• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They are all Michael Cohen now.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if I ever tried to have some of you killed.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Naturally gregarious and alpha

We can agree to disagree, but i’m right.

Deploy the moving finger of emphasisity!

It was down to kool-aid drinkers and next of kin at the trump White House

I’m only here for the duck photos.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

This is how realignments happen…

This is all too absurd to be reality, right?

Wetsuit optional.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Where tasty lettuce and good mustard aren’t elitist.

How do you get liars to care about the truth?

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

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

I did not have this on my fuck 2020 bingo card.

Mobile Menu

  • Look Forward & Back
  • Balloon Juice 2021 Pet Calendar
  • Site Feedback
  • All 2020 Fundraising
  • I Voted!
  • Take Action: Things We Can Do
  • Team Claire, and Family
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • BJ PayPal Donations
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Nature & Respite
  • Information As Power
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • On The Road
  • Garden Chats
  • Nature & Respite
  • Look Forward & Back
the obama family, victorious on election night, all dressed in black and red

Past Elections

You are here: Home / Archives for Past Elections

Breaking! The Senate Has Passed the American Recovery Act!

by Adam L Silverman|  March 6, 202112:57 pm| 327 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, America, Biden Administration in Action, COVID-19 Coronavirus, Domestic Politics, Economics, Healthcare, Open Threads, Political Action, Politics, Silverman on Security

Alert

Reuters is reporting that the US Senate – the world’s greatest deliberative country club – has passed the American Recovery Act!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate on Saturday passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan in a party-line vote after an all-night session that saw Democrats battling among themselves over jobless aid and the Republican minority failing in attempts to push through some three dozen amendments.

The final bill includes $400 billion in one-time payments of $1,400 to most Americans, $300 a week in extended jobless benefits for the 9.5 million people thrown out of work in the crisis, and $350 billion in aid to state and local governments that have seen the pandemic blow a hole in their budgets.

The Senate voted 50-49, with no Republicans voting in favor, on what would be one of the largest stimulus packages in U.S. history.

Since the Senate passed version differs from the version the House passed first and sent over to the Senate, the Senate version will now have to go back to the House for a vote. The House has three options:

  1. Pass the Senate version
  2. Amend the Senate version back to the original House version and send it back.
  3. Reject the Senate version.

I expect that Speaker Pelosi is going to go with option 1.

Despite having to wait and see what the House does, I do believe this is what President Biden refers to as a big fucking deal.

Biden: Big Fucking Deal

Open thread!

Breaking! The Senate Has Passed the American Recovery Act!Post + Comments (327)

The ACA and Chairman Neal’s draft

by David Anderson|  February 9, 20218:04 am| 20 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, Anderson On Health Insurance

Last night, Congressman Neal (D-MA) released the chairman’s draft of the House Ways and Means Committee version of the reconciliation bill for COVID.  It is about 200 pages.  There are less than ten pages that requires my professional attention.  The meat of the health policy is on p.84 of Subtitle G.

The short version of the bill is that for 2021 and 2022, almost everyone earning over 100% FPL will be eligible for an ACA subsidy and those subsidies will get notably bigger.

 

The ACA and Chairman Neal's draft

The long version is that this is an aggressive affordability attempt. It will make the 2022 market an almost entirely price-spread sensitive market. There are significant challenges on automatic re-newals as a lot of people could conceivably be placed in strictly dominated plans because in 2020 when they bought their 2021 plans, they purchased a lower premium but higher actuarial value plan from an insurer offering lower cost-sharing but higher premium options on the same network/plan type. They made those choices under a different subsidy system. However, it is likely that at least some higher premium plans with lower AV but on the same basic platform will now be zero premium plans. Actively aware individuals can make changes during the upcoming open-enrollment period. Not everyone is actively aware and involved. There will be people who are eligible for 87% or 94% Silver CSR plans with zero premium buying either zero premium Bronze or Gold plans in 2022. Fixing the automatic renewal process so that people are placed into plans with the highest actuarial value on the same fundamental platform of network, plan and plan type for a given premium will be an urgently needed update.

The second big question I have is if this passes in anything like its current form, what is the purpose of state subsidies like in California or 1332 reinsurance waivers for at least the 2022 plan year? Both of those are attempts to lower premiums for people who earn over 400% FPL. An 8.5% benchmark cap makes both state subsidies and 1332 reinsurance waivers irrelevant. So what happens to those funds. Thirdly, states that run a Section 1331 Basic Health Program where the state gets 95% of the federal subsidy that enrollees who earn under 200% FPL would other receive in order to provide a state funded and designed program that is effectively Medicaid Plus will see a huge cash windfall. The value of the APTC pass-through will skyrocket for two years.

There are a lot more things happening but these are things that stick out to me in this draft.

The ACA and Chairman Neal’s draftPost + Comments (20)

In Case Anyone Was Wondering Why The Republicans Are Still Controlling the Senate

by Adam L Silverman|  February 2, 202112:07 am| 56 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, America, Domestic Politics, Open Threads, Politics, Silverman on Security

It is because while Senator McConnell agreed last week to the language of the organizing resolution for the Senate – currently doing business as the “rules package” – it has not actually been voted on. Which led to this embarrassing exchange by Senator Durbin, who is supposed to be both the Senate Majority Whip and the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senator Graham who is still the Senate Judiciary Chair.

There is no excuse for Senate Judiciary Republicans to delay Judge Merrick Garland’s nomination to be the next Attorney General.

I’m calling on Sen. Graham—who is still Chair of the Committee even though his party is in the minority—to end this delay & schedule this hearing now. pic.twitter.com/k0Txqir4ri

— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) February 1, 2021

Justice Barrett wasn’t given a free pass on a routine 4-day hearing during her Supreme Court confirmation, and Judge Garland shouldn’t get one either on his nomination for Attorney General.

Read my full response to Senator Durbin about @senjudiciary hearing for the AG nominee. pic.twitter.com/b20CV3bTbn

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) February 2, 2021

Why exactly is the Senate still in bizarro world? Me not allowed to explain*:

We’re in this mess because while Senator McConnell stopped objecting to the language in the organizing resolution because, according to him, both Senators Manchin and Sinema personally assured him they’d never vote to get rid of the filibuster for legislation. That all signs good. Manchin and Sinema personally assured him, he no longer objects to the language for the organizing resolution, the Democrats actually get to take control as the majority. And that’s also how it was reported. In every major news outlet and by every political reporter and by every commentator. But that’s not actually what is happening.

In order for the organizing resolution to pass one of two things has to happen. Either it is adopted by unanimous consent or it has to first pass the 60 vote threshold for cloture (the modern filibuster) and then pass the 51 vote simple majority to take effect. I’m sure by now you’ve all figured out that it was not adopted by unanimous consent. Which means it has to be calendared for a cloture vote and if, and only if, it gets 60 or more votes will it then be allowed to be calendared for a 51 vote simple majority vote. Until or unless that happens, Senator Schumer and the Democrats control the Senate floor and the calendar, but that’s it. All the committees maintain their Republican chairs and their Republican majorities under the previous and still in effect organizing resolution.

I’ve seen some reporting indicating that the organizing resolution for the now ongoing current Senate is supposed to be brought up on the floor of the Senate tomorrow. I’ve also seen other reporting that no agreement has been reached on when it will be brought up for a vote. Anyone want to put down money that whenever it does come up for a vote, at least 10 Republicans will vote with the 50 Democrats for cloture? I didn’t think so. If McConnell can keep the organizational resolution in limbo by refusing unanimous consent for it and then not freeing up 10 of his Republican senators to overcome the 60 vote cloture threshold, he’ll maintain defacto status as majority leader through the Republican committee chairs and Republican committee majorities through January 2023. Which is exactly what he wants to do. His strategy now, just as it was beginning in January 2009 in regard to President Obama, is to grind the Senate to a halt; allowing nothing to pass with Republican votes. His objective is too once again retake the Senate majority by making it impossible for the Democratic majority to accomplish anything and thereby make it impossible for President Biden to accomplish anything. And he knows he has a very good chance because the media would far prefer to cover anything other than process, which is boring, or McConnell, because he makes himself boring.

Sleep tight.

Open thread.

* For those who are not fans of Superman and his defective clone Bizarro, that’s Bizarro speak for “allow me to explain”.

In Case Anyone Was Wondering Why The Republicans Are Still Controlling the SenatePost + Comments (56)

Monday Evening Open Thread: Another Excellent Small, Symbolic Step

by Anne Laurie|  January 25, 20216:14 pm| 152 Comments

This post is in: A Woman's Place Is In The House, Biden-Harris 2020, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Racial Justice

NEW: White House says Treasury Dept. is "taking steps to resume efforts" to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill.

Press Sec. Psaki says the Biden admin. is "exploring ways to speed up that effort." pic.twitter.com/z7Jw5CqXP0

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 25, 2021

Can’t tell you how sweet it is to be highlighting good news instead of clown-car outrages!

show full post on front page

Twenty-dollar bill going from Andrew Jackson to Harriet Tubman — one symbol of difference between Trump and Biden. Proposed new design below: pic.twitter.com/e6xaukiSJJ

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) January 25, 2021

Monday Evening Open Thread: Another Excellent Small, Symbolic StepPost + Comments (152)

Monday Morning Open Thread: Blessed Normality

by Anne Laurie|  January 25, 20217:03 am| 114 Comments

This post is in: Biden-Harris 2020, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

Last week I asked you for your questions and you delivered. Answered a bunch here – and looking forward to doing this again soon. SPOILER: Revealing @POTUS' favorite ice cream ?? pic.twitter.com/DtAXZZGFdR

— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) January 24, 2021

show full post on front page

I gave you my word as a Biden — and I kept that word. pic.twitter.com/MdpmoTvTXT

— President Biden (@POTUS) January 24, 2021

NEW MOTTO:

Do popular things. Don’t let people who hate popular things stop you. https://t.co/VXDn15tWsL

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 24, 2021

News outlets really have to stop framing articles as ‘what do Republicans think.’

Under Trump it was “his actions are wildly unpopular but Republicans love it.” Now under Biden the framing is “his actions are wildly popular but Republicans hate it.” https://t.co/aVbnTvYCmE

— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) January 24, 2021

Commentators: Can Biden unify the public behind his agenda?

Public: ?? https://t.co/HULee08w4I

— Ronald Klain (@WHCOS) January 24, 2021

If you care about the tone of the president when deciding whether or not to fund unemployment benefits, you probably don't actually want to fund unemployment benefits https://t.co/gOudin9Gc8

— The face toucher (@JonIsAwesomest) January 23, 2021

If ever there were a time for Democrats to break the mid term curse through big, bold action, pretty sure the country in a catastrophe spiral while Republicans staff a clown parade is that time.

— Schooley (@Rschooley) January 22, 2021

Monday Morning Open Thread: Blessed NormalityPost + Comments (114)

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Begin As You Mean to Go On

by Anne Laurie|  January 23, 20217:05 am| 229 Comments

This post is in: Biden-Harris 2020, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

Wow Joe Biden just made it illegal to ask a question that’s really more of a comment pic.twitter.com/MAXTTWtBr0

— Eric Haywood (@EricHaywood) January 22, 2021

show full post on front page

President Joe Biden signed executive orders to fight the economic fallout of the pandemic. The orders would speed the delivery of pandemic stimulus checks to needy families and increase food aid for children who normally rely on school meals https://t.co/9RMg8L5Tlv pic.twitter.com/mYdywMPfLv

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 23, 2021

While Republicans are running their "unity" scam in the media, Biden just rolled out new policies that would channel large amounts of resources into rural America — into Trump country. I looked at how these policies constitute *actual* unifying efforts:https://t.co/5oTs2lTP4s

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) January 22, 2021

I don’t know, it seems like based on the last 24 hours things are running pretty smoothly and everyone is on the same page about next steps https://t.co/aHrRHfjHZ5

— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) January 21, 2021

Opinion | Biden’s approach to covid-19: Flood the zone https://t.co/163exEbkxn

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 23, 2021

Federal flood protection standard is back. "President Biden’s forward-looking decision is acknowledgement that building to the climate of the past is no longer tenable." ?@joelscataNRDC? & ?@NRDC? https://t.co/Sd5oqgXLE7

— Rob Moore (@RobMooreNRDC) January 22, 2021

The fact that Biden has undone like a quarter of Trump's legacy in under a day shows how weak Trump was and how he was forced to resort to the president's most ephemeral powers.

— Tentin Quarantino (@agraybee) January 21, 2021

Still dazzled by the inauguration show? Here’s how it came together, and why Tom Hanks looked so cold. https://t.co/5nMzA869by

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 22, 2021


And one excellent read, now that we’ve stopped holding our breath…

… The concert was a triumph: a rousing call for American unity through soaring pop songs and tributes to people caring for their community.

The production? An unprecedented logistical puzzle that had to be solved in less than six weeks. The team faced a deeper challenge beyond the daunting details: how to reinvent the look and feel of a long-held national tradition — to give meaning to absence, incorporating both grief and optimism; to dazzle the 10.5 million TV viewers who watched the concert as it aired…

Every song was chosen for the story it told, says Elrod. That included Demi Lovato’s performance of Bill Withers’s “Lovely Day,” which the singer had never performed in public before, and learned only a few days before inauguration, says Elrod. And that moment where President Biden bopped along to the song with his baby grandson, Beau?

“Him holding his grandson was not planned,” says Elrod. “It was a beautiful moment because it was authentic.” (“LOVE YOU,” Lovato wrote on Instagram, with an image of the president watching her perform.)…

In normal times, only the people who shell out for pricey tickets get to attend inaugural balls — and those jaded ballgoers complain about how the food was bad and the coat check was slow, anyway. The inaugural concert was a great equalizer: Everyone got the same view of Katy Perry’s outfit. No one got blisters from hours of wearing heels. The production team hopes it will start a tradition.

“I think it’s important going forward that there be plenty of content to make people feel that no matter where they live, no matter if they can afford to travel to Washington, D.C. — do they feel like they can be a part of this?” says Elrod…

There were more than 20,000 fireworks, says Adam Biscow, whose Nashville company, Strictly FX — they do the fireworks at the Super Bowl, which explains the oomph factor — collaborated on the pyrotechnics with New Jersey’s Garden State Fireworks. They set up two launch sites — one near the Washington Monument, the other on the Tidal Basin — to accommodate the disparate camera angles for both Perry and the president. But having two locations made the show seem bigger…

The other reason the display was so grand: “As we started booking more acts, the finale compressed into just Katy’s song,” says Kirshner, but the number of fireworks remained the same.

“Typically that would be a 30- or 40-minute display, and they literally wanted to compress into four minutes,” says Biscow.

“Honestly,” says Kirshner, “we got a lot of bang for our buck.”

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Begin As You Mean to Go OnPost + Comments (229)

Friday Morning Open Thread: Celebrate! (Then Get Back to Work)

by Anne Laurie|  January 22, 20217:22 am| 278 Comments

This post is in: Biden-Harris 2020, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

And that’s that. pic.twitter.com/PKwLPv1Sxf

— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) January 20, 2021


I think most of us have had enough time & space to be able to enjoy this in the spirit it was intended, now.

show full post on front page

there's going to be a stream of good news and it's going to feel weird. https://t.co/mxD7gbkZil

— James Palmer (@BeijingPalmer) January 21, 2021

The Muslim Ban is no more. Trump literally ran his campaign on it and Biden ended it on day one of his Presidency. There's no both sides.

— Wajahat "Notoriously Brown" Ali (@WajahatAli) January 20, 2021

It is telling that there is almost no pushback on Biden ending the Muslim ban. There was never a security justification for it, but Republicans defended it anyway for four long years as families were cruelly and needlessly separated. Their silence paved the way for more abuse.

— Ryan Costello (@RyeCostello) January 21, 2021

Trump’s awful CFPB director abolished crucial restrictions on predatory lending. Now she’s fired. https://t.co/q5xWwb2sJT via @slate

— Steve Weinstein (@steveweinstein) January 21, 2021

Fauci just announced the end of Trump's Gag Rule that defunded NGOs who even discussed abortion with women.

This meant closing women's health services, family planning clinics, HIV clinics. Studies found use of birth control DROPPED by 14% & abortion rose by 40% as a result.

— Amy Maxmen, PhD (@amymaxmen) January 21, 2021

Confirmed: Biden has signed executive order implementing SCOTUS decision in Bostock v. Clayton County against anti-LGBTQ discrimination in all federal agencies.

— Chris Johnson (@chrisjohnson82) January 21, 2021

Woah, missed this. @JoeBiden just made funding for non-congregate homeless shelters 100% reimbursable. Until now, states & local govs have had to meet 25% cost-sharing with FEMA.

This means more at-risk homeless folks off streets and in healthy housing. https://t.co/qJ7HNKFkuo

— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) January 22, 2021

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she will consult fellow Democrats about the Senate's readiness to begin former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial on charges of inciting a riot at the U.S. Capitol https://t.co/BZD3WT4mxj pic.twitter.com/5jLfYqCL2Q

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 22, 2021

Friday Morning Open Thread: Celebrate! (Then Get Back to Work)Post + Comments (278)

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 1101
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Do Something!

Call Your Senators & Representatives
Directory of US Senators
Directory of US Representatives

Vaccine Venting Here!
I Got the Shot!  (Month 2)
I Got the Shot!

 

🎈Ways to Support Our Site

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal
Shop Amazon via this link to support Balloon Juice ⬇  

Recent Comments

  • Hoppie on Breaking: Senate Majority Leader Schumer Has Advanced Merrick Garland’s Nomination To a Final Vote (Mar 6, 2021 @ 7:26pm)
  • The Pale Scot on Breaking: Senate Majority Leader Schumer Has Advanced Merrick Garland’s Nomination To a Final Vote (Mar 6, 2021 @ 7:26pm)
  • JMG on Breaking: Senate Majority Leader Schumer Has Advanced Merrick Garland’s Nomination To a Final Vote (Mar 6, 2021 @ 7:25pm)
  • jackmac on Breaking: Senate Majority Leader Schumer Has Advanced Merrick Garland’s Nomination To a Final Vote (Mar 6, 2021 @ 7:23pm)
  • There go two miscreants on Breaking! The Senate Has Passed the American Recovery Act! (Mar 6, 2021 @ 7:23pm)

Team Claire, and Family

Claire Updates
Claire is Home!

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year

Featuring

John Cole
Silverman on Security
COVID-19 Coronavirus
Medium Cool with BGinCHI
Furry Friends

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Submit Photos to On the Road
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Meetups: Proof of Life
2021 Pets of Balloon Juice Calendar

Culture: Books, Film, TV, Music, Games, Podcasts

Noir: Favorites in Film, Books, TV
Book Recommendations & Indy Recs
Mystery Recommendations
Netflix Favorites
Amazon Prime Favorites
Netflix Suggestions in July
Longmire & Netflix Suggestions

Twitter

John Cole’s Twitter

[custom-twitter-feeds]

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc