I say YES. YOU say NO....Numero Tre! Enjoy!

Elon, darlin', the word is "deplorables".

The highest reward for people's
toil is not what they get for it
but what they become by it.

John Ruskin

OCCUPY DEMOCRATS

Jim Vincent  ·The peaceful transfer of power, a cornerstone of American democracy, is at risk. The new president cannot take office on January 20 unless the Republican-controlled House of Representatives resolves its internal divisions and elects a Speaker in time to certify the election results.The Republican Party, holding a narrow 219-215 majority in the House of Representatives, faces an urgent and critical task: electing a Speaker to lead the chamber and enable Congress to function. Without a Speaker, the House cannot swear in its members, pass legislation, or, most alarmingly, certify the results of the presidential election on January 6. The stakes could not be higher, yet the party’s internal divisions make achieving this basic responsibility increasingly unlikely.To elect a Speaker, a candidate must secure a majority of the votes cast—at least 218 in the current House, where one seat remains vacant. With all Democrats expected to oppose any Republican candidate, the GOP has no margin for error. If even two Republicans defect or abstain, the party’s candidate cannot win. Given the recent history of factional infighting within the Republican caucus, including challenges from hardline groups like the Freedom Caucus, a deadlock is more than plausible—it’s likely.This deadlock would immediately paralyze the House. Without a Speaker, no business can proceed. Members cannot be sworn in, committees cannot be formed, and, critically, the chamber cannot participate in the January 6 joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College results. The Constitution requires both the House and Senate to meet and formally certify the election, and without a Speaker, the House cannot fulfill this duty.If the January 6 certification is delayed, the nation would enter uncharted territory. By law, a new president must take office by noon on January 20. But if Congress has not certified the election results, the process of transferring power becomes murky. The constitutional framework provides no clear answer to what happens if certification fails, leaving the presidency—and the stability of the government—in question.The consequences of such a failure would be catastrophic. Public trust in democratic institutions, already fragile, would erode further. Legal challenges and political brinkmanship could consume the nation. Foreign adversaries might exploit the chaos, while domestic divisions deepen. The U.S., a nation that prides itself on its orderly transitions of power, would find itself grappling with a crisis unprecedented in its history.The responsibility for avoiding this disaster rests squarely on the Republican majority. As the governing party in the House, they hold the power to elect a Speaker and avert chaos. Yet the deep rifts within their caucus—between moderates, hardliners, and factions demanding concessions—have made unity nearly impossible. This dysfunction has already hobbled the party’s legislative agenda in the past and now threatens the nation itself.The Democrats, meanwhile, have little incentive to help. Unified in their opposition, they are unlikely to support any Republican Speaker without significant concessions, which the GOP is unlikely to offer. This leaves the Republican Party in a perilous position: they must solve their internal divisions or risk plunging the country into a constitutional crisis.Time is running out. If the Republican Party cannot elect a Speaker by January 6, the nation could face an electoral deadlock with no clear resolution. The failure to perform this fundamental duty would be more than a political embarrassment—it would be a moment of reckoning for the republic, exposing the fragility of its democratic institutions and the consequences of a fractured majority.

The last is the unvarnished truth.

Oh the memes and comics and some of them — nothing in the buttons descriptive enough. Ruth I had read some of your articles a bit earlier. To add to all of this odd chaos (Reps, infighting and pissing off each other) is the fact that so far Trump seems rather oblivious to it all. While they (his newly-but not quite elected yet) minions argue and feud and make him look spineless and frankly lost in space somewhere and powerless as all get out.

He gets propped up by someone (now and then) like the speech he gave proclaiming that Musk couldn't be president because he is not naturalized and then disappears once again from the scene. I'm beginning to think that while I was well aware Trump had a BIG dementia issue, it may be even bigger than I thought.

Sure doesn't sound to me like he will make it for four years and despite getting some things done we will all hate and that may make our life miserable, I'm not sure he is going to do quite as much damage as we all fear. I do though worry about others who may 'help' him do some things. I hope they too will not be able to push so much through either.

For all the good it will do now.

Likely the only time I'll ever agree with a word this man says.

Right.

Jimmy Carter, 39th US president, dead at 100

By Hearst TelevisionDec 29, 2024

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, has died at the age of 100.

Carter's death came after a February 2023 announcement that he had decided to enter hospice care and spend his remaining time at home with family after a series of short hospital stays.

Born on Oct. 1, 1924, Carter grew up on a peanut farm and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In the Navy, he eventually served on submarines and rose to the rank of lieutenant. The Navy commissioned a nuclear-powered submarine in 2005, naming it the USS Jimmy Carter.

He was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 1962 and was a little-known Georgia governor when he began his bid for the presidency ahead of the 1976 election. He went on to defeat Gerald Ford, capitalizing as a Washington outsider in the wake of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal that drove Richard Nixon from office in 1974.

Carter served a single, tumultuous term and was defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980, a landslide loss that ultimately paved the way for his decades of global advocacy for democracy, public health and human rights via The Carter Center.

The former president and his wife, Rosalynn, opened the center in 1982 with a focus on advancing democracy by monitoring foreign elections and reducing diseases in developing countries over the years.

The former president is widely revered for his championing of human rights. His brokering of the Camp David Accords with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in 1978 remains central to his legacy.

He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to push for peace across the globe.

Carter and his wife volunteered for decades with Habitat for Humanity, beginning in 1984 and continuing until 2020.

Carter became the oldest living U.S. president in history after the passing of George H. W. Bush, who died in late 2018 at 94. In recent years, he has kept a low public profile due to the COVID-19 pandemic but has continued to speak out about risks to democracy around the world, a longtime cause of his.

Carter overcame several health challenges in recent years. He was diagnosed with melanoma in 2015, announcing that the cancer had spread to other parts of his body. After partial removal of his liver, treatment for brain lesions, radiation and immunotherapy, he said he was cancer-free. A fall in the spring of 2019 required him to get hip replacement surgery.

Then in October of that year, he hit his head in another fall and received 14 stitches, but still traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, to help build a Habitat for Humanity home shortly thereafter.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter had four children and were married for 77 years. They were the longest-married presidential couple.

Rosalynn Carter predeceased her husband, dying in November 2023 at the age of 96.