Speaker McCarthy Ousted

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has been ousted. It is the first time in US history Congress has removed its own speaker from office. Florida Republican Matt Gaetz introduced the motion to vacate. He was joined by several Republican hardliners and all the Democrats. The House now faces the chaos and uncertainty of not having a formal leader until a new one is selected. This is a sad, historical first for the US government.

McCarthy's ouster was orchestrated by Florida Republican Matt Gaetz. Gaetz and fellow Republican hardliners were upset at McCarthy over his introduction of a bipartisan spending bill last week— a bill that passed with wide bipartisan support and avoided a messy, chaotic government shutdown. No, that wasn't okay by these hardliners who, as McCarthy described them to the media after one contentious day of debate on September 21, "[J]ust want to burn the whole place down."

Changing the rules for a Motion to Vacate was one of the concessions McCarthy made to win hardliners' support for his speakership. Even so it took a historic 15 rounds of voting for McCarthy to squeak out enough support within his own party.

Previously a motion to vacate required a majority of the majority party to advance to a full House vote.

With McCarthy's concession that threshold was reduced to one. One. Any one member could call for an end to his speakership, and it would go to the floor for a full vote.

And that's what happened Tuesday. Gaetz made the motion— after McCarthy, obvious miscounting his support, taunted, "Bring it on". Gaetz was joined by 7 other Republican hardliners (out of a loose conference of somewhere around 20) and all the Democrat representatives for a majority to vote McCarthy out.

Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC) is now Interim Speaker of the House. Notably that role does not hold power to lead the daily business of Congress. McHenry's powers are limited to overseeing the selection of a new Speaker.

And who will the new Speaker be? No credible Republican member has put themself forward. One has nominated Donald Trump. (The rules of Congress do not require that the Speaker be a member of Congress.) And Marjorie Taylor Green has announced that Trump is the “the only candidate for Speaker I am currently supporting.” We'll see what happens in this chaotic process.

Friday Recap: SEVEN Hikes!

North Carolina Travelog #24
Brevard, NC - Fri, 22 Sep 2023. 8pm

We got back to the hotel at 7:15 this evening. And that's after dinner. I think that's the earliest we've been done with a day all week! Yet today we had no shortage of activity. I count seven hikes. Some of them were little more than hopping out of the car and walking 50 steps each way, but still— seven.

1. Dry Falls
2. Bridal Veil Falls
3. Cullasaja Falls
4. Bust-Yer-Butt Falls
5. Silver Run Falls
6. Whitewater Falls
7. Tom's Spring Falls

Too bad the hotel doesn't have a hot tub. It has pictures of waterfalls in the bathroom (in that sense it's our kind of place!) but doesn't have a hot tub. Oh, well. Bottle of beer, here I come.

Trade Show Day 2: Still Not Too Bad

Phoenix/Vegas Trip log #6
In my hotel room - Wed, 4 Oct 2023. 9pm

Today was Day 2 of our trade show in Las Vegas. Again, like yesterday, it wasn't too bad.

A key both days was my not staying out too late. Yesterday I was back in my room, shoes off and jacket hung in the closet, by 8pm. This evening I was an hour later, doing the same by 9pm. This sets me up for making it through the week without crashing better than staying up until midnight, 1am, or 2.

Another key both days has been limiting my drinking. Don't get me wrong; I love cocktails. And wine. And beer. Las Vegas has all of the above in abundance. And with trade shows and all the receptions and parties, it's free. Last night I limited myself to 2½ alcoholic drinks. (I could tell they were strong.) Tonight I was feeling a little off and had just 2.

A third key has been the modest amount of walking. Oh, I'm on my feet all day, so I'm plenty tired by the end. But the Cosmopolitan hotel is nice in that the walk from the hotel tower elevators to the convention area is not that far. Better yet, it doesn't cross through the casino— which not only reduces the distance but means almost no inhalation of cigarette smoke. Not having to deal with stinky and carcinogenic smoke in my lungs, my hair, and my clothes— standard side effects at most other casino-hosted events— is a huge plus.

So, here I am at the end of Day 2, almost ready for bed so I can sleep and be 100% for Day 3 tomorrow.