. 
The graphic is a bit faded, but so are we all about now, I suspect.
Millions of Americans are facing eviction and hunger now, for no fault of their own. They had a brief bit of hope — next week there’d be a little money, extended unemployment benefits, an extended eviction moratorium — and now that’s been snatched away again. A better package in a few weeks, assuming there is one, is going to be too late for a lot of people. The help needs to come now. It just breaks my heart.
And Donald Trump played golf today.
Trump is angry at the world now. It would be like him to let people starve and freeze in the streets because he lost the election. There is speculation he’s going to stay in Florida and not come back to Washington, ever. He may very well blow off whatever duties he is supposed to attend to until the end of his term. I’m betting he doesn’t sign the bill, and it will die.
I just hope most Americans are told the truth about why this disaster happened. I fear they’re being told it’s Nancy Pelosi’s fault, somehow.
Greg Sargent thinks Trump will sign the bill, because Trump doesn’t want to disrupt distribution of the covid vaccines, which he considers to be his great achievement. He probably threw the bomb about the $600 payment just to get attention. I hope he’s right.
It’s not clear to me if a government shutdown would immediately disrupt vaccine distribution, but it probably wouldn’t be long before states run out of funds for distribution and begin to scale back vaccinations.
Amber Phillips writes that Trump really is out of options to take back the election. Maybe now that he’s away from the White House — and maybe not going back — he’ll come to terms with that and sign the freaking bill. But not before ruining a lot of Christmases.
Alex Isenstadt reports at Politico that Trump is now checking out the 2022 midterms and is preparing to support primary challengers to Republican incumbents he considers insufficiently disloyal to him. See also Greg Sargent, Republicans raging at Trump are getting exactly what they deserve. The Republican establishment must secretly hope Trump falls into a water hazard on his golf course and is eaten by an alligator.
I’ve long enjoyed Christmas Eve because of the way the world suddenly gets quiet in the evening. It’s push, hustle, shop right up until the sun sets, and suddenly the stores close and everyone goes home. This year there’s just the relentless, grinding passage of time and a lot of people staring into an abyss.
I do hope that wherever you are you have some cheer and company this holiday. And as always I appreciate all of you for helping me stay sane.
This year there’s just the relentless, grinding passage of time and a lot of people staring into an abyss.
This is the saddest 100% accurate description of how I also feel this Christmas Eve. It has been a long year but I suspect that the next year (or at least most of it) is going to be hell for those millions of families at the bottom end of the economic spectrum.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday – Maha and all…
My support for a facet of government that some decry as "big government" is at the intersection of justice and welfare (both words used in the Preamble.) I want the essential needs of everyone met, food, housing, and medicine. Various religious and charitable organizations try to meet the local needs but only the federal government could provide a uniform system that could operate without bias. It's true that some would cheat getting services they do not deserve. That would be more than balanced out by feeding children and offering security to single-parent families, to the homeless, and people struggling to get a few rungs up the ladder.
For the immediate future, we are that safety net. It can't be uniform, but it's the best we can do. Before the first of the year, I'll clear out the pantry of canned goods which none of us are interested in. I'll check out what places are giving away free food and I'll kick in a few bucks every month.It won't make much of a difference but if a lot of people do it, it will make a difference. It's all we can do while Washington is totally disfunctional.
My opinion is that Trump is out to "get" the Republicans in the Senate, especially Mitch, for recognizing Biden as POTUS. In a move neither Ebineezer Scrroge of The Grinch would have considered, Trump pulled insufficient help away from million and replaced it with the phony intention of more substantial help.
If he could do it, Trump would cause food riots in the first week of January to provide an excuse for martial law. I still think Trump may provoke confrontations using his flying monkeys, AKA Proud Boys. Until Jan 6, we need to stand down – make the confrontation between the Proud Boys and the police. Do NOT give them anything they could twist into a narrative of the Proud Boys protecting the nation against Antifa. (And needing the support of the National Guard.)
In one week, we'll know if Trump returns to the White House on Jan 2 (or so.) If Trump is in DC, I think he'll put out the call for the Proud Boys in a do-or-die effort to prevent the certification on Jan 6. I'm not worried that Trump can succeed – I am worried that the left will serve up martyrs for no good reason.
Next year we need to show up in large numbers to support the ideas we are FOR, instead of being against Trump.
I know I'm such an optimist that some people get sick. It's how I keep from blowing my brains out. In March, if the Covid numbers are going down and spring shows blossoms and green grass again, there might be a sense of hope. The sterile numbers about consumer confidence and disposable income might translate into jobs and recovery.
Merry Christmas and best wishes for a Happy New Year to all my friends here.
What OldVet said!!!!! 🙂
You help keep sane, and give me different perspectives, maha, and "mahats." 😉
About Hair Furor, can you imagine the size the gator would have to be to get him down on the ground, then have to drag his fat, whiney, cottage-cheese white and lumpy ass across the swamp, and then hold him down long enough to drown the fat fuKKKer?!?
And before finally dining on Dumbass Donnie, where would the gator stow the corpse so it could properly "cure" in the fetid water?!? And tRUMP wouldn't do anything to "unfetid" that water, either. As a matter of fact, his fat carcass would add a helluva lotta "fed!"
I think they stopped making gators that big a few million years ago. Though when they find a fossil that size, our KKKhristians probably think Adam & Eve – NOT ADAM AND STEVE!!!!! – used it like an SUV.
Though I'm not a believer, I do so love Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
So, Merry Christmas, all you "mahats!"
I gotta admit, I think I prefer "maha-ites" instead.
WHATEV'S!
LUVZ YA ONE & ALL!!!!!
"Maybe now that he’s away from the White House — and maybe not going back — he’ll come to terms with that. . . "
Uh no, he's nuts.
You've fallen into the trap of logical thinking.
He is a malignant and narcissistic sociopath, and possibly suffering some senility, but he’s not psychotic.
In layman's terms he's a big bag of shit.
Recently, my daughter and I have been entertaining ourselves by making bets on one thing or another. Our most recent is whether Trump will return to the WH before the inauguration. I say he won't, she thinks he will have to cause he has to work. She is a little naive sometimes. Anyway, I tried to get her to bet on whether he will attend the inauguration. But we both thought the same thing, that he won't. I think I heard somewhere that he is planning on a rally that day. Maybe he will wander into a swamp down there in Florida and be eaten by an alligator. Poor alligator, it will be sick for a week.
Even though I don't like Xmas (too commercial) I wish everyone happy holidays and stay safe.
Betting with your kids is a novel way of arranging a secure retirement when you reach your senior years. I need to try that but my kids are smarter than I am and I'll wind up destitute.
Merry Christmas, everyone! Wishing you all good health and happiness for the coming year.
Merry Christmas to everyone!
We're "counting our blessings" as the saying goes. It's difficult to imagine what some people must be going through, but, it's important to try. More important than that is to actually do something to make it better. If you're stuck on finding a way to make it better, the food banks are always there, as Doug wrote.
I'm not a believer either, but God(dess) bless you all!
Betting with your kids is a novel way of arranging a secure retirement when you reach your senior years. I need to try that but my kids are smarter than I am and I'll wind up destitute.