Open Thread–3/16/2017

Posted by TomCat at 11:17 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 162020

It’s a hectic day, here in the CatBox. First, I overslept and got up 90 minutes late. Then I spent 90 minutes on breakfast. It’s a pain, but it’s been several days, since I last lost a meal. Then my oncologist sent me an extensive online questionnaire, and I spent 30 minutes on that. Needless to say, I’m behind schedule. Tomorrow, I have my initial visit to Evelyn Brosnan, my oncologist. I have to be in the lobby before the birds wake up, so please expect no more than a Personal Update from me, most of which I will do tonight to give me a fast escape in the morning. Oh God, it’s Monday Hugs!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:00 (average 4:37). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0316TrumpVirus

0316TrumpVirusTesting

Short Takes:

From Willamette Week: As Oregon Gov. Kate Brown weighs whether to close down bars and restaurants or institute a curfew, at least 360 medical professionals are asking U.S. Vice President Mike Pence for more dramatic action to keep people apart—or, in the parlance of the pandemic, to engage in more social distancing.

Those medical professionals signed an open letter tonight calling for federal action on the new coronavirus outbreak.

“No one should leave their homes in impacted regions except for medical care, essential supplies, essential work services and compelling other reasons that are clearly defined,” they write. “Virtual work options should be encouraged for all businesses, whenever possible.”

I fully agree with these Oregon medical professionals, but because Oregon leads the way, Kate should have been first to close down bars and restaurants. RESIST!!

From Alternet: The Kushner family is trying to cash in on the pandemic that could kill millions of us.

Oscar Health, the health insurance company co-founded by Jared Kushner’s younger brother, announced Friday it has launched a testing center locator for COVID-19. It shows where more than 100 centers are in the United States. The company is also offering a risk assessment survey and means to talk to a doctor online.

The coronavirus is predicted to kill anywhere from almost 500,000 Americans in the next year to more than 5 million. At least 62 people in the United States had died by Sunday; 3,130 have tested positive.

Do you remember when Kushner said he was delaying a response to “study” the situation? Now we know that sleazy son of a bitch was delaying a response to maximize personal profit from the suffering of others, without caring for the additional Americans, who will die because of the delay! Well, what the hell should we expect from someone, who would marry a Trump*? RESIST!!

From The Guardian: The Trump administration has offered a German medical company “large sums of money” for exclusive access to a Covid-19 vaccine, German media have reported.

The German government is trying to fight off what it sees as an aggressive takeover bid by the US, the broadsheet Die Welt reports, citing German government circles.

The US president had offered the Tübingen-based biopharmaceutical company CureVac “large sums of money” to gain exclusive access to their work, wrote Die Welt.

According to an anonymous source quoted in the newspaper, Trump was doing everything to secure a vaccine against the coronavirus for the US, “but for the US only”. [emphasis added]

That’s is just about as vile as a dirty bastard can get! Trump* virus is a worldwide problem. Solutions need to se shared freely with all patients, who need them, and all governments need to share in reimbursing the companies, who develop those solutions, for their work. Trump* and the Republican Reich would put the solution under their RepubliCare plan: If you can pay, you live. If not, Republican let you die for no extra charge. See below! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Association Cherish 1966

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread–3/15/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:01 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 152020

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. WWWendy is due in about ten minutes, so I’ll have to finish this after I am de-stunk. This is my only article today.

Jig Zone:

Today’s took me 2:56 (average 5:10). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoons:

Vintage 2018 and unchanged, except Lyin’ Ryan is flushed.

Trump* Virus Update:

0315TrumpVirus

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Raw Story Channel): Fauci refuses support Trump lie that Obama is to blame for coronavirus testing failures

Whose fault are all of Fuhrer Trump’s* crimes? Someone else’s! RESIST!!

From CNN: The nation’s top infectious disease expert on Sunday did not rule out supporting a temporary national lockdown of the country’s restaurants and bars in order to curb the spread of coronavirus, saying he’d like to see a “dramatic” reduction in activity in order to fight the disease.

Asked by CNN’s Brianna Keilar on “State of the Union” if he’d like a “national lockdown” where people are being told they need to stay home and out of restaurants and bars, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said he’d “like to see a dramatic diminution of the personal interaction that we see” in those places.

“Whatever it takes to do that, that’s what I’d like to see,” Fauci added.

I think it needs to be done, in addition to locking Trump* in a Mar-a-lago rest room. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the Past): Simon and Garfunkel – Homeward Bound (1966 – Live)

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread–3/14/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:31 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 142020

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. The pain in my back is so severe today that I just broke down and took an oxycodone. I hope it kicks-in quickly. Tomorrow is a WWWendy day, so please expect no more than a Personal Update or Open Thread from me. We have a lot of goop-prep to do in addition to de-stinking the TomCat. It snowed this morning. It wasn’t much but it was the only this year. Later: it’s snowing again!

0314Snow

Have a great weekend!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:35 (average 5:38). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump Virus Update:

0314TrumpVirus

0314TrumpVirusTesting

Short Takes:

From The Hill: One model from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggested that between 160 million and 210 million Americans could contract the disease over as long as a year. Based on mortality data and current hospital capacity, the number of deaths under the CDC’s scenarios ranged from 200,000 to as many as 1.7 million.

It found as many as 21 million people might need hospitalization, a daunting figure in a nation with just about 925,000 hospital beds…

…Another model built by experts at Resolve to Save Lives, a global health nonprofit, and the Council on Foreign Relations found the number of potential deaths could range from as few as 163,500, if the virus is no more deadly than seasonal influenza, to more than 1.6 million if the virus carries a mortality rate of just 1 percent.

Basically this mean that, thanks to Republicans’ inadequate response, due to their lust for power, somewhere between 163,000 and 1,700,000 Americans are likely to be murdered by Trump* Virus and the Republican Party. RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Infection Rate Charts Forecast Steep Rise In US Coronavirus Cases

Jack Ma is also giving the US 500,000 test kits. He’s doing this in spite of the anti-Chinese racist rants coming from criminal Fuhrer Trump*, Faux Noise and the Republican Reich. Kudos to Jack for helping us. “Without testing you are blind,” Ho says, but the Republican party intentionally sabotaged our ability to test to “keep our numbers low” At least FEMA is in charge, because Trump* finally declared a national emergency. But will Trump* appoint Michael “Heck of a job, Brownie” Brown to head FEMA again? RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): ROY ORBISON – CRYING – LIVE 1988

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Who is right on Trump* Virus: Bernie or Joe?

Posted by TomCat at 11:03 am Politics

Mar 132020

As Trump* virus is shutting down the nation, the criminal Fuhrer of the Republican Reich, Donald “the problem is fake news” Trump has demonstrated that he and his sycophant Vice-Fuhrer Pence are both not competent to manage the crisis. As they campaign for the Democratic Presidential nomination, both Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden gave policy speeches to demonstrate that they are competent to manage the crisis.

Former vice president Joe Biden said Thursday that the coronavirus outbreak has revealed the Trump administration’s “severe shortcomings” as he delivered remarks on a subject that has rapidly come to dominate and reshape the Democratic campaign for the White House.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also delivered remarks on the health and economic effects of the outbreak, comparing it in scale to a major war. Later Thursday afternoon, Sanders’s campaign was given a boost when he was declared the winner of last week’s Super Tuesday contest in California.

Also Thursday, the Democratic National Committee announced that it was moving a one-on-one debate Sunday between Biden and Sanders from Arizona to a television studio in the nation’s capital “out of an abundance of caution” amid the outbreak…

Inserted from <Washington Post>

I’ll let you see the speeches so you can judge which one is right. I’ll embed Joe’s speech first, because he gave it first.

Joe Biden Gives Speech On Coronavirus Pandemic

Bernie Sanders makes address about Coronavirus

So, which do you think is right?

In my view, they both are!

RESIST!!

Open Thread–3/13/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:02 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 132020

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox, as back pain is slowing me down a bit. WWWendy is back to Sunday, as the Trump* virus is shutting down her school. Throw some salt over your shoulder, and stay away from Republicans. They bring bad luck! TGIF!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:10 (average 6:23). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0313TrumpVirus

This does not include the thousands of Americans that have Trump* virus, but can’t get tested.

Short Takes:

From NY Times: First came the tickle in the throat. Then, a hacking cough. Then, a shortness of breath she had never experienced before. Hillary King, a 32-year-old consultant in Boston who lives down the street from a hotel where dozens of Biogen executives contracted the new coronavirus, decided that she had better get tested.

But getting tested is far easier said than done, even as testing slowly ramps up nationwide. Five days after President Trump announced that anyone who wants a test can get a test, Ms. King’s experience shows how difficult it can be in the United States to find out if you have the coronavirus.

Many who fear they have the virus have faced one roadblock after another as they try to get tested, according to interviews with dozens of people across the country.

Some have been rejected because they had no symptoms, even though they had been in proximity to someone who tested positive. Others were told no because they had not traveled to a hot spot abroad, even though they had fevers and hacking coughs and lived in cities with growing outbreaks. Still others were told a bitter truth: There simply were not enough tests to go around. [emphasis added]

This is exactly what I said yesterday. In spite of lies from the same Republicans, who turned down FREE tests from the WHO, there are far fewer tests than there is need. People are sickening and dying, because of Republican incompetence. RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): How A Country Serious About Coronavirus Does Testing And Quarantine

The Fuhrer of the Fifth Reich is handling the Trump* virus pandemic as well as the Fuhrer of the Fourth Reich handled Katrina. Republican incompetence kills! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Righteous Brothers – You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (Top Gun 1986)

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Friday: Empty Venues Worldwide

Posted by SoINeedAName at 9:24 am Politics

Mar 132020

Since this is (hopefully) a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic crisis, I felt it would be fitting to memorialize in pictures the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on daily life.

(I know it will be large – but we should feel the impact of it.)

JFK Airport:

Dodgers Spring Baseball Game:

Madison Square Garden Last Night (NBA Season Now Canceled):

Soccer Game in Europe:

Louvre, Paris:

String Quartet Concert, Venice:

Duomo Cathedral Piazza, Milan:

Pigeons gather on Piazza del Duomo by Milan’s cathedral on March 10, 2020 in Milan. – Italy imposed unprecedented national restrictions on its 60 million people on March 10, 2020 to control the deadly coronavirus, as China signalled major progress in its own battle against the global epidemic. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images)

Galleria Shopping Center, Milan:

TOPSHOT – A general view shows a woman walk across the deserted Vittorio Emanuele II galleria shopping mall on March 10, 2020 in Milan. – Italy imposed unprecedented national restrictions on its 60 million people on March 10, 2020 to control the deadly coronavirus, as China signalled major progress in its own battle against the global epidemic. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images)

Paper Products Section, Costco:

A customer walks past mostly empty shelves that normally hold toilet paper and paper towels at a Costco store in Teterboro, N.J., Monday, March 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Ginza Shopping District, Tokyo:

TOKYO, JAPAN – FEBRUARY 26 2020 Virus frightens visitors at Japan’s shopping district of Ginza. Image of empty street in the heart of the luxury hub of the capital.- PHOTOGRAPH BY Massimo Rumi / Barcroft Studios / Future Publishing (Photo credit should read Massimo Rumi/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Super-Highway, Hong Kong:

St. Peter’s Square, Rome:

VATICAN CITY, VATICAN – MARCH 8: A view of empty chairs at St Peter’s Square before the live-broadcasting of Pope Francis’ Sunday Angelus prayer during the Coronavirus emergency, on March 8, 2020 in Vatican City, Vatican. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the closure of the Italian region of Lombardy in an attempt to stop the ongoing coronavirus epidemic in the Italian country. The number of confirmed cases of the Coronavirus COVID-19 disease in Italy has jumped up to at least 5,883, while the death toll has surpassed 230. (Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)

Church Pews:

Mecca:

TOPSHOT – An aerial view shows an empty white-tiled area surrounding the Kaaba in Mecca’s Grand Mosque, on March 6, 2020. – An eerie emptiness enveloped the sacred Kaaba in Mecca’s Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site, where attendance at Friday prayers was hit by measures to protect against the deadly new coronavirus. (Photo by Bandar ALDANDANI / AFP) (Photo by BANDAR ALDANDANI/AFP via Getty Images)

Open Thread–3/12/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:59 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 122020

It’s a busy day, here in the CatBox. I haven’t lost a meal since Tuesday, and Propanol has managed my back pain to a 2-3 level so far this morning. Store to door is delivering groceries this afternoon, and I’ll need to put them away. I am quite tired, though, because I ate late and got to bed late. WWWendy is flying to Iowa for a few days to see a boyfriend. I’m trying to talk her out of it. If she goes, she’ll be coming this Saturday and next Tuesday. Have a great day.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:24 (average 5:26). To do it, click here. Not edible. How did you do?

Cartoon:

I know of 5 more times US troops have intervened there.

Trump* Virus Update:

0312TrumpVirus

Short Takes:

From Crooks and Liars: House Democrats held a meeting this morning to get out in front of Trump on a coronavirus relief bill and make sure their priorities are included, MSNBC reporter Leigh Anne Caldwell said.

“It’s to ensure that people who aren’t receiving any income because of coronavirus get relief and that those who are food insecure also get some relief,” she said.

What’s that translating to in a draft bill in the House of Representatives, including sick leave for people who either have to be quarantined because of coronavirus or who actually have the virus. Other things, an extension of unemployment insurance and an extension of food stamps and aid for kids who get free and reduced lunches at school, but can’t go to school because their schools are closed.”

Criminal Fuhrer Trump* refused to negotiate with Pelosi on the Trump* Virus relief bill, so she went ahead, and it will pass the House tomorrow. Will Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch sit on it, or will Trump* veto it to exacerbate Americans’ suffering? RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): U.S. Unprepared For Expected Explosion In Coronavirus Cases

While nobody can be completely prepared for a pandemic of this magnitude, the ineptitude of criminal Fuhrer Trump* and the Republican Reich will kill hundreds if not thousands of Americans. RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Camerota to Pence: Why are number of tests going down?

Damn! If pseudo-Christian Pence gets hos nose any deeper in his criminal Fuhrer’s ass, he’ll be able to see the bottom of Trump’s* tonsils. The reason the number of tests are going down, according to Occam’s Razor, is that we have a diminishing supply of tests available. Nevertheless, criminal Fuhrer Trump* refused FREE tests from WHO! RESIST!!

0312corona-virus-tests-8-countries

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Lemon Pipers – Green Tambourine

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread–3/11/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 112020

It’s a difficult day here in the CatBox. I was able to keep my serving of strawberries and cream instant oatmeal down this morning, but I have a lot of back pain. Tonight, WWWendy comes to de-stink the TomCat and help with chores. For some reason, my shower chair really exacerbates my back pain. I have a few Oxycodone left. I’ll take one when she gets here. Happy Hump Day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:09 (average 4:43). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0311TrumpVirus

Short Takes:

From Alternet: Critics are denouncing as ‘corporate socialism’ the Trump administration’s reported consideration to offer oil and gas companies in the U.S. fracking industry a massive bailout amid a drop in prices that comes amid the global coronavirus outbreak.

“Corporate socialists seek welfare from Trump administration,” tweeted journalist David Cay Johnson, in response to reporting by the Washington Post on Tuesday.

According to the Post, the administration is looking to bail out the fracking sector due to its instability in the wake of the ongoing financial downturn:

White House officials are alarmed at the prospect that numerous shale companies, many of them deep in debt, could be driven out of business if the downturn in oil prices turns into a prolonged crisis for the industry. The federal assistance is likely to take the form of low-interest government loans to the shale companies, whose lines of credit to major financial institutions have been choked off, three people said.

I fully agree with one caveat. Bailouts for the worst mother fracking corporate criminals is not corporate socialism. It is Republican National Socialism. RESIST!!

From Crooks and Liars: Always nice to see the fair and balanced (and not completely deranged) hosts of Fox News, or in this case, Fox Business News, working on behalf of Dear Leader. Trish Regan’s monologue was called the “coronavirus impeachment scam.” I suppose none of which should be in any way surprising, as Fox News and its bizarre offspring, Fox Business News, exist to prop up this failed and inept president, even at the expense of public health and safety.

Barf Bag Alert!!

The Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, are so full of shit that their Nazi blue eyes are turning brown. This Republican disinformation will kill people. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): the beach boys – fun, fun, fun

I occasionally dated a gal with a 1957 T-Bird 2 seat convertible (LOVED that car!!). Friends and I used to sing and play this tune to her to tease her. Ah… the memories. RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

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