TomCat

Open Thread–2/2/2020

Posted by TomCat at 8:19 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 022020

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. WWWendy will be here in about an hour, and this TomCat needs to be de-stunk Big Time. It’s also the highest Holy Day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb, the day of Super Blessing. I will be keeping Mahomes as my fantasy QB next year and will meditate on a Chiefs win. However, if they do, Nameless may not stop crowing for months. Tomorrow please expect no more than a Personal Update. I’ll be gone all day getting a cardiac stress test at the hospital. Ellipsoid Orb Hugs to all!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:22 (average 5:11). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From The Daily Beast: “Hillary Clinton is back in the news—and this time, she’s coming for Bernie [Sanders],” said The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah Tuesday night.

Yes, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter to promote her upcoming 4-hour Hulu docuseries, which is bowing this week at the Sundance Film Festival, the former secretary of state hit out at the Vermont senator’s “Bernie Bro” supporters, wouldn’t commit to backing him or campaigning on his behalf against Trump if he were the Dem nominee (she later said she would), and said of Sanders in the doc:

“He was in Congress for years. He had one senator support him. Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done. He was a career politician. It’s all just baloney and I feel so bad that people got sucked into it.”

That Hillary Clinton, a career politician and one of the most divisive political figures of our time, accused Bernie Sanders of being a “career politician” and unlikable is, well, pretty astonishing—as is the claim that she wouldn’t support him as the nominee over Trump, thereby prioritizing petty jealousies over the fate of the country. [emphasis added]

After Obama beat Hillary, she appeared in only eight campaign stops in his support for President. After Hillary beat Bernie, Bernie made almost forty campaign stops supporting her. I am not a Bernie Bro. I support Liz Warren, so I have no dog in this hunt. But Bernie deserves far better. Shut the fuck up, Hillary! You didn’t even visit the Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, before the election. If you showed them you care about them, instead of assuming you owned their votes, you may well have won in spite of traitor Jill Stein and Russia. Leave this election to the candidates, who can beat Trump, unlike you. RESIST!!

From YouTube (SNL Channel): Impeachment Fantasy Cold Open

I knew that someday I would see an SNL sketch, in which the actual events are far more incredible and ludicrous that the actors’ fine satire. Now I have seen it. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Jefferson Airplane – Somebody to love

Ah… The memories! RESIST!!

Criminals to Call Out

Posted by TomCat at 9:42 am Politics

Feb 012020

0201Pigs

Yesterday the Republican Caucus of the US Senate betrayed the people of the United States by depriving us of our right to hear witnesses and see documents in the impeachment trial of criminal Donald Trump. Watch and burn with righteous anger!

See how each senator voted on witnesses at Trump’s trial

Here is a complete list of the total and two partial traitors.

Alexander, Lamar (R-TN)

Barrasso, John (R-WY)

Blackburn, Marsha (R-TN)

Blunt, Roy (R-MO)

Boozman, John (R-AR)

Braun, Mike (R-IN)

Burr, Richard (R-NC)

Capito, Shelley Moore (R-WV)

Cassidy, Bill (R-LA)

Collins, Susan M. (R-ME)*

Cornyn, John (R-TX)

Cotton, Tom (R-AR)

Cramer, Kevin (R-ND)

Crapo, Mike (R-ID)

Cruz, Ted (R-TX)

Daines, Steve (R-MT)

Enzi, Michael B. (R-WY)

Ernst, Joni (R-IA)

Fischer, Deb (R-NE)

Gardner, Cory (R-CO)

Graham, Lindsey (R-SC)

Grassley, Chuck (R-IA)

Hawley, Josh (R-MO)

Hoeven, John (R-ND)

Hyde-Smith, Cindy (R-MS)

Inhofe, James M. (R-OK)

Johnson, Ron (R-WI)

Kennedy, John (R-LA)

Lankford, James (R-OK)

Lee, Mike (R-UT)

Loeffler, Kelly (R-GA)

McConnell, Mitch (R-KY)

McSally, Martha (R-AZ)

Moran, Jerry (R-KS)

Murkowski, Lisa (R-AK)

Paul, Rand (R-KY)

Perdue, David (R-GA)

Portman, Rob (R-OH)

Risch, James E. (R-ID)

Roberts, Pat (R-KS)

Romney, Mitt (R-UT)*

Rounds, Mike (R-SD)

Rubio, Marco (R-FL)

Sasse, Ben (R-NE)

Scott, Rick (R-FL)

Scott, Tim (R-SC)

Shelby, Richard C. (R-AL)

Sullivan, Dan (R-AK)

Thune, John (R-SD)

Tillis, Thom (R-NC)

Wicker, Roger F. (R-MS)

Young, Todd (R-IN)

*Safe vote Susan and Little Lord Willard did vote to include witnesses, but would not have done so, if their votes would have made a difference.

I’ll have to call these traitors Republicans. I’d call them excrement, but to do so would be too great an insult to shit!

Do any of these Senators represent you? If so, show them your wrath. Go to their town hall meetings and shout them down. If you see them getting haircuts, ask the barber to scalp them. If you see them in a restaurant, tell them your taxes paid for their food. Say you want it back. If you see them on the street, ask a dog to mark their path before them. They didn’t care enough to represent 75% of American voters. Make their lives miserable, as long as they are in office. The time for forgiveness is after they are defeated and unemployable!

RESIST!!

Bill Maher from 1/31

Posted by TomCat at 9:42 am Politics

Feb 012020

It’s that time of week again, so here are 3.5 video clips, 2.5 of which are good, from Bill’s show last night. Enjoy!

YouTube did not release Bill’s Monologue, but I found part of it on Alternet. Click through. It would not embed here.

Very well said!

Mayor Pete Buttigieg

I like former-Mayor Pete, but I cannot support him for the nomination. He still has major problems relating to Black Voters, because of his own behavior as Mayor. More progressive candidates than Pete also have a vision that the majority of Americans can support. Their problem is that media figures, such as Bill, misrepresent them as “far left”.

Michael Eric Dyson: Made In America

Kudos to Michael Eric Dyson. I’ve always liked listening to him. Criminal (in)justice in the US favors the rich and is racist.

New Rule: Do the Wrong Thing

I agree, but only up to a point. We can be dirty, but legal. Otherwise, people will be unable to tell us from Republicans, who are dirty and illegal. Love the ad and debate plans! Democrats at the State of the Union should turn their backs on Trump* for the entire shit session. Are we sure Bill’s pee-pee tape isn’t real?

While I strongly disagree with Bill’s cavalier dismissal of Liz and Bernie, his New Rule was hilarious!

RESIST!!

Open Thread–2/1/2020

Posted by TomCat at 9:41 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 012020

It’s another muggy day, here in the CatBox. Tomorrow is a WWWendy day, so I’m not too sure how much I’ll have for you then. Then Monday, I’ll be gone for my cardiac stress test from 9:30 in the morning until around 5 PM with no food and no nap. I’ll be exhausted, so I may not cover Iowa very well. Have a great weekend!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:05 (average 5:50). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Alternet: 3. The Soviet Union and China achieved state capitalism, not socialism

As leader of the Soviet Union, Lenin once said that socialism was a goal, not yet an achieved reality. The Soviet had, instead, achieved “state capitalism.” A socialist party had state power, and the state had become the industrial capitalist displacing the former private capitalists. The Soviet revolution had changed who the employer was; it had not ended the employer/employee relationship. Thus, it was—to a certain extent—capitalist.

Lenin’s successor, Stalin, declared that the Soviet Union had achieved socialism. In effect, he offered Soviet state capitalism as if it were the model for socialism worldwide. Socialism’s enemies have used this identification ever since to equate socialism with political dictatorship. Of course, this required obscuring or denying that (1) dictatorships have often existed in capitalist societies and (2) socialisms have often existed without dictatorships.

After initially copying the Soviet model, China changed its development strategy to embrace instead a state-supervised mix of state and private capitalism focused on exports. China’s powerful government would organize a basic deal with global capitalists, providing cheap labor, government support, and a growing domestic market. In exchange, foreign capitalists would partner with Chinese state or private capitalists, share technology, and integrate Chinese output into global wholesale and retail trade systems. China’s brand of socialism—a hybrid state capitalism that included both communist and social-democratic streams—proved it could grow faster over more years than any capitalist economy had ever done.

The only Socialism we need to fear in the US is the National Socialism of the Republican Reich. This is the third of ten things you should know about Socialism. Please click through for the other nine. RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Watch ER doctor confront Mike Pence

While evading the question, Republican traitor Pence failed to mention that he fought Medicaid expansion in Indiana tooth and nail. It passed in spite of him. What a liar! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Neil Diamond – Sweet Caroline High Quality

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Get Out a Black Armband

Posted by TomCat at 8:46 am Politics

Jan 312020

I hate to say it, but it’s time to get out a black armband, because a national day of shame is upon us. Since Senator Lamar Alexander [R-TN] decided to goose-step with his criminal Fuhrer, Donald Trump*, instead of representing his constituents, it appears that Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch is about to successfully hide his Fuhrer’s crimes by blocking documents and witnesses by blocking documents and witnesses at the impeachment trial.

0131AlexanderBitch

The questioning phase is over. On Friday, the trial will resume at 1 p.m. Eastern, when senators will begin a debate over including additional witnesses and documents in the trial.
Republicans have felt increasingly confident that they will have the support to block a vote to subpoena new witnesses, like the former national security adviser John R. Bolton, who Democrats argue could provide crucial new information. This was made more likely Thursday night when Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, who was seen as a swing vote, announced that he would not support calling additional witnesses…

Inserted from <NY Times>

Sen. Lamar Alexander Makes ‘Preposterous’ Statement About Impeachment

If that isn’t impeachable conduct, then what the hell is?

Sen. Jeff Merkley: This is a tragedy in every possible way

Jeff is my Senator. I worked on his campaign to help him oust Gordon “Goosestep” Smith [R-OR]. I could not agree with him more than this!

Finally, this is what Republicans are doing!

RESIST!!

Open Thread–1/31/2020

Posted by TomCat at 8:45 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 312020

It’s a muggy, tired day here in the CatBox. I missed most of my nap yesterday, due to grocery delivery, and I’m feeling really pooped. TGIF!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:10 (average 5:54). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Sen. Rand Paul has not been getting enough attention during this impeachment process, so he executed his predictable and promised stunt on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon, submitting a question to Chief Justice John Roberts during the Q&A session that presumably contained the name of the whistleblower. Roberts refused to read the question, so Paul left the floor to have an “impromptu” press conference (and probably hit the send button on a fundraising email).

CNN’s Manu Raju reports, “At press conference, Paul says: ‘I can tell you my question made no reference to any whistleblower.’ Then Paul reads aloud his question which names a Schiff’s staff member and names the individual who has been reported as possible whistleblower—and asks about their contacts.” This was an apparent effort to get the press to publish the name, since he seems intent on getting the whistleblower killed.

It likely won’t work. One reporter asked, “With all due respect, shouldn’t you be at the impeachment hearing right now?” Of course he should have been, and the sergeant-at-arms should be putting him in the Senate jail right now.

Mitch (ours, not BBMMM) suggested a parade. For now, I’ll just remember his title: Idiot (Rand Paul), Son of Idiot (Ron Paul), Named after Idiot (Ayn Rand). Lock him up! RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: The convicted drug lord known as El Chapo said on Thursday that he was “outraged” his 2019 trial had included witnesses. He also revealed that he was demanding a new trial without them.

Speaking from ADX Florence, a maximum-security facility in Colorado, the former drug kingpin complained that his trial would have resulted in a speedy acquittal had it not been for the irritating presence of witnesses.

“If I had to point to one reason why I was convicted of all of those crimes, it would have to be witnesses,” he said. “Once the decision was made to include witnesses, things really went downhill for me.”

Andy, El Chapo does make a valid point. If the worst criminal in US History, since Benedict Arnold, gets a trial with no witnesses or documents, fairness demands that witnesses be excluded from all trials. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Bob Dylan – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Unplugged)

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Samantha Bee from 1/29

Posted by TomCat at 10:38 am Politics

Jan 302020

It’s that time of week again, and here are 3 great video clips from Sam’s show last night. Enjoy!

Coronavirus Is Scary! CDC Budget Cuts Make It Scarier

After looking at Rudy, I think I’ll go out and buy face masks. Seriously, with the time I’ll be spending in hospitals, this could be a problem for me. Several of us are in that boat.

Is The Iowa Caucus A Relic of the Past?

I like it that delegates for non-viable candidates get to move to viable ones. However, I’d like to learn what provisions Iowa makes to enable participation by people with disabilities. How about a pack of rubbers for Fred Trump*?

Are Republicans Being Shadow Banned? (No)

The only way to win with Fakebook is not to play! Unplug! Flush Fakebook!!

We got to see more of Sam’s serious side.

RESIST!!

Open Thread–1/30/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:38 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 302020

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. First, I awakened just after midnight, itchy and sticky. I finally fell asleep again after 3:30 AM and overslept by a full two hours. Then, I overloaded my computer doing research this morning, crashed it. I had several web pages and several applications open at once, and had not rebooted in a couple days. I lost forty five minutes work. Finally, it’s a grocery delivery day, and I do not know when Store to Door is coming. Some days… You have a good one!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 5:32 (average 8:18). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoons:

Short Takes:

From Willamette Week: Portland-area voters could open their ballots in three months to find a surprise: a request for $250 million to $300 million a year in taxpayer funding for services to get homeless people off the streets.

WW reported Jan. 27 that the regional government Metro may place such a measure on the May 19 ballot. That marks a stark change since last month, when the Metro Council insisted to advocates it would take as long as two years to grind a measure through the bureaucracy.

Instead, local officials now want to construct a measure and present it to voters in 13 weeks.

This is still overdue, even though Oregon leads the way! RESIST!!

From USA Today: Attorney Alan Dershowitz, a member of President Donald Trump’s defense team, alarmed Democrats and many legal scholars with his argument in the first day of questions and answers in the Senate impeachment trial that presidents cannot be removed from office for an action they believe could help get them re-elected.

In response to a question from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, about whether it mattered if Trump engaged in a “quid pro quo,” Dershowitz said that motive was what mattered and that if an act was in the public interest it was not impeachable. And he said it was reasonable for a public official to equate what is in their own political interest with the public good.

“Every public official that I know believes that his election is in the public interest,” he said. “And if a president does something, which he believes will help him get elected in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment.”

Dershowitz said a quid pro quo that involved an illegal act, or was done for personal financial gain, would be impeachable, however. [emphasis added]

Dershowitz is so full of shit his eyes are brown. Hitler honestly believed that murdering six million Jews was in the national interest. According to the Republican Reich, that’s fine. Who would Fuhrer Trump want to murder…Jews? …Blacks? …Latinos? …Muslims? …Gays? …Seniors? …Poor People? …Libruls? In any case, Dershowitz missed a key point. Since the re-theft (Trump* was NEVER elected) of the White House would result in more personal profit for Trump* from having his entourage stay at Trump* resorts at considerable taxpayer expense, his campaign is for personal gain, so his campaign related acts are impeachable, even by the twisted, devious standards of the Republican Reich! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from Lona’s past): Shocking Blue – Venus

Ah… Lona’s memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

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