Something positive, to start the morning:
happy birthday dolly parton. đ
pictured with debbie harry. pic.twitter.com/natzxAfLRq
— anneyě¤ | blondie band (@countessgucci) January 19, 2023
NEW: Groups of Americans will be able to directly sponsor refugees for resettlement in the United States under a new program launching on Thursday, a step that could bolster admissions and reduce government costs https://t.co/2Mkixlw2A5
— Ted Hesson (@tedhesson) January 18, 2023
… Under the pilot program, which will be called the Welcome Corps, groups of at least five people will be expected to raise a minimum of $2,275 per refugee assigned to them by the government, one of the people said. The sponsor groups will also be required to pass background checks and create a support plan.
The program will aim to find U.S. sponsors for 5,000 refugees in fiscal year 2023, which ends on Sept. 30, another of the sources said.
The individual sponsorship program for refugees – similar to a model used in Canada – is part of a broader effort by U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, to provide opportunities for Americans to support foreigners seeking protection.
Earlier this month, Biden rolled out a humanitarian entry program that allows up to 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter via “parole” if they have U.S. sponsors and travel by air. The administration also used parole to admit Afghans and Ukrainians and piloted sponsor programs to support them in the United States…
Inflation down, deficit reducedâŚ..youâd almost think all the Republican economic campaign arguments were full of shit. https://t.co/FbLBw0uOcN
— Panda Bernstein (@J4Years) January 14, 2023
Maryland U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume seeks to commemorate late Rep. Elijah Cummings with postage stamp https://t.co/uMH82RmAIN
— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) January 18, 2023
Meanwhile, across the aisle…
A perfect choice to look out for the interests of American small businesses who love stealing workers' wages & cheating on their taxes https://t.co/wjiupQHoxk
— chatham harrison is tending his garden (@chathamharrison) January 17, 2023
George Anthony Kitara Devolder Santos, the g(r)ift that keeps on giving…
yeah guys show a little respect for the institution https://t.co/HflDNb23Q7 pic.twitter.com/SQzPu5sloG
— chatham harrison is tending his garden (@chathamharrison) January 18, 2023
Math Guy
Morning. Snowing again!
OzarkHillbilly
From:
What do you want to bet that his Dallas area teachers never taught him of the Anglo invasion of Texas?
Betty Cracker
Speaking of immigration, NYC Mayor Eric Adams recently traveled to El Paso to highlight the issue. He wrote an opinion piece in WaPo  (gift link) proposing six solutions; it confirms my original impression of Adams, i.e., he’s all hat and no cattle.
It’s not that the “solutions” are all terrible, but they’re either tinkering at the margins in a way that doesn’t meaningfully address the crisis or wildly unrealistic because they’re based in part on the fantasy that Republicans want to address an issue that’s a reliable political cudgel:
I realize elected Democrats have to produce a certain amount of bipartisan pablum for the normies, but come on, man.
Betty
I loved Elijah Cummings but seriously wondered how he could refer to Mark Meadows as his good friend. Congressional comity , I guess.
Jeffro
Good morning, everyone.
Since she saw us get the suitcases out last night, our cattle dog/border collie mix has decided that TODAY WILL BE FETCH BALL DAY ALL DAY NO GO ON TRIP HOOMANZ BALL BALL BALL DAY. Â I am getting zero work done with her nudging.
Which is okay. Â =)
Baud
The deficit always goes up the first year the Dems have to fix the GOP’s mess, then falls steadily because we also get our fiscal house in order. But the media narratives and GOP spin don’t change.
sab
Went to the Post Office yesterday to mail my payroll returns Fed, State and City.
Postal cashier put Nancy Reagan stamps on them all, which I thought was hilarious.
Bostondreams
More potentially ominous news from Florida: DeSantis wants numbers and ages of trans students who get treatment at Florida universities. This is on top of university presidents apparently agreeing to eliminate ‘wokeness‘, and banning AP African American Studies.
Baud
@Bostondreams:
Remember when the right was all about HIPAA rights? Good times.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
Horrible. I lol’ed at his vest too- “MAYOR” on the back. He’s Guiliani-esque.
What a weird fucking predictament for NY. “Give me your tired, your poor yearning to breathe free…”
Adams is in Texas saying NYC has “no room” for immigrants and zany Hochul is frantically stumping for a Right wing judge. WTF.
Bostondreams
@Baud: apparently they were careful to state they only want ages and numbers, not anything else. Ha.
Shalimar
I can give a hundred examples of Republicans being horrible human beings to other Republicans on the House floor just in the last 17 days.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyoneđđđ
Amir Khalid
I watched a few of Richard Osthoff’s interview clips on YouTube. When he talked about how Sapphire read his moods, how she comforted him in his lowest moments, how the mere thought of her kept his suicidal impulses at bay, I cried. I have no doubt he still grieves for her. And, God help me, I want Santos to suffer greatly for what he did to Sapphire.
oldgold
The photo of Debbie Harry and Dolly Parton caused me to remember Blondieâs somewhat  controversial appearance on The Midnight Special in 1979. It was one hell of a performance.
https://www.facebook.com/decadeclub77/videos/blondie-heart-of-glass-midnight-special/454058712125552/
Baud
@Bostondreams: Are they asking for information on anyone who got any treatment, or only trans-related treatment. If a trans kid gets treated for cancer, reporting that information could make it seem like they are treating more young trans kids than they are.
rikyrah
Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) tweeted at 4:18 PM on Tue, Jan 17, 2023:
Republicans: âWe are going to plunge the world economy into chaos unless you cut Social Security!â Democrats: âNo.â Media: âhigh wire brinkmanship between the political parties!â
(https://twitter.com/brianschatz/status/1615473548474163206?s=02)
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
Kay
@Bostondreams:
Did you see the teachers training they put in? It’s voluntary but they get a bonus if they take it. 100% Right wing nuts.
We really need to thank the anti woke crusaders (supposedly) “on the Left”. This never could have been mainstreamed without them starting and maintaining a woke panic. It’s true for all panics. There’s a nutjob true believer core BUT “centrists” are essential for mainstreaming.
How naive do you have to be to think Right wingers were going to put in some “neutral” civics education once they purged all the liberals? Are these people 12 years old?
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Jeffro: I’m surprised she hasn’t crept into the car the first time someone left the door open
Kay
@Baud:
Its so intrusive of parental rights, DeSantis and Rufo are literally inserting themselves inside family decisions – supposedly a bedrock value on the Right – but then no one on the Right has to be consistent or coherent, ever.
“Parents Rights except for medical decisions, in which case the governor and Right wing nut activists and Libs of Tik Tok will be making those!”
sanjeevs
https://www.ft.com/content/0a1d5597-7145-4035-987b-ff033bba3d75
OzarkHillbilly
@Jeffro: Sounds like me with Billie Jean every time I put my my boots on. It’s even worse when ever I grab the truck keys. TBH tho, at that point she’s really doing more of a spastic tango.
Cameron
@Kay: DeSantis has already indicated he wants to turn New College into Hillsdale South. I really like Florida, but I wouldn’t live here if I had kids.
rikyrah
@Bostondreams:
They are adults. None of his phucking businessđ
Baud
@sanjeevs:
They didn’t get rich by being the suckers.
rikyrah
@Kay:
Absolutely ridiculousđ to even think that Republicans care anything about education.
I am enraged at his deeming the AP African American History course ” not worthy”.
PHUCK OUTTA HEREđ
rikyrah
@Baud:
Still none of their businessđ
Elizabelle
Good to hear of The Welcome Corps refugee sponsorship program. Â Based on a similar program in Canada.
I like when we learn from our neighbors to the North.
Baud
@Elizabelle:
Fixed.
WaterGirl
@Jeffro: That’s the dog version of the cat sitting inside the suitcase, I guess. Â Both species have an excellent communication game.
Baud
@Kay:
I’m sure decisions relating to ED will always remain sacred.
Betty Cracker
@Cameron: I’m so thankful my kid was finished with public school before the Christo-fascist loons took over. Otherwise, we’d have to either move or pay for private school.
My friend set’s children are mostly grown too, but I have one friend whose kids are still in high school. Her eldest is queer and was considering New College (famously welcoming to queer people) before the governor made it a hostile takeover target.
This friend can’t leave the state for several reasons. And damn it, she shouldn’t have to!
sab
@Kay: At least Ohio RWNJs admit they are RWNJs.
Cameron
@Betty Cracker: No, she shouldn’t. And this guy might be our next President.
gene108
@Elizabelle:
Unless the program issues rules to actually process applications from places like Afghanistan and the rest of not-Europe, itâs just window dressing.
Otherwise immigration will just pigeonhole these applications to endless purgatory of âin processâ, with no way to know the outcome, because of security concerns (Afghanistan) or other bureaucratic reasons.
The security screening for possible sponsors adds just another possible layer of bureaucratic delay to the process, because I doubt the screening process will be quick. The political risk of letting in a foreign terrorist far outweighs the humanitarian benefit of helping people.
From July 2022.
https://refugeerights.org/news-resources/veterans-and-afghan-american-groups-express-outrage-at-u-s-government-attempt-to-avoid-accountability-for-siv-delays
mrmoshpotato
DeathSantis is really determined to destroy public universities in Florida, isn’t he?
Baud
@Betty Cracker: At least she hadn’t already started at New College. A silver lining there.
Amir Khalid
@WaterGirl:
Cats and dogs have had to up their communication game over the millennia to deal with us humans, who rely so much on verbal communication that we aren’t terribly good at non-verbal communication.
Paul in KY
@Betty: Maybe sarcasm?
zhena gogolia
I have to admit, DeSantis is worse than TFG.
My only hope I’m clinging to is that he doesn’t have TFG’s charisma (invisible to me but clearly there for many).
zhena gogolia
I can’t believe people in Florida really want to live like Russians under Putin, but I guess that’s the way it is.
Geminid
@Baud: I saw reporting on talks between a few Republicans and Democrarts about a possible discharge petition for debt legislation. It was in Dana Milbank’s Sunday WaPost column, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) was named.
I was not surprised but I was glad to see it confirmed that discharge petitions are still a thing. I wasn’t sure.
mrmoshpotato
Kevin McCarthy is an asshole and an idiot.
Via bluegal
Elizabelle
@gene108: Â from Anne’s Reuters link for story today:
A previous Reuters story, from August 2022:
A new model to help refugees built for Afghans, adapts to support Ukrainians
I agree that the details matter, but I don’t always assume the Biden administration is just into window dressing.
You do you, though.
Jay
@sab:
about your problem in the earlier thread. They make “power packs” now. They are a sealed AGM battery, jumper cables, recharge via wall socket or extension cord and are easily portable. I got a small one for $90, it has about 7 car jumps worth of power, and can charge a cell phone or laptop as well.
Manyakitty
@mrmoshpotato: public education overall. Gonna be super when an entire generation of kids can’t get decent jobs or acceptance to real higher education because they were not allowed to learn anything useful. Gonna be SUPER.
Bostondreams
@Baud: trans-related treatment, whether its meds, or counselling, or surgical. They also want ages. I suspect this will lead to another ‘ban trans care until age 25’ bill as we see elsewhere…
Elizabelle
@gene108: Â And that said, I am concerned that we do way better by Afghan and Haitian refugees, in particular.
Geminid
@mrmoshpotato: A 25% national sales tax!?!
Shit like this makes me wonder if the Democrats have a mole on the Freedom Caucus staff who comes up with this stuff.
Cameron
@zhena gogolia: Governor D has all the charisma of a mole rat.
WaterGirl
@Amir Khalid: I suspect that you are very right about that!
schrodingers_cat
Completely OT:
I am playing with oil pastels now. I realized that I had an artist version of oil pastels which I got at an estate sale. Unfortunately I let my friends kids use them when they were visiting, lets just say that they weren’t exactly gentle with them.
Grumbacher is the brand in question. They are no longer even sold in the USA. I has a tiny sad.
Bostondreams
@rikyrah: the argument will be ‘colleges getting hard earned tax dollars shouldn’t be spending it on woke ideology and medical malpractice’ :/
WaterGirl
@Paul in KY: Maybe you don’t have to call it like it is with Mark Meadows when you can just call him your “good friend” and everyone else fills in the “he’s a piece of shit” part?
Betty Cracker
@zhena gogolia: DeSantis is definitely worse than Trump, and I am also hoping his lack of charisma dooms him from achieving higher office. One thing I’m watching for in the Beltway press is attempts to portray him as “moderate.” Any objective look at his record immediately reveals DeSantis is a far-right extremist, but lazy Beltway hacks tend to fall into outdated tropes so may still assume Florida is a swing state and that DeSantis’s ability to win here indicates the potential of national appeal. It isn’t and it doesn’t.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: I beg to differ on Trump having “charisma” but I will substitute “appeal”, and then we are in total agreement.
WaterGirl
@Geminid: It is a relief to be certain that discharge petitions are still a thing.
Soprano2
@Kay: It’s funny how the Florida definition of “free speech”and “freedom” is actually suppression of speech about equity, diversity and inclusion. I heard another story this week about a professor who was denied a position because he criticized the Israeli government (he told the university that he had enemies in Israel because of some positions he had taken). Somehow the “free speech warriors” never find time to defend people like that.
mrmoshpotato
@Manyakitty:
And who’s going to actually want to work in Florida if they can get a job elsewhere/the non-idiot state where they got a real education?
Cameron
@Betty Cracker: I’m still surprised that he clobbered Crist so badly.
Soprano2
@Kay: Same way with abortion and contraception, they’re perfectly happy with the government inserting itself into these personal, private decisions in the most intrusive way possible.
WaterGirl
@schrodingers_cat: Lesson learned. Â You have your own art supplies, and a separate set of easily replaceable art supplies that can be manhandled by children.
schrodingers_cat
@zhena gogolia: Deposed emperor Tangerine is a bully. He is popular with those who would like to bully the same people but can’t do so for whatever reason
schrodingers_cat
@WaterGirl: When I gave them those supplies I had no idea that they were that rare or were so good because I never used oil pastels for my art work.
Since the pandemic I have broadened my artistic experiments and am discovering (and rediscovering) different media.
ETA: I also am loving charcoal pencils as a medium to draw and sketch. Generals is the brand I would recommend.
Kay
@Soprano2:
New Mexico Democrats just introduced legislation to curtail the latest Right wing intrusion on womens dignity and privacy- they (and the clerics who draft the laws) want to decide whether women can get certain prescriptions or not. NM Dems say “nope- stay out of our business”.
It will pass in NM. They have the votes.
Bravo. I’m grateful to them for being proactive and not complacent. It’s a blue state now but there’s no guarantees, as we have learned.
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl: Dump is an idiot savant at marketing himself – I mean the idiot marketing his own fat, orange, fascist ass to idiots.
Betty Cracker
@Bostondreams: I saw an article on Florida banning the APAAS curriculum yesterday, and IIRC, it said the reporter wasn’t able to obtain a copy of the rejected proposal. That’s telling, IMO. The FL DoE did a similar song and dance with the rejection of “woke” math textbooks, and when reporters finally did get ahold of the books in question, they were able to demonstrate what a joke the whole thing was.
BTW, I wish reporters would always spell out the full title of the “Stop WOKE Act” to reveal the tortured basis of that stupid acronym: Stop Wronging Our Kids (and) Employees Act. It’s every bit as dumb as it sounds! Pro-business, limited government Republicans should be apoplectic with rage over a governor telling businesses how to run employee training programs, but of course they’re all hypocrites.
OzarkHillbilly
@Cameron: He’s not near as attractive as a mole rat either.
Omnes Omnibus
@gene108:Â â
You have to start somewhere. Why not with this?
Geminid
@Betty Cracker: Journalists really have to stretch the term “moderate” these days to apply it to DeSantis. I can hear that poor word whimpering!
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is clearly more moderate than DeSantis, and in my book Kemp is a “moderate conservative” at best, maybe a couple days a month. It’s like journalists are defining deviance down.
ian
@Bostondreams:
Now hire us another administrator to keep track of all these extra details!
schrodingers_cat
@gene108:@Omnes Omnibus:Â I appreciate their need to go slow because I can see the potential for misuse of people bringing in “refugees” and keeping them in slave labor conditions.
OzarkHillbilly
@WaterGirl: Much better word for it, even if I don’t get the appeal.
Amir Khalid
@WaterGirl:
Trump is known to have a salesman’s skill at charming his — prospects? marks? — one-on-one. He’s also been good at rousing a rabble, although that ability has faded lately. Charming? Nope, that I don’t see.
schrodingers_cat
DeSantis lacks Trump’s charm. Whatever little Trump has of it.
Betty Cracker
@Cameron: Half of eligible Democrats turned out and three-quarters of Republicans did. End of story. It’ll be interesting to see what the state party leaders propose when they meet next month at Crab Bucket Fest.
Ken
They might argue that he is moderate, for a Republican. Watch for opinion pieces noting that he doesn’t want to repeal the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, and 26th amendments. Well, not completely.
Omnes Omnibus
@Betty Cracker: As a Wisconsinite, I remember when everyone was afraid that Scott Walker would be the next big thing on the Right. He couldn’t make the jump.
The Pale Scot
@oldgold:
Did you know Debbie was a Frog Scout?
Muppet Show: Debbie Harry and the Frog Scouts
Also,
Debbie Harry & Kermit The Frog – Rainbow Connection
lowtechcyclist
@mrmoshpotato:
I’ve got an idea: how about a 23% tax on all securities transfers!
Can you imagine the howls from the 0.01%?
ETA: And if they complained, we’d just say, “buy and hold, baby, buy and hold.”
Omnes Omnibus
@schrodingers_cat: Yes, make sure a program works and then expand it. The current system is broken, but, because of that, we need to make sure that what we do to fix it actually helps.
mrmoshpotato
@lowtechcyclist: Yes, I can.
Omnes Omnibus
@Betty:Â â
It is a rhetorical convention. No one thinks it means anything.
Cameron
@mrmoshpotato: Go for the most regressive tax you can find. What a great idea.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I think Kemp is a front-runner in ’24, especially if the actuarial tables and KFC catch up to The Beast. His overblown anti-trump moves around the 2020 election make him the perfect candidate for our Never-Trump friends and centrist pundits from Cillizza to Peter Baker to talk about the GOP “moving on from trump”
@Omnes Omnibus: I’d put Christie in that bucket too. trump is even more of a bully, but his supporters think he’s funny. I don’t ever remember Christie being, or even trying, to be funny. He takes himself too seriously.
MazeDancer
@Betty Cracker: We miss you on Twtter, but assume you don’t miss Twitter.
But when I saw this, thought of you.
https://twitter.com/dog_rates/status/1615487335742988291?s=19
It’s a large and cute boxer type dog expressing contact info.
Do all boxers “sing” like that?
Paul in KY
@WaterGirl: That’s a sound idea!
Betty Cracker
@Geminid: Political media hacks absolutely are defining deviancy down — I saw it in real time while McCarthy was being serially humiliated on the House floor as some hacks gushed that Greene was transforming from a “firebrand” (another gross euphemism) into a party leader. The real story was “OMG, look — this pinwheel-eyed kook is now a House GOP power player, god help us!” The story we got was “how interesting that Rep. Greene has matured and grown into the role.”
Cameron
@Betty Cracker: Yes, she has. She refers to cosmopolitan space lasers now.
schrodingers_cat
@Omnes Omnibus: There are always these stories about workers on seasonal worker visas being exploited by businesses kept in subhuman conditions with little pay
J-1 visa abuse
Another story where skilled artisans were paid a pittance and kept in subhuman conditions.
Betty Cracker
@MazeDancer: Awww! Some boxers are howlers — our dear Patsy would howl every time an ice cream truck came within earshot and then look embarrassed about it! Never heard one sound quite so operatic though!
I admit I do miss Twitter — terribly. Mostly the people I interacted with there, but also the platform itself — the ease and immediacy of it. I’ve tried other platforms, but they just don’t “take” the same way.
gene108
@Elizabelle:
Biden administration is trying to do the right thing. Iâm not arguing with that.
It takes enormous effort to actually get a government department to change. Itâs both good and bad, in that it prevented Trump from turning the federal government into a subsidiary of Trump Org, but it also hinders progressive reforms.
The details do matter.
Basically, groups invested in making these programs effective should be keeping whatever pressure they can maintain until people start resettling here.
Geminid
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I believe Kemp will finish out his term. Same with Youngkin. Of course, they can run next year without giving up their offices, but Kemp seems to want to make his mark on Georgia politics first. He’ll be young enough in 2028.
Youngkin’s harder to predict because he’s new. But he can wait for 2028 too. And his party might get thrashed in November’s General Assembly elections. That would be fresh news in 2024, but Youngkin can lay it off better as bad luck once he leaves office January, 2026.
gene108
@Soprano2:
From some stories Iâve read, thereâs a certain large group of people who canât grasp the down side risk of a policy until they are personally affected.
Cameron
@Geminid: Kemp can let the story of Georgia’s investment in EVs percolate in the national media for a while.
MazeDancer
@Betty Cracker:
Understand your not wanting to be part of Musking. After muting his name, he doesn’t impact me so much.
Ethical dilemmas abound. Amazon terminating Amazon Smile has put me over the top in not wanting to support them. Dog and cat rescues will suffer and close.
Living in the boonies. Amazon is a lifeline to me.
And there are ethical prob!ems with Walmart and Target as potential replacements as well.
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker: Twitter is wonderful, right now I am chatting with a Twitter mutual who is an editor of an Indian magazine discussing lanes and bylanes of Old Delhi. I have learned a lot about Indian history and politics from my Twitter mutuals. There is a lot of chaff but I find Twitter invaluable even after the Musk takeover.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Since Emo Musk is a topic:
Another Scott
@MazeDancer: Agreed about Amazon Smile. I saw the e-mail yesterday. I use Smile when possible to support VoteRiders.
The letter rubbed me the wrong way. “Smile wasn’t as big as we hoped it would be, so we’re killing it. Here’s a list of double-counted things that we’re doing that have to do with bargains for HQ2 and a bunch of other stuff that has nothing to do with Smile so don’t think we’re monsters for taking money away from charities that you support…”
Grr…
It was a great, painless way for shoppers to support charities. I hope others pick up the idea and run with it.
Cheers,
Scott.
Sure Lurkalot
@schrodingers_cat: This reminds me of a friend who snared an art kit at an estate saleâŚall high end supplies, beautiful boxâŚso treasured by her SHE NEVER USED ANY OF IT.
Anyway, spouse dabbles, has Sennelier pastels, good quality.
Geminid
@Cameron: Also, next year’s Republican primaries will be especially problematic. Radicals are really flexing their muscles now and are angry at Kemp’s wing. That’s not to mention the fights Trump would bring if he runs, and the problem of defending the work of the radical House Republican majority.
If I were an ambitious Republican I would want to steer clear of the likely trainwreck next year and figure on a better environment in 2028. Kemp and Youngkin can wait, I think.
It may be now or never for people like Christie and Pompeo, though. You’d think DeSantis could wait, but he’s a strange bird.* He may believe his own bullshit, and the hype that’s been built around him. So I think he’ll likely jump in too.
*My apologies to birds everywhere for applying this figure of speech to such a crappy human.
YY_Sima Qian
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is resigning, claiming exhaustion from the job. A sad loss.
tobie
It’s always the sex.
Yesterday there was a report alleging Santos performed as a drag queen in Brazil. Santos immediately took to Twitter to deny this allegation. (He didn’t do the same for any of the other reports on his lies.) This reminds me that what killed Madison Cawthorn’s career was not his Hitler obsession or credible claims he harassed women in college. It was his statement that DC politicos have orgies.
It’s always the sex
ETA–as Kay reminds us just below, this is why Matt Schlapp’s in the hot water too.
Kay
The accusation rang true to me. It’s against his interest to say a prominent conservative groped him if he’s working in Right wing politics.
Kay
@tobie:
Just happened to coincide with their weird, obsessive jihad against drag queens. Santos couldn’t have predicted that.
schrodingers_cat
@tobie: Those allegations and even credible accusations did not work against their Orange Emperor.
tobie
@Kay: Very true.
When are rightwingers not obsessed with the bedroom, tho? At least when it comes to sex they can paint as other (immoral in some way)? Ken Starr revealed how easily the Republican moral crusade morphs into pornography.
Maybe I’m making this too complicated. They’re just hypocrites. I don’t recall any deep reflection after Hastert’s crimes were revealed.
Jeffro
@Dorothy A. Winsor: ha! Â She would if she could, that’s for sure.
@OzarkHillbilly: it seems to be just suitcase-specific. Â She’s moping around now, poor thing.
@WaterGirl: back when we had cats, they were like, “go ahead, pack and go away, we don’t give a shit.” LOL
Cameron
@Geminid: Agree. I think DeSantis will jump in.
Sure Lurkalot
@mrmoshpotato:
He is but he has company across the land. Now mostly unaffordable. Subject matter that doesnât translate into a job that can pay back the debt and provide a decent living has been or will be stamped out. Four year job training programs for the skills industry wants for the products industry wants to sell.
Many people nodded in agreement when small departments and âweirdâ majors were eliminated but then they came for humanities, literature, art and history.
schrodingers_cat
@Sure Lurkalot: Oh I use my expensive materials too. But I always start with reasonably priced stuff, after I have gained better skills I buy the pricier stuff.
Senneliers are pretty pricy. So far I have used pastels for backgrounds so no Senneliers for me just yet!
Mimi haha
@Cameron: As a person of retirement age, I know plenty of Floridiot transplants. I can see me ever stepping foot in the state again. I slso try to avoid citrus, as most of what is sold here if from there.
tobie
@schrodingers_cat: That is true. I may really be making this too complicated.
Jeffro
@Geminid: I tried explaining to my RWNJ dad one time what would happen if they did away with progressive taxation in this country…just how high his blessed “flat tax” would have to be in order to produce the same amount of revenue.
As with all things related to GOP dogma, one I laid the facts out for him, he…changed the subject.
Anyway
I am happy about efforts to help immigrants, esp refugees. Surprised to see Cuba on the list — I was under the impression they already had the easiest time of all migrants…
MazeDancer
@Another Scott: Twitter is full of tiny to small animal groups saying they won’t recover.
Amazon’s arrogance that this 100% write–off, customer relationship enhancing tool wasn’t big enough for them was both clueless and repulsive.
$500 to 10K is everything to these groups. But being “everything” is not big enough for Amazon.
Cameron
@Mimi haha: I’m one of the Olds (72) and I live in an Olds development, so I read about the bullshit but don’t experience much of it day to day.
Mike in NC
I was shocked — shocked! — to see that USA Today resident wingnut Ingrid Jacques wrote an opinion piece yesterday that read, “DeSantis risks trampling on free speech” regarding his ongoing mission to turn Florida into North Korea with palm trees. Yet the article itself was pretty mild, quoting the usual right wing suspects like Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute about the governor’s moves to silence his critics. She’ll be firmly in his corner when mini-Trump runs for president next year.
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: I submit that it is a kind of charisma. He has a glow about him.
zhena gogolia
@mrmoshpotato: Yeah. I don’t think DeSantis is.
Sure Lurkalot
@schrodingers_cat: His is a small starter set bought years ago. But I just googled and theyâre half price at Dick Blickâs so maybe Iâll buy him a new set!
Jeffro
@Geminid: I agree with you that it’s probably now or never for Christie and Pompeo…I just can’t figure out what their ‘lane’ is.
Pompeo: is effectively DeSantis plus trump-stink all over him and no governorship. Â There couldn’t be .001% of a difference between them in terms of policy positions (or should I say, “policy” positions since we’re talking about Republicans here)
Christie: is both anti-trump and not tied to the evangelicals like Pence is. Â Also, my understanding is that he accepted a hug from Barack Obama once, LOL.
I know all the attention that candidates get, plus the possibility of winning power, must be heady, but how these two could ever think they have a chance of winning the nomination is beyond me.
Barbara
@zhena gogolia: He has decades of mostly positive name recognition based on books, tv and gambling projects. The fact that many of his business ventures failed was basically rendered invisible by The Apprentice. Yes, he is an expert at self-aggrandizement and selling himself to people. No other candidate on either side of the aisle can claim that. I don’t want to predict the future, but I do believe it will be an uphill climb for other Republican candidates to outdo Trump in state primaries.
Gin & Tonic
Thought I posted this earlier, but it doesn’t seem to have gone up.
Looks like one of the investors in a fund run by “George Santos” is Andrew Intrater, cousin/bagman of Viktor Vekselberg, sanctioned russian oligarch. Intrater, in addition to being a prime funder of the “Santos” candidacy, was in the fund for mid-six-figures. Now he says he was conned.
Now I’m no actuary (although I worked alongside some) but in my judgement conning russian oligarchs (or family members) out of money does not increase one’s life expectancy.
pieceofpeace
@schrodingers_cat: I think they’re sold at several art supply shops in CA. Â Perhaps you’re looking for a specific line of Grumbacher? Â I shop the stores here often and can send you a list of local art store names, locations, etc.
Another Scott
@MazeDancer: I got curious. The AmazonSmile twitter account hasn’t had a post since 2018. :-/
The hashtag #AmazonSmile has lots of comments.
This really seems like a Scrooge-inspired boneheaded move. Do they really need that 0.5% to make their quarterly numbers for the banksters or something?
Grr…,
Scott.
zhena gogolia
@Gin & Tonic: Don’t go up to the Dome, George.
Manyakitty
@mrmoshpotato: also this. Looming disaster is an understatement.
Downpuppy
Weird that @countessgucci has been stricken from existence.
Steeplejack
@Another Scott:
I got the Amazon Smile kill notice yesterday and was wondering: even if it didn’t get as big as they wanted, is it some huge expense to keep it going? I’m sure there are some administrative costs, but it seems like mainly a computerized thingâdirect a tiny bit of this sale to some charity. Once the programming has been done, what’s the big deal?
dww44
@Kay: It was reported in the AJC long before it hit the national media.  There’s not one I know who doesn’t believe it’s true.
brendancalling
I wore my favorite Dolly Parton shirt to work today, and I didn’t even KNOW it was the Queen’s birthday. “Queen” isn’t good enoughâthe woman is a living saint.
I’ve been playing her music in my classroom all day. Not sure if the students appreciate it or not, but I enjoy so there.
Betty Cracker
@MazeDancer: If Musk appoints someone else as CEO or otherwise fucks off and quits screwing with day-to-day operations, I’ll probably come back. Sometimes I think it’s good to have one less time suck, but I am missing my Twitter peeps.
dww44
@Mike in NC:Â â
Something I’ve long been curious about is which, if any, of the conservative right wing think tanks are more moderate than the others. I don’t think the Heritage Foundation qualifies.. But there is the Hoover Institute out at Stanford, AEI, Cato, and ???
JWR
@Kay:
Dr. Oz put it well when he said decisions about abortion should be left to patients, doctors and their local political leaders.
These people are friggin’ monsters. All of ’em, Katie.
Betty Cracker
@YY_Sima Qian: Saw a news alert about her resignation yesterday. I don’t follow NZ politics closely, but she seemed like a great PM. It’s too bad, but good for her for knowing her limits. Too many people stay in when they should get out.
sdhays
@Betty Cracker: I haven’t followed Eric Adams much since I’m not a resident of NYC, but when I read that he said he wanted to be paid in crypto (which, I think, he has quietly backed away from now that crypto is in the toilet, where it belongs), I knew that NYC hadn’t chosen its best to be mayor.
Miss Bianca
@Amir Khalid: I don’t think I could even bear to watch that video. Angry as I get at humans for their cruelty to other humans, it’s when they are cruel to animals that I get incandescent with rage.
In this case it was cruelty to both a human and an animal, and I want that asshole to PAY.
Baud
@Miss Bianca:
Same.
Barbara
@Kay: If he was working for Herschel Walker he must be a committed Republican. I have no idea whether Schlapp is gay curious, whether the staffer was or wasn’t gay himself and so on, but I do know that there is zero upside for him to alienate the Schlapps by making something like this up. Schlapp is odious, I can think of few people who more deserve to be taken down like this.
Baud
@dww44:
Cato seems legitimately libertarian, and AEI is, I think, moderate in that they focus on free market, less government stuff.
schrodingers_cat
@pieceofpeace: I just bought a watercolor pad from Grumbacher recently. They may have been bought by some other company recently. Thanks for the offer. I see some boxes available at ebay as well. I am good for now.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Cato’s immigration beat is pretty good. Solid research little or no hackery.
Anyway
The Hoover Institute is full of hacks.
Betty Cracker
From Reuters:
Except Russia’s “fate” doesn’t depend on this conflict — they’ve got the option to stop killing Ukrainians and GTFO of Ukraine. Putin’s fate, maybe. Anyhoo, as the article notes, it’s interesting that someone that high level is talking about the possibility of defeat.
trollhattan
@YY_Sima Qian: My favourite PM, among a pretty big set of PMs to choose from. You’ll be missed, Jacinda.
She’s to the Kiwi accent as Nicola Sturgeon is to the Scottish accent. Also smart, tough, funny. e.g., How great is this?
https://www.politico.eu/article/jacinda-ardern-new-zealand-prime-minister-calls-opposition-arrogant-prick/
Geminid
@sdhays: Wikipedia tells me that Adams led all candidates in the first round of New York’s ranked choice primary, with 30.7%. After all but two candidates were eliminated and voter choices allotted, Adams beat Kathy Garcia 50.4 to 49.6%, a 7200 vote margin in a low turnout primary.
Under the old system Adams would have faced a runoff against Garcia because he did not clear 40%. He might have lost that election.
Burnspbesq
@Geminid:
No, theyâre dead serious. This is the coming to fruition of the tax-policy-geek communityâs old joke: âthe USA will get a VAT when Republicans figure out how regressive it is.â
And the bullshit about reduced administrative and enforcement costs is just that. Ask a European. Example: in Italy, the paramilitary police (carabinieri) have a unit devoted to VAT fraud and evasion.
JPL
@dww44:The Walker campaign cut ties with him quickly so they believed it. Schlapp is a predator and there must be other victims.
JWR
@Manyakitty:
And I’ll bet these are the same types of people who claimed to be concerned about students falling behind during the pandemic. Hey, waitaminnit! If we don’t teach them anything, how can they possibly fall behind? I now see the genius behind their cunning plan.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
I assume that’s a signal to their Western apologists to start pushing the “negotiation” line again.
dww44
@Geminid: â I must confess that Brian Kemp being considered a viable option to be the Republican nominee certainly leaves me a bit gobsmacked. Yep, he’s now aligned with the saner business wing of the GOP but he campaigned and got elected the first time by playing up his crazy bona fides to the MAGA types.
But, one night last week on Chris Hayes’ MSNBC show Jennifer Granholm was on talking about last year’s Infrastructure legislation and how it had already boosted EV production. Specifically, she mentioned Kemp and all the EV battery manufacturers coming into the state.Then there was this headline below the fold but on the front page of my local paper yesterday that quoted what Kemp told Georgia lawmakers yesterday (he spoke remotely from Davos): “Ga. budget spending meant to keep economy growing”
Now since when has any elected Republican publicly admitted that spending by government helps the economy?
He plans on increasing spending by $2.4 billion, including a $2000 pay increase for all state and university employees including public school teachers. Methinks being invited to Davos may have gone to his head since he’s unafraid to brag about spending. Interestingly, during the campaign last fall Stacey Abrams touted what she would do with the $2 billion surplus that Georgia had, which Kemp gave back to taxpayers, mostly the more well off ones.â
Gin & Tonic
@Baud:
Except russia isn’t at all interested in negotiations:
Jim, Foolish Literalist
They never object to spending. Just like with the ARRA, they pose for pictures in front of signs announcing coming Big Government projects they voted against with the IRA. They’re just lie about how they’re gonna pay for it, if they acknowledge that projects like that have to be paid for at all
Citizen Alan
@Betty: Honestly, I just think that phrase is a passive aggressive dig when used by politicians. They refer to Congressman X as “my good friend” rather than say “that scumbag I wouldn’t let into my house if you paid me.”
Another Scott
@Betty Cracker: Medvedev’s job seems to be to make announcements every few months that the world will end unless everyone bends to VVP’s will. Seriously. He says this stuff like clockwork – about SWIFT, about NordStream II, about NATO supporting Ukraine, about everything.
He’s a powerless hack.
Cheers,
Scott.
Matt McIrvin
@Geminid: Changing all revenue over to consumption taxes has been an idea that conservative think-tank guys have loved for decades. They think it’s a big political winner as they talk among themselves.
Along with head taxes (what British people call “poll taxes”, different from our use of the term) like Margaret Thatcher’s Community Charge–the “flat tax” isn’t flat enough; let’s charge billionaires and paupers the exact same dollar amount! Remember how popular that was.
Sister Golden Bear
@Bostondreams: Yes, one more step towards creating lists of all trans people. And we know how that turns out.
trollhattan
@Baud:Â âThere was a fight a few years back at Cato as the Kochs tried to kick out the not-insane Libertarians to ensure their money was going to just mouth-breathers. IDK how that worked out, because it’s not rewarding to keep track of all the conservative belief tanks.
dww44
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:Â â
Under Georgia law spending has to be offset by revenue. Ya know, the touted balanced budget thing that all Republicans espouse on the federal level. But still, it’s been a long time since a GOP governor used that verbiage….spending to keep the economy growing. I don’t think I recall anyone owning up to that.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
The Russia apologists won’t care.
JPL
@dww44: Sen. Ossoff deserves some of the praise for the state’s economic growth.  He really pushed for electric batteries to be built in the state. The money for the port was largely because of both our Senators.  You could tell that Kemp hated to share the stage with them .
I don’t remember a single thing that Perdue or Loeffler did.
Matt McIrvin
…Note, Al Gore’s carbon tax was a consumption tax–but it was specified to be revenue-neutral with all the money rebated to the public in some progressive way. So, not a source of revenue at all, but a pure incentive. In practice this kind of thing is of course political poison, but right-wingers still think the right-wing versions are hunky dory.
RSA
I used to argue with tax fanatics. Why is a flat tax fairer than a progressive tax? By the same argument wouldn’t everyone paying the same amount, instead of the same rate, be even fairer? And your flat tax isn’t really flat, if you exempt the poorest people—it’s a progressive tax with two steps. Why not add more steps?
Their in-principle arguments never seemed to stand up to in-principle questions.
West of the Rockies
@tobie:
I think it was the homo-erotic photos that surfaced. Repub freak-out ensued.
Citizen Alan
@zhena gogolia: My sister, the retired teacher, absolutely loves him. Which made Christmas at her house tense.
evodevo
@sab: According to the clerk at my tiny rural PO, NO ONE wants the Nancy R stamps lol – I buy them to put on bills…
Citizen Alan
@schrodingers_cat:Â All republicans are bullies, and they live vicariously through bullies who are more powerful than them and who use that power to hurt the people they hate. As the saying goes, the cruelty is the point.
West of the Rockies
@Barbara:
Man, if Schlapp is gay, he might turn a lot of gay men straight.
The Lodger
@Baud:Â Norm Ornstein has emerged as a right-of-center, left-of-Tom Nichols, but-still-sane kind of guy.
Citizen Alan
@MazeDancer: It was pointed out to me the other day that one of the features of late stage capitalism is that it is impossible to engage in modern society without dealing with at least some corporations who have abhorrent policies. Living in a cave and subsisting on nothing but Penzie’s spices is not an option. Picking your battles is the best you can hope for.
JPL
@RSA: I would be fine if everyone was allowed one 50,000 dollar deduction.  Everyone files separately.  We still need a tax on capital gains and corporations though.
Realtors would go nuts though.
Geminid
@Burnspbesq: Yeah, they’re serious. I guess this is like something a Democratic mole would have come up with. It’s just a loser politically. I don’t think it will pass, and even the Republicans who vote against will still be made to own it in the 2024 election.
There were plenty of people in the Democratic caucus the last two Congresses who would like to return to a top income tax rate of 50 or 70%. Speaker Pelosi would have never let such a bill on the floor and divided the caucus with nothing gained. Same eith Medicare for All. That’s a central plank of the 95+ member Progressive Caucus that even they don’t try to get a vote on.
McCarthy is a weak Speaker, and he’s letting the radicals set the whole caucus up for failure. This type of legislation is going to put them in the minority come January, 2025 and it could keep them in the minority for the rest of the decade.
JWR
@Citizen Alan:
Agreed. Remember when the guy Dick Cheney shot in the face apologized to him for shooting him in the face? I heard or read that his “apology” was the way Texans say “f**k you very much, a**hole”.
zhena gogolia
@Betty Cracker: He’s a drunk.
topclimber
@Betty Cracker: You have to wonder whether he is showing great loyalty to Putin or positioning himself as his successor the day that longed-for Kremlin window opens up. He was elected President in between Vlad terms and has some international stature, so he could be at least a short-term solution for the nationalist wing post-Putin.
zhena gogolia
@topclimber: He will never be Putin’s successor.
Geminid
@zhena gogolia: Medvedyev seems more likely to face a firing squad. The succession to Putin could get pretty violent.
zhena gogolia
Not gonna click, WaPo, and you’re skating close to a subscription cancellation:
Inside the White House document strategy and its pitfalls
Soprano2
@Geminid: I think it’s really hard for reporters to admit that at this point most elected Republicans are extreme conservatives. They have a huge need for Republican moderates because advertisers really, really, really don’t like it when only one side is portrayed as extreme, and when you can’t say there are subtle shadings “on both sides of the aisle”. I think sometimes we forget that the news people at most places have to dance to the advertiser’s tune too. ETA – this is also the explanation why most of the press are almost having orgasms over Biden having a few classified documents in his old office and garage. It makes the advertisers happy!
topclimber
@zhena gogolia:
@Geminid:
Who then, and pushed by what groups?
I think the Nationalist/facist wing will call the shots once they resolve to oust Vlad, abetted by institutionalists who want a fig leave of legitimacy. Six months to a year later, the new power centers sort it out and Dimitri would likely not be needed anymore.
zhena gogolia
@topclimber: I can’t make any positive predictions. I just know Medvedev is a laughing stock with no power base.
zhena gogolia
@topclimber: What institutionalists???
Jeffro
@RSA: what I love is how readily they go to bat for the billionaire class, never once stopping to think about how it would impact them, their family, etc etc.
Nope! Â Just FLAT TAX FLAT TAX FLAT TAX (complete with fingers in the ears)
I do find it funny that the most ardently RWNJ folks in my family are my dad (government employee for decades) and my bro (who was on unemployment assistance for quite awhile in his late 30s).
Consistency, hobgoblin, small minds, all thatâŚ
Matt McIrvin
@RSA: In the earliest round of flat-tax discussion I remember, when people like Jerry Brown were pushing it, there was this idea that rich people don’t pay any taxes anyway because of all the loopholes in the tax code, so if you got rid of those a flat tax would actually be more progressive than what we’ve got. I suspect this is actually bullshit at least in the modern world. (Conservatives like to complain about how some large fraction of tax revenue comes from the top 1%, which if true suggests that the tax code is somewhat progressive. One thing I notice about the Trump-era tax modifications is that for us, while they clearly made the code less progressive, they actually eliminated the need to do itemized deductions for charitable activity and such–it’s not even worth it for us.) But stories about rich people paying zero income tax made it sound plausible.
NutmegAgain
@oldgold: not to mention the famous wedgie outfit…
topclimber
@zhena gogolia:
What better front man than one with a recognizable face, at least the credibility of being a former president, who serves only as long as it takes for a post-Putin alliance to emerge.
The military is one institution that will go on in one form or another. The other institutionalists are outside of Russia–governments and capitalists who want the reassurance that Russia will get through its transition period without major blowback on them.
In other news…you haven’t answered my question.
Downpuppy
@Matt McIrvin: The 1986 rewrite, aka “The Tax Accountants Full Employment Act”, took the flatter rates in exchange for loophole closing bargain about as far as it could reasonably go. It helped that Reagan pushed it with no idea what was in it.
zhena gogolia
@topclimber: I answered your question by saying I don’t know. All I know is it won’t be Medvedev.
catclub
@mrmoshpotato:Â â
Why not? He hears that and thinks ” A plan with no downside.”
catclub
@Downpuppy:Â â
The problem is that in the ensuing years, the flatter rates remain and the loopholes slowly come back.
catclub
@Geminid:Â â
The present alternative is that someone with an income of $500k/year pays the same marginal rate as someone whose income is $500M/year. They are really not the same and should not be taxed the same. But having more than two tax brackets is too complicated. 50 brackets, or better yet, a formula of increasing progressivity with increasing income, is too sensible to be considered.â
MazeDancer
@Citizen Alan: Good advice.
}(Of course, I only have Penzeys spices.)
gvg
@Soprano2:Most republicans are extreme nuts. There is nothing conservative about most of their radical ideas, especially how they change them so often to prove they are part of the “tribe”.
WaterGirl
@Another Scott: Shorter MusK:
“Sorry, but we need the money more than the charities do.”
WaterGirl
@Sure Lurkalot: After my mom died, I kept saving my last jar of her amazing plum apple butter. Â I saved it and saved it and saved it until it went bad, so I never got to eat it.
So dumb.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: We will have to agree to disagree.