After decades of working for the good of the country, like his friend Jimmy did, Joe will continue to do good works post-presidency.
Attribution: Biden farewell address by Dave Granlund, PoliticalCartoons.com
Online dictionary: The idiom “last hurrah” is a common expression used in English to describe a final effort or activity before retirement, departure, or the end of something. It signifies a last chance to make an impression or leave one’s mark on a situation.
Stephen with other news
Mrs. Obama has declined to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration, where Speaker Johnson pledged to fly flags at full mast. Elsewhere in Washington, the Coca-Cola company gifted Trump a special commemorative bottle, and two of his cabinet nominees faced scrutiny in Congressional confirmation hearings.
Not sure what Michelle’s plans are Monday, but they have to be more important than attending FF’s 2nd inauguration. I’ve got other things to do as well. Maybe go have lunch or something.
pogo, why the big tsk tsk about her not showing up/? it isn’t the history making thing media accuses her of since neither the outgoing flotus nor even the outgoing potus showed up last time.
oh yeah, forgot it’s always worse if the dems flout the norms. goopers can get away with mudering people on 5th ave and letting a million die of covid.
for a change, here’s some happy moments of sheer joy:
A man reunites with his dog.. missing for five days following the Palisades fire in California.
another happy story in the midst of sadness —
The L.A. fires skipped over this historic avenue. Neighbors credit ‘trees of God’
ALTADENA, Los Angeles County — A towering river of green flows through Altadena and marks where the Eaton firestorm inexplicably blew by and left rows of homes untouched.
Over 100 cedars native to the Himalayan mountains line Santa Rosa Avenue, which is known by locals and on historical markers as Christmas Tree Lane. The mile-long avenue is lit up in December with thousands of colorful holiday lights strung up in the trees.
“These trees protected our little pocket,” said Kevin Van Vreede, 58, whose home still stands on nearby Sacramento Street.
The Eaton Fire turned block after block of Altadena into ashen ruins. But these shaggy Dr. Seuss cedars still stand where they have grown since their 19th century planting. Embers didn’t take hold in their needles — even with about 20,000 lights, wires and electrical boxes hung high in their boughs.
The species — deodar cedar — is roughly translated as “trees of God” in Hindi, and some neighbors said that detail rings with a little more weight after the smoke cleared and they emerged, standing.
Christmas Tree Lane resident Rob Caves, 37, theorized the tree bark contained special “fire-resistant sap.” [continues]
I’ve got such mixed feelings about Joe. His hubris might well be why we are here. What-ifs are useless, but can’t get out of my head what might have been if he had not run for reelection.
Now here’s a fundraising text that gets my attention. Fund A Porta Potty for Saturday’s March on Washington.. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/peoplesmarch?refcode=smswide01152025
Craig, imho, maggers like hubris, they voted for hubris, in fact, they went for the bigger hubris. I’m not sure there was any Democrat who could’ve out-hubered the First Felon.
I still believe we need to get rid of re-elections. One six year term for presidents. Get it done and get out.
Porta-potties, lol, we can get behind that.
Sure sounds familiar. Nixon scuttled LBJ’s Paris peace talks, Reagan got Iran to postpone hostage release, Netanyahu delays Gaza ceasefire deal.. https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-01-16-2024-dc0ef64dd52db395c5a54328518e8efd
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/1/16/headlines/mike_turner_ousted_as_house_intelligence_committee_chair_following_concerns_from_mar_a_lago
“Mike Turner Ousted as House Intelligence Committee Chair Following “Concerns from Mar-a-Lago”
“Turner is an outspoken military hawk and has advocated for continued U.S. military support to Ukraine. In January of 2021, he broke with his party and voted to certify Joe Biden’s presidential victory.”
tRUMPsky is cleaning house. Can’t have any pesky, bipartisan Republicans. The dictator with the fragile-ego will have his retribution.
Wonder if the crowd will be smaller at this inauguration? Most MAGAts can’t afford to travel. Who paid for the domestic terrorists to be in DC on J6 of 2021? Maybe they’ll chip in for attending the installation of a fascist regime.
bId – The weather report for Monday is a high of 26F, probably at midnight, and dropping during the day to the teens. The wind will be windy. It should be one of the colder inauguration days since Ronnie (tax social security) put his hand on the book. The snowflakes will probably stay home this time, again.
today’s meme…
We gotta hope Jim Acosta stays in the 10am weekday chair on CNN. He’s one of the good ones. This morning Jim Acosta on fears the “free press is crumbling”:
Bob Uecker has died at age 90. A funny guy.
I hope Joe is already at work on his Presidential Library. I hope it will be at Archmere.
https://www.toledoblade.com/opinion/columnists/2025/01/12/shribman-what-tomorrows-wait-deep-bidens-eyes/stories/20250112052
The most idiotic thing (of many btw) Merrick Garland has done is refuse to release the Smith report on the secret documents case because it might interfere with the investigation of the small fry criminals.
If Biden had a hair on his ass, he would issue a pardon to the idiots that helped Trump shuffle those secret documents around. Stating that while they are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt they are small fish and in fairness if we are not going to prosecuted Trump for his crimes then we should not prosecute minor actors. Then release the report.
But he doesn’t so he won’t.
And there is his failure. It has been consistent now for 4 years. Some people raise to the occasion, some just shuffle through.
Jack
Signaling, perhaps, God’s change of heart. He’s been known to do that.
Fresh out of law school driving a corvette.
Ha!
Yeah, that is working class all right.
That may explain the recent election better than anything else.
Jack
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15124510/what-id-do-differently-vice-president-joe-biden-interview/
yeah i don’t think Dems had a viable pro-wrestling-type candidate, the people wanted stupid, they’re getting stupid 🇺🇸
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-us-treasury-pick-bessent-says-extending-tax-cuts-top-priority-2025-01-16/
“Scott Bessent, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head the Treasury Department, on Thursday said that extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of this year is “the single most important economic issue of the day.”
“If we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity,” Bessent told the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. “We will see a gigantic middle class tax increase.”
*BS. This is NOT about sparing the middle class.
patd, don’t mistake my sarcasm for criticism of Michelle. It is not. Let me restate it so that it’s clearer – I think I will join Michelle in not attending FF’s 2nd inauguration. If your question is regarding others’ tsk, tsks, screw them. Why WOULD she show up?
72 Hours after getting all my teeth pulled: Salt Water For Breakfast..
Craig, looking good and your videos are helpful and informative. BTW, another question for a friend: Did you need a driver to/from? (I’ve been drafted as a designated driver.)
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/scott-bessents-3-percent-deficit-target-would-require-massive-cuts-to-anti-poverty-programs-and-middle-class-tax-increases/
“Basic arithmetic suggests that the fiscal goals of President-elect Donald Trump’s treasury pick would slash health care and food security for working- and middle-class families while renewing tax cuts tilted to the wealthy.”
Bessent doesn’t think the federal, minimum wage should be increased, either.
Folks get desperate enough and EAT THEM! won’t just be a catchy saying.
As it happens, I will be a designated driver on Monday, January 20, 2025 at 10 am MST which translates to Noon EST. So I do in fact have a legitimate schedule conflict for the false-swearing-on-the-Bible. Further irony, the exact same thing had happened on January 20, 2017.
Nancy Pelosi isn’t going, either. Why would she? Adolf’s language incited a MAGAt to attack her husband and almost kill him.
Honestly, nobody should normalize a felon (and someone who says he will be a dictator on day one) by playing nice at his takeover.
President Biden can leave as soon as the Felon lies about upholding the US Constitution. Just…there should be a lot of empty seats.
BB -I hope the cost and the nasty weather keep the crowd numbers low. If the temp drops during the day, the parade should be nothing.
Anybody with any common sense and especially those recuperating from surgery or otherwise with health concerns will stay out of that cold. I hope Joe can leave early. Beyond that, I hope FF gives one of his 90-minute rants and freezes the buns off all the reptilian alligarchials.
came on the radio, glad i picked this station
Yes, Ivy — David drove me home, as I had been under light sedation for the procedure (recommended for full extractions). If only local anesthesia used they say you can drive yourself home.
you got me brushing 3x a day, Jefé
Yeah, I’ve taken up oil pulling, again, in the morning. Keep ‘em as long as possible, but let ‘em drop as they may, and maybe go full crone. Not sure how Medicare works for dental, but it may not exist when I get there, anyway. Yours look nice, though, Craig,
One good thing is that MAGAts will be glued to their teevees, and won’t be bothering any MLK Day activities…which I hope include gearing up for the midterms (if they happen) to try to get Congress out of n@zi compliance with Orange Adolf.
anon & BiD,
and don’t forget to floss
https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.h6gD5v3KJw48FMhk-cESewHaJJ&pid=ImgDet&w=191&h=235&c=7
Jack, Biden’s family went from riches to rags to middle class over the course of Joe’s early life. And to paraphrase Gregg Allman, Scranton ain’t no paradise…The ‘vette was a wedding gift from his father, who ran a large Chevy dealership at the time. MSRP for a 327 w/ 4 speed and leather seats would be just south of $4500.00. Certainly not a typical working class family car, but a decked out Ford Galaxy 500 could cost that much. I’d say Joe’s family was pretty solidly middle class. Give the guy a break…
BiD, for the record Medicare does not cover dental. Advantage plans (Part C) through private insurers offer it but with low annual limits on what they’ll pay, under $2k — which dentists and periodontists can easily burn through in a single procedure.
After losing Mister Baseball earlier, now David Lynch is gone at age 78. I am a big fan of Mr. Lynch.
I had free dental care until I retired. Then it was cash on the barrelhead. I am going to enroll in the VA’s plan soon. It ain’t free , that I know.
Poobah, I’m impressed at your dutiful compliance with the dentist’s driving requirements. Once every 5 years following a “procedure” that requires “conscious sedation” I drive home after I get my wits about me again.
I got a dental plan that after a year covers 50% up to $5000. Dental insurance as a rule, SUCKS.
Insurance doesn’t exist to see that you receive medical assistance; insurance exists to make the insurers as rich as possible. In Canada, it’s a lot more sane.
Sturg, you got dat right.
I have the same dental plan as when I was working, but now through ACA. I pay more in premiums, payout is only $1,000 and it was hard to find anyone close to me in the city who would take it, and it’s worse here. Lots of folks around here missing a pearly-white or two.
We should have universal healthcare for all in the US, and it should include eyes, ears, and teeth which are all part of the body. Pretty sure I’ll need cataract surgery within 10 years.
The insurance industry is a scam across the board.
Yep the cost of dental care gets little attention in our health care debates, yet we probably pay more out of pocket for that than most things.
If God could be sued put teeth, knees and hips on the list for product liability.
And shoulders. Very poorly designed joint.
Whelp, Elon’s space junk fell from the sky, but did not stop the march of fascism. Darn it.
Were those out tax dollars that went poof in the sky?
I want to make sure that no matter what form of universal health care payment system is ultimately created in the U.S. it needs to include mental care. Mental care is just another part of the rest of the body care.
So, we’re going after
CzechoslovakiaGreenland. How’d that work out for ‘ya, Adolf?Negotiations over an 836,000-square-mile island may fall to a close friend of Elon Musk with experience in deal-making. Just not that kind of deal-making.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/us/politics/elon-musk-donald-trump-greenland.html
Exactly, BB. The brain is in the head, the head is attached to the body.
Unless you’re a lawyer working for FF, then God only knows where your brain went.
Delaware was solidly working class unless you were born into the Du Pont Lucky Sperm Club.
There’s a whole new generation that needs to learn repuglicans are all about their loan shark buddies.
E-loania won’t be able to hide out in Barron’s bedroom.
“Elon’s space junk fell from the sky”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/obama-clinton-bush-skip-trump-inauguration-lunch-rcna187899
“Former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will not attend President-elect Donald Trump’s traditional inaugural lunch.
Former Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton also received an invitation to the inaugural luncheon but will not attend, according to a third source familiar with the matter.
All three former presidents, however, will attend Trump’s swearing-in ceremony earlier in the day, according to their teams. The former first ladies will also attend the swearing-in ceremony except for Michelle Obama, according to the Obamas’ office.
Inauguration Day is one of the only occasions when all former living presidents usually congregate to usher in the next administration. Trump, however, declined to attend President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.”
Wouldn’t it be nice if Shitler didn’t show up on Monday. Where is JD??
I didn’t have much time for television during my working/grad-schooling years, but I enjoyed that show, Mr. Belvedere.
So long, Bob U.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Belvedere
Employer-sponsored plans were working well with fair premiums, $500 deductibles, and 20% co-insurance up to the limit then 100% paid after that until HMOs came in and messed it up. Of course, folks without jobs were still out of luck, so there was that.
When Pammy Jo becomes the investigator will she investigate the investigator?
https://futurism.com/neoscope/uhc-prescription-drug-price-hiking
“Insurance Company Where CEO Was Assassinated Jacking Up Cost of Cancer Drugs by “Thousands of Percent,” Government Finds”
“Translation: those markups made each company hundreds of millions of dollars at the expense of the cancer patients who needed them.”
“While Optum obviously isn’t the only company who participated in this outrageous price-gouging, the FTC report dropping just five weeks after UHC CEO Brian Thompson’s murder — widely linked to suspect Luigi Mangione’s poor experiences with healthcare and insurance — feels pretty on-the-nose.”
“Details remain thin about what Mangione experienced after suffering an injury that left him in debilitating back pain. In the wake of Thompson’s assassination, however, people have taken to social media in droves to share their own experiences with being denied care — and as Forbes reported last month, UHC refuses claims more than any other insurer.”
“Though the FTC didn’t mention Mangione or Thompson in this “interim report,” the agency acknowledged that this update to the first version in July 2024 provides a “more comprehensive analysis of how the PBM respondents reimburse specialty generic drugs” after the companies in question seemed to drag their heels getting back to the agency.”
One last thing…
WaPoo does not bother me but I am getting mightily pissed off by the increasingly lengthy commercial intrusions while I’m trying to follow the complicated plot and jargon of Alex Cross on Prime Video for which I’m already overpaying. Man in the High Castle my ass.
Buzz off ‘ya Bezos.
Nite y’all.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/11/trump-fdr-roosevelt-coup-attempt-1930s
“Business leaders like JP Morgan and Irénée du Pont were accused by a retired major general of plotting to install a fascist dictator”
“In a climate of conspiracies and intrigues, and against the backdrop of charismatic dictators in the world such as Hitler and Mussolini, the sparks of anti-Rooseveltism ignited into full-fledged hatred. Many American intellectuals and business leaders saw nazism and fascism as viable models for the US.”
“So, when retired US Marine Corps Maj Gen Smedley Darlington Butler claimed he was recruited by a group of Wall Street financiers to lead a fascist coup against FDR and the US government in the summer of 1933, Washington took him seriously.”
Huh. Why wasn’t this taught in school? Oooh, right.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/01/hitler-germany-constitution-authoritarianism/681233/
“How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days. He used the constitution to shatter the constitution.”
“Invoking Article 1 of the Weimar constitution, which stated that the government was an expression of the will of the people, Hitler informed the court that once he had achieved power through legal means, he intended to mold the government as he saw fit.”
Expect the same from Shitler and Project 2025.
NEW THREAD
How about that shit? You go, Joe. The issue will be whether the timelines that have been established for ratification of amendments are enforceable. They are not in the Constitution. From the NPR article posted by BiD:
“The issue has long been the subject of legal controversy. In 2020, the National Archivist – who is charged with making constitutional amendments official – declined to certify the amendment, citing an opinion from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. The department said it considered the ERA to be expired after a 1982 ratification deadline was missed. In 2022, the Office of Legal Counsel released an opinion affirming that 2020 decision.”
Strap on your guns – time to test the limits imposed by statute against the constitution.