Last night I watched President Barack Obama say farewell to the nation. Here is the complete video of that address, or, if you prefer, click here for a transcript.
As I watched, I could not help comparing what we are getting to what we are losing. The only rational response was to shed tears.
Portland is now under a full Winter Storm Warning, and it has been snowing all night and all day. Subfreezing temperatures are forecast until Sunday. As I feared it might, the weather has screwed up my day. On Wednesdays I take a morning nap, to be sure to be up when Store to Door arrives with my groceries. I was about to get up when the call came from Store to Door. All grocery deliveries are cancelled. Then Wendy called. Her school is closed for a snow day, and she was at the store. She’s picking up a few staples for me and wants to come in the next hour or so, instead of this evening. Dang! If I were ten years younger and hadn’t forgotten how, I’d marry her. So I’m not sure when this will be published or uploaded to Care2.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:54 (average 4:13). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From The Rachel Maddow Show: Unverified Trump, Russia blackmail allegations roil US politics
Richard Engel, NBC News chief foreign correspondent, talks with Rachel Maddow about a report that Donald Trump and President Obama were briefed on unverified claims that Russia has compromised Trump with a cache of incriminating or scandalous material.
You can read the document here. I believe it, but I do so on the basis of instinct, not verifiable evidence. I’m waiting for that, and if proven, Trumps minority election must be invalidated. RESIST!!
From Washington Post: The widow of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. urged Congress to block the 1986 nomination of Jeff Sessions for federal judge, saying that allowing him to join the federal bench would “irreparably damage the work of my husband,” according to the letter written by King that was previously publicly unavailable and obtained on Tuesday by The Post.
Senator Strom Thurmond (R-KKK) protected Beauregard in 1986 by burying the letter and not including it in the record. Please click through and read it in its entirety. Then call your Senator to demand that it be read into the record for this hearing. RESIST!!
From PoliticusUSA:
America is not giving Donald Trump a warm welcome to the White House as a new poll found that Trump’s job approval rating has dropped seven points to 37% over the past month.
According to Quinnipiac University, Trump has an unfavorable rating of 51% and unfavorable rating of 37%. The president-elect’s favorability ratings are down seven points over the last 30 days.
Respondents also had highly unfavorable views of Trump’s personal traits:
53 – 39 percent that he is not honest, compared to 52 – 42 percent November 22;
49 – 44 percent that he has good leadership skills, compared to 56 – 38 percent;
52 – 44 percent that he does not care about average Americans, compared to 51 – 45
percent who said he did care;
62 – 33 percent that he is not level-headed, compared to 57 – 38 percent;
71 – 25 percent that he is a strong person, compared to 74 – 23 percent;
68 – 27 percent that he is intelligent, compared to 74 – 21 percent.
Most losers of Presidential elections compare favorably to the Bullshit Banana. RESIST!!
Cartoon:
As I explained in today’s Open Thread, there is nothing Democratic Senators can do to block the confirmation of Jeff Sessions (R-KKK) as Attorney General and head of the renamed Department of Injustice. Democrats changed the Senate Rules in 2013 to require only a simple majority to confirm cabinet appointees and judges (except SCOTUS), because Republicans were blocking them all. However, at least some brave protestors disrupted Sessions’ confirmation hearing.
Moments before the start of Sen. Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearing on Tuesday, chaotic scenes broke out in the Senate Judiciary Committee, as two demonstrators dressed as Ku Klux Klan members shouted in protest against Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general. They were swiftly escorted from the room.
"You can’t arrest me! I’m white!" one of the protesters said as officials removed them from the hearing.
The incident comes as civil rights groups urge Senate Judiciary Committee members to reject Sessions’ nomination, many of whom point to his past efforts to block black judges from serving on the federal branch as evidence he is not fit to lead the Justice Department.
Breaking with longstanding senate tradition, Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, will join civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis, a Democrat from Georgia, on Tuesday to testify against Sessions’ appointment…
From <Mother Jones>
This had just happened, so this was the best video I could find.
Kudos to the protestors!
This is the acid test. If Senate Republicans confirm Sessions, they won’t stand up to the Fuhrer over anything else.
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!!
Cartoon:
Getting my medications squared away is taking me a lot longer than I anticipated, and and I also have other chores. Since I figure you’ll find out about the contraindications between the charming and talented Meryl Streep and Buckaroo Bullshit from several hundred other sources, this is my only article today.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:49 (average 5:05). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From The Daily Beast: The passing today of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, president of Iran from 1989 to 1997 and a key figure from the 1979 Islamic Revolution, will have earthshattering consequences not only for Iranian reformists and moderates but also Iran’s immediate political future.
At the time of his death, Rafsanjani was president of the Expediency Council, an influential advisory body to the Supreme Leader. Reformist elements in the council have now lost a powerful protector. But this is the least of the inevitable impact of Rafsanjani’s passing.
For the past ten years, within the upper echelons of power, Rafsanjani was the main protective shield for Iranian reformists and other similar factions currently out of power. His fearlessness in confronting hardliners and even the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, with skillful use of the media to do so, created a balance in Iranian politics between moderates and hardline “principlists” largely loyal to Khamenei. The loss of Rafsanjani now causes an overwhelming vacuum that will upset the balance of power between hardliners and more moderate groups in the Islamic Republic.
This could be disastrous for peace with the US, because it will pit extremist Shia hardliners against an Islamophobic Fascist megalomaniac. RESIST!!
From recordonline.com: According to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the time is nigh to play hardball with the Republicans. Under the tutelage of Mitch McConnell, they became the standard bearers of a do-nothing Congress — and that was never more evident than when President Obama nominated mainstream judge Merrick Garland for a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court.
It would require a supermajority in the Senate to confirm a new SCOTUS judge, and Garland never stood a chance with McConnell deciding the day that Antonin Scalia died that there would be no hearing on a pick by Obama for a replacement.
"I said in February of [2016], to a hail of controversy, that I thought it best if the American people decided this appointment," he said.
And now with President-elect Donald Trump set to appoint his own pick for the Supreme Court, the Democrats and Schumer are threatening a similar blockade — lest it be another "mainstream" pick to their liking. That pits the two counterparts against one another, effectively continuing the partisanship over the nation’s highest court.
I’ll believe it when I see it, but I’d be shocked, if Republicans failed to employ the nuclear option. RESIST!!
From Raw Story: A Republican plan to replace President Barack Obama’s health care reform law would turn employee health benefits into taxable income and shift more tax savings to high earners.
In a report over the weekend, congressional correspondent Jamie Dupree revealed that buried within an Obamacare replacement bill proposed by the Republican Study Committee in the House is a provision that would create a standard deduction for health insurance (SDHI) of $7,500 for individuals and $20,500 for families.
To pay for the deductions, the Republican plan would remove the tax exemption for employee health care, instead treating the benefits as taxable income.
The plan differs from the Affordable Care Act, which would only tax so-called “Cadillac” health insurance plans with annual premiums exceeding $10,200.
But the poor and middle classes will still get the RepubliCare Death Benefit: Can’t pay? Die for free. RESIST!!
Cartoon:
For how much longer? RESIST!!
People keep asking how they can RESIST!! They want to know what they can do. I’m almost fortunate that my physical limitations dovetail with my skills to carve me out the niche I occupy: information and analysis. One thing we can do is support each other’s causes, instead of limiting ourselves to our own boutique issues, and I try to do that. Though white, I champion minority issues. Though straight, I champion LGBT issues. Though carnivorous (we cats are), I champion animal welfare issues. Though male, I champion women’s issues. Tomorrow, you have a chance to champion climate issues.
What’s Going On?
President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks continue to horrify, as we approach the confirmation hearings for the “billionaires, generals, and ideologues” that he wants to appoint. This group threatens to roll back hard-won civil rights, make healthcare harder to access, and destroy the few regulations we have policing Wall Street. And thanks to Trump’s appointment of climate change-deniers to prominent posts related to the environment, they threaten to destroy our planet.
Any nominee who denies the dangers of climate change and the need to end our reliance on fossil fuels must be stopped. There are quite a few of them. Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson was the CEO of Exxon, a company that funded climate-change denial for years after their own research pointed to the veracity of human-caused global warming. Environmental Protection Agency nominee Scott Pruitt built a career suing the very agency he is set to head. Secretary of Energy pick Former Texas Governor Rick Perry once advocated for the total elimination of the Department of Energy and sat on the board of the company building the Dakota Access Pipeline.
What can I do?
This Monday, January 9th, join the Day Against Denial. To show that we won’t stand for a climate-denying cabinet, people across the country will gather at their senators’ offices to demand that they reject Trump’s reckless picks.
You can find a map of events in all 50 states here and if you don’t see one in your area, there’s a toolkit to help you organize one yourself. Even if you can’t make a protest, follow #DayAgainstDenial on twitter and be sure to spread the word…
From <The Nation>
Please click through for more. I would certainly encourage all who can to participate in an event near you.
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!!
Cartoon:
We’ve been waiting for some time for the report on Vladimir Putin’s (R-RU) interference in the US election to harm Hillary Clinton and assist Trump. We may never find out "how" the intelligence community knows what it does, largely because Putin would kill our HUMINT assets, if he knew who they were. The "why" is actually fascinating, but I think they missed an angle. And the lies coming from the Tangerine Traitor are deplorable.
Russian president Vladimir Putin interfered in the US presidential election to aid Donald Trump, according to a declassified assessment by the NSA, CIA and FBI.
“We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary [Hillary] Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump,” the agencies found in a long-awaited report that stands to hang over the head of the incoming Trump administration.
The report (pdf), for weeks the subject of leaks that have incensed and vexed Trump, contradicts the contention from his transition team that Russia did not prefer him in the 2016 election, as well as Trump’s insistence that the culprits behind the hacks of Democratic political figures are fundamentally unknowable.
The report keeps classified any crucial technical data demonstrating Russian culpability, which means its release is unlikely to persuade skeptics that the intelligence agencies have definitively proven their case. Nor does the intelligence assessment claim that Russian interference was decisive in the election.
Though the report lacks detail, never before has the US intelligence apparatus publicly assessed a foreign power to have interfered in an election for the benefit of an incoming president… [emphasis added]
From <The Guardian>
Photo Credit: Daily Kos:
I have read the report. You can too.
The best explanation as to why Putin did what he did. comes from Rachel Maddow.
I agree with everything she said, but here’s the other angle. Had Clinton been elected, she would have opposed Putin’s international abuses of power and war crimes to expand Russia’s sphere of influence. As long as Putin strokes his pet’s ego, Trump will roll over and give him free reign.
Rachel also covered Trump’s lies.
For those of you who cannot watch the video, let me reiterate. The Fuhrer said that Report said that Russia had absolutely no effect on the election. The report actually said that the report does not cover whether or not Russia had an effect on the election. The Fuhrer said that the Report said Russia had tried to hack Republican Party computers but had failed, because Republican cyber security was so supereior. The Report actually said that Russia successfully hacked Republican computers, but had opted not to make that information public. I don’t think Trump would go so far out of his way to try to cover that up, if Putin wasn’t blackmailing Republicans with the information he obtained, and that explains why I chose the graphic I did.
