Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

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

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Dolt 45 / Open Thread: BE WORST – The Grinch Who Stole Santa

Open Thread: BE WORST – The Grinch Who Stole Santa

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If their lawyers have any smarts, this clip will feature prominently in the Trump kids’ eventual “How could we know all that stuff was illegal, look at the guy whose genes we inherited” defense…


Reader Interactions

206Comments

  5. 5.

    Emma

    Not this morning. I had a lovely Nochebuena with my immediate family and got some moderate-priced but beautiful presents. I’m not letting the orange baboon upset me.

  8. 8.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Everything trump touches dies. Why should the fables a 7 yr old believes in be any different?

  9. 9.

    Ken

    Last night, the President was visited by three spirits who showed him the terrible mistakes he had made in the past, the calamities he’s creating in the present, and the horrifying future he is creating. He awoke much refreshed and reassured.

  12. 12.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Ladyraxterinok: He did.

    In one conversation, Trump asked a 7-year-old named Coleman: “Are you still a believer in Santa?” He listened for a moment before adding: “Because at 7, it’s marginal, right?”

  16. 16.

    Chyron HR

    We know who these kids are, right? Can’t we take them away and put them with parents who don’t use them as sacrifices to the fat god?

  17. 17.

    sdhays

    I was making some tea and my dad said that Lord Dainty Digits had said this to a child, and, literally, I thought he was quoting an editorial cartoon, not reporting what President Dump had done last night.

    To be fair to myself, I didn’t realize that the word “marginal” was in his limited vocabulary, so that threw me quite a bit.

  18. 18.

    Wapiti

    The last tweet suggests Turnip is Krampus. I think he’s more of an embodied Caganer, taking a dump behind the nativity manger on Xmas morning..

  20. 20.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @schrodingers_cat: The Guardian’s bias has been obvious for a while now. Sloppy wet kisses for Wilmer, a shrieking harpy to any one who might challenge the anointed one.

  21. 21.

    oldster

    Merry Christmas, y’all!

    I’m in a good mood, so I think we’ll survive Trump.

    But I worry that next time we’ll get horrible people who are competent.

  24. 24.

    Mary G

    The body language between the Orange Shitgibbon and his horrible spouse . in that photo screams a mutual hatred of each other. Abraham Lincoln above them must be horrified to be looking at them.

  27. 27.

    Brachiator

    In one conversation, Trump asked a 7-year-old named Coleman: “Are you still a believer in Santa?” He listened for a moment before adding: “Because at 7, it’s marginal, right?”

    So, Trump is really the Grinch, stealing Christmas from a little kid.

    This explains much.

  28. 28.

    Kathleen

    @Ken: I’m sure the shrieking from the traumatized children who still believed in Santa made his day. I’m surprised he didn’t tell them if they were bad this year Paul Ryan would come to their houses and take their food and health insurance.

  33. 33.

    Sab

    Any furlowed lower wage federal worker with automatic withdrawal to pay things like utilities or cable is about to be hit with lots of bank fees for overwithdrawals. The telephone company, utility company, cable company deduct the usual fees, and the money ain’t there. So $20, $30 bucks a day overdraft fees until they are back on payroll.

    ETA to correct grammer

  36. 36.

    RedDirtGirl

    Good morning, jackaltariat! You know your niece is now a teenager when you have to wake her up on Xmas morning! Sending all of you good wishes for the New Year!
    My newest button idea…
    PELOSI
    2019!

  38. 38.

    Baud

    BTW, I believe that these kids who got patched into Trump were kids who were calling into NORAD about Santa.

  42. 42.

    debbie

    @Sab:

    I’m pretty sure they’ll be able to call and make some kind of arrangement about payments during the shutdown.

  43. 43.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: Guardian has always been on the purity left end of the spectrum. In fact I credit them with making neoliberal (Before BS bros made it into an all purpose insult for Ds, totally devoid of meaning) a slur. And they did this when BS was a back bencher during the Clinton presidency.

    ETA: Unlike most BJers I am not a Guardian fan. They have supported disastrous purity left politics in India too. That’s what they do, that’s who they are. I am not surprised with their Bernie love, at all.

  46. 46.

    Sab

    @debbie: Why are you so sure?
    Just assuming the world is fair? Maybe in DC, but in the rest of the country they are just random underpaid workers.

  49. 49.

    schrodingers_cat

    To clarify my comment at #43. I am not a fan of neoliberal economic policies (popularized by Milton Friedman and the Chicago school, put in practice by Reagan and Thatcher) myself. But calling Ds, neo-liberals is disingenuous. They have been mostly Kensyian in their economic policies not neoliberal.

  51. 51.

    Brachiator

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Guardian has always been on the purity left end of the spectrum. In fact I credit them with making neoliberal (Before BS bros made it into an all purpose insult for Ds, totally devoid of meaning) a slur. And they did this when BS was a back bencher during the Clinton presidency.

    The Guardian sees Bernie Sanders as the divine manifestation of Jeremy Corbyn in America.

    ETA: I like much of the Guardian’s reporting, but with a huge grain of salt with respect to their politics and editorial opinion.

  54. 54.

    Baud

    @Brachiator: I wonder how many chances Corbyn will have to beat May. If he can’t do it in the next election in light of Brexit, it would seem like it would be time to try something else.

  55. 55.

    debbie

    @Sab:

    Here.

    Call your creditors. Put your pride to the side and get on the phone. Call every creditor and ask for a reprieve on paying your bill. Explain your situation and see if you can get a month or even two months of deferral.

    Don’t be afraid of being turned down for more time. Better to ask for help than stay silent and suffer as you try to manage bills with money you don’t have.

    This situation is no different (in regard to bills) than those that follow FEMA disasters.

  56. 56.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: I do like their reviews of Hindi movies, much more knowledgeable than the orientalist drivel put out by NYT, for example.
    @Brachiator: They too had elebenty one stories of T voters in fucking diners, saying how they would support T even if he conducts human sacrifice.

  60. 60.

    schrodingers_cat

    BS was the mirror image of T when it came to discrediting HRC, down to the bogus election fraud allegation when he didn’t win in the primaries. He is going to repeat his performance in 2020. Whether he wins or loses Putin benefits, by undermining the one institution that Putin has not been able to take down yet.

  61. 61.

    Mike in NC

    In the WaPo, presidential historian Douglas Brinckley described Fat Bastard’s Xmas Eve behavior as “Scrooge on steroids”. Such a loser. Sad!

  63. 63.

    zhena gogolia

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I HATE this misuse of “neoliberal.” The day after the election of 2016, a student said, “This just shows the failure of neoliberalism.” I had no idea what she was talking about, because I was still using the accepted sense of neoliberalism. That was the first time I heard this misuse.

  68. 68.

    Chief Oshkosh

    When the newly-elected governor of Missouri says that sometimes the will of the people must be overturned, does that mean it’s OK to tie him and his family to a stake in the middle of a frozen field for the duration? I mean, I know that he’s talking about the overwhelmingly popular referendum on campaign finance and voting redistricting reform, but you know, goose, gander, etc.

  69. 69.

    Miss Bianca

    @schrodingers_cat: What is Sirota blathering about, anyway? I didn’t want to read the article, altho’ after getting in a FB spat with one of my Feel the Bern acquaintances I know I probably should. Frankly, I’d rather eat cold lumpy oatmeal. That”s at least nutritious.

  72. 72.

    Brachiator

    @Baud:

    I wonder how many chances Corbyn will have to beat May. If he can’t do it in the next election in light of Brexit, it would seem like it would be time to try something else.

    I don’t claim to understand the complexities of British politics, but I think that Corbyn would have to call for and get a successful no confidence vote in order to trigger an election. Otherwise, the next election would not happen until after the first aspects of BREXIT had been implemented. And May has announced that she will not stand for re-election.

    I don’t think this helps Corbyn. But others applaud his tactics.

  74. 74.

    ThresherK

    Merry Xmas, Happy Holidays to all the jackals.

    One cat threw up her breakfast and I did not step in it. The little miracles keep me going.

  75. 75.

    Amir Khalid

    A question for the jackal gitaristas: If I buy an acoustic guitar, should I expect to get the truss-rod adjustment tool in the box?

  76. 76.

    Cheryl Rofer

    And now I’m going to make a challah for a friend who loves it but doesn’t have a bakery that makes it. I am trying to stay away from the negativity.

    Merry Christmas all!

  80. 80.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Chief Oshkosh: My inner pedant says I have to correct you on this part: He was never elected Governor. He was elected Lt.Governor and replaced Grietens when he was run out of Jeff City. His first run for Gov, should he choose to, will be in 2020.

    Everything else you’ve said I totally agree with.

  81. 81.

    Brachiator

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I do like their reviews of Hindi movies, much more knowledgeable than the orientalist drivel put out by NYT, for example.

    I like the Guardian arts section. I don’t think I’ve ever read or paid attention to a NYT review of contemporary Indian films.

    They too had elebenty one stories of T voters in fucking diners, saying how they would support T even if he conducts human sacrifice.

    I thought the stories of Trump supporters were useful and informative. There should have been more about Democratic Party supporters.

  82. 82.

    cmorenc

    @oldster:

    But I worry that next time we’ll get horrible people who are competent.

    Scott Walker is the epitome of a horrible person with enough political competence to stay in office long enough to do terrible damage to his home state. I suppose Scott Walker doing the bidding of his sponsor the Koch Brothers would be an improvement over Donald Trump doing the bidding of his sponsors in the Kremlin, but somehow I can’t warm up to the benefits of this hypothetical trade, even though with Trump it’s not even a trade since Trump is doing the bidding of both the Kremlin and the Koch Brothers.

  84. 84.

    Miss Bianca

    @schrodingers_cat: I am just revolted now by lefties who pull this shit. We have actual fascists – fuck “neoliberals”, we have an actual FASCIST in the White House, and the best use of their time and resources is to keep pushing the “Democrats are the REAL enemy” bullshit? A hissing shame on all their heads.

  87. 87.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @schrodingers_cat:

    But calling Ds, neo-liberals is disingenuous.

    @zhena gogolia:

    I HATE this misuse of “neoliberal.”

    It drives me up the wall. For the most part they even know what ‘neoliberal’ means, they just live in a fantasy world where the Democratic Party supports those positions. They really think Democrats support tax cuts for the rich, deregulation, and austerity.

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Unlike most BJers I am not a Guardian fan.

    They’re much better than American reporting in general, but yeah, they’re way too friendly to the Greenwald side. They were the ones backing up Snowden with that story about the guy who got visited by the NSA for using suspicious search terms at work. Waaaaaaaay down at the bottom of the article they admitted the NSA had nothing to do with it, he was visited by local police, and the search terms were detected and reported by the company he worked for’s IT department. Among many other GG-pushed misrepresentations they swallowed whole and eagerly regurgitated to the masses.

  90. 90.

    chopper

    @Amir Khalid:

    hard to say. every guitar i’ve ever bought didn’t come with one, but then every guitar i’ve ever bought was either a private sale/swap or from a shop.

  91. 91.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Frankensteinbeck: Guardian is the voice of the purity left. It always has been. It was pushing the neoliberal canard against PM Manmohan Singh. Who was one of the most competent PMs India has had since Nehru. But he was “neoliberal” because he pushed economic reforms on the moribund Indian economy in the 90s as the finance minister.

  96. 96.

    Miss Bianca

    @schrodingers_cat: Oh, they learned something, all right…they learned that “Bernie totally woulda won against Trump if only all those neoliberal Democratic primary voters hadn’t got in his way!”
    And so now they are busily sowing the acres of what’s left of the Commonwealth with salt. For our own good. And we’ll eat that dirt and *like* it, by God, or we’ll just be exposed as neoliberal enemies of tue people.
    @Frankensteinbeck: Back in the 80s, one of my first real jobs out of college was indexing the Guardian. Back in the Thatcher/Reagan days I found it a real eye-opener, so I have some residual fondness for their domestic and arts coverage, but I can’t stand their US political coverage now – way too much ink spilled on cranks and cranky positions.

  98. 98.

    Fair Economist

    @schrodingers_cat:

    But calling Ds, neo-liberals is disingenuous. They have been mostly Kensyian in their economic policies not neoliberal.

    Are you talking about facts and the actual meaning of words? You sellout neoliberal!

  99. 99.

    The Dangerman

    Well, on the plus side, at least he didn’t tell the 7 year old how much he’d like to date Ivanka.

  100. 100.

    Ken

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    At Christmas morning photo opp to call troops, Trump gives long defense of the wall and then veers, unprompted, into a discussion of firing Jim Comey.

    But did he bother to thank the troops, or wish them merry Christmas?

    Blurting out stuff on Comey reminds me of Mnuchin’s “no problems at the big banks” message yesterday. Something on your minds you want to tell us, guys?

    I heard reports that Trump insisted Mnuchin make the calls and the announcement. Actually I think I saw that Mnuchin said it, which if true sounds like CYA to me.

  109. 109.

    Ken

    @zhena gogolia: My, a lot has changed in a year. Remember when we used to have actual, Senate-confirmed cabinet secretaries who stayed for the entire term? Now it’s a new “acting” secretary every month.

  110. 110.

    The Dangerman

    @Kathleen:

    Or how much he’d like to date the seven year old.

    I think we should be fair and stipulate that Trump wouldn’t consider dating anyone until they are eligible for a Teen Beauty pageant.

  112. 112.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Kathleen:

    Beto has the nerve to be another white male who might run for President. That’s Bernie’s niche!

    So much worse. Beto is guilty of paying lots and lots of attention to racism and other issues of bigotry, when everything would be fine for white men if the rich were torn down.

  120. 120.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Baud: Remember when President Obama being black and in the White House was controversial? I sure do.

    Now we have an orange President who couldn’t tell the truth if his life depended on it.

  121. 121.

    Mike in DC

    It does get annoying contending with the notion that there are only two kinds of Democrats: neoliberals, and Democratic Socialists. Most rank and file Democrats, I suspect, are either moderate liberals, or social democrats(one notch to the right of democratic socialists). There was an impulse to cozy up to business and adopt watered down “moderate” Republican policy proposals in the 90s, but for the most part that movement is a spent force. The other thing that drives purity types nuts is the reality that all politics is local, and politicians are loathe, with good reason, to buck their local industries and local political constituencies for the sake of the “greater good”.

  122. 122.

    geg6

    I just can’t with this shit. Between the Shitgibbon and my John watching Dr. Phil with a woman who claims to have been pregnant for 3 1/2 years, I just can’t.

    Good thing it’s time to shower, gather up everything that needs to go (about half is already in the car) and head over to my sister’s to help her prep for the 4:00 onslaught. Have a merry Christmas, jackals! ???

  123. 123.

    Burnspbesq

    @Amir Khalid:

    should I expect to get the truss-rod adjustment tool in the box?

    Probably not, and in the 45 years I’ve owned my Guild D-35 i have left that job to the professionals.

  130. 130.

    ArchTeryx

    It’s a very mixed Christmas for me. On the other hand, I survived a suicide attempt two weeks ago (thank goodness). On the other, I’m with my closest friend in the real world and we’ve already had a wonderful Christmas dinner this weekend. I’m very glad to be alive, for my Flock, and the Orange Monkey isn’t going to change that.

  137. 137.

    Firebert

    @Amir Khalid: Seems to be the costlier the instrument, the more likely there will be a truss rod wrench. I work for a high-end instrument company, and someone’s in trouble if we forget the wrench. With a lower-end instrument, they may not want a beginner to be tempted to try an adjustment.

  139. 139.

    Kathleen

    @Ken: Per Richard Painter on Twitter:

    We shouldn’t be surprised if we find out later that insiders in the circle of realDonaldTrump have been selling short for the whole month of December.Confusing signals from Washington send markets plunging <

  144. 144.

    Fair Economist

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I think some of the Bernie stuff is stirred up by Russian actions. (I feel like a lunatic saying that, but the last two years have taught me that lunatic actions really do happen sometimes.)

    That’s not remotely lunatic; that’s the probable interpretation. We already know, from court filings, that the Russians were supporting Sanders. And if there’s something that’s harmful to Democrats, where is it probably coming from, genuine Sanders supporters or Russian bots? Obviously the bots.

    There was a fair amount of voting support for Sanders coming from Republicans, also. Haven’t heard anything directly about their twitter activity, but I’m guessing they weren’t silent and like the Russian bots they’d obviously be posting in bad faith.

  145. 145.

    Kathleen

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I think most of it is, frankly, and it would be irresponsible not to suspect Russian trolls at work. I think it’s glaringly obvious that the same old scripts are being trotted out.

  150. 150.

    oldgold

    Kim Jong Un, “Are you still a believer in North Korea unilateral nuclear disarmament? Because at 72, it’s marginal, right?”

  151. 151.

    The Dangerman

    @Kathleen:

    ….selling short for the whole month of December.

    It almost a sure thing that someone in Trump’s orbit has been making bank in this whole shitshow. My bet is on Jr., with Jared a close second.

    I surely hope Nancy and Chuck are practicing their negotiation responses to the shutdown (seems to be a binary, alternating between “NFW” and “I have your Five Billion right here” (with appropriate pointing, of course)).

  152. 152.

    Kathleen

    @Patricia Kayden: There is a new script percolating that is seeking to trash Obama. Mainslime Media has to alternate between demonizing Obama and Clinton to make sure they demonstrate their disdain for both African American people and women.

  153. 153.

    Miss Bianca

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Oh, dear, I will never not have that image in my head now! And since Beto’s actually been in bands, and Bernie can only sing one note, it ought to be no contest! Curse you, Red Baron, for making me laugh so hard!//

  155. 155.

    J R in WV

    On a non-neo-liberal, non-political slant:

    Merry Christmas, Jackals~!!~

    Thanks for being there for all the other Jackals.

  156. 156.

    realbtl

    @Amir Khalid: Echoing others you likely won’t need one. If you need one virtually all use either a hex key or a small socket. These shouldn’t be too hard to find.

  157. 157.

    Amir Khalid

    @Firebert:
    I don’t actually expect to do any truss-rod adjusting, but it’s always nice to have the tool available for my friend Mr Justin Case. With a Yamaha or Cort guitar, what kind of tool would I probably need, and what size?

  161. 161.

    James E Powell

    @Amir Khalid:

    A question for the jackal gitaristas: If I buy an acoustic guitar, should I expect to get the truss-rod adjustment tool in the box?

    When I bought new Taylors I got the tool, but I don’t know about other brands. That said, I’ve never adjusted the truss rod on either Taylor. I’ve always had techs do it because I’m afraid I’d screw it up.

  162. 162.

    Boussinesque

    @schrodingers_cat: I remember “Beto in the pocket of the oil industry” being a thing a while ago, but I thought it was just because of a willful misinterpretation of the campaign finance data—when they grouped contributions by industry, it includes everyone who tagged themselves as working in that industry, and there’s a world of difference between random employees supporting you and getting donations from oil and gas companies directly (especially in a place like Texas, where the oil and gas industries are major sources of employment for communities). Do you have any idea if this is just a rehash of that, or something new?

  163. 163.

    James E Powell

    @schrodingers_cat:

    The attacks on Beto seem well coordinated with an assist from the usual suspects at the Vichy Times and other MSM outlets. Its like they learned nothing from 2016.

    While it is true that every Republican is an asshole, not every asshole is a Republican.

  164. 164.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Boussinesque: It seems like a coordinated Twitter attack, bunch of handles trashing Beto with an almost identical argument. David Sirota’s Guardian op-ed three days ago, retweet by MAGA Habs of NYT and a long Twitter thread by Politico alum Jonathan Allan, this week. Coincidence? I think not.

  165. 165.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Boussinesque: His voting record in Congress is pretty supportive of the oil and gas industry. I know, absolutely shocking for a 3 term Texas Representative.

  166. 166.

    Miss Bianca

    @OzarkHillbilly: It’s almost as if he had to support the industries that employ his constituents or something. Obviously, that makes him the prime candidate to inherit the mantle of World’s Greatest Monster from HRC.

  167. 167.

    Boussinesque

    @schrodingers_cat: Politico, Guardian, and MAGA Habs? Trifecta of bad-faith argumentation there. I think you’re right to suspect someone directing the twitter assault.

    @OzarkHillbilly: I’d be curious to look at the exact things he voted on, since there’s a difference between voting for subsidies or something and voting to gut all regulation on the oil industry EVAH, which is what it seems like we are being told to interpret it as by Our Progressive Betters. Also whether a protest vote against would’ve stopped any of them from passing, since why bother taking flak from a home-state interest when your vote won’t change anything in a particular case? I’ll have to look into this…

  169. 169.

    hedgehog mobile

    Merry Christmas/Festvus to the jackaltariat. Watching A Christmas Story and on my second glass of prosecco. Quiet day with me and the mr. Thank you all for keeping me sane. Fuck Fat Bastard.

  171. 171.

    Miss Bianca

    @hedgehog mobile: Merry Xmas to you and the mister, Hedgie! Right now reading a book on how good riders get good, realizing that I will need to embark on a physical/mental fitness regime, but not today – today is dog walkies and a bottle of Danish mead with D. Cheers!

  173. 173.

    The Thin Black Duke

    Thankfully, even though these ridiculous (and coordinated) attacks on Beto make me angry, I think they won’t pick up any meaningful traction in the long run. Bottom line, it wasn’t the berniebros that flipped all those seats in the House. And the people that did don’t give a damn what the NYT or the Guardian writes.

  177. 177.

    The Moar You Know

    A question for the jackal gitaristas: If I buy an acoustic guitar, should I expect to get the truss-rod adjustment tool in the box?

    @Amir Khalid: I have unboxed thousands of guitars, from the dirt cheap to the expensive, and every last one of them has had the tool that no beginner should ever be provided with, a truss rod Allen key. But hey, you learn by breaking stuff.

    The answer is “yes”, it should have one. If not, just cruise down to your local music store and ask for one. They likely have a pile of them.

  180. 180.

    James E Powell

    @Miss Bianca:

    Obviously, that makes him the prime candidate to inherit the mantle of World’s Greatest Monster from HRC.

    No doubt we will soon hear demands for the transcripts of speeches he gave to every industry luncheon.

  181. 181.

    The Moar You Know

    I’d have to dig in my toolbox to know for sure, but I think they’ll likely use a 6 mm hex-end wrench (allen wrench.)

    @Firebert: 4mm. The real old Asian instruments used 5mm, but anything from the last 15 years will be 4mm.

  183. 183.

    Amir Khalid

    @The Moar You Know:
    I bought my Squiers online, and they were both shipped to me bubble-wrapped, in a box, with both hex keys (for the truss rod and the saddles). I bought the Epi Les Paul in a shop run by a music retail chain. They had thrown away the box when they put the guitar on display, and I had to bring my own gigbag so I could bring Sister home. I also had to go back and ask for a truss-rod hex key.

  184. 184.

    HeleninEire

    Happy Christmas from across the pond. Just got back from my Christmas lunch at the Westin Hotel. As always it was fabulous. I’m about to go into a food coma.

  185. 185.

    FlipYrWhig

    Re: Sanders vs. O’Rourke, it’s fun to watch poseur podcast-bro lefties try to reconcile “we must reconnect with labor and the proud honest men of the white working class!” and “resource extraction is raping the planet!”

  186. 186.

    dopey-o

    @Amir Khalid: giving the neck-adjustment wrench to a guitarist is the best way to transform a $300 instrument into junk. Take it to the music store and pay $25. You’ll thank me later.

  187. 187.

    BroD

    WaPo: “Trump’s White House tried to calm markets. It backfired.”

    This is scary. Not only is he irrational, he’s totally incompetent.

  191. 191.

    Bill Arnold

    @BroD:

    WaPo: “Trump’s White House tried to calm markets. It backfired.”
    This is scary. Not only is he irrational, he’s totally incompetent.

    Or, it was deliberate. Do not reject that possibility. (It beats starting a war, especially a nuclear war.)

  194. 194.

    TomatoQueen

    That payment arrangements guff for furloughed feds consists of a form letter from OPM which says nothing much beyond please be nice to this federal employee if you would please and has absolutely no significance, power, legal meaning, or with my landlord in any case effect. Rent is still due. Daycare is payable in advance. Maybe you can get food from a food bank but you don’t qualify for any type of means-tested public assistance. Some feds maybe will qualify for UC but there is a two week lag to receive benefits and it will not be a full paycheck’s worth; excepted service employees are not available for other jobs so don’t qualify for UC and must turn up daily for work without compensation. This is to say nothing of all the maintenance crews of various types who have federal contract jobs but no work if the gov’t is shut down. So you can take your payment arrangements and call them marginal.

  195. 195.

    MomSense

    @ArchTeryx:

    Hey you. I am so grateful you survived. I think of you often and worry about you when I don’t see you here. I know that you struggle and I also know that there are people like me who care about you. What can I do to help?

    My email is Maine coast made at the gmail dot com. I will give you my number. You can text me in the middle of the night – whenever. Sending you a big hug.

  198. 198.

    frosty

    @Amir Khalid: @Amir Khalid: Yes, but it’s usually just an allen wrench. I’ve got one that the Ikea tool fits. The website might tell you the right size.
    ETA Sorry for the repeat, got moderated because of clumsy thumbs.

  203. 203.

    Dan B

    @OzarkHillbilly: Thanks for the info about Beto’s voting record. (I was going to say record and not say voting record but was afraid I’d have folks looking for cd’s of his band.)
    There are several votes that concern me. From my memory, he voted for a bill that would reduce liability for oil spills in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The details matter. Was it certain to pass so a yes vote would be a no brainer for a Texas rep.? He reportedly believes in global warming so this vote would be odd. Then again a conservative Dem might be the best choice for getting policy passed that would not scare the oiligarchs. We need to nudge the feds far enough to allow States to move the needle and slow enough that the average voter doesn’t feel afraid for their pocketbook. WA state tried to pass a gas tax but lost because people were persuaded that it would cost a lot.
    Anyway, it would be helpful to know the details of Beto’s “conservatism”.

  204. 204.

    AnotherBruce

    @Miss Bianca: The left in this country are worse than useless, They keep insisting that the Democratic primary was rigged in 2016. And they are also upset that if Sanders wants to run, he has to register as a Democrat. They are delusional.

  206. 206.

    Leto

    @ArchTeryx: I’m glad you’re still here with us. We need every Jackal right now, even if it’s for just groan worthy puns. Hope everyone is having a good holiday and that we can keep it going into the new year. Happy holidays everyone :)

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