Squatch’s Open Thread 16 January 2019

I was going to have a bowl of beef barley soup last night for dinner.  I had left it on the counter ready to go in the microwave.  When I went down to the kitchen to feed my cats, I saw that the container was open and the soup gone!  The guilty party was my Winnie and needless to say, he was not so hungry at dinner time.  I am sure that the other two helped, but Winnie is the one who opens lots of things including the treats jar at the vet’s.  Well I had to settle for beans instead.  I am off to physio tomorrow morning so I am posting this very early.

Jig Zone Puzzle:  

Today’s took me 4:06 (average 4:23).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

AlterNet — On Tuesday morning, in a huge victory for civil rights activists, federal judge Jesse Furman issued an order blocking President Donald Trump’s Department of Commerce from adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.

The case, brought by the New York State Attorney General’s office, is almost certain to be appealed by the Justice Department in a battle that could end up in the Supreme Court: …

Hallelujah!  Another set back for the Trumpians, well at least for now.  I am certain that this decision will be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, but for now, let’s enjoy.

Vox — UK Prime Minister Theresa May spent months negotiating a deal with the European Union on the terms of Brexit, Britain’s exit from the EU.

On Tuesday, the UK Parliament voted to reject the deal by a resounding 432-202 margin — the largest legislative defeat any prime minister has suffered in modern British history.

May’s defeat should dispel any illusion that there is a happy ending to the Brexit story. The truth of the matter is that the project that defined May’s premiership — negotiating a Brexit deal acceptable to both the EU and pro-Brexit legislators in her Conservative Party — was structurally impossible. The terms on which Conservative Brexiteers wanted to leave the EU were not acceptable to EU negotiators, and the compromises necessary to bring EU negotiators on board were not acceptable to Conservative Brexiteers. No amount of negotiating could address this dilemma.  …

Now, in the clarifying light of this vote’s failure, it’s time to be honest. Barring a dramatic and unexpected change, there are two plausible outcomes to the Brexit drama. Either the UK exits the EU without a deal by the March 29 deadline, which virtually every expert agrees would result in economic catastrophe, or else the country pulls back from the brink and decides to remain in the EU.

I hope you’ll read the entire article as it explores the effect of the Brexit decision and the collapse of this agreement.  The ramifications can have a global affect.  Back in 2016, David Cameron was Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister when he called for a referendum for leaving the European Union.  Cameron himself favoured staying in the EU, but the referendum results said otherwise with 52% of the voters supporting leaving the EU.  As a result, Cameron resigned as PM and Theresa May was elected by the Conservative Party as its leader and thus became PM.  As I recall, after the referendum, there were many people who voted for leaving the EU but later found out that their knowledge of the effects of the consequences was faulty.    Some politicians lied!  May committed to honouring the will of the people and set out to negotiate the Brexit agreement with the EU.  It was that agreement that was voted down today — 432 to 202.  Jeremy Corbyn, the opposition leader in Parliament has tabled a non confidence vote which could see the Conservatives lose their current position and an election called.  All this with little more than 60 days until Britain leaves the EU.  As aside, don’t you wish that the US had a non confidence vote system — might be able to get rid of Trump more quickly.

Daily Kos — No matter what Individual 1 says, people coming across our border with Mexico without authorization is not an emergency, or a crisis (although the Trump Administration has turned it into a humanitarian crisis). The graph on the right shows the number of people apprehended crossing the border illegally—a very reasonable proxy in terms of a trend over time for the number of people crossing in general.

Look at the numbers in fiscal year 2018 compared to 2000. Apprehensions are less than one-quarter of what they were. Trump calls that an emergency? It seems more like a success, but hey, I’ve never been a reality show host, so what do I know.

Trump has spent the last three years screaming about criminals and terrorists coming across the border. The terrorism claim is absolute bunk. Nicholas Rasmussen served from December 2014 to December 2017 as director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). His job was “to lead the government’s efforts to collect and analyze all available information about terrorist threats to the Homeland.” Here’s his take:

“There is no wave of terrorist operatives waiting to cross overland into the United States. It simply isn’t true. Anyone in authority using this argument to bolster support for building the wall or any other physical barrier along the southern border is most likely guilty of fear mongering and willfully misleading the American people.”

To say the least, Trump’s bullshit factory is working overtime producing lies about the southern border and he’s holding 800,000 US employees hostage with his temper tantrum.

My Universe

Cheeky bugger, or what!

 

Posted to Care2 HERE