“They backed Donald Trump in November, and now they aren’t buying what he’s selling. A quarry owner in the heart of Texas Trump country says she has little interest in staying at one of his hotels. For a sheep rancher in Montana, life’s too tough to throw money at golf. A ballroom-dancing Alabaman who was one of the billionaire’s first donors hasn’t bought anything from him in years. Interviews with supporters show the challenges for an ex-president who’d like to turn 74 million voters into customers. His business empire is under pressure from a pandemic that’s emptied office towers and hotels, the repercussions of the Capitol riot and government investigations. The company could use a boost from fans who sent Trump to the White House and wanted him there for four more years” Bloomberg reports.

“Winning their vote may be easier than getting their dollars, according to the interviews with four of Trump’s earliest donors and six backers in some of the most conservative corners of the country. Some people would like to spend a night in his Central Park hotel suites or pay $375 for a round of golf at his Miami club, but can’t afford them. Others have the money but not the inclination. Several see no reason why political backing should translate to being a patron. While they represent a small sampling of voters, their responses highlight why Trump may have to expand into media or beyond if he wants to make big money from millions of fans. ‘Just because I’m a Trump supporter doesn’t mean I have to support him and his personal businesses,’ said Brenda Edwards, who owns stone quarries in Texas’s heavily Republican Glasscock County. The 73-year-old said she can afford one of Trump’s hotels but doesn’t care enough to visit. She drinks wine, ‘but that doesn’t mean I have to buy his wine.'”

Politico: “Florida could ban voting drop boxes just months after an election where they proved immensely popular with voters amid the pandemic. Sen. Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala), the chair of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee, on Tuesday released a revamped elections proposal that would completely ban drop boxes for ballots. It will be considered by a Senate committee on Wednesday. Baxley contended that he was pushing for the change due to concerns ‘due to a real security concern’ and that boxes were being left unsupervised.”

“‘I just want to maintain that chain of evidence from the time they vote to the time until they get counted so we don’t have a mishap,’ said Baxley, who could not name any specific incidents that sparked the legislation. Baxley added ‘you can mail it or bring it to the office. That’s it.’ But the move immediately drew fire from local election supervisors. ‘I’m at a loss for words,’ said Pasco County Supervisor of Election Brian Corley, a Republican. ‘It’s a solution looking for a problem.'”

The House passed Protecting the Right to Organize Act Tuesday night, providing workers with a wide range of rights to organize unions in their workplaces, but the bill facing an uphill battle in the Senate where it will need to gain support from ten Republicans to pass.

Politico reports that the bill passed the House with a 225-206 vote, with five Republicans–Jeff Van Drew and Chris Smith from New Jersey; Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania; John Katko of New York; and Don Young of Alaska–joining all but one Democrat to support the bill.  Democrat Henry Cuellar of Texas voted against it.

The PRO Act strengthens workers ability to organize and provides protections for union organizers, as well as provide workers who complain about unsafe working conditions.  The bill also provides a general protection for some gig workers to be able to unionize, allowing people who work for Uber or DoorDash to organize and get health benefits or overtime. 

https://youtu.be/hWUWrztcufY

After being asked about a stupid idea lifelike Lego figurine Sean Hannity had about Herschel Walker running for the US Senate, a noticeably red-eyed and slurring South Carolina Republican Senator lets a belch rip after (allegedly) overindulging in multiple mint juleps before the segment.

Clear Sky • a minute ago
We must secede. The federal government is less than useless to us now, the tyrannical federal government takes us to destruction. It refuses to do its duties to protect the American people, to secure the borders, to apply the laws in a fair way, and to protect the constitution.
Tue, 3/9/2021 9:18 PM on ‘Update: State Senator Calls on Green Bay Mayor to Resign after Top Democrat Given Keys to Arena Where Absentee Ballots Were Stored and Counted Before Election Day’

This is big news. I’ve never seen it not spelled as ‘succeed’ on that site or really from any MAGA-aligned source. Almost as astonishing is how ‘tyrannical’ is not written as ‘tyrantical’.

The Pentagon announced Tuesday that the National Guard troops deployed to Washington, DC initially in the wake of the January 6th domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol will extend their deployment in the city for an additional two months to protect the nation’s institutions, buildings and monuments, the Washington Post reports.

The number stationed in DC, however, will by cut by more than 55%, from 5,200 to 2,300.  “This represents a reduction of nearly 50 percent of the current support force,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said. “This decision was made after a thorough review of the request and after close consideration of its potential impact on readiness.”

The troops will be there through May 23rd.

CBS News: “He drives around in an unmarked police car, but everyone in Camden, Arkansas, knows his name. L.C. ‘Buckshot’ Smith is the oldest police officer in the state. He’s 91 years old. Smith moves a little slower, but still walks the beat of his hometown four days a week. ‘This badge and gun don’t make a you a police officer. You got to respect people,’ Smith said. He earned his popularity by working more than four decades for the Ouachita County Sheriff’s Department, here he went by his childhood nickname ‘Buckshot.’ After 46 years as a deputy, he retired – for only five months. So in his 80s, he became a rookie Camden cop. He carries a firearm, but he doesn’t have to use it. Mayor Julian Lott said Smith has a more powerful weapon. ‘He knows your mama and he knew your grandmother. So he has the authority to speak into our lives,’ Lott said. Over the course of his career, Smith said he has ‘taken more people home than I’ve taken to them to jail.'”

A second member of the Oath Keepers white nationalist group that provided security for Donald Trump associate Roger Stone has been arrested for his participation in the January 6th domestic terrorist attack at the Capitol, Politico reports.

Joshua James, a 33-year-old Alabaman, was arrested Tuesday by the FBI and charged with a single felony charge of obstruction of Congress as well as misdemeanor charges related to entering the Capitol without permission.  Additional charges may be added.

James is the second Oath Keeper who provided security for Stone to be arrested in two days.  New Jersey native Roberto Minuta was arrested in New York yesterday.  At this point, Stone has not been charged.

At least 280 people have already been arrested and charged for taking part in the January 6th coup attempt.

“Jeremiah Johnson, the self-described prophet who faced backlash from fellow evangelical Christians after publicly apologizing for prophesying former President Donald Trump would be reelected president, is ending Jeremiah Johnson Ministries. The announcement comes ‘after much prayer and the clear direction of the Lord,’ Johnson said Monday on his Facebook page. It also comes after his abrupt two-week hiatus in the middle of a YouTube series he titled ‘I Was Wrong.’ Johnson said during the series, which he described as a money loser, that apologizing wasn’t enough. ‘I believe that it is a tremendous mistake to take the next four years to argue and debate and cause division and grow more prideful talking about how we think the election was taken from Donald Trump. I actually believe we need to take the next four years and humble ourselves,’ he said. ‘We need to recognize that God is up to something far greater in the prophetic, charismatic movement that I believe is beyond what many even recognize. We need to stop, we need to take a breather and we need to come back to a place where we can begin to dialogue about these issues rather than be so triggered.'”

“A recent report by The New York Times noted that Johnson had built an audience on social media as one of the first evangelicals to take Trump’s candidacy seriously in 2015. In one YouTube video, he said he had heard from thousands of people after the first episode of ‘I Was Wrong’ and that 90 percent of that feedback was negative. He admitted Monday on Facebook that he expects ending Jeremiah Johnson Ministries will mean ‘tremendous financial loss and the removal of influence that has been well established over the last decade. ‘We fully understand what a shock this will be to many on numerous levels. However, we are choosing to radically obey Jesus over any other voices in this season,’ he said. Johnson said on Facebook he plans to delete all social media accounts associated with Jeremiah Johnson Ministries over the next week” – Christianity Today.

“A teenager believed to be the youngest suspect arrested in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot was punched by a fellow inmate and has tested positive for Covid-19, defense attorneys said Monday. The suspect, Bruno Joseph Cua, 18, is asking to be released from the Grady County Jail in Oklahoma, where he has largely been in solitary confinement since he was arrested Feb. 5, defense attorney William Zapf said in court papers seeking his pretrial release. ‘Mr. Cua was assaulted and then threatened by a fellow inmate over this past weekend,’ Zapf wrote. ‘We understand that the inmate struck Mr. Cua in the face with his open hand, injuring his nose, over the use of the phone, and then threatened him regarding the incident.'”

“On Saturday, a Covid-19 test for Cua came back positive, Zapf said. His attorneys argued that he is ready to safely self-quarantine, perhaps at a hotel, if he is released. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall argued that Cua ‘poses a significant danger to the community’ and that his social media postings ‘show clearly the radicalized mind of a young man fixated on stopping the normal functional of democracy.’ The ‘nature and seriousness of the danger to any person or the community strongly favors detention in this matter,’ Paschall responded. Paschall didn’t address the allegation of an assault on Cua, who is from Milton, Georgia, while he was in custody. But she did cite the multiple photos taken of him during the Jan. 6 uprising at the U.S. Capitol, all appearing to show him without a mask” – NBC News.

An asteroid traveling 33 miles above the surface of the Earth created such a pressure force before burning up in a fireball in the atmosphere that it shook buildings and rattled windows in homes on the ground, NBC News reports.

“The space rock fragmented violently, producing a pressure wave that rattled buildings and generated the sound heard by those near the trajectory,” NASA said.  “A nice little firework, courtesy of Mother Nature.”

The rock which caused the light and sound show was just six inches in diameter and weighed about 10 pounds.

AP: “President Joe Biden and the Democrats were on the brink of pushing through sprawling legislation with an eyepopping, $1.9 trillion price tag. But many Republican politicians and conservative commentators had other priorities in recent days. A passionate defense of Dr. Seuss. Serious questions about the future of Mr. Potato Head. Intense scrutiny of Meghan Markle. The conservatives’ relentless focus on culture wars rather than the new president highlights both their strategy for regaining power in Washington and their challenge in doing so. Unlike previous Democratic leaders, Biden himself simply isn’t proving to be an easy target or animating figure for the GOP base, prompting Republicans to turn to the kind of cultural issues the party has used to cast Democrats as elitist and out of touch with average Americans.”

“‘There’s just not the antipathy to Biden like there was Obama. He just doesn’t drive conservative outrage,’ said Alex Conant, a longtime GOP operative, who worked for the Republican National Committee in 2009 as they labored to undermine then-President Barack Obama. ‘They never talk about Biden. It’s amazing,’ Conant said of the conservative news media. ‘I think Fox covered Dr. Seuss more than Biden’s stimulus bill in the week leading up to the vote.’ The challenge is a continuation of the 2020 campaign, when then-President Trump struggled to land a consistent attack on Biden. The branding of Biden as ‘sleepy’ never stuck in the same way as Trump’s derision of Hillary Clinton as ‘crooked’ in 2016. Other GOP efforts to define Biden as a radical or to attack his mental acuity also didn’t resonate.”

“U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), James Lankford (R-OK), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Ed Markey (D-MA) reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act, legislation that would make Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent across the country. The bill reflects the Florida legislature’s 2018 enactment of year-round DST; however, for Florida’s change to apply, a change in the federal statute is required. Fifteen other states – Arkansas, Alabama, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming – have passed similar laws, resolutions or voter initiatives, and dozens more are looking.”

“The legislation, if enacted, would apply to those states who currently participate in DST, which most states observe for eight months out of the year. Standard Time, from November to March, is only observed for four months out of the year. The bill would simply negate the need for Americans to change their clocks twice a year. Many studies have shown that making DST permanent could benefit the economy and the country. A one-pager of the bill is available here. Daylight Saving Time begins this Sunday, March 14, and lasts until Sunday, November 7. ‘The call to end the antiquated practice of clock changing is gaining momentum throughout the nation,’ Rubio said. “Studies have shown many benefits of a year-round Daylight Saving Time, which is why the Florida legislature voted to make it permanent in 2018. I’m proud to reintroduce this bipartisan bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, and give our nation’s families more stability throughout the year'” – Press release on Marco Rubio’s Senate.gov website.

Orlando Sentinel: “The already controversial Lakewood Ranch COVID-19 vaccination pod in Manatee County was carefully choreographed by organizers and the governor’s office to help him win reelection next year, texts obtained by the Bradenton Herald show Asked about the report Tuesday, DeSantis called it ‘nonsense’ and suggested that the ‘partisan’ news media didn’t want people in wealthy, Republican-leaning neighborhoods to get vaccinated The Lakewood ‘pop-up’ site was limited to residents of two wealthy zip codes in Manatee County. Prominent Democrats have already called for an investigation after reports showed a Manatee commissioner included herself and developer Rex Jensen on a VIP list to get shots.”

“The Bradenton Herald and Miami Herald report revealed texts between Commissioner Vanessa Baugh and Jensen, including an exchange on Feb. 9 in which Jensen texted Baugh, ‘Gov said he might show up. Should try to see if that would help him get exposure here. ‘Excellent point,’ Baugh responded, pivoting to DeSantis’ reelection campaign next year. ‘After all, ’22 is right around the corner. Jensen had just finished a call between DeSantis and another Lakewood Ranch developer, Pat Neal, the newspapers reported. Neal gave $125,000 to DeSantis’ political committee in 2018 and 2019, and two other pop-up sites in Venice and Sarasota also were set up at his developments An advance team from the governor’s office visited the Lakewood site, the report said. Instead of randomly determining who would get the vaccine at the DeSantis event kicking off the pod, text messages indicated the governor’s staff asked Jensen to create a list. ‘Amazing. They want me to maintain a list. They can’t. Screw this,’ Jensen wrote to Baugh on Feb. 9 after speaking to the Florida Department of Health, according to the report. Baugh then directed the Manatee County public safety director to limit the vaccines to the two wealthy zip codes in which Lakewood was located, emails show.”

https://youtu.be/_mwlvfoF2h8

Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio went on an epic rant on the floor of the House, calling out his Republican colleagues to stop grandstanding about meaningless culture war topics and to join Democrats to work to help American workers and families.

“Heaven forbid we pass something that helps the damn workers in the United States of America,” Ryan shouts. 

An orchestra of tiny violins play for Washington Post resident bow-tie-wearing-think-tank-dork-type Conservative worm Marc Thiessen in his woeful jeremiad titled ‘Manchin promised to back his ‘Republican friends.’ Instead, he betrayed them’:

“On Feb. 2, after 10 Senate Republicans went to the White House and offered President Biden a path to a bipartisan filibuster-proof covid relief bill, Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) publicly backed their effort. Biden rebuffed an offer from Republicans to negotiate a compromise bill, and Senate Democrats jammed his $1.9 trillion spending plan down people’s throats on a party-line vote, using the budget reconciliation process that requires only a simple majority to pass. And Manchin provided the deciding vote that let them do it.”

“The lesson for conservatives is clear: Manchin is not going to save us. He’s from West Virginia, one of the reddest states in the country, so he needs to make a show of standing up to his party. But a show is all that it is. When Manchin announced he would oppose Biden’s nomination of Neera Tanden to run the Office of Management and Budget, some saw it as a sign of his willingness to buck his party. In fact, it was nothing more than political cover for his coming capitulation on his party’s $1.9 trillion miasma of special-interest spending. To provide further cover, Manchin voted (along with seven other Democrats) against an effort by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to eviscerate the Byrd rule and include a minimum-wage increase in the budget reconciliation bill. He voted for Sen. Rob Portman’s (R-Ohio) amendment to continue unemployment benefits at the current level (before flip-flopping and voting with the Democratic leadership to wipe out the very provision for which he had just voted). But in the end, he voted with his party to run roughshod over the Republican minority and pass one of the largest government spending bills in history on a partisan basis – exactly what he had promised not to do.”

https://youtu.be/NqWhW4lycj0

The FBI released additional video of the person suspected of placing improvised explosive devices at the DC headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee on the eve of the January 6th insurrectionist attack at the Capitol. 

Screenshot from the Eventbrite page for the event. Definitely do not call the FBI and say there are white nationalist terrorists meeting in Queen Creek, AZ tomorrow night. Things could get ugly.

Axios: “President Biden will not sign his name on the stimulus checks set to be distributed this month as part of his $1.9 trillion COVID relief package – reversing a precedent set by former President Trump in the first two rounds of direct payments last year. ‘This was not about him, this was about the American people getting relief,’ White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing on Tuesday. Psaki added that Biden ‘didn’t think that was a priority or a necessary step,’ and that his ‘focus was on getting them out as quickly as possible.'”

“Trump’s stimulus checks were the first time an IRS disbursement featured a presidential signature. The stimulus checks included in the America Rescue Package, which is set to be passed by the House on Wednesday, will be signed by a career official from the Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service”

#LaurenBoebert4Prison?

Let’s raise $30k TODAY to show the Left I have the backing of WE THE PEOPLE & that their botted hashtags don't work.

Pitch in $5, $10, $25… or maybe even $17.76 to my campaign.

I will NEVER stop fighting for your freedom!https://t.co/9mwZIIrH3x pic.twitter.com/YQqBYoeUGQ

— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) March 9, 2021