Open Thread–4/30/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:49 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion

Apr 302020

It’s a crappy day here in the CatBox. I spent a lot of time on the throne this morning. The problem with eating goop is like the problem with computer programming. Goop in; goop out. I talked to Megan (my PCP) and Evelyn’s (my Oncologist) nurse this morning. We all agree that the best way to deal with Republicosis is Imodium AD. Thursday is send Republicosis to criminal Fuhrer Trump* Day!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:09 (average 5:00). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0430TrumpVirusMap

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Vice-President Mike Pence has started wearing a mask after Anthony Fauci told him that it will protect him from women, Fauci has confirmed.

After seeing video of a maskless Pence touring the Mayo Clinic, on Tuesday, Fauci said, “I knew I had to come up with something fast” to get through to Pence.

Fauci immediately got on the phone with the Vice-President and informed him that “clinical research” had demonstrated that a mask is “an effective female-repellent.”

I believe you, Andy. That brown-nose sycophant, Pence, would love ensure that the use of his butt is reserved exclusively for his beloved criminal Fuhrer Trump*. RESIST!!

From Alternet: Countless non-fundamentalist churches in the United States, from Catholic to Lutheran and Episcopalian, have embraced social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic and temporarily moved their activities online. But many Christian fundamentalists and evangelicals have been irresponsibly downplaying the dangers of COVID-19 and doing so with deadly results: journalist Alex Woodward, in the U.K.-based Independent, reports that the pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 30 pastors in the Bible Belt.

“Dozens of pastors across the Bible Belt have succumbed to coronavirus after churches and televangelists played down the pandemic and actively encouraged churchgoers to flout self-distancing guidelines,” Woodward reports.

What Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians (the polar opposite of authentic Christians) fail to realize is that their false god carries a pitchfork and has horns, cloven hooves, and a pointy tail. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): From Ukraine to Coronavirus: Trump’s Abuse of Power Continues, featuring Robert Reich

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. Criminal Fuhrer Trump* exactly reflects the values and policies of the Reich on the Right, the Republican Reich. Every Republican in office is one Republican too many. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast): If it be Your will – Leonard Cohen – Lyrics

I hadn’t heard this before, but given my current situation, it really hits home. RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–4/1/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:12 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 012020

It’s another tired day here in the CatBox. I’ve been very busy researching my medical way forward. I did order one thing from Amazon that should help with both Trump* and cancer: 100 barf bags. I just learned I get my port in next Monday and have my first infusion the following Monday. This is getting too real! WWWendy comes this evening to de-stink the TomCat and help with chores. I’m ready for a nap, and it’s only 8:30. Happy Hump Day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:46 (average 5:33). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Jen Sorensen Cartoon:

Embedded with permission from Jen Sorensen.

Trump* Virus Update:

0401TrumpVirusMap

Cases: 188,881
Deaths: 4,066
Recovered: 7,251

0401HospitalBeds

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Donald J. Trump should use this time when he is staying at home to repeat first grade, the nation’s teachers are urging.

Carol Foyler, the executive director of the National Alliance of Elementary Educators, said that the homebound Trump has a “golden opportunity” to use remote learning to repeat the first-grade curriculum.

“At a time when many of our nation’s children are being homeschooled, this seems like the perfect time for President Trump to learn the basics of reading, writing, and math,” she said. “By June, he could be reading ‘Hop on Pop’ and ‘Go, Dog, Go!’ ”

Sorry, Andy. I just can’t believe this one. All elementary educators are bright enough to be certain that criminal Fuhrer Trump* would flunk first grade. RESIST!!

From Alternet: Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s financial disclosures from late February and early March are simply fascinating. We already knew that Loeffler sold off a lot of stock in early February, while buying stock in a company positioned to do well during coronavirus shutdowns because it provides online meetings. But the hugely wealthy senator’s money moves didn’t stop there.

Loeffler sold off $18.7 million in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. Loeffler’s husband, Jeff Sprecher, is the CEO of the company and she used to be an executive there. Loeffler and Sprecher also sold shares of retail stores including Lululemon and T.J. Maxx, while making another really interesting investment. This time, they bought shares of a company that makes protective gear being used in hospitals fighting COVID-19.

She did not even warn her own constituents, let alone the rest of us, that she knew the Trump* virus pandemic was about to strike. How many thousands did she and Republicans like her murder by choosing to line their own pockets, instead of doing their job? RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): How to Prepare for the Trump Recession with Robert Reich

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. The Reich on the Right, the Republican Reich, cares only for grabbing power and providing welfare for billionaires. All of Robert’s proposals are spot-on, but only as a start. I will not survive the Republican Recession. I hope and pray you do! RESIST!!

From YouTube: Canned Heat – On The Road Again [HQ]

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–3/22/2020

Posted by TomCat at 9:19 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 222020

It’s a bush day here in the CatBox. I got a late start, because I overslept. WWWendy is in the way. I will probably have to finish this after my shower. This is my only article today.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:09 (average e4:33). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0322TrumpVirus

Trump* virus Cases: 26,959

Deaths: 349

Recovered: 178

0321TrumpVirusTests

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Hat-Tip Alternet): Shocking video captures Trump supporter buying Dollar Tree store out of toilet paper

Is this greedy bitch typical of the Republican Reich or what? RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: In a new controversy ensnaring the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, forty per cent of the nation’s toilet-paper supply has been found in Senator Richard Burr’s garage.

The discovery of the coveted paper products occurred on Saturday morning, when Burr, who had been checking stock quotes on his phone, accidentally leaned against his garage-door opener.

The garage immediately disgorged the priceless cache of toilet paper, which tumbled into the street and snarled traffic for three blocks.

Picking through the mess, a sharp-eyed neighbor of Burr’s found a Costco receipt indicating that the senator had purchased the toilet paper in early January, shortly after he received classified information about the potential scope of the covid-19 pandemic.

Andy, Burr has a reasonable excuse. Most of us have small assholes, but Republicans’ assholes extend from the crowns of their heads to the soles of their feet and are both internal and external. That’s a lot to wipe! RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Ex-Labor secretary: Bail out families, not corporations

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich is right. The Reich on the right, the evil Republican Reich, wants to bail out criminal corporations. Bail out people. Corporations are NOT people! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): THE WHO – I Can See For Miles (1969)

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–3/20/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:30 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 202020

It’s a tired day, here in the CatBox. Store to Door came late yesterday, and Andy was not allowed to enter the CatBox, due to Trump* virus precautions, so I had to take the order to my bed from the hallway a bag at a time. Then I unloaded the bags and stowed the items. I loved the Quaker Instant Oatmeal with Maple and Brown Sugar I had for breakfast. I spiked it with Maple Syrup. For lunch I’m having cashew butter and crackers. My computer crashed, when I was in the middle of research this morning, so I’m running late. It’s my fault. I overloaded it. TGIF!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:40 (average 5:21). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0320TrumpVirus

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Trump* virus Updates, Corporate Bailouts and the Stimulus Package

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich is right. The Families First Bill, mostly from Democrats, does good things. It’s a good first step, but it’s just a drop in the bucket. The Reich on the Right. The deplorable Reich on the right, the Republican Reich, wants to feign beneficence by giving citizens $1,200 each, but $1,200 won’t cover a month’s expenses in a multi-month crisis. Worse yet, the Republican plan gives only $600 to poor families. Republicans also want to give a $multi-billion bailout in corporate welfare. But greedy corporations just got one in the Republican Tax Scam of 2017. Not one penny more! The best thing we can do for the Republican Reich is to flush them all! RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: Determined to address the “No. 1 concern of the American people during the coronavirus crisis,” Fox News Channel announced on Thursday that it would air a three-part prime-time series on Hunter Biden.

The series, to be he co-hosted by Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and Rudy Giuliani, will attempt to soothe the anxieties of Fox viewers who have suddenly been plunged into uncertainty about the activities of Joe Biden’s son.

“People are trapped inside their homes, they’re worried, they’re scared, and they don’t know where to turn for accurate information about Hunter Biden,” Hannity said. “We’re here to fill that need.”

Giuliani said that the three-part series was necessary because “the deep state” had limited Americans’ access to essential Hunter Biden facts during the pandemic crisis.

“If you go on the C.D.C. Web site, you won’t find a single mention of Hunter Biden, Burisma, or CrowdStrike,” Giuliani said. “It’s a disgrace.”

Dang, Andy! Isn’t that exactly what we should expect from the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise? RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Traces of love

Ah… The Memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

Open Thread–3/10/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:57 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 102020

It’s a difficult day here in the CatBox. I get topo impatient to spend 90 – 120 minutes eating a meal, and I eat too much too fast. As a result, it took me 210 minutes to eat breakfast, half of it ended up in the sink, and I have severe heartburn. On the plus side, I enjoyed my time with my friend yesterday. For news on my cancer, see yesterday’s Open thread, if you missed it.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:24 (average 4:31). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Irate passengers who have been stranded onboard the Grand Princess cruise ship are demanding to be housed at Mar-a-Lago, the passengers confirmed on Monday.

Frustrated by the Trump Administration’s delay in devising a plan to enable them to disembark, the nearly three thousand coronavirus-exposed passengers said that it was “only fair” that Trump welcome them to his Palm Beach home.

“Donald Trump keeps on saying that he’s not worried about coronavirus,” the passengers’ spokesman said. “Then he shouldn’t object to three thousand of us living with him.”

Andy, I’ll agree under two conditions. First, only people who have tested positive should go. Second, if Trump* is not there, they should be taken to wherever he is. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Robert Reich: Will Donald Trump Get Reelected?

Sadly, the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. There’s nothing too dishonest, despicable, or deplorable for the Reich on the right, the Republican Reich, and their Russian allies, to do to keep their criminal Fuhrer Trump* in power. We must unite behind whoever wins the Democratic nomination and flush the Fascist Republican Reich to oblivion! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Ode to Billie Joe – Bobbie Gentry (BBC Live 1968)

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread–3/4/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:29 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 042020

It’s a queasy day here in the CatBox. I’m keeping it down, but just barely. By rotating food items to different meals, I’ve determined that I can eat items I thought I couldn’t eat at lunch, when I have no pills to take. I’ll have my mortar and pestle today, my big jar of applesauce tomorrow, and box of 50 2 oz. plastic cups with lids to store powdered meds and applesauce on Sunday. WWWendy is coming this evening to de-stink the Tomcat and help with chores.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s non-food item took me 4:02 (average 5:13). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Take damn his undeserved medal away too!

Short Takes:

From Alternet: A mother and son from Sarasota Military Academy in Florida are being quarantined for COVID-19, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. On the Academy’s Facebook page [Fakebook delinked], the school posted on Monday that the “mother’s contact with a patient at Sarasota Doctors Hospital in her professional role,” had led to both her and her son to be quarantined as a “precautionary measure.” The two reportedly showed no symptoms of the virus.

On Friday, Feb. 28, Trump’s top coronavirus point man and non-believer in science, Mike Pence, held a fundraiser in Sarasota at the home of Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan. At the event, Pence talked about “possible changes in travel status to the United States,” while shaking hands with dozens of supporters and 44 cadets from Sarasota Military Academy. Ruh-roh.

While I would not wish Trump* virus on anyone, spending some quarantine time might teach that hate-spewing pseudo-Christian sycophant a little compassion for his and his criminal Fuhrer’s other Trump* virus victims. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Mitch McConnell’s Do Nothing Republicans

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. The Reich on the right, the evil Republican Reich, has two perfect (for them) shepherds: criminal Fuhrer Trump* and Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch. Flush both in November, and flush all their cronies. Every Republican in office is one Republican too many! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): THIS MAGIC MOMENT-JAY AND THE AMERICANS

Ah… the memories. RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread–3/3/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:22 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 032020

It’s a very busy day here in the CatBox. I had to prepare and send my grocery order. I spent over an hour on the phone trying to line up the oncologist for my cancer treatments. I think I have, but I still have no results from my PET Scan. I’m hoping for a call tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted. I still have to do the prep work for covering Super Tuesday. I am experimenting with mi diet and found that I’m not plugging the passageway as badly, when I eat a soft solid food and goop together. Yesterday for lunch I had a small portion of ground turkey sandwich. That was borderline. For supper, I had chili goop over rice. That worked great. For breakfast, I had New England clam chowder goop with a bite of saltine with each bite of goop. That worked well too. May Liz and Bernie kick ass today!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:36 (average 5:10): To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Alternet: A former Justice Department attorney compared her service under President Donald Trump as somewhere in between Nazi Germany and “The Apprentice.”

Erica Newland went to work at the Department of Justice in the summer before the 2016 election, and stayed under Trump because she liked her colleagues and believed she could make a difference — but soon learned an uncomfortable truth about herself, reported The Atlantic.

“I guess I know what kind [of German bureaucrat] I would have been,” Newland said, imagining how she might have served in the 1930s. “I would have stayed in the Nazi administration initially and then fled.”

She lasted in Trump’s government until October 2018, when an anti-Semitic extremist killed 11 worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue, and that same week her colleagues at the Office of Legal Counsel were tasked with justifying Trump’s order to refuse all asylum claims at the southern border — mirroring language the gunman had used against foreign “invaders.”

Newland, who is Jewish, recalled an exchange she had with a supervisor who often reminded staffers they worked for the president by saying, “We’re just following orders.

The bureaucrats under Hitler were “just following orders” too. What’s the difference? Fuhrer Hitler’s Nazi Reich was the Third Reich. Criminal Fuhrer Trump’s* Republican Reich is the Fifth Reich. The similarities are undeniable. RESIST!!

From The New Yorker: Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) is under intense pressure to drop out of the 2020 race for the Democratic Presidential nomination, her nine supporters announced on Monday.

The announcement from Gabbard’s nine followers surprised many Democrats, who had been unaware that the Hawaii congresswoman was still running.

In a conference call after the South Carolina primary, the nine members of Team Tulsi concluded that Gabbard’s path to the nomination had grown “dauntingly narrow.”

“We believe that Tulsi would be an amazing President of the United States,” Harland Dorrinson, a spokesman for the other eight Gabbard supporters, said. “But we have regretfully come to the conclusion that this is not her time.”

Andy, is that a good idea? The nine fools stupid enough to vote for Tulsi should still vote for her. That way, they won’t damage the nation by voting for Bloombarf or criminal Fuhrer Trump*. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): What Bernie Skeptics Need to Know Before Super Tuesday

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right, and the Reich on the Right, the evil Republican Reich, in addition to corporate Democrats, have their heads up their asses. 1. Amen! FDR was a democratic socialist. Amen! Trump promised reform and delivered National Socialism. 3. Amen! A Wall Street speculation tax to pay for public needs is far better for America than Republican welfare for billionaires. 4. Amen! Congress will pass progressive legislation, if we get off our asses, flush the Republican Reich, and replace DINOs in the primaries. 5. Amen! Bernie acts younger than Biden. 6. Amen! With criminal Fuhrer Trump* in power, the Democrats will unite behind any candidate, who wins the nomination, as long as they win it fairly! However, if DNC Superdelegates take the nomination from the voters’ choice and land it to another, they will destroy the party and the nation. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): The Monkees – Last Train To Clarksville 1966

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread–2/21/2020

Posted by TomCat at 9:53 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 212020

It’s a yucky day here at the CatBox. My stomach has heartburn has been screaming all morning. I have to stay up, because Providence Home Medical Equipment is swapping-out a six pack of the portable O₂ tanks I use, when I’m out and about. TGIF to all!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:57 (average 5:49). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Republicans alternate between blaming Obama, Hillary, Nancy and Bernie.

Short Takes:

Froom YouTube (Washington Post Channel): Resurfaced video shows Bloomberg referring to transgender people as ‘some guy wearing a dress’

We knew Bloomberg [R-NY] was racist and misogynist. Add homophobic to his unsuitable list. RESIST!!

From Washington Post: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) mounted a new defense Wednesday for the toxicity emanating from pockets of his presidential campaign’s supporters, implying it was possible Russian actors were again manipulating social media to incite Democratic divisions.

Sanders’s language was indirect, offered on the debate stage here as his opponents faulted him for the behavior of his most strident fans. It drew criticism from experts in disinformation, who said they had no direct evidence the Kremlin had masqueraded as Sanders voters to interfere in the 2020 race much as Russian trolls had done four years earlier.

“All of us remember 2016, and what we remember is efforts by Russians and others to try to interfere in our elections and divide us up,” said the senator from Vermont. “I’m not saying that’s happening, but it would not shock me.”

I tend to doubt that, because I remember the toxicity of many ‘Bernie Bros’ toward me in 2016, because, as a Bernie supporter, I committed to voting for Hillary, after Bernie asked his supporters to do so. ‘Bernie Bros’ were a factor in my switch to Liz Warren this year. I understand that some of the hate-mavens, threatening Democrats who disagree, are employees on Bernie’s paid staff. If so, he needs to identify and fire them immediately. That said, I would not put such skullduggery past Putin [R-RU] and his Puppet Pervert Trump* either. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Bloomberg Flounders, Warren Rebounds, and Bernie Brings the Heat

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right. Liz and Bernie were head and shoulders above the rest. And he’s right that the debate should have focused more on the evil Reich on the Right, the Republican Reich, and their criminal Fuhrer Trump*. I particularly liked how Robert used FDR as an example of democratic socialism. If Bloomberg [R-NY] wins the nomination in a brokered convention, it will destroy the Democratic Party and probably, the USA with it. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival (HQ – 5.1 Studio )

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

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