May 202013
 

Yesterday, I intended to nap during the day, but I could not.  They were doing maintenance on the building all afternoon and evening, causing the power to go out over and over again.  Each time it does, it sets off an alarm on my O2 system that wakes me up, so I could not sleep until late last night.  I’m feeling fatigued, so I have only this message.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:49 (average 5:20).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: The board of Yahoo, the faded Web pioneer, agreed on Sunday to buy the popular blogging service Tumblr for about $1.1 billion in cash, the companies announced Monday, a signal of how the company plans to reposition itself as the technology industry makes a headlong rush into social media.

When StumbleUpon changed format and drove away most of their members, many of them fled to Tumblr. As with other network acquisitions, I trust that this shall be a bad development for Tumblr members.  Thank God for Care2.

From Think Progress and Think Progress: If a woman in Virginia has a miscarriage without a doctor present, they must report it within 24 hours to the police or risk going to jail for a full year. At least, that’s what would have happened if a bill introduced by Virginia state Sen. Mark Obenshain (R) had become law.

And yet, the Virginia Republican Party wants to make Obenshain into the state’s top prosecutor. This weekend, Virginia Republicans selected Obenshain as their nominee to replace tea party stalwart Ken Cuccinelli (R) as the state’s attorney general.

But if voters don’t like him, the Republican party offers another choice.

Here are some of the most alarming facts you need to know about E.W. Jackson:

  • He has said gays and lesbians are “very sick people, psychologically and emotionally” whose minds are perverted. He has also said homosexuality “poisons culture, it destroys families, it destroys societies”
  • He led an “Exodus Now!” movement encouraging African Americans to leave the Democratic party because opposition to same-sex marriage and government endorsement of religion means “Democrats are engaged in a concerted effort [bigots delinked] to do away with all symbols of our Judeo-Christian culture.”
  • He rallied against hate crimes legislation as a “virulent strain of Anti-Christian bigotry and hatred.”

Residents of Virginia had better elect Democrats for their own protection.

From Huffington Post: Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) confirmed on Sunday that he is proposing an amendment to the upcoming farm bill that would eliminate the "Monsanto Protection Act."

Officially known as the Farmer Assurance Provision, the controversial agricultural provision was surreptitiously tucked into budget legislation — passed by Congress in March and signed into law by President Barack Obama — that was intended to avoid a government shutdown. The provision, which the public at large caught wind of only after the bill’s passage, allows agricultural companies such as Monsanto to ignore court orders against selling genetically-engineered seeds.

As HuffPost’s Ryan Grim explained last week:

Federal courts have recently ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had failed to consider the potential harm some genetically engineered crops may have, and acted too hastily in approving their sale. The industry fought back with the [Monsanto Protection Act], preventing the enforcement of court rulings.

I don’t want to hear Obama blamed for not vetoing the bill. This was, after all, a minor provision in the bill to end the Republicans’ seditious attempt to shut down the entire government. Sign Jeff’s petition, please. Once again, Oregon leads the way!

Cartoon:

20Cartoon

Those two images were so boring that I chose a more recent graphic.

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  16 Responses to “Open Thread–5/20/2013”

  1. 4:07 Looks refreshing!

  2. Get some rest today and whenever else you can.

    NY Times ~ This acquisition probably spells Trouble for some users instead of Tumblr.

    Think Progress ~ Thank God they are NOT voicing their own views because if they were, they wouldn't be very "progressive".

    HuffPo~ I wonder how much money went from Monsanto's coffers into our congressmen and women's pockets to slide this one through. 

    I've signed the petition.

    Cartoon ~ And, marvelous photos they were!

     

     

     

     

  3. The downside for Repubicans from the two Think Progress posts: Looks like they need to overhaul their "rebranding" efforts

    On the upside: Looks like they're helping turn Virginia from Purple to Blue when Repubicans turn to Batshit Crazy stuff like this.

  4. Puzzle — 4:08  I was juiced — critter crunched and monster mashed!  But I love pulpy juice!

    NY Times — Seems like a big roll of the dice, but I guess "no guts, no glory".  I seem to recall that she had a baby just after moving to Yahoo and did some office renos (her cost) so that she could be close to the baby and still work.

    Think Progress — Stupid is as stupid does!  How ANYBODY can vote for these Republican/Teabagger wing nuts is beyond me.  I thought Cuccinelli was a bad politician and Virginia AG but Senator Mark Obenshain, who is the GOP nominee for the new AG is just as bad if not worse. This wing nut would see women incarcerated for a miscarriage if she did not report it to the police.  And now a second choice — E W Jackson.  THAT's a choice? 

    What is in the drinking water in Virginia that makes GOP legislators into such misogynistic  and bigoted cretins?  A Care2 member in my network has said she is in the process of moving to Virginia.  Well, as she said, at least there will be 2 more Democrat votes!

    Huffington Post — "surreptitiously tucked into budget legislation" — my ass!  It was purposely put there by Republican/Teabaggers who are only too willing to worship at the altar of big corporations.  Here is more about Monsanto — is the country called the United States of Monsanto?

    http://www.alternet.org/food/how-monsanto-using-cronies-congress-take-away-states-rights-label-genetically-modified-foods

    Cartoon — I don't know what the two originals are that you mention, but on Wikipedia there are a number of stunning pictures.  Great modern art!  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_telescope

     

  5. Seems to me that Obenshain joins a long list of misogynists who are currently in office, representing the Republican party. A woman's naughty parts have been more important to them than the economy.  The woman who took over at Yahoo insists that she is not a feminist, and has done away with the policy of letting people work from home. No info on whether she installed day care for the plebes.  MOnsanto paid well to have that little bit put into the farm bill.

     

    I hope you got some rest today, my friend.

  6. Amen, Edie!

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