H/T @NamelessCynic on the electronic tweeting device
It must be hell to be Eiron, The Goddess of Irony’s insurance agent.
Hair Füror on the balcony
This shouldn’t surprise anyone, but it did shock me:
Nearly 900 Secret Service employees got COVID
Nearly 900 Secret Service employees tested positive for COVID-19 between March 1, 2020 and March 9, 2021, according to government records obtained by CREW. The vast majority served in protection jobs, either as Special Agents or in the Uniformed Division.
The records obtained by CREW show that in the first year of the pandemic, 881 active Secret Service employees were diagnosed with COVID. The list consists of 477 Special Agents, 249 members of the Uniformed Division, 131 working in Administrative, Professional, Technical Positions, 12 Investigative Protection Officers and 12 Technical Security Investigators. The records, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, do not include the names or assignments of those who tested positive.
“Special Agents” are the ones who protect the President, so more than half of all the cases of the Trump-Virus in the Secret Service were those guys who had to be with him, no matter what. What are the odds, right?
“Covid-19 transmission is accelerating in several poorly vaccinated states, primarily in the South plus Missouri and Utah, and more young people are turning up at hospitals. The data present the clearest sign of a rebound in the U.S. in months.
“In Missouri, Arkansas and Utah, the seven-day average of hospital admissions with confirmed Covid-19 has increased more than 30% in the past two weeks.”
Well-done, Flat Earthers.
(Hat tip: Scissorhead Skinny-D)
UPDATE 1: Axios
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told the House Steering and Policy Committee Tuesday night that she will appoint a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection, multiple outlets reports.
Why it matters: The creation of such a committee means House Democrats, who currently have a majority, would be responsible for the investigation….
The state of play: The Senate in May failed to reach the 60 votes necessary to advance a bill creating a bipartisan commission to investigate the insurrection, voting 54-35 as Republicans invoked the first legislative filibuster of the Biden presidency. They claimed it would be weaponized against them in the 2022 elections.
Crowds gathered to watch the dramatic rescue of what appeared to be a woman floating in the waters before the rubber sex doll was hauled out of Hachinohe Bay in northeastern Honshu, Japan.
I had no idea that Cali was in Japan.
(H/T Scissorhead D-Cap)
Cutetropolis via Scissorhead Purplehead (click image to visit Cutetropolis, it’s always a respite from our terrible politics)
“Hoomin, have a Tic-Tac first!”
“For ME?!”
Joe Manchin’s demands must be met!
Tucker Tries Truth in Advertising!
“Those who have been watching “Saturday Night Live” for a very long time will recall that Fred Garvin, Male Prostitutewas a loudmouth, dressed in garish clothing that was 10 years out-of-style, and was “available” to anyone and everyone who made it worth his time. We think that’s a pretty good description of Tucker Carlson, as well, particularly after Monday’s revelations about his cozy relationship with the “lamestream media.”
“On his show, of course, Tucker Carlson plays a bombastic, right-wing firebrand. If you didn’t already know, you could watch a clip of him and one of Stephen Colbert (when he hosted “The Colbert Report”), and you might struggle to figure out which one was “real” and which one was parody (Poe’s law in action). And part of the Tucker Carlson character, performed five nights a week on Fox “News,” is a constant barrage of attacks on the media (which is presented as near-universally left-wing), and its shortcomings, biases, errors, unfairness to Donald Trump, etc.
“As with Rush Limbaugh the radio-show character and Rush Limbaugh the person, there is clearly some distance between the TV Tucker and the real Tucker. It was The New York Times‘ Ben Smith who yesterday clued everyone into how big that gap just might be. It turns out that when he’s off the air, Carlson is constantly on the phone, not only with Republican insiders (including Donald Trump), but also with the same “left-wing” reporters that he has described, on-air, as “cringing animals who are not worthy of respect.” He often serves as a background source for stories about himself, about internal Fox politics, and about the Trump presidency (including some none-too-flattering stories about The Donald).”
The operative part of the NYTimes article…
“Mr. Carlson, a proud traitor to the elite political class, spends his time when he’s not denouncing the liberal media trading gossip with them. He’s the go-to guy for sometimes-unflattering stories about Donald Trump and for coverage of the internal politics of Fox News (not to mention stories about Mr. Carlson himself).”
“I won’t talk here about any off-the-record conversations I may have had with him. But 16 other journalists (none from The Times; it would put my colleagues in a weird position if I asked them) told me on background that he has been, as three of them put it, ‘a great source.’”
It’s cynical as hell on the part of TeeVee Dinner heir, vanity press owner, and notable Black Studies scholar Tucker Carlson; but damn if it isn’t also condemning of Our Failed Political Press ™.
The Great and Powerful Stupid
We’ve long said that some of those unnamed sources in the 4th Reich were Prznint Stupid hisself (helloooo, Maggie Haberman!), but you know, pay no attention to the little man behind the curtain.
So the whole thing is officially a big joke? Good to know.
American Exceptionalism
Oregon’s most famous kiosk operator and noted birding enthusiast, Ammon Bundy has thrown his 10-gallon into Idaho’s gubernatorial rodeo:
“I’m running for governor because I’m sick and tired of all of this political garbage just like you are. I’m tired of our freedoms being taken from us and I’m tired of the corruption that is rampant in our state government,” he says in a campaign video.
Oh, so he’s a reformer? (Spoiler Alert: No.)
[Bundy] is currently banned from the Idaho State Capitol Building after being arrested multiple times by Idaho State Police. During an incident in August of last year, Bundy refused to leave a committee room following a hearing and was removed by police in the office chair he was sitting in.
He’s running on the Republican ticket, I assume?
“Mr. Bundy is currently not registered to vote in Idaho, and he is not even registered as a Republican. Furthermore, we do not support his antics or his chaotic political theater. That is not the Idaho Republican Party, and we will not turn a blind eye to his behaviors,” Idaho Republican Party Chairman Tom Luna said in the statement.
Oh, so maybe he’s another asshole? Nailed it!
“… “I won’t bore you with the typical platitudes from politicians about how they’re strong conservatives, and how they support small business and education and all that. Nor will I pose in a hard hat at some random worksite talking to workers, nor will I show you pictures of me reading books to little children… I’m tired of our freedoms being taken from us and I’m tired of the corruption that is rampant in our state Government.”
Bundy also claimed President Biden is controlled by the “deep state,” and said that the president and the deep state are “going to try to take away our gun rights, freedom of religion, parental rights, and more.“
We’re talking Idaho (ground zero of militias and potatoes), and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see him win the nomination.
Here Lies American Democracy
Hey guys, today is a BIG DAY in DC… The Senate begins debate —MAYBE!— on the For the People Act, and DC Statehood gets a hearing! What could go wrong?
“All of them, Katie!”
Democracy’s last gasp, er, Sen. Joe Manchin will (probably?) vote with the Democrats to debate the For the People Act, though amply be-chinned Mitch McConnell already has declared it dead:
So this is where the rubber meets the road: Will the Republicans filibuster the debate (let alone the bill) as McConnell has vowed, and if so, will Manchin continue to defend the filibuster? Remember, if #MoscowMitch kills the debate, then Manchin cannot propose his popular Voter-ID burnt offering to the GOP.
Meanwhile, Sen. Sinema (D-Allegedly!) has written ANOTHER Op-Ed explaining her love of the filibuster, which our pals at Electoral-Vote handily vivisect, so I won’t bother with here. That said, Democrats have a $1M Amero ad campaign in the Terrible Sand Kingdom of Arizonastan to pressure Sinema:
and…
And the Big Kahuna himself, President Obama is breaking his silence:
“I have tried to make it a policy not to weigh in on the day-to-day scrum in Washington, but what is happening this week is more than just a particular bill coming up or not coming up to a vote,” he said in an interview with Yahoo News.
He added: “I do want folks who may not be paying close attention to what’s happening … to understand the stakes involved here, and why this debate is so vitally important to the future of our country,” Obama said…
“Around the world we’ve seen once-vibrant democracies go in reverse,” Obama said. “It is happening in other places around the world and these impulses have crept into the United States … we are not immune from some of these efforts to weaken our democracy.”
“If we have the same kinds of shenanigans that brought about January 6, you know – if we have that for a couple more election cycles we’re going to have real problems in terms of our democracy long term.”
So what’s gonna happen? I have no idea and the house is not accepting wagers at this time.
Until we can replace an overwhelming number of Senate Republicans, we need Sinema and Manchin, but after that, fire their asses. Scissorheads we are in the Kobayashi Maru test.
Susan Collins’ Uses Her Spidey Senses
Sen. Susan Collins is Concerned…very concerned.
“I know [
Amply be-chinned Mitch McConnell, er, Chuck Schumer] cares about this country. But he really needs to put the country first ahead of partisan considerations.”
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