It’s a busy day, here in the CatBox. Diana, my palliative care nurse, is coming between (9:00 and 10:00 this morning for a routine visit. I’m now experiencing a side effect from my new cancer treatment: fatigue. Evelyn, my Oncologist, advised me that was the most likely problem I might have. It’s a fight to keep my eyes open today. Tomorrow is a WWWendy day, but it won’t effect my writing. It will be 4:30 to 5:00 PM when she gets here. Starting tomorrow, I shall be covering the Republican National Convention in Open Threads. But you don’t need to stay away. I shall not include any videos, just a brief pictorial summary. Oh God, it’s Monday!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:01 (average 4:56). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Trump* Virus Update:
At least it’s worst in red states.
US Cases: 5,875,939
US Deaths: 180,618
Plus the many GOP plague murder victims Republicans are hiding from us.
Short Takes:
From Forbes: A majority of Republican voters think that the U.S. coronavirus death toll, which is over 176,000 and rising, is “acceptable,” a CBS News/YouGov poll found Sunday, with an even larger number saying that the national response to coronavirus is “going well.”
That speaks volumes about the incredible lack of empathy among the deplorable Republican Reich. To anyone who gives a damn, 176,000 dead Americans (now over 180,000) is NOT even barely tolerable, let alone “going well”. RESIST!!
From NY Times: Just weeks after President Trump’s administration agreed to pull back federal officers from demonstrations in Portland, Ore., where his attempt at a high-profile crackdown backfired, the fate of the city’s protests now rests to a large extent with an altogether different leader: A brand-new, 39-year-old district attorney whose approach to enforcing the law is as contested as the demonstrations themselves.
The new prosecutor, Mike Schmidt, took office Aug. 1 after defeating an experienced federal prosecutor by a 3-to-1 margin in Multnomah County, which includes most of Portland. Even his critics say the breadth of his victory gave him a mandate to reshape prosecutions in Portland, a city of frequent protests, where there is no clear end in sight to demonstrations against police brutality that began after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
He has not been slow to shake things up: Ten days after taking office, Mr. Schmidt effectively dismissed charges against more than half of about 600 people arrested since the protests began at the end of May.
His directive met with strong objections from the Portland police and Multnomah County sheriff. But it was in keeping with his progressive campaign platform as one of a new generation of prosecutors across the country who are pledging to reduce penalties for low-level nonviolent crimes.
Mr. Schmidt said his office would presumptively decline to prosecute demonstrators for minor offenses such as interfering with the police, disorderly conduct and trespassing — cases that did not involve deliberate violence, property damage or theft. And charges for assault on officers and resisting arrest will now require closer scrutiny, with prosecutors taking into account in filing charges whether the police fired tear gas into crowds.
I voted for Mike. I’m glad I did. Oregon leads the way! RESIST!!
From YouTube (a blast of protest): Confounds the Science – (Parody of) Sound of Silence – REMIX | Don Caron / Linda Gower
We’ve shared this one before, but it certainly warrants another view. Kudos to left-wing protesters. RESIST!!
Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!
18 Responses to “Open Thread – 8/24/2020”
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Cartoon: Holy Moly!
TVU: Same as yesterday.
NYT: WoW! That’s excellent! and great, great news. Wish he could be cloned, and come on down here. Awesome!
BOP: Love it! This is really a great song of protest. Thx!!
Hope that your routine visit is just that…and nothing more. Get your rest, take a nap, and then another one.
Hi!! WWWendy, hope all is good with you, and family. Take good, good care, and Thanks, Tom.
*This just in: “RNC – It’s pretty gross that dt made the delegates spend their own money and risk their health to come to a mass gathering, simply so he could have some people cheer for him. ~ Theresa D. ~
2. MAGA – re: Steve Bannon – “My As- Got Arrested” ~ C. A. ~
3. “Melania tearing out all the flowers and trees in the Rose Garden and leaving it a mere shell of what it once was is a metaphor for trump’s entire presidency.” ~ @ohNOSheTwitnt ~
4. “At this point in time, if you spport or vote for trump, it says more about you that it does him!” ~ Jewel A. ~
5. “I can’t remember the last time a U.S. president cheered the suffering of our citizens and advocated for the failure of our economy.” ~ Joe Kennedy III ~
6. “How long until trump says he never met his sister?” ~ CtA ~
TJI #3
Melania was CRUSHED by the terrible reviews her Rose Garden makeover has received.
She’s hoping that adding a whimsical gnome to the garden might help – but I doubt it …
Shouldn’t a gnome have a litle red pointed hat? Like this one?
But you didn’t oversleep today. It was my turn. I’m sorry you have that side effect, but glad it is not worse, and praying it stays not worse. I didn’t check for ads today – the one below is from last night.
Sound and Fury Messaging
The Lincoln Project has a couple of hour-long videos up – a town hall and a briefing – which certainly could be interesting , but nothing else since midnight Eastern.
Cartoon – And then they “miss” the fly (which was never the real target.)
Map – Indeed.
Forbes – Well, sure. Any number of deaths is “acceptable” to Republican voters as ong as they or theirs are not amomg them. Is anyone surprised?
NYT – This is effing big. I’ve written before about the organization Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) (of which I would suspect Mike is a member). Seeing this in the national media (I couldn’t get far enough past the paywall to see whether they were mentioned, and the headline seemed centered on doom and gloom) gives me hope that there are some successes. Good for Oregon. (However, be aware that Mike is far from alone. There are many others out there. Larry Krasner is the first one usually mentioned.)
BOP – A beautiful song, beautifully re-written, and right on the nailhead.
TVU: Over 180,000,and counting! But, it’s acceptable…after all. it hits communities of color more than the lilly whites!
I was concerned about Schmidt as I start to read that posting, but it sounds good to me, now!
BOP:Wonderful!
Hey, Mitch, I don’t know where in Florida you are, nor do I know where in Florida Beau is, but his area was hit by the storm. Are you OK?
Cartoon: As usual, over dramatizing.
TVU: Still over 300 new cases here yesterday/
Forbes: Don’t you just love the way the except the high number of these deaths? I guess it’s because they are all such heartless fools.
NYT: Glad that you and others voted and got Mike in there. We need more like him, that are for the people.
BOP: Great song. Speaks such truth of tRump’s horrible traits.
Hope you had a nice visit with Diana, your palliative care nurse. Hopefully these visits are helping you.
Sorry to hear about the fatigue you’re experiencing. Hopefully it will ease up soon.
I go see my Oncologist tomorrow afternoon. She will be doing an colposcopy and will send the tissue samples over for the pathologist to examine. It will be 6 months since she did the operation. Time sure has flown.
Take care and have a nice visit tomorrow with Wendy. Tell her “Hi.”
Thanks TomCat
Healing thoughts and vibes to you, Colleen, as you go in to see your doctor, tomorrow.
Hope all goes well for you.
Praying for good resluts from the pathologist. May you get a clean bill!
Keeping my fingers crossed for good results, Colleen.
May all your cancer tests say “remission”!
Colleen, hoping for good news for you, take care. I also have the cat goddesses in your/our corner! Buuulieve me, LOL!
What’s really scary – to me – is how Georgia appears to be a major coronavirus hot spot. No surprise, considering how our incompetent pseudo-governor (Kemp didn’t win the election, he f###ing STOLE it) has refused to mandate masks or allow local jurisdictions to do so, and how many anti-mask “freedom” bugnuts are here.
Please sign this petition if you want to help the people of Georgia.
TC –
I like your “COVID Hot Spots” map – but the only ones I was able to find are all static. None of them allow you to zoom in.
Do you have a map like that, that is interactive? So many dots in Missouri it’s impossible to tell what’s going on in my area.
I’m afraid not, Nameless. But if I find one I’ll include the link like I do with today’s map.
Take your time to recuperate and don’t fight the fatigue too hard, TomCat. I’m sure it annoys the heck out of you, and you’d rather have no side-effects at all, but considering the other nastiness caused by previous treatments you had to deal with this surely must be the better option. When is your next infusion?
3:33 It only has baby thorns
Cartoon: Sadly, Republicans have taken on the Aussie saying for their beloved leader: no flies on this guy.
Update: The whole East of America is one red glowing infection area but that has much to do with the population density too. More than 180,000 deaths, a milestone no longer attracting much attention. Too busy with conventions left and right.
Forbes: I wonder who these pollsters talk to to get to these numbers. Surely, even a Republican can’t say that 170,000 deaths or more are acceptable and that it is going well if a near and dear one ended up in a hospital and/or died from the virus. If they do, America is in great trouble with so many Trumpian psychopaths lacking in human empathy.
NYT: As a true progressive and a man of his word, Mike Schmidt is a breath of fresh air. And he’s Portland’s middle finger to Trump 😁
BOP: a golden oldie in two ways.
Lona, with my background in research, l looked at the raw data. The survey was a large sample demographically representative registered Republicans.
Thanks and Pooped Hugs to all!