Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

T R E 4 5 O N

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

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

White supremacy is terrorism.

This blog will pay for itself.

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

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Everybody saw this coming.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Biden For President / Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Joe Will Be Joe, And That’s Fine

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Joe Will Be Joe, And That’s Fine

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Ducklo is Biden’s National Press Secretary, so…

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  2. 2.

    Baud

    FTA

    The New York Times, the house organ for Democratic bedwetting, has an entire category of articles tagged “advice for Joe Biden,” bylined by staffers from assorted campaigns that Biden vanquished in the Democratic primary, without much innovation at all. 

    ???

  3. 3.

    WereBear

    I believe we will witness just how much “likability” matters, because we’ve got opposite poles shaping up here.

    Controlled for variables, even! Both older white men with long public shadows. Both pushing policies dear to their respective bases. Both with known associates who have their own public imprint.

  5. 5.

    Phylllis

    I’m also cautiously optimistic that Jaime Harrison will ride Joe’s coattails into the Senate here in SC, sending Lindsey Graham into what one hopes is an ignominious retirement.

    In local news, our board selected a new Superintendent last night. She’s a current administrator in the district and knows our strengths and our weaknesses, and has the energy and will to get things done.

  7. 7.

    Baud

    FTA

    “There were so many times throughout the primary where the internet—and by the internet I mean political reporters in the Beltway and a group of very engaged Twitter users—are talking about a specific thing,” said Symone Sanders, a senior adviser to the Biden campaign. “And then we go to places like South Carolina, we would go to Detroit, we would go to Iowa. And nobody else would be talking about what the internet was talking about.” The median primary voter in South Carolina, for instance, was a 50-something black woman who didn’t have a college degree and went to church weekly. That person is almost completely without voice in the national media. Instead, cable networks beam in highly paid pundits from their open-concept kitchens and seek opinions from a rotating cast of “experts,” harvested from Twitter, who probably haven’t shopped at a Piggly Wiggly lately.

    That article is not kind to the youngs.

  8. 8.

    Princess

    The thing about Biden is that everyone basically believes they know him, and, except for Sady Doyle, they mostly like him. Trump is going to have a hard time redefining him. At best Hunter/Burisma will innoculate the Trump kids a little; it isn’t going to change how people view Biden himself. The Reade story has imploded. Biden has the benefit Trump had in 2016. Hillary could say what she liked about him, bu everyone said, yeah, we know, he’s been in our living room once a week for years, so what, he’s a little crude.

  9. 9.

    SFAW

    is wide enough to withstand a 2016 like error were election held today.

    First of all, it wasn’t a goddamn error; it was active Republican and Russian fuckery. Second: it isn’t being held today, and there’s still plenty of time for additional Republican/Russian fuckery.
    I get REALLY tired of the happy-happy-joy-joy “hot takes” like this. I generally think Enten does a decent job, but he should eschew this type of comment

  10. 10.

    satby

    Good morning everyone! Additional thanks for all the good wishes yesterday. I ended up finding a lost dog and locating her family, though it took a couple of hours, and wasn’t able to thank everyone individually.

    Update on the mask vendors for the people who asked me to get them some. The vendor with the more fitted mask will not be at the market today but she will on Thursday. She’s home sewing like a maniac. I gave her the orders though, so I’m picking them up and sending them out Thursday. I’ll follow up with you individually, and anyone still looking can email me at my store in my nym if you want me to get you some too.

  14. 14.

    JMG

    @SFAW: As of now, Biden is ahead. If the election was today, Biden would almost surely win. Why is that a “hot take”? It’s Enten saying what he thinks the available information is telling him. Everybody knows it’s not November and that data can and probably will change.

  15. 15.

    Baud

    FTA. An important reminder for Juicers.

    What works for Joe, in many ways, is not what works for political insiders who, time and time again in the Trump era, have failed to grasp what resonates with the people Democrats need to win: persuadable and drop-off voters, not just the highly engaged.

    …….

    The Biden campaign—and Biden himself—takes special glee in pointing out that those voters, like the overwhelming majority of the U.S. population, are not on Twitter and not taking their cultural cues from the Times Style Section.

  16. 16.

    WereBear

    @debbie:

    I’d love to hear Trump’s response to the question Hillary got about her likableness.

     
    She is likeable but also, she’s a policy wonk. I’m a liberal: I don’t hate, loathe, and fear intellect.

    But it’s generally admitted she does not possess the retail politics magnetism her husband has in abundance. Charisma matters: and we must admit Trump has it for his Deplorables.

    In this instance, Joe Biden has it for Democrats. That’s why this element really is an equal matchup.

    I admit I was skeptical about Joe when Obama first announced it, but I’m a radical. It’s so hard not to like Joe he did perform the important “coattails” to reassure the less-rad.

  17. 17.

    prostratedragon

    I started something yesterday and then didn’t get back to it until late, so to repeat the cleanup, the original quote heard at a recent tech conference was,

    Sucking is on the rise this year.

    The colloquy to which I returned hours later:

     

    @Baud: [How’d this arise?] It’s a matter of interpretation.

    @JaySinWA: [What kind of conference?] Data science.

    The question arises in connection with translating texts, i.e. from English into Spanish. There are cases where the literal translation is bad enough in the second language to end all possibility of reasoned discourse. Apparently the verb “to suck” is a case, where what is mild in English is way, way rude in Spanish. So one would like to write translators that take that into account. Since it was data science, and one would like in any case to know how bad the problem is, a timeline of usage by year was drawn. The graph was as funny as the remark, as it took a decidedly cobralike profile at the present year.

    I’d say more, but don’t want to make someone an unwitting star. Goes without saying, though, probably the hit of the conference.

    Thanks for your patience.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    @WereBear:

    Joe doesn’t have more charisma among Democrats than Hillary did. Joe has a penis, and that unfortunately still matters with some elements of the party.

    Hillary does not have Obama or Bill level of charisma.

  19. 19.

    SFAW

    @JMG:

    If the election was today, Biden would almost surely win.

    If the election had been held in May, 2016, Hillary would have almost surely won.

    Why is that a “hot take”?

    I expect more from Enten than a “if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride” regurgitation of six-months-out polling numbers. Who gives a rat’s ass about them? And why is Enten wasting his/our time on them? There are only about 500 “pundits” who are already doing the “lemme quote today’s 10 AM polls” thing. [And his “2016 like error” comment makes me wonder if I’ve been giving him more credit than he deserves.]

  20. 20.

    OzarkHillbilly

    ‘Yeah, I’m in trouble’: man who rescued whale calf caught in Queensland nets faces $27,000 fine

    “I saw the whale and I thought, ‘That is pretty cool’,” the rescuer, who asked not to be named, told reporters. “Then I saw he was in the net and I thought, ‘That is not cool’.”

    He said he took off his shirt and donned swimming fins before diving into waters off Burleigh Heads, using his knife to free the baby whale’s pectoral fin from the net, which was cutting into its flesh.

    “He was about eight to nine metres deep. Because of the adrenalin my heart was just pumping,” he said, describing his repeated resurfacing.

    It’s unknown how long the calf – believed to be a humpback – had been trapped. It was spotted about 7am by a drone operator, and a crew from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries arrived at the scene at 9.45am. However, the man had already released the whale, drawing a cheer from a crowd of onlookers who had gathered on the cliffs above the water.

    While the rescuer was hailed as a hero on social media, he now risks a fine of up to $26,900 for interfering with shark control nets. He said staff from Queensland Fisheries intercepted him as he came to shore.

    “Yeah, I’m in trouble. I wasn’t going out there to see whales. It was an expensive day but whatever … you pay the price sometimes,” he said. “I didn’t think about what the fine was.”

    Queensland Fisheries has confirmed it is investigating but says no fine has yet been issued.

    Something tells me a GoFundMe page will take care of the fine.

  21. 21.

    coin operated

    @Baud:

    Joe doesn’t have more charisma among Democrats than Hillary did. Joe has a penis, and that unfortunately still matters with some elements of the party.

    This.  They weren’t called Berniebros by accident.  If we still had a woman candidate in the lead, Sanders would still be front-n-center in the news (and grift) cycle.

  22. 22.

    danielx

    @Baud:

    Image of the FNYT editorial spaces and ongoing drill:

    Altogether now! With feeling this time!

    Dems In Disarray!

  23. 23.

    Nicole

    @Baud:

    Joe doesn’t have more charisma among Democrats than Hillary did. Joe has a penis, and that unfortunately still matters with some elements of the party.

    Thank you.

  24. 24.

    Baud

    A Democratic organization focused on flipping control of the US Senate and winning down-ballot races is launching a new political giving platform Tuesday that takes a cue from the investment world to create “portfolios” of candidates and causes where energized liberal donors can send their money.

  26. 26.

    pinacacci

    Why does that orange shit not rub off on his collar.  Quality makeup.  Had to say it

    eta trump obvs not Biden.  But it was an open thread.

  28. 28.

    Sab

    @Phylllis: I accidentally donated to Jaime Harrison monthly. My one time donation is now a monthly contribution and I can’t figure out how to cancel it. Financial stretch for me, but otherwise I am not that upset. Really like the guy

    But it makes me EXTREMELY wary of ActBlue. Will never donate thru them again.

  30. 30.

    SFAW

    @pinacacci:

    Why does that orange shit not rub off on his collar.

    I recently saw a TV ad for some product — from Crayola, I think, but … — where the kids were using colored markers, but those markers only work on a whiteboard-like thingy, not on fabrics, walls, etc.

    Maybe the Toddler-in-Chief was/is a beta site for that product?

  32. 32.

    Baud

    @Immanentize:

    The article explains the difference. It’s basically an attempt to be more targeted than ActBlue has been. I believe ActBlue is just a platform.

  34. 34.

    Baud

    Some good news.

    Senate Republicans in difficult reelection races are aligning themselves with President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, calculating that his stewardship of the country through the deadly crisis will help their reelection hopes even as he’s been criticized for moving too slowly and as the American public remains sharply split over his response so far.

  35. 35.

    satby

    @Baud: As a female who worked in male dominated jobs most of my life, I have a sharp instinct for sexism, and that played a part in the primaries. But I disagree that it was the main part, and as a Harris or Warren fan it sort of pains me to say so, because it’s an easy answer. I think the endless chaos and meanness of the Trump years just made the majority of Democratic  primary voters want a known quantity, legendarily nice guy as a antidote to the endless hell we’ve been put through. Especially for minority voters, this wasn’t the year to try an unknown, they crave stability and a return to the Obama years and Joe brings that.

    edited to add: but for a lot of the Sanders fans, yes sexism was the main driver IMO.

  36. 36.

    SFAW

    @Immanentize:

    One of my three favorite fortune cookie fortunes

    And the other two?

    My favorite was something akin to “It’s 5 o’clock, and I’m done writing pithy sayings for today”

  38. 38.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Sab:I can’t figure out how to cancel it

    Call the bank/creditcard company and cancel it on your end.

  40. 40.

    germy

    A gentle reminder:
    When you wear a mask, you are not protecting yourself, you are protecting others. It’s a simple, but radical act of kindness. When you where a mask in public, you are saying: “I care about my friends and neighbors. I care about my community.”

    — Dr. Jacqueline Antonovich (@jackiantonovich) May 18, 2020

    Oh great — now NO Republican will wear one! https://t.co/hHk8TsaOLS

    — Roy Edroso (@edroso) May 19, 2020

    I visited my local supermarket early this morning. Sign on the door says Masks Required. Went inside and saw a maskless customer – old white guy pushing his cart down the aisle. Of course, I encountered two shoppers ignoring the “one way” signs in the aisles, coming towards me as I obeyed the rules. Saw one grocery stocker maskless. And at checkout, one of the cashiers had his mask down over his mouth with his nose uncovered.

    I wanted to use self checkout, but it wasn’t open yet. So I picked a cashier with a mask, and at the end of the transaction he said “Stay safe!”

    “Thank you, you too!” I replied.

    Part of me wanted to complain about what I saw, but I didn’t want to hassle this employee who was following the rules, and there were no managers visible.

    I’m at a point now where I’ve given up speaking up for myself. I’m just tired of the bullshit.

    I mean, I almost forgot my mask this morning. And if I’d driven all the way to the store and then realized I’d left it home, I would have turned around and driven back home to get it. The people who ignore rules, I just find them enervating.

  41. 41.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Baud: Trump’s “stewardship”? What might that be?

    Frankly, I don’t believe that’s the reason they stick with him. It’s the partisanship of their voters. There is no reason.

  43. 43.

    Immanentize

    @SFAW: That was number two.  Number three was:

    Never return to the past to revive an old relationship

    Tru dat!

    And by far the all time best was:

    Never wear your best pants when you go to fight for freedom

  45. 45.

    Starfish

    @Baud: That is interesting that you see this article as not kind to the youngs. I saw it as pretty good overall, but when I got to this phrase “Before memes were a thing,” I wanted to throw it across the room.

    Memes have always been a thing on the internet, and this person needs to get off my lawn.

    I wonder how old the author is. I just looked it up out of curiosity, and he is a couple of years younger than me, clearly not aware of all internet traditions. ??

  46. 46.

    prostratedragon

    This is behind the paywall at Daily Beast:

    “Trump’s Been Playing a Ventilator Shell Game With Russia”

    The Trump administration bought ventilators from Russia that can’t be used (wrong voltage, and they catch fire). Then it gave good ventilators, still needed in the U.S., to Moscow.

    Those were of course our tax dollars at work on the purchase side. Hoped it gets picked up elsewhere in a day or two.

  48. 48.

    JMG

    @SFAW: You do know writing about the polls and analyzing them is Enten’s JOB, right? It’s how he earns a living. He can’t make the calendar go any faster, which seems to be your wish here, any more than you or I can.

  49. 49.

    Ten Bears

    I warned y’awl last go-’round, don’t count chickens before they’re hatched. Or lain.

    Cassandra’s Grandson. Not only does no one listen, they’re arrogant assholes about it.

    Which makes it – regardless how distasteful – that much sweeter when I’m right.

    Don’t count chickens before they hatch.

  50. 50.

    kindness

    I’m still not a fan of Twitter.  It can be cute but more often it’s a mouthpiece reinforcing crap.

  51. 51.

    Sab

    Mild weather. Windows open. My cats are so fucking happy. I never realized cats had issues with their lives.

  52. 52.

    OzarkHillbilly

    “You know, it’s funny how Obama hides his insults, almost like he doesn’t want to get in trouble with Michelle for going low.”

    -Trevor Noah

  54. 54.

    Immanentize

    @Ten Bears: There is so much wrong in your comment.

    First — and most importantly, no one writes “y’awl.” Fake southern fakity crap. As one who thinks “y’all” is one of the most useful contractions available,* I hate it when idgits try to pretend-southern by acting even dumber than they actually might be. Y’all.

    * I should add that I am no fan of “all y’all” although I understand opinions vary.

  55. 55.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I swore to stop reading the fool’s tweets, and it’s been weeks since I did. But today I looked. He’s very upset at Neil Cavuto for saying don’t take that drug! It will kill you!

  60. 60.

    evap

    @Sab: This happened to me, I meant to make a one-time donation and did a monthly by mistake.  I emailed Act Blue somehow and they stopped it immediately.   See if you can find contact information on the website.

  61. 61.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    @SFAW: My favorite: There is shoe shopping in your near future.”  I still have that one.

  62. 62.

    SFAW

    @JMG:

    It’s only part of Enten’s job. And: any moron can write “if the election were held today” stupidity; I expect that level of “analysis” from Brooks or similar. And: not every comment or “hot take” that a pundit comes up with needs to be published.

  66. 66.

    Baud

    @satby:

    I didn’t say sexism was the main driver in the outcome of the 2020 primary. I’m saying that sexism is the primary driver in how Hillary was treated compared to Joe.

  73. 73.

    zeecube

    @Sab: It is an extreme measure, but close account, or report card as stolen and a new one with different numbers will be issued.  However, screws up all auto pay on that account.

  76. 76.

    Betty Cracker

    Pelosi called Trump “morbidly obese” on CNN last night when Anderson Cooper asked her if she thought it was a good idea for Trump to take hydroxychloroquine. I guess he doesn’t know about it yet because there’s no tweet. He spent the evening trying to get Neil Cavuto fired from his Fox News gig for saying it’s dangerous for Trump to be taking the drug, even retweeting The Hoarse Whisperer because he (Trump) doesn’t understand irony.  

  77. 77.

    satby

    And just got the flash notice that the river overtopped the bank on the low side and the parks and roads north of me are flooded. One of them is the road on one side of the market, though that’s a couple of feet higher.

  78. 78.

    Immanentize

    @satby: I agree, definitely not the same guy.  This person is by his/her own admission just out to pwn the libs.  Given the very fake southern crap, I suspect his implied native credentials.

    I went to the office yesterday to pick up some items. I have to teach a new class this evening so I need to change out my camera and keyboard, make some new slides, and practice my Zoom whiteboard drawing skills. The latter skills are poor.
    But so, generally, are muy drawing skills.

    So I bes jes mosey on don that-ther fakey ol’ trail….

    Catch y’all later!

  79. 79.

    Patricia Kayden

    America 2020: a demented carnival barker rodeo clown in a fucked up fright wig has turned the office of the presidency into an infomercial for an unproven and possibly dangerous drug made by a company that he just happens to own a stake in, just as our founding fathers envisioned— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) May 19, 2020

  81. 81.

    germy

    There were 3 types of song men wrote in the 60’s.

    1) I’m in love with an under-age girl.

    2) If my girlfriend even looks at another man I’ll kill her.

    3) Peace, please.

    — Tom Neenan (@TNeenan) May 18, 2020

  83. 83.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @prostratedragon: Maybe somebody brought this up in the previous discussion, but slang is a thing that gets even native Spanish speakers in trouble. There are many Spanish-speaking countries and slang varies widely among them. A perfectly innocent word in one country can be very dirty in another.

    @Betty Cracker: I’m really surprised at people trying to tell us the phrase “morbidly obese” is fat-shaming. It’s what every BMI calculator tells you you are if your BMI is at a certain level (I think 30). And I’m sure plenty of pundits have experience with reading that phrase on the BMI calculator.

  88. 88.

    SFAW

    @Immanentize:

    So I bes jes mosey on don that-ther fakey ol’ trail….

    I thought you lived north of the Pike? So the south-of-the-Pike schtick … well, I don’ know.

  89. 89.

    Nelle

    A quick question from the hopelessly naive.  I’m not in the inner circle and when someone says, contact me by nym, how to do that?  I suspect many of you are connected otherwise (Facebook?) but I truly only know you here by your nyms.

  94. 94.

    Nicole

    @Betty Cracker: I like to think Trump saw the comment, but, as his weight is quite possibly the only thing he is actually ashamed of, he’s not saying anything.  There’s no good reaction for him- he IS morbidly obese.  If he attacks her for fat shaming him, he’s acknowledging that he’s fat, which he doesn’t want to do.  If he denies that he’s fat, he looks foolish.   He may eventually come up with something, but it’ll be weak sauce, whatever it is.

    I do NOT support fat shaming- or, in fact, any comment whatsoever on someone’s body; people are individuals and the size they are and the only person’s body weight I have any business having an opinion about is my own- but in Pelosi’s case it was brilliant.  She didn’t express a moral judgment; she used a clinical term in connection with why something unrelated to weight he claims to be doing (taking a medication) is a poor idea.  She just happened to call him out for being something he has insulted other people (particularly women) for being. It’s his prejudice she used against him, not hers.

  95. 95.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Nelle: Some folks have contact info at their nyms. Those who do, have their names highlighted in blue. Click on it and the info will come up.

    ETA to clarify, they have websites/blogs with contact info

  96. 96.

    AWOL

    @Ten Bears: You still think early 20 c. Jewish Zionists combined forces with Christian Zionists to write “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”?

  97. 97.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Immanentize: Never return to the past to revive an old relationship

    I became a fan of Howard the Duck (in the comics, not the atrociously awful flick) 30-odd years ago at a SF convention, when I saw a stack of HtD comix on a dealer’s table & flipped the top one open: In the opening panel Howard, in jacket, tie & hat (bowler?) with a cigar in his handsyfeathers, walking down a city sidewalk with a disgusted look on his face. In his speech balloon:

    I came back to Cleveland to nurse an old memory, and discovered the patient had died.

    (Paraphrased from memory, of course. :^D)

  99. 99.

    WaterGirl

    @Immanentize:  Check out the movie Slay the Dragon – it’s about gerrymandering and it lays out EXACTLY how the Republicans took the house in 2010.  It wasn’t an accident, or good luck, it was targeting – and it cost them relatively little money because of that.

    Something like 30 million dollars to pretty much guarantee Republican wins for a decade, and beyond.

    Watch it.  It will get you pissed off, and fired up:  Slay the Dragon

    Once you watch that, you will see the difference between what Act Blue does and a much more targeted approach.

  100. 100.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Nelle: I don’t think we peons can do that. You can contact the front-pagers via the “Contact Us” link on the top banner.

    If anybody’s nym is a hyperlink, that means they have provided a web page to link to, and there might be contact info there.

    But for most people, myself included, there’s no way to reach them through their comments.

  103. 103.

    TS (the original)

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Something tells me a GoFundMe page will take care of the fine.

    Not so many GoFundMes in this part of the world but there will be a massive outcry if he gets fined – so the more likely outcome will be no fine.

  104. 104.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Immanentize: @Starfish: Given that this blog hails from within Steeler-lovin’ range of Ketchup Field and the Three Sewers, I would think the appropriate collective form of the second person here would be “yinz.” (And ain’t nuffin’ wrong with that – brings back good childhood memories of my godmother & favorite aunt in Fairmont WV, who used it continually as a contraction of “you’uns.” She was also partial to the term “shit-ass,” which I do believe has a brilliant new career awaiting it as a descriptor of the God-Emperor Tang®.)

  107. 107.

    WaterGirl

    @Sab: @OzarkHillbilly:

    I did some googling, and it appears that it’s more likely that the campaign itself, rather than ActBlue, set the default to be recurring.  Either that, or you accidentally clicked a wrong button.

    How do I change or cancel my recurring contribution?

    In this article:
    1. Using your receipt to change or cancel a contribution
    2. If you can’t find your monthly receipt in your email
    3. If you made a recurring contribution using your ActBlue Express account

    Every month we send a receipt for your recurring contribution via email. The easiest way to change or cancel your recurring contribution is by clicking the “Edit payment details” link we include in that receipt. Here’s what the email receipt for your recurring contribution might look like (this receipt is for a donation made on the 7th day of a month):

    Helpful link:

    https://support.actblue.com/donors/contributions/how-do-i-change-or-cancel-my-recurring-contribution/

  108. 108.

    Rusty

    Yawl is a two masted ship (the way to remember is the second mast is yawl the way back behind the rudder post).  I am leaving before someone starts the ship versus boat argument.

  110. 110.

    germy

    @OzarkHillbilly:  Yes, I saw it on CBS this morning.

    They use The War On Drugs™ to hassle minorities.  “There’s been drug activity in this neighborhood, which is why we’re stopping and searching you.  Also we’d like to search your car.”

    Nixon admitted it privately when he began The War On Drugs™ – “We need something to target teh blacks without actually seeming to target teh blacks.” etc.

  111. 111.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Rusty: I used to work for a Navy contractor. They straightened us out on that terminology pretty quickly.

    The submariners use a different terminology. Vessels at sea are classified as either “submarines” or “targets”.

  113. 113.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: There’s a charming brief passage in RIck Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door** wherein he describes his unsettling conversation, as a neophyte Yank traveler innocent of British English, with the owners of the British B&B where he had just engaged a room. “What time shall we knock you up?” etc.

    ** At least in the older editions that I keep on the rack.

  114. 114.

    Emma from FL

    @Immanentize: My very first Southern friend explained the rules: y’all is useful; all y’all is not grammatically correct and is not used; and drawling y’all is a vulgar insult.

  117. 117.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: For a reverse take on that, are you aware that our innocent F-word for human hindquarters is quite rude in the Aisles, as it refers to the female genitalia?

    I was going through scanning at a UK airport when the middle-aged male attendant pointed to my waist & said, We’ll need that on the belt.

    Oh, sorry, I forgot about my fanny pack.

    He visibly flinched.

    Oh, that’s right, I went on, you call this a “bum bag.”

    He smiled, somewhat tentatively, & nodded. As I placed it onto the belt I leaned over & said in a stage whisper, Well in the States we call it a fanny pack. Just to see if he’d flinch again.

    (Narrator: He did not disappoint.)

  118. 118.

    Starfish

    @OzarkHillbilly: My son keeps trying to charge us money for delivering sarcast-o-grams. We ask him why we would pay for a service that he is already providing for free.

  119. 119.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: I even tried to find the link after your not very illuminating response to my query, opening 2 links and searching for FTA.  No luck.  I shouldn’t have to work that hard!

  120. 120.

    Xentik

    @Baud:

    FTA

    […] New York Times, the house organ for Democratic bedwetting, […]

    ???

    See, they have their terminology wrong. “Bedwetting” assumes they’re in bed with the Democrats. Since they aren’t, the correct term would be “pissing on”.

  121. 121.

    Betty Cracker

    @Nicole: Agreed. Pelosi knows exactly who she’s dealing with . Trump will probably say something creepy/awful about her age or reference cosmetic surgery because that’s how he rolls. It would surprise me if he’s capable of ignoring an insult from a high-profile opponent, especially a woman.

  122. 122.

    Immanentize

    @Emma from FL: Well, to really southern things up, I just finished the last of my sausage gravy with a nice biscuit I mAde Sunday. 

    Full disclosure — the biscuits I make are part whole wheat, so not strictly authentic.  But the sausage gravy is as heart-stoppingly as original and wonderful as it sounds.

    brp

  128. 128.

    Kay

    @SFAW:

    I think the “error” he’s referring to is the polling error. They oversampled college grads in state polls which exaggerated Clinton’s strength, especially in Great Lakes states. They have corrected for that, mostly, but he is allowing for the possibility that they will make another, different error. The risk is small but obviously it’s one of those risks that if it DOES happen it doesn’t matter if it’s small.

  129. 129.

    Aleta

    @Nelle:

    when someone says, contact me by nym, how to do that?

    Often the method is to use a front-page writer as safe intermediary.  The nym gives permission to the FP  to send the nym’s contact email to another commenter.  (Usually it’s not general permission to send their email to any commenter who asks.)  The nym might say  it’s OK to send the nym’s contact to a specific commenter, or to a few who write the FPer for certain information like a cat adoption.  It’s a very generous act on the part of the FP person who takes time to help.

  131. 131.

    Emma from FL

    @Immanentize: I miss biscuits and gravy. My doctor would surely have a conniption if I ate it, but I miss it. As I do sun-brewed sweetened tea.

    Damn. I think my first trip after travel is majorly safe will have to be to Kentucky.

  132. 132.

    rikyrah

    Still haven’t gotten your stimulus money? IRS is now sending prepaid debit cards

    BY CHARLES DUNCAN

    MAY 19, 2020 09:34 AM

    The Internal Revenue Department is sending out 4 million prepaid debit cards loaded with coronavirus relief funds, the Treasury Department said.

    The debit cards will go to people who do not have bank account information listed with the IRS, the department said. The Economic Impact Payment cards will start going out this week.

    https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article242834436.html?utm_medium=push_alert&utm_source=pushly&intcid=%7B__explicit:pushly_537912%7D

  133. 133.

    Kay

    Returning student registration! Our school district is operating on most likely opening, staying closed a remote possibility. I think that makes the most sense, and yes, I saw the opening/partial close in France but opening w/out planning is worse. They have to go back to school. They’ll be permanently set back unless we figure this out and there’s no leadership. You’re on your own. Good luck! :)

  134. 134.

    artem1s

    @Baud:

    That’s a tactful way to refer to Comey.

    I was trying to figure that out myself!  Probably implies more than one ‘error’ though!

  136. 136.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @germy: I just wasn’t sure what you were trying to say by linking to those 2 stories in reply. As for the guy who taped the Arbery chase/kill, my money is he was roped into it by the McMicheals and was a willing participant. If true I would consider him to be an accessory to murder. I don’t know if that is legally true or not, and I doubt very much it could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt tho the subject will most definitely come up in the McMs trials (assuming there are trials).

  137. 137.

    Robert Sneddon

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: The fights in Portsmouth pubs usually break out when a submariner says “Glug glug glug”.

    IIRC US subs were built in the aptly-named Electric Boat Yards at Google Google… Groton so boats they are.

  138. 138.

    Amir Khalid

    @Betty Cracker:

    As we’ve all noticed, Trump’s favourite of his limited repertoire of moves is projection. Thus, he calls Obama incompetent. But he can’t call Nancy Pelosi morbidly obese, now can he?

  140. 140.

    WaterGirl

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: From the article!  Of course!

    When Baud answered “From the article” I thought he was saying he got the acronym from the article and I should look for it myself.  Seemed like an out of character response from Baud, but okay.  :: sniff sniff ::

    Now I see that I had it completely wrong!  thank you

  141. 141.

    Nicole

    @Betty Cracker:

    Trump will probably say something creepy/awful about her age or reference cosmetic surgery because that’s how he rolls.

    And she will not give a flying fuck, because she doesn’t care what he thinks about her.

    As incredibly sad as I am about misogyny stopping us from having had someone who would have been an excellent President, I am comforted sometimes thinking that I’m getting to see one of history’s great Speakers of the House in real time.  Pelosi will be remembered as a giant in American politics and any time a woman politician shows a thimbleful of her talent, the media will be comparing her to Nancy Pelosi.

  142. 142.

    germy

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    he was roped into it by the McMicheals and was a willing participant. If true I would consider him to be an accessory to murder.

    I agree.  He didn’t randomly catch it on his phone.  He was with them.

    I think the reason he’s terrified is because if he testifies against his buddies, he’ll be a marked man.

  144. 144.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Robert Sneddon:  Electric Boat has several facilities in this area and is a major employer; I always liked the New England understatedness of the name.

  145. 145.

    Betty Cracker

    @Amir Khalid: No, he can’t. Maybe he’ll call her “nervous and skinny,” which was something he said about Warren a time or two. I’m looking forward to having a president someday who doesn’t reflexively objectify women.

  147. 147.

    germy

    @WaterGirl:

    From the article!  Of course!

    That would make a fine Abbott & Costello routine.

    “FTA.  Here’s the link.”

    “I checked the link.  What is FTA?”

    “From the article”

    “I checked the article!!  What does it mean?”

    “Who’s on first?”

  148. 148.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Nicole:

    One of Pelosi’s strengths against Trump is how little she cares about what he says about her. Most politicians jump, at least a little. She’s genuinely indifferent. She always has her eyes on a goal.

  153. 153.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Richard M. Nixon @dick_nixon · 9h
    What I respect about Pelosi is she has no interest in being liked. It’s remarkable for one who comes out of municipal politics. None.

  155. 155.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: I’m an idiot.  When I asked what FTA meant, and you replied “From the article” I thought you were blowing me off and telling me to go read the article to find out!  Seemed off-brand for you, but hey, everyone has a bad day now and again.

    Turns out that Baud today is still regular Baud, and I was missing the point.  In a very public way.  Go me!?

  156. 156.

    Amir Khalid

    Trump’s threatening letter to WHO cites a nonexistent Lancet article. So The Lancet called him a liar. From CNN’s liveblog:

    Prestigious medical journal rejects Trump’s virus report allegation
    From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio

    One of the world’s most prestigious medical journals, the Lancet, has responded to US President Donald Trump’s recent letter to the World Health Organization.
    In a letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, threatening to permanently withdraw funding and cancel US membership, Trump also name-checked The Lancet as warning of the virus in early December. In a statement today, the Lancet said it did not publish a report about the new virus in December.
    “The Lancet published no report in December, 2019, referring to a virus or outbreak in Wuhan or anywhere else in China,” the statement read.

    “The allegations leveled against WHO in President Trump’s letter are serious and damaging to efforts to strengthen international cooperation to control this pandemic. It is essential that any review of the global response is based on a factually accurate account of what took place in December and January,” the Lancet added.

     

  158. 158.

    WaterGirl

     @Omnes Omnibus: Yes, and I truly am off my game this morning because I didn’t say “What THE FUCK is wrong with these women?”

    If I weren’t enlightened enough to know that using the word ‘bitch’ in the pejorative sense is considered politically incorrect, I might have been tempted to describe them as entitled bitches.

  159. 159.

    WaterGirl

    @Nelle: If someone’s BJ nym is in blue, that’s a link to a web page. If someone with a nym in blue says “contact me at my nym”, they mean that if you click their nym you will either find an email address or some sort of “contact me” form.

    Otherwise, you can ask a front pager to send your email address to another commenter.  That works, as long as the other commenter has entered a real email address, not a fake one.

  160. 160.

    SFAW

    @Robert Sneddon:

    so boats they are.

    The folklore I heard was that submarines were originally carried by or launched from ships, and were therefore considered “boats.” Whatever the reason, the nomenclature seems to have stuck, I guess.

  162. 162.

    different-church-lady

    @Baud:

    The median primary voter in South Carolina, for instance, was a 50-something black woman who didn’t have a college degree and went to church weekly.

    The internets does not recognize these as legitimate people.

  164. 164.

    SFAW

    @Kay:

    I think the “error” he’s referring to is the polling error.

    I wouldn’t have thought so, but I know better than to argue with you. [I mean that as a compliment, not snark.]

    It’s also not clear to me that there was polling error, except as regards the Rethug-induced-error from disenfranchising minorities and students, and the amount of disenfranchisement was incorrectly calculated. Although, frankly, I’m not sure how one could (reasonably) calculate it. But voter suppression was a clear factor  — probably the main factor — in WI, and probably in MI and PA as well.

  169. 169.

    Sab

    @gene108: I did try that already. Doesn’t work, because I don’t have “the date”, because it is recurring so there are many dates most of which I don’t know.

  170. 170.

    Doc Sardonic

    @Emma from FL: You understand of course that the Commonwealth of Kentucky is NOT a Southern state. While they allowed slavery they did not secede and tried to remain neutral, but leaned decidedly unionist.

  173. 173.

    J R in WV

    @Sab:

    @Phylllis: I accidentally donated to Jaime Harrison monthly. My one time donation is now a monthly contribution and I can’t figure out how to cancel it. Financial stretch for me, but otherwise I am not that upset. Really like the guy

    But it makes me EXTREMELY wary of ActBlue. Will never donate thru them again.

    I have used ActBlue to contribute to liberal candidates for many years. They have and email [ [email protected] ] where you can contact them if you make a mistake. I think they are completely trustworthy.

    Many times when you do a one-time contribution there is an opportunity to make it monthly, and you need to not click on the monthly option before finalizing your contribution. It has never in my experience been pre-selected, but it may have been in your case.

    I always receive an email receipt for every contribution, including regular monthly donations, and on that receipt there are options to click to change or end a monthly contribution. There are links to :

    1) cancel future payments

    2) unsure about this charge

    3) edit payment details

    4) view you contribution history

    You should have all these options on every receipt for every charge they make. Did you read the receipt or just go off angry instantly?

    I can’t see how this isn’t easily repairable for you, and I kind of resent your accusation of this valuable fund-raising organization of dishonesty. You need to find your ActBlue receipt emails and take care of this.

    I imagine they will be happy to refund any contributions you did not intend to make immediately if you email them with enough detail for them to ID the contributions you are concerned about. They seem totally honest to me!

  174. 174.

    Mary Ellen Sandahl

    @germy:

     That’s just silly. Without entering into any boomer-vs-yute stuff or getting in any way scholarly or obscure, all one needs is a cursory glance at the Beatles’ catalog to see how silly it is..

  175. 175.

    JaySinWA

    @OzarkHillbilly: Late to this party, but from what I understand from canceling network security credit renewals, you can get great effect without going through retention by looking for the contact telephone number listed on you credit card statement for the company that is billing you. They really don’t want to be hit with the disputed billing fallout.

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