Trending Now
Seth Rogan on Cruz going to Cancun 135 recs : By Ohio Joe
Daily KOS founder tweets a grand point 83 recs : By Montauk6
JUST IN: Perseverance rover has safely landed on Mars 71 recs : By Massacure
JUST IN: -CapitolPolice tell me 35 officers are under investigation for actions on Jan. 6. 53 recs : By kpete
AOC helping Texas 48 recs : By Dem4Life1102
Greatest Threads
I can't argue with this chyron: 202 recs : By demmiblue
Solar Energy Doesn't Work In The Cold 187 recs : By ItsjustMe
My hubby was helping a neighbor scoop out their drive this morning when our neighborhood moron 157 recs : By redstatebluegirl
Jeff Tiedrich tweet: 148 recs : By tblue37
Meanwhile, Beto... 144 recs : By kpete
The Left Column
Biden helps Texas
(The Hill) The Biden administration has sent 60 generators, thousands of blankets and other supplies to Texas to help address mass power outages amid a rare bout of extreme winter weather.
Homeland security adviser and deputy national security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall told reporters Thursday afternoon that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has supplied 60 generators to support critical sites like hospitals and water facilities, 729,000 liters of water, more than 10,000 wool blankets, 50,000 cotton blankets and 225,000 meals.
CNN lists places to which you can donate, to help victims of the winter storm
(CNN) Unprecedented winter storms have blanketed Texas, causing bitter cold temperatures and widespread power outages throughout much of the state. President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency, which makes people eligible for federal assistance. Still, the need for help is immediate as many struggle to find shelter, food, and warmth in these dangerous freezing conditions.
"Politically isolating": White House issues obstruction warning to GOP
(Axios) Mike Donilon, senior adviser to President Biden, argues in a memo to White House senior staff that GOP opposition to the COVID rescue package would shrink the party's already declining national support. "There seems to be a growing conventional wisdom that it is either politically smart — or, at worst, cost-free — for the GOP to adopt an obstructionist, partisan, base-politics posture," Donilon writes in the two-page memo, obtained by Axios. "However, there is lots of evidence that the opposite is true: ... this approach has been quite damaging to them."
The memo cites a Morning Consult poll showing a Biden approval rating of 62% with registered voters. Just 23% of registered voters think the Republican Party is going in the right direction, while 63% say the party is on the wrong track. Tens of thousands of Republicans across the country have switched party affiliation since the Capitol riot, the N.Y. Times reports. The Economist/YouGov polling finds a decline in voters calling themselves Republicans since November (from 42% to 37%).
DeSantis Threatens to Pull Vaccine From Neighborhoods That Complain
(Daily Beast) Two of Florida’s newest vaccine clinics have something in common: they’re both in wealthy, white areas, and they both have ties to allies of Gov. Ron DeSantis. As the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported Tuesday, the state recently established two pop-up vaccine clinics: one in the state’s Manatee County, exclusively available to residents of zip codes represented by county commissioner Vanessa Baugh, a top DeSantis ally; and one in Charlotte County, in a gated community developed by former Republican state senator Pat Neal, who wrote in a press release that DeSantis had reached out to him personally. In a statement, a spokesperson for DeSantis told the Herald-Tribune that “the goal is to vaccinate as many seniors as efficiently as possible, and working with senior living communities is a common sense approach, both administratively and logistically.”
According to the Sun-Sentinel, DeSantis responded to the allegations of favoritism on Wednesday by threatening to pull vaccines from the county altogether. “If Manatee County doesn’t like us doing this, we are totally fine with putting this in counties that want it,” he said. “I wouldn’t be complaining.”
U.S. life expectancy plummets amid pandemic
(Associated Press) Life expectancy in the United States dropped a staggering one year during the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic caused its first wave of deaths, health officials are reporting. Minorities suffered the biggest impact, with Black Americans losing nearly three years and Hispanics, nearly two years, according to preliminary estimates Thursday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “This is a huge decline,” said Robert Anderson, who oversees the numbers for the CDC. “You have to go back to World War II, the 1940s, to find a decline like this.”
Ted Cruz Accused of Flying to Cancun Amid Texas Power Outages As Photo Goes Viral
(Newsweek) Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has been accused of traveling to Cancun, Mexico, amid the ongoing crisis in Texas, where millions have been left without power or heat in freezing temperatures. Photos circulating on social media overnight appeared to show the senator at an airport and on an airplane. The idea that Cruz and his family had flown to Mexico soon spread on Twitter.
Democrats Have a Backbone Now
(E.J. Dionne) Here’s the thing about President Biden and his party in 2021: They’re no longer scared. They’re not defensive, or constantly looking over their shoulders, or making preemptive concessions to Republicans. They have learned an essential lesson. Voters always say they like bipartisanship, because most Americans prefer people to be nice to each other and work together. But what they care more about is solving problems and getting things done. If the party in charge fails in that essential duty, endless bend-over-backwards negotiations and a big, inclusive ‘process’ won’t save them.
The Supreme Court is still sitting on Trump's tax returns, and justices aren't saying why
(CNN) Lawsuits involving Donald Trump tore apart the Supreme Court while he was president, and the justices apparently remain riven by him. For nearly four months, the court has refused to act on emergency filings related to a Manhattan grand jury's subpoena of Trump tax returns, effectively thwarting part of the investigation.
The Supreme Court's inaction marks an extraordinary departure from its usual practice of timely responses when the justices are asked to block a lower court decision on an emergency basis and has spurred questions about what is happening behind the scenes. Chief Justice John Roberts, based on his past pattern, may be trying to appease dueling factions among the nine justices, to avoid an order that reinforces a look of partisan politics. Yet paradoxically, the unexplained delay smacks of politics and appears to ensnarl the justices even more in the controversies of Trump.
Cool
this picture of Biden is playing games with my brain lol The DU Lounge : By Takket
GATO'S 10 TIPS FOR INSTANTLY SHOOTING MUCH BETTER PHOTOS Photography : By Gato Moteado
Stonehenge may be a rebuilt stone circle from Wales World History : By left-of-center2012
Astronomers confirm orbit of most distant object ever discovered in our solar system Science : By tblue37
Abort Mission!!! The DU Lounge : By Fla Dem
Around DU
Editorials & Other Articles
- 😆 Ted Cruz honestly surprised so many people want him around 😆
- Republicans are working 'to rig every election from 2022 onwards'. If Democrats don't pay attention,
- The Funding of False Facts--Advertising Money is Fueling Conspiracy Theories Opinion
- Like it or not, history shows that taxes and bureaucracy are cornerstones of democracy
- How a Liberal Lawyer in Georgia Took an Extreme Right Turn
- Steve Bannon believed Trump had early stage dementia, TV producer claims
- The US Will Pay $200 Million + To the World Health Organization
- She Walked 500 Miles Through Wilderness In Fall & Winter To Return Home: Mary Draper Ingles
- The Ku Klux Klan Act is now being used in court against Donald Trump
- Coronavirus Vaccine Shipments Face 'Widespread Delays' Because Of Winter Storm
General Discussion
- Texas power grid was "seconds and minutes" away from catastrophic failure
- What happened to the story about Reps Giving Capitol tours on 9/5.
- Graft Probe Reaches Top of Austrian Government
- "Cancun Cruz"! Pass it on.
- Retired General Probing Capitol Attack Slammed Hawley
- Protesters await Sen. Ted Cruz's arrival at his Texas home.
- So KKKruz pulled his kids out of school (virtual or physical) to schlep them to Mex? Is that kosher
- Tx man froze to death in his recliner with wife by his side
- Gov. Abbott asking White House for major disaster declaration to help fix broken pipes
- Did you know that Trump designed and built Perseverance?
Topics
- Music Appreciation: The Jacksons - Show You The Way To Go
- Women's Rights & Issues: It's about time.
- Weather Watchers: Snow Devil captured on video in Michigan
- Photography: Ice and geese,
- Birders: Ice and geese!
- Weird News: Oakland Golf Course Still Buzzing About Extremely Rare "Condor" Score
- Gun Control & RKBA: Chinatown Shop Owner Who Saved Woman from Robbery By Firing Gun is Arrested, Bailed Out
- Civil Liberties: 5th Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Cops Who Ignited a Suicidal, Gasoline-Drenched Man by ...
- Science: Wow, the Perseverance landing site is strewn with small spherical concretion-like objects of nearly
- Economy: STOCK MARKET WATCH - Friday, 19 February 2021
Places
- Maryland: MDOT Chooses Transurban for I-495/I-270 Project
- Delaware: Mountaire class-action suit proposes $65M settlement for public
- Massachusetts: Charlie Baker is under fire -- again -- for COVID-19 vaccine signup problems
- District of Columbia: PM Update: Slippery conditions through the night as periodic light wintry mix persists
- California: Low-Income Californians to Receive $600 Stimulus Checks as Part of COVID-19 Relief Package
- Washington: Most King County property tax bills are higher due to voter-approved measures
- Arkansas: Arkansas state senator says he's leaving Republican Party
- New Mexico: APS makes the right decision. (They didn't really have a choice, thanks to teachers.)
- Virginia: 'Finally able to bring Alexis home': After 7 years, missing Nelson County teen's remains found
- Michigan: Aide who wrote Mike Shirkey's apologies leaving to work for Dana Nessel
Top News
JUST IN: Perseverance rover has safely landed on Mars
43 replies - The Perseverance rover just became NASA's fifth rover to safely land on the surface of Mars after surviving the "seven minutes of terror." This is the most sophisticated rover the agency has ever sent to the Red Planet. It will gather data ... (CNN)
Cruz defends flying to Cancun amid Texas power outages
41 replies - Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday confirmed he flew to Mexico with family members Wednesday evening, responding for the first time to widespread backlash in his home state that's been battered by a severe winter storm. Cruz said in a statement sha ... (The Hill)
Ivanka Trump won't challenge Rubio for Senate seat in 2022
34 replies - Ivanka Trump will not challenge Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for his Senate seat in 2022, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Hill. The New York Times first reported the development on Thursday, citing an unidentified source who told th ... (The Hill)
Rep. Lauren Boebert attacks House security measures while posing in front of her guns
27 replies - February 18, 2021 1:43 PM .................... Speaking in front of three guns stacked on a bookshelf behind her, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) on Thursday demanded she be provided with a "security detail" if the House Natural Resources ... (american Independent)
Silicon Valley-backed groups sue Maryland to kill country's first-ever online advertising tax
11 replies - By Tony Romm Feb. 18, 2021 at 1:53 p.m. EST Top lobbying groups backed by Amazon, Facebook, Google and other technology giants sued Maryland on Thursday, seeking to scuttle a new state tax on their massive online-advertising revenues — and stop othe ... (Washington Post)
Latest Breaking News
Georgia Republicans File Sweeping Elections Bill That Limits Early, Absentee Voting
50 min ago - NEWS POLITICS Georgia Republicans File Sweeping Elections Bill That Limits Early, Absentee Voting February 18, 2021 3:18 PM By: Stephen Fowler Republicans in the Georgia House have released an omnibus elections bill that proposes tougher restrict ... (Georgia Public Broadcasting)
Democrats introduce LGBTQ Equality Act in House and Senate - make clear Biden has 'made it a priorit
1 hr ago - The Equality Act remains a much-needed tool in the protection of LGBTQ people, women, and other minorities, because 29 states still do not protect these people in all areas, including employment, education, credit, jury service, federal funding, hous ... (Rawstory)
Nebraska Sen. Julie Slama's winner-take-all Electoral College proposal draws opposition
2 hrs ago - By Martha Stoddard LINCOLN — Opponents of returning Nebraska to a winner-take-all system of awarding Electoral College votes far outnumbered supporters at a legislative hearing Wednesday. But State Sen. Julie Slama of Peru, who introduced Legislati ... (Omaha World Herald)
Men Posed as Marshals to Avoid Masks at Florida Resort, Authorities Say
3 hrs ago - Two men were arrested and charged with impersonating a federal officer after they pretended to be U.S. marshals to avoid wearing masks at a South Florida resort, according to a criminal complaint. Walter Wayne Brown Jr., 53, and Gary Brummett, 81, f ... (NYT)
Bob Dole diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer
6 hrs ago - Bob Dole, the former longtime Kansas senator and 1996 Republican presidential nominee, said Thursday that he has stage 4 lung cancer. “Recently, I was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. My first treatment will begin on Monday,” Dole, 97, said in ... (NBC News)
Michael Madigan resigns from Illinois House after being ousted as speaker
6 hrs ago - State Rep. Michael Madigan on Thursday announced his resignation from the Illinois House after representing a Southwest Side district for a half-century, the majority of that time as the powerful speaker. Madigan remains chairman of the state Democr ... (Chicago Tribune)
Texas Democrats call on Cruz to resign
6 hrs ago - BY JONATHAN EASLEY - 02/18/21 11:55 AM EST Texas Democrats are calling on Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to resign and be expelled after pictures surfaced of him traveling to Cancun, Mexico, while millions in his home state are without power or clean wat ... (The Hill)
Ted Cruz asks Houston cops to help him get out of airport as Texans rage over Cancun trip: report
6 hrs ago - Brad Reed February 18, 2021 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is flying home amid widespread outrage over his decision to fly to Cancun while millions of his residents are freezing amid mass power outages. Now ABC News reporter Ben Siegel brings word that Cruz ... (Raw Story)
Texas governor walks back Fox News comments on Green New Deal, says gas, coal failed in Texas freeze
7 hrs ago - While millions of Texans were without power in below-freezing temperatures Tuesday night, Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) went on Fox News and told Sean Hannity that the failure of the state's power grid "shows how the Green New Deal would be a dead ... (The Week)
Trump supporters are planning to storm the Capitol again on 4 March, lawmaker warns
7 hrs ago - Donald Trump’s supporters are allegedly planning a second attack on the US Capitol on 4 March, a Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee has said. Adam Smith, the chairman of the committee, told defence officials on Wednesday that QAnon consp ... (Independent UK)
Biden admin lets migrants with extreme circumstances enter U.S. while awaiting asylum
8 hrs ago - "The doctor told me, 'Your cancer is in stage 3. You cannot play with this,'" said one woman who was allowed to enter. "'You have to get help now." Feb. 18, 2021, 9:41 AM EST / Updated Feb. 18, 2021, 10:05 AM EST By Julia Ainsl ... (NBC News)
Walmart announces raises for 425,000 associates
8 hrs ago - BY LEXI LONAS - 02/18/21 09:56 AM EST Walmart on Thursday announced that will it be raising its pay for 425,000 employees across the country. The raise will boost wages to between $13-$19 an hour, depending on location, for 425,000 digital and st ... (The Hill)
Managers of Texas' electrical grid still can't say when power will be restored
9 hrs ago - 2021/2/17 21:36 (EST)2/18 07:06 (EST)updated AUSTIN, Texas — With roughly a quarter of Texans still without power, the managers of the state's electrical grid Wednesday declined to say exactly when electricity would be fully restored, saying that ... (Austin American-Statesman)
Word of flight to Cancun from frozen Texas lands Senator Ted Cruz in hot water
9 hrs ago - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Ted Cruz flew to the Mexican resort city of Cancun with his family, Fox News reported on Thursday, as millions of his fellow Texans struggled through a deadly deep freeze, sparking a slew of criticism. The Republic ... (Reuters)
EU trade chief warns Biden over 'Buy American' push
9 hrs ago - Valdis Dombrovskis says EU will track whether US is straying outside WTO commitments. BY JAKOB HANKE VELA February 18, 2021 1:53 pm Europe's trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis has fired a warning shot at new U.S. President Joe Biden over his plans to ... (Politico Europe)
Raskin Says Trump Could Still Be Barred from Public Office
9 hrs ago - February 18, 2021 at 8:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the lead House manager for President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, told ABC News that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment could still be used to bar the former pr ... (PoliticalWire)
Capitol Police Investigate 2 GOP Lawmakers Over House Metal Detector Incidents
9 hrs ago - 02/17/2021 10:38 pm ET Updated 2 hours ago The agency is looking at whether a lawmaker assaulted a police officer and an alleged attempt by another lawmaker to carry a gun into the House Chamber. By Matt Fuller WASHINGTON ― The U.S. Capitol ... (Huff Post)
((New adjusted unemployment claims 861,000))
9 hrs ago - In the week ending February 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 861,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 55,000 from 793,000 to 848,000. (snip) T ... (Department of Labor)
Democrats to introduce Biden's immigration reform bill
10 hrs ago - Whether any Republicans join in remains in doubt. ByCecilia Vega and Quinn Owen February 18, 2021, 5:01 AM Democrats on Capitol Hill Thursday will introduce their version of immigration reform legislation, which essentially consists of a roundup o ... (ABC News)
'Just a real mess': 100M from the South to the East Coast in path of a new winter storm; 2.1M power
10 hrs ago - By Doyle Rice Winter's brutal assault continued Wednesday night as another snowstorm roared its way across the nation through the end of the week, hitting areas where millions were already without electricity in record-breaking cold. More than 100 ... (USA Today)
2 Belarusian journalists sent to prison for covering protest
11 hrs ago - KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A court in Belarus on Thursday sent two female journalists to prison on charges of violating public order after they covered a protest against the nation’s authoritarian president. The court in the Belarusian capital of Minsk ha ... (AP)
Texas hospitals are running out of water. Some facilities are evacuating patients for their safety.
12 hrs ago - When St. David's South Austin Medical Center ran out of water and lost heat on Wednesday amid a historic cold burst in Texas, the hospital was forced to ask staffers to use trash bags to remove feces from toilets, KVUE reported. That dire scene capt ... (Washington Post)
L.A. sues Nevada firm over online sales of 'ghost gun' kits
14 hrs ago - By CITY NEWS SERVICE | news@socalnews.com | PUBLISHED: February 17, 2021 at 11:21 p.m. | UPDATED: February 18, 2021 at 12:19 a.m. LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced a lawsuit Wednesday against Nevada-based Polymer80 for al ... (Daily Breeze)
American Life Expectancy Dropped By A Full Year In The First Half Of 2020
14 hrs ago - The average U.S. life expectancy dropped by a year in the first half of 2020, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics, a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Life expectancy at birth for the total ... (NPR)
White House says Biden supports study of slavery reparations
20 hrs ago - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden supports a study on whether descendants of enslaved people in the United States should receive reparations, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Wednesday, as the issue was being debated on Capitol Hill ... (Reuters)
Video
Keilar responds after Nikki Haley blames media for GOP feud (CNN)
Cruz concocts an excuse for Ditching Freezing Texas to party in Cancun
Ted Cruz Throws His Daughters Under The Bus
Incremental Development - #5 in the Strong Towns Curbside Chat Video Series
Texas Mayor Resigns After Telling 'Lazy' Residents 'No One Owes You - Quit Crying'
How do cities get enough fresh water?
Miles Taylor: Ted Cruz's Cancun Vacation Will Haunt Him
Pics Showing How Texas Is Dealing With The Coldest Weather In Over 30 Years
Texas electric grid collapse caused by a Slavish devotion to markets, false independence, more
Hey, suffering Texans, a song for you from Cancun Ted
Watch live today: NASA Perseverance rover lands on Mars!
QAnon was devastated to see Biden on AF One because they thought Trump was secretly using it: report
Maddow nails Trump for being sad there 'weren't more angry people w/lacrosse sticks' in Capitol..
Morning Joe mocks conservatives for whining that Trump was 'canceled'




