Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

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

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

The words do not have to be perfect.

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

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

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

I really should read my own blog.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

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

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Let there be snark.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Late Night Open Thread: Joe Biden, Guns Blazing

Late Night Open Thread: Joe Biden, Guns Blazing

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(Nah, I think even Fox News has figured out the Milkshake Duck problem by now… )

Reader Interactions

116Comments

  1. 1.

    NotMax

    Must be Alzheimer’s. He can no longer remember the word “malarkey.”

    /RWNJ

    // & :)

  2. 2.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    BWHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA

     

    Bernie won Whitedaho with 78% of the vote in 2016 and tonight he LOST

  4. 4.

    Archon

    Biden as a old, white male is allowed to get away with outburst like that,  shit he might even GAIN votes with this exchange.

    There aren’t enough beer summits in the world that would have allowed Obama or Hillary Clinton to get away with publicly chastising a white man like that.

  5. 5.

    FlipYrWhig

    Hey, so it turns out white working class and rural Democrats think Biden > Sanders > H. Clinton > Obama. Whoever could have predicted this? :D :D :D

  7. 7.

    piratedan

    its amazing to watch the media at work, Joe tells a guy who confronted him on the campaign trail that the bs he was spouting was just that… bs.  and people are spinning wildly while we have an admitted sexual assaulter in office who’s caught colloquially speaking about his harassment tactics and they’re still trying to normalize that fat bastard.

    Christ what it must be like to be a Republican and just be treated like nobility all the fucking time…

  8. 8.

    Kent

    Biden is growing on me.
    His speech tonight was excellent.
    And telling dipshit MAGA wingers they are full of shit? I want me some more of that.

  10. 10.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Kent:

    Biden is growing on me.

    Heh.  Remember when it was big news that Beto said “we’re comin’ for your assault rifles, bro” and boy the media got all in a bother, furrowed brows and all.  And now Biden’s saying it.  There really is something to this “the head of the ticket is the leader of a coalition, and when that coalition decisively goes in a certain direction, the leader has to go also.”  Not complaining at all.

  11. 11.

    MisterForkbeard

    @piratedan: I think this thing actually plays pretty well.

    Biden is doing dominant politics AND he’s doing it to irrational gun nuts, which are a segment that nearly everybody hates. From a policy point of view most people agree with him. And from a politics point of view this kind of bravura usually pays off.

    @Kent: I’ve got the same opinion. I never disliked Biden as much as others, but he’s saying and doing the right things and can give a good speech – it sounded like he was having a conversation with the audience. I’ll take it.

  12. 12.

    Kent

    @MisterForkbeard: @Kent: I’ve got the same opinion. I never disliked Biden as much as others, but he’s saying and doing the right things and can give a good speech – it sounded like he was having a conversation with the audience. I’ll take it.

    If he wins he’ll be a transition president. He doesn’t have nearly the ego of a Trump, or even a Sanders. I can see him delegating vast power and responsibilities to his VP who will most likely be the next president in waiting. I’ll be voting for his VP as much as for him. Fingers crossed that he’ll make a good choice. I have much more confidence he will than I would Bernie.

  13. 13.

    Al Z.

    At the very least telling a constituent that he or she is full of shit is much better than saying they are a lying, dog-faced pony soldier.

  14. 14.

    Sebastian

    @MisterForkbeard: 

    Yes, the media is trying their tried and true pearlclutching and fainting couch, see how they use the term “voter” when it was clear that this was a group of gun nuts and Trumpers (there is another video where they marched and chanted Trump Trump).

    They are not “voters”, they are partisans and good on him for telling this guy to his face that he is a jackass.

  15. 15.

    dm

    The Republicans and the Sanderistas are just throwing things at the wall, hoping something will stick. The Republicans, because that’s what they do. The Sanderistas because they’re  seriously bad at this game (I bet you won’t catch AOC anywhere near this — she is good at this game), and they’re desperate.

    John McCain fans should swoon for this like they were back on the tire swing (but I bet they won’t). But Archon is right that only an old white guy can get away with this.

  16. 16.

    mrmoshpotato

    “Art Jones is a Nazi” ad – woo hoo!  I hope the IL Russthuglican party is happy they didn’t run a challenger to Lipinski in ’18!  Idiots.

    Go Marie Newman!

  19. 19.

    Dmbeaster

    Luv it.  Gives me hope Biden is ready for the fight, which has been one of my biggest worries about him.

  20. 20.

    smike

    It occurred to me tonight how much fun it would be to read headlines that tRump was defeated in November by Kenyans blacks and women.

  21. 21.

    Eolirin

    Honestly, some of this stuff really turns me off, but I’m not naive enough to think it isn’t an advantage with white males in swing states, so he should really keep doing it.

    I wish we were ready as a country to move past this kind of bullshit dominance posturing. But we’re not, and right now whatever wins.

  26. 26.

    cain

    @piratedan: Christ what it must be like to be a Republican and just be treated like nobility all the fucking time…

    This virus pandemic is going to change all perceptions. Prior, conservatives have always managed to fuck things up and then get bailed out by Democrats so they can fuck it up in 8 years again once everything was back on track.

    This is going to be an epic fail across the board. It will be very hard for the media to make the same kind of shit in the face of people dying, the economy in shambles and other nations responding so much better and faster. We are about to hit shit show territory.

  27. 27.

    Chyron HR

    @Al Z.:

    Don’t lose hope, Bro.  Just keep telling yourself that Bernie will have this all wrapped up in ten days.

  28. 28.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    Biden, Joe

    81.04%

    Sanders, Bernie

    14.89%

    Mississippi Berning.

  29. 29.

    Mnemosyne

    @Archon:

    Yeah, but I’m enjoying the hell out of it anyway. That guy in the photo who is absolutely gleeful that someone is finally calling his asshole gun nut co-worker on his shit speaks for me.

  32. 32.

    Patricia Kayden

    I’m sorry but I’m glad that this is the last time that Sanders can run for President given his advanced age. His supporters are horrible and I have no doubt that the majority of them will vote for Trump in November.

  33. 33.

    sanjeevs

     

    Trump, tweeting out his gameplan

    Pocahontas, working in conjunction with the Democrat Party, totally destroyed the campaign of Bernie Sanders. If she would have quit 3 days earlier, Sanders would have beaten Biden in a route, it wouldn’t even have been close. They also got two other losers to support Sleepy Joe!

  34. 34.

    TS (the original)

    @sanjeevs:

    Never has a prior president decided to take part in the other party’s primary. This guy is not only incompetent, he is an absolute disgrace to what was once a political party.

  36. 36.

    HalfAssedHomesteader

    @Patricia Kayden: Actually, the majority of them sobered up and voted Hilliary last time and I expect most will come around this time too.   There’s always those petulant snots who will vote for Jill Stein 2.0 (aka Gabbard?) because perpetuating Trump’s crimes against humanity somehow gives them a clear conscience.

  37. 37.

    terry chay

    @Patricia Kayden: The majority of them won’t vote for Trump or Biden so no worries. In fact, the majority of them probably didn’t vote for Sanders in the primary.

    If you mean his supporters on SOCIAL MEDIA, the majority of them can’t even vote when you count the Russian bots, etc.

    Who cares what these people say? Do you actually believe any of these choads ranting voted for HRC in 2016? Lol!

    They were never D votes to count do they aren’t D votes to lose. These people say out the blue ? of 2018 thinking it would empower the republicans and make us come running to their savior in 2020. Look how that turned out.

  40. 40.

    terry chay

    @HalfAssedHomesteader: You are confusing the majority of his VOTERS with the majority of his supporters on social media (who didn’t vote at all).

    Even his huge “youth turnout” of 2016 is looking like him cannibalizing the people Obama brought into the party. Their terribly low numbers in these record primary contests are because that cohort is aging out (and into a larger older cohort).

    (Youth voting numbers are not necessarily going down, just youth numbers for Bernie in the primary. Their larger turnout in 2018 implies the missing voters are in it for booting out Republicans, but not for anointing Bernie.)

  41. 41.

    Shalimar

    @sanjeevs: So Scavino doesn’t know how to spell rout.  That’s what happens when you give your social media to your golf caddy.

  42. 42.

    Sab

    I am so old that I remember the Parkland kids and the Newtown kids.  Also remember my neighborhood kids. Also my granddaughters do active shooting training in school.

    I have a nut job nephew who has a suicidal wife ( who I really really like)  and two toddlers and a gun at home. What could possibly go wrong?

  45. 45.

    Morzer

    One thing that people haven’t been thinking about enough – Bernie isn’t beating Biden among the blue-collar white men.  That doesn’t bode well for the revolution.

  48. 48.

    Morzer

    @Mnemosyne: To be precise, we have the preliminary report of the sub-committee tentatively suggesting that a debate on cookie procurement might be placed on the agenda at some point in the future.

  49. 49.

    Morzer

    @Baud: Right, but you know that a big part of HeartBern’s electability argument was his supposedly irresistible allure to the economically distressed manly blue collar workers of the Midwest….

  50. 50.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Kent: I’ll be voting for his VP as much as for him.

    And the GOP will be running against his VP if it’s a POC &/or woman:

    Joe Biden’s got one foot in the grave! You gonna trust Amurkka to PRESIDENT {insert name}???

    Followed by every unflattering out-of-context image, quote & clip the mofos can dig up.

    I hope DNC is prepared to poll the shit out of the electorate to suss out the risks involved in each potential running mate so as to minimize them. And I expect that when the smoke clears & dust settles, somewhere around July 4 Uncle Joe announces a running mate who is white, male, hetero, 39-59, and a solid Democrat.

    I know the Jackaltariat will scream & curse. Don’t shoot the messenger. I take no pleasure in that prediction. I wish it were otherwise. But we have to win this one, as big as possible.

  52. 52.

    germy

    Inbox: Trump campaign manager @Parscale releases a statement on tonight's results

    "It has never mattered who the Democrat nominee turns out to be… the Democrat candidate for president will be running on a big government socialist agenda regardless of the name on the ballot." pic.twitter.com/EiXd3sAYmC

    — Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) March 11, 2020

  53. 53.

    germy

    “Let’s shut this puppy down and… worry about November. This thing is decided.” James Carville reacts to Joe Biden’s projected victories in Michigan, Missouri, and Mississippi pic.twitter.com/BAAvy7HSLI

    — MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 11, 2020

    Rep. Clyburn on NPR just now: “I think when the night is over, Joe Biden will be the prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic nomination… If the night ends the way it has begun” it’s time to “shut this primary down,” meaning the DNC should “step in” and cancel future debates.

    — Miles Parks (@MilesParks) March 11, 2020

  55. 55.

    Mr. Mack

    Was waiting for an open thread, but I’ll go ahead and ask this now.  I really don’t want to be re-thinking my support for Warren.  But I am.  Where is her endorsement?  It’s nearly meaningless now.  What is the political calculus here?  What am I missing?

  56. 56.

    Chyron HR

    @germy:

    [T]he Democrat candidate for president will be running on a big government socialist agenda regardless of the name on the ballot.

    I’ll just sit here and patiently wait for Nina Turner to retweet this reassurance to the Bros.

  57. 57.

    Bruce K

    One, I don’t think Parscale would know a genuine socialist if one walked up to him and bit him on the nose.

    Two, I’m really not a fan of canceling elections based on assumptions of a foregone conclusion. Let everyone vote, tally all the votes, and then deal with the outcome.

  59. 59.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @germy: meaning the DNC should “step in” and cancel future debates.

    Why cancel future debates? If they are worried about covid, just cancel the audience.

  60. 60.

    WereBear

    @Mr. Mack: It is a no-win for Warren, whose actual policies are closer to Sanders’ and is a good progressive leader.

    And does Biden need her? No. Why open herself to false charges of hypocrisy? When we need her pushing the envelope?

  63. 63.

    Brachiator

    @sanjeevs:

    Pocahontas, working in conjunction with the Democrat Party, totally destroyed the campaign of Bernie Sanders. If she would have quit 3 days earlier, Sanders would have beaten Biden in a route, it wouldn’t even have been close.

    Trump is clearly delusional. But Sweet Jesus, I hope he keeps believing this and forces his campaign to work according to his deranged fantasies.

  65. 65.

    rikyrah

    The primary has come down to a single dad who nursed his injured sons back to health while grieving the loss of his wife and daughter Vs. A deadbeat dad who let his son and his baby momma fend for themselves on welfare because he was unable to hold a job. pic.twitter.com/6udhku6ETk— ⚖️ ?????-ℍ????? ?? ????! ⚖️ (@GeecheeInJersey) March 10, 2020

  66. 66.

    Mr. Mack

    @OzarkHillbilly: That’s a fair question, and I’m not completely sure why it bothers me…but it does.  I guess it’s not knowing why.  Werebear made the point that Biden doesn’t need her, but I think the Party does.  Now.  I know she’ll help shepherd through progressive legislation, so I’m not worried about that.  I voted for her too, but I really expected her to look at the field (which was down to Biden/Sanders) and endorse the Democrat.  Who would she have alienated?

    Perhaps she did not want to lend credence to the idea that she got in to siphon votes away from Bernie.  That’s somewhat plausible.

  67. 67.

    HeartlandLiberal

    I saw this exchange as Joe Biden saying what needs to be said. Only made more eager than ever to vote for him. The hypocrisy of the GOP ruling class and pundits in their reaction to this, while ignoring the incompetent, dementia riddled moron Trump, just is the icing on the cake.

  68. 68.

    Brachiator

    @Uncle Cosmo:

    And I expect that when the smoke clears & dust settles, somewhere around July 4 Uncle Joe announces a running mate who is white, male, hetero, 39-59, and a solid Democrat.

    I know the Jackaltariat will scream & curse. Don’t shoot the messenger. I take no pleasure in that prediction. I wish it were otherwise. But we have to win this one, as big as possible.

    I know you keep harping on this point as though it must be so, but we will see what happens.

  71. 71.

    rikyrah

    Soooooooo many people said “Black voters are not a monolith,” “Black voters outside of the south are different,” and my favorite “Bernie is winning Black voters nationally now!”The cold reality? Biden wins Black voters in Michigan by close to 40 points. https://t.co/eHSgEf4T4O— Marcus H. Johnson (@marcushjohnson) March 11, 2020

  72. 72.

    Morzer

    @Brachiator: If anyone out there believes Trump knows (much less can spell!) the word “conjunction”, I have a bespoke line of luxury, personalized bridges to sell them.

  74. 74.

    Morzer

    @Mr. Mack: Why would Warren feel any need to endorse?  Why can’t she simply take some time, recover from the stress of ending her campaign and quietly work to bring the various strands of the Democratic party back together?

  77. 77.

    NotMax

    @Baud

    Yes, plus in many cases there are offices (federal, state and local) besides president on the ballots. Depressed turnout due to a mindset that the ball game is over contains potential to affect those significantly.

  78. 78.

    Morzer

    @OzarkHillbilly: Well, you raise the candidate on a shield, the legions acclaim the candidate and then the candidate goes off to thrash some barbarian tribe and all is well with the world.

  81. 81.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: It’s the common sense move. So I still don’t understand why the debates should be cancelled, but then I have never been one to fret about the eventual nominee being “damaged” by disagreements with or attacks from other candidates. The Repubs are going to say it all anyway.

  83. 83.

    Jeffro

    @Uncle Cosmo: 
    the GOP will be running against his VP if it’s a POC &/or woman

    Ding ding ding, you are correct! My TCNJ dad has already started in on how Biden will pick a ‘weak woman’ as his Veep.

    When I pointed out that for him (my dad), that’s kind of a redundant comment, he had no response.

  84. 84.

    Brachiator

    @Mr. Mack: 

    Was waiting for an open thread, but I’ll go ahead and ask this now. I really don’t want to be re-thinking my support for Warren. But I am. Where is her endorsement? It’s nearly meaningless now. What is the political calculus here? What am I missing?

    I don’t know. But a number of her supporters here seem to want her to remain “pure” by not endorsing anyone.

    It’s funny. Some folk keep insisting that her policies are closer to Bernie’s and so this means … something. But I think that she has real policies and some backup to her plans, while Bernie is simply full of empty posturing.

    The sad thing is that by refusing to endorse, Warren is becoming politically irrelevant, at least for now. She had less support than anyone thought (which is a shame), and I don’t see Sanders’ supporters moving to her, because they are too stubbornly attached to their avatar, Saint Bernie.

    Still, it is not over yet. It will be interesting to see what Warren does.

  85. 85.

    Mr. Mack

    @Morzer: Please bear with me as I am still sipping my first cup and I do not want to come off as flippant or sarcastic.  But, this is the NBA.  You shake off the loss, and craft a unifying endorsement.  If Warren did indeed peel away some Bernie votes, it let’s her more ardent supporters know that regardless of policy differences, she believes Biden is a thousand times the man that Trump is, and she offers her full throated support.
    So, I’ll ask again, why wouldn’t she?  What is the downside?

  88. 88.

    Morzer

    @Mr. Mack: There’s a lot to be said for just quietly letting the process play out without endorsing either candidate. Any endorsement is going to anger some of the supporters of the non-endorsed candidate, which won’t help party unity much. I think Warren is sensibly not rushing in where angels fear to tread.

  89. 89.

    Brachiator

    @Morzer:

    If anyone out there believes Trump knows (much less can spell!) the word “conjunction”, I have a bespoke line of luxury, personalized bridges to sell them.

    Ha! Good point.  Putin may be taking direct control of the Trump campaign.

  90. 90.

    Mr. Mack

    @Brachiator: Warren is becoming politically irrelevant, at least for now.

     

    That is my fear.  I can’t be the only one wondering about this.  My daughter and I discussed this last night, and she is crazy about her, but she was asking me why she hadn’t done it when all the other Dem candidates had.

  91. 91.

    debbie

    Ironically, the GOP-dominated state of Ohio is now encouraging early voting, absentee, and mail-in voting. There’s always battles over the number of hours for early voting; suddenly, the hours are being extended. I’m hoping that’s good news for us.

  95. 95.

    Mr. Mack

    @debbie: Irrelevant probably isn’t the right word.  As to PBO, it is obvious where his support is, he picked him as his VP.  I think it weakens her, but I get that it may not matter.

  97. 97.

    Brachiator

    @debbie:

    Elizabeth Warren will never be irrelevant. Has PBO endorsed? No. Is he irrelevant????

    Kinda apples and oranges, don’t you think? Warren and Obama are not remotely on the same level.

    I think that Warren endorsing Biden may be important to her political future. Obama, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, former presidents don’t have to worry about their legacies.

  99. 99.

    Malraux

    @Mr. Mack: My take for a while has been that Warren’s non-endorsement of Sanders was an implicit endorsement of Biden. For a number of reasons, I can see her not wanting to explicitly endorse while the primary was still going on. But to Biden, a non-endorsement from Warren was worth most of what an explicit one would be.

     

    Now that the primary is (effectively) over, I could see her endorsing at any point between now and the convention. Honestly I’d be happiest with her and Sanders doing a joint endorsement while reminding everyone of the importance of their issues.

  100. 100.

    Brachiator

    @debbie:

    Relevance isn’t a matter of levels.

    In politics, it often is. If Warren fails to endorse Biden, life will go on.  Let’s say that Obama never endorses Biden, even if he presumably becomes the nominee. The media would be obsessed with the apparent snub and the meaning behind it. Biden might even lose some support.

    I also think that Warren would make an excellent VP for Biden (and yes I acknowledge that she could also do very well by staying in the Senate). But even just for the sake of party unity, I would bet that she will say something about Joe fairly soon.

    On the other hand, there is no upside in even hinting that she supports Sanders.

  101. 101.

    Bobby Thomson

    I agree that the Biden clip is today’s political ink blot test.

    I think it was solid gold earned media.

  102. 102.

    JPL

    @Morzer: Mediaite has a video of Hannity’s rant. Did you know that Joe uses a teleprompter? whoa Pretty soon we’ll find out he plays golf also.

  103. 103.

    Brachiator

    @Morzer:

    There’s a lot to be said for just quietly letting the process play out without endorsing either candidate. Any endorsement is going to anger some of the supporters of the non-endorsed candidate, which won’t help party unity much. I think Warren is sensibly not rushing in where angels fear to tread.

    Anger who? The natural choice is to endorse Biden. Many of Sanders’ supporters are outside of the party.  And it is up to Bernie to reel these people in, not Warren.

    Warren could even make the case that her endorsement of Biden means that there is a place for Sanders supporting progressives in the Democratic Party.

  104. 104.

    Anne Laurie

    @Mr. Mack: I really don’t want to be re-thinking my support for Warren. But I am. Where is her endorsement? It’s nearly meaningless now. What is the political calculus here? What am I missing?

    She wasn’t gonna do it before Biden took the lead last night.  Now, or so I’m told, she’ll have more leverage to trade her support (& delegates) for input into the final Dem platform in November.

    (Suspect she was/is also waiting to see who Biden taps as his VP candidate, because Warren will almost certainly have worked with whomever that turns out to be, and can tailor her appeal to the individual.)

  107. 107.

    Anne Laurie

    @Brachiator: Trump is clearly delusional. But Sweet Jesus, I hope he keeps believing this and forces his campaign to work according to his deranged fantasies.

    Trump doesn’t actually believe this bullshit, but he (or his handlers) hope enough of the RoseBros will to tip some states.

  108. 108.

    Morzer

    @Brachiator: Some people in the Sanders camp think of Warren as their natural ally. If she endorses Biden now, they’ll feel betrayed by one of their own. I really think her endorsement now would change nothing about the outcome of the primary, but might alienate some people unnecessarily.  There’s no need for her to hurry and she won’t gain anything by doing so.

  110. 110.

    Dupe1970

    @Archon: This very true and it is unfair that society works this way. But I cannot get too upset as I dunk on all the pearl clutching from Trumpites and Sandernistas.

  111. 111.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Brachiator: Yes, we will see.

    Sorry to sound like a broken record. I’m only hoping to inoculate those Jackals who are fastening conditions on Joe’s running mate against the shock of what seems to me the smart, the desirable, the necessary outcome.

    Dream big. Fight hard. But above all, WIN YOOGE! Only if we win as big as possible – if we gather every halfway-decent American together with us – can we ensure The End Of An Error, not just politically but culturally. Americans – hell, all people – need to agree and assert in great numbers that bigoted neo-Naziism should get no hearing and be given no quarter in our world. Send them slithering back under their rocks for good.

    Otherwise we’re going to have to do this again & again, every election, & if we slip even once (which is only too likely, eternal vigilance not being one of our strong suits) we might not get another chance. /rant

  115. 115.

    Brachiator

    @Anne Laurie:

    RE: Trump is clearly delusional. But Sweet Jesus, I hope he keeps believing this and forces his campaign to work according to his deranged fantasies.

    Trump doesn’t actually believe this bullshit, but he (or his handlers) hope enough of the RoseBros will to tip some states.

    Neither Trump nor his handlers nor his supporters are deep enough to hatch diabolical plans. From the beginning Trump has depended on what an old boss of mine would call “the brute force method.”

    And Trump is a simple man. He has always shown every sign that, yes, he believes the bullshit put in front of him.

  116. 116.

    J R in WV

    @opiejeanne:

    I’m not sure what that means, if Bernie will get a delegate or not.

    NOT, because you can’t earn delegates with below 15% of the vote, according to the rules that Bernie helped implement. So sweet!

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