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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

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

I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

The revolution will be supervised.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

‘Museums aren’t America’s attic for its racist shit.’

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

When we show up, we win.

The willow is too close to the house.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

“woke” is the new caravan.

“In the name of Zandar, I will fight the Stupid!”

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

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You are here: Home / Archives for Politics / GOP Death Cult

GOP Death Cult

Sunday Morning Open Thread: Everybody Gird Their Loins

by Anne Laurie|  November 26, 20237:22 am| 215 Comments

This post is in: Biden Administration in Action, Foreign Affairs, GOP Death Cult, Music, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

Watch the "@AmericanaFest 22nd Annual Honors" on @acltv! You can stream the "Americana 22nd Annual Honors" online at https://t.co/c4c8BwCK8z beginning Sunday, November 26 at 9am CT. pic.twitter.com/NcamrQzq5U

— Bonnie Raitt (@TheBonnieRaitt) November 25, 2023


Here’s a pleasant hour’s listening, from Austin City Limits — Ms. Raitt was given a Lifetime Achievement Award. (When I clicked on the embedded link, it took me straight to my local PBS station & started streaming.)
 

USA! USA! https://t.co/qdB33vd1o6

— B-21 Mothra (@TonyMoonbeam) November 26, 2023


 

The debate over Ukraine aid was already complicated. Then it became tangled up in US border security https://t.co/JnUpFnuSdR

— The Associated Press (@AP) November 25, 2023


Excellent, if rather depressing, summary of the current state of affairs — “The debate over Ukraine aid was already complicated. Then it became tangled up in US border security”. (For ‘border security’, of course, read ‘Repub electoral politics’):

… President Joe Biden’s nearly $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other needs sits idle in Congress, neither approved nor rejected, but subjected to new political demands from Republicans who are insisting on U.S.-Mexico border policy changes to halt the flow of migrants…

When Congress returns this coming week from the holiday break, Biden’s request will be a top item on the to-do list, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Failure risks delaying U.S. military aid to Kyiv and Israel, along with humanitarian assistance for Gaza, in the midst of two wars, potentially undermining America’s global standing…

What just a year ago was overwhelming support for Ukraine’s young democracy as it reaches for an alliance with the West to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion has devolved into another partisan fight in the United States.

Members of Congress overwhelmingly support Ukraine, embracing Zelenskyy as they did when he arrived on a surprise visit last December to a hero’s welcome. But the continued delivery of U.S. military and government aid is losing favor with a hard-right wing of Republican lawmakers and with some Americans…

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Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has said the “best way” to ensure GOP support for Ukraine is for Biden and Democrats to accept border policy changes that would limit the flow of migrants across the border with Mexico.

“It’s connected,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press.

To that end, a core group of senators, Republicans and Democrats, have been meeting privately to come up with a border policy solution that both parties could support, unlocking GOP votes for the Ukraine aid.

On the table are asylum law changes pushed by the Republicans that would make it more difficult for migrants to enter the United States, even if they claim they are in danger, and reduce their release on parole while awaiting judicial proceedings. Republicans also want to resume construction of the border wall.

Democrats call these essentially nonstarters, and the border security talks are going slowly. Those who have worked on immigration-related issues for years see a political disaster in the making for all sides — Ukraine included…

Overall, half the $113 billion Congress has approved for Ukraine since the war began in February 2022 has gone to the Defense Department, according to the Congressional Research Service. The dollars are being spent to build Ukraine’s armed forces, largely by providing U.S. military weapons and equipment, and replenish U.S. stockpiles.

Much of the rest goes to emergency and humanitarian aid and to support the government of Ukraine through the World Bank.

National security experts have watched the Ukrainian forces repurpose outdated American equipment that was headed for decommissioning and use it to obliterate aspects of the Russian armed forces. McConnell has noted that much of the spending stays in the U.S., flowing to defense production in states across the nation…

At least the AP (mostly) acknowledges where the problem is — with the GOP Death Cultists, not ‘Congress’ or ‘legislators’!
 
I personally agree with the following message:

immigrants make america great you bitch ass fuckhead go move to Europe if you want homogeneity. you're following the wrong civic religion for America

— knife-wielding hemophiliac (@NickTagliaferro) November 25, 2023

Sunday Morning Open Thread: Everybody Gird Their LoinsPost + Comments (215)

Sunday Evening Open Thread: It Can’t Happen Here…

by Anne Laurie|  November 12, 20238:38 pm| 70 Comments

This post is in: GOP Death Cult, Open Threads, Our Failed Media Experiment, Trumpery

The media doesn’t care about this because they don’t imagine themselves as being part of the “vermin” he’s going to root out.

Management at the big corporate outlets continue to mistakenly believe Trump returning would be good for business rather than an existential threat. https://t.co/Whh593Achm

— Clean Observer (@Hammbear2024) November 12, 2023

It is Nazi propaganda. He knows this. He kept the book by his bedside for years. https://t.co/yX0BrsPpic

— Joe Trippi (@JoeTrippi) November 12, 2023

“When the vermin are dead, the German oak will flourish once more.”

Der Stürmer, December 1927

The rats are labeled “Stock Exchanges,” “The Press,” & “Trusts” pic.twitter.com/7TU5F8vHpp

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) November 12, 2023

I doubt Trump will be POTUS in 2025. No Russians+no Comey letters=Hillary wins. Since 2020 been only bad news for him & mostly bad news for Repubs. He may not be the nominee

So, unlikely he ever gets to put someone in a camp. But lot of GOP voters OK w possibility that he could

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) November 12, 2023

(Astringent) palate cleanser:

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Bill Burr’s wife Nia giving Trump the double bird is the content I’m here for pic.twitter.com/x7A2GKK9f5

— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) November 12, 2023

Context:

Wow. Look at this Loserfest at tonight’s UFC fights.

Fuckopotamus, the 50-something “Kid” Rock, Tucker Carlson, and Fuckopotamus, Junior.

Talk about a mighty fall for Carlson. Dude was making $30 mil. on Fox News. Now he’s at UFC with Kid Rock. LOL. pic.twitter.com/ePPm16WWR3

— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) November 12, 2023

Sunday Evening Open Thread: <em>It Can’t Happen Here… </em>Post + Comments (70)

Open Thread: Speaker Mike Johnson, Wrapped in the Flag & Carrying A Cross

by Anne Laurie|  October 30, 202310:41 pm| 69 Comments

This post is in: GOP Death Cult, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity, Republican Venality

Issue w Johnson isn’t that he’s from Louisiana. It’s more that he’s from the far less cosmopolitan part of LA, the part of Arkansas located south of the LA border, & he appears to have seldom left there except to litigate cases to allow prayer during school or gov’t proceedings

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) October 30, 2023

"People really do look at the funding we’re sending to Israel and Ukraine and say, 'I can’t afford to go to Kroger.'"

Of course. Because the debate was "should we employ Americans to make stuff to send overseas, or send a check to the guy in a diner."https://t.co/T7bP3WHYKY

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) October 30, 2023

I don’t think the reporters are as naive as the headline here… The Washington Post visits a modern Peaksville — “House Speaker Mike Johnson’s Louisiana hometown guided by faith and family”:

SHREVEPORT, La. — In this small town masquerading as a city, a mention of newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson during the lunchtime rush at Strawn’s Eat Shop Too (“home of the ice box pie”) drew an interruption.

“Are you talking about Mike Johnson?” said a woman in a flowered blouse, gold-cross necklace and gray ponytail. “I’m his mom.”

Jeanne “Jee Jee” Johnson, 69, had been sharing a “celebration lunch” Thursday with her cousin here in the central Broadmoor neighborhood, pausing to greet fellow diners as her cellphone exploded with well wishes.

Johnson saw her son’s selection in spiritual terms. “God did this,” she said. “ … It’s so good for America.”…

The Ark-La-Tex region in northwest Louisiana that includes Johnson’s hometown is full of historic Black and White churches, more like neighboring Arkansas, Texas and the rest of the Bible Belt than the rest of the state. It’s often overshadowed by flashier cities to the south: New Orleans and the state capital, Baton Rouge. The idea that one of its sons is now second in line to the presidency has been met with joyous surprise in many quarters. But views are mixed about whether his ascension will benefit all residents, who remain divided, like much of the country, along ideological and racial lines.

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Residents call the metro area of about 760,000 Shreveport-Bossier, encompassing Shreveport — population 180,000, where Johnson was raised on the west bank of the Red River — and growing suburbs to the east in Bossier Parish, where the speaker now lives.

But there are vast distinctions between the two sides, the residue of disinvestment and white flight by families like Johnson’s.

The city proper is about 57 percent Black, 37 percent White and 3 percent Latino, according to the most recent census. Bossier Parish, home to about 130,000 people, is about 70 percent White, 24 percent Black and 7 percent Latino. Overall, Johnson’s district has a median household income of about $48,600, below the national median of nearly $75,000. About 22 percent live below the poverty level…

Like many cities in Louisiana, Shreveport is governed by Democrats and Bossier Parish is largely Republican; Republicans will control all three branches of state government once conservative Attorney General Jeff Landry, elected governor earlier this month, takes office in January…

“He was a part of that exodus from Shreveport; he didn’t stay and make the community better and as a congressman, he has done little to make the community better,” said the Rev. Theron Jackson, the Black pastor of 94-year-old Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church.

A former Shreveport city council member, Jackson, 54, was once a Democrat but said he now considers himself an independent. He’s working to counter homelessness and what he calls “trans-generational poverty” that dates to segregation.

Earlier this year, Jackson traveled to Baton Rouge to lobby for changes to Louisiana’s congressional districts — only one of six is a majority Black district despite a state population that is more than 30 percent Black. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request to speed up redrawing the districts after a federal judge found the latest map still dilutes the strength of Black voters.

“When you become speaker of the house, that’s supposed to mean a lot more for your district and your state. The question is, what is that going to mean for us?” Jackson said. “It may mean more for those who have already benefited from his presence, but certainly not all of us.”…

America’s proudly ‘independent’ voters:

This person seems to have a well thought out and coherent political perspective pic.twitter.com/li9FCsUG7v

— Tomb Hellton (@TVHilton) October 30, 2023

Then again, one could always check out FTFNYTimes, if you prefer a cozier take:

You can tell this is a fair and balanced look at Mike Johnson’s hometown and how it shaped him by the way it starts off quoting his mother and then waits until paragraph 36 to quote a Black person despite Shreveport being 57 percent Black.https://t.co/V5CzlHj36m

— Jamison Foser (@jamisonfoser) October 30, 2023

"We need to stop asking people in diners about foreign aid … Instead, put our national leaders on the spot to explain what they think foreign aid is … and then call them out, every time, when they spin fantasies about it," @RadioFreeTom writes: https://t.co/PspKru2o2H

— Not a former naval aviator (@jonruttenberg) October 30, 2023

… “Politics here is personal,” according to Celeste Gauthier, 45. (The Post, for some reason, notes that Gauthier attended Middlebury College for a time—perhaps as a clumsy way of trying to tell us she’s not merely some rough local, and that she returned from Vermont to help run her family’s three restaurants.) She is concerned:

“People really do look at the funding we’re sending to Israel and Ukraine and say, ‘I can’t afford to go to Kroger,’” Gauthier said as she sat amid the lunchtime crowd, some of whom she said had stopped buying beverages because of the cost. “A lot of these customers know Mike Johnson and think we often get overlooked and maybe we won’t anymore,” she said.

I’m not sure what it means to be “overlooked” in a cherry-red district in a state where, as the Post notes, Republicans will control all three branches of state government once the conservative governor-elect is sworn in, but the comment about foreign aid is a classic expression of how little people understand about the subject.

Perhaps Gauthier or others believe that the new speaker—who has been opposed to sending aid to Ukraine—would redirect the money back to “overlooked” Louisianans, maybe as increased aid to the poor. He wouldn’t, of course, as he has already proposed huge cuts in social spending. As for Israel, evangelical Christians such as Johnson have a special interest in Israel for their own eschatological reasons, and Johnson has already decided to decouple aid to Israel from aid to Ukraine. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell—whose understanding of foreign policy is practically Churchillian compared with Johnson’s—is none too happy about that…

We need to stop asking people in diners about foreign aid. (Populists who demand that we rely on guidance from The People should remember that most Americans think foreign aid should be about 10 percent of the budget—a percentage those voters think would be a reduction but would actually be a massive increase.) Instead, put our national leaders on the spot to explain what they think foreign aid is, where it goes, and what it does, and then call them out, every time, when they spin fantasies about it. Otherwise, legislators such as Johnson will be able to sit back and let the folks at the pie counter believe that he’s going to round up $75 billion and send it back home.

That’s an old and dumb trope, but it works. If you’re a Republican in Congress, and if you can stay in Washington by convincing people at the diner that you’re going to take cash from Ukrainians (wherever they are) and give it back to the hardworking waitress pouring your coffee, then you do it—because in this new GOP, your continued presence in Washington is more important than anything, including the security of the United States.

As ever, to the self-professed ‘Christians’:

Hey Speaker Johnson and the House Republicans… pic.twitter.com/otqPmN0MMd

— Michael F Ozaki MD (@brontyman) October 26, 2023

Open Thread: Speaker Mike Johnson, Wrapped in the Flag & Carrying A CrossPost + Comments (69)

Sunday Morning Open Thread: All Tricks, No Treats

by Anne Laurie|  October 29, 20238:43 am| 332 Comments

This post is in: GOP Death Cult, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

Sunday Morning Open Thread:  All Tricks, No Treats

(Jeff Danzinger via GoComics.com)

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy or a more rancorous cabal of irritable, bleached assholes. https://t.co/QFGFca0Yec

— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) October 25, 2023

Current GOP move is to rush Johnson into the Speaker's office before anyone can listen to all the insane shit he's said over the years. https://t.co/RBNGVchtnC

— zeddy (@Zeddary) October 25, 2023

A risk to picking an outsider because you're too exhausted to keep fighting over normal candidates- you may elevate someone who hasn't been vetted the way those who rise in the ranks normally are. This is very bad and who knows what else is out there? Republicans certainly don't. https://t.co/kFDzqMApiM

— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) October 25, 2023


 
Who knows what else is out there? Quite a lot, it turns out!
Sunday Morning Open Thread:  All Tricks, No Treats 1

(Clay Jones via GoComics.com)

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He’s going from low profile in a safe district to starting quarterback in the NFL. The election denial and the support for abortion bans will now be front and center and Rs should have to answer for them. https://t.co/rniCIBwuQ5

— Kate Bedingfield (@KBeds) October 25, 2023

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Mike Johnson attacks Roe v. Wade, insisting that if only women were compelled to bring more "able-bodied workers" into the world, Republicans wouldn’t need to slash Social Security and Medicare. pic.twitter.com/RGzg09TYEW

— House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) October 25, 2023

This case of amnesia came moments after Johnson claimed Biden is in cognitive decline https://t.co/LC1uhmgOnS

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 27, 2023

One type of reporter is saying how folksy he is, and others finding the path of destruction he left on the world. https://t.co/jfx5H46LGm

— Sviatoslav Richter Scale (@ilpomodoro2) October 25, 2023

So, no more shellfish? https://t.co/JWbkOK6IQ3

— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) October 27, 2023

Sunday Morning Open Thread:  All Tricks, No Treats 4

Well, you have to give Republicans credit.

I mean, it was damned hard finding someone worse than Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, and Steve Scalise combined, but they did it.

— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) October 25, 2023

Sunday Morning Open Thread:  All Tricks, No Treats 2

ON NEW HOUSE SPEAKER MAGA MIKE JOHNSON pic.twitter.com/sFgF5CPv5l

— Trae Crowder (@traecrowder) October 26, 2023

(N.B: Snark warning):
Sunday Morning Open Thread:  All Tricks, No Treats 3

Jordan didn’t have legislative accomplishments. But he built a bloc of steadfast support among House Repubs. He used committee hearings to boost his profile. He got on TV a lot. He got a high-profile committee chair. Last three years his leadership PAC raised $25m. /2

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) October 25, 2023

If he’s effective Johnson’s effect on the country could be catastrophic. But it’s at least as possible that he’s going to be in so far over his head that he’s gone in a month. And if he hangs on he’ll almost certainly cost the Repubs the House /4

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) October 26, 2023

Oh I agree Johnson may be an albatross for them in 2024. I'm just afraid of the damage he can do in the meantime https://t.co/3dv1r7tTbo

— Fleet (now on BlueSky) (@fleetadmiralj) October 25, 2023

Sunday Morning Open Thread: All Tricks, No TreatsPost + Comments (332)

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Things That Might’ve Been Overlooked This Week

by Anne Laurie|  October 28, 20238:13 am| 150 Comments

This post is in: Biden Administration in Action, GOP Death Cult, Jan 6: Insurrection, Local Races, Proud to Be A Democrat, Vice-President Harris

This Sunday on 60 Minutes, @BillWhitakerCBS interviews Vice President Kamala Harris. She discusses the situation in Israel and Gaza in the wake of the Hamas terror attack and urgent domestic issues, including gun violence prevention and immigration. pic.twitter.com/MZBk6oWNH8

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 27, 2023

"Our democracy is on the line. And I, frankly, in my head, do not have time for parlor games.” – @VP on #60Minutes when asked by @BillWhitakerCBS about #BidenHarris2024 chances of reelection.
YESSSSS! These complicit media's obsession with her approval ratings is way overblown. pic.twitter.com/L9iOAzSREW

— KAMALA NATION (@KamalaNation) October 28, 2023

A good day for democracy!??https://t.co/4sp9XkObNM

— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) October 26, 2023

I've officially been drawn out of my congressional district by a small group of politicians.

It’s blatant corruption, but I’ve got news for them:

I’m running for Attorney General, and I’m going to use that job to fight political corruption.

Join us: https://t.co/tb9ykB1pUH pic.twitter.com/nEcQnXEw5g

— Rep. Jeff Jackson (@JeffJacksonNC) October 26, 2023

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I’m glad I was able to hand deliver her a copy of my upcoming book for establishing the January 6 Select Committee and supporting the investigation into the day’s events. @SpeakerPelosi @TeamPelosi pic.twitter.com/mIlUXcGIN9

— Staff Sergeant Gonell, Aquilino (@SergeantAqGo) October 26, 2023

The largest-EVER investment in our grid—and it’s going to be life-changing.

As extreme weather events fueled by climate change continue to strain the nation’s aging transmission systems, we're ensuring our grid provides reliable, affordable power to all.https://t.co/STix2C0Tzd

— Secretary Jennifer Granholm (@SecGranholm) October 24, 2023

Scofflaws shall be duly punished:

BREAKING: Rep Jamaal Bowman has been criminally charged with one misdemeanor count of falsely pulling a fire alarm for the September 30th incident in the Cannon Office Building, according to court documents, @dnlbrns & I report.

— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) October 25, 2023

Meanwhile, the Rethuglican Death Cultists:

You can’t really blame Comer for not wanting to hold another impeachment hearing. The first one was a total disaster.
More evidence media should assume everything he puts out is cherry picked and hiding the full facts. https://t.co/5NhgPT5VG4 pic.twitter.com/JJTubxekUn

— Josh Schwerin (@JoshSchwerin) October 27, 2023

… In late September, the impeachment inquiry held a hearing involving a handful of witnesses, none of whom could provide any evidence impugning Joe Biden or his son, by their own admissions. The 2019 impeachment of Donald Trump — probably the target of Johnson’s sniffy disparagement of “the other team” — had released its final report about three weeks after its first hearing (which was followed by four more days of hearings). The Biden “impeachment inquiry” has held no more hearings in the month since the first one. And, by his own admission, Comer doesn’t want to.

“I don’t know that I want to hold any more hearings, to be honest with you,” Comer said while speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill last week. He complained that it was hard to keep members present for hours on end, given that so many had other commitments. Instead, he said, he preferred depositions, which “you can do more with.”

There’s a truth buried in that, of course. You can do more with cherry-picked transcripts when your goal is to coat Joe Biden with insinuations and unproved allegations. Had Devon Archer’s deposition been a hearing, the final result would have been that viewers saw him acknowledge that Biden was not involved in his son’s work. There would have been multiple Democrats on hand to evaluate Archer’s testimony critically, something that does Comer (and, by extension, Johnson) no good. In 2019, the witnesses were generally deposed before offering live testimony with cross-examination from Republicans. Comer appears to prefer stripping out that last bit…

One would think that at some point, Comer would need to present evidence that withstands objective scrutiny — including by non-right-wing media outlets. The value of adjudicating these things in public hearings is that they are tested and challenged, making the surviving evidence stronger. We can be more confident that Biden’s role in the firing of the Ukrainian prosecutor was not corrupt because the assertion was evaluated during the 2019 impeachment…

Saturday Morning Open Thread 23

(Clay Jones via GoComics.com)

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Things That Might’ve Been Overlooked This WeekPost + Comments (150)

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Another Day, Same Old Circus

by Anne Laurie|  October 26, 20238:06 am| 156 Comments

This post is in: GOP Death Cult, Proud to Be A Democrat, Show Us on the Doll Where the Invisible Hand Touched You

Thursday Morning Open Thread:  Another Day, Same Old Circus

(Mike Luckovich via GoComics.com)

 
Thursday Morning Open Thread:  Another Day, Same Old Circus 1

The Framers taught us that the biggest threat to religious freedom comes from theocrats who try to establish their own sect over everyone else.
That’s why we have two religion clauses in the First Amendment. pic.twitter.com/FI4fUqkeg1

— Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) October 25, 2023

Thursday Morning Open Thread:  Another Day, Same Old Circus 3

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If you're not poasting are you even alive. https://t.co/phzsglt0Mt

— Not up for trouble, please stop asking (@agraybee) October 23, 2023

Exclusive: As child-care crisis looms, Biden prepares to ask Congress for $16 billion in new state funding https://t.co/Gepe8ud1uI

— Abha Bhattarai (@abhabhattarai) October 25, 2023

Per the Washington Post, “As child-care crisis looms, Biden asks Congress for urgent help”:

… The funds account for about one-third of the roughly $56 billion the White House is seeking for domestic needs, including high-speed internet access and natural-disaster relief. It comes on the heels of a separate $106 billion request for international priorities, including funding for Ukraine and Israel.

The White House is also asking Congress to approve $23 billion in disaster relief, including for the wildfires that struck Hawaii and floods in California and Vermont; $6 billion to extend internet access for millions of low-income households; and billions more for communications infrastructure and energy needs, as well as money to counter fentanyl and prevent firefighters battling wildfires from seeing their pay cut…

The child-care funds, which would be distributed to all 50 states and the District of Columbia, would provide a year of stabilization funding for more than 225,000 child-care providers throughout the country. Many received similar allotments during the pandemic, when Congress set aside a record $24 billion to help keep child-care facilities open.

The last of those funds expired at the end of September, leaving many providers struggling to stay open. As many as 1 in 3 child-care centers could soon close, leaving some 3.2 million children without care, according to estimates from the Century Foundation, a liberal think tank. Some child care providers say they’ve already had to lay off workers or raise fees to make up for the loss in federal funding, and many expect the situation to become even more dire in coming months…

Improving child care and making it more affordable has become a key priority for the Biden administration. White House officials say renewed funding would help preserve existing child-care slots while also providing financial help to families who rely on care to get to work. In April, the president signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to “do what they can … to boost the supply of high-quality early care.”

The $16 billion request from President Biden matches what Democrats in Congress had called for last month. The funding would go directly to states and ranges from $15 million apiece for Wyoming and Vermont to $1.8 billion for Texas.

Who *cares* about this momfare crap? We wanna President talking tough about massive boom-booms and mighty weapons!…
Thursday Morning Open Thread:  Another Day, Same Old Circus 5

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Another Day, Same Old CircusPost + Comments (156)

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Groundhog Day, GOP Death Cult Version

by Anne Laurie|  October 25, 20239:00 am| 62 Comments

This post is in: GOP Death Cult, Open Threads, Republican Venality, Republicans in Disarray!

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Groundhog Day, GOP Death Cult Version

(Jeff Danziger via GoComics.com)

The House has been overrun by a marauding band of extremists.

Enough. pic.twitter.com/81pCE7KWoK

— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) October 20, 2023

Mike Johnson moves closer to the speakership after three weeks of GOP turmoil. 22 members were absent, three voted present.

Johnson said they will head to the floor at noon tomorrow. Will need 217 on the floor and can only afford to lose four Republicans

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 25, 2023

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I’m guessing at least 5 of the 25 who didn’t vote for him tonight won’t vote for him tomorrow. https://t.co/yQWftm0JH7

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) October 25, 2023

Given a choice of horrors, it is currently being reported that the Repubs ended up going for the most horrible they could find. Mike Johnson is a hardcore bigot, misogynist racist — but ‘young’ and ‘personable’, and with a fairly short record in national politics. Of course, nothing in this Klown Klan Kavalcade is guaranteed until it happens, if then, and there’s absolutely nothing in Johnson’s past to convince the Democrats he’s worth voting for…

I asked the Mike Johnson if he stands by his efforts to try to overturn the 2020 election.

Members started boo'ing.

I also asked if he would support more aid to Ukraine and Irael.

"Go away! Go away!" one member shouted.

"We’re not doing any policy tonight," Johnson said.

— Rachel Scott (@rachelvscott) October 25, 2023

Mike Johnson is the latest GOP nominee for House speaker as Republican infighting shows no end https://t.co/0fjbebnOfq

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 25, 2023

I still believe Elise ‘Lady MacBeth’ Stefanik has a trick or two stuffed down the front of her overtight jacket…

Sawyer was right guys https://t.co/hM0yzcURbo

— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) October 24, 2023

Elise Stefanik just congratulated the Hindenburg on 62 successful flights.

— Dane Rauschenberg (@SeeDaneRun) October 25, 2023

At this rate, 19 more days until every Member of the Republican conference has had their chance to run for Speaker.

5 days after that the CR expires.

— Casey O'Shea (@coshea2) October 24, 2023

It’s bad for the country that the House has no Speaker, but it’s good for the country that so many Republicans are being publicly humiliated.

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) October 24, 2023

Probably drops out after the second vote and endorses the taco and cup of tears.

— (((Howie??)))???? ?? ???????? (@Howitzer203) October 24, 2023

There’s even talk of bringing back Kevin McQarthy, in a ‘power sharing’ arrangement with Gym Jordan — a possibility probably heightened, per Murphy the Trickster God’s sense of humor, by the fact that they’ve finally taken Kev’s cherished Speaker plaque down…

Jim Jordan has been floated as Speaker-designate, Speaker-Emeritus, Speaker-nominee-in-waiting, and now Assistant Speaker.

The main problem with that strategy is that none of those are real jobs. https://t.co/Orp7GhbxLj

— Tim Miller (@Timodc) October 24, 2023

The “Speaker Kevin McCarthy” sign that has been hanging above the speaker’s office for weeks has finally been taken down. pic.twitter.com/iwm4irquW8

— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) October 25, 2023

Remember when we had real leadership, in the House?

Is there a speaker in the house?
Mike Luckovich, https://t.co/rncK7t4sep @mluckovichajc pic.twitter.com/CB86KOuW0G

— Editorial & Political Cartoons (@EandPCartoons) October 24, 2023

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Groundhog Day, GOP Death Cult VersionPost + Comments (62)

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