Democrats to hold largely virtual convention to nominate Joe Biden as their presidential candidate as novel coronavirus cases spike in several states nationwide https://t.co/t67br4OIxA by @jamesoliphant pic.twitter.com/ggcXSCfiT3
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 25, 2020
From the AP:
… Joe Biden plans to accept the presidential nomination in person, but it remains to be seen whether there will be a significant in-person audience there to see it. The Democratic National Committee said in a statement that official business, including the votes to nominate Biden and his yet-to-be-named running mate, will take place virtually, with delegates being asked not to travel to Milwaukee.
It’s the latest sign of how much the COVID-19 pandemic has upended American life and the 2020 presidential election, leading Biden and the party to abandon the usual trappings of an event that draws tens of thousands of people to the host city to mark the start of the general election campaign. Not even during the Civil War or World War II did the two major parties abandon in-person conventions with crowded arenas…
Of course, they didn’t have streaming technology during World War II, either. Yay the World Wide Web!
… Party Chairman Tom Perez said scaling back Democrats’ festivities is a matter of public health. He sought to draw a contrast with Trump’s push for a traditional convention in North Carolina, clashing with the state’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, and public health officials over the details amid the pandemic.
The Republican National Committee has confirmed its official business will be conducted in Charlotte. But Trump has said he plans to accept his nomination in Jacksonville, Florida, because Cooper wouldn’t guarantee Republicans the ability to host a large-scale event in Charlotte’s NBA arena.
“Unlike this president, Joe Biden and Democrats are committed to protecting the health and safety of the American people,” Perez said…
Speaking of the Squatter-in-Chief…
Breaking via WaPo: Dozens of Secret Service officers and agents on site for Trump's Tulsa rally have been ordered to self-quarantine after two of their colleagues tested positive for coronavirus?—part of the fallout from Trump's insistence on the event. https://t.co/m1lMO93XLB
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 24, 2020
Worth reading the whole thing, if you’ve got the stamina this early… but I won’t burden those of you who need a gentler introduction to their day.
debbie
Quinnipiac has Biden leading Trump by 1 point in Ohio, somewhat surprising in this reddening area. (ETA: Trump won Ohio by 8 points.)
Meanwhile, dance studios, daycare centers, and just about every group of yokels are filing lawsuits for damages suffered from having to shut down. Poor dears.
OzarkHillbilly
Three police officers fired in North Carolina over racial slurs video
Sure. Saying you’re gonna buy an AR15 for the express purpose of killing ni**ers is soooo not racist. He’s just a cop who takes “law and order” serious. Only a bunch of snowflakes would get upset by that.
JPL
When trump sees the latest state polls, he’ll be a tweeting. I thought Biden would need someone like Harris in order to rally the crowd, now I think he just needs someone steady as he is. That is still Kamala in my opinion.
OzarkHillbilly
A nice story:
Small-scale miner finds biggest tanzanite gems in history, worth $3.3m
Tanzania has a novel way of managing their mining:
BretH
Grabbing an Open Thread to post something I wrote recently in a (futile) attempt to counter posts from old acquaintances on Facebook that basically say “if they come for the Civil War monuments next is the Status of Liberty”, etc. They claimed it was like “Big Brother”, erasing history. Here’s my response:
—-
So, as long as we’re talking about Orwell and 1984, imagine that in the book somehow Big Brother and the political structures behind it were painfully and bloody defeated after years of struggle and fighting. Society is heading towards a place where the values that Big Brother stood for are renounced by society and political remnants of that oppression were mostly dismantled.
Then, forty years to eighty years after that, groups that had profited from the previous order were now sponsoring statues of Big Brother with inscriptions about the noble cause he stood for and how his supporting forces fought bravely for a cause they believed in. These statues are meant to reunite and strengthen the remaining people for whom the old way had worked out well personally and financially. At first there’s not much notice taken, as there is still so much work to be done rebuilding the nation.
But over the years the groups sponsored more and more statues, to Big Brother and the leaders of the state oppression, until thousands were erected throughout the previous strongholds of the former order and even in places you would not expect to see them.
After a time when recent clashes with small (but powerful) groups of supporters of Big Brother and state control people started questioning the statues, wondering why we were tolerating their continued existence, and noting the vast difference between the inscriptions on the monuments and the actual history of what had taken place. They want society to truly move forward and not be held back by these anachronistic and untruthful statues and monuments and what they really represent – and are rightfully concerned their presence serves as a rallying point for the minority of people who want to return to those days.
Should the monuments and statues be kept? What historical purpose do they serve except to illustrate the post-war resurgence of groups who never truly admitted defeat?
Msb
@ OzarkHillbilly
thanks! I love Tanzanites. The color is really special.
perhaps slightly off topic, how can I contribute to Biden’s campaign by check? I could only find ActBlue info on the website, but using a card can be a problem.
debbie
@OzarkHillbilly:
If this is fancy talk for body cam, I love it!
JPL
@BretH: Perfect and the last sentence sums it up.
Should the monuments and statues be kept? What historical purpose do they serve except to illustrate the post-war resurgence of groups who never truly admitted defeat?
debbie
@Msb:
I’d never heard of tanzanite, but wow, it’s gorgeous!
MattF
Someone’s gonna sue because there’s no balloon release! It’s a requirement in the Constitution, Article XXXVIII!
JPL
@debbie: Imagine what would come out of their mouths if they
thoughtknew they were racist.hueyplong
@debbie: So that’s what we learned from a single, chance “activation.” Kind of hard to shake the idea that a second, chance activation would turn up similar talk from similarly avowed non-racists.
Every voter should instantly and seriously look back on Trump’s first-year talk about the police taking the gloves off and being more assertive.
Seeing Trump, Flynn and Stone currently bidding fair to walk away clean after all getting caught red-handed must make cops feel like they’re the only ones in Trumpland being “victimized” by having certain of their number exposed to potential job loss just because they’re being good little Bundists following orders.
This is all so fucked up.
JPL
@Msb: At the bottom of this page, it has click here to donate by mail
https://joebiden.com/take-action/
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
I’m so old I remember when the saying the N-Word was the only way a person could be considered racist.
OzarkHillbilly
Australia’s agriculture minister says Roundup is safe after $16bn US cancer lawsuit
“We have the best words! Our words totally nullify the carcinogenic properties of RoundUp! Just say them over and over while using and you will be completely protected!”
In fairness, he’s talking about the directions for use, which I guess are different than the ones on the bottles here. But it still sounds plenty stupid to me, especially when we all know men don’t follow directions.
prostratedragon
Like they were in Eden before the Fall. Someone should give them some apples.
Baud
Baud
Baud
hueyplong
@Baud: Everyone who ran against Trump should have personal as well as patriotic reasons to vote against Trump.
It’s what makes Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham stand out so much.
And those two are the only reason that it isn’t Marco Rubio standing out.
Baud
Chyron HR
How do they know who the delegates are going to vote for?? RIGGED!!
prostratedragon
@BretH: I like your story. I wonder if there’s a way you could embellish or make it concrete so that it’s harder for your intended audience to say, “Well, suppose Big Brother was really right? Suppose he was the true representative of the tide of history?”
Maybe make him a quack doctor (!) who opposed a real cure because it was more expensive than his snake oil. Despite all this, and after great struggle, the people managed to use the real cure to end the epidemic, but later … statues … etc.
Baud
@hueyplong:
They support Dear Leader too much. We don’t support our leaders enough. Time will tell which approach is more politically effective.
Betty Cracker
Very sensible of the party to cancel the big hoopla in Milwaukee. The decision distills the two parties’ focus nicely: one man’s gargantuan ego vs. the public good. According to a recent UNF poll, most Jacksonville voters don’t want the Trump circus to come to town either. Predictably, 90% of Democrats don’t want it (the 10% in favor probably run effigy concessions). Even 20% of Republicans in Jax don’t want the convention, and 62% of independents oppose it too.
Mike in DC
If they could put 1000 people in a 4000 seat venue for the acceptance speech, with appropriate social distancing, masks and temperature screening (and testing if possible), that would be better than 250. The sound of applause and cheering is both psychologically and politically valuable. I would not want push it higher than maybe 1000 people though.
MattF
@Baud: Interesting thing about ‘racist’ is that there’s no acceptable euphemism for it. So, in this new age of racial awareness, people are just going to have to use it where it applies. E.g. (once again) Jennifer Rubin.
hueyplong
@Mike in DC: I’ve been in a small arena with a smaller crowd and it isn’t very impressive at all. You add risk, mix your message, and don’t even get a good audio result. And that was with the small crowd bunched.
My two cents is that it’s better to go full bore with our side’s position on the importance of safety/health in a pandemic.
Betty Cracker
@Mike in DC: It’s possible that a masked, socially distanced crowd that fills a quarter of the venue is worse (from an optics standpoint) than no crowd at all.
Baud
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@OzarkHillbilly:
They just want to always get home safe. Why be such a communist?
Baud
Patriot Lobstermen
TS (the original)
@OzarkHillbilly:
There is lots of plenty stupid in the Australian Government – many RW hacks. I was quite amazed when the PM did the right thing in regard to coronavirus – although he is now going big on the economy & wanting to open everything up. The recent clusters in Victoria have slowed down some of those ideas.
WereBear
We all have to get over what delights our Inner Toddler. They have fine qualities, but making decisions in a Pandemic is not one of them.
Immanentize
@OzarkHillbilly: I think artisanal mining will be my next career. That and, if lucky, building a school maybe. The world is still full of wonders.
Baud
@WereBear:
I refuse to take down my bedroom mobile.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ???
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
Baud
narya
Kitchen (and bathroom . . .) update: Electrician came by yesterday, pulled out some old stuff, did some stuff in the basement, is coming back today. Not a lot to “show,” but that’s the way it is with this phase. That said, the toilet in the front bathroom is leaking around the base; I suspect the seal needs replacement. I know that theoretically one can do that oneself–however, my father, who was in construction for decades, warns against doing one’s own plumbing, and I am in no mood to try to figure out how to do the task, no matter how many online videos I know are there. Asked the contractor if he has/knows someone.
Gin & Tonic
@Baud: Even though he’s not directly affected by this particular EO, CIS has been a clusterfuck for a few years now, and my son’s life is, in fact, in limbo as a result. November 3 is an existential threat.
NotMax
It ought to go without saying that YMMV.
Slide over, Major Dickason’s blend, Peet’s Costa Rica is in hot contention for the #! spot in the personal morning coffee ranking.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@BretH:
That’s a good answer. I also like to ask if they’d be in favor of naming a military fort after Benedict Arnold, since he’s part of our history too.
rikyrah
@Baud:
????
NotMax
@narya
Good move. If it’s only the wax seal that needs replacement, there’s one way to get it right and 153 ways to get it off by just enough to be a royal PITA.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@MattF:
I don’t know. “Racially insensitive” seems to be in vogue.
Wapiti
@NotMax: I’ll have to check that out; I like Major D.
rikyrah
@Baud:
The same lobster industry that was gutted by the tariff war
OzarkHillbilly
I’ll double that warning. Unfortunately for me it’s hell getting anyone to come out here and I am forced to do my own plumbing, no matter how many times I don’t get it just quite right.
PsiFighter37
New NYT state-level polls out showing Biden leading in all of them (NC, AZ, FL, WI, MI and PA) by decent margins. Really surprised by some of them (I don’t think Biden is up by 6 in FL and 9 in NC), but the general direction seems right. If things continue at this pace, I think we are going to start seeing possible EV totals creep towards 2008 levels, and if the shit absolutely hits the fan, maybe even the true believers will start having doubts.
Chyron HR
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Racially “charged”.
Matt McIrvin
@BretH: We might as well rip down the Statue of Liberty; the current administration clearly doesn’t understand or respect anything it stands for.
raven
@narya: Take the tank off when you lower the bowl onto the gasket.
Spanky
@OzarkHillbilly: I’m notoriously bad at plumbing, but for some reason I’ve always aced the wax ring replacement.
Fun fact: To ease installation of screws in hard wood or when using brass screws, stick the screw into a wax ring brought along for just this purpose before installation. A lot of lube for only a couple of bucks.
And DON’T use a used ring.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Chyron HR:
That one too. Calling them “racist” would be rude.
evodevo
@narya: It’s very messy…but relatively easy plumbing-wise…
Spanky
Given that a fair election is an existential threat to the current regime, I expect some serious effort to derail it to start this summer. Hopefully Cheetolini will call on Jared to be the mastermind, and not Barr.
Betty Cracker
@NotMax: Yeah, I think my husband is on #151 of the 153 ways to get it wrong on our downstairs bathroom. He blames one of my extra-large uncles for busting the can over the holidays.
kindness
I don’t feel bad for the idiots who go to Trump’s things and get covid but I do feel bad for the Secret Service folk. They don’t have a choice.
O. Felix Culpa
As an elected Biden delegate to the DNC, I am glad for the confirmation that the convention will be virtual. No way I’d be travelling across the country and gathering in crowds for days, not even to elect Biden president.
mad citizen
@MattF: “Interesting thing about ‘racist’ is that there’s no acceptable euphemism for it.”
How about “southern” or “country”, as in “that’s so country”?
I assume if I get the virus and can’t work I will be using my own time off from work. But since the Secret Service agents were on the job in Tulsa, I assume they are all quarantining on our dime? Another great side result from orange-head. But also, we have SS agents in Houston and Dallas? Why? Other than a few for W Bush, why? How big is the SS?
Spanky
What could possibly fucking go wrong?
Geminid
@PsiFighter37: Trump’s true believers may hang with him, but the evaporating support for Trump among independents may be fatal. Turnout among Democrats will be high, and the Republicans need at least 50% of the independents. In states like Arizona they are breaking 60% or more away from the republicans.
Immanentize
@raven: Wanted to catch you to thank you for your Buddha/Taliban comment. Yesterday. Made me think/smile all day long.
Immanentize
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Isn’t calling out someone’s racist act or speech now itself a violation of the first amendment?
J R in WV
Fortunately we can get a tech firm out for electrical/plumbing issues. I had to repair my own roof after the recent tree fall, with the help of a neighbor who retired from roofing and now farms and runs his small sawmill. Same for carpenter work, may have a guy on tap who did some work for my cousin, hope to get footbridges replaces, some finish work inside, if he cares to paint and repair sheet rock.
Hard to find people to do work around without paying a huge price! People want to have two crews doing landscaping and be rich on that account! Seems extreme…
Steeplejack
@rikyrah, @Baud:
Good morning. ?
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Betty Cracker:
OK. Never gonna get that image out of my head.
@Immanentize: I believe you’re right. I think I’ll tell them to call a lawyer.
NotMax
@Spanky
Maybe he’ll try an executive order changing the clocks. Shall repeat from an earlier thread.
Sunset in South Dakota in early July is around 9 p.m.
Of course he’ll insist it be hyped to the fullest and televised. That’s 11 at night in the Eastern time zone, so write off that audience from the get-go.
Elizabelle
@mad citizen: Another part of the Secret Service’s mission is combatting counterfeiting and financial fraud; they used to be part of the Treasury Department. FWIW, there’s a Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas.
There were Secret Service agents/employees killed in the Murrah Building explosion in Oklahoma City (Timothy McVeigh).
Soprano2
@OzarkHillbilly: Before I worked for the city here there was an incident where a street department crew threw the mic on their radio up on the dashboard, and it accidentally activated. They spent the whole afternoon broadcasting everything they said in the cab of the vehicle to everyone who could hear a city radio! Evidently they talked about doing non-City business while working, like going to WalMart, and other things like that. This was before cell phones, so there was no way for anyone to tell them what was happening. I don’t know if anyone got fired, but I’m sure there was discipline as a result of this incident.
J R in WV
@Spanky:
With any luck, IF Trump manages to set those precious forests on fire, he will lose even more voters who didn’t want to see a favorite memorial surrounded by burned blasted black forests. Not that I’m hoping for a conflagration, just if there is one blame should land where it belongs..!
Baud
@O. Felix Culpa:
Congratulations on your induction into the Establishment!
MattF
@Dorothy A. Winsor: @Chyron HR:@mad citizen: Hmm. I evidently have to think harder about what I was trying to say there. I do think ‘racist’ is being used more, ‘appropriate’ or not.
Kay
In some ways I like the good senate polling more because I want Senate Republicans to lose their bet. They bet everything on Trump and they took us all hostage doing it. I hope they’re sweating and stay sweating for the next 4 months. There have to be repercussions beyond Donald Trump, his family and his employees in the administration. They had a LOT of help.
Kay
In some ways I like the good senate polling more because I want Senate Republicans to lose their bet. They bet everything on Trump and they took us all hostage doing it. I hope they’re sweating and stay sweating for the next 4 months. There have to be repercussions beyond Donald Trump, his family and his employees in the administration. They had a LOT of help.
PsiFighter37
@Spanky: Such a dumb idea. TBH Mt. Rushmore is overrated AF, having visited last year, but the surrounding wilderness if beautiful.
PsiFighter37
@Kay: I take the Senate polling with a grain of salt because the number of undecideds are so high (e.g. the MI race is 41-31). Given how closely the Senate tends to track the presidential voting, though, I do believe Democrats have the edge, and I think Kelly’s lead is higher than +9 – have to think he is ahead by double digits. McSally is so dumb (her latest plan about giving people money to take vacation is ridiculous), and she’s already a proven loser.
Kay
OH goes next. If MI and PA are + 10 Biden Ohio is even or slightly + Biden.
raven
@Immanentize: Aw cool!
raven
@Soprano2: We have a neighborhood FB page and someone was asking for help with a real bad smell. A dude replied, “call a plumber, it will be between seven and one million dollars”!
Kay
@PsiFighter37:
Political people in Michigan say Peters will win but this was one where I really DID worry about complacency because no one pays attention to that race and Republicans have a “normal” candidate- he’s not insane.
TS (the original)
@Baud:
@rikyrah:
But no worries about the states/cities that have been gutted by COVID-19.
Central Planning
@BretH: I saw a post that said history is written/recorded. Monuments are commemorations. They aren’t “history”
PsiFighter37
@Kay: It’s the same guy that lost to Stabenow by 7% in 2018…not sure why the GOP thinks he will do any better this time around.
Kay
I was thinking about what the decent, ethical lawyers in the DOJ could do to draw attention to the fact that Trump has horribly corrupted the DOJ and Barr is unfit to hold a law license let alone act as attorney general and I think they should walk off the job. Formers signing letters isn’t enough and it won’t do anything. Hold a collective action. Walk off. Obviously harms their careers so easy for me to say I know but if they really believe The Rule of Law is at issue they have to do more than “be concerned”. They have to pull the alarm and that would be one way to do it.
MattF
Bill Kristol knows about RW sensitivities, makes the essential point:
I’m conflicted about Kristol. He’s done real damage, he’s been an unapologetic RW hack. But there’s some actual thinking going on here.
mad citizen
@Elizabelle: Thanks for this. As an trained economist (1980s vintage) I should know this. Keeping the money system safe is really all part of the rule of law–can’t live without it.
I think Trump’s campaign slogans should be:
“What do you have to lose?”
“I don’t take responsibility at all”
and simply “Idiots’ Delight”
Kay
@PsiFighter37:
Right but I could see a scenario with Democrats “Michigan! We forgot Michigan”.
germy
germy
Well there you go.
OzarkHillbilly
@Spanky: I know how to do it. I mean, it all sounds so easy when you read it (not that I ever read instructions, I am a man after all) My problem is actually doing it right.
Kay
@germy:
We went to a tiny little Mexican restaurant last night in Michigan. We go there a lot and have been going for years and they’re allowed to reopen in MI but this place is staying take out only. The owner told us he only had ten tables and they were a “pain in the ass”. He’s expanding the kitchen and putting in a drive thru.
OzarkHillbilly
Yes they do. It’s called “Quitting.”
PsiFighter37
@MattF: He’s on our side for now. We can go back to fighting him once we have kicked out the idiot in the White House. That said, I do hope that the current generation of Never-Trumpers realize that their party needs to be purged thoroughly of anyone who has the taint or whiff of Trump, but also his policies (and especially his ignorant indifference to policy in general). The GOP is more like the Know-Nothings than a party that has any real coherent beliefs.
JPL
@Kay: One of the more expensive restaurants near by has a large outdoor seating area and a smaller area inside. They are allowing patrons, but also continuing take out.
Jinchi
@JPL: The VP pick isn’t going to affect the outcome this year. Biden has the freedom to pick the person who can best help him govern. There’s going to be plenty of work to go around.
TS (the original)
@Kay:
I went to the nyt article (seems by clearing their cookies I can keep reading) and found this
(My bold) So they are still trying to put trump back in the picture. Any President (even trump) could have been re-elected by doing the right thing in this crisis. Many world leaders have seen their ratings soar because of what they have done – but the NYT will blame Trump’s loss on something that would have brought down anyone.
I find that paper deplorable in the extreme. Trump has not struggled to meet the moment – he hasn’t even attempted to meet the moment and that is what is driving the polls.
Kay
@MattF:
Part of the reason Trump’s themes for the election aren’t taking off is Republicans in Congress aren’t actually following them. Fox news is promoting them. The huge and ever growing collection of GOP hacks are following them. But Republicans in Congress are splitting off. Republicans backed a police reform bill. Now, I think it’s insincere but the fact is they did it. THEY don’t believe Trump’s political gimmicks are working.
They had testimony on Covid in the House yesterday- HHS. The Texas R House members sound exactly like Democrats. They’re giving way to the reality happening in their states. To me, it’s how we can tell the polling is accurate. They’re acting like people who see something Trump doesn’t want to see.
germy
@Kay: Everyone wearing masks?
MattF
New Lincoln Project ad. Notable in that it sets Trump directly against Biden.
OzarkHillbilly
So apparently there actually are limits to the 2nd amendment. 3 guesses and the first 2 don’t count as to what they are.
Kropacetic
Actually, didn’t occur to me until I left, but I’m pretty sure the lady working at the convenience store wasn’t wearing a mask. First person I’ve seen in public without one for months.
Although one time the owner of a different convenience store encouraged my friend to come in maskless (and shirtless) as my friend was giving me money and instructions what to buy.
Gin & Tonic
@raven:
Up here, if he drives up and steps out of his truck you’re in for a hundred already.
Kay
@JPL:
I don’t go to to restaurants that much but what I found out during the Covid is I didn’t go to them for the food anyway, because I have zero interest in taking out food. I hate how it’s cold and all messy in those awful containers- just forget it, is my attitude. I know this won’t be true for the many millions of people who actually care about the food :)
I liked SITTING in the tiny Mexican restaurant, as it turns out. I could have been eating a bag of chips in there :)
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
You notice the NRA has gone silent too.
Central Planning
@Spanky: We use a bar of soap for that. Smaller and easier to carry, and, it smells better than a wax ring.
Jeffro
@JPL: Harris is a really good pick.
Warren helps him bring in the left(er) wing of the party, and might bring in a few of the youngs, too.
I think the last data I saw was that overall, Harris helps him by a point, Warren helps by 3. And he’s absolutely crushing trumpov either way, so I hope he goes with whomever he’s comfortable with and then moves on to filling out the rest of his Cabinet (and every other nominee). They’re going to need to move quickly in January.
Kay
@germy:
All the staff were masked but the couple ahead of me were unmasked. The masks are ordered in MI and the compliance is pretty good- I would say 80% if I had to guess, so they pissed me off. I decided the people who won’t wear masks are vain. It’s vanity. They don’t like how it looks. They are those people who used to say seat belts wrinkled their clothes.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Yep, all those years they warned of a government stomping all over our constitutional rights, that the 2nd Amendment was written explicitly to protect those rights in those times, and here we are. In those times. And all we hear from them now is….
Crickets.
I guess they didn’t really mean it after all.
Elizabelle
@Kay:
That’s fascinating, because we who watched the House Judiciary Committee got treated to the dumbass trifecta of Jim Jordan, Louis Gohmert, and Doug Collins. They were as insane and immature and grandstanding as always.
One of them even worked “Hillary Clinton” and “Peter Strzok” into the mix. In a hearing about Bill Barr’s overreach and interference in the Roger Stone case.
artem1s
I hope they don’t have any large crowd events for the convention. Mostly because the arguments about who gets to attend and doesn’t will be a nightmare. the whinging is already going to be endless from those who thought they were going to get to be disruptive assholes in Milwaukee. The attention whores in the party and the MSM are just going to have to learn to adjust to our new COVID reality. I’m relieved Biden and Perez are being adults about the whole thing. Make the whole thing an exercise in educating the voters on convention and election history – compare and contrast it with the indecent horror show that the GOP is putting on. Hell, Lincoln didn’t attend the 1860 convention. He was represented by his friends.
The Moar You Know
@germy: Jared’s utter incompetence – second only to his rotted walking corpse of a father-in-law – might be the only thing that saves this nation.
OzarkHillbilly
This. He needs to pick someone who will do for him what he did for Obama.
mrmoshpotato
?The Internet is really really great……for holding a virtual nominating convention for the Democratic Presidential nominee during a global pandemic to avoid infecting more people?
Those aren’t the lyrics, Katemonster!
Sorry! Also ?FOR PORN!?
Gin & Tonic
@rikyrah:
I’m sure you’ll be shocked to learn Trump is lying on this too.
O. Felix Culpa
@Kay: We came to the same conclusion. A big part of eating out is the experience of eating out. We did takeout to support some of our favorite local restaurants and decided we didn’t care for the food nearly so much when brought home.
Jeffro
@PsiFighter37: It’s hard to picture (knock on wood) Biden getting less than 300 EVs at this point, and 320 looks very realistic. That’s without WI, IA, OH, GA, or TX.
I keep hearing that submarine dive klaxon sound in the back of my head, in a good way… =)
mrmoshpotato
@The Moar You Know: Really. Rocking.
Like curled up in the fetal position rocking?
?
Kay
@JPL:
My daughter and son in law and baby are in NY so as soon as I was sprung from Ohio I went to see them (the baby- shhh). Anyway, my son in law likes certain restaurants where they live so we got fancier take out a lot. It just isn’t the same. I guess what I was paying for was the room and the service. I know it would be different if I actually cared about the food more, and plenty of people do care about that.
Central Planning
@O. Felix Culpa: We are like that too, but we aren’t willing to risk an in-restaurant exposure yet. We have probably averaged one new restaurant a week during the pandemic, generally ones we’ve thought about but never gotten around to. The local newspaper printed a list of minority owned restaurants in the Rochester area. We are trying them now.
chopper
@narya:
installing a toilet is easy as long as the closet flange is installed right. if it’s off you can get kits or special wax ring setups to make up for it tho.
mrmoshpotato
@OzarkHillbilly: There’s tanzanite in them hills! Tanzanite I tell you!
schrodingers_cat
@The Moar You Know: I want to see criminal charges brought against him. No looking forward this time.
Kay
@Elizabelle:
I think there is now and always has been a difference between the loudest wingnut “stars” and the rank and file and Republicans would, will and have to deliberately exploit that. They have to keep their Trump/Q base while not actually losing a ton of seats. It’s a division of duties. It didn’t work in ’18 but it’s all they have. It’s too late to veer from Trump and even if they did they would still lose, because that would anger their base.
The resistance to funding states is a loser too, I think. I listened to part of a Michigan statehouse debate yesterday and the GOP state legislators were all getting up and demanding funding from DC. Fox news does not reflect what the broader Party is actually saying.
Ridnik Chrome
@O. Felix Culpa: For me the best part of eating out is not having to cook.
WaterGirl
@MattF: “It’s time to remember who we are. This is the United States of America!”
germy
@MattF: Those Lincoln Project people really love them some Reagan.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: It’s funny. He made those comments during the debates, and they seemed to go over here like a lead balloon. I think he was tapping into something that is really going to benefit him going forward – a sense of patriotism and a desire to be proud of the United States again.
scav
@O. Felix Culpa: We must be lucky here, our closest favorite restaurants have managed takeout to perfection (sometimes simplifying their menu)— one added provisions (liver mousse, pestos, pastries from a baker usually at the farmers market) as provisions to take home. We’re quite hoping they continue with that afterward.
schrodingers_cat
@Omnes Omnibus: FWIW they resonated with me. One of the reasons I don’t like the purity left led by BS of Vt is he and his Rose crew denigrate the United States as much as the Orange or any MAGAs.
Its one thing to do some honest soul searching but another to gush about Cuba and China (BS did this in his last debate) while portraying United States as irredeemable unless he is chosen to lead it.
But then I am an outlier here.
frosty
@narya: DIY: I’ve done wiring, even added a circuit and a breaker to the box on a previous kitchen remodel. I don’t do plumbing – for some reason I always have a leak when I’m done.
O. Felix Culpa
@Ridnik Chrome: LOL. That’s a bonus too. Plus not having to clean up the kitchen afterwards.
MattF
@germy: Yes, and no Democrat would write an ad that was positive about Reagan. The LP ad makes the point honestly, which I couldn’t do.
JPL
@O. Felix Culpa: My outside area is large and I could visit with the family and enjoy a meal. It’s not the same thing but with friends or family it can be fun.
Kropacetic
The guns are to protect us from investing in healthcare and education, white genocide, and (worst of all) masks…you know, socialism.
State abuse of power to project violence doesn’t register as a problem with these people.
NotMax
@JPL
Many of us upon aging sport a large outside area.
Oh. You mean outdoor area.
Never mind.
:)
Roger Moore
@Kay:
I agree that a big part of eating in a restaurant is the experience. It’s nice to get out of the house and have someone cater to your desires for a while. Some places are worth going to only for the food, but not that many. That said, I am continuing to get take-out food from my favorite local restaurant (and tipping far more generously than I did when dining in) at least in part so they can stay in business for when I feel safe dining in again.
Kropacetic
Used to be that I would only ever tip when I sat inside and ate. I would never tip for counter service. I’ve worked counters for most of the last 20 years and never got, would be shocked to be offered, a tip. And I’m actually preparing the things I’m selling at the counter too.
But now…shit’s tough. Fuck it. Spoil myself a little less often and give generously.
Origuy
@Gin & Tonic: And then a guy from Oregon says she’s not a real lobster boat captain. Which she is, as well as a Maine state legislator.
Soprano2
@Kay: People can cook food at home. They come to restaurants for the convenience of it and the atmosphere. I used to wonder why people hung out in bars so much; I thought it meant they didn’t have a life. Now that I own a pub what I’ve found is that the regulars are like a family to each other. They could drink at home cheaper; they’re there for the company. Also, some of the best restaurant food is terrible for takeout. I read that now the’re working on a french fry that stays hot and crispy for 30 minutes, because so many people get food delivered to their house now. A lot of food can’t stand up to a 30 minute delivery time, no matter how good it is at the restaurant.
NotMax
Memories from the 1960s and 1970s of 10 or 20 tipsy regulars (our group, who were also regulars, not included among them) sitting in local bars in the Poconos, all noisily playing boombas along with the polka music on the jukebox are decidedly mixed.
NotMax
Oops. #142 meant to be @Soprano2.
Brachiator
@Baud:
How many women nominees?
Kropacetic
@Brachiator: I only found the number as a percentage, 28% of his 67 nominees. So 19 or 18. Better than other Republican Presidents and on par with Clinton per Pew’s article.
ETA: Obama had 42%, the highest of any Pres, natch.
Josie
@schrodingers_cat:
I’m not sure you are an outlier. It’s just that some of us lurk more than we comment. I almost always agree with your comments. Maybe I should say so more.
Brachiator
@schrodingers_cat:
I didn’t like Sanders because he is a shallow phony progressive, but his weird insistence on praising Cuba and China annoyed me as well.
And there have always been lefties so in love with the idea of revolution that they willingly turn a blind eye to the excesses and abuses of countries they admire. I also had some leftist acquaintances who absolutely believed that the US was the sole agent of evil in the world, and that no other country could ever harbor global imperialist ambitions.
Kropacetic
@Josie: Beating up on Bernie supporters has been the Balloon Juice official sport since 2016, thought it calmed down a tiny bit this year.
The problem is that she extends that skepticism to anyone she can even marginally connect the man and fears leftist monsters hiding under her bed.
Josie
@Kropacetic:
I disagree with your comment. This is the reason I lurk more than I comment, because then I have to contend with drivel such as you just wrote.
Gravenstone
@Spanky: My grandfather taught me to lube long screws by rubbing them against a bar of soap. Same general concept, and small enough to slip in your pocket when not needed.
Jay Noble
@narya: I’m thinking of getting a tattoo on the back of one hand that says “Don’t do any plumbing!” and on the other “You know why!”
Quaker in a Basement
Watch out for more of this silly shit. I saw Trump quoted saying something like this as well.
Yes, there were conventions during those wars, but they weren’t held in the middle of the battlefields. There were no conventions in 1864 in Atlanta or Gettysburg. And we held conventions during WW2, but the German blitz wasn’t leveling Chicago. There was no added risk in attending a convention because those wars were going on, and there was certainly no second-hand risk of getting shot or blown up and then going back home to share the bullet or bomb with your family.
sgrAstar
@Msb: personal experience of using ActBlue for years: credit cards are not a problem. At all. Good luck!
?
schrodingers_cat
@Josie: Thanks Josie.
schrodingers_cat
@Brachiator: Good to know that I am not alone.