It’s become a hectic week here in the CatBox. Diana was late yesterday, but when she got here, she built a fire under my Oncologist’s office and the Stent surgeon’s office. Becky met WWWendy when she arrived at the hospital to pick up my patches, and changed me from 25 mg Fentanyl patches to 50 mg. My pain level is much lower. The stent surgeon’s office called and scheduled me for a video conference with the doctor at 7:30 AM tomorrow. They will determine whether they want to to do a dilation or a stent and schedule the procedure ASAP. If that isn’t crazy enough, WWWendy and I forgot that she scheduled an appointment to go to DMV to renew my Oregon ID at 4:30 on Thursday. We won’t even start the shower and gooping until we get back. On top of everything else, my AC is acting up again. This is my only article today, and I’ll have to play the rest of the week by ear. Tuesday is flush your Republicans day.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:04 (average 4:38). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Trump* Virus Update:
Click for interactive maps and charts
US Cases: 7,047,643
US Deaths: 204,577
Plus thousands of Trump’s* GOP plague murders Republicans are hiding from us
Short Takes:
From YouTube (Parody Project Channel): LAZIN’ ON A COVID AFTERNOON
Wonderful piece, Don! The one thing even more deadly than Trump* virus is Trump’s* Republican Reich! RESIST!!
From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Democrats Make SCOTUS A National Issue Beyond Republicans Gaming Senate Rule
Listen to Liz! She is spot on! If the Reich confirm another to SCROTUS (Republican anti-Constitutional Venereal Disease), America will become a permanent National Socialist, theocratic, plutocratic dictatorship. RESIST!!
From YouTube (a blast of past protest): The Animals – We Gotta Get Out Of This Place
Ah… the memories! Protest like the 60s! To update, make it “We Gotta Get Out Of This Reich”! RESIST!!
Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!
22 Responses to “Open Thread – 9/22/2020”
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Hectic indeed! But, maybe with some helpful results.
‘Toon: Same as always: If you are not a 1%er, we don’t give a damn!
TVU: Marching right along, having bigger numbers than the rest of the “advanced” countries. What an accomplishment!
PPC: Saw that…wonderful!
Liz: Of course!
BOP: Very good. Shit, it could be the last thing we ever do, if we stay!
Cartoon: Took my breath away, how horribly sad.
TVU: Will check later, I would think it’s gone up a notch.
PPC: Excellent!
MSNBC: Well said, Ms. Warren. I worry about our future. gulp!
BOP: Sometimes, I wish we could get outta this Reich, NOW! Good Song!!
Such caring ladies, WWWendy and Diana, and who take good care of you. Such a busy, busy day. Good luck and safe trips to and fro too. Hope you get your AC taken care of too. Enjoy your day, take good, good care, and Thanks, Tom.
*This just in: “Bloomberg pays fines for 32,000 felons in Florida so they can vote.” ~ WaPo ~
2. “In the 70’s, I wrote a piece for MS magazine on why men should support the ERA. A Law Professor fact-checked it, and said, ‘Whoever wrote this seems to know nothing about constitutional Law. So, instead, I interviewed her. She was brilliant. And kind. She was Ruth Bader Ginsberg.” ~ Alan Alda ~
3. “Mitch has already told GOP Senators to chart their own path to winning election(s), and not let the boat anchor drag them down. Keeping the Senate, rather than pushing in a new SCOTUS is the long game for him. Shhhh—Don’t tell anybody, it’s a secret.” ~ Anvrag G. ~
4. “POTUS now uses the word “incredible” an average 27 times daily. “Incredible” means impossible to believe, so POTUS is responsibly signaling public not to try.”
5. “Take a moment. Breathe. And then we fight for our country the way she always did for us. Or we will lose everything.” ~ Mary Trump ~
TJI #2 – Alan Alda is a mensch himself. Bless him.
TJI #5 – and you can take that to the bank.
This is a Readers’ Digest version of the Readers’ Digest version, but it has been pointed out that the cyrrent budget expires in nine days. It would be possible for Nancy Pelosi to block a new budget from going into effect. If that happened, the Senate would not be able to vote on anything, let alone a high court nominee. Not saying that is the world’s greatest idea, just that it is possible.
Even Captcha is getting into the electoral fray. (Disqus user bastalready)
Cartoon – So sadly true.
Map – When the rate of change doesn’t change, one can get lulled into thinking there is no change. But, when the rate of change is high and stays high, nothing could be further from the truth.
PP/TFT – TFT give Don all the credit for the mixing and the visuals, but it’s TFT that does the vocal voices which are so like the originals … and I see PP gives them a lot of credit for that. It’s a great partnership.
Liz – She is correct of course. And the best way to resolve this would be to do it right up front by just not confirming a nominee until Joe can make the nomination. But we must also have a backup plan.
BOP – The “place” of course is a state – but it’s a state of mind – collective mind. And we do indeed gotta get out, if it’s the last thing we ever do.
JD, I absolutely love the captcha!!!!! Spot on! Mega kudos to the person who thought of this!
Just dropped in quickly before going out to the pharmacy etc.
When I looked at the Trump Virus map, a thought struck me — do you know what it is like to live next door to a country which professes such high regard for human life but does the opposite almost always?
Abortion — 1973 Roe v Wade legalised abortion nationwide but is at risk of being overturned by a very conservative SCOTUS at the petitioning of conservative and religious petitioners. This is an apple that evangelicals and fundamentalists have been wanting to pick for years.
You are not my moral compass.
Once born, there is little support for the child with SNAP being significantly cut back and possibly in danger of being cut all together. Healthcare has always been a problem in the US but with Trump, affordable care will be gone because of his spite for Obama and his policies. Of course, Republicans are enthralled by large insurance corporations (think political contributions) and do their bidding.
Education — With the Trump administration, a balanced public education system is almost gone. Betsy DeVos is seeing to that and Trump is not far behind with his new flag hugging “indoctrination” thoughts. I saw a reference to the education of children by Mao Zedong where the children were forced into indoctrination classes as is still done some 43 years after his death. I wonder if Trump would force children to wear red/white/blue neckerchiefs as Mao forced Chinese children to wear red neckerchiefs? With Republicans continuing in power, I can see the literacy rate dropping while problem solving skills and critical thinking being discouraged. Must not have people capable of intelligent thought. I think of a Canadian bumper sticker from several years ago that said “The government does not like competition!” Trump and Republicans cannot fight themselves out of a wet paper bag fairly or even at all. Only the rich will be able to get a decent education.
Death Penalty — How is the death penalty consistent with a pro-life stance?
Healthcare & Pandemic — The actions, or should I say the inactions, of Trump and Republicans on the COVID-19 pandemic with its more than 200,000 deaths is despicable. Bill Gates opined recently that repatriating Americans who were overseas at the beginning without adequate (read that as NO) precautions in the beginning, likely exacerbated the spread of the virus. I know that Trump likes to blame China for all the problems, but what did HE do once he knew about it. NOTHING thus causing the deaths of over 200,000 people and rising. As to overall healthcare, Trump is arguing in the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) which would leave tens of millions of people without healthcare and no replacement plan in place which is, I believe, his plan from the start.
Racism and Bigotry — Racism has been a problem, a BIG problem in the US since before the country was established and it has continued. Thank heavens for Rosa Parks, Elijah Cummings, Martin Luther King Jr, John Lewis and the many others who fought and continue to fight racism and demand equal rights for ALL people. And yes it is systemic whether people want to acknowledge that or not. Part of that fight resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Unfortunately, some of that has been undone by SCOTUS decisions for petitions from woefully misguided persons, dare I say racist persons. Of course today, the chief cheerleader is the Squatter in the WH, the unpatriotic flag hugger who thinks there were “very fine people” on both sides in Charlottesville a few years ago. Bullshit!!!
Treaties — Below is a list of United Nations treaties which the US has not ratified or not signed as noted in Wikipedia. I have highlighted some which, on the surface, directly impact people. There could be a number of reasons for not signing or ratifying them but to me, this is an indication of the priorities of the US government.
1981 – Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981, not ratified
1989 – Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, not signed
1989 – Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed but not ratified
1989 – Basel Convention, signed but not ratified
1990 – United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, not signed
1991 – United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, not signed
1992 – Convention on Biological Diversity, signed but not ratified
1994 – Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, signed but not ratified
1996 – Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, signed but not ratified
1997 – Kyoto Protocol, signed with no intention to ratify
1997 – Ottawa Treaty (Mine Ban Treaty), unsigned
1998 – Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, unsigned [2]
1999 – Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, not signed
1999 – Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, signed but not ratified
1999 – Civil Law Convention on Corruption, not signed
2002 – Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, not signed
2006 – International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, not signed
2007 – Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, signed but not ratified
2008 – Convention on Cluster Munitions, not signed
2011 – Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, signed but not ratified
2013 – Arms Trade Treaty, signed but not ratified
2016 – Trans-Pacific Partnership, signed but not ratified
2017 – Paris Agreement, signed but not ratified [and in 2017 ceased participating]
I might sound anti American and in some ways I might be. I know I am preaching to the choir here at Politics Plus. I also know that my ire is directed at Trump, Republicans and a minority of the American people. The vast majority are good people who need to find their voice. I also know that my country, Canada, is not without its own faults. No country is in that position. However, when wherever you turn the US is being held up as the “greatest nation on earth”, it is time the US government acted like it. When wherever you turn Trump is being touted as the leader of the free world, I say bullshit! First he has to be a leader, an enabler of sound policies that serve all Americans, and he has to be sane. In my opinion, he is neither of these. Trump is a scared little boy who pouts and stamps his feet if he does not get his way. He is a demagogue and a fascist who, if not checked, will destroy the country completely.
OK, I am stepping down off my soapbox! Thanks for letting me rant.
A righteous rant.
There’s a Catholic bishop in Kentucky (Lexington) who recently said much of the same things. The link is not where I saw it, but it’s been republished so many times now that where I saw it (which I can’t remember) is not even on the first page at Google.
Thanks JD! When I was out, I realised that I left out an important part because I was in such a hurry. I have added that and corrected a few typos.
JD, I think you’re referencing Archbishop Stowe. Here are two stories about Stowe on his soapbox! Soapboxes are getting a real workout today!
Newsweek
Raw Story
Stowe it is. I’m always comforted, since we produce so many bigots, that we also produce some of these (excuse me while i wipe away a tear for Bishop Oscar Romero.) It was Raw Story where I saw it but, as I said, could not find it right away again.
Your words echo my opinion better than I could put them to the keyboard myself, Lynn.
I wouldn’t have objected if you had put this up as an opinion article on PP instead of just a comment.
Thanks Lona.
I didn’t think of that but if the boss says to go ahead, I will and then everyone can find their soapboxes too in the comments.
The Boss says both Go Ahead and Hurrah.
PS. The boss is one of the equals, not the boss.
Primus inter pares
AMEN JD!
For those who have forgotten their Latin, Primus inter pares = First among equals.
Thanks guys. The point is that you do not need to ask permission.
Cartoon: Sad.
TVU: Our numbers are climbing. They’re going to give us another 7 days to see where it’s at then to determine whether we go on another shutdown.
PPC: Great one.
MSNBC: Warren speaks truth. Hope they all get on board with doing it 2021.
BOP: Hope we do. We’ve been suffering enough. We deserve better.
Sorry that so much has been going on all at once. Glad Diana got them to jump on changing your patch to a higher one.
Good luck with your call in the morning. Will be praying that address your issue the best way they can.
Take care. Thanks TomCat
Hectic maybe but today showed you’re in good hands with your palliative carer, TomCat. You do not have to suffer pain, though some pain discomfort can’t always be avoided if you want to stay as lucid as you do, and it was clear that your Fentanyl patches needed to be upgraded. Hopefully, they also get some medical intervention going a.s.a.p. for your esophageal problems.
3:11 That boring old jug again
Cartoon: Too true.
Update: Trump will be so happy; America is still winning with the highest score.
PP in partnership with TFT: wonderful parody both in sound and image. It has a true Kinks feeling.
MSNBC: Elizabeth Warren speaks for the majority of Americans on Roe v Wade and warns that it might well be the last time We, The American People, are to be heard in the SCOTUS chambers, which is echoed by Center for Inquiry with:
BOP: Governments like those of Canada and Australia are worried about the influx of American asylum seekers if Trump is reelected. For now, it’s a joke but a few days into November?
“Unprecedented power” for the US, maybe. Not unprecedented in world history, though. The Crusades, including the one against the Albigensians (which is whrer the quote “kill them all and let God sort it out” comes from), the Spanish Inquisition, the Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre, the Salem witch trials – to name only a few.
Blast — I don’t know what movie there video was taken from but I recognised Don Cheadle as one of the soldiers and I know I have seen the movie. One thing I noticed is that the 6 helicopters flying through the valley look like dragonflies. Perhaps that is because we have been bombarded by them this summer.
Parody Project — Outstanding!!!
MSNBC — AMEN Liz!
YIKES! You are really keeping yourself busy!
Be sure to work in a few naps!
Thanks and frazzled Hump Day Hugs to all!