Yesterday was kind of uneventful. I discovered an unopened bottle of salad dressing I had thought I was out of – a quite new bottle, not an old expired one. I need to place a grocery order but I don’t like to do so on Tuesday for Wednesday because that’s when theprices change. I kind of like to know what I am spending. Maybe today. It’s not urgent to within a day or two.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
The Hill – Biden rips Trump’s ‘big lie’ in voting rights address
Quote – Republicans vehemently oppose the For the People Act, calling it a blatant power grab by Democrats. The wide-reaching bill would mandate a federal threshold for certain voting rights, such as universal by-mail voting, early voting and same-day voter registration. It also addresses gerrymandering and campaign finance reform.
Click through for full story. Maybe we should be saying yes, it is a means to grab power away from those who hold it illegally and immorally and return it to the people to whom it rightly belongs. Maybe it’s just me – but I think we need to get better at turning their own words back on them. And we need to do it fast.
Politico – Opinion | The Democrats Need a Reality Check
Quote – But the FDR and LBJ examples show conclusively why visions of a transformational Biden agenda are so hard to turn into reality. In 1933, FDR had won a huge popular and electoral landslide, after which he had a three-to-one Democratic majority in the House and a 59-vote majority in the Senate. Similarly, LBJ in 1964 had won a massive popular and electoral vote landslide, along with a Senate with 69 Democrats and a House with 295. Last November, on the other hand, only 42,000 votes in three key states kept Trump from winning re-election. Democrats’ losses in the House whittled their margin down to mid-single digits. The Senate is 50-50.
Click through for his rather depressing reasoning. I wish I had an idea how to make it happen.
Slate – What the Rogue Texas Democrats Did on Their First Day in D.C.
Quote – They’d come to D.C. to take the last (and most dramatic) action available to them to stop their home state of Texas from passing sweeping restrictions on voting rights. The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature is ready to pass the bill, so more than 50 Democrats in the Texas House fled to D.C. to withhold the quorum required to pass a bill. They must stay out of the state for the rest of the 30-day special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott. Their plan for their first day included a short press conference, then lobbying senators and members of Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation that would supersede what the Republicans in the Texas Legislature are trying to pass.
Click through for more story, opinion, and analysis. It is simply heartbreaking that they need to do this. They are all heroes in my book. But they shouldn’t have to be, and wouldn’t if too many Republicans weren’t weasels (no insult intended to four-legged, furry weasels.) I wanted to be sure to post this story today and not behind Pat’s back – she’s on vacation for four days starting tomorrow (so don’t worry about her.)
Food for Thought: Three Borowitz Headlines
Democrats Agree to Return to Texas if Greg Abbott Leaves
Texans Nostalgic for Wisdom of Rick Perry
Greg Abbott Tries to Lure Back Democratic Lawmakers by Offering NPR Tote Bags
11 Responses to “Open Thread for July 14, 2021”
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Cartoon: Good grief!
The Hill: Thank the Lord for President Biden. I don’t listen to TOT as he sounds like a broken record every. single.day. SOS. He’s annoying, and a fibber. ugh! (I didn’t listen when he was potus either).
Slate: So sad. Darn it!
AB #1 – Hey, I’m all for this one!
AB#2 – It’s not much…but I’d tolerate Perry if I had too…
AB#3 – Nope. Not gonna happen.
Hope that you have a good day. Thank you, Joanne for post.
This just in: TJI “For those who challenge the results and question the integrity of the 2020 election – no other election has ever been held to such scrutiny and high standard. The ‘Big Lie’ is just that. – A Big Lie.”
~ President Joe Biden ~
2. ” COVID cases and hospitalizations are climbing in Texas again—as of yesterday, our positivity rate is 6.64% (until Thursday, the last time it was above 6% was March 13). We cannot wish the pandemic away. Groundlessly refusing immunization facilitates new, more dangerous mutations and endangers us all.” ~Rep. Lloyd Doggett
3. ““The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights. Those rights, including the right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, must be respected. The United States stands with Cuba.” ~ President Joe Biden~
4. “Here on Earth in the richest country on the planet, half our people live paycheck to paycheck, people are struggling to feed themselves, struggling to see a doctor, but hey! the richest guys in the world are off in outer space! Yes. It’s time to tax the billionaires.” ~ Bernie Sanders ~
5. “Capitol Riot – Just unsealed. The FBI has arrested 5 members of a family from Borger, Texas. All accused of entering the Capitol together. Charges included entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct.” ~ Jordan Fischer ~
Sorry it was so late. Typo in the scheduling.
TJI #1 – For sure. The parody from yesterday’s video thread – “Big Lie” -is IMO to good I put a link in my email signature. We’ll see what reactions, if any, I get.
TJI #2 – I am so sorry. I guess it’s mask for a while even if vaccinated.
TJI #5 – The family that revolts together … is revolting.
TJI#1: One more thing the GQP folks will have to find a way to ignore. Faux News, if it carried Biden’s speech at, all probably arranged to have “static” problems when Biden pronounced these words.
TJI#2: Texas, Missouri, and Tennessee, will reap sad benefits from their intransigent idiocy.
TJI#3: A serious conundrum.
TJI#4: AMEN!
TJI#5: Keep on keeping on! Without Barr the FBI might get some real work done.
TJI #4: AMEN to that.
I’m sure that your not so old salad dressing is too good to go onto TOT’s word salad.
‘Toon: Yeah, THOSE Frenchies, who did not go along with GWB’s sad war.
TH: I was glad to hear that Biden used the phrase “Big Lie” in his talk, but expect that those who need to hear it won’t.
Politico: Reality hurts.
Slate: Connects to the Politico piece!
AB Group: So sad that people had to loose their lives at the Alamo so that Abbott, and his ilk, could take over.
You’re right. It’s not Russian dressing.
Right now “La Marseillaise” is running through my head. Vive la France!
Biden Rips Trump’s “BIG LIE” in Protecting Voting Rights
Voter suppression and/or granting Rethuglican state legislatures the ability to overthrow the will of the people is now the most dangerous attack on our democracy!
Democrats Need a Reality Check
Not a big pedantic Jeff Greenfield fan. And I’ll leave it at that.
What Rogue Texas Democrats Did in D.C.
At least they’re TRYING!
Texans Nostalgic for Wisdom of Rick Perry
We all know Michelle Bachmann has long claimed to be the Champion Corn Dog gulper (even beating out her hubby, Marcus) from her days at the Iowa State Fair. But I think that Rick Perry gives her a serious run-for-the-money with his … hmmm … relaxed Gag-Reflex skills. (You gotta admit that’s pretty impressive.)
Cartoon: Shameful.
The Hill: Watched President Biden yesterday. Really sad that he even has to speak of the “Big Lie”. All because of a fake idiot and all of his rotten R buddies.
The Slate: Who blames them?
Hope you were able to get your groceries ordered today.
Nice to see that your days have been on the slow/quiet side. Hope they continue that way.
Take care. Thanks Joanne
You described a day that was very much how you like it, Joanne. Don’t go looking for missing items if you think you need to spruce it up a bit for our entertainment; we’re happy when you are.
Cartoon: I like the pun of that cartoon but I don’t think it applies to Republicans only.
TH: You’re absolutely right, Joanne. Biden should have said: “Yes Democrats grabbed it back, and we are restoring that power to its rightful owners, the People”.
Politico: And I thought I was a pessimist. Let’s hope Joe Biden and the Democratic party will keep on trying to make things better. Every little victory is a huge step forward.
Slate: There’s no possibility they would lose their jobs over this, is there?
It could happen at the ballot box. But then, a lot of things can change at the ballot box. I suspecy mpst if not all of the districts which elected Democrats will support them.