Jan 202016
 

74-Judi

Judi’s very first Bug Mouth Award was less that two months ago on 11/27, and here she is again.    Judi is one of four people I promoted to write articles here, and she has been doing a magnificent job.  She is a denizen of Care2, where she goes by JL A.  You can find her here.

A resident of California, a place where only the Republican politicians are more Californicated than the climate change fouled weather.  She is a proponent of Animal Welfare, Climate Change Prevention, Green Energy, Human Rights, Minority Rights, Women’s Rights, and more.

I suspect she will earn many more Big Mouth Awards.  Please join  me in piling up the kudos and praise that she deserves so well,

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Poll Results–1/16/2016

 Posted by at 11:07 am  Blog News, Politics
Jan 162016
 

Here are the results of our “Control of Government” poll.  Politics Plus Polls are not scientific, because those who respond are not balanced according to demographic categories.   Therefore, we do not accurately reflect the makeup of the US population.  Nevertheless, our polls are usually factually accurate, and more often than not, they reflect thinking or will of the national majority.

0116Poll

Since our polling site no longer enables us to copy and paste your poll comments, you may read them here.

All of us think Democrats will keep the White House, and 75% of us think Democrats will take the Senate back.  But only 28% of us think Democrats will win the House.  I voted with the majority.

We have a new poll up for you.  Get into practice.  Vote!

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Jan 102016
 

Yesterday turned out to be pretty busy.  I did some paperwork.  My helper friend came and we took a trip to the instant teller machine three blocks away, did laundry and cooked six meals,  I now have 12 suppers that need only be thawed and reheated.  Then i meditated on the Orb!  May the holy Ellipsoid Orb bless your team on this high holy day.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:02 (average 4:54).  To do it, click here,  How did you do?

Pat A: I forwarded your responses to her.  Here is her reply:

Oh TC – this made me cry – you are all so wonderful!  Thank you so much – may God bless you for your kindness!!!

I hope to be back to PP in the next few weeks some time.  I hope my sister will come to help me here for a while now that she has retired – she offered nearly a year ago to come for two weeks, and actually came last Autumn for three days (but very welcome for all that) – she has never suffered from long term ill health, so has loads of energy.  She promised to be back in the New Year to do the remaining days she had promised … which would have been before now, so I hope still, but am not holding my breath!  Her offers of help have, looking back over the years, about a one in twenty chance of being fulfilled… still, onwards and upwards, and I must do what I can when I can, and she set me some tasks before she left and I am still plodding away at them! 

I also discovered ancient Victorian mould the day before yesterday under wallpaper in my living room, so I must (having allergic asthma) get rid of it ASAP – it will take me at least all week to do this as I can only do a small amount every couple of days, but I am very determined.  I had wondered for years where the slight smell of mould came from as none was visible – now I know (plaster put on the wall cutting through the Victorian plaster [with mould] when I had the damp course done many years ago has not a trace of mould on it, so the mould on the Victorian plaster is truly ancient).  Vinegar, tea tree oil, a multifibre cloth and/or a sharp scraper, a very good face mask, Futuro splints for my osteoporitic wrists, and a LOT of elbow grease are doing wonders – but it is a long job and will take one week or perhaps (please not!) even two weeks.   Prayers for my safety would be most appreciated as I do fall a bit!  (Nicky M would know if I had an accident – we speak/email daily).

Hugs and prayers and blessings

Pat

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos (classic: 2/2015): Walmarts are everywhere. They take up tons of space. Superbowl space. They sell everything, they succeed where mom-and-pop businesses fail—and sometimes, they shut down. What happens when a huge edifice, parking lot, highway exit closes in a place? Well, in McAllen, Texas:

They transformed it into the largest single-floor public library in America.

It’s not often that I have an opportunity to post about Texans doing something right.

From The New Yorker: Last month, reporters at the Las Vegas Review-Journal undertook a remarkable investigation into the secret identity of the buyer of their own newspaper. The paper had changed hands in early December for the wildly inflated price of a hundred and forty million dollars; New Media Investment Group (formerly GateHouse Media), which had purchased the paper only months earlier, reported flipping it for an estimated sixty-nine-per-cent profit. Six days after the sale was announced, on December 16th, Review-Journal reporters revealed that the acquiring company, News + Media Capital Group, which had been represented in the sale by an executive named Michael Schroeder, was in fact controlled by members of Sheldon Adelson’s family—and that, as many had suspected, the money had originated with the casino magnate himself. “My money that the children have with which to buy the newspaper is their inheritance,” Adelson told the Macau Daily Times. He said that he wasn’t directly involved with the purchase, and wasn’t interested in owning a newspaper.

Adelson is a keen participant in the U.S. political process and a mega-donor to Republican candidates, having spent, at minimum, ninety-eight million dollars in political contributions in the 2012 cycle, not counting dark-money contributions. He also owns an Israeli tabloid, Israel Hayom (Israel Today), which is brazen in its support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line positions on Palestinian rights and other issues. To many observers, Adelson’s background, combined with the initial attempt to keep his family’s ownership interest in the Review-Journal secret, does not augur well for the future editorial independence of the paper, which was founded in 1909 and has a circulation of about a hundred and sixty-five thousand, the largest in Nevada. But the response from inside the paper demonstrated that, even for a determined billionaire and his family, it may not be so easy to gain control of a newspaper.

This is tragic for Nevada residents. The change will be gradual, but within a year or two the paper will be positioned far to the right of the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise.

From NY Times: Hillary Clinton has released an aggressive new attack ad, fanning fears about the main Republican presidential candidates to make the point that she, and no other Democrat, “can stop them.”

 

I disagree with Hillary, in part. She correctly describes the Republican threat, and she could defeat a Republican candidate. However, she is not the only Democrat who could. Bernie can too, and he is a better choice for the poor and middle classes.

Cartoon:

0110Cartoon

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Jan 082016
 

I’m hurrying to leave in two hours to see my Prosthetist.  Tomorrow and Sunday are high holy days in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb.  I will be worshiping, but my Broncos have a first round bye.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:07 (average 4:18).  To do it click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Me: The following is an email conversation with Pat A.

Hi Pat,
We’re all worried about you, because we have not heard frim you in so long.  Are you OK?
Hugs!!
TC

Dear TC
I’m still here, though not at all well (surprise!) – just lots and lots of things draining the energy out of me for decades.  I have spent years online typing cheerful encouraging things and so often it is with tears of pain and exhaustion running down my face, and I have quite run out of puff, and just don’t seem able to do it for the time being.  I do hope you are better – mind you with the support network you have, and all the prayers sent up for you by those who love and care for you, I should hope you are positively levitating with buoyant health!
Please give everyone my love, and if it is possible could you ask for some prayers for me –
Many thanks
Hugs
Pat

Hi Pat,
Just so you know, we who love you do not require you to say cheerful and encouraging things.  As much as you love to support others, we would consider it a privilege to support you.  So please stop in, even if only to say you’re alive and bitch a bit.  I’ll relay your message to the group.
As for me, I am gradually learning how to live as an amputee.  My brush with death was so close, that I’m just grateful to be alive.
Hugs, prayers, and love,
TC

I trust that you will all pray or however you connect with the infinite) for her.

From Media Matters: MSNBC’s Maddow Highlights WND’s Profitable Relationship With Trump And His Attacks Against Obama’s Citizenship

Rachel Maddow: "WorldNetDaily Has Proclaimed That Its Man Of The Year For 2015 Was Donald J. Trump"

 

Hairball’s World Nut Daily endorsement defines him as insane.  Rachel, as always, is spot-on.

From Think Progress: Young undocumented immigrants, beware: Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz will unabashedly tell you to your face that if he’s president, he would deport people like you.

At a campaign event in Iowa on Wednesday, Ofelia Valdez — an undocumented immigrant brought to the country as a teenager from Mexico — explained to Cruz that she was covered under President Barack Obama’s executive action known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides temporary deportation reprieve and work authorization to some undocumented individuals. Almost 700,000 undocumented immigrants have been approved by the DACA program since its inception in 2012.

But Cruz has previously stated that he would strip the DACA program using any means necessary, including leading a government shutdown. Valdez told the GOP candidate that she’s worried about the 2016 election’s potential consequences for her future.

“As a DACA holder myself, I worried about whoever comes next to the presidency and what’s going to happen to people like us,” Valdez said in the video uploaded by the Democratic Party. “I think of myself as a part of this community and you know, first day of presidency, you decide to deport, you know, people like myself, you know, it’s just very difficult to process it.”

With Rep. Steve King (R-IA) standing in the background, Cruz nodded through her explanation, then told her that there were consequences for breaking the law — like deportation.

Barf Bag Alert!!

 

Coming from a fellow immigrant, that’s heartless.

Cartoon:

0108Cartoon

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Poll Results–1/2/2016

 Posted by at 9:55 am  Blog News, Politics
Jan 022016
 

Here are the results of our “Environmental Agreement” poll.  Politics Plus Polls are not scientific, because those who respond are not balanced according to demographic categories.   Therefore, we do not accurately reflect the makeup of the US population.  Nevertheless, our polls are usually factually accurate, and more often than not, they reflect thinking or will of the national majority.

0102Poll

Since our polling site no longer enables us to copy and paste your poll comments, you may read them here.

II voted that it’s a step in the right direction, although I also liked that it could save the planet, if Republicans prevented from sabotaging it.  I was shocked that two actually voted that Republicans have a Constitutional right to pollute.

The new poll is up.  Please vote!

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Dec 162015
 

Here are the results of our “Terrorist Identification” poll.  Politics Plus Polls are not scientific, because those who respond are not balanced according to demographic categories.   Therefore, we do not accurately reflect the makeup of the US population.  Nevertheless, our polls are usually factually accurate, and more often than not, they reflect thinking or will of the national majority.

1216Poll

Since our polling site no longer enables us to copy and paste your poll comments, you may read them here.

I voted with the majority that attending a religious service is not a terrorist act.  Hate crimes are.

There is a new poll up.  Please vote.

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Poll Results–12/1/2015

 Posted by at 10:48 am  Blog News, Politics
Dec 012015
 

Here are the results of our “Media Daesh” poll.  Politics Plus Polls are not scientific, because those who respond are not balanced according to demographic categories.   Therefore, we do not accurately reflect the makeup of the US population.  Nevertheless, our polls are usually factually accurate, and more often than not, they reflect thinking or will of the national majority.

1201Poll

Since our polling site no longer enables us to copy and paste your poll comments, you may read them here.

I voted with the majority that the media pay too much attention to the Daesh.  They also pay too much attention to the West’s pseudo-Christian counterpart of the Daesh:  the Republican Party.

The new poll is posted and is ready you your votes.  Please do.

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Nov 302015
 

forgotten-muses-1226788

In politics it is said, that when not fueled by hope there is a vacuum for fear to fill.  Since artists turn to the muses, Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Ourania and Calliope we are exploring what they can offer us for inspiration to have the hope fueling politics.  Last week we were in the wake of Paris; this week we follow two violent events on American soil (covered in other threads) in Minneapolis and in Colorado Springs yet do not hear near the cacophony of voices loudly urging actions to keep Americans safe.  We also follow the holiday most associated with gratitude in the U.S.: Thanksgiving.  One Thanksgiving email I received began with this quote: “I saw…that there was an ocean of darkness and death; but an infinite ocean of light and love…flowed over the ocean of darkness.” — Journal of George Fox (1647)

Then continued withIt can be hard to look into the darkness we find all too easily today: in the suffering and fear of so many, in the cycles of violence. Yet, when we come together with compassion, understanding, and openness, we find the Light in dark places.” It was from the Friends Committee on National Legislation.

Calliope is considered the strongest of the nine and imposes serenity.  Researchers have been exploring this area and one finding that goes with post-Thanksgiving is:

 

Gratitude can be transformative:gratitude

“The Thanksgiving holiday began, as the name implies, when the colonists gave thanks for their survival and for a good harvest. So perhaps November is a good time to review the mental health benefits of gratitude — and to consider some advice about how to cultivate this state of mind.”

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/in-praise-of-gratitude

“Recently scientists have begun to chart a course of research aimed at understanding gratitude and the circumstances in which it flourishes or diminishes. They’re finding that people who practice gratitude consistently report a host of benefits:

  • Stronger immune systems and lower blood pressure;
  • Higher levels of positive emotions;
  • More joy, optimism, and happiness;
  • Acting with more generosity and compassion;
  • Feeling less lonely and isolated.”

http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/expandinggratitude/

Anyone want to join me in giving thanks (just in case)?  Has it become harder to connect with gratitude when people have a lower standard of living than their parents did or they themselves did 10 years ago (e.g., stagnant wages, retirement accounts wiped out, foreclosure and/or the hidden housing bubble: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/11/09/1447788/-The-massive-real-estate-bubble-that-no-one-is-talking-about )?

Sometimes children see things more clearly:

http://www.upworthy.com/what-are-you-thankful-for-the-simplicity-in-these-kids-answers-is-heartwarming?c=upw1&u=6ffb12f2d750fff1c628f4ed4366938bb526f1d5

Staying with science, let us hear from Ourania (astronomy) via :“In a 2-minute elevator speech, a NASA scientist shares his greatest hope for the future of earth.”

http://www.upworthy.com/in-a-2-minute-elevator-speech-a-nasa-scientist-shares-his-greatest-hope-for-the-future-of-earth?c=upw1&u=6ffb12f2d750fff1c628f4ed4366938bb526f1d5

Didn’t he make it crystal clear and easy to understand—did he also communicate hope?*

One thing events in Paris affected was people’s plans with COP 21 Nov. 30th-Dec. 11th…I’ve seen one group that is collecting photos of people holding empty shoes to represent people who would’ve been marching in Paris to address climate change.  Greenpeace is matching individuals who would’ve marched in France with someone marching in another country…the resilience to this purpose in this one (check out the video) is it an example of what Dr. Rignot said was our hope?  Is it a love Erato might claim?

https://climateribbon.squarespace.com/english#participate

Does it inspire faith and hope as people persist despite changed circumstances?

 

Clio (guitar) helps us think out of the box with this one and expand our vision of possibility (video):

https://youtu.be/AnjgeVZL2-M

And Thalia (architecture) might help us get creative (picture gallery):

http://architecture.about.com/od/weirdarchitecture/ig/Funny-Pictures/The-Amazing-Smith-Mansion-in-Wyoming.htm

Erato might claim this kind of love, too:

http://www.upworthy.com/these-13-men-believe-nothing-is-manlier-than-being-a-good-dad?c=upw1&u=6ffb12f2d750fff1c628f4ed4366938bb526f1d5

 

Can’t the world always use more love?  Is it always the answer?

 

And thank you dear reader for joining me on this journey of discovery!

 

*Note: Physics is the one field where research questions with answers using statistics often have no error rate so results are not a probability of truth/fact on the subject but are actually the truth or fact of the matter.

If you missed the first installment of this series and would like more information about the muses by reading it:

https://www.7thstep.org/blog/2015/11/23/monday-morning-musings-november-23-2015-2/

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