Monday Open Thread

18 thoughts on “Monday Open Thread”

1. If a Republican loves his Fox News, how unwilling is he/she to consider real facts?

   Log in to Reply

   1. Here’s a graph from the days before we reverted to incrementalism and had a $3.5T bill on the table.  Seems as though Ol’Joe didn’t really need to be splainin’ anything to the good folks of West Virginia who sent him back to DC in 2018:

      

      Log in to Reply

      1. Yes, but where do you think his campaign donors fall in that survey?  

         Log in to Reply

         1. The poll didn’t say anything about how all the goodies would be paid for. And they’ll still using Bernie’s “compromise” figure; $3.75 trillion instead of the current $1.75 trillion.

            Log in to Reply

            1. That’s kind of my point: the size and scope of the original $3.5T package (after being reduced from ($6T) didn’t seem to set them back.  How are we doing to pay for it? Over a 10 year period.  They same way we put for (peace time) defense spending that is larger than our next 25 allies combined. 

               Log in to Reply

               1. As an FYI, the annual NDAA (National Defense Appropriations Act) had $24 billion more than what the administration requested. The additional was supported by members of both parties.

                  Log in to Reply

                  1. Eisenhower warned us.

                     Log in to Reply

2. Joe Manchin aborts Build Back Broke. Will PolCats start spraying stink?

   Log in to Reply

   1. I don't know.  How do your fellow insurrectionists feel about it?

      Log in to Reply

   2. This is more like Broke Back Mountain Boat. All that Koch and Exxon money sunk the good ship Lollipop Almost Heaven. 

      Log in to Reply

      1. Funny.  I thought that was what was keeping the Almost Heaven afloat.

         Log in to Reply

         1. After yesterdays Oscar-worthy performance of Hippie Punchin’ (a great read) I’m guessing his next boat yacht will be a significant upgrade from Almost Heaven. 

            Log in to Reply

      2. Manchin says the child tax credit is a bad idea because the parents will just spend the money on drugs. Manchin is a piece of shit.

         Log in to Reply

         1. Totally agree. Only an asshole would say something like that.

            Log in to Reply

            1. Sounds straight outta the Newt Gingrich playbook.

               Log in to Reply

3. December 20, 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.

   Log in to Reply

4. Brad DeLong knows how to turn a phrase:

   Omicron is here. Time to hunker down until it becomes clear that this is a lower-mortality virus. Or, if not, we are going to lose 20% of our unhunkered unvaccinated over 80s, 10% of our unhunkered unvaccinated over 70-80s, and 4% of our unhunkered unvaccinated 60-70s in the next two months:

   Log in to Reply

5. WOTD from Mahablog: "The Squad was right all along"

   I have to say, though, that the only explanation for Manchin’s behavior is that he’s being paid to blow up the Democrats’ agenda. Maybe he really is that much of a narcissist, but I have a hard time believing he’s screwing his party just out of pettiness. He’s getting paid.

   Josh Marshal thinks it's plain-old-BS-pettiness:

   The level of pettiness on display here may be difficult to comprehend or believe. But as far as it goes I do believe it.

   But the big picture is the important one to understand. For almost a year Manchin has strung his caucus and President Biden along, changing his positions, changing his rationales, being cagey about what he supported or what he would do. He’s strung them along and forced them to play the fool, repeatedly, while being entirely indifferent to the impact of his own actions on the political standing of his colleagues or their deeply held views.

   Log in to Reply