Senator Ron Johnson, R-Wis., has been in the news a lot lately, in part for having been one of the select few Republicans who were invited to the recent dinner meeting with President Obama. In an appearance yesterday on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Senator Johnson stated,
“If we’re going to really get to an agreement, this is a good step…You have to start meeting with people. You have to start developing relationships. You’ve got to spend a fair amount of time figuring out what we agree on first.”
[Especially when the Republican “leaders” won’t tell their flock the truth about what the President has offered, and the flock and the media are too dumb or brainwashed to lift a couple of fingers and check whitehouse.gov!]
The same “This Week” appearance also saw Paul Krugman, in his inimitable manner, school Senator Johnson on the Social Security program.
Prior to that, in the debate over authorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Senator Johnson was one of a group of “…Republicans [who] have objected to new provisions in the law, including one allowing tribal courts for the first time to prosecute men who aren’t American Indians when they’re accused of abusing an American Indian woman on a reservation. . .”, according to ThinkProgress, which also quotes Senator Johnson as saying:
“the Senate has approved a piece of legislation that sounds nice, but which is fatally flawed. By including an unconstitutional expansion of tribal authority and introducing a bill before the Congressional Budget Office could review it to estimate its cost, Senate Democrats made it impossible for me to support a bill covering an issue I would like to address.”
Coincidentally and fortuitously (or not), when searching for a link on a completely different topic, I ran across this one about Ron Johnson from 2010. It includes a video of Johnson, demonstrating the average conservative’s love of fetuses but not actual children, while “…testifying against the Wisconsin Child Victims Act, which would have eliminated the statute of limitation on lawsuits brought by victims of abuse by priests against the Catholic Church.”
Okay, as a palate-cleanser, I believe that there’s something for everyone in these photo slideshows from The Weather Channel.
For all of us who love space science and/or who have experienced various types of mind-enhancement, here’s (now think Muppets “Pigs in Space” voice) “Light Trails from Space.”
Staying in space for the moment, the Comet Pan-STARRS is in the ‘hood, and should start to be visible to the naked eye tomorrow. The chart shown in this article indicates where the large comet can be located (in the western sky at sunset) over the next two weeks or so.
Last from TWC (and getting back to ‘trails’…you’ll see): unusual (and occasionally claustrophobia-inducing) tunnels are highlighted in this feature. Although the first tunnel shown only has the one photo – see below – the rest of them have some amazing shots. Tunnel #18, Shanghai’s Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, described as “senseless, yet fabulous“, could likely induce trails even for persons who have never seen trails before. A youtube video of the entire ride is linked to under the description of the Shanghai tunnel, but I haven’t had the chance to watch it yet. Who’s gonna go first? 🙂
Enjoy!
Ukraine “Tunnel of Love”
This is our Open thread – what topic would you like to discuss?
TheZoo 
Have you noticed that more and more, everything you look at on the internet has some little ad popping into photos and videos, or superimposed over text? I’m getting good at avoiding noticing the purpose of the ad, because I’m focused on looking for the little ‘x’ that gets rid of it. I’m more likely to look at an ad alongside an article that interests me, than one that gets in my way, and less likely to respond positively to anything that balloons out over what I’m trying to see. I hold annoying ads against any product I have a choice about not buying.
Remember when the whole point behind getting cable tv was to be able to watch a movie or program without ads?
Well, I only remember that pertained to Showtime and HBO after TV moved to satellites. The original point to cable was the Community Antenna concept, for areas that had bad reception, but could put a receiver on a mountain, and send a boosted signal through the cable to the subscribers in the areas that couldn’t otherwise receive a quality signal. You were still seeing broadcast affiliates, so there were still commercials.
I watch the Encore channels on my cable, which are commercial free. I like the 50s-60s western shows like Have Gun Will Travel, Lawman, and Gunsmoke. They get hand-me-down movies from the Starz channels, once they have run a while there. Encore is included in my digital tier, which I need for MSNBC and Current, as well as the DVR tuner that takes a lot of stress out of watching a show and being interrupted, because you can pause the show, and come back where you stopped it.
I watch original reality shows like “Dragnet” “Adam 12” and “Emergency”
Those are on either METV or Antenna TV, which are both auxiliary channels of local network affiliates here. I discovered Antenna TV when I saw they were running WKRP in Cincinnati on Sunday nights, and now on Tuesdays. Last night I watched Maude on Antenna TV. I had forgotten how hot Adrienne Barbeau was in that show.
In a rare occurrence, Sen. Johnson and George Will were outnumbered on the This Week Roundtable. Julianna Goldman was a surprise to me. I expected her to be from the right, but her comments were helpful to Krugman and Wasserman-Schultz. She probably won’t be asked back.
Johnson brought up one point that wasn’t discussed much, that Medicare has taken in one dollar from current seniors for every three it will pay out for their medical care. I wonder whether this takes into account the compounded interest of those Medicare deductions, paid in over a lifetime of earning, plus the effect of inflation. We’ll probably not see an honest accounting of this. If Medicare isn’t adequately funded, then we need to take a little more out of paychecks until it is.
The problem with Medicare is Part B and Part D. Part B pays toward all doctors’ visits and doctors do their best to get patients into their office as many times as possible. They have seniors coming in every month or two and sometimes twice/month. Most of these visits are unnecessary. Seniors also see many different doctors and are prescribed at least one medication from each doctor that they see. Medicare Part D is not allowed to negotiate drug prices so medications are overpriced. If Medicare stopped contributing to all those unnecessary doctor visits, seniors wouldn’t be running to the doctor every other week. My father who lived to the age of 87, visited at least one doctor/month and my mother-in-law saw a doctor every other week. Last time that I saw her, her ankles were swollen with edema and she had just come back from a doctor’s visit. I asked her if the doctor was concerned about the swelling and she told me that the doctor said they would discuss the swelling at her next visit which was in two weeks. This was in Florida, the number one Medicare state.
medicare abuses run rampant, as do abuses in medicaid. a local mental health center just got shutdown for such abuses……over billing, and billing for services never provided. these are common problems.
I’m in my sixth year on Medicare, and do my level best to NEVER have to see a damn doctor! Since I do have to take a daily dose of Warfarin, however, I have to get my blood checked monthly (but the local pharmacist does it, no doc required), and the doc does sort of ‘demand’ I come in once a year. I do my level best to avoid it (at my age, if I have something wrong with me I want to be the last to know) and only go if the doc insists before they’ll refill my script.
Medicare costs me a hundred a month or so, deducted from my S.S. check, and because I don’t go to Walmart or Walgreens or some ‘official’ drugstore to fill my script — because I fill it locally at a small privately-owned pharmacy (heaven forbid!) — I have to pay the full script cost of $7 per month, plus the $20 per month for blood work. If I have to see the doc, there’s another $20 (co-pay) out the window, the equivalent of two quarts of decent dark rum. I much prefer rum to doctor visits. Anyway, Medicare only pays the balance of what the doc charges beyond the $20 I have to pay; but Medicare sucks $1200 out of my bank account every year, so they come out way ahead. Hard to figure out how Medicare could possibly be going broke! 🙂
I had the same experience with my mom Cats. The doctor sent her for blood tests, vein studies, specialist visits, and then scheduled a follow up with himself where the results of the other things were never discussed unless I brought them up. It was an awfully expensive way to monitor her inevitable decline and did nothing to arrest it.
Another trick that doctors do is visit patients in the hospital that aren’t their patients but they note that they stopped in the room to check on the patient in the patient’s chart and then bill for this visit.
Good news everyone, it looks like the next TV show to get re-booted is M*A*S*H:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/11/world/asia/north-korea-armistice/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
They need to draft all the Teabagger docs. They can start with Rand Paul.
Fantastic post Jane.
Here’s a link to a website that has some more night sky pictures showing planets and the comet.
http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury
Thanks, Cats, and thanks for the additional link, too.
I love TWC website (except the freakin’ ads), there’s always something interesting in the sidebars, especially photo slideshows. I have several other links earmarked for future posts, so I’ll be doing Monday Mixes, Monday Madness, Monday Mash-ups, etc. for a while. 🙂
That’s a great idea, Jane. Muse used to do a post like that.
I thought Senator Johnson said, “I’m an fu*king idiot and I can’t help it.” He is the piece of trash that replaced Senator Feingold.
Intrade Shut Down Due To Financial Probe
Just in time to fuck up the betting on the next Pope!
Happy National Napping Day. No wonder I feel so tired.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/11/nap-benefits-national-napping-day_n_2830952.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living
And there are health benefits to meditation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/11/mindfulness-emotional-stability-sleep_n_2836954.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living#es_share_ended
I would like to add this about meditation. When I was suffering from major depression, the psychiatrist prescribed a SSRI for me. At the same time, I started mindfulness meditation. When I informed the psychiatrist that I had started meditating, he weaned me off of the medication as he told me that meditation would work just as well as the drugs. He was right. I will always appreciate the help that this doctor gave to me.
It’s a perfect day for it here. Cold and rainy, getting colder after the front leaves.
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick corruption trial:
Kwame Kilpatrick guilty, Counts 1 through 5 (extortion and attempted extortion); count 9 (extortion); 17 through 26 (bribery and mail fraud), 18 (wire fraud) 30 through 36 (tax evasion).
Kwame Kilpatrick not Guilty: 10 (extortion) 27 and 28 (mail fraud)
Kwame Kilpatrick no consensus 7 and 8 (extortion) 16 (bribery)
This sounds like fun, naturally died Easter eggs. These eggs are beautiful.
http://justshortofcrazy.com/2013/03/natural-dyed-easter-eggs/#7OsMgRxSueeTfyo8.99
NOTE: The eggs may take on the flavor of the coloring agent.
Well, yeah, if you’re going to eat them later. I’m not a fan of hard boiled eggs, myself.
One comment had using kool aid as a dye. Doesn’t kool aid have the same artificial crap dyes as the Paas Egg Dye?
Yesterday’s 900 Dead Pigs Now Over 2200
I hope they find out what caused this. China is starting to remind me of the US in the late 60s, environmentally, but we get a lot more news now than we did back then.
I wonder what killed them. Pigs are a lot like us, I doubt it’s difficult for a swine disease to jump to humans. In our own country, hog farmers have a much higher incidence of MRSA due to the development of resistant strains in factory farmed hogs.
A Wall Street Journal link at DU has it at over 3300.
remember “acid rain”….thankfully there’s a generation who’s never heard the term.
A 2012 study reviewed the records of two Michigan hospitals from a six-year period and found that they normally treated an average of 23 heart attacks on the Sunday of the changeover compared to an average of 13 on other Sundays — a whopping increase of more than 55 percent. A Swedish study also found an increase in heart attacks during the first three weekdays after the switch.
Heart attacks aren’t the only danger. Traffic accidents also increase by 11 percent the week following the onset of DST, and workplace injuries are also more common. In addition, a study published in the journal Sleep and Biological Rhythm found that the week following the onset of DST is especially dangerous for men: More men are more likely to commit suicide following the time switch than at any other time during the year.
http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Headline/daylight-savings-time-heart-attack-sleep-deprivation-Monday-morning-blues/2013/03/08/id/493832#ixzz2NFEPd1IC
Hot damn! That’s why I felt like shit this morning when I got up!
I still got dressed and vanpooled to work, where I sit like a zombie and think about all the goddamn stuff I don’t have the energy nor mindset to tackle today…
Thanks!
You gotta be shitting me:
~George W. Bush’s Art Teacher: He Will Go Down in History “As a Great Artist”~
Atlanta’s Fox 5 talked to Bonnie Flood, a Georgia art instructor who spent about a month teaching the 43rd president how to paint, saying she worked with him for around six hours a day. “He picked it up so quick, it was amazing actually,” she said. “His whole heart is in it.” His real passion, at least in the beginning, was to paint dogs. “I think he said he’d painted 50 dogs,” she said. But Flood said she later convinced him to expand his repertoire and paint more landscapes. Flood said she wasn’t sure what to call Bush, so she started calling him “43” because that is how he signs his paintings.
Yeah, Hitler’s “art” was also supposed to be grand. Always thought Bush and Adolf had plenty in common. Sounds as though I was right, no?
yes….indeed
Six hours a day for a month? That’s more work than he averaged in a month of presidentin’.
W was prolly needin a vacation at the ranch after the first grueling six hour day he put in at paintin.
A great piss-artist maybe
How Paul Krugman was taken down by the right-wing smear machine – not!
Breitbarted
This Solar-Powered Airplane Can Revolutionize The Way We Produce And Use Energy
http://www.businessinsider.com/solar-impusle-plane-that-can-fly-day-and-night-2013-3
i’m an ENFJ…
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes1.htm
I am ENFJ also.
I got INTP but I kind of rushed through it!!!
INFJ for me.
INTJ here.
Likewise.
Still an INFP.
mmmm, how do get to be one of those?
ISFJ are my call letters
It helps to be a space cadet.
“P” is why you, too, go with the flow.
I am an ENFP and that is why I have so much fun in life. Go with the flow rules me. Nonewhere is an ENTP.
This is so very me especially the quick wit. Look at all the comedians that are ENFP.
http://typelogic.com/enfp.html
Happy Birthday, Douglas Adams!
“Don’t panic”
Off the MSN news wire today:
US troops kill Afghan civilians after 2 US soldiers shot dead
After two U.S. soldiers and three Afghan policemen were killed Monday by another officer inside a police station, U.S troops shot dead civilians who approached a convoy.
And why, again, why, are we still occupying Afquagistan THIRTEEN years later?
Karzai wants us to go, so what’s the holdup? Let him deal with the Talibs.
Who’s listening to Thom Hartmann?
Are you getting this?
More information on the October Surprise matter:
http://consortiumnews.com/2013/03/09/rethinking-watergateiran-contra/
The most ‘openly kept’ secret.
Ronnie was rotten to the core…(double spit)
He still is.
Keep waiting for the RWNJs to dig up the rotting corpse for enshrinement in a glass case (much like Lenin and Hugo).
I heard about that.
NYC Judge Strikes Down Bloomberg Soda Ban
This was predictable.
I read that there is still controversy over the name of Washington’s football team, the Redskins. The name and logo are offensive to many and insulting to Native Americans, who probably would have no objections if the sport was lacrosse.
After giving the matter great thought I think I have a compromise solution that will work. The new team mascot will be a red rooster and the team will be the Red Cocks! This way fans can still paint themselves red and dress up with the feathers they already have, and the war chant will be replaced by cock-a-doodle doos.
Go skins go!!
I think it was at Scottsdale Community College in AZ where the student body voted to reject their “insulting” label, whatever it was, and decided instead on one that was cool and would bother no one.
Go ARTICHOKES!
Being a native of Baltimore I suffered at the loss of the Colts along with thousands of members of different Colt “Corral” fan clubs. I don’t know if the Ravens have “Nest” fan clubs but was thinking that having a team named after a spider would allow for “Web” fan clubs.
We always referred to them as the Foreskins.
Wait, has Ted Nugent been to the Shanghai River recently?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/11/ted-nugent-kills-pigs-bill-maher-animal-freaks_n_2852302.html
Ted kills pigs. Sui! Sui! Sui! How about Sui-cide, Ted? That would definitely result in one less PIG and make the world a lot better place in the process.
Killing animals with a machine gun…would the meat actually be edible.
(T.N. is a twisted, miserable excuse for a human being)
Coward. He makes me sick.
What a brave man, killing pigs. Yet shit his pants at the thought of going to Vietnam.
QOTD:
“My administration recently put out a photo of me skeet shooting and even that wasn’t enough for some people. Next week, we’re releasing a photo of me clinging to religion.” — President Barack Obama at the Gridiron Club Dinner.
SMACK!!
My cat brought one of those home one day. I freaked.
I wonder if the likes of Carly Fiorina, Meg Whitman and Linda McMahon are the transforming society types or the struggle for equality types?
A Big Gulp Too Far:
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed on Monday to appeal a judge’s ruling that struck down his pioneering ban on large sugary drinks sold by the city’s restaurants, movie theaters and other food service businesses just a day before it was to take effect.
The judge called the ban “arbitrary and capricious” in an 11th-hour decision that dealt a serious blow to Bloomberg, who has made public health a cornerstone of his administration, with laws prohibiting smoking in restaurants, bars and parks; banning trans fats; and requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts.
🙂