Song Lyrics for the Day…

Live every moment
Love every day
‘Cus before you know it
Your precious time slips away.
-REO Speedwagon (Live Every Moment)

Welcome to another exciting edition of Caught My Eye (CME)!

CME is the once-a-week column that is posted every Friday morning. This is when I look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week.

Here are some of the things that “Caught My Eye” this week:

• Tracy Stone-Manning
• Safest States During COVID
• Pelosi & McCarthy
• One More Thing

TRACY STONE-MANNING:

It was partisan politics at its worst in the U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee on Thursday. The committee deadlocked 10-10 along party lines Thursday on approving Tracy Stone-Manning’s nomination as head of the Bureau of Land Management.

As reported in the Nevada Current and other places, unless a Democrat splits off, it appears Stone-Manning will be confirmed, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the deciding vote in a Senate divided 50-50 between the parties.

In an epic failure to derail the nomination, U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) got very nasty and spewed several lies about Stone-Manning.

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, (D-NM) said, “I am disgusted by what has happened in this committee, disgusted, and I will never forget it. This is the worst example of character assassination I have ever seen on this committee.”

But after spewing the hatred, Daines was brought back down to earth by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

The Nevada Current reported:

Sanders picked up that thread after Sen. Steve Daines, (R-Mont.), said Stone-Manning should be disqualified because she hadn’t been honest with the committee or shown remorse about whatever role she had in the 1989 event.

Sanders responded that he didn’t know what happened 32 years ago, but accused Daines of lying about the 2020 election results mere months ago in a statement that accused Democrats of stealing the election.

“Is that a true statement?” Sanders asked Daines. “I want to go here because we’re talking about honesty, we’re talking about integrity. I don’t know what happened 32 years ago… but people in this room are undermining American democracy.”

Daines supported efforts to question the presidential election results until supporters of then-President Donald Trump breached the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Daines should be embarrassed by his hatred of Stone-Manning. Montanans should be disgusted by his actions.

You can watch Sanders bitch slap Daines HERE.

Read the full report from the Nevada Current HERE.

MTN News also reported on the vote. Read that report HERE.

SAFEST STATES DURING COVID:

WalletHub released a report listing the safest states to be in during the COVID-19 pandemic. WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across five key metrics. The data set includes the rates of COVID-19 transmission, positive testing, hospitalizations and death, as well as the share of the eligible population getting vaccinated.

Wyoming (44), Montana (45), and Missouri (49) were listed as “least safe” states. Louisiana came in at 51. Vermont is the safest state.

In another story, Yahoo News is reporting that just three states are now driving the pandemic in the United States, as the divide between vaccinated and unvaccinated regions of the country becomes ever more stark, as the more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus spreads. Forty percent of all new cases this week have been recorded in Florida, Texas, and Missouri, White House pandemic response coordinator Jeff Zients revealed at a press briefing Thursday.

There has been a lack of leadership in many states regarding the pandemic. Now with the Delta variant taking hold, it is important that everyone who can be vaccinated gets vaccinated before it is too late.

Read the WalletHub report HERE.

Read the Yahoo News story HERE.

PELOSI & MCCARTHY:

In case you missed it, the Associated Press reported this week that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday rejected two Republicans tapped by House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy to sit on a committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, a decision the Republican denounced as “an egregious abuse of power.” McCarthy said the GOP won’t participate in the investigation if Democrats won’t accept the members he appointed.

Do Pelosi and McCarthy think “John and Jane Doe” care for their little games? It’s childish and it’s one of many reasons people dislike politicians and Congress. No wonder their approval ratings are in the tank.

I think there should be an independent commission established to investigate what happened on January 6 – not politicians looking to score points. Anyone who was ever elected to the House or Senate need not apply.

Each side is playing politics. The Democrats want to get Donald Trump; the Republicans want to protect him. It is that simple.

We are destroying our country.

Read the AP story HERE.

ONE MORE THING:

If you are an adult who dies from COVID because you refused to take the vaccine for political reasons, the disease didn’t kill you: you did. –@MiddleAgeRiot

## HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ##