Here in the CatBox, I’m quite comfortable. WWWendy is due in about an hour to destink the TomCat. Tomorrow, I have my semi-annual screening for a recurrence of eye cancer with Alison, my ocular oncological surgeon. It’s the one I hate, because the ultrasound right on my eyeball is like fingernails scratching a blackboard inside my head. Please expect no more than a Personal Update tomorrow, and I won’t be sending links messages at Care2.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 2:34 (average 4:15). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From Washington Post: Unions representing federal workers on Saturday declared victory in what they have described as an assault by the Trump administration after a federal judge struck down key provisions of a set of executive orders aimed at making it easier to fire employees and weaken their representation.
The ruling, by U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in Washington, was a setback to the White House’s efforts to rein in federal unions, which have retained significant power over working conditions even as private-sector unions are in decline.
“It’s a big win for us,” said David Borer, general counsel for the American Federation of Government Employees. With 750,000 members, the AFGE was the largest of about a dozen unions to sue the administration to block the new rules affecting 2.1 million civil servants.
Kudos to the judge! Support Labor! RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!
From Alternet: On Friday morning, the family of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) announced his decision to discontinue treatment for brain cancer. It was a solemn announcement, effectively signalling the imminent end of a man of towering career, service, and legacy, and it ought to have been treated with respect from people of all persuasions.
Sadly, that was more than Fox News’ "Final Thoughts" host Tomi Lahren could muster.
Just hours after the announcement, at a campaign event for Arizona GOP Senate hopeful Kelli Ward, Lahren proclaimed that "we can’t put up another RINO [Republican In Name Only] like McCain
There must be a special place in hell for Lahren and Faux Noise Republicans of her ilk. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!
From NY Times: Democratic Party officials, after a yearslong battle between warring ideological wings, have agreed to sharply reduce the influence of the top political insiders known as superdelegates in the presidential nomination process.
Under the new plan, which was agreed to on Saturday afternoon in Chicago at the Democratic National Committee’s annual summer meetings, superdelegates retain their power to back any candidate regardless of how the public votes. They will now be largely barred, however, from participating in the first ballot of the presidential nominating process at the party’s convention — drastically diluting their power.
Superdelegates will be able to cast substantive votes only in extraordinary cases like contested conventions, in which the nomination process is extended through multiple ballots until one candidate prevails.
I’d rather see the Super Delegate system eliminated entirely, but this is a giant step in the right direction. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!
Cartoon:
7 Responses to “Open Thread – 8/26/2018”
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4:48 Bahamas has palm tress that are deciduous? Or what else is going on?
RIP Neil Simon. I love your work, which, fortunately, we will still have. But we’ll miss you.
Interesting piece from The New Yorker, especially for history buffs.
WaPo – Good news is always welcome.
AlterNet – Not JUST Lahren. Ward embarrassed herself by saying or implying that McCain picked a bad time to die because it would weaken her campaign. Barf.
NYT – This is indeed a step in the right direction, and, I would agree, it’s a giant step. For one thing, even if the “extraordinary circomstances (which are probably nor all that extraordinary), superdelegates who are elected officials will, I think, be more open to listening to their constituents, knowing how many eyes will now be on them.
Cartoon – OMG! LOL! WTF!
WP: Score!!! Great news for the Federal workers and their union!
AN: Cold, callous remarks!! Ward is an A$$ too!!
NYT: Good news!!
Cartoon: This is hilarious! Actually, I think I’ve seen quite a few here in TX……lol
Hi, WWWendy! We lost by 1 point – final Rams 21 Texans 20. Hope that you have a good appointment, and your travels to & from go well also. Enjoy your comfortable weather and evening, take care, Thanks, Tom.
WP: Wonderful!
Alternet: See my posting on this deluded semi-person: http://www.care2.com/news/member/565542931/4116929 Does one HAVE to be deluded tone a GOPIG candidate? Lauren and Faux News have taken the low road to a dark, dangerous place.
NYT: Also wonderful!
TC, good luck tomorrow, indeed!
Great cartoon! Shows just how trashy and effed-up the Teapublicans are.
? Good luck with your semi-annual screening tomorrow, TC ?
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WP: I didn’t know much about these executive orders to begin with and frankly had forgotten all about them, but that is to be expected from a foreigner, I suppose. But this article made me wonder how many Americans hadn’t heard about these executive orders either until they ran into their consequences as civil servants because Drumpf keeps all attention drawn elsewhere (mainly himself) with his tweets, rallies and interviews. Americans should be very proud of their unions, civil rights groups and judges who have put a stop to these orders for now.
Alternet: Does this reaction of a Faux News host really surprise anyone? I expect nothing else from that channel.
NYT: Another step towards transparency in the democratic process, at least within the Democratic party. Of course that is the best place to start.
Good luck with your screening tomorrow, TomCat. If test results are negative as expected, the ultrasound on the eyeball will have been worth the intense discomfort or pain of the screening. ? all is well.
Rushing Hugs!