Open Thread–6/24/2020

Posted by TomCat at 11:09 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 242020

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. I slept poorly last night, because it was so muggy. Today is the cool day this week, with a forecast high of only 80°. From your comments, some of you don’t understand my pain meds. Fentanyl is a narcotic opioid, just like Oxycodone. It shares the same dangers and side-effects. They have me on the lowest dose (12.5 mg patch) and do not intend it to replace Oxycodone. My medical team intend it to provide a continuous level of pain relief, but understand that I will need to supplement it with Oxycodone. Their hope is that my Oxycodone use will decrease from 40 – 50 mg/day to 5 – 20 mg/day. As much as I would prefer not to need pain management, spinal cancer is extremely painful, as is esophageal cancer. Without meds, I would be in too much pain to do the things that make staying alive worth it. WWWendy will be coming late this afternoon to de-stink the vile, rancid TomCat and make a lot of goop. I ate almost all the goop in the house. In a late change of plans, WWWendy is coming at Noon. Rush mode engaged! Happy Hump Day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:37 (average 7:41). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Trump* Virus Update:

0624TrumpVirusChart

The EU curve shows a proper response to Trump* virus. The US curve shows a Republican response.

Cases: 2,425,424
Deaths: 123,500

We don’t want criminal Fuhrer Trump* taking credit for the recoveries, which he makes less likely, NOT more likely.

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Robert Reich: America is Not Exceptional

Of course the Reich on the left, Robert Reich, is right, and the Reich on the right, the Republican Reich, id the Fifth Reich, exceptional in their hate, greed, megalomania, and incompetence. RESIST!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): EU considers blocking US travelers due to coronavirus surge

Considering the difference in new cases charts of the EU and the US (see TVU above), it is clear that the US has become the world’s Typhoid Mary for the spread of COVID-19, aka Trump* virus. Therefore, if the EU fails to ban visitors from the US, they are insane! RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations

Ah… the memories! RESIST!!

Vote Blue No Matter Who Top to Bottom!!

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!!

Experts Contradict Trump* on His Virus

Posted by TomCat at 9:56 am Politics

May 132020

Yesterday a panel of experts testified about COVID-19, aka Trump* virus in the Senate. They demonstrated that criminal Fuhrer Trump and the Republican Reich have been lying. They are so full of Trump* shit that their eyes have turned orange.

Two of the federal government’s top health officials painted a grim picture of the months ahead on Tuesday, warning a Senate panel that the coronavirus pandemic was far from contained, just a day after President Trump declared that “we have met the moment and we have prevailed.”

The officials — Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, and Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — predicted dire consequences if the nation reopened its economy too soon, noting that the United States still lacked critical testing capacity and the ability to trace the contacts of those infected.

“If we do not respond in an adequate way when the fall comes, given that it is without a doubt that there will be infections that will be in the community, then we run the risk of having a resurgence,” said Dr. Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who is at the forefront of efforts to find a coronavirus vaccine.

If states reopen their economies too soon, he warned, “there is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control,” which could result not only in “some suffering and death that could be avoided, but could even set you back on the road to trying to get economic recovery.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Here’s some coverage of the Senate and more.

Fauci Clashes In Tense Moment At Senate Hearing

Criminal Fuhrer Trump* fears that keeping the economy shuttered will cost him any possibility to steal the White House again. How many people will he murder in the process? How many will be children?

Robert Reich has Republican motives down cold.

Robert Reich: The Real Reason Trump Wants to Reopen the Economy

The Reich on the left Robert Reich is right. The Reich on the right, the Republican Reich cares for money and power. They consider killing YOU part of their plan!

RESIST!!

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!!

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