Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

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

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

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

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

The willow is too close to the house.

When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. ~Thomas Jefferson

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

This really is a full service blog.

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

All hail the time of the bunny!

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

You are here: Home / Civil Rights / Women's Rights / A Woman's Place Is In The House / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: YES QUEEN!

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: YES QUEEN!

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And too also:


“Wanna find out if I still have those ball bats in my office, boys?”


… At the first appearance in the Capitol’s stately Rayburn Room shortly after 9 a.m., Pelosi spoke of Congress’s “solemn” duty to act as a check on the president before ceding the floor to the Judiciary Committee chairman to announce impeachment articles accusing the president of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. At the second press conference, Pelosi was flanked by about two dozen Democratic lawmakers, the atmosphere joyful as she touted the newly forged deal on USMCA.

If she experienced any cognitive dissonance over slapping the president with impeachment articles before handing him a bipartisan legislative victory, Pelosi did not betray it to reporters. When asked by CBS News’ Nancy Cordes if it was a “coincidence” that the two announcements were made on the same day, Pelosi swiftly responded that it was not. Congress only has one more week before a long recess, and that means multitasking, she said…

Speaking at a conference hosted by Politico later on Tuesday, Pelosi said the USMCA deal “isn’t about politics or giving the president a win,” and that Congress shouldn’t walk away from a deal that benefits Americans because the president is involved.

But the deal also holds undeniable political benefits for the 40-odd freshmen Democratic lawmakers who flipped Republican seats in 2018, many of whom promised to work with Mr. Trump when necessary and were wary of impeachment before the Ukraine scandal. Several of these members were at the podium with Pelosi as she made her announcement, including Congressman Colin Allred of Texas, Congresswoman Lucy McBath of Georgia and Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer of Iowa…

The House is expected to vote to impeach the president and to approve USMCA next week before leaving for the Christmas holiday, setting up the prospect of the House approving both on the same day. Congress must also approve the National Defense Authorization Act and 12 spending bills to fund the government ahead of its scheduled departure on December 20.

Despite the news cycle accelerating at breakneck speed, Pelosi appears to be unfazed…

Reader Interactions

118Comments

  3. 3.

    Zinsky

    I’m not sure that I am comfortable with only two Articles of Impeachment. That seems too limited, given the expansive breadth of Trump’s lawlessness. But I have decided to defer to Nancy Pelosi’s judgment. She is a canny operator and seems to know things I don’t about bureaucratic Washington.

    I heard Trump say at his stupid rally in Pennsylvania last night that the FBI had “ruined the lives” of many of his people. Trump surrounded himself with criminals like Page, Flynn, Manafort and Stone. These are lawless thugs who spit on the Constitution. The FBI didn’t “ruin their lives”. They ruined their own lives by recklessly pursuing money, power and status with their criminality.

    You lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas!

  5. 5.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Seema Verma who, as a senior figure in the Trump administration, has made it more difficult for poor Americans to access health coverage, has filed a claim of $47,000 for the loss of her luggage while on a three-day work trip.

    According to Politico, Verma filed the claim on 28 August 2018 after having her luggage stolen while giving a speech in San Francisco. Her expenses included 20 pieces of jewellery, which sounds reasonable for a three day-work trip – if you are Snoop Dogg.

    She had originally estimated the cost of those pieces at $20,000, but came back with the higher $43,065 price tag after visiting a jeweler three weeks after the theft. (the CMS only granted a $2,852.40 reimbursement) Because sometimes you’re just that rich that you forget about that extra 20 grand you dropped at the jewelers.

    Verma is the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which is responsible for Medicare, the US health insurance program for seniors and Medicaid, the program for low-income Americans.
    ………………………………..
    Shouldn’t someone who values their expensive items have at least been insured? Verma, a strong advocate for fiscal responsibility when it comes to health insurance (she has suggested low-income families do unpaid community service to pay towards it) had not insured her items. Verma has condemned Medicare for All, calling it a “scary” and “bad” idea that would “bankrupt future generations”. So maybe it’s just a little bit rich that she thought the taxpayer should pick up her uninsured jewellery bill.

    Yep, privatizing the profits while socializing the losses, it’s just how they roll.

  9. 9.

    Shalimar

    In further “Lavrov humiliating their puppet Trump” news, Trump is considering an invite to Moscow for Victory Day next year on May 9th:

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia/trump-says-he-might-attend-russia-victory-day-events-in-may-idUSKBN1XI1UG

    Victory Day is our V-E Day, celebration of victory over Nazi Germany (they celebrate one day after us).  2020 will be the 75th Anniversary.  Trump is seriously considering celebrating what will be a major national patriotic holiday in Moscow.

  12. 12.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @rikyrah:  Watching those kids respond to her did my heart good. There might have been some onions acting up in my house during that video.

    ETA: Good morning! Although it’s much too early here and I’m going to try to get some more sleep.

  14. 14.

    Amir Khalid

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Does Seema Verma normally wear forty-odd grand worth of bling on the job? That sounds vaguely like some sort of dress code violation, unless like the Guardian said, one is Snoop. Also, I just counted my body parts, and I’m pretty sure there aren’t 20 of them on which I could wear said bling.

  16. 16.

    Shalimar

    @David ??Booooooo?? Koch: By winning one World Series in the last 19 years?

    Cole has been great the last 2 years, and he was great 1 of his 5 years in Pittsburgh, but he’s still a pitcher with a decade of wear on his arm.  Odds are he won’t be close to worth that contract, and the Yankees will still fall short of winning it all because only one team wins each year and getting hot at the right time is just as important as total talent.  I wouldn’t get carried away.

  17. 17.

    David ??Booooooo?? Koch

    Pelosi says during the speaker’s press holiday reception that Congress is planning on leaving next Friday.

    Which means they’ll Impeach the Mutherfucꓘer next Wednesday or Thursday.

  18. 18.

    germy

    Trump’s Use of Thanos is Sick Says The Villain’s Creator
    “After my initial feeling of being violated, seeing that pompous fool using my creation to stroke his infantile ego, it finally struck me that the leader of my country and the free world actually enjoys comparing himself to a mass murderer. How sick is that? These are sad and strange times we are going through. Fortunately all things, even national nightmares, eventually come to an end.”

    https://screenrant.com/donald-trump-thanos-tweet-creator-responds/

  20. 20.

    Butter Emails

    @Amir Khalid:

    It honestly sounds like Verma might  be guilty of attempting to defraud the US government. Has anyone verified that she did indeed take the pieces she claimed were stolen on the trip and that the pieces were indeed stolen?

  21. 21.

    Steeplejack

    @Zinsky:

    I’m not sure that I am comfortable with only two Articles of Impeachment. [. . .] But I have decided to defer to Nancy Pelosi’s judgment.

    I’m a little nervous about this too. Morning Joe talking head John Heilemann was on Lawrence O’Donnell’s show last night talking about how the Democrats want to get this done and dusted so that it doesn’t hurt them in an election year. Whut? I guess because of the “not tending to the people’s business” accusation.

    But . . . if the Democrats run these two articles through and the Senate votes (as expected) not to convict Trump, he will have a whole year to bellow about “complete exoneration!” And if the Democrats continue their investigation and add other articles later, as I have seen many pundits suggest, it will look like “double jeopardy,” “sour grapes,” “witch hunt” or whatever other Mad Libs the Republicans can come up with.

    Pelosi has been right so far, but I need somebody to connect the dots for me on this one.

  22. 22.

    germy

    @Shalimar:

    Trump is seriously considering celebrating what will be a major national patriotic holiday in Moscow.

    “You dance with the one that brung you…”

  30. 30.

    Butch

    @Steeplejack: I think she seriously stepped on the Democratic message by announcing the trade deal right after the articles of impeachment were revealed and then remarking something along the lines of “why not give Trump a win?”  Whatever her reasons, “giving Trump a win” is going to anger a good part of the base and I can’t believe she actually thinks she’ll get any credit from Republicans (and especially Trump, who will claim sole credit) for USMCA.

  33. 33.

    debbie

    @Butch:
    I disagree. It showed the Dems could multitask and were in fact working on other issues while pursuing impeachment.

    I also think just the two articles — the two most blatant and obvious violations of the Constitution — was the smart way to proceed. Let it be only the GOP who overreaches.

  34. 34.

    Steeplejack

    @Baud:

    Well, there was a good Twitter thread last week by Uncle Blazer (@blakesmustache) laying out what he thought would/​should be Pelosi’s strategy, but I see that his tweets are now “protected” and you have to request access.

    My recollection is that he said the Dems should pass some articles of impeachment but not forward them to the Senate (?), continue to hold hearings and investigate Trump, let additional articles pile up and put the Republicans on the defensive in an election year.

    This sounds kind of spindly in recollection, but Uncle Blazer made a plausible case. I’m sorry to see he has gone into the bunker. I presume he was getting a lot of abuse.

    P.S. Just because I have doubts about somebody’s plan doesn’t automatically mean that I know how to do it better. So your question was slightly irritating. I can’t comment unless I’ve got an solution?

  37. 37.

    Immanentize

    @Butch: a good part of the base that is needed was desperate both for resumption of normal trade AND labor protections.  She delivered both.  I am guessing you are not the base you think you are.

  39. 39.

    Steeplejack

    @Baud:

    Okay, thanks. My concern is that if the Democrats rush to get impeachment “over,” where does that leave things? Trump will still be in office, feeling vindicated and ready to amp things up to the next level. Impeachment will be off the table, which will tend to delegitimize hearings and investigations as more partisan “witch hunting.” So then what? We concentrate on “winning at the ballot box,” which Trump and his allies foreign and domestic will be busy screwing with?

  40. 40.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Butch:  

    “I know there are those … who have said ‘Why? You shouldn’t do this. This gives him a win.’ No. We are so far away from the proposal that he put forth that this is a triumph for American workers, We are miles and miles from what he put forth. So he has yielded on what this is.”

    -Nancy Pelosi

  45. 45.

    Baud

    @Steeplejack:

     

    Thanks.  My personal view is that all that you predict is unavoidable unless Senate Republicans are ready to convict.  Ultimately, it’s the voters that have to save the country.  Trump hasn’t lost much support despite all the evidence against him, so I skeptical that continuous impeachment process would be helpful.

     

    IMHO.

  47. 47.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Amir Khalid: LOL, when I was traveling a lot for work, I used to bring only jewelry that I wouldn’t be devastated if it were lost. Now I’m down to wearing the earrings I will wear throughout the trip, occasionally a little more.

  48. 48.

    Betty Cracker

    @Steeplejack: My theory is that since the Trump/GOP impeachment defense is to falsely accuse Biden of the crimes Trump did, Pelosi wants that circus over before Dems start voting in the primary. I don’t know if that is the main reason, but primary timing likely played some role in their calculus.

  49. 49.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Butch:   No where could I find a quote of her saying, “why not give Trump a win?”. Maybe my googlefu just isn’t up to snuff. The closest I could find is what I quoted above.

    You are free to criticize her, I certainly have, but if you feel my accurately quoting her (with a link) in response to your unattributed “quote” is below the belt then yeah, maybe you shouldn’t comment anymore.

  50. 50.

    Kay

    The consternation among Democratic activists and rejoicing among Republicans comes amid encouraging signs for Trump next year despite his persistent unpopularity. The economy has remained hot, unemployment continues to drop and no Democrat has emerged as an obvious bet to defeat him. Trump now has a ready rebuttal to Democrats’ claim that he’s not the dealmaker he claimed to be; Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said the USMCA “without a doubt” helps Trump get reelected.

    Pelosi may feel better about keeping her majority, but so too does Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Senate Republicans’ last big legislative achievement was arguably the tax cuts bill of 2017. Senate Democrats regularly accuse them of presiding over a “legislative graveyard.”
    Now, vulnerable senators like Ernst have an easy rejoinder. And Republicans are contending that Pelosi only moved because of their pressure campaign.

    I’m ok with saying maybe the trade deal benefits vulnerable House Democrats. I don’t know if it does but they wanted it so I assume it does. But at what cost? They’re hedging their bets. They’re not confident they can beat Trump so keeping the House is their backstop and that’s just not ambitious enough for me.
    The problem with Democrats “improving” Trump deals is they’re telling people the status quo can work- that we’ll have divided government and Democrats will buffer the worst of it so people can keep Trump and the GOP Senate and everything will be fine.
    It’s just very dispiriting to me that they’re already looking to “settle”- keep one chamber and the GOP get the Senate and Presidency. I don’t think you go IN to an election with such radically diminished goals.

  51. 51.

    Cheryl Rofer

    On the impeachment timetable, if Pelosi delivers before the holiday break, it goes to the Senate. McConnell has already said in his leisurely southern drawl that it may take some leisurely time before he can get a Senate trial on the schedule, and NAFTA-2 comes after that. His Orangeness has said he wants a quick trial.

    The Democrats can then continue agitating for a trial and passage of NAFTA-2, pointing out that it’s #MoscowMitch who is holding things up. Democratic senators can continue campaigning with that as part of their message.

  56. 56.

    Kay

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I don’t mind if she has to keep her vulnerable House members on board, but if 16 dollars an hour for certain categories of new hire auto workers is a “triumph” for American workers I’m a giraffe. They tweaked the Trump deal and passed it because vulnerable House members insisted they get something. Pelosi is the House leader so that’s her job but it makes it harder to beat Trump and harder to get the Senate and what it indicates to ME is they aren’t confident they can win.

  57. 57.

    Immanentize

    @Baud: Well, he will be promoting some version of the Ukranians being the ones who interfered in the 2016 election, along with people from other European countries.  The proof will be like what we have seen already from Ukraine.  Op eds and harsh words against candidate Trump.  But he and his special US Attorney will file charges against people — here and abroad — to elevate his claims of wrongdoing.  Even if baseless, the charges will not clear the courts before the election.

    Likewise, I am anticipating federal prosecutions of voting registration advocates.  I have other wories. But maybe I’m just seeing movements where none exist — or at least where none will bear fruit.

  58. 58.

    Baud

    @Immanentize:

    I wouldn’t put any of that past him. But they couldn’t get a grand jury to indict McCabe, so there are some constraints.

    And of course Hillary is stillst free woman.

    I can see Barr pulling a Comey with an announcement at the eve of the election.

  60. 60.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Well why campaign at all then, Baud? If the electorate is unknowable and nothing Democrats do matter then Democrats themselves should be fine with one chamber and tweaking Trump and GOP deals.

    Are we just going thru the motions here?  Republicans are the legitimate power holders with Democrats serving a back up role to temper their absolute worst excesses? Because that’s a minority Party. I’m thrilled they think they;ve found an effective way to serve as a minority Party but that wasn’t my understanding of what we were doing.

  61. 61.

    Steeplejack

    @Betty Cracker:

    So that helps Biden, I guess? Although I don’t see anything stopping Trump from making outlandish claims about Biden’s “corruption.”

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    I guess that’s a plausible, if not entirely appetizing, scenario.

    I’m frustrated because there don’t seem to be any good scenarios.

  63. 63.

    Immanentize

    @Kay:I don’t see how the NAFTA deal moves the needle on Trump’s re-election. Nothing so far has. He has stayed just as loved and despised as he has since just after the Comey firing (about 41% approve). Will it help Earnest? Maybe. Would blocking it have helped her opponent? Doubtful.

    And if the Senate candidates need that deal to fail, the Democrats can block it in the Senate.  Pelosi can’t run strategy for both the House and the Senate.  Shumer has to do the latter.

  65. 65.

    Baud

    @Kay:

     

    I don’t understand your argument. I haven’t found any union or group that opposes the deal on substance.  Both sides will campaign on it, and Dems have the better argument, while Trump has his lies.

  69. 69.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Steeplejack: There aren’t any good scenarios.

    The best is that His Orangeness leaves office, one way or another. We then have the work to do of rebuilding. That’s not good in the sense of “we can sit back and enjoy things,” but it will feel much better than what we have now.

  70. 70.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Kay:   Democrats are undoubtedly giving Trump a win ahead of the 2020 election. But it’s a win for Democrats, too.

    Trump has called NAFTA “our Country’s worst trade deal” — and he is now very close to having fulfilled his 2016 campaign promise to renegotiate it.

    Realistically, the USMCA is an updated version of the 25-year-old NAFTA pact, but it does make some big changes. But the White House is still touting it as “the biggest and best trade agreement in the history of the world.” And whether Democrats like it or not, it’s going to be a signature legislative victory for him.

    But it’s also a win for the Democrats, who held out for months trying to work out an agreement with the administration that would tighten enforcement on workers’ rules and environmental standards and get the backing of its Democratic members and labor unions. (And that Canada, and especially Mexico, would still support.) And Democrats certainly believe they’ve achieved a better USMCA deal.

    Democrats have also eliminated an impeachment talking point from Trump and Republicans, who’ve accused Democrats of obstructing the USMCA because they’re more interested in taking down the president.

    Democrats in more moderate districts were reportedly particularly nervous about leaving USMCA unresolved before the end of the year, and now they’ll have a legislative victory to take home, showing that they can still work with the administration on issues that benefit the American people — even as they’re holding the president accountable for his conduct.

    Lighthizer — Trump’s trade guy — called the deal truly bipartisan at the signing ceremony in Mexico on Tuesday, acknowledging the work it took to get everyone within the US to agree, along with Mexico and Canada.

    “After working with Republicans, Democrats, and many other stakeholders for the past two years we have created a deal that will benefit American workers, farmers, and ranchers for years to come,” Lighthizer said in a statement. “This will be the model for American trade deals going forward.”

    And politics aside, the USMCA on the verge of being finalized will end uncertainty for tens of thousands of workers and businesses in all three countries whose livelihoods are impacted by the trade agreement. Trump had previously threatened to tear up NAFTA altogether if his trade deal didn’t go through. Now, it seems the hugely important hemispheric trading relationship will remain intact, and uninterrupted.

    The House will vote on the USMCA legislation before Congress breaks for recess for the holidays, probably around the same time it votes on impeachment. The Senate must also take up the USMCA — though Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated that the body won’t consider it until after Trump’s impeachment trial in January.

    I think most of this analysis is a little overblown. I think that in a little less than 11 months people are going to the polls and not one of them is going to say, “Boy, that USMCA deal really sealed the deal for me. trump is the greatest deal maker ever/ The DEMs in the House got us a much better deal than trump gave us.” It will probably have some effect around the margins (as Baud points out, with unions) but I think some people are just overreacting.

    But I am not a politician and would literally never take political advice from me so take it as just another asshole’s opinion.

  73. 73.

    Steeplejack

    @Immanentize:

    Barr can do a lot of damage just by slow-walking or not enforcing existing laws that don’t fit in with the authoritarian agenda.

    Also, and I’m getting a little woolly here, I worry about a scenario such as this: The FBI, or some other agency, working from the experience of 2016, has developed countermeasures to thwart cyber attacks on social media and the election in 2020. Barr cuts staffing for, defunds or otherwise stymies these measures if he thinks they will harm Trump or Republicans. And it all happens out of sight because “national security.”

    The attorney general has a lot of soft power based just on what priorities are set and what projects are in or out of favor.

  75. 75.

    Argiope

    @Steeplejack: My additional theory is that since we are 98% certain the Republicans in the Senate won’t remove, getting this done quickly gets them on record. Nancy Smash knows that Emperor Tang will keep on abusing his power, and that his self-perceived exoneration will lead him to do exactly what he’s already done, except more egregiously–but this time R senators will be on the record as aiding and abetting it. By October that will make for some powerful ads, because he’s going to keep fucking up (are we allowed to say that word now?)  There’s no certainty at all that more time would result in a higher chance of removal, and Pelosi wants to combat the impression this is all partisan — hence moving forward on the CMA bill and not letting impeachment drag on closer to November.  But I can see pros and cons to both timetables on the IMTFA front.

  76. 76.

    Betty Cracker

    @Steeplejack: I don’t know if an accelerated impeachment helps Biden, but it probably helps the party. You’re right that Republicans will lie about Biden’s activities in Ukraine no matter what. But a high-profile Senate trial with Republicans making outlandish allegations, demanding that Hunter Biden testify, etc., will get more media coverage during the event than the usual campaign yammering, I assume. Best to find out how damaging it is to Biden before the primary than after, maybe.

  77. 77.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Labor doesn’t think they’re going to win either. They think if Trump is re-elected the alternative will be worse and they have a duty that is independent of Democrats to get a deal.

    I find it very dispiriting that we’re now operating as if he gets a second term and the GOP keeps the Senate. I get it- vulnerable House Democrats insisted on it and probably used their impeachment votes as leverage, but, wow. Dramatically lower expectations. Perhaps we can eke out a hold in the House.

  78. 78.

    Kay

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Again- if Pelosi thinks she has to protect the House she can and should do that. That is her job.

    But that is ALL this is about. They’re backstopping. Limiting potential losses.

  79. 79.

    OzarkHillbilly

    This town is giving families $500 a month. The results are remarkable

    On a recent Saturday morning, for the first time in months, Tomas had time to go to the pool with his kids. He sat at the edge of the water breathing in the smell of chlorine and realized suddenly that his kids had learned to swim, while he had been working. This poolside revelation was generated in no small part with the power of cash.

    Since February, Tomas and more than 100 other families in Stockton, California, have been receiving $500 a month with no strings attached. The policy experiment is part of the historic Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (Seed) project, led by one of the youngest mayors in America, Michael Tubbs.
    …………………………………………
    The “time tax” of poverty is not to be underestimated. People juggle the logistical chaos of holding down multiple jobs. They navigate the financial necessity of overtime. They lose hours to the inefficiencies of public transportation. Five hundred dollars a month doesn’t fix income insecurity or solve important structural problems, but for the majority of families in Seed, that $500 represents a 30% increase in monthly income, and that buys a lot.

    A big, important and sometimes messy part of why guaranteed income works – and why it’s working in Stockton – is trust. For the most part, trust in American society works in direct proportion to how much money you have; the larger your bank account, the more trust you are allotted. Our entire social safety net system is largely based on not trusting people who don’t have financial resources. While there is next to no scrutiny about how wealthy people spend their money, there are elaborate rules and mandates about what you buy with your food stamps and who can live with you in government-subsidized housing. The Seed project money comes with no restrictions. Our pilot project is predicated on the idea that people experiencing poverty know best what they need or don’t need, and can be trusted accordingly.
    ………………………………………
    People are working; the economy isn’t. That imbalance came through loud and clear as we got more information about how the $500 was impacting people’s lives in Stockton. There has been much hyperbolic hand-wringing about how cash transfer programs like Seed will spur everyone to quit their jobs and no one will work ever again. I think most people would be hard pressed to stand behind that position after hearing from the Stockton participants.

    In fact, Tomas used the money to buy time to figure out his next career move. He not only spent more time with his kids, he researched, prepared, applied for and got a better-paying, salaried job with real advancement opportunities. There’s no way that he would have had the hours in the day to do that if he didn’t have the extra time and money that came with that prepaid debit card.

    Food for thought.

  80. 80.

    low-tech cyclist

    The impeachment schedule seems a bit rushed. Today is December 11; they’re going to debate and vote two articles of impeachment in the Judiciary
    Committee, and then do the same on the floor of the House, all between now and December 20? Man, that’s fast.

    Sure, I know the GOP’s impeachment of Clinton in 1998 moved that fast, but that was a freakin’ kangaroo court, not a serious proceeding. In 1974, the Judiciary Committee took two weeks by itself to debate and vote on articles of impeachment.

    I don’t understand the rush to get Trump impeached before Christmas. Seems you’d want to have the House proceedings fresh in people’s minds when the game moves to the GOP-controlled Senate, rather than giving people plenty of time and distraction to have them fade from their minds.

  81. 81.

    jimmiraybob

    Since it’s an OT.

    Is anybody tracking Pompeo’s Commission on Unalienable Rights.?  Sounds like he’s hoping to roll back human rights to meet Old Testament objectives.

    “One [problem] is that you’ll end up with people asserting rights that we all know are fundamentally at odds with the most fundamental ideas that come out of, not just Christianity but all the Abrahamic faiths.”  Pompeo interview with Christian News Service (October 24, 2019)

  82. 82.

    johnnybuck

    @Kay: Pretty sure this is a trade off for an impeachment vote. Because they absolutely have to impeach Trump. It doesn’t matter if it helps them politically(I think it does) it has to be done.

    And he can crow all he wants about exoneration, but people know. There’s still a very good chance they ignore everything and vote their 401ks anyway. After W’s re-election, nothing surprises me anymore. Hedging your bets is smart, it doesn’t mean give up, it means cover your rear flank.

  83. 83.

    Steeplejack

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    [. . .] for the majority of families in Seed, that $500 represents a 30% increase in monthly income, and that buys a lot.

    Damn, that means they were scraping along at $1,667 a month before. Thats below poverty level; that’s—I don’t know what.

  84. 84.

    low-tech cyclist

    @Steeplejack:Damn, that means they were scraping along at $1,667 a month before. Thats below poverty level; that’s—I don’t know what.

    It’s $10.35/hour before taxes, assuming FICA is the only tax being withheld.

    $15/hour would represent a 45% increase over that.

  86. 86.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Kay:  

    But that is ALL this is about. They’re backstopping. Limiting potential losses.

    I don’t see that. Pelosi is a big picture politician, always trying to accomplish multiple goals at the same time. Is this a good move? Maybe. Is this a bad move? Maybe. But being afraid to give trump a win is really stupid, because no matter what happens he will claim a win and the cult will believe him.

    And like I said, much ado about nothing.

  88. 88.

    Omnes Omnibus

    I think the concerns about how the trade deal will play are overwrought.  Being able to do this deal shows that the Dems aren’t so involved in impeachment that they can’t accomplish other significant business.  It also shows that the Dems don’t hate Trump so much that they hurt their constituencies just to spite him.

    Dems are showing they can walk and chew gum at the same time.

  89. 89.

    Steeplejack

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Believe me, I know. I went through several years of dire poverty until a modest inheritance and then Social Security lifted me up into genteel poverty. Being poor is time-consuming and expensive.

  90. 90.

    OzarkHillbilly

    The world’s first fully electric commercial aircraft has taken its inaugural test flight, taking off from the Canadian city of Vancouver and flying for 15 minutes.

    “This proves that commercial aviation in all-electric form can work,” said Roei Ganzarski, chief executive of Australian engineering firm magniX.

    The company designed the plane’s motor and worked in partnership with Harbour Air, which ferries half a million passengers a year between Vancouver, Whistler ski resort and nearby islands and coastal communities.

    Ganzarski said the technology would mean significant cost savings for airlines and zero emissions. “This signifies the start of the electric aviation age,” he said.

    1 more step.

  91. 91.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Steeplejack: Same here. Never a break, hustling every waking moment, never waste a single thing. Taking the trash out to the alley is akin to placer mining as I’d rake it with my eyes for anything I could turn a buck on.

    I have this habit I picked up back then. When I finish eating I sweep the crumbs off the table and pop them into my mouth. Not because I expect any kind of sustenance from them but because the very idea of wasting even a crumb is antithetical to my nature. I didn’t even know I did it until my wife laughed at me for it.

  95. 95.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Mr. Mack:   This being America there is a *certain populace* that would never go along with it but I like the data they are going to generate. It’s going to be even harder to take the “don’t raise the minimum wage” arguments serious.

    ** the populace that is perfectly OK with living in a cardboard box under a bridge cooking a sparrow on a curtain rod as long as the n****r in the next box over doesn’t have a curtain rod.

  96. 96.

    schrodingers_cat

    The northeast is already burning.
    I translated a poem that I saw on Twitter

    So what if my hands are bloody
    And the atmosphere is poisonous
    I have just got a clean chit
    And permission to kill once more.
    (Translation of Aniruddha’s poem)

  97. 97.

    Bruce K

    With all the news of the past few days, I’m more and more convinced that if America is ever to be set right, steered off this path of madness we’re on, we’re going to need something akin to the Nuremberg tribunals for the people responsible for this nightmare. All of them.

    Complete with the gallows.

    I’m becoming afraid that the prerequisite may be the same as the last time, namely the nation bombed into ruin and the guts torn out of an entire generation.

  98. 98.

    bemused

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Finland finished a 2 year, 2017-18, universal basic income test giving 2,000 people $640 a month, no strings attached costing government $22.7 million. The trial ended in Dec with final results not available until 2020 but preliminary results showed real benefits in terms of health and well-being.

    There’s no doubt in my mind that the extra money does a lot to ease the huge stress of never having enough money for basics, working a string of low-pay jobs (if they can find jobs and have a fairly reliable vehicle or other transportation to get to work) with barely any time for their families.

    Rightwingers loathe these type of experiments and it’s not just the money which should “rightfully” go to them but the majority of them truly want folks who get aid to suffer, with no sympathy for kids, the disabled and the elderly.

  101. 101.

    bemused

    @OzarkHillbilly:

     

    Eating the crumbs made me laugh, thinking of my in-laws who grew up during the Great Depression. I couldn’t even list the timeworn and decrepit items they wouldn’t replace until they were truly dead and useless even though using them was inefficient and sometimes dangerous. Remembering my father-in-law fashioning a wood handle to replace old handle on an axe which would fly off. My spouse finally convinced him to stop using it and get a new ax. Still, my spouse did pick up a little of that Depression era ethos and hangs onto stuff a bit too long that I tell him to just get rid of and tease him he acts like he lived during the Great Depression.

  104. 104.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @bemused:  

    Remembering my father-in-law fashioning a wood handle to replace old handle on an axe which would fly off.

    I don’t replace ax or hammer handles for that exact reason. But shovels, rakes, and other implements of yard destruction are not immune to my cheap ingenuity and 12.5 acres of woods to choose from.

  105. 105.

    Calouste

    @bemused: Rightwingers also think that there should be an underclass of people who do all the nasty jobs with no chance to escape. Of course, an underclass of people not like themselves.

  107. 107.

    Reboot

    @Butch: Delurking to ask what you think was counterfactual in any of the five preceding statements that mildly disagreed with yours.

  108. 108.

    J R in WV

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Praisilote is green quartz, which can be mined naturally green, or irradiated amethyst quartz. So not a precious stone at all. Not even as nice as amethyst or citrine to my eye… and .37 carats of tiny pave diamonds. I guess most of the cost of manufacture was the 18 carat gold chain, which isn’t ugly at least.

    It’s expensive for what is essentially costume jewelry.

  109. 109.

    J R in WV

    @jimmiraybob:

    Since it’s an OT.

    Is anybody tracking Pompeo’s Commission on Unalienable Rights.?  Sounds like he’s hoping to roll back human rights to meet Old Testament objectives.

    “One [problem] is that you’ll end up with people asserting rights that we all know are fundamentally at odds with the most fundamental ideas that come out of, not just Christianity but all the Abrahamic faiths.”  Pompeo interview with Christian News Service (October 24, 2019)

    But we are not a “Judeo-Christian” nation at all. Most of the founders were deists, more Unitarians than most other faiths. And the constitution rejects any religious test for federal office, also, too!

    So looking to the “Abrahamic faiths” [which includes Islam, which I’m sure Pompeo said by accident!] for guidance as to our rights is flat out wrong, and un-Constitutional~!~ He’s working towards Christian Sharia law for everyone, even non-Christians like Jerry Falwell, Franklin Graham, and that ilk. Just great.

  110. 110.

    bemused

    @Calouste:

    Which may explain why they seem to want this country to become a dictatorship as long as their group aren’t the underdogs. Interesting how white people who aren’t in the wealthy or well-off class think they won’t end up being the underdogs.

  111. 111.

    jimmiraybob

    @J R in WV: Grounding “unalienable rights” and justice in Old Testament law would mean we will have a government that will be rolling back human rights as interpreted by the most extreme Christianist radicals.  It’s been done before over the last 2000 years and does not work out well by any measure.

    The founders, authors and ratifiers of the Constitution specifically stated that they could not enumerate unalienable rights and would be horrified that religious radicalism is on the rise.

  113. 113.

    Chris Johnson

    @Steeplejack: Damn, that means they were scraping along at $1,667 a month before. Thats below poverty level; that’s—I don’t know what.

    I’m running a Patreon for making open source audio software, as my full time job. It’s wildly successful in that I am close to the top 50 worldwide in the Music category (out of hundreds of thousands of people using Patreon to make income).

    Right now I’m making $1588 a month, in that position. This is your modern digital economy.

    Only thing making me different from countless people is that I am MORE successful than them, and I’m also old to be in this position, ‘cos I lost a lot of years stuck in poverty and working through other sorts of issues.

    I’d suggest readjusting your expectations? Making around $1600 a month is super normal, it’s doing really well by modern day standards. Most people are doing worse.

  114. 114.

    Miss Bianca

    @rikyrah: I got all weepy watching that.

     

    Forever FLOTUS indeed. Altho’ she looks so radiant now, I am sure she is glad to be forever done with the WH!

  117. 117.

    Procopius

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    His Orangeness has said he wants a quick trial.

    Wait, what…? I’ve seen several statements the last couple of days that it’s McConnell who wants a quick trial, but Trump wants it dragged out for a couple of months next year. The reasoning I’ve seen reported (I think Paul Waldman at WaPo was one of them) is that Trump believes an extended trial will (a) keep his base riled up and (b) persuade independents that he’s being unfairly persecuted.

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