It’s another busy day here in the CatBox. Safeway.com delivered groceries, and I unpacked and put them away. I worked on my year end paperwork. I took out the garbage a day early. (My can runneth over). I also overslept, so I’m running late. Tomorrow is a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. My Broncos play the Chargers. I won’t even bother to beseech the Orb for its blessing. At this point, I’ll just grit my teeth and grab my ankles. Tomorrow is also a WWWendy day. We have so many chores, that I will probably have no more than a Personal Update or an Open Thread, with no links messages on Care2.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:59 (average 4:53). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Michael Moore On How 2019 Could Be Even Crazier Than 2018
Triple the number of women running for office. Amen. Do not allow Trump to set the agenda of what we discuss. Difficult, but Amen. Fight for the people. Amen. Pass bills in the House that put Senate Republicans on the hot seat. Amen. RESIST!!
From YouTube (Media Matters Channel): CNN and Fox News repeatedly gave climate deniers a platform in 2018
Coverage like that could kill us. RESIST!!
From NY Times: A disputed congressional seat in North Carolina could remain vacant for months after incoming Democratic House leaders in Washington on Friday declared they would not seat the apparent Republican winner because of unresolved allegations of election fraud in that race.
Even before Democrats made that fresh vow on Friday afternoon, the chaotic fight for the Ninth District’s House seat had already plunged into deeper turmoil: North Carolina’s state elections board dissolved at noon on Friday under a court order, two weeks before it was to hold a public hearing to consider evidence of the fraud allegations.
“We have entered no man’s land,” said J. Michael Bitzer, a professor of politics and history at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C.
Friday’s political drama came more than seven weeks after Mark Harris, the Republican nominee for Congress in the Ninth District, seemed to defeat Dan McCready, the Democratic candidate, by 905 votes in November. But Mr. Harris’s apparent victory was soon overshadowed by allegations that a contractor for his campaign engaged in illegal activity to compromise the election. According to witnesses and affidavits, the contractor, L. McCrae Dowless Jr., and people working for him collected absentee ballots in violation of state law.
The accusations led the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement to refuse to certify Mr. Harris as the winner and to open an investigation that has so far involved more than 100 interviews and at least 182,000 pages of records. It also gave Democrats a powerful argument to keep Mr. Harris out of office, at least for now — a pledge they made unequivocally on Friday — under the House’s constitutional authority to be “the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members.” Democrats had been signaling such a plan for weeks.
That’s exactly what they should do. When NC’s own state board of ethics refuses to certify, the Republican criminal has not been elected. Why is it that, whenever we actually see a one of the very rare cases of election fraud, the culprit is a Republican? RESIST!!
Cartoon:
11 Responses to “Open Thread – 12/29/2018”
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Never understood why Rethuglicans are adamantly opposed to investigations into Russia trying to destroy our Democracy by meddling in our elections or Kavanaugh’s sexual harassment – but are all-in when it comes to investigating the myth of widespread voter fraud or Benghazi.
Hmmmph. You understand it perfectly. You’re just being too polite to spell it out.
4:42 Idyllic.
Be sure not to miss this story. Don’t be drinking coffee when you read it.
Moore – All good advice. I think the biggest pitfall may be distraction. Not just us being distracted, but the people.
MM – Coverage like that IS killing us. Every species we lose is another nail in our own coffin. You might think that, if no one else, fundamentalists who believe in creation 6000 years ago would realize that, if they are right, their God created every species for a reason, and losing even one mars his design, but no. Grrrr.
NYT – I’m not sure I’d call election fraud by Republicans rare (unlike voter fraud), but, yes. This Mother Jones article is so short that fair use isn’t really an option, but it’s highly telling. And will only take you a few seconds to read.
Cartoon – Another day which shall live in infamy.
Moore: Excellent vid. Agenda setting, and fight, fight, fight!! for the people. Well said.
MM: They’ve got their head in the clouds if they don’t think or see how climate change, and global warming is real, and effects the environment, animals (sea/land) or the landscapes. What saddens me is that folks listen to this, and believe them.
Cartoon: Exactly!! Shame is right!!
Full house here. I love making memories. Best to you at church tomorrow, we play the Jags. Tell WWWendy hello for me. Hope that you have a great evening, take care, and Thanks, Tom.
So Teflon tRump makes sure he’s not in the room when the crime goes down. “But when a crime’s discovered/Then Macavity’s not there!”
MSNBC: Put those bastards on notice, on the defensive!!!!!!!!!! Find a way to take away from the Empty Orange the ability to define what is newsworthy! “He who makes the definitions has the power.”
MMC: What horse pooh these Fauxtards spew!
NYT: The answer to your question about fraud is exactly why the Rethuglicans are always blaming the Dems:”Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?” “Not me!” “Then who?” “”THEM! Anybody but me, such a law and order, family values, lover of obsessive liars, person as I am.”
‘Toon: A sad day in our history, never taught in my student experience; doesn’t look good in light of how phenomenally, exceptionally, wonderful we are!?
i agree with Michael Moore!
Wounded Knee Massacre ? ?
NEVER FORGET!
2:52 (average 4:53) The proverbial lovely cottage by the sea.
MSNBC: Moore suggested an excellent New Year’s resolution: do not let Drumpf dictate the agenda every day. Let’s start talking about things Americans find important like Medicare care for all. Chris sort of agreed, but then quickly thought of his job and started sputtering a bit…? Moore set him straight that with the right agenda pushing for legislation The People want, and fighting hard, publicly really hard for it, Democrats could keep a firm grip of what people are talking about and that’s not Drumpf’s increasingly desperate tweets.
MM: I stopped in gob-smacked unbelief after the first one: Drumpf should take credit for solving global warming, just look at how cold it is right now. Need all Faux News viewers be completely brain dead to accept being spoken to like that? This is beyond insulting.
NYT: Sadly, this kind of Republican election fraud is becoming rather typical for American elections in the past decade. Democrats need to make certain it doesn’t evolve even further from typical to normal.
I can believe your list of chores is endless, moving just a few daysafter coming out of hospital and just before the holidays, Tomcat and I can understand you’d like to make start 2019, but please don’t overdo it. Just enjoy the game even if the Broncos aren’t victorious.
MSNBC: Good video with Moore speaking such truth.. I pray the Democrats do as he suggests, not to allow tRump to dictate.
MMC: Totally insane Must be totally blind if they continue to deny what is currently happening all across the world. Sick of these idiots ignoring all of these disasters.
Cartoon: Sad day.
Puzzle — 3:42
MSNBC — Michael Moore on what he wants for 2019: “As many members of the Trump family in orange jumpsuits if possible.” — AMEN!!! Good video.
Media Matters — Hell will be frozen over before these morons accept that climate change is not a hoax! And to the dufus who said weather and climate change are the same things, ask a kid in grade five if they are. They are not! Weather is what is happening outside right now. Climate change is relational to certain norms.
NY Times — NC’s board of elections is right not to certify the election, and The House correct to not seat Harris. Is this one of those things that SCOTUS will look at in time?
Cartoon — A national shame, a national disgrace!
Thanks and exhausted hugs.