Politics Plus

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 — 

Today turned out not to be as busy as I thought.  My ESL student is sick so cancelled our class.  That gave me a chance for a short Lona cat nap after physio before finishing this post.  The nap didn't last long as there were fire trucks and ambulances  in the street below my window.  I am blessed with the local hospital across the street to the east, and the main fire hall across the street to the west.  No matter their proximity, the truck engines and sirens were wailing away keeping me from a nap.  At least I managed a good sleep last night.

Puzzle — Today’s took me 3:28 (average 6:17).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?  For those that don't know, we always do the 48 piece classic.

Daily Kos — … Stewart also offered a "warning" to the first responders as they prepared to trek the halls of Congress. "Today, on [Capitol] Hill, you will be exposed to possibly toxic levels of bulls**t and arrogance," …

Now isn't that the truth!  As Jon said (paraphrase) to a gathered group of first responders, when the need was there, you jumped in right away to do what you were trained to do.  Why should you have to push to get the benefits needed as a result of your heroism?  Jon is so spot on, and we know where the problem lies . . . with Republicans!

CBC — "Today, I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top of the field. With that in mind, I will suspend my campaign immediately," Walker said at a press conference in Madison, Wisconsin.

"I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same so the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive conservative alternative to the current front-runner," Walker continued. "This is fundamentally important to the future of the party and more importantly to the future of our country."

Read the rest of the story through the link.

Well, the darling of the Koch set has pulled the plug on his 2016 presidential aspirations.  I wonder how the Kochs are taking it?  A while back, I distinctly had the impression that the relationship between Walker, the Fartfuhrer of Fitzwalkerstan, and the Kochs had significantly cooled.

Here from the Huffington Post is a series of tweets from Liz Mair, a former aide to the Fartfuhrer describing why he couldn't win the White House in 2016.

Alternet — … The drug, called Daraprim, was acquired in August by Turing Pharmaceuticals, a start-up run by a former hedge fund manager. Turing immediately raised the price to $750 a tablet from $13.50, bringing the annual cost of treatment for some patients to hundreds of thousands of dollars. … Shkreli claims that the higher cost for the drug is necessary for his new company to develop better treatments for toxoplasmosis, a claim which doctors quoted in the Times article call hollow as the side effects for Daraprim are manageable and there is no "clamoring" for a substitute. Interestingly, Shkreli's is the same type of claim pharmaceutical companies made in response to efforts to allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices.

Read the rest.  I find it inexcusable for such price increases.  Ultimately, it hurts everyone and will lead to greater loss of life.

My Universe — h/t JL — Ah, the humble toilet paper roll that every cat parent understands!  My little Annie has shredded one or two, but her favourite is the famous paper towel roll.  She renders them useless . . . totally useless!