{"id":42395,"date":"2021-01-03T11:05:21","date_gmt":"2021-01-03T19:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=42395"},"modified":"2021-01-03T11:10:19","modified_gmt":"2021-01-03T19:10:19","slug":"open-thread-1-3-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2021\/01\/03\/open-thread-1-3-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread – 1\/3\/2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s a busy day here in the CatBox.\u00a0 I’ve had a ton of beginning-of-the-year file keeping to do.\u00a0 It the past, I’ve planned for and done most of it well in advance, but this year, I was not supposed to need it.\u00a0 I’m caught up on most of it.\u00a0 For the first time in my life, I won’t bitch about paperwork.\u00a0 Today is a Holy Day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb.\u00a0 My Broncos are playing the Raiders in their last game.\u00a0 Of course it’s not televised here.\u00a0 Tomorrow please expect no more than a brief Personal Update.\u00a0 It’s a WWWendy day, and she’s coming earlier in the morning than usual because of her schedule.\u00a0 May the Holy Orb shine its blessed light on your team, unless they raid lost wages.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jig Zone Puzzle<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Today’s took me 3:24 (average 5:11).\u00a0 To do it, click here<\/a>.\u00a0 How did you do?<\/span><\/p>\n

Cartoon<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Short Takes<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

From Daily Kos<\/a>: <\/span>One of the criticisms of former President Barack Obama in his first term was a lack of focus on judicial nominations, letting many vacancies go unfilled even while Democrats held the Senate. President-elect Joe Biden learned the consequences of letting nominations languish and is already on it<\/a>, contacting Democratic senators to get their recommendations for judicial candidates. And not for just any good candidates: for the kinds of judges that have been lacking in the federal judiciary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith respect to U.S. District Court positions, we are particularly focused on nominating individuals whose legal experiences have been historically underrepresented on the federal bench, including those who are public defenders, civil rights and legal aid attorneys, and those who represent Americans in every walk of life,\u201d reads a Dec. 22 letter obtained by HuffPost from incoming White House counsel Dana Remus to Democratic senators. Remus continued that Biden doesn’t just want those names for a list for potential nominees, he wants recommendations\u2014as soon as possible and with a final deadline of Jan. 19\u2014for any existing district court vacancies. That sets him up to get those nominations rolling literally on Day One, Jan. 20. Additionally, Remus told senators that Biden will expect nomination recommendations from them “within 45 days of any new vacancy being announced, so that we can expeditiously consider your recommendations.”<\/p>\n

I am pleased to see and do support the areas in which Joe wants to focus with respect to fixing the judiciary. However, without both GA Senate seat wins, it’s meaningless, given the smug smirk of Blatant Bought Bitch Midnight Moscow Mitch.\u00a0 RESIST<\/strong>!!<\/span><\/p>\n

From NY Times<\/a>: <\/span>Vice President Mike Pence signaled support on Saturday for a futile Republican bid to overturn the election in Congress next week, after 11 Republican senators and senators-elect said that they would vote to reject President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.\u2019s victory when the House and Senate meet to formally certify it.<\/p>\n

The announcement by the senators \u2014 and Mr. Pence\u2019s move to endorse it \u2014 reflected a groundswell among Republicans to defy the unambiguous results of the election and indulge President Trump\u2019s attempts to remain in power with false claims of voting fraud.<\/p>\n

Every state in the country has certified the election results after verifying their accuracy, many following postelection audits or hand counts. Judges across the country, and a Supreme Court with a conservative majority, have rejected nearly 60 attempts<\/a> by Mr. Trump and his allies to challenge the results.<\/p>\n

And neither Mr. Pence nor any of the senators who said they would vote to invalidate the election has made a specific allegation of fraud, instead offering vague suggestions that some wrongdoing might have occurred and asserting that many of their supporters believe that it has.<\/p>\n

The senators\u2019 opposition to certifying Mr. Biden\u2019s election will not change the outcome. But it guarantees that what would normally be a perfunctory session on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to ratify the results of the presidential election will instead become a partisan brawl, in which Republicans amplify specious claims of widespread election rigging that have been debunked and dismissed for weeks even as Mr. Trump has stoked them.<\/p>\n

I suppose the fly got away with whatever gray matter that evil Republican Vice Fuhrer Pence used to have. Stay tuned. Wednesday is going to be a zoo, and I’ll be following it closely.\u00a0 RESIST<\/strong>!!<\/span><\/p>\n

From YouTube<\/a> (a blast from the past): <\/span>Jefferson Airplane – Somebody to love<\/span><\/p>\n