It feels like summer here, so my chores have left me feeling somewhat lazy, so you can be sure I’ll take a break later for purring in the sunshine.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:15 (average 4:51). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Upworthy: The sad but beautiful story of water, as narrated by Penélope Cruz
This cycle is what Republicans are trying to destroy.
From Media Matters: Indianapolis’ WIBC has broadcast Rush Limbaugh’s show for 22 years. Despite this long history, parent company Emmis Communications announced April 13 that they are dropping Limbaugh’s show from WIBC’s lineup.
Charlie Morgan, an executive for Emmis, indicated that the decision to drop Limbaugh was about the "long-term direction of the station," but also acknowledged that there was a "business element to the decision." Underscoring the business considerations, Morgan explained to the Indianapolis Business Journal that the absence of Limbaugh could actually help WIBC’s advertiser prospects:
And the defectors from Limbarf’s former empire keep coming. Every remaining station is one too many.
From The New Yorker: Americans took to the streets in large numbers on Thursday to show their support for a fifteen-dollar-an-hour wage for members of Congress.
In major cities across the nation, fast-food workers and other service employees held signs, shouted chants, and gave impassioned speeches to demonstrate their conviction that Congress deserves a maximum hourly wage of fifteen dollars.
“Members of Congress are people, just like you and me,” Tracy Klugian, a McDonald’s employee who took part in the Washington protest, said. “They should be paid what they deserve.”
Assuming that they continue to take off approximately two hundred and forty days a year, members of Congress earning the proposed maximum would see their average annual income adjusted from a hundred and seventy-four thousand dollars to thirteen thousand five hundred dollars, a salary that many marchers called “fair and equitable.”
Andy is on to something here, but even if paid for only the hours they actually work, they would get far more than they are worth.
Cartoon:
Republicans want a rerun.\
14 Responses to “Open Thread–4/17/2015”
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Man! Andy was right on target with this one! If only they were paid according to the amount of work they do! THEN WE MIGHT BALANCE THE DEFICIT!
4:46 average 4:51. Isn't the Bahamas one of the easiest places to get surveilled by the NSA?
I'm late and I'm slow. My expected 11-hour day turned into a 14-hour day when I had a tire go flat in
Las Animas, CO (It's not the end of the world, but you can see it from there.) At least I'm home
now.
Upworthy – Every video in this series is a little gem. And Republicans want to destroy the subjects of
every video.
Media Matters – Limbaugh will keep bloviating till he drops dead. With what he has done to his body, I can't imagine what's taking him so long.
New Yorker – Excellent idea in principle. I do think, however, that Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Al Franken, Jeff Merkley, to name a few, are worth more than thirteen-five (though not Ron Wyden). I also suspect that a case could be made that not paying them for certain job-related activities when they are off the clock constitutes wage theft (MacDonald's employees who are required to clock out and then clean the place know a lot about that).
Ron is good 95% of the time, but every once in a while he really blows it.
Even "really blows it" is a little generous to describe letting TPP Fast Track loose.
I hope you enjoyed your day in the sun, I plan to do that tomorrow.
Upworthy: I fear the world will come to that, a war for water, if we don't do something now to prevent the climate change that is coming.
Media Matters: Glad to know that the Flush Rush campaign is working. Money is the bottom line, if you hurt their pocket book, they will make change.
The New Yorker: I like Andy! If they were paid for the amount of work they do, they Might qualify for Food stamps, but wait, they cut the program, so they might not be!
Cartoon: I remember that day and how frightened we all were.
Back to the sun soon.
2:50 On advice of counsel (me), the fishies have all gone to school where the Puddy Tat cannot find them.
Too late! They got a D.
Digested.
Puzzle — 2:50 On advice of counsel (me), the fishies have all gone to school where the Puddy Tat cannot find them.
Upworthy — "Nature doesn't need people. People need nature." Peoples the world over fight over everything of little consequence. Why would we not go to war over water, the very blood of the planet? So sad. So unnecessary if we only had respect for the planet.
Media Matters — Music to my ears! Nameless, even you should be able to hear this music!
Couldn't happen to a better guy!
The New Yorker — Why $15 per hour? With some exceptions as noted in JD's comment, legislators should only be paid at the federal minimum wage rate for the days they are sitting, and then only for a maximum 8 hour day. Perhaps a bonus could be made available for piece work . . . you know, good solid legislation passed that does not try to screw the people over.
I agree, Andy's onto something here!
Cartoon — That was the day I turned 9 years old. I remember this from the news but it wasn't for several years that I studied it in school. I remember being very frightened that the world was coming to an end. We also had frequent duck and cover exercises in school at the time. So much for US imperialism. And the Republicanus/Teabaggerum still haven't learned the lesson!
HAPPY NATIONAL PARKS WEEK!
And to celebrate, everyone can get in FREE today and tomorrow (4/18-19). You can learn more about it here, and scroll down to the "April 18 & 19" entry for the link to the Free Admission section.
http://www.nps.gov/npweek/
And if you're over 62, you might want to consider buying a Lifetime Pass for ONLY $10! You do have to buy it at a Federal Recreation site – or it's $20 if you do it by mail.
http://www.nps.gov/findapark/passes.htm
TY TC – sorry – kidney stones; liked the articles…
3:41 I fell asleep in my boat.
Kennedy came so close to a different decision…relationship is what made the difference–one reason to value diplomacy and related efforts.
AB nails it again.
The Indiana element just now makes this one even more worth savoring.
Obama's Earth Day statements today should help us hold his feet to the fire on clean water (ocean drilling, fracking) and other environmental issues.
Thanks all. Really pooped! Hugs!