Open Thread–2/19/2019

Posted by TomCat at 8:43 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 192020

It’s an exhausted day here at the CatBox, so this is my only article today. Yesterday, they started my test an hour early. The nurse inserted my IV in a very small vein, and the pain I felt when the anesthesiologist shot the Jungle Juice was extreme and intense for the minute or two it took to knock me out. I was done and ready to go home at 12:30. WWWendy’s school had told her she could leave an hour early at 2:30. But both of her co-workers called in sick, so they let her go an hour late at 4:30, and she hit rush hour traffic. She did not get to the hospital until after 5:30, and it was after 6:30, before she got me home. None of this was her fault, and I am blessed to have her. I have a very sore throat and raging heartburn. I have a tumor growing where the esophagus meets the stomach, partially blocking the passage. Food gets hung up there, and when it can’t go down, it comes up. The doctor said it looks malignant, but we won’t know for sure until the lab results from the biopsies come back. The pictures he took are sitting on WWWendy’s dashboard. I’ll scan and post them for you tomorrow, as tonight is a WWWendy night. Those are not the results I wanted to get. ARGH! I just can’t catch a break these days. Happy Hump Day to all!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:07 (average 6:13). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From The Borowitz Report: In an apparently successful attempt to get under the skin of Donald Trump, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has purchased Greenland from Denmark.

In an official statement released on Tuesday, the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, would not disclose the price that Bloomberg paid for Greenland but indicated that it was an “all-cash offer.”

“Mr. Bloomberg has a lot of money,” Frederiksen added.

News of Bloomberg’s purchase of Greenland reportedly infuriated Trump, who immediately ordered his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to make an offer to buy the Faroe Islands from Denmark.

Andy, is it true that Fuhrer Drumpfenfarten* was so pissed that he went to Nambia for a Hamburder? RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Lawrence & Rachel Question Reports That Barr May Leave DOJ Over Trump Tweets

I so wish Barrf would quit that I can taste it, but if you believe it, we really do need to talk about that bridge I’m selling. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): How Democrats Clean Up the Messes Left by Republicans with Robert Reich

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right, and the Reich on the Right, the Republican Reich, is shitting all over America with their welfare for billionaires. This is NOT Trump. The Republican Reich had done this for years, and I have been calling them on it for years too. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Ricky Nelson – Travelin’ Man 1961

I danced the cha cha to this, when I was 13. Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread–2/7/2020

Posted by TomCat at 10:43 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 072020

It’s a lazy day here at the CatBox. On the plus side, I kept my food down yesterday and my breakfast, today. On the minus side, although my phantom nerve pain is gradually diminishing, it has cost me enough sleep over two nights that I’m dead tired. TGIF!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:57 (average 4:53). To do it, click here. How did you fo?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Alternet: Fox News host Sean Hannity boldly defended President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, by accusing Democrats of supporting “abortion after birth.”

There is no such thing as “abortion after birth,” as many on social media pointed out.

“It’s the party that wants to nationalize everything,” Hannity told his Fox News viewers. “Even supporting infanticide, and abortion after birth, as the Virginia governor told us.”

Again, there is no such thing.

Abortion after birth, were that possible, might not be all that bad in two instances. Hannity is one. The other wears an asterisk. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Iowa Caucus Glitch, Biden’s Drop, and Trump’s Acquittal

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right in everything he said. The Reich on the right, the Republican Reich, aka the Fifth Reich, is so evil that Hitler, Fuhrer of the Third Reich, stopped playing chess with Scalia long enough to express his envy of Fuhrer Trump*. I do like Lawrence’s idea of reorganizing the states to equalize the Senate and Electoral College. RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Roy Orbison – Oh, Pretty Woman (from Black & White Night)

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!!

Open Thread – 12/31/2019

Posted by TomCat at 8:02 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 312019

It’s New Year’s Eve here in the CatBox, and this is my my only article today. It’s a slow news day, and I’m tired. Tonight can be dangerous with drunken Republicans on the roads. If you can, stay home. If not, stay safe.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:13 (average 5:59). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): How Citizens United Got Us Trump with Robert Reich

Of course the Reich on the Left, Robert Reich, is right. The Reich on the right, the Republican Reich, has become an alliance of greedy billionaires, who have sold us out to purveyors of hatred and lies to motivate their deplorable base. Dump the Republican Reich forever! RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Joe Biden pitches unexpected running mate

Considering all the crimes that the Republican Reich have committed against the American people, can Democrats even consider nominating a man, who would consider a Republican VP? If he won, Ammosexual Republicans would flock from all over the country to punctuate Biden’s death warrant and criminally install a Republican in the White House again! How foolish can he get? RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Beach Boys-In My Room

Another favorite of mine from high school. Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Open Thread – 12/25/2019

Posted by TomCat at 7:33 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 252019

It’s Christmas morning, here in the CatBox. WWWendy celebrates with her family on Christmas Eve, so my present today is to become a de-stunk TomCat. I gave her a set of Mellanni king size sheets. There are none softer. For her birthday last week, I gave her a large basket of gourmet sweets. She loved/hated them. She’ll be here around three and is bringing ham and beans, cooked in my pressure cooker to make it easier for me to digest. Merry Christmas to you all.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:35 (average 8:13). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Three pastors at Mount Ararat Baptist Church in Virginia decided to give the holiday gift of school lunch debt relief to local families. While school lunch debt shouldn’t be a thing families (and specifically students) have to worry about, it very much is. So a group of pastors decided to take $17,000 from the church’s budget to erase much of the lunch debt at two local school systems.

The Rev. Brian Bennett, the Rev. Jerry Williams, and the Rev. Andrew Segre donated about $7,000 to Spotsylvania County Public Schools, which covered balances in the entire district, as well as just over $10,000 to Stafford County Public Schools, which covered balances at a few elementary schools.

“It seemed like a good idea, [but] we didn’t know if there was a need because no one ever seems to talk about this,” the Rev. Williams explained in a Facebook video, which quickly went viral. “So we called the school systems. And gosh, wow, was there a need.”

“This is not a churchy thing,” Williams stressed. “This — helping children and families — this is a thing that anyone can do.” He and the other two pastors say they plan to pay off lunch debt again. As The Washington Post reports, donations to cover this lunch debt came from the church’s 2019 budget. Because the church generally saves 10% of its annual budget for charitable projects, Williams suggests they could make a similar donation next year, based on their 2020 budget.

As Baptists are evangelicals, I probably disagree with these gents on a number of issues, but here, we praise and acknowledge the good done by those with whom we disagree too. They illustrate that, while Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians starve hungry children, authentic Christians feed them. RESIST!!

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): 5 Ways to Stop Corporations From Ruining the Future of Work with Robert Reich

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right, and the Reich on the right, the Republican Reich represents the greediest capitalists at all our expense. However, automation in other nations will drive American workers into the unemployment lines . Therefore, in addition to support for labor, profits must also fund volunteerism, child, health, disability and elder care, education, housing and food for those without means, and public research and development, and more, not just the accumulation of money by the greedy rich! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast for the season): Celtic Woman / Chloe Agnew – ”O Holy Night”

This is one of my favorites. Mary Christmas to all! RESIST!!

Vote Blue!!

Winning in 2020 with the Reich!

Posted by TomCat at 9:51 am Politics

Dec 142019

1212ProgressiveTurf

Have I got you confused? Let me qualify. I’m not talking about the Reich on the right, who are always wrong, the Republican Reich. We should win with the Reich on the left, who is always right, Robert Reich. Robert offered a fascinating interview with Rep. Ro Khanna [D-CA], Bernie Sanders’ National Co-chair. First, here’s a note on Ro.

Rohit Khanna (known as Ro Khanna, /ˈroʊ ˈkʌnə/; born September 13, 1976) is an American academic, lawyer, and politician serving as the U.S. Representative from California’s 17th congressional district, since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated eight-term incumbent Democratic Representative Mike Honda in the general election on November 8, 2016, after first running for the same seat in 2014. Khanna also served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the United States Department of Commerce under President Barack Obama from August 8, 2009, to August 2011.

Khanna identifies as a progressive capitalist. He accepts campaign donations only from individuals and is one of only six members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and ten members of Congress, who do not take campaign contributions from political action committees (PACs) or corporations.

On February 21, 2019, Khanna was named a national co-chair of Bernie Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign.

Inserted from <Wikipedia>

Winning the 2020 Election: Robert Reich and Ro Khanna

We keep hearing that we need a moderate Democrat to beat Trump, and that a progressive Democrat will scare swing state voters, giving the White House to Trump. Why? The reason is that moderate centrist Democrats, who have the media’s ear, are desperate to keep control of the party. In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth. Don’t forget what happened in 2016. We gave America a choice between Trump and a corporate Democrat, who did not inspire voters to turn out. With a lot of help from Russia, Trump won. Next year, we need a progressive candidate, who can inspire voters enough to turn out, because Russia is still there and busier helping Republicans than ever.

Ro prefers Bernie. I prefer Liz, but we agree. We will support the Democratic nominee, but think our chances are far better with one of the two.

RESIST!!

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