Yesterday’s supper was delicious, and we sent a green cloud north in search of the Squatch. Tomorrow, I have an appointment with Courtney, my Physical Terrorist, so I may have nothing more than a Personal Update. If you are in Matthew’s path, please take care. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:54 (average 5:00). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From KOIN: The Republican candidate for Oregon governor drew boos at a Portland debate Friday when he suggested successful women aren’t susceptible to sexual violence.
Dr. Bud Pierce’s remarks came after his Democratic opponent Gov. Kate Brown also disclosed she has been a victim of domestic violence.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that Pierce said “a woman that has a great education and training and a great job is not susceptible to this kind of abuse by men, women or anyone.”
The line drew groans and boos from the audience at the Portland City Club.
I proudly endorse Kate Brown, Oregon’s only rational choice for Governor.
From CMD: Bayer announced this month that it plans to purchase Monsanto, the controversial chemical corporation that has been sued around the world over its products. Nowadays, Bayer has a more consumer-friendly corporate reputation, but has a checkered past too. (Bayer’s history as a German company during the Nazi era is well documented.)
According to Vox, if regulators approve the $66 billion deal, the merger would create the largest agribusiness giant in the world, “selling 29 percent of the world’s seeds and 24 percent of its pesticides.”
Selling nearly a third of the world’s seeds actually means owning a huge portion of the seed stock on the planet. And, Monsanto has spent decades genetically modifying seeds to make them compatible with its chemical pesticides and herbicides, as with Roundup-ready corn. Those are the kinds of chemicals and modifications that can’t be washed off.
In the U.S., citizens have been waging major campaigns to try to get GMO products labeled and/or to prevent the use of GMO crops in their communities. These efforts have been attacked by Monsanto and other chemical corporations, which have worked to defeat citizen democracy through subterfuge—as with the deceptive ads that beat back California’s proposition on GMO labeling and with a “preemption” bill in Oregon to trump local ballot measures that passed overwhelmingly in two Oregon counties that banned GMO crops.
I hope you already know just how evil I consider Monsanto to be, but Bayer is just as bad. They became a corporate giant using slave labor in concentration camps and conducting bizarre medical experiments on camp prisoners, working closely with the infamous Mengele Brothers. Their record continues to be horrid. Click here for more details.
From NY Times: Donald J. Trump’s support has plunged across the swing-state map over the last 10 days, wiping out his political recovery from September and threatening to undo weeks of Republican gains in the battle for control of Congress.
For his party, Mr. Trump’s reversal in fortune comes at the worst possible moment: Having muted their criticism of Mr. Trump in hopes that he could at least run competitively through Election Day, Republicans must decide in the next few days, rather than weeks, whether to seek distance from his wobbly campaign.
Should Mr. Trump falter badly in his second debate with Hillary Clinton on Sunday in St. Louis, Republican congressional candidates may take it as a cue to flee openly from their nominee, said two senior Republicans involved at high levels of the campaign who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private party strategy.
Mr. Trump has already slipped perceptibly in public polls, trailing widely this week in Pennsylvania and by smaller margins in Florida and North Carolina — three states he cannot afford to lose. But private polling by both parties shows an even more precipitous drop, especially among independent voters, moderate Republicans and women, according to a dozen strategists from both parties who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the data was confidential.
Hillary’s tactic of treating Trump as separate from the Republican party is wrong. We need to keep tying Trump and every Republican candidate from Dawg Catcher up together. The only difference between most of them and Trump is that they try assure their base of their hate-filled positions and policies using dog whistles, at the same time that they deceive the general public about them. On the other hand, Trump articulates those same positions and policies clearly. In short, he’s just another Republican, and they are just junior Trumps.
From YouTube (Move-on Channel): Complacency is Not an Option
Listen to the Reich on the left, Robert Reich. Defeat the Reich on the Right, the Republican Reich in an election day blow out! If you think that it’s OK to waste your vote, because it’s not needed to defeat Trump, it’s not OK. Your vote is needed! Don’t play Russian Roulette with Putin’s Pup!!
Cartoon:
12 Responses to “Open Thread – 10/6/2016”
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5:12 (5:00) Tangled.
KOIN – If anything, educated women are MORE susceptible to sexual violence, because the education and intelligence makes misogynists feel inferior and thus pisses them off. It's not the high school dropouts that are getting rape threats, and death threats aimed at their children, on their posts. And yes, I know, that's not physical (YET) but it is intimidating, as it is meant to be.
CMD – If anything Bayer is worse, although at that level of slime it's hard to tell. There are more petitions on this than it's really possiblt=e to list here, even with privileges. I'll assume your link will share some of them. Google should also help.
NY Times – GOOD. Hillary's tactic of treating Drumpf as separate is being used because it works. I agree, it's not accurate, but it isn't people like you and me, who know what is going on (and therefore are already voting for her), that she is trying to convince. She is trying to get votes from people who can't handle the truth. If Republicans start criticizing Drumpf more openly, the dynamic may change, and if that happens, I'm sure her strategy will also change. Her people are really on it.
YouTube – And I was going to say the same thing on the last short take – not all two and a half minutes, just "We can't be complacent." – but I saw this first. 😉
Cartoon – Just as Republican Jesus is the opposite of the real Jesus, what they call free trade is the opposite of fair trade.
On the Open Thread for the 4th I posted additional links to Laughter Trumps Hate so I won't repeat them – three of the four winning videos are closed captioned, but the one I really liked isn't. TC, I saw that you said you had seen it, but I had already re-done the transcript (there is one phrase at 0:43-45 that I am not hearing, but I'm confident on the rest of it) and I doubt Nameless is the only one who will want it. So:
LTH Crowd Favorite – Make America Great Again
(Trump voice – This is a movement — we are going to make our country great again, believe me – we will make our country great again!)
Oh, let's make America great again
Like in the good old days way back when
There were root beer floats in every soda shop
Ice cream sundaes with a cherry on top
Fresh mowed lawns where we played in the grass
Wavin' to the neighbors as they pass
Soakin' up the sun in a pink bikini
Chasin' a quaaluse with a gin martini
I miss those good old carefree days
Before anyone knew there were (ice?rice?ICE?) brigades (0:43)
Oh, we sure do wish every now and then
That we could make America great again!
At the sock hop we would dance the night away
Back when rapin' your date was A-OK
No warning labels to dismay me
As I smoked in a restaurant holdin' my baby
Your boss's friends were always happy to greetcha,
They'd slap your ass and say, "Nice to meetcha"
You'd take it with a smile without any bitchin'
Then you'd head on home to your place in the kitchen
Your husband rarely hit you and that was ace
And blacks, Jews, and Mexicans knew their place
Back when girls were girls and men were men
Oh, let's make America great again!
Let's bring back juicy peaches on a summer day
Jim Crow laws and the KKK
Our flag was flyin high as an eagle
Schools were segregated and child labor was legal
Five cent popcorn at the picture show
Dying prematurely from polio
If your kid misbehaved it was fine to spank it
Every Indian boy got a smallpox blanket
You could hang your slave from a cottonwood tree
In the good old days when we all were free
Oh, it was so much better way back when
So let's make America great again!
(Whistle) – Again x4
(Trump voice – Incredible!)
Thanks, Joanne, I am still having sound problems with my PC and was glad to have this.
YVW. Between the costumes, props, poses, and a couple of extra people, I thought it was very easy to match the words to the images, but I may be biased.
KOIN: Hope that Ms. Brown sweeps him under the rug!
CMD: It's all about the big bucks, and to heck with the folks who are against how Bayer and Monsanto have ruined lives, communities, wildlife and the environment. ugh!
NYT: This is great news!! Vote Blue!! 😉
YT: Word.
Hope that you have a relaxing evening. Our screenings are in full force, and I get tired more so now, from a full day. How did I ever do it years ago? lol. Get some rest, take care, and Thanks, Tom.
KOIN: It sounds like Dr.Pierce is just another blind, I-really-can't-be-bothered-to-think-about-ANYTHING dumbass!
CMD: Even if Bayer started badly, (do not forget that Krupps built armaments, just as Jeep, and others, did here-and we happened, happily, to win) that by itself is not the reason to fear this buyout. The reason is the immense leverage they will have over ALL of us!
NY T: A plunging rotten, rancid, Empty Orange is a thing of weird beauty! But, I think, TC, that you are right. He is just the most concrete effluent created by the GOP, distinctly in their image!
Move-on : Reich has never been righter!
KOIN: Dr. Pierce must be friends with our governor, Matt Bevin, they both say stupid things. What caves have the two of them sprung from?
CMD: A merger between Bayer and Monsanto is to dangerous to even consider. Both companies have shown complete disregard for the harm their products do, both to people and the earth. If they control one third of the seeds in the world, they will have a monopoly in many areas. Our government has done us a disservice by not passing a bill to require GMO products to be labeled.
NY Times: I like that comparison, that the other Republicans are just junior Trumps. We have state elections going on now, too, and the ads by the Republicans are full of lies about Obama and Clinton, comparing which ever Democrat they are opposing to the two of them. Since both are not well liked in Kentucky, I am afraid the ads will be effective and we will have very few Democrats left in Frankfort.
Youtube: I agree with Reich! Not voting or voting for a third party candidate is a vote for Trump.
Cartoon: Love it.
Edie, just the 2 of them in a cave? I thought it was every damn Republican!
Puzzle — 3:45 I managed to not get all tied up in knots!
KOIN — "He also apologized to Brown and “anyone else who may have taken my comments the wrong way.”" — Have you ever noticed how it is always the audience who takes a Republican's comments the wrong way, never the Republican's responsibility to own up to what he said?! GO Kate Brown!!!
CMD — The merger of Bayer and Monsanto is very wreckless in every way. The size of the corporation will be such that it will be almost impossible for consumers and the world to have a say. I looked at your link and found it interesting. Some of the dates are however incorrect ie aspirin was invented in 1897, not 1997.
NY Times — The more the swing states swing to the "left", the better! Dump Drumpf! Glug, glug, glug, glug! . . . down to the bottom of the sea!
Youtube — Love your expression for Drumpf — Putin's pup.
GET OUT THE VOTE!!!
VOTE BLUE ALL DOWN THE TICKET!!!
Cartoon — Yes! . . . and it works that way from all angles. I remember from NAFTA, many Canadians thought the US was dictating terms, and there could be no deviation from US wants.
That cloud didn't reach here Puddy Tat! Very windy and wet weather, and it will be worse tonight. I expect that I'll be on anti biotics this time tomorrow. I was finally able to get a doctor's appointment for tomorrow as the cold has morph into a sinus infection and bronchitis. Argh!!!
Please take care of yourself. We need you. Also, we care about you. PLEASE feel better soon!
Hope Courtney doesn't wear you out too much, TomCat. We need you fit and ready for the next Republican onslaught. Ask her to give you a good massage before you leave, that'll do the trick.
KOIN: Do all men who failed in the medical professions in America pursue a political career in the GOP? Ex-physician Bud Pierce is just as clueless as ex-brain surgeon Ben Carson. He found himself a meme he thought he could win some votes in Oregon with (educational reform after a report on Oregon student's dropping SAT scores) but this one-trick pony thinks he can use this as an argument for everything. He sure blew it with this argument. But most people in Oregon aren't fools, so Kate Brown is sure to win.
CMD: Actually this is all a scam: the much larger Monsanto has been pushing smaller Bayer to "purchase" it for a while now because it wants a foothold in Europe with a company that has all the necessary accreditation for the EU, something Monsanto will never get on its own, AND it wants the tax haven that comes along with it. And yes, Bayer is just as bad as Monsanto and not only because of its actions during the Nazi era. Its consumer reputation may be a bit better, but its environmental reputation is as bad as it ever was. If the merger (that's what it really is) gets the go-ahead and it becomes the largest agribusiness giant in the world, we're ALL fracked. This mustn't be allowed to happen!
NYT: It's been a while since news from the political front has been that positive 😉 A joy to read. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that Drumpf takes all his little clones down with him when he sinks.
YouTube: You did well to put this Reich video about complacency after the uplifting NYT article, TomCat. Spot on and so is Reich. Drumpf may appear to be losing, but every vote for Clinton is needed to make it a certainty! America ows it to itself and to the rest of the world.
Cartoon: These days that seems to be an oxymoron.
Republicans say the dumbest things….could be a tv show hosted by Steve Harvey….it could go on for years and years, except, of course, that we couldn't stand to watch it.
I see that Lyin Ryan is going to campaign for Trump… 'nuff said.
Monsanto/Bayer, two birds of the same feather – and we're all worried about terrorists? These are the worst kind of terrorists …
Thanks all! Hugs!!