May 252020
 

A hat tip to Ken W, in Michigan I think, who told me to look up this reference. The author, a Brit to be sure, is so spot on that I felt compelled to share the short article. And to those who know me, a Canuck through and through, will know that many Canadians will share this view. There are many Americans that likely share this view too.

From The HOBBLEDEHOY

Someone on Quora asked “Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?” Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England wrote the following response:  

A few things spring to mind.   Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.

Image result for trump images
Image from YouTube.com

Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.  

But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.  

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.  

And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.  

There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. …

God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.  

He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.  …

I encourage you to read the remainder of this short article. There is a Star Wars comparison that is so graphic and so amusing. I hope you get some much needed levity from it. I also should say that this article was written 08 March 2019 so does not include any of Trump’s COVID-19 fiascos which would only make things worse.

Share
May 252020
 

It’s a busy day, here in the CatBox.  Tomorrow, please expect no more than a very brief Personal Update, because I have to leave home at 7:30.  WWWendy is taking me to the hospital for my next infusion and to discuss what we need to change to extend my life without killing me.  I’ll try to let you know when I’m home safe.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:27 (average 5:12).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Yes I know the chimp is an ape, not a monkey.

Trump* Virus Update:

0525TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 1,688,709
Deaths: 99,348
Recovered: 451,745

Short Takes:

From Crooks and Liars: Almost certain to be an enduring meme, that Trump decided that going golfing was appropriate and more important than honouring Americans that have died due to COVID-19. That he did so doing Memorial Day weekend makes it even worse.

Source: Rolling Stone

President Trump, who has faced mounting criticism for his administration’s mishandling of the coronavirus crisis and his lack of empathy throughout, decided to leave the White House on Saturday to play golf.

According to several reports, today’s trip to the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, is likely his first outing to one of his private golf courses since early March. However, during the two “working weekends” the president spent at Camp David in May, it is unknown whether or not he played golf.

Trump going golfing is consistent with his reopen theme that he’s been pushing of late, but it still shows a tone-deafness and a lack of empathy. The U.S. pandemic death toll is approaching 100,000, and on top of that it’s Memorial Day weekend, a solemn occasion meant for tributes to Americans lost at war.

What Trump did today is much worse. He insulted fallen heroes by taking his ersatz bone spurs to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: Sharply disagreeing with critics of Donald J. Trump’s weekend visit to the Trump National Golf Club, Dr. Anthony Fauci has urged Trump to remain on the golf course until the pandemic is over.

“The people who are giving you a hard time about your golf trip are just haters,” Fauci told Trump on Sunday. “It’s in the best interest of everyone in the country that you keep golfing, Mr. President.”

“Please,” he added.

Andy, I have to admit that Fauci’s point could not be more valid.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the Past): 500 miles – Peter, Paul and Mary [Original Audio]

Ah… the memories!  RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Share
May 162020
 

A MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN

Politics Plus regular and steadfast commenter, Mitch D., has sent me an email with the following ‘letter’. I’m sure most of our regulars have received it too but as a foreigner, I found it particularly humorous (pun intended) and I decided that it deserved an even bigger audience than it already had. Here is a complete copy of it.

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

“In light of your failure to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA, and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

 

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except North Dakota, and Utah, which she does not fancy).

 

Our new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
———————–
1. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘colour,’ ‘favour,’ ‘labour’ and ‘neighbour.’ Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters, and the suffix ‘-ize’ will be replaced by the suffix ‘-ise.’ Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up ‘vocabulary’).
————————
2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ‘like’ and ‘you know’ is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter ‘u’ and the elimination of ‘-ize.’
——————-
3.  July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
—————–
4.  You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you’re not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can’t sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you’re not ready to shoot grouse.
———————-
5.  Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
———————-
6.  All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
——————–
7.  The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.
——————-
8.  You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with  catsup  but with vinegar.
——————-
9.  The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth – see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat’s Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
———————
10.  Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialect in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one’s ears removed with a cheese grater.
———————
11.  You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).
———————
12.  Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
——————–
13.  You must tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us mad
—————–
14.  An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty’s Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776)
—————
15.  Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

God Save the Queen!

P.S.:  Only share this with friends who have a good sense of humour ( NOT humor )!

Share
May 132020
 

Yesterday a panel of experts testified about COVID-19, aka Trump* virus in the Senate.  They demonstrated that criminal Fuhrer Trump and the Republican Reich have been lying.  They are so full of Trump* shit that their eyes have turned orange.

0513TrumpVirusHearing

Two of the federal government’s top health officials painted a grim picture of the months ahead on Tuesday, warning a Senate panel that the coronavirus pandemic was far from contained, just a day after President Trump declared that “we have met the moment and we have prevailed.”

The officials — Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, and Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — predicted dire consequences if the nation reopened its economy too soon, noting that the United States still lacked critical testing capacity and the ability to trace the contacts of those infected.

“If we do not respond in an adequate way when the fall comes, given that it is without a doubt that there will be infections that will be in the community, then we run the risk of having a resurgence,” said Dr. Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who is at the forefront of efforts to find a coronavirus vaccine.

If states reopen their economies too soon, he warned, “there is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control,” which could result not only in “some suffering and death that could be avoided, but could even set you back on the road to trying to get economic recovery.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Here’s some coverage of the Senate and more.

Fauci Clashes In Tense Moment At Senate Hearing

Criminal Fuhrer Trump* fears that keeping the economy shuttered will cost him any possibility to steal the White House again. How many people will he murder in the process? How many will be children?

Robert Reich has Republican motives down cold.

Robert Reich: The Real Reason Trump Wants to Reopen the Economy


The Reich on the left Robert Reich is right. The Reich on the right, the Republican Reich cares for money and power. They consider killing YOU part of their plan!

RESIST!!

Share

A Historic Decision

 Posted by at 10:51 am  Politics
May 122020
 

The nation’s highest court is divided into two segments.  SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) has four Justices: John Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonja Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan.  SCROTUS (Republican anti-Constitutional VD) has five Injustices.  John “no stare decisis” Roberts, Pervert Teabag Thomas, Samuel “Scalia Jr.” Alito, Neil “they stole my seat from Merrick Garland” Whoresuch, and Brett Pervert KavaNazi.  They have a historic decision to make about whether criminal Fuhrer Trump* may continue to hide records of his financial crimes.

0512Supreme-Court

It seems that every 23 years, or about once in a generation, the Supreme Court considers whether presidents must abide by the rules that govern other citizens. In 1974, it unanimously required President Richard M. Nixon to turn over tapes of conversations in the Oval Office. Twenty-three years later, in 1997, it unanimously required President Bill Clinton to respond to a sexual harassment suit.

On Tuesday, almost exactly 23 years after the ruling in the Clinton case, the court will confront an equally significant showdown, this one over President Trump’s efforts to block demands from two House committees and New York prosecutors for his tax returns and other financial information.

The earlier cases were argued in the courtroom, with only those attending able to hear them live. Tuesday’s arguments will be heard by telephone because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the public will be able to listen in…

Inserted from <NY Times>

If you wish to listen in, here is the live broadcast.

Listen Live: Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments In Trump Financial Records Cases


Rachel Maddow interviewed David Enrich.  Like the majority of Court watchers, he thinks Trump* does not stand a chance.

Significant Financial Secrets At Stake For Trump In SCOTUS Case

I fear that David Enrich may well be wrong. As obviously open and shut the case against criminal Fuhrer Trump* is, the Nazi Injustices of SCROTUS (Republican anti-Constitutional VD) may all goose-step with their beloved Fuhrer.

RESIST!!

Share
May 122020
 

I was so wiped out the rest of the day yesterday that, except for a small supper, I went back to bed all yesterday afternoon and evening.  Then I overslept two hours this morning and still feel very tired.  But I had a better appetite at breakfast.  Have a Republican-free day.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:09 (average 4:36).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0512TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 1,388,283
Deaths: 82,018 (over 18,000 in May)
Recovered: 262,328

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: One week after the United States Senate returned to session, Senator Susan Collins, of Maine, said that she would self-quarantine to avoid possible contact with decisions.

Collins said that she had hoped to safely distance herself from any decisions while at the Senate but feared that the risk of accidental exposure to a decision was too great.

“I was troubled and concerned by how many decisions there were,” she said. “It did not feel safe to me.”

Collins said that she would self-quarantine until she is confident that the danger of being in the vicinity of a decision had clearly passed.

Dang, Andy! Was there ever a time that Collins’ did not test negative for integrity, whenever she makes decisions?  RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Obama Calls Trump Administration’s Virus Response ‘Chaotic Disaster’


This is a very big deal! For former President Obama to speak out against criminal Fuhrer Trump* is completely out of character for him. He should have done so sooner!  RESIST!!

From YouTube ( a blast from the past): Buffy Sainte Marie-Circle Game

Ah the memories!  RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Share
May 082020
 

It’s a very busy day, here in the CatBox.  First, a high of 84° is forecast, so I may be cooked before my dinner is.  I’m getting ready to go to the hospital to get ZAPPED.  I expect to glow in the dark tonight.  Depending on how bad I feel, I’ll try to put up an I’m OK reply, when I return.  TGIF to all!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:33 (average 4:59).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump Virus* Update:

0508TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 1,295,058
Deaths: 77,058
Recovered: 217,292

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Despite an increasingly grim employment picture, an unskilled American man remains gainfully employed, labor experts confirmed.

With millions applying for unemployment benefits each week, experts expressed bafflement and outright astonishment that a man with no identifiable skills, talents, or competence appears to be secure in his job.

“This unskilled individual’s continued employment defies any kind of economic logic,” Davis Logsdon, who studies employment trends at the University of Minnesota, said. “Of the 33.5 million Americans who have applied for unemployment benefits over the past seven weeks, approximately 33.5 million are more qualified than he is.”

Even more perplexing, experts said, is the unskilled man’s persistent employment after failing at a series of other jobs during the past three years.

Andy, that certainly is a wonder. There is nobody more unskilled than Jared Kushner, except perhaps, criminal Fuhrer Trump, himself!  RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Trump Sidelines CDC Reopening Advice In Favor Of Vague Happy Talk


I think there is a method to the madness of criminal Fuhrer Trump* and the Republican Reich. Because they are reopening too soon to serve their own political ends, they know they will kill thousands of people in the process. If states /businesses have no guidelines to follow, the Fuhrer and the Reich can blame the state/local level reopening failures and their lethal effects on the state and local officials.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Teach Your Children


Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Share
May 062020
 

Do you remember the “anonymous whistleblower that helped expose the high crimes and misdemeanors for which criminal Fuhrer Trump* escaped responsibility?  Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch and the Senate Republicans violated their oath.  Well, it’s whistleblower time again.  This one is not anonymous, and the high crimes and misdemeanors are even worse.

0506Bright

[H]e was pressured to invest in drugs and vaccines that lacked scientific merit, because the people selling them had friends in the Trump administration, up to and including the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. He was forced to transfer funds to acquire drugs for the Strategic National Stockpile, America’s most important reserve of lifesaving medications, based not on health needs but on “political connections and cronyism.” He was instructed to use his department’s budget to purchase flu medications of questionable efficacy. And when the COVID-19 crisis erupted, he was pressured to approve a plan that would “flood” cities with unproven and untested doses of chloroquine drugs, from uninspected manufacturing plants in Asia. When his efforts to work through the system failed, he decided he had a “moral obligation to the American public” to ring the alarm about the plan, “which he believed constituted a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety.” In retaliation, he was “smeared,” with officials unfairly accusing him of dropping the ball on vaccine development and PPE preparation.

These are just some of the allegations contained in a blistering, 63-page complaint that Dr. Rick Bright, former head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), filed today with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. According to his lawyers, Bright will testify before Congress next week.

Vanity Fair has submitted requests for comment to the White House and the Food and Drug Administration, and will update this article with any responses. In a statement, Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Caitlin Oakley said: “Dr. Bright was transferred to NIH to work on diagnostics testing—critical to combatting COVID-19—where he has been entrusted to spend upwards of $1 billion to advance that effort. We are deeply disappointed that he has not shown up to work on behalf of the American people and lead on this critical endeavor.”

Bright has become the first high-level federal whistleblower to publicly allege that the Trump administration has responded to the COVID-19 crisis by unduly pressuring health officials, and putting politics and profit ahead of science. Bright, the government’s top coronavirus vaccine developer, had spent a decade at BARDA, a small but powerful agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), whose mandate is to partner with private companies to help accelerate the development of vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics. According to Bright’s complaint, BARDA manages almost $50 billion worth of contracts and acquisitions, on an annual budget of just over $1.5 billion. He was named director in 2016…  [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Vanity Fair>

I strongly encourage you to click the link in the second paragraph and read the shocking complaint in it’s entirety.

Here’s some coverage from CNN.

Ousted vaccine director says pandemic warnings were ignored

In the criminal Fuhrer’s White House, as in the entire Republican Reich, truth telling is a capital offense.

White House coronavirus task force to be ‘phased down’ around Memorial Day


There are few things that the Republican Reich, especially criminal Fuhrer Trump* hate more than oversight. They fear that the next whistle blower will publicly expose it, when Republicans murder more and more Americans to reopen the economy for Trump’s* political ends.

MSNBC did a better job covering the actual corruption.

Coronavirus Whistleblower Complaint Suggests Trump Admin. Putting Politics Above Science


How many thousands of Americans have died and will die, because criminal Fuhrer Trump* is diverting the resources desperately needed by sick families no serve his, his relatives’, and his Republican cronies’ greed?

The last time there was a whistleblower complaint, we impeached Criminal Fuhrer Trump*. Since these high crimes and misdemeanors are even worse, it’s time to give that dirty son of a bitch (apologies to all female dawgs) a second asterisk.

RESIST!!

Share