Category Archives: National

DL Open Thread Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021

Now that The Last Guy™ has been reduced to giving speeches to the clowns and rageaholics at CPAC (it stands for Clowns Playing At Competence), the media’s theme for the week was The $15 Minimum: Democrats Are Doing It Wrong, and they might be right. For example, Sen. Bernie Sanders criticized the WalMart-owning Walton family as paragons of greed but ignoring the real problem — the GOP’s “populist” constituency is small business owners who fear the wage hike.

Here’s a messaging tip, Democrats: If employers don’t pay workers enough to live on, taxpayers have to make up the difference. Republicans are still the anti-tax party, aren’t they? So why do they want to tax people to pay for benefits for the working poor? I realize most Republicans are too stupid to recognize a dilemma when they walk into one, but it’s always worth clarifying that for the non-idiot segment of the populace.

Washington Monthly frets that Democrats are doing it wrong on protecting voting rights, and lays out a plan to emphasize the right to vote — a right that’s not in the Constitution but could be established in spite of that.

This week’s Republican Mook of the Week is Madison Cawthorn, the young wheelchair-bound performance artist who lies as effortlessly as The Last Guy™, mostly about himself. He lied about the accident that left him a paraplegic (the driver rescued him; in Cawthorn’s telling, he was left alone to die) and just kept on going. This report followed one from BuzzFeed that found — you might want to sit down for this — that Cawthorn was a sexual predator while attending his “Christian” “college.”

In Covid news, the University of Delaware saw 300 new cases last week and is threatening a campus-wide lockdown if the situation doesn’t improve.

Finally, it appears the meat industry is running scared of artificial meat, funding an anti-Frankenfood propaganda campaign in an effort to stop its runaway growth. They have the resources, mainly because Big Meat operates in near-monopoly conditions that reformers would like Biden to address.

The floor’s yours.

Joe Biden’s Failed Presidency

Don’t be angry at me over that headline. Joe has written it, and is living it everyday that he doesn’t pivot to moving forward without the Republicans, (and traitor Democrats like Coons, Manchin & Sinema).

The central policy argument of (Biden’s) campaign, repeated throughout the primaries and general election, was that he, alone among all other Democratic contenders, would be able to win Republican support for his agenda on the basis of his character and his skill at leveraging personal relationships built over nearly half a century in Washington. By implication, conservative members of his own party weren’t to be worried about. But by now, just over a month into his term, it should be clear even to those who bought into this extraordinary lie that conservative Democrats are the ones running the show.

Dear Fellow Liberal, They Do Want to Kill Us

They want our vote to not count. If they can’t get that, they want us in a concentration camps.

Seditionist Josh Hawley wants the people to rule, unless the people prefer liberals:

On Friday, Hawley gave a keynote speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida. And according to that speech, the senator who sought to block the will of Pennsylvania voters from being counted in the 2020 election is now a champion of restoring the voice of the people in American politics.

He began by disparaging the power of big technology companies, as he had in his Dec. 30 news release.

“We can have a republic where the people rule or we can have an oligarchy where Big Tech and the liberals rule,” Hawley said. “And that is the choice, that is the challenge that we face today. It’s a perilous moment.”

It’s worth noting the dichotomy he draws here. Either “the people” can rule or “the liberals” can — as though liberals aren’t Americans who have a voice in government. The reason “the liberals” have power in Washington at the moment is that more Americans voted for Democrats in the 2020 election.

But Hawley still insists somehow that the opposite is happening.

“That’s the fight of our time: to make the rule of the people an actual thing again, to restore the sovereignty of the American people,” he said a bit later.

The rule of the people is “an actual thing,” since the efforts of Hawley and his allies to block the people’s voice fell short. The American people have sovereignty, because Hawley’s cynical decision to pander to Trump supporters failed. – VIA LGM

They’ve painted themselves into a rhetorical corner where even the reddest of red meat doesn’t really satisfy the base they’ve created. Only a little of the murderous, hate-filled rhetoric is getting reported out of CPAC. That will change when the Last guy get up to rich the mic.

Law Enforcement Officer Bill of Rights is some real bullshit

I haven’t listened to this podcast yet. I’ll probably listen on my drive home tonight.

E116 – LEOBOR (w/Misty Seemans, Jon Offredo)

Misty Seemans and Jon Offredo from the Office of Defense Services join Rob in the virtual bunker to talk about the efforts to reform the Law Enforcement Officer Bill of Rights, and what that reform could do to create a fairer justice system in Delaware.

Show Notes:

Lisa Blunt Rochesters Refusal to Support H.R.6496 is Telling.

Your Rep in Congress, Lisa Blunt Rochester, is missing in action again. Why is she in hiding? Is this the kind of cowardice that demands a primary challenge?

Emergency Money for the People Act

This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to make monthly payments during a specified 12-month period to certain citizens and noncitizens of the United States and their dependent children. The amount of such payments shall be $2,000 each month ($4,000 for married couples filing joint returns) and additional amounts for their dependent children. The monthly amount shall be phased out for individuals whose adjusted gross income exceeds $130,000 ($260,000 for joint return filers). The payments must begin within 14 days of the enactment of this bill.

The bill allows such monthly payments for individuals who are not U.S. citizens or residents, but have been physically present in the United States continuously since January 27, 2020 (the effective date of the public health emergency resulting from the COVID-19 [i.e. coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic), and continue to be physically present in the United States throughout the duration of the payment period.

If Treasury does not have sufficient tax return information to make payments to an eligible individual, it shall consult with the Department of Veteran Affairs and the Social Security Administration and any agency making pension or annuity payments to such individual.

Song of the Day 2/25: Warren Zevon, “Lawyers, Guns and Money”

I don’t know how I missed it, but until this Zevon classic from 1978’s “Excitable Boy” came up on a Spotify playlist last night I never realized it fit The Last Guy™ so well. What did he spend weeks asking for? A steady supply of lawyers, Proud Boy/Oath Keeper guns, and money — lots and lots of money. How was he to know those Moscow hookers were with the Russians too? And “Dad, get me out of this” is practically the motto on the family crest.

In truth, or at least in Zevon’s telling in the liner notes to “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead,” the title came from a real incident. “My friend Burt Stein (who was also my A&R man at Asylum Records) and I were on vacation in Kauai, Hawaii. We were riding past the cane fields with a young woman whose acquaintance I’d made the previous evening, and she was taking us to a friend’s ‘plantation house.’ She mentioned sort of off-handedly that her friend wasn’t home; that we might, in fact, have to break in. I turned to Burt. ‘Dear Joe,’ I said, thinking of Joe Smith, the president of the record company. ‘Send lawyers.’ ‘And guns,’ Burt added. I said, ‘And money.'”

You can find lots of live versions on YouTube, but this one, from the late Sunday night TV show hosted by smooth-jazz breakout star David Sanborn in the late ’80s, is the only one to feature the alto sax (that’s not smooth jazz he’s playing on the bridge) and the only televised performance that states plainly what hit the fan.

Hank Williams Jr. had a hit with it in 1983, the Wallflowers performed it for the Zevon tribute album and jam band Widespread Panic plays it in concert. But the first recorded cover was by Rick Derringer, who released it as a single, which explains his recasting of the last line.

DL Open Thread Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021

You already know this, but the tendency of Republicans and other half-wits to hold super-spreader events appears to be the primary driver in the spread of Covid.

Postmaster General Louis De Joy gave combative testimony yesterday to a House committee investigating the his destruction of the US Postal Service, telling Congress to “get used to” him because he intended to stay there for a long time. Not so fast says President Joe: He’s nominated three postal experts to the board that oversees the agency, enough to give Democrats a majority, but they need Senate confirmation. This one is worth nuking the filibuster for, if only to honor of all those seniors who are waiting by the mailbox for their medicines.

Watchdog groups are warning about sabotage from last-minute Trump appointees who have burrowed into civil service jobs. This is already happening with legally bullshit opinions from Trump judges.

The Inquirer’s Will Bunch previews the coming 2022 Democratic primary for Pat Toomey’s senate seat in Pennsylvania, which so far pits blue-collar Lt. Gov. John Fetterman against black activist and MSNBC darling Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta.

Everyone knows restaurants have taken a beating during the pandemic, but you might not realize the lack of demand echoes down the food chain. The Delaware State News reports that oystermen are suffering because of the decreased demand, which means I’m going shopping today for oysters.

The floor’s yours.

The DEGOP Endangered Kent County Seniors with a Super-Spreader event in Dover

Some dipshit said…

Hey Bozo, you are 100% wrong, the MMC policy was simple and followed. 1)if walking or moving around wear a mask and EVERYONE 2) if sitting and eating/drinking etc., no mask required 3) EVERYONE wore a mask going in and out of meeting 4) like most places it was cleaned after event

You are clueless as usual

To which I reply, Hey Bozo…you were saying?

DL Open Thread: Wednesday Feb 24th, 2021

Fuck Susan Collins.  Fuck the GOP.  Who cares if Susan Collins  votes for the Covid aid bill? Why does this matter to anyone? For once, play like winners, Democrats.  You won the trifecta.  Ram shit down their throats.  Let the dumbfuck Party answer for their votes at the ballot box.  Oh but that isn’t “bipartisan”.  Fuck that stupid bullshit.  

Collins: Biden’s $1.9T coronavirus package won’t get any Senate GOP votes | TheHill

Coons says top secret bipartisan caucus is still kicking, just keeping it on the down low as befits a secret society. 

Facebook and Google have made Trillions of dollars skimming content from media companies.  Australia doesn’t like the set up.

The Australian government says it’s trying to level the playing field between digital giants that take the lion’s share of digital advertising revenue, and media companies that  have seen their revenues dwindle despite producing much of the content shared on online platforms.

We’er fucked.  

Personal aside:  According to my kids, I will never be a Grandfather.  I can’t say that I blame them.   

About 95% of What the News “Reports” Is Bullshit

This isn’t an earth-shattering conclusion, but it’s still galling to read — or, actually, skip over after reading the headline — most of what shows up in print media or online (TV news, except for the occasional documentary, is an entirely lost cause).

It’s not just the constant games of “let’s you and him fight,” in which reporters generate “news” by asking politicians to react to statements by other politicians, or the overworked field of “doom is just around the corner.” It’s the entire structure of our infotainment media.

Consider, for example, the worse-than-useless polling that gets cited as factual data. This morning, in an otherwise anodyne story, the writer claimed that polling shows a majority of Americans favor bipartisanship and compromise.

This is arrant bullshit on its face. No they don’t. People want their own preferences to carry the day. Nobody, ever, anywhere, says, “I want this, but I’m perfectly happy to not get part of it because you don’t want me to.” Nobody. Ever. Anywhere. But they do if they’re not given a clear choice, as in, “Do you favor getting what your want or splitting the difference with your enemies?” People compromise when they have to. To claim that people prefer it is a flat-out lie. They prefer half a loaf to none, and a whole loaf to a half. This is so obvious that polling on it is a waste of everybody’s time and energy.

But Democratic politicians like Sen. Chris Coons use this dishonest answer to a rigged question to knuckle under to Republicans who want to carry out the Chamber of Commerce agenda — which is exactly what Chris Coons want in the first place. The scientifically useless “data” generated by such polls gives him, and the many quisling Democrats in office, plausible cover for doing just that.

DL Open Thread: Tuesday, February 23, 2021

The DEGOP Endangered Kent County Seniors with a Super-Spreader event in Dover  

 

 No masks, no morals, no problem!!  Make American (cough, cough, wheeze) gripe again! 

The headline should be – Only 27% of Republicans have any kind of durable affinity for the Republican Party.  

I posted this yesterday, but can’t stop thinking about it – so here it is again.

Nearly half of Republicans wouldn’t hesitate to drop the GOP and join a new party led by the last guy, according to a Suffolk University/USA Today poll of Last Guy voters released Sunday. The poll revealed that 46 percent said they would abandon their party while only 27 percent said they wouldn’t drop the GOP. The rest are undecided. Half of the Trump voters polled said that the GOP should be “more loyal to Trump.”

Did we all catch that?  If Trump said to do it – 46% would happily drop the GOP and another 27% would have to think about it for a second. 

Croatia wants you to work remotely from Croatia.  Come on a a tourist visa and stay for a year. 

(CNN) — While most European Union nations have kept their borders sealed against non-European visitors during the pandemic, Croatia has been welcoming arrivals from the United States and many other countries.
Summer saw it allow almost anyone to vacation on its beautiful Adriatic coastline and enjoy its stunning islands and the “Game of Thrones” city of Dubrovnik. Even now, non-EU visitors are welcome, provided they test or quarantine.
Now Croatia is making it easier for people who want to stay longer — tweaking its immigration laws to grant one-year residency permits to remote digital workers from outside the European Union, provided they don’t require tourist visas to enter.

Finding African Americas willing to associate with American conservatism is getting pretty tough.  

CPAC CONVENTION DEDICATED TO FIGHTING CANCEL CULTURE CANCELS SPEAKER FOR BEING POLITICALLY INCORRECT

Leading Republican officials are set to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this week along with a virulently anti-Semitic speaker named Young Pharaoh.

Young Pharaoh is an online commentator who has told followers that Judaism is a “complete lie” and “made up for political gain,” said that Jewish people are “thieving fake Jews,” tweeted that “all the censorship & pedophilia on social media is being done by Israeli Jews,” and claimed that “all of these big tech [companies], media, & social media platforms are controlled by CCP & Israel through Jewish CEO & corrupt Democrats.” Young Pharaoh has also attacked conservative commentator Ben Shapiro for being Jewish. He’s additionally promoted the QAnon and Pizzagate conspiracy theories and falsely claimed that coronavirus vaccines will “alter your DNA.”

And of course the punch line:

Update (2/22/21): CPAC hascancelled Young Pharaoh’s scheduled appearance following the publication of this article. Young Pharaoh’s information has also been removed from CPAC’s website. Thetheme of this year’s gathering is “American Uncanceled.” 

Even Florida Hates Florida

Instagramer Matt Shirley of Los Angeles conducted an informal survey among his more than 300,000 followers, asking them which state they hate most, the Asbury Park Press reported Jan. 21, and from the 2,500 responses, he determined that, among the expected regional rivalries, New Jersey hates every other state and Florida hates … Florida. The Sunshine State was the only one to choose itself as most-hated, with four-fifths of respondents agreeing. “I live in Florida, have my whole life, and would not hesitate to unironically put that as my answer,” one survey participant wrote.  (via News of the Weird)

Garland to Be America’s Lawyer – Not the President’s

This is basic shit.  How do we make Republicans buy into and support these “norms”?   What’s to stop the next Republican President from tearing all this down again?