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Polybius

Polybius's Journal
Polybius's Journal
July 31, 2020

What's everyone's guess on extending unemployment benefits?

Several things can happen.

1) They expire at midnight. A deal will be reached some time after expiration (probably in a week or two).

2) A deal is reached before midnight today. This deal will either be continued we get the $600 till January, or lesser benefits such as $400 or $500 per week, or a $600 gradually reduced to $500, then $400, etc.

3) A short-term deal, where they are extended a week or two while they work on the full deal next week.

4) No deal. We go into Election Day with no extended benefits.

Anything I forgot? What's most likely to happen?

July 31, 2020

Second stimulus check update: Democrats reject White House offer for one-week extension of $600 week

Source: Chicago Tribune

WASHINGTON -- With aid expiring, the White House offered a short-term extension Thursday of a $600 weekly unemployment benefit that has helped keep families and the economy afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Democrats rejected it, saying President Donald Trump's team failed to grasp the severity of the crisis.

Democratic leaders panned the idea in late-night talks at the Capitol, opting to keep the pressure on for a more sweeping bill that would deliver aid to state and local governments, help for the poor and funding for schools and colleges to address the pandemic. Without action, the benefit runs out Friday.

"They want to do one small thing that won't solve the problem," said top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer after meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

"We have to have a bill, but they just don't realize how big it has to be," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-nw-second-coronavirus-stimulus-check-updates-20200730-uohbtoqen5eahoty3bmaepazni-story.html%3foutputType=amp



I'm torn on this. On one hand I want a $600 extension until January. On the other hand, I need Tuesdays's payment. If a deal isn't reached by tomorrow, we might have no choice but to agree to a short extension while they negotiate the full bill.
July 30, 2020

Trump says coronavirus stimulus checks, direct payments may be more than $1,200

Source: NBC News

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he wants the next coronavirus relief package to be "very generous" with direct stimulus payments to Americans that are potentially more than $1,200.

"It may go higher than that, actually," Trump said in an interview with ABC affiliate KMID in Texas during a trip to the state.

"I'd like to see it be very high because I love the people," he said. "I want the people to get it."

The president didn't elaborate on how much he's eyeing for the direct payments. When he left the White House earlier in the day, Trump said his priorities for this next relief measure are those payments and an eviction moratorium. He said Congress can take care of other issues "later," acknowledging that Republicans and Democrats are "so far apart" on other major issues.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/trump-says-coronavirus-stimulus-checks-direct-payments-may-be-more-n1235291



He's just trying to get his approval ratings up, but hey, if I get $1,500 I'm not sending it back...
July 28, 2020

Hoyer says Democrats aren't demanding '$600 or bust' in unemployment stimulus talks

Source: CNN

Washington (CNN)House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday that Democrats are willing to agree to a new coronavirus stimulus package that doesn't include an extension of an extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits, saying the party's position is not "$600 or bust."

In four days, the extra benefits are set to expire for millions of Americans who have been receiving them amid the coronavirus pandemic. Democrats and Republicans are currently divided over how to continue supporting Americans economically affected by the crisis, with no clear path to a deal in sight.

"Look, it's not $600 or bust. ... (House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi said the other day, which I thought was a great line: 'We don't have red lines, we have values.' We're going into these negotiations with values," Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, told CNN's John Berman on "New Day."

He continued: "To say that $600 or nothing, no, that's not where we are. We're prepared to discuss this. But we're also not prepared, however, to let down the American people, to let down the states, the cities, the local governments who hire people, who are meeting this pandemic's crisis, including health personnel."

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/28/politics/steny-hoyer-coronavirus-stimulus-package-cnntv/index.html



This is horrible news. Hopefully Pelosi disagrees...
July 28, 2020

Any unemployment extension news today?

Yesterday there was a lot of news, but I haven't heard anything today yet. When do negotiations start?

July 28, 2020

California may offer $600 a week in extra jobless benefits if Congress doesn't act

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

SACRAMENTO — If Congress doesn’t act to extend an extra $600 in weekly benefits for unemployed Californians, state legislators say they’re ready to jump in to prevent benefits from plunging during the pandemic.

The expanded federal unemployment benefits, which began in April, are set to expire Friday. That will reduce the average jobless payment in California to about $338 a week.

The House passed a coronavirus relief bill in May that would extend the $600 weekly checks through Jan. 31, but the GOP-led Senate has yet to act. Republicans released a package late Monday that proposes to cut the aid to $200 a week.

Democratic legislative leaders unveiled an outline of their proposal Monday to extend the $600 payments as part of a $100 billion stimulus plan designed to ease the damage the pandemic is causing to Californians and the state’s economy.

Read more: https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/California-may-offer-600-a-week-in-extra-jobless-15438112.php



Hopefully NY follows...
July 27, 2020

Rutgers English Department to deemphasize traditional grammar 'in solidarity with Black Lives Matter

The English Department at Rutgers University recently announced a list of “anti-racist” directives and initiatives for the upcoming fall and spring semesters, including an effort to deemphasize traditional grammar rules.

The initiatives were spelled out by Rebecca Walkowitz, the English Department chair at Rutgers University, and sent to faculty, staff and students in an email, a copy of which was obtained by The College Fix.

Walkowitz sent the email on “Juneteenth,” which celebrates the commemoration of emancipation from slavery in the United States.

Titled “Department actions in solidarity with Black Lives Matter,” the email states that the ongoing and future initiatives that the English Department has planned are a “way to contribute to the eradication of systemic inequities facing black, indigenous, and people of color.”

https://www.thecollegefix.com/rutgers-english-department-to-deemphasize-traditional-grammar-in-solidarity-with-black-lives-matter/

July 20, 2020

How come no news articles on the shooting at Judge Esther Salas' house mentioned Epstein?

No one that I have seen so far covering the story have mentioned that she was assigned the civil case suing Deutsche Bank over relations to Jeffery Epstein. Hmm, it's as if they don't wanna mention it.

July 15, 2020

Former White House physician Ronny Jackson wins Texas runoff

Source: MSN

Ronny Jackson, President Trump's former White House physician, won the GOP runoff in Texas's 13th District, leaving him well placed to be elected to Congress in November in the reliably red district.

Jackson led with 56 percent of the vote with 87 percent of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press. He defeated Josh Winegarner, a lobbyist, in the race to replace Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), who's retiring after 13 terms.

Trump tweeted Tuesday night to congratulate the former White House official and spoke with him on the phone. The president endorsed Jackson, a former Navy officer, in February ahead of a crowded primary on March 3 where no single candidate won a majority.

Jackson will face off against Democrat Gus Trujillo, who prevailed in his party's runoff on Tuesday.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/former-white-house-physician-ronny-jackson-wins-texas-runoff/ar-BB16KhhG?li=BBnb7Kz



https://twitter.com/RonnyJackson4TX/status/1283235880568795144?s=20
July 13, 2020

'Bitch, You Should Get Raped': Pro-Police Demonstrators Hurl Racist Slurs, Attack BLM Protesters In

Source: Guardians of Democracy

A pro-NYPD rally in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn quickly devolved into physical attacks and racist, sexist language insults hurled at a group of counter-protesters on Saturday morning, reports Gothamist.

Roughly two dozen protesters against police brutality and systemic racism showed up at Bay Ridge Parkway and 13th Avenue to counter a demonstration of hundreds of protesters supporting the NYPD.

One counter-protester said he was sent to the hospital after he was hit in the groin during an altercation.

“No interference with their pro-cop rally had occurred. We were all consolidated on one corner for the most part,” Noah Weston, a Bay Ridge resident who went to the hospital after he was beaten in the groin, told Gothamist. “No chanting had started … They just immediately started screaming at us.”

Read more: https://theguardiansofdemocracy.com/bitch-you-should-get-raped-pro-police-demonstrators-hurl-racist-slurs-attack-blm-protesters-in-brooklyn/



https://twitter.com/JoshuaPotash/status/1282061508403507201?s=20

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