Amusing Search Term

The #1 search term that leads people to Delawareliberal.net is "Delaware Liberal". No surprise there. That's how we old guys get to websites even though there are about 70 faster…

With the Nation distracted by #Trumpshutdown, Conservatives prepare to replace Ruth Bader Ginsberg

This is just a tiny glimpse of what is going on in the shadows while we continue to hang on the Manchurian Pumpkin's every tweet:
The White House is reaching out to political allies and conservative activist groups to prepare for an ailing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s possible death or departure from the Supreme Court — an event that would trigger the second bitter confirmation battle of President Donald Trump’s tenure. The outreach began after Ginsburg, 85, on Monday missed oral arguments at the court for the first time in her 25 years on the bench. The justice, who was nominated to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1993, announced in late December that she underwent a surgical procedure to remove two cancerous growths from her lungs.

President Trump is suffering from mental illness

I guess the upside of keeping the heat off McConnell is that it allows everyone to focus on the deteriorating mental health of the President.
"They're driving in and they're not coming through checkpoints, because you can't have three or four people in the back with tape over your mouths and your hands tied and drive past someone who is checking out your van...The fact is if we don't have barriers, walls, call them what you will, very strong barriers where people can not any longer drive right across. They have unbelievable vehicles. They make a lot of money. They have the best vehicles you can buy. They have stronger, bigger and faster vehicles than our police have and that ICE have and that Border Patrol have.

AT LAST…Coons Mentions Mitch McConnell’s name on Morning Joe

As James Fallows has noted, the one legislator with the greatest control over ending the #Trumpshutdown is Mitch McConnell. Chris Coons just appeared on Morning Joe and tiptoed up to that reality mentioning Mitch McConnell (in part to exculpate the majority leader for not negotiating). Coons initially attempted to leave McConnell out of the conversation highlighting the fact that Trump is unwilling to compromise and can't come up with a "face-saving" exit. Coons stated that the Democrats are trying to give Trump $1.3 billion for border security, but said that President would not take it. To his credit, Coons called the wall a "vanity project" a couple of times. Under repeated questioning, Coons empathized with his GOP counterparts in the Senate and mentioned that Trump is a bad actor which makes it difficult to negotiate on his behalf. "You can craft a comprise with Republicans only to have to have it blown up by the President. It is difficult for senators to negotiate on his behalf...That's why Mitch McConnell is nowhere to be found in these negotiations." It wasn't much, but it was a start. At least Chris Coons now recognizes that McConnell is not taking part in the process. But I still don't understand the strategy of leaving McConnell off the hook.

America’s Experiment in Radical Libertarianism Enters Day 20

Food Inspections are nanny-state nonsense. Companies can regulate themselves, am I right?
The ongoing federal government shutdown has stopped most food safety inspections, but the Food and Drug Administration is planning to resume at least some of them. To do it, the agency will have to force furloughed workers to come back without pay. FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said he is trying to pinpoint the most essential inspections while making sure that employees do not suffer too much.
FWIW - FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb is a rare bird. A qualified Trump appointee. Must have been some clerical screw-up during the transition. FWIW2 - Tom Carper and Chris Coons know full well, that Mitch McConnell is in charge of keeping this shutdown going, and yet they have done fuck all to draw any attention to that fact.

Trump’s Lies Bury Oddsmaker

The online oddsmakers at Bookmaker.eu demonstrated they're not well versed in American, or at least Trumpian, political rhetoric. They set their over-under on how many lies Trump would tell in…