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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Martin Luther King: What Would He Say If He Were Alive Today

Martin Luther King: What Would He Say If He Were Alive Today

by WaterGirl|  January 17, 20228:55 am| 130 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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I mean, seriously.  Who Wouldn’t Want to Change the World and Then Be Honored with Mattress Sales?

It is a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he should lift himself up by his own bootstraps. It is even worse to tell a man to lift himself up by his own bootstraps when somebody is standing on the boot….I had to tell him finally that nobody else in this country has lifted themselves by their own bootstraps alone, so why expect the black man to do it?

― Martin Luther King Jr.   (from All Labor Has Dignity)

I continue to think that Martin Luther King was killed not just for demanding equality for black people.  The even worse crime was to demand dignity for everyone.

You are doing many things here in this struggle. You are demanding that this city will respect the dignity of labor. So often we overlook the work and the significance of those who are not in professional jobs, of those who are not in the so-called big jobs. But let me say to you tonight, that whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity, and it has worth. One day our society must come to see this. One day our society will come to respect the sanitation worker if it is to survive, for the person who picks up our garbage, in the final analysis, is as significant as the physician, for if he doesn’t do his job, diseases are rampant. All labor has dignity.

But you are doing another thing. You are reminding, not only Memphis, but you are reminding the nation that it is a crime for people to live in this rich nation and receive starvation wages. … Do you know that most of the poor people in our country are working every day? And they are making wages so low that they cannot begin to function in the mainstream of the economic life of our nation. These are facts which must be seen, and it is criminal to have people working on a full-time basis and a full-time job getting part-time income. You are here tonight to demand that Memphis will do something about the conditions that our brothers face as they work day in and day out for the well-being of the total community. You are here to demand that Memphis will see the poor.

What would Martin Luther King say to us about our challenges if he were here today?

If you’re up for it, let’s use the premise of BG’s Medium Cool last night to share our thoughts in this thread.

One of the things all screenwriters do is write what are called “loglines.” These are the 1-2 sentence pitches that hook the reader and describe the central conflict of the story.

Example: A young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.

Oh, and in case you want to follow the tradition that President Obama started when he asked people to volunteer for something on MLK Day, I will include satby’s comment from the earlier thread.

For anyone who wants to take part in the Betty White tribute, the spay/neuter group I am a member of was notified this month that ALL our partner vets are raising their fees. We have to decide between raising our client copays or keeping them as low as possible and running out of funds sooner. Donations gratefully accepted. SNAP of Michigan

It’s a hat trick. You get to honor President Obama, you get to honor the beloved Betty White, and you get to help out the rescue that satby works with.  SNAP of Michigan was one of our two finalists when choosing the new pet rescue last year.

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Reader Interactions

130Comments

  1. 1.

    debbie

    January 17, 2022 at 9:06 am

    He erred when he pointed out how un-Christian the Christians were.

  2. 2.

    WereBear

    January 17, 2022 at 9:16 am

    I continue to think that Martin Luther King was killed not just for demanding equality for black people.  The even worse crime was to demand dignity for everyone.

    I have long thought so, too. Recently read, and I think it was here, that his murderer expected a pardon for so doing.

    As part of our MLK weekend, we watched In the Heat of the Night yesterday. The small Southern town casually discusses framing, then murdering, the Sidney Poitier character they resent so much. For showing them up as ignorant and hateful.

    It’s like another virus and we still haven’t reached herd immunity.

  3. 3.

    Baud

    January 17, 2022 at 9:22 am

    What would Martin Luther King say to us about our challenges if he were here today?

    Fuck Manchinema. Probably.

  4. 4.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    January 17, 2022 at 9:48 am

    @debbie: To me, people make a wish rather than an argument when they say things like “that group of people (who espouse the Christian faith) aren’t really Christians” or “those people who call themselves conservatives aren’t really conservatives.” At some point, Christians (or conservatives) are what Christians (or conservatives) do. That can change, but you can’t deny it’s there.

  5. 5.

    Leto

    January 17, 2022 at 9:50 am

    What would he say?

    “ I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”

    Martin Luther King, Jr, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

  6. 6.

    Ken

    January 17, 2022 at 9:52 am

    Is anyone else feeling blocked by the suggestion to do a story pitch?  Because between that and the hoary old joke*, I’m having trouble coming up with anything beyond “Zombie MLK brings hellfire to lengthy list of politicians”.

    * “What would X say if he were alive today?” “Why is it so dark in here?”

  7. 7.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 9:55 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    At some point, Christians (or conservatives) are what Christians (or conservatives) do.

    Agree.

  8. 8.

    Butter Emails

    January 17, 2022 at 9:59 am

    On this MLK day, let us remember that millions of black people will be made to stand for hours because 2 white people think it is more important that 100 Senators remain seated.

  9. 9.

    Leto

    January 17, 2022 at 10:05 am

    @Ken: I mean, they’ve had “Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies”, and “Abraham Lincoln: Zombie Hunter”! So why not, “Martin Luther King: Zombie Justice Avenger”! Imagine the merchandising tie-ins!!!! /s

  10. 10.

    MazeDancer

    January 17, 2022 at 10:09 am

    Gave a little something to SNAP. And my local shelter. In honor of Betty White. (https://dcspca.org/?form=FUNVDBRZFTQ}

    Are donations to Four Directions matchable today?

  11. 11.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 10:10 am

    A lot of sloppy commentary on this, but this seems to be the scenario for the Electoral Count Act reform.

    There are two proposals – one w/Manchin and Sinema and various Republicans (redundant, I know) and another by Democrats:

    “There is a lot of interest, a lot of interest,” said Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, who is leading one effort with Senators Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, both centrist Democrats, and Senators Mitt Romney of Utah, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Joni Ernst of Iowa, all Republicans.

    A separate group — including two Democratic senators, Richard J. Durbin of Illinois and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Senator Angus King, a left-of-center independent from Maine — is looking at changing how Congress formalizes the election results to head off another attempt like the one Mr. Trump made to have allies on Capitol Hill try to toss out state electoral votes.

    The Democratic plan is fleshed out- here. The Republican plan is not. But there are no Republicans backing the Democratic plan and no Democrats (other than Manchin and Sinema) backing the Republican plan. So Romney would have 10 Republicans, Manchin and Sinema, and no Democrats = 12. Democrats would have all the Democrats, but no Manchin and Sinema (who are backing the GOP plan, which doesn’t exist yet) = 48.

  12. 12.

    raven

    January 17, 2022 at 10:17 am

    @WereBear: He was killed because he made the link between racism here and racism in Vietnam

    On 4 April 1967 Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his seminal speech at Riverside Church condemning the Vietnam War. Declaring “my conscience leaves me no other choice,” King described the war’s deleterious effects on both America’s poor and Vietnamese peasants and insisted that it was morally imperative for the United States to take radical steps to halt the war through nonviolent means (King, “Beyond Vietnam,” 139).

    King’s anti-war sentiments emerged publicly for the first time in March 1965, when King declared that “millions of dollars can be spent every day to hold troops in South Viet Nam and our country cannot protect the rights of Negroes in Selma” (King, 9 March 1965). King told reporters on Face the Nation that as a minister he had “a prophetic function” and as “one greatly concerned about the need for peace in our world and the survival of mankind, I must continue to take a stand on this issue” (King, 29 August 1965). In a version of the “Transformed Nonconformist” sermon given in January 1966 at Ebenezer Baptist Church, King voiced his own opposition to the Vietnam War, describing American aggression as a violation of the 1954 Geneva Accord that promised self-determination.

  13. 13.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 17, 2022 at 10:19 am

    I don’t know what MLK would say today.  I feel like any attempt I would make would merely be me putting my words and perceptions into his mouth.

  14. 14.

    Another Scott

    January 17, 2022 at 10:20 am

    Meanwhile, …

    France24

    French far-right presidential candidate Zemmour convicted for racist hate speech

    Imagine how different the world would be if TFG faced similar legal sanctions.

    Yeah, there are very good reasons to have a First Amendment, but there are also arguments on the other side.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  15. 15.

    Benw

    January 17, 2022 at 10:24 am

    I hope today he would remind us that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice” and that a lot of things are better now than they were in 1956 even if things seem pretty bad and it’s worth continuing to fight 

  16. 16.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 17, 2022 at 10:24 am

    @Another Scott: Fuck that guy.

  17. 17.

    debbie

    January 17, 2022 at 10:32 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I’m not sure what your distinction is. I only know there are people who have labeled themselves as Christians who are not acting in a Christian-like manner.

    I stick with my “tribe’s” dictate: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor.” (Hillel) This is what I try to follow every day.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    January 17, 2022 at 10:41 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I don’t think it’s illogical or unhelpful to point out that a group of people (even a majority) aren’t living up to a processed standard.  The key question is, how do you enforce the standard you want people to live up to, especially when persuasion and education have gone nowhere.  That’s the hard question good Christians (or other good groups) don’t really want to grapple with.

  19. 19.

    WereBear

    January 17, 2022 at 10:41 am

    @raven: I knew there was some kind of trigger, thanks.

  20. 20.

    WereBear

    January 17, 2022 at 10:45 am

    @Baud: There used to be social pressure to keep people polite in public, but now all the MAGAts live IN their bubble. The social pressure goes the other way, as we see them crushed by COVID.

  21. 21.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 17, 2022 at 10:46 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: ​
     

    To me, people make a wish rather than an argument when they say things like “that group of people (who espouse the Christian faith) aren’t really Christians”

    Oh, I’ve made the argument that evangelicals aren’t really Christians, by their own assumptions about what that means, and I think it’s a pretty strong one. But if you regard ‘Christian’ as simply a label, then you’re correct.

  22. 22.

    patroclus

    January 17, 2022 at 10:46 am

    I think Martin Luther King would say something like this: “As my good friend Frederick Douglas once said to Abraham Lincoln during a debate – Now Is The Time to purchase a high quality affordable mattress.”

  23. 23.

    Elizabelle

    January 17, 2022 at 10:49 am

    “I love my wife, and would have liked to see my children grow up.”

    MLK Jr. would not say it out loud, I think, but he would be pretty disgusted with those too cowardly to demand voting rights. Especially those in a position to vote to protect voting rights.  Which is one of the very best ways to ensure and protect our democracy.

    I’d love if MLK Jr. said “fuck the filibuster”, but I do not think that was the good reverend’s style.

  24. 24.

    Baud

    January 17, 2022 at 10:51 am

    @WereBear:

    There used to be social pressure to keep people polite in public

     
    To be honest, I think a lot of that social pressure involved chastising white people for behaving like those people. What’s changed is that those people got to be seen by a lot of the country as equally moral, if not more so.

  25. 25.

    WereBear

    January 17, 2022 at 10:51 am

    @Elizabelle:

    I’d love if MLK Jr. said “fuck the filibuster”, but I do not think that was the good reverend’s style.

    Not then. Maybe now.

  26. 26.

    Baud

    January 17, 2022 at 10:52 am

    @Elizabelle:

    Yeah, I took some poetic license there.

  27. 27.

    Jay

    January 17, 2022 at 10:52 am

    After yesterday, I am having to take a day. Burned out, fed up.

  28. 28.

    BlueGuitarist

    January 17, 2022 at 10:53 am

    @Elizabelle:

    “I think the tragedy is that we have a Congress with a Senate that has a minority of misguided senators who will use the filibuster to keep the majority of people from even voting. They won’t let the majority senators vote. And certainly they wouldn’t want the majority of people to vote, because they know they do not represent the majority of the American people.” Martin Luther King, Jr., July 1963

  29. 29.

    Benw

    January 17, 2022 at 10:55 am

    Chuck Schumer and Kristin Gillibrand are speaking now at the BAM celebration of Dr King and not pulling any punches about voting rights and the the Trumpification of the Republicans

  30. 30.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 17, 2022 at 10:56 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I don’t know what MLK would say today. I feel like any attempt I would make would merely be me putting my words and perceptions into his mouth.

    This.  While I believe he would share many of the concerns most of us jackals share, making the claim that he’d be making this or that stand would be stealing his imprimatur to put it on my own causes.

    Lord knows we get pissed at conservatives when they take that one quote of King’s out of context to imply that fighting for racial justice is going against King’s desire for a truly color-blind society.

    And I’m sure that if King were alive now, he’d be taking stands that would make me uncomfortable too – I just don’t know what they would be, but it’s almost a sure thing.

  31. 31.

    WaterGirl

    January 17, 2022 at 10:57 am

    @Ken: Then just ignore that part of what I wrote. :-)

  32. 32.

    Cameron

    January 17, 2022 at 10:57 am

    I write plays and stories, not movie scripts, and I’m an amateur anyway.  So my logline skills could be charitably described as nonexistent.  But….nothing ventured, nothing gained.

    While in the light, he saw dignity and freedom and showed them to the blind; once in the dark he felt blinded himself.  Rising again to the world, he saw his name in giant letters advertising mattresses for sale and thought, “My, they look comfortable!”

  33. 33.

    WaterGirl

    January 17, 2022 at 10:57 am

    @Butter Emails:

    On this MLK day, let us remember that millions of black people will be made to stand for hours because 2 white people think it is more important that 100 Senators remain seated.

    I just wanted to see that again.

  34. 34.

    Leto

    January 17, 2022 at 10:59 am

    @Elizabelle: @BlueGuitarist:

    Here’s the video of that statement, from the a 1963 press conference at the US Information Agency Program.

  35. 35.

    Baud

    January 17, 2022 at 10:59 am

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Point taken.  To bring the two threads together, it’s what people do with Jesus too, isn’t it?

  36. 36.

    WaterGirl

    January 17, 2022 at 11:00 am

    @MazeDancer: Yes, we are now on angel match #7!

    So it’s the usual deal… each angel matches anyone up to $50, even if they have been matched by other angels.

    $10 turns into $60, $25 turns into $125, $50 turns into $300, etc.  If it’s $50 or under, just multiply times 6.

  37. 37.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 11:00 am

    @Benw:

    Good. Because what has gotten a little lost in all this is that no Republicans support the Voting Rights Act. We had a voting rights act, they gutted it, and they now don’t support a replacement. They don’t want federal civil rights protections for voting, which of course was the entire battle for the 1965 Voting Rights Act. None of them- not Mitt Romney, not Susan Collins- zero.

  38. 38.

    Baud

    January 17, 2022 at 11:02 am

    @Kay:

    Exactly. Maybe 10 republicans are squeamish about a state legislature actually overthrowing the popular vote.  Maybe.  But suppressing the vote to help their party is AOK.

  39. 39.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 11:05 am

    @Benw:

    I take it back- ONE Republican supports federal civil rights protections for voting- Murkowski. However, she does not support carving out an exception to the filibuster, which makes her identical to Manchin and Sinema.

    Murkowski cannot get credit. It’s really unbelievable. For years Collins was presented as the moderate when she never was- Murkowski was – and now Mitt Romney is presented as the GOP supporter of civil rights when actually Murkowski is the only one. There’s exactly one real maverick- Lisa Murkowski -and inexplicably she is never credited with it.

  40. 40.

    BlueGuitarist

    January 17, 2022 at 11:07 am

    @Leto: Thanks!

  41. 41.

    zhena gogolia

    January 17, 2022 at 11:07 am

    @BlueGuitarist: Wow.

  42. 42.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 11:09 am

    @Baud:

    I knew they would never support a replacement, which is why I thought Roberts pitching it in the trash was really profound. The only way we get the civil rights protections we had in 1966 is to get 60 Democratic senators and a Democratic President.

  43. 43.

    Baud

    January 17, 2022 at 11:09 am

    @BlueGuitarist:

    That seems apt.

  44. 44.

    Baud

    January 17, 2022 at 11:10 am

    @Kay:

    We don’t quite need 60 if we can get a few more that will abolish the filibuster. But yeah.

  45. 45.

    Cameron

    January 17, 2022 at 11:14 am

    @Kay: I don’t know if you can support both voting rights and the profoundly undemocratic filibuster.  I think you have to be lying about one or the other.

  46. 46.

    HinTN

    January 17, 2022 at 11:16 am

    @Kay: And I wish the fucking press would ask them why not.

  47. 47.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 11:18 am

    @Baud:

    60 with Manchin and Sinema is 58, so “62” plus Murkowski is 61.

  48. 48.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 17, 2022 at 11:20 am

    @Kay:

    There’s exactly one real maverick- Lisa Murkowski -and inexplicably she is never credited with it.

    Susan Collins has been a very successful fraud. Her stammering idiot affect plays into the idea that she’s a weak but sincere moderate, when in fact she’s pretty much Mitch McConnell in Olympia Snowe drag.
    I suspect Murkowski is fine with not too many people back home noting her as a moderate who’s willing to compromise.

  49. 49.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 11:20 am

    @Cameron:

    Well, they literally “can’t” in any real way so that dilemma should be resolved for them.

    It’s too bad. The John Lewis Voting Rights Act is a modernized and updated law. It’s a better law.

  50. 50.

    Chief Oshkosh

    January 17, 2022 at 11:21 am

    @WereBear:

    The social pressure goes the other way, as we see them crushed by COVID.

    I think that that is wishful thinking. They are not being crushed by covid. Hell, even it they were, they’d never understand that that is what is crushing them, and therefore there is no social pressure. They are too far into the bubble.

  51. 51.

    topclimber

    January 17, 2022 at 11:22 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​
    MLK was about doing and not just talking. As in disciplined non violent civil disobedience. Voting rights and climate crisis are two possibilities.

  52. 52.

    patroclus

    January 17, 2022 at 11:25 am

    I think that if people want to get back into the spirit of the days of MLK, they should read Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, which was her first novel that didn’t get published until 2016 and which is a lot less subtle than To Kill a Mockingbird.  Atticus Finch is no longer the hero and Scout is now an adult and she calls it like she sees it.

  53. 53.

    Josie

    January 17, 2022 at 11:26 am

    @WaterGirl: I just donated 50.00.  Do I need to note it in another thread?

  54. 54.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 17, 2022 at 11:27 am

    @topclimber: You may very well be right, but that wasn’t my point.

  55. 55.

    Another Scott

    January 17, 2022 at 11:28 am

    @Kay: A few things give me hope.

    1. Legislation almost never makes it into law as-proposed.  It’s almost always changed before it finally passes.
    2. Lots of important legislation looks dead before it finally passes.  As with the prospect of a jury trial, the final absolute deadline for a settlement/on-the-record vote focuses the mind.
    3. Tim Kaine interview excerpts at BlueVirginia.US:

    On voting rights, “it is such an existential issue…we have to do this, we all have to be recorded at this moment in time about where are we in protecting the right to vote; right now, it doesn’t look like it has the votes to pass, but we’re going to cancel our Martin Luther King Day recess and be there this week because we think it’s so important…and we WILL be voting, both on the bills, but also on…could we find a path to make some rules adjustments to pass them.”

    “As of right now, we don’t have all 50 Democrats on board with rules changes, but there are a couple different paths…carve-out to the filibuster…we could do longer debate and then end the debate and have a simple majority, but we WILL have a vote on the bills and we WILL have a vote on a rules path to get there, because it’s so important for the country.”

    Going into the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats need to pass the “core provisions” of the Build Back Better bill “that reduce costs for Americans.” And “we need to find a path to protect democracy from an assault that is being led by President Trump and his followers all over this country.“

    It’s not a sure thing, but it’s not impossible to make progress.

    Were I betting, I would suspect that some changes to the filibuster are coming to make blocking the majority more difficult, and something like the voting rights bills and BBBA are coming in a few weeks. More will still need to be done, but more always still needs to be done. The fight continues.

    We’ll see!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  56. 56.

    MazeDancer

    January 17, 2022 at 11:33 am

    @WaterGirl:

    Yay! In for another $10 for Four Directions. Every penny counts.

    Which means $60 for 4D. Every penny multiplies mightily.

    Angels are angelic, indeed, 7 Angels is some big doings.

    Thank you!

  57. 57.

    Brachiator

    January 17, 2022 at 11:36 am

    I mean, seriously. Who Wouldn’t Want to Change the World and Then Be Honored with Mattress Sales?

    This is the highest level of respect that can be conferred upon an American hero. Mattress sales are good enough for George Washington. And now it is a fitting tribute for MLK.

  58. 58.

    Benw

    January 17, 2022 at 11:36 am

    @Kay: @Baud: so true. All Republicans know that if we fairly redistrict their radical gerrymandering that happened even while the VRA was in full effect, they will get wiped out. They’re already heinously cheating and un-democratic and they know it.

    Hakeem Jeffries speaking now. “We’re battling the ghosts of the confederacy right now… but we will channel the spirit of Dr King….we are going to end the era of voter suppression once and for all!” He’s so good.

    The speaker after him: WOW.

  59. 59.

    MomSense

    January 17, 2022 at 11:38 am

    The book Learning To Be White: Money, Race and God in America by Rev. Thandeka is important to understanding what we are living.

  60. 60.

    WaterGirl

    January 17, 2022 at 11:41 am

    @patroclus: I nearly titled this post:

    Who Among Us Would Not Want to Change the World and Then Be Honored With Mattress Sales?

  61. 61.

    zhena gogolia

    January 17, 2022 at 11:41 am

    @Benw: Where is this?

  62. 62.

    WaterGirl

    January 17, 2022 at 11:45 am

    @Josie: Here is fine, as long as you let me know.  thanks

  63. 63.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 11:46 am

    @Another Scott:

    Maybe. I think the fundamental error was believing Manchin and Sinema operate in good faith.

    I don’t blame anyone for that- it’s impossible to negotiate with liars. You can’t trust them. I think Biden was correct to go into it assuming some measure of good faith, because you have to start with that or no one would try anything, ever. In the private sector they would just be considered bad faith actors and no one would bother with them because it’s a waste of time and harms YOUR credibility along with theirs, but it’s not the private sector. He’s stuck with two liars who want to harm him, for reasons of their own.

  64. 64.

    WaterGirl

    January 17, 2022 at 11:46 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: I do that, too.  I read a comment that makes me think, and I often share that response with a reply to the person who made the comment that led to my thought.

    Perhaps that happened here.

  65. 65.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 11:49 am

    @Another Scott:

    Manchin told some “journalist” at a party or something that someone changed the bill he wrote with Stacy Abrams and so that’s his latest excuse for reneging. Someone on Twitter said it was Klobuchar which I find hysterical and delightful. I hope it’s true. He should go fuck with her. Try it.

  66. 66.

    Benw

    January 17, 2022 at 11:49 am

    @zhena gogolia: Brooklyn Academy of Music celebration of Dr MLK, Jr. I’m watching the live stream.

  67. 67.

    Another Scott

    January 17, 2022 at 11:50 am

    @Another Scott: The UK has lots of problems, but they seem to have an abundance of people who can quickly generate absolutely brutal mocking and satire about horrible people in power.  There are a few here who try to do that, but they seem to fall short. (At least I don’t see it very often.)

    Where my ‘merkin mocking homeys at??

    (Animation)

    New and very sweary! Cassetteboy Rage Against The Party Machine

    Thanks to @IamHappyToast and @Coldwar_Steve for the images.

    Help get 'Boris Johnson is Still a F***ing C***' back in the charts! See https://t.co/nNoHbTLgzr for details#JohnsonOut pic.twitter.com/FH6zqExRzN

    — Cassetteboy (@Cassetteboy) January 17, 2022

    (Twitter’s messing around and trying to force people to sign up again. If the above doesn’t work, try copying this to a new tab.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  68. 68.

    Another Scott

    January 17, 2022 at 11:50 am

    @Another Scott: (sigh)  Too many linkies in the tweet?  Help?

    Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  69. 69.

    WereBear

    January 17, 2022 at 11:51 am

    @Brachiator: I support mattress parity!

  70. 70.

    Another Scott

    January 17, 2022 at 11:54 am

    @Benw: Thanks for the pointer.

    This seems to be the link: https://bam.gallery.video/mlk2022

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  71. 71.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 12:01 pm

    @Another Scott:

    A lot of centrist pundits insisted Manchin and Sinema were negotiating in good faith and it was just a matter of meeting their number or adding punishments for poor people or something, so Manchin and Sinema’s failure to pass anything (if that happens) harms the credibility of everyone who believed them.

    Which is always how it works with liars. It’s not fair but it’s how it works.

  72. 72.

    Brachiator

    January 17, 2022 at 12:03 pm

    @BlueGuitarist:

    “I think the tragedy is that we have a Congress with a Senate that has a minority of misguided senators who will use the filibuster to keep the majority of people from even voting. They won’t let the majority senators vote. And certainly they wouldn’t want the majority of people to vote, because they know they do not represent the majority of the American people.”

    Martin Luther King, Jr., July 1963.

    IOW, Fuck the filibuster.

    Certainly applicable today.

    This should be widely circulated. Let Manchin and Sinema read it also.

  73. 73.

    MisterDancer

    January 17, 2022 at 12:05 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I don’t know what MLK would say today.

    That’s an honorable starting point. I encourage folx not to end there.

    I mean, even some Black Americans these days have a…complex relationship to Dr. King. There’s reasons you didn’t hear a lot of current thinkers on race relations directly quoting King when Black Lives Matter became a national issue.

    But he’s worth reading, in my personal opinion — and I mean sitting down and reading, not just watching speeches. Part of why I’m fairly conformable quoting him is that I have done some research. I’m aware of what I consider flaws in his approaches, and I recognize the gaps between the reality of his work, and the mythology we’ve generated over the last few decades.

    A shallow approach to King is what we have seen from Right-Wing people obsessed with dismantling everything King stood for, while claiming him as one of their own. I think there are…better approaches, but they take time and focus to develop.

  74. 74.

    debbie

    January 17, 2022 at 12:05 pm

    @Another Scott:

    4. The Ohio Supreme Court tossing out both state and Congressional redistricting maps.

  75. 75.

    WaterGirl

    January 17, 2022 at 12:08 pm

    @Another Scott:   @Benw:

    It doesn’t look like you can go back and catch up, only LIVE.  yes?

  76. 76.

    Cacti

    January 17, 2022 at 12:08 pm

    It was shortly after he started speaking out on the immorality of the Vietnam War, and the US government’s policy of violence against non-European peoples everywhere that MLK got cut down.

    Coincidence?

  77. 77.

    topclimber

    January 17, 2022 at 12:09 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Duh.

  78. 78.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 12:13 pm

    My youngest applied for work/study at a public elementary school in Michigan. He’ll be good at that. He’ll do reading help and “maybe recess”. He loves recess! I hope he gets a whistle. I’ll get him one if it doesn’t come with the job :)

  79. 79.

    VOR

    January 17, 2022 at 12:13 pm

    @Chief Oshkosh: They are not being crushed by covid. Hell, even it they were, they’d never understand that that is what is crushing them, and therefore there is no social pressure. They are too far into the bubble.

    Agree. The anti-mask/vax people have locked themselves into contortions to deny COVID is real, deny COVID is that dangerous, deny COVID was actually the reason their friend/relative got sick, deny COVID was the real cause of death, and then claim there are easy solutions to the disease they deny is even a problem.

    Look on Twitter today and you see #Australiahasfallen trending. They are claiming Australia is a giant prison where the population is oppressed by their own government. And yet Australia has done so much better than the US on COVID in terms of death rates.

  80. 80.

    Brantl

    January 17, 2022 at 12:14 pm

    @Elizabelle: His phrase would have more likely been “condemn it to hell!”, I would think. Clearer, more succinct, and better oratory.

  81. 81.

    oatler

    January 17, 2022 at 12:17 pm

    @Kay:

    “There is a lot of interest, a lot of interest.”

     

    And Sen. Sinema just went out to get the paper, get the paper.

  82. 82.

    Another Scott

    January 17, 2022 at 12:19 pm

    @Brachiator: Here’s the full video from 1963 (on C-Span) (30:18). The relevant question starts around the 24 minute mark.

    He also talks about the importance of the 14th Amendment in other parts of the Q&A.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  83. 83.

    Sandia Blanca

    January 17, 2022 at 12:20 pm

    In keeping with the sentiments Dr. King expressed in Memphis, please enjoy the wonderful short documentary called Trashdance. About 10 years ago, choreographer Allison Orr worked with sanitation crews in Austin to create a beautiful dance of their daily activities. Andrew Garrison followed them in their progress and created this lovely film.

    https://www.forkliftdanceworks.org/projects/trash-dance/

    http://Trashdancemovie.com

  84. 84.

    Miss Bianca

    January 17, 2022 at 12:20 pm

    @MazeDancer: Me too. Not much, but something.

  85. 85.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 12:20 pm

    @oatler:

    Guffaw.

    Fred Wellman
    Every reporter that interviews @GlennYoungkin needs to ask him his position on Georgetown Prep’s mask and vaccine mandates since that’s where his kids go in DC and he’s never said a peep about it. He’s cool with our kids getting sick for his MAGA points…just not his.

    If you were inventing a school for his kids to go to could it be any more perfect than “Georgetown Prep”?

  86. 86.

    MazeDancer

    January 17, 2022 at 12:21 pm

    Having a great time on Twitter replying to every GOP official who has the audacity to tweet an MLK quote.

    Giving them all the “have you no shame” treatment. And a nice MLK pic/quote. How Dr. King was willing to die to secure voting rights and they are doing all they can to suppress them.

    Varying the reasons why history will only remember them as a pathetic asterisk if that.

    Will they see it? No. Some intern might.

    But it is so satisfying that hundreds of others are doing the same. It is very Slaughter on 10th Avenue out there. Haven’t found one reply to the lying liar GOP supporting their hypocrisy.

  87. 87.

    Brachiator

    January 17, 2022 at 12:22 pm

    @Another Scott:

    Legislation almost never makes it into law as-proposed.  It’s almost always changed before it finally passes.

    Going into the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats need to pass the “core provisions” of the Build Back Better bill “that reduce costs for Americans.” And “we need to find a path to protect democracy from an assault that is being led by President Trump and his followers all over this country.“

    Democrats and Republicans operate under different rules.

    The Republican 2017 tax bill, for example, was drafted by GOP leadership. Not only were Democrats excluded from participation, so were most rank-and-file GOP members of Congress. In the end they were told to vote for the bill, even though many had not even read it.

    Special interests and corporate lobbyists were already on board, bribes had already been pocketed, so there was no opposition from lobbyists.

    The Biden administration thought that it had a Democratic consensus with respect to the BBB legislation. It was a pretty good bill, and its provisions were paid for, and yet still Manchin was allowed to be a rogue agent in opposing the bill.

    The Biden Administration has offered a number of compromises and has slashed the total recommended spending, to no avail. Again, we can contrast the action of the GOP, who voted for the 2017 tax bill even though many provisions violated supposedly deeply held conservative principles.

    I don’t know whether the Democrats could have done more to head off lobbyist opposition, but pressure from various special interest groups to drop various provisions has been relentless.

    I am not recommending that Democrats adopt GOP ruthlessness and hypocrisy, but I wish that the Democrats were better about agreeing to some basic principles with respect to what they think must get accomplished.

    And I wish that they were more concerned with sticking it to the Republicans than with sticking it to each other.

  88. 88.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 12:23 pm

    @MazeDancer:

    That’s nice. I love Twitter- it’s very egalitarian- but I don’t Tweet. I’m a Twitter lurker.

  89. 89.

    Another Scott

    January 17, 2022 at 12:24 pm

    @MazeDancer: As I posted downstairs, [nope, it’s a few links above.  I need more caffeine.  ;-)]

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  90. 90.

    Benw

    January 17, 2022 at 12:27 pm

    @WaterGirl: Seems to be. Maybe they’ll post the whole thing when done, but that’s just a guess.

  91. 91.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 12:28 pm

    @Brachiator:

    I assumed BBB would get cut in half and so did everyone else reasonable, so the whole “it was too liberal!” thing just seems like bullshit. Manchin is well aware of the norms of negotiation. He knew damn well no one was planning on him supporting the whole thing.

    The whole debate is dishonest because HE’S dishonest and pundits falling for every word he says is just infuriating.

  92. 92.

    Miss Bianca

    January 17, 2022 at 12:29 pm

    @MazeDancer: This is an occasion where I wish Twitter were more like real life. Or real life more like Twitter. Or something.

  93. 93.

    Geminid

    January 17, 2022 at 12:30 pm

    @Kay: Manchin’s “Amy K. changed my bill” story is in a Politico article from January 14, titled “What Manchin told Steve Clemons.” The story is actually an interview by Ryan Lizza of “Washington operator” Steve Clemons. Clemons talked about a recent dinner with his friend Joe Manchin. Manchin, Clemons said, claimed that he had collaborated with Stacey Abrams on a bill of more limited scope than the bill under consideration, which was changed by Klobucher in her capacity as Rules Commitee Chairman. I have not seen that Abrams or Klobucher have commented on this.

  94. 94.

    MazeDancer

    January 17, 2022 at 12:32 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    Not much, but something.

    There is no such thing as “not much.” If you are on the raising end of fund raising – and I have been, many times – you know every contribution is a miracle.

    Which is why I am on here publishing my 10 bucks. Holding the space for everyone.

    People on BJ are dazzling in their generosity. And those that can afford it, responding by giving big are remarkable. Yay for them! And the angels? Ooh-la-la, magnafique!

    But if everyone of the hundreds of people who think they don’t really have much to give, so they don’t give anything, gave a buck, or 5 bucks, or 10 bucks it adds up so fast.

    Of course, there are plenty of us with nothing they can give, monetarily, this month, or next, but all support is appreciated.

    Starting with never apologize for the amount that you give. Celebrate that you gave something, even support.

  95. 95.

    Miss Bianca

    January 17, 2022 at 12:35 pm

    @MazeDancer:

    never apologize for the amount that you give. Celebrate that you gave something, even support.

    Aww. Thank you for that. Those are words I try to live by when I am writing thank-you letters for donations to my theater, but somehow I forget to apply them to myself.

  96. 96.

    Hazmat

    January 17, 2022 at 12:36 pm

    @WaterGirl: Just gave $50 to Four Directions…thanks, as always, for organzing.

  97. 97.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 12:37 pm

    @Geminid:

    Why is he such a jerk and who can trust this person? He goes whining to that guy about another senator? Also- why isn’t he ever at work? He promised ten GOP Senators for his imaginary voting rights law. How’s that going? Probably as well as his gun control bill. Remember that solemn vow?

    Whatever, asshole. Come back when you have some work to show.

  98. 98.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 17, 2022 at 12:38 pm

    @MisterDancer: I also have thoughts about it, but today is a day where, as a white dude, I probably should just shut up and listen.

  99. 99.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 12:41 pm

    @Geminid:

    Besides the fact that isn’t the excuse he used last week. Last week he said it was his committment to the filibuster. Now he doesn’t support the law either? I guess we know why pressuring him on the filibuster didn’t work. He doesn’t support any of it now.

    Save time. There are 48 Democrats and 52 Republicans. Two of the Republicans won’t admit it.

  100. 100.

    MazeDancer

    January 17, 2022 at 12:42 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    Laughing. We all forget to include ourselves as human. Often.

    @Another Scott:

    Thanks for that link. Not a lot of Republican tweeting of that. today.

    Here is another quote that isn’t getting much GOP support either. Union!

  101. 101.

    James E Powell

    January 17, 2022 at 12:44 pm

    @Kay:

    so Manchin and Sinema’s failure to pass anything (if that happens) harms the credibility of everyone who believed them.

    Being spectacularly wrong may harm their credibility among some folks – here, for instance – but it doesn’t seem to reduce their appearances on Sunday & cable shows or in the OpEd sections. It also doesn’t seem to cause them to become more humble.

  102. 102.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 12:45 pm

    @Geminid:

    Manchin and Sinema joined with Republicans to float an electoral count act, not Democrats. They’re not part of the Democratic effort.

    So the play will be to produce 10 Republicans plus Manchin and Sinema and pressure (all) Democrats to support the GOP bill. These people are not Democrats! They are on the opposite side. It’s not one or two things- it is every single move they make.

  103. 103.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 17, 2022 at 12:47 pm

    “Don’t you dare post anything about what I would say in some situation, Matt”

  104. 104.

    scav

    January 17, 2022 at 12:49 pm

    Rather a lot of Christians have forgotten that, according to the original playbook at least, they’re not the one’s grading their own homework at the end of time.  That “Old Time Religion” had a lot of people very very anxious about this and reminding themselves constantly of the consequences by putting up images of the Last Judgement up and it’s remarkable how uncosy they generally are.

    It’s also really really easy to imagine yourself on a winning baseball team if you get to insist that everyone that strikes out isn’t on it, no matter the uniform they were wearing when they took the swing.

  105. 105.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    January 17, 2022 at 12:52 pm

    Loglines? I dunno, never did them, never heard them by that name, but I was aware of the context.

    I’m not good at thinking “what if X was still alive?” so I came up with:

    “After a seance, bigoted  Ronald Mump finds he’s been possessed by the spirit  of Martin Luther King Jr., who proceeds to show him that it is the only love of justice that should be colorblind.”

    Hollywood would eat it up, unless it portrayed Mr. Mump in a bad light, because then “it would be making white people feel guilty for being white! (Instead of, you know, feeling guilty about bigotry?)”

  106. 106.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 12:53 pm

    @James E Powell:

    Oh, I agree. The only people we should bother explaining it to is the Democratic base, but to do that you have to be pretty rough and blunt and I would suggest dropping the “ask”. So don’t tell them “elect more Democrats”- you just told them Manchin and Sinema are Democrats and they’re blocking the whole agenda. Just tell them “It’s Manchin and Sinema” and let them take it from there. They’ll get it. Don’t supply the solution. Bring them in on the problem and trust them with it.

  107. 107.

    The Pale Scot

    January 17, 2022 at 1:00 pm

    What Would He Say If He Were Alive Today

    Cue MLK’s anger translator

  108. 108.

    Brachiator

    January 17, 2022 at 1:00 pm

    @MisterDancer:

    I mean, even some Black Americans these days have a…complex relationship to Dr. King. There’s reasons you didn’t hear a lot of current thinkers on race relations directly quoting King when Black Lives Matter became a national issue.

    Very true. Also, while MLK was one of the most important leaders of the 60s civil rights movement, he was not the only leader of the movement.

    In addition to celebrating his day, it would also be fun for people to read on the other leaders, especially the gay and women civil rights activists whose roles were often downplayed even during the 60s.

    Also, I sometimes combine a celebration of Dr King with a remembrance of Malcolm X, whom I consider to be another essential leader of the period.

  109. 109.

    zhena gogolia

    January 17, 2022 at 1:02 pm

    @Kay: Isn’t that where “I like beer” went?

  110. 110.

    Geminid

    January 17, 2022 at 1:08 pm

    @Kay: Yeah, I wouldn’t trust Manchin’s word, and this story is third hand information anyway. The facts about what was in the bill he says he wrote with Abrams are known by Klobucher and other Senators, and staff members as well. And if the bill were to be put up as written by Manchin he might very well find another reason to not push it through with a filibuster carve-out.

    Abrams evidently had not given up as of last Tuesday, when she tweeted:

      As past sec of state and governor, Senator Manchin understands better than many how vital our elections are to our highest ideals.  I commend his continued engagement on how to guarentee vibrant, full debate on these bills and hope he will see them through to passage.

    @Stacey Abrams Jan. 11

    So I guess it’s possible a voting rights bill may still be passed. Some provisions like the proposed redistricting requirements may have to be dropped.

    Now that redistricting is mostly done, that might not be a disaster. People have assumed that Republican gerrymandering would doom the Democratic House majority, Democratic redistricters seem to have fought the Republicans to a draw, though, and the map may even turn out slightly more favorable to Democrats than the last one.

  111. 111.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 17, 2022 at 1:19 pm

    @Kay: But they aren’t Republicans.  They are shitty Democrats, but they voted for Schumer as Majority Leader, they vote for some legislation, and the vote for Biden’s nominees.

  112. 112.

    billcinsd

    January 17, 2022 at 1:28 pm

    @Kay: Well, probably more like 65 Dem Senators because the Senate would have a few, as Dr. King described them, white moderates

     

    @Kay:

  113. 113.

    Geminid

    January 17, 2022 at 1:38 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Besides Manchin and Sinema, Murkowski has also been voting mostly for Biden’s nominees. I don’t think she has sided with the majority on any substantial policy initiatives besides the Infrastructure bill. That could change in the next Congress, after she is reelected. Alaska’s new ranked choice, open primary system makes Murkowski’s reelection probable, but she seems to be very cautious right now.

  114. 114.

    MisterDancer

    January 17, 2022 at 1:52 pm

    @Brachiator: it would also be fun for people to read on the other leaders, especially the gay and women civil rights activists whose roles were often downplayed even during the 60s.

    Check the post that should appear in about 10 min from now, for a bit of that. :)

  115. 115.

    WaterGirl

    January 17, 2022 at 2:00 pm

    @Hazmat: Thank you for that.  $300 to Michigan.

  116. 116.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 2:09 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    But you can’t just keep telling them “vote for Democrats”, because you’re inevitably in the position of then saying “but not these Democrats! I meant some better ones!”

    That’s why I said it was harsh. You have to break ranks and identify two Democrats as the issue. It’s either do that or the whole brand gets blamed. Democrats are (now) doing that because they don’t have any choice.

  117. 117.

    Avalie

    January 17, 2022 at 2:15 pm

    Just gave another $50 for Four Directions/Michigan

  118. 118.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 17, 2022 at 3:01 pm

    @Kay: The [Republicans] don’t want federal civil rights protections for voting, which of course was the entire battle for the 1965 Voting Rights Act. None of them- not Mitt Romney, not Susan Collins- zero.

    This. This is what needs to be front and center.  As you say, they’re perfectly OK with the level of Federal voting rights protection to go back to its pre-1965 level. Of essentially none at all.

  119. 119.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 17, 2022 at 3:15 pm

    @Kay: I don’t disagree that calling them out and separating them from the rest of the Dems is needed.  We cannot say that they are Republicans they manifestly are not.  This is where the old “more and better Democrats” comes in.  More works in most cases, but Sinema and Manchin fit the better Democrats model.

  120. 120.

    WaterGirl

    January 17, 2022 at 3:43 pm

    @Avalie: Thank you so much!  $300 more for Michigan!

  121. 121.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 17, 2022 at 3:45 pm

    @Kay:  If you were inventing a school for [Youngkin’s] kids to go to could it be any more perfect than “Georgetown Prep”?

    Notable alumni of Georgetown Prep include Bogus Scotus members Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.

    I remember being in a cross-country meet at Georgetown Prep back in the late 1960s.  They had their own (9-hole, I think) golf course, which had us all awed.

  122. 122.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 17, 2022 at 4:03 pm

    @Kay: The only way we get the civil rights protections we had in 1966 is to get 60 Democratic senators and a Democratic President.

    Dying thread, I know, but we only need 50 Senators + VP Harris to kill the filibuster.  So if M&S are the only two to vote against killing it (or carving a big enough exception to get voting rights done), we need 52 Dem Senators.  If they’re covering for another 2 or 3 in the shadows with the same attitude, then we need 54 or 55 Dem Senators.  I doubt we’d need anywhere near 60.

    A question about the filibuster, if anyone’s still around:

    What we’re really talking about here is that 60 votes is needed for cloture, that is, to end debate on a bill.  What happens if they keep the bill on the floor, and at 3am, after somebody finishes speechifying, nobody else rises to speak?

    Can the chair simply call the question at that point, and get an up-or-down vote on the bill itself?  IOW, is there a need for a cloture vote before the vote on the bill itself if debate has ended on its own?

  123. 123.

    Baud

    January 17, 2022 at 4:17 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:

    No. The modern filibuster requires 60 affirmative votes to move on to the next stage.

  124. 124.

    evodevo

    January 17, 2022 at 4:53 pm

    I gave $25 to Four Directions the other day – is it too late to report it?

  125. 125.

    Geminid

    January 17, 2022 at 5:07 pm

     

    @lowtechcyclist: I don’t think there are any Democrats “hiding in the shadows” when it comes a filibuster carveout for voting rights. At least, Angus King (ME) and Mark Warner (VA) have called for one, and they are among the very most conservative members of the Democratic Caucus.

    The abolition of the filibuster in general would be a different story.

  126. 126.

    Ryan

    January 17, 2022 at 5:38 pm

    @Leto: Yes, this.

  127. 127.

    WaterGirl

    January 17, 2022 at 5:45 pm

    @evodevo: Nope, I’ll include it in angel match #7.  That’s $150 for Michigan. :-)

  128. 128.

    Kay

    January 17, 2022 at 5:54 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Just incredibly diverse and vibrant leadership – they all go to the same high school.

    Honestly these people would benefit from a little CRT. Pump some fresh air into that museum.

  129. 129.

    Another Scott

    January 17, 2022 at 6:53 pm

    @Baud: For legislation, apparently yes. But in general, because of all the exceptions, it’s complicated, isn’t it?

    E.g. Schumer forcing cloture votes on Biden’s nominations in December. Vox:

    […]

    Most presidential nominees haven’t been subject to the filibuster since a 2013 rule change (and none are as of 2017), so it’s not technically possible for a single Republican senator to block the confirmation of a nominee outright. They can make it a grueling process, however, by denying unanimous consent to confirm nominations.

    Specifically, while a single senator doesn’t have the power to halt the process full stop — provided the nominee has the support of at least 50 senators with the vice president to break a tie — they can open up the floor for debate. That takes up significant time in the Senate, which would be a challenge at any time, but particularly when the confirmation backlog is so large and the chamber has other major priorities to address.

    “In past years, many of these nominees would have sailed through with consent and cooperation, but this year a handful of Republicans have hijacked the rules of the Senate to slow the process down,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Thursday. “It’s cynical, it’s entirely pointless, and worst of all, it’s damaging — seriously damaging — to our national security.”

    Prior to Friday, Cruz tried to strike a deal with Schumer to exchange a vote on sanctions for Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline for votes to confirm 16 ambassadors and State Department officials, without any luck. While the US isn’t in favor of Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany, the Biden administration rescinded sanctions against the company building it to preserve the US relationship with Germany, a key ally which has approved the pipeline.

    “I’ve made clear to every State Department official, to every State Department nominee, that I will place holds on these nominees unless and until the Biden administration follows the law and stops this pipeline and imposes the sanctions,” Cruz said in an August statement.

    Ultimately, Cruz secured his vote — it’s scheduled for January 14 — and agreed to release his hold on dozens of diplomatic nominations, which were confirmed overnight.

    […]

    All things are possible in the Senate with “unanimous consent”.

    I wonder if, without changes to the cloture/filibuster system, we’ll end up with more of the “message from the House” procedures. I also wonder if there are any other obscure rules that can come into play…

    Maybe someday all this nonsense will go away when they fix Aaron Burr deleting the “previous question”:

    […]

    The House and Senate rulebooks in 1789 were nearly identical. Both rulebooks included what is known as the “previous question” motion. The House kept their motion, and today it empowers a simple majority to cut off debate. The Senate no longer has that rule on its books.

    What happened to the Senate’s rule? In 1805, Vice President Aaron Burr was presiding over the Senate (freshly indicted for the murder of Alexander Hamilton), and he offered this advice. He said something like this. You are a great deliberative body. But a truly great Senate would have a cleaner rule book. Yours is a mess. You have lots of rules that do the same thing. And he singles out the previous question motion. Now, today, we know that a simple majority in the House can use the rule to cut off debate. But in 1805, neither chamber used the rule that way. Majorities were still experimenting with it. And so when Aaron Burr said, get rid of the previous question motion, the Senate didn’t think twice. When they met in 1806, they dropped the motion from the Senate rule book.

    Why? Not because senators in 1806 sought to protect minority rights and extended debate. They got rid of the rule by mistake: Because Aaron Burr told them to.

    […]

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  130. 130.

    satby

    January 17, 2022 at 10:01 pm

    Been offline all day but wanted to pop in and say thanks to and for highlighting my comment and all you jackals who have donated to SNAP!

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