Welcome to The Now

 That's what Democrats will have to say to their constituents if they don't hold the line . I can't imagine saying something along the lines of, "Well, we tried y'all" winning many votes.  They didn't Force the Vote. They couldn't get a Minimum Wage increase. The stimulus checks were less then promised. Kids are still in cages. Countries are still being bombed. People of color are still being brutalized by police. Journalists are still being punished for simply showing the world the dark underbelly of our governments. Medical bills, gasoline, rent and mortgages are high and rising. The Pandemic still reigns. Climate Change has not been successfully addressed. Those were just some of the expectations that didn't get addressed to satisfaction. The Left has all but abandoned the Democratic Party (there are still some holdouts) and if they don't pull out a substantial, legacy-level, New Deal-like win with these two bills, they may begin to lose som...

Here we go : (CNN)Speaker Nancy Pelosi told House Democrats on Thursday "don't embarrass" President Joe Biden by voting down a $1 trillion infrastructure bill amid Biden's trip overseas, a warning that underscores the high stakes of the moment for the divided party as the President's agenda hangs in the balance. House Democratic leaders are pushing for a vote on the infrastructure bill even as key progressives signal they plan to withhold their support, a dynamic that could force leadership to delay the vote for the second time in two months and deal a major blow to Biden on the world stage. [snip] Pelosi's admonition not to "embarrass" the President came during the closed-door meeting. She also said that she would put the infrastructure bill on the floor later Thursday and hold the vote open to get the bill through. In other words: the platform House members ran on and their politics mean little when their party leader's reputation/feelings are ...

 With Sam Raimi at the helm, I imagine that the movie will look like a cross between " Oz the Great and Powerful " and " Drag Me to Hell ." In a sense, Raimi is like a cross between Wes Craven and Tim Burton, and his sense of comedic timing is (arguably) better than either. Combine that with the Power of the Mouse, related works and his Marvel History , I expect a very unique entry into the MCU.

 At this time, it doesn't seem like foul play, but that doesn't make it any less of a somber story : New York (CNN Business)A John Deere worker who was walking to the picket line Wednesday in Milan, Illinois, was struck and killed by a car, according to the United Autoworkers Union. "It is a somber time to lose a member who made the ultimate sacrifice in reporting to picket for a better life for his family and coworkers," said Ray Curry, UAW President. The 56 year-old union member, whose name has not been released, was a 15-year employee at the Milan John Deere Parts Distribution Plant in Moline, Illinois. The workers at John Deere have been striking for almost two weeks now.  

 By definition, a vaccine is "a substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases, prepared from the causative agent of a disease, its products, or a synthetic substitute, treated to act as an antigen without inducing the disease." For the curious, the definition of " immunity " is, "the ability of an organism to resist a particular infection or toxin by the action of specific antibodies or sensitized white blood cells."  Notice the use of "resist," as in, "You're going to catch it, but we want you to survive the ordeal." That being in mind, check out this video Jimmy Dore did regarding Noam Chomsky's surprisingly fear-filled idea to ostracize unvaccinated people from society:

There was a time during the GW Bush Administration where it became obvious that the President's foreign policy was falling apart: no weapons of mass destruction, no connection between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, no real justification for the men and women who lost their lives and/or their livelihood.  Domestic policies (trying to convince people to invest their Social Security in the Stock Market, Hurricane Katrina response) wasn't fairing any better. Facing what would later be know as a blue wave (before the media claimed what happened in 2018 one) the GOP decided to implement the "Shut Up and Clap Louder" strategy. It was basically, "Ignore reality, claim that the policy (or policies) help(s) to make the country better, and praise the President at every opportunity." Flash forward to now, where President Biden is bleeding at the polls , and the Democrats are seemingly employing the same strategy. Instead of acknowledging the broken campaign promise...

Basically: Republican president rarely ask if they can do something, and Democratic president come up with excuses why they can't do anything.  Except increasing the military budget. They all agree to do that. Also, Democrats are very good with coming up with "liberal" arguments to do thing Republicans get pushback for even suggesting ( Crime Bill , Telecommunications Act , etc.)

  "Build Back Better" my big butt : On Thursday, Judge William H. Alsup of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco threw out a June 2020 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule changing the Clean Water Act Section 401 certification process to allow federal agencies to approve large projects—including fossil fuel pipelines, hydroelectric dams, industrial plants, wetland developments, and municipal facilities—against the wishes of states and Native American tribes. In July 2020, 20 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration over the rule change. That September, Indigenous tribes and green groups also filed suit against the administration, claiming the new rule would jeopardize tribal and state efforts to protect their water quality. "We feel vindicated by this win today," Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) attorney Sangye Ince-Johannsen said in a statement following the ruling. "The ...

 Simply put: while it may be temporarily satisfying to ridicule people for losing their jobs , this could potentially impact the unemployment numbers in a way that hurts Democrats in the midterms .  COVID-19 is still new, and people have a right to be skeptical. Not willfully ignorant, but skeptical. 

This is a real opinion piece . BTW: "commercial superpower" is not (currently) a real phrase. 

 In America, there are self-proclaimed Democrats who praise Colin Powell yet despise Condoleezza Rice, despite the fact that both of them pushed the same foreign policies while in the GW Bush Administration.

It's possible that this story from David Corn is just Sen. Manchin trying to scare Sen. Chuck Schumer and President Joe Biden into capitulating on the infrastructure bill, but there are more good reasons to call his bluff and let him leave than back down like a scared little bunny: The Democrats will no longer have to listen to Manchin . Is there a chance that Manchin caucuses with the Republicans, giving them power over the Senate? Yep. But the Democrats still have the House of Representatives and the White House, so the GOP aren't going to be able to pass anything either. As powerful as Manchin will seem in the Senate, he will no longer be a factor in the overall process of lawmaking. The Democrats can now run someone against Manchin in West Virginia . It's doubtful that they'll run someone like Paula Jean Swearegin , but any candidate who is to the left of Manchin economically would be an improvement. And let's not forget that Manchin pushed a gubernatorial cand...

 In one word: protests. As in, " Students from Howard University protest their less-than-stellar living conditions :" Protester Tia-Andrea Scott expressed concerns over accounts of students coughing up blood and experiencing mold in the walls of their dorms. She said university officials were invited to a town hall on Tuesday night but instead of showing up, they sent police officers instead. “This isn’t how we should be treated by our university. Howard University is supposed to be illustrious” Scott continued. “But when it comes to protecting the people that are here, and Black issues, clearly they’re not meeting us…unless media presence or unless everyone is watching.” Video shared on social media shows Howard students blasting the school over the lack of COVID testing and the mold inside the dorms. While I'm sure these issues (and others) have been building up for some time, events like these protests -in addition to the strikes that have been popping up across Americ...

 As the ex-nurse-turned mayoral candidate India Walton is finding out:  

 Answer: Yes . 

 Another day, another act of capitulation : WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned fellow Democrats on Thursday they “must put aside our differences” as the party struggles to coalesce around President Joe Biden’s huge but now-scaled-back package of social services and climate change strategies. Schumer’s letter to colleagues comes as progressive leaders in Congress are steering them away from what the progressives call a “false choice” over what to keep or cut as Democrats labor to trim what had been a $3.5 trillion proposal to about $2 trillion. I would say that I'm surprised if not for the fact that since the election, Democrats have consistently backed down from their promises, including a $2,000 stimulus (not $1,400) and $15 minimum wage.  Keep in mind that the original price tag was almost twice as much as the $3.5 trillion that Chuck Schumer now is willing to reduce. No on is pushing the Democratic Party to the left. The leadership won't allow it....

  And not just because people complained about their cramped seating .

Update from a post from last week via of The Convo Couch:

 Can't have a robust economy without a workforce .  FYI: a closer look (Pages 11 through 14) break things down by industry and region. 

Instead of sharing their vaccine recipe with organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) - which could help make the vaccine available worldwide- Moderna has decided that it's better off just selling vaccines for profit .  This is a rather cruel piece of evidence that the vaccine was not created to harm or control the populace. 

 With very few options and a disastrous economic fallout looming due hesitation on raising the debt ceiling, President Biden has decided to pull out the big guns, aka, bank CEOs . And wouldn't you know it, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell now wants to deal .  Keep in mind that if Biden was the negotiator that he claimed to be during the 2020 presidential campaign, he wouldn't have needed to reach for such a big stick. 

 In his latest attempt to play congressional gadfly, Joe Manchin has decided to make the more left-leaning Democrats in Congress choose which of the following three policies they want to keep : expanded child tax credit, paid family leave or subsidies for child care . While this may look like Manchin may finally be willing to negotiate, there's a reason to be suspicious. It's possible Manchin would just be against whichever option was picked, claiming that the other two are more reasonable. It's also possible that Manchin wants someone else to make the choice instead of him, which will take the anger and frustration off of him while splintering the people who want all three policies.  For the most part, the left-leaning Democrats aren't buying it , but time will tell. After all, the midterms are fast approaching and Manchin has just as much pull with Republicans in charge.   

 While President Joe Biden is apparently open to weakening the filibuster rules in order to get his legislation passed, the American media appears to be pushing the more left-leaning Democrats in Congress to compromise on a bill that already represents a compromise . 

  Secular Talk and Common Dreams also talk about this, but that's the basic takeaway. And we're not only talking about CEOs, but world leaders as well.  I'll also add that there's not a lot of daylight between how the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists put this Pandora Papers story together and what Wikileaks does. 

 Between the 60 Minutes whistleblower revelation and The Facebook Family's (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) very convenient "downtime" while people were about to discuss said whistleblower revelation, Facebook isn't having a good week. AOC is about to make it worse : "It's almost as if Facebook's monopolistic mission to either own, copy, or destroy any competing platform has incredibly destructive effects on free society and democracy," the Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter. "Remember: WhatsApp wasn't created by Facebook. It was an independent success. FB got scared and bought it." "If Facebook's monopolistic behavior was checked back when it sh ould've been (perhaps around the time it started acquiring competitors like Instagram)," the New York Democrat added, "the continents of people who depend on WhatsApp and IG for either communication or commerce would be fine right now. Break them up." Being a in the busin...

Graham Elwood reminds us that Facebook is not our friend . Remember: if it's free, then that means that you are the product . 

 Looks like being a social media platform "empowered" by politicians to be the gatekeeper of "good information" can be problematic when profits are on the line : The identity of the Facebook whistleblower who released tens of thousands of pages of internal research and documents — leading to a firestorm for the social media company in recent weeks — was revealed on "60 Minutes" Sunday night as Frances Haugen . The 37-year-old former Facebook product manager who worked on civic integrity issues at the company says the documents show that Facebook knows its platforms are used to spread hate, violence and misinformation, and that the company has tried to hide that evidence. "The thing I saw at Facebook over and over again was there were conflicts of interest between what was good for the public and what was good for Facebook, and Facebook over and over again chose to optimize for its own interests, like making more money," Haugen told "60 Minut...

 COVID-19, or more specifically, how we combat COVID-19 may lead to (yet) another economic spiral. If the federal government and other states follow New York's lead to mass fire health care workers for refusing the vaccine mandates , and end up hiring people with little-to-no experience in applying vaccination properly, who go on to follow jab procedures that even the vaccine manufactures don't recommend , we're going to end up with a lot more sick/dying people.  Good luck convincing people to get the booster if there is a fallout. And those who haven't been jabbed at will look at this and say, "SEE?!? I told you that it was dangerous!"  Being skeptical of people who choose professional advancement, monetary achievement, or personal gain over the well-being and health of the public is not a crime.