On Trump Supporters

 Posted by at 1:13 pm  Politics
Sep 232016
 

0923trump_supporters

One never has to work to demonstrate that most Trump supporters are deplorable.  Just hand them a microphone, ask them a question, and they do that all by themselves.  Jordon Klepper did just that on the Daily Show, and the results speak for themselves.

'Wow! Mind Blown' The Daily Show Speaks To Trump Supporters

Wednesday's episode of The Daily Show didn't have to create crazy fiction or conspiracy theories to malign Hillary Clinton. That's because Correspondent Jordan Klepper found plenty of Trump supporters to do it all by themselves. It was a spectacular display of the rampant ignorance and misinformation that has run amok among the supporters of Donald Drumpf.…

Continue reading »

Share
Sep 232016
 

I’m still trying to establish a sleeping schedule without success, so please forgive me for being brief.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:53 (average 4:38).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Staff Notice:

Raw Story has also started using the Republish/Reprint © widget, so we can on longer use Creative Commons Attribution with their articles.

Short Takes:

From MSN (H/T Squatch): Donald Trump’s campaign chair in a prominent Ohio county has claimed there was “no racism” during the 1960s and said black people who have not succeeded over the past half-century only have themselves to blame.

Kathy Miller, chair of the Republican nominee’s campaign in Mahoning County, who is white, made the remarks during a taped interview with the Guardian’s Anywhere but Washington series of election videos.

“If you’re black and you haven’t been successful in the last 50 years, it’s your own fault. You’ve had every opportunity, it was given to you,” she said.

I found video that can be embedded.  Barf Bag Alert!!

There was no racism, the Pope was never Catholic, and bears never, ever shit in the woods.

From Daily Kos: A couple of weeks ago, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $185 million in penalties for perpetrating a massive fraud on customers. Wells Fargo executives boasted that they had fired 5,300 workers involved in improprieties, but not a single executive was punished. In fact, executives that literally oversaw the departments where the gargantuan fraud was committed were very well compensated, and lauded. Yesterday, Wells Fargo CEO—and blame-game champion—John Stumpf went in front of a Senate Banking Committee where he was rightfully castigated by Senator Elizabeth Warren for his “gutless leadership.” Part of Stumpf’s “apology” was to say that Wells Fargo didn’t do this as much as bad apples did it. It’s a similar defense used by people who murder citizens. Well, lookie here:

Now CNNMoney is hearing from former Wells Fargo (WFC) workers around the country who tried to put a stop to these illegal tactics. Almost half a dozen workers who spoke with us say they paid dearly for trying to do the right thing: they were fired.

"They ruined my life," Bill Bado, a former Wells Fargo banker in Pennsylvania, told CNNMoney.

Bado not only refused orders to open phony bank and credit accounts. The New Jersey man called an ethics hotline and sent an email to human resources in September 2013, flagging unethical sales activities he was being instructed to do.

According to Badu, he was fired for “tardiness” eight days after sending his email to the Wells Fargo “hotline.”

It’s good that Bado and others like him were fired for noncompliance with the Banksters’ crimes. Otherwise they would have fired anyway as scapegoats. At least they get to keep their integrity.

From NY Times: The white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black driver here last week as he stood outside his vehicle overreacted during a confrontation captured on video and was charged on Thursday with first-degree manslaughter, the authorities said.

According to court documents, the officer, Betty Jo Shelby, 42, was overcome with fear that the man, Terence Crutcher, 40, who was not responding to her commands and was walking away from her with his hands up, was going to kill her.

Charging her was necessary, because the case is so obvious. I expect we will see an intentionally botched prosecution and/or intentionally tainted evidence.

Cartoon:

0923Cartoon

Share
Sep 232016
 

(And that’s the last pun for this week.)

It was last week in my post on Cats taking over a London tube station that I mentioned I try to shy away from the science/tech stuff, given they hold an inherent interest for me and I don’t want to favor that topic too much.  But Edie said she thought we’d enjoy them – so I’ll give it a go with a quickie one.

One in three of us (I was surprised that not everyone gets them) have suffered through what’s frequently called an Ice Cream Headache, Cold-Stimulus Headache, Trigeminal Headache or its given scientific name Sphenopalatine Ganglioneuralgia (meaning "pain of the sphenopalatine ganglion nerve").  Or more commonly – a Brain Freeze.

Frozen Brain

Frozen Brain

The term Ice Cream Headache first appeared in a manuscript by Rebecca Timbres on January 31, 1937 that was eventually published as book in 1939 with the snappy title of “We Didn't Ask Utopia: A Quaker Family in Soviet Russia”.  (With a title like that, is it any wonder it took her TWO YEARS to get the thing published?)

And while it’s been discussed in the medical literature since at least the 1850s, it wasn’t until 1988 that the International Headache Society formally recognized the malady, which they have labeled “Cold Stimulus Headache”.

CAUSATION

The phenomenon occurs about 10-20 seconds after too rapidly eating or drinking an extremely cold food – whereby it comes in contact with the soft palate, thereby inducing that sharp, stabbing, bi-frontal headache.  It usually only last 30-60 seconds, and never more than five minutes.  And fortunately it’s self-limited.

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY

Theory 1 – Trigeminal Nerve Factor

It long been known that when something cold contacts your palate, the sudden temperature change of the tissue stimulates nerves to cause rapid dilation of blood vessels in an effort to bring warm blood to the area.  This rapid dilation of the blood vessels triggers pain receptors, which release pain-causing prostaglandins, thereby increasing sensitivity to further pain. 

These signals are transmitted by the Trigeminal Nerve  – the Fifth (V) of our twelve cranial nerves.  Because the trigeminal nerve also senses facial pain, the brain interprets the pain signal as coming from the forehead – or what is called 'referred pain' since the cause of the pain is in a different location from where you feel it.

brain-freeze_trigeminal-nerve-anatomy_3

Theory 2 – Blood Flow Factor

Where food enters – and exits – our bodies are two of the most highly vascularized areas we have.  It’s why those are the two most common sites to take a temperature. 

Eating or drinking something very cold, especially when done rapidly, doesn’t allow the mouth enough time to absorb and acclimate to the cold very well.  This rapid change in temperature of the palate is where the internal carotid artery branches into the anterior cerebral artery.

brain-freeze_artery

Our brains are not fond of rapid change in their environment, and so as a self-defense mechanism, there is a rapid dilatation of the anterior cerebral artery to rush warm blood to the brain.  Given our brains are encased in a rather non-flexible skull, this extra blood flow causes an increase in Intracranial Pressure (ICP), which causes pain.

Surprising enough, the brain itself is not capable of feeling pain despite its billions of neurons.  But the meninges that cover the brain certainly can.  And it’s the stretching of the meninges from the increased ICP that causes the headache.

As the area warms up, the artery constricts, blood flow diminishes returning to normal, and the ICP drops back down again.  Headache gone!

This was rather eloquently demonstrated by Dr. Jorge Serrador, a cardiovascular electronics researcher at Harvard Medical School, who studied 13 volunteers.  They had their cerebral blood flow monitored in several brain arteries by a transcranial Doppler (a type of ultrasound).  They first sipped ice cold water through a straw aimed at their palate and were instructed to raise their hand when pain began. 

This was shown to correlate when the anterior cerebral artery dilated.

Then they raised their hand again when the pain went away.  And that correlated with the constriction of the anterior cerebral artery.

As a control they did the same thing while drinking room temperature water – and no changes were observed.

Dr. Jorge Serrador and his team presented these finding at the Experimental Biology 2012 meeting, San Diego, and they’ve been widely accepted as the current “Gold Standard”.

Here's a video that sort of combines the two theories together:

TREATMENT

So what should you do if you are one of the one-in-three who gets Brain Freeze? 

brain-freeze_hair-ice

First and foremost (as always in medicine)  is prevention.  The surest way of that is avoidance – but who wants to give up the joy of ice cream, or Slurpees, or a dozen other frigid delights?

But it does help if you eat your cold item slowly – and try to avoid the palate.  So aim that straw away from the back of your mouth, and hold the food item in the front of your mouth to warm it up.

Intuitively drinking something warm, or even room temperature, will help alleviate that headache.  But since that’s not always available, sticking your tongue on the roof of your mouth is a good and socially acceptable remedy.

brain-freeze_graphic-03_tongue

It’s also recommended to stick your nice warm thumb on your palate – something that may NOT be as socially acceptable.

brain-freeze_graphic-05_thumb

You can also cup your hands over your mouth and catch the body-temperature expired air in an effort to warm up your palate.

brain-freeze_graphic-04_breathe

NUGGETS

The similarity of the mechanics of Ice Cream Headache and migraines are strikingly similar.  It’s hoped that further study will may lead to better management of migraines.

The term "brainfreeze" was registered as a trademark by 7-Eleven in 1994

Worldwide, the town that drinks the most Slurpees (7-Eleven's brand of slushies) is chilly Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada.

Maya Kaczorowski, a 13 year-old had her study, "Ice cream Evoked Headaches Study: Randomized Trial of Accelerated Versus Cautious Ice Cream Eating Regimen" published in the British Medical Journal and Scientific American

AND it appears that our feline friends can also get Ice Cream Headaches …

 

RESOURCES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_cream_headache

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/244458.php

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130522095335.htm

http://chemistry.about.com/od/howthingsworkfaqs/f/how-brain-freeze-works.htm

http://www.kidzworld.com/article/4392-the-chilling-truth-about-brain-freeze

http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Brain-Freeze

http://mentalfloss.com/article/12293/why-do-people-get-ice-cream-headaches

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120422231742.htm

 

Share
Sep 222016
 

Although I tired myself out yesterday, I still could not sleep last night or this morning, so I need to rest today.  This is today’s only article from me, and I won’t be sending link messages on Care2.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:51 (average 4:21).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From KP Daily Funnies: That Darn Trump! Episode 2: What Do You Have To Lose?

Animated Barf Bag Alert!!

 

I’m not sure about its value as humor, but it sure is accurate.

From YouTube: Warren Presses FBI On Financial Crisis Case | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

 

Lizzie raises some great points. I also want to know why the Banksters that caused the crisis were not prosecuted.

From Daily Kos: …Bondi’s first political opponent in 2010, former state senator and federal prosecutor Dan Gelber, recently said she should at least have returned the check to Trump while the New York case was pending.

But Bondi on Tuesday said she didn’t return the check because it would have looked as if it were a bribe…

LOL!! If you believe that, then I blew the fart, because holding it in would have looked like I ate Chile.

Cartoon:

0922Cartoon

Republican Supply-side Jesus and Jesus are exact opposites.

Share

Other People’s Money

 Posted by at 1:50 pm  Politics
Sep 212016
 

If I had a nickel for every time media has covered duplicitous Republican assertions about the Clinton foundation, I could invest the money and we could all join the 1% and commit TEAbuggery.  Trump, on the other hand, not only brags about using other people’s money to enrich himself, but uses his Trump Foundation illegally to do do.  Thanks to the Squatch for pointing me to the following article.

Donald Trump spent more than a quarter-million dollars from his charitable foundation to settle lawsuits that involved the billionaire’s for-profit businesses, according to interviews and a review of legal documents.

Those cases, which together used $258,000 from Trump’s charity, were among four newly documented expenditures in which Trump may have violated laws against “self-dealing” — which prohibit nonprofit leaders from using charity money to benefit themselves or their businesses.

In one case, from 2007, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club faced $120,000 in unpaid fines from the town of Palm Beach, Fla., resulting from a dispute over the size of a flagpole.

In a settlement, Palm Beach agreed to waive those fines — if Trump’s club made a $100,000 donation to a specific charity for veterans. Instead, Trump sent a check from the Donald J. Trump Foundation, a charity funded almost entirely by other people’s money, according to tax records.

In another case, court papers say one of Trump’s golf courses in New York agreed to settle a lawsuit by making a donation to the plaintiff’s chosen charity. A $158,000 donation was made by the Trump Foundation, according to tax records… [emphasis added]

From <MSN.com>

Both Tim Hayes and Lawrence O’Donnell covered this story on MSNBC.  First Tim:

Then Lawrence:

You know, this is such a prima facie case, that the only way Rump Dump Trump can save himself from jail, is to win the Presidency and appoint all the people with power to punish him.

Share
Sep 212016
 

I’m starting late again, but today it’s intentional.  I napped this morning, because I sleep best when it’s chilly, and because I have to stay up all afternoon.  It’s a grocery delivery day, and I have to stow them.  Later Wendy is coming to ruffle and rinse the stinky TomCat.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:18 (average 6:17).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Staff Notice:

Both AlterNet and Crooks and Liars have returned to insisting blogs embed their entire article using their embed widget, that includes their advertising, or pay even for a short excerpt, so we may no longer use Creative Commons Attribution.  Either use their free method or paraphrase with a link back.

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: If Chris Christie faces prosecution for an alleged role in the so-called Bridgegate scandal, his endorsement of Donald Trump could play a crucial role in an insanity defense, legal experts believe.

Harland Dorrinson, a defense attorney who has represented many politicians in high-profile criminal cases, believes that Christie’s endorsement of Trump earlier this year could persuade a jury that the New Jersey Governor is “completely incapable of rational thought.”

“An insanity defense is always a long shot, because the bar for insanity is set very high,” Dorrinson said. “Having said that, I believe that Christie’s endorsement of Trump easily meets that standard.”

If Christie is prosecuted, his defense team is likely to show the jury footage of Trump routinely humiliating the New Jersey Governor on the campaign trail. “It will become abundantly clear that Christie endorsed Trump and received absolutely no conceivable benefit for doing so,” Dorrinson said. “Legally speaking, the only word for that is insane.”

Andy has returned to reporting again, but how about an InsaniTEA defense?

From NY Times: The Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon G. Adelson and his wife are giving more than $40 million to groups backing Republican congressional candidates, according to campaign filings and interviews with Republican strategists, disregarding repeated entreaties for support from allies of Donald J. Trump and dealing a major setback to Mr. Trump’s efforts to rally the deepest-pocketed Republican givers.

The contributions will again make Mr. Adelson and his family among the largest known donors in American politics, after several years in which they played a more subdued role in national Republican fund-raising. But Mr. Adelson’s decision to deploy his wealth down ballot, less than two months before Election Day, also reflects the reluctance of most of the biggest Republican donors to invest in their party’s standard-bearer.

Adelson’s biggest hot buttons are more welfare for the super-rich, and unqualified support for and unlimited spending on Butcher Bibi’s criminal one-state solution in Palestine. We can’t compete with his money, but we must do all we can to defeat Republicans in down-ballot races.

From TPM: Despite Donald Trump’s admission that President Obama was born in the United States, Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, on Tuesday pledged to continue pushing birtherism.

“I don’t care where he’s from,” Arpaio said while speaking to the Surprise Tea Party, according to the Arizona Republic. “We are looking at a forged document. Period.”

I’m so glad I left Phoenix in 1979!

Cartoon:

0921Cartoon

Share

More Bee Buzz

 Posted by at 1:26 pm  Politics
Sep 202016
 

Here are a couple clips from Samantha Bee’s Act One last night.  As always she’s hilarious with her well-targeted Wit!

Part 1:

Part 2:

Is she spot-on about media culpability, or what?

Share
Sep 202016
 

My sleeping schedule is way out of whack.  The mornings have been very chilly here, so I’ve been warming under the covers and sleeping.  Then when night comes, it’s super sticky with very high humidity, and I can’t sleep.  I could live with a swing shift schedule, but medical mayhem cannot.  The nerve pain is greatly improved, but side effects remain.  Of course, it’s too soon to tell.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:37 (average 4:59).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football Report:

Here are the results from our Fantasy Football league.

Scores:

2Scores

Standings:

2Standings

I actually won one last week.  Patty Monster, Vivian, and Rob are tied for the lead.  Don’t forget to be ready in time for Thursday Night Football, like I did last week.

Short Takes:

From KP Daily Funnies: Mary Poppins Quits Over Non-Living Wage

 

Pretty accurate, IMHO!

From Daily Kos: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, fresh off his weekend of being called out for lying about Donald Trump’s birtherism, is seeing one of his own scandals blow up again. Two of Christie’s former underlings are on trial for the George Washington Bridge lane closures, and prosecutors opened the trial by saying Christie knew what his aides were doing at the time:

Prosecutors from the United States attorney’s office said that two of the alleged co-conspirators in the case, David Wildstein and Bill Baroni, had bragged to the governor about the lane closings, and that they had been done to “mess” with the mayor of Fort Lee because he had declined entreaties to endorse the governor’s re-election.

The prosecutor, Vikas Khanna, instantly advised the jury that they should not consider the actions of “others” or wonder why they were not charged.

Rachael has more:

PIGnocchio knew!!

From Alternet: D]ell Rapids, South Dakota firefighter was relieved of his duties after a social media post where he encouraged reinstituting slavery.

John Nygaard reportedly posted several racist posts on Facebook that sparked outrage from Dell Rapids residents, according to KSFY.

Fire him! There’s too much risk that this deplorable Republican won’t do his job, depending on race.

Cartoon:

0920Cartoon

Share