I’m feeling tired, lethargic, and unmotivated, so it’s a good day for TGIF13!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:01 (average 4:50).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (GQ Channel): Is Mueller Trying to Stop Trump From Pardoning People?

The only people Trump would pardon, other than family, are people, who know enough about his own crimes to be dangerous, if they flip.  Mueller would not have to investigate this, unless he intended to indict Trump, his family, or people who can spill the beans on Trump.  Wooo Hooo!! One possible way is to bring simultaneous indictments in state and federal court. RESIST!!

From Upworthy: The city’s government unveiled an ambitious plan to ban gas-powered cars from the city by the end of the next decade.

"We have planned the end of thermic vehicle use, and therefore of fossil energies, by 2030," Christophe Nadjovski, Paris deputy mayor in charge of transportation, told France Info radio.

The city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, had already announced a plan to ban diesel-powered vehicles from the city by 2024.

Bravo à la France! RESIST!!

From Washington Post: President Trump is throwing a bomb into the insurance marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act, choosing to end critical payments to health insurers that help millions of lower-income Americans afford coverage. The decision coincides with an executive order on Thursday to allow alternative health plans that skirt the law’s requirements.

The White House confirmed late Thursday that it would halt federal payments for cost-sharing reductions, although a statement did not specify when. Another statement a short time later by top officials at the Health and Human Services Department said the cutoff would be immediate. The subsidies total about $7 billion this year.

Trump has threatened for months to stop the payments, which go to insurers that are required by the law to help eligible consumers afford their deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses. But he held off while other administration officials warned him such a move would cause an implosion of the ACA marketplaces that could be blamed on Republicans, according to two individuals briefed on the decision.

Health insurers and state regulators have been in a state of high anxiety over the prospect of the marketplaces cratering because of such White House action. The fifth year’s open-enrollment season for consumers to buy coverage through ACA exchanges will start in less than three weeks, and insurers have said that stopping the cost-sharing payments would be the single greatest step the Trump administration could take to damage the marketplaces — and the law.

Trump’s idiocy is a major abuse of power. The job of the executive branch is to enforce existing law, not to refuse to enforce whatever the moron doesn’t like. It will also kill thousands of people, many of whom will be the deplorable idiots that voted for him. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

After my nap, I think I’ll go cross paths.

I was happy to have my shower yesterday, but sad to see that Wendy is having a hard time.  As the responsible one in the family, she’s stuck with all the work that follows her sister’s passing and all the sorrow that attends that work.  She told me she appreciates your hugs, prayers, and greetings.  Please continue.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:19 (average 5:51).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football Update:

I am unable to find a replacement for Pam in our fantasy football league, so on Monday Night, I’m going to go in as Manager and drop all her players.  They will be available to claim on waivers on Tuesday.  After this weekend, all teams playing her empty team will win.

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Funny or Die Channel): What Your Political Bubble Looks Like From The Other Side

It’s cute, but the red is nowhere near as hateful as it is in reality. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: In an I.Q.-test tournament devised by Donald Trump to determine the smartest person in his Administration, Trump suffered a humiliating defeat on Tuesday, getting knocked out in the first round by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

Trump had personally created the brackets for the tournament, which he had hoped would lead to an I.Q.-championship showdown between him and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

“He was determined to face Betsy in the first round,” a White House source said of Trump. “He thought it would be like a bye week.”

Trump was stung by DeVos’s upset win, however, and lashed out at the I.Q. test itself, calling it both “fake” and “rigged,” according to the source.

Dang, Andy! That sounds like straight reporting to me! RESIST!!

From NY Times: President Trump said on Wednesday that he intended to name Kirstjen Nielsen, a top White House aide, to lead the Department of Homeland Security, elevating a former homeland security official in the George W. Bush administration who has lately worked to impose order in Mr. Trump’s chaotic West Wing.

Mr. Trump announced his choice in a statement that noted Ms. Nielsen’s “extensive professional experience in the areas of homeland security policy and strategy, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure and emergency management.” She is the first nominee for the homeland security post who had served in the department, according to the statement.

If confirmed, Ms. Nielsen would replace John F. Kelly, who was homeland security secretary until he left in July to serve as the White House chief of staff and bring discipline and direction to a West Wing plagued by disorganization and infighting. Mr. Kelly had drafted Ms. Nielsen to be his chief of staff at the Homeland Security department, and when the president plucked him for the White House, he brought her as his No. 2.

I understand that several long term Homeland Security employees are talking about quitting if Nielson is confirmed. In her previous posting to Homeland Security, during the Bush Reich, she helped Crawford Caligula botch his Katrina response. In spite of that high level of incompetence, she may be the piddle pervert’s most qualified appointee yet.  RESIST!!

Cartoon:

I have a busy day today.  I’m writing earlier than normal, because I’m waiting for a grocery delivery from Store to Door.  When it arrives, I’ll put the groceries away, have lunch and finish writing.  Wendy is coming this evening to destink the putrid TomCat.  Even though today’s high is forecast at 57°, 100% humidity makes me sticky.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:40 (average 4:23).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football Offer:

We need a player to take over Pam’s league leading team in out fantasy football league.  If you’d like to do it, please email me (see contact me under Links in left column) with the email address you use (or want to use) for nfl.com fantasy.

Short Takes:

From YouTube (GQ Channel): What Mike Pence’s Cynical Anthem Stunt Cost

Keith has a point. When it comes to wasting YOUR money on their own luxuries, nobody excels like the $1,232,943,000.00, and still counting, Republican Reich! RESIST!!

From YouTube (RWW Channel): RWW News: Rick Wiles Says ‘You Don’t Have The Right To Worship Lucifer In This Country’

Barf Bag Alert!!

As a Christian, I have no wish to worship Lucifer, his teased hair, his orange face, his tiny hands, his pee-soaked body, or his Putin-ravished butt. However, if I was sick enough to want to do that, it is my right, no matter what that Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christian liar says. RESIST!!

From Daily Kos: There are primarily two types of poor people in this country:

1. Those who are struggling because they have an entire power structure rigged against them

2. Those who have no money because they are, frankly, morons

We fight for those in the first category. The second category might as well be referred to as Trump supporters, and I simply don’t have any empathy for proudly ignorant, dirt poor, uneducated racists who are currently getting swindled right now by a supposed “billionaire.” 

President Cheeto just tweeted that “The RNC is taking in far more $’s than the Dems, and much of it by my wonderful small donors.”  He was referring to this article in theWashington Post [sic]—which I suppose he forgot that he called FAKE NEWS just a few days ago.

U.S. President Donald Trump is using money donated to his re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee to pay for his lawyers in the probe of alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

If you believe Trump, he is uber-wealthy and doesn’t need anybody’s help to pay his bills. So either he is lying, or gets some kind of kick out of poor dupes donating to help pay his legal fees. Either way, he mocks them and proves our point that they do indeed deserve our scorn. At least when we mock them, we don’t swindle them.

At different times the Fuhrer has denied doing this and bragged about doing it. Republicans, Trump is an expert at sheeple-fleecing, so bend over and say BAA-A-A-A-A-A! RESIST!!

Cartoon:

It’s another busy day for me with lots of planning, scheduling and bookkeeping work to do.  I also ordered groceries from Store to Door.  Tuesday is Saguaro suppositories for Republicans day.  Tell them to open wide!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:42 (average 7:09).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Fantasy Football Report:

Here are the latest results from our own fantasy football league, Lefty Blog Friends.

Scores:

Whew!  I almost became a toe jamb!

Standings:

Congrats to Wendy, Pam, and Seth, who lead the league.  Condolences to Squatch and Jack.

Short Takes:

From YouTube (GQ Channel): The Truth About Pence’s Despicable NFL Stunt

Into what they will turn this nation, if we don’t stop them, is a totalitarian, plutocratic, theocratic, white supremacist Republican Reich! RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: A poll taken after Vice-President Mike Pence made headlines on Sunday with an abrupt early departure reveals that a broad majority of Americans hope that Donald Trump follows Pence’s example and leaves early, as well.

In a striking result, the poll shows that Trump’s early exit would be approximately a thousand times more popular than the one Pence participated in on Sunday.

While Pence defended his decision to leave early on Sunday by saying that he did it out of patriotism, a substantial majority of Americans agreed that a premature departure by Trump “would be, by far, the most patriotic thing he could ever do for his country.”

And while the price tag of Pence’s departure on Sunday, estimated by some to be approximately a quarter of a million dollars, raised eyebrows across the country, poll respondents overwhelmingly said that they do not care how much Trump’s departure costs, as long as he leaves.

Andy, what can I say? AMEN!! RESIST!!

From NY Times: This past week, reports that Harvey Weinstein had sexually harassed women for years came to light, making it crystal clear that not every woman in Hollywood has had the chance to walk our path. Abuse, threats and coercion have been the norm for so many women trying to do business or make art. Mr. Weinstein may be the most powerful man in Hollywood to be revealed as a predator, but he’s certainly not the only one who has been allowed to run wild. His behavior, silently co-signed for decades by employees and collaborators, is a microcosm of what has been happening in Hollywood since always and of what workplace harassment looks like for women everywhere.

In spite of his support for many progressive causes, I hope that he is severely punished for his abuse of women, and is, in the process, given the therapy he needs to learn that women are individuals to be respected, not objects to be used. Republicans have been saying Democrats are hypocrites because we cover-up for Democratic abusers. This is not so. The only difference in my attitude between Weinstein and Resident Pussy Grabber is that there is no need to impeach Weinstein, who deserves to be treated like a Republican, because he is acting just like one. RESIST!!

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