Feb 232019
 

It’s a chilly day here in the CatBox.  When we upgraded to WordPress 5.1 it was partially incompatible with our comment editor.  I tried to fix it by deactivating and reactivating it, after which the plugin would not even load.  So I reverted to our old CKEditor, which I had uninstalled.  The compatibility issues with that editor appear to have been fixed.  Let me know if there are problems.  Tomorrow is a WWWendy day, and we will be very busy.  So please expect no more than a Personal Update with no links messages on Care2.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:45 (average 5:47).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Media Matters Channel): For years, right-wing figures have warned about “civil war”

Barf Bag Alert!!

 

This means that, if the Republican Reich cannot stay in power through election theft, they want to take power violently. This is how they use fear to brainwash their sheeple to be violent. RESIST!!

From Alternet: It’s one thing to oppose the grandiose “Green New Deal” as gratuitously imprecise or for its full-throated attack on all-things-ozone and carbon release in our global community.

It feels like something totally other to oppose narrow regulations that could advance the campaign to swap out incandescent light bulbs for light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, a small, practical step that, multiplied into the millions, would passively remove a healthy chunk of energy-eating pollution over time.

Actually, I was surprised to see a recent editorial about all this in The Washington Post,  which argued that “Of all the counterproductive policy campaigns conservatives have waged in recent years, among the most irrational has been their war on the federal government’s efforts to update the light bulb.”

The use of the word light is enough to stampede the Republican Reich. They prefer darkness to cover their crimes. RESIST!!

From NY Times: The Trump administration announced on Friday that it will bar organizations that provide abortion referrals from receiving federal family planning money, a step that could strip millions of dollars from Planned Parenthood and direct it toward religiously-based, anti-abortion groups.

The new federal rule is almost certain to be challenged in court. Clinics will be able to talk to patients about abortion, but not where they can get one. And clinics will no longer have to counsel women on all reproductive options, including abortion, a change that will make anti-abortion providers eligible for funding

Not only is this a violation of women’s right to choose, but also, the provision that funds faith-based “providers” violates the Establishment Clause. RESIST!!

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Feb 222019
 

It’s a chilly day in Portland, and I feel very tired, so please pardon my brevity.  TGIF!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:03 (average 5:10).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Media Matters Channel): Fox News has spent years promoting claims of a “coup” against Donald Trump

Barf Bag Alert!!

Is it any wonder that Sheeples’ ideas are moronic, given the onslaught of BS from the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise? RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Police: Smollett took advantage of racism for career

I suppose I’d better weigh-in, lest it appear that I’m evading it. Race traitor Jussie Smollett no longer deserves to call himself a Democrat. Since he is acting like a Republican, he has become a Republican. RESIST!!  RETRACTION!  Jussie Smollett has been cleared.  I apologize.

From Washington Post: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and her fellow House Democrats just introduced a resolution to terminate President Trump’s national emergency. In coming days, the resolution will likely pass the House, setting in motion a process that will force a Senate vote on it. Either Senate Republicans will side with Trump, or they’ll pass the measure, after which Trump will veto it.

This represents a small challenge to Trump’s corruption and lies — to his corruption of our institutions and political system with autocratic and authoritarian conduct, and to the deep rot of bad faith at the core of his willingness to declare a national emergency to build his wall based on false pretenses and invented metrics.

The move probably won’t succeed in terminating the emergency. But it points to something we need to see a lot more of: discussion of concrete proposals and actions designed to fortify our institutions and democracy against Trump’s ongoing degradations of them, and to restore confidence in them once Trump is gone.

I fully support this move. If nothing else, it forces Republicans, who have claimed it was Trump, not them, to go on record or be exposed. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

Note to Puddy Tats:  Never walk under one of Trump’s Russian hookers!

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Feb 212019
 

It’s another cold busy day here at the CatBox.  Yesterday, I sat up and waited until 2 PM for my groceries to arrive.  I finally called Store to Door and learned that they had misfiled my order and had not shopped it.  They will do so and deliver it today. 

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:35 (average 5:49).  To so it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Trump’s Best-Case Scenario On Mueller Report? ‘Severe Political Damage’

 

I fear that we might never know what the report contains. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Parody Project Channel): EMERGENCY – Parody

Barf Bag Alert!!

 

Great song, Don, but did you have to include so many pictures of the Tangerine Traitor? I just had breakfast, and now I have to clean my keyboard! Seriously… Magnificent! RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: Amazon drones stand “ready and waiting” to deliver copies of Robert Mueller’s official report, free of charge, to every American household as early as next week, the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, confirmed on Wednesday.

According to Bezos, Amazon has been planning the Mueller delivery mission for months, quietly building its drone fleet from a meagre two hundred to well over three million.

“Amazon will be doing same-day delivery of Mueller’s report the day it is released, free of charge, to both Prime and non-Prime households,” Bezos said. “This is our way of giving something back.”

Dang, Andy! I’m a Prime member. Do I get my copy before 10 AM? RESIST!!

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Feb 202019
 

It’s a chilly, busy day here at the CatBox.  Store to Door will deliver my grocery order, and I need to unpack and put them away.  Later WWWendy comes to de-stink the rancid TomCat and help with chores.  Happy Hump Day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Todays took me 3:52 (average 5:34).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Trae Crowder Channel): Liberal Redneck – Bernie or Warren or Whoever’s Left

 

Why am I not surprised that my top two are also Trey’s?  Nevertheless, vote BLUE no matter who! RESIST!!

From YouTube (Bernie Sanders Channel): VISION

 

This an excellent ad. Bernie is making a very strong start. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: The former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis announced on Tuesday morning that he would seek the Democratic nomination for President, declaring, “Everyone else is.”

Explaining his rationale for running, the 1988 Democratic Presidential nominee told reporters, “As everyone else started jumping into the race, I started feeling a little left out.”

Additionally, Dukakis explained, “People have been stopping me on the street and saying that they thought I was already running. So, whatever.”

Dang Andy! Maybe Ducky Kisses will win. Ya think? RESIST!!

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Feb 192019
 

It’s a chilly muggy day here in the CatBox.  I’m not feeling very well, as I have Republicitis.  I had to take a Dulcolax, as my blue eyes are turning brown.  I submitted my grocery order to Store to Door.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:55 (average 6:13).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Robert Reich: Who Will Be the Next President

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. The only way to defeat the Reich on the right, the Republican Reich, which is wrong, is to change. We need a grass roots progressive campaign. RESIST!!

From YouTube (MoveOn Channel): Nationwide Protests Against Trump’s Fake Emergency

Kudos to all who protested nonviolently. RESIST!!

From Daily Kos: Republicans have made their strategy for the 2020 elections crystal-clear: going after the newly serving Democratic women of color in Congress.  Given this, we can only anticipate conservatives becoming even more rabid over the next two years, ramping up their claims that progressive Democrats in the House are all socialists, who also happen to be anti-Semites that get a kick out of murdering unborn children. The New York Times reports that this is how Republicans hope to appeal to voters, and that they have unabashedly claimed this as their plan for victory going forward.

Of course, it’s always super fun for the GOP to make false claims about Democrats and paint them as out-of-control lefties who threaten the American way of life. But this time, it isn’t just business as usual. By pinning their hopes on this as a viable campaign and fundraising opportunity, Republicans are also hoping they can “strangle the new Democratic majority in its infancy.”

As absurd as this sounds, beware! If the Republican Reich were 1/10th as adept at governing as they are at disinformation, they would be half competent. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

As true today as it was when I made it, eight years ago.

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Feb 182019
 

It’s a cold day here in the CatBox, as Portland us under a freezing fog watch.  That often brings black ice.  I’m sure glad I don’t have to go out today.  Oh God It’s Monday!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:33 (average 5:06).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube: The Seekers – A World of our Own

 

Ah the memories… A world of our one is one in which atmospheric carbon is decreasing, and every Republican politician is unemployed. RESIST!!

 

From NY Times: European leaders have long been alarmed that President Trump’s words and Twitter messages could undo a trans-Atlantic alliance that had grown stronger over seven decades. They had clung to the hope that those ties would bear up under the strain.

But in the last few days of a prestigious annual security conference in Munich, the rift between Europe and the Trump administration became open, angry and concrete, diplomats and analysts say.

A senior German official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on such matters, shrugged his shoulders and said: “No one any longer believes that Trump cares about the views or interests of the allies. It’s broken.”

The most immediate danger, diplomats and intelligence officials warned, is that the trans-Atlantic fissures now risk being exploited by Russia and China.

I have no doubt that Putin’s pervert is pushing Europe away to align with Russia. RESIST!!

From Willamette Week: In an interview this week, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) offered a new reason he might not run for president: fear that if he doesn’t seek reelection to the Senate, that could provide an opening for Republicans.

It sounds a little odd in a state that has elected precisely one Republican to statewide office since 2002.

Merkley told the NW Labor Press that he’s still weighing his options.

“Because others may run,” he explained. “The Republicans may get an opportunity to have a strong candidate. And I cannot let an Oregon Senate seat go to someone who is fighting for the privileged and powerful.”

Oregon does not allow a name to appear on the ballot for two different offices.

I’d like to see Jeff become better known before making a Presidential run in a year in which he does not have to give up his Senate seat to run. Assuming we win in 2020, 2028 would be a good year for it. RESIST!!

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Feb 172019
 

It’s a chilly day here in CatBox.  WWWendy says hi to all, and assurer that the TomCat is de-stunk.  This is today’s only article from me.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:38 (average 5:27).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (SNL Channel): Trump Press Conference Cold Open – SNL

 

Once again, Alec Baldwin does a better Trump impersonation than Trump. RESIST!!

From Raw Story: Wyoming state senator says she supports the death penalty because that’s how Jesus died.

On Thursday, the Wyoming state Senate voted down a proposal to abolish the death penalty 18 to 12 — the sixth straight session in which the legislature rejected this proposal, although the margin was closer than usual as some Republicans decided capital punishment is too expensive. By far the most memorable argument in the debate, however, came from the other side, when GOP Sen. Lynn Hutchings argued Wyoming needs to keep the death penalty because that’s how Jesus died.

“The greatest man who ever lived died via the death penalty for you and me,” said Hutchings. “I’m grateful to him for our future hope because of this. Governments were instituted to execute justice. If it wasn’t for Jesus dying via the death penalty, we would all have no hope.”

As a Republican Pharisee, Hutchings wants to be able to kill Democrats, whose policies reflect the views of the real Jesus. This is the fifth of five Republican outrages last week. Click through for the other four. RESIST!!

From The Palmer Report: During his incoherent and rambling Rose Garden meltdown late last week, Donald Trump gave away a number of things that would have been better kept to himself. For instance, during a particularly deranged rant about President Obama, Trump revealed that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize. This revelation has quickly led to the whole thing being exposed as a fraud.

Because Prime Minister Abe was suddenly caught in the middle of one of Donald Trump’s international disasters, major Japanese newspaper Asahi has fired back by exposing the real story. It’s true that Abe nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize – but only because the United States government asked Abe to do so. There are almost no words to describe how bad this is for Trump.

There are only two possibilities here. One is that Donald Trump had his people ask Abe to nominate him for the Nobel prize, because Trump was trying to put himself on par with President Obama, who won a Nobel prize while in office. The other possibility is that Trump’s people went behind his back and asked Abe to nominate Trump, in an attempt at making Trump think it happened organically, thus boosting Trump’s flagging spirits.

My money is on Door Number One. RESIST!!

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Only because it stopped!

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Feb 162019
 

It’s another dank sticky day here at the CatBox.  I slept poorly last night and feel tired.  I’m also suffering from the lack of Orb light.  Tomorrow, WWWendy will be here and we have a full slate of tasks, so please expect no more than a Personal Update with no links messages on Care2.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:01 (average 5:05).  To do it, click here.  Hoe did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Jeff Merkley Channel): Merkley Supports Plan to Strengthen Social Security

 

That’s my Senator! Oregon leads the way! Scrap the cap! RESIST!!

From Alternet: Leftist scholar Noam Chomsky has a message for voters who refused to cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton to prevent Donald Trump from winning the White House: You made a “bad mistake.”

On both moral and practical levels, Chomsky told Al Jazeera‘s Medhi Hasan, the choice was clear.

“Do you vote against the greater evil if you don’t happen to like the other candidate?” asked Chomsky, who spoke out during the election against Trump’s candidacy—and in fact predicted his rise six years ago. “The answer to that is yes.”

With an argument similar to the one made by political scientist Adolph Reed prior to the election, Chomsky insists that voters did not have to ignore Clinton’s serious shortcomings in order to recognize Trump as the much more serious threat.

We’re not talking about a mere liberal here. He’s a Democratic Socialist that is well to the left of Bernie. His criticisms of Hillary were often used as ammo by the fools on the left that helped elect Trump. I didn’t like Hillary either, but once nominated, I supported her, fought for her and voted for her? Why? Putting one’s brain on hold during elections is a very foolish thing to do.  Vote Blue!  RESIST!!

From Think Progress: Late Friday afternoon, a flurry of activity by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office pulled back the curtain on their case against Donald Trump confidant Roger Stone, who last month was arrested in his Florida home and charged with lying to federal prosecutors, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice.

In documents submitted to the U.S. district court, the special counsel’s office detailed some of the evidence against Roger Stone, acknowledging for the first time they possess direct communications between Stone and Russian operatives known collectively as Guccifer 2.0, as well as WikiLeaks.

The communications were gathered in connection to an indictment that Robert Mueller brought against 12 Russian intelligence operatives last year. Those individuals, who were all members of Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU, operated under aliases including DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0.

The only chance that Stone has to save his own ass is to flip on his Fuhrer and partner in treason. He should have learned from Manafart that, to the Fuhrer, loyalty is a one way street. RESIST!!

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