It’s a busy day and the start of a very busy week. Wendy is here doing light housework. The clothes are drying, and I’m trying to publish before the Bronco game. Tomorrow is Halloween and my day to hide, because I’m such a magnificent pussy that Republican monsters will try to grab me. Tuesday I collect the data for our Monthly Report, but Providence Elder at Home is coming to help me with my Advanced Directive. Wednesday is Monthly Report, grocery delivery and Wendy day. Thursday is fasting labs day, and Friday is Physical Terrorist day.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:06 (average 6:08). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: In an unexpected televised address on Saturday, Queen Elizabeth II offered to restore British rule over the United States of America.
Addressing the American people from her office in Buckingham Palace, the Queen said that she was making the offer “in recognition of the desperate situation you now find yourselves in.”
“This two-hundred-and-forty-year experiment in self-rule began with the best of intentions, but I think we can all agree that it didn’t end well,” she said.
The Queen urged Americans to write in her name on Election Day, after which the transition to British rule could begin “with a minimum of bother.”
Dang Andy! I could get behind THAT third party candidate! 😉
From NY Times: The day before the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, sent a letter to Congress announcing that new evidence had been discovered that might be related to the completed Hillary Clinton email investigation, the Justice Department strongly discouraged the step and told him that he would be breaking with longstanding policy, three law enforcement officials said on Saturday.
Senior Justice Department officials did not move to stop him from sending the letter, officials said, but they did everything short of it, pointing to policies against talking about current criminal investigations or being seen as meddling in elections.
At the time Obama appointed Comey as a gesture of bipartisanship, I said that appointing a Republican to head the FBI was a big mistake. I don’t think he supports Trump. Instead, he may have been trying to effect down ballot races.
From Think Progress: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump repeatedly suggests to his supporters that the elections are rigged against him, that undocumented immigrants are “voting all over the country,” and that there is “large scale” voter fraud.
Instances of voter fraud are so rare that only about 31 allegations of voter impersonation fraud have been found since 2000. But when they do occur, they often happen in a much different way than what Trump describes. On Thursday, voter fraud did take place in the form of a U.S. citizen in Iowa who allegedly voted twice for the Republican presidential candidate. And thanks to safeguards in place, the perpetrator was quickly identified and charged.
And the Republican criminal was caught without benefit of repressive Voter ID Laws. If my memory is correct, virtually all the documented cases of intentional voter fraud were perpetrated by Republicans.
Cartoon:
16 Responses to “Open Thread -10/30/2016”
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5:09 Oh, my, we're in Hallowe'en mode now!
You do indeed have a lot on your plate! Enough to make the dreaded task only alluded to rather than directly mentioned. Wow. I wish you much strength!
TNY – I could get behind her – but her people who voted for Brexit – I'm not sure whether we'd be at all better off.
NYT – http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/10/30/1588609/-Former-Bush-Ethics-Head-Files-Complaint-Against-Comey-Alleging-Potential-Violations-Of-Hatch-Act
TP – And then there was http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/10/29/1588422/-Another-Republican-charged-with-voter-fraud-this-time-in-Miami
Cartoon – And isn't THAT the truth! (Unless the fetus is white and carries a penis, of course).
Sorry, I couldn't find this one earluer, and it's perfect –
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/10/30/1588528/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Round-up-Resignation-is-too-good-for-James-Comey
A quote from it:
I totally agree!
You've certainly got a very busy week ahead, TomCat. You better use your time hiding your magnificent self for the Republican monster toi catch up in some sleep. Looks like you're going to need more than 40 winks a night to get you through this week.
TNY: Oh no, Andy, you've let the cat out of the bag, Elizabeth II is starting to lose her mind. She's got more on her plate at home than she can handle as a 90-year old monarch; getting her own unruly mob through the Brexit is tough enough, she wouldn't want America back on top of that!
NYT: Comey deliberately breaking the rules despite multiple advise not to do so can hardly be called "being seen as meddling in elections". It's blatant manipulation and he should be sacked for it after the election. Firing him now would only fan the flames and be seen as protecting Hillary.
TP: If time allows it, the present and past Republican voter fraud should be used by Democrats in an ad against Drumpf and his down-ballot cronies. The media won't pick up on it; they're too busy talking about Clinton's dwindling chances because of unproven allegations (again) to do some real reporting.
Cartoon: Make sure both retain all rights after November 8th. Vote BLUE.
TNYer: What a lovely article! I've always wanted to tour the palace! LOL, Andy!
NYT: Uh, oh! Julie Werner-Simon, a former federal prosecutor who retired from DOJ in August 2015 after 29 years of service, argues that Comey’s decision to make public an incremental development in the investigation with little clear significance is a breach of the protocol outlined in the manual. If I did what he did, I would be censured.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/comey-attorney-general-email_us_5814cff1e4b0390e69d094e3?section=us_politics
TP: I voted last Tuesday, and here where I'm at, I haven't heard anything going on. Thankfully!
Cartoon: Isn't that just awful?
Sounds like a very busy week for you. I have two vision/hearing screenings for classes this week, and tomorrow is Halloween! Happy Halloween everyone! My guys won, hope yours do too. Enjoy your evening, rest up, and Take care, Thanks, Tom.
This just in:
DK: Sen. Harry Reid to FBI Director Comey: “Through your partisan actions, you may have broken the law.”
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/10/30/1588811/-Sen-Harry-Reid-to-FBI-Director-Comey-Through-your-partisan-actions-you-may-have-broken-the-law
Puzzle — 3:32 Definitely in need of a good dentist!
New Yorker — I love this one from Andy! Well Republicans ARE trying to take the country back in time, so just change George III for HRM Elizabeth II and voilà — English peace!
NY Times — As I said yesterday, the Drumpf campaign promised compromising info and there was concern of it coming just before the election. Comey. a loyal Republican, seems to have made the concern real. He is irresponsible and unfit for his position.
Think Progress — If there is voter fraud, this woman has shown that it is likely to be Republican. She initially said she didn't know why she did it, but then said the polls are rigged and she was afraid that Democrats would win. Drumpf has fired up his base with lies and innuendos, inciting violence and now voting fraud.
Cartoon — Oh yeah!
DON'T BE COMPLACENT!
GET THE VOTE OUT!!
VOTE BLUE ALL DOWN THE LINE!!!
Advance Directives are of much importance, but one may need other parerwork, other bureaucratic backup. Perhaps not, in Oregon, however.
Andy Yorker (There, I just gave him a new name): At first, I thought, "Well, the Brits blew it with Brexit," but then realized that Her Highness is really offering this out of her heart, and, "Yes, we really do seem to have destroyed our dream," so let's get on with it.
NYT: Apparently, the FBI has not even yet got a PERMIT to look into the new material! So, Comeydoes not even kno what is there, but if he did this for political reasons, what may be there may well be irrelevant! If the motivation was, indeed, partisan, it gives even more impetus to taking the Queen up on her offer…or begging her to make one!
TP: So nice to see the GOPigs caught in their standard issue BIG LIE!!!
"Violations of the Hatch Act and of government ethics rules on misuse of official positions are not permissible in any circumstances, including in the case of an executive branch official acting under pressure from politically motivated members of Congress. Such violations are of even greater concern when the agency is the F.B.I."
Here is a google list of petitions you may want to sign against FBI Director James B. Comey including one from the White House petition site.
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=petition+against+FBI+Director+James+B.+Comey&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
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Additional note: Please read carefully each FBI Director James B. Comey petition before you affix your signature or "John Doe" on it. There are some petitions in the list you should read and not blindly sign! Please read before signing.
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The only petition I felt comfortable to sign was from Fight for the Future.
FBI Director James Comey: Resign
FBI Director James Comey’s war on privacy has been endangering communities and security technology for decades. The FBI should protect the people: Comey needs to resign.
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/resign?source=email&
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I have all ready signed several!
How do you spell Queen Elizabeth? Maybe a fifth party could shake this party up! Andy was sorta cool there!
I read about the GOP voter making the case for voter fraud! Leave it to them to bring out the best of the election board of her state!
Thanks, TC!
The New Yorker: That might not be a bad idea.
NY Times: He knew it was a bad idea without being told, I wonder how he will be compensated for throwing a curve in the last few days before the election. He should resign.
Think Progress: Voter fraud allegations are just Republican code for stopping those from voting who might be voting for another party.
Cartoon: This is sooooo true!
WaPo had a good article by a law professor from Loyola who did a comprehensive, investigative study ferreting out the actual cases of voter fraud that can be documented.
And out of over ONE BILLION votes, he could come up with only 31 instances.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/08/06/a-comprehensive-investigation-of-voter-impersonation-finds-31-credible-incidents-out-of-one-billion-ballots-cast/?tid=a_inl#comments
Thanks all! Tired Hugs!