TomCat

Open Thread–1/20/2016

Posted by TomCat at 10:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 202016

Yesterday I went to see the surgeon who created stumpy. She said she was thrilled with how well I had taken care of her handiwork. I will not see her again, unless stumpy has a break in the skin. Then I’ll return for wound care, but I hope that’s not necessary. I was done an hour before my Lift Bus pickup, and since the medical building is internally connected to Emmanuel Hospital, I went to visit the ward where I stayed. I saw several of the people who took care of me, including the nurse on the right in this picture”

0120Ketched2

They were glad to see that I am doing well, and I was happy to express my gratitude to them. My bath-aide just left, so I’m a perfumed pussycat with shiny fur. I have a grocery delivery coming from Safeway.com later, so I get to put all that away.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:33 (average 4:12). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Recently, I got into a discussion with some conservatives about whether Paul Ryan was a Muslim-loving socialist RINO.

I love these types of discussions because it gives me the chance to ask questions like:

What does it take to be a real Republican these days?

Things then get weird because people haven’t really thought about it much. They just seem to know it when they see it. So I continue the conversation and then ask questions like, which of our presidents were libtards? You know, the term that some on the right love to throw around.

Here’s my (surprisingly long) list.

President	Term	Beliefs	Conclusion
1. George Washington Non-partisan	1789-1797	Oversaw the creation of a strong federal government, implemented a tax system, and created a national bank. Stayed out of the French Revolutionary Wars. In his farewell address, he warned against partisanship, sectionalism, and involvement in foreign wars.	Weak, government-loving socialist.

PRESIDENT

TERM

BELIEFS

CONCLUSION

2. John Adams

Federalist

1797-1801

Promoted a strong central government, restarted the U.S. Navy and created the Marine Corps. Penned “Thoughts on Government” in which he argued for a government that promoted “happiness, to the greatest number of persons, and in the greatest degree, is the best.”

Federalist … doesn’t that mean government?

Libtard.

I shared two. Click through for the other forty one.

From The New Yorker: An endorsement from former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is expected to widen Donald J. Trump’s already impressive lead among so-called “idiot voters,” an aide to the billionaire said on Tuesday.

While Trump was previously thought to have a lock on the idiot vote heading into the Iowa caucuses, a recent surge by Senator Ted Cruz, of Texas, has put the idiots back in play.

Cruz has worked tirelessly in recent weeks to tailor his message to undecided idiots, even revamping his stump speech to rid it of two-syllable words.

“That’s why Palin supporting Trump and not Cruz is such a win for us,” the Trump aide said. “She’s been out of politics for awhile, but she still has idiot cred.”

The aide said that no one should be surprised by the bond between Palin and Trump. “They’re both reality-show hosts,” he said. “And by lowering the bar in 2008, Palin singlehandedly made Trump’s candidacy possible.”

Andy is spot on! Hateful Hairball and Bloody Bullseye Barbie are a perfect match!

From NY Times: As soon as 26 states took it upon themselves to sue President Obama over the sensible, humane executive actions he took in late 2014 to protect millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation, it was inevitable that the lawsuit would land on the Supreme Court’s doorstep.

On Tuesday morning, the justices announced that they would hear the case, which means a decision will most likely come down by the end of June. The states should never have been allowed standing to sue in the first place, and their substantive claims are groundless.

There are more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. No one, besides Donald Trump, believes the nation has the resources, or the will, to deport them all. The clearest solution is to focus on removing those who pose an actual threat to public safety while deferring action on most of the rest and helping them “come out of the shadows.”

I fully agree. However, with the five Republican Injustices of SCROTUS (Republican Constitutional VD), one never knows what their next move to negate the Constitution will be.

Cartoon:

Looks like a Koch Brothers retreat.

Personal Update–1/19/2015

Posted by TomCat at 6:57 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 192016

I’m afraid I have no time for anything this morning as I have an appointment with Dr. Lin. She the surgeon who amputated my leg and then dis the skin graft needed to enable a meeting between Stumpy and George. I leave in a little over an hour.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:33 (average 4:37). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

0119Cartoon

The 4th Democratic Presidential Debate

Posted by TomCat at 11:00 am Politics

Jan 182016

I know my opinion will be very unpopular among fellow progressives, but since I’m not a Republican with my head in the sand or somewhere smellier, I’ll deal with an unpleasant truth, rather than pretend it does not exist. Hillary Clinton clearly won last nights Democratic Presidential Debate. Often by distorting facts, she kept Bernie on the defensive for the entire night, so the debate focused on his perceived shortcomings far more that on the actual issues themselves. I have the complete video and transcript, so you can judge for yourselves.

Hillary Clinton targeted Bernie Sanders’s electoral appeal with some of her strongest language yet in a debate on Sunday night, seizing on Mr. Sanders’s recent policy shifts on universal health care and gun control to try to undercut his image as an anti-political truth teller.

Mrs. Clinton also repeatedly aligned herself with a former political rival, President Obama, as she sought to portray her current one, Mr. Sanders, as a fringe candidate who did not stand with Mr. Obama on major issues like Wall Street regulation. Mr. Sanders, in turn, gave no quarter as he criticized Mrs. Clinton as dishonest in her attacks.

With Mr. Sanders gaining on her before the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, Mrs. Clinton cast herself as the defender of Mr. Obama’s record and Mr. Sanders as playing into Republican hands with proposals like replacing the Affordable Care Act with a single-payer plan, which Mr. Sanders describes as “Medicare for all.”

“We’ve accomplished so much already,” she said. “I don’t want to see the Republicans repeal it.”

“That is nonsense,” Mr. Sanders said. “What a ‘Medicare for all’ program does is finally provide health care for every man, woman and child as a right.” He added that 29 million people still lack health insurance.

Mrs. Clinton was pointed in her critiques of Mr. Sanders but relatively restrained in tone and words as she sought to raise doubts about what many liberals see as Mr. Sanders’s greatest virtues: his integrity and consistency on policy issues.

She chose not to accuse him of “flip-flopping” on gun control bills as she had earlier on Sunday, but rather said at the debate that she was “pleased” he had “reversed” himself.

For Mrs. Clinton, it was enough to note Mr. Sanders’s changes in policy: By doing so, she raised doubts about his consistency, but stopped short of eviscerating his positions and potentially alienating a restless liberal base that largely favors Mr. Sanders.

Her tactics left Mr. Sanders appearing frustrated at times, such as when he called her “very disingenuous” on his gun record, or when he sighed audibly and rolled his eyes as she implicitly questioned his principles on health care… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

I agree with Bernie that Hillary’s tactics were disingenuous, but the problem is that, unless someone is thoroughly well educated on the issues, they won’t realize that.

Here is the complete video.

And here is the transcript of the Democratic Debate.

Here’s a note of criticism for the Congressional Black Caucus. If an organization is going to host a debate, they should not officially endorse a participant in that debate until afterwards.

In conclusion, I think Hillary is a far more skillful politician than Bernie is. That’s a big reason that I favor Bernie.

Open Thread–1/18/2016

Posted by TomCat at 11:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 182016

Yesterday I posted my MLK Day article a day early. I knew I’d be covering the Democratic Presidential Debate today, and was uncertain if I’d have time for both, as I have PT coming and my helper friend coming to organize clothes. Tomorrow I have a final follow-up appointment with the surgeon, who whittled my leg down to create Stumpy, so I may have just a Personal Update or an Open Thread.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took mw 2:26 (average 4:50). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Religious Ecstasy:

0117Broncos23-Steelers16

It was much closer than the score indicates. Phew!!

Short Takes:

From Christian Science Monitor: What does the federal government do with your money? Take our taxes quiz.

I answered 19 of 25 questions correctly for a total score of 76%. Average reader scored 40%. Click through to take the quiz.

From Alternet: “He’d never beat Trump or Cruz in a general election.”

Wrong. According to the latest polls, Bernie is the strongest Democratic candidate in the general election, defeating both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in hypothetical matchups. (The latest Real Clear Politics averages of all polls shows Bernie beating Trump by a larger margin than Hillary beats Trump, and Bernie beating Cruz while Hillary loses to Cruz.)

This is just the first of six responses to Bernie skeptics from the Reich on the left that is always right, Robert Reich, not the Reich on the right that is always wrong, the Republican Reich. Click through for the other five.

From Raw Story: Musician Carlos Santana mocked Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in an open letter posted on his Facebook page, according to International Business Times.

The message, obtained by Clutch magazine, praised President Barack Obama after his State of the Union address, and then compared Trump to an angry ape. But the open letter was deleted from Santana’s page a few days after he posted it.

“Regarding Mr. Trump,” Santana wrote. “I remember when I was a child living in Tijuana…I often crossed the border to visit the San Diego Zoo. I would hear loud screams and commotion in the distance. As I came closer to the sound, I noticed everyone was staring at an ape in a glass cage. The ape was staring back at the crowd that gathered. With an angry look of disgust, the ape defecated in his hand and threw it at the crowd. This is what I hear when Mr [sic] Trump speaks.

LMAO!! Here’s some refreshment.

Cartoon:

On MLK Day!

Posted by TomCat at 9:05 am Holiday, Politics

Jan 172016

It was a pleasure to work with Dr. King on Vietnam Summer. Of all the people I have met in my life, he stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Open Thread–1/17/2016

Posted by TomCat at 8:58 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 172016

Today is another high holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. Congrats to the Patriots and the Cardinals who the Orb blessed yesterday. The later game was a nail biter, but I have to say, as a disinterested party, that the Cardinals had extraordinary assistance from the Zebras on more than one occasion. Today I suspect that the Panthers will dine on Fricassee of Seachicken. My Broncos can beet the Steelers, if the right Broncos show up and stay for all 60 minutes. I don’t have to tell you my plans for the day.

Jig Zoned Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:43 (average 6:03). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: A fact checker who has vetted all of the 2016 Republican Presidential debates was hospitalized for exhaustion during the sixth G.O.P. forum in Charleston on Thursday evening.

Martin Slessky, a former journalist who works for HonestyWatch, a Minnesota-based fact-checking organization, was resting comfortably after suffering what his doctors called a “total physical and mental collapse” during Thursday’s debate.

Harland Dorrinson, the executive director of HonestyWatch, said he first became concerned about Slessky’s health when the fact checker started having heart palpitations and shortness of breath every time Texas senator Ted Cruz spoke.

“I turned to Martin and said, ‘Are you all right? Are you going to be able to make it through this?’ ” Dorrinson said. “And he said, ‘I’ll be fine. Ben Carson is starting to talk now, that’ll be soothing.’ ”

But moments later, when New Jersey governor Chris Christie falsely claimed that he never supported the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Slessky experienced acute dizziness and blurry vision, and was immediately rushed to the hospital.

Andy, I’m amazed his job didn’t kill him.

From Daily Kos: Charles Carter and Vincent Smith were right-wing extremists planning a "Paul Revere 2016 Final March to Restore America" [Republican Ammosexuals Delinked] — a cross-country caravan to “remove the corrupt leadership that has taken over our beloved country and ousted her God and constitution.“

On Monday, police in Grayson County, Texas reported one person was dead as the result of a gunshot wound to the head. Although they didn’t name the victim or the suspect, Raw Story notes that right-wingers on Facebook were quick to identify the victim as Charles Carter and the shooter as Vincent Smith: [Republicans delinked]

Posthumous Barf Bag Alert!!

Throw the book at the Republican murderer. I shall not mourn the victim.

From NY Times: The United States and European nations lifted oil and financial sanctions on Iran and released roughly $100 billion of its assets after international inspectors concluded that the country had followed through on promises to dismantle large sections of its nuclear program.

So far diplomacy has worked, and Iran has taken steps that Republicans predicted would never happen. Nevertheless, Republicans are still beating the drums of war.

Cartoon:

0117Cartoon

Poll Results–1/16/2016

Posted by TomCat at 11:07 am Blog News, Politics

Jan 162016

Here are the results of our “Control of Government” poll. Politics Plus Polls are not scientific, because those who respond are not balanced according to demographic categories. Therefore, we do not accurately reflect the makeup of the US population. Nevertheless, our polls are usually factually accurate, and more often than not, they reflect thinking or will of the national majority.

0116Poll

Since our polling site no longer enables us to copy and paste your poll comments, you may read them here.

All of us think Democrats will keep the White House, and 75% of us think Democrats will take the Senate back. But only 28% of us think Democrats will win the House. I voted with the majority.

We have a new poll up for you. Get into practice. Vote!

Open Thread–1/16/2016

Posted by TomCat at 11:07 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 162016

Today is a relatively lazy day, and I’ve needed one for a while. My helper friend may come to sort clothes. Today and tomorrow are high holy cays in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. Today the Chiefs visit the Patriots,and the Packers visit the Cardinals. Tomorrow the Seachickens visit the Panthers, and the Steelers visit my Broncos. May the holy Orb shine its blessed light on your team,, except the Steelers.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:27 (average 6:00). To do it click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Americans who watched Thursday night’s Republican debate on the Fox Business Network expressed deep disappointment that the billionaire Donald J. Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz did not actually punch each other’s faces in the course of the contest.

In interviews with voters across the country, those who viewed the debate complained that their hopes had been “unfairly raised” that the two candidates’ fists would come into contact with each other’s faces, and said that they were extremely irritated when that did not occur.

And Andy gets a big Amen!!

From Daily Kos: Politico has a new piece up last night discussing Elizabeth Warren and the role her endorsement could play in the Democratic primaries.

Most striking among everything that was said is the sense that seems universal in Washington- Elizabeth Warren supports Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, but has some difficult political calculations to go through as to when to make that public.

Democrats in Washington and New Hampshire — especially the ones supporting Hillary Clinton — want Elizabeth Warren to end the wait and endorse a candidate soon.

New Hampshire Democrats know that Warren’s support could be a boon for Clinton in the state where polls show a neck and neck race.

Sanders and Clinton supporters are both hoping to get the endorsement, but no one wants to push Warren on the timing.

If true, this will be the first time I’ve ever disagreed with Liz.

From NY Times: Even if he defeats Hillary Clinton in both Iowa and New Hampshire next month, Senator Bernie Sanders faces a daunting problem when the presidential race moves on to bigger, more diverse states: winning over black voters.

Starting this weekend in South Carolina, he is trying to solve it.

With a blitz of appearances, ads on black-oriented radio stations, a tour of historically black colleges and the help of well-known and not-so-well-known African-Americans, Mr. Sanders is racing to get the word out: He is a lifelong civil rights advocate who marched with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

He talks substantively about issues vital to many blacks, like “radically rethinking police procedures,” even in front of all-white crowds. And the economic policies that he relentlessly argues would combat income inequality and injustice across the board, he says, apply all the more to persistent racial disparities in American life.

The BLM activists who took over Bernie’s stage to gain publicity did a disservice to the African American community, because they left an impression that Bernie is not a viable candidate for black voters. When I worked on Vietnam Summer, Dr. King told us over and over that policies, like the war, that increased economic inequality, were most racist, because they effected the black community worst of all. Bernie’s stand for economic equality for all reflects his commitment to racial equality and Bernie is the best choice black people have.

Cartoon:

Older Entries Newer Entries