Jun 202019
 

It’s a cool. but muggy day here at the CatBox.  I overslept, and I feel rushed and groggy at the same time.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:52 (average 5:27).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Pence NSA Kept Maria Butina Tie Secret At Senate Confirmation: WaPo

 

Pence is not the solution to the Trump problem. He’s an equally evil part of the problem. Therefore…Impeach Pence first! RESIST!!

From NY Times: Several Democratic presidential candidates sharply criticized Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday for invoking two Southern segregationist senators by name as he defended himself over accusations of being “old-fashioned” and fondly recalled the “civility” of the Senate in the 1970s and 1980s.

Mr. Biden, speaking at a fund-raiser at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City on Tuesday night, stressed the need to “be able to reach consensus under our system,” and cast his decades in the Senate as a time of relative comity. His remarks come as some in his party say that Mr. Biden, the former vice president, is too focused on overtures to the right as he seeks the Democratic presidential nomination.

At the event, Mr. Biden noted that he served with the late Senators James O. Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia, both Democrats who were staunch opponents of desegregation. Mr. Eastland was the powerful chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee when Mr. Biden entered the chamber in 1973

Biden just doesn’t get it. His Democratic rivals aren’t accusing him of racism. That civility existed only because Biden had not challenged the Dixiecrats’ racist policies. When Democrats did so, the Dixiecrats abandoned the party and became the Republican base. The purge of moderate Republicans from the Reich began in the 1980s.  Democrats keep trying to cooperate civilly with today’s Republicans, but Republicans keep refusing to respond in kind. Biden is chasing a pipe dream. RESIST!!

From Willamette Week: City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly has successfully championed tenant protections designed to offer people with criminal histories a better chance at securing apartments.

The June 19 vote by Portland City Council to approve those protections represents a significant political victory for Eudaly, who worked toward passing the policy for the last two years. She says the final policy came from working and being pushed to understand how black Portlanders and others continue to face discrimination in the housing market.

“It is no secret that Portland has a long history of overtly racist housing laws—the effects of which still shape our city today,” Eudaly said before casting her vote in support. “What we fail to acknowledge more readily is that many of our current laws continue to uphold discriminatory practices. While the language may be less explicit now, the effect is just as clear: we continue to see communities of color, and especially black residents, pushed to the margins of our city and beyond at an alarming rate.”

She continued: “The heart of the Fair Access in Renting policies is about addressing the criteria that continue to be used in as a proxy for race, which includes criminal records, income requirements, and credit scores which leads to discrimination and disparate outcomes.”

Kudos to Eudaly, for whom I voted. As my guys get out of prison, this should help them. Oregon leads the way. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

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  9 Responses to “Open Thread – 6/20/2019”

  1. 6:38 So they just look like trophies.

    To me, the real “radicals” are the so-called “conservatives” who are pushing and pulling us into radical fascism as fast as they can. (IF you were going to do this tomorrow, I apologize.)

    MSNBC – It almost looks like the Trump regime is picking these people deliberately to determine how far they can go without getting stopped, and when they can go as far as they want, Katy, bar the door! (I do have to add this about blackmail: during the “lavender scare” of the 50′, 60′, and into the 70’s, NOT ONE GAY PERSON was blackmailed into espionage.)

    NYT – Yeah. Just because you have lived during specific historical times does not mean you understand them. And he doesn’t. And if he doesn’t understand something that obvious, what else doesn’t he understand? Here’s a sort of thought experiment: the next time you are talking with a snowbird who winters in the old south, and he or she describes one of the permanent residents of the area as “the nicest person you’d ever want to meet,” respond, “If you’re white,” and see what happens. And I’m not picking on the South as being especially racist. I’m suggesting it is the South that has the reputation for “civility” – northern racists are often less polite.

    WW – Kudos to Chloe Eudaly! Every city and municipality should have a clone of her.

    Cartoon – Even though it hasn’t always been perfect, that was a good day for workers, and more days like it are needed, world wise.

    I missed this yesterday – better late then never, I hope

    • “It almost looks like the Trump regime is picking these people deliberately to determine how far they can go “

      I personally think it’s simpler than that: I don’t think there’s a single republican left with at least a scintilla of decency who would now ever agree to be a part of this administration. 

      Maybe a few right after the inauguration who had hopes Twitler would “grow” into the office like so many other presidents. 

      But now you can forget 2nd, 3rd, 4th or even 5th tier candidates.  They’re now down to the zealots & whackos, and the pickings are awfully slim even there.

      Hell, the number of vacancies and “Acting” department heads is staggering AND at record levels.

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-administration-appointee-tracker/database/?utm_term=.d48b5b70b3c7

      And likewise the number of people who have resigned from this administration is unbelievable.

      https://abc11.com/politics/kirstjen-nielsen-and-other-notable-trump-admin-departures/2264148/

      No one with even a hint of character wants THIS administration on their resume.

    • I’m with Freya on this one.  As a 60s radical, I don’t want to share the term with Republicans.  Radicals are very progressive activists.  May I suggest the more accurate reactionary fascism? 05

      • I’m just going back to the original meaning of the word – “root.”  they are the ones who want to uproot everything that has been achieved.  But I grans that words mean what the people who use them mean – and no one is using it that way.  Except me.  We were never as radical as they were, even then.

        • I agree that radical comes from “root” but more literally, according to Webster, it’s “growing from the root”, as we radicals based our reforms on the nation’s founding principles.  People who uproot do the opposite of “growing from”, and that’s what reactionaries do. 35

  2. MSNBC: dt & Pence are both sneaky snakes. Unreal. 
    NYT: Go take a seat, Joe, and sit down. 
    WW: Awesome news! Wish I lived in OR.!!! WTG!! 
    Cartoon: YAY! 

    It’s humid here too. Hope that you have a good day. I’ve got a meeting to go to, and then lunch w/some gal pals. Take care, and Thanks, Tom.

  3. Who’s radical? Depends on how you define radical.

  4. MSNBC: Agree with your comment TC that pEnce is just as evil as his leader. Both real devils.
    NYT: Really a shame that things aren’t registering with Joe. Living in the past is going to make him suffer.
    WW: Good for Chloe Eudaly. Wish other state and city leaders would do the same.
    It’s a cool day here, might get 40% chance of rain tonight into tomorrow. Hope it gets better there for you.

  5. Thanks and TGIF Hugs to all. 35

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