Open Thread – 8/29/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:21 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 292020

It’s another tired day here in the CatBox. I overslept again. Yesterday I had a rough afternoon. My pulled pork BBQ goop still had chucks that were too big, and it plugged my tumor. That kept me awake all afternoon. WWWendy regooped it when she made a pit stop to change my pain patch. At least its cooler. We have three days in the 70°s before a week in the 90°s. Have a fine weekend.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:59 (average 5:45). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Remember Larry?

Trump* Virus Update:

0829TrumpVirusMap

Click for interactive map

US Cases: 6,103,398
US Deaths: 186,167
Plus the thousands of GOP plague victims Republicans are hiding from us.

Short Takes:

From NY Times: It started with an unexpected call last week from Lynne Patton, a longtime Trump associate who oversees federal housing programs in New York.

Ms. Patton told a leader of a tenants’ group at the New York City Housing Authority, the nation’s largest, that she was interested in speaking with residents about conditions in the authority’s buildings, which have long been in poor repair.

Four tenants soon assembled in front of a video camera and were interviewed for more than four hours by Ms. Patton herself. Three of the tenants were never told that their interviews would be edited into a two-minute video clip that would air prominently on Thursday night at the Republican National Convention and be used to bash Mayor Bill de Blasio, the three tenants said in interviews on Friday.

“I am not a Trump supporter,” said one of the tenants, Claudia Perez. “I am not a supporter of his racist policies on immigration. I am a first-generation Honduran. It was my people he was sending back.”

The episode represents another stark example of how President Trump has deployed government resources to further his political ambitions.

My response can be condensed into one word: typical! RESIST!!

From YouTube (Trae Crowder Channel): Liberal Redneck – This Week in Hell

Dang, Trae! That’s the best RNC analysis I’ve heard! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a long blast of protest!): Live From the Left Coast

28 fantastic minutes against the Republican Reich! Kudos to left wing protestors! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread – 8/28/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:35 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 282020

It’s a very tired day, here in the CatBox. When I order groceries from Store to Door, the Fred Meyer store has usually been out of half the frozen entrees I order to goop. So I order more selections than I need, so I’ll have enough. Yesterday, they not only delivered everything, but two items were on a two for one sale. I had to unload and repack my freezer to get everything to fit. WWWendy had to work late and arrived late, and we had more work to do than usual, so I ate supper late and got to bed late. I overslept this morning and got started late. I’m pooped! TGIF!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:54 (average 4:31). To do it, click here. Hoe did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0828TrumpVirusMap

It it any wonder Canada had closed its border to US residents?

US Cases: 6,055,672
US Deaths: 185,051
Plus the thousands of GOP plague murder victims Republicans are hiding from us

RNC Deplorables Take:

Yesterday was so different in spirit than the first three days. The super-spreader event was dominated by Trump* himself, so the lies were more numerous and the hatred more intense than before.

Wendy mentioned how surprised she was that she had seen so many Black speakers during the convention. She didn’t see how Black people could be that stupid. So I told her a story, which I shall also share with you. When I was doing prison volunteer work several years ago, I was the Treasurer of our volunteer organization and a former lead parole officer for this county was the President. We spent so many hours together that we became good friends. Our political views were very similar, so I was shocked when he mentioned he was a Republican. I asked how that could be. He explained that the reason was that he is Black. I asked why being Black attracted him to a racist party that opposed everything we were for. He explained that as a Democrat, he was one among millions of Black Democrats, but as a Republican, he was something special. He received awards and honors. They paid him to be the token Black at events they could use to prove they weren’t racist. They promised him future job opportunities and financial security. I asked him if he felt like a hypocrite. He said he tried not to think about it, because he deserved a piece of the pie. I lost a lot of respect for him that day. Nevertheless, we continued to work together for another couple of years. Then he proved that he really is a Republican. He misappropriated money from our organization to pay himself a salary. When the money was gone, he left the organization in ruin. Those of us who remain reincorporated, reorganized rebuilt it from scratch at the prisoners’ request.

The Republicans promised to follow Trump’s* agenda for America. The following is a complete description of that agenda:

Finally, thank God it’s over!

Short Takes:

From Willamette Week: President Trump Warns of Dystopian Future Under Democrats: “They Will Make Every City Look Like Portland, Oregon”

In his acceptance of the Republican nomination, Trump uses Portland as a shorthand for lawlessness.

America would be better off, if every city looked like Portland! Oregon leads the way! RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Fact checker on Trump’s RNC speech: He is a serial liar

If criminal Fuhrer Trump* were any more full 0f shit, his foul orange hair would turn brown. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of protest): “The Shady Bunch” a Roy Zimmerman song parody

Could it be more true? Hell no! Kudos to left-wing protesters! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Republicans on Parade – 8/26/2020

Posted by TomCat at 12:04 pm Politics

Aug 262020

Here is the one hundred eighty-second article in our Republicans on Parade series, featuring individuals who personify what the Republican Party has become. Today’s winner is Republican anti-immigration activist and conspiracy theorist, Mary Ann Mendoza, the so-called “Angel Mom”. She is so honored for “cancelling” her appearance at the RNC after caught posting and deleting an anti-Semitic tweet referencing to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and QAnon.

Mary Ann Mendoza, a so-called “Angel mom,” was scheduled to speak Tuesday for the second night of the Republican National Convention. Hours before she was set to appear before the country, Mendoza sent out a tweet sharing a vile and pernicious anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. CNN reported that she will no longer appear at the event.

The Daily Beast was among the first outlets to report on the tweet. It was deleted after she posted it, but a screenshot was preserved below.

The thread it linked to remained, detailing a darkly conspiratorial history claiming that Jewish bankers formed a cabal and plotted against the rest of the world. It said, in part, that this plan sought to: “Use Economic Warfare. Rob The ‘Goyim’ Of Their Landed Properties And Industries With A Combination Of High Taxes And Unfair Competition. … Make The Goyim Destroy Each Other So There Will Only Be The Proletariat Left In The World, With A Few Millionaires Devoted To Our Cause, And Sufficient Police And Soldiers To Protect Our Interest.”

This is as clear and indisputable as anti-Semitism gets. The theory also included references to the modern QAnon conspiracy theory… RESIST!!

Inserted from <Alternet>

RNC Pulls Angel Mom From Lineup After Discovery Of Anti-Semitic Qanon Tweet

She cancelled, because Trump* and the Republican Reich are trying to hide their true beliefs from voters. Doesn’t that rate a Parade?

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 8/26/2020

Posted by TomCat at 12:03 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 262020

It’s another tired day, here in the CatBox. I overslept again this morning, but I still took a morning nap. Then I overslept from that too, so I’m running somewhat behind schedule. Last night I got to tell WWWendy she’s full of shit. She used my toilet and plugged it. That’s what happens when you get too many Republicans in one place. Fortunately she unplugged it too. Happy Hump Day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:16 (average 4:19). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

US Cases: 5,957,522
US Deaths: 182,471
Plus the many GOP plague murder victims Republicans are hiding from us.

RNC Deplorables Take:

Night two of the RNC was more of the same.

I was particularly taken with the abject hypocrisy of der Reichsminister der Staat, Mike Pompeo. Do you remember how Republicans screamed when the Chicks (then Dixie Chicks) criticized GW ChickenHawk, Fuhrer of the failed Fourth Reich, for lying about his failed attempt to conquer Iraq for oil and profit? Then Republicans claimed that all politics stops at the water’s edge. But last night, Pompeo delivered his totally political message, praising Trump’s* failed foreign policy, from Jerusalem. Republican pseudo-Christians (the opposite of real authentic Christians) loved it, but it was unethical at best, if not criminal.

The following is a summary of everything that occurred:

Short Takes:

From USA Today: Hurricane Laura, which grew to a Category 3 storm early Wednesday, is forecast to bring “potentially catastrophic” storm surge, fierce winds and flash flooding to eastern Texas and Louisiana on Wednesday night and early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center says.

More than half a million people were ordered to evacuate as the storm approached, including the Texas cities of Beaumont, Galveston and Port Arthur.

Even if Laura reaches Category 4 strength during the day on Wednesday, forecasters still expect the storm to hit near the Texas-Louisiana border as a Category 3 hurricane, as it’s predicted to weaken slightly before landfall. The storm has already intensified a “remarkable” amount in the past 24 hours, the storm center says.

Laura is growing in size, too. “Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles,” forecasters said.

0826Laura

Aren’t we lucky that criminal Fuhrer Trump and the Republican Reich stole FEMA’s operating funds? The poor that are devastated by this Republicane are SOL. But what will Republicans raid to pay for slightest storm damage to the property of billionaires: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, aid to starving children? If you’re in Laura’s path, please tale care. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Trump’s 40 Biggest Broken Promises Revealed

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right, while the Reich on the right, the Republican Reich, don’t care how wrong they are. They’re too busy having wet dreams over criminal Fuhrer Trump*. They chose him to be their beloved Fifth Reich Fuhrer, because he reflects the ideas, values and policies of the Republican Reich better than anyone since the original Fuhrer, who lead the Third Reich! But how did Robert limit it to just 40? RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of protest): Trump Song Parody Blasts the President’s Many Misdeeds

Amen! Kudos to left-wing protesters! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

"No Joy" DeJoy Before the House

Posted by TomCat at 11:31 am Politics

Aug 252020

I was looking forward to see Trump’s* sycophant billionaire Postmaster General, “No Joy” DeJoy”, testify before the US House of Representatives. I had been thoroughly disappointed by his Republican-staged sham hearings before the US Senate. The House did not disappoint!

…1. Democrats are putting DeJoy on the hot spot about whether he knew his service changes would lead to mail delays

In his Senate testimony Friday and again Monday before the House, DeJoy pitched the widespread delays across the nation in recent weeks as unfortunate dips in service, caused mostly by a shortage of postal workers due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But House Democrats obtained an internal Postal Service memo written to DeJoy earlier this month that warned his suspension of overtime and extra mail trips would cause such delays. (DeJoy has since stopped the removal of mailboxes and sorting machines — although he won’t put back the hundreds taken away since he started in June).

“Mr. DeJoy, you’re withholding information from us,” said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the committee holding the hearing, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, “concealing documents and downplaying the damage that you’re causing.”

DeJoy didn’t really have a specific answer to why he didn’t share this memo with Congress or whether he had concerns about mail delays through his changes, although under pressure from Democrats he used stronger language than before to describe mail delays. “We are very concerned with the deterioration and service and are working very diligently [to fix it],” he said.

But overall, DeJoy gave Democrats an opening to make their central case, which is that his actions are politically motivated.

“In the Postal Service’s 240 years of delivering the mail, how can one person screw this up so fast?” a visibly frustrated Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-Mass.) asked, adding “What the heck are you doing?”

“For anyone thinking of voting absentee, the effect of your changes is to move Election Day from Nov. 3 up to something like Oct. 27,” Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) said. (He’s not wrong, based on best-practices recommendations from both election experts and the Postal Service to mail your finished ballot at least a week before the election.)… [emphasis added]

Inserted from<Washington Post>

This is the first of four listed takeaways from House hearings on the Postal Service. Click through for the other three. You owe it to yourself to do so.

Louis DeJoy Answers For His Corruption

I particularly like how Lynch [D-MA] tore him a new asshole!

Rep. Stephen Lynch Questions Postmaster General DeJoy During Hearing

It is crystal clear that No Joy has his job for one reason only: to help steal the 2020 election for Trump* and the Republican Reich.

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 8/25/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:31 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 252020

It’s a tired day, here in the CatBox, but I did get a nap this morning. My meeting with Diana was routine, except that Trump* was speaking when she arrived. I gave her a barf bag. She appreciated it. WWWendy is coming tonight to destink the rancid TomCat, change my pain patch, do lots of gooping, and help with chores. Close the lid before you flush, so the Republicans don’t get away!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:31 (average 4:15). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0825TrumpVirusMap

Click for interactive map

US Cases: 5,917,479
US Deaths: 181,204
Plus all the GOP Plague murder victims Republicans are hiding from us.

Deplorable RNC Take:

When I got up for supper the Republican National Convention was already underway. Dressing, which I have to do in bed, takes me about 15 minutes, so I tried to count the lies. I failed. Actually, I gave up, when I had counted 75 before I finished dressing.

It was truly ugly. They called Trump* Virus ‘China Virus’ and praised Trump* for the magnificent way he has protected us from it. They set their platform as whatever their God damn Fuhrer wants. Do you remember the McCloskys, those vile racists, who got a ‘Republicans on Parade for threatening BLM protesters with guns from their front yard? They were the stars of the show, behind Trump*. They said Biden and the “Democrat Party” want to do away with the suburbs, implying that black people would move in and make them slums.

Here is a complete summary of everything that occurred.

The person at the bottom of the picture is YOU!

Short Takes:

From Reuters: In a claim likely to intensify the controversy surrounding one of the most influential figures in the American Christian conservative movement, a business partner of Jerry Falwell Jr has come forward to say he had a years-long sexual relationship involving Falwell’s wife and the evangelical leader.

Giancarlo Granda says he was 20 when he met Jerry and Becki Falwell while working as a pool attendant at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel in March 2012. Starting that month and continuing into 2018, Granda told Reuters that the relationship involved him having sex with Becki Falwell while Jerry Falwell looked on.

Granda showed Reuters emails, text messages and other evidence that he says demonstrate the sexual nature of his relationship with the couple, who have been married since 1987. “Becki and I developed an intimate relationship and Jerry enjoyed watching from the corner of the room,” Granda said in an interview. Now 29, he described the liaisons as frequent – “multiple times per year” – and said the encounters took place at hotels in Miami and New York, and at the Falwells’ home in Virginia.

This is typical of the hypocrisy of Republican pseudo-Christians, the opposite of real authentic Christians. FYI, Falwell now refuses to resign from Liberty University. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Jeff Merkley Channel): Merkley Speaks Out Against Secret Police

Jeff could not be more spot-on about Trump’s* GOP Gestapo! Oregon leads the way! I’m so glad I worked on his campaign in 2008, the year he won his seat from Oregon’s last Republican Senator, Gordon “Goose Step” Smith! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of protest): “Like a Brick Thrown in Troubled Water” – a Roy Zimmerman song parody

Isn’t that the truth?!!? Kudos to left-wing protesters! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread – 8/20/2020

Posted by TomCat at 12:16 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 202020

It’s a busy, tired, painful day, here in the CatBox. My infusion yesterday went well, and I’ve had no side-effects, so far. However, except for an hour in the infusion recliner, I had to be in my wheelchair from 9:30 AM until 8:30 PM, and that’s so hard on my back that maximum pain killers barely takes the edge off the pain. Store to Door delivered groceries today so I had to unpack them and put them away. In addition, I spent over an hour on the phone on medical mayhem. JD, would you please cover Sam Bee, as I’m doing something else. Have a great day, everyone!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:18 (average 6:24). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0820TrumpVirusMap

US Cases: 5,702,837
US Deaths: 176,396
Plus all the GOP plague murder victims Republicans are hiding from us.

Long Take:

Watch: Democratic National Convention: Day 3

Kamala was magnificent. Barack Obama actually called criminal Fuhrer Trump* a threat to democracy. Such a statement by a former precedent. That and the nomination of the first African American and Asian American for VP make this a historic event! RESIST!!

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Sen. Susan Collins has, of course, expressed her concern about the sabotage of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) at the hands of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. What Collins doesn’t want all of her constituents—the people for whom she calls the USPS “a lifeline,” the “seniors, veterans, and those in rural areas who are depending on reliable mail delivery for essential goods and services”—to find out is that she’s the person most responsible for this mess.

DeJoy can say he’s making all of the cuts to services because of the dire financial situation of the USPS. Yes, we know he’s doing it to try to right the election for Trump, but the financial crisis at the post office has given him the opportunity to do so. And Collins, more than anyone else, is responsible for that. She’s the one who engineered this crisis. In 2005, Collins introduced the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), which required the USPS to prepay the next 50 years’ worth of health and retirement benefits for every postal service employee. It is the only federal agency that is saddled with this requirement. At the time, she was the chair of the Senate government oversight panel, and she got the bill through her committee and onto the floor in 2006. It passed on a voice vote on Dec. 20, 2006 in the lame duck session before Democrats took back control of the Senate.

What the legislation required of the USPS was to calculate the entirety of its pension costs for the next three-quarters of a century—75 years—and spend the next decade putting away enough money to cover the majority of them. Which is insane. And has accounted for nearly 90% of the service’s red ink in the past decade. Right now, the USPS is $160.9 billion in debt for what it owes to prepay retirees, and has years’ worth of operating deficits because it can’t generate revenue under the restrictions placed by the law.

Collins is great at pretending she’s a center-left moderate, but she’s more like Goose Step Gordon Smith, the Senator I worked to help Jeff Merkley [D-OR] defeat. She’s always with us, when we don’t need her, but against us, when we do. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Raw Story Channel): Sandra Smith grills Kayleigh McEnany about Trump’s praise of QAnon

Once again Kayleigh Lie-a-Lot proves she is a Republican with a PhD (piled higher and deeper) in Bullshitology. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of protest): Family Guy – Republican Town Song

Is this great satire or what? Kudos to left-wing protestors! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread – 8/18/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:22 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 182020

It’s a hot day (high 80°s), here at the CatBox. Yesterday my visit with Diana was routine. She’s a very nice lady, who pulls no punches and tells it like it is, but does so with compassion. Tomorrow is my first Pembrolizumab infusion at the hospital. I’ll leave after lunch on a TriMet Lift van, and WWWendy will pick me up between 4:30 and 5:00 PM. When we get home, it will be a regular WWWendy day with TomCat destinking, patch changing, food gooping, and chores. So I’ll be taking a morning nap to rest as much as I can first. Therefore, please expect no more than a Personal Update from me. Assuming that I have no adverse reactions, I’ll be back in the saddle on Thursday. Tuesday is flush Republicans day. Lower the lid so none get away.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:16 (average 5:05). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0818TrumpVirusMap

US Cases: 5,613,357
US Deaths: 173,778
Plus the many GOP murder victims Republicans are hiding from us

Short Takes:

From Willamette Week: A right-wing “flag wave” event in downtown Portland on Saturday ended with a far-right protester firing two gunshots into a crowd of Black Lives Matter demonstrators.

Seaside, Ore., resident and conservative activist Haley Adams advertised her Aug. 15 “Rally Against Domestic Terrorism” as a “flag wave” and stressed the group’s intent to remain peaceful. About 25 people attended the rally in front of the Multnomah County Justice Center.

This reporter saw several members of the protest arrive with weaponry—they open-carried a Scorpion 9 mm carbine and an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle. Others held Mace, paintball guns and a 9 mm handgun.

The flag wave rally exchanged chants and taunts for approximately an hour with a group of Black Lives Matter protesters before Adams’ group embarked on a march through downtown Portland. Counterprotesters [sic] followed closely, and there was a small exchange of violence between the two groups: Flag wave protesters were seen Macing BLM protesters and shooting them with paintball rounds and hard plastic pellets. Counterprotesters [sic] returned fire with Mace and Silly String.

At approximately 1:35 pm, about 15 conservative protesters retreated into the SmartPark garage at Southwest 4th Avenue and Yamhill Street. Ten minutes later, three cars sped out of the garage and down 4th Avenue. The driver of one car—a blue Dodge Dart—fired two shots at a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters as he left but didn’t hit anyone. Some of the BLM protesters recovered a 9 mm casing at the scene of the shooting.

When Republican Ammosexuals say “peaceful”, this is what they mean. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Bernie Sanders on How Democrats Can Win the Working Class

The Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right! Combined with Bernie, he’s twice as right. The Reich on the right, the Republican Reich, are wrong and need permanent vacations behind bars! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of protest): Vote Him Away (The Liar Tweets Tonight)

Amen! Amen!! Amen!!! Kudos to left-wing protestors! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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