Photos From Paradise

Tuesday was a beautiful day here in Andrew Cuomo's Northern Kingdom. Everything else (nearly) about the election pissed me off so much, I was actually glad he won. Nearly is because Carrie Woerner was a bright, shining light. Anyway, had to harvest my leaves that are finally dropping. When Baal gives you leaves, make compost.

 

And Tuesday was baking day, since I was home all day raking and piling leaves. BTW, I did not rake all those leaves on Tuesday. Anyway, since I haven't posted any bread porn in awhile:

That's a wild yeast sourdough, a levain if you will. And it's a good thing I got those leaves up on Tuesday because the weather is changeable here in Utopia.

Actually, that was on my camera. It's from last winter. A chilling reminder of what's ahead. The Kindle and my pantry are loaded, though.

Moving On

Well, I've spent the past week sitting shiva for the election. Time to move on. Now I start to put together my platform for the 2016 run for representative in the district. If Funiciello can run, anyone can. I haven't chosen a party yet and none have chosen me. But, it's early. As an opening plank, I'm advocating for a mandatory 30 hour work week. No overtime for any reason, love or money.

We used to send children down mines, sack women when they got married and expect workers to put in 12-hour day, six days a week. For more than 200 years, we have associated better working conditions and shorter hours with human progress. An average workweek of 40 hours nowadays looks old fashioned and backward.

That's right! All the candidates running in this past election were willing to allow Americans to continue to suffer the 21st century equivalent of Dickens' London. More people working fewer hours equals more people employed in my macroeconomic view. I have more bold ideas in my platform and they will be unveiled over the course of the next year and a half or so.

Moving on to other local happenings: My former employer had a name change announced today. I heard it on the radio as I lie semi-comatose in bed this AM. I first thought they'd be changing it back to Central Market (which seemed like a good move). In the second sentence I heard they were changing it to Market 32 (which seemed like WTF?). Going on-line confirms that I was not still dreaming.

The chain's new name will be Market 32, a reference to Price Chopper's founding by the Golub family in 1932.

OK, still WTF? And they're spending $300 million on it. No, spend money hiring more help, paying more people full-time. I may not have mentioned in awhile that I don't work and it's entirely thanks to Price Chopper for working me like a galley slave for $9.90 an hour. Thanks Golubs.

In national news, not so much with IS, but our war on Ebola has apparently been won. Break out the ticker tape parade for Barack.

Fox News announced on Wednesday that it is terminating its coverage of the Ebola virus effective immediately, because, in the words of the host Sean Hannity, “Our work is done.”

The election of a Republican-led Congress may or may not have ended the War on Terror. Sleep soundly or not, depending on your party affiliation.

Thoughts on Chronicle Reprentative Endorsement

I want to jot down a few thoughts on Mark Frost's endorsement of Matt Funiciello. At first, yes I was shocked at the endorsement since Funiciello is quite a bit to the left of Obama. Like all Dems, seemingly, our president is a corporate puppet. Then Frost admits he would not be dismayed if Elise Stefanik was to win and my world is spinning the right way again.

I like the idea of Kate Hogan, Larry Bulman and Funiciello in a 3-way race. And I appreciate that he lobbied them to run. Oh well, one out of three ain't bad. Of course, they're all from Warren County. There are 11 other counties. But, that just goes to his point, that in a district as large as the 21st there are few natives stepping up to run. Mind you, I'd still like to see the most capable person elected over some yokel like me who has lived here for 57 years.

We run into some disagreement at, "I see Aaron Woolf as a privileged dilettante from NYC."

At the point in the election where this statement was made, Aaron Woolf was down by 18 points. I realize politics ain't beanbag and all. But, this seems a little unnecessarily petty. We've had many politicians from the founding fathers forward who would qualify as privileged. Pretty sure Frost would not have referred to Willard Romney as a privileged dilettante. The definition of ad hominem:

   

    1 :  appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect

   

   2 :  marked by or being an attack on an opponent's character rather than by an answer to the contentions made 

Better yet, from the urban dictionary:

An attack upon an opponent in order to discredit their argument or opinion. Ad hominems are used by immature and/or unintelligent people because they are unable to counter their opponent using logic and intelligence.

He also points out that Woolf only registered to vote in the district 5 days before declaring his candidacy. He declares Woolf to utter Democratic talking points and to have a generic candidacy. You know who else utters their party's talking points and has a generic candidacy? Elise Stefanik! Pretty sure she hasn't been registered to vote in the district all that long either. 

But, when he gets to Stefanik, Frost expresses great affection. He really, really likes her. He states, "She's smart and able-and I like how hard she's working to get to know the district and its people. She's paying some dues." Not like that big city phony, Aaron Woolf.

I'm not going into the actual endorsement except to say thanks for the news that Matt is a Truther Questioner. That bit hadn't hit my RADAR. Also appreciate the Chronicle interview from back in February. There was enough in there to keep me from considering to vote for him.

That reminds me: there was this constant drumbeat from the Chronicle for Woolf to do an interview with them back then. He did two. Stefanik never did one at all, that I saw. And what else I didn't see was the idea that she was ducking them, as was put forth for Woolf. It's different for Republicans.

Random Sunday Thoughts

This just in from poor relation, Kansas. Now that the election is safely over.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and the GOP-dominated Legislature will get new revenue projections that are expected to make the state's budget problems look worse and intensify discussions about trimming spending.

The budget problems come after legislators enacted massive personal income tax cuts at Brownback's urging to stimulate the economy. The state has cut its top rate by 26 percent and exempted the owners of 191,000 businesses from income taxes altogether.

Supply-side, voodoo economics fails again. What to do? Maybe Kansas ain't Christian enough. Well, you know what is? Phil Robertson.

Along with eldest son Al, ‘Duck Dynasty’ star and family patriarch Phil Robertson has embarked on a new venture designed to share his faith in God with as many people as possible. Having already faced significant backlash from secular leftists over his Bible-based views of marriage, sex, and other issues, the 68-year-old has joined forces with Thomas Nelson Publishers to release a special edition of the Holy Bible.

I saw somewhere else it's priced at $29.99. I already have a copy stolen from a hotel room, unfortunately without Phil's explanation of how the gay is wrong and probably anyone not buying a copy is going to Hell anyway.

This has to go into the category of "more shit Matt and I probably agree."

A federal judge has turned down a request from a Guantanamo Bay hunger striker to alter the way he is force-fed, including the daily practice of inserting and removing his feeding tube.
 
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler on Friday ruled against Syrian prisoner Abu Wa'el Dhiab, who's been held at Guantanamo without charge for 12 years and was cleared for release in 2009.

This is disgraceful and, in this anyway, there is not a difference between Obama and Bush. If Phil's God exists they are both going to have a lot of explaining to do. Phil, himself, would likely find nothing wrong with force-feeding Guantanamo detainees. Preferably to sharks.

Random Thoughts on the Election

I'll start with this from Salon. Otherwise, I may just come back and add to this post.

On MSNBC, Chris Hayes argued that Democratic candidates erred in running away from Obama. So did an indignant Al Sharpton and even Republican Joe Scarborough. Many liberal pundits had urged Democrats to stand by their man. Paul Krugman recently called Obama “one of the most consequential and, yes, successful presidents in American history.”

My feelings exactly. I sent a message to my candidate, Aaron Woolf, telling him not to run away from ACA after he told a reporter he wouldn't give a hypothetical answer to whether he'd have voted yes on it. I told him the answer I 'd have liked to see was, "I would have voted yes on it. If I'd been in the Congress way back, I'd have voted yes on Social Security and Medicare, too. And you know what, Republicans are still trying to get rid of all three."

This was in the news today:

(T)he country churned out 214,000 net new jobs last month.

That kept alive a nine-month streak over the 200,000 benchmark, and a record 56 months straight of growth in the US jobs market.

"With today's report, the unemployment rate is falling as fast as at any point in the last thirty years, and the economy is on pace for its best year of job growth since the late 1990s," said Jason Furman, Obama's top economic advisor.

The data suggested even more strength than that: the numbers for the previous two months were revised upward, and showed that the economy is smoothly absorbing more entrants and returnees into the jobs market.

And yes, the article did say that wage gains were not what they could be. But, as much as I think Matt Funiciello is an arrogant jerk bastard, it would be nice to see a Dem or two with the same spirit. It wouldn't surprise me if the Dems in the district actually do give him a veto on their candidate in 2016.Here's a little something for his supporters:


Obama’s failings are those of a generation of Democrats whose flaw is not how they campaign but how they govern. The only problem with their ‘message’ is that they often don’t mean it. They’re no more apt to change than the donors and consultants who hold their reigns are apt to let them. Since they’re too afraid to emancipate themselves others will have to do it for them, if necessary by primary.

Those possible ‘others’ are mighty disaffected. Do they still think the Democratic Party worth the time and effort that it takes to write a new agenda, build a new movement and challenge old leadership? I don’t know that they do. I only know that I’ve spent my life in that party and that nothing short of its utter transformation can save it now.

Also from Salon (yes, I use this blog to bookmark shit):

Amid this week’s disastrous Democratic drubbing, Connecticut emerged as one of the few bright spots for Democrats. Facing a formidable challenge from wealthy investor Tom Foley, whom he defeated by less than one percentage point in 2010, Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy secured another term, fending off Foley 51 to 48 percent. For Democrats seeking a way forward after Tuesday’s rout, Malloy’s victory is instructive: when Democrats build a record of progressive achievements — and run campaigns based on that record — they can win.

Running against a multimillionaire opponent who paid only $673 in federal taxes in 2013, Malloy naturally lobbed plenty of populist rhetorical barbs at Foley. But Malloy also boasted something many Democrats who lost Tuesday night did not — an actual track record of economic populist accomplishments. Malloy could point to specific policies he’d signed into law — most notably, mandatory paid sick leave and the nation’s first-ever state-level minimum wage increase to $10.10 an hour — that benefited Connecticut families but would be jeopardized if Foley, who opposed those policies, won the governorship.

My italics, also something for Funiciello supporters, point the bullshit that there's no difference between Dems and Reps. Matt would be attacking Malloy for not getting them $15 an hour.


“The core economic issues – such as the minimum wage increase and paid sick days – really drew a contrast between Malloy and Foley, partly because they are issues that really resonate with everybody,” Farrell said. “Everybody has a sense that everybody who works should be paid a decent wage and people who get sick shouldn’t have to choose between their health and losing their job or losing their pay.”

But, Farrell noted, Malloy signed both paid sick leave and the minimum wage increase into law despite encountering opposition among more moderate Democrats in the state legislature, particularly on the former.

“When we passed paid sick days, when we passed the minimum wage increase, it wasn’t easy,” she said. “We had a lot of opposition from more moderate Democrats. In Connecticut, there are strong Democratic majorities in both chambers, but you get a lot of opposition from moderate, corporate Democrats. So if they had won the day on those issues, we’d probably be preparing for Gov. Foley right now, because Malloy would have been without these strong economic justice issues to run a campaign on.”

Yes, there are ball-less Dems in Connecticut. The moral here is to be more progressive. Change has to come to the Democratic Party, though. Unless you believe in magic.

Well, do ya? Then vote Green!

Election Hangover

Not literally, though that 16 hours at the polls was a bit draining. My candidate, Aaron Woolf, lost fairly badly. He received 32% of the vote to Elise Stefanik's 53%. Green Party candidate, Matt Funiciello received 11% of the vote and enough of my attention to merit this posting. Here's Kingmaker Extortionist Matt in his concession speech.

Yes, that's right, the candidate that got 32% was the spoiler for the guy that got 11%. And no, you did not get 12 to 16% Matt. He did not win against anyone, anywhere, including Warren County where he should have been strongest. He got 24% there and it went rapidly downhill in the other 11 counties. 

I don't know why he's not running for president. His winning that is about as realistic as the chances of his winning in this district.

Because I Want To Save This For Future Reference

And because these guys did the Lord's work in putting it together.

Here’s the short version: The United States invaded Iraq in 2003, claiming that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had both weapons of mass destruction and connections to Al Qaeda. He had neither. Today, both Saddam Hussein and the United States are gone from Iraq. In their place? Al Qaeda.

I have a feeling that unfortunately this is going to come in handy in the near future for knocking down wingnut bullshit about how Obama "lost" Iraq.

Monday Extra: This is something I've been thinking about the last few days. Maybe I have a future in the State Department. At least if my garden didn't need some much work.

Secretary of State John Kerry cautiously signaled on Monday that the United States would be open to cooperating with Iran militarily in Iraq to beat back al Qaida-inspired fighters who pose an "existential" danger to that war-torn country and may look to target Europe and the United States. 

In the interest of making lemonades out of the lemons that George Bush turned Iraq into maybe we can at least gain some rapprochement out of the situation. We've left big, stinking piles of shit on Iran's Eastern and Western borders. Both of our countries have a vested interest in seeing them cleaned up.

UPDATED: Fred Kagan and Wm. Kristol disagree with me, I'm feeling much better about the idea that we should work with Iran. What's President Obama got to lose? The RightWing Media Congressional Complex is going complain about whatever he does anyway. He doesn't have to run for re-election. Israel can have a non-obstructionist role if they like. Time to earn that Nobel, Barack!