I’m writing for tomorrow, day 24. It’s evening. I did my research this morning, while the Macy’s Parade passed under my window. Everyone in the parade was bundled against the cold and the rain. The wind prevented any balloons. Of all the parades that have passed under my window, this kept moving the fastest. My COPD is acting up as another winter storm comes in. Snow is forecast for tomorrow. I cleaned up the mess and took a coupled long cat naps.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:09 (average 4:07). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: Oh, no. According to a press release from the Supreme Court:
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent a coronary catheterization procedure this morning at MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute at MedStar Washington Hospital Center to place a stent in her right coronary artery. The coronary blockage was discovered after Justice Ginsburg experienced discomfort during routine exercise last night and was taken to the hospital. She is resting comfortably and is expected to be discharged in the next 48 hours.
My hopes and prayers are that she regains her full health. From a selfish perspective, I can easily see Republicans holding the Court to 3 Justices and 5 Injustices rather than confirm even a anyone left of a fascist goose-stepper. That would be horrible!
From NY Times: Earlier this week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced proposed regulations to curb emissions of ozone, which causes smog, not to mention asthma, heart disease and premature death. And you know what happened: Republicans went on the attack, claiming that the new rules would impose enormous costs.
There’s no reason to take these complaints seriously, at least in terms of substance. Polluters and their political friends have a track record of crying wolf. Again and again, they have insisted that American business — which they usually portray as endlessly innovative, able to overcome any obstacle — would curl into a quivering ball if asked to limit emissions. Again and again, the actual costs have been far lower than they predicted. In fact, almost always below the E.P.A.’s predictions.
So it’s the same old story. But why, exactly, does it always play this way? Of course, polluters will defend their right to pollute, but why can they count on Republican support? When and why did the Republican Party become the party of pollution?
For it wasn’t always thus. The Clean Air Act of 1970, the legal basis for the Obama administration’s environmental actions, passed the Senate on a bipartisan vote of 73 to 0, and was signed into law by Richard Nixon.
Click through for the rest of this excellent Paul Krugman editorial, in which he relates climate change denial to the growing inequality between the super-rich and us, upon whom they prey.
From Upworthy: ProPublica recently did an in-depth analysis and found that black kids between ages 15-19 are 21 times more likely to be shot and killed by cops than white kids of the same age. That’s an insane statistic. That’s per capita, not total. If you are a black teenage boy, you have a 21x higher risk of being shot by police than a white teenage boy.
Also, in 2010, federal prosecutors took 162,000 cases to a grand jury. You know how many DIDN’T go to trial? Eleven.
Mike Brown’s family will never get a state criminal trial to get justice for their son. And the testimony that denied them that right technically doesn’t make any sense. Seriously, go read it.
Police have a hard job. What they do is something I couldn’t ever do. But you know what they rarely have? Accountability. In this case, the prosecutor, Robert McCulloch, always gets indictments — unless it’s a cop. He’s had five cop-involved killing cases and zero indictments. Again, five cases against police haven’t made it to trial at all. He could get an indictment if he wanted one.
Click through for much more information about this police murder and prosecutor cover up. On a related topic, the criminal acts of Wilson does not invalidate the excellent public service delivered my most police officers. Similarly, the acts of a few thugs and criminals, who are using the protests as an occasion to destroy and loot, does not invalidate the message of the protestors, the vast majority of whom are non-violent.
Cartoon:
20 Responses to “Open Thread–11/29/2014”
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3:30 I'm too lazy to run today.
Am I Bigfooted or Crunched?
2:57 Consider yourself Bigfooted or Sasquatched or Toested until Critter comes to crunch us all!
Daily Kos ~ The latest reports are that she is home and will return to work on Monday. Thank God!
NY Times ~ If you remember the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", you will also remember the end. The villagers didn't go to his rescue when there really was a wolf there. Maybe the American po=eople will wise up like the backward villagers di in the story. Stop helping these economic giants! They don't need our help. The people do. I know Congress will continue to aid and abet them in their destruction of Gaia.
Upworthy ~ Even our local paper covered this. Injustice at its worst!
Cartoon ~ Don't let that Puddy-Tat eat ant turkey skin, only a small piece of lean white meat if any leftovers at all. The can't digest the fat.
This fat cat sure can!! 😀
God bless and protect Justice Ginsburg and may she recover utterly and have many more years of crusading for truth and justice and never give up the fight!
NYTimes – they behave like this because they are corrupt; (they weren't always this bad but are now beyond reason), that is why they always side with polluters and don't give a fig about ordinary people's health.
Upworthy – black kids are 21 times more likely to be shot and killed than white kids – TWENTY ONE TIMES??!!!! What??!! I clicked through and read officer Wilson's 'testimony' – what a load of unbelievable twaddle – he was punched in the face several times – but didn't have a mark on him (photo at top of article); he had two suspects re a robbery – but instead of asking them about the robbery he asked them to walk on the sidewalk (?); an unarmed young man not on drugs and without a record charged a police officer who had his gun out – yet was shot in the back. I think I am going to be sick.
Just had another look at your cartoon to recover some equilibrium TC – your beautiful close cousin getting a little snack!
A regular problem with relatives! 😉
4:55 average unchanged. Stay warm, TC.
Daily Kos – Yeah. It couldn't have been Scalia. Of course stents are unpredictable. Some people have to cut way back; others, a few montha and you'd never even know they had surgery at all. I too am praying for the latter.She exercises routinely, which is a good prognosticator. If nothing else is wrong, and the surgeon wasn't a Republican, I feel positive. But still prayerful.
NY Times – If you are richer than God, you are not likely to believe that anyone with much less money knows anything you could possibly learn from. Remember the saying, "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?" Backing up the greed is the ultimate form of privilege – wealth.
Upworthy – I posted a petition yesterday to disbar McCulloch. I didn't mention the name was incorrectly spelled on it. I mention that now in case it deterred anyone from signing. It really is about the Ferguson prosecutor. The name can be corrected before it is submitted. Pat A, he didn't mention the robbery because HE DIDN'T KNOW THERE HAD BEEN A ROBBERY until much later. That was admitted by the police chief and widely known. To say he did anything at all because of the robbery is a flat out lie. Not that that should surprise anyone.
Cartoon – I do planned leftovers. I don't know how I would manage otherwise.
Woo-hoo!! Just saw this –
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ferguson-officer-who-shot-michael-brown-resigns/2014/11/29/807b8064-7820-11e4-8893-97bf0c02cc5f_story.html?wpisrc=al_national
Welcomwe back, Nameless, so glad you had a great time.
Good news, but I need his cell door to slam. If he returned to work in Ferguson, he woulf not survive a week.
Thanks Joanne – I didn't know that Wilson hadn't known about a robbery until later – what a POS – nothing he says can be trusted can it, not even the slightest little bit – how on earth did that Grand Jury say there was no case to answer?!
Hereby ending my AWOL–BWGR (But With Good Reason) absence: Just sent my Mom and aunt back to Illinois after an extended family visit with them arriving on Tuesday afternoon. (My aunt stays w/ her sister and my Mom stays w/ me.) They intended to come Monday, but a couple inches of blowing snow in northern Illinois made them postpone their trip for a day.
But my nephew, wife and two boys DID get in from San Francisco on Monday. So for most of Tuesday it was just them and me visiting and finishing off the prep work for our “Thanksgiving” repast on Wednesday. (They flew back on Thanksgiving Day itself – it saved them $700 doing – so we moved it a day early.)
Despite my having a fever, chills, productive cough, myalgia and malaise (haven’t been THAT sick in decades) – I had the BEST TURKEY DAY I can remember. (Must be from being surrounded by family)
And of course I had most of the prep work done before they all arrived, so it was mostly finishing things that can’t be prepped. PLUS my nephew’s wife was a Godsend in the kitchen – she just jumped right in helping.
We had turkey; mashed potatoes with pan-roasted gravy and giblets; stuffing of sautéed parsnips, pears, seasonings and sourdough bread cubes; roasted butternut squash and red onions w/ Tahini sauce (YUCK – thank God the Tahini was optional and on the side), fried sweet potatoes, cranberry relish and a grape tart w/ a toasted pecan and brown sugar crust and port wine glaze along with whipped cream.
This is the third turkey I’ve done by beginning the roasting with the breast-side down for an hour at high heat (425) and then turning it over for the last 2.5-3 hours @ 325. It’s miraculous how it keeps the breast nice and moist w/ OUT having to fuss w/ aluminum foil. BUT it’s the first time I did a dry-brine and left it out to the open air a day before roasting. It made the best dry, crispy skin EVAH … and it wasn’t just me who thought so.
The next two days we worked at getting my 98 y/o Mom switched BACK to original Medicare, as her AARP Medicare Advantage Health Plan will not be offered in 2015. It was a GREAT program … for her, but the insurance company wasn’t making enough money off it. Oh, well …
The problem was she’s moved to the Assisted Living facility the first week in November, so there was a change of address that they all hadn’t gotten up to speed on. BUT I think we got it accomplished (although she still has to sign the papers and provide them w/ the letter of the insurance’s termination).
All-in-all, despite being under the weather, it was an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving visit!
Nameless, so glad you had all the family with you. I did, too, for the first time in 8 years, best Thanksgiving ever for me.
Welcome home Nameless. I hope you're feeling better,
May Ginsberg's historic resiliance continue for this recovery, too.
EPA rules often create jobs and save companies and consumers and taxpayers money so I've always wondered why this talking point is ever reported by the media without someone questioning it.
The statistics for arrest, prosecution, convictions and sentences show similar racial disparities, too. Hard not to see the results are racist. Amnesty International were among those who were tear gased while in a coffee shop in Ferguson where no criminal activity was occurring–we are asking the UN to investigate us by allowing such things to be accepted here.
Leftovers come in handy for those who cook and host.
Amen to all, JL!
I hope your COPD is better soon.
Daily Kos: We all need to pray for Justice Ginsberg, for more reasons than her health. I think you are right, TC, the Repubs will not confirm any nominations the President makes in the next two years. They are confident they will have a Republican in the White House next time and they will put in more of their own.
NY Times: Krugman is so right. He simplifies major crises in a way we can understand. Income inequality is changing this nation into a place far different than the one I grew up in, where everyone had a chance to improve their living conditions. It is hard to believe that Nixon would now be considered a liberal. Who would have believed that the Republican party would so disintegrate that they would become merely the tools for the rich. When I first started voting, I voted for the person, not the party, even though I was a Democrat from the beginning. It is a rare occasion for me to even consider voting for a Republican now. The majority of our citizens need to wake up and realize that their vote is important and that Fox news is leading them down a path of doom.
Upworthy: There was a lot of conflicting testimony in the Ferguson case and I think we all knew that Wilson would never be charged. After reading about McCulloch, I am not surprised at the verdict. I think there should be a federal investigation into this. I agree with you that most police are doing a decent job and are good people, but we are seeing an upsurge of unnecessary violence from police forces every where. The militarization of our police forces makes all the citizens the enemy, and it needs to stop. I don't agree with tasers, either, too many people have been killed by them by untrained officers.
Cartoon: Enjoy those leftovers! We ate them yesterday and today. I cooked for two days getting ready for the twenty people who came here to eat, I feel like I deserve not to cook for a few days.
En
20?!!? Dang! That's a bunch!
It was a happy bunch, with a tired hostess. I love having my family around, any time.
Puzzle — 2:57 Consider yourself Bigfooted or Sasquatched or Toested until Critter comes to crunch us all!
Cartoon — Back at Christmas 2006, I was at my mother's with fur babe Scooter in toe. My mother's husband got caught feeding scraps of turkey to Scooter at the table and was almost banished from the house. As was his habit for 50 years, after dinner he took the turkey in the kitchen and proceeded to strip the meat putting slices in a pan on the floor and bitty bits in another container. All of a sudden there was a commotion in the kitchen. Scooter was lifting big slices of turkey from the pan on the floor and gorging himself. Frank wasn't accustomed to a cat in the house. This picture reminds me of that. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.