Saturday, December 14, 2024

BlueSky

 New song from Philip Bailey who most of us grew up loving as a member of Earth Wind and Fire. 


Now let me note somethings at BlueSky.



From @saneman.bsky.social

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— Morgan J Freeman (@mjfree.bsky.social) December 14, 2024 at 10:12 AM


Mission Accomplished… And now after doing a lot of other running around I’m back home snuggled up, minding my business and eating wings and watching Christmas movies. Pics coming soon!

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— TabithaSpeaksPolitics (@tabithaspeaks.bsky.social) December 14, 2024 at 3:59 PM


If I had to express my deep sense of dislocation about this political moment and the national mood, I’d put it this way: I feel like the murder of a healthcare CEO probably has wider support than *actual* single payer healthcare.

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes.bsky.social) December 13, 2024 at 3:34 PM


www.jefftiedrich.com/p/this-week-...

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— snkscoyote (@snkscoyote.bsky.social) December 14, 2024 at 5:27 PM


A must watch… youtu.be/btHYSIH-weA?...

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— TabithaSpeaksPolitics (@tabithaspeaks.bsky.social) December 14, 2024 at 1:00 PM


It's really interesting how billionaires have built their wealth off our country, but then choose to not defend it

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— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards.bsky.social) December 13, 2024 at 11:02 PM




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— Mary Resists (Dump Trump!)🌊💙💙 (@antitrumpalways.bsky.social) December 14, 2024 at 11:30 AM




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— Morgan J Freeman (@mjfree.bsky.social) December 14, 2024 at 8:57 AM


They Are Awfully Quiet About Those Grocery and Gas Prices Now That Trump Admits He Will Do Nothing! youtu.be/gx0LDE6GBZ4

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— TabithaSpeaksPolitics (@tabithaspeaks.bsky.social) December 14, 2024 at 10:03 AM


Come on over to BlueSky, it's where things are happening.  

This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Friday, December 13, 2024.  Nancy Mace is the new Jussie, Donald's breaks campaign promises before even being sworn in, and much more.


We should probably start with nut job Naomi Wolf.  Her out of shape body gets fatter and fatter and apparently so does her brain.  But we're not going to.


I really wanted Kamala Harris to win the presidency.  I wanted that for democracy and to save our country.  I also wanted to write in depth about media failures from 2016 forward that enabled Donald Trump.  I don't think I can write about that now.  With Kamala in the White House, we'd be at a different place and could shine an honest light on multiple issues.  

Nut job Naomi is part of the media problem, however, and we can carve out a small sliver of our planned topic -- Ava and I -- by focusing on the dim wit.  If you've seen the Tweet -- and a number of you e-mailing have -- just know we'll address it at THIRD.  


Now it's time to plea for money.  From time to time, in the past, I would note PACIFICA RADIO or BUZZFLASH and encourage people to donate if they could.

Clearly, most of those groups just stole our money.  And they walked away from the Iraq War.  After using it as a fundraiser.  

So I stopped noting things like that in 2008.

But I think I've found an issue that we really need to dig into our pockets on.  If you can't, that's fine, like I used to say back when we'd do this.  I'd honestly prefer us to do this on June 28th.  But that's a long way off.  Now I'm not going to ask you to donate to any media -- independent or 'independent' -- because all they did was waste our money.

What I'd like us to do is to focus on helping one person.  They are in need.

I'd like us to all buy a Christmas gift -- or Hanukkah or Winter Solstice  or Kwanza or whatever -- for someone.

Elon Musk.

Wait -- wait.  Hear me out.

Elon does not wear under shirts.  He insists upon wearing paper thin shirts.  And I'm sorry but I am just sick to death of having his MOOBS (Man Boobs) in my face when I'm just trying to follow the news.  He needs a bra.  I think it need to be something more than a training bra because he's really getting stacked.  He looks a bit more curvy than Susan ("Medea") Benjamin so I'd guess maybe a 34C or a 34D would best fit him.  


I know he has the money to buy these himself.  But he hasn't.  And I was thinking that maybe he was refusing to face reality.  But discussing this with a number of people, we kept coming back to our first bras.  And how it was kind of intimidating -- maybe even scary.  

So that means we need to help him.

You can buy wireless, you can buy one with hooks in the front or hooks in the back or any color you want.  And then put it in an envelope



Please hold for Elon Musk
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20500



It would be such a relief for Elon and mean so much to him.  So this giving season, give generously to the man with the ever increasing MOOBS.  Let's fill up his chest of drawers with bras now that we know his chest won't stop filling out.  


Now let's turn to TV.  FOX's new series ALMANAC is in trouble.   The hour long drama was set to premiere next year and the setting was Elbert, Colorado and the premise was local MAGAs form their own recording industry in an attempt to revive minstrel music.  The main character, Vira Hazel Slutsky did a screw rap version of "Old Black Joe" and wasn't getting residuals so she shot the label head.  The fate of the show is now, however, in doubt.  In real life, the actress playing Vira Hazel Slutsky staged an attack and cried in public about it.  Now she's going to have to leave the show because no one can trust her.

Oops!  She's not on TV, she's in Congress.  Which means she can stage her own attack and suffer no consequences.

Yes, we're talking about transphobe Nancy Mace.  WIKIPEDIA:


On November 18, 2024, Mace introduced a resolution to ban transgender people from using bathrooms other than those of their sex assigned at birth at the U.S. Capitol, in anticipation of the swearing in of Sarah McBride, who is the first trans person elected to Congress.[119][120] Mace described McBride as a "biological man trying to force himself into women's spaces" and as a "guy in a skirt", later following this up by saying "It's offensive that a man in a skirt thinks that he's my equal".[119][121] She confirmed that McBride was "absolutely" the target of her bathroom resolution.[122] Talking to Leland Vittert, Mace announced that she will "fight like hell" to exclude McBride from women's restrooms on the Capitol.[123] Mace's 2024 House resolution prevents McBride from using "single-sex facilities". H. RES. 1579 entitled, "Prohibiting Members, officers, and employees of the House from using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex, and for other purposes."[124][125] Mary Miller and Matt Rosendale co-sponsored her bathroom resolution.[126] Two days later, Mace announced a new national resolution to ban "biological men from women's spaces on all federal property."[127] As some trans activists were protesting her bill, Mace referred to the trans activists using the slurs [. . .]  resulting in her posts on some social media being flagged for hateful content.[128][129][130][131]



Then, this week, Tuesday, December 10th an encounter took place in public.  Here's how Nancy wrote up her encounter:



I was physically accosted at the Capitol tonight by a pro-tr*ns man. One new brace for my wrist and some ice for my arm and it’ll heal just fine. 

The Capitol police arrested the guy.

Your tr*ns violence and threats on my life will only make me double down. FAFO. 


She went and reported the person to the police. 


All that drama and not a Subway sandwich in sight which is all the more surprising since it turns out Nancy lied about the encounter.  Some people just need attention and they'll do anything to get it -- like Nancy who'll play the victim her entire life.


Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Jussie Smollett Is Nancy Mace's Life Coach" went up yesterday.





Eyewitnesses who watched the interaction between Representative Nancy Mace and James McIntyre are questioning the congresswoman's claims about being assaulted, describing instead a scene where McIntyre was just shaking her hand.
McIntyre, a 33-year-old from Chicago, was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police on Tuesday evening at an event for foster children and charged with assaulting a government official. Authorities said that the suspect was tracked down after Mace's office reported an incident in the Rayburn House Office Building.

[. . .]

Lisa Dickson, a veteran advocate for foster youth from Ohio, wrote in a Facebook post, "I want to express deep disappointment in the fact that Congresswoman Nancy Mace came to a national foster youth event, told participating youth that it was a safe space — and literally had one of them arrested by Capital police for simply shaking her hand and asking about trans rights."




But three witnesses at the scene have contradicted her claims, telling The Imprint and The Hill that McIntyre merely shook Mace's hand at a Foster Youth Caucus reception and asked her to support the rights of transgender people. Mace, who co-chairs the congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, spoke at the reception, telling attendees she looked forward to working with them.

"James [McIntyre] met her by the door where people could see her and him to say, 'trans youth are in foster care and they need your support,' and gave a handshake and then walked back to his seat and sat down," one witness told The Hill, describing it as a "pretty normal interaction."



Zoë Richards (NBC NEWS) reports on eye witness Elliott Hinkle's account:

"I think James took that seriously," Hinkle said, describing how they and others watched McIntyre, who co-founded Foster Care Alumni of America’s Illinois chapter, approach Mace after she spoke and reached out his hand.

"They shake hands, and James says, 'Trans youth are also foster youth, and they need your support.' And then sat down," Hinkle said.

Shortly after Mace left with a congressional staffer, Hinkle said, the staffer came back into the room and approached McIntyre, asking for his name and the message he had for Mace.

Several minutes later, Hinkle said, U.S. Capitol Police began arriving outside the event. Capitol Police said in Tuesday’s statement that officers later arrested McIntyre after an investigative interview.

"I watched that interaction happen, and I saw a handshake and a conversation and a very normal thing for an advocate to come to D.C. and do," Hinkle said. “She didn’t even seem to have, like, that big of a reaction to him. She just sort of made, like, almost like a tiny shock face, and then she left the room.”


Nancy's now threatening to sue reporters covering the story and/or self-created drama.  Ryan Grenoble (HUFFINGTON POST) notes:


Mace also shared a photo of herself wearing an arm sling and a brace on social media Thursday. The photo was immediately ridiculed by Natalie Johnson, a former Mace staffer, who called it “a pathetic ploy for attention.”

“This is the same woman who told staff, myself included, during Jan. 6 that she wanted to get ‘punched in the face’ by a rioter so she could get on TV,” Johnson said on X, formerly Twitter.


As Ann pointed out last night "BlueSky gets millions of new users while Twitter loses millions."  Let's move over to BLUESKY.








Before we move on, let's emphasize something.  Jussie Smollett lied about being attacked and his career ended.  EMPIRE let him go from the show.  I'm not saying that shouldn't have happened.  It should have.  But a member of Congress fakes an attack and we won't see Republicans line up to demand her resignation.  She'll stay in office and continue to lie. 

Speaking of the liars, Satan Trump.  Alice Tecotzky (BUSINESS INSIDER) reports:



  • Trump said in his Person of the Year interview that lowering grocery prices is "very hard."
  • He said that high food prices were part of why he won the election.
  • Some economists think Trump's economic plans, like tariffs and deportations, will be inflationary.
President-elect Donald Trump didn't commit to being able to lower grocery pri ces in his Person of the Year interview with Time Magazine, after flagging the issue as an important part of his win.



David Badash observes:


As a candidate, Donald Trump campaigned—and won—this year on the promise he would lower prices for Americans angry after the COVID pandemic’s inflation brought steep price increases, but now he’s backtracking, saying he’s not sure he will actually be able to fulfill those vows. Outrage at Trump, and the people who voted for him based on that pledge, was palpable on Thursday.

As recently as Sunday, MSNBC reports, Trump insisted, “We’re going to bring those prices way down.”

On Monday, Fox News reported: “Pointing to high grocery prices, Trump says, ‘I won an election based on that'”

But in his TIME magazine “Person of the Year” interview, Trump suggested he might not be able to lower prices as he promised to do. Appearing to remove himself from the equation, he declared: “It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard.”

Sam Stein of The Bulwark and MSNBC noted via social media, “’Prices will come down,’ Trump told voters during a speech last week laying out his vision for a return to the White House. ‘You just watch: They’ll come down, and they’ll come down fast, not only with insurance, with everything.'”

Not even sworn in yet and he's already making excuses for not keeping a campaign promise -- that has to be some sort of a record. 


President-elect Trump’s mass deportation proposals threaten to gut the U.S. economy, shrinking growth and the labor force while juicing inflation, according to a report released Thursday by Democrats in the Congressional Joint Economic Committee (JEC).



Sourcing data from the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the report found that deporting 8.3 million immigrants in the country illegally would reduce GDP by 7.4 percent and reduce employment by 7 percent by 2028, likely resulting in zero overall growth throughout Trump’s second term.

Trump has proposed deporting all such immigrants in the United States — currently an estimated 11 million — and millions more currently protected by humanitarian programs such as Temporary Protected Status, who could lack legal status if those programs were cut.

According to an American Immigration Council (AIC) estimate sourced by the JEC report, deporting at a clip of 1 million people per year — echoing a proposal by Vice President-elect JD Vance to “start with 1 million” — could generate a 4.2 percent to 6.8 percent loss in GDP. The U.S. economy shrank by 4.3 percent during the Great Recession, the report’s authors noted.

“Trump’s plan to deport millions of immigrants does absolutely nothing to address the core problems driving our broken immigration system. Instead, all it will do is raise grocery prices, destroy jobs, and shrink the economy. His immigration policy is reckless and would cause irreparable harm to our economy,” JEC Chair Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said.


Which brings us back to yesterday's point.  If we can survive the next four years, MAGA will do itself in.




As Ashford and Simpson sing, "Times Will Be Good Again" (they wrote the song and it first shows up on their classic album STREET OPERA).  Or at least good again for those of us lucky enough to survive.  As Betty noted this week in "Chicago's the first city targeted," not even in the White House yet but already they've decided who will be targeted firs: Chicago.  

A lot of people are going to suffer.  

And we need to keep our heads right now.  We do not have a lot of friends in the media.  We have liars who tell us that it's over for the Democratic Party -- unless we move to the right.  Ana Marie Cox has a piece at THE NEW REPUBLIC on how we need to learn from MAGA.

Huh?

No, we don't.  But more to the point, Ana Marie -- who did a gossip blog years ago -- never understood politics, was a hack at TIME magazine and has never been right about anything political. 

We need to grasp that.  We need to be very diligent about the media we consume.

Jonny Stewart wants to talk about the election with . . . Mark Cuban.  I don't have any beef with Cuban but we are not on the same page politically.  More to the point, it's further proof of how useless Jon Stewart truly is -- and it's yet another example of another White man being brought on Jon's show to discuss . . . nothing of value.  Cuban's not an activist, he's not a scholar.  He's also not really impacted -- wealth will shield him.  It's amazing that Jon wants to talk the election and the direction of the party with someone making the same generic talking points.

It's even more amazing that Jon wants to try to pass that off as information.

This is not helping anyone and Jon needs to take a hard look at what he's doing as opposed to what he thinks he's doing.  

The Democratic Party will have a new party chair in the new year.  Patrick Svitek, Leigh Ann Caldwell and Alec Dent (WASHINGTON POST) report:


As the race to lead the Democratic National Committee ramps up, a range of factions is jockeying to shape the priorities of the next leader after a disappointing presidential election.

But looming over the internal party debate is a more fundamental question: Just how much power does a DNC chair have to change the direction of the party?

“There’s no savior that’s coming in to save the DNC,” said one candidate for chair, Ken Martin, who argued the DNC is part of a “larger ecosystem of organizations that are fighting for economic and social justice.”

A key role for the DNC chair, he added, is to take the lead in bringing those groups together.

The DNC chair contest is expected to become more formalized Thursday, when the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee is set to meet in Washington to go over the rules and procedures for the Feb. 1 election.

At least four candidates have already declared they are running: Martin, a DNC vice chair who also leads the Minnesota party; Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin party; Martin O’Malley, the former commissioner of the Social Security Administration and Maryland governor; and James Skoufis, a New York state senator from a battleground district.


Remember that whomever gets the job needs organizing and leadership skills.  It would also help if they had a little understanding of the 2024 election -- including that there was no landslide for Trump, none at all.


In the real world, Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following:


Murray discusses how bipartisan overhaul she negotiated has simplified FAFSA, expanded aid eligibility—and shares update on law’s implementation

Washington state lags in FAFSA completion rates; in 2023, WA left $65 million in Pell Grants on the table by not completing the FAFSA

Senator Murray: “Take advantage of every penny of federal grants available to you. Fill the FAFSA out—it’s quick, it’s easy, and thousands of dollars in federal grants could be just ten minutes away.”

***WATCH: Senator Murray discusses FAFSA form that is now live***

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), urged Washington state students and families to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, which is now live, to take full advantage of the federal grants, assistance, and loans available to them to pursue a higher education. Senator Murray discussed how the new FAFSA form is easier and quicker to complete than ever and how more aid is now available to more students—thanks to the bipartisan FAFSA Simplification Act she negotiated and got signed into law in 2020. The law overhauled the financial aid application process, simplified the FAFSA form for students and families, and significantly expanded eligibility for federal aid. She also provided an update on implementation of the law.

“Here’s what high school seniors, college students, and families across Washington state should know: the FAFSA form for the upcoming school year is available now and you should get it done as soon as possible,” said Senator Murray. “Filling out the FAFSA is the only way to unlock federal grants, assistance, and loans to help you get a higher education. Whether you’re looking to get a four-year degree or to head to community or technical college, fill the FAFSA out! And now, thanks to the bipartisan reforms I worked hard to make happen, the form is shorter and quicker than ever.”

“Unfortunately, our state has lagged behind in filling out the FAFSA—and that means not taking advantage of federal aid that they qualified for,” Murray continued. “In 2023, Washington state left $65 million in Pell Grants on the table because no one applied for them—so let’s turn that around!  That’s the message I want to get across today: take advantage of every penny of federal grants available to you. Fill the FAFSA out—it’s quick, it’s easy, and thousands of dollars in federal grants could be just ten minutes away.”

Washington state still has one of the lowest FAFSA completion rates in the nation. In 2023, students in Washington state left $65 million in Pell Grants on the table by not completing the FAFSA.

The bipartisan FAFSA Simplification Act Senator Murray negotiated and got signed into law:

  • Significantly expands who is eligible to receive Pell Grants and the maximum award;
  • Significantly simplifies the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA);
  • Makes the financial aid process easier to navigate for students experiencing homelessness and students formerly in foster care.
  • Restores Pell Grant eligibility for students who have been defrauded, students with drug-related offenses, and more.

Senator Murray has led oversight efforts of implementation of the new, simplified FAFSA and has continued to stay in close contact with the Department of Education to ensure the new form works for students and families. The draft Senate Fiscal Year 2025 spending bill, authored and negotiated by Murray, which funds the Department of Education, includes an additional $100 million for the administration of student aid programs—the funding would support a wide range of activities, including implementation of the FAFSA. The bill also directs the Department of Education to undertake various activities related to the FAFSA, including conducting outreach to students who have uncompleted FAFSA applications, providing weekly updates to Congress on FAFSA implementation, and correcting errors that have made it difficult for unaccompanied homeless youth to access the FAFSA application. Senator Murray’s funding bill passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee 25-3—and she is now working to get it signed into law.

Read about the FAFSA Simplification Act HERE.

Senator Murray’s full comments, as delivered, are below:

“My siblings and I all were able to pursue a higher education thanks to federal support.

“So I personally know just how important it is. And that is why I have been so focused throughout my career on making sure students can get the federal support they need to make it through higher education.


“Today, one of the first steps many kids take to make that dream a reality is filling out the form called FAFSA, which is how they get access to funding for higher education through the federal government.


“Now, for many, many years, the application was daunting. Many, many questions. Very complex to fill out. You had to import your tax information.

“And I’ve always believed there’s no reason for what should be a first step on the path to a higher education to become the first stumbling block. And I wasn’t the only person who thought that.

“So I set out to make the form a whole lot easier and quicker to fill out. And I worked with my Republican counterpart on the Senate Education Committee—and together we passed a bipartisan bill to streamline the FAFSA—and to rework the financial aid formula so that we could get more aid to more students, including, of course, in Washington state.

“The rollout of the new form and the overhaul I negotiated last year was rocky—to say the very least.

“So I’ve had to continue to work with the Department to push them to address the incredibly frustrating problems that students and families were experiencing.

“Now, many of those major kinks have been addressed, and I am much more optimistic about where things stand this year, and going forward.

“So I’m going to keep making sure it works well—but bottom line: students can expect a much smoother, easier process.

“And despite the challenges over the last year—we are already seeing more students get more aid, which is exactly why I pushed so hard to reform this process.

“We know now that, nationwide, 10% more students are on track to receive Pell Grants—not loans, Pell Grants—this school year than last year.

“And in Washington state, over 12% more students are now eligible for Pell Grants than just a year ago. Which means more people will be able to get federal grants so they can get a higher education.

“This is really important for students and families across our state to take advantage so that they can get access to the federal money to open those doors to higher education and it will be available for them immediately.

“So here’s what high school seniors, college students, and families across Washington state should know: the FAFSA form for the upcoming school year is available now and you should get it done as soon as possible! It’ll just take 10-15 minutes, as little as 18-20 questions—done with it, and you will know whether you are eligible and whether you can be eligible for financial aid.

“Even if you think you may not be eligible for financial aid, it is worth taking a few minutes to fill out that form and find out. And I think many students will be very surprised to learn they are eligible to get additional support—especially with the expanded aid that we helped to get.

“Filling out the FAFSA is the only way to unlock federal grants, assistance, and loans to help you get a higher education.

“Whether you’re looking to get a four-year degree or to head to community or technical college, fill the FAFSA out!

“And now, thanks to the bipartisan reforms I worked hard to make happen, the form is shorter and quicker.

“Instead of over a hundred questions, it’s now down to as few as 88. So it’ll only take you about 10 minutes to fill it out.

“So I encourage anyone thinking about going to college, community college, or technical school next year—or who will be returning—to take a few minutes and get the FAFSA done.

“Unfortunately, our state has lagged behind in filling out the FAFSA—and that means not taking advantage of federal aid that they qualified for.

“In fact, in 2023, Washington state left $65 million in Pell Grants on the table because no one applied for them—so let’s turn that around!

“That’s the message I want to get across today: take advantage of every penny of federal grants available to you. Fill the FAFSA out—it’s quick, it’s easy, and thousands of dollars in federal grants could be just ten minutes away.

“And know that I am working hard to make sure students and families and people who work in higher education know this form is out there. Let’s get it done. Let’s make sure everyone gets access to higher education that qualifies.”

###

That's probably the case in every state so take her advice to heart. 


The following sites updated:


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