TomCat

Open Thread – 10/27/2018

Posted by TomCat at 12:45 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 272018

Yesterday’s trip to the eye surgeon’s office came off without a hitch. Lori said the eye point is unchanged, increasing the odds of a successful corrective surgery in December. I slept very poorly last night so I am tired today. Pray for those harmed by the Republican domestic terrorist in Pittsburgh.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:35 (average 5:01). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Chunnel): Trump Era Unique For Violent Extremists Inspired By US President | Rachel Maddow (28 min.)

Rachel did a superior job of linking Trump’s mouth to the MAGA Maniac and a bevy of other violent Republican terrorists. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

From YouTube (Parody Project Channel): VOTE THE BASTARDS OUT – The Spooky Mens Chorale

In a word, Amen. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

From The New Yorker: Moments after law enforcement apprehended the pipe-bombing suspect, Cesar Sayoc, in Florida, White House staffers scrambled to make sure that Donald J. Trump had never retweeted anything from Sayoc’s demented Twitter feed.

The alarm bells went off at the White House after the chief of staff, John Kelly, reviewed Sayoc’s feed, which is riddled with right-wing conspiracy theories and paranoid attacks on George Soros, and thought that some of the tweets “looked kind of familiar,” an aide to Kelly confirmed.

After spotting the similarities, Kelly enlisted Kellyanne Conway, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Jared Kushner to comb through Trump’s Twitter feed and ascertain whether he had in fact retweeted any of the bombing suspect’s unhinged ravings.

As of late Friday afternoon, the team of staffers had not yet identified any retweets of the alleged pipe bomber by Trump, but cautioned that their work was “far from over,” a White House source said.

Dang, Andy! I think they’ll find dozens. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

Cartoon:

Personal Update – 10/26/2016

Posted by TomCat at 7:15 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 262018

I’m almost out the door to see Lori, the surgeon who will straighten my eyes in December. Have a great day.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:31 (average 5:30). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Take:

From The New Yorker: Russian and Chinese spies who have been eavesdropping on Donald J. Trump’s unsecured iPhone calls complained on Thursday that he has foiled their efforts by speaking in a language that is infuriatingly indecipherable.

According to the spies, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, what they had hoped would be a treasure trove of valuable intercepts has amounted to little more than unintelligible gibberish.

“Trump has been communicating in an impenetrable code entirely of his own creation,” a Chinese spy said. “These phone calls might as well be triple-encrypted.”

A Russian spy who has monitored Trump’s calls around the clock said that the only words that could be identified clearly were “I” and “me,” but that they were used so frequently that they became virtually meaningless.

Dang Andy! I hope the Russians and Chinese spend a fortune trying to decipher RepublIdiot T. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

Cartoon:

1026Cartoon

Samantha Bee from 10/24

Posted by TomCat at 1:04 pm Politics

Oct 252018

It’s that time of week again, so here are three excellent video clips from Sam’s show last night. Enjoy!

Asylum Seekers Aren’t Scary

Sam is right. Republican terrorists are far scarier than refugees.

Trans Rights Under Attack

This disgusting discrimination is easier to understand from Trump, whose gender identity is neuter.

The Rainbow Wave Is Coming

In my opinion, the people making the calls, knocking on the doors, and doing the dirty work ARE the heroes.

Sam always gets the truth out, without sacrificing humor.

RESIST!!

VOTE BLUE!!

12 DAYS!!

Open Thread – 10/25/2018

Posted by TomCat at 1:03 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 252018

It’s a very busy day here in the CatBox. I’m getting prepared for tomorrow. I have my preliminary eye-exam for the surgery to correct my double double vision vision, scheduled for 12/12. I leave at 8:00 AM, and will return after 1:00 PM. I will be fully dilated, so I’ll be blind and useless for the rest of the day. Therefore, please expect no more than a Personal Update, and I will not be sending links messages on Care2. I should be back in the saddle on Saturday.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:42 (averaged 5:10). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): President Donald Trump Talks Bombs Then Slams Media

When he’s building bombs, I suspect that the RepubliBomber chants MAGA-MAGA-Blow Job! RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

From YouTube (Daily Kos Video): Andrew Gillum smashes DeSantis during debate

Go Andrew! You don’t have to call DeSantis a racist. It’s already obvious. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

From Alternet: NBC has decided it’s had enough of Megyn Kelly for one week.

The New York Times’ John Koblin reports that NBC will air reruns of Kelly’s show over the next two days while the network continues to deal with the blowback caused by Kelly questioning why it’s considered racist for white people to dress in blackface during Halloween.

“Given the circumstances, Megyn Kelly Today will be on tape the rest of the week,” NBC said in a statement to Koblin.

Temporary good riddance. When MSNBC hired this Faux Noise bikini model, I said it was a mistake. They need to fire her permanently. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

Cartoon:

Dang! God IS on our side! Winking smile

Stacey Abrams Reamed Brian Kemp

Posted by TomCat at 12:52 pm Politics

Oct 242018

Last night there was a showdown between the Democratic Candidate for the Georgia statehouse, Stacey Abrams, and her opponent, Republican expert at election theft through illegal voter suppression, Brian Kemp. In my opinion, Stacey bent him over and gave him a Saguaro cactus suppository. But don’t take my word for it. See it yourself.

Charges of voter suppression and counterclaims of encouraging illegal voting dominated the first debate between Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp in the race for Georgia governor.

Disputes over voting access took center stage at Tuesday evening’s debate, highlighting Abrams’ historic bid to become the first black female governor in American history and the long-simmering politics of race in the Deep South. Kemp, who is white, continued to fend off charges that he’s using his position as Georgia secretary of state to make it harder for minority voters to cast ballots.

Libertarian candidate Ted Metz also participated in the debate.

Abrams said Kemp’s record as secretary of state "causes great concern" and pointed to the release of voter data under Kemp’s watch and the state’s "exact match" voter registration system, which has left tens of thousands of voter registrations "pending" due to inconsistencies.

The Democrat said she takes voting rights "very seriously" and said her own father had once been arrested trying to help people get registered…. [emphasis added]

Inserted from <The Herald Dispatch>

Here’s complete video. It is interrupted by fire alarm early. Just nudge it ahead.

Did she dominate, or what?

FYI, in the event of a recount, Kemp has stated that he will not recuse himself.

RESIST!!

VOTE BLUE!!

13 DAYS!!

Open Thread – 10/24/2018

Posted by TomCat at 12:50 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 242018

I’m waiting for Store to Door to arrive with my groceries. They are due now. When they arrive, I’ll need to unpack and put them away. Then I’ll eat lunch. This evening WWWendy comes to destink the TomCat, and it’s been so humid here that I’m ready. Pray for the recipients of Republican bombs. Hump Day Hugs to all, but humping Republicans may be hazardous to your brain.

Jig Zone Puzzles:

Today’s took me 4:35 (average 5:47). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Jeff Merkley Channel): We MUST Act

This is why we need Senators like Jeff, and not like Bought Bitch Mitch [R-KY] or any of his vile Republican ilk. Oregon leads the way! RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

From YouTube (Media Matters Channel): Right-wing media’s history of smearing coverage for pre-existing conditions as “a luxury,” “welfare”

Barf Bag Alert!!

This has been the Republican position on pre-existing conditions for as long as I can remember. Now, two weeks away from the midterms, Trump and the Republicans that are still fighting to take away that coverage that Democrats gave people, are claiming they will cover preexisting conditions and Democrats won’t. How do you spell B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T? RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

From The New Yorker: The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, “totally freaked out” after Rudolph Giuliani offered to appear on television and explain “what really happened” inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Giuliani has confirmed.

Giuliani told reporters on Tuesday that he phoned the crown prince to make “an extremely attractive offer of my services.”

“I told him, ‘I can get this whole thing wrapped up in two weeks—three, tops,’ ” Giuliani said. “ ‘Just say the word and Rudy Giuliani can be your official TV spokesman.’ ”

Andy, do you think Rudy 911 would survive? RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

Cartoon:

It also replaces yesterday’s rat.

Republican Dirty Tricks

Posted by TomCat at 1:13 pm Politics

Oct 232018

For Democrats and Progressives, voting is a minefield. There’s nothing the Republican Reich won’t do to steal your vote through trickery, of failing that, through depriving you of your vote. Republicans have a long history of dirty tricks to win elections. They do this because, if they depended on their policies, they would lose.

via me.me

Be Prepared to Protect Yourself and Fight Back

Once considered liberal and progressive, the Republican Party has been taken over by right-wing conservative con artists who lie, cheat and steal to gain and maintain power. From voter fraud and suppression to smear campaigns, personal attacks and media manipulation, they have been using the same strategies for more than a hundred years.

While Democratic Dirty Tricks prominently show up around FDR’s first election in ’32, Kennedy/Nixon (Chicago) in ’60 and Lyndon Johnson in ’64, these lead to The New Deal, Social Security and Civil Rights while Republican Dirty Tricks give us depressions, poverty and massive national debt.

Republicans know if most people vote, they would never win so they try to demoralize the Democratic base and suppress the vote as much as possible, they buy some people off with tax cuts and scare the rest into voting against their own interests and that’s how they win. It’s a divide and conquer strategy that has worked well and they refine and expand it every election year.

Republican Strategy:

Demoralize the Democratic base with phony press releases and whisper campaigns.

Attack oponents strength with character assasination.

Suppress the vote in every possible way.

Buy some people off with tax cuts.

Scare the rest into voting against their own interests.

In the 2004 election there was massive GOP voter fraud and suppression; from black box voting fraud, vote tabulating fraud, re-registering people into different precincts, destroying voter registration forms, misinformation in poor neighborhoods, moving polls close to election day, old ballot machines in poor and black neighborhoods that spoil votes, ballot checking machines in wealthy neighborhoods that allow wealthy voters to re-cast spoiled ballots, police intimidation, caging lists and on and on and on. The result was an 8 million vote discrepancy between the official results and exit polls. The official results had Bush winning by 3 million votes but the exit polls had Kerry winning by 5 million votes.

Republicans have two major factors on their side; a fanatical base willing to carry out the dirty tricks and the greediest billionaires to finance them. They deceive good people by raising the red flag of abortion and gay marriage to divert attention away from their arrogant and greedy policies which cause the poverty, war and pollution we are facing today.

The next time a Republican tells you “America, love it or leave it.” Tell them you love America. You just want right-wing conservatives to stop molesting her. If they act like they don’t know what you’re talking about, send them here… [emphasis original]

Inserted from <GOP Dirty Tricks>

The above article is over ten years old. Click through for a history of right wing dirty tricks from the founding fathers on. We need to be clear that Trump is just a symptom. The Republican Reich is the disease.

Rachel Maddow covered contemporary Republican dirty tricks in this 18 minute video.

Don’t let Republicans steal your vote!

PS. Apologies to the rat.

RESIST!!

VOTE BLUE!!

14 DAYS!!

Open Thread – 10/23/2018

Posted by TomCat at 1:13 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 232018

I had a very restful day yesterday and feel a bit groggy from all the spare Z’s. I’m back in the saddle. Yee Haw! Time to rope me a dawg!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:09 (average 5:40). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Fantasy Football Report:

Here’s the latest from our own fantasy football league.

Scores:

7Scores

Congrats to Wendy, Vivian and I for winning our games.

Standings:

Kudos to Pam and me for leading the league.

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Media Matters Channel): Transgender activists and allies rally against Trump administration’s attempt to erase trans people

Republicans hating transgenders is so hypocritical. It’s really transhumans hating transgenders. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

From Alternet: On Monday, in a victory for voting rights, a GOP law in New Hampshire that threatened to suppress turnout in November’s elections was struck down by a state judge.

Senate Bill 3, which was signed into law by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu last year, would have required New Hampshire voters to provide documentation proving they are "domiciled" in the town where they are voting if they register to vote within 30 days of the election. Those who fail to provide the documentation would have still been able to vote, but would have to give a signature of attestation and submit the documents in the following weeks, or face investigation at their place of residence and possible penalties for voter fraud.

Voting rights groups say the bill’s requirements were confusing, would increase lines at polling places, and make it impossible for the homeless to vote.

Hillsborough Superior Court Judge Kenneth Brown agreed, in his ruling for the League of Women Voters of New Hampshire, who filed a lawsuit along with multiple New Hampshire residents who were struggling to register to vote.

Kudos to the Judge. It’s too bad that ruling is the exception, not the rule. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

From TPM: A Florida man is accused of groping a female passenger while on a flight Sunday from Houston to Albuquerque and later telling authorities that the president of the United States says it’s OK to grab women by their private parts.

Bruce Michael Alexander, 49, of Tampa made his initial appearance in federal court Monday in Albuquerque on a charge of abusive sexual contact. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.

According to a criminal complaint, a woman told authorities the man behind her touched her twice and that she told him to stop and asked to change seats. [emphasis added]

After the Republican Reich helps Alexander beat the rap, he’ll be going to work in the White House. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

Cartoon:

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