Open Thread – Page 578 – Politics Plus

Open Thread – 9/29/2019

Posted by TomCat at 1:20 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 292016

Getting my Lift permit renewed this morning took ten minutes. Factoring-in waiting for rides, it took three and a half hours. ARGH!! I’m very tired, but as the effects of the Cymbalta are starting to wear off, I’m feeling a bit more human, and I know tomorrow’s appointment with Megan will limit me to a Personal Update.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:50 (average 4:44). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: PPP has put up a number of tweets this morning, which can be seen here

The descriptive story is here from which we learn

Colorado 4-way Clinton 46, Trump 40, Johnson 6, Stein 2
2-way Clinton 51, Trump 44

Florida 4-way Clinton 45, Trump 43, Johnson 3, Stein 1
2-way Clinton 48, Trump 45

North Carolina 4-way Clinton 44, Trump 42, Johnson 7
2-way Clinton 49, Trump 45

Pennsylvania 4-way Clinton 45, Trump 39, Johnson 6, Stein 2
2-way Clinton 49, Trump 44

Virginia 4-way Clinton 46, Trump 40, Johnson 7, Stein 1
2-way Clinton 49, Trump 43

Further, they polled who won the debate, in each case it was Clinton

CO 53-31
FL 52-35
NC 53-31
PA 51-32
VA 54-30

That’s great news for America, especially since it shows a shift in support away from the minor candidates, whose candidacies help Trump.

From NY Times: Congress averted a government shutdown Wednesday as the Senate and then the House approved a short-term spending bill, allowing lawmakers to avoid a crisis and return home to campaign.

The stopgap spending bill, which would fund the government through Dec. 9, had been ensnarled in a debate over financing for the lead-tainted water system in Flint, Mich.

But an agreement between congressional leaders late Tuesday — which would authorize aid for Flint as part of separate legislation for water infrastructure projects — appeared to ameliorate Democratic concerns, clearing the way for the Senate to pass the spending bill, 72 to 26. The House followed suit late Wednesday, approving the measure 342 to 85.

I’m glad a government shutdown was avoided, but I am skeptical of any measure that includes the Democratic benefits as part of future legislation, especially when Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Gary Peters (D-MI) oppose it. I am skeptical,because of the Republican track record for honoring agreements: virtually never.

From Think Progress: Donald Trump’s campaign manager appeared to unwittingly confirm an explosive Newsweek story on Thursday, telling ABC’s The View that a Trump company did indeed spend money in Cuba in 1998, in violation of a longstanding U.S. embargo that Trump has vociferously defended.

Newsweek’s Kurt Eichenwald reported on Thursday that Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts spent at least $68,000 in 1998 in Cuba, “at a time when the corporate expenditure of even a penny in the Caribbean country was prohibited without U.S. government approval.” The story notes that “with Trump’s knowledge, executives funneled the cash for the Cuba trip through an American consulting firm.” After the consultants traveled to Cuba and spent the funds, the consultants instructed Trump’s company on “how to make it appear legal by linking it after the fact to a charitable effort.”

As I have opposed the embargo of Cuba for many years, I would have supported doing business with that nation as an act of civil disobedience, as Michael Moore did, but Trump violating the law, at the same time that he campaigns to reinstate the embargo, is both hypocritical and criminal. It should disqualify his candidacy without further ado.

Cartoon:

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Open Thread – 9/28/2016

Posted by TomCat at 1:18 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 282016

I’ve decided to stop taking Cymbalta, so my system will be clear for the next option, when I see Megan on Friday. It’s been a week and a half, none of the side effects has abated, and as my system has gotten used to it, it has become less effective at blocking phantom pain. I was up with it most of the night. Today is a busy one. Store to Door is coming this afternoon with my grocery delivery, and I’ll have to unpack and put it away. Later Wendy is coming to de-stink the TomCat. Tomorrow and Friday may be days with only a Personal Update. Tomorrow I have to go to the Tri-Met office to prove my disability for Lift Bus authorization renewal. I wonder if they think I might have grown my leg back. Friday is my appointment with Megan.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:45 (average 4:35). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From KP Daily Funnies: Funny or Die: Trump’s Great Temperament

Barf Bag Alert!!

Trump’s Great Temperament from Funny Or Die

Not funny, but spot-on!

From The New Yorker: Plunging the future of the 2016 Presidential debates into doubt, Donald J. Trump said on Tuesday morning that he would not participate in the remaining two debates if Hillary Clinton is there.

Trump blasted the format of Monday night’s debate by claiming that the presence of Clinton was “specifically designed” to distract him from delivering his message to the American people.

“Every time I said something, she would say something back,” he said. “It was rigged.”

He also lambasted the “underhanded tactics” his opponent used during the debate. “She kept on bringing up things I said or did,” he added. “She is a very nasty person.”

Amen, Andy. I can see the possibility that he might tuck tail and run away.

From Daily Kos: House Speaker Paul Ryan once again showed what a total weasel he is in his assessment of Donald Trump’s debate performance. Ryan offered up a glowing review:

“I saw Donald Trump give a spirited voice to those of us who don’t like the status quo, and I see emerging in front of us the potential for what a unified Republican government can get you, which can be the solutions,” Ryan said at a news conference Tuesday. “I think he passed a number of thresholds… and showed that for 90 minutes he could go toe-to-toe with Hillary Clinton.”

With Lyin’ Ryan, the truth of his statements is easy to discern. When he speaks, the opposite of what he says is true.

Cartoon:

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Open Thread – 9/27/2016

Posted by TomCat at 1:07 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 272016

Last night I watched, and slept poorly afterwards. Fortunately, I had the foresight to place George on the other side of the room. That let me avoid using him as a receptacle during hours of Rump Dump Rectumite retching. Seriously, the temperature reached 92° here yesterday with super-high humidity. I slept poorly, because it was way too sticky for comfort. Today’s Short Takes also involve the debate. It is thoroughly dominating the news.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:27 (average 5:14). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Fantasy Football Report:

Here’s the latest in our fantasy football league.

Scores:

3Scores

Did Pam kick my kitty-kitty butt, or what?!!?

Standings:

3Standings

Congrats to Rob, who sits alone atop the league.

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: As the nation awaits the first faceoff between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Monday night, more Americans are expected to self-medicate than for any other Presidential debate in history.

With over a hundred million people projected to watch the debate, roughly sixty million of them will be barely sentient after ingesting what they deem to be the necessary dose of intoxicants.

Davis Logsdon, of the University of Minnesota, estimated on Monday that the level of self-medication for the Trump-Clinton debate could be seven hundred per cent greater than for the first Obama-Romney debate, in 2012.

“The stakes seem higher this time,” Logsdon said. “There’s a sense that, depending on the outcome of tonight’s debate, all human life on the planet could be in peril.”

Dang, Andy!! The one who should have self-medicated, but didn’t, is Rump Dump Trump!

From TPM: It didn’t take long for Donald Trump to interrupt Hillary Clinton during Monday night’s debate, with the first interruption happening less than 15 minutes in. And once it started, he just couldn’t stop.

Barf Bag Alert!

51 Times!!

From Public Policy Polling: PPP’s post debate survey, sponsored by VoteVets Action Fund, finds that voters nationally think Hillary Clinton defeated Donald Trump in the debate, 51/40.

Perhaps most important for Clinton is that among young voters, who she has under performed with, 63% think she won the debate to only 24% for Trump. 47% of voters in that age group said the debate tonight made them more likely to vote for her, to only 10% who say it made them less likely to vote for her. For Trump with that group on the other hand, only 23% said the debate made them more likely to vote for him to 39% who said it made them less likely to.

Clinton also won the debate by particularly wide margins with women (54/36) and voters who are either African American or Latino (77/13). Among white voters the debate was basically a draw with Trump coming out ahead 47/45.

Speaking as a Caucasian, I’m thoroughly ashamed that so many white voters preferred Rump Dump Trump.

Cartoon:

0927Cartoon

Open Thread – 3/26/2016

Posted by TomCat at 12:08 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 262016

I finally had a decent night’s sleep, last night, but feel no better, because it will take several more before I’m back to speed. I’ll be stocking up on Barf Bags for tonight’s media circus.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:41 (average 4:34). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Religious Ecstasy:

0925Broncos29-Bengals17

Short Takes:

From NY Times: The pitched battle over President Obama’s signature climate change policy, which is moving to the courts this week, carries considerable political, economic and historical stakes. Yet its legal fate, widely expected to be ultimately decided by the Supreme Court, could rest on a clerical error in an obscure provision of a 26-year-old law.

That error, which left conflicting amendments on power plant regulation in the Clean Air Act, will be a major focus of oral arguments by opponents of Mr. Obama’s initiative when the case is heard on Tuesday in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The initiative, known as the Clean Power Plan, which Mr. Obama sees as at the heart of his climate change legacy, gave the United States critical leverage to broker the landmark 2015 Paris climate change accord. If the plan is struck down, the United States, the world’s largest carbon polluter over the centuries, will lose its main tool to cut greenhouse gas emissions. If it is upheld, it will transform the nation’s electricity system, closing hundreds of coal-fired power plants and setting in motion a wholesale shift to wind, solar and nuclear power, as well as to improved electric transmission systems.

As things stand now, the Supreme Court will probably vote 4-4, meaning that whatever decision the last Appeals Court will have made will stand. This should demonstrate just how critical it is for Democrats to hold the Presidency and take the Senate.

From Think Progress:

Hours after the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times published separate stories outlining the lies Donald Trump has told during his presidential campaign, Trump’s campaign spokesperson told ABC’s “This Week” that it isn’t the media’s job to factcheck the presidential debate.

“I really don’t appreciate the campaigns thinking it is the job of the media to go and be these virtual fact-checkers,” Kellyanne Conway said, in an apparent attempted jab at the Clinton campaign. She also opposed debate moderators questioning the candidates’ truthfulness in any way…
…Conway went on to praise Matt Lauer’s performance during a candidate forum earlier this month, during which he pressed Clinton on several issues, but accepted Trump’s (false) claim that he opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning.

“We thought he did a great job,” Conway said.

No surprises there.

From Robert Reich: Last week, Congress engaged in a bipartisan barrage of CEO bashing…

…Such shaming before congressional committees tends to reassure the public Congress is taking action. But – especially with Republicans in charge – Congress is doing nothing to prevent the wrongdoing from recurring.

Can we be clear? CEOs have only one goal in mind – making money. If they can make more money by misleading or price gouging, they’ll continue to do so until it’s no longer as profitable…

…So instead of setting up further rounds of CEO perp walks for the TV cameras, Congress should give the Justice Department and regulatory agencies enough funding to do their jobs.

While they’re at it, break up the biggest banks. And regulate drug prices directly, as does every other country.

It’s easy to holler at CEOs. It’s time for to stop hollering and take action.

The Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. The problem is that the Reich on the Right, the Republican Reich, is still deplorable. They will block reform as long as they have the power to do so.

Cartoon:

0926Cartoon

Open Thread – 9/25/2016

Posted by TomCat at 12:45 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 252016

After another sleepless night and a busy day of housework with Wendy, I’m just wiped out, so this is my only article today.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took mw 3:08 (average 4:57). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: If you have not yet seen this new campaign ad for Hillary Clinton, take some time out to watch it. Then share it with everyone you know.

Barf Bag Alert!!

Rump Dump is a misogynist extraordinaire, and he’s not the president we want for our sons either.

From NY Times: The uniquely uncivil presidential campaign is about to produce one of the biggest civic gatherings in decades: For 90 minutes on Monday night, a polarized nation will pause to watch the first head-to-head encounter between Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump.

The total audience, network executives and political strategists say, could be as high as 100 million viewers — Super Bowl territory. That would surpass the 80 million who watched Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan in 1980, the record for a presidential debate, and rank among television benchmarks like the finales of “MASH” and “Cheers.”

If Trump stays on script, it could be difficult, unless the moderators call him on his lies. If he starts reacting, it will get very ugly, which could be great for Hillary. And I do so hope Hillary does not get overconfident and trip over her… um… self.

From TPM: After Hillary Clinton’s campaign seated notorious Donald Trump troll Mark Cuban in the front row of the first presidential debate, Trump fired back by threatening to invite Gennifer Flowers, who accepted.

Next, he’ll invite Anthony Weiner’s weiner.

Cartoon:

0925Cartoon

Open Thread – 9/24/2016

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

Sep 242016

I’m still struggling to sleep. At this point, I don’t know if it’s a side effect of Cymbalta or the result of this strange fall weather. Even though the temperature last night was 50°, it doesn’t make my apartment bearable when there is no wind to move that cool air inside, and the humidity is 96%. Tomorrow is a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. I probably won’t publish until late in the day, because my Broncos meditate in Cincinnati in the early game, and it’s a Wendy day.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:27 (average 6:07). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: During a “town hall style” appearance on Wednesday with Sean Hannity to address “African-American concerns,”—an event that seemed to lack actual African-Americans—Donald Trump told an audience member what he would do to curb violent crime. He would implement a nationwide "stop and frisk" program, based on the controversial, racially-biased and unconstitutional program run in New York City for more than a decade.

This morning he appeared on Fox and Friends and offered more details on how that might work. You will not believe his jaw-dropping remarks. From his appearance on Fox and Friends:

FOX AND FRIENDS: will you explain what that is to my folks down in South Carolina that don’t really deal with stop and frisk? What exactly is it and what are the pros and cons?

TRUMP: Well, there are different levels. and you have somebody coming up who is the expert on it but basically they will—if they see, you know, they are proactive and if they see a person possibly with a gun or they think may have a gun, they will see the person and they will look and they will take the gun away. They will stop, they will frisk, and they will take the gun away and they won’t have anything to shoot with. I mean, how it’s not being used in Chicago is—to be honest with you, it’s a quite unbelievable, and you know the police, the local police, they know who has a gun, who shouldn’t be having a gun. They understand that.

From a Republican Ammosexual perspective, the right to bear arms is absolute…, but for Caucasians only.

From Media Matters: When we heard that rancid white nationalists were holding a press conference near us, there was only one thing to do: send a gay Latino to cover it.

Barf Bucket Alert!!

A barf bag was much too small for that one!!

From The New Yorker: At a campaign rally on Friday, Donald Trump warned that Hillary Clinton is scheming to “rig the debate by using facts” in their first televised face-off, on Monday.

“You just watch, folks,” Trump told supporters in Toledo, Ohio. “Crooked Hillary is going to slip in little facts all night long, and that’s how she’s going to try to rig the thing.”

“It’s a disgrace,” he added.

The billionaire drew a sharp contrast between himself and the former Secretary of State by claiming that his debate prep “involved no facts whatsoever.”

Sorry Andy. I’m afraid we already knew that Hillary is sneaky enough to use facts and Rump Dump isn’t.

Cartoon:

Open Thread – 9/23/2016

Posted by TomCat at 1:12 pm Blog News, Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 232016

I’m still trying to establish a sleeping schedule without success, so please forgive me for being brief.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:53 (average 4:38). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Staff Notice:

Raw Story has also started using the Republish/Reprint © widget, so we can on longer use Creative Commons Attribution with their articles.

Short Takes:

From MSN (H/T Squatch): Donald Trump’s campaign chair in a prominent Ohio county has claimed there was “no racism” during the 1960s and said black people who have not succeeded over the past half-century only have themselves to blame.

Kathy Miller, chair of the Republican nominee’s campaign in Mahoning County, who is white, made the remarks during a taped interview with the Guardian’s Anywhere but Washington series of election videos.

“If you’re black and you haven’t been successful in the last 50 years, it’s your own fault. You’ve had every opportunity, it was given to you,” she said.

I found video that can be embedded. Barf Bag Alert!!

There was no racism, the Pope was never Catholic, and bears never, ever shit in the woods.

From Daily Kos: A couple of weeks ago, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $185 million in penalties for perpetrating a massive fraud on customers. Wells Fargo executives boasted that they had fired 5,300 workers involved in improprieties, but not a single executive was punished. In fact, executives that literally oversaw the departments where the gargantuan fraud was committed were very well compensated, and lauded. Yesterday, Wells Fargo CEO—and blame-game champion—John Stumpf went in front of a Senate Banking Committee where he was rightfully castigated by Senator Elizabeth Warren for his “gutless leadership.” Part of Stumpf’s “apology” was to say that Wells Fargo didn’t do this as much as bad apples did it. It’s a similar defense used by people who murder citizens. Well, lookie here:

Now CNNMoney is hearing from former Wells Fargo (WFC) workers around the country who tried to put a stop to these illegal tactics. Almost half a dozen workers who spoke with us say they paid dearly for trying to do the right thing: they were fired.

"They ruined my life," Bill Bado, a former Wells Fargo banker in Pennsylvania, told CNNMoney.

Bado not only refused orders to open phony bank and credit accounts. The New Jersey man called an ethics hotline and sent an email to human resources in September 2013, flagging unethical sales activities he was being instructed to do.

According to Badu, he was fired for “tardiness” eight days after sending his email to the Wells Fargo “hotline.”

It’s good that Bado and others like him were fired for noncompliance with the Banksters’ crimes. Otherwise they would have fired anyway as scapegoats. At least they get to keep their integrity.

From NY Times: The white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black driver here last week as he stood outside his vehicle overreacted during a confrontation captured on video and was charged on Thursday with first-degree manslaughter, the authorities said.

According to court documents, the officer, Betty Jo Shelby, 42, was overcome with fear that the man, Terence Crutcher, 40, who was not responding to her commands and was walking away from her with his hands up, was going to kill her.

Charging her was necessary, because the case is so obvious. I expect we will see an intentionally botched prosecution and/or intentionally tainted evidence.

Cartoon:

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Open Thread – 9/22/2016

Posted by TomCat at 1:37 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 222016

Although I tired myself out yesterday, I still could not sleep last night or this morning, so I need to rest today. This is today’s only article from me, and I won’t be sending link messages on Care2.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:51 (average 4:21). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From KP Daily Funnies: That Darn Trump! Episode 2: What Do You Have To Lose?

Animated Barf Bag Alert!!

I’m not sure about its value as humor, but it sure is accurate.

From YouTube: Warren Presses FBI On Financial Crisis Case | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

Lizzie raises some great points. I also want to know why the Banksters that caused the crisis were not prosecuted.

From Daily Kos: …Bondi’s first political opponent in 2010, former state senator and federal prosecutor Dan Gelber, recently said she should at least have returned the check to Trump while the New York case was pending.

But Bondi on Tuesday said she didn’t return the check because it would have looked as if it were a bribe…

LOL!! If you believe that, then I blew the fart, because holding it in would have looked like I ate Chile.

Cartoon:

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Republican Supply-side Jesus and Jesus are exact opposites.

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