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House minority leader calls Gorsuch a "hostile appointment"

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She also said the nomination* was a diversion from the ongoing refugee "ban."

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It's a nomination, not an appointment, so Pelosi is wrong out of the gate.

girl with Pelosi balloon

It's stupid, I know. Somebody else started it by putting her face on another image. They were talking about something else. The vertical line of Pelosi's neck looked like a sting that aligns with the cowl edging, both being more or less centered. That's all. The girl could have been tiny and the cowl edging used as string. But the string should be tight, should be strait, or curved, not irregular because science.

This means I think Nancy Pelosi is an airhead and her supporters are little girls with balloons unaware of the menace they hold aloft. No. It means that thing in Pelosi's neck in this image looks like a string, and it aligns with the cowl edge, it's stupid, and that's all. 

Pelosi and friends

These were circulating on Twitter tonight so I added frames and animated them. I do not know what the problem is. What, reps are not allowed to shake hands with or get close to fer'ners?  I do not know.

Nancy Pelosi was so distraught over #NetanyahuSpeech that she nearly had a facial expression.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) March 3, 2015

Pelosi released an hasty statement. Following the usual platitudes:

✓ Unbreakable bonds

✓ Rooted

✓ Shared values

✓ Common ideals and mutual interests

✓ Deep abiding friendship

✓ Goes beyond party loyalty

✓ Stand shoulder to shoulder

✓ Greatest political achievement

✓ Unshakeable commitment

That is why, as one who values the U.S. -- Israel relationship, and loves Israel, I was near tears throughout the Prime Minister's speech --saddened by the insult to the intelligence of the United States as part of the P5+1 nations, and saddened by the condescension towards our knowledge of the threat posed by Iran and our broader commitment to preventing nuclear proliferation.

And then straight back to bromides and platitudes.

✓ We all agree

✓ Nuclear armed Iran is unacceptable

✓ We all said a bad deal is worse than no deal

✓ Stopping the spread is bedrock of our foreign policy

✓ President Obama said consistently ... 

✓ All options on the table

Such nonsense. No. That is not why, you silly bint. The assurances given are thin and all that together contradicts the petulance demonstrated by you and your party, by your insistence on the fineries of protocol after having exploded all that in both the Obama administration and throughout the Bush administration.

Status: message rejected.

What we have here is an important US ally deftly managing the schizophrenia that characterizes Washington and American politics in general. A model of American politics would be good cop / bad cop at a square dance. "Switch your partners, hand in hand, hit 'em in the head with a frying pan. Round, round, punch 'em in the head, dosey-doo until they're dead." 

A week ago I was watching CNN as some discussion wrapped up about Israel and Israeli politics. At the very end Nancy Pelosi shot up in the audience and demanded the attention of participants as they were preparing to leave, shuffling around. Through her halted, stilted, hesitant, uncertainty, everyone present could read her anguished and frustrated, clearly disrupted psychology lying, conflicted in trying to construct the perfect unassailable phrases, "Uh, uh, eh, there is, uh, eh, just one thing that uh I must uh address. I cannot let this one uh uh thing pass. We. do. not. interfere. in. Israeli. politics. uh, um. No. We never, we do not, we would not, we do not do that. Never. No." 

And you could see on their faces that everyone there thought the same thing at once, "Bullshit." 

I did not listen to Netanyahu's speech but I've seen discussions and I've seen recaps and I read the text. 

He too delivers the usual bromides and platitudes. He thanks Obama and his administration for the help they have already provided. He cites examples that are known and alludes to help he's received that is not public knowledge. He wants us to know all is appreciated.

He delivers a breathtaking sweep of the history of his area and of geopolitical reality. Command of his material is complete.

In the Middle East, Iran now dominates four Arab capitals, Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut and Sanaa. And if Iran's aggression is left unchecked, more will surely follow. 

So, at a time when many hope that Iran will join the community of nations, Iran is busy gobbling up the nations.

He describes the ideology of the Iranian Revolutionary regime as deeply rooted in militant Islam and will always be an enemy of America. He urges American not to be fooled into thinking the battle between ISIS and Iran makes Iran a friend. It does not. How well he knows the liberal mind.

In this deadly game of thrones, there's no place for America or for Israel, no peace for Christians, Jews or Muslims who don't share the Islamist medieval creed, no rights for women, no freedom for anyone. 

So when it comes to Iran and ISIS, the enemy of your enemy is your enemy.

Nice contemporary reference there. Proves he's current. 

Netanyahu continues with his description of the present status of affairs. He describes North Korea. He describes Iran as violating IAEA inspections. Iran has been caught twice operating secret nuclear facilities. He sees two unacceptable concessions in the deal at hand with Iran. 

If there's no undeclared installation today in Iran, it will be the first time in 20 years that it doesn't have one." Iran has proven time and again that it cannot be trusted. And that's why the first major concession is a source of great concern. It leaves Iran with a vast nuclear infrastructure and relies on inspectors to prevent a breakout.

But the second major concession creates an even greater danger that Iran could get to the bomb by keeping the deal. Because virtually all the restrictions on Iran's nuclear program will automatically expire in about a decade.

Iran's Supreme Leader says that openly. He says, Iran plans to have 190,000 centrifuges, not 6,000 or even the 19,000 that Iran has today, but 10 times that amount -- 190,000 centrifuges enriching uranium. With this massive capacity, Iran could make the fuel for an entire nuclear arsenal and this in a matter of weeks, once it makes that decision. 

So you see, my friends, this deal has two major concessions: one, leaving Iran with a vast nuclear program and two, lifting the restrictions on that program in about a decade.

Netanyahu does not want the deal. He wants to interfere hard in Obama's negations with Iran. It is clear the man does not trust Obama. If he cannot be at the table he will have this opportunity to talk around the table, under and over the table. He surrounded the table with his talk. He boldly spread his cards, showed his entire hand. 

It's adorable how Netanyahu gives Obama advice on how to negotiate Eastern style. What would give Netanyahu the idea Obama needs this kind of advice? It is clear Netanyahu cannot allow the fate of his nation to rest on anyone he regards as so shiftless.

Now, if Iran threatens to walk away from the table -- and this often happens in a Persian bazaar -- call their bluff. They'll be back, because they need the deal a lot more than you do.  

(APPLAUSE)  

And by maintaining the pressure on Iran and on those who do business with Iran, you have the power to make them need it even more. 

Now we're being told that the only alternative to this bad deal is war. That's just not true.   

The alternative to this bad deal is a much better deal.

Netanyahu acknowledges Elie Wiesel with them in the chamber. He is holocaust survivor and Nobel prize winner. And this, the most important thing of all is at the end. It seems to me a very clear statement but I have not heard any common taters mention it, nor have I seen anything on Twitter, nor on other sites yet, but, if this were a logic test, I'd say this is the most important bit of all. 

We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves. We restored our sovereignty in our ancient home. And the soldiers who defend our home have boundless courage. For the first time in 100 generations, we, the Jewish people, can defend ourselves.  

(APPLAUSE)  

This is why -- this is why, as a prime minister of Israel, I can promise you one more thing: Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand.  

(APPLAUSE)  

But I know that Israel does not stand alone. I know that America stands with Israel.

He just told Congress he will will jack with Iran's centrifuges if nobody else will. 

Pelosi attacks Tom Marino

Ha ha, struck a nerve. Apparently she did hear something she doesn't like. She interrupts, races over. And why don't we ever see Republicans flounce right over and give the prevaricators a piece of their mind directly off the mic? A very small piece, they need all they have.

Once I had a woman rush directly at me angry as h-e-double pointer sticks with her finger extended like this, I seated, she rushing upon me to loom menacingly over me shaking with anger and I was all, "I'm not scared a' you." 

Everybody was shocked. 

The incident became the talk of the whole building.

Very formal setting, formal as this, you should see the conference table and chairs at the FED, you'd think something hugely important takes place there, and it does sometimes, but not this time. No, this time was just another of those absurd management development seminars. An outside firm that employs MBA types comes in to develop team building among managers. We were assigned a ridiculous task of pretending we are an airplane manufacturer interfacing with a government buyer. By a ridiculous process that does not resemble the real world. Our team folded paper airplanes to specifications. A bit of fun, that. Then the instructor rejected each one for this and for that arbitrarily without mentioning the basis of rejection in the specifications, then fold new ones then reject those for this and for that, then fold new ones and as group leader I said, "Too bad. We're out of business. Brought down by a malevolent unaccountable government bureaucrat. No planes for you. Everybody go home, you're out of work." 

Man, she was mad. At me. For my refusal to go further with the exercise.

I looked like a boy in a suit but did not behave like one. That was part of the crossed communication. Sometimes it took people awhile to realize I was grown up. I said, "Get to the point, please." 

Everybody else was frustrated too with the ridiculous game and the waste of time. We had work to do and there was no point to this exercise. I said so. And I held my ground. She really did pull out all the stops to intimidate me but she failed. Her flouncing and motherly charge did not work. Her exercise failed flatly. Because of me.  I said I was finished with all that and left the conference room. I told her try her intimidation tactics with the uninitiated. I have work to do. 

My bosses asked me what happened, I told them, they said, each one said, "Oh, I see." Later they pulled me aside to say "By the way, that company removed the airplane folding exercise from their program." I said, "Eh. They should remove the instructor from the program. We should remove the company from our management development program. We can do better ourselves."

But they did not dissolve their association with the company. Later I was asked to interpret for a deaf person assigned to a class there. This time at their building. Another ridiculous thing. The employee had some uneasiness arise with other employees and his supervisor. One of the most engaging and easy going persons I know, and he was assigned to a course on employee communication and group cooperation. Utterly ridiculous from my point of view. I know the man. He communicates just fine. In fact, he communicates better than they. I have several examples of his superior communication. Any difficulty is not within him. The other party, his supervisor should be the one taking the class. And that turned out to be incredibly difficult for me. Much more so than I ever imagined. An hour here and there is one thing, hard enough to concentrate that long but two full days is far too much. Being mindful of someone else's every word and really thinking about what they are saying well enough to show it is too much to keep up for so long. I need to speak myself, but cannot. I had a profound headache after each day, so the whole night was ruined too. They really do need a couple of interpreters to switch off for a thing like that. Even on breaks and lunch, there is no letting up. The other students want to engage, they were very interested in Jeff because he is gorgeous besides. They wanted to talk to him so my job never stopped. It's not fair.

Here is Nancy Pelosi thinking she's all that in her role of House Princess. Imagining there is some grievance in Tom Marino's description. He is right. They had all the information they needed but acted contrary to requirements, and all the resources necessary to head off this problem before it developed, but they chose not to, rather, they exacerbated the situation by their speeches and by their observable documented actions, and by their inactions, politicizing the whole thing to disaster. And now she flounces and charges forward in attack mode at Tom who describes accurately her and them. 

Will she run for a 14th term?

"Democrats need to net 17 seats to hand Pelosi the gavel, and analysts expect little movement, with President Obama's low approval ratings and redistricting reducing the number of competitive districts.

The decisions by Pelosi's California allies also raise the prospect that the minority leader herself could decide to retire—if not this year, then in the near future. (On previous occasions, Pelosi has said she's running for a 14th term.) She's played an active role in helping her party fundraise to take back the House, and she has shown no signs of slowing down. But California's filing deadline is more than a month away (March 7), giving her time to change course.

In a statement released this afternoon, Pelosi reiterated she is running for another term.

"I'm running. I've already started the paperwork process. My work is not finished," she said.

...Before the 2012 nonpartisan redistricting, most House seats in California were gerrymandered to the point where most members stayed in their seats indefinitely. (Before the last election, the average tenure among California members of Congress in 2012 was just under 16 years.) Many of the more senior members developed close ties with Pelosi, and sought to move up the congressional leadership chain instead of pursuing statewide political office.

...That's changed recently, thanks to a redistricting shake-up and Democratic efforts to recruit younger, more diverse talent to the state. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee made a concerted effort in 2012 to recruit a diverse crop of outsiders, bringing in newcomers such as emergency physician Raul Ruiz and Mark Takano, the first openly gay person of color to hold a seat in Congress."

National Journal

Here's a little background on her from a well-written 2009 article that contains some well-placed Taibbi-esque jabs, but without the overkill:

"After all, for Pelosi, vote counting is something you do with people you love. She’s the seventh child and only daughter of Thomas “Big Tommy” D’Alesandro Jr., a slick dresser who wore diamond rings on each of his pinkies and began representing Little Italy in Maryland’s House of Delegates at 22, followed by five terms in Congress and three as Baltimore’s mayor. (When asked about his rival in one election, D’Alesandro said, “I don’t know [who he is], but it’s some no-good son of a bitch, that’s all I can tell you.”) Nancy’s childhood home functioned as D’Alesandro’s auxiliary office, with a portrait of FDR in the living room, copies of The Congressional Record stored under her bed, and an open door for constituents searching for jobs, permits, stop signs. The kids manned the front desk, Mom stirred a pot of stew for the hungry, and the blessings that constituents received were written on index cards, then organized into a “favor file.”

After graduating from Trinity College, a girls’ school in D.C., Pelosi married a financier, with whom she then moved to Manhattan—“I love the way the adrenaline just comes up through the ground in New York,” she says—and then San Francisco, when her husband was offered a job at a bank that was lending to tech companies beginning to spring up in Silicon Valley. She began to host Democratic fund-raisers in her home to meet the new community. “Moving to San Francisco at that time, it wouldn’t have been unreasonable for her to trip, but she’s as straight as can be,” says Marc Sandalow, author of Madam Speaker, another biography of Pelosi. Jerry Brown, a high-school acquaintance of her husband’s, needed help running against Jimmy Carter in the 1976 primaries, and Pelosi offered to set him up in Maryland. He carried the state, and she was awarded a seat on the Democratic National Committee for her efforts, quickly rising through the ranks by formidable fund-raising skills and helping to organize the 1984 convention in San Francisco. She ran for national party chairman, but withdrew when she realized that she didn’t have the votes. It’s the only election she hasn’t won in her political career. “People tell me that I was the best-qualified candidate,” she grumbled at the time. “But some of them tell me it’s too bad that I’m not a man.”"

New York Magazine