anarchongress. no gods no masters no guys from bakersfield
— Christopher Hooks (@cd_hooks) January 5, 2023
The solution is in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat. https://t.co/jiriFGTUS7
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) January 5, 2023
it is not without downsides, but i would be a liar if i said i was not entertained by the republican party civil war breaking out in the house while we hold both the white house and senate
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) January 5, 2023
the voting will continue until morale improves
— Jean-Michel Connard (@torriangray) January 4, 2023
Former head of the RNC is enjoying this:
Round #10
Alone again. Naturally. pic.twitter.com/okvH3jzvsZ— Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) January 5, 2023
Things I did not know:
We are getting these various camera angles today because C-SPAN is controlling the cameras. Once a Speaker is chosen, they clamp down and have their people control the cameras instead.
C-SPAN always asks to keep control after the first day and is always rejected. https://t.co/q9cqkfDXqQ
— Joe Bishop-Henchman (@jbhenchman) January 3, 2023
— Joe Bishop-Henchman (@jbhenchman) January 4, 2023
The hilarity of the GOP. Two warlords cut some deal most people can't even understand. But since the GOP is now funded by about a dozen billionaires this is huge somehow. Translate this it's basically:no more trying to beat down the kind of freaks who made 2022 a disaster for us. https://t.co/6FBJbA1Gk4
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 5, 2023
This quote is simply amazing — I don't think, in any other circumstance, Republicans would accept the suggestion that Biden could handle a national security crisis without congressional oversight! https://t.co/CYbr8bxWOC pic.twitter.com/VOOZdalEPg
— Maggie Astor (@MaggieAstor) January 5, 2023
Think it’s more like: in any other circumstance, Republicans would pretend to believe Biden can’t be trusted, but here their true understanding of the situation is revealed. Should affect how credulously we treat their future pronouncements. https://t.co/MWfhHu2D1Q
— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) January 5, 2023
Which one’s Beavis, which one’s Butthead?
We know who Ro wants and we're not buying pic.twitter.com/zq2olCuYlG
— Jolly Cactus ?? ?? (@cactusinsurance) January 4, 2023
Our failed media pundits:
Kevin McCarthy is an election denier actively working to make the United States an authoritarian nation who spent most of the last decade accommodating the most extreme elements of the GOP
But yes, let's fret about his feelings pic.twitter.com/wq7hKjJiiT
— Fiddler (@cFidd) January 4, 2023
Alison Rose
Someone at CSPAN fell asleep, there’s no counter on the screen.
PaulB
Six no votes. McCarthy has failed again. Hern is picking up votes, though, at the expense of Donalds.
PaulB
Repeating from the last thread.
According to CNN, as long as we don’t have a Speaker:
JPL
@Alison Rose: He already lost round 10 unless the dems save him.
Anyway
Is Cillizza still canned from CNN? Losing his perch hasn’t improved his hot-takes, I see. What a dumb-ass.
Baud
@JPL:
It’s too soon, but I wonder if there’s a point where Dems give McCarthy their vote, given that he’s damaged goods and will likely have a vendetta against the 20 who have opposed him.
bbleh
So Cillizza is making sure he keeps McCarthy sweet on the off chance he somehow manages to become Speaker. As Cillizza is kind of the most prominent DC MSM weathervane, I conclude that, at least among the broad mass of the Village media, there is perceived still to be at least SOME chance for Kevin to pull it out.
If/when he doesn’t, of course. Cillizza will drop him like a hot potato.
SpaceUnit
I like watching a slow motion goat-fuck as much as the next guy but I think I’m gonna tune out on this one. I really need to shake those crumbs out of the toaster.
Roger Moore
Shorter McCarthy: Peace for our time.
Baud
@PaulB:
So much for the GOP’s experiment with black power.
bbleh
@Baud: giving McCarthy their vote — Dems putting him over the top — would so enrage the MAGAts and lead to such horrible internecine Republican warfare that … it might be worth considering!
Baud
@Roger Moore:
I can’t disagree with that.
bbleh
@Roger Moore: @Baud: deep! Truly a sage.
Adding: vote counter is back! And Hern has pulled ahead of Donalds! What a race, folks! What raw excitement!
MisterForkbeard
@bbleh: Nah. All McCarthy has to do is accept their votes and then be really punitive for no reason, kicking dems off committees for even more trivial reasons than planned, etc.
The MAGAts will rally around him for pwning the dems and getting their help to do it. He knows this, and Dems know it too.
Citizen Alan
@Baud: Why would anyone expect him to hold a vendetta given that he’s a gutless cringing cowardly weasel?
Baud
@Citizen Alan: Good question. Might not work.
Miss Bianca
@bbleh: Yeah, with the accent on the “raw”!
bbleh
@MisterForkbeard: one assumes they’d extract some VERY public concessions about matters as irrevocable as possible (rules, committee makeup), and then hold it over his head.
BUT, I’m really mostly joking. Ain’t NO reason for Dems to help out. “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake” and all.
Leto
@Baud: Madeline Dean did talk about how if he wanted a way out he should come over and talk to Dem leadership, but she also recognized that won’t happen because they’re all bugfuck insane. As she said, it’s up to them to rectify the situation.
dmsilev
Historic. Now that we’re on to vote 10, we’re tied for the 7th highest number of votes before selecting a Speaker. All the ones with more votes took place prior to the Civil War. In 1833 there were 10 votes, in 1839 11 votes, and 1821 12 votes; I think the odds are good that we’ll get past those milestones. It then jumps up to 22 votes in 1819 and 44 votes in 1859. It jumps again to 63 votes in 1849, and then it more than doubles to the most at 133 back in 1855.
randy khan)
Clearly the people covering this are getting woozy. The New York Times vote tracker briefly showed a Republican vote for Jeffries in round 10 (although if you looked at the list none of them had voted for him).
Geminid
This is good practice for the new Democratic leadership. Chief Whip Katherine Clark has aced her first nine tests. It looks like she and her caucus will score 100% on this one too.
trollhattan
@PaulB: New version of “don’t raise the debt ceiling”?
dmsilev
@PaulB:
Voting for Kevin NotMcCarthy. You almost have to admire the knife-twisting.
Rocks
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends!”
The Moar You Know
Fox45 Baltimore:
My prayers, they have come true.
trollhattan
@SpaceUnit: Same. Need to figure out applying for Real ID driver’s license. Lots of damn documentation.
“RU alien?”
“Nope, live on same planet I was born on.”
–
Anoniminous
Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!
Baud
@The Moar You Know:
So this is what realignment looks like.
dmsilev
The Onion: “Incredibly Productive House Of Representatives Assembles For 8th Vote In Just 3 Days”
(it was accurate when posted, earlier today)
Ken
@Rocks: Though in this case, more like “Once more into the br– UGH” (HENRY falls, an arrow in his throat, as the FRENCH cheer offstage)
Wyatt Salamanca
@Roger Moore:
More epic toolishness from McCarthy.
mrmoshpotato
Ok, gotohellmachine, I gotta stop you right there.
dmsilev
Pour one out for the selfless editors of the Wikipedia Speaker Election 2023 page. Given that they’re keeping up with a news cycle that’s spinning faster than most washing machines, it’s pretty impressive
Edit: The summary table at the bottom is somewhere between hilarious and sad. Jeffries has been steadily getting 212 votes, always. McCarthy is sloooooowly sliding down, one lost vote at a time.
Ken
@Wyatt Salamanca: It has some of that sports commentator “Captain Obvious” flavor. “If the Broncos don’t figure out a way to score more points than the other team, they will lose this game.”
SpaceUnit
@trollhattan:
I recently discovered that my license expired. Over three years ago. Now I’ve got to take the test again to get it renewed. What a pain in the ass.
I just blanked on it. And I wasn’t flying on planes so I never got asked for it.
PaulB
None of the not-Kevin voters are budging. The only change is that Hern picked up four votes at the expense of Donalds.
Bishop and Donalds missed their vote calls the first time around, but the rest remain firmly not-Kevin.
divF
@trollhattan: Firesign Theater radio ad, a takeoff on a 60’s era PSA:
sab
@Alison Rose: I am annoyed with C-span. I wanted to see my new Congressperson elect vote (Emilia Sykes) and every single time they cut away from her section just before she voted.
eclare
@Ken: Was it Steve Doocy who astutely observed that “exit polls showed Republicans lost because Democrats got more votes”? Or something like that.
prostratedragon
“I’m confident we will reach a solution otherwise we won’t be successful “
Well, … yes, …
“Sysiphos At Work,” Peer Raben, from the 2046 soundtrack
Brachiator
@The Moar You Know:
I am loving this and hope that it continues for a while. I heard some pundit whine that the Democrats should play hardball and get some concessions from the GOP in exchange for helping to break the deadlock. But I don’t see any benefits for the Democrats. Ultimately, the GOP will probably elect someone, doesn’t matter who, and then return to being asswipes and attacking the Democrats.
The current political “turmoil” is a welcome respite from the usual crap that the Republicans love to fling.
eclare
@sab: MSNBC cuts away just before my rep, Cohen, votes because rep Clyde is the fifth never KKKevin vote.
To be Frank
@divF: Give the people a light, and they will follow it anywhere.
HinTN
@trollhattan:
That’s a fact. Got mine as soon as TN offered it and it took personal visits to places I had not frequented in years. Three weeks and LOTS of waiting in line just to discover the next requirement.
PaulB
Per Jake Sherman (https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1611125017533710339):
Sources tell us a deal between MCCARTHY and his opponents is close.
CHIP ROY and PATRICK MCHENRY have been negotiating it
All the big players are now in TOM EMMER’s 1st floor office.
RALPH NORMAN says he expects an offer in writing tonight
Baud
@PaulB:
Nothing like the weekend to focus the mind.
PaulB
Followup from John Bresnahan (https://twitter.com/bresreports/status/1611130883460800512):
Norman says there’s an agreement in writing as he heads into Emmer’s office. He’s been asked to look at it
Anyway
@SpaceUnit:
OMG – 3 years?!?! I’m paranoid about driving with an expired license. Plus I fly at least 2-3 times a year.
PaulB
Manu Raju, on the other hand, insists that (https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1611131545657696259):
It still won’t get him to 218, GOP sources say, but if they get a deal it will get him closer. And then they can work to pick off member-by-member, they hope. Some may vote “present” to lower threshold
mrmoshpotato
Can someone on Twitter tell Shitlizza to suck a horse’s ass?
mrmoshpotato
@SpaceUnit:
Gonna go give myself a root canal – for no reason at all.
Michael Bersin
Speaking of right wingnuts, I remember Arizona’s Sam Steiger, burro executioner and sidewalk painter, from the good old days…
dmsilev
@PaulB: They said last night that there was a deal that would bring over ten of the NotMcCarthy votes, and that turned out to be vapor. So, I’m skeptical.
HinTN
@SpaceUnit: In a cost saving measure TN stopped sending out license plate renewal notices. Last year they redesigned the very artful tag into a hideous nothing burger. I’ve amused myself observing the number of expired tags on the road now that there’s such an obvious marker. Of course all of the old tags are now expired so the thrill is gone. 😢
Tinare
@PaulB: It would be delicious if they miscalculate the “presents” or someone from the crazy caucus joins in that they didn’t expect and they inadvertently elect Jeffries.
PaulB
For those keeping score, here’s how the not-Kevin caucus voted:
Victoria Spartz is still voting Present.
Baud
@Tinare:
I could totally see that happening.
Kelly
They’re working their way up to experiments with black powder.
lowtechcyclist
@To be Frank:
Don’t eat with your hands, son, use your entrenching tool!
Roger Moore
@PaulB:
Sources tell us a deal between LUCY VAN PELT and CHARLIE BROWN is near.
LINUS VAN PELT and SALLY BROWN have been negotiating it.
SCHROEDER says he expects CHARLIE BROWN to kick the football tonight.
Parfigliano
@eclare: sounds like Doocy
SiubhanDuinne
@Roger Moore:
“Things would be so different, if they were not as they are” — Anna Russell, How to Write Your Own Gilbert & Sullivan
SpaceUnit
@HinTN:
It isn’t my tags that expired. They send you a notice in the mail to renew those. It’s my actual driver’s license.
SFBayAreaGal
The song Never Been Any Reason by Head East is so perfect for what is happening to Kev.
https://youtu.be/VgvL6aqJxMA
Joe Falco
“GOP: Civil War” – Worst MCU adaptation EVER!
Brachiator
@Roger Moore:
Very good!
SpaceUnit
@SFBayAreaGal:
Good song. And some righteous cowbell.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Thanks for that and the Wikipedia link. That’s the info I came into this thread to look for: He is now at 200 votes.
StringOnAStick
@SpaceUnit: I hate to nag, but be sure to study for the test; it’s harder to get the little picky details right than you think. Most states have some practice tests online so you can get some experience and if you do enough of them, you see pretty much all the possible questions anyway.
matt
He’s having to sit through this because he didn’t do the work of lining up the votes to win. He shouldn’t be taking anything to the floor without having the votes. It’s wild that he doesn’t understand this.
James E Powell
I may have missed it, but in all these proceedings I haven’t really heard the reason why the majority of the Rs think it has to be McCarthy. Why does it have to be him?
PaulB
I share the general skepticism, but it does look like they’re getting a bit more serious. John Bresnahan’s Twitter account seems to be the most up-to-date. Quoting:
I suspect that Raju is correct, that even if there is a deal with some of the not-Kevin caucus, he still won’t be able to get to 218. The speculation earlier is that there are (at least) five not-Kevin members who will remain firm in their opposition.
Qrop Non Sequitur
Ooh, I remember tautologies from logic 101.
Leto
OT because we need something nice: Did you know bee’s can perceive time?
PaulB
Mostly because he was in the most senior position and he really, really, really, really, really wants it. If there is any other reason than that, I haven’t heard it.
Edited to add that, to be honest, I didn’t listen to any of the nominating speeches, so it’s possible that one of those actually did list one or more reasons why it should be Kevin.
Scout211
@SpaceUnit: If you are in California, do not rely on the online practice tests. Get the booklet at the DMV and study every page. My husband mastered every online practice test and not one of those questions was on the test. He failed. He then studied every page from the booklet and passed easily.
SpaceUnit
@StringOnAStick:
Yeah, I’m definitely going to study for it.
Also I haven’t parallel parked in forever.
Shalimar
@JPL: CNN pointed out that votes can be changed up until the final vote is announced. Which means theoretically the anti-McCarthy faction could come to an agreement in the middle of the rollcall and switch to Kevin before the official end. It won’t happen, but it does explain why they always say “apparently lost” during the process.
Roger Moore
@matt:
In fairness to McCarthy, I don’t think this is due to a failure of diligence or lack of time trying to convince people. There have been regular reports in the media since the election about what he was doing to try to get people on board. The problem is there is a hard core faction with the caucus who really, really doesn’t like him. It’s not obvious what he could do to convince those people. Maybe he should bow out because he can’t win over the intransigent few, but that’s not the same as not being willing to put in the work.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@bbleh:
Only worth it if they get some serious concessions.
SpaceUnit
@Scout211:
I was able to download a PFD of the booklet online from the DMV website.
Wyatt Salamanca
@PaulB:
Last night, another reporter said Chip Roy was close to backing McCarthy and could bring along 10 others.
OverTwistWillie
Where’s the nude rasslin’?
Gym: Best me and the crown is yours. Freestyle or Greco-Roman? Choose!
Kev: Ya…ergh….
Circular reasoning
@dmsilev: do you (anyone here) know if there was ultimately any significant impact on those speakerships or particular congresses?
Leto
DougJ killing it again.
PAM Dirac
@PaulB:
There’s one guy (from NC?) that left for a medical appt. That makes 433 voting and lowers the count needed to win to 217.
ETA: there one R who is voting present. If no one else joins her, the number is still 217.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@SiubhanDuinne: aahhh! If you have pain, or a feeling of strain, get it out of your system by writing a popular operette!
PaulB
Per CNN, GOP Rep. Pete Sessions is downplaying just how much of a breakthrough this is. Quoting:
Frankensteinbeck
@bbleh:
I don’t think they have any idea how this ends. To be honest, neither do I. I’m not even dismissing the possibility of Jeffries becoming Speaker, although logic suggests that would be very briefly. Then again, if Republicans walked out and let Dems win the Speaker vote, they might stay walked out for the rules vote. Who floopin’ knows at this point?
@mrmoshpotato:
No, non-insane House Republicans still definitely exist. They’re craven, selfish, dishonest assholes who believe hurting the weak is the definition of morality, but they’re mostly capable of seeing reality and thinking in a straight line. There’s not a lot of them, but enough that I’m not worried about the debt ceiling. They hate Democrats, so I don’t see how they’re relevant in any other way. They would vote to stop the ceiling falling on their heads. That’s about it.
eclare
Here we go again!
PaulB
Okay, we’re going for round 11 rather than for an adjournment.
different-church-lady
”If we don’t succeed, we shall surely fail!”
eclare
@Leto: Hehehe…
JPL
@Leto: OMG Perfect!
Someone needs to frontpage it.
Ladyraxterinok
A bit of info—-Kevin Hern is the Representative from my Oklahoma district.
According to Wikipedia, he studied engineering, worked for Rockwell, and oworked toward an aeronautical PhD at Georgia Tech
He the switched paths and got a degree in business in Arkansas. He the got McDonalds franchises in Arkansas and Oklahoma, with 18 in the Tulsa area (in the district he now represents).
Splitting Image
Seeing as we’re all now living in 1860, I’m going to adjust my reading habits to suit our environment. Should I indulge myself with George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, or Charles Dickens?
I’ve been meaning to re-read The Mayor of Casterbridge, but it would be good to finally get around to reading Middlemarch. On the other hand, if I did dive into the complete works of Dickens, it might keep me busy until the Republicans finally manage to elect a Speaker.
Roger Moore
@James E Powell:
I don’t know that it absolutely, positively has to be McCarthy, but he is next in line. Parties function because they have rules, and one of the rules is no skipping in line. Maybe McCarthy won’t be able to make things work and someone else will have to replace him as the Republican leader in the House, but the way the party works says he deserves the first chance. If anyone else replaces him, it will only be after it’s crystal clear that he can’t win enough votes.
Shalimar
@PaulB: I was in the car travelling earlier and listened to some rightwing radio. Don Bishop missed his name because he was doing an interview, and he finally had to end the interview so he could get his vote in before time expired. I expect these interviews have been happening often across the country, and explain most of the times anti-McCarthy voters missed their names today.
More importantly, my guess is the vast majority of the radio hosts across the country are on the anti-McCarthy side. The 20 are MAGA heroes now, and the longer they keep the House from working the more celebrated they will be. What they’re doing is what the Republican base wants done. The pressure increases on the McCarthy voters with every new round.
eachother
@SFBayAreaGal:
Hole Hearted by Extreme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-h4A7bF8wQ
This is my Valentine go to song. Which is how long this Speaker mess may take to resolve.
lowtechcyclist
@Leto:
“Living in this complex world of the future is not unlike having bees live inside your head.”
– Firesign Theatre, I Think We’re All Bozos On This Bus
Dangerman
@trollhattan: RealID is a MFing nightmare. I use a UPS box for everything. Everything. So the DMV wants one document that has both my mailing address and physical address on it. There is one and only only entity that has such a document …
… and that is UPS. Since it’s a box I’ve had for years, it has an old physical address. How does that get corrected? Fuck if I know. See above. Everything is virtual in my world.
The DMV can kiss my ass.
Shalimar
@Roger Moore: One of the MSNBC shows pointed out yesterday that McCarthy jumped into leadership at the beginning of his 2nd term. So he basically skipped the entire line himself.
James E Powell
@Splitting Image:
I’ve been promising myself that I would read the Brontë sisters for the last 20 years. The novels have been sitting on the shelf in my bedroom for at least ten.
Leto
Baud
@Shalimar:
Of course. He was a Young Gun.
zhena gogolia
@James E Powell: You have a treat in store!
Splitting Image
@Leto:
Christ, that was brilliant.
Frankensteinbeck
@Shalimar:
Right. This is about RINOs, because even before Trump, Republican voters three quarters believed that if their elected officials were really trying, it wouldn’t be possible to lose. The hardest core of the anti-McCarthy representatives are just yelling RINO like their constituents want. It doesn’t matter that McCarthy is on the extremist end even for Republicans. He’s in a leadership position, Republicans aren’t getting everything they want, therefor he’s a traitor and must be made an example of.
Geminid
@Shalimar: Radio host Mark Levin is scathingly critical of the 20 holdouts. Levin is angry all the time, and right know he’s angry at them.
Miss Bianca
@matt:
And just think what this says about his level of efficacy as Speaker, presuming that after the 114th vote he should make it that far!
Mr. Bemused Senior
@lowtechcyclist: But… there they are.
TS
@Baud:
McCarthy could promise not to do all the things he has promised to do for the republicans who oppose him. But which McCarthy would be speaker – the one promising the 20 republicans or the one promising the democrats?
HeleninEire
And here we are at vote #11. There’s a little part of me that thinks the Republicans (McCarthy included) are trolling us. Honest to God….who puts themselves through this? For effectively nothing. But what is the troll? What is the endgame?
Percysowner
@trollhattan: I tried to get Real ID for my last license. Thing is, I got married and divorced and kept my married name. I had the divorce decree with my current name on it, but that wasn’t enough, I had to produce my marriage license to get Real ID. Sadly, my passport was expired. So I said screw it. I was still within the 10 year renewal period for the passport so I renewed that and now I have what is functionally a Real ID, so the NEXT time I get my license I can get that Real ID. It is a pain in the patoot.
eclare
Gaetz nominating TFG.
MisterForkbeard
@Geminid: Hannity was doing his “disappointed dad” schtick this morning at the 20 holdouts. So I guess the old guard conservative radio assholes are pretty united in being angry about this.
Except, you know, they’ve been fluffing Gaetz/Boebert and the rest for the past few years as the ‘true conservatives’ so they entirely brought it on themselves.
MisterForkbeard
@HeleninEire: Wait, really? They’re holding an 11th vote today?
Maybe this is to show some progress at whatever deal Pete Sessions was just talking about.
Steve in the ATL
@SFBayAreaGal: saw them open for Blue Öyster Cult around 1980! Along with blog favorite (/s) April Wine.
Percysowner
@Baud:
I can’t see them giving him their vote, he’s too untrustworthy. Maybe they can compromise on someone who isn’t in Congress right now, but I think McCarthy is a dead man walking. He has the spine of over cooked spaghetti, so any deal he makes with the Dems is worthless and they know it. I can’t think of any Republican in Congress they could trust. So a “moderate” out of office Republican, maybe? Say Portman or someone of that ilk?
Scout211
@Dangerman: Do you have a utility bill for your residence? My utility bills have the street address of the service on the bill as well as the billing address. Even if you pay online you can print out a bill from your account.
Having a PO Box as a legal address can be a pain, I agree.
geg6
@eclare:
I know how you feel! I haven’t even had a chance to hear my new rep-elect’s (Deluzio) name called. Bummer.
Shalimar
@Geminid: Hannity is pissed at them too. I’m sure he and Levin aren’t the only national hosts.
Splitting Image
@James E Powell:
I’ve been promising myself that I would read the Brontë sisters for the last 20 years. The novels have been sitting on the shelf in my bedroom for at least ten.
Wuthering Heights is terrific. I recommend dusting it off and diving in. Jane Eyre too.
I’ve never gotten around to Anne’s books, but I think I’ll add them to my to-read list.
MisterForkbeard
@Percysowner: The real problem is that any deal he makes with Dems would drive away Republicans.
So McCarthy CAN’T make any deals. It’s just not in his power. The only way this ‘works’ is if the entire Dem caucus votes for him to overcome the massive losses from Rep votes, and then there’s nothing at all to say that McCarthy would actually keep to his agreements. If he shivved Dems at that point, Republicans would probably go back to supporting him.
Geminid
@MisterForkbeard: Yeah, the radio hosts got this going when they cranked up the Tea Party wagon and jumped on it. This is the culmination of a process fostered by the these guys. Eric Cantor’s loss in the 2014 Virginia 7th CD primary was a waypoint on the path to tonight’s spectacle. Radio agitators like Mark Levin and Sean Hannity sowed the wind and now they are reaping the whirlwind.
Cameron
Just to give a timeout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVEgDSOx_5w
geg6
@Splitting Image:
Dickens is my favorite.
MisterForkbeard
@Geminid: Not even that – they’ve been on this train since the early 90s. Literally every chance they had, they encouraged grifting nihilists and mentally defective assholes because those were the people most willing to break norms, lie without consequences and go after Democrats for literally anything.
They’ve been pushing ‘egotistical assholing’ as a governing model since before Gingrich. And they’ve ratcheted it up every single day since.
bbleh
@SpaceUnit: if you need a REAL ID like NOW NOW NOW, you can always use a passport or passport card. And if you don’t have one of those, you CAN get one quickly if you pay a lot of money and go to one of the passport centers.
SpaceUnit
@bbleh:
My passport is expired too. I’m a disaster.
And actually I have little desire to get on plane right now. All I ever hear are horror stories.
eachother
I would pick Dickens too. Although Christmas Carol is so last year, it has lessons to learn. And they are learned in one night. Not repeating the ignorance 11 times without redemption.
Bill Arnold
@SpaceUnit:
I haven’t tried this (always renewed before expiration), but from state.gov:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/renew.html
persistentillusion
@HinTN: Try Colorado. As they don’t enforce expired tag penalties and the town I’m in experiences 20% turn-over every year I collect expiry dates. The current winner is April 2018. For a car that is driven several times a week. (I have a dog whom I walk, I’m not a creeper.)
Geminid
@MisterForkbeard: And then there were the broadsheet writers of 1860 who encouraged the “Know Nothings” to dissolve the American Party and join the new Republican Party….
Steve in the ATL
@persistentillusion:
When you’re explaining, you’re losing!
Geminid
@MisterForkbeard: But your point was well taken. The best analysis I’ve read of Trump’s place in the Republican party was writte by the late M.D. Russ for Bearing Drift. Russ traced the nomination of Trump back to Newt Gingriches Contract for America and the radicalism it encouraged. “Trump did not hijack the Republican Party,” Russ wrote. “He just answered the casting call.”
@Geminid:
StringOnAStick
@Scout211: We had to take the written test to get out Oregon licenses two years ago and I figured I’d been driving for over 40 years and didn’t need to study. I thought that until I took my first practice test and failed it. I read the booklet, took a bunch of practice tests and passed no problem, and noticed a lot of repetition in the questions. My husband took the whole thing a lot less seriously and barely passed. This was during the pre-vaccine Covid days when you had to get one of the very few available appointments in order to take the test or get your VIN inspected so you could license your vehicle coming from another state. I never knew my husband had testing anxiety until he almost failed!
Paul in KY
@Splitting Image: Tale of Two Cities is Dicken’s best work, IMO.
Paul in KY
@HeleninEire: Can’t vote on raising the debt ceiling?
Paul in KY
@SpaceUnit: You need to put down the pipe…