Veep
Vice President Kamala Harris: Take Your 'No' And Shove It!
Ass-kicking, bubble-gum chewing, backwards, high heels.
January 20, 2021 02:46 PM
Kamala Harris is now the vice president of the United States. It's a great day, especially when you consider the fly trap she replaced: Mike Pence, who Democrats spent two years trying to make president (weird, right?), wouldn't even dine alone with a woman, lest Jezebel tempt him from mother's embrace. While some conservatives claimed the “Pence Rule" was the only way a powerful man could avoid sexual harassment charges from vengeful hussies, then-Senator Harris slammed this sexist bullshit.
I disagree with [Pence] when he suggests it's not possible to have meetings with women alone by himself. I think that's ridiculous ― the idea that you would deny a professional woman the opportunity to have a meeting with the vice president of the United States is outrageous.
Harris has famously stated that she “eats 'no' for breakfast," and the dumb “Pence Rule" demonstrates how her words weren't just a catchy slogan for a coffee mug. (Though I'm sure you can buy one somewhere, Wonkette's offering for now remains "I'm Speaking.") It's a governing philosophy in a world where male insecurity erects barriers for women at all levels.
The best mentors are those who've successfully walked the uncertain path in front of you. They won't tell you it's easy, because they aren't as invested in believing it's easy, that anyone could pull it off if they just tried.
<p>
During an interview with Jane Pauley on CBS “Sunday Morning," Harris
<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kamala-harris-is-clear-eyed-about-the-job-ahead-it-is-not-gonna-be-easy/" target="_blank">described confronting</a> a world filled with “no."<br>
</p><blockquote>
I was raised to not hear “no," let me be clear about it. So, it wasn't like, "Oh, the possibilities are immense. Whatever you want to do, you can do." No! I was raised to understand many people will tell you, "It is impossible," but
<em>don't listen</em>.
</blockquote><p>
This isn't a unique experience for Harris. Michelle Obama faced a torrent of “nos." A college counselor told her, with a "perfunctory, patronizing smile," that she wasn't sure a young
<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/michelle-obama-wasnt-princeton-material-college-counselor-told-her-2018-11" target="_blank">Michelle Robinson was "Princeton material." </a> She applied anyway and was accepted because she's Michelle Goddamn Obama.
</p><p>
Harris tells the people she mentors to expect to hear “no." That's their reality, but it's not their destiny.
</p><blockquote>
There will be people who will say, "It's not your turn, it's not your time. No one like you has done it." And I'll tell them, "
<em>And don't you listen." <br>
</em><br>
And then I will go on to tell them, “I eat
<em>no</em> for breakfast!"
</blockquote><div id="305d0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c56b9548c3db8f5c552e4f2cc570b366"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1272242154711244801" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">“You must start the marriages immediately.”
A moment I will never forget, the day love won in California.… https://t.co/Mgv4BWX9eF</div> — Kamala Harris (@Kamala Harris)<a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/statuses/1272242154711244801">1592161141.0</a></blockquote></div><p>
Pence was an
<a href="https://www.wonkette.com/indiana-gov-mike-pence-i-proudly-signed-some-anti-gay-sht-i-dont-understand" target="_self">anti-gay bigot</a>, whose wife, Karen, <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/vps-wife-karen-pence-set-to-teach-the-art-of-bashing-queers" target="_self">teaches at a "no queers allowed"</a> school. When California voters finally overturned Prop. 8, which said "no" to marriage equality, California Attorney General Harris declared, "You must start the marriages immediately." This is definitely a trade up.<br>
</p><p>
The late, unlamented administration stamped its feet and said “no" to Joe Biden and Harris's clear and decisive victory in the 2020 election. She knocked back those antidemocratic “nos" with some cold milk. Even after the assault on the Capitol and concerns about Biden's and her own safety at the inauguration, she refused to let MAGA-hat wearing domestic terrorists temper her enthusiasm.
</p><blockquote>
CBS News' Jane Pauley asked Harris, "Are you excited about January 20th?"
<br>
<br>
"I'm not gonna let anyone take my excitement from me," she laughed.
</blockquote><p>
Damn right.
</p><p>
And on January 20, Kamala Devi Harris took the oath of office as the 49th vice president. She was sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who
<a href="https://www.biography.com/news/sonia-sotomayor-overcame-adversity-supreme-court-justice" target="_blank">ignored her own set of “nos"</a> on the way to the Supreme Court.
</p><p>
This was a tremendous moment. Yes, history was made, but as Harris said during her November 7 victory speech, she "may be the first woman in the office, but she won't be the last." Madame Vice President has her eyes set on the future, one that's more equitable for us all, and she'll continue dining on any “nos" that get in her way.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6b411fca487157f982d7812e0378b1a4"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OsugsEiTEbc?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
</p><p>
[<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kamala-harris-is-clear-eyed-about-the-job-ahead-it-is-not-gonna-be-easy/" target="_blank">CBS News</a>]<br>
</p><p>
Follow Stephen Robinson on
<em><a href="https://twitter.com/SER1897" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter.</a></em>
</p><p>
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</p><p>
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Class War
Introducing The MONEY FOR MERICA PLS JOE BIDEN Bill. It's Very Good!
Chock full of goodness!
January 15, 2021 11:30 AM
President-elect Joe Biden rolled out his first major legislative proposal last night, a $1.9 trillion coronavirus response plan aimed to get the pandemic under control, to help people who have lost their jobs because of it, and to rebuild the economy. It's nothing like the fairly timid stopgap stimulus Congress passed in December, and which Donald Trump held up for a week just to be a dick about it. The plan is aimed at using the economic power of the federal government to kick-start the economy with good old Keynesian deficit spending for the good of American workers and families. Max Berger, former director of progressive outreach for Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign, praised Biden for refusing to "be cowed by the bad faith deficit scolds."
Wonkette shall be referring to the bill exclusively as the MONEY FOR MERICA PLS JOE BIDEN bill, because that is a very good name.
Here's Biden's speech announcing the plan; as he notes, the day he's inaugurated will be exactly one year since the announcement of the first coronavirus case in the US. And finally getting serious about controlling the pandemic is the only thing that's going to get the economy going again. While he's at it, he wants to address the economic inequities that the pandemic and the crash have made all too obvious.
Officially called the American Rescue Plan (and almost certainly not "ARP"), the MONEY FOR MERICA PLS JOE BIDEN proposal builds on ideas from last March's CARES Act and the House Democratic relief plan from May, the HEROES Act, which Mitch McConnell never considered in the Senate. And good golly, it's got "ambitious" written all over it. CNN has a nice rundown of what's in it; we'll hit a few of the highlights here.
<h2>Unemployment Insurance (UI)</h2><p>Biden's plan would renew through September all three basic parts of the CARES Act's help for Americans who have lost their jobs: 1) The Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which allows people who've exhausted state UI to keep getting checks; 2) The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which provides unemployment benefits to folks who are self-employed, independent contractors, or gig workers; and 3) emergency federal UI benefits on top of whatever people get from the state UI systems. In the December bill, that was an extra $300 a week; Biden would increase that to $400, which is short of the $600 in the CARES Act. The upside is that where both the CARES Act and the December benefits expired after a short time, these bonus payments will run through September. </p><h2>Individual Payments To Americans </h2><p>Biden's plan would add another $1,400 per person to the $600 payments from the December bill, for a total of $2,000 for the current round of stimmy checks. And unlike the earlier payments, this one would finally <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/oops-some-folks-got-left-out-of-the-stimulus-no-worries-they-arent-airlines" target="_blank">apply to adult dependents,</a> who didn't get included before. (A plan to include them in the December package got taken out in negotiations to pass anything at all.)</p><h2>Rent And Mortgage Help</h2><p>The plan would extend the federal moratorium on evictions through September, allow mortgage holders to apply for forbearance on payments, and provide $25 billion in rental assistance for low- and moderate-income households; that's in addition to the $25 billion in the December bill. On top of that, there'd be $5 billion to help renters with utility bills, and another $5 billion for state and local governments to help prevent people from becoming homeless. </p><h2>Help For Families</h2><p>The proposal would increase the Child Tax Credit and make it fully refundable, which would mean people who don't make enough money to pay income tax would get a check from the government when they file. Huge income boost for low-income Americans! On top of that, the Earned Income Tax Credit would be increased, and the eligibility for the credit expanded. </p><p>The plan would also make additional funding available for child care, and would increase the size of the child care tax credit for one year. Many Dems want to make that permanent.</p><h2>Healthcare And Family Leave</h2><p>Bigger premium subsidies for folks buying Obamacare plans, and for people who've lost their jobs, Biden wants the full cost of their premiums covered as well. That's huge. In addition, the plan will provide up to 14 weeks of paid leave for people who have COVID-19 or are caring for a family member, because it's not a two-week disease. </p><h2>State and Local Government</h2><p>Finally, the $350 billion that the Republicans have blocked forever. Maybe Biden can get 10 Republicans to sign on and pass this funding to help state, local, and tribal governments that have been slammed by the virus. Let's hope!</p><h2>Vaccine Delivery</h2><p>$20 billion to expand national vaccination programs, including a plan to set up community vaccination centers all over the country. In addition, there's $50 million to provide testing and finally get a national testing strategy in place. </p><p>The proposal also calls for hiring 100,000 new public health workers to vaccinate, test, and do contact tracing. There's also new funding to help control infections in long-term care facilities.</p><h2>$15 Minimum Wage</h2><p>Damn well about time. Also, <a href="https://twitter.com/HayesBrown/status/1349913178650587136" target="_blank">this</a> is yooge! Biden will also finally get rid of subminimum "training wages" for people with disabilities, an idea that was meant to get folks trained and ready for full-wage jobs, but ultimately led to people with disabilities being <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/3/16/21178197/people-with-disabilities-minimum-wage" target="_blank">exploited and sometimes paid just pennies an hour. </a></p><div id="c6aec" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="878ee9ce81cab0f1aec6a89e43bb40f3"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1349913601138692097" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The bar and restaurant industry has been gutted this last year. Making it so that when its safe for those people to… https://t.co/D6fJVR0O7U</div> — Hayes Brown (@Hayes Brown)<a href="https://twitter.com/HayesBrown/statuses/1349913601138692097">1610679457.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br></p><p>Now the trick will be <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-coronavirus-action-plan-3d8d5841bb9098a81ad9452fb2619024" target="_blank">finding 10 Republicans</a> willing to support the package. With all the turmoil in the GOP right now, that may actually be possible, who knows? Maybe Joe the Dealmaker has some favors to call in?</p><p>[<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/14/politics/biden-economic-rescue-package-coronavirus-stimulus/index.html" target="_blank">CNN </a>/ <a href="https://slate.com/business/2021/01/biden-covid-relief-bill.html" target="_blank">Slate</a> / <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/3/16/21178197/people-with-disabilities-minimum-wage" target="_blank">Vox</a>]</p><p>Yr Wonkette is funded solely by reader donations. If you can, give $5 to $10 a month to help us keep this mother going. </p><p></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/33mKzZe" target="_blank">Do your Amazon shopping through this link, because reasons</a>.</p><p></p><p></p><form name="donation" method="post" class="donation-form"><p class="subheadline">How often would you like to donate?</p><div class="form-row row--plan"><label class="plan-type__label"><input type="radio" name="plan_type" value="once" class="plan-type" required="" checked> Just once
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Nice Time
Good Cop, Yes Donut
We mean it in the nicest possible way!
January 15, 2021 09:37 AM
In what has to be one of the easiest pieces of legislation for anyone to support ever, a bipartisan group of members of Congress have introduced a bill to honor Eugene Goodman, the Black Capitol Police officer who faced an angry mob of white insurrectionists who had just invaded the US Capitol on January 6. One of the bill's co-sponsors, Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Florida) put it plainly in a statement about the move to award Goodman a Congressional Gold Medal, one of the nation's highest honors for a civilian.
He's a hero! The United States Capitol was under attack by armed, violent extremists, and Officer Eugene Goodman was the only thing standing between the mob and the United States Senate. I shudder to think what might have happened had it not been for Officer Goodman's fast thinking and commitment to his duty and his country. While some will remember last Wednesday for the very worst in our country, the patriotism and heroics of Officer Eugene Goodman renew my faith and remind us all what truly makes the United States great.
And you'd better bet that last line was a rebuke to the MAGA chuds whom Goodman led away from the Senate, almost certainly saving lives of those who were in the chamber.
You've almost certainly seen the viral Twitter video by HuffPo reporter Igor Bobic, showing Goodman facing down the mob as they chase him up flights of stairs. Let's have another look at Goodman's exceptional quick thinking and grace under pressure:
Here’s the scary moment when protesters initially got into the building from the first floor and made their way out… https://t.co/Q7MfKCbFE3— Igor Bobic (@Igor Bobic)1609963774.0
<p>As he reached a hallway leading to the unguarded doors to the Senate, Goodman briefly glanced down it, then got the attention of the guy at the front of the mob with a little push, which led the rioters to chase Goodman as he led them away from the Senate — and toward other cops, finally. It's just an <a href="https://twitter.com/lazylefty/status/1348137153700749314" target="_blank">incredible moment</a> showing a cop who you might think was running for his life — and we're not saying he wasn't also doing that! — but was actually (or also) luring the mob away from people they wanted to harm. </p><div id="e4044" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9043c9b913d6de34ca641e1c750d1ad0"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1348137153700749314" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@igorbobic He blocked the hallway then pushed him away from the hallway because he knew that guy would follow him w… https://t.co/xpGfmwEQhs</div> — ⓘ 10 PM Curfew Lefty (@ⓘ 10 PM Curfew Lefty)<a href="https://twitter.com/lazylefty/statuses/1348137153700749314">1610255919.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1349810952426938371" target="_blank">bill </a>to honor Goodman was introduced yesterday by Crist, along with Democratic Rep Emmanuel Cleaver (Missouri) and Republican Rep. Nancy Mace (South Carolina). Rep. Cleaver <a href="https://twitter.com/RepCharlieCrist/status/1349740557946347521" target="_blank">noted</a>, </p><blockquote>If not for the quick, decisive, and heroic actions from Officer Goodman, the tragedy of last week's insurrection could have multiplied in magnitude to levels never before seen in American history. </blockquote><p>Goodman, 40, is an Iraq War vet who served with the 101st Airborne Division. The <em>Washington Post</em> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/goodman-capitol-police-video/2021/01/13/08ab3eb6-546b-11eb-a931-5b162d0d033d_story.html" target="_blank">reports,</a> in a profile of Goodman, that </p><blockquote>Friends who have talked to Goodman since the riot, including two fellow officers and a former colleague, said he has been ambivalent about the limelight. Generally private and reserved, the D.C. native has started to worry about becoming a potential target of far-right extremist groups that have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/09/trump-twitter-protests/?itid=lk_inline_manual_16" target="_blank" title="www.washingtonpost.com">vowed to return to D.C.</a> this weekend and for next week's inauguration. <br><br>"He said he'd do the same thing again. He's not looking for any accolades," said one friend, a Capitol Police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he had not been authorized to speak on the issue. "But the attention is a little scary for him."</blockquote><p>And that, sadly, is also true: In the insane political culture where armed white supremacists attack the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn the will of American voters, our heroes aren't necessarily safe just because they were heroic. Congress shouldn't have any difficulty getting the two-thirds majority needed to award Goodman that medal — the legislature's <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/goodman-congress-medal-capitol-police/2021/01/14/87449ea0-567f-11eb-a817-e5e7f8a406d6_story.html" target="_blank">equivalent</a> to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In fact, if the bill doesn't pass unanimously, we should all plan to shame anyone craven enough to vote against it. We can't imagine why anyone would, but it just <em>seems</em> like something Rand Paul would do. </p><p>But to really honor someone with the courage of Eugene Goodman, we should do everything we can to eliminate the toxic swamp of lies, violent conspiratorial fantasies, and white grievance that Donald Trump, his supporters, and decades of GOP fuckery have made of our politics.</p><p>[<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lawmakers-seek-top-award-for-hero-police-officer-eugene-goodman-2021-1" target="_blank">Business Insider</a> / <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/goodman-capitol-police-video/2021/01/13/08ab3eb6-546b-11eb-a931-5b162d0d033d_story.html" target="_blank">WaPo</a> / Text of <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1349810952426938371" target="_blank">Congressional Gold Medal bill]</a></p><p>Yr Wonkette is funded 100 percent by donations from readers! If you can, please give $5 to $10 to help us keep you in the know! </p><p></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/33mKzZe" target="_blank">Do your Amazon shopping through this link, because reasons</a>.</p><p></p><p></p><form name="donation" method="post" class="donation-form"><p class="subheadline">How often would you like to donate?</p><div class="form-row row--plan"><label class="plan-type__label"><input type="radio" name="plan_type" value="once" class="plan-type" required="" checked> Just once
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News
Oh No, Michigan AG To Witch-Hunt Rick Snyder Just For Poisoning Entire City Of Flint
Michigan AG Dana Nessel comes through.
January 13, 2021 10:58 AM
For your "damn well about time" Nice Times story today, the Associated Press is reporting that the Michigan attorney general's office is getting ready to announce new criminal charges in the ongoing Flint lead poisoning crisis. Among those to be charged will be former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, former state health department director Nick Lyon, and other Snyder administration officials involved in decisions that led to widespread lead poisoning in the mostly Black city of Flint. Snyder and his administration were widely condemned for inaction on the crisis, with many pointing out there's not a chance he'd have moved so slowly had a wealthy white community like Grosse Point or Ann Arbor suffered widespread lead poisoning
On top of the lead poisoning, Flint's water was also blamed for an outbreak of Legionnaire's disease that infected at least 90 people across Genesee County, killing 12.
The news was leaked by "two people with knowledge of the planned prosecution," who let the AP know Tuesday that the AG's office "has informed defense lawyers about indictments in Flint and told them to expect initial court appearances soon." A lawyer for Snyder says nope, nuh uh, witch hunt etc. The AP reports it didn't yet know what exactly the charges will be. Let's hope they get the book thrown at them — ideally a great big medical tome on how lead harms child development, on which they'll have to do a book report weekly, forever.
<p>Just to recap the Flint Horror Story (Sundays at 9 on ABC), it all got started in 2013 when Flint was in the process of building a new pipeline to get water from Lake Huron. Until that pipeline was completed, the "emergency manager" Snyder appointed to impose austerity on Flint got the bright idea to save money by having Flint get its drinking water from the Flint River instead of continuing with its existing system, which paid to have Lake Huron water pumped in from Detroit's water system. </p><p>One teensy problem: When the switch was made in 2014, the managers of the Flint water plant neglected to add anti-corrosive chemicals, and the change in the water started eating away old pipes all beneath Flint, causing the water to turn brown and nasty and letting lead from old pipes and solder leach into the drinking water. And state health and utility regulators signed off on all of it. </p><p>And then there was the Legionella bacteria outbreak, which Snyder and Lyon announced in January of 2016, although, as the AP <a href="https://apnews.com/article/flint-lead-water-crisis-gov-rick-snyder-801ba227340f0ac2e10e37a06a82f08d" target="_blank">points out,</a> "Lyon conceded that he knew that cases were being reported many months earlier." </p><blockquote>In 2018, Lyon was ordered to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges after a special prosecutor accused him of failing to timely inform the public about the outbreak. His attorneys argued there was not enough solid information to share earlier with the public.</blockquote><p>After the 2018 elections brought Democrats to power in most Michigan executive branch roles, new AG Dana Nessel astonished pretty much everyone by <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/julian-castro-lead-plan" target="_blank">dropping all existing charges</a> against Lyon and other state officials, but "without prejudice," meaning that charges could be filed again. At the time, prosecutors said the original investigation of the Flint crisis had been inadequate, so they were going to start fresh with a full investigation that they and the people of Flint could believe in, rather than moving forward with prosecutions they thought were inadequate. <br></p><p>And now Rick Snyder is looking at being brought to justice. We'll keep you updated as this develops, and we know lots of Americans will hold Joe Biden to his <a href="https://joebiden.com/clean-energy/" target="_blank">promise </a>that communities nationwide will get the help they need to have clean, safe water. Yes, even if Republicans fret about the cost. An America where kids aren't damaged by lead is going to have a lot more taxpayers, after all. </p><p>[<a href="https://apnews.com/article/flint-lead-water-crisis-gov-rick-snyder-801ba227340f0ac2e10e37a06a82f08d" target="_blank">AP</a>]</p><p>Yr Wonkette is funded entirely by reader donations. If you can, please donate $5 to $10 a month so we can help you keep the bastards honest. </p><p></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/33mKzZe" target="_blank">Do your Amazon shopping through this link, because reasons</a>.</p><p></p><p></p><form name="donation" method="post" class="donation-form"><p class="subheadline">How often would you like to donate?</p><div class="form-row row--plan"><label class="plan-type__label"><input type="radio" name="plan_type" value="once" class="plan-type" required="" checked> Just once
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