“I can hear those champagne bottle corks popping in Moscow — like it’s Christmas every fucking day": US Politics, February 2024

Good afternoon!

I don't want this AMAZING AWESOME news to get buried at the end of the other thread

"ha

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Supreme Court said Thursday that 10 Republican state senators who staged a record-long walkout last year to stall bills on abortion, transgender health care and gun rights cannot run for reelection.

The decision upholds the secretary of state’s decision to disqualify the senators from the ballot under a voter-approved measure aimed at stopping such boycotts. Measure 113, passed by voters in 2022, amended the state constitution to bar lawmakers from reelection if they have more than 10 unexcused absences.

Last year’s boycott lasted six weeks — the longest in state history — and paralyzed the legislative session, stalling hundreds of bills.

Five lawmakers sued over the secretary of state’s decision — Sens. Tim Knopp, Daniel Bonham, Suzanne Weber, Dennis Linthicum and Lynn Findley. They were among the 10 GOP senators who racked up more than 10 absences.

Just goes to show, from the top down, if you really don't want people doing their job governing, then maybe you shouldn't be in government.

― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, February 1, 2024 9:12 AM (fifty-four minutes ago)"

Some real troglodytes in that crew of 10.

yep fuck 'em all

Where’s the settlement payouts?

Not going well:

Former President Donald Trump said the Southern border needs to be closed because it is an existential crisis for unions, at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters headquarters on Wednesday.

Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said he disagrees.

“Most people need it closed down,” Trump said of the border. “People feel differently about different things, but the unions and the Teamsters, if they don’t have it closed down, they’re not going to exist. They’re not going to be able to exist.”

O’Brien, who met with Trump twice this month to discuss organized labor, disagreed. He said he doesn’t support a shutdown of the border, adding “we are all products of immigration.”

“The Teamsters union supports immigrant workers because we all come from people that came from different countries,” O’Brien said when he addressed reporters after Trump, flanked by a UPS worker, American Red Cross phlebotomist and Teamsters Local member.

I can't imagine being Trump and thinking Teamsters, of all, would be gung-ho pro endorsing him

I've heard Trump say that the union leaders don't like him but the members do.

That might well be

Hi, Teamster member here. *I* sure don't.

Well, there's something like a million Teamsters all over the country, I'm sure there's some Trumpers here and there

Rather. (Via the public service wing, thus my membership, that includes some police unions, which, well.)

My dad works in IATSE in the south and it's depressing how many anti-labor rednecks there are in his union.

Yeah, cop(and prison) unions quite suppprt Trump, don’t they

I have a buddy that works at a union sheet metal shop here in the Bay Area, and he says that MOST of his coworkers are Trumpers

That doesn't surprise me a bit. It's the same type of ignorance that gives rise to statements like "Keep your government hands off my Medicare!"

Unions used to generate a strong tribal identity, based on powerful anti-management sentiment. Nowadays, anti-government sentiment generates a stronger and more binding tribal identity than union membership. It's yet another case of the ruling class studying, applying and co-opting progressive methods.

Not putting this in any of the Israel threads, but Biden levied heavy sanctions on settlers. Yair Rosenberg says "If you read it closely, this executive order from Biden is by far the most expansive anti-settler extremism act taken by an American president, and I don't think it's close."

Wasn’t the implementation of this such that it only affected about four people?

I mean, the White House did something but this is nothing compared to the tasks they have to do

Meanwhile, over at No Labels

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/23/no-labels-durst-family-lawsuit-00137213

I hadn’t realized that Joe Lieberman was part of NL until now, but of course he is

Nowadays, anti-government sentiment generates a stronger and more binding tribal identity than union membership.

Speak for yourself!

https://abcnews.go.com/US/special-counsel-questioned-witnesses-2-rooms-fbi-search/story?id=106826552

Oy.

Of course he had a hidden room

Happy Groundhog Day

is this at the same time as 2% inflation good?

.@LaurenKGurley provides a glimpse at the human consequences of the massive job boom https://t.co/qkFziRavAh pic.twitter.com/A5fnJmVqOE

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) February 2, 2024

Informative piece: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/02/02/grocery-price-inflation-biden/

I'd love to hear from ilxors in other countries about this, because the news here (in America) is that the US post-pandemic/near recession/whatever you want to call it recovery has been better than any comparable economy's, but even assuming that's true I'm curious to know what that looks like on the ground. Grocery prices, gas, restaurants, general cost of living, whatever.

I'm in the UK and inflation of grocery prices has been brutal, see also restaurants, etc. It's also compounded by Brexit, so...

"labor shortages tied to the pandemic, ongoing supply chain disruptions, droughts, avian flu and other factors far beyond the administration’s control"

droughts and maybe avian flu (though I think the egg prices dropped already) I get, but how the fuck are these other things still an issue? labor shortages tied the pandemic? how does that cross with extremely low unemployment? I think the answer here is corporate greed or companies trying to make up losses from 3-4 years ago. but wtf do I know.

Seriously. I think a lot of corporations saw the pandemic as a prime opportunity to make whatever bullshit price hikes they felt like and then mumble some bullshit about supply chains and worker shortages that had enough of a grain of truth to not be total bullshit, and now that those stressors have eased up, the bullshit toothpaste ain't goin' back into the bullshit tube.

The article does point out where the labor shortages are.

And, yes, Big Business will big business as much as it pleases.

xp - otm

And then, hey wowee presto, look at that look at that, record profits and bonuses for the C-level.

Even when inflation slows down, it doesn't usually reverse itself. So prices are not going back to where they were before the pandemic; best case scenario is that they stabilize.

C-level deserves to meet Mr. Choppy.

labor shortages tied the pandemic?

Looking at indeed listings, this seems 90% like a product of continuing unrealistic expectations - "entry level" jobs doing the duties of three people with years of experience, multiple certifications, etc. for $15 an hour.

30 Things Joe Biden Did as President You Might Have Missed

A surprisingly positive story from Politico, though using the word "Did" in the headline instead of "Has Done" makes him seem like a one-termer.

jfc with the media shitting themselves all over a couple of cops getting roughed up by teens

clockwork orange time!

the unstated thing is often that agriprocessing, farming, physical labor jobs generally rely on a stream of inexpensive younger laborers that’s been filled by immigrants

the Biden Administration has proposed minimum staffing levels at residential care facilities, and inexpensive younger labor can help with that as well

New border legislation the White House says it "strongly supports" would grant the Homeland Security Secretary the power to summarily deport undocumented immigrants at his "sole and unreviewable discretion" during border emergencies pic.twitter.com/lyLg7KPsyh

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) February 5, 2024

sounds legit

fuck this country

lol.. fuck this asshole

In a contentious interview, the senator also suggested that Trump should ignore “illegitimate” US supreme court rulings.

The interview ended badly, with the network cutting to a commercial break after Stephanopoulos told Vance he had made it “very clear” he believed a president can defy the supreme court.

“No, no, George …” Vance said before the sound was cut.

He went to Yale Law School, he knows better. Fuck him, the freakish little opportunist.

Pfft, just because someone went to an elite law school, you expect them to know about, and adhere to, laws?

Well, tbf, with Yale it is sometimes touch and go.

"Hi Dad, I'm at Yale!"

lol

A South Dakota tribe has banned the state’s Republican governor, Kristi Noem, from one of the US’s largest reservations after she spoke this week about wanting to send razor wire and security personnel to Texas to help deter immigration at the southern border with Mexico.

The Oglala Sioux tribe president said Noem’s ban from the Pine Ridge reservation resulted from the fact that many arriving at the US border with Mexico are Indigenous people from places like El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico, who come “in search of jobs and a better life”.

“Due to the safety of the Oyate, effective immediately, you are hereby Banished from the homelands of the Oglala Sioux Tribe!” Star Comes Out said in a Friday statement addressed to Noem. “Oyate” is a word for people or nation.

Also... for the Great Real Names thread: Frank Star Comes Out

Good for them.

(Old joke: "Can you explain this four-year gap in your resume?"

"That's when I went to Yale."

"Okay, great, you're hired."

"Thanks, I really need this yob.")

Scott Adams did almost that same joke in Dilbert many years ago. “So Sven, I heard you went to Yale?” “I yust got out last week.”

Oglala Lakota in Pine Ridge is my tribe, she got banned from the rez a few years back once already IRRC, so it's nothing new.

The Oglala seriously should start erecting razor wire and guard towers at their borders. They’re an actual sovereign nation, unlike Texas.

Boring, I am shocked (SHOCKED) to hear that the knee-slappin' rib-ticklin' humor of Scott Adams might be somewhat recycled.

disgusted that this is probably good politics

President Biden: The toughest reforms to secure the border ever likely won't even move forward to the Senate floor. Why? Donald Trump. He’d rather weaponize this issue than actually solve it. So he’s threatening Republicans and they are caving to him pic.twitter.com/74IvYZ3sW5

— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) February 6, 2024

(as suggested in https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/upshot/biden-economy-border-polls.html)

Yeah, I think they tacitly agreed to several really awful provisions because they knew it wouldn't pass anyway

Another case of 'dog catches car' for the GOP

doesn't seem thrilled

McCONNELL when asked by @frankthorp if he misread his conference: “I followed the instructions of my conference… It was my side that wanted to tackle the border. We started it. Obviously with a Democratic president and a Democratic Senate, our negotiators had to deal with them.”

— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) February 6, 2024

pretty bleak that trump-era policy is basically the official democratic party line on immigration though.

We're currently harvesting what the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as the School of the Americas, sowed.

GOP- “policy not quite inhumane and racist as it needs to be.”

When the GOP presidential nominee says he wants to setup huge concentration camps to deport migrants, I guess they have a (sick) point.

The problem is, I don't know what the Dems want except what they're proposing: the most ruthless border policy bill in history, giving a president unprecedented power. Schumer and Jeffries know the GOP will reject it because Trump will, and so the Dems like the GOP stall until November. The Dem governors bleat because it's an election year and They Can't Look Weak. It's all a fucking pantomime.

except it isn’t, it has real consequences and people die because of it

i mean obviously you know that but that any of this is a debate at all makes me absolutely livid, sorry for my fire, not directed at you

That's my point, though! People will die between now and November.

The political class seems largely indifferent to such deaths.

It's not Aunt Dottie crossing into Macallan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AhhXAe_mxE

And of course it’s the same fucking strategy that they tried under Obama, of looking so tough on immigration that Republicans will definitely give them credit and certainly not accuse them of supporting open borders anyway.

I thought this was a worthwhile interview on Radio War Nerd:

Radio War Nerd EP 424 — Iran Inside Washington's Head, feat. Trita Parsi
Feb 06 2024
Guest: Trita Parsi
Recorded: February 5, 2024
We talk to Trita Parsi about Washington's unhealthy obsession with Iran, what it means to be an Iran-backed Iraqi militia group & the absurdity of Late American Empire.

ppl generally like to be where they are. What policies would reasonably promote THAT? what does that mean for just policy?

Thread title delivers:

Tucker Carlson apparently pictured in Russia amid rumours of interview with Putin
Former Fox News host, who is sympathetic to the Russian president, appeared in Kremlin media at a performance of Spartacus in Moscow

(pops champagne bottle)

Impeachment fails I think

Holy shit-- Blake Moore of Utah voted no, final tally is 214-216.

— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) February 6, 2024

nice

Jesus, imagine putting impeachment on the floor when you haven’t counted the votes

https://i.imgur.com/S5bmWcu.gif

PBS News Hour confirms it has failed

hahahahah

Three Republicans — Colorado Rep. Ken Buck, Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher and California Rep. Tom McClintock — joined the Democrats in voting against the resolution to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

GOP Rep. Blake Moore joined the no side to allow House Republicans to bring up the vote again.

The House GOP also has three vacancies after the departures of Kevin McCarthy and Bill Johnson, and the expulsion of George Santos.

Lol

What a fucking embarrassment.

cool country

too bad, so sad

When you can't even get your shit together to do meaningless trolling.

Mike Johnson has obviously got off to a stumbling start, this is a self-inflicted face plant at the worst time for his conference

Such a shame.

putting impeachment on the floor when you haven’t counted the votes

Another triumph for Speaker Mike Johnson!

I’m sure they’ll learn a lesson from this

they should impeach Buttigieg, there are potholes everywhere and no bullet trains

I have criticized Pelosi. Her public statements can sometimes feel like Mickey Mantle in 1969. But not the vote counting. Most people outside politics don’t understand what a skill that is. Pelosi is at least Rayburn’s equal there. Lyndon Johnson would understand her. https://t.co/LIhrtmBweK

— Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) February 7, 2024

gerontocracy issues aside, I must grudgingly agree

How often have Dems been caught flat footed by not having the votes in high profile moments? All the examples I can think of are GOP, which might just be my bias, but have the Dems had any major “John McCain gives McConnell thumbs down” disasters?

I can't think of any w/in recent memory

I remember Pelosi withdrawing a bill on the floor in 2021 or 2022 but otherwise she ran a stunningly tight ship.

The Dems have been saying they’ll call a vote to oust Speaker Johnson the third time they find themselves with more members in a session. It’s happened two times now. I still doubt it though.

Ronna McRomney is reportedly stepping down. I bet her Trump-approved replacement will be even more reasonable.

Qanon Shaman

I think he's in jail, but that shouldn't really be an issue

btw I saw a real live fucking Q bumper sticker today, complete with flag plates and predator decal

It goes to show how odd everything is these days that the fact that Nevada had both a Republican primary and a caucus with different winners is just another thing. Everybody wins in Nevada right?

How is Nevada even a state.

Our states are so weird, some of them are these densely populated hives of diverse communities and cultures and some of them are just, like, one industry (or church) that owns the whole thing.

Or in Nevada's case, three industries -- gambling, mining and cattle.

You forgot sex workers, who are God’s chosen.

(I am being 100% serious)

I guess we could just say "entertainment."

Many western states exist to counter the Solid South.

We generally have, or had, an ethos of "leave me the hell alone."

Yeah the mechanics of when and how states got added was wild. People freak out about the idea of cutting up California into multiple states, but in the 19th century all of that politicking was just totally brazen.

This is a really insane country, obv.

People freak out about the idea of cutting up California into multiple states

What if I told you...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Californias

Hope he has another stroke.

Press release from fettermans office pic.twitter.com/tPH0CzAEK6

— Kim Kelly (@GrimKim) February 6, 2024

I do not think that is a great strategy

I dunno, it did wonders for

Abbott is a corrupt socialist.

He encouraged his corporate buddies to make obscene profits during the grid failure and forced us to pay for their windfall in higher utility bills.

He privatized the gains to a few and socialized the losses to every single ratepayer in Texas.

— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) January 28, 2022

I’m all for reopening Borders.

First-rate Hispanic fiction section.

It's funny, I totally expected them to have Biden impeached by this point, but they can't even impeach Mayorkas.

Always happy to overestimate their ability to actually do anything.

Apparently, Nikki Haley lost in the Nevada primary to "None of these candidates" (Trump was not on the ballot).

Really feel like Nevada primaries should be Russian roulette.

Paul Krugman tells @GregTSargent that he gets "a little bit questioned" by Times editors when he writes that the Biden economy is doing well; they want him to give more credence to arguments that it isn't. At a little after the 11-minute mark here: https://t.co/9EUnQVNdLS

— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) February 5, 2024

Again, tell me and everyone I know about a good economy that we can’t see or experience. This shit is gaslighting at its finest.

Reagan wasn't entirely wrong: "Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours."

And in this economy, very few people are losing their jobs. Obviously more in some industries than others, and many people are underemployed, lack benefits, etc. But relatively speaking.

People are funny about what "the economy" means. By any measure I was doing just okay until 2018 when I got hit with a position change and promotion. My income and influence shot up -- not great but better. I could've credited Donald Trump for it. In the last 18 months I've gotten a raise and am in line for another promotion: do I credit Joseph Biden? Many people would! I don't see the connection because I've got a state job and terminally online people like me understand anyway that a president isn't a jobs sorcerer.

I understand that measures like GDP and stock prices are disconnected from how many Americans experience the economy and generally agree that the media focuses on them too much. But the employment rate ostensibly encompasses everyone in the workforce, and it's at its lowest point since 1969. That seems good to me.

That said, I agree with Alfred that people both blame and credit presidents too much for economic conditions, which are often out of their control and subject to trends that began long before they entered the White House.

Keep up the gaslighting, good work

Let’s go to some diners and see what real Americans think about the economy.

you know this stuff is like 95% confirmation bias anyway. when prices go up, if your party is out of power, of course it's the other guys' fault. if they are, then of course they can't really do anything about it. or maybe they could if there was a such thing as BIPARTISANSHIP these days!??

I know people who think the US economy has been utter trash since Covid, and often take to blaming Biden, particularly when it comes to inflation. somehow these people all seem unaware that there are actually countries OUTSIDE of America, the vast majority of which are doing much worse than we are, regardless of what party is in power.

You wanna piss off people? Tell'e that someone else -- another country -- is doing worse. They're like SO WHAT WHAT ABOUT ME

The U.S. economy is, by a variety of standards, "good" relative to other periods in its history. That doesn't mean that it's working for everyone, or that it doesn't have deep structural problems.

You wanna piss off people? Tell'e that someone else -- another country -- is doing worse. They're like SO WHAT WHAT ABOUT ME

Whereas table has the exact opposite perspective — women's rights in the US? Who cares? GAZA

untrue, c'mon

For real. Table can multitask outrage better than anyone else here, and I do mean that as a compliment

White people be like, "But all lives matter!"

flagged unperson for obvious attempt to troll the most easily trolled poster on this message board

genuine question as I don't pay as much attn to the US these days: what has Biden done for women's rights?

I think one way people see "the economy" is whether the state of stable employment opportunities, healthcare, housing, food prices -- the things people actually spend money on, their own personal budget and home economics -- is not especially great. And paradoxically, these things being profitable, not effective, drives a solid economic outcome in the stats

genuine question as I don't pay as much attn to the US these days: what has Biden done for women's rights?

― rob,

Besides wanting a return to the status quo ante re Roe he supports the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would force states to comply with federal guidelines about abortion access.

https://cdn.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/60/42/6042b0b9-6c7e-4560-bb75-25de3bb6ec01/2024-biden-3yr-report_2.pdf

https://www.justice.gov/reproductive-rights

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/07/08/executive-order-on-protecting-access-to-reproductive-healthcare-services/

unperson, don't put words (or vile ideologies) in my mouth.

genuine question as I don't pay as much attn to the US these days: what has Biden done for women's rights?

― rob,

The reproductive rights stuff is important. So is more mundane stuff like representation and role modeling for women at work.

He has a female vice president (a first for the US).

He also has more female representation in the Cabinet than a any previous US president.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/691173/share-of-women-in-us-cabinet-positions-johnson-to-trump/

Here's why I keep harping on the economic question though:

I have applied to at least one hundred jobs in the past few years. Some exactly at my level, some a bit below, some a bit above, some within my field, some in adjacent fields, some in totally different fields. I stopped applying to full-time academic jobs for which I am totally qualified because apparently, institutions don't want to hire white guys unless they write mediocre bullshit confessional poetry that appeals to the bourgeoisie's desire to comprehend/control working class narratives. I also don't have a PhD.

I've had exactly one offer, and it was so bad— 60 hour weeks including mandatory weekends— that I turned it down because I'm not ready to ruin my fucking life just so some biotech company can have AMA-style pamphlets to hand out to shareholders. Medical editing freelance work dried up significantly, and I stopped getting calls around August of 2022.

In its stead, I've been adjuncting and conducting my own extrainstitutional workshops, hustling on writing reviews and articles for publications, etc. This doesn't pay much— less that 35k/year. I bartend in the summers to fill the gaps. Last summer, money got so tight that I seriously contemplated throwing myself off a bridge, because it would be easier and less stressful than worrying about money the way I do.

My partner is a non-traditional student about to finish his BA in Data Analytics and Healthcare Administration. Without the BA, he's not really getting many callbacks, and has to rely on the back-breaking and uneven work of being an EMT.

We'll be fine in the long run, but the past few years have been nothing but economic struggle. There are plenty of people like me— overeducated and willing to work— who are stuck in pools of contingent labor with no hope of advancement, being paid peanuts.

A few months ago, I met a guy who works at the main library here in Philly. I told him I had been thinking about getting an MLS, and he said that I should, because he would hire me in a second— full-time stable job with city benefits and a pension sounds about right. We traded some emails about it, too. So, I'm starting library school (again) this summer.

But not everyone has these options.

I also want to note that I'm a white guy married to a non-white guy, so that the idea that I'm "unaware" or "don't care" that Trump will be worse than Biden is absolute bullshit. I know he will be worse, if elected, and I do care that he will be worse. But I will not vote for the guy who has rubber-stamped what is ongoing in Gaza and the West Bank, for reasons I have stated many times on this board. (Remember, unperson, there are women in Gaza, too, and their lives matter as much as lives in the US). As felicity very smartly pointed out a few months back, this is a deontological ethical point of view, and has as much validity and reasoning behind it as more utilitarian views.

booming post. it’s extremely persuasive and very moving. thx table.

doesn’t change my opinion on voting and how to apply it, but i def hear you.

Same. Thanks for posting.

fantastic post, table. The metrics on which the economic success of western countries are measured on are pure bullshit and meaningless to most people at the coalface.

Good luck, table. There are also sometimes jobs at the Upenn library, and the non-professional staff is unionized.

somehow these people all seem unaware that there are actually countries OUTSIDE of America, the vast majority of which are doing much worse than we are, regardless of what party is in power.

You wanna piss off people? Tell'e that someone else -- another country -- is doing worse. They're like SO WHAT WHAT ABOUT ME

“Sure, rent for a one bedroom apartment is 45% of your income but have you seen Spain?!”

great post table, I see a lot of parallels between your story and stories I hear from friends

The metrics on which the economic success of western countries are measured on are pure bullshit and meaningless to most people at the coalface.

The current legal structure that sustains property rights of the owning class imposes huge physical and emotional costs on the non-owning class everywhere. Property rights are arguably the leading cause of death worldwide. We all know this.

And in this economy, very few people are losing their jobs.

i know everyone likes to mock tech companies here, but they don't only employee highly compensated rich tech bros. they employee lots of people doing a huge variety of jobs, and they are laying thousands of people off every month.

Tech companies have been doing tons of layoffs, academic and media careers have been hit very hard. Those are areas that are massively overrepresented on ILX, while a lot of the good news around jobs and wages is coming from other parts of the economy, especially more blue collar jobs.

anecdotally I am probably an exception in the solar industry, but I am definitely better off than I was four years ago

I don't think that's true. In the most recent jobs report, retail hours were down (so retail workers are getting 3/4 of a schedule instead of laid off), growth was in 'professional services,' government employees, healthcare and then down the list manufacturing.

xp that was

has any thread mentioned that article on Topeka, Kansas trying to encourage people to move there followed by a glut of annoying right-wing outlets trying to pretend they were encouraging illegal immigration?

At least here in Oakland, if feels like restaurants are shuttering left and right.. not sure if that's true everywhere else

A long but fascinating essay on the (demographic) state of Florida.

That was something else. YIKES.

Florida looks nothing like America and has nothing to offer America, as a state, except vacations, understaffed nursing homes, and a model of what not to be. We are full of people who have already lived their lives and don’t care about yours.

At least here in Oakland, if feels like restaurants are shuttering left and right

this is largely because people are not going out to eat at the levels they used to, for a whole variety of reasons, but there is no doubt that fear of getting your car windows smashed is part of it. the other part is that eating out has gotten really expensive for a whole variety of reasons, and people's pay hasn't necessarily risen along with the costs. We have a cafe in Berkeley that closed recently (though it's reopening on weekends only) and while I miss it, eating breakfast there for three topped $120 most of the time. The owner blames 'gentrification' but I'm like... gentrifiers are the only people who can afford to eat at your place!

That’s a huge breakfast bill for three

My wife and I don't go out to eat because she's immunocompromised, but we get takeout from local restaurants — there's an OK pizza place, several Mexican places, a couple of good burger/diner spots, and a cool Asian fusion food truck — several times a week and it usually runs us $35-50 for two people. That's not terrible from our perspective, but for the people I hear having nervous conversations in the grocery store it may be a little high.

But on the other hand, the bars and the liquor store and the small casinos around here all seem to be doing fine, as do the various dispensaries. So people find the money for what they're willing to spend money on, in other words.

people find the money for what they're willing to spend money on, in other words

Whatever ameliorates the constant pain of living life like this, in other words.

The increased cost of fast food has created a flipped situation too, I can either get a shitty Wendy's combo for $12 or a bowl at the Korean fast casual place with pork belly, rice, edamame, vegetables and glass noodles for a dollar less.

Whatever ameliorates the constant pain of living life like this, in other words.

― badpee pooper (Eric H.),

But otherwise you're doing fine.

I noticed Miami-Dade and Broward weren't mentioned in that Florida article. What I read scans with what I see when I vacation in Southwest Florida or in the rare moments I drive north, but down here? Many young South American children and tech bros.

re: the border bill, the GOP Senate voted for the status quo

I don't really care that much

There was a Bon Appetit article the other day about how people are still spending $ on their favorite restaurants where they know what they're getting but less willing to risk trying new spots. Which makes it hard for the new places to stay afloat.

Less willing bc of higher prices, tbc

People like to say that small businesses are "job creators," (including and especially restaurants).

But lots of restaurants fail, usually quite quickly. So small businesses (including and especially restaurants) are also job destroyers.

For the most part, restaurant jobs suck.

otm

For the most part, restaurant jobs suck.

fixed.

That's why they call it work

As my grandfather used to say, of course work sucks — that's why they have to pay you to do it.

nah, I've worked a number of different jobs and restaurants were definitely the worst. factories are a very close second.

restaurants are cool jobs from 16-22, pretty sure I'd tear everything in my shoulder trying to carry one of those oblong trays filled with seafood platters now

they're cool for meeting other 16-22 year olds who need to let off steam

And/or have a side hustle selling weed and shrooms.

those plus the money was pretty good for being that age, walking out with $200-300 in cash on a Saturday night beat the hell out of Barnes & Noble or any other job that seemed available at the time

BIDEN tonight at a fundraiser in NYC: “I’m a practicing Catholic. I don’t want abortion on demand but I thought Roe v Wade was right.”

— AlexGangitano (@AlexGangitano) February 7, 2024

shut up gramps

huh i ain't catholic, maybe that'll work to the +, but uh, you don't need to go there.

I want it on demand, not least because after decades and decades of it being made more and more difficult to get even when it was federally protected, at the very least we should spend the rest of our lives apologizing to women and at most should actually give them access to abortion with as little effort as possible because it's there fucking bodies.

so yes, Hunt3r otm

"on demand" is so weird, like, that's the whole idea! On demand = "when you need it." When else are people supposed to have abortions if not on demand?

lol exactly

"no, we need to make it difficult because hey this might be a Van Gogh growing inside"

If men could get pregnant, abortions would be available at CVS.

there'd be pills in Frosted Flakes

fwiw, i think it's more enlightening to cite what Biden has done as president around this issue than quoting his choice of rhetoric when fund-raising.

how about "but i understand why it IS just and right."

see, i wasn't quoting aimless, i was ~suggesting~, tho maybe poorly.

huh?

That article about the demographic politics of Florida is extraordinary

Also h/t for the phrase "forced birth" when talking about anti-choice legislation - gets the point across much better

good morning!

I got busy yesterday and couldn't respond to people who responded to my q, but thank you

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/02/08/taylor-swift-conspiracies-lyrics-satire/

“Say you’ll remember ME” (“Wildest Dreams”): REMEMBER THE MAINE! Swift remembers the USS Maine, whose destruction precipitated the Spanish-American War. What will it precipitate next?

“Wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire” (“invisible string”): This refers to the secret facility where Taylor Swift’s enemies are kept.

And yet Lefsetz roams free

“Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby, and I’m the monster on the hill” (“Anti-Hero”): Who is the monster on the Hill? Congress, of course. But, then, who is the sexy baby? Simple: George Santos.

"I met Bobby on the boardwalk summer of '45
Picked me up late one night out the window
We were seventeen and crazy running wild, wild"

This is about RFK Jr. and Trump (45) visiting Epstein island

Also the modulation in the last chorus of "Love Story" was developed in a lab at Quantico to prompt a potent cocktail of dopamine and oxytocin in 97 percent of test subjects, bonding them to Swift and rendering them obedient to her suggestions.

wrt to the recovering economy and its (non) appearance in how people report sentiment, is one factor the fact that economic growth under Biden has disproportionately occurred in red states?

C'mon, man. No amount of prosperity, safety, freedom, or privilege will budge those voters. It's just tribes and grievance all the way down.

If only we could send a reporter to a diner. Surely that would provide us with some insights into how the Real Americans think.

Please save us, T. Swizzle, you're our only hope.

I have placed the plans of the Death Star in your Tesla. Many Bothans died to bring us this information.

Why can't they put one lonely reporter in the diner who will report what the common man says now and then.

C'mon, man. No amount of prosperity, safety, freedom, or privilege will budge those voters. It's just tribes and grievance all the way down.

That explains the red state voters who have had a faster recovering economy but are never going to credit a Democratic president. But what I was really referring to was more the fact that recovery in blue states has been less pronounced, so voters that might be more inclined to report more positive sentiment have less to feel good about than those in states where the recovery has been concentrated

even if the u.s. economy was the strongest ever in history people post-pandemic, post-trump, and post-climate change - on the left and right - will say that things aren't going well. its an existential thing. which is definitely gonna skew your polls. folks got the jitters out there. millenarianism. whatever you want to call it. mckibbenism.

people addicted to socials and podcasts are being served historically unprecedented, addictive megadoses of intentionally anger- and panic-inducing information.

they have no normal environment in which to modulate reasonable or even rational responses.

and now taylor swift's boyfriend has appropriated a fade.

utter chaos.

sorry that should go to the distopia thread i spose.

Anvil, that is an interesting point.

Bluer urban regions will always have more data points (both positive and negative) simply because there are more humans and therefore more experiences. And therefore more opinions. You will see greater variance simply because there is more information.

Further, bluer areas tend to have more going on - more businesses opening, more businesses closing, more people being hired, and more people being let go. Because: more people.

But what do I know? I'm just a stupid liberal living in a demiurban bubble. I know nothing about Real America. Where you work with your hands and drive a pickup truck and eat in a diner and you have 47 guns or whatever.

all at once!

well not the diner and the truck driving

I have installed a fully functional diner in my Ford truck. Next to the gun locker. Haven't you?

in the winter, in western mass, EVERY single person walking down the street looks like they are the cover photo for a pamphlet at the doctor's office that says "DEPRESSED?" on the front of it. so its hard to tell what the mood is out there. everyone is in cave bear mode. but people sure are buying a lot of records! #anecdotalbluestatemerchantupdate

Are there still diners in truly rural areas? Seems to me there is no "third space" that's not church in vast swaths of the heartland

Further, bluer areas tend to have more going on - more businesses opening, more businesses closing, more people being hired, and more people being let go. Because: more people.

Potentially, but if higher growth is concentrated in red states, that means thats where things are opening more or being built more, currently

This then leads to further questions, as to why that is? There's also an interesting parallel in Europe where post-covid growth is more pronounced in Eastern Europe than Western Europe

xp - In the small towns my family members live in, the non-church third spaces are the informal coffee gathering spot set up in the garage bay of the municipal building, the Dollar General parking lot and the Casey's gas station food counter.

Non-church third spaces in my town:

- casinos
- gas station convenience store
- bar that serves really good burgers
- other bar that serves really good burgers (and also has slot machines)
- gun store

oh duh, yeah, forgot the bar option

Seems to me there is no "third space" that's not church in vast swaths of the heartland

i sorta think that given the portion of the left that was generated out of church philosophy and teaching-- tho relatively historically rather than very recently-- the fact that much of the left seems to have moved far out of churches has been socio-politically poisonous. there's more 'tribal' or cultural separation. i'm sure this is well-trod ground, i just haven't looked for it.

what i'm saying is we need some radical priests and parsons.

Some of the fiercest libs/leftists I know are churchgoers, including Catholics.

folks got the jitters out there.

Definitely, and I think a lot of the disconnect that tables is talking about upthread is that the things that particularly give people the jitters aren't easily accounted for by our normal economic data dashboard. They are more structural things about security and stability, which have been relentlessly undermined by dehumanizing corporatism, lack of reliable access to healthcare, people feeling trapped in various ways where they are (Americans are moving across state lines less than they have in decades), cumulative household debt, etc. Lots of these things do get measured in various ways, but they're mostly not what talking heads mean when they say "the economy," which focuses mostly on GDP, DJIA and the unemployment rate — things that can be "good" in the aggregate without saying much about average individual experience.

I know, I know, but as a brainwashed leftist ... there is no God

Americans are moving across state lines less than they have in decades),

The old are moving to Florida to die or to kill me.

xp that post me

i tell a left evangelist friend of mine "the thing that's important about the church is exclusively social. partly because there is no god, of that i'm rather sure." to dorks who say "i hate organized religion, but i'm ~spiritual~" i will say "fuck that, you must be precisely the opposite, but find a church that's not loaded with assholes preaching exclusionary hatred"!

well, i spose they _can_ be spiritual, whatever the fuck they think that means.

"i hate organized religion, but i'm ~spiritual~" i will say "fuck that, you must be precisely the opposite, but find a church that's not loaded with assholes preaching exclusionary hatred"!

OTM. Also: these people don't wanna make time to go to church/observe sacraments.

I think there is a strong need/desire in most of us to believe or at least hope that there is something after death, hence the idea of "spirituality."

ha i do not want anything but release that is the desire, i want for nothing more, it would only disappoint.

/radicalovershare

Organized religion, on the other hand, as has already been pointed out, is more of a tribal/social affiliation.

I think that has been made astoundingly clear in the Age of Trump.

Dream catchers, kokopelli, hackysack

well, i spose they _can_ be spiritual, whatever the fuck they think that means.

hm. i now perceive the necessary hegelian synthesis. that it should be social AND spiritual. *hunter ascends amidst angelic chorus*

well, i spose they _can_ be spiritual, whatever the fuck they think that means

so like spirituality requires fellowship? Christian fellowship specifically, or do you have like an approved list

growing up in a heavily christian country definitely sucks. a christian continent even. connected to another christian continent. bleh. sick of their demons and fears. everyone should just go bowling.

the grange hall in town here is world-renowned (for real) for its contra dancing. seems like a much healthier use of a large building. it gets kinda smelly and sweaty in there. also: they used to have hardcore shows there in the early 80s. flipper played there! and siege! also a much better use of a large public building. similar smells and dancing as well.

probly should be here?

do you have like an approved list

nope. slightly more at link but only slightly. didn't know which thread was "best," just picked that one.

btw scott, i joined a grange three months ago to volunteer. ha, elev. 8350', i can ride my bike 3000' of vert to get to it, then serve the community. it's a bit elderly, but i feel happy and useful there!

scott aren't you from ct? i grew up in fairfield cty, ppl there just worshipped money i don't recommend that either.

I got busy yesterday and couldn't respond to people who responded to my q, but thank you

― rob, Thursday, February 8, 2024 5:58 AM bookmarkflaglink

You're welcome. Though I was wondering why you asked it.

my family is from guilford/sachems head but i grew up in brookfield which i wouldn't recommend much. right on route 7. when we moved there there were still cows crossing route 7. now its just one of those hellish endless things. but where my house was was nice. very new england. i lived next to the catholic grade school/church and across the street was the big congregational church. next to my house was the historical society. behind my house was the volunteer fire station. the siren went off a lot. and i worked across the street at the village store where you could read your newspaper next to the potbelly stove. very rustic! i never go back there. no reason to. very catholic town. lots of Italian and Irish catholic families with a million kids. lots of good pizza and scowling redheads in my town.

x-post

i was gonna read the CT parts of thurston moore's book because i know he had a similar existence down the road in bethel. getting wasted in the woods and getting into petty trouble. it could be very boring. you had to do something to make it less so. no netflix!

yup i get it, thx. i only remember that because like 20 yrs ago you mentioned wxci, is it? in the early-mid 80s that station was important fodder for me.

that station saved my life! i simply cannot ever give them enough credit. so much love. they turned me on to half the music i worship.

The conversation may have moved on from this but Unitarian Universalists are the libbiest churchiest churchlibs there are.

I hate to generalize but every single one of those mfs wears a chunky sweater and round glasses and donates to public radio and eats fake meat. They all have wooden canoes and play the oboe.

i said radical priests ymp

I sing at a UU church and this checks out

We was all on the cover of Newsweek

i learned sex ed at a unitarian church in the 70s. west redding, ct. great barbecues. they were nice folks. my parents mostly went for the talk and coffee.

How do you get a family of Unitarians to leave the neighborhood?

Burn a question mark on their lawn

I learned it in 1963 between the Chatterley ban and the Beatles' first LP.

They all have wooden canoes and play the oboe.
hm. are they tactical oboes? when i say _radical_...

my family was going to the unitarian church here in greenfield since before the civil war. my dad went once when he moved in with us and did not like it one bit. no people left. and the ones that are left were not very friendly to him. he's like 10th generation UU! oh well. i enjoyed going to Star Island in the summer for a good old fashioned UU think tank hoedown when i was a kid.

Scott, I can relate. Fourth generation here. I took UU sex ed at the church T.S. Eliot went to (founded by his grandfather). That church had a surprising collection of dildos.

that station saved my life! i simply cannot ever give them enough credit. so much love. they turned me on to half the music i worship.

I live in Fairfield County, after 30 years in NYC…while it is not exactly unlike the state of affairs in which "people are obsessed with $$$," it is a big, welcome contrast to NY, like, the outdoors aspect is fantastic; although I do miss Park Slope/Ditmas Park/Kensington.

One thing that is very good about Fairfield County is that the record buying game is nowhere near as competitive as NYC; you can find stuff here easily and not particularly expensively. I bet Scott S and possibly B. Amato went to Disc and Dat, but I am wondering if Scott was aware of Gerosa Records? there is also a place in Bridgeport called the Archive, which while it is focused on exploitation cinema DVDS, also has records: I found a copy of Patto "Roll Em, Smoke Em, Put Out another line" a record I have never seen anywhere.

From Page 6 of the special counsel report - a favorable legal conclusion for the presiden, but a tough one set to be seized upon by political rivals: The special counsel concluded he’d be perceived as “a sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” pic.twitter.com/vUBrSQsxLO

— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) February 8, 2024

Seems like a misreading by O'Keefe (who's a hack). The special counsel said Biden would present himself as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory." Which would be the smart play. It worked very, very well for Reagan, whose brain was Swiss cheese by the time he left office.

Definitely went to Disc and Dat, and Gerosa ever since it opened in the late eighties. Glad to hear that both are still around. Trash American Style was too scary for me as a teen (though I’d been there). I felt better among the proggers at Gerosa.

xp hey, at least I avoided a Musk-bot blue checkmark account

It worked very, very well for Reagan, whose brain was Swiss cheese by the time he left office

I didn't even realize until looking up just now that Biden assumed office at an older age than Reagan was when he left office

Old and busted: "defining deviancy down"

The new hotness: "defining dementia down."

Biden's obviously the candidate, but who would the dems field now if he had to drop out? Would it be Harris?

IF he resigns or dies, Harris becomes president, then the party would have to nominate her this summer.

There's a kook in the building next to me that has a KENNEDY 24 sticker on his Escalade... he's nearly always drunk and I've seen him driving erratically

it's probably RFK

There's a kook in the building next to me that has a KENNEDY 24 sticker on his Escalade

Kirsty MacColl song.

I would like it to be Harris for reasons of my own, but perhaps the universe will conspire to elevate somebody like Buttigieg or Newsom.

We almost came perilously close to a woman president in the recent past, but every force in the universe seemed to align to prevent it.

(Nota bene: not specifically defending HRC or Harris or Warren or even Haley - none of whom are perfect - just noting that we've proven ourselves capable of nominating and electing extremely imperfect dudes over and over again.)

name one

Whatever else, Trump isn't perfect.

Kirsty MacColl song.

doffs cap

DudePerfect ‘24

Whatever else, Trump isn't perfect.

― poppers fueled buttsex crescendo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, February 8, 2024 4:53 PM (four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

It's the imperfections that make something beautiful.

--Bob Ross

DudePerfect is just WordPerfect marketed to Jordan Peterson fans

"but I am wondering if Scott was aware of Gerosa Records?"

well of course its in my hometown! i was buying records from brian at the record broker in danbury when i was really young and i bought punk records from him when he used to sell at the elephant's trunk (i went to the very first elephant's trunk flea market...) (i got my first copy of fresh fruit for rotting vegetables from him in the early 80s...) and then at his own store. the best time to shop at his store was in the mid-90s when he was all in on CDs but still had tons of great records and he was selling them so cheap because nobody wanted them anymore. i got so much good stuff. that was when i was living in new milford with my brother during the whole grunge/bunnybrain/matador years.

"Trash American Style was too scary for me as a teen"

aww, it wasn't scary. unless maybe if ray capo was there and tried to teach you about krishna. $5 jandek records all day long at trash. you couldn't beat it. their original location was in brookfield too across from the post office. and of course trash was the breeding ground for bunnybrains. they had cool shows there too. i saw ted milton at trash! and my dad is dead. i will probably see malcolm at the northampton record show in march.
everyone should come to that record show! its gonna be fun. you can watch me bugging byron coley all day. i haven't done a show in years. maria just did one in new haven. we are slowly getting back on that smelly horse.

on the one hand, seems kind of bad
on the other, history has shown that the machinery of the state keeps chugging along (mostly) even with a complete non-entity up top so meh

this is insane pic.twitter.com/g9EYtK3reG

— royal acai enema naturopath (@lib_crusher) February 8, 2024

aka the Edith Wilson Clause

Best case scenario is still Weekend at Bernie’s-ing him across the line and then he keels over on 1/21/25

that sounds authoritative, but who or what's being cited?

Special counsel's observation. I don't doubt it, actually.

It's almost like all of those us who think he's too damn old to run for president are right.

it's getting a bit late to pull someone else off the bench. too bad kamala proved to be such a lackluster campaigner in 2020. a wide open primary season for the nomination would have sorted out the sheep from the goats. ofc, i'm still going with anyone but trump.

Would unironically support a party coup that set up Clinton Trump Part Deux. She still seems to be sharp as a tack and it would make for the funniest possible race.

Hey, you know who turns 35 this December?

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/BUK_8738-e1691715895373.jpg

xp That would be . . . interesting. Not sure how funny it would be.

These questions came up during Covid in 2020 as well.

If Biden dies between now and November, I think the DNC nominates a new candidate by a majority. By custom it would be the sitting president, but I'm not sure they can't open it up to Gretchen Whitmer and others due to the unique circumstances.

And re Clinton - no it was not funny the first time and would not be funny now.

"America is already great" and "Pokemon go to the polls" were hilarious

if you hadn't said "unironically" I might be laughing

It would be quite satisfying to see HRC beat Trump, but who wants to roll those dice?

And people say I have a dirty and foul mind

It doesn't matter. Like Dionne said, that's what veeps are for

The GOP isn't the only party that can run an aging hack for reelection.

I left my scarf there in the U.S. White House

the third place/religion conversation reminded me of this On Point segment, which I read the transcript of a couple weeks ago:
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2024/01/24/the-great-dechurching-why-so-many-americans-are-leaving-their-church

The creepy bit that smacks of the worst parts of evangelical culture, while being divorced from traditional organized religion:
And then in this story, the New York Times story, there was a very, like you said, revealing quote from an Iowa voter, Sidney Hatfield who says she was raised as a Baptist, she prays to God every night, but doesn't go to church anymore, has attended a lot of Trump rallies because, and here's her quote, "He's the only savior I can see."

I think I’m some arch-humanist in saying this, but I don’t fault the idea of being spiritual without religion, I fault spirituality without non-political fellowship. Obviously many churches are by nature exclusive in some way, but I think defining faith by exclusion is both necessary in doctrine and catastrophic in practice. It’s the parts of any group that are heterogenous, and the attempts to reconcile that with the group as a whole, that define how robust your organization may be. The weird Trumpist evangelism is somehow both, some syncretic thing that pulls in the older immigrants who hate new immigrants, the people who lament their dying towns but hate newcomers, etc.

god knows i don't want to actually read this thread but just fyi whenever i see it i cannot help but think

and i can see those fighter planes
and i can see those fighter planes

so thanks for that

also lol 'a man breathes into his saxophone'

to go back, the thing is that churches aren’t the third place for rural america anymore and haven’t been for a while. truly rural spaces don’t have churches that people regularly go to! it probably has a bit to do with how we define rural. driving around the northeast I was struck my the fact it was rural but even on the highways you’ll run into some small set of organized couple of buildings every so often. but as a new coworker said about once visiting the Midwest, “you have a lot of land out there”

you get to some areas and the small towns are just gone. it’s not church/grocery/post office/bar or some subset of one or two things, it’s just maybe one. and it’s seldom a church

lol moo kid also otm

damn autocorrect but I’ll allow it

i car trekked last summer looking at some hunt3r roots places along the ohio valley from sewickley pa to far western ky, almost to mo. uh, the third place is def dollar general, by my visual review.

it's often the only thing in town but for shambles and gas stations.

north- and central-eastern ohio was FAR more depressing than i could have imagined, it's pretty dense with dire ancient housing in disrepair and opioid treatment centers, more gas stations. no i've not read that cunt jd vance.

western wv land is fucking beautiful, all i could imagine was that mountain biking and road biking and bikepacking there would rule.

my grandma was raised born in central ky in like 1900, lived in a place called caneyville. i imagined that area of ky as a hillbilly hellhole, and as a 16 y/o newlywed pregnant with my mom while in flight from her parents to northern ohio to work in the depression in 1930, it probly was.

but now? v scenic rolling lush green farmland. with periodic churches and dollar generals. frankly nicer by driveby than i'd imagined.

What a vast, variegated place this country is.

I lived, for like seven months, in Hazleton

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/09/latinos-pennsylvania-politics-00139944

Honestly I don’t really find this surprising. There is a saying in various minority communities about skinfolk not being the same as kinfolk, and just as there are conservatives in the Caribbean, Central and South America, there are immigrants who are conservative, too.

That they’ve been brainwashed into voting for racist schmucks who want them dead is concerning, but not surprising.

Hell, it's been my story since the Reagan years. I find liberal Hispanics anomalies.

I do think that your experience is more geographically-bound than others, Alfred— nearly every Cuban-American I have ever met has been a reactionary.

Now, to be clear, their kids are another story.

i did not watch the biden press conference last night, is it as bad as I'm hearing it was

Ive decided it doesnt matter bc a) february and b) ol donnie is about to get the bill for trump co ie there wil be something else to overreact to, possibly even today

I'm more livid at Democratic self-owns re appointing Merrick Garland, Bipartisan Super Genius.

Nominating, rather, but you get the idea.

people are focusing on the negatives of biden's press conference because people don't like biden. if he was more popular, he'd get more charitable treatment

Alfred otm

I got into an unfortunate fight at my local watering hole last night because the heretofore quiet Trumper barfly whom I've known well for a couple years insisted on listening to a story about the Secret Democrat Plot to replace Biden with...Michelle Obama. I told him politely to turn it down. We get into an argument, the crux of which is Biden's senility. Of course, I have to "wake the fuck up" and "you're too young to understand" (he's all of 11 years older).

I said, "Two senile asshats lead our parties. Me, I'm voting for the senile guy whose party most lines up with my beliefs, and if he dies we replace him."

This, I guess, shut him up. Ten minutes later he apologized, we should never argue over politics, etc. I couldn't dislike him. Besides using the same talking points as my dad, I feel bad for him b/c his oldest kid was killed in a motorcycle accident six years ago.

The Democrats killed him, of course.

I often wonder if anyone turns left-wing as a result of profound personal trauma. It seems like tragedy like that blots out all sense and privileges only the feelings of pain, anger and fear. And the right-wing feed off all that.

yes? especially among the speakers who advocate for social and economic assistance groups on the left. I have a couple coworkers who grew up in very right-leaning homes who have moved to the left in the last few years

My parents have moved to the left as I have gotten older, and they’re Boomers ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yes, there is also the trauma of growing up in a right wing home.

Yep— I had many screaming matches with my mother and father about politics growing up, and still argue with them today, at times. My husband didn’t grow up with this sort of family, and is always deeply embarrassed when these arguments occur.

We've had a truce since September 2022 and it has held.

the press conference and report look really bad for biden.

i don't think it should be that relevant. there is no comparison between biden's stable, predictable administration and the madness of trump. the problems i have with his policies are problems i have with the democratic party (i.e. they are too conservative). the idea of people voting for trump because he doesn't sound or look as old as biden is absolutely lunacy. however, i think americans might vote like this.

it does seem like we are headed toward 2016 deja vu in november.

we've had the deja vu since January 2021

Uh oh! we all forgot yet again: America’s story

the report looks bad for biden if you don't think about who wrote it

and you don't read the letter the DOJ wrote saying "you shouldn't make this shit political"

what if the ages of the candidates creeps up every election cycle from now on

i don't see the press conference as looking bad--he didn't seem any more out of it than he ever has

waterface otm. This guy clerked for Rehnquist and was a Trump guy.

there was zero reason for the interviewers to ask biden about when his son died, was total trolling

sure

when even Joe Fucking Scarborough, whose show I caught a bit of while dressing this morning, called out the questions you know it didn't play.

"I lived, for like seven months, in Hazleton"

I knew a kid from Hazleton once. His name was Zapp and he used to huff gasoline.

it all looked pretty bad but looking at that report - it's pretty nakedly partisan, like Comey level shit - starts with "we have evidence of big crimes!" and then concludes "well not really", all while editorializing a bunch about his memory, not surprising to find out the guy who wrote is is a hardcore Trumper

press conference was not great, hate all these "Biden is so senile he confused Egypt with Mexico"...like yeah, he's been making gaffes like that for 40 years, he's not a very good public speaker. I mean I'm way younger than he is and I mix up my kids' names all the time. I don't actually believe he actually doesn't know who the President of Mexico is

its definitely a problem but I'm not gonna hear about it from people supporting Donald Trump, the guy who sounds twice as brain damaged now as he did when he literally stared into a solar eclipse

trump is a dangerously insane person. it's completely different. but voters are dumb.

Apparently this emerged:

Several of the entries in Biden’s notebooks related to Afghanistan and Pakistan, areas where Biden exerted significant policy influence when he was vice president. Afghanistan in particular remained one of Biden’s chief foreign policy concerns when he became president, culminating in his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from the country in 2021.

More than a decade earlier, in 2009, Biden had strongly opposed the military’s plans to send more troops to Afghanistan and tried to dissuade Obama from committing forces to what Biden believed to be a historic quagmire, “akin to Vietnam,” the report notes.

Obama ultimately ordered the troop surge, but Biden “always believed history would prove him right,” and he “retained materials documenting his opposition to the troop surge,” including a classified handwritten memo that he sent to Obama over the Thanksgiving 2009 holiday, the report found. FBI agents found the classified Afghanistan materials in Biden’s garage and home office in December 2022 and January 2023

And he was right.

Trump said Orban was the president of Turkey. It's not that different!

the debate should just be naming current heads of state

Gore and Kerry got blasted for trivialities like knowing the heads of state.

it's going to be such a long year

there was zero reason for the interviewers to ask biden about when his son died, was total trolling

― a (waterface), Friday, February 9, 2024 10:41 AM (twenty-seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I'm not sure they were asking him that exactly. Supposedly he said he'd been hanging on to some documents because he was working on a book about Beau, but seemed confused about time frames.

only nine months to go!

xp

that one guy couldn't be president because he screamed. sometimes i see him on t.v. as a commentator. and i think of that one measly little scream of his that dashed his hopes. different times...

thinking that the exact years that things happened and not knowing what happened is important is some "memorize this list of numbers to pass your high school american history test" crap

xpost it was a little weird to me to see the shift in the reach of progressive leftists into the liberal mainstream in 2016 (not in a bad way, I was pleasantly surprised).

since candidates like Sanders often faced mockery and being relegated to the margins in previous elections. despite how toxic and destructive the Bush administration was in just a short three years, the Democrats could only consolidate around Kerry, one of the worst candidates in history. Even being "anti-Iraq war" wasn't a winning position with Dem voters, like people could only accept "I voted for the war but only because I was misled" rather than a candidate like Dean that said "the war is bullshit, oppose it" from the onset (since anybody with eyes should have seen that from the get-go).

obviously the Great Recession had a lot to do with it, many people lost livelihoods and were out of work for years, and the ripple effects from it are still being felt almost two decades later. Obama was the stand-in for a progressive candidate, who said a lot of the things that sounded progressive, but ultimately kind of fell into Dem machine politics with a few inspired moments (ACA).

I'm guessing progressives kind of seized on the passing of the ACA as "ok, this is a flawed piece of legislation, but one thought unthinkable many years ago. When we were filibuster proof, we took very little advantage of it, so clearly it's not a matter of obstruction, it's a matter of our own will", and 2016 did look like a good a time as ever to take advantage, with what looked like Republican splintering going on.

xxpost Not sure it was so much the scream as it was what had happened earlier that night: coming in third in Iowa after you'd been leading the polls for a year

My parents have moved to the left as I have gotten older, and they’re Boomers ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

My parents are just barely pre-Boomers ('41 and '43). My mom, who lives in Colorado, absolutely has moved leftward. My dad, who lives in Florida, is a right-wing crank.

its definitely a problem but I'm not gonna hear about it from people supporting Donald Trump, the guy who sounds twice as brain damaged now as he did when he literally stared into a solar eclipse

Thank you for this btw. I'm still laughing at the juxtaposition

xpost my mom is basically left on everything except for immigration which is still a byproduct of ingrained prejudices, and we argue about it all the time.

but still an impressive shift because decades ago, mom was basically leftist with women's rights and abortion, but pretty moderate to conservative on everything else.

even expressed anger at the Israeli government a few weeks ago for their treatment of Palestinians.

Dad, meanwhile, voted for Clinton in the 90s (did not like Daddy Bush), yet voted for Dubya in 2004, and voted for Trump the first time, and yet told mom "I like Biden" in 2020, and voted for Biden.

My dad "didn't like" Hillary Clinton, but could never articulate why.

It's OK, dad, I'm pretty sure I know.

the debate should just be naming current heads of state

I would actually love if one of the debates was just a straight up round of Jeopardy, with very loud buzzers for wrong answers (or air horns, even)

SNL Celebrity Jeopardy makes a comeback

people are focusing on the negatives of biden's press conference because people don't like biden. if he was more popular, he'd get more charitable treatment

I can assure you the media coverage over here is all "Can you believe this man is running for president?"

The same could be said for many, if not most, candidates for President since about 1988.

Not on the basis of them being far too old and fragile for the job.

xxxxxpost I think the best way to relate to right wingers is over shared hatred of HRC

Not on the basis of them being far too old and fragile for the job.

― The British Boy of Film Classification (Tom D.), Friday, February 9, 2024 11:52 AM bookmarkflaglink

*cough* REAGAN *cough*

oh, you said post-88, so....n/m

but hey Bush puked at a dinner once

From a UK perspective where Reagan was always considered a dimwit, it was only later on the senility jibes started

even your Iron Lady privately mocked him.

I don't know if anyone here thought he was a genius either

How dare you speak ill of dear leader

he was a deer leader

btw am I the only one who remembers Biden vowing during the primaries he'd only be a one term president if elected? weird how no one's asked him about that since.

iirc he has said he wouldn't be running if trump wasnt running

The point I was making is the UK media - including the right wing press - is almost entirely pro-Biden so people weren't saying, "Oh my God look at the state of this guy, we are so fucked" because they dislike him.

Biden never explicitly said he would serve just one term, but multiple outlets reported that he and his advisers discussed making such a pledge. His allies reinforced the notion, even as Biden himself denied it. “It is virtually inconceivable that he will run for reelection in 2024, when he would be the first octogenarian president,” Politico reported in December 2019, citing four unnamed sources who spoke regularly with Biden.

conceive the inconceivable

Never again is what you swore

inconceivable

You keep saying that word.

The point I was making is the UK media - including the right wing press - is almost entirely pro-Biden so people weren't saying, "Oh my God look at the state of this guy, we are so fucked" because they dislike him.

― The British Boy of Film Classification (Tom D.), Friday, 9 February 2024 17:19 (seventeen minutes ago) link

Oh that's interesting that even the right-wing press in the UK is pro-Biden (despite his infirmities).

Why is that - is there a single issue like Trump's threat to pull out of NATO or being chummy with dictators - or what do you think it is?

Trump's a fascist idiot, apart from a few ultra right wing columnists (and Jacob Rees Mogg) no-one's going to admit to supporting Trump, not even Boris did that.

Johnson wrote a Mail piece just the other week saying 'Trump again would be good actually'

He can say that now because he's not an MP and is free to pull in readers to his jolly japes columns.

I was reading about a Tory MP the other day who had tweeted support for Trump on 2016 and was now having to backtrack and say she was young when she tweeted and had changed her viewpoint since. You know, like she'd tweeted something racist or something!

reminiscent of the clip of Tucker asking Putin if he feels god's hand at work and Vlad just going "uh, no" - even reactionaries elsewhere think the American right-wing is weird and scary

It's certainly an odd idea to ask a former KGB officer if he feels god's hand at work.

I've seen this a lot, though: U.S. right-wingers think of people like Putin as the reincarnation of the Crusaders or the Vikings--while having no idea what the Crusaders or the Vikings were actually like, of course.

Putin actually is religious of course.

Is he? It's hard to tell. He sure hasn't taken the lessons to heart.

how many people has putin killed with his bare hands? 50? 60? he was in east germany slitting throats wasn't he? he scary.

https://cdn.prod.www.spiegel.de/images/be1515a5-d7c5-4ebe-812c-6b2906dd4ffe_w1024_r1.778_fpx54_fpy39.png

hey there, lonely boy...

I'm not sure he's personally religious, but more than happy to exploit the Russian Orthodox church for political purposes

xpost just sitting here, putin about things

how many people has putin killed with his bare hands? 50? 60? he was in east germany slitting throats wasn't he? he scary.

None.

Putin actually is religious of course.

he's religious the same way Italian mob bosses are practicing Catholics

Yeah probably never murdered anyone directly, hence all the shirtless posturing

Not unless he stapled or photocopied someone to death, I think he was mostly office based.

like ordering a hit from your goomar's bed Saturday night but you make it home in time for Sunday Mass.

Remember when George W. Bush saw a crucifix around his neck and thought he was addressing a Christian?

(xp) Well, yes, but they still believe in God and the Church.

On a completely different note, here's Georgia, once again leading the way in going backwards.

Opposition to Georgia's cash bail bill grows amid legal and constitutional concerns

https://www.wabe.org/opposition-to-georgias-cash-bail-bill-grows-amid-legal-and-constitutional-concerns/

juliana huxtable also present … by one way to reconcile the contradiction might be that they hold that mtf transition is cool but not ftm

🖼

Have no idea how the rest of that got there

Should've asked Claire Huxtable to represent.

Judge Cannon just ordered that by tomorrow February 10, Jack Smith provide Trump with information about the death threats against a confidential witness in the Mar-A-Lago document case which Cannon previously allowed Jack Smith to file ex parte (meaning Trump can’t see it) and under seal (meaning the public can’t see it) as part of his motion for reconsideration

Smith will certainly file a response to this. Meanwhile, this could further delay the doc trial

How did RFK Jr get an ad on the Super Bowl?

With right-wing dark money.

Time for a Sirhan Sirhan pardon

apparently the guy who founded LimeWire is behind the PAC that paid for that RFK Jr. Super Bowl ad

— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) February 12, 2024

Did he pay for Kanye’s ad too?

All of these people need to meet Mr Choppy

yeah i always joke that ‘pretty soon it’s yr own head in the basket,’ but many of these sv money types seem so worth it

if you step back it’s the same weird anti-vax group (pre-Covid!) with a through line. The people saying a measles vaccine gives you autism

This is a real tweet from the Biden team:

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ccrabc6xdnjx4l7btvynnng4/bafkreibdxktca3hfbuuemtksfkwremsfc6kf23kscmiixp4dxdrbtcn4ue@jpeg

is Biden a Chiefs fan?? if so pretty funny I must say

He's just excited for Len Dawson to get a ring.

2020 democratic primaries teens Alaska

(**ahem**) I meant to say the Gravel teens have grownup jobs now.

some people on social media getting weird about football celebrations. rowdy tailgate culture is queer, too, as far as I know. not my scene but a bunch of queer women and broskis slamming beers in a parking lot and maybe going to the game is something I see pictures of online all the time, friends and friends of friends. scolds who don’t know lesbians chugging 10 - 15 cans of coors and hollering

again, not my scene but I respect it

(**ahem**) I meant to say the Gravel teens have grownup jobs now.

Actually (this is true) the woman who used to run the official New Jersey Twitter account now runs Biden's.

Real queers don’t drink Coors

It’s also super cool that the Biden team is putting out dumbass memes about a barbaric game while helping Israel bomb the shit out of a civilian population.

Senile Murderer 2024!

I’m loving the right wing’s current “everything is gay except tanning your balls” moment

xxp fair, I didn't want to ponder whether it's actually natty light

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apologized to his family members after a super PAC backing his independent bid for the White House aired a commercial during the Super Bowl on Sunday night.

“I’m so sorry if the Super Bowl advertisement caused anyone in my family pain. The ad was created and aired by the American Values Super PAC without any involvement or approval from my campaign. FEC rules prohibit Super PACs from consulting with me or my staff. I love you all. God bless you,” Kennedy Jr. wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

American Values 2024 ran a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl that heavily relied on imagery from former President John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign. PAC co-chair Tony Lyons confirmed to The Hill that the ad, which appeared just before the halftime show, cost $7 million.

Despite Kennedy’s apology and his claim that his campaign was not involved, the ad remained pinned to the top of his X profile as of Monday morning.

"American Values PAC"

RFK Jr. looks like he's wearing a RJK Jr. mask

What a fucking disgrace.

When after all, it was you and me

American Values Super PAC didn't need to run focus groups to figure out RFK Jr's only political asset. The only question is what political result the PAC's financial backers are trying to produce.

RFK's ideas are so nonsensical that the ad probably did a better job of explaining his appeal than he ever could

he also sounds like he just ate a bucket full of gravel so whatever ads they do for this guy they can't feature him actually talking

Very fitting for this month's thread title

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY): “Open the champagne, pop the cork! The Senate Democrat leader and the Republican leader are on their way to Kyiv! … They’re taking your money to Kyiv! They didn’t have much time — really no time and no money — to do anything about our border.” pic.twitter.com/sKxe5m13zb

— The Recount (@therecount) February 12, 2024

Next time, I hope his neighbor kills him.

idk it's kind of nice when one of the Paul family plays the hits

not any tune I like, but feigning non-interventionism is one of their classics

I’ve even more glad than ever that I didn’t watch the Super Bowl.

If our thread titles are going to be so prescient, I suggest we use our power for evil next month.

"I can't fuckin believe Trump, McConnell, Paul, Gohmert, Boebert, MJG, Alito, Thomas, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett all drowned when their cruise ship sank. March 2024"

"RIP Donald Trump: US Politics, March 2024"

lol xp

lol sleeve

Triangle of Happiness

I don't know if Travis Kelce belongs here or in the labor action thread or what, but the ginned-up freakout about him yelling at his coach I think has a very specific motive, separate from Taylor Swift or anti-vax stuff — they really hate to see an employee yell at a boss and get away with it.

RFK trying hard to be king of the failsons

"Donald Failson" has potential as a display name

this is probably good news for the the democratic candidate (an insane right winger, but less right wing than the republican) in the santos special election.

So far turnout in NY-03 is very low —“nothing” is the exact quote— Queens turnout is a quarter of 2022 by 10 am and Nassau even lower, I’m told.

Still snowing on LI but should be better later so it could change but it’s looking like an old fashioned snow day, schools all out ❄️

— Jacqueline Sweet (@JSweetLI) February 13, 2024

Long Island can't be fixed, only endured.

How is Anthony Devolder polling?

kinda weird to hear this was his seat it feels like Santos was kicked out of Congress like 2 years ago

Shoveled out at 8am to go vote (against Pilip). Very few people were there (Nassau County).

the folly of Rand Paul's bloviating about 'pallets of cash to Ukraine' is that he knows as well as anyone: most of that money will remain in the U.S. and will be spent on weapons OR will be spent purchasing munitions from NATO members to transfer to Ukraine, and then they'll order more; there are no 'pallets of cash'. Likewise for Israel & Taiwan

This is the military-industrial complex that Eisenhower warned about, and why it's likely that this package will pass, despite the protestations of the 'freedom caucus' idiots. Bring home the pork

WTF.. pure theater

House Republicans on Tuesday narrowly secured a historic vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, rallying GOP members after a first failed effort.

Yeah, but it's like community theater put on by people who wanted desperately to be actors but suck at it, acting out a play written by August Strindberg's younger brother, September.

Johnson wanted to score a 'win' to secure his speakership, even if it's purely symbolic

Now that he has something to crow about, they might drop opposition to the Ukraine funding

Do an impeachment for each bipartisan bill, seems like a solid plan. Of course Trump will shit all over funding Ukraine either way.

if he'd only been around in 1939, there's no way Hitler would've invaded Poland

Do random MAGAs and conservatives even care about this impeachment? It's hard to imagine they're ultra pumped up about it.

Give it a few hours to filter out. They care about what they're told to care about. By the morning it will be the most important thing to ever have happened.

Not impeaching Biden once more than Trump is the biggest self-own of the GOP House. Absolutely nothing would get their core demographic harder than being able to say Biden was impeached three times.

The Mayorkas thing is mostly about making the election about immigration. "Invasion at the Border" is pretty much the GOP '24 platform.

I just don't see how it moves the ball for them at all. It's a real low energy move.

I suppose it's marginally more appealing than "eradicating the vermin within."

Just more fuel for the endless right-wing outrage, Mayorkas is just another sinister-sounding name that happens to be Jewish that they can throw around. These guys can make supervillains out of anyone.

Dems flipped Santos' seat:

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/ny-special-election-santos-02-13-24/index.html

Not particularly a fan of Suozzi - he's a transactional Clintonite Dem at best, but this bodes well for Biden and the Dems later in the year.

yeah good sign

Goodbye Santos, it was not a pleasure.

I still wanna buy this shirt

https://thegoodshirts.com/products/diva-down-we-salute-you-george-santos

I haven’t looked into that district in a minute, but iirc it was a democratic-leaning district that swung toward santos in 2022 because the democrats ran some shell of a DNC official who didn’t even have a Wikipedia entry. It’s great it’s a Democratic pickup but it’s more of a return to usual rather than an indication of a big shift?

*caveat: I don’t know what I’m talking about

it's ok. you don't need to know. just take the win as a pebble thrown in the better side of the scale.

For sure! I will take any good news I can get

Literally a return to usual, since Suozzi held the seat before Santos. In fact, he beat Santos in 2020 and probably would've done so again in 2022 had he not decided to run for governor instead.

lol pol santos's next job stop. or maybe his next claimed job spot.

Noted elsewhere, there is a more intriguing bellwether today:

🚨 With 100% of precincts reporting, the (tentative) final results for PA HD-140 are as follows:

🔵 Jim Prokopiak: 67.3% (6,462)
🔴 Candace Cabanas: 32.1% (3,079)

D+35.2 in the end. An absolutely astonishing overperformance in this Biden+10 seat by roughly ~25 points.

— Joshua Smithley (@blockedfreq) February 14, 2024

Re: Santos' (and my) district - since 2016 I've realized even Dem and Dem-leaning areas still have sometimes silent 40+% Rep (and plenty of psuedo-Dems) who crawl out from under the rocks like grubs when their taxes get threatened by 1-3%.

According to a December 2023 Politico article, solidarity with Israel in response to the October Hamas-led terrorist attack is a top priority for the district, and both Suozzi and Pilip are "staunch supporters of Israel".[52] Suozzi and Pilip primarily campaigned on the issue of an influx of migrants into the United States.[7]

I'm glad he won and I'm glad he's not my representative.

Let's just say you aren't going to win in Nassau County without supporting Israel 100%.

‘I hereby appoint the honorable Marjorie Taylor Greene to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. Signed, Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives’ pic.twitter.com/w09J00NCIK

— Acyn (@Acyn) February 14, 2024

Ugh

Um, Speaker pro tempura...I mean, speaker pro tempore, that is (I suppose) a thing, but not really an interesting thing.

President pro tempore definitely IS a thing (senior Senator, and therefore in line for presidential succession). Pretty sure it is currently Patty Muuray.

Bloomberg article about Trump's money troubles (pasted rather than linked because of their paywall):

Trump On Pace to Drain Legal Funds by July, With Only $27 Million Left

Donald Trump will likely drain his war chest for legal fees this summer, leaving the GOP frontrunner crunched for cash just as his presidential campaign ramps up spending for an expected rematch with President Joe Biden.

Trump spent $51.2 million in 2023 on legal expenses, and can tap another $26.6 million stashed in an allied super political action committee that he can use to pay his lawyers. But as his four criminal cases ramp up, those funds are expected to run out at a critical time — around July, when the Republican National Convention triggers the official start to the general election campaign.

That leaves Trump with only a few — unappealing — options to keep paying for his defense.

He could compel the Republican National Committee, which faces its own cash woes, to pay his bills, leaving the group with less money to support his campaign. He could siphon off more money from his army of small-dollar donors to his leadership PAC, Save America, which is financing his defense in multiple criminal and civil proceedings. Trump already diverts 10% of online contributions made to his reelection toward Save America for legal bills — a move which accounted for $9.9 million in 2023.

To pay his legal fees, Trump is relying on federal laws governing leadership PACs, which allow politicians to raise money that can support travel, fundraising and other political expenses.

Trump’s legal bills have been a drag on what has otherwise been a strong fundraising operation. His campaign and allied groups last year collectively spent $13.6 million more than they raised, thanks to a large nest egg of donations to Save America from 2021 and 2022, before he was actively campaigning. That fundraising buffer has nearly been depleted.

Save America has largely been able to pay for tens of millions of dollars in legal fees because of refunds of money it had previously transferred to Make America Great Again Inc., the super PAC supporting Trump’s bid.

MAGA Inc., which has the ability to raise unlimited sums, used 71 cents of every dollar it raised in 2023 to help Trump pay his lawyers. That money came from deep-pocketed donors, including investor Timothy Mellon, Crownquest Operating LLC’s Timothy Dunn and Home Depot Inc. co-founder Bernie Marcus. MAGA Inc. is permitted to refund $26.6 million more to Save America, but can’t transfer any more after that.

“Our mission is straightforward – maximize the Republican Party’s resources to get President Trump elected,” Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said in a statement.

MAGA Inc. and the RNC did not respond to requests to comment.

The RNC, which previously covered some of Trump’s legal bills during and after his first term, could also fund his trial costs, though it would drain cash that otherwise would be used to win elections.

The RNC is better-equipped to bring in large amounts of money, compared to Save America, which can only accept donations as big as $5,000. Donors can give the RNC $123,900 for an account that can only be spent for legal expenses, plus another $41,300 that can be used for any purpose, including influencing elections.

A mid-summer cash crunch for Trump, who is on the cusp of the nomination, would hit the RNC just as it is spending millions to boost Republicans nationwide. The RNC already behind on raising money, starting the year with just $8 million, compared to the Democratic National Committee which had $21 million in the bank.

Money problems at the RNC have been sore point for Trump, who has recommended ousting chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, partly because of dissatisfaction over fundraising. Trump has endorsed North Carolina Republican Party Chair Michael Whatley and daughter-in-law Lara Trump to lead the national party, a move that would his grip on the RNC.

i'd like see him wriggle his way out of that jam

I'm even happier if he doesn't.

yep

MAGA Inc. is permitted to refund $26.6 million more to Save America, but can’t transfer any more after that.

When has legality ever stopped him.

“MAGA Inc.”

Money won't be a problem for Trump's campaign, but if the RNC is pumped dry for Donald it will affect their ability to pour millions into critical Congressional races and support downballot candidates. ofc, PACs will step in wherever they feel inclined, but this will at least put a crimp in the money hose.

yeah, this matters not so much for Trump but for control of Congress.

Yeah the best thing for us now is Trump using the Republican Party as his personal piggy bank.

Time for another round of NFT's: Astronaut, soccer star, rodeo cowboy etc.

pumped dry for Donald

Well, there is my least favorite phrase of the day, thxbye

construction worker, policeman

It's fun to stay at the...

Everybody do the arm motions now

C C C P? U S S R? that's so very passe and 70s.

Putin Steps Into US Race to Back ‘Old-Style’ Biden Over Trump

Vladimir Putin praised Joe Biden as a more reliable alternative for Russia than Donald Trump, making his first public comments on the American presidential election.

“He’s a more experienced person, he’s predictable, he’s an old-style politician,” the Russian president said of Biden in a state television interview when asked which of the two leading candidates would be better for Russia, according to a video released by the Kremlin.

daaaaaamn Donald must be pissed

Nah, he'll be all "If Russia doesn't like me, they must be SCARED of me"...

The Swifties got to him.

This is meant to help Trump

^so obvious it should have gone without saying but

Speaking of psy-ops

Trump is such an idiot he may misinterpret Putin's intentions.

Alfred OTM tho - as if Trump can't take that kind of rejection at face value.

I'm not convinced this is necessarily meant to help Trump per se (though it might be)

Trump is high reward but also high risk, and much of what Putin wants can be still be achieved with Biden at a lower risk. Also while the Kremlin is highly effective at exploiting fissures in the west, I'm not convinced Putin himself is, especially after missing the open goal presented by Tucker Carlson

Putin is perceived as a gambler, but I think this is only partially true. He's also extremely cautious and a procrastinator, interspersed with periods of rolling the dice (often to compensate for previous procrastination)

it could be a comment in competent good faith, it could be just shaking cages everywhere as much as one can. doubt it matters.

not everything can 'help Trump', like i doubt any voters give a shit about this. Trump will be mad and that's all I care about, because he's dumb when he's mad. well, dumber.

I think heightening division is a more important aim than either of the two candidates winning, but if Putin was personally adept at facilitating this, he failed to show it in his interview with Tucker, registering no shots on target even as Tucker lay down in the goal

people like him more when he's incensed about something and is railing against enemies, real or imaginary! this is what they go to see him talk about!

Putin's also basically calling Tucker a terrible interviewer, which is both true and an attempt to play the stateside audience like a piano

Putin's used to tough interviews

Wary about playing armchair psych here but I don't think his stated dissatisfaction with Tucker was an attempt to play the US audience either. The digs at Tucker attempting but failing to join the CIA felt real, a show of dominance, and this feels coming from the same place. Tucker genuflecting and simping was a show of weakness I think Putin couldn't respect, In a weird way Tucker sort of ended up in the same spot as Macron, a toady

Yeah well, with both Putin and Trump journalists just can't win

daaaaaamn Donald must be pissed

― poppers fueled buttsex crescendo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, February 15, 2024 8:24 AM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Oh, snap

loooooooool

https://bsky.app/profile/hudsonrivercroc.bsky.social/post/3klhwnkiglc2y

Biden apparently suffers from the rare form of dementia that makes him more focused and disciplined as president than he ever was as vice president. This is the story the media should pursue, if they followed facts and ignored “vibes.

https://www.publicnotice.co/p/biden-hur-media-coverage

The article also recounts the terrible things he has said since, well, the beginning.

I feel like those kind of arguments kind of miss the point. Definitely we know voters weigh all the facts carefully and fairly and are not at all influenced by vibes.

But I get it, it’s the best answer. I just don’t know what voter needle it’s supposed to move.

I just don’t know what voter needle it’s supposed to move.

The nervous Democrats in my life.

People forget that Biden was making the same verbal gaffes when he first ran in 1980

Dalia has a pretty good piece restating the obvious: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/02/biden-age-controversy-vs-trump.html

exactly - Biden has always been a bad public speaker, to the point where it's really impressive he's been able to have the sort of career he has. he definitely sounds older and more tired but he talks the way he always has.

this, from the Slate piece, is very important:

Despite our fascination with the Great Man theory of American lawmaking, the presidency is an office that largely turns on superb staffing, visionary planning, deft political negotiation, and artful execution. Joe Biden doesn’t actually have to remember every single detail himself—he has to use his judgment to employ and empower a large contingent of skilled experts to execute upon their agreed-upon vision.

like, this is what we're actually voting for isn't it? I don't like Joe Biden and I *do* think he's too old but like...he's one part of a huge administration. companies can have the biggest morons on the planet as CEO and still succeed. Donald Trump insisted that all his intel briefings got significantly dumbed down because he has the attention span of a fish and at the end of the day it didn't really matter.

Electing masters of detail and public speaking like Clinton and Obama spoiled Democrats good; many people seem to believe those dudes did everything themselves.

What were they spoiled with though? It can only be the presentation, Biden has surely delivered more than either Clinton or Obama

or, the Biden administration, I should say

Right.

For me, nothing Biden does will have the life-improving impact of the ACA. The home-improvement rebates in the Inflation Reduction Act may go a long way, but for me it's Thanks Obama.

Frogbs has it right. The president is about one two-millionth of the government. He doesn't go over to the FDA to approve drugs. He doesn't go over to USDA to inspect beef. He doesn't put on a helmet to go invade Afghanistan (or whatever). He is not auditing your tax return.

The only reason to vote is to keep the ball moving in the right direction (slightly better outcomes, among what is achievable).

Yep. The issue isn’t about his governing. It’s about whether he can get reelected. It’s a binary answer (theoretically at least …), and we’ll find out soon enough. It’s on him and his campaign to make it happen.

Make the president a figurehead again

seems like this should be a story

NEW: An anti-Biden FBI informant fed the bureau lies about Joe Biden and Hunter Biden during the 2020 presidential race, according to a new indictment. https://t.co/x7hv6rCafn

— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) February 15, 2024

Time to put Smirnov... on ice

So surprised the October surprise was an October Surprise.

but what about russian nuclear death star thing? that's the REAL story

and more...

This is the most chaotic, inefficient and ineffective majority we’ve seen in decades covering Congress. It started this way under former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and has gotten worse under Johnson.

And things aren’t going to get easier. The House is leaving town today by 2:30 p.m.…

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) February 15, 2024

Ooohhhh child, thing ain't gonna get easier

The 52-year-old Louisiana Republican — speaker for just 113 days — is a very pleasant man.

Lies.

But he and his top aides, most of whom are new to the leadership, have still failed to get a feel for governing successfully.

Pretty sure a barely functioning government with occasional oopsie shutdowns is their idea of successful governing with a Democratic President.

The only reason to vote is to keep the ball moving in the right direction (slightly better outcomes, among what is achievable).

― fleetwood macrame (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, February 15, 2024 12:13 PM bookmarkflaglink

Yes, and the power to nominate federal judges to lifetime appointments. The judges nominated by Trump who got confirmed are bad enough. I had a flashback to some of the nominees who didn't.

whew

https://i.imgur.com/RqnAoG3.jpg

thanks peggy

at least she put forward alternatives:

"This is what Democrats argue: There is nobody else. But there is. Here we summon the usual names, starting with the Gs—Gov. Gavin Newsom, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Add Jared Polis, Josh Shapiro, all the candidates of the 2020 primary. There is no Biden movement within the party that would bolt without him, no Biden cult that must be appeased."

I'm glad I don't have a subscription to the WSJ so I don't have to read that. I think it's less likely that we win if Biden opts out now. There will be too much chaos. There is a huge base of voters who will be turned off, and I don't think most of those people, as much as I like them, can win starting now.

and Peggy Noonan has a genuine interest in whom the Dems nominate.

I can hear those champagne bottle corks popping like it’s Christmas every fucking day, oh my! but i don't know what to do with the tossed salad and scrambled eggs

they're callin again

Peggy Noonan’s fun when she hates the candidate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzvDT0xC4EI

I was just looking up how old Martin Scorsese is, and it turns out he's three days older than Biden.

https://www.wpr.org/news/evers-signs-new-maps-into-law-ending-wisconsin-redistricting-lawsuit

New state legislative maps in WI.

That's a victory and therefore sweet. My hope is that voter anger toward the WI republican party's arrogance has been slowly growing over the past decade as the public keeps seeing their egregious behavior. That would be just as much of a positive as this latest development.

this is nice, as I understand it this affects where I live

Are you in or near Kenosha? Can't remember. Big primary there today, right?

Meanwhile:

I’m sure the parking lot these two losers had lined up somewhere upstate NY will be devastated because no way in hell they were playing anywhere in NYC pic.twitter.com/IKFjkmdpjA

— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) February 19, 2024

I’m going to NY to make real estate deals to counter this

I'm seeing references to posts from lots of losers "boycotting" New York. Like, I dunno, asshats like Scott Baio being all, "I refuse to appear in any huge Broadway musical until the verdict against Trump is voided," or hilarious shit like that.

lol

How will NY state ever survive

The Tonys Love Chachi

I'd say we are already seeing side benefits from the verdict.

Wall Street definitely about to move to Plano, any day now.

We don't need your Stock Exchange...we've got the Rock Exchange! (Fireworks explode, laser light show of penis going into a hot dog bun)

Are you in or near Kenosha? Can't remember. Big primary there today, right?

nah, Sheboygan...90 minutes away

Wow, my wife's family is from Sheboygan. Nice town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWu677TkXOc

Apparently the You Can’t Cancel America Tour meme is fake.

I think the tour is just called the Rock the Country Festival Tour, with just a few dates in smaller southern cities.

I love Sheboygan, as fun to say out loud as it is to visit.

if fake, fine.

But have they considered Four Seasons Landscaping?

https://cf.geekdo-images.com/UpkK7w2wJTJYGxApuMAhdQ__imagepage/img/fR6gfGgpTtQz8j8lU0d4iK_CHtQ=/fit-in/900x600/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic579229.jpg

I dunno, Sheboygan looks kinda scary

The Alabama Supreme Court coming for IVF is going to make things worse in with consequences they can’t see, but that’s kinda expected by now.

Degrading society and harming otherwise innocent people without tangible benefit to anyone is always justified if it is in service to your 'moral principles and values'.

I timidly hope kingfish is right... in that completely insane extremism may result in a backlash that reestablishes something a little closer to humane sanity.

That said, humane sanity is in short supply lately. I would very much like it to return.

Not, personally, a big fan of the Trotskyite position (roughly, "the worse things get the better they get"). But I don't know how to fix Alabama and it is very much not my job to do so.

My hope is that folks who are in difficulty get the help they need. It is clearly not going to come from Judge Holy.

You remember a sane time? I don't. Was it between the Chatterley ban and the Beatles' first LP?

Times are always shitty. The best we can do is to do good or at least suffer no evil.

I keep telling people that. For some reason, they keep telling me I'm an asshole.

I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that things have gotten noticeably more insane since 2016, doesn't mean everything was great before, just that the shittiness has accelerated.

Sure. But I've never known some level of insanity from the GOP.

Racism and xenophobia run through US history like a mighty river of revolting sludge.

So surprising for a country founded on slavery and genocide.

Everything's gotten worse since the polarizing Obama Presidency

Why did he have to divide us?

Thanks, Obummer

"Mistaking sawdust for cocaine sounds more like a storyline from one of the 1980s Police Academy comedies than what should be expected in a high-profile prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice."https://t.co/elMKzpA3Xs pic.twitter.com/HJo9GPw8Kx

— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) February 20, 2024

Alfred, jimbeaux, Moodles, and Aimless are, of course, right: history is generally a nightmare. There was never a time where happiness was universal. But things seem pretty bleak right now. Both of those assertions can be true.

Apart from domestic political polarization, I might note that my grandfathers came of military age at a time when the United States was suddenly and dangerously at war. And then my father came of military age at a time when the United States was suddenly and dangerously at war. I came of military age at a time when the United States was suddenly and dangerously at war. My brother came of military age at a time when the United States was (SHOCKA) suddenly and dangerously at war.

And now I am sitting next to my son, who is 12 years old and eating too many Girl Scout cookies. What will his fate be? Let me guess. A polarized nation and, one presumes, war and/or natural and/or climate disasters.

sheesh, I'm just a frickin ray of sunshine today. Sorry

Are you in or near Kenosha? Can't remember. Big primary there today, right?

fwiw I live in Kenosha and yes, the mayoral primary here is today. Big field vying to replace the mayor of 24 years.

things seem pretty bleak right now

I think part of what feels "worse" right now is that for a long chunk of the 20th century in the U.S., you could plausibly argue that as bad and grim as things were, they were "getting better" in measurable ways. The economic and living conditions of most Americans improved a lot through the second third of the century, and as terrible as the fights were around civil rights, there were real and demonstrable gains. But obviously the economic improvements plateaued and began to lose ground, and now thanks to SCOTUS etc the same is happening to civil rights. (The only part of the Bill of Rights that's been substantially expanded in recent years is the 2nd Amendment, yay).

So it's not just that things are bad and grim, it's that they're getting worse in many respects. Gets harder to keep talking about long arcs bending toward justice because that's not their current trajectory. It's possible to imagine many things continuing to get worse in many ways, augmented by looming climate catastrophes. I don't blame anyone for any amount of despair, it's not a super optimistic time.

But things have gotten better before, and they can again. That's all we can work toward.

one of my most Eeyore-y friends began freaking out 5 minutes after SCOTUS affirmed same-sex marriages, thinking this would provoke a humongous backlash years down the line. He was wrong to focus on that at the time, but it does feel like any time real progressive gains happen in this country, you have to look up and start running from the sudden avalanche not long after.

thinking this would provoke a humongous backlash

they aren't called reactionaries for nuthin'

Good post tipsy

Every GOP primary ad I see is awful but there’s one where the narrator tries to say China like Trump that I hate more than anything on Earth.

^^I learned there's something called 'Liberal Dark Money' and it has something to do with Beto, *who's not even running*

I’m sorry, that’s Liberal Dork Money

His Mom says he's cool...

The fact that CNN will occasionally use profanity on air when quoting Biden pleases me.

Lee: We’re told that the thrust of the President’s direction was to significantly ramp up the campaign's efforts to highlight the crazy shit that Trump says in public. pic.twitter.com/kwK6yntM3y

— Acyn (@Acyn) February 20, 2024

Moscow
this is the real motherfuckin deal yall
I’m feeling those champagne bottle corks

Good lyrics.

I keep hearing this thread title to the tune of Folsom Prison Blues.

i keep hearing it to "born on the bayou"

Shower the people you hate with Trump

Never thought about either, but yeah, now I've got "Folsom Prison Blues" stuck in my head.

lol, m bison, for me it's consistently the "I can hear the bullfrog callin' me" part of "Green River."

…I’m so loathsome I could cry

https://www.al.com/news/2024/02/uab-pauses-in-vitro-fertilization-due-to-fear-of-prosecution-officials-say.html

Was it between the Chatterley ban and the Beatles' first LP?

I see you working Alfred, respect

By those atlanta judges' ruling, every load you drop in the shower is a little murder

Every sperm is sacred

i can see an idea for a protest here but idk that it'll work

but what else can I expect from a Supreme Court that twice had Roy Moore on its bench

getting danger close to the Bill Hicks bit about entire civilizations crusting and flaking in his pubic hair becoming case law

Given how the republican party operates in Alabama, even if a majority of republican voters in the state are in favor of repealing the draconian laws that underpin this ruling, it won't happen unless a large percentage of the current hard-right anti-abortion legislators are primaried by republican candidates who make this their signature issue. And those candidates succeed in unseating the incumbents. iow, democracy inaction, USA-style.

Yeah, that's a point I've made on our local-politics podcast here in Tennessee — no matter what the polls show about the majority of people in the state not supporting our total abortion ban, nothing will change unless/until Republican candidates start losing primaries for being too extreme on abortion. Hasn't happened yet, and the way our legislative districts are drawn, there may not be many where it even could.

Speaking of Tennessee...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/neo-nazi-rally-nashville-condemned-state-lawmakers/

Alabama is gonna Y'Allabama.

10th Amendment federalism will continue to oppress already marginalized folks. My heart goes out to those in deep red states who are not included in decision-making about how their state will be governed.

There are, theoreticallly, ways to change that but we haven't (so far) quite gotten there.

The Biden administration on Wednesday is canceling $1.2 billion in student debt for about 153,000 borrowers who took out relatively modest student loans and have been repaying it for the last decade or more.

A borrower can qualify for the forgiveness if they’re enrolled in the administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan and “have been making at least 10 years of payments, and have originally taken out $12,000 or less for college,” a White House fact sheet said. It also said that “for every $1,000 borrowed above $12,000, a borrower can receive forgiveness after an additional year of payments.”

As an example, the fact sheet said, “a borrower enrolled in SAVE who took out $14,000 or less in federal loans to earn an associate’s degree n biotechnology would receive full debt relief starting this week if they have been in repayment for 12 years.”

It could be an entirely craven election year move, and it's still refreshing that it's "here's how I will help you" as opposed to "here is who I will hurt to satisfy you"

It's not craven, it's politics.

...which the administration has been slow to undertand.

...which the administration has been slow to understand.

Yeah, to me the best part of this story is that the administration is sending everyone emails that say, "Hi, it's me, Joe Biden, and I just canceled your student loans!"

I mean, Trump sent COVID stimulus checks with a letter.

didn't the majority of the GOP vote against those checks?

the administration is sending everyone emails that say, "Hi, it's me, Joe Biden, and I just canceled your student loans!"

is that actually happening?

cool that this is how the NYT chooses to report this news

https://i.ibb.co/yfDdrCP/Screenshot-20240221-203122-Chrome.jpg

An embarrassing newspaper.

does anyone care about the 'biden laptop'/bribe/impeachment source being a russian intel asset, or are we all russia'd out

That was completely unsurprising. It was obvious from the jump.