I'm afraid the Monthly Report will have to wait a day. I was up all night and all morning with a case of Republicosis. I hope the Imodium kicks-in soon. Hugs! RESIST!!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today's took me 2:59 (average 4:39). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Here are the results of our “Survive Trump” poll. Politics Plus Polls are not scientific, because those who respond are not balanced according to demographic categories. Therefore, we do not accurately reflect the makeup of the US population. Nevertheless, our polls are usually factually accurate, and more often than not, they reflect thinking of the majority of those who think.
Since our polling site no longer enables us to copy and paste your poll comments, you may read them here.
I voted ‘definitely not’. The reason is that Trump appointed Whoresuch, an ideologue so extreme that he almost makes Scalia seem reasonable, to SCROTUS (Republican Constitutional VD). He will be shitting on our Constitution for decades after Trump disappears into a shower of gold.
I have posted a new poll. Please vote. Then…
It’s been a very long day and I’m very tired from setting up a new poll and from doing the research and preparing the graphics for tomorrow’s Monthly Report. Please pardon my brevity.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:29 (average 5:01). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: Commenting on Donald Trump’s first hundred days in office, Vice-President Mike Pence told Fox News on Sunday, “To tell you the truth, I really thought I’d be President by now.”
“When I agreed to run on the ticket with him, I said to myself, ‘Mike, after he’s been in the White House for a few weeks, he’ll be a total train wreck and you’ll be able to slide into the big-boy chair,’ ” Pence said. “I never in a million years thought he’d last a hundred days. My best guess was thirty.”
The former Indiana governor said that, with such seemingly fatal missteps as Trump’s failed health-care plan and travel bans, as well as any number of unhinged outbursts, “It feels like I’ve come close to getting in there maybe ten or twelve times. But close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”
Calling the past hundred days “the longest hundred days of my life,” Pence said that he has no choice now but to “sit and wait for my moment.”
Andy has made it clear that impeaching Trump is not enough. We also need to dump dozens of Republicans in the Presidential succession queue simultaneously. RESIST!!
From Daily Kos: A man armed with a machete and a bag full of knives seriously injured a Kentucky student Friday morning in a politically motivated attack at a campus coffee shop….
“The day of reckoning is here,” the man said, according to witnesses.
He then approached two women at the café.
“He asked the first girl if she was a Democrat or a Republican, she said Republican, (and) he said okay, then asked some other girl,” said witness Michael Soder. “By that time, some of my friends were running out and yelling for us to leave, and I tried to stay behind to see if — I mean I didn’t know what to do, I wanted to help, but I knew I should get out of there.”
Another witness shared a similar account.
“He asked somebody what their political affiliation was, they said ‘Republican,’ and the guy said, ‘You are safe,’ and then I realized what was going on and started getting people out,” said witness Tristan Reynolds.
The assailant, who police said was a former student, then pulled out a machete and attacked a woman in the café. [emphasis original]
I guess I need to retire the term Al Dubya after all these years. Al Drumpfenfarten is a greater terrorist threat to America and the World than al Qaeda or the Daesh ever were. RESIST!!
From NY Times: Congressional leaders reached a bipartisan agreement on Sunday to fund the government through September, effectively ending any suspense about the possibility of a government shutdown next weekend.
The agreement, which still must be voted on by lawmakers, includes increased funding for the military and for border security. But it does not include funding for the wall that President Trump wants to build along the border with Mexico, one of his major campaign promises.
The deal increases funding for the National Institutes of Health, despite the Trump administration’s request that its budget be reduced for the rest of the fiscal year. And it provides millions of dollars to reimburse costs incurred by local law enforcement agencies to protect Mr. Trump and his family — a boon to New York City, which has had the costly task of helping to protect Trump Tower.
The spending package would be the first significant bipartisan measure approved by Congress during the Trump presidency. Republicans, despite having control of both houses of Congress and the White House, were unable to pass any marquee legislation in the president’s first 100 days.
I’ll reserve judgment until I have more info, but it appears we got as much as we gave up or more, and the compromise appears better than a government shutdown. RESIST!!
Cartoon:
Last night, Samantha Bee’s NOT the White House Correspondents Dinner did not come on until 10:00 PM, and I fell asleep waiting for it to start. Fortunately for me, I found it all online and watched it this morning. Fortunately for you, I consider it much too good not to share. Enjoy!
Not The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Pt. 1: Peaches and Monologue
Pt. 7: Special Guest George W. Bush
Pt. 8: Woman in the High Castle
If only!
Pt. 9: Show Close and Committee to Protect Journalists
Sam will… I will… Please…
Wendy is here and is doing a little cooking, so I may as well get a start. I'll finish when she leaves. She just left. She is a positively magnificent helper.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today's took me 4:30 (average 5:34). To do it. click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From NY Times: President Trump came to a farm expo center here on Saturday to celebrate his first 100 days in office by bathing in the support of his bedrock supporters, reprising the populist themes of his campaign and savaging a familiar foe: the news media.
In a rally timed to coincide with an annual dinner of the White House press corps in Washington, which he declined to attend, Mr. Trump laced into what he referred to as “the failing New York Times,” as well as CNN and MSNBC, which he accused of incompetence and dishonesty.
Disapproval from the Pumpkin Pussy-grabber is the best recommendation the Times, CNN and MSNBC could have. RESIST!!
From Think Progress: Until November, it was easy for the National Rifle Association to galvanize its members against a common enemy. Hillary Clinton appeared likely to ascend to White House, where she would destroy the Second Amendment, according to leaders of the gun lobby. This fear of Clinton drove up gun sales, boosted firearm manufacturers, and bolstered the NRA’s lobbying power.
But with President Trump’s win — unexpected even for many here at the NRA’s annual meeting — the group had to reorient itself around a new target able to drive just as much anger in its millions of members.
ISIS or other international threats may have been easy marks. But judging by the rhetoric used by NRA leaders and President Trump in Atlanta this week, the gun lobby has set its sights elsewhere: the media.
For the Fuhrer to organize thousands of armed Republican ammosexuals against the free press sounds like something Hitler would do. RESIST!!
From Politico: Democrats couldn’t be less interested in the whole Jared Kushner vs. Steve Bannon drama, and they have given up on the idea that President Donald Trump’s son-in-law will push him to work across the aisle on tax reform or anything else.
The crisis of confidence they felt after Trump’s shocking win has faded and his record-low poll numbers have killed any incentive in their minds to suck it up and compromise with him.
“There is zero chance of any of this working out that way, and it doesn’t matter who you’re changing,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who notes that many of his colleagues who once decried his absolute opposition to Trump now agree with him. “At the end of the day,” he added, “this is Donald Trump, and we don’t want to work with him.”
If Trump ever proposed a plan that was acceptable to progressives, I could not penalize the American people by opposing it for the sake of partisan division. That said, I consider the possibility that Trump might offer such a plan to be somewhat less that having a bear dressed in a tux lecturing on fine wine choices in the street below my window. RESIST!!
Cartoon:
I have a rare treat for you today. I’m justified in saying that anytime I get to share video clips from Bill Maher, but today is extra special for two reasons. First, Putin’s Pet Pervert, aka Fuhrer Drumpfenfarten, has been the Resident for 100 days, and we aren’t dead yet. Second, Elizabeth Warren was on the show. Here are three videos.
He may give himself an A. I give him a Z.
Elizabeth Warren: This Fight Is Our Fight
It’s crystal clear. We need to return to the economic policies of 1935 – 1980 and abandon Republican government of, by and for the rich. Liz could not be more spot-on.
He does have the deplorables pegged, doesn’t he?
I slept better last night, even though the pain has not diminished. I'm not sure what or how much I'll be publishing tomorrow, because Wendy is coming to deodorize the TomCat and help with several other needed tasks.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today's took me 3:08 (average 5:05). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Reminder:
Short Takes:
From YouTube (GQ Channel): Trump's First 100 Days. And What Has He Done? | The Resistance with Keith Olbermann
We have survived the worst 100 days in US history. RESIST!!
From YouTube (Media Matters Channel): Why aren't news outlets talking about climate change?
On the other hand, climate change might have a positive side, if Mar-a-Lago sinks when Fuhrer Drumpfenfarten is there.
From NY Times: The Heritage Foundation, a powerful conservative think tank that played a significant role in shaping President Trump’s cabinet and tilting it far to the right, is expected to replace its leader, the former South Carolina senator and Tea Party leader Jim DeMint.
The anticipated shake-up, which was confirmed by two people with knowledge of the fraught internal dynamics, comes at an inopportune time for the group, with several major pieces of conservative legislation on the agenda in Congress. The budget, a tax overhaul and health care are all issues that Heritage has tried to influence, with varying degrees of success.
A spokesman for the foundation did not return a request for comment.
Mr. DeMint’s abrupt ouster, described by people as a “coup” against him, was the result of a larger debate among conservative donors who fund the group. One of its board members is Rebekah Mercer, a reclusive donor who has helped propel the White House chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, in his effort to dismantle aspects of the political establishment.
It appears that a mere KKK supporter is no longer extreme enough for Heritage Foundation. :Look for am Alt-Right Nazi replacement.
Cartoon:
Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. Even though there are many more which I can't include. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as "unceasing," "grudging," and "vengeful destruction."
This may not be the most heinous thing that became public this week, but I want to lead off with it becausee it is so darned dangerous.
A new fight-club “fraternity” of young white, pro-Trump men is being formed, its organizers claim, to defend free-speech rights by “Alt-Right” leaders and engage in street fighting.
There's already the DIY Division of neo-Nazis with an agenda to turn protests by reasonable people (as the 
right calls them, "anti-Fascists," which is accurate but incomplete) into "street threatre." But the arrival of this new group concerns me that this is becoming "a thing."
FOAK (Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights), now an affiliiate of the Proud Boys, and the Proud Boys itself, may seem to border on self-satire, especially if you read the initiation rituals.
The Proud Boys reportedly have a four-step initiation process. It starts with a prospect declaring himself a “Proud Boy,” suiting up in Fred Perry polo shirts with yellow stripes—similar to those worn by skinheads.
The second degree is a “cereal beat-in” during which the new member is punched and beaten by current members until the plebe can rattle off the names of five cereals (you know, Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Cheerios!)
The third degree reported involves “adhering to the masturbation regimen and getting a tattoo,” blogger Will Sommer wrote in a recent post.
Since then, a fourth-degree has been added to the initiation ritual – brawling with antifascists at public rallies.
However, injuries received by protestors are going to be real. This from the FOAK founder is chilling:
“Our emphasis will be on street activism, preparation, defense and confrontation,” he said. “We will protect and defend our right wing brethren when the police and government fail to do so.”
Tisiphone, and Megaera, please, form a squad of unnamed Furies if necessary, to protect rational people involved in rational demonstrations. Such as today's Climate march. And the demonstrations planned to support workers on May Day.
Probably we are, if not already there, at least becoming far too accustomed to seeing videos involving police stops, apparently based on suspicion of breathing while black or the like, to the point that there are too many for all to appear in this column. This article, however, is so well written and makes such good points, so that I thought it needed to be brought up.
The traffic stop, in Gwinnett County, Georgia, involved the stopping of Demetrius Hollins, 21, by Sgt. Michael Bongiovanni. Bongiovanni was standing by the sedan, Hollins emerged with hands up, and Bongiovanni slugged Hollins in the head. Then, after Hollins was lying on the ground handcuffed, another officer was called to the scene – Robert McDonald – who exited his vehicle, ran up to Hollins and kicked him in the head.
(Parentheticasl thought: is slugging and kicking in the head [or, alternatively, poisoning young brains with leaded water] the only way white supremacists can make people of color brain-damaged enough to satisfy their need to think themselves superior?)
The author says,
What do you think is more likely, that this traffic stop just happened to bring together the only two bad apples on the Gwinnett County police force? Or that there is a larger problem in its culture, illustrated by the fact that a young officer hired four years ago expected no consequences for needlessly kicking a handcuffed guy in the head in front of a sergeant?
And goes on to point out that
the Black Lives Matter movement is portrayed wildly inaccurately in conservative media outlets, which focus on the most extreme, unrepresentative rhetoric from the coalition, and all but ignore the actual policy demands that it has put forth….
Dubbed Campaign Zero, it draws its strength largely from the fact that many of the policies that it recommends are “best practices” taken from existing police agencies.
“They’re practical, well-thought out, and in most cases, achievable,” wrote Radley Balko, one of the country’s most knowledgeable law-enforcement-policy journalists. “These are proposals that will almost certainly have an impact, even if only some of them are implemented. The ideas here are well-researched, supported with real-world evidence and ought to be seriously considered by policymakers.”
Professor Harold Pollack, a policy expert at the University of Chicago, concluded in his assessment that, “One does not need to embrace every element to recognize that this well-crafted document provides a useful basis of discussion between grassroots activists, elected officials, law enforcement professionals, and policy analysts … And based on my own research on urban crime and policing, which has included the implementation of randomized-violence-prevention trials, interviews with incarcerated offenders, and collaboration with public-health and criminal-justice authorities, several proposals in Campaign Zero struck me as particularly smart."
Alecto, The problem of people with closed minds thinking that people who look like them can do no wrong is a longstanding one,maybe forever – which makes you the one to be working on this. I know it's difficult.
The Furies and I will be back.
Cross posted to Care2 at http://www.care2.com/news/member/101612212/4050021