Today is Saturday, September 30, 2023. We can breathe a sigh of relief for 45 days as the Senate just passed a stopgap measure to avert a government shutdown that would have inflicted harm on millions of Americans. Thank God those despicable buffoons called MAGA repugnicans received nothing – nothing – in this bill, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared on the Senate floor just minutes ago. This was a show of bipartisanship he declared and he said that horrible House Speaker Kevin McCarthy could have avoided this almost-debacle weeks ago if he had worked with Democrats initially. Remember that one of those senators who voted against the measure is Ted Cruz, the shitbag from Texas. There were eight other senators who voted against the bill and they should all be on Americans’ villains’ list from now on. “MAGA extremists have failed,” so said Chuck Schumer.

This stunning turnaround in Congress is reported on in an online CNN article by Clare Foran, Haley Talbot, Morgan Rimmer, Annie Grayer, Lauren Fox, and Melanie Zanona entitled “House sends bill to avert government shutdown to the Senate hours ahead of deadline.”

The measure as passed would keep the government open through November 17 and includes national disaster aid but not additional funding for Ukraine or border security, measures that the extreme MAGA repugnicans wanted included in their version of the bill. Actually, those MAGAts wanted no additional aid for Ukraine and I think they got this concession. This did worry many Democrats before the bill was passed.

House Speaker McCarthy announced the stopgap proposal Saturday morning, a move that came after weeks of in-fighting among House Republicans and a failed effort to pass a GOP (“Guns over People”) stopgap bill in the chamber. The bill passed the House with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.

The decision by feckless McCarthy to put a bill on the floor that would win support from Democrats – which his crazy caucus definitely did not countenance – could put his speakership at risk as hardline conservatives (read: lunatics) continue to threaten a vote to oust him from the top House leadership post. Maybe this white-haired Frump toad would welcome such a move after the rings he had to go through with his extreme fringe of the MAGA party. Americans will not a give a damn if he loses the speakership; I know I won’t care at all. Unless the speakership is given to someone worse than this coward – someone like that Grinch lookalike Matt Gaetz from Florida or that blonde Jewish laser-spouting lunatic by the name of Marjorie Taylor Greene. That would be horrible!

Actually, McCarthy did welcome a vote to oust him after the bill was passed in the House. He was defiant, which is rare for him, when he dared his detractors to push him out as he argued he did what was needed to govern effectively. Oh, did he finally get what his role truly encompasses: a duty to America – not undying loyalty to one Orange Hemorrhoid?

This is what McCarthy said in the shadow of those extreme MAGAt’s: “If somebody wants to make a motion against me, bring it.” He added, “There has to be an adult in the room. I am going to govern with what’s best for this country.” This is like someone else saying this, in my opinion.

If the bill had not been passed, the impact on Americans would have been consequential, as air travel to clean drinking water, and many governmental operations would have been impacted. I was slightly worried about our upcoming trip to Japan that might have been affected if the shutdown would have lasted for more than a week. But now I don’t have to worry anymore.

And now we can give a middle finger to the Orange Menace at Mar-a-Lago who wanted this terrible shutdown: fuck you, we can say. Another setback for the twice-impeached, four-times-indicted, sexual predator of a former president.

For those who would like to know who those repugnican jerks are who voted against this temporary stopgap bill, here’s a partial list: (some of them are not as well known as Matt Gaetz who did vote against the bill, but here are their names anyway).

• Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL)
• Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) (he’s a dentist!)
• Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN)
• Rep. Aaron Bean (R-Fl)
• Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ)
• Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC)
• Rep Lauren Boebert (R-CO) Maybe she was holding Matt Goetz’s penis when she voted against Americans’ best interests here.)
• Rep. Mike Bost (R-Il)
• Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK)
• Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO)
• Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN)
• Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO)
• Rep. Matt Gaetz (that bastard!)
• Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) (another loathsome character)
• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (impeach her instead of Joe Biden for hijinks and consummate stupidity)
• Rep. “Gym” Jordan (another idiot!)

The other congresspersons on the list are not as well known, in my opinion, but if you want the entire list, go to the Washington Examiner for the complete roster of rogues who voted against the right thing to do. Remember their names when they have to run for reelection.

The weather today was definitely way better than yesterday’s deluge. Though Elliot and I decided not to drive to my New Jersey friend’s son and daughter-in-law who just recently moved to Bayonne because of yesterday’s state of emergency in the Garden State. The rain did let up later in the afternoon. This allowed us to drive to Bay Terrace to have Ben’s Deli and to shop at Stop & Shop.

Last night the first episode of Bill Maher’s Real Time came on and I immediately turned it off when I saw his first guest: Florida’s own Ron DeSatan. I couldn’t watch the interview. What’s happened to this guy? I wonder. Has he become an exponent of the far right, for some strange reason? Ever since he had a fawning interview with Tesla’s Elon Musk, I became quite disenchanted with this once beacon of liberal thought. I think I will be having a serious reevaluation of watching this brash, smug comedian. I don’t believe I will watch him ever again. I’ll keep you posted.

Have a good Sunday. The weather is supposed to get better for the upcoming week.

Stay safe and be well.