Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

He really is that stupid.

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

One way or another, he’s a liar.

The revolution will be supervised.

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

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

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

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

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

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

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

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

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Friday Morning Open Thread: An Inspiration to Us All Bloggers

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When you’re not strong enough to tear off an entire essay, sometimes you can scrape up an aggregation from others’ work…

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200Comments

  2. 2.

    NotMax

    Surmising Selenian shedding.

    A near-Earth asteroid named Kamo`oalewa could be a fragment of our moon, according to a paper published today in Nature Communications Earth and Environment by a team of astronomers led by the University of Arizona.

    Kamo`oalewa is a quasi-satellite – a subcategory of near-Earth asteroids that orbit the sun but remain relatively close to Earth. Little is known about these objects because they are faint and difficult to observe. Kamo`oalewa was discovered by the PanSTARRS telescope in Hawaii in 2016, and the name – found in a Hawaiian creation chant – alludes to an offspring that travels on its own. The asteroid is roughly the size of a Ferris wheel – between 150 and 190 feet in diameter – and gets as close as about 9 million miles from Earth.

    Due to its orbit, Kamo`oalewa can only be observed from Earth for a few weeks every April. Its relatively small size means that it can only be seen with one of the largest telescopes on Earth. Using the UArizona-managed Large Binocular Telescope on Mount Graham in southern Arizona, a team of astronomers led by UArizona planetary sciences graduate student Ben Sharkey found that Kamo`oalewa’s pattern of reflected light, called a spectrum, matches lunar rocks from NASA’s Apollo missions, suggesting it originated from the moon.

    Researchers aren’t yet be sure how the asteroid may have broken loose from the moon. That’s partly because there are no other known asteroids with lunar origins.

    “I looked through every near-Earth asteroid spectrum we had access to, and nothing matched,” said Sharkey, the paper’s lead author. Source

  3. 3.

    Kay

    Amy Walter
    @amyewalter
    ·14h
    The challenge for this administration is less about ‘wokeness’ than it is about competence. More specifically, rising inflation is a bigger threat to Democrats in 2022 than teaching about racism.

    Announcement of the end of the wokeness panic. Market saturation.

  4. 4.

    zhena gogolia

    @Kay: Oh, I always know what their next play is by the front page of the NYT. A couple of days ago it was Afghanistan, but that was just a last gasp. Yesterday it was a big full-color chart of rising prices.

  6. 6.

    Kay

    @zhena gogolia:

    Well, it’s gotten embarrassing, what with the book bannings and proposed criminal investigations of…librarians. Time to leave the dirty work to Republicans.

  7. 7.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    I’m pleased with Biden. I think he does a good job. I’m genuinely grateful to him for having the political courage to leave Afghanistan. It was the right decision. I don’t care if it’s popular.

  8. 8.

    zhena gogolia

    @Kay: Ditto.

    I care if it’s popular only insofar as we HAVE to win in 2022 and 2024. We’re heading for being Hungary or worse if we don’t.

  9. 9.

    Baud

    @Kay:

    Yep. Same here.  Too bad the inflation monster may be the last excuse for Manchin to kill BBB though.  We’ll see.

  10. 10.

    Ken

    Ten million years from now, chickadees will locate suitable patches of bark and emit cries which draw squirrels to rip it down.

    Fifty million years from now, colonial chickadees will nest on the backs of the giant descendants of squirrels, guiding them to knock down whole trees.

  15. 15.

    Ken

    @NotMax: An astronomer, quoted in the wikipedia article on Kamo`oalewa: “Since 2016 HO3 loops around our planet, but never ventures very far away….”  How do you know someone is an astronomer?  They call 9 million miles “not very far away”.

  16. 16.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    If you’re looking for non-political podcasts, my friend A. M. Arktos has launched his podcast of THE SPACE GOD MEMOIRS. I heard this read at my writer group and was always happy the nights it was on the schedule. A. M. has had actor training so he reads well. It’s also been interesting to hear him talk about putting the tech stuff together to do this.

    Check it out. I thought the story of Keph was amusing and entertaining.

  19. 19.

    Ken

    @satby: South America is the cover story. He’s canvassing Iowa as prep work for the 2028 caucuses.

    (Joke’s on him, there won’t be any 2028 caucuses because (1) the DNC will have eliminated caucuses, (2) Iowa won’t be part of the U.S., and/or (3) there will not be any elections after 2024.)

  21. 21.

    Kay

    The Onion
    @TheOnion
    18h
    Teen’s Eyes Begin Glowing Red While Reciting Forbidden Knowledge From Book Of Critical Race Theory

    There should be a Book of Critical Race Theory. Smuggle it in, slide it onto the shelf, see if anyone finds it.

  22. 22.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud:  Oh, no!  a Baud-free Balloon Juice. :-(

    I have questions!

    When is your last BJ day before you leave, and what does “several weeks” mean?  Three?  Seven?

    It’s important to manage expectations.  :-)

  24. 24.

    Ejoiner

    While we’re plugging podcasts – the latest edition of Sean Carroll’s “Mindscape” (#172) is an hour long interview with David Goyer and his work writing/producing the Apple TV series “Foundation” – really good stuff with lots of fun science, Asimov stories, and cultural relevance. Goyer is also tackling the new Netflix “Sandman” series so he’s a pretty busy guy these days!

  29. 29.

    Ken

    @NotMax: Brilliant!  And the IAU generally seems open to fun names, possibly as over-compensation for their stodgy legalistic de-planetization of Pluto.

  31. 31.

    eldorado

    coming out of the store at a turnpike gas station recently i saw a grackle hop up to the top of license plate of a parked suv to pick insects out of the front grill. never witnessed that behavior before (or since).

  33. 33.

    evodevo

    @Kay:  Yeah…Mrs. Greenspan had Larry Summers on yesterday to whine about inflation and how his warning was ignored last spring(?) about too much stimulus, and now the inflations were here, and how bad it was and on and on and on…
    I recall that when I saw Larry was Obama’s pick for the Economic Advisory Council I despaired of any economic progress – and voila, Obama’s stimulus was too small and resulted in an anemic recovery that Repubs tried to kill anyway…
    Luckily for the country, Biden learned that lesson and refuses to listen to him…probably why Larry is so pissed off…

  34. 34.

    gene108

    @Kay:

    Democrats really need a cheerleading squad in the media. The right-wing folks will always bitch about Dems. The MSM usually joins in the pile-on unless Republicans are crashing the global economy, or inciting a coup.

    We just need a consistent “look at the good things Democrats are doing” in the media.

    Edit: Inflation is aggravating. But we’ve had really low levels of inflation the last 30 years, along with a shitty overall economy where the rich get richer and not anyone else.

    Edit 2: The Fed could always raise interest rates, like Volcker did in the 70’s, even though it’d plunge us into a recession. One problem of the day gets solved.

  36. 36.

    Kristine

    @evodevo:

    Yeah…Mrs. Greenspan had Larry Summers on yesterday to whine about inflation and how his warning was ignored last spring(?) about too much stimulus, and now the inflations were here, and how bad it was and on and on and on…

    That’s apparently the excuse the financial sector will use for inflation. Monthly audio update from firm handling my IRA said the same thing. They felt the last round wasn’t needed.

  41. 41.

    guachi

    @Kristine: I thought back in February or whenever the latest stimulus passed that the government shouldn’t send out all of the money at once because it would lead to too much money chasing too few goods and services. I think the government should have sent the money out over the course of a year or six months.

     

    How much the stimulus is affecting prices, I don’t know. Prices jumped 0.9% in October and that’s months after most stimulus checks were issued, so maybe it wasn’t much of a reason.

  43. 43.

    satby

    @evodevo: @Kristine: Kevin Drum had a post about paying attention to everything Summers says, not just the bits cherry picked by our media:

    Summers attributes the persistent inflation to Biden’s COVID relief package, but said he supports the infrastructure and social spending bills. “Together, they are smaller over 10 years than this past year’s stimulus was over a single year, and in addition they are substantially paid for,” Summers said.

  46. 46.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: I had the same thought regarding Manchin. We’ll see, but using inflation as an excuse to kill BBB ticks all the boxes for Manchin, e.g., makes him look (in his own mind, at least) prescient, prudent, bipartisan, etc.

    I don’t blame The Squad for voting against relinquishing the leverage BIF represented, and I also don’t blame Rep. Jayapal and the rest of the Dems who originally held out for deciding a leap of faith was their best play.

    As always, negotiating with bad-faith conservatives is a no-win situation. Even when they’re in your own party. 

  48. 48.

    Kay

    @gene108:

    Rank and file Democrats could insist the Democratic political operation get better. “Media” is an actual thing that people are currently getting paid to do. It wouldn’t be ideological. Not “sell Left” or “sell Right” but just “sell”. It’s simply asking if we’re getting good value for the money we spend on the political managers in the Democratic Party- not the campaigns, but the Party itself.

    There’s resistance to it, of course, because that’s an implied criticism of the people who are paid to do it but asking is good. Just look at it. Could it be better?

  49. 49.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Betty Cracker: That the DSA progressives had any kind of leverage over Manchin was always fanfiction.

    BTW evil Manchin votes with Schumer and Ds far more often than the sainted DSA Squad does  with the Ds and Pelosi

    We don’t know whether BBB will pass but the squad has already started bad mouthing the infrastructure bill, doing the Republicans work for them in the 2022 campaign.

  50. 50.

    Betty

    @Betty Cracker: The last I saw he just wanted to kill an incentive for electric vehicles, per request of Toyota planning a new plant in WVA. Seen as possible evidence he wouldn’t kill the whole bill. Who knows? It’s a different objection every week.

  51. 51.

    JMG

    @schrodingers_cat: It’s not so. Squad votes with Pelosi as much or more than Manchin votes with Dems. House has more votes, since when Manchin doesn’t want to vote for a Democratic bill, Schumer doesn’t even bring it up because what’s the point

    PS: Last thing Manchin wants is for BBB to come up for a vote. Whether he votes yea or nay, the story’s over and he is no longer the center of Washington attention. So he’ll neither kill it nor endorse it, just come up with more and more of these inane quibbles allowing him to shoot his mouth off to the media yet again.

  52. 52.

    p.a.

    @Baud: Actually, it’s the Fox/Hate Radio Magic Time Machine.  Any + when Dems in power is the result of previous R actions.  Any – is the immediate result of Dem actions.  When Rs in power the inverse holds, of course.  Also too, includes assumed future actions: market drop during R admin when Dems polling ahead in upcoming election is, of course, result of market fears of Dem future actions.

  55. 55.

    Geminid

    @guachi: I think a lot of the Amirican Rescue Plan money will in fact be spent over two years. And initiatives like Virginia’s projected investment of $500 million in upgrading public school HVAC systems have hardly begun to kick in. So I tend to discount the stimulus’ effects upon inflation.But we won’t have better knowledge of how transitory or not current inflation is for a few more months.

  56. 56.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Betty: Definition of bad faith. I can understand, sort of, arguing for more conservative policy choices, but Manchin keeps moving the goalposts. It’s infuriating.

  59. 59.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @satby: I have a dear friend who’s a yoga instructor. I’d hate to inflict them on her. :) Isn’t there some other odious career these mooks could do without inflicting societal harm?

  64. 64.

    Geminid

    @schrodingers_cat: I’ve noticed that at least two of the Squad have started modulating their criticism of the infrastructure bill. It may be that they have been getting pushback from their real constituents in New York City, which under this bill will get scores of billions for badly needed infrastructure improvements. I think the Metropolitan Transit Authority alone will get $11 billion for subways and buses. Hopefully some will go to transitioning to electric buses.

  66. 66.

    Spanky

    Have hit Minute 10 of the mandated 15 minute post-booster chill time. I think I feel the prehensile tail is finally starting to sprout.

  68. 68.

    Spanky

    I’m guessing Baud is heading south of the equator just so he can remain pantless in the warming weather.

  70. 70.

    RSA

    Saw some really neat behaviors a few years ago. A mountain chickadee taking advantage of an American red squirrel’s efforts (a thread).

    How cool. I did some work in the field of animal behavior a long time ago, and reading the literature I realized that a not-insignificant amount of we know about behavior in the wild comes from attentive people who make careful observations, write it down, and share it with others. Unlike behavioral ecologist Jennifer Campbell-Smith, they’re not always experts, just interested, and sometimes their reports are just a couple of paragraphs in a local birder/wildlife newsletter. They remind me of citizen scientists of Darwin’s time.

  71. 71.

    L85NJGT

    @satby:

    He also called out the “billionaire tax” for being the regressive piece of garbage it is.

    My working theory is it speaks to the income levels of the donor base over there in Bernieland. Don’t tax us top 1% income Americans, stick it to the man!

  72. 72.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Betty Cracker:

    As always, negotiating with bad-faith conservatives is a no-win situation. Even when they’re in your own party.

    Well, since the other is the party of obstruction and insurrection, there’s only one left to govern, so it seems we will be stuck in this internecine war for a while.

  74. 74.

    Steeplejack

    @jeffreyw:

    Probably. I have noticed the last few days one of two things (on Win10 with Firefox):

    1. A page loads (or refreshes) with “text only” versions of tweets, with the full versions coming in 20-30 seconds later (but after Firefox says the page has been reloaded or refreshed).
    2. Page seems to “microload” once for each tweet. What I mean—and I notice this when I refresh a page when I’m way down in the comments—is that the page refreshes but then my position jumps around numerous times before finally settling. And the “numerous” number seems to correlate with how many tweets are included in the original post.

    I don’t know what any of this means. I report, nobody decides.

  75. 75.

    Geminid

    @RSA: The more I learn about bird behavior, and then compare it to that of humans, the more I think of “birdbrain” as a compliment

  76. 76.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @RSA:

    a not-insignificant amount of we know about behavior in the wild comes from attentive people who make careful observations, write it down, and share it with others. Unlike behavioral ecologist Jennifer Campbell-Smith, they’re not always experts, just interested, and sometimes their reports are just a couple of paragraphs in a local birder/wildlife newsletter. They remind me of citizen scientists of Darwin’s time.

    Great observation on your part. And I’d love to see Tom Levenson or someone of his calibre write a book about these people and some of their discoveries. (Or maybe someone has?)

  79. 79.

    Betty Cracker

    @Sure Lurkalot: True. I really do try to ignore it mostly, but it’s infuriating. The problem is only one party is interested in governing at all, and all policy debate takes place in that party. It’s not indefinitely sustainable, IMO.

  84. 84.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Betty Cracker:

    “It’s hard to scrape by on a mere 7-figures these days.”

    For sure. Have you seen the cost of minions lately?

    ETA: At this point I’d take the $10m figure and call it a win. For now. Assuming Sinema doesn’t change the terms. Again.

  87. 87.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker:

    Not just the right flank, from your link:

    And while the White House is pushing a new 15 percent minimum tax on corporations, the measure faces fresh objections this week from renewable-energy groups who are warning it could undermine the party’s climate goals. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) said in a statement that he and several Senate Democrats are seeking changes to ensure the minimum tax does not dilute the potential impact of the legislation’s clean energy tax credits to spark new renewable capital projects.

  88. 88.

    lowtechcyclist

    @schrodingers_cat: ​
     

    BTW evil Manchin votes with Schumer and Ds far more often than the sainted DSA Squad does with the Ds and Pelosi

    Tell me the biggest fucking thing the Squad has killed this year.

    Go ahead, tell me.

  92. 92.

    JMG

    Yeah, that’s the thing. Pelosi gives the Squad free votes. When she has a majority, some or all of them can vote “no” to signify, well, whatever. In the case of the infrastructure bill, it was to signify “we don’t trust Manhin and Sinema,” which I bet Pelosi agrees with though she can’t say so. Schumer has no free votes to give. If his caucus isn’t unanimous, he’d lose a vote, so he doesn’t bring up bills where Dems aren’t unanimous.

  97. 97.

    frosty

    @Spanky: Oooh, prehensile tail! I’m not going to get one because the pharmacy tech said since I had a mild reaction to House Moderna #1 and #2 there was no need for the 15 minute wait. I left, and left the chances for a prehensile tail behind. If only I’d known!

    (sore arm 20 hours later, nothing else yet)

  99. 99.

    Steeplejack

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    They remind me of citizen scientists of Darwin’s time.

    This is an interesting subtheme running through Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/​Maturin novels (which take place in the early 1800s). Physician (and spy) Stephen Maturin always makes detours for “naturalizing and botanizing” wherever their voyages take them. And there are many conversations with other interested and knowledgeable “amateurs” about exotic flora and fauna. Maturin even gets a tortoise species named after Jack Aubrey!

  100. 100.

    Jharp

    My bird story.

    Had a chickadee house right outside my office window for a few years. Occupied very year.

    Had to take it down to clean about December and didn’t out it back up right away.

    Sitting  in my office one March day I heard a tap tap on the window.

    It was a chickadee asking where the fuck is my house.

    House  went back out and chickadee started moving in the next day.

  101. 101.

    Betty Cracker

    @JMG: Jayapal was whipping progressive votes for the BIF, and IMO she signaled approval for the nays in no uncertain terms by retweeting this:


    I’m pretty sure Jayapal coordinated with Pelosi.

  102. 102.

    Another Scott

    @evodevo: Too many people want us to forget that oil was negative $37.63/bbl on April 20, 2020.

    The pandemic has caused wild, temporary, swings in prices.  That’s it.  That’s the story.

    People talking about inflation now are using it as a cudgel for other reasons, not because inflation is a real concern going forward.  (There’s still 5M (IIRC) fewer people working than in 2019; there’s still a glut of manufacturing capacity for cars, planes, etc.; there’s still far too much money on the sidelines doing nothing productive; etc.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  103. 103.

    WaterGirl

    @Jharp: Nice!

    My sister is religious about changing her hummingbird food every single day.  One day she didn’t get it back up right away as dinner was ready.

    We are sitting at the table and right outside the window is where the hummingbird feeder hands.  A VERY PISSED OFF hummingbird  was staring right at us.  Very indignant!

    My sister got up from the table, filled the feeder with the food that had cooled and hung the feeder back up.  Hummingbird was happy again.

  104. 104.

    Steeplejack

    @jeffreyw:

    A few minutes ago I had a thought—wondered if the weird behavior might be related to my turning off AdblockPlus when the site went ad-free. I turned it back on but the weirdness remained.

  105. 105.

    Alison Rose

    Chickadees are the best birbs, I loves them. Now I must share this amazing passage from a book I read a couple of years ago:

    You might not tap the chickadee as the brightest bulb in birddom. It’s known primarily for its cuteness. Round, fluffy little body in handsome gray coat and smart black cap. Short bill. Oversized head like ET. It has nothing of the slender sleekness of warblers or vireos or the swaggering canny of the crow. It’s mostly famous for its vim at the feeder and its astonishing acrobatics. As the ornithologist Edward Howe Forbush once observed, ‘I have seen a chickadee drop over backward from a branch in pursuit of an insect, catch it, and turning an almost complete somersault in the air, strike right side up again on the leaning trunk of the tree.’

    But the chickadee is more than just the bird of verve and agility. It’s also acrobatic in its aptitudes, curious, intelligent, and opportunistic, with a remarkable memory: ‘a bird masterpiece beyond all praise,’ in the words of Forbush. On Louis LeFebvre’s IQ scale, the chickadee’s family rates right up there with woodpeckers.

    Fuck yeah chickadees!!

  106. 106.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jharp: Hahaha, that’s awesome!

    I had a similar exchange with a hummingbird this spring. I usually put the feeders back up on my side porch around mid-March. But earlier in that month this year, I heard a weird scraping noise on the open window and looked up to see a hummingbird clinging to the screen and raking its beak across the screen. I am 100% convinced he was telling me to put the nectar out.

  108. 108.

    Geminid

    @schrodingers_cat: I think that if and when the BBB bill passes we’ll get a better retrospective on the attitude Speaker Pelosi and other Congressional Democrats had towards the six no-votes. While the recriminations and counter-recriminations have been flying here and on Twitter, I’ve seen very little from actual Democratic Representatives. It may be that word went out to Caucus members that Nonna Pelosi still has a big cake in the oven, so don’t be stomping around!

    The HouseDemocratic Caucus had a very wrenching blowup in July, 2019 over the emergency border funding bill. I thought it came out the stronger, though, with more mutual understanding between it’s two wings. One lesson was how much harder these disputes are to resolve when members try to fight them out in the media and on Twitter.

  109. 109.

    Steeplejack

    @jeffreyw:

    I’ve been seeing stories about “Chrome bad! Run away!” but haven’t really delved into them. I use Firefox on my computer, Brave on my Android phone. I use Chrome only on my Chromebook to load HBO Max and PBS Passport.

  110. 110.

    Lyrebird

    Since this is an open thread, hope this is fine to post:

    From Attorney Ben Crump:

    Why does he think he can tell Black Pastors that they can not come and support Ahmaud Arbery’s Parents in pursuit of justice for their son?

    Lots of replies saying on the one hand, pack that court with every Black Pastor who can travel! Other people saying, he’s trying to force a mistrial. I’m not Omnes or Burns, I don’t know. But maybe some Georgians know some sane Pastors of any color, sounds like they might want to go stand up and lift up the Arbery family.

  113. 113.

    wombat probability cloud

    FWIW, it looks like a red squirrel, not a gray, unless the color of the photo is really off. Different species.

  118. 118.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Lyrebird:

    I have a friend who leads an AME church somewhere down near Valdosta (former colleague who left the Canadian Consulate to become a pastor). She’s very plugged in, and I expect she knows if there are any such plans in the works. I’ll try to get in touch with her and find out.

  119. 119.

    Kristine

    Apropos the inflation discussion, this interesting post by Judd Legum cited inflated corporate profits as one of the reasons. Little/no competition, so no check on prices.

    .“To a fundamental analyst, inflation is called ‘pricing power,’” said Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research. “And it is very good for incremental corporate earnings.”

    As Colas alludes to, corporations are not being forced to raise prices to stay afloat. They are choosing to raise prices to maintain large profit margins because they have enough market power to do so without losing customers.

  120. 120.

    schrodingers_cat

    Other than deep blue districts and  in white/privileged liberal and/or leftie spaces the DSA Squad, their rhetoric and tactics are electoral poison. Crowley and Engel (who AOC and Bowman defeated) would have voted for the infra bill so it is not about those specific districts either. BTW Biden outperformed the Squad members in their respective districts.

    Their votes are to build their own brand and for fundraising. NP had to work around them. This time she could, but if there were say 30 reps who voted like the Squad, Ds would not be able to achieve anything.

  121. 121.

    Geminid

    @guachi:  A 15% minimum corporate tax is a means to an end, not an end in itself. I have no problem with modifying the tax if that serves the end of increasing investment in effective clean energy initiatives.

  125. 125.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @schrodingers_cat: Has any bill ever failed to pass in the House, solely because of the Squad’s votes?  I’m guessing not.  Whereas countless bills can’t even be discussed in the Senate (including Voting Rights) because of Manchin’s refusal to budge on the filibuster.  It’s really not complicated to see who is personally doing more to prevent Democratic legislation from becoming law.

  126. 126.

    Ladyracterinok

    @eldorado:

    Years ago my then husband and I or taking a bus from Iowa to Utah. When the bus pulled into Cheyenne we watched birds coming out of the bus shed rafters to eat the smashed insects on the windshield.

    Birds filling a niche????

  127. 127.

    J R in WV

    @Betty: ​
     

    …per request of Toyota planning a new plant in WVA.

    Actually it is a major addition to an existing Toyota engine plant, to allow the plant to begin manufacturing electric trans-axles for various kinds of electric vehicles, as in fully e-autos and/or hybrids.

    Since Toyota came to WV we have also gained a whole lot of variety of sushi places all around the region — hurray!!

  128. 128.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Omnes Omnibus: It’s like the most famous fact about Pelosi: she doesn’t bring something up for a vote unless she already has a count.  Everyone here has taken that as a given and even trumpeted it (rightfully) for years as a testament to why she’s the GOAT Speaker.

  129. 129.

    Mike in NC

    So tired of the media’s current fixation on INFLATION which FOX News made up out of thin air…

  130. 130.

    slybrarian

    I don’t see why anyone should be more upset about the Squad making a protest vote that didn’t threaten passage of the bill than they are about the ‘centrists’ who caused the entire blowup in the first place by suddenly trying to stop BBB the day the votes for the two connected bills was scheduled. There would have been no drama and no protest vote if the right wing hadn’t done that.

  132. 132.

    JWR

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    I can understand, sort of, arguing for more conservative policy choices, but Manchin keeps moving the goalposts. It’s infuriating.

    I think Manchin has been asked by his good Republican friend Moscow Mitch to keep the BBB bill down to the size of TFG’s 2017 tax cuts/giveaways to the billionaires. Why? I dunno. Maybe it was a private yacht houseboat joke that turned into a side bet. Who knows with these people?

  135. 135.

    Old School

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Not yet because they don’t have the numbers.

    Last I checked, the split was 221 Democrats and 213 Republicans.  It seems like the Squad would more than likely be able to kill any bill they’d like.

  138. 138.

    topclimber

    @Kristine: Wait, we are still in a national state of emergency re: COVID, right?

    In a state of emergency, you crack down on profiteers, even if they are just garden variety monopolists. Cueing Senator Liz to float this trial balloon, maybe via hearings in her committee? It will at least spread your word on corporate profits as a major source of inflation.

  139. 139.

    Joe Falco

    @schrodingers_cat:

    But they poison the well and help depress the turnout.

    Is there some evidence you can point to to back that assertion up? I could argue Sinema and Manchin’s refusal to dump or amend the filibuster to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act will do more to depress voter turnout in next year’s elections than what any Squad member can say or do.

  141. 141.

    Mary G

    @Betty Cracker: They will. I’ve had hummingbirds hover in my face so close I can hear their wings whir and click at me to FILL THE FEEDER NAOW! One would do the scratch the window screen on my bedroom window when he saw I was in there, even though I have no door to get outside from there, so it’s GO IN THE KITCHEN AND MAKE DELICIOUS SUGAR WATER THEN COME OUTSIDE THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HOUSE AND WALK THROUGH  THE BACKYARD TO THE PATIO TO FEED ME NAOW.

  144. 144.

    jeffreyw

    @Steeplejack: I think the “Chrome bad” stems from “Oh No! they are evil huge corporation not like cuddly Mozilla”.  I for one don’t worry about all the tracking and privacy issues because the seamless integration of their services is a genuine good thing for me.  I don’t care if my location is tracked.  They are up front about all of that.  They even tell me where I’ve been every month.

  148. 148.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    San Francisco police officer dies of covid while on leave for failing to meet vaccination requirement
    Nyce’s death comes as several police departments across the country struggle to enforce city vaccination mandates. In Chicago, days before police officers were due to report their vaccination status following a citywide mandate, the head of its police union urged officers to ignore the deadline and “hold the line.” […]

    Nyce, who was raised in San Francisco and later served in the Army, tested positive for the virus last Tuesday, his wife told the Chronicle. His health deteriorated rapidly and by Saturday, his wife called an ambulance to take him to the hospital. He died later that day.

    what the fuck does it take to get through their marble heads?

  151. 151.

    Steeplejack

    @zhena gogolia:

    Haven’t watched it yet. One of the weird side effects of my having PBS Passport is that I miss the Sunday night viewing and then tell myself I’ll binge it later. (Not just Grantchester.) And then I never get around to it. Grantchester situation exacerbated because I realized that I need to go back and look at the previous season (at least!) to remind myself what the hell’s going on.

    The last ones I binge-watched were Unforgotten and Professor T (which I didn’t like as much as the original Belgian series). Next up was going to be Baptiste. I liked the first season of that okay.

  154. 154.

    JWR

    @Steeplejack:

    “Chrome bad! Run away!”

    I’ve used Firefox since forever, but when commenting here with FF became so complex, (I had to remember my amateur HTML), I finally made the painful switch to Chrome. I really miss FF’s File Menu, and I still have the “after commenting” problem, (Back button breaks) with Chrome, but oh how nice it is to have both Visual and Text tabs available at least 99% of the time.

  158. 158.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: I saw Jayapal’s tweet the day after the infrastructure vote. I don’t know if she coordinated it with Pelosi, though. She might not have even have told the Speaker beforehand. If she did, I wonder if the Speaker’s reaction was “Great!” or “Okay,” or “…whatever.”

  159. 159.

    slybrarian

    @Baud: ​
     

    Most people seem to agree about the centrists, but schrodingers_cat is much more vocally concerned about how the Squad might maybe possibly someday be obstructive, despite the Progressive caucus being the president’s biggest supporters, while remaining silent about the actual last-minute obstruction that happened last week by the centrists.

  162. 162.

    Baud

    @slybrarian:

    despite the Progressive caucus being the president’s biggest supporters

    That’s a bit hyperbolic, but they have mostly supported initial Biden’s BBB proposal.

    while remaining silent about the actual last-minute obstruction that happened last week by the centrists.

    We don’t have a quota system.  Whether you agree or disagree with SC’s views about the Squad, the perfidy of the centrists is not responsive to her criticisms.

  164. 164.

    Lyrebird

    @SiubhanDuinne: Rock on.  Best to you and to her!

    WIshing I could make this happen: Pizzas for any pastors showing up for basic human dignity and shining a light on such wrong.

  166. 166.

    Steeplejack

    @JWR:

    Good to know. As a veteran of semi-pro HTML and someone who composes many comments in Word and then copies them over, I tend to use text mode a lot. Visual mode is nice for short comments when it shows up.

  169. 169.

    Steeplejack

    @zhena gogolia:

    Okay, I’m bumping it up the list.

    Will note that I was also worried that the subplot with the gay assistant vicar and the housekeeper was going to run off the rails.

  171. 171.

    Fair Economist

    @Mary G:

    One would do the scratch the window screen on my bedroom window when he saw I was in there, even though I have no door to get outside from there

    TBF it’s not really reasonable to expect a hummingbird to understand human house layouts.

  172. 172.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: I meant Jayapal coordinated the PC whip count with Pelosi, including the nays, not the tweet. I assume Pelosi doesn’t give a flying fuck about tweets.

  175. 175.

    JWR

    @Steeplejack: “Visual mode is nice for short comments when it shows up.”

    Sure is. I think of the Visual tab as my preview. But I’m getting used to the feel. And It’s easy to import bookmarks from FF, they just show up in a bookmark bar along the top.

  176. 176.

    BC in Illinois

    I have a “Friend on Facebook,” who doesn’t post anything nowadays, but through their postings I came in touch with the FB page of someone who is fully into the world of Trump — the Once and Future President [Praeses Quondam, Praesesque Futurus]. Here is what they are saying.

    Yesterday:

    Still trying to get my head around the fact, that some of you actually believe that the “social media crowd” would be somehow “privy” to the highest level top-secret, military security, level of information about Trump’s return.

    Like, it would be leaked to the Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube crowd.

    We won’t know until “ after” it’s happened. So don’t listen to any puffed-up know it all, who thinks they know anything, because they don’t. And if you’re spreading this stuff, then you’re gossiping.

    We have enough toxic crap with the fake news media. And as a believer, don’t give Christians a bad name by buying into this.The Word says, you have the mind of Christ, so don’t be gullible to thinking that this information, would somehow be leaked to you on social media “before” it happens.

    There are “highest level top-secret, military” things going on, to facilitate the Return of the King. (Which, if I remember correctly, is the 2nd volume, followed by the struggle of the Two Towers. But I’m not up to date on all the prophetic literature.)

    Which leads to today’s revelation (with a picture of cake and balloons and celebration and flags):

    I woke up to Holy Spirit saying; “Freedom is coming! Can you feel it in the air?”

    [sic]

  177. 177.

    zhena gogolia

    @Steeplejack: The weekly mysteries have suffered from the attention paid to the ongoing regulars’ storylines. The same happened in the “Gary Bell” season, but I thought that one kept a better balance.

  178. 178.

    zhena gogolia

    We finished season 2 of The Crown last night and watched the first few minutes of season 3. I was disturbed by the change in the music.

  181. 181.

    Steeplejack

    @JWR:

    I will say that in Visual mode it can be harder to navigate into and out of links and blockquotes when composing. In text mode it’s always obvious where you are.

  184. 184.

    zhena gogolia

    @satby: Yes, of course, but they dealt with that subject in season 1. I think we’re objecting to the feeling that it’s just manufacturing drama because the show is tired. Kind of like Anna being accused of murder in season X of Downton, after Bates was accused of murder in season 1 or 2.

  185. 185.

    Betty Cracker

    @zhena gogolia: Sometimes I wonder if The Crown writers have a dead pool on members of the royal family since that might affect plot lines. Or maybe they already know they’re going to end the series with events up to 2000 or something. No idea!

  186. 186.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: Now I understand the point of your comment. I agree generally but I would posit that the Speaker may not have been happy with Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet saying in so many words that Joe Biden was misleading Americans about replacing lead pipes. Ron Klain might not have liked that one either. When that idiot gets finally around  to calling me I’ll ask him about this.

  188. 188.

    zhena gogolia

    @Betty Cracker: I’m developing a theory about the writing. But I’ll get through seasons 3 and 4 before expressing it.

    I hated what they did with the Kennedys. Other than that, we’re mesmerized. I was glad to see Matt Smith on Seth Meyers and realize he’s not really a jerk, or at least seemingly not.

  189. 189.

    zhena gogolia

    Meanwhile, I LOVE The Souvenir, dir. Joanna Hogg. It’s disappearing from Prime on Sunday, so see it while you can! Absolutely spellbinding.

    ETA: Unbelievable performance by Tom Burke. And Honor Swinton Byrne is also amazing.

  190. 190.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: You’re probably right about that, and my guess is 95% of the caucus and 100% of the admin wish Manchin would STFU about “entitlements,” Sinema would stop being human bubblewrap for the 1% and both would stop humping the filibuster so Democrats can protect democracy from actual fascists. Coalition politics! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    Re: your question about Demings — I’ve not read much about her lately in the media, but she’s got an extremely aggressive supporter outreach strategy, so I hear from her a lot. Sounds like she’s competitive with Lil’ Marco on what little polling there is.

  191. 191.

    evodevo

    @Jharp: yep…they used to come peck on my dinette window when I didn’t keep the bird feeder filled up to their satisfaction lol

  193. 193.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: Well, we know Lil’ Marco is sweating, just not how much. I suspect he knows he will have to bring his A game, both in financing and campaigning, to beat Demings.

    I read an interesting article in Politico about trump and DeSantis. The report was that trump is letting people around him know that he is not pleased that DeSantis hasn’t ruled out running for President if trump runs. Evidently a few other people mentioned as potential candidates have taken the pledge. Chris Christie, for one, obviously won’t.

  194. 194.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: It would be brilliant if Trump and DeSantis get into a damaging brawl, and I could see it happening because Trump is a narcissistic attention hog. DeSantis is a sociopath who is capable of controlling himself, but Trump is a different brand of psycho, and he DGAF about blowback on the party. He will not be ignored, and it could get interesting.

  195. 195.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: A part of the article that made me laugh is when trump was said to have described Charlie Crist as “a killer.” I’m not sure anyone has ever called Charlie Crist that. It sounded like something of a veiled threat to DeSantis, that he’d better get on the trump train or else.

  196. 196.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Betty Cracker: there were some clips going around yesterday of Chris Christie and The Beast sniping at each other. Interesting to think that CC, who knows trump pretty well, seems to think that having blood that’s at least 65% McD’s sludge won’t be around for 2024, cause no way in hell anything but death or incapacity is gonna stop trump from running.

  197. 197.

    Geminid

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Christie is ready to run trump or no trump. He may force other candidates to get off the fence. Glenn Youngkin just demonstrated that trump’s MAGA magic is not so magical, at least in a general election. trump has endorsed a raft of candidates for GOP nominations all across the country. Next year’s primaries will show how strong the MAGA magic is in the party.

  199. 199.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: I have a weird sense of  humor. I’ve been cracking up over the image of Charlie Crist, with his goofy astronaut crewcut, bounding onto a rally stage to sound of Queen singing “Killer.”

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