I’m just cracking on the horribly-written headline which says ‘Biden taps Senator Manchen’s wife’.
Ok, but here’s what the headline is actually about:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is nominating Gayle Manchin, the wife of West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, to be the co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, an economic development partnership involving the federal government and 13 states.
Gayle Manchin, 73, has held multiple government positions linked to education in a state where her husband is a political force.
…
Ok, fine, joke withdrawn.
Mod note: Sorry @ThelmaLou but this is getting just a bit out of line. Not a warning, not even close.
I think “everyone” is sort of elliptical. Its full translation is “everyone who keeps hearing us say ‘everyone’”. Kind of like that line about megaprevarication that keeps getting attributed to Goebbels.
At the G7 meeting:
And a GOP objection to a Biden sub-Cabinet pick:
I guess stuff really does go on your Permanent Record Card.
Spiking trees is dangerous. It’s a booby trap. The chain saw that hits a spike can kick back and hit the operator. There’s only been one known injury from it in the US, but the operator nearly bled to death. His mates had to use a blow-torch to cut the damaged saw off of him, while trying to keep him from bleeding to death.
It was made a federal criminal offence in 1988.
Stone-Manning is alleged to have sent the letter in 1989, warning the federal officials about the tree-spiking. If she was involved in the actual spiking or planning, she was committing a federal offence.
Yeah, I can see folks getting upset with that.
At her confirmation hearing, I can easily see some of the Senators asking detailed questions about her involvement, and the fact that she was granted immunity to testify against two of her friends who were convicted of the tree-spiking offence. They will ask her if she helpd to spike the trees? Did she plan it? How did she know about it? Why did she send the “profanity-laced letter” to the federal officials?
What if, as a result of even one of those questions, she pleads the 5th?
I think her nomination is done. Biden just can’t take the risk of an under-Secretary pleading the 5th in the confirmation hearing.
Apparently she’s a former aide to and protégé of Jon Tester. So Biden can’t just immediately throw her under the bus without risking the ire of one of the few Senate Democrats left from a red state. And Biden and his team had to know this was coming with this nomination. Unlike Trump, they actually vet their nominees and this issue would have been a glaring red flag on her resume. I’m assuming that they have some sort of strategy here.
For that reason, tree spikers typically post warnings in areas where trees are spiked, because killing loggers is not really their goal. A few properly spiked trees accompanied by a warning can take an entire stand out of play if the logging company cannot easily identify the safe trees.
SCotUS asks Biden Administration for advice/views on a Harvard affirmative action case they considering taking up.
How often does that kind of thing happen?
Now and then. It’s not unheard-of.
Looks like Manchin is finally getting off his backside and making some movement towards the party line. Even then he wants some concessions but at least it appears he’s not going to get any support from the Republican side on voting rights
Yes, agreed.
And on the judicial front:
Plenty more to do:
And some sad news:
I see The Presidential Pug Posse coming - Gomer, Gilligan, Sonny, Cher and John Barrasso.
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill:
Ugh ugh ugh:
And Krysten Sinema has an op-ed in the Washington Post this morning defending the filibuster as a tool for “compelling moderation” and defends it particularly in regard to the For the People Act.