Here is the one hundred sixty-ninth article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s winner is Trump sycophant US Senator, Lindsey Graham [R-SC]. He is so honored for the typically Republican integrity and courage with with which he goose steps behind his beloved Fuhrer! This is actually Lindsey Poo’s third parade.
As many have already said, Donald Trump may be the most corrupt public official we have seen in our lifetimes. The current impeachment hearings have made it very clear that he attempted to put pressure on a foreign power by withholding already earmarked aid in exchange for dirt on a political opponent. To do this, he employed a legion of shady corrupt former officials and foreign actors. Sen. Lindsey Graham has been doing all that he can to defend Trump’s actions, shuffling through defenses of the current White House corruption, from saying that there was nothing corrupt in the transcript of Trump’s call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to arguing that Trump and friends are too stupid to be corrupt. It’s been difficult for Graham, since there are so many public statements, on video and elsewhere, of his original opinions on impeachment, and none of them match up with his current views.
A video has surfaced purporting to show a military veteran from Louisiana trying to speak with Graham in front of Graham’s office…
Lindsey Poo deserves his parade, based on hypocrisy alone, but I understand that, after this incident, he made the following statement: BWACK-BUK-BUK-BUK-BUK-BUK! How Republican!
It’s an exhausted day here in the CatBox. Needless to say, last week was a gruesome one for me, and I just didn’t get the rest I needed. On the plus side, I have no medical appointments this week. Store to Door is closed for Thanksgiving, so I’m getting my groceries delivered from Safeway.com tomorrow. Putting them away will be much more difficult, because Safeway does not help the way Store to Door does. They are scheduled between 8 and 10 AM, so depending on how long it takes, I may have only one article tomorrow. WWWendy and I are celebrating the holiday on Sunday with lamb chops, lamb gravy, stuffing, Brussels sprouts, raspberry pudding ring, B & J Cherry Garcia and Alka-Seltzer. OGIM Hugs to all!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:31 (average 5:29). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Religious Agony:
Even the most omnipotent Orb couldn’t help those bozos! ARGH!!
Short Takes:
From YouTube (Media Matters Channel): Fox News questioned Lt. Col. Vindman’s patriotism but praised war criminals
Barf Bag Alert!!
The Republican Reich, who Faux Noise represent, have no need for heroes like Vindman. They need war criminals, who are willing to perform violent acts against heroes. RESIST!!
From YouTube (CNN Channel): Adam Schiff: ‘The evidence is already overwhelming’ in impeachment inquiry
CNN is right about one thing. The evidence certainly is overwhelming against Trump and several of his goose stepping minions. Even though they appear to go ahead, the House needs to keep investigating the entire Republican Reich. In 2020, a Democratic President would appoint an AG honest enough to indict Trump, Pence, Barrf, Pompeo, Perry, Nunes and dozens more. RESIST!!
From YouTube (a blast from the past): Peter and Gordon – A World Without Love (HD) 1964
It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. WWWendy is due in a half hour, and I want to do as much as I can, before she arrives. I’ll finish after she leaves. Ellipsoid Orb Hugs to all.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:11 (average 4:41). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Short Takes:
From YouTube (SNL Channel): Trump Impeachment Press Conference Cold Open
How do you tell them apart, except the fake Trump (Baldwin) has bigger hands? RESIST!!
From CBS News: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized on Friday after experiencing “chills and fever” earlier in the day. The 86-year-old justice received treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.
Ginsburg was initially brought to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., on Friday, but was then transferred to Johns Hopkins for further evaluation and treatment for a possible infection, the Supreme Court of the United States’ public information office said in a statement on Saturday.
Please remember RBG in your prayers, or in however you relate to the infinite. If the Fuhrer gets another Supreme Court appointment, that would likely be fatal for the hopes of restoring freedom in the US. RESIST!!
From YouTube (a blast from the past): The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964) HD
So far, House Democrats are trying to limit the Impeachment hearings to just Trump and just Ukraine. However, I’ve heard several progressives surmise that, when the articles ho to the Senate, Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch will run a brief show trial that will acquit Putin’s Craven Criminal. And while the country says, “Ho. Hum.”, the Fuhrer will immediately extort the Grand Poobah of Outer Slobovia to manufacture dirt on potential Democratic nominees. There ate other alternatives. They are to pursue members of the House and Senate and to pursue the Vice Resident, Barrf, and cabinet members.
Nunes aide Derek Harvey participated in the meetings, the lawyer said, which were arranged to help Nunes’ investigative work. MacMahon didn’t specify what those investigations entailed.
Nunes is the top Republican on the House committee handling the impeachment hearings—hearings where Parnas’ name has repeatedly come up….
In addition to Nunes, the House and Senate abound with co-conspirators who ate enabling Trump to committing High Crimes and Misdemeanors, by helping him evade responsibility for them. In addition, Pence, Barrf, Mulvaney, Pompeo, Perry and more are cabinet co-conspirators. Going after these groups could keep Republican crimes in the public eye for months.
I’m undecided. Which to you prefer: keep it simple stupid or cast a wide net?
It’s a frustrating day here in the CatBox. I missed my cardiologist appointment appointment yesterday. TriMet Lift was was supposed to arrive between 8:53 and 9:27 to get me there for a 10:10 appointment. At 9:15 they gave me an ETA of 9:45. At 9:45 they gave me an ETA of 10:20. At that point I had to call to ask if Lisa could see me late. She could not, and I had to reschedule. I can’t see her now until January. I asked Providence Home Medical Equipment to give me a time to get the Oxygen Concentrator I ordered yesterday. They’ll let me know on Monday. I found the same make and model as the one I already have, so I’m already familiar with its operation and maintenance. Tomorrow is a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. My Broncos are meditating with the Bills. Because they stink, it won’t be televised here. May the divine Orb shine it’s blessed light on your team, unless they gamble with buffalo chips. Tomorrow, please expect no more than a Personal Update. It’s a busy WWWendy day, and she’ll be here an hour early, because she has an event at her bartending job. Irritated Hugs to all!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:56 (average 5:01). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: In what some observers called his most sarcastic opening statement of the impeachment inquiry, Representative Devin Nunes, on Thursday, accused witnesses of trying to mislead the American people with facts.
“From the beginning of these proceedings, the Democrats’ witnesses have offered facts, more facts, and nothing but facts,” Nunes said. “I, for one, have had enough of their factual games.”
Ramping up his attack, he accused the civil servants who have testified of having “an almost cult-like worship of verifiable information.”
“ ‘Step right up,’ these witnesses seem to be saying,” Nunes added. “ ‘The fact circus is in town.’ ”
Dang Andy! Isn’t that just like those Democrats? RESIST!!
From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): US Intel Briefed Senators That Ukraine Theory Is Russian Op: NYT
Senate Republicans knew this the whole time that they were pushing that conspiracy theory. Is Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch the only Russian agent in the Republican Caucus? It appears not. RESIST!!
From YouTube (a blast from the past): REFLECTIONS OF MY LIFE” THE MARMALADE ~ 1969 – original recording ~ HQ AUDIO
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. 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.”
Well, this is scary. I have known about Candida albicans for quite some time – 40-60% of us have some somewhere in our gut, but our immune systems generally keep it in check. In the mid-eighties, when DH and I both started allergy treatment, we were routinely tested for it; because of allergies tying up the immune system, it can get out of control if you have some, and especially food allergies. It was then treated with nystatin or some similar drugs,
I certainly never knew that, or why, it’s so hard to come up with antifungal drugs that aren’t as bad as the fungus itself. Candida albicans, the Candida which causes “thrush,” used to be considered annoying, but controllable. No one knew about these other strains of Candida Boy, have things changed! And rapidly!
In 2013 I took care of a gentleman who underwent surgery for what all his physicians, including me, thought was liver cancer. Surgery revealed that the disease was a rare but benign tumor, rather than cancer. As you might imagine, he and his family were overjoyed and relieved.
However, two weeks after this surgery, he developed a liver abscess – an encapsulated tissue infection. Surgeons operated to remove the abscess. Two days later, test results revealed that the abscess was caused by a fungus called Candida that was resistant to echinocandins, our most powerful drugs against this fungus.
The patient underwent multiple surgeries and received various antibiotics thereafter, but his abscess kept growing back. He died four weeks after the first surgery to remove the abscess. The cause of death was sepsis due to his echinocandin-resistant Candida infection, which, at the time, was uncommon in the U.S. This tragic case demonstrated to me firsthand the devastating impact of drug-resistant fungal infections.
In the years since, I have cared for over a dozen patients who have died due to antibiotic-resistant fungal infections. On Nov. 13, 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report on antibiotic resistance threats in the U.S., warning that drug-resistant fungi have become major public health problems.
The new report revealed that 18 microorganisms cause almost 3 million antibiotic resistant infections and 35,000 deaths annually. For the first time, this report includes several antibiotic resistant fungi: Candida auris, other drug-resistant Candida (as in my patient above) and azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus. These resistant fungi are especially threatening because only three classes of antifungal medicines are currently available.
Antibiotic-resistant fungi?
We have heard a lot in recent years about the public health crisis of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but less attention has been paid to antibiotic-resistant fungi. In part, this is because fungi became common causes of disease only over the past 30 years. During this time, the risk for serious fungal infections rose as more people suffered weakened immune systems stemming from increased bone marrow and organ transplantation, new drugs to treat cancer and other diseases, and complex surgeries. The widespread use of more potent antibiotics to treat resistant bacterial infections also has contributed by creating less competition for fungi to grow in human tissues.
Fungi include yeasts, which grow as spherical cells; and molds, which grow as elongated, tubular cells. Both yeasts and molds are more closely related genetically to humans than they are to bacteria. Therefore, it is hard to develop antibiotics that attack fungi without damaging human cells.
Candida are yeasts that commonly cause skin rashes, urinary tract infections and vaginal infections. However, they are also the third-leading cause of sepsis and other life-threatening infections in U.S. hospitals.
Candida auris was discovered in 2009, but it was almost never encountered in a medical setting until 2015, when numerous infections suddenly occurred on multiple continents. It is now one of CDC’s five most “urgent threats” for two principal reasons.
First, it demonstrates very high-level antifungal resistance. Ninety percent of strains are resistant to fluconazole, the frontline antifungal in many countries; 30% are resistant to two antifungal classes; and between 3% and 5% to all antifungals.
Another reason that the CDC is concerned about C. auris is that it has the unique ability to spread from person to person through contact with hands and clothes of health-care workers or contaminated medical devices. It also persists outside of humans in health-care environments, and causes large, long-standing infectious outbreaks. C. auris is a remarkably robust organism that can survive standard disinfection methods, high temperatures and salt solutions that kill other microbes.
Since the first U.S. case in 2016, C. auris has caused more than 800 infections in 13 states. CDC and local health departments currently are working to contain numerous health-care outbreaks. It is unclear why this fungus has arisen now, although climate and other environmental changes may have played a role. Likewise, it is unclear how widely C. auris will expand in the U.S. or globally.
Other drug-resistant fungi in the Candida family are also considered “serious threats” by CDC. These strains cause more than 34,000 infections annually, more than are caused by C. auris, but they are less likely to spread from person to person and cause outbreaks. Nevertheless, deeply invasive C. auris and other drug-resistant Candida infections are similar in severity, resulting in the death of 40% of patients.
Another dangerous fungus species the CDC singled out is Aspergillus fumigatus, which is a mold found in soil and vegetation that releases spores that most people inhale daily without problems. However, people with weakened immune systems – especially cancer patients or transplant recipients – can develop lung or other organ infections that kill between 50% and 75% of infected patients.
Azole antifungals are the only drugs that kill A. fumigatus without causing serious side effects. Azoles also are used widely in agriculture. Azole-resistant A. fumigatus infections are most common in Europe, where they have been linked to agricultural and patient use. Although these infections still are uncommon in the U.S., CDC has placed azole-resistant A. fumigatus on its “resistance watch list” because azole use is so widespread in this country and vulnerable patient populations are large.
Tackling antibiotic-resistant fungi requires many strategies
How is the U.S. fighting antibiotic-resistant fungi? CDC and health departments are leading the way in surveillance for resistance and, in the case of C. auris, outbreak containment and prevention. Containment involves rapid and accurate diagnosis of C. auris infections, and the use of hospital gowns, gloves, equipment and cleaning materials that reduce the likelihood of spreading the fungus.
Organizations that grade the quality of medical care for the public now require health-care facilities to have antibiotic stewardship programs that reduce inappropriate prescribing and development of resistance.
Efforts are underway also to control antibiotic use in agriculture and animals, since resistance cannot be tackled by only focusing on human medicine. CDC and other U.S. agencies are working closely with international partners, because antibiotic-resistant microbes do not recognize geographic borders. Finally, the crucial first step in tackling a problem is to recognize it, which is why the CDC report on antibiotic resistance threats is so important.
Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, this is an area which demonstrates quite vividly why we need to fund medical research – despite the machinations of all those who would defund it completely.Please! Help!
It’s hard to know where to begin, because the past two weeks have been very bad for Trump – making them very good for America. So I hope you won’t mind that this post is a bit disjointed and not a smooth linear, chronological flow of events.
First, let’s address the medical concerns regarding tRump’s emergencyunscheduled“routine” visit to Walter Reed Hospital – with the White House doctor riding right next to him. But the White House staff and tRump himself assure us that he’s in perfect health. (Riiiggghhhttt)
In fact, “Team Trump” (part of his 2020 campaign) released an X-ray to prove it:
BREAKING: An X-Ray image has been released from President @realDonaldTrump’s visit to Walter Reed
Speaking of Speaker Pelosi, I think you’d agree there are folks who can throw shade very well – but there are few who can so expertly throw shade that it causes an eclipse. And Speaker Pelosi did just that this past week when she stopped in mid-sentence during a press conference – turned to the cameras and patiently explained to tRump what the word “EXCULPATORY” means:
I love it when Nancy Pelosi shades trump:
It's called an inquiry, and if the president has something exculpatory – Mr. President, that means you have anything that shows your innocence – then he should make that known."
That then begs the question: If Ukraine is as corrupt as you claim (and since Paul Manafort’s ties to Ukraine landed him in jail, that would seem accurate), why would tRump trust Ukraine to investigate two American citizens for … corruption?
But the two weeks of bad news didn’t stop tRump, despite being pummeled by witness after witness after witness, from trying to claim victory:
I can just hear the late-great Howard Cosell announcing the ringside action:
Trump is viciously landing punch after punch after punch …
Unfortunately, they’re all landing on his own face!
Another of my favorite moments (among many) was when Rep. “Bulldog” Ratcliffe (R-TX) made a humongous gaffe calling tRump a liar in closing with Ambassador Taylor, forcing him to “Yield back” while putting a knowing grin on the Ambassador’s face when Ratcliffe (reading from his own prepared script) mistakenly – but truthfully – said:
REP. RATCLIFFE: If they impeach President Trump for blackmail, or extortion, or making threats or demands they have to call President Trump a liar to do it. [BIG PAUSE] … I yield back.
The most heartwarming moment was when Ambassador Yovanovitch receives a much-deserved round of applause upon her departure:
And lighter moments, like “We Are All Congressman Krishnamoorthi” hashtag from his reaction after Rep. Elise “Screamer” Stefanik leaves him alone:
And of course Nunes great “Poker Tell” with a facial reaction that says it all right after the session when Ambassador Sondland admits there was, in fact, a “Quid Pro Quo”.
In closing, I think this pretty much sums up the past two weeks for tRump and republicans:
As many have already said, Donald Trump may be the most corrupt public official we have seen in our lifetimes. The current impeachment hearings have made it very clear that he attempted to put pressure on a foreign power by withholding already earmarked aid in exchange for dirt on a political opponent. To do this, he employed a legion of shady corrupt former officials and foreign actors. Sen. Lindsey Graham has been doing all that he can to defend Trump’s actions, shuffling through defenses of the current White House corruption, from saying that there was nothing corrupt in the transcript of Trump’s call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to arguing that Trump and friends are too stupid to be corrupt. It’s been difficult for Graham, since there are so many public statements, on video and elsewhere, of his original opinions on impeachment, and none of them match up with his current views.
