Politics Plus

Yesterday I went to see my PCP’s PA.  It was mostly about going over test results.  My AIC was a 7.1, a little higher than I want it, but we3ll below the ganger range.  My white count was a little high.  Ellie thinks that was, because I was still recovering from pneumonia, and drew more blood to retest.  My LDL was fine, but my HDL was a bit low.  I ordered some fish oil caplets to boost my Omega 3s.  She authorized pain meds sufficient to meet my needs.  My poop test showed no evidence of colon cancer.  All things, considered, I’m a perky puddy tat.  I’ll retest in three months.  My LIFT bus came at the back end of my window, and picked up and dropped off several people, before I got home in mid-afternoon.  I had a late lunch and crashed.  After breakfast this morning I cooked suppers for three days.  A Lona Nap snuck up on me, so I’m running a bit behind.  Several of you know Carrie.  She asked me to let her friends know that she’s having Internet trouble.  I hope she can return soon.  TGIF!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:57 (average 6:03).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: \Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò is a staunch conservative and was vocally opposed to same-sex marriage throughout his five-year tenure as the Vatican’s nuncio (ambassador) to the United States.

He also sent an anonymous invite to Ms. Kim Davis, of anti-equality fame, to the Pope’s DC visit. While people, here and elsewhere, initially thought this was a coup for Davis and bigotry, Pope Francis turned the other cheek.

And now word comes that the incident is prompting The Vatican to replace Vigano. A friend of the Pope’s claimed he was blindsided by the meeting, and the move caused the Vatican to distance itself from Viganò, leading many to believe the Pope would quietly replace him as his “statutory retirement age” was approaching. Viganò turned 75 in January; when bishops and archbishops reach that age, they are required to submit a letter of resignation to the Vatican.

Interestingly, the Pope is thinking about replacing the social conservative warrior with an advocate of immigration.

Good riddance to a Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christian. I am not Catholic, and I am not even slightly interested in practicing Catholic dogma, but I keep liking this Pope more and more.

From The New Yorker: President Obama is planning to take the nation’s nuclear launch codes with him when he leaves office, in January of 2017, the President announced in a nationally televised address on Thursday.

The President was quick to acknowledge that his decision to hold on to the launch codes was unorthodox, but said that he was doing it “to reassure the American people.”

“In recent weeks, there has been a rising level of alarm about who might have access to these codes going forward,” Obama said. “As a result, it occurred to me that the safest thing would be if I just held on to them for the foreseeable future.”

The President stressed, however, that he would follow through on his plan to keep custody of the launch codes “only if it is necessary.”

“We’re just going to have to see how everything plays out,” he said.

LOL Andy!! He might briefly consider keeping them if Hillary is the next President, but if either Fecal Dump or TRUSed Uranus wins, it's a no-brainer.

From YouTube: Robert Reich: How to Fix the Supreme Court

The Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right, and the Reich on the right, the seditions Republican Reich, is wrong. This video is sponsored by MoveOn.org, which released this statement on Garland's nomination. The best place to express disapproval to Republican Senators is to visit them, when they are waiting in the unemployment line.

Cartoon:

Yesterday I finally found a way to exchange my sharps.  I cannot use the Metro facility, because it is hazardous for people in wheelchairs.  The Lift bus won’t wait for me.  Fortunately I found a private company that actually costs less than Metro, and they come right to my door.  Jeannie (shower-aide), just left, so I’m a perfumed pussycat with shiny fur again.   Arvilla (PT) will be here within the hour.  She’ll set-up my quad cane and work me out,  Tomorrow I hope to do part of the dreaded task, while Tracey (OT) checks me for safety.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:28 (average 5:32).  To do it click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: The most hated man in America just gave another reason to be hated. As you know, there is a medical crisis going on in Michigan with every child in Flint potentially poisoned with lead. People, especially the poor, are still desperate for clean water. Ted Cruz has entered to do the Christian thing and donate—

But only for those who work in ultra-right wing, fake pregnancy “crisis” centers.

Likely, none of Ted’s water donation will get to the children who actually need the water. That would require working with a real charity, like the Red Cross. Instead, Ted’s campaign is coordinating water donations through Flint Right to Life only to be delivered to the ideologically-aligned wingnuts who work at these awful anti-abortion centers.

For those who don’t know, pregnancy "crisis" centers are places run by pro-life extremists, which are designed to fool women into thinking they are actual medical facilities. Instead, pregnant woman are bombarded with fake information in an attempt to trick them out of having an abortion. The people who work at these centers have no qualms about lying, instilling fear, or encouraging women in abusive relationships to stay put as long as there is no abortion.

It should be no surprise that, even in so-called charity, Uranus Inspector, however you spell it, acts just like a Republican.

From The New Yorker: On Saturday, the Times reported that the former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg “has instructed advisers to draw up plans for a potential independent campaign in this year’s presidential race.” From one perspective, that isn’t too surprising. The former mayor has long been eyeing a possible run at the White House, and there has been a lot of speculation about his intentions in 2016. Last week, a well-connected New York Republican told me that he thought Bloomberg would jump in if Donald Trump won the G.O.P. nomination.

While third party candidates on the left hurt progressives and only help elect Republicans, right-wing third party candidates are a blessing to America. They help elect Democrats.

From Alternet: Nationwide blowback targeting Muslim places of worship has now reached South Milwaukee, Wisconsin–where a group calling itself the Christian Civil Liberties Union (CCLU) is aggressively opposing the construction of a new mosque.

The religious facility–Masjid Al-Hudad–does not require prior approval from the city and has already acquired the property on which it will be built.

But that is not stopping the far-right, Christian fundamentalist group CCLU from mobilizing fierce opposition, including at a Common Council meeting last Tuesday.

At the public meeting, CCLU member Bob Braun issued an unclear–but highly alarming–warning. "There’s going to be, I predict, bloodshed one of these years coming up," he said, according to local media.

Here we have one more in the long list of examples of Republican domestic terrorism.

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Vulture Capitalism is the Republican way!

The news is mostly good.  The shirker and elevation paid off, and George went on, without difficulty, both yesterday and today.  Despite horrid weather, the trip to TriMet was uneventful.  The lady explained why they have to measure chairs.  Sometimes they send lift-equipped Taxis, if that’s more convenient for them, nut different taxis have different capacity ramps.  Measuring lets them know which vehicles they can send.  In my case, they can send any.  My home health care begins today with a visit from my PT.  She will probably arrive. before I finish this article.  What I want most is my bath aide.  I’m, getting a bit ripe.  The news news is that the evil Patty Monster mashed my kitty butt!

Later:  PT and OT have come and gone, and the RN will be here in less than two hours.

Fantasy Football Report:

Congrats to the winners.  The bottom four seeds all won, except for me, of course.

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: State of Kansas mental health facilities and have seen a rough year under Governor Sam Brownback. Continued budget cuts and problems with overcrowding left facilities like Osawatomie overwhelmed, forcing many employees to work repeated double and triple shifts in order to keep the facility within operating requirements.

http://www.khi.org/news/2014/aug/18/kansas-mental-health-system-under-increasing-stres/

With the patient count so high, many of the hospital’s direct-care staff were pressed into working one, two and sometimes three overtime shifts a week.

“The place is over census and understaffed,” said Rebecca Proctor, executive director at the Kansas Organization of State Employees, a labor union that represents many state hospital front-line workers. “Conditions there are really, really bad.”

Angela de Rocha, a spokesperson for Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, confirmed that the Osawatomie hospital’s patient count on July 15 was “an overall high for the past 10 years.”

On Friday, the The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services informed the state of Kansas it will cease sending federal funds to the facility. Citing failure to meet compliance standards funding for new patients will end today, December 21, at the end of business day.

This is especially heinous, considering that Kansas has so many Republicans that the need for mental health services is as extreme as Brownback's pseudo-Christian response to that need.

From YouTube: Your Holiday Guide to Dealing with Uncle Bob

As always, the Reich on the left is right. You might consider spiking Uncle Bob's apple pie with ex-lax, considering what he's full of.

From The New Yorker: The Democratic National Committee made a big mistake staging the third Presidential-primary debate, which was held at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, on a Saturday night, when millions of potential viewers wouldn’t be watching. The debate was lively, informative, and civil. Apart from a brief diversion into whether former President Bill Clinton, should he become the first First Gentleman of the United States, would be entrusted with selecting flowers and menus for official occasions—his wife said that he wouldn’t—it was also substantive. And excluding, for a moment, Martin O’Malley, it reaffirmed the choice facing Democratic voters: experience, moderate reformism, and vigorous engagement abroad (Hillary Clinton) versus passion, an assault on privilege, and an abiding skepticism about overseas military engagements (Bernie Sanders)… [emphasis added]

The New Yorker documented the key difference well. As much as I prefer the latter, I expect to have to settle for the former. I'm sure Slick Willie Clinton will have no trouble selecting flowers: consider Flower Tucci.

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