Here’s an actual Tesla coil rifle to shock you awake on this early Sunday morning/late Saturday evening. If you want to build your own, the details are here. I’m going to bed, amuse yourselves!
Thursday Evening Open Thread: Tim’s Right About Medicare
Republicans are talking Medicare changes. Democrats could not be happier https://t.co/g7BOLJ76n9 via @hillhulse pic.twitter.com/bK3JYRIl46
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) November 30, 2016
From the article:
… “We say to our Republicans that want to privatize Medicare, go try it, make our day,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the incoming Democratic leader, mustering his best Clint Eastwood/Ronald Reagan impersonation.
Since 1995 — when the newly installed speaker, Newt Gingrich, famously proposed $270 billion in cuts to Medicare and declared the program would “wither on the vine” because of the appeal of Republican-crafted free-market options — Democrats have seen the exceedingly popular but financially strained program as a winning wedge issue…
Now Democrats intend to capitalize on it again, beginning with their approach to the nomination of Representative Tom Price, Republican of Georgia, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Mr. Price is not only a leading proponent of repealing the Obama-era health care law, but he has embraced Republican efforts to move future Medicare users into private insurance programs and raise the eligibility age. He told reporters shortly after the Nov. 8 election that he anticipated Republicans would embark on a substantial Medicare overhaul within the first six to eight months of Donald J. Trump’s presidency.
Senate Democrats intend to press Mr. Price on this subject during his confirmation hearings. They see a wide opening for political gain, given the 57 million older Americans who rely on Medicare — including many white Midwesterners with financial worries who voted for Mr. Trump.
“Good luck to selling that to the voters in Indiana and Ohio that were Democrats and voted for Trump this time,” Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, said about a Medicare revamp. “They’re going to be fleeing quickly, right?”
A Medicare fight is also a potential political lifeline for Democrats in red states who could be in very tough contests in 2018. Ten Senate Democrats face re-election in states carried by Mr. Trump. One of them, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, has already made it clear that he will brook no overhaul of Medicare and that he intends to vote against Mr. Price’s nomination to the health care agency…
Democrats also noted that Mr. Trump did not campaign on the idea of tinkering with Medicare or its companion entitlement program, Social Security. In fact, his statements about those two cornerstones of American retirement security were that he would not cut them. That difference raises the prospect of a clash with congressional Republicans — particularly House Republicans led by Speaker Paul D. Ryan — who have long pushed for Medicare changes and championed them in House budgets…
So, with a little luck & a lot of skill, we can protect Medicare, scare a bunch of venal Repubs, ding up a particularly bad cabinet member wannabe, drive a wedge between the upcoming President-with-an-asterisk and his GOP ‘partners’, and keep voters’ attention focused for the 2018 elections. Sounds worth some phone calls to me!
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Apart from fighting the good fight, what’s on the agenda for the evening?
Thursday Evening Open Thread: Tim’s Right About MedicarePost + Comments (163)
Biff! Zapp! Pow!
Good evening good citizens. There has been a request for a lighthearted open thread. And what could be more lighthearted than the trailer for the upcoming animated movie based on the Batman 66 TV show? Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar reprise their original roles. So be sure to tune in: same Bat time, same Bat station!
Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Deep, Cleansing Breaths
Exclusive footage of Black America not being ready to let go of President Obama. pic.twitter.com/Pdb1dM9EHo
— Sylvia Obell (@SylviaObell) September 24, 2016
VP Biden w Ruth Bonner, 99, daughter of slave from Mississippi at African American Museum dedication ceremony today pic.twitter.com/36yoNaizxP
— petesouza (@petesouza) September 25, 2016
@AoDespair I can't recall seeing a photo vs video that had such a large difference in emotional #intensity. https://t.co/2UbdLTvzBR
— Ira Goldman (@KDbyProxy) September 25, 2016
Obama is living his best life pic.twitter.com/lHTeQsIsgt
— Colin Jones (@colinjones) September 26, 2016
What’s on the agenda for the new day?
Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Deep, Cleansing BreathsPost + Comments (273)
Saturday Morning Open Thread: Nerd Alert Updates
Obamas choose Chicago’s Jackson Park for presidential library site https://t.co/VvCLTs7LP6
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 27, 2016
It’s been a busy week. What else did we miss, while glued to the DNC news? What’s on the agenda for the weekend?
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From NYMag‘s Vulture blog:
… Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of the beloved book A Wrinkle in Time just got blessed from on-high, as Oprah Winfrey has entered final negotiations for the role of Mrs. Which. Mrs. Which is one of three celestial beings that accompany the story’s protagonists on their journey to find the father of the only girl in the group, Meg…
DuVernay has not directed a feature film since 2014’s Selma, which also featured Oprah, flung both her and star David Oyelowo into the mainstream consciousness. She famously turned down an offer to helm Marvel’s Black Panther, saying she didn’t know if she could give it the identity of “an Ava DuVernay film,” but apparently felt comfortable enough with Marvel’s parent company, Disney, to proceed with bringing Madeleine L’Engle’s story to life under their banner. You will be able to give DuVernay and Oprah more of your money sometime in 2017.
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#Hamilton star lands title role in 'Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks': https://t.co/suxboiFMKy pic.twitter.com/HlSOBTHxP2
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) July 26, 2016
Saturday Morning Open Thread: Nerd Alert UpdatesPost + Comments (285)
Open Thread: Livestreaming President Obama
Got the feeling this may reach TBogg (500+ comments) all by its lonesome.
This has been a gooood night to be a Democrat!
Open Thread: Livestreaming President ObamaPost + Comments (619)
We All Need A Giggle
An hairpiece-free excursion (by request!) to bring howls of joy to your day:
And, (apologizing for the nod to the orange one from whom we so need respite) a reminder of the wellsprings of political philosophy that animate our “friends” across the aisle, not just the nominee, but his entire foreclosed on, possession taken, bust-out-begun party.
I know what’s happening when Donald Trump is one tight election away from Götterdämmerung ain’t even remotely funny. But Messrs. Python are, and sometimes we all can use a break.
Open thread.