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Toby Younis offers plainspoken commentary on news, media, politics, public life, service, aging, and the stories shaping the country.

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The Baton Nobody Will Hand Off A republic was never meant to be held. It was meant to be handed off. Some thoughts on the oldest Congress in our history — and what it asks of the rest of us. Not about one party. Not about one person. About the handoff that isn't happening. ❤️ #gerontocracy #congress #generationalchange #civicduty #americandemocracy #wewatchwhattheydo #passthebaton #quietreflection #ageinpolitics #therepublic

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Two States, One Missing Vote — And Only One Has a Plan

My state lost its senator Saturday night. Within hours we were told, and within weeks South Carolina will have its full voice back in the Senate. Kentucky's senator has been unable to vote since mid-June — and after finally explaining why, there's still no date for his return, and no legal way for anyone to do anything about it. Not because someone did something wrong. Because the law was written for a seat that's empty, not a seat that's silent. The Senate is back in session. Two states, the same problem. One has a process. The other has a photograph. If you feel that unease too, you're not alone. 🤍

#Kentucky #SouthCarolina #Senate #Representation #Accountability #civics #Congress #watchwhattheydo #currentevents #youarenotalone

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Nobody Read It: What Section 219 Actually Says

Section 219 of the House version of the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act — formally titled the "United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative" — isn't a merger of the U.S. and Israeli militaries. It also isn't nothing. Both of the loud answers you're being handed require you not to read it, which is the actual story.

Some terms, since they're being used interchangeably and they shouldn't be:

- SECTION 219 is the provision itself, written into the bill by the Armed Services Committee. It was originally Section 224 and was renumbered. Same text, different number.
- THE MASSIE-KHANNA AMENDMENT is the separate measure that would delete Section 219. There is no "Amendment 219."
- SECTION 1217 is the Senate's companion version of the same initiative, in the Senate's NDAA. The two chambers will eventually have to reconcile.

A bipartisan amendment to strike Section 219 never got a vote. Neither did one of its own authors, who has since withdrawn his support. Watch the handling, not the headline. ♥️

#NDAA #Section219 #Congress #CivicAccountability #Transparency #Oversight #HouseRules #Bipartisan #WatchTheBehavior #ReadTheText #NationalSecurity #CurrentEvents

READ IT YOURSELF — Section 219, H.R. 8800 (FY2027 NDAA):
https://t.co/hCzHABVjKX
(Ctrl+F / Cmd+F and search "Israel Defense Technology Cooperation")

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@SundaeDivine Do you like the dog more than you do the neighbors?

[Reuters @Reuters]

The wreckage of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton's ship ‘Endurance,’ which was crushed by Antarctic ice and sank some 10,000 feet to the ocean floor more than a century ago, has been found https://t.co/WgrBuIruDh

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https://t.co/MavBVzocS7

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@Meta how did you manage to fuck up #facebooknews, literally the remaining reason to remain on your otherwise useless fucking platform?

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@kaitlancollins More of what you did yesterday. You, and others like you, are our only chance of surviving this outlaw of a President. Thank you for all your hard work during this critical time. #firstamendment

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@tonyschwartz Good, but the nation deserves a woman on the ticket.

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@jrstlouis @CNN The responsibility of journalism is to report the facts. CNN, in their lower third, reported the facts.

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@kasie @jonathanvswan I think his supporters should try it out.

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@PhilipRucker Why does the media continue to let this idiot stand at the podium and talk nonsense?

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@chrislhayes What did you do on Spring Break? Uh...spread the coronavirus.

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#ImpeachmentInquiry Someone please tell that poor, sick journalist sitting behind #volker to go home and cure that cold before she infects the entire press pool.

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https://t.co/hr0Y01oTwC

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This apartment in Huning Castle in Albuquerque was my home for seven years. It’s time to move on. https://t.co/vNzeKv5BID

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All boxed up and ready to move. https://t.co/rIIVA98JLK

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Received a nice house warming gift from the folks at #veteransunited - the wonderfully amazing group of professionals that helped me through my latest mortgage loan process. Thank you… https://t.co/ucQNVPr4KT

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Pizza di Amore @AmoreABQ #happyvalentinesday https://t.co/aSWglHFeHe

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#grandparents Day at the boy’s school. seanwellscreates https://t.co/MrmiYQastE