DL Open Thread Monday, January 22, 2024
A week ago, Ron DeSantis said his second-place finish in the caucuses punched his ticket out of Iowa. To be fair, he didn’t say where he was going. Turns out it’s home. Best line about it: DeSantis should have been forced to carry his non-viable campaign to term.
I suppose this doesn’t matter, because research has shown you can’t deter cultists with facts, but another study has re-determined the obvious: Half of inflation is just corporate price-gouging, something a president can’t control. A dictator could, but Republicans will only tolerate a Republican dictator who does what they want. A Democrat who does what they want is unacceptable.
Another set of facts that will do nothing to stop right-wing whining about the immigrants who put food on their tables and their “Great Replacement” theory:
In 1870, 14.4% of the US population was foreign born.
In 1890, 14.8% of the US population was foreign born.
In 1910, 14.7% of the US population was foreign born.
In 2020, 13.7% of the US population was foreign born.
In short, ’twas always thus. Americans who are against immigration are like those racists whose DNA tests show they’re part Black.
Dean Phillips, the nepo baby from Minnesota running a vanity campaign against Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination, has been giving hand jobs to tech bros for hefty sums, so he nbow refuses to rule out a third-party run, which is pretty funny, as I doubt he could reach 2% in his own congressional district. Quick, tell me again how smart tech bros are.
The death toll in Gaza has reached 25,000, according to the Ministry of Health there, with no end in sight and no indication that Hamas is anywhere close to being wiped out. BTW, those apologists for Israel who say “See what you made me do” should remember that it’s the go-to line of the classic abuser.
The floor’s yours.
Biden issues Executive Orders to expand abortion protections:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/01/22/biden-abortion-contraception/
“The effort to expand access to contraception involves several measures. Federal agencies are issuing guidance that would make no-cost contraceptives more available under the Affordable Care Act and take similar actions to expand contraception access for federal employees. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra also plans to send a letter to health insurers instructing them of their obligation to provide no-cost contraceptives, according to a memo the White House sent to reporters Sunday.
The federal health department also announced a new team dedicated to enforcing its interpretation of a law, known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, which the Biden administration has said requires hospitals to provide emergency abortions nationwide, including in the 21 states where the procedure is limited or banned.”
Thoughts on Carney’s SoS being pushed back two months? Wonder if the ongoing BHL scandal is forcing him to recalibrate
Interesting thought. I guess the state of the state is “in flux.”
For someone who has been working with Republicans all of these years, Senator Coons sure has a lot of optimism that the remaining good ones will do the right thing.
Senate Democrat Optimistic Border Deal is Reached in Coming Days
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4420351-senate-democrat-optimistic-border-deal-is-reached-in-coming-days/
So it passes the Senate, big whoop. It’s dead in the House, as they’ve already announced.