Trigger Warning on this mornings blog!

Good morning. I was planning on writing a blog about this horrendous rape of a teenager in Ohio. But the facts are so utterly disturbing that I honestly don't want to talk about them. I'll just leave you with the links and you can view them, or not, for yourself.
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4 comments (Latest Comment: 01/07/2013 02:58:50 by Will in Chicago)

Yesterday, the 113th Congress was sworn in. There were a lot of new faces, a few more Dems in the House and Senate, more women and other "minorities". They face some challenges, with a lot of people anxious to get some legislation through quickly. New York and New Jersey need aid relief for the cleanup and rebuild from the destruction of Hurricane Sandy. There is also the issue of gun regulations, and the upcoming debt limit and sequester (spending cuts) discussions that need to happen. Yesterday was all of the opening hoo-ha, like swearing in and photo ops. Today begins the real work.
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48 comments (Latest Comment: 01/05/2013 00:36:00 by livingonli)

It appears the crisis has been averted. Well - half the crisis anyway... the other half has been delayed for two months, so we'll get another two months of dickering and posturing before yet another 11th hour deal. At 2:00 AM on New Years Day, the Senate passed a bill to avert the fiscal cliff. It passed with only 8 votes opposing. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) had previously punted on his responsibility to get anything done when he couldn't even get a watered down "Plan B" passed by his own party. He left town saying it was up to the Senate Dems and the president to come up with a deal, and if they did, he'd bring it up for a vote.

From a political perspective, those words came back to bite him. The president and the Senate DID come up with a plan, one that was far more progressive than his "Plan B". It contained a lot of good stuff:
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117 comments (Latest Comment: 01/03/2013 01:50:35 by TriSec)

In my last blog of 2012, I direct you to Velveeta's year-end blog. I'm no good at year end lists...

We had a few bonus blogs on Saturday -- one from yours truly and one from our friend, Jacob Dean.

Today December 31,is the final day of the year before the the Bush Tax cuts officially expire. We've written of this ad nauseum. There appears to be some movement in the negotiations, and as I sort it out, I will update.

Until then, I wish you a happy last day of 2012. You have meant the world to me in the past, and I fully expect the same in 2013. Sometimes things not changing is a good thing.

Peace and Love to you and your family,

Raine
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103 comments (Latest Comment: 01/01/2013 06:01:15 by livingonli)

All I Got For Christmas Was This Damn Head Cold by Jacob Dean

Tis the season for colds, coughs, sore throats, and noses trying to runaway. I try to carefully observe my surroundings more so during cold and flu seasons because I really don't like getting sick. I'm sure you love it too, right? I have slightly flat Eustachian tubes in my ears. Your ears, nose and throat are all connected, and function together, for example, when you get a head cold. You know the song, "the ear bone's connected to the nose bone, and the nose bone's connected to the throat bone..." or something like that. Your Eustachian tubes help drain all that nasty stuff through your ears, into the nose and throat and then into the garbage, sink, napkin, or toilet. I'm clearly not a doctor but my point is whenever I get a "normal" head cold, or what would be a normal head cold for someone else, it tends to hit me a little more so, and hang around longer in my head than most people. This is why I'd consider myself a bit more concerned and cautious about colds, especially being around people who are sick. Which leads us to the real point of this blog: why part-time service sector employees can't afford to take a sick day off from work. Imagine that. Once again, it's really all about the money.
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1 comments (Latest Comment: 12/29/2012 21:48:37 by Raine)