House NOW debating the rules for 117th Congress, offered by Rules Cmte Chair Jim McGovern (D-MA).

McGovern: "The package honors all gender identities by changing pronouns in House written rules so they gender neutral. We made this change for the sake of inclusion,not exclusion..I heard the Minority Leader say this rules package was canceling Mother's Day. Are you kidding me?"
McGovern on rules package :"It makes permanent the requirement all bills that come before Rules Cmte get a hearing & mark-up 1st. It preserves the Motion to Recommit while making reforms so it can no longer be used to highjack the legislative process for political gamesmanship."
McGovern on continuing House proxy voting: "We are also continuing temporary rules changes that have ensured we completed the people’s work as safely as possible during the coronavirus pandemic."
McGovern on rules package:"It breaks new ground through transformative ethics reforms. It removes floor privileges from former Mbrs convicted of crimes related to their House service or their election. This will ensure we can do our work here w/o undue influence of lawbreakers."
McGovern: "We tasked the Ethics Committee to come up with a bipartisan plan to handle 'deepfakes' because we need to stop the spread, intentional or unintentional, of manipulated media that’s created to mislead the public."
House Rules Cmte Ranking Member Tom Cole (R-OK) on 117th Congress rules package: "These changes are some of the harshest and most cynical that I have experienced during my time in Congress."
Cole (R-OK): "Democratic leadership is suppressing minority rights and paving the way for the Green New Deal by intentionally removing budgetary checks that have been in place for over a decade."
Cole (R-OK):"The most egregious of these changes is the complete gutting of motion to recommit.The motion to recommit (MTR) is the minority’s right to propose a final amdt before moving to passage.This is a right that has been guaranteed to the minority for well over a century."
Cole (R-OK):"During the many yrs Republicans were in the majority,we never even thought to deny the minority this motion.And the only reason the Democrats are doing so today is out of embarrassment: they are embarrassed Republicans were able to pass 8 MTRs in the 116th Congress."
Cole:"Not content w/having investigated Pres Trump all throughout his presidency & subjected him to a pointless impeachment,now Democrats are including provisions allowing them to send subpoenas to former presidents, former vps & former WH staff long after their admin has ended."

More from Government

Let me take a stab at this after years of reporting on Marine One, HMX-1, Continuity of Government, etc. None of this is definitive, but it could help explain what folks are seeing:

1.) HMX-1, which flies the VH-3D and VH-60N 'White Top' helicopters used to move... 1/X


the President and VP around, those helos being called Marine One or Two when either is onboard, need to train. The urban landing zones, including WH and VP Residence, are not simple to get in and out of. So, crews need some currency training. They are not just tasked with... 2/X

moving POTUS and VP to get them around the region and to Andrews AFB for long-haul flights, they are essential to Continuity of Government operations. This means that if a threat were to emerge, they need to be ready to snatch POTUS and VP in minutes. This is partially... 3/X

why they have a full forward operating location at Naval Support Activity Anacostia, just 3 miles from the WH. As such, practice is important and considering the state of things, it is critical now more than in any recent memory. 4/X

2.) Considering what happened last week, including mobs of Trump supporters screaming in unison to hang the VP for doing what the constitution states, absolutely despicable in every way, security has been tightened just as it has been all over. Using the helicopters instead.. 5/X

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This is a pretty valiant attempt to defend the "Feminist Glaciology" article, which says conventional wisdom is wrong, and this is a solid piece of scholarship. I'll beg to differ, because I think Jeffery, here, is confusing scholarship with "saying things that seem right".


The article is, at heart, deeply weird, even essentialist. Here, for example, is the claim that proposing climate engineering is a "man" thing. Also a "man" thing: attempting to get distance from a topic, approaching it in a disinterested fashion.


Also a "man" thing—physical courage. (I guess, not quite: physical courage "co-constitutes" masculinist glaciology along with nationalism and colonialism.)


There's criticism of a New York Times article that talks about glaciology adventures, which makes a similar point.


At the heart of this chunk is the claim that glaciology excludes women because of a narrative of scientific objectivity and physical adventure. This is a strong claim! It's not enough to say, hey, sure, sounds good. Is it true?
This is NONSENSE. The people who take photos with their books on instagram are known to be voracious readers who graciously take time to review books and recommend them to their followers. Part of their medium is to take elaborate, beautiful photos of books. Die mad, Guardian.


THEY DO READ THEM, YOU JUDGY, RACOON-PICKED TRASH BIN


If you come for Bookstagram, i will fight you.

In appreciation, here are some of my favourite bookstagrams of my books: (photos by lit_nerd37, mybookacademy, bookswrotemystory, and scorpio_books)