Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Glad to see john eastman going through some things.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Ron DeSantis, the grand wizard, oops, governor of FL.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

The choice is between normal and crazy.

I was promised a recession.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Be a traveling stable for those who can’t find room at the inn.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

It’s a doggy dog world.

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

Their freedom requires your slavery.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Republicans would impeach Biden if he bit into a whole Kit Kat rather than breaking the sections apart.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

The new republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Monday Morning Open Thread: Remember Joy?

Monday Morning Open Thread: Remember Joy?

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What’s on the agenda as we start the new week?
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86Comments

  1. 1.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Floriduh! critter: Opossum breaks into Florida liquor store and gets drunk as a skunk

    “A worker there found the opossum up on a shelf next to a cracked open bottle of liquor with nothing in it,” said Michelle Pettis, a technician at the refuge. “She definitely wasn’t fully acting normal.” Pettis told the Northwest Florida Daily News the female opossum appeared disoriented, was excessively salivating and was pale. The staff pumped the marsupial full of fluids and cared for her as she sobered up. “We loaded her up with fluids to help flush out any alcohol toxins,” Pettis said. “She was good a couple of days later.”

    Pettis says the opossum did not appear to have a hangover.

  4. 4.

    JPL

    MSM always reports the way the republicans tell them to. Death tax and entitlements are accepted terms.

    @OzarkHillbilly: How can they tell whether or not the opossum was hung over?

  7. 7.

    Amir Khalid

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    I have no experience of being drunk or hung over, so I’m not sure how you transition from one state to the next. But she must have been there for some time, surely long enough for the first state to go by.

  10. 10.

    lowtechcyclist

    It is still possible to win this. The pressure on R’s in moderate states will be enormous from voters. CALL

    Good to see this. As heartrending as the Senate vote was, the fat lady ain’t sung yet. Sure, the odds aren’t in our favor; what else is new. CALL.

    ETA: if you’re in AK or ME, remind Murkowski/Collins that repealing the individual mandate will kill the risk pools, and insurers are likely to just pull out of the ACA marketplace, killing the ACA after 2018.

  11. 11.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Amir Khalid: One gets drunk.
    One passes out.
    One wakes up.
    One has a pounding headache and a feeling of wanting to puke one’s guts out.(this is the hangover part)
    One wants to die.

  12. 12.

    NotMax

    If accurate, situation has been kicked up several notches.

    Yemen’s Houthi group has fired a cruise missile toward an under-construction nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the group’s television service said on its website Sunday, without providing any evidence.
    [snip]
    …the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation announced in May that the plant had received the fuel assemblies for its unit 1 reactor. The fuel assemblies, the ENEC said in a statement, were being “securely stored” at the plant.

    It was unclear if the assemblies were still being stored there. Source

    Cheryl and Adam, please pick up the white courtesy phone.

  20. 20.

    NotMax

    Sign of the times?

    Smoked pot? Want to go to war?

    No problem.

    As more states lessen or eliminate marijuana penalties, the U.S. Army is granting hundreds of waivers to enlist people who used the drug in their youth – as long as they realize they can’t do so again in the military.

    The number of waivers granted by the active-duty Army for marijuana use jumped to more than 500 this year from 191 in 2016. Three years ago, no such waivers were granted. The big increase is just one way officials are dealing with orders to expand the Army’s size.

    “Provided they understand that they cannot do that when they serve in the military, I will waive that all day long,” said Maj. Gen. Jeff Snow, head of the Army’s recruiting command.

    The marijuana use exclusions represent about one-quarter of the total misconduct waivers the Army granted in the budget year that ended Sept. 30. They accounted for much of the 50 per cent increase overall in recruits who needed a waiver for some type of misconduct. Source

    Same source. This is not at all reassuring.

    Army leaders have faced increased scrutiny in recent weeks amid worries in Congress and elsewhere about a decline in quality among new enlistees.

    Army data show more than 8,000 recruits received waivers in 2017, compared with about 6,700 last year. Most waivers concerned physical or mental health.

    Almost 2 per cent of the recruits were considered “category four,” meaning they scored 31 or less, out of 99, on the aptitude test. Just over a half-per cent were in that category in 2016.

    In total, the Army enlisted almost 69,000 recruits this year, close to 6,000 more than last year.

    In an interview with The Associated Press, Snow said he went to his Army leadership early this year to ask if he could bring in more of the category four recruits to meet higher enlistment goals. He said he promised that the Army would stay well below a 4 per cent limit on the group allowed by the Pentagon.

    Note the percentage has already quadrupled under the Dolt-in-chief.

  23. 23.

    cosima

    @lowtechcyclist: Murkowski will not care about that. What she needs to be reminded of — often — is that it was the Dems that pulled her fat out of the fire and kept her in the Senate. BibleThumpingBarbie had her pet RW scumbag primary Murkowski and she LOST. It was then about running as an independent/write-in/etc. and Dems had to turn against their own very strong candidate to join forces with the few sane R voters. It was a complete shiteshow, and I’ve told my family over & over to phone her and remind her that she will continue to be primaried FOREVER, so she has got to realise that she still needs Dem votes. If she’s going to vote in line with the lowest R then what is the point in saving her arse? Better to let a RW loon beat her, then use his antics to flip the seat to D next time around. My family knows that I expect them to phone & phone & phone. Speed dial. I have FOUR siblings in AK who are doctors (one a sis in law) so they can also use the mandate speech, but that isn’t what will sway LisaM (who was at my first wedding with her father, by the way).

  25. 25.

    raven

    @NotMax: Three hours after we beat Auburn to win the SEC Championship two players for busted for pot. For one, a starting linebacker, it was the third bust.

  29. 29.

    SFAW

    @NotMax:

    As the kids say, it’s all good. Was very lightheartedly pulling your string.

    Amateur.

    For all the abuse he heaped on Quinerly when she was one her road trip(s), Ozark deserves to be beaten about the head and shoulders. Of course, knowing Ozark, he’ll probably deny, deny, deny.

    [Waves to Ozark]

  30. 30.

    SFAW

    @NotMax:

    You’ve been married to her father more than once?

    Must live in a Blue state. Or maybe Alabama, where things like that are apparently OK — for certain classes of people.

  32. 32.

    JPL

    @raven: The punishment will be sitting at home, while the rest of the team plays the biggest game of their lives. That’s a pretty harsh punishment, imo.

  33. 33.

    SFAW

    Reconciliation process question: I saw somewhere (probably here) that if “one word” of the Senate bill is changed, then the Senate has to vote on the “new” bill, which allows us more time to flip Collins and (hopefully) one of the other traitors.

    My question is: what requires that procedural step? Is it part of the Byrd rule? Is it some other Senate rule? Is it Senate “tradition”? Or is there some law on the books that says it must be that way?

  36. 36.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @SFAW: The House bill and the Senate bill differ in a number of ways. A committee will be formed to come up with a single bill that both the House and Senate will then have to vote on again.

  40. 40.

    SFAW

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Yes, I understand that part. I’m trying to figure out why (in a procedural requirement sense) they re-vote.I don’t think For example, Article IX of the Constitution requires it, but is it law, rule, or “tradition.” I’ve been assuming it’s a Senate rule, but I am not as well versed in that stuff as a number of others here.

  43. 43.

    Elizabelle

    @satby: Germany’s lovely. Had our first snow in Wiesbaden yesterday. Picturesque. A bit cold out there today; have lots of indoor stuff to do.

    Have been enjoying the mulled red wine at the Christmas markets. So warming and festive.

    Enjoying Netflix’s “Godless.” Y’all recommended it, and it is superb. Have seen first two episodes; kind of watching them slowly since there are only seven.

  45. 45.

    Chyron HR

    @SFAW:

    A bill has to be passed by the House and Senate before the President signs it into law. The Constitution is pretty specific on this point. There’s no leeway for, “they’re basically the same thing so let’s just pick one and pretend it passed in both houses,” and if the GOP tries then even Roberts and Kennedy would probably strike that “law” down when it reached the SCOTUS.

  46. 46.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @SFAW: If you change even an “a” to a “the” it is no longer the same bill. It may seem like a very minor change and indeed may well be, but it could also be a very major change. It is not a Senate rule, it is a rule of law. Laws have been thrown out by courts over such “minor” changes.

  47. 47.

    sdhays

    @SFAW: Why wouldn’t Article IX require it? If the Senate and House pass different bills, appoint a committee to reconcile the bills, and a revote isn’t required on the output of that committee, then what’s to stop the reconciliation committee from changing the text of the bill to abolish Social Security or enact single-payer heath care or granting the committee members billion dollar pensions without the consent of majorities (or supermajorities, as required) in Congress?

    Only laws that are actually voted on by Congress can become law. If the text changes in any way, the law was not voted on by Congress and therefore can’t become law.

  48. 48.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    It may seem like a very minor change and indeed may well be, but it could also be a very major change.

    Five bucks says McConnell will try and get around that.

  49. 49.

    SFAW

    Thanks, all.

    I had this waking nightmare of Turtle saying “Fuck it! We don’t need no steenking re-vote!” and getting away with it. Obviously, I wasn’t thinking clearly.

  50. 50.

    NotMax

    @SFAW

    Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution. Excerpts:

    Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States;&#8230

    Interpreted to address exclusively passage by both chambers of identical bills, bolstered a little further on.

    Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

  51. 51.

    SFAW

    @sdhays:

    Why wouldn’t Article IX require it?

    Um, mainly because there is no Article IX. (It was a joke. The rest of the question was serious, however.)

  53. 53.

    Alain the site fixer

    Morning folks. I’ll be restarting the morning pix this week. My month of intense mourning is over and I want to be around more and a part of this glorious community. Have a great day everyone – see you soon!

  59. 59.

    Ascap-scab

    Medicare and Social Security should not be called entitlements or even insurance, they should be called “delayed compensation”.

  63. 63.

    Quinerly

    @Alain the site fixer: Welcome back! We have missed you. Poco has his maps out planning our southern NM route to Albuquerque in January. I have yet to explain to him about the kennel at Carlsbad Caverns and doggie daycare when I’m at Acoma and Chaco. He’s going to be disappointed.

  65. 65.

    SFAW

    @Quinerly:

    Poco gives this comment 4 paws up and a giant sweep of his fluffy tail.

    Did he read it himself, or did you read it to him (because he was tired from frolicking, of course)?

    Oh, and careful about the “4 paws up” thing — he might get mistaken for a drunk opossum. In Florida, that is.

  69. 69.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Elizabelle:

    Enjoying Netflix’s “Godless.”

    Parts of “Godless” were filmed in my little village and environs. New Mexico is one large stage set, it seems, which is great for this otherwise low-employment state.

    Enjoy Wiesbaden. I visited that town many years ago, when one of my uncles lived there. And Good Morning to Juicers everywhere!

  72. 72.

    cosima

    @NotMax: I should perhaps have added a comma, wiseacre. The leader of the US senate was at my wedding too. I didn’t marry him, Frank (Lisa’s dad) or Lisa. He gave us a bowl with the US senate crest on it. We used it as the dog’s food bowl. My first marriage was into a serious R family, photos on the wall of so & so having lunch with the president, mum in law sat next to Biden at a funeral, etc. That was long ago now (30 years!) and I have long since seen the light (and upgraded to non-misogynist non-hypocrite non-R husband).

  76. 76.

    Bill

    I wish the NYT & other news media would stop calling Social Security & Medicare “entitlements.” Millions of Americans worked for decades & paid in for decades to receive Social Security & Medicare.

    I’m ok with the term “entitlements” because most of us are going to get far more out of SS and Medicare than we put in. That’s the way it’s supposed to work. What we need to do is convince middle class/working class Americans that this is an entitlement they need. That they aren’t the great “makers” being screwed over by “takers” that conservative mythology has sold them.

  78. 78.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Miss Bianca: What would be the best way to contact you? (Via AL or other?) I’ve probably doxxed myself several times over, but am having a sudden fit of caution. :)

  81. 81.

    J R in WV

    @SFAW:

    Both houses have to approve the same text for it to become a law, it’s in the constitution. If there’s any difference in the two houses’ text, they aren’t the same bill and can’t be law… how would you tell which one to litigate?

    As we have learned, a single comma could make all the difference to a lawyer/grammarian.

  82. 82.

    J R in WV

    Alain:

    Glad to see you out and about, as it were. Doing stuff you don’t technically HAVE to do. Welcome back, hang in there. How are you fixed for picture stories?

  83. 83.

    stinger

    @Alain the site fixer: Alain, glad you are back. I hope you’ll find that things get slowly better. You’ll never forget your loss, never cease to miss her, but it does get easier. I lost my mother in March, and can testify to the truth of this.

  84. 84.

    smedley the uncertain

    @Ascap-scab: Absolutely! I have seen retirement payments referred to as ‘deferred’ compensation rather regularly. I believe that would also apply to Medicare and Social Security. I do like the notion of calling it Insurance that we bought and paid for…

    Cheers

  85. 85.

    smintheus

    An ‘entitlement’ is something you’re entitled to, FFS. The term is exact: you pay into Medicare and SS, therefore you’re entitled to your benefits when it’s your time to collect.

    The Republican trick is in convincing some people that an ‘entitlement’ is something to be ashamed of rather than proud to achieve.

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