TomCat

Charging into Impeachment

Posted by TomCat at 9:59 am Politics

Apr 242019

Fuhrer Drumpfenfarten should consider himself very fortunate that Nancy Pelosi is an institutionalist from yesteryear. She wants to proceed with congressional oversight slowly and deliberately, in spite of the many like me who disagree. With even a fair modicum of the cooperation the law requires, Trump could run out the clock. My the time they got around to impeaching him, they would be too busy running for reelection. But the Fuhrer is so narcissistic that he’s charging into impeachment.

President Trump on Tuesday said he doesn’t want current and former White House aides to testify in front of Congress following the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

In an exclusive interview with The Washington Post, Trump said complying with further investigations was not necessary after the White House cooperated with Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible obstruction of justice by Trump.

“There is no reason to go any further, and especially in Congress where it’s very partisan — obviously very partisan,” Trump said.

The comments come amid reports that the White House is preparing to go to legislative war with several House committees as they continue their sprawling probes into the Trump administration.

White House officials are reportedly planning to exert executive privilege after the House Judiciary Committee filed a subpoena for testimony and documents from former White House counsel Don McGahn, who was known to have a contentious relationship with Trump and played a starring role in Mueller’s report…

Inserted from <The Hill>

The Fuhrer has ordered current and former staff not to provide documents answer questions. This is another incidence of Obstruction of Justice, so blatant that no self-respecting majority can accede to it.

Lawrence O’Donnell explains why.

I agree. This is too far beyond the pale.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 4/24/2019

Posted by TomCat at 9:58 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 242019

It’s a chilly morning, here in the CatBox, and a very busy day. Store to Door is delivering groceries, and I’ll have to unpack and put them away. This evening, WWWendy is coming to destink the putrid TomCat. I think I’ll share my chili with her to make a stereo green cloud.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:42 (average 4:38). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Trae Crowder Channel): Trae Crowder – Californians

LOL! Trae Californicated Californians. RESIST!!

From NY Times: In the months before Kirstjen Nielsen was forced to resign, she tried to focus the White House on one of her highest priorities as homeland security secretary: preparing for new and different Russian forms of interference in the 2020 election.

President Trump’s chief of staff told her not to bring it up in front of the president.

Ms. Nielsen left the Department of Homeland Security early this month after a tumultuous 16-month tenure and tensions with the White House. Officials said she had become increasingly concerned about Russia’s continued activity in the United States during and after the 2018 midterm elections — ranging from its search for new techniques to divide Americans using social media, to experiments by hackers, to rerouting internet traffic and infiltrating power grids.

But in a meeting this year, Mick Mulvaney, the White House chief of staff, made it clear that Mr. Trump still equated any public discussion of malign Russian election activity with questions about the legitimacy of his victory. According to one senior administration official, Mr. Mulvaney said it “wasn’t a great subject and should be kept below his level.”

The Republican Reich is the place where organized crime and narcissism join forces. RESIST!!

From Alternet: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to block Democratic proposals like the “Green New Deal” and “Medicare for All” after the 2020 elections.

McConnell told constituents in Owensboro, Kentucky, that none of the proposals would come to pass if he is still in power in 2021.

What’s the best solution for Bought Bitch Mitch’s promise. Any ideas? 😉 RESIST!!

Cartoon:

Stupid Suit

Posted by TomCat at 9:49 am Politics

Apr 232019

Putin’s Puppet, Resident Donald Trump, does not think his financial records should be investigated. Why? He does not want the hundreds of crimes and torts, above and beyond the purview of the Mueller Investigation, to be exposed for the world to see. In a thoroughly incompetent attempt to stop it, he’s actually suing Elijah Cummings to prevent the House Oversight and Reform Committee from getting the records.

President Donald Trump on Monday filed a lawsuit against House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings to block a subpoena of the president’s financial records from an accounting firm, escalating tensions between the White House and congressional Democrats who are investigating his business empire.

In a new court filing, Trump’s attorneys asked for an order to block Cummings’ subpoena to Mazars USA. The Democratic lawmaker is attempting to obtain eight years of the president’s financial records from Mazars, which had asked the committee for a so-called friendly subpoena so that it could comply with the request.

“We will not allow congressional presidential harassment to go unanswered,” Trump attorney Jay Sekulow said in a statement Monday.

The committee is investigating allegations from Trump’s former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen that the president at times artificially inflated and deflated his assets for his personal benefit…

Inserted from <Politico>

Foolish Fuhrer is in for a surprised. Rachel Maddow has a 35 minute explanation on how this issue became settled law.

In other worlds, Trump can run but he can’t hide. Long term, the men in the white coats are coming to throw a net over him.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 4/23/2019

Posted by TomCat at 9:48 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 232019

It’s another busy day here in the CatBox, and last night was so muggy that I slept poorly. Have a great day.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:29 (average 5:50). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Trey Crowder Channel): GOT’damn with Trae Crowder

This is still way over my head, but do they really day ‘Dayyum’ in the crypt? RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Robert Reich: America Has Already Fired Trump

Is the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, right? I agree, but only up to a point. The Fuhrer of the Reich on the right, the Republican Reich, is still capable of inflicting considerable harm on America and the world. RESIST!!

From NY Times: Before the F.B.I. arrested Larry Hopkins, the leader of the right-wing militia that detained migrant families in the New Mexico desert, he’d had so many run-ins with the law that his police record stretched across much of the United States…

…Mr. Hopkins finally came under the scrutiny of federal authorities in 2017, after the F.B.I. received reports that his group was “training” to assassinate Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and George Soros, according to documents unsealed Monday in federal court. [emphasis added]

Dang! When I wrote about him yesterday, I knew he was an Ammosexual Republican, bit he’s even more Republican than I thought. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

It’s hard to believe that Politics Plus existed (on Blogger) before YouTube did.

Elijah on Impeachment

Posted by TomCat at 9:52 am Politics

Apr 222019

The more I think about it, the more I agree with Elizabeth Warren that it’s time to open an impeachment investigation into Putin’s Pet Pervert and Obstructer-in-Chief, Resident Donald Trump. Civil Rights hero and Representative Elijah Cummings [D-MD] might not be quite there yet. However he is clearly leaning in that direction.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MA [sic]), chair of the House Oversight Committee, on Sunday predicted that history will “smile upon” the lawmakers who pursue the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

In an interview on Face the Nation, CBS host Bob Schieffer noted that several high profile Democrats are calling for impeachment proceedings to begin due to the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation report.

“This is a political act, and if you do vote to impeach him and then the Senate votes not to remove him, won’t that look like a victory for him?” Schieffer wondered.

“It may very well, but you know, sometimes, Bob, I got to tell you, there comes a point in life where we all have to make decisions based upon the fact that it is on our watch,” Cummings replied. “History, I think, even if we did not win possibly, if there were not impeachment, I think history would smile upon us for standing up for the Constitution.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Crooks and Liars>

I could not embed the video clip included with the article, but YouTube had a clip of the entire interview.

As I see it, this is the bottom line. If we take no action, it will embolden Trump, Pence, the Republican Reich, and their Russian allies to interfere in the 2020 election. In 2016, Obama did nothing, because Bought Bitch Mitch objected. Look where we are now.

Do we want to be the party of political expedience, because we think it will help us get elected, or the party that takes a risk, because it’s the right thing to do? You tell me.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 4/22/2019

Posted by TomCat at 9:51 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 222019

It’s a full day here in the CatBox, and a hectic weekend, I feel very tired. OGIM!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:54 (average 4:58). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Last Week Tonight Channel): Mueller Report: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

If a pigeon really did poo in Fuhrer Drumpfenfarten’s mouth, kudos to the bird. RESIST!!

From Washington Post: The leader of an armed militia that scours the southern border for undocumented migrants was arrested by the FBI on Saturday, days after a video of the group holding migrants against their will sparked outrage.

Larry Mitchell Hopkins, 69, was arrested in the New Mexico border city of Sunland Park on charges of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, the FBI said.

He is expected to appear Monday in federal court.

Hopkins leads the United Constitutional Patriots, or UCP, one of several militias that have taken to patrolling the border.

These racists are NOT patriots. They are Ammosexual Republican criminals. RESIST!!

From NY Times: President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, insisted on Sunday that it was acceptable for a political campaign to use hacked information about its opponent obtained from a foreign adversary — though he personally would have advised against it.

“There’s nothing wrong with taking information from Russians,” Mr. Giuliani said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding that he would have argued against using it, “out of excess of caution.”

He used to be Rudy 9/11. Now he’s Rudy Bullshit. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

A Republican paradise.

Easter Message

Posted by TomCat at 10:40 am Holiday, Politics

Apr 212019

Easter

In the time I have available, I don’t think I can improve on last year’s Easter message, so here it is again, with one small addition. Whether or not you are a Christian, I respectfully invite you to join me in the celebration of the my faith’s most central holiday, even though many of its traditions are borrowed. Jesus was a fascinating man. He associated most closely with the social rejects of his day. He respected people with faiths different from his. He did not burn their religious writings or try to prevent them from practicing their own forms of worship. Sometimes he used them as an example of what is right, like the Good Samaritan. He had a heart for meeting the needs of the poor, and admonished us to care for them. His concern for the rich was that their own greed would blind them. He had no trouble getting along with sinners. He met people at the point of their need, and accepted all, except for the religious hypocrites who used their position to enrich themselves at the expense of the poor and to force their own piety codes, which they often ignored themselves, onto others. Those were only people Jesus condemned. Sadly, they are still among us. If we are followers of Jesus, our faith will help us to follow the example of what he did. Of course, none of us is perfect in that way. God knows that I fall short every day. It is important to know that those who preach the things Jesus was against, but condemn those who contend for the things Jesus supported, are not followers of Jesus. They are pseudo-Christians. Authentic Christians try to follow Jesus’ example. Pseudo-Christians helped install a Anti-Christian criminal in the White House. And now, for your listening pleasure:

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 4/21/2019

Posted by TomCat at 10:39 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 212019

Here in the CatBox, I began my Easter celebration by oversleeping for 90 minutes, so I’m way behind schedule. WWWendy will be soon here, and I’ll try to finish everything during breaks in our work. I hope the Easter Kitten brought you lots of eggs.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:48 (average 4:54). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): McGahn: Details “Accurately Described” In Mueller Report

McGahn’s testimony alone is grounds for impeachment. RESIST!!

From Alternet: Below are 10 examples of “European exceptionalism” and areas in which Europe is way ahead of the United States.

1. Lower Incarceration Rates

Benjamin Franklin famously said that those who are willing to sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither, and the U.S. is more dangerous than most of Europe (especially in terms of homicide) even though it is becoming more and more of a police state. The U.S. incarcerates, per capita, more people than any other country in the world: in 2012, the U.S.’ incarceration rate, according to the International Centre for Prison Studies, was 707 per 100,000 people compared to only 60 per 100,000 in Sweden, 72 per 100,000 in Norway, 78 per 100,000 in Germany, 75 per 100,000 in the Netherlands, 87 per 100,000 in Switzerland, 99 per 100,000 in Italy, 103 per 100,000 in France, and 144 per 100,000 in Spain. Certainly, the failed War on Drugs and the Prison/Industrial Complex are major factors in the U.S.’ appallingly high incarceration rate, and unless the U.S. seriously reforms its draconian drug laws, it will continue to lock up a lot more of its people than Europe.

Could it be because Europe has fewer Republicans? I shared the first of ten. Click through for the other nine. RESIST!!

From NY Times: …Interviews with several dozen Democratic voters around the country show how the party, which enjoyed victories in 2018 that were powered by female and nonwhite candidates, is now grappling with two complicated questions about race, gender and politics in the Trump era.

Is a white man the best face for an increasingly diverse Democratic Party in 2020?

No candidate should be nominated or excluded from nomination on the basis of race, gender, or sexual identity. However, orangeness is a valid reason for incarceration/ RESIST!!

Cartoon:

EasterCartoon

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