Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch Has Votes for Show Trial

Posted by TomCat at 7:41 am Politics

Jan 082020

Since virtually all the news today seems focused on War Criminal Trump’s* Iran fiasco, I thought I’d switch back to the Senate’s most evil Republican, Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch. He has corralled the swing-state Republicans, who we hoped might demand witnesses, to goose-step behind Fuhrer Trump’s* impeachment kangaroo court to be conducted without witnesses or evidence.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he has the votes to set the ground rules of the impeachment trial for President Donald Trump — without Democrats’ support.

McConnell first made the remarks during a closed-door lunch with his fellow Republican senators on Capitol Hill, an official in the room told CNN, before McConnell made the announcement publicly during a news conference following the lunch. McConnell made clear he had no plans to move forward on a trial until the two articles of impeachment are sent to the Senate, as he has said publicly.

“We have the votes once the impeachment trial has begun to pass a resolution essentially the same, very similar to the 100-to-nothing vote in the Clinton trial, which sets up what’s best described as a phase one,” McConnell said Tuesday.

All McConnell needs is 51 senators — or a simple majority of the 100-member chamber — to vote to approve those ground rules. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah have said they back the leader’s approach… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <CNN>

McConnell Rolls Out Trump Trial Plan Without Witnesses, Democrats Say It’s A ‘Cover-Up’

Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch is comparing apples to road apples. In the Clinton impeachment trial, the testimony of all the major witnesses was already public. In the Trump* kangaroo court, The Republican Reich has blocked most major witnesses from testifying. In the Clinton impeachment trial, we had a Republican Senate trying a Democratic President. They were biased against Clinton. In the Trump* kangaroo court, a Republican Senate is trying their own beloved Fuhrer and are desperate to protect him from the consequences of his crimes at all cost. So any attempt by Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch to claim that the two trials are equivalent is pure bullshit.

Maine, Alaska, and Utah need to be plastered with ads about their Senators’ hypocrisy!

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 1/2/2020

Posted by TomCat at 7:50 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 022020

It’s a tired day here in the CatBox, and it’s a very slow day for news, so this is today’s only article from me. I see the thoracic surgeon in two weeks, so I’ll know more about my cancer then. I hope that your your week is Republican free.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:09 (average 5:39). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Full Frontal Channel): Full Frontal Rewind: How We Destroyed Health Care

Didn’t Sam do a great job with this? American health care is screwed for three identical reasons: the Republican Reich! RESIST!!

From CNN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested immunity from prosecution in three corruption cases in which he faces indictment on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Netanyahu submitted the request to the Knesset late Wednesday night, saying he plans on leading the country “for many years to come.”

“What is being done to me is a field court-martial by misleading the public,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement Wednesday evening in Jerusalem. “The immunity law is intended to protect elected officials from fabricated legal proceedings — from political indictment intended to damage the will of the people. This law intends to ensure that those elected can serve the people according to the will of the people, not the will of the law clerks.”

Charges against Netanyahu were unveiled in November. He’s maintained his innocence throughout the ongoing criminal proceedings, calling them an “attempted coup” led by the left and the media.

Butcher Bibi should share a cell with his beloved idol, from whom he has learned so well to dodge the consequences of his crimes. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): The Byrds – Eight Miles High – 9/23/1970 – Fillmore East (Official)

I had left NYC and the Lower East Side by then, but I loved the Byrds, I loved this instrumental version, and I loved Fillmore East. Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread – 1/1/2020

Posted by TomCat at 7:22 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 012020

It’s a nauseous day here at the CatBox. It’s also a WWWendy day, so I’ll just get my work done as quickly as I can. May 2020 be a better year for us all.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 5:27 (average 5:38). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Poll:

I apologize for leaving the old poll up so long. I conceived it poorly and became tied up in medical mayhem, so I never got around to replacing it, as I should have long ago. I have replaced it now, and if anyone wishes to view the results and comments from the old poll, click here.

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Why I’m Still Hopeful About America with Robert Reich

I know I always say the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. However, I’m not confident this time. The Reich on the right, the Republican Reich, has done more damage to the US and the world than it ever has, is more evil that it has ever been, and has more power to rig elections than ever before. Nevertheless… never give up! RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Protests continue at US embassy in Baghdad

It appears that Trump* and the Republican Reich are trying to start a war to distract attention from the many crimes that surround them at home. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): You Keep Me Hangin’ On

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Bullshit*

Posted by TomCat at 8:44 am Politics

Dec 302019

Fuhrer Drumpfenfarten, aka Bone Spurs, aka Putin’s Pet Pervert will now be known throughout eternity as Trump*. Therefore is it not appropriate to identify the lame attempts by Barrf, Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch, Faux Noise, and the rest of the criminal Republican Reich to justify those crimes as Bullshit”?

The New York Times has a comprehensive look this morning at the timeline and actions surrounding the withholding of aid to Ukraine, and I strongly suggest you read it all. But this was the ultimate in political appointees (most with personal and professional ties to Mick Mulvaney) creating rationales to justify whatever Trump wanted: Just ignore the law! Like the political operatives they are, they had little interest in whether there was a valid legal basis for their arguments, they just wanted something that sounded good enough to sell, and came up with something that cemented Trump’s vision of himself as a monarch, unaccountable to anyone:

By late summer, top lawyers at the budget office were developing a proposed legal justification for the hold, based in part on conversations with White House lawyers as well as the Justice Department.

Their argument was that lifting the hold would undermine Mr. Trump’s negotiating position in his efforts to fight corruption in Ukraine.

The president, the lawyers believed, could ignore the requirements of the Impoundment Control Act and continue to hold the aid by asserting constitutional commander in chief powers that give him authority over diplomacy. He could do so, they believed, if he determined that, based on existing circumstances, releasing the money would undermine military or diplomatic efforts.

Inserted from <Crooks and Liars>

That certainly illustrated the need for more witnesses. The more we discover, the more pleased I an that Speaker Pelosi [D-CA] is standing up to Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch’s bullshit*!

RESIST!!

Open Thread – 12/28/2019

Posted by TomCat at 7:49 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 282019

It’s a queasy day here in the CatBox. I’m just barely in the saddle today, but I did manage to keep half a bowl of cereal down this morning. Tomorrow is a WWWendy Day, so please expect no more than a Personal Update. Tomorrow is also a Holy Day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. My Broncos are playing WWWendy’s team, the Raiders in the afternoon game. Miracle of miracles, the game will be televised here. May the divine Orb shine its blessed light on your team, unless they are pirates with patches. Have a great, safe weekend.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:47 (average 5:48). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Paul Begala, one of Bill Clinton’s most trusted political strategists, has a metaphor to explain how the Biden campaign team views the choice voters should be given in the 2020 race. He calls it “the steaming pile of shit theory,” and he explained it to Ryan Lizza of Politico last week (Why Biden’s Retro Inner Circle Is Succeeding So Far):

“You’re sitting down for breakfast and there’s a steaming pile of shit on your table and you say, ‘Can we get this shit off of my table?’” he told me recently. “And Elizabeth says, ‘I’m going to build you a new house!’ And Bernie says, ‘I’m going to build you a new city!’ And I’m like, no, just get this fucking shit off my kitchen table and we’ll get back to normal life!”

You may think Begala’s theory is overly-vivid or disgustingly crude, but I think it is an accurate metaphor for how Joe Biden and his campaign believe that the only major issue Democratic voters are interested in is getting rid of Trump.

Biden has repeatedly stated that he thinks Trump as president is a temporary disturbance in the American political system. Once the aberration of Trump is gone, Biden believes, the Republican Party will return to “normal” — “have an epiphany” — and the supposed pre-Trump environment of bi-partisan comity and cooperation will return to once again make the nation’s capitol a fun place to reach across the aisle and practice the art of the deal.

The Biden campaign is so full of shit that we know where the steaming pile on the table went. Hillary Clinton partially ignored people’s needs to focus on defeating Trump*. That’s a significant reason why Trump* got close enough for Putin and the KKK to steal the White House for him. Also, “normal” for the Republican Reich, before Trump* was appointed, was for Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch to steal Obama’s Supreme Court appointment, voter suppression, racism, welfare, and more. A Republican epiphany is BS! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Shocking Testimony About SEAL Pardoned By Trump Leaked To NYT

It wouldn’t surprise me, if Trump* makes Gallagher, a monster, who almost equals Trump* in evil, the next appointee for Sec. Def. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): graham nash- Chicago

I was demonstrating at the Democratic Convention in Chicago 1968. Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread – 12/22/2019

Posted by TomCat at 8:01 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 222019

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. WWWendy is due in about 90 minutes, and we have lots of chores to do. Tomorrow I have my GI appointment. I fear that they will just schedule me for tests at the lab. I so hope I’m wrong. I need some relief NOW! I should be back in the saddle on Christmas Eve. Go Broncos.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:37 (average 5:25). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From NY Times: American military and intelligence officials tracking North Korea’s actions by the hour say they are bracing for an imminent test of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching American shores, but appear resigned to the fact that President Trump has no good options to stop it.

If the North goes ahead with the test in the coming days — Pyongyang promised a “Christmas gift” if no progress had been made on lifting sanctions — it would be a glaring setback for Mr. Trump’s boldest foreign policy initiative, even as he faces an impeachment trial at home.

The score? Fat Korean Maniac 2 – Fat Russian-controlled Maniac 0. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Parody Project Channel): A REPUBLICAN CHRISTMAS – Parody | The Freedom Toast (Guest Post)

Magnificent! The Republican Reich hope they die soon. JD send me an update on them, please. RESIST!!

From TPM: According to newly released documents, the White House moved to freeze military aid to Ukraine less than two hours after President Donald Trump’s July 25th call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The documents were obtained with a FOIA request by the Center for Public Integrity and published Friday night.

“Based on guidance I have received and in light of the Administration’s plan to review assistance to Ukraine, including the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, please hold off on any additional DoD obligations of these funds, pending direction from that process,” Mike Duffey, an Office of Management and Budget official, wrote in a July 25 email to OMB and Pentagon officials. “Given the sensitive nature of the request, I appreciate your keeping that information closely held to those who need to know to execute direction.”… [emphasis added]

So what we have here is an order from imFuhrer Trump* to hold up the aid and cover up the act of doing it. That’s a criminal violation of the Impoundment Act. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Rascals People Got To Be Free

Ah… The memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread – 12/21/2019

Posted by TomCat at 8:56 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 212019

It’s a busy time here in the CatBox. My heartburn was so severe last night that I threw up. Tomorrow is a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. My Broncos play the Lions, but it won’t be televised here. May the divine Orb shine its blessed light on your team, unless they are bearded puddy tats. Tomorrow is also a WWWendy day and we lave lots of chores to do. Monday is my gastroenterologist appointment, thank God. I’ll be gone from around 7:00 AM until Noon. Therefore, please expect no more than a Personal Update from me. Please have a safe weekend!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:11 (average 5:20). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Baggers, if you remember is short for Republican Tea Baggers.

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Parody Project Channel): FROSTY THE SNOWMAN (doesn’t have the Climate Blues)

Thanks, Don. I almost missed this due to a hospital procedure. Glad I didn’t. The top ten Democratic Presidential candidates ALL support the Green New Deal! Give that damn snow Republican a furnace for Christmas! RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Michael Moore: GOP ‘Dying Dinosaurs,’ Impeach Them

I love Michael Moore! I agree with him about who the Republican Party are, and I agree they are a dying dinosaur, with the caveat that, if they succeed in stealing and replacing our Republic with a National Socialist Reich, America, Not the Republican Party, will become extinct! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): John Lennon-Power To The People-Offical [sic] Video-HQ

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Hold On!

Posted by TomCat at 9:38 am Politics

Dec 192019

Yesterday’s impeachment hearings were an exercise in boredom, until the votes that made the Fuhrer of the Republican Reich the Impeached Resident. Now what? Bought Bitch Moscow Mitch has made it abundantly clear that he considers his job is not to run an impartial trial, but to protect Trump. This morning I heard him call the Articles passed in the House “constitutionally incoherent”. He said he does not consider them worthy of consideration. Way back during the Mueller Report days, when Nancy Pelosi still opposed impeachment, I said several times that Democrats, and honest Republicans, if there were any, should impeach Trump to present the case to the American people. Then, they could hold the Articles of Impeachment to deny Trump his demanded acquittal in Bought Bitch Mitch’s kangaroo court. In retrospect, it was a good idea. If we can’t get a fair trial, hold on!

Moments after a historic vote to impeach President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House could at least temporarily withhold the articles from the Senate — a decision, she suggested, that could depend on how the other chamber chooses to conduct its trial on Trump’s removal.

“We cannot name managers until we see what the process is on the Senate side,” she said, referring to the House “managers” who present the case for removal to the Senate. “So far we haven’t seen anything that looks fair to us. So hopefully it will be fair. And when we see what that is, we’ll send our managers.”

The comments came as a group of House Democrats pushed Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other leaders to withhold the articles — a notion that has gained traction among some on the political left as a way of potentially forcing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to conduct a trial on more favorable terms for Democrats. And if no agreement is reached, some have argued, the trial could be delayed indefinitely, denying Trump an expected acquittal.

Pelosi would not answer questions about whether she was entertaining an indefinite hold on the articles — one that could prevent a trial from taking place before the next presidential election… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Washington Post>

Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell have more.

Pelosi Wants To See ‘Fair’ Process Before House Sends Impeachment Articles

I found it particularly interesting that the man taking the lead on this idea is my own Representative, Earl Blumenauer [D-OR].

…Representative Earl Blumenauer, Democrat of Oregon, said he had spoken to at least 40 Democrats who were concerned that Mr. McConnell would not conduct a fair trial, and who wanted Ms. Pelosi to delay sending the articles to the Senate until she learned more about how the proceedings would move forward.

“What is gained by accelerating this process?” he asked. He said Democrats should “let the speaker work her magic” to “get some sort of assurance, if it’s possible, that there will be a level playing field.”

In addition, some Democrats — including some of the chamber’s most progressive lawmakers — have advocated simply never sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate, to deny Mr. Trump an almost certain acquittal in the Republican-controlled chamber, where a two-thirds vote — 67 senators — are needed to convict. Ms. Pelosi has not ruled that out, but House leaders are not seriously contemplating that course, the Democratic officials said… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Oregon leads the way!

RESIST!!

Older Entries Newer Entries