It’s another busy, sticky day here in the CatBox. I finally got over that awful Republicosis early yesterday evening and slept well last night. I’m not completely over my upper respiratory bug and malaise, but I continue to improve. Store to Door delivered my groceries on time, and I have put them away. Wendy comes this evening to de-stink the sticky TomCat and help with chores. I got her a gift of two lbs. of fresh cherries.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:47 (average 6:57). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From YouTube (Full Frontal Channel): Announcing Full Frontal’s Apology Race
I bet Squatch favors Allana! RESIST!!
From Washington Post: In a highly anticipated report due to be released on Wednesday, congressional Democrats are expected to raise renewed concerns over mounting evidence of Russian interference in at least 19 European nations, according to the Associated Press, which obtained an advance copy.
The 200-plus pages report, commissioned by Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland, directly targets President Trump for failing to respond to the threat, even as other nations in Europe have taken much stronger measures to counter Russian efforts in the region. “Never before has a U.S. president so clearly ignored such a grave and growing threat to U.S. national security,” the report warns, according to AP.
Were the Fuhrer to acknowledge Russian interference in any election anywhere, he would be risking not only that it would draw attention to his own criminal conspiracy, but also, that it would piss off Putin enough to put the Pee-Pee Tape on RT. RESIST!!
From NY Times: A panel of federal judges struck down North Carolina’s congressional map on Tuesday, condemning it as unconstitutional because Republicans had drawn the map seeking a political advantage.
The ruling was the first time that a federal court had blocked a congressional map because of a partisan gerrymander, and it instantly endangered Republican seats in the coming elections.
Judge James A. Wynn Jr., in a biting 191-page opinion, said that Republicans in North Carolina’s Legislature had been “motivated by invidious partisan intent” as they carried out their obligation in 2016 to divide the state into 13 congressional districts, 10 of which are held by Republicans. The result, Judge Wynn wrote, violated the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.
Woooo Hoooo!! Kudos to the judge, who is obviously not a Trump appointee. RESIST!!
Cartoon:
7 Responses to “Open Thread – 1/10/2018”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
5:55 Whose evil idea was it to make all the joins between silver pipes and red pipes come EXACTLY at the edges of the pieces?
New (copyrighted) cartoons
Sam – Looking forward to that! I’ kind of favoring Ashley myself.
WaPo – Yet there are still people who can read, write, and spell who claim not to be able to see any evidenceof “collusion.” Facepalm.
NYT – Kudos to the judge indeed. You are right about his appointee status. Wikipedia says nominated and Clinton and re-nominated under Obama.
Cartoon – The only problem with every Republican having a Bobbitt is that they are already overcompensating with big guns. With a Bobbitt, they’d likely go from AK-47s to full stationary cannons. Howitzers.
Good point! Bobbit Republicans right below the chin.
Sam: YAY! Can’t wait, I like them all. You go! Ladies!
WP: Very encouraging news!……
NYT: YAY!! This is out STANDING!! news!
Cartoon: What Joanne said. (giggle…) Your cartoons are spot on, too.
HI Wendy!! Hope that you have a good relaxing evening, take good care, and Thanks, Tom.
btw: I saw this about an hour ago, and it’s very, very heartbreaking and disturbing to me that this is happening….from the Detroit, Michigan PATCH:
1 Arrested In Detroit As Part Of Nationwide Raid On 7-ElevensIn the biggest immigration operation under the Trump administration, 98 convenience stores across the nation were targeted. It is the largest illegal immigration operation under Donald Trump’s presidency. Across the nation, 21 people were arrested. The busts were part of a large-scale operation that also served as a warning to companies who may have unauthorized workers on their payroll, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The news comes as a New Jersey man originally from India became the first person to be stripped of his U.S. citizenship as part of a nationwide immigration crackdown. In Detroit, the Free Press reported that raids at the four convenience stores netted one 7-Eleven employee.
https://patch.com/michigan/farmington-mi/s/gbyes/1-arrested-in-detroit-as-part-of-nationwide-raid-on-7-elevens?utm_source=alert-breakingnews&utm_medium=email&utm_term=weather&utm_campaign=alert
FF: Can’t wait to see this, but I don’t think her team is big enough to cover all apologies they need to make for the messes Drumpf created in a week; Sam will have them run ragged in two weeks, especially if Mueller is picking up speed in the coming months. And how about the rest of the world? Better get a team of very experienced apologists ready to step in after Drumpf has given his ‘thoughts’ on North Korea, South Korea and China after the first cautious talks between North and South Korea do not please him.
WP: To ignore (i.e. dismiss the report as fake news) or not to ignore, that is the question. Love to see Drumpf and his ‘advisers’ wriggle on the hook Democrats now have him on. It may not come to much with the current Republican majority in Congress, but wriggle he will.
NYT:
You certainly take your job seriously, Judge James A. Wynn Jr, writing a 191-page opinion on the conspicuous Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina. Kudos to you, Mr. Wynn. However, it seems that by a timely appeal they can join two other gerrymandering cases now before SCOTUS, which alas does have at least the same or possibly even more Republican bias after Drumpf appointed Goresuch. All will depend on the timing and the content of that SCOTUS ruling.
Cartoon: They should, but they didn’t then and certainly don’t have it now.
Glad you’re feeling a bit better now you’re tummy troubles are over, TomCat.
Full Frontal: Believe me, the Canadian will win. They are experts at apologizing. They’ll even apologize for apologizing too much. I agree, Lona – the team needs to be LOTS bigger.
WP: I doubt that even half of the Russian meddling has been exposed. It will be interesting to see how this imbroglio develops. The intrigue puts Game of Thrones to shame.
NYT: Good to learn of a victory over the evil forces of gerrymandering. We have a serious gerrymandering problem in Georgia, coupled with unsecured voting boxes – a very dangerous combo.
Cartoon: The Rethuglicans have “bobbitted” themselves.
Thanks all. Yucky sticky hugs!
Sam Bee — ‘I bet Squatch favors Allana!’ — Why ever would you say that? Actually, the Canadian persona is politeness, but I like Ashley’s attitude!
Wa Po — Kudos to the Dems for following through on this. As I recall, France nipped interference in their last election in the bud. I can already hear some of the Republican responses to this including “it’s a partisan hack job!”, whether it is or isn’t. Personally, I don’t think it is a partisan hack job considering it regards other nations. But it is certainly more likely to lend credence to Mueller’s investigation which is what Republicans absolutely do not want. I will look forward to seeing details of the report and coverage from Rachel which is certainly to come.
NY Times — One down! How many more gerrymandered states to go? May there be many more federal judges with the cojones to stand up for the people and stand against the Republican thieves! Kudos to Judge Wynn Jr!
Cartoon — Amen!
Yesterday was a very busy day and after getting absolutely no sleep Tuesday night despite trying (I was sneezing for over 3 hours straight, literally), I was too wasted to comment, although I did read your lead article before succumbing to the sleep fairies. I am late commenting because I did not wake until almost noon. I am hoping for another night like that tonight. It will however take a very long time to catch up on that lost sleep, if I ever do!