QOTD -- It's A Big F*cking Deal!!

 

"The package has been hailed as the biggest climate bill in American history, and the description is more than fair. At the heart of the reconciliation package is roughly $369 billion in investments in climate and energy programs. This includes everything from tax credits for electric vehicles to methane reductions, energy-efficient home improvements to the launch of a National Climate Bank.

"It’s also a health care bill, empowering Medicare for the first time to negotiate the cost of some prescription medications with the pharmaceutical industry. It doesn’t apply to all medications, and the benefits won’t begin right away, but nevertheless, Democrats have spent years trying to get a breakthrough victory on this issue, and yesterday, they succeeded.

"What’s more, the bill includes a three-year extension on the Affordable Care Act subsidies that helped push the nation’s uninsured rate to an all-time low.

"Taken together, this represents the biggest legislative accomplishment of either party since the Affordable Care Act passed more than a decade ago..." -- Steve Benen at Maddowblog on the historic nature of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, just passed by Senate Democrats.  As Benen notes, this wouldn't have been possible if not for Republican "missteps" that handed the Senate over to Democrats in 2021.  Nevertheless, it's a huge win for the country and for efforts to stem global climate change.  Pass it on!

BONUS:

 

Dark Brandon is crushing it pic.twitter.com/w0L8xCzIW8

— Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) August 7, 2022

 

 

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

Get Biden his electric corvette! He’s earned it.

Get Schumer all the blue suits he wants.

Thanks to the D caucus, who from left to right swallowed omitted priorities or provisions that troubled them to keep their eyes on the available prize.

Thanks to Joe Manchin, who demonstrated that he’s actually the most rightwing Democrat in the Senate, and not actually a Republican. He did good for his party and the country, however imperfect the final result may be. It’s a damn sight better than any previous President and Senate has achieved.

And, yes, thanks to Kyrsten Sinema, who in the end charged an entirely manageable price for her vote. Hell, I even think the $4 billion for drought relief in the west is both good policy and exactly what senator from that region should seek. Yes, I’d rather tax the plutocrats way more than the bill first suggested, and Sinema stripped that out. But I’m cynical enough to believe carried interest was put into the bill so that she would have a demand that could be met. Sausage must be made, my friends…and in the end, she voted  yes when it mattered most...

The bad:

But Democrats did not accomplish everything they sought. An attempt to lower and cap the price of insulin, for example, faltered after Republicans on Sunday stripped it from the bill. Their opposition appeared to doom the plan for the remainder of the year, because a bipartisan attempt to reduce the cost of the lifesaving diabetes drug previously failed to secure GOP support.

“The reality is the cost of insulin is not just out of control; it is devastating people,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said before nearly every Republican voted to weaken the cap.

The ugly:

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina is once again urging the city’s Muslim community to be on guard after another Muslim man was found dead Saturday ― the fourth to be killed in the New Mexico city in similar circumstances since November 2021.

Police say they have reason to believe the murders were committed by the same person or persons. The most recent killing came just two days after the Albuquerque Police Department held a press conference with the FBI to announce the possible connection. 

While authorities have declined to reveal any specific evidence, they point to the fact that all of the victims shared a common race and religion.

“Our city has suffered another tragic loss overnight. Another young man who was part of the Muslim community was murdered. As with the previous three murders we mentioned on Thursday, there’s reason to believe this death is related to those shootings,” Medina said at a news conference Saturday afternoon.

“We need to ask the Muslim community especially to be vigilant. Watch out for one another. If you see something, say something,” he said.

Sadly, we can already anticipate the likely profile of the killer.  You probably can, too.  We hope he gets caught soon and gets the maximum punishment allowed.