Fox News’ “Special Report” host Bret Baier wants to make it very clear that he isn’t like his hack co-workers at Fox, okay?
Continue reading “Fox Host Bret Baier Backflips Away From Carlson And Hannity, Insists He’s Not Like Them”Schumer Explicitly Points To Manchin As Cause Of ‘Frustration’ But Promises Floor Votes
In a new letter to Senate colleagues, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) fingered Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) as a cause of “deep discontent and frustration” but promised to at least force senators to vote on the record for both reconciliation and voting rights.
Continue reading “Schumer Explicitly Points To Manchin As Cause Of ‘Frustration’ But Promises Floor Votes”Progressives Torch Biden Over Failed Promise To Bring Manchin On Board With BBB
The Demise of the BBB
There will be various efforts to organize votes on individual parts of the BBB as demonstration votes. Yes, Manchin did say “this” legislation. So there will be various efforts to interpret this as a prelude to other possibilities or just another step in the process. But let’s not. This is no. That means the Build Back Better bill cannot and will not pass. I’ll note that Manchin decided to make this announcement on Fox News. And according to Ryan Lizza, who would know, he didn’t even personally inform the President or Chuck Schumer of what he was about to do. He had an aide make the call. That’s just cowardly, low class.
Continue reading “The Demise of the BBB”White House Statement
The White House just released this statement from Jen Psaki. While not saying it directly the statement very clearly says that Manchin has not been honest with the President, hasn’t been negotiating in good faith and has gone back on his promises to the President.
Continue reading “White House Statement”Manchin Says He Cannot Support Build Back Better Act In Most Definitive Statement To Date
During an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier and in a statement blasted out to reporters, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said Sunday he could not support the current version of the Build Back Better Act being considered in the Senate.
Continue reading “Manchin Says He Cannot Support Build Back Better Act In Most Definitive Statement To Date”COVID Notes #6
Keep an eye on an emerging discussion about the apparent peak of infections in Gauteng province in South Africa. That is the region where Omicron was first discovered and where its spread first caught fire. (We don’t actually know where it originated.) I don’t want to characterize what this means because I know nothing. But even the people who know a lot don’t appear to have a clear idea what it means. I note it here because even though it’s not clear what it means it does seem to be different enough to what was expected to require some explanation. And that explanation could deepen or change our understanding of what Omicron is.
Professor Shabir Madhi of University of the Witwatersrand notes that Omicron crested after 4 weeks compared to 8 weeks for the earlier two waves. In his thread Madhi provides other tentative but encouraging numbers on disease severity. But it’s the apparent plateau that seems to have people scratching their heads. Others, including Tulio de Oliveira who did the first lab work on Omicron, suggests caution, pointing to population shifts in Gauteng at this time of year.
Continue reading “COVID Notes #6”COVID Notes #5 (News You Can Use Edition)
Along with vaccines, masking has been one of the most solidaristic parts of the pandemic. If everyone masks up, then everyone’s risk goes down dramatically. That’s true and it should continue to inform our actions. But if you remain risk averse or are from a vulnerable population, you do have options if you live in a community with poor masking or simply want to up your odds. It wasn’t the case early in the pandemic. But today n95 and other related high filtration masks are pretty widely available. Not everyone finds these comfortable. It really depends on the person. I’m used to using them for woodworking and I wear them for long periods of time and don’t give it a second thought. Depends on the person.
Continue reading “COVID Notes #5 (News You Can Use Edition)”CNN: Rick Perry Pitched Meadows On Plan To Steal Election Even Before Results Were In
Investigators on the Jan. 6 Committee believe that former Energy Secretary Rick Perry authored a Nov. 4 text to Mark Meadows suggesting that three state legislatures overrule their voters and cast electoral votes for Trump, CNN reports.
Continue reading “CNN: Rick Perry Pitched Meadows On Plan To Steal Election Even Before Results Were In”Trump Spews More Anti-Semitism, Says Jews Used To Control Congress
Former President Donald Trump continued his long-running tradition of anti-Semitic statements in a recent interview, saying that Jews have historically controlled Congress.
Continue reading “Trump Spews More Anti-Semitism, Says Jews Used To Control Congress”