Neanderthals 

Three Hours, Nineteen Minutes: It’s March fourth, that matters because the Q Anon crowd is convinced that Ulysses S. Grant, who was sworn in on a March fourth, was the last legitimate president.  According to their twisted logic Joe Biden who was inaugurated and sworn in on January twentieth like every other president in modern times including the Former Guy isn’t really the president.  Their delusional expectation is that the Former Guy, the real one rather than the Mexican made golden idol that was wheeled around the CPAC convention, will be sworn in today.  We, well at least those of us who aren’t loony tune fringe nut cakes with guns, spears, twist cuffs, and MAGA hats, know that Biden is president and that the Former Guy isn’t going to be sworn in today; however given the large number of those nut cakes and the higher than typical occupancy and room rate surge pricing at the Former Guy’s DC Hotel, the Capitol is once again on high alert over credible fears that insurgency part two is on for today.  If we’re lucky, the day will pass peacefully but if things do get out of hand at least this time the Capitol area is already ringed with ugly, barbed wire topped protective fencing and the National Guard is already in place, making a repeat of January sixth’s sh-t show unlikely.  As to the National Guard, yesterday during his Senate testimony Major General William Walker, the commanding general of the DC National Guard told legislators that though he had his troops on buses and ready to go and that he had gotten almost immediate approval to send them last summer during the BLM protests,  it took over three hours for him to get permission from higher ups at the Defense Department to send them into the Capitol on January sixth.   Curiously enough those higher ups included General Charles Flynn even though the Defense Department had earlier denied his involvement. General Charles Flynn is the brother of Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, the admitted and convicted but then pardoned liar who was a participant in the day’s “save the vote” festivities who had earlier advised the Former Guy that he should declare martial law to dispense with the results of the November election.  General Charles Flynn, acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller and a number of the Former Guy’s other appointees initially told Commander Walker that sending in the troops, unlike a violent incursion into the Capitol, would provide for “bad optics.” Ultimately they agreed to let Walker send in his forces, but by then a lot of dire damage had been done.  The Senate plans to call Miller and possibly brother Charles in to testify, they definitely have lots of ‘splaining to do.

Legislative Update:  Biden’s coronavirus aid legislation shrunk a bit yesterday after Democratic leadership agreed to change the qualification thresholds for the $1400 stimulus checks, shrinking amounts to zero more quickly for individuals making more than $75,000 and married couples making more than $150,000.  Those changes, which of course are not making progressives happy, were made to seal support from some of the more moderate Democrats, Senators like Manchin and Sinema.  It still appears unlikely that any Republicans will sign on though Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski ‘s vote may still be in play. Senator Ron Johnson the Q Anon curious charmer from Wisconsin is most definitely not on board, he plans to demand that the bill be read out loud in its entirety on the Senate floor, a delay tactic that won’t kill Biden’s legislation but will slow down its passage for what will seem like countless hours.  On the House side of the aisle, by a party line vote Democrats passed HR 1, The For the People Act, a bill that they first introduced and passed in 2019 to “expand voting rights, change campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of money in politics, limit partisan gerrymandering and create new ethics rules for federal officers.”  While all of those provisions might sound rational to fans of Democracy, getting the legislation passed in the Senate given its fifty-fifty make-up will be extremely difficult if not impossible.  By a party line vote the House also passed the “George Floyd” policing bill which among other things increases police accountability and bans certain procedures including choke holds; getting the George Floyd bill through the Senate will also be very difficult if not impossible.  Get ready to hear more about how Democrats are anti police from the insurgency crowd that made beating up police at the Capitol a reality.

Viral Musings:  Apparently, Texas Governor Abbott and Mississippi Governor Reeves were just a wee bit offended after President Biden called out their decisions to rollback virus protection rules and mask wearing mandates as Neanderthal thinking. If they hate the moniker maybe they should reconsider acting like cavemen, just saying.  Unfortunately, despite pressure from scientists and some members of their communities both governors plan to make it easier for the virus and its cousins from the UK, Brazil, New York and wherever else those mutant strains have originated to thrive. Maybe they’ll luck out and get a few new strains named after them, because what state doesn’t want a strain of its own? On the positive front, vaccinations continue to ramp up. Yesterday Andy Slavitt, one of Biden’s virus advisers, tweeted that more than 2 million people are being vaccinated daily and that one in nine adults, including one in six of those aged 60 to 64, 46% of those aged 65 to 74, and 64% of those over 75 have received their first doses.

Human Resources:  The Transportation Department’s Inspector General wasn’t all that impressed by former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao AKA Mrs. Mitch McConnell’s ethics violations and had sent his conclusions to the Justice Department for their action but, of course, Barr’s DOJ did nothing because why would anyone be concerned about a Former Guy Cabinet member doing things to help her family’s Chinese businesses. On the new cabinet front, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo was confirmed and sworn in as Commerce Secretary yesterday. Unfortunately, the Senate Finance Committee was deadlocked, split evenly along party lines on whether to advance California AG Xavier Becerra for Health and Human Services secretary. Keep in mind that many of those same Republicans had no issue with the Former Guy’s two unimpressive health secretaries, Tom Price, the exorbitant spender and Alex Azar who did such an awesome job overseeing the pandemic.  Majority Leader Schumer will still be able to bring the Becerra nomination up for a full Senate vote and absent any Democratic defections, he is still likely to be confirmed.  With Neera Tanden no longer up for the OMB slot, attention has shifted to Shalanda Young who is well on her way to being confirmed as OMB’s deputy director.  It’s not clear that Biden will nominate her to lead the OMB but it’s expected that once she’s confirmed he’ll make her acting head while he firms up his plans.  It doesn’t appear that Governor Cuomo is planning to do an Al Franken right now.  The Queens born native apologized yesterday for acting like a bridge and tunnel guy from a certain era, saying that he didn’t mean to make anyone uncomfortable.  Regardless of where you stand on Cuomo, he’s a hugger and there are countless pictures of him hugging and kissing people at weddings, on the campaign trail and in life.  That behavior is part politician and part old world, once acceptable but not so much anymore.  He’s going to do his best to hold, hoping that the  results of an independent investigation show that he was just being who he is, not engaging in overt harassment.  And that’s probably a reasonable strategy given that Virginia’s Governor Ralph Northam who almost lost his office over that KKK picture is still governor and doing a good job managing his state through the pandemic.   

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80,540,474 shots in arms