March 28, 2018

Citizenship question on census form.

If you haven't heard, Trump and Co. have overruled everyone and is adding a question to the 2020 Census form asking if you are a US Citizen Y/N.

If the question survives all the legal challenges and actually does appear, I have decided that I will simply leave it blank and refuse to answer. If a census taker challenges me about it I will invoke my 5th Amendment right and refuse to answer on the grounds that it might tend to incriminate me.

(Of course the fact that I have voted in every election available to me for 50 years probably means that a) I'm a citizen, or b) I am really, really, good (for getting by with it for 50 years) at fraudulent voter registration and, at the same time, really, really bad (for only voting once in each election) at fraudulent voter registration.)

March 25, 2018

Dr. Seuss meets Trump

I do not like President 45
I do not like his orange beehive
I do not like his passing blame
His shouts of FAKE NEWS are so lame
I do not like his Russian spies
His speeches of inflated size
I do not like his Cabinet of crooks
Or the current way my country looks
I do not like his racist rants
Or how he grabs a woman's pants
I do not like it, not at all
I'm looking at his poll numbers fall
I do not want four years to pass
We're sick of waiting, IMPEACH HIS ASS!

(Found on Facebook)

March 21, 2018

Vandalized Arizona Mosque Flooded With Support From Interfaith Allies

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/vandalized-arizona-mosque-flooded-with-support-from-interfaith-allies_us_5ab158a9e4b054d118dd9f7c

Weeks after two women filmed themselves vandalizing a mosque in Tempe, Arizona, members of the local interfaith community showed up en masse to stand in solidarity with their Muslim neighbors.

Kristy Sabbah, office manager at the Islamic Community Center of Tempe, said the messages of support from allies haven’t yet stopped pouring in.

“The response from the interfaith community has been overwhelming,” Sabbah told HuffPost in an email.

The mosque continues to receive phone calls, emails and Facebook messages from people expressing their solidarity, she said. Interfaith allies are also sending the center flowers and sweets. Many have even brought their children to the Islamic center with handmade cards of love and encouragement.

“It’s beautiful to see how two people’s hate brought together hundreds of people in love,” Sabbah said.

More at link

March 20, 2018

File this under: You Just Cant Make This S**t UP (Trump promotes Clinton Foundation initiative)

Trump announced policy to combat the opioid crisis. Interestingly, the program he's talking about is a Clinton Foundation initiative.

From WaPo (no direct link available):

“Trump highlighted a Clinton Foundation initiative in outlining his opioid policy,” from Mic: “During a speech Monday in New Hampshire outlining his administration’s policy to combat the ongoing opioid crisis in the United States, ... Trump spoke about Adapt Pharma’s pledge to give free doses of Narcan — a brand of the life-saving drug naloxone that can treat someone suspected of overdosing on opioids — to colleges and universities across the country. In April, Adapt Pharma partnered with the Clinton Foundation to provide 40,000 doses of Narcan to colleges and universities, and on Monday, Adapt Pharma announced its plans to expand on that program to give high schools across the country two free cartons of the drug, amounting to four doses.”

Chelsea Clinton tweeted her appreciation for Trump liking the Clinton Foundation initiative.

March 19, 2018

Wasn't sure where to post this, since it is a cross-topic post.

We have 2 diabetic dogs, one 5 yo and one almost 15 yo. Aside from the diabetes they are both healthy, happy dogs. We've been buying our needles and insulin from Walmart for years. (before you go off on the evils of Walmart, at our local grocery insulin is $75/vial and needles are $36/box. At Walmart the insulin is $25/vial and needles are $12/box.)

Anyway, Walmart has recently discontinued the size needle we have always bought - 29 gauge U-100 with a 1/2" needle. (For the non-cognoscenti, the gauge refers to the diameter of the needle.) We have found the 29 gauge to be the most comfortable for our furkids and we need a 1/2" needle because our guys are Cavaliers and very hairy. The shorter needles are not long enough to reliably get the the hair and into the skin.

So we went looking for a new place to buy needles. Hmmmm... Even though there is no law in Kentucky that says you need a prescription in order to buy hypodermic needles, everyplace we called requires one. (By the way, you don't need a prescription to buy insulin either, but you can't get the needle to inject it without a prescription.) The reason all of the retail outlets are worried about selling needles to addicts.

We found that Kroger's Pharmacy sells the needles we need for the same price as Walmart. But, even with a written prescription from our vet, it still took 3 trips to Kroger to get the prescription into the system, get the proper kind of needles linked to the prescription, and get the proper size ordered and to the local Kroger store.

Arrrrgh!!

I understand that there is an 'opioid crisis' going on, but it makes it so damn hard on those of us who are not intravenous (illegal) drug users to get the things that will keep us (or our furkids) alive!

(Sorry, just need to let off a little steam.)

March 19, 2018

The Good Place

Season 1 available on Netflix.

From IMDB:

The Good Place is a town where those who have been good throughout their lives go once they have passed away. Michael (Ted Danson) is the architect who oversees the town. Eleanor (Kristen Bell) arrives at the Good Place and realizes she doesn't deserve to be there. With the help of Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Eleanor tries to right her wrongs seeking to finally earn her spot in the Good Place.

And then the fun begins. Its not easy to explain, but imagine a comedy that can make ethics, Kant, and Nietzsche funny along the way. Give it a couple of episodes to get into it and be aware that Season 2 is even better than Season 1.

Note that currently Season 2 is only available on Amazon for $1.99 per episode, but if you have cable, check their "On Demand". We found all of Season 2 for free on Spectrum Cable.

March 14, 2018

Rex Tillerson: I Hope Trump Finds Out Hes Impeached on Twitter (Borowitz)

http://bit.ly/2p8zJ6c

“I mean, the way I see it playing out, he’s up at 3 a.m., starting a new feud with Oprah or someone, and that’s when he finds out,” Tillerson said. “My only regret is that I won’t be there to see it.”

Tillerson started laughing in what some witnesses described as a demonic manner as he imagined Trump learning of his impeachment on Twitter.

“I mean, you have to picture him with his BlackBerry in his itty-bitty hands, and that’s how he finds out,” Tillerson cackled. “It would serve the bastard right.”

Composing himself, Tillerson added, “Let me make something clear. I’ve done well for myself. I’ve lived a full life and, by any measure, a successful one. But, if there’s one last thing I have on my bucket list, it’s that Donald Trump finds out he’s being shitcanned on Twitter. I mean, you want to talk about sweet.”

March 14, 2018

Stephen Hawking, modern cosmology's brightest star, dies aged 76

Source: The Guardian

Stephen Hawking, the brightest star in the firmament of science, whose insights shaped modern cosmology and inspired global audiences in the millions, has died aged 76.

His family released a statement in the early hours of Wednesday morning confirming his death at his home in Cambridge.

Hawking’s children, Lucy, Robert and Tim said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today.

“He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/mar/14/stephen-hawking-professor-dies-aged-76

March 13, 2018

House Republicans Say Japanese Did Not Meddle in Pearl Harbor (Borowitz)

http://bit.ly/2p9FWOr

ASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Reaching the opposite conclusion of many of their committee peers, Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee said on Tuesday that the Japanese did not meddle in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

“After an exhaustive investigation, we have come to the conclusion that there was no attempt by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service to influence the outcome of Pearl Harbor,” Rep. Mike Conaway, a Republican of Texas, said. “Any suggestion to the contrary amounts to nothing more or less than a witch hunt.” Conaway said that while there were Japanese bombers in the vicinity of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, their role in the attack there has been “blown out of proportion.”

“Is it possible that some of their planes were flying in places they shouldn’t have flown and dropping some things that they shouldn’t have dropped, by accident?” Conaway said. “Absolutely. Does that prove that there was intent to meddle in Pearl Harbor? Absolutely not.” The House Republican praised his fellow G.O.P. committee members for “finally putting the controversy of Pearl Harbor to rest.”

“December 7, 1941, is a day that will live in a big misunderstanding,” he said.

March 8, 2018

Parkland student Sarah Chadwick creates a fearless parody mocking the threatening NRA ad

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/8/1747400/-Parkland-student-Sarah-Chadwick-creates-spot-on-parody-to-mock-NRA-Dana-Loesch-s-threatening-ad?detail=emaildkre

This past week, NRA’s spokesmodel Dana Loesch put out a threatening video ad against pretty much anyone who wasn’t supportive of the National Rifle Association—and Trumpism. In response, Parkland student Sara Chadwick created a word-for-word parody of Loesh’s ad. Chadwick is one of the survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that left 17 students and staff dead—gunned down and murdered by a student with an AR-15 automatic weapon of war.

Here is the video that was posted on BRUT.‘s facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Brutlive/videos/1875672706064573/


Below is the video transcription:

Dana Loesch: We’ve had enough of the lies, the sanctimony, the arrogance, the hatred, the pettiness, the fake news...

Sarah Chadwick: We’ve had enough of the lies, the sanctimony, the ignorance, the hatred, the pettiness, the NRA...


NRA: We are done with your agenda to undermine voters will and individual liberty in America...

Student: We are done with your agenda to undermine the safety of our nation’s youth and the individual voices of the American people...


NRA: So to every lying member of the media, to every Hollywood phony...

Student: So to every government official unwilling to take action and make change, to everyone with an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association…


NRA: To the role model athletes who use their free speech to alter and undermine what our flag represents…

Student: To the politicians who would rather watch American youth die than get assault rifles off the shelves...


NRA: To the late night hosts who think their opinions are the only opinions that matter…

Student: To the political lobbyists who believer their stances should be the only ones supported by legislation…


NRA: To those who bring bias and propaganda to CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Times...

Student: To those who call high school students “paid crisis actors” and refuse to listen…


NRA: Your time is running out

Student: Your time is running out


Student and NRA: The clock starts now

.....................

Unfortunately links to Facebook don't copy to DU. If you have a Facebook account (or access to one) go to the link and watch. These kids are out future and its about time!