US Politics, May 2023: May 1 never happened

Kari Lake did a lot worse than every other Republican governor running for the last decade. Including the (equally?) psychotic Jan Brewer

governor *in Arizona

And yeah there's definitely the possibility Gallego will lose, but it's better than a Sinema vs Lake contest

Around 200k unemployed people exist between the ages of 49 and 54. Some portion have dependents or disabilities.

There are 500k homeless people between the ages of 16 and 49. Almost none of them were eligible for SNAP before.

This is an *expansion* of SNAP. https://t.co/joXnCucRQi

— Galen Metzger🪬📈🇺🇦 (@GalenMetzger1) May 28, 2023

The SNAP changes are nominally extending work requirements to ages 50 to 54. In reality, especially as the new rule is implemented, this is just an indiscriminate cull of a bunch of 50 to 54 year olds from SNAP who won't realize there are new forms they need to fill out.

— Matt Bruenig (@MattBruenig) May 28, 2023

Florida had *already* exempted homeless people from work requirements.

By dumping them in the Atlantic.

is your concern that she's more crazy than the average republican, or that she's more popular than the average republican?

― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Sunday, May 28, 2023

my concern is that she's as popular as the average republican and they don't care if she's crazy, they are going to vote for her

And yeah there's definitely the possibility Gallego will lose, but it's better than a Sinema vs Lake contest

― symsymsym, Sunday, May 28, 2023

no, if Gallego loses it's going to be to Lake, not Sinema

they're saying it's better that Gallego is running than just having it be Sinema vs Lake

I'm glad he's thrown his hat in the ring.

I hope either Sinema or Lake won't run, neither of them have declared yet

Lake seems eager for power. I expect she'll run. Sinema loves the limelight and being in the Senate has gratified that in spades, but if she knows ahead of time she's going to be soundly trounced and badly repudiated there's a chance she'll decide to step away rather than go to all the trouble of campaigning like she cares. She seems like a person who doesn't like going to a lot of trouble if she's not being celebrated.

Her best play is to figure out statistically and persuasively which one of them she hurts more by staying in, then selling her services to the other side to try to swing the election for them. She either gets paid off or a sweet gig somewhere or funding for her new nonprofit, whatever.

Her best play is to figure out statistically and persuasively which one of them she hurts more by staying in, then selling her services to the other side to try to swing the election for them.

That's the kind of thing that could get a person recorded without their knowledge, right up to the moment the federal marshals kick in the motel room door.

Sounds like a job for Walker: Texas Ranger (Special Assignment: Arizona)

they're saying it's better that Gallego is running than just having it be Sinema vs Lake

yes, thank you. obv any human endeavour would be better without Sinema

Big news from WH backgrounder on the deal: It's a $20b IRS cut, not $10b

But strong implication from WH officials that they'll just pull money forward from later years of the IRA appropriation. They say no changes to enforcement or modernization in near term.

— Jim Tankersley (@jimtankersley) May 28, 2023

Sounds familiar

Sassy!

Biden: One of the things that I heard some of you saying is why doesn't Biden say what a good deal it is? You think that's going to help get it passed? No. That's why you guys don't bargain very well. pic.twitter.com/q4xRKedQGy

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 29, 2023

to be fair, in the short term, his (and mccarthy's) problem appears to be getting it past ultra rightist cranks on the rules committee.

McCarthy's already on to more achievable goals:

Kevin McCarthy told Hugh Hewitt that the next goal for Republicans is to "eliminate the wokeism" pic.twitter.com/cEdaysT3OM

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 30, 2023

This seems good:

Question: How much confidence do you have in the speaker right now?
Bishop: None. Zero. pic.twitter.com/c4oYvmcOjp

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 30, 2023

Time for a Mencken quote:

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the population alarmed (and thus clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with a whole series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

"wokeism" = new hobgoblin

Wokeism-Leninism

The news from Minnesota these days, from Tennessee it's like looking at another planet.

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura (I) joins Gov. Tim Walz (D) as he signs a bill legalizing marijuana:

"Prohibition will end today on cannabis ... a plant made by God. [Gov. Walz and the Legislature], thank you."

"Jimi Hendrix is looking down on Minnesota smiling today." pic.twitter.com/9ZMiMxBIYi

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) May 30, 2023

Who was it who was posting dire warnings here that Tara Reade was someone who should absolutely be taken seriously and who represented a major threat to Biden's candidacy? *nelson-laugh.gif*

Russian media announces that Biden accuser Tara Reade is now in Russia. Russian spy Marina Butina is helping her get citizenship. pic.twitter.com/pP9p8hRcFw

— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) May 30, 2023

holy shit

Most of us on the Biden thread around April '20 xpost

except for Fred B

claims that should be seriously evaluated, one of those "seriously but not literally" things that pop up during an election

what a plot twist now, though

*ahem*

Woah, I'm seeing things.

We’re a country of separate countries.

SHAKES!

Yeah, that's the real breaking news.

whoa, hi Οὖτις!

we traded Russia Reade for Shakey?

part of the debt ceiling negotiation

Someone had to say it...

McGovern: This represents an all time high in recklessness and stupidity. Let me point out the obvious, every time Republicans are in charge they screw things up. pic.twitter.com/XOPDevZtFc

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 30, 2023

sometimes you just can't win

Chick-Fil-A Branded 'Woke' After Right-Wingers Find Old Diversity Statement

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/chick-fil-a-woke-diversity-controversy_n_64762adbe4b045ce24852bf4

ahahahahahahaha

“Chick-Fil-A-Woke”

this isn't political, but McDonalds is next in line

i cannot get over how cute the new sapphic McDonald's commercial is 😭 pic.twitter.com/s2SkBK1doM

— ⚢ (@dailysoftgl) May 29, 2023

In today's hypermediated and hypersexualized world (to coin a phrase) that ad will definitely be seen as sexual by the type of people who'll make an uproar over this. otoh, their great-grandmothers probably held hands with other young women frequently, made similarly cute comments, and it never crossed their minds how that might be viewed by others. It was, if anything, hypernormal back then.

fwiw that ad is for the Philippines market

Love na babalik-balikan #LoveKoAll 🥰 pic.twitter.com/BsjHAQXd69

— McDo Philippines (@McDo_PH) May 30, 2023

definitely pretty tolerant over there.

hi, Shakey

not getting my hopes up that Οὖτις will return, but it's nice to see a post

lol I guess?

🚨CBO says debt limit provisions negotiated by the White House will *expand* direct spending on SNAP and the number of recipients on net.

The expansion to veterans, homeless, and foster youth is larger than the effects of the age 49-54 work requirementshttps://t.co/6uJ6WUDW3r pic.twitter.com/S95mkNfJfy

— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) May 30, 2023

I have already read some say that CBO is over-estimating the number of vets, homeless etc who will know they’re now eligible and be able to fill out the paperwork