Apr 272023
 

Yesterday, I slept in, which made me quite late in posting. You may have noticed it in the comments – only authors would have noticed it in the articles, since only authors can see the page which shows whether or not I have schedued the next day. But I’m fine. I had been doing some crtoon planning for May on the day before, and between that and the grocery delivery I went to bed both behind and tired, and I just stayed there until I was ready to rise. I’ll need about one out of every three for May, and that is after checking last year to see whether I had already made a cartoon for any of the missing days. I think I found one (it may have been two, but no more than that.) I’ll need two new ones before I next visit Virgil, so that’s a priority. Most of the rest can wait a while.  And, also yesterday, was Carol Burnett’s 90th birthday , including a televised “party,” which I didn’t know about until it was over.  You can find some flavor here.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Huff Post – Federal ‘Work Requirements,’ Benefit Cuts Already Taking Effect For Millions This Year
Quote – Already, more than 16 million households have seen their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits shrivel after Congress canceled an increase put in place at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. This month, seniors saw their monthly allotment fall from $295 to as little as $23. And as many as 15 million individuals will lose Medicaid in the coming months because Congress has canceled the pandemic policy of maintaining enrollment by not continuously rechecking beneficiaries’ eligibility. Millions could lose coverage just by failing to keep up with paperwork.
Click through for details. We shouldn’t really need to be told (or rminded of) this. But – messaging.

ProPublica – As Rail Profits Soar, Blocked Crossings Force Kids to Crawl Under Trains to Get to School
Quote – Recent spectacular derailments have focused attention on train safety and whether the nation’s powerful rail companies are doing enough to protect the public — and whether federal regulators are doing enough to make them, especially as the companies build longer and longer trains. But communities like Hammond routinely face a different set of risks foisted on them by those same train companies, which have long acted with impunity. Every day across America, their trains park in the middle of neighborhoods and major intersections[.]
Click through for story. This gave me chills. I live near a train track. In our neighborhood they are pretty good about not standing still – but also so long that just going through can tie up traffic. When I reached home Sunday, and needed to cross the track, the tail end of the train was just going by. But the backup was enough that there was still a wait on account of the car traffic. I can’t claim to have been inconvenienced – but it could have made a difference for an emergency vehicle.

Food For Thought

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Feb 182023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Georgia grand jury report re: Trump’s election crimes concludes witnesses lied, recommends charges.

Farron Balanced – Trump Lawyer Offers Dumbest Explanation Ever For Stolen Classified Document Folder

Really American – Chip Franklin SKEWERS Donald Trump for his obsession with public execution.

Brent Terhune – Satanic Ritual at the Grammys

Abandoned Lamb Runs To Human Mom

Beau – Let’s talk about Ohio, trains, coverage, and a lack of answers….

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Nov 062022
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “L’Amant Anonyme,” the only surviving opera by Joseph Bologne {Chevalier de Saint-Georges) whom I assume no one here has ever heard of. He was a close contemporary of Mozart (10 years older and lived for 8 years after Mozart died.) History has forgotten a number of competent composers who were contemporaneous with Mozart, simply because he was such a towering fugure, but in the case of Saint-Georges there was more to it. But he was an interesting guy. He was born in Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, the son of a wealthy plantation owner and his wile’s maid, a Senegalese enslaved girl. When he was 7, his father was falsely accused of morder, and he was sent to Paris and enrolled in school there to prevent him from being sold into slavery should the accusation stick. Apparently it didn’t, because when he was 13 his father came to Paris with his mother, at which time he was enrolled in fencing school, in which he excelled perhaps even more than he did in music, and which probably kept him alive. It also got him appointed to the king’s personal guard and named a “Chevalier” (i.e. knighted) in his own right (as an illegitimate son, he could not inherit his father’s title.) In 1769 he joined a newly organized orchestra, of which he later became concertmaster and then conductor. in 1776 the Paris Opera needed new direction, and he was the obvious choise (and Marie Antoinette’s choice) to be the new Director. But three divas petitioned her not to appoint him on racial grounds, and he withdrew his name from consideration in order not to embarrass her. (Apparently, whatever her failings, she was not a racist, as so many philosphers of the French Enlightenment {I’m looking at you, Voltaire}, were.) He did, however, with backing from Count D’Ogny, commission Haydn to composed 6 symphonies (known as the Paris Symphonies), and he conducted their premiere. When the French Revolution began, he bcame the commanding officer of the first “citizens’ army” recognized in history (no one seems to want to count Wat Tyler’s fighters or William Wallace’s fighters as “citizens’ armies.”) I apologize for getting carried away by the composer, but I assure you, all this barely scratches the surface of his amazing life and accomplishments. The opera itself is reminiscent of Mozart, though perhaps not as complex musically – but a bit easier to follow on that account. It was recorded by Chicago’s Haymarket Opera Company, which specializes in baroque and early classical opera. It tells a sweet little story with a happy ending for all the characters. Next week – actually for the next four weeks – it’s back to China for one French and three Italian operas, and then, on December 10, the Met season begins.

Also – We can hope (I certainly hope) that this is the last time we will have to upend ourlives (and those of our animals – those who have them) but “falling back.”  Just one more “spring forward” and then we get to set it and forget it.  (as Arizona, for one, already does.”  Although , since stats are allowed to deviate, who knows.  Another reason to vote.  As if we needed one.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Your Uber Data Is Being Mined to Prevent Bridge Collapses
Quote – Overall, even with relatively few trips, the researchers found that just 10 datasets were 90 percent accurate at predicting bridge vibrations, and about 80 datasets increased the accuracy to 97 percent. Matarazzo and his team had specifically designed the system to distinguish vibrations pertinent to a bridge’s health from statistical noise that might be caused by variables like potholes and traffic. The more than 100 trips considered in the study amounted to less than 0.1 percent of the trips made on the Golden Gate Bridge daily, indicating that smartphone data represent “an enormous sensing potential,” the authors wrote in the study. “When fueled with long-term monitoring data, artificial intelligence has the potential to provide bridge engineers and owners with unprecedented information for maintenance and operation at virtually little to no extra cost.”
Click through for article. There is no Uber data on me personally, since I’ve never used it. And, if there were, I would have zero hesitation about it being used to prevent bridge collapses, especially collapses like the one in India this week. But God help anyone whose data Republicans get their hands on.

Wired – When Your Neighbor Turns You In
Quote – “If the rule of law starts breaking—and especially if there’s a regime that is supportive of those actions—that’s really giving space for people to take actions that are illegal,” Amat says. “Knowing you will not be prosecuted is a big thing.” All of these sorts of things create a culture of fear in authoritarian countries. People are afraid of their neighbors, afraid to speak freely, and afraid of what might happen next. This fear is made worse by the fact that the citizens dealing with oppressive forces have no ability to hold those in power accountable when they go too far.
CLick through for details. I don’t suppose anyone here needs any more incentive to vote – in fact, you probably already have voted. But I wish there were a way to get this knowledge to every indecidid voter in the nation in the next two days.

Food For Thought

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Jul 132020
 

The State of Oregon and the City of Portland have been cracking down on the violent misconduct by our Republican dominated police department, so criminal Fuhrer Trump* sent us his own gestapo to federalize abuse of power by police.

0713LaBella

Federal law enforcement shot and severely injured a protester Saturday night during demonstrations in front of the federal courthouse in downtown Portland.

Donavan LaBella, 26, was shot in the head by what friends and witnesses said was an impact munition.

Videos of the incident posted online brought swift condemnation from some local leaders, including both of Oregon’s U.S. Senators, who demanded answers from the federal government, and City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, who asked that federal troops leave Portland immediately.

Mayor Ted Wheeler, in a statement released just before 9 p.m. Sunday, called on federal law enforcement to abide by the same standards as Portland officers in using less-lethal weapons against protesters.

In one video, LaBella is seen pushing a canister of smoke or tear gas away from his feet across the street from the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse. Moments later, LaBella returns to holding a speaker over his head with both hands. Shots of impact munitions can be heard, and LaBella collapses to the ground, dropping the speaker…

Inserted from <OPB>

I have both videos of the incident.  They are graphic.

* Graphic * Portland, Or. – US Marshals fire tear gas striking BLM protester in the head.

Note that neither Donovan LaBella nor the other protestors did anything to threaten Trump’s* Republican Nazi pigs in any way.  This is simply a criminal assault by Republican gestapo against citizens exercising their right to protest.

RESIST!!

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Jun 082020
 

Here is the one hundred seventy-fifth article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s winner is an unnamed Portland police officer. He is so honored for beating and pepper-spraying a reporter for having the audacity to film his Republican brother officers illegally torturing a black demonstrator like the Republican Nazis they are.

0608PigsAttackA Portland freelance reporter has penned an account of being beaten and pepper-sprayed by police officers while trying to film them making an arrest last night.

Video taken from a helicopter by WW’s news partner KATU-TV around 11:45 pm on June 6 shows a person filming police in Chapman Square, until an officer turns to him, hits him with a baton and twice pepper-sprays him in the face.

Donovan Farley, a longtime contributor to WW’s Arts & Culture section, says he was that person. His account matches what’s shown in the helicopter video.

Farley says in his account that he approached the scene because he heard a protester say he could not breathe as police officers were forcefully arresting him on the ground. Farley alleges the methods police used to make the arrest resembled those that Minneapolis police applied that killed George Floyd.

“As the man sputtered and spit and gasped, I, for reasons that I’m sure are clear, shouted to get the fuck off his neck,” Farley recalls. “This is the moment a fourth officer approached, reaching for his baton.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Willamette Week>

Here’s the included video.

Although Portland is one of the nation’s most liberal cities, our history of police misconduct, especially against Blacks leaves much to be desired.  Portland, like many cities, needs a citizen review board with teeth.

RESIST!!

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Jun 052020
 

It’s another hectic day here in the CatBox.  I had to lay down 90 minutes to alleviate back pain.  Tomorrow, please expect no more than a Personal Update, as it’s a WWWendy day and we have lots of chores to do.  JD, will you cover Bill Maher?  TGIF!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:44 (average 5:52).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0605TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 1,925,267
Deaths: 110,218
Recovered: 712,436

Short Takes:

From ProPublica: Police culture can be insular and tough to penetrate. But I’ve been surprised by how often it’s possible, though time consuming, to expose important issues by requesting and examining records and data from police departments and other government agencies and engaging citizens and key leaders. So here are five techniques concerned citizens, journalists and policymakers can use to examine police conduct in their communities.

1. Understand the policies and laws that govern police conduct.

If you’re alarmed by what you saw in Minneapolis, or other recent incidents of apparent police misconduct, the first step is to find out if the agency in question has a written policy on the use of force. Does the policy dictate when officers should or shouldn’t use force? What tactics are they allowed to use? Is there any rule against choking a suspect?

It’s important to know if the officers involved were following the policies and procedures that are supposed to guide their behavior. Police actions that strike an onlooker as inappropriate may actually be within a department’s rules. It’s possible the rules themselves are inconsistent with best practices elsewhere.

Ask the department for its policies on the practices that concern you, like restraining suspects or the use of pepper spray or Tasers. You may also need to request rules set by a county or state authority. Ask for written copies. You may be required to file a formal public records request, which I will describe below. And if there is no existing written policy, that might be something worth questioning itself.

If you’re having trouble understanding a policy, try running it by an attorney, academic, elected official or a journalist in your community.

How I did it: I did a deep dive into policies about drug testing after a police captain was killed in a car crash in 2016, and I exposed that he was drunk and on drugs at the time. I spoke to his chief and learned their department didn’t have a policy for random drug testing. I wondered why that was the case and looked to the state attorney general’s office, which sets many police rules. The rules allowed departments to choose whether they wanted to do random testing, and my reporting identified more than 100 that did not. After our story, the state attorney general mandated random drug testing for cops across the state.

I included one of five ways YOU can help hold police accountable for criminal Republican behavior. Please click through for the other four.  It’s worth the read, and you need to know it.  RESIST!!

From Alternet: New York Times columnist Paul Krugman on Friday warned that it’s wrong to compare President Donald Trump to President Richard Nixon, on the grounds that Trump is far worse and more dangerous.

Krugman acknowledges that there are some similarities between Trump and Nixon, such as their willingness to use racial grievance to gain power and their cavalier attitude toward obeying the law.

But Krugman thinks that the biggest difference between Trump and Nixon is that the Republican Party of 2020 is not the same as the Republican Party that pushed Nixon out in 1974…

…“The point is that today’s Republican Party wouldn’t object to a Trumpian power grab, even if it amounted to a military coup,” he writes. “On the contrary, the party would cheer it on.”

The Republican Reich, aka the Fifth Reich, has elections with predetermined results.  They exist for show only. If a military coup is needed to bring it about, Republicans are fine with that.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): The Beatles – Come Together

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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Jun 012020
 

It’s a busy, stinky day here in the CatBox.  By now WWWendy is on her way home, and I’m looking forward to her return, BIG Time.  Her cell must be out of range of a tower.  I took Nameless’ advice and shot a portal message to my palliative care team, as I’m hurting pretty bad.  Oh, God!  It’s Monday!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:46 (average 3:47).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0601TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 1,839,119
Deaths: 106,241
Recovered: 599,875

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Police Join Protesters In Demonstrations Across U.S.

I often get down on police at demonstrations, as I have witnessed far too many instances of harm, up to including death, inflicted on peaceful demonstrators by fascist Republican police, through their vicious use of violence. Kudos to those cops, who did the right thing by joining the demonstrators, including some here in Portland.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Trump briefly taken to underground bunker amid protests


I don’t doubt for a second that criminal Fuhrer Trump* demanded that secret service take him to the bunker, because he suffered a severe attack of bone spurs.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): The Beatles – Don’t Let Me Down

Ah… the memories!  RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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May 272020
 

Here is the one hundred seventy-fourth article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s winners are four unnamed Minneapolis police officers. They are so honored for murdering yet another unarmed black man, who begged for mercy as one killed him and the rest watched.

0527george-floydANOTHER DAY in the United States, another unarmed black man dead following unwarranted, insupportable, outrageous police violence. When will it end?

In Minneapolis on Monday evening, a white officer bore down with his knee on the neck of a handcuffed black man who lay sprawled on the street, rasping, “I cannot breathe” and “Don’t kill me.” The man died a short time after.

The suspect, George Floyd, was in his 40s. He was arrested when officers responded to what they called a suspected “forgery in progress.” They said the man appeared to be intoxicated and that he resisted arrest, though no evidence has been presented for either assertion.

There is plain evidence of what came next, however, from a video recorded by someone in a group of witnesses who stood a few feet away. In it, the white officer appears impassive, almost bored, as the suspect gasps for breath. He is unmoved as witnesses curse and plead with him to get off the suspect’s neck, as they warn that the man’s nose is bleeding, that he can’t breathe, that he isn’t resisting. Nor does the officer relent when an ambulance medic arrives and checks the man’s neck for a pulse…  [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Washington Post>

Here are two video clips reporting on the incident.

4 cops fired after video shows one kneeling on neck of black man who later died

Minneapolis Officers Fired After Fatal Arrest Of Unarmed Black Man

Now, you might ask, how do I know they are Republicans? If they act like Republicans, hate like Republicans, and kill like Republicans, they are Republicans, no matter the party to which they belong.  I’d worry that criminal Fuhrer Trump would pardon them, but it will never come to that.  Guess who is in charge of the investigation?  It’s Barrf!  Should their names and addresses should be posted online?  Sadly, that’s too Republican to do.

RESIST!!

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