Yesterday was very difficult. After blogging, I napped until health techs from my O2 company came to give me saturation tests. They confirmed that I still need O2. Shortly after I dozed off again, the delivery guy from my 02 company came to exchange my empty tanks for full ones. By then it was too hot to sleep. Yesterday was our first really hot day. It reached 84° outside, but the sun superheated the enclosed “breezeway” outside my windows to 112°. My apartment reached 98° and at 2:15 AM is still 86°. Needless to say, this Open Thread is all for today.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:57 (average 4:24). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Alternet: The background to the story is that in January, a vote within the new House Republican caucus occurred on whether to keep Boehner on as speaker. Some conservatives were upset that Boehner had allowed a deal to be struck that averted the so-called “fiscal cliff,” and they wanted Boehner out because of it. But in the end, only 12 GOP members voted against Boehner. That was short of the 17 needed to force another vote on the Speaker slot.
Yesterday, the Washington Post revealed new details about why Boehner kept his slot in a story published about the Republican Party’s warring factions. One reason why Boehner wasn’t ousted is because “several Republicans, after a night of prayer, said God told them to spare the speaker,” according to the Post’s Paul Kane.
I’d bet that God, in this case, are the brothers that pay the Tea Party to be Koch suckers, or the guy that inspires turds to blossom.
From Daily Kos: At a press conference this afternoon, Republican Gov. Chris Christie announced that a special election to fill the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s Senate seat would take place on Oct. 16 (a Wednesday), with a primary to be held on Aug. 13. This move will undoubtedly please Democrats, who will have the chance to replace Lautenberg quickly. And Christie, who is up for re-election this November, gets to avoid sharing a ballot with a popular Democrat such as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who has long had his eye on the Senate.
Republican partisans will probably be upset, though, since an interim pick (which Christie did not yet announce) could have conceivably served through at least November 2014, giving the GOP one extra vote on the Senate floor for almost 18 months.
I disagree with this author. Chris Hayes explained why well.
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By squandering $12 million that belongs to NJ taxpayers Christie has made sure that voters who turn out for Corey Booker will not be there to oppose him and down ballot NJ Republicans, unless they male a separate trip to the polls just three weeks later to do so. This makes it more likely that Republicans will win the state’s seats in the US House, the NJ House, and the NJ Senate, even if Christie would have won either way. His solution was as sleazy as it was brilliant.
From Huffington Post: House Republicans are scheduled to vote on two separate budget bills this week, each of which would reject funding for the poverty activism group ACORN, despite the fact that ACORN disbanded three years ago.
ACORN, also known as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, came under heavy fire in the fall of 2009 after conservative videographer James O’Keefe released a set of selectively edited videos that appeared to show its employees offering advice on tax avoidance related to prostitution and child smuggling. Independent investigations by the California attorney general, the Massachusetts attorney general and the Brooklyn, N.Y., district attorney would later clear ACORN of criminal wrongdoing, and an investigation by the Government Accountability Office would clear ACORN of charges that it mishandled federal funds.
But in the fall of 2009, Congress banned federal funding for ACORN using broad language that applied to "any organization" that had been charged with breaking federal or state election laws, lobbying disclosure laws or campaign finance laws or with filing fraudulent paperwork with any federal or state agency. The funding ban also extended to any employees, contractors or others affiliated with any group so charged.
Struggling with the bad publicity and loss of federal funds, ACORN dissolved in early 2010. Just to be sure, however, Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) included this language in a government funding bill introduced on May 28 of this year: "None of the funds made available in this Act may be distributed to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) or its subsidiaries or successors."… [emphasis added]
I have no doubt that Congressional Republicans know that they have already defunded ACORN and that it disbanded over three years ago, so this is just one more example in the long list of non-existent scandals that the Republican Party is using to drum up fear, racism and blood lust in their rabid base. However, given their total ignorance on this document, House Republicans probably do not know that the US Constitution forbids bills of attainder, such as this one.
Cartoon:
The kite flew after Ben followed his wife’s advice that he needed more tail, even though she had told him to go fly a kite the night before.
21 Responses to “Open Thread–6/5/2013”
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Hope you feel better TC – I wouldn't survive your area for a day – I start fading as soon as the thermometer hits 70 – they call me the polar bear in the house – always cold – all year long – no heat in the winter and AC blasting in the summer!
Those "pugs" still at it – finding nothing to get riled at, they create small distractions for rumors like "Acorn" – give me a break that's a done deal – they made tea on that one! Since when do these arrogant "compassionate conservatives" have the rights to god – I thought god made her own friends, and her voice is very quiet – with all their rhetoric, when are they ever able to hear her? Is it her will that Boehner lives on? I can only surmise that she's a crack pot as well! – No wonder I'm an atheist!
Poor Mrs. Franklin, not getting enough tail – no wonder she told him to go fly a kite – an argument in the bedroom – who'd a thought?
I'm not quite that bad. Give me 70° – 75° daioly highs.
I hope you are not equating Republican Supp'y-side pseudo-Christianity with authentic Christianity.
OOPS? She told Ben to go fly a kite when he requested more tail. 😉
Sorry about the heat all of a sudden where you are TC! It does sound peculiar that technicians from a company should sit in judgment on your oxygen needs – but at least they came to the right conclusion and you have oxygen again!
I agree with you TC, about Chris Hayes analysis of what Chris Christie is up to – and wasting $12,000,000 in the process – what a hypocrite he is! Unfortunately the video went peculiar a few seconds later so I missed the last quarter of it. As for ACORN – I agree with you, but this is just the Repuglicons being the same as ever and drumming up fury and indignaton and insecurity to keep their deluded fans in line…. oh dear!
Thye technicians just take the readings, but they know what the Mecicare Advantage Plan, who request it annually, will decide.
Any progress on finding a new domicile? And I still can't believe that Portland doesn't have some kind of ordinance that requires the renter to provide a reasonable temperature.
BOEHNER – Back when I was growing up, people who claimed God was telling them what to do got themselves a wrap-around white coat and a padded room. Now they just become Repubicans.
CHRISTIE – He clearly doesn't want to be anywhere near a ballot with the name "Booker" on it. And $12 MILLION?!? There goes any validity to his trying to claim he's a "fiscal conservative".
I'm playing telephone tag. There is an ordinance, but they do not enforce it on non-medicaid low-income downtown units, because oif they did, they would put hunderds g poor people on the street.
Major bingo!
Exactly!
3:57 I couldn't get the kayak off the beach — blood sugar low so no energy! I wonder if that would hold as a reason not to go to the dentist this morning?
I think just about ANY reason is good enough NOT to go to the dentist.
3:20 I think TomCat's kayak was closer to the water. Mine was too far up the beach. I wonder which one is Patty's.
3:20 You & I are in a dead heat to get to those kayaks, Jerry. Tom must be floating high on all that new oxygen he got.
Wooo Hooo! I practiced paddling my kayak in my kitty box!
Hope they don't have to do anything!
Nope! I'm good! Even had grape flavoured dental tooth paste. Remember those big grape flavoured jaw breaker gums? (no pun) Well tasted just like that. I always get a headache from keeping my mouth open so much and having to have my head in weird positions. After that I had something to eat and then off to the optometrist to check on the possibility of a torn retina. Turns out that is ok too. Oh the problems of aging! An anti inflamatory last night and I slept straight through til 10 am. I don't think a freight train running through my place could have wakened me up!
Good. It seems you're in good shape! 🙂
Alternet ~ I doubt God had anything to do with keeping Boehner on as Speaker. If anything it was influence from the Dark Side.
Daily Kos ~ I wil not comment on Christie NOT choosing an interim replacement but I will comment on "By squandering $12 million that belongs to NJ taxpayers". I thought he was supposed to be a "fiscal conservative".
HuffPo ~ So much for the RepublicanTs following the Constitution.
Cartoon ~ An auspicious day in science.
Indubitably!
He's tryuing to conserve his party's grip on power.
They just don't.
Amen!
Re: Acorn
There isn't any colossally boneheaded move to embarrasingly dumb for the GOP, is there?
Still looking for one!
Puzzle — 3:57 I couldn't get the kayak off the beach — blood sugar low so no energy!
Alternet — Yeh, they prayed and GOD (Good Old Dollars) told them not to oust Agent Orange! This one is almost as good as an AB piece.
Daily Kos — Wouldn't it be a hoot if those that turn out for Cory Booker were wise to Christie and showed up 2 weeks after the senate by-election and helped to dump Christie's plans in the toilet? I can always hope she says rubbing her hands together in glee! And the $12 million wasted on the by-election is a travesty! There is so much good that could do when you look at the suffering still going on because of super storm Sandy. This is purely a partisan political move that deserves to go down in spectacular flames.
Huffington Post — Obviously Rep John Culberson (R-TX) doesn't know about the Constitutional ban on bills of attainer. Since so many Congress critters seem to be lawyers, I hope someone tells them this. Otherwise, wouldn't it be stupid to spend all that time on a piece of legislation that is unconstitutional! This is one potential scandal that could backfire in Republican/Teabagger faces!
Cartoon — Well at least he still had the key to get back in the house! TC, you're very punny!
My kitty box is a great place to practice!
It's often hard to tell the difference.
That's what ne need to push.
Let's hope so.
LOL! 🙂
Christie provides yet one more reason for vote-by-mail.
You are sooooo right, John !