I say YES. YOU say NO....Numero Tre! Enjoy!
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Pete Buttigieg makes history as 1st openly gay Cabinet member confirmed by Senate
The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor will lead the transportation department.
ABC News
February 2, 2021
Pete Buttigieg makes history as 1st openly gay Cabinet member confirmed by Senate
The former mayor and presidential candidate was confirmed by the Senate in a 86-13 vote.
Former 2020 presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg has made history as the first openly gay Cabinet member in U.S. history to be confirmed by the Senate.
At age 39, Buttigieg also represents another "first" as a millennial and the youngest person nominated to Biden's Cabinet.
Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the country's first bisexual senator, was presiding over the Senate Tuesday and announced the 86-13 final vote.
As transportation secretary, Buttigieg has pledged to recognize how infrastructure has the power to bridge racial and economic disparities in America, as well as to keep in lockstep with Biden's agenda of fighting climate change and address systems reeling from plummeting ridership amid the coronavirus pandemic.
He will assume a department with 55,000 employees and a budget of tens of billions of dollars.
Buttigieg tweeted shortly after the confirmation vote that he's "honored and humbled" and "ready to get to work."
In a speech from Wilmington, Delaware, Buttigieg reflected on what the moment means for all LGBTQ Americans when Biden announced his nomination late last year.
"I can remember watching the news -- 17-years-old in Indiana, seeing a story about an appointee of President Clinton named to be an ambassador attacked and denied a vote in the Senate because he was gay -- ultimately able to serve only by a recess appointment," he said. "And I learned something about some of the limits that exist in this country when it comes to who is allowed to belong. But just as important, I saw how those limits could be challenged."
Buttigieg was referring to the nomination of James Hormel to be ambassador to Luxembourg under then-President Bill Clinton in 1998. Senate Republicans held up the nomination in protest for two years until Clinton made the appointment himself, without confirmation, while the Senate was in recess. He connected the memory to his own confirmation hearing last month in an interview with ABC's "The View."
"As I was in that hearing taking those questions from senators, you could see my husband, Chasten, over my shoulder, and that is something that has never happened before for a Cabinet nominee," Buttigieg said. "My hope is that, in turn, makes it easier for the next person to come along, so that this is never even viewed as a barrier by a future generation."
During his hearing, some Republican senators pressed Buttigieg on the cost of Biden's infrastructure plan, which redirects money for green initiatives, before he cleared the Senate Commerce Committee with a 21-3 vote last month.
Following his quick ascent during the 2020 primary, the rising star in the Democratic Party was the only formal rival Biden picked to join his administration after he announced Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate in August.
Buttigieg endorsed Biden in March one day after ending his own presidential campaign, and both he and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, took an active role during the general election, campaigning on Biden's behalf.
Biden spoke highly of Buttigieg following the former mayor's endorsement, saying he reminded Biden of his late son, Beau.
"I don't think I've ever done this before, but he reminds me of my son Beau. And I know to -- that may not mean much to most people, but to me, it's the highest compliment I can give any man or woman," Biden said of Buttigieg last March.
Though Buttigieg would push forward Biden's transportation initiatives, including an ambitious infrastructure plan, the former mayor released his own $1 trillion infrastructure plan last year that included improvements to a range of the country's transportation infrastructure. Its detailed plans to give more power to local communities, called for upgrades to roads and public transportation and also highlighted road safety with a national Vision Zero goal.
LGBTQ rights organizations have praised Buttigieg's nomination as a major step in ensuring the incoming administration reflects the country's diversity.
Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, the world's largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, congratulated Buttigieg on his historic ascent on social media Tuesday as it became clear the Senate would confirm him.
"His historic confirmation hearing, where he introduced his husband Chasten, was also a milestone for LGBTQ acceptance and representation," she said. "Secretary Buttigieg's vision will improve all Americans' lives and navigate toward needed change to serve communities on the margins. We know he will continue to lead our country's drive for LGBTQ acceptance."
The former mayor came out publicly in 2015 through an essay in the South Bend Tribune while seeking reelection. He was elected with 80% of the vote, more than he received during his previous election. He served in the role from 2012 to 2018.
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Compassion is the basis of all truthful relationships: it means being present with love—for ourselves and for all life, including animals, fish, birds, and trees. Compassion is bringing our deepest truth into our actions, no matter how much the world seems to resist, because that is ultimately what we have to give this world and one another. -Ram Dass
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Hell really has frozen over and Mitch McConnell did what he had too. He not only did what was best for him, but he also did what he deemed necessary to keep a Republican party as viable as possible. Sometimes I wonder some of the disintegration isn't a mite upsetting -- but then he has been playing so long likely not. I'm sure he hates it though.
I too am of the frame of mind though that MM is siding with our ideas rather than our siding with him. At any other time he would ignore doing something Democrats thought right just because it is right. The processes just happen to fit this time -- even more so with Mitch in a lesser( minority ) position.
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And then I saw this and remember having those thoughts then -- thought no one would ever be crazier -- wow -- would have all these people to be in a room together. Who knows what could come out of that.
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Some truth in this for sure -- I don't know which rocks they are looking under but the degree of success is frightening:
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Try to be mindful, and let things take their natural course. Then your mind will become still in any surroundings, like a clear forest pool. All kinds of wonderful, rare animals will come to drink at the pool, and you will clearly see the nature of all things. You will see many strange and wonderful things come and go, but you will be still. -Ajahn Chah
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Ruth: I love the memes, especially the " do not be daunted " since even if we can do very little in many ways, it is still sooo important that it be done. I watched most of the proceedings last night of fallen hero Brian Sicknick's arrival at the Capitol -- his remains and the flag that Nancy Pelosi flew for him after he passed. It was moving and like most here I had tears several times which are even now, thinking about it, sitting right behind my eyes.
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I am watching the service in the Rotunda right now. Tragic.
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Great one Ruth.
Here is one I really like.
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It looks like the Democrats will have to do something about Greene. Seems like the Reps. can't do much for themselves anymore at all. They are paralyzed by the aura of Trump. That Trump has been and totally is a failure at this point certainly doesn't have the power to move the Reps. in the right direction. Pretty sad when we have to FIX everything for them.
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Another I love:
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Great -- I'm all for it:
Go ahead and resign, Matt. We need fewer clowns in Congress.
NEW.DEEPLEFTFIELD.INFOMatt Gaetz Owns Himself When He Vows To Resign From Congress And Defend Trump In Second Impeachment0 -
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I was able to post that exact same meme, Jackie (the holy trinity one).
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Love the Q meme. Wow, does it makes lots of sense!
I also like the clarification that Biden pledged to unite the country, not political parties. I'm not sure why there are people who think it's supposed to happen overnight rather than over time.
On a different note, I think all teachers across the U.S. should be eligible now to get the vaccine. There's a timeline in Ohio over the next month for teachers according to the county they live in. I'm not sure how other states are rolling it out for teachers. But with so much emphasis on getting children back in schools, why are teachers not considered essential and given vaccine priority?
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Heather Scott Richardson
February 2, 2021 (Tuesday)
Today, on the same day that the remains of Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, who was killed in the January 6 insurrection, lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda, the House impeachment managers filed their trial brief for the upcoming Senate impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump. The charge is that he incited the insurrection attempt of January 6, 2021, in which a mob stormed the Capitol to stop the counting of the certified electoral ballots for the 2020 election.
Led by Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a former professor of constitutional law, the managers laid out Trump's refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and his incitement of a violent mob to stop Congress from confirming the victory of Joseph Biden in the election. They note that Trump bears "singular responsibility" for the tragedy of January 6 and dismiss his argument that the Senate cannot convict him now because he is no longer in office, countering that such an understanding would give a president "a free pass to commit high crimes and misdemeanors near the end of their term."
The managers detailed Trump's deliberate attempt to convince his followers of a lie: that he won the election in a "landslide," and that Democrats had "stolen" the apparent victory. They say he "amplified these lies at every turn, seeking to convince supporters that they were victims of a massive electoral conspiracy that threatened the Nation's continued existence." But the courts rejected his arguments, and state and federal officials refused to cave to his demands that they break the law to alter the election results. So Trump announced a "Save America Rally," urging his supporters to come to Washington, D.C., to "fight" for his reelection. He promised the rally would be "wild."
Trump, they note, "spent months insisting to his base that the only way he could lose the election was a dangerous, wide-ranging conspiracy against them that threatened America itself." He urged them to stop the counting on January 6, "by making plans to 'fight like hell' and 'fight to the death' against this 'act of war' by 'Radical Left Democrats' and the 'weak and ineffective RINO section of the Republican Party.'"
On January 6, he urged his supporters to go to the Capitol to stop what he called the massive fraud taking place there. He told them, "if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore."
Carrying Trump flags, the mob marched to the Capitol and broke in, searching specifically for Vice President Mike Pence, whom Trump blamed for counting the votes accurately, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. One shouted, "What are we waiting for? We already voted and what have they done? They stole it! We want our f*cking country back! Let's take it!" Others shouted, "Hang Mike Pence!" and "Tell Pelosi we're coming for that b*tch."
Allegedly "delighted" at the interruption to the vote count, Trump retweeted a video of his rally speech telling his supporters to be "strong" and, even as Pence and his family were hiding from the violent mob, tweeted, "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution." This sent the mob into a frenzy.
Then, while the Senate was evacuated, Trump tried to reach the new senator from Alabama, Tommy Tuberville, to urge him to continue to delay the counting of the electoral votes.
Members of both houses from both parties called the president to urge him to call off the mob, but for more than three hours, he refused. When he finally issued a video telling his followers to go home, he said, "[i]t was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side." He told them: "We love you, you're very special."
Later that night he tweeted: "These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!"
Trump's new legal team issued its response to the House impeachment managers today, as well. They stand on the ground that, because Trump is no longer president, it is unconstitutional to try him on an article of impeachment. They also deny that the former president incited the insurrection and say he was simply exercising his First Amendment rights when he repeatedly attacked the legitimacy of the 2020 election.
Far from backing down from his position, Trump is continuing to assert his argument that he won the election. "With very few exceptions," his lawyers' response reads, "under the convenient guise of Covid-19 pandemic 'safeguards' states [sic] election laws and procedures were changed by local politicians or judges without the necessary approvals from state legislatures. Insufficient evidence exists upon which a reasonable jurist could conclude that the 45th President's statements were accurate or not, and he therefore denies they were false."
Trump's argument has been dismissed in more than 60 court cases, so there is plenty of evidence to conclude that it is false. But he is doubling down on what scholars of authoritarianism call a "big lie:" that he was the true winner of the 2020 election, and that the Democrats stole it. The big lie, a key propaganda tool that is associated with Nazi Germany, is a lie so huge that no one can believe it is false. If leaders repeat it enough times, refusing to admit that it is a lie, people come to think it is the truth because surely no one would make up anything so outrageous.
In this case, Trump supporters insist that there was massive fraud in the 2020 election (there wasn't) and that Trump really won (he didn't). As Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) pointed out last week, the Republicans who supported Trump's big lie and challenged the counting of the electoral votes on January 6 still have not admitted they were lying.
Big lies are springboards for authoritarian politicians. They enable a leader to convince followers that they were unfairly cheated of power by those that the leader demonizes. That Trump and his supporters are continuing to advance their big lie, even in the face of overwhelming proof that it is false, is deeply concerning.
If there is any need to prove that Trump's big lie is, indeed, a lie, there is plenty of proof in the fact that when the leader of the company Trump surrogates blamed for facilitating election fraud threatened to sue them, they backed down fast. The voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems was at the center of Trump supporters' claims of a stolen election, and its leadership has threatened to sue the conservative media network Newsmax for its personalities' false statements. When the threat of a lawsuit first emerged, Newsmax issued an on-air disclaimer.
Today, even as Trump's lawyers were reiterating his insistence that he really won the election, the issue came up again. When MyPillow founder Mike Lindell began to spout Trump's big lie on a Newsmax show, the co-anchor tried repeatedly to cut him off. When he was unsuccessful, the producers muted Lindell while the co-anchor said, "We at Newsmax have not been able to verify any of those kinds of allegations…. We just want to let people know that there's nothing substantive that we have seen."
He read a legal disclaimer: "Newsmax accepts the [election] results as legal and final. The courts have also supported that view." And then he stood up and left the set.
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'Brian did his job': Family remembers fallen Capitol officer
SOUTH RIVER, N.J. (AP) — From his early days growing up in a New Jersey hamlet, Brian Sicknick wanted to be a police officer.
He enlisted in the National Guard six months after graduating high school in 1997, deploying to Saudi Arabia and then Kyrgyzstan. Joining the Guard was his means to joining law enforcement, his family said.
He would join the U.S. Capitol Police in 2008, serving until his death after rioters seething over President Donald Trump's election loss stormed the U.S. Capitol, believing the president's false claims of a rigged election.
"His brother told me, 'Brian did his job,'" said John Krenzel, the mayor of Sicknick's hometown of South River, New Jersey. A congresswoman has asked top military officials that he be buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery, and got a positive early response.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., says she has asked Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. that Sicknick be buried with posthumous honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
Sicknick was the youngest of three boys growing up in South River, a small borough of about 16,000 people in central New Jersey, 20 miles from Staten Island. He graduated from the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical School in East Brunswick, New Jersey, in June 1997.
Superintendent Dianne Veilleux said school records show Sicknick wanted to be in law enforcement. The school will honor him by planting an oak tree on campus to symbolize his strength.
He enlisted in the New Jersey Air National Guard that December, still a teenager, first deploying to Saudi Arabia in 1999. In 2003, he deployed to Kyrgyzstan, where the U.S. military operated a transit base supporting the war in Afghanistan. He was honorably discharged in December of that year.
After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Sicknick became a vocal critic of the war, writing several letters to the editor of the local newspaper that sharply criticized former President George W. Bush for his management of the effort. In one July 2003 letter, published five months before his formal discharge, he said that "our troops are stretched very thin, and morale is dangerously low among them."
In a statement issued Friday, Sicknick's family said he "wanted to be a police officer his entire life" and had joined the Guard "as a means to that end."
A biography issued by his family says Sicknick cared for rescued Dachshunds in his spare time and rooted for the New Jersey Devils hockey team. He is survived by his parents, Charles and Gladys Sicknick, his brothers Ken and Craig, and his longtime girlfriend, Sandra Garza.
The family asked the public to respect its wishes "in not making Brian's passing a political issue."
"Brian is a hero and that is what we would like people to remember," the family said.
On Saturday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy ordered that the U.S. and New Jersey flags be flown at half-staff at all state buildings and facilities in honor of Sicknick, saying he "embodied the selfless spirit of his native state."
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Refreshing to read of a person with dreams and ideals and a way to make them come true. All of those at the Capitol were the recipients of all of those dreams, because " Brian did his job ". He truly is a hero and full well deserves any and all honors bestowed on him. He epitomizes all that is sacred in the country we all love. He was a fine policeman and he will be missed. I hope he is buried at Arlington among all the other heroes that honored us all by their devotion and care in service to the country.
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Forgot to say -- Ruth, I love your avatar.
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I have always enjoyed listening to Jennifer Rubin and I VERY much enjoy this and I very much agree.
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