It’s a very busy day here in the crappy old CatBox. This is my only article today.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:07 (average 5:26): To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Take:
From YouTube (a blast from the past): SIMON & GARFUNKEL – Sound of silence (1967 Live)
Ah… the memories! RESIST!!
Cartoon:
I slept poorly last night here in the crappy old CatBox because of the extreme humidity (now 85%). I feel very tired. Please expect no more than a Personal Update with no links messages on Care2 both Tomorrow and Monday. Tomorrow is a WWWendy day, and after de-stinking the smelly TomCat, we start packing. Monday is my annual Cat Scan with contrast to ascertain that the eye-cancer I suffered did not metastasize. It doubles as a COPD check. I expect another clean bill of health, but I’ll be very pissed off, if I don’t get to play with the cat doing the scan.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:19 (average 4:56). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Detained American Teen Speaks About His Ordeal
This example of Republican Latino-hatred is horrific. RESIST!!
From Slate: There were likely big celebrations at the White House Friday night as the Supreme Court gave the green light for the Trump administration to use $2.5 billion in Pentagon funds to build parts of the wall along the Mexican border. In a 5-4 ruling, the court’s conservative justices overturned a lower court decision and said the administration could begin using the money while the case proceeds.
Even though the ruling was only one paragraph long, the conservative justices hinted pretty clearly they would likely side with the administration in the future by saying that those challenging the White House use of the funds didn’t seem to have a right to do so. On the opposite end, three of the four more liberal justices on the court—Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan—said they would have blocked the funds for now. Justice Stephen Breyer, meanwhile, said he would have allowed preparatory work but not actual construction that would be difficult to undo if the White House lost the case further down the line.
SCROTUS (Republican Anti-Constitutional VD) strikes again! They are allowing the Fuhrer to steal benefits, equipment, and training that our troops need and deserve to waste money on the bogus Republican wall. RESIST!!
From Daily Kos:
Republicans are really drawing the best people these days. For example, take Daniella Stella, the Trump-loving Minnesota woman who is trying to unseat Rep. Ilhan Omar in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. She has fully embraced the ridiculously absurd Qanon conspiracy theories (read more about that below.)
But, it turns out the congressional hopeful also has a criminal history. The Guardian has the goods:
Stella is accused of stealing 279 items valued at $2,327.97 from a Target store in Edina, to the south-west of Minneapolis, on 8 January this year. She was arrested for the alleged theft after security staff called the police.
A criminal complaint filed to Hennepin county district court alleged Stella was seen leaving the store without paying for most of her haul, after “scanning only a few other items” that were valued at about $50.
$2,327.97 from a Target? That’s a lot of stolen stuff. It’s hard to imagine executives or employees of Minneapolis-based Target Stores supporting her election campaign.
The Target theft wasn’t her first time getting busted for shoplifting.
What do I think? I think the prospect of being in the House had her salivating with GOP greed. RESIST!!
Cartoon:
We knew it was bad. Russia flooded social media with propaganda using thousands of fake identities. Of course the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, picked it up and ran with it. The Trump campaign and the Republican Reich quoted it as fact ad nauseam. The deplorable Sheeple ate it up. Confused voters stayed home. And even some progressives, who I have known and respected for years, quoted it to argue against me and my ‘Vote Blue’ position, because they didn’t realize it was bogus Russian propaganda. I suspected that Russia had infiltrated our vote counting infrastructure in a few places to a limited extent. I had no idea how bad it really is!
The Senate Intelligence Committee concluded Thursday that election systems in all 50 states were targeted by Russia in 2016, an effort more far-reaching than previously acknowledged and one largely undetected by the states and federal officials at the time.
But while the bipartisan report’s warning that the United States remains vulnerable in the next election is clear, its findings were so heavily redacted at the insistence of American intelligence agencies that even some key recommendations for 2020 were blacked out.
The report — the first volume of several to be released from the committee’s investigation into Russia’s 2016 election interference — came 24 hours after the former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III warned that Russia was moving again to interfere “as we sit here.”
While details of many of the hackings directed by Russian intelligence, particularly in Illinois and Arizona, are well known, the committee described “an unprecedented level of activity against state election infrastructure” intended largely to search for vulnerabilities in the security of the election systems…
Inserted from <NY Times>
Click through for the rest of the article.
Both Chris Hayes and 11th Hour reported on the importance of this story.
Democrats are trying to give themselves a political advantage. They have a political advantage anytime Republican cheating is prevented!
Why are Republicans blocking funds for election security? They are counting on Russian help. It’s the Republican way to win!
I feel very tired. I woke up at midnight and felt so uncomfortable, due to the humidity (now 86%) that I could not get back to sleep. At least today is the last 90°+ day in the crappy old CatBox. TGIF!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:12 (average 5:20). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Neal Katyal On How To Prosecute A Sitting President
I’d love to see a state prosecutor indict the SOB and his whole clan. RESIST!!
From NY Times: The federal government will resume executions of death row inmates after a nearly two-decade hiatus, Attorney General William P. Barr said Thursday, countering a broad national shift away from the death penalty as public support for capital punishment has dwindled.
The announcement reversed what had been essentially a moratorium on the federal death penalty since 2003. Five men convicted of murdering children will be executed in December and January at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., Mr. Barr said, and additional executions will be scheduled later.
What else could we expect from Barrf? He demonstrated, once again, that Republicans are pro-death. RESIST!!
From The New Yorker: In a sign that Donald J. Trump’scontrol over the Republican Party is now complete, congressional Republicans on Thursday defended his decision to give the Russian President Vladimir Putin office space at the White House.
A newly emboldened Trump told reporters that he had furnished Putin with a corner-office suite and secretarial staff to use whenever the Russian President is in town. “He says he plans to be here more and more,” Trump said….
…At the U.S. Senate, a visibly angry Senator Lindsey Graham called allegations that there was anything improper about Trump giving office space to Putin “totally unfair, disgusting, and vile.”
Ok, Andy… Where’s the humor? Where’s the satire? That’s just straight news! RESIST!!
Cartoon:
The next couple days, here in the stinky old CatBox promise to be most uncomfortable, with highs in the 90°s. The humidity is now 87%. When WWWendy de-stinks the rancid TomCat later this afternoon. I’ll be dripping sweat by the time I get back to the room from the shower room. ARGH!! On the plus side, one week to go.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:20 (average 5:14). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Mueller Knocks Down Trump’s ‘No Obstruction’ Claim
I thought the second hearing was far better than the first. For those, who listened carefully, the substance we needed was there. However, the optics stunk. Unfortunately for optics is the limit to the attention span of far too many voters. RESIST!!
From NY Times: A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to continue accepting asylum claims from all eligible migrants arriving in the United States, temporarily thwarting the president’s latest attempt to stanch the flow of migrants crossing the southern border.
Judge Jon S. Tigar of the United States District Court in San Francisco issued a preliminary injunction against a new rule that would have effectively banned asylum claims in the United States for most Central American migrants, who have been arriving in record numbers this year. It would have also affected many migrants from Africa, Asia and other regions.
Kudos to Judge Tigar. We are a nation of refugees. RESIST!!
From Alternet: On Tuesday, July 23 — the day before former special counsel Robert Mueller publicly testified before Congress — President Donald Trump was the victim of an apparent practical joke that referenced Russia as well as his interest in golf.
At a student summit hosted by the right-wing group Turning Point USA, Trump spoke in front of a presidential seal — which, on the surface, appeared normal. But upon examination, it became apparent that the seal had been altered in two ways: the eagle had two heads (not unlike Russia’s national symbol), and the bird is holding golf clubs rather than its usual arrows.
Was it a prank, or was it the Fuhrer’s design? RESIST!!
Cartoon:
A blast from the past.
It’s a busy day, here in the crappy old CatBox. Store to Door is delivering groceries and I’ll have to put them away. WWWendy isn’t coming to destink the sweaty TomCat until tomorrow. She is vacationing at the coast. I’m so, so jealous, because it’s 10° – 15° cooler there. Happy Hump day to all.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:45 (average 5:14). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Robert Reich: The Real Reason for Impeachmen
The Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. There is only one valid reason not to impeach the Fuhrer of the Reich on the right, the Republican Reich. That reason is Pence. RESIST!!
From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): American Held By Immigration Released After Three Weeks
The Republican Reich would love to deport Latino citizens, who were born here. RESIST!!
From The New Yorker: Queen Elizabeth II is moving to Canada “immediately” and should take up full-time residence there by the end of the week, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Tuesday.
The Queen offered no reason for the move, but the palace indicated that she had been packing her bags for the past several weeks.
In a sign that the Queen’s decision is irrevocable, the palace revealed that her beloved corgis had already been flown to Toronto.
In a brief farewell statement to the British people, the Queen explained why she had chosen Canada as her new home. “We speak the language, and our picture’s on the money there,” she said.
Dang, Andy! Queen Lizzie has the right idea. Perhaps we should all follow suit. RESIST!!
Cartoon:
It’s a busy week here in the crappy old CatBox. Yesterday TriMet recertified my chair and I for another three years. Unless I go back to the shiny new CatBox with WWWendy, my next trip out is Monday. I have a Cat Scan. The IV contrast is bad enough, but I HATE having to drink the oral contrast, which I call Cat Pee. Today and tomorrow are the coolest days of the heat wave (low to mid 80°s). Enjoy your day.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:53 (average 4:29). To do it, click here. How did you do?
A Pic from the Shiny New CatBox:
What gorgeous scenery!
Short Takes:
From YouTube (CNN Channel): Boris Johnson wins vote, expected to be UK prime minister
Poor UK! Boris Brexit is a Bridiot! RESIST!!
From Politico: President Donald Trump may have to hand out some new nicknames — for himself — after endorsing a bipartisan budget deal with Congress: “Trillion Dollar Trump?” “Deficit Don?”
With a new bipartisan budget deal that does nothing to cut federal spending, Trump is on track for another $1 trillion deficit this year. And there’s no reason to believe the following fiscal year will be any different, with ballooning deficits from higher spending, the 2017 tax cuts — Trump’s signature legislative achievement, which slashed revenue — and none of the entitlement reforms long preached by Republican leaders on Capitol Hill.
There is only one reasonable solution. It is undoing a decade of Republican welfare for the super-rich, combined with a steep wealth tax. RESIST!!
From The New Yorker: The billionaire Donald J. Trump’s bid to become a born-again Christian failed over the weekend after Jesus Christ turned down his friend request, campaign officials have acknowledged.
Jesus, who has not generally been active on Facebook, made a rare appearance on the social network on Monday to announce His decision to ignore the presumptive Republican nominee’s request for a personal relationship with Him.
In a brief post, Jesus offered the following explanation: “Just everything.”
The turndown from Jesus Christ, the inspiration behind one of the world’s most prominent religions, caps what has been a tough month for the Trump campaign.
Look Andy, that is just not credible. Trump would never try to befriend the real Jesus. Trump’s Jesus is a GOP invention, Republican Supply-side Jesus, whose gospel of greed, hate, racism, violence and death matches his own beliefs and those of the pseudo-Christians in the Republican Reich. RESIST!!
Cartoon:
This is my only article today, with no links messages on Care2. I should be back in the saddle until next Sunday and Monday. The heat yesterday was severe. My A/C made it bearable, but not by much. I’ll probably need to leave before I publish this, so I’ll do it when I return. OGIM!
Back! It was quite painless.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:04 (average 5:18). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Take:
From Alternet: The only thing more disgusting than having to suffer Donald Trump’s outwardly racist remarks—complete with double-downs and repetitions—is watching Washington refuse to own them.
Trump continued on with his attacks on four vocal, left-leaning, first-year congresswomen, expressing feigned surprise that people have found the words racist. Does he really think we are that dumb or societally deaf?
The four struck back, of course, with just enough partisan talk to allow various congressional Republicans to try to redefine the matter as one of adverse politics rather than race—conveniently overlooking the fact that the four are women of color. The Republicans who make it to television seem to take an unusually smarmy delight in casting the four—and all Democrats, while they are at it, as socialists bent on destroying the nation.
And in Congress, Republicans chose to attack Speaker Nancy Pelosi for using the word “racist” on the floor toward a condemnation resolution rather than deal with the content.
Trump’s racism merely reflects the racism of the Republican Reich. RESIST!!
Cartoon:
