Retire, Breyer: another September 2021 US Politics thread

fuck yes -- I want senior citizen discounts and to be driven around

As awful as it was, I had hope that 1/6 would be a wake up call and we'd pull ourselves back from the brink. To see how quickly that was spun, how those fuckers are viewed as martyrs or political prisoners or whatever the fuck, how Trump nor any of his associates has been held responsible for a fucking coup attempt has finally removed any hope I had.

*hasn't been held

fuck yes -- I want senior citizen discounts and to be driven around

Anyway who’s excited for the next federal shutdown?! I am!!!

Unitary government shutdowns always play well with voters IIRC

Good to see some cooperation across the aisle IMO

BREAKING: The House just passed the #FY22NDAA in a 316-113 vote. (After 7+ hours of votes.)
 
A big bipartisan vote for a bill that adds an extra $25 billion to Biden's defense budget. pic.twitter.com/t7cdOkeIiP

— Connor O'Brien (@connorobrienNH) September 24, 2021

So ... Biden won Arizona? Again?

And Grassley, 88, announces he will run again. If my math is correct, by the time his next term runs out he will be ... dead.

I don’t see how anyone could’ve expected Trump to suffer consequences for anything. This country is built from the ground up to cater to him and people like him

by the time his next term runs out he will be ... dead.]

assume

So ... Biden won Arizona? Again?

Yes, but they found that Biden won Maricopa County by even more votes than the official total. So it was a fixed rigged scam all along!

What this audit proves is a turd is a turd

Clearly the audit was rigged and should be audited.

https://www.unified-streaming.com/assets/site/images/subspython2.png

Tbh, and I know this is unlike me and goes against the spirit of what much of us believe in, but a large part of me is saving money and waiting to buy some land somewhere in Maine or Vermont so we can live our lives out as separated from this doomed "civilization" as possible. It's privileged talk, yeah, especially on stolen land, but that's just how I'm feeling at the moment.

I was thinking more about AK but…same? sorta, it certainly crosses my mind often

gbx, I think the issue with AK is that everything is infinitely more expensive up there— I ain't paying $40 for a 24 pack of piss-water beer, as just one notable example. Living rurally or on the coast in Vermont or Maine has its own costs, of course, but food and other living necessities are nowhere near as expensive as in AK.

I have that fantasy about Italy or Mexico

So ... Biden won Arizona? Again?

just have to chime in here on this question. i know it was probably tongue in cheek, because we all know Biden won Arizona months ago, and everyone knew that.

and then everyone forgot that.

i'm not even kidding. the question above is actually what people say when they see that news. they look up, they smile and look around at other people and then kind of wait for other people to fill them in on what really happened. if they're with people who know what's going on, someone at the table says "no, it was that bullshit "review" of the Arizona election results, conducted by the Arizona GOP within the state. it says a lot that even a corrupt full of shit state GOP party, doing everything they could to just make up total bullshit so that they could feasibly argue that Trump miiiiiiiight have won there, so that they could then start a new bullshit lawsuit that would drag on for years, STILL found that Trump lost -- even though they just make up shit all the time!". by this time the the person who asked "did Biden win?" would be more than halfway through their yogurt, and reminding themselves to never bring up politics at the table with Zach ever again.

meanwhile, some say at the very same time, at another breakfast nook in stolenville, whiteassburgh, someone looks up from their phone and says "wait...so Biden just won in Arizona?" they look up, they smile and look around at other people and then wait for to find out what the truth is. "Biden didn't win SHIT in Arizona. they've been looking into it for months and it's just one thing after another, one irregularity after another. mainstream media won't even cover it." everyone else at the table nods along. "want some more coffee, Jeanne?", "no, i'm good." "keep your eyes on Maricopa."

and seriously, that's why the GOP is winning right now. it's media warfare, "flood the zone with shit", it really is. it's keeping arizona in the news for so long, in such a boring and stupid way, that we all come to associate with it in shorthand, just to save the effort of having to think about it at length. the shorthand differs with everyone. with me it's something like "arizona bullshit". with the GOP/Q/WhiteXtians party it's more like "arizona treason", with everyone that tuned out years ago or is unfortunate enough to be coming of age in this timeline, it might be something like "arizona election dispute"

Relax, it's all part of the plan. T's got this.

I have that fantasy about Italy or Mexico

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger)

About Biden winning them? Let's wait for the returns.

by the way, just to "open this up a little", but thought exercise within a made-up breakfast conversation:

what is the correct or best or most empathizing way to answer the question "So ... Biden won Arizona? Again?" at that breakfast table? there's the first way i typed out, which was just Me Online voice being like god the fucking GOP they are literal fascists, GOP Death Cult is not hyperbole, let me tell you about my father. THEN, let me tell you about my mother". so that's obviously on one side. then i did Terryton GOP Jackass voice, which we all know well because that was our president for 4 years.

but what is the "proper" way to politely explain to the person who asks that question

I have that fantasy about Italy or Mexico

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger)

If you have the funds, you could always move into one of those ruined castles in Southern Italy and rehab it.

we need an ilxor who hangs with real people who don't know

If it helps, I don't want to ask my mother about Arizona.

Sardinia seems like a pleasant refuge from (most of) humanity but climate change will probably fuck the island pretty hard.

scotch islands sounds fun to me, probably will get even nicer with climate change

IMEACH BIDEN

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FAEPZlBXoAA3J83.png

I guess the danger of the audit is, as Karl suggests, it creates a narrative that the result is the subject of debate, which the outcome of the audit doesn't necessarily put to rest, since the months of bullshit that preceded it feel more salient to many people. At the same time, the outcome is pretty funny.

"If you have the funds, you could always move into one of those ruined castles in Southern Italy and rehab it."

Precisely! Or at least an old home. My great grandfather was from Calabria and from what I've gathered that gives you a shorter wait to obtain Italian citizenship. And if I was actually alive when he was still in Calabria I would be immediately granted citizenship. Alas.

I think we really owe Donald Trump an enormous amount of gratitude for exposing how corrupt our elections and the FBI are. What else? The media too I guess? Just amazing how we all foolishly believed they were all more or less on the level until this patriotic genius pointed out the deep rot that was invisible to us mere mortals.

xps that's just viral marketing for chaka khan's new song "i'm each biden"

Turning off my sarcasm: good fucking God how fucking dumb is it that when presented the choice of "is this obvious pathological lying conman correct, or is everyone else??" a significant amount of Americans respond "Don't know about you sheeple but I'm going with the lying conman!" to the point that we actually investigate his ridiculous claims and even change laws in "response" to them.

“Huge findings in Arizona! However, the Fake News Media is already trying to ‘call it’ again for Biden before actually looking at the facts—just like they did in November!” Trump said, invoking once again his baseless claim that the 2020 election had been stolen from him.

“This is a major criminal event and should be investigated by the Attorney General immediately,” he added. “The Senate’s final report will be released today at 4:00PM ET. I have heard it is far different than that being reported by the Fake News Media.”

WHAT ABOUT THE BAMBOO FIBERS

bamboo fibers are the new watermarks

scotch islands sounds fun to me, probably will get even nicer with climate change

they won't get nicer if the melting Greenland ice halts or greatly slows the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. btw, there are some scottish islands where scotch whiskey is distilled, and I commend your discernment in confining your future ambition just to moving to one of those favored few.

(I visited Highland Park on Orkney mainland a couple years back)

Rudy Giuliani has reportedly been banned from Fox News.

“Rudy is really hurt,” Politico quoted a source “close to Giuliani” saying.

...Adding that this painful rejection by FOX News might drive Giuliani to drinking.

More material for his 'no respect, no respect' routine

Turns out it wasn't THE Fox News, but rather a newsletter for fox hunters.

his scent confuses the foxes

Four Seasons - Total Foxhunting

Great to have allies.

There are only 3 options re Australia about the CIA plan to abduct or murder Julian Assange.
1. Aust was regarded as so supine/pissant, we were not informed of a plan to abduct/murder an Australian
2. Aust was informed, objected - and was ignored
3. Aust was informed, and agreed

— Bernard Keane (@BernardKeane) September 26, 2021

o hell yeah spike my vein with that sweet sweet means testing

Sources tell me that White House and Democrats considering attaching means test to a number of key agenda items - from EV rebates and free community college - as a way to shrink reconciliation bill and pacify spending hawks.

— Jarrett Renshaw (@JarrettRenshaw) September 27, 2021

Well they should means test EV subsidies.

essentially no entitlement should ever be means tested imo! like.... how many "lucky duckies" are we ever really talking about? how many millionaires are going to cash in on sending their kids to subsidized community college anyway? how many people who need the program will end up losing out because of the testing? how much does the testing add to the cost, red tape, and delays in people finally receiving benefits/services? and if we're incentivizing some kind of massive change, like people switiching to more efficient plumbing fixtures or something, i don't really care if some people get in on it who could have afforded to do it without the subsidy, but didn't - the point is to get them to do it! every single person who cashed in on those $100 vaccine incentives, could have gotten the vaccine the week before... still glad they got 'em.

Why? The BBB proposal already limits the rebate based on MSRP and requires it to be union made. If the goal is to encourage uptake of EVs (and bolster unionized auto plants), seems like a thing you want to make as broad as possible.

If it's means tested, seems like that would also demand that it be converted from an immediate rebate to a future credit, which would discourage middle-class people from taking advantage anyway.

the thing with means testing is someone has to develop the system to do the testing or have a mechanism to enforce it

I guess in some cases it’s as easy as “add a rule to the tax return process to disallow a tax credit if the number in this box is too high” but the administrative overhead of some means testing is practically more expensive than just providing the service to everyone

making people jump through hoops just to get the government services they’re due is just cruelty