Open Thread–3/27/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:49 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 272020

It’s another painful day here in the CatBox, but taking a pain pill at bedtime allowed me a good sleep last night. Thank God it’s Friday!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:24 (average 4:59). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

Cases: 85,762

Deaths: 1,306

Recovered: 1,868

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Given the intensity of the conspiracy theories on the radical right that have arisen around the coronavirus pandemic—particularly the number of rightists claiming that government lockdown orders are an initial step in the imposition of a tyrannical order—it was only a matter of time before the U.S. experienced its first coronavirus-related act of domestic terrorism.

On Tuesday, a Missouri man named Timothy Wilson made preparations to set off a car bomb at a local hospital in suburban Belton, which was intended as a revolt against the stay-at-home order issued by Belton’s mayor, but his plan was cut short by an FBI raid. When he apparently resisted with a weapon, he ended up being shot and killed.

One Republican terrorist went down, but there are a pants load more to take his place. Some of them even hold elected office. RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): House Scrambles Back To DC To Vote On $2 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Bill

All it takes to screw up anything is just one Republican. That’s why every Republican in office is one Republican too many! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Amboy Dukes – Journey To The Center Of The Mind

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

A Letter from Doug

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 8:02 pm Politics

Mar 262020

I mentioned in a comment on the open thread that I had received an email, and that it was too long to quote. But Alabama is now pursuing me the way Australia did a week ago (Carrie sends love by the way), and it has, besides highlights of the bill, some interesting allusions to negotiations, and after all, this is the guy who nailed the killers of those four little girls, and he’s worth a listen/look-see, so here it is:

=================================================================

Friends,

The Senate just passed the largest rescue bill in American history, and it’s going to help a lot of the people who are struggling right now.

I have done everything I could to build bipartisan consensus and get this done. That’s not easy up in Washington under the best of times. Mitch McConnell’s draft bill that the Senate voted down Sunday would have left a lot of people in the cold. At times over the last 72 hours, negotiations were heated, with five of my colleagues out due to the virus and its impact, but I believe we were all looking out for the long-term best interests of our country, our families, and the economy. We know the Coronavirus presents a challenge like none we have seen in our lifetimes.

But we got there and passed with a big bipartisan majority – a bill that will do the following to help those in need:

$130 billion in funds for hospitals, almost double what Mitch McConnell was proposing a few days ago. This will help them make sure they have the supplies they need to protect our doctors and nurses who are on the front lines.
$150 billion in funds for states. Mitch McConnell had provided them with no direct aid despite the fact that they have been forced to spend millions of dollars to make up for the inadequate federal response.
Unemployment benefits that leave no one behind. Senate Democrats won concessions that will provide unprecedented protections for our workers including four full months of unemployment benefits including full salaries. Benefits are also extended to self-employed workers AND workers in the gig economy.
Direct cash payments to most Americans. If you make under $75,000, you will receive $1200. The amount will phase out for those making more.
Protection for renters and homeowners. The aid package includes protections that prevent evictions during the crisis.
Loans for small businesses affected by Coronavirus. Senate Democrats worked to add direct grants that will help small businesses avoid red tape and get the money they need right away.
We were also able to remove Mitch McConnell’s “anonymous bailout” language. After stories about members profiting off of stock sales in the midst of this crisis, I thought it was important that we prohibit elected officials, including the President, from receiving loans under this package.

This is a good start to get Americans the help they need right now.

Now it’s up to the House to pass this bill so we can keep rebuilding. But this crisis will demand more of each of us. This bill didn’t do everything I wanted, and I believe we will have to do more – and as this virus unfolds across our country, I have no doubt we will be back to add to the protections and support this bill provides.

We have more than four times the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S than we did when this bill was introduced Thursday.

I know I keep quoting Smokey the Bear, but it’s really important to remember that while we are going to do everything we can in the Senate to ease the economic burden and keep you safe, YOU are the front lines of the fight against Coronavirus. But no vote in Washington is going to stop this virus. Only you can do that.

This is especially not the time to let up. I’m concerned that I am hearing talk of backsliding and even some of our public officials still underestimating the crisis we are in and the number of Americans that are at risk.

The experts keep saying that the only way we are going to drastically “flatten the curve” and reduce the number of critical cases is to continue social distancing. We all still have to do our part. The good news is that social distancing works. It’s up to you and every other American to do what the medical professionals are telling us.

We can and will beat this if we all do our part. We will make it through this together. The number of cases will continue to rise, but they will go down over time, and this will be over sooner if all of us do our part. I am doing everything I can to bring that day closer for all of us.

We are all in this together.

– Doug Jones

PS: On a personal note, I am so happy to be headed home to Louise and my family. Stay safe everyone.

=================================================================

I was glad to hear Carrie says the he seems to be quite popular personally, though a Democrat. Hopefully we can keep him. And, by the way, don’t forget to pray (or however, as TC says, you communicate with the universe) for Katie Porter.

Samantha Bee from 3/25

Posted by TomCat at 10:42 am Politics

Mar 262020

It’s that time of week again, and here are three video clips from Sam’s show last night. Enjoy!!

COVID-19 Is the World’s Worst Coworker

Here in Portland, some workers are so desperate that out of work strippers are offering topless food delivery. I would get regular food delivery (without boobs), if my cancer allowed me to eat the food.

The Furries Are On to Something

When Bernie was in Portland, we learned that birds prefer him. Anyone is a better choice than criminal Fuhrer Trump*!

The Episode of ER No One Asked To Be A Part Of

Trump* virus sufferers should be isolated in a Trump* hotel. Which Trump* Hotel? Whichever one Trump* is in!

While Sam’s show was not as funny as usual, criminal Fuhrer Trump* and his virus have made the world a much less funny place of late.

RESIST!!

Open Thread–3/26/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:41 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 262020

It’s another crazy day, here in the CatBox. WWWendy was here last night. She was planning to fly to Iowa for a booty call this morning, but the airline shut down her flight. I’m sorry, because she wanted to go. I’m relieved, because I was really concerned for her safety. My Oncologist’s office called and rescheduled my appointment for Monday. They wanted to mail my pain meds, as I had requested, but since I cannot reach my mailbox, I would not get them until Sunday, when WWWendy comes. So, rather than risk a mail SNAFU, I told then to hold it for me to pick up there on Monday. We dug through my desk, found my old Oxycodone emergency reserve. I have enough for a pill at bedtime every night and an extra on both shower day and travel day. On Monday they plan to give me several week’s supply, so this never happens again. Today is a grocery delivery day from Store to Door. Due to Trump* virus, they no longer bring groceries in from the hallway or help me put them away, so I have a lot more work. Thanks to JD for sending me a little hand cart that will make it easier. Thursday is ‘flush a Republican day! 1 – 2 – 3 BA-WOOOOOSH!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:35 (average 6:15). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0326TrumpVirus

Cases: 68,814

Deaths: 1,037

Recovered: 428

0326TrumpVirusTests

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: The 9/11 terrorist attacks ushered in a new era of changes that linger to this day—from taking off our shoes at airport security checkpoints, to tolerating an erosion of civil liberties and government intrusion in our lives. We are deeply in debt from the resulting (and unnecessary) wars and hyper militarization of our budget. Republicans reaped electoral benefits, branding themselves as the party that “keeps you safe.”

COVID-19 promises a dramatic reshaping of American society. Here are at least 11 ways our lives will change. Feel free to speculate about others.

1.) Government is here to help. Ronald Reagan famously quipped, “the most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” That ushered in two generations of Republican nihilism, with relentless focus in slashing and cutting government in all areas except for defense. Well, it turns out government is the only thing that can help in a global disaster, and even Republicans have stepped up to pour trillions into the economy and directly in the hands of individuals. Meanwhile, the vaunted free market, supposed solution to all of society’s ills, is sitting helplessly begging for handouts.

2.) Wall Street will face further restrictions. Wall Street faced increased regulation in the aftermath of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. It’ll only get worse, as bans on corporate stock buybacks and other limits will become increasingly popular. Tolerance for corporate tax evasion will erode further, particularly among companies that receive any kind of federal bailout money.

3.) Security is more than just thwarting terrorists. The Trump administration, freshly elected, gleefully disbanded the nation’s pandemic preparedness task force. The last competent administration foresaw the possibility of a pandemic creating havoc in this country, but the incompetent Republican did not, and most people were blissfully unaware of the danger. No longer. This has consequences not just at the federal and state budget levels, but in how corporations plan for a rainy day (like Apple, with its $245 billion cash hoard), and how we individuals interact. We have a lot to learn from Asia—from contact-less greetings (would be so hard for me!), to greater use of face masks and general acceptance of our responsibilities to help keep others from getting sick.

I have included the first three. Please click through to read the other eight. I agree with one caveat. For these much-needed changes to take root, it’s imperative to flush criminal Fuhrer Trump* and the Republican Reich! This includes not only 10 and #11, but all the way down the ticket to dawg catcher. RESIST!!

From Alternet: It might be easy to forget, given the crisis enveloping the world at the moment, that the United States is scheduled to hold a very important election in November. But with projections that the COVID-19 crisis isn’t going away any time soon, what will this mean for voters’ access to the polls, and the very legitimacy of the election? These are important questions, and journalists play a critical role in answering them.

Many have risen admirably to the task. For instance, the Center for Public Integrity, in partnership with Time (3/23/20), spoke with voting rights experts to lay out the possibilities and pitfalls of different responses. The primary action being floated is a bill, introduced by Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., that would require no-excuse vote-by-mail options and 20 days of early in-person voting in every state, as well as offering federal funding for the implementation of those measures.

But as voting rights experts told CPI reporter Carrie Levine, the changes have to be implemented thoughtfully to avoid disenfranchisement. Mail-in ballots from communities of color, for example, have historically been rejected at higher rates, and language, ability and even poor access to reliable mail service (as on Native American reservations, for instance) can be a barrier for many.

Oregon leads the way. Here, a drivers license or Oregon ID card automatically registers people to vote. Oregon mails our ballots to our homes. Homeless people can get a ballot at any post office or library. When you return your ballot, if it lacks the required postage, the post office will deliver it anyway. Ballots may also be taken to collection points. Since every ballot is paper, the paper trail is guaranteed. No system is perfect, but ours is best! RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: Taking bold action to safeguard the health of millions of Americans, Dr. Anthony Fauci has tricked Donald J. Trump into believing that there is no Easter this year, Fauci has confirmed.

After hearing Trump declare on Tuesday that he hoped to reopen the country on Easter Sunday, an alarmed Fauci decided to spring into action.

“I ran down to my computer and mocked up a phony 2020 calendar with no Easter on it,” Fauci said. “Then I showed it to Trump and said, ‘There’s a problem with your plan, Mr. President. There’s no Easter this year.’”

According to Fauci, Trump was initially baffled by the news. “How could that be?” Trump asked. “There’s Easter every year.”

“This is a leap year,” the quick-thinking virologist replied.

“I guess I didn’t know it worked that way,” Trump said. “I never go to church.”

Dang, Andy! I assume this it straight news, but isn’t outsmarting criminal Fuhrer Trump* a bit like wrestling a quadriplegic? RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): IRON BUTTERFLY – IN A GADDA DA VIDA – 1968 (ORIGINAL FULL VERSION) CD SOUND

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Pat B Has a BIG Mouth AGAIN!

Posted by TomCat at 10:23 am Blog News, Politics

Mar 252020

114-PatB

I’m still out of new things to say about this treasure. Pat followed Politics Plus and commented for quite some time on the now defunct Care2 News Network, where she had been active for years, before she started commenting here at the site. A few months later, she won her first Big Mouth Award for the 78,000th comment in May 2016. She became a daily regular and won her second award for the 85,000th comment in December 2016 and her third for the 93,000th comment in October 2017. She won her fourth for 97,000 in March, 2018. She won her fifth for 101,000 in August 2018, her sixth for 102,000th in October 2018, her seventh in August 2019, and her eighth in December 2019. This is her ninth award. She is a progressive activist, an authentic Christian, a proud veteran, and a Michael Moore Fan. If you tell her to go to hell, she’s likely to answer, “I already live there.” The poor girl is still a Texan. On the other hand, she loves her Houston Texans. Her comments are still bright, witty and above all, compassionate. She always greets WWWendy on shower day! I don’t know what else I can say, but please add your kudos with more compliments. She more than deserves it.

RESIST!!

Open Thread–3/25/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:23 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 252020

It’s a very tired day here in the CatBox. Because I’m out of pain meds, I got almost no sleep last night. I have a dose to take tonight. I saved it, because it’s a WWWendy night. Happy Hump day to all.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:16 (average 4:17). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Jen Sorenson Cartoon:

Included with permission from and link to Jen Sorenson

Trump* Virus Update:

0325TrumpVirus

Cases: 55,081

Deaths: 785

Recovered: 379

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: As conditions worsen and the novel coronavirus infects more people daily, white supremacists want to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to advance their racist agenda. Extremist groups, including neo-Nazis, are encouraging infected members to spread coronavirus to law enforcement officials and Jewish people, according to intelligence gathered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). According to ABC News, “members of extremist groups are encouraging one another to spread the virus, if contracted, through bodily fluids and personal interactions,” the FBI’s New York office warned in an alert Thursday.

According to the alert, racist extremists urged their followers to use spray bottles to spread bodily fluids to police officers on the street. “Anti-government folks in America love to target law enforcement as a symbol of America’s authority,” Don Mihalek, executive vice president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association Foundation, told ABC News. “It’s just sad that that’s their focus at a time of crisis in the nation.”

The white supremacist groups also advised followers to go to “any place they [Jews] may be congregated” to spread the virus including businesses, places of worship, and markets, the alert warned. According to ABC News, white supremacists have been blaming Jewish leaders and people for both the coronavirus and global response to it for weeks. Extremists even blamed the Jewish community for the shutdown of government activities in New York, New Jersey, and California, organizations that monitor white supremacist messaging found. Social media posts by extremists and conspiracy theorists are even attempting to connect “Chinese efforts to safely dispose of victims’ bodies to cast doubt on the number of Jews who died during the Holocaust, the Anti-Defamation League reported.

Here in Portland, the police association, notorious for their racism, has often supported the white supremacist Proud Boys against the almost equally loony anarchist Antifa. It would be karma if the their Nazi Republican friends did this to them, but I hope not. The good police would be infected with the Republicans! RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: At long last invoking the Defense Production Act, Donald J. Trump has ordered the nation’s factories to begin mass-producing gallons of spray tan.

Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said that, because millions of Americans have been forced to remain indoors, the country’s stockpiles of fake-tan reserves have fallen to “dangerously low” levels.

“I sent Mike Pence out to buy some yesterday, and he went to store after store and they were all out,” Trump said. “It’s a disgraceful situation.”

Trump said that, although he had been reluctant to invoke the D.P.A., “People are going to lose their tans within days if nothing is done.”

Under the order, the specific hue of spray tan that Trump has demanded will be pumped out by retrofitted factories that normally manufacture orange paint.

Dang Andy! I don’t think it will help criminal Fuhrer Trump*. Former Speaker John Boehner, aka Agent Orange, will buy out the fake tan spray no matter how much they produce! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Lawrence: Trump’s ‘Deadly Nonsense’ On Re-Opening The Country

Millions of dead people would not bother criminal Fuhrer Trump* or the Nazis of the Republican Reich. I don’t want to see any suicides, but I have to admit that just one Trumpicide* would not be a problem. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past) (I used up my previous playlist and needed to find another.): Time Has Come Today(Chambers Brothers-Long Version)with no cuts to song

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Republican Death Panels Are Here

Posted by TomCat at 10:44 am Politics

Mar 242020

Many of you remember the days when Sarah Palin, aka Bloody Bullseye Barbie, aka Drill Baby Dingbat, accused Barack Obama and the Democratic Party of including Death Panels in the Affordable Care Act. They claimed we wanted to lower the cost of ObamaCare by killing seniors. At that time, I made the graphic you see below, because I knew the Republican Party’s penchant for projection, and that if they were accusing us of intent to kill seniors, I could safely predict that they would do just that, when the time they deemed appropriate arrived. That time has come.

In a blistering column for the Daily Beast, conservative Matt Lewis ripped into the Republican Party for demonstrating it really does stand for putting profits before people if its response to the coronavirus pandemic is any indication.

According to the author of “Too Dumb to Fail: How the GOP Went from the Party of Reagan to the Party of Trump,” the GOP has joined the president’s “death cult.”

Starting with a blunt, “In the last 24 hours, it has become clear that, despite warnings from experts like Dr. Fauci, Donald Trump is willing to sacrifice lives to try and save the economy and his chances for re-election,” Lewis suggested Republicans are not only backing the president — they’re proudly and publically embracing it.

Pointing to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) proclaiming, “We don’t shut down our economy because tens of thousands of people die on the highways. It’s a risk we accept so we can move about. We don’t shut down our economies because tens of thousands of people die from the common flu,” the columnist expressed his disgust by writing, “I’m pretty sure Johnson just said he was comfortable with millions of Americans dying of coronavirus—so long as it doesn’t disrupt economic activity.”

“This logic is spreading among Republicans,” he continued. “Consider the comments Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made Monday night on Fox News: ‘No one reached out to me and said as a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren. And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in.’”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Raw Story>

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he and other seniors are willing to die from virus to save economy

Like most Republicans, he’s a fool! It is not only his own life he risks, but the lives of all the people to whom he passes Trump* virus. Did all of them agree to be killed to get Patrick’s beloved Fuhrer reelected too?

The following is not from the horse’s mouth. It’s from the horse’s ass’ mouth.

Trump Appears To Weigh Saving Economy Against Saving Lives From COVID-19

Barf Bag Alert!!

Criminal Fuhrer Trump* and the Republican Reich care only about staying in power, and they don’t give a damn how many Americans they have to murder to do it.

RESIST!!

Open Thread–3/24/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:43 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 242020

It’s a crazy day, here in the CatBox. Evelyn called last night to cancel our appointment, because she has not received my lab work to determine the suitability of immunity therapy yet. As soon as she was off the phone, I remembered that I was also supposed to get my pain meds refilled. I tried to call back, but the office was closed. I called today, and requested an emergency refill by mail, so WWWendy can get it from my mail tomorrow night. They said they’d “try”. I have a feeling I have a few painful days coming on. ARGH! Tuesday is eat beans and ride elevators with Republicans day. 3 – 2 – 1 blast off!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:43 (average 5:02). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0324TrumpVirus

Cases: 46,274

Deaths: 588

Recovered: 295

0324TrumpVirusTests

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: The $500 billion corporate bailout slush fund bill from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and buddies that Democrats rejected Sunday has many, many shortcomings. Not just what it does do (unfettered giveaways to corporate America with no strings attached) but what it doesn’t do, like provide funding to state and local governments, or food assistance, or health care, or worker protections, or expanded emergency leave, or adequate assistance to, you know, people. Lurking among all those provisions that aren’t helping people is one from our old favorite, Maine Sen. Susan Collins. She and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio were responsible for the small business stimulus part of the bill, and included a provision that inexplicably and very specifically excludes nonprofits that get Medicaid funding from receiving any assistance.

The obvious exclusion is Planned Parenthood, Collins’ longtime (though no longer) defender. But as Greg Sargent explains, Senate Democrats and aides “think the language means a lot more than” just excluding Planned Parenthood. They pointed out that it “would exclude from eligibility for this funding a big range of other nonprofits that get Medicaid funding, such as home and community-based disability providers; community-based nursing homes, mental health providers and health centers; group homes for the disabled; and even rape crisis centers.”

In other words, groups that are going to be stretched to the limit to provide assistance to some of the most vulnerable members of the community. Many of them are largely funded through their clients’ Medicaid, and are historically underpaid for the services they provide. Coronavirus is going to create a surge in demand for these services and potentially put those providers at risk, particularly if they’re competing with hospitals and first responders for protective gear.

This provision would “prevent many small Medicaid-funded providers from accessing small business loans,” Mara Youdelman, the managing attorney of the National Health Law Program’s D.C. office, told Sargent, noting that rural providers would also be cut out. “We should be doing everything possible to keep them in businesses, both to help manage the pandemic and to keep people needing routine care healthy and out of overwhelmed hospitals,” Youdelman said. One such provider is The Arc, an advocacy organization for the disabled. Nicole Jorwic, senior director of public policy for The Arc, told Sargent that “It’s a huge problem. […] Our chapters who provide services would all be impacted [making it harder to] provide home and community-based services all over the country.”

If this stinking fascist is the most “liberal” that the Republican Reich has to offer, do we really need to see the most conservative? RESIST!!

From NY Times: Facing a growing storm of criticism about his laissez-faire response to the fast-spreading coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday that he would place Britain under a virtual lockdown, closing all nonessential shops, banning meetings of more than two people, and requiring people to stay in their homes, except for trips for food or medicine.

People who flout the new restrictions, the prime minister said, will be fined by the police.

The steps, which Mr. Johnson outlined in a televised address to the nation, bring him into alignment with European leaders like President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who have all but quarantined their countries in a desperate bid to slow the outbreak.

“No prime minister wants to enact measures like this,” a grave Mr. Johnson said. “I know the damage that this disruption is doing and will do to people’s lives, to their businesses and to their jobs.”

As big an asshole as Brexit Bridiot Boris is, I’d rather have him as Fuhrer than Trump*! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Johnny Rivers – Poor Side Of Town

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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