Open Thread – 3/7/2021

Posted by TomCat at 10:25 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 072021

It’s a very tired day here in the cat box. For the last week I had a pants load of long appointments setting up my hospice services, and all that chair time exacerbated my back pain. My hospice nurse adjusted my methadone dose to my new level of pain. That was too high for my normal level of activity, causing all the side effects. I told her that’s what I thought, and she agreed to put me back to 10 mg methadone every eight hours. I’m feeling better. Here is my new schedule. This is what I said I would explain today. Monday is a Wendy day, usually in the evening. Thursday a shower aide comes around 9 AM. Then Store to Door delivers groceries between 11:30 AM and Noon. That will be a rough day. Saturday morning is a Wendy day. My hospice nurse will come every two weeks on Monday. Then I will have occasional visits from Jo, the chaplain. I like her. She is an authentic Christian and loves the definitions for Republicitis and Republicosis. So except for the initial confusion everything is doing pretty well. Nevertheless, it will take a few days for me to catch up on sleep. May you be well and truly blessed this Sunday!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:41 (average 4:56). To do it, click here. How did you fo?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos:

…”It will be a Democratic Party Armageddon in 2022 if we sit here on our butts and say, ‘Oh, we’re sorry, we’re not as determined to get our agenda passed as Republicans were,'” Sen. Jeff Merkley, the Oregon Democrat spearheading filibuster reform efforts, told the Post. He’s right. With the Supreme Court seemingly ready to gut the remains of the Voting Rights Act and 43 states considering some 253 voter restriction bills, it could be Armageddon for Democrats. If the elections reforms passed by the House don’t become law, Democratic voters will be blocked from the polls. If President Biden’s critical agenda to address the pandemic, economic inequality, climate change, immigration—everything!—is stymied, Democratic voters won’t want to go to the polls in 2022.

Biden sure as hell recognizes that. That’s why the former longtime member of the Senate is open to filibuster reform. “One thing that is nonnegotiable is him delivering for the American people,” Emmy Ruiz, the White House political director, told the Post. “The number one priority here is to get this agenda, this bold agenda, passed through Congress.” Another White House official said the “‘strategy is adjusting every single day,’ reiterating Biden’s position that the filibuster is not sacrosanct while the agenda is.”…

Jeff could not be more correct. Oregon leads the way! RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Trump State Department official charged for attacking police in Capitol riot

Could the Republican Reich be more guilty of treason than this? RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Crimson and Clover – Tommy James & The Shondells

Ah… the memories! RESIST the Republican Reich!!

Don’t Let Republicans Steal YOUR Future!!

Open Thread – 2/14/2021

Posted by TomCat at 10:52 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 142021

This is not a full Open Thread, but it’s more than a Personal Update. It’s a busy day, because I have to completely reorganize my diet, given the new set of problems I’m facing. The snow storm has degenerated into an ice storm. TriMet has suspended all all bus, train, and lift service. Please, let me wish you all a Happy Valentines Day with love and gratitude to each of you. Tomorrow is a WWWendy Morning, so please expect no more than a Personal Update. from me. Sunday Hugs with Red heart .

Jig Zone Puzzles:

Yesterdays took me 6:10 (average 4:55). To do it, click here. Today’s took me 3:12 (average 4:57). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Me: Here are my thoughts on the Senate trial and treason by all but seven Republican Senators. Many on the left are very upset with Democrats’ decision not to call witnesses, and are accusing those Democrats of selling out the country for their Valentines recess. That’s hogwash! If they had decided to call witnesses, Republicans would have used it as an excuse to depose hundreds of witnesses and tie the Senate’s hands for months preventing any work on confirmations, GOP plague relief, saving the earth, human rights, and all the other things Democrats need to get done to prove to the American people that they made the right decision to elect Democrats in the last election. In the end, all but seven Republicans would have voted in favor of treason anyway.

Many Republicans now say that Trump** was guilty as hell, but alas, their hands were tied, because they could not impeach someone who was no in office. I won’t post video, but that was exactly the reason that filthy bastard, Bought Bitch Bullshit Traitor Mitch, said he had to vote to acquit. However, the only reason the trial did not take place, while Trump** was in office is that Bought Bitch Bullshit Traitor Mitch was Majority Leader until Trump** left office and prevented the trial from taking place then.

Finally, as much as we hoped for a different outcome, we never expected to win this one. Our job just isn’t done yet. As long as the RNP exists, America will be in grave danger. RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): For What It’s Worth

Ah… the memories! RESIST the Republican Reich!!

Build the Future. It Belongs to YOU!!

Open Thread – 2/11/2021

Posted by TomCat at 11:23 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 112021

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox. Store to Door is delivering groceries, and I have to unpack and put them away. Tomorrow my hospital appointment is later than normal, so Wendy will be here first thing in the morning to give me my shower. Then I dress, and we head to the hospital in the blizzard. I hope to return mid to late afternoon, at which time, I’ll be completely exhausted. Portland is under a Winter Storm Warning with 10″ or more of snow forecast to accumulate between now and Saturday afternoon. Tomorrow expect only a brief Personal Update. I’ll try to add a home safe comment when I return. Have a great day.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:23 (average 7:14). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Alternet: As other networks airing Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial on Wednesday showed chilling new video footage of the deadly January 6 mob attack on the U.S. Capitol incited by the former president, Fox News opted to cut away to cover different stories.

How vile! God forbid that the fools, who watch the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, should get to see what really happened! RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (NBC News Channel): Day 2 Of Donald Trump’s Impeachment Trial In The Senate

This video is 11 hours long, and I put it here so you can skip through it for parts you may want to see. RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): California Dreamin’

Ah… the memories! RESIST the Republican Reich!!

Build the Future. It Belongs to YOU!!

Open Thread – 2/5/2021

Posted by TomCat at 11:35 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 052021

It’s a painful day here in the CatBox. Stowing the groceries yesterday was difficult. Tomorrow please expect no more than a Personal Update. WWWendy is coming in the morning. Have a great day, and TGIF!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:20 (average 6:51). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Calling it “the best news I’ve had in months,” Donald J. Trump has excitedly accepted congressional Democrats’ offer to star in a new, nationally broadcast television show.

Trump boasted to reporters about his new TV opportunity, which was presented to him, on Thursday, by Representative Jamie Raskin.

“It’s going to be similar to ‘The Apprentice,’ because I’ll be sitting behind a table, but it will also be a little different,” Trump explained. “Instead of me asking a lot of questions, people will be asking me the questions. That should spice things up.”

The former President said that the “most amazing” aspect of his new show would be the number of networks broadcasting it.

Dang, Andy!! Hopefully the follow up will a show about the Orange Pervert** broadcast from prison cell. It will be called: Orange** is the New Red! RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From Daily Kos: On Tuesday, the body of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was killed by pro-Trump insurrectionists during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, was laid in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived that evening to pay their respects. Americans were able to watch the ceremony on multiple news channels—but not on Fox News. On Fox News, Sicknick’s ceremony was barely mentioned.

Instead, Fox News’ ever-frothing opinion hosts did what they do best: stoke audience panic over all number of bizarre side issues, from a barrage of far-right conspiracy theories promoted by the fascist Laura Ingraham to Sean Hannity’s important report that somebody got ejected from a Lakers game “FOR HECKLING LEBRON.”

Fox’s attempt to mostly pretend Sicknick’s ceremony was not happening did not go without notice. In fact, it seems pretty much everybody noticed it, to the point that both blasting and mocking Fox for their silence became the evening’s hot Twitter pastime.

Most of the criticism noted that Fox News had long pretended that “Blue Lives Matter,” only to have it not matter at all when it came to an officer murdered by a Trump-devoted mob. The Washington Post even put some numbers to it with an analysis of how often the network even bothered to mention Sicknick compared to competing networks, even after the network ran “thousands” of segments about other police deaths during the previous four years.

Accusing Fox News of hypocrisy over the death of police officers, however, is giving them far too much credit. Fox News is not minimizing the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick because they wish to downplay the violence of Trump supporters toward police. Fox News is minimizing Sicknick’s death because they are accessories to his death. [emphasis added]

Click through! This author (Hunter) could not be more spot on! RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): No Apology From Greene As House Removes Her From Committees

Thanks to the 11 Republican Representatives that voted for America and against the Nazi Republican Reich. But the sad fact that there were so few of them is ample evidence to show which side the Republican Party is on. RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Dust in the Wind

For me, this seems particularly appropriate at the moment. Ah… the memories! RESIST the Republican Reich!!

Build the Future. It Belongs to YOU!!

Open Thread – 1/25/2021

Posted by TomCat at 11:19 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 252021

It’s a tired/painful day here in the CatBox. Due to Republicitis, I plugged the toilet so bad that it won’t plunge, and I had to call Maintenance to come snake it. They should be here around lunch time. Dang that’s embarrassing! My Video Meeting yesterday turned out to be with volunteers only, but it was still a good time. Yesterday, I was disappointed that Tampa Bay beat Green Bay. I don’t like Tom Brady. He deflates his balls and lives Trump**. However, both my Chiefs and Nameless’ Chiefs won. WWWendy is coming this evening. Since Trump** is out, Oh Wow! It’s Monday.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:06 (average 5:28). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Crooks and Liars: It’s no shock that both the campaign and the officials on the permit are all trying to erase their connections. From AP:

In a statement, the president’s reelection campaign said it “did not organize, operate or finance the event.” No campaign staff members were involved in the organization or operation of the rally, according to the statement. It said that if any former employees or independent contractors for the campaign took part, “they did not do so at the direction of the Trump campaign.”

At least one was working for the Trump campaign this month. Megan Powers was listed as one of two operations managers for the Jan. 6 event, and her LinkedIn profile says she was the Trump campaign’s director of operations into January 2021. She did not respond to a message seeking comment.

The AP’s review found at least three of the Trump campaign aides named on the permit rushed to obscure their connections to the demonstration. They deactivated or locked down their social media profiles, removed tweets that referenced the rally and blocked a reporter who asked questions.

“Shell companies and ‘dark money’ may hide details of Trump ties to DC protests,” OpenSecrets.org reports. But not all. For example, Open Secrets found that Powers was paid about $290,000 by Trump’s campaign while on its payroll from February 2019 through at least November 2020, according to FEC records.

This shows the degree to which the RNP (Republican Nazi Party) orchestrated the insurrection. The included video (above) is the best analysis of this I’ve seen. It also shows how vicious they are. RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From NY Times: Two days after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, Jackson Reffitt’s father, Guy W. Reffitt, returned to the family’s home in Texas. He told his son that he had stormed the Capitol, according to an F.B.I. affidavit.

Then his father leveled a threat: If Jackson, 18, reported him to the police, he would have no choice but to do his “duty” for his country and “do what he had to do.”

In interviews with investigators, Jackson Reffitt said his father told him: “If you turn me in, you’re a traitor. And you know what happens to traitors. Traitors get shot.”

But he had already reported his father to the F.B.I. weeks before the riot.

How can anyone wield enough hate to say what Gut Reffitt said to his son? Jackson deserves an award for his patriotism and courage. This demonstrates the degree to which the RNP (Republican Nazi Party) are pure evil and must be eradicated as a political entity. RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): George Harrison – My Sweet Lord (Official Audio)

Ah… the memories! What a magnificent hymn! And at last we have reason to rejoice! RESIST the Republican Reich!!

Build the Future. It Belongs to YOU!

Open Thread – 1/23/2021

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

Jan 232021

It’s a tired day here in the CatBox, but my pain level is better than it was yesterday. I think the Republicitis was exacerbating the pain. Tomorrow is a High Holy Day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. I will spend the late afternoon booing Josh Hawley and watching my Portland Chiefs play the Buffalo Bills for the NFC title. Tomorrow please expect no more than a Personal Update. I have a video meeting with prison volunteer coworkers and former prisoners. Have a fine weekend.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:06 (average 5:09). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Seven Senate Democrats are demanding that the Senate Committee on Ethics open an investigation in the actions of Republican Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz for their actions related to the Jan. 6 violent insurrection against Congress.

The two “amplified claims of election fraud that had resulted in threats of violence against state and local officials around the country,” the Democrats write. The group—Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH)—notes that the Senate has the exclusive power to determine whether the members’ actions violated Senate ethics rules. They are asking the Ethics Committee to carry out a “thorough and fair investigation and consider any appropriate consequences based on the Committee’s findings.”

“When Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley announced they would object to the counting of state-certified electors on January 6, 2021, they amplified claims of election fraud that had resulted in threats of violence against state and local officials around the country,” the senators write. “While Congress was debating Senator Cruz’s objection, a violent mob stormed the Capitol. These insurrectionists ransacked the building, stole property, and openly threatened Members of Congress and the Vice President.” The two didn’t just help incite the riot, the Democrats wrote, but “[b]y proceeding with their objections to the electors after the violent attack, Senators Cruz and Hawley lent legitimacy to the mob’s cause and made future violence more likely.”

The senators write of their concern that members of Congress could have been involved in the coordination not just of the rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol, but the attack itself. They provide a detailed and well-researched account of the events of the day as well as the background to it, including the threats of violence that were leveled against officials prior to Jan. 6, threats incited by Trump’s fraud claims and reinforced by Hawley and Cruz, who “lent legitimacy to President Trump’s false statements about election fraud by announcing that they would object to the certification of electors on January 6.”

I fully support this move. If these RNP (Republican Nazi Party) traitors are allowed to get away with it, they and others will surely do it again. RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (CNN Channel): Complete bunk’: Erin Burnett calls out Sen. Hawley’s explanation

As long as Biden agrees to the delay, it works for me. It also gives more time to gather evidence sufficiently obvious that it forces Republicans to either proclaim their own treason, like Cruz and Hawley, or to vote to convict. RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (Bernie Sanders Channel): We Cannot Reach Out To Republicans Indefinitely.

I fully agree. Republicans are most adept at holding out a fair negotiated agreement as a promise to Democrats in order to gain an advantage, only to act like Lucy with a football. Give them a chance, but one only. RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): Fleetwood Mac – Landslide (Official Music Video)

Ah… the memories. We needed a landslide. We got one! RESIST the Republican Reich!!

Build the Future. It Belongs to YOU!

Open Thread – 1/21/2021

Posted by TomCat at 11:40 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 212021

It’s a busy painful day here in the CatBox. Today is a grocery delivery day from Store to Door, and I just finished unpacking and storing everything. Tomorrow is a WWWendy day, but she is not coming until early evening, so I should be in the in the saddle. Thinking of the former resident**, I hope a ravenous golf got his balls.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:08 (average 4:16). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoon:

Joe, even though Trump** is a draft evader, do NOT pardon him!

Short Takes:

From Crooks and Liars: Having made it past November, and even past the Jan. 5 runoff in Georgia, it may seem like the airwaves and signboards near you would finally be free of political ads. However … that’s not quite true. While the idea that ads are already showing up for the 2022 election cycle might even be enough to generate howls, there’s a reason that these ads should be welcomed. Because these ads are all about holding Republicans accountable for what they’ve done over the last four years.

That starts with ads that are going on the air in Wisconsin to detail the explicit connection between Sen. Ron Johnson and the violent attempt to overthrow the government. Voters to the south might not be catching those ads, but they could still run across a Josh Hawley billboard from MeidasTouch. It’s all just part of the move to clear the halls of Congress … of the people who promoted a violent attack on the halls of Congress.

0121hawleybb

I love it, but I bet I know who loves it more! RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From NY Times: In 17 executive orders, memorandums and proclamations signed hours after his inauguration, President Biden moved swiftly on Wednesday to dismantle Trump administration policies his aides said have caused the “greatest damage” to the nation.

Despite an inaugural address that called for unity and compromise, Mr. Biden’s first actions as president are sharply aimed at sweeping aside former President Donald J. Trump’s pandemic response, reversing his environmental agenda, tearing down his anti-immigration policies, bolstering the teetering economic recovery and restoring federal efforts to promote diversity.

Here’s a look at what the measures aim to accomplish.

Click through for much more information on what those orders entail. RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Biden Signs Executive Orders; Set To Announce National Covid Strategy

I think Joe is off to a great start, but we need to make our voices heard, if he becomes too prone to negotiate based on Republican promises. We know how that worked for Obama. RESIST the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (a blast from America): God Bless the USA – I’m Proud to be an American~ Lee Greenwood Lyrics

I’ve waited far too many years to be able to say this again, at last! RESIST the Republican Reich!!

Build the Future. It Belongs to YOU!

Open Thread – 1/13/2021

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

Jan 132021

It’s a tired day here in the CatBox, and my back pain is acting up. WWWendy is coming late this afternoon. Tomorrow will be touch and go, as I want to get as much rest as I can. Friday is my hospital day all day. Saturday is a WWWendy day. It will tale some time to recover. Happy Dump Trump** Hump Day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:22 (average 5:28). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Cartoons:

0113Cartoon

Short Takes:

From NY Times (Hat-Tip Lona): The Trump administration early Wednesday morning executed Lisa M. Montgomery, the only woman on federal death row, whose death marked the first federal execution of a woman in nearly 70 years.

Ms. Montgomery, 52, was sentenced to death for murdering a pregnant woman in 2004 and abducting the unborn child, whom she claimed as her own. In pleas to spare her life, Ms. Montgomery’s supporters argued that a history of trauma and sexual abuse that marred her life contributed to the circumstances that led to the crime. Her case, unusual in part because so few women are sentenced to death, ignited debate over the role of offenders’ past trauma in criminal sentencing.

Despite a series of court orders that briefly blocked her execution, she was pronounced dead at 1:31 a.m. at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind., the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. Her death, by lethal injection, is the 11th execution since the Trump administration resumed use of federal capital punishment in July after a 17-year hiatus.

If Montgomery had written a letter claiming that Trump** won the election, he would have given her a pardon. May Trump** receive mercy commensurate to the mercy he has shown. RESIST and REMOVE the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (Washington Post Channel): WATCH LIVE | House votes on articles of impeachment against Trump

You can watch Trump* become Trump** in real time. RESIST and REMOVE the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Maddow To Trump: “What Did You Think Was Going To Happen?”

Tell it like it is, Rachel! RESIST and REMOVE the Republican Reich!!

From YouTube (a blast from the the past): DONOVAN – The Universal Soldier

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

6 Days Until the Big FLUSH!!

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