Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

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

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

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

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Fight them, without becoming them!

Let’s finish the job.

In after Baud. Damn.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

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

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

Giving up is unforgivable. ~Joe Biden

Never forget that he train is barreling down on Trump, even as he dances on the tracks.

You are here: Home / Organizing & Resistance / Don't Agonize - Organize / Thursday Morning Open Thread: Hey, Remember That Guy?…

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Hey, Remember That Guy?…

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PSA:


.

Readership capture:

Former President Barack Obama kicked off the inaugural summit of the Obama Foundation here Tuesday, calling it “an experiment in us trying to have a collective conversation.”

Set to be the central focus of his post-presidency, and seeded with Obama’s own ambition to have the rest of his life exceed the impact of his eight years in White House, the foundation launched with programs and goals still taking shape. There have been training sessions for young activists, with plans for more; 20 Obama Foundation fellows will be announced next year out of a 19,000-person applicant pool; and this meeting is meant to be the beginning of creating a hub and network of innovative up-and-coming leaders…

Organizers stressed that the key is to continue sorting out what exactly they will be doing in the decades to come.

“This is the literally the beginning,” said foundation CEO David Simas, who was previously the White House political director. “We are being deliberate over the course of the rest of this year and into next year about testing different approaches and getting it right before we take it to scale.”

Reader Interactions

143Comments

  9. 9.

    Waspuppet

    “… something that’s wrong with our civic culture”?!?! How DARE that ni-CLANG criticize this country?! I always KNEW he was a secret Mooslim double agent! Now, as I was saying, our foreign policy is a joke and our justice system is a laughing stock and everything everywhere sucks and we need a strongman to make us great again and yes I’m white why do you ask?

  17. 17.

    debbie

    I canNOT believe Stephen Colbert wasn’t joking when he say Trump wants to call the House tax bill “The Cut, Cut, Cut Act” and that Ryan wanted him to name the bill because he’s so good at branding.

  19. 19.

    Kay

    Two men and a woman are dead after a shooting early Wednesday evening inside the Walmart Supercenter at 9901 Grant St. in Thornton, police said. Police said the gunman is at large.
    Hundreds of emergency responders ringed the Thornton Town Center shopping complex for hours after the shooting was reported about 6:30 p.m.
    Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila said a gunman wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and a maroon shirt walked into the south entrance of the store and began shooting a handgun randomly. The three victims were all in the same area near the front of the store, Avila said.

    They have a security tape image of the gunman as he walked into the store. These shooters seem to be getting older- he looks like another middle aged man, which is weird. The general belief is propensity for violence goes down as people age. It also blows the “disaffected young man” theory out of the water. Something or someone is “radicalizing” middle aged white men.

  23. 23.

    Anne Laurie

    @debbie:

    I canNOT believe Stephen Colbert wasn’t joking when he say Trump wants to call the House tax bill “The Cut, Cut, Cut Act” and that Ryan wanted him to name the bill because he’s so good at branding.

    Yeah, Ryan just wanted Trump to name the bill so he’d have some ‘ownership’ of the concept, and wouldn’t rip on it too much in front of the cameras.

    And many people on Twitter are making the obvious joke that Trump might’ve visualized that as the Kut Kut Kut, or KKK, Act…

  29. 29.

    Kay

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    I don’t know but it’s a pretty clear pic and I would say he’s 50, tops. It’s just that the school shooter theory was (for years, although it’s changing) that they were young people who were unable to function in society and it was a failure to “spot” that they had fallen off the norm. No one reached out, saw warning signs, etc. These older guys are apparently passing unnoticed in “society” for decades.

  30. 30.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Kay: There you go again, politicizing this tragedy that nobody could ever see coming and about which there is nothing we can do. Thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims.

  31. 31.

    Kay

    @satby:

    Hah! It’s a real question, though. I don’t know if they share some idea, some theory. The common thread in school shooters (kids) is that they are suicidal. Do these guys have something they all share?

  39. 39.

    Kay

    We have a huge fundie church and my youngest went to their Wednesday night youth meeting with a friend of his last night. So he’s not coming home and not coming home and I text him and remind he has to be in by 8:30 on school nights. He texts back, says he can’t just get up and leave, everyone is seated and there’s a speaker. I tell him to head for the bathroom, hit the door and I’ll be in the parking lot. He texts back “don’t overthink this” :)

  40. 40.

    TS

    Must be the first laugh I have had from MJ since forever

    Gabe Sherman from Vanity Fair – you don’t call the NewYorkTimes and say “I am not mad” if you are not mad.

  41. 41.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Kay: You Libtards are always trying to take away our God Given and Constitutionally enumerated rights to threaten anyone we want anytime we want with any weapon we want. Oh, and our rights to grab any pu$$y that happens to wander by, too. Also our Freedom of Politically Incorrect Speech to call a ni**er a ni**er.

    FREEDUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMB!

  42. 42.

    Scamp Dog

    @Kay: That Walmart is about 1.5 miles from my place. There’s another about a block away, and I was frantically reading through the news articles until I could figure out which it was.

    So I was somewhat relieved to find out it was the farther away one, although that doesn’t reduce the number of dead or injured.

  43. 43.

    Aleta

    Trump finally gets his hands on Pres Obama’s possessions (as he sees it) but BO has moved on, doing impressive new things that Trump can’t touch, and best of all he’s free. While Trump is trapped. And In the middle of a week of very bad press (as he sees it), which was supposed to be about his victory … Obama pops up.

  46. 46.

    Kay

    @Scamp Dog:

    Yeah, the randomness is hard to deal with – that and we hardly ever get to interview the shooters so we don’t know what is motivating them. There is tons of analysis on school shooters- all kinds of theories on causes and prevention. I wonder if something like that will develop for “middle aged man” shooters.

  49. 49.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Yeah, it’s bad. I don’t know if it’s defensive though- her blaming someone else. That happens quite a bit in Democratic politics.

  50. 50.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Is everybody ready for the revolution? Why the far right believes a US civil war will start on Saturday I got my potato guns and carbide bombs all lined up.

    This cracked me up:

    The piece included a detailed account of antifa ideology, which included the claim that the activists “are larpers (‘live action role-play’) attempting to find someone/thing to sexually interact with”.

    When asked what sources he drew on in reporting on their ideology, Wintrich said: “I did go to school at Bard College. I received my education around people who I’m sure are on terrorist watchlists as socialist or communist extremists.”

    Yeah, that’s some ace reporting right there. The NYT, WaPo, and CNN better watch out.

  55. 55.

    satby

    Honestly, I don’t think anyone pays attention to articles like that. Clinton’s not running again. And Brazile has been ineffective as a Democratic party surrogate on most shows I’ve seen her in for years. This is more like an effort for her to still seem relevant. And it’s a miss.

  56. 56.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    No, they won’t do any nuance but I’m always wary of “I inherited a mess” because every single Democratic Party person always say that. Isn’t she barred from punditry too, for the debate questions thing?

  57. 57.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud: Wasn’t the RNC basically broken too? Which was one of the reasons faker Trump appealed: “he’s rich. He can finance his own campaign.”

    Not. Never finances much of anything with his own money.

    I wonder if we could ever end up with a parliamentary style system. Two big parties is not cutting it, especially not when one of them has gone batshit crazy.

    We should start looking more at what works in other leading countries. Much like our lack of healthcare security for too many Americans, our “exceptionalism” is looking more and more like unchecked capitalism, with an enormous military-industrial complex.

  60. 60.

    Chyron HR

    @Baud:

    The Democratic party must stop coming up with easy excuses for losing and focus on addressing their fundamental problem: THE WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE CLINTON SKREEEEE

  62. 62.

    Baud

    @satby: Yep. Disappointed in Brazille here. But the Russians will make sure people pay attention.

    @Kay: Don’t know. She basically says Hillary saved the DNC, but that it was unethical to do so. Huh? If she thinks she can win over the Wilmer people, then she is sadly mistaken.

  65. 65.

    Elizabelle

    @Quinerly: Yeah. Fuck Donna Brazile. She was trying to profit off the Trump debacle, at minimum.

    I wonder if she had even a frisson of regret, when she saw Mueller Monday, and she heaves this book into the mix when Trump is in such legal peril. Again, fuck her.

    And fuck the DNC if they didn’t have better controls in place.

  66. 66.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    I don’t know about “starving” the DNC either. The DNC isn’t very effective. No one knows what they do. That’s why Obama created his own campaign infrastructure. I don’t know what they do. I don’t know how they spend donated money.

  68. 68.

    NotMax

    Couple of things which caught the eye.

    Biased source, yes, but even with that in mind a message sent –

    “Evading the responsibilities outlined in international agreements is in no way acceptable and we told that unilateral violation of the JCPOA with any excuse is not justifiable,” Mr. Putin delineated. “Also, the JCPOA has nothing to do with Iran’s defensive or missile program,” underlined the Russian top official.

    He announced in an affirming tone that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the sole international body responsible and tasked to verify Iran’s abidance by the agreement. Source

    Games monsters play.

    What was in Bin Laden’s video collection?

    The al-Qaeda leader had a series of animated films on his hard drive including Antz, Cars, Chicken Little and The Three Musketeers.

    There were also several YouTube videos, including a viral clip from the UK called “Charlie bit my finger” and videos about crocheting, including one entitled “How to crochet a flower”. The role-playing computer game Final Fantasy VII was also on the computer. Source

  70. 70.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Baud: As predictable as the sun rising, mistermix had a post on that up, but it disappeared. That’ll be a real shitshow this morning.

  72. 72.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Maybe saving the DNC at all was a mistake. It seems like they could put on a convention once every 4 years without a permanent DC staff. People think they’re all-powerful but the problem is the opposite- no one knows what they contribute to anything. I didn’t know Brazile had a book. That explains a lot. This is the book teaser, right?

  73. 73.

    OzarkHillbilly

    In Midst Of Russia Probe, Papadopoulos Pondered Run For Congress, Book Deal

    After receiving a masters degree from the University College London in 2010, Papadopoulos settled in Washington, D.C., where he claims on his LinkedIn to have spent some four and a half years as a “research associate” at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank. The institute told the Washington Post he was actually an unpaid intern who served as a contracted researcher to several fellows working on a book.

    With just this thin resume and a few appearances at energy conferences abroad under his belt, Papadopoulos reached out to to Ben Carson’s campaign manager, Barry Bennett, through a LinkedIn message asking for a job, as Bennett recalled to the Post. Eager to beef up the campaign’s foreign policy team, Bennett told the Post he simply asked a friend at the Hudson Institute if Papadopoulos was an “okay guy” and brought him on board.

    After a six-week stint with the Carson campaign, Papadopoulos was cut loose in January 2016 as part of what Bennett told the Post was an effort to reduce staffing costs.

    How exactly Papadopoulos landed on Trump’s foreign policy team a few months later remains unclear. What’s known is that Sam Clovis, then the campaign co-chairman, was tasked with quickly pulling together a foreign policy advisory team, and that Papadopoulos’ name ended up on a list of five individuals that Trump announced were advising him on national security issues at a March 21 meeting with the Washington Post’s editorial board.

    The line between the marks and the cons is getting blurrier by the day.

  74. 74.

    satby

    @Baud: just remember we’re uber political geeks. Most of the rest of the country, including people who vote Democratic, don’t pay attention to this stuff and not a whole lot of them could even say who Brazile is.

  77. 77.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud: When do you leave for South America?

    I leave for Germany in two weeks. Friend near Wiesbaden invited me for Thanksgiving and to see the Christmas markets. Very happy to be leaving the country. Will be more fun to watch Trump from abroad.

  82. 82.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Elizabelle: A few years back we spent two+ weeks driving around Germany in December visiting Christmas markets (it was my wife’s plan.) They get to be the same after a while.

  83. 83.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay: That’s an interesting point. Maybe there is not really a reason for the DNC any longer.

    People can organize via the internet, and much more person to person. They might just be a big expensive haven for overpaid consultants.

    We might be better off without this permanent campaign mode with the consultants and media making bucks all the time.

    Aren’t we all sick as fuck of the constant appeals for money, money, money?

  88. 88.

    Elizabelle

    @Gin & Tonic: Yeah, I am not so much into the markets as seeing the towns. I’ve only spent like 3 days in Germany so far, in my life. A change of scenery will be good. I am a little too depressed to be here in the US of Trump. He and his enablers are tearing our civic life apart.

    I’d like to head back to Spain, after.

  90. 90.

    Elizabelle

    @satby: Have that fourth cup of coffee. Enjoy.

    Is it cold up there? Any leaves still on the trees? It’s 70 today in central VA.

  93. 93.

    Elizabelle

    @satby: Yes. That’s their appeal. We’re losing. This candidate nine states away from you is a Loooser.

    Let’s keep an eye out for what Tom Perez says about this. Kind of puts his gentle treatment of Saint Bernard in a whole new light, does it not?

  95. 95.

    Elizabelle

    @Gin & Tonic: Do people drive like bats out of hell in Germany? I know about the autobahns.

    Asking because I prefer a more moderate speed; will I be a problem for them? Thinking on renting a car, but more for after Germany. Taking trains sounded fun there.

    Was kind of thinking of renting a car for a month, although maybe once I arrive Spain. Plans are very fluid.

  96. 96.

    satby

    @Elizabelle: it’s going to be rainy but high 50s here, and I still have the last of my bulbs to plant. I won’t get into the market on Saturday anyway for the next couple of months. But lots of nice jackals ordered on Saturday online, and yesterday I got a special order from a long time local customer. I’m going to be busy but not stressed out, and that’s fun!

  97. 97.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud: Keep him on the reservation? Soothe him?

    Ah well. However bad, our problems go no where as deep as Republicans’. Why open a diversion for them?

  99. 99.

    Immanentize

    @Kay: yes, people do age out of general violent acts — especially physical violence like beatings, knifings, etc. Also risk behavior goes down as testosterone decreases. But who has the money to buy guns in our society? I mean the serious multi-bulleted weapons needed for these attacks? Yes, adults. Even the school shooters have to get their guns from adults (Columbine and Sandy Hook jump to mind).

    I really think researchers are on to something when they discovered the fairly prevalent link between domestic violence and multiple death shootings.

  103. 103.

    Applejinx

    @Baud: Kill, my ass. What does this even change?

    I guess it’s hard to comprehend, and the trolls might have a field day, but FFS get over yourselves, juicers. I voted for Hillary Clinton either knowing or expecting all this. Remember all my rattling on about how the Hillinator was a fierce smart mean controlling political beast, and I was down with that because I thought there was a chance she’d use her power for good? (I’m skeptical in retrospect but it’s still a fair point: it’s a political winner to help people, at least when you’re not sentencing them to death from starvation and oxycontin to get them to move out of their home town and drive for Uber in a sunny land of strangers and immigrants also driving for Uber)

    I voted for Hillary anyway.

    This changes nothing. And I wouldn’t have done otherwise if I’d had this as proof: what choice did I or any of us have? There is no justice, just power. Maybe that’s just the way it is.

    Get over yourselves, this changes nothing, people already knew this is who Hillary was and is. I’m kinda proud of her, I just wish to hell she had a streak of Jeremy Corbyn in her, and less Thatcher and Reagan in her. This will not change a single vote and it’s disingenuous to be all tragic and shocked and ‘you got a kill’. Really? NOBODY believed the ‘Mother’ story. We voted for Hillary as a majority because it was either possible or certain she’d do better than Trump or any Republican.

  106. 106.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @eclare:

    he was actually an unpaid intern who served as a contracted researcher to several fellows working on a book.

    I assume money changed hands in those contracts.

  107. 107.

    MomSense

    @satby:

    Plus the DNC has never done much of anything on down ballot races. Their mission historically was to host the convention and raise money but that’s about it. The DCCC, DSCC, DGA, and state committees do the down ballot work.

  109. 109.

    MomSense

    @Baud:

    I may take the rest of the week off from this blog.

    Here I am raising all of this pretend money for your pretend super pac and you want to take the rest of the week off? Is there debate prep happening that I didn’t know about it? Bodies to bury? Secret visit to rehab? Enquiring bundlers want to know.

  111. 111.

    Elizabelle

    @ Kay: will be interesting to watch shootings more for the demographics. Old white guys going wild.

    What was interesting about “Terror in New York 24/7” was that he did not have an assault rifle.

    If people stay away from WalMarts, fine by me.

  112. 112.

    Elizabelle

    @Immanentize: Yeah. Planning to visit Andalusia, which is way too hot in the summer. Look forward to seeing what other regions think about Catalonia’s bid for independence. (Which I do not support.)

    Any place is better than seeing and hearing Trump 24/7. It’s not healthful.

  114. 114.

    Immanentize

    @satby: I’m not so sure about the value of the terrorism label anymore. What it means now is brown person, probably Muslim, hurt or killed someone. This white man killing randomly has always been with us (look at the courthouse shooting in the past). These have little motive behind them other than, it seems to me, the rage of impotence stirred up with easily accessible deadly force.

    I am waiting for a fuller picture of the Nevada shooter, but I bet he was abusive in his relationship(s).

  115. 115.

    Immanentize

    @Elizabelle: I have been following the Catalan stuff as an example of constitutionalism versus autonomous rule (like Quebec). The part that is now really pissing me off is the Catalonian leader’s shameful flight to Belgium. He has no conviction, just power goals. I will re-read Castro’s “History will Absolve Me” just for perspective today.

  116. 116.

    Quinerly

    @Baud: @Elizabelle:
    In and out lately. Always go to Baud’s AM posts first thing….Poco asks for updates on his running mate. Was hoping for frivolous banter. Wasn’t expecting news of this book. Shitty, shitty timing……

  122. 122.

    Elizabelle

    @Quinerly: Good to see you. Think I will find something else to occupy. Not remotely in the mood to start the morning with Brazile and the DNC.

    A sckritch under the neck to Poco pup.

  123. 123.

    Quinerly

    @Elizabelle:
    Good morning! Poco is great. He did a bit of campaigning yesterday. The pot belly Nov fishermen on Bogue Banks liked his messaging. Baud/Poco2020!

  124. 124.

    Immanentize

    @Elizabelle:
    Thoreau, in Civil Disobedience, made the argument that accepting the punishment for your actions — even if unjust -. Was part of the courage and righteousness attached to acts of civil defiance. I generally agree with that and certainly do in this case.

  126. 126.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Elizabelle: I wouldn’t be surprised if Puigdemont turns out to be another Putin stooge, fomenting breakdown in the West. Or maybe he’s just an egomaniacal idiot. Or both. No need to choose, I suppose.

  130. 130.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Elizabelle: So egomaniacal idiot. Grrrr. I love Spain and feared that his fool actions could lead to civil war. Maybe I was overreacting, but it’s happened before…

  131. 131.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Elizabelle: Sorry, was away. Driving in Germany is not an issue. Even the autobahns have speed limits now, but the secondary roads are all excellent, and people drive intelligently. Was in Bavaria this summer as well, and was delighted to drive around. In two weeks I didn’t see a pothole. People drive sensible cars, not monster trucks.

    Spent nearly three weeks driving around Andalucia as well, and similar impressions. The roads aren’t all up to German standards, but still better than American. And no F-250’s ($6/gal gas will do that.)

    If you rent a car in Germany and go to Spain, make sure the rental company knows that. And make sure you know the toll rules – Austria, for instance, requires you to buy a toll sticker for autobahn use.

  133. 133.

    Elizabelle

    @Gin & Tonic: Thank you. Thinking I may rent the car in Spain, venture no farther than France or even Andorra, perhaps. And Portugal!!

    But really want to see more of Spain.

    Trains are so frequent and cost-effective in Europe, and no parking headaches and expense.

  134. 134.

    MomSense

    @Immanentize:

    Spas and massages.

    Thanks to trump (just threw up in my mouth a little bit) he doesn’t have to make it sound respectable, he can say hookers and blow with pride.

  135. 135.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Elizabelle: We loved Andalucia. Maybe tried to pack in a bit too much, so at times the pace was a little out of hand, but it was great.

    I know the trains are great – took the high-speed Madrid-Barcelona at the start of the trip – but we also like the serendipity of the car.

  136. 136.

    Tenar Arha

    @Quinerly: Yeah. Once I saw where the article was published, welp, I knew it would be THE daily let’s-blame-that-woman-Hillary story because we (meaning the freaking opinionators on the teevee machine) can’t be bothered to examine storyteller’s motives or nuance.

    ETA parenthetical

  137. 137.

    Quinerly

    @rikyrah:
    Good morning to you! Been meaning to ask how your sister is doing. No set backs, I hope. We are on the road back to St. Louis bright and early tomorrow. Kinda a tough trip with the house I grew up in and the passing of the two year anniversary of my mom’s death. I did get 50 plus years of attic cleaned out. Little Ivan has gained over a pound on this trip by going back to his old food. Seems in good spirits so maybe his kidney function isn’t as bad as the vet thought. He’s certainly doesn’t seem to be in stress. Have a good day!

  143. 143.

    StringOnAStick

    @Gin & Tonic: We were just in Austria, and Austria requires a toll sticker to use any roads there if your car isn’t registered in Austria. Pretty much every gas station/convenience store right across any border sold them. Required for every road, not just the autobahn. What you pay for it depends on how long you’ll be in Austria.

    Same observations as your on drivers and driving in Austria and Switzerland. No pot holes, roads in good shape, and reasonable drivers. As we drove back to Zurich from the Austrian mountains on a weekend, the traffic was huge because it was a perfect late fall weekend to go to the mountains but no one was driving like a jerk. Our only complaint is the rather subtle nature of Swiss exit signs. Pro tip: GPS is a very nice thing to have.

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