Dr. Flowers @AlliFlowers@talkedabout.social

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskyy will be addressing a joint meeting of Congress at tonight 7:30 EST. This is going to be a speech for the history books.

It’s been 13 years since we raised the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. That’s the longest period without a raise in the history of the minimum wage. That is egregious.

@AlliFlowers
OK, I'll send the Rainbow by Airmail tomorrow.
Might take a while due to all the strikes but, when it gets there, you'll know 😃
I expect a picture!

Don’t let anyone tell you Joe Biden is not an astute political operator. Inviting Zelenskyy to the White House and an address to a joint session of Congress smothers the runts of the political litter who want to abandon Ukraine.

Biden’s leadership has been nothing short of phenomenal as he’s helped build a global coalition to assist Ukraine.

Thank you Mr President.

Good name for a guy with cat scratches all over his arms and legs:

Claude.

#GovAbbott trying to keep us from being paranoid by insisting that the grid will not fail. Personally, I don't think the grid will fail this time. I am very aware of the differences between this freeze and the April 2021 freeze. But he, PUC, and #ERCOT are known liars. I wouldn't trust our them with any of our lives. Once that trust is broken, you shouldn't be allowed to stay in office. Yet, here we are. Another cold front, another pit at the bottom of our stomachs.

At #WinterSolstice we celebrate the magnificent☀️ & the #ReturnOfTheLight: that on the #DarkestNight it is born again – bringing a #NewYear of life & growth, a new cycle of birth, growth & death in #nature. A chance to go deep inside & emerge as a new version of ourselves - a new chapter in our lives.

What will come to life for you this year? What will you nurture & grow? What harvests will your work yield this coming year? #LetYourLightShine in the 🌎 Anything is possible!

#YuletideBlessings ✨

“Had I known that standing up for truth would cost me my job, friendships, and even my personal security, I would, without hesitation, do it all over again. I can rest easy at night knowing that I fulfilled my oath to the office.”

— Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), quoted by WLS, in his farewell speech from Congress.

See Biden and Zelensky speak in Oval Office - President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speak in the Oval Office during a historic visit to Washington amid Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. #Washington #cnn

https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2022/12/21/biden-zelensky-oval-office-white-house-meeting-nr-vpx.cnn

May you prevail Ukraine 🇺🇦

After the New York Times exposed George Santos, an incoming House Republican, as a fabulist, he did something very curious: He revived the dissolved mystery company through which he had claimed to have earned between $3.5 million and $11 million. A big question is the source of Santos' millions. He had no assets & a $55K salary in 2020 but seven-figures in income in 2021/22. It all has to do with a mystery firm he has not fully explained. Read our piece:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/12/scandal-struck-gop-congressman-george-santos-revived-the-firm-that-netted-him-mystery-millions/

Jack Shafer says journalists should shrink Elon news to a little “Shit Musk Said” box.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/12/21/elon-musk-twitter-press-00074881

I agree.

Shafer also says, "Musk is now the greatest press manipulator since Donald Trump inhabited the White House."

No.

If you're quite rich, and a jerk, and willing to make an ass of yourself in public, then it's EASY to draw press attention. That doesn't make you a master manipulator. Just means you lack the gene for shame, and can withstand a lot of humiliation.

#journalists

Perhaps we shouldn’t spend upwards of $1.7 trillion on a failed F-35 fighter jet program when 94% of public school teachers are forced to spend their own money on school supplies?

I’m just the last few years we’ve added hundreds of billions of dollars to our military budget.

There is almost no public discussion of why this increase is necessary OR why it should take precedence over other concerns, like child poverty.