Thank you Lona for the supply of cat naps that arrived yesterday, although I not sure that Canada Post quite knew what to do with them. I indulged myself late this afternoon and it was refreshing after spending 2 hours at physiotherapy. My therapist was happy with my progress such that we are going to switch from 3 days per week down to two. Oh heavenly days!
Puzzle — Today’s took me 2:51 (average 4:38). To do it, click here. How did you do? For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.
Short Takes
Upworthy — In April 2013, Diana Kim spotted her father for the first time in decades.
He was living on the street, disheveled and unkempt, and didn't have a clue who she was. …
Kim grew up in Hawaii, which is trying to curb unrelenting increases in homelessness — including a 24% increase in chronic homelessness just last year. Kim's turbulent family life left her battling what she considers "transitional homelessness" as a teen. Kim, who chose not to talk about her relationship with her mother, had slept in parks, lived out of a car, and relied on the kindness of friends to put a roof over her head some nights.
In large part because of her personal experiences, Kim began using photography to bring more visibility to homelessness back in 2003. "When you grow up at an early age and you experience struggle, that shapes the way you see the world."
Read the rest of this story of transformation.
Huffington Post — Six-time NBA champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sat down with HuffPost Live on Monday and blasted Ben Carson's anti-Muslim comments, in which the 2016 GOP candidate questioned both Islamic values and the ability of Muslims to lead the United States in an interview with "Meet The Press."
Abdul-Jabbar, who converted to Islam when he was 24, explained why we shouldn't condemn the entire religion for the actions of a few: …
Watch a short video and read the rest of the short article. It seems that almost daily, we see people vilified for something they have not done. I hear the rhetoric "Muslims are terrorists" and other such claims from uneducated or bigoted minds. It is time to truly think about this and change our ways to that of inclusion, not exclusion.
Mother Jones — Even as the Federal Election Commission remains paralyzed when it comes to addressing the rising tide of dark money flowing into elections, California regulators took another step last week to crack down on secretive money in state elections. And for that, we have the Koch brothers to thank.
Politically active nonprofits have become a preferred way for deep-pocketed donors to influence elections without revealing their identities. As nonprofits, these groups are under no obligation to disclose where their money comes from. But as the amount of dark money entering elections has soared, federal regulators have largely taken a pass on adding new disclosure requirements. California regulators, on the other hand, have gone straight at the issue, and in the wake of a 2012 scandal involving several groups from the network of political organizations run by the Koch brothers, they have aggressively fought to keep dark money groups out of state elections.
On Thursday, state regulators added another layer of security, closing a loophole that might have allowed out-of-state groups and donors to secretly buy influence in California elections. If there was any wiggle room for dark money groups to operate in California, it's likely gone now.
Read the rest of this important article. Now, if only the same could be done in every state and federally, perhaps Lincoln's statement — "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." — could come true. Add to that the defeat of Citizens United and the US might have a chance of reclaiming representative democracy.
My Universe —