Open Thread for September 29 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:02 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 292021

Yesterday, my grocery delivery came quite promptly (in the first hour of a four-hour window) and I got everything put away quickly except the shelf-stable beverages – and I did get those in, and have room to store them, they’re just heavy. Also, we heard from WWWendy. Please check out yesterday’s open thread for her comment.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Hill – Biden sidesteps GOP on judicial vacancies, for now
Quote – There’s no Senate rule that requires Biden get buy-in from GOP senators on who he nominates. But a Senate precedent known as the “blue slip” gives home-state senators tremendous sway over who gets nominated for district court vacancies in their state and the power to block nominees they oppose.
Click through for explanation. In politics, everything is a gamble, but this seems reasonable.

Democratic Underground – Schmidt: The “TRUMP COUP MEMO” should be an occasion for a giant, collective, national time out.
Quote – There now exists in the public realm, documentary evidence, a written plan to kill it off and replace it with something new. It was written by the Presidents atty and presented to the President. Trump took that paper and turned it into a weapon, a poisoned shiv and stuck it into the rib cage of American Democracy. He twisted it, crazed with rage that he had been rejected and repudiated.
Click through for the full thread – that’s what this is, a Twitter thread unrolled for easy reading. Schmidt knows whereof he speaks.

Twitter Threadreader – Harrowing account of effect of UNVACCINATED on hospital ICU capabilities
Quote – In August my dad was living independently in rural New Mexico, as he has for years, in a beautiful place with a view of the mountains. He got vaxxed against Covid as soon as it was available, wore masks, and was waiting out the pandemic like the rest of us. Then, he had a fall.
Click through for (tissue alert) story. This is another Twitter thread opened for easy reading. In case it gets taken down before you get to it, there is another copy here which won’t.

Food for Thought –

Open Thread for September 28 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:24 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 282021

Yesterday, I did finish organizing my evening meds. I also placed a grocery order to be delivered today. I even worked a little bit on that front panel I mentioned last week. It rained a little, which is now supposed to continue for a few days.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Hill – Biden administration moves to preserve DACA after court ruling
Quote – A federal district judge in Texas ruled in July that the 2012 DACA program violated the Administrative Procedures Act. The decision left intact the program’s benefits for some 600,000 people otherwise unable to obtain legal status after being brought to the U.S. as children. But it blocked any future applications, leaving thousands of young immigrants in limbo.
Click through for story. The delay from July to now is because it was appealed. But this is good news.

The Daily Beast – Arizona Dems Threaten Sen. Kyrsten Sinema With No-Confidence Vote
Quote – “The Arizonans who did the work to elect Sinema have had enough of her betraying the voters who put her in office. It’s time for her to show the bare minimum of accountability and stop obstructing the agenda that Democrats, including her, campaigned on and were elected to deliver. Sinema is setting her political future on fire. If she doesn’t change course drastically and soon, it will be too late,” Kai Newkirk, a Democratic organizer in Arizona, told The Daily Beast.
Click through if you like – It doesn’t go into the consequences of such a vote.

The Guardian – John Hinckley, who tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan, to be freed from restrictions
Quote – The US district court judge, Paul L Friedman, said in Washington during a 90-minute court hearing that he would issue his full ruling this week. “If he hadn’t tried to kill the president, he would have been unconditionally released a long, long, long time ago,” Friedman said. “But everybody is comfortable now after all of the studies, all of the analysis and all of the interviews and all of the experience with Mr Hinckley.”
Click through for details. Actually, he probably was never quite as insane as present-day MAGAts are. But I would still be nervous if I lived nearby.

Food for Thought –

Open Thread – 1/26/2021

Posted by TomCat at 11:13 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 262021

It’s another tired-painful day here in the CatBox. I lost most of my map time yesterday. My toilet was so badly plugged that Maintenance could not fix it with a regular 10′ snake. They had to take the toilet out into the hallway and bring a 30′ electric snake from the downtown office. They were just finishing up when WWWendy arrived. Tuesday is flush your Republicans Day. Mine were so vile that they tried to barricade the way down. I should be in the saddle tomorrow.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:26 (average 7:00). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

0126Cartoon

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: As Barack Obama’s inauguration kicked off on Jan. 20, 2009, LGBTQ Americans across the country watched with mixed emotions while evangelical pastor Rick Warren delivered the invocation. Though the vast majority of them had voted for Obama, Warren had urged members of his California-based megachurch to vote in favor of a ballot measure stripping marriage rights from same-sex couples; indeed, Proposition 8 narrowly passed on the same night Obama was elevated to the highest office in the land. Election Night had been a double-edged sword for gay and transgender individuals, and Warren’s presence made the inauguration bittersweet as well.

But Obama’s pick of Warren symbolized what ultimately emerged as a stumbling block to his ability to accomplish many of the priorities liberals had voted for in 2008 and which were also broadly popular—action on immigration, climate change, and, at least initially, queer rights. Obama was an incrementalist at heart, and he was still approaching Republicans as rational players in America’s democratic experiment. Including an anti-gay evangelical pastor in his inauguration was one of several olive branches Obama extended to conservatives in the early days of his administration in what would prove to be a fruitless effort to win their cooperation. A dozen years later, however, Obama’s former No. 2—a man who was viewed in the 2020 Democratic primary as far less progressive than Obama was seen in the 2008 contest—is quickly advancing a far more unapologetically progressive agenda from Day One of his administration.

In fact, President Joe Biden has quickly dispensed of many of the old Obama-era battles that flummoxed liberals and eventually drew them to the streets to protest the administration’s inaction. Biden has already sent Congress a bold immigration bill that unequivocally includes a pathway to citizenship, expanded green card access, and fortifies the DACA program for Dreamers established by Obama in 2012. Biden also immediately yanked the Keystone XL pipeline permit—an action Obama didn’t take until 2015, after years of pushing by climate activists. And building on the many hard-fought Obama-era wins on LGBTQ equality, Biden quickly signed an order pushing the most aggressive interpretation of Title VII protections for transgender and gay Americans in employment, housing, and education.

Sure, these are old battles. And to some extent, Biden has benefited from a natural evolution of the issues over a decade. That is particularly true on policies concerning the LGBTQ movement, which emerged from Obama’s presidency lightyears ahead of where it began. But it is also a measure of how far the progressive movement has come over the past decade that we aren’t immediately having to go to battle with a Democratic administration that seems less intent on advancing liberal causes than using them as bargaining chips on the way to accomplishing other goals. So far, that vestige of 90s-era Clintonian politics seems to have finally been laid to rest in the Biden White House.

The departure is clearly throwing some Washington journalists for a loop after decades of watching Democrats kowtow to Republicans.

I really expected Biden to fall into the same trap Obama did, and have repeatedly discussed how we need to hold his feet to the fire. So far, I’ve been wrong and happy to be so. RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From NY Times: Senator Mitch McConnell on Monday dropped his demand that the new Democratic Senate majority promise to preserve the filibuster — which Republicans could use to obstruct President Biden’s agenda — ending an impasse that had prevented Democrats from assuming full power even after their election wins.

In his negotiations with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the new majority leader, Mr. McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, had refused to agree to a plan for organizing the chamber without a pledge from Democrats to protect the filibuster, a condition that Mr. Schumer had rejected.

But late Monday, as the stalemate persisted, Mr. McConnell found a way out by pointing to statements by two centrist Democrats, Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, that said they opposed getting rid of the procedural tool — a position they had held for months — as enough of a guarantee to move forward without a formal promise from Mr. Schumer.

“With these assurances, I look forward to moving ahead with a power-sharing agreement modeled on that precedent,” Mr. McConnell said in a statement.

Democrats had been anticipating a capitulation by Mr. McConnell and said they believed he had overreached in the negotiation.

LOL! He chickened-out! This is wonderful! See the Cartoon above. RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Schumer Considering Expanding Judiciary To Balance Courts Packed By McConnell

I agree with him on expanding the judiciary. However, he should be pushing to expand the Supreme Court, because it is now SCROTUS (Republican anti-Constitutional VD). RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): America – A horse with no name (clip HQ)

Ah… the memories! RESIST the Republican Reich!!

Build the Future. It Belongs to YOU!

Open Thread – 1/3/2021

Posted by TomCat at 11:05 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 032021

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. I’ve had a ton of beginning-of-the-year file keeping to do. It the past, I’ve planned for and done most of it well in advance, but this year, I was not supposed to need it. I’m caught up on most of it. For the first time in my life, I won’t bitch about paperwork. Today is a Holy Day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. My Broncos are playing the Raiders in their last game. Of course it’s not televised here. Tomorrow please expect no more than a brief Personal Update. It’s a WWWendy day, and she’s coming earlier in the morning than usual because of her schedule. May the Holy Orb shine its blessed light on your team, unless they raid lost wages.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:24 (average 5:11). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: One of the criticisms of former President Barack Obama in his first term was a lack of focus on judicial nominations, letting many vacancies go unfilled even while Democrats held the Senate. President-elect Joe Biden learned the consequences of letting nominations languish and is already on it, contacting Democratic senators to get their recommendations for judicial candidates. And not for just any good candidates: for the kinds of judges that have been lacking in the federal judiciary.

“With respect to U.S. District Court positions, we are particularly focused on nominating individuals whose legal experiences have been historically underrepresented on the federal bench, including those who are public defenders, civil rights and legal aid attorneys, and those who represent Americans in every walk of life,” reads a Dec. 22 letter obtained by HuffPost from incoming White House counsel Dana Remus to Democratic senators. Remus continued that Biden doesn’t just want those names for a list for potential nominees, he wants recommendations—as soon as possible and with a final deadline of Jan. 19—for any existing district court vacancies. That sets him up to get those nominations rolling literally on Day One, Jan. 20. Additionally, Remus told senators that Biden will expect nomination recommendations from them “within 45 days of any new vacancy being announced, so that we can expeditiously consider your recommendations.”

I am pleased to see and do support the areas in which Joe wants to focus with respect to fixing the judiciary. However, without both GA Senate seat wins, it’s meaningless, given the smug smirk of Blatant Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch. RESIST!!

From NY Times: Vice President Mike Pence signaled support on Saturday for a futile Republican bid to overturn the election in Congress next week, after 11 Republican senators and senators-elect said that they would vote to reject President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory when the House and Senate meet to formally certify it.

The announcement by the senators — and Mr. Pence’s move to endorse it — reflected a groundswell among Republicans to defy the unambiguous results of the election and indulge President Trump’s attempts to remain in power with false claims of voting fraud.

Every state in the country has certified the election results after verifying their accuracy, many following postelection audits or hand counts. Judges across the country, and a Supreme Court with a conservative majority, have rejected nearly 60 attempts by Mr. Trump and his allies to challenge the results.

And neither Mr. Pence nor any of the senators who said they would vote to invalidate the election has made a specific allegation of fraud, instead offering vague suggestions that some wrongdoing might have occurred and asserting that many of their supporters believe that it has.

The senators’ opposition to certifying Mr. Biden’s election will not change the outcome. But it guarantees that what would normally be a perfunctory session on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to ratify the results of the presidential election will instead become a partisan brawl, in which Republicans amplify specious claims of widespread election rigging that have been debunked and dismissed for weeks even as Mr. Trump has stoked them.

I suppose the fly got away with whatever gray matter that evil Republican Vice Fuhrer Pence used to have. Stay tuned. Wednesday is going to be a zoo, and I’ll be following it closely. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Jefferson Airplane – Somebody to love

Ah… the memories. If they had ruined the beautiful music quality, if they had changed the weed in the clip to Clorox, and if they had changed “love” to “hate, this would have become the Republican theme song. RESIST!!

16 Days Until the Big FLUSH!!

Open Thread – 12/6/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:23 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 062020

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. I had a fine breakfast of steak in scrambled eggs, yogurt, rye bread and butter. I took a morning nap. I did my research. Today is a holy day in the Church if the Ellipsoid Orb. My Broncos are playing on Sunday Night Football this evening, so it will be televised here. May the Holy Ellipsoid Orb shine its blessed light on your team, unless they play in an arrow head. Have a fine Sunday!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:15 (average 5:07). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

An annual day of mourning for the Republican Reich!

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Lately, it seems that right-wing heroes and heroines du jour turn out to be slimeballs and reprobates. Well, add another to the list—Melissa Carone, the star witness in the Trump campaign’s attempt to overturn Biden’s win there due to baseless claims of voter fraud.

By now, you’ve seen Carone’s bonkers testimony before a Michigan state house panel, in which she claimed to have seen all manner of fraud while votes were being counted at the TCF Center. Her claims were so off the rails that even Rudy Giuliani had to try to rein her in. Earlier, she’d claimed to have seen ballots smuggled inside vans. A judge had previously ruled Carone’s claims were “not credible.”

For most of the week, people have wondered whether Carone had been too well served during her testimony. But it turns out there’s another reason to question her credibility. Two years ago, she was busted for sending obscene messages to her boyfriend’s ex-wife.

As I see it, sexual content is not what made this sleazy. What made it so is that her boyfriend’s ex-wife apparently did not consent to be the recipient of Carone’s GOPORN. That she did this should not surprise anyone. The gospel in a Republican Reich is that women should be obscene and not heard. RESIST!!

From NPR (Hat-Tip Mitch [ours, nor BBMM]): Under the order filed Friday, Judge Nicholas Garaufis of the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn instructed the Department of Homeland Security to begin accepting new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program as soon as Monday.

In his ruling, Garaufis said the terms of the federal program must be immediately restored to what they were “prior to the attempted rescission of September 2017” when the White House began a series of maneuvers to dismantle the program.

The judge also instructed officials to reinstate two-year permits for qualifying applicants. Over the summer, the administration had begun issuing one-year permits.

Kudos to Judge Garaufis, who was appointed by Bill Clinton. There are few judges left that do not bear the 666 of Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch etched into their foreheads. Win the Senate! RESIST!!

From YouTube (SNL Channel): Michigan Hearings Cold Open

As talented as she is, Kate just cannot convey the sense of evil with which Rudy 9/11 reflects the Republican Reich. Nevertheless, SNL was hilarious as usual. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of Christmas): Nat King Cole – Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

May God grant that our nation and the whole world might overcome the pseudo-Christian hatred that the Republican Reich has inflicted on us! RESIST!!

44 Days Until the Big FLUSH!!

Open Thread–7/10/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:09 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 102020

It’s a busy day, here in the CatBox. We’ve arranged to have a palliative care nurse to come change my pain patch when WWWendy is away. We’re still searching for a shower aide. Wish me luck. Tomorrow, please expect no more than a Personal Update or Open Thread. It’s a WWWendy stink, patch, and shower day. TGIF!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:11 (average 5:30). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0710TrumpVirusMap

Map Reference (click through for interactive map).

US Cases: 3,221,938
US Deaths: 135,869

Short Takes:

From Crooks and Liars: Ohio state Rep. Nino Vitale (R) on Tuesday encouraged his constituents to “stop getting tested” for COVID-19.

In a Facebook post, Vitale suggested that the government is using COVID-19 tests to create a “dictatorship.”

“Are you tired of living in a dictatorship yet?” Vitale asked. “This is what happens when people go crazy and get tested. STOP GETTING TESTED!”

“It is giving the government an excuse to claim something is happening that is not happening at the magnitude they say it is happening,” he continued. “Have you noticed they never talk about deaths anymore, just cases? And they never talk about recoveries. They just keep adding to numbers they have been feeding us from over 3 months ago!”

Is that typically Republican or what? And the rabid Nazi Republican Sheeple said BAA-A-A-A-A-A!! RESIST!!

From YouTube (Adam Schiff Channel): Rep. Schiff on MSNBC: With Trump, Justice Delayed is National Security Denied

With criminal Fuhrer Trump* Justice is ALWAYS delayed, and national security is ALWAYS denied. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast played at Woodstock): Santana:SOUL SACRIFICE:Woodstock Music Festival, August, 1969

Dedicated to all who were at Woodstock or wanted to be. Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–6/25/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:54 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 252020

It’s a busy day, here in the CatBox. Store to Door will be delivering groceries, and I have to put them away. Tomorrow, please expect no more than a Personal Update or an Open Thread. I have a doctor coming from Providence Medical Group at Home. What I can publish depends on how long she is here. How many Republicans does it take to screw in a light bulb? The answer is ∞. Republicans want to keep you (and their idiot Sheeple) in the dark.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:09 (average 4:44). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0625TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 2,463,923
Deaths: 124,308

Short Takes:

From NY Times: The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Cory T. Wilson of Mississippi to a New Orleans-based circuit court over united Democratic opposition, handing President Trump the 200th federal judicial confirmation of his tenure and achieving a Republican goal of filling every appeals court opening by the end of the year.

In winning Senate approval, Judge Wilson, a conservative state court judge and former Mississippi legislator, became the 53rd federal appeals court judge installed by Mr. Trump and cemented a milestone in a judicial legacy that has reshaped the federal courts during his administration, including putting in place two Supreme Court justices. Republicans lauded the achievement. The vote was 52-48.

This is a sad day for America. There are now 200 more reasons that justice here will be undermined for many decades. RESIST!!

From Crooks and Liars: Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in Union County, Oregon is tied to 236 cases of COVID-19 in the area — in a county with 258 cases.

And of course, the church in eastern Oregon cited Donald Trump’s demand that states allow churches to open as the reason they restarted services, against the law which didn’t allow religious groups to convene in large gatherings.

These Republican pseudo-Christians (the opposite of real authentic Christians) love to infect their neighbors with Trump* virus for their beloved criminal Fuhrer Trump*! RESIST!!

From YouTube (Adam Schiff Channel): Rep. Schiff on CNN: Barr is the Second Most Dangerous Man in America

Since Barrf is the third most dangerous man in the country (You forgot Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch), impeach him! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Neil Diamond – Sweet Caroline High Quality

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–6/17/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:53 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 172020

It’s a tired day, here in the CatBox, as yesterday’s activity wore me out. My Oncologist visit went very well. I emailed a copy of my PET Scan results to a doctor, who shall remain Nameless. I trust he can explain it better than I. In short, all my tumors are smaller and considerably less intense than they were before treatment began. They could not find my liver tumors to biopsy, but it turns out that there is enough material from the original biopsy of my esophageal tumor to analyze. I misunderstood the treatment they want to do. They will analyze the mutations of my cancer cells. There are many mutagenic drugs that have been developed for cancer with different mutations, and if one of them matches mine, we can use it. If not, it’s back to the drawing board. My next appointment is on 7/7, and I’ll know then. They also prescribed 12.5 mg Fentanyl patches for pain, which I should have by the weekend. Happy Hump Day to all.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:27 (average 4:53). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0617TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 2,209,231
Deaths: 119,158
Recovered: 903,136

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: One day after it issued decisions on L.G.B.T.Q. rights and the Second Amendment that provoked his ire, Donald J. Trump said that he would overrule the Supreme Court by creating a “Supremer Court.”

“Right now, if the Supreme Court makes a bad decision, quite frankly, you’re screwed,” he said. “The Supremer Court fixes that.”

Trump said that his Supremer Court would be a “beautiful, perfect court” that would make the Supreme Court “look like exactly what it is—a sad bunch of losers.”

Trump said that the Supremer Court would be housed in a “giant, gleaming building” overlooking the Supreme Court, enabling the Supremer Court Justices to “look down at those pathetic little Supreme Court jerks and laugh.”

Dang, Andy! Did you read Criminal Fuhrer Trump’s* mind? We know he would, if he could! RESIST!!

From Daily Kos: Last week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals denied immunity to Martinsburg, WV police officers who shot a “secured” and “incapacitated” black man 22 times.

From the judicial opinion (which is well worth reading in its entirety).

In 2013, Wayne Jones, a black man experiencing homelessness, was stopped by law enforcement in Martinsburg, West Virginia for walking alongside, rather than on, the sidewalk. By the end of this encounter, Jones would be dead. Armed only with a knife tucked into his sleeve, he was tased four times, hit in the brachial plexus, kicked, and placed in a choke hold. In his final moments, he lay on the ground between a stone wall and a wall of five police officers, who collectively fired 22 bullets.

According to the Police Union and the Republican Reich, that was a sad case of suicide. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Bob Dylan – Mr. Tambourine Man (Audio)

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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