Open Thread–7/1/2020

 Posted by at 9:04 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 012020
 

It’s a crazy day.  I’m waiting for Safeway.com to arrive, and hoped they would be here, before I publish this, but their tracking app shoes them over one hour late.  They have emailed me my receipt.  They are out of stock for $100 out of $190, including toilet paper.  I can do without a lot of the items, but it may be a shitty week, here in the CatBox.  Tomorrow, please expect no more than Personal Update.  WWWendy will be here in the morning.  Hump Day Hugs!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:59 (average 5:08).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0701TrumpVirusMap

US Cases: 2,730,803

US Deaths: 130,134

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Oregonian Channel): Portland Police declare a riot on June 30, 2020

It was a riot… a police riot. They attacked demonstrators, because they were in front of the police union office protesting police violence. Sadly, policing is one of the few areas in which Oregon does NOT lead the way.  RESIST!!

From NY Times: American officials intercepted electronic data showing large financial transfers from a bank account controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency to a Taliban-linked account, evidence that supported their conclusion that Russia covertly offered bounties for killing U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, according to three officials familiar with the intelligence.

Though the United States has accused Russia of providing general support to the Taliban before, analysts concluded from other intelligence that the transfers were most likely part of a bounty program that detainees described during interrogations.

Investigators also identified by name numerous Afghans in a network linked to the suspected Russian operation, the officials said — including, two of them added, a man believed to have served as an intermediary for distributing some of the funds and who is now thought to be in Russia.

The intercepts bolstered the findings gleaned from the interrogations, helping reduce an earlier disagreement among intelligence analysts and agencies over the reliability of the detainees. The disclosures further undercut White House officials’ claim that the intelligence was too uncertain to brief President Trump. In fact, the information was provided to him in his daily written brief in late February, two officials have said.

Now we have undeniable proof, both that Russia paid for the murder of US troops, and criminal Fuhrer Trump* knew about it since February, 2019. He rewarded Russia in spite of it.  Criminal Fuhrer Trump* has now fallen back to his defense of last resort. He’s calling it “fake news”.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): he Hollies – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother


Ah… the memories!  RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

 

 

 

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Open Thread–6/17/2020

 Posted by at 10:53 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 172020
 

It’s a tired day, here in the CatBox, as yesterday’s activity wore me out.  My Oncologist visit went very well.  I emailed a copy of my PET Scan results to a doctor, who shall remain Nameless.  I trust he can explain it better than I.  In short, all my tumors are smaller and considerably less intense than they were before treatment began.  They could not find my liver tumors to biopsy, but it turns out that there is enough material from the original biopsy of my esophageal tumor to analyze.  I misunderstood the treatment they want to do.  They will analyze the mutations of my cancer cells.  There are many mutagenic drugs that have been developed for cancer with different mutations, and if one of them matches mine, we can use it.  If not, it’s back to the drawing board.  My next appointment is on 7/7, and I’ll know then.  They also prescribed 12.5 mg Fentanyl patches for pain, which I should have by the weekend.  Happy Hump Day to all.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:27 (average 4:53).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0617TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 2,209,231
Deaths: 119,158
Recovered: 903,136

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: One day after it issued decisions on L.G.B.T.Q. rights and the Second Amendment that provoked his ire, Donald J. Trump said that he would overrule the Supreme Court by creating a “Supremer Court.”

“Right now, if the Supreme Court makes a bad decision, quite frankly, you’re screwed,” he said. “The Supremer Court fixes that.”

Trump said that his Supremer Court would be a “beautiful, perfect court” that would make the Supreme Court “look like exactly what it is—a sad bunch of losers.”

Trump said that the Supremer Court would be housed in a “giant, gleaming building” overlooking the Supreme Court, enabling the Supremer Court Justices to “look down at those pathetic little Supreme Court jerks and laugh.”

Dang, Andy! Did you read Criminal Fuhrer Trump’s* mind? We know he would, if he could!  RESIST!!

From Daily Kos: Last week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals denied immunity to Martinsburg, WV police officers who shot a “secured” and “incapacitated” black man 22 times.

From the judicial opinion (which is well worth reading in its entirety).

In 2013, Wayne Jones, a black man experiencing homelessness, was stopped by law enforcement in Martinsburg, West Virginia for walking alongside, rather than on, the sidewalk. By the end of this encounter, Jones would be dead. Armed only with a knife tucked into his sleeve, he was tased four times, hit in the brachial plexus, kicked, and placed in a choke hold. In his final moments, he lay on the ground between a stone wall and a wall of five police officers, who collectively fired 22 bullets.

According to the Police Union and the Republican Reich, that was a sad case of suicide.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Bob Dylan – Mr. Tambourine Man (Audio)

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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Republicans on Parade–6/14/2020

 Posted by at 11:19 am  Politics
Jun 142020
 

Here is the one hundred seventy-sixth article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s winner is Garrett Rolfe, a Republican police officer in Atlanta. He is so honored for murdering yet another unarmed Black man, by shooting him in the back as he fled.

L0614PigMurderess than 24 hours after a white police officer shot and killed an African-American man outside a fast-food restaurant, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta announced on Saturday that the city’s police chief had resigned.

Early on Sunday morning, Sgt. John Chafee, a spokesman for the Atlanta Police Department, said the officer who shot the man had been fired…

…The authorities said the man, Rayshard Brooks, 27, had run from the police on Friday night after failing a sobriety test and grabbing a Taser from an officer during a struggle with him. Ms. Bottoms said that security footage appeared to show that Mr. Brooks had fired the Taser toward the officer, who was chasing him before he was killed, but that she did not consider that a justification for the shooting…

Inserted from <NY Times>

Warning: the following video contains graphic footage of a Republican murder.

Body cam footage of Rayshard Brooks’ death shows calm, then chaos

To be fair, I have to say that Brooks’ conduct was far from acceptable.  Police and Republicans are claiming that Rolfe was in fear for his life, because Brooks fired the TASER at him.  However, police and “expert witnesses” have testified in court the use of TASERs by police is justified in crowd control, because it is a non lethal weapon.  Therefore, Rolfe could not have feared for his life from a non-lethal weapon.  Furthermore, once the TASER had been fired and missed, it could not be fired again and was no threat to Rolfe.  For Rolfe to shoot an unarmed fleeing Brooks in the back is a racist Republican murder.

RESIST!!

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Republicans on Parade–6/8/2020

 Posted by at 11:03 am  Politics
Jun 082020
 

Here is the one hundred seventy-fifth article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s winner is an unnamed Portland police officer. He is so honored for beating and pepper-spraying a reporter for having the audacity to film his Republican brother officers illegally torturing a black demonstrator like the Republican Nazis they are.

0608PigsAttackA Portland freelance reporter has penned an account of being beaten and pepper-sprayed by police officers while trying to film them making an arrest last night.

Video taken from a helicopter by WW’s news partner KATU-TV around 11:45 pm on June 6 shows a person filming police in Chapman Square, until an officer turns to him, hits him with a baton and twice pepper-sprays him in the face.

Donovan Farley, a longtime contributor to WW’s Arts & Culture section, says he was that person. His account matches what’s shown in the helicopter video.

Farley says in his account that he approached the scene because he heard a protester say he could not breathe as police officers were forcefully arresting him on the ground. Farley alleges the methods police used to make the arrest resembled those that Minneapolis police applied that killed George Floyd.

“As the man sputtered and spit and gasped, I, for reasons that I’m sure are clear, shouted to get the fuck off his neck,” Farley recalls. “This is the moment a fourth officer approached, reaching for his baton.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Willamette Week>

Here’s the included video.

Although Portland is one of the nation’s most liberal cities, our history of police misconduct, especially against Blacks leaves much to be desired.  Portland, like many cities, needs a citizen review board with teeth.

RESIST!!

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Open Thread–6/5/2020

 Posted by at 11:42 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 052020
 

It’s another hectic day here in the CatBox.  I had to lay down 90 minutes to alleviate back pain.  Tomorrow, please expect no more than a Personal Update, as it’s a WWWendy day and we have lots of chores to do.  JD, will you cover Bill Maher?  TGIF!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:44 (average 5:52).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0605TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 1,925,267
Deaths: 110,218
Recovered: 712,436

Short Takes:

From ProPublica: Police culture can be insular and tough to penetrate. But I’ve been surprised by how often it’s possible, though time consuming, to expose important issues by requesting and examining records and data from police departments and other government agencies and engaging citizens and key leaders. So here are five techniques concerned citizens, journalists and policymakers can use to examine police conduct in their communities.

1. Understand the policies and laws that govern police conduct.

If you’re alarmed by what you saw in Minneapolis, or other recent incidents of apparent police misconduct, the first step is to find out if the agency in question has a written policy on the use of force. Does the policy dictate when officers should or shouldn’t use force? What tactics are they allowed to use? Is there any rule against choking a suspect?

It’s important to know if the officers involved were following the policies and procedures that are supposed to guide their behavior. Police actions that strike an onlooker as inappropriate may actually be within a department’s rules. It’s possible the rules themselves are inconsistent with best practices elsewhere.

Ask the department for its policies on the practices that concern you, like restraining suspects or the use of pepper spray or Tasers. You may also need to request rules set by a county or state authority. Ask for written copies. You may be required to file a formal public records request, which I will describe below. And if there is no existing written policy, that might be something worth questioning itself.

If you’re having trouble understanding a policy, try running it by an attorney, academic, elected official or a journalist in your community.

How I did it: I did a deep dive into policies about drug testing after a police captain was killed in a car crash in 2016, and I exposed that he was drunk and on drugs at the time. I spoke to his chief and learned their department didn’t have a policy for random drug testing. I wondered why that was the case and looked to the state attorney general’s office, which sets many police rules. The rules allowed departments to choose whether they wanted to do random testing, and my reporting identified more than 100 that did not. After our story, the state attorney general mandated random drug testing for cops across the state.

I included one of five ways YOU can help hold police accountable for criminal Republican behavior. Please click through for the other four.  It’s worth the read, and you need to know it.  RESIST!!

From Alternet: New York Times columnist Paul Krugman on Friday warned that it’s wrong to compare President Donald Trump to President Richard Nixon, on the grounds that Trump is far worse and more dangerous.

Krugman acknowledges that there are some similarities between Trump and Nixon, such as their willingness to use racial grievance to gain power and their cavalier attitude toward obeying the law.

But Krugman thinks that the biggest difference between Trump and Nixon is that the Republican Party of 2020 is not the same as the Republican Party that pushed Nixon out in 1974…

…“The point is that today’s Republican Party wouldn’t object to a Trumpian power grab, even if it amounted to a military coup,” he writes. “On the contrary, the party would cheer it on.”

The Republican Reich, aka the Fifth Reich, has elections with predetermined results.  They exist for show only. If a military coup is needed to bring it about, Republicans are fine with that.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): The Beatles – Come Together

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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