TomCat

Mar 122016
 

I needed to take an extra Lona nap, after I had my shower and Lu left.  Two new people on my floor made so much cooking smoke that they set off the main fire alarm so I had to get up twice, about three hours apart, and prepare to be evacuated.  If that wasn’t bad enough a car alarm under my window went off four times.  Therefore I has almost no sleep.  I’m running way late.  I paid my biggest hospital bill yesterday.  I haven’t received the other two yet.  My share was $1,260.  That’s pretty damn great, when you consider that the bill was $503,154.54. Weekend hugs!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:57 (average 4:43).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Upworthy: 6. Work too hard.

I see this from would-be start-up founders and artists and writers every day. They talk about hustling 18 hours a day. They tell you they’ve worked every weekend, every night. They buy into the fallacy that letting your work rule every waking moment is the only way to be successful.

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

“It’s all part of the hustle.”

“You can start up or rest. You can’t do both.”

This is all a complete fabrication. It’s been propagated by the insane work schedules of a small percentage of billionaire founders and visionary creatives who were able to function on a fraction of sleep every night.

They are the exception. You are the rule. If you choose to work too hard once and you burn out, that’s an awesome opportunity to learn. But you have to learn from it. You have to learn that trying to maintain that level of skewed work-life balance is rarely going to work for you. [emphasis original]

This is the sixth if six mistakes we all need to make at least once in order to learn from them and grow. Click through for the other five. Personally, I’ve made far more than these six.

From Addicting Info: The Houston Police Department and Texas Rangers are investigating after a gun nut opened fire on the office of Democratic state Senator John Whitmire a day before President Obama is scheduled to speak in Austin.

Early Thursday morning around 12:30am, a shooter fired several rounds into the two-story office. “There are bullet slugs everywhere,” Whitmire said. “One lodged in a framed picture. It’s pretty amazing.”

Whitemire, a gun control advocate, surmised that the weapon used in the attack was an AR-15 because the bullets were .223 caliber. No one was harmed in the shooting but Whitmire and his staff along with law enforcement officials are taking the incident seriously.

“We’ll take precautions. But it’s part of the job, unfortunately, in this day and time,” Whitmire said. “They are checking in this general area to see if anyone else received any gunfire. We don’t know yet. I don’t know yet.”

He had better be careful. Republican Ammosexuals are dangerous. Don’t forget that shots were fired into Gabby Gifford’s office, shortly before a Republican Ammosexual, inspired by Bloody Bullseye Barbie, critically wounded Gabby and murdered and maimed several more people.

From Alternet: The rollout for Robert Greenwald’s new documentary, "Making a Killing: Guns, Greed and the NRA," is targeting pastors, politicians, domestic violence counselors, African American leaders and others angry over the high body counts and broken lives that have shaken cities and seeped across the heartland.

The film, which premieres Tuesday, will be shown for free in church basements, colleges and state capitals and later will be available on Facebook, YouTube and other outlets. The distribution campaign mixes old-school activism with the vast reach of social media, a strategy Greenwald’s Brave New Films used on previous films that skewered Fox News, the Koch brothers, Wal-Mart and President Obama’s drone program.

Releasing "Making a Killing" in an election year that is reshaping American politics is an attempt to spur audiences to protest the National Rifle Assn. and pressure lawmakers for stricter gun regulations.

I have no doubt that this film will deserve an Oscar. In case I miss it, please give me a heads up when this hits YouTube. I’ll embed it.

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0312Cartoon

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Mar 112016
 

Yesterday there was another Clown Car Destruction Derby in Florida.  Don’t ask me which.  I lost count long ago.  I took the only rational approach to watching it.  Fearing that George would revolt, if I filled him with barf again, I didn’t even turn it on.  I did read about it, and would offer some highlights, but there were none.  Here are some lowlights instead.

0311CCDD

7. Asked to respond to Gen. Colin Powell’s statement that the current Republican campaign is making the U.S. a laughing stock around the world, Ted Cruz says America is a laughing stock because of Obama. CNN’s moderator, Jake Tapper, for whatever reason, lets him ramble on in that non-answer.

8. Trump was asked if his constant praise of strength might reveal a tiny authoritarian streak, like when he says Putin is a strong leader and China was strong in putting down the Tiananmen Square rebellion.

Trump rambled on and insisted that he is just saying they are strong. Strong is not necessarily good. Then extolled strength some more, and came out against weakness, and said it’s not a good or bad thing, it’s just a thing.

9. Trump was asked if he is taking a tone that has encouraged violence against protesters at his rallies.

Trump gave a two-part answer: “People come to my rallies and they are very angry, and they love this country,” firstly.

And secondly, he said the protestors deserve it. “We have some protestors who are bad dudes.”

Then he feebly tries to change the subject to how great our police officers are in this country. But no one seemed to be buying that.

Inserted from <Alternet>

I have shared the last three of nine listed stunning Republican moments.  Click through for one through six, but if you’re looking for intellectual stimulation, watching your lawn grow is more exciting.

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Mar 112016
 

I’m running late, because I felt tired and needed to take a nap from Lona this morning.  I managed to reduce my one ton paperwork backlog to 3/4 tin, but it felt good to put a dent in it.  TGIF!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Todays took me 2:24 (average 4:41).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: For those who had any remaining doubts, Kansas has officially gone insane, with its Republican dominated legislature now trying to pass a law effectively nullifying the state’s Judiciary system:

A committee in the GOP-controlled Senate plans to vote Tuesday on a bill that would make "attempting to usurp the power" of the Legislature or the executive branch grounds for impeachment.

Impeachment has "been a little-used tool" to challenge judges who strike down new legislation, said Republican Sen. Dennis Pyle, a sponsor of the measure. "Maybe it needs to be oiled up a little bit or sharpened a little bit."

Senate Bill 439 is currently set for debate before the state’s GOP-stacked Judiciary Committee. If it is approved and signed by Governor Brownback, it will permit impeachment of any Judge who acts contrary to the wishes of the legislature. In other words, any Judge who strikes down or modifies any law  the legislature passes, for any reason– whether the law is blatantly Unconstitutional, violative of existing laws, or otherwise, is thereby subject to impeachment proceedings by the state Legislature. A previous law threatening to cut off all Judicial funding was declared unconstitutional by the state’s High Court. [emphasis original]

Governor BrownNose and his Republican goose-steppers sure are instituting KKKansas!!

From Media Matters: Samantha Bee's Full Frontal Debunks Myth That NRA Can Easily Punish Politicians Who Support Gun Safety Laws

 

Republican Ammosexuals are KKKrazy!!

From Addicting Info: The Donald Trump supporter who viciously assaulted an African-American protester at a recent campaign rally gave a terrifying interview to Inside Edition, and it confirms what many of us have sensed for a long time: It’s only a matter of time before someone gets killed at a Trump rally.

 Video deleted brcause it autoplayed,

Trump Republicans are simply KKK.

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0311Cartoon

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Hateful Hairball is a Nazi

 Posted by at 8:23 am  Politics
Mar 102016
 

Godwin’s Law – a common meme used by Republicans, other fascists, pseudo-intellectuals, and people with their heads in the sand or in smellier places, whenever anyone points out the verifiable commonalities between today’s Republican Party and Germany’s National Socialist Party, just before Hitler became dictator.

0310trump-security-rule-sm

I’ve been reluctant to use the  “f” word to describe Donald Trump because it’s especially harsh, and it’s too often used carelessly.

But Trump has finally reached a point where parallels between his presidential campaign and the fascists of the first half of the 20th century – lurid figures such as Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Oswald Mosley, and Francisco Franco – are too evident to overlook.

It’s not just that Trump recently quoted Mussolini (he now calls that tweet inadvertent) or that he’s begun inviting followers at his rallies to raise their right hands in a manner chillingly similar to the Nazi “Heil” solute (he dismisses such comparison as “ridiculous.”)

The parallels go deeper.

As did the early twentieth-century fascists, Trump is focusing his campaign on the angers of white working people who have been losing economic ground for years, and who are easy prey for demagogues seeking to build their own power by scapegoating others… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Robert Reich>

Once again I say that the Reich on left, Robert Reich, is right, while the Reich on the Right, the Republican Reich, is wrong.  But I will split hairs with him on two small issues.  Reich is so soft spoken that he would not be using the term Fascist, if the term Nazi did not equally apply.  Because Hateful Hairball just says openly the things that the rest of the Republican leadership just imply, dog whistle, and support with policy, this applies to the entire party leadership.  Click through for all the support materials that make Reich’s points self-evident.

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Mar 102016
 

I’m already in a big hurry, because I have a ton of paper work to do, so please pardon my lack of conversation.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:37 (average 4:36).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Mitch McConnell’s deputy, threatened potential Supreme Court nominees that they’d get beat up and their careers would be damaged by the Senate if President Obama even nominates them.

"I think they will bear some resemblance to a piñata," said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas.

"What I don’t understand is how someone who actually wants to be confirmed to the Supreme Court would actually allow themselves to be used by the administration in a political fight that’s going to last from now until the end of the year," Cornyn told a small group of reporters in the Capitol.

He added: "Because there is no guarantee, certainly, after that time they’re going to look as good as they did going in."

Cornyn, by the way, is a member of the Judiciary Committee, that august body that acts as the gatekeeper to the federal judiciary.

This typically Republican tactic from Cornhole Cornyn is no surprise at all.

From Alternet: Stephen Colbert discussed Tuesday’s primary results on last night’s show, including Bernie Sanders’ surprise win over Hillary Clinton. “Michigan was definitely feeling the Bern last night,” Stephen Colbert, host of The Late Show, announced. “And it wasn’t just from the water in Flint.”

Colbert then updated his audience on the Republican side, where Trump triumphed, and made a point of getting back at Mitt Romney who had severely criticized Trump last week. Of course, his victory speech had some unusual elements.

 

Hateful Hairball may love his steaks, but he wants us to ignore all his mistakes.

From Crooks and Liars: Senator Elizabeth Warren used her speech denouncing Republicans for blocking President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee to remind everyone of their hypocrisy when it comes to their "extreme" frontrunners for the 2016 Republican nomination.

 

Go, Lizzie, Go!! Doesn’t she do a great job of explaining how Republican refusal to consider a Supreme Court nominee just illustrates  their normal seditious sabotage of our nation? Will Republicans do their job? Hell, no!!

Cartoon:

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Mar 092016
 

I’m preparing to leave for an appointment that will take all morning, and I will finish and post this article, after I return.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:53 (average 7:10).,  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: President Obama, resigned to his failure to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, is looking past his time in office and weighing a plan that would preserve at least the principle of a two-state solution for his successor to pursue.

The White House is debating whether the president should lay down the outlines of an agreement, several officials said, perhaps through a resolution at the United Nations Security Council or in a presidential speech. The objective would not be to revive direct negotiations — almost nobody believes that is likely now — but to enshrine the proposals Secretary of State John Kerry made during his last failed effort at peacemaking in 2014.

As much as I hate to say it, this is nothing but smoke and mirrors. There can be no two state solution, as long as Israel remains in violation of treaties in their pursuit of a one state solution. The only proper role for the US is to cut all military aid and stop all military supply to Israel, until Israel decides to honor past agreements.

From Daily Kos: The National Republican Senatorial Committee quickly deleted the tweet below Tuesday afternoon, but “quickly” wasn’t soon enough for a screw-up of this magnitude.

0309Duckworth_NRSC

1) Tammy Duckworth is a veteran.
2) Tammy Duckworth is a veteran whose combat-related injuries left her a DOUBLE AMPUTEE—she lost both legs. Under the circumstances, “standing up” may, just may, have been the wrong idiom to use.

Republican "support" for our troops extends no further than using them as cannon fodder in the pursuit of 0.1% profit. This tweet perfectly illustrates their compassion for and commitment to veterans.

From Real Clear Politics: The latest delegate count

State

Date

Delegates

Clinton

Sanders

Delegate

Allocation

Open/

Closed

(2,382 Needed to Win)

4763

1221

571

Delegates Won

4051

745

540

 

 

Superdelegates

(712)

461

25

 

 

Iowa

February 1

44 (8)

23

21

Caucus

Semi-open

New Hampshire

February 9

24 (8)

9

15

Primary

Semi-closed

Nevada

February 20

35 (8)

19

15

Caucus

Closed

South Carolina

February 27

53 (6)

39

14

Primary

Open

Alabama

March 1

53 (7)

44

9

Primary

Open

American Samoa

March 1

6 (4)

 

 

Caucus

Closed

Arkansas

March 1

32 (5)

22

10

Primary

Open

Colorado

March 1

66 (13)

28

38

Caucus

Closed

Democrats Abroad

March 1-8

13 (4)

 

 

Primary

Closed

Georgia

March 1

102 (14)

72

28

Primary

Open

Massachusetts

March 1

91 (25)

46

45

Primary

Semi-closed

Minnesota

March 1

77 (16)

29

46

Caucus

Open

Oklahoma

March 1

38 (4)

17

21

Primary

Semi-closed

Tennessee

March 1

67 (9)

42

22

Primary

Open

Texas

March 1

222 (30)

145

74

Primary

Open

Vermont

March 1

16 (10)

0

16

Primary

Open

Virginia

March 1

95 (15)

61

33

Primary

Open

Louisiana

March 5

51 (8)

35

12

Primary

Closed

Nebraska

March 5

25 (5)

10

14

Caucus

Closed

Kansas

March 5

33 (4)

10

23

Caucus

Closed

Maine

March 6

25 (5)

7

15

Caucus

Closed

Mississippi

March 8

36 (5)

29

4

Primary

Open

Michigan

March 8

130 (17)

58

65

Primary

Open

In spite of Bernie’s magnificent victory in Michigan, Hillary came away with an increase in her lead of 18 pledged delegates.

Cartoon:

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Thou Shalt Not FRACK!

 Posted by at 1:41 pm  Politics
Mar 082016
 

Because I expect Hillary Clinton to be the eventual Democratic nominee, I have been very happy to watch Bernie Sanders push her to the left on issue after issue.  There is, however, one key issue on which Hillary has positioned herself to far right.  On this issue especially, she needs to take heed of Bernie’s superior stance and move.  Hillary, thou shalt not FRACK!

0308Stop-Fracking-Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both claim to oppose fracking, but only one of them has plans to ban it.

During Sunday’s Democratic presidential debate in Flint, Michigan, where environmental issues are especially critical as residents grapple with a water contamination crisis, moderators asked the candidates where they stand on the controversial gas extraction method that involves injecting chemicals and water deep underground.

Clinton answered, "I don’t support it when any locality or any state is against it, number one. I don’t support it when the release of methane or contamination of water is present. I don’t support it, number three, unless we can require that anybody who fracks has to tell us exactly what chemicals they are using. By the time we get through all of my conditions, I do not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place."

Sanders countered, "My answer is a lot shorter. No, I do not support fracking."

As the audience applauded, Sanders added, "This is a crisis we’ve got to deal with now."…

Inserted from <Common Dreams>

 

I agree 100% with Bernie.  That said, even Hillary’s position is far superior to those if every remaining occupant of the Clown Car.

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Mar 082016
 

I’m running way late this morning, because I felt very tired and cold, so I took an extra nap.  Lu should arrive soon fir my shower.  Tomorrow I have an appointment that should take all morning, so expect only a Personal Update.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:17 (average 4:56).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Canada, already bracing for the possible inflow of millions of American refugees in November, might have made matters worse by releasing an unacceptably adorable photo of its Prime Minister hugging two baby pandas, Canadians fear.

The photo, taken at the Toronto Zoo and showing Justin Trudeau cuddling with two panda cubs, was “the last thing this country needed,” Harland Dorrinson, the executive director of Canadians for Responsible Immigration, a prominent anti-immigration organization based in Ottawa, said.

“Canada is already staring down the potential crisis of millions of Americans pouring over its border later this year,” Dorrinson said. “Did we really have to announce that we have pandas, too?”

Dang, Andy! Trudeau really Canucked-up!!

From Daily Kos: Of all the fictions peddled by the Republican Party and its candidates in this election cycle, the most ridiculous is the trope that the Obama Administration has “failed” the American people economically. This is a lie which apparently has been poll-tested with Republican focus groups as it has popped up again and again in the GOP debates, expressed almost ritualistically by Trump, Cruz and Rubio alike. Listening to the Republicans tell it, one could actually start to believe that the 4.9% unemployment rate the country currently enjoys (for the second straight month) is somehow beside the point—that hidden beneath this robust reflection on the country’s powerful economic resurgence since the Bush disaster lies some terrible undercurrent of “failure” on the part of this Democratic Administration.

0308jobs

And that happened despite seditious Republican sabotage.

From Alternet: Stephen Colbert has not aired a show since last Thursday’s Republican debate, so until last night, the late-night comedian had not had time to weigh in on the fact that Donald Trump brought up the size of his penis. Monday night, Colbert made up for lost time, unleashing a stream of jokes, including some self-deprecating ones, that got right to the meat of the matter.

 

Again Hateful Hairball has nothing that compares with the magnificence of my kitty dingles.

Cartoon:

0308Cartoon

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