May 152016
 

Almost every week, Republicans join a competition to see who can say the most outlandish things, and in the process, they push the envelope on just how bad InsaniTEA can become.  I trust that you will believe it, when I tell you that last week was no exception.

Trump confidante says completely unhinged thing about Hillary Clinton.

0515roger-stoneIn fairness, saying completely unhinged things about Hillary Clinton is Trump’s longtime friend, confidante and adviser Roger Stone’s stock in trade. The larger-than-life Republican dirty trickster spent some time with his favorite nutty conspiracy theorist Alex Jones again this week.

Per RightWingWatch: Stone told Jones and another guest, Gary Heavin, the founder of the fitness business Curves who just happens to be a 9/11 truther and right-wing movie producer, that he fears for his life because his nemeses Bill and Hillary Clinton own and operate a "machine that has a trail of bodies as far as you can see.”

This from a man who has called for Hillary Clinton to be executed, also that treasonous socialist, Bernie Sanders.

Would-be Stone assassins should be aware that he has increased his security, because those evil "Clintons have a track record” of beating and killing anyone who stands in their way.

No one really doubts that Stone has already written much of the script Trump will follow in the general election against Clinton. [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Alternet>

I found video of Stone’s absurd claims.

Barf Bag Alert!!

This just the fifth of five worst Republican moments listed from last week alone.  Click through for the other four, if you dare.

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May 152016
 

I’m running way late today, because I overslept this morning, and I still felt so tired, I needed another Lona nap after completing most of my research.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:13 (average 4:45).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football Report:

The light from the Holy Ellipsoid Orb will soon shine forth to bathe the world in blessing!

We have a Live draft which is set for Saturday, Aug 20, 2016 at 1:00pm PDT.  If you played last year, but cannot do so this year, please let me know ASAP.

The new season kicks off on Thursday. September 8, the same way the last one ended. The Panthers will look to exact a measure of revenge for their defeat in Super Bowl 50 over the now Peyton Manning-less Sick smile Broncos.

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos (Classic 3/2016): This November 1922 article about Hitler in the New York Times should be a stark reminder just how dangerous rhetoric can be:

But, several reliable, well-informed sources confirmed the idea that Hitler’s anti-Semitism was not so genuine or violent as it sounded, and that he was merely using anti-Semitic propaganda as bait to catch messes of followers, and keep them aroused, enthusiastic and in line for the time when his organization is perfected and sufficiently powerful to be employed effectively for political purposes.

A sophisticated politician credited Hitler with peculiar political cleverness for laying emphasis and over emphasis on anti-Semitism, saying: “You can’t expect the masses to understand or appreciate your finer real aims. You must feed the masses with cruder morsels and ideas like anti-Semitism. It would be politically all wrong to tell  them the truth about where you really are leading them.”

I’m not saying a Trump presidency would lead to mass genocide on the scale of the Holocaust. But, his rhetoric is already dangerous.

Does that sound like the lies that fascist Republicans are spewing about Rump Dump or what?

From NW Herald: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is abolishing the agency that currently investigates police misconduct and replacing it with a civilian department he said will have more independence and resources to do its work.

Emanuel’s announcement late Friday came a month after a task force recommended the move in a report that said police in the nation’s third-largest city have “no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color” and have alienated blacks and Hispanics for decades by using excessive force and honoring a code of silence.

The Task Force on Police Accountability had recommended replacing the “badly broken” Independent Police Review Authority, or IPRA, with a “new and fully transparent and accountable Civilian Police Investigative Agency.”

Dang!! That sure doesn’t sound like Rahmbo, He must be desperate to save his job to behave so far out of character.

From Crooks and Liars: Don’t look for old Stabby Ben to pull a Cheney and pick himself as Drumpf’s running mate, but he did give us a preview of who may be on his short list, and oh joy, and it includes the Quitta’ from Wasilla:

SNL had fun with Rump Dump’s VP search.

If Rump Dump actually picked Bloody Bullseye Barbie, aka Drill Baby Dingbat, I would have just two words: Woooo Hoooo!!

Cartoon:

0515Cartoon

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May 142016
 

RepublicansOnParade4

Here is the eighty-fifth article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s honoree is South Carolina barber Larry Thomas. He is so honored for pushing Republican racism to the next level and doing it in an Ammosexual manner.

0514hillthomasSouth Carolina barber Larry Thomas is facing charges of “pointing and presenting firearms at a person” after refusing to serve a black man, Arthur Hill, who came into his shop for a shave:

"He said, ‘I don’t do black hair,’" Hill recalled. "I asked him does he shave, can he shave me, and he said, ‘I don’t do black hair.’"

Hill says he had never been to the barbershop in the 2100 block of Celanese Road before. However, he says he was pressed for time and needed a shave before work.

Arthur Hill asked him to clarify:

"I  said, ‘Are you referring to African American hair?’ He said, ‘Yeah,’ and at the time I noticed he already had his hand gripped on a .38 snub nose chrome revolver."

Needless to say, Arthur Hill left and called the police. Larry Thomas only spent one night in jail and was back at his shop the next day…

Inserted from <Daily Kos>

Seldom have we seen. a better example of the Republican approach to race relations. Hill may well be better off. That typically racist Republican barber had one lousy haircut. And poor Thomas can no longer get it up, because the authorities took away his gun.

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May 142016
 

I’m getting a late start, because it’s shower day.  Julie just came, so I’m a spit-shined puddy tat, and I’ve taken my fair share of abuse from Killer Dawg.  George is much more stable with his new ankle, and the pain I was feeling came from a crease that had formed in his lining.  It was digging into Stumpy.  Sarah removed the crease and Velcro’d the lining into place, so I don’t crease it again.  Both George and Stumpy are pleased,  I’m going to try to rest this weekend, as I have three days of medical appointments next week,

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:12 (average 5:02).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: CNBC interviewed Target’s CEO Brian Cornell on Wednesday and discussed the company’s liberal stance against discriminatory laws like North Carolina’s HB2. Target now is experiencing a massive backlash and boycott by an anti LGBTQ conservative organization called American Family Association. It’s reported that AFA has 1.2 million signatures on its petition — people pledging to not shop at Target stores because of the retail chain’s pro-LGBTQ position.

Brian Cornell is not only unabashed and unapologetic about his company’s support of transgender and pro-LGBTQ rights, he doubles down on the decision with no indication of changing his mind.

 

Major Kudos to Target.  It’s a better place to shop than Wal-Fart.

From YouTube (Jeff Merkley Channel): Merkley: Keep Fossil Fuels in the Ground

 

Once again, Sen. Jeff Merkley and Oregon lead the way. Keep it in the ground!

From NY Times: The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced on Friday that it had imposed sweeping controls on the distribution of its products to ensure that none are used in lethal injections, a step that closes off the last remaining open-market source of drugs used in executions.

More than 20 American and European drug companies have already adopted such restrictions, citing either moral or business reasons. Nonetheless, the decision from one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical manufacturers is seen as a milestone.

“With Pfizer’s announcement, all F.D.A.-approved manufacturers of any potential execution drug have now blocked their sale for this purpose,” said Maya Foa, who tracks drug companies for Reprieve, a London-based human rights advocacy group. “Executing states must now go underground if they want to get hold of medicines for use in lethal injection.”

In other words, if states want to murder prisoners for breaking the law, they will not be able to do so without breaking the law themselves. Sadly, for red states, like Texas, Oklahoma, and other states dominated by the Pro-Death Party, breaking the law is part of their normal modus operandi for law enforcement.

Cartoon:

0514Cartoon

Originally posted in 2012.  Far more urgent today.

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May 142016
 

Well it has taken me several days to get this OT finished because I am in the midst of a bout of sinusitis, which among other things, has played havoc with my eyes and my ability to concentrate (headaches).  So now, with too much rest and some anti-biotics, I am starting to feel better.  I must say though, the sun has been too bright for the eyes, and the temperatures too hot — 27C (80F).  I have been binge watching Games of Thrones videos and NCIS:Los Angeles videos, which while enjoyable programmes, are too much for 3 days straight.  My sweet Primo, who I affectionately call Primolicious, has been close at hand the entire time.  He's not a lap cat but likes to be close.

Short Takes

CBC — The blackened landscape around Fort McMurray is far from a dead zone, despite a wildfire that has reduced more than 229,000 of hectares of boreal forest to cinders and ashes.

Amid the charred skeletons of spruce and still smouldering muskeg, Alberta's fire-loving insects are on the move.

"Its really spooky if you ever go to a burn after it's gone out," said Peter Heule, an insect expert with Edmonton's Royal Alberta Museum.

Tar sand beetle

These long-antennaed creatures move quickly into areas torched by wildfire to find a nicely charred spot to lay their eggs. (Royal Alberta Museum )

"Every step you take, there is just ash and soot, and you see these little beetles shimmering like little jewels on these black-burned trees, laying their eggs and doing their thing."

Out of the ashes of destruction springs new hope.

Politico — Nine House committee chairmen are formally uniting behind Donald Trump’s campaign, announcing their endorsement of the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee Friday as the only pathway to winning the White House in November.

02_Donald_Trump_gty_1160.jpg

Trump’s camp announced the endorsements of chairs Steve Chabot (Small Business), Michael Conaway (Agriculture), Jeb Hensarling (Financial Services), Candice Miller (House Administration), Jeff Miller (Veterans’ Affairs), Tom Price (Budget), Pete Sessions (Rules), Bill Shuster (Transportation and Infrastructure) and Lamar Smith (Science, Space and Technology). Though publicized in a statement encompassing the support of the range of chairs, some of the individuals named Friday had already voiced their support of the real estate mogul as recently as this week.

How the general election shakes out will largely be dependant on how Democrats respond to the Drumpf challenge.  There is no room for complacency.  No room for Bernie/Hillary supporter divisivness.  VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO!!! 

NY Times — After meeting with Donald J. Trump this week, SpeakerPaul D. Ryan uttered the words many in his party longed to hear: “I do believe that we are now planting the seeds to get ourselves unified.”

It is hard to win without party unity, as both Democrats and Republicans have learned. But neither party has confronted the prospect of a candidate denounced by some of its leading lights as a pathological liar unfit to be commander in chief and in need of therapy.

Here are four reasons congressional Republicans are desperate for unity this year, and for Mr. Ryan to endorse Mr. Trump.

1. Do the math

Congressional districts are far more gerrymandered than they were even 20 years ago; Republican members of Congress, by and large, come from very Republican districts. In the relatively few swing districts, Republicans cannot afford to alienate their base voters, many of whom may have voted for Mr. Trump in the primary (or other Republican presidential candidates) but could stay home in November if they are put off by party infighting.

And in Senate elections, no-show voters are a threat to incumbency. “Parties want to win, and if they have sharp divisions it makes it that much more difficult” down the ballot, said Robert Dallek, a presidential historian.

Click through for the other three reasons.  Are Republicans really starting to unify behind Drumpf or is this all smoke and mirrors trying to present a unified face to voters?

Huffington Post — Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Friday his state would give up all federal education funding in order to avoid complying with the gender equity law Title IX in how trans students are treated.

The result of forfeiting the $10 billion currently flowing from the U.S. government to schools and public universities in Texas could leave thousands of college students without a way to pay tuition, grind to a halt a majority of research taking place on the campuses, and leave low-income children without support for meals. 

“[President Barack Obama] says he’s going to withhold funding if schools do not follow the policy,” Patrick said Friday at a press conference. “Well, in Texas, he can keep his 30 pieces of silver. We will not yield to blackmail from the president of the United States.”

The bluebonnet state is at it again, or should that be still!  It would endanger the lives of all Texas students by denying them a proper education rather than complying with a gender equality law.  They sure do grow them bigger in Texas . . . right wing nutjobs that is!

NY TimesThe casino magnate Sheldon G. Adelson told Donald J. Trump in a private meeting last week that he was willing to contribute more to help elect him than he has to any previous campaign, a sum that could exceed $100 million, according to two Republicans with direct knowledge of Mr. Adelson’s commitment.

As significant, Mr. Adelson, a billionaire based in Las Vegas, has decided that he will significantly scale back his giving to congressional Republicans and direct most of his contributions to groups dedicated to Mr. Trump’s campaign. The two Republicans familiar with Mr. Adelson’s plans spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

A while ago, I seem to recall that Adelson (and the Kochs among others) said he was stepping out of campaign financing finding the then crop of Republican presidential misfits lacking.  Fast forward to today and the dye is cast with the drumpfing of all other candidates but he who must not be POTUS.  Should we maybe say that Adelson is holding his nose as he writes the cheques?  VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO!!!

My Universe

 

 

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Everyday Erinyes

 Posted by at 12:29 am  Politics
May 142016
 

I only have one small article this week which seems to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with it, and you and the Furies may not even agree with me on it. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as "unceasing," "grudging," and "vengeful destruction."

I'm sure everyone can remember SOMETHING that Maine Governor Paul Lepage has said or done at one time or another which was bat-guano crazy, and hurtful with it.  Most recently he has been in the news for complaining about drug dealers coming up to Maine and impregnating white women (Huh?), and stating he wanted the authority to behead said drug dealers publicly.  But that's just recently.

Last Tuesday, or rather, Tuesday week, May 3rd, the Governor went to the Androscoggin Humane Society to check out the dogs there – apparently he and his family had a dog who had recently passed away, Baxter.  They saw a Jack Russell, decided on the spot to adopt him, named him Veto and posted on Facebook.

However – this puppy had been advertised on the Humane Society website as becoming available on WEDNESDAY morning, on a first come, first served basis.  And there was another Mainer who wanted him, who had arranged to take off work so she could be there early  and be first in line.

Heath Arsenault, a victim of sexual assault, told local news outlet NECN she had been hoping to adopt the animal herself as an emotional support dog. She said she was heartbroken when she learned that the shelter had bent the rules to allow the governor to adopt him before he became available to the public.

"I just saw the picture and I broke down," Arsenault said. "He was just the right size for my apartment and he's just really sweet." ….

"It wasn't about, 'Oh, I wanted that dog and somebody else adopted it," Arsenault, added. "It just felt like my happiness was taken away from me. Bettering my relationships—that was taken away from me."

"No one should be given special privileges, even if they are the governor," she told the Portland Press Herald.

The shelter has since admitted to breaking its own rules by giving LePage a chance to adopt the dog a day earlier than the public.

It remains to be seen if Veto will soon be moving to Washington, DC, as LePage is reportedly gunning for a position in the Trump administration.

I said most of what I am going to say now in my comment on the site, but I doubt if I can say it much better, so from here I am quoting myself (I promise not to sue), with just a few small edits, mostly for context.

There are a number of old sayings along the lines of "adding insult to injury," "the straw that broke the camel's back," "the frosting on the cake," "the cherry on the sundae," which express how human it is, after suffering, or even just seeing, large or at least significant injuries without losing one's temper, when a small one comes along from the same source, to "blow one's top" – another old saying.  Cliches, but they become cliches because they speak to us.  This is how I feel about this incident. 

He makes remarks about drug dealers coming into "his" state and impregnating white women.  He says he wants to be able to cut off drug dealers' heads in public.  He decides to veto a bunch of bills he doesn't like, so he ignores them, in which he displayes his ignorance of Maine's constitution – they all become law.  So he decides he just won't enforce them.  A private school hires someone he personally doesn't like, so he directs them to fire the guy or lose state funding.  And so on and so on.  He has already abundantly proved he has no respect for constitution, no respect for law, no respect for rules, no respect for citizens.  Over major issues.

Now comes along this sweet little dog – and Jack Russells are sweet, if not always 100% predictable.  (And if you deduce from that that I hope Veto bites his ass, you would be right.)  No, he didn't know someone else wanted the dog.  But he did know he was there a day early, and therefore was breaking a rule.  Yes, the shelter is also at fault, whether he threatened and bullied the staff, or whether they were only too happy to kiss the boots of their Governor, or anything in between.  I admit this is a minor issue.  I admit I am being petty.  But for me, this is the frosting on the cake, because it FROSTS me.

And I think that is what many people who have commented on the article are feeling, and why so many are excoriating him (and of course many are also defending him, and are entitled to their opinion).

Plus, of course, I can see from other comments that I am not the only one who fears for the fate of that sweet little dog in that household.

Dear Furies, if you can see your way to looking into this there are many people who would or should be grateful – including the entire state of Maine.  It may be the punishment would not fit the crime.  But there are other unpunished crimes.  And God help the nation if he should get into Donald Trump's cabinet!  (OK, God help the nation if Donald Trump gets a cabinet, period.)

Off this topic, a quick update on last week's election fraud story – about seven more funny-looking signatures have been found, and all of the voters in question have been interviewed, and deny signing anything for Keyser, but state they did sign for the other guy.  Including the first one I showed last week.  Keyser has reportedly refused to say anything except "I am on the ballot," except that he did tell one reporter "I have a really, really big dog.  Bigger than you."  (Clearly NOT a Jack Russell.)  Sweet guy.

The Furies and I will be back.

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May 132016
 

It’s George’s ankle and exam day.  I have to get gone.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:07 (average 4:36).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Take:

From Media Matters: Full Frontal’s Samantha Bee Details How "Crisis Pregnancy Centers Are An Illusion" And "A Complete Hustle"

Samantha Bee: "Crisis Pregnancy Centers May Look Sweet And Helpful, But They’re Really Full Of Toxic Bullshit"

 

BEEutifully done!

Women who vote Republican are like blacks that join the KKK!

Cartoon:

0513Cartoon

Wooo Hooo!!  I crossed your path!!

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Terse Tidbits This Thursday

 Posted by at 8:44 pm  Politics
May 122016
 

Waterkeeper Alliance Opposes “Monsanto Shield” Provision in Chemical Safety Reform Legislation
http://waterkeeper.org/waterkeeper-alliance-opposes-monsanto-shield-provision-in-chemical-safety-reform-legislation/?utm_source=Waterkeeper+Alliance+Master+List&utm_campaign=8fc2174e18-May_2016_Currents5_5_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e059bc1919-8fc2174e18-72814965

 

Pentagon quietly sends troops to Yemen to fight al-Qaeda — which U.S. strengthened by backing destructive Saudi war
“The U.S. is intervening in yet another Middle Eastern country where extremist groups benefited from its policies.”
https://www.salon.com/2016/05/07/pentagon_quietly_sends_troops_to_yemen_to_fight_al_qaeda_which_u_s_strengthened_by_backing_destructive_saudi_war/?source=newsletter

 

El Salvador arrests people who pushed for peace in gang war

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/05/05/el-salvador-arrests-people-who-pushed-for-peace-in-gang-war/

 

Photo gallery: Once a child soldier, now seeking a path as Colombia contemplates peace
http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/photo-gallery-once-a-child-soldier-now-seeking-a-path-as-colombia-contemplates-peace/

 

Colombia restaurant cooks up recipe for peace
“El Cielo, one of Latin America's top restaurants, assembles kitchen staff of army veterans and former rebel fighters.”

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/colombia-restaurant-cooks-recipe-peace-160401150959377.html

 

Meet Mr. Ticker                                                                                     Money-Armload-Bundles_Wall-St
http://www.citizenvox.org/2016/05/02/meet-mr-ticker/

 

This huge, ugly fruit is a surprisingly good meat substitute
http://grist.org/food/this-huge-ugly-fruit-is-a-surprisingly-good-meat-substitute/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=weekly-static

 

His hotel didn't understand what 'wheelchair accessible' meant. So he built an app.

http://www.upworthy.com/his-hotel-didnt-understand-what-wheelchair-accessible-meant-so-he-built-an-app?c=upw1

 

Meet the Young Coding Stars Rising From India’s Largest Slum
http://www.takepart.com/article/2016/05/12/young-girls-india-s-largest-slum-are-learning-code?cmpid=tpdaily-eml-2016-05-12

 

The middle class is shrinking just about everywhere in America
“The great shrinking of the middle class that has captured the attention of the nation is not only playing out in troubled regions like the Rust Belt, Appalachia and the Deep South, but in just about every metropolitan area in America, according to a major new analysis by the Pew Research Center.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/11/the-middle-class-is-shrinking-just-about-everywhere-in-america/?hpid=hp_rhp-more-top-stories_no-name%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

 

9 reasons to be a little obsessed with elite gymnast Simone Biles. (text and brief video)
http://www.upworthy.com/9-reasons-to-be-a-little-obsessed-with-elite-gymnast-simone-biles?c=reccon3

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