Weekend Open Thread

31
  by: Colorado Pols March 6, 2021 at 6:40 AM MST

“Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous impatience.”

–Hyman Rickover

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31 Community Comments, Facebook Comments

  1. davebarnes says:
    March 6, 2021 at 7:49 AM MST

    Today (Saturday) is Sock Monkey Day

  2. MichaelBowman says:
    March 6, 2021 at 9:51 AM MST

    How fitting this was passed through the Senate, a chamber lost by the Republicans with some help from Trump, on day 45 of the Biden Adminstration.

    The American Rescue Plan passes the Senate without a single Republican vote. (Sullivan R-AK did not vote)

    • MichaelBowman says:
      March 6, 2021 at 10:28 AM MST

      Minority farmer debt relief survived in the final bill after Republican attempts to gut the provision. After decades of abuse by USDA and the financial community, these farmers have hope for a better future. 

      Well done, Democrats. 

      Senate Dems secure $1.9T stimulus bill, minority farmer debt relief survives GOP challenge

      Democrats won Senate approval Saturday of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package after modifying some provisions to assuage party moderates but preserving historic debt relief for minority farmers that Republicans tried to strip from the bill.

      • kwtree says:
        March 6, 2021 at 10:39 AM MST

        yes👏🏼
        Now, on to the For the People Act, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, with their necessary prelude, eliminating or modifying the filibuster. Contact your congresspeople!

        • MichaelBowman says:
          March 6, 2021 at 10:43 AM MST

          Meanwhile, the Repubs are going to have to deal with the really important stuff:  who gets to grift using Donald's name? 

          Trump presses GOP to stop using name for fundraising

          Former President Trump is pressing Republican Party organs to stop using his name and likeness for fundraising and merchandise sales. 

          Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to The Hill that lawyers for Trump sent cease-and-desist letters Friday to the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).

           

          • JohnInDenver says:
            March 6, 2021 at 11:44 AM MST

            well, that's going to make for a bit of awkwardness in various people's lives…. I wonder what the royalty fee (REALLY a royalty fee) will be to use Trump's name or likeness in their advertising?

            Any reaction from Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.), head of the NRSC?  Or Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC),

            • MichaelBowman says:
              March 6, 2021 at 12:19 PM MST

              They’re just laughable at this point.  I think of this dynamic and then reflect on another provision in the ARPA: homeless children.  Covenant House has been my longest-running org for annual giving so I couldn’t be more thrilled. The Senate approved the Murkowski amendment allocating $800 million to homeless children (bipartisan applause broke out in the Senate after the vote).

              We’re finally getting resources to the least among us; making a difference. This is governing I can be proud of. 

              • Duke Cox says:
                March 6, 2021 at 1:38 PM MST

                👍👍❤                                            

              • harrydoby says:
                March 6, 2021 at 2:42 PM MST

                Wonderful! heart

              • kwtree says:
                March 6, 2021 at 4:00 PM MST

                And yet, after her positive amendment was adopted, Senator Murkowski still couldn’t break with her caucus to vote forthe American Rescue Plan bill.🤦🏼‍♀️

                • JohnInDenver says:
                  March 7, 2021 at 8:59 AM MST

                  Who knows … she may have been the "safety" vote that convinced Manchin that whatever he was demanding wasn't going to sink the bill.

                  The Murkowski changes I read about weren't all bad as policy

                  — "tourism" bump for Alaska may also benefit Washington, CA, Hawaii and CO (and Florida, but who cares about them). 

                  — Seafood processors weren't included or excluded in the House language about food processing…

                  — a change giving "more money to states with smaller populations" probably helps more R states than D states, but the money will still go to groups of people who are probably more D than R.

                  What else shifted to accommodate her preference?

              • JohnInDenver says:
                March 6, 2021 at 6:31 PM MST

                Amen … I was happy to read this estimate

                The plan is one of the largest federal responses to a downturn Congress has enacted and economists estimate it will boost growth this year to the highest level in decades and reduce the number of Americans living in poverty by a third….

                “This legislative package likely represents the most effective set of policies for reducing child poverty ever in one bill, especially among Black and Latinx children,” said Indivar Dutta-Gupta, co-executive director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality.

                Black Americans, Hispanic Americans and poor families with children are set to benefit the most. Child poverty would be reduced by more than half, the researchers predict.

          • Diogenesdemar says:
            March 6, 2021 at 3:38 PM MST

            Has anyone trademarked "The Other Guy," yet? . . .

            . . . might be a good idea now?

          • Genghis says:
            March 7, 2021 at 9:03 AM MST

            Meanwhile, the Repubs are going to have to deal with the really important stuff:  who gets to grift using Donald's name? 

            It'll be interesting to see what sort of deal they reach. Obviously, Trump does not want the GOP to stop using his name and likeness; he wants to get paid. And the GOP, utter train wreck that it is, will be more than happy to pony up.

  3. davebarnes says:
    March 6, 2021 at 6:59 PM MST

    Today (Sunday) is National Crown Roast of Pork Day 

  4. Duke Cox says:
    March 7, 2021 at 8:09 AM MST

    I had to step between my Cat and the TV a few minutes ago during MTP to protect the device from her reaction to John Barrasso and his soooo predictable bullshit (or maybe Lauren would prefer I call it "bullcrap", eh congresswoman?). Perhaps the previous interview with Joe, "I promise my Republican friends I will be the one to cave" Manchin" pushed her too close to the edge.

    I am happy to report my TV was saved by the mute button. 😏

  5. MichaelBowman says:
    March 7, 2021 at 9:41 AM MST

    Kudos to State Senator Chris Holbert:

    Colorado Bill Would Require Schools To Store Cannabis-Based Medicines For Student Use
     

    “As a person that comes from a community fairly consistent in being opposed to marijuana legalization in Colorado, I’m willing to put my hand up and say I was wrong about cannabis-based medicine,”

    • kwtree says:
      March 7, 2021 at 2:53 PM MST

      Good call on Holbert’s part.

      I’ve seen kids with severe seizure disorders  become able to do school normally, after taking CBD treatments. For one of them, you made the connection to Realm of Caring. It did make a difference for that child. 

  6. skeptical citizen says:
    March 7, 2021 at 9:54 AM MST

    Today is also National Flapjack Day and National Cereal Day.

    Be sure to eat your breakfast.

  7. kwtree says:
    March 7, 2021 at 3:00 PM MST

    For a quick video update on all things Colorado COVID and vaccine-related, see this 1/2 hour webinar from the Partnership to Fight Infectious Diseases. Senator Bennet does the intro. 

  8. MichaelBowman says:
    March 7, 2021 at 6:34 PM MST

    The senators who voted for the Covid relief bill represent 41,915,580 more people than the senators who voted against it.
     

    America’s anti-democratic Senate, in one number: 

    Because smaller states tend to be whiter and more conservative than larger states, this malapportionment gives Republicans an enormous advantage in the fight for control of the Senate. Once Warnock and Ossoff take their seats, the Democratic half of the Senate will represent 41,549,808 more people than the Republican half.

     

     

    • JohnInDenver says:
      March 7, 2021 at 7:39 PM MST

      The 41 million is based on population of the states.

      If you want votes, the number I vaguely remember from the 2018 election was that the Senate that took office in 2019 had 12 million more votes for Democrats than Republicans — and a resulting 48-52 partisan split. 

    • MattC says:
      March 8, 2021 at 8:12 AM MST

      And with 35-45% Republicans supporting – not in Congress, in the streets, that is the kind of bipartisanship I want from a president.

      • MichaelBowman says:
        March 8, 2021 at 9:03 AM MST

        Agreed. POTUS is bringing unity to the streets. The fact the Republican caucus can’t get their shit together is (almost) irrelevant – as long as we can keep Manchin and Synema in check. If it takes the implementation of a standing filibuster rule change to drag them closer to the rest of us I’m OK with that for Round 1. I’d prefer elimination of the racist tradition altogether but Joe snd Synema are the cards were dealt with for the time being. 

        • gertie97 says:
          March 8, 2021 at 11:59 AM MST

          I like the standing filibuster idea. I do not like abolishing it all together. The next time the worm turns, as it will, the thought of the GOP running roughshod with their kooky bullshit terrifies me.

          The judicial filibuster actions should be lesson enough.

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