“What a day we are having…. As a former director of emergency management, I know a disaster when I see one,” Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said yesterday in the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, overseen by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee chaired by James Comer (R-KY).
Women have begun to see that if I go through that doorway, I take everybody through it.
___Dianne Feinstein
'No Child Left Behind' requires states and school districts to ensure that all students are learning and are reaching their highest potential. Special education students should not be left out of these accountability mechanisms.
____Dianne Feinstein
College costs continue to rise, and student loan debt threatens to price many Americans out of a college education and out of the middle class.
___Dianne Feinstein
Today we have a health insurance industry where the first and foremost goal is to maximize profits for shareholders and CEOs, not to cover patients who have fallen ill or to compensate doctors and hospitals for their services. It is an industry that is increasingly concentrated and where Americans are paying more to receive less.
___Dianne Feinstein
I basically believe the medical insurance industry should be nonprofit, not profit-making. There is no way a health reform plan will work when it is implemented by an industry that seeks to return money to shareholders instead of using that money to provide health care.
___Dianne Feinstein
Banning guns addresses a fundamental right of all Americans to feel safe.
___Dianne Feinstein
Congressional overseers and the public must be given appropriate insight into government activities as well as their legal rationale to ensure America's values are being upheld and our interests advanced.
___ Dianne Feinstein
‘James Haas was a San Francisco land use attorney, and a gay man who was not yet out in 1970, when he became an informal advisor to Dianne Feinstein.’
‘He also authored the city’s most abiding epigram about Feinstein’s relationship to the gay community:
“Dianne Feinstein doesn’t care who you sleep with,” he famously quipped, “as long as you’re in bed by 11 o’clock.”
“From her time serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors with Harvey Milk to her battle to protect transgender service members, Dianne Feinstein has been a champion for LGBTQ equality and social justice,” Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide gay civil rights organization, said in endorsing her final campaign in 2018. “Senator Feinstein stood with our community back when few others did.” (Politico) See link below.
'Dianne Feinstein, who died Friday at the age of 90, made history as the first woman to become mayor of her hometown of San Francisco.'
'A graduate of Stanford University, Feinstein began her career in politics when she was appointed by Gov. Pat Brown to the California Women's Parole Board in 1960. Nine years later, she was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and was elected president of the board in 1978.'
'She became mayor of San Francisco in 1978 following the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. The following year she was elected to the first of two four-year terms.
She was elected to the U.S. Senate in a 1992 special election. becoming California's first female U.S. senator. It was an election cycle that became known as the "Year of the Woman" for the record number of female candidates elected to Congress.'
'Feinstein was re-elected five times and in the 2012 election, she received 7.86 million votes, the most popular votes received by any U.S. Senate candidate in history.'
'President Biden said in a statement. "Often the only woman in the room, Dianne was a role model for so many Americans - a job she took seriously by mentoring countless public servants," Biden said Friday. "Dianne was tough, sharp, always prepared, and never pulled a punch, but she was also a kind and loyal friend, and that's what [First lady] Jill and I will miss the most."
It was sad to watch her deteriorate in the last months of her life, but that does not take away from a lifetime of service to her principles and to all Americans. Who can step up to fill her place in history?
They are waiting in the wings. America has no shortage of greatness but an overabundance of mediocrity and willful ignorance. I don't know why the papers are calling Feinstein a "centrist" when she was always a boat rocker.
Another Reader on this page has their own Substack page, and had an interesting counterpoint to answer your question about her position as a centrist. I've not read far enough to see if they've commented.
I lived in the Bay Area in the early 1980's and dimly recall being a bit taken aback by some of the decisions she made as Mayor of San Francisco, but overall felt she was a good choice. She definitely was a "boat rocker", albeit a more conservative one than people expect from a Democratic Senator from California.
Her legacy should not be tainted by the way it finished, the last few years maybe regrettable but they don't erase all the positives she accomplished in her career that were truly progressive. The meanings of labels are constantly shifting and should be avoided. Judge people by their actions and not the way they are described by others. Leaders at all levels of government make unpopular decisions, Democrats are not excluded. SF is a difficult place to govern for sure!
I don't disagree with a lot of what you've written. Senator Feinstein was a trailblazer in so many ways, and I believe opened a lot of doors for other women to have success in politics at all levels. I do, however, caution against the inevitable hagiography that often happens when a true trailblazer dies.
Ally, I don't know that same standards in judging 'hagiography', a 'biography that idealizes its subject', would apply in this setting. Having cautioned, to quote you, 'against the inevitable hagiography that often happens when a true trailblazer dies' in reply to BlueRootsRadio, have you noted that on this thread? I've read of strong admiration and positive examples of her work but not idealized fabrications. You mentioned some vague disappointment in her on occasion, without going into anything specific. Our memories aren't always up to such a task. I'm sure you are not alone in finding some fault with Feinstein. I for one, would be interested in what you may remember that disappointed you.
People who make decisions that will affect other people will NEVER make everyone happy, even if they try. I don't know a lot about Diane Feinstein, but I will now learn.
Yes she was, but a bit conservative was the way it was in the party back then.
I grew up in the Bay Area ('50s) and was involved as a kid in dem politics. She was of a social stratta that was, by it's nature, more conservative, but the times were changing and her values guided her actions. She rocked a lot of boats.
Seaking of "Boat Rockers" WBUR's "On,Point" has posted HCR's 46.33 minute interview titled "Historian Heather Cox Richardson's Notes on the state of America". wbur.org
The Democrats have a very deep, impressively deep bench, and not just in Congress. Take a look at the statehouses. Take a look at the state legislatures. OK, maybe not the one in my state (MA), although there are some standouts there too, but when a state like Tennessee produces a trio like Justin, Justin & Gloria, I'm encouraged.
Because to true leftists, she was close to being Republican.
Never mind that as a woman in the 70s and 80s, she had to be more conservative to get elected. Never mind that she lived through the shooting and made sure people remembered it. She's not Milk.
Never mind that like Obama, she got laws passed that were compromises.
It's a lot like Obama.
Joe Biden can push more progressive policies because he's an old white guy. Obama is called a Communist for pushing Mitt Romney's health insurance plan.
For all the canonization of Bernie Sanders, the people who get laws written and enacted are Obama, Feinstein, Biden types.
People forget, or were not politically aware, how far right the Democrats shifted in the 80's chasing after Reagan. It didn't get much better in the 90's but in those days Feinstein set GOP legislator's hair on fire. Most political careers in my mind follow the pattern of a sine wave, hers was longer than most. For me her biggest "sin" was staying on the job too long i.e. RBG, but that doesn't erase her vast accomplishments.
Forget all the labels coming from the right, we're all pinko commie LGBTQ Antifa fascists. You learn about the origin of their labeling in a great chapter in Democracy Awakening.
True about Bernie but to his credit, his dogged persistence influenced all of them to maintain the liberal consensus. For cryin' out loud, Biden walked a picket line last week.
My problem with Bernie is that you might find him on a picket line, but he gets no legislation passed and he votes against good legislation because it's not pure enough.
That and he wouldn't release his tax returns and he wouldn't concede in 2016.
We lost two national elections badly. After we had lost to Nixon/Agnew TWICE.
The Left wouldn't vote for Humphrey and Ted Kennedy did his best to torpedo Jimmy Carter (who was a conservative Democrat in many ways) so I think the party leadership went with appealing to the voters who gave a two bit actor the largest landslide in US history.
If I had been related to Feinstein, I would have worked to get her out of there.
But then again, if I were related to Trump, I wouldn't have let him run at all. For the same reason.
@Notes, For me what was particularly sad was that the country at-large didn’t recognize the sheer will that enabled Feinstein to hang in as colleagues alerted her to a Senate rule that would have required her replacement to meet a 60-vote threshold to take her seat on the Judiciary Committee.
Agree, I’d read that recently how Democrats would likely lose the spot on the judiciary committee if she resigned and then her hanging on made sense to me.
Susan, Regrettably, most of the country was unaware. Hence, I view posting what was happening behind the scenes as my small contribution to Senator Feinstein’s legacy.
She was one of a kind, and leaves big shoes to fill. Three excellent candidates are running for her seat. I'm supporting Katie Porter, but I would readily vote for Adam Schiff or Barbara Lee.
At first, I was somewhat dubious as to her instance to continue serving. But after reading a bit more about her (and her experience in San Francisco, seeing her colleagues having died in the midst of THEIR service) I can see why she chose to stay.
She dedicated her life to service. And she gave that service everything.
Highlighting her accomplishments is as respectful as it gets. Could be so much baloney, but she may have known in her being that she was going and wanted to leave as a still productive Senator. She served our nation and our people well.
Thank you. Impossible to disagree with any of those quotes. She will be hard to replace.
A healthcare industry that is profit motivate is not a healthcare industry. Healthcare that is profit motivated is insane. Shouldn't the motivation be healthcare?
Harvey, I always note with amusement and some anger when a healthcare company (had a cousin who worked in the industry and she called it death care) advertises how much they really care. If they did, they wouldn't have to advertise.
A business that is fueling the stock market, such as the medical insurance field, is NOTHING but an industry - and it certainly does NOT allow for nor provide a healthy citizenry, simply judging by how sickly Americans both appear to be as well as how we act. (howz that for a run-a-long sentence)
We are a sickly lot, both in spirit, body and mind.
And our food industry lets these companies make HPF (highly processed foods) which causes so much sickness: diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease to name a few. But how could our “death care” stay in business without these products. Capitalism at its finest!! Sarcasm speaking. Makes me so sad that people are eating this crap because it’s cheap and very available.
So, Frederick, you begin your difference with Harvey in French. That caught my attention. I will stick to English in my effort to clarify points that you made. The word 'industry' has wide application, and that includes both profit and non-profit organizations. If you would like to check with Britannica, their link is the following:
We did have a health insurance industry that started as nonprofit entities that sprang up through community associations, at least in the northeast. Blue cross Blue Shield and HIP are two in New York that started out that way.
No question that Senator Feinstein was one of the greatest of all time, if not the greatest.
She almost short-circuited Kavanaugh's appointment to the USSC along with her fellow Democrats on the committee. Thankfully she did bring in Dr. Ford to testify, even though the Republicans on the committee did everything they could to threaten her and her family.
Hopefully Governor Newsome will appoint a qualified candidate to fill in for Senator Feinstein until the 2024 election.
Thanks for an amazing career of public service Senator! You are loved and missed!
Fern, thank you for reminding us of all of Diane Feinstein’s statements that were so brave at the time and helped move the Overton window on so many issues. It can be so easy to remember the ill woman who dragged herself to work to do the country’s business on the Judiciary Committee; the GOP was so heartless in insisting that she could not be temporarily replaced so that she could stay home and get well.
Thank you Fern for these notes. Mark me as grateful in Milwaukee WI. I always look for your remarks and appreciate them. I agree with D Feinstein re the health insurance industry should be non profit. I think healthcare should be protected from the speculative markets as should other sectors such as residential housing just as one example. Certain life essentials should be protected by scaffolds of strong laws on behalf of humans (not on behalf of for profit corporations who presently count on bailouts). Legislators need to work for their human constituents and build structures that protect them. So much has been ceded to the speculative markets--just about everything. The wealth of the country is being siphoned off to a small percentage of people.
Colette, it would be excellent to spread Dianne Feinstein's commitment to the welfare, equality, and justice of the people. Please do not use my name. Thank you for your idea and consideration. Salud!
Thank you for your question and attention, Christopher Colles. One of the satisfactions of subscribing to LFAA is that Heather Cox Richardson inspires us to understand what is happening in the US. She and subscribers, such as you, encourage me to keep learning.
Contributing to our dialogue is a rich reward. Salud!
Hello, Christopher. I thought I had replied to this question of yours hours ago, which, clearly, did not appear. What is more, I believed that I had answered the first time. I am satisfied with being a subscriber and independent enough to very rarely raise a subject or person that was not covered in HCR's Letter. I didn't have the time and energy this morning to write a strong comment about the meaning of Ukraine and the meaning of Putin. It would have connected to HCR's Letter but makes the point that I've tried to elucidate. I didn't have the time or energy this morning; writing 'Letters' requires a type of responsibility, effort and style of communication on a regular basis, which does not suit me. I appreciate your persistence, Christopher. Cheers!
Thanks so much for the reminders, Fern. She was, as so many have noted, smart. But she commanded respect through thorough preparation and full command of the facts. The accolades that have poured in since the announcement of her death, even on Fox notNews, speak to the integrity and brilliance she placed in service to this country for so long.
Thank you for this. I wrote to Senator Feinstein about numerous issues over the years. I always got a reasoned, intelligent response. I will miss her very much. She embodied for me what it means to be a responsible and civil public servant.
Quiverin' Qevin has shown himself to be a feckless, worthless coward, a political incompetent, a liar who can't be trusted farther than you can see him with your eyes closed. He's hated by both Republicans and Democrats. How the country survives the next 13 months of what he has loosed on us is something I can't figure out.
As to the 48 Fweedumbererasses, they are traitors who have declared war on the United States. They need to be rousted at midnight, and disappear into pretrial detention. Personally, I'd like to see all 137 of the traitors in both houses of Congress arrested.
That’s why organizations such a CREW (among others) exist: https://www.citizensforethics.org/ Like the character “Sunny” played by Goldie Hawn in “Protocol”, we will be watching them “like a hawk”.
I thought it was in the Constitution that pay cannot be changed during members’ term in office...can’t remember the exact wording. I apologize if the answer is in your link Barbara, haven’t had enough coffee to read everything!
I haven’t read the bill (only the press release so far) & perhaps it won’t affect the current situation anyway…I mostly like that someone in Congress agrees with the idea enough to pitch a bill!
And food programs, Head Start, most of the IRS and damn near everything else will shut down. Federal employees and the military won't be paid. Worst is that this signals to our enemies that we are an extremely unstable and weak country.
What gets me is that yes - this happens in a shutdown BUT the Rs want to cut back the food programs, headstart, HEAP (of all things) without a shutdown!!
What a great billboard opportunity! Tell the public exactly WHAT these yahoos really want to do.
Just bear in mind, whatever we read and see in the news, so do they, and they also have their spies, just like we do. Imagine the president's anguish when MTG displayed those pictures of Hunter Biden, if nothing else. And knowing that although Trump lost in 2020, he's still very much involved in what happens in Congress and has been charged with more crimes than any other political figure in the world's modern history. Worst is knowing they are watching his putrid "campaign" which consists of nothing more than "retribution," and it has started with this government shutdown, which he has openly orchestrated.
And that is what bothers me the most that these people listen to him based on his hate filled speeches. I disagree that they read or hear what the left is doing. Faux news only lies and twists the truth and the word socialism is now a four lettered word for them. Not knowing that these big corporations get it and the mainstream people don’t! Politics is too brutal for me but I will continue to read HCR no matter what
I, too, am waiting for the traitors in both houses of Congress to be arrested and held accountable for their actions leading up to 6 January and beyond, and to not disregard those who have assumed office since the 2020 election who are continuing the charade of governance.
TC, I couldn't say it better, so I'll not try. What I will do is add to your thoughts by adding what I've already said elsewhere: It should by now be as obvious to anyone paying the least bit of attention, that those farthest 'wrong' right wing extremists, seek not to govern, but to "reign" the majority of not only congress, but even we the people. Vain, quivering Kevin will not be treated well by history, nor should he; He's an absolute embarrassment. He should never even be recorded as a 'speaker' of the house, because he's never actually held the strings that move him about.
David Was it in Treasure Island where there was a scene of a pirate walking the plank? Certainly there would be House Raucous Caucus sharks swirling in the waters below.
Or perhaps it would be a Russian roulette game with a bullet for the loser.
Santos seems an appropriate speaker replacement for McCarthy because of his sterling character.
Yeah, Right! Santos lies as well or better than McCarty. If there were a god one would ask for help. There ain't none a coming from on high, so vote blue.
I’m a ceramic artist and I’m working on a project called “The Yam People “ inspired by a comment from someone on Substack who referred to DT as Yam Face. The Yam People are small and unfired. You can make them disappear back into mud by putting them in water. My brother, who lives in Florida, got the first one. He named it DeYamtis and plans to have him walk the plank.
Susan I Yam in favor of your project, but don’t make the potato seem sweet, because those potato heads are not. Can I get a Fat Yammy in his Jammy (with ketchup)?
Funny, yet not funny ... that they were elected when each is unfit to represent, to work on behalf of their constituents reveals much about those constituents. It’s rather a searing tell on gerrymandering, too.
Absolutely, their constituents are getting exactly the kind of inefficient/incompetent government they deserve. The rest of us have to live with it and will until those districts turn back around which they will eventually be forced to do.
And isn’t that Trump’s MO? If he can’t have what he wants, he will take everyone down with him. Don’t think he isn’t smiling as he is watching all of this.
What was that movie about a bum who ends up impersonating a rich Beverly Hills guy? Nick Nolte played him. If Congress picked a bum off the street it would be an improvement.
It’s mind-blowing that one person, McCarthy, can shut down the federal government out of pure self-interest. And he will never look in the mirror and feel any regret for the hardships he’s causing across the land - nor for eroding America’s dwindling prestige.
Kevin McCarthy demonstrates how its done by allowing his radical Freedumb Caucus to dictate their juvenile (ie not serious) last gasps of relevance by impeaching Joe Biden; if only to give the Twice Impeached Child King Donald Trump some satisfaction that history might see Biden in the same light as himself
Behind closed doors an anonymous Republican voice was heard muttering, “See? I told you this would be a trainwreck”
You and me both! Plus Michael Moore who’s asked over and over why are these insurrectionists seated in Congress when they participated in a coup?
Also, evidently Republicans have no interest in policing their own members. They know they’d lose control of Congress. It’s so tight in both chambers, Representatives and Senators are afraid to take a bathroom break.
However, the Dobbs Decision is what has done in the GOP.
Thank the SCOTUS for the losses Republicans are about to suffer in 2024. Women are having none of it, Gen X is rising and will work toward removing the white supremacists old fogies party. Why are seditionists permitted to govern? They’ve stated their purpose, they’ve been unfaithful to their oaths, side line them at the very least. But then again, we wouldn’t have the clown circus shit show impeachment “hearings”.
I guess the up side could be the Democrats taking the bull by the horns and exposing Jordan and Comer as the asses they were born to be every time they open their pie holes and stupid rolls out.
That’s a bit extreme because it opens a door we might better keep closed, but I certainly appreciate the sentiment. Thinking about Christie’s renaming DT Donald Duck, I woke up in the middle of the night with this little ditty going through my head: Donald Duck, What a quack, All he does is yak, yak, yak. Please feel free to have some fun with this one😊
Calling them “traitors” to our democracy is certainly not hyperbole. Our most potent weapon against them and the other members of the GOP, who are complicit by their silence, is to VOTE!!
I think that feckless Qevin lives in his own little bubble-gum world, like so many of the crazy-town Rs do.
I keep remembering how proud he was when (after 15 freaking votes!!!) he was finally made Speaker. I think in his head everything is just peachy and he's loved and revered. Reality doesn't touch him.
Thank you Heather. Impeachment is a very serious process which should be reserved for criminal acts such as attempting to extort allies, deep corruption, insurrection, and other major offenses.
Historically, the GOP has used the procedure to attack the Clinton administration, and now, as retribution for the Biden/Harris administration, and the success they have achieved since taking office.
Any fiscal conservatives who are not screaming about the waste of taxpayer money on what is nothing more than a continuation of the January 6th attack by fringe extremists on the American system are not conservatives at all, but just part of the MAGA sociopathic circus.
Comer, Jordan, Gaetz, and all the others in Congress, as well as State/Local government should be held to account for their actions in subverting the American system, whether through efforts to not certify the 2020 elections, or their work to seriously weaken the U.S. economy (and to align themselves with Putin in his illegal war against Ukraine.)
McCarthy's quest for personal power has subjugated him to everyone. Whether authorizing a ridiculous impeachment, assigning incompetents like Marjorie Taylor Greene to powerful committees, or his fealty to the criminal Trump, if McCarthy refuses to work with the Democrats to prevent the shutdown he is done.
I think it is time for a few of the vulnerable House Republicans to be thinking about switching parties so the threat of being primaried is removed. Some grateful Democratic state party machines might be willing to put out a welcome mat. Of course they could go the less confrontational route and switch to independents but choose to caucus with the Democrats in return for after-Congress homes in bipartisanly inclined think tanks or cabinet and commission posts in a Democratic administration that would want to heal the great partisan divide.
Why in the names of the gods would any self-respecting Democrat vote for a turncoat former Republican? Do not Kristen Enema and the creep from WVA not give you pause? Nor Santos? Nor the Dallas mayor Eric Johnson flipping 4 days ago?
Why should the Dems clean up the trash on the other side of the floor?
Why would anyone think that placing traitors in positions you name makes our government better?
Did you notice that Gov Abbott wants to build a wall, between TX and NM?
"Why should the Dems clean up the trash on the other side of the floor? "
Ed, because that's not what would be happening. It is appropriate to open the doors to people who are seeking a place of refuge from any so-called political party that enforces group think with manipulation and tactics of intimidation. In the past many of these people have worked with Dems on common issues and still are. If our goal is a Congress that is functional, we need to embrace those who choose to make that change, whether formally or informally.
To call them "trash" is part of the problem: dividing the world into them and us, and thinking that we are better than the other. What does that make us if not elitists and snobs and the very thing we claim to abhor? Demeaning name-calling reveals the kind of person you are and says nothing about what we can do if we hold out our hands.
Okay, that's pretty darn brilliant. Basically, they pull the ol' Kyrsten Sinema to empower the enemy in order in the short term and to get to the next election, but to do it in a way that they don't fully clothe themselves in the enemy's uniform. So fun and interesting when all the seedy, smarmy, base tactics the GOP has taught us all these years finally become useful tools to do some good for a change!
Do we really want to endorse wolves into our ranks and dress them up as sheep? Bringing them into our flock knowing they remains Republicans at heart could have unfortunate consequences, i.e., undermining the party platform and eat the chickens in our roost (I enjoy stiring metaphors). Better to run a Democrat of merit, than a turncoat needing to hold onto "their" seat.
The point is to that we need to stop the crazy in the House NOW, not in 2025 if Biden will be able to accomplish ANYTHING else in his first term. Things will be at a total standstill. It is not like Democrats would be going in blind but it would potentially induce some of the secretly centrist Republicans to face reality. And there has to be bipartisanship for the government to function. Most administrations have had agency and board heads, ambassadors and cabinet members from the other party. With a handful of Republicans switching affiliation out of their caucus the chaos caucus is effectively defanged and McCarthy is potentially replaced by someone less stupid and craven.
With the Republicans in the majority in the House they will keep the lights off and do as much damage to government as they possibly can and complete destroy US credibility by preventing further aid to Ukraine or tanking the economy.
It seems clear to me. Whether fringe extremists and direct violence on January 6th, the GOP senators who voted against certification of the electoral results, those who have continued to perpetuate the lie, those who have attempted to defund investigations and subsequent indictments of Trump, those participating in a extremist fantasy impeachment, and those seeking to weaken the economy while giving aid and comfort to an adversary -I view it as all connected. Those in elected positions are, in my view, far more dangerous. They are textbook examples as to why the 3rd section of the 14th amendment exists.
As do I George - all connected 'dots.' May we all live long enough to see all the dirty truths, nationally, state, and local, that have been planned and perpetrated on we the people, which of course among other things included the broad and wide gerrymandering we suffer from. Conversely, I'd love that it happen sooner than later, but, I do know how things actually work, sadly. At any rate, I love the news today.. thanks good Dr. !
Well done, George. The conduct of the Klown Kar Kawkus is but an extension of the plot that was hatched to prevent the peaceful transition of power that was displayed in the seditious conduct in and around the Capitol on 6/January. They've done nothing but disrupt the government and attempt to establish authoritarian rule.
Has anyone out there tallied up exactly how much taxpayer money (ie our money) has been spent on the “Freedom Caucus” this year alone? I suggest we send them a bill for services not rendered. Meanwhile, We the People elected a competent leader In President Biden, so let’s help rid ourselves of these nincompoops so that he and his Administration can keep working for all of us.
I feel pretty gleeful watching the bad guys lose here, but in the long game this is terrible. I really can't think of a more effective way to turn the US into a one-party government. I hope it doesn't work.
I listened Friday evening to Biden’s full speech from earlier this week in Arizona, and I know he's thinking the same thing. He saved his realest real talk for the audience who was most likely to be chock-full of old school Republicans, and at the same time he was calling out their bullshit he was saying, "come on guys, I know this isn't you."
The top Democrat in America trying to save the Republican party from itself ❤️
How could anyone watch Biden’s speech in Arizona and then listen to the Repuliclowns’ claims of Biden in his basement, Biden as mentally incompetent, Biden as too old, etc. etc.
And, as a resident of California, I heard that Fat Nixon, after a diatribe about whales beaching themselves by the dozen because of windmills (?), said it was time to make California Great Again.
I’ve lived here since 1976 and California is already pretty effing great.
I too challenge anyone thinking Joe is senile, feeble, in dementia to actually watch that whole speech. A troll here complains Biden didn’t write the speech, just read from the teleprompter. That troll did not watch the speech. There were some noisy interrupters, whom Biden convinced to wait the the end, when he would meet with him. It was the best speech I have ever seen him give.
🤣🤣🤣 (funny. But not funny. Just had a conversation yesterday with a centrist Dem who was all up in arms about “the progressive nutballs” who loaded up the Inflation Reduction Act and caused this Republican shutdown effort. Sigh.)
But the defunding would cut back the number of border agents. Ohhh, maybe the border agents are the ones who search American citizens’ vehicles as they cross the border? The vast majority of the fentanyl coming across is hidden in vehicles.
The chaos agents don’t care about anything other than gaining attention by causing pain. Who gets hurt doesn’t matter, as long as it’s not themselves or their big donors. Despicable Kevin, or any 4 Republican congresspersons, could prevent a shutdown by calling for a House vote on the bipartisan Senate bill. But they don’t, because they might lose their jobs if they have the basic decency to do them.
Truly difficult to fathom which path Republican's are following; one to nowhere the other defeat. Thanks to the undeniable fact the Republican leadership accepted and are still trumpeting their disgraced leader's lies, they are steadily losing the so called youth vote and as we old white geezers and geezettes die off whatever base they had.
Not so long ago I was concerned with the possibility that Mr Trump could return to the Oval Office, but thanks to the non stop clown show he is headlining, that fear is lagging. I can only trust we have had our fill with the hucksters and charlatans who accompanied him in his term and will pack the House and Senate with reasonable men and women from both parties.
With all this manure there has to be a pony somewhere around here.
My children are in their 30s. I guess it depends on your perspective as to whether that’s the “youth vote.” They’re both married, with families of their own, so I don’t. However, since they were in high school, I’ve watched the perspectives of their age cohort. Republicans started losing them on gender and race issues before they graduated, and for that, I’m grateful.
My daddy always said, check the water content in the manure before you start burning it. In a week's time, these geldings will be tripping over their singularly useful products, road apples.
I fear though the cult members are not paying attention to the actual clown show. They are only listening to fox the pretend news station talking points about Biden bad and tfg good.
I differ with you on one point only Ian: You say geezettes, I would have said 'gazelles'. Admittedly it doesn't carry the same punch or punch flavor as geezettes, but I like it better. Bravo anyway brother ~ all cheer the manure sweepers !
The “manure sweepers” in the motion picture industry were in the “craft service department” and whenever we needed to remove “horse apples” from a shot they were asked to bring a “nine iron”. 😎
Please, please, please Jim Jordan schedule another impeachment hearing ASAP! With the writer’s strike not completely resolved we still don’t have any late night shows to watch for political satire. You’re doing the writer’s work for them.
Not only is this an embarrassment for the American people but an embarrassment on the world stage. We could not look more like a third world country. It is time for a coalition government without Kevin McCarthy who has demonstrated his incapacity to lead.
“To put it mildly, the GOP did not bring their best.” A misnomer, don’t you think? The “Grand Old Party” is a shell, an empty suit, an unfunny joke, a destruction derby, but with the power to make chump’s legal troubles go away - they think. And the cost, America’s hard-earned reputation as a beacon of integrity and sanity in a crazy world. Flawed but trying to do the right thing. May Churchill’s observation still apply. “Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else.”
In this case, “the right thing” may be to write a new Constitution. Seriously folks, the *hit show being put on by the Republicans led by the greatest destroyer of the existing remnants of American Democracy is showcasing the weaknesses of our existing system like never before. While fighting the good fight in what is left of a democracy ratified in 1778, maybe it is time to think of the next evolution for governance. There are no alternatives to the shell of our democracy yet, but now it is time to address the real problems lurking behind the current unreality show and envision an evolution of governance that gives the power back to the people.
Agreed. It is either that or a whole lot of amendments.
But a Constitutional Convention scares me. The Republican (pardon me, MAGA) party and the conservatives (Federalist Party and Heritage Foundation, et. al.) would want to be there with their power grabbing s**t show. They would not want a constitution but permission slips to do all sorts of awful things (like their Project 2025).
Then there would be all sorts of compromises, like the one on slavery in our current Constitution that resulted in the Civil War to end slavery (and that in turn led us to our current mess of with MAGA and white supremacy).
Then to get all (and I mean ALL) the states to agree to it.
The absolutely worst idea imaginable is a Constitutional Convention. Every single Amendment in the Bill of Rights would be gone except the 2nd. Say goodbye to the 14th and possibly the 22nd and the 20th, as well.
Catastrophically bad idea. The Constitution was deliberately designed to be difficult to amend. And for good reason.
I agree with your comments. As long as voter suppression is rife in the red states, a Constitutional Convention would be the death knell for any gains of law, principles and democracy that have evolved this far into our Nation’s ‘young’ history.
Should the Heritage Foundation be able to put their “Project 2025” into effect we will have no choice but to come up with a new system of governance to replace it. The envisioning should start now. “If you will it, it is no dream.” )Theodor Herzl, the first visionary of a Jewish State for displaced Jews.)
Marc, appreciate your comments. We are not teaching our children well....and I mean all our children beginning in Kindergarten!!!! It must be required. Otherwise how will we have a citizenry prepared to govern themselves and have the knowledge and insight to vote for decent persons who respect what it means to lead. We must include and encourage our young voters to participate and assist our older voters who may have challenges getting to polling places.
Honesty in media presentations has become more and more of a problem and must be addressed. Propaganda must be addressed for the safety of our citizenry and candidates.
Rules of law must be taught and respected if we want to accomplish good for our country and all of its citizens....if we want to be the "Light" we were meant to be.
Apparently there is no proof that Churchill ever said that -
As King put it: "Winston Churchill once famously observed that Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else."
While there are whole volumes dedicated to Churchill's famous sayings, it's that backhanded compliment to America that's especially popular among politicians on this side of the Atlantic.
Republican Reps. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Tom Cole of Oklahoma, and Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington are just a few of the many American lawmakers who have borrowed that line to add gravitas and a bit of humor to their speeches.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., often turns to the Churchill quote to provide a lighthearted conclusion to an otherwise gloomy message about the U.S. debt burden.
Warner used the line so often, in fact, his staff decided to put it on a plaque or some other memento. But when they went to research the origins of the line, they came up empty, despite blood, toil, tears and sweat.
I certainly don't see any "hard earned reputation as a beacon of integrity and sanity in a crazy world." What I do see is a 'warmongering USA. Full of lies.
We've been guilty of that too, but I've seen the other side. One does get jaded after I heard Daddy Bush blather about Reagan's shinning city on the hill about the time he also approved the Willy Horton ad. Lots of hypocrisy, but lots of people trying to do the right thing, even billionaires at one time.
Even among many great Letters, this one is a doozy. I was in a public place yesterday, and the TV was tuned to Fox. I couldn't hear the sound, but I saw the video. The best part was seeing Jamie Raskin without a scarf and clearly wiping up the floor with the committee. Last night I was watching Ari Melber and howled with laughter when James Carville described McCarthy. He said, “You know, when you elect a bowl of Jell-O, what you get is a bowl of Jell-O, and it’s not gonna change! And the reason that they put him in there is because he was a bowl of Jell-O... I mean, at some level, I guess he’s a personable guy. As a human being, in one sense, you have some sympathy for him. And then you think about how craven he is and you say, ‘Nah, I don’t feel sorry for him. The hell with him.’ But I mean, it’s amazing what these people put him through to retain power. But again, I think just like, cruelty is largely the point. I think they enjoy causing Kevin McCarthy pain. I do. I think these are very cruel people.” And cruelty is exactly the point of everything they do. Cruelty and chaos. Meanwhile many military families and the families of federal employees will soon be living without a paycheck because the clown car spent its time pretending they knew how to do an impeachment hearing instead of dealing with the looming government shutdown.
I don’t think the point is cruelty, Barbara. Although I don’t think they mind the cruelty. I think it’s all to crowd Biden’s accomplishments off the front pages. Look how well it’s working. Biden has to go all over the world just to publicize himself.
I believe this strategy is also a ‘look over here’ stunt because they are doing something else sly behind the nation’s back. I think that has to do with illegal election manipulation at every level, and more things too.
They keep the journalists and reporters busy with atrocities like Biden’s trumped up impeachment. And this is coming from the mainstream press now.
The owners of these news outlets decide what not to print.
It was worth reading through just to get here, Barbara. Thanks. I think you hit it on the head about the primary motivation for these people being cruelty. Their model, after all, was Trump.
At least right now, McCarthy grew some and enabled a stop-gap bill to pass. It might cost him his coveted speaker job. But might not: hard to tell how the rest of the house Republicans might play without the extremists. I hope McCarthy has learned that the tactics he gave into the first round are not doing anybody any favors.
And I'm wondering if there is a chance that the current situation will shake loose some of the people in the "Freedom Caucus" (jeez, it's hard to type that with a straight face). The current situation includes the silly "investigation" into Biden. Holy cow, what are these people thinking? (Rhetorical question. I don't really want to know, anyway. They are either inept beyond belief or scary frightening. Worse, both.)
Great analysis, Barbara. But I suspect at the core of the chaos is pure ignorance of the impact of unforeseen consequences. The nuttiest are so focused on achieving their idea of budget priorities they are unaware of the cost of their Circus Caucus to the nation.
I don't think Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert and MTG can spell budget priorities. They want to be on TV and get attention, and they don't care how they do it. In the time of people like John McCain, there were still Republicans who cared about the budget, but the Circus Caucus, as you so aptly put it, does not care about that at all. Very much like Trump, they want attention, and the more outrageous their behavior, the more likely they are to get it. Sitting there like grown ups and doing the job they were elected to do would not get them on television. Instead they create a freak show, and their supposed outrage is much like a toddler's tantrum - gimme what I want or I'll be MORE outrageous and see how you like it.
The media have been focusing on the psychodrama between McCarthy and the extremists, while ignoring the one group capable of actually funding the government on the basis of the already draconian agreement on the budget to avert a default earlier this year: the so-called "Problem Solvers."
There are 31 House Republicans in the bipartisan Problem Solvers caucus, many in districts that voted for Biden over Trump. A mere four of them could agree with the Democrats on a discharge petition to force a House floor vote on the bipartisan Senate Continuing Resolution, which they could then pass.
But they have all been silent, as in the "curious incident of the dog in the night" which Sherlock Holmes deduced meant that the dog was friendly to the perpetrator.
Their silence has led me to believe that there are no longer any "good" Republicans. They are ALL what I call "RepubliQans", giving a nod to believing bizarre theories about just about everything.
That said, when the "Problem Solvers" refused to work with Democrats during the Speaker's carnival election, they lost their credibility. They could regain it here, in what Mark has described, but for me, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, and I am not holding my breath.
When I heard Senator Romney was paying $5,000 to secure his family every day, I saw their restraint a little differently. And I'm sure some took note of what happened to Paul Pelosi. It's as though they are performing for the guy off-stage.
I spotted that article too, Ms. progwoman, and it gave me pause. There's a real "married to the mob" vibe in the Republican party. I've only once had reason to fear that someone might attack my family at our house and the short-lived threat, quite frankly, drove me crazy for a while.
I am considering that if we are patient, keep standing up to the exteme right in Congress and elsewhere, AND quietly keep working with the other Republicans as the Dems apparently are doing, we may see the situation begin to change. As I read right now, it looks like the 24 election has four flips for the house (and maybe more), and possibly a couple of Senators. The extremists are going to run out of people willing to go along with them. It's interesting that the only people T is willing to talk to are the audiences he already has. I don't think he has enough to pull it off, especially with the load of unpleasant stuff he is carrying around. His so-called "base" may seem hot right now, but many make noise and don't follow through. His real base is the moneyed interests who think they are going to control him, and are realizing he is his own worse enemy. It's going to be an interesting year.
Trump’s attack on Milley fuels special counsel’s push for a gag order
Donald Trump has unleashed a social media attack on Mark Milley, suggesting he should have been put to death for treason.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s office argued Friday that Donald Trump’s recent attacks on Gen. Mark Milley and one of their own newly appointed prosecutors bolster their case to put a gag order on the former president ahead of his trial in Washington, D.C.
That's because billionaires are spinning the lasso. They WANT him in that noose. And that's why he's still alive to do their bidding. But that's true of all Republicans. Why else do you think they vote to cut the taxes of the morbidly rich and their corporations? The people not only fuel the economy, they pay the taxes of the rich TO THE RICH who keep them to themselves in the form of retained profits. Where do you think those profits come from? From us, not them. It's OUR taxes they are NOT paying. It's NOT THEIR MONEY.
What will happen when he defies the gag order? Are we going to send troops into Mar Lago to arrest him, shoot our way past his armed guards? Even 45 is smart enough to know the fiasco that would ensue. That may well be his plan to save himself, start a war between his supporters and the courts/police. A free country certainly has difficulty with a sociopath who simply refuses to recognize restraints. This is a learning moment for all of us.
Jenny, in today's climate, I think there must be limits. I was so angered by a radio host speaking wiith his co-anchor about President Biden regarding his dog biting someone......that only a dog whose owner was a bad person, would bite someone.....asking her...don't you think that is true? ie the dog's action as a reflection of it's owner's personally. Thankfully she "brushed it off"....making no verbal response.
There is such a climate of disrespect that has grown in our country regarding our fellow human beings. This attitude needs to stop! It is not only rude but dangerous!!!!
It looks to me like McCarty is trying to save power he doesn’t have and as a result has put the country in losing position because he wants to be the Speaker. What a sad excuse for a legislator he is. My mother would tell these yahoos they need to go to their rooms and come out when they can act like people. Disgusting behaviors.
The MAGA extremists in the House put the country in danger like the Republicans in the Senate, who voted to acquit the orange menace instead of removing him from office. They make war on our military in the form of Tommy Tuberville. The "rules" governing the conduct of business in each house of Congress are causing our nation to be put at risk. The Senate is not the performative idiocy that the House is, but Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley are all just as concerned about their personal power as Qevin McCarthy. They just are not as raucous.
I am heartsick that our representatives have been so far unable to find a reasonable way out of this looming government shutdown. It's abuse of the people of the United States who deserve a much higher quality of governance than Republicans are willing to commit to.
“The charitable view is that the first hearing was a dumpster fire inside a clown car wrapped in a fiasco. To put it mildly, the GOP did not bring their best.”
... or, if indeed, that is their best ..., is it time to call on the Ship Scalers of America to dredge the bilge of this ship of state ...?
Kathleen, from what we have seen of the Republicans in Washington in ALL three branches of government since Jimmy Carter was President, this is their best.
The GOP loaded USSC has been legislating from the bench time and again under Roberts.
Boehner, Ryan and now McCarthy were weak and incompetent. They repeatedly reneged on deals they made with Clinton, Obama and Biden.
I really don't know how you do this everyday, Heather Cox Richardson! Sometimes I just feel exhausted by all the hate and evil swirling around the USA. But, your letters always give me hope that someone is listening and finding a positive direction to go. We always learn from people we admire and respect but some of my best lessons have been from people who I cannot respect. Thank you for pointing us away from these kinds of people.
I agree, Colette. This space is very helpful in stabilizing me with solid information rather than heated opinion, especially when there is so much distraction in the air.
Outstanding summary by Heather, ending in a simple declarative statement that the government will be shutdown because Trump and extremists want it and McCarthy has put his speakership before country and constituents.
McCarthy put his EGO before the welfare and reputation of our Country and it’s inhabitants. They are wasting more money, with shutdowns and sham grandstanding investigations--this ‘fiscally conservative’ band of thieves.
And because the House Republicans, however described, would rather go along with the MAGAs than work with Democrats for the good of the country. If even a few felt otherwise, Congress would be functional.
Women have begun to see that if I go through that doorway, I take everybody through it.
___Dianne Feinstein
'No Child Left Behind' requires states and school districts to ensure that all students are learning and are reaching their highest potential. Special education students should not be left out of these accountability mechanisms.
____Dianne Feinstein
College costs continue to rise, and student loan debt threatens to price many Americans out of a college education and out of the middle class.
___Dianne Feinstein
Today we have a health insurance industry where the first and foremost goal is to maximize profits for shareholders and CEOs, not to cover patients who have fallen ill or to compensate doctors and hospitals for their services. It is an industry that is increasingly concentrated and where Americans are paying more to receive less.
___Dianne Feinstein
I basically believe the medical insurance industry should be nonprofit, not profit-making. There is no way a health reform plan will work when it is implemented by an industry that seeks to return money to shareholders instead of using that money to provide health care.
___Dianne Feinstein
Banning guns addresses a fundamental right of all Americans to feel safe.
___Dianne Feinstein
Congressional overseers and the public must be given appropriate insight into government activities as well as their legal rationale to ensure America's values are being upheld and our interests advanced.
___ Dianne Feinstein
‘James Haas was a San Francisco land use attorney, and a gay man who was not yet out in 1970, when he became an informal advisor to Dianne Feinstein.’
‘He also authored the city’s most abiding epigram about Feinstein’s relationship to the gay community:
“Dianne Feinstein doesn’t care who you sleep with,” he famously quipped, “as long as you’re in bed by 11 o’clock.”
“From her time serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors with Harvey Milk to her battle to protect transgender service members, Dianne Feinstein has been a champion for LGBTQ equality and social justice,” Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide gay civil rights organization, said in endorsing her final campaign in 2018. “Senator Feinstein stood with our community back when few others did.” (Politico) See link below.
'Dianne Feinstein, who died Friday at the age of 90, made history as the first woman to become mayor of her hometown of San Francisco.'
'A graduate of Stanford University, Feinstein began her career in politics when she was appointed by Gov. Pat Brown to the California Women's Parole Board in 1960. Nine years later, she was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and was elected president of the board in 1978.'
'She became mayor of San Francisco in 1978 following the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. The following year she was elected to the first of two four-year terms.
She was elected to the U.S. Senate in a 1992 special election. becoming California's first female U.S. senator. It was an election cycle that became known as the "Year of the Woman" for the record number of female candidates elected to Congress.'
'Feinstein was re-elected five times and in the 2012 election, she received 7.86 million votes, the most popular votes received by any U.S. Senate candidate in history.'
'President Biden said in a statement. "Often the only woman in the room, Dianne was a role model for so many Americans - a job she took seriously by mentoring countless public servants," Biden said Friday. "Dianne was tough, sharp, always prepared, and never pulled a punch, but she was also a kind and loyal friend, and that's what [First lady] Jill and I will miss the most."
For a list of her accomplishments:
https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/key-accomplishments
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/09/29/dianne-feinstein-legacy-00116902
It was sad to watch her deteriorate in the last months of her life, but that does not take away from a lifetime of service to her principles and to all Americans. Who can step up to fill her place in history?
They are waiting in the wings. America has no shortage of greatness but an overabundance of mediocrity and willful ignorance. I don't know why the papers are calling Feinstein a "centrist" when she was always a boat rocker.
Another Reader on this page has their own Substack page, and had an interesting counterpoint to answer your question about her position as a centrist. I've not read far enough to see if they've commented.
I lived in the Bay Area in the early 1980's and dimly recall being a bit taken aback by some of the decisions she made as Mayor of San Francisco, but overall felt she was a good choice. She definitely was a "boat rocker", albeit a more conservative one than people expect from a Democratic Senator from California.
Her legacy should not be tainted by the way it finished, the last few years maybe regrettable but they don't erase all the positives she accomplished in her career that were truly progressive. The meanings of labels are constantly shifting and should be avoided. Judge people by their actions and not the way they are described by others. Leaders at all levels of government make unpopular decisions, Democrats are not excluded. SF is a difficult place to govern for sure!
I don't disagree with a lot of what you've written. Senator Feinstein was a trailblazer in so many ways, and I believe opened a lot of doors for other women to have success in politics at all levels. I do, however, caution against the inevitable hagiography that often happens when a true trailblazer dies.
Ally, I don't know that same standards in judging 'hagiography', a 'biography that idealizes its subject', would apply in this setting. Having cautioned, to quote you, 'against the inevitable hagiography that often happens when a true trailblazer dies' in reply to BlueRootsRadio, have you noted that on this thread? I've read of strong admiration and positive examples of her work but not idealized fabrications. You mentioned some vague disappointment in her on occasion, without going into anything specific. Our memories aren't always up to such a task. I'm sure you are not alone in finding some fault with Feinstein. I for one, would be interested in what you may remember that disappointed you.
Had to look up hagiography...beautiful word.
People who make decisions that will affect other people will NEVER make everyone happy, even if they try. I don't know a lot about Diane Feinstein, but I will now learn.
Yes she was, but a bit conservative was the way it was in the party back then.
I grew up in the Bay Area ('50s) and was involved as a kid in dem politics. She was of a social stratta that was, by it's nature, more conservative, but the times were changing and her values guided her actions. She rocked a lot of boats.
Seaking of "Boat Rockers" WBUR's "On,Point" has posted HCR's 46.33 minute interview titled "Historian Heather Cox Richardson's Notes on the state of America". wbur.org
Thanks, Bryan. I missed the first half of that, and your link gave me a quick way to catch all of it. I needed to hear this.
Certainly, I found it interesting to listen to HCR in a dialogue with a Host with a more general Audience listening..
The Democrats have a very deep, impressively deep bench, and not just in Congress. Take a look at the statehouses. Take a look at the state legislatures. OK, maybe not the one in my state (MA), although there are some standouts there too, but when a state like Tennessee produces a trio like Justin, Justin & Gloria, I'm encouraged.
Because to true leftists, she was close to being Republican.
Never mind that as a woman in the 70s and 80s, she had to be more conservative to get elected. Never mind that she lived through the shooting and made sure people remembered it. She's not Milk.
Never mind that like Obama, she got laws passed that were compromises.
It's a lot like Obama.
Joe Biden can push more progressive policies because he's an old white guy. Obama is called a Communist for pushing Mitt Romney's health insurance plan.
For all the canonization of Bernie Sanders, the people who get laws written and enacted are Obama, Feinstein, Biden types.
People forget, or were not politically aware, how far right the Democrats shifted in the 80's chasing after Reagan. It didn't get much better in the 90's but in those days Feinstein set GOP legislator's hair on fire. Most political careers in my mind follow the pattern of a sine wave, hers was longer than most. For me her biggest "sin" was staying on the job too long i.e. RBG, but that doesn't erase her vast accomplishments.
Forget all the labels coming from the right, we're all pinko commie LGBTQ Antifa fascists. You learn about the origin of their labeling in a great chapter in Democracy Awakening.
True about Bernie but to his credit, his dogged persistence influenced all of them to maintain the liberal consensus. For cryin' out loud, Biden walked a picket line last week.
'nuff for me.
My problem with Bernie is that you might find him on a picket line, but he gets no legislation passed and he votes against good legislation because it's not pure enough.
That and he wouldn't release his tax returns and he wouldn't concede in 2016.
We lost two national elections badly. After we had lost to Nixon/Agnew TWICE.
The Left wouldn't vote for Humphrey and Ted Kennedy did his best to torpedo Jimmy Carter (who was a conservative Democrat in many ways) so I think the party leadership went with appealing to the voters who gave a two bit actor the largest landslide in US history.
If I had been related to Feinstein, I would have worked to get her out of there.
But then again, if I were related to Trump, I wouldn't have let him run at all. For the same reason.
@Notes, For me what was particularly sad was that the country at-large didn’t recognize the sheer will that enabled Feinstein to hang in as colleagues alerted her to a Senate rule that would have required her replacement to meet a 60-vote threshold to take her seat on the Judiciary Committee.
Agree, I’d read that recently how Democrats would likely lose the spot on the judiciary committee if she resigned and then her hanging on made sense to me.
I was not aware of this.
Susan, Regrettably, most of the country was unaware. Hence, I view posting what was happening behind the scenes as my small contribution to Senator Feinstein’s legacy.
She was one of a kind, and leaves big shoes to fill. Three excellent candidates are running for her seat. I'm supporting Katie Porter, but I would readily vote for Adam Schiff or Barbara Lee.
At first, I was somewhat dubious as to her instance to continue serving. But after reading a bit more about her (and her experience in San Francisco, seeing her colleagues having died in the midst of THEIR service) I can see why she chose to stay.
She dedicated her life to service. And she gave that service everything.
Diane Feinstein mentored so many young people. Someone capable will emerge.
Thank you Fern. It is good to be reminded of true value with so much sh!t hitting the fan!!
So good to see you this morning, Kathleen Allen. You always bring your beautiful spirit to us.
Thank you Fern - more likely, the beautiful spirit brings me - and I am great-full for that!!
Highlighting her accomplishments is as respectful as it gets. Could be so much baloney, but she may have known in her being that she was going and wanted to leave as a still productive Senator. She served our nation and our people well.
Thank you. Impossible to disagree with any of those quotes. She will be hard to replace.
A healthcare industry that is profit motivate is not a healthcare industry. Healthcare that is profit motivated is insane. Shouldn't the motivation be healthcare?
Harvey, I always note with amusement and some anger when a healthcare company (had a cousin who worked in the industry and she called it death care) advertises how much they really care. If they did, they wouldn't have to advertise.
Harvey, au contraire, mon ami!
A business that is fueling the stock market, such as the medical insurance field, is NOTHING but an industry - and it certainly does NOT allow for nor provide a healthy citizenry, simply judging by how sickly Americans both appear to be as well as how we act. (howz that for a run-a-long sentence)
We are a sickly lot, both in spirit, body and mind.
And our food industry lets these companies make HPF (highly processed foods) which causes so much sickness: diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease to name a few. But how could our “death care” stay in business without these products. Capitalism at its finest!! Sarcasm speaking. Makes me so sad that people are eating this crap because it’s cheap and very available.
So, Frederick, you begin your difference with Harvey in French. That caught my attention. I will stick to English in my effort to clarify points that you made. The word 'industry' has wide application, and that includes both profit and non-profit organizations. If you would like to check with Britannica, their link is the following:
https://www.britannica.com/money/topic/industry.
We could have a non-profit healthcare industry, but that still sounds more like a fantasy than a realistic possibility in the US.
In general, I thought you and Harvey were in agreement about the Healthcare Industry in the US.
We did have a health insurance industry that started as nonprofit entities that sprang up through community associations, at least in the northeast. Blue cross Blue Shield and HIP are two in New York that started out that way.
Thank you, Fern, for this tribute to a great statesperson.
No question that Senator Feinstein was one of the greatest of all time, if not the greatest.
She almost short-circuited Kavanaugh's appointment to the USSC along with her fellow Democrats on the committee. Thankfully she did bring in Dr. Ford to testify, even though the Republicans on the committee did everything they could to threaten her and her family.
Hopefully Governor Newsome will appoint a qualified candidate to fill in for Senator Feinstein until the 2024 election.
Thanks for an amazing career of public service Senator! You are loved and missed!
Fern, thank you for reminding us of all of Diane Feinstein’s statements that were so brave at the time and helped move the Overton window on so many issues. It can be so easy to remember the ill woman who dragged herself to work to do the country’s business on the Judiciary Committee; the GOP was so heartless in insisting that she could not be temporarily replaced so that she could stay home and get well.
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/mcconnell-makes-clear-gop-support-replacing-feinstein-judiciary/story?id=98664547
Mary, I, too, think she “took one for the team” given McConnell’s stance.
Thank you Fern for these notes. Mark me as grateful in Milwaukee WI. I always look for your remarks and appreciate them. I agree with D Feinstein re the health insurance industry should be non profit. I think healthcare should be protected from the speculative markets as should other sectors such as residential housing just as one example. Certain life essentials should be protected by scaffolds of strong laws on behalf of humans (not on behalf of for profit corporations who presently count on bailouts). Legislators need to work for their human constituents and build structures that protect them. So much has been ceded to the speculative markets--just about everything. The wealth of the country is being siphoned off to a small percentage of people.
Thank you, Fern. That is an Incredible collection of wisdom by a truly great American.
Diane Feinstein never gave up.
Post that list as a reminder the Government is by and for the people.
Fern, do you mind if I post your comment on my FB page? I don't want to post it without your permission.
Colette, it would be excellent to spread Dianne Feinstein's commitment to the welfare, equality, and justice of the people. Please do not use my name. Thank you for your idea and consideration. Salud!
Okay...I will see if I am tech savvy enough to take your name off of it before I post it! Thanks.
So good to be reminded of what is possible...Dianne’s values and principles were evident in all she did. Thank you.
Do you have your own letter Fern?
Your comments here are always very individual and well prepared, you should have a voice yourself.
Thank you for your question and attention, Christopher Colles. One of the satisfactions of subscribing to LFAA is that Heather Cox Richardson inspires us to understand what is happening in the US. She and subscribers, such as you, encourage me to keep learning.
Contributing to our dialogue is a rich reward. Salud!
Thank you for your eulogy to a great light, long shall she shine in you and many, many others ❤️
Except you didn't answer my question.
Hello, Christopher. I thought I had replied to this question of yours hours ago, which, clearly, did not appear. What is more, I believed that I had answered the first time. I am satisfied with being a subscriber and independent enough to very rarely raise a subject or person that was not covered in HCR's Letter. I didn't have the time and energy this morning to write a strong comment about the meaning of Ukraine and the meaning of Putin. It would have connected to HCR's Letter but makes the point that I've tried to elucidate. I didn't have the time or energy this morning; writing 'Letters' requires a type of responsibility, effort and style of communication on a regular basis, which does not suit me. I appreciate your persistence, Christopher. Cheers!
Christopher, you put it so well. I always look for Fern’s comments—I always learn something from her words and shared links.
Me too.
Me, three.
I notice that they rarely have anything to do with the discussion or the letter commented on... and they clog up the comments.
You should encourage them to write their own letter.
Thanks so much for the reminders, Fern. She was, as so many have noted, smart. But she commanded respect through thorough preparation and full command of the facts. The accolades that have poured in since the announcement of her death, even on Fox notNews, speak to the integrity and brilliance she placed in service to this country for so long.
And not just a health industry whose foremost goal is to maximize profit but all big industry as well as Congress and the Supreme Court
Nice tribute Fern... Brava ~
Thank you for this. I wrote to Senator Feinstein about numerous issues over the years. I always got a reasoned, intelligent response. I will miss her very much. She embodied for me what it means to be a responsible and civil public servant.
Quiverin' Qevin has shown himself to be a feckless, worthless coward, a political incompetent, a liar who can't be trusted farther than you can see him with your eyes closed. He's hated by both Republicans and Democrats. How the country survives the next 13 months of what he has loosed on us is something I can't figure out.
As to the 48 Fweedumbererasses, they are traitors who have declared war on the United States. They need to be rousted at midnight, and disappear into pretrial detention. Personally, I'd like to see all 137 of the traitors in both houses of Congress arrested.
I’m with you on that. 137 members of Congress tried to overthrow their own government. And, yet they are still in office. How is that possible?
I agree! Why are they still collecting paychecks from an institution they sought to destroy?
There is a bill introduced to prevent Congressional pay if there is a forced shutdown. That pay should be suspended seems gobsmacking obvious! https://craig.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-angie-craig-introduces-mccarthy-shutdown-act-stop-member-pay-during
But they all have so much money from insider trading that it’s not a issue for them
That’s why organizations such a CREW (among others) exist: https://www.citizensforethics.org/ Like the character “Sunny” played by Goldie Hawn in “Protocol”, we will be watching them “like a hawk”.
I thought it was in the Constitution that pay cannot be changed during members’ term in office...can’t remember the exact wording. I apologize if the answer is in your link Barbara, haven’t had enough coffee to read everything!
I haven’t read the bill (only the press release so far) & perhaps it won’t affect the current situation anyway…I mostly like that someone in Congress agrees with the idea enough to pitch a bill!
And food programs, Head Start, most of the IRS and damn near everything else will shut down. Federal employees and the military won't be paid. Worst is that this signals to our enemies that we are an extremely unstable and weak country.
What gets me is that yes - this happens in a shutdown BUT the Rs want to cut back the food programs, headstart, HEAP (of all things) without a shutdown!!
What a great billboard opportunity! Tell the public exactly WHAT these yahoos really want to do.
Exactly and it seems they have been following this mess of our country for some time now. Biden has helped so much but he can only do so much
Just bear in mind, whatever we read and see in the news, so do they, and they also have their spies, just like we do. Imagine the president's anguish when MTG displayed those pictures of Hunter Biden, if nothing else. And knowing that although Trump lost in 2020, he's still very much involved in what happens in Congress and has been charged with more crimes than any other political figure in the world's modern history. Worst is knowing they are watching his putrid "campaign" which consists of nothing more than "retribution," and it has started with this government shutdown, which he has openly orchestrated.
And that is what bothers me the most that these people listen to him based on his hate filled speeches. I disagree that they read or hear what the left is doing. Faux news only lies and twists the truth and the word socialism is now a four lettered word for them. Not knowing that these big corporations get it and the mainstream people don’t! Politics is too brutal for me but I will continue to read HCR no matter what
Who are the grifters now. Free money with lots of time off for bad behavior.
I, too, am waiting for the traitors in both houses of Congress to be arrested and held accountable for their actions leading up to 6 January and beyond, and to not disregard those who have assumed office since the 2020 election who are continuing the charade of governance.
Good for you. They deserve it.
TC, I couldn't say it better, so I'll not try. What I will do is add to your thoughts by adding what I've already said elsewhere: It should by now be as obvious to anyone paying the least bit of attention, that those farthest 'wrong' right wing extremists, seek not to govern, but to "reign" the majority of not only congress, but even we the people. Vain, quivering Kevin will not be treated well by history, nor should he; He's an absolute embarrassment. He should never even be recorded as a 'speaker' of the house, because he's never actually held the strings that move him about.
Again, the Republican right earns F's for both legislating and oversight; digital F's.
I have yet to see a plausible discussion of what a vote for the next Speaker would look like.
David Was it in Treasure Island where there was a scene of a pirate walking the plank? Certainly there would be House Raucous Caucus sharks swirling in the waters below.
Or perhaps it would be a Russian roulette game with a bullet for the loser.
Santos seems an appropriate speaker replacement for McCarthy because of his sterling character.
Yeah, Right! Santos lies as well or better than McCarty. If there were a god one would ask for help. There ain't none a coming from on high, so vote blue.
I’m a ceramic artist and I’m working on a project called “The Yam People “ inspired by a comment from someone on Substack who referred to DT as Yam Face. The Yam People are small and unfired. You can make them disappear back into mud by putting them in water. My brother, who lives in Florida, got the first one. He named it DeYamtis and plans to have him walk the plank.
Perfect, Suzan - you should be able to retire with that project.
Susan I Yam in favor of your project, but don’t make the potato seem sweet, because those potato heads are not. Can I get a Fat Yammy in his Jammy (with ketchup)?
Santos for Speaker! Wonderful, hilarious. A little sunshine at a terrible time - thanks.
Lol Keith !
Perfect! 😄😄😄😄😄
But also incredibly sad.
And length of service to the nation.
ZERO!
Yes! Yes! (s/, of course). Not very photogenic, but that doesn't seem to help much (on the contrary).
It will make the frat party scene in Animal House look like a poetry reading.
Funny, yet not funny ... that they were elected when each is unfit to represent, to work on behalf of their constituents reveals much about those constituents. It’s rather a searing tell on gerrymandering, too.
Absolutely, their constituents are getting exactly the kind of inefficient/incompetent government they deserve. The rest of us have to live with it and will until those districts turn back around which they will eventually be forced to do.
Sometimes we gotta laugh or we all go crazy.
That’s the Republican mess all over. Burn it down without any thought or plan for what comes next
And isn’t that Trump’s MO? If he can’t have what he wants, he will take everyone down with him. Don’t think he isn’t smiling as he is watching all of this.
What comes next is their wet dream, a fascist state where a handful of white men rule, and every one else serves them.
Steve Bannon's plan for years.
What was that movie about a bum who ends up impersonating a rich Beverly Hills guy? Nick Nolte played him. If Congress picked a bum off the street it would be an improvement.
It’s mind-blowing that one person, McCarthy, can shut down the federal government out of pure self-interest. And he will never look in the mirror and feel any regret for the hardships he’s causing across the land - nor for eroding America’s dwindling prestige.
House GOP’s Clown Car Dumpster Fire?
Kevin McCarthy demonstrates how its done by allowing his radical Freedumb Caucus to dictate their juvenile (ie not serious) last gasps of relevance by impeaching Joe Biden; if only to give the Twice Impeached Child King Donald Trump some satisfaction that history might see Biden in the same light as himself
Behind closed doors an anonymous Republican voice was heard muttering, “See? I told you this would be a trainwreck”
You and me both! Plus Michael Moore who’s asked over and over why are these insurrectionists seated in Congress when they participated in a coup?
Also, evidently Republicans have no interest in policing their own members. They know they’d lose control of Congress. It’s so tight in both chambers, Representatives and Senators are afraid to take a bathroom break.
However, the Dobbs Decision is what has done in the GOP.
Thank the SCOTUS for the losses Republicans are about to suffer in 2024. Women are having none of it, Gen X is rising and will work toward removing the white supremacists old fogies party. Why are seditionists permitted to govern? They’ve stated their purpose, they’ve been unfaithful to their oaths, side line them at the very least. But then again, we wouldn’t have the clown circus shit show impeachment “hearings”.
I guess the up side could be the Democrats taking the bull by the horns and exposing Jordan and Comer as the asses they were born to be every time they open their pie holes and stupid rolls out.
They were doing a pretty good job on Jordan and Comer at the "hearings" Thursday.
That’s a bit extreme because it opens a door we might better keep closed, but I certainly appreciate the sentiment. Thinking about Christie’s renaming DT Donald Duck, I woke up in the middle of the night with this little ditty going through my head: Donald Duck, What a quack, All he does is yak, yak, yak. Please feel free to have some fun with this one😊
Where oh where are the FEMA camps the government was preparing for when all the conservatives are arrested? (/snark)
Calling them “traitors” to our democracy is certainly not hyperbole. Our most potent weapon against them and the other members of the GOP, who are complicit by their silence, is to VOTE!!
I so agree!
I think that feckless Qevin lives in his own little bubble-gum world, like so many of the crazy-town Rs do.
I keep remembering how proud he was when (after 15 freaking votes!!!) he was finally made Speaker. I think in his head everything is just peachy and he's loved and revered. Reality doesn't touch him.
Thank you Heather. Impeachment is a very serious process which should be reserved for criminal acts such as attempting to extort allies, deep corruption, insurrection, and other major offenses.
Historically, the GOP has used the procedure to attack the Clinton administration, and now, as retribution for the Biden/Harris administration, and the success they have achieved since taking office.
Any fiscal conservatives who are not screaming about the waste of taxpayer money on what is nothing more than a continuation of the January 6th attack by fringe extremists on the American system are not conservatives at all, but just part of the MAGA sociopathic circus.
Comer, Jordan, Gaetz, and all the others in Congress, as well as State/Local government should be held to account for their actions in subverting the American system, whether through efforts to not certify the 2020 elections, or their work to seriously weaken the U.S. economy (and to align themselves with Putin in his illegal war against Ukraine.)
McCarthy's quest for personal power has subjugated him to everyone. Whether authorizing a ridiculous impeachment, assigning incompetents like Marjorie Taylor Greene to powerful committees, or his fealty to the criminal Trump, if McCarthy refuses to work with the Democrats to prevent the shutdown he is done.
I think it is time for a few of the vulnerable House Republicans to be thinking about switching parties so the threat of being primaried is removed. Some grateful Democratic state party machines might be willing to put out a welcome mat. Of course they could go the less confrontational route and switch to independents but choose to caucus with the Democrats in return for after-Congress homes in bipartisanly inclined think tanks or cabinet and commission posts in a Democratic administration that would want to heal the great partisan divide.
Just sayin...
Why in the names of the gods would any self-respecting Democrat vote for a turncoat former Republican? Do not Kristen Enema and the creep from WVA not give you pause? Nor Santos? Nor the Dallas mayor Eric Johnson flipping 4 days ago?
Why should the Dems clean up the trash on the other side of the floor?
Why would anyone think that placing traitors in positions you name makes our government better?
Did you notice that Gov Abbott wants to build a wall, between TX and NM?
Where did you hear Abbot wants to build a wall between NM and TX? I haven’t heard anything about that on local media.
"Why should the Dems clean up the trash on the other side of the floor? "
Ed, because that's not what would be happening. It is appropriate to open the doors to people who are seeking a place of refuge from any so-called political party that enforces group think with manipulation and tactics of intimidation. In the past many of these people have worked with Dems on common issues and still are. If our goal is a Congress that is functional, we need to embrace those who choose to make that change, whether formally or informally.
To call them "trash" is part of the problem: dividing the world into them and us, and thinking that we are better than the other. What does that make us if not elitists and snobs and the very thing we claim to abhor? Demeaning name-calling reveals the kind of person you are and says nothing about what we can do if we hold out our hands.
Okay, that's pretty darn brilliant. Basically, they pull the ol' Kyrsten Sinema to empower the enemy in order in the short term and to get to the next election, but to do it in a way that they don't fully clothe themselves in the enemy's uniform. So fun and interesting when all the seedy, smarmy, base tactics the GOP has taught us all these years finally become useful tools to do some good for a change!
Do we really want to endorse wolves into our ranks and dress them up as sheep? Bringing them into our flock knowing they remains Republicans at heart could have unfortunate consequences, i.e., undermining the party platform and eat the chickens in our roost (I enjoy stiring metaphors). Better to run a Democrat of merit, than a turncoat needing to hold onto "their" seat.
Correct. One Manchin is too many.
This ⬆️⬆️!
The point is to that we need to stop the crazy in the House NOW, not in 2025 if Biden will be able to accomplish ANYTHING else in his first term. Things will be at a total standstill. It is not like Democrats would be going in blind but it would potentially induce some of the secretly centrist Republicans to face reality. And there has to be bipartisanship for the government to function. Most administrations have had agency and board heads, ambassadors and cabinet members from the other party. With a handful of Republicans switching affiliation out of their caucus the chaos caucus is effectively defanged and McCarthy is potentially replaced by someone less stupid and craven.
With the Republicans in the majority in the House they will keep the lights off and do as much damage to government as they possibly can and complete destroy US credibility by preventing further aid to Ukraine or tanking the economy.
Yes.
Interesting that the more power McCarthy seeks, the less he seems to have.
It's like a 21st century zen koan. :)
Thank you, George. I like how you have linked these latest actions to the January 6 attack of the Capitol.
It seems clear to me. Whether fringe extremists and direct violence on January 6th, the GOP senators who voted against certification of the electoral results, those who have continued to perpetuate the lie, those who have attempted to defund investigations and subsequent indictments of Trump, those participating in a extremist fantasy impeachment, and those seeking to weaken the economy while giving aid and comfort to an adversary -I view it as all connected. Those in elected positions are, in my view, far more dangerous. They are textbook examples as to why the 3rd section of the 14th amendment exists.
As do I George - all connected 'dots.' May we all live long enough to see all the dirty truths, nationally, state, and local, that have been planned and perpetrated on we the people, which of course among other things included the broad and wide gerrymandering we suffer from. Conversely, I'd love that it happen sooner than later, but, I do know how things actually work, sadly. At any rate, I love the news today.. thanks good Dr. !
Morning, Lynell! I agree 100%,
Afternoon, Ally! My internet is taking its sweet time sending posts to me!
No worries!
Well done, George. The conduct of the Klown Kar Kawkus is but an extension of the plot that was hatched to prevent the peaceful transition of power that was displayed in the seditious conduct in and around the Capitol on 6/January. They've done nothing but disrupt the government and attempt to establish authoritarian rule.
Period. End of story. I will continue to look for your fine comments, George.
Has anyone out there tallied up exactly how much taxpayer money (ie our money) has been spent on the “Freedom Caucus” this year alone? I suggest we send them a bill for services not rendered. Meanwhile, We the People elected a competent leader In President Biden, so let’s help rid ourselves of these nincompoops so that he and his Administration can keep working for all of us.
I feel pretty gleeful watching the bad guys lose here, but in the long game this is terrible. I really can't think of a more effective way to turn the US into a one-party government. I hope it doesn't work.
I listened Friday evening to Biden’s full speech from earlier this week in Arizona, and I know he's thinking the same thing. He saved his realest real talk for the audience who was most likely to be chock-full of old school Republicans, and at the same time he was calling out their bullshit he was saying, "come on guys, I know this isn't you."
The top Democrat in America trying to save the Republican party from itself ❤️
How could anyone watch Biden’s speech in Arizona and then listen to the Repuliclowns’ claims of Biden in his basement, Biden as mentally incompetent, Biden as too old, etc. etc.
And, as a resident of California, I heard that Fat Nixon, after a diatribe about whales beaching themselves by the dozen because of windmills (?), said it was time to make California Great Again.
I’ve lived here since 1976 and California is already pretty effing great.
I too challenge anyone thinking Joe is senile, feeble, in dementia to actually watch that whole speech. A troll here complains Biden didn’t write the speech, just read from the teleprompter. That troll did not watch the speech. There were some noisy interrupters, whom Biden convinced to wait the the end, when he would meet with him. It was the best speech I have ever seen him give.
Yep Helga; well observed on your part. That's the magic a 'people person' like Joe can and does work.
Well said, Helga. And agreed.
Don’t worry about one party Dem rule, Helga. The Dems are too volatile a coalition to stay one party long.They will split.
🤣🤣🤣 (funny. But not funny. Just had a conversation yesterday with a centrist Dem who was all up in arms about “the progressive nutballs” who loaded up the Inflation Reduction Act and caused this Republican shutdown effort. Sigh.)
Sounds a bit like people who argue that Ukraine and NATO made Russia invade.
Even the Rs have dropped pretending that their tantrum power grab has anything to do with funding. Now they are pretending it's about a border wall.
But the defunding would cut back the number of border agents. Ohhh, maybe the border agents are the ones who search American citizens’ vehicles as they cross the border? The vast majority of the fentanyl coming across is hidden in vehicles.
The chaos agents don’t care about anything other than gaining attention by causing pain. Who gets hurt doesn’t matter, as long as it’s not themselves or their big donors. Despicable Kevin, or any 4 Republican congresspersons, could prevent a shutdown by calling for a House vote on the bipartisan Senate bill. But they don’t, because they might lose their jobs if they have the basic decency to do them.
Yep. Get the republican base riled up.
Seriously?? Ugh.
Ha! You're likely right there!
The problem is, we are already a one-party government, which is counter-balanced by a bunch of bungling, knee-capping thugs.
Truly difficult to fathom which path Republican's are following; one to nowhere the other defeat. Thanks to the undeniable fact the Republican leadership accepted and are still trumpeting their disgraced leader's lies, they are steadily losing the so called youth vote and as we old white geezers and geezettes die off whatever base they had.
Not so long ago I was concerned with the possibility that Mr Trump could return to the Oval Office, but thanks to the non stop clown show he is headlining, that fear is lagging. I can only trust we have had our fill with the hucksters and charlatans who accompanied him in his term and will pack the House and Senate with reasonable men and women from both parties.
With all this manure there has to be a pony somewhere around here.
Geezettes 🤣Love it, Ian!
As for manure, it's more likely a Clydesdale rather than a pony, but I get your point!
Your comment is definitely political art…. Thanks
Geezette here, Ian! Thanks for the shoutout. ✊🏻😉
My children are in their 30s. I guess it depends on your perspective as to whether that’s the “youth vote.” They’re both married, with families of their own, so I don’t. However, since they were in high school, I’ve watched the perspectives of their age cohort. Republicans started losing them on gender and race issues before they graduated, and for that, I’m grateful.
My daddy always said, check the water content in the manure before you start burning it. In a week's time, these geldings will be tripping over their singularly useful products, road apples.
I fear though the cult members are not paying attention to the actual clown show. They are only listening to fox the pretend news station talking points about Biden bad and tfg good.
I differ with you on one point only Ian: You say geezettes, I would have said 'gazelles'. Admittedly it doesn't carry the same punch or punch flavor as geezettes, but I like it better. Bravo anyway brother ~ all cheer the manure sweepers !
The “manure sweepers” in the motion picture industry were in the “craft service department” and whenever we needed to remove “horse apples” from a shot they were asked to bring a “nine iron”. 😎
Please, please, please Jim Jordan schedule another impeachment hearing ASAP! With the writer’s strike not completely resolved we still don’t have any late night shows to watch for political satire. You’re doing the writer’s work for them.
Better hurry Gym. Those late night shows will be back on Monday. And SNL is sure to come.
Lol ~
Not only is this an embarrassment for the American people but an embarrassment on the world stage. We could not look more like a third world country. It is time for a coalition government without Kevin McCarthy who has demonstrated his incapacity to lead.
Which we had always sort of suspected all along...
Local columnist for the LA Times described Our Kevin as an invertebrate. Seems appropriate.
LOL! Thank You, Maria!!
“To put it mildly, the GOP did not bring their best.” A misnomer, don’t you think? The “Grand Old Party” is a shell, an empty suit, an unfunny joke, a destruction derby, but with the power to make chump’s legal troubles go away - they think. And the cost, America’s hard-earned reputation as a beacon of integrity and sanity in a crazy world. Flawed but trying to do the right thing. May Churchill’s observation still apply. “Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else.”
In this case, “the right thing” may be to write a new Constitution. Seriously folks, the *hit show being put on by the Republicans led by the greatest destroyer of the existing remnants of American Democracy is showcasing the weaknesses of our existing system like never before. While fighting the good fight in what is left of a democracy ratified in 1778, maybe it is time to think of the next evolution for governance. There are no alternatives to the shell of our democracy yet, but now it is time to address the real problems lurking behind the current unreality show and envision an evolution of governance that gives the power back to the people.
Agreed. It is either that or a whole lot of amendments.
But a Constitutional Convention scares me. The Republican (pardon me, MAGA) party and the conservatives (Federalist Party and Heritage Foundation, et. al.) would want to be there with their power grabbing s**t show. They would not want a constitution but permission slips to do all sorts of awful things (like their Project 2025).
Then there would be all sorts of compromises, like the one on slavery in our current Constitution that resulted in the Civil War to end slavery (and that in turn led us to our current mess of with MAGA and white supremacy).
Then to get all (and I mean ALL) the states to agree to it.
The absolutely worst idea imaginable is a Constitutional Convention. Every single Amendment in the Bill of Rights would be gone except the 2nd. Say goodbye to the 14th and possibly the 22nd and the 20th, as well.
Catastrophically bad idea. The Constitution was deliberately designed to be difficult to amend. And for good reason.
I agree with your comments. As long as voter suppression is rife in the red states, a Constitutional Convention would be the death knell for any gains of law, principles and democracy that have evolved this far into our Nation’s ‘young’ history.
I agree. there is no controlling what happens once a constitutional convention starts. (see former Sen Russ Feingold's book on this very subject )
Yes, the billionaires will be lining up to help write a new constitution, and it will make our present one look swell.
Should the Heritage Foundation be able to put their “Project 2025” into effect we will have no choice but to come up with a new system of governance to replace it. The envisioning should start now. “If you will it, it is no dream.” )Theodor Herzl, the first visionary of a Jewish State for displaced Jews.)
They are biding their time, just waiting because it would be the ultimate power grab.
Marc, appreciate your comments. We are not teaching our children well....and I mean all our children beginning in Kindergarten!!!! It must be required. Otherwise how will we have a citizenry prepared to govern themselves and have the knowledge and insight to vote for decent persons who respect what it means to lead. We must include and encourage our young voters to participate and assist our older voters who may have challenges getting to polling places.
Honesty in media presentations has become more and more of a problem and must be addressed. Propaganda must be addressed for the safety of our citizenry and candidates.
Rules of law must be taught and respected if we want to accomplish good for our country and all of its citizens....if we want to be the "Light" we were meant to be.
First things first Marc. We have to round up all the crapping ponies, manure, etc. first. (credits for pony / ponies to Ian !)
Yes I agree.
Apparently there is no proof that Churchill ever said that -
As King put it: "Winston Churchill once famously observed that Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else."
While there are whole volumes dedicated to Churchill's famous sayings, it's that backhanded compliment to America that's especially popular among politicians on this side of the Atlantic.
Republican Reps. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Tom Cole of Oklahoma, and Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington are just a few of the many American lawmakers who have borrowed that line to add gravitas and a bit of humor to their speeches.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., often turns to the Churchill quote to provide a lighthearted conclusion to an otherwise gloomy message about the U.S. debt burden.
Warner used the line so often, in fact, his staff decided to put it on a plaque or some other memento. But when they went to research the origins of the line, they came up empty, despite blood, toil, tears and sweat.
https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/10/28/241295755/a-churchill-quote-that-u-s-politicians-will-never-surrender
Just like the old saw about if you want ears to perk up to your points, attribute the remark as made by Ben Franklin. Lol ~
Thanks. I love the facts.
Amazingly, Jeri, it appears that we are seeing the BEST that the GOP can bring. Scary!
No GOP, no best. Just mob boss and his underlings
I certainly don't see any "hard earned reputation as a beacon of integrity and sanity in a crazy world." What I do see is a 'warmongering USA. Full of lies.
We've been guilty of that too, but I've seen the other side. One does get jaded after I heard Daddy Bush blather about Reagan's shinning city on the hill about the time he also approved the Willy Horton ad. Lots of hypocrisy, but lots of people trying to do the right thing, even billionaires at one time.
Damn Jeri; where 'do' you find those quotes ?
Got a zillion in my head, may be empty of anything else.
Even among many great Letters, this one is a doozy. I was in a public place yesterday, and the TV was tuned to Fox. I couldn't hear the sound, but I saw the video. The best part was seeing Jamie Raskin without a scarf and clearly wiping up the floor with the committee. Last night I was watching Ari Melber and howled with laughter when James Carville described McCarthy. He said, “You know, when you elect a bowl of Jell-O, what you get is a bowl of Jell-O, and it’s not gonna change! And the reason that they put him in there is because he was a bowl of Jell-O... I mean, at some level, I guess he’s a personable guy. As a human being, in one sense, you have some sympathy for him. And then you think about how craven he is and you say, ‘Nah, I don’t feel sorry for him. The hell with him.’ But I mean, it’s amazing what these people put him through to retain power. But again, I think just like, cruelty is largely the point. I think they enjoy causing Kevin McCarthy pain. I do. I think these are very cruel people.” And cruelty is exactly the point of everything they do. Cruelty and chaos. Meanwhile many military families and the families of federal employees will soon be living without a paycheck because the clown car spent its time pretending they knew how to do an impeachment hearing instead of dealing with the looming government shutdown.
"The cruelty is the point".
Bingo!
Because they are psychopaths.
Or maybe they are crafty thieves whose aim is to steal the government of the United States.
All of the above.
I don’t think the point is cruelty, Barbara. Although I don’t think they mind the cruelty. I think it’s all to crowd Biden’s accomplishments off the front pages. Look how well it’s working. Biden has to go all over the world just to publicize himself.
I believe this strategy is also a ‘look over here’ stunt because they are doing something else sly behind the nation’s back. I think that has to do with illegal election manipulation at every level, and more things too.
They keep the journalists and reporters busy with atrocities like Biden’s trumped up impeachment. And this is coming from the mainstream press now.
The owners of these news outlets decide what not to print.
Nobody ever says the word ‘takeover’.
It was worth reading through just to get here, Barbara. Thanks. I think you hit it on the head about the primary motivation for these people being cruelty. Their model, after all, was Trump.
At least right now, McCarthy grew some and enabled a stop-gap bill to pass. It might cost him his coveted speaker job. But might not: hard to tell how the rest of the house Republicans might play without the extremists. I hope McCarthy has learned that the tactics he gave into the first round are not doing anybody any favors.
And I'm wondering if there is a chance that the current situation will shake loose some of the people in the "Freedom Caucus" (jeez, it's hard to type that with a straight face). The current situation includes the silly "investigation" into Biden. Holy cow, what are these people thinking? (Rhetorical question. I don't really want to know, anyway. They are either inept beyond belief or scary frightening. Worse, both.)
Great analysis, Barbara. But I suspect at the core of the chaos is pure ignorance of the impact of unforeseen consequences. The nuttiest are so focused on achieving their idea of budget priorities they are unaware of the cost of their Circus Caucus to the nation.
I don't think Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert and MTG can spell budget priorities. They want to be on TV and get attention, and they don't care how they do it. In the time of people like John McCain, there were still Republicans who cared about the budget, but the Circus Caucus, as you so aptly put it, does not care about that at all. Very much like Trump, they want attention, and the more outrageous their behavior, the more likely they are to get it. Sitting there like grown ups and doing the job they were elected to do would not get them on television. Instead they create a freak show, and their supposed outrage is much like a toddler's tantrum - gimme what I want or I'll be MORE outrageous and see how you like it.
The media have been focusing on the psychodrama between McCarthy and the extremists, while ignoring the one group capable of actually funding the government on the basis of the already draconian agreement on the budget to avert a default earlier this year: the so-called "Problem Solvers."
There are 31 House Republicans in the bipartisan Problem Solvers caucus, many in districts that voted for Biden over Trump. A mere four of them could agree with the Democrats on a discharge petition to force a House floor vote on the bipartisan Senate Continuing Resolution, which they could then pass.
But they have all been silent, as in the "curious incident of the dog in the night" which Sherlock Holmes deduced meant that the dog was friendly to the perpetrator.
Their silence has led me to believe that there are no longer any "good" Republicans. They are ALL what I call "RepubliQans", giving a nod to believing bizarre theories about just about everything.
That said, when the "Problem Solvers" refused to work with Democrats during the Speaker's carnival election, they lost their credibility. They could regain it here, in what Mark has described, but for me, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, and I am not holding my breath.
When I heard Senator Romney was paying $5,000 to secure his family every day, I saw their restraint a little differently. And I'm sure some took note of what happened to Paul Pelosi. It's as though they are performing for the guy off-stage.
I spotted that article too, Ms. progwoman, and it gave me pause. There's a real "married to the mob" vibe in the Republican party. I've only once had reason to fear that someone might attack my family at our house and the short-lived threat, quite frankly, drove me crazy for a while.
I am considering that if we are patient, keep standing up to the exteme right in Congress and elsewhere, AND quietly keep working with the other Republicans as the Dems apparently are doing, we may see the situation begin to change. As I read right now, it looks like the 24 election has four flips for the house (and maybe more), and possibly a couple of Senators. The extremists are going to run out of people willing to go along with them. It's interesting that the only people T is willing to talk to are the audiences he already has. I don't think he has enough to pull it off, especially with the load of unpleasant stuff he is carrying around. His so-called "base" may seem hot right now, but many make noise and don't follow through. His real base is the moneyed interests who think they are going to control him, and are realizing he is his own worse enemy. It's going to be an interesting year.
Well played Mark; I liked that book too.
Trump’s attack on Milley fuels special counsel’s push for a gag order
Donald Trump has unleashed a social media attack on Mark Milley, suggesting he should have been put to death for treason.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s office argued Friday that Donald Trump’s recent attacks on Gen. Mark Milley and one of their own newly appointed prosecutors bolster their case to put a gag order on the former president ahead of his trial in Washington, D.C.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/29/trumps-attack-on-milley-fuels-special-counsels-push-for-a-gag-order-00119253
I say, as my Mom always said, "Give him all the rope he wants; to hang himself."
...because what goes around comes around but in Trump's case it's taking far too long.
That's because billionaires are spinning the lasso. They WANT him in that noose. And that's why he's still alive to do their bidding. But that's true of all Republicans. Why else do you think they vote to cut the taxes of the morbidly rich and their corporations? The people not only fuel the economy, they pay the taxes of the rich TO THE RICH who keep them to themselves in the form of retained profits. Where do you think those profits come from? From us, not them. It's OUR taxes they are NOT paying. It's NOT THEIR MONEY.
What will happen when he defies the gag order? Are we going to send troops into Mar Lago to arrest him, shoot our way past his armed guards? Even 45 is smart enough to know the fiasco that would ensue. That may well be his plan to save himself, start a war between his supporters and the courts/police. A free country certainly has difficulty with a sociopath who simply refuses to recognize restraints. This is a learning moment for all of us.
I agree BUT if this is done all 'the free speachers' will be going bonkers.
Not sure it's a good idea.
Either we draw a line now or suffer insufferable consequences for being timid in a time that called for courage.
Inciting violence should not be allowed. There must be a line and the judge will be careful. The dumpster will violate so the next step will be harsh.
Jenny, in today's climate, I think there must be limits. I was so angered by a radio host speaking wiith his co-anchor about President Biden regarding his dog biting someone......that only a dog whose owner was a bad person, would bite someone.....asking her...don't you think that is true? ie the dog's action as a reflection of it's owner's personally. Thankfully she "brushed it off"....making no verbal response.
There is such a climate of disrespect that has grown in our country regarding our fellow human beings. This attitude needs to stop! It is not only rude but dangerous!!!!
Hi Emily.
Yes I see this ..........I am just waiting for someone to assassinate him BUT then he will be a Saint!
It looks to me like McCarty is trying to save power he doesn’t have and as a result has put the country in losing position because he wants to be the Speaker. What a sad excuse for a legislator he is. My mother would tell these yahoos they need to go to their rooms and come out when they can act like people. Disgusting behaviors.
The MAGA extremists in the House put the country in danger like the Republicans in the Senate, who voted to acquit the orange menace instead of removing him from office. They make war on our military in the form of Tommy Tuberville. The "rules" governing the conduct of business in each house of Congress are causing our nation to be put at risk. The Senate is not the performative idiocy that the House is, but Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley are all just as concerned about their personal power as Qevin McCarthy. They just are not as raucous.
I am heartsick that our representatives have been so far unable to find a reasonable way out of this looming government shutdown. It's abuse of the people of the United States who deserve a much higher quality of governance than Republicans are willing to commit to.
“The charitable view is that the first hearing was a dumpster fire inside a clown car wrapped in a fiasco. To put it mildly, the GOP did not bring their best.”
... or, if indeed, that is their best ..., is it time to call on the Ship Scalers of America to dredge the bilge of this ship of state ...?
Kathleen, from what we have seen of the Republicans in Washington in ALL three branches of government since Jimmy Carter was President, this is their best.
The GOP loaded USSC has been legislating from the bench time and again under Roberts.
Boehner, Ryan and now McCarthy were weak and incompetent. They repeatedly reneged on deals they made with Clinton, Obama and Biden.
And Trump, it's all been said ad nauseam.
And if one side (MAGAts) won’t compromise with others in its own party, then how does this end?
McCarthy already sold his soul to the devil to get the speakership and now the devil has come to collect.
I really don't know how you do this everyday, Heather Cox Richardson! Sometimes I just feel exhausted by all the hate and evil swirling around the USA. But, your letters always give me hope that someone is listening and finding a positive direction to go. We always learn from people we admire and respect but some of my best lessons have been from people who I cannot respect. Thank you for pointing us away from these kinds of people.
I agree, Colette. This space is very helpful in stabilizing me with solid information rather than heated opinion, especially when there is so much distraction in the air.
Outstanding summary by Heather, ending in a simple declarative statement that the government will be shutdown because Trump and extremists want it and McCarthy has put his speakership before country and constituents.
McCarthy put his EGO before the welfare and reputation of our Country and it’s inhabitants. They are wasting more money, with shutdowns and sham grandstanding investigations--this ‘fiscally conservative’ band of thieves.
And because the House Republicans, however described, would rather go along with the MAGAs than work with Democrats for the good of the country. If even a few felt otherwise, Congress would be functional.