Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

The problem people have with Biden’s age is the color of the VPs skin.

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

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Republicans don’t trust women.

A consequence of cucumbers

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

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

Second rate reporter says what?

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

We won’t go back.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

You can’t love your country only when you win.

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / Friday Morning Open Thread: Everything All At Once

Friday Morning Open Thread: Everything All At Once

by | 166 Comments

This post is in: , , ,

IIRC, the first concert I paid to attend, during my freshman year at a midwestern state university, featured Bonnie Raitt. (I even bought the t-shirt!)

… There appeared to be strong, bipartisan support in the Democratic-controlled Congress for $10 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine following the Feb. 24 launch of Russia’s invasion into its territory.

But some Republicans and a couple of centrist Democrats questioned the $22.5 billion in additional coronavirus pandemic aid on the heels of last year’s $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan” that passed with only Democratic support.

The White House and congressional Democrats want to bundle the Ukraine and COVID-19 emergency funds with a much larger third package of around $1.5 trillion to keep regular government operations running beyond March 11, when stopgap funds expire…

“We shouldn’t give money where it’s not needed, because we’re borrowing it,” Senator Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, told Reuters.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, however, signaled support for COVID-19 funding, saying “multiple crises are hitting at the same time.”…

A House Democratic aide said closed-door negotiations on the entire appropriations package were making progress, although disagreements still had to be ironed out. Negotiators hoped to unveil a massive bill in coming days so it can quickly move through the House and Senate and be sent to President Joe Biden for signing into law by the March 11 deadline.

The White House and congressional Democrats argued that funding of key portions of the American Rescue Plan was nearly exhausted for facilitating the manufacture and shipping of more vaccines and COVID-19 tests needed to battle future spikes in the deadly disease…

Additional COVID-19 resources would allow the government to secure treatments, vaccines and tests for the coming months and fight future variants, Young said. The money would also ensure the continuation of free community testing, treatment and vaccination coverage for uninsured individuals.

Now, *this* is a viewpoint I never would have predicted…

Reader Interactions

166Comments

  2. 2.

    zhena gogolia

    I thought the picture up top was supposed to be Bonnie Raitt. Cognitive dissonance in the morning.

  3. 3.

    germy

    UPDATE: Last June, @Kroger CEO Rodney McMullin said that "a little bit of inflation is always good in our business" and imposed a series of price hikes.

    McMullin was right.

    Kroger just reported an operating profit of $3.5 BILLION for 2021

    — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) March 3, 2022

    In other words, consumers did not pay higher prices @Kroger simply because costs were going up. They paid higher prices to create enormous profits for the corporation. The markups exceeded any cost increases.

    — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) March 3, 2022

    And then Biden and other Democrats get blamed for inflation and the dumbest voters decide maybe Republicans (who guarantee corporate tax cuts) are a better choice. A win-win for CEO Rodney.

  4. 4.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @germy:

    ???

     

    On another note, I’m eager to see Gospidin Greenwald’s scathing denunciations of Russia’s new press law (15 years for “fake news”).

  6. 6.

    Jeffro

    I love how an additional $22B in needed aid is “giving it away”.  $22B is a rounding error, Shelby you nitwit.

  7. 7.

    Steeplejack

    That Reuters piece on Disney—ugh. There is very little value in having the reporter do a slow, wooden reading of her “print” article, which could be read in much less time, just for the sake of being “multimedia.”

    (And, yes, I realize it’s probably helpful for people who can’t read.)

  8. 8.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Steeplejack: If they want an article read, they can hire someone who does that sort of thing professionally and let the reporter do the job they’re paid to do. It’s a waste of the reporter’s time.

    I have a friend who’s an NPR reporter. She knows they need to do pledge week, but she says it’s a week she spends asking for donations and not doing her job.

  11. 11.

    Steeplejack

    For the sake of closure, I will report that my tooth implant went very well yesterday. The procedure was relatively quick, and I have had very little discomfort afterwards. Haven’t taken an ibuprofen tablet since late yesterday afternoon. Follow-up appointment in two weeks.

  12. 12.

    marklar

    @germy: Well, the NYT’s Daily Caller hire is described as now being an editorial assistant to Maureen Dowd (who is also “truly vile”), so there’s no real hypocrisy there.

  13. 13.

    Ken

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I sympathize with your friend the reporter, but I don’t know anyone who can say that everything they have to do at work is part of (what they think of as) their job.

  15. 15.

    Peale

    Yeah. When Disney bought Hotstar for some reason it decided that when it would create Hotstar+Disney, it would discontinue streaming Cricket in the US. No Disney+Hotstar in the US. Only Disney + ESPN. So the growing Indian population in the US and Canada is just supposed to, you know, not watch. I think Disney is way to focused on becoming a niche service in the US. In my own watching, when Disney buys an Asian series I wanted to watch, I pretty much know that it will only be available in Asia. They segment more than Netflix and want it that way.

  17. 17.

    Peale

    Anyway, in good news, it looks like Senator Lujan is back from his stroke, so we’re back at 50 Senators again.

  18. 18.

    NotMax

    FYI.

    The owner of Hawaii’s oil refinery announced [Thursday] that it was suspending purchases of Russian crude oil in light of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

    Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. of Houston said in a release that it is turning to other grades of crude, principally from North and South America, to meet fuel production requirements in the islands.
    [snip]
    Roughly a quarter of Hawaii’s crude oil came from the Russian Far East in 2021. Source

    Haven’t checked in quite a while so things may have changed, but I believe the bulk of the crude the refinery contracts for is extracted from Indonesia.

  19. 19.

    New Deal democrat

    While I continue to think the rate of job growth is going to slow by a lot in the next few months, that certainly wasn’t the case today. Almost *everything* in the report, including all of the leading indicators from manufacturing, construction, and temporary jobs, were very positive. At the current pace, with the exception of labor and hospitality jobs (e.g., restaurants and bars), we’ll be back to pre-pandemic levels by July 4. A Big Win!

  20. 20.

    Steeplejack

    @narya:

    Thanks. I’m supposed to stick to soft food for 3-5 days and avoid hot or spicy foods, so of course I’m lusting for all sorts of crunchy, spicy food. I am currently allowing myself a cup of lukewarm coffee while I catch up on the news.

  21. 21.

    Sloane Ranger

    @Steeplejack: Say what you want about the quality of the reporter’s narration, she’s not wrong. Given a choice of Disney without cricket and another streaming service with cricket and the vast majority of Indians will go with the other service. Cricket is massive there and people are passionate about it.

    And, although it will affect their decisions the most, it won’t just be Indians, when my father and brother were alive, they relied on Indian Premier League games to give them their cricket fix during the off season here.

  23. 23.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    I’d call my senator to fight Sen. Toomey’s amendment, except that Sen. Toomey (spit!) is my fucking senator.

    @Steeplejack: I’m very happy for you. I had a lousy day at the dentist yesterday afternoon. The new crown failed, reinserting the old temporary failed, and now I have to wait 3 more weeks for yet another crown. They must have been inserting and removing things in that tooth 20 times.

    The dental assistant is of Ukrainian descent and has family outside of Kyiv.

  24. 24.

    Peale

    @Steeplejack: I’m off to Hawaii on Tuesday. Went in for a teeth cleaning on Monday and mentioned that some of the pain from the last set of fillings and crown replacement hasn’t gone away. Dentist said I needed a root canal and wanted me to schedule with an Endodontist right away before my trip and that it wouldn’t be healed in time to fly. I figured its something I’ve lived with for 2 months, it isn’t actually infected, and if I were to tell my partner that we couldn’t go after two years, he’d just remove my teeth while I was sleeping, if I was lucky enough for him to wait until I feel asleep.

  25. 25.

    NotMax

    Disney, the $270 billion entertainment giant, is risking its streaming game without cricket

    By Jiminy!

    //

  29. 29.

    Baud

    Using one of the world’s most precise atomic clocks, physicists have shown that time runs a tiny bit slower if you change your height above the Earth’s surface by a minuscule 0.008 inch (0.2 millimeters) — roughly twice the width of a piece of paper. The finding is yet another confirmation of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, which predicts that massive objects, like our planet, warp the passage of time and cause it to slow down.

    Your brain is moving slower through time than your toes.

  30. 30.

    SFAW

    @Steeplejack:

    For the sake of closure, I will report that my tooth implant went very well yesterday.

    Isn’t it a little early to start your Spring planting? And what kind of crop do you get from planting teeth?

    I was going to suggest talking to Ozark for planting/growing advice, but he apparently has already pied you. Or maybe he hasn’t. Who can tell with that guy?

  31. 31.

    Soprano2

    They should put more money into the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and re-open it to businesses who didn’t get in last time. That was such an easy thing to apply for, and it’s been a big help to us. Loads better than PPP.

    Saw last night the price of gas is up to $3.59 here today. The highest it’s ever been was around $3.80 back when oil was $140/barrel. We might get higher than that, and all these idiots will blame Biden rather than Putin.

  33. 33.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: It’s probably a sign of age or something how prominently a good meal figures in my psyche. After my crummy afternoon at the dentist, all I could think of was “dammit, I’m going to treat myself to something for dinner. Now what would do the job?” All the way home I was pondering that question and considering and rejecting various options.

    Then I suddenly remembered that we have a great new Mexican place in our neighborhood and brightened up immediately.

    Two of the signs of authenticity for me for a Mexican place are tortas and mole sauce. They have both, and I had both for my “dammit-I-need-cheering-up” dinner. (Not together).

  35. 35.

    Geminid

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Maybe call Bob Casey’s office. Postal money orders may not be used as much as they used to be, but they are still important, especially to older people. I expect Senator Casey will be on the right side of this issue, but it can’t hurt to let his office know you care.

  37. 37.

    SFAW

    @Steeplejack:

    I think I’ve seen this “Ozark Hickbilly” guy commenting in the past, so I don’t think he’s necessarily a troll. Maybe WaterGirl can check?

    That Juan John Cole guy, however …

    Belch Blech.

  38. 38.

    NotMax

    @Peale

    Don’t forget to pack extra masks. Indoor masking requirement still in force statewide. Mentioned previously but repeating in case you missed it – also bring a pen aboard the plane with you. There’s a form to be filled out shortly before landing and the cabin crew does not provide writing implements.

  39. 39.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Peale: so we’re back at 50 Senators again.

    Or back to 48-52.

    After Manchin’s asshole move of sitting with the Republicans for the SOTU, I fully expect to hear he’s switching parties formally instead of just voting with them.

    Edit: I appear to still be in a bad mood this morning.

  42. 42.

    danielx

    IIRC, the first concert I paid to attend, during my freshman year at a midwestern state university, featured Bonnie Raitt. (I even bought the t-shirt!)

    A most excellent choice.

  44. 44.

    sab

    @Baud: Only if you are tall. I will mention this to my husband, 10 inches taller than me. There is a reason he always seems to be lagging behind.//

  45. 45.

    catclub

    @NotMax: ​
     

    South America,

    The oil fields in the waters just north of Venezuela, which have not been developed, are reported to be gigantic.

  46. 46.

    SFAW

    Off topic, as you kids say, but: has Cucker Carlson learned how to pronounce Judge Jackson’s name properly, yet? In that “She needs to show ME her long-form birth certificate LSAT score, or else she’s just a quota-filler” rant the other night, he called her “Kentaji Brown Jackson.”

    Christ, what an asshole.

  47. 47.

    Steeplejack

    @Peale:

    Some of this stuff you can “schedule,” some you can’t. I held off on starting this tooth replacement process until I figured almost everyone would be vaxed and Delta was on the wane. Tooth removed in November, just as Omicron arrived on the scene. ? Old #20 had an abscess, visible on X-ray but causing very little discomfort. Site had to heal for three months before they put in the implant, and now it’s going to be another two or three months before they put in the final crown. I had no idea the whole process was so lengthy.

  49. 49.

    Baud

    @Geminid:

    Yeah, he misses being the center of attention, so he runs to Politico with stories about how he’s ready to make a deal.  We should ignore him until he casts a yes vote on something good.

  50. 50.

    NotMax

    FYI.

    Countries are snapping up the rights to “Servant of the People” — a comedy series starring the Ukrainian President, as the Ukrainian President.

    Back in 2015, former actor and comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy played Vasiliy Petrovich Goloborodko, a high school teacher propelled to the presidency after a student’s video of him denouncing official corruption in Ukraine goes viral.
    [snip]
    Eccho Rights has distributed the program, made by Zelenskyy’s Studio Kvartel 95, since it launched. The company’s managing partner, Nicola Söderlund, said sales have increased dramatically in the last few days, calling interest in the program “remarkable.”

    “It’s quite an old show already,” he explains. “But, of course, given the circumstances, it’s become very, very, very interesting for everybody.” Source

    Watched it years ago when it was still on Netflix.

  51. 51.

    Kristine

    @Soprano2:

    We might get higher than that, and all these idiots will blame Biden rather than Putin.

    Some joker at a station I frequent applied “I did that” stickers to the pumps. They feature Biden pointing, and joker stuck them so they point to the gas price display. I peeled them off the pump I used and saw signs—remains of old stickers—that others had done the same.

    Gas is up over $4/gallon at some stations here in NE Illinois. I wish some enterprising reporter would dig a little to see if the Kroger CEO’s philosophy is shared by oil company execs. (I’m guessing it is).

  52. 52.

    Steeplejack

    @SFAW:

    I’m looking for a small, artisanally grown crop of exactly one Bicuspid secundo, hopefully to come in sometime in May.

  57. 57.

    Citizen Alan

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    You’re not wrong though. People keep saying he’s with us on judges if nothing else, but I’m waiting to see how he votes on the SCOTUS nomination..  The  radical leftism” of judge Brown Jackson (as demonstrated by her blackity womanness) might be what tips him over into becoming a Republican.

  59. 59.

    danielx

    @Steeplejack:

    Got to wait for the bone matrix to fill in around the implant. There ARE people who will do a same day implant, but it’s likely to come out the first time you bite into something like an apple.

  60. 60.

    James E Powell

    @Kristine:

    Absolutely he does that deliberately. The “what’s with black people’s names” has been standard routine in racist media for decades.

  61. 61.

    narya

    Oh also, just to keep the jackaltariat up to date! I’m still tender-ish, and the bruising (from where the laparoscopic instruments and camera were inserted) is turning some lovely colors, but the pathology report was all clear, so very big yay to that. (I wasn’t particularly worried that there was cancer, but am still very glad to get that confirmation.) They sent pics of my insides yesterday, at my request, and holy crap. When I go in for my next visit I’m going to ask the doc to walk me through what I’m seeing in the pic, just out of curiosity. Seeing the pics has also reminded me that, even if I feel amazingly well, I had organs removed, so, maybe don’t try to do everything all at once–though I will do a second walk today.

  62. 62.

    Geminid

    @Soprano2: Today Politico put up another article about the Missouri Senate race titled, “Trump warms to Greitens.”*  Evidently, Greitens has been attacking Mitch McConnell, and the orange churl likes that. Meanwhile, Republicans both in Missouri and nationally fret that Greitens is the only candidate who could lose that Republican seat (polling shows Greitens still leading a large field).

    * They later changed the headline to emphasize the McConnel angle.

  64. 64.

    SFAW

    @Kristine:

    Yeah, I know. All those assholes think it’s wicked-pissah-funny to do stuff like that. In a perfect world, Messrs. Hillerich & Bradsby would pay them a visit, every time they pulled that crap.

  65. 65.

    Betty Cracker

    @Citizen Alan: I utterly despise Manchin and the flake from AZ, but both have said positive things about KBJ, and I’m pretty sure both voted to elevate her to the US Court of Appeals in DC. I’d be really surprised if either made trouble on this nomination.

  67. 67.

    Another Scott

    @New Deal democrat: I think that a strong case can continue to be made that the course of the economy depends on the course of the pandemic.  Beating back SARS-CoV2 will enable the economy of the US and the world to come roaring back – there’s huge pent-up demand.  And vast numbers of people are finally having enough money to do more get a little bit deeper in the hole every month…

    Plus, the infrastructure dollars are moving.

    Plus, we’re out of one forever war and winding down the second (Iraq).

    There will always be bumps, but the near-term prospects look great.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  69. 69.

    Steeplejack

    @Soprano2:

    I have to gas up the doughty Kia only every three or four weeks. I paid $3.55 a gallon on Tuesday here in NoVA. Before that it was $3.30 on January 17 and $3.36 in November and December. Before that it was $3.06 in late September. So that’s a 16% increase in a little over five months. I can see where anybody doing a regular commute would be feeling the pain, especially in any sort of gas-guzzler. (Looking at my RWNJ brother and his gigantic Ford pickup, not that he commutes anywhere.) And of course it’s all too easy to blame it on Biden, because of course the president personally sets gas prices.

  71. 71.

    guachi

    @Citizen Alan: Manchin has said repeatedly he  thinks having a Black woman on the Supreme Court is a good thing.

    You must represent basically who we are as a nation. I think it’s far beyond time. Far beyond time. It’s time to do it.

    I won’t await your apology to Senator Manchin.

  72. 72.

    narya

    @sab: do you have a favorite source for a recipe? I was going to try one from Rick Bayless. I also have some good Mexican chocolate from Rancho Gordo, and a nearby market and a nearby Penzey’s for nearly any other ingredient.

  73. 73.

    sab

    @SFAW: He needs to take the LSAT just to show us he is worthy to comment. He had a good education and he is supposedly bright. Should ace it.

  74. 74.

    SFAW

    @Steeplejack:

    Gas prices here in the wilds of Central MA have gone from around $3.55 about two (maybe three) weeks ago to around $3.99 yesterday.

    Thanks, Obama Biden!

  79. 79.

    Geminid

    @sab: Yes. That and campaign finance abuses induced Missouri Republicans to pressure Greitens into resigning as Governor. Reports are that Trump has been wary of Greitens because of this, but he likes the way Greitens is going after McConnell. Also, Trump wants to back winners and is scared of backing a loser, so Greitens’ durable lead makes him attractive to Trump.

    Trump Moll Kimberly Guilfoyle is Greitens’ “National Campaign Chairman.”

  80. 80.

    sab

    @narya: I’ll post it/them this weekend. I have a lovely cookbook I bought about thirty years ago by an American expat wife in Mexico married to a Mexican. She has recipes region by region

    Source is ” The Complete Book of Mexican Cooking” by Elizabeth Lambert Ortiz.

    I love this cookbook. I don’t know if it is available stil or online.

  83. 83.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @guachi: Stopped clock and all that. I won’t forget him equating people struggling with addiction to crackheads. Fuck Manchin.

  86. 86.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: Is there a strong Dem candidate in contention? I’m hoping we might get lucky like in the 2010 Senate races if Repubs nominate a bunch of nutballs.

  89. 89.

    Spanky

    CNN:

    Microsoft suspends sales in Russia in major blow to economy.

    “Quick, everybody! Here’s the latest ‘upgrade’. Download it before it’s too late!”

  93. 93.

    NotMax

    @Old School

    Not unhappy I watched all the seasons. Will say it was uneven and the cultural milieu didn’t translate easily to non-natives (or at least to this non-native).

    Having watched full seasons of a handful of other Ukrainian programming I’d opine that’s pretty much par for the course.

  94. 94.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @SFAW: What kind of adult focuses on tests they took as a young person? Surely the right question is some version of what have done for me lately. What kind of work have you done that qualifies you for this job? In this case, she’s qualified.

  95. 95.

    frosty

    @raven: Saw Bonnie at the Santa Monica Civic Center with Tom Waits opening. Linda Ronstadt  and Joni Mitchell joined her for an encore.

  97. 97.

    Another Scott

    @germy: [rant] I really dislike most Twitter economic hot takes.  The Google machine tells me that Kroger had $132B in revenue in 2021.  3.5/132 = 2.7%

    Yes, food prices going up is a problem.  It’s going to be a huge problem in countries in Africa and other regions that import wheat from Ukraine and Russia.

    But, OMG11!!  Kroger made BILLIONSSSS!!1 is a stupid, stupid take.

    [/rant]

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  99. 99.

    japa21

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: ​
      Thanks. We’ve been to several of the shows over the years. It looks like they have done something different this year. And we received another flyer from your home base again yesterday. Looks like I have to win the lottery so we can move there.

  100. 100.

    germy

    @Another Scott:

    “The markups exceeded any cost increases.”

    I admire Judd Legum for the research and hard work he’s been doing.  I wouldn’t call it stupid.

  101. 101.

    SFAW

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    What kind of adult focuses on tests they took as a young person?

    Persons who have empty lives or done nothing as adults? Just guessing.

    Surely the right question is some version of what have done for me lately. What kind of work have you done that qualifies you for this job? In this case, she’s qualified.

    But asking that question would not give Cucker an answer he can use to trash Judge Jackson.

  106. 106.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: Lucas Kuntz(sp?) is thought to be the frontrunner on the Demoratic side. Last November Politico Magazine ran an article on him titled “The Millenial, Populist Veteran Who Wants to Turn Missouri Blue.” Kuntz ran for State Senate around 2003, during his last year in law school. He lost, and then joined the Marine Corps. Now he’s running around the state in an old Taurus, telling voters he’ll side with them against the special interests.

    This long article was written by a Missouri reporter, and she reviews her state’s political history since the 1970’s.

  108. 108.

    SFAW

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’m hoping we might get lucky like in the 2010 Senate races if Repubs nominate a bunch of nutballs.

    I’m guessing the RWMF Insanity Window (not unlike the Overton Window) has moved enough that there may be no statement, no comment, no platform point so vile as to prevent Voters Formerly Known As Rational from voting for a Dem or against a Rethug.

  110. 110.

    SFAW

    And in the context of “Shit! I missed it!”:

    As of Tuesday (i.e., three days ago), Dead Andy Breitbart has been dead for 10 years.

  111. 111.

    Kent

    @Geminid: @Ceci n est pas mon nym: I don’t think Manchin intends to switch parties. But I’ve noticed something about Joe Manchin: he likes to be talked about.

    After voting twice to impeach and convict Trump I doubt he would survive a WV GOP primary limited to the rabid MAGA faithful. And I expect he knows that.

    The days of quirky independent Republicans is long long over.  The only place he can get away with being a quirky “independent” prima donna is within the Democratic Party.

  112. 112.

    New Deal democrat

    @Geminid: While the infrastructure spending will help over the long term, it will do little to alter the quarter over quarter trend.

    Hope that is helpful.

  113. 113.

    Steeplejack

    Today’s Twitter quip, from Jennifer Wright: “When they said, ‘History repeats itself,’ I wasn’t expecting all of the twentieth century in two years.”

  115. 115.

    Argiope

    Poor and un-banked folks in this country really would benefit from postal banking—so who is paying Toomey to undermine that?  My actively alcoholic and not super functional step brother has used me as a bank in the past when he was trying to save up money for specific larger purchases (an electric kit for his bike) that he knew he’d drink away if it was hanging around as cash in his wallet.  Since odd jobs and fixing stuff are his way of making a living, he gets paid a lot in cash and never has enough of it or is organized enough to handle a real bank account, but a post office option could be a big step towards financial (and other) responsibility for him that he would like to take.

  118. 118.

    New Deal democrat

    @Another Scott:

    “I think that a strong case can continue to be made that the course of the economy depends on the course of the pandemic.”

    That is true especially in that beating the pandemic would mean the supply chain would have much less disruption, hence lower inflation. Also people would go back to cruises, movies, restaurants and on trips much more, so more spending plus those workers get rehired. And child care becomes more available.

    All I can say is that the things that have normally forecast employment a few months to quarters down the road, generally indicate it should slow.

  120. 120.

    japa21

    In another one of those first world problems stories:
    We have to renew our passports this year. No major travel plans except maybe a trip to Canada. Anyway, we needed to send in our old passports along with the applications. So went to the post office Monday to send it priority 2 day mail. Well, was informed expected delivery would be yesterday which would be 3 days not 2. No big deal. I signed up for texts informing me of the progress. Since Wednesday at12.36 AM, I have received 4 alerts informing me that the package has left the Detroit, MI distribution center. I am trying to figure out if it keeps leaving but returns itself and has to leave again, or what. Anyway, as of this morning (this is day 4) it has not arrived in TX. Biggest concern is that it does have our passports.

  121. 121.

    Geminid

    @SFAW: Greitens might be too toxic for Republican women and Independents. That’s why Republican politicians fear his nomination, and say he’s the only one in the field who could lose in November. I heard Hew Hewitt when he had Trump on his radio show a couple months ago, literally begging Trump not to endorse Greitens.

  122. 122.

    stacib

    @Steeplejack: Gas near me has gone up +.50 in just the last week.  The per gallon is now $4.29 around my house.  Considering I have to fill up twice a week (I drive to work), I’m now spending about $60 – up from about $45 a couple weeks ago.  The increases in gas are very noticeable to those of us who have to drive a lot.  A few of us were talking about the savings the work from home folks are getting and, boy oh boy, I’m super jealous.

  123. 123.

    Another Scott

    @germy: Markups always exceed price increases.  It’s a company that wants to stay in business.

    Horse’s mouth:

    Capital Allocation Strategy

    Kroger continues to generate strong free cash flow and remains committed to investing in the business to drive long-term sustainable net earnings growth, maintaining its current investment grade debt rating, and returning excess free cash flow to shareholders via share repurchases and a growing dividend over time.

    “excess free cash flow”. Hmmm…

    A more sensible attack is that the company (even though it raised wages during the pandemic, and increased benefits) should continue to do more for its in-the-trenches employees and not spend so much on stock buybacks (which just so happen to additionally enrich management that (almost certainly) owns lot of Kroger stock).

    I remain of the opinion that the tweet is a stupid take.  YMMV.

    Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  126. 126.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Spanky: Wake me up when we repeat the finis of the Man in the Bunker.

    Watching the wrong series; this is Lavrentiy Beria II 3D: the Quickening, not Hitler II Siberian Heat.

  127. 127.

    Argiope

    @SFAW: Cool!  It’s a little far for me, but I feel like a green balloon meetup and pee-in could be fun for nearby jackals.

  128. 128.

    stacib

    @Steeplejack: Chicago.  I normally go to the Indiana state line, but when gas gets this high, it’s almost not worth the trip. I work in the western suburbs, and it’s just as high out here.

  130. 130.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Kristine:

    Spot oil is driven up by speculation by people who aren’t going to use it. Those hedgies are ticks who produce nothing, and who spend their waking moments cooking up ways to profit over immiserating the lives of millions by driving up prices on inelastic staple commodities.

    If it were up to me, I’d make those sorts of transactions illegal.

    TL;DR – There’s plenty of supply, but there are people who drive up prices just because they can attached to commodity markets.

  132. 132.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @stacib:

    I paid $3.88 yesterday morning about 18 miles outside the People’s Democratic Socialist Gay Kenyan Shariah Republic of Louisville, and understand it went up to $4.00 by the afternoon. Happily, I have a hybrid that still generates about 50-55 MPG, so I’m finally getting the real benefit of why I spent so much money on it in the first place.

  133. 133.

    Steeplejack

    @stacib:

    Thanks. I know gas prices vary by region. I’m in NoVA, Soprano2 is in small-town Missouri. Even yesterday, when I was driving to and from the dentist, I noticed that some gas station was charging 10¢ a gallon more for regular than my neighborhood BP station. And that was within a mile or two.

  135. 135.

    Scout211

    @japa21:

    That happened to me on two priority mail packages. One was a pack of KN95 and N95 masks that I sent to my daughter from California to Washington state. The other was medication sent to me from Express Scripts pharmacy from Arizona to California. The one to my daughter ended up in Texas (from Seattle) and was scanned in and out 4 times there. The medication went from Sacramento to South Carolina and the back to Sacramento. Each time the packages entered the regional sorting centers they were scanned multiple times in and out.  That seems to be standard protocol for some reason

    Both packages did eventually arrive but one was 8 days  and one was 14 days. Not 2 days. I contacted my local post office both times  when it was clear the package was “missent” (postal service jargon for “we effed up”). Our local postal clerk was helpful and sent emails and made phone calls when she could find a number or address. If you can contact your local postal office, they might be able to help. At least they will know the package is late.

    My guess is that it will likely arrive, eventually. But from my experience, priority mail is sometimes slower than first class.

    ETA: And by the time the masks finally arrived at my daughter’s house, the whole family had COVID. ☹️

  136. 136.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Baud:

    Your brain is moving slower through time than your toes.

    Other way around. Unless you’re standing on your head.

    This time gradient is literally what causes (perceived) gravitational force. The trajectory of a freely falling object is a local maximum of the passage of time–if there were no variations from gravity, that would be a straight line at constant speed to minimize relativistic time dilation. But gravity alters that. The optimum path moves faster through the slower-time regions, so there’s a gravitational acceleration.

  137. 137.

    StringOnAStick

    @Peale: If you can, get an antibiotic prescription from the dentist, fill it and take it with you, because if the tooth that needs the root canal suddenly has an explosion in the rate of internal infection that is causing this slow growing sensitivity, you are going to be in a world of serious pain which will also ruin your vacation.  Low level infection like that can just keep puttering along until it suddenly takes off.

  138. 138.

    Brachiator

    @Scout211:

    RE: Priority Mail. I thought that these items had tracking information on them, to make it easier to keep them moving even if there was some mis-routing.

    ETA: And by the time the masks finally arrived at my daughter’s house, the whole family had COVID

    What a crazy ending to your story. I hope that everyone is doing better now.

    ETA: I was a kid at the time, but I think I vaguely recall when the Postal Service was pushing for the adoption of zip codes. Maybe TV news items and animated commercials about it.

  139. 139.

    CaseyL

    @Steeplejack: I’ve had a dental implant now for, oh, 12 years.  The process was fascinating, and I did think there was something comical about waiting for the hole created by extracting the damaged tooth to heal completely before drilling a new hole in the very same spot for the implant screw.  (I mean, I get the reasons, but it still seemed funny to me.)

  140. 140.

    NotMax

    @Scout211

    Have all but given up trying to make sense of the USPS tracking site. More than once it has displayed “Label Created. Item not yet received by USPS.” in the morning and the package has shown up that same afternoon.

  141. 141.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Matt McIrvin:

    This time gradient is literally what causes (perceived) gravitational force.

    Another way to see that is with the effects on quantum phase that they talk about in the article. Every particle has a quantum wave corresponding to it that is spread out a little, and it has a phase that oscillates at a speed that depends on its energy (and from Einstein, we know we should be including the mass in that energy, mc^2).

    But if there’s a gradient in the passage of time, those oscillating phases get out of sync in different places. And in quantum mechanics, that corresponds to a change in momentum. That’s a force–it’s the force of gravity, in the everyday sense.

  145. 145.

    Steeplejack

    @CaseyL:

    I did think there was something comical about waiting for the hole created by extracting the damaged tooth to heal completely before drilling a new hole in the very same spot for the implant screw.

    Inorite. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  147. 147.

    Matt McIrvin

    @CaseyL: I wonder if someday there will be dental implants that have an artificial tooth socket built more like a natural one, with some give and cushioning built into it instead of a rigid screw anchored in the jaw. But honestly with the one I have it doesn’t make a huge difference.

  148. 148.

    J R in WV

    We saw Bonnie Raitt very many years ago in the 1970s, she was opening for Little Feat in Charleston. We loved her set, and she did a couple of numbers with Little Feat after they got set up. Then… well, we all thought Little Feat sucked, and it was over an hour back to home town, so we blew off the “headliners” having seen the best act playing that night.

    We have seen her several times since then, a great musician, more talent in one of her fingers than in lots of good pro musicians whole body.

    Glory to Ukraine — they are covering themselves with bravery and glory, Ukraine is.

    The Russian Federation, not so much. I read somewhere that the Rus are planning public executions of captured Ukrainians, covered with war crimes, the Rus are painting themselves with blood and crime…

  149. 149.

    Brachiator

    @Argiope:

    Poor and un-banked folks in this country really would benefit from postal banking—so who is paying Toomey to undermine that?

    Yeah, this is crazy. Not only are the poor under-served, banks are starting to abandon the middle class as well, as far as personal service is concerned. Some banks are kiosks where you can talk to someone via a screen and microphone.

    Only the big time affluent will get personal banking staff to attend to them.

    My actively alcoholic and not super functional step brother has used me as a bank in the past when he was trying to save up money for specific larger purchases… Since odd jobs and fixing stuff are his way of making a living, he gets paid a lot in cash and never has enough of it

    The use of cash has been declining for a while, and took a big hit during the pandemic. Fewer people going to stores. Fewer people on the street. More people using smart phones for purchases, etc.

  150. 150.

    Scout211

    @Brachiator:

    What a crazy ending to your story. I hope that everyone is doing better now.

    Thank you. Parents and two school-aged kids were vaxxed and had mild cases but the 4 year old had a very rough time for a few days. That was the second week in January so they all are feeling super happy about being super immune right now. LOL

    PSA for priority mail:

    There is a flaw in the scanning process (my local clerk tells me) in that individual packages are not scanned once they arrive at a regional center. They fill up shipping containers with the individual packages and then the containers are what is scanned, not the individual packages in them. So if packages are placed in the wrong container, like mine were, they get flown to another part of the country because that is where the container was supposed to go. They only scan all the packages in the container as it is emptied but not before then.

    Asking your local clerk to do tracking on their computers gives far more information than what we get online. Specifically, they can tell you if the individual package was scanned or the container. That information helps to figure out just where the package is and where it first got “missent.”

  151. 151.

    Brachiator

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I wonder if someday there will be dental implants that have an artificial tooth socket built more like a natural one, with some give and cushioning built into it instead of a rigid screw anchored in the jaw.

    This makes a lot of sense, and it’s got to happen some day. I got an implant last year. Interesting experience. There are times when going to the dentist is more like going to the hardware store than to a medical professional. Nature of the beast, I suppose.

  152. 152.

    Soprano2

    @Scout211: Not the P.O, but the same problem. We need to buy a new “mug freezer” for our pub. The one from the local company is more expensive, but they can get it to us in five days. The ones on Amazon or Webstaurant are cheaper, but they can’t get them to us for at least a month, and it might be even longer! I also heard a horror story this morning from one of our TV crew leaders about the effort to find a part for his TV truck. Long story short, it took them two months to find someone who found the part (it can’t be rebuilt). The backlog for a new TV truck is at least 2 years! Usually you can get one in 6 months or less.

  153. 153.

    CaseyL

    @Matt McIrvin:

    @Brachiator:

    When I first got the implant, it feel “alien” in my mouth due to there being no nerve feedback.  But that soon passed, and having one tooth not sending feedback feels perfectly normal; I don’t even notice it (unless I’m really paying attention, like right now).

    A few years back there was some excitement around creating tooth “buds” with stem cells implanted in the gum – to replace teeth with actual teeth – but I have’t heard anything more about it.  May not have worked.

  154. 154.

    Steeplejack

    @Soprano2:

    My brother is still waiting for the wall oven for Sighthound Hall’s (last summer) kitchen renovation. It’s now supposed to be coming in this month.

  155. 155.

    laura

    @narya: Diana Kennedy’s mole recipes are so time consuming…..and so very worth the time, effort and numerous ingredients. If you haven’t tried enfrejoladas check them out- chicken enchiladas enrobed in a creamy refried bean sauce- sabor!

    Glad to hear you’re recovering nicely, and getting the full range of colors bruising, but you’ve had your innards tussled out and such like and that’s not nothing. Be gentle with yourself and keep on healing up.

  156. 156.

    Soprano2

    @Brachiator: I don’t know, Kay has talked here before about how all of her poor clients use apps on their phone for banking. She doesn’t seem to think there would be much demand for postal banking these days.

  158. 158.

    scott (the other one)

    And Pat Toomey is probably in the top 20% of GOP senators. (As in, least terrible.) A reminder that even the best GOP senator absolutely sucks and is terrible for America (and the world).

  159. 159.

    Brachiator

    @Soprano2:

    I don’t know, Kay has talked here before about how all of her poor clients use apps on their phone for banking. She doesn’t seem to think there would be much demand for postal banking these days.

    I am still seeing a lack of services, and many payday loan lenders, and places selling money orders.

    And now that it is tax season, millions of low income people are getting ripped off by using high cost bank products and refund loans to get their tax refunds.

    Otherwise, I see her a use of check printed by the preparers and the use of debit cards.

    In any event, relatively few instances where lower income taxpayers are having a tax refund deposited in a bank account that they own themselves.

    But if demand for mobile banking increases, and fees are reasonable, this would be good.

  160. 160.

    burnspbesq

    The good news from Texas: Louie Gohmert finished dead last in the Republican primary for AG, and didn’t run in the primary for his House seat, so y’all will be rid of him as of next January.

    His likely successor doesn’t look like much of an upgrade.

    https://ballotpedia.org/Nathaniel_Moran

  163. 163.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @Baud:

    Your brain is moving slower through time than your toes.

    So short people have quicker wits!

  164. 164.

    Dopey-o

    @Geminid: Meanwhile, Republicans both in Missouri and nationally fret that Greitens is the only candidate who could lose that Republican seat (polling shows Greitens still leading a large field).

    I so want Greitens on the ballot in November. He obviously has a few skeletons. IMO, he is our only chance to undo the damage caused by the loss of Claire McCaskill.

    Question: at one time, Greitens had registered “ericgreitensforpresident.com”. Does he still maintain that domain? We need that kind of hubris in failed republican candidates.

Comments are closed.