Open Thread – 5/30/2017

Posted by TomCat at 1:40 pm Blog News, Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 302017

At last we have a cool day, and I'm enjoying it thoroughly. It was a slow morning for news.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today's took me 4:58 (average 5:41). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Fantasy Football Announcement:

Our own Fantasy Football league, Lefty Blog Friends, will be holding our live draft for next season on Saturday, August 19 at 10 AM PDT (11 AM CDT, 12 Noon MDT, 1 PM EDT). If you played last year and are going to quit, please let me know immediately. May the Holy Ellipsoid Orb bless your team.

Republican Diseases (at Nameless' request):

Republicitis: You're so full of shit that everyone thinks you're a Republican. You need Dulcolax to unload the excess shit.

Republicosis: You're spraying so much shit around that everyone thinks you're a Republican. You need Immodium to get your shit together.

Short Takes:

From The Guardian: As tensions continue in Portland following the racially charged murder of two men on Friday, the top Republican in the city said he is considering using militia groups as security for public events.

How insane! Republican militia groups would have joined the attack on the Muslim women! RESIST!!

From The Hill: Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Tuesday said Russia's “aggressiveness” in interfering in last year's U.S. election was unlike anything he'd seen before.

“Across the board, the aggressiveness in this campaign was unprecedented,” Clapper told CNN’s “New Day.”

“An American citizen should be very concerned about a foreign government, particularly our primary adversary, interfering with the most important foundational process that we have in this country, which is free and fair elections.”

Clapper noted that the Russians have long tried to interfere in presidential elections, but characterized the 2016 efforts as the most aggressive and direct.

They could get away with being so aggressive only because one of the candidates was an active partner in their interference. RESIST!!

From NY Times: In the northern suburbs of Atlanta, where what is likely to be the most expensive House campaign in history is being waged, a band of conservative advocacy groups is grappling with a question that may decide whether the Republican Party keeps its House majority after 2018: Do you run with President Trump or against him?

Somehow, the groups are discovering, they will have to do both.

While this does not apply to the race between Jon Osoff and Karen Handel, former attack dog for Komen Hates Women, current Republican office holders, who want to run against Trump need to prove it NOW. Otherwise it's just BS. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

0530Cartoon

Vivian Birdwell Has Another Big Mouth! ;-)

Posted by TomCat at 11:48 am Blog News, Politics

May 192017

89-VivianB

This is Vivian’s third award. She earned her first on 4/23/2015 for the 63,000th comment, and her second was last month for the 88,000th comment. Vivian is a denizen of Care2. A resident of Oklahoma, she must face horrible frustration politically, but she has great humor in spite of it. She has a huge heart. She supports Native American rights, the environment, animal causes, peace, LBGT marriage rights, prison reform, and much more. She describes herself as a “hillbilly hippie”. She’s also a hard charger in our fantasy football league. She an almost daily regular, and this site is still far better due to her presence here. After two in a row, is she trying to take over the Big Mouth department?

Please join me in showering her with kudos and hugs. She’s still a keeper.

Poll Results – 6/16/2017

Posted by TomCat at 12:54 pm Blog News, Politics

May 162017

Here are the results of our “When Should Democrats Compromise?” 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 of the majority of those who actually think.

0516Poll

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

I voted with the majority. The problem I have had with making deals with Republicans is that, over the long term, they have refused to negotiate in good faith, holding out for all for them and none for us. Trying to get them to deal, Democrats have caved-in far too often and far too deeply. But I have no objection to compromise as long as it’s fair to us, and as long as we don’t budge on core values. The only other popular choice was ‘Never’. That may offer feel-good purity, but it leaves the politically uneducated no way to tell the difference between us and the Republicans. It puts ideological purity ahead of the well being of the American people, just like those, who were willing to inflict Trump on us so they could avoid voting for Hillary to protect us.

The new poll is posted. Please vote and think about why it should inspire you to

RESIST!!

Monthly Report for April 2017

Posted by TomCat at 1:52 pm Blog News, Monthly Report, Politics

May 032017

This is our first Monthly Report for 2017. Because Google analytics are so cumbersome, I’m going back to using the raw data from AWSTATS and our HSP, but bot as extensively as I used to do it. I expect April’s stats to be a low point from which we can build, as I was down sick for almost the entire month.

Here is our latest summary:

Stats4-2017

Reported period	Month Apr 2017
First visit	01 Apr 2017 – 00:01
Last visit	30 Apr 2017 – 23:59
	Unique visitors	Number of visits	Pages	Hits	Bandwidth
Viewed traffic *	9,130	27,885 (3.05 visits/visitor)	82,700 (2.96 Pages/Visit)	209,048 (7.49 Hits/Visit)	6.67 GB (250.88 KB/Visit)
Not viewed traffic *			401,079	456,798	8.90 GB

Here is our ClustrMap for 2017 Year top Date.

ClustrMap4-2017

ClustrMap misses a lot of visits, because many visits can’t be easily traced to a location..

Here are our top five articles:

Jane Smiley: Capitalist Pigs 1/17/2010 2,346
Friday Fun – Making Math Fun … No Fooling! 4/7/2017 264
A Laugh from Bill Maher 4/2/2017 237
Unquestioning Support for Cops 7/28/2015 225
Open Thread – 4/2/2017 4/2/2017 215

The count represents only the people who followed an external link to that specific article. Three were from April. Congrats to Nameless, who wrote one of them.

Here are our top non-blog/news referrers (100 referral minimum):

Care2 1,811
Google 1,629
Stumbleupon 227

Here are our top blog/news referrers:

http://bildungblog.blogspot.com/
http://oakcreekforum.blogspot.mx/
http://infidel753.blogspot.com/
http://www.pafundi.com/
http://hamsandwich66.blogspot.com/
http://www.straight-friendly.blogspot.com/
https://jasondylan.wordpress.com/

We had 7 sites with 2 or more referrals, down 2 from November. Putting blogs’ links here increases the ratings of their sites, so this “linkey love” is our thank you for their support.

I recommend using your own avatar. Go to Gravatar. Sign up using the email address you use to post comments here and upload the image you want to use as your avatar. Whenever you comment under that email address here or on any WordPress blog (several others too), that image will become your avatar.

Your Administrators are Lynn Squance, aka Sasquatch or Squatch, SoINeedAName, aka Nameless, and I, aka TomCat, the Founder. Your Editors are Joanne Dixon, aka JD the Erynator and Lona Goudswaard, aka Lona the Napster. I promoted them from Author in August to give them the ability to add graphics to comments and the ability to correct my innumerable typos.

This is our policy on links. We do not embed links to extreme Republican websites, like Faux Noise, Breitfart or World Nut Daily. However I leave notes in square brackets when I delete such links, (example: [faux noise delinked]) so readers, who wish to follow them can click through to the source article. I also remove topical links. Finally, I blank the target on all links, so they open in a new tab or window.

Thank you for all that you do, here and elsewhere. You and other activists are America’s only hope.

We have survived the worst 100 days in US History. For the Fuhrer and the Republic an Reich, they have been an unmitigated failure, because you and activist like you have apposed them at every opportunity. Keep it up. Fight every battle/ We can’t win, if we don’t fight!

RESIST!!

Poll Results – 5/1/2017

Posted by TomCat at 1:09 pm Blog News, Politics

May 012017

Here are the results of our “Survive Trump” 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 of the majority of those who think.

0501Poll

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

I voted ‘definitely not’. The reason is that Trump appointed Whoresuch, an ideologue so extreme that he almost makes Scalia seem reasonable, to SCROTUS (Republican Constitutional VD). He will be shitting on our Constitution for decades after Trump disappears into a shower of gold.

I have posted a new poll. Please vote. Then…

RESIST!!

Poll Results – 4/19/2017

Posted by TomCat at 12:49 pm Blog News, Politics

Apr 192017

Here are the results of our “Justice for Traitors” 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 of the majority.

0419Poll

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

I voted two to five, but there has been a lot of scandal since then. Time will tell.

There is a new poll posted. After you vote…

RESIST!!

Vivian Birdwell Has a BIG Mouth!! ;-)

Posted by TomCat at 1:03 pm Blog News, Politics

Apr 142017

88-VivianB

This is Vivian’s second award. She earned her first on 4/23/2015 for the 63,000th comment. Vivian is a denizen of Care2. A resident of Oklahoma, she must face horrible frustration politically, but she has great humor in spite of it. She has a huge heart. She supports Native American rights, the environment, animal causes, peace, LBGT marriage rights, prison reform, and much more. She describes herself as a “hillbilly hippie”. She’s also a hard charger in our fantasy football league. She an almost daily regular, and this site is far better due to her presence here.

Please join me in piling on the kudos and hugs. She’s still a keeper.

Lynn Squance Has a BIG Mouth! ;-)

Posted by TomCat at 12:02 pm Blog News, Politics

Feb 192017

87-LynnSquance

Lynn has now won her eleventh Big Mouth Award. Ironically,her last Big Mouth award was for the 61,000th comment exactly two years earlier on 2/18/2015. For many years she has been one of our top commentators, and is also one of only two people, other than myself, that I have authorized as a co-equal administrator of this site.. Lynn is a denizen of Care2, and is still a Canadian, unfortunately for the US. I’ve said this before, but it still bears repeating. If 10% of US citizens had half, or if half of US citizens had 10% of the knowledge of and insight into US politics that this Canadian gal regularly displays, our country would be far better off. Congrats Lynn! She is a treasure, whose contribution to this site cannot be overstated, but I am stating it again. Please join me in piling on the kudos and praise, because our Sasquatch still knows how to

RESIST

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PHP is a programming language used to build websites. We have it at all through our hosting partner, BlueHost. In order to update it, we have to go through Bluehost. During his life, TomCat was the only one who had access to our account there. I (JD) am now the only one. I have been to BlueHost and investigated updating our PHP to 8.3 or even to 8.1. I found instructions to do so - in fact, I found two conflicting sets of instructions. I went through one set of the steps and got the message that Our site could not handle 8.3, but that it had successfully updated to 8.1. I then went back here to see what it looked like. But I couldn't get in - either as an administrator or as a reader. It was just gone. I had to reach BlueHost by phone. It was determined that Politics Plus is in fact not compatible with any version of PHP newer than the one we have. BlueHost therefore uninstalled it for me, and the site came back to normal. Of course, like everyone else, I care about security. But I also am aware that TomCat elected to use different providers for several of the services that BlueHost provides, for instance backups. We are backed up daily - but not by BlueHost. However, out PHP is through Bluehost. I feel that if they are not worried about the older version, I am not going to worry about it. I believe that our security here is all or mostly through WordFence, whom I trust.