Open Thread – 9/12/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:54 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 122020

It’s a crazy day here in the CatBox. WWWendy did not co to Crater Lake, because between the wildfires and Trump* virus, virtually everything there is closed. She arrived late, because the visibility is terrible. She cut my hair and is now gooping, while I write. This is my only article today. Have a great weekend.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:05 (average 4:57). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Vintage 2013

Trump* Virus Update:

0912TrumpVirusMap

Click for interactive map

US Cases:6,639,386
US Deaths: 197,473
Plus thousands of Trump’s* GOP murder victims Republicans are hiding from us

Short Takes:

From NY Times: Well before his move to the Department of Homeland Security, Brian Murphy had become known as an ambitious counterterrorism investigator at the F.B.I., determined and relentless. At times, though, colleagues chafed at what some saw as an overzealous disregard for bureaucratic rules.

All of those traits may have been at play this week when Mr. Murphy, a career law enforcement officer, became a whistle-blower.

The Department of Homeland Security was built after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, 19 years ago Friday, to keep federal, state and local governments coordinated on national security threats. But in his whistle-blower complaint, Mr. Murphy, the department’s former intelligence chief, said its senior leaders directed him to do the opposite: play down the primary national security threats of white supremacy and Russian election interference, thus distorting intelligence to mirror President Trump’s messaging.

The allegations, coming less than two months before Election Day, add to the growing evidence that Mr. Trump has prioritized his own political goals over the word of his intelligence officials, and that the Homeland Security Department has become an instrument of his personal will. Mr. Murphy’s complaint reflects the current turmoil at homeland security and is another front in Mr. Trump’s battle with the government’s intelligence agencies.

Barrf strikes again! That is far worse than acting as Trump’s* personal lawyer! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Sen. Merkley On West Coast Wildfires: It ‘Puts On Exclamation Point’ On Climate Catastrophe

Criminal Fuhrer Trump* is happy to help kill Oregonians with his storm troopers, the GOP Gestapo, and he loves it when wildfires or Trump* virus kills Oregonians. Could that be because Oregon leads the way? RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of past protest): JOAN BAEZ ~ What Have They Done To The Rain ~

Ah… the memories! Protest like the 60s! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread – 9/7/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:04 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 072020

It’s a relatively lazy holiday here in the CatBox. My esophageal tumor is making eating more painful and difficult. I’ll talk to Evelyn about that, when I go in Wednesday. My AC is acting up intermittently. When I woke up, this morning, it was pumping out heat and the inside temp was 89°. It wouldn’t power down, so I flipped the circuit breaker. Then I coaxed it into working again, for now. I’m babying it until Maintenance Dept. gets here. Of course this has to happen on a 3 day weekend. If you’re driving, please stay safe. Thank God it’s Monday.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:48 (average 4:24). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0907TrumpVirusMap

Click for interactive map

US Cases: 6,462,189
US Deaths: 193,259
Plus thousands of GOP plague murder victims Republicans are hiding from us.

Short Takes:

From Alternet: Warning of the very real chance of a “nightmare scenario” in which President Donald Trump misleads the American people over the results of the November election—or refuses to leave office voluntarily if voted out—Sen. Bernie Sanders is raising the alarm and mobilizing his army of supporters to be aware of just how dangerous a game the president is now playing.

In an interview with Politico and an email sent to his massive email list Friday, Sanders suggested that too many news organizations, social media companies, and lawmakers—in addition to the broader public—remain unaware of the manner in which Trump is laying the groundwork for a potentially devastating series of events.

“Trump is now using his lies and misinformation to sow confusion and chaos in the election process and undermine American democracy,” stated in the email, sent to millions of his supporters on Friday. “In other words, he does not intend to accept the results of the election if he loses and leave office voluntarily. This is not just a ‘constitutional crisis.’ This is a threat to everything this country stands for.”

Speaking with Politico earlier in the day, Sanders said one crucial thing to be done immediately is to educate people. “What we have got to do in the next two months is to alert the American people about what that nightmarish scenario might look like in order to prepare them for that possibility and talk about what we do if that happens,” he said… [emphasis added]

I fully agree with Bernie. The people of the US need to be fully informed about Trump’s* likely intent to overthrow the government of the US and how he is setting up an attempt to do so. RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Schiff: Barr flat-out misled with a ‘blatantly false statement’

Barrf Bag Alert!!

If Russia, Trump* and the Republican Reich were not working together, their propaganda lies would not be identical. As for Barrf, he’ll never catch up to Trump*, his Fuhrer, in number of lies told, but he sure as hell is trying! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of past protest): Phil Ochs Draft Dodger Rag

Ah… the memories! Protest like the 60s! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread – 7/29/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:28 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 292020

It’s another busy day here in the CatBox. WWWendy is coming to destink the sweaty TomCat, goop, and help with chores. Then I have to meet with the building manager to renew my lease, an hour of routine paperwork. Yesterday’s PET scan was as unpleasant as always, but it will be interesting to see the results a week from Friday. This is my only article today, but expect me back in the saddle tomorrow. Happy Heat Wave Hump Day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:18 (average 4:45). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

As much as he botches about China, that’s still where his stuff is made.

Trump* Virus Update:

0729TrumpVirusMap

Click here for interactive map.

US Cases: 4,500,102
US Deaths: 152,388
World Cases: 16,936,005
World Deaths: 664,401
Trump’s Share of World Deaths: 22.9%
US Share of World Population: 4.3%

Short Takes:

From OPB: Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday unveiled coronavirus testing-related metrics the state must meet before schools can reopen, and it became immediately evident that many of the state’s largest school districts will be online-only this fall.

Brown’s announcement was swiftly followed by news from school districts: Portland Public Schools will have online classes only until at least Nov. 5 for all grades. Beaverton School District will be conducting classes online until at least Nov. 13. Salem-Keizer, North Clackamas and Tigard-Tualatin districts will also start the year holding online classes with plans to stay remote until at least late fall.

The list is likely to continue growing.

According to the latest county reopening guidelines announced by the governor, the entire state needs to have a weekly positivity rate of less than 5% for three weeks. The latest statewide positivity rates for COVID-19 tests for the previous three weeks were 5.8%, 5.8% and 4.6%.

Portland Public Schools Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero warned online classes could stretch past November for his district.

“As an educator, I know that there is no true replacement for face-to-face learning and the interaction between a student and a dedicated teacher or staff member,” Guerrero said in a statement. “But our announcement today is in keeping with our highest priority during a global pandemic, which is the health and well being of our students and employees.”

This is how Democrats manage education if the face of Trump’s* Republican plague. Kudos to Kate Brown! Oregon leads the way! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Dissembling, Defensiveness And Partisanship: AG Barr’s House Hearing

Lying Republican Nazi SOB! Barrf barfed! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of protest): U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday

Kudos to the protestors left-wing protestors! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–6/25/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:54 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 252020

It’s a busy day, here in the CatBox. Store to Door will be delivering groceries, and I have to put them away. Tomorrow, please expect no more than a Personal Update or an Open Thread. I have a doctor coming from Providence Medical Group at Home. What I can publish depends on how long she is here. How many Republicans does it take to screw in a light bulb? The answer is ∞. Republicans want to keep you (and their idiot Sheeple) in the dark.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:09 (average 4:44). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0625TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 2,463,923
Deaths: 124,308

Short Takes:

From NY Times: The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Cory T. Wilson of Mississippi to a New Orleans-based circuit court over united Democratic opposition, handing President Trump the 200th federal judicial confirmation of his tenure and achieving a Republican goal of filling every appeals court opening by the end of the year.

In winning Senate approval, Judge Wilson, a conservative state court judge and former Mississippi legislator, became the 53rd federal appeals court judge installed by Mr. Trump and cemented a milestone in a judicial legacy that has reshaped the federal courts during his administration, including putting in place two Supreme Court justices. Republicans lauded the achievement. The vote was 52-48.

This is a sad day for America. There are now 200 more reasons that justice here will be undermined for many decades. RESIST!!

From Crooks and Liars: Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in Union County, Oregon is tied to 236 cases of COVID-19 in the area — in a county with 258 cases.

And of course, the church in eastern Oregon cited Donald Trump’s demand that states allow churches to open as the reason they restarted services, against the law which didn’t allow religious groups to convene in large gatherings.

These Republican pseudo-Christians (the opposite of real authentic Christians) love to infect their neighbors with Trump* virus for their beloved criminal Fuhrer Trump*! RESIST!!

From YouTube (Adam Schiff Channel): Rep. Schiff on CNN: Barr is the Second Most Dangerous Man in America

Since Barrf is the third most dangerous man in the country (You forgot Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch), impeach him! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Neil Diamond – Sweet Caroline High Quality

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Dump Barrf!

Posted by TomCat at 11:09 am Politics

Jun 242020

AG Barr, aka Barrf, has been using the DOJ to further the desires of criminal Fuhrer Trump* and the Republican Reich. To do so, he has interfered with legitimate prosecutions and denied the American people the justice that is our right. He should be impeached.

Two prosecutors in the Justice Department will ratchet up the criticism of Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday with remarkable congressional testimony accusing senior Justice Department officials of politicizing DOJ investigations and the sentencing of a friend of President Donald Trump.

Aaron Zelinsky, a prosecutor on former special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, plans to testify that the sentencing recommendation for Trump’s longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone was watered down due to political pressure from the “highest levels” of the Justice Department, according to Zelinsky’s prepared remarked released Tuesday. Zelinsky, who now works in the Maryland US Attorney’s Office, said the pressure came due to Stone’s “relationship with the President.”

John Elias, a career Justice Department prosecutor in the Antitrust Division, accused Barr of ordering investigations into 10 mergers of cannabis companies because he did not like the industry, according to a copy of his testimony. Elias also charged that political leadership in the Antitrust Division pushed an investigation into California’s emissions standards last year following a tweet from the President attacking the state.

Wednesday’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee comes amid a new flurry of questions surrounding Barr’s decision to fire Geoffrey Berman, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which has investigated Trump and his associates. Berman initially refused Barr’s request for his resignation, vowing to remain until the Senate confirmed his replacement sparking a chaotic situation that ended after Trump and Barr fired him and Berman agreed to leave…

Inserted from <CNN>

Barrf is so corrupt that the faculty of the George Washington University School of Law have written a letter asking the university to strip Barrf of his honorary degree, according to above the law. The powers that be are considering it. To read a copy of that letter (PDF), click here.

‘Torching Its Legacy’: DOJ Insider Says AG Barr ‘Should Be Resigning’ After ‘Bombshell’ Allegation

I know, I said that Barrf should be impeached, and I’m right! However, there’s no way in hell that we can ever get a fair trial, let alone a conviction, in the Senate, as long as it is in the fetid grip of Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch and the Republican Reich. Therefore, we need to keep exposing Barrf’s crimes and educating people about them. Hopefully, in 2021 a Democratic President will appoint a REAL Attorney General, who will have Barrf investigated and indicted. Then the court can tell him, “Go to jail! Go directly to jail! Do NOT pass go! Do NOT collect $200,000,000!” It will be even better, if he meets his beloved criminal Fuhrer Trump* there!

RESIST!!

Open Thread–6/21/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:55 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

Jun 212020

It’s a better Sunday, here in the CatBox. My Fentanyl patch has helped my pain level and reduced my use of Oxycodone considerably. Tomorrow I have a morning visit from a Providence Home Health doctor, so how much I publish will depend on how long she is here. Kudos to all Dads.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:18 (average 5:42). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0621TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 2,331,673
Deaths: 122,005
Recovered: 973,061

Short Takes:

From Alternet: On Friday night, Attorney General William Barr issued a statement saying that the U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffry Berman, had resigned. That was a lie. Not only had Berman not resigned, he had told Barr repeatedly that he would not resign, and had turned down other roles at the Department of Justice. So, about an hour after Barr’s statement, Berman issued a statement of his own, telling Barr to stuff it. Actually, Berman stated that he had been “appointed by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York” and that he would only step down “when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate.” Berman is in the middle of a number of highly sensitive investigations, including an ongoing investigation of Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani and his associates in Trump’s Ukraine scandal. So his removal clearly signals that Barr is, once again, placing Trump’s desires far ahead of such arcane ideas as justice, or the nation.

On Saturday afternoon, Barr produced a new statement. He’s given up the pretense that Berman has resigned. Instead Barr says, “I have asked the president to remove you as of today, and he has done so.” According to Barr, this makes assistant U. S. Attorney Audrey Strauss the new acting U. S. Attorney, but considering Barr’s knowledge and application of the law, odds are he’s simply lying again. Hilariously, Barr claims there’s no danger of there being an issue with ongoing cases because … the inspector general will see to that. As everyone knows, Trump and Barr just respect the hell out of inspectors general.

SDNY’s Geoffrey Berman has resigned. Perhaps he’ll have time to testify to Congress now.

Criminal Fuhrer Trump* claims that Barrf did this on his own. He claims he had nothing to do with it. One, or far more likely, both, are lying. Barrf lacks the authority to fire a US Attorney. RESIST!!

From YouTube (John Pavlovitz Channel): 5 THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER TO SAY TO GRIEVING PEOPLE. How Our Words Can Magnify Other’s Loss

Very well said, by an Authentic Christian (the polar opposite of a Republican pseudo-Christian). I could not agree more! RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel):Facts don’t support what Trump, Pence say about coronavirus

Trump* Virus is an ongoing disaster, just like criminal Fuhrer Trump and the Republican Reich, who are making it so much worse. Here in Oregon, the most recent spike comes from a Pentecostal Church in Eastern Oregon. There Republican pseudo-Christians (the opposite of real authentic Christians) are practicing Republican guidelines on Sunday and infecting their neighbors Monday through Saturday. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): “REFLECTIONS OF MY LIFE” THE MARMALADE ~ 1969 – original recording ~ HQ AUDIO

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–6/11/2020

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

Jun 112020

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. Store to Door should be delivering groceries within the next two hours. Sometime tomorrow morning, I have a visit here from a Providence Home Health Nurse to determine what additional care I may need. My participation here depends on when it is and how long it takes. Have a great day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:42 (average 4:51). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0611TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 2,067,355
Deaths: 115,163
Recovered: 808,556

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Announcing that he was putting the nation on a “double-red threat level,” Donald J. Trump warned the American people on Tuesday to be on the lookout for terrorists posing as peaceful seventy-five-year-olds.

“One of these terrorists was already identified by the police in Buffalo,” Trump said. “They may be coming to your town next.”

Trump listed some “telltale signs of Antifa,” in order to help Americans identify septuagenarian terrorists in their midst.

“If the person appears to be seventy-five or older, with white hair and a peaceful demeanor, call the authorities immediately,” Trump said.

Dang, Andy! That’s straight news again! RESIST!!

From Alternet: More than 1,250 former Department of Justice employees on Wednesday called on the department’s inspector general to open an investigation into reports that Attorney General William Barr personally ordered the tear-gassing of protesters in Washington, D.C. on June 1.

The former employees wrote that Inspector General Michael Horowitz must get to the bottom of Barr’s involvement in the dispersing of the crowd, which was part of the nationwide uprising against racial injustice following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor…

…The Washington Post reported last week that Barr directed law enforcement officers on the ground to deploy tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun grenades at protesters just before President Donald Trump walked through the park to get to a nearby church for a photo-op.

Barrf needs more than investigation. He needs a long prison term! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Buffalo Springfield – For what it’s worth , Vietnam war

Ah… the memories. RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Racist Attack and Desecrating a Church for a Photo-op

Posted by TomCat at 11:46 am Politics, Religion

Jun 032020

A few days ago cowardly criminal Fuhrer Trump had a case of buk-buk-buk-buk-bone spurs and hid in the White House bunker for fear that they might hurt him. He had expected to cover it up, but someone leaked it to the press, and before he knew it, people all over the country were laughing at him. The last times he felt that humiliated is when the existence of the pee-pee tape, became public and when people learned that Stormy spanked him. He needed to put on a show to appear heroic.

After a weekend of protests that led all the way to his own front yard and forced him to briefly retreat to a bunker beneath the White House, President Trump arrived in the Oval Office on Monday agitated over the television images, annoyed that anyone would think he was hiding and eager for action.

He wanted to send the military into American cities, an idea that provoked a heated, voices-raised fight among his advisers. But by the end of the day, urged on by his daughter Ivanka Trump, he came up with a more personal way of demonstrating toughness — he would march across Lafayette Square to a church damaged by fire the night before.

The only problem: A plan developed earlier in the day to expand the security perimeter around the White House had not been carried out. When Attorney General William P. Barr strode out of the White House gates for a personal inspection early Monday evening, he discovered that protesters were still on the northern edge of the square. For the president to make it to St. John’s Church, they would have to be cleared out. Mr. Barr gave the order to disperse them.

What ensued was a burst of violence unlike any seen in the shadow of the White House in generations. As he prepared for his surprise march to the church, Mr. Trump first went before cameras in the Rose Garden to declare himself “your president of law and order” but also “an ally of all peaceful protesters,” even as peaceful protesters just a block away and clergy members on the church patio were routed by smoke and flash grenades and some form of chemical spray deployed by shield-bearing riot officers and mounted police… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Reverend describes being pushed out from church for Trump photo-op

Maiming peaceful protestors demonstrating legally? Injuring clergy as they ministered to injured demonstrators? Desecrating’s the church by instigation violence there? There is only one word sufficiently vile to describe such anti-Christian behavior: Republican. And guess who made it happen for his Fuhrer?

Attorney General William Barr is facing demands to step down after the Washington Post reported Tuesday that the nation’s top law enforcement official personally ordered police to beat back peaceful protesters gathered near the White House Monday evening to clear the path for President Donald Trump’s walk to St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Two anonymous federal law enforcement officials told the Post that “the decision had been made late Sunday or early Monday to extend the perimeter around Lafayette Square by one block.” An unnamed Justice Department official said that Barr on Monday afternoon “went to survey the scene and found the perimeter had not been extended.”

“The attorney general conferred with law enforcement officials on the ground, which the official said is captured in a video of the incident,” the Post reported. “He conferred with them to check on the status and basically said: ‘This needs to be done. Get it done,’ the Justice Department official said.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Alternet>

That’s right! It was Barrf! To make matters worse, Trump never opened his Bible (as if he ever has). He never prayed. It was all just a photo-op! How disgusting! How vile!

RESIST!!

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