Kevin McCarthy, with the help of Donald Trump, is Speaker of the House. Here is what some of the members of the House Select Committee on January 6th are saying: Liz Cheney: Adam Kinzinger: Adam Schiff: Jamie Raskin:
Tweet of the Day
Context:
On January 6, 2021 there was violence on the House floor. Violence almost broke again on January 6, 2023
As I started this post at 11:14pm on Friday night there were still six people standing in the way of Kevin McCarthyâs speakership. They were Andy Biggs (AZ), Lauren Boebert (CO), Eli Crane (AZ), Matt Gaetz (FL), Bob Good (VA), […]
Blogging the 12th vote for Speaker of the House
A lot happened in this vote. McCarthy picked-up fourteen votes. There are now seven who oppose him. He needs three of these votes to become Speaker of the House. 12:20pm: I find it shocking that Mike Garcia (R-CA), while nominating […]
Current: a “little magazine” for the digital age
I am often asked to describe Current. It is not a blog, although The Way of Improvement Leads Home blog (and a future blog–stay tuned) is part of it. It is not a Substack, although you can subscribe to it […]
Matt Gaetz: âIf Democrats join up to elect a moderate Republican, I will resign from the House of Representatives”
Up until this point in the GOP battle for the Speaker of the House, compromised Florida congressman Matt Gaetz has been treating the whole affair as if he is a high school kid playing some kind of game, perhaps the […]
Simone Weil found Jesus Christ on the factory floor
Over at Commonweal, CosticÄ BrÄdÄĹŁan writes about how a year of factory work in the auto industry led French philosopher Simone Weil to Jesus Christ. Here is a taste: As Weil was processing the significance of her factory experience, she […]
Nancy Pelosi on the Speaker of the House mess
Not following what is happening in the House of Representatives? Click here and here and here and here to get up to speed. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made a few comments to reporters yesterday: Pelosi also said […]
What if Jesus got teaching evaluations?
Here are a few of my favorites from Amanda Lehr’s piece at McSweeney’s: âHeâs nice enough, I guess, but he doesnât vet his TAs: they all provide completely different, conflicting lecture notes. (TIP: Try to get in Lukeâs section.)â âBy […]
What is popular this week at Current?
Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Way of Improvement Leads Home blog:
A bad day for Kevin McCarthy
After eleven votes, the House of Representatives still does not have a Speaker. A few minutes ago the House of Representatives–the people’s house–decided to adjourn for the night. They apparently got tired and hungry. We saw a lot of crazy […]
Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey has prostate cancer. Expects a ‘full recovery.”
Here is J.D. Prose at Penn Live: U.S. Sen. Bob Casey revealed on Thursday that he has prostate cancer and will face surgery âin the coming months.â âWhile this news came as a shock, I can report that I have […]
In 1855-1856, the Speaker of the House was decided after 133 votes
As I write, the House is completing its eighth ballot for Speaker of the House. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic candidate, continues to get a plurality of the vote. The GOP is still divided, with most Republicans behind Kevin McCarthy and […]
Sam Wineburg explains historical thinking in less then two minutes
Learn more about Wineburg here. How much are historians today “reconciling” contradictory voices and seeking to build “coherence out of a pile of evidence that in some ways is not coherent”?
Rep. Scott Perry references Frederick Douglass from the House floor. Historian David Blight is having none of it.
I have never voted for Scott Perry, but he does represent me in the United States House of Representatives. Perry is the chairman of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus. He refused to cooperate with the House committee investigating January 6th […]
Song of the Day
Today’s Song of the Day is dedicated to California GOP representative Kevin McCarthy as he seeks to win the speakership of the House of Representatives: Listen to the entire song:
“Socialism has been as impossible to separate from the narrative of the nationâs history as the capitalist economy itself”
Over at Literary Hub, Georgetown historian Michael Kazin offers a “Brief History of American Socialism.” Here is a taste: âAmerica will never be a socialist country,â declared Donald Trump in his 2019 State of the Union Address, given to a […]
Evangelical roundup for January 5, 2023
What is happening in Evangelical land? French evangelicals fight for the human dignity of children. Evangelical boomers and the legacy they have left behind. Florida’s Latino Evangelicals and politicized Christianity. The National Association of Evangelicals president on how to fix […]
The fight for Speaker of the House continues
Six ballots and still no Speaker of the House. The House is on break until 8:00pm. The hard-right, anti-McCarthy wing has stayed unified today. CNN is reporting that McCarthy is now meeting with some members of the hard-right group in […]
“My offer is nothing”
As we reported yesterday, Kevin McCarthy gave massive concessions to the right-wing of his party. One of those concessions was a rule change that would allow five members of the House to offer a resolution to remove the speaker. This […]