Open Thread – 9/14/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:30 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 142020

It’s a busy day, here in the CatBox, and I feel very tired. I overslept. The goop experiment I suggested to WWWendy Saturday was a total failure, and the resulting tumor-clog irritated the hell out of my esophagus, so the last two days have been painful. I thoroughly enjoyed my zoom meeting with my volunteer friends and some of my guys that have been released. I had a hard time recognizing them in street clothes, as I’ve never seen then in anything but prison blue and orange. My meeting with Diana was routine. The heat wave is over, and I have 10 days in the 70s and some 60s. Tonight my Broncos meditate on the Holy Ellipsoid Orb on Monday Night Football. I shall be in fervent prayer. Oh God! It’s Monday!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:42 (average 5:33). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0914TrumpVirusMap

Click for several interactive maps

US Cases: 6,715,194
US Deaths: 198,614
Plus thousands of Trump’s* plague murder victims Republicans are hiding from us

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Questions arose after the P.A. system at a Trump rally in Nevada accidentally blasted excerpts from Bob Woodward’s interviews with the President.

As supporters streamed into the rally, the customary sounds of such classic rock songs as “Fortunate Son” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” were supplanted by audio of Trump acknowledging that the coronavirus was far deadlier than a flu.

After Trump was heard revealing the details of a previously secret weapons program, campaign aides frantically disconnected the P.A. system and started scrambling for an explanation.

LOL, Andy! Obviously this didn’t really happen, but just the thought of it happening is sufficient to provoke wet dreams! RESIST!!

From Crooks and Liars: Fresh on the heels of spreading hoax rumors about “antifa buses” coming to rural towns to create mayhem, right-wing conspiracists eager to spread the narrative about the supposed existential threat posed by black-clad antifascist activists have a hot new fraud for their armies of gullible social-media followers: The forest fires raging along the West Coast from California to Washington are an antifa plot!

The rumors—spread first by far-right activists, then parroted by followers living in areas where the fires are raging—claim that a handful of arrests for arson in unrelated fires are proof that the fires are being coordinated by leftists intending harm to befall rural Trump-supporting regions. “It’s the antifa burning EVERYTHING down!” shrieked one QAnon believer who chimed in on Twitter.

Among the leading spreaders of the false rumors is a right-wing online publication catering to police officers, Law Enforcement Today, which posted an article claiming that the “wildfires on the West Coast may be a ‘coordinated and planned’ attack.”

“Law enforcement throughout the west coast is reportedly being put on alert to look out for ‘opportunists’ and those who may have more sinister motives,” the article claimed. It then went on to list six arson incidents either related to the fires or in their general vicinity, but offered no evidence that they were coordinated in any fashion.

Of course there is no evidence that this is true and ample evidence that lightning strikes ignited the fires. The biggest danger to spreading garbage like this is that it will inspire a few QPoop wing-nuts to light fires and blame them on the left. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast for JD): Luciano Pavarotti sings “Nessun dorma” from Turandot (The Three Tenors in Concert 1994)

There is a voice as beautiful as Trump’s* is ugly! Protest like Pavarotti sings! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Republicans on Parade – 8/26/2020

Posted by TomCat at 12:04 pm Politics

Aug 262020

Here is the one hundred eighty-second article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s winner is Republican anti-immigration activist and conspiracy theorist, Mary Ann Mendoza, the so-called “Angel Mom”. She is so honored for “cancelling” her appearance at the RNC after caught posting and deleting an anti-Semitic tweet referencing to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and QAnon.

Mary Ann Mendoza, a so-called “Angel mom,” was scheduled to speak Tuesday for the second night of the Republican National Convention. Hours before she was set to appear before the country, Mendoza sent out a tweet sharing a vile and pernicious anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. CNN reported that she will no longer appear at the event.

The Daily Beast was among the first outlets to report on the tweet. It was deleted after she posted it, but a screenshot was preserved below.

The thread it linked to remained, detailing a darkly conspiratorial history claiming that Jewish bankers formed a cabal and plotted against the rest of the world. It said, in part, that this plan sought to: “Use Economic Warfare. Rob The ‘Goyim’ Of Their Landed Properties And Industries With A Combination Of High Taxes And Unfair Competition. … Make The Goyim Destroy Each Other So There Will Only Be The Proletariat Left In The World, With A Few Millionaires Devoted To Our Cause, And Sufficient Police And Soldiers To Protect Our Interest.”

This is as clear and indisputable as anti-Semitism gets. The theory also included references to the modern QAnon conspiracy theory… RESIST!!

Inserted from <Alternet>

RNC Pulls Angel Mom From Lineup After Discovery Of Anti-Semitic Qanon Tweet

She cancelled, because Trump* and the Republican Reich are trying to hide their true beliefs from voters. Doesn’t that rate a Parade?

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 8/21/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:16 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 212020

It’s a better day here in the CatBox. I’m never pain free, but I’ve recovered sufficiently from my trip that the pain is back to a manageable level. I still have no side-effects from the infusion. Tomorrow please expect no more than a Personal Update from me. It’s a WWWendy day and we did so little on Wednesday, after she got me home from the hospital, that we have more gooping and chores to do than normal, in addition to the routine flea bath and patch change for the TomCat. JD, if Bill Maher puts a show up tonight, would you please cover it tomorrow? TGIF!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:03 (average 8:58)(?!!?). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0821TrumpVirusMap

US Cases: 5,747,604
US Deaths: 177,457
Plus the many GOP plague murder victims Republicans are hiding from us.

Long Take:

Watch: Democratic National Convention: Day 4

Magnificent speech! Elect the first President since Barack Obama! RESIST!!

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) isn’t conducting raids or offering weapons training to individuals [Republican Ammosexuals] on how to arrest [murder] immigrants, it is treating immigrants in its detention centers wrongfully. In another incident of violating religious rights and plain human indecency, advocates and lawyers are demanding that ICE stop feeding Muslim detainees pork. Last year, agents allegedly fed a man only pork sandwiches while he was in their custody, despite knowing his religion restricted him from eating pork. In a similar case, attorneys representing Muslim detainees at the Krome Service Processing Center in Miami-Dade County are demanding federal agents stop forcing Muslims in custody to choose between eating rotten meals or pork-based options.

In partnership with civil rights organizations Muslim Advocates and Americans for Immigrant Justice, attorneys from King & Spalding LLP sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE with their request Wednesday. According to the letter, ICE officials have allegedly been forcing Muslim detainees to choose between eating rotten halal meat or pork sausage, pork ribs, and other pork-based ingredients. The letter demands that ICE and DHS officials immediately provide non-rotten, edible food that does not violate one’s faith. Advocates noted that the pre-plated expired food has caused detainees to suffer stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea amongst other health issues. Despite this ICE continues to ignore their pleas.

You can be sure that this hateful policy comes from the top. RESIST!!

From NY Times: Late last month, as the Texas Republican Party was shifting into campaign mode, it unveiled a new slogan, lifting a rallying cry straight from a once-unthinkable source: the internet-driven conspiracy theory known as QAnon.

The new catchphrase, “We Are the Storm,” is an unsubtle cue to a group that the F.B.I. has labeled a potential domestic terrorist threat. It is instantly recognizable among QAnon adherents, signaling what they claim is a coming conflagration between President Trump and what they allege, falsely, is a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophile Democrats who seek to dominate America and the world.

The slogan can be found all over social media posts by QAnon followers, and now, too, in emails from the Texas Republican Party and on the T-shirts, hats and sweatshirts that it sells. It has even worked its way into the party’s text message system — a recent email from the party urged readers to “Text STORM2020” for updates.

The Texas Republicans are an unusually visible example of the Republican Party’s dalliance with QAnon, but they are hardly unique.

Here is the complete list of Republican officials who are not nut-jobs: [list starts here

list ends here]. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of protest): I Think My Dog’s a Democrat Bryan Lewis Official Video

If the owner is a Republican, than that dawg is a hell of a lot smarter than the owner! Kudos to left wing protestors! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread – 8/20/2020

Posted by TomCat at 12:16 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 202020

It’s a busy, tired, painful day, here in the CatBox. My infusion yesterday went well, and I’ve had no side-effects, so far. However, except for an hour in the infusion recliner, I had to be in my wheelchair from 9:30 AM until 8:30 PM, and that’s so hard on my back that maximum pain killers barely takes the edge off the pain. Store to Door delivered groceries today so I had to unpack them and put them away. In addition, I spent over an hour on the phone on medical mayhem. JD, would you please cover Sam Bee, as I’m doing something else. Have a great day, everyone!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:18 (average 6:24). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0820TrumpVirusMap

US Cases: 5,702,837
US Deaths: 176,396
Plus all the GOP plague murder victims Republicans are hiding from us.

Long Take:

Watch: Democratic National Convention: Day 3

Kamala was magnificent. Barack Obama actually called criminal Fuhrer Trump* a threat to democracy. Such a statement by a former precedent. That and the nomination of the first African American and Asian American for VP make this a historic event! RESIST!!

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Sen. Susan Collins has, of course, expressed her concern about the sabotage of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) at the hands of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. What Collins doesn’t want all of her constituents—the people for whom she calls the USPS “a lifeline,” the “seniors, veterans, and those in rural areas who are depending on reliable mail delivery for essential goods and services”—to find out is that she’s the person most responsible for this mess.

DeJoy can say he’s making all of the cuts to services because of the dire financial situation of the USPS. Yes, we know he’s doing it to try to right the election for Trump, but the financial crisis at the post office has given him the opportunity to do so. And Collins, more than anyone else, is responsible for that. She’s the one who engineered this crisis. In 2005, Collins introduced the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), which required the USPS to prepay the next 50 years’ worth of health and retirement benefits for every postal service employee. It is the only federal agency that is saddled with this requirement. At the time, she was the chair of the Senate government oversight panel, and she got the bill through her committee and onto the floor in 2006. It passed on a voice vote on Dec. 20, 2006 in the lame duck session before Democrats took back control of the Senate.

What the legislation required of the USPS was to calculate the entirety of its pension costs for the next three-quarters of a century—75 years—and spend the next decade putting away enough money to cover the majority of them. Which is insane. And has accounted for nearly 90% of the service’s red ink in the past decade. Right now, the USPS is $160.9 billion in debt for what it owes to prepay retirees, and has years’ worth of operating deficits because it can’t generate revenue under the restrictions placed by the law.

Collins is great at pretending she’s a center-left moderate, but she’s more like Goose Step Gordon Smith, the Senator I worked to help Jeff Merkley [D-OR] defeat. She’s always with us, when we don’t need her, but against us, when we do. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Raw Story Channel): Sandra Smith grills Kayleigh McEnany about Trump’s praise of QAnon

Once again Kayleigh Lie-a-Lot proves she is a Republican with a PhD (piled higher and deeper) in Bullshitology. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of protest): Family Guy – Republican Town Song

Is this great satire or what? Kudos to left-wing protestors! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread – 8/13/2020

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

Aug 132020

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. Store to Door should come with my groceries between 11 and 12:30. WWWendy will be coming at around 5:00 to destink the gross TomCat, change my pain patch, goop, and help with chores. My first Pembrolizumab treatment is scheduled next Wednesday. Because of WWWendy’s work schedule, I have to take the TriMet Lift bus there, but I timed it to finish at 4:30 PM so WWWendy can pick me up. Thank you all for your prayers and support. Have a great day.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:41 (average 5:27). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0813TrumpVirusMap

US Cases: 5,361,269
US Deaths: 169,161
Plus the many dead Republicans are hiding from us

Short Takes:

From Politico (June): The House’s highest-ranking Republicans are racing to distance themselves from a leading GOP congressional candidate in Georgia after POLITICO uncovered hours of Facebook videos in which she expresses racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic views.

The candidate, Marjorie Taylor Greene, suggested that Muslims do not belong in government; thinks black people “are held slaves to the Democratic Party”; called George Soros, a Jewish Democratic megadonor, a Nazi; and said she would feel “proud” to see a Confederate monument if she were black because it symbolizes progress made since the Civil War.

Greene finished first in a primary for a deep-red, northwest Georgia seat last week by a nearly 2-to-1 margin over the second-place candidate. She is entering an August runoff as the favorite to secure the Republican nomination for a district where that is tantamount to winning the general election in November. Her initial victory — which has sparked panic in GOP circles — comes as Republicans are grappling with a national reckoning over racial injustice and police brutality after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last month.

Barf Bag Alert!!

Greene, who is also a member of the QAnon Republican conspiracy cult, just won the runoff, so I predict several Parades for this Republican ding bat after January. If I’m dead, someone else will have to take over Parade duty. RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Joe: There Is Nothing Radical, Left-Wing About Funding The USPS

Republicans have wanted to defund the post office long before they made Trump* their Fuhrer. UPS and FedEx have contributed BIG bucks for the oligopoly. But criminal Fuhrer Trump* has other reasons. He can’t win without stealing the election or staging a coup through the Gestapo we saw in Portland! Killing USPS serves both crimes. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of protest): DEAR DONALD TRUMP Song

Amen! Kudos to left wing protestors! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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