Open Thread–5/28/2020

Posted by TomCat at 8:47 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 282020

It’s a hot busy day, here in the CatBox, with 89° forecast. WWWendy is coming, and we have lots to do to get me ready for her five day trip. Have a great day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:00 (average 5:10): To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

Cases: 1,747,781
Deaths: 102,197
Recovered: 490,256

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: In an escalation of his spat with Roy Cooper, the Democratic governor of North Carolina, Donald Trump is demanding that the 2020 Republican National Convention relocate from Charlotte to Moscow.

“North Carolina has been difficult every step of the way, and meanwhile Moscow has always been very helpful to me,” Trump wrote, in one of a series of early-morning tweets.

Additionally, Trump argued, moving the R.N.C. to Moscow would save the Republicans millions in airfare. “The most important people working on our 2020 campaign will already be there,” he tweeted.

Well, Andy, I see you’re doing straight news again. Is Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch dancing for glee? RESIST!!

From Alternet: Trump and Republicans don’t want mail-in voting this November because it blows up a couple of their most effective voter suppression schemes.

In presidential elections dating back to 2000, there’s been noticeable media coverage of long lines in majority-black precincts; commentators sometimes wonder out loud why people would have to wait in line 8 hours to vote in, for example, inner city Ohio in 2004 or Milwaukee in the 2020 primaries.

Leading up to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s contest with Stacey Abrams in 2018, the Atlanta Constitution-Journal documented how 8 percent of the state’s polling places had been recently closed, hitting rural black areas particularly hard. The Washington Post chronicled how broken voting machines—and the long lines they create—were largely confined to downtown Atlanta and black suburbs and rural areas.

The effect, of course, is to discourage voters from showing up or staying in line, particularly those people who are paid by the hour and have to take time off work to vote.

“The strongest tool Americans have to prevent Republican attempts at voter suppression is mail-in voting.”

In a Republican Reich, voting while Black or Latino is a felony. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): People Are Strange – The Doors [The Very Best Of The Doors]

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–5/25/2020

Posted by TomCat at 9:30 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 252020

It’s a busy day, here in the CatBox. Tomorrow, please expect no more than a very brief Personal Update, because I have to leave home at 7:30. WWWendy is taking me to the hospital for my next infusion and to discuss what we need to change to extend my life without killing me. I’ll try to let you know when I’m home safe.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:27 (average 5:12). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Yes I know the chimp is an ape, not a monkey.

Trump* Virus Update:

0525TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 1,688,709
Deaths: 99,348
Recovered: 451,745

Short Takes:

From Crooks and Liars: Almost certain to be an enduring meme, that Trump decided that going golfing was appropriate and more important than honouring Americans that have died due to COVID-19. That he did so doing Memorial Day weekend makes it even worse.

Source: Rolling Stone

President Trump, who has faced mounting criticism for his administration’s mishandling of the coronavirus crisis and his lack of empathy throughout, decided to leave the White House on Saturday to play golf.

According to several reports, today’s trip to the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, is likely his first outing to one of his private golf courses since early March. However, during the two “working weekends” the president spent at Camp David in May, it is unknown whether or not he played golf.

Trump going golfing is consistent with his reopen theme that he’s been pushing of late, but it still shows a tone-deafness and a lack of empathy. The U.S. pandemic death toll is approaching 100,000, and on top of that it’s Memorial Day weekend, a solemn occasion meant for tributes to Americans lost at war.

What Trump did today is much worse. He insulted fallen heroes by taking his ersatz bone spurs to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: Sharply disagreeing with critics of Donald J. Trump’s weekend visit to the Trump National Golf Club, Dr. Anthony Fauci has urged Trump to remain on the golf course until the pandemic is over.

“The people who are giving you a hard time about your golf trip are just haters,” Fauci told Trump on Sunday. “It’s in the best interest of everyone in the country that you keep golfing, Mr. President.”

“Please,” he added.

Andy, I have to admit that Fauci’s point could not be more valid. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the Past): 500 miles – Peter, Paul and Mary [Original Audio]

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–5/13/2020

Posted by TomCat at 9:56 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 132020

It’s another tired day here in the CatBox. It’s a WWWendy day. I’m ready to go back to bed. Happy Hump Day to all.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:23 (average 5:02). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

05113TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 1,411,018
Deaths: 83,558
Recovered: 298,641

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Former President Barack Obama said on Monday that he is unconcerned about Donald Trump accusing him of “the greatest crime in American history” because Attorney General Bill Barr does not prosecute criminals.

“At first, when I heard that he was accusing me of being the worst criminal ever, I have to admit I was a little rattled,” Obama said. “But then I remembered Barr’s don’t-prosecute-crimes policy, and I was pretty chill about it.”

Obama said that he was unsure what crime Trump was accusing him of committing, “but I’m pretty sure I never lied to the F.B.I. or anything as serious as that—so I’m good.”

Andy, I fear Obama may be screwing the pooch on this one. When Barrf refuses to prosecute criminals, if applies only to the Republican Reich. Barrf prosecutes innocent Democrats with glee! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Democrats’ Focus On Essential Workers In Draft Of New Relief Bill

Even though it doesn’t matter, I had the privilege to vote for Liz in Oregon’s primary last week. I hope Biden utilizes her plans. and policies! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): CSN&Y – Carry on 1969

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–5/12/2019

Posted by TomCat at 10:50 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 122020

I was so wiped out the rest of the day yesterday that, except for a small supper, I went back to bed all yesterday afternoon and evening. Then I overslept two hours this morning and still feel very tired. But I had a better appetite at breakfast. Have a Republican-free day.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:09 (average 4:36). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0512TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 1,388,283
Deaths: 82,018 (over 18,000 in May)
Recovered: 262,328

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: One week after the United States Senate returned to session, Senator Susan Collins, of Maine, said that she would self-quarantine to avoid possible contact with decisions.

Collins said that she had hoped to safely distance herself from any decisions while at the Senate but feared that the risk of accidental exposure to a decision was too great.

“I was troubled and concerned by how many decisions there were,” she said. “It did not feel safe to me.”

Collins said that she would self-quarantine until she is confident that the danger of being in the vicinity of a decision had clearly passed.

Dang, Andy! Was there ever a time that Collins’ did not test negative for integrity, whenever she makes decisions? RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Obama Calls Trump Administration’s Virus Response ‘Chaotic Disaster’

This is a very big deal! For former President Obama to speak out against criminal Fuhrer Trump* is completely out of character for him. He should have done so sooner! RESIST!!

From YouTube ( a blast from the past): Buffy Sainte Marie-Circle Game

Ah the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–5/9/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:15 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

May 092020

It’s a very painful day, here in the CatBox. The Radiation Oncologist told me to expect increased pain for a few days and a week before relief. Tomorrow and Monday please expect no more than a personal Update or an Open Thread. Tomorrow is a WWWendy Day, and Monday is my chemo infusion.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:54 (average 5:26). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

This is another oldie!

Trump* Virus Update:

0509TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 1,325,521
Deaths: 78,762
Recovered: 223,937

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: In a test result that he called “a tremendous relief,” the Attorney General, Bill Barr, has tested negative for integrity, Barr confirmed on Friday.

Barr submitted to the test after learning that he had come into contact with career Justice Department prosecutors who were found to be integrity carriers.

“When I learned that there were still people at the Justice Department with integrity, I was understandably furious,” Barr told reporters. “I told them to go home at once.”

Barr said that he was putting into place new protocols that would require Justice Department employees to be tested for integrity before entering the building.

But Andy… Barrf need not worry about catching integrity. He’s immune. RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): U.S. Logs Record High Unemployment Numbers – What Comes Next?

This is the other half of the Republican Reich crisis. The first half is Trump* virus. The second is the Republican depression of 2020. The solution? Flush the Republican Reich! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Matthew’s Southern Comfort – Woodstock

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–5/8/2020

Posted by TomCat at 8:51 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 082020

It’s a very busy day, here in the CatBox. First, a high of 84° is forecast, so I may be cooked before my dinner is. I’m getting ready to go to the hospital to get ZAPPED. I expect to glow in the dark tonight. Depending on how bad I feel, I’ll try to put up an I’m OK reply, when I return. TGIF to all!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:33 (average 4:59). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump Virus* Update:

0508TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 1,295,058
Deaths: 77,058
Recovered: 217,292

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Despite an increasingly grim employment picture, an unskilled American man remains gainfully employed, labor experts confirmed.

With millions applying for unemployment benefits each week, experts expressed bafflement and outright astonishment that a man with no identifiable skills, talents, or competence appears to be secure in his job.

“This unskilled individual’s continued employment defies any kind of economic logic,” Davis Logsdon, who studies employment trends at the University of Minnesota, said. “Of the 33.5 million Americans who have applied for unemployment benefits over the past seven weeks, approximately 33.5 million are more qualified than he is.”

Even more perplexing, experts said, is the unskilled man’s persistent employment after failing at a series of other jobs during the past three years.

Andy, that certainly is a wonder. There is nobody more unskilled than Jared Kushner, except perhaps, criminal Fuhrer Trump, himself! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Trump Sidelines CDC Reopening Advice In Favor Of Vague Happy Talk

I think there is a method to the madness of criminal Fuhrer Trump* and the Republican Reich. Because they are reopening too soon to serve their own political ends, they know they will kill thousands of people in the process. If states /businesses have no guidelines to follow, the Fuhrer and the Reich can blame the state/local level reopening failures and their lethal effects on the state and local officials. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Teach Your Children

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–5/2/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:47 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 022020

It’s another painful day here in the CatBox. Hopefully next week’s radiation therapy will reduce pain from my spinal cancer. Tomorrow is a WWWendy Day, so please expect no more than an Open Thread or a Personal Update. Monday is a Radiation Oncology Day. Dr. Seung will be measuring me under Cat Scan for Friday’s irradiation. I do have a special article planned for Monday, but I’ll write it in advance.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:48 (average 5:00). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0502TrumpVirusMap

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, is “arrogantly forcing the residents of her state to remain alive,” Attorney General William Barr charged on Friday.

In a blistering takedown of the Democratic governor, Barr said that Whitmer was “depriving Michiganders of their constitutionally enshrined right to die before their time.”

Hinting that the Justice Department could soon file a lawsuit against Whitmer, Barr alleged that her “unhinged obsession with keeping her state’s residents breathing” represented “government overreach at its worst.”

Dang, Andy! That Democrat sure is blatant in her audacity! How dare she keep people alive, against the wishes of criminal Fuhrer Trump* and his pet monkey (apologies to simians everywhere), Barrf?!!? RESIST!!

From YouTube (CSPAN Channel): White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany: “I will never lie to you.

That was criminal Fuhrer Trump’s* new mouthpiece’s first lie as Press Secretary. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): The Beatles-She´s leaving home

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–4/30/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:49 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

Apr 302020

It’s a crappy day here in the CatBox. I spent a lot of time on the throne this morning. The problem with eating goop is like the problem with computer programming. Goop in; goop out. I talked to Megan (my PCP) and Evelyn’s (my Oncologist) nurse this morning. We all agree that the best way to deal with Republicosis is Imodium AD. Thursday is send Republicosis to criminal Fuhrer Trump* Day!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:09 (average 5:00). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0430TrumpVirusMap

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Vice-President Mike Pence has started wearing a mask after Anthony Fauci told him that it will protect him from women, Fauci has confirmed.

After seeing video of a maskless Pence touring the Mayo Clinic, on Tuesday, Fauci said, “I knew I had to come up with something fast” to get through to Pence.

Fauci immediately got on the phone with the Vice-President and informed him that “clinical research” had demonstrated that a mask is “an effective female-repellent.”

I believe you, Andy. That brown-nose sycophant, Pence, would love ensure that the use of his butt is reserved exclusively for his beloved criminal Fuhrer Trump*. RESIST!!

From Alternet: Countless non-fundamentalist churches in the United States, from Catholic to Lutheran and Episcopalian, have embraced social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic and temporarily moved their activities online. But many Christian fundamentalists and evangelicals have been irresponsibly downplaying the dangers of COVID-19 and doing so with deadly results: journalist Alex Woodward, in the U.K.-based Independent, reports that the pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 30 pastors in the Bible Belt.

“Dozens of pastors across the Bible Belt have succumbed to coronavirus after churches and televangelists played down the pandemic and actively encouraged churchgoers to flout self-distancing guidelines,” Woodward reports.

What Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians (the polar opposite of authentic Christians) fail to realize is that their false god carries a pitchfork and has horns, cloven hooves, and a pointy tail. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): From Ukraine to Coronavirus: Trump’s Abuse of Power Continues, featuring Robert Reich

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. Criminal Fuhrer Trump* exactly reflects the values and policies of the Reich on the Right, the Republican Reich. Every Republican in office is one Republican too many. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast): If it be Your will – Leonard Cohen – Lyrics

I hadn’t heard this before, but given my current situation, it really hits home. RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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