volkris @volkris@qoto.org

So when I watched #Jeffries's speech as #McCarthy was elected Speaker I thought he sounded dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb, like a bad SNL character.

I've been saying he sounded unserious, especially with the amount of pride he seemed to take in finding a bunch of words that all began with the same letter. Good job, buddy.

But one of the funnier things I've seen on this platform is somebody responding to that notion saying, what do you mean he was unserious? Didn't you see how he trolled McCarthy?

Oh gosh. When we're at the point that trolling from the Speaker's chair is considered serious, well

I think we've gone full #Idiocracy.

Some make comparisons between the #House Republicans being frustrated by a few fringe members and the #Senate #Democrats being frustrated by their two dissenters last year, but there is a HUGE difference in the circumstances:

The Senate Republicans strategically let that situation unfold because it pulled the Democrats toward them. It was in Republicans' interests.

This time the drama is pulling Republicans AWAY from Democrats' position. It was in Democrats' interests to intervene, and they are dropping the ball by letting the situation unfold in a way that makes them worse off.

It's amazing how many miss this distinction in #USPolitics

For people who've asked why the #House keeps voting, it seems that's literally all they can do AND FURTHER, it's what they **must** do, under the rules of the chamber.

If they are in session, they have to be voting.

If the members-elect choose to adjourn until noon, they are committing their future selves to vote at noon. And keep voting so long as they're in session.

At this point in the House's processes there isn't an option for working on something else. This is the one, singular next order of business, to be overseen by the Clerk without a Speaker to choose a different task.

Procedures are fun!

#USPolitics

If Democrats were really sad as they say they are about the lack of a Speaker delaying procedures in the House, then they could have easily either voted for McCarthy or simply abstained in voting against him to allow the election and get things going.

For better or worse, Democrats' votes are complicit in the delay of getting to work.

Again, maybe that's even for the best, but let's not let them get away with pretending they're not part of this process.

#USPolitics

There's an important detail to understand about #USPolitics : the Senate leaders don't have nearly the power we're told they do.

However, you can see the alignment of interests to promote that myth: the leader gets a feather in his cap while other senators get to duck responsibility for their (in)actions, blaming those pesky leaders.

Today's drama in the #House over #McCarthy strikes me as members of the lower chamber trying to glom onto their own version of that myth, just in a stupider way, as befitting a lower chamber.

And hey @skroobler I'm #QuotePost ing this using the feature on #qoto!

Yep, instances that give users more power and more features are able to participate in #Fediverse even if other instances leave their users hamstrung by questionable software development decisions of the past.

Quote posting allows us to built on other peoples' content, giving proper credit and adding value for all.

It was a silly decision to leave it out of #Mastodon

One way to think about #ContentWarning tags vs filters is empowering the end user or not.

If a person doesn't want to see a topic on #Mastodon they can add keywords to their filters, helping them manage their own feeds.

This functionality empowers them.

But adding content warnings everywhere, as many people demand, instead forces such content to be wrapped regardless of whether the end user would want it to be.

So many people have such strong opinions that content should be wrapped, and I'd say we should push back on that proposal.