Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

The willow is too close to the house.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

This blog will pay for itself.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

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

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Second rate reporter says what?

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: President Biden, What A Difference

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: President Biden, What A Difference

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102Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    The Democrats’ $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package is advancing in Congress over Republican complaints about the price tag. it being a Democratic bill.

  3. 3.

    Baud

    I’m sorry I  missed the town hall last night.  I should learn not to take those things for granted after the last four years.

  5. 5.

    Zzyzx

    @Baud:  the great thing is that you don’t actually have to watch if you don’t feel like it. The terror that the president will announce the invasion of Seattle or insult our allies or declare racists to be wonderful is gone!

  7. 7.

    lowtechcyclist

    This week should be something we’d practically forgotten about – a quiet news week.

    The impeachment trial is over, Congress is in recess, and we have a President who doesn’t feel like he has to be the center of attention every minute.

    It feels weird, and I’m sure not used to it, but I think I like it.

  8. 8.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    I missed it too (was on a regularly-scheduled monthly Zoom get-together with all my former counterparts from Canadian Government days). Feel certain, though, that CNN will make it available, and I hope to watch the whole thing later today.

  9. 9.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Prosecutors in New York have dropped a charge against Amy Cooper, a white woman who achieved widespread notoriety after she confronted a Black man birdwatching in Central Park who asked her to put her dog on a leash.
    …………………………..
    In court in Manhattan on Tuesday, prosecutor Joan Illuzi-Orbon said: “The simple principle is: one can not use the police to threaten another and, in this case, in a racially offensive and charged manner. Prosecutors also said Amy Cooper had completed therapy including instruction about racial bias. The therapist involved called the sessions “a moving experience” and said Cooper “learned a lot”. The judge dropped the charge.

    Such outcomes are standard for first-time offenders facing misdemeanor charges, Illuzzi-Orbon said. But the decision was criticised in some quarters.

    Eliza Orlins, a public defender running to replace Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr, tweeted: “This isn’t surprising. This is how the system was designed to function to protect the privileged from accountability.”

    Christian Cooper did not immediately comment. Last year, in the aftermath of the confrontation, he told the Washington Post: “I don’t think there’s an African American person in America who hasn’t experienced something like this at some point.”

    In a statement on Twitter, Amy Cooper’s lawyer, Robert Barnes, wrote: “After a thorough and honest inquiry, the New York [district attorney’s] office dismissed all charges today against Amy Cooper. We thank them for their integrity and concur with the outcome.” Barnes also hinted at possible legal action arising from coverage of the confrontation, writing: “Others rushed to the wrong conclusion based on inadequate investigation and they may yet face legal consequences.”

    No comment on the charges being dropped except to wonder if a black person would be treated with a similar leniency (BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…. No I don’t) but I do want to say that lawyers like Barnes make me think maybe Shakespeare was right.

  10. 10.

    Baud

    Claire McCaskill on MJ predicted that minimum wage would not be part of Covid bill, but would happen in some form later.  I guess she thinks there are 10 Republicans who will deal on the issue.

  12. 12.

    OzarkHillbilly

    I saw this tweet yesterday:

    Matthew [email protected]
    ·
    9h
    Biden saying he’d never been in the residence before inauguration paired with Tester saying he’d never been to the Oval Office pre-Biden is painting a kind of odd picture of Barack Obama’s social graces.

    How’s about he was trying to keep his family life separate from from his all consuming presidential life?

  14. 14.

    Baud

    President Biden plans to host labor leaders at an Oval Office meeting Wednesday at the White House to discuss two of his leading priorities: his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which is pending in Congress, and investing in the nation’s infrastructure.

  15. 15.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: Did she refer to the $15 number or just minimum wage? I can see 10 GQP voting for a watered down version with a lesser number, maybe $10/hr.

  17. 17.

    Baud

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Just minimum wage.  I guess the current conventional wisdom is that they can get something passed if it’s less than $15.  Or maybe a longer transition period.

  20. 20.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Immanentize: That was me being nice. No worries, I have too many lawyer friends and I might yet need one of them to help me out of a jam at some point.

  24. 24.

    Baud

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I suppose we could get lucky and the parliamentarian will conclude that the increase satisfies reconciliation rules.  I don’t know what Machin will do then.

  29. 29.

    SFAW

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    make me think maybe Shakespeare was right.

    I expect you already know that Shakespearean utterance was more Trump-like (as in, January 6th-like) than whatever Barnes deserves.

  30. 30.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @debbie: Not totally but they were housebroken. Just gave their talking points. Like the business owner saying that $15/hr minimum wage would bankrupt him.

  31. 31.

    Immanentize

    @SFAW: Yes. He’s warm and safe.  My in-laws are not.  I heard that report too.  It was about the vaccine that was going to spoil because of power outages in Houston — it was distributed to places with lots of people who didn’t need to drive to get anywhere.  Tall order for Houston.  Rice got 1000 doses and the Immp got his first jab Sunday.  Moderna.

  35. 35.

    Immanentize

    @Baud: I think Manchin’s thinking on the minimum wage itself would be: “I was opposed to a sudden increase in the minimum which would have hurt our struggling economy after the virus.  But with this timeline, I’m satisfied it’s the right thing to do.”

  39. 39.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Yep, I didn’t even bother bringing up the stupid Tester point. Pretty sure there is more than a few congress critters who for one reason or another have yet to be in the Oval Office.

  40. 40.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I’m getting my second Moderna shot in an hour or so. Then we’re picking up groceries before coming home to wait out side effects.

    One of my lunatic neighbors says she’s not getting the second shot. In her opinion, the side effects are a sign that we’re not meant to take that much vaccine. She plans to just take hydroxychloroquine.

    Two conclusions:

    Trump did a lasting damage

    People are crazy

  41. 41.

    SFAW

    @Immanentize:

    Glad he’s OK, sorry to hear about your in-laws, I hope they make it through OK.

    I have a cousin in Austin. As of yesterday AM, she still had power and heat, but said there was another ice storm due. I should probably call her today. My brother and I are pretty close (familial-love-wise, not geographically of course) to her and her sister.

  42. 42.

    Immanentize

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: there is some advice — my doctor talked about this with me — of taking a benedryl before the second shot if that is something you are ok with.  It reduces slightly he histamine effects of shot number 2.

  43. 43.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @SFAW: Except it was a character who says it, one of the low born rabble in a history play as I recall. I have to say I squirm at the idea of attributing character speech to the author. Some characters are meant to be bad!

  44. 44.

    Immanentize

    @SFAW: my father in law is just too frail for this horror.  Unknown but it has been suggested that the power didn’t “freeze” in Texas, rather they stopped buying on the spot market for excess needed electricity because prices shot way up.  Now they are actually trying to get rate increases from the very people left without power for days.  ENRON’s ghost.

  45. 45.

    SFAW

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    As Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle wrote: “Think of it as evolution in action.”

    As long as YOU (and Mr. DAW) have been vaccinated, I’m OK with them hoping to kill themselves through stupidity.

  46. 46.

    raven

    So, if you have gotten both vaccines does that mean

    1. you don’t have to worry about reusing reusable masks (which i never did)?
    2. can you go to places like auto parts stores where the dopes rarely wear masks and give it to them?
  47. 47.

    NotMax

    The stupid runs strong in this pair.

    Two visitors from Louisiana are accused of trying to bribe a Honolulu airport security screener in an attempt to bypass the state’s mandatory quarantine rules.
    [snip]
    The screener alerted deputy sheriffs, who arrested them both for bribery.

    The couple was then booked, released and immediately flown back to the mainland. Source

  49. 49.

    SFAW

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Understood, but (assuming I’m recalling correctly) the utterance was aimed at killing all those in charge of making sure the laws were intact/enforced — without them, the rabble/MAGAts could take over. I don’t think they were talking about shysters.

  51. 51.

    OzarkHillbilly

    My legs have been sore as hell the past couple days. I finally had the light bulb moment: “Duh! It’s the snow.”

    My trash hasn’t been picked up in 2 weeks because company is afraid to turn their garbage trucks loose on our roads, UPS notifies me they aren’t making deliveries and I am waiting on 2 time critical items. And it’s snowing again.

    Predicted high for next Tuesday: 53.

  56. 56.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Immanentize: US conservatives falsely blame renewables for Texas storm outages

    The electricity outages suffered by millions of Texans amid frigid temperatures sweeping across the United States have been seized upon by conservative commentators presenting a false narrative that renewable power was to blame.

    “We should never build another wind turbine in Texas,” read a Facebook post on Tuesday by the state’s agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller. “The experiment failed big time.”

    Fox News also joined in with one of its presenters, Tucker Carlson, claiming that renewables were to blame and that Texas was “totally reliant on windfarms”. The Wall Street Journal said in an editorial that “the power grid is becoming less reliable due to growing reliance on wind and solar, which can’t provide power 24 hours a day, seven days a week”.

    While some wind turbines did freeze, failures in natural gas, coal and nuclear energy systems were responsible for nearly twice as many outages as renewables, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (Ercot), which operates the state’s power grid, said in a press conference on Tuesday.

    Frozen instruments at gas, coal and even nuclear power stations were among the main problems, Ercot director Dan Woodfin said, according to Bloomberg.

    Much stupidity at the link, like

    Despite evidence to the contrary, a variety of misleading claims spread on social media about renewable energy, with wind turbines and the Green New Deal on the receiving end of much of the attention.

    A viral photo of a helicopter de-icing a wind turbine was shared with claims it showed a “chemical” solution being applied to one of the massive wind generators in Texas. But the photo was taken in Sweden years ago, not in the US.

    Other social media users, including Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado, labelled the Green New Deal as the culprit. Boebert tweeted on Monday that the proposal was “proven unsustainable as renewables are clearly unreliable”.

    But no version of the Green New Deal exists in Texas or nationwide, said Mark Jacobson, director of the Atmosphere/Energy Program and professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University.

  57. 57.

    Anya

    @OzarkHillbilly:  I don’t know if my tl is full of wankers or if there is some sort of POV that is being developed about how Obama was this cold hearted, arrogant and aloof man who gave everyone the cold shoulder. These stories always crop and used as an unfavourable comparison to Biden. It’s not helpful at all. Why can’t the two men are different but both of them decent? Why must they make one an asshole. Having said that, not inviting Jon Tester to the White House was a huge oversight. Not sure why that happened.

  59. 59.

    Immanentize

    @OzarkHillbilly: I can’t tell you how mad that is making me.  Renewables in texas may provide 10% of the State power.  Even the energy company admits that the failure has been in the NG, coal and nuclear production which is mostly unregulated.  But consumers should pay those liars more.  Abbott needs to get off Fox and get his head in the fucking game and solve some problems.

  60. 60.

    SFAW

    @Immanentize:

    Thanks. It looks like there are 2000-plus customers without power in the large area shown on the Austin Energy map, I hope she’s not one of them.

  62. 62.

    satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: yeah, no mail here either. The post office is open though, if I could get out of my driveway through the alley. I was hoping a bigger truck would go down it first, but I guess my neighbors aren’t any more anxious to dig their Ford x50s out if they get stuck than I am.

  63. 63.

    NotMax

    @OzarkHillbilly

    The Moan Star state.

    What about all the other frozen states which have wind and solar generation — and power?

    Next up: “This never happened when we had real light bulbs.”

  64. 64.

    WaterGirl

    @Immanentize:.  @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Yikes.  I read that you should NOT take benadryl before the second shot because it can mask the early signs of a bad reaction, and if you are going to have the bad reaction, you want to have it in the 15 minutes while someone is on hand to take action if needed.

  66. 66.

    Anya

    @OzarkHillbilly: Most annoying part, they’ll convince a large segment of the population that this is a reality not Texas deregulation and free markets being the cause of substandard electric grid.

  67. 67.

    Jeffro

    @rikyrah: yup

    Here in VA the brilliant minds in the legislature, as well as the Gov, are under the impression that it’s “just a vocal minority” that wants to keep schools operating virtually until teachers (or possibly everyone) are vaccinated.  Uh-uh.  It’s like 80% of teachers and 60%+ of the public.

    (article is about the brilliant minds’ brilliant idea to bring people into the teaching profession…by paying them nothing)

  68. 68.

    NotMax

    @WaterGirl

    FWIW, Mom’s doc recommended an antihistimane before both shots for her.

    Strongly suspect it is not a one size fits all thing, is more dependent on the scope, type(s) and history of allergies.

  69. 69.

    SFAW

    @Anya:

    Obama was this cold hearted, arrogant and aloof man who gave everyone the cold shoulder.

    Yeah, so cold-hearted that when he found out Joe had some very-large expense (medical, maybe?) that would have stressed Joe and Jill (financially), that he told Joe to come to him (with the implication that Barack and Michelle would help, financially).

    Yeah, I know it’s not you claiming he was cold-hearted.

  70. 70.

    Jeffro

    I saw that Tucker Carlson actually ran a segment on how the Bidens’ marriage is some sort of PR-driven thing, they’re not really all that in love, etc etc.  Wow.  I mean…after watching the past few years of the orange moron and Ms. 10-year-resume’-gap’s obviously loveless arrangement…this is what he chooses to go with?

    I’m picturing him, Cruz, and DeSantis all trying to out-asshole each other for the GQP nomination.  After several months of that, we Dems might just pick up Kentucky, Alabama, and Idaho in ’24  ;)

  72. 72.

    SFAW

    @Immanentize:

    Abbott needs to get off Fox and get his head in the fucking game

    Maybe, but do you know how long it will take him to extract his head from either Trump’s or his own ass?

  73. 73.

    Gin & Tonic

    @raven: My dear wife, who is a pharmacist and has gotten both doses, was reviewing the CDC guidelines last night and said if you’re two weeks after your second dose, you don’t have to quarantine if you’ve been exposed, but you should continue to mask up as before.

  74. 74.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Anya:not inviting Jon Tester to the White House was a huge oversight.

    First off, I’m pretty sure he’s been to the White House on any number of occasions. He had never been in the Oval Office before, and if he had never had a specific reason to meet with a President in the OO, why would he have?

  76. 76.

    satby

    @WaterGirl: Especially people prone to severe allergy reactions should take an antihistamine before potential exposure, it can buy time for medical help to be effective and lessen the severity, but it won’t stop a true anaphylactic reaction.

  77. 77.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Immanentize: Abbott needs to get off Fox and get his head in the fucking game and solve some problems.

    No way, that’s what DEMs do. Dawg forbid he might get called a RINO.

  79. 79.

    satby

    @NotMax: Yes, it depends on allergy reaction hx.

    Edit: nothing available OTC would be strong enough to stop an anaphylactic reaction, and if you had a history of that, there’s a whole different protocol for that vaccination, I’m sure.

  81. 81.

    Another Scott

    @Baud:  I heard an NPR news summary last night that said something like: “Biden is traveling to Wisconsin to explain his $1.9T plan to the country and to try to convince Republicans in Congress to pass it…”

    The Framing!!!11

    Grrr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  82. 82.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @WaterGirl: I read that you should NOT take benadryl before the second shot because it can mask the early signs of a bad reaction,

    I’m pretty sure the whole point of taking a benadryl, is to make a bad reaction not so bad. I always have benadryl in my first aid kits because in a pinch it can work as an emergency substitute for Adrenalin. An epi-pen is far preferable but not everybody has them.

  83. 83.

    CarolDuhart2

    This has been feeling like a week when you’ve opened up an office that has been closed for weeks, and now its blowing off the dust and opening the windows for fresh air.

  84. 84.

    WaterGirl

    @Immanentize: I don’t know if this is the article I read previously, but it does at least seem to contain the same information.

    Boost your allergy medications: Since allergic reactions, some severe, have been reported after doses of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, some people with allergies say they’re intending to “pre-medicate” with extra antihistamines or other allergy medications. Not a good idea, experts say.

    If you already take medications for allergies, such as antihistamine medicines, “you shouldn’t stop them before your vaccination,” Kaplan says.

    There are no specific recommendations to take allergy medications like Benadryl before the vaccination, she says. Antihistamine medications, unless advised by your doctor, are not likely to prevent a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine, “but may blunt the allergic symptoms and make it harder to diagnose the allergic reaction and delay treatment.” But if you have a history of a severe allergic reaction to a previous vaccine, or anything in a vaccine, Kaplan says to discuss what to do with your doctor beforehand.

    Article

  85. 85.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @SFAW:

    Vice-President Joe Biden said he considered selling his home to help support his dying son’s family, prompting President Barack Obama to offer him financial support.

    Obama offered to help Biden, who earns $230,000 annually, during one of their weekly lunches, the vice-president said in an interview with CNN published on Tuesday.

    Beau Biden considered resigning from his post as Delaware attorney general because of medical concerns. He suffered from a mild stroke in 2010 and was found to have brain cancer in August 2013, while serving his second term as attorney general.

    Biden said he and his wife Jill, a community college professor, thought about selling their house to help support Beau’s family if he resigned because there was “nothing for him to fall back on, no salary”.

    “He [Obama] got up and he said, ‘Don’t sell that house. Promise me you won’t sell the house,’” Biden said.

  89. 89.

    satby

    @WaterGirl: so the entire article basically reiterates what I said previously, including a different protocol for those with previous anaphylactic reactions. The specific thing you mentioned referred to not taking more of an antihistamine (doubling up, which no one should do anyway). A single dose of Benadryl is not going to mask a severe raction, just as it states in that article.

  90. 90.

    WaterGirl

    @satby: I read it differently.

    If you are regularly on antihistamines, then take them as usual.  If you are not on them regularly, then this seems to apply:

    Antihistamine medications, unless advised by your doctor, are not likely to prevent a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine, “but may blunt the allergic symptoms and make it harder to diagnose the allergic reaction and delay treatment.”

    I don’t want to quibble or quarrel about this – everyone is free to read the article and judge for themselves.

  91. 91.

    A Ghost to Most

    Reason # eleventytwo to avoid Texass like Floriduh. Everything is corrupt and corrupted. This was not only predictable, but predicted. So was blaming wind turbines. The assholes truly are bigger in Texass, bless their hearts.

  92. 92.

    H.E.Wolf

    I’m picturing [Tucker Carlson], Cruz, and DeSantis all trying to out-asshole each other for the GQP nomination. After several months of that, we Dems might just pick up Kentucky, Alabama, and Idaho in ’24 ;)

    The total combined electoral votes are 21: KY 9, AL 8, and ID 4. See the handy front-page map at https://electoral-vote.com/.

    Let’s work toward winning FL (29 electoral votes) in the 2024 presidential election… and let’s work on voting-rights issues and GOTV in the meantime, with the Democrats of GA as proof that we can do this.

  94. 94.

    LurkerNoLonger

    @Jeffro: It’s been said before, but I’ll say it again: it’s all projection with these people. Turnip and Melanoma had a loveless, sham marriage that was obvious to anyone with two eyes and common sense.

  96. 96.

    satby

    @WaterGirl: S’cool, my training ( nursing, EMT) in the area and my years of working in healthcare certainly can’t hold a fucking candle to a WebMD article written by…(checking) “a Los Angeles-based journalist specializing in health, fitness, and behavior topics.”

  97. 97.

    Robert Sneddon

    @NotMax: Britain has brought in new quarantine rules for travellers from ‘red’ countries including criminalising things like lying on forms saying where they have come from. Breaching the rules garners fines of up to £10,000, the worst cases can get up to ten years in prison.

  98. 98.

    stinger

    Biden saying he’d never been in the residence before inauguration

    Who among us has?

    Seriously, who DID get invited to the private residence? Did the little girls have sleepovers with classmates? Did Mrs. Robinson have friends over? Did Michelle host small luncheons? My impression was that the private quarters are for the family to escape the fishbowl of publicity, prying eyes, cameras, autograph hounds, Secret Service, etc. and just be themselves. That may or may not include having over your second-in-command. How many people get invited to their boss’s home anyway?

    ETA: I recall that Obama invited Republican congresscritters to watch the Superbowl, basketball games, etc. — which they all refused — but I don’t know if that was in the private residence or elsewhere in the White House.

  99. 99.

    VOR

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I have a colleague at work who consumes a lot of right-wing media. He said I was uninformed when I told him CNN was my go-to news channel. Apparently I miss a lot of the important information on OANN, Breitbart News, and Newsmax.

    Anyway, he thinks all this fuss over COVID is all some sort of Dem conspiracy plot. All we need to do is take hydroxychloroquine, which has 1000s of studies proving it is a guaranteed cure for COVID. He often refers to COVID as the “plandemic” so he’s bought into that crap too.

  100. 100.

    Anya

    @OzarkHillbilly: It’s an honor to have someone and Tester deserved it. He’s from a red state and he never makes an ass of himself and he always supported Obama and his agenda.

  101. 101.

    dnfree

    @raven: when I had the two-dose shingles vaccine a few years ago, my reaction to the first shot was much like my reaction to the first Pfizer shot.  But the second shingrex shot had me down for three days with a severe flu-like, fevers, chills, muscle aches reaction. So I’m not looking forward to my second shot this time.

  102. 102.

    Platonicspoof

    @WaterGirl:

    Your quote from the WEBMD article is much like the CDC advice on not taking antihistamines before vaccination:

    In addition, administration of antihistamines to COVID-19 vaccine recipients prior to vaccination to prevent allergic reactions is not recommended. Antihistamines do not prevent anaphylaxis, and their use might mask cutaneous symptoms, which could lead to a delay in the diagnosis and management of anaphylaxis. See section below (“contraindications and precautions to vaccination”) and interim considerations for anaphylaxis management for more information on management of anaphylaxis.

    (Under ‘Patient Counseling’). ETA, Last updated Feb. 10, 2021.

     

     

    As others have said, ask a doctor(s) familiar with your conditions, and use the internet only for creating questions about the trade-offs between, e.g., tolerating minor reactions versus suffering severe anaphylaxis

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