Easy decisions are the ones where more people live

Yay, Congress has come up with a bill to fund the government until September and provide a small amount of virus relief (yeah, close to a trillion, but small compared to what is needed). Both parties have agreed to it. If the vote isn’t taken by the end of the day there will be a government shutdown. But Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is not happy. She tweeted:

This is why Congress needs time to actually read this package before voting on it. Members of Congress have not read this bill. It’s over 5000 pages, arrived at 2pm today, and we are told to expect a vote on it in 2 hours. This isn’t governance. It’s hostage-taking. And by the way, it’s not just members who need to see the bill ahead of time - YOU do. The PUBLIC needs to see these bills w enough time to contact their rep to let them know how they feel. Members are reeling right now bc they don’t have time to consult w/ their communities.

Soquel Creek responded:

This is how Congress continues its crime spree. 1. Identify "must-pass" legislation (spending, defense, COVID-relief) and hold it hostage. 2. Stuff it full of your favorite pork and wet-dream projects. 3. Keep the text secret until it's too late. 4. Pass by voice vote.

Kyle Cheney of Politico tweeted about signs that various members of Congress will try to challenge the Electoral College vote when it is presented to Congress on January 6. Since Moscow Mitch has acknowledged Biden’s win this will only stretch out the process and the fight will be fresh propaganda to those who believe the election was stolen. Political Sponge responded:

What is scary is not how far Trump is willing to go. The man is amoral and only holds himself dear. We knew this. What is scary is how many elected officials, those who swore an oath to protect the constitution, are willing to aid him in this attempt.

Greg Dworkin, in his pundit roundup for Daily Kos quoted Erica Newland in the New York Times. She had been a Department of Justice lawyer. When she left …

I continued to believe that a critical mass of responsible attorneys staying in government might provide a last line of defense against the administration’s worst instincts. Even after I left, I advised others that they could do good by staying. … I was wrong. Watching the Trump campaign’s attacks on the election results, I now see what might have happened if, rather than nip and tuck the Trump agenda, responsible Justice Department attorneys had collectively — ethically, lawfully — refused to participate in President Trump’s systematic attacks on our democracy from the beginning. The attacks would have failed…. No matter our intentions, we were complicit. We collectively perpetuated an anti-democratic leader by conforming to his assault on reality. We may have been victims of the system, but we were also its instruments. No matter how much any one of us pushed back from within, we did so as members of a professional class of government lawyers who enabled an assault on our democracy — an assault that nearly ended it. We owe the country our honesty about that and about what we saw. We owe apologies. I offer mine here.

Leah McElrath tweeted a video from Dr. Allison Rodgers showing how a coronavirus enters a cell, then what the vaccine does to make it stop. It’s a minute long. Dartagnam of the Kos community reported of plans of rich people to buy their way to the front of the vaccine line. They’re willing to donate tens of thousands to a hospital to get the vaccine sooner. Always the way of rich people. Andy Slavitt, the head of health care under Obama, tweeted a thread he wished he didn’t have to write. He wrote it four days ago. Here are excerpts:

Yesterday one American died every 30 seconds. But no one has the tolerance to talk about it any longer. We’re forced to talk about the economy. Because enough people are apparently no longer motivated by 3600 people dying. In a day. ... Many Americans will absolutely as a badge of pride gather in large numbers for Christmas now. We know this for sure. Because of: Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day & Thanksgiving. It means we could have days in January where more than 6000 people die in a day from COVID. Much of this is driven by non-compliant behavior. People who refuse. A president who doesn’t care. Essential workers we push out. People who live in poor working conditions. And Kristy Noem [Governor of South Dakota]. ... I have sympathy for all of the people who have to make tough decisions. But there are easy decisions too. Easy decisions are the ones where more people live if you make them. Easy decisions mean supporting the people losing their livelihoods so we can be safe. Right now there are people who are in 4 categories of compliance: 1-Taking very few risks 2-Taking more risks than they think 3-Forced to take risks because of job/living 4-Carefree It would be one thing if the losses were confined to people in category 4. Expressing their liberty. But category 3 (essential workers, ppl facing homelessness, multi-gen houses) suffer disproportionately based on Category 4 behavior. As prevalence grows more & more people in the first 2 categories— occasionally letting their guards down but trying very hard— are more & more at risk.

Bill in Portland, Maine, in his Cheers and Jeers column for Kos has a quote from George Clooney talking to Howard Stearn about masks:

This thought where everybody is like, “Well, it’s my freedom.” That’s not how this s--- works, dumbass. Your freedom is this: You’re free to smoke until your lungs turn black, but you can’t do it on the bus. And you’re free to drink until your liver comes out your ass, but you can’t drink and then get behind the wheel of a car. Put on a f---ing mask and we’ll get through this. We’ve got vaccines coming—let’s save another 60,000 lives before the vaccines.

Reconciling Ministries Network offered an online Longest Night service this evening. This is a service for those who aren’t feeling the joy of Christmas. It was a comforting series of readings, some from the Bible, some from other writings. There were also a few musical interludes. The service will remain on the Reconciling Ministries Network YouTube channel. The whole service is 47 minutes and has an ASL interpreter. The final reading of the service is also there separately and is two minutes. RMN is working to make the United Methodist Church more inclusive and loving, especially for LGBTQ people.