TomCat

Open Thread – 7/16/2017

Posted by TomCat at 12:57 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 162017

Before I get very far with this, Wendy will be here to help with assorted tasks and fumigate the TomCat. It’s just in time too, because the authorities were about to evacuate the Squatch north of the Arctic Circle for her own defense, if the wind had shifted. Tomorrow will be my last day in the saddle, before my cataract surgery. I hope to be back in the saddle on Thursday, but we’ll see how I see. Later: Wendy has left and we have everything ready for Tuesday.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:41 (average 4:42). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: The former chief G W Bush speechwriter has a column in today’s Washington Post that shows the spreading impact of people processing the events since Saturday when the story of Trump Jr. , Kushner, and Manafort met with the Russian lawyer broke into the public consciousness. Titled In Trump’s world, innocence is proved by guilt, it is very much shaped by the release of the email chain earlier this week.

Yes, it is true the Gerson was never a fan or supporter of Donald J. Trump, but this piece is very pointed, and given who reads Gerson likely to have an impact on a some of the “more reasonable” Republican officers.

Click through to read his take down. I’m sure I disagree with him on many other issues, but seeing a Republican express an ethical position is so rare, I have to applaud it, when I do. As for the rest of the Republican Reich… RESIST!!

From NY Times: A powerful rule finalized last week by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will allow consumers to join together in class-action lawsuits against banks, credit card companies and other lenders over price gouging, predatory lending, abusive loan terms and other mistreatment.

Some congressional Republicans have vowed to use special legislative procedures to repeal the rule, which could take effect next year. A quick kill would be of a piece with other efforts to weaken financial regulation and allow firms to operate without accountability to customers or judges.

It’s unclear whether a congressional majority will vote to overturn a rule of such obvious benefit to consumers. What is certain is that killing the rule would be an injustice.

Liz Warren’s CFPB may be the only thing Republicans hate as much as ObamaCare and voting rights. I suspect they will overturn the rules in short order. RESIST!!

From Commonwealth Fund:

	AUS	CAN	FRA	GER	NETH	NZ	NOR	SWE	SWIZ	UK	US
OVERALL RANKING	2	9	10	8	3	4	4	6	6	1	11
Care Process+	2	6	9	8	4	3	10	11	7	1	5
Access+	4	10	9	2	1	7	5	6	8	3	11
Administrative Efficiency+	1	6	11	6	9	2	4	5	8	3	10
Equity+	7	9	10	6	2	8	5	3	4	1	11
Health Care Outcomes+	1	9	5	8	6	7	3	2	4	10	11

Click through to read the entire report. What better case could there be for Medicare for all? RESIST!!

Cartoon:

Republicans in Congress refuse to allow the residents any power to govern themselves.

How to Impeach the Fuhrer

Posted by TomCat at 1:02 pm Politics

Jul 152017

As I’m sure you know that the Reich on the right, the Republican Reich, is virtually always wrong, and the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is virtually always right. The treasonous conspiracy by Putin’s perverted puppet and his minions is unraveling at a prodigious rate. Robert Reich thinks that we had better understand the impeachment process, since we may need the information sooner than we think. He’s right!

The 10 Steps to Impeach a President

It won’t be easy to impeach Donald Trump. No president in American history has ever been convicted on articles of impeachment.

Only two presidents so far have been impeached by the House and had that impeachment go to the Senate for trial. The first was Andrew Johnson, in 1868, when the Senate came one vote short of convicting him. The next was 131 years later, in 1999, when Bill Clinton’s impeachment went to the Senate. 50 Senators voted to convict Clinton, 17 votes short of what was needed.

What about Richard Nixon? He resigned early in this process, before the House had even voted on articles of impeachment. And then his successor, who had been his vice president, Gerald Ford, gave Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he might have committed against the United States while president.

This isn’t to say Trump couldn’t or won’t be impeached. Only that it’s a long and drawn-out process.

It all revolves around Article I Sections 2 and 3 of the Constitution, and rules in the House and the Senate implementing those provisions…

From <Robert Reich>

Click through for the list of steps. Here’s the video.

And while we’re at it, let’s not forget Pence!

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 7/15/2017

Posted by TomCat at 1:01 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

Jul 152017

The last couple days have been extremely hectic. On Thursday I went to my Prosthetist, Amanda and got new shoes. They were a little loose, but I figured they were workable, as I broke them in. I lay down to rest for a couple hours after I returned home and published. I found out that, when my foot is up and not in a shoe, it gets smaller. When I put the shoe on to get up for supper, and transferred from my bed to my wheelchair, hopping with my walker, my foot came out of my shoe, and I almost fell. The new shoes have to go back. ARGH! My appointment with Megan was interrupted by a fire drill at Providence Professional Plaza, and they evacuated a large six floor medical building, myself included. Megan cleared me for surgery, and I returned home at around 4:30. I’m very, very tired, but surviving medical mahem.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:00 (average 4:59). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (RWW Channel): RWW News: Trump Wants To Repeal Johnson Amendment So RR Pastors Can Praise Him

Barf Bag Alert!!

Any pastor has always been able to speak out and say that he or she supports a particular candidate. The Johnson Amendment never prevented that, nor was it intended to. What it did prevent is a pastor ordering his church to support a candidate or using the church’s tax exempt facilities for the benefit of a candidate. That should remain a violation of 501(c)(3). I don’t mind paying a little more in taxes so churches’ tax exemption helps pay for the charitable work some churches do. I do mind helping them fund political activities, especially ones I oppose. RESIST!!

From Daily Kos: The House Republicans tried to exempt themselves from Trumpcare and the reaction was so angry and so bad that they had to abandon the effort. But that example wasn’t enough to deter Mitch McConnell.

Senate Republicans included a provision that exempts members of Congress and their staff from part of their latest health care plan.

This exemption could have the effect of ensuring that members of Congress have coverage for a wider array of benefits than other Americans who purchase their own coverage.

If RepubliCare becomes law, which I doubt, the Republicans that pass it should be the first to experience the RepubliCare Death Benefit: if you can’t pay, you get to die! RESIST!!

From Washington Post: The White House on Thursday made public a trove of emails it received from voters offering comment on its Election Integrity Commission. The commission drew widespread criticism when it emerged into public view by asking for personal information, including addresses, partial social security numbers and party affiliation, on every voter in the country.

It further outraged voters by planning to post that information publicly.

Voters directed that outrage toward the Trump White House and the voter commission, often using profanity-laced language in the 112 pages of emails released this week.

Just as Trump and his Republican Rectum Reich released these emails from voters, you can be sure that the Republican so-called Election Integrity Commission will either publish voters’ personal information, or forward it to Putin’s FSB (formerly KGB). RESIST!!

Cartoon:

0715Cartoon

Personal Update – 7/14/2017

Posted by TomCat at 6:59 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 142017

I’m in a big rush. I need to catch a morning nap, because I’ll be gone all afternoon.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:33 (4:51 average). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Take:

From YouTube (GQ Network): The True Evil of Russia’s Cyber War on America | The Resistance with Keith Olbermann

I read Robert Hamner’s short story and have seen the Star Trek episode many times. I could not agree more. It’s not just Trump. Almost the entire Republican Party refused to admit it’s happening, let alone do anything to stop it. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

0714Cartoon

Open Thread – 7/13/2017

Posted by TomCat at 1:33 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 132017

I slept poorly last night because of the high humidity, and I missed my morning nap, because of my Prosthetist appointment, from which I just returned, so I feel very tired. Amanda put new shoes on both George and I. After wearing nothing else on my foot for a year and a half, it feels strange. She adjusted George, and I will be going back next month for new liners and shrinkers. Tomorrow afternoon I have an appointment with Megan for surgical clearance.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:16 (average 4:07). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Funny or Die Channel): The Yelling Man Takes On Net Neutrality

Defend Net Neutrality! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MoveOn Channel): I’m one of the lucky ones

Tell ALL Senators! RESIST!!

From NPR: In defiance of a court order, the Justice Department is refusing to release part of a security form dealing with Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ contacts with the Russian government.

On June 12, a judge had ordered the agency to provide the information within 30 days, a deadline that passed on Wednesday.

What is he hiding? Could the next smoking gun come from KKK Beauregard? RESIST!!

Cartoon:

Faux Noise Distorted Evidence

Posted by TomCat at 1:47 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 122017

I’ve been covering the evidence of the criminal conspiracy between Trump, his Republican Reich, and Russia for days. Also, the latest evidence is almost everywhere, so you’ll have no trouble finding it. Therefore, I’m going to cover what the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, did with that evidence.

One of Fox News chief intelligence correspondent Catherie Herridge’s earliest reports on the new revelations regarding Donald Trump Jr.’s willingness to receive damaging information against Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton from the Russian government edited out key parts of the email exchange that showed that Trump Jr. knew the information was indeed from the Russian government. Additonally, during reporting of Fox News’ Outnumbered, host Sandra Smith praised the president’s son for “trying to make this as most transparent as possible.”

On July 11, The New York Times published the email correspondence setting up a meeting between Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. (Trump Jr., in an apparent attempt to pre-empt the Times report, released some of the emails himself on Twitter shortly before the report was posted.) In the initial email, “a trusted intermediary” wrote (emphasis added), “This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” Trump Jr. responded, “If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer.”

During Fox News’ Outnumbered, chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge reported on the developments, reading “key sections” from the email chain between Trump Jr. and the intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Herridge read:

But, as the ellipses show, Herridge omitted a key section of the quote. Goldstone’s reference to “Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump” was not included in the on-screen graphic, and Herridge did not mention that part of the quote during her report… [emphasis added]

From <Media Matters>

Whenever we on the left wonder why Republicans are not aware of the truth about issue after issue, and when confronted, think we’re making it up, we need look no further than the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, and the rest of the Republican Bubble Machine, like Limbarf and Breitfart.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 7/12/2017

Posted by TomCat at 1:46 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 122017

It’s a very busy day. I’m still trying to get appointments squared away, I’m waiting for a big grocery delivery from Store to Door, and this evening Wendy will be here to make the TomCat fit to be upwind of people. Please expect no more than a Personal Update, or perhaps an Open Thread, tomorrow and Friday. Tomorrow, I visit my Prosthetist, Amanda to pick up new prosthetic shoes and evaluate what we will need for George for the coming year. On Friday, I see Megan for a release for surgery. It’s a very wasteful hoop through which I must jump. Happy hump day, but don’t hump Trump. The only people who do are Putin and Russian hookers.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:01 (average 4:26). To do it, click here. How did you do? (I won’t eat cousin Meer).

Short Takes:

From YouTube (GQ Channel): Two Trumps Confess to Conspiracy | The Resistance with Keith Olbermann

Incarcerate the Republican bastards! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MoveOn Channel): Wisconsinites Fight to Protect Health Care

Tell ALL Senators! RESIST!!

From Washington Post: Joe Scarborough, the conservative co-host of MSNBC’s political commentary show “Morning Joe,” is leaving the Republican Party.

He made the announcement Tuesday night during an appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” alongside his co-host Mika Brzezinski. A two-minute clip of the segment was teased on the program’s Twitter account earlier Tuesday.

Scarborough tore into what he characterized as a complacent Republican Party unwilling to stand up to President Trump.

“You have to ask yourself, what exactly is the Republican Party willing to do?” Scarborough said to Colbert. “How far are they willing to go? How much of this country and our values are they willing to sell out?”

“Aren’t you a Republican?” Colbert asked.

“I am a Republican, but I’m not going to be a Republican anymore,” Scarborough said to loud applause from the audience. “I’ve got to become an independent.”

You all know that I am NOT a fan of Joe Scarborough or his show. However I would be a hypocrite if I did not applaud his decision to leave the Republican Reich.

Cartoon:

0712Cartoon

The Smoking Gun Went BANG!

Posted by TomCat at 1:39 pm Politics

Jul 112017

Covering the criminal cooperation between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to steal the presidency of the United States from the the American People and deliver it to US Billionaires and Vladimir Putin is a daunting task. My fingers were still tired from explaining the smoking gun yesterday, when it went BANG! Before Trump Jr., Kushner and Manafart met with a Russian lawyer, Trump Jr. had been informed that he would be given information collected by the Russian government to help his father win the election.

Before arranging a meeting with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer he believed would offer him compromising information about Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Jr. was informed in an email that the material was part of a Russian government effort to aid his father’s candidacy, according to three people with knowledge of the email.

The email to the younger Mr. Trump was sent by Rob Goldstone, a publicist and former British tabloid reporter who helped broker the June 2016 meeting. In a statement on Sunday, Mr. Trump acknowledged that he was interested in receiving damaging information about Mrs. Clinton, but gave no indication that he thought the lawyer might have been a Kremlin proxy.

Mr. Goldstone’s message, as described to The New York Times by the three people, indicates that the Russian government was the source of the potentially damaging information. It does not elaborate on the wider effort by Moscow to help the Trump campaign… [emphasis added]

From <NY Times>

Nobody does a better job of breaking down the details of a complex situation like this than Rachel Maddow. It’s a twenty minute video, but she even explains the significance of the Fuhrer’s 6/9 [typo corrected] tweet about Clinton’s email better than Keith did. Invest the time.

You just can’t get a more obvious example of criminal conspiracy than this.

RESIST!!

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