Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The revolution will be supervised.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

He really is that stupid.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

We still have time to mess this up!

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

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

You are here: Home / Anderson On Health Insurance / ARP is going to the White House for a signature

ARP is going to the White House for a signature

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The American Rescue Plan has been agreed to by the House and the Senate:

 

The White House has signalled that it will be signing the bill on Friday.

This is a BIG BIDEN DEAL.

Sarah Kliff makes the very obvious (currently time limited) and critical point!

This is also a BIG BIDEN DEAL.

Open Thread

Reader Interactions

167Comments

  6. 6.

    whomever

    Ok, who’s the Democrat who voted against and needs to be primaried big time?  EDIT:  Ok, I figured I can actually like google, it was Rep. Jared Golden of Maine.

  12. 12.

    Butch

    @BC in Illinois:  I see that there were three of us in competition. OK with me; it’s good news. I commented elsewhere….the White House Border Coordinator spoke during the daily press briefing today. She was asked a question in Spanish and answered in what as far as I could tell (my Spanish was fluent but is rusty) was flawless Spanish. More actual governance…what a change from an administration where most could barely manage English.

  13. 13.

    dmsilev

    So, tomorrow the big prime time address, celebrating both this bill passing and coming up on 100 million doses of vaccine administered (only halfway through the first hundred days).

    Yeah, take a bow Joe. You and your team earned it.

  14. 14.

    Leto

    @Hildebrand: electing people who know not just how to govern, but, more importantly, want to govern is an amazing thing. But both parties are the same, ya know?

  15. 15.

    kindness

    Maine Dem voted no.  What has happened to Maine?  When I was growing up in NY/CT, Mainers were stalwart New England types who might have been slightly more conservative than most of New England (NH does not apply as they have always been nuts), but they were more or less middle of the road.

    Now days…..They keep electing Collins which I don’t get.  Did most the liberals move out of Maine?  I can’t figure it out.

  16. 16.

    Baud

    @kindness: Maine is ahead of the curve given that it is an extremely white and extremely rural state.  Nonetheless, it is an extremely white and extremely rural state.

  17. 17.

    James E Powell

    I get that all these things get a name like American Rescue Plan, but I would prefer we call it Biden’s Big Fucking Deal. Do you think we could get the cable shows to start calling it that?

    Failing that, we should all refer to it as The Democratic Way.

  18. 18.

    jonas

    Covid relief — passed and on to Biden’s desk.

    Garland in at DOJ.

    Elections have consequences.

  19. 19.

    PaulWartenberg

    All the #Stimmy money coming in means we can put $1400 towards Gamestop stock!
    (watches the markets go up and down)

    Better yet, I’ll just put it in savings for my trip to Barcelona next year.

  20. 20.

    PJ

    OT: Is there some kind of filter Cole can install to eliminate all pictures of ***** from showing up in the advertisements here?  I was just treated to a couple of nauseating photos.

  22. 22.

    JML

    Now we just need Democrats to be as public as possible promoting the ARP and taking all the credit possible. Don’t run from victory, don’t look for the ways it might have fallen short of the ideal…take a goddamn victory lap. Maybe two.

  23. 23.

    Betsy

    Hallelujah!!

    I need the money, I need the help, we all need the help and the vaccines and the putting the cities and businesses and households back in the black!!

    Hip hip hooray!!!

  24. 24.

    James E Powell

    @kindness:

    I don’t know a damn thing about Maine, but it seems that going on 20 years or so a very large majority of white Americans are getting all their political news from FOX, Sinclair, and right-wing radio.

  25. 25.

    jonas

    @kindness: Did most the liberals move out of Maine?  I can’t figure it out.

    Like a lot of the rural NE/New England, it’s been hemorrhaging younger (esp. college-educated) people for decades. That leaves cranky, old white people.

  26. 26.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Between Merrick Garland and Covid Rescue passing, it’s a great day.

    Between learning that one dear friend has ovarian cancer and another has just been diagnosed with breast cancer, it’s a shit day.

    Do they make YAY DEMS/FUCK CANCER t-shirts? I would wear one.

  29. 29.

    zhena gogolia

    @PJ: The one where he’s smooching Melania is particularly noxious.

    YAY BIDEN GARLAND PELOSI DEMOCRATS!!!!

  32. 32.

    Old School

    @PaulWartenberg:

    Better yet, I’ll just put it in savings for my trip to Barcelona next year.

    Savings and spending in another country!  These are stimulus dollars!  Spend the $1,400 and save $1,400 from elsewhere to spend in Spain.

  33. 33.

    Elie

     

    I am so proud of this administration!  Biden has done this just about as right as anyone can.  He has ignored T**** and his GQP opponents.  They will stew in their own juices, but meantime, he is literally saving the people — saving the belief in REAL governance.  He’s been called old, stupid, simplistic and everything else, but he is saving us for real.  We are getting our shots, we are getting rational leadership and almost above all, modeling deep kindness and respect for each other….  He is debriding our horrible infected civic wound with gentle light, soap and water and regular attention.

  36. 36.

    Elizabelle

    @SiubhanDuinne:   YAY DEMS/FUCK CANCER/QE2 HAS TWO NEW CORGIS!

    You know you want to click this link.  Photo is Queen Elizabeth in a pink suit with people (Canadians, yet) and a passel of corgis.  And photos of the vintage corgis, too.

    I’d heard rumors there might be new corgis afoot, but it was in the NY Post, so I waited until the far better WaPost confirmed the happy news. Thought of you immediately when I heard the rumors.

    QE2 is due for some good news; she has had a month horribilus (albeit, she and her family need to wake the eff up on social and familial change).

    Don’t mean to stomp on the big Biden deal news (and Merrick Garland), but it is always a good time to discuss corgis.  Always.  We all need a dog mechanism.

    WaPost:
    The queen has two new corgis to help get her through the Harry-Meghan crisis

    … British media reports suggest that the dogs are also providing emotional support while the queen’s husband, Prince Philip, is hospitalized. The 99-year-old was admitted last month for heart surgery and has spent the past 20 nights in the hospital — his longest stay to date. A royal insider told the Sun that the puppies are “bringing in a lot of noise and energy” to an otherwise somber Windsor Castle.

    Over the years, the castle and palace have been home to at least 30 corgis, and Philip has referred to the queen’s insistence on feeding and walking them herself as her “dog mechanism” — a kind of therapy.   [Vanity Fair link, 2015 article on the Queen and her corgis.]

  37. 37.

    M31

    @Butch: More actual governance…what a change from an administration where most could barely manage English.

    they could barely manage authentic frontier gibberish

  38. 38.

    Elizabelle

    Woof woof from the WaPost article:

    “The corgis are intensely loyal and loving and they have never let her down,” royal biographer Penny Junor told the Sun. “And of course corgis also seldom rush off to L.A. to give interviews.”

    A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace did not dispute the Sun’s report, but declined to provide details about the dogs.

    Catty, Miss Junor.  Catty.  Why the younger royals are fleeing.

  40. 40.

    Martin

    @Butch: Reminder that Pelosi will allow excess votes to defect if it might help them in reelection. If they aren’t messaging their objection to the bill now, that’s what happened. It’s something they bank for the campaign in case they need it.

    One thing to always fall back on – Pelosi gets the vote she wants. She controls the Dem caucus as well or better than McConnell controls his.

    We should call these ‘madam, may I?’ votes.

  42. 42.

    Redshift

    @James E Powell:

    I get that all these things get a name like American Rescue Plan, but I would prefer we call it Biden’s Big Fucking Deal. Do you think we could get the cable shows to start calling it that? 

    I’d be happier if we could get them to call it relief instead of “stimulus.” It’s purpose isn’t to “stimulate the economy,” it’s to help people and businesses survive until the thing that’s preventing the economy from functioning normally (the pandemic) is over.

    Our media (and too many of our people) have become ingrained with the idea that any government money is “stimulus,” and government only helps “the economy” instead of helping people.

    The Democratic Way that all good Dems should be trumpeting is that government’s purpose is to make people’s lives better (and Reagan was a lying asshole), and suffering when the economy is bad isn’t something inevitable that you have to put up with.

  43. 43.

    Martin

    @Elizabelle: My wife (recently vaccinated) mentioned the new corgies to me. Knowing she didn’t want her dogs to outlive her I feigned outrage that she was going to have the puppies murdered should she fall ill.

  46. 46.

    Elizabelle

    @Martin:   2020 and 2021 are a year for corgis, fer sure. Any puppers (or pets) that can be added to the mix.  For support  in the year past, and to celebrate the future in the year present.

    And yea Mrs. Vaccinated Martin.  Wonderful news.

    Also, believe it was you who suggested Senate legislation should pass when Senators representing 60% of the population support it, and not merely 60 Senators.  Hell yes.  Stop the unpopulated/depopulated red states from stopping modern legislation that we need.

  48. 48.

    Old School

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Money is fungible.

    That’s kind of my point.  The whole point of the stimulus funds is to spend it.  Saying you’ll save it and spend it in a year makes the plan look pointless.  Spend the $1,400 on food/electricity/mortgage and “save” funds from a different pot.

  49. 49.

    MattF

    @Martin: However, a couple of D reps are going to Biden’s cabinet, so Pelosi’s maneuvering room is narrowing. We shall see what happens next. I’m more hopeful about the minimum wage than about voting rights, but we shall see.

  51. 51.

    Dave P

    In 2017, the Rethugs controlled both houses of Congress and the Executive branch.  In spite of that, they only passed one major bill–a tax bill heavily tilted towards the wealthy–and they didn’t accomplish that until late December.  By contrast, the Democrats managed to pass one of the most sweeping pieces of legislation of the past 30 years in less than 2 months.

  52. 52.

    trollhattan

    What Biden has done in less than two months is a wonder to behold, and that’s without considering he was given essentially no transition period and had to instead set up a shadow government–I’ll call it a “deep state”–to organize and staff, identify problems, generate possible solutions, select solutions, etc. all while fending off Trump’s overt efforts to execute a coup.

    I give him B-minus. Try harder, Joe! ?

  54. 54.

    Mary G

    I’m feeling much better about all the time and money I donated to Dems last year, orders of magnitude more than ever before. While I was happy to begin to see the back of the Former Guy, it was a shock and a disappointment to see so many Senate candidates who were close or leading in the polls go down by decisive margins. The overtime wins in Georgia were miraculous, but I was sure that Manchin would pull a Max Baucus and fuck around for  months or years negotiating with Republicans to get a weaker bill that no Republicans would vote for anyway. He didn’t! It’s a freaking miracle that Democrats herded all the cats so fast and got 100% of their asking number of $1.9 trillion. When has that ever happened?

    Like the original ACA, the other side will have a hard time rolling all the good things back. Sucks to be them.

  55. 55.

    JanieM

    @kindness: You’d have to pick your timing pretty carefully to make your nostalgia fit the facts (see links below). Jared Golden carried his district by a lot in 2020, but Trump also carried it by >7%. I don’t live in that district and I’m not always happy with Jared’s stances, but knowing who his opponents were in 2018 and 2020, I’d say on balance we’re damned lucky we’ve got him in there and not the alternative.

    Maine senators over the years

    Maine governors over the years

    Congresscritters lean more D in recent years, but not historically

    The fact that Susan Collins got elected again baffled and dismayed me, but even so, Maine is and has long been generally cranky and independent. If “middle of the road” means wishy-washy, it’s the wrong label. I think it’s the wrong label anyhow, for that matter, but I ain’t got all day.

  56. 56.

    Martin

    @SiubhanDuinne: Sorry about that. I had another colleague die of Covid yesterday (5th). His wife died of it a week ago. Had some nice emotional momentum going until yesterday. Gotta start building it up again. It’s exhausting.

  60. 60.

    Nelle

    We’re frugal oldsters and so far, look okay financially.  We’ve had some unexpected expenses (clutch went out in the 2004, 200,000 mile Toyota so we donated the car and replaced it; need a bunch of dental work done to the tune if $$$$), but my thought on the money coming in from the bill is the same as the previous Covid money.  We keep an emergency fund for our unexpected expenses so we can use that for our needs.  This new money coming our way is relief money and we don’t need relief.  So it will be redirected to those who need relief.  My husband hates seeing money leaving our accounts so I need to make quick, surgical donations as soon as it lands!  (Not trying to be sanctimonious or anything.  Just noting I suppose that we’ve been both fortunate and tight,  whoops, I mean frugal.)

  64. 64.

    RandomMonster

    It’s stupid, but I really look forward to seeing Biden’s non-psycopathic signature made with a normal pen and not that sharpie shit.

  65. 65.

    Elie

    @trollhattan:

     

    What you say.  Its pretty amazing, aint it?  Like Wow.  And they still call him a frail, stupid, old man.  He is sucking out all their blood — He knows they aint shit.  They can’t stop it and the people want it.  The GQP is in one hell of a mess of their own making.  He, Biden, is just taking care of business and running the country

  66. 66.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Redshift: “Biden stimulates America to her depths. Leave the nation breathless.”

    The Onion foresaw this day.

  67. 67.

    ...now I try to be amused

    @Elizabelle: Here’s another example of dogs being better judges of character than humans:

    In 2017, when Harry announced his engagement to Meghan, he recalled in a television interview that the corgis had taken to her “straight away,” wagging their tails as they lay on her feet during tea.

    “I’ve spent the last 33 years being barked at. This one walks in, absolutely nothing,” he said.

  69. 69.

    PST

    @Martin:

    Reminder that Pelosi will allow excess votes to defect if it might help them in reelection.

    And only a single representative thought that would be a good idea. Most of our Blue Dogs understand the popularity of the bill. I’ll bet a fair number of republicans do, too, but they can’t take the chance of bucking their leadership for fear of being primaried.

  72. 72.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Elizabelle:

    Ah, thanks. I had heard about the new corgis, but no photos. Love the Queen pretty in pink, even though the picture is a few years old.  I hope Philip holds on. He needs to be able to enjoy his 100th birthday celebrations.

    @Kathleen: Thanks. My friends are strong women, but it’s frustrating to be at such a distance and not be able to do anything. Looking on line to find an appropriate t-shirt for each of them.

  75. 75.

    citizen dave

    @James E Powell:

    “I get that all these things get a name like American Rescue Plan, but I would prefer we call it Biden’s Big Fucking Deal. Do you think we could get the cable shows to start calling it that?

    Failing that, we should all refer to it as The Democratic Way.”

    I like both names.  Too impatient to read every post, but loving the second meaning of the American Rescue Plan–rescue from Florida Orange Man Who Shall Not Be Named.

    BFD works great too!

    Re: Merrick F-ing Garland: My standard retweet is F-ing A!

  76. 76.

    JWR

    @James E Powell:

    I would prefer we call it Biden’s Big Fucking Deal.

    We could shorten it up to “The Biden BFD Act”. And screw the media. It works for me. ;)

    And as others have noted, the $$$ is very welcome, but living a check to check life these days, (Social Security DI), I’m a bit saddened that most of it will be going towards a new clutch, instead of something fun, like guitar parts. :(

  78. 78.

    JWR

    O/T: I don’t think I’ve ever watched The Talk, but it’s on now, and boy, Sharon Osborn really, really doesn’t get racism. (She’s defending her friendship with Piers Morgan, and failing. Badly.)

  79. 79.

    Edmund Dantes

    I grew up in the Maine 2nd district. Moved there when I was four. And lived there till college. I am still an outsider even if I had stayed.

    Also for the state of Joshua Chamberlain you’ll find that the ME-2nd has an insane number of confederate flags. It’s very much of the “ I worked hard why should my money go to moocher” types that ignore how much of their life wouldn’t be possible without government intervention.

    And it’s gotten worse since I left more than 20 years ago.

    Golden is threading that needle well to get re-elected. ME-2nd is full of LePage fans.

  83. 83.

    mrmoshpotato

    @PJ: I use Duckduckgo on my phone and Firefox on my computer.

    If you’re talking about the Zergshit crap, I still get them on the front page, but not if I click an individual post title to read it.  Then I use the upper-right navigation arrows to go to other posts.

  84. 84.

    M31

    I was visiting a friend in Maine years ago and by chance read this obituary of a women who’d moved to the town and was ‘beloved even though she wasn’t a native’. She moved to the town when she was 2 and died at age 98.

  85. 85.

    Jeffro

    I just popped over to Fox News dot com, to see how they’re handling/spinning the ARP…

    Top story: PARTISAN MONSTER PASSED – House Democrats Jam Through Massive $1.9T Covid Bill Without Single GOP Vote, Headed to Biden’s Desk.

    I mean, they actually helped reinforce to their own audience that not a single Republican voted for this!  AND called it a ‘Covid bill’, not ‘blue-state slush fund’, etc.

    Um, thanks Fox!

  86. 86.

    jnfr

    I am so happy about this. As I’ve learned more about what’s in it, and how it’s structured, the happier I’ve been.

  90. 90.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    One of the most consequential, popular and urgently needed pieces of legislation in modern history is going to pass the US Congress today. It is entirely the work of the one political party. The other tried to oppose it despite broad support from its rank & file.

    — David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) March 10, 2021​​

  91. 91.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: This is the most potent kind of bipartisanship. The Democrats passed a bill with substantial support among independent and Republican voters, while Congressional Republicans were left flatfooted.

  92. 92.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @PST:

    I’ll bet a fair number of republicans do, too, but they can’t take the chance of bucking their leadership for fear of being primaried.

    It’s about priorities.  Total war against liberals is more important to their constituents than any particular policy they might support.  It’s why most Republicans support small increases in gun control personally, but will line up to vote against any Republican who votes for it.

    @Jeffro:

    I mean, they actually helped reinforce to their own audience that not a single Republican voted for this!

    Like I just said, what Fox’s viewers want to know is that the war is being faithfully waged.  That headline emphasizes what’s important to them.

  93. 93.

    Benw

    It’s bonkers how much good stuff is in the ARP without being mentioned much before passing. And good on the Democrats for keeping their caucus rock solid.

  95. 95.

    Catherine D.

    I’m getting the first dose of Moderna on Friday! Thank you Stacey Abrams and Joe Biden (and all the voters)

  96. 96.

    taumatugo

    ***Breaking News*** Is been reported that hardcore GQP member’s heads have exploded. These explosions began as soon as the ARP approval vote was announced. No word from Maro Lago as to Trump’s condition. Stay tuned.

  97. 97.

    James E Powell

    @Mary G:

    I’m feeling much better about all the time and money I donated to Dems last year, orders of magnitude more than ever before.

    I’m still bitter about Sarah Gideon ending her losing campaign with $14 million unspent. We need to do better than that with our party and our money.

  98. 98.

    JPL

    @taumatugo: If trump saw the press conference with Merck, Johnson and Johnson, and Biden, his head exploded.   I hope that someone hid the breakables.

  99. 99.

    Geminid

    @taumatugo: trump is probably furious at Mitch McConnell for obstructing a generous covid-relief package before last November’s election. McConnell got his Supreme Court Justice, but trump missed out on the second term he wanted and desperately needed. McConnell might possibly care about the deficit. But trump has never cared about anything but trump.

  101. 101.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @JWR: What do we do when Biden and the Dems pass more BFD legislation? Call them BFD 2 or BFD the Sequel?

  103. 103.

    OGLiberal

    @Amir Khalid: Yeah, I’d love to know his rationale.  Because, the fuck this has to do with Trump?  And he just fucking won in November so ?????

  104. 104.

    Dan B

    @Martin: The death of your colleagues and friends reminds me of the AIDS  years.  We need a quilt, or Vietnam memorial, to preserbe the memories of lives uselessly lost and to make the grieving tangible.

  107. 107.

    Geminid

    @OGLiberal: Golden will likely explain his rationale to Maine newspapers. Easy to google. I think there is a Bangor Daily News, and I know there are others. You might have to wait until tomorrow morning, though.

  108. 108.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    The man who put away the Atlanta Olympic bomber, the Oklahoma City bombers, and the Unabomber is now Attorney General.

  109. 109.

    cain

    The damn bill only just got passed Congress and T-mobile is already sending me mail asking me to give them my stimulus checks. I think we will see more spam mail trying to scam us of our money. I especially see it from Trump people scamming Trump supporters. U.S. Episode 4: A New Grift.

  111. 111.

    Brachiator

    @trollhattan:

    “We’re about to have a boom. And if we do have a boom, it will have absolutely nothing to do with this $1.9 trillion.”

    — Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

    McConnell is a total fool. The GOP is on the wrong side of history here.

    This bill is a BFD, and the IRS now has to scramble to re-do 2020 tax forms to deal with some of the changes. It is going to be a mad house.

    Tax professionals are trying to make sure that they can run a report on returns already filed that had unemployment compensation, since many of these will need amending. Some states will be affected as well.

    The IRS will also be responsible for sending out checks. Congress wants this done within a month.

    We will see what happens with the request to move the tax filing deadline from April 15 to June 15.

    Fun, fun, fun!

  113. 113.

    MisterForkbeard

    @trollhattan: I mean, we’re about to have a big improvement anyway since Biden has been getting the virus under control.

    This should really help everyone whose life got trashed during the pandemic and Trump’s awful handling of it.

    In sum: McConnell is a giant asshole.

  115. 115.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Remember back in 2009-10 when Republicans used to pose for pictures with local projects funded by the Stimulus Bill they voted against?

    Senator Roger Wicker@SenatorWicker· 32m
    Independent restaurant operators have won $28.6 billion worth of targeted relief. This funding will ensure small businesses can survive the pandemic by helping to adapt their operations and keep their employees on the payroll.

    He links to a press release from a restaurant lobbying group explicitly giving credit to the bill he just voted against.

  116. 116.

    mrmoshpotato

    Moderate Rethuglicans. What decade do we harken back to?

    Adam Kinzinger’s been all over the media lately, doing that “moderate Republican” song and dance.Guess what, it was bullshit. Hope you’re not too shocked.He voted against pandemic relief.— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) March 10, 2021

  117. 117.

    JPL

    @WaterGirl: Senator Roger Wicker can top that

    Independent restaurant operators have won $28.6 billion worth of targeted relief. This funding will ensure small businesses can survive the pandemic by helping to adapt their operations and keep their employees on the payroll.

     

    Wicker voted n

     

    JFL Wins again.   Actually we all win.

  121. 121.

    Martin

    Instead of putting the presidents name in the memo of the check, they should put the votes of each recipients elected officials.

  125. 125.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: McConnell can try to spin this all he wants. He and the other Congressional Republicans have been left in the dust, and McConnell knows it.

  126. 126.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Martin: I like this idea.

    Maybe we can have the “From” part of the check be “Democrats in United States Government”, which is literally true since not a single Republican voted for it.

    Literally everyone who made that aid happen is a Democrat. Literally all of them.

  129. 129.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: I think we need an ad campaign that says:

    Every single Republican in the House and Senate voted agains the American Rescue Plan.  Every single one of them voted no.  Remember that.

    edit:  stamp that on every check, also.

  131. 131.

    CaseyL

    I just got home from my Office Day, to weather that is the nicest we’ve had in months: a true portent of Spring!

    I have all the deck and balcony doors open, and the cats are going in and out of them repeatedly, like a glockenspiel clock parade.

    I sat down, saw that the ARA has passed and Merrick Garland has been approved  and, between that and the lovely day, had a sudden wonderful blast of sheer elation and joy.

    Haven’t felt anything remotely like that in at least a year.  Possibly four.

    It’s really, really nice.

  134. 134.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Pete Muntean @petemuntean · 3h
    NEW: American Airlines is telling 13,000 workers who received notices of April 1 furloughs “you can tear them up!” House passage of $1.9 trillion stimulus bill extends airline Payroll Support Program once again.

    counterfactual @counterfax 2h
    Oh come on, this is something you see in movies in a montage showing how great things are once a character becomes president

    ETA: Is it too soon for me to post the Berner tweets saying that Himself deserves credit, that His bill would’ve been bigger, or that His bigger bill would’ve been thwarted by corporate neo-liberal Pelosi? Cause I’ve seen all these things, and more, sailing the seas of twitter…..

  136. 136.

    debbie

    @JML:

    They need to focus on explaining why this isn’t “blue pork” and that it rescues red states as well as blue states.

  140. 140.

    SFBayAreaGal

    I am so happy. This Fucking Big Deal Recovery Act is going to help so many people.

    I am proud to be a Democrat.

  141. 141.

    jonas

    @MisterForkbeard: ​
     

    Conversely, they could (theoretically) print checks for each Congressional district that puts in the memo: “Your Congressional Representative voted ____________ (for/against) this payment”

    That would be sweet.

  142. 142.

    Yutsano

    @Brachiator:
    .

    We will see what happens with the request to move the tax filing deadline from April 15 to June 15

    Heh. Heh heh. I can guarantee you that ain’t happening. Nope, with the backlog and the standing evacuation order understaffing us as it is. No way the mob lawyer allows another one.

  144. 144.

    zhena gogolia

    More fun news in the highly enjoyable clip here.

    K.David Cooke, former district attorney for the Macon, Georgia Judicial Circuit, describes the legal all star team Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is assembling in her investigation of Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/MRTKmlgwHN— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) March 10, 2021

  146. 146.

    J R in WV

    @Butch: ​

     

    …the White House Border Coordinator spoke during the daily press briefing today. She was asked a question in Spanish and answered in what as far as I could tell (my Spanish was fluent but is rusty) was flawless Spanish. More actual governance…what a change from an administration where most could barely NOT manage English.

    Fixed this for you — otherwise so in agreement. Imagine someone working to manage a border with a Spanish speaking nation, actually able to speak fluent Spanish~!!~ So professional, so unlike the previous guy’s administration!

  148. 148.

    zhena gogolia

    From personal experience as a key witness I assure you that you do not visit a prosecutor’s office 7 times if they are not planning to indict those about whom you have knowledge. It is only a matter of how many days until DA Vance indicts Donald & Co. https://t.co/OaqribQBQO— John W. Dean (@JohnWDean) March 10, 2021

  150. 150.

    zhena gogolia

    Amos 5:24
    King James Version
    24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

  151. 151.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Martin:

    I had another colleague die of Covid yesterday (5th). His wife died of it a week ago.

    I’m sorry. That’s terrible.

  153. 153.

    J R in WV

    @Elizabelle:
    I’m not fond of the British aristocracy at all — that said, I’m glad Elizabeth II decided to get more Corgis. She appears to love them and care for them, and I know dogs of all kinds can lift almost anyone’s feelings.

    I’m sure Elizabeth II needs her feelings lifted, having accidentally allowed the lesser [ more despicable ] members of her family to abuse the newest and most uplifting members sufficiently to drive them out of “jolly ol’ England” and away from her.

    Further, I bet Elizabeth II knows who asked what color Archie would be, and is not happy at all about it.

    Hope the minders of the Corgis are better people than the “royals” who drove Harry and MEghan away!​
    ​
    ​

  154. 154.

    J R in WV

    @SiubhanDuinne: ​
     

    So sorry to hear about your friends. Wife’s best ever psychiatrist died of ovarian cancer some years back — horrible disease. Indeed, FUCK CANCER!!!

  155. 155.

    Gravenstone

    @trollhattan: Even if he were correct, good economic outcomes tend to reflect on the president of the moment. Which would be Biden. So even Turtle’s sour grapes misdirection attempt wouldn’t work out for Republicans.

  158. 158.

    FelonyGovt

    @Baud: The small son of an acquaintance of ours who was cruel to our cat was also named Jared. Something about that name…

  159. 159.

    J R in WV

    @Elizabelle:

    “The corgis are intensely loyal and loving and they have never let her down,” royal biographer Penny Junor told the Sun. “And of course corgis also seldom rush off to L.A. to give interviews.”

    And this “Penny” person is a prime example of why the youngest Royals had to flee to LA, away from this sort of despicable and racist attitude.

    I don’t think it was so much family members being vile as it was the staff, aristocrats themselves in their own minds, and the family being unable or unaware of the vile and despicable things being done and said by staff around the Royals.

  160. 160.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Martin: ​
     

    Instead of putting the presidents name in the memo of the check, they should put the votes of each recipients elected officials.

    This is a fucking awesome idea!

    Yeah I know, it won’t happen, but dammit, it should!

  163. 163.

    Elizabelle

    @J R in WV:   I think the royal family just plain did not stand up for Meghan, and needed to.  I would bet that all or most of them noticed the “good duchess/bad duchess” angle to the stories, and the ugly personal swipes.  Harry has such character to be able to put her first, and courage to walk away.

    Yes, about the fetid media circus/royals cult being poisonous.  I have noticed the rightwing outlets in this country (NY Post, etc.) really have it in for Meghan, who is the uppity source of all problems, apparently.  Yuck.

    I bet QE2 does know — or can guess — who (or who-s) might have been flipped out over skin color.  Always struck me as an idiotic question, in addition to a racist one, because how does anyone know what any baby will look like until the new addition is here?  Harry apparently told Oprah the moron question asker was not QE2 or Philip.

    And now — to catch up on this thread.  Just came back in.

    Last, for those who care about this crap, and missed it — CBS has put the full interview up for free online screening, although you have to allow commercials.  It may be riddled with advertisements.  Have not watched any of any of this yet.

    https://www.cbs.com/shows/oprah-with-meghan-and-harry-a-cbs-primetime-special/video/i6UW_WTQjLrEeOoObMmlwrFLTTypvuZm/cbs-presents-oprah-with-meghan-and-harry-a-primetime-special/

  164. 164.

    Martin

    @SiubhanDuinne: Function of knowing a lot of people, I suppose.

    But this week I was asked in a meeting to reflect on the work I did a year ago, and said that I was glad things turned out better than feared. I was told to assume the uni remained open as the  pandemic hit in force, and what that would look like operationally.

    We’d be looking at >90% infection of students in 3 weeks, and dozens of faculty deaths. Unis are way more vulnerable to this than K-12, where student density is lower and there’s less social mixing. K-6 classrooms average 60 sq ft/student, so there’s some potential to distance and average about 22 students per classroom. University large lecture halls are often less than 10 sq ft/student and can be 300-500 students.

    Thankfully we avoided all of that, but before unis decided they had to shut down, that’s what we were preparing everyone for. I don’t think people realize how key the timing was. The decisions landed at spring break/term break for quarter schools, which was something of a natural point to do it. 2 weeks later and I’m sure  we would have stalled until either the state forced us to close or the infection rate started to take off. That week before was frantic, because we needed to convince leadership to do it right then – to take advantage of the transition. We had scores of pilots planed for the next 3-4 weeks and we had to convince them they  were too late – they moved too slowly –  they had to close now.

    So in hindsight, we were expecting much, much worse. And in hindsight I’m glad I got to play the role I did, but it’s still hard.

  165. 165.

    J R in WV

    @jonas:

    Yes, but:

    Conversely, they could (theoretically) print checks for each Congressional district that puts in the memo: “Your Congressional Representative voted ____________ (for/against) this payment”

    That would be sweet.

    How about “Your Congressional Representative, Carol Miller, voted against this payment, as did your Senator Sheliy Moore Capito. Senator Joe Manchin supported the bill from which this payment comes.”?

    You think that would work? Would that make Republicans cry? I’m hoping so! Perhaps just ads on TV, the Innertubes, newspapers (those that remain) would work out ok.

  166. 166.

    Skepticat

    @JanieM:

    I don’t live in that district and I’m not always happy with Jared’s stances, but knowing who his opponents were in 2018 and 2020, I’d say on balance we’re damned lucky we’ve got him in there and not the alternative.

    The fact that Susan Collins got elected again baffled and dismayed me, but even so, Maine is and has long been generally cranky and independent.

    I agree, and I’m grateful for Angus King and Chellie Pingree. I don’t live in the district either, but my former insignificant other has a camp there, which gives me a address to use when I send Jared comments from time to time.

  167. 167.

    JanieM

    @Skepticat: Heh. I don’t have an address to use in the 2nd district, but I’ve sent him a couple of comments with donations.

    The only really serious one was a reaction to the shirt he wore in a campaign spot in 2018 that showed him jogging. The shirt said, “Pain is weakness leaving the body” or some such asinity. I have a close family member who suffers from severe chronic pain as the aftermath of believing coaches who taught teenagers that kind of macho BS. I got no comment back and didn’t expect one.

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