Lucy 1996 - 2010

A very important member of the family passed away today.

Lucy, who was born sometime in the Spring of 1996, died this afternoon at around 2pm. She was rescued and given to me on July 6, 1996 along with her sister Ethel, so that's the day I celebrate as her "birthday".

When Lucy was a baby, and for her first 3 years, she had several allergies and needed monthly allergy shots. I had to learn how to administer them. As timid as I was at first, she never seemed to mind it. She was very tolerant.

About 3 years ago, it was discovered that Lucy's kidneys were 70% non-functioning. She had to eat special prescription food only, and take a supplement capsule every day. Again, she tolerated this with no problem.

Last Wednesday night, she took a turn for the worse. Lucy's back legs gave out. They could hardly hold her up without collapsing. Blood tests, urine tests and X-rays showed her kidneys were getting worse and she had a growth on one lung. She went downhill fast. Within 2 days, lymph nodes in her neck swelled, she was hardly mobile at all and her kidneys were shutting down fast.

Through all this, even with all the tests and probing, Lucy remained typically tolerant of everything. This morning, I put her on the couch next to me, and watched TV with her and Ethel. For 14 years they would sleep together and lick each others faces and heads. They slept next to each other one last time. Then I had to do the most awful thing in the world: take her to the vet, hold her head and hug her while she was "put to sleep."

Lucy was the oldest and "highest ranking" in the house. She knew it and so did everyone. She was never mean or nasty, but would occasionally slap anyone who needed to be put in place. Even the two dogs, including a pit bull mix, took the warning to back off.

"Lucy Goosey," as I called her, loved to sit on the top level of the scratching post and sunbathe once or twice a week. She was unusually pleasant, always happy, and always very sweet. Just one look at her and she'd purr. She'd always come into the office, jump on the desk and lie right next to my keyboard the whole time I was on the computer.
Lucy relaxing on the bed

She was unbelievably mellow, playful, good-natured and always happy. She accepted all the cats and the 2 dogs who came after her. She always made me happy. I'm lucky to have had her for 14 years. I miss her already.Lucy and Ethel, their last morning together.

The Press Should Ask Only Questions I Want to Answer

How's that for an attitude?

Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle. She'll only appear on Regressive-friendly channels like the foreign-owned far rightwing Fox channel. If the rest of the media dares to ask a question, she runs. Literally runs away. She wants pre-screened questions. And she wants to be able to give out her fund-raising website address whenever she wants.

Unbelievable. Watch her on Fox (where else?) where her arrogance actually seems to shock the reporter.

America's New Hero

He's Anthony Weiner, Democratic Representative from New York.

If you watch any of the political shows on msnbc or CNN, you're familiar with Mr. Weiner. He is a smart, articulate, and fearless Democrat who stands his ground unfailingly. A few days ago, he wouldn't take it anymore from the obstructionist Regressives in Congress. The "party of no" actually insisted on voting against a popular bill that would take care of Ground Zero (9/11) rescue workers who are suffering from related illnesses. Apparently Regressives can't even approve a bill to help 9/11 rescue workers without politicizing it. Some Regressives called it "a giveaway to New York." Others flippantly dismissed it by saying "people get killed every day."

Read Anthony Weiner's op/ed piece on the subject in the NY Times here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/opinion/04weiner.html

And watch his forceful moment on the floor of the House of Representatives here:

Strict Constitutionalists... Sometimes

The Regressives are the ones who are always screaming, "We're a nation of laws!" and claim to be strict Constitutionalists -- unless it doesn't serve their political needs.

We are a nation of laws, when it comes to cracking down on dirt-poor Mexicans who cross the border to pick strawberries and clean toilets, even though illegally crossing the border is only a misdemeanor. Yet treasonous, un-Constitutional acts like outing an undercover CIA agent for spite during wartime, illegally torturing, or illegally wiretapping and spying on American citizens without a warrant seem to be "minor things" to be overlooked.

Now some of these far rightwing Regressives, who are so full of hate for people of color, want to change the Constitution of the United States to suit their hatred.

Of course, anyone born in the US is automatically a US citizen. This 14th Amendment rule has been in effect for 142 years, as part of the Reconstruction, giving blacks who were slaves -- and their descendants -- their rightful citizenship, reversing the Dred Scott Decision which said that former slaves and their descendants were not protected by the Constitution and could never be citizens of the United States.

The Regressives, now in 2010, want to regress back to 1868 and change this amendment because babies of illegals from Mexico are automatically US citizens. This is the party that screams it has "family values," yet wants to separate and destroy families because of a border-crossing misdemeanor.

Yet another example of typical Republican hypocrisy.

US Economy Grows 4 Quarters in a Row

The Commerce Department reported last week that the US economy grew for the fourth straight quarter. The pace slowed a little, but at least the economy is still growing and heading in the right direction. The first red bar in the graph, with the arrow showing -6.8% was the final quarter of the George W Bush term. That was the quarter the US lost 750,000 jobs a month, and the economy shrank by almost 7% just in that one quarter.

Remember that when the Regressives ask you to vote them back into power this November.

"I Will Definitely Do It"

After publishing a highly-edited videotape that purposely lied and ruined a woman's career, that woman, Shirley Sherrod, has said she will sue that weaselly little blogger.

From CNN:

(CNN) -- Former Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod said Thursday she will pursue a lawsuit against conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart.

Breitbart posted an edited video clip of Sherrod appearing to say she discriminated against a white farmer looking for assistance. The clip showed her addressing a chapter of the NAACP.

"I will definitely do it," she said when asked whether she was considering legal action. The controversy surrounding the clip led to a rush to judgment and Sherrod's forced resignation. However, it was later determined that her speech, unedited, focused on how the incident changed her outlook and made her realize people should move beyond race. The incident occurred 24 years ago, before Sherrod began working for the USDA.

Once the deceitfully edited tape was seen and heard in its entirety, Sherrod was offered a new job with the USDA and received an apology from President Obama.

Fired Because of Fox Channel's Lies

An obscure far rightwing website, along with Fox, created an entirely false news story by purposeful editing -- and ended up getting someone fired.

The essence of Shirley Sherrod's speech before the NAACP was that she overcame her race-based opinions, and learned that it's "about the haves and the have nots, not about race." Yet her story was edited dramatically, to change the meaning 180 degrees.

Even the so-called victims, a farmer and his wife, now in their 80s, complimented and thanked Sherrod for the help she gave them 25 years ago, keeping them from losing their farm.

But the facts will never get in the way when the far rightwing bloggers and the far rightwing, foreign-owned Fox channel want to create controversy based on race.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/21/gibbs-apologizes-to-shirl_n_654623.html

Another Democratic Success!

From AP:

Congress on Thursday passed the stiffest restrictions on banks and Wall Street since the Great Depression, clamping down on lending practices and expanding consumer protections to prevent a repeat of the 2008 meltdown that knocked the economy to its knees. "I'm about to sign Wall Street reform into law, to protect consumers and lay the foundation for a stronger and safer financial system, one that is innovative, creative, competitive and far less prone to panic and collapse," President Obama said.

Regulations to protect consumers and avoid another economic collapse like the one that started exactly three years ago. Who could be against that?

Orange John and the Regressives in Congress, of course. Enact rules to protect the American consumer from huge predatory corporations? The republicans will have none of that. They already are making noises about repealing it if they get the majority in Congress.

A vote for ANY Republican this November means handing the keys back to the very people who drove the economy into the ditch in the first place.

Cheney's 5th Heart Attack

Dick Cheney is hospitalized this weekend, after reporting "discomfort." Last February, he suffered his fifth heart attack. His first came at age 37. After all the misery, death, suffering and unnecessary wars this very evil man has caused, you'd think it would be difficult to summon sympathy for him. You'd be right. Here are just a few online reader responses:

There a line, which after you cross, you forfeit all right to compassion.

5 deferments means there were 5 young men sent to Vietnam in his place. I hope each one came home safe with a sound body and mind to their loved ones.

He will be missed by a few families members, but from the rest of the world, F@$k him.

May you receive the same answer to your prayers as those who have 'benefitted' from your policies.

5,500 dead Americans today because of Iraq and Afghanistan. Their families miss them and mourn their losses. Tens of thousands more American military personnel are maimed. How many more came home physically intact but continue to suffer post-traumatic stress? My sympathies lie with the brave Americans who sacrificed their all for this nation and with their broken-hearted families who miss them so terribly...

Too bad he wasn't admitted to the hospital for test when he was showing acute signs of being selfishly blind and morally indifferent.

Frankly, it's amazing - given the amount of virulent greed eating away his body - that he's lasted this long.

So glad he's enjoying such excellent health care at no cost to him. It would be a shame if 5 heart attacks depleted his savings and left his family destitute.

Two pacemakers, various angioplasties, and don't forget the wheel chair so he wouldn't have to stand at Obama's inauguration.

I don't hear hear him complaining about the government-run insurance now.

Where are Palin's "death panels" when you need them?

So, the man who sent 5000 Americans to die in Iraq deserves compassion? How so...? Personally, I save compassion for people that deserve compassion.

Good thing he has the best medical plan government can buy. And no premiums paid by him.

I will not wish ill on Mr. Cheney. To do so would only serve to bring me to his level which is something I could not live with. I will leave Mr. Cheney with this -- think hard, sir, of all you have done in your life. Think of those who have suffered for your greed and your lust for power. Think of those thousands of innocents who have died, so that you might line your pockets with gold. Think of the arrogance and deceit that defines your life. For if what you believe is correct -- that there is a god -- you, sir, will have a lot of explaining to do.

It's sad when a person faces tragedy. And it's sad when a person creates tragedies for many others.

"A Big Effing Deal" as VP Biden might say

As reported today on the Rachel Maddow Show on msnbc, Congress negotiated the toughest financial regulations, with the most protections for consumers, since the Great Depression. Democrats are hoping to pass the legislation and get it to the President's desk by July 4th.

There have been more legislative accomplishments during the first year and a half of this presidency than during any other over the past 50 years. Other "Big Effing Deals" for President Obama include:

• Passed health care reform
• Passed the Stimulus Bill, stopping the free-falling economy from total collapse, pumping $100 billion into the nations' crumbling infrastructure, and $60 billion for renewable, clean energy
• Expanded Children's Health Insurance Program to cover another 4 million kids
• Passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to establish equal pay for equal work
• Signed nuclear arms deal with Russia that would diminish nukes on both sides by one third
• Signed non-proliferation initiative to keep nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists
• Signed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepherd Act
  
• Allowed the FDA to regulate tobacco
• Dismantled the scandal-plagued Minerals Management Service (MMS), so the division collecting revenue from oil leases is not the same division that regulates and inspects the industry
• Cancelled the irrelevant, outdated F22 weapons program

And President is working on closing Gitmo, ending Don't Ask Don't Tell and will begin work on Energy Reform. ALL in the first year and a half of his first term!

They Love BP But Hate Unemployed Americans

The rightwing Regressives in Congress continue to love and defend the BP oil corporation. Many actually have said BP is the victim in the biggest environmental disaster in history. But how do they like Americans? Not so much.

Today they voted 57-41 against continuing unemployment benefits to Americans who have become jobless thanks to their policies. This would increase the national debt by about 0.0004%. It would be one of the most efficient ways to keep the economy recovering, as people who receive unemployment money tend to spend every dime they receive.

From the Associated Press:

Democrats have been trying to advance the measure for months as an insurance policy against a double-dip recession.

Despite another round of cuts to the measure aimed at pacifying GOP deficit concerns, not a single Republican broke with party leaders determined to kill the measure.

You see, the Regressives who scream "we're the patriots" actually want a second recession and more unemployment to help them win in November.

BP's Own Memos Condemn Them

From the Associated Press:

NEW ORLEANS - BP made a series of money-saving shortcuts and blunders that dramatically increased the danger of a destructive oil spill in a well that an engineer ominously described as a "nightmare" just six days before the blowout, according to documents released Monday that provide new insight into the causes of the disaster.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee released dozens of internal documents that outline several problems on the deepsea rig in the days and weeks before the April 20 explosion that set in motion the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history. The committee has been investigating the explosion and its aftermath.

"Time after time, it appears that BP made decisions that increased the risk of a blowout to save the company time or expense. If this is what happened, BP's carelessness and complacency have inflicted a heavy toll on the Gulf, its inhabitants, and the workers on the rig," said Democratic Reps. Henry A. Waxman and Bart Stupak.

Republican Jackass of the Week Part 2

It's Joe Barton, who actually apologized to the filthy, toxic, negligent oil company, BP.

Here's a company that cut corners at every opportunity. A company that is the direct cause of the biggest environmental disaster in US history.

President Obama was able to do what no president has ever done: secure 20 billion dollars in an escrow fund to pay for cleanup costs and damages due to BP's negligence. (After the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, years of lawsuits resulted in a very small penalty for Exxon.)

But this self-righteous idiotic Republican (what else?) from Texas, actually delivered a mind-boggling apology to Tony Hayward, BP's chief executive for the monetary penalty. He referred to the 20 billion dollars as a "shakedown" in front of a Congressional committee today. Gasps could be heard in the hearing room.

Every Regressive with even a glimmer of hope for re-election quickly distanced himself from this outrageously inappropriate comment. Orange House Minority Leader John Boehner said "BP ought to be held responsible for every dime of this tragedy."

Republican Jackass of the Week

Her name is Sharron Angle. She's the Regressive candidate for the US Senate who will challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada. And she thinks that using the Second Amendment (the right to bear arms) is actually the appropriate "remedy" for a perfectly legal, democratically elected government rightwingers may disagree with. She compares our democratically elected Congress to "a tyrannical government."

Is there any possible meaning to what Sharron Angle said besides the obvious – that if people don't like the votes of those currently in Congress, guns can “remedy” the situation?

Watch this 30 second clip and hear her for yourself.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

After repeatedly referring to the Second Amendment she says, "The first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out." She should be arrested and imprisoned for inciting violence.