Glenn Kirschner – Donald Trump posts that he’s fighting “7” cases? Are more state indictments on the way?
Thom Hartmann – Trump’s Most Dangerous Crimes You Don’t Know About…!
Joe Biden – Fought Back
Farron Balanced – Trump Lawyer Yells At Fox Host For Not Loving Trump Enough
Tiny Dogs Who Were Chained Up Insist On Getting Adopted Together
Beau – Let’s talk about government shutdowns, continuing resolutions, and more….
Glenn Kirschner – Jordan, Gaetz & others in Congress go after FBI/Chris Wray to help Trump AND to protect themselves
The Lincoln Project – Bidenomics: Inflation Edition
MSNBC – Court orders New York to redraw congressional map
Rep. Porter Plays “JeoparDOD” to Expose Waste at the Pentagon
No One Wanted to be Friends with This Rescue Camel
Beau – Let’s talk about the GOP looking for alternatives to Trump….
Glenn Kirschner – NY Prosecutor who investigated Trump’s crimes SCHOOLS Jim Jordan on subpoenas AND the rule of law
MSNBC – U.S. faces as nationwide teachers shortage
Farron Balanced – Charges Against George Santos Are WAY Worse Than Expected
Armageddon Update – Grab ‘Em By The Money!
Rescue Wolf Kept Crying For His Mate… (hanky alert)
Beau – Let’s talk about the GOP budget, veterans, and the diner….
Yesterday, before going to visit Virgil, I started to print my auto insurance ID card (since the new policy had begun 2 days earlier) and nothing was happening. I went to the control panel and also into the details in the print command, and all I can come up with is that my printer had somehow become diconnected and then reconnected itself, with the reconnection making a “copy” in the printer list. I retried, selecting the copy, and got the printout. I don’t know how this happened except that it must have happened within the last three weeks or so. I use the scanner function more than the print function, and the last time I used the scanner, about that long ago, it worked fine. In the process of figuring out what to do today I tried the scanner, and it did not respond until I selected the copy in the device list. If that’s all Greek to you, I apologize, but I’ve never had anything like this happen before, so I really don’t have the vocabulary for it. And I haven’t had time for a deep dive into the manual. I’m just glad I got the card printed in time. Virgil was in good spirits, and we played three games of Scrabble and a bit over. He returns all gretings, especially the lovely anniversary ones. I wore an older sweater because I know he likes it – before he was incarcerated and when he was helping put away laundry, I’d have to go searching for it in his closet – he never put it in mone (and he actually remembered that, when prompted.) As of Saturday, we are now officially getting 14 hours of sun each day, so it gets easier every time now up till midsummer, and will be nice and easy for some time after that. Of course, I’m still tired out.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
Robert Reich – King Charles III
Quote – The British monarchy is an archaic vestige of the country’s feudal past. Some argue that it should be dispensed with altogether. I’m in sympathy with this argument, but I wonder if it misses something…. Here in America, many of us romanticize our presidents and their families, at least at the start of an administration. Remember Camelot?… Because our presidents head the executive branch of the government, the two roles — the projected glamor and the political reality — often get confused, leaving us disappointed if not disgusted…. I’m not suggesting America have a royal family. It’s just that Britain’s infatuation with its own may have some social utility there that we Yanks don’t understand.
Click through for article (and click “Continue reading”). It’s not that long, it’s kind of different, and I think he’s on to something.
Daily Beast – How Bidenomics Has Finally Defeated Reaganomics
Quote – The last thing many of us expected when Joe Biden became president was that he would be a revolutionary. But just over two years into Biden’s presidency, there is no doubt that he has done more to dramatically transform U.S. policy and thinking in more areas than any of his predecessors since Franklin Roosevelt. America had failed to adequately invest in its infrastructure for over six decades when Biden made it a priority once again. Biden’s prioritized investment in combating climate change to a degree that no past administration ever did. On foreign policy, he executed the pivot away from a Middle East and terrorism focus to a long-term commitment to placing the Indo-Pacific region and our rivalry with China atop our list of priorities.
Click through for opinion – which seems wildly optimistic to me, but I certainly hope it’s on target. In a sane world it would be, but if we were living in a sane world, would we ever have attempted trickle-down in the first place?
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – In two cases, prosecutors & judges try to rein in Trump’s threatening, fraudulent & dangerous posts (While I see his point, I also don’t see a huge difference between this and the way 12-step programs are run.)
The Lincoln Project – The Lincoln Project
Thom Hartmann – Hard Truth! You Fight “Woke” Issues So The Rich Can Rob America
John Oliver Wants To Talk About Budweiser Beer & Bud Light on Last Week Tonight (usually John’s clips are too long to share here. This is a rare exception.)
Prairie Dogs Scream For Cuddles And Hide In Girl’s Laundry
Beau – Let’s talk about the GOP budget being announced….
Glenn Kirschner – In Hannity interview, defendant Trump admits to obstruction of justice, reveals his motive
Ring of Fire – Fox News Makes Terrible Decision To Let Hosts Testify At Dominion Trial
Robert Reich – Debunking Criticisms of Donald Trump’s Indictment
Patrick Fitzgerald – The Song of Alvin Bragg
Woman Moves Feral Cat Into Her Bathroom
Beau – Let’s talk about McCarthy, budgets, and the debt ceiling….
Glenn Kirschner – Trump-appointed Judge Carl Nichols refuses to send Steve Bannon to prison for his crimes (Glenn is correct that I can’t imagie a judge would do this for a person of color. But it could happene, ans has happened, for a poor white person with no prior convictions.)
Robert Reich – Why The Window To Prosecute Trump Is Closing (the title is misleading – other questions are answered, but not that one)
Thom Hartmann – Could Ancient Psychology Technique Win Elections For Democrats? [Abortion, Inflation, Insurrection?]
MSNBC – Justice Department Requesting Funds To Continue Jan. 6 Investigation
Ring of Fire – Republicans Introduce Legislation To Stop Government From Hiring Strippers For Kids
Beau – Let’s talk about snow crabs…. [and the cost of doing nothing]
It’s a tired day, here in the CatBox. I overslept this morning, so I’m running a bit late. It’s Christmas Eve, and if you live in a red state, you need to beware. I trust that you understand that Republicans have invented a fake version of Jesus, Republican Supply-side Jesus. He uses Jesus’ name to spread the Nazi Republican pseudo-gospel of war, hate and greed. Republican Supply-side Jesus is the exact opposite of the real Jesus. The reason red state residents need to beware is that there is also a Republican Supply-side Santa. Like the real Santa, he comes down the chimney on Christmas eve, but instead of bringing presents, he steals the presents from poor and middle-class red state children, sells them, and uses the proceeds to buy presents for Republican billionaires, like new sheets and hoods to replace the ones Republicans have worn out through excessive use. So if you live in a red state, build a big fire in the fireplace, put flash-bangs in the stockings and replacer the cookies with turds. Merry Christmas Eve to you all, and SantaCat knows who’s been naughty and nice.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:43 (average 8:13). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
Tracking Santa:
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: Ever-shameless, Donald Trump is now using the pardon power to promote outright corruption. In a slew of pardons tonight, Trump used the power to sabotage convictions of private-contractor war criminals, an array of Republican elected officials caught using their office to engage in crimes, and two of Trump’s own allies who pled guilty to lying to federal law enforcement officials in an effort to block special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of communications between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 campaign.
Receiving pardons tonight—and surely, there will be many more coming—are George Papadopoulos and Alex van der Zwaan, who both pled guilty to lying to federal investigators probing Russian hacking and propaganda efforts on behalf of Trump. They join the previously pardoned Flynn, who pled guilty to lying as part of the same cover-up.
Also receiving pardons are three Republican congressmen caught committing crimes in office. California ex-Rep. Duncan Hunter stole donated campaign funds for his own personal use. New York ex-Rep. Chris Collins pled guilty to lying to the FBI and to attempting to commit securities fraud after being caught engaging in insider trading. Texas ex-Rep. Steve Stockman was convicted of money laundering. All three were unquestionably guilty of corruption in office; in pardoning each of the disgraced House Republicans, Trump is clearly signaling his contempt for those that would attempt to hold his political allies to account.
For good measure, and as reminder that aside from personal fealty of allies there are few things as seemingly dear to Trump’s heart as torturing or killing the innocent, Trump has also pardoned four Blackwater private contractors responsible for killing 17 civilians in Baghdad’s Nisour Square, an act that fomented terrorism against U.S. forces for years afterwards.
There’s no subtlety to these pardons, and its almost certain that they are the prelude to a host of even more egregious ones.
When I think of the egregious losses, grief and suffering these bastards caused to victims and their loved ones, I want to scream! RESIST!!
From Crooks and Liars: Holy smokes! It looks like Diaper Don was correct with his complaints of faulty election results in at least two states. But he probably doesn’t really want to draw too much attention to them.
In Delaware County, Pennsylvania,, there was a confirmed incident of voter fraud:
In the weeks leading up to the presidential election, Elizabeth Bartman and Elizabeth Weihman registered to vote as Republicans in Nether Providence Township, Delaware County officials said Monday. There was one problem: Both women had been dead for several years.
The man behind those applications, Bruce Bartman, now faces two felony counts of perjury, as well as one count of unlawful voting for successfully casting an absentee ballot for President Donald Trump in the name of Elizabeth Bartman, his long-dead mother.
Bartman was arraigned Friday and released on $100,000 unsecured bail.
His lawyer, Samuel Stretton, said the 70-year-old takes full responsibility for the crimes, and will cooperate with investigators
“In his political frustration, he chose to do something stupid,” Stretton said. “And for that he is very sorry.”.
Bartman used his deceased mother’s driver’s license to register her to vote absentee and successfully cast a ballot for Trump in her name. He tried to do the same thing for his dead mother-in-law. But in that incident, he used her Social Security number, which triggered an alert in the state’s system. Even though Bartman signed a letter confirming that she was alive, he never tried to vote for her.
How many times have I said that, when isolated instances of voter fraud do occur, the perpetrators are virtually always Republican? RESIST!!
From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Trump Vetoes Defense Spending Bill Setting Up Showdown With Congress
The disrespect this shoes to our men and women in uniform is totally disgusting! To Trump* and the Republican Reich, our troops matter only as cannon fodder. I have no doubt the veto will be overturned. RESIST!!
From YouTube (a blast of Christmas): Silent Night arranged by Dan Forrest from Beckenhorst Press
Whether or not you are one who you believes in the deity of Jesus Christ, may the celebration of his birth, albeit poorly timed, bring you peace, love, comfort and joy. This year our nation is about to be given another chance. HUGS!!