Open Thread – 8/18/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:22 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 182020

It’s a hot day (high 80°s), here at the CatBox. Yesterday my visit with Diana was routine. She’s a very nice lady, who pulls no punches and tells it like it is, but does so with compassion. Tomorrow is my first Pembrolizumab infusion at the hospital. I’ll leave after lunch on a TriMet Lift van, and WWWendy will pick me up between 4:30 and 5:00 PM. When we get home, it will be a regular WWWendy day with TomCat destinking, patch changing, food gooping, and chores. So I’ll be taking a morning nap to rest as much as I can first. Therefore, please expect no more than a Personal Update from me. Assuming that I have no adverse reactions, I’ll be back in the saddle on Thursday. Tuesday is flush Republicans day. Lower the lid so none get away.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:16 (average 5:05). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0818TrumpVirusMap

US Cases: 5,613,357
US Deaths: 173,778
Plus the many GOP murder victims Republicans are hiding from us

Short Takes:

From Willamette Week: A right-wing “flag wave” event in downtown Portland on Saturday ended with a far-right protester firing two gunshots into a crowd of Black Lives Matter demonstrators.

Seaside, Ore., resident and conservative activist Haley Adams advertised her Aug. 15 “Rally Against Domestic Terrorism” as a “flag wave” and stressed the group’s intent to remain peaceful. About 25 people attended the rally in front of the Multnomah County Justice Center.

This reporter saw several members of the protest arrive with weaponry—they open-carried a Scorpion 9 mm carbine and an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle. Others held Mace, paintball guns and a 9 mm handgun.

The flag wave rally exchanged chants and taunts for approximately an hour with a group of Black Lives Matter protesters before Adams’ group embarked on a march through downtown Portland. Counterprotesters [sic] followed closely, and there was a small exchange of violence between the two groups: Flag wave protesters were seen Macing BLM protesters and shooting them with paintball rounds and hard plastic pellets. Counterprotesters [sic] returned fire with Mace and Silly String.

At approximately 1:35 pm, about 15 conservative protesters retreated into the SmartPark garage at Southwest 4th Avenue and Yamhill Street. Ten minutes later, three cars sped out of the garage and down 4th Avenue. The driver of one car—a blue Dodge Dart—fired two shots at a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters as he left but didn’t hit anyone. Some of the BLM protesters recovered a 9 mm casing at the scene of the shooting.

When Republican Ammosexuals say “peaceful”, this is what they mean. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Bernie Sanders on How Democrats Can Win the Working Class

The Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right! Combined with Bernie, he’s twice as right. The Reich on the right, the Republican Reich, are wrong and need permanent vacations behind bars! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of protest): Vote Him Away (The Liar Tweets Tonight)

Amen! Amen!! Amen!!! Kudos to left-wing protestors! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Tonight at the Democratic National Convention

Posted by TomCat at 10:47 am Politics

Aug 172020

I’ve been watching political conventions on TV every year, since I was a child. The one exception was the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. I was busy demonstrating and trying to defend myself against a police riot. This year, there will be a completely unique convention.

On Monday, CNN gave an overview of the major speakers to expect on the kickoff night of the Democratic National Convention, as the party holds its nominating ceremony virtually for the first time in history.

“It will be a convention unlike any other: The coronavirus pandemic forced Democrats to scrap their planned in-person Milwaukee convention,” said the report. “Instead, speakers will deliver speeches from locations across the country and without the large in-person crowds that are traditionally seen at these events. All eyes will be on how smoothly the transition to a virtual convention works.”

“Top speakers of the night include former first lady Michelle Obama, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and a Republican — former Ohio Gov. John Kasich,” continued the report. “Obama and Sanders are two of the most popular figures in Democratic politics. Kasich, a former presidential candidate, is emblematic of the kind of anti-Trump Republican who Biden is hoping to win over in November.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Raw Story>

Click through for much more info.

CNN talked about the whole convention, not just tonight.

The DNC will look a lot different this year

I hope it goes well. I’ll try to include the full video from the night before every day.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 8/17/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:47 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 172020

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. Diana, my palliative care nurse will be here shortly for my routine weekly visit. The same stories still dominate the news, so my research took an extra long time. It’s a relatively cool day: only 95° Angry smile . Oh God, it’s Monday!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:48 (average 4:24). To do it, click here. Hoe did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0817TrumpVirusMap

Click here for interactive map.

US Cases: 5,569,520
US Deaths: 173,143
Plus all the many GOP plague murder victims Republicans are hiding from us.

Short Takes:

From Euro-News (Hat-Tip Lona): CLIMATE JUSTICE

This is where Kamala Harris comes into her own. While she was district attorney of San Francisco, 15 years ago, Harris created an environmental justice unit, which specifically existed to deal with cases of environmental crime.

Harris identified that “crimes against the environment are crimes against communities, people who are often poor and disenfranchised,” as she said to the San Francisco Chronicle in 2005.

The nexus between socio-economic disadvantage and environmental damage is something Harris has sought to address consistently – long before terms like ‘intersectional environmentalism’ even existed.

More recently, Harris has sued major oil companies after they violated environmental legislation, and after the devastating Refugio oil spill in 2015, the company responsible (Plains All American Pipeline) were indicted on 46 criminal charges.

The following year, after Volkswagen was found to have cheated on its diesel emissions, Harris secured a €73m settlement from the car manufacturer for the state of California.

Although many so called progressives, aka regressives, have whined incessantly that Harris is a “corporate Democrat”, her track record on the environment is quite good. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Raw Story Channel): Trump claims ‘dogs’ are getting mail-in ballots

Barf Bag Alert!!

If criminal Fuhrer Trump gets any more full of shit, we’ll have to paint a crescent moon on his forehead. Obviously it is my feline proclivity to be biased against dawgs, but if they could vote, they would be far more responsible than Republican Sheeple. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of protest): ANTI-REPUBLICAN FUNNY SONG

This song is ten years old. It was spot-on then, and the Republican Reich is so much worse now! Kudos to left-wing protestors! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Personal Update – 8/16/2020

Posted by TomCat at 8:16 am Politics

Aug 162020

It’s a stinky day here in the CatBox. WWWendy is on the way, and this is my only article today. I’m sorry to report that the wrong brother died. May your Sunday be cooler than mine (100°+).

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:13 (average 5:23). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Take:

From YouTube (a blast of protest): Open Mike Eagle – Happy Wasteland Day

I’m not an fan of either rap or hip hop, but even I like this one. Kudos to left-wing protestors! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Bill Maher from 8/14

Posted by TomCat at 10:34 am Politics

Aug 152020

It’s that time of week again, so here are three video clips, from Bill’s show last night. Enjoy!

Colin Cowherd on Covid-19 in Sports

Losing football is sufficient reason to vote against criminal Fuhrer Trump*, but if I hated football, there are millions of other reasons!

Andrew Yang and Pete Buttigieg

Of course Mayor Pete agrees that Trump* should not be able to stage a coup by ignoring the election, and even Yang is on board with that. But can anyone get Republican leaders to agree? Fat chance!

New Rule: God Is Cancelled Party

Bill has a valid point on overreacting against making the good the enemy of the perfect. Fortunately for Bill, Jesus will show more compassion for him than he does for Jesus.

I liked it except for his attack that he bases on his atheist religion.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 8/15/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:33 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 152020

It’s a steamy day, here in the CatBox. Portland is under an Excessive Heat Warning today and tomorrow with temperatures of 100°+ both days. With my O₂ concentrator acting like a space heater, and when the sun hits my big windows in the afternoon, the A/C unit is hard pressed to keep it in the 80°s inside. Tomorrow WWWendy is coming to destink the foul TomCat, change my pain patch, goop, and help with chores. Therefore please expect no more than a Personal Update from me tomorrow. Have a fine day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:03 (average 4:40). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

It’s Republican SOP!

Trump* Virus Update:

0815TrumpVirusMap

US Cases: 5,478,009
US Deaths: 171,568
Plus the many plague murder victims Republicans are hiding

Short Takes:

From ProPublica: Guards in an immigrant detention center in El Paso sexually assaulted and harassed inmates in a “pattern and practice” of abuse, according to a complaint filed by a Texas advocacy group urging the local district attorney and federal prosecutors to conduct a criminal investigation.

The allegations, detailed in a filing first obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, maintain that guards systematically assaulted at least three people in a facility overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement — often in areas of the detention center not visible to security cameras. The guards told victims that no one would believe them because footage did not exist and the harassment involved officers as high-ranking as a lieutenant.

According to the complaint filed with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and shared with prosecutors, several guards “forcibly” kissed and touched the intimate parts of at least one woman. She faces deportation next week — meaning investigators could lose a key witness. Her attorneys have requested that immigration officials pause her deportation pending a review of the matter.

The best defense that those Republican perverts have is that they were following the example of their Fuhrer. RESIST!!

From NY Times: President Trump’s top two officials at the Department of Homeland Security are illegally serving in their positions, with appointments that violated the laws governing who can fill Senate-confirmed posts, according to a report released Friday by the Government Accountability Office.

Chad F. Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, and Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, his deputy at the sprawling agency, are serving in violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which specifies orders of succession when senior officials resign, according to the G.A.O., Congress’s nonpartisan watchdog.

The report said the improper appointments began after Kirstjen Nielsen was forced out of office as the department’s secretary in April 2019.

“Because the incorrect official assumed the title of acting secretary at that time, subsequent amendments to the order of succession made by that official were invalid,” the Government Accountability Office said on Friday. The agency said that Mr. Wolf and Mr. Cuccinelli “are serving under an invalid order of succession.”

Should anyone be surprised that Republicans are not following the rules? The Republican SOP that rules and laws are for others, not them, has been in force for decades. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of protest): Bruce Springsteen & Joe Grushecky ☜❤☞ That´s What Makes Us Great (ANTI-TRUMP-SONG 2017 )

Amen! Kudos to left-wing protestors! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

If Trump* Gets His Way, He Might Kill Me

Posted by TomCat at 11:37 am Politics

Aug 142020

I am an amputee in a wheel chair. I have stage four metastatic esophageal cancer, spinal cancer, lung cancer and liver cancer. Virtually everything I need to survive, except my chemotherapy treatments at the hospital, I have to buy online. Most of those things, including several of my meds, come by mail. I need USPS to survive, but criminal Fuhrer Trump and the Republican Reich are sabotaging USPS to interfere with the voting rights if people who need to and have the right to vote by mail.

If Americans think that “rigged elections” are something that only happens in far-off countries like Belarus, Trevor Noah had a rude awakening for them. “It already, it’s already starting to rear its ugly head right here,” he said.

The Daily Show host was of course talking about President Donald Trump’s stunning admission in a Fox News interview on Thursday morning that he is actively blocking funding for the U.S. Postal Service to prevent them from being able to accommodate universal mail-in voting.

“They need that money in order to have the Post Office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Trump told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo of two provisions he opposes in the Democrat’s coronavirus relief bill. “But if they don’t get those two items that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting, because they’re not equipped to have it.”

“Goddamn,” Noah replied after playing the clip. “I’ve never seen a villain give away a plan like that without seeing James Bond tied to a chair in front of him.”…

Inserted From <The Daily Beast>

Here’s the included video.

Trump Plainly Admits Plan to Limit Mail-In Voting

Barf Bag Alert!!

In short, Trump* and the Republican Reich are trying to steal the votes of millions of Americans. That’s bad enough. Republicans don’t care that they are sabotaging a Constitutionally guaranteed service that millions need to survive. I’m one of them. If Trump* gets his way, he might kill me.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 8/14/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:36 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 142020

It’s a sickly day here in the CatBox. I experimented with a new kind of goop this morning, and sometimes such experiments fail. It blocked my tumor, and I spent most of the morning throwing up. On the plus side, most of my goop experiments have been successful, giving me a variety of tasty things to eat. TGIF!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Speaking of goop, today’s took me 3:29 (average 5:22). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Republicans HATE this treaty, ratified unanimously by our founding fathers.

Trump* Virus Update:

Click for interactive map

US Cases: 5,418,071
US Deaths: 170,446
Plus all Trump’s* Murder victims Republicans are hiding from us

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: In a blistering takedown of Joe Biden’s running mate, Donald Trump on Thursday accused Senator Kamala Harris of maliciously speaking in complete sentences.

Blasting her penchant for hewing to the rules of grammar, Trump said, “A lot of people are saying, mean, nasty, disrespectful. To a new level, like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Sad,” he said. “Sick and sad.”

I’m not buying that fib, Andy! Trump is much too racist to say any minority can speak in complete sentences. RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Trump Speechless After Reporter Asks If He Regrets Lying To Americans

The lies are bad enough. Even worse, he and the Republican Reich have murdered over 8.52 Americans with their Trump* virus plague for each of those 20,000+ lies! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of protest): DUMP TRUMP SONG – Leigh & The Dumpettes

Amen! Flush!! Kudos to left wing protestors! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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