Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

One way or another, he’s a liar.

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

You are here: Home / Oh, You Poor Babies

Oh, You Poor Babies

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This made me laugh out loud:

I can’t speak for the delegates or ther foreign dignitaries, but many of the journalists I have spoken with here are appalled at the accommodations in Charlotte to which they were assigned by the DNC. National Review was assigned to two Knights Inn properties. Everyone who saw them fled immediately across state lines to an available Marriott in South Carolina rather than stay there. As one of our political correspondents reported:

    The Knights Inn was the worst hotel I have ever seen, and I’ve stayed in many bad motels in my life. Two guys were dealing drugs in the room next to me, and a prostitute was working out of the parking lot. And this was in the early afternoon. The room itself was dirty, full of other people’s stuff, etc.

    I have never requested a hotel change in 3 years at NR. This was the first time I felt absolutely compelled.

It’s not as if the DNC couldn’t have figured out something was wrong with the properties. TripAdvisor had these recent comments on one of the Knights Inn properties: “wouldn’t recommend it to my worst enemy,” “scared to death,” and “pimps and prostitutes at night.”

Nor was National Review singled out. Staff members from Politico and the Hill abandoned their assigned hotels, too. Staffers from the Hill found refuge in a cheap Microtel and considered it a comparative oasis.

I have no idea if they intentionally placed the wingnuts in shitty hotels (btw- Knights Inn is not a hotel), but I love it nonetheless. And maybe, since you weren’t singled out, they just put you in the best place they could find you. Regardless, maybe it is time to reflect on the value of union run hotels in other cities… I mean, this is your free market at work, Mr. Fund.

As an aside, one thing I discovered yesterday is that free drinks and buffet tables are the lifeblood of political reporters and bloggers. No one makes plans based on what place would be fun to go, but all I heard from everyone everywhere was “Let’s go to this party, they have an open buffet table.” And then, when the buffet table closes, they load up into cabs and move on to the next place. Must be a DC thing.

BTW- We’ve been calling this the Murder Hotel, but in all actuality, after you get over the fact it isn’t a Westin, it isn’t too bad. The WIFI is the best of any motel/hotel I’ve ever stayed, probably because I am the only one using it. Plus, even though this is allegedly the hood (something the guy running a restaurant next door told me), everyone has been super friendly and nice. Much nicer than the usual stuck up assholes I run into in elevators and the hotel bar when I travel and stay and luxury hotels. I was standing on the balcony looking out, and my neighbor came out, we chatted, I offered him a glass of wine, and we sat and talked for twenty minutes, he hooked me up on some great BBQ places to go, and it was just really pleasant.

It’s also kind of weird (for me, at least) being really the only white person around. I told Imani that now I know what it must be like to be black in West Virginia, and she told me – “No, now you know what it is like being black almost everywhere.”

Reader Interactions

205Comments

  2. 2.

    slag

    The WIFI is the best of any motel/hotel I’ve ever stayed, probably because I am the only one using it.

    I’ve always found the quality of the WiFi to be inversely related to the cost of the hotel. Very frustrating.

    ETA I just watched a video of people dancing in the streets of Charlotte. You’ll have to know if you witness such a thing first hand, please.

  3. 3.

    Larryb

    It’s a lifestyle. My mom, as a swinging divorcee in ’70s San Diego, had the happy hour menus of every bar in town committed to memory. She bragged that she never cooked unless she wanted to.

  4. 4.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    A prostitute in the parking lot? Drugs dealt from a motel room? Well, I never! John Fund likes his prostitutes to arrive by cab, after a discreet phone call, and Larry Kudlow’s dealer travelled the same way.

  5. 5.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    What the fuck is this mangled shit:

    Much nicer than the usual stuck up assholes I run into in elevators and the hotel bar when I travel and stay and luxury hotels.

    Now that yer black, you gotta be better.

  6. 6.

    jl

    Thanks for info. I knew it, corporate national affairs press a bunch of no account loafers, moochers and boozer feeloaders. I mean, at least grad and professional students have an excuse: no damn money. These people all make plenty and can afford to eat.

    Gluttony, Drunkeness, Sloth, and we knew about the Pride. Please give us a heads up on how many other deadly sins you happen to notice.

    We already know about Cole’s so no point in reporting those.

    Edit: as for the neighborhood, sounds like where I went to grad school. These people are just too precious. They need to get out and see life of the 90 percent, those delicate little angels. And also lazy loafing mooching gluttonous drunken moocher layabouts.

  7. 7.

    IowaOldLady

    slag is right that cheap hotels have better and cheaper wifi.

    I used to live in Detroit, and lots of times my husband and I were the only white people in a fast food restaurant, for instance. It gives you a tiny sliver of awareness of what it’s like to be black in lots of places.

    And when I was an academic, food and drink absolutely ruled what publisher’s or university’s party we went to at conventions. We had something like $500 for our yearly travel allowance. After that, it came out of our pocket.

  8. 8.

    Cris (without an H)

    @slag: I’ve always found the quality of the WiFi to be inversely related to the cost of the hotel.

    Not only the quality, but the cost. Mid-range hotels are much more likely to give you genuinely-free WiFi. Upscale ones charge you daily for it.

    I got to stay in the Westin Seattle once, and it gave me a tiny bit of sympathy for the rich. Room service oatmeal: eight bucks. I mean, I know that somebody staying in a $400 hotel can afford to pay more, but that’s just egregious.

  9. 9.

    Poopyman

    And then, when the buffet table closes, they load up into cabs and move on to the next place. Must be a DC thing.

    Absolutely, positively, dead on.

  10. 10.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice Since 1937

    Knights Inn: rates starting from 29.74 a night. WTF did they expect?

  11. 11.

    dr. bloor

    @jl:

    We already know about Cole’s so no point in reporting those.

    I don’t think crankiness and poor fashion sense are actually deadly sins. His klutziness might do him in one of these days, though.

    Fund is too stupid to breathe. I wonder if he thought he was going to be staying with royalty when he saw that he was booked at the Knight’s Inn.

  12. 12.

    c u n d gulag

    John,
    I’d say that ABL is finally “’rounding’ you into shape” as a real Democrat, but, looking at the photographic evidence, that would be superfluous. ;-)

    We love you!
    So, keep these posts coming!

  13. 13.

    Catsy

    No, now you have the merest beginnings of an infinitesimally tiny amount of understanding of what it is like being black almost everywhere.

    FTFY.

    OT, but the image on this CNN article is ripe with unintentional hilarity. The intent was obviously to have a picture of Obama supporters on one side and of Romney supporters on the other. Aside from the fact that the people holding Romney signs really look like they’re struggling to hide someone or something behind their signs, take a close look at the gentleman on the left side of the photo.

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/assets_c/2012/08/Obama-Romney-Signs-8-9-12-cropped-proto-custom_28.jpg

  16. 16.

    Ann Rynd

    Tanks for these longer posts. Thanks for letting us see pictures if you. Imani is so cute. Thanks for bringing her to us. Thanks for letting us rag on you about the pants and things. You must miss Lily. A mensch like you will be safe in the hood.
    I love FLOTUS and you are so fucking lucky to be seeing her.

  17. 17.

    Johannes

    John, my wife who comments as La Caterina, made me join Twitter to tell you that you and ABL have to try Big Daddy’s (outside of Charlotte, by Lake Norman) for oysters. She’s a NC native and takes this seriously.

    Now, of course, I have a twitter account. Wotthehell, Wotthehell.

    I’m loving your excellent journey!

  18. 18.

    Elizabelle

    The National Review flees to accommodations they find more suitable. In South Carolina.

    Yea, DNC. Bring it.

    You know, I have stayed in several Motel 6s, and they are not that bad.

    Pet friendly, too.

  19. 19.

    Cris (without an H)

    @Ann Rynd: I love FLOTUS and you are so fucking lucky to be seeing her.

    I really kind of hate how much of a fanboy I am of that couple. Because when the critics talk about fawning O-bots, the shoe really fits, you know? It’s a major reason I cut my hair in 2008, because I hated how much of a walking cliche I was.

  20. 20.

    Todd

    Two guys were dealing drugs in the room next to me, and a prostitute was working out of the parking lot. And this was in the early afternoon. The room itself was dirty, full of other people’s stuff, etc.

    You’d think that they would be pleased that the usual round of conservative good times are so easily within reach – serendipitous, even.

  23. 23.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice Since 1937

    I like the motels that cater to traveling repairmen (utility workers, etc). You’ll recognize them from all the trucks in the parking lots. They are always equipped with good WiFi, refrigerators, microwaves, and are affordable.

  24. 24.

    slag

    @Cris (without an H):

    Not only the quality, but the cost. Mid-range hotels are much more likely to give you genuinely-free WiFi. Upscale ones charge you daily for it.

    This is true. I’ve been willing to give expensive hotels a bit of a pass on quality because their walls may be thicker and constructed of less permeable materials. But charging for WiFi should make it possible to compensate for that distinction. However, there’s no excuse for it being both more expensive and of lower quality. That just pisses me off.

  27. 27.

    Zam

    Two guys were dealing drugs in the room next to me, and a prostitute was working out of the parking lot. And this was in the early afternoon.

    I’ve stayed in some bad hotels and even lived in some. I’ve also worked with people who might fit right in with the NRO crowd. What probably happened was a lady was out smoking a cigarette in the parking lot=prostitute. Two black men were making noise next door=drug deal. They’ve been conditioned to think the worst of everything that isn’t them, they are just like the 19 year old kid you drives through a residential neighborhood in a big city and cries about their gps taking them into the ghetto where they will get shot.

  28. 28.

    khead

    Knights Inn?

    Really.

    Knights Inn?

    I’m not offering to sell my cat this time for the NR folks, but I have to believe that a bunch of folks who collect money for a crappy cruise can do better than a Knights Inn.

  29. 29.

    mamayaga

    No, now you know what it is like being black almost everywhere.

    What white Americans really need to experience is spending some time in Africa. Not only are you usually the only white person around — out in rural areas the only one for miles around — but the people you meet know exactly whose country it is, and you always know that you are no more than a visitor. It was only after my first time in Africa that I realized the extent to which most African Americans hold back and behave very circumspectly around whites, and the extent to which even the most unbiased whites make assumptions about our (and their) status.

  31. 31.

    Cris (without an H)

    @Zam: Two black men were making noise next door=drug deal.

    That’s a really good point. What grounds does the “political correspondent” have to claim the neighbors are dealing drugs, unless he went and knocked on the door and tried to score?

  32. 32.

    AlexanderDope

    Two drug dealers and a prostitute? Sounds like three independent business owners to me. I certainly hope Mr. Fund took the opportunity to pass GOP majority leader Cantor’s best Labor Day wishes along to these brave job creators who have “taken a risk, worked hard, built a business and earned their own success.”

  33. 33.

    Spaghetti Lee

    “Hello, we’re here representing Real America. Can you direct us to the nearest Westin?”

  34. 34.

    Redshift

    @slag: We were at the Hyatt in Chicago this weekend, and not only did they charge for WiFi, they charged more if you wanted more than minimal speed, and they made you bring up a web browser and log in every time you connected. The type of hotels we usually stay at, it’s free.

    My guess is that hotels catering to business travelers nickel-and-dime them because then they can make the room rates lower and get more business from corporate travel people doing searches on room rates. The travel people are the ones who are supposed to be trying to save money, and the business travelers just expense all the extra crap and don’t care. Your free market at work.

  38. 38.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @mamayaga:

    I had a chance to go to Rwanda last year on a study-abroad program but my resume was too weak. Still kicking myself over it. I could have applied for the London program but it didn’t seem exotic enough.

  39. 39.

    MobiusKlein

    @Cris (without an H):
    8$ Oatmeal means the business traveler is expensing it, so he don’t give a shit.

    Room service oatmeal: eight bucks. I mean, I know that somebody staying in a $400 hotel can afford to pay more, but that’s just egregious.

  42. 42.

    Starfish

    Man, you guys are all about your love of low cost hotels. I dated someone who was really resentful about hotels that cost actual money insisting that the only difference was a mint on the pillow.

    And that is not true. At the Motel 6, the curtains are hung at some distance from the window so that all the light used to deter people from stealing your car from the parking lot that is convenient close to the interstate. This light or the noise from the interstate can keep a person awake at night.

    Also, how many times a year are the bedspreads washed? I think that some states may have a once a month washing requirement for those things.

    One thing that bothers me about higher priced hotels is that the bathtubs are getting removed so the rooms can have large fancy showers. Good luck with washing small children in a large fancy shower!

  43. 43.

    Joy

    The DNC has to pay for these rooms? If so, I don’t blame them for putting John Fund in a shitty hotel.

  45. 45.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Cris (without an H):

    I will never forget the time I saw her here in Jacksonville, in 2008, it was an event for Military Families and Veterans and seeing as the campaign was based in our office I was given tickets for me and my Mum and Norman. Both Mum and I cried. Me because I was so thrilled to see her, my Mum because she could not believe Michelle and Barack’s bravery, “I just kept thinking” she told me afterwards “how many people would rather kill them than see them in the Whitehouse”. She is bringing the Obama t-shirt that she bought that year with her in case she gets to go to another rally this year.

  46. 46.

    askew

    @Joy:

    That’s what I was wondering. Why is the DNC booking the reporters hotel rooms?

    My guess is that Charlotte doesn’t have enough mid/high priced hotels to deal with all of the conventioners, reporters, etc.

  48. 48.

    wrb

    Nor was National Review singled out. Staff members from Politico and the Hill abandoned their assigned hotels, too.

    I’m guessing that staff members from the Weekly Standard are unhappy too.

    Someone from the campaign has a sense of humor I like.

  49. 49.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @Joy:

    I think that’s the sort of don’t-bother-sucking-up strategy that’s so admired around here.

    “But boss, if we put Tucker Carlson and the National Review guys in shitty hotels, they’ll write bad things about the Democrats.”

    “Yeah, because they’re usually so polite, right?”

  50. 50.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @askew:

    I heard somewhere that the political party traditionally books hotels and the like for the press. One of those old fashioned things, I guess, like putting silverware on the proper side of the plate.

  52. 52.

    JPL

    John, Why aren’t you listening to Cory Booker. He can save my ass anytime he wants. I forgive him taking wall street money. That Wall Street Money will allow him to the next governor.

  54. 54.

    James Hare

    According to my wife (a travel agent) there’s basically nothing available in Charlotte. Rooms at the Super 8 are going for $265 a night. The Econo Lodge is a steal at $199 a night.

    Maybe that has something to do with the accommodations.

  57. 57.

    jgaugust

    @JPL: I’m in class and have the audio off, but the reaction he is getting from the crowd is damn impressive. I want to rewatch this later tonight in full.

  58. 58.

    quannlace

    It’s also kind of weird (for me, at least) being really the only white person aroun

    The first time for me was when Spike Lee’s film, “She’s Gotta Have it” debuted. Our local tv reviewers really praised it and I really wanted to see it. It was playing as a midnight show at one theater, and me and my friend Katy decided to go. As we were walking up from the parking lot to the theater, we quickly realized, we were pretty much the only white people in the crowd. The second thing I realized that night, arfrican-american audiences seem to be having a much better time.

  59. 59.

    Phoenician in a time of Romans

    I don’t understand – were there no cardboard boxes available? Was there a bridge without anyone under it?

    Whoever was in the DNC assigning accommodation really slipped up here.

  60. 60.

    lamh35

    John,

    Like I said in one of ur previous threads last night. What you will discover is that Black people really are much nicer to random strange white people than the other way around. You could wonder around tha neighborhood and they would not give you a second thought. Now if ABL had been randomly walking around West Virgina, then I suspcet that she would be treated wayy differently and more suspiciously than the way you’ve been treated. If ABL was a Black male walking aroun, they’d call the cops.

  63. 63.

    The Dangerman

    Knights Inn would seem to be perfect for those that dream of a feudal society (or, make your own reservations, you lazy hacks).

    Anyone see Maddow last night and have a good read on WTF Romney is doing going boating when he should be out shaking hands and kissing babies? It looked to me like a man living in a bubble and thinking the election is already won (or, perhaps, a quitter and someone who sees the election is already lost). His behavior is (and has been recently) very odd…

  66. 66.

    Mary G

    Just watched Cory Booker present the platform and the crowd is a lot more enthusiastic than the Republicans’ was.

  68. 68.

    hep kitty

    The Stephanie Miller show got booked into a seedy motel, too. So it’s equal opportunity fleabags.

  69. 69.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @jgaugust:

    So much for the “Democrats aren’t excited” meme bullshit that the MSM have been pushing for months. The Romney/Ryan ticket and the concerted efforts of the Republicans to disenfranchise voters in order to steal the election has really riled up the democratic base. To steal a phrase from the right, they have awoken a sleeping giant and they are not going to like the result.

  71. 71.

    hep kitty

    The Stephanie Miller show got booked into a seedy motel, too. So it’s equal opportunity fleabags.

  73. 73.

    Schlemizel

    If I was planning for NR and PolHo rooms I would have picked flop houses in the worst part of town & insisted on first floor rooms. Its the way they treat Dems so its only fair.

  75. 75.

    raven

    My wife and I went to one of the all African American comedy tour shows here. We walked in and were the only honkies is sight. We took seats up high and I went down to get a coke. As I walked out a sister that was a high school basketball official that I had worked with spotted be. We have the same last name and she hollered “Johnson my brother” and ran up and gave me a big hug. Now I never felt in the least bit threatened but I felt really good after that. If you ever go and you are a t-shirt, be ready because you will get singled out from the stage. “Well, lookie here, we have some white folks. . . .” It was great.

  76. 76.

    hep kitty

    The Stephanie Miller show got booked into a seedy motel, too. So it’s equal opportunity fleabags.

  77. 77.

    raven

    My wife and I went to one of the all African American comedy tour shows here. We walked in and were the only honkies is sight. We took seats up high and I went down to get a coke. As I walked out a sister that was a high school basketball official that I had worked with spotted be. We have the same last name and she hollered “Johnson my brother” and ran up and gave me a big hug. Now I never felt in the least bit threatened but I felt really good after that. If you ever go and you are a t-shirt, be ready because you will get singled out from the stage. “Well, lookie here, we have some white folks. . . .” It was great.

  78. 78.

    Amir Khalid

    These guys are certainly pampered. As a journo, my own standards for hotels consisted of a four-point checklist: soap, towels, clean sheets, no cockroaches. If my room had these things, the hotel was as good as it needed to be, and better than that didn’t help.

  80. 80.

    Amir Khalid

    These guys are certainly pampered. As a journo, my own standards for hotels consisted of a four-point checklist: soap, towels, clean sheets, no cockroaches. If my room had these things, the hotel was as good as it needed to be, and better than that didn’t help.

  81. 81.

    mamayaga

    @JPL: Yes — Cory set some barns on fire there and then rescused all the inhabitants singlehandedly. Bev Perdue is kinda meh, though.

  83. 83.

    Quaker in a Basement

    I told Imani that now I know what it must be like to be black in West Virginia, and she told me – “No, now you know what it is like being black almost everywhere.”

    And in that single moment, you acquired a better understanding of race in America than the entire Republican party put together.

    Education is a great thing and it doesn’t always happen in schools.

  84. 84.

    MikeJ

    Imagine the whining if they had been booked into a hotel in SC.

    I would have booked them into the nicest hotel in Anchorage.

  85. 85.

    slag

    @JPL: Still no forgiveness here, apparently. Every time he mentioned the middle class, I wanted to ask him why he was engaged in class warfare.

  90. 90.

    Patricia Kayden

    I almost sympathize with those NR journalists. There are some hotels/motels that I avoid (Best Western just isn’t my thing). Hopefully, they won’t be too traumatized from this unfortunate experience. I’ll be praying for them.

  93. 93.

    Cronin

    As someone who works for a company that installs hotel Wifi, I can totally confirm this. Interestingly, cheap hotels tend to have terrible networks but huge amounts of bandwidth, while “nice” hotels are very often the reverse. There are some Embassy Suites and Westins and the like that until this past year had a single T1 servicing their entire property.

    Locale has way more to do with bandwidth than brand, honestly.

  94. 94.

    elmo

    When my partner and I (overweight middle-aged white women of only average height) were driving cross-country to move from CA to TN, we stopped for lunch at the Golden Corral in Gallup, New Mexico. Not only were we the only white people in the restaurant, I am pretty sure we were the tallest.

  95. 95.

    Phylllis

    @Redshift: The hubs and I predominantly stay at Holiday Inn Express properties. We have a friend who works for Crown Plaza group and have access to her friends & family rate. Clean, quiet hotels with free, fast wi-fi. The last one I stayed at in Columbia SC even had an evening reception in the breakfast area with cold beer and heavy munchies.

  96. 96.

    runt

    As an aside, one thing I discovered yesterday is that free drinks and buffet tables are the lifeblood of political reporters and bloggers. … And then, when the buffet table closes, they load up into cabs and move on to the next place. Must be a DC thing.

    And inbetween stuffing their faces, they take time to appear in front of TV cameras or write very serious columns about how more sacrifice is required and that nothing in life is free.

  97. 97.

    rda909

    Wait. The Democratic Party is responsible for hotel rooms for the media?!? Is the DNC paying for the rooms too?!? If true, that’s ridiculous!

  98. 98.

    kindness

    I want to do a shout out to Angry Black Lady.

    ABL, thank you for helping to get John to this conventions. God knows he could do it without you but doing it with you is way way better for him and for us.

    Thank you.

  102. 102.

    Ross Lincoln

    “Must be a DC Thing”

    Far be it from me to ever defend the integrity of the DC media complex, but I can speak from experience that events with free food and booze are the lifeblood of a working journalist, especially if, as is likely to be the case with a lot of people on the ground at the DNC, you’re a freelancer. Even if your employers are expensing you, you still have to first pay for your food and travel up front. That stuff gets hell of expensive. You learn to plan your schedule around anything that can feed you, booze you up, and not leave you broke by the end of the trip.

    For the record, I am a journalist, albeit one covering pop culture and not politics. Believe me, I sometimes go without dinner in the absence of catered events.

  103. 103.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @JPL:

    She has been fighting back against the fucking crazy republican legislature for two years, vetoing every damn thing she can and at other times picking her battles. I shall always be grateful to her for vetoing the voter ID law, it was one that the senate did not have the votes to override. She is just tired. I don’t blame her for not running for a second term. I really don’t.

  105. 105.

    tavella

    When I was younger I was temping doing graphics/dp for an AA professional association, and they sent me to New Orleans for their big yearly convention (best temp deal ever!). At one point I and the deputy mayor of NO were the only white people in a room of hundreds. Real eye-opener of an experience — one bit I vividly remember was flipping my convention badge around when I was walking up the free bar, so that my credentials to be there were extremely visible, not because anyone had challenged me but because I felt I had to prove I belonged there.

    Gave me at least a tiny glimpse of what it probably feels like to be the minority.

  106. 106.

    hep kitty

    To be fair, the Stephanie Miller show got booked into a seedy motel also.

    Still, Tucker Carlson stuck in a Quality Inn for an undetermined period of time makes me smile.

  107. 107.

    RedKitten

    @askew:

    That’s what I was wondering. Why is the DNC booking the reporters hotel rooms?

    Probably to avoid having to deal with aforementioned reporters calling them 50 times a day asking where the good hotels are, and “if I give you my card number, can you just go ahead and book a room for me?”

    When dealing with any conference, it DOES tend to be easier to just book everybody’s accommodations for them.

  110. 110.

    dr. luba

    @quannlace: I used to live in Detroit, back when I was in residency. Loved it and my little bungalow. Shopping could get interesting–I remember going to Northland Mall and realizing I was the only white person there–or at least within sight. It was a bit like being at work, though–most of the patients, nurses, and doctors were AA. I was definitely in the minority during my four years there. It was a great experience, both medically and sociologically.

    At least I was’t pointed and stared at, as I was in China. I was a redhead, and my friend a black woman, and we attracted attention everywhere. We posed for photos with lots of people. In Ghana, on the other hand, my white friend and I used to scare small children–they would literally run screaming and hide when they saw us. We were treated better than African women, though, by the men–white women seem to be treated as honorary men in many parts of Africa.

    But the most “other” I ever felt was in Detroit. I used to go to the film theatre at the Institute of Arts on a regular basis–it was close to home, and I loved weird films (still do). I went one night to see a gay film, Taxi zum Klo,not giving it a second thought. Once I’d settled into my usual seat in the balcony, I realized I was the only female there, until a straight couple wandered in and sat next to me. I enjoyed the film, but there were many moments when everyone would burst into laughter (the movie was a comedy), except the three of us. If you don’t get the humor, you don’t understand the culture, or perhaps vice versa.

    Anyway, it would do those reporters some good to get out of their cocoons and experience “foreign” cultures–those of the working class, AAs, all the “others” they don’t normally deal with.

  112. 112.

    JPL

    This crowd is excited. John is missing all the fun. Put on the blue shirt and get your butt over to the convention now. We will all watch for you.

  113. 113.

    aimai

    @raven:

    In honor of my grandfather I wish to tell the following story. He and my grandmother, two elderly, tiny, jewish people loved to dance and loved to disco. My grandfather was a (then) well known leftist journalist and also probably about 75. They were in some city so he could give a talk and they wanted to go dancing so they looked up the nearest disco (yes, this was long ago) and they found some place called “Shake Your Ass Off” and they hopped in a cab and went. It was all black. The DJ made some not particularly welcoming comment (proaably about their advanced age) when they tottered whitely in but they got out on the dance floor and started dancing and by the end of a late, late, evening everyone had fallen madly in love with them and everyone was fighting to dance with them. Nothing fazed my grandfather, not being in the minority, certainly.

    aimai

  114. 114.

    cbear

    TripAdvisor had these recent comments on one of the Knights Inn properties: “wouldn’t recommend it to my worst enemy,” “scared to death,” and “pimps and prostitutes at night.”

    Hey, I don’t blame the NR folks for being upset—those territorial beefs can get ugly, quick.

  117. 117.

    hep kitty

    I heard Stephanie talking to somebody who said her 92 year old mom, for the first time in her life, had to go and get a photo id to vote.

    Fucking asshole republicans, as that is the only way they can win.

    This is why Romney is out boating. They’re not even trying to look like they care. They’ve got the teabagger vote and their billionaires. They know they’re not getting much of the rest.

    That’s where the voter suppression (and again, those billionaires) comes in.

  118. 118.

    Redshift

    @Starfish: You do know there are hotels in between Motel 6 and high-end hotels, right? Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn don’t nickel-and-dime you on WiFi and everything. You don’t have to spend “real money” to get clean linens.

  122. 122.

    IanY77

    and a prostitute was working out of the parking lot.

    Hey, since you guys are so shamelessly pimping for the GOP, maybe you and her could swap tips. You can tell her how the party that hates “socialized medicine” will do a better job protecting Medicare, and she can tell you how to get both legs behind your head.

  124. 124.

    RedKitten

    @JPL: Feeling REALLY great, actually. Thumper is happily thumping away as I write this. Tomorrow I go for my 20-week ultrasound (the one where they measure every little bit of the baby to make sure that all is okay, which involves me lying on a cold table with a painfully full bladder, while some sadistic radiography tech presses down with all of his/her might on my abdomen with a transducer.)

    It’s all good, though. Energy level is good, BP is perfect. No complaints.

  125. 125.

    Ms. D. Ranged in AZ (formerly IrishGrrrl)

    @Joy: IF the DNC is paying for the rooms, it isn’t any wonder they’re cheap ones. If the TNR wanted to stay somewhere swanky they should tell them to contact the Romney campaign since they’re raking in billions upon billions. The Obama campaign and DNC are getting $5 at a time from me fer crying out loud. For my hard earned cash those losers can stay at f*$king Knight’s Inn AND like it!

    LOL

  127. 127.

    Violet

    I read the piece this morning and aside from all the whining, did you notice that what he’s really concerned about is the wimmins?

    But there really is no excuse for anyone, especially women, to be assigned to hotels that are beyond dingy and in some cases clearly unsafe.

    Will no one think of the wimmins?

  129. 129.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    but many of the journalists I have spoken with here are appalled at the accommodations in Charlotte to which they were assigned by the DNC.

    __
    Wait, what, backup-the-truck-a-minute. Are you telling me that our journalists (so-called) as so fucking lazy that they cannot even book their own motel reservations, so the DNC has to do it for them? Does somebody from the DNC have to come over and tie their shoelaces for them, too, or do they still use velcro pullovers like back in preschool?

  130. 130.

    LanceThruster

    Whatever D-bag “Built That!” needs to have their asses kicked, nu? Sounds like theys job-creatin’ for pest control services.

    I’ll be in the parking lot playing the world’s smallest violin.

  131. 131.

    RSA

    @Johannes:

    Big Daddy’s (outside of Charlotte, by Lake Norman) for oysters. She’s a NC native and takes this seriously.

    Speaking of taking things seriously, John’s in a location well-suited for judgments about eastern versus western styles of Carolina barbecue. Talk about religious wars…

  134. 134.

    hep kitty

    Anybody remember the 10% to 1% spending cuts vs. revenue increase proposal at one of the repub debates? They all said they’d reject it.

    Anybody gonna ask Mitt about that, what with all his whining and carping about the deficit? Does he still support that and, if so, why? 10% cuts for 1% increase in revenue?? Think about that.

    I just think it would make a nice little clip for an Obama ad

    Oh here comes the electrifying Senator Reid!

  135. 135.

    JPL

    Since I’m on antenna, I have to stream until PBS comes on. I just turned on PBS and Mark was talking about the white vote and David gave his best goober look evah. It was priceless.

  137. 137.

    tavella

    There’s a whole bunch of quite nice and reasonably priced hotels around the Charlotte airport, but I assume they are already stuffed with delegates and party officials. Stayed at the Hyatt Place/City Park for $70-something a night this summer.

  140. 140.

    raven

    @aimai: I also would add this. There was a documentary done on the 30 Anniversary of the fall of Saigon. The interviewed a brother and he said, “It has always made me sad that I can never have the kind of friendships with white guys that I did in the Nam”. I knew just what he meant.

  142. 142.

    hep kitty

    I understand safety is an important issue but it’s just funny everybody is getting a peek at the lives of the poor and disenfranchised and it makes them feel icky and they want to get away immediately.

    Now, I understand that if you need to attend the convention and not be detained by getting stabbed or shot on the way you’d be pretty disconcerted about your lodgings. But it’s still kinda funny.

  144. 144.

    Elizabelle

    @Violet:

    C-Span says 10:35 p, Eastern.

    Harry Reid is on now, terrific speech. C-Span. MSNBC had Mrs. Greenspan yapping to Rachel. We’ve fled. MSNBC did not cover Tim Kaine’s speech.

    Reid: If Republicans can’t stand up to Rush Limbaugh or Grover Norquist, how are they going to stand up for you?

    Also noted that Republicans can’t recognize common ground when they’re standing on it.

    Calm demeanor.

    At end of Reid’s speech: “I want to do that work with Barack Obama, and not a Tea Party idealogue.”

  146. 146.

    LanceThruster

    @raven:

    I was fortunate to go to junior college with some Vietnam vets (in the poli sci classes no less) and was amazed at what a cool bunch they were. Politically astute, realistic, pragmatic, friendly and outgoing. I’m sure there were others who just shut themselves away from the world (my neighbor told me just the other night about his friend who did that after his 2nd tour).

    It was fun to listen to them argue with the professors about real world experience. But they still made the grade. They weren’t belligerent for its own sake.

  148. 148.

    raven

    @Violet:

    10:00 PM – 11:00 PM (LOCAL)

    The Honorable Martin O’Malley

    Governor of Maryland

    Introduction of Keynote Speaker Julián Castro

    Joaquin Castro

    Brother of Mayor Julián Castro

    Candidate for the US House of Representatives, Texas

    Keynote Address

    The Honorable Julián Castro

    Mayor of San Antonio, Texas

    Michelle Obama Video and Remarks

    Elaine Brye

    Remarks

    Michelle Obama

    First Lady of the United States

    Benediction

    Jena Lee Nardella

  149. 149.

    Shawn in ShowMe

    “And we can only imagine what new secrets would be revealed if he showed the American people a dozen years worth of tax returns … like his father did.

    Mitt Romney said we take his word that he paid his fair share. His word? his word? Trust comes from transparency and Mitt Romney comes up short on both.”

    -Harry “Rocko” Reid

  154. 154.

    ThresherK

    Really, we’ve come this far in comments and nobody’s mentioned “strip club” yet?

    I think I know what the NatRev people miss, and it’s someone with a stage name who leaves glitter all over the client’s lap.

  159. 159.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Too bad for the brown shirted trash of the National Socia1ist Review

    Fuck these assholes. They’re utter fucking scum.

  160. 160.

    Elizabelle

    Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic women of the House.

    C-Span, people.

    And Carolyn Maloney and Rosa DeLauro rock. And now Allison Schwarz from Pennsylvania.

  161. 161.

    Lyrebird

    O/T but for those of you who also useta read Steve Gilliard’s News Blog — Cory Booker is doing useful stuff other than feats of physical heroism, hey cool:

    He added, [responding to RNC speakers] “I heard people stand up and say, ‘I love women.” I heard people say, ‘I’ve got a sister, I’ve got a mother.’ That’s like saying you’re not a bigot because you have a black friend. That’s like saying, ‘I love Latinos, I go to Taco Bell every week,’” drawing laughter and cheers from the crowd.

    More substance here:
    http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/04/cory-booker-gop-platform-on-womens-rights-an-affront-to-where-our-nation-should-be-going/

  162. 162.

    NancyDarling

    @lamh35: When my son was about 10 and we were living in SoCal, I gave quite a few dinner parties and our friends were white, black, Hispanic, Jewish, Asian and some white European immigrants. We are white. One time as I was getting ready for another dinner he said to me totally without guile (as most 10 year-olds are), “I like our black friends better than our white ones.” Thinking about it later, I understood why he said it. At the risk of sounding cliched, there was a soulfulness in how they interacted with him, so much kindness without ever being condescending.

  163. 163.

    Elizabelle

    @Violet:

    Get thee to C-Span. You will see what the delegates are seeing, and see the delegates and their reactions in real time.

    Gwen Moore of Wisconsin on.

    Fired Up and ready to go.

    I have met her. She’s a pistol.

  166. 166.

    hep kitty

    @mamayaga: Looking back, I really like that he said we “don’t know Mitt Romney,” when I think of all this “Obama’s an alien” racist bullshit. And I’ve heard the R’s say over and over again that we don’t know the real Obama.

  167. 167.

    LanceThruster

    @raven:

    Noted for future ref. Your recs are much appreciated. My friend’s older brother when asked what Vietnam movie most accurately portrayed his experience, he said “Apocalypse Now!” in that there was insanity all around you. The most illuminating scene for him was Sheen asking “do you know who’s in charge here soldier?” to which the soldier pats the grenade launcher on his shoulder and says, “Yup.”

  171. 171.

    Tony J

    @RedKitten:

    Tomorrow I go for my 20-week ultrasound (the one where they measure every little bit of the baby to make sure that all is okay, which involves me lying on a cold table with a painfully full bladder, while some sadistic radiography tech presses down with all of his/her might on my abdomen with a transducer.)

    We had ours last Friday, and the guy handling the ultrasound was so bizarely hilarious he – almost – outshone the wibbly-wobbly shots of our baby waving his or her foot at us. Imagine Marvin the Paranoid Android from Hitchhiker’s Guide in human form, complete with booming monotone voice.

    “You will notice that your child’s feet are disproportionately large.” was a good one, as were “Sorry I’m late, I was upstairs x-raying babies” and the classic “I know this is rather uncomfortable (while digging in with the probe to get a better shot of Bumpy) In my last year a dozen junior doctors probed my pelvis for an hour.”

    I hope he’s around for the birth. Distraction from palpitation would be most appreciated.

  173. 173.

    rikyrah

    It’s also kind of weird (for me, at least) being really the only white person around. I told Imani that now I know what it must be like to be black in West Virginia, and she told me – “No, now you know what it is like being black almost everywhere

    my people my people.

    on top of you being in ‘ the hood’

    you are with Southern Black folk, who are among the most hospitable bunch of folks you’ll ever see.

    I’m gonna say it…

    I don’t know why White folks feel scared in Black neighborhood…..

    unless you’re doing something shady, nobody’s gonna mess with you.

  174. 174.

    Southern Beale

    I remember reading that the RNC delegates were unhappy in Tampa, too. I think the issue with that hotel is that there wasn’t Fox News on the TVs or some such? Anyway, I’m sure both are BS.

  177. 177.

    Comrade Dread

    I’m betting these guys are the types who would see a black guy walking down the street and instantly think they were in ‘the Hood’, so their paranoia probably helped them identify normal folks as criminals.

    But on the other hand, they are Republicans, so they likely have ample experience with drug dealers and prostitutes.

  179. 179.

    MikeJ

    “Love Train” as intro music for Ken Salazar is better than “Bizarre Love Triangle” for the convention chair.

  181. 181.

    mclaren

    Pimps and prostitutes in the DNC hotel rooms?

    Perfectly appropriate. Barack Obama is one of the biggest political whores in recent memory — the guy has filled his administration full of ex-RIAA lawyers, he’s deep-throated the corrupt decadent military-surveillance-torture-weaponry complex, Obama has kowtowed to every corporate thug and greedy Wall Thief in America. So hookers and blow sound exactly right for the most powerful and prestigious political prostitute in America.

    Whores servicing clients in the DNC hotel rooms, corporate whores servicing their billionaire conglomerate clients in the White House and the Democrat-controlled DOJ.

    In fact, Obama ought to unfurl a giant 200-foot banner in front of the White House: FOR A GOOD TIME FREE FROM CRIMINAL CORPORATE PROSECUTION, CALL 1-800-2BARACK

  185. 185.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Nor was National Review singled out. Staff members from Politico and the Hill abandoned their assigned hotels, too. Staffers from the Hill found refuge in a cheap Microtel and considered it a comparative oasis.

    Why didn’t these lazy sacks of shit book their own fucking rooms in the accomodation of their choice when they had a chance when the Dems announced that Charlotte was to be the venue?

    I mean, really, how simple is this?

    Fund can fuck off and die. Reminds me of the USAF weenies in Honduras bitching that they didn’t have AC rooms at the airbase outside Comayagua…that they had to put down a fart sack in a CAT (Central American Tropical) hut, which we Army guys found to be pretty good accommodations compared to living in a GP medium.

  186. 186.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    Soooo…

    some sleazy fucks like Fund are upset that they are having to stay in a hotel where there are some sleazy fucks hanging out? I bet he hates mirrors too.

    Fund probably combs his hair in front of a portrait of Reagan.

  189. 189.

    henqiguai

    @Violet(#139):

    What time is Michelle Obama scheduled to speak?

    10:35PM, if I recall correctly. Tiny print across the bottom of the screen and I was across the room (C-Span1).

  190. 190.

    shortstop

    I wish I weren’t so damn swamped with work deadlines, trying to figure out how to finish four weeks of work in less than a week. I’m missing all the fun of following juicers crashing the convention.

  191. 191.

    Lyrebird

    @lamh35:
    Yeah, I learned from a Richmond-ite who was heading towards coming out of the closet that where he came from, the Afr-Am jazz clubs and such were safer places for white gay men than most other establishments. (I don’t assume that tolerance as in we-won’t-beat-you implies big-time approval, so I find this easy to believe.)

  194. 194.

    Suffern Ace

    Every time john Fund cries, an angel gets its wings. remember how he wrote that shirley sherrods father wasn’t lynched because a lynching takes four men and there were only three and implied therefore that she was making up her story? In a just world no respectable hotel would take his reservation.

  198. 198.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    She has been fighting back against the fucking crazy republican legislature for two years, vetoing every damn thing she can and at other times picking her battles. I shall always be grateful to her for vetoing the voter ID law, it was one that the senate did not have the votes to override.

    I have a slightly different take on Perdue, based upon what I know about the messy business of state government. Not exactly a fan.

  199. 199.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @James Hare:

    My boss (and his boss, and HIS boss) are there. We made reservations in April, best we could get was a minimum 7-nights at $200-something per night. Guarantee for four people, around $7500. And with one exception, we’re not talking about anything especially upscale.

  200. 200.

    ErinSiobhan

    All white folk should have to experience the feeling of being in the minority at least once in their life. Preferably on a regular basis.

  201. 201.

    devtob

    I’ve seen dirty hotel rooms, but never a room that was “full of other people’s stuff.”

    What could that possibly mean, in the context of a cheap motel?

    Either some “other people” weirdly left enough luggage and other “stuff” to fill a small room.

    Or John Fund is a serial liar, in this short post as elsewhere.

  204. 204.

    JR in WV

    @RSA:

    I forget which direction is which, but I’m for vinegry tart BBQ sauce big time! Pig is soo goood when it’s slo cooked for hours and drenched in hot spicy BBQ sauce!

    The nice thing about NC BBQ pits is that they mostly have both flavors for relatives visiting from the other end of the state.

    So it isn’t like a civil war, just just taste for sauce.

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