have been arrested a long time ago, imo. To let this go on and on…was ridiculous, as anyone else would have been immediately arrested, (or shot)!!
Common Ground: So proud of these Democrats who introduced the ''Keep It In the Ground Act'', which also prohibits offshore drilling in the Arctic and the Atlantic. Yes, it has as much a chance of succeeding, as a blizzard in Texas, but we can hope for our future.
MJ: He's a racist, and a cad. Are people allowed to put stuff up like that on FB? Isn't that offensive to spread that kind of hate on there? Just wondering…. Signed petition too, and passing on too.
Common Dream: More and more money to feed the war machine, and making those contractors richer. Plus, we need to take care of folks in dire need of help, Flint, the Native Americans water crisis, and the needs of many others. We can't afford this!! This is very scary indeed.
My Universe: My cat is not very receptive of other cats who happen to come visit, when she does go outside. Must be a territorial thing. Must have learned that from the dog. lol. Rats make very good pets, and are very lovable, and smart too.
Students can't have Valentine parties any more, so I'm off to school to help sell flowers for Student Council. Times have changed, as that used to be a fun activity that I enjoyed. Enjoy your day, and Thanks, Lynn
Well, rats! The problem with a dream like that is that one often awakes feeling exhausted, not at all rested. Hopefully the cuddling furbaby helped.
HuffPo – I was so tickled to see that Cliven is in the clink. Long may it last.
Common Dreams – Well, gotta start somewhere. Sometimes starting involves getting defeated and coming back anyway. Success is not inevitable, but it is worth fighting for.
MoJo – Is my memory deceiving me,? Wasn't there a time when crazies were kind of sweet? Like the Emperor Norton? What did we do to deserve hostile, dangerous crazies like the ones we have today? Of, yeah, that's right – we poisoned the air with pesticides for decades. And the water too. Never mind.
Common Dreams – You know, I am a veteran, and so is Pat B, and you don't see US calling for or supporting crazy spending like this. Diplomacy is always better, like the cease-fire in Syria announced yesterday. Real soldiers know that. Who are these people pushing for this? Never mind – don;t tell me – weapons manufacturers mostly. What if we required weapons manufacturing CEOs to field test every product personally? Alternatively, did Obama get information beforehand that they were not even going to look at his budget and put this in as a nose-thumbing? The mind boggles.
Universe – Cats are very territorial and have numerous ways to mark their territory, some pleasanter than others. And – aging though I am – I have no plans to shup up.
Great quote, Joanne! I read it after I had entered my comment/rant, mistakes and all, then realized I should have read it before I got carried away. Yes, definitely more furious 😉
Hi Squash,
Keep it in the Ground is a wonderful thought. Hopefully, they will follow though.
Fear is the common denominator for Pat Nugent's racism and Pres. Obama's request for more weapons. Which has negative consequences that blinds the fearer to his true realiity. It's the consequences of fear and hate that will kill us all…peace
I wouldn't be surprised if you woke up tired after chasing that pet rat all night, Lynn. Perhaps my catnaps were too strong and turned your dreams into those of a feline?
HuPo: It sure took the authorities a long time before they arrested Cliven Bundy sr. so we might expect them to have had enough time to build a solid case, and since he's going to be tried in a federal court, we can also expect less leniency than if he stood before a judge in his own state. He's defrauded the state of enough money to buy himself a very good lawyer, so that is working in his favor. As you say, Lynn, we'll have to wait and see, meanwhile keeping our fingers crossed…
MoJo: I've too often explained that freedom of speech ends in most countries in Europe where hate mongering starts, so I won't go there again. Ted Nugent would be before a judge for this in Holland soon, period.
And I don't think many Americans will agree with my next train of thought. If Ted Nugent was on the board of most other organizations, I'd be the first to sign Cal's petition to have him removed from the board of directors. However, I do not consider the NRA to be a normal organization, and I do not think Ted Nugent is very much different,or very much worse, than the other directors on that board. The NRA knew what they were taking on board when Nugent joined the board, and I firmly believe the took him on because he was an icon of the Republican fringe the NRA caters too. This NRA shouldn't dismiss Nugent from the board just because he's a tad more outspoken than the rest of the board, they should defend him passionately and show sensible gun owners what the NRA is really about. The current NRA isn't a normal organization, upholding some moral values, however few; the current NRA is an abomination with Ted Nugent as its spokesman.
Common Dreams: This last Obama budget would move more troops, tanks, and artillery into position near the Russia border. It would also fund another installment in a $1 trillion and 30-year plan to “modernize” our nuclear arsenal with new land-based missiles, bombers, and submarines. Here are SEVEN reasons why this is a big mistake:
1. It’s what Putin wants.
2. It’s what Pentagon contractors want.
3. Contrary to popular belief, the Reagan military build-up didn’t bring the Soviet Union to its knees.
4. The US can’t afford it.
5. It’ll undermine the most significant diplomatic success in recent years.
6. It could trigger a nuclear holocaust.
I don't care much for 1-5, but nr 6 should be enough for anyone with half a brain, so
7. WE DON'T WANT IT IN OUR BACK GARDEN! WE DON't WANT TO BECOME YOUR BATTLEGROUND.
I was there in Amsterdam and The Hague in the 80's protesting the American nuclear armament coming to our borders. We were a million people strong, a million out of 15 million who said "We don't want it" and that hasn't changed. Find your wars about world supremacy on your own borders for once and put all the stuff up in Sarah Palin's back garden. See how she likes it.
My Universe: Thank you! Love them both. Pulse is coming down again…
And you didn't save it for me for lunch?
He belongs in a cell!
Keep trying to keep it in the ground.
A petition to the NRA is useless. Nugent is the kind they love.
The Nuclear proligferation treaty agrees to keep other countries from acquiring nuclear weapons. India, Pakistan and Israel should face sanctions for theirs. Other treaties keep us from increasing our nuclear arsenal, but not from upgrading it.
Morning, Cats!!
I signed the Nugent petition, on e-mail, but agree with TC that the NRA has to love the jackass. I did not think the NRA would give half a damn about the petition, however.
In the ground is where it all belongs!
CD: This does smell of craziness!
HP/MJ: Cliven belongs in jail, along with Nugent. Is the latter a closet KKKer?