Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Nikki Haley, who can’t acknowledge ‘slavery’, is a pathetic shill.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

Cole, when it comes to calico cats, restraint is overrated.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

It’s the corruption, stupid.

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

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

“But what about the lurkers?”

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

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

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

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

Bark louder, little dog.

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickel?”

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

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

You are here: Home / Elections / Biden-Harris 2020 / Open Thread: Biden Live in Iowa, Hopefully Kamala In Texas

Open Thread: Biden Live in Iowa, Hopefully Kamala In Texas

by | 139 Comments

This post is in: , ,

I’m really hoping that there will be a live stream at some point today of Kamala and Beto in Texas. I’ll keep a lookout and add to this post if it happens – or if it’s late enough, do another open thread.

I added a few videos that made me happy this a.m.  Enjoy while you wait for Joe.

 

 

 

And if you only watch one, make it this one (tissue alert!):

ᴅʏʟᴀɴ ²³✦✦✦(6-0)@HadenWRLD

This hit home cuz I haven’t seen my momma in a year & coins are something we hold as memories and achievements in the military, so a command coin is huge. Showing love to military family’s is more important than showing love to the actual service member imo

 

Open thread

Reader Interactions

139Comments

  1. 1.

    hells littlest angel

    What a joy it is to watch Harris going through those old photos.

    Peggy Noonan is a wretched, horrible human being (ETA: apologies for mentioning her name).

  3. 3.

    Aziz, light!

    Love our candidates, but I will be convinced that Trump is going to lose when Trump has lost.

  4. 4.

    Gin & Tonic

    That last video is not just of a good man, it’s of good staff work. To my viewing, Joe didn’t reach into his pocket for the coin, he reached his hand back and a staffer handed it to him, but it was seamless.

  5. 5.

    Zelma

    https://acoup.blog/2020/10/30/fireside-friday-october-30-2020/

    The above is a blog I subscribe to. It’s a historical blog by a guy who is an ancient historian. He does neat stuff, often on ancient economics and technology. (Did a fascinating series on on bread making from the fields to the ovens.)

    At any rate, as he says, he usually eschews politics but he’s making an exception given the stakes. His analysis of the fall of ancient democracies (of which there were more than you might think) is very instructive. I thought some of you might be interested.

  7. 7.

    Kay

    Mark Murray
    @mmurraypolitics
    ·32m
    NBC/Marist poll of NC (among likely voters):
    Biden 52%
    Trump 46%
    Oct 25-28, +/- 4.7%

    All three of the possible Trumpster win scenarios include NC.

  11. 11.

    hells littlest angel

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I don’t know. Somewhere she complained that Harris shouldn’t dance, laugh or have fun because, “it’s embarrassing.”  (Apparently slurring platitudes on TV while in the bag is not. Who knew?)

  13. 13.

    Old School

    Because I didn’t know:

    Command coins—pocket-size medallions—are a military tradition and given to service members as a mark of allegiance and a reward for performance. Each coin carries symbols and mottos referring to the unit, service branch or office the servicemember belongs to.

    They are a source of pride for troops, and high-ranking officers and veterans will often display their collection of coins as a mark of pride and experience.

  19. 19.

    different-church-lady

    @WaterGirl: I’ve done the same thing, even outside of politics: seen video of crowds and my brain thinks, “What the hell are they doing?!?” and then realizing the video is from 2006 or something.

    Kind of amazing how we just really do turn the “new normal” into normal over time, without consciously realizing it’s happening.

  20. 20.

    Steve in the ATL

    ¡Hola putos y putas! Or is that supposed to be “amigos y amigas”?  My Spanish is no bueno.  I’ve been busy with life and work, but have been lurking a bit.  It’s funny to see my name come up in threads from time to time—I feel like Patrick Swayze in “Ghost”, wanting to tell you all that I’m still around!–just haven’t had the bandwidth to engage properly and, as you all know, I would NEVER bring my B game to Balloon Juice. The worst part of lurking is reading a post, thinking of a hilarious yet insightful response, and then scrolling down and seeing that some miscreant like Baud or Subaru Diane has made the point more hilariously and insightfully than I would have [shakes fist at Baud, Subaru Diane, and various unnamed hilarious, insightful posters).

    So what have I been up to?  I’m glad you asked.  Since travel shut down, there has been no reason for me to hang around the ATL, ergo the wife and I have been engaged in an anthropological expedition into the interior of Georgia, to-wit: living largely out at Lake Oconee.  Wake up, chase the white ball for a little bit, do some work, grill some salmon, do a little more work, kayak around the lake, then open a bottle of something red (confidential to Omnes: feel free to substitute a box of red…or rosé, you déclassé parvenu!), take Jasper to the community dog park, and Netflix and chill.

    Out here in Eatonton, Georgia (somewhere in between Atlanta and Augusta to the east and west, and Athens and Milledgeville to the north and south), it’s trump county (mid-term cycles, it’s Jody Hice country.  If you’re not familiar with him, he redefines the word “odious”).  Lots of full-size pickups with trump stickers or flags, lots of businesses that I have quit patronizing owing to the trump signs and/or flags on display—in other words, lots of dumbass racist rednecks.  It’s not so bad inside the confines of Cuscowilla, except for our neighbor who flies a trump flag by his pool.  To be fair, he flies a Dallas Cowboys flag every Sunday, so he was clearly irredeemable even pre-trump.

    We return to civilization periodically to resupply from such obscure vendors as Costco, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods, and to ensure that the kids haven’t burned the house down (or, in the alternative, to ensure that our homeowners insurance premiums are paid up!).  There is a 20 mile stretch from the interstate to our development here.  Until last week, I had seen nothing but trump signs.  Last week, however [dramatic pause], I counted four Biden/Harris signs on my way back to I-20.  Returning a couple of days later, there were now six.  Six!  And, in my ATL neighborhood, which rarely has any campaign signs, there were several Biden/Harris signs as well (not just the black family this time!) and nary a mention of trump. I take these as highly encouraging signs, though I’m not ready to believe that Georgia will flip this cycle.  If it does, I have a bottle of grand cru ready to go (confidential to Omnes: feel free to substitute a box of white zin).

    Best songwriter ever Steve Earle played a concert last weekend for the Democratic Party of Georgia. I told the organizer that I would kick in an extra donation if he played “the devil’s right hand”.  The organizer said he’d ask.  Lo and behold, Steve closed with that and his second-best song, “copperhead road”.  My phone buzzed and the text read “will that be credit, debit, or bank draft?”  I laughed and paid up, but little did the DP of G know, I had arranged for a few friends to do the same, so once he played that song the party got a nice chunk of donations.  The takeaway: when Georgia goes blue, I’m almost 100% responsible (note: MOE is >100%).

    On a related note, I did not see a B-J thread on the death of Jerry Jeff Walker.  For shame!  If Texas doesn’t go blue this cycle, that’s probably why.

    Anyhoo, hope everyone is doing well, hope Amir has a few new guitars now, and props to the OTR submitters—nice work!

    Your friend,

    Steve

  22. 22.

    JAFD

    @Zelma: Agreed.   Bret Devereaux is on course to becoming a ‘national treasure’.  If you jackals hath not checked out acoup.blog yet,  you darn well should (well, maybe after Tuesday)

  23. 23.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Steve in the ATL: Holy shit. You’re alive!

    Seriously though, you’re missed here. And probably also in the ATL. Glad to have you back, sounds like you’re keeping sane out on the lake.

  26. 26.

    different-church-lady

    OT: I read through Emptywheel’s breakdown-and-takedown of Greenwald’s rejected Biden hit piece. And I think the big takeaway is that the staff at The Intercept finally figured out that Glenn Greenwald perpetually acts like Glenn Greenwald.

  27. 27.

    zhena gogolia

    I just love all these Biden-Harris videos. They make me smile and cry at the same time. This is the America I want to live in.

  34. 34.

    The Moar You Know

    https://acoup.blog/2020/10/30/fireside-friday-october-30-2020/

    The above is a blog I subscribe to. It’s a historical blog by a guy who is an ancient historian. He does neat stuff, often on ancient economics and technology. (Did a fascinating series on on bread making from the fields to the ovens.)

    At any rate, as he says, he usually eschews politics but he’s making an exception given the stakes. His analysis of the fall of ancient democracies (of which there were more than you might think) is very instructive. I thought some of you might be interested.

    @Zelma:  That is STUNNINGLY GOOD and frankly needs to be front-paged.

    Anything else I’d say about it would just cheapen it.  Read it.

  35. 35.

    Kristine

    I just received an email from my vet’s office that they’re closing early on Tuesday so their staff has time to vote. I’m receiving VOTEVOTEVOTE messages from online vendors. I’ve never seen it like this. Hope it bodes well for Blue.

  36. 36.

    JAFD

    As this is an open thread, perhaps a bit of respite…

    I was thinking about the phrase “rolling on the floor laughing”, and how many actual occurances thereof have happened to you, or someone you were with. So will note three times in my life. If I may share them with you…

    First, at Science Fiction Society meeting, friend read “Heroine Barbarian” for the first time. (1)(2)

    Second, many decades ago, I was quite close friends with a young lady. Her parents had upsplit, she and her daddy Did Not Get Along, and she was complaining about having to visit him next weekend.

    I said “I dunnow, I’d like to meet him sometime.”

    “And what would you say to him ?”

    (an utterance that had the effect of reducing the room temperature about 100 degrees. Celsius.)

    “I’d give him a good firm handshake, and say ‘Hello, Mr. Jones…
    (name changed to protect the guilty)
    …I’m the man who’s been ravishing your daughter.” (3)

    Finally, an intensive care ward, early afternoon. Father (who is in his ’80’s),  previous day had one of the operations where they cut open your carotid artery, clear out crud, sew you back up again.(4) He had some lunch, some got spilled, Mother and I are keeping him company till sheets get changed, he can take afternoon nap, and we can go home, take naps ourselves.

    Young lady comes in, says to Father, “Hello, I’m a speech therapist. Can I ask you some questions ?” “Sure”

    So she takes out booklet, begins “which word in this sentence begins with the first letter of the alphabet ?”

    Mother and I look at each other. We realize she’s trying to find out how much of Father is ‘still there’. We know he’s his old self, but can he convince her of that, now ?

    Finally, she gets to “Mr. D, do you know where you are ?”

    Father answers “I’m in bed.”

    Which is a perfectly cromulent answer, but not what she was expecting, so…

    “… Um … um … And where’s the bed ?”

    “It’s under me.”

    I lost it.

    Well, maybe you hadda have been there. But, at least, now you know whence I inherited my ‘sense of humor’.

    It has, finally, stopped raining in New Jersey, the sky is clearing and the sun may come out.  Weather for Monday and Tuesday, here, forecast to be clear and cool.  Have great weekend, everyone !

     

    (1) I think, IIRC, it was the footnotes that got her.

    (2) You can read it, too, at
    http://www.math.uchicago.edu/~wald/lit/heroine_barbarian.html

    (3) I met him a while later, at big family gathering. Introduced myself quite conventionally. She was disappointed

    (4) Had the medical name in my information manager, but that was several hard drives ago.

  37. 37.

    The Moar You Know

    @Steve in the ATL:   Very nice to have you grace us with your presence.  You’ve been missed, but I’d never blame someone for taking a break from this place, especially recently.  Lotta scared people here right now, it can be hard to deal with.  Anyhow, welcome back.

  38. 38.

    James E Powell

    @Steve in the ATL: 

    The worst part of lurking is reading a post, thinking of a hilarious yet insightful response, and then scrolling down and seeing that some miscreant like Baud or Subaru Diane has made the point more hilariously and insightfully than I would have

    This happens to me at least twice a day.

    Great to see you Steve in [Undisclosed Location].

  39. 39.

    VeniceRiley

    Ooooh, go look at Eric Swallwell’s Taylor Swift AD. I teared up! It’s FP worthy material.

  40. 40.

    The Moar You Know

    @jeffreyw:  Aww shit.  I am not a crier, but that’s sad.  I’m glad he stuck it out through this election.  We needed him.

    I hope he goes and plays A LOT.

  42. 42.

    Amir Khalid

    @Steve in the ATL:

    I suppose I do have room on the rack for another guitar or two. A 335-type, maybe, and an SG copy? I’m very happy with the Fender Champion 100 amp, though; not interested in a valve amp.

    Are you just checking in, or back with us for keeps?

  44. 44.

    James E Powell

    @Amir Khalid:

    While I’ve never owned a hollow-body electric of any kind, I do look at youtube videos of various Gibson, Epiphone, and Gretsch models from time to time just in case I win the lottery.

  48. 48.

    catclub

    @different-church-lady: 

    And I think the big takeaway is that the staff at The Intercept finally figured out that Glenn Greenwald perpetually acts like Glenn Greenwald.

    If we elect Biden it will be because, after 4 years, 5% of the people who thought Trump was ok to be president finally figured out that he actually isn’t. The other 95%? Still fine.

  52. 52.

    Amir Khalid

    @James E Powell:

    An Epiphone Dot may be more money than I want to spend. There are some pretty good made-in-China 335-types, though. Gretsch? Not really thinking about those.

  56. 56.

    pamelabrown53

    @TaMara (HFG):

    I think that’s a great idea (posting both Kamala events in an open thread). BTW, thank you for posting Taylor Swift #Only the Young…so moving.I have big tears rolling down my cheeks and I feel so hopeful!

  57. 57.

    catclub

    @Old School: They are a source of pride for troops, and high-ranking officers and veterans will often display their collection of coins as a mark of pride and experience.

     

    Doesn’t that seem amazingly childish?  I have to show off my achievements.  You’re in the big office, dumbass. Trump shows off all his fake Time Man of the Year covers.

    They don’t have these very often in civilian life, but I guess you don’t need to jazz up the enthusiasm as much there. Also, brass bands playing military marches.  Not seen in school admin buildings.

    Or hospitals, or insurance companies.

  60. 60.

    Aleta

    @Steve in the ATL:  We’ll never be able to shut down the conspiracy theories, but good to know you’ve been on the water not circling overhead waiting to land.   Glad to see you, missed you and your input of course.  Drink some excellent wine for me please.

  63. 63.

    Steve in the ATL

    Thanks all! Part of my absence from B-J and online life in general (sorry, Farmers Only dating app! (note: not really)) is because our networks, emails, and sundry other e-thingies have been hacked like a sack in the parking lot outside a Grateful Dead/Widespread Panic/Phish show. Too obscure? I don’t know if hack sacks are still a thing. God, I hope not. Hacked like the slutty girl in an ‘80’s slasher movie? Suffered hackery unseen since David Brooks posted his most recent column? You get the idea.

    @Amir, I recently gave away an old 335, an early ‘80’s Ibanez, and a couple others I hadn’t touched in years. Hollow bodies are fun; my favorite is of course the Rickenbacker 360/6 (love the 12-string, but you won’t get enough use out of it, unless you play the Records’ “Starry Eyes” over and over, whereas you strike me more as a yacht rock kind of guy (j/k—we can still be friends!). IIRC, frosty is the resident SG expert.
    Also, a special thank you to everyone who took up the mantle last month when [poster’s name redacted] tried to reignite the a/an historian faux controversy. What an horrible issue to fight over!

    @Steve in the ATL:

    This comment was well worth reading.

    First and no doubt last time I’ll ever see that!

  64. 64.

    Kent

    So I looked up Command Coins (Challenge Coins) and it turns out that it is yet one more American tradition that Trump has soiled.  Because of course.  From Wikipedia

    President Donald Trump’s coin broke with tradition, omitting the presidential seal, the motto “E pluribus unum” and the thirteen arrows representing the thirteen original states. His campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” appears on both sides. It features a banner at the bottom, which also serves as a base allowing the coin to stand upright.

    This is what Trump’s so-called coin looks like:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-rams-greatness-down-our-throats/2017/12/26/7a02d490-ea63-11e7-b698-91d4e35920a3_story.html

  66. 66.

    zhena gogolia

    @TaMara (HFG):

    Having had an hourlong conversation today with one of my favorite students, who told me his friends are all, “If you’re voting for Biden, you’re just voting to keep the same old structure in place” (not his position), I’m not so sure. But it is a very nice video.

  67. 67.

    different-church-lady

    [redacted, reading comprehension fail, but what can you expect when it comes to percentages of percentages…]

  69. 69.

    Fair Economist

    @The Moar You Know: I can add some things to zhena’s article citation.

    First, although the author says winning isn’t everything, the good guys – the more democratic faction – has to win – either partially, as in the middle Roman Republic, or overwhelmingly, as in the Athenian restoration. *Then* they have to play nice with the undemocratic opposition members, allowing them to defect – but not a chance for another coup. Wins by the less democratic side always lead to disaster (eg the Late Republic).

  70. 70.

    Isua

    @ Zelma Thank you for posting that, I love love love Bret Deveraux’s blog and had forgotten that it’s Friday and I should go read it! I have learned so much about how armies and battles and logistics logistics logistics work from him.

  72. 72.

    Haroldo

    @Amir Khalid:

    Certainly a 335 (or maybe a jazz box)

    Do you have a Tele?  If not, I’d grab one – incredibly versatile instruments (as is the 335, of course

    ETA: Just saw your comment above.  Chinese built instruments can be stunning at decent prices, for sure.

  73. 73.

    Calouste

    @zhena gogolia: Spoiler: if you’re voting third party for President you’re definitely just voting to keep the same old structure in place.
    People with that attitude should be forced to read a book about the Green Party in Germany, how they went from a bunch of activists to become the largest party in one of the states and a junior partner in a national coalition government, the goals they achieved and the compromises they had to make.

  78. 78.

    Wapiti

    @catclub: As a crusty old Army retiree, I always thought the coins were a bit of nonsense, but a lot of people make a big deal out of it. Keep in mind that the military service doesn’t provide cash bonuses like civilian jobs.

    Napoleon said “A soldier will fight long and hard for a piece of colored ribbon”. Coins are part of the tradition, a little recognition.

  79. 79.

    Joe Falco

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Glad to hear you’re doing well! I also live in Hice Territory and am familiar with the talk show host/former pastor/Ralph Reed and Santorum wanna-be congress rat. Too bad there’s no one on the D-side that can really pressure Hice.

  81. 81.

    Yarrow

    @raven:  Saw about your issues with your leg and plantar fasciitis, etc. Have you ever done foam rolling? It has saved me from a recurrence of plantar fasciitis.

  85. 85.

    Betty Cracker

    Further developments on the Trump canceled the election night “victory” party shindig at his DC hotel:

    “Thinking about moving it” to the White House? This doesn’t pass the smell test. At all.

  86. 86.

    Martin

    @Yarrow: Texas has passed 2016s total vote. That’s good for Dems. For ages, Dems have had enough votes in the state, they just didn’t turn out. Maybe this year will be different.

  87. 87.

    raven

    @Yarrow: I’m using a frozen water bottle and it helps a bit. We’re doing all kinds of stuff a PT including putting a bunch of marbles in a bowl with my toes and other humiliating shit!

  89. 89.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @Old School: Yes. There’s usually a POTUS coin, one that makes clear “DUDE, YOU GOT THIS FROM THE (frickin’) COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF!” but Trump decided to buck the tradition so it’s now “Oh, great, I’ve got this (frickin’) Trump coin and it’ll make me look like a tool, in 10 years. But it was from the President… but… oh, WHY DIDN’T THAT (arsehole) just go with the Presidential seal like everyone SANE?”

  90. 90.

    Yarrow

    @raven:  Maybe ask your PT about using a foam roller? They’re not very expensive and available at sporting goods stores or online. Tons of videos about how to do the basic stuff. Using it on my calves really broke up the golf ball that was in there and that in turn keeps my plantar fasciitis from returning.

  93. 93.

    Ken

    @Steve in the ATL: I don’t know about anyone else, but lately I’ve been morbidly worried about covid when anyone online disappears.  Last week for example, Chris Grey (chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com) didn’t make his usual Friday post, and I thought the worst until I remembered he’d said he was taking a week off.

    So with that in mind, very glad to hear from you again.

  94. 94.

    Yarrow

    @raven:  I should probably explain that the golf ball (injured muscles making a big knot) in my calf meant that the muscles that go down to the foot were stretched too much and caused pain. By breaking that up it loosened up the muscles in the calf and kept the plantar fasciitis from returning. I think you mentioned you had quad pain too. It’s all related. You can use the foam roller on your quads or really anywhere on your legs – IT band, hamstrings, calves, hips, etc. It all helps to loosen things so they move better.

  95. 95.

    germy

    SCOOP: Tucker Carlson told me in a text message the night of the whole "lost documents" deep state paranoia fiasco that he was worried "someone is reading our texts." Why did he say that? My guess: He thought I was Roger Stone. New @Salon https://t.co/sWqqzisQFZ

    — Roger Sollenberger (@SollenbergerRC) October 30, 2020

  96. 96.

    Yarrow

    @raven: You’re welcome. Good luck. Let me know if you have any questions. The guy who taught me how to use the foam roller said he had patients with plantar fasciitis who, once they got their calves loosened up, their pf went away.

  97. 97.

    Martin

    Reminder of what we can have in this country if we demand it. Unlike  places like Texas that sued to limit one drop box per county, our county has been setting up additional pop-up polling places in the communities that were evacuated to make it easier for them to vote while they return to their homes and put things back in order. They’ve added something like a dozen polling places, the first going up maybe 12 hours after evacuation orders were lifted, in part because a a number of polling places either closed temporarily due to the fires, or closed for a longer period so they could quickly convert to shelters.

    No court challenges to it (our registrar of voters is a republican, and also outstanding), no griping, no calls of voter fraud, etc. And this is historically a red +x district. They all had a drop box, they had voting machines, all that. It’s not hard.

  98. 98.

    raven

    @Yarrow: Yea, the numbness and quad pain is what started this and then it morphed into PF. This is my second go-around at PT and this one is on the guidance of a podiatrist. The first meeting he said “this is going to be a journey” so I’m trying not to get discouraged.

  99. 99.

    Kent

    @Martin: I love that Harris County (Houston) did 24 hour early voting last night and is just keeping all the polls open until the very last minute of early voting in response to this sort of voter suppression bullshit.   If I had lived in Houston I would have gone to vote at 3 am last night just to thank the poll workers for staying up all night to support democracy.

    I still don’t know why TX shuts down early voting a week before the election. But I’m inspired that more Texans have early voted this year than the entire vote in 2016.  The tides are shifting all over this country.

  100. 100.

    raven

    I’m so pissed. I ordered a bunch of Milagros to finish Lil Bit’s memorial. The USPS tracking says it went to Atlanta, came here, then back to Atlanta and still hasn’t arrived!

  101. 101.

    Betty Cracker

    @Martin: Tom Bonier on Twitter (@tbonier) has some fascinating early voting data:

    We have exceeded 20M voters who didn’t cast a ballot in ’16 having already voted in this election – 20,357,512 to be exact. That’s 27.2% of all ballots cast, and more people than live in any one US state other than CA, TX, and FL.

    More than 80M votes cast and we’re not done yet. Thoughts: – It’s too late for an “October surprise” to have a significant impact. – Fewer people will vote on EDay than in any US election since at least ’68 – This electorate will be very different from that which elected Trump

    As I’ve noted before, Asian voters in Texas are already at 130% of their final ’16 turnout. White college educated voters have increased their vote share by 4.6 pts while the non-college white share has decreased by 5.3%. Black and Latino voters are close to surpassing ’16 levels

    7,956,095 voters under the age of 30 have already voted in this election. That’s 2,344,721 more votes than that age group cast in total in the 2016 early vote. 2,311,993 of these voters had never voted before they cast a ballot in this election.

    FL: 1,775,374 ballots have been cast by voters who didn’t turn out in the ’16 general election. That’s 26.2% of all ballots cast so far. Registered Dems have a 9 pt advantage among these surge voters, as compared to a 2 pt advantage with those early voters who did vote in ’16.

    Seems like a groundswell to me. We shall see.

  102. 102.

    Joe Falco

    @raven:  I did, indeed. I read about it in one of the news blogs that covers Oconee County. I believe it had to do with the perps trying to hack into the Zoom call. Bunch of goddamn animals, I’m telling you.

  104. 104.

    2liberal

    Peggy Noonan is a wretched, horrible human being

    What is the deal with this person and alcohol?  Every time her name comes up she gets described as an alcoholic person.  I checked her wikipedia entry and googled her but don’t see anything relevant.  Is this something that is known to the public or just insulting a disliked political person?

  105. 105.

    rp

    @Betty Cracker:

    7,956,095 voters under the age of 30 have already voted in this election. That’s 2,344,721 more votes than that age group cast in total in the 2016 early vote.

    !!!

  113. 113.

    dm

    @zhena gogolia: Well, you might try telling your student that his friends are basically right if he and they think the process ends at voting for Biden.  That’s where it begins.  If they’re not willing to take that first step, they’re maybe not really in the fight.

    AOC gave a great answer to some interviewer trying to get her to kvetch about how Biden wasn’t backing the Green New Deal: “I’ll be delighted to be able to work with Joe Biden to try to change his mind on that.”

  115. 115.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @jeffreyw: I saw that too and shouted OH NO NOT NOW! But of course 50 years of work deserves an end. Glad you posted this for everyone to see his final toon.

  116. 116.

    James E Powell

    @Amir Khalid:

    I’m a long way off from buying any of them. I’d certainly get a Les Paul before a hollow body if the cash fell out of the sky. I think about the 335 because of Chuck Berry and countless blues players, the Epiphone because of the Beatles, and the Gretsch because of Brian Setzer.

    My dream is to have a clubhouse like Tom Petty’s.

  118. 118.

    Manxome Bromide

    Glad to see ACOUP getting love throughout the comments; I’m another regular reader of his.

    @Calouste: 

    People with that attitude should be forced to read a book about the Green Party in Germany, how they went from a bunch of activists to become the largest party in one of the states and a junior partner in a national coalition government, the goals they achieved and the compromises they had to make.

    That actually sounds really interesting in its own right. Are there good books on this?

  121. 121.

    zhena gogolia

    @WaterGirl:

    I’m not even sure it’s Joel! He posted a lot in the spring and summer and was very worried about getting Covid because of health issues. I thought the nym was Joel S. but I’m not sure. You don’t have anything under that nym?

  122. 122.

    LadySuzy

    @dm: AOC could make a better use of her time and lobby her CONGRESS colleagues. And work at the grass-roots level so the Green New Deal becomes popular all over America, and not only in liberal America.

    Gosh, I’m SO tired of this. Joe’s heart is in the right place. That’s NOT the problem. Yes, he can use the bully pulpit and promote the best policies possible. But the MOST IMPORTANT thing is to work at the grass-root level. Begin by convincing your moderate brother, your father, your mom, your cousin, your co-worker. IN SWING STATES. In the RUST BELT. In the SUN BELT.

  124. 124.

    Another Scott

    @Steve in the ATL: Howdy stranger!  Thanks for checking in and getting us all caught up.

    You’ve been missed.  A lot.  Stick around if you’re able.

    Stay safe.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  128. 128.

    Calouste

    @Manxome Bromide: The Wikipedia article on them lists a couple of books, but I don’t know how good they are, and the majority are in German. I know the history just from following the news when I lived in Europe.

  130. 130.

    dm

    @LadySuzy: I think we’re saying the same thing (and I think so was AOC in that interview, my paraphrase didn’t do her words justice).  First work get to a place from which you can make progress, then work to make progress.

  132. 132.

    J R in WV

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Glad to hear from you, sorry there is no Internet service in North Georgia, where you are hiding out…

    We did talk about the loss of Jerry Jeff Walker here, who I first saw in Key West a million years ago. He was playing in the bars for drinks and tips, of which he got many…

    Keep us posted on your continued survival. Hope your wife is doing OK, better, best!

    Take care, stay safe, keep in touch!!!

  133. 133.

    Manxome Bromide

    @Calouste: Ah well. It sounded like an interesting study, and the way you phrased it made it sound like maybe it’s a standard case.

    Thanks for checking, anyway.

  138. 138.

    frosty

    @Zelma: This was brilliant! thanks for sharing the link. It sounds like Joe is exactly the leader needed for this time, in order to claw back from the brink of failed democracy. I hope it works.

Comments are closed.