Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Let there be snark.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

No one could have predicted…

Shelter in place is one thing. Shelter in pants is quite another.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

We need fewer warriors in public service and more gardeners.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

The willow is too close to the house.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Saul Alinsky is my co-pilot.

False Scribes! False Scribes!

What fresh hell is this?

This is all too absurd to be reality, right?

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Something seems odd about that, but i have been drinking.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

I can’t take this shit today. I just can’t.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

National Guard

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Last night a New York Army National Guard medical Black Hawk helicopter on a training run crashed in a field a couple of miles from my house. All three crewmembers died. My wife is pretty sure she heard it go over the house shortly before the crash.

This got me thinking about what we’ve been asking of our state’s National Guard in the past year. In addition to helping to secure the Capitol (New York sent over 1,000 soldiers), they’ve been helping with COVID relief by manning health checks at airports, staffing drive-up testing sites, assembling test kits and helping with warehousing and logistics.

I don’t have a larger point, just that they’ve been doing a lot, at great personal risk, and I think it’s been taken for granted.

Open thread.

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Square One (Open Thread)

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This isn’t surprising, but still, damn:

As they were settling into the White House on Wednesday, Biden administration officials were reportedly stunned to discover that President Joe Biden’s predecessor didn’t have a plan with regards to distributing the COVID-19 vaccine.

A source told CNN on Thursday morning that the new administration will “have to build everything from scratch” thanks to former President Donald Trump’s reported lack of strategy with the vaccine rollout.

“There is nothing for us to rework,” they said.

Biden will have to start from “square one,” said another source, who called Trump’s nonexistent distribution plan “just further affirmation of complete incompetence.”

I doubt the Biden peeps are truly surprised. It’s been obvious for months now that vaccine distribution keeps getting pushed down to the next level with no overarching coordination. It’s happening in Trumpy-ass states like Florida too, with DeSantis shoving responsibility down to the county level with no resources or oversight.

We’ll need hearings on this massive failure at some point, and accountability for the incompetence that will cause so many needless deaths and unnecessary suffering, but first, time to clean up the mess. Open thread!

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Proud to Be A Democrat Open Thread: Sisters Are Doing It (Inauguration Day Edition)

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Staffing matters

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Dr. Ben Sommers is both wicked smart and going into the Administration to work on the Department of Health and Human Services internal research and data team.

Nine of his ten most cited papers are Affordable Care Act and/or Medicaid papers.  His research on Medicaid work requirements and the implicit administrative burden in Arkansas was critical evidence that partially led to the federal courts to be extremely suspicious of Medicaid work requirements.

Staffing matters.

Dr. Sommers is just one example.

There are a number of people going into HHS (which is where I have a professional interest in knowing who is whom) that have an active interest in making insurance accessible, affordable and usable for as many people as possible.

The staff transition at the deputy undersecretary and deputy assistant levels is going to be a whiplash in what plans can even be discussed much less implemented.

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Thursday Morning Open Thread: What A Difference A Day Makes

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COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Wednesday/Thursday, Jan. 20-21

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