Politics Plus

It’s a comparatively lazy day here in the CatBox, because I feel almost exhausted after yesterday.  The entire interview process was nothing but confirming financial data and signing more papers than Republicans have crimes.  I’ll know something in one to three weeks, and we’ll go from there.  In the meantime, I’m still looking, because I am competing with others for the unit, and I may be at a disadvantage, as I’m opting not to take their amenities package of senior services.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:00 (average 5:34).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Senator Elizabeth Warren On Her Wealth Tax Proposal

The Republican Reich’s bevy of billionaires is clueless regarding the pain they are inflicting. Liz is the polar opposite. She gets it. I like her wealth tax, except that 2% on $50 million+ and 3% on $1 billion+ is too low. Perhaps 20% and 30%? If someone can’t get by with $40 instead of $50 million, I’d be happy to demonstrate how!  RESIST!!

From YouTube (Daily Kos Channel): Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) annihilates Ted Cruz on government shutdown

Kudos to the Democrat from CO! That was refreshing!  Go for it, JD!  RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: In a bold initiative aimed at ending the shutdown, congressional Democrats on Thursday agreed to fund a border wall and reopen the government if Donald Trump leaves the country forever.

Calling the deal “a huge win for America,” the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, said that Trump would get the wall he wanted plus the opportunity to do something “incredibly patriotic” for his country.

Pelosi brushed aside criticism of the offer’s 5.7-billion-dollar price tag, telling reporters, “When you consider what we are getting in return, nine trillion dollars would be a bargain.”

But, even as Pelosi touted the offer, some details remained unresolved, such as finding a country willing to accept Trump.

Andy, I disagree. It’s a great idea, if and only if Pence leaves too, so Pelosi becomes President.  RESIST!!

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It’s another busy day here at the CatBox.  Anne from CCC is stopping by to pick up the paperwork for my application.  Store to Door is delivering groceries.  I’ll have to put them away.  WWWendy comes this evening to de-stink the putrid TomCat and help with chores.  Tomorrow I go back to the Heights for my formal application.  Please expect no more than an Open Thread and no links messages on Care2.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:32 (average 6:16).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Media Matters Channel): Media blame "both sides" for Trump’s government shutdown

Media-wide this is quite true, but to be fair, note that their only example for MSNBC was from a guest, not a host, on the network’s only conservative show. They have reported accurately, describing it as a Republican shutdown. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Washington Post Channel): Unraveling President Trump’s top 5 claims | The Fact Checker

Dang! I must have the gift of prophecy. I predicted that all five claims would be lies! RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: In blistering remarks aimed at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Ann Coulter demanded on Tuesday that she be allowed to deliver the 2019 State of the Union address.

“Nancy Pelosi should stop playing politics with the State of the Union,” Coulter told reporters. “Tradition dictates that I deliver that speech next week, and I intend to do just that.”

The conservative pundit scoffed at congressional Democrats’ condition that she reopen the government before being able to deliver the State of the Union.

“Clearly, since becoming Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi has let power go to her head,” Coulter said.

Coulter indicated that she would use the State of the Union to speak to the American people not only about the border wall but also about her plans for the economy, trade, and America’s role in nato.

Dang Andy! If she makes Putin’s Pervert open the government, let the Coultergeist give the speech.  RESIST!!

Cartoon:

I’s a very busy day here in the CatBox.  WWWendy is making meatloaf, while I write, and we have lots of chores to do.  This is my only article today.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:46 (average 4:44).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (SNL Channel): Deal or No Deal Cold Open

Dang! Is this really satire? It looks more real than anything on Faux Noise. RESIST!!

From The Independent: The mother of a boy filmed harassing a Native American man along with his friends at a rally in Washington DC has blamed “black Muslims” for the confrontation, without providing any evidence for the claim.

The teenager was among a group of students wearing Make America Great Again hats who were criticised for intimidating the musician Nathan Phillips, surrounding him to jeer and chant “build the wall, build the wall”.

But his mother claimed “black Muslims” had been harassing the group of Donald Trump supporters from the private, all-male Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky.

Bullshit!! RESIST!!

From Washington Post:

President Trump on Saturday offered Democrats three years of deportation protections for some immigrants in exchange for $5.7 billion in border wall funding, a proposal immediately rejected by Democrats and derided by conservatives as amnesty.

Aiming to end the 29-day partial government shutdown, Trump outlined his plan in a White House address in which he sought to revive negotiations with Democrats, who responded that they would not engage in immigration talks until he reopened the government.

Trump proposed offering a reprieve on his attempts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and temporary protected status (TPS) for immigrants from some Latin American and African nations, in exchange for building hundreds of miles of barriers on the southern U.S. border and hiring thousands of new law enforcement agents to be deployed there.

Democrats are right to reject this. Trump killed DACA and TPS by executive order. Now, he’s offering only part of what he took away. That’s blackmail, not negotiation. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

I’m in a big rush.  More tomorrow.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:34 (average 4:37).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: In an indication that he has reached his breaking point with the Speaker of the House, Donald J. Trump is offering a hundred and thirty thousand dollars to keep Nancy Pelosi quiet, White House aides confirmed on Thursday.

According to those aides, Trump floated the idea of a six-figure payment to silence Pelosi during a closed-door meeting on Wednesday night, in which he asserted that he had done “a million of these deals.”

Trump’s effort to mute Pelosi faces a number of obstacles, however, including the fact that the person who has crafted such agreements for Trump in the past, Michael Cohen, is not available to perform such a service now.

Additionally, any agreement to silence Pelosi could face constitutional hurdles, since one of Pelosi’s principal duties as Speaker is to speak.

Dang! Andy, I don’t think the Fuhrer can afford Nancy. RESIST!!

From NBC News: Calls for President Donald Trump’s impeachment grew among Democrats after a report on Thursday said he directed his former lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

BuzzFeed News on Thursday evening reported that Cohen told special counsel Robert Mueller the president personally instructed him to lie to Congressional investigators in order to minimize links between Trump and his Moscow building project, citing two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter. The report also alleged that Cohen was directed to give a false impression that the project had ended before it actually did.

NBC News has not independently confirmed this report.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, called the allegation the “most serious to date” Thursday evening and said that his committee would look into the matter.

This is direct evidence of a felony. Tick… Tick… Tick… RESIST!!

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