October 30, 2014

NM MVD says Navajo-only speakers are “illiterates” must learn English to obtain state ID card

-more at link-

October 23, 2014

Watching the whole debate. I can't see how Rick Scott can possibly win.

He comes across so hollow. He is so creepy. He is lying
with every sentence. Crist is relaxed, warm, focused.

ALSO unlike many current Democratic candidates, Crist
did NOT run away from Obama. He praised him.

Scott is so weak, so creepy, so programmed, so unoriginal,
so medicated or else some kinda chip in the brain, a
real life whatchamacallit, manchurian candidate type.

Now on to Part Two.

October 22, 2014

If you have some experience with beloved pets who have vanished without a trace

It has been almost a month since I last saw my best cat.
I have cried so much that I busted my eyeballs, and the
sadness still won't go away.
The other cats remind me of him. One is lonely and lost without his brother.
I don't know if he left willingly, on an adventure.
I don't know if he is lost, or dead, or anything at all.

I've done about everything I can do except drive up and
down every street of every block within a 15 mile radius
calling his name until I am hoarse.

I'm not looking for sympathy especially anything that will
make me start crying again. But if you have gone through
this, your insights are welcome. I do believe everything is
ok, somehow; but emotionally I'm not there yet. These

emotions have been so powerful, it must be triggering
something else, other losses. I keep dreaming that I see
him, or that he walks in the door. I keep thinking that
I hear his very distinct little meow. He is the gentlest,
sweetest, most zen sort of cat. I have thought maybe
there are too many cats here for his taste, and he took
off, to get some space. I wish I knew. I am so sad but
sometimes when I think of him it's just a beautiful vision.

This is a picture of a cat that looks exactly like him.
Somebody else's lost cat.

October 17, 2014

It's a learning curve for everyone.

At first they didn't know the whole story. They weighed
all the possibilities and erred on the side of no lawsuits.

Ebola jokes are flying left and right, out in the outernet.

Today for no good reason I had a terrible headache. Of
course I thought oh no I have ebola, just as a private joke,
and it got quite bad, the headache, not the joke; so I took
some ibuprofin. I knew I didn't have ebola, and hoped I
didn't have influenza. As the headache subsided I thought
about the nurse who flew to Cincinnati. Maybe the day
she flew there, she had a headache and took some
advil. Same next day. She would never show a fever,
but maybe could still be in the beginning of the contagious
stage. There's so much we don't know. Being irrationally
fearful is NOT the same thing as being overly cautious.

October 15, 2014

An excellent toon

a little sad, but excellent

October 14, 2014

I can't respond to that, because I haven't seen fearmongering here.

There's a fine line between helping people be informed,
and helping people be terrified. That kind of fear is not
helpful, it paralyzes and blocks clarity.

Any humor associated with Ebola has been for that purpose,
ie to dispel irrational fear. Not to make light of it, nor
ridicule people for disseminating useful information.

If you are feeling frustrated, maybe you are trying too
hard to make people be more alarmed. On DU I think
most everyone is well-informed about the situation.
Informed enough that it is scary all by itself, without
any additional fear-inducing input. If you have some
information that's not available elsewhere, that's helpful.

I've got a daughter who just came back from Africa.
It's easy to become scared. It's important not to
stay scared.

October 14, 2014

Ugly people don't like mirrors.

They call the mirrors ugly, and cover them up with sheets
so they don't have to look at them.

October 13, 2014

It's definitely an interesting read, thought-provoking.

Can't quite process it because it causes nausea. Trigger
warning good idea. I'm one of the most compassionate
and forgiving people I know. I'm also a survivor of early
childhood sexual abuse by an older teenage relative.
Looking with compassion at such people doesn't come
naturally, whether it is their fault or just the way they
were born, they fucked me up in so many ways.

October 13, 2014

truly. although I don't entirely agree with the dire perspective of the author

I agree it's an extremely important piece to look at here in the USA.

Even if it isn't ebola there are other possibilities, homegrown ones.

Parents often need to be reminded by their kids' schools to keep the
kids at home if they are sick. I got sick last winter because of somebody's
visiting grandmother coughing in a classroom.

We are probably due for a major health education program in this
nation. World. Not that we have gone backward, educationally speaking
but I bet there are many today who have no idea how a virus spreads,
or the many ways bacteria like to travel.

.

October 12, 2014

Citizen Koch trailer

http://www.citizenkoch.com/page/content/trailer

This has probably been posted before but really ought to get
more visibility everywhere. Citizens United, Koch money,
tea party creation, and more.