February 6

Another gray morning that may turn sunny later. The weather report says that we have patches of fog right now but that should dissipate and the temp should go to the low 40s. Thursday and Friday should be warmer so I am planning some clean up on the patio. For today, I will construct a couple of new wreaths or get them mostly constructed. I have the winter wreath on the door but it just doesn't feel like winter. 

The "border security" bill that the Senate has been negotiating within the chamber for the last three months and which some of the Senators ballyhooed appears to be dying unborn. The House Republicans, including the Speaker himself, promised it wouldn't even get a vote. Their orange god claims, without reading it, it is bad bill. In truth, and a couple of Republicans have said out loud that they weren't going to vote for anything because they don't want Biden to get any credit for anything. So over the couple of years, we have had Republicans rail against omnibus bills opining that single bills should be presented. Biden presents them with a bill to fund our commitments to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan--and then they insist they won't consider it without "border security" provisions. The Democrats give them the strongest immigration/border security bill in decades negotiated by one of the most conservative senators in the Senate and a conservative former Democrat now an Independent--essentially everything they demanded. But then they hear from the Orange Jesus and MAGA Mike and suddenly it isn't good enough. Meanwhile, the Speaker offers a funding bill for Israel alone.

EuroNews posted this earlier: the appeals court issued its ruling about Trump's claim of immunity from prosecution. He is not immune. CNN provides another account. The decision demolishes Trump's claim that his actions were legitimately a part of his duties as president. And it also demolishes his reliance on the failure of the Senate to convict him in his impeachment trial. The appeals court also noted that the Fourteenth Amendment case soon to be argued in the Supreme Court is entirely separate from this decision. The first is a civil case while the insurrection case is criminal.