It’s After Midnight…Night Owls? It’s Before Dawn…Early Birds? What’s Up?
Posted: May 16, 2013 Filed under: Barack Obama, U.S. Politics | Tags: Akein Scott, Benghazi emails, IRS Tea Party, NOLA, Rancho Brazos Tornado Granbury Texas, Steven T. Miller, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew 23 Comments
Hello!
Is it late evening?
Is it early morning?
Damn…
Well, how are you all doing?
Just a few quick news links for you night owls….Or maybe I should say, early risers?
Some monster of a storm hit Texas earlier this evening…Tornado leaves fatalities, damage in North Texas town – Houston Chronicle
There is video of the twister at that link.
The latest news is here from this US Today article published a short while ago: At least three killed, up to 100 injured by Texas tornado
Several tornadoes slammed into the Dallas Fort Worth area Wednesday night, causing at least three deaths and injuring several dozen.
Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds says one of the tornadoes touched down 3.5 miles southeast of Grandbury Wednesday night, in the Rancho Brazos subdivision, destroying mobile homes and single-family homes. Deeds said at least three residents were killed and up to 100 injured, some critically. The injuries range from amputations to minor bumps and bruises, Deeds says.
“There were probably 75 homes in that subdivision that are totally destroyed,” Deeds said. “We haven’t had a bad one like this for a while.”
Photo here: Tornado impacts North Texas town – CBS News
This image shows a tornado that hit the town of Granbury in northwest Texas, May 15, 2013. / Karon Campbell
In New Orleans, Police arrest suspect in New Orleans Mother’s Day shooting
The New Orleans Police Department has arrested 19-year-old Akein Scott in connection with the shooting of 19 people on Mother’s Day, according to the department’s official Facebook page.
I never would have thought that one day we would see something like an “official” announcement of any police department on Facebook.
And…two things out of Washington tonight.
President Obama on Wednesday demanded and accepted the resignation of the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Steven T. Miller, as part of a multi-pronged effort to quell controversies that threaten to dominate his second term.
The action was Obama’s first substantive step to address a political uproar stemming from the IRS’s disclosure that it had targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.
[…]
The administration also took the extraordinary step of releasing a letter from Treasury Secretary Jack Lew in which he demanded that Miller resign in order “to restore public trust and confidence in the IRS.”
The forceful response underscored just how damaging the IRS scandal and the other issues could become for a second-term president trying to secure an ambitious array of legislative achievements. Obama and his aides have been criticized in recent days by opponents and supporters alike for a slow and seemingly passive response to the controversies.
White House releases additional documents related to Benghazi response – First Read
Under increasing scrutiny from congressional Republicans, the White House on Wednesday released copies of emails and other additional supporting documents related to its response to last fall’s attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya.
The White House released the materials in the wake of Republicans’ clamor for more information about how the Obama administration crafted its explanation for the incident, which came at the height of last year’s campaign season, and resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
The emails convey different parts of the administration — the White House, the State Department, and the CIA — trading drafts of talking points for use not just by representatives of the administration, but also by members of Congress.
PDF of emails at the link.
This new report from World Health Organization can’t be good: WHO reports first patient-to-nurse spread of new SARS-like virus | Reuters
Two health workers in Saudi Arabia have become infected with a potentially fatal new SARS-like virus after catching it from patients in their care – the first evidence of such transmission within a hospital, the World Health Organization said.
The new virus, known as novel coronavirus, or nCoV, is from the same family of viruses as those that cause common colds and the one that caused the deadly outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that emerged in Asia in 2003.
“This is the first time health care workers have been diagnosed with (novel coronavirus) infection after exposure to patients,” the Geneva-based U.N. health agency said in a disease outbreak update late on Wednesday.
The health workers are a 45-year-old man, who became ill on May 2 and is currently in a critical condition, and a 43-year-old woman with a coexisting health condition, who fell ill on May 8 and is in a stable condition, the WHO said.
France has also reported a likely case of transmission within a hospital, but this was from one patient to another patient who shared the same room for two days.
That is scary stuff…
And….if you missed the last three days of Jon Stewart ripping into Obama, here are the clips:
Jon Stewart Continues Piling On Scandal-Plagued Obama: He’s Either Nixon Or Mr. Magoo | Mediaite
That’s bout it for me tonight. If you are up and about, leave a comment.
This is an open thread….
peej
Carissa
ecocatwoman
grayslady
mablue2
JJ Lopez aka Minkoff Minx
NW Luna
peggysue22
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
My fingers are tingling something awful!
I know you said it was your meds, but have you been checked for carpel tunnel? Typing will aggravate it.
Good reminder we should all type more slowly and take breaks. If tingling/paresthesias in all 5 fingertips, that’s most likely not from carpal tunnel compression.
So doc, what is it then? I’ve been blaming nerve damage from a herniated disc in my neck caused by a car accident in 2001. I’ve learned to live with it. Driving is the worst, writing is the 2nd worst for me. The disc has now dissolved, so no cushion between the vertebrae.
ecocat, ouch!
The medial nerve, which enervates the thumb, forefinger & middle finger, runs through what’s called the carpal “tunnel,” or narrow passage between the carpal bones in the wrist. The median nerve doesn’t go to the 4th (ring) & 5th (little) fingers — the ulnar nerve does. So paresthesias (weird tingly or burning sensations) in thumb, 1st & 2nd finger — could be from medial nerve compression. But if all 5 fingers are affected — then we have to look at what could affect all 5, either from an anatomical/mechanical type cause (compression/damage) or physiologically (meds, or diabetes).
Despite my sometimes overwhelming compulsion to talk shop, it can be very hard to figure out what’s going on without a physical exam. You have to examine and analyze all the possible causes “upstream” from the problem to check for any anatomical causes. So fingertips, wrist, elbow, shoulder, neck, brain. A nerve which is irritated/compressed/damaged can cause symptoms anywhere up or down from the injury, though usually down. People have anatomical variations and accessory nerves, too, just to complicate things. We’re not machines — despite what insurance companies would like to think. Tendinitis (tendinosis is a newer label) is more common than carpal tunnel syndrome, and swollen tendons can compress nerves. Sometimes there’s not one, but a couple of problems causing the symptoms.
And to add even more complexity, X-rays and MRI scans aren’t that reliable. If we took 100 people and gave them all MRI scans, probably 20-30% would show disc problems or the like, but have no symptoms. The same percentage would have pain but nothing abnormal on their MRIs. And the remainder would have symptoms that matched up. Technology’s not perfect!
A good start would be to analyze what positions — body alignment and movements — cause pain, which you’ve already done. A physical medicine/rehabilitation medicine clinician or good physical therapist can help significantly in finding ways to decrease the pain or treat/minimize the cause(s). Acupuncture and/or myofascial release modalities often help, as does gentle — not aggressive — yoga. I wish I could help more.
Thanks Luna. I like the idea of acupuncture, although I have never tried it. I do have diabetes but I’m in denial that it’s neuropathy. My A1c is 6.4 & my daily levels are good, anywhere from 90 – 115 normally. Occasionally, when I’m a very bad girl they might hit 145 for a day, then go back down. I find the later I eat in the evening, the more likely for higher morning levels. And I refuse to have back surgery. At least I have a direction to consider & I appreciate it.
House farm bill moves ahead with big cut in food stamps | Reuters
Assholes!
Agreed!
It won’t pass the Senate. All the House does these days is pass extreme bills that can never become law. And they only work about 3 days a week. Our government in paralyzed.
You said it: http://www.truthdig.com//images/cartoonuploads/lk051613dAPR-useless-500.jpg
Associated Press – Officials say at least six people were killed when a spring tornado outbreak devastated parts of North Texas, destroying or damaging dozens of homes and injuring dozens of people.The Washington Times, America’s Newspaper
Ah, Texas, and another catastrophe – Ralph, why haven’t you moved yet?
Texas is a strange sort of magnet…it pulled me in slowly and then BAM. I realize I’ve lived here for 27 years!
That’s right, I forgot you live there too! Oh, I know, lots of it is really beautiful, though I’ve only been as far east as the Leander area. The hill country is wonderful and even Pecos was “classic western” great. It’s the person made mess I hate. It burned my soul, driving across on 10, to look across the river and see that horrid smoke stack billowing black doom onto the one room adobes in Cuidad Juarez on the Mexican side of the border. To know that bridge binding it to El Paso represents the worst of economic slavery. And miles and miles and miles of dead cars draining their poisonous fluids into the sand. New houses that don’t fit their foundations. Bribery demanded to get your little business going. Two older white folks getting stopped in their RV, cause they decide to take the scenic route with their granddaughter who is biracial and there fore we fit the profile of “Coyotes”. Doing to Texas what was done in LA at the turn of the 20th century – cheap land and ticky-tacky houses and new corporations with no concern for the land they despoil. Old companies with no rules or any retribution for damage they do.
All very true! I live right by NASA so it’s kind of atypical of Texas in some of the bad man made ways…and horribly typical in others.
Though I tell you, even with Mission Control practically in my backyard, I still can’t keep my wifi signal going without having to constantly restart my modem. (This is where I ponder whether civilization has largely been a failure 😉
Yeah? Well I guess you have been following this then:
http://news.yahoo.com/planet-hunting-kepler-spacecraft-suffers-major-failure-nasa-203147459.html
Oh, just another “opportunity” for Lockheed Martin et al to build something fancy and new. From the disaster capitalism schools of both W. and Rahm Emanuel 😉 My guess, anyway 🙂
Wifi, LOL!
Chortle!
Its bedtime for me. Have a nice night all.
After slamming Texas last night I thought I should add this tidbit I found this morning:
http://app1.kuhf.org/mobile/1368637560
A 36% drop in construction injuries and fatalities from 2003 to 2011 appears,at least on the surface, pretty good.
Scandinavians and Minoans related?