{"id":42288,"date":"2020-12-22T11:03:51","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T19:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=42288"},"modified":"2020-12-22T11:03:51","modified_gmt":"2020-12-22T19:03:51","slug":"open-thread-12-22-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2020\/12\/22\/open-thread-12-22-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread – 12\/22\/2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s a tired hectic day here in the CatBox.  Yesterday’s Safeway delivery was almost a disaster.  When the driver arrived, he had just a couple bags in his arms.  He said there had been a lot of cancelations<\/font>.  We brought them upstairs.  He was in a hurry, but I insisted that we compare the cancellations with what he had.  It was soon obvious that the vast majority of my order was not accounted for.  We went back downstairs.  He went out to check his truck and came back with the rest of my order that “had been hiding”.  He needed a hand truck to carry it.  We brought upstairs.  It took me over an hour to put everything away.  There were a few legitimate cancellations that were out of stock in the store.  They included all my sweets.  Nevertheless, it could have been far worse and would have been a disaster had I not been such a hard ass about it.  Tomorrow please expect no more than a Personal Update.  It’s a WWWendy day.  I’ll be back in the saddle on Christmas Eve.  Tuesday is Flush your Republicans Day.  Take extra care.  The closer it becomes to the end the harder they are trying to get away.<\/font><\/p>\n

Jig Zone Puzzle<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

Today’s took me 3:06 (average 5:09).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

Cartoon<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

Short Takes<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

From The New Yorker<\/a>: <\/font>Russian hackers attempting to disrupt the U.S. government were disappointed to discover that it had already been thoroughly disabled, the hackers have confirmed.<\/p>\n

Expecting to find a well-oiled machine that they could impair, the hackers instead came upon a barely operational mess that had already suffered what appeared to be four years of degradation. <\/p>\n

Dmitri X (not his real name), was assigned to hack the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s computer systems and was \u201cshocked\u201d by the agency\u2019s weakened condition. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy job was to access the E.P.A.\u2019s database and delete all of the environmental regulations,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was nothing there left to delete.\u201d <\/p>\n

That’s straight news, Andy! With Republicans working so hard, Russians need no help to destroy America!  RESIST<\/strong>!!<\/font> <\/p>\n

From Crooks and Liars<\/a>: <\/font>Everyone wants to show the happy videos of people getting vaccine shots. <\/p>\n

The Governors in the 12 states that haven\u2019t passed mask mandates especially want to get in on this hopeful news.<\/a> They will crow about how Their President got them the vaccine. Not said, but implied, is that their refusal to pass a state-wide mask mandate was justified before and is not necessary now. <\/p>\n

Image from: CNN<\/a> <\/p>\n

\"1222nomask_map\" <\/p>\n

The experts say we will still need masks for months and we should NOT relax the mask protocols\u2026 <\/p>\n

\u2026Here are some ways to use the vaccination press conferences to pressure 12 Governors to pass mask mandates. <\/p>\n

Method 1<\/h6>\n
Have the top medical experts tell the Governors behind the scenes, \u201cYou don\u2019t get to be part of the vaccination press conference unless you pass a mask mandate.\u201d<\/h6>\n

People in the public health medical community still want to believe that Governors will respond to facts and science. They won\u2019t. <\/p>\n

Withholding good PR at a press conference isn\u2019t withholding their vaccine, just the reflected success of a vaccine. <\/p>\n

But since most public health experts don\u2019t want to be this direct, and the window for these first press conferences is closing, I suggest: <\/p>\n

Method 2<\/h6>\n
PREPARE THE MEDIA for asking Governors why there is no mask mandate now and why they still won’t pass one.<\/h6>\n

This is especially important now that Trump botched the vaccine roll out! <\/p>\n

First prep the experts to point out the EXCESS DEATHS that will happen because there is no MASK MANDATE. When the Governor still doesn\u2019t respond with a mandate, post photos of DEAD NURSES to call out the GOVERNOR for NOT pushing a mandate before<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

Click through for much more info. I fully support both methods.  RESIST<\/strong>!!<\/font> <\/p>\n

From YouTube<\/a> (MSNBC Channel<\/a>): <\/font>Maddow: U.S. Mired In ‘3-Way Split Screen’ Of Trump Crises<\/p>\n