It’s a very busy day here in the CatBox.  Store to Door will be delivering groceries, and I have to unpack and put them away.  Later WWWendy comes fumigate the mangy TomCat and help with chores.  Last night, at 2 AM, a fire alarm blasted me from a sound sleep.  The fire department came and found no fire, but by that time I was up, dressed, ready to be evacuated, and wide awake.  I could not get back to sleep.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 5:46 (average 8:18).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Jeff Merkley Channel): Senator Jeff Merkley on CNN New Day

I fully agree with my senator, Jeff Merkley. Oregon leads the way! RESIST!!

From NBC News: The massive cold weather front descending over the Midwest this week has commentators straining for analogies (“Deep Freeze,” “Arctic Outbreak” and “Ice Age”) and at least some people wondering what has become of global warming.

President Donald Trump and radio provocateur Rush Limbaugh seemed bemused by the notion that the climate is warming at a time when most of America will be hunkering down against sub-freezing temperatures.

But climate authorities, including those inside Trump’s government, said the record-setting cold does nothing to contradict the consensus on climate change. According to a tweet Tuesday morning from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: “Winter storms don’t prove that global warming isn’t happening.”…

…The discussion of climate and weather, and how much one influences the other, has become politically charged at a time when some political conservatives have rejected the scientific consensus about climate change: that greenhouse gases have warmed Earth’s atmosphere and helped fuel heat waves, extreme storms, droughts and extreme wildfires.

This week’s blast of cold air has been linked to a familiar phenomenon — the polar vortex.

If you don’t understand the connection between polar vortices and global warming, watch this excellent movie: The Day After Tomorrow. RESIST!!

From Alternet: Just over a year after the GOP rammed through its $1.5 trillion tax plan—which has predictably rewarded the ultra-rich while doing virtually nothing for workers—Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his Republican colleagues were condemned for pushing yet another “blatant giveaway to their wealthy donors” by introducing a bill on Monday that would permanently repeal the estate tax.

“At a time of record inequality, the very last thing we should do is line the pockets of the rich.”

—Sen. Bernie Sanders

“Greed has no limit for the GOP,” declared Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness. “We need to reverse direction—not allow the GOP to hand the rich even more tax cuts.”

The deeply unpopular Republican tax law already significantly weakened the estate tax by doubling the exemption, allowing couples with up to $22 million to pass on their fortunes tax-free.

If it passes Congress, the plan introduced by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Thune (R-S.D.), and McConnell—and co-sponsored by dozens of Senate Republicans—would accomplish the longstanding GOP goal of completely eliminating the estate tax.

“Ending the estate tax would give a tax break of up to $63 billion to the Walton family and $39 billion to the Kochs—but $0 to 99.8% of Americans,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) noted in a tweet on Tuesday. “At a time of record inequality, the very last thing we should do is line the pockets of the rich.”

I bet Trump’s new election Aide, Howard $chultz, is all for this one. RESIST!!

Cartoons:

He had a great influence on Dr. MLK.

It’s another busy day in the CatBox, but at least I seem to be over the Republicosis.  I put in my Store to Door order.  As small as this room is, it’s frustrating that the heater side is so hot and the window (computer) side is so cold.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:53 (average 4:41).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Parody Project Channel): SOMETHING NEW – Parody

Amen Don! For more info about the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ Green New Deal, click here. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Robert Reich: 7 Suggestions for Surviving the Rest of Trump’s Presidency

1: check. 2: check. 3: check. 4: check. 5: check. 6: check. 7: check. The Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. However these apply equally to surviving the entire Reich on the right, the Republican Reich. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: In a potentially worrisome development for the White House, Donald Trump’s longtime political adviser Roger Stone spent the weekend getting a tattoo of the special counsel, Robert Mueller, on his back.

Minutes after being released on bail, Stone was reportedly driven to a tattoo-removal specialist in Jersey City, who spent nine hours removing his notorious back tattoo of Richard Nixon to make room for the newly minted Mueller tat.

News of Stone’s Mueller tattoo sent a wave of panic through the White House, where top aides attempted to predict what the tattoo portended for Stone’s loyalty to Trump going forward.

From Andy’s pen to God’s eyes! RESIST!!

Cartoon:

I made this in 2013.  It’s truth has never wavered.

It’s another busy day here in the CatBox.  I had to update my iPhone, and the first two attempts didn’t take.  I got started 90 minutes late.  I also have a mild case of Republicosis.  That could cause a shitty day.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:48 (average 5:41). To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube: Starbucks’ Schultz: "I am seriously thinking of running for president"

Oh Shit! Here we go again! If this "corporate Democrat" billionaire runs as a so-called independent, he will expose all of us to the heinous threat of a second term for the Tangerine Traitor. RESIST!!

From CNN: Officials from the United States and the Taliban have agreed in principle to a peace framework that could eventually bring Afghanistan’s long-running war to an end, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan said Monday.

In comments given to the New York Times and confirmed to CNN by the US Embassy in Kabul, Zalmay Khalilzad said the framework for peace would see the insurgent group vow to prevent the country from being used as a hub for terrorism in return for a US military withdrawal.

"We have a draft of the framework that has to be fleshed out before it becomes an agreement," Khalilzad told the Times on Monday. "The Taliban have committed, to our satisfaction, to do what is necessary that would prevent Afghanistan from ever becoming a platform for international terrorist groups or individuals."

I’ll need to count the beans in the can, before I make a final judgment, but I’m inclined to welcome this. On September 27, 2001, US troops had been fighting in Afghanistan one day too long. RESIST!!

From The Guardian: The Trump administration has lifted sanctions on three companies, including the aluminum giant Rusal, linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Democrats had led a push in Congress to continue the restrictions.

Earlier this month, Senate Republicans blocked an effort to keep the sanctions on Rusal, En+ Group and JSC EuroSibEnergo.

Some lawmakers from both parties have said it is inappropriate to ease sanctions on companies tied to Deripaska, an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, while special counsel Robert Mueller investigates whether Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Moscow.

Deripaska had ties with Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager. Manafort pleaded guilty in September 2018 to attempted witness tampering and conspiring against the United States… [emphasis added]

How obvious is the quid pro quo here? Senate Republicans are in on it too! RESIST!

Cartoon:

A sad day!