I’m writing for tomorrow, day 79. It’d 89° outside, but my A/C is keeping me in cool cat mode. Stepping into the hallway of the building is like walking into an oven. Tomorrow is grocery delivery day from Store to Door. I’ll have ice water ready for Mary. She deserves it. On Friday I have physical therapy, and on Saturday I have a meeting I can’t postpone. Both involve a few blocks walk in the heat, so I’ll probably be pooped this weekend.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:11 (average 4:53). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Upworthy: The below video from Vice News has me feeling pretty apoplectic. That’s right, I had to use a 5-cent word for angry because I’m afraid the landlords below will evict me from this post if I don’t.
As a former landlord, I can appreciate the plight of property owners, when tenants become squatters, who refuse to pay. However, Arkansas is on the other extreme, and it’s gross injustice. Although the video maker evades assigning blame, Republicans control the AR legislature.
From TPM: House Republicans escalated their confrontation with President Barack Obama on climate change Tuesday with the release of government funding legislation that reverses the administration’s new rules to limit coal pollution.
The legislation, released by the House Appropriations subcommittee on interior and environment, is one of 12 appropriations bills to keep the government running when money expires on Sept. 30…
…Page 129 and 130 of the bill state: "None of the funds made available by this Act shall be used to propose, finalize, implement, or enforce" any regulation under the two key sections of the Clean Air Act "establishing any standard of performance for emissions of any greenhouse gas from any modified or reconstructed source that is a fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating unit." The sections, 111(b) and 111(d), are the ones that the EPA cited as legal justification for its carbon pollution standards.
Republicans seem bound and determined to kill us for the Koch Brothers and their ilk. What this means is that, barring a continuing resolution, Republicans are refusing to fund the government unless they can hamstring the EPA in the process. As I predicted, this is the next round of Republican sedition.
From Think Progress: Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R), who is facing a tough re-election fight against former Gov. Charlie Christ (D) kicked off a tour on Monday highlighting his tough-on-crime law enforcement credentials and his support for 85 percent mandatory minimums [GOP criminal delinked] for anyone convicted of a crime. But while the presence of uniformed police officers at the event made it appear that they were there to support his approach, many apparently were simply on-duty officers who thought they were there to provide security — in violation of state’s ethics law.
The Tampa Tribune reported Monday that Scott’s Tampa “Let’s Keep Florida Safe [GOP criminal delinked]” event at Patrick’s Uniforms featured “at least a half-dozen on-duty law officers in uniform” providing the Governor with a “backdrop of uniformed law officers.” Their presence apparently was in violation of Section 104.31 of the Florida Statutes, which explicitly prohibits any “employee of the state or any political subdivision” from participation “in any political campaign for an elective office while on duty.”
Once again, a Republican has demonstrated that they consider the law mandatory for others, but optional for themselves.
Cartoon:
11 Responses to “Open Thread–7/9/2014”
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4:00 Pretty tack-y.
4:15 I got distracted by the red nails.
3:49 Those red nails guided me straight on the horse's nose!
Bigfooted!
4:43 Nice horsie!
Upworthy – The video, as you point out, TC, evaded assigning blame. But where there is money iin politics, and even more in the states than at the national level, there are the Koch Brothers. You can bet there is plenty of Koch money in the Realtors lobby. I would not be surprised if ALEC were to come out with a model tenant-landlord law based on Arkansas. But there is also an elephant in the room, and that is race. You can also bet, regardless how the stature is written, that it is being used to criminalize renting while black. That is what touches off my apoplexy.
TPM – Yeah. Kill us for the Koch brothers is exactly correct. And they would probably do the same even if they realized how interconnected nature is ( http://www.care2.com/news/member/101612212/3786436 ). Not just sedition, but murder. Whether or not they end up having to answer to us, they will have to answer eventually. To someone. Karma is a bitch.
Think Progress – Rick Lord Voldemort Scott may well get away with this debacle. We of course can see thorugh it, and Charlie Crist will no doubt run with it, being no dummy, but there are so many people out there who just will not pay attention to the truth. Arielle S (Care2) says Florida is #10 most corrupt. How in the world did it get away with being so low in the lost?
Cartoon – Nothing to add. 100% accurate.
Kepp cool, TomCat!
Upworthy ~ Holy F##king S**T!
TPM ~ Every time they do something stupid like this I wonder if they think of their families. Do they really believe they are immune? Pollution affects everyone. Is there any asthma or cancer in their circles? Maybe they really aren't human.
Think Progress ~ Rules are for others to obey.
Cartoon ~ If they had their way, we would all be slaves, regardless of race.
Think Progress: Rick Scott:
Worst Governors list has Rick Scott as one in the top list. The list makes for fascinating readings. lol. Watch the short 3 min video.
http://www.citizensforethics.org/
http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/worst-governors-in-america/entry/rick-scott-florida
VIDEO: CREW's 10th Anniversary Retrospective http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rZuPQChnBlM
Gov. Scott is giving Scrooge a run for his money — disenfranchising Florida voters while passing legislation benefiting the financial interests of himself and his donors.
Shortly after his election in 2010, Gov. Scott began a campaign to purge ineligible voters from voter rolls that was found to disproportionately target minority, Democratic, and independent voters. Less than two months before the 2012 election, Gov. Scott again sought to purge voter lists. In 2011, Gov. Scott signed a proposal to curtail early voting, a move largely blamed for hours-long waits at the polls. Gov. Scott and the legislature reversed these changes after the election.
Gov. Scott proposed legislation affecting welfare and Medicaid recipients that would substantially benefit Solantic, Inc., a chain of urgent-care and emergency service clinics he co-founded before assuming office. Gov. Scott also pushed to privatize Florida’s prisons, which would primarily benefit two private prison companies that donated thousands of dollars to his inauguration committee and PAC.
*Elected in 2010; running for reelection in 2014
*Proposed initiatives affecting welfare and Medicaid recipients that would financially benefit Solantic, Inc., a company he co-founded
*Led a campaign to purge voter rolls in Florida that disproportionately targeted minority, Democratic, and independent voters
I hope you make it through the week end ok.
Upworthy: This law is an injustice. The only time I was a landlord was a long time ago. We moved and the house wouldn't sell, the real estate company talked us into a rental. We got people who only paid one months rent and lived in our house for six months, then took drapes, outlet covers, light fixtures and the storm doors when they left. I would never be a landlord again.
TPM: See how much power McConnell has! He is running scared of Grimes and is using the EPA as his whipping boy for those Ky voters who watch faux news. Too many of them are all ready convinced that the EPA is their worst enemy. The politicians have let coal money keep a grip on this area for so long that coal is the only decent paying job around, so many have good cause to be fearful.
ThinkProgress: Scott has never cared what regulations he has violated. He thinks he is above the law. I really hope he loses the race.
Cartoon: They would like nothing better.
Puzzle — 3:49 Those red nails guided me straight on the horse's nose!
Upworthy — Shameful, absolutely shameful! This definitely has the teeth marks of the Republicanus/Teabaggers all over it! On Vancouver's downtown eastside and in east Vancouver (they are not the same area), there have historically been a lot of "slum lords" who fail to maintain buildings etc — things like non functional heating, cockroaches (as opposed to kochroaches), dangerous stairs, fire code infractions etc — whom the city will take action against through the courts. There was a fair amount of such action a few years ago, especially with the SROs on the downtown eastside. This might seem like it is tenant centred but it isn't really. We also have social housing owned by the Province of BC that has 1) waiting lists because there are never enough; and 2) strict criteria to qualify. Rents are reasonable and the buildings generally in decent repair.
TPM — Alternet has a piece about conservatives protesting in a special way — making their vehicles into black smoke spewing machines. http://www.alternet.org/obama-0
Holding the country's health, functioning and reputation hostage seems to be a hallmark of the Republicanus/Teabaggers. They don't give a rat's ass about consequences or the average American citizen. The only coal that should be used is a ton of it stuck in each of their Christmas stockings!
Think Progress — I wonder what Scott will think of "his support for 85 percent mandatory minimums for anyone convicted of a crime." when he is arrested for using state assets in violation of state’s ethics law? I have no doubt that this Teabagger would talk himself out of charges. He has a criminal past, part of which is misrepresenting himself as a human being.
Cartoon — Repeal all Republicanus/Teabaggers!
Thanks all. Pooped and rushing.
Take it easy TC.I am in NC.and we are going up into the 90,s again.My animals are demanding that I turn on the AC. and damn the electric bill!.
Seriously,the largest concentration of the unemployed (AKA the Congress of the United states is going on vacation in August!!!) of course they can go to the most exotic places with both their $174,000/annum and all the polluters lobby money in their pockets., Surely we cannot expect them to turn down money from the Kochs and friends when they have such a sweet deal! Question, Why does the American public (and voters ) have such a complacent atitude re. this? Too lazy to care?
One more liitle comment. The dumbest member of our legislators, Louis Gohmert(of course has been spewing nonesense (again(still). I hear that he was a judge in Texas.!!! sounds like an episode of LOONEY TUNES to me. SERIOUSLY!! Must be something in the water in Texas.