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January 06, 2021 06:46 AM UTC

Wednesday Open Thread

  • 78 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“Nationalism has a way of oppressing others.”

–Noam Chomsky

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78 thoughts on “Wednesday Open Thread”

      1. The Biden administration better damn well do right by her, but I know they know that very well anyway.  She is freaking brilliant !

        Now, on to getting shit done. No hesitation, no navel gazing, no fear of hurting R fee fees.  Lots to do, and lots of stuff to be undone as well.

        1. Yup.

          This is where the rubber meets the road for all the Mugwups. Flaccid spines need to sit this one out.

          It is time to reverse the principle of Citizens United. It is time to dispel the myth of the "Free Market". Does anyone doubt now that the government has a vital role to play in the lives of Americans? Settling contract disputes and providing for military defense are not the only roles for the government. The social and financial well being of citizens should be the governments' primary mission…not the creation of more and more billionaires. It is time to promote the middle class…not exploit it and destroy it.

           

          Government is not the problem…greed is. 

          .

            1. Seems to work pretty well, actually:  "As of October 2020, there were 614 billionaires–a record high–in the United States."

              A different estimate in July of this year says "America is now home to almost 800 billionaires, a record high that accounts for more than a quarter of the world’s megarich."

              In 2000, there were an estimated 298. 

              In 1994 the number was on the rise again, hitting 342

              in 1982. The round-up included 15 billionaires,

                1. Most Americans would rather have a tooth pulled than sit through a class on macro-economics. They would do well, however, to understand the Free Market (which is, of course, a fable) versus the Keynesian Developmental Democracy of FDRs’ New Deal.

                  The depth and breadth of the effect on each of our daily lives by the struggle between these two philosophies is hard to overstate. I believe you are right…income inequality is one of societies greatest ills. When asked what he thought mankinds’ greatest challenge might be, Karl Marx said “the uneven distribution of wealth”. When asked the same question, Mother Theresa said, ” The rich don’t share”.

                  I have seen evidence which leads me to agree.

                  1. 0.002 percent of the US population is a billionaire.

                    That's pretty evidentiary of the inequality that's extremely difficult NOT to see or experience.

    2. If the Democratic leadership is smart and that's a stretch…. they'd give Stacey Abrams the DNC chairmanship and let her prepare the Democrats for 2022 and 2024. The folks running the DNC this past cycle screwed a dead corpse and lost seats that were easily winnable.

      4. I'm enthusiastic about Stacey Abrams …. but

         1. I don't think she WANTS to be the DNC chair.  The rumor from some who are "close to her thinking" [but not identified] is she is going to run for Governor in Georgia in 2022, seek re-election in 2026, and if things look promising still, run for President in 2028 or 2032.  She just turned 47; that would have her running for President at 55 or 59.

        2.  I think Abrams could probably do well in the role — she has done every other role well.  But herding more than 400 members on a committee; trying to get enough money; trying to help find excellent candidates without putting the DNC on record as supporting any particular candidate; working to satisfy most branches of the organization — I'm not certain why ANYONE would want the job. Instead of doing that, she can drive her existing organization for voters and encourage others to emulate it.

  5. So…does anyone have a clear picture of how a sweep fucks up Mitchs' life? Will there BE a majority leader?  Does Kamalas' position actually confer majority staus on the Dems?

    Mitch will no longer be setting the agenda..izzat right?

     

    1. If it's 50-50 with Kamala as President of the Senate  then Chuck is majority leader; appointments committee chairs, etc.  Mitch still has some power, obviously, but not as majority leader,  Will the R's elect him minority leader?  Wait and see.  They are split and the in-fighting is fierce.

    2. If anyone has, moscow mitch has mastered the skills necessary for minority rule and has exercised them with (not complete but remarkable) success and determination.

      Job 1 is maintaining his leadership position and he probably has that locked up already. there are 12 or 13 renegades in his caucus. He will soon bring them to heel.

      Add hick and manchin to his legion.

    3. Perdue’s term ended, but Loeffler remains until Warnock is signed in, making the Senate 50-49.

      Once Ossoff is signed in, the Democrats with Kamala Harris as the tie-breaker have the majority. Judicial Appts, Department heads are now enabled by a majority vote.

      Biden could appoint Toomey head of Commerce or SBA, and then the Pennsylvania governor could appoint a Democratic Senator.

      Any single Democratic Senator could negotiate, but I assume Party solidarity will hold for a while. Manchin heads the energy committee, which means West Virginia probably gets a lot of infrastructure spending.

       

      1. Manchin isn’t likely to be a strong advocate for reining in fossil fuel use to combat climate change; he once went so far as to shoot a bullet through Democrats’ failed cap-and-trade legislation in a campaign ad.

        While Manchin does say we “have the responsibility and capability to address” climate change, he has taken nearly $750,000 in donations from the mining industry and more than $419,000 from the oil and gas industry during his Senate campaigns, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

        1. Fetterman was just tooooo good at rubbing their noses in their own poo.

          AFAIK he is still waiting for the TX Lt Gov to pay off his wagers about finding voter fraud. Fetterman found 2 or 3 dead Rs voting in PA. TX Lt Gov Patrick (the guy who's ready for old folks to do their civic duty and die) won't pay off the $1M per.

          1. Having lived in PA, I started following Fetterman a few months ago and the dude is hilarious.  I love the part about taking his $ 1 million payment in $ 5 Sheetz cards. If you know PA you get it.  I think we will see a lot more of him in the future.

      3. Parkhill: “any single Democratic Senator could negotiate…..”

        I’ll predict a return of a revised Gang of Eight that will be in the center and will hold much of the decision making power in the Senate.

        Ds: Manchin, Bennet, Hickenlooper, ?

        Rs: Murkowski, Romney, Collins, Portman, maybe Sasse, maybe Tim Scott.

        Mitch, Cruz, Graham, Inhofe, et al will see a “well earned,” greatly diminished, role. 

        1. How often does a freshman senator rise to the role of power broker?

          How often do two senators from the same state become a power duo especially when the senior senator has no leadership role?

          Having Manchin chairing energy is dangerous enough, doubly so if Hick joins him there.

            1. Who were the other 7? Were they all trustworthy and up to the tests of time? Were their principles for sale?

              Bennet should be a better judge of character than he was then.

                1. Ya, I knew that beforehand. I can support the Ds but wish they'd grow a pair. 

                  Flake flaked.

                  Blanche put on her best show last night … he's 'had enough' NOW. Golf?

                  Rubio is a weathervane wanting to be the next trump.

                  McCain the only half-decent human among them but he is gone an forgotten except when some dumspter needs a punching bag over healthcare.

                  You need to be careful about the company you keep. That smell clings.

                  In other words:

                  You add a teaspoon of win to sewage & you still have sewage. You add a teaspoon of sewage to wine & you still have sewage.

        2. That could be a realistic possibility, but it assumes the Rs are willing to kill their careers. Naming the names, we can watch what they do.

          We are facing the existential crisis of Climate Change and the financial catastrophe of a K-shaped economy. What is the moderate position on addressing these problems?

          The US populace at large supports relatively more radical policies, but there are "moderate" Democrats who are much more conservative in their approach.

          The question is on which cross does Manchin, Bennet or Hickenlooper want to die upon?

          The cross of Coal, Big Oil or Fracking
          The cross of Green Infrastructure
          The cross of Economic Crisis or Stimulus
          The cross of Corporate and Billionaire Taxes.

          Historically moderate Democrats have been fiscally conservative even in the midst of a deep recession. They have also supported large corporations over the average person.

          1. Those crosses may still be present but the calculus of thrive/die changed yesterday.

            Expect Manchin, Bennet and Hickenlooper to speak a lot and to say nothing at all.

    4. Elaine moves back in with her family after they lose valuable tax deductions.

      An immediate 19% drop off in tributes income.

      He now must, literally, shoot someone for Ttump before the 20th in order to get his Presidential Medal of Freedom.

  6. Georgia sweep makes the unconstitutional scheming of the sedition caucus look even more damnable. It now matches the mass of coal beating in Cruz’ chest.

    Hawley should bail (as if that absolves him of responsibility for this fiasco) and leave Cruz swinging in the wind.

  7. How Colorado Potato Beetles Beat Pesticides

    https://www.potatopro.com/news/2020/how-colorado-potato-beetles-beat-pesticides

    "The Colorado potato beetle is a notorious pest—and a kind of unstoppable genius….Over the last half-century, agricultural researchers and chemical companies have spent millions developing innovative chemical compounds to try to kill off this beetle that causes hundreds of millions of dollars of damage—and almost all eventually fail."

    1. A big winner last night was Stephen Breyer.  I'm going to throw it down that we'll see our first female African-American Justice in the next 24 months. 

      1. Garland is a good choice, but I was hoping for AG Barack Obama to appoint special prosecutor Hillary Clinton to investigate the illegal conduct of the outgoing president. 

      2. Because Garland’s nomination is a poke in the eye for Mitch? 🤔

        I’d still rather have Yates as AG, but perhaps she’s on reserve for another post. 

        1. "AG Barack Obama………

          Biden will be very wise to stay away from anything resembling investigation of the outgoing president, for the sake of whatever national unity he can obtain.

          The New York State AG and Manhattan DA are ready to do the "heavy lifting" against Trump. It also seems he may come under investigation by the government of Scotland over his resorts there. 

  9. Yates..she’s shown she has the spine to stand up to the President. Merrick Garland moving into AG would create an appointable vacancy on DC Court of Appeals, but that seems a weak argument to me. Jones has an admirable past, but what has he done lately? – from Jeff Zeleny , CNN

          2. There's going to be complicated scheduling questions … which court appearances take priority.  NY's Tish has civil charges and "if the evidence exists, there could be criminal charges." NYC has financial crimes. Fulton County will be considering telephone crimes. Merrick Garland and team will be examining a variety of federal statutes, but may be slightly behind.  There are defamation cases.  I suspect there may be others I'm not thinking of off the top of my head.  And there is the on-going danger of some of Trump's employees realizing they will need to sue in order to be paid.

  11. It'll be interesting to see what Pence does today at the Electoral Vote certification.  His 2024 ambitions deserve to go down with all the other misfits aboard the SS Trumptanic

    Allies marvel that even in private, they have never seen Pence so much as raise an eyebrow at Trump’s dark antics — which include becoming only the third president ever to be impeached and so bungling the coronavirus pandemic that more than 350,000 Americans have died on his watch.

     

  12. Ha ha.

    Ho ho.

    Tee hee!

    Gloat, gloat, gloat like a goat!

    Gloat, gloat, gloat like a goat!

    Trump takes his lickspittles down the drain with him!

    Gloat, gloat, gloat like a goat!

     

  14. So after today’s joint-congressional shitshow finally ends, what’ll be Ttump’s next play?? . . .

    . . . a Presidential declaration of National Opposites Day?

    . . . revoking all calendars? “From henceforth every day shall officially be January 19th!” (On the bright side, birthdays and anniversaries will be easier to remember.)

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