Open Thread – 5/30/2019

Posted by TomCat at 10:02 am Open Thread, Personal, Plus, Politics

May 302019

I’m feeling frustrated this morning. I just received an auto-reply that the person at CCC, who’s supposed to be organizing my move, is out of the office until Monday. That not only leaves me hanging, but also, means that I cannot move next week. Now it will have to wait until the week after. ARGH!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:52 (average 5:41). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Mitch McConnell Blocks Bills To Combat Election Interference

Bought Bitch Mitch and the Republican Reich want Russian interference. They are depending on their Russian masters’ help to stay in power. RESIST!!

From Oregon: In Lynn’s Honor

0530BigfootFootprints

It’s about time someone gave our Sasquatch the credit she deserves. Oregon leads the way! RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: The special counsel Robert Mueller ignited a firestorm of controversy on Wednesday by recommending that millions of Americans read.

Mueller, seemingly oblivious to the uproar he was about to create, repeatedly commented that there was valuable information available to the American people only by reading a long book.

At the White House, sources said that Donald J. Trump was furious about Mueller’s statement because he interpreted the special counsel’s pro-reading message as a thinly veiled attack on him.

I hate to say it, but Andy has a very valid point. Expecting American voters to read is a tall order, and expecting Republican sheeple to read is pure comedy. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

I don’t like the devices, but love the contents.

Impeach?

Posted by TomCat at 9:35 am Politics

May 292019

I watched Robert Mueller’s statement this morning. He there was no evidence that Trump did not commit a crime. He said that as a DOJ employee, DOJ policy does not allow him to charge a sitting [P]resident. Because he could not charge, he refused to opine further. He said the remedy is up to Congress, based on the evidence he preserved. In the meantime The Congressional leadership is under pressure from more and more quarters to open an impeachment inquiry.

[A]nother liberal activist organization is ramping up the pressure on House Democrats to launch impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, a move that leadership has continued to warn against amid low public approval rating for forcibly removing the president from office.

Stand Up America, a grassroots group that says it’s comprised of nearly 2.4 million progressive members, will launch a new campaign Tuesday aimed at mobilizing people across the country to demand House Democrats open an impeachment inquiry—something a growing number of key lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee already support.

The campaign will feature a push for constituents to call and visit their Democratic representatives to sway their opinion, in addition to digital advertisements funded by Stand Up America. The group points to findings by special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, which includes nearly a dozen detailed instances where Trump tried to remove Mueller from his post, for why it believes impeachment “can’t hold off any longer.”

“It’s time for every member of Congress to go on the record about whether they believe Trump’s criminal conduct is acceptable,” Stand Up America Founder and President Sean Eldridge told Newsweek in a statement.

Stand Up America joins the likes of MoveOn and Need to Impeach, other liberal organizations that advocate for impeachment. The growing number of calls for such a proceeding from activist groups could put the Democratic Party in a more politically difficult situation, with leadership concerned that such a divisive process could place Democrats in swing districts in peril come 2020…

Inserted from <Newsweek>

Here’s an extensive video on the subject.

Kamala Harris agreed yesterday.

The two front runners, Biden and Bernie, are pussy footing on the fringe of the issue.

In my opinion, the House should begin a formal impeachment inquiry. That will put the investigation on front street and keep it in the public eye. Thrice there is no reasonable chance to garner 67 votes in the Republican-controlled Senate, Democrats are not obligated to issue formal Articles of Impeachment.

I have only one compelling argument against impeachment.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 5/29/2019

Posted by TomCat at 9:34 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 292019

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. Store to Door is delivering groceries mid-day and WWWendy will be here to destink the TomCat and help with chores this evening. In addition I’m trying to coordinate the move which is next week or, at the latest, the week after. Hump Day Hugs to all.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:14 (average 5:10). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (CSPAN Channel): Rep. Massie Blocks Disaster Relief Bill

Barf Bag Alert!!

As the residents of mid America suffer the effects of Republican-caused climate disasters, why is this vile Republican preventing the victims from receiving desperately-needed help? Every penny Democrats spend helping the truly needy is a penny Republicans can’t spend on welfare for billionaires! RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Robert Reich: What is Oligarchy?

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. The Reich on the right, the Republican Reich, is growing our oligarchy into a totalitarian fascist plutocracy. RESIST!!

From NY Times: Democrats accused Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, of hypocrisy on Tuesday after he said Republicans would confirm a justice to the Supreme Court if a seat opened up amid the election campaign in 2020, even after denying President Barack Obama a similar opportunity in 2016.

The senator made the remarks at a Chamber of Commerce event in Paducah, Ky., after an audience member asked what Senate Republicans would do if a Supreme Court justice died next year.

“Oh, we’d fill it,” he responded with a grin, prompting laughter from the audience.

In short, the theft of an Obama Justice for SCOTUS, replaced by a Trump Injustice for SCROTUS (Republican Anti-Constitutional VD), was a scam perpetrated by Bought Bitch Mitch, a typical Republican. Every Republican in office is one Republican too many. RESIST!!

Cartoon:

Environmental Projection

Posted by TomCat at 10:27 am Politics

May 282019

One of the favorite tactics that the Republican Party employs to deceive the American people is projection. They take what they are doing or plan to do and accuse innocent Democrats of doing it. That way, when Democrats unearth Republican crimes, it appears retaliatory. Now Republicans have a unique twist. Republicans employ Nazi-like tactics against religious, ethnic, and LGBTQ minorities. They are accusing Democrats of a holocaust against carbon.

Over the weekend, the head of Donald Trump’s planned climate review panel had this to say about the climate crisis: “The demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler.” It’s the sort of remark that would instantly result in dismissal in more reasonable times. Under Trump … it’s exactly where policy is going.

William Happer and his comparison of Jews to a polluting gas are just one aspect of a policy that’s focused not only on denying the climate crisis, but also on attacking science and scientific reasoning. As a physicist, Happer might be expected to have some deference toward his scientific colleagues, and some knowledge about the rigor and review that shape their work. But there are more important factors that shape Happer’s reasoning. Millions of them. As in the millions that have come from the fossil-fuel billionaires Robert and Rebekah Mercer to fund Happer and his anti-science pogrom.

According to The New York Times, the Mercers funded both Happer’s one-man “advocacy group” and a super PAC controlled by John Bolton. Then, when Trump brought Bolton into the Cabinet, it was Bolton who pulled in Happer to head up efforts to destroy the planet’s future. The Mercers have to be genuinely happy with their investments.

As a first step in destroying the nation’s faith in science and tamping down concerns about the already unfolding disasters brought on by global warming, the Trump regime has a simple answer: Don’t look. To that end, the new head of the United States Geological Survey has forbidden any analysis that looks beyond 2040. And the EPA, which produces a new climate assessment every four years, will simply drop the best, most accurate models from the next assessment in favor of only looking at the most favorable possible outcomes.

But closing their eyes and whistling a happy tune aren’t enough to make the climate crisis go away… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Daily Kos>

Unless we defeat the Republican Reich thoroughly, you can kiss your earth goodbye.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 5/28/2019

Posted by TomCat at 10:27 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 282019

I feel very tired. Last night, between Midnight and 1:00 AM, the fire alarm went off. I had to hall myself out of bed, get dressed (hard work for an amputee), put on George, and prepare to be evacuated. It was a false alarm. But by the time I found that out and got back to bed, it was after 2:00 AM. If I’m a bit short today, I’m sorry. The Glitch Monster still owns C2NN. It’s a slow morning for news. Update: C2NN is back.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:20 (average 4:33). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Jesse Dollemore Channel): DISGRACEFUL!!! Donald Trump Sides With Kim Jong Un Against Former VP Joe Biden [WITH VIDEO CLIP]

Barf Bag Alert!!

I think Fuhrer Drumpfenfarten considers Kim the senior partner. The Fuhrer envies the way Kim murders his subjects. Trump also envies Kim’s ‘Army of Women’, a serial pussy-grabber’s wet dream. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Protest Music): Tom Paxton – Lyndon Johnson Told The Nation

Hey, Hey LBJ… Ah! The Memories! RESIST!!

From TPM: Nolan Brewer, a Nazi sympathizer who pleaded guilty to spray painting swastikas on an Indiana synagogue and setting its lawn on fire, blames his radicalization on his wife who he says was indoctrinated by Fox News and Ben Shapiro, eventually leading her the Nazi website Stormfront, per his lawyer.

Brewer was sentenced to three years in prison for defacing the synagogue, the Washington Post reported.

What else would we expect from Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise? RESIST!!

Cartoon:

Memorial Day 2019

Posted by TomCat at 9:24 am Holiday, Politics

May 272019

Memorial Day

This is almost identical to last the last three years’ Memorial Day articles. I did not see how I could express my position more clearly. You may ask why I, as one who opposes war almost by definition, would want to celebrate the day in which we honor those military service people, who have given their lives in service to America. From my earliest days as an antiwar activist opposing the war in Vietnam, I have believed that it is as important to honor the warriors, as it is to oppose the wars. They took an oath to obey and honored it. They had nothing to do with the decisions. I have no doubt that, if those who died in our Revolutionary War, for example, can look at today’s Republican wars for hate and greed, they are shedding tears over the senseless waste of life, but honoring their comrades as they fall. Now, unlike Veterans day, Memorial Day is not intended as celebration of those who served and survived. Nevertheless, to all veterans who read this, thank you for your service. I thank God that you are not among those whom we honor today. Finally, if you are in the service now, I consider your lives far too precious to spend defending Trump’s personal profit or Russia’s national interest. I urge you to take care to preserve your lives and those of your comrades.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 5/27/2019

Posted by TomCat at 9:23 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 272019

I overslept, so I must have needed the sleep. I still feel pretty tired as we worked very hard yesterday, so I’ll be brief. C2NN is still in thrall to the Care2 Glitch Monster. I’m using the “Ad to Any” plugin to upload articles to C2NN, but I don’t know if they’re getting through. Memorial Hugs.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:31 (average 4:49). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Reach to impeach? The battle between Pelosi vs. Trump

As long as this fight continues, Pelosi’s win count will increase, and Trump’s will be zero. Nevertheless, Pelosi needs to recognize that Democrats can walk and chew gum at the same time. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Protest Music): Jefferson Airplane -White Rabbit-

Ah! The memories! RESIST!!

From Alternet: China is not “stealing” American jobs.

President Trump loves to blame China for the job losses that have devastated American workers under globalization. But the truth is that Trump is blaming the wrong party. Trump’s reckless trade war against China is misguided and amounts to a colossal charade that will not solve the actual problem.

Yes, it is true that numerous American manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas to China, thereby leaving American workers jobless and suffering. But China did not steal these jobs…

…So if China is not at fault, then who is to blame for the devastation caused to American workers?

The answer is plain to see, and it lies within our own shores. The fault belongs squarely with corporate America.

It was corporate America that made these decisions. Corporate America decided to close their American plants and open new plants in China. Corporate America decided to lay off multitudes of American workers and ruin entire American communities.

The best example of this travesty is Wal-fart, who have given countless US manufacturers a choice between relocating manufacturing overseas and bankruptcy. Boycott the job exporters! RESIST!!

Cartoon:

Open Thread – 5/26/2019

Posted by TomCat at 8:24 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

May 262019

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox, as I wait for WWWendy to arrive. I may be unable to publish this to Care2. The Care2 Glitch Monster has taken over the site. It took 20 minutes to get to my message box, and it won’t let me into C2NN at all. This is today’s only article.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:41 (average 5:12). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: …Enter GOP rep Mike Hill.

Based on his Twitter and Facebook posts, he is one particularly nasty individual. He refered to Muslims on Twitter as the “demonic Muslim horde” and, on Facebook, posted a question on how his female Republican primary opponent could make decisions in office because she did not bear children.

It’s this man who filed the so-called “fetal heartbeat” bill this session, which forbids an abortion after detection of a fetal heartbeat, which usually happens at the six-week mark in the middle of the first trimester—long before a woman would know she’s even pregnant. It’s based on complete junk science as the director of gynecology at UC San Francisco explains, it’s “a group of cells with electrical activity. That’s what the heartbeat is at that stage of gestation … We are in no way talking about any kind of cardiovascular system.”

The goal is, as always, to legalize a forced pregnancy.

However, the bill at least originally included exceptions for rape, incest, domestic violence, human trafficking or if the woman’s life is in danger.

That is until God apparently got involved and called Mike up.

As plain as day, God spoke to me. He said that wasn’t my bill, talking about the heartbeat detection bill that I filed. He said that wasn’t my bill. I knew immediately what he was talking about.

He said you remove those exceptions and you file it again.

And I said, yes Lord, I will. It’s coming back. It’s coming back. We are going to file that bill without any exceptions just like what we saw passed in Alabama.

Funny that God didn’t mention anything to Mike about protecting our children from his party’s refusal to do anything about our state’s infamous gun violence. After all, Florida now has more mass shootings of any other state, including the two largest in US history with Pulse and Parkland.

Republican Supply-side Jesus (the exact opposite of the real Jesus) teaches that the right to life begins at conception and ends at birth. RESIST!!

From TPM: President Donald Trump on Saturday night downplayed North Korea’s missile testing as “some small weapons,” and also claimed that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un called 2020 Democratic candidate Joe Biden a “low IQ individual.”

If I were Joe, I’d be thrilled. LOL! RESIST!!

From Crooks and Liars: In a perverse sort of way, you’ve got to admire the chutzpah of these con artists. Despite getting millions in tax breaks, flouting all kinds of labor laws, and never once turning a profit, the company behind this testament to fleecing the rubes are now suing their insurance carriers for refusing to cover…wait for it….an act of God.

And yes, those are dinosaurs on their stupid Ark.

Source: Louisville Courier-Journal

The owner of the life-size replica of Noah’s Ark in Northern Kentucky has sued its insurers for refusing to cover, of all things … rain damage.

Ark Encounter, which unveiled the 510-foot-long model in 2016, says that heavy rains in 2017 and 2018 caused a landslide on its access road, and its five insurance carriers refused to cover nearly $1 million in damages.

In a 77-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Ark Encounter asks for compensatory and punitive damages.

The ark damaged by a flood?!!? FOMCROTFPIMPLMAO!! RESIST!!

Cartoon:

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