Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

“woke” is the new caravan.

We can show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

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

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

In my day, never was longer.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Wednesday Evening Open Thread: Activism Works!

Wednesday Evening Open Thread: Activism Works!

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Didn’t get to use this yesterday, but a victory is a victory, and Rep. Ellison deserves some props (along with President Obama, of course). Via Dave Weigel:

… Where did this idea come from? We actually know. Forty-nine members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Democratic group that spent much of 2013 denouncing any possible entitlement cuts in the president’s budget or a fiscal deal, asked for exactly this. At the end of 2013, Rep. Keith Ellison hand-delivered a letter asking for the wage hike for contractors. “We know his heart is in the right place and he wants to do something,” he said at the time, “and this is something he can do.”..

*******

Apart from celebrating when we can, what’s on the agenda this evening?

Reader Interactions

81Comments

  1. 1.

    PsiFighter37

    It’s Obama’s fault for not thinking of it first, DUH.

    After having my digestive system utterly fail me for the past couple of days, I’m putting it to the test by eating a cheesesteak slathered in Whiz for dinner. Starting to think this was not a smart idea at all from preliminary indications.

    ETA: It is fucking pathetic how the Confederacy devolved into total chaos when they get a couple inches of snow, at most. Hope they’re enjoying the taste of small government and exurban sprawl now.

  2. 2.

    Schlemizel

    I am so proud of my Congressman, he almost makes up for having Colin Peterson from Minnesota. It takes HHH/Paul Wellstone levels to make up for Batshit Bachmann. I am most please to work for, vote for nd to be represented by Keith

  6. 6.

    Ben Franklin

    I pray to the gawds that the following comment is approved by the Council of Local Women.

    From NOW=

    The president’s call for a significant increase in the minimum wage is welcome. While $10.10 per hour is not a living wage in most communities, it is a step in the right direction — but we can do more.

  8. 8.

    Schlemizel

    @Higgs Boson’s Mate:
    What a different, better world we would all live in if ’68 had gone the other way.

    My friends, to those who say that we are rushing this issue of civil rights, I say to them we are 172 years late. To those who say that this civil-rights program is an infringement on states’ rights, I say this: The time has arrived in America for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadow of states’ rights and to walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights. People — human beings — this is the issue of the 20th century.

    HHH 1948 DNC

  9. 9.

    TriassicSands

    There is something poetically perfect about workers in the Reagan Building receiving low wages. Ronnie would be proud.

  10. 10.

    newdealfarmgrrrlll

    I too am pleased to have Rep. Keith Ellison as my congresscritter. Sooo glad I don’t live in bat-shit-crazy bachmann’s district.

  11. 11.

    Aji

    On the agenda? Putting up my aching, damaged feet. While indulging in a chocolate-chip cookie.

    Also, too, many, many thanks to Anne Laurie, Siubhanne Dunne [did I spell that right?], Sarah T, and anyone else who gave to Okiciyap last night. They raised more than $1300 yesterday/overnight, and donations are still coming in today. That’ll heat several elders’ homes for February.

  12. 12.

    Violet

    @PsiFighter37: Go get some probiotics and start taking a bunch of them. Get the good bacteria to outnumber the bad bacteria. It works to make you feel better much faster.

  13. 13.

    different-church-lady

    Wait… you’re saying when activists do the hard work and engage our system of governance, instead of bitching on the internet about how everything and everyone sucks, things actually get better? Whocouldanode?

  15. 15.

    Suffern ACE

    I’m trying to finish projects so I can give in and be sick tomorrow. My laptop is doubling as a heater as I have been getting the chills off and on all day.

  16. 16.

    gbear

    @Schlemizel:

    Yeah, but he didn’t play his guitar and sing for this victory like he has previously.

    I went and checked the progressive caucus membership list to see if Betty was on it. Sorry to see she wasn’t. She is a decent runner up to Ellison though…

  17. 17.

    Schlemizel

    @Aji:

    Gad its been a long time since I had a really good (home made) chocolate chip cookie. I may make some this weekend no that I have thought about it.

  18. 18.

    J.Ty

    @Cassidy: Heartbreaking.

    Incidentally, as of this writing, the most recent comment is:

    What an awesome kid.

    Now contrast him to someone like Obama. Makes you sick, huh?

    …Was that one of you trolling?

  19. 19.

    Ben Franklin

    @different-church-lady:

    Hard is probably inappropriate as well as indelicate for public forums.

    Please be advised of my over-weaning and far too derogatory and self-loathing dudebrosim.

    It’s my urgent wish to fit in.

  20. 20.

    Schlemizel

    @gbear: MN4 has a history of good, solid, Dems who work their butts off for the blue collar people who make up St. Paul/Ramsey; Joe Karth (a family friend & the very first pol I worked for) Bruce Vento. Thats a history of good governance.

  22. 22.

    JGabriel

    Gas Explosion in Staten Island:

    At least 18 homes in the Dongan Hills section of Staten Island are being evacuated after a gas explosion in the basement of 101 Delaware Street.

    Two people injured in the home were taken to Staten Island University Hospital North, one in serious condition, the other stable. A firefighter was also hurt, but there is no word on his condition. .

    Crews are in the process of searching for the source of the gas leak. Until they find it, the homes will remain evacuated. The Fire Department says it may be underground and have removed the manhole covers in the area to vent the sewer pipes.

    I’m betting it was caused by Michael Grimm’s temper.

    (On a serious note, best wishes for the health and safety of everyone in the area of the explosion.)

    .

  23. 23.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Schlemizel: I posted about this a while ago, but another reminder wouldn’t hurt. Making the recipe on the bag of Nestle chocolate chips may be good, but making it 36-48 hours ahead of time and letting the dough sit in the fridge before baking makes for a far superior cookie. I know few people have the patience, becaus ewhen you want to make the cookies you want to make them *now* but this advice should not be ignored.

  24. 24.

    JGabriel

    PsiFighter37:

    After having my digestive system utterly fail me for the past couple of days, I’m putting it to the test by eating a cheesesteak slathered in Whiz for dinner.

    No, no, not the Whiz(tm). I grew up in PA, we invented the Cheesesteak Hoagie, and I’m tellin’ ya: we only use the Whiz(tm) for Midwestern tourists. If you want a decent Cheesesteak hero, use any of the following, or a combination thereof: Provolone, Mozzarella, Swiss, Cheddar, Jack, or, in pinch, White American. Never Whiz, never Velveeta.

  25. 25.

    Cassidy

    @J.Ty: One of me? I’ve been known to howl at the moon every now and then, but I don’t have multiple personalities.

  26. 26.

    Anoniminous

    @Gin & Tonic:

    We make a double batch. One goes in the fridge for later and the other gets baked.

    ETA: the second batch is always much better. When it comes to chocolate chip cookies our power to defer gratification evaporates.

  28. 28.

    PurpleGirl

    Watching the original The Manchurian Candidate Then going back to watching the kittens who were born yesterday afternoon — 6 little ones.

  35. 35.

    Baud

    @Cassidy:

    but I don’t have multiple personalities.

    And here I thought you and Corner Stone were the same person.

    Like at the end of Fight Club.

  36. 36.

    Pogonip

    Today’s entry at goodmorningkitten.com is exceptionally cute even by their standards. One of the most adorable balls of gray fluff I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen many a ball of fluff, of various species and colors.

  37. 37.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Also, I use that basic recipe but I increase the brown sugar and decrease the granulated. Still the same total amount, just different proportions,

    Also, too, REAL BUTTER. Fuck your cholesterol counts. Do you want a good chocolate chip cookie, or not?

  38. 38.

    Pogonip

    @Aji: Maybe you should switch to adorable balls of fluff? It’s true they’re not much good for trail rides, but then again if they step on your foot, consequences are minor.

  39. 39.

    Central Planning

    Can any lawyer-types among us comment on “lifetime warranty” and what happens if the original company offering the lifetime warranty gets acquired? Does the new company still have to honor the warranty, especially if you meet all the Ts and Cs?

    I’m not looking for legal advice, just wondering if an acquisition can void those kinds of things.

    Thanks!

  40. 40.

    debit

    As for what’s on my agenda this evening: going to bed early. I was diagnosed with H1N1 on Monday.

    I know this because I and my shiny new insurance card marched into a clinic on Monday and saw a doctor for the first time since 2004. Luckily, I came in right away and got some Tamiflu, which seems to be making the worst of it…less worse.

    Folks, if you haven’t got the flu shot yet, get it. Also, too, if the ACA hadn’t come along, I might have been seen at the ER, or a sliding scale clinic, but I never would have been able to afford the Tamiflu. $140 for 10 pills. And that was my co-pay.

  41. 41.

    Cassidy

    @Baud: If that was the case, there is no way I’d have made you sit through 2 hours of that; I’d have shot myself in the face right from the start.

    @J.Ty: Heh. Possible. Lots of firefighters are wingers, but so are lots of people. I stay off FF forums, so I don’t have to debate assholes.

  43. 43.

    Higgs Boson's Mate

    @Schlemizel:

    …having the dough cold before it goes into the oven makes the cookies spread less so they are chewier…

    Also, too, try using cake flour instead of all purpose flour. Cookies made with cake flour hold their shape much better.

  44. 44.

    Another Holocene Human

    @PsiFighter37: to be fair, and I am NOT defending the tax and social policies of Hotlanta, whenever NYC has a really bad heatwave you always hear about elderly people dying in their homes

    even the most resourced gov’t has trouble dealing with weather they’re not prepared for

    climate change sucks

  45. 45.

    Schlemizel

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I also reduce white sugar 1/4 cup & add 1/4 more brown – dark brown actually makes a chewier cookie too. It HAS to be butter! You can cut corners but you will notice the difference and its not worth it unless you are making cookies for people you don’t care about :)

    @Higgs Boson’s Mate:
    I never thought of that, its a great idea. Cake flour is softer & has less protein so it would make chewier, denser cookies. THANKS! I am gonna try that

  47. 47.

    WereBear

    @Pogonip: One of the most adorable balls of gray fluff I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen many a ball of fluff, of various species and colors.

    And yes, he is. Reminds me of a kitten I picked out once.

    He was at the bottom of a pile of about a dozen kittens; all I could see was one gray ear.

    And that was enough for me to fall in love.

  48. 48.

    PsiFighter37

    @JGabriel: I’ve always eaten my steak with Whiz, ever since I first got my hands on one 10 years ago when I started going to college (goddamn, time has flown). Never had it any other way.

    Wiz wit’out FTW

  49. 49.

    Aji

    @SiubhanDuinne: I’m the same way. But this is one of those cases where very dollar really does count. So thanks again. :-)

    @Pogonip: Allergic to the feline variety of adorable balls of fluff. We have five of the canine variety, and last night, two of them managed to step on the injured part of the stomped foot, twice each. The two dogs with the sharpest toenails and most weight to back it up, natch. And actually, in all my years of working with horses, if this is the worst thing that ever happens to me, I’m golden.

  51. 51.

    Another Holocene Human

    @Ben Franklin: I’m not a woman and neither is Elon, Ben, but go on with your bad self.

    “Faw faw gnarf gnarf, wimmens are just like the Borg, amirite? It’s just one big sandy hive vagina. Bitches, nome sayin’? Who can understand them when they’re on the rag?”

  58. 58.

    Pogonip

    @WereBear: I like Good Morning Kitten (run, I believe by the good folks of Daily Puppy) better than Daily Kitten, because GMK has many more pictures. And if there’s one thing this tired old world could use, it’s more adorable fluffitude.

  59. 59.

    debit

    @Another Holocene Human: I texted my daughter: Sick, on the way to clinic. Thanks, Obama!

    @WereBear: Not gonna lie, I almost wept when I finally saw the doctor. I’ve been so long without and had carried this constant worry of “what if?” What if I wipe out on my bike or get hit? What if I fall down the stairs at work? What if I get really sick, like I was on Monday when I nearly passed out at work and was bundled off to the clinic.

    God, it was such a fucking relief, like I was no longer carrying the weight of a thousand potential medical (and financial) disasters on my shoulders.

  63. 63.

    IowaOldLady

    @debit: I know you’re sick, but this is a great story. I’m so glad you got what you needed because of the ACA.

  64. 64.

    PsiFighter37

    @Gin & Tonic: Jacques Torres cookies are awesome. After devouring one of those warmed-up goodies, I have a nice chocolate ‘stache on myself. Sure, I look like a freakin’ kid, but they know how to make a mean chocolate chip cookie.

    (their individual chocolate selection is also very good, but from my last visit to their store, it seems like they’ve decreased their selection a bit)

  65. 65.

    Another Holocene Human

    whoever said provolone on their cheesesteak, hells yeah

    that’s how we did it in New England (granted, not Philly–sorry, guyze, never stuck around the place longer than it took to change a train, so I have no sense of the cuisine–but we never called them “Philly” cheese steaks to begin with!)

    white American cheese (the hard stuff, not Kraft singles) the default, provolone the most popular substitution, mozzarella if you’re weird… cheddar, meh, Sicilians don’t know what this cheddar stuff is

    the pepper steak or to a lesser extent mushroom steak was pretty popular

    the most important part is starting with quality shaved steak. soon as I moved to Fluduh I quit ordering steak sandwiches because they think they can serve you brown SHIT and think you’ll eat it

    good with wet hots or maybe sliced tomatoes or grilled or raw onions for those onion loving people

    good times

  66. 66.

    Another Holocene Human

    @Ben Franklin: You already forgot what you said to me a few hours ago?

    You’re a real charmer, you know that?

    And while you’re putting your foot in your mouth, you ought to know that calling a GLBT person “confused” is frowned upon in some quarters.

    HAND.

  67. 67.

    Arm The Homeless

    While a cheese-steak is dandy, give me an authentic Cuban any day.

    So there is the possibility we may be moving to Jersey next year. Any suggestions for where to start looking for relatively inexpensive housing near Trenton? Or is affordable housing as elusive as the Jersey Devil up there?

    Please no jokes about using Christie’s pants as a tent.

  68. 68.

    Ben Franklin

    @Another Holocene Human:

    HAND….?

    I find that to be gender abuse, and in n my case Senior abuse, as context.

    Please refrain from objectionable terminology, easily misinterpreted by those so-disposed.

    I know you mean well, but others..,,,,.you know…..

  70. 70.

    catclub

    @Gin & Tonic: Also, I like to add a little more flour, and then make them in a rectangular pan, rather than as drops. But the 36hr wait sounds interesting. We are eating Blondies the past few days.

  73. 73.

    debit

    @IowaOldLady: It makes me happy knowing that a lot of people all over the country are probably experiencing much the same sense of relief as I did. Although hopefully not while trying to avoid vomiting on their doctor’s shoes.

  74. 74.

    Chris

    Sitting in the Greyhound station, across from a couple of people having a political conversation. Believe Bush knew where Bin Laden was, there were a lot of shady ties between him and the Saudis, and “it’s all business, man.” Believe “they killed Hugo” (Chavez), remember him offering free gas to the U.S. Blame Congressional inaction, the inability of the powerful to credit Obama with anything he’s done good, talking about how it’s getting harder and harder for the little guy to get ahead.

    I should mention, I suppose, that I don’t happen to believe it (the Bush/Bin Laden part, that is), but God damn is it refreshing to hear people voicing suspicion of the rich and powerful that doesn’t fall into the “socialism, political correctness, big government in my Medicare, argle bargle!” pattern that seems to be the only thing that makes it into the media.

  75. 75.

    gian

    I know the thread is probably dead… but this is a far cry from W’s shafting workers post Katrina:
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/08/AR2005090802037.html

    Bush Suspends Pay Act In Areas Hit by Storm

    By Thomas B. Edsall
    Washington Post Staff Writer
    Friday, September 9, 2005

    President Bush yesterday suspended application of the federal law governing workers’ pay on federal contracts in the Hurricane Katrina-damaged areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The action infuriated labor leaders and their Democratic supporters in Congress, who said it will lower wages and make it harder for union contractors to win bids.

    The Davis-Bacon Act, passed in 1931 during the Great Depression, sets a minimum pay scale for workers on federal contracts by requiring contractors to pay the prevailing or average pay in the region. Suspension of the act will allow contractors to pay lower wages. Many Republicans have opposed Davis-Bacon, charging that it amounts to a taxpayer subsidy to unions.

  76. 76.

    cckids

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Making the recipe on the bag of Nestle chocolate chips may be good, but making it 36-48 hours ahead of time and letting the dough sit in the fridge before baking makes for a far superior cookie. I know few people have the patience,

    In my house, that would lead to having maybe enough dough for 5-6 cookies. We are cookie dough eaters, especially my 21-year old.

    ETA: Or, what IowaOldLady said.

  77. 77.

    joel hanes

    @efgoldman:

    Mrs ef has it right, except:

    + if you have coarsely chopped black walnuts, add those
    + else if you have coarsely chopped pecans, add those
    + else if you have English walnuts, add those

    and then throw an extra pinch or two of salt into the recipe.

    I like them thin myself, with edges crispy and butter-saturated.

  78. 78.

    mclaren

    Cue the usual cadre of kooks and cranks and crackpots (Mnemosyne, burnspbesq, eemom, Omnes Omnibus, Yutsano, et al.) to lurch off the commode in order to explain to us all, turds dripping from their asses, that Rep. Ellison is “mentally ill” and “in need of therapy” and “psychotic” and “ignorant of the law” and “delusional” for suggesting that the president of the United States take advantage of longstanding procedures like the executive order.

    Naturally, when I suggested this starting back in 2005, I was “demented” and “deluded” and “ignorant” and “a psycho” and “a lunatic” and “ranting and raving.” The fact that every president since Harry Truman has made use of executive orders to wangle their way around a recalcitrant congress cannot be allowed to disturb the perfect minds of the geniuses who assert that “the president has to obey the law” (yes, but how the president administrates and executes laws passed by congress creates a vast field for political latitude).

    Now that Obama has finally announced that he’s going to be doing much of what I suggested for the last 7 years, watch the lickspittles and born serfs misnamed “progressive liberal Democrats” race forward to proclaim it the deepest of wisdom, profundity itself, a political masterstroke of magisterial magnificence.

  79. 79.

    gian

    @mclaren:

    seriously, look at the WAPO article about the president in 2005:@gian:

    “”Naturally, when I suggested this starting back in 2005, I was “demented” and “deluded” and “ignorant” and “a psycho” and “a lunatic” and “ranting and raving.””

    If you thought Bush who was president in 2005 would have done this, when the record is that he did nearly the exact opposite, I can’t argue demented deluded and ignorant.

  81. 81.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @mclaren: Sorry, dear heart, it is completely appropriate for a president to use executive orders to accomplish the executive responsibilities given to him by the Constitution and duly passed legislation. He cannot, however, use executive orders to contradict or bypass duly passed laws (See, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952). I have never said otherwise.

    I applaud the President’s declaration that he will use his powers, where he can, to take action if Congress does not.

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