I had a rough night last night. I was awakened by an intermittent sharp stabbing pain in my left ankle, and it remains. What make it particularly difficult, besides ruining my night’s sleep and my morning nap, is that my left ankle is made of titanium and is about three feet away from me. On the plus side, I called my medical equipment company and told them to come pick up my O2 tanks and concentrator, because my Pulmonologist told me that he doesn’t think I need them anymore. I really needed that good news. My turn for some was overdue.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:51 (average 4:45). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Think Progress: Climate education in Oregon just took a big step forward.
Last week, the Portland Public Schools board voted to eliminate the use of any textbooks or other materials that are “found to express doubt about the severity of the climate crisis or its root in human activities.”
“A lot of the text materials are kind of thick with the language of doubt, and obviously the science says otherwise,” Bill Bigelow, a former Portland public school teacher, told the Portland Tribune. “We don’t want kids in Portland learning material courtesy of the fossil fuel industry.”
In his testimony to the board, Bigelow quoted from the book Physical Science, published by Pearson.
“‘Carbon dioxide emissions from motor vehicles, power plants and other sources, may contribute to global warming,’” he read. “This is a section that could be written by the Exxon public relations group and it’s being taught in Portland schools.”
Other books have also been found to cast doubt on climate science: A review of sixth-grade textbooks in California, for instance, found that the books “framed climate change as uncertain in the scientific community — both about whether it is occurring as well as about its human-causation.”
No doubt the problem of Republican skience replacing science in many of our nation’s textbooks stems from the influence Texas exerts on the publishers. Kudos to the Portland School Board. Oregon leads the way!
From American Bridge PAC: Donald Trump Profited From Companies He Blasted For Outsourcing
Barf Bag Alert!!
Rump Dump Trump remains Republican in all the ways that count. What he says bears no relationship to what he does.
From NY Times: Palestinians, settlements and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict rendered him effectively unwelcome in Washington and toxic to Palestinians. Yet to shore up his coalition in the Israeli Parliament, Mr. Netanyahu has now offered Mr. Lieberman the office of minister of defense — widely considered to be the second most powerful position in the Israeli government, with a critical role in dealing with the United States and the Palestinians.
Mr. Netanyahu may think his political needs are more important than relations with the soon-to-end Obama administration, relations that are already severely strained by the nuclear agreement with Iran. But the administration had at least established a working relationship with Moshe Yaalon, the tough but pragmatic defense minister who resigned once the offer to Mr. Lieberman became known. The timing of this changing of the guard is particularly sensitive because a critical 10-year defense agreement establishing new levels of American military aid for Israel is in the final stages of negotiations.
All US military aid to Israel should be suspended, as long as Bibi the Butcher continues to slaughter Palestinians, while ignoring Israel’s treaty obligation to pursue a two-state solution.
Cartoon:
17 Responses to “Open Thread – 5/24/2016”
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4:34 If you can catch it, you are welcome to it. I would bet it is pretty tough and doesn't taste like chicken.
Woo-hoo! That IS good news! And good news that you have worked hard for! Yay!
TP – This is good news too – unless you didn't know about the pseudo-science being taught, in which case it could be bad news for other places – but I'm willing to bet everyone here knew.
ABPAC – Well, this isn't good, but then it isn't news, is it?
NY Times – Can't agree with you more, TC, but I'm not holding my breath, and don't oy hold yours. You need it.
Cartoon – To paraphrase a certain infamous TED talk, you can sell a kilo once, but you can sell the Brooklyn Bridge 20 times a day, 365 days a year. If you are a Republikkkan.
Sadly, thet say the exact same thing about vicitms of human trafficking.
Yes, that was the TED talk in question. It comes up every time human trafficking comes up, so was fresh in my mind. A very Republican attitude whatever it is applied to.
Too true!!
TP: Kudos to your state!! Wonderful news! Why here in my state, carbon dioxide is breathed on a regular basis, in the governor's office, and he likes it!! LOL.
AB PAC: Ugh! Just plain ugh!
NYT: "All we are saying…is give Peace a chance". *J Lennon.
Cartoon: Been over this bridge many times while living in Jersey. It connects Manhattan & Brooklyn. It's an iconic feature of the New York City skyline. " The bridge’s construction took 14 years, involved 600 workers and cost $15 million (more than $320 million in today’s dollars)."
Glad that you are free from your tanks and concentrator, that's wonderful news!!! Do hope that you get some rest tonight. Enjoy your evening, take care, and Thanks, Tom.
Great news on the O2 front! Perhaps not smoking any more is paying off in positive ways.
Exactly!
Just one of many examples of how what we put into,our bodies affects our health. What is the next thing you can eliminate that will improve your health? Red meat?
Sorry to hear of what you seem to be describing as a first experience w/ "Phantom Limb Pain" (PLP).
But the good news of not having to be tethered to your O2 tube & tank must surely help a bit!
It certainlty wasn't a first experience, my friend, just the worst recently.
Kudos on the O2 progress! Means improperly filled tanks can no longer derail plans! Phantom pain is indeed a challenge requiring unique responses.
Let us hope CA Dept. of Ed supports OR–the only state that can stymie TX on textbooks.
Truth Relegated Under Miscelleaneous Poop of course…
Sounds like a new version of the House of Cards somehow…hope that's not just wishful thinking
And they've got the Studebaker granny only drove to church on Sundays, too, to sweeten the bridge deal
You're sure right about needing CA on the textbook issue.
Congratulations on the report from your pulmonologist. You were overdue some good news!
Think Progress: Kudos to Oregon, they seem to be leading the way and I wish more states would follow.
American Bridge Pac: Trump is like the snake oil salesmen from last century, tell them what ever you need to make the next sale!
NY Times: I have never trusted Lieberman, and this is a sign that I was right. If he goes to work for Bibi, he will undo every good thing accomplished.
Cartoon: They have been doing very well at selling such edifices , and that saddens me and scares me.
Puzzle — 3:01 Watch for those talons Puddy Tat! That eagle will make fricassée out of you!
Think Progress — Kudos to Oregon for wanting an education based on facts for its students rather than fairy tales.
American Bridge PAC — Greed trumps just about everything, and Herr Drumpf, like many Republicans, has no ethics or morals about greed.
NY Times — I was thinking the same thing . . . the US needs to cut Israel off of military aid. Period.
Cartoon — Are Republicans trying to sell it so they don't have to put out infrastructure money?
Glad to hear about the O2! That and your previous good stuff mean things are looking up. Yes you have an upcoming surgery, but I am confident you'll come through with flying colours!
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Bird is Bird!! Burp!!
Sorry to hear your sleep is interrupted by phantom pains, TomCat. Nasty how your brain can play tricks with you, isn't it.
But the news from your pulmonologist that you can discard your oxygen tank is absolutely wonderful. You must have had some idea this was coming as you haven't written about needing it for many months now and the COPD hasn't flared up as bad since last summer when it was so terribly hot and humid, if I remember correctly. And that is all because you stopped smoking, TomCat. Kudos to you, you can be very proud of yourself for quitting and not giving in to the cravings you still have!
TP: Kudos to the board of Portland Public Schools for throwing out any educational material that expresses doubt on how bad climate change really is and on man being the cause of it because " “We don’t want kids in Portland learning material courtesy of the fossil fuel industry.” No "may"or "perhaps" or "however", just the plain truth of which children need to be made aware of because it's all about their future. Start nagging your parents about getting solar pannels on the roof and riding a bike instead of driving the car whenever possible, kids. Show them the way forward and make them help you with your next school project about how you can save on energy instead of building you an erupting volcano. 😉
NYT: Do you think those Americans that support Drumpf will now start to think differently about flip-flop Drumpf and realize he just says what they want to hear and it has absolutely no bearing on his own behavior or thinking? Naaaahhh…America is going through the worse case of selective hearing in decades, it's not only gone endemic, it's gone hereditary by altering the genes in some groups.
NYT: Thank you for posting this, TomCat. It is rare to read an article in an American Newspaper that is critical of the way Israel is dealing with Palestinians, the land grab and the settlements, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and of the relationship between America and Israel with regard to this. Moshe Yaalon was known as the voice of reason in Netanyahu's government, and by leaving Yaalon has taken this last voice with him. Netanyahu wanted to strengthen his right-wing coalition and has done so by courting the ultra nationalists of Avigdor Liebermans' Yisrael Beiteinu party and they have now joined Netanyahu's coalition., adding 6 seats to the 61 of the 120 available seats the coalition held. Only last month Lieberman called Netanyahu "a liar, a con-man and a charlatan", but all is forgotten now and so are the Americans and their support. It is said that Lieberman has put up the condition that the death penalty is reintroduced for his party's accession. By concurring with a soldier who executed a Palestinian knife attacker who was already wounded and rendered harmless, something Yaalon strongly opposed, Netanyahu's government seems to be quite ready for that, and is obviously quite confident it'll not further deteriorate the American-Israeli relationship and the US. will continue its financial and military support as before.
It's a Republiban trait. In 2012, Little Lord Willard (Romney) t6ook a resolute stance on voth sides of most issues,