Open Thread–7/9/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:04 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 092020

It’s a busy day, here in the CatBox. Store to Door is delivering a very large grocery order late this morning or early this afternoon. It’s big, because WWWendy’s last day is Tuesday, before she is out of town for nine days visiting relatives. So, I’ll need a nine day supply of goop. Thursday is flush your Republicans day. I hope my laxative works.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:59 (average 6:12). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0709TrumpVirusMap

US Cases: 3,160,284
US Deaths: 134,920

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: In a scandal that threatens to upend Donald Trump’s Presidency, a new book accuses Trump of paying Vice-President Mike Pence to take his coronavirus tests for him.

According to the book, “Swapping Swabs: Trump’s Pandemic of Lies,” when the subject of being tested for the virus first came up, in March, Trump started casting about for a “good test-taker” to substitute for him.

Trump considered several candidates for the ruse, including his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the Attorney General, William Barr, but ultimately settled on Pence, who agreed to take the tests for the fee of twenty-five dollars per result.

Dang, Andy! That should not be worded as an accusation. It should be worded as a fact! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): ‘Bullying, Intimidation, And Retaliation:’ Key Impeachment Witness Vindman Retires

Lt. Colonel Vindman is a hero and a patriot. Criminal Fuhrer Bone Spurs* is a bully and a coward! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast that was played at Woodstock): Jefferson Airplane – Volunteers (with Lyric)

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

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Donald Trump* [R-Russia]

Posted by TomCat at 11:28 am Politics

Jun 302020

The first time I covered this story, most of you were surprised to read it. Now it’s all over the news, so I’ll cover it again. Not only has criminal Fuhrer Trump* known that Russia pays bounties to Afghan terrorists for killing US troops, but also Trump’s* only response had been to fight to add Russia to and invite Putin to the G7, over the objections if our allies.

American officials provided a written briefing in late February to President Trump laying out their conclusion that a Russian military intelligence unit offered and paid bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, two officials familiar with the matter said.

The investigation into the suspected Russian covert operation to incentivize such killings has focused in part on an April 2019 car bombing that killed three Marines as one such potential attack, according to multiple officials familiar with the matter.

The new information emerged as the White House tried on Monday to play down the intelligence assessment that Russia sought to encourage and reward killings — including reiterating a claim that Mr. Trump was never briefed about the matter and portraying the conclusion as disputed and dubious.

But that stance clashed with the disclosure by two officials that the intelligence was included months ago in Mr. Trump’s President’s Daily Brief document — a compilation of the government’s latest secrets and best insights about foreign policy and national security that is prepared for him to read. One of the officials said the item appeared in Mr. Trump’s brief in late February; the other cited Feb. 27, specifically.

Moreover, a description of the intelligence assessment that the Russian unit had carried out the bounties plot was also seen as serious and solid enough to disseminate more broadly across the intelligence community in a May 4 article in the C.I.A.’s World Intelligence Review, a classified compendium commonly referred to as The Wire, two officials said… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

If you’re wondering why Russia is doing this, it’s an act of vengeance. When Russia invaded Afghanistan, Republican Presidents in the 1980s supported Osama bin Laden and the Taliban with weapons and money to kill Russian troops. So this problem, not to mention the existence of Al Qaeda and ISEL, aka the Daesh, is a gift from the Republican Reich. Now, back to the present.

What To Know About Allegations That Russia Bribed The Taliban To Kill U.S. Troops

If you believe Kayleigh Lie-a-lot that her beloved Fuhrer was not briefed, see me about buying my bridge in NYC. However, if he ignored his Daily Brief, and his staff never brought this to his attention, that’s even worse.

RESIST!!

Open Thread–6/21/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:55 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

Jun 212020

It’s a better Sunday, here in the CatBox. My Fentanyl patch has helped my pain level and reduced my use of Oxycodone considerably. Tomorrow I have a morning visit from a Providence Home Health doctor, so how much I publish will depend on how long she is here. Kudos to all Dads.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:18 (average 5:42). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0621TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 2,331,673
Deaths: 122,005
Recovered: 973,061

Short Takes:

From Alternet: On Friday night, Attorney General William Barr issued a statement saying that the U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffry Berman, had resigned. That was a lie. Not only had Berman not resigned, he had told Barr repeatedly that he would not resign, and had turned down other roles at the Department of Justice. So, about an hour after Barr’s statement, Berman issued a statement of his own, telling Barr to stuff it. Actually, Berman stated that he had been “appointed by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York” and that he would only step down “when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate.” Berman is in the middle of a number of highly sensitive investigations, including an ongoing investigation of Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani and his associates in Trump’s Ukraine scandal. So his removal clearly signals that Barr is, once again, placing Trump’s desires far ahead of such arcane ideas as justice, or the nation.

On Saturday afternoon, Barr produced a new statement. He’s given up the pretense that Berman has resigned. Instead Barr says, “I have asked the president to remove you as of today, and he has done so.” According to Barr, this makes assistant U. S. Attorney Audrey Strauss the new acting U. S. Attorney, but considering Barr’s knowledge and application of the law, odds are he’s simply lying again. Hilariously, Barr claims there’s no danger of there being an issue with ongoing cases because … the inspector general will see to that. As everyone knows, Trump and Barr just respect the hell out of inspectors general.

SDNY’s Geoffrey Berman has resigned. Perhaps he’ll have time to testify to Congress now.

Criminal Fuhrer Trump* claims that Barrf did this on his own. He claims he had nothing to do with it. One, or far more likely, both, are lying. Barrf lacks the authority to fire a US Attorney. RESIST!!

From YouTube (John Pavlovitz Channel): 5 THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER TO SAY TO GRIEVING PEOPLE. How Our Words Can Magnify Other’s Loss

Very well said, by an Authentic Christian (the polar opposite of a Republican pseudo-Christian). I could not agree more! RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel):Facts don’t support what Trump, Pence say about coronavirus

Trump* Virus is an ongoing disaster, just like criminal Fuhrer Trump and the Republican Reich, who are making it so much worse. Here in Oregon, the most recent spike comes from a Pentecostal Church in Eastern Oregon. There Republican pseudo-Christians (the opposite of real authentic Christians) are practicing Republican guidelines on Sunday and infecting their neighbors Monday through Saturday. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): “REFLECTIONS OF MY LIFE” THE MARMALADE ~ 1969 – original recording ~ HQ AUDIO

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Trump’s* Latest Antifa Bullshit

Posted by TomCat at 11:01 am Politics

Jun 102020

I don’t have to tell you how much Republicans love insane conspiracy theories. In fact they are so full of crap, they don’t even have a BS in Bullshitology. They have a PhD (piled higher and deeper)!

President Donald Trump ignited fresh controversy over his hard-line “law and order” push Tuesday by peddling yet another unfounded conspiracy theory, this time trying to raise suspicions about a 75-year-old protester who was hospitalized after being shoved by police and falling.

Trump tweeted without evidence that the confrontation in Buffalo, New York, may have been a “set up” as he once again sided with police officers over protesters and demonstrated anew his willingness to spread and amplify bogus charges cooked up by far-right outlets.

The move comes as Trump, who has labeled himself “your president of law and order,” has taken a tough line against the protesters who have been demonstrating across the nation following the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck…

Inserted from <AP News>
Photo credit: WCNC.com

The following videos tell the rest of the story.

Trump Tweets An Attack On A Protester As George Floyd Is Laid To Rest

Cuomo says it all. Criminal Fuhrer Trump* certainly is reprehensible! But the rest of the Republican Reich is just as bad.

Watch GOP senators dodge questions about Trump’s tweet

There can be no questions that these Republican bastards know how horrid their Fuhrer’s behavior has been. They are too cowardly to stand up to him, and their reasons for wanting protestors tortured by police are related to greed, power, and racism, not loony conspiracy theories. Now, here a clip for contrast.

Biden’s Response Is The Response Americans On Both Sides Are Used To: Joe

That is the kind of response America would have had from a real President. Isn’t if shameful that Putin [R-RU] and the Republican Reich stole the White House for a fake Resident. What more is there to say? Do this!

RESIST!!

Open Thread–6/8/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:02 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 082020

It’s another busy day here in the CatBox. After research, I lay dawn for 90 minutes to minimize pain. When I arose, I visited the throne and flushed Republicans. Tomorrow, please expect no more than a Personal Update from me. WWWendy is taking me to the hospital for my PET scan. Oh God, it’s Monday!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:53 (average 5:46). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

Cases: 2,008,791
Deaths: 112,506
Recovered: 761,729

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Vladimir Putin has rejected Donald J. Trump’s request for ten thousand active-duty Russian Army troops to guard the perimeter around the White House, Administration and Kremlin sources have confirmed.

After Trump’s call for U.S. troops was rebuffed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper and General Mark Milley, Trump reportedly snapped, “I’ll call Vlad,” and stormed out of the meeting with the two men.

Much to Trump’s disappointment, however, his request for Russian troops met with a chilly response.

“The optics would be terrible,” Putin reportedly told him. “Worse than that crazy thing you did with the Bible. Really, you need to get a grip.”

Dang, Andy! Poor* widdle criminal Fuhrer Trump! It really hurt his feelings, when his perv-daddy Putin [R-RU] pulled out of Trump’s* pooter and zipped up his fly! RESIST!!

From Daily Kos: The New York Times’ Editorial Page Editor James Bennet has resigned after the publication of an editorial by Sen. Tom Cotton advocating that the military be deployed to end racial injustice protests throughout the United States. Bennet had been the head of the Times’ editorial pages since 2016.

The Times faced immediate and furious backlash for publishing the op-ed, including from within the Times itself. After repeatedly defending the decision to run Cotton’s anti-American screed, it came out that the Times’ editors had themselves solicited for Cotton to make his case—and that Bennet had not even read the piece before publishing it.

It appears to me that the Times has made James Bennet a scapegoat for following the Times editors’ policy, against his own wishes. They should all be fired. However, Bennet should be fired too, for publishing it without reading it. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): The Animals – The House Of The Rising Sun 1964 (High Quality)

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Good Dog, Mad Dog!

Posted by TomCat at 12:20 pm Politics

Jun 042020

Back on 12/2016, criminal Fuhrer Trump* appointed Marine General James “Mad Dog” Mattis as Secretary of Defense. Although the appointment was illegal, I questioned opposing it, in the hope that Mattis would speak truth to power and honor his military oath above loyalty to criminal Fuhrer Trump*. I published an article, entitled “Is Mad Dog Such a Bad Dog?”. It took a long time, but he is proving me right.

James Mattis, the esteemed Marine general who resigned as secretary of defense in December 2018 to protest Donald Trump’s Syria policy, has, ever since, kept studiously silent about Trump’s performance as president. But he has now broken his silence, writing an extraordinary broadside in which he denounces the president for dividing the nation, and accuses him of ordering the U.S. military to violate the constitutional rights of American citizens.

“I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled,” Mattis writes. “The words ‘Equal Justice Under Law’ are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.” He goes on, “We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.”…

…“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,” Mattis writes. “We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.”

He goes on to contrast the American ethos of unity with Nazi ideology. “Instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the Normandy invasion reminded soldiers that ‘The Nazi slogan for destroying us … was “Divide and Conquer.” Our American answer is “In Union there is Strength.”’ We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis—confident that we are better than our politics.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <The Atlantic>

Ex-Defense Secretary Mattis condemns Trump as threat to constitution

Remembering that Mattis is as far right as I am left, if not farther, integrity demands that I acknowledge it, when what he says is actually true. In his analysis of the behavior of criminal Fuhrer Trump*, he could not be more spot-on!

Good Dog, Mad Dog!

RESIST!!

Open Thread–5/29/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:41 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 292020

It’s a tired day, here in the CatBox. It reached 92° here yesterday. While the A/C kept it bearable, it was too muggy to facilitate sleeping well. WWWendy, who thanks you all for your good wishes, left town this morning. When I texted her, she had just passed Pendleton, so she probably is in Idaho by now. Updating you on my medical mayhem, on Tuesday I have a video conference with Megan, my PCP. My PET Scan is on Tuesday 6/9, and my follow up with Evelyn, my Oncologist, is Tuesday 6/16. TGIF!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:30 (average 5:41). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0529TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 1,771,614
Deaths: 103,417
Recovered: 499,109

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Servers belonging to the social-media platform Twitter burst into flames on Thursday, after the company attempted to fact-check all of Donald Trump’s tweets.

“We knew that fact-checking Trump’s tweets was going to put a strain on our system,” Jack Dorsey, the C.E.O. of Twitter, said. “We had no idea that it would result in columns of fire shooting forty feet into the air.”

Reportedly, an explosion in the server fact-checking Trump’s tweets about Joe Scarborough ignited a blaze that quickly spread to a server furiously vetting his tweets about Barack Obama.

Dang Andy! Aren’t the folks that run the Twitter shitter bright enough to store all Trump’s* tweets on asbestos servers, only? RESIST!!

From NY Times: The Trump administration is preparing an executive order intended to curtail the legal protections that shield social media companies from liability for what gets posted on their platforms, two senior administration officials said early Thursday.

Such an order, which officials said was still being drafted and was subject to change, would make it easier for federal regulators to argue that companies like Facebook, Google, YouTube and Twitter are suppressing free speech when they move to suspend users or delete posts, among other examples.

The move is almost certain to face a court challenge and is the latest salvo by President Trump in his repeated threats to crack down on online platforms. Twitter this week attached fact-checking notices to two of the president’s tweets after he made false claims about voter fraud, and Mr. Trump and his supporters have long accused social media companies of silencing conservative voices.

The concept of free speech to the Republican Reich means Republicans are free to muzzle Democrats and stifle everything we say . Also, Republicans are free to lie continually with impunity and without oversight. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): It’s Time to Send Trump and McConnell Packing

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. The Reich in the right, the Republican Reich needs to be obliterated. From top to bottom, every Republican in power is one Republican too many! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Dire Straits – Sultans Of Swing

I love the guitar playing! Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–5/27/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:18 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 272020

It’s a hot time, here in the CatBox, with the next three days forecast in the 80°s. That’s not too bad in itself, but it’s a little strange for May. Yesterday my Oncologist and I agreed that since my treatment had almost killed me from septic shock, we needed a new plan, and she had one ready. First, I’m going to have another PET Scan to verify the progress of my disease, and see if there is a tumor in my liver that they can biopsy. If there is, Evelyn will get me into a clinical trial, sponsored by the American Cancer Society. They analyze the DNA of my cancer and design an individual drug that specifically targets my cancer, without targeting me. I’ll keep you posted. Tomorrow, I’ll probably have no more than an Open Thread or a Personal Update. WWWendy will be gone this weekend. She’s driving to Wyoming for a family reunion first thing Friday morning. She will return Monday night. Please pray for her safety. As a result, my next two WWWendy days are tomorrow and Tuesday. Will I be stinky by Tuesday, or what? Happy Hump day to all!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:04 (average 4:33). To do it, click here.

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

Cases: 1,729,022
Deaths: 100,686
Recovered: 480,273

Short Takes:

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Trump threatens to shut down social media platform

This is much too little, much too late. Twitter is almost as bad as Fakebook. It’s time to put Twitter in the shitter! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): As U.S. Deaths Reach 100,000, Trump Praises His Handling Of Virus

Congratulations to criminal Fuhrer Trump for murdering 100,000 in the Republican war against America for greed and power. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Ghost Riders in the Sky – Johnny Cash – Full Song

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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