@allyn Well they destroy the economy so that the rich who were hoarding money during the good times can buy things on the low side during a recession. The rich find their bargain basement deals: stocks, real estate, for better prices then the boom times. Then when Democrats enter, the economy booms, and the rich make massive money on their bargain basement assets during good times at massive profits.
Thats their game plan for sure and its horrible that they manipulate the economy for that purpose. I will say, though, that it is smart business to buy in recessions and sell in booms so I have no ill will toward the ones that have no hand in the manipulation and just take advantage of the benefits. When I was young, I had a friend/mentor tell me that when you aren't selling anything you need to be buying everything and its the best piece of business advice I've ever gotten.
I think that the Republicans are finally reaping the rewards for their loyalty to Trump during all of this nightmare.
If Trump refuses to pass the bill, and the Republicans lose the Senate on January 5, will they finally, FINALLY put Trump in his place? Will they stop with their futile effort to overturn the will of the people? Will they finally tell Trump to vacate the White House? Will they finally implement the 25th Amendment and kick Trump out?
Somehow, I doubt it.
Now, I think that this will ultimately blow up in Trump's face too. He is burning bridges with so many people, and when the law and the courts finally catch up with him, he will find many "false friends" who publicly express outrage over Trump's treatment while secretly helping the prosecutions go forward.
I hope and pray every night that the Republicans lose the Senate. Further, I hope they get decimated in 2022, with Trump gone and the Republican base disillusioned. Biden is the perfect person to try to work through these problems and try to come up with bi-partisan solutions until we can kick the tea- party rejects and Trump loyalists our the door where they belong. After that, I hope someone (probably Harris) will be fair but firm in dealing with what remains of their party.
But for any of this to happen, the Republicans must suffer from their dealings with Trump. For years, he has perpetrated the myth that he was the one who got people to come out and vote for them. Yet somehow he lost and many of them won. For him to destroy the Georgia Senate race may be the event that makes the Republicans realize that Trump is poison to them. I doubt that will happen, but one can hope!
Trump has already killed the careers of current GOP reps and senators. When he turned on Mitch last week it started. Every single republican who doesn't support his push to overturn the election will lose the support of his faithful and will be primaries and beaten(aside from a few) their next campaign. The GOP is now split in half and Trumpets/Qanon nutjobs have the slight majority there. It is just enough to beat the establishment Republicans but not enough to win a general because the half of the red voting block that cant stand Trump and won't vote blue will stay home. It is going to be a blue landslide for the next few years.
The GOP has no good move because no matter which side they take, they alienate enough of their voters to keep them from winning any majority in a general election. I see the Lincoln project starting their own party soon and becoming what the GOP was pre-Gingrich, pushing the current GOP to the fringe.
@allyn @ tgraff66. Read Heather Cox Richardson's post in her Letters From An American blog.
"The National Defense Authorization Act this year does something else, though, that seems to me of far more importance to the president than the naming of military bases.
It includes a measure known as the Corporate Transparency Act, which undercuts shell companies and money laundering in America. The act requires the owners of any company that is not otherwise overseen by the federal government (by filing taxes, for example, or through close regulation) to file a report that identifies each person associated with the company who either owns 25% or more of it or exercises substantial control over it. That report, including name, birthdate, address, and an identifying number, goes to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The measure also increases penalties for money laundering and streamlines cooperation between banks and foreign law enforcement authorities."
There is more to Trump's ignoring then refusing to sign than just the "money for relief" and don 't be fooled by his phone concern for "Give the people the money" ..he hasn't wanted to give it thus far.. it's just smoke and mirrors to his pettiness and revenge and dirty money dealings.
Yes... he DID sign it last night and is still trying to sneak in the changes he wants..but.. it was too little too late... everyone one who went off the assistance that provided will now have a delay in getting those funds accessible in a timely manner again and will be a week behind in benefits thus cheating them out of a week of the 11 weeks that were agreed upon. I think many people are sick of the machinations of the GOP and the continual obstruction by them to make any lasting changes for the good of all people other than themselves. I also think if The National Defense Authorization Act, which includes the Corporate Transparency Act , as it applies to current companies too, will reveal much about the grifting, laundering and interference money that has been undermining our Democracy the past 4 years even though we were already one of the easiest countries to launder money in with shell corporations.
Glad as I am for the minuscule amount of aid being okayed I am praying it is enough for folks to hang on until this administration is out. I pray with all my might for us as a people to flip the Senate and get going with the tremendous amount of work that will need to take place to take us to the next level of being "that government of the people, by the people, for the people" in this country be the Truth and goodness it was envisioned to be.
As a Georgian born and bred for 6 decades plus.... I humbly ask for all prayers and Light and Healing Energy be sent to our state during this crucial runoff period. That the winners be for the Highest Good for all concerned. Please don't tire, please don't fail.. we are in the home stretch now... take deep breaths and push on. Yes.. we are running on sheer heart and willpower now...we....will....not... stop..... Pray... please.
I suspect that R's either in the House or Senate may try to insert the repeal or at least review of Section 230 into that.
as I predicted....
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/30/senate-stimulus-check-increase-452491
The Senate majority leader said he would not detach the $2,000 checks supported by President Donald Trump from other matters demanded by the president: Stripping legal protections from tech companies and establishing an election fraud commission.
Yes I'm doing fine. Still not feeling "right" and much more tired than before but Im ok and have no distinct symptoms anymore. Ive just been away from my phone and computer for a week or so to focus on the kids because I was pretty much absent for 2 weeks before Xmas because of covid.
My wonderful Georgian neighbor, I will not stop sending prayers and light so long as there is a spirit inside this old body of mine. I am frustrated (as I am sure you are) to be surrounded by so many Trump supporters and callous Republicans who go to church every week and preach about the evil liberals, when the evil they practice is so toxic that it threatens everything we care about and fight for.
I saw that Georgia's early voting surpassed three million voters, and I am very happy. But I am so fearful that the Republicans will win at least one seat. And then what? Another two years of McConnell and his Republican allies blocking judges and stopping votes on important laws just so they can. Since March of 2020, we have lost over 350,000. And that is just from the disease. This will not take into account the deaths of the hundreds of thousands of people who will die in the next two years from hunger, homelessness, an increase of crime, and the continued rise of extremist from the right.
It is unfair that so much pressure is being heaped on Georgia to come through for this nation. As sad as it is, there is no way McConnell and the Republicans can be reasoned with at this point. Biden is too optimistic if he thinks that the Republicans will help once Trump is gone. They will never stop, so it is up to us to take them out of power permanently and work around them until such time that they are replaced by more reasonable people or until the Republican party dies.
What is the mood in Georgia right now? I know that the Democrats are doing everything they can and the energy is strong, but will the Republicans come out and vote on January 5, 2021 in such numbers that they nullify the Democrats and ensure another two years of obstructionism? I wonder why anyone would believe that Democrats are a bigger threat now when McConnell is the one fighting the $2000 checks (even against the demands of Trump himself). In a normal world, I couldn't imagine how such a scenario would play out where McConnell would be awarded for screwing over the American public to maintain his rich allies. But, alas, I too come from a deep red state, and I hear my neighbors spout out "socialism" and "liberals" with such hatred that I can no longer look at them as human beings worthy of any attempt to understand them. They see me as the enemy, so I no longer bother with them and have cut them out of my life (with great relief to my downtroded spirit, I may add).
As for the Republicans who plan to contest Biden's victory on Wednesday, I pray that something comes out about Trump that will make him a pariah, and therefore their own reputations will be tarnished for helping him. Further, I hope it causes the Democrats to finally tell Republicans that they are done playing nice and to make the Republicans' lives a living hell for the next decade. Instead of politeness and following the rules, Democrats need to subject the Republicans to their own medicine and do whatever it takes to take them out of power. If we need to add more seats to the Supreme Court, then we should do so and stop caring about what Republicans are going to do when they get control back. We tried being nice before during Obama's turn, and look where it got us. They will obstruct no matter what, so why not make them pay the price?
@allyn With the court victory that says Pence can call it how he wants it, I'm feeling like next week may be the most important week in the history of our Republic between the Georgia runoff and this. I'm so, so, so, so, so blocked and nervous about the whole thing. I'm back to work (but still from home) on Monday so I'll be watching anything I can watch via live stream with my fingers over my eyes (but slits of course, just like one watches any decent horror film for the first time)
@allyn and @DannyBoy. I have Faith... in the people, who are seeing clearly, in spite of all the caca that has been flung. Who has gotten out there and voted. Warnock and Ossoff had a narrow lead and I heard today that it has widened. I DO know that many of the GOP people around here... are NOT voting.... that they actually believed that if they voted it would help the other side, that the machines are rigged and the vote won't be counted. Trump's mouth running 50 different manic ways and tweets daily.. has a lot of them confused and they are not voting...along with not wearing masks and getting covid-19 at even higher rates now.
I believe that Love,Good,Faith,Hope are all with us as we begin this run down the home stretch. David Perdue is quarantined...and will be nowhere to be found. Kelly Loeffler is not doing so hot her own self as Ossoff and Warnock counter all those tired "radical left" "Fake news media" BS Trump lines/lies.
I have every Faith and I sense/feel Warnock and Ossoff winning.
I originally saw Ossof winning and that switched to Warnock winning - the other seat was defeat. Now I see nothing.
Also - now I have no idea what is up with the lawsuit, because the article I read on Apple News seemed to indicate Mike Pence has the ability (not likely the kahones) to recognize whatever slates of electors he wants, but I just read another article that says he can't. Lord have mercy on me, I need another week of christmas break.
I dont see how any sane court can rule that the VP can decide whichever votes he wants to accept. That would be the end of free elections in this country, as once precedence is set, no Republican VP would ever accept enough votes from a Democratic candidate to give them the win. There is no bigger conflict of interest in our government because if the VP isn't on the ticket for a 2nd term, they are almost always the candidate for the next term and would essentially be able to elect themselves nonstop.
The way I understand it is that if objections are made by 1 rep and 1 senator, deliberations and a vote are done. If it is split(house votes one way, senate the other) then it falls to the state Governor to pick the votes that are accepted. There is no way the house votes to accept false Trump votes so it will fall to the Governors of WI(dem) PA(dem) GA(rep but said Trump won) AZ(rep) and MI(dem) so that would still give Biden the 270 and then some.
Lots of misinformation here in these last few posts.
1) the court dismissed the lawsuit brought by Nutcase Wood on the grounds that he has no standing to bring such a suit. Pence himself (through a brief by his legal team) asked for the suit to be dismissed, and it was. This is a victory, yes, but for democracy, not the wingnuts.
2) Pence is Constitutionally obligated to oversee the vote count, yes. However, the Constitution does *not* permit the VP - acting in his role as President of the Senate - to choose which electoral votes will be accepted or which slates of electors will be recognized.
3) The governors have no role in this and never have. It is correct that one Senator and one Rep are required to issue a challenge. If (and likely in this case *when*) a challenge is brought, the law lays out the procedure very clearly. Objections must be submitted in writing, and they must state clearly and concisely the basis for the objection. The Senate then withdraws to its own chambers, and a debate can occur in each house for up to a maximum of two hours. Once that time has elapsed, a simple majority vote is held in each house whether to accept or reject the electoral vote(s) in question. I'm not clear on whether this happens for each objection separately, or if it can be done en masse for all of the objections, but:
If both houses vote to reject > Votes are *not* counted.
If both houses vote to accept > Votes are counted
If one house accepts and one rejects > Votes are counted
Again, the *only* way electoral votes can be eliminated is for *both* houses of congress to vote to reject them. At no point do the state governors or any other entities get involved in the process.
Given the above process and the fact that the houses are split by party, this will cause nothing more than a delay in the process. It cannot and will not change the outcome, no matter how much they whine about it.
This is honestly nothing more than grandstanding by the people involved in order to try gain the support of the Orange One's loyal base in order to set themselves up for future Presidential runs.
Most of the attempts to predict the outcome of the GA runoffs have been inconclusive at best. Some say that both D's win, others say one or the other but not both, and still others are not able to see any result at all. My guess from what I've seen here is that 1) although the other side knows what will happen, we are not supposed to know for whatever reason, and/or 2) it doesn't matter who wins...for whatever reason.
Also, regarding the several visions of McConnell looking dejected or seemingly without power, it seems that is already occurring. He is under heavy pressure from all sides including his own party members to bring the $2K payments to a clean vote. Since he has refused to do so, all fingers are now pointing directly at him as the person to blame. In addition, he has now lost control of his party in that he has been unable to rein in the maverick Senators who are now saying they will challenge the electoral votes. He knows this is a bad move, but he is powerless to stop it, and he knows it.
Strength to all of you. I cannot imagine the utter fear and desperation some of you might be feeling, but stay strong. The first step has been taken. It isn't over yet, and won't be for some time (not in Europe either), but we have defeated Nationalism before. We can do it again as long as we stay true and in the light.
Good vibes too all ❤️