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The proposal to loan $14 billion to Detroit’s struggling automakers collapsed late Thursday night but the Big Three may get some money anyway.
Bush officials warned wavering GOP senators that if they didn’t support the legislation, the White House will likely be forced to tap the Wall Street bailout to lend them money, two Republican congressional officials told CNN earlier…
…One of the sources said the a White House official made clear to a GOP Senator that would be the worst option, because the loan could go to the auto companies with few or no requirements along with it.
If so, then it looks like Jane was right about Reid’s bluff. Let’s hope so. Oddly, while the "worst" option from a Republican point of view, since it won’t screw over a union, it is the best option from a Democratic point of view. That knife Senate Republicans were trying to cut the union’s with, may come back to slice a chunk off them.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch.
And, holy shit, it looks like Reid just grew a spine, called the Republicans bluff, and forced Bush to do what he wanted. First time ever, and good job Harry – this may be the fighting Harry Reid we were all hoping for. Hope he sticks around.
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Waiting to see what happens before patting Harry on the back. Way too soon for any kind of good feeling about this.
We just found a bat in the house parked over a door. Is that a good sign or a bad one?
wingless bat or winged?
Again Mr DwBartoo has opened the Digg up Pups so please Digg this post… Whew the post are sure fast and furious tonight!!
And boy does DWBartoo have his shovel going in overtime!!! So help him out and Digg these posts
He is waiting for the Door to open so he can go a hunting!! Just make sure the DingBats go toooo1
The idea of the Rs getting slapped by Bush just makes me smile.
I’m assuming it has wings. It’s perched on the wall where it meets the ceiling over the door. Isn’t a wingless bat really a mouse? The cats have found 2 of them in the house and killed them over the last week. My sweet female cat woke me up at 6 this morning playing with it.
Reid didn’t do squat. He was willing to sell out the unions, just not as fast as the Congressional Republicans. What this comes down to are actions that Congressional Republicans took and an action that the White House might take. The Democrats and Harry Reid in particular are completely and absolutely irrelevant to either of these.
and leave a comment at Digg while you’re at it (counts as an extra Digg vote!)
LOL Sounds as if you are working on having your own Animal Planet.
Thank you. I needed to laugh.
Kind of cold for bats to be in your neck of the woods. Be careful, but, put on a glove, grab it and toss it out the door.
IMO, if Reid has a spine he would’ve kept the senate in session until they agreed on a deal.
I hope to God Obama is prepared to be ruthless in dealing with Congressional rethugs
The actual vote…
a thick leather glove
My husband manages a GM dealership (don’t hate me). I’m a tad worried.
I wasn’t laughing at 6 am. Glad it amused you though.
We’ve closed off the room where the bat is otherwise I can just see the cats stalking it waiting for it to move. It will have to wait until morning to be dealt with. Won’t that be fun?
how do I find out whether one of the senators elected from my state (not “my” senator…) voted against it before he voted for it?
LOL. I was thinking of ‘wingless’ bat as in a wooden bat. Wooden bats seem like good luck to me.
Not sure about the luck of a winged bat in the house. Best to encourage it outside before it is taken apart by your cats.
If it is squished or torn by your cat, you might want to keep the bat in a bag and have it tested for rabies
That is husband territory. I’ll pass on your advise. I do lots around the house but the removal of critters, dead or alive, isn’t on my list.
I think you have to watch the roll call replay.
Anybody have the stomach for that?
Someone should print up this bumper sticker:
Republicans Hate Working People
I’d put it on my cars, and give away plenty more.
Off to dream of bats and bailouts. . . . .
I wish the best for you. We will have to see how this plays out. If the WH comes up with the money from the TARP, the auto industry will be able to muddle through to an Obama Administration. But even so, we are still looking at a severe recession.
hehe. did I read that correctly: Voinovich voted yes? Dole? Brownback?
Baucus and Tester, what’s wrong with Montana? Lincoln too? Reid was for procedural reasons…
Why a glove? Rabies? Rabies is unusual in insectivores.
I fished a couple of bats out of my swimming pool, hung them on my (naked) finger, dried them with a hairdryer, and hung them outside.
They flew off in the evening.
Republicans hate America.
Wonder why so many Rs did not vote? And what was Tester thinking of?
Maybe just this once Bush will do the right thing and release TARP funds as a bridge to next Congress/Administration.
As far as Reid is concerned, he should be challenged for Leader. My pick is Feingold.
Will you ever vote for a Republican?
http://www.cdc.gov/RABIES/bats.html
Unfortunately not unusual in bats.
Yupper!
Time to go to the mattresses!
what? you actually want people like Stevens of Alaska to
vote? ;-P
Oh yeah: my father brought a bat home from work onece, so we could see it, and then released it at our church (so we could have a bat in our [then non-existent] belfry).
So far, we’re okay. We’re in the Northeast so we make no money in November and December anyway. If things get back on track somewhat by spring, I’ll be okay. I recognize that I’m being too optimistic but it’s all I’ve got.
My guess is, voting was a no-win proposition for them: if they vote for it, they cross their leadership, and if they vote against it, they et lambasted by their constituency in favor of it.
Hence, don’t vote.
Good evening, all.
I’ll answer that. NO!
No, Synoia. Bats are notorious rabies carriers.
On topic: I was wondering if maybe the Europeans might try to head off a worldwide depression through GM’s subsidiaries. I had no faith that the Dim Son would do anything. I still have lots of doubts about it.
:) actually I don’t. But Hagel, Cornyn, Craig ???
Which just goes to show that the dirty cowards fear us less than they fear the leadership.
We needs to change that, folks.
No. For this and a brazillion other reasons.*g*
Didn’t Ozzie contract rabies after biting off the head of a bat? Or was that just an urban legend right alongside his pissing on the Alamo…? ;-)
No, he bit the bat, and had the shots, but didn’t contract rabies. At least that was the story he told Letterman, back in the day.
Isn’t it ironic that the auto companies might get some $$$ from the TARP and without the strings that the Repubs were trying to put on?
Gee, if it’s good enough for the investment bankers, . . . .
By fearing us less, I mean that voting present is de facto voting no.
You people in Kentucky should really proud of yourselves for re-electing that asshole McConnell.
As Clemenza said when they went to the mattresses “These things gotta happen every five years or so, ten years. Helps to get rid of the bad blood. Been ten years since the last one. You know, you gotta stop them at the beginning. Like they should have stopped Hitler at Munich, they should never let him get away with that, they was just asking for trouble.”
He does display all the rabid symptoms tho…! ;-)
There are not words to express the disgust that I have for those southern republican senators and those who have supported them.
This is way OT, but, I went shopping for some Christmas tree ornaments. Went to JoAnne’s Fabrics, KMart and Michael’s Art supplies. Inventory seemed waaaay down in all those stores. I don’t think they sold out, I don’t think they bought anything. JoAnne’s, especially, was a shadow of its former self. I was especially looking for baby’s breath. One store finally had one bunch. Has anyone else experienced this?
i heard something about lowe’s being extremely low on inventory and i’ve heard of other stores taking inventory – not a usual practice in the days before xmas. i fear a lot of stores are going to be closing in january and did not stock up knowing they may close.
If it’s a matter of inventory, then someone had big time hints a long time ago. Those orders went in late last spring.
I think it’s more likely that people are crafting more because of the economy. Did you ask the folks at the stores why inventory was so low?
Boycott any state whose Senator/s committed economic treason. Write letters to the editors of the major papers in the South and let them know what working and middle class Americans think of the anti-American racist troglydytes that “represent” them.
Oh gosh Deb, I hate having a bat inside.
Good luck! I got lucky and hit it with a jacket and stunned it (then dispatched it to Greener Pastures). Greener attics, anyway.
They had ornaments at my Joann’s and at Michael’s. I bought a bunch a couple of weeks ago (I have a nice stash, but I get the little ones).
Also try Border’s Books, they get seasonal decorations. This is the time they’re all on sale, anyway.
Does, ES, have Late, late honors, Suz?
And after everyone goes bankrupt we’ll have walmart. Another success.
And the two Democrats in Montana.
That one is bewildering.
I have heard this same thing in central FL.
Hi Suzanne.
had one fly in one night back when i was at the cottage. i opened all the doors and chased it toward the openings with a broom swishing over my head.
i’m so glad no one was around to witness it
Think you might want to take another look at that NAY vote. Whole lot of Senators who aren’t from the south.
Baby’s breath is an exotic invasive noxious weed species. It decimates native plant communities and should be avoided. Protect the environment and avoid baby’s breath.
Good idea, but not terribly practical for me. Our son is stationed in North Carolina, and we want to see him before his unit deploys next summer. Other than that, though, consider them boycotted.
tis me tonight and it will be up soon – pushed back a wee bit for the giant finger the r senators gave to the working men and women of america.
I’m disappointed!! I wanted the Democrats to show some “testicular fortitude,” or whatever, and make those Southern Dandies stand before the American people 24/7 telling them how they want to reduce American workers to Asian wages. Fuck ‘em. Make ‘em do it and make ‘em eat that shit for the next decade.
hey rond
I would’ve busted a gut watching ya flail about…! ;-)
Playing to the western myth of the rugged individual on his/her own against the world.
exactly why i was glad no one saw
Well of course family should always comes first but you could still write a letter to the editor.
Do be careful with the bats, Rev. When they do peculiar things it is sometimes a sign they are rabid. Are others in your area reporting bat sightings in unusual places? You might call your local paper/tv station and ask if others have had such experiences with bats recently.
Voinovich knows he would have to watch his back forever if he voted no.
Off to bed. G’nite all.
Aloha, solai!
‘night, Solai.
Twain,
The southerners (McConnell, Shelby and Cochran in particular) were the leaders in this particular debacle. Those particular asshats had plenty of support, but they were the movers and shakers in this one.
As far as Tester and Baucus go, it was probably clear the cloture vote was going down and they voted Nay to keep the folks at home happy. Reid voted Nay so he can bring forward a Motion to Reconsider if some miracle occurs.
Bon nuit, mes amis. Dorme bien.
Most of ‘em did… Three defectors and 4 not voting with two excused… Biden and Kennedy…!
RevDeb, your local vet and doc will be able to advise you about rabies precautions. Calling them in the AM would be a really good idea.
Looking at the roll call, it doesn’t seem all that hopeless to me. We have 52 votes. Reid voted no for procedural reasons. That gives us 53. Biden, Kennedy, Kerry and Wyden were absent. That would give us 57. 3 Democrats voted no. Of these 3 [Baucus, Lincoln and Tester]at least 2 should be amenable to switching their vote, if push came to shove. Several ‘reasonable’ Republicans [Hagel, Smith and Sununu] did not vote. There might be a yes vote there. Finally, given his hero complex, McCain might be encouraged to switch his vote to save the day.
Why isn’t Obama not listed…? Biden resigned his seat well before Obama and he’s listed… Hmmm…
Fuck ‘em. I want to see them up there filibustering 24/7 against the welfare of American workers and American industry. Let them show their true colors.
He also needs to keep Congress in session because Bush has a bunch of recess appointments he wants to make. Or so I hear.
Bob in HI
Here in Germany the Government has already promised Opel (a GM subsidiary) a billion euro loan should GM go bankrupt.
The problem is of course to make sure that the money stays in Germany and supports German jobs. That’s the same problem the German union IG Metall has right now: they are willing to reduce pay, but only if that money stays with Opel and secures their jobs.
Yes. We noticed that over the Thanksgiving weekend it looked like Lowe’s, Target and almost every other purveyor of wonderful and/or cheesy Christmas decorations was almost sold out. We also noticed that earlier in the month when they stocked those shelves, the area set aside for Christmas stuff was much smaller than usual.
We also noticed that in past years we were just about the only ones with Christmas lights on our block, other than the “Griswolds” at the corner, this year our street is awash in lighted displays and we look like a bunch of pikers, because we had to jettison some stuff due to ‘possum poo. The little darling burrowed into our storage boxes and done his business in them.
Dumb question but why didn’t Obama and Biden not vote?
It’s a sign of winter. Check you attic and under the eves they may be living there.