Mercy Droppeth as the Gentle Rain

though the recent commutations and pardons by Joe Biden are more a down pour but not nearly the deluge when Jimmy Carter granted pre-emptive pardons to hundreds of thousands who had violated the Military Selective Service Act evading the Vietnam War.

Shakespeare in his Merchant of Venice also noted about mercy

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
‘T is mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown:

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32 thoughts on “Mercy Droppeth as the Gentle Rain”

  1. just for the heck of it, here’s the whole speech that many of us had to recite with great embarrassment in high school English class (ooh I still tremble at the thought):

    The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene I [The quality of mercy is not strained]
    William Shakespeare
    1564 – 1616
    The quality of mercy is not strained;
    It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
    Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
    It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
    ‘T is mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
    The throned monarch better than his crown:
    His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
    The attribute to awe and majesty,
    Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
    But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
    It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings,
    It is an attribute to God himself;
    And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
    When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
    Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
    That, in the course of justice, none of us
    Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
    And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
    The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
    To mitigate the justice of thy plea;
    Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
    Must needs give sentence ‘gainst the merchant there.

  2. merciful blessings were also raining down in Syria yesterday in moving instances like this:

    While searching a secretive prison in the belly of the Assad regime’s legacy of torture for American journalist Austin Tice, CNN’s Clarissa Ward made a startling discovery when a rebel fighter uncovered a hidden prisoner still unaware of Assad’s ouster. And Jomana Karadsheh reports from Damascus where residents are coming to grips with the uncertainty of the country’s historic rebellion.

  5. Patd

    Portia would be so proud.  

    As it happens that assignment made me glad that my last name starts with W.  I hadn’t bother to memorize it, but since we had to go in alphabetical order, I managed to learn it as it was recited multiple times before my turn arrived.  

     

  6. The Bezos effect. WaPo 

    President Joe Biden used his pardon power on Thursday as the Constitution’s framers had intended: as a pre-Christmas act of mercy. He commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people who were released to home confinement during the pandemic and whom the president believes have successfully readjusted into society. He pardoned 39 others convicted of nonviolent crimes, such as drug offenses, following a case-by-case review of their applications.

    This is a stark contrast to Mr. Biden’s ill-considered pardon of his son Hunter and to the misguided notion, still under discussion within the White House, of preemptive pardons for people who might be at risk of vindictive prosecution by President-elect Donald Trump. Though Mr. Biden has the prerogative to confer broad immunity with what are sometimes called safe harbor or protective pardons, doing so now on a large scale would be difficult to achieve, at least with any principled consistency. And it would unavoidably imply that any beneficiary broke the law in zealous pursuit of Mr. Trump. Perhaps most worrying, it would create a precedent that future presidents would use to justify their own misuses of the pardon power.
     

    To be sure, Democratic fears of retribution from Mr. Trump rose when the president-elect announced his intention to install as FBI director Kash Patel, who published a 60-person enemies list in a book last year and has pledged to pursue vengeance against critics of the incoming president. Pam Bondi, Mr. Trump’s pick for attorney general, said on Fox News last year: “The prosecutors will be prosecuted, the bad ones.” Adding a sense of urgency to the debate, Mr. Trump said Sunday on NBC that members of the House committee that investigated Jan. 6, 2021, “committed a major crime” and “should go to jail.” Names reportedly under consideration for preemptive pardons include retired Gen. Mark A. Milley, Anthony S. Fauci and former congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming).
    ….

    Asshats. I’m sure it’s a coincidence that this editorial was published the day after Bezos donated $1M to Dumbass’ inauguration party. He shoulda stuck to selling you whatever you want and delivering it in 2 days.

  8. Let the backpedaling begin..

    Trump told Time magazine that he likely won’t be able to lower prices, saying:

    “It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up”

    He was obviously never that interested in inflation, always changed the subject to immigration whenever he tried to talk about it.

  10. Anyone who lived through the Polio epidemics of the 1950s, knows that Kennedy is out of whatever mind the worm didn’t devour.  

     

  12. The lawyer helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pick federal health officials for the incoming Trump administration has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine, which for decades has protected millions of people from a virus that can cause paralysis or death.  NY Times (no link due to that paper working hard to do bad to America)
     
    That lawyer is Mr. Siri,  whom the idiot’s idiot for overseeing the vaccines of America is a favorite person.  Whoever is directing sfb to destroy America is going about it politically and healthwise. 

  13. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/13/rfk-jr-aaron-siri-polio

    “A key legal adviser to Robert Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump’s pick for health secretary, is at the center of efforts to push federal drug regulators to revoke approval for the polio and hepatitis B vaccines and block distribution of 13 other critical vaccines.”
     
    *JFC! RFKJ is one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

    Could Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ban vaccines as HHS secretary?

  14. https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2024/rfk-jr-ban-vaccines-health-human-services-secretary/

    “He would not be able to unilaterally ban vaccines. A nationwide ban would require Congress to pass a law. But he could alter US vaccination practices.

    But he “could begin the process of having the FDA re-review the safety of vaccines and move to revoke or place restrictions on some vaccine approvals,” she said. “But this would take time and would undoubtedly be challenged in court.”
    After notifying the manufacturer of the agency’s plan to revoke a vaccine license, the FDA commissioner would have to hold a hearing and also provide the manufacturer “reasonable” time to achieve compliance with whatever the government had asked of them.

    “Manufacturers may well sue if they disagree,” Reiss said. “If there is no sufficient justification, (they) may win in court against the revocation.”

    She added that, as secretary, Kennedy could, for example, rescind emergency use authorizations for COVID-19 vaccinations for children, which would result in children younger than 12 losing access to those vaccines.

    Kennedy could also nominate or remove members of federal advisory committees, including the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which recommends vaccines that the CDC reviews and adopts. He could fill the committee with people who hold antivaccine beliefs who could then rescind vaccine recommendations, Reiss said.
    Parmet said the CDC’s adopted vaccine recommendations determine the vaccines “covered without charge” under the Affordable Care Act and the immunizations available under the Vaccines for Children program, which provides vaccines to Medicaid-enrolled and uninsured children.

    Kennedy could undermine grant programs that support state and local immunization programs, such as the CDC’s Section 317 Immunization Program, a reference to Section 317 of the Public Health Service Act. The program aims to ensure that children and adults are immunized by awarding federal grant money to state and local public health agencies to support vaccine purchases and operation costs, costs, the 317 Coalition website said. Its 2023 report to Congress said that most of the program’s funding supports the mandatory Vaccines for Children program.

    *Insurance companies probably won’t be on the hook to cover vaccines.

    *Will BigPharma fight back?

    *2025: Year of the snake.

  15. this won’t be DOTUS’ 1st try. remember this story from 2017 about mconnell & Cohen Meet 2 US Congress Members who are Childhood Polio Survivors?

    Polio cases are down by 99.9% globally since 1988. Progress toward the full eradication of polio is incredible news for people living in endemic countries including Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. And also for Americans.
    To those born after polio was eliminated in the United States in 1979, polio may seem a bit distant. But the scars of polio still impact the United States. For example, two sitting members of the United States Congress contracted polio in childhood and continue to live with the consequences.
    […]
    Experiencing polio himself has made Rep. Cohen a strong advocate for polio eradication. In 2015, he spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives about the impact that polio has had on his life, calling on parents to vaccinate their kids against polio.
    Both Sen. McConnell and Rep. Steve Cohen have received Rotary International’s Polio Eradication Champion Award for their leadership in promoting a world without polio.
    […]
    Polio eradication efforts have long had bipartisan support. However it is widely reported that, in March, the Trump Administration reached out to key members of congress requesting that they cut $13 million from polio eradication efforts in 2017.
    To add to this, in the 2018 budget requests released on March 16, the White House called for dramatic cuts to foreign assistance that would impact the lives of millions around the world who rely on American leadership to access lifesaving vaccines.
    As Congress works to finalize funding levels for polio eradication, Global Citizen will continue to look to leaders like Sen. McConnell and Rep. Cohen to advocate for robust funding for polio eradication.

  16. “Whoever is directing sfb to destroy America is going about it politically and healthwise. ”
    BB,
    of course, that’s part of the playbook of SB ( AKA  Scruffy Bullshitter the DOTUS-elect whisperer) who warned us often the  plan is to

    … destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.

  17. on the subject of Time

    Kimmel Calls Out Trump’s Bumpy Past With Time’s ‘Person of the Year’

    While President-elect Donald Trump recently celebrated Time naming him its “Person of the Year” a second time, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel reminded viewers of Trump’s public discontent with the publication over the years.
    “Trump has had many ups and downs when it comes to Time magazine,” recalled Kimmel, who brought up a April 2013 tweet where Trump wrote: “The Time Magazine list of the 100 Most Influential People is a joke and stunt of a magazine that will, like Newsweek,soon be dead. Bad list!” Notably, Trump was not on the publication’s annual lineup that year. The following month, Trump tweeted: “Just took a look at Time Magazine-looks really flimsy like a free hand out of the parking lot.”
    However, as Kimmel points out, in 2015, when Time put him on the cover, Trump called the moment a “great honor.” Yet when he failed to make it as “Person of the Year” months later, the billionaire slammed winner Angela Merkel: “I told you, @Time Magazine would never pick me as person the year despite being the big favorite They picked person who is ruining Germany.”
    Naturally, all ill will was lost the following year, when the magazine gave him the title and Trump once again lauded the “great honor.”
    As Kimmel quipped, “Sadly, the era of good feelings did not last,” and when Trump wasn’t the featured subject of 2017, he claimed he had rejected Time‘s request for an interview and photoshoot ahead of the “Person of the Year” issue. “Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named ‘Man (Person) of the Year,’ like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot,” lamented Trump at the time. “I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!”

  20. Democrats should get busy and propose their own list of budget reforms before Elon and Vivek do theirs. Cut oil subsidies, yacht/plane deductions, Pentagon waste — could be fun.

  21. Trump to CEOs yesterday: “I’ll be cutting your taxes to 15%”.

    That’s a $23 billion cut for the largest 10 companies in America. Five largest grocery companies get $1.7 billion in tax cuts. When those companies got his 2017 tax cuts NONE cut prices or added jobs, went to exec bonuses/stock buybacks.

    This right here is where Democrats can begin their comeback. People did not vote for tax giveaways to companies gouging them. But keep it simple, such as ‘Walmart will pay lower taxes then Walmart employees’.

    Trump vows ‘tremendous incentive’ on taxes during NYSE visit.. https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/trump-vows-tremendous-incentive-taxes-during-nyse-visit

    “Trump Is About to Betray His Rural Supporters” — Ron Brownstein.. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/12/trump-gop-rural-supporters/680981/?gift=NRiHslr75Dl8nzQxUmBxSkTwTknP_6haE_M4N_E4kyE&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

  23. “Anyone who lived through the Polio epidemics of the 1950s, knows that Kennedy is out of whatever mind the worm didn’t devour. ” Jamie , how right you are.  I took the sugar cube in the early 60’s, and I remember the horror of polio, how scared Mom was for us 2 boys…the kids in iron lungs, the kids in leg braces, the withered limbs. 
    And these bastards want to go back to that. May they rot in hell.
    Oh…the reason I could not score tickets to the opening of The Hoover Museum To the Deep State on January 21, 2025 is because Kash Patel is full of shit and was just, as Dizzy Dean used to say, “just bumpin’ his gums.”
     

  25. Cant lower prices – groceries… – no shit, Sherlock.  The LSOS knew that when he was lying to the half of the country STUPID enough to buy his horse shit.

  26. Every time I get a prescription filled at my local walmart, they push getting current on my vaccinations, (even though I am) I was talking to my sister the walmart worker about it. She told me that Walmart gets a 100% markup on vaccines. It is one money maker for them nothing in the store makes as much money as you getting that shot. 
    In fact Walmart is strongly encouraging all of their employees to get current with their vaccinations.
    Jack

  27. One thing that would lower prices at least for eggs, is to get bird flu under control.
    One of the more depressing things about the recent election is everybody was using the price of eggs as a sign of what was wrong, but nobody was pointing to the obvious solution.

  28. Jack, 
    It’s worse than that.  None of the disingenuous RW liars who were carping about the price of eggs that I heard trying to blame Joe for the price of eggs bothered to mention that bird flu was probably the biggest single cause of the price increase.  If you can’t identify the cause it’s hard to identify the solution.  

  29. Adolf kept shilling digital trading cards, coins, sneakers, etc., to folks who said they couldn’t afford eggs.  Maybe it was never about the price of eggs.

  31. Here is a hint I don’t know if it has been spread before (and I absolutely hate to state one of the two) check with Costco or Sams Club pharmacy.  Occasionally I need to consider the cost of driving to the VA medical center to have a prescription filled, including the hours of waiting to have the civilian script changed to a VA script.  Anti-biotics are often so cheap at Costco it is less than the cost of a couple gallons of gasoline.

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