Politics Plus

It has poured rain all day and tonight/tomorrow is supposed to be very heavy rain and wind.  Time to button up under the blankets with the fur babes.  I was teaching today and had the most delightful surprise . . . as I was leaving, my little Simon, who is 18 moths old, grabbed my legs in a big hug and said "I love you".  Oh my, didn't that just bring tears to my eyes!  I guess this is what it feels like to be a grandma! (I never had childrren of my own)  Tomorrow, their mother is going to a dinner at the church so I volunteered to watch the kids.  We're having pizza for dinner which I know they all like.  Sure beats cooking!

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:13 (average 4:54). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.

Short Takes

Alternet — John Oliver's "Last Week Tonight" is far and away the most refreshing thing on late-night TV. While other shows center around round-table chats and celebrity interviews, Oliver uses his massive platform to highlight overlooked but important political issues. Recently, he told CBS that his focus was "absurd public policies." 

By highlighting the absurdities of American institutions, he milks the injustice for a laugh while drawing the attention of millions of viewers to the issue. It's a brilliant combination that, when it fires on all cylinders, makes for great comedy and sometimes even triggers reforms. 

Here are his seven best segments. 

1. Net Neutrality 

Arguably Oliver's breakout hit, this segment masterfully dissected the knotty issue of net neutrality and its effect on free speech. Oliver explained why creating a two-tiered Internet was unfair, and even recruited the Internet's "vile commenters" to spam the FCC's website, which was taking public comment at the time. As a result, the website crashed and FCC Chair Tom Wheeler had to hilariously insist to the public that he "wasn't a dingo." 

Click through for the other 6 videos of John Oliver monologues which average 15 minutes each.  But each one is focused on different aspects of American life.  John is funny as usual.

The New Yorker — New reports indicating that Ben Carson might not have actually stabbed anyone during his youth have sent the retired neurosurgeon plummeting in the latest Republican Presidential polls.

Carson supporters, reeling from the news that their candidate’s past might have been devoid of stabbing, have deserted his candidacy in droves, suggesting that Republican voters viewed Carson’s stabbing as a key part of his résumé.

Indeed, a recent University of Minnesota poll showed that a full third of Carson supporters singled out “his stabbing experience” as a top reason for supporting him for the nation’s highest office.

But Andy, on the other hand, he tried to redeem himself by lying about being offered a scholarship to West Point. Click through for the rest.

Mother Jones — On Friday, President Obama announced his administration's decision to reject the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, after seven years of intense deliberation over the pipeline's potential environmental risks. The announcement is widely viewed as a major victory for environmentalists and is sure to further burnish the president's legacy in combating climate change.

Click through to read Obama's speech.  And here is the Canadian government reaction as reported by the CBC.  As noted, the federal NDP were against the Keystone XL, but the Alberta NDP government of course was for it. Personally, I was not in favour of the pipeline, particularly the route that could affect the Ogallala Aquifer.  Oil companies do not have a good record with spills, on both sides of the border.

My Universe — Chillin'!

I spent a good part of today watching the swearing in of the new Canadian government and getting excited about the possibilities.  I am planning an article about it but it is still largely in my head.  Later I indulged in some down time with my babes.  What a purr-fest we had.  Tomorrow I have physio so things will be a bit busier.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 4:02 (average 6:02). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.

Given that today is the day after the 2015 elections, I thought for some this picture might be appropriate, especially in Republican circles.  H/t to Ted W and Carol B @ Care2.

Short Takes

Alternet — "Given the nature of class politics in America. Given the fact that we have a corrupt campaign finance system," Sanders said. "Given that we have an economy that is rigged. The major point that I am making is that establishment politicians cannot make the kind of changes we need. You can't run a super PAC and take money from Wall Street and say, I'm going to take on Wall Street."

Unfortunately, I cannot embed the video of Chris Hayes and Bernie Sanders.  Please click through for the interview video.  As Charles Koch said to Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough when he asked about political donations "I expect something in return."

International Business Times — One of Iran’s commercial airlines last week bought a U.K.-manufactured jet with the aim of using it to deliver Iranian soldiers and weapons to Syria in support of the embattled regime of President Bashar Assad, International Business Times has learned. The purchase of the aircraft by an Iranian concern represents a clear violation of the deal brokered by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, under which Iran pledged to scale back its nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of sanctions, said senior American officials and attorneys who handle issues associated with sanctions compliance.

“Temporary sanctions relief … currently in place does not cover the sale or lease of complete aircraft to Iran,” said Betsy Bourassa, a representative of the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence within the Treasury Department in Washington. And a representative of the State Department told IBT that it was aware of the sale and is investigating the transaction.

Click through for the rest of the story.  In my mind, this does not bode well for the success of the Iran nuclear agreement, but we'll have to wait to find out the results of the State Department's investigation.  Are Republicans going to try to pillory John Kerry over the deal?  They sure do like political lynchings.

Think Progress — “This bill is about recognizing that the fossil fuel reserves that are on our public lands should be managed in the public interest, and the public interest is for us to help drive a transition from fossil fuels to a clean energy future,” Merkley said on a press call Tuesday. “We don’t have a lot of time to do this, so there’s an urgency to it, and a place that’s readily available for us to act is on the fossil fuels that are on our public lands.”

Merkley referenced findings from earlier this year that 80 percent of coal reserves — along with a third of global oil reserves and half of global natural gas reserves — should stay in the ground between now and 2050 in order to keep warming to 2°C, the limit that many scientists agree we need to stay below in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Banning new oil and gas leases on public lands, as the bill would do, would be a step towards this target.

This is as it should be.  Unfortunately, as Senator Merkley said, he isn't expecting much action because of Congressional leadership [or lack thereof].

My Universe — From the Animal Rescue Site — Some silly cats are confused and think they aren’t cats at all. 

It is pouring rain right now and I can here wind gusts whipping around my building.  My babes are snuggled in bed together having feasted on fresh cooked cod, their 3rd favourite dinner after chicken and turkey (white meat only thank you very much).  I have managed 2 loads of laundry so the world is a safer place.  I have physio in the morning followed by teaching.  I think I can say that my cold is gone, but I still intend to indulge in some cat naps.  Thanks to Lona for the supply!  You're such a sweetheart for those cat naps.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:56 (average 5:02). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.

Short Takes

The Guardian — Carol’s grim demise forms the plot of Unexpected, one of hundreds of evangelical Christian theatrical twists on haunted houses that are produced by American churches each year in the run-up to Halloween. They aim to scare the wayward on to the path of righteousness with a rather more serious question than “trick or treat?” – heaven or hell?

I was taken aback by the whole idea of churches promoting a hell house to offer twists on haunted houses before Hallowe'en.  And their goal . . . to scare people to Jesus.  I should preface my comment here.  I am a Christian, a very liberal Christian, but I will not stand infront of someone and tell them what to believe.  I will not be as the very conservative fundamentalist Christians in the US, and elsewhere, forcing my beliefs down the throats of others, and trying to legislate that faith as the faith of the nation.  What to believe is a very personal choice. Creating a climate of fear to "scare souls to Jesus" is ludicrous, and only adds to the general fear in society.  When fear is the motivator, no matter the area of life, then we stop listening to each other.

Mother Jones — The massive size of the fire trucks' engines, combined with their inefficient combustion in cold weather, means that the air reaching us is replete with fine and ultrafine particles—specks of waste at least 36 times finer than a grain of sand, often riddled with toxic combinations of sulfate, nitrate and ammonium ions, hydrocarbons, and heavy metals. Though we have long known that these tiny particles cause and exacerbate respiratory problems—like asthma and infections and cancers of the lungs—they are also suspected to contribute to a diverse range of disorders, from heart disease to obesity. And now cutting-edge research suggests that these particles play a role in some of humanity's most terrifying and mysterious illnesses: degenerative brain diseases. …

The good news is that air pollution is one of the United States' greatest environmental success stories. Particle emissions have been dropping steadily since the 1970s, along with other pollutants governed by laws like the Clean Air Act. The EPA regulates levels of coarse- and fine-particle pollution, and two years ago it strengthened the national standards for fine particles. But there is still no regulation for ultrafine-particle pollution, here or in any other country. 

Click through for the rest of the article.  As I read this long but interesting article, I could not help but think of my mother, succumbing to dementia. For 40 years, she lived in a mill town where the rotten egg smell of the pulp and paper mill was always prevalent.  Add to that the ever present thick coating of greasey black ash which burned paint off of vehicles and buildings.  I can't help but find the information in the article compelling.  I remember several years ago reading about a town in Wisconsin (?) where whole neighbourhoods had higher than average cancer diagnois and death rates thought to be brought on by high toxic pollution in the river that runs by a Koch Industries plant. We know from their actions that Republicans don't give a tinker's damn about clean air and water if it comes at the expense of their profits.  Just read The Fall of King Coal which I posted here on 05/10/15 to look at profit versus people.  It is past time to demand more be done . . . to put people before profits.

Alternet — In this, Wallace was using the classic definition of the word “fascist”—the definition Mussolini had in mind when he claimed to have invented the word. (It was actually Italian philosopher Giovanni Gentile who wrote the entry in the Encyclopedia Italiana that said: “Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.” Mussolini, however, affixed his name to the entry, and claimed credit for it.)

As the 1983 American Heritage Dictionary noted, fascism is, “A system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism.”

Click through for the rest of this interesting article.  The word "fascist" is thrown about a fair amount, but do we have the correct context and meaning?   For some, this discussion is not new.  For others, it may well be.

Think Progress — Ben Carson is seeking to rally Republican candidates to end most actual debating at future Republican debates. Instead, candidates would spend most of their time taking turns delivering speeches.

Click Rachel Maddow to see Friday's segment where Rachel explores the fallout from the last Republican debate and what is likely ahead.  She certainly does become very animated.

Sorry, I can't embed the show as it isn't on YouTube yet.

My Universe —

I found IT!!!