I slept well last night, and although I’m still hurting whenever I breathe, it’s rarely excruciating, so I’m going to return to medical mayhem next week. I have such a huge backlog of appointments put on hold, that I may be quite scarce at times. I’m debating buttoning up the Cat Box and turning on the AC. It’s only 65°, but when the sun hits my outside wall, the wall radiates heat. OGIM! (Oh God It’s Monday!)
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:11 (average 5:48). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From YouTube (PBS Channel): Yates testifying on ousted national security adviser Flynn
I’m anticipating Yates’ testimony. Have you ever seen a TomCat drool? RESIST!!
From The New Yorker: On Sunday, the people of France annoyingly retained their traditional right to claim intellectual superiority over Americans, as millions of French citizens paused to enjoy just how much smarter they were than their allies across the Atlantic.
In bars and cafés across France, voters breathed a sigh of relief in the knowledge that arrogantly comparing themselves to the U.S. population, a longtime favorite pastime of the French people, would remain viable for the foreseeable future.
Pierre Grimange, a Parisian café-goer, sipped on a glass of Bordeaux and toasted his nation “for not being so dumb as the United States after all.”
Andy, that’s what I said yesterday. Great minds fall in the same ditch. RESIST!!
From NY Times: The Environmental Protection Agency has dismissed at least five members of a major scientific review board, the latest signal of what critics call a campaign by the Trump administration to shrink the agency’s regulatory reach by reducing the role of academic research.
A spokesman for the E.P.A. administrator, Scott Pruitt, said he would consider replacing the academic scientists with representatives from industries whose pollution the agency is supposed to regulate, as part of the wide net it plans to cast. “The administrator believes we should have people on this board who understand the impact of regulations on the regulated community,” said the spokesman, J. P. Freire.
Putting this more realistically, the foxes are now in charge of hen house protection. RESIST!!
Cartoon:
20 Responses to “Open Thread – 5/8/2017”
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5:20 I always get freaked out by this much symmetry.
Oh, gee, I am getting a hailstorm warning on the (classical) radio station. With high winds and flooding. They didn't mention my neighborhood though, fortunately.
YT/PBS – I am already seeing from the right "Well, Obama told Trump not to hire him, knowing that, because Trump would never take advice from a black man, he would of course do just the opposite and hire him, so it really is Obama's fault." I'm not sure who in the White House has enough brain cells to put that theory into a sentence, let alone put it forward. Of course we know Obama cares too much about America to do that, but they – don't.
TNY – A glass of Bordeaux sounds really good right about now. If only it wouldn't give me a migraine or a cluster headache.
NYT – Now this is why we should be talking about "protections" not "regulations. "people on this board who understand the impact of regulations on the regulated community" sounds so much more benign than "people on this board who understand the impact of protections on the community from which the public needs to be protected." Nobody cares what effect the law has on criminals, as long as it's severe enough.
Cartoon – The injustice does indeed continue. Will it ever stop? Probably not. Can we, however, stop fighting it? Absolutely not.
SY: I've been listening to her testimony off & on throughout the day, so encouraging to see and hear her speak about this. Yes, I believe most of us are drooling over the info. 😉
NYer: YAY!! Félicitations, et impressionnant ! ! Chemin à parcourir, la France !
NYT: How very sad they did this. The repugs are clapping their hands with glee!
Cartoon: Yes, still to this day!!! Unconscionable!!!
Hope that you have a relaxing evening. Take care, and Thanks, Tom.
I was reading live streams and transcripts. She certainly made me proud.
Even Clapper made made me proud when he pointed out that delivering unclassified information is, by definition, NOT a leak. Snicker.
PBS has the whole enchilada up as one video. A little over 3 hours, but those who have seen it say it moves fast. I'm not embedding it in case TC wants to do thsat.
Also, there is a "petition" – actually an expression of gratitude to Ms. Yates – sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray of Washington.
I posted on the other post. Sorry about that.
Here's an example of how the questioning went. This was at the Senate Judiciary Committee today.
Cornyn and Ms. Yates
http://americannewsx.com/hot-off-the-press/yates-schools-senator-cornyn/
BaZingA!
Totally off topic, but if you wondered what I look like, here is me at the Friday night birthday party for my friend Tom. You can just see a whisp of purple hair on my forehead. The second picture is our walking team, New Vista Striders, at the 2017 Alzheimer's Walk for Memories. I literally am in the middle of the picture, right below the bald head (no it's not my head!).
Kudos to you!
And more KUDOS!
Gorgeous photos! Gorgeous group! Gorgeous setting!
Where was your walk, because that looks like a beautiful hiking trail.
It is at Burnaby Lake, part of Burnaby Lake Regional Nature Park, right in the middle of Burnaby. The trail around the lake is about 11 km, however our walk is 2 – 5 km. See the map and pictures below. The Lake hosts a rowing (skulls) club so while we were walking, rowers were out on the lake practicing. There are numerous such areas in Metro Vancouver, some fresh water, some salt water. At Burnaby Lake, there is also an active bird watching community who also build various bird houses for the small birds. Check it out if you like at https://www.burnaby.ca/Things-To-Do/Explore-Outdoors/Shorelines—Lakes/Burnaby-Lake-Regional-Nature-Park.html
I hope this gives you some perspective on my part of the world.
Looks like a very lovely place to have some quiet moments and enjoy a bit of nature from the daily living of runaround Sues & Toms. Thanks for the photos.
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Thanks for sharing! It's a gorgeous park!
Repeating kudos, but I thought you'd be covered with hair.
I'd just had a fresh shave!
Aha!
Puzzle — 3:58 Salad???
YouTube — Have I ever seen a TomCat drool? Well I had a tomcat who made a nest in my waist length thick hair every night and drooled! I guess he was happy. But a TomCat? No I can't say that I have, but I can certainly imagine it with the shit about to fly, yet again, in Washington, this time over the Drumpf/Russia investigation. I suspect that Sally Yates is going to blow the lid off of Drumpf's administration and its connection to Russia.
The New Yorker — On the other hand, they may very likely have just as big a headache as the US — a non functioning Parliament — as Macron does not have any seats in the National Assembly, and the country is divided. Watch that ditch — it just may have some sewage in it.
NY Times — There's that ditch again! Before I read your comment, I thought "Great, multiple foxes in the hen house! There won't be any chickens left standing!"
Cartoon — I do not understand why the European invaders in the US, Canada, Central and South Americas, Australia and New Zealand, just to name a few, felt it was their right to subjugate the indigenous peoples and indeed commit genocide against them. These peoples are rich in wisdom and traditions.
Resist and Persist!!!
I'm glad to hear that you got some sleep last night. Yesterday, temps here were up to 21 C (70 F) and the house was stuffy when I arrived home shortly after noon even though there were open windows. Today was up to 20 C (68 F) and it is 16 C (61 F) at 2030 hours with 43% humidity. Good sleeping weather!
So glad you recovered enough to give attention to other medical priorities, TomCat, although it feels weird wishing you best of luck with the mayhem those will cause you. But you know it comes from a good place, don't you.
PBS: Ms. Yates was treading very carefully, not criticizing, interpreting or talking about anything classified she shouldn't talk about, but stating facts only and not allowing herself to be bullied by the likes of Cornyn. She did an excellent job and it is very clear why Drumpf fired her: she stood up to him and valued her integrity and that of the Department of Justice above brown-nosing to keep her job for a few weeks longer. Kudos to her.
The New York Times had an interesting citation on her warning the White House about Flynn: '“Why does it matter to D.O.J. if one White House official lies to another White House official?” Mr. McGahn asked at a second meeting the next day, according to Ms. Yates.' In the toxic atmosphere at the WH that had already been created by then this remark could refer to any official, including Drumpf. An administration to trust and be proud of. ?
TNY: Andy must be following Politics Plus, TomCat.
NYT: This is just a nice way of saying that those people who have the expertise to come up with the necessary regulations to protect you and me are being replaced with people whose only expertise and interest lie in protecting the corporations/polluters from regulations.
RESIST & PERSIST!
Cartoon: Sadly very true.
New Yorker: Yes, TC, we both hit on that one. I continue to be amazed at how many Americans can be that dumb! But, there is always Pres. Eisenhower's example to fall back on: his amazement to learn, once preident, that "Half the population of the United States is below average in intelligence!" Still, this indicates that many are WAY below average, though, statsically that holds no water!
NYT: I just posted the very same story, before coming to your threads, sorry. I also posted a story, from the NYT about how Australians dealt with climate science idiocy!
Cartoon: So damned sad!
I woke up this morning to find the result of the South Koreanelection in my inbox. To quote the WaPo, "Moon will be sworn in as South Korea's 19th president on Wednesday morning local time, marking a return to liberal government after almost a decade under conservatives." However, "[A]nalysts say he will find he is constrained once in office." Sigh. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
Thanks all. Pooped hugs!
Oh! Andy had me goin there for a while! MAN! This stuff happening now wouldn't make a good book, because it's so UNFRIGGINBELIEVABLE!!! RESIST!
Scott Pruitt is as dumb as a, well rock, but at least a rock can do SOMETHING! Hope a door open or be beautiful scenery. But Pruitt has no saving grace. Put Big Oil in charge of regulations. That's what putting Pruitt in this office has done! Arg!!! A such a critical time for environmental protection and impact! OH! I have nightmares about that man in the office of the EPA!!!
One bright spot was Sally Yates! She made Cruz so uncomfortable, had LEFT!!! And the testimony! Oh, my gosh! She may be the beginning of the end? PLEASE! Let it BE!!!
RESIST!!!