…I know, I know
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/06/coronavirus-relief-bill-passes-senate-joe-biden
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/03/06/biden-stimulus-covid-relief
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-passes-1-9-trillion-covid-relief-bill-including-1-400-stimulus-checks-with-no-republican-support
…it’s the least surprising “surprise” since someone suggested there was a possibility that ol’ littlefingers the much impeached & his bevy of flunkies might be “a little sketchy”…or only in it to line his pockets
Trump sends cease-and-desist letter to GOP organizations to stop fundraising off his name [WaPo]
Trump reportedly told Republican party to stop using his name for fundraising [Guardian]
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/trump-sent-cease-desist-letters-gop-campaign-committees
…but all the same
Fox News host Tucker Carlson calls QAnon followers ‘gentle’ patriots [Guardian]
…apparently some folks are just now catching on to this one
Not a single Republican in Congress voted for the rescue package now headed for final approval in the House and a signature from Mr. Biden, as they angrily denounced the legislation and the way in which it was assembled. Other marquee Democratic measures to protect and expand voting rights, tackle police bias and misconduct and more are also drawing scant to zero Republican backing.
[…]
Mr. Biden, a six-term veteran of the Senate, had trumpeted his deep Capitol Hill experience as one of his top selling points, telling voters that he was the singular man able to unite the fractious Congress and even come to terms with his old bargaining partner, Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the minority leader.But congressional Democrats, highly familiar with Mr. McConnell’s tactics, held no such illusions. Now, they worry that voters would punish them more harshly in the 2022 midterm elections for failing to take advantage of their power to enact sweeping policy changes than for failing to work with Republicans and strike bipartisan deals.
Congressional Democrats want far more than Republicans are willing to accept. Anticipating the Republican recalcitrance to come, Democrats are increasingly coalescing around the idea of weakening or destroying the filibuster to deny Republicans their best weapon for thwarting the Democratic agenda. Democrats believe their control of the House, Senate and White House entitles them to push for all they can get, not settle for less out of a sense of obligation to an outdated concept of bipartisanship that does not reflect the reality of today’s polarized politics.
“Looking at the behavior of the Republican Party here in Washington, it’s fair to conclude that it is going to be very difficult, particularly the way leadership has positioned itself, to get meaningful cooperation from that side of the aisle on things that matter,” said Representative John Sarbanes, Democrat of Maryland.
[…]
Republicans accused Democrats of abandoning any pretext of bipartisanship to advance a far-left agenda and jam through a liberal wish list disguised as a coronavirus rescue bill, stuffed with hundreds of billions of extraneous dollars as the pandemic is beginning to ebb. They noted that when they were in charge of the Senate and President Donald J. Trump was in office, they were able to deliver a series of costly coronavirus relief bills negotiated between the two parties.
[…]
While Mr. McConnell lost legislatively, he did manage to hold Republicans together when there was an appetite among some to cut a deal. He learned in 2009, when President Barack Obama took office at the start of the Great Recession, that by keeping his Republican forces united against Democrats, he could undermine a popular new Democratic president and paint any legislative victories as tainted by partisanship, scoring political points before the next election. The same playbook seems to be open for 2021.
[…]
In the coming weeks, House Democrats plan to pass more uncompromising bills, including measures to strengthen gun safety and protect union rights — two pursuits abhorred by Republicans. Democrats fully recognize the measures will run into a Republican stone wall, but that is the point.In getting Republicans on the record against what Democrats see as broadly popular measures, they are hoping to drive home the idea that, despite their party’s control of Congress and the White House, they cannot move forward on the major issues of the moment with the filibuster in place. They want voters to respond.
“We can’t magically make the Republicans be for what the people are for,” said Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat. “The people are overwhelmingly for the agenda we are passing, and democracy works, so if the people want these bills to pass, they will either demand that we do away with the filibuster or demand that some Republican senators who refuse to do what the people want leave office.”
After Stimulus Victory in Senate, Reality Sinks in: Bipartisanship Is Dead [NYT]
…though
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) opposes the legislation under consideration in the Senate that would provide a $1.9 trillion response to the coronavirus pandemic. He’s made that abundantly clear, speaking from the Senate floor to oppose its passage and excoriating its size.
On Thursday, he took an unusual procedural step to slow the bill’s passage. Normally, the House and Senate waive the requirement that legislation be read in the chamber before passage. But one member can force it to be read — and Johnson chose to do so.
The effect was twofold. First, it meant that two clerks spent nearly 11 hours laboriously walking through the 628-page document. Second, it meant that the Senate wouldn’t do anything else over those 10-plus hours, which stretched from about 3:20 p.m. until just past 2 a.m.
Johnson framed his decision as a desire that the public “know what’s in the bill,” though the actual intent was obvious to anyone familiar with Senate procedures: delay the passage of something the opposition party didn’t have the votes to stop. (In an interview on Fox News on Friday, he made this point explicitly: Without the delay from reading the bill, there would have been “no time to really prepare decent amendments.”)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/05/dubious-value-reading-legislation-out-loud-near-empty-rooms/
…well
Chamber of Commerce declines to rebuke members of Congress who voted to overturn 2020 election [WaPo]
…it’s probably good it’s sunday because I have literally too many links to things that didn’t seem any too restful a read to me
One Old Way of Keeping Black People From Voting Still Works [NYT]
Growing up on the block where George Floyd was killed [NBC]
F.B.I. Finds Contact Between Proud Boys Member and Trump Associate Before Riot [NYT]
U.S. judge scolds ‘QAnon Shaman’ for appearing on ‘60 Minutes Plus’ without permission [WaPo]
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/ties-that-bind-andrew-cuomo-madison-cawthorn-ronny-jackson
Online vaccine sign-ups make Internet access a matter of life and death [WaPo]
Millions couldn’t afford diapers before the pandemic. Now, diaper banks can’t keep up. [WaPo]
How One Firm Put an ‘Extraordinary Burden’ on the U.S.’s Troubled Stockpile [NYT]
Robert Kramer, the chief executive of Emergent BioSolutions, has told investors that “extensive relationships across multiple agencies within the federal government” have helped build a business that last year posted record revenues, with Mr. Kramer taking home a $1.2 million cash bonus.
The company’s relationships form a web of revolving-door connections across Washington, an investigation by The New York Times found, that has included a former cabinet member, a retired Army general, three former members of Congress and a bipartisan array of former government employees.
A Who’s Who of Revolving-Door Influence at Emergent BioSolutions [NYT]
‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’: Chaos Strikes Global Shipping [NYT]
Georgia family sues grocery clerk for posting about their alleged involvement in Jan 6. insurrection [WaPo]
A Mexican restaurant in Texas kept its mask rule. People threatened to call ICE on the staff. [WaPo]
Businesses and government agencies in the United States that use a Microsoft email service have been compromised in an aggressive hacking campaign that was probably sponsored by the Chinese government, Microsoft said.
The number of victims is estimated to be in the tens of thousands and could rise, some security experts believe, as the investigation into the breach continues. The hackers had stealthily attacked several targets in January, according to Volexity, the cybersecurity firm that discovered the hack, but escalated their efforts in recent weeks as Microsoft moved to repair the vulnerabilities exploited in the attack.
Thousands of Microsoft Customers May Have Been Victims of Hack Tied to China [NYT]
…still…you know what they say about being late to the party
…& old habits being hard to break
…& sure, everyone likes to throw around that “cancel culture” thing these days…but what exactly did they think would happen if they lined up on this guy?
Young TikTok users tried canceling Eminem. He responded with ‘Tone Deaf,’ a new song
…also…if he’s worth cancelling…they have the best part of a genre to work through…& I’m guessing they’re gonna be real unhappy when they encounter some of the reggae/dancehall lyrics I recall?
…what can I say…a bunch of them boys seem to think they jesus
My Sunday check list was wake up early…make friends
https://opposite-lock.com/topic/9471/8-am-sunday-morning
Wakey wakey world it’s a brand new day 🙂
Anyways I promises I’ll try to read the rest of the post now
…definitely not dispelling my belief that your spirit-muppet is animal, there
…but there’s surely something to be said for walking to the beat of your own drum…although with a full kit I dare say the walking is hard to do at the same time you’re keeping the best?
Yep trixy with a full kit
There’s a considerable amount of weight there
Maybe I’ll get me one of them one man band get ups 🤣
…if you do…we may require video?
Welp till that video happens here have some pics of the sticks :p
https://opposite-lock.com/topic/9477/welp-guess-i-m-not-taking-this-path-today-farscy-has-gone-walkabout
@Farscythe I always enjoy photos of your area. Any chance of seeing some flower fields in the spring or summer?
@Elliecoo probably
There’s usually fields of tulips near my house.. exactly where is always a question tho as they rotate the fields
But yeah pretty sure I’ll be able to find some
@farscythe Pretty!
@SplinterRIP, right you are, sir, video!
Bipartisanship is dead… DUH NYT. Where the fuck have you upper class twits been since, oh, 1994?
The RW parties of many nations have morphed into something noxious. They represent the base worst of who we are. I am not so naive or stupid to believe that lefties are all goodies because we aren’t. HOWEVER, we try (and sometimes fail) to improve the conditions for everyone against the oligarchies who would rather see us be a bunch of resentful shit throwing morons… (like the guys they back.)
The problem for many on the right (and centrist dipshits like Brooks) is that the racist resentful angry stupid beast they built up for decades has broken loose and decided they don’t really want to listen to the establishment rich fucks either.
I doubt this is news to anyone here…
Right wingers were usually conservatives because they’re to protect the status quo, but now they’re a bunch of reactionary revolutionaries hell bent on turning the tables so that they’re the only ones who feast kicking out the stupid estblishment rich fucks and libbies in part because they’re a bunch of narcissist wankers who feel they’re the ONES WHO deserve good things. I’m guessing listening the years of bullshit corp propaganda ads about how you deserve to be treated right and the customer is always right and (where we fail–due to road to hell paved with good intentions) building up self esteem of idiots who had too much to begin with (psychologists now see the problem with criminals and narcissists having too much unearned esteem not too little.)
I saw it here in Canada City with the rise of the Reformers (a bunch of somewhat racist angry angry ass Westerners pissed off at Eastern Domination) in the mid 80s who are basically the Conservatives now. The GOPers like Newty Toot took that template and made it out to be racist angry midwestern/Southerners pissed off at Eastern/Ivy League Domination. Bankrolled in part by (midwest/Southern) money bags who resented the fuck out of taxes and the Northerner/Easterner establishment (both GOPers and Dems) and by establishment tax/regulation resenting libertarian types (like the Koch brothers… er. brother).
At this point, I don’t want to be a fucking foot soldier for the rich oligarchies of the establishment either. However, I would like a functioning society (and unfortunately that includes rich assholes) of rules and laws.
About the only thing that can save us from these fascist revolutionary narcissists is that these guys are pretty fucking stupid and mostly incompetent AND pissing off some of money bags in the GOPers isn’t going to help.
I see both the dems and reps as being owned by corporate America for the last 30 years. But while both parties are okay fucking over whoever to keep the big companies making ridiculous profits, one party wants to take away rights from minorities and fuck them over worse. Also one party wants to fuck over healthcare even more.
So yeah, I do firmly espouse a “vote blue no matter who” policy because even bad dems aren’t quite as bad as the reps as a group.
Just wanted to add, that for the Koch faction of the Libertarians, the racism goes back to it’s absolute roots, as PapaKoch helped to found the John Birch Society….
So, YES, the hatred and bigotry verrrrry much IS *a feature NOT a bug*;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birch_Society
I am embarrassed to be even mentioning this, because this is a problem 90% of Americans wish they had, but I must vent.
Although I am on unemployment and scraping together a little side gig here and there (and duly reporting that every week when I file my claim, so my weekly benefits are reduced proportionally) I managed to screw myself out of the new 2021 $1,400 stimulus check. How did I possibly manage to pull this off?
Well, toward the end of the year (2020) I was getting a little paranoid about the stock market bubble. It’s calmed down a little, but it’s still bubbling along. I was a very frugal corporate drone and stashed away tons of money in a 401(k), which did quite well for itself. I decided to take advantage of the Covid-19 10% early withdrawal penalty hardship waiver and take a chunk as a disbursement, to have cash on hand just in case. I am still very frugal, we both are, and there is still plenty of money in the 401(k), which I rebalanced some because I’m not getting any younger. This chunk is a rainy day fund intended to be slowly chipped away at if necessary over the course of years, but really mostly for peace of mind.
When the Better Half had our taxes done yesterday I told him to ask the accountant to hold the return until April 15th, because it reflects a one-time gross overstatement of my income, a one-time blip, and that stimulus check would come in handy. Apparently he forgot this little request. Imagine my delight when I got an auto-generated email last night that said, “Congratulations! The IRS has accepted your 2020 tax return!” Oh fuck. For 2020 I’m just over the cutoff, and if the records get updated quickly enough, which I’m pretty sure they will be, they’ll go by my one-time 2020 windfall return and not my realistic 2019 return.
Oh well, timing is everything in life, and had our appointment been with the accountant for April 6th, instead of March 6th…Better Half is unfazed by this. “Look at it this way, at least I got your taxes done, you’re welcome.” In my mind I’m screaming, “You compulsive IDIOT could you not have waited ONE MONTH?!?” Sigh. “You’re right. Thank you.” I headed off to the kitchen carrying my constant companion, the wound vac. “What are you doing?” “I’m GOING to GRATE some Parmesan CHEESE because TOMORROW I’m MAKING a PENNE in a CREAM SAUCE so we can HAVE A MEAT-FREE DINNER.”
Really, it’s not every day that a person who’s on unemployment manages to blow an aid check meant, ideally, for just that person. I may appeal this and point out that the large majority of my Adjusted Gross Income came for a hardship disbursement, but I doubt I’ll get anywhere. While working through my anger with the parmesan cheese block and the grater I started laughing at myself.
“What’s so funny?” “It just dawned on me that for the first time in my life I emulated Donald Trump. I deliberately and deceptively inflated my earnings, but rather than getting a shady Russian ‘loan’ out of it, I actually put myself in a worse spot financially. Let’s celebrate! Put a couple of martini glasses in the fridge, will you, and I’ll make Stolichnaya vodka martinis.” “You’re a very strange person and you only keep getting stranger.” “You’re absolutely right, and just think, a decade from now, if we’re both still around, we’ll look back on this as the good old days!”
Strange is good.
You’re not alone in your problem. When my wife’s father had a stroke in 2019 he owned several properties, all with unpaid loans facing foreclosure (poor business sense plus dementia, I think, since he was 94). My wife struggled with this mess for months, listing two of the properties for sale, paying off her mother’s house, and eventually netting a paid-for house and about $90K, which her mother has to live on, along with Social Security.
Which was promptly reduced, since my mother-in-law, on paper, earned about $200K that year. So SS said, hey, you’re rich, and cut her benefits. PLUS she’s never gotten any of the stimulus checks at all.
My wife beats herself up over it, but she had no choice. She could have tried to delay the sale of one of the properties into 2020, but they were all poorly maintained and declining in value, and foreclosure was scheduled for April of 2020. So when she found buyers (no easy feat) she jumped at it.
@bryanlsplinter, been there, my parents were older to begin with and I was an only child. So I have been through what you described, in addition to settling an estate, which however small is still a daunting task. Hugs to your wife, it sounds like she did a good job on a no-win task.
My parents were older, too, but there are five of us kids so I wasn’t going it alone. Plus my parents left their affairs largely in order. My wife has a sister but she’s been in and out of jail and rehab and is completely untrustworthy and useless. My wife and her sister could not be more different. But the net effect is that my wife is basically an only child. The sister only shows up to whine about her life and/or beg for money.
To add insult to injury the Better Half said just this morning, on his return from the gym, “Your license is almost expired so it’s a good thing I went when I did. The accountant needed valid ID from you—” “First of all, I have a valid US Passport so you could have used that. Second of all, because my license is expiring, and I can’t leave this fucking apartment, I had to renew my license online, self-certify that I am not vision-impaired, so not only can I not get a Real ID WHICH ALL THE OTHER STATES HAVE BEEN ISSUING FOR YEARS, I have to go physically to a DMV office at some point in the near future and do this all over again and pay God knows how much AND I DON’T EVEN DRIVE WHY DO I BOTHER?!?” “That looks good. What are you making?” “Huh? Oh, I decided to caramelize a couple of bananas and makes bananas French toast. It’ll be done in a few minutes.”
motherfuckin “real id” …
I’m going to have to deal with that soon – I just declined and renewed my license, I figure I’ll try and reapply later on, hopefully after COVID clears up. I have to find some “official” document that lists both my residential address, and my PO box.
I’m so annoyed with this security theater bullshit fallout form 9/11, especially after having a couple months of daily covid deaths equivalent to 9/11, with so much of the government refusing to do anything at all…
@lochaber — Missouri made getting a real ID license so fucking complicated that I was like you know what fuck it I have a goddamned passport and passport card fuck this real ID thing
Eccentric is the proper word…at least that is what I claim, you can join me in eccentric land!
That was @MatthewCrawley, re the eccentric comment. Sigh.
It’s only a matter of time before I go full on Little Edie and start wearing sweaters as skirts and nylon stockings as head scarves, “adopt” or invite in 30 or 40 cats, and complain about how staunch my neighbors are.
Have you ever seen “Grey Gardens”? If you have, you know the friendly handyman who stops by every so often? He, too, led a fascinating life. He was gay (is, I think he’s still alive) and hi-tailed it off to Manhattan to be a cab driver/male hustler, and then became a sculptor of some renown. New York used to be a much, much more interesting place.
“Former president Donald Trump has sent a cease-and-desist letter to at least three Republican organizations demanding they stop using his name and likeness to fundraise.”
Translation: You want to use my name, make it rain, bitches. I got bills.
…yeah…I took that entirely to be a demand that he get a bigger cut than the party out of any funds raised
…not that he plans to.spemd them on campaigning for the party when he has all those shitty lawyers to not-pay?
Yep. I said it before: Trump will never spend a dime on anyone that’s not Trump. Not one dime.
@bryanlsplinter, lol!