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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
January 11, 2023
While You Weren’t Looking, the Biden Administration Ended Involuntary Servitude
by Robert Reich | January 10, 2023 - 6:59am
— from Robert Reich's Substack
snip//
Some 30 million Americans are trapped by contracts that say if they leave their current job, they can’t take a job with a rival company or start a new business of their own. These clauses deprive workers of higher wages and better working conditions. In effect, they’re a form of involuntary servitude.
Last week, while America was fixated on Kevin McCarthy’s travails, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a sweeping new rule that would ban these non-compete agreements.
This is a big deal. The FTC estimates that such a ban could increase wages by nearly $300 billion a year (about $2,000 per worker, on average) by allowing workers to pursue better job opportunities.
Non-competes also harm the economy as a whole, depriving growing businesses of talent and experience they need to build and expand. As historian Margaret O’Mara noted (via Matt Stoller), California’s ban on non-competes was a major reason for Silicon Valley’s success.
more...
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/robert-reich/104649/while-you-weren-t-looking-the-biden-administration-ended-involuntary-servitude
While You Weren't Looking, the Biden Administration Ended Involuntary Servitude
While You Weren’t Looking, the Biden Administration Ended Involuntary Servitude
by Robert Reich | January 10, 2023 - 6:59am
— from Robert Reich's Substack
snip//
Some 30 million Americans are trapped by contracts that say if they leave their current job, they can’t take a job with a rival company or start a new business of their own. These clauses deprive workers of higher wages and better working conditions. In effect, they’re a form of involuntary servitude.
Last week, while America was fixated on Kevin McCarthy’s travails, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a sweeping new rule that would ban these non-compete agreements.
This is a big deal. The FTC estimates that such a ban could increase wages by nearly $300 billion a year (about $2,000 per worker, on average) by allowing workers to pursue better job opportunities.
Non-competes also harm the economy as a whole, depriving growing businesses of talent and experience they need to build and expand. As historian Margaret O’Mara noted (via Matt Stoller), California’s ban on non-competes was a major reason for Silicon Valley’s success.
more...
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/robert-reich/104649/while-you-weren-t-looking-the-biden-administration-ended-involuntary-servitude
January 10, 2023
Republicans already delivering on promising prospect of returning House to Democratic hands
Kerry Eleveld
Daily Kos Staff
Monday January 09, 2023 · 3:27 PM EST
Share this article
Just before a hopeful Kevin McCarthy finally got his hands on an all but meaningless gavel, he reflected on his historically tumultuous journey to the speakership.
"It just reminds me of what my father always told me — it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish," McCarthy told reporters Friday evening, as he geared up for the 15th round of voting that would mercifully punctuate the GOP’s inaugural embarrassment.
McCarthy is definitely finished, at least in the sense that the GOP absolutely isn't finished with him.
In reality, House Republicans have only graduated into a succession of self-inflicted wounds over the course of the next couple of years. Indeed, after treating the country to a historic fight over the speakership—rife with intra-party dustups and biting diatribes—Republicans moved right into a Monday evening battle over the rules package that will govern the lower chamber, which also requires 218 GOP votes to pass.
Many House Republicans spent Monday trying to get a handle on all of McCarthy's horrific giveaways to the extremists who plan to lob grenade after grenade at their own caucus in full view of the country.
On Sunday, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina told CBS’s Face The Nation she was "on the fence" about supporting the rules package McCarthy negotiated with GOP bomb throwers to secure their votes.
In other words, the conclusion of one House GOP struggle led directly to the next conflict. Get used to it—it's a pattern that will continue in perpetuity. That's partly because McCarthy has no actual backbone to set limits and boundaries, but it's mostly due to the fact that the person wielding the gavel has no actual governing philosophy or goals other than wielding the gavel.
When Nancy Pelosi was speaker, for instance, she had overriding principles she was trying to accomplish, such as insuring more Americans, making health care more affordable, and firing up the economy after Donald Trump's pandemic policies resulted in historic job losses.
McCarthy, lacking a vision for the country, is destined to lurch from crisis to crisis at the whim of the arsonists he has enabled.
In effect, the full glory of Republican dysfunction will dominate headlines for the next two years. Keeping the government's lights on, funding Ukraine's battle against Russian totalitarianism, and avoiding a global economic meltdown by meeting the country's financial commitments will take center stage.
But at the same time, voters will be treated to a disconcerting window into GOP delusion. On the heels of the Jan. 6 probe—the most consequential and productive congressional inquiry in decades—Republicans will devote the next two years to chasing GOP fabrications led by witch-hunting zealots.
Monday offered up a perfect example of what's to come when Republicans voted in Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee as chair of the Homeland Security Committee. Green is a 'Freedom Caucus' wacko, who withdrew from consideration as Secretary of the Army under Trump for characterizing being transgender as a "disease," supporting constricting access to contraception, and making blatantly anti-Muslim remarks.
But most troubling is the fact that Green was one of the 147 congressional Republicans who voted against certifying the 2020 election right after MAGA insurrectionists ransacked the Capitol and threatened the lives of lawmakers. That's the guy who will now be in charge of protecting the Homeland. What could go wrong?
Truly, American voters have no idea the demented abuses of power they are about to witness at the hands of Republicans.
On the morning after McCarthy won the speakership, Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona promised that Republicans would "conduct a real investigation into J6. The effort to attempt a coup between traitor Gen. Mark Milley and Pelosi will be reviewed and exposed."
Republican rule will be nothing short of a dazzling display of phantom probes and political pandemonium unleashed by GOP deviants whose main goal is to neutralize the U.S. government. It will be a daily real-time campaign ad for putting Democrats back in charge.
Republicans already delivering on promising prospect of returning House to Democratic hands
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/9/2146297/-House-Republicans-have-already-made-a-mockery-of-U-S-governance-It-s-only-the-beginningRepublicans already delivering on promising prospect of returning House to Democratic hands
Kerry Eleveld
Daily Kos Staff
Monday January 09, 2023 · 3:27 PM EST
Share this article
Just before a hopeful Kevin McCarthy finally got his hands on an all but meaningless gavel, he reflected on his historically tumultuous journey to the speakership.
"It just reminds me of what my father always told me — it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish," McCarthy told reporters Friday evening, as he geared up for the 15th round of voting that would mercifully punctuate the GOP’s inaugural embarrassment.
McCarthy is definitely finished, at least in the sense that the GOP absolutely isn't finished with him.
In reality, House Republicans have only graduated into a succession of self-inflicted wounds over the course of the next couple of years. Indeed, after treating the country to a historic fight over the speakership—rife with intra-party dustups and biting diatribes—Republicans moved right into a Monday evening battle over the rules package that will govern the lower chamber, which also requires 218 GOP votes to pass.
Many House Republicans spent Monday trying to get a handle on all of McCarthy's horrific giveaways to the extremists who plan to lob grenade after grenade at their own caucus in full view of the country.
On Sunday, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina told CBS’s Face The Nation she was "on the fence" about supporting the rules package McCarthy negotiated with GOP bomb throwers to secure their votes.
"My question really is, today, is what backroom deals did they try to cut?" explained Mace, usually a McCarthy ally. "We don't know what they got, or didn't get. We haven't seen it. We don't have any idea what promises were made or what gentleman's handshakes were made. We just have no idea at this point.
In other words, the conclusion of one House GOP struggle led directly to the next conflict. Get used to it—it's a pattern that will continue in perpetuity. That's partly because McCarthy has no actual backbone to set limits and boundaries, but it's mostly due to the fact that the person wielding the gavel has no actual governing philosophy or goals other than wielding the gavel.
When Nancy Pelosi was speaker, for instance, she had overriding principles she was trying to accomplish, such as insuring more Americans, making health care more affordable, and firing up the economy after Donald Trump's pandemic policies resulted in historic job losses.
McCarthy, lacking a vision for the country, is destined to lurch from crisis to crisis at the whim of the arsonists he has enabled.
In effect, the full glory of Republican dysfunction will dominate headlines for the next two years. Keeping the government's lights on, funding Ukraine's battle against Russian totalitarianism, and avoiding a global economic meltdown by meeting the country's financial commitments will take center stage.
But at the same time, voters will be treated to a disconcerting window into GOP delusion. On the heels of the Jan. 6 probe—the most consequential and productive congressional inquiry in decades—Republicans will devote the next two years to chasing GOP fabrications led by witch-hunting zealots.
Monday offered up a perfect example of what's to come when Republicans voted in Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee as chair of the Homeland Security Committee. Green is a 'Freedom Caucus' wacko, who withdrew from consideration as Secretary of the Army under Trump for characterizing being transgender as a "disease," supporting constricting access to contraception, and making blatantly anti-Muslim remarks.
But most troubling is the fact that Green was one of the 147 congressional Republicans who voted against certifying the 2020 election right after MAGA insurrectionists ransacked the Capitol and threatened the lives of lawmakers. That's the guy who will now be in charge of protecting the Homeland. What could go wrong?
Truly, American voters have no idea the demented abuses of power they are about to witness at the hands of Republicans.
On the morning after McCarthy won the speakership, Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona promised that Republicans would "conduct a real investigation into J6. The effort to attempt a coup between traitor Gen. Mark Milley and Pelosi will be reviewed and exposed."
Republican rule will be nothing short of a dazzling display of phantom probes and political pandemonium unleashed by GOP deviants whose main goal is to neutralize the U.S. government. It will be a daily real-time campaign ad for putting Democrats back in charge.
January 9, 2023
Mardi Gras Parade Removes Mel Gibson as Grand Marshal Amid Intense Blowback
The Krewe of Endymion say they've received "significant feedback" and "threats" in the less than 24 hours since the announcement of Gibson's role in the parade.
ByLorena O’Neil
Published2 hours ago
Less than 24 hours after Louisiana’s Krewe of Endymion announced Mel Gibson would be one of the co-Grand Marshals of their 2023 Mardi Gras parade, the group backtracked on their decision. Endymion is one of the largest, most well-known parades to roll through New Orleans during Mardi Gras weekend.
Dan Kelly from the Krewe of Endymion released a statement on Sunday afternoon:
On Saturday night Endymion had announced Gibson would lead the Feb. 18 parade alongside Tulane University head football coach Willie Fritz, who is particularly beloved by New Orleanians after he led the team to victory at the Cotton Bowl this year. The Gibson pick was pretty controversial, obviously, considering the Braveheart actor’s shocking history of anti-semitism, racism, homophobia, misogyny and allegations of domestic abuse (which Jezebel previously detailed here).
more...
https://jezebel.com/mardi-gras-parade-removes-mel-gibson-as-grand-marshal-a-1849964225
Mardi Gras Parade Removes Mel Gibson as Grand Marshal Amid Intense Blowback
Mardi Gras Parade Removes Mel Gibson as Grand Marshal Amid Intense Blowback
The Krewe of Endymion say they've received "significant feedback" and "threats" in the less than 24 hours since the announcement of Gibson's role in the parade.
ByLorena O’Neil
Published2 hours ago
Less than 24 hours after Louisiana’s Krewe of Endymion announced Mel Gibson would be one of the co-Grand Marshals of their 2023 Mardi Gras parade, the group backtracked on their decision. Endymion is one of the largest, most well-known parades to roll through New Orleans during Mardi Gras weekend.
Dan Kelly from the Krewe of Endymion released a statement on Sunday afternoon:
“The Krewe of Endymion has received significant feedback about our grand marshall announcement yesterday evening. Some of this commentary included threats that cause us great concern. In the best interest of the safety of our riders, special guests and everyone that welcomes us on the streets, Mel Gibson will not ride as a Co-Grand Marshal for our 2023 parade.”
“We appreciate the cooperation of the city in addressing the issues that will allow us to present another wonderful parade this year along our entire route. We will move forward with our final preparations in the coming weeks for the largest procession in Carnival.”
“We appreciate the cooperation of the city in addressing the issues that will allow us to present another wonderful parade this year along our entire route. We will move forward with our final preparations in the coming weeks for the largest procession in Carnival.”
On Saturday night Endymion had announced Gibson would lead the Feb. 18 parade alongside Tulane University head football coach Willie Fritz, who is particularly beloved by New Orleanians after he led the team to victory at the Cotton Bowl this year. The Gibson pick was pretty controversial, obviously, considering the Braveheart actor’s shocking history of anti-semitism, racism, homophobia, misogyny and allegations of domestic abuse (which Jezebel previously detailed here).
more...
https://jezebel.com/mardi-gras-parade-removes-mel-gibson-as-grand-marshal-a-1849964225
January 8, 2023
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
1/08/2023
We Still Haven't Left January 6th
snip//
In so many ways, we've never left January 6, 2021 in this America, where we've been damned to watch the blatantly guilty run free and propagate their evil madness, acting as if their advocacy for and/or participation in an attempted coup is merely free speech and not an attempt to squelch and eliminate the purest expression of our free speech: voting.
snip//
That’s on everyone involved in investigations. Barring some startling round of indictments, they’ve blown it. The lugubrious pace of the January 6th Committee and the Justice Department’s investigation has allowed those who took part in planning and propagating the coup attempt to emerge not only unscathed, but in the case of the House Republicans who couped the shit out of the Congress, emboldened by now being in the majority. And, as I have warned repeatedly, the stupidly named Freedom Caucus and its stupid, grunting whore members are threatening to use every means they have to hamstring or halt the prosecution of, well, fuck, any of themselves or anyone else like, you know, Trump.
This perverse idea that because we’ve never arrested and prosecuted a president, we must be extra super-duper careful is worthless. Just because you never did something before doesn’t mean that you proceed with so much caution that you end up not bothering to do it. The republic will not fall to pieces, no matter what the Chicken Littles of the punditocracy say. Indeed, it says something about the strength of a country if it can confidently prosecute a former leader for trying to steal an election.
Worst of all, they have allowed the small cabal of the maddest Trumpinistas to give the former president (that’s right – Donald Trump was once president of the United States. Fucks you up when you think about it, doesn’t it?) continued power. The timidity with which Trump has been handled would be laughable if it weren’t so dangerous. I mean, he held a rally at the US Capitol to protest the legitimacy of the election. He invited his idiot hordes to join him in marching on the Capitol. I’ve said it a thousand times and I’ll say it a thousand more: I will never understand why Trump wasn’t cuffed and dragged out of the White House on January 6, 2021. I will never understand why the niceties of an impeachment took precedence over law enforcement when he so clearly broke the law. And you can say he has a First Amendment right to say the crazy shit he says, but, and I say this again for the fuckteenth time, the First Amendment is not a suicide pact.
As demonstrated by delirious debacle of voting pudding-brained Kevin McCarthy in as Speaker of the House on the 15th attempt, the newly emboldened House Nutzoid Caucus, promised everything from Marjorie Taylor Greene getting her toys licked by McCarthy to Matt Gaetz getting to watch when McCarthy blows Nestor to Lauren Boebert getting to ream McCarthy out with her rifle, are going to attempt to destroy shit because that’s all they know how to do. And no one has made them pay a price. So we all pay the price in watching those we know should have been arrested two years ago flaunting their freedom in our flustered faces. It will never not be January 6, 2021 until they pay.
The Rude Pundit: We Still Haven't Left January 6th
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2023/01/we-still-havent-left-january-6th.htmlThe Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
1/08/2023
We Still Haven't Left January 6th
snip//
In so many ways, we've never left January 6, 2021 in this America, where we've been damned to watch the blatantly guilty run free and propagate their evil madness, acting as if their advocacy for and/or participation in an attempted coup is merely free speech and not an attempt to squelch and eliminate the purest expression of our free speech: voting.
snip//
That’s on everyone involved in investigations. Barring some startling round of indictments, they’ve blown it. The lugubrious pace of the January 6th Committee and the Justice Department’s investigation has allowed those who took part in planning and propagating the coup attempt to emerge not only unscathed, but in the case of the House Republicans who couped the shit out of the Congress, emboldened by now being in the majority. And, as I have warned repeatedly, the stupidly named Freedom Caucus and its stupid, grunting whore members are threatening to use every means they have to hamstring or halt the prosecution of, well, fuck, any of themselves or anyone else like, you know, Trump.
This perverse idea that because we’ve never arrested and prosecuted a president, we must be extra super-duper careful is worthless. Just because you never did something before doesn’t mean that you proceed with so much caution that you end up not bothering to do it. The republic will not fall to pieces, no matter what the Chicken Littles of the punditocracy say. Indeed, it says something about the strength of a country if it can confidently prosecute a former leader for trying to steal an election.
Worst of all, they have allowed the small cabal of the maddest Trumpinistas to give the former president (that’s right – Donald Trump was once president of the United States. Fucks you up when you think about it, doesn’t it?) continued power. The timidity with which Trump has been handled would be laughable if it weren’t so dangerous. I mean, he held a rally at the US Capitol to protest the legitimacy of the election. He invited his idiot hordes to join him in marching on the Capitol. I’ve said it a thousand times and I’ll say it a thousand more: I will never understand why Trump wasn’t cuffed and dragged out of the White House on January 6, 2021. I will never understand why the niceties of an impeachment took precedence over law enforcement when he so clearly broke the law. And you can say he has a First Amendment right to say the crazy shit he says, but, and I say this again for the fuckteenth time, the First Amendment is not a suicide pact.
As demonstrated by delirious debacle of voting pudding-brained Kevin McCarthy in as Speaker of the House on the 15th attempt, the newly emboldened House Nutzoid Caucus, promised everything from Marjorie Taylor Greene getting her toys licked by McCarthy to Matt Gaetz getting to watch when McCarthy blows Nestor to Lauren Boebert getting to ream McCarthy out with her rifle, are going to attempt to destroy shit because that’s all they know how to do. And no one has made them pay a price. So we all pay the price in watching those we know should have been arrested two years ago flaunting their freedom in our flustered faces. It will never not be January 6, 2021 until they pay.
January 7, 2023
In Further Trump Reversal, White House Moves To Put Climate Back In Infrastructure Equation
Federal regulators have been instructed to consider planet-warming pollution before approving large projects like pipelines and airports.
Chris D'Angelo
Jan 6, 2023, 05:52 PM EST
President Joe Biden’s White House on Friday issued new guidance for federal agencies to assess greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts when reviewing proposed infrastructure projects.
The updated guidance from the White House Council on Environmental Quality furthers the administration’s reversal of a major Trump-era move, the industry-friendly overhaul of the National Environmental Policy Act, one of the country’s bedrock environmental laws. It is a supplement to a White House rule last year that required federal agencies to once again evaluate all climate environmental impacts when reviewing pipelines, power plants, airports and other projects.
NEPA reviews “should quantify proposed actions’ [greenhouse gas] emissions, place GHG emissions in appropriate context and disclose relevant GHG emissions and relevant climate impacts, and identify alternatives and mitigation measures to avoid or reduce GHG emissions,” the new guidance reads.
CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory said in a statement that the guidelines will “ensure we’re building sustainable, resilient infrastructure for the 21st century and beyond.”
more...
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/white-house-nepa-guide-climate-emissions-infrastructure_n_63b88c08e4b0d6f0b9faf29a
In Further Trump Reversal, White House Moves To Put Climate Back In Infrastructure Equation
In Further Trump Reversal, White House Moves To Put Climate Back In Infrastructure Equation
Federal regulators have been instructed to consider planet-warming pollution before approving large projects like pipelines and airports.
Chris D'Angelo
Jan 6, 2023, 05:52 PM EST
President Joe Biden’s White House on Friday issued new guidance for federal agencies to assess greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts when reviewing proposed infrastructure projects.
The updated guidance from the White House Council on Environmental Quality furthers the administration’s reversal of a major Trump-era move, the industry-friendly overhaul of the National Environmental Policy Act, one of the country’s bedrock environmental laws. It is a supplement to a White House rule last year that required federal agencies to once again evaluate all climate environmental impacts when reviewing pipelines, power plants, airports and other projects.
NEPA reviews “should quantify proposed actions’ [greenhouse gas] emissions, place GHG emissions in appropriate context and disclose relevant GHG emissions and relevant climate impacts, and identify alternatives and mitigation measures to avoid or reduce GHG emissions,” the new guidance reads.
CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory said in a statement that the guidelines will “ensure we’re building sustainable, resilient infrastructure for the 21st century and beyond.”
more...
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/white-house-nepa-guide-climate-emissions-infrastructure_n_63b88c08e4b0d6f0b9faf29a
January 7, 2023
DeSantis activates National Guard in response to hundreds of migrants arriving in Florida Keys
by Jared Gans - 01/07/23 8:33 AM ET
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has activated the state National Guard to provide support to local officials in response to the arrival of hundreds of migrants in the Florida Keys.
He signed an executive order on Friday to mobilize the Guard and direct Florida law enforcement agencies and other agencies to supply resources to local governments as they respond to the migrant landings.
The move comes nearly a week after local officials reported that at least 500 migrants arrived in the Florida Keys over New Year’s weekend. Roughly 300 of that number landed on islands within Dry Tortugas National Park, prompting its temporary closure. DeSantis’s office said in the release announcing the executive order that law enforcement has encountered more than 8,000 migrants off the Florida coast since last August.
more...
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3803562-desantis-activates-national-guard-in-response-to-hundreds-of-migrants-arriving-in-florida-keys/
DeSantis activates National Guard in response to hundreds of migrants arriving in Florida Keys
DeSantis activates National Guard in response to hundreds of migrants arriving in Florida Keys
by Jared Gans - 01/07/23 8:33 AM ET
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has activated the state National Guard to provide support to local officials in response to the arrival of hundreds of migrants in the Florida Keys.
He signed an executive order on Friday to mobilize the Guard and direct Florida law enforcement agencies and other agencies to supply resources to local governments as they respond to the migrant landings.
“As the negative impacts of [President] Biden’s lawless immigration policies continue unabated, the burden of the Biden administration’s failure falls on local law enforcement who lack the resources to deal with the crisis,” DeSantis said in a release.
“That is why I am activating the National Guard and directing state resources to help alleviate the strain on local resources. When Biden continues to ignore his legal responsibilities, we will step in to support our communities,” he continued.
“That is why I am activating the National Guard and directing state resources to help alleviate the strain on local resources. When Biden continues to ignore his legal responsibilities, we will step in to support our communities,” he continued.
The move comes nearly a week after local officials reported that at least 500 migrants arrived in the Florida Keys over New Year’s weekend. Roughly 300 of that number landed on islands within Dry Tortugas National Park, prompting its temporary closure. DeSantis’s office said in the release announcing the executive order that law enforcement has encountered more than 8,000 migrants off the Florida coast since last August.
more...
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3803562-desantis-activates-national-guard-in-response-to-hundreds-of-migrants-arriving-in-florida-keys/
January 7, 2023
Punk rock with guns
Published by Tom Sullivan on January 6, 2023
Insurrection Caucus knocks J6 anniversary off front pages
Republican Reps. Byron Donalds, Beth Van Duyne, and Ronny Jackson, all of Texas; Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado; and Dana Loesch. Also, their guns.
Leaders of the GOP’s House Insurrection Caucus are heavily invested in screen time. Not on their smart phones. On your television and social media feeds. Governing is not what they are in Washington, D.C. to do. Accruing power is.
snip//
They reject technical ability and virtuosity the way rock critic Robert Christgau said the early punks “scornfully rejected the political idealism and Californian flower-power silliness of hippie myth.” The GOP’s political punks reject the give-and-take of democracy for the “nihilistic swagger” of performative norm-breaking (New York Times):
That’s because winning is no more their goal than governing is.
It’s better to burn out than to fade away. They’re working harder at burning bright than at doing right. The question is how many Americans are willing to have them burn down the country with the rest of us in it.
Punk rock with guns
https://digbysblog.net/2023/01/06/punk-rock-with-guns/Punk rock with guns
Published by Tom Sullivan on January 6, 2023
Insurrection Caucus knocks J6 anniversary off front pages
Republican Reps. Byron Donalds, Beth Van Duyne, and Ronny Jackson, all of Texas; Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado; and Dana Loesch. Also, their guns.
Leaders of the GOP’s House Insurrection Caucus are heavily invested in screen time. Not on their smart phones. On your television and social media feeds. Governing is not what they are in Washington, D.C. to do. Accruing power is.
snip//
They reject technical ability and virtuosity the way rock critic Robert Christgau said the early punks “scornfully rejected the political idealism and Californian flower-power silliness of hippie myth.” The GOP’s political punks reject the give-and-take of democracy for the “nihilistic swagger” of performative norm-breaking (New York Times):
“It’s not about policies, it’s about the fight,” said Doug Heye, a former aide to Representative Eric Cantor, the onetime majority leader who lost his seat in a stunning 2014 upset by a far-right challenger, David Brat. “The more you hear the word ‘fight’ or ‘fighter,’ the less you hear about a strategy for winning that fight.”
That’s because winning is no more their goal than governing is.
Chris Stirewalt, a former editor at Fox News, said that “what happens online, on talk radio and on Fox prime time has been and will continue to be the harbinger of what House Republicans will do.” He added that the representatives and congressional aides he was speaking with were “all talking about how their positions were playing with the different hosts and sites.”
It’s better to burn out than to fade away. They’re working harder at burning bright than at doing right. The question is how many Americans are willing to have them burn down the country with the rest of us in it.
January 5, 2023
Opinion
The House speaker election is so embarrassing (for you)
By Alexandra Petri
Columnist |
Updated January 4, 2023 at 4:46 p.m. EST|Published January 4, 2023 at 3:04 p.m. EST
Did you really say to yourself, when you voted for Rep. Matt Gaetz, “Here is a man who is going to build coalitions and pass sensible, bipartisan legislation that will improve our lives?” (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
Wow, this is embarrassing!
No, not the once-in-a-century mess around electing a speaker of the House! Not the fact that, on Tuesday, after three ballots, none of which succeeded in putting Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in charge, the House had to adjourn speakerlessly. Not the fact that, again, failing to elect a speaker on the first vote has not happened since 1923! Not the fact that, if anything, the votes were trending further from McCarthy rather than closer to him when the House adjourned, and not the fact that a fourth and fifth and sixth vote failed Wednesday!
None of that is embarrassing at all! What’s embarrassing is that you were expecting anything else.
Honestly, we are a little confused you are taking this so poorly. This is like electing a bunch of clowns to office and being disappointed when they put on a magnificent clown show for you. Here is precisely the clown show you ordered! You shouldn’t be ashamed. You should be applauding. It is like ordering a decorative salad made entirely from Legos and being mad that you can’t eat it. It is like voting for Lauren Boebert and then becoming upset that a legislature that contains her is not productively working for the American people.
snip//
Our party is always yelling that Washington is a broken, dysfunctional mess. What is embarrassing is that you thought we meant we were going to govern to change that. What is embarrassing is that you thought we were going to govern at all.
The House speaker election is so embarrassing (for you)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/04/kevin-mccarthy-house-speaker-election-satire/Opinion
The House speaker election is so embarrassing (for you)
By Alexandra Petri
Columnist |
Updated January 4, 2023 at 4:46 p.m. EST|Published January 4, 2023 at 3:04 p.m. EST
Did you really say to yourself, when you voted for Rep. Matt Gaetz, “Here is a man who is going to build coalitions and pass sensible, bipartisan legislation that will improve our lives?” (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
Wow, this is embarrassing!
No, not the once-in-a-century mess around electing a speaker of the House! Not the fact that, on Tuesday, after three ballots, none of which succeeded in putting Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in charge, the House had to adjourn speakerlessly. Not the fact that, again, failing to elect a speaker on the first vote has not happened since 1923! Not the fact that, if anything, the votes were trending further from McCarthy rather than closer to him when the House adjourned, and not the fact that a fourth and fifth and sixth vote failed Wednesday!
None of that is embarrassing at all! What’s embarrassing is that you were expecting anything else.
Honestly, we are a little confused you are taking this so poorly. This is like electing a bunch of clowns to office and being disappointed when they put on a magnificent clown show for you. Here is precisely the clown show you ordered! You shouldn’t be ashamed. You should be applauding. It is like ordering a decorative salad made entirely from Legos and being mad that you can’t eat it. It is like voting for Lauren Boebert and then becoming upset that a legislature that contains her is not productively working for the American people.
snip//
Our party is always yelling that Washington is a broken, dysfunctional mess. What is embarrassing is that you thought we meant we were going to govern to change that. What is embarrassing is that you thought we were going to govern at all.
January 5, 2023
Arizona Inducing Labor in Pregnant Inmates Without Consent: Report
INHUMAN
AJ McDougall
Breaking News Reporter
Published Jan. 05, 2023 3:33AM ET
Arizona Inducing Labor in Pregnant Inmates Without Consent: Report
https://www.thedailybeast.com/arizona-inducing-labor-in-pregnant-inmates-without-consent-report-says?ref=homeArizona Inducing Labor in Pregnant Inmates Without Consent: Report
INHUMAN
AJ McDougall
Breaking News Reporter
Published Jan. 05, 2023 3:33AM ET
Prison medical officials in Arizona are inducing labor in pregnant prisoners against their will, according to three incarcerated women who spoke to The Arizona Republic. Medical records obtained by the newspaper reflected that all three women were induced before their due dates. All three said they wanted to have spontaneous births, but were told by prison medical providers that induction was an Arizona Department of Corrections policy. The department did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Republic, while the health care company contracted by the state to care for inmates, NaphCare, said that induction was “solely the patient’s choice.” A NaphCare spokesperson said that, since the company took over the contract last October, one incarcerated and pregnant patient had been induced as a “maternal-fetal safety precaution” under a hospital specialist’s orders. “They said they induce everyone because they don't want anyone going into labor here,” one incarcerated woman, Stephanie Pearson, told the Republic. “They just told me that someone on a different yard a few years ago went into labor in their cell, and had their baby in the cell, and that’s why they induce everyone now.”
January 5, 2023
https://politicalwire.com/2023/01/04/another-bonus-quote-of-the-day-30/
Another Bonus Quote of the Day
January 4, 2023 at 9:02 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
"These fucking people. Now they're just being clowns."
https://politicalwire.com/2023/01/04/another-bonus-quote-of-the-day-30/
Another Bonus Quote of the Day
January 4, 2023 at 9:02 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
“These fucking people. Now they’re just being clowns.”
— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), speaking to a reporter about the 20 Republicans who refuse to vote for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for speaker.
— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), speaking to a reporter about the 20 Republicans who refuse to vote for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for speaker.
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