DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT … MCCONNELL: “More help is on the way. Moments ago … the four leaders of the Senate and the House finalized an agreement."
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) December 20, 2020
He could’ve accepted the House HEROES Act any time since last May, but now he gets to grandstand at Christmas…
Plan in the house
— one day stop gap tonight
— 7 day stop gap tomorrow — embedded in procedural vote
— yearlong spending and covid bill tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/PcZZcBlujm— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) December 20, 2020
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) December 20, 2020
I’m not on Facebook, but I’ll be looking for further reports elsewhere…
.@SenSchumer and I will speak with reporters shortly about the new bipartisan emergency coronavirus relief and omnibus package.
Watch here: https://t.co/2fi357l3G3
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) December 20, 2020
ETA: Let’s see if this works:
Congressional Democrats have reached an agreement with Republicans and the White House on an emergency coronavirus relief and omnibus package that delivers urgently needed funds to save the lives and livelihoods of the American people. https://t.co/z9uVKPk9TP
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) December 21, 2020
Ajabu
I just had a similar situation. I was supposed to do a virtual concert at 8 PM tonight. Got a call for it about 10 days ago. Got another call on Friday last Telling me (48 hours before the gig) that the chosen platform wouldn’t work for what they were trying to do. I pointed out that they had 10 months lead time for a pandemic Christmas concert and yet they waited until the first week of December to start planning it.
Dumb ass mofos…
Ajabu
NEVER been first before!
happy holidays to me!!
JoyceH
Just getting word that Trump is going down to Mar A Lago for the holidays, leaving Wednesday. Whew! I’d been thinking that the way he’s been acting lately, staying in DC over the holidays would be a Bad Sign. (Martial law, Situation Room, etc) So I was relieved, though less relieved that the Secret Service is expecting him to return to DC on January 3. I’m hoping once he gets down there, to all that gaudy splendor and deferential staff, the place where they burn his steaks just right, he might start asking, why return to that ‘dump’ in DC?
Major Major Major Major
I hear it’s basically 70% of what Dems want with no poison pills? Which isn’t the most horrible thing.
Raoul Paste
Even Josh Hawley is saying that this bill is an inadequate stimulus, in other words too stingy
Also, happy holidays to Ajabu
Ajabu
oh, I almost forgot…
FUCK Yertle and the chinless sack he rode in on!!
Ajabu
and happy holidays to you as well.
why do they insist on calling it stimulus?
With a stimulus I’d go buy a new Mercedes. This is urgent survival money. Like keep food on the table and pay the bills money.
TS (the original)
@JoyceH:
Thought the rules down there said no-one could stay more than 7 days at a time. Hope the neighbors keep complaining.
Suzanne
I am exhausted. Just worn out in every way. I have no excuse… everyone in the house is healthy, move is complete. But I just feel like I have nothing left.
I took my mom shopping yesterday. Due to the snowstorm on Wednesday, the roads were finally clear enough. Curbside pickup at IKEA for a rug for the entryway. Then the craft store, where there is plenty of space to distance and yet some dickheads invaded our personal space. Then finally to Costco for groceries, cat food, toilet paper, some winter clothes items, diapers, allergy meds, gas, etc. It was a shitshow. So many people. I tried so hard to distance. It’s so stressful. I go out so rarely these days, and every time I do, it’s this constant mental calculation of how far away are people, what direction are they walking, are they wearing their masks properly, do they seem to be doing any gross behavior like touching my cart or any merchandise, did the cart get sanitized, is anyone coughing, can I hold my breath long enough while they walk by. I’m tired.
Got home, emptied the car ($800 worth of Costco stuff, so it filled the car), put down the rug….. and my mom’s dog pissed on the rug before it had even been down for an hour.
sdhays
@TS (the original): I thought the rules also stated that no one could stay there for more than 21 days a year, so I’m pretty sure he’s already way over his limit, as if the rules will ever apply to him.
raven
@Suzanne: Hang in there, there’s light.
Anotherlurker
Already, some very Democratic friends are complaining that Democratic leadership needs to be replaced with younger leadership. They are complaining that Pelosi and Shumer are caving to the traitors. When I ask how younger leadership will help to get a bigger stimmy, the replies are thin, vague, to say the least.
trnc
@JoyceH: I don’t mean to rain on the parade, but it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference where he is and he’s able to misuse his presidential powers from anywhere.
Suzanne
@raven: They did have disinfectant wipes at Costco for the first time in months. They also had the nice toilet paper. Both were LIMIT 1. No paper towels, though.
Bill Arnold
@sdhays:
Once he’s no longer POTUS, he’s just another wealthy (supposedly :-) guy with richer neighbors, some of whom will object to his security presence, and/or simply to his presence
Spanky
@Suzanne:
FTFY.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Suzanne: I usually go to Costco about an hour before they close, it’s usually pretty empty.
Baud
@Anotherlurker:
A lot of people on our side love to play fantasy politics in their own heads.
dexwood
@Suzanne: No need to worry about that rug again. Good dog! I hear you, been there with a new rug myself.
debbie
@Major Major Major Major:
That’s how Pelosi’s statement seems to imply. They definitely got more than McConnell wanted them to have. And if that Toomey bullshit is done, all the better.
WaterGirl
@Suzanne:
Ugh. I’m sorry Suzanne.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Anotherlurker:
evergreen
There’s a sizable faction of the left that can’t accept the fact that votes– votes in elections, votes in Congress– carry more weight than what is right or righteous, so somewhere out there must be the One Weird Trick that will trump R control of the Senate, to say nothing of The Beast who has the veto for another month. They don’t know what it is, but they know it’s out there if only Nancy Pelosi weren’t stupid or corrupt. Or both.
Baud
@debbie:
McConnell really wanted corporate liability protection and didn’t get it.
Yutsano
So basically: I work tomorrow then WHO KNOWS??? I feel like there are players in this mix who are going for failure. But I could be wrong.
A Vox primer if anyone is curious. I think it’s half shit but we’ll see.
WaterGirl
@debbie: @Major Major Major Major:
If that’s true, that we got 70% of what we wanted, then the Rs must be worried about Georgia.
I don’t see how it could be 70% of what we wanted if Pelosi’s bill was for 2 or 3 Trillion and we were already negotiated down to less than 1 Trillion, so maybe it’s 70% of where we were after giving up a ton of stuff.
WaterGirl
@Baud: Yay! That was my red line.
Another Scott
@Baud: He’ll try again later, if he’s still majority leader. He won’t give up until he’s defeated.
Meanwhile, Brexit seems to be starting early BBCNews:
How’s that herd mentality working out for ya, BoJo??
Cheers,
Scott.
eddie blake
it’s too goddamn small, and the states and cities are DROWNING. mz blake is a teacher. she is very nervous about the future. biden BETTER bolster the states’ finances, or there will be a bloodbath in ’22.
raven
@Suzanne: When we’ve gone for the old people hours they have had some wipes and always paper products here in Georgia.
JPL
@JoyceH: That is good news. He is suppose to campaign in GA the 4th. I’m hoping for snow, so that he cancels.
Lacuna Synechdoche
Anne Laurie @ Top:
I like that you’re putting Stimulus in scare quotes. Krugman makes a good case that we should be referring to Covid aid as economic relief or disaster relief.
Cheryl Rofer
@Suzanne: You can get deliveries from practically everywhere. I am using Costco, CVS, InstaCart, and Office Depot. I’m pretty sure I can also do Home Depot and a few others I don’t need urgently and will wait until after the new year.
I’m also lucky to have a high-quality produce, milk, bread, and prepared food grocer that delivers from Albuquerque.
I don’t go to stores any more, don’t plan to until the case numbers are way down.
Baud
@eddie blake:
Biden doesn’t have the power of the purse. So the key will be holding the GOP accountable.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
NYJets can’t win for losing
Baud
@Another Scott:
He’ll keep trying. He’s still going to have leverage.
Benw
God, fuck McConnell and the R senate sideways.
Exciting couple of minutes left in Chiefs-Saints!
JoyceH
@trnc: Oh sure, he can do presidential things anywhere but there’s symbolism and also it seems to me to be indicative of his state of mind. Staying in DC is “standing fast” and holding the line and all that macho BS, whereas flying off to a country club for the holidays has a real “slinking away” feel to it. Plus, he’s used to doing other stuff down there – it’s warm, he can golf! The fact that he’s going there seems to me to indicate that for all his bluster, he’s not really going to do anything specific about trying to stay in power.
Geminid
It sounds like trump is expected to sign this bill. He still says he’ll veto the ~$760 billion National Defense Authorization Act passed a week ago. trump’s ostensible reasons are objections to language mandating changes in military base names and restrictions on pulling troops out of Germany and other countries. Also trump has complained that changes in regulation of social media are not including. But the real sticking point for trump may be the attachment of the Corporate Transparency Act a few weeks ago. This law would crack down on the use of shell companies to hide money laundering and other financial misdeeds. Congressional leaders seem determined to override any veto, even if it means holding a vote of the current Congress on Jan.2.
danielx
Don’t know if this article has been referenced/linked…..
Trump Is Losing His Mind
debbie
@Baud:
Yes. That and Toomey — I think losing both are real victories for us. Hopefully, it’s the beginning of a shift away from McConnell’s bullshit.
burnspbesq
@Suzanne:
You knew that was going to happen, right?
Calouste
@Another Scott: The Netherlands halted all air and ferry traffic from the UK until New Year’s Day, maybe with an exception for lorries. A number of other countries no longer allow flights from the UK either. In other words, people are more or less stuck on the island.
Dan B
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I do the same. Arrive Costco 7:30 PM. Wednesdays are often the slowest evening, according to staff. The people in the store are less likely to be space cadets about distancing. They’re on a mission to shop and get out – no standing mid aisle trying to decide what to buy. Grab and git!
patrick II
@TS (the original):
What I am waiting for is for the Palm Beach Police trying to evict him after the city wins it’s court case. I don’t think the Secret Service will let it happen, but I am curious how it will turn out.
eddie blake
@Baud:
biden’s whole schtick during the campaign was that, were he the nominee and won, post trump, the gop fever would break and he’d be able to find senators to work with him.
pretty sure he’s out of his fucking mind, but it doesn’t matter. HE will get blamed for the recession/ depression to come, if the gop succeeds in hamstringing him.
we know it. the gop knows it.
we’ve seen it before.
mrmoshpotato
When you give your money to a conman…
Suzanne
@Cheryl Rofer: Costco will not do deliveries or curbside pickup for food items.
danielx
@Suzanne:
Because of course it did. After all, it is 2020. Like the dog needed an excuse…
natem
Look, this bill is pretty underwhelming, I get that, but it’s pretty funny how people point to Pelosi accepting this one as opposed to the $1.8T offer Mnuchin was floating in October as failed negotiating when, let’s see, there was an election just days away that, sorry to say, played into her calculus—it had to! that’s a big effing gift wrapped in a bow to Trump.
And, what else? Oh yeah, Mnuchin isn’t Senate Majority Leader, but you know maybe these geniuses can predict the future outcome of THAT.
Anyway, the real answer is we need Biden, Ossoff and Warnock sworn in like now, but that being not possible gotta make do with this turd
mrmoshpotato
In other grifter news…
SAD!
Baud
@eddie blake:
And we have to fight that. We can start by not preemptively blaming Biden before he has even taken office.
mrmoshpotato
What the fuck is this drug commercial with a rockin’ version of You Are My Sunshine? Seriously, WTF?
Suzanne
@Dan B: I usually go on weeknights, too. But there was a snowstorm this week and our streets weren’t clear until Friday afternoon. I’m not old enough for senior hours.
Kayla Rudbek
Nancy Smash and the Biden administration need to get the post office fixed as well. My local post office is still all screwed up, as is the postal service in Minneapolis. I could have driven from Northern Virginia to Minneapolis and back twice in the time from my parents mailing out our Christmas presents to us. I should check with my sibling to see whether their boxes got to them yet from Minneapolis (still Northern Virginia as the destination but a different local post office).
mali muso
@Suzanne: not sure how widespread it is but my Costco partners with Instacart for food and grocery delivery. They even fold the delivery and instacart fees into the item prices so you know exactly what you’re spending (less the tip, which I always make very generous).
MisterForkbeard
@natem: Back in October, McConnell was saying his caucus wouldn’t accept Mnuchin’s proposal anyway.
This was as good as it was ever going to get. You can’t argue with sociopaths, and that’s what McConnell and the R caucus is. They do not care that lots of people die or go bankrupt if it doesn’t harm them personally.
Benw
Huh, NBC seems to have hired Steve Kornacki to do his thing for NFL playoff projections? You do you, Steve!
@Suzanne: you have every reason to be exhausted, no excuses needed. I went to Target yesterday, you described the feeling perfectly! I bailed on the rest of my errands and went home to shower and exercise just to blow off the stress
Baud
@MisterForkbeard:
McConnell wasn’t going to give up on liability waiver in October.
Suzanne
@mali muso: Yeah not here. I have looked.
WaterGirl
@Suzanne: Even with your mom with you? I would think if you are taking her shopping that you could use the senior hours
Edit: Having said that, I’m sure you’re less interested in our helpful suggestions. So i’ll just commiserate on your really hard day, and the dog peeing on your new rug in your new house was the icing on the already shitty cake.
Sure Lurkalot
@Cheryl Rofer: I did deliveries from grocers and Costco this spring. I did some in store when cases were way down in summer and fall and when cases exploded again, I started doing curbside at Whole Foods and our Kroger affiliate instead of delivery. So far so good. The curbside gets me a 3 or 4 mile car ride and a change of scenery. FWIW, Target does great curbside. They seem to be out the door with your stuff as your pulling into a parking space.
mali muso
@Suzanne: well, blah. I hear you in the stress involved in darting through the aisles. Target has gotten a lot of my business lately by virtue of their free contactless pick up option.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
as I’m reading this, they defunded the Fed’s ability to lend– the money the Fed had been authorized will go to the payouts in the new bill– but the Fed can lend in the future if they (and Biden) can find the money. I have no idea how much the Fed can do without more funds being authorized.
Dan B
@Suzanne: I saw you had wanted to go on Wednesday but blizzard aftermath. I live in Seattle that basically shuts down in snow – hills, inadequate snow removal, drivers from warmer climes, etc. I learned to drive in hilly country west of Akron. We kept a yardstick by the door to measure the snow depth. I rescued lots of people in Seattle blizzards with my Toyota Tercel 4WD. I don’t like driving in snow.
natem
@MisterForkbeard:
FWIW the outcome in October might have been more favorable to Dems given what was at stake for Rs at that moment, but to just assume this is how it would have played out is fucking Big Brain Bullshit
trollhattan
@Another Scott:
The new COVID variation is worrying, and of course we won’t have flight restrictions for the UK until it’s well established here. ‘Cause that’s how we roll.
trollhattan
@danielx:
It’s legit the most dog thing ever. Utterly unsurprising.
Sure Lurkalot
@mali muso: That’s how I get Costco too. The add on to the prices is pretty egregious…like 15-20%. I wish that all went to the shopper but likely it’s not even half.
Still, the service is appreciated and good. My last shopper texted pictures of substitutions and asked me if there was anything else I wanted him to get before he checked out.
Dan B
@Suzanne: Sorry about the rug. We always seem to have a kitty that must make new things smell “right”. I found a fancy little sideshow tent (cat napping tent) completely saturated last week.
Where can I get kitty vallium? (Where can I get someone to volunteer-bleed during administration / delivery of said Valium?)
Suzanne
@WaterGirl: The other challenge with senior hours is that almost every store has them during my work hours, and my mom doesn’t drive, so I would have to move meetings around. Weeknight evenings are usually not a big deal, though. They’re usually pretty sparse. The storm wrecked that plan, though.
I typically love the curbside pickup option. I was commenting to SuzMom how I hope it sticks around in the After Times.
Mary G
@Cheryl Rofer:
@Suzanne:
Is that for everybody or just Costco itself? Here I can order anything from Costco that one person can carry through Instacart. We were lucky; my housemate and I put in a huge Instacart Costco order two days before the shutdown in March, two big bales of TP and paper towels, and a bunch of staples which lasted quite a few months. It’s more expensive with a big tip; I’m lucky to be able to afford it.
Another Scott
@trollhattan: I would assume the fancy new variant is nearly everywhere already.
Repost ScienceMag:
(Emphasis added)
Cheers,
Scott.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
not an economist but on the surface this looks like a win for Dems
Mary G
@Sure Lurkalot: I’ve used Instacart for a couple of years now. The experienced shoppers text back and forth with pictures and it’s great After the lockdown the new ones were often a hilarious mess. I ordered cherries with “don’t replace” and got a box of cherry tomatoes.
I also tip big; I used to do it in cash but in this Covid blowup in CA they just want to dump and run, so I increase it on the app when they do a good job.
Jackie
@danielx: Please note when linking to a paywall. I inadvertently used my last freebie only to realize I had already read this article. ?
trollhattan
Fleecing the fleeceable, or the fleeceable self-fleecing?
My concern for them is immense. OTOH less money for ammo.
TS (the original)
@sdhays:
Main reason why he is fighting so hard to invalidate the election. Come Jan 20 – things might change.
trollhattan
@Another Scott:
Wouldn’t surprise me or more to the point, I’ll be surprised if it’s not already here, reflecting on the fact we finally stopped direct flights from China at a time the virus was being brought over from Europe.
Baud
@TS (the original):
He filed another cert petition today!
WaterGirl
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Why is stuff like that even in this bill? The republicans have lost the plot. People are about to be evicted and they care about lunch deductions? Un-fucking-believable.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
They claim it’s to help restaurants. FWIW.
Jay
@Dan B:
I love driving in the snow, the day after the “Big Storm”, ( an inch or so here), because all the bad drivers are waiting for the bodyshops to be open, and the tow trucks to show up.
I learned to drive in the Wet Coast Snow, dry Interior Powder over Ice, and flat country snowdrifts, when young. When the streets got quiet, Dad would let my brother and I, loose with the van, to “play in the snow”, and learn.
WaterGirl
@Baud: Well, at least they got a deal and didn’t have to let business owners kill their employees with impunity.
I am pinning my hopes in Georgia, but I’m not counting on that.
Biden looked really tired when he introduced his Energy and Climate teams on Saturday. I think he has aged already. But he is still the right pick for these times.
Timill
@Calouste: You have it wrong: “UK travel shut down: continent isolated.”
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
This is pretty cool. Now I get to deduct my Popeye’s chicken sandwich on my taxes.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Turn out is high in GA but I don’t think that tells us anything.
Timill
@Jackie: Clear cookies starting “theatl” to reset the count.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@WaterGirl: it’s one of trump’s hobby-horses, I think the Dems used it well
dmsilev
@Kayla Rudbek: I had decent luck with the Post Office this week. From LA, sent a package to my parents near Boston on Monday. It was scheduled to arrive Thursday, but ended up getting delivered today. Given the snowstorm that rolled through, I’ll call that good enough.
Suzanne
@Mary G: I don’t know what is possible elsewhere, but the closest Costco to me doesn’t do curbside pickup for groceries, though they will do it for things like electronics and appliances. And they don’t have Instacart to my zip code. Other stores will do Instacart to me, not sure why Costco doesn’t.
dmsilev
@Baud: So the deduction applies to take-out then?
Baud
@dmsilev:
You can order a martini take out?
TS (the original)
@Baud:
I foolishly took a look at his twitter feed to see what he is doing – he seems to be seriously demented about losing the election.
As I say continuously – imagine if Hillary had acted in this fashion when losing 4 years ago.
It is to be hoped we find out the implications of him losing when he cannot scream that he is immune to prosecution.
Baud
@TS (the original):
A common media meme with Hillary after the election was she was a sore loser who wouldn’t go away. I feel the media will treat Trump differently.
WaterGirl
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: I had no idea they sold martinis at Popeye’s!
rikyrah
@Ajabu:
?????
dmsilev
@Baud: I think there are some states that allow drive-through booze sales (I think Texas?), so yes in theory. Definitely a market niche worth exploring.
rikyrah
@Suzanne:
It’s okay.
I understand
WaterGirl
@Baud: We raised 45k for Warnock on BJ in the past week – about 20k a week ago, and 25k since I put up the post yesterday.
WaterGirl
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Good point.
rikyrah
@Baud:
You mean…employers get to kill at will “protection”
Mary G
@Suzanne: @Suzanne: Ugh, sorry.
TS (the original)
@Baud: As democracy has a left lean, the political media
leansfalls in the opposite direction.Patricia Kayden
WaterGirl
@Baud: I had not seen your comment when I posted mine!
rikyrah
@mrmoshpotato:
I am quite amused by this.
They expected something different???
eddie blake
@Baud:
iirc, they told her to shut up, go home and knit.
Jay
@Suzanne:
when “we” rolled out curbside, and 3 hour delivery, it was so accelerated by Covid that it wasn’t until August that we had the Staff to do it properly. We had no qualified pickers, no cashiers, no runners.
We finally got close to staffing up in November, now that cold and flu season has hit, and now that we have deployed “mask greeters” and Covid Captains, we are horribly short staffed. In my area, we should have had 2 full time, 2 part time just for “normal”, instead there was just the two of us.
and of course, it’s Covid and I am so fucking glad that people are following Dr.Bonnie Hendry’s advice and are staying the fuck home, unless it’s essential, (not!).
Even with cutting the Store occupancy in half since the current wave hit, the store is still shit full of not socially distancing, chin masker, recreational shoppers.
Sadly, 10 months in and so much of it is still just make it up as we go.
hitless
@Baud: seconded. If people want biden to do something, give him the votes.
rikyrah
@Kayla Rudbek:
My sister sent my other sister in Minnesota some stuff, and is like..
She should have gotten it by now.
And my response is…
“They still are on their plan to destroy the Post Office… Did you think otherwise?”
She seemed to understand.
rikyrah
@Suzanne:
I go to work everyday.
When I get home on Friday, I am exhausted. Trying to get to and from work COVID-free is mentally taxing for me.?
I crawl into bed Friday evening, and don’t plan to leave the house until Monday morning.
oldgold
One big present for businesses in this new relief bill is that it allows for the deduction of expenses paid for by PPP loan money.
When the PPP loan money was disbursed to businesses it was understood that the money would not be deemed to be taxable income, but that the expenses paid for with PPP loan money would not be deductible. The new bill changes that by allowing businesses to deduct expenses paid for with PPP loan money.
This is a big double-dip tax windfall.
WaterGirl
@oldgold: Fuckers.
rikyrah
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Doesn’t the House find the money?
Ruckus
@JoyceH:
Not to paint too shitty a picture but he can do anything at his shitty golf club that he can do at the WH. He has the same powers and the same access, especially since he doesn’t even know how most of it works in any event. He rants, people give him answers and he rants. Where he does that is irrelevant. OTOH if he’s at the golf club he can play golf, or at least his version of it as often as he wants and as he has a half track mind if he’s doing that he’s not doing anything else.
Gvg
@Suzanne: Look into curbside pickup. I have been doing it for everything since March. It took awhile to figure out. Some stores only do it with their own ap. Some stores only do it at some branches…I go to a different grocery store in the same chain, which is not even out of my way as it’s one of three I pass on my way home. Some stores took awhile to get it set up. Home Depot’s ap works better with my iPad then my android phone, no idea why. Walmart has recently gotten terrible, which seems to have to do with increased demand and sick employees, that’s local. Target has expanded the curbside spaces and gotten much faster at it. Also recently been asking us to pick up as soon as possible so their orders don’t pile up. I take it they are doing very well and I haven’t had problems.
I do target and Publix grocery once a week and Home Depot when ever I need to fix something…you can stay out of stores.
Once this is over I need to get a bunch of stuff I need to look at like flooring, but until then I just restock. It gets old but it isn’t stressful to stay home.
mrmoshpotato
@rikyrah: I have no idea what the Trump trash expected from their orange god. Well, aside from hurting the “right people”…
Jay
@rikyrah:
yeah, when I get a day off, I sleep until close to noon or later, then take a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon, ( and I never used to nap),
if I have a second day off in a row, then I sleep maybe 2 hours less, all told.
I am exhausted all the time.
Mary G
Biden saying “folks” all the time used to irritate me like nails on a blackboard, McCain too. Now it’s music to my ears.
Omnes Omnibus
@eddie blake: He isn’t the fucking president yet.
phdesmond
@Ajabu:
won’t be the last.
The Thin Black Duke
@Omnes Omnibus: Thank you.
Gvg
@Calouste: too late, the same reports this morning said the new strain was already in the Netherlands. Closing the barn doo after the horse is gone. I bet it’s here already too.
Mary G
@Jay: LA Times today:
Supermarkets in L.A. County see unprecedented coronavirus infection rates.
They demonstrated this week because they’re not even getting the measly $2/hour hazard bonus they were paid at the start. Fucking corporations.
Jay
Mary G
Who’s the third world country now:
A really feel-good story.
Suzanne
@rikyrah: I go in to our office one day a week. We are rotating so one person is in the office each day to receive mail and packages. Other than that, I have a home office, and I have canceled all of my job site work until this is better. And I am still stressed out. Ugh.
We needed a new washer and dryer for our house. Mr. Suzanne and I went to the local appliance place at its slowest time and ordered a set, and the washer was delivered and installed yesterday. So now I’m freaking out about having delivery guys in my house, even though they were only in the basement. And Mr. Suzanne had to interact with them. Ahhhh this is such a rabbit hole.
randy khan
@Kayla Rudbek:
The Postal Service is having a very hard time this holiday season. I have a package coming the other direction – from southern Minnesota to northern Virginia – that was sent on December 8 and just hit Merrifield. Maybe we’ll get it tomorrow. Maybe not.
Jay
@Mary G:
my Corp killed the Covid Bonus at the end of July and rolled it into a fixed raise in August.
part time got 2 weeks paid sick time, on top of accrued sick time, full timers, 4 weeks, to be paid out Dec 31st.
in August, they announced we could roll it over into 2021, if we wanted.
in October, they announced that we couldn’t roll it over, because they had decided we all get the 2/4 Covid sick time starting over at 12:05pm New Years Eve.
where our Corp is falling down is basically, pretending this all is normal, and reacting, not being proactive. They lag by a couple of weeks or months and it’s us “burned outs”, closing the gaps, as much as we can.
“Management”, is a joke.
dmsilev
@Mary G: Yeah, it’s pretty frightening. I’m on a once-every-two-weeks grocery schedule, and I try to shop early in the morning other other off peak times. In and out as fast as possible. I buy as much as I can at the local farmers market even though it’s more expensive; at least it’s outdoors.
Putting grocery workers near the front of the line for vaccinations is absolutely the right thing to do.
Amir Khalid
@Suzanne:
TP and disinfectants were in short supply here too, at first. But not for very long, and they are easily available now. I’m surprised to hear that supplies are constrained over there.
phdesmond
i always
piss on the carpet
way downstream
satby
Shipping is still a fucking nightmare, and not just the Post Office, though they’re slammed the hardest. I assume DeJoy is the genius that decreed that all mail in the state of Indiana be sent first to Indianapolis, even if it was just going from one town to the town next door [and I also assume most states are now using a huge central depository to slow down the processing and sorting]. I’m watching priority packages I brought to the main post office not even be scanned in consistently, taking 2-3 days to travel the 5 hours to Indy, then sit there for several more days before moving on. It’s a total freakshow. And I don’t blame the mail handlers, because they had a working system that was deliberately destroyed for the benefit of private delivery services.
Uncle Cosmo
I’m much more certain that you’re out of your fucking mind, you cretin. FOAD.
Mary G
@dmsilev: I tweeted like three times at Nate Silver yesterday because of this:
I would much rather be lower than mail carriers, grocery workers, and essential public-facing workers, because I can keep sheltering in place even though I hate it due to them.
Today the CDC has revised the guidance as he wanted and he’s taking a victory lap. Still a wanker. How can you spend most of your life reading about a disease that’s barely a year old?
Jay
satby
Biden’s (and Dr. Jill’s) interview with Stephen Colbert was good. I liked his line about how he’s “has to suppress his Irish for a long time”.
Edit: fixed link
Jay
@Mary G:
there was a story yesterday about a for profit Cancer Hospital with no Covid or ICU Wards getting full immunization, ( first shot), including Administration working from home, while the local hospital actually dealing with the Covid cases, got none.
Frankensteinbeck
@mrmoshpotato:
That is what they expected, and they got it. They got it like they have never gotten it before. They bathed in liberal tears, roared with approval as brown children were locked in cages, and strutted proudly as a president told them they were fighting the good fight by refusing to be even slightly inconvenienced to protect others from dying of plague. It has been four years of heaven for bigoted assholes, and they are desperate to convince themselves it’s not over.
Mary G
@Jay: I almost posted that LAT story, it is so sad and so maddening:
He calls them “maskholes,” which is a good term.
Not unrelated: Orange County had its highest number of new cases yesterday at 3,445.
Today 4,606. When the hospitals are already full.
Bill Arnold
@rikyrah:
Well, human citizens should have a right to kill corporations. It’s only fair. Perhaps with voter referendums.
Eric S.
@Baud: <blockquote>You can order a martini take out?</blockquote>
We can in Chicago. At least until the pandemic is over and it is safe for restaurants and bars to open.
Ksmiami
@Mary G: we are an aging, failing state
Soprano2
Trump and his family are wealthy, it wouldn’t matter whether they had passports or not, they could go to many countries by private plane without ever showing a passport. Learned that from an episode of “Hidden Brain” about a woman who used to be a wealth manager for billionaires. She travelled from one country to another and back without her passport.
eddie blake
@Uncle Cosmo:
fuck off, cosmo, you constant tool. yeah. the gop, the fascist fucking gop is just gonna come to their senses? they’ve viewed every single fucking democratic president since carter as illegitimate, but at least they went through the motions. now they’re chomping at the bit to just burn to the ground anything they don’t like and kill off as many of us as possible…
but biden’s gonna make them come to jesus? sure as shit hope he has a plan b…and c.. and a few fucking more.
oh yah, and eat a bag of shit.
Bill Arnold
@TS (the original):
Looks like the Biden-rigged-the-election conspiracy narratives (they are not theories, more pre-falsified narratives appealing to those with a certain alt-reality world-view) are getting baked into a lot of minds, including D.J.Trump’s mind. The appearance is that he genuinely thinks he won. He will be miserable the rest of his life.
rikyrah
@Suzanne:
My Direct TV has been out since October. I keep on pushing back date for the repair man because, I am scared to have someone in my house. I have an appointment for the 29th. So far, I haven’t cancelled.. I am still terrified.
Sandia Blanca
@mali muso: Yes, we’ve used Instacart for Costco food items, and it worked great.
Bill Arnold
@eddie blake:
Note what people are objecting to, which is your stated belief that Biden is delusional about the nature of current Republicans. He went through nearly 8 years of obstruction as Obama’s VP.
craigie
@danielx:
Article says this:
I would like to know when was this golden age? I haven’t seen it in my advanced lifetime.
Jay
HumboldtBlue
The next four years are going to be far worse than 2020.
The GOP will ensure it.
And we get fuck all.
eddie blake
@Bill Arnold:
no, i’m saying that’s how he sold his candidacy. (which he did.) and if he hadda plan b, he didn’t bring it up.
satby
@satby: and still not the right link for the actual interview.
here it is
Jay
@eddie blake:
they ( MSM and ReThugs) crucified Hillary Clinton over “deplorables”,
Biden’s “reach across the isle”, is “performative”, it actually will require ReThugs to cross the isle, if they want.
@Bill Arnold:
and they came after Hunter with a bagload of CT and bs.
Joe Biden has no “illusions” about who the ReThugs are, or the comity obsessed and bothsiderist media are.
Pretty sure he knows how to properly slide the knife in sideways while extending a hand of friendship with a gracious smile.
Eric S.
@satby: BTW, I got the soaps I ordered. Thank you!
phdesmond
@satby:
thanks for linking that. it wasn’t yet on the youtube site.
Bill Arnold
@rikyrah:
Terror understandable.
FWIW, the few repair people I’ve used the last 10 months (this is NYS) have been quite disciplined about mask usage, because they’re afraid of getting sick from contaminated air in random customer dwellings, and they also were happy to see a mask on me. Also, I avoided the room they’d been in for a while, going outside if necessary. A little trust required that they won’t remove valuables, worth it to limit sharing of unfiltered exhaled air even further.
Certainly an unmasked repair person should never be allowed inside.
jackmac
@Eric S.: Grub Hub guy I know in Chicago suburbs delivered a couple of cans of Heinekens with food order today
.
Scout211
@rikyrah:
We had to have a service person come to the house for our Dish and I was very impressed with the safety precautions. The service tech wore a mask and gloves the whole time and maintained 6 ft distance. I wore a mask and my husband stayed in a room with the door closed while I interacted with the tech guy. We also opened all the windows (it was October so it wasn’t too cold for that). Dish sent an email detailing the safety protocol before the service call. The whole thing went smoothly and I was quite relieved.
Maybe you could call DTV customer service and ask them to give you their safety protocol for service calls to see if you would feel comfortable with them.
satby
@Eric S.: I saw that. I should have just chauffeured them to the city. ? But thanks.
My first sign of trouble was that Cole’s order sat in Indianapolis for a solid week before it moved on and he finally got it.
Jay
Redshift
@Baud:
Don’t know if it’s true everywhere, but after restaurants were restricted to take-out, Virginia started allowing them to sell booze carry-out, because there are plenty of restaurants that make most of their profits from booze. So yes, here you can order a martini take out.
Dan B
One of My Mike’s tenants in his rental house got Covid in the spring. His 50 YO gym bunny husband had no symptoms. They are both suffering from brain fog. A friend of theirs lost his job from brain fog.
These stories are not being adequately covered.
Eric S.
@jackmac: I get a couple Negra Modelos from my favorite Mexican restaurant when I order Grubhub.
Jay
@Dan B:
when the Pandemic is under control, there will be three dominate Covid MSM narratives,
Medical professionals abandoning medicine,
Long Haulers,
Covid PTSD
cain
@Ajabu: Hehe
What kind of genre of music?
sab
@Dan B: Feliway diffusers work pretty well as an alternative to kitty valium. I can always tell when the bottle has run out because Shadow turns back into Meankitty.
Frankensteinbeck
@HumboldtBlue:
We hold one more (and arguably the most powerful) branch of government than we did the last four years. No, it will not be worse. It will be vastly better. McConnell is still a hate-filled cancer on America, but he will be a hate-filled cancer fighting a rear guard action rather than sitting pretty as Trump destroys everything for him.
mrmoshpotato
Yup. And all of it is…what’s the word? Oh right! Deplorable!
Matt McIrvin
@Gvg: We’ve started using a combination of Instacart from BJ’s and Target drive-up orders to do nearly all of our regular shopping. When the pandemic shutdown started, I assumed I could use Peapod, the grocery delivery service, but it was so slammed it was just impossible to use. But BJ’s plus Target plus the occasional delivery order from Petco actually cover most of the bases, without ever going into a store.
cain
@Another Scott:
It’s interesting that UK gets a strain that travels even faster. Yeah, sucks to be them. Fuck em – let them reap the whirlwind – but feel bad for folks like Tony Jay.
But yeah, we can’t allow the more virulent form to show up here either. But I suspect it is already here and it’s going to be a shit show. But what do folks like Marco care, right? he got inoculated. Too bad there is nothing for stupidity and selfishness.
Matt McIrvin
@HumboldtBlue:
Gee, I guess we should have reelected Trump!
(That’s pretty much what the Republican argument has come down to: “vote for us or we’ll shoot this dog.”)
Jay
Thread,
Jay
@cain:
the mutation was discovered over 7 months ago, ( DNA differences).
one month ago, the study on it’s increased infection rate, progress and adaptations was completed.
It’s here and every where already.
Luciamia
@Omnes Omnibus: Neither is Trump. Least the way he’s been acting.
rikyrah
@Dan B:
No, they are not being covered. The extent to the symptoms of “mild” cases are not being covered either. what can happen if you never go to the hospital with this disease
Omnes Omnibus
@Luciamia: Trump is, legally. Any blame should adhere to him. Trying to put any of it on Biden at this point is counterfuckingproductive at best.
phdesmond
@satby:
i watched both.
Dan B
@rikyrah: The contrast to the coverage of polio is stark. It’s as though the media feels we are too weak to hear the stories.
Jay
@rikyrah:
how are you doing these days?
rikyrah
@Jay:
Ok.
I was doing better after the election- getting more sleep.
But, the whole going back to work as the state turns bad is terrifying me.
Fair Economist
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
That doesn’t limit the Fed at all. The Fed has the power to create money.
rikyrah
@Jay:
Also, I have had eczema since I was a baby. I usually have two breakouts- one at the beginning of winter, the other at the beginning of summer.
I haven’t had a breakout this bad in years. I know it’s the stress.
lowtechcyclist
Way late here, but what the hey:
To the extent that anyone’s paying attention to me, y’all know that I’ve been rather critical of Pelosi pretty much throughout this Congress. And I still think she badly misplayed things at several points along the way.
BUT I think she got about as good a deal as she could have gotten right now. So big props to Nancy and Chuck for pulling this together.
My only reservation is, what did they give away to get this? If corporations can deduct three-martini lunches again, that’s a small price to pay. Anything else?
WaterGirl
@Bill Arnold: Not to mention that for the past 2 years they have been trying to destroy his only living son. Biden has no illusions.
WaterGirl
@satby: I fixed your first link.