#(obviously the winner here is coronavirus)

[catty-words]

#crazyexedit #crazy ex girlfriend #rebecca bunch #josh chan #rebeccabunchedit #joshchanedit #gifs by catty #hot new coronavirus discourse - who would win: #rebecca wanting to be a woman of science #or the slightest opportunity to hug best boi josh chan #(obviously the winner here is coronavirus) #my obsessive sunflower #pigeon toed bounce machine #no good manipulative love addict who i ADORE #you unassuming idiot sweetheart

[vierschanzentournee]

Ski Jumping Survey 2020/21 - The Results

So, 2020/21 was… a season. It’s certainly had its ups and downs, but I’m grateful that we were able to have the majority of a season, including the world championships, despite whatever the hell has been going on the in the wider world!

Luckily, there’s no reason that coronavirus should have an impact on my third end-of-season survey — in fact, I got an absolutely awesome 103 responses this year! For reference, last year I got 68, and the year before that I got 66. I don’t know whether my survey just reached more people this year, or whether the ski jumping family on Tumblr has grown, but either way I’m super happy.

The results for overall favourite jumpers were scored the same way as usual: a vote for favourite was worth 3 points, a vote for second favourite was worth 2, and a vote for third favourite was worth 1. The jumpers were ranked based on their total number of points, which meant that the most popular World Cup ski jumpers this year were…

Maren Lundby & Daniel-André Tande

I always knew this season would be an interesting one for my survey (...and yes, I do start thinking about it quite a bit in advance), because the male winner of the previous two years, Stephan Leyhe, wouldn’t be an option due to his injury. Daniel, however, wasn’t a completely unexpected winner — he came second to Stephan last year. I do wonder whether Daniel got an extra little boost because of his terrible fall in Planica at the end of the season, which meant he was very much at the forefront of everyone’s minds, but I’ve got no way to confirm or deny that! The full results for the men are below - if two jumpers had the same number of points, ranking was based on who had the highest number of votes for favourite (if that was identical, it then went down to who had the highest number of votes for second favourite). If two jumpers share a ranking, it means they had the exact same distribution of votes.

1. Tande (78 points)

2. Stoch (57)

3. Geiger (57)

4. Granerud (51)

5. Eisenbichler (38)

6. Boyd-Clowes (31)

7. Schlierenzauer (30)

8. P Prevc (27)

9. Lindvik (26)

10. Wellinger (22)

11. R Kobayashi (18)

12. Stekala (16)

13. D Prevc (15)

14. Y Sato (15)

15. Lanisek (12)

16. Pavlovcic (12)

17. Freund (10)

18. Freitag (8)

19. Hayboeck (8)

20. Wolny (7)

21. Aalto (7)

22. Nakamura (6)

23. D Huber (6)

24. Hamann (6)

25. Kubacki & Kraft (5)

26. Schmid (5)

27. Johansson (5)

28. C Prevc & Jelar & Semenic (4)

29. Fettner (4)

30. Kot (3)

31. Klimov (3)

32. Paschke (2)

33. Forfang (2)

34. Kytosaho & Aigro & Markeng & Aschenwald (1)

Karl Geiger defends his third place from last year, while Kamil Stoch jumps a few places from 5th to second (perhaps courtesy of his third Four Hills victory this year?). Obviously, the biggest winner here is Halvor Egner Granerud, who has gone from only 2 points last year (when he struggled immensely in the World Cup and finished with only a few points) to finishing fourth with 8.28% of the vote (Tande had 12.66%, while Stoch and Geiger had 9.25% each). Others who have moved up include Eisenbichler (from 10th to 5th) and Stekala (who I believe did not compete in the World Cup last year and so wasn’t available as an option, but has clearly won a lot of hearts this season). Conversely, there are also a few who seem to have lost out — Marius Lindvik fell from 4th place to 9th, while Andreas Wellinger, who wasn’t an option last year due to his injury but dominated the non-World Cup vote, could only manage 10th in comparison to his second place in 2019.

The women saw another season of dominance from Maren Lundby in this survey, although not so much on the hill. The full results for the women are:

1. Lundby (103 points)

2. Takanashi (85)

3. Kramer (62)

4. Althaus (57)

5. Kriznar (52)

6. Opseth (50)

7. Freitag (19)

8. Klinec & Pinkelnig (15)

9. Vogt (13)

10. Hoelzl (13)

11. Rogelj (12)

12. Iraschko-Stolz (11)

13. Voros (11)

14. Rupprecht (9)

15. Karpiel (8)

16. Bjoerseth (7)

17. Pagnier (6)

18. Twardosz (4)

19. Rajda (4)

20. Avvakumova & Stroem & Haralambie (3)

21. Maruyama (2)

22. L Malsiner & Strate (2)

23. Kvandal & Ito & Eder & Seyfarth & Iwabuchi & Brecl (1)

Although Lundby has secured the win yet again, her share of the vote is a little lower this time at 16.74%, compared to 21.27% in 2020. Sara Takanashi has overtaken Katharina Althaus for second place, but undoubtedly the highest climber is Sara Marita Kramer, who received no votes at all last year (despite ranking 9th in the overall World Cup), but this year won 10.06% of the women’s vote. Many other results were largely stable — Kriznar, Opseth, and Freitag are in the same area of the rankings as they were last year — but Ema Klinec made some gains, moving up from 15th to 8th.

The votes for favourite teams were simply added up, and the team with the most votes won. For the men, the rankings were:

1. Norway (34 votes)

2. Poland & Germany (23)

3. Slovenia (9)

4. Austria (7)

5. Japan (4)

6. Finland (1)

7. France (1)

Interestingly, the Norwegians have overtaken the Germans — possibly this has something to do with the Germans essentially losing their two most popular jumpers, Wellinger and Leyhe, while the Norwegians saw excellent results from Halvor Egner Granerud. Poland have also overtaken Slovenia, by a significant margin, which I’m not entirely sure I can explain!

For the women, the rankings were:

1. Norway (28 votes)

2. Slovenia (24)

3. Germany (19)

4. Austria (12)

5. Japan (9)

6. Poland (3)

7. Russia (2)

8. France (1)

Again, Norway have taken the lead from Germany. Slovenia have jumped from fourth to second, leapfrogging both Austria and Germany, while Japan are steadily catching up to Austria too. 2020/21 was a strong season for the Slovenian women on the whole, with Nika Kriznar winning the overall and Ema Klinec becoming a world champion, which perhaps explains why they’ve been on people’s minds more often.

The vote for favourite male athlete who didn’t compete in the World Cup this season wasn’t actually quite as much of a slaughter as I’d thought it would be — the winner was exactly who you think it is, but others mounted a strong challenge!

1. Leyhe (29 votes)

2. Fannemel (12)

3. Gangnes (9)

4. Bickner (8)

5. Morgenstern (6)

6. Kasai (5)

7. Pedersen & Peier (3)

8. Hautamaki (2)

9. Stjernen & Schmitt & Ahonen & Malysz & Raimund & S Huber & Larinto & Hannawald & Descombes Sevoie & Kranjec & Aune & Hilde (1)

There was a far greater variety of answers this year, probably thanks to the much larger sample size - so while roughly a third of respondents were still missing Stephan, plenty of people also found room in their hearts for long-time absentees like Fannemel, recent retirees like Gangnes and Kranjec, those relegated to the Continental Cup or below like Kasai and Pedersen, or those who have long since retired but whom we still miss, like Morgenstern, Schmitt, and Malysz.

The same question didn’t get a huge amount of responses for the women:

1. Hendrickson (8 votes)

2. Seifreidsberger (3)

3. N Prevc & Wuerth (2)

4. Sagen & Straub & Van & Iakovleva & M Malsiner (1)

Sarah Hendrickson, one of the first legends of women’s ski jumping who announced her retirement at the end of this season, was at the front of many respondents’ minds — others were looking towards the future with Nika Prevc, the younger sister of Peter, Cene, and Domen.

It’s a little bit difficult to compare the results for favourite tournament each year, as 2 out of the 3 years I’ve run the survey have seen the cancellation of various tournaments. The one consistent, however, has been the Four Hills Tournament, which still remains the favourite of most of the fanbase:

1. Four Hills Tournament (75 votes)

2. Planica7 (14)

3. Willingen Six (13)

I didn’t ask about favourite podiums this year, as the headache it caused me last year was not worth repeating, no matter how interesting the comparisons might be!

One of my favourite elements of this survey is the predictions. The most popular predictions for the winners of season 19/20 were correct; the predictions for 20/21, however, were much less accurate — no one at all saw Granerud coming, and only one person correctly predicted that Nika Kriznar would win the women’s World Cup. The most popular predictions to win this season were Geiger (who finished 6th, after a busy season which involved catching Covid-19, welcoming a baby daughter, and winning a variety of ski flying and world championship medals) and Lundby (who finished 8th, struggling to find her best form in early World Cup competitions but hitting a groove towards the end of the season and winning several world championship medals). Inspired by this rather topsy-turvy season, we’ve got a wide variety of predictions for next year:

1. Geiger (29 votes)

2. R Kobayashi (17)

3. Eisenbichler (12)

4. Lanisek (8)

5. Pavlovcic (5)

6. Lindvik (5)

7. Stoch & Granerud & D Huber (4)

8. D Prevc (3)

9. Boyd-Clowes (2)

10. Y Sato & Zajc & Fannemel & P Prevc & Schlierenzauer & Kubacki (1)

Interestingly, not many people seem to think Granerud can do it twice in a row — this certainly fits the pattern we’ve seen over the past few decades, with the last male jumper to win two consecutive titles being Janne Ahonen in 2003/04 and 2004/05. Despite his failure to deliver on the overall title this year, Karl Geiger has again received a vote of confidence, while his teammate Eisenbichler is being seriously considered for the title for the first time. There’s also a lot of support here for jumpers who haven’t even had a World Cup victory: Lanisek, Pavlovcik, Huber, and Boyd-Clowes have never won a competition. There are a few other long shots here too, considering that Fannemel has been out for three consecutive seasons (and isn’t even confirmed to be jumping next season), and Schlierenzauer finished 65th in the World Cup this season (although it’s of course worth noting that Granerud was 61st last season, and we all know that Gregor knows how to win!)

There’s far less variety to be found among the women:

1. Kramer (49 votes)

2. Takanashi (13)

3. Lundby (11)

4. Opseth (6)

5. Kriznar (3)

6. Klinec (2)

Again, not many people think Kriznar can do it twice in a row — instead, all eyes are on Sara Marita Kramer, who came within touching distance of the crystal globe this year but was stymied by various cancelled competitions. This is the first year that Lundby hasn’t been the fandom’s top prediction, and it seems that when it rains for her, it pours, because she’s not even the second choice. That title goes to Sara Takanashi, who hasn’t won an overall title since 2016/17 but who finished second to Kriznar this season.

Sadly, only one of the jumpers tipped for a first victory last year actually managed to achieve one this season — Nika Kriznar. Many of the other favourite picks, such as Constantin Schmid, Philipp Aschenwald, and Ziga Jelar instead suffered something of a downturn in form, while others like Anze Lanisek and Silje Opseth have performed well, but not quite well enough for a win. This year’s votes are:

1. Lanisek (21 votes)

2. Stekala (20)

3. Pavlovcic (17)

4. Opseth (9)

5. Boyd-Clowes (6)

6. Schmid (3)

7. Bjoerseth (2)

8. Jelar & Nakamura & C Prevc & Pedersen (1)

Towards the end of the season, Pavlovcic in particular seemed to be knocking on the door of victory; Lanisek was a consistent top 10 finisher; and Stekala achieved his very first podium. It’ll be interesting to see where these jumpers go next year, and I hope that it’s not quite as much of a curse as it was last year!

As ever, the final part of the survey was focused on demographics — who are the ski jumping family?

According to this year’s survey, the average ski jumping fan on Tumblr is 21.6 years old, a German-speaker who is from and lives in Germany, and has been watching ski jumping for slightly over 7 years!

I put together charts showing the data collected about respondents’ country of origin, country of residence, age, languages, and time watching ski jumping:

So, all there’s left to do now is thank everyone who took the survey for their invaluable contributions to “science” — thank you to @telemarcs @queen-maren @na-woke-i-nakamura​ @damn-d4niel @louddreaming @skiijumpingg @hill-record @june-skijumping @ificouldflyhigh @flautist10 @blueplastichairbrush @vixmise @skijumping-is-my-aesthetics @startgate13 @lewanarta @oneoutof @sportschaos @sparflamme @anagraves @turquoiseheart1 @jumpingtodreams @entropuff @paringeverywhere @omi-om @blueberryfriday @rpntws @jokkeblobfish @reindeersonmytshirt @ski-jumper-stan @cryingismyonlyhobby @itsloveit @mlledevoltaire @prinshoppmarius @skiijumpinng @czarnewino @ski-schlieri @badlandings @one-more-jump @ilovenearlyeverything @iliketheusual @lipasworld @jensontodd @scandinavianbyheartt @ryoyuftw @sarcasticlilkid @moon-ascendant @eksperimentgaj @damnconfused @flegm-a @witchsdog @byeseefeld @stephanleyhes @anttiaaltostan @magioghvitetekopper @merlex93, the person who gave me an Instagram username when asked for a Tumblr username, and, last but not least, the person who replied “wouldnt you like to know weatherboy” when asked for a URL. I will never know who you are, but I love you.

#ski jumping #survey 20/21 #apologies to the people whose tag didn't work - tumblr does that and i have #no idea why or what the logic behind it is #anyway this year i figured out how to make google sheets do maths FOR ME #so i had a far less terrible time doing it this year! #it also helped that i updated the results like every 20 responses or so rather than counting them all at the end #and also not letting people type into the 'years watching' box was a big improvement #bc youse are all so keen to share your entire life stories :/ #mine: ski jumping

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

⭐️ Mon 20 July ⭐️

More anniversary content announced- Liam on the radio! Now look here, we love Liam, but one of them being interviewed alone is a bit underwhelming as our Big Special Ten Year Treat, that happens all the time! That said if anyone was gonna spill some dirt while reminiscing it would definitely be Liam so there's that, the others won't be on hand to shut him up. And obviously, people are still hoping this isn't all (did Louis really get mad at Liam for potentially spilling details of their talks about... Liam doing an interview? Sounds fake! Unless Louis knew they weren't gonna end up doing anything and didn't want him getting us worked up, lol, except I'm pretty sure Louis loves getting us worked up and laughing about it so...) Liam will be on CapitalFM Thurs morning with Roman Kemp and then the station will be doing playlists and prizes and stuff all day but without the boys afawk.

Louis is offering a prize in the War Child's Emergency Coronavirus Crowdfunder raffle- a fifteen minute private video call!!! That's really good, damn. Winner is prohibited from recording the call, proceeds go to charity for children in war zones. Liam was papped in London having dinner with Maya yesterday, and Harry is under siege in his place in Italy, with fans camped out on the doorstep and pursuing him on his runs and, rumor has it, even breaking in to his house and scaring him. Great way to show your affection for a man who dealt with a threatening stalker situation less than a year ago, nice. I can really feel the love.

#Liam Payne #Louis Tomlinson #Harry Styles #Liam #Harry #Louis #roman kemp #20 july 2020 #one direction anniversary #war child #maya henry #stunts #stalking cw #I hear there's a rumour actor Gary Busey will be involved in the anniversary #(LOL WHAT) #googling reveals that he once died and came back to life #(or so I'm told i didn't actually google shit) #clearly this is a message from Louis letting us know that 1D are about to come back from the dead #OBVIOUSLY

[noramoya]

“BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Michael Jackson's musical legacy never left, but a kind of comeback is coming. With a series of court victories that bring the end to serious legal crises, with a Broadway show beginning and a Cirque du Soleil show returning after a long pandemic pause, the Jackson business is on the upswing 12 years after the pop superstar's death. Very recently, things looked grim. The 2019 HBO documentary "Leaving Neverland" raised child molestation allegations anew. The once-dead lawsuits brought by the two men featured in it had been revived by changes in the law. And a decision in the estate's appeal of a $700 million tax bill was taking years to arrive. "I was always optimistic," John Branca, the entertainment attorney who worked with Jackson through many of his biggest triumphs and now serves as co-executor of his estate, told The Associated Press in an interview at his Beverly Hills home. "Michael inspired the planet and his music still does. There was never any doubt about that."The optimism was warranted. A succession of court decisions came. One accusers' lawsuit was dismissed in October. The other was tossed out in April. In May, a ruling in the tax case slashed the bill dramatically. The estate suddenly stands nearly clear of a dozen years of disputes. That means Branca expects that in the next 18 months it can finally be taken out of probate court and turned into a trust for Jackson's three children, who are all now adults. And the focus of the estate can now shift back to presenting Jackson to the world. The first priority is the revival of the Cirque du Soleil show, "Michael Jackson: One", at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. It is slated to reopen Aug. 19 after a coronavirus closure of nearly a year and a half, in time for a major celebration there planned for Jackson's Aug. 29 birthday. The Broadway show, "MJ: The Musical," will follow quickly on its heels, the first of several planned projects. Branca said the delay of well over a year, as happened for all of Broadway, was "frustrating" but he has renewed excitement about "MJ: The Musical" and shared new details."It's not a chronological depiction of Michael's life," he said. "It's more impressionistic, inspired by Michael's life and his music. It takes place as Michael is preparing for a tour and MTV wants to get an interview. Michael's very press shy, and slowly but surely as they develop a relationship begins to talk about different parts of his life that then get enacted in the show." Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage wrote the show's book. Tony Award-winner Christopher Wheeldon is directing and choreographing. Broadway newcomer Myles Frost will star as Jackson, after Ephraim Sykes dropped out to shoot a movie. Rehearsals resume in September, and previews begin in December. Branca said he's proud of the diversity the show will bring to the stage. "The cast is obviously largely Black," Branca said, "In an era where that's sorely wanted on Broadway."Successes aside, Branca feels lingering bitterness about director Dan Reed's "Leaving Neverland" and what he felt were American media outlets that "don't have the time or the wherewithal to do the research to figure out what's true and what's not true." Hence, the estate's last lingering lawsuit, now in private arbitration, is one that it brought itself, and one Branca very much wanted filed, against HBO over the documentary. “I was very angry at HBO and Dan Reed and I still am because here's the thing: You can say anything you want about somebody who's dead. They're not here to protect themselves," Branca said. The two men featured in the documentary are appealing the dismissals of their lawsuits. HBO has defended "Leaving Neverland" as a valid and important piece of documentary journalism.

Under the guidance of Branca and his more behind-the-scenes co-executor John McClain, the estate has brought in $2.5 billion in revenue in the past 11 years, and Jackson has remained the top earning deceased celebrity every year since his death at age 50 from a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol. But Branca says the way Jackson's musical legacy echoes through modern artists may be his most impressive legacy. "Kanye West, Drake, Beyoncé, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande - they all point back to Michael," Branca said. "His influence is really enormous."

[azspot]

A society can change so quickly because the underlying structures are rotten. There is the patina or the veneer of a functioning system, but the foundations of it are so decayed that they can't take the stress. That was true in the Weimar Republic in Germany, before the Nazis took full control. That was true in Yugoslavia before the civil war and ethnic violence. It is true here in the United States too. This country cannot withstand the stress of the coronavirus pandemic. Beyond the obviousness of what the Republicans are doing, the Democratic Party's response to this crisis exemplifies the problems America is facing as a whole.

Chris Hedges

[thelastconfessor]

Aitana Bonmatí (Sant Pere de Ribes,  January 18 of 1998), midfielder for Barça, explains for MD how her training is during confinement, her feelings facing the current season full of uncertainties because of COVID-19 and the experience with the national team on the SheBelieves Cup.

How are you spending your days in confinement?

The truth is it’s a strange situation and one no one could have imagined. You have to adapt, I try to try however I can, with the tools the club and staff give me. It’s a little bit hard, we’re all in the same situation, the word that would define the situation is ‘adaptation’.

Do you live worried about the situation??

When it comes to health it’s worrying because we see people suffering every day and there’s a lot of people dying because of this virus. I think if we listen to the sanitary authorities we will come out of it. I also live in expectation about what will happen when we go back to the competition, though it’s not up to me or us. I hope we can go back to normal soon.

Is confinement due to COVID-19 being long for you?

Yes, to be honest. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed because I can’t go out and I’m trapped all day. But you have to adapt because it’s for the common good.

Do you keep up your routine?

Yes, the club sent a planning over that we have to do every morning, we have some days free, but usually we train every morning and we try to follow our usual routine when we train so that we’re still used to it when we get back to it and we haven’t lost the habit. And in the evening, when I have classes, I do them online.

What orders does Lluís Cortés have for these days? Any specific plan for you?

Lluís Cortés’ and the staff’s plan is the same for all of us, we have a group where we communicate these days and it’s specific for this case. We have a daily training routine that includes nutrition, ‘physio’, psychology, sometimes we do a Skype call to do a dynamic... in the end it’s following the routine and the day by day.

How do you train at home? What kind of exercise do you do?

I do the planning that’s sent to me by the club, with exercises you can do at home, all of them adapted to the situation and we’re working with HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), upper and lower body, obviously not with all the equipment we have at Ciutat Esportiva but we adapt it to what we have at home. It’s not the same as our usual training but everything helps and it’s a way to keep active.

Do you have a place at home prepared for training?

I am lucky I have a garden with space where I can do the exercises and I do them outside, which is always a plus.

What do you think about this exceptional situation generated by coronavirus?

Once again live proves we can find bumps in them, but we’re here to go over them, for it to make us stronger and to adapt to anything that comes our way. You learn from everything.

Do you have news from the Federation in that sense?

The truth is that no. I understand they’re changing information every day, each day you get new things... so I understand not even they know what’s going to happen if we don’t know when the pandemic is going to end.

What should de Federation do in this case?

I’m not going to decide, but I think the fairest for everyone would be to play the remaining matches and find dates wherever we can. I think when you start a competition, the fairest thing is to end it.

Do you contemplate that, due to the situation, the competition will be declared null, no champions?

It’s an option that’s there and it’s been said lately, I don’t know if it’s true, but whoever has to decide will do so. Of course I wouldn’t want that option because in the end we’re the leaders and we want to end the season we’ve had well. They’re hypothesis and we can’t decide what will happen now.

Can the postponement of matches influence the end result, like for example Champions against Atlético de Madrid?

It’s clear that if all matches are postponed because of coronavirus, there’ll be a lot of matches to play, but we have a deep bench to get over all the adversities and that’s what the team we have is for, to get over all the possible challenges and the matches that come to us, so I think we won’t be affected.

At the start of the season we talked about the role you’d play with the team this season and up till now you’ve played 20 of the 21 matches that Barça has played in the league, with 5 goals and 5 assists. How do you feel?

It’s true in the first leg I had plenty of relevance and I played plenty of matches, with a lot of continuity, but lately a little less. As the ambitious player that I am, I’m going to keep working to play minutes.

How does the team manage being confined?

The truth is we speak more about the work we have to do each day but I am guessing that like all the athletes. In the end, it’s a little frustrating to know you have competitions on standby and you can’t train for them. We can’t do anything, we have to adapt.

Focusing more on football, what did you think of the SheBelieves Cup and the place it was at?

It was a beautiful experience and I think it contributed a lot to me, to me and also the rest of the team because beyond playing against big teams we also came out of the tournament with good sensations. We got the second place but we stood up to the United States, which was the winner. We’re going to learn a lot from the experience and it’s going to help with future tournaments. We’re getting stronger each day and we are proving it in these tournaments. On the other hand, I had never been to the United States and it’s not a usual country, it’s completely different  to what we live here, it was a very significant to be able to live there for a few days.

Spain ended up second in the She Believes Cup with victories against Japan and England but narrowly lost against the United States... is there still a long way to get to their level or are you closer than farther away from them?

We’re getting closer each day and even the national teams say so in press conferences, that Spain in a few years now is going to get very far and is going to be up there because I think they see that every time we go against each other we don’t make it easy for them. We’re on the way, things will come little by little.

Do you trust the pandemic will end and you can win the league after five years?

I hope first of all that the pandemic ends, and this will only happen if we listen to the sanitary authorities. I hope everyone is aware of the gravity of what’s happening. If we all listen and do what we must, this will end sooner. I have the hope we will go back to playing football like usual and go back to competing for titles.

#Aitana Bonmati #fcb femeni #futfem

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Sen. Bernie Sanders almost certainly won’t win the Democratic nomination after his string of defeats in recent primaries. So the questions around how and when Sanders will end his campaign aren’t really about electoral math anymore, but are instead connected to deeper questions about policy, the Democratic electorate and Joe Biden and Sanders’s personal goals.

These deeper questions essentially are: Does Sanders have any specific goals that he wants — such as Biden taking up one of his major policy ideas — that he could essentially trade with Biden in exchange for dropping out and endorsing the former vice president? Does Biden, who is now racking up endorsements and winning primaries by huge margins, really need to negotiate with Sanders at all? Does the bloc of around 30 percent of Democratic primary voters that have backed Sanders represent a clear constituency that he actually leads, or will Sanders’s supporters be unenthusiastic about Biden even if Sanders embraces him? Will most of Sanders’s supporters vote for Biden in a general election simply to get President Trump out of office, or does Biden need to accommodate them in some way? And are Sanders’s supporters actually open to any accommodation beyond Sanders being the Democratic nominee?

I can’t really answer any of these questions confidently, and despite what you will read or hear on TV, I’m not sure anyone else knows the answers to these questions either. But one way to think about this is through history. Every competitive nomination process ends with a winner, at least one person who can claim to be the runner-up and some bloc of the party that has lost. So here are some models for how the Biden-Sanders primary could be resolved. These are ordered from the least to most favorable for Sanders:

Sanders and the left get basically nothing

Parallel: The 2000 Democratic primary between then-Vice President Al Gore (winner) and former Sen. Bill Bradley.

Bradley didn’t win a single caucus or primary and earned just 21 percent of the popular vote, so he was obviously in a weaker position than Sanders is now. That said, many Democrats view Trump as an existential crisis and now America has a crisis (the novel coronavirus) that could last until November or beyond. With those concerns, Sanders may have less room to get much from Biden because the growing pressure to leave the race and back Biden may at some point become too strong for him to continue.

So Sanders could get nothing, according to Mark Schmitt, who was a top adviser on Bradley’s 2000 campaign. “Not ‘Godfather II’ nothing, but nothing wrapped in a lovely bow of recognition and respect,” Schmitt said.

Sam Rosenfeld, an expert on party politics who teaches at Colgate University, said, “Biden’s victory came so quickly and with so little in the way of extended trench warfare that it’s true that he likely feels less need to assuage Sanders substantively than HRC [Hillary Clinton] did four years ago.”

In this scenario, Biden would pick a running mate, like Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is similarly resistant to more left-wing ideas. Biden would basically refuse to adopt any of Sanders’s policies and might block their insertion into the Democratic Party’s official platform at the party’s convention, which is currently scheduled for July 13 to16 in Milwaukee.

Changes to the party platform

Parallel: The 2016 Democratic primary between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (winner) and Sanders; the 1976 Republican primary between then-President Gerald Ford (winner) and former California Gov. Ronald Reagan.

In 2016, Clinton and her allies allowed Sanders-backed provisions, including the abolition of the death penalty and a $15 minimum wage, into the party platform. A generation earlier, Ford and his camp used the platform to placate supporters of the more conservative Reagan.

The Democrats put some of Sanders’s less controversial ideas into the platform four years ago. In the 2020 process, he has pushed four far-reaching ideas in particular: a wealth tax, Medicare for All, the mass forgiveness of all student debt and free college for all Americans. The party platform in theory speaks for all Democratic candidates, even ones in swing districts. Those Democrats want to appeal to more moderate voters and are wary of Republicans linking them with socialism (and Sanders). So is there a compromise on the wealth tax or the mass forgiveness of college debt that satisfies Sanders’s allies and, say, more moderate House Democrats? That’s not easy to see. How far will Democrats go, with a GOP eager to cast the entire party as socialists?

Formal policy and/or appointment promises

Parallel: The 2016 Republican primary between Trump (winner) and Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio and then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

In May 2016, as some establishment Republicans were still thinking of ways to prevent Trump from winning the nomination, Trump released a list of people he would consider for Supreme Court seats. Neither Neil Gorsuch nor Brett Kavanaugh1 were on the initial list, but it was full of conservative legal figures. That list served as essentially a promise to the party’s establishment and conservative wings that Trump would appoint conservative judges to the bench, a key priority of the party. (He has followed through in spades.)

Biden has already promised to pick a woman as his running mate and a black woman as a Supreme Court justice — both attempts to placate other important constituencies in the party (black voters and women). And Biden recently announced that he supported tuition-free public college for Americans in households with incomes of $125,000 or less, moving toward Sanders’s position.

Will he go further? In theory, Biden could promise to appoint some prominent liberals to his administration (Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sanders himself or some of their allies, for example). He could promise not to appoint people that liberal activists strongly dislike, such as former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg or basically anyone affiliated with Facebook or Wall Street.

In terms of policy, could Biden, in a general election, commit to some kind of tax on the wealthy that is akin to a wealth tax? (The wealth tax is fairly popular with Americans overall.)

Daniel Schlozman, a political scientist at John Hopkins University who focuses on political parties, argued that the left will demand a major federal government response to the coronavirus pandemic if Biden is elected — so the disputes between the party’s left and center-left wings might look much different than they did during the Democratic primary.

“The big left asks of Biden will be on the scale and permanence of government interventions more than on any of the issues in the primary,” Schlozman said.

“Biden is very old and his instincts really do just stem from a different and much more cautious era for [Democratic] domestic policymaking,” Rosenfeld said. “That’s going to matter. That said, it’s important to note that the establishment has itself moved significantly since 2008 … The center of gravity on policy questions has shifted left.”

A leftist vice-presidential nominee

Parallel: The 1996 Republican primary between then-Sen. Bob Dole (winner) and conservative activist Pat Buchanan and businessman Steve Forbes; the 2012 Republican primary between former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (winner) and former Sen. Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; the 2016 Republican primary.

Some in the GOP’s more conservative wing doubted that Dole, Romney and Trump were sufficiently right wing in each of their respective primaries. So all three chose running mates — former Rep. Jack Kemp for Dole, then-Rep. Paul Ryan for Romney, then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence for Trump — deeply trusted by more conservative Republicans.

This route would be complicated for Biden. In theory, the former vice president could excite the younger and more liberal parts of the Democratic base by picking a running mate who is not Sanders but shares many of Sanders’s positions. But few people close to, or as liberal as, Sanders are governors, senators or otherwise serve in positions that might make them natural candidates for the vice presidency. The most obvious figures, Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Warren, would require Democrats to remove a sitting senator and hope that the party can win a special election to keep that seat.

Let’s focus on Warren for a moment. She presents some obvious advantages for Biden in terms of her policy knowledge and high favorability ratings among Democrats. At the same time, Biden’s campaign messaging has been about electability. Would he choose a left-leaning senator from the Northeast like Warren over a more centrist senator from the Midwest like Klobuchar? Also, can a 77-year-old candidate pick a 70-year-old running mate? Can a Democratic Party that is nearly 40 percent Asian, black or Hispanic run an all-white ticket? Also, it’s not even clear that Sanders’s supporters would be super excited about Warren as the vice-presidential nominee.

Sanders is the vice-president nominee

Parallels: The 1960 Democratic primary between then-Sen. John F. Kennedy (winner) and then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson; the 1980 Republican primary between Reagan (winner) and former CIA Director George H.W. Bush; the 2004 Democratic primary between then-Sen. John Kerry (winner) and then-Sen. John Edwards.

The history of the second-place candidate becoming the vice-presidential nominee illustrates one of the challenges for Sanders — he’s not really viable for arguably the biggest prize a runner-up can reasonably expect. Being second on the ticket is potentially incredibly valuable — Johnson and Bush not only served as vice president but ultimately won the presidency themselves (Johnson obviously in very unusual circumstances). But it’s really hard to imagine Biden choosing Sanders, an even older white man (Sanders is 78), as his running mate.

I don’t think it’s worth trying to predict which of these precedents the Biden-Sanders race will follow — I would expect something more than nothing and less than the vice presidency. But this process is worth watching closely, because it won’t happen all at once. Sanders’s exit from the race, the Democratic convention and the time between Biden’s election (if he wins) and the start of his presidency are all potentially points of negotiation between Biden and Sanders, and the center-left and left wings of the Democratic Party. It will take some time to assess what concessions Sanders and the people who support him come away with.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Perry Bacon Jr.

[mulanxiaojie]

The high-profile remake, with an all-Asian cast, a PG-13 rating and a politically-charged star, was always going to pose major risks. Then the coronavirus upended its entire release plan.

Liu Yifei, star of Disney's live-action remake of Mulan, lives in Beijing, but she is originally from Wuhan, epicenter of the coronavirus. In January, the 32-year-old actress left China for Los Angeles to begin press for the film, weeks before the virus' outbreak, which has now infected more than 77,000 people, killed more than 2,500 and wreaked havoc in her home country. She says she doesn't have any family or close friends personally affected by the disease — she left Wuhan when she was 10 — but the epidemic has added an impossible-to-foresee variable to her film's March 27 worldwide release.

Liu pauses when asked about the outbreak. "It's really heavy for me to even think about it," she says. "People are doing the right thing. They are being careful for themselves and others. I'm so touched actually to see how they haven't been out for weeks. I'm really hoping for a miracle and that this will just be over soon."

In China, Liu is a household name, nicknamed "Fairy Sister" for her elegance and beauty. Modeling since age 8, she broke out in the 2003 Chinese TV series Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, a commercial hit in China and the highest-rated Chinese drama in Taiwan at the time, and hasn't stopped working in film and TV since, earning fashion partnerships with Adidas, Shiseido and Armani along the way.

Disney and director Niki Caro selected Liu from more than 1,000 aspirants from around the world to star as Hua Mulan, the Chinese heroine who disguises herself as a man to fight in the Imperial Army in a film carefully designed to appeal to Western and Chinese audiences alike. But now there's a question of when Mulan will be released in China. With the coronavirus shutting down all 70,000 of the country's theaters since Jan. 24, it's unclear — and more unlikely every day — that multiplexes will reopen in time for its planned release. (Several high-profile U.S. films, including Universal's Dolittle and 1917 and Searchlight's Jojo Rabbit, saw their February releases scrapped.) "It certainly has worldwide and global appeal, but there's no denying that this is a very important film for the Chinese market," says Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "It's a huge blow for Disney if it doesn't release in China." Disney president of production Sean Bailey says he's "looking at it day by day."

Of course, this puts added pressure on the $200 million budgeted film — the priciest of Disney's recent live-action remakes — to perform in the U.S. and the rest of the world. Liu, who is enveloped in her own storm of controversy based on a political social media post about the Hong Kong protests, says she is trying hard not to think about all that. "It would really be a loss for me if I let the pressure overtake my possibilities," says the actress, who learned English when she lived in New York as a child for four years with her mother, a dancer, after her parents' divorce.

Even before the outbreak of the virus, Mulan — the first Disney-branded film with an all-Asian cast and the first to be rated PG-13 (for battle scenes) — would have marked one of the studio's riskiest live-action films to date. While the original 1998 Mulan was a critical and commercial hit, garnering a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination and grossing more than $300 million worldwide ($475 million today), it faltered at the Chinese box office. Part of the reason is that the Chinese government stalled its premiere for nearly a year because of lingering anger over Disney's 1997 release of Kundun, Martin Scorsese's Dalai Lama movie that dealt with China's occupation of Tibet. By the time Mulan reached theaters in late February 1999, most children had returned to school after the Chinese New Year holiday and pirated copies were widely available. For the new film, the plan was to counter piracy by releasing the movie in China the same day as the rest of the world, a strategy that's no longer possible.

The film also has tested the ability and tolerance of Disney — which aims to be ideologically neutral — in managing global political fallout. In August, Liu stirred up a major controversy when she reposted a pro-police comment on Chinese platform Weibo (where she has more than 66 million followers) at the height of the violence in Hong Kong. Her action was seen by critics of the Chinese government as supporting police brutality; soon after, the hashtag #BoycottMulan started trending on Twitter. Liu, who has American co-citizenship from her time in the U.S., was harshly criticized around the world for supporting oppression.

"I think it's obviously a very complicated situation and I'm not an expert," she says now, cautious in the extreme. "I just really hope this gets resolved soon." When pressed, Liu, whose answer seemed rehearsed, declines to say much more, simply repeating, "I think it's just a very sensitive situation." (Bailey also deflects when asked: "Yifei's politics are her own, and we are just focused on the movie and her performance.")

"Most Chinese celebrities choose to avoid posting such political statements because of the risks to their careers internationally," says Dorothy Lau, a professor at the Academy of Film, Hong Kong Baptist University. But though Liu's post drew criticism globally, some experts believe the political drama could actually result in more support for the film in China. "At the time, the government came out in various publications supporting the film very strongly," says USC professor Stanley Rosen, who specializes in Chinese politics and society. "There's a real impetus on the part of the Chinese government to make this work. I'm sure the government is going to try to show that the boycott has had no effect." And while her comment might still anger filmgoers in Hong Kong, where the recent live-action Aladdin took in $8 million, that market is tiny compared to the mainland (total 2019 Hong Kong box office was $245 million compared with China's $9.2 billion). "Most people outside Hong Kong have likely forgotten about this controversy," says Rosen. "But the Chinese government does not forget these things."

The fact that this version of Mulan is a large-scale war epic inspired more by the ancient Chinese ballad than the original animated film may also help win fans in Beijing, but the choice carries its own significant risks: The film needs to satisfy Chinese audiences raised on the legend while not disappointing a generation of fans in Asia (and elsewhere) for whom the animated film is foundational. "People would come in to audition and would say, 'Sorry, I know this is really unprofessional, but before I start, I just want you to know, the animated movie was the first time I saw someone that looked like me speak English in a movie theater,' " says producer Jason Reed. "The stakes couldn't be higher."

Mulan also represents a leap of faith in the film's director, Caro, whose previous two films boasted budgets of about 10 percent of Mulan's (The Zookeeper's Wife and Disney's 2015 sports drama McFarland USA were each in the $20 million to $25 million range). Caro, 53, was not Disney's first choice. Before hiring the New Zealand filmmaker, the studio targeted directors of Asian descent, including Taiwanese Oscar winner Ang Lee (he was busy promoting Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk) and Chinese helmer Jiang Wen. Still, Caro showcased a knack for representing cultures outside of her own with her 2002 debut Whale Rider, which follows a young Maori girl who wants to become chief, a role traditionally reserved for men.

The feminist story of Mulan resonated deeply with Caro. "When I first started wanting to be a filmmaker, there was so little precedent for women doing this [big studio] work," she says. She has now directed the most expensive live-action film by a woman, joining only a handful (Kathryn Bigelow, Ava DuVernay and Patty Jenkins) who have helmed films costing more than $100 million. "Patty changed the game with Wonder Woman. It was like a shot of adrenaline for me as a filmmaker," says Caro, who assembled a mostly female-led crew, including cinematographer Mandy Walker, costume designer Bina Daigeler, makeup designer Denise Kum and first assistant director Liz Tan.

To those still upset that an Asian filmmaker didn't get the job, Caro responds: "Although it's a critically important Chinese story and it's set in Chinese culture and history, there is another culture at play here, which is the culture of Disney, and that the director, whoever they were, needed to be able to handle both — and here I am."

Soon after Caro's hiring, rumors about the movie began to swirl online. Years of studios centering Asian movies around white protagonists (from Scarlett Johansson's Ghost in the Shell to Matt Damon's The Great Wall) meant the threat of whitewashing loomed large. An early report online claimed that the first draft, penned by Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek, featured a white male protagonist.

"This is the first time I've been on a big touchstone movie with the internet what it is today. And I had a Google alert set, so I'd see these things, 'Oh, there was originally a white male lead, or they're casting Jennifer Lawrence,' and they were all just made up," says Reed, who adds that there may have been two non-Chinese characters in the initial script, but both were secondary roles.

The rumors may have been unfounded, but the fallout was real: The Lawrence-as-Mulan story sparked a 2016 petition, "Tell Disney You Don't Want a Whitewashed Mulan!" drawing more than 110,000 signatures.

Ironically, as that rumor swirled, Caro struggled to find an actress to play Mulan. The global hunt began in October 2016, when Caro sent a team of casting directors to each continent and virtually every small village in China. They were looking for an actress who could play Mulan across three phases, from a young woman unsure of her place to a soldier masquerading as a man and, finally, as an empowered warrior. She had to be fluent in English, handle the physical demands of martial arts and deliver the more emotional moments with Mulan's family. "She's a needle in a haystack, but we were going to find her," says Caro. "It's impossible to make this movie without this person."

Though the studio cast a wide multinational net, Bill Kong — a veteran Chinese producer known for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Monster Hunt who was brought on as a producer on Mulan — advised Caro that in order for this film to play well in China, not just anyone of Asian descent would work. "The first thing I told her was, 'Hire a Chinese girl. You can't hire a Japanese girl to do this,' " he says.

Actresses who made it past that initial audition were brought to Los Angeles, but, after vetting several promising candidates for months, Caro decided to start over. (The search dragged on for so long that Disney delayed the original November 2018 release date.) Eventually, Liu, who had been unavailable during the first pass because of a TV show in China, was able to audition.

"I was determined that whoever played Mulan was not going to be fragile and feminine," says Caro. "She had to pass as a man in a man's army." So the director and a trainer put Liu through a 90-minute physical assessment, with extreme cardio and weight exercises. Other actresses fared less well. "Boy, did they flame out," says Caro with a laugh. But Liu "never complained once, never said, 'I can't.' She went to her limits."

With Liu, Disney also found an actress who could speak English, was familiar with martial arts from her TV work in China and, most importantly, was known to the Chinese market.

While Liu spent three months training for the role in New Zealand, Caro finished up her own extensive research. She took multiple trips to China and spoke to dozens of experts — including the world's foremost specialist on Tang dynasty military strategy. She also studied the 360-word Chinese poem The Ballad of Mulan, which first told the young heroine's story. The legend, which originated in the fifth or sixth century CE, is a tale as familiar in China as the story of Joan of Arc or Paul Bunyan in the West, and it's been adapted many times into plays, operas and films.

"I certainly wasn't aware of how deeply important it is to Mainland Chinese — all children are taught it," says Caro. "She is so meaningful that many places I went, people would say, 'Well, she comes from my village.' It was wonderful to feel that profound connection — but also terrifying."

As soon as the first trailers rolled out, so did the grumblings about factual inaccuracy, like the choice to situate Mulan's family in a tulou, a traditional round structure that housed several clans. These homes were mostly present in southern China, in what is now Fujian province (Mulan is said to be from the north), and would not have existed at the time she lived.

"I told [Caro] to not be too concerned about the historical accuracy," says Kong. "Mulan, though very famous, is fictional. She's not a historical person."

Disney tested the film thoroughly with Chinese audiences, including its own local executives. In an early version, Mulan kissed love interest Chen Honghui (Yoson An) on a bridge when they were about to part. "It was very beautiful, but the China office went, 'No, you can't, that doesn't feel right to the Chinese people,' " says Caro. "So we took it out."

Caro and the writers, Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa (the husband-and-wife team behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Jurassic World who rewrote the original script), also had to consider the passionate fans of the 1998 film. Most Disney remakes, like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King, have remained loyal to the tone and structure of the animated source material while adding a new song or character. Departing from that formula wasn't a swift decision. "We had a lot of conversations about it," says Reed. Ultimately they wanted "to tell this story in a way that is more real, more relatable, where we don't have the benefit of the joke to hide behind things that might be uncomfortable and we don't break into song to tell us the subtext."

They swapped the musical numbers and funny animal sidekicks for a large-scale war epic in which Mulan takes her father's place in the Imperial Army. "It's a woman's story that has been told for centuries but never by women, and we felt like it was really time to tell that story," says Silver. The question is whether Generation Z and millennials, who fell in love with these animated tales as kids and helped boost Aladdin to its $1 billion global haul, will embrace the direction. "To be honest, we really go by our gut and what creatively excites the team here," says Bailey. "I think it shows that there can be different approaches to these [movies] that have validity."

When word leaked that Mushu, the silly dragon sidekick (originally voiced by Eddie Murphy), would not be included, some fans expressed disappointment on social media. But the character's disappearance makes sense in the Chinese context. "Mushu was very popular in the U.S., but the Chinese hated it," says Rosen. "This kind of miniature dragon trivialized their culture."

Unlike its Marvel-branded films, Disney live-action movies must appeal to significantly younger audiences. Yet Caro wanted to make a real war movie. "You have to deliver on the war of it," she says, "and how do you do that under the Disney brand where you can't show any violence, gratuitous or otherwise?" She took advantage of the film's stunning locations, like setting a battle sequence in a geothermal valley, where steam could mask the fighting. "Those sequences, I'm proud of them. They're really beautiful and epic — but you can still take kids. No blood is shed. It's not Game of Thrones."

Disney's past live-action performance in China is a mixed bag. Both The Lion King ($120.5 million there) and Jungle Book ($148 million) enjoyed strong showings. Aladdin earned only $53 million, while 2017's Beauty and the Beast took in just $84 million (though it earned $1.3 billion worldwide).

Of course, the expectations for Mulan in China are much higher. "They will eventually release it in China," Dergarabedian notes. "It's just a matter of when and what effect that might have." Some analysts forecast that the film could match the success of the Kung Fu Panda series. The third movie, released in 2016, earned north of $144.2 million and became the country's biggest animated film ever. It was praised for being a Hollywood film that understood and showed respect toward the Chinese culture. Panda, however, had the advantage of being a Chinese co-production, which guarantees a larger share of the market — an advantage Mulan doesn't have.

Caro thinks about the film's fate there in more than simply financial terms. "Of course it's vitally important that it succeeds in China," she says, "because it belongs to China."

#mulan #live action mulan #disney #chinese #article #interview #china #liu yifei

[musemash]

Photo gallery: 1 The bombing of Nagasaki 2 Final verdict of the atomic bomb 3 Proclaiming the good news 4 The enemy humbled 5 Historic kiss in Times Square 6 Japanese officially surrender 7 Catholic cathedral in Nagasaki 8 The jubilation of victory 9 Buddhist temple in Nagasaki 10 Nagasaki Peace Statue

THE LONG SHADOW OF THE GOOD WAR – by David D. Fowler & Aeon 999

The Russians considered it The Great Patriotic War. Scottish historian Angus Calder dubbed it The People's War. Most memorably, Pulitzer Prize winner Studs Turkel called it The Good War.

Today is the 75th anniversary of the official end of the Second World War. On September 2, 1945, a Japanese delegation surrendered to the Allied forces aboard a warship, bringing the horrific conflagration to a conclusion.

World War 2 is obviously a huge topic, and we could not possibly do adequate justice to all of the important causes, crucial battles, social upheavals, historical perspectives, and moral implications of such a vast tapestry of horrors. Therefore, the purpose of this post is simply to honor this momentous milestone.

Accordingly, we present the best available film excerpts, images, editorials, and news articles about the war’s final days. The photos and videos above touch upon the most significant moments. The items linked below provide a good overview of major WW2 events, and commemorations of the conflict; and also an exploration of how they have been depicted in popular culture.

HARSH REALITIES Pearl Harbor Attack https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2kSnlS4xX8 The Satanic World Of Dachau https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/04/magazine/-secret-diarist-dachau.html Trinity Atomic Test https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8526927/Now-Death-75th-Anniversary-Trinity-worlds-nuclear-bomb-explosion.html Hiroshima https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/world/asia/hiroshima-japan-75th-anniversary.html https://www.newsweek.com/75th-anniversary-hiroshima-heres-where-world-stands-nuclear-weapons-1522803 https://www.ibtimes.com/japan-marks-75th-anniversary-hiroshima-atomic-bombing-3023305 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8599151/Survivors-mark-75th-anniversary-worlds-1st-atomic-attack.html https://worldofwonder.net/hiroshimaday-could-would-trump-drop-an-a-bomb-and-where-as-if-youre-not-worried-enough/ https://time.com/5875424/ban-ki-moon-hiroshima-nagasaki-nuclear/ https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/899593615/hiroshima-atomic-bombing-raising-questions-75-years-later https://consortiumnews.com/2020/08/08/the-enduring-myth-of-hiroshima/ Nagasaki https://news.yahoo.com/nagasaki-marks-75-years-since-033852438.html https://nypost.com/2020/08/09/nagasaki-urges-nuke-ban-on-75th-anniversary-of-us-atomic-bombing/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/08/09/national/nagasaki-75th-anniversary-atomic-bombing/ https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/qa-nagasaki-marks-75th-bomb-anniversary-sunday-72250337 https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/twists-of-fate-made-nagasaki-a-target-75-years-ago/ar-BB17Bzz0 Banned Photographs https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/world/asia/hiroshima-nagasaki-japan-photos.html VJ Day 1945 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEX5A2aJpy8 https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12410558/historic-black-white-photos-show-britain-vj-day-celebrations-75th-anniversary/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/remembering-the-iconic-vj-day-kissing-photograph/ A Sailor's Perspective https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/14/magazine/wwII-japan-surrender-sailors.html VJ Day 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVqZTz1H7_w https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2020/aug/15/victory-in-japan-day-75th-anniversary-in-pictures https://news.yahoo.com/then-now-veteran-photos-broadcast-215449467.html https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/vj-day-commemorations-muted-coronavirus-75th-anniversary-wwii-ending-asia-n1236858 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8629471/Royal-Family-Boris-Johnson-join-Second-World-War-veterans-mark-75-years-VJ-Day.html https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-commemorates-75th-vj-day-100903928.html https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-53786610 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8632145/President-Trump-marks-75th-anniversary-V-J-Day-stirring-video-tribute.html https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/uk/royal-family-lead-tributes-veterans-vj-day/ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8630303/Queen-thanks-heroes-fought-valiantly-bring-Second-World-War-end.html https://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny-japan-able-world-war-ii-20200815-bx6memexbjgwnc6krckovugx3e-story.html Moral Questions https://theconversation.com/75-years-after-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-the-vatican-is-providing-moral-guidance-on-nuclear-weapons-140615 https://consortiumnews.com/2020/08/09/the-very-un-christian-nagasaki-bomb/ https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-morality-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-75-years-later https://www.npr.org/2020/08/01/896627359/opinion-75-years-on-remember-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-but-remember-toyama-too https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2020/08/06/hiroshima-nagasaki-anniversary-nuclear-weapons-start-treat-expires-column/5578396002/ https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-kokura-nagasaki-american-luck-20200809-766brxwpbjdhjgpi7s633elo5u-story.html https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/dropping-the-atomic-bomb-was-wrong-period John Hersey's Hiroshima https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/hiroshima-nagasaki-atomic-bomb-john-hersey-a9663676.htmlÍ https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1946/08/31/hiroshima Injustices Outlived Internment https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/20/magazine/japanese-internment-end-wwii-trailer-parks.html The Good War Myth https://www.theguardian.com/news/2014/dec/09/-sp-myth-of-the-good-war The New Nuclear Threat https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2020/08/20/new-nuclear-threat/ Still Living The Legacy Of WW2 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/02/magazine/world-war-ii-end-tom-hanks.html

POPULAR MYTHOLOGIES WW2 Crash Course https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q78COTwT7nE Forgotten Facts https://www.obsessedly.com/UI/Article?content_id=5c675316-feca-4532-801d-cf4b601cb710 Indomitable Women Of WW2 https://msmagazine.com/2020/09/02/seven-indomitable-women-of-world-war-ii/ Resistance Heroine https://greekherald.com.au/culture/history/on-this-day-resistance-fighter-lela-karagianni-was-murdered-by-nazis/ Princess Auto Mechanic https://www.biography.com/news/queen-elizabeth-ii-mechanic-world-war-ii https://time.com/5287517/world-war-ii-queen-elizabeth-photo/ https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/queen-elizabeth-ii-war-years.html Hollywood Goes to War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdb-b_L1VyI Best WW2 Films https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1STthONg-c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJR8CqJUZg8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdNp-tozp0c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHH1CwGUuTs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt1uCuqVKGE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkwLjzRVkXo Hollywood At War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w89dlsyCvEw How The Bomb Changed Hollywood https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/899630304/and-the-world-went-crazy-how-hollywood-changed-after-hiroshima The Good War: Tribute https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0s78K25Nfo The People's War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ShIccZL-4 The Good War: Recruiters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGB9J4CgNuo The Great Patriotic War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA7NGp8u-kk The Good War: Guadalcanal Diary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU5Vho0Fj7Y Saving Private Ryan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-bogN0V8RM The Good War: Memories https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0AcAF-dbho The Victors https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N2o6MAxecA The Good War: Objectors https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loeayUFi3B8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm0P3kpc4LE Band Of Brothers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac7UhbOWIt4 The Good War: Across Time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elEeubRJWhs Hiroshima Mon Amour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsXDhcRz7GA The Good War: Visions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVli5VxiqGc Threnody For The Victims Of Hiroshima https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qj6nFMaM0M The Good War: Tapestry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEpxkvoJYMY Remembering The Fallen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMj4APUZ1oU

Revised September 8

[dr-archeville]

At Last, a Calm Debate

Everything you need to know this morning

Thank you to this week's sponsor, Habitat for Humanity.  Their trucks are up and running again to pick up your donations. Check out their website for the new safety protocols they put in place.

Support the INDY Press Club: Better Journalism for a Better Community

It's Thursday, October 8.

Hey y'all,

First off, tonight at 5 p.m., some INDY colleagues and I will be hosting a virtual public newsroom so that we can all talk about who you think we should endorse in our upcoming Elections issue. We're excited to talk with y'all and I, personally, will be drinking the one (1) Rolling Rock that I have been saving in my fridge for the express purpose of the virtual public newsroom. For more information, click here to go to the event page on Facebook.

Second: A while ago, I asked for some recommendations for good mystery shows to watch, and your answers led my partner and I to our new favorite, the Swedish/Dutch series The Bridge. So, I thought I'd ask for some more recommendations. Namely, I'd like to know about your favorite things to do during the pandemic-ridden fall. We're bored and feel cooped up inside!!!!! If you've got any ideas, you can send them to me by replying directly to this email. Thanks in advance!

Like the INDY Daily? Share it with your friends and ask them to subscribe!

The INDY Daily is made possible by the INDY Press Club, which is helping us keep fearless, independent local journalism viable in the Triangle.

We'll Always Have the Vice Presidential Debate

It's not like last night's debate would have changed my mind or anything, but it was kind of nice being able to watch two adults who very clearly hate each other have a live discussion that was, at the very least, occasionally civil. Like, obviously Mike Pence is a demon who specializes in making far-right nonsense sound calm and rational, but at least he didn't yell, y'know? Just judging off the quality of points made, Kamala Harris probably "won," but as always, the real winner was anyone who, unlike me, did not watch the debate in its entirety even though their mind was already made up. Here are some highlights for those blessed enough to have skipped it:

Kamala Harris came out swinging, sharply criticizing the Trump Administration's handling of the coronavirus crisis, basing her comments largely on the president lying to the American people about the danger the pandemic posed, claiming that Trump and Pence had "forfeited their right to re-election."

Mike Pence lied a bunch but did so very calmly. It's worth remembering that prior to entering public life, Pence was a conservative talk radio host who jokingly referred to himself as "Rush Limbaugh on decaf."

The thing that's dangerous about Pence is that aesthetically, he resembles an intelligent statesman and a reasonably normal human being. But he uses that sedate demeanor as a cloak, under which he hides utter insanity. His rhetoric, though, is no less insidious just because he isn't yelling while delivering it.

Harris and Pence had a striking -- and telling -- exchange when it came to the issue of climate change, during which Harris plainly stated that climate change is real and man-made, as well as stressed the need to listen to science and create jobs through converting our infrastructure to clean energy sources. Pence, meanwhile, dodged the question and denied that the climate was an existential issue.

ALSO, A DAMN FLY LANDED ON MIKE PENCE'S DAMN HEAD AND IT STAYED THERE FOR LIKE TWO MINUTES.

For better or for worse, the Harris/Pence debate was a preview of what very well could be a future presidential matchup. Both are relatively young and have tried to bridge the gap between the political center and their respective party's flanks, and assuming that current polling trends hold, by 2024, both will have held the vice presidency. Given Trump and Biden's ages, it's easy to foresee a 2024 election in which a (probable) President Biden declines to seek a second term and effectively hands the nomination off to Harris, Pence is anointed as Trump's successor in the Republican party, and we watch last night's debate play out three times instead of one.

And Now, the Latest from INDY Week

We here at INDY Daily (a.k.a. me) are always in awe of the work that our (my) colleagues at INDY Week manage to do, week in and week out, and since our new issue came out yesterday, I thought I'd highlight some of our best stuff from both our print and web editions.

Black women are three times more likely than white women to die due to pregnancy-related complications. This week, we highlight one of their stories, and examine how local organizations led by Black women are trying to provide the care that the system fails to give.

We've also got an interview with Tressie McMillan Cottom, the UNC-Chapel Hill professor and author who recently received a MacArthur Grant, colloquially known as the "Genius Grant."

If you're wondering how Durham is handling Halloween this year, we've got you covered. Come for the picture of Mayor Steve Schewel in a silly witch's hat, stay for the valuable information that will help keep your trick-or-treaters safe.

You, our readers, have a lot of thoughts on Cal Cunningham's leaked sexy texts.

And finally, here's an op-ed from Raleigh Housing Authority's Laura McCann arguing that we need to dispel the stigma surrounding the idea of public housing.

Statewide COVID-19 by the numbers: Wednesday, October 7

1,711 New lab-confirmed new cases (222,969 total; seven-day average trending downward)

17,028 Completed tests (3.23 million total; most recent positive rate was 6.9 percent)

1,028 Current hospitalizations reported (seven-day average trending upward; 3,693 total deaths)  

Quick Hits  

Fun fact: If you're in the military, you can get kicked out if you get caught committing adultery. That fact is actually not very fun, but it is a fact I learned because apparently Cal Cunningham's affair might get him kicked out of the Army Reserves? [WRAL]

Thom Tillis has promised to be a good boy and wear a mask from now on. [Associated Press]

11,000 North Carolinians have received incorrect voter registration forms this election cycle. [Carolina Public Press]

North Carolina's own Zach Galifianakis would like you to vote so much that he made a video about it. [NowThisNews]

Some Trump-related intrigue you may have missed among all the other Trump-related intrigue. [The New Yorker]

Today's weather: Sunny with a high of 79, low of 53.

Song of the day: "One of Those" by OC from NC and D.R.U.G.S. Beats feat. Boog Brown

I found out about about Crown Royal, the new album from Burlington rapper OC from NC and the Fayetteville producer D.R.U.G.S. Beats, from a review in the new issue of the INDY. This is my favorite track from the record.

— Drew Millard — Send me an email | Find me on Twitter

If you’d like to advertise your business to the Daily's 33,000-plus subscribers, please contact John Hurld at [email protected].

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#news #Mike Pence #Kamala Harris

[dansnaturepictures]

Photos of mine on my 2021 landscape & other outdoor calendar: Cover and January to August with my thoughts on each picture 

Further to my posts last week revealing on my Tumblr the 13 of my pictures taken between May 2019 and April 2020 that had made it onto my wildlife pictures calendar for 2021, here’s the first of two posts tonight with the pictures I took over a slightly greater period from May 2019 to May 2020 (I write this post this May just after tweeting and doing my Facebook reveal of the lineup) that I have decided to put on my 2021 landscape and other outdoor subjects pictures calendar. The next post with September-December and my reserves shall be in half an hour. As last week and previous years, please find below captions of and my thoughts on the pictures in order they appear in this photoset. 

Cover: Ruby at Cape Cornwall taken August 2019

Generally for these calendars as I always have its my strongest photos over the selection period (as I’ve said a lot over the years I have evolved into this pattern that I like of deciding the final lineup for the calendars in May/June and every subsequent picture I take in that year then going into contention for the calendar for two years later) that make the lineup. In terms of the final 13 pictures though some have to prove to me as such they are strong to make it and others get an easier ride onto the calendar for emotional reasons. 

I used to make a calendar for my bedroom wall from my wildlife and landscape pictures merged and one for pictures of our dogs for me. From 2018 onwards I obviously have done a wildlife and landscape calendar each for myself as my Christmas present each year to put on my bedroom wall and I do make an additional one with dog pictures for my Mum usually a less critically evaluated thing. Since 2018 I did though say dog pictures, as they are mostly taken outdoors on our walks and are animals yes but clearly not a wildlife subject, could compete to be on my landscape and outdoor calendars you could say. 

Ever since it always seemed a distant possibility that my best photos of Missy or Ruby could actually outshine one of my landscapes or other minority subjects to be on one of these calendars they don’t tend to prove as strong as those others of my pictures for quality when really looked into. There is no doubt that what made me say right this picture is on my calendar for definite was Ruby, the most photogenic dog I have ever known with respect to her mother Missy, passing away in April. It felt like one last thing I could do for her, have her on a calendar of mine for the last time and on the front cover so what I will see when I store the calendar in 2022 after its use on my wall. It felt like a way to honour her as she had provided so many of my most entertaining and memorable photos over the years even if they weren’t my very best quality and adorned many of my calendars. She was a star in front of the camera. 

That being said, it was more an idea when Ruby left us of “I’m gonna put a Ruby picture on my landscape and outdoors calendar”. I was well into my selection of the final calendar lineup by that point and there was only one dog picture taken over that near 12 month period left in my calendar shortlist, this one. But in all honesty even before we lost Ruby I had wondered if this picture might against the odds be my first dog picture to get on one of my landscape and other outdoors calendars as right from when I took this one of her watching us eat a meal at a cafe on holiday late last summer I knew it was a strong dog one for me and I just always loved this picture for quality and beauty. So in the end, it was the perfect choice to lead this calendar. 

January: Sunset at Fort Cumberland taken in January 2020 

You’ll get to learn that this is one of my most sky dominated calendars, I always say I must have at least one sky picture making this calendar for me its a big part of my landscape photography after all and for this calendar I’d say six are ones I could consider to have strong sky elements and four in particular are what I’d clasify as sky pictures and further still all of those four are results of lowering suns in the evenings so are what I am really loving taking right now sunsets as such. This winter one back in the days when the sun set on our walks quite often is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen from one of my most memorable bird and wildlife watching days and weekends of 2020 as we saw Sanderlings and Stock Doves for the first time this year here and had seen Barn Owl, Fox, Roe Deer and more at the Titchfield Canal path earlier in the day with a memorable garden bird picture from home that morning and a personally historic day of birds and photos at Whitefield Moor in the New Forest the day after. Certainly a memorable photo with the quality to match of this lovely scene I felt. 

February: Pig Bush in the New Forest, taken February 2020 

This is a worthy image to be February being taken on this year’s Leap Day. Its another success story if you like in my journey with Pig Bush photo wise as it makes it my second landscape calendar running a picture from this my favourite part of the New Forest has appeared. This dark sky one was a dark horse as I produced around 20 photos on that showery but sunny afternoon and there were many strong ones at the time that could have made the calendar I didn’t think straight away this was my pick of the bunch but it really grew on me leading up to the calendar final decisions and I realised how much it summed up that memorable afternoon for photos and birds seen weather wise and how much I like it. 

March: Snake’s head fritillary flower at Lakeside Country Park taken March 2020 

Alongside Ruby this represents my minority subjects another category I say I have to have one of on a calendar at least and over the last year and especially now my flower pictures which I’m taking more and more have have become perhaps alongside fungi the premier variant of my minority subjects. Just like last year it felt smashing to include one, even better that it was a truly sought after and special wild flower. This is a flower that I noticed last year and photographed that we are so lucky to have growing a rich area in Lakeside so very near to us. Even luckier this year as this was taken during the early days of the coronavirus lockdown during a daily exercise walk and I remember that day when not a lot was going on you could say when my Mum said she’d seen these flowers springing up here days earlier itching to get out and see this species. Even more excited as I didn’t know what it was last year but had learned it is this well named species. I enjoyed the purple ones there too but also wanted to photograph this splendid looking white one and I didn’t know just how satisfied the result would make me I think this picture shows the delicate markings of a natural work of colour and art well. Its a testament to my new macro lens which I only got in January 2020 that two of the pictures produced with it made my 2021 calendars perhaps the biggest compliment I can give one of my own photos, this one and the Green Hairstreak butterfly on my wildlife one and more so could have easily to be honest so its a good start and this one sums up that detail this brilliant lens is giving me. I feel so good about this photo. 

April: Sky seen from my bedroom window from April 2020 

Its a testament also to the pictures I took during lockdown, and how well I feel I’ve started 2020 for photos, that after my first ever garden bird photo making a calendar of mine in the form of the Collared Dove for my 2021 wildlife one this is my first ever sky/sunset from the bedroom window photo to make one of my calendars. This pre-sunset sky probably was a pleasure to take and in a what felt like constant run of taking these photos from my bedroom window stuck well and truly in the mind and with me well into to the picking when I took this it just looked stronger and stronger every time I saw it which was crucial to it getting here. 

May: Milkham in the New Forest, taken March 2020 

Taken a couple of weeks after the Pig Bush one it was a similar day, sunshine and showers, amazing birds seen and so many photos taken which this one sums up well. I picked this and the Pig Bush one by pitting some of my favourite heathland landscapes in my precious New Forest taken before lockdown in 2020 against each other to find winners as such as I felt I needed and wanted to represent this group on my calendar. I ended up with two I was proud of but what both showed, especially this one I thought also, was that rich woodland habitat the New Forest is equally as strong for. Celebrating trees the very precious life form for our planet and nature is something I have been trying to do for the last couple of years more in my landscapes. Whilst there were other photos that celebrated trees in my landscapes more taken that day I feel this one does it well and it feels like a pivotal moment on this journey me putting it here. I just love the way this one looks, the positive energy it gives me as a photo and how much of a wilderness is conveyed I would say in this very precious habitat. 

June: View at St. Abb’s Head, Scotland taken June 2019 

For once the current year outnumbers the pictures form the latter half of the previous one it always seems to be the other way round on these calendars lately but here is one of my strongest 2019 landscapes that just had to be on the calendar. I love the coast especially sheer cliffed areas where cliff nesting seabirds come into its my favourite habitat for really my favourite wildlife and that Northumberland holiday with a quick day trip into Scotland was all about that. This view brought me a chance to see one of the most striking and distinctive rock formations I’d ever seen this sight greets you as soon as you get there and looks so lovely. It looked stunning on a sunny day with that blue water and I just felt there was something so strong about this one from the off. Without doubt one of my favourite ever landscape photos to take on a day that had a few candidates for that. 

July: The River Itchen, taken April 2020 

For this summery month its an April picture that ended up looking quite summery. This was another of my favourite daily exercise pictures during lockdown from a typical spring day. I’d wanted to take a down river photo good enough for a calendar for years in honesty and this one did that. I’ve always said photos on sunny days in April and October can often look much better quality wise than high summer with angles of light and how it makes the photo look so I was possibly in the right place at the right time to make this a bright blue and tranquil photo with everything looking at a nice quality in the photo and that’s what I like most about this one. It shows off rich woodland as well and possibly even better delicious woodland beside water a habitat I love at a local place I have always loved. 

August: Pendeen lighthouse, Cornwall from September 2019 

Part of my timing for deciding the calendars is so photos from weeks on holiday etc don’t completely take over the lineup, but in truth they still dominate the relevant calendar as weeks away as I said before doing once in blue moon things with iconic creatures and different also too sometimes iconic places and just so many photos I get time to take often lead to my very best photos. If as predicted my Northumberland 2019 (Farnes etc) seabirds/marine wildlife photos dominated my 2021 wildlife calendar, my coastal (my favourite type really) landscapes of our 2019 Cornwall holiday dominated the 2021 landscape one with four making this calendar (albeit one was Ruby so not a landscape). This is one of the ones I picked out as one of my best at the time of the Cornwall holiday from the trip, but it got overlooked by others from the trip for my 2019 end of year posts on here and Twitter involving my best quality photos as I saw it from certain categories. But it forced its way onto my calendar and maybe the calendar was what it was meant to be used for. I like how it shows a classic summer’s day by the sea at an amazing location in Cornwall, in 2019 what was a strong year for landmark photos for me too especially by the coast it ticks that box as well with that nice lighthouse involved. One of my best ever such photos. 

#calendar #2021 #landscaoe #2020 #2019 #outdoors #cornwall #scotland #new forest #coast #river itchen #northumberland #photography #habitat #earth #nature #uk #world #beautiful #sun #sunny #lovely #europe #planet #photos #picture #pictures #may #june #august

[mhsn033]

Premier League: Top 12 moments season – Liverpool, Vardy, Son

Liverpool bear steamrollered their design to a first league title for 30 years this season

Eleven months after it began, the 2019-20 Premier League season is sort of at an end.

There is been sizable aims, substantial tussles and historical moments as Liverpool secured their first prime-flight title in 30 years in a campaign that used to be disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

BBC Sport takes a ogle on the 12 most memorable events of a prolonged, dramatic and uncommon season.

Settle a ogle at our listing and roar the software program below to rotten one of the most memorable moments – the notify as chosen by BBC Sport readers will most certainly be published on Football Point of interest, which that you could gape at 12: 00 BST on Saturday, 25 July on BBC One.

Easiest ranked lists created before 10: 00 BST on Friday, 24 July will depend in direction of the final result.

Norwich beat Manchester Metropolis

Norwich’s preserve in opposition to Manchester Metropolis used to be their 2nd on their return to the Premier League

Norwich’s return to the Premier League could exclusively bear been short-lived nonetheless they’ll also unexcited the truth is be praised for sticking to their vogue throughout.

Their easy-on-the-brand soccer used to be a welcome enhance and early in the season it helped them manufacture about a shocks – most notably when they beat reigning champions Manchester Metropolis 3-2 in September.

That used to be Metropolis’s first defeat since January 2019 and gave the Canaries hope that they’ll also handle faraway from the tumble. Finally, they ran out of steam nonetheless this result will dwell prolonged in the reminiscence of Norwich fans.

Leicester set 9 previous Southampton

All three of Vardy’s aims came in the 2nd half of the 9-0 preserve at Southampton

Given how Southampton bear played since the restart in June, it is some distance arduous to assume they were on the end of a defeat earlier in the season that near to went into double figures.

Wait on in October, Leicester ran insurrection as Ayoze Perez and Jamie Vardy each and each scored hat-tricks in a 9-0 preserve.

It used to be an embarrassing scoreline on the time and set the Saints into the relegation zone, nonetheless in many ways it proved the making of them. They went on to outlive conveniently and could be an excellent shout to battle important increased up the table subsequent season.

Liverpool beat Manchester Metropolis to mosey eight constructive

Liverpool produced a assertion with their impressive preserve over Manchester Metropolis in November

Good 12 games into the season and Liverpool struck a blow that Manchester Metropolis arguably never recovered from.

The Reds beat their opponents 3-1 at Anfield to mosey eight facets constructive on the head of the table.

Pre-match, it used to be billed as the defining 2nd in Liverpool’s 30-yr quest to land the title, and so it proved as the Reds went on to extra toughen their grip on prime space.

Spurs sack Pochettino

Pochettino used to be sacked 171 days after taking Tottenham to the Champions League final

November signalled the end of an generation at Spurs as Mauricio Pochettino used to be sacked after five and a half years on the membership, with Jose Mourinho promptly brought in as his replacement.

The finest resolution? Time will notify, with Tottenham yet to be particular of both a major-six dwell or taking part in European soccer subsequent season.

Son’s surprise aim versus Burnley

Son Heung-min ran 70 metres up the pitch to score this improbable aim in opposition to Burnley

It is a shrimp bit arduous to bear in mind one of the most important aims from this season pondering it feels love it began before the morning time of time, nonetheless one strike in particular stands out: Son Heung-min’s magnificence in opposition to Burnley in December.

The Tottenham forward got the ball factual initiating air his box and, 12 seconds and 12 touches later, he had shredded the visiting defence and slotted previous Slit Pope to assist Spurs on their design to a 5-0 preserve.

The strike topped a BBC fan vote in Will also and there is been shrimp since the restart that bear arrangement shut to that incredible solo effort.

Ancelotti’s appointment as Everton manager

Ancelotti changed Marco Silva on the Toffees

Everton pulled off a main coup in December when they managed to design three-time Champions League-winner Carlo Ancelotti to vary into their manager.

At the time, the Toffees were in threat of becoming embroiled in a relegation battle, nonetheless the Italian pulled them faraway from threat and Everton fans are usually exasperated to brand what he can originate after a plump pre-season.

Watford end Liverpool’s unbeaten trek

Ismaila Sarr scored two aims as Watford beat Liverpool 3-0

No one seen this one coming.

Liverpool were on a relentless march in direction of the title when they arrived at Vicarage Dual carriageway in February to grab on a Watford aspect inside of the relegation zone and with out a preserve in their previous five games.

However the Hornets grew to vary into on the vogue to expire surprise 3-0 winners, ending the Reds’ hopes of ending the season unbeaten.

Coronavirus stops the season

Video games bear returned with social distancing guidelines in space after the season used to be suspended following Mikel Arteta’s constructive coronavirus take a look at

If we’re talking about moments of the season then right here’s obviously a biggie.

On 12 March, Arsenal confirmed that boss Arteta had tested constructive for Covid-19. The following day, elite soccer in Britain used to be suspended and would now not resume unless 17 June.

Blades suffer goalline technology blow

Orjan Nyland carried the ball over the goalline nonetheless it used to be now not picked up by technology

It did now not grab prolonged for technology to vary into a talking level after the season restarted – the very day it returned in level of fact – despite the fact that this wasn’t to originate with the important-maligned video assistant referee.

This time, it used to be goalline technology that caused frustration because it did now not purchase up Oliver Norwood’s free-kick crossing the line in Sheffield United’s goalless design at Aston Villa.

Luiz fear show in opposition to Manchester Metropolis

Luiz capped an error-strewn performance in opposition to Manchester Metropolis by getting despatched off

A day to omit for David Luiz as all the pieces that could well mosey wicked, did.

Against Manchester Metropolis at Etihad Stadium in June, the Arsenal defender came off the bench in the first half, used to be at fault for Raheem Sterling’s opener, gave away a penalty, after which got himself despatched off.

It wasn’t supreme timing, both, with his contract up on the end of that month. Luckily for him, Arteta kept the faith and Luiz signed a one-yr deal about a days later.

Liverpool preserve league and celebrate after searching at Chelsea beat Manchester Metropolis

Christian Pulisic opened the scoring in a thrilling sport between Chelsea and Manchester Metropolis on 25 June

For a prolonged, prolonged, prolonged, prolonged, very prolonged time, each person knew Liverpool were going to preserve the league this season.

Their dominance used to be such that they in fact would possibly want to bear been celebrating some distance sooner than most title-winners originate nonetheless, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and the three-month spoil in the season, the 2nd used to be now not confirmed unless 25 June.

On that day, Liverpool avid gamers and fans watched as Manchester Metropolis took on Chelsea, shimmering if Pep Guardiola’s aspect did now not preserve then the Reds’ 30-yr await a major-flight title would sooner or later be over.

Metropolis did lose, nonetheless the game itself used to be arguably regarded as one of one of the most engaging since the restart and the stress after which support on the final whistle perchance exclusively enhanced the Liverpool celebrations.

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See: The 2nd Liverpool avid gamers stumbled on out they were champions

Vardy reaches 100 Premier League aims

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5 of Jamie Vardy’s handiest Premier League aims as the striker reaches 100 for Leicester

Jamie Vardy joined an challenging membership earlier this month when his two aims in opposition to Crystal Palace meant the Leicester forward grew to vary into the 29th participant to achieve 100 Premier League aims in the competition’s history.

It is a vastly impressive achievement, even more so if you happen to suspect about he used to be unexcited taking part in non-league soccer on the age of 25.

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What A Time To Be At Home!: The Best And Worst Coronacontent The Internet Has To Offer

Remember that joke that’s been around for ages, but was being told literally everywhere back in 2019? The one that went something like, “I hate it when people ask me where I’ll be in a year’s time - I don’t have 2020 vision!”?

Well, I bloody wish someone did.

In fact, in early January, I wrote out my own predictions for the decade ahead right here on my blog. They were obviously entirely hypothetical and - I thought - ridiculous. They were just a series of daft ideas that I thought I could take the piss out of, in the hope that people might read it and take a second out of their day to do an amused little nose exhale for me. But now, even the post-apocalyptic TV show ideas I pitched in that piece seem less ‘far-off dystopian chaos’, and more like they could be pleasant additions to the BBC Summer schedule.

The world is in the throes of a global pandemic, the likes of which haven’t been seen since… I don’t know, The Black Plague, maybe? As a result of that, the instructions have been clear: stay home, save lives. 

At first, the thought of being given a period of Government-sanctioned laziness seemed like a dream to many. We could write our autobiographies! Learn Klingon! Build ourselves a whole new house! But six weeks in, it appears to have started messing with the collective consciousness of the human race. Brains are fried, your Weekly Screen Time is up 103%, stomachs are full to the brim with banana bread and dalgona coffee, and certain celebrities’ egos are in a fight to the death with their common sense. In a time when we’re all supposedly doing nothing, there’s still so much going on. 

With that in mind, I thought we could recognise some of the things we’ve seen online that have kept us talking in lockdown, not just because of Coronavirus, but in spite of it. 

Welcome to the first (but hopefully not annual) What A Time To Be At Home! awards. The WATTBAH!’s, if you like.

The ‘Why On Earth Did You Think This Was A Good Idea?’ Award

Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen a sizable handful of blunders by the rich and famous that have, at worst, knocked them down a fair few places in our estimations and, at best, have left us scratching our heads, wondering what response they were expecting in the first place. 

With that in mind, it’s only right that this title goes to the original celebrity lockdown mistake: Gal Gadot’s ill-advised acapella cover of Imagine, featuring a variety of different Hollywood stars - not one of whom had the foresight to ask “are you sure this doesn’t make us look like complete arseholes?”, which, unfortunately, it absolutely does. 

Between the bizarre and insincere ‘I have a dream’-style speech at the beginning, the boldness of some of those featured to be quite clearly just taking the piss, and the fact everyone appears to be singing ever-so-slightly below the note without ever actually hitting it for the entirety of the song, this was tone-deaf in more ways than one. It’s even worse when you realise that this was posted less than one week into the lockdown, but then what would I know? Maybe madness sets in faster in multi-million dollar mansions. Probably because it echoes louder and bounces off the walls of your massive living room.

The ‘I Had To Suffer Through This, So You Do, Too’ Award

This award recognises content we’ve been witness to over the last few weeks that was so awful, so completely uncomfortable to watch, that after you’d gotten over the initial disbelief at what you’d just seen, you immediately had to send it to somebody you know, so that you can suffer through it together.

Despite how many celebrity lockdown moments have left me with my head in my hands over the last few weeks, this award could only go to a very recent contender - one which isn’t simply an embarrassing piece of celebrity lockdown content, but will likely haunt the inner corners of my brain long after this virus is simply a topic taught about in GCSE History lessons of the future. 

I am, of course, talking about Olly Murs. I’m talking about Pringlegate. I’m talking about Olly Murs removing the bottom of a can of Sour Cream and Onion Pringles to trick his own girlfriend into touching his penis. On video, on TikTok.

Twitter: @buckyw1ng

There’s something inherently quite chilling about Pringlegate. It might be something to do with the 10,000 watt grin on Olly’s face as we watch him carefully maneuver a tin opener around the bottom of the can, or perhaps it’s just the question of how long he’d been sat there holding it around his naked penis as he and his girlfriend watched a film, patiently waiting for the moment to strike. Perhaps it’s the way the video freezes as she reaches over for a Pringle, allowing time for Olly Murs’ to add in an audio clip of himself, shouting “SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND”. 

Maybe it’s the uncontrollable show of amusement he launches into as she snatches her hand back in shock, laughing away, heartily, as if to say “Ha! You thought it was a normal can of Pringles, but it was actually my PENIS covered in Pringles crumbs! You just got PUNKED!”, like it was all simply a clever ruse. 

Above all else, I think the most uncomfortable thing about it is that I can’t help but feel like all bets are off in 2020, and that this is a fairly tame warm-up for things to come.

So, Olly Murs, you are inarguably the rightful winner of the ‘I Had To Suffer Through This, So You Do, Too’ award. Congratulations! Don’t do it again, yeah?

The ‘Are You Actually Aware Of These Words Coming Out Of Your Mouth?’ Award

I’ve said some stupid things since this lockdown started. Personally, I put it down to the lack of social interaction, which I think might be frying my brain a little bit, or at least that’s what the ornament of a turkey that sits on my kitchen windowsill told me the other day. However, I don’t think I or anybody I know has said anything even one fraction-of-an-iota as void of intelligent thought as Vanessa Hudgens’ terrible opinions on social distancing, shared in a now-infamous Instagram live last month. 

“It’s a virus,” she clarified, helpfully, before going on to explain, “I get it. I respect it.” 

I’m sure your respect means the world to it, Vanessa, but do you ‘get’ it?

“But even if everybody gets it, like… yeah… people are gonna die,” she explains, in a tone so chirpy that the word ‘die’ might as well be replaced by the phrase ‘have such a bloody lovely old time’, “which is terrible, but, like… inevitable?” 

In all fairness, death is inevitable, but I don’t know if suggesting speeding up that process for thousands of people because you were disappointed that Coachella was cancelled is an equally logical take.

After a brief - and probably quite profound - moment of self-reflection, she laughs “I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t be doing this right now”. Oh, you think? Which bit? Just holding these insane ideas, or actually broadcasting them to your 39.1 million Instagram followers? 

She did post a video the day after, clarifying that - despite what she said - she is staying at home, and is urging others to do the same. I guess she does respect the virus after all. Now, if everyone could hurry up, catch it and die from it, so that she can go to Coachella 2021, Vanessa Hudgens might respect you, too. 

I guess We’re All In This Together, after all.

The Show Of Support Award

I’ve already talked a lot about the rich and famous here, so maybe it’s time to take a break from that madness - although, I get it, I respect it - and have a look at how the rest of our lives look at the moment.

One weekly occurrence that seems to be set to stick around is the weekly round of applause for the NHS. Whilst it’s nothing short of blood-boilingly annoying seeing Boris Johnson absent-mindedly clapping in celebration of a service that he recently admitted he hadn’t even noticed the strain on until he, himself, nearly died of the virus, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the rest of us getting involved. If anything, it’s heart-warming to see the videos of NHS staff being applauded by neighbours as they leave for work, and to hear the cheers echoing through the streets at 8pm every Thursday. There’s a lot of people being quite cynical about it. We obviously know it’s not going to stop Coronavirus in its tracks, but sometimes it’s just nice to be nice, alright?

One thing I’ve noticed recently is how many people have adopted different noise-making strategies, possibly in an effort to effectively boost their support by a factor of 300%. Banging pots and pans together appears to be the most popular, but the winner of this award saw your pots and pans and said “how sweet”, before showing us how it’s really done.

I present to you, a genius. The ultimate hype-man.

Twitter: “a deeply disturbed national psyche” - @willuminare

There’s something so chaotic and angry about the energy in this video, just one man, a cricket bat, and a wheelie bin, banging away to show his gratitude. Just living in the moment. I wish the neighbour who’d captured it on camera had caught more of it, or at least just enough to edit the footage with Electric Youth’s soaring synth anthem  ‘A Real Hero’ from the soundtrack of the movie Drive against it.

I’ve been trying to learn to play the keytar in lockdown, to near enough no avail. Maybe at 8pm next Thursday, I’ll just take it outside and smash it against the pavement. You know, for the NHS.

Honourable Mentions: The Very Best In Coronacontent

It’s not all been so questionable - there’s been a lot of uplifting, funny, positive and thoughtful things shared online over the past few weeks. John Krasinski’s YouTube series Some Good News has provided a much-appreciated contrast from the bleakness of traditional current affairs programmes. There’s five weeks worth of episodes on his YouTube channel at the moment, so I would definitely recommend checking it out, especially if you feel like you need a lift! 

Over on Twitter, there’s been a lot to laugh about, as ‘front camera comedians’ are well and truly in their element (my personal favourite recently has been Alistair Green), as well as plenty of other users who are utilising their free time to create some brilliant stuff - this six-part opera based on a 2007 Facebook argument by Archie Henderson is genuinely one of the funniest things I’ve seen in weeks.

Twitter: “I made a six-act opera out of a conversation between some 14 year olds on my Facebook from 2007″ - @jazzemu_

All in all, these are obviously bizarre times that we’re living in. We don’t know how many more weeks of lockdown we’re going to have, when we’ll get back to normal, or even if ‘normal’ will mean something completely different from now on. 

What we do know is that the internet, and everyone on it - whoever they are or whatever they’re saying - will continue to surprise us, inform us, entertain us, provide a place for our quizzes and conversations, and keep us together in some sense, when we have no choice but to be apart. 

Thanks to anyone who’s read this far. I hope that you and your friends and families are keeping well, and that you took even a slight shred of lockdown enjoyment from even one thing I’ve said over the past couple thousand words! 

Finally, before I go, I thought we might share a little song. It goes like this:

Imagine there’s no heaven....

if you like, can follow me on twitter here or instagram here :-)

[go-redgirl]

Trump's Proposed Economic Rescue Package Could Approach $1 Trillion

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a massive federal effort, President Donald Trump asked Congress to speed emergency checks to Americans, enlisted the military for MASH-like hospitals and implored ordinary people — particularly socially active millennials — to do their part by staying home to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

His proposed economic package alone could approach $1 trillion, a rescue initiative not seen since the Great Recession. Trump wants checks sent to the public within two weeks and is urging Congress to pass the eye-popping stimulus package in a matter of days.

As analysts warn the country is surely entering a recession, the government is grappling with an enormous political undertaking with echoes of the 2008 financial crisis.

At the Capitol on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed the Senate would not adjourn until the work was done.

“Obviously, we need to act,” McConnell said. “We’re not leaving town until we have constructed and passed another bill.”

But first, McConnell said, the Senate will vote on a House-passed package of sick pay, emergency food and free testing, putting it back on track for Trump’s signature — despite Republican objections. “Gag, and vote for it anyway,” he advised colleagues.

It was a signal of what the GOP leader called the “herculean” task ahead.

Overnight, the White House sent lawmakers a $46 billion emergency funding request to boost medical care for military service members and veterans, fund production of vaccines and medicines, build 13 quarantine centers at the southern border for migrants, make federal buildings safer, and reimburse Amtrak for $500 million in anticipated revenue losses, among other purposes.

The Trump request also reverses cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health that Trump proposed in his February budget for next year and would create a $3 billion fund for unanticipated needs.

Senators gathered at an otherwise shut-down Capitol as Americans across the country were implored to heed advice and avoid crowds. Young adults, in particular, are being urged to quit going out because even seemingly healthy people can be spreading the virus that causes the COVID-19 illness.

Even so, presidential primary elections unfolded in Florida, Illinois and Arizona. Ohio’s was called off hours before the polls were set to open.

After a savage drop at the start of the week, the stock market rose as Trump and aides sketched out elements of the economic rescue package at a briefing. Economists doubted that would be enough to stop millions of jobs losses, even if in the short term.

Bigger than the $700 billion 2008 bank bailout or the nearly $800 billion 2009 recovery act, the White House proposal aims to provide a massive tax cut for wage-earners, $50 billion for the airline industry and $250 billion for small businesses. Two people familiar with he package described it to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

The amount that would be sent out in checks Americans is not yet disclosed. The White House said it liked GOP Sen. Mitt Romney’s idea for $1,000 checks, though not necessarily at that sum and not for wealthier people.

“This is a very unique situation,” said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, exiting a private briefing of Senate Republicans. “We’ve put a proposal on that table that would attract a trillion dollars into the economy.”

One GOP leader, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, told reporters afterward it “could be” up to $1 trillion.

Senate Democrats produced their own $750 billion proposal, which includes $400 billion to shore up hospitals and other emergency operations in response to the global pandemic and $350 billion to bolster the safety net with unemployment checks and other aid to Americans.

“The aid has to be workers first,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, not what happened in 2008, when the big banks took precedence. Schumer also said it’s time to call out the National Guard to provide security as communities reel from the crisis.

The slow-moving Congress is being asked to approve the far-reaching economic rescue as it tries to rise to the occasion of these fast times.

A roster of America’s big and small industries — airlines, hotels, retailers and even casinos — lined up for hoped-for aid.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.

Still, health officials are urging Americans to stay home to prevent an onslaught of cases that could overwhelm hospitals as happened in Italy, among the countries hardest hit.

As Congress considered aid, the Pentagon on Tuesday said it would provide 5 million respirator masks and 2,000 specialized ventilators to federal health authorities. And Medicare was immediately expanding coverage for telemedicine nationwide to help seniors with health problems stay home to avoid infection.

More than two dozen Senate Democrats urged Trump to invoke the Korean War-era Defense Production Act to increase production of masks, ventilators and respirators, as well as expand hospital capacity to combat the coronavirus. Federal officials said the administration is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to see about erecting temporary hospitals, as is done in the military, to handle an expected surge of cases.

Schumer compared the government response needed to a wartime mobilization.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who marshaled the earlier package through a bipartisan vote last week, fielded a call from Mnuchin on Tuesday morning and another from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in the afternoon, encouraged by the Fed chairman’s perspective that Congress could think big with interest rates at nearly zero.

In the call with Mnuchin, she and Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of the House Transportation committee, “emphasized that protecting workers’ paychecks and benefits was their top priority, and that immediate action was needed,” said Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill on Twitter.

The debate is sure to revive the sharp divisions over the costly bank bailout and economic recovery of the Obama and Bush eras.

Much about the proposed checks is not known, such as whether the amount would vary by the income of the recipient or whether everyone would get the same sum. Mnuchin said “it’s clear we don’t need to send people who make $1 million a year checks, OK?”

Economists from both parties endorsed mailing checks of at least $1,000 to all American households as the quickest way to offset the sharp slowdown in economic activity.

“We need to pay people to stay at home,” said Heidi Shierholz, a senior policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think-tank. The group predicted that without a huge stimulus package, the U.S. economy could lose three million jobs by this summer.

Still, some GOP senators were skeptical about the massive aid on the table. “I’m going to be very leery of doing something like in 2008,” said Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun.

“Right now, the plan around here is basically to just to start shoveling money out of a helicopter,” said Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. “This is a bad idea. … We don’t need a policy where Washington, D.C., handpicks winners and losers.”

Despite federal guidelines against so many people gathering, senators had no choice but to convene. Legislating cannot be done from home.

But late Tuesday, another lawmaker, Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., announced he would self-quarantine after contact with a constituent who later tested positive for coronavirus.

___

[patriotsnet]

Who Controls The Senate Republicans Or Democrats

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/who-controls-the-senate-republicans-or-democrats/

Who Controls The Senate Republicans Or Democrats

Th Congress 2015 And 2016

The 114th Congress was notable because Republicans won their largest majorities in the House and Senate in decades after voters used the midterm election in 2014 to express dissatisfaction with a Democratic president, Barack Obama. Democrats lost control of the Senate in the 2014 elections.

Said Obama after the results became clear:

“Obviously, Republicans had a good night. And they deserve credit for running good campaigns. Beyond that, I’ll leave it to all of you and the professional pundits to pick through yesterday’s results.”

White House: Democrat

House: Republicans held 246 seats, Democrats held 187 seats; there were two vacancies.

Senate: Republicans held 54 seats, Democrats held 44 seats; there were two independents, both of whom caucused with the Democrats.

Who Now Controls The Senate

Chuck Schumer became majority leader following the swearing in of Democratic Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Alex Padilla of California by Kamala Harris on January 20, 2021.

Warnock, 51, and Ossoff, 33, had won special elections earlier in the month that determined control of the Senate. 

Schumer said in his first speech as majority leader: We have a lengthy agenda, and we need to get it done together.

“This will be an exceptionally busy and consequential period for the United States Senate.”

The ceremony officially cemented a shift in power in the chamber in the wake of the US election.

There is now a 50-50 split in the Senate which means the new Vice President will be able to break any possible ties as she will have the casting vote.

The Vice President also serves as president of the Senate. 

What Is A Senate Runoff

The candidates in Georgia were forced into the January runoff contests after no candidate reached the 50 per cent threshold needed to win outright in multi-candidate races.

States require runoff elections when no candidate receives a majority of the vote.

The National Conference of State Legislatures said that the runoff system was intended “to encourage candidates to broaden their appeal to a wider range of voters, to reduce the likelihood of electing candidates who are at the ideological extremes of a party, and to produce a nominee who may be more electable in the general election.”

What Are Senate Runoff Elections And Why Do They Happen

Senate runoff elections do not happen in every state, and only 12 states abide by the runoff election system.

A runoff election happens when more than two candidates run for an office seat, and the electorates votes do not give one candidate a 50% majority. The two candidates that received the most votes in that election hold another election , where the electorate votes again to give one of those two a majority and decide a winner.

Georgia Election: Democrats On Course For Senate Control

US election 2020

The Democratic Party of US President-elect Joe Biden is on the verge of taking control of the Senate as results come in from two elections in Georgia.

Pastor Raphael Warnock is projected to win one seat. Fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff leads narrowly in the other.

If they both win, Mr Biden will control Congress fully and have a much better chance of pushing through his agenda.

He said it was “time to turn the page. The American people demand action and they want unity”.

Th United States Congress

United States Congress

116th United States Congress January 3, 2019 January 3, 2021 Members 1st: January 3, 2019 January 3, 20202nd: January 3, 2020  January 3, 2021

The 116th United States Congress was the meeting of the 116th legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the and the House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and ended on January 3, 2021, during the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency. Senators elected to regular terms in 2014 finished their terms in this Congress, and House seats were based on the 2010 Census.

In the November 2018 midterm elections, the Democratic Party a new majority in the House, while the Republican Party its majority in the Senate. Consequently, this was the first split Congress since the 113th Congress of 20132015, and the first Republican SenateDemocratic House split since the 99th Congress of 19851987. This Congress was the youngest incoming class by mean age in the past three cycles and the most demographically diverse ever.

As of 2021, the 116th United States Congress is the most recent Congress in which:

Republicans controlled either branch of the congress ,

Poll Shows Manchin Wildly Out Of Step With West Virginia Voters On Voting Rights Bill

A hail fellow well met

DP Veteran

A hail fellow well met

DP Veteran

roguenuke said:I think this is the most likely answer just in terms of the Senate races .The GOP seats are more likely to be in danger here than the Dem seats that are up but that doesn’t mean that there still isn’t risk, especially being so close.

A summer-long advocacy campaign to rally voters to support the For the People Act, a federal election bill.You can get involved by calling yourSenators at 888-453-3211 / and Zipcodeor any Senator??? Just get their Home Zipcode

Congressional Balance Of Power Odds

Note: The following odds are currently off the boards, but this is how they looked on Election Day 2020.

US Senate Control *

Republicans  +100

House And Senate Balance Of Power *

Democratic House, Democratic Senate +125

Democratic House, Republican Senate +175

Republican House, Republican Senate +500

Republican House, Democratic Senate +6600

*Odds from Nov. 1, 2020.

Which Party Holds The Advantage In The 2022 Senate Elections

The 2022 Senate elections are expected to be hotly contested once again as the Democrats try to build on their majority while the GOP attempts to once again regain control. Which party holds the advantage following the 2022 US Senate elections will factor heavily on the performance of President Joe Biden.

If his policies during his first two years gain traction and are viewed favorably by voters, then the DNC will have a solid shot at retaining, or adding to, their current majority. The odds produced by the top legal election betting sites will be revealed before too long, and quite often, they reflect a more accurate election result than pundit predictions.

New York State Senate

New York State Senate Senate Chamber at New York State Capitol, Albany Website

The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, the New York State Assembly being the lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. As of 2014, there are 63 seats in the Senate. The New York State Senate is the highest-paid state upper house and state senate in the country.

Who Controls The Senate 2021

THE Democrats are now officially in charge of the Senate – but only by the narrowest of margins.

That means President Joe Biden has inherited a -controlled House of Representatives and Senate.

* Read our Donald Trump impeachment live blog for the very latest news and updates on the former president…

If You Have A News Tip Wed Like To Hear From You Reach Out To Us Via One Of Ourtip Line Channels

Still, Democrats will have one chance per year to bypass Republicans altogether and try to pass major legislation. Each year the Senate can pass a budget reconciliation bill, which is exempt from the filibuster and only needs a majority to pass. In theory, these bills need to pertain to the federal budget, but that can be interpreted widely. Republicans tried to use a budget reconciliation bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, only to fail to gain 50 Republican votes.

The Georgia results give Bidens ability to tackle the climate crisis, one of his priorities, a big boost. The new Senate opens the door to raising spending, whether it relates to the federal budget or the next coronavirus aid package, on climate, resiliency, and environmental justice efforts. Theres also now a greater chance that Congress confirms Bidens environmental appointees.

But the incoming administration still faces an uphill battle in passing any new, bold climate laws, the kind needed to meet Bidens goal of dramatically cutting climate pollution from the transportation, buildings, and energy sectors in the coming decades.

Tied Senate: Who Controls A 50

The results of the 2020 election continue to be finalized, but one possible outcome is an evenly divided Senate sometime after January 5, 2021. This raises questions regarding which party will hold the majority and who the majority leader will be, as well as whether we should anticipate a completely deadlocked Senate on every vote, among others. Here are seven things you need to know

Statement from Bipartisan Policy Center President Jason Grumet: BPCs Bipartisan Approach to a Partisan Process

Weve Had A Split Senate Before And They Mostly Figured It Out

The most recent 50-50 Senate occurred following the 2000 election. Sens. Tom Daschle and Trent Lott , then Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate respectively, formed a powersharing agreement to guide the chamber. Key features of the agreement included:

Majority Leader: Lott was recognized as the de factor majority leader following Inauguration Day, based on the tie-breaking vote of Republican Vice President Dick Cheney.

Committees would have equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats;

If a tie vote prevented a measure or nomination from being reported to the full Senate, the majority or minority leader could move to discharge the committee from further consideration; Debate on the question of discharge was limited, and therefore, a filibuster could not block it.

Debate: Cloture motions, which are used to bring debate on a measure or nomination to a close and prevent filibusters, could not be filed on any amendable item of business during the first 12 hours of debate.

Scheduling and agenda: the leaders were to attempt to balance the interests of the parties in setting the Senates schedule and deciding what matters to bring up for consideration.

An important caveat in the agreement noted that Senate Rules do not prohibit the right of the Democratic Leader, or any other Senator, to move to proceed to any item.

Tie Votes In The Senate Are Broken By The Vice President

A Senate split evenly between Democrats and Republicans raises the potential for tie votes. Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution states that, The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The vice president may decline to vote on a tied matter. In recent history, the vice presidents presence in the Senate is a rare occurrence, but in an evenly divided Senate, he or she may need to break tie votes more often if the parties cannot agree. Senator Harris, the vice president elect, may not be getting far away from Capitol Hill after all.

Democrats Control House And Senate For First Time Since 2011 As Schumer Ousts Mcconnell

Mitch McConnellChuck SchumerKamala Harris

On Wednesday, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York took on the role of Majority Leader, taking the title away from Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as regained control of both congressional chambers for the first time since 2011.

Control of the Senate shifted over to a 50-50 party split on Wednesday as Democratic Georgia Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock were both sworn in as the 49th and 50th Democratic senators, leaving Vice President Kamala Harris as the deciding vote should the chambers’ votes ever end in a tie.

Also sworn in on Wednesday was Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California. Padilla was appointed by California Governor Gavin Newsom to fill the vacated seat of Vice President Kamala Harris, who had previously served as a Californian senator. On Wednesday, Harris swore in Padilla, Ossoff and Warnock.

At the virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention, Schumer said that Democrats would work with Biden to help him achieve his ambitious agenda.

“We will make health care affordable for all, we’ll undo the vicious inequality of income and wealth that has plagued America for far too long, and we’ll take strong, decisive action to combat climate change and save the planet,” Schumer said.

Lindsey Graham Thinks Donald Trump Will Remain Strongest Republican Voice

Newsweek contacted Schumer’s office for comment.

The Winding Road To Democratic Control

Following an anxious four days of waiting after the 2020 general election, nearly all major news networks declared that Joe Biden had exceeded 270 electoral votes and won the presidency. Democrats also retained control of the U.S. House, although their majority has been trimmed back .

But the U.S. Senate still hung in the balance, a tantalizing prize for Democrats dreaming of a trifecta, and a bulwark against a Democratic agenda for Republicans who seek to hold onto some power under the new Biden administration that will be sworn in on Jan. 20, 2021.

Republicans claimed 50 Senate seats after the November election, two more than the 48 seats claimed by the Democratic Caucus at that time.

The Senates balance of power teetered on the fulcrum of Georgias two seats, both of which were decided by the January 5th runoff election. Georgia law requires candidates to be voted in with at least 50% of the votes cast; if a candidate does not reach that threshold the two candidates who received the highest number of votes face one another in a runoff election.

Georgias runoff election featured these match-ups:

Incumbent David Perdue versus Jon Ossoff .According to Georgias Secretary of State, received 88,000 more votes than , but came up just shy of the 50% needed to avoid a runoff. This is in part due to the 115,000 votes that went to Libertarian candidate Shane Hazel who will not appear on the January ballot.

Republican Memo Warns Us Senate At Risk Of Falling Into Democratic Control

Memo summarizes senate races of 10 states and how the outcome of each could determine who controls the Senate

A memo by Senate Republicans campaign arm has admitted that control of the upper chamber is at risk and that Democrats could win the Senate in Novembers elections.

The September 2020 political update from the National Republican Senatorial Committee summarizes the state of the race of 10 states with Senate races around the country and how the outcome of each could factor into whether Republicans or control the chamber in January.

The memo, obtained by the Guardian, has been circulating among political operatives, donors and interested parties. It comes just shy of 50 days before the November 2020 elections.

The next few weeks will define the future of our country for generations to come, the NRSC memo reads.

Memos like these are often shaped like dispassionate updates but in actuality they are often used to convince interested parties that races slipping out of reach are still in play. They are also often used to juice donations to lagging candidates and counter trending narratives.

Democrats need to pick up three or four seats to take control of the Senate. The fact that the NRSC memo categorizes seven Senate races as ones that simply cant be lost or deserve serious attention suggests that its possible, but not certain that Democrats can take control of the Senate.

Who Will Control The Senate In 2022; Democrats Or Republicans

$1.9 trillion Covid relief legislationOn infrastructureinfrastructure RepublicansOn voting rightsFor the People ActRepublicans even filibusteredindependent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day’s most important political stories and why they matter.www.nbcnews.com

After President Biden signed his $1.9 trillion Covid relief legislation into law back in March, political observers were calling him a transformational president.Since then, however, there hasnt been a lot of transformation in Washington at least when it comes to Bidens legislative agenda.On infrastructure, Senate Democrats dont have 50 votes to go it alone, given Sen. Joe Manchins desire for a bipartisan deal. And there still isnt an obvious path forward to cut a bipartisan infrastructure deal with Republicans.On voting rights, Manchin said hell the For the People Act that the Senate will take up later this month.And last month, Senate Republicans even filibustereda bill to create an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day’s most important political stories and why they matter.www.nbcnews.com

UnTrueManchin is opposing his own voters.This is an understatement. THEY LOVE HR-1But on HR1, they support it far more.

Us Election 2020: Democrats’ Hopes Of Gaining Control Of Senate Fade

Democrats are rapidly losing hope of gaining control of the US Senate after underperforming in key states.

Controlling the Senate would have allowed them to either obstruct or push through the next president’s agenda.

The party had high hopes of gaining the four necessary seats in Congress’s upper chamber, but many Republican incumbents held their seats.

The Democrats are projected to retain their majority in the lower chamber, the House, but with some key losses.

With many votes still to be counted, the final outcome for both houses may not be known for some time.

Why don’t we have a winner yet?

Among the disappointments for the Democrats was the fight for the seat in Maine, where Republican incumbent Susan Collins staved off a fierce challenge from Democrat Sara Gideon.

However, the night did see a number of firsts – including the first black openly LGBTQ people ever elected to Congress and the first openly transgender state senator.

The balance of power in the Senate may also change next January. At least one run-off election is due to be held that month in Georgia, since neither candidate has been able to secure more than 50% of votes.

This year’s congressional election is running alongside the battle for the White House between Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

Of the 35 Senate seats up for grabs, 23 were Republican-held and 12 were Democrat.

Senators serve six-year terms, and every two years a third of the seats are up for re-election.

What Democrats Want To Do

Democrats widely agree a new Covid-19 relief and response package should be their first priority. A new bill would likely be modeled on the House-passed HEROES Act, which included $75 million for testing and contact tracing, strike teams to tackle challenges around long-term care and prisons, and funding to help cash-strapped state and local governments.

Next, Democrats say they want to deal with the stagnating economy. Biden has released a $2 trillion green jobs plan, aiming to create millions of jobs through green infrastructure, retrofitting houses, and manufacturing electric cars, among other things. There are a number of ways Bidens White House can work on achieving these goals, but he needs Congress to fully realize it.

In addition to fighting and containing the coronavirus, we will work aggressively to create jobs and improve the unemployment crisis caused by President Trump, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told Vox in a statement earlier this fall.

Biden shares the broad goal of getting the United States to net-zero emissions by 2050, but hes also set more aggressive targets, like getting to 100 percent clean electricity in the US by 2035. House Democrats also passed a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill in July, which could be merged with Bidens climate plan.

Democrats will likely push for a climate component in any future infrastructure package, but Republicans may balk at that idea and push for a more targeted bill.

Diversity Of The Freshman Class

The demographics of the 116th U.S. Congress freshmen were more diverse than any previous incoming class.

At least 25 new congressional representatives were Hispanic, Native American, or people of color, and the incoming class included the first Native American women, the first Muslim women, and the two youngest women ever elected. The 116th Congress included more women elected to the House than any previous Congress.

Democrat Jon Ossoff Claims Victory Over David Perdue In Georgia Runoff

Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York is expected to replace GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell as majority leader and will determine which bills come to the floor for votes.

The ambitious proposals addressing climate change and health care and other domestic priorities touted by Biden and Harris will be difficult, if impossible, to advance with more moderate Democrats especially those facing competitive 2022 midterm reelection campaigns reluctant to sign onto partisan proposals. The much House Democratic majority compounds the challenge for the party.

Instead, Biden will need to consider which domestic priorities can get bipartisan support since Senate rules now require anything to get 60 votes to advance. The president-elect has already indicated that additional coronavirus relief will be his first priority, but he has also said he plans to unveil an infrastructure plan that could get support from Republicans.

In a statement Wednesday, Biden said that “Georgia’s voters delivered a resounding message yesterday: they want action on the crises we face and they want it right now. On COVID-19, on economic relief, on climate, on racial justice, on voting rights and so much more. They want us to move, but move together.”

The president-elect also spoke to Democrats’ potential total control of Washington.

Why Is There An Election In Georgia

The election is being rerun because of Georgia’s rule that a candidate must take 50% of the vote in order to win.

None of the candidates in November’s general election met that threshold.

With 98% of votes counted, US TV networks and the Associated Press news agency called the first of the two races for Mr Warnock.

Control of the Senate in the first two years of Mr Biden’s term will be determined by the outcome of the second run-off.

Mr Warnock is set to become the first black senator for the state of Georgia – a slavery state in the US Civil War – and only the 11th black senator in US history.

He serves as the reverend of the Atlanta church where assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr grew up and preached.

Claiming victory, he paid tribute to his mother, Verlene, who as a teenager worked as a farm labourer.

“The other day – because this is America – the 82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else’s cotton went to the polls and picked her youngest son to be a United States senator,” he said.

If both Democrats win, the Senate will be evenly split 50-50, allowing incoming Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote. The Democrats narrowly control the House of Representatives.

Mr Ossoff has also claimed victory in his race against Republican Senator David Perdue, but that race is even tighter. At 33, he would be the Senate’s youngest member for 40 years.

Mr Biden won at least seven million more votes than the president.

Th Congress 2001 And 2002

White House: Republican

House: Republicans held 221 seats, Democrats held 212 seats; there were two independents

Senate: Republicans held 50 seats, Democrats held 48 seats; there were two independents

*Notes: This session of the Senate began with the chamber evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. But on June 6, 2001, U.S. Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont switched from Republican to independent and began caucusing with the Democrats, giving the Democrats a one-seat advantage. Later on Oct. 25, 2002, Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul D. Wellstone died and independent Dean Barkley was appointed to fill the vacancy. On Nov. 5, 2002, Republican U.S. Sen. James Talent of Missouri replaced Democratic U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan, shifting the balance back to the Republicans.

[statetalks]

Who Controls The Senate Republicans Or Democrats

Th Congress 2015 And 2016

The 114th Congress was notable because Republicans won their largest majorities in the House and Senate in decades after voters used the midterm election in 2014 to express dissatisfaction with a Democratic president, Barack Obama. Democrats lost control of the Senate in the 2014 elections.

Said Obama after the results became clear:

“Obviously, Republicans had a good night. And they deserve credit for running good campaigns. Beyond that, I’ll leave it to all of you and the professional pundits to pick through yesterday’s results.”

White House: Democrat

House: Republicans held 246 seats, Democrats held 187 seats; there were two vacancies.

Senate: Republicans held 54 seats, Democrats held 44 seats; there were two independents, both of whom caucused with the Democrats.

Who Now Controls The Senate

Chuck Schumer became majority leader following the swearing in of Democratic Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Alex Padilla of California by Kamala Harris on January 20, 2021.

Warnock, 51, and Ossoff, 33, had won special elections earlier in the month that determined control of the Senate. 

Schumer said in his first speech as majority leader: We have a lengthy agenda, and we need to get it done together.

“This will be an exceptionally busy and consequential period for the United States Senate.”

The ceremony officially cemented a shift in power in the chamber in the wake of the US election.

There is now a 50-50 split in the Senate which means the new Vice President will be able to break any possible ties as she will have the casting vote.

The Vice President also serves as president of the Senate. 

What Is A Senate Runoff

The candidates in Georgia were forced into the January runoff contests after no candidate reached the 50 per cent threshold needed to win outright in multi-candidate races.

States require runoff elections when no candidate receives a majority of the vote.

The National Conference of State Legislatures said that the runoff system was intended “to encourage candidates to broaden their appeal to a wider range of voters, to reduce the likelihood of electing candidates who are at the ideological extremes of a party, and to produce a nominee who may be more electable in the general election.”

What Are Senate Runoff Elections And Why Do They Happen

Senate runoff elections do not happen in every state, and only 12 states abide by the runoff election system.

A runoff election happens when more than two candidates run for an office seat, and the electorates votes do not give one candidate a 50% majority. The two candidates that received the most votes in that election hold another election , where the electorate votes again to give one of those two a majority and decide a winner.

Georgia Election: Democrats On Course For Senate Control

US election 2020

The Democratic Party of US President-elect Joe Biden is on the verge of taking control of the Senate as results come in from two elections in Georgia.

Pastor Raphael Warnock is projected to win one seat. Fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff leads narrowly in the other.

If they both win, Mr Biden will control Congress fully and have a much better chance of pushing through his agenda.

He said it was “time to turn the page. The American people demand action and they want unity”.

Th United States Congress

United States Congress

116th United States Congress January 3, 2019 January 3, 2021 Members 1st: January 3, 2019 January 3, 20202nd: January 3, 2020  January 3, 2021

The 116th United States Congress was the meeting of the 116th legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the and the House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and ended on January 3, 2021, during the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency. Senators elected to regular terms in 2014 finished their terms in this Congress, and House seats were based on the 2010 Census.

In the November 2018 midterm elections, the Democratic Party a new majority in the House, while the Republican Party its majority in the Senate. Consequently, this was the first split Congress since the 113th Congress of 20132015, and the first Republican SenateDemocratic House split since the 99th Congress of 19851987. This Congress was the youngest incoming class by mean age in the past three cycles and the most demographically diverse ever.

As of 2021, the 116th United States Congress is the most recent Congress in which:

Republicans controlled either branch of the congress ,

Poll Shows Manchin Wildly Out Of Step With West Virginia Voters On Voting Rights Bill

A hail fellow well met

DP Veteran

A hail fellow well met

DP Veteran

roguenuke said:I think this is the most likely answer just in terms of the Senate races .The GOP seats are more likely to be in danger here than the Dem seats that are up but that doesn’t mean that there still isn’t risk, especially being so close.

A summer-long advocacy campaign to rally voters to support the For the People Act, a federal election bill.You can get involved by calling yourSenators at 888-453-3211 / and Zipcodeor any Senator??? Just get their Home Zipcode

Congressional Balance Of Power Odds

Note: The following odds are currently off the boards, but this is how they looked on Election Day 2020.

US Senate Control *

Republicans  +100

House And Senate Balance Of Power *

Democratic House, Democratic Senate +125

Democratic House, Republican Senate +175

Republican House, Republican Senate +500

Republican House, Democratic Senate +6600

*Odds from Nov. 1, 2020.

Which Party Holds The Advantage In The 2022 Senate Elections

The 2022 Senate elections are expected to be hotly contested once again as the Democrats try to build on their majority while the GOP attempts to once again regain control. Which party holds the advantage following the 2022 US Senate elections will factor heavily on the performance of President Joe Biden.

If his policies during his first two years gain traction and are viewed favorably by voters, then the DNC will have a solid shot at retaining, or adding to, their current majority. The odds produced by the top legal election betting sites will be revealed before too long, and quite often, they reflect a more accurate election result than pundit predictions.

New York State Senate

New York State Senate Senate Chamber at New York State Capitol, Albany Website

The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, the New York State Assembly being the lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. As of 2014, there are 63 seats in the Senate. The New York State Senate is the highest-paid state upper house and state senate in the country.

Who Controls The Senate 2021

THE Democrats are now officially in charge of the Senate – but only by the narrowest of margins.

That means President Joe Biden has inherited a -controlled House of Representatives and Senate.

* Read our Donald Trump impeachment live blog for the very latest news and updates on the former president…

If You Have A News Tip Wed Like To Hear From You Reach Out To Us Via One Of Ourtip Line Channels

Still, Democrats will have one chance per year to bypass Republicans altogether and try to pass major legislation. Each year the Senate can pass a budget reconciliation bill, which is exempt from the filibuster and only needs a majority to pass. In theory, these bills need to pertain to the federal budget, but that can be interpreted widely. Republicans tried to use a budget reconciliation bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, only to fail to gain 50 Republican votes.

The Georgia results give Bidens ability to tackle the climate crisis, one of his priorities, a big boost. The new Senate opens the door to raising spending, whether it relates to the federal budget or the next coronavirus aid package, on climate, resiliency, and environmental justice efforts. Theres also now a greater chance that Congress confirms Bidens environmental appointees.

But the incoming administration still faces an uphill battle in passing any new, bold climate laws, the kind needed to meet Bidens goal of dramatically cutting climate pollution from the transportation, buildings, and energy sectors in the coming decades.

Tied Senate: Who Controls A 50

The results of the 2020 election continue to be finalized, but one possible outcome is an evenly divided Senate sometime after January 5, 2021. This raises questions regarding which party will hold the majority and who the majority leader will be, as well as whether we should anticipate a completely deadlocked Senate on every vote, among others. Here are seven things you need to know

Statement from Bipartisan Policy Center President Jason Grumet: BPCs Bipartisan Approach to a Partisan Process

Weve Had A Split Senate Before And They Mostly Figured It Out

The most recent 50-50 Senate occurred following the 2000 election. Sens. Tom Daschle and Trent Lott , then Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate respectively, formed a powersharing agreement to guide the chamber. Key features of the agreement included:

Majority Leader: Lott was recognized as the de factor majority leader following Inauguration Day, based on the tie-breaking vote of Republican Vice President Dick Cheney.

Committees would have equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats;

If a tie vote prevented a measure or nomination from being reported to the full Senate, the majority or minority leader could move to discharge the committee from further consideration; Debate on the question of discharge was limited, and therefore, a filibuster could not block it.

Debate: Cloture motions, which are used to bring debate on a measure or nomination to a close and prevent filibusters, could not be filed on any amendable item of business during the first 12 hours of debate. Scheduling and agenda: the leaders were to attempt to balance the interests of the parties in setting the Senates schedule and deciding what matters to bring up for consideration. An important caveat in the agreement noted that Senate Rules do not prohibit the right of the Democratic Leader, or any other Senator, to move to proceed to any item.

Tie Votes In The Senate Are Broken By The Vice President

A Senate split evenly between Democrats and Republicans raises the potential for tie votes. Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution states that, The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The vice president may decline to vote on a tied matter. In recent history, the vice presidents presence in the Senate is a rare occurrence, but in an evenly divided Senate, he or she may need to break tie votes more often if the parties cannot agree. Senator Harris, the vice president elect, may not be getting far away from Capitol Hill after all.

Democrats Control House And Senate For First Time Since 2011 As Schumer Ousts Mcconnell

Mitch McConnellChuck SchumerKamala Harris

On Wednesday, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York took on the role of Majority Leader, taking the title away from Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as regained control of both congressional chambers for the first time since 2011.

Control of the Senate shifted over to a 50-50 party split on Wednesday as Democratic Georgia Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock were both sworn in as the 49th and 50th Democratic senators, leaving Vice President Kamala Harris as the deciding vote should the chambers’ votes ever end in a tie.

Also sworn in on Wednesday was Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California. Padilla was appointed by California Governor Gavin Newsom to fill the vacated seat of Vice President Kamala Harris, who had previously served as a Californian senator. On Wednesday, Harris swore in Padilla, Ossoff and Warnock.

At the virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention, Schumer said that Democrats would work with Biden to help him achieve his ambitious agenda.

“We will make health care affordable for all, we’ll undo the vicious inequality of income and wealth that has plagued America for far too long, and we’ll take strong, decisive action to combat climate change and save the planet,” Schumer said.

Lindsey Graham Thinks Donald Trump Will Remain Strongest Republican Voice

Newsweek contacted Schumer’s office for comment.

The Winding Road To Democratic Control

Following an anxious four days of waiting after the 2020 general election, nearly all major news networks declared that Joe Biden had exceeded 270 electoral votes and won the presidency. Democrats also retained control of the U.S. House, although their majority has been trimmed back .

But the U.S. Senate still hung in the balance, a tantalizing prize for Democrats dreaming of a trifecta, and a bulwark against a Democratic agenda for Republicans who seek to hold onto some power under the new Biden administration that will be sworn in on Jan. 20, 2021.

Republicans claimed 50 Senate seats after the November election, two more than the 48 seats claimed by the Democratic Caucus at that time.

The Senates balance of power teetered on the fulcrum of Georgias two seats, both of which were decided by the January 5th runoff election. Georgia law requires candidates to be voted in with at least 50% of the votes cast; if a candidate does not reach that threshold the two candidates who received the highest number of votes face one another in a runoff election.

Georgias runoff election featured these match-ups:

Incumbent David Perdue versus Jon Ossoff .According to Georgias Secretary of State, received 88,000 more votes than , but came up just shy of the 50% needed to avoid a runoff. This is in part due to the 115,000 votes that went to Libertarian candidate Shane Hazel who will not appear on the January ballot.

Republican Memo Warns Us Senate At Risk Of Falling Into Democratic Control

Memo summarizes senate races of 10 states and how the outcome of each could determine who controls the Senate

A memo by Senate Republicans campaign arm has admitted that control of the upper chamber is at risk and that Democrats could win the Senate in Novembers elections.

The September 2020 political update from the National Republican Senatorial Committee summarizes the state of the race of 10 states with Senate races around the country and how the outcome of each could factor into whether Republicans or control the chamber in January.

The memo, obtained by the Guardian, has been circulating among political operatives, donors and interested parties. It comes just shy of 50 days before the November 2020 elections.

The next few weeks will define the future of our country for generations to come, the NRSC memo reads.

Memos like these are often shaped like dispassionate updates but in actuality they are often used to convince interested parties that races slipping out of reach are still in play. They are also often used to juice donations to lagging candidates and counter trending narratives.

Democrats need to pick up three or four seats to take control of the Senate. The fact that the NRSC memo categorizes seven Senate races as ones that simply cant be lost or deserve serious attention suggests that its possible, but not certain that Democrats can take control of the Senate.

Who Will Control The Senate In 2022; Democrats Or Republicans

$1.9 trillion Covid relief legislationOn infrastructureinfrastructure RepublicansOn voting rightsFor the People ActRepublicans even filibusteredindependent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day’s most important political stories and why they matter.www.nbcnews.com

After President Biden signed his $1.9 trillion Covid relief legislation into law back in March, political observers were calling him a transformational president.Since then, however, there hasnt been a lot of transformation in Washington at least when it comes to Bidens legislative agenda.On infrastructure, Senate Democrats dont have 50 votes to go it alone, given Sen. Joe Manchins desire for a bipartisan deal. And there still isnt an obvious path forward to cut a bipartisan infrastructure deal with Republicans.On voting rights, Manchin said hell the For the People Act that the Senate will take up later this month.And last month, Senate Republicans even filibustereda bill to create an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day’s most important political stories and why they matter.www.nbcnews.com

UnTrueManchin is opposing his own voters.This is an understatement. THEY LOVE HR-1But on HR1, they support it far more.

Us Election 2020: Democrats’ Hopes Of Gaining Control Of Senate Fade

Democrats are rapidly losing hope of gaining control of the US Senate after underperforming in key states.

Controlling the Senate would have allowed them to either obstruct or push through the next president’s agenda.

The party had high hopes of gaining the four necessary seats in Congress’s upper chamber, but many Republican incumbents held their seats.

The Democrats are projected to retain their majority in the lower chamber, the House, but with some key losses.

With many votes still to be counted, the final outcome for both houses may not be known for some time.

Why don’t we have a winner yet?

Among the disappointments for the Democrats was the fight for the seat in Maine, where Republican incumbent Susan Collins staved off a fierce challenge from Democrat Sara Gideon.

However, the night did see a number of firsts – including the first black openly LGBTQ people ever elected to Congress and the first openly transgender state senator.

The balance of power in the Senate may also change next January. At least one run-off election is due to be held that month in Georgia, since neither candidate has been able to secure more than 50% of votes.

This year’s congressional election is running alongside the battle for the White House between Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

Of the 35 Senate seats up for grabs, 23 were Republican-held and 12 were Democrat.

Senators serve six-year terms, and every two years a third of the seats are up for re-election.

What Democrats Want To Do

Democrats widely agree a new Covid-19 relief and response package should be their first priority. A new bill would likely be modeled on the House-passed HEROES Act, which included $75 million for testing and contact tracing, strike teams to tackle challenges around long-term care and prisons, and funding to help cash-strapped state and local governments.

Next, Democrats say they want to deal with the stagnating economy. Biden has released a $2 trillion green jobs plan, aiming to create millions of jobs through green infrastructure, retrofitting houses, and manufacturing electric cars, among other things. There are a number of ways Bidens White House can work on achieving these goals, but he needs Congress to fully realize it.

In addition to fighting and containing the coronavirus, we will work aggressively to create jobs and improve the unemployment crisis caused by President Trump, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told Vox in a statement earlier this fall.

Biden shares the broad goal of getting the United States to net-zero emissions by 2050, but hes also set more aggressive targets, like getting to 100 percent clean electricity in the US by 2035. House Democrats also passed a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill in July, which could be merged with Bidens climate plan.

Democrats will likely push for a climate component in any future infrastructure package, but Republicans may balk at that idea and push for a more targeted bill.

Diversity Of The Freshman Class

The demographics of the 116th U.S. Congress freshmen were more diverse than any previous incoming class.

At least 25 new congressional representatives were Hispanic, Native American, or people of color, and the incoming class included the first Native American women, the first Muslim women, and the two youngest women ever elected. The 116th Congress included more women elected to the House than any previous Congress.

Democrat Jon Ossoff Claims Victory Over David Perdue In Georgia Runoff

Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York is expected to replace GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell as majority leader and will determine which bills come to the floor for votes.

The ambitious proposals addressing climate change and health care and other domestic priorities touted by Biden and Harris will be difficult, if impossible, to advance with more moderate Democrats especially those facing competitive 2022 midterm reelection campaigns reluctant to sign onto partisan proposals. The much House Democratic majority compounds the challenge for the party.

Instead, Biden will need to consider which domestic priorities can get bipartisan support since Senate rules now require anything to get 60 votes to advance. The president-elect has already indicated that additional coronavirus relief will be his first priority, but he has also said he plans to unveil an infrastructure plan that could get support from Republicans.

In a statement Wednesday, Biden said that “Georgia’s voters delivered a resounding message yesterday: they want action on the crises we face and they want it right now. On COVID-19, on economic relief, on climate, on racial justice, on voting rights and so much more. They want us to move, but move together.”

The president-elect also spoke to Democrats’ potential total control of Washington.

Why Is There An Election In Georgia

The election is being rerun because of Georgia’s rule that a candidate must take 50% of the vote in order to win.

None of the candidates in November’s general election met that threshold.

With 98% of votes counted, US TV networks and the Associated Press news agency called the first of the two races for Mr Warnock.

Control of the Senate in the first two years of Mr Biden’s term will be determined by the outcome of the second run-off.

Mr Warnock is set to become the first black senator for the state of Georgia – a slavery state in the US Civil War – and only the 11th black senator in US history.

He serves as the reverend of the Atlanta church where assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr grew up and preached.

Claiming victory, he paid tribute to his mother, Verlene, who as a teenager worked as a farm labourer.

“The other day – because this is America – the 82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else’s cotton went to the polls and picked her youngest son to be a United States senator,” he said.

If both Democrats win, the Senate will be evenly split 50-50, allowing incoming Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote. The Democrats narrowly control the House of Representatives.

Mr Ossoff has also claimed victory in his race against Republican Senator David Perdue, but that race is even tighter. At 33, he would be the Senate’s youngest member for 40 years.

Mr Biden won at least seven million more votes than the president.

Th Congress 2001 And 2002

White House: Republican

House: Republicans held 221 seats, Democrats held 212 seats; there were two independents

Senate: Republicans held 50 seats, Democrats held 48 seats; there were two independents

*Notes: This session of the Senate began with the chamber evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. But on June 6, 2001, U.S. Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont switched from Republican to independent and began caucusing with the Democrats, giving the Democrats a one-seat advantage. Later on Oct. 25, 2002, Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul D. Wellstone died and independent Dean Barkley was appointed to fill the vacancy. On Nov. 5, 2002, Republican U.S. Sen. James Talent of Missouri replaced Democratic U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan, shifting the balance back to the Republicans.

source https://www.patriotsnet.com/who-controls-the-senate-republicans-or-democrats/