#lame duck

[kindwarrior]

🦆 Legislative Term Limits make the government LESS accountable! 🦆

🦆

With term limits, over half the legislators will be lame ducks 🦆: they will no longer be, in any way, answerable to their constituents, and will be free to pursue big payoffs from lobbyists by doing the bidding of those lobbyists while still in Congress.

🦆 Legislative term limits are a horrible idea! 🦆

The answer you seek is in vacating the 17th Amendment. Give back representation to the State Governments through the Senate. The U.S. Constitution intended that States, defending their own power and interests through the Senate, would be the check against the growth of the federal government. This worked for over 100 years until we took the Senate away from State governments in 1913 through the fraudulent ratification of the 17th Amendment. Since then the size and power of the federal government has grown exponentially.

Vacate the 17th Amendment

U.S. Constitution: Article 1: Section 3

1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; and each senator shall have one vote.

The Seventeenth Amendment overturned the provision that senators be selected by the state legislature, and replaced it with the direct election of Senators by the citizens. The reasons the Founders set the Senate term for six years, was because they wanted the Senate to be a more deliberative body, not influenced as much by the immediate will of the people. (The Senate was to represent the will of the state legislature that appointed them, not the popular will — that was the role of the House of Representatives).

Amendment XVII

1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

2. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

3. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

The Seventeenth Amendment, like the 16th Amendment before it, was all about consolidating power for the Progressives, and it was never properly ratified.

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

What are your thoughts on the Rover Sterling cars that were sold in the US?

Sterling Cars, 1987-1991. The Rover 800 series was an executive-class car that had been co-developed with Honda, the Japanese version becoming the first generation Honda/Acura Legend. Because Rover's earlier entry to the US, with the SD1 had been a disaster that had damaged the reputation of the Rover brand in the US it was decided to market the 800 in the US using a new brand, Sterling (the Rover Sterling was the flagship 800 model for European markets). US versions of the 800 used Honda's V6 in 2.5 and, from 1988, 2.7 litre form. Sterling sales in the US were initially quite strong however early cars developed build quality and reliability problems. There were also corrosion issues and Sterling fell to the bottom of J.D. Power��surveys while its sibling, the Acura Legend, topped them (in 1988). Sales dropped off quickly from a peak of 14,000 cars in 1987. The Rover Group persevered with the Sterling project for several more years and though the quality issues were addressed the reputational damage was done and finally Sterling Cars withdrew from the US market in 1991. The Rover 800 Coupé was developed as part of the second generation 800 range specifically for the US market though it was never sold there.

[qupritsuvwix]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-set-address-nation-after-trumps-decisive-us-election-win-2024-11-07/

[awesome-casuallyfamouscollector]

P.S. Um, no, your Allies are not sad because many of your Allies knew that America is a lame duck for quite a long time and they are working on a defense plan "B" where America is no longer needed...!!!

Whether America's existence as a leader of the Western world has a political future will largely depend on whether Ukraine will protect its affiliation with the Western world, or whether the American political elite will once again surrender the security interests of Eastern Europeans in favor of quarter profits in dealings with the Kremlin...!?

Sell ​​Ukraine to Moscow and you will end up like the previous useful fools who signed a "peace treaty" at the expense of Czechoslovakia's security in Munich on September 30, 1938...!

[cloverconsolass]

This was a test for my current duck art style (no idea why i put them on a random hill 🤷‍♀️). That’s Huey Dewey Louie and webby lmao, i don’t know if you can tell.

[ami-ven]

Happy National Lame Duck Day!

[brotherly-lov3]

They silly XD

[surreal-duck]

sound of metal pipe clattering in the distance

[taxlthomas]

random dumb stuff yk

[latineslytherin]

If Paapa Essiedu ends up cast as Snape. Watch the fandom community. There will be certain "types" of groups that will suddenly start popping up. And I'm speaking from experience in other fandoms with black characters who get ignored by the rest of the fandom.

People who suddenly stop liking Snape. They are just mask-off racists

People who vehemently stick to only portraying Snape like Alan Rickman, but try and excuse it with "I like the original portrayal better". - subtle racist, but still racist. (Edit: Note the vehemently. As in you will refuse/deny any other portrayal as Snape)

People who take up calling Snape boring/annoying - but really who are uncomfortable with a black character getting so much attention so are trying to find a way to make people not like him and produce less content with him without being outwardly racist.

People who suddenly start saying they like Snape out of nowhere yet produce no fan content with Snape as the center/main, those are the ones who are only in it for the optics and don't want to be called racists.

Snape fans who suddenly drop harry potter as a fandom out of nowhere. Racists who excuse transphobia, because if jkr didn't drive them out suddenly their favorite character being portrayed by a black man will do it?

If you truly like Snape for his character and not just because of Alan Rickman, you better show it and show just as much appreciation for Essiedu's portrayal (if he gets the role) as you did Rickman's. Because otherwise....you're going to look like a racist.

Edit: If you weren't as vocally objective to Daniel Radcliffe's casting for not having green eyes that should have matched his mother's eyes which is a hugely plot relevant thing that gets mentioned a lot, or Rupert for not being tall and lanky, or the Phelps twins not being shorter than Ron and stocky - then you have NO room to try and say a black Snape is "against canon". Fuck off, because you're telling on yourself.

[soupy-cosmos]

New year new teen!Louie⁉️⁉️⁉️

ft. my first proper attempt at the official art style ^w^

[specialized-rexan]

SCREENSHOTS I GOT FROM THE JEREMY JORDAN LIVESTREAM YESTERDAY. especially love the comments on his duck drawings. he was very proud of some of them since he needed to practice before the stream. he admits he does not draw much lol

and here's Lucifer's signature that Jeremy came up with: a cursive capital L attached to a pentagram!

the stream was SO FUN and literally only felt like 20 minutes even tho it was almost an hour

at one point he mentioned he's making pancakes with olive oil now since he has high cholesterol, and that he LOVES how the pancakes turned out. someone responded:

(later someone joked he should make pancakes with bacon grease and he almost shouted (not angrily) "DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE? I JUST SAID I HAVE HIGH CHOLESTEROL. I just said. I had high cholesterol. Are you TRYING. To kill me."

anyway back to screenshots lol)

"Take that, depression!" was a popular quote to write on prints, and he said he hoped we're not depressed and it was very sweet

some more quotes written during the stream and other notes:

"I'm gonna be signing these prints of my boy Lucifer, the short king of Hell"

he drank both a cold smoothie and hot tea during the stream. "Doesn't make any goddamn sense, but here we go."

"It's never too late to fuck up--too late to fuck shit up" (a legitimate accidental stammer. but still perfect in its own way)

"Every time I hear the name 'Shay' I think of my daughter's friend at school. My daughter's obsessed with a friend named Shay. 'S all she talks about. 'Shay Shay Shay Shay Shay Shay.' Shay and Madeline. It's like 'You can be your own person. Clara. You are your own HUMAN.' …HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KATHERINE."

hopes to go to some conventions for Hazbin Hotel. more likely to go to cons in New York, New Jersey (where he lives), or Philly area

"He's just a li'l cutie. :3 Is he really da bosh? :3" (wondering if Lucifer really is the Big Boss of Hell Himself or if it's just more of a title)

"Hope you're not depressed"

" 'Write something Lucifer would say to cheer someone up.' And I think Lucifer would think that… 'SINGING MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER!' At least when it comes to rebuilding your relationship with your daughter."

"Guess what's in my smoothie. There are six ingredients. Go."

"…said draw a little duck, so I drew the smallest duck I could. (holds print up to camera then says in small high-pitched voice:) It's a little duck!"

MORE QUOTES UNDER THE CUT. THIS POST IS GETTING LONG ASFQJSKSKSKKS

_____

about his smoothie again: "Obviously, I just went to the gym. So I gotta have some kinda supplement in there. ... WHAT'S THE BASE, Y'ALL? YOU GOTTA HAVE A BASE." (someone could use that audio and give a character a bass guitar lol)

(still about people guessing smoothie ingredients:) "WATER? Why would I put water in my smoothie. (mutters:) Water is for losers. ... Kale! -grins and points at camera- That's it! You win. That's my smoothie."

his smoothie was blueberries, bananas, strawberries, protein powder, almond milk, kale

"…with a hUUGE shmiley faysh! :3" (about a little " =) " smile he wrote with an autograph)

"THAT DUCK IS CUTE!"

"We love, we stan Lilith"

AGGRESSIVELY, ABOUT A JOKE HE MADE: "GET IT?"

Some fatherly advice from Lucifer: "Don't fuck up your lives like I did 😎"

HE SANG THE START OF HELL'S GREATEST DAD AND WANTS A MIMZY-LESS VERSION THAT ACTUALLY HAS AN ENDING QSJFKSKKSKS

he's only seen Hazbin Hotel once, and he had "~champagne fountains, caviar mountains, that's just to staaart~" going through his head for the two+ years between recording his lines and the show airing. he wasn't able to tell anyone it because of non-disclosure stuff, and eventually he even forgot what that song line was from. but it still went through his head

"[Person he was signing an autograph for] is a bi girl [bisexual], and that's pretty baller"

"AN INCREDIBLE DUCK YOU SHALL HAVE"

"Take that depression!! Quack"

"Hold please!" (i just liked imagining Lucifer saying almost any small thing)

Jeremy Jordan says Lucifer is short, and not just that all the other characters are tall (i cannot confirm that that is canon even tho that's what i want LOL) "What gives!? There are short people in this world, and they need some love"

someone asked what he thinks about OC x canon ships. he was confused about what OC means and then when the chat explained, he was confused about how "OC x canon" works. but he figured it out after thinking for a moment. "So basically everybody wants to fuck Lucifer. GOT IT."

"Am I going to Hell for this" (about all the pentagrams he's drawing)

"…so i just did a bunch of stars and hearts around Emery's name 💜"

someone asked about his favorite Hazbin Hotel song, and he answered that season 2 has a rock song he really likes 👀 👀

"(a requested phrase for an autograph:) 'Duck lord loves you no matter what.' ...Don't know what that particularly means but…"

[puckpocketed]

15/11/2024 - DET @ ANA

get patted LOSER!!!

[nero-neptune]

ngl it's still pretty funny that kamala harris' voting record during her time as a senator ranks as far to the left as bernie sanders. and left-leaning people online Love bernie sanders. but bc she now has to court as many votes as possible as the official nominee for a Big tent party, she gets slapped with the "centrist" label. as if a timeline where bernie sanders becoming the official democratic party nominee wouldn't've seen him campaign further to the center just so he could win enough votes for the presidency lmao. there's no world where he would've won without doing that, being further to the left than the avg american, but if that's all it takes to be considered a "centrist" then idk! what do i know!

[killherfreakout]

oh this is worse than 2016

[rjzimmerman]

Environmentalists Have a Wish List for the Lame Duck Session. (Sierra Club)

Excerpt from this story from the Sierra Club:

Americans who care about public lands conservation, wildlife protection, and climate action are bracing for a grim future. President-elect Donald Trump has boasted about gutting key climate programs to appease fossil fuel interests. And right-wing lawmakers, who will control both houses of Congress, are sharpening their axes to cut funding for endangered species protections, aiming to rescind laws meant to curb greenhouse gas emissions, and even daydreaming about selling off public lands.

Environmental groups will be an essential check on the next administration. Leaders at groups like the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, and Earthjustice are already preparing legal strategies to combat Trump’s policies, activating their grassroots networks and seeking legislators who will advocate for environmental protections. 

But there’s another antidote to the next administration’s antics—and that’s President Biden. Congress is in session for four more weeks, and the president has committed to working up until January 20. Environmental organizations have a list of suggestions that they’re urging the president to consider, and he and his team seem eager to continue at least some of their environmental work. The challenge for environmental groups and the White House now is to merge their ambitions. 

More national monuments

Conservation groups' biggest public lands priority is getting the president to designate more national monuments. These areas protect some of the country's most treasured public lands, and monuments often serve as a precursor to national park designation, one of the highest forms of preservation. Outdoor coalitions have prepared a list of outstanding areas they think are ripe for monument status. Establishing them should be an easy lift for the president—these lands are already public, there’s local support, and all that’s needed is his signature. 

Last month, at the United Nations biodiversity conference in Colombia, Native American tribes called on President Biden to create three national monuments in California. These areas include the Kw’tsán National Monument in Southern California, the Chuckwalla National Monument near Joshua Tree National Park, and the Sáttítla National Monument close to the Oregon border. While President Trump may threaten to downsize these areas if designated, just as he attempted with Bears Ears National Monument, it’ll likely be an uphill battle. 

Fill judicial vacancies 

Another significant step the president could take would be to nominate federal judges who have a strong grasp of environmental law. In recent years, federal judges have shaped American policy perhaps even more so than legislators. The most recent high-profile environmental decision ended the Chevron Doctrine, a 40-year-old legal theory that judges have cited when deferring to federal agencies to interpret ambiguous statutes. 

In the wake of the 2024 election, Senate leaders and the White House have hinted at ramping up nominations. Filling the 46 open judgeships, split between the US district courts and the courts of appeals, will likely mean the difference between protecting an endangered species and letting developers run roughshod over the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.

New rules

At the administrative level, conservation groups hope two federal agencies will finalize long-overdue decisions before the next president takes office. The US Fish and Wildlife Department has been mulling over federal protections for grizzly bears for almost two years. The agency was supposed to release a decision back in the summer but punted to January at the last minute. Conservation groups want the agency to keep bears listed throughout their range, given that there are so few bears and limited connectivity between populations. Keeping the bears listed would make it harder for a future administration to delist them in the immediate future, said Bradley Williams, the deputy legislative director for the Sierra Club's Wildlife and Lands Protection campaign.  

Meanwhile, the Department of Energy is updating the studies it uses to assess pending and new LNG export applications. The agency announced a pause on new LNG exports in January while it conducted its analysis. Now climate advocates are hoping the administration will reject six pending requests to build new facilities, especially Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass 2 facility on the Gulf Coast. If completed, it would be the region’s largest LNG facility, pumping out the annual emissions of 51 coal-fired power plants. 

Action in Congress 

There is still work to be done by Congress. Lawmakers have until December 20 to pass a spending bill to fund the federal government. This package could be an opportunity to squeeze in funding for land-management agencies, like the National Park Service, or pass last-minute environmental legislative packages, such as the EXPLORE Act, which expands access to the outdoors. House lawmakers passed a version of the bill in the summer. Now it only needs to get through the Senate to reach the president's desk. 

Smaller lands packages, like the effort to preserve Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma, or the Owyhee Canyonlands in Oregon, could also be included in the yet-to-be-passed National Defense Authorization Act. That bill, which sets annual funding for the armed forces, has typically had broad support and has been reauthorized every year for the past six decades.