I don't know about where you live, but here in Metro Vancouver, BC it was sunny with nary a cloud in the sky and temperatures around 22 C (72 F) today as well as yesterday. Many of the fruit blossoms are finished, but there are still many magnolia trees (Magnolia liliiflora) in full regalia but they too will be finished before long.Yesterday I was teaching English and French, and tomorrow I will be working with my first student. My two adult students are at such different places in the command of the language. My young French student gets very excited when she knows I am coming over and it is cute to behold. Today is the last class in my Pastoral Care programme and we will be commissioned on 24/04/2016. Next Thursday I start another study group called Immersion. It is geared to we flaming liberal Christians and will be taught by our Pastor Dave along with the woman who was leading the Pastoral Care programme. So lots going on! So who said retirement was for relaxing? Retirement is for doing what you enjoy but seldom had the time to do!
Short Takes
Huffington Post — On Oct. 21, Jessica Grubb flipped open her laptop and watched a live stream of her father telling President Barack Obama about her addiction to heroin.
Obama was in Charleston, West Virginia, Jessica’s hometown, to discuss the opioid epidemic. When the local newspaper solicited questions for the president from its readers, Grubb’s parents asked their daughter if they could tell her story.
“Absolutely,” Grubb said, hoping it might help somebody else in need.
If she’d been in Charleston, Grubb would have tried to attend the president’s visit herself. But she was in Michigan, where she’d moved for a residential drug rehab program. …
Jessica Grubb 1986 – 03 March 2016
Jessica Grubb “had a twofold reaction” to her story being shared with Obama, David Grubb recalled. “The one part was, ‘Wow, the president’s talking about me.’ The second reaction was, ‘Wow, the president’s talking about me. It was bittersweet.”
Hearing about a life lost so young; about parents fighting so hard for their daughter, and ultimately all daughters and sons, yet losing the battle . . . it leaves me hollow. David Grubb is correct . . . something has to be done. He lists some things that are being done, but more is needed. Drug addiction is a health issue that needs to be addressed everywhere. In Squatch’s Open Thread 29/12/2015, I presented an article about how Portugal had decriminalised drugs and began treating drug addiction as a healthcare issue rather than a punitive issue. I then followed it up with a piece in Squatch’s Open Thread 30/12/2015.
From the internet —
Need anything more be said? I have never enjoyed his genre of writing, but on these words I agree.
Daily Kos — When I watched the Chris Matthews interview with Trump on MSNBC tonight, I’d already seen the video exchange where Trump said that women who had gotten an illegal abortion should be punished. But when I watched the entire discussion, Trump made an even more shocking, and I think, more newsworthy statement that no one even bothered to mention.
The blogger has a point. Here is the Chris Matthews interview with Drumpf.
Stephen Barf Bag Alert!!!!! Barf Bag Alert!!!!! Barf Bag Alert!!!!! Barf Bag Alert!!!!! Barf Bag Alert!!!!!
Sometime later, Drumpf tried to clarify his position but only succeeded in making himself a pathetic figure in my opinion. From The Guardian:
“If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman. The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb. My position has not changed – like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions,” the statement said.
Raw Story — Senator Orrin Hatch took to the New York Times op-ed page to try to make the case for the Senate refusing to take up President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.
It didn’t go well. …
If Hatch and his fellow Republicans want to vote against Judge Garland, they have every right to do so. But they should stop being cowards. They should make a substantive argument against him. vote against him, and accept the political consequences of that vote. They should stop pretending that this reckless path they have chosen is anything but a desperate attempt to hold onto a Supreme Court majority.
Amen!
My Universe — h/t Carol B, Ted W at Care2
Which one of these is not like the others?
8 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 31/03/2016”
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HP: What a Heartbreaking story!!! I feel for all who are affected by this, and my condolences to her family. Hopefully, the 'exploring the idea of a “Jessie’s Law” that would prevent doctors from accidentally prescribing opioids to addicts without knowing about their medical background', will be implemented and passed. It would do much so much good for those addicted, in Jessica's memory.
From the internet: Have read * some of King's books, the Green Mile is my favorite of his, & movie. He sums it up completely. WTG, Stephen!!
DK: I too, almost fell out my chair! What a cad for even saying that!! Here's a comment from the comment section that states how I feel about it, it reads: From 'TEXASLefty':
"I have a bumper sticker that that says it all:
“Just Say NO to Sex With Pro-Lifers”
But living here in gun-toting utopia, I have never had the nerve to put it on my car." Well said, well said.
Raw Story: Good post. Do your job, Repugs!!!! "By refusing to even consider the nominee of the elected president, it is Hatch and the Senate Republicans who are not respecting the “split decision” of the American people, not the president."
Cartoon: Papers look good to me! Aww…I'd take them all in to live with me, my corgi, and blue. Oh, how adorable.
I agree with you about retirement. Sometimes, I don't know what to do for the day, but I certainly find something that I want to do, and can take my time doing it. You are busier than me, I thought mentoring/volunteering at school was busy, but you passed me by with your schedule. Enjoy your day. Thanks, Lynn for post.
I'll reiterate a posting which I did late last night from TC's Open Thread – 3/31/2016 regarding the Daily Kos' Chris Matthews interview with Herr Drumpf (Trump) on MSNBC.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 3/31/16
Trump accidentally speaks truth of anti-abortion politics
Rachel Maddow points out that contrary to his criticism of Donald Trump's remarks on punishing women for abortion, Ted Cruz and his close advisers hold even more extreme views, and all Donald Trump is really guilty of is saying out loud the truth about the aims of the anti-abortion movement in the United States. Duration: 21:27
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-exposes-truth-of-anti-abortion-politics-656239171633
This episode was an eye-opener for me! Insidious! All the more reason(s) why Drumpf and especially Cruz nor any republican must not be elected (stolen?) to the White House.
Abortion is as a crime and the pro-life people want the government to monitor all women who become pregnant, must carry it to full term. If there is no birth, the police will step in and arrest that woman to find out why she did not have a baby. If one miscarries, that woman will be subjected to a full scrunty.
Rachel gives a bold expose on this. See & hear this video (CC). Recommended.
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You're absolutely right, Lynn. Enjoy your retirement and do all the things you never had time for before as long as you can. We're so lucky to be able to make the most of the time between working and being the prisoner of a body that is truly old and failing. OK, you may not be able to run your marathons any longer, but you're still able to do most of the things you enjoy, perhaps only at a slightly lower pace. And learning (and teaching) is the one thing we can keep on doing into very old age if our minds allow it, so go for it.
HuPo: What a terribly sad story. People prone to addictive behavior are terribly hard to treat because part of it seems hard-wired. As the article suggest, it may indeed take years to rewire the addictive brain and old neurological paths seem to be reactivated so easily. Perhaps her therapy in rehab could have been better, but Jessica Grubb had a good chance of making it after 6 months of sobriety, but a careless, routine and disinterested prescription by some doctor who couldn't be bothered to read her medical dossier, caused her to relapse. She never had a chance.
Internet: I'm rather a fan of Stephen King because he has this way with words when he writes about battles between good and evil within a person or between entities. I think Drumpf has become the personification of the evil in American society for Stephen , and it's getting a bit too close to home for him. But, as always, he expresses his disgust so well.
DK: So much for the bag of wind who said his brain was so good he didn't need any advisors, except for who to pick as Scalia's successor apparently. When Drumpf is interviewed by someone who won't let him get away with not answering or trying to turn the tables – kudos to Chris Matthews – he starts to stutter, just can't come up with any answer that will please all of his supporters and falls back on his old routine of saying anything that comes to mind. Which isn't much apart from the usual misogynist boys-in-the-locker-room BS. Drumpf started of with repeatedly asking Matthews if he knew that Drumpf was pro-life, always had been pro-life, to get this impression across. However, he pro-life wasn't a few years ago and obviously hadn't given much thought to the ramifications of this new point of view and Matthews' tenacity had him have to think on his feet. And boy, did he fail with his "good" brain. Women should be punished for having an abortion, but not the men that got them pregnant. Drumpf in a nutshell.
RS: Spot on, Mark S. Byrnes, and thank you for taking Orrin Hatch's op-ed apart point by point and completely obliterating the case he was trying to make. If Hatch had written an essay for his high school teacher, he would have gotten himself an F for his trouble.
My Universe: Never seen a cat in a line-up, any line-up, before 😉
Would that I was back at work, where I could rest!!
I sure hope Jessica makews it.
King must ben envious, He's spent his life trying tro scare people, and not onew of his monsters are as scary as Fecal Dump.
Fecal dump will say anythng!!
Amen Indeed!
That clam of Meer Kitties isx so standoffish!!
The one on the left; all the others are short.
". . . pro-life with exceptions . . ."
Yeah, many exceptions, including women, gays, Mexicans and Muslims.
HP – How terribly, terribly sad. I have to say I bristled a the words "addictive personality," though. I do not believe that addiction is a mental health issue, but a chemical one, and I believe that is true even in cases of sex addiction and gambling addiction., though it may be harder to see. That is not to say that there are no mental health techniques that can help, but I have seen far too many situations where a physical ailment is blamed on a mental health issue, and I have seen how much harder that makes it to manage the condition. I have never seen it help. Portugal certainly has the right idea. But there is a discouraging amount of opposition in the US to that model.
Stephen King – Don't you wish this Stephen King were the Congressmn from Iowa, instead of the one who is?
DKos – Yes. What scares me most about Drumpf is that he is unpredictable. Think of his finger on the button. On the other hand, what scares me most about Cruz is that he is totally predictable, and what we can predict about him starts with the overthrow of the Constitution and goes downhill from there.
Raw Story – Ah, but not JUST an attempt to hold on to a Supreme Court majority. Rather, and attempt UNDER EXPLICIT ORDERS FROM BIG MONEY DONORS to hold on to a Supreme Court majority.
Universe – Nice try, though! (Grin)
I agree, Joanne, "addictive personality" doesn't ring true for me either and that's why I called it hard-wired, which for the brain means "chemical", too much or too little of a synaptic transmitter or inhibitor. This chemical component may indeed be underlying to the different kinds of addictions and even thrill seeking.
Lynn, I envy your ability to participate in so many worth while endeavors. Since I retired I have spent most of my time taking someone to a doctor or staying with someone ill, and then trying to keep my house clean.
Huffington Post: Sadly, too many young lives are lost to drugs these days. Criminalization is not the answer!
Stephen King: I have read many of his books and enjoyed being scared by them. I totally agree with his assesment of Trump.
Daily Kos: Trump is trumped by his own statement. I hope he loses many, many women voters due to this gaff. I am sure he meant what he said but backtracked due to the flack he got.
Raw Story: Hatch must be good friends with McConnell, they sing the same songs.
My Universe: Love it.