Squatch’s Open Thread 27 November 2018

 Posted by at 1:14 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 272018
 

I wanted to get this OT done “early” so that on Tuesday I can do one for Wednesday when I won’t be able to do a full OT because of physio and teaching.  I hope the world does not blow up over night forcing me to compose again.  Anyway, I have not heard anything more about TC’s recovery but no news is good news, right?  JD and Nameless?

JigZone Puzzle

Today’s took me 3:52 (average 4:52).  To do it, click here.  (This link will automatically open to a new page.) How did you do?

AlterNet — … Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is calling on Democrats in Congress to rip a page of out the Georgia Republican’s playbook by creating—and aggressively pushing—a new progressive version of the Contract With America in order to galvanize the nation, offer real solutions to its most urgent problems, and go beyond being simply anti-Trump.

In stark contrast to Gingrich’s original version—”a radical right-wing agenda full of tax breaks for the wealthy, massive cuts to programs vital to working families, and racist and cruel bills to ‘reform’ welfare and our criminal-justice system”—Sanders argues in a Washington Post op-ed on Thursday that Democrats should instead forge a vision that “reflects the needs of working Americans — centered on economic, political, social, racial and environmental justice.” …

… it simply “is not good enough for Democrats to just be the anti-Trump party.” …

Specifically, argues Sanders, the new Democratic majority in the House should spend its first 100 days next year passing an unmistakably bold legislative agenda that includes:

Increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour and indexing it to median wage growth thereafter. The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is a starvation wage that must be increased to a living wage — at least $15 an hour. This would give more than 40 million Americans a raise and would generate more than $100 billion in higher wages throughout the country.

A path toward Medicare-for-all. The Medicare-for-all bill widely supported in the Senate has a four-year phase-in period on the way to guaranteeing health care for every man, woman and child. Over the first year, it would lower the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 55, cover dental, hearing and vision care for seniors, provide health care to every young person in the United States and lower the cost of prescription drugs.

Click through for the other 8 points.  From Bernie’s op-ed in the Washington Post:

“To a significant degree, the American people rejected President Trump’s agenda benefiting the wealthy and the powerful, as well as his racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia and religious bigotry.”

But are the Democrats willing to go to the wall for American middle and working class families?  Love Bernie’s comment in the short video within the Washington Post article: “The Republican Party is bankrupt . . . intellectually.”  And more!  Amen Bernie!!!

CNN — The storm of false information that never stopped throughout 2018 has led Dictionary.com to name “misinformation” its annual “Word of the Year.”

While the word has been around since the late 1500s, it made a huge comeback this year as the amount of false information on the internet expanded.
“Our #WordOfTheYear2018 isn’t just any word. It’s a call to action. We’ll be sharing the tools to fight #misinformation all day today,” the site tweeted earlier today.
Since it’s an online dictionary, the website felt the need to explain the concept of the word, as it’s often confused with “disinformation.” The words are not interchangeable, the site explained in a report published Monday, and it’s important for people to be able to differentiate between the two.
Read through to  get the difference between disinformation and misinformation.  Frankly I thought it might be ”fake news”.  2017’s word of the year was “complicit”, and 2016’s was “xenophobia”.  We sure can tell that we are in the Trump era can’t we . . . unfortunately.

 

Think Progress — A group of “centrist” donors spent millions to protect some of the most vulnerable House Republicans in the 2018 election, but now is pushing to dictate the terms of who House Democrats pick to lead their new majority.The No Labels super PAC, an outside group funded heavily by rich Chicago mega-donors, spent more than $2.5 million in the 2018 campaign to buck up vulnerable House Republicans hoping to retain their positions in the face of the blue wave. Several vulnerable GOP incumbents held on, thanks in part to this group’s largess. The biggest beneficiary, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), narrowly won after the group spent nearly $600,000 to help re-elect him, though six-figure “independent expenditures” for Republican Reps. Carlos Curbelo of Florida ($436,965), Leonard Lance of New Jersey ($420,712), and Mike Coffman of Colorado ($369,935) were not enough to save their seats.

The super PAC reported spending only about half as much (just over $1.25 million) in support of centrist House Democrats.

Now, after impeding the new Democratic majority and helping to limit the size of its majority, No Labels wants to condition which Democrat gets lead the House on a series of House rule changes designed to limit the majority’s power. The group is trying to demand that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) or any other candidate for Speaker of the House agree to a “Break the Gridlock” package being offered by its Congressional arm, the Problem Solvers Caucus.

I had never heard of No Labels until all the kerfuffle about Pelosi’s House Speaker campaign.  Slate has an excellent article about Nancy Pelosi’s battle, and the battle for the House.  I’ll be clear, I detest the lack of bipartisanship  in Congress, but I also detest this kind of move which I think is deceptive.  So some of this was in place during the 115th Congress, but guess what . . . Republicans in the House Problem Solvers Caucus did not play by their rules.  Surprise!  Surprise!  Now a big push to limit the majority party, the Democrats.  It certainly seems that the Problem Solvers are nothing more than corporate shills.  It is clear to me that based on the clearly increasing number to progressives that were elected, a move to the side of corporate interests is not what the electorate voted for.

My Universe

The indignity!  I’ll never be able to 

show my face in the neighbourhood again!

 

 

Posted to Care2 HERE

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Squatch’s Open Thread 26 November 2018

 Posted by at 5:35 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 262018
 

Well here we are . . . 26/11/18 and now less than one month until Christmas.  Have I depressed anyone yet with that thought?  How about this . . . just over 2 years left to put up with that idiot masquerading as POTUS!  And his ill informed antics continue!  On a more positive note, it is less than 2 months until the Democrats take the majority in the Congress.  As a pastor of mine said to me a number of years ago as we conducted a Seder supper just before Easter for our congregation, “Next year in Jerusalem!”  I will paraphrase to “Next year in Washington!”.  For me it was a very tiring weekend . . . I minded my Sareena and her friend from 1900 hours Saturday until 0130 hours on Sunday while their parents went out to dinner and a concert.  OMG, these girls had more energy than the Energiser Bunny! . . . on steroids!!!  Hence, Sunday was a write off!!!  And in the words of our beloved Puddy Tat, TomCat, “OGIM!!!”

JigZone Puzzle

Today’s took me 4:05 (average 5:30).  To do it, click here.  (This link will automatically open to a new page.) How did you do?

Yesterday’s took me 5:00 (average 5:29).  To do it, click here.  (This link will automatically open to a new page.) How did you do?

Short Takes

AlterNet — Republican Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) on Sunday pushed back on Donald Trump’s assertion that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) did not conclude that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was involved in the murder of Washington Postcolumnist Jamal Khashoggi.

“I disagree with the president’s assessment,” Lee told “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd. “It’s inconsistent with what I’ve seen.” …

Lee on Sunday agreed with the CIA’s assessment. “Intelligence I’ve seen suggests this was ordered by the crown prince,” the Republican senator said, later adding he doesn’t “know why [Trump’s] siding with the Saudis.”

Here are two tapes from Lawrence O’Donnell that, IMO, answers Lee’s question. 

CIA assessment: Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi hit

Trump thanks Saudi Arabia for low oil prices, but ignores murder of journalist

For additional information on Trump’s association with Saudi Arabia, check out Despite denials, Trump ties to Saudi Arabia part of public record at MSNBC under Rachel Maddow.  Unfortunately, I can’t find the copy code to imbed it, but to say the least, Trump’s financial dealings with Saudi Arabia are and have been extensive.

Far be it for me to agree with any Republican, but Lee is spot on to ask the question.  More Republicans should be questioning Trump and expose him as the fraud he is.

Reuters — When U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to investigate large scale killings of white farmers in South Africa and violent takeovers of land, Pretoria said he was misinformed. Elsewhere, there was quiet satisfaction.

For a little-known South African activist group, Trump’s intervention, following a Fox News show criticizing the land reform plans of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ruling African National Congress, signaled a job well done.

“The best possible outcome that we hoped for was for a statement by the president of the USA, which we got,” Ernst Roets, deputy CEO of Afriforum, told Reuters in his office in a quiet suburb of the capital. …

Trump’s intervention stole the limelight during Ramaphosa’s high-profile visit to the U.N. general assembly in September.

Ramaphosa made light of Trump’s comments but an ANC source said he was very angry.

Every president since Nelson Mandela led South Africa out of white-minority rule in 1994 has tried, and largely failed, to redress an imbalance whereby whites – nine percent of 56 million South Africans – own more than 70 percent of agricultural land.

Trump fuelling discord . . . again.  Or is it ‘still’!  And of course, he has his precious Faux Noise and idiots like Tucker Carlson to stir the boiling pot.  The article mentions significant economic inequality.  Perhaps Trump should solve the issues of income and economic inequality at home first.

The New Yorker — Robert Mueller’s announcement that he would be offering Cyber Monday plea deals touched off hysteria among disgraced Trump associates desperate for the chance to score a drastically reduced sentence.

Moments after the office of the special counsel went live with its Cyber Monday Web site, Sing4Bob.com, thousands of Trump cronies flooded it with traffic, causing the site to briefly crash.

Harland Dorrinson, the member of Mueller’s team who masterminded the Cyber Monday sale, said that the special counsel was offering a limited number of “prison doorbusters,” with sentences up to seventy-five per cent off.

“I’m not surprised that people are going crazy for these bargains,” Dorrinson said. “Otherwise, you could go to trial and face one of those Obama judges.”

Considering that, according to some news sources, Manafort just breached his plea deal conditions, any takers should watch their step because it could backfire if their attempt is less than honourable.  Maybe Trump will pardon, maybe he won’t.  He is a serial liar extraordinaire.

And from The Department of Oh Really . . . 

Washington Post — President Trump, who once called his attorney general “Mr. Magoo” and referred to the leader of North Korea as “Rocket Man,” has maintained a more respectful nomenclatorial relationship with himself, sometimes going so far as to avoid the pronoun “I” as if it were too informal. 

Bill Gates once recalled the president telling him, “Trump hears that you don’t like what Trump is doing,” which is one of many famous examples of what author J.K. Rowling calls “third Trumperson:” the formal means by which Trump speaks of Trump. 

At least, those seemed to be the rules until Sunday, when the president addressed himself with a nickname.

“So great that oil prices are falling (thank you President T),” Trump wrote — almost certainly referring to himself, and not the London-based rap musician, @Prez_T (warning explicit content).

“President T”?  It should be “President I” for idiot!  Read through this short piece for some more depressing humour.

My Universe — My Sunday after the night before . . . 

 

 

 

 

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Squatch’s Open Thread 24 November 2018

 Posted by at 4:13 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 242018
 

Sorry I did not feel up to posting an OT yesterday.  I have had an on again, off again acquaintance with flu/cold for the past week or so.  Yesterday was definitely a down day so I stayed down.  Feeling a bit more energetic today.  Nameless posted an update on TC HERE.  WWWendy provided an update too:

Hello all this is an update from Wendy. Tom has been out of circulation for the last few days wanted to let everyone know that I had to take him to the hospital for admittance on Thanksgiving day. Tom is doing well and he is where he needs to be but is Recovering from a respiratory infection. He asked that no one spend any money on him please… He will be in the hospital probably till the beginning of next week. I will try and keep you updated all of your thoughts and prayers are appreciated

Tomorrow, there will likely be no OT as I am babysitting my little Sareena this evening and have church in the morning which will make researching a post difficult.  I will post again come Monday for sure.  As to today’s short takes, the last one should be a stand alone article but I just don’t have the time to separate it out.

JigZone Puzzle

Today’s took me 4:03 (average 4:41).  To do it, click here.  (This link will automatically open to a new page.) How did you do?

Yesterday’s took me 4:05 (average 5:01).  To do it, click here.  (This link will automatically open to a new page.) How did you do?

Short Takes

Maclean’s — Scientists were dumbfounded by the discovery of an unusual new migratory pattern this week when a sizable portion of the U.S. population walked into the sea. Early on Wednesday evening, thousands and thousands of Americans just stopped, checked their phones and walked into the ocean.

The mass migration began among individuals with immediate access to an ocean, but before long the phenomenon had spread across the nation. Landlocked Ocean-Walker-Into-Ers from not-coast to not-coast are making the long trek towards the ocean, planning, as the name suggests, to keep trekking right on into it when they get there.

Experts are mostly at a loss to explain the phenomenon. “Nope, I got nothing,” said Dr. Christos Stewart, a research associate in evolutionary biology at the University of Chicago when contacted for comment. “With the famous exception of the Homo Sapiens Has A Timeshare In Floridius subspecies, human beings are not known for these kinds of inexplicable migrations. Much like how we can’t figure out why a person would willingly travel to Florida, we haven’t the foggiest idea why all these people decided to up and walk into the ocean.” …

“As always we caution that correlation does not necessarily show causation, but in this case it does seem the inciting incident was a presidential tweet sent out at 7:23 p.m. on Nov. 21,” said Kirsten Stevens Professor of Spontaneous Aquatic Ambulation Studies at the University of Innsbruck. “The sidewalks, highways, shorelines started filling up at 7:24. Sadly, we’ve yet to determine exactly what it was about this tweet that led to such an outsized reaction. To be honest, most of us around here are just happy to find our department so suddenly relevant. I guess this is what it felt like to be a Finnish forester last weekend.”

The tweet in question read: “Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS – Whatever happened to Global Warming?”
Shades of Andy Borowitz!!!  Click to read the entire satiric piece from Tabatha Southey @ Maclean’s, Canada’s well respected national magazine.  At first, before reading it all, I thought of Trump supporters as lemmings to the sea.  But one scientist postulates, “It’s going to take a lot more research before we can be certain, but evidence suggests the one thing that these voluntary saltwater submergers seem to have in common is a capacity to feel shame.”

 

Robert Reich — The “rule of law” distinguishes democracies from dictatorships. It’s based on three fundamental principles. Trump is violating every one of them.The first is that no person is above the law, not even a president.  …

The second principle of the rule of law is that a president cannot prosecute political opponents or critics.  …

The third principle of the rule of law is that a president must be respectful of the independence of the judiciary.

As TC would say, the Reich on the left is right, although I much prefer the word ‘correct’ to avoid any ambiguity.  Trump says the US is a nation of laws, but what he really means is that the US is a nation of laws of which he, and only he, approves.  That sounds completely authoritarian or autocratic! Fascism has arrived in the US in the form of Donald J Trump, but it cannot be allowed to take hold!  Click through for Reich’s reasoning.  IMO, he is spot on!

DC Report.org — The New York Times disclosed on Tuesday night that Trump had told White House counsel Don McGahn in the spring that he wanted to order the Justice Department to prosecute Hillary Clinton and the former FBI director James B. Comey, said two people familiar with the conversation.

Apparently, it was only because McGahn warned Trump he could face impeachment for doing so that Trump backed off.

The most concerning part here is not the fate of Clinton or Comey, but the idea that Trump thinks ordering individual prosecutions by the Justice Department is perfectly normal. As The Times noted, “The encounter was one of the most blatant examples yet of how Trump views the typically independent Justice Department as a tool to be wielded against his political enemies. It took on additional significance in recent weeks when McGahn left the White House and Trump appointed a relatively inexperienced political loyalist, Matthew G. Whitaker, as the acting attorney general.”

Perhaps this is all tit-for-tat, another diversion from the special counsel investigation that Trump himself faces. If he could launch another special counsel against political opponents, perhaps he thinks he could blunt the effects of the all-things-Russia probe. Of course, the fatal flaw here is that the Justice Department, through Comey, has already spoken on the Clinton matters, and there is no evidence of any crime. Comey may have leaked a memo, but it was not classified material.

Trump views the typically independent Justice Department as a tool to be wielded against his political enemies.

Indeed, according to The Times’ sources, Trump has continued to privately discuss the possible prosecutions and has also repeatedly expressed disappointment in FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, for failing to more aggressively investigate Clinton, calling him weak.

In this first video, Ari Melber from MSMBC and his guests discuss Trump’s spat with Chief Justice John Roberts and his total disregard for an independent judiciary.

Ari: So you think there might be a corrupt approach to the turkey pardon?

Maya: I think the turkey is going to have to demonstrate that it will violate the constitution in order to save its life.

And don’t you know that Trump used the pardoning to go on a rant: (from Daily Kos)

Trump: “Even though Peas and Carrots have received a presidential pardon, I have warned them that House Democrats are likely to issue them both subpoenas.  Nonetheless, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I will be issuing both Peas and Carrots a presidential pardon.  Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee that your pardons won’t be enjoined by the Ninth Circuit.  Always happens.  They guarantee it.”

In this second video, again Ari Melber talks with his guests about Trump trying to order an investigation into Hillary Clinton and James Comey, both of whom Trump considers political enemies. 

Nick Ackerman, Former Watergate Assistant Prosecutor: “He [Trump] wants to go back to the time of the English kings where anything goes, and that’s where we’re headed.”  Now that is so what I see too.  Just look at the picture at DCReport.org.  Priceless!

Former Senator Robert Torricelli, (D-NJ) in my opinion is a centrist Democrat, an older white male, too willing to see Trump as an inexperienced politician instead of the criminal he is.  Yes I know I am speaking in absolutes because nothing has been proven in a court of law, but Trump continues ad nauseum to display his guilt.  Also, let’s face it, as someone with no experience, Republicans should not have allowed Trump to stand as their candidate for president.

To me, the fact that Republicans continue to shield Trump and not make him accountable for his bull shit, makes them complicit in this sham administration.

Petition: (Daily Kos)

The Trump administration is brazenly attacking transgender people. In a recent leaked memo, the Department of Health and Human Services announced it would redefine gender to be strictly biological, based on genitalia. They are trying to erase trans people from existence. The policy would roll back decades of organizing victories for trans people and rescind Title IX protections for over 1.4 million people.

Sign the petition: Rescind the proposed attack on trans people. All LGBTQ+ communities deserve federal civil rights protections.

My Universe — 

I fell asleep at the keyboard . . .

                                       . . . and I landed hard on the floor!                                         

OUCH!!!

 

Resist the Republican Reich!!!

 

Posted to Care2 HERE

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Squatch’s Open Thread 22 November 2018

 Posted by at 9:23 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 222018
 

It has taken me a while to get this done as my computer is acting up — switching pages, freezing etc — and I know it was not my Annie trying to help.  It has been pouring rain all day, and I mean pouring!  So without further adieu, let’s get this show on the road!

Jig Zone Puzzle

Today’s took me 4:24 (average 4:38).  To do it, click here.  (This link will automatically open to a new page.) How did you do?  In defence of my time, this blinkity blank computer was playing games.  Arrggghhhh!!!!!

Short Takes

YouTube — Trump’s Weir Lie About Raking in Finland: A Closer Look

You have to hand it to Trump, he sure does know how to lie and make himself look like the global village idiot!  There is only one problem, there are also approximately 61 million American voters who voted for him and they are all in the category of village idiots on the world stage.

Canadian Press — Five hundred cows, two luxury cars, $10,000, two bikes, a boat and a few cellphones made up the final price in a heated bidding war for a child bride in South Sudan that went viral after the auction was pointed out on Facebook. It is the largest dowry ever paid in the civil war-torn country, the government said.

The highest bidder was a man three times the 17-year-old’s age. At least four other men in Eastern Lakes state competed, said Philips Anyang Ngong, a human rights lawyer who tried to stop the bidding last month. Among the bidders was the state’s deputy governor.

“She has been reduced to a mere commodity,” Ngong told The Associated Press, calling it “the biggest test of child abuse, trafficking and auctioning of a human being.” Everyone involved should be held accountable, he said. …

“You can’t call it bidding as if it was an auction. It’s not bidding. If you see it with European eyes you’ll call it an auction,” government spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told the AP. “You have to see it with an African eye, as it’s a tradition that goes back thousands of years. There’s no word for it in English.”

I disagree with Ateny — this is an auction.  This is slavery, no different than the slave markets in the US South from previous centuries.  And with girls as young as 10, this is child abuse!  Tradition be damned in this case and others like it!  Child marriage with dowries occurs in a number of countries including  Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.  WHO says there are 39,000 child marriages every day . . . EVERY DAY!!!  Check out some more statistics at World Economic Forum.  But of perhaps greater concern to me is that this all occurred on Facebook which was very slow to react.  We know that Trump values money over people, and now we know Facebook does too.

Insider — Utqiaġvik, the northernmost city in the US, had its last sunrise on Sunday, November 18. Utqiaġvik, the northernmost city in the US, had its last sunrise on Sunday, November 18. 

Previously known as Barrow, this Alaskan city won’t see the sun again for 65 days. The next sunrise will appear on January 23. …

Located 330 miles above the Arctic Circle, Utqiaġvik won’t be plunged into complete darkness for the next two months. Instead, it will experience “civil twilight,” which happens when the sun is six degrees below the horizon and creates a little illumination to see things outside. Civil twilight lasts for six hours per night, but it will decrease to three hours per night by the end of December.

Click through for a picture of what daytime looks like at 1130 hours in Utqiagvik.  This is referred to as “civil twilight” which lasts for about 6 hours per day, decreasing to 3 hours at the end of December.  I lived in northern British Columbia and can attest to the phrase “long winter nights”, although ours were not quite as severe as we had actual sunrises and sunsets.  Our shortest days were about 5 hours long and then plunged into complete darkness.  In the summer however, this civil twilight would approximate the nighttime which lasted from  about 2300 hours until 230 hours . . . then the sun rose again.

Cartoon — How many people remember where they were, what they were wearing and their reaction to the news that JFK was assassinated?

 

                                           John Fitzgerald Kennedy

                                      May 29, 1917 – Nov 22, 1963 (age 46)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted to Care2 HERE

 

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Squatch’s Open Thread 21 November 2018

 Posted by at 8:34 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 212018
 

It has been a long day with medical appointments.  I have finally finished this post.  We can all breathe a little easier now that we know TC is safe at home and someone is looking in on him.  Nameless posted UPDATE on Wednesday 10:30 CST earlier today and we will continue to check him and provide further updates.  There is a saying: Dogs have owners, cats have staff!  Good thing that cats have staff because it makes checking up so much easier.  Knowing TC as I do, he appreciates all your well wishes and I imagine he’ll say so himself when he gets out of the deep end of his cat box.

Jig Zone Puzzle

Today’s took me 4:59 (average 5:20).  To do it, click here.  (This link will automatically open to a new page.) How did you do?

Fantasy Football — Week 11 results

  • Size 9 Stompers 118.32
    Monster Mashers 95.74
  • TomCat Teabag Trashers 152.58
    Country Raiderettes 157.02
  • endthegop 97.70
    Lefty Hillbillies 176.42

Last week I had my clock cleaned, but it is a different story this week.  I cleaned Patty’s Monster Mashers’ clock.  Congratulations to Wendy for doing a QB sneak around TomCat, and to Hillbilly Vivian for putting an end to the gop!

Points
Rank Team W-L-T Pct Stk Waiver For Against
1 8-3-0 .727 W5 5 1,379.62 1,247.72
2 7-4-0 .636 L1 4 1,339.88 1,337.52
3 6-5-0 .545 L2 3 1,315.56 1,176.82
4 +1 5-6-0 .455 W3 2 1,258.26 1,275.86
5 –1
Monster Mashers Monster Mashers
 5-6-0 .455 L3 6 1,207.84 1,162.20
6 2-9-0 .182 W1 1 965.38 1,266.42
* Rank change shown is from week 10 – 11
Wendy proved why she is in first place by kicking some kitty butt!
Short Takes

AlterNet — A Georgia woman has filed a federal lawsuit after she spent nearly four months in jail because a roadside drug test administered by untrained police officers falsely identified a bag of cotton candy as methamphetamine.

Monroe County resident Dasha Fincher filed the lawsuit last week against Monroe County, the two deputies who arrested her, and the company that makes the drug test. The lawsuit argues that the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office was reckless and negligent and violated her civil rights.

What the hell Georgia!  Four months in jail for possession of cotton candy?  This is taking the war on drugs a little too far.  There is a significant error rate on this drug test yet the state continues to use it.  What’s more, the manufacturer knows of the error rates and continues to sell it.  There needs to be proper testing of the test kit and proper training for police in its use.  I certainly hope the victims are successful in their law suits!

Think Progress — Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) is doing her best to turn a Senate campaign in a state that President Donald Trump captured by nearly 20 percentage points in 2016 into a close race — and Tuesday’s debate was no exception.

Hyde-Smith, who was appointed to the Senate in April after Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) stepped down over health concerns, made headlines earlier this month when she joked about lynching at a campaign event.  …

At least five businesses, including Walmart and AT&T, have asked Hyde-Smith to return campaign donations in the wake of her comments.

Things didn’t improve from there. Hyde-Smith was subequently caught on video advocating for voter suppression, saying, “Maybe we want to make it just a little more difficult” for Democrats “that maybe we don’t want to vote.” Then, a 2014 Facebook post from Hyde-Smith’s account resurfaced, in which she is pictured standing next to a member of a a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group wearing a Confederate soldier’s hat with the caption “Mississippi history at its best!”  …

It’s unlikely that Republicans are feeling any better about Hyde-Smith after her performance in Tuesday’s debate with Espy.

Over the span of an hour, the GOP senator cited an imaginary Republican colleague, asked for voters’ support on the wrong date, and offered a cringeworthy non-apology for her racist remarks about lynching.

Well isn’t she just the cutest cupcake on the platter . . . NOT!!!   There are a number of videos in the article with them being virtually all the same.  She rambles on, repeats herself, and definitely does not stick to the topic.  There is a chance here for Epsy to take the seat for the Democrats on 27 November 2018,  Go Epsy!!!

Daily Kos — The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, have been awarded the 2018 International Children’s Peace Prize, for their tireless anti-gun activism in the aftermath of the Valentine’s Day mass shooting that changed their lives.  …

Archbishop Tutu is right: The Parkland students have moved the world, while always keeping young people at the center of their work.  …

They got the NRA screaming loud and spending tons of money, and even pushed new NRA president Oliver North to call them “terrorists.” They waged a civil protest war on companies that donate to the NRA. They spread a message of love at this year’s Tony Awards. They compelled states to change their gun laws, marking the “best year” in recent memory for gun control lobbying. The NRA blamed the Parkland students’ activism for their financial woes, while Barack Obama celebrated them. They wrote a song to honor their fallen classmates and compelled young people to not just register to vote, but actually cast a ballot.

Click through.  These young people clearly have a belief in tomorrow and their place in it.  I am very proud of them for trying to make the world a better place.

Sign the petition: Elect the president by national popular vote

My Universe — Toby is four and a half year old cat that was found abandoned in a box, neara shop in Zaslavl, Belarus. He knows perfectly well that he is happy, but he prefers to meow, instead of clapping his ‘hands’.

This is so cute but please click through for this short music video as I can’t imbed it.  I nominate Toby for a CMA trophy! . . . honourable mention to the human.

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Squatch’s Open Thread 20 November 2018

 Posted by at 5:01 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 202018
 

I have not heard from TomCat so I am assuming he is still very sick.  I do hope he has called the doctor and doing what he needs to do to get better.  This year’s cold/flu is ugly!  If he is away tomorrow too, I’ll put up an Open Thread but it will be late as I have physiotherapy and a podiatrist appointment, all routine.

Jig Zone Puzzle

Today’s took me (Squatch) 4:19 (average 4:58).  To do it, click here.  (This link will automatically open to a new page.) How did you do?  With any luck, the Puddy Tat won’t do the puzzle and the butterfly won’t be eaten!

Washington Post — Gun-carrying civilian groups and border vigilantes have heard a call to arms in President Trump’s warnings about threats to American security posed by caravans of Central American migrants moving through Mexico. They’re packing coolers and tents, oiling rifles and tuning up aerial drones, with plans to form caravans of their own and trail American troops to the border.  …

McGauley and others have been roused by the president’s call to restore order and defend the country against what Trump has called “an invasion,” [emphasis added] as thousands of Central American migrants advance slowly through southern Mexico toward the U.S. border. Trump has insisted that “unknown Middle Easterners,” “very tough fighters,” and large numbers of violent criminals are traveling among the women, children and families heading north on foot.  …

According to military planning documents obtained by Newsweek, the military is concerned about the arrival of “unregulated militia members self-deploying to the border in alleged support” of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. …

“The militia just needs to stay where they are,” said Metz [80 year old rancher], a Republican. “We don’t need fanatical people. We don’t need anybody here with guns. Why do they have guns? I have dealt with illegals for 30 years, and all of them have been scared, asking for help. The militias need to stay up north where they belong. We have no use for them here. They might shoot someone or hurt someone.” [emphasis added]

I certainly cannot argue with Metz.  The 2nd amendment to the US Constitution reads: A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. [emphasis mine].  These militias are not regulated by any stretch of the imagination and are not accountable to any state authority.  The 2nd amendment, which the militias hide behind, was written at a time when there was no army, no state police etc.  People had to come together for protection.  As Metz said, “They might shoot someone or hurt someone.”

AlterNet — As President Donald Trump’s egregiously disrespectful attitude toward members of the military has come under closer scrutiny, he has received an increasing amount of criticism for never having visited service members who serve overseas in dangers combat zones. …

A new report from the Washington Post reveals that Trump’s hesitancy is due to a very predictable reason: fear.

“He’s never been interested in going,” one anonymous official told the post, referring to conversations directly with Trump. “He’s afraid of those situations. He’s afraid people want to kill him.” 
I wonder who he is afraid of that wants to kill him . . . Russian oligarchs, Russian mafia, foreign operatives, terrorists, some members of the US military?  Perhaps the idiot can get another note from his doctor saying he has bone spurs that won’t allow him to run for cover if need be! 

 

Daily Kos — The President of the United States is such an embarrassment that he cannot even perform the simple duty of the traditional Thanksgiving week pardon of turkeys without taking swipes at Democrats.

Instead of just performing this light hearted duty of the pardoning of the turkeys, one named Peas and one named Carrots, he just had to add some snarky nonsense:

“The winner of this vote was decided by a fair and open election conducted on the White House website. This was a fair election. Unfortunately Carrots refused to concede and demanded a recount and we are fighting with Carrots.”

Click through for the remainder of Trumps comments about pardoning Peas and Carrots.  It seems that Kim Jung Un had the correct name for Trump . . . dotard!  For those not familiar with the word, a dotard is “A state or period of senile decay marked by decline of mental poise.” as described by Merriam-Webster.  I think we should also add in “given to vendetta without provocation” for Trump.

CBS News — So how important is voting anyway?  We hear about people who cannot be bothered, while others have so many obstacles put in front of them that voting is near impossible.  But have you heard about Gracie Phillips, an 82 year old great grandmother from Texas?

An 82-year-old great-grandmother from Texas voted for the first time ever during this year’s midterm elections. Gracie Phillips was battling pneumonia and in hospice care when she voted early on Thursday. Sadly, just four days after casting her midterm ballot, Phillips died — but not before she had her voice heard and her opinion counted, her granddaughters told CBS News.

Phillips registered to vote in Grand Prairie, Texas, last month, just before she was admitted to the hospital. “With such a large family started at such a young age, priorities in 1951 weren’t the same out here in the country,” her granddaughter, Michelle Phillips, told CBS News. “Women were allowed to vote, but she was raising seven children and trying to work… [voting] kept getting pushed aside and she decided this year, ‘I’m registering.'”

Click through for the rest of Gracie’s story.  Do you want to bet that Gracie has all the people in heaven registered to vote!  OK, the 2018 midterms are over and the Democrats wrested the House from Republican control by a good margin.  The Senate and the White House must be next in 2020!  So are you like Gracie was before 2018 . . . not registered for whatever the reason?  If so, what is your excuse for not registering for 2020?  Coming out to vote is your civic duty, not one to be shirked.

My Universe — In these tense times, I thought a little levity was needed.  Enjoy!

Posted to Care2 HERE

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