Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
I’ve been slacking on the fundraising but I just read a good article about how the Senate might really be in play and thought I should do a little fundraising. You can give here to the top targets for Dem take-overs in 2020 (ME, CO, AZ, NC, GA, IA).
I’ll do some fundraising for the House, including the special in North Carolina later.
Here is a Benny pic.
Do I have to come right flat out and tell you everything?Post + Comments (89)
I’m not a big fan of Michael Gerson, former GWB aide and current Post columnist, but kudos to him for calling out the Reverend Franklin Graham in a recent column:
In their day of prayer [for Trump], Graham and other Trump evangelicals have used a sacred spiritual practice for profane purposes. They have subordinated religion to politics. They have elevated Trump as a symbol of divine purposes. And they are using Christian theology as a cover for their partisanship.
So: This is blasphemy, in service to ideology, leading to idolatry, justified by heresy. All in a Sunday’s work.
Most Christians are familiar with Jonathan Edwards’s sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” In Graham, we are seeing God in the hands of an angry political toady.
A cynic might note that people like Gerson didn’t seem to mind the politicization of the church when the partisan object of evangelical devotion was less overtly vulgar and grasping, such as Ronald Reagan or Bush II. But lines must be drawn somewhere, I suppose, so way to defend the faith, Gerson.
Speaking of defenders of the faith, remember Trump’s appearance at a Virginia church last Sunday to be prayed over, an appearance that was notable at the time mainly because 18 holes of golf had flattened Trump’s iconic triple-combover and because Trump waddled across the church stage in golf spikes? Turns out that preacher had to deal with some fallout from the visit:
Pastor David Platt of McLean Bible Church in a statement posted on the church’s website wrote Sunday that his prayer was not an endorsement of the Trump administration and its policies.
“Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that we didn’t see coming, and we’re faced with a decision in a moment when we don’t have the liberty of deliberation, so we do our best to glorify God,” he wrote. “Today, I found myself in one of those situations.”
“My aim was in no way to endorse the president, his policies, or his party, but to obey God’s command to pray for our president and other leaders to govern in the way this passage [from 2nd Timothy — or “Two Timothy,” as Trump might put it] portrays,” Platt continued… “I wanted to share all of this with you in part because I know that some within our church, for a variety of valid reasons, are hurt that I made this decision,” he said. “This weighs heavy on my heart.
“I love every member of this church, and I only want to lead us with God’s Word in a way that transcends political party and position, heals the hurts of racial division and injustice, and honors every man and woman made in the image of God,” he wrote.
A couple of things struck me when reading about this incident. The first was the post-hoc justification for Trump’s appearance. Trump’s spokespeople said it was related to the mass shooting that occurred in Virginia a couple of days before. But the preacher makes no mention of the shooting and says he was surprised by a call that came out of the blue just a few minutes prior to Trump’s arrival — the preacher says he was asked if he would “pray for the president.”
What the preacher did allude to in his remarks onstage with Trump was the call (by Franklin Graham and other Trump-humping evangelicals) for a special day of prayer for Trump. Platt was meticulously nonpartisan in his remarks and semi-apologetic afterward, as you can see in the full remarks he posted to the church website here, excerpted above.
The conflicting information about the purpose of the visit sounds like typically sloppy advance work by Trump’s people, who can’t put together a two-paragraph press release that isn’t riddled with errors. Trump probably muttered something about “that prayer thing for me” during the round of golf, and the toadies leaped into action, Googling nearby “evangelical churches” and landing on Platt’s.
They probably figured a “Bible-believing” evangelical church in a mostly white Virginia town would be Trump friendly, and if the churches up there are anything like the ones down here, they’d usually be right. But it turns out the church they randomly selected was less white and less Republican than expected.
So, the bullshit about Trump showing up to pray about the shooting was probably made up after the fact by Trump’s crack team of incompetents, either to stave off criticism about Trump’s non-response to now-routine gun massacres, explain his disheveled appearance, or provide cover for the less-than-enthusiastic welcome he received. This is how bad the Trump people are at their jobs — they couldn’t even find a pro-Trump congregation of white evangelicals in Dixie.
Anyhoo, church attendance and religious affiliation have been declining in this country for decades, and white evangelical Christianity’s embrace of Trump will likely accelerate that trend. It’s up to Christians who don’t worship the Orange Pig to call out the heretics among them. It’s good to see some of them are up to the challenge.
Had the camera handy so filmed my morning ritual with Mr. Large and in Charge:
He’s a very good boy.
At any rate, in the least surprising news ever, the website is doing weird shit. Honestly, I’m just done having people worry about it on the back end. We’re just going to limp this listing, smoking hulk into drydock and hopefully nobody torpedoes us before we have the new one in the water and combat ready. In other words everything is fucked and we’re out of duct tape and shits to give so we’re just trying to hang on with as few casualties as possible until the new ship is ready. Basically, a metaphor for our current political situation.
Maybe someone in Trump’s entourage has figured out how to stream Fox News so the Trumps can access this comforting spin from a Blonde with Two Boobs on a Couch:
WOW — huge boos for Ivanka and John Bolton when they emerge for the news conference!
(@kilmeade quickly tries to gaslight and says the boos weren't really for Ivanka) pic.twitter.com/cMl819A9Zg
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 4, 2019
One of the Two Boobs claims the boos are for Bolton, who allegedly “loves it” since he’s a “tough guy.” Does the average Londoner even know who Bolton is? If so, they’re way ahead of the average American. Regrettably, Princess Complicity’s vacant visage is known worldwide. Ask not for whom the Brits boo; they boo for she.
What I want to know is who is paying for this European vacation for Trump’s adult hell-spawn? We taxpayers are almost certainly on the hook for Ivanka and Jared since they are (preposterously) employed by our government. But I hope the newsies will follow up on who’s paying for the trip for Don Jr., Tiffany, and Eric plus his idiot wife.
I remember wingnuts screeching like scalded stoats when Michelle Obama and her daughters toured London — even though the Obamas paid for their own personal expenses. They’ll guard the US Treasury just as jealously now that the vulgar Trump horde is abroad, amirite? [Rhetorical question!]
Open thread!
They’re not booing; they’re chanting “Boooooooooo-lton”Post + Comments (176)
Every legislature has hundreds of bills that go nowhere. They are filed, and then they are referred to a subcommittee where they are then politely ignored. Some of these bills are messaging bills that a representative is “DOING SOMETHING” other bills are perpetual hobby horses, while some bills are filed with the expectation that they die as a writing exercise for future policy development.
Oregon has an interesting bill that is a combination of a first draft for future policy and a DOING SOMETHING bill that identifies a real problem and proposes a solution that only a health economist could love.
The problem identified in HB-2009 is that insurance for the non-subsidized population that earns between 401-600% Federal Poverty Level is often too expensive. This is a real problem.
This bill links two policy proposals that have been floating out there. The first is a coverage expansion proposal. The state would create a Medicaid buy-in program for folks who are neither Medicaid nor subsidy eligible and earn between 138% to 600% FPL. They would be able to get an insurance policy that pays very providers significantly less than commercial rates which means the non-subsidized premiums would be at a significant discount compared to most/all other plans.
This is not too adventurous of a policy. New Mexico is investigating an off-exchange only Medicaid buy-in and several other states are thinking about this as well.
The financing side is also fairly straightforward. The bill proposed a state based individual mandate. The mandate would apply to individuals who don’t maintain affordable coverage for at least nine months a year. The revenue would partially fund the Medicaid buy-in administrative expenses.
Again, this is not too unusual. Several states have their own individual mandate that funds various health coverage related programs in a variety of ways.
The interesting portion is that the Oregon bill had to have been written by a health economist:
Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section… The penalty is an amount equal to nine percent of the individual’s taxable income as reported on the individual’s income tax return…
An individual is not subject to the penalty under subsection (2) of this section if:
(a) The out-of-pocket costs for the minimum essential coverage available to the individual exceed nine percent of the taxable income reported on the individual’s income tax return;
Now that is an individual mandate with teeth.
The goal of this mandate proposal is not raise revenue. The goal of this mandate as written is to make being uninsured more expensive than being insured. Some people will opt to do that. But most people will say that if they have to pay 9% of their income irrespective of whether or not they have insurance, they would rather at least get something instead of nothing for the 9% of income.
This bill is going nowhere, but it is an interesting proposal that is the logical (and completely implausible) set of solutions to a real problem in the ACA. It would lower premiums by offering a very low premium plan to a significant segment of the non-subsidized population, and it improves the risk pool by hip checking a good chunk of low risk folks into the risk pools thus lowering average claims and premiums.
A bill heading nowhere that health economists could lovePost + Comments (1)
After months of Republican delays over aid to #PuertoRico – which will ultimately receive more than $1 billion – and immigration, Democrats deliver a bipartisan win #ForThePeople as the House passes $19 billion disaster aid bill; DJT expected to sign it. https://t.co/utKsP2GBGn
— Christine Pelosi (@sfpelosi) June 3, 2019
Wildfire relief bill on its way to President Trump’s desk despite Republican ‘no’ votes https://t.co/FymfqTUIb2
— McClatchyDC (@McClatchyDC) June 4, 2019
The final disaster relief bill contains no border security funding and easily passed with broad bipartisan support in a vote of 354-58. It's heading to Trump's desk (not back to the senate as he's tweeted) https://t.co/0I7AcqM0qZ
— Kate Nocera (@KateNocera) June 4, 2019
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The House Oversight Committee has sent letters to AG Bill Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross informing them the panel is scheduling a vote to hold them in contempt for refusing to comply with subpoenas related to the Census citizenship questionhttps://t.co/GPH50IoAO1
— Axios (@axios) June 3, 2019
Too, also — per the Washington Post:
The House will vote next Tuesday on whether to hold Attorney General William P. Barr and former White House counsel Donald McGahn in contempt, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) announced.
“This Administration’s systematic refusal to provide Congress with answers and cooperate with Congressional subpoenas is the biggest cover-up in American history, and Congress has a responsibility to provide oversight on behalf of the American people,” Hoyer said in a statement Monday night.
The announcement comes amid rising frustration among Democrats at what they view as stonewalling by the White House. It also comes on the same day that Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said his panel will vote on whether to hold Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt for failing to comply with a bipartisan subpoena for documents on a Trump administration plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census…
Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Making Progress, SlowlyPost + Comments (131)
Good Morning All,
On The Road and In Your Backyard is a weekday feature spotlighting reader submissions. From the exotic to the familiar, please share your part of the world, whether you’re traveling or just in your locality. Share some photos and a narrative, let us see through your pictures and words. We’re so lucky each and every day to see and appreciate the world around us!
Submissions from commenters are welcome at tools.balloon-juice.com
I’m so glad to see another view of Colorado. One note based on my 9 years living in a rural/small town community: there is a whole culture of Chautauqua presenters who learn to imitate famous historical Americans. They present their craft in many contexts; most of the ones I enjoyed were as part of county or state Democratic Party dinners, often they portrayed FDR or Lincoln.
It’s a very neat, all-American tradition that still lives in small towns across the US, most definitely in Colorado. Should you have the chance to experience it, I highly recommend. Even in such a simple context as a dinner with “rubber chicken”, performers are hired who spend countless hours learning the words, thoughts, deeds, and mannerisms of our history. It’s not the Grand Opera, but it’s impressive nonetheless and such commitment to living history and education is to be commended.
I apologize in advance if this is a “duh” observation for all of you; growing up in Washington DC with a Swiss father and an American mother who grew up in Colombia, I didn’t have the exposure to “normal” American/small town life and traditions, so when I discover things that I appreciate, I tend to share my discovery as if no one else has ever heard of it. Mea culpa.
Have a wonderful day and enjoy the pictures!