Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

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

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

“More of this”, i said to the dog.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

I really should read my own blog.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Republicans in disarray!

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

You are here: Home / Organizing & Resistance / Don't Mourn, Organize / Thursday Evening Open Thread: Thank the Trickster God for Joe Biden Memes

Thursday Evening Open Thread: Thank the Trickster God for Joe Biden Memes

by | 250 Comments

This post is in: , , ,

… and thanks TPM for the roundup.

***********

Apart from snark, what’s on the agenda for the evening?

Reader Interactions

250Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    I’m glad to see we’ve finally turned our anger inwards, like good Democrats. For a while there, I was afraid Trump might have caused us to focus.

  2. 2.

    debbie

    I’ve seen these all over the place and am totally enjoying them. I wish they could all be gathered in a single place so I could get some relief from all this bullshit.

  4. 4.

    Cermet

    When one gets up 2:25 AM, at this point, it is getting very late. Still, need to make sure no mistakes are made on balloon-juice by Mr. Cole … .

  9. 9.

    Laura on Kaua'i

    I have written about Penzey’s Spices before, and what a terrific company they are besides selling high quality spices (which are also usually more affordable than what you can find in supermarkets): Here is part of the email I just received from the head of the company:

    Racism Update: At Penzeys we believe it’s not the use of tools that set us on a different path from the rest of the animal world; what has set humanity in motion is cooking. In our nearly a million years gathered together around the fire, cooking shaped our bodies and transformed our minds. Cooking unlocked our potential and gave birth to reason, to religion, and to politics and government. The kindness of tens of thousands of generations of cooks created our humanity, but racism, sexism, and homophobia can all very quickly unravel all the goodness cooking puts out into the world. As the voice of cooks, we will never sit idly by while that happens.
    You may have read Tuesday Night’s email. In it I said: “The open embrace of racism by the Republican Party in this election is now unleashing a wave of ugliness unseen in this country for decades. The American people are taking notice. Let’s commit to giving the people a better choice. Our kindness really is our strength.”
    Since I ask you to read my emails, I feel it’s only right that I read each of your replies. In sifting through those replies it was clear that, though not intended, a good number of people seemed to sincerely believe that in my statement I was calling all Republicans racists. In the emails of those Republicans who voted for someone other than the party’s nominee, I sensed genuine pain at having the strength of character to not go along with what was happening, but nonetheless be grouped in with those who were. I apologize for writing something that caused you pain; that is not the person I want to be. You are your party’s future, and you deserve my admiration and respect, and your country’s as well.
    For the rest of you, you just voted for an openly racist candidate for the presidency of the United States of America. In your defense, most of you did so without thinking of the consequences of your candidate’s racism, because for most of you the heartbreaking destruction racism causes has never been anything you or your loved ones have had to experience. But the thing is elections have their consequences. This is no longer sixty years ago. Whether any of us like it or not, for the next four years the 80% of this country who did not just vote for an openly racist candidate are going to treat you like you are the kind of person who would vote for an openly racist candidate.
    You can get angry at everyone else for treating you like you just did the thing you just did, or you can take responsibility for your actions and begin to make amends. If you are lucky and younger family members are still coming over for Thanksgiving, before it’s too late, take a moment and honestly think about how your actions must look through their eyes. Simply saying “I never thought he’d win” might be enough. But if you have the means, leaving a receipt from a sizable donation to the ACLU or the SPLC accidentally laying around where you carve the turkey, might go over even better.
    Or, just do what you do best and volunteer. Through our customers’ support, we’ve given away a lot of our Penzeys Pepper, the Pepper with heart. More often than not, those we meet cooking and serving food to feed those in need are Republicans. You really are a good bunch, but you just committed the biggest act of racism in American history since Wallace stood in the schoolhouse doorway 53 years ago. Make this right. Take ownership for what you have done and begin the pathway forward.
    Thanks for reading,

    Bill
    [email protected]

  14. 14.

    JPL

    @trollhattan: Silly person.. Hillary had the word drone on her email with the letter c above it, and answered truthfully to the FBI. Petraeus handed a notebook of classified information to his lover, and lied to the FBI. Now ask yourself, which one should be locked up. Hint, you must think like a Trump fan.

  15. 15.

    schrodinger's cat

    @Baud: How have you been?
    Thinking of going to India, this spring, husband kitteh’s cousin is getting married. It will be good to see the extended family, do research on the book I am writing. I didn’t think I would ever say this, I miss my large extended family that lives in and around Mumbai, probably take a a trip to Goa. Will see.

  16. 16.

    trollhattan

    Uh, wut?

    A spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry has said Jewish people in New York told her they had mainly backed Donald Trump in the US election. Speaking on TV, Maria Zakharova said Jews had told her they donated both to Mr Trump and Hillary Clinton.

    She joked that American Jews were the best guide to US politics.

    The diplomat’s remarks caused shock. Anti-US propagandists in the last century peddled an idea that rich New York Jews controlled US politics. Ms Zakharova was speaking on a chat show on Russian state TV at the weekend but her comments drew more attention after being picked up by media outlets on Thursday.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    @MomSense: Thank you. I was thinking of taking a break, but now I might hang around a bit longer.

    @schrodinger’s cat: Hey, SC. Not good, like everyone else, but I don’t have the degree of troubles others are facing, so I don’t like to complain.

    You should go. Life is too short.

  20. 20.

    trollhattan

    @JPL:
    “Who among us hasn’t given up state secrets for a little action? Why should we destroy the brilliant career of a patriotic American for one little indiscretion? As long as he grabb…”[cut mic].

    Something like that?

  23. 23.

    WaterGirl

    @Laura on Kaua’i: I rushed here to share that after I got the email earlier, and someone had beat me to it. I hope it ends up being posted in a thread here every day for awhile.

    To read what they wrote it heartening, and to know that they are willing to say that out loud – that they believe it’s important, imperative even, to say that out loud gives me hope. They will surely lose business but still they are taking a stand and they didn’t back pedal when they got pushback.

    I am thinking of giving penzey spices for christmas instead of anything else – to all my extended family members who either voted for trump, voted third party or stayed home.

  25. 25.

    JMG

    @WaterGirl: Do it. They are top quality spices, so recipients of the gifts won’t even be able to complain gracefully, as they’re getting a good present.

  29. 29.

    japa21

    @WaterGirl: I was glad she posted it again. I agree with you, it can’t be read too much. I went to their FB page where it is also published. A lot of hate, but easily outweighed by the love of people.

    ETA: There is no doubt they are losing customers, but I think they are also gaining a lot of customers, although I know that was not his intention. Just from the last thread, three commenters expressed interest in buying from them.

  32. 32.

    Mnemosyne

    If everything works out, I think our mini-meet up in SF on Saturday will be at the most B-J location evah.

    More later.

    In the meantime, getting ready for a big train trip tomorrow with a bunch of other folks from NaNoWriMo, then overnight in SF, meetup on Saturday afternoon, and flying home Saturday evening.

  34. 34.

    WaterGirl

    @JMG: Penzey’s is where I get all my spices. I replaced all my spices this year – a lot of them were old – so I spent a pretty penny with them this year. Just ordered some more last week.

    Their Penzey’s Pepper is better than any other black pepper I have ever used. I wouldn’t have thought the brand of black pepper could make that much of a difference. But it does!

  38. 38.

    Mnemosyne

    @WaterGirl:

    Yeah, I think we should be spending our money wisely if we can afford to, not just shutting down. I’m going to be doing more “vacation” things here right in the solid blue state of California. Come visit us! We went for Hillary by 70 percent!

  39. 39.

    WaterGirl

    @japa21: I don’t do Facebook, but feel free to give them some extra love on my behalf.

    Their email said what I wanted to say in the letter that I wrote to my family but I felt I had to put it much more delicately than that. I did, however, make note of a comment jacy made in an earlier thread. I am sure I will be using that with someone at some point.

    You can’t support a bigot and sexual predator and just think life is going to go along as it had before.

  40. 40.

    japa21

    @WaterGirl: Their warehouse in Brookfield is amazing. The store part is pretty much like any other store, but you can look back and see these huge bags of spices. Plus some of their blends are out of this world.

  41. 41.

    lamh36

    @Baud: For my money, Jon has ALWAYS been to busy playing the both sides game, he was just more humorous about it…smh

  45. 45.

    Baud

    @WaterGirl: I heard about a story about how many people were canceling their Thanksgiving plans on the local radio. It’s a big thing apparently.

  46. 46.

    JordanRules

    The appeasement coming from all different avenues is crazy. I’m looking back at history with such a new perspective. I don’t want to leave the Democratic party, but I’m not sure they really want me.

    Also too per @lamh36’s links…screw Jon and Bernie. As if this national, hell global, tragedy wasn’t bad enough…now this bullshit.

  47. 47.

    WaterGirl

    @Mnemosyne: I think a vacation boycott of red states would be a great idea. Not sure about the should-have-been-blue states that went for Trump by a thin margin because of republican voting games and the like.

  48. 48.

    goblue72

    @lamh36: The titling at Berniebros continues from the sore loser brigade.

    Sanders is trolling Trump. The statement was: “If Mr. Trump has the guts to stand up to those corporations,” said the former Democratic presidential candidate, “he will have an ally with me.”

    Ergo, if, Trump does not actually stand up to corporate America, he’s a coward.

    He trolls Trump further: “If Trump backs away from these promises and sides with the conventional conservatives who lead the Republican Party in Congress, Sanders believes that Trump will be exposed as a “fraud.”

    But, hey, I get it. Your candidate lost and you are mad. You wanna blame everyone else but your candidate. Must be those Berniebros fault.

  49. 49.

    Emma

    @lamh36: Honey, it’s New York. Schumer is the ultimate proponent of the old saw: “If you can’t eat their food, drink their booze, screw their women, take their money and then vote against them you’ve got no business being up here.”

  50. 50.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Well I say good for them. Seriously. I am a peacemaker by nature, I think, but not this time. Being willing to burn down this country because BABIES! or EMAILS! or BENGHAZi! is a bridge too far.

    edit: all those things were mentioned in replies to the letter I sent everyone in my family.

  51. 51.

    goblue72

    @Baud: Democrats SHOULD be firing on each other. The party outside of one very charismatic and talented politician (Obama) has been on a long losing streak. Bush fucking up so badly that Pelosi accidentally got handed the gavel for a blink of an eye doesn’t count.

    Can’t fix things without a LOT of arguing and dissecting. And firing of those responsible.

    Tim Ryan of Ohio may not win, but its time for the status quo in the party to be challenged – http://www.vox.com/2016/11/17/13670294/tim-ryan-house-democrats

  52. 52.

    Baud

    @goblue72: Actually, our candidate lost. The fact that you continually separate yourself from the rest of us highlights that your faction isn’t really a reliable long-term ally, and that we should figure out how to circumvent you or, failing that, take you down with us.

  54. 54.

    Mnemosyne

    @WaterGirl:

    I’m stuck going to Florida this spring because I promised my nieces that I would take them to Disneyworld for their spring break, but other than that …

    I may not even let my husband drive over the border to Wisconsin to buy New Glarus during our annual trip to IL next year. We’ll see how we both feel.

  56. 56.

    JPL

    @goblue72: For me it is a question about the leadership being old, and not be a vibrant source on TV. I haven’t read the article yet, but someone down below pointed out that he is clueless about Chinese currency manipulation. He just repeated Trump’s line which was a lie.

  58. 58.

    goblue72

    @lamh36: Schumer has been hoover-ing up money from rich New Yorkers for decades. But he’s been mostly good on the issues when it counts. He’s bad on financial regulations and pretty bad on labor issues, which is exactly why we need more fiercely pro-labor Dems in Congress to counter that. He’s not throwing anyone under the bus.

    And fact is, somebody in the party is going to need to be the go-between with the caucus and the administration. There’s a reason Schumer refrained from overtly attacking Trump too much during the election.

  59. 59.

    Baud

    @goblue72: Couldn’t disagree more. When weak people want to feel strong, they get let go of the power they get from hurting other people. That’s why the GOP base is so powerful — because they are driven by hurting us. Unfortunately, hurting other Dems is also what drives many Dems. Once you start down that road, it’s impossible to turn back, and we play right into the GOP’s hands.

  61. 61.

    Pogonip

    @schrodinger’s cat: A while back I read about a guy who was trying to persuade the country folk of India to use toilets; apparently they thought toilets were for the effete city-slicker types. How’d his effort work out?

    (Sewage and related matters are an interest of mine, which is why I read Balloon Juice, with its splendid dog-poop photos.)

  62. 62.

    BBA

    A quote from another blog. No link because a lot of people have already read the first couple of paragraphs and walked away with the wrong impression of the author.

    Here is an incompetent thin-skinned ignorant boorish fraudulent omnihypocritical demagogue with no idea how to run a country, whose philosophy of governance basically boils down to “I’m going to win and not lose, details to be filled in later”, and all you can do is repeat, again and again, how he seems popular among weird Internet teenagers who post frog memes.

  65. 65.

    goblue72

    @Baud: I vote Democrat in every election and I vote in election. And I hit the streets door knocking, phone banking and fundraising all the time for the party. I actually get off my ass for the party. So stuff it.

    Unlike the blog host here – and likely some of the BJ regulars – I’ve been a Democrat my entire life.

  67. 67.

    JMG

    @goblue72: The requirements of Senate party leader and national party leader are completely different. Warren is a national party leader, Schumer the Senate leader. He has many responsibilities of which rousing the faithful is one of the least important. Job one is maintaining a consensus among in this 48 egomaniacs. Job two, fund raising. Job three, parliamentary procedure. Job four, communication with the opposition, especially its weaker members.

  69. 69.

    Mary G

    Strangely enough, the columnist I never read because everyone said she was a Republican shill, is turning out to be braver than any other right wing person and some on the left.

    The incoming administration’s tone, personnel choices, confusion and agenda already have created legitimate fears on both sides of the aisle and among voters. Unfortunately, reaction has been mostly along party lines.

    House Democrats, 169 of them, were fully justified in writing to President-elect Donald Trump demanding that he dump Stephen K. Bannon as chief strategist. It is shameful, although entirely expected, that no Republican lawmakers joined the letter. More egregious was the Republican Jewish Coalition, which chimed in to defend Bannon, whose alt-right Breitbart News has peddled in anti-Semitism. Longtime RJC backer Sheldon Adelson and his wife were just named to Trump’s inaugural committee, which we cynics would say was hardly coincidental. Jewish Republicans should consider whether to keep supporting the RJC; politicians should reconsider taking its money.

    When an immigration adviser, Kris Kobach, revives the ludicrous idea of a Muslim registry, there should be greater outrage. (Republican House members were busy the other day fawning over Trump and donning his “Make America Great Again” hats, so perhaps they missed that news nugget.)

    Some of the most unequivocal it-bashing of anyone I’ve read before and after the election. Jennifer Rubin, WaPo Who will stand up to Trump? Her comment numbers are in the toilet so it appears a boycott might be underway?

  72. 72.

    goblue72

    @Baud: Stop worrying about what the GOP wants, what its going to do, and start worrying about the state of the Democratic Party.

    I see this after every election Democrats lose – and there are a lot of them – the squishes immediately wimp up and demand everyone stop criticizing & start circling the wagons.

  76. 76.

    waysel

    @debit: As much good as Jon Stewart has done at times, I eventually stopped watching his show as he delved deep into bothsiderism. It became quite disgusting. Almost like NPR.

  77. 77.

    goblue72

    @JMG: I think we are agreeing. I’m not at upset at what Schumer is doing. Its his job to be doing what he is doing.

  78. 78.

    WaterGirl

    @Emma: I hope Chuck Schumer is one ruthless son of a bitch, as long as he uses his powers for good and not for evil.

  81. 81.

    Baud

    @goblue72: And maybe that’s why we keep losing.

    But since you’re so tough, then you have no problem if others here want to go to town on Bernie and his bros, right?

    Personally, I don’t care what people have to say. I’ll go with whoever can produce results.

  83. 83.

    Shalimar

    @goblue72: I agree with you about Sanders, based on the evidence we have. I still have faith in him. Berniebros, on the other hand, are worthless backstabbing assholes and can go to hell.

  85. 85.

    Это курам на смех

    I can no longer watch Colbert or any other comedians as they give the new POS POTUS the usual light ribbing. So I have been skipping their monologues to avoid it. When they make their playful jokes on TV they are normalizing the shitgibbon just as much as media deference does. They are reducing this extremely serious situation to its entertainment value. When everything must entertain, then fake news and other distractions become the only things people see and hear, and the truth no longer has a shot.

    Joking is a release valve for our anger, but we need to keep that anger simmering. Laughter is an antidote for pain, but we need that pain in our hearts to keep up the fight.

  87. 87.

    goblue72

    @JPL: He was critical of China on trade and generally a critic of “free” trade agreements as currently constituted. I am familiar with statements he has made about China and currency manipulation. He is more in line with where the party needs to be than pointy-headed Dems obsessed with being “right” about trade.

  89. 89.

    goblue72

    @lamh36: I know. Losing sucks. Wait till 2018 rolls around and if Dems haven’t pulled their heads from their asses, it will be a bloodbath.

  91. 91.

    Kathleen

    @lamh36: I haven’t missed him on the national scene one iota. The number of bloggers/writers/commenters (most BJ commenters excluded of course) who add value or insight is shrinking rapidly. If you don’t get the role that hatred played in this election you are not worth listening to or reading. That should take care of about 98% of the broadcast media.

  94. 94.

    laura

    @Emma: shout out to Jesse Unruh, bad ass speaker of the house in California back in the day when our Governor Pat Brown created the master plan for higher education (free college for good grades), and the State was building stuff and trading stuff and growing stuff and lending credit to make it happen.
    Then we got Ronald Reagan.

  95. 95.

    goblue72

    @Baud: Running up the score in California, New York and Washington states doesn’t count. And I live in California. I don’t for an instant think that Clinton running up the vote count due to California votes proves anything.

    Its a useful rhetorical device to push back against GOP claims of “mandates”, so its useful that way. But it doesn’t prove anything. 3/4 of state legislative houses are GOP. Overwhelming majority of governors. Senate and House – GOP. But go us – Clinton “won” the popular vote. That and $2 buys you a cup of coffee at starbucks.

  99. 99.

    Steeplejack

    @lamh36:

    Jesus! This while Trump’s (supposed) cabinet nominations are like the dream team of bankster/​corporate supervillains. You go, Bernie!

  101. 101.

    WaterGirl

    @BBA: It seems kind of creepy to me that you would quote that without attribution so you can control our reactions to it.

    Megyn Kelly

    There, I said it.

  103. 103.

    trollhattan

    @Pogonip:
    Speaking of poo, our puppy at six months just took his first walkies dump last night. SO PROUD. Every other walk he’d hold it like a little trouper until we got home, then race for the backyard to go. I guess in a dog brain the poop/no poop thing is binary until a certain age, when they discover there’s more then one place to do it. Good thing, since he’s traveling for the first time next week.

    Oooh, sorry, promised myself I wouldn’t mention taking a Trump (dropping Il Deuce).

  104. 104.

    Baud

    @Major Major Major Major: You should have arrived sooner.

    @goblue72: In terms of respecting the voters, the popular vote counts.

    The problem you have is that you talk a big game, but you have produced nothing. You’re no different from Harold Ford, who points to the same statistics and says that the Dems have gotten too liberal and need to be more centrist. You can’t offer any evidence why your way is better. You think rage is an adequate substitute for evidence and persuasion.

    Like I said, I don’t care about words anymore, so bitch away.

  106. 106.

    Shalimar

    @goblue72: Did Clinton even campaign in California, New York or Washington other than private fundraisers? How exactly did she run up the score? How do all those voters not count?

  110. 110.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @lamh36: I don’t know, I think it’s exquisite political judo on Trump. Trump was pretending to be both a conservative and a liberal at the same time, Bernie is just reminding the wingnuts about Trump’s lack of faith.

    And just picture the Thanksgiving dinner.

    Wingnut Dad (gloat) “An’t it great Trump’s elected, we’re taking America back again”

    Liberal adult child “Oh yes, it is.”

    Wingnut Dad “er what?”

    Liberal Adult child “Yes, Mr Trump promised several times to take on the corporations looting our country. That’s change I can believe in Dad. I am all for it. Mr Trump, stands with me and Bernie Sanders.”

    Wingnut Dad …Hillary’s emails

    Liberal Adult child “I know dad, wikileaks showed Hillary was just tool of wall street. She wasn’t what progressives like me and Mr Trump need”

    Wingnut Dad…

    Liberal Adult child “Together we shall over come”

    I mean if they can slander Hillary into some kind of lesbian serial rapists, is it wrong we slander Donald Trump into some kind neo-Marxist? I think not. After all, we all only using Trump’s own words (and they are the most awesome words)

  113. 113.

    Pogonip

    @Baud: Let the poop handle the interviews. And the debates.

    Moderator: And now, we’d like to hear your views on the Middle East.
    Poop:
    Trump: P-U! I’m outa here!
    Moderator: And our instant poll indicates the debate winner is…Walter’s Poop! By a…nose.

  116. 116.

    Mnemosyne

    @WaterGirl:

    I would have liked to, but their mother, the Devil Woman, will not allow them to be in the same state as my brother and his wife. It’s a long tale that I will regale everyone with when I have a real keyboard on some slow afternoon. So, Disneyworld.

  117. 117.

    trollhattan

    @Shalimar:
    Attended a Clinton rally in Sac before the primary. She came back to the area for the general at least once. GOTV for downticket for one thing, and in CA 7 it appears to have worked, as Bera’s seat seems retained. One of if not the nation’s most expensive House races.

  121. 121.

    Laura on Kaua'i

    @japa21: Did not know you had already posted – I’m kind of behind out here timewise, and hadn’t gotten to the last thread when I got the email from Penzey’s. Anyone who stops buying from them is cutting off their nose to spite their own face – Penzey’s has never hid their liberal views. Same for others like Rick Steves, etc. – we need to support them (although I can’t currently afford a Rick Steves tour).

  122. 122.

    debbie

    A good start.

    Planned Parenthood has received more than 200,000 donations since Donald Trump won the presidency — and at least 46,000 of those were made in the name of Indiana governor and noted uterine legislator Mike Pence.

  124. 124.

    JPL

    @goblue72: I was talking about the currency. I agree with the need for younger leadership, but they need to know their stuff. It was okay for MSM not to question Trump, but they will question a dem.
    just saying

  125. 125.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    What, you mean you think that a white guy who lives in a very left-wing part of a solid blue state like goblue72 might NOT be the person who’s most knowledgeable about why red states voted the way they did?

    I’m shocked, I tell you. Shocked.

  126. 126.

    waysel

    If I compose a message in Gmail, and cut and paste it in this box, it vanishes when I hit ‘post comment’. MacBook Pro, safari. Any ideas why, or solutions?

  127. 127.

    Keith P.

    Anyone else notice the godawful autoplay that HuffPost is running right now? I assume it’s a news segment on a North Dakota tribe protest, but the effect is going to HuffPost and hearing this really loud “AY-YAYAYAY AYAYA!!!”

  128. 128.

    Mary G

    @lamh36: @lamh36: The gold and diamond crusted safety pins are shameful. The mass selfie is a basket of deplorables indeed. They even put most of the women in front to hide how few there are of them.

  129. 129.

    lamh36

    Obama won’t call off anti-Trump protesters

    Um…and why should he? Sure didn’t hear all the shouts of “stop protesting Obama and burning him in effigy” from the other side?

    President Obama won’t try to call off protests against Donald Trump, he said Thursday, ignoring pleas from the president-elect’s advisers to denounce the nationwide demonstrations.

    “I would not advise people who feel strongly or are concerned about some of the issues that have been raised over the course of the campaign, I would not advise them to be silent,” Obama said during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

    Obama said protests are just something Trump would have to get used to as the leader of the free world.

    “I’ve been the subject of protests during the course of my eight years,” he said. “And I suspect that there’s not a president in our history that hasn’t been subject to these protests.”

  130. 130.

    Pogonip

    On another site I read, I just saw the spice guy mentioned; readers had the same gripes mentioned here about merchants who inflict their political views on customers. It was like an instant replay.

    As long as we are on the subject of merchants, anyone who advertises in those stupid Blue Pages turns out to be a crook, incompetent, or both. This is not true of merchants who advertise in the church newsletter. They MAY be crooks, or incompetent, but it’s not a given like with the Blue Pages.

  132. 132.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    What the … ? I didn’t even have to buy a new pack of safety pins. I had a bunch right at home.

    White people ruin everything, swear to god.

  133. 133.

    lamh36

    @Mary G: ya noticed that too huh…also too, they couldn’t even manage to put enough young looking folks upfront to suggest anything other than an older group…smh

  134. 134.

    TS

    @trollhattan:

    Reposting from end of thread below: Petraeus under consideration for secretary of state. Calling Trey Gowdy….

    GOP family values seem to be upside down in the Trump administration. Is adultery a prerequisite to a senior position?

  135. 135.

    Mnemosyne

    @Laura on Kaua’i:

    Also Tom Bihn if you are in the market for luggage or a messenger bag. In the Bush years, they included a small tag sewn into each of their bags that apologized in French for Bush being such an idiot. (French because so much of their business is done in Canada.)

  136. 136.

    BettyPageisaBlonde

    A Balloon Juice regular (he comments a lot, I just read a lot, heh) told me I should post this here:

    https://www.gofundme.com/rachelgoeswest

    Basic story? I’m a trans woman who gave up her acting career 13 years ago only to end up co-starring in an indie film shot this year which was, um, unexpected as hell. So I’m gonna leave Wisconsin (fuck me it’s red here) and head out to LA to see if I can’t do more of this.

    Now that the Trumpster Fire is out of control, I feel like the best thing I can do is be even more out, tell even more stories about transpeople, and basically just make Republicans (and their racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic friends) even more uncomfortable with their morally precarious bullshit. It’s the thing I can do.

    So, if you’re interested in helping a trans actress get to LA… here’s my GoFundMe:

    https://www.gofundme.com/rachelgoeswest

    Thanks in advance!

  139. 139.

    Pogonip

    Well, don’t know about the city slickers, but out here in West Deplorable, we buy our seasonings as God intended–at the grocery store on double coupon day.

    Actually, I grew a lot of mine till we moved here to (bleep)ing Squirrel Central.

  141. 141.

    MomSense

    @BettyPageisaBlonde:

    Yes I am interested! I just saw today that a cloth doll maker I follow from rural Maine has just crafted trans dolls because she says every child deserves a doll. I got a little teary when Insaw them.

  144. 144.

    lamh36

    This was Schumer yesterday…so tell me why I should trust him…

    …“There’s a debate going on about whether we should be the party of the diverse Obama coalition, or the blue-collar American in the heartland,” Schumer said, referring to the broad swath of heavily minority voters who helped put President Obama in office.

    “We need to be the party that speaks to and works on behalf of all Americans and a bigger, bolder, sharper-edged economic message that talks about people in the middle class,” Schumer said. He said Democrats should also confront “the unfairness in the American economic system…

    Sen. Charles Schumer elected minority leader; Bernie Sanders and others get leadership posts

    Let me guess “he’s all we’ve got…” right…mark this comment…I’m betting what will happen, is what always happens…minorities and people of color issues will go back out of sight, while the face of the Dem party will become WWC (forget about the millions of working class of color).

    The Dem party under Obama, touted diversity. The Dem party under Trump…no longer touted as openly…instead, hidden behind fundraisers and social media and email fundraisers?

    Sure, sure, maybe they’ll prove me wrong…but if past is prologue…

  145. 145.

    Ella in New Mexico

    @trollhattan:

    Being considered for Secretary of State

    At this point, what fiend or incompetent IS NOT being considered for SOS? Or AG? Or DOI?

    Non-stop entertainment these “Float/Leaks” have been the past few days.

  146. 146.

    dogwood

    @Major Major Major Major:
    Yeah, that’s a possibility. He’s been brought into leadership, but I don’t think that will make him much of a team player. He’s 73(?) years old and people don’t change at that age. We just have to hope that he exercises some discipline. It’s been interesting the last couple of years to hear people champion Warren and Sanders as saviors when they really are east coast elites, championed by white progressives and the left. I’m going to be looking at how senators like Frankin, Klobachar, Baldwin and Brown react. And there will soon be an ex-president who seemed to understand how to win in places like Iowa and Ohio.

  148. 148.

    Elmo

    @BBA: Really liked that article, and it was fun to go back and post quotes from it in the comments of FB posts that relied on the title.

  149. 149.

    Pogonip

    @Major Major Major Major: Even worse!

    I do pass through East Deplorable quite often. It’s Horse Central. Everyone on the main road seems to have at least one horse. They make mighty poops. The horses. Although for all I know, the owners do too.

  151. 151.

    Shalimar

    @Major Major Major Major: Trump tried double-talk for their vote, just like he does with all his voters. I have no faith in anyone who still identified as a Berner in October. I still hope Sanders himself is better than them. I wasn’t happy with the way he conducted his campaign, but I felt the same way about Hillary in 2008 and she turned out fine.

  152. 152.

    schrodinger's cat

    @Pogonip: Get them from an Indian or an Asian grocery store, they are far cheaper and better, or you can get them homemade if you know some one from the land of spices. Women traditionally make the spices that last for the entire year during summer.
    Genda Phool from Delhi 6

    Premise of the Movie: Grandson returns with his Grandma to his ancestral home in Delhi’s old Chandni Chowk area, the center of old Delhi, from the United States.

  156. 156.

    Shalimar

    @lamh36: That from Schumer is more problematic than anything I have read from Sanders or Warren. Being “the party of the middle class” is how Democrats got in this situation in the first place, since Republicans have basically destroyed the middle class in this country and turned them into even more poor people. Fuck being the party of the middle class. You can’t win that way.

  157. 157.

    MomSense

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Thanks for the link. Could be a good diversion tonight as I’m still on a media blackout.

    This summer I helped my friend prepare some of her spices. The ginger was quite a job.

  158. 158.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Shalimar: If Trump can co-opt the “let’s talk about white people some more” populists on the left with infrastructure spending it will be very bad. It will improve the economy while with his other hand he starts registering people based on their religion, the good lending justification to the bad…

    ETA: Which is to say, he’ll try. Grump grump grump, maybe I’m just grumpy. But I’ve got a bit of a hair-trigger right now.

  160. 160.

    TS

    @goblue72:

    And fact is, somebody in the party is going to need to be the go-between with the caucus and the administration.

    Just the way the GOP had someone as the go-between with the Obama administration? The dems in congress are there to bring down the new administration – not to make friends with them. Seems you want someone to help them find the cheapest way to build that wall, to kill medicare and to set up those no healthcare death panels.

  166. 166.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @WaterGirl:

    They will surely lose business

    They may well gain more new customers than they lose old ones. Like you, I’m thinking of giving Penzey spices as Xmas gifts, and when I am back to cooking I will order from them for my own kitchen.

  167. 167.

    lamh36

    @dogwood:

    Uh huh…riddle me this…in the past 8 years, many issues, news, articles, etc, that directly affect people of color, has been front and center more so than ever, in the first 4 years, there was even an increase in on-air diversity in political press as well…ya also have more Dem pols having to comment on those issues, because of the increase in news.

    If the lesson learned from Schumer et al, is that the Dem party should back away from “touting diversity” and instead focus it’s efforts on “the middle class” (which, call me cynical, but outside of the CBC, I don’t necessarily assume they include POC), how exactly do they think those minority voters will feel about going back to the pre-Obama days?

    I’m sorry but that genie is out of the bottle now, and I’ma tell ya, I don’t think it’s going to go back.

  168. 168.

    Lizzy L

    @Mnemosyne: I teach a class Saturday morning which ends at 12:30 pm, but if the meet up is in the mid to late afternoon/eve and is near a BART station, might be I could join you.

  169. 169.

    Shalimar

    @Major Major Major Major: Nothing in Bernie Sanders’ background suggests he will be on board with “infrastructure spending” that is a cash giveaway to private companies. My assumption is that he will try to get something out of it that actually improves infrastructure. He will fail. Not because Trump will object, but because the Freedom Caucus will and the votes won’t be there. We will see how it actually plays out.

  171. 171.

    Baud

    @Shalimar: My concern about infrastructure spending is that it’s hard to micromanage the implementation in the legislation, and that’s a lot of money that Trump can direct to his cronies.

  172. 172.

    dogwood

    @Shalimar:
    I don’t think either party can hope to win elections without significant votes from middle class people. Sometimes when I read this site I think I’m the last middle class American who is content with my personal situation. Born in 54 I have more security than my parents did when America was supposedly “great. I live modestly and that’s fine with me. Maybe spending a significant amount of time in Latin America is the difference for me. I don’t really know.

  173. 173.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    Oddly enough, I’m not really worried that much about Schumer. I guess we’ll see.

    Have never been much of a Schumer fan. I have nothing specific against him, by any means; he just hasn’t ever inspired me in any way. Yes, we shall see. I wish him well. Harry Reid left some big shoes to fill.

    ETA: And I think Emma @#49 just showed me what my weird feelings about Schumer were all about: Schumer is the ultimate proponent of the old saw: “If you can’t eat their food, drink their booze, screw their women, take their money and then vote against them you’ve got no business being up here.”

  174. 174.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Shalimar: This seems like a very possible scenario, though I’m pretty misanthropic right now!

    ETA: I mean, if Trump could get Bernie on board some clean infrastructure bill that magically appeared, he totally would if only to amuse himself barnstorming the country doing joint ribbon-cuttings.

  175. 175.

    Mary G

    @lamh36: Certainly not. I doubt Angela Rye and Van Jones are willing to be shunted aside. They are the best commentators on CNN. We need more like them, not fewer.

  176. 176.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    Olbermann ended “The Closer” the day after the election; but he’s got a new vid up, “The Resistance”. He had a pretty good idea, don’t protest on the streets in front of City Hall, go to Trump’s properties and blockade the suckers.

  177. 177.

    gwangung

    @Shalimar: I would be more comfortable if I saw Bernie more involved with plans to oppose the end of Medicare.

    @dogwood: This is also true. But if future Dems totally de-emphasize non-whites, I am not sure that is wise, given the demographic changes. Nor does it help that a lot of white people are simply terrified when you include POCs in the mix and grant them power as well.

  178. 178.

    MomSense

    @Pogonip:

    I peeled it and her husband put it in a grinder of some sort and then they froze it. We did a massive quantity of ginger. My friend’s cancer has spread to her bones, including her dominant hand, so there are a lot of tasks she can no longer perform.

  179. 179.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Baud: A Republican friend of our’s decided not to join us for T-day; he was “not feeling sociable”. I don’t know if he voted for Trump(I know he didn’t vote for, as he says “the b**ch”), he was Johnson curious or in “burn it all down” mode.

  180. 180.

    p.a.

    Until and unless the (white) middle class (genuflect) can be bribed, taught, hypnotized- whatever- to unleard their conceit that their troubles are caused by their tax dollars going to bucks buying t-bones, it’s hopeless.

    It’s hopeless, and a waste of resources. Best to stay the demographic course; demography is destiny. Gotta wait for the R’s to fuck things up (2- 2 1/2 years?) for electoral comeback. With gerrymanders, suppression, supremes, it will be an ugly 10 years for a lot of Americans and wanna-be Americans.

  183. 183.

    GrandJury

    @BillinGlendaleCA: I said that the day after the election when I heard that people were out on the streets protesting. They should be protesting around Dr. Orange’s properties.

  184. 184.

    Shalimar

    @Baud: Yes, me too. I would be freaking out if I thought an infrastructure bill was going to come close to passing. I really don’t think anyone in the Freedom Caucus will support it. They’re anti-tax, anti-government extremists above all else, and there are way too many now to get anything productive through Congress.

  185. 185.

    dogwood

    @lamh36:
    I believe democrats care about diversity, but I do think many white democrats tend to sound like they are checking off identity boxes when they speak and campaign which seems contrived. Obama was a master at speaking inclusively without sounding programmed which is why he did better than Clinton and Kerry in some of those key white suburbs in places like Pennsylvania.

  186. 186.

    Betty Cracker

    There’s no inherent contradiction to appealing to middle-class / working class folks while standing up for nonwhites, women and LGBT people. Hell, nonwhites, women and LGBT people make up a gigantic chunk of the middle and working classes. What is the “working class” anyway? The phrase seems to be a stand-in for people without a college degree, which obviously includes many whites and nonwhites.

    President Obama and Hillary Clinton both offered appeals to middle and working class Americans of all colors. Democrats always do. Like I’ve said repeatedly over the last week, I’ve got no problem with the party crafting a message that is more sharply anti-Wall Street and pro-Main Street and finding a candidate who embodies those values. But diluting our message about equality for nonwhites, women and the LGBT community is a deal-breaker.

  188. 188.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’ve got no problem with the party crafting a message that is more sharply anti-Wall Street and pro-Main Street and finding a candidate who embodies those values. But diluting our message about equality for nonwhites, women and the LGBT community is a deal-breaker.

    Yep.

  189. 189.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Pogonip:

    Oh, great, another merchant lecturing his customers (see previous topic for gripes about that). Thanks for the warning.

    If business owners publicly express views that align with mine, I’ll make a point of supporting and patronizing their businesses (and, if appropriate, let them know why).

    If their views offend me, I’ll take my custom elsewhere (and, if necessary, let them know why).

    Most, I imagine, are like the furniture store owner cited a thread or so down (by whom? can’t remember, sorry) who never took a public political stance “because why should I alienate half my customer base?” — and I’m perfectly happy to shop with them until and unless they give me reason to change my mind.

  194. 194.

    Elizabelle

    The Lady Eve on TCM right now. Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.

    Sparkling. Great dialogue and timing.

  196. 196.

    Mary G

    @p.a.: Don’t the latest studies show that these rural white people’s longevity is decreasing compared to the rest of the county due to suicide, alcoholism, heroin, etc? I’m at the point where, well, they voted Republicans in who will slash their safety even more, so they deserve it.

    So, yeah demography will turn. But the Koch Brothers are throwing a ton of under-the-radar money at minority communities through organizations like their “venture philanthropy” project called Stand Together, with aims of “strengthening the fabric of American society,” and focusing on “poverty” and “educational quality,” Also the Libre Initiative, a new group dedicated to bringing Latino voters back into the fold of the Republican Party.

    We can point and laugh, but they could get smart and bring some public-private enterprises into minority communities that provide jobs and then demography is not destiny. We have to stand together now with black and brown partners, not sweep them under the rug to avoid offending the WWC.

  197. 197.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Это курам на смех:

    Joking is a release valve for our anger, but we need to keep that anger simmering. Laughter is an antidote for pain, but we need that pain in our hearts to keep up the fight.

    Love that, and am keeping for reference and solace.

    Fucking poetry, that is.

  204. 204.

    Shana

    @japa21: I love Penzy’s and luckily live near one of their stores. Prices are usually lower than the spices in the grocery, the saffron for example is much cheaper. The have a curry powder called the New Curry that I love and a bunch of interesting blends. I need to get over there next week to restock on some stuff and turn in my empty bottles.

    AIR, they also came out strongly for marriage equality.

  205. 205.

    Mary G

    New York Juicers: from my twitter feed:

    PAGING NEW YORK FRIENDS
    ———————-
    New Yorkers:

    Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s office is taking an anonymous and confidential tally of concerned citizens so she can use it on the floor against Bannon. Please call. You can call any of her offices throughout New York State, so if you get a busy signal, just go down this list of numbers ’til you get through:

    Hudson Valley: (845) 875–4585
    Albany: (518) 431–0120
    Buffalo: (716) 854–9725
    Long Island: (631) 249–2825
    New York City: (212) 688–6262
    North country: (315) 376–6118
    Rochester: (585) 263–6250
    Syracuse: (315) 448–0470
    DC: (202) 224–4451

  207. 207.

    Corner Stone

    @Emma:

    “If you can’t eat their food, drink their booze, screw their women, take their money and then vote against them you’ve got no business being up here.”

    I honestly want to punch every single person who says something this fucking stupid as if it made sense now.
    It never did. It sure as fuck does not now.
    Please no more of this ridiculous nonsense bullshit.

  208. 208.

    jacy

    I just realized — the best thing about this coming Thanksgiving is that I’ll get to spend it with all my kids AND my mom, who has come to live with us in the gorgeous new house. The SECOND best thing is that (since I put in the custody agreement that I get every Thanksgiving and he gets every Easter, because I don’t celebrate Easter) that my stupid ex-husband has three choices: spend Thanksgiving at a restaurant with his disapproving parents who will harangue him endlessly over why his children aren’t there and why his life is so out-of-control; spend Thanksgiving with the whore, who doesn’t cook, and has three psychotic children (they just got kicked out of private school, they’re that bad); or sit alone in his crappy divorced-guy fourplex and eat beans out of a can. A little vindictive — but both of these things are what I’m thankful for.

    (Oh, the ex, the whore, and the demon in-laws are all Trump voters.)

  211. 211.

    Corner Stone

    “If you can’t blarb their nob, goo their hoot, doingle their hahanowilly, take their money and then vote against them you’ve got no business being up here.”

    Makes just as much sense as the stupid fucking original.

  212. 212.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Pogonip:

    Well, don’t know about the city slickers, but out here in West Deplorable, we buy our seasonings as God intended–at the grocery store on double coupon day.

    Actually, I grew a lot of mine till we moved here to (bleep)ing Squirrel Central.

    Not stalking you, but are you anywhere close to Mule Groin?

  214. 214.

    japa21

    @Shana: We buy by the bag now and reuse the bottles. As I mentioned on the last thread, their spice and seasoning blends are fantastic.

  215. 215.

    Helen

    First full day in Dublin. The temporary apartment is beautiful and perfectly located. Wish I could keep it forever.

    This city becomes more and more diverse every time I come and that is wonderful because the thing I willmiss the most about NY is its diversity. Well, today alone, a middle eastern woman sold me my phone cover, a Russian man came to fix my TV, and a woman of indeterminate origins, but definitely not Irish sold me my coffee at Bewleys. So YAY Ireland. When I first started coming here 30 years ago there we almost no immigrants and those who did come here were almost exclusively from the British Isles. Let’s give a cheer for the EU.

    Spent most of the day looking for an apt. Didn’t have much luck. No fewer than 4 agents told me that the market is super tight cuzza new rent regulations. Came home a bit disappointed but I’ve gotten 2 callbacks from agents tonight, so it’s looking up. Interestingly, the same people who told me that there are no apartments also said there are boatloads of jobs, so YAY.

    IT’S FUCKING FREEZING!. Now before y’all say “I told you so” even the Dubliners are bitching about how cold
    it is. So apparently I’ve moved to Dublin at the exact point of crazy weather and no apartments!

    SCORE!!!!!!!

  217. 217.

    dogwood

    @jacy:
    Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I cook it like my mother did. Not healthy and not fancy. Years ago I tried changing it up with some different side dishes and got the stick eye from the family. Glad you have lots to be thankful for.

  218. 218.

    Chris

    @lamh36:

    Bernie Sanders: If Trump has the ‘guts’ to take on corporate America, he’s got an ally with me

    1) Fascists never take on the corporate oligarchy. Never. There’s a reason they’re listed as far right and not far left (Jonah Goldberg hackery notwithstanding) and it’s that again and again and again when you see them having a choice between picking the left and the right side of a political battle, they side with the right. The Nazis even slaughtered their own earliest supporters – the more anticapitalist wing of the party embodied in the SA – in order to make their new BFFs in the upper classes happy.

    Nor is that accidental; it’s baked into the very essence of fascist ideology and it’s the inevitable result of their social darwinism. Fascists worship strength and despise weakness. Siding with the rich and powerful against the people that the rich and powerful are stepping on is what they do. If they were capable of the reverse, they wouldn’t be fascists.

    2) If you actually consider fascism an acceptable alternative to what we have now (or will have until next January? in a worst case scenario), then fuck you. None of the bullshit they might spout about bringing down the oligarchy would be worth the cost in human lives and human rights even if they did mean it. The fact that they don’t and that anyone who goes along with it is just a genre-blind goddamn moron is the icing on the cake.

  221. 221.

    Emma

    @Corner Stone: so you think LBJ shoved civil rights through Congress appealing to the better angels of their nature? Please spare me. Politics is a nasty business, but it’s the only thing that keeps us from continual warfare. It’s not for saints.

  222. 222.

    jacy

    @dogwood:

    Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday! (Well, and Halloween too). We do the whole nine yards, and then eat the leftovers for the next nine days. This year will be great, our first in the new house, and the first with my mom in 19 years. And the kids get 10 days straight here, so they’re really looking forward to it. And it’ll be the first time since the older boys graduated high school that all five kids will be together.

  223. 223.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @lamh36:

    Remember when Dubya gave her an unwanted and unwelcome shoulder massage? I’m sure just the fact that Barack kept his hands to himself was major points in his favor, as far as she was concerned.

  225. 225.

    gwangung

    @Mary G: So…suggests we get someone like Duckworth (middle if the country, a vet, a female a minority) to also be a Dem voice.

  226. 226.

    Elizabelle

    @Helen: Hey. I happen to be in Dublin tonight too.

    Dublin, Virginia. Wide spot in the road, but cable TV with TCM.

    Enjoy Ireland. Hope you find a great apartment and job. Are people berating you over Trump?

  228. 228.

    Corner Stone

    @Emma: Those two things do not even begin to connect.
    But what is ridiculous is the idea that politicians take sponsors money and then vote against them. That’s the funniest thing I can think of actually being true. You know how many times they would be in a position to do that? One fucking election cycle. It is the apotheosis of stupidity to look at our politics and even briefly consider a politician doesn’t stay bought, AND stays in office after.

  230. 230.

    Helen

    @Elizabelle: First person I talked to – the cab driver who brought me in from the airport said “Oh give him a chance.” I just yessed him to death. I haven’t been in any bars yet, this being only my second night, but I am sure as soon as I step into one I’ll get an earful.

  231. 231.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @jacy:

    (Oh, the ex, the whore, and the demon in-laws are all Trump voters.)

    Color me not in the least surprised.

  232. 232.

    Chris

    @lamh36:

    Obama won’t call off anti-Trump protesters

    Obama does not control the anti-Trump protesters. He did not encourage his supporters to beat the shit out of members of the other party and promise that he’d pay their legal bills if they did, nor did Clinton or even Sanders. That was another candidate, who has yet to be called to account for it.

  237. 237.

    NotMax

    @Helen

    Agent? Get a recommendation for a pub frequented by locals in an area or neighborhood you prefer, schmooze, maybe spring for a round and ask around there. Chance that someone will know of a place or have a relative with a rental.

    Like chicken soup, it couldn’t hoit.

  238. 238.

    SgrAstar

    @goblue72: Oh, but it does matter, grasshopper. How long are the blue states, with their flourishing economies, their globally dominant universities, and their absolute lock on innovation, really gonna tolerate being pissed on by failed red states like Kansas? Clock is ticking on the Union.

  240. 240.

    Another Scott

    @waysel: When a post vanishes, it usually means you’re using a word that FYWP thinks is spam or has banned for whatever reason. It can be hard to figure out the offending words sometime, but anything to do with games of chance is problematic…

    HTH.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  249. 249.

    mainmata

    @goblue72: Trump is a fraud. He practically flaunts it. Bernie (and you) need to understand that he’s not going to go after the banksters and the other Wall St. monsters because he’s one of them and has no incentive to sell them out. Quite the opposite: welcome to the coming Trump Kleptocracy big time.

  250. 250.

    frosty

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    the furniture store owner cited a thread or so down (by whom? can’t remember, sorry) who never took a public political stance “because why should I alienate half my customer base?”

    That was me and the store owner was my father-in-law.

Comments are closed.