Well, hot damn! We won. We’ve hit the trifecta. I guess we can all retire to our couches and bask in the glow of a job well done. I’m sure all those pesky republican insurrectionists will all just go away and stop lying, cheating, and scheming to destroy democracy. Susan Collins is sure to tell us they’ve finally learned their lesson and want to partners in making America a better place for everyone.
Laurel leaves don’t look all that comfortable as a resting place. I’d rather admire them (or use them in a pasta sauce) and spend my time moving forward. I’m ecstatic that tRump is gone. Over the moon and all that. The future is a hell of a lot brighter today than it was 6 days ago.
Still, we’ve got work left to do. Just like Covid, tRumpism won’t disappear all by itself. We need to stay active and engaged. We got complacent when we elected Barack Obama and thought that racism was quickly becoming a thing of the past. Now that we’ve managed to put Joe Biden in the White House, we can’t afford to assume everything is going to be just fine.
Right now the sniveling cowards in the leadership of the republican party are trying to normalize open insurrection and a failed coup as no big deal. In the name of unity, they are asking us to let tRump off the hook. Where was that call for unity when they were busy forcing policies and judges opposed by a majority of the country down America’s throat? Why do republicans define unity as doing whatever republicans want to do and to hell with the rest of us?
We need to move on from holding just tRump and his core sickophants accountable and insist on the shared culpability of all of his soft enablers and fellow travelers.
tRump is done. Let’s throw his ass in jail and move on to taking down the rest of them.
Our vision for our country, for justice, for equality, for survival has just taken a big step forward. Let’s make sure we keep it going. tRump is thankfully, now, mostly in the rear view mirror.
Although, I admit it, I can’t resist a parting shot or two.
and now, the News:
Another Bit of Open Republican Prejudice Undone
Joe Biden is not being timid about the need to address discrimination. He’s already taken on white supremacists and gender bigots. He’s only been president for 5 days.
Slate: Biden Repeals Trump’s Trans Troops Ban in Sweeping Executive Order
President Joe Biden repealed Donald Trump’s ban on transgender military service on Monday morning, signing an executive order that eradicates discrimination against transgender people in the armed forces. Biden’s order constitutes a complete reversal of Trump’s anti-trans policies for service members, immediately permitting transgender people to both enlist and serve openly in the military.
Biden promised to repeal Trump’s ban throughout his presidential campaign, and his executive order reflects staunch, unyielding support of transgender troops. It directs the secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to “immediately prohibit” discrimination against service members on the basis of gender identity, including discharge and denial of reenlistment. It also allows transgender troops who were discharged under discriminatory policies the opportunity to reenlist if they “meet the current entry standards.” Moreover, the secretaries must correct the military records of transgender troops “as necessary to remove an injustice.”
Crucially, Biden’s order also abolishes Trump’s ban on military enlistment for transgender people—not only his ban on open service for enlisted troops. It fully repeals the executive orders that prohibited trans enlistment, allowing transgender individuals to sign up for service once again. In a statement, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin confirmed that transgender people may now enlist and serve openly in all branches of the armed forces. The Department of Defense “will immediately take appropriate policy action to ensure individuals who identify as transgender are eligible to enter and serve in their self-identified gender,” Austin wrote. “Prospective recruits may serve in their self-identified gender when they have met the appropriate standards for accession into the military services.” His comments dispel any confusion over the scope of Biden’s policy, which some initially thought might only apply to current service members.
I’m Yellin’ for Yellen
The confirmation process is moving forward. It should speed up now that McConnell finally got out of the way. She’ll have a huge roll in implementing the upcoming stimulus package.
The Guardian: Janet Yellen confirmed as first female treasury secretary
Janet Yellen has been confirmed as the first woman to head the US Treasury.
The former chair of the Federal Reserve and noted economist was approved by the Senate on an 84-15 vote. She sailed through a congressional hearing last week and had already been unanimously approved by the Senate finance committee and backed by all living former treasury secretaries.
She faces a monumental task. Last week another 900,000 people filed for unemployment benefits – more than the population of San Francisco and four times the number of weekly claims made before the coronavirus pandemic struck.
Oh, By the Way
Not a big deal, just another nail in his political coffin.
CNN: House delivers impeachment article to Senate, triggering only 4th impeachment trial of a president in US history
(CNN)The House impeachment managers formally triggered the start of former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial Monday evening after they walked across the Capitol and delivered to the Senate the charge against Trump, the first president in history to be impeached twice.
Wearing black masks and walking two-by-two through the very halls where rioters had overtaken the Capitol earlier this month
in a deadly siege, the impeachment managers were led into the Senate chamber by the lead impeachment manager, Rep.
Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who read the article of impeachment.
The contours of Trump's Senate trial are starting to take shape as the ceremonial elements got underway, with the Senate's longest-serving Democrat expected to preside over the trial and Democrats still weighing whether to pursue witnesses during proceedings that could take up a chunk of February.
One Down, 49 to Go
The party of sedition and insurrection will be losing another member.
My feeling is they should all just resign, effective immediately. They serve no useful purpose. Just Sayin’
Mother Jones: Rob Portman Is Retiring Because of Senate Dysfunction He Spent Years Supporting
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) announced Monday that he won’t seek reelection in 2022. One reason he chose to retire, he said in announcing his decision, is because “it has gotten harder and harder to break through the partisan gridlock and make progress on substantive policy.”
But if Portman didn’t like partisan gridlock, he shouldn’t have spent years supporting it.
A loyal Republican, Portman has been a reliable ally and backer of Mitch McConnell, his party’s leader in the Senate and a key architect of the Senate’s current dysfunction. When Barack Obama won the White House, McConnell attempted to make him a “one-term president” by rallying Republican Senators to block every one of his initiatives. Attempts by Democrats to work across the aisle failed; Obamacare limped across the finish line after the GOP refused to support it for a year. A graveyard of legislation passed by the House of Representatives piled up in the Senate, where McConnell reportedly didn’t mind his nickname of “grim reaper.” “Rarely has a political figure pinned his fortunes on accomplishing so little,” the Associated Press noted of McConnell in 2019.
The Evidence Mounts
I wonder what the most loyal boot licking senators(R-Riot Wing) will do when the witnesses explain why they did what they did. Nah, I don’t wonder about that at all. I wonder what the voters will have to say about it.
Vice News: Capitol Rioter Tells AOC He’s Very Sorry for That ‘Assassinate AOC’ Tweet
He released a statement Monday through his lawyer apologizing to Ocasio-Cortez and Capitol Police and claiming he was following the orders of former President Donald Trump when he participated in the riot.
“While I never intended to harm Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez nor harm any members of the Capitol police force, I recognize that my social media posts were completely inappropriate,” Miller told VICE News in an email through his lawyer, Clint Broden. “They were made at a time when Donald Trump had me believing that an American election was stolen.”
Miller said he left D.C. after Trump told the protesters to go home and said he now recognizes Joe Biden as the president of the United States, according to CNBC. “I want to publicly apologize to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and the Capitol police officers,” he reiterated. “I have always supported law enforcement and I am ashamed by my comments.”
My Pillow Is Deflating
Twitter make another healthy improvement to their online experience.
Raw Story: Twitter permanently bans My Pillow CEO for election misinformation
(Reuters) - Twitter Inc has permanently suspended the account of My Pillow chief Mike Lindell for repeated violations of the company's policy on election misinformation, the social media firm said late on Monday.
Lindell, a devout supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump, financed post-election protest movements in a bid to overturn the election win of President Joe Biden.
Lindell used his personal Twitter account, which had nearly half a million followers before being suspended, and the company's account to spread unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in the presidential election.
This Is One Dominion that I Am Behind
Since decency, honesty and even negative public opinion have no meaning to republicans, Dominion has taken the only approach that has proven to be effective — sue the shit out of them.
Business Insider: Rudy Giuliani admits Biden is president hours after being sued for $1.3 billion by voting-machine company
Rudy Giuliani acknowledged for the first time Monday that Joe Biden won the 2020 US presidential election.
"As far as this election is concerned, it's over," Giuliani said on his radio show on WABC-AM, according to the New York Times reporter Azi Paybarah.
"Biden's the president, she's the vice president," Giuliani added, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Giuliani's statement came hours after Dominion Voting Systems sued him for $1.3 billion and accused him of defamation. The former New York City mayor spent months peddling bogus conspiracy theories alleging that the voting company engaged in widespread election fraud to deliver Biden the White House and "steal" the 2020 race from President Donald Trump.
They’ve also got the Kraken lady in their sights
Salon: Sidney Powell releases Kraken — on herself, with new super PAC not far from Mar-a-Lago
Can the bloated orange poser be far behind?
A Little Andy to Tide You Over
The trouble with satire today, is that it’s just so damn believable. Still, Andy continues to do a hell of a job.
The New Yorker: The Borowitz Report: Shrinking QAnon to Merge with Elvis Conspiracy Theory
MEMPHIS (The Borowitz Report)—QAnon, which has hemorrhaged supporters since Inauguration Day, has announced that it is merging with the conspiracy theory that claims Elvis Presley is still alive.
The announcement, made at a press conference in a parking lot across the street from Graceland, Presley’s longtime home, was seen as a bid to prevent QAnon from vanishing altogether.
The overture to the Elvis conspiracy theorists came after QAnon proposed a similar merger with the National Rifle Association, which declined, citing difficulties of its own.
Dogs Are People Too (and Have Been Part of the Family for a Very Long Time)
Pressley insisted I include this story.
Science: Ice age Siberian hunters may have domesticated dogs 23,000 years ago
Sometime toward the end of the last ice age, a group of humans armed with stone-tipped spears stalked their prey in the bitter cold of northeastern Siberia, tracking bison and woolly mammoths across a vast, grassy landscape. Beside them ran wolflike creatures, more docile than their ancestors and remarkably willing to help their primate companions hunt down prey and drag it back to camp. These were the world’s first dogs. Their descendants flowed both west and east, populating Eurasia as well as accompanying the ancestors of Native Americans as they spread into the Americas.
That’s the scenario laid out in a new study combining DNA data from ancient dogs and humans. The analysis, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, aims to end years of debate about where and when dogs were domesticated. It may even explain how wary wolves were transformed into faithful companions in the first place.
“I love this study,” says Jennifer Raff, an anthropological geneticist at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, and an expert on ancient people in the Americas. More genomes from ancient dogs and people will be needed to confirm the findings, she says, but already, “It’s amazing to see how the dog story and the human story match up.”
Pressley was also adamant about this one.
Good News Network: Clever Australian Shepherd Appears to Outsmart Owner, So He Can Get Two Treats
This dog’s owner says he wanted to do a test to see if his dog could resist taking a treat, even if he left the room.
rumble.com/…
Pressley says, “It’s about damn time. 4 years without a dog in the White House is way too long.”
Medicine Marches On
I know a lot of people with serious food allergies. I wonder if they’d rather get this treatment or the Covid vaccine?
Labroots: Food Allergies Be Gone: Nanoparticles Call for an Immune Ceasefire
Milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish—these foods top the most unwanted list for the tens of millions of people in the U.S. living with food allergies. Data shows that sensitivities to these and other food-based allergens are on the rise. A report by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention indicates that from 1997 to 2011, the prevalence of food allergies in children increased by a whopping 50 percent.
“Huge numbers of people suffer from food allergies, amounting to billions of dollars in annual health care costs,” explained André Nel, nanotechnology expert and author of a recent publication outlining the potential for nanomedicines as countermeasures against food allergies.
“Normally, asthma and anaphylaxis are treated with an EpiPen syringe as well as anti-inflammatory and immune-suppressive drugs that only provide transient relief. For the problem to go away long-term, we’re looking at the liver to reprogram the immune system to an actively sustained state of nonresponsiveness.”
Nel and the team have developed a novel technique for reprogramming the overactive immune system in those with allergies by using a subset of anti-inflammatory lymphocytes called T regulatory cells.
Musical Interlude (Extended)
We use music to celebrate where we were, where we are and where we are going.
The newest release from Playing for Change (January 22nd)
WineRev’s History Lesson
Our resident history professor’s always interesting history lesson will appear here as soon as I notice he’s posted it in the comment section. Until then look for it in the comment section.
Take it away, WineRev:
>>>>>>While Schumer was on Maddow last night, Mitch McTurtle finally gave up whatever it was he was doing to stall things in the Senate. He put out a statement saying “Now that I’ve cut and pasted what Manchin and Sinema have been saying in public for the last 6 months and haven’t changed one single bit, I’m satisfied to let the organizing resolution go forward.” If that doesn’t add up for you, YOU ARE RIGHT…..its all fig leafing and face saving (and in the case of Mitch, why would he want to save THAT face?) Yes, the filibuster issue needs to be addressed and will be; it is now a hostage for the Democrats; but now stuff can get done and the filibuster gets dealt with as we go along.
>>>>Eric Swalwell is one of the House Managers who will prosecute the Impeachment trial. He is eminently equipped to do so. Yesterday he pointed out that unlike last time, this will be a real trial with evidence and witnesses and such (almost a courtroom, but not quite; AND testimony and evidence at an impeachment CAN BE USED as such in a court of law.) Here’s the thing: Swalwell said they may well call certain Senators as witnesses (“Permission to treat as a hostile witness, your honor?”) But the Senate is sitting as a jury. OK legal eagles here at Dailykos: under NO legal theory I have ever heard of can a member of a jury be called as a witness and then continue (or even begin) to serve as a juror in the same case.
So, if Hawley, Cruz, Johnson, Tuberville, Cornyn and say Thune all get called to testify, then by my reckoning, the jury has been reduced to 94, and a 2/3 to convict number has become a rounded off 62 instead of 67, right? Then if 10 more decide “I really can’t be party to such an injustice; I refuse to attend”, the jury is down to 84, and 2/3 to convict is 56…..and things get DAMNED interesting!
>>>>>>>BTW, I have read that while by the Constitution at the impeachment trial of a President the Chief Justice presides BUT John Roberts has already notified the Senate that since the pResident in question is no longer pResident, only former and/or ex-, he will not preside. Schumer has taken this in stride and already named Senator Leahy to preside (as has been done in other, lower impeachments) (Leahy: Judiciary Committee; the other Vermont Senator; will be addressed during the trial as Judge Non-Mittens…..even by Mitt Romney…..)
January 25ths that have been Good and Goofy for 48 minutes of daylight longer at this latitude, so that you too can frolic in your own Good and Goofy ways in growing sunshine as well.
1708 Gloucester, England Birth of William Hayes, composer and organist. Early on was already assistant organist at the Cathedral in his hometown. Had the chance to go to university and eventually earn a doctorate in music while serving for decades as the organist at Oxford. A tremendous fan of Handel he took cues from his idol in arranging and writing choral pieces. Also composed with the Handel flair in genres Handel did not: chamber cantatas, works for choir and organ (naturally), more light-hearted pieces. Recalled for his organ work and oratorios such as the “Fall of Jericho” and “Six Cantatas.” Both inspired by and rather overshadowed by his hero.
1802 Washington DC By act of Congress this day the Library of Congress was established for members. President Thomas Jefferson, a wealthy man and voracious reader, personally donated over 6000 books to get it started. (After the British burned DC in 1814, including the Library, Jefferson made another multi-thousand contribution of books to re-establish it.)
1863 Boston, Massachusetts Governor John Andrew has been a fiery supporter of the Union cause and leads a state full of abolitionists. Back on January 1 President Lincoln has issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which was met with fierce celebration across the state. Now the Governor has written to Secretary of War Stanton and received permission. Andrew publicly announces he and others will begin raising a new regiment for the Union Army, the 54th Massachusetts has supplied. While the commissioned officers will be white, the enlisted men will all be black men (non-coms will be both races.) They are the first black regiment, fiercely proud of that fact, and won glory on several battlefields (including Congress: Union privates earned $13/month, but Congress said black privates would only get $10/month. The 54th set the example by refusing all pay until Congress made the numbers equal. After several months, they did, retroactive to date of enlistment.) See movie, “Glory” Morgan Freeman, Matthew Broderick.
1875 Kalamazoo, Michigan Town dentist George Green has a good practice in town but feels the tools of his trade are practically medieval. He wants something modern. He has already been tinkering with pneumatic pumps but hits on a better idea. O this day Dr. Green received a patent for the first electric dental drill (which could be fitted with different heads to also saw, file, dress and polish teeth.) So just relax, swish and spit, close your eyes and listen to the Muzak…..which was a live band or a saloon piano player back in 1875…...
1892 Atlanta, Texas (NOT the Georgia one!) Birth of Bessie Coleman, aviator. Born to a large but poor family she was Cherokee on her father’s side and African-American on her mother’s. The family (of 13 children) soon moved to Waxahachie as sharecroppers. Bessie walked four miles each way to her segregated school. Loved to read and was quite good at math. By saving up money her family was able to get her into a church high school and one year at (now) Langston University in Oklahoma. Moved to Chicago in 1915 to live with her brothers and worked as a manicurist at the White Sox Barbershop. Heard WWI stories about daredevil flyers over the trenches and decided she wanted to become a pilot. No pilot school would accept a woman, and none would admit blacks either, but the editor of the Chicago Defender (a black newspaper) wrote up her dream and asked for contributions. The paper raised enough for her to take a crash course in French and then sail to France, where she learned to fly. In 1921 she became the first black woman and first Native American to earn a pilot’s license from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. Returned to the US but commercial aviation was still a decade away from hiring many pilots. The way to earn a living was flying exhibitions on barnstorming tours. Bessie became “Queen Bess” and became very popular. She used her position and popularity to insist audiences were integrated. Tried to start an American flying school for blacks, without success. Was killed in Orlando in 1926 in what might have been a sabotaged plane. She was buried in Chicago; while none of the white papers covered her funeral, the Defender did, noting over 10,000 people (both black and white) turned out for her funeral procession. Her eulogy was given by crusading reporter Ida Tarbell.
1905 Cullinan, South Africa At the Premier Co. #2 mine this day the largest gem-quality diamond in world history was discovered. It measured 3106 carats. It was eventually cut into several large stones, many of which are part of the British Crown Jewels (since they ran South Africa at the time.)
1915 Washington DC Photographer and naturalist Enos Mills took a leaf (!) from john Muir in California and lobbied Congress for over a decade (at times using his own photographs.) Congress finally agreed with him and on this day so did President Woodrow Wilson. The Congressional Act and Signature set aside 415 square miles of Colorado as Rocky Mountain National Park. It isn’t that far from Denver, so lots of people traveled there to launch a tour. The first year the Park drew 31,000 visitors.
1962 Buffalo, New York Young people these days are just totally out of control. The Chruch should stand up for morality, and on this day Bishop Burke of Buffalo Catholic dioceses did. He declared Chubby Checker's "Twist" impure & banned it from all Catholic school dances. The “Twist” was never heard of again and the Bishop was promoted…..to Labrador and Baffin Island……(OK, I made that up……)
May all your News be Good, comforting and inspiring.
Shalom.
On the Lighter Side
I am sorry to have to inform you that last Wednesday may turn out to be the largest super spreader event ever. At 11:48AM the entire world exhaled at the same time. (h/t Edfor42)
I bet you didn’t know this — There’s a new law that says any collection of memes will be rejected unless it includes at least two memes starring Bernie in his mittens.
I should have used this one the last time I did a roundup. It’s now outdated, so consider this in hindsight.
A big h/t to my friend REDACTED, who sends me most of the memes.
Quote(s) of the Day
On our new day in America
One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight, for a very long time, of the shore. — Andre Gide
Every moment is a new beginning. — Elie Wiesel
To new beginnings. To the pursuit of...somethingness. — Cecelia Ahern
What you do is your history. What you set in motion is your legacy. — Leonard Sweet
Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. — Francis of Assisi
Some thoughts to share with certain recalcitrant senators.
It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities. — Josiah Stamp
You can't talk about leadership without talking about responsibility and accountability...you can't separate the two. A leader must delegate responsibility and provide the freedom to make decisions, and then be held accountable for the results. — Buck Rodgers
A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody. — Thomas Paine
We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions. — Ronald Reagan
A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury. — John Stuart Mill
It is wrong and immoral to seek to escape the consequences of one's acts. — Mahatma Gandhi
To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity. — Douglas Adams
Required Pet Photo (aka Pressley’s Corner)
Closing Notes
This has been my first roundup of the Biden Presidency. I am ecstatic.
To all of our fellow resisters, rounderuppers and gnusies recovering from illness or injury lots of hugs, including {{{{oldhippiedude}}}}, {{{{Msdude}}}}, our Tuesday partner {{{{niftywriter}}}}, {{{{karij}}}}, {{{{ElizabethinNYC}}}}, {{{{Arel1}}}}, {{{{Crankylib}}}} and to our entire {{{{Gnuville}}}} community.
hpg ably continues the tradition of Evening Shade: PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN--Day5--Evening Shade-Monday
Well, it’s time once again for the lads to play us out. I was at this show. This was one of Jerry’s favorite songs. Bobby flubs a line (and 4:20) and Brent smiles and fills. It was magical.
Disclaimer: All those republicans bleating about unity can go pound sand