Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Cats and Netflix - The Doubleclicks!



Published on Oct 9, 2013
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Lyrics:
I'm giving up on certain things like bicycles and gardening
and walking to the grocery store
because the rain has started in the city and though the greenery is pretty
it's not enough to get me out the door

'tis the season now of grey and brown/ of giving up and sitting down
and layering and wooly socks
I'm celebrating solitude and eating soup instead of food
and never walking more than seven blocks

Cause I've got cats, and I've got netflix
I've got games, and I've got snack mix
and I am gonna stay indoors for 4 or 5 months or more

I'll have several 5-blanket nights, forget to buy my christmas flights
and procrastinate halloween
as a consolation prize, for heavy clouds that fill the skies
there's pumpkin spice in everything

Every morning it gets darker out, I'm gonna wear these markers out
with all these lists of things I'll never do
And when my motivation's gone, I'll order snacks from Amazon
and try to knit a scarf for you

Cause I've got cats, and I've got netflix
I've got games, and I've got snack mix
and I am gonna stay indoors for 4 or 5 months or more

I've got plans, I'm gonna make things
If I get hungry, I might even bake things
they say fall is only passing through
but I don't really want it to

Cause we've got cats, and we've got netflix
We've got games, and we've got snack mix
and we are gonna stay indoors for 4 or 5 months or more

Monday, October 7, 2013

"Fighting the stupid revolution in Wyoming and republican politics"

Stupid Wyomingites elect stupid Wyoming politicians, like John Barrasso, Mike Enzi, Cynthia Lummis and previously Dick Cheney, and God help us that they don't elect his batshit crazy daughter Liz.

Government hating Wyomingites elect government-hating politicians. Mean spirited citizens elect mean spirited politicians. Like-minded Tea Party Republican conservatives end up living together, feeding their mutual anger and resentment about most social progress. This reinforces and intensifies narrow-minded beliefs. House districts are gerrymandered by Republican legislatures to consist nearly entirely of such communities, basically like the entire state of Wyoming. This creates safe elections for the most radical, extreme and in almost all cases downright inarticulate and stupid Tea Party politicians. Shut down the federal government, harm many millions of Americans, refuse to raise the debt limit and throw the US economy into the toilet. All are just fine with this class of citizens and their favored politicians. This is the Stupid Revolution that accelerates the destruction of the American Republic, OUR American Republic.

Far right complaints about an expansive, high spending federal government, especially for social programs, are just one of many signs of utter stupidity. Why? Because these people fail to understand that economic inequality driven by Republican-loved policies that preferentially reward the richest Wyomingites also harm an increasing number of ordinary Wyoming citizens. An unjust economic system greatly increases the need for federal programs to assist the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the ill, the jobless, the disabled, the veterans and so many others struggling with economic insecurity, both middle class and working poor people.

Who are these radical Tea Party aligned republicans? The Bloomberg National Poll of adults 18 and over showed that 40% of Tea Party supporters are 55 or older, compared with 32% of all poll respondents; 96% are White, 61% are men and 44% identify as "born-again Christians", compared with 75%, 48.5%, and 34%, respectively, for the general population. According to a NYT/CBS News poll, Tea Party supporters said they did not want to cut Medicare or Social Security — the biggest domestic programs, suggesting instead a focus on “waste.” Moreover, a majority of tea party people described their own financial situation as “good” or “very good.” In Congress, only Republicans are tightly connected to the Tea Party movement and goals.

Importantly, the great irony is that these Tea Party smaller-government zealots include many, many people, especially older ones, who are already benefiting from federal programs, including veterans, social security, Medicare, small business loans, and farm support (Farm Subsidies). What they resent are federal programs helping “other” Wyomingites. They are hypocrites using national debt and smaller government as a cover for biases against several classes of Americans that they do not relate to, such as non-whites, like blacks and Hispanics, the poor, the needy, the disabled, the veteran who is disabled and new documented and undocumented immigrants. They see Obamacare as some form of awful welfare, perpetrated by a black man to help his type and bribe white folks, while so many of them enjoy Medicare. Outside their bubble is socialism on the march, not the capitalism that nourished them.

Conservative radicals are selfish, they are filled with fear about losing what they cherish and quite willing to sacrifice and throw overboard a large fraction of Wyomingites and Americans who they see as losers, wasters and cheaters. Screw them. The country, their country, would be so much better without them. These radical right-wingers and tea-party acolytes are the makers; And the losers they care not about are the takers, notably blacks and Hispanics, disabled, poor- both adults and their children, veterans both disabled and not, and documented and undocumented immigrants stealing "their" country, because white folks are the only one's allowed to steal a country, like the European whites did to Native Americans for the 1st 4 centuries they laid claim to this continent and country.

I too want to see reduced federal spending. But the zealots on the right put far greater value on a eventual economic catastrophe resulting from extremely high federal debt – something possible in the future – while willing to ignore the economic pain today felt by so many Americans and Wyomingites (but not likely by them) caused by a government shutdown and failure to raise the debt limit.

Norm Ornstein got today’s absolutist Republican behavior right: “an emotional, zealous reaction to America today — an ardent willingness to break crockery and demolish existing institutions to achieve the goal of eviscerating government as we know it, the good with the bad.”

What can be done to fix all this?

The core problem is the perversion of the electoral process by the design of House districts aimed solely at removing diversity of the population, an awful form of political segregation. Like have just one congressional district in Wyoming, where anyone other the republicans is disenfranchised. The only purpose is to undermine our republic, to create political power, to create a revolutionary force in Congress because politicians no longer have to worry about losing elections, like Cynthia Lummis, John Barrasso, and Mike Enzi, unless of course they are primaried by someone further to the right then they are, someone out there in the wing-nutter stratosphere, like a Liz Cheney for example. Incumbency is assured through mutually reinforced hate, meanness, prejudice. This is what is seen today. This is the driving force behind the Stupid Revolution. All of this is fed by right wing talk radio and television idiots like Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, et al, that feed an unending stream of misinformation, disinformation and outrageous lies that are gobbled up by Wyomingites and other Americans living in splendid bubbles of intellectual isolation and bankruptcy, and always proud of their ignorance.

There is only one potential solution. The Supreme Court must make highly gerrymandered, manipulated house districts around the country, but by any party unconstitutional along with changing the law, and increasing the number of representatives in the House, so people and areas are truly represented, and not disenfranchised through gerrymandering.

It’s the republic, stupid.

Here's How Much Congress Has Been Paid During The Government Shutdown

Here's How Much Congress Has Been Paid During The Government Shutdown

The Huffington Post  |  By Posted:   |  Updated: 10/07/2013 3:59 pm EDT 

As the U.S. government shutdown enters its second week and over 800,000 federal workers remain furloughed without pay, members of Congress are still earning their constitutionally-protected salaries.

Over at Congress Still Gets Paid, created by Nick Miaritis, Steve Nowicki and Alex Goldstein, they're tracking just how much money senators and representatives have earned collectively since the beginning of the shutdown:







Under the 27th Amendment, no law changing the rate of compensation for members may take effect until after an election is held in the House of Representatives. However, that hasn't stopped lawmakers and their constituents from calling for a block on congressional paychecks until the shutdown is over.

Last week, Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) introduced the "No Government — No Pay Act," which would keep members from getting paid until an agreement is met on how to fund the government.



And as of Monday afternoon, over 393,000 individuals had signed a CourageCampaign petition on MoveOn.org demanding no pay for Congress throughout the duration of the budget standoff. Similar efforts have drawn tens of thousands of supporters.



While over 150 lawmakers have said they would either refuse or donate their compensation until the shutdown is over, some members have publicly defended their decisions to hang on to their paychecks.

"I'm staying here, and I'm working," Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said last week. "My office is open, we're taking phone calls, I'm voting every day, I'm debating every day, I'm going to countless meetings. I'm working to earn the salary that the people pay me to do the job. I don't get into those sort of stunt-y things, and I'm not going to do it."



 http://huff.to/1b5gMSA

Response From Sen. John Barrasso About the Shutdown.

Hey Wyoming,
Barrasso's response would be funny if it wasn't so sad, and such a big fat republican lie.
At one point, Johnny "TV" Barrasso says this- "...we simply cannot continue this reckless approach to governing." Yet he is one of the main instigators in the republican caucus in the senate that uses a reckless approach of lies, myth and misinformation sharing, fearmongering and attacking any and everything Obama wants to do, even if the repubs were for it before they were against it. All to appease the TeaBagger/racist scumbag wing of the republican party. Johnny's staff, whomever penned this screed, seems to be preparing their resume as a fiction writer. And the only people of Wyoming Johnny really cares about are the ones who can donate large sums to his next senate campaign 5 years from now. He has voted against almost everything for the elderly, poor, middle-class, sick, children, veterans, disabled and any other person who may be facing difficult times. This faux self-righteousness is the cornerstone of republican politics, as they fake upset over things they initially instigated. What a pathetic lot they are, and they all need their walking papers ASAP!

 
Here's Johnny "TV" Barrasso's letter for your viewing: 
 
Sent: Monday, October 07, 2013 9:28 AM
To: -------------------------------
Subject: Response From John Barrasso
 

Dear William,

 

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding the federal government shutdown.  It's good to hear from you.

As you know, the federal government is currently closed.  On three separate occasions I have voted in favor of funding the federal government in order to avoid a shutdown.  Unfortunately, passage of each bill was blocked.  With a national debt near $17 trillion and a government that is currently closed for business, we simply cannot continue this reckless approach to governing.  The American people deserve better.

I strongly believe the American people deserve a transparent, accountable government that works together to pursue responsible investment of tax dollars instead of reckless spending.  It is past time for Washington to end the political wrangling and conduct an honest, open debate about the challenges that we're facing as a nation. 

I do not believe that these problems are insurmountable.  We simply need Washington to refocus its attention not on the needs of any single political party, but on the needs of the American people. Please know that I will continue to fight to ensure that the people of Wyoming are heard as the debate about our nation's fiscal future continues.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me on this very important issue.


John Barrasso, M.D.                                                                         
United States Senator

 

 

"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
-Teddy Roosevelt- Chicago, IL, June 17, 1912

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Heavy Snow shuts down electricity and roads in Sheridan, Wyoming on October 4, 2013!

 
 

Snow shuts down electricity and roads in Sheridan!

Posted: Oct 04, 2013

The snow is making travel difficult in Wyoming and it has knocked out electricity in many areas.

Interstate 90 is closed from Sheridan to the South Dakota border. Any county roads that are open are slick and covered with snow and slush.
 
The snow's weight has caused many trees to bend or break, some hitting power lines. Montana-Dakota Utilities says power was lost for many homes between Ranchester and Big Horn.
 
An MDU spokesperson said as on noon Friday, about 3,000 in Sheridan County were without power, but that number could go down to only 1,000 later in the afternoon.
 
A Powder River Energy Corporation spokesperson says crews started working late Thursday night to restore power to many rural areas around Sheridan, Buffalo, Newcastle, Sundance, and areas around Wright, Gillette, and Moorcroft.  There are still around 3,000 meters without electricity, and those without power should prepare for extended outages lasting into the weekend.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
-Teddy Roosevelt- Chicago, IL, June 17, 1912

Friday, September 27, 2013

It's know time like snow time in beautiful Wyoming!

Howdy You All,
 
It's that time of the year.
 
 
 
 
Up at Spear-O-Wigwam next to Park Res. In Bighorn Mountains Just west of here.
Taken last night, 9-26-2013
 
 

"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
-Teddy Roosevelt- Chicago, IL, June 17, 1912