Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

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

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

A tremendous foreign policy asset… to all of our adversaries.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Post-Inaugural Open Thread – Watered by Incel Tears

Reader Interactions

226Comments

  5. 5.

    Punchy

    The Qanon troops are so skilled that they managed to storm all 50 state capitols and destroy the Inauguration events without anyone noticing.  Beret SEAL Ninjas they are.

  7. 7.

    mrmoshpotato

    Wow.  That is…detached from reality.

    “fix this broken country”  Ummm…who broke it, fucknuts?

  8. 8.

    Rusty

    To the Trumpists, what would you prefer?  Thoughts and Prayers, or Fuck your Feelings.  Both work for me.

  12. 12.

    Lacuna Synechdoche

    Just watched the first black First Lady of the United States hug the first black female Vice-President of the United States and thought, “Only 15 years ago, this would have been unimaginable.”

    No, that’s not a tear in my eye, I have allergies. (Okay, yeah, it’s a tear.)

  20. 20.

    Anoniminous

    @Rusty:

    I like:

     

    “You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time.”

  21. 21.

    trollhattan

    Mom is doing a fine jerb raising that young’n. Chicken nuggets offered and rejected. Take that!

  25. 25.

    Immanentize

    As some of you know, there is a whole vast group of Jewish mothers who spend their time working on positive thoughts.  Here is the latest missive from that society, more powerful than any Q Klavern:

    Someone sent this to me, thought you’d appreciate:

    Trump lost the presidency but by doing so, he has allowed …
    A Jewish Senate Majority Leader (Schumer) to replace Mitch McConnell, A Jewish White House Chief of Staff (Klain), A Jewish Attorney General (Garland), A Jewish Secretary of State (Blinken) & Deputy Secretary of State (Sherman), A Jewish Director of Homeland Security (Mayorkas), A Jewish secretary of the Treasury (Yellen), A Jewish Covid Coordinator (Zients), A Jewish CDC Director (Walensky), A Jewish Member of Council of Economic Advisors (Bernstein), and don’t forget a Vice President (whose husband & kids are Jewish).* Joe Biden (whose nickname is the “mensch”) is appointing this Jewish “minyan”, which includes the top-tier, most important and influential government positions!

    *NOTE: By now, you likely know all about Kamala Harris’s husband, Jewish dad and future Second Gentleman (Second Dude?) Doug “Dougie” Emhoff. Not only is he the spouse of the first-ever woman to serve as Vice President of the United States, he’s also the first Jewish person to fill this role. Such naches! But as an ardent observer of all things political, I would be remiss to overlook President-elect Joe Biden’s Jewish relatives — of which there are many. In fact, all three of his kids married into Jewish families — which means Biden is the grandfather of some pretty adorable Jewish kids.

    Who will not replace you?

  26. 26.

    The Moar You Know

    To the Trumpists, what would you prefer?  Thoughts and Prayers, or Fuck your Feelings.  Both work for me.

    I am going to be rolling with “fuck your feelings” so hard for the four years.  So hard.

    Someone might take “thoughts and prayers” as being sincere.  I don’t want my intent to be possibly mistaken.

  27. 27.

    Tony Jay

    I really don’t have a care in the world about what it says about me that I not just can, but very much want, to sit around reading the drip-drip-gush of AmeriQklanists tears all night long.

    It’s Lockdown, any excuse for a party.

  29. 29.

    different-church-lady

    Today’s learning: apparently chicken McNuggets is an all-internet-traditions wink for trolling.

  30. 30.

    dmsilev

    I like the poster who “noticed” that Lady Gaga was in handcuffs as she was escorted to the podium. That’s the sort of originality I like to see in bat-shit insane conspiracies.

  31. 31.

    Feathers

    One of the best comments I have read is would Mitch et al. be asking for everyone to join together in healing America if they had won the election.

    Ha. The Biden Inaugural feed had the Capitol guides doing the commentary asking if Lady Gaga’s dress had a designer or an architect. Truth – the jobs sometimes overlap.

  32. 32.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Emily Nussbaum @emilynussbaum ·4m
    Fox’s Chris Wallace is speaking admiringly of Biden’s speech as a sermon and a pep-talk. He quotes the “lies told for power” lines as a message to everyone including those on cable news!

    Maria Bartiromo just got called up to the big show by the Murdoch family. I’m guessing Mr Wallace disapproves.

  34. 34.

    JPL

    My niece lives near Prospect Park in Brooklyn and there are people outside banging pots and pans, I assume in celebration.

  36. 36.

    Barbara

    As Garth Brooks was singing Amazing Grace, two bald eagles came into my yard and have been flying around ever since. Just for today I am going to tune these people out.

  38. 38.

    The Moar You Know

    Who will not replace you?

    @Immanentize: Those idiots never understood the terms of the contract they didn’t know they’d signed when they decided to keep their American citizenship in the 21st century:  everyone is replaceable.

  40. 40.

    Aleta

    The 2016 popular-vote (“The Real People’s”) President was present.

    It must have been hot agony for the fake one to be unable to tweet.

  43. 43.

    Cacti

    I appreciate the lip service paid to unity, but seriously Dems:

    Get shit done, and assume that Republicans are acting in bad faith at all times.

  44. 44.

    lamh36

    OMG! I can follow the POTUS, VP, FLOTUS, and the WH on social media again. No longer on the BLOCK list!

  48. 48.

    dmsilev

    Speaking of schadenfreude…

    And at 12:01p, the pool of reporters traveling with now-former President Trump peels away from Mar-a-Lago. That’s it, folks.— Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) January 20, 2021

  49. 49.

    L85NJGT

    I saw the exact same post on Bernie’s Reddit after he got squashed – someone is taking the piss, or just too lazy to translate anything else from Russian.

  50. 50.

    Barbara

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    I have been so worried about an attack on the ceremony

    After 1/6, that’s understandable, but you have to trust me on this having worked equidistant from the White House and the Capitol for many years, what happened that day was extraordinary.  I have never seen anything even close to that level of violence that hadn’t been met fast and effectively by law enforcement.  That is why many of us were so suspicious of inside assistance, or suppression of LE efforts.  They KNOW how to secure the Capitol.

  52. 52.

    West of the Cascades

    It would have been sort of nice if there was no car for Pence and Mother, and they had to walk away from the Capitol.

  55. 55.

    Feathers

    Pence is escorting VP Harris (!) down the Capitol steps. It would be kind of sweet if they let him ride away in one of the Marine helicopters just to piss off Trump.  Nah, I just saw him getting into a car. Oh, well.

  56. 56.

    Leto

    @Martin: that’s something that the MSNBC commentators remarked upon earlier: former presidents used to have emissary roles in later administrations. They were called upon for advice, and to serve the current president in some capacity. Trumpov shunned that, and in turn he’ll forever be shunned. So it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Joe asked Barack to help him with various things.

  60. 60.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    I don’t want to worry anyone but the head of the Coronavirus task force just drove out of town. We’re all doomed now.

  63. 63.

    MisterForkbeard

    For funsies, go look at http://www.reddit.com/r/ParlerWatch, which is tracking a bunch of qanon and conservative reactions.

    What appears to be the case is that there’s some “QAnon and Republican conspiracy theories were total crap and how did I possibly fall for something that stupid” while simultaneously refusing to acknowledge anything else from those same groups. So they’re maintaining that Biden is a pedophile who’s also demented who’s also owned by China but also owned by Kamala Harris and so on.

    Claims about how Biden Harris are going to round up Trump Supporters and send them to re-education camps.

    Bragging about how big Trump’s inauguration crowd was compared to this.

    Lots of “I’m the laughing stock of my family now”, a fair amount of “OMG none of this was real”, etc.

    It’s a real idiocy buffet, without much self awareness to speak of.

  64. 64.

    Cacti

    So, what is MAGA Haberman going to do for the NYT now that her reason for living is gone from the White House, and there’s no Clinton around for her to concern troll?

    On the other hand, who cares?  LoL

  68. 68.

    Miss Bianca

    PENCE IS OUT OF THE BUILDING!!

    And fuck Trump – not that I wanted his classless ass there in the first place, but the ceremonies that attend the transfer of power are significant, and the lack of the former POTUS is telling.

    I hope, like Macbeth, to be able to say of Trump some day, “Nothing became his life so well as the leaving of it.”

  72. 72.

    different-church-lady

    @MisterForkbeard: 

    So they’re maintaining that Biden is a pedophile who’s also demented who’s also owned by China but also owned by Kamala Harris and so on.

    You sure you’re not reading Rose Twitter?

  74. 74.

    opiejeanne

    I am very happy this morning. That was so satisfying, and watching Pence get the send-off that Trump would have gotten was amusing.

    Does Mother have a first name?

  75. 75.

    prostratedragon

    The malarky has officially been cut!

    When I looked at the clock during the President’s address and realized that it was now official, a shadow lifted from my mind. I might be grinning a lot for a while.

  76. 76.

    LuciaMia

    Quoting Mr. Chicken Nuggets: “I wanted Trump to be president and fix this broken country!”

     

    He WAS president, you idiot, for four whole years. And he did such a great job.

    (Hope your Mom tells you to get your own damn nuggets from ow on.)

  77. 77.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Martin: he’s repeatedly said he doesn’t want one, that Michelle will leave him if he takes one. Someone here said he should be roving ambassador for the climate, I’d like to see that.

  80. 80.

    Elizabelle

    Who gives a fuck about these losers?  It’s not their day.  But tomorrow, we can see that justice and reality hits a few of them.

    Could we have a fresh open thread?

  82. 82.

    Spanky

    One of the many great things about these days is the final death of “It can’t happen here.” There’s now no argument – it did happen here, and we survived. But only so far. No one can afford complacency.

  85. 85.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Ken: ach, I completely forgot about that. And me a John Kerry fan.

    “Special Envoy for Climate”, google tells me.

  86. 86.

    Anoniminous

    @Ken:

    Martin in the other thread referenced a dude saying the pardons were badly written and – my take – don’t actually provide legal protection from prosecution.

    IANAL so take with two shakes of salt

  88. 88.

    JoyceH

    I appreciate seeing all those masks in the Capitol, but now that they’re indoors the crowd strikes me as a bit too … crowded. Masks aren’t a cure-all, people, maintain some distance!

  89. 89.

    MisterForkbeard

    @different-church-lady: I refuse. Though I did pop into the Bernie subreddit a couple of days ago to see what was happening there.

    The short version, they’re obsessed with Glenn Greenwald, think Tucker Carlson is okay, and really hate Democrats. Posts about Bernie and how he’s enthusiastically working with Biden or Democrats get massively downvoted.

    It’s basically HillaryIs44 all over again. These folks were never FOR Bernie in a big way, they were just anti-Democrat.

  90. 90.

    matt the semi-reasonable

    There’s going to be a huge return of the losers to the rocks they crawled out from under.

  93. 93.

    Mary G

    Current mood in Q circles
    “I just want to throw up”
    “I’m so sick of the disinformation and false hope”
    “What a waste of my life”
    “I feel sick”
    “Burning my flag”
    “Game over”
    “Where is the military”
    “I’m just so confused”
    “I’m just sick”
    pic.twitter.com/hUR2N6y1sg— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) January 20, 2021

    Cry harder.

  94. 94.

    Elizabelle

    We are almost an hour into President Biden’s administration.

    He has an afternoon of signing statements and a lot of work ahead of him.

    We have to have their backs, for Joe and Kamala.

  96. 96.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Immanentize: Agreed. Not going to happen today for a number of reasons.

    But I do think we’ll see a number of these popping up in the next month or two.

  99. 99.

    The Moar You Know

    And fuck Trump – not that I wanted his classless ass there in the first place, but the ceremonies that attend the transfer of power are significant, and the lack of the former POTUS is telling.

    @Miss Bianca: Been reading about John Adams.  A president right on up there with Trump in many ways.  And such an awful president that not one monument, building or statue is dedicated to him anywhere in the nation’s capital.  He’s never been on money or coinage.  No stamps.  He almost put an end to America, the concept.

    He also didn’t go to his successor’s inauguration either.  As far as I know, those are the only two.

  100. 100.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Elizabelle:

    We are almost an hour into President Biden’s administration.

    The real question is: How much are the media blaming him for not solving COVID already?

  103. 103.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: you remind me there’s an NYT article on E Jean Smith’s lawyer that I need to go back and read. And Mary Trump is suing him (and presumably her aunts and her other uncle’s estate) for swindling her out of the real money, Fred’s.

  105. 105.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @PenandKey: I know, you can almost hear the South Park creators saying “But, we meant Cartman as a parody, not a life guide.”

    Anway, wait until the poor Incel sees those German videos of his mom.

  106. 106.

    Brachiator

    @Cacti:

    So, what is MAGA Haberman going to do for the NYT now that her reason for living is gone from the White House, and there’s no Clinton around for her to concern troll?

    She is going to write a book, right?

    Is there a new White House correspondent Haberman equivalent for the NYT?

  107. 107.

    trollhattan

    @Barbara:

    Both the FBI and DHS owe we Americans detailed explanations why they failed–utterly failed–to act on intel they had and orchestrate protection for the Capitol that day. And now with Dems in charge of the Senate, I expect we will have a forum in which to explore the question.

  108. 108.

    Ken

    @Mary G: Some of those could be read as regrets for having gotten sucked into the Q fantasies. I expect some small fraction of them will give it up, though what they’ll take up next, I have no idea. Probably not something useful, like knitting caps for premature infants.

  115. 115.

    Sloane Ranger

    Just heard a CNN reporter refer to President Biden.  I can’t describe the sense of relief and calm I feel. And I’m British. I can’t imagine how you must all be feeling.

  116. 116.

    Lacuna Synechdoche

    First Biden Presidential Tweet?

    President Biden @POTUS ·24m
    US government account

    There is no time to waste when it comes to tackling the crises we face. That’s why today, I am heading to the Oval Office to get right to work delivering bold action and immediate relief for American families.

    So glad Joe and Kamala have had their vaccine shots. I’d hate to think of them working in that (temporarily) virus-infested Trumpian petri dish without the shots.

  122. 122.

    Elizabelle

    @MisterForkbeard:   That’s not funny or witty.  Could we give shit like that a rest on this happy day?

    Not to pick on you personally, but I tire of the defeatism here.

  126. 126.

    Mallard Filmore

    The only thing I want to read from Pence’s memoirs is, at the departure ceremony, he said to VP Harris “All things considered, I’m glad you won.”

  127. 127.

    Matt McIrvin

    @The Moar You Know: There have been others. Andrew Johnson snubbed Ulysses S. Grant’s inauguration.

    Nixon was in the air when Ford was sworn in, but that was more emergency assumption of the presidency than an inauguration per se.

  128. 128.

    MJS

    @Leto: Here’s hoping that on a weekly basis, Joe calls Trump, says, “Donald, I need your advice on something”, then laughs, calls him a douche, and hangs up on him.

  129. 129.

    Brachiator

    @The Moar You Know:

    Been reading about John Adams.  A president right on up there with Trump in many ways.

    Uh, no. He was a Founder, FFS. Trump was not much of anything.

    As for presidents who did not attend the inauguration.

    Three other sitting presidents have not attended their successors’ inauguration, and two others, Martin Van Buren and Woodrow Wilson, “were inside the U.S. Capitol signing last-minute legislation but did not attend the public ceremony outside,” according to the White House history website, which is run by the White House Historical Association.

    And even Adams may not have been being spiteful.

    “President John Adams did not attend Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration. He departed from the White House at 4 a.m. the morning of his successor’s inauguration. While Adams never recorded why he left, he may have wanted to avoid provoking violence between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans, as this was the first time the presidency was transferred to an opposing party. He was also never formally invited by Jefferson and perhaps didn’t want to impose,”

    John Quincy, Adams’ son, also skipped out.

  132. 132.

    LuciaMia

    Saw a few minutes of Trumps rally, oops, departure.  Has he always played the song, “YMCA” at them? An unofficial gay anthem is kinda odd choice.

  134. 134.

    Lacuna Synechdoche

    @MisterForkbeard:

    Claims about how Biden Harris are going to round up Trump Supporters and send them to re-education camps.

    Doesn’t one have to be educated first before one can be re-educated?

  135. 135.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Elizabelle:  Of course! Wasn’t even intended to be defeatism, more of an eye roll at the other people that helped Trump.

    I do think it’s interesting that the Q subreddits are getting really upset now. Some of them even seem to be having a moment of self-awareness, which I’m really surprised by.

    https://i.redd.it/oophfdb3sic61.png

  136. 136.

    Immanentize

    @eddie blake: It makes me happy in an unexpected way.  Not just the number of Jews, which in certainly notable. But — People who are competent professionals, not angry racists, are heading into offices as we speak.

  140. 140.

    MisterForkbeard

    This is less about incels, but I wanted to say it again: Watch the end of Harris’ oath. Look when she lets go of her serious lawyer face and you can just SEE the glee and accomplishment as she turns to her husband. Loved it. I see the same thing on my daughter’s face when they do something really difficult and rewarding.

  141. 141.

    patroclus

    @Sloane Ranger: Just go with the oldie but goodie (attributed to Churchill but actually it was Abba Eben) – “you can always count on Americans to do the right thing…after they’ve bloody well tried everything else first.”

  144. 144.

    eddie blake

    @Immanentize:

    my mom was a trekkie and raised me seeped in trek lore. i’m a big fan of the IDIC, infinite diversity, infinite combinations.

    i love that they’re recruiting the best people, that they’re ACTUALLY the best people this time around. and i love the diversity.

    just did this great exhale. didn’t realize i’d been holding my breath all morning hoping nothing…untoward would fuck with the inaugural. that bomb threat freaked me out.

    all good now. breathing again.

  148. 148.

    patroclus

    @LuciaMia: Playing YMCA as the ex-President departs is a great new American tradition!  Exhortations to “young men” to do “whatever they feel” is a very American concept.  I’m glad Trump adopted it as an anthem.

  154. 154.

    Ken

    @Mary G: I’d quote some of the reply tweets, but long unbroken character sequences mess up the blog.  Wait, I’ll do it with a regex: (HA){64}

  158. 158.

    MisterForkbeard

    @mali muso: Right? I didn’t want to describe it as “girlish joy”, but that’s sort of what it reminds me of. She was beautiful, powerful, accomplished and she knew it. And she was happy.

  161. 161.

    Yutsano

    @Immanentize:

    It’s not a formal group, just 70 plus year old Jewish Moms everywhere sending thoughts to their kids.

    Oh sweet sweet summer child. You honestly think Jewish bubkas don’t get together and coördinate with each other?

  164. 164.

    different-church-lady

    Fuck everything, Zerg already wants me to know the truth about Garth Brook’s marriage.

  165. 165.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Mary G: …who is Ron Watkins? A big Q promoter?

    ETA: Ah. He was one of the strongest candidates to be “Q”. One of the most recent controllers of the username, I think.

  166. 166.

    Brachiator

    @MisterForkbeard:

    Claims about how Biden Harris are going to round up Trump Supporters and send them to re-education camps.

    It’s always camps with these people. FEMA camps. Death panel camps. Re-education camps.

    But I guess it is a logically illogical conclusion to the GOP efforts to brand themselves as the only patriotic, hence legitimate US government. Democrats must by definition want to get rid of patriots. Who are also unpossible to defeat because thems got Second Amendment guns.

    It’s just too stupid.

  169. 169.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Brachiator: Like my earlier “buffet of idiocy with no self-awareness”, “It’s just too stupid” is ALSO a great description of the modern republican party.

  172. 172.

    Searcher

    I feel like we need to dump a few million into some sort of linguo-social postgrad program to develop some sort of Poe-quotient, so I can quantify exactly how unclear it is whether that comment was made in jest or with true despair.

  177. 177.

    Feathers

    Watching the Biden Inaugural live stream. Wonderfully nerdy Capitol trivia instead of political blather. Apparently they have been told not to mention 1/6. Officer Goodman just walked by. The commentators pointed out him out and said “You may have seen some photographs of him recently.” LOL.

  179. 179.

    gene108

    @The Moar You Know:

    Been reading about John Adams. A president right on up there with Trump in many ways. And such an awful president that not one monument, building or statue is dedicated to him anywhere in the nation’s capital.

    President John Adams established the Navy Department to protect U.S. merchant ships from French privateers, kept the USA out getting entangled in the war taking place between Britain and France, signed into law the establishment of the Library of Congress, as well as set up a fund for disabled sailors.

    He was so much better than Trump, they are not comparable.

    Adams was a sincere, but ill tempered man, who was not a natural people person or people pleaser.

    His temperament was his liability

    Edit: Not his character, morals, work ethic, etc.

  182. 182.

    Kent

    OK, that was a little weird. McConnell throwing shade at Pelosi because both Biden and Harris are former SENATORS.    [eyeroll]

  183. 183.

    opiejeanne

    @Immanentize: Thanks. I had forgotten that.

    I have a beloved cousin named Karen who is not a Karen.  I would rather they had used the name “Carol”, because my cousin with that name is definitely a Karen.

  184. 184.

    Soprano2

    @Cheryl Rofer:  Aaaannnnd they are in the building!

    I have been so worried about an attack on the ceremony

    I was worried about that too, but totally understand that Biden could not give in to the insurrectionists by moving it inside. They’re already missing so much of what other presidents get, they couldn’t lose that too.

  190. 190.

    JustRuss

    @MJS: 
    Even if Trump won’t answer, it’ll be worth it for him to hear his minion say “The President (who is not you) is calling!”

  191. 191.

    Kent

    OK, time to get to work

    NEWS: Executive actions Biden plans to issue today

    -Rejoin Paris accord

    -Fortify DACA

    -Undo Muslim ban

    -Stop border wall-Order

    -unified Covid response

    Eviction/foreclosure freeze

    —> 3/31-Extend student loan pause

    —> 9/30-Rescind Trump’s 1776 commish

    -Undo Trump EO on Census

    — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 20, 2021

  193. 193.

    Kent

    MSNBC making a point of noting that the glass in the Capitol doors they are walking through is still broken.  Suggesting that it is was left as a pointed reminder as they obviously had plenty of time to replace it.

  194. 194.

    Elizabelle

    @Kent:   Good news.  The director of the Census resigned yesterday.  Still had a year to go on his term.

    President Biden can appoint someone much better.

  195. 195.

    Feathers

    Read someone commenting that the phrase “drinking Republican tears” was encouraging violence because of the weird assumption that the tears would be coming after a beating. I think I’m going to have to dump the lefties on my twitter feed. They were annoying, but hearing them dragging Biden now reveals how ridiculous they are. Strategizing how you are going to work to get your prioritized into law, fine. Just whining about capitalism, give me a fuckin’ break.

    Took a class in European Romanticism. The final wrap up lecture ended with how the spark that lit that moment was the notion that humans had inherent rights based on their humanity, not ordained from God. There was also a warning that the Romantic dream of a perfect union of mankind in heart, spirit, and understanding was so beautiful that there was a danger of letting it blind you to the fact that it is a dream. We shouldn’t let the dream poison us to the wonderful reality of human life and potential. This is always a lesson the left needs to hear.

  197. 197.

    Kent

    As we write, portraits of Trump and Pence are coming down in the thousands of federal buildings across the country and embassies and consulates across the world and are being replaced by portraits of Biden and Harris.

  199. 199.

    MisterForkbeard

    @opiejeanne: I know exactly three Karens. Exactly none of them are anything like the Karen epithet.

    Maybe we should just renamed them all to Donalds.

  200. 200.

    A Streeter

    @JPL: @JPL: 

    My niece lives near Prospect Park in Brooklyn and there are people outside banging pots and pans, I assume in celebration.

    Some of the neighbors on my block in Capitol Hill the DC neighborhood did this also — definitely celebration!

  203. 203.

    Elizabelle

    @Matt McIrvin:   Speaking of “in the air”:  the plane Cheryl put up was an accompanying plane, or a fake.

    Dropped airspeed, did an unusual pattern around Homestead and then — straight back north on a smooth line.  (To DC area presumably; I did not see its full flight path).  Did not drop altitude below 29,000, which was a tell of sorts.

    Have no idea when the Loathesome One landed, and care even less.

  204. 204.

    MisterForkbeard

    I put this in the new thread, but China has already issued a near-Persona-Non-Grata on a large number of Trump Admin officials. Heavy sanctions, not allowed to do business with China and i think it extends to their organizations and immediate family. On the basis of lies, racism, and trying to undermine China for four years, is the justification.

    Honestly, anyone who insisted on calling Covid the China Virus should be on that list.

    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/china-sanctions-ex-trump-admin-officials-including-pompeo-bannon-within-minutes-of-inauguration

  205. 205.

    Feathers

    As an ex-marching bander, we would have gotten an earful from the drum major if we had this level of scraggly lines.

    Adding: pleased to see the musicians are far superior on the lineup. And… a bunch of tricorner hats blew off!  Does anyone know if the fife and drum corps are wearing wigs or white head/hair wraps?

  210. 210.

    Feathers

    @MisterForkbeard: Karen was a Black thing before it took off everywhere. They get to call it off, not white people. First place I saw it was on the Black Panther Jeopardy SNL skit, but apparently it was in use before that.

  213. 213.

    Feathers

    @Alison Rose: My guess is that that bunch were higher ups chosen for honorary reasons and a long way from formation drilling. Imagining drill sergeants having a drink and shaking their heads.

  214. 214.

    Noskilz

    A very nice inauguration at a very peculiar time.

    I can only hope this does something to help put a stake through the heart of this Q nonsense, but with something that insane we’ll just have to see if even this is enough to shake some of them loose of their cult.

  217. 217.

    SFBayAreaGal

    @Kent: I am so looking forward to seeing President Biden’s picture hanging in the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

  218. 218.

    leeleeFL

    @mrmoshpotato: Much like Jon Stewart said on election Eve 2004 …much as this current admin has given us lots of material, PLEASE, make our jobs harder.  Didn’t work, but, he tried!

  220. 220.

    cckids

    @eddie blake:i love that they’re recruiting the best people, that they’re ACTUALLY the best people this time around. and i love the diversity.

    I love that diversity is acknowledged as PART OF  what makes that person suited for the job. There’s long been this fiction that this or that person is “the best” for the Supreme Court, or Senate, Sec Def or whatever. That is an artificial standard that mainly served to keep most levers of power in the hands of white men.

    People are qualified and experienced; (in non-Trump administrations, anyway), and then you should get some balance. There isn’t a “best” person for any job.

  221. 221.

    Boris Rasputin (the evil twin)

    @LuciaMia: Republicans NEVER seem to read and understand the lyrics. He used “Fortunate Son” for a bit. Think about how clueless you have to be for that.

  222. 222.

    The Pale Scot

    @Immanentize:

    Long ago before the internet NYT Magazine had an article about the Baptist Convention reinstating the position “Missionary to the Jews”. Among the responses, from memory so not exact.

    So we’re all talking about this around the pool. We give these people a nice Jewish boy to worship and four books, all for free! And this is the thanks we get?

  225. 225.

    J R in WV

    @Kent:

    OK, that was a little weird. McConnell throwing shade at Pelosi because both Biden and Harris are former SENATORS. [eyeroll]

    I’m pretty sure that was meant in a joking manner, after listening to it. Could be wrong, but I think he was joshing around KY style..

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