Open Thread–1/25/2020

Posted by TomCat at 8:32 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 252020

I’ve been throwing up most of the morning, but am pushing through, because I don’t want to get behind. Tomorrow is a WWWendy day, so please expect no more than a Personal Update or an Open Thread. Have a great weekend.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:24 (average 5:34). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Desperately trying to change the narrative after a week of damaging presentations, Donald J. Trump’s defense team is scrambling to find an example of one law that Trump did not break, sources confirmed on Friday.

In concert with two of Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent defenders, Alan Dershowitz and Kenneth Starr, Trump’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow has been scouring federal, state, and municipal law books in the hopes of finding one statute that Trump, for whatever reason, did not violate.

“So far, no luck,” a source close to the defense team said.

Dang, Andy! They’re going to be searching forever! RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Attorney: Trump caught on tape demanding ambassador’s firing

I’d recognize that pig squeal anywhere! Is there anything that the criminal Trump* has not lied about? RESIST!!

From YouTube (Adam Schiff Channel): Rep. Schiff Concludes Senate Trial Argument: Give America a Fair Trial. She’s Worth It.

Schiff was masterful. Now get ready for wall to wall lies and obfuscation from the Republican Reich! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Simon & Garfunkel – Mrs. Robinson (Audio)

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread–1/24/2020

Posted by TomCat at 8:47 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 242020

It’s a tired day here in the CatBox. I didn’t sleep well last night, but I kept my food down all day yesterday and this morning. I’m going to do my best to force a week free of Medical Mayhem, before I let them perform more in their endless barrage of tests. Pardon my frustration, please. I’m just sick of sick. TGIF!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:52 (average 5:09). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Crooks and Liars: George Conway and his new group called The Lincoln Project created a second negative political ad targeting the vulnerable Senator from Maine, Susan Collins.

In the ad, they highlight the supposed “independent” credentials negated by her actions. They demand that Collins do her job during the Senate impeachment trial.

Amen! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Adam Schiff Ends Day With Powerful Argument For Trump’s Removal

I think Schiff was speaking more to the American people more than to the Senators, whose ears and minds are closed. The real trial is the one in November. The onus falls on voters to send criminal Resident Trump* and the entire Republican Reich the way of the Whig Party! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a change of pace): Patsy Cline – Sweet Dreams

I’m so old that even this brings memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread–1/23/2020

Posted by TomCat at 8:46 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 232020

I had a rough day yesterday, My lunch disagreed with my gut, and I threw up several times. Supper was no better. However I was able to keep breakfast down. I want to finish early today, so I can take a partial nap, before Store to Door delivers groceries this afternoon.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:11 (average 6:16). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From NY Times: When President Trump’s impeachment trial opened this week, the Democratic House managers prosecuting the case piled their table high with binders and notepads. Only a few rested on the defense table.

The contrasting amount of material the two legal teams brought into the Senate chamber to support their initial arguments foreshadowed a broader difference in their approaches to the trial.

In its opening days, the House managers have focused on the facts. They are trying to build a clear and coherent story around their theme that the president abused his power — delving into the details, putting up slides to summarize major points, and playing a well-organized selection of video clips of statements by Mr. Trump and by House witnesses.

Eschewing props, the defense team has focused instead on the process. They have used their time to reinforce the House Republican theme that impeachment is a sham and unfair to Mr. Trump — urging the Senate to swiftly dispose of the case without subpoenaing any additional documents or testimony.

Any good lawyer would prefer to present cases based on facts. However, when the factual evidence is completely stacked against them, they argue process to distract frim the factual case. This is why the House Managers are cleaning the Republicans’ clocks. It will probably make no difference to Republican Senators. They are complaining that they are bored, because they don’t want to listen. But another trial is coming in November. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Parody Project Channel): THE TWEET GOES ON – A Parody | The Freedom Toast & Parody Project

Thanks for including The Freedom Toast, Don. Those doctors may search, but they’ll never find one. If Trump* gets his image on the dime, people will be peeing on money. May voters send the entire Republican Reich the way of the Whig Party. RESIST!!

From YouTube (The Late Show Channel): Trump Brags About Obstructing Congress By Withholding Ukraine Evidence

This is typical of Republican criminal Trump*. He often brags about committing crimes at the same time he protests his innocence. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Little Darlin’-The Diamonds-1957

I learned to jitterbug to this tune. Ah… the memories. RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Enter the Kangaroos!

Posted by TomCat at 10:27 am Politics

Jan 212020

Having received his goose-stepping orders from criminal Resident Donald Trump, aka Fuhrer of the Republican Reich, Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch has released the Impeachment Rule he received from his Fuhrer’s lawyers. Thus, he issues the proclamation: “Enter the kangaroos!”

During the impeachment of Bill Clinton, Ken Starr, now one of the major new additions to Donald Trump’s legal team, argued that a president under investigation for criminal conduct must not be permitted to use governmental authority to embargo witnesses or hide the evidence against him. Starr’s arguments before Congress as a prosecutor decades ago apply directly to the upcoming Senate trial of Donald Trump, and the assiduous efforts of Mitch McConnell and his fellow GOP Senators to engineer a sham trial.

Start with McConnell, who for weeks has insisted that the Senate will “exactly” follow the procedures employed during the trial of Bill Clinton. Under those rules, the Senate formally admitted into evidence the entirety of the extremely comprehensive record assembled by Starr’s team, and then decided whether to call additional witnesses after the parties presented their opening arguments and answered questions from the legislators.

Given that Trump has schemed to withhold potentially key witnesses and evidence, leaving the record far from complete, following the “Clinton Rules” in the Trump case makes little sense. Furthermore, on the eve of the trial Monday, McConnell laid out his proposed rules, which do not follow a key provision of the Clinton procedures. Instead of automatically admitting the House’s materials into evidence, McConnell proposes that the Senate vote on which portions, if any, of the documents and testimony assembled by the House to admit. Under the McConnell Rules, which a Republican majority is near certain to pass, the Senate will literally be able to reach a verdict without admitting any of the materials incriminating the president into evidence. [emphasis added]

Inserted from <The Daily Beast>

This has me so upset, that I made a typo in the graphic. Here are three video clips to shed more light on this travesty.

Schumer calls on 4 GOP members to ‘resist McConnell’s cover-up’

Bernstein: ‘Midnight Mitch’ and Senate embracing coverup

McConnell’s Impeachment Rules Designed To Hide The Facts: Katyal

This may be the most important article I have published. Here’s the bottom line. The differences between this sham and the Clinton trial are as follows: The Clinton Trial admitted the entire House record at the outset. The Trump* travesty lets Republicans decide whether or not to admit the House record. In the Clinton Trial, Senators debated by the light of day. In the Trump* travesty, Senators will debate in the wee hours so voters don’t see what they are doing. Unlike the Clinton trial, the Trump* travesty is designed to prevent the prosecutors from presenting witnesses and documents. Unlike in the Clinton trial, the Trump* travesty gives Republicans the prerogative to vote for dismissal at any time.

On February 4, the criminal Resident Trump* is scheduled to give the State of the Union address. He is desperate for the opportunity to lie that he was “proven innocent”, which he is not, and will never be. Therefore Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch is in extreme cover-up mode.

This will put the onus on us to try to expose everything Republicans cover up. I’ll do my best to do my share. Please join me!

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 1/19/2020

Posted by TomCat at 7:44 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 192020

I’m hurrying to finish as much work as I can, before WWWendy arrives. This afternoon, I’ll meditate on the Holy Ellipsoid Orb. I’ll be rooting for the Chiefs in deference to one, who shall remain Nameless. I’ll also prepare tomorrow’s articles in advance, except for the puzzle.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:55 (average 4:12). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

In case you forgot, RepubliCare is the Republican Reich plan to replace ObamaCare.

Short Takes:

From Alternet: …Trump’s cold sweats are significant, because everyone who has been following this case knows that the Senate will acquit him. Not because he’s innocent — no one who has actually consulted the evidence is foolish enough to believe that — but because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republicans who control the Senate decided long ago that they would cover up for their shamelessly corrupt president no matter what he does. With such an assured outcome, Trump’s fears seem overblown and silly, even for someone crippled by sociopathic narcissism and its accompanying paranoia.

But it’s also true that high-profile travesties of justice, such as the one Senate Republicans are currently preparing to commit, can often provoke major political backlash. Getting a jury to acquit the obviously guilty can, as history shows, cause a public that’s already outraged about the crime to get even more furious. That, I suspect, is what Trump is sweating.

What the Senate is about to do is akin to the practice of jury nullification. That’s where a jury decides that either they don’t think the crime should be a crime at all, or that they believe people like the defendant should above the law, and so refuse to convict no matter how guilty the defendant is. This something that in theory, and sometimes in practice, can be used for good as when a jury refuses to throw someone in prison for a low-level drug offense, or refuses to enforce a law restricting free speech. But historically in the U.S., jury nullification has tended to be used to uphold injustice and reinforce racist or sexist systems of power….

As I so strongly implied yesterday, the Republican Reich is prepared to goose-step behind criminal Fuhrer Trump* into political extinction. RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Senator makes prediction ahead of impeachment trial

Coons is spot on that testimony from Jon Bolton and Lev Parnas is both relevant and probative, while testimony from Joe and Hunter Biden is neither. Coons’ argument would be valid, if this were a legal trial. It is not. Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch and the Republican Reich set the rules. They can would our objections to Joe and Hunter as an excuse to disallow all witnesses. So if Joe and Hunter appearing is what it takes to get us the real witnesses, bring them on! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread – 1/18/2020

Posted by TomCat at 8:51 am Blog News, Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 182020

It’s another crappy day, here in the CatBox, and I ALMOST went back to bed. Oh well, I get the camera in my gut in less than a month now. Tomorrow is a High Holy Day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb, the Festival of Conference Finality. May the Orb shine it’s blessed light on your team, if it has survived. I’ll be out of the saddle on Sunday and Monday. Sunday is a WWWendy Day and we have a very stinky TomCat and lots of chores to manage. Please expect no more than a Personal Update or Open Thread. On Monday I have an appt. with my cardiologist. If you remember, a few weeks back, I was telling my PCP about my heartburn, when an acid bubble came up my esophagus. I put up my hand to my chest, winced, and lowered my head in pain. Megan freaked out. She slapped on the EKG stickers, and once she realized I wasn’t having a heart attack, she insisted I make an appointment with Lisa. That was set back a few weeks ago, because TriMet Lift was two hours plus late and could not pick me up until well after my appointment time. So Monday I hope to publish a Personal Update, and an MLK Day article, prepared a day in advance. I hope to be back in the saddle Tuesday. Have a great weekend.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:24 (average 4:27). I’m amazed I beat the average. To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Alternet: In the past, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was among the most popular Republicans in New England — a region of the United States that has become increasingly Democratic in recent years. Collins, first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996, was reelected by 17% in 2002, 23% in 2008 and 38% in 2014. But that was before Donald Trump became president, and according to polling by Morning Consult, Collins now enjoys 42% approval and 52% disapproval — making her the most unpopular politician in the U.S. Senate.

During the first quarter of 2017, according to Morning Consult, Collins enjoyed 67% approval in Maine. But the last quarter of 2019 found her overtaking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in terms of unpopularity.

It could not have happened to a more deserving bitch (apologies to female dawgs)! Maine… Vote Blue!! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): President Donald Trump Picks Jeffrey Epstein Lawyers For Impeachment

How much do you want to bet that Barrf and the Republican Reich had Epstein killed to cover up their own crimes? Of course Fuhrer Trump* would pick pervert-friendly lawyers. Birds of a feather… RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): –

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread – 1/15/2020

Posted by TomCat at 8:57 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 152020

It’s a busy day, here in the CatBox. It’s cold out, and we had a light dusting of snow. WWWendy will come this evening to de-stink the raunchy TomCat, help with chores, and put out my out clothes for tomorrow. Tomorrow is my preliminary appointment with the thoracic surgeon, who will excise my lung tumors. I leave at around 7:00 AM and return around Noon. Therefore, please expect no more than a minimal Personal Update from me tomorrow. Happy Hump Day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:44 (average 8:29). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Rudolph Giuliani’s offer to act as Donald J. Trump’s defense attorney at the President’s impeachment trial has received unanimous support from congressional Democrats, who are now demanding that he perform such a role.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer told reporters on Tuesday that Giuliani’s participation as Trump’s lawyer during his Senate trial was, as far as they were concerned, “nonnegotiable.”

“Rudy Giuliani has demonstrated over the past three years that he can represent the President as no one else can,” Pelosi said. “If he is not the President’s lawyer in the Senate, that would be a deal-breaker for me.”

Concurring with Pelosi, Schumer added, “My Democratic colleagues in the Senate are prepared to pay Mr. Giuliani’s hourly fees, in cash, to make this thing happen.”

Dang, Andy! That would be wonderful! With Rudy 911 representing his Fuhrer, even Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch might vote to convict and remove! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Shocking New Evidence Rocks Trump Impeachment Before Senate Trial

Marie Jovanovich should be very, very afraid. Robert F. Hyde, the Republican congressional candidate stalking her for Trump*, looks like as vile a Republican pervert as Judge Roy Moore, Injustice Kavanookie, or even the biggest pervert of all, impeached Fuhrer Trump*. RESIST!!

From CBS: [BREAKING] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has revealed the impeachment managers for President Trump’s upcoming Senate trial, naming the members who will prosecute the case against the president on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

She announced her selections Wednesday morning:

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries
Congresswoman Val Demings
Congressman Jason Crow
Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia

Godspeed, one and all! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Pictures of Matchstick Men

I love the wah wah guitar in this one! Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch Has Votes for Show Trial

Posted by TomCat at 7:41 am Politics

Jan 082020

Since virtually all the news today seems focused on War Criminal Trump’s* Iran fiasco, I thought I’d switch back to the Senate’s most evil Republican, Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch. He has corralled the swing-state Republicans, who we hoped might demand witnesses, to goose-step behind Fuhrer Trump’s* impeachment kangaroo court to be conducted without witnesses or evidence.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he has the votes to set the ground rules of the impeachment trial for President Donald Trump — without Democrats’ support.

McConnell first made the remarks during a closed-door lunch with his fellow Republican senators on Capitol Hill, an official in the room told CNN, before McConnell made the announcement publicly during a news conference following the lunch. McConnell made clear he had no plans to move forward on a trial until the two articles of impeachment are sent to the Senate, as he has said publicly.

“We have the votes once the impeachment trial has begun to pass a resolution essentially the same, very similar to the 100-to-nothing vote in the Clinton trial, which sets up what’s best described as a phase one,” McConnell said Tuesday.

All McConnell needs is 51 senators — or a simple majority of the 100-member chamber — to vote to approve those ground rules. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah have said they back the leader’s approach… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <CNN>

McConnell Rolls Out Trump Trial Plan Without Witnesses, Democrats Say It’s A ‘Cover-Up’

Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch is comparing apples to road apples. In the Clinton impeachment trial, the testimony of all the major witnesses was already public. In the Trump* kangaroo court, The Republican Reich has blocked most major witnesses from testifying. In the Clinton impeachment trial, we had a Republican Senate trying a Democratic President. They were biased against Clinton. In the Trump* kangaroo court, a Republican Senate is trying their own beloved Fuhrer and are desperate to protect him from the consequences of his crimes at all cost. So any attempt by Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch to claim that the two trials are equivalent is pure bullshit.

Maine, Alaska, and Utah need to be plastered with ads about their Senators’ hypocrisy!

RESIST!!

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