Lazy Caturday Reads
Posted: November 6, 2021 Filed under: Afternoon Reads | Tags: Anthony Gonzalez, Astroworld Festival, bipartisan infrastructure bill, Donald Trump, Trump Republicans, University of Florida professors 19 CommentsGood Afternoon!!

Photo by Wu Hongli
Last night, the House finally passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill, no thanks to a group of “progressives.” CNN: These 6 House Democrats voted against the infrastructure bill. These 13 Republicans voted for it.
The House on Friday voted 228-206 to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill after hours of delays and debating among Democrats, sending the bipartisan measure to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
But while Democratic leaders managed to unify House progressives and moderates to hold a vote on the Senate-passed bill, not all members of the party ultimately supported it.
A number of progressives — who have consistently called for both the infrastructure and the separate economic package, known as the Build Back Better Act, to move together — voted “no” on the legislation.
Here are the six House Democrats who broke from their party to vote against the bill: Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan
Thirteen Republicans in the House voted with Democrats to approve the bill. They are: Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Rep. Andrew Gabarino of New York, Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Rep. John Katko of New York, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York, Rep. David McKinley of West Virginia, Rep. Tom Reed of New York, Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, Fred Upton of Michigan, Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, Rep. Don Young of Alaska.
Also from CNN: Here’s what’s in the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The bill calls for investing $110 billion for roads, bridges and major infrastructure projects. That’s significantly less than the $159 billion that Biden initially requested in the American Jobs Plan.
Included is $40 billion for bridge repair, replacement and rehabilitation, according to the bill text. The White House says it would be the single, largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system, which started in the 1950s.
The deal also contains $16 billion for major projects that would be too large or complex for traditional funding programs, according to the White House.
Photo by Hisakata Hiroyuki
Some 20%, or 173,000 miles, of the nation’s highways and major roads are in poor condition, as are 45,000 bridges, according to the White House.
The investments would focus on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity and safety for all users, including cyclists and pedestrians.
Also in the package is $11 billion for transportation safety, including a program to help states and localities reduce crashes and fatalities, especially of cyclists and pedestrians, according to the White House. It would direct funding for safety efforts involving highways, trucks, and pipeline and hazardous materials.
And it contains $1 billion to reconnect communities — mainly disproportionately Black neighborhoods — that were divided by highways and other infrastructure, according to the White House. It will fund planning, design, demolition and reconstruction of street grids, parks or other infrastructure.
The bill will provide funding for public transit and rail, broadband upgrade, upgrading airports, ports and waterways, electric vehicles, improving power and water systems, and environmental remediation. Read more details at the CNN link. See also this article at The New York Times: This Is Where the States Want Billions in Infrastructure Funding Spent.
The Republicans who voted for the bill are being attacked by the Trump Party. Aaron Blake at The Washington Post: GOP erupts over its House members bailing out Biden.
One of the Republicans who voted yes has issued a warning for the future. CNN: Retiring GOP lawmaker warns Trump will try to steal the next election.
Retiring Rep. Anthony Gonzalez has a warning for his fellow Republicans: former President Donald Trump will try to steal the next election.
Gonzalez was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in the wake of the January 6 attack on the Capitol. In the face of relentless attacks and threats directed toward him and his family afterward, the Ohio Republican chose to retire from Congress at the end of his term and avoid facing off with a Trump-backed primary challenger next year.
With Trump appearing to prepare for another presidential run in 2024, Gonzalez told CNN he will try to stop Trump from running the same 2020 playbook to overturn another election, but he warned that Trump could have more help next time from those in charge of running — and certifying — elections.
“January 6 was an unconstitutional attempt led by the President of the United States to overturn an American election and reinstall himself in power illegitimately. That’s fallen nation territory, that’s third world country territory. My family left Cuba to avoid that fate. I will not let it happen here,” Gonzalez said.
“I think it’s all pushing towards one of two outcomes: He either wins legitimately, which he may do, or if he loses again, you just try to steal it,” he added.

Photo by Hisakata Hiroyuki2
The quotes are from CNN’s excellent special “Trumping Democracy: An American Coup,” If you didn’t watch it last night, I hope you will see it next time it airs. More Gonzalez quotes:
Gonzalez pointed to election officials like Gates as a key reason Trump was unsuccessful in his attempts to subvert the election result in 2020.
“The institutions don’t hold themselves,” he said. “In the moments of truth, you need the right people to pass the most difficult tests. We had just enough people on January 6 pass the test. We have to make sure we have equal number of people to continue to pass the test going forward.”
But Gonzalez and other Republicans fear the officials who stopped Trump in 2020 may be replaced by those “more beholden to him than their oath,” thanks to the former President’s revenge campaign against those who opposed his election lies.
Trump has endorsed Republicans who have embraced his lies about the election in key battleground states for normally low-key secretary of state races, seeking to replace officials who rebuffed his pressure campaign such as Georgia Republican Brad Raffensperger.
“It looks to me that he has evaluated what went wrong on January 6: Why is it that he wasn’t able to steal the election? Who stood in his way?” Gonzalez said. “And he’s going methodically state by state at races from, you know, state Senate races all the way down to county commissioner races trying to get the people who — the Republicans, the RINOs, in his words — who stopped this, who stopped him from stealing the election.”
In other news, those professors who were ordered not to testify in a voting rights case have filed a lawsuit.
Read more at the link.
That’s all I have for you today. What stories are you following?
Have a nice weekend, Sky Dancers!!
Great roundup of the news — and lovely kitties!
Wow. Just wow. And very motivating!
Amazing!
She’s been running masters’ races for a while, IIRC. I recognize her face. What an inspiration!
Love the cat photos!
My 11 year old kitty can still jump. She’s the best flyswatter I have.
Cats are great flyswatters! I count on mine for alerts on spiders and insects in the house. I love the leaping kitties, BB!
I have to say this:
Fuck… “The Squad.”
Apparently they voted *after* the Repubs who ensured it would pass anyway. So it looks like the Squad would have probably voted yes, too, rather than destroy the BIF completely.
We don’t know for sure, of course, but they may not be total idiots.
They’ve certainly been less of a problem than the Manema.
Don’t recognize the people, so I don’t get it. Is that supposed to be Marjorie Three Names? But who’s the gent?
I don’t get it either. I wonder if that’s supposed to be the Bidens?
It’s Joe and Jill.
Here’s an explanation of the phrase- https://www.today.com/news/what-does-let-s-go-brandon-mean-t237389
Yes, I know about the phrase, but if it’s Joe and Jill I still don’t get it. What would be funny about them saying it to each other?
Feeling dense.
The CNN special report on Trump’s coup attempt that I mentioned in the post will be on again tonight at 8.