Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

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

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

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Let’s finish the job.

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

After roe, women are no longer free.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Infrastructure week. at last.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

“woke” is the new caravan.

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

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

The revolution will be supervised.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

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

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Welp, We Finally Have Our 2020 Theme Song

Reader Interactions

107Comments

  1. 1.

    HumboldtBlue

    Pretty sure that link has been posted to your blog a dozen times. In fact I know because I’m responsible for a half-dozen.

  5. 5.

    Searcher

    @raven:  I assume it is the difference between saying “fuck 2020” and screaming “FUCK 2020” while hurling a garbage can off a parking garage roof.

    The anecdote I was going to post was that I saw that Avenue Beat / Rap Genius felt the need to produce a “what does this song mean” video, which seems like the most unnecessary explanation ever, but maybe it covers this topic?

  10. 10.

    the pollyanna from hell

    Cussing helps, but I have to do something physical. One man picket line worked for me two years ago, before and after the election; I think I’ll try that again.

    randy

  17. 17.

    piratedan

    damn, was hopin’ for Judas Priests’ You’re Gonna Get What’s Coming! but then again I’m an old…. and this stretch before the election still has a CCR Run Thru the Jungle vibe to it….

  18. 18.

    raven

    Hey hive mind. I went to a podiatrist yesterday and, along with prescribing therapy, he gave me a cortisone shot in my heel to deal with plantar fasciitis. My heel has been killing me all day, is this normal?

  19. 19.

    WaterGirl

    @Gin & Tonic:  It’s normally set at 8, but I bumped it up to 12 for the two Paris Finale posts.  I left the notation at 8, hoping no one would catch that they weren’t prevented from adding more.

    Thanks for the reminder, it is now back to 8.

    edit: I just checked, and you are at 10.  As soon as I edit for scheduling, it will drop the final 2 pictures.

  20. 20.

    Eljai

    I sent that video to a 60+ friend of mine and he responded that it was a spot-on expression of the cultural moment, but he had images of being accused of Humbert Humbertism for watching it.

  21. 21.

    Ken

    @Al Z.: There is one – and only one way – 2020 can redeem itself…

    Rewinding itself to January 1, except we all remember what happened the first time around?

  23. 23.

    Felanius Kootea

    @raven: I did get a cortisone shot once for plantar fasciitis but my doctor warned that it couldn’t be a regular thing and gave me all these weird exercises to do every day, twice a day!  The exercises work though, I haven’t had that stabbing heel pain since I started doing them regularly.  I bought one of these to exercise with.

  24. 24.

    Hoodie

    @raven: Not unusual to have pain from a cortisone shot.  It should go away.  They usually put some lidocaine in with the cortisone to initially mask it, but that wears off and you get the pain you’re describing.

  27. 27.

    geg6

    @raven:

    I don’t know because I’ve never had one.  But the people I know who have been treated for it, to a person, describe it as very painful.  Same with my friends who have been getting shots in their knees (not cortisone, though), which I believe will be in my intermediate future.

  30. 30.

    Splitting Image

    Remember back in the before times, when everyone thought 2016 was the worst year ever just because David Bowie and Prince died? How little we all knew.

    (Still miss them both though. Tom, too.)

  31. 31.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @raven: I don’t know what’s normal, but the injection initially increased the pain, but several hours later, and for many days afterward, that new pain and the “normal” PF pain subsided.

  32. 32.

    HumboldtBlue

    If I have more than one computer mouse on my desk (there are currently three, my laptop mouse which I’m watching Liverpool) my main computer mouse and my wireless mouse.

    Are they referred to as mouses or mice?

  34. 34.

    Josie

    @raven: Yes, the shot hurt like hell and was painful for a day or two afterward, but it (and some special inserts for my shoes) cured my heel spurs.  Definitely worth it.

  35. 35.

    dnfree

    @raven: Having a shot in your HEEL is abnormal.  They tried to do that to me when I was in sixth grade for a plantar wart on my heel, and when they started to put the needle in I kicked the doctor, it hurt so badly.  The flesh there is so solid that there’s nowhere for the liquid to go, is how they explained it to me.  I feel so bad for you!

  39. 39.

    evap

    @raven: This doesn’t answer your question, but I when I got plantar fasciitis I cured it by going barefoot or wearing Vibram FiveFingers “shoes” whenever I was walking or running more than a few steps.  The more rigid your shoes, the more likely you are to land on your heel, which is what caused it (in my case).

  40. 40.

    raven

    @geg6: There shot itself wasn’t that bad but I’ve had some really bad injuries and injections so maybe I’m used to it. The aftermath I didn’t expect though. I am pretty happy about the appointment, he thinks my problem is atrophy in my quad and ankle and it should be able to be improved with therapy and strengthening . I went to a sports medicine doc and had therapy that did zip but they focused on my quad and made no progress.

  41. 41.

    raven

    @evap: I address that in my reply above. I started having problems with my quad and foot 6 months ago. The podiatrist watched be walk a good bit and feels the leg and ankle weakness are causing is so that’s what we’re going to address.

     

    eta he did give me some heel lifts

  52. 52.

    JoyceH

    Back in the day, I really liked Steppenwolf’s “Monster”. In the decades that followed, I considered it overwrought. But these days…  these days I find it running through my head more and more.

  53. 53.

    opiejeanne

    @Jeffro: the months and weeks and days fly by in such weird stop and go spurts that what happened on Tuesday sometimes feels like two weeks ago. Time telescoping? It’s the Trump effect on Time.

  54. 54.

    MJS

    @raven: If you’re not too tired of amateur advice, about 5 years ago I developed bad heel pain. I bought Dr. Scholl’s inserts specifically designed for plantar fasciitis, which cleared it right up. The issue for me was lack of arch support in my shoes, which the inserts provide, and which I expect the shoes you linked to above will also do.

  56. 56.

    Ken

    @Patricia Kayden: “President Trump today floated the idea of annulling the Nineteenth Amendment by executive order. ‘A lot of people say these things expire after a century anyway, but if I order it that makes sure.’ “

  57. 57.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @raven: Yes. I was having severe achilles tendon issues some years back and the podiatrist gave me steroid shots (I think that’s the same thing as cortisone) in both ankles. As I recall it was supposed to keep the swelling down for weeks, but it only lasted about 24 hours.

    I have had plantar fascitis as well.

    The things that worked were an orthopedic boot and stretching exercises, but I no longer recall which one worked on what. I remember that the boot provided amazing relief instantly.

  58. 58.

    Patricia Kayden

    Also, the "discarded" (lol) ballots had no (voter) name on them so these weren't even real ballots, it seems like.BC IT IS ALL A HOAXLook for more of these "The election can't be trusted!" B.S. plants to pop up in the coming days— A.J. Delgado (@AJDelgado13) September 24, 2020

  60. 60.

    raven

    @MJS: I have a very high instep, EEE’s so this isn’t the first time I’ve had this problem but this is the first time I’ve had an injection.

     

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: I hope it works for a couple of week since I’m going back to the beach to surf fish next week!

  63. 63.

    Geminid

    I saw a report in Poltico about new Quinnipiac polls of Texas and Ohio, conducted Sept 17-21, each 1000+ people landline and cell. The Texas poll showed trump up 48-45 over Biden, Cornyn up 50-42 over Hegar. The Ohio poll showed Biden leading 46-45. The last is well within the margin of error, but promising.         Hegar is doing well considering she was not well-known statewide before this campaign. And although he is now in his third term, Cornyn is somewhat of a cypher to Texans. A poll last fall showed ~33% of Texans approved of Cornyn, ~33% disapproved, and ~33% had no opinion. The October 9 Hegar-Cornyn debate will be good.

  67. 67.

    Eljai

    @AliceBlue:

    Come on, people, come on, children
    Come on down to the glory river.
    Gonna wash you up, and wash you down,
    Gonna lay the devil down, gonna lay that devil down.

    The Fifth Dimension recorded a few Laura Nyro songs, but I forgot about that one.  I am definitely ready to lay that devil down!

  69. 69.

    Jeffro

    Btw has anyone done a wellness check on Jen Rubin today?  She sounds like a BJer in full-throated righteous indignation (to which I can only say, more please)

    If Only The Senate Republicans Had Upheld Their Oaths

    for realz!

    Our basic democracy will not sustain this abuse of power and denial of equal justice. If we are to recover a law-based democracy, voters must run Trump and his party members out of office. Only after this outrageous defiler of democracy and his band of irresponsible supplicants in Congress are banished can we undertake the slew of reforms needed to straighten out our a criminal justice system rife with racism and reinvigorate our democracy. (As to the latter, let’s start with expanding the House of Representatives, which will re-weight the electoral college toward more populous states.)

    Once we get rid of a president who wants to ignore ballots, we can secure easy access to voting for all Americans, rein in a overweening executive branch and put constraints on a Supreme Court that looks more and more like an extension of right-wing political muscle. A government where the center of gravity resides in Congress — it is Article I, after all — can restore some measure of normal democratic rule. But first and foremost, we cannot tolerate a president who is keeping his options open for what would amount to a coup. Indeed, if the Senate can jam through hearings on a Supreme Court justice in a couple of weeks, surely the House can ram through articles of impeachment. Let the Senate chew on that.

  73. 73.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Oh wow. Look at that big stain in the middle. I mean LOOK at it dude, really y’know look at it.

    My god, that is so awesome. It’s like you can see the entire Earth in that one beautiful stain. Like it’s not even a stain, man, it’s like … THE UNIVERSE. You can see its veins, right? It’s like your body but disguised as a stain.

    So awesome, so stainy. Listen to it. It’s fucking beautiful.

     

    You have any Oreos or anything?

  79. 79.

    Geminid

    @MJS: I had a nagging case of plantar fascitis 20 years ago, but I bought a pair of redwing boots and it cleared up fairly quickly. The other day I was feeling a little flush, and I said Geminid, you should buy another pair of those sharp looking redwings. But I found the ones I wanted cost 275 bucks!  Now I’m really hoping I don’t get plantar fascitis again.

  80. 80.

    Mary G

    @raven: Just chiming in as someone who’s had cortisone shots into any number of joints any number of times. In my experience it always makes the pain worse for about 24 hours, then it feels better. The effect wears off pretty soon, so it’s not a permanent solution, but a brief period of relief can be nice. I’m going to check out the shoes you linked.

  81. 81.

    Miss Bianca

    @dnfree: Oh, great – you’re giving me flashbacks to having a HUGE plantar’s wart frozen/burned off the bottom of my foot as a yoot!

  85. 85.

    trollhattan

    @Jeffro:

    I’d send it to mine but there’s no way she hasn’t see it. The spouse, however, will be seeing it later today.

    Now for my fellow olds, you may not have heard This Man from Robert Cray.

    Get him out
    Get him out
    Get him out!
    .

  87. 87.

    Miss Bianca

    @Geminid: You found Redwings for only $275?//

    Seriously, I have two pair and I wear them *constantly*. And yeah, my plantar fascitis cleared up after I got them. Course, by then I had already given up the trail running that seems to have caused it in the first place. : (

  88. 88.

    Jay

    people incarcerated in richmond’s jail had concerns about how the jail’s COVID outbreak was being handled. so deputies tear gassed them in their cells and made them sleep in clothes contaminated by chemical weapons & their own vomit.https://t.co/oZDrb87s5M— molly conger (@socialistdogmom) September 24, 2020

  89. 89.

    Jay

    After Breonna was shot, her boyfriend called 911. He called because she needed help, and because he didn't think the cops would help her. He was right. They didn't. She received no medical attention until the ambulance he called arrived, 20 minutes later. I think about that alot.— feminist next door (@emrazz) September 24, 2020

    146 arrested in Louisville.— Charles Preston (@_CharlesPreston) September 24, 2020

    none of them for murdering a woman in her sleep https://t.co/FhCNKrBXoU— Talia Lavin (@chick_in_kiev) September 24, 2020

  90. 90.

    The Moar You Know

    Hey hive mind. I went to a podiatrist yesterday and, along with prescribing therapy, he gave me a cortisone shot in my heel to deal with plantar fasciitis. My heel has been killing me all day, is this normal?

    @raven: yeah and if your experience is anything like mine, and I hope it isn’t, that shot isn’t going to do jack shit. But hurting like a motherfucker after that shot? Totally normal.

    I’ve had this going on a year and a couple of months, and the only thing that has helped was getting a custom set of orthotics ($350 and insurance won’t cover, natch) and wearing them ALL THE TIME. It is getting better, very slowly. I can walk about a half mile to a mile in a day and not be in FUCKING BALLS OUT AGONY for a week after, and that is progress.

    Too young for this kind of bullshit, but here we are. If my fifties continue to be as bad as they have been medically (two go-rounds of diverticulitis and this plantar injury) I don’t want to live to seventy. I mean that.

    And I was really in good shape. Was. No exercise for a year has left me with no weight gain, but no muscle mass left.

  93. 93.

    J R in WV

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I’ve seen it in books, for years and years. Meant to be a kind of hillbilly dialect.

    It makes me suspect that Uncle Cosmo may really be that guy who  claimed to be a fisherman with his own boat up off of Alaska, and who commented a lot in a not authentic country dialect.

    As I recall he was banned for a tirade that broke all the rules a couple of years ago. I don’t know any more about it because all the comments that led to the banning were deleted when banning was decided upon.

  94. 94.

    Geminid

    @Miss Bianca: Redwings are well worth the cost, but I need a new pair of lightweight hiking shoes anyway, so I’ll get them first. I’m hoping I can reel in some Merrills for a hundred, maybe less. My old Merrills were good for the work I do, but they have holes and don’t keep dirt out anymore.

  95. 95.

    The Moar You Know

    Remember back in the before times, when everyone thought 2016 was the worst year ever just because David Bowie and Prince died? How little we all knew.

    @Splitting Image: Americans of a decent persuasion have been staggering around in a miasma of denial since then. It was the worst year ever. It was the year we lost our democracy.

    We stand a chance to regain it with this election, and all hands need to be on deck and fight. Everyone. With the knowledge that getting it back is no guarantee no matter what the polls say, and that we are never going to be able to go back to the normal we all knew.

    Even if we “win”, if we do what Americans usually do, i.e. vote and then go back to sleep for another two years until the next cycle, we won’t get it back. We are looking at a decades-long effort to reshape and rebuild every American institution from the ground up, put a number of explicit laws on the books that regulate and codify the rights, responsibilities, obligations and limits of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and that will require sustained political will, pressure, and power. The “enemy” if you will, just has to be lucky once. We have to be lucky every time. Starting with this election.

  96. 96.

    AWOL

    @Jeffro: The smarter people of Jewish background (Rubin, Frum, Kristol*) know what the dumber or more base people of Jewish background in Trump’s Inner Circle and cronies (Kushner, Mnuchin, Miller, Aldelson, Kraft) what’s coming up next if Trump steals a second term.

     

    *Actually, not that smart, but chose the correct side in the end.

  97. 97.

    lowtechcyclist

    For me, Vampire Weekend’s “Harmony Hall” was a better fit for 2020 than it was for 2019 when it was on the airwaves.

    The refrain has two lines that fit 2020 like a glove:

    I don’t wanna live like this, but I don’t wanna die

    is exactly how I feel about my new masked-up, socially-distanced, ultra-cautious lifestyle.  And

    wicked snakes inside a place you thought was dignified

    describes the Trump White House perfectly.

  104. 104.

    Gvg

    @raven: try Vionic brand shoes. Try them on and walk around the store. Some feel a lot better on your feet than others…I think there might be multiple variations of feet. I got some for New Years and they are my favorite. Otherwise use shoe inserts. They take several weeks to help my feet so it’s not obvious they are working. Its easier to maintain free of pain than it is to get better once they have started hurting. I take the original sole inserts out of every shoe as soon as I buy them and replace with plantir inserts.

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