TomCat

The Empty Chairs Scam

Posted by TomCat at 1:04 pm Politics

Nov 292017

Unless Congress passes some kind of spending measure by December 8, our government will run out of money and face another government shutdown. With a majority in both the House and the Senate, Republicans would have no trouble doing it themselves, if they were not so incompetent that the Plutocons and the Insanity Wing refuse to compromise with each other. Therefore they need Democratic help to pass something. Instead of negotiating in good faith, Trump ran a scam and is putting the nation at risk.

Less than two weeks before much of the government runs out of money, President Trump on Tuesday escalated the threat of a shutdown, accusing Democratic congressional leaders of plotting to use their leverage to raise taxes and flood the country with undocumented immigrants.

The Democratic leaders, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, responded to the president’s provocations by pulling out of a scheduled White House meeting meant to address the thorny issues that lawmakers are facing as the end of the year approaches.

Mr. Trump then doubled down, posing for television cameras at the White House next to empty chairs and calling his would-be negotiating partners weak on crime, weak on immigration and weak on the military.

“They’ve been all talk, and they’ve been no action, and now it’s even worse,” Mr. Trump said. “Now it’s not even talk.”

The spectacle was an unpromising start to the difficult negotiations ahead, with a deadline of Dec. 8, when government funding runs out. Democrats hold significant leverage because Republicans do not have enough votes to pass a spending measure next week without some Democratic support…

Inserted from <NY Times>

Trump did far more than just falsely accusing Pelosi and Schumer. He said that because of it, he would not make a deal with them. Pelosi and Schumer pulled out only after he said there would be no deal. Blaming them for not coming adds insult to injury, as Lawrence O’Donnell explains.

If Republicans want to avoid being blamed for a government shutdown, all they have to do is agree among themselves and pass a measure. But since Republicans are incapable of governing, they can damn well apologize, stop the bullshit and negotiate in good faith. I am not predisposed to bend over and grab my ankles to save their bacon.

RESIST THE REPUBLICAN REICH!!

Open Thread – 11/29/2017

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

Nov 292017

Store to Door was a little early, so all my groceries are unpacked and put away. I’ve had adequate sleep, but for some reason, I think I would sleep all day, if I let myself. The end of the month is upon us, so the next few days will be busy as hell. WWW is coming this evening to destink the TomCat and have dinner. I’m actually looking forward to hot dogs and sauerkraut, having turkey bird up the ying-yang. Has everyone recovered?

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:49 (average 4:26). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Jeff Merkley Channel): Senator Merkley Speaks Out Against GOP Tax Scam

I don’t think I have to call Jeff to tell him how to vote, but I did call to thank him. Oregon leads the way. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Full Frontal Channel): Full Frontal’s Undercover Sting

Sam gives us a great parody of the O’Keefe scam to help Roy Moore discredit Moore’s victims. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: Donald J. Trump’s use of the name “Pocahontas” at a White House event honoring Navajo veterans was not a racial slur, a prominent white expert said on Monday.

“If some Native Americans were offended by the use of this term, I’m sorry that they’re so wrong,” the expert said. “As a white person, I think I’m in a better position to know about this stuff.”

She also defended the decision to honor the Navajo veterans near a portrait of Andrew Jackson, who is widely reviled by Native Americans. “Before we held the ceremony, we consulted with a number of other white experts, and we all agreed that Andrew Jackson was great,” she said.

But Andy, Sarah Upchuckabee Sanders [pictured in article] is an expert on only one thing: the dissemination of Republican Bullshitology! RESIST!!

Cartoon:

I started watching Keith, when he started hosting Countdown on MSNBC in 2003, and I have followed him ever since.

Tax Scam!

Posted by TomCat at 1:32 pm Politics

Nov 282017

One of the stories still dominating the news is the last push by the Republican Party to steal $billions from poor and middle classes and give it billionaires and their giant corporations. It just passed out of the Senate Finance Committee a few minutes ago, and it is now free for a final vote in the Senate, perhaps on Thursday. If this passes, you’re going to need a chastity belt for your butt. Paul Krugman calls it a tax scam.

Donald Trump likes to declare that every good thing that happens while he’s in office — job growth, rising stock prices, whatever — is the biggest, greatest, best ever. Then the fact-checkers weigh in and quickly determine that the claim is false.

But what’s happening in the Senate right now really does deserve Trumpian superlatives. The bill Republican leaders are trying to ram through this week without hearings, without time for even a basic analysis of its likely economic impact, is the biggest tax scam in history. It’s such a big scam that it’s not even clear who’s being scammed — middle-class taxpayers, people who care about budget deficits, or both.

One thing is clear, however: One way or another, the bill would hurt most Americans. The only big winners would be the wealthy — especially those who mainly collect income from their assets rather than working for a living — plus tax lawyers and accountants who would have a field day exploiting the many loopholes the legislation creates… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Paul Krugman goes on to evaluate the scam in detail. Please click through to read the rest.

Chris Hayes also covered this story with David Kay Johnston and others.

Let me reiterate when the tax cuts tank the economy, as they surely will, Republicans will expect the middle class and poor, YOU and ME, to pay for it.

RESIST THE REPUBLICAN REICH!!

Open Thread – 11/28/2017

Posted by TomCat at 1:31 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Nov 282017

I’ve had another busy day, and catching up with sleep just makes me sleepier. I ordered groceries from Store to Door. I also spoke with the Safeway Store Manager. She was highly apologetic and offered me $50 in compensation as an apology. I refused, and told her I would reconsider, if they demoted the .com manager. She said she will take my complaint to senior management and let me know what happens. I doubt that I’ll hear back, but I take pride in refusing to be bought off over the principal that they can’t just dismiss cursing a justifiably irate crippled senior.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:09 (average 4:07). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Fantasy Football Report:

Here’s the latest from our own fantasy football league, Lefty Blog Friends.

Scores:

12Scores

Woooo Hoooo!! Did I put that Sasquatch under foot, or what? Winking smile

Standings:

12Standings

Congrats to Vivian and Seth, who lead the league. Condolences to Jack, who is still eating Sasquatch toe jams. There are only two weeks left before our playoffs.

Short Takes:

From YouTube (GQ Channel): Trump is Finished

On the one hand, I fully agree with Keith. On the other, I feel devastated over Keith’s retirement from political commentary. We still need his clarity, integrity, and depth. RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Elizabeth Warren: This Is Donald Trump Bringing His Chaos

As of 12:30 PM PST the CFBP was still in limbo. Liz spelled it out with crystal clarity. May she win the White House in 2020. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: Casting further doubt on the authenticity of his notorious “Access Hollywood” tape, Donald J. Trump said on Monday that the voice on the tape was actually that of Hillary Clinton, imitating him.

“That’s not me on the tape,” he said. “That’s Hillary faking like she is me.”

Trump said that he had a theory to explain how Clinton came up with the infamous “locker-room talk” that appeared on the tape. “It’s so obvious that Bill came up with that,” he said.

Dang Andy! Now that you gave him the idea, that’s coming next! RESIST!!

Cartoon:

1128TCFatBurp

Republican Environmental Racism

Posted by TomCat at 1:36 pm Politics

Nov 272017

The Fuhrer and his Republican Reich seem to have found a way to deal with minorities. Polluting their neighborhoods until they can no longer survive is one way to ensure that they won’t vote for Democrats. To be sure, you won’t find the immediate effects of Trump’s environmental policy at Mar-a-Lago or anywhere billionaires congregate. They are reserved for the poor, especially poor minorities.

The Trump administration’s dismantling of environmental regulations has intensified a growing civil rights battle over the deadly burden of pollution on minorities and low-income people.

Black, Latino, and disadvantaged people have long been disproportionately afflicted by toxins from industrial plants, cars, hazardous housing conditions and other sources.

But political leaders, academics and activists spoke of a growing urgency around the struggle for environmental justice as the Trump administration peels away rules designed to protect clean air and water.

“What we are seeing is the institutionalization of discrimination again, the thing we’ve fought for 40 years,” said Robert Bullard, an academic widely considered the father of the environmental justice movement.

“There are people in fence-line communities who are now very worried. If the federal government doesn’t monitor and regulate, and gives the states a green light to do what they want, we are going to get more pollution, more people will get sick. There will be more deaths.”

Activists and some in Congress now view the blight of pollution as a vast, largely overlooked civil rights issue that places an unbearable burden on people of color and low-income communities… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Mother Jones>

I have shared just the introduction of this article with you. I strongly urge you to click through and read the entire thing to see just how they are practicing Republican environmental racism.

RESIST THE REPUBLICAN REICH!!

Open Thread – 11/27/2017

Posted by TomCat at 1:36 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Nov 272017

Thanksgiving Dinner with WWW was magnificent. I have never had an organically raised bird before, but I recognized the taste as the same as the wild turkey I shot in Colorado about forty year ago. We also had stuffing gravy, and dinner rolls. WWW made cream puffs for dessert. That was TC heaven! Purrrr!! After carving all the meat we could get, we boiled the bones, and cleaned off the rest of the meat to make soup later. We also fed dinner to the desk clerk here at the building. I’ve had a very busy morning.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:47 (average 4:52). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Religious Agony:

1126Broncos14-Raiders21

It was their turn this week. It isn’t really agony anymore. At this point, each loss increases the value of our draft choices, while I wonder who the head coach and three new QBs will be next year.

Short Takes:

From Reuters: U.S. media company Meredith Corp said on Sunday it will buy Time Inc, the publisher of People, Sports Illustrated and Fortune magazines, in a $1.84 billion all-cash deal backed by conservative billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.

The deal is a coup for Meredith, which held unsuccessful talks to buy Time earlier this year and in 2013.

I predict that Times People of the year will be goose-stepping Republican Koch suckers. RESIST!!

From NY Times: Alex M. Azar II, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has expressed concern about the soaring cost of prescription drugs for many consumers. This week, Mr. Azar, a former pharmaceutical executive, is expected to face tough questions at a Senate confirmation hearing over why his own company raised prices.

Democratic senators say that, as a top manager at Eli Lilly and Company, he was responsible for steep increases on insulin and other drugs. How he would now tackle that problem as secretary, along with the future of the Affordable Care Act, promises to dominate the hearings.

Republican greed mongers in the Senate will confirm Azar, knowing that he will cause many Americans to die and not caring. RESIST!!

From Alternet: As Congressional Republicans return from the Thanksgiving break, they face a crammed agenda and the daunting task of passing an already wildly unpopular tax plan by the end of the year.

According to Politico, many are worried that the White House has already doomed the tax overhaul with a tone-deaf rollout that featured multimillionaires Steven Mnuchin and Gary Cohn as spokesmen.

The GOP hopes to convince voters that their tax plan isn’t a giant handout to millionaires and billionaires — which it is — and that it will lower the tax burden of middle class families — which it will not.

From Alternet’s keys to God’s eyes! RESIST!!

Cartoon:

Personal Update – 11/26/2017

Posted by TomCat at 7:52 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Nov 262017

It’s celebration day, so I’m taking a day off. Wonder Woman Wendy is due in about an hour.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:18 (average 5:30). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Take:

From NY Times: On its face, the notice sent to 248 county election officials asked only that they do what Congress has ordered: Prune their rolls of voters who have died, moved or lost their eligibility — or face a federal lawsuit.

The notice, delivered in September by a conservative advocacy group, is at the heart of an increasingly bitter argument over the seemingly mundane task of keeping accurate lists of voters — an issue that will be a marquee argument before the Supreme Court in January.

At a time when gaming the rules of elections has become standard political strategy, the task raises a high-stakes question: Is scrubbing ineligible voters from the rolls worth the effort if it means mistakenly bumping legitimate voters as well?

The political ramifications are as close as a history book. Florida’s Legislature ordered the voter rolls scrubbed of dead registrants and ineligible felons before the 2000 presidential election. The resulting purge, based on a broad name-matching exercise, misidentified thousands of legitimate voters as criminals, and prevented at least 1,100 of them — some say thousands more — from casting ballots.

That was the election in which George W. Bush’s 537-vote margin in Florida secured his place in the White House. Controlling the rules of elections — including who is on or off the rolls — has been both a crucial part of political strategy and a legal battleground ever since.

The Times is asking the wrong question. Mistakenly bumping legitimate voters as well is not the problem. The problem is Republicans intentionally bumping legitimate Democratic Voters, a key component of maintaining a Republican Reich. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

Open Thread – 11/25/2017

Posted by TomCat at 10:35 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Nov 252017

I’m making this a lazy day. I don’t know why, but I slept very poorly last night. Most of the news seems to be rehashing old business. This is my only article today, and I shall not be sending links messages on Care2. Between 10 AM and Noon Amazon.com/New Seasons Market is delivering the bird, a cooked 6-10 lb. Free Range Turkey. Purrrr!! This morning I prepared the Brussels Sprouts Hollandaise. The stuffing and gravy are done. And I look forward to feeding Wonder Woman Wendy (Thanks, Lona!) tomorrow. Tomorrow is also a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. My Broncos play Wendy’s Raiders, but we don’t get to watch, as it is not televised here.

Later: The turkey came. It’s in the fridge, waiting to be put in the TomCat.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:12 (average 5:29). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Washington Post: President Trump and the outgoing head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau both named acting directors to head the watchdog agency on Friday, throwing its leadership into disarray.

Legal analysts were split over whether the White House or the CFPB had authority to name an acting director, with each side citing the fine print of dueling federal rules. Some added that the laws were open to interpretation and that the courts ultimately would have to decide the matter.

Trump proposed his White House budget director, Mick Mulvaney, as the acting director of the CFPB, which Mulvaney once called a “joke” and said he wished didn’t exist. Several defenders of the agency said they were worried that Mulvaney, if given the helm of the CFPB on a temporary basis, would gut its powers.

The series of events began Friday when the CFPB’s long-time director, Richard Cordray, announced that he would leave at the end of the day — instead of at the end of the month — and promoted his chief of staff, Leandra English, to become deputy director. Cordray said in a letter to CFPB staff that English would serve as the agency’s acting director until a replacement was confirmed by the Senate.

I have no doubt that the CFPB would not survive a week as a functional entity with Mulvaney at the helm. English is the rightful Acting Director, and Trump is trying to duck Senate confirmation. RESIST!!

From NY Times: Despite efforts by Congress, the Obama administration and state attorneys general to stop the predatory practices of for-profit colleges, veterans and service members who rely on funding from the G.I. bill and the Defense Department to attend school are still being targeted by an industry infamous for saddling people with debt and useless degrees.

A Senate committee report sounded a warning on this problem three years ago, when it raised questions about deceptive practices in the industry. State attorneys general and federal agencies at the time were investigating seven for-profit outfits with significant revenue streams from the G.I. bill. Some of these schools have since been forced to shut down.

Nevertheless, a new analysis of federal data by Veterans Education Success, a nonprofit that provides free legal services to student veterans, finds that the for-profit industry is still setting its sights on veterans and service members even as its nonmilitary enrollment has declined.

The Republican Reich views our veterans as prey fit to be ravished by Republican criminals. RESIST!!

From Alternet: As Americans gather for Thanksgiving, we can only hope that the richest among us have the good graces to give thanks for the bounty they expect to receive in a few days thanks to how Donald Trump and the Republican leaders on Capitol Hill conned millions of voters.

The plutocrats should set aside a moment to thank all the voters suckered by the Trumpian promise to drain the swamp. What Trump really meant was to drain the pockets of Americans who make less than $500,000 a year so the richest of the rich can have more.

Amen! Amen!! Amen!!! YOU are the swamp! RESIST!!

Cartoon:

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