I’m feeling quite tired, so I’ll be brief. Barring unforeseen circumstances, I plan to publish most days this week, but if the forecast holds, I may make a bank run on Tuesday afternoon.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:01 (average 5:33). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: Who would Jesus starve? Step aside Pope Francis, because this Texas Republican seems know exactly who:
One lawmaker is citing a godly reference to justify changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Tex.) recently quoted the New Testament to question the strength of current work requirements. […]
House Republicans have historically cited the verse — “if a man will not work, he shall not eat” — as justification for cutting some adults’ SNAP benefits. Arrington referenced the verse in a discussion about increasing the work requirements for unemployed adults on the food stamp program. But critics say that advances a pernicious myth about the unemployed who receive SNAP.
The verse in question applies specifically to people who can work or otherwise contribute to society but choose not to, said theologians from several denominations who spoke to The Post. There is a perception, among some voters and lawmakers, that many adult SNAP recipients are exactly this sort of “freeloader.”
But policy experts say that is not the case. Many unemployed adults on SNAP simply cannot work, they say. Those include the mentally ill, the borderline disabled and veterans.
Remember that these Republican Supply Side pseudo-Christians and authentic Christians have nothing whatsoever in common. Christians emulate the care for others that Jesus said, thought, and did. Republican pseudo-Christians do not and, therefore, are not Christians. RESIST!!
From YouTube: The facts on climate change — and what to do about it
Once upon a time, one could be pro-science, pro-earth, and pro-wildlife from a nonpartisan perspective. If they can help educate the Republican rank and file, more power to them, but I see no way forward without opposition to the Republican Reich, because they are anti-science, anti-earth and anti-wildlife, except for Fuhrer Drumpfenfarten’s wild life in Russian hotel rooms. RESIST!!
From NY Times: The Trump administration is considered the wealthiest in United States history. Here is a look at the value of assets held by some top officials at the time they joined the administration, based on financial disclosure filings.
|
|
|
Value of assets |
|
|
|
Name |
Bottom estimate |
Top estimate |
|
|
Betsy DeVos Secretary of Education |
$579,783,484 |
unknown |
|
|
Wilbur L. Ross Secretary of Commerce |
$326,224,177 |
unknown |
|
|
Gary D. Cohn Director of the National Economic Council |
$252,952,172 |
unknown |
|
|
Jared Kushner Senior adviser to the president for strategic planning |
$241,037,233 |
unknown |
|
|
Rex W. Tillerson Secretary of State |
$239,488,353 |
unknown |
|
|
Reed Cordish Special assistant to the president for intragovernmental and technology initiatives |
$197,281,047 |
unknown |
|
|
Steven T. Mnuchin Secretary of the Treasury |
$154,137,166 |
unknown |
This is the face of fascist plutocracy. Click through for the rest. RESIST!!
Cartoon:
8 Responses to “Open Thread – 4/2/2017”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
DK: Quite frankly, she (and others who come up with these notions), should try being disabled, mentally ill, senior aged, physically challenged, bed ridden, or a living as Veteran with a disability. Jesus mentions also, that caring for your fellow man is most important, besides the Golden rule: "Do unto Others, and Others would do unto you". I will say one thing about Texas, they (lawmakers), are consistent with their hatred, and animosity towards their fellow man. How disgusting.
YT: Good video, Very concerning about our Environment.
NYT: WOW! I don't see any contributing to any community, for the betterment of the citizens either. Unreal.
Cartoon: With the OO (orange one) grinning, and smirking behind the curtain…ugh!!
I hope that you get some rest, and that you start feeling better. It poured here this a.m., but now it's sunny and bright outside. Rest and relax, and enjoy the rest of your day! Thanks, Tom.
Putting aside the fact that Talibangelical christianist Rethuglicans always seem to ignore Matthew 25:35-40 …
AND they ignore the fact that this verse was addressed to ABLE-BODIED people who refused to work in anticipation of the Second Coming (that is NOT the criteria to qualify for SNAP ) …
The Bottom Line is that if those Congress critters really lived by their own credo that "If you don't work – you don't get to eat": THEY WOULD ALL STARVE!
5:20 But they're plastic!
DKos – I did see this in Daliy Kos, but I saw it in Raw Story first, and I fear I lost my temper: "Yeah, I know that verse. It says, "He who WILL NOT work, neither shall he eat." It does NOT say "he who had a job and lost it because the company went bankrupt or moved to China." It does NOT say "he who is unemployable because of a mental or physical disability." It does NOT say "he who cannot find employment because of the color of his skin," (and, believe me, that happens ALL THE TIME).
If Republicans – not just the ones in Congress, but also the ones who vote for them – think being unemployed is a choice – they need to be fired. Yesterday would not be too soon."
YT – EDUCATE the Republican rank and file? But they are so opposed to education they have a whole department just to destroy it!
NYT – I think it might be revealing to go through all previous administrations, create a similar chart for each, and then put the net worths into today's dollars. I have a suspicion that this administration might even put Hoover's into the shade (not to mention that Hoover at least had enough class not to hire every relative in sight. Of course, it wasn't acceptable – then).
Cartoon – Question – how did the non-blondes get allowed into that lineup?
DK: The Pseudo-Christians ALWAYS cherry pick that which serves their predetermined agenda. And their agenda is to do away with anything that smells of the New Deal…and make more money for themselves, in the process.
YouTube: The climate change deniers are fueled by their greed, as far as I'm concerned. Not that he's on a national level, but Gov. Rick Scott may turn out to be the first "name" to go to the other side, as more and more episodes of sea water invading his state's sewer system occur. Talk about greedy! Then, consider that Pruitt comes from Oklahoma, a center of the fossil fuel industry, as does "Snowball" Inhofe, what a coincidence! Not until last week has the fossil fuel industry come out in support of the truth of global warming, and the Paris Accord. AFTER Tillerson no longer serves as their CEO!!
Puzzle — 3:44 You couldn't eat them anyway, Puddy Tat!
Daily Kos — They grow them big in Texas . . . assholes that is! Today's sermon at church was about modelling our love of our fellow human beings. This guy, as do all Republicans, desperately needs to get the message — we are our brother's keeper. He is an ideologue who interprets everything through the lens of his ideology.
YouTube — When Mar-a-Lago is inundated by seawater at every corner, I wonder if that will prompt Drumpfenfarten to reconsider his stance on climate change?
NY Times — Oh, they can so relate to working class and working poor, and their day to day struggles! — NOT!!! And the "poor" among them, Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo, are worth less than $100K each, although it could be more — real peasants!
Cartoon — Nobody won that beauty contest.
Resist and Persist!!!
Slowly getting back on your feet, I hope, TomCat. Take it easy and take your time.
DK: I don't care if those lawmakers are Christians of Devil worshippers. There is simply no excuse, religious or not, for a (state) government to deny people who can not work an existence other than going begging in the streets.
YouTube: My goodness, is there nothing bipartisan anymore in America? Must everything be down to politics of two warring parties nowadays? It's shocking to hear that many people's stand on global warming have become part of their identity, especially when America is the number one country for "not believing" that global warming is a fact. As if it's something like a faith, that is only there because people believe it's there. With this attitude, this planet is doomed.
NYT: Oh yeah, Drumpf clearly has drained the swamp, and what he found at the bottom he offered a job in his administration.
Kos: Texass lawmakers = hypocrites. All the while they claim to be God-fearing Christians, they are not. They are a pitiful bunch and should be ashamed of themselves and using the Bible words, verse to justify themselves. Ugh!
YouTube: Just so you don't forget that Rupert Murdoch now owns National Geographic Magazine, he is a climate denier. The impression I gathered from Susan Goldberg was that she couched her words carefully in her "description" of global warming.
NY Times: The face of fascist plutocracy: None of them have any political nor government experience as far as I can determine. They should not be in any of those positions.
Cartoon: The current debacle involving Putin's & Russia's hand in the recent 2016 election has these three "figures" leading the way to Stardom are MissInform, MissLead and MissTake leading the way for contention. One contestant appears to be missing: MissDirection. lol.
.
Thanks. Sick hugs.