To all my Jewish friends/readers: L’shanah tovah tikatevu ve techatemu! — YUR
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Trump is decidedly the most dangerous political *figure* – I don’t want call him a “leader”, or even a person – of our lifetime. We need to vote him out, and we need to be prepared that he will violently resist leaving office. We are living in unprecedented times, my friends. — YUR
Don’t Watch it From the Shadows, Colltalers
The Democratic Convention brought comfort and hope to part but not all of the party’s constituency. But the Republican one, held while protests raged against police brutality and white supremacists killed three (white) people in the ‘inner-city chaos‘ they see, was everything supporters wished it to be.
Meanwhile, the U.S. still tops the world with six million Covid-19 cases and near 190,000 deaths, California wildfires are burning an area larger than Delaware, and about 20 million Americans are unemployed. To the GOP, though, these are not a priority; only the consecration of Donald Trump is.
We’ll go back to the Democrats’ half-delivered message and to the Republican lying feast, but first, let’s ask once again, why almost as many have rallied in big cities against the use of masks as those denouncing the killing of Blacks and people of color? While the latter…
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Puzzles solved, but I’m going to be a little busy today. Later, friends. — YUR
History Lesson: The Bill of Rights and Gun Ownership
Published July 29, 2020 Uncategorized 2 CommentsVic’s post makes for a great refresher course, friends! Give it a read. — YUR
Amid the violence plaguing the US, we can’t forget the original controversy about gun ownership. For many gun owners, including friends and family, the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution is sacred. However, and here’s the kicker, there is no 2nd Amendment without the other nine.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution were drafted as a package, and were required to ensure adoption of the US Constitution. Collectively, they are called the “Bill of Rights.” The 2nd Amendment is only one of the ten. Tear down any of these fundamental rights, and you tear down them all.
Here is the set, courtesy of the National Constitution Center.
THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending…
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The Missus and I will be making a little pilgrimage this weekend. The spoilers will be temporarily suspended, but I will – as usual – eventually catch up! Be well and do good, friends. — YUR
Image courtesy of Google
Jumble Spoiler – 07/07/20
Published July 7, 2020 Uncategorized 38 CommentsTags: Bob Ross, crloed, David L. Hoyt, esbls, jumble answer, jumble solution, kaquws, Puzzles, rihtd, Word Games
Visual Description: Bob Ross redux?
RIHTD = THIRD, ESBLS = BLESS, KAQUWS = SQUAWK, CRLOED = COLDER — Giving us: THRBSSSUKOER
Clue/Question: To complete the painting of the golf course’s thicket, the artist took – – –
Answer: BRUSH STROKES
(Another excellent, stinky pun. We don’t really hear the word “thicket” all that much these days, so I’m glad that the boys are using it here today. Keep Vocabulary Alive! Maybe they can come up with a Python-esque Jumble, giving us a “shrubbery” some day? Or, for our Southwestern friends – or amigos – maybe a “chaparral”. Ooh, now we’re talkin’!
There were no new clue words today. And/but, all the jumbles did come up as new, for me. I noticed that David L. Hoyt has never used the word “squaw” before. It’s from the Algonquin, and it simply means woman/wife. Although NOW, the dictionaries say the word is dated, usually disparaging, and usually offensive. Our American forebears ran with the word for a few hundred years, kind of figuring all “Indians” were alike. But, they were/are actually quite diverse. So, don’t hold yer breath, waiting for Hoyt to use “squaw”! The answer letter layout was another very impressive twelve letter jumble. The first thing I noticed – even before glancing at the cartoon and clue/question – was that there were only three vowels! I think this played a factor in my getting the final answer so quickly.
Great cartoon of a Bob Ross wannabe! I can hardly believe the real Bob Ross has been dead for 25 years now. Not exactly high art, he was more known for the speed in which he created very serviceable paintings. He was also know for his quiet tones, and saying things like “happy little trees”, or “happy little clouds” and “There are no mistakes, only happy accidents.” And, he regularly used brushes that most of us would use to paint a room with! His show was on PBS, and it ran for 11 years, in the ’80s and ’90s. It’s funny, because in some ways he’s even bigger today than when he was alive. People be funny! Be well and do good, friends.) — YUR
Images courtesy of Google and Fine Art America and Art and Design Inspiration
A few shoes have already dropped . . . China and Russia! We’re still hoping that Netanyahu and Israel will come to their senses, and abide by international law! Read on, friends. — YUR
Rulings and Reparations, Colltalers
The scary but thoroughly expected explosion of new COVID-19 cases in the world has a common cause, the rush to restart economic activity even if people are dying as a result of it, and a disheartening realization: the coronavirus is now an integral part of our near future. But a vaccine may not be.
Meanwhile, constitutional decisions in Israel, Hong Kong, and Russia may further erode human rights and the ability of democracy to truly represent people. That’s why the Black Lives Matter uprising has been so crucial exposing the racist complacency of American society. Now, to reparations?
But let’s start with the proposed settlements of lawsuits brought up against Bayer and Johnson & Johnson over two of their cancer-causing products. Bayer offered $10.9 billion to settle 75% of 125,000 cases against its subsidiary Monsanto’s weedkiller Roundup. And J&J agreed to pay $2.1 billion in damages for people who…
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I love this post! It is succinct and to the point. We all need to do better. Peace. — YUR
I believe that we should all pay attention to the people who make up our world. They are not invisible. Their pain should be all of our pain. Discrimination against one is discrimination against all.
The murder of black men by police authorities in the United States is not unique to America. We must learn to see it in our home cities and provinces. There are far too many black people murdered in Canada, indeed in British Columbia, by government which is supposed to represent all of us, not just the privileged few. I believe we should each put our bodies in harms way to protect the innocent, even protect the guilty. Being drunk…
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Our over-militarized police forces need to be reformed! It will likely take some defunding, and converting to more community based law enforcement organizations. This won’t happen overnight, but it has to happen! And, it has to happen in conjunction with reforming our court system, and prison systems. Private prisons are an abomination. No one should profit off the incarceration of others. These are all major aspects of America’s systemic racism. We can no longer turn a blind eye to these injustices. It’s way past time that we live up to the convictions of our Declaration of Independence, and show that we all truly believe that : “ALL men are created equal.” — YUR
Stop the U.S. of Lyncherdom, Colltalers
‘Get your knees off our necks.‘ The eloquence of Rev. Al Sharpton’s eulogy of George Floyd, choked to death by a white Minneapolis police officer on Memorial Day, was appropriate to match the public horror about his death. Hundreds of thousands across the U.S. and the world marched in protest.
The massive 11-day rallies are not only a response to the horrifying 8:46min video of Floyd’s killing but also a demand for change, redress, renewal of our tenets as human beings. Not surprisingly, the police behaved badly all along, arresting and beating people up. So now there’s talk of defunding it.
The crowd also paid respects to Breonna Taylor, whose 27th birthday was Friday, and countless of young black lives cut short by police brutality and cruel social inequality now reigning in the U.S. Breonna, an African-American medical technician, was shot by police…
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I’ve always respected the institution of the police department. But, it is abundantly clear there are some members who never should’ve been sworn in. These few never should’ve graduated the academy. And, better yet, they never should’ve been ACCEPTED into the academy! All of our police departments need greater, in depth, psychological analyses of their applicants. And, they need constant psychological screening of the recruits to weed out the ones who may have slipped through the cracks. Racism is only one of the problems. The bigger one, in my mind, are those who were bullied and/or abused in their youth, or who may have been disenfranchised to the point where becoming a cop is their big chance to GET EVEN! We can not allow people like this to wear a badge and carry a gun. We also need to end the practice of the “blue wall of silence”. It’s not being a “rat” when you help to weed out the bad elements. You are actually making the force stronger by removing these weak, and potentially dangerous, links. The police need to police themselves better. And, if they won’t take the job seriously, they will have to concede to a civilian review board. One with real teeth.
And, of course, they need to re-evaluate some of their “training”, because they can’t continue to fall back on: “they were only doing what they were trained to do.” Be well and do good, friends. — YUR
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.
Albert Einstein
In the height of ’Jihadi John’ reign of terror, the Islamic State executioner who derives pleasure in executing journalists, that image stuck in my mind. However, it has been replaced with Derek Chauvin grinding his knee into George Floyd’s neck while the poor man cried for mercy. When Jihadi John murdered several innocent journalists, mostly whites. I was angry and wrote about the atrocities of ISIS. It has come as a surprise that people are eerily silent about the murder of George Floyd.
Alas, Derek and countless other heartless cops in the US are terrorists protected by the state. The US President has threatened to kill looters but killers like Derek would not have been arrested without…
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