Hour 1 – Barb Adams and John J. Higgins, The Elephant in the Room
Way to go Democrats! You got the Senate to pass your bill, minus a $15/hour minimum wage and other cuts, but you sure showed the Republicans who holds the power after allowing an almost 12-hour standoff over unemployment benefits with Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and slogging through Vote-a-Rama. Wait! Manchin’s a Democrat and he, not the Republicans, was holding the bill hostage, potentially derailing President Biden’s $1.9 trillion dollar relief package. One solitary, stubborn Democrat upset all of Biden’s best-laid plans and all the Republicans had to do was stand back and watch. They even came to Manchin’s defense, including Senator Lindsey Graham, who chanted “Save Joe Manchin!”
And therein is the problem with the Democrats. They just can’t seem to help themselves in assisting the Republicans. While giving one man, Joe Manchin, power over their party, in just two months they’re already angering millions of Americans by reducing eligibility for the stimulus checks, which means fewer Americans will be receiving money than when Trump and the Republicans sent their stimulus checks out.
And the Democrats are moving their legislation “forward” using the process known as budget reconciliation. Unfortunately, they’ll most likely end up regretting this move as well.
It’s time for tough love, Democrats, push the money button and quit focusing on the GOP’s fake outrage over things like Neanderthals.
Speaking of Neanderthals, the GOP is still all in on pushing their outrage over cancel culture as well as continuing Trump’s “Big Lie.” Friday’s Storytime with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy reading Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss certainly exemplified how clueless he is as he tried to stoke the GOP’s fake outrage over cancel culture. Green Eggs and Ham is not one of the books Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ pulled. And Mike Pence came out this week strongly in support of Trump’s “Big Lie.” The man Trump targeted to have killed during the January 6th insurrection is back ass-kissing his tormentor. Unlike Alexei Navalny, who stood up to a president who subverted democracy and tried to kill him, Pence seems to have a real death fetish. McCarthy and Pence…Dumb and Dumber.
Back in reality, as the GOP continues to push massive voting suppression (over 250+ bills in 43 states), where are the Democrats? Why aren’t they passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act? Additionally, why aren’t they ending the filibuster or making DC a state?
Could it be they just can’t handle being in power? Maybe they’re afraid of actually taking on the big, bad Republicans–the party run by the three wise men—Donald Trump, Dr. Seuss, and Mr. Potato Head. Or maybe they’re too busy running away from a veiled threat of more violence at the Capitol. Pavlov couldn’t have hoped for a better response–veiled threat; shut down government! Trump’s troops don’t even need to attack. Just use the power of suggestion and the Dems give away their power.
The Democrats need to stop worrying about what the GOP wants. They need to govern on behalf of the people and this nation. They also need to quit taking their cues from the losing party and quit allowing the Republicans to control the narrative. It’s certifiable that it even needs to be said, but maybe the far-right whack jobs in that party who are willing to overturn the legitimate results of a democratic election shouldn’t be the ones you use to find your own identity.
The GOP is in shambles—their dear leader, Trump, is the only president in history to have lost the popular vote twice and be impeached twice! Not to mention his coup d’etat!
Bipartisanship is commendable, but only when you’re dealing with a party that is in the same reality as you are and is comprised of sane people who want the best for this nation and her people. The GOP isn’t that party! They are a clear and present danger to democracy and the Democrats must stop trying to appease them. Democrats need to remember who they are. Democrats are the party of the working class and, as such, defend the economic interests and share the values of the average voter. They, not the Republicans, have won the popular vote of every election in the last two decades and they need to wake up and start acting like it!
Every week I ask the same question, “What will it take to rid ourselves of this darkness once and for all?
Maybe it’s time to cancel the GOP’s narrative, one that is focused on insanity and more on Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head than Covid relief and the greater good for this country. The Democrats need to be the adult in the room and govern because the GOP remains the elephant in the room for the foreseeable future.
JOIN Barb and John as they discuss The Elephant in the Room.
Hour 2 (REBROADCAST) – Mike Pearl, The Day It Finally Happens
Joining the show during the second hour is Vice magazine columnist and Webby-award winning journalist, Mike Pearl. Mike will be discussing his new book, The Day It Finally Happens: Alien Contact, Dinosaur Parks, Immortal Humans – and Other Possible Phenomena.
Have you ever wondered what life will be like the day the entire Internet goes down, or when we get a signal from an extraterrestrial species? We’re living in anxious times, so it’s only natural for us to dwell on visions of the seemingly impossible, whether they be an incredible scientific breakthrough or apocalyptic doom. But perhaps there is comfort to be found into a research-based crystal ball.
In The Day It Finally Happens, Vice columnist, award-winning journalist, and self-proclaimed worrywart, Mike Pearl, explores the likelihood and possible repercussions of 19 Earth-shattering events–from shocking political upheaval to nuclear disaster to the prospect of human immortality.
Taking inspiration from his virally popular Vice column, “How Scared Should I Be?,” Pearl games out many of the “could it really happen?” scenarios we’ve all speculated about, assigning a probability rating and taking us through how it would unfold. He then reports back from the future, providing a picture of how the world would look, feel, and even smell in each of the instances.
Listen in as Mike Pearl discusses The Day It Finally Happens as he offers some practical answers to some of our most worrisome questions, including humanity’s odds of pulling through.
Mike Pearl is a Webby-award winning journalist whose writing has appeared in The Awl, The Hollywood Reporter, and elsewhere, and his columns How Scared Should I Be?, Year 2050, and Hours and Minutes have been featured in Vice. Pearl is a graduate of Chapman University and is based in Los Angeles. The Day It Finally Happens is his first book.
For more information, visit http://mikeleepearl.com.
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