Weekend Open Thread

10 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread”

1. Overnight news — we will have a federal government operating sometime today.

   But, little surprise that the federal government's continuation had nothing to do with the Colorado Republican delegation:  Boebert (CO-3 / Western Slope) & Lopez (CO-4 / Northeastern Plains) both voted Nay, Lamborn (CO-5 / Colorado Springs) was Not Voting. 

   Seems fitting that Doug Lamborn's final act in Congress was Not Voting.

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2. Trump Sure Seems Pissed at Elon Musk Over the Spending Bill 

   Trump is rushing to remind the media that he is the captain of the GOP, not Elon Musk.

   The “President Musk” rhetoric gained steam among Democrats after the billionaire helped kill the continuing resolution to keep the government open, voicing his opposition long before the president-elect did.

   https://newrepublic.com/post/189580/trump-reaction-pissed-elon-musk-spending-bill

    

    

    

    

    

    

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   1. Cue the Grand Funk Railroad:

      Everybody, listen to me
      And return me my ship
      I'm your captain, I'm your captain
      Though I'm feeling mighty sick

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      1. 2jung, I've now had that song stuck in my head since yesterday. Gotta go play it and get it out of there. 

         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvOPucs7dC0

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         1. Thanks cook, I just played it and was thankful you didn't post the AM radio shortened version! To me, this still sounds good today, 54 years after its release.

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3. For some of us, this won't be a surprise:

   CPR: No charges filed for posting of voting machine passwords

   Colorado law makes it a felony to “knowingly, arbitrarily or capriciously” post, or cause to be posted, passwords and other sensitive information about election equipment on the internet. However, the DA’s office concluded that the publication happened purely in error. It also noted, “There is no indication that the passwords were published in an effort to influence the outcome of an election.”

   The timeline of events in the new report mirror the findings of a private law firm the Secretary of State’s office hired to conduct an outside investigation. That review concluded the situation, while accidental, did violate some state rules around information security.

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4. Wild news

   https://www.soapcentral.com/human-interest/news-who-kay-granger-congresswoman-missing-six-months-found-living-dementia-care-home

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5. 50 years later, Congress finally acts to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision, which drastically cut earned Social Security benefits for public sector workers. This was Ronnie Reagan's expression of hatred for government workers. 

   In my case, this halved my SS benefit , which I had earned from 20 years of private sector work prior to becoming a teacher. I still have my pension, but not retirement income from the first half of my working life. Getting my full retirement benefit would mean that I actually can retire. It also cruelly impoverished  spouses of deceased public workers, like firefighters. 

   President Biden is expected to sign this as one of his last official acts. We can also expect opposition from the incoming Scrooge and his unelected advisor. 

    

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   1. I'm guessing there will be a whole lot of people assisted by this finally passing Congress. I haven't yet read the details but I hope the language of the bill broadly covers those of us "cheated" for years out of the Social Security benefit we should have had.

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6. My favorite explanation of Tom Petty's influence: People who can't name three of his songs can sing along with a dozen.

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