It’s a busy day here at the CatBox. I had some paperwork to do. Store to Door delivered my groceries, and I have unpacked and put them away. WWWendy will come later to de-stink the rancid TomCat. I don’t know why, but I feel sleepier than normal.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 4:54 (average 5:41). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From YouTube (Parody Project Channel): SAVE THE RICH (Cover) Original by Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome
That’s the anthem of the Republican Reich! RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!
From The New Yorker: The White House was reportedly in panic mode Tuesday afternoon, shortly after news broke that a television star with a racist Twitter feed had been fired.
According to a White House source, Donald J. Trump immediately huddled with close advisers to discuss the firing, which, staffers agreed, “set an ominous new precedent.”
“We’ve been living under assumption that a TV personality could tweet out as many racist things as he or she wanted with no consequences,” the source said. “Now, all of a sudden, our worst nightmare has come true.”
White House staffers are reportedly combing through Trump’s thirty-seven thousand tweets, searching for ones that could be deemed fireable offenses, and have so far flagged more than thirty-six thousand of them.
Andy, I think they are lying. 36,000 is way too low an estimate. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!
From Alternet: 7. Co-opt and Make Institutions of Military and Police Power into Loyal Sycophants.
Without the police and the military on their side, a tyrant’s days in office are inevitably numbered.
That’s why one of the hallmark behaviors of authoritarian leadership and its media supporters is to praise and empower, to the point of fetishizing, the police and the military. They then amplify this with elaborate displays of symbolic patriotism like singing the national song and hyper-displaying the flag.
From attacking NFL players for protesting police violence against unarmed Black people to telling a crowd of police officers to not be professional or respectful when arresting people, to chest-thumping about our military as “the most powerful ever,” Trump doesn’t even try to be subtle about his threats. The next step, if he follows the well-worn authoritarian path, is to put on Saddam Hussein-style military parades.
Meanwhile, the process that Ronald Reagan began, and Newt Gingrich sped up with his 1033 program, of redirecting billions of dollars of military funds, hardware and training to police departments, begins the process of turning ordinary police agencies into praetorian guards to solidify the power of the now-captured state.
Exempting police unions from crackdowns on other government employee union activities, like Scott Walker did in Wisconsin, hastens the process by ensuring the loyalty of the one legally armed, duty-sworn agency of government.
This is the seventh of nine ways that Trump fosters authoritarianism, or more descriptively, Nazism. Click through for the other eight ways! RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!
Cartoon:
The contents deserve celebration.
12 Responses to “Open Thread – 5/30/2018”
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5:11 Maybe fish?
ACLU actions regarding children being separated from families at border:
Petition
Directory of in person actions scheduled for June 1
PP – So straight, it’s a bit less amusing than most of his work.
TNY – Dan Rather (whom I respect, but I think in this case he is being a bit optimistic) thinks that all the outpouring combined with ABC’s swift action represents a turning point and suggests that the majority will not longer tolerate egregious public racism.
AlterNet –
Cartoon – Talk about a love-hate relationship!
RESIST AND PERSIST !!!
Signed your petition, Joanne.
Petition signed and shared Joanne.
Thanks, Nita and Lona.
Signed!
PPC: Yeah….save them, and screw the rest!! Well done/said !!
NYer: Like your analogy better, Tom. Can’t wait till he’s g.o.n.e.!!!!!! LOL, Andy!!
AN: Good article, and worth a read to all. dt, and his gang, demoralizes the environment, the common good of our citizens and our basic needs and rights every single day. I pray for justice to appease us all from this pos who is now in office.
Cartoon: LOL !!!
Hi, Wendy!!! Hope that you get as much rest as you need. Enjoy your evening, take care, Thanks, Tom.
She said Hi! ?
Petition by Joanne signed# 1,876
Yay for the brassiere! ?
A militarized police force is great for bullying the masses and keeping them cowed. However, it works only as well as the people behind the badge. Lookup the February Revolution, when Russian soldiers sided with revolutionaries. Can we be sure the like won’t happen here?
PP: Strong cover version, but it is notable the lyrics are not Don’s but Micucci & Lindhome’s. Don usually is more subtle than these two young women.
TNY: ? Did you hear that, Andy? That was the collective FBI’s heads exploding, thinking they may be asked to investigate fireable offenses in Drumpf’s tweets next.
Alternet: Scary, most of all because the article doesn’t reveal anything new. It’s all been in the making for nearly two years now and blatantly in the face of everyone with the tiniest bit of historical knowledge willing to keep their eyes open.
Cartoon: Is that a picture of Mata Hari, the stage name of a Dutch woman who made some fame in Paris as an exotic dancer in costumes of her own design? You could say she was one of the earliest role models for wearing a brassiere until her untimely death in front of a French firing squad in 1917, executed for allegedly spying for the Germans.
Hottie Alert!
Thanks all! Hugs!