Debt Ceiling – Page 2 – Politics Plus

Open Thread May 13, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:08 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 132023

Yesterday, I got an email advising me that eight fake electors in Georgia have accepted immunity. You probably saw or heard that, but it’s such good news I wanted to make sure you did. Also, anyone here who plays yesterday’s New Yorker Name Drop is going to get it. Maybe not on the first two clues, but at least one of the last four will give it away. Finally, there’s a petition which is sponsored by several groups, one of which is Faithful America, which is how I heard of it. It asks Congress tp pass the Supreme Court Ethics Act.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

HuffPost – Kansas City Council Votes To Become Sanctuary For Trans Health Care
Quote – Kansas City council members agreed by an 11-1 vote to bar city personnel from punishing individuals who seek out gender-affirming care or the organizations that provide gender-affirming care. They also instructed city personnel to make it their “lowest priority” to cooperate with enforcing state law targeting trans health care. “Kansas City government is committed to ensuring Kansas City is a welcoming, inclusive, and safe place for everyone, including our transgender and LGBTQ+ community,” Mayor Quinton Lucas (D) said in a statement.
Click through for details. Nameless has every right to be bursting with pride for his city (if not for the state which made this necessary.)

Crooks & Liars – Does Congress Have Power To Override The President’s Duty?
Quote – Lawrence O’Donnell invited constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe onto his show last night to explain how he changed his thinking on Biden using the 14th Amendment as authority to pay the nation’s debt. “What I changed my mind about is, what is the right question to ask,” Tribe said…. [“T]he real question isn’t what powers the president have. It is, what duties the president has. Does the president have a duty to execute all of the laws of the United States, the ones that Congress passed, telling him to spend money? He does have that duty.”
Click through for article. Put like that, it is a no-brainer.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 5/12/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:12 pm Open Thread, Politics

May 122023

Glenn Kirschner – Jury finds Donald Trump liable in E. Jean Carroll case: Three main takeaways from the verdict

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – May 9, 2023

MSNBC – ‘He has a tough road ahead of him’: Fmr. Asst. Manhattan DA on George Santos’ indictment

Parody Project – I THANK YOU (not)

These Two Feral Cats Will Restore Your Faith In True Love

Beau – Let’s talk about how a fake debt ceiling can hurt….

Video Thread 5/10/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:55 am Open Thread, Politics

May 102023

Glenn Kirschner – After saying he will testify in E. Jean Carroll trial, Donald Trump … punks out, fails to testify

The Lincoln Project – Proud Boys

Farron Balanced – Trump Rushes Back To New York As His Lawyer Botches Assault Trial

Shirley Serban – I’m So Critical (a song fpr Karens. Feel free to pause it to read the tweets.)

This Cat Is Obsessed With Her Lizard Brother

Beau – Let’s talk about two Senate plans for the debt ceiling….

Video Thread 5/8/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:44 am Open Thread, Politics

May 082023

Glenn Kirschner – In a surprise turn, Bill Barr speaks the truth: says Trump’s “a horror show” & will “deliver chaos”

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – May 2, 2023

Farron Balanced – Trump Lawyers Beg Judge Not To Muzzle Him

Armageddon Update – Skull Cracking The Debt Ceiling

Cuddly Rat Can’t Stop Giving His Cat Sister Hugs And Kisses

Beau – Let’s talk about Trump, charts, and a new line of inquiry….

Open Thread May 6, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:01 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 062023

Yesterday, I got 8 out of 8 correct in the Conversation’s weekly quiz for the second week in a row. I can’t possibly keep this up. This week, most of the credit goes to the quiz author. The wrong answers were mostly so off the wall that it wasn’t really difficult. The only one I actually had to guess was the one about Karl Lagerfeld, and that was a true-false, so the odds were better than when there are four answers. and, yes, Virgil called to say Happy Anniversary. You knew he would (I certainly did.)

Cartoon – My Everyday Erinyes (#369) is up here:

Short Takes –

Letters from an American – May 4, 2023
Quote – Weirdly, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) at a Senate Budget Committee hearing today blamed Democrats for not raising the debt ceiling themselves last year without help from the Republicans. Kate Riga of Talking Points Memo broke down this argument. If the Democrats had raised the debt ceiling through reconciliation, without Republican votes, Republicans would have insisted that it was the Democrats, not them, who had burdened the country with debt when, in fact, the Republicans added almost $8 trillion to the debt under Trump. Romney’s complaint amounts to berating the responsible Democrats for not protecting the country against the Republicans, who are willing to burn down the country. As Riga put it: “Darn you Democrats for not taking care of the debt ceiling then, because you knew we’d refuse to raise the limit unless you conceded to our demands, and look what a sticky spot we’re in now.”
Click though for much more (Click “continue reading”). They used to say “Seinfeld” was a show about nothing. This, on the other hand, is a letter about everything.

Crooks & Liars – Texas Bill Would Allow State To Overturn Harris County Elections
Quote – The measures call for the “abolition” of election administrators in counties with populations larger than 1,000,000—a metric that only applies to Harris County, which Republican state lawmakers have taken a keen interest in in the aftermath of the 2022 midterm elections…. Since then, the Harris County Elections Office report concluded that they couldn’t determine if potential voters were pushed away because of the issues at polling centers.
CLick through for story. This is so blatant that even now I can hardly imagine it succeeding though the courts. Even the courts we have now. But there is always a possibility. Clearly they think they are on to something.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 5/4/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:00 pm Open Thread, Politics

May 042023

Glenn Kirschner’s recap for April would have sppeared today. I was able to find a substitute.
Talking Feds with Harry Litman – BRAND NEW Trump Criminal Probes are Beginning ACROSS the Country

Sen. Whitehouse Delivers Opening Statement at Judiciary Cmte Hearing on Supreme Court Ethics Reform+

MSNBC – Democrats have a ‘legislative secret agent’ to fight GOP on debt ceiling crisis

Farron Balanced – Fox Feared Release Of Disgusting Tucker Carlson Texts So They Fired Him

Parody Project – A DAY IN THE LIFE (of a Swindler)

Tiny Shivering Kitten Gets Huge And Floofy

Beau – Let’s talk about understanding term polling….

Open Thread May 3, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:02 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 032023

Yesterday, I was short of sleep, and I hope you will forgive any typos I made in comments yesterday (and in todays posts, slthough the mechanics of putting up a post generally allows for better proofreading than the comments get from me.) I did do a couple of cartoons, and am now good through the middle of May, with only four more to make for the rest of the month. That’s quite a relief.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Daily Beast – Canadian Farmer Turned ‘Superman’ Escaped Putin’s Troops to Save Little Girl (hanky alert)
Quote – Paul described the decision to risk his life that day as a no-brainer. “When I said I was going to go down and get a 6-year-old girl, I was, I didn’t really think about my own personal safety anymore. I didn’t think about it, I didn’t do a risk analysis or anything. I just, yeah, go get this kid. Right?,” he told The Daily Beast. “Sometimes you get that call to go and do something that’s incredibly dangerous. And if you don’t take the call, then that means somebody else must. So, yeah, it’s passing the buck.”,,, “Paul is Katya’s Superman now. She tells me how he picked her in a car with all of those missiles landing around and saved her. Katya calls him ‘Superman’ every time we mention him. I wish there were more people like him in the world,” Julia said.
Click through for story. I added a hanky alert, but an outrage alert is also in order – outrage at the fascist Republicans who support Russia over Ukraine.

Robert Reich – Advice to Biden on how to handle House Republicans’ demands for raising the debt ceiling
Quote – My advice to Joe Biden: Ignore McCarthy and the Republican radicals. Mr. President, your oath to uphold the Constitution takes precedence. As the supreme law of the land, the Constitution has greater weight than the debt ceiling. Section 4 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution states that “The validity of the public debt of the United States … shall not be questioned.” A debt ceiling that prevents the federal government from honoring its existing financial commitments violates the Constitution. So, if House Republicans refuse to raise the debt ceiling, you are obligated by the U.S. Constitution and your oath of office to ignore the debt ceiling and continue to pay the debts of the United States.
Click through for details (you may need to click on “keep reading.”). Bipartisanship is nice (assuming it’s real, and not just a code word for extortion.) But the Constitution is nicer – and far more important.

Food For Thought
(The one on the left is Mrs. Matt Schlapp. I assume everyone recognizes Kari Lake on the right.)

Video Thread 5/1/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:51 am Open Thread, Politics

May 012023

Glenn Kirschner – Donald Trump’s many criminal and civil cases: a brief overview

The Lincoln Project – Debt Ceiling Vote

Ring of Fire – Pence Testifies To Grand Jury After Judge Rules Against Trump

George Takei’s Oh Myyy – Dark Brandon Explained

Rottweiler Thinks Guinea Pigs Are Her Babies

Beau – Let’s talk about the House GOP’s huge win….

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