Pastor Mike Johnson is taking another run at the speakership this afternoon, and it’s going to be lit. He’s got a one-vote margin to play with, since Thomas Massie has decided not to vote for him already. His reasoning is pure MAGA:
“I’m a single man now. I’ve lost my wife, and she was probably the nicest part of me,” he said. “What do I have to lose?”
Massie won’t say how much if any support he has for ousting Johnson, or disclose his plans for an alternative speaker, other than to say he will vote for a person, not just vote “present.”
“I’m a selfish asshole and my long-suffering wife is no longer around to curb my asshole tendencies, so here we are” is every old white MAGAt widower or divorcee. (That link is to Evan Hurst’s piece at Wonkette, which is good.)
The Post runs down the possibilities, [gift link] which include some members voting “present” to give Johnson a smaller majority requirement, and other possibilities like the House passing a rule requiring less than a majority to elect the Speaker. The latter seems pretty far-fetched, because why would a Freedom Caca member who hates Johnson vote for a rule that would basically elect him? Another option is a Speaker who isn’t a member of the House, but, again, you have to get these cats herded together to vote for that person, and some clown like Vivek or Elon who has no knowledge of the rules of the House would be a tactically terrible choice. (Elon would do it for about two seconds since it’s a full-time job and he has other places to ruin.)
There’s also the possibility that lack of a Speaker could lead to issues with the certification of the election, but there are stopgaps for that. (By the way, this is a good litmus test for any news source you’re following. If they mention this possibility without saying it probably won’t happen, they’re not reliable, IMO.). And there are also stopgaps for authorizing Jimmy Carter to lie in state, but that’s in danger, too, until the clown car picks a driver.
One of my interests in looking at the roll calls is the absentees. I think there are a few members who are in poor health who might not vote (though they may be able to give their proxy to someone). I want to do some research into that, since reps who can’t vote consistently are going to be an issue for both caucuses when the margin to pass any legislation, if they manage to elect a Speaker, is two votes.
(I was able to cancel my Guardian subscription, and my cancelled Post subscription doesn’t run out for a couple of months, so you’ll be getting some Post links, which require a sign-in. It’s not a perfect media world and I’m still looking for the paywall-free decent source for “just the facts” news.)
Geminid
I read yesterday that all 215(?) Democratic Representatives are expected to attend today’s session.
Doug R
Their problem with lowering the vote to a plurality is that we’d probably get Speaker Jeffries.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Geminid: Hope so. Quick research shows that proxy voting is part of the rules package and each session of the House doesn’t have rules until it passes the rules package, after a Speaker is elected.
Bill Hicks
Is there something wrong with the Guardian that caused mistermix to cancel his subscription? I thought it was considered to be pretty good like NPR and not as bad as the NY Times, but I miss all kinds of things. Also, I assume everyone knows that Guardian does not have a paywall.
Suzanne
A reminder that archive.ph is there for you!
Geminid
@Geminid: Politico reported this yesterday in an article titled “House Democrats Expect Full Attendence Ahead of Speaker Vote.”
Jeffg166
The felon with his “mandate” can call every freedom caucus member and tell them he wants Johnson. Are they going to say no? Doubtful.
Omnes Omnibus
@Jeffg166: Does he want Johnson though? Would he make the calls?
Geminid
@Jeffg166: Trump probably can’t persuade Massie but I think the rest of the Republican Caucus will go along, if only because it’s in their own individual and collective interests. There really is no viable alternative anyway
Ed. Trump publically endorsed Johnson on Monday. Then, noted political strategist Elon Musk chimed in and endorsed Johnson as well.
Scout211
Nice title, mistermix. Senior Drama Club president is *chef’s kiss.*
The whole thing (to me) smacks as a prearranged moment of “heroic drama” as the much maligned Speaker Pastor overcomes the odds and triumphs to become the SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE!!!111! The cameras are rolling! The media is focused! He’s the MAN OF THE MOMENT!
Not interested in the manufactured drama. Let me know when it’s over. Zzzzzzz.
H.E.Wolf
C-SPAN is my preferred option for events in Congress.
This might be the correct link… C-SPAN fools me sometimes. :)
https://www.c-span.org/liveEvent/?congress-119
PaulWartenberg
What happened to the Guardian?
Jeffro
apologies for focusing on the least important part of all this but…Massie loses his wife and that, somehow, is what’s making him foil MAGA/trumpov?
(btw after some Googling, it’s truly weird – she passed away this past summer, cause of death undisclosed. which apparently set off all of the MAGA conspiracy theorists)
anyway, I don’t wish ill on any of the House GOP or their spouses, but I do hope that some of them, somehow, see the light and put their country ahead of their party
Old School
The “stopgap” mentioned by the Post article is the House electing a temporary speaker.
I’m not sure how plausible that idea is.
Scout211
@Jeffro: My Congressman’s wife died a few years ago (Tom Mc Clintock *spit*) and there was a similar radio silence on her cause of death for a long time. Local news finally announced over a year later that she died of dehydration an gastroenteritis after taking an herbal/dietary supplement. Link
Steve LaBonne
@PaulWartenberg: Their US political commentary is very Berniebro oriented and not much use for understanding how politics actually works, but the straight news coverage is very good.
Old School
@PaulWartenberg:
Some people mentioned there was a paywall after you end your subscription encouraging a renewal.
different-church-lady
@Scout211: God almighty I am so tired of crazy people…
Geminid
@Jeffro: Massie has always been a contrarian, especially when it comes to foreign policy. Plenty of Republicans oppose aid for Ukraine, but Massie opposes aid for Israel as well and that’s unusual for a Republican. Ed. Massie has cited both those issues as reasons he opposes Johnson.
Scout211
And “privacy for me, but not for thee.”
@mistermix.bsky.social
The Guardian didn’t make the media list in the thread WG posted a while back due to a couple of anti-trans editorials by the Observer editor. So I’m respecting that. No other reason. I’m on my phone or I’d find the link.
Jeffro
@Scout211: it’s just odd.
oh well, we’ll hear more about it eventually.
@Geminid: also odd.
Perhaps he has some sort of fantasyland in his mind where the richest nation in the world just…sits on its wealth, yet is still somehow able to influence other nations, ensure its security, etc, without spending a dime.
Torrey
OK, but there really isn’t such a thing as “just the facts” news. Humans are narrative-creating animals, and any collection of facts or sequence of events will be presented in such a way as to structure or encourage/allow readers to structure a narrative, to emphasize some, to view some sequences as causal, others as simply sequential, because that’s how we think. I’m reminded of the mental gymnastics readers have to go through to think like a “Fair Witness” in Stranger in a Strange Land. (If you haven’t read it, don’t run right out for a copy–it’s really not that good.) Character A points out a house at some distance that was recently repainted and asks what color it is. Character B replies, “It’s white.” The Fair Witness says, “it’s white on this side.”
I agree that reporters tend to “go for the narrative” and are sometimes trained to do what is sometimes called “writing for story.” But I don’t know if it’s possible for that not to happen, one way or another.
Steve LaBonne
@@mistermix.bsky.social: The Scott Trust is in the (controversial) process of selling off the Observer (though it will retain a minority stake). I see little reason to tar the Guardian with whatever sins the editor of the Observer has committed.
TBone
@Scout211: holy shit
slybrarian
I don’t really expect the same kind of extended drama as happened with McCarthy, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it took a couple votes just so the crazies can show they mean business and extract some concessions. If nothing else they’re also really lazy and have weekend plans. I think there may be some performative ‘presents’ too.
Then again, we’re dealing with several kinds of weirdos who may not be working together and so we may end up with conflicting promises and rotating groups of ‘no’ votes. Locally, who knows what Victoria Spartz (R-Cornfields) is going to do, since she performatively flounced from the caucus for what seems like a mix of spite and a desire not to have to actually do anything.
Ruviana
FYI Talking Points is live-blogging it. They’re generally pretty good.
Jackie
@Suzanne:
Do I replace part of the original url address with archive.ph? Or what are the actual steps?
Old School
@Steve LaBonne:
This column was referenced when WaterGirl was putting together the media list:
TBone
Open thread mood lightener (the reply comment is *chef’s kiss when you see it you’ll know).
https://bsky.app/profile/fancysplace.bsky.social/post/3letq4bgolc2b
Accompanying theme song by Bobbie Gentry:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VUjNbeAFal8
Old School
@Jackie:
Go to archive.ph and paste the address to the paywalled webpage into their search box.
Another Scott
@@mistermix.bsky.social:
VOANews usually seems ok to me.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Steve LaBonne
@Old School: And I just noted the problem with that. I am on the Guardian site regularly and I have yet to see any transphobic content, even though the current wave of virulent transphobia in the UK almost makes the US look tolerant by comparison.
Jackie
@Old School: Ah! Thank you!
Suzanne
@Jackie: Very easy! You navigate to archive.ph, and then copy/paste the link you want to read into it and hit save. I have sometimes had to delete some of the junk at the end of the link (everything after .html) if I follow the link from social media.
Another weird thing I have noticed is that the headlines sometimes change in the “archived” version relative to the “real” version.
kindness
Ohhh. Just Ohhhh! Nice Polite Republicans hasn’t been good since Bush II. I stopped giving them money in the 00’s.
TBone
Kinzinger on today’s “palace drama” (to quote Lil Mike himself)
https://bsky.app/profile/adamkinzinger.bsky.social/post/3letymczrtc2b
rikyrah
The New Republic (@newrepublic) posted at 11:55 PM on Thu, Jan 02, 2025:
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, 99 percent of Jared Kushner’s investment firm’s funds have come from foreign sources.
https://t.co/wUJ9cG1YGu
(https://x.com/newrepublic/status/1875058476445000003?t=bV2S4nsHayxMNLdZwvYlPw&s=03)
TBone
Mike Osmand
rikyrah
The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) posted at 6:38 AM on Fri, Jan 03, 2025:
![]()
WSJ: Trump to Knowingly Break Immigration Laws
In this video, The Intellectualist examines a WSJ report on Trump advisers’ plans to knowingly violate immigration laws, sparking legal battles that critics warn could undermine democracy.
https://t.co/qYdbpZIcp9
(https://x.com/highbrow_nobrow/status/1875159904668823979?t=ILDKXK1zBcyqg_MoOT4yJw&s=03)
different-church-lady
@TBone: The more that song red-shifts to the back the better.
different-church-lady
@rikyrah: The only surprise there is the WSJ reporting it.
TBone
I’m remembering the meme or quote that said “Mike Johnson always look likes somebody just remotely activated his butt plug” and now I can’t unsee it…
TBone
@different-church-lady: it’s only there as part of that don’t let me down joke.
rikyrah
Sports Illustrated (@SInow) posted at 7:13 AM on Thu, Jan 02, 2025:![]()
https://t.co/Fm4hAkpY45 https://t.co/JYyp8OKG6V
Simone Biles is SI’s 2024 Sportsperson of the Year
(https://x.com/SInow/status/1874806208009527381?t=IIcid7BYevzYa8t1B6k1xg&s=03)
Geminid
@Jeffro: Rep. Massie seems to be an Isolationist through-and-tvrough. That’s a strong strain now in the Republican Party base, but not that many Congressional Republicans are so absolutist. Senator Rand Paul might be.
Massie represents Kentucky’s 4th CD. It runs east from the Louisville suburbs along the Ohio River. It’s rated R+17, so Massie may be around for a while since he’s 53 years old.
A Balloon Juice commenter, “Le Comte…” lives in the 4th and was fairly disgusted with his Congressman. Le Comte hasn’t commented for quite a while now; I hope he’s Ok.
TBone
Seen at crooksandliars
https://crooksandliars.com/2025/01/giuliani-fails-using-911-try-and-skip-out
rikyrah
Never heard definitively…
was the Las Vegas Tesla Exploder
ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY?
rikyrah
@TBone:
just stop.
LOL
zhena gogolia
@Steve LaBonne: I canceled my subscription because of their coverage of US politics. My impression was that there was a paywall after a few articles read, but BJ commenters assure me I’m wrong. I’ll bow to that. I never try to read them any more.
TBone
@rikyrah: *puts down the too much extra coffee
Aye aye!
Hoodie
@rikyrah: Yes (according to TPM).
TBone
Rupar (video at link):
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3letznbi3qc2y
Steve LaBonne
On the OP topic- if Johnson falls by the wayside, we should have a betting pool on how many ballots it will take them to elect a successor. I’ll go with 100.
TBone
@Steve LaBonne: if I were a gambler, I’d know when to hold ’em. There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done!
Citizen Alan
/waves from North Fresno.
Scout211
@rikyrah:
Some details from AP
Scout211
@Citizen Alan: Hiya, Citizen Alan. And sympathies, also too.
TBone
@Scout211: somehow I’m having trouble with the “blame the wife” whiff of that.
rikyrah
Did we even discuss this?
I honestly don’t know what is there to discuss.
An online chat of 70.000 men…who shared stories, videos, tips of how they were sexually assaulting wives, and other family members.
70,000?
I can’t put into words how …the chills I got just reading the story…… I mean, the actual revulsion I felt, reading the story…
different-church-lady
@TBone: He’s really pushing that doublethink envelope.
Citizen Alan
@Scout211: eh, still better than mississippi.
Scout211
@Steve LaBonne: Since we are doing fantasies, how about some Republican making a big f*ck-up in their vote and we have two years of Speaker Jeffries. One can dream.
Geminid
@Steve LaBonne: Man, if Johnson goes down, electing someone else could be like solving a 20-sided Rubic’s Cube.
I think Johnson will get the job. It might go 2 or 3 ballots though if Chip Roy and/or someone else joins Massie in opposition on the first ballot. Roy likes to bluster but he’ll likely fall in line eventually. If Johnson can’t win early though, this could go on quite a while.
hrprogressive
@Torrey:
The problem is that, in many cases, “news outlets” have often gone out of their way to frame stories in a way that, at first glance, might appear “objective”, but in reality, is in fact narrative-setting by virtue of lying by omission.
Consider a few years back when the Associated Press put out a style guide tweet or series of tweets talking about “avoiding use of the phrase ‘Officer-Involved Shooting’ without additional details about who, what, why, etc”.
Consider the following hypothetical “headlines”
“Officer-Involved Shooting at McDonald’s Leaves 1 Dead, 1 Injured”
The above tells me virtually nothing, other, other than very basic information.
Now, consider two possible scenarios:
“Attempted Robbery at McDonald’s, 1 suspect killed by police, one officer injured in shootout”
“Police kill unarmed motorist in McDonald’s parkint lot, after traffic stop, passenger injured by police gunfire”
Both of those fictitious headlines would be, IMO, pretty objective accounts of two very different hypothetical scenarios.
Is it likely that there is zero way to tell either tale that doesn’t evoke *some* reaction by someone somewhere?
Probably not.
But in today’s modern landscape, it is much more likely that the first hypothetical headline gets published, and the second one either doesn’t, or gets so watered down that the facts are obscured.
Why?
Because the second one, even if it objectively true, and accurate, paints the cops in a bad light. And today’s “journalism” is owned by corprofascist Shareholders who don’t want the public to turn on them or the cops, who protect their wealth.
So, it’s much more likely that the facts of the incident will be obfuscated for sociopolitical reasons.
But, the thing is
The public deserves to know the facts at hand, whatever they are.
That’s the type of journalism we should be demanding, and receiving.
And we don’t get it.
And it basically exists like this for virtually every story out there that would “afflict the comfortable”.
So. Yeah.
Ben Cisco
@TBone: Strong “I scored four TDs in a high school game” vibes (except Al Bundy actually did that)
different-church-lady
We should all keep in mind the absence of Big Head Matt, the head clown of the previous circus. Without that agent of chaos the show might not be nearly as big.
rikyrah
@rikyrah:
Telegram ‘rape chat groups’ with up to 70,000 members uncovered Jorg Luyken Thu, December 19, 2024 at 8:24 AM CST
Thousands of men are participating in chat groups in which they share suggestions on how to rape and sexually assault women, a German investigation has revealed.
The groups, on the instant messaging service Telegram, have as many as 70,000 members who mostly communicate with one another in English and appear to come from a variety of countries.
Users claimed to have assaulted women in their household, including wives, partners, sisters and mothers, and also shared instructions with others on how to do the same.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/telegram-rape-chat-groups-70-142422399.html
artem1s
@TBone: He hasn’t tried the old Noun, plus a Verb = 911 in a while now. He’s really getting desperate. Too bad his bedroom at MAL has been taken over by another of TCF’s brown noses. Hope Elmo ends up just like Rudy did – broke and begging for a place to live.
Belafon
@kindness: So you’re why they’re declining? /sarc
I feel that Democrats pulling funding for things that require public support just causes those sources to slide into an oligarch’s hands. There might have been a time where you could pull your funding as punishment, but we just watched Musk throw $44B at twitter to bend it to his will.
randy khan
@Scout211: The more embarrassing the reason for the death, the more likely it is to be kept quiet. This is true as a general matter (something I particularly remember from the early days of AIDS, when parents often would not acknowledge that their sons were gay, let along that they’d died of the Gay Disease), but is especially true for people in the public eye who can get away with it.
Old School
@different-church-lady:
If you didn’t see, Matt Gaetz looked a little different on the TV last night.
lowtechcyclist
From the WaPo, MTG is against “drama.” I LOL’d.
KatKapCC
@lowtechcyclist: So she’s resigning? Sweet.
Baud
@lowtechcyclist:
End the drama.
Commence the comedy.
KatKapCC
@Old School: WTFFFFFF
Peale
@Bill Hicks: It also could be that he grew tired of the movie and TV book reviews that start “This thing that you’re enjoying is actually awful and you’re a bad person for enjoying it”. Guardian cultural criticism can get a bit tiresome after awhile. If I want to be told that I’m a horrible person without any taste, I can just visit my mom.
different-church-lady
@Peale: Eric Loomis is your mother?
Baud
Scout211
@Jeffro:
An X post from a news reporter at WDRB on 10/5/2024
Belafon
@Scout211: This reads like the first part of Deadpool & Wolverine. Like, what was his purpose in life after all of that?
Baud
Baud
lowtechcyclist
@rikyrah:
Other than saying “holy fucking shit,” I’m speechless.
wjca
The way you get around that is pretty straightforward. The way they track how many articles you have read is with a cookie. It increments a counter each time you open an article. So,
Alternatively, you can just go in and delete your accumulated cookies. The down side of that being some cookies may impact stuff you want. So better to go with the incognito approach.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@lowtechcyclist: @rikyrah:
I am disgusted, but unsurprised.
TBone
@Ben Cisco: 🎯 I’m so fond of Four Seasons Total Landscaping and also the habit dye rivulets incident, those are consoling when I see any reference to his pathetic… patheticness. When he held one of his phony election hearings here in PA with that blonde asshole lady from NJ spouting off, I almost swore off the Internet/all news.
Anonymous At Work
@lowtechcyclist: I’m more of the vein that 70,000 men don’t exist as a collective noun. There are 70,000 names to the individuals doing the discussing.
lowtechcyclist
@Baud:
Why not both?
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@Baud:
Some ‘good ole boys’ will be good n’ mad. I think its about time.
different-church-lady
@Anonymous At Work: I’m surprised there are that few.
Belafon
@different-church-lady: The average intelligence and above ones know not to get on a server and talk about it.
Geminid
@Baud: Alabama’s second majority-Black District resulted from a lawsuit under the Voting Rights Act.I believe thesame is trye for anotgwe seat on Louisiana.
Virginia’s 4th CD was redrawn after a successful VRA lawsuit. The late Dan McEachin won it the new 4th in 2016, znd Rep. Jennifer McClellan holds it now.
TBone
@artem1s: from your lips to teh ears of teh gawds!
different-church-lady
@Belafon: My point stands.
Motivated Seller
Seriously? You have one job! If you can’t make the call for the 3rd-in-line to the Presidency, move out and make room for somebody that will.
Must be nice to do F-all and still get paid.
rikyrah
Senator Mikulski came back for this moment.
Qondi
@QondiNtini
A former Black female Senator swears in a Black female Senator Historic
https://x.com/QondiNtini/status/1875233118459933081
TBone
@different-church-lady: 🎯
different-church-lady
@rikyrah: This is great, yet somehow the racists still have control of the government.
Baud
TBone
Nothing is ever gonna make sense ever again, is it.
‘Pro-Life’ Texas Just Did Away With Car Safety Inspections
Kay
There will be fewer women in Congress this term for the first time in 46 years.
Women in the US are really lurching backward – it’s a real shame for those of us who voted for progress for our daughters and granddaughters. For the first time in my life I think there genuinely may be more opportunities for my 3 granddaughters outside the US.
rikyrah
@different-church-lady:
@rikyrah: This is great, yet somehow the racists still have control of the government.
we get our slivers of sunshine wherever we can
tam1MI
I guess they wanted to get in on that exploding Tesla action.
KatKapCC
@TBone: To quote George Carlin: “If you’re pre-born, you’re fine. If you’re pre-school*, you’re fucked.”
(*or apparently any age at all!)
rikyrah
@Kay:
Shameful.
Just pitiful.
TBone
@tam1MI: Elno has a factory and a company town slash prepper compound in Texas! One of his female vessels lives there with progeny and other vassals.
Kay
We’ll be down to 28% from a high of …29% in 2024. Our national “best” is just terrible and it’s going in the wrong direction.
Torrey
@hrprogressive:
Good points, and you are of course right on just about all conceivable counts. In fact, the example you gave is exactly the one used in journalism classes, although sometimes the example phrase is “police shooting” instead of “officer-involved shooting.” Part of the problem, as you observe is that the headline writer isn’t the person who actually writes the story, and often enough headlines show very little awareness of what the story actually says. That’s something about journalism that desperately needs fixing, since many people don’t get past the headings or, perhaps a bit better, the subheads.
But an even better example occurs in the discussion where at entry #59, just above yours, TBone says, “somehow I’m having trouble with the ‘blame the wife’ whiff of that,” in reference to the mention of Livelsberger having “gotten into a fight with his wife about relationship issues shortly before he rented the Tesla and bought the guns.”
And that sequence and the way it is worded are pretty interesting as well. Who reported the “fight” and why did the reporter write “he got into a fight with his wife”? Was that the phrasing of the police? The wife to the police? Why “got into a fight” and not, say, “had an argument”? Notice that, even though “relationship issues” covers a lot of territory, we almost automatically try to fill in the blanks.
The point I think we are both making is that, while admittedly this story could have been a lot more carefully written if reporters were trying hard to avoid–or at least be aware of–assumptions, there isn’t a way to do without them. We as readers will construct a narrative with whatever we are given.
Ben Cisco
@Baud: Damned right!
At least we got one good thing out of this damned election!
Trivia Man
@Torrey: West Wing had a great scene demonstrating the difference between helpful and compliant.
Q: Do you know what time it is?
A: It’s 11:15
Response: Don’t do that!! If a lawyer asks you that question, your response should be “yes” and nothing more!
TBone
@KatKapCC: you know it. I find it helpful to remind them that you can’t freeze a baby or you’ll kill it, but you can freeze an embryo and then say “hope that helps you remember the difference.”
KatKapCC
@TBone: Good line!
Kay
Amazon union just filed with the NLRB to hold an election at the Raleigh Durham warehouse. If they win it will be the first unionized warehouse in the south. Bold move! I love that.
TBone
@Kay: I really hope the NLRB isn’t already too hollowed out to move on this before it’s too late. I haven’t checked in on them in a while…
Kay
@TBone:
Well, let’s see what happens. They know what they’re doing.
TBone
@Torrey: I am honored to be used as an example in your conversation with hr which I was already reading with admiration before that.
TBone
@Trivia Man: I love a man who knows the classics and knows how much we need to remember them.
Belafon
@Trivia Man: That was also an ER episode.
TBone
@Kay: tenterhooks!
Belafon
@Kay: I’m glad they’re going for it, but since a union couldn’t even pass at an auto manufacturer in the South, I’m not expecting it to win.
Geminid
@Kay: My district, VA07, went from Rep. Abigail Spanberger to Rep. Eugene Vindman. A silver lining: Spanberger will likely be Virginia’s first female Governor.
Virginia still hasn’t had a woman Senator.
Citizen Alan
@Old School: When the video popped up, I literally flinched. Not even remotely human looking. What is wrong with Republicans that so many of them can’t look in a mirror or watch themselves on TV and realize how repulsive they intentionally make themselves to people not in their cult?
Ben Cisco
@TBone: I’ve not seen any except local, mostly for the weather reports. Not giving any of the fascist enablers clicks or eyeballs where it can be helped.
Betty
@Jeffro: Massie is the guy who had his family pose for their Christmas card holding various guns. What a weirdo. Sorry about his wife. I wonder who is taking care of the children.
Steve LaBonne
Two votes for not-Johnson plus 5 goopers not voting on the first reading. He’s dead, Jim. Time to break out the popcorn.
SuzieC
C-SPAN: Johnson doesn’t have the votes to be elected.
Mai Naem mobile ¹
@Jeffro: out of curiosity I tried looking for the cause of death after Massie’s wife died. There was an autopsy done. The only thing I found was just a blurb on twitter(not any official sourcing) that she had died from inflammation related to an autoimmune disease. There was a memorial posting that said that she had had health challenges the past few years. I don’t understand why there was no interest shown by any Kentucky media org. on her cause of death. She was only 50 and outwardly she didn’t look ill.
Geminid
@Geminid: House Democrats lost another woman member last year when Colorado Rep. Yadira Caraveo lost her reelection by ~3500 votes
UncleEbeneezer
@TBone: That’s a good one. I confess, I often don’t have the best quick response to that bullshit and want to get into a lengthy rant on bodily autonomy. This is better for quick shutdown.
rikyrah
PBS News
@NewsHour
In the Senate, two Black women — Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland — will be sworn in, the first time in the nation’s history two Black women senators will serve at the same time. Sen.-elect Andy Kim of New Jersey also is making history as the first Korean American to join the chamber. https://to.pbs.org/41XT9xG
11:12 AM · Jan 3, 2025
https://x.com/NewsHour/status/1875228637810622604
Scout211
Voting now. I guess I am paying attention
So the games begin.
different-church-lady
@Scout211: I’m guessing this is where the non-voting hold-outs go to Johnson with their demands.
lowtechcyclist
According to the WaPo tracker, everyone who initially withheld their votes has voted for Johnson. But with 216 votes for Johnson, 3 GOPers voting for other Republicans, and 215 votes for Jeffries, Johnson doesn’t have a majority of those who voted. So it looks like we’re headed to a second ballot.
Steve LaBonne
@different-church-lady: He will lose even if they all end up voting for him on the second roll call. At this stage of the game they have nothing to offer. ETA I see they went ahead and voted for him. They had no leverage- yet.
rikyrah
@Kay:
Not too South…they might have a chance.
Hope they learned the lesson from the anti-union clowns in Alabama who completely got pantsied by management when they voted down the UAW. I still LOL thinking about it. Management showed them their entire azz to kiss the nanosecond after they voted down the UAW.
rikyrah
@Belafon:
It was split. They won in Tennessee. Lost in Alabama.
Baud
@rikyrah:
America’s best states.
different-church-lady
@lowtechcyclist: I ought to already know this, but does one need at least half, or more than half of those voting?
fancycwabs
Having Had a WaPo subscription, and then cancelling it, means I can’t read paywalled WaPo articles even if they’re gift articles because Jeff Bezos is a dick that way.
Belafon
@Citizen Alan: I don’t think the person people see in the mirror is actually them. I’ve noticed that what I see in a mirror isn’t always what I see in a picture of me.
TBone
Rupar:
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3leu37rkkzc2f
BritinChicago
@Trivia Man: Shouldn’t the response be “No” unless you’re actually looking at a clock/watch?
lowtechcyclist
@different-church-lady: More than half. So if all 434 Congresspersons are voting (as they are now), Johnson needs 218. So he needs two of the three Rethugs voting against him to change their votes.
lowtechcyclist
@BritinChicago:
Being of a certain vintage, I’d probably answer:
Does anybody really know what time it is?
Does anybody really care?
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@kindness:
“Pretty good like NPR” is an oxymoron.
Totebagger Radio has existed for the last 12+ years to give right-wing framing and talking points a respectable sheen, quietly pushing the Overton window from the center to that whole areas of public concern are no longer up for discussion in this country.
It’s designed to reassure middle class whites on both sides of the aisle that everything is gonna be alright.
Steve LaBonne
@fancycwabs: But he’s not a smart enough dick to plug the archive.ph loophole.
TBone
LOL my local college radio station is playing ‘Magic Man’ right now hahahaha!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vlAdMeZSfw
Colbert:
https://www.thewrap.com/stephen-colbert-house-speaker-mike-johnson-maga-mike-cbs-video/
different-church-lady
@BritinChicago: “A nice man wrote the time down for me this morning.”
randy khan
@lowtechcyclist: But apparently the 5 last votes were people who don’t like him, either, but had been planning not to vote until they realized that not voting would make Jeffries Speaker (which sounds good to me). So he may actually have 8 holdouts, and could need 7 of them.
Chief Oshkosh
@BritinChicago: Smart cookies always know what time it is.
C’mon, man!
Gloria DryGarden
@Geminid: suddenly the image comes to mind, musk, trumple, johnson, in a circle jerk,
sorry. It’s a vile image.
im leaving now, I won’t derail the thread, I have to go do car post-saga 2.0 tasks
different-church-lady
@Gloria DryGarden:
TOO LATE!!!
Spanky
@Steve LaBonne:
I LOLed.
@SuzieC:
“Dammit, Jim! I’m a doctor, not an abacus!”
Baud
TBone
@Baud: that just made me smile, thanks!
KatKapCC
Why are they not gaveling the vote? I keep hearing the C-Span people saying it hasn’t been, like, finalized or whatever.
Jeffro
@Scout211: thanks!
also, what is that? repeated bouts of untreated Covid, or something?
Kay
JD Vance was smirking like an asshole when Harris was swearing new senators in – he’s such a pig.
Gloria DryGarden
@different-church-lady: starting a sentence w “a nice man” followed by a verb, leads to many thoughts. I’d like to see 10 people complete that sentence. Women have often had peculiar experiences with “ nice men”
btw, my Uruguayan brother told a story of being asked the time by a Chileno. The common phrasing in spanish in one country can be entirely not-nice words, in another dialect of spanish. This was quite an example.
@TBone: in honor of introverts day yesterday, I tried for some poetry writing. My first attempt didn’t go well, but I came up with this, sharing for the likers of poetry. (I’m not saying this one’s any good either.
Curled in coziness
Disconcerted introverts
Renew by Resting
different-church-lady
@Gloria DryGarden: The character that quote comes from is an extreme simpleton.
Jeffro
I’d say “you’re going to have to be more specific” (they ALL do that now on the right) but yes, I remember him and his family ‘leading the way’
barf
Kay
OTOH Bernie must have said something funny, because he made her laugh. I don’t think of him as funny, but good job :)
Steve LaBonne
@KatKapCC: Squeaker Johnson is still working on two of the holdouts so they’re holding the vote open until he fails (he will).
Gloria DryGarden
@different-church-lady: either you’re saying my one comment already derails it, oh well. Or you’re saying it already got derailed. Not sure which.
I’m not clever today.
different-church-lady
@Gloria DryGarden: I’m saying it’s too late for me to unsee your mental image. (In jest.)
KatKapCC
@Steve LaBonne: So…the Speaker gets to decide how long the vote gets to just hang open? That seems stupid.
TBone
@Gloria DryGarden: love that!
Ben Cisco
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEEPS IN THE BACK
Gloria DryGarden
@different-church-lady: I don’t know it, I’ll look it up.
Since I don’t know it, I’ll start my nice man idea, stream of consciousness, only possibly useful.
a nice man offered her a ride
a nice man approached her at the picnic table where she was writing in her journal
a nice man told her to smile, it made her more pretty
the men in her family were mostly nice men. We gradually heard about her uncle, but she never said much about her father. If the story wasn’t nice, they wouldn’t hear it.
The congressman was a nice man
etc
TBone
Lifted from elsewhere
TRUMP’S JOHNSON CAME UP SHORT AGAIN???
Steve LaBonne
@KatKapCC: I don’t know who has the power to delay gaveling in the vote.
Geminid
@Gloria DryGarden: Good luck with your auto tasks.
TBone
My mother played this Jim Croce song more than the Top 40 radio stations did back in the day. She has visited me just now.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jx-B5wbKOQ
Geminid
@Kay: Vance looks like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, in a suit and tie.
Trivia Man
2 more for Pastor J, I think that’s game
KatKapCC
LOL pathetic. Applauding him because he begged and pleaded and got two losers to change their votes. WOW GREAT MOMENT BE PROUD OF YOURSELF.
Gloria DryGarden
@different-church-lady: the many flavors of vileness. So many options, not enough time to try for poetic Justice or other forms of irony.
maybe the 3 guys are just rubbing each other’s backs, or passing an envelope w a few million, hand to hand, around and around…
*my mind is not in the gutter, the news events are, the strange persons setting up to rule are. To rule from an opulent gutter, building on the worn out labors of people they don’t see or care about but are happy to profit from.*
dorothy a winsor, is that a Demi poem?
Trivia Man
@BritinChicago: I agree. But if you look at your wrist and then say no then you are a dirty liar and subject to penalties for perjury!
Baud
@Kay:
Not in their culture.
Steve LaBonne
@Trivia Man: God damn it, entertainment is all these stupid assholes are good for and they can’t even manage that.
Gloria DryGarden
@Geminid: thank you.
My mechanic said last month, let’s not even change your oil until you know you can get your plates.
It took 6 weeks of saga and steps, and waiting at the car shops, and a bunch of $$, to get to take the required emissions test, which I always pass. Now that I know my car won’t be towed for expired plates, I can move on with life tasks 2-53, and car 2.0, 3.0, 4.0.
really these advanced complications have not led to advancements in life.
Baud
I guess they twisted some arms
Trivia Man
@Steve LaBonne: I was hoping for at least 10 votes today. Can we still call him the Squeaker of the House?
Trivia Man
@Gloria DryGarden: and now Texas has eliminated ALL annual car inspections*
* But left ALL those fees in place
Steve LaBonne
@Trivia Man: 218-215 does seem like a squeaker.
Suzanne
@KatKapCC:
LMAO. These people are so pathetic and weak.
Jeffro
so Massie folded, too?
Jeffro
Jeffries, on-point already with the reminder:
KatKapCC
@Jeffro: No, Norman and Self. As far as I saw.
Gretchen
@Jeffro: Massie did say that they didn’t get covid shots, but had antibodies from previous infection. Apparently he didn’t know that one can get multiple bouts of covid, which isn’t a good idea when you have immune problems.
lowtechcyclist
@Trivia Man:
Why? I haven’t worn a wristwatch in decades. And even then, how would I know the watch was accurate? I could tell them what time my wristwatch showed, but I couldn’t tell them what time it IS.
Ruckus
@Jeffro:
see the light and put their country ahead of their party
I believe I see a fatal mistake.
In their minds their party IS the country. I mean jees how can anyone expect the democratic party to have any say in a democracy?
Ruckus
@rikyrah:
If you have someone you think may help you in any way and have money, you are going to pay the fool at least a minimum buy in. And tell me Jared is in any way not a sell out to whomever will offer him money. To me it seems that not many in trumpworld have skills. His niece does and seems reasonably smart – especially in how great her uncle isn’t.
Ruckus
@hrprogressive:
This is one reason I no longer read newspapers. They have a fairly large financial cost to print a newspaper. They have to sell what most of their buyers want to read/see in their paper. And many people see more than enough, well, crap in their lives that they don’t want to read about more. And far more people likely watch the news on TV, or even the web, than pay for a paper any more. Now local news may be interesting but how interesting? How much of it doesn’t affect most of us at all? And yes a lot of people read a paper to get news, etc at the rate they want it and without a lot of commercials.
Ruckus
@artem1s:
elmo is going to have to spend, give away, burn a lot of money to get to broke. He is the world’s richest after all….
Now I’m not saying it wouldn’t be interesting to see him fall that far down the financial ladder but still, in his lifetime I don’t see him going broke. Not world’s richest quite possibly, but a hell of a lot farther unlikely.
Ruckus
@Citizen Alan:
They don’t see repulsive. Not in a mirror and not of themselves on TV. They wouldn’t be who they are if they did.
Ruckus
@TBone:
Still.
But then he is, but I can’t tell if it’s somewhat or all.
No, I thought about it, for one second – IT’S ALL DICK.
Ruckus
@Steve LaBonne:
You don’t really think they like each other any more than we like any of them do you?
I seem to be the only one here.
Oh well I did come in late……
Timill
@Ruckus: All he really needs is for Tesla to go bust. That’s where his wealth is. He has other assets, but that’s the bulk of it.
Shane in SLC
@Steve LaBonne: Yeah, I’m similarly puzzled. It seems to have become an article of faith in some circles that the Guardian is virulently transphobic, but no one really points to any concrete examples. The article in Medium that someone posted here and a couple of weeks ago clarified things a little: they treat the existence of trans people as something up for debate. Fair enough: that’s a problem. But is it a grave enough problem to give up on pretty much the only major international English-language news operation that isn’t at this point openly fascist and controlled by billionaires? (Only the BBC can really compare with the scope of the Guardian’s journalism, and it has problems of its own.)