If you got your COVID-19 vaccine before June, now is the time to get a booster shot. All adults are eligible for the booster—just go to https://t.co/k4jKpPT5qo to find a vaccine and booster location near you. pic.twitter.com/wx4e4cshC2
This is the full statement from The White House.
As we’ve explained in prior briefings, the Omicron variant is more transmissible and our medical experts anticipate it will lead to a rise in cases.
But unlike last winter, we now have the power to protect ourselves.
Our vaccines work against Omicron, especially for people who get booster shots when they are eligible. If you are vaccinated, you could test positive. But if you do get COVID, your case will likely be asymptomatic or mild.
We are intent on not letting Omicron disrupt work and school for the vaccinated. You’ve done the right thing, and we will get through this.
For the unvaccinated, you’re looking at a winter of severe illness and death for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm.
So, our message to every American is clear: There is action you can take to protect yourself and your family. Wear a mask in public indoor settings. Get vaccinated, get your kids vaccinated, and get a booster shot when you’re eligible.
We are prepared to confront this new challenge. We have plenty of vaccines and booster shots available at convenient locations and for no cost. There is clear guidance on masking to help slow the spread. And we have emergency medical teams to respond to surges as necessary.
So, this is not a moment to panic because we know how to protect people and we have the tools to do it. But we need the American people to do their part to protect themselves, their children, and their communities.
The more people get vaccinated, the less severe this Omicron outbreak will be. One hundred sixty thousand unvaccinated people have already needlessly lost their lives just since June, and this number will continue to go up until the unvaccinated take action.
Schumer digs in with ambitious plans for BBB, voting rights
Chuck Schumer heard what Joe Manchin had to say, but the Democratic Senate leader is moving forward on Build Back Better and voting rights anyway.
“Senators should be aware that the Senate will, in fact, consider the Build Back Better Act,
very early in the new year so that every Member of this body has the opportunity to make their position known on the Senate floor, not just on television.”
“The “not just on television” line was hardly subtle — Manchin told Fox News about his rejection of the BBB package before he told Schumer — but also note the majority leader’s reference to a vote on a “revised version” of the legislation.” (Benen)
The Senate filibuster isn’t what it used to be because the Senate isn’t either
“Martin Peone, former secretary of the Senate for Democrats and former Senate liaison for President Obama,
talks with Rachel Maddow about how the Senate has changed over the years, and how that change has altered the practical effect of the filibuster.”
White Americans live in a constant state of complete and total paranoia. They fear pretty much everything, and they feel threatened by pretty much by everything. They feel inadequate. They feel less than whole. They feel like everyone is better than them, so they lash out in
FACT SHEET:
Biden-Harris Administration Celebrates Expansion of Locally-Led Conservation Efforts in First Year of
“America the Beautiful” Initiative
“…highlighting steps the Administration has taken over the past year to support locally-led
and voluntary efforts to conserve, connect, and restore lands and waters across the nation that sustain the health of our communities, power local economies, and help combat climate change.
Released by the U.S. Departments of the Interior, Agriculture and Commerce,
and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the report outlines the collective work to pursue the
first-ever national conservation goal established by a President – a goal of conserving at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. The federal actions and activities described in the progress report align with the America the Beautiful initiative’s guiding principles, which include commitments to honor the nation’s conservation traditions, private property rights, the sovereignty of Tribal Nations, and the values and priorities of local communities.”
on Offline:
“Jon Favreau talks to U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy
about the intersection between the internet and our emotional well-being, the impact the pandemic has had
on our mental health and makes the case for what it means to live a truly meaningful, connected life.
New episodes of Offline drop every Sunday in the Pod Save America feed.”
(Sarah Lazarus, Crooked)
Greenland is crying — can it be saved from mining and climate change?
The world’s largest island is at a crossroads.
(Cyril Christo)
““The weather, which we had learned and predicted for centuries, had become uggianaqtuq—a Nunavut term for behaving unexpectedly, or in an unfamiliar way. Our sea ice, which had allowed for safe travel for our hunters and provided a strong habitat for our marine mammals, was, and still is, deteriorating. I described what we had already so carefully documented in the petition: the human fatalities that had been caused by thinning ice, the animals that may face extinction, the crumbling coastlines, the communities that were having to relocate—in other words, the many ways that our rights to life, health, property and a means of subsistence were being violated by a dramatically changing climate.”
Sheila Watt-Cloutier, “The Right to Be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet”
As Noam Chomsky Turns 93,
He Urges Young People to Create a “Much Better World” Through Activism
“I hope that the young people who are demonstrating in the streets of Glasgow,
the mine workers in the United States who are agreeing to a transition program to sustainable energy,
and many others like them, I hope that they will be in the ascendancy and can take the measures that are feasible and available to create a much better world than the one we have and the one that the people of the world deserve.”
The Obama Foundation Leaders Africa program
seeks to build a growing network of innovative and ethical changemakers who will drive positive change
in their communities, the continent,
and the world…
“An audio track collected during Jupiter mission’s Ganymede flyby offers a dramatic ride-along. It is one of the highlights mission scientists shared in a briefing at American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.
Sounds from a Ganymede flyby, magnetic fields, and remarkable comparisons between Jupiter and Earth’s oceans and atmospheres were discussed during a briefing today on NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in New Orleans.
Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio has debuted a
50-second audio track generated from data collected during the mission’s close flyby of the Jovian moon Ganymede on June 7, 2021. Juno’s Waves instrument, which tunes in to electric and magnetic radio waves produced in Jupiter’s magnetosphere, collected the data on those emissions. Their frequency was then shifted into the audio range to make the audio track.
“This soundtrack is just wild enough to make you feel as if you were riding along as Juno sails past Ganymede for the first time in more than two decades,” said Bolton. “If you listen closely, you can hear the abrupt change to higher frequencies around the midpoint of the recording, which represents entry into a different region in Ganymede’s magnetosphere.”
The James Webb Space Telescope will be a giant leap forward in our quest to understand the Universe and our origins. JWST will examine every phase of cosmic history: from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang to the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets to the evolution of our own solar system.
The science goals for the Webb can be grouped into four themes:
NASA will provide coverage of prelaunch, launch, and postlaunch activities for the James Webb Space Telescope, the world’s largest and most powerful space science telescope.
Webb is targeted to launch at 7:20 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 24…
Live launch coverage in English will begin at 6 a.m. on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
Thank You to all our nurses, doctors, first responders, assistants and hospital workers, our heroes, our angels.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, with much love!!!!!!!!
A new HBO documentary, ‘Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street,’
shares the origins of this American treasure and how such a talented ensemble came together to create a brand new concept in learning that still holds true today.
Sonia Manzano, the actress who played ‘Maria’ on ‘Sesame Street’ for more than 40 years, and the director of the documentary, Marilyn Agrelo, join The Reidout.”
“Senator Manchin, I was raised to not lie! … You’re looking ahead to get yourself elevated to another position, while you’re stepping right on all of us. We are under your feet. I don’t wanna be under your feet. … You are a big liar!” —Jean Evansmore @WestVirginiaPPCpic.twitter.com/TwAGxMPkLI
We've seen @MBK_Alliance communities across the country step up throughout the pandemic to expand opportunities for boys and young men of color. Here's a look at some of the important work they’ve done this year: https://t.co/W9I1aKgisf
Breaking: Jan. 6 committee requests information from GOP member Scott Perry about his encrypted texts on Signal with Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows about installing Jeffrey Clark as AG— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) December 20, 2021
Details here will not post…
Our doctors and nurses unable to keep up with unvax with omicron increasing.
(Factor in gop legislatures doing their worst.)
Q:
“If you could wave a magic wand and have the Indiana state legislature open it’s heart, open its mind,
think about these things differently. Move forward with an understanding of the kind of dire circumstances that you are talking about and the grave threat that is just around the corner. If you could get the state government to do all the right things right now, what would they do?”
A:
“I mean the realist in me wants them to just do nothing, right?
From my perspective if they just did NOTHING, then any businesses that wanted to have a mandate and enforce it the way that the business wanted to could have that.
That’s not what they are doing!
They are basically micromanaging mandates for businesses, which is insane.
So the realist in me would want them to do nothing.
The idealist in me would want them to say, look we are going to support the mandates on places of business. And we are going to support mandates on even smaller places and businesses in the federal mandate, right? The idealist me would hope that they would understand how important this is.
That literally the policies that they put forth will save lives, literally.”
And not only that, but will save the economy,
because we don’t come really racing back until the pandemic is over, right?
Look, I’m not going to restaurants now.
I’m not going to restaurants until this peak is gone, regardless of whether they are open.
So I just want them to listen to public health officials and not make public health decisions based upon,
I guess political aspirations…I don’t know what it is.”
—Have spent over an hour trying to post up this Maddow interview (post is blocked) with Dr. Boslett, who is nothing short of fantastic, and i will not forget him.
—Pls see the video above.
JUST IN: The 80,000-member coal miners union, United Mine Workers, just called on Joe Manchin to support the Build Back Better Act, telling him that BBB will protect labor and give coal miners a *better* shot at getting jobs in a renewable energy future.
Everyone on here has made me laugh, am always ready for a laugh, and we’re in this together.
….at a loss to understand your response but sincerely wish u well.
Some of the people confined to their homes while awaiting trial on charges tied to the riot at the U.S. Capitol are getting court permission to travel during the holidays https://t.co/60XAYs09kM
Hey Everyone! If you’re in the mood for Christmas music and have access to a PBS station on TV, they’re running the In Performance at The White House hosted by FLOTUS Dr. Jill and Jennifer Garner. Great music and info about the WH decorations! Enjoy!
NYT: Jan. 6 Committee Weighs Possibility Of Criminal Referrals
“The New York Times’ Michael Schmidt joins Chris Hayes
to discuss new reporting that the January 6 committee is weighing the possibility of recommending criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and others in his circle.”
Lincoln County Georgia, which is nearly one-third Black, proposes closing 6 of 7 polling sites for 2022 after GOP took over local election board & purged Dems https://t.co/6lvKF4oT2R
I have not posted for awhile and was behind in reading the posts. I was planning to fly to Reno with a ticket my son and his family bought me for my Xmas gift. I received the ticket itinerary right around Thanksgiving. Was busy packing and checking out the driving route and parking situation prior to this weekend.
Although I have been vaccinated and boosted upon hearing the details Thursday night concerning Omicron I reevaluated the safety of the trip and reluctantly canceled my week with family. I spent Friday thinking I was being a fraidy cat and should go after all the ticket was not refundable and no changes could be made. I had a stomachache and was dizzy most of the day.
My other son who lives in Seattle called me Friday evening to tell me of the situation there and how many of the concerts and athletic events had been canceled. He also said fourteen people he worked with had Omicron and a couple were in the hospital. He suggested I should not fly. I agreed with him and my stomachache and dizziness immediately disappeared. Besides my son’s call I had two other major reasons and some smaller ones that factored into my decision. My motto of “Better safe than sorry” did not fit in with going when measuring up to staying home as a safer choice. A best friend of mine that was fully vaccinated and boosted died of Covid a couple weeks ago in the hospital. So I changed my Xmas travel plans for staying home another year. Sigh….
I know it must be so very hard especially when others are flying and visiting family, but you have to do what is safest for you and your family. It’s difficult to do but it’s good your son supports you in your decision. I wish for you a blessed Christmas anyway and hope you have some really good books, food and music to get you through the holiday.
I am so sorry you won’t be with your family for Christmas. We are doing the same here. No parties no groups no one over for dinner. We are meeting 1 couple for dinner at a place that requires distance and vaccines. Im ok with it this year.
Sorry to hear this, but no doubt you made the only choice available to you, dear Obama Grandmama! I’m sure your family understood, even though you’ll all miss each other!
Absent accountability, Republicans run roughshod over election system in Wisconsin
“Rachel Maddow looks at how Republicans in Wisconsin have become increasingly brazen
in their attacks on the state’s election system and state officials as no one appears to be holding them accountable while they dismantle the state’s democracy.”
“And ten Wisconsin Republicans agreed to impersonate the real electors from their state.
And they provided a forged set of documents so Republican electors from Wisconsin could be substituted for the real ones if the plan had worked.”
“…no negative consequences at all for any of those ten Republicans who signed their names to those forged documents. One of them in fact, was appointed to serve on the state’s election commission this year. He had previously been on it. They reappointed him to it this year.”
“You start by pretending Trump won.
Nothing happens.
You take it far enough that you forge documents trying to make it seem like Trump won.
Nothing happens.
You form one of these election audits, one of these reviews of the election results.
Nothing happens.
Even though the taxpayers are paying for the thing, you staff it entirely with super Trump loyalists
who have literally already sued to overturn the election who have led stop the steal rallies,
who are publicly committed to the cause of falsifying the results and reinstalling Trump.
You staff the taxpayer-funded audit entirely with people like that.
But still, still getting away with it.
Nothing happens.
Why would’t you see how far you can push it or arrest elections officials?
Why wouldn’t you try to arrest mayors in Democratic cities?
I mean you’ve gotten this far and nothing’s happened to you.
Why wouldn’t you just keep going, keep pushing?”
‘A real conflagration’:
Wisconsin emerges as front line in war over the 2020 vote
“Earlier this fall, the Racine County sheriff recommended that five of the six members
of the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission be criminally charged over rules they adopted last year — after hours of debate at public meetings — about how to handle absentee balloting at nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic.”
“Separately, a GOP state representative has introduced a resolution calling for members of the state elections commission and the nonpartisan state administrator of elections to resign, or else face efforts to remove them from office and criminally investigate their activities. Another Republican representative has introduced a measure to decertify Biden’s 2020 win — a move that drew both public praise and private encouragement from Trump, according to aides to the former president, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the conversations.
Meanwhile, former state Supreme Court justice Michael Gableman, head of the legislative investigation,
recently asked a judge to order a county sheriff to jail the elected Democratic mayors of Green Bay and Madison until they comply with subpoenas seeking interviews for his probe.”
“In particular, a 10-month review by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty released last week found there was “no evidence of widespread voter fraud.” It concluded that “
in all likelihood, more eligible voters cast ballots for Joe Biden than Donald Trump.”
A year after pro-Trump forces attacked the Capitol, attacked police officers, erected a gallows and sought out VP Pence and Speaker Pelosi, the President signed a bill authorizing the Capitol Police Chief to request the assistance of Federal agencies in an emergency
— West Wing Reports (by Paul Brandus) (@WestWingReport) December 22, 2021
Speaker Pelosi
Statement on House Democrats Holding Five Hundred ‘Democrats Deliver’ Events Across the Nation
““House Democrats are hard at work bringing the good news of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law t
o Congressional Districts across the country. In hosting more than five hundred events since the law was enacted just one month ago, our Majority is trumpeting the historic investments headed to our families and communities.”
Biden administration extends federal student loan payment pause until May
A moratorium was scheduled to expire early in 2022.
“Now, while our jobs recovery is one of the strongest ever — with nearly 6 million jobs added this year,
the fewest Americans filing for unemployment in more than 50 years, and overall unemployment at 4.2 percent — we know that millions of student loan borrowers are still coping with the impacts of the pandemic and need some more time before resuming payments,” Biden said in a statement.”
Remarks by President Biden
in Meeting with the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force
“Today, America is the only leading economy in the world where household incomes and the economy as a whole are stronger than they were before the pandemic, even accounting for price increases.”
Statement by President Biden on 4.6 Million Americans Gaining Health Insurance This Year
“This record enrollment is a product not only of expanded access, but of the actions my Administration has taken to lower the cost of health coverage. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we’ve made quality coverage through the ACA more affordable than ever — with families saving an average of $2,400 on their annual premiums,
and four out of five consumers finding quality coverage for under $10 a month.”
I thought I knew Green Eggs and Ham better than most people, but at Kimball Elementary’s vaccination site earlier this month I finally met my match. pic.twitter.com/4MI1BcIsPZ
I thought I knew Green Eggs and Ham better than most people, but at Kimball Elementary’s vaccination site earlier this month I finally met my match. pic.twitter.com/4MI1BcIsPZ
Davyon Johnson, 11, an Oklahoma sixth grader was honored recently after he saved a classmate from choking and then a woman from a burning house—all in the same day.https://t.co/5K4sXlEcc1
Lots to look forward to this Christmas, thanks to @POTUS’ leadership, hard work across the administration, business leaders stepping up, and most importantly: our essential supply chain workers. https://t.co/wjrd1W9d66
Biden Announces Support for Changing Filibuster Rules to Pass Voting Rights Legislation
Sen. Schumer:
“I would ask you to consider this question,” he wrote in a letter to his colleagues.
“If the right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, then how can we in good conscience allow for a situation in which the Republican Party can debate and pass voter suppression laws at the state level with only a simple majority vote, but not allow the United States Senate to do the same?”
Jen Psaki:
““The President’s belief … on voting rights is that if the Republicans continue to obstruct, then we are going to look at what needs to be done to get it done.”
Idk who needs to hear this but there aren’t even 45 votes to ABOLISH the filibuster. There are 48 to REFORM it for voting rights, and they’re working on 49 and 50
— the sarcastic little mermaid🧜🏻♀️✡️ (@layneashley222) December 23, 2021
Republicans overhaul local election board, look to eliminate six of seven polling stations
“Rachel Maddow looks at how a new law in Georgia
giving the Republican-controlled state legislature the power to remake local election boards
has resulted in one rural county, Lincoln County, being targeted for losing all but one polling location.”
“Elections administrators and poll workers around the country faced an unprecedented wave of attacks last year, as Donald Trump pushed his big lie of a stolen election in a desperate bid to usurp the presidency.
That lie put a massive target on election workers’ backs:
An investigative report by Reuters found more than 100 threats of death or violence made to U.S. election workers and officials during the 2020 election.
Some of those threats involved nasty phone calls or angry kooks showing up at election workers’ homes, which is terrifying enough. Separately, though, some Trump allies are using their government positions to threaten election officials with criminal charges. The new election law that Texas Republican lawmakers passed this year creates more opportunities for election workers or people assisting voters to be charged with crimes over simple misunderstandings.
The strategy is twofold:
Paint our elections as unreliable, providing justification for policies that make it harder to vote or easier to alter the outcome. And make the job of running elections so perilous that good, civic-minded people decide they cannot shoulder the risk — creating openings for new people with partisan motives to steer our elections.”
If you take it right after the start of COVID symptoms, it can drop your chances of having to be hospitalized by nearly 90%. Stunning (understatement).
Congresswoman Jayapal:
Joe Manchin wants the President to succeed
“The Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA),
joins Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss negotiating with Senator Joe Manchin on the Build Back Better Act. Rep. Jayapal says that Sen. Manchin “wants us to understand his position, we certainly want him to understand ours.”
Not only was she out on bail during the trial, but, she was residing in another State. That is not normally allowed. And her lawyers wanted her to remain on bail until sentencing – WTH?!!! I’m glad the Judge denied it!
Kim Potter, the former Minnesota police officer who drew a gun instead of a Taser and fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, has been found guilty of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the young Black man's death. https://t.co/gtwkrlXQqfpic.twitter.com/BnEVID7aVz
Minnesota AG Keith Ellison on Kim Potter conviction: "At this moment, I ask us all to reflect upon the life of Daunte Wright, and who he could've been had he had a chance to grow up." https://t.co/JleCoD8Ux1pic.twitter.com/eIO7cxlukx
Well now! Had my DVR set for Kennedy Center Honors on CBS. Wouldn’t you know it, my carrier lost every darn thing from 8pm onwards, until about midnight! No tv, no WiFi, nada to all.
Anyway, finally watched it on demand, but had to put up w/ all those darn commercials. Reason I love PBS! Have to petition Kennedy Ctr to have awards on PBS, away from commercial conglomerates. Just sayin’! 😏😇
Hello TOD Fam! Starting of my b-day by going retro, still shaking those legs! 😜 Think I’m going to use this song to bring in 2022 too! 💃💞🎉🎊🎇🎆 The great Miriam Makeba!
Gazelle, what a great way to start my morning. If today is your Birthday, have a beautiful day. Shake those birthday legs! Lets bring in the new year in a wonderful way.
Obama White House.gov
The Obama Diary 
Good West Coast morning Nerdy & TOD family. I’m fully vaccinated and Boosted! And I know our beloved Nerdy is too! 💖👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾💃🏾🙋🏾♀️
Sure am! 😀
💃🏾💖
We see you, Nerdy!
I wish you the happiest of holidays! Thank you for sharing the joy that is The Obama Diary, all year with us!
same to you Jacquelineoboomer. I am hoping for a poem for Christmas. May you have a blessed Christmas.
You are sweet! (Just seeing this!) Hope you had a blessed Christmas. Have a Happy, Healthy New Year!
Well done to get here first, Gail! Hope most of here with TOD are fully vaxxed and boosted. Nobody wants to get or give Covid-19 for Christmas!
✅👍🏾
Moi aussi! 😷⚽
Gooooal!!! ⚽👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾💖
This is my hope too
I think so too…call me crazy, but I do. Morning everyone..
https://www.politicususa.com/2021/12/19/nancy-pelosi-provides-a-dose-of-optimism-on-build-back-better.html
Yay!
This is the full statement from The White House.
As we’ve explained in prior briefings, the Omicron variant is more transmissible and our medical experts anticipate it will lead to a rise in cases.
But unlike last winter, we now have the power to protect ourselves.
Our vaccines work against Omicron, especially for people who get booster shots when they are eligible. If you are vaccinated, you could test positive. But if you do get COVID, your case will likely be asymptomatic or mild.
We are intent on not letting Omicron disrupt work and school for the vaccinated. You’ve done the right thing, and we will get through this.
For the unvaccinated, you’re looking at a winter of severe illness and death for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm.
So, our message to every American is clear: There is action you can take to protect yourself and your family. Wear a mask in public indoor settings. Get vaccinated, get your kids vaccinated, and get a booster shot when you’re eligible.
We are prepared to confront this new challenge. We have plenty of vaccines and booster shots available at convenient locations and for no cost. There is clear guidance on masking to help slow the spread. And we have emergency medical teams to respond to surges as necessary.
So, this is not a moment to panic because we know how to protect people and we have the tools to do it. But we need the American people to do their part to protect themselves, their children, and their communities.
The more people get vaccinated, the less severe this Omicron outbreak will be. One hundred sixty thousand unvaccinated people have already needlessly lost their lives just since June, and this number will continue to go up until the unvaccinated take action.
So, I’ll say it once more: Get vaccinated.
Speaker Pelosi:
Dear Colleague on Path Forward to Passing the Build Back Better Act Into Law
Dec 19 2021
(https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/121921)
—-Merry Christmas, happy holidays, thank you and your colleagues, for all your work 2021 !!
Schumer digs in with ambitious plans for BBB, voting rights
Chuck Schumer heard what Joe Manchin had to say, but the Democratic Senate leader is moving forward on Build Back Better and voting rights anyway.
“Senators should be aware that the Senate will, in fact, consider the Build Back Better Act,
very early in the new year so that every Member of this body has the opportunity to make their position known on the Senate floor, not just on television.”
“The “not just on television” line was hardly subtle — Manchin told Fox News about his rejection of the BBB package before he told Schumer — but also note the majority leader’s reference to a vote on a “revised version” of the legislation.” (Benen)
“The letter concluded with news that Senate Democrats will “hold a virtual Special Caucus” tomorrow night.”
(https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/schumer-digs-ambitious-plans-bbb-voting-rights-n1286300)
—-thank you Senator Schumer and to all of our good Senators, Happy Holidays!!
The Senate filibuster isn’t what it used to be because the Senate isn’t either
“Martin Peone, former secretary of the Senate for Democrats and former Senate liaison for President Obama,
talks with Rachel Maddow about how the Senate has changed over the years, and how that change has altered the practical effect of the filibuster.”
Here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxeC1g_z0Bs)
THIS THREAD👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼🔥🔥
Obviously, not all white Americans! But this fits some, for damn sure!
Brandon Straka told Chris Hayes about Jan 6, the day Donald Trump sic-ed his mob on the Capitol:
“The plan all along was to go the Capitol.”
The plan was “always to march from the Elipse to the Capitol.”
Rick Perry Busted As The Source Of “Aggressive Strategy” Coup Text
“Former Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry is believed to be the source of the aggressive strategy coup text to Mark Meadows.”
(https://www.politicususa.com/2021/12/17/rick-perry-busted-as-the-source-of-aggressive-strategy-coup-text.html)
FACT SHEET:
Biden-Harris Administration Celebrates Expansion of Locally-Led Conservation Efforts in First Year of
“America the Beautiful” Initiative
“…highlighting steps the Administration has taken over the past year to support locally-led
and voluntary efforts to conserve, connect, and restore lands and waters across the nation that sustain the health of our communities, power local economies, and help combat climate change.
Released by the U.S. Departments of the Interior, Agriculture and Commerce,
and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the report outlines the collective work to pursue the
first-ever national conservation goal established by a President – a goal of conserving at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. The federal actions and activities described in the progress report align with the America the Beautiful initiative’s guiding principles, which include commitments to honor the nation’s conservation traditions, private property rights, the sovereignty of Tribal Nations, and the values and priorities of local communities.”
Full: (whitehouse.gov)
wow.
on Offline:
“Jon Favreau talks to U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy
about the intersection between the internet and our emotional well-being, the impact the pandemic has had
on our mental health and makes the case for what it means to live a truly meaningful, connected life.
New episodes of Offline drop every Sunday in the Pod Save America feed.”
(Sarah Lazarus, Crooked)
Greenland is crying — can it be saved from mining and climate change?
The world’s largest island is at a crossroads.
(Cyril Christo)
““The weather, which we had learned and predicted for centuries, had become uggianaqtuq—a Nunavut term for behaving unexpectedly, or in an unfamiliar way. Our sea ice, which had allowed for safe travel for our hunters and provided a strong habitat for our marine mammals, was, and still is, deteriorating. I described what we had already so carefully documented in the petition: the human fatalities that had been caused by thinning ice, the animals that may face extinction, the crumbling coastlines, the communities that were having to relocate—in other words, the many ways that our rights to life, health, property and a means of subsistence were being violated by a dramatically changing climate.”
Sheila Watt-Cloutier, “The Right to Be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet”
(https://thehill.com/changing-america/opinion/584953-greenland-is-crying-can-it-be-saved-from-mining-and-climate-change)
As Noam Chomsky Turns 93,
He Urges Young People to Create a “Much Better World” Through Activism
“I hope that the young people who are demonstrating in the streets of Glasgow,
the mine workers in the United States who are agreeing to a transition program to sustainable energy,
and many others like them, I hope that they will be in the ascendancy and can take the measures that are feasible and available to create a much better world than the one we have and the one that the people of the world deserve.”
(https://www.democracynow.org/live/celebrate_25_years_of_democracy_now)
The Obama Foundation Leaders Africa program
seeks to build a growing network of innovative and ethical changemakers who will drive positive change
in their communities, the continent,
and the world…
Meet The Leaders: (https://www.obama.org/africa-2022/)
NASA’s Juno Spacecraft ‘Hears’ Jupiter’s Moon
“An audio track collected during Jupiter mission’s Ganymede flyby offers a dramatic ride-along. It is one of the highlights mission scientists shared in a briefing at American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.
Sounds from a Ganymede flyby, magnetic fields, and remarkable comparisons between Jupiter and Earth’s oceans and atmospheres were discussed during a briefing today on NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in New Orleans.
Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio has debuted a
50-second audio track generated from data collected during the mission’s close flyby of the Jovian moon Ganymede on June 7, 2021. Juno’s Waves instrument, which tunes in to electric and magnetic radio waves produced in Jupiter’s magnetosphere, collected the data on those emissions. Their frequency was then shifted into the audio range to make the audio track.
“This soundtrack is just wild enough to make you feel as if you were riding along as Juno sails past Ganymede for the first time in more than two decades,” said Bolton. “If you listen closely, you can hear the abrupt change to higher frequencies around the midpoint of the recording, which represents entry into a different region in Ganymede’s magnetosphere.”
(https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-s-juno-spacecraft-hears-jupiter-s-moon)
James Webb Space Telescope Science
The James Webb Space Telescope will be a giant leap forward in our quest to understand the Universe and our origins. JWST will examine every phase of cosmic history: from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang to the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets to the evolution of our own solar system.
The science goals for the Webb can be grouped into four themes:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/webb/science/index.html)
NASA will provide coverage of prelaunch, launch, and postlaunch activities for the James Webb Space Telescope, the world’s largest and most powerful space science telescope.
Webb is targeted to launch at 7:20 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 24…
Live launch coverage in English will begin at 6 a.m. on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.
(https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-sets-coverage-invites-public-to-view-webb-telescope-launch)
Thank You to all our nurses, doctors, first responders, assistants and hospital workers, our heroes, our angels.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, with much love!!!!!!!!
Yes!!!
A new HBO documentary, ‘Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street,’
shares the origins of this American treasure and how such a talented ensemble came together to create a brand new concept in learning that still holds true today.
Sonia Manzano, the actress who played ‘Maria’ on ‘Sesame Street’ for more than 40 years, and the director of the documentary, Marilyn Agrelo, join The Reidout.”
People in WVA are speaking up!
Saw that earlier today. Loved it!
Background Press Call on Broad Middle East Regional Year-End Discussion
Dec 17 2021
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/12/17/background-press-call-on-broad-middle-east-regional-year-end-discussion/)
Holiday reading:
Barack Obama shares his favourite books of 2021
https://indianexpress.com/photos/lifestyle-gallery/holiday-reading-barack-obama-shares-his-favourite-books-of-2021-7677775/
—-article includes a line or two about some of the books.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/-no-slack-in-the-system-struggling-hospitals-despair-at-prospect-of-omicron-wave-129243205641
‘No slack in the system’:
Struggling hospitals despair at prospect of Omicron wave
Details here will not post…
Our doctors and nurses unable to keep up with unvax with omicron increasing.
(Factor in gop legislatures doing their worst.)
Q:
“If you could wave a magic wand and have the Indiana state legislature open it’s heart, open its mind,
think about these things differently. Move forward with an understanding of the kind of dire circumstances that you are talking about and the grave threat that is just around the corner. If you could get the state government to do all the right things right now, what would they do?”
A:
“I mean the realist in me wants them to just do nothing, right?
From my perspective if they just did NOTHING, then any businesses that wanted to have a mandate and enforce it the way that the business wanted to could have that.
That’s not what they are doing!
They are basically micromanaging mandates for businesses, which is insane.
So the realist in me would want them to do nothing.
The idealist in me would want them to say, look we are going to support the mandates on places of business. And we are going to support mandates on even smaller places and businesses in the federal mandate, right? The idealist me would hope that they would understand how important this is.
That literally the policies that they put forth will save lives, literally.”
And not only that, but will save the economy,
because we don’t come really racing back until the pandemic is over, right?
Look, I’m not going to restaurants now.
I’m not going to restaurants until this peak is gone, regardless of whether they are open.
So I just want them to listen to public health officials and not make public health decisions based upon,
I guess political aspirations…I don’t know what it is.”
—Have spent over an hour trying to post up this Maddow interview (post is blocked) with Dr. Boslett, who is nothing short of fantastic, and i will not forget him.
—Pls see the video above.
Happy Birthday, Jane Fonda. I hope I am as active as you at 84.
Announced on several media platforms
thx gmail, this just made my week.
Miners know they get good pay these days at the expense of all else in West Virginia.
Children’s Defense Org.
The State of America’s Children in West Virginia
2021 Factsheet
(https://www.childrensdefense.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SOAC-2021-Fact-Sheet_West-Virginia.pdf)
—-chronic, devastating stats about children.
Manchin also needs the provisions in the BBB
for retired miners with Black Lung.
I’m GGail 👍🏾
ggail44,
been out all afternoon till now…heh…you should see the names my computer calls me !!
And that’s your apology?
ah tryna give it up…
ggail thanks for all you do and my best 2022 !!
Two of the most powerful words have become obsolete – “I’m Sorry”.
That is such sad news.
hey ggail44 – you OK??
Thought we were having a laugh!
Sorry
my Spellcheck,
changed your name from ggail (which it doesn’t want to write even now)…to “gmail”
and didn’t see it till later.
I’ve never joked or had a laugh with you.
I see you for who you really are.
I’m OK now.
Everyone on here has made me laugh, am always ready for a laugh, and we’re in this together.
….at a loss to understand your response but sincerely wish u well.
Wish U also the same
thank you
Tonight!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXtnevBlO6-/
i just don’t know what to say about this…
Sheila, my Webster’s went on hiatus. Have choice words am zipping so I don’t yell from rooftops! 😖😣😜😷
Neither do I. ……… Maybe I do, but will refrain. 🤯🤯😡
Hey Everyone! If you’re in the mood for Christmas music and have access to a PBS station on TV, they’re running the In Performance at The White House hosted by FLOTUS Dr. Jill and Jennifer Garner. Great music and info about the WH decorations! Enjoy!
NYT: Jan. 6 Committee Weighs Possibility Of Criminal Referrals
“The New York Times’ Michael Schmidt joins Chris Hayes
to discuss new reporting that the January 6 committee is weighing the possibility of recommending criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and others in his circle.”
I have not posted for awhile and was behind in reading the posts. I was planning to fly to Reno with a ticket my son and his family bought me for my Xmas gift. I received the ticket itinerary right around Thanksgiving. Was busy packing and checking out the driving route and parking situation prior to this weekend.
Although I have been vaccinated and boosted upon hearing the details Thursday night concerning Omicron I reevaluated the safety of the trip and reluctantly canceled my week with family. I spent Friday thinking I was being a fraidy cat and should go after all the ticket was not refundable and no changes could be made. I had a stomachache and was dizzy most of the day.
My other son who lives in Seattle called me Friday evening to tell me of the situation there and how many of the concerts and athletic events had been canceled. He also said fourteen people he worked with had Omicron and a couple were in the hospital. He suggested I should not fly. I agreed with him and my stomachache and dizziness immediately disappeared. Besides my son’s call I had two other major reasons and some smaller ones that factored into my decision. My motto of “Better safe than sorry” did not fit in with going when measuring up to staying home as a safer choice. A best friend of mine that was fully vaccinated and boosted died of Covid a couple weeks ago in the hospital. So I changed my Xmas travel plans for staying home another year. Sigh….
I know it must be so very hard especially when others are flying and visiting family, but you have to do what is safest for you and your family. It’s difficult to do but it’s good your son supports you in your decision. I wish for you a blessed Christmas anyway and hope you have some really good books, food and music to get you through the holiday.
Thanks for the sympathy. After the initial disappointment I readjusted my expectations.
I am so sorry you won’t be with your family for Christmas. We are doing the same here. No parties no groups no one over for dinner. We are meeting 1 couple for dinner at a place that requires distance and vaccines. Im ok with it this year.
We decided to set up a zoom or FaceTime session that includes my daughter in Europe and two sons for Xmas morning.
Sorry to hear this, but no doubt you made the only choice available to you, dear Obama Grandmama! I’m sure your family understood, even though you’ll all miss each other!
Better safe than sorry!
Remarks by President Biden on the Fight Against COVID-19
Dec 21/21
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/21/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-fight-against-covid-19/)
I love how they’ve done WH Xmas! Kudos to all, & once again making it the People’s House! Love how they used the rooms, & paid homage to all. 💞
Agree, totally!
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX8THd7QwwE)
Absent accountability, Republicans run roughshod over election system in Wisconsin
“Rachel Maddow looks at how Republicans in Wisconsin have become increasingly brazen
in their attacks on the state’s election system and state officials as no one appears to be holding them accountable while they dismantle the state’s democracy.”
Rachel Maddow:
“And ten Wisconsin Republicans agreed to impersonate the real electors from their state.
And they provided a forged set of documents so Republican electors from Wisconsin could be substituted for the real ones if the plan had worked.”
“…no negative consequences at all for any of those ten Republicans who signed their names to those forged documents. One of them in fact, was appointed to serve on the state’s election commission this year. He had previously been on it. They reappointed him to it this year.”
“You start by pretending Trump won.
Nothing happens.
You take it far enough that you forge documents trying to make it seem like Trump won.
Nothing happens.
You form one of these election audits, one of these reviews of the election results.
Nothing happens.
Even though the taxpayers are paying for the thing, you staff it entirely with super Trump loyalists
who have literally already sued to overturn the election who have led stop the steal rallies,
who are publicly committed to the cause of falsifying the results and reinstalling Trump.
You staff the taxpayer-funded audit entirely with people like that.
But still, still getting away with it.
Nothing happens.
Why would’t you see how far you can push it or arrest elections officials?
Why wouldn’t you try to arrest mayors in Democratic cities?
I mean you’ve gotten this far and nothing’s happened to you.
Why wouldn’t you just keep going, keep pushing?”
‘A real conflagration’:
Wisconsin emerges as front line in war over the 2020 vote
“Earlier this fall, the Racine County sheriff recommended that five of the six members
of the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission be criminally charged over rules they adopted last year — after hours of debate at public meetings — about how to handle absentee balloting at nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic.”
“Separately, a GOP state representative has introduced a resolution calling for members of the state elections commission and the nonpartisan state administrator of elections to resign, or else face efforts to remove them from office and criminally investigate their activities. Another Republican representative has introduced a measure to decertify Biden’s 2020 win — a move that drew both public praise and private encouragement from Trump, according to aides to the former president, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the conversations.
Meanwhile, former state Supreme Court justice Michael Gableman, head of the legislative investigation,
recently asked a judge to order a county sheriff to jail the elected Democratic mayors of Green Bay and Madison until they comply with subpoenas seeking interviews for his probe.”
“In particular, a 10-month review by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty released last week found there was “no evidence of widespread voter fraud.” It concluded that “
in all likelihood, more eligible voters cast ballots for Joe Biden than Donald Trump.”
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/wisconsin-2020-vote-battle/2021/12/16/6c585248-5931-11ec-9a18-a506cf3aa31d_story.html)
Rittenhouse:
Really good to meet you.
Carlson:
I can`t believe you’re here.
Rittenhouse:
I love your show.
Carlson:
Fans of yours as you know.
–(on ReidOut)
just sayin…you can walk around other countries not thinking about guns.
The problem, the next GOP President can change it.
LIVE NOW:
Speaker Pelosi
Statement on House Democrats Holding Five Hundred ‘Democrats Deliver’ Events Across the Nation
““House Democrats are hard at work bringing the good news of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law t
o Congressional Districts across the country. In hosting more than five hundred events since the law was enacted just one month ago, our Majority is trumpeting the historic investments headed to our families and communities.”
(https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/122021-1)
I went shop at my neighborhood market and the pet food shelves were stocked for the first time in months. Thanks President Biden.
Biden administration extends federal student loan payment pause until May
A moratorium was scheduled to expire early in 2022.
“Now, while our jobs recovery is one of the strongest ever — with nearly 6 million jobs added this year,
the fewest Americans filing for unemployment in more than 50 years, and overall unemployment at 4.2 percent — we know that millions of student loan borrowers are still coping with the impacts of the pandemic and need some more time before resuming payments,” Biden said in a statement.”
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/12/22/student-loans-white-house/)
Pls, pls consider canceling the loans…the loan cash is already out there.
–thx.
Remarks by President Biden
in Meeting with the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force
“Today, America is the only leading economy in the world where household incomes and the economy as a whole are stronger than they were before the pandemic, even accounting for price increases.”
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/12/22/remarks-by-president-biden-in-meeting-with-the-supply-chain-disruptions-task-force/)
Statement by President Biden on 4.6 Million Americans Gaining Health Insurance This Year
“This record enrollment is a product not only of expanded access, but of the actions my Administration has taken to lower the cost of health coverage. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we’ve made quality coverage through the ACA more affordable than ever — with families saving an average of $2,400 on their annual premiums,
and four out of five consumers finding quality coverage for under $10 a month.”
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/22/statement-by-president-biden-on-4-6-million-americans-gaining-health-insurance-this-year/)
Longest night of the year in our hemisphere ~ best to try for a little extra sleep… and really let yourself rest…
🕊🕯🪔🌟🎄🌟🪔🕯🕊
https://www.stonekettle.com/2021/12/recap-december-22-2021
🕊🕯🪔🙏🏼🪔🕯🕊
Truly gorgeous all – and I see redheads!!
Biden Announces Support for Changing Filibuster Rules to Pass Voting Rights Legislation
Sen. Schumer:
“I would ask you to consider this question,” he wrote in a letter to his colleagues.
“If the right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, then how can we in good conscience allow for a situation in which the Republican Party can debate and pass voter suppression laws at the state level with only a simple majority vote, but not allow the United States Senate to do the same?”
Jen Psaki:
““The President’s belief … on voting rights is that if the Republicans continue to obstruct, then we are going to look at what needs to be done to get it done.”
(https://www.politicususa.com/2021/12/23/biden-announces-support-for-changing-filibuster-rules-to-pass-voting-rights-legislation.html)
Be Well Congressman Clyburn and Happy Holidays !!
I HOPE THIS IS TRUE
Republicans overhaul local election board, look to eliminate six of seven polling stations
“Rachel Maddow looks at how a new law in Georgia
giving the Republican-controlled state legislature the power to remake local election boards
has resulted in one rural county, Lincoln County, being targeted for losing all but one polling location.”
Travis elections chief says Texas attorney general tried ‘to intimidate me’
(Grumet)
“Elections administrators and poll workers around the country faced an unprecedented wave of attacks last year, as Donald Trump pushed his big lie of a stolen election in a desperate bid to usurp the presidency.
That lie put a massive target on election workers’ backs:
An investigative report by Reuters found more than 100 threats of death or violence made to U.S. election workers and officials during the 2020 election.
Some of those threats involved nasty phone calls or angry kooks showing up at election workers’ homes, which is terrifying enough. Separately, though, some Trump allies are using their government positions to threaten election officials with criminal charges. The new election law that Texas Republican lawmakers passed this year creates more opportunities for election workers or people assisting voters to be charged with crimes over simple misunderstandings.
The strategy is twofold:
Paint our elections as unreliable, providing justification for policies that make it harder to vote or easier to alter the outcome. And make the job of running elections so perilous that good, civic-minded people decide they cannot shoulder the risk — creating openings for new people with partisan motives to steer our elections.”
(https://www.statesman.com/story/news/columns/2021/12/20/grumet-travis-elections-chief-says-texas-ag-tried-to-intimidate-me/6493013001/)
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update:
FDA Authorizes First Oral Antiviral for Treatment of COVID-19
(fda.gov)
If you take it right after the start of COVID symptoms, it can drop your chances of having to be hospitalized by nearly 90%. Stunning (understatement).
Congresswoman Jayapal:
Joe Manchin wants the President to succeed
“The Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA),
joins Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss negotiating with Senator Joe Manchin on the Build Back Better Act. Rep. Jayapal says that Sen. Manchin “wants us to understand his position, we certainly want him to understand ours.”
Here: (https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/rep-jayapal-joe-manchin-wants-the-president-to-succeed-129428037803)
Not only was she out on bail during the trial, but, she was residing in another State. That is not normally allowed. And her lawyers wanted her to remain on bail until sentencing – WTH?!!! I’m glad the Judge denied it!
OMG! Kim Potter guilty on all charges in Dante Wright’s death.
Well now! Had my DVR set for Kennedy Center Honors on CBS. Wouldn’t you know it, my carrier lost every darn thing from 8pm onwards, until about midnight! No tv, no WiFi, nada to all.
Anyway, finally watched it on demand, but had to put up w/ all those darn commercials. Reason I love PBS! Have to petition Kennedy Ctr to have awards on PBS, away from commercial conglomerates. Just sayin’! 😏😇
Hello TOD Fam! Starting of my b-day by going retro, still shaking those legs! 😜 Think I’m going to use this song to bring in 2022 too! 💃💞🎉🎊🎇🎆 The great Miriam Makeba!
Gazelle, what a great way to start my morning. If today is your Birthday, have a beautiful day. Shake those birthday legs! Lets bring in the new year in a wonderful way.
Yes it was, MT!. Xmas Eve is my b-day! Always loved it being so! And, yes indeed, I did shake a leg & my whatevers all around the home! Hah! 😂
New post.
LIVE NOW:
President Biden, First Lady to visit children’s hospital – https://www.cbsnews.com/live/