TomCat

Jul 282016
 

Wendy was here this morning.  She shined and polished the TomCat, cleaned the counters and floors, remade the bed, and took a Mug Shot of me for you.  Today is the hottest day of the heat wave, with mid 90°s forecast.  Here’s that Mug Shot.

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A Better View of the Logo:

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Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:19 (average 5:26).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Our Next First Lady?

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Short Takes:

From NY Times: Donald J. Trump said on Wednesday that he hoped Russian intelligence services had successfully hacked Hillary Clinton’s email, and encouraged them to publish whatever they may have stolen, essentially urging a foreign adversary to conduct cyberespionage against a former secretary of state.

“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Mr. Trump said during a news conference here in an apparent reference to Mrs. Clinton’s deleted emails. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”

Mr. Trump’s call was another bizarre moment in the mystery of whether Vladimir V. Putin’s government has been seeking to influence the United States’ presidential race.

His comments came amid questions about the hacking of the Democratic National Committee’s computer servers, which American intelligence agencies have told the White House they have “high confidence” was the work of the Russian government.

Now that he’s actually committing a crime, I’ll speculate some more. Is Rump Dump making this request, because Putin (R-RU) delivered on a previous hacking request? Why did Rump Dump tell GOP Pootie that, if elected, he will recognize the Crimea as Russian Territory, and lift US sanctions against him for invading Ukraine, of which the Crimea is part?  For what does Trump owe Putin?

From Crooks and Liars: Before the show is broadcast, Stephen Colbert usually takes questions from the audience. His reaction to a question by a female college student, "if you have Donald Trump on your show tonight, what would you ask him?” had the audience in stitches.

 

Great answer. It wouldn’t surprise me, if, asked the same question about hecklers at the Democratic National Convention, he responded, "What does Trump’s taste like?"

From Alternet: President Obama and VP Biden both spoke on the third night of the Democratic National Convention. But it was Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) who really caught John Oliver’s eye.

 

We Democrats are not so thin-skinned that we cannot laugh at our own.

Cartoon (originally posted 7/28/2014):

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Two years ago, I actually thought this was the absolute worst it could get.  Ha!

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Why Not Vote for Jill Stein?

 Posted by at 2:17 pm  Politics
Jul 272016
 

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Let me begin by saying that the last thing I want to do here is criticize or impugn Jill Stein.  On the issues I agree more with her than I ever have with any other Presidential candidate, except Bernie Sanders.  She is honest, progressive, egalitarian, and environmentally conscious.  So, now that Bernie has left the race, why not vote for Jill Stein?  I’ll tell you why not.

The reason not to vote for Jill is the problems built in to First Fast the Post voting.

As much as I like Jill, a vote for her, when she has zero chance of winning, serves only to increase the likelihood of a Donald Trump win.  I don’t like it, but I’m not so head-in-the-clouds that I can’t see that voting for an imperfect Democrat is the only defense against the election of a true monster.  So instead pursuing the self-defeating activity of helping Trump, we need to wait until after this election and work to change the system, state by state.  Alternative Voting is a better way.

(Both videos come from cgpgrey.com.  I recommend you check it out.)

If Alternative Voting were in place, my first choice would be Bernie (write in), my second would be Jill, and my third would be Hillary.  It would make it possible to vote our conscience without contributing to the advent of national socialism.  In the long run, that would be the best thing for the Green party too.

In the US, it’s also called Ranked Choice Voting.

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Jul 272016
 

Today is a grocery delivery day, so I took my nap in the morning to be up when they arrive.  The hot muggy weather continues unabated.  I’m running late because of a snafu with my Outlook Calendar.  I added Canadian Holidays, and there are so damn many of them that they cause some of my real appointments to be hidden in the month view. There is on obvious way to remove them.  ARGH!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:12 (average 4:56).  To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Snopes.com: …Clinton announced that Wasserman Schultz had subsequently "agreed to serve as honorary chair of [the Clinton] campaign’s 50-state program to gain ground and elect Democrats in every part of the country," adding that the former chair would "continue to serve as a surrogate for my campaign nationally"…

…This announcement was received by many as meaning that Schultz had been "promoted" to a position of "running the Hillary Clinton campaign," but others noted that the gesture was merely a symbolic courtesy:

Republicans and Regressives don’t seem to understand what honorary means, as so many are distorting it wildly. Other that no money, no staff and no power, it’s a great job.  It was intended only to give DWS the appearance of a normal exit.

From NY Times: American intelligence agencies have told the White House they now have “high confidence” that the Russian government was behind the theft of emails and documents from the Democratic National Committee, according to federal officials who have been briefed on the evidence…

…The emails were released by WikiLeaks, whose founder, Julian Assange, has made it clear that he hoped to harm Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning the presidency. It is unclear how the documents made their way to the group. But a large sampling was published before the WikiLeaks release by several news organizations and someone who called himself “Guccifer 2.0,” who investigators now believe was an agent of the G.R.U., Russia’s military intelligence service.

I’m not sure where, but I commented somewhere (probably here) that I would not take the story of the DNC emails seriously, until I had more confirmation than just the Regressive echo chamber sites. Now the story is confirmed, and as I have said, DWS should be driven from the party. However, it should be noted that Hillary Clinton has been requesting that DWS be removed for over a year, but Obama wanted to avoid the controversy. The second thing is that the purpose of the leak seems to be to discredit Hillary, even though there is no evidence to support any involvement by her in DWS’ unethical practices. Therefore I speculate that Donald Trump (R-Hades) and Vladimir Putin (R-RU) may have cooperated.

From PoliticusUSA: “I want to thank you for standing with us and supporting us, and we’d like to leave with you what God has given us: strength, love and peace,” Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, said in a moment of profound emotion Tuesday night, during the second session of the DNC.

“This isn’t about being politically correct. This is about saving our children,” Fulton said earlier, making it clear that asking for justice and saving lives is not asking people to be “politically correct”.

Fulton was speaking as a member of Mothers of the Movement, a group of women who lost their children due to gun violence or police brutality. They banded together at Hillary Clinton’s suggestion, in order to protect black Americans and reform our criminal justice system.

“You don’t stop being a mom when your child dies,” the mother of Jordan Davis said. Lucy McBath continued, “I lived in fear my son would die like this. I even warned him that because he was a young, black man he would meet people who didn’t value his life.”

“I am still Jordan Davis’s mother. His life ended the day he was shot and killed for playing loud music. But my job as his mother didn’t.”

Saying that Hillary Clinton invited the mothers to become a part of the solution, McBath said, “We’re going to keep building a future where police officers and communities of color work together in mutual respect to keep children like Jordan safe. Because the majority of police officers are good people doing a good job.”

Hear that? There was no demonizing of police.

The way those women told their stories in a loving, non-condemnatory way brought tears to my eyes.  They certainly were a contrast to the way in which Republican racists whooped and hollered in bloodthirsty glee to a speakers announcement that the all the cops that killed Freddie Gray had gotten off.

Cartoon:

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The Big Three

 Posted by at 11:42 am  Politics
Jul 262016
 

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All things considered the Democratic National Convention kicked off to a positive start, despite some poorly coordinated attempts at disruption by regressives, who were acting in opposition to Bernie;s wishes and request.  The night would down to the three main speakers: Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders.  Each of them outperformed all the speakers at the Republican Hate Festival last week.

First was Michelle.

My first response was, "I sure feel sorry for the person who has to follow that!"  Then I remembered why I didn’t have to worry.  It was Elizabeth Warren.

Many wanted Liz to be chosen for VP.  I did not.  The job of the VP is to go ONLY wherever told to go, to do ONLY whatever told to do, to say ONLY whatever told to say, and NOT to make waves.  I just don’t want that kind of a muzzle put on Liz!  At last Bernie spoke.

Bernie made it clear that he does not intend to give Hillary the nomination by unanimous consent, as she did for Obama in 2008.  I’ve seen some commentators suggest that Bernie is hurting party unity by not doing so.  I disagree.  Bernie and his supporters achieved a stellar accomplishment to come as close as they did, and they have earned the right to show the world just how close they came.  Casting their votes at the convention should also give his supporters closure.  Then those that truly are his supporters will follow his lead in good conscience and throw their support behind Hillary.  Those that do not, never were his supporters, with the rare exceptions of those few, who are also long term active members of another party and are returning there.

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Jul 262016
 

Yesterday’s appointment with my Prosthetist went, well.  George seems more stable and my knee is healing.  When I returned home, I tackled that insurance snafu.  The fifth person to whom I spoke was the Billing Manager of the Radiation Oncologist, whose bill had been denied.  He said that they do have an approved referral, that there must be an error in the paperwork, and that he will get it approved.  That was almost painless.  Then I had to attend a community meeting  for Fair Market residents in my building.  And then I watched the convention.  That made George very nervous, and I has to assure him that this one is completely different from Rump Dump and his Rectumites.  Other than my normal chores, I have no more appointments this week.  That’s a good thing because it’s very hot and muggy.  Temperatures in the high 80°s and low 90°s are forecast for the next ten days and the humidity is sitting at 77%.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:50 (average 5:40).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Raw Story: [B]ernie Sanders fired up his supporters at the Democratic National Convention on Monday afternoon — until he mentioned the need to elect Hillary Clinton.

While Sanders drew cheers when he trashed Donald Trump during his address, the audience erupted into boos when he said that “we have got to elect Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine.”

 

How disgusting! If those regressives truly backed Bernie, they would follow his lead, not boo him for telling the truth. Shame on those hypocrites!

From YouTube (MoveOn): Party of Trump: David Duke, KKK and White Supremacy

Barf Bag Alert!!

 

What’s the different between the GOP and KKK? Anymore, not a damn thing!!

From Salon.com: Comedian Sarah Silverman took the stage at the Democratic National Convention and announced that she “feels the Bern — but not to worry, she put some cream on it.” She later attacked those who, unlike her, refused to recognize that they’d be betraying what Sanders stood for if they don’t support Clinton.

Clearly frustrated by the chorus of boos and shouts from Sanders supporters, Silverman snapped: “Can I just say to the ‘Bernie or Bust’ people — you’re being ridiculous.”

 

That may be the best line to date.

From Miami Herald: After quitting her national Democratic Party leadership role amid furor over thousands of leaked emails, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz now faces the political battle of her lifetime back home in South Florida.

Wasserman Schultz resigned as Democratic National Committee chairwoman Sunday, strengthening the hand of her primary opponent, Tim Canova — who saw a huge fundraising boost and national media attention following her decision.

While the Weston congresswoman spent Monday morning getting heckled by protesters in Philadelphia at her first public appearance since her resignation, Canova was in the district giving interviews to local TV stations, Univision and The Daily Beast — and meeting with constituents.

In light of recent events, I fully endorse Tim Canova for Congress, and feel we should urge Jo Biden to cancel his planned fundraising event on behalf of Wasserman Schultz.  I trust the petition mavens among you will find the links for that.  There should be no place in the Democratic Party for Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Cartoon:

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Jul 252016
 

I hoped to have time for some short takes, but when I return from my Prosthetist, I have a medical mess to clean up.  Between my Ocular Oncologist, my Radiation Oncologist, and my substitute Primary Care doctor, they neglected to get the referral paperwork filled out for the Radiation Oncologist to make the plaque that was inserted behind my eye, so my claim was denied.  Now I have to figure out who needs to do what to correct their errors.  ARGH!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:03 (average 5:14).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

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Is Kaine so Bad?

 Posted by at 11:10 am  Politics
Jul 242016
 

When I fist learned that Hillary has picked Tim Kaine for VP, my initial reaction was disappointment.  Then I asked myself why I was disappointed, and had to admit that I don’t really know anything about him, except that many Bernie supporters don’t like him.  So I decided to see what I can learn before I knee jerk.  The following piece was written by Krystal Ball, a Bernie Supporter from VA, who used to appear on MSNBC’s The Cycle.

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Like a lot of Virginians, I’ve had to chuckle a bit at the way Virginia Senator Tim Kaine has been portrayed since rising to the top of Secretary Clinton’s VP short list. Apparently, the gods of conventional wisdom have decided Kaine is a “boring,” “safe,” “centrist” pick whose “DINO” positions may make him anathema to the Sanders base. Oh really? Because I can assure you as a native Virginian, this caricature doesn’t at all fit the man I’ve watched over nearly 20 years. In fact, the consistent knock on him in every election in Virginia has been that he was too liberal! This was such an issue that when Kaine was elected Lieutenant Governor under Mark Warner in 2001, Warner used their first joint press conference to distance himself from the controversial, left-leaning Kaine. So before you allow the national media topline and Kaine’s status as a white Southern man to lull you into a quick judgment, here are a few things you should know about why this Bernie broad loves Tim Kaine.

Kaine is the son of a welder who graduated from a Jesuit high school, flew through University of Missouri and then landed at Harvard Law. While his classmates were hanging out in Cambridge fielding offers from big firms, Kaine took a year off to do mission work in Honduras where he worked with young boys growing up in brutal poverty. The year abroad left him fluent in Spanish and with a deep commitment to using his Harvard law degree for the public good. After law school he made good on his commitment to service and rather than cashing in on his degree, spent much of his legal career fighting against housing discrimination. Now you just tell me, does that sound like the bio of a chamber-backed, blue dog, corporate Dem?

Ahh but perhaps Kaine abandoned all his lofty principles in a quest for political power in a conservative Southern state! If that’s your concern, perhaps you should just ask the NRA how they feel about Tim Kaine. Here’s how his elections in Virginia typically go: the NRA gives him an F rating, fear mongers about how he’s going to take everyone’s guns, spends massively against him, and then Tim goes on to win anyway. Keep in mind, the NRA is literally headquartered in Virginia. If they are powerful anywhere they are powerful in the Old Dominion but that didn’t stop Kaine from signing an executive order following the Virginia Tech massacre to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. It also didn’t stop him from pushing additional gun control measures as governor like eliminating the gun show loophole and it hasn’t stopped him as Senator from continuing to lead the charge for sensible rules like increased background checks. As someone who ran for Congress, in Virginia, I can tell you that perhaps the definition of political courage for a Southern Dem is willingness to buck the gun lobby. Tim Kaine has been unflinching.

Maybe though, Kaine was able to be bold on guns because he was right of center on everything else. Yeah, not so much. In Virginia, Kaine raised taxes, spearheaded efforts for universal pre-K, made Virginia the first Southern state to ban smoking in public places, and consistently opposed the death penalty. Let me repeat that last one. Tim Kaine consistently opposed the death penalty in a state that trails only Texas in number of executions. As governor, he bucked the prevailing law and order winds and vetoed eight different bills that would have expanded capital punishment. The issue was front and center in his gubernatorial race but he stuck to the Catholic values that have guided his life and never backed down… [emphasis added]

From <The Huffington Post>

In spite of his Catholic background, Planned Parenthood rates his voting record at 100%  Now, I’m not going to base my opinion of this man on one author, but Krystal is in a better position to know than any of the people I’ve heard denigrating him.  I urge you to click through for the rest.  Perhaps Tim Kaine may be a good choice after all.

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Jul 242016
 

I’m writing early and did my research yesterday evening, because this is one of Wendy’s long mornings, and I expect her shortly.  (Now she’s gone and I’m freshened.  Tomorrow, please expect no more than a Personal Update, as I have an appointment with my Prosthetist.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:58 (average 5:14).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Alternet: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show" last night that she thinks America is very much underestimating Donald Trump.

"[Trump] is one dangerous man and we need to take him really seriously," Warren told Colbert.

Elizabeth Warren is a Democratic superdelegate and is speaking on behalf of Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention Monday.

 

As always, Liz Warren is spot-on.

From Think Progress: The NBA announced Thursday that it will no longer hold its All-Star Game in Charlotte next year because North Carolina state lawmakers refused to backtrack on HB2, the anti-transgender law passed earlier this year. Though the event would have had a $100 million impact on the city, Gov. Pat McCrory (R) simply doesn’t care if that’s what it takes to keep HB2 on the books.

The Fascist Republican Theocracy of McCrorystan is revolting, and hopefully its people will revolt.

From Raw Story: While panels on HBO’s Real Time can become contentious, Fridays night’s discussion about voting rights went completely out of control as a former GOP lawmaker went to war with columnist Ana Marie Cox and actress/activist America Ferrera.

 

When Bill doesn’t have time to be funny, you KNOW to pay attention!

Cartoon:

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