Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Women: They Get Shit Done

Usually wrong but never in doubt.

Yes we did.

Almost as fun as hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Nevertheless, she persisted

Too inconsequential to be sued

The house always wins.

The revolution will be supervised.

Good luck with your asparagus.

Lighten up, Francis.

Word salad with all caps

I showered with Rahm and all I got was this shitty blog.

No one could have predicted…

Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack!

The Math Demands It!

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

This Blog Goes to 11…

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

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Where tasty lettuce and good mustard aren’t elitist.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense.

How has Obama failed you today?

Gastritis Broke My Calculator

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread: The Heroes We Need Now

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… Dedicating her award to protesters around the country, the star said: “You’re proving to our ancestors that their struggles were not in vain.”

“I’m encouraging you to continue to take action, continue to change and dismantle a racist and unequal system.

“We have to vote like our life depends on it, because it does.”

Beyoncé was presented with her award by Michelle Obama, who praised the star’s commitment to the black community.

“You can see it in everything she does, from her music that gives voice to black joy and black pain, to her activism that demands justice for black lives.

“And she’s doing it all while staying devoted to her children and the loved ones she holds dear,” she continued. “To my girl, I just want to say – you inspire me. You inspire all of us.” …

Finally, an anniversary reminder:

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Monday Morning Open Thread: Vote (D) If You Want to Live

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Nancy Pelosi’s social media team is good!

History…

Speaking of voting:

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Order ALL The Popcorn: A Real President Speaks

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I, for one, welcome the calm voice of reason to help soothe a hurting nation.

The fact that it’s gonna make someone’s head explode, well that’s just extra butter on my popcorn. (Okay, LOTS of someones)

Tune in. 5 pm eastern, Obama.org

And yes, I know I just stomped on everyone, but it seems to be a theme this week. My apologies to everyone I squished with my bigfoot, but this seemed like a day brightener and we need every one we can get these days.

Open thread

ETA: Okay everyone, I have the livestream set up for 4:50 pm EDT. It is a youtube link.

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Friday Morning Open Thread: One Step At A Time

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… Twitter’s policy of adding a warning to, rather than deleting, tweets that break its rules when it comes to major public figures was announced in mid-2019. But the social network has never used it on Mr Trump – nor deleted any of his tweets before.

The same post remains unaltered on Facebook, without any warning attached…

The move means that other users will not be able to like, reply, or retweet it, Twitter said – but would still be able to retweet with a comment attached.

In a Twitter thread, the social network said: “This tweet violates our policies regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today.”

The “historical context” is a reference to the late 1960s, when the phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” was coined by Miami Police Chief Walter Headley, in reference to his aggressive policing policies in black neighbourhoods…

“We’ve taken action in the interest of preventing others from being inspired to commit violent acts, but have kept the tweet on Twitter because it is important that the public still be able to see the tweet given its relevance to ongoing matters of public importance.”…

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What Have Our Democratic Politicians Done for Us Lately?

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Dems in Array:  What Have Our Democratic Politicians Done for Us Lately?

I wrote a comment this morning about that made me think about having a political thread to talk about what’s good.  Dog knows, I can use a reminder!

I have three this morning:  Sheldon Whitehouse, Katie Porter, and Nancy Pelosi.

I 💕Sheldon Whitehouse.  I first noticed him in the Kavanaugh hearings.  His line of questioning was most excellent, and I heard him promise that he was not going to forget about Christine Blasey Ford, or about Kavanaugh.  I believed him, and I can’t wait to see the great things he will do if we take the reins of government in November.

This morning, Another Scott posted a link to a 4-minute video of Sheldon Whitehouse just talking to us about something that’s going on.   This is a brilliant 4 minutes of Whitehouse laying bare, step-by-step, the coordinated planning to take over the US Supreme Court.  If you haven’t watched it yet, I do not believe you will regret the 4 minutes of your time that it would take to watch this video.

His style kind of reminds me of Katie Porter, laying something out methodically until the situation is clear as day.  I finally listened to Katie Porter’s recent interview where she talks about the “bitches” who mock her minivan and then want to borrow it.  I had no idea she was such a swear-er – she said her peeps have to rein her in all the time.  I could not love her more.

Nancy Pelosi is calling Trump out for exactly what he is, and I couldn’t be more proud.

What Have Our Democratic Politicians Done for Us Lately?  Who are they?  Have they done something this week, or last, to make you proud to be a democrat?

Update:

 

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Late Night ‘the Reverse LBJ’ Open Thread: Make #MoscowMitch Admit It

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One of the most oft-circulated stories about LBJ’s political acumen concerns the time he (allegedly) started a rumor that his pig-farming political opponent was known to commit carnal acts upon his livestock. An appalled aide was said to have said, ‘Sir, you can’t accuse the guy of pig-[abuse]!’

Maybe not, Lyndon replied, But I can make him deny it.

Seems to me like Madam Speaker, and her fellow Dems, are using their attempt to pass the (extremely good) HEROES Act as a way of forcing Mitch McConnell to admit that he doesn’t care about his voters.

Also, it’s not as though his hardcore Base will care about McConnell’s Dixiecrat racism, but getting him to say the quiet parts out loud doesn’t encourage the suburban swing voters to turn out for him…

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Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Markers Thrown

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I may actually have to subscribe (briefly) to Disney+, just to see the masterpiece for myself:

And speaking of revolutionary actions…

… The House is expected to vote on the package as soon as Friday. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said there is no “urgency.” The Senate will wait until after Memorial Day to consider options.

“We must think big, for the people, now,” Pelosi said from the speaker’s office at the Capitol.

“Not acting is the most expensive course,” she said…

The Democrats’ Heroes Act is built around nearly $1 trillion for states, cities and tribal governments to avert layoffs, focused chiefly on $375 billion for smaller suburban and rural municipalities largely left out of earlier bills.

The bill will offer a fresh round of $1,200 direct cash aid to individuals, increased to up to $6,000 per household, and launches a $175 billion housing assistance fund to help pay rents and mortgages. There is $75 billion more for virus testing.

It would continue, through January, the $600-per-week boost to unemployment benefits. It adds a 15% increase for food stamps, new subsidies for laid-off workers to pay health insurance premiums under a COBRA law and a special “Obamacare” sign-up period. For businesses, it provides an employee retention tax credit.

There’s $200 billion in “hazard pay” for essential workers on the front lines of the crisis…

The latest package extends some provisions from previous aid packages, and adds new ones.

There is $25 billion for the U.S. Postal Service. There is help for the 2020 Census, including the bureau’s request to delay deadlines for turning over apportionment and redistricting data. For the November election, the bill provides $3.6 billion to help local officials prepare for the challenges of voting during the pandemic.

The popular Payroll Protection Program, which has been boosted in past bills, would see another $10 billion to ensure under-served businesses and nonprofit organizations have access to grants through a disaster loan program…

#MoscowMitch can’t even pretend to care any more about his so-called (voting) constituents:

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Monday Morning Open Thread: Readership Capture

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Whoever edited this has a sense of humor… don’t miss the deadpan Russian or the elderly Brit…


… you postadolescent mic-jockey.

President Obama continues to be correct:

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Saturday Morning Open Thread: When You’re An Icon, They Let You Do… ANYTHING

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Light the TBogg Signal!…

… While Parton was not herself credited as a producer on the long-running fantasy series, a company she co-created and owned was responsible for it coming to television.

Sandollar Entertainment, which is listed on the end credits of every episode of the show, was created by Parton and her friend and former business partner Sandy Gallin in 1986. It produced a number of films, including Father of the Bride (1991) and Fly Away Home (1996), as well as several Parton projects – most recently her Netflix anthology series Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings.

It also produced the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, released in 1992 to dismal reviews. It was Gail Berman, then an executive at Sandollar, who still believed there was potential in the property, and proposed launching the concept as a TV series.

Both Berman and Gallin are credited as executive producers on the Buffy series, along with its spin-off series Angel, though Parton herself is not. She did, however, play a fundamental if often forgotten role in bringing Joss Whedon’s creation to the screen.

While it has never been confirmed, some have suggested that Buffy Summers’ on-screen birthday (19 January) is a secret tribute to Parton – the country star herself being born on the same day…

Seriously, though… If Parton’s name had been associated with Whedon’s project, would it have gotten the attention it drew? Or would it have been dismissed as ‘more Hallmark channel pap for the chicks’?

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Speaking of icons:

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Not an icon, but a favorite BJ chewtoy. I’d like to believe this is a joke, but…


Stuff McArgleBargle hates (noisy restaurants, ucch) are bound to be dangerous, obvs. It’s not like she was telling you to drink bleach, people!

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Nancy Pelosi’s Mother of All Truth Bombs

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Madam Speaker is tired of Trump’s bullshit. Moreover, she can see that Trump’s constant lies and obfuscations have cost the country a great deal already via the bungled COVID-19 response and that his mendacity going forward will continue to cause harm to public health and economic recovery efforts. And she’s not fucking having it, okay?

Here’s a letter she sent to House Democrats last night and also released to the press:

Dear Democratic Colleague,

This Easter Weekend provided me with a time for deeper prayer and reflection. This is an unbearably sad time with all Americans sharing the same devastating experience: we are grieving for those who have died from the coronavirus, we are fearful for our health and especially the health of our loved ones and we are heartbroken for our children who are unable to be in school and with their friends.

As Americans, we are suffering from pressures of economic hardship. All of us want to resume the precious and beautiful lives that America’s unique freedoms provide. We will overcome this moment, but success requires one fundamental from which all actions will follow: we need the truth. To succeed in this crisis, we must insist on the truth, and we must act upon it!

In order to move forward, we must first understand the truth of what has put us in this position:

  • The truth is that Donald Trump dismantled the infrastructure handed to him which was meant to plan for and overcome a pandemic, resulting in unnecessary deaths and economic disaster.
  • The truth is that in January Donald Trump was warned about this pandemic, ignored those warnings, took insufficient action and caused unnecessary death and disaster.
  • The truth is that Donald Trump told his most loyal followers that the pandemic was a hoax and that it would magically disappear, thus endangering lives and paving the way for economic disaster.
  • The truth is that we did not have proper testing available in March despite Trump repeatedly claiming that we did; and even now, we do not have adequate tests, masks, PPE, and necessary equipment, which creates unnecessary death and suffering.
  • The truth is because of an incompetent reaction to this health crisis, the strong economy handed to Donald Trump is now a disaster, causing the suffering of countless Americans and endangering lives.
  • The truth is a weak person, a poor leader, takes no responsibility. A weak person blames others.
  • The truth is, from this moment on, Americans must ignore lies and start to listen to scientists and other respected professionals in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones.

Here’s more that is true: the American people want us to work together. In March, Congress passed three bipartisan bills to address this crisis. The first bill passed the House on March 4 and focused on testing, testing, testing.

The truth is, one month later, we do not have appropriate testing. The President continues to obfuscate, saying we have more testing than any other country in the world. The truth is that only 1 percent of Americans have been tested. The failure to test is central to the spread of the virus and its impact on those most vulnerable in our society. The failure to test is dangerous and deadly, and without testing, we cannot resume our lives.

The President has said that we are engaged in a war. Leaders understand that in war, force protection of our troops is the top priority. In this war, force protection means for health care, police, fire, EMS, food and other essential workers to have the protective equipment that they need to save lives without risking their own.

The truth is that we do not have the necessary hospital equipment. Without ventilators and other equipment, our health care workers cannot save the lives of those they serve.

Once we all share the truth of what took place and what is currently happening, including in our minority communities, we can work together to solve these problems.

There are important decisions ahead. We can go forward confident that America, its competent and honest leaders and its people are fully capable of making the right choices and decisions to restore the American greatness that has been squandered.

But if we are not working from the truth, more lives will be lost, economic hardship and suffering will be extended unnecessarily and our children will not be safe, happy and learning. Our future will be healthy and prosperous if we no longer tolerate lies and deceit.

We must recognize the truth, we must speak the truth, we must insist on the truth and we must and will act upon it.

Respectfully and sadly,

Trump hasn’t responded yet. Perhaps he’s still receiving treatment in the burn unit.

For the first time since this nightmare began, I see a statement from a federal government official that truly gives me hope that we can beat back this insanity. Not that Pelosi and the Democrats can fix everything; they certainly can’t now. And even if Biden sweeps Trump out of DC in a landslide and the Democrats gain full control of Congress, we have a long, hard slog ahead of us.

But Pelosi gets it — she comprehends the world-historical scale of the pickle we’re in thanks to Trump’s monumental incompetence and serial lying, and she refuses to be gaslighted. As someone who’s been walking around in a fog of rage and sadness for more than a month, occasionally wondering if I’m taking crazy pills or if the world has gone mad, I find this enormously comforting.

Open thread.

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Excellent Read: Nancy Pelosi Remains A Boss

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Karen Tumulty, at the Washington Post, applauds “A troublemaker with a gavel”:

… Though Nancy Pelosi does not lack for self-confidence, she rarely indulges in public self-reflection. On that night at the Smithsonian, however, she gave a nod to those who had paved the way for her.

“The women who did all of this — oh my gosh — we revere them. We hold them up as icons. But what we hear people say is, ‘Yes, they were icons. You are troublemakers.’ They were considered troublemakers in their time, so maybe there is a future for all of us,” Pelosi said with a laugh. “But I can just tell you, a troublemaker with a gavel — that’s the real difference.”

This troublemaker with a gavel is the highest-ranking female elected official in the nation’s history and, [last] Thursday, Pelosi will also mark a personal milestone: her 80th birthday. Fittingly, it comes at the end of Women’s History Month. Just as appropriately, Pelosi will be marking it by attempting a huge, complicated and vitally important legislative lift — marshaling support for a massive spending bill to blunt the impact of the coronavirus.

Pelosi will be tested in the coming months, as her generationally divided party looks for a way to navigate the coronavirus crisis while regrouping behind a presidential nominee. Then, in the fall, every seat in the House will be on the ballot and, with it, Pelosi’s 35-seat majority. Voters will render judgment on her decision to press forward with President Trump’s impeachment last fall. But it is likely they will be focused more on figuring out which party can be trusted going forward, and specifically, which is better equipped to manage the next phase of the government’s response to the most challenging peacetime crisis in a century or more…

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Friday Morning Open Thread: Readership Capture

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Been quite the year, this week, hasn’t it? And in the latest cliffhanger, another ‘libertarian’ Repub has decided to play vandal for the cameras:

… Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said Thursday that he opposed the bill, approved unanimously by the Senate on Wednesday, as it would add to the national debt. The libertarian lawmaker also is concerned that voting without a quorum present — the majority of the House chamber — would violate the Constitution. He said he has yet to decide whether to press the issue, which could delay a House vote until late Saturday or Sunday…

Pelosi indicated that any future effort would involve all four leaders in Congress. She intends to hunker down in Washington to work on the next steps, rather than heading back to her home in San Francisco, even though the House is not expected to be in session for weeks to come…

SOMEBODY has to be the grown-up in the room, after all. And the Repubs can’t even keep their own team in line.

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The Pandemic Relief Bill: Nancy Pelosi Still Has Our Backs

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She’s been working the media all week. I missed tonight’s PBS interview, but there’s a full transcript here.
Finale:

Judy Woodruff: But you’re saying it could be done within a few days?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Yes.

And it’s no use having a conversation about what might happen later. What is in the here and now — and I thank you for asking — is that we are ready. We hope that they would freeze the design, and whatever the difference is on the Republican side.

Please don’t resent our lowest-paid workers in America for getting $600, so that they can meet the needs of their families, spend the money. It’s immediate. Spend the money, inject demand into the economy, grow the economy, and, at the same time, give people a little more confidence and less stress as they deal with the important health issue, health challenge that this is.

We pray for those who have lost their loved ones and those whose are — whose family are affected by all of this. We pray and thank God for our health care workers, our first responders, our firefighters, and police officers, and emergency services people.

They are our heroes in all of this, and we’re grateful to them.

Further explanation, from The Hill:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that Democrats will press for another wave of direct payments to Americans as Congress begins weighing the next round of emergency relief in response to the coronavirus crisis.

House Democrats had proposed a $1,500 cash infusion for all Americans in their stimulus bill, up to a certain income level — a $300 increase over the Senate package, which is expected to reach the president’s desk in the coming days.

Pelosi suggested Wednesday that neither figure is high enough, calling for another round of checks in the next wave of stimulus — the fourth since the crisis began — to be considered in the weeks and months ahead…

A short time later, speaking to reporters in the Capitol, Pelosi offered a broader preview of some of the provisions Democrats will seek in a phase four package, including more funding to protect pensions, tougher work safety provisions under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and funding to provide free medical care — not just testing — to coronavirus victims.

“There are a number of issues that are not holding up this [Senate] bill … but that we need to do,” she said…

House Democrats, who have been on recess for more than a week, have complained of being shut out of the negotiations, which were conducted primarily between Senate leaders and the White House. Many are up in arms that Democratic priorities — including an expansion of paid leave, a larger increase in food stamps, vote-by-mail provisions and stronger work safety protections for medical workers — were largely left out of the Senate bill.

To ease those concerns, Pelosi and a number of Democratic committee heads conducted a series of conference calls on Wednesday with rank-and-file members to field concerns and provide policy details contained in the Senate bill. As part of that effort, Democratic leaders are reminding lawmakers that provisions excluded from the third round will be revisited in the fourth…

Pelosi had been hoping that, after the Senate passes the $2 trillion package, the House could move it through the lower chamber by unanimous consent, a procedure for advancing legislation without the need to call lawmakers back to Washington.

On Wednesday, however, she ruled out that option, citing warnings from GOP leaders that some of their members, wishing to debate the mammoth bill and have some record of how they voted, would block a unanimous consent request…

TL, DR: People aren’t gonna be able to pay their April rent because Lindsey Graham thinks nurses are lazy moochers, Tom Cotton is running for the 2024 GOP primary, and the House Repubs are morons or true believers or both. Come with us Dems, if you want to live…

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Respect for Our ‘Shadow President’

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And, of course, his shadow cabinet, working for the voters instead of Trump’s kakistocratic cronies…

Read the whole thing (it’s not long!):

Eminence Grise in Chief:

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Saturday Morning Open Thread: Thank You, Nancy Pelosi

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Per the Washington Post:

… The 363-40 vote — gaveled down just before 1 a.m. — capped two days of volatile negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that threatened to fall apart entirely for hours Friday amid GOP misgivings. But even after President Trump criticized House Democrats at an afternoon news conference Pelosi and Mnuchin kept at it, speaking by phone 13 times in the course of the day Friday and finally clinching a deal.

Not long thereafter Trump endorsed the legislation over Twitter, ensuring widespread GOP support…

The House vote sends the legislation to the Senate, which is expected to pass it next week after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) canceled a planned recess so senators could act on the issue. All of the “no” votes Saturday came from Republicans, while one lawmaker — Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) — voted “present.”

In a letter to Democratic lawmakers Friday night, Pelosi thanked them for their patience through the ups and downs of the talks, which began when House Democrats released a version of the legislation Wednesday with a number of provisions Republicans opposed…

The agreement reached Friday is primarily aimed at expanding the safety net to cope with the potentially catastrophic economic impact of the coronavirus. In addition to ensuring free coronavirus testing, the plan would dramatically increase several benefits, particularly family medical leave and paid sick leave, while also bolstering unemployment insurance; spending on health insurance for the poor; and food programs for children and the elderly.

One of the biggest changes is a new paid sick leave guarantee for those impacted by the coronavirus, and reaching agreement on this issue was one of the final sticking points to a deal. Under the agreement, employers would be required to provide 14 days of paid sick leave at “not less” than two-thirds their regular rate. They would qualify for the benefit if they are sick and have to be quarantined or treated for coronavirus, or if they have to leave their jobs to take care of a family member who has coronavirus. Workers would also be eligible for paid sick leave if they have to stay home because they have a child whose school or childcare facility has closed due to the coronavirus.

The agreement also dramatically expands the existing paid family medical and leave program from its current form. Under existing law, employers are required to give “job protected” medical leave for up to 12 weeks — meaning workers cannot be fired — without additional pay. Under the Pelosi-Mnuchin plan, workers taking paid medical leave would also be paid at two-thirds of their typical rate of pay for the 12 weeks. This benefit, which applies to companies with fewer than 500 employees, would be available for a year for people affected by the coronavirus…

Additionally, the plan seeks to address fears that coronavirus could force many Americans to go without adequate food. The agreement provides $500 million to the women, infants, and children nutrition program; nullifies existing work requirements on the food stamp program; and provides $100 million in food grants to U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. It provides additional funding to nutritional assistance programs for children and the elderly…

Guess who intends to throw as much sand in the gears as possible:

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