TomCat

A Paragon of Corruption

Posted by TomCat at 10:26 am Politics

Jul 192019

Do you remember Stinky Zinke, infamous for corruption, luxury charter flights at your expense and theft of your public land for polluters? His successor, David Bernhardt, aka Bernfart, is even worse. Stinky made you pay through the nose to move him around. Bernfart wants you to pay through the nose to move the Interior Department to him. He’s so sleazy that he generated an ethics investigation in less than a week after confirmation.

The Interior Department’s internal watchdog has opened an investigation into ethics complaints against the agency’s newly installed secretary, David Bernhardt.

Mr. Bernhardt, a former lobbyist for the oil and agribusiness industries, was confirmed by the Senate last week to head the agency, which oversees the nation’s 500 million acres of public land and vast coastal waters. He has played a central role in writing policies designed to advance President Trump’s policy of “energy dominance” and expanding fossil fuel exploration. He has been dogged by allegations of ethics violations since joining the Trump administration as the Interior Department’s deputy secretary in 2017.

Eight senators, all Democrats, and four government ethics watchdog groups have requested that the Interior Department’s inspector general open formal investigations into various aspects of Mr. Bernhardt’s conduct. Among the chief complaints have been allegations, revealed by three separate New York Times investigations, that Mr. Bernhardt used his position to advance a policy pushed by his former lobbying client; that he continued working as a lobbyist after filing legal paperwork declaring that he had ceased lobbying; and that he intervened to block the release of a scientific report showing the harmful effects of a chemical pesticide on certain endangered species.

In a letter sent Monday to the senators who filed the ethics complaints, Mary L. Kendall, the deputy inspector general of the Interior Department, wrote that she had received seven complaints from “a wide assortment of complainants alleging various conflicts of interest and other violations” by Mr. Bernhardt, adding that she had “opened an investigation to address them.”… RESIST!!

Inserted from <NY Times>

That article was from April 15. On moving the Department, here’s Rachel Maddow.

Here’s the Rule of Republican Reich. Whenever a Republican turd is flushed, the next one smells even worse.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 7/19/2019

Posted by TomCat at 10:25 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 192019

Considering that yesterday was a “day of rest”, I managed to work my ass off. I changed my ID address and voting registration. I filed an address change with USPS. I purchased bathroom grab bars and cookware. I notified everyone that needed to know, and I set up my cable service to be installed on Friday,m 8/2. I’m sure hectic will continue to be the case for the next couple weeks. TGIF Hugs!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:07 (average 4:19). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (NBC News Channel): Elizabeth Warren Keep Her Eyes On Iowa

Warren has been accused of having so many plans that she overloads voters. That would be true, if she ran on them alone, but she uses them strategically, fitting them to what voters desire. She waits for a voter to express a need or want. Then, instead of just making campaign promises, she explains how a specific plan is the solution. That reassures voters. RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): President Donald Trump Campaign Hush Money Scam Appears To Have Worked

For all our humor about small hands and small peckers, Putin’s Pee Pervert had a bigger Pecker than we thought. Why are others stupid enough to take the fall for him? What do we do? We have two choices. Impeach or ignore? RESIST!!

From NY Times: President Trump said [Fuhrer delinked] Thursday that he would name Eugene Scalia as his next secretary of labor, tapping the longtime labor lawyer and son of the former Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia for a position with vast responsibility over the American work force.

The appointment is likely to be contested by Democrats and labor unions because Mr. Scalia has a long record of representing Walmart and other companies that pushed back against unions and tougher labor laws. He was a top lawyer for the Labor Department in the George W. Bush administration and is currently a partner in the Washington office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, a prominent corporate law firm.

Eugene Scalia is a perfect example of why Republicans should not be allowed to reproduce. Don’t litter! Spay or neuter your Republican! RESIST!!

Cartoon:

Open Thread – 7/18/2019

Posted by TomCat at 8:11 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 182019

I’m exhausted. I missed my nap yesterday and was in my chair from 5:00 AM until 6:00 PM, breaking only for the ride over and back in Wendy’s truck. But it is now a done deal at last. I signed my name at least 50 times, paid my rent, and took possession of the shiny new CatBox. I have the keys, at last, and moving day is two weeks from today. Woooo Hoooo!!! This will be today’s only article, with no links messages on Care2, but it’s a bit more than I intended. Why? Sam!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:55 (average 8:31). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes: From Full Frontal Network:

The Late Shrill with Samantha Bee (feat. Tammy Duckworth)

God, I’ve missed Sam. Is her summer break over? RESIST!!

A Rundown of Trump’s Racist Racisms

Sam was wrong about one thing. The Fuhrer ends sentences with propositions, not prepositions. RESIST!!

Jeffrey Epstein’s Got Friends in High Places

Penis shampoo dispenser? Literotica in a Taxes file? Dang! Is Sam a perv? 😉 Calling Epstein a pervert is understatement. RESIST!!

Cartoon :

Condemned!

Posted by TomCat at 9:32 am Politics

Jul 172019

Resident Donald Trump, Fuhrer of the Republican Reich is a racist. How racist is he? Every bone in his body is racist, down to and including his imaginary bone spurs. He has received the official endorsement of the KKK and refused to disavow it. Yesterday the House of Representatives voted to condemn him for his racist tweets against “the crew”. Even four Republicans voted to condemn him.

The House voted on Tuesday to condemn as racist President Trump’s attacks against four congresswomen of color, but only after the debate over the president’s language devolved into a bitterly partisan brawl that showcased deep rifts over race, ethnicity and political ideology in the age of Trump.

The measure, the first House rebuke of a president in more than 100 years, passed nearly along party lines, 240 to 187, after one of the most polarizing exchanges on the floor in recent times. Only four Republicans and the House’s lone independent, Representative Justin Amash of Michigan, voted with all Democrats to condemn the president.

“I know racism when I see it, I know racism when I feel it, and at the highest level of government, there’s no room for racism,” said Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia, an icon of the civil rights movement.

Some Republicans were just as adamant in their defense of Mr. Trump: “What has really happened here is that the president and his supporters have been forced to endure months of allegations of racism,” said Representative Dan Meuser, Republican of Pennsylvania. “This ridiculous slander does a disservice to our nation.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

I like the way Lawrence O’Donnell tells the story.

Why did all but four Congressional Republicans vote to mark themselves as actively complicit in their Fuhrer’s racism? They needed a badge with which to proclaim their own racism, when their sheets and hoods are in the laundry.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 7/17/2019

Posted by TomCat at 9:30 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 172019

I’m hurrying, because I have an horrendously busy day. Store to Door is delivering groceries, and I have to put them away. WWWendy is coming 2.5 hours early to take me to the Madrona Studios, sign the lease, pay money, and get keys. That means I’ll shower, eat and get to bed late. In the process, I’ll lose almost all my nap time. Tomorrow, please expect no more than a Personal Update, with no links messages on Care2. I’ll need a recovery day. Hurried Hump Day Hugs!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:13 (average 4:37). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Parody Project Channel): BLAME OBAMA – Parody

Dang, Don! You have me confused! Is the Republican national sport blaming Obama, or hating non-whites, women and LGBTQ? RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Robert Reich: How Corporate Welfare Hurts You

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. The Reich on the right, The Republican Reich loves nothing more than taking YOUR money and giving it to billionaires. RESIST!!

From NY Times: A contentious, yearslong debate inside the Justice Department over whether to bring federal civil rights charges against an officer in the death of Eric Garner ended on Tuesday after Attorney General William P. Barr ordered that the case be dropped.

The United States attorney in Brooklyn, Richard P. Donoghue, announced the decision one day before the fifth anniversary of Mr. Garner’s death at the hands of police officers on Staten Island.

The case had sharply divided federal officials and prompted national protests over excessive force by the police.

Bystanders filmed the arrest on their cellphones, recording Mr. Garner as he gasped “I can’t breathe,” and his death was one of several fatal encounters between black people and the police that catalyzed the national Black Lives Matter movement.

Is that sick or what? Barrf must have donned his robes and hood for that one. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

Woodstock 7/16/1969

Posted by TomCat at 8:43 am Personal, Plus, Politics

Jul 162019

0716woodstock-1969

Where was I fifty years ago today? I was sitting on the ground in a farm in upstate NY, snuggling with an assortment of lovely ladies, partaking of an assortment of …um… herbs, and listening to the finest music that ever was. After Woodstock, I never attended another rock concert. Having seen the best, anything else would suffer by comparison. Here is a video Diary of Day Two to give you a taste of what it was like for an hour.

Ah… the memories!

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 7/16/2019

Posted by TomCat at 8:42 am Open Thread, Personal, Plus, Politics

Jul 162019

It’s another muggy day here in the tiny old CatBox, but I’m feeling somewhat better, and I should be in the saddle both today and tomorrow. WWWendy and I go to sign the lease in the shiny new CatBox late tomorrow afternoon, so I will be showering, eating, and getting to bed late. I may need to take Thursday off to recover.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:56 (average 4:42). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Apollo 11 launches, beginning epic journey to the moon

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Racist Trump Spectacle Distracts From Other Damaging Trump News

Rachel makes perfect sense. The rabid Republican Sheeple love their Fuhrer’s racist diatribes. At the same time, he angers people, who point others to what they already knew instead of what could inspire more to oppose him, such as the absolute proof that criminal bastard, Julian Assange, worked hand in glove with Russia and the Republican Reich. RESIST!!

From NY Times: The immigration raid early Monday morning at the El Paraiso Apartments in Houston was not exactly a major victory for law enforcement. It was foiled, in part, by 19-year-old Kaylin Garcia.

Shortly before 7 a.m. Monday, Ms. Garcia was sitting in her car near her family’s apartment, in a largely Hispanic section of southwest Houston about 15 miles from downtown. She saw four Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents walk by — one dressed in camouflage fatigues and the others wearing black T-shirts and bulletproof vests. They were knocking on apartment doors. She took a picture of the agents with her phone, posted it to her Facebook page and notified some of her neighbors.

At least one of her neighbors saw Ms. Garcia’s picture and heard about her warnings — the family slid the chain closed on their door. When the agents knocked on the door, the family — an undocumented Honduran man and his wife, along with their American-born children and another relative — kept silent and never opened it. After a minute or two, the agents left.

“I wasn’t scared,” Ms. Garcia said. “I was scared for my neighbors.” She added, “Nobody opened the door.”

The anticipated large-scale ICE raids aimed at rounding up at least 2,000 migrant parents and children appear to have run into similar problems in other parts of the country. With widespread publicity about the raids, many undocumented migrants have been counseled to avoid opening their doors.

Finally! A win for the good guys (gals too)! RESIST!!

Cartoon:

]

Personal Update – 7/15/2019

Posted by TomCat at 7:53 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 152019

I felt exhausted yesterday morning, because I came down with a bug. Except foe destinking, I spent the day in bed, and my fever broke last night. Because I have such a busy day on Wednesday, I don’t want to push myself today. I’m returning to bed, so this is my only article with no links messages on Care2. OGIM Hugs!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:16 (average 4:59). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Take:

From YouTube (Jesse Dollemore Channel): Donald Trump Attacks Congresswomen of Color on Twitter

I have to disagree on this one. To refer to the Fuhrer, his Republican Reich, and their hate-filled Sheeple as “human garbage” is an insult to human garbage. They are inhuman garbage. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

Older Entries Newer Entries