Mornin’, pups

Wow, I remember that image from a hardcover book I had as a kid.

Good morning Mr. Dragonman! Anyone else up yet? I’m just starting through your goodies up top.

I just finished watching Page One, the documentary about the NYT. Pretty interesting!

Good morning all and thanks for the post and host Dragonman.

A really good piece by Glenn.

{{{Margaret}}}

(((Margaret))) x2

Good morning, SD.

Thank you for all the “connections” you provide us, especially the opportunity of learning about other “options”, especially “economically”, and, as well, the example you daily provide, of loving and compassionate humanity.

The question is rather simple: What is most important on planet Earth … LIFE … or the sociopath’s pursuit of money?

Yes, it really is THAT simple … all the rest … is semantic evasion and bullshit, and treason, greater or lesser, against humanity, against life, against understanding, and against reason and sanity.

Namaste

DW

Have we heard from Margaret since yesterday’s doctor visit? (((Margaret)))

RE the WaPoo fact check column in Truthout, they don’t call the WaPoo “Fox on 15th” for nuthin’.

I see Margaret is on Attaturk’s thread (she isn’t usually at the Diner because of her work schedule) so apparently she’s OK and online. Maybe she’ll check in!

Got an email last night. She’s fine, doesn’t need to be reexamined for another 5 years. Really good news.

I don’t know how some of those assholes sleep at night.

Good morning everyone.

Thank you for the post SouthernDragon.

Thanks, DW. Always nice to see your articulate self here. Damn, I wish I had your way with words.

From the 9th bullet (BAR):

I would call Obama a fraud – except for the fact that Black folks mostly fooled themselves into believing that Obama’s success was their own. As a number of polls and studies have shown, even as Blacks were losing two generations of economic ground, large numbers of African Americans believed that the Black condition had dramatically improved under Obama.

x2

Great news!

According to the aforementioned movie, one comment in it mentioned the enormous cutbacks at the WaPoo a couple of years ago, and how it affected their reporting. Pretty sad. The movie also covered the bankruptcy of the Tribune Company (from a coverage by the NYT perspective), and how they were threatened with legal action for it.

Merkel will not do anything to risk inflation in Germany unless it’s the only way to keep the German economy from imploding. Probably later this year, we’ll get Eurobonds that won’t be called Eurobonds.

FTT: Good idea worldwide.

Spain: Frankly, those interest rates are being kept artifically low because Spanish banks are bidding on the bonds at government direction. If not for that, I think Spain would be completely locked out of the markets.

Britan: Accept the FTT, you fools. Stop trying to make London a safe haven for banksters.

WaPo Fact Check – How many contradictions in terms can you find before the dash in this paragraph?

Cuba: The embargo is the least effective foreign policy tool we’ve ever implemented. Besides the fact that no other country, even Israel, abides by the embargo and we look like fools, it doesn’t now nor has it ever really worked. The smartest thing we can do is open up and let the Cuban governmnet try to deal with unfettered internet access.

MCSI: Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozers have been used in Israel for military purposes since at least 1967. NOW they decide to list caterpillar??

Boxturtle (Bet MCSI gets accused of being terrorist supporters)

On large piles of Dirty money. Why?

Boxturtle (Consciences are so Passe’)

The question is rather simple: What is most important on planet Earth … LIFE … or the sociopath’s pursuit of money?

that sums up the problem perfectly!

gmornin’ pupses.

Heya, greenwarrior. How’s the broken bone? Any news?

Come to FL for a tug of war.

I haven’t been to Busch Gardens in years but that’s enough to make me wanna go back.

Got to stroke a Bengal at an anti-fur show at the San Diego Zoo in the early 70s. That’s an experience I’ll never forget. One big goddamn cat.

Morning all. As Balzac said, “behind every great fortune is a great crime.”

Grrr…company blocks that link. Can you quote within fair use guidelines?

Boxturtle (I suppose it’s good the company is looking out for my sensibilities)

Good morning.

Film clip on U.S. medical care is showing some command of the obvious. Been waiting for that for over 2 decades.

Chase has lost up to $9 billion (so far):

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/jpmorgan-trading-loss-may-reach-9-billion/?hp

got yet another new cast friday in an effort to get some relief for the cactus feeling on my skin. it’s better, but nothing to write home about. i’m getting temporary relief when i wrap the cast in my CastCooler and hook myself up to the vacuum cleaner. it pulls air thru, which helps. thanks for asking.

Tuggin’ tiger

“One unique part of the River habitat is the tiger tug. What’s a “tiger tug” you might ask well all you need to do is go to Tiger Trails around 12:30 or 2:30 and find out. You have to be pretty lucky to time your arrival just right because sometimes they pick volunteers to help but when you do boy it’s a great experience.” From the Zoo’s site.

Good morning, pupses, and thank you, SD. That tiger looks like he/she is having as much or more fun than the people. Clever caregivers to figure out a way to let them interact and have fun and exercise at the same time. That must be really good for the cats. Stimulates their minds as well as their beautiful bodies.

I got to bottle feed White Tigers at the Cincy zoo as a teenager.

Each was insured for $500K, even back then. The boss promised us cruel and unusral punishment should anything happen to the tigers while under our care.

The money quote: “If something happens to one of those tigers, you better head for Canada. If you’re quick enough, you can find the shortest route by following me”.

Boxturtle (Thinks the Zoo’s board of directors would have caught us before we reached Michigan)

Sheesh. Just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

When I first heard about this Fail Whale deal I told a couple people that they should expect a factor of 10 when the truth finally comes out.

The initial $2 billion loss? Probably $20 billion.

The number keeps climbing higher…

Morning SD and firepups. Glad to hear Margaret is okay.

Ooo, I’d love to do that.

Glad you are getting a bit of relief! Any idea how the healing process is coming along?

Jamie Dimon’s sitting in his office smirking at congress.

what did the fur feel like ?

I thought maybe your experimental soft material wrap under the cast would help. You sure can’t lead much of a normal life hooked up to your vacuum. Bummer. Any idea how much longer?

Wow that JP Morgan loss is pretty overwhelming!!

Assange has been ordered to Belgravia police station to begin extradition proceedings.

Wearing Barry’s cufflinks!

It strikes me every time I see a pic how much my former boss resembles Dimon. I’m sure that side-by-side the resemblance would be actually much less.

Edit: and the resemblance is only appearance. My boss was mostly a pretty good guy.

Good morning, stranger.

I think LIFE is the big loser. I was just thinking how crazy and twisted it is that individuals can own and exploit for money and power the minerals and water under our feet and the air we breathe. Resources that should be shepherded and used wisely for the benefit ALL the people and animals and plants that inhabit the world.

no idea whatsoever. he said he’d take an xray in mid july when i see him again, but that it might not really show anything yet.

“You sure can’t lead much of a normal life hooked up to your vacuum. Bummer. ”

That’s what I’ve always said, but it hasn’t done me much good, sigh :)

Good morning, folks.

cassiodorus had an excellent MyFDL diary about the double-bind that discussion of climate change and climate change policy get into. It is here: We’re Doomed.

I’m at a loss in talking people out of double-bind thinking but I know that some of the people here might have had that experience and can give suggestions about unraveling this issue.

the organic cotton flannel didn’t work at all. it was too bulky and not stretchy enough for the med asst to work with comfortably. she did her best, but my hand and arm were the worst ever when i came out of that cast friday.

I’d go and wait the entire day for a chance at that.

Boxturtle (Irrationally wants a pet tiger)

This same thing had me really bummed out last night. Sitting her with my wife watching TV and I was in a complete funk, thinking about the industrialization of our food supply, our resources, our land and animals. It really hit me last night, for some reason.

Off to swim in the great capitalist cesspool.

US KIA Afghanistan: 2,023

Afghan, Iraki, Yemeni and Pakistani casualties: estimates vary to over 1.5M

US MBS 2012: 22,196 and counting

No war but class war

Amendment

Be good to yourselves, and all other living things

Namaste

Never. Give. Up.

glad to see our wendy davis got to go home and found her place intact.

You haven’t lived until you’ve had a white tiger cub barf formula on your lap.

Boxturtle (Amazingly, the jeans came clean!)

I’m a little surprised that there isn’t some way to immobilize the arm with some sort of open splint device instead of a cast.

And acupuncture does a lot of incredible things with pain and bodily sensations. I wonder if it could relieve that cactus feeling? But you were seeing an acupuncturist anyway for the blood flow issues, weren’t you?

There was a special on BBC radio about some one who does large animal rescue. I’ll see if I can find a link, or maybe SD knows about it.

Thick and smooth. Caregiver said to make sure not to stroke against the grain. It makes them want to play and they didn’t want anybody to become a big squeaky toy.

I didn’t know that. I’ll go look up her diary! Thanks.

I’m sure he’ll rush right over.

Boxturtle (Wonders if the government has tried to extradite anyone else over a condom violation)

I think I have the disc of Food, Inc. sitting on my desk. Not sure if I’m up for that right now.

No sex, please, we’re British. /s.

I like SD’s idea about staging the Great Escape…

What I find interesting is that according to the article, Ecuador is “in no hurry” to decide about asylum. They’re taking their time and assessing their relationships with other nations. I wonder how much pressure the U.S. is putting on Ecuador?

Meanwhile in the Duopolitiverse the Jeopardy music is playing for the next 30 minutes, waiting for the high priests of the US civil religion, the Grand Ayatollahs of the US Republic, to issue their oracle. SCOTUSBlog put in $25K of additional servers to handle the expected load. Predictions are 5-4 to strike, 6-3 to uphold, and Marcy thinks the decision will be so complex that the MSM won’t be able to say what it is for two hours.

But on June 30, National Nurses United and Michael Moore will be reuniting the cast of Sicko in Philadelphia, as the Occupy National Gathering gets underway. I don’t know if the two events are coordinated, but they should be.

And folks all over the country are beginning to make their Medicare for All banners.

I watched that just a couple of weeks ago. It is pretty chilling. I’ve already modified my diet in my “no statin drug” experiment, but that movie made me even more vigilant.

(((wd)))

Btw, how is the experiment going? When will you do the bloodwork test?

Jon Walker had a good post up a week or so ago.

Eight Ways the Supreme Court Could Rule on Health Care

Good luck. The climate denyers fall into two catagories:

1) Corporations and their tools.
2) Common folk who don’t care about naything except the price of gas.

The former will never change, as it would cost them or their sponsors money. The latter won’t change becasue ANY rational solution will cost them more at the pump and reduce the number of miles driven.

Rational people have already been convinced by the data, even if they started out doubtful.

Boxturtle (For the rest, it’s like trying to explain evolution to a southern baptist)

Cardinal Mindszenty, the Roman Catholic bishop of Budapest sought asylum and lived in the US Embassy in Budapest for 15 years. He was finally allowed to leave the country after 15 years and was granted asylum in Austria.

Dontcha know there’s some heavy diplomatic pressure being put on Ecuador right now.

Indeed it was an excellent analysis.

I won’t know until my physical (and related blood work) in September. I was a little bit bad in California, drank too much wine after having none since I began the experiment, but I’m back to being a good girl again. Even if I have to go back on the statin and blood sugar meds, I may never eat the same way again.

When dealing with a tiger, scratch it’s ears. I’ve never seen a tiger go animal while it’s getting it’s ears scratched.

Boxturtle (Be aware that it may be awhile before the tiger permits you to stop, however)

Rose Ann DeMoro and the NNU are amazing.

Medicare For All! And the Robin Hood Tax!!

What you are saying is that it is not a double-bind situation at all; it is framed as a collision of religious faiths.

Oldgold had a comment yesterday about that… Need to go back and find it, about the Repubs being against teaching critical thinking skills because they led to behavior modification….

I wonder how much pressure the U.S. is putting on Ecuador?

Equador will shortly be exporting diamonds. Rumor is they’re artifical, made by exerting great pressure on politicians.

I think the message is: You take him, we’ll end every realtionship with us and blackmail other countries into doing the same. And we’ll STILL drone him.

Boxturtle (Thinks Equador should respond “F U very much”)

Crap, my link went away. Bill Moyers and RoseAnn DeMoro. ….

http://billmoyers.com/segment/roseann-demoro-on-the-robin-hood-tax/

It really is a religious debate anymore. People are set in their ways. I sometimes worry myself with “What if the denyers are right and it’s not human activity or CO2″. I’ve stopped listening to that viewpoint unless it’s peer reviewed and published.

Boxturtle (Which means I’ve stopped listening, as nothing like that is currently surviving peer review)

Duplicate, sorry :(

They’re against critical thinking skills because it leads people to question religion or conservative dogma.

In one hand, you hold a fossil over 100M years old. In the other, you hold an La approved science text that says the world is 10K years old or less. Do you believe the textbook, or your own lyin’ eyes?

Boxturtle (I’d be happier in today’s world without critical thinking skills)

Follow live here:

SCOTUSblog

anyone have an email address to encourage ecuador to give assange asylum?

I’d just get a dang sword and split you right down the middle. Then get an Anchortainer desk on the teevee :)

TRNN was running a climate science series. I missed it, but you reminded me of it, thanks.

i just looked up statins. it looks like they’re prescribed for cholesterol. are you trying to lower your cholesterol with dietary changes and exercise?

P.s. and I do mean right down the middle. Got to be balanced, remember.

They’re against critical thinking because it allow kids to challenge their parents, and their parents have little legitimated control over anything else so they focus on parental control of their kids. They feel that critical thinking de-legitimizes that control.

This is especially threatening to folks who think that religion is the only source of morality and that religious belief is a pre-condition to ethics and behaving in the way that their parents either did religiously in their youth or rebelled and came back to.

Individual mandate survives as a tax.

I’m following the Health Care ruling. Will answer with some detail in a few minutes, but yes.

Mandate is constitutional.

The Medicaid provision is limited but not invalidated.

Honey, is that you? I’m REALLY sorry I forgot to take the garbage out.

Boxturtle (Never know whom you might meet online…)

I’ve been on a high dose of simvastatin (generic Zocor) for cholesterol for several years. Recently there was an aggregation of several studies that suggests that statin drugs can cause type 2 diabetes in older folks, often women. I’ve had borderline high blood sugar (NOT yet diabetes) also, and am taking a med for that even though there is NO diabetes anywhere in my family, and I’m of normal weight and don’t eat a lot of sweets/carbs.

So I decided to stop both drugs until my annual physical in September, and see where my numbers are. I have never had a smidgen of heart problems, and my high cholesterol is partly high HDL, the good kind. My dad died of a heart attack, but he smoked all his life, didn’t exercise, and his diet probably was loaded with fat even though we ate healthfully according to the standards of the times.

I combed over my diet, have severely limited red meat, gave up butter, increased my fish intake, and have made other changes. Hoping to stay off the drugs after September.

More than you wanted to know.

EDIT to add: I also ride my bicycle about 50 – 75 miles a week, 1300 miles total last year, 600 so far this year. So lots of exercise.

Now this is pretty incredible (from SCOTUSblog), “Chief Justice Roberts’ vote saved the ACA.”

Hey Kris,

I know it is not possible or available for everyone, but spreading a layer of compost and picking peas and planting a cover crop on a small part of the garden (before it hits 90 today). Thinning and transplanting raspberries to rotate part of that crop into a new area for next season. My garden is a bit under 1000 square ft. That and no subscription TV is part of my answer to industrial food production and it makes things tolerably better on several levels, physically and mentally. Today’s bonus, I discovered this year’s crop of soldier beetles doing extremely well. They love the no pesticide plan. The best to ya.

Upholding the ACA means to me that the PTB have selected Obama as the next president.

Maybe. But I expected it to be overturned, and enough people who don’t know much about it HATE the ACA, so I wouldn’t be too sure that this ruling will help Obama much.

LOL!

So THAT’S what those bugs are. I never knew!

I decided that when the price of gas went down 50c/gal over the last few days. The election will be decided by the price of gas in November.

Boxturtle (Though I’m sure the PTB will work with Rmoney if he wins)

Gas is $3.28 here this morning. I filled up a couple of days ago at $3.33, figuring a holiday spike would be coming.

sounds like you’ve made some great changes. how do you feel as a result? and….as i tell everyone who’ll sit still for it, vegetables are your friends, but you probably knew that.

So far I can’t discern any change (either way) in how I feel. They also found that statin drugs can cause “confusion” in older people (I am 69), but I’m as confused as ever! LOL.

I love veggies. I like fish, poultry and meat too much to be a vegetarian, but veggies are my friends, for sure!

Ditto. It was 3.75 less than 10 days ago. I wonder if we’ll get a spike or not.

Interesting that Deisel is still almost $4.

Boxturtle (If it get’s below $3 by November, Obama is a shoo-in)

If it gets below $3 by November, Obama is a shoo-in

Gas prices might be at least a driver (no pun intended) since people vote according to their own personal experiences, not some abstract political argument.

My son-in-law commutes from Noblesville (IN) to Terre Haute every day, about 100 miles each way. He feels every penny of the cost of gas in their family economic situation.

OK, pups, I’m outta here. I downloaded the entire ACA ruling, all 196 pages, for some bedtime reading. Have a great day, everyone!

SCOTUS ruling is setting up 50 individual state battles with Federal authority, lead to spiking, (more quickly than usual) rising healthcare costs and gives the Republicans, “no tax increases,” arguments going into the campaign as the poor will get slammed hard in (as usually) as states need to get Federal money to cover their mandated insurance policies. Also, no price controls on anything medical or insurance related.

Medical stocks already rising today (from last network newscast).

Since we’ve removed our screen door, Abner has decided that he will now climb the wood and glass leaving nice claw marks behind. Cats.

Morning, everybody! What a day, huh? Who’d a thunk the Court division would turn out the way it did?
Don’t love the ACA, but upholding it (mostly) is better for us than overturning it. Too far-reaching implications, both ways.

I came out of a hearing and interview with client in Pearsall about ten past nine; just in time to hear the early discussion of the ruling. It was Diane Rehm’s show; could barely keep it tuned to the station 60 mi away at the time.
The guests, includng Jeffrey Rosen and a health care specialist (consumer side) were still pretty confused…not nearly enough time to have read it. So I frantically was trying to bring up SCOTUSBlog on my phone…got the main pages, but couldn’t get much substance without a mobile app, which my phone doesn’t do.
shoot, if I’m going to be this mobile, guess I need a better phone.

Anyway, the discussion that ensued was interesting…with Rosen reading ahead as the others talked and revealing discoveries. Appears to be very complex. Upholding mandate as a tax may have implications not so good for our side in the future.
When they started taking calls, most were glad that Act upheld in general; onlyl a few sore losers. (I figure they were all listening to Rushbo or Neal Boortz or whoever).
I have no radio reception in the office, so am trying to read some more before settling down to actual work. Heh.

Iced tea glasses aren’t as fun to wash because they don’t have anything written on them:(. But here was a good mug –

The Diet Starts Tomorrow

Everything is washed and dried and put away for the afternoon bunch. Leftover icebox pie in the icebox. Enjoy, and have a good afternoon, pupses each and every!

These guys are really good

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5iJA6EWnBps

Infamous Stringdusters, I Am A Stranger

I’m gonna hafta wait until the smoke clears but my understanding right now is that it’s the penalty assessed those who can afford to buy insurance but won’t that’s considered a tax, not the mandate itself.

Hey, you can wait a bit and get the next version of Google’s glasses and be a cyborg. *snort*

Oh, shoot, I thought you meant Google had a set of iced tea glasses coming out. Maybe with Google Doodles on them *g*

Abner needs a cat ladder.

http://www.google.com/search?q=cat+ladder&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#biv=i|0;d|IL0XiPKFYXWlxM:

I’m sure mister, who knows his way around power tools, could knock one out in no time :)

Oh, there is a ‘Cat Ladder Hall of Fame’. http://catladder.blogspot.com/

Very cool. Our house is only one floor, so we couldn’t do one to a window like the pictures, but we do have a tree that Abner has attempted more than once (and got stuck).