Open Thread – Page 460 – Politics Plus

Open Thread – 3/14/2019

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

Mar 142019

WordPress installed an update from 5.1 to 5.1.1 and, in the process, screwed up compatibility with the ARK Comment Editor Plugin that we use. There is no trouble replying to articles. But here’s how we need to reply to comments, until they fix it. The comment form at the bottom for a reply to the article works. Make your reply to a reply there, but do not click the Submit Comment button. Then click the Reply link under the comment to which you are replying. When the fractured,. empty comment form opens, click its Submit Comment button and your comment will be posted in the right place. I’m sorry for the inconvenience and am getting pissed off at the WordPress folks.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:17 (average 6:23). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (NY Times Channel): Who Is Beto O’Rourke?

I listened to him this morning in Iowa. He knew his material. He related to people where they are. He answered questions with progressive solutions. I wish he had more seasoning, but he’s totally constipated. (He has his shit together :-)). RESIST!!

From YouTube (Trae Crowder Channel): Liberal Redneck – Rich Kids, Poor Parents, and the Least Surprising Scandal Ever

Stealing education was the next logical step for behavior typical of the Republican Reich. RESIST!!

From NY Times: After days of mounting pressure, the United States grounded Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft on Wednesday, reversing an earlier decision in which American regulators said the planes could keep flying after a deadly crash in Ethiopia.

The decision, announced by President Trump, followed determinations by safety regulators in some 42 countries to ban flights by the jets, which are now grounded worldwide. Pilots, flight attendants, consumers and politicians from both major parties had been agitating for the planes to be grounded in the United States. Despite the clamor, the Federal Aviation Administration had been resolute, saying on Tuesday that it had seen “no systemic performance issues” that would prompt it to halt flights of the jet.

That changed Wednesday when, in relatively quick succession, Canadian and American aviation authorities said they were grounding the planes after newly available satellite-tracking data suggested similarities between Sunday’s crash in Ethiopia and one involving a Boeing 737 Max 8 in Indonesia in October.

Finally! Normally this announcement would come from the FAA, which has the authority to ground those planes, but Fuhrer Drumpfenfarten claimed credit for it. He lied that they were grounded only because he had declared a so-called “national emergency” to do so. On the other hand, it’s more of a national emergency than his freaking wall. RESIST!!

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Open Thread – 3/13/2019

Posted by TomCat at 10:37 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 132019

It’s a busy day, here in the CatBox. Store to Door is delivering groceries later. This evening WWWendy comes to destink the vile TomCat. I’m feeling s tad more geriatric today. Judge Jackson sentenced Paul Manafart to 3.5 years in addition to his other sentence.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:59 (average 5:26). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Media Matters Channel): Years of Laura Ingraham’s anti-immigrant commentary

Barf Bag Alert!!

Ingraham and other commentators at the Republican Reich ministry of propaganda, Faux Noise, should be required to wear their sheets and hoods, when on camera. RESIST!!

From Reuters: The parliament will vote on Wednesday on whether to leave the European Union in 16 days without an agreement as the government said it would eliminate import tariffs on a wide range of goods in a no-deal Brexit scenario.

British lawmakers on Tuesday handed Prime Minister Theresa May a second humiliating defeat on the Brexit plan she had agreed with the EU, plunging the country deeper into political crisis.

The turmoil leaves the world’s fifth largest economy facing a range of scenarios – it could leave without a transition deal; delay the March 29 divorce date enshrined in law; May could hold a snap election or try a third time to get her deal passed; or Britain could hold another Brexit referendum.

The best way for the people of the UK to show that they are not Brexit Bridiots is to hold another Brexit referendum, defeat Brexit, and dump their right-wing government. RESIST!!

From Daily Kos: It would be a giant leap to say that the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people on Sunday was caused by the U.S. government shutdown, but there is reason to believe the aircraft’s safety may have been compromised by the impasse Donald Trump forced over funding for his vanity wall.

The crash apparently bore similarities to that of Lion Air flight 610, which went down near Indonesia last year. And a new software fix to address what happened during that flight was significantly delayed in part because of the shutdown.

Quartz:

After the Lion Air crash, the FAA—which, with EU airline regulators, generally sets the tone for aviation safety worldwide—issued a new “airworthiness directive” to US operators of the Boeing 737 8 and 9 planes, warning that an “unsafe condition” exists on the models and providing flight crews “with runaway horizontal stabilizer trim procedures to follow under certain conditions.”

Straightforward safety upgrades to the jets’ software to fix the automated safety feature, were originally expected in January according to multiple reports. But they were delayed until April, the Wall Street Journal reported Feb. 10, because of “engineering challenges,” “differences of opinion” between federal and Boeing officials, and the 35-day government shutdown, during which “consideration of the fixes was suspended.”

Don’t tell the Republican Reich. If they find out they helped kill all those black people, it will be party time in GOPville. RESIST!!

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Open Thread – 3/12/2019

Posted by TomCat at 10:06 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 122019

It’s a crappy day here in the CatBox, because I’m fighting off a case of Republicosis. I had a cavity come out of one of my three remaining teeth. I’ll be scarce next week, because I have to get the tooth fixed on Monday, and I have a routine appointment on Wednesday.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:27 (average 4:43). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Robert Reich: The Yuge Republican Lie About the Deficit

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right! The Reich on the right, the Republican Reich, offer Russian Hooker economics: tinkle down. Sick of getting peed on? Vote Blue! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Chris Discusses Exclusive New Audio Of Fox News Host Tucker Carlson

Carlson is not the Republican exception. He’s the Republican rule. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: Donald J. Trump’s $4.7-trillion budget raised eyebrows on Monday when government-watchdog groups discovered that it contained twenty million dollars for bail.

The line item for a “bail fund” was buried in the fine print of the published budget, along with a footnote specifying that the money could be used only to bail out Trump and members of his immediate family.

Dang Andy! Do you think that will be enough? RESIST!!

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Open Thread – 3/11/2018

Posted by TomCat at 12:19 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 112019

It’s another busy day here at the CatBox. I have a representative of the senior agency that pays about 15% of WWWendy making her annual evaluation this morning. That will tie me up for at least an hour. I probably won’t recover from sproinging for at least a couple more days.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s tool me 2:48 (average 4:31). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Vox Channel): Why you still don’t understand the Green New Deal

I agree. Use this link for substance. RESIST!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_New_Deal

From Alternet: Despite all of the disproved narratives about the “white working class,” it has been repeatedly and conclusively shown that Donald Trump in fact won the White House because of racism and nativism. But sexism was a key element in Trump’s victory as well. These values, beliefs, and behaviors interact with one another. New research by University of Kansas sociologists David Smith and Eric Hanley demonstrates how a socially combustible mix of racism and sexism, in combination with anger and bullying, put the United States on a path to authoritarianism.

Writing in “The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election, and Why?”, which appeared in a recent issue of the journal Critical Sociology, Smith and Hanley summarize their new research:

We find that Trump’s supporters voted for him mainly because they share his prejudices, not because they’re financially stressed. It’s true, as exit polls showed, that voters without four-year college degrees were likelier than average to support Trump. But millions of these voters — who are often stereotyped as “the white working class” — opposed Trump because they oppose his prejudices.

The Republican Reich was not hoodwinked or economically motivated. They love Trump, because they share his evil hatred. RESIST!!

From NY Times: Democrats filed into the House chamber on Thursday — depleted and punch drunk — to vote for an overstuffed resolution condemning prejudice — and end, or so they hoped, a week of infighting that vividly illustrated the perils of policing their own speech.

“I hope this puts an end to all of this,” said Representative Robin Kelly, Democrat of Illinois, moments before the measure, which condemned anti-Semitism and virtually every other form of bigotry, passed with unanimous Democratic support.

It almost certainly will not. The measure, which began as a rebuke to Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota and a freshman lawmaker, and ended as a catchall declaration of tolerance that did not mention her by name, seemed to satisfy no one. Ultimately, the wrenching intraparty fight left unanswered a question that transcends partisan politics: In an era of shouting and provocation, how should Congress respond when its members say hateful or hurtful things?

We need to be careful here. Serious discussion in search of solutions may seem hurtful to some, but they are a necessary step toward progress. On the other hand, discussions intended only to hurt members of a group are hate speech. Hurtful need not be hateful, but hateful is wrong. RESIST!!

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Open Thread – 3/10/2019

Posted by TomCat at 8:01 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 102019

It’s a very busy day here in the CatBox, and I’m one hour more tired than I should be. WWWendy is due shortly.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:28 (average 4:36). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (SNL Channel): Weekend Update: Paul Manafort Sentenced to Prison

It’s pretty bad when it’s hard to differentiate SNL from actual news. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: God has offered to give the people of Alabama brand new Bibles to replace the ones that Donald J. Trump signed during his visit to the state on Friday.

In a rare public statement from the famously mysterious deity, God said that He was furious at Trump “for defacing My book,” calling Trump’s signature “a wanton act of vandalism.”

“Where was Mike Pence in all of this?” God asked. “These people can’t do anything right.”

God added that He was “dumbfounded” that Trump had taken it upon himself to sign his name on a book to which he had “no relationship whatsoever.”

Amen, Andy! Amen, God! RESIST!!

From NY Times: The sharp left turn in the Democratic Party and the rise of progressive presidential candidates are unnerving moderate Democrats who increasingly fear that the party could fritter away its chances of beating President Trump in 2020 by careening over a liberal cliff.

Two months into the presidential campaign, the leading Democratic contenders have largely broken with consensus-driven politics and embraced leftist ideas on health care, taxes, the environment and Middle East policy that would fundamentally alter the economy, elements of foreign policy and ultimately remake American life.

Hillary demonstrated that a “moderate” (corporate centrist) nominee could allow Republicans to get close enough to steal the White House again. We need someone more progressive. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

0310Cartoon

Open Thread – 3/9/2019

Posted by TomCat at 10:17 am Open Thread, Politics

Mar 092019

It’s a cold day here in the CatBox, still sub-freezing at night and about 10° below seasonal norms. I’m, as usual, quite busy.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:46 (average 7:10). To do it, click here. How did you do.

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Trump Says Democrats Have Become ‘Anti-Israel’ And ‘Anti-Jewish’

This is from the same monster that said the Nazis chanting “Jews will not replace us!” in Charlottesville were fine people. I would hope most Democrats are anti-Butcher Bibi. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Parody Project Channel): TOLD THE LIES – Parody

Magnificent as usual, Don! But it’s not just Trump. He’s a reflection of the entire Republican Reich! RESIST!!

From Alternet: Louie Gohmert says it’s “dangerous” to pass a House resolution condemning hate.

Much of the week in the news media was eaten up by arguing over whether the complaints of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) about the Israeli lobby demanding “allegiance” are anti-Semitic. There is a strong case to be made that while her comments were badly worded, they weren’t intentionally hateful, and the media uproar was out of proportion and erased legitimate contours of foreign policy debate.

For this reason, the House backed off an initial plan to condemn anti-Semitism specifically and instead held a vote on Thursday to condemn all hate — which was arguably necessary as the media focus on Omar has also led to a wave of anti-Muslim hatred directed at her.

In the end, Omar herself voted for the resolution — but in an incredible self-own, 23 Republicans didn’t. One was Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who absurdly claimed that condemning all hate would be “dangerous”

This is fifth in a list of five Republican outrages last week. Click through for the other four. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

Republican sheeple dance in gleeful ignorance, as the 18 wheeler of Republican policy is about to splatter them!

Open Thread – 3/8/2019

Posted by TomCat at 11:44 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 082019

It’s another cold day here in the CatBox. I have to do some intake paperwork, that never got done when they rushed me into this building, with the Asst. Mgr. That may put me be behind schedule. Happy International Women’s Day to all, and TGIF!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:10 (average 4:56). To do it, click here. (Technicolor kitty farts?) How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Jon Meacham: We May Have A President Who Is Enthralled To A Foreign Power

Fuhrer Drumpfenfarten has Putin in his pooter! RESIST!!

From The Hill: Twenty-three Republican lawmakers voted against a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred on Thursday, arguing the measure was “watered down” and failed to properly condemn Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) recent controversial remarks on U.S.-Israel relations.

The 23 Republicans included: Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Mo Brooks (Ala.), Ken Buck (Colo.), Ted Budd (N.C.), Michael Burgess (Texas), Liz Cheney(Wyo.), Chris Collins (N.Y.), Mike Conaway (Texas), Rick Crawford (Ark.) and Jeff Duncan (S.C.).

The list was completed by Reps. Louie Gohmert (Texas), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Tom Graves (Ga.), Pete King (N.Y.), Doug LaMalfa (Calif.), Thomas Massie(Ky.), Steven Palazzo (Miss.), Mike Rogers (Ala.), Chip Roy (Texas), Greg Steube (Fla.), Mark Walker (N.C.), Ted Yoho (Fla.) and Lee Zeldin (N.Y.).

Meanwhile, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who was stripped off his committee assignments for remarks he made regarding white supremacy earlier this year, voted present.

Steve King is the sleaziest Republican on the list. He’s the one trying to hide his sheet and hood. RESIST!!

From Stars and Stripes: The Pentagon is planning to tap $1 billion in leftover funds from military pay and pension accounts to help President Donald Trump pay for his long-sought border wall, a top Senate Democrat said Thursday.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told The Associated Press, “It’s coming out of military pay and pensions. $1 billion. That’s the plan.”

Republicans do not care about our troops. They want cannon fodder. RESIST!!

Cartoons:

Open Thread – 3/7/2019

Posted by TomCat at 9:46 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 072019

It’s a cold day here in the CatBox, but not quite as cold as it has been. I have some good news. The ARK comment editor was updated to compatibility with WordPress 5.1, so I reinstalled it. It is still not as powerful as it was, when combined with TinyMCE, but it restores use of color, smileys, fonts, and several other functions.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:30 (average 4:54). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): DHS Secy. Kirstjen Nielsen Tries To Defend Trump Family Separation Policy

Republicans don’t put children in cages; The Pope is not Catholic; and bears never, ever shit in the woods. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Daily Kos Channel): Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) equates southern border with D Day

Barf Bag Alert!!

Every time Republicans enact policy at the southern border, it is D-Day: Dingbat Day! RESIST!!

From Newsweek: Each year, those who observe Lent select something to abstain from for 40 days. When it comes to sugar, caffeine and alcohol, cravings may not be the only challenge people face, as a sudden lack of the addictive dietary items can affect the body and mind.

Dr. Genevieve Brauning, a doctor at the Novant Health SouthPark Family Physicians, told Newsweek that suddenly cutting caffeine, sugar or alcohol out of a person’s diet could lead to withdrawal-like symptoms.

“The acute withdrawal symptoms from addictive substances like caffeine and alcohol typically last three to seven days,” Brauning said. “It appears that sugar follows a similar pattern. But the cravings can last weeks, months, and even years.”

Click through for more info. I think I’ll give up goose-stepping with the Republican Reich, and wearing Republican sheets and hoods for Lent. 😉 RESIST!!

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