Feb 222021
 

I’m not sure what happened this morning.  One possibility is that lightning struck the Bonneville Dam, a major source of hydro-power on the Columbia River, upstream of Portland, causing a massive flood at all points downriver.  However, the volume was insufficient and did not stink.  Therefore, I have to attribute it to the other possibility.  I finally Republicated.  I’m still exhausted, but I’m feeling much better.  The week will still be a little crazy as I’m going to the hospital on Thursday for a CAT Scan to see dust how much worse my tumors are.  OGIM!  Have a great day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:44 (average 5:27).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Crooks and Liars: …How do we keep this sense of Democratic unity in the all-important mission of getting important things done for regular people going?

Here are my guide posts:

1. Understand that Democrats hang together or we hang separately. That old line of Ben Franklin’s at the time the Declaration of Independence was signed was not meant as a joke or clever word play: it was quite literally true and deadly serious. Unfortunately, this moment in history finds us in a similar moment, as that gallows the insurrectionists were building at the Capitol are a deadly sign that the threat is real. We Democrats need to deliver real things for real people over the next two years, or we are going to lose control of the government to a political party which just overwhelmingly rejected the idea that a president who encouraged a coup should not be punished for it.

We need to work together to get anything done, and we need to get substantial things done in order to win in 2022. With the margins we have now, there is literally no choice in the matter. We all know that opportunities for compromise with the Republicans will be few and far between, but compromise between Democrats is mandatory if we want to get anything done. So for my progressive comrades, we need to get everything we can on every bill we can, and then compromise and move on to the next chance. If we can convince the last few swing votes on at least reforming the filibuster, that should work out reasonably well for us, and even if not, there should be a lot we can get into the second reconciliation bill as well as more executive action.

…Conclusion

Passing legislation with the narrow margins in the House and Senate is going to be an intense challenge, requiring Democrats to stay together and requiring everyone to compromise and work things out in good faith. Biden has started off in much stronger political shape than the last two Democratic presidents, and we are on the verge of passing the biggest and boldest recovery package in the history of the republic. We need to methodically get that done, and then build on the success with another reconciliation bill where we can do bigger long-term things.

I’ve included the first of four guide posts and part of the conclusion. I fully agree and strongly recommend that you click through for the rest. We need to overcome the urge to in-fight.  RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): U.S. Reaches Grim Milestone of 500,000 Covid Deaths

 

What a sad day. Of course Trump** virus would have killed thousands, even if Republicans were not doing everything they to give welfare for billionaires precedence while fighting to evade spending to save American lives!  RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Mr. Bojangles – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – [With Lyrics]

 

Ah… the memories!!  RESIST the Republican Reich!!

Don’t Let Republicans Steal YOUR Future!!

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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!

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Jan 172021
 

It’s a groggy day here in the CatBox.  I slept very well last night, but one good night after several bad is not enough for recovery.  My pain level is gradually starting to improve.  This afternoon, I’m going to watch my confiscated Portland Chiefs Play the Browns.  I’ll be in the saddle for MLK Day tomorrow.  Expect evil actions from the Republican Reich.  To stay safe, avoid them.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:13 (average 4:37).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From NY Times: President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., inheriting a collection of crises unlike any in generations, plans to open his administration with dozens of executive directives on top of expansive legislative proposals in a 10-day blitz meant to signal a turning point for a nation reeling from disease, economic turmoil, racial strife and now the aftermath of the assault on the Capitol.

Mr. Biden’s team has developed a raft of decrees that he can issue on his own authority after the inauguration on Wednesday to begin reversing some of President Trump’s most hotly disputed policies. Advisers hope the flurry of action, without waiting for Congress, will establish a sense of momentum for the new president even as the Senate puts his predecessor on trial.

On his first day in office alone, Mr. Biden intends a flurry of executive orders that will be partly substantive and partly symbolic. They include rescinding the travel ban on several predominantly Muslim countries, rejoining the Paris climate change accord, extending pandemic-related limits on evictions and student loan payments, issuing a mask mandate for federal property and interstate travel and ordering agencies to figure out how to reunite children separated from families after crossing the border, according to a memo circulated on Saturday by Ron Klain, his incoming White House chief of staff, and obtained by The New York Times.

The blueprint of executive action comes after Mr. Biden announced that he will push Congress to pass a $1.9 trillion package of economic stimulus and pandemic relief, signaling a willingness to be aggressive on policy issues and confronting Republicans from the start to take their lead from him.

He also plans to send sweeping immigration legislation on his first day in office providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million people in the country illegally. Along with his promise to vaccinate 100 million Americans for the coronavirus in his first 100 days, it is an expansive set of priorities for a new president that could be a defining test of his deal-making abilities and command of the federal government.

Isn’t it wonderful to look forward to government actions we can support?  RESIST and REMOVE the Republican Reich!!

From Daily Kos: A few weeks ago, it was still possible to compare the daily deaths from COVID-19 to some past events. 9/11. Or Pearl Harbor. Or D-Day. But all of that went by the wayside as the number of those falling to the virus each day passed 3,000. Then 4,000. 2020 likely saw an unprecedented use of “unprecedented,” and when it comes to the pandemic, that bit of justified awfulness is far from over.

Even in the middle of a pandemic that is killing Americans faster than any war in history, there are still some situations that stand out for the extra awfulness that people can show to each other. That’s certainly true of the Republicans in Congress who refused to wear a mask even as they were huddling together under threat of death from a rampaging mob. As a result, at least four members of Congress have since tested positive.

But there may be no better example of just how terrible people can be, than a tiny group called “Citizens Against Tyranny” in the mid-sized city of Roseburg, Oregon.

As the La Grande Observer reports, this group formed for a specific purpose — to punish anyone who complains about violations of safety regulations connected to COVID-19. That includes publishing the names of anyone who reports safety violations to Oregon’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration on “The LIST.”

Two women, both senior citizens and Douglas County residents, were recently fingered by this organization. Their names were published on a website called citizensagainsttyranny.net as part of “The LIST,” and they were labeled “Filthy Traitors.” The words were spattered in red, as if to indicate blood.

This group, which labeled two elderly women “filthy traitors” for upholding a law that’s meant to save not just their lives, but also the lives of their fellow citizens, is supported by Republican state lawmaker Dallas Heard. Which might not be surprising, since in a December session of the Oregon legislature, Heard declared that attempts to halt the pandemic were “campaign against the people and the children of God.” At that point he ripped off his mask and stormed out of the senate. Heard doesn’t just support the Citizens Against Tyranny, he has encouraged it in a plan to ban all those who the organization has doxxed from being served by any local business. “Their faces and their names and what they did must be known,” said Heard.

I ashamed to admit that Oregon has a senator as evil as Missouri’s infamous Jerk-off Josh Hawley, but ours is just a state senator. The “Children of God” worship Republican-supply-side Jesus, the deity with horns, cloven hooves, a pointed tail, and a pitch fork.  RESIST and REMOVE the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): THE YOUNGBLOODS Let´s get together 1967 Chet Powers´s song

 

Ah… the memories. I have understood for about twenty five years that fear, not hate, is the opposite of love. Hate is a symptom of fear. Understanding that makes it easier to understand the Republican Party.  RESIST and REMOVE the Republican Reich!!

Wednesday, Dump Trump** Hump Day,

Is the Big FLUSH!!

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Dec 132020
 

It’s another busy day here in the CatBox, and my back is in a lot of pain.  Tomorrow is a WWWendy day, but she won’t come until late afternoon, so I’ll be in the saddle.  Last I heard my Broncos were winning 13-7.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:12 (average 5:26).  To do it, click here.  How did toy do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Alternet: Progressives are pushing for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to use Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to avoid seating any Republican House members who have publicly supported President Donald Trump’s attempt to steal the election from Democratic President-Elect Joe Biden.

That’s because Section 3 of the 14th Amendment literally says that anyone who has tried to rebel against the Constitution after having pledged to protect it can’t hold political office. This would include any GOP House members who signed onto an amicus brief supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s bogus Supreme Court case seeking to toss hundreds of thousands of votes in four swing states, so that Trump can steal a democratically decided election.

The Section reads: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. ”

It would be fully justified, and Pelosi ought to do it, but she won’t. No tiene los cojones!  RESIST!!

From NPR: Immigration activists are gearing up for a fight to push President-elect Joe Biden to do more to counter the measures taken by President Trump that made life more uncomfortable for the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the county.

But they may find they get less than they hope for from the Biden administration, which finds itself having to balance the demands of activists with the inherent limits on executive powers.

Biden pledged during his campaign to use those powers to reverse many of President Trump’s most controversial actions. His plan includes a 100-day moratorium on deportations, restoring protections for young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children, and eliminating Trump’s restrictions on asylum seekers.

But some immigrant-rights groups like the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, Movimiento Cosecha and United We Dream want more.

Personally, I think we should happily accept whatever help the Biden administration gives immigrants and refugees. Then we should fight for more.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of Christmas): Nat King Cole – O Little Town of Bethlehem

 

Ah… the memories! HUGS!!

37 Days Until the Big FLUSH!!

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Dec 022020
 

It’s a hectic say here in the CatBox.  Diana will be here momentarily to change my pain patch.  (Now, she left over an hour ago.)  A couple of you mentioned a Tenz unit, and that is something I discussed with Molly, my PA.  Here’s the problem.  Someone needs to attach and dethatch the pads several times daily, and since the target location is mid-back, where I cannot reach, I could only use it with a live in caregiver.  So that’s out for me.  Tomorrow morning WWWendy is coming to destink the TomCat and help with food.  It’s also a Store to Door grocery delivery day.  Therefore please expect no more than a Personal Update from me.  Happy Hump Day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:28 (average 6:02).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Crooks and Liars: Appearing on Howie Carr’s show on Newsmax TV, Trump lawyer Joe DiGenova called for the public execution of Chris Krebs for his interview on CBS News’ 60 Minutes Sunday night after explaining in detail what the strategy is for disenfranchising millions of voters who elected Joe Biden.

The plan is pretty simple and utterly ridiculous. Republican governors will just declare the election process corrupt and either decline to send electors or else send a slate of electors for Donald Trump, regardless of the certified outcome of the actual election.

Barf Bag Alert!!

 

This is typical tactics for the 5th Reich. Many Republicans appear to be rejecting Trump*, but don’t believe them. The crimes he committed were implementing the policies they wanted from him.  Now they’re feigning innocence.  RESIST!!

From NY Times: Neither Jon Ossoff nor the Rev. Raphael Warnock has endorsed the Green New Deal. But that hasn’t stopped the Sunrise Movement, the activist climate group that champions the sweeping climate change plan, from mobilizing in force for the two Georgia Democrats in their high-stakes runoff races for Senate seats.

The group is aiming to help register 10,000 to 20,000 Georgians who will turn 18 by Jan. 5, the day of the elections. It has people on the ground canvassing and dropping off campaign literature. And while its appeals mention the threat from climate change, it does not present the issue as a litmus test.

“Right now, we’re focused on the bigger picture,” said Shanté Wolfe, who is leading the Sunrise Movement’s work in Georgia. “Our effort is in favor of the greater good.”

The furious efforts in Georgia by the Sunrise Movement and other progressive groups — on behalf of two candidates who do not share their most ambitious policy goals — reflect the urgency that is consuming the Democratic Party’s left flank. Two victories in Georgia would produce a 50-50 tie in the Senate, giving Democrats control of the chamber because Kamala Harris would cast tiebreaking votes as vice president.

I’m pleased to see the progressive left coming to the realization that the centrist-left is a far better choice than the 5th Reich. This is especially true, since wins in those races kick Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch out of the Majority Leader’s chair.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (Colbert Late Show Channel): The Biden Family Cat Has Some Lofty Goals

 

How cool! CAT is where it’s AT. I especially like the part about nuking the dawgsRESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast for the planet): To My Old Brown Earth

 

May we restore the earth to a world that still supports life! RESIST!!

48 Days until the Big FLUSH!!

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Nov 072020
 

It’s a day to celebrate, here in the CatBox.  I had just gotten up from resting my back and was in the throne room.  Just aster I flushed, I heard the TV in the next room announce that Joe Biden had won Pennsylvania and is now the President elect of the United States.  In short, I was the one to flush the foulest turd in US history.  Tomorrow is is a Holy Day the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb.  My Broncos are playing the Atlanta Falcons, but it won’t be televised here.  But I’ll even let their turd birds beat my Broncos if they promise to elect Ossoff and Warnock in January.  Tomorrow is also a WWWendy day, but I will still be writing.  Wendy won’t be here until mid-afternoon.  Thank God for blessing America today!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:15 (average 5:42).  To do it, click here.  How did you do!

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Moscow Mitch McConnell is twisting his pretend mustache and rubbing his hands together in preparation for how he’s going to block everything presumed President Joe Biden wants to accomplish. And reportedly, Biden is considering “limiting its prospective Cabinet nominees to those who Mitch McConnell can live with, according to people familiar with the matter.” That’s Axios reporting, so all the grains of salt.

They have a source “close to McConnell” who tells them that “a Republican Senate would work with Biden on centrist nominees but no ‘radical progressives’ or ones who are controversial with conservatives.” The source adds: “It’s going to be armed camps.” It’s not just Axios. CNBC reporter Eamon Javers confirms from a source in touch with Biden’s transition team says “the transition will have to re-evaluate the names it has in mind for Senate confirmed positions. May have to send more moderate figures who can get through. Wall Street will like that.” So Biden is definitely hearing that message. That doesn’t mean he has to heed it. If he wants to save the nation, he will ignore it and bulldoze through with the progressive team he promised the millions of people who’ve worked and voted for him.

In other words, Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch will accept nothing to the left of Joe Liebermann. I like the Idea I heard from JD, I think. Nominate a strong liberal, and when BBMMM says NO, make an interim appointment to the left of AOC.  RESIST!!

From NY Times: Control of the Senate hung in the balance on Friday in Georgia after Senator David Perdue, a Republican, fell just short of the majority of votes he needed to win re-election, setting the stage for a second January runoff in the rapidly changing state.

With the Senate narrowly divided between Republicans and Democrats, the twin rematches scheduled for just two weeks before Inauguration Day will almost certainly determine which party comes away with the power to shape the fate of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s agenda if he prevails to win the White House, as expected.

Facing such extraordinarily high stakes, both parties were quickly positioning themselves for a nine-week, year-end sprint that could cost another $100 million and amount to a referendum on the outcome of the presidential election. The runoffs promised to thrust a quickly evolving Georgia into the center of the nation’s political fray and test the extent of Democrats’ emerging strength in what was once a Republican stronghold in the Deep South.

Georgia’s special Senate election has been destined for a runoff since Tuesday, when the Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, and Senator Kelly Loeffler, a Republican, emerged as the top two vote getters in a crowded field vying to replace the retired senator Johnny Isakson.

I plan to donate to the campaigns of both Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. It’s a long shot, but if we win either, we take the Senate.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (Bernie Sanders Channel): After Biden’s Victory, Our Struggle Continues

 

I fully agree with Bernie on all significant issues with the following caveat. We tend to want big change and want it NOW!  However, most American voters are too timid and cowardly for radical change. As frustrating as it can be for us, the only way for us to get the change that we want and that America needs is through an incremental approach. Fortunately, Joe Biden is an incrementalist. Were he not, Trump would have won. We’ll need to hold Joe’s feet to the fire to make sure he doesn’t buy so-called Republican compromises they will never intend to keep, but we also need to give him our support when the good things he tries to accomplish are not as extensive, as fast, or as perfect as we want.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (Parody Project Channel): WHEN YOU GO AWAY – A Parody for the Election

 

Amen Don! In other words, when we perform that last flush, we need to be sure that every last turd goes down the drain! RESIST!!

73 Days Until FLUSH!

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Aug 172020
 

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox.  Diana, my palliative care nurse will be here shortly for my routine weekly visit.  The same stories still dominate the news, so my research took an extra long time.  It’s a relatively cool day: only 95° Angry smile.  Oh God, it’s Monday!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:48 (average 4:24).  To do it, click here.  Hoe did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0817TrumpVirusMap

Click here for interactive map.

US Cases: 5,569,520
US Deaths: 173,143
Plus all the many GOP plague murder victims Republicans are hiding from us.

Short Takes:

From Euro-News (Hat-Tip Lona): CLIMATE JUSTICE

This is where Kamala Harris comes into her own. While she was district attorney of San Francisco, 15 years ago, Harris created an environmental justice unit, which specifically existed to deal with cases of environmental crime.

Harris identified that “crimes against the environment are crimes against communities, people who are often poor and disenfranchised,” as she said to the San Francisco Chronicle in 2005.

The nexus between socio-economic disadvantage and environmental damage is something Harris has sought to address consistently – long before terms like ‘intersectional environmentalism’ even existed.

More recently, Harris has sued major oil companies after they violated environmental legislation, and after the devastating Refugio oil spill in 2015, the company responsible (Plains All American Pipeline) were indicted on 46 criminal charges.

The following year, after Volkswagen was found to have cheated on its diesel emissions, Harris secured a €73m settlement from the car manufacturer for the state of California.

Although many so called progressives, aka regressives, have whined incessantly that Harris is a “corporate Democrat”, her track record on the environment is quite good.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (Raw Story Channel): Trump claims ‘dogs’ are getting mail-in ballots

Barf Bag Alert!!

 

If criminal Fuhrer Trump gets any more full of shit, we’ll have to paint a crescent moon on his forehead. Obviously it is my feline proclivity to be biased against dawgs, but if they could vote, they would be far more responsible than Republican Sheeple.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of protest): ANTI-REPUBLICAN FUNNY SONG

 

This song is ten years old. It was spot-on then, and the Republican Reich is so much worse now! Kudos to left-wing protestors!  RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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