Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

An almost top 10,000 blog!

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

“Squeaker” McCarthy

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Thanks for reminding me that Van Jones needs to be slapped.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Come on, man.

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

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

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

The revolution will be supervised.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

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Reader Interactions

76Comments

  2. 2.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I was just listening to today’s Pod Save America podcast, and it turns out Pfeiffer and Favreau both read drafts of Obama’s speech more than once. They talked about what they thought his state of mind was when he gave it.

  8. 8.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    Yes. Hadn’t heard that before.

    I normally detest pink as a colour, but I thought Dr Jill Biden looked smashing in the dress she was wearing. She’s delightful — I’m really looking forward to having her as FLOTUS. She’ll bring brains and dignity back to that acronym.

  12. 12.

    NotMax

    @Dorothy A. Winsor

    They talked about what they thought his state of mind was when he gave it.

    Sounds like an enormous waste of breath. Better chance of being on a speck of firm ground speculating on what he had for breakfast.

    How about discussing what he actually said and not attributing supposed thoughts to him?

  17. 17.

    dexwood

    @SiubhanDuinne:  She won’t hide from the country like Melania does. She’ll have ideas of her own. She will continue to be Joe’s partner, influencing him and considering others.

  21. 21.

    Kay

    Jake Tapper
    @jaketapper
    · 1h
    One of the questions I have about this convention: has enough been explained clearly and concisely to voters about how a President Biden might directly help them policy-wise?

    We’re at the point in the election where political media pretend to care about “policy”
    Cue elected Democrats to react defensively and start shouting out policy, which political media will then completely ignore. I suppose trying is what counts.
    I just hope Biden mentions that Donald Trump ruined postal delivery. That’s a winner for us and it’s kind of a gift because every other President just quietly allowed mail delivery to proceed. Now you can brag about it- “I will allow mail carriers to deliver the mail again!”
    Clap, clap, clap :)

  26. 26.

    CaseyL

    The convention has been a delight so far.  I get all uplifted, excited to see so many people of intelligence, integrity, and determination.  Makes getting through the days a lot easier.

  29. 29.

    geg6

    @NotMax:

    In education circles, it’s what you are called.  They told me I needed to put my MEd in my email signature.  It’s not my style, but it’s expected.

  31. 31.

    Kay

    @Wyatt Salamanca:

    Donald Trump trounced Bloomberg. Bloomberg basically ran away. Talk about oversold as a tough guy. I thought we’d see this crushing onslaught, clash of the billionaire versus the millionaire, all that build up and then…nothing.

  34. 34.

    Pete Downunder

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: in my experience it is rare for someone with a PhD to use Dr outside of academia or where the credential is important – an expert witness at trial for example. I have a Juris Doctor degree but would never ever be addressed as Dr. There are a few lawyers here Downunder who have a Dr of Laws (LLD) who go by doctor but are generally regarded as a bit stuck on themselves.
    ETA spelling

  35. 35.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    Normally, that irks me as well. But given the rampant sexism/misogyny in the political world, I’m okay with DJB using the title she earned.

    In the early-ish days of the civil rights movement, there was great emphasis put on addressing/referring to African Americans with their titles — Mr., Mrs., Dr., Rev., etc. — and the reason was to remind everyone of the inherent dignity and humanity of the bearers. A far cry from “boy,” “Prissy,” and the like — a deliberate distancing from slave names. I have no problem with any of this.

  36. 36.

    Kay

    @CaseyL:

    It has been good. One of my sisters is down, she lost her job to covid and she’s weepy and blue. She hasn’t been watching and I told her it was surprisingly uplifting and interesting. I hope she watches tonight. I think she’ll enjoy it.

  39. 39.

    mad citizen

    @NotMax: You’re not the only one.  In this case it is in education.  Bill Cosby has one.  For some period of years I thought Dr. Jill was a medical doctor because I heard Doctor so often.  She seems like a great person on the CBS Sunday morning profile.

  40. 40.

    Brachiator

    @NotMax:

    Am I the only one who experiences mixed vibes regarding those with PhDs who insist on being addressed as Dr.?

    Probably. It’s traditional, and not a big deal.

  41. 41.

    tokyocali (formerly tokyo expat)

    I’ve been in grading hell through Wednesday. Yesterday, I was able to lift my head up enough to catch Day 3. It was moving and inspiring and I adore Kamala Harris. As a woman who is the daughter of an immigrant who divorced her American father at age 4, who has a hard to spell and pronounce name, who brought tongue sandwiches to school for lunch, who married a Japanese man and raised three biracial/bicultural sons, and who thinks it’s about g-d time that we have a woman in the White House, even if it’s the #2 slot, I am soaring with joy. The diversity on display, the powerful messages for change, the competency and leadership give us something to vote for as much as it is about getting rid Trump. We have to win in November.

  49. 49.

    Kay

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    This is like heresy in the Democratic Party but I don’t think Biden should present an “ambitious agenda”.

    I think people are exhausted and sad and they need some peace and order. It feels somber to me, like they’ll need time to recuperate from an illness. They’re all jangly and anxious. Just lower the temperature first. Do some boring, behind the scenes WORK. How about that.

  50. 50.

    Roger Moore

    @NotMax:

    I’m the opposite.  I dislike physicians who act as if their doctorates are the only ones that really count.  I understand that in medicine there are legal distinctions on who can do what based on their degree, and that makes it important for them to distinguish doctors from non-doctors.  Those distinctions don’t usually apply in academia, so academics are a little less stuffy about insisting on being called by their title, but that doesn’t mean a Ph.D. is somehow less of a doctorate than a M.D.

  51. 51.

    zhena gogolia

    @Baud:

    I feel bad for J.-L. Cauvin. He does an actual impression, and he creates hilarious material based on how Trump would react to various situations. It’s so much more complex and difficult than what she does, but she’s getting all the attention. I don’t really understand it. She’s amusing, but it’s pretty limited and shallow and repetitive.

  54. 54.

    PsiFighter37

    After listening to the Obama Bros podcast a year or two ago, I came away very unimpressed. I think it was mostly due to demeanor (I cannot stand the faux-casual way of talking about serious issues that later-generation millennials engage in, or even some my age or older who are trying to be ‘cool’ on podcasts and other forms of media), but I feel like any of us here on BJ have a much more realistic take on politics and how things are than they did. It’s disheartening, because just like so many of Obama’s 2008 alumni in particular, they all just cashed in that association to make money instead of to effectuate actual, meaningful change.

  57. 57.

    PsiFighter37

    @Baud: Why even bother, unless there is some way she can bring in her voting-age watchers? Appealing to the youth vote has been folly for so long. I am not convinced that Kerry and Clinton ‘lost’ because of them not showing up, or that Obama won because they did.

    Maybe I underestimate the 18-22 cohort these days, but right now, they are probably more concerned about how to break quarantine rules than in tuning in to the DNC.

  59. 59.

    cmorenc

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    @NotMax: They have a doctorate, and many have put more time into getting it than an MD

    HUGE difference: Phd’s don’t go through someone dying on their watch; most MDs do during internship/residency. Few Phd’s in training ever have to make real-time difficult, inherently imperfect decisions about people in their care that have long-term ramifications on the person’s health and well-being, MDs in training do. Phd’s in training make cutting remarks on people, MDs in training cut on people in vital areas, and so on.

  61. 61.

    Roger Moore

    @Kay:

    I don’t know that an “ambitious agenda” is really important, but I think it is important for Biden to make a clear case for why he’ll be a good thing beyond just being not-Trump.

  63. 63.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:  As someone with a JD, I generally don’t give a fuck on the subject.  My two exceptions are:  1. People who tell anyone that such and such isn’t a real doctorate; if it says doctor on the diploma, it’s a doctorate.  2. MDs who want to be called doctor but call me by my first name.  If you are Dr Smith, I am Mr Omnibus.  If I am Omnes, you are Bob.  Their choice.

  64. 64.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    Mr DAW has a PhD in engineering and did R&D in industry, but nobody at work called him Dr. Winsor. The use seems to be situational. There’s probably a pattern somewhere but I don’t know what it is except with physicians.

  65. 65.

    Kay

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    There’s so much work to do that will be just restoration and that can be done without a lot of fuss. Pick something easy but worthwhile. If they take the senate a big voting rights bill is an easy lift- it will sail thru with just Democrats, our base will love it and for normal, non-Trump people it’s feel good legislation.

  66. 66.

    Curtis

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: It’s situational (full disclosure, I have a PhD). If titles or credentials are needed, like in an interview or presentation, people with doctorates can be introduced as “Dr. So-and-so”, or more often in a written format, “So-and-so, PhD.”

  67. 67.

    Kent

    @NotMax:Am I the only one who experiences mixed vibes regarding those with PhDs who insist on being addressed as Dr.?

    The worst are all the principals and school administrators who go back to online school to get their EdD degrees from University of Phoenix or some such and then demand all the teachers in the school address them as Dr….

    Every teacher in the country probably knows some of them.  Very douchy for young administrators in suits to demand that experienced professional teachers (mostly with legit masters degrees) address them as Dr. when they often don’t really know shit.

  68. 68.

    Kay

    @Roger Moore:

    I read that his speech won’t be Trump-heavy and if I understand Donald Trump that might make him madder than anything.

    He will not be IGNORED :)

  69. 69.

    CarolPW

    @cmorenc: Sorry, I was a Ph.D. analytical chemist specializing in agricultural and industrial chemicals. The bad stuff was mostly big bird kills but even before I got my Ph.D. I worked on identifying stuff that was killing people. Particularly fraught were one murder case (guy lived) one accidental poisoning (kid died). No, I neither cut on them nor met them, but don’t think it was any less traumatic than medical doctors experience.

    I’m perfectly happy with being called Carol Lastname. I hate Mrs. or Miss Lastname, and if you won’t call me Carol Lastname than you get to call me Doctor Lastname.

  70. 70.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    @Kay:

    I was never a Bloomberg fan, but I would like to see him follow through on the promise he made as a candidate.  Flooding the airwaves with ads demonstrating Trump’s monumental, unprecedented incompetence, corruption, and cruelty might not move a lot of voters, but I’d still like to see it happen.

  71. 71.

    Ken

    @WaterGirl: They all look so young. Were they 12 when they worked for Obama?

    Many people are surprised when I tell them that the Obama administration ended less than four years ago, because the last few years have felt like decades – if not geological eons.

  72. 72.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    @Ken:

    The last few years have felt like decades – if not geological eons.

    The horror of Trump’s presidency has seriously fucked up my perception of time and I look forward to it returning to normal once this knuckle-dragging lowlife is removed from office.

  73. 73.

    Mousebumples

    I’ve got a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, and my sister is a Medical Doctor. I graduated first and gave her crap that i was the First Doctor in the family.

    I rarely use my Dr. Mouse title. Only really when I think it’ll help – eg I’m not being taken seriously since I’m “only” a woman, etc. ?

  74. 74.

    Citizen Alan

    @Omnes Omnibus: I have only ever made a big deal about a JD being a doctorate once. At my 20th high school reunion, the speaker read a list of our classes “vital statistics” and mentioned that out of a class of 124, only 2 had gotten doctorates. At which point, I and the other four law school grades from my class looked to one another and raised our hands in unison.

  76. 76.

    Mousebumples

    @Omnes Omnibus: there’s an idea, for if we ever go out to dinner again… Though I usually don’t frequent places that are busy enough to need a reservation. ?

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