TomCat

Benedict Trump

Posted by TomCat at 11:00 am Politics

Sep 052019

The last traitor to steal from West Point was Benedict Arnold [R-PA]. His intent was to sabotage the fort, turn over to the British, and help then win the Revolutionary War. He failed. West Point became the US Military Academy, the institution that trains virtually all our important Army generals. Now, another Republican Traitor, Donald Trump, is stealing from West Point. That sabotages the military education of future Army Generals. Republicans may argue, that it’s only $160 million. but Benedict Trump is stealing $3.6 billion from and sabotaging our military everywhere.

The Pentagon plans to divert funds from military construction projects in nearly half the 50 states, three territories and 19 countries to the southwestern border wall as part of President Trump’s efforts to bypass Congress and redirect spending to his signature campaign promise.

Nearly every facet of military life, from a canceled dining center in Puerto Rico to a small arms firing range in Tulsa, Okla., to an elementary school in Wiesbaden, Germany, will be affected by the transfer of $3.6 billion in congressionally appropriated funds detailed by the Defense Department on Wednesday.

The cuts involve projects such as rifle ranges, aircraft simulators, hangars, port repairs and a cyberoperations center in Virginia, with the biggest impact in Puerto Rico, Guam, New York and New Mexico. In the case of Puerto Rico, the Defense Department plans to divert funds from projects targeted after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017.

The $3.6 billion, taken from 127 projects across the globe, will go toward 11 projects in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, which include both new construction and some fencing replacement. The longest stretch of new pedestrian fencing — about 52 miles — is scheduled for Laredo, Tex., along the Rio Grande.

Reacting to the Pentagon’s announcement, Democrats assailed what they said was an assault on military readiness and lawmakers from both parties voiced discomfort with what they called an attempt by the White House to subvert their constitutional mandate to set government spending… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Here’s video coverage from MSNBC

Here’s the list of military projects to be cut (.pdf).

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 9/5/2019

Posted by TomCat at 10:59 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 052019

It’s a very busy day here in the CatBox. It’s the last day of the heat wave with 92° and 83% humidity. As soon as I finished my morning research I opened my email and found a note from Nameless requesting sole squatting privileges on the topic he plans for Friday Fun. So I deferred and discarded today’s first Short Take, but I did save my comment to use on hid article. I found an excellent piece to plug in as today’s third Short Take, and you can thank Nameless that I found it. Nevertheless, I’m running late. In addition, today is grocery delivery day, and I get to stow the order. Also today is a High Holy Day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. It’s the Day of Blessed Return. After long months of darkness, the blessed Orb rises once again to shine it’s divine light upon the earth. The Packers travel to Soldier Field to meditate with the Bears. The Vegas line favors the Bears by three, if they aren’t too busy doing what Bears do in the woods. May the Holy Ellipsoid Orb shine its blessed light on you all. I shall be meditating this evening.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:06 (average 4:46). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Elizabeth Warren: Where Trump is right now is a nightmare

“Life on earth is at risk!” Amen to that and everything else Liz said. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: Americans were shocked on Tuesday by the spectacle of a legislative body appearing to take action.

Across the U.S., television viewers watched with mouths agape at startling images of legislators seemingly intent on performing their constitutional duties.

Adding to Americans’ sense of astonishment, the legislators showed evidence of putting their country before party in an effort to rein in the actions of a reckless leader who had not garnered the majority of his nation’s votes.

Andy, do you think poor Boris might have succeeded , if he had Barrf in his corner? RESIST!!

From Exposed by CMD: Convention of States Action (COS) kicked off its first “Leadership Summit” [Republican fascists delinked] in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia today. COS, a project of Mark Meckler and Eric O’Keefe’s Citizens for Self-Governance, claims that “hundreds” of activists, state directors, and coordinators from all 50 states will attend to get inspired and learn strategies for passing COS resolutions in the states calling for a constitutional convention to rewrite the U.S. Constitution.

Fifteen states have passed the group’s applications so far, with 17 more states considering the resolution this year, according to COS. Wisconsin recently introduced a COS resolution, which would bump the number up to 18.

A constitutional convention has never been held since the Constitution was adopted, and COS will need 34 states to file applications in order for it to occur. If that happens, COS plans to move an array of sweeping amendments to redefine key parts of the Constitution and radically weaken the federal government.

COS has ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the National Rifle Association, the right-wing militia group Three Percenters, and the Christian nationalist group WallBuilders.

More than 200 civil rights and public interest groups, including the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), signed a letter last year denouncing such constitutional convention calls as “a threat to every American’s constitutional rights and civil liberties.”

Click through for a speakers list and more. There is nothing the Republican Reich want’s more than to rewrite the Constitution and make the racist Republican Reich a permanent Nazi dictatorship. RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Pence Rips YOU Off for his Fuhrer

Posted by TomCat at 10:17 am Politics

Sep 042019

Republican Vice Resident Mike Pence is easy to recognize. First, he’s a holier than thou, Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christian sycophant with total corruption and absent ethics. Second, on the tip of his nose, he always carries a dollop of orange feces. He did a great job on his trip to Ireland, but only for his Fuhrer’s wallet.

Back in June, Donald Trump used his trip to Europe—ostensibly arranged around a state visit with Queen Elizabeth, a meeting with the Irish prime minister, and D-Day commemorations in France—to pimp Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Ireland, his money-losing resort in the town of Doonbeg. At the time, critics pointed out that it made little sense for the president to fly hundreds of miles back and forth across Europe to fit in a couple sleepovers at the for-profit business he owns, and that it was patently obvious he was doing so to bring publicity and a cash injection to a course that has lost more than $1 million every year from 2014 to 2017. But apparently the White House was unencumbered by such ethical concerns, because Vice President Mike Pence’s current trip to Ireland will include a similar scheme to line the president’s pockets.

Pence, who arrived in Ireland on Monday after Trump decided to stay in the U.S. to play golf at his Virginia course, will be staying at Doonbeg during his visit, despite the fact that it makes no logistical sense, as his meetings are located 180 miles away in Dublin and will require him to commute via plane. While the VP has never missed an opportunity to suck up to the boss, Marc Short, his chief of staff, insisted that brownnosing was absolutely not a consideration here. Short told reporters Tuesday that Pence had been planning to visit Doonbeg anyway for “family reasons,” and sure, yeah, the president mentioned Pence could stay his resort (for a price), but it wasn’t like he put a gun to his head or anything…

…With Trump, of course, there’s no such thing a just a suggestion; should Pence have passed up the generous offer to get the Doonbeg name out there and boost revenue at the president’s club, he’d likely have woken up to a Twitter tirade about how it made no sense to stay in Dublin when such a beautiful property was available…

Inserted from <Vanity Fair?

MSNBC offered analysis and CSPAN aired Pence’s pitiful excuse.

Trump’s AG And VP Exposed For Routing Money Into Trump Hotels

Pseudo-Christian Pence’s next BS excuse will be that Republican Supply-side Jesus (the exact opposite of the real Jesus, told him to do it.

Vice President Pence Defends Decision to Stay at Trump Property in Doonbeg

To connect with his family roots, Pence could have stopped for a night, completely at his own expense, as a personal vacation on the way home.

From a foreign policy perspective, the trip was an abject failure. Pence was so phony and hypocritical that, according to the Irish Times, “he shat on the new carpet“.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 9/4/2019

Posted by TomCat at 10:16 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 042019

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. I think I’m finally starting to get organized, so it’s time to disorganize again. My Vela chair, shower rack, and bake ware arrive today. WWWendy comes this evening for a load of chores and to de-stink the TomCat. It’s a shame that tomorrow is the 90° day, the last of the current heat wave. Hump Day Hugs to all.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:35 (average 4:54). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Now a sad memory!

Fantasy Football Notice:

Squatch and Vivian. You need you set your lineups in time for the game tomorrow night.

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Congressional Hearing Will Take Another Look At ‘Individual 1’

Resident Pervert Donald, aka “Tiny Hands”, Trump is in diddle-dick doo-doo. Spank his ass, just like Stormy did, but with impeachment hearings. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Late Show Channel): The Only Thing That Can Stop Joe Biden: His Own Mouth

Sadly, what makes this funny is the truth of it. His defense was that facts don’t matter in decision making. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: Millions of Americans envy Tiffany Trump for never hearing from her father, a new poll reveals.

According to the poll, conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, Tiffany Trump’s unique placement beyond the reach of her father’s voice has made her the most envied woman in America.

Although Donald Trump took the extraordinary step of emitting the word “Tiffany” in remarks to reporters last week, the rarity of that utterance only served to remind Americans of just how fortunate Tiffany was to be off her father’s radar.

“In all our years of polling, it’s highly unusual to find one person so universally envied,” Davis Logsdon, who supervised the poll, said. “People in virtually every demographic group ‘strongly agreed’ with the statement, ‘God, I wish I were Tiffany Trump.’ ”

Dang, Andy! Do you think he dislikes her, because she looks like him. RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Poll Results – 9/3/2019

Posted by TomCat at 9:05 am Blog News, Politics

Sep 032019

Here are the results of our “White Nationalists” Poll. Politics Plus Polls are not scientific, because those who respond are not balanced according to demographic categories. Therefore, we do not accurately reflect the makeup of the US population. Nevertheless, our polls are usually factually accurate, and more often than not, they reflect the thinking of the majority of those who actually do think.

0903Poll

And here are your comments:

Showing comments 1–14 of 14.

Posted by SoINeedAName August 28, 2019 at 3:31 pm. From: MO (US)

One of the times I want to vote: “ALL OF THE ABOVE” …

And you don’t offer it.

*sigh*

Posted by Evelyn August 18, 2019 at 11:15 am. From: (FR)

https://www.facebook.com/OccupyDemocrats/videos/361508267863637/

Posted by JL August 17, 2019 at 8:06 am. From: CA (US)

Other is requiring the military and all law enforcement agencies to enter their requisite data on domestic violence, etc. into the database used for background checks

Posted by Nita Lowrey August 9, 2019 at 12:37 am. From: TX (US)

I checked all of them except other.

Posted by Lona Goudswaard August 8, 2019 at 3:37 pm. From: (AU)

All of the above, except “other”, as I have no answers to this American, and mainly cultural, problem. Americans in general want gun control, but after every mass shooting the number of new guns sold soars. Everyone thinks they’re a responsible gun owner, much like everyone thinks they’re a better driver then others. As soon as any of the above are going to be controlled through legislation and enforced, people will feel like their rights are taken away, because it’s others, not them, who are the bad guys.

Posted by Katie and Bill Dresbach August 5, 2019 at 6:40 pm. From: OH (US)

Yes I voted for all also, the repubs should be embarrassed for holding this up so long!

Something does need to be done and done NO more killings! Let’s make sure Mitch is out of a Job!Little Lindsey too! Everyone be sure to go Vote

Posted by Katie and Bill Dresbach August 5, 2019 at 6:39 pm. From: OH (US)

Yes I voted for all also, the repubs should be embarrassed for holding this up so long!

Something does need to be done and done NO more killings! Let’s make sure Mitch is out of a Job!Little Lindsey too! Everyone be sure to go Vote

Posted by Animae August 5, 2019 at 1:14 pm. From: (AU)

i voted OTHER, i would like to see everything in the list implemented…..

but i’m not holding my breath!

Posted by TomCat in reply to Animae August 7, 2019 at 4:51 am. From: OR (US)

Then check every box.

Posted by Colleen L August 5, 2019 at 12:00 pm. From: CA (US)

I clicked all the them. They are all critical to stopping these massive senseless killings.

Posted by gene August 5, 2019 at 8:18 am. From: MN (US)

Okay, all of the above. The top two are critical because none of the others happen without them. I guess an “other” would be rein in the NRA which comprises about 2% of the American population. No single lobby should ever have that much influence.

All of the others are important but the one I think most needs doing is banning civilian ownership of assault rifles. Those are military grade weapons designed for killing human beings. They are not used in hunting anything but people. There is absolutely NO reason to allow them in civilian hands. Just none. If people want to shoot them, I admit while in the service, I actually enjoyed learning how to use the M14 (at that time) properly on a range, and later the M16. I wasn’t thinking about why, only the activity. So, the only way anyone should be able to use one is to rent one at a licensed range. No private ownership.

I was a hunter growing up. I haven’t hunted since before the army. I don’t consider it a “sport” in any way. I’d ban that too because no one in this nation actually needs hunt to feed their families any more and that bloodlust which drives this activity is something we need evolve away from. Even so, assault weapons are not used in hunting. Not allowed because those rounds can travel miles. So ban them. There’s more, but I’ll not turn this into more of a diatribe than it is. :^)

Posted by Pat B August 5, 2019 at 7:47 am. From: TX (US)

Yes, making guns/bullets/explosives more expensive to purchase should be a priority. If one is to take classes in all areas of arsenal, with training, it should show a record of competence and mental acuity too. I have great concerns for the safety and welfare of schools, churches, community centers, to name a few, where people rally together in friendship and in learning. We must find ways to do better for our communities, and the Nation as [expletive deleted bt Pollcode]

Posted by Diane August 5, 2019 at 7:22 am. From: DE (US)

I am now a believer that bullets should be so expensive, most people can’t afford them.

I voted all of the above too.

Posted by Joanne D August 5, 2019 at 6:10 am. From: CO (US)

All of the above, plus improve our handle on access to explosives. The fact that their terrorism has been expressing itself in gun violence for the most part has obscured that there are other means of destruction, a la Timothy McVeigh. If we take their guns but do nothing about other weapons, we are just setting ourselves up.

Also, to get to the root of the problem, we need to invest deeply in public education. Perhaps Germany could help us here – I really have no idea how to educate for deprogramming. I do know civics needs to be more and better taught. And to the extent that we allow charter schools and home schooling, we need to legislate requirements for them that will address this issue.

I voted for all but other.

The new poll is up, so please don’t forget to vote.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 9/3/2019

Posted by TomCat at 9:04 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 032019

I don’t know why, but something woke me up last night, and I could not get back to sleep. I feel very tired. Monday on Tuesday hugs to all.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:37 (average 4:41). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Robert Reich: The 5 Biggest Corporate Lies About Unions

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. Support labor! The Reich on the right, the Republican Reich and their super-rich corporate enablers, use the Pinocchio Principle to screw YOU for THEIR benefit. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Daily Kos Channel): Making Progress with Sara Nelson

She has some good ideas. Nay they fly high! RESIST!!

From Alternet: Since the FCC shockingly did the right thing last year, preventing Sinclair Broadcasting from taking over Tribune Media and with it control over the local broadcast airwaves reaching 72% of the nation’s households, the broadcaster has sort of flown under the radar. That doesn’t mean it’s not competing with Fox News to be Trump’s favorite propaganda machine, however.

Media Matters has detailed another “must-run” commentary, one of those segments Sinclair requires all of its stations to air. This one came in mid-August in response to ongoing pressure for Congress to do something, anything, about gun violence, after more than 30 people were killed in less than 24 hours in two mass shooting incidents, in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. It was another segment from chief political commentator Boris Epshteyn, coming straight out of the 1990s. In it, Epshteyn argued that children must not be exposed to the “gratuitous violence” of video games and movies, and that the “impact of violent media on the psyche of our youth” has to be a part of preventing mass shootings. Media Matters found that the segment has aired on at least 28 stations in 26 states. One of the cities it aired in: El Paso. There is zero evidence that video games or movies have anything to do with gun massacres. As opposed to, you know, guns.

August was chock-full of Sinclair spewing conservative gun nonsense into viewers’ homes, including another must-run segment from Epshteyn in which he called for “giving heavy consideration to mandating armed guards in schools.” Sebastian Gorka appeared earlier in the month on the weekly Sinclair show America This Week, on which he compared gun regulation to the Holocaust, because of course he did. And a gun violence “researcher” called John Lott appeared on a Sinclair station right after the shootings to lie about the one in El Paso, saying it occurred in a gun-free zone where “the victims weren’t allowed to defend themselves.”

Do you have a Sinclair station locally? Find out here. Boycott their news advertisers, and tell those advertisers why. RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Happy Labor Day!

Posted by TomCat at 10:14 am Holiday, Politics

Sep 022019

Labor-day2012

For most of my early life I considered Labor Day little more than a day off at the end of summer. That’s because I am not a union man. I have never belonged to a union, nor has anyone in my family. So what has the labor movement done for me? I have learned what organized labor has done to improve the lot of all American Workers, and I have come to understand that Labor Day is a celebration of Union labor, and one that is well deserved. This is a another minor variation on last year’s article.

ThinkProgress has assembled just five of the many things that Americans can thank the nation’s unions for giving us all: 1. Unions Gave Us The Weekend: Even the ultra-conservative Mises Institute notes that the relatively labor-free 1870, the average workweek for most Americans was 61 hours — almost double what most Americans work now… 2. Unions Gave Us Fair Wages And Relative Income Equality: As ThinkProgress reported earlier in the week, the relative decline of unions over the past 35 years has mirrored a decline in the middle class’s share of national income… 3. Unions Helped End Child Labor: “Union organizing and child labor reform were often intertwined” in U.S. history, with organization’s like the “National Consumers’ League” and the National Child Labor Committee” working together in the early 20th century to ban child labor… 4. Unions Won Widespread Employer-Based Health Coverage: “The rise of unions in the 1930′s and 1940′s led to the first great expansion of health care” for all Americans, as labor unions banded workers together to negotiate for health coverage plans from employers… 5. Unions Spearheaded The Fight For The Family And Medical Leave Act: Labor unions like the AFL-CIO federation led the fight for this 1993 law, which “requires state agencies and private employers with more than 50 employees to provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave annually for workers to care for a newborn, newly adopted child, seriously ill family member or for the worker’s own illness.” … [emphasis original]

Inserted from <Think Progress>

It’s well worth the time to click through for the rest of this article. Furthermore, here is an excellent video on what labor has done for America.

Therefore, to begin my celebration of Labor Day in the best possible way, I wish to thank all of you who are or have been union workers. My life is better because of you. And to you and everyone else, have a Happy Labor Day! Sadly, because of ongoing, predatory Republican impingement on workers’ rights, this article is even less true than it was last year. It’s up to YOU to change that trend.

Support Labor!

RESIST!!

VOTE BLUE!!

Open Thread – 9/2/2019

Posted by TomCat at 10:11 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 022019

It’s a lazy holiday here in the CatBox. I expect to be in the saddle all week until Sunday. If you are in Dorian’s path, and if you are not a Republican, please move. Holiday Hugs to all.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:33 (average 5:47). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Fantasy Football Report:

Pam informed me that she is unable to play this year, so I went in and emptied her team to make her players available. Players, when you play End the GOP this year, you will have an automatic win. Don’t forget to set your starting lineup, in time for the Thursday night game.

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Hurricane Dorian Makes Landfall In Bahamas As ‘Catastrophic’ Category 5

The Bahamas should blame Trump. Dorian may have turned north to go after Trump in Camp David. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Full Frontal Channel): Full Frontal Rewind: Climate Change

Republicans are bringing us Republifires, Repulicanes, Republifloods, Republinados, Republidemics, and more. No wonder Sam is scared shitless. We should be too. RESIST!!

From Alternet: The Odessa, Texas mass shooter was accused of threatening his neighbor last month with a rifle.

According to a CNN report, Veronica Alonzo said that the 36-year-old gunman, who killed seven people and injured 22, would frequently shoot out of a structure on top of his house.

The shooter was angry with Alonzo for putting her trash in one of his dumpsters. He threatened her with his rifle, she said.

She explained that he would often shoot at animals in his yard and retrieve them after they were dead.

He must have been a Trump supporter. He was violent nut case, just like his Fuhrer, and he liked to kill animals for fun. You can be sure that Ammosexual Abbot [R-TX] will not even reprimand the police over their failure to take Seth Ator’s guns, after his first violent offense. RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

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