Politics Plus

I ended up feeling rather stupid yesterday, when I called Safeway.com to ask why my food was late and they told me I had scheduled the delivery for today.  Then I ended up feeling frustrated today, when they called me to tell me my delivery was cancelled due to hazardous driving conditions.  I’m hoping I can reach Wendy in time to ask her to pick up a few staples for me before she goes to work and bring them in the morning.  Today and tomorrow are holy days in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb.  If your team is still meditating, may the Orb bless them with it’s divine light.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:34 (average 5:28).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Common Dreams: The rise of political populists threatens democracy worldwide, a new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) released Thursday says.

In its World Report 2017, the human rights organization highlights President-elect Donald Trump‘s victory in the U.S., the power grabs of "strongman" leaders in Russia, China, Turkey, and the Philippines, and the rise of right-wing demagogues in Europe, as trends that "denigrate legal standards and disdain factual analysis, directly challenge the laws and institutions that promote dignity, tolerance, and equality."

Trump and other populist leaders work from a similar propaganda playbook that supports bigotry and discrimination; scapegoats immigrants and refugees for economic problems; encourages people to give up their rights in favor of authoritarian rule as a defense against outside threats; and foments division between demographics, the report states.

We aren’t the only ones. We just have the worst Fuhrer.  RESIST!!

From Daily Kos: The Democratic National Committee is holding the first of four regional “Future Forums” today in Phoenix, Arizona. The forum begins at 9 AM Mountain Time.  You can view a livestream at democrats.org…

…Candidates for Chair:
• Sally Boynton Brown, Idaho Democratic Party Executive Director, President of Association of State Democratic Executive Directors
• Ray Buckley, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair, Association of State Democratic Parties Chair
• Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, IN
• Keith Ellison, U.S. Representative (MN-5)
• Jehmu Greene, Fox News Political Analyst
• Jaime Harrison, South Carolina Democratic Party Chair
• Tom Perez, secretary of Labor.

I still like Ellison because of his progressive resume. If you disagree, who do you support and why?

From Think Progress: Early Saturday morning, President-elect Donald Trump attacked the Georgia congressman and famed civil rights hero John Lewis for being “all talk, no action” and presiding over a “crime infested” district that’s “falling apart.”

The thinly veiled racial smear — essentially suggesting Lewis is a slumlord — came on the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as the nation prepares to honor the civil rights leader with whom Lewis worked closely in the 1960s to advocate for racial and economic justice.

What else would a Republican Racist say?  RESIST!!

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Good news.  My insulin syringes should be arriving today.  Yesterday’s tribulations tired me considerably, so please pardon my brevity.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:15 (average 5:39).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Think Progress: On Thursday morning, President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper called him “to denounce the false and fictitious report that was illegally circulated” about Russia being in possession of compromising information about him.

But Trump was actually spreading a falsehood of its own. In a statement about the call, Clapper said, “the IC has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable, and we did not rely upon it in any way for our conclusions.”

What Clapper did claim is that the report was not a product of US intelligence.  RESIST!!

From Metro: A former British intelligence officer has been named as the man behind a controversial but unverified document claiming Russia has leverage over the

Christopher Steele, 52, who runs London-based Orbis Business Intelligence, was named in reports as having compiled the file on Trump.

The 35-page dossier contains unconfirmed allegations that Russian security officials have compromising material on Trump that could be used to blackmail him. Steele’s brother Kevin has denied his sibling’s involvement in the document.

It was claimed that Russia has footage of Trump in a Moscow hotel room accompanied by prostitutes who performed golden showers on a bed previously slept in by President Barack Obama and the First Lady Michelle…

Clapper has said the document is unverified by US intelligence, not that it is untrue. Steele, the former MI6 agent, who compiled it, has gone into hiding. That’s only understandable, if Putin want’s Steele dead for jeopardizing the fruits Putin’s hard work, spent establishing his ownership of the Piddle Puddle Pervert.  RESIST!!

From NY Times: As he prepared last week to deliver his farewell address, President Obama convened three Democratic leaders in the White House for a strategy session on the future of their party. The quiet huddle included Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the top Democrats in Congress, and Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia.

One topic of urgent concern, according to people briefed on the meeting: how to break the Republican Party’s iron grip on the congressional map.

Thwarted for much of his term by a confrontational Republican Congress, and criticized by his fellow Democrats for not devoting sufficient attention to their down-ballot candidates, Mr. Obama has decided to make the byzantine process of legislative redistricting a central political priority in his first years after the presidency.

Emerging as Mr. Obama’s chief collaborator and proxy is Eric H. Holder Jr., the former attorney general of the United States and a personal friend of the president. He has signed on to lead the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a newly formed political group aimed at untangling the creatively drawn districts that have helped cement the Republican Party in power in Washington and many state capitals.

We need all the help we can get!  RESIST!!

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Republicans may be planning a sequel.  RESIST!!

It warmed up to 40° yesterday, but Portland is under another Winter Weather Advisory with more snow expected this evening.  I think I have my meds transition squared away.  In case you forgot, Obama’s farewell address is tonight at 6 PM PST (9 PM EST)(2 AM GMT).  The White House has a live stream.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:56 (average 6:52).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: In an emergency meeting at Trump Tower on Monday morning, President-elect Donald J. Trump urged the heads of the nation’s intelligence agencies to “stop picking on Russia” and instead focus on “the very real threat” posed by Hollywood actresses.

Calling the recent allegations against Russia a “witch hunt,” Trump told the intelligence chiefs that their investigations of Russian President Vladimir Putin were distracting them from “America’s real enemy, actresses.”

Growing increasingly irate, he laid out a series of proposals for dealing with what he called a “scourge,” including mandatory registration of actresses and a temporary ban on actresses entering the country.

Andy, this time, I believe you!  RESIST!!

From YouTube (GQ Channel): This Russian Obsession Shows How Trump Will Be Undone | The Resistance with Keith Olbermann

Keith made it crystal clear. Russian Spies fed Assange. Assange fed Trump. But let’s not forget that one other politician joined in on the collusion between Putin, Assange and Trump. That was Jill Stein.  RESIST!!

From Washington Post: Senate Democrats are not going to be able to block Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions bid to become attorney general. And they can’t do much to stop Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo from assuming the helm of the CIA.

And they have only themselves to thank for it.

That’s because exactly three years ago, the Democratic Senate majority — led by Harry Reid (Nev.) — rammed through controversial rules fundamentally changing the way the Senate does business. They unleashed in November 2013 what’s called the “nuclear option” allowing senators to approve by a simple majority all presidential appointments to the executive branch and the judiciary, with a big exception for Supreme Court justices.

It is a sad irony that so many Senate Democrats will be accused of being spineless, because of the one thing they did in the last eight years that was not spineless.  I was for invoking the nuclear option, and I was right.  The problem is that Republicans should have never been allowed to ride Trump’s and Putin’s coattails to an undeserved Senate majority.  RESIST!!

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Portland is under an ice storm warning.  Fortunately Wendy is an Iowa girl with a 4 WD truck, so things like that rarely stop her.  She just texted that she’s on the way and should be here before I finish writing this article.  On today’s schedule is emulsify the stinky TomCat, do the dreaded task, cook a casserole, and some light housekeeping. Fortunately, she’ll be done before this afternoon, when freezing rain and wind gusts to 50 MPH are forecast.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:54 (average 4:34).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos:

A little over a week ago, House Republicans began their attempts to turn our government into an old-timey Stalin-esque politburo by floating out a ban on video and camera use in Congress by lawmakers. They were trying to rid themselves of having the American people actually see how full of shit they are when they attempt to pass crap laws or sit on their manicured fingers while the nation waits for them to enact meaningful legislation. Wednesday, the House Republicans voted to adopt their new rules for the 115th Congress, first session—H. Res. 5 allows fines to be imposed on any “Member, Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner for the use of an electronic device for still photography or for audio or visual recording or broadcasting.”

A fine imposed pursuant to this para- 11 graph shall be $500 for a first offense and 12 $2,500 for any subsequent offense.

Democrats are unified in their defiance of this terrible attempt to thwart democratic practices in our country.

“What other ways will they deprive us for communicating with the American people?” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi asked before Tuesday’s vote. The fines come as a response to a sit-in led by Democrats last year, in which dozens of legislators took control of the House floor to urge Congress to pass additional gun-control measures following a mass shooting at a Florida nightclub in June. After the sit-in began, Republicans cut camera feeds to the House floor, and in response, Democratic lawmakers used apps like Periscope to live-stream footage of the protests.

Here’s a visual example of elected officials actually doing what they were elected to do and attempting to get meaningful public safety legislation voted on.

It’s nice to see that all Democrats are not turning balls up, like Chuck "my ass is greased for Republicans" Schumer (DINO-NY), whose leadership I have opposed since the day that Leg Hound Harry announced his retirement. RESIST!!

From KP Daily Funnies: The Shocking Truth About Planned Parenthood

Support Planned Parenthood! RESIST!!

From CNN: Several of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees have still not been properly vetted less than one week before hearings begin on Capitol Hill, the Office of Government Ethics said in a letter to Democratic senators Friday.

"The announced hearing schedule for several nominees who have not completed the ethics review process is of great concern to me," OGE Director Walter M. Shaub wrote in a letter to New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. "This schedule has created undue pressure on OGE’s staff and agency ethics officials to rush through these important reviews."

Shaub — who said OGE hasn’t received initial drafts from some nominees — continued: "I am not aware of any occasion in the four decades since OGE was established when the Senate held a confirmation hearing before the nominee had completed the ethics review process."

Bought Bitch Mitch demanded full disclosures, including financial, on all Obama’s appointees eight years ago. There’s a reason Republicans don’t want the ethics reviews completed. Can you guess want it is? RESIST!!

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