Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

After roe, women are no longer free.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Republicans in disarray!

Cole is on a roll !

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Republicans do not pay their debts.

I really should read my own blog.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

The words do not have to be perfect.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Come on, man.

DeSantis transforms Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

Second rate reporter says what?

In my day, never was longer.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Consistently wrong since 2002

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Friday Evening Open Thread: *Everything* Is Political

Friday Evening Open Thread: *Everything* Is Political

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And very, very stupid…

During the fifteen years I spent in Michigan, it was never not Meijers. (I think that’s how I filled out the many, many checks I wrote there.) Twenty-four-seven, all-purpose shopping, much loved!

Reader Interactions

148Comments

  5. 5.

    tom

    As a native Michigander, I will say that here all businesses that are named after people are referred to by their possessives: Meijer’s, Ford’s (I work at Ford’s), Kroger’s (I am going to Kroger’s to pick up some veggies), etc. It’s the way we roll.

  6. 6.

    Bandit

    does anybody say “I am going to Meijer”? NO NO NO NO “I am going to Meijers”, “I got it at Meijers”, etc.

    Joe is completely in the right on this.

    Just ask Sandy the Horse.

    The appellation “Meijers” probably comes from the longer name “Meijer’s Thrifty Acres” which was in use for a very long time.

  14. 14.

    bbleh

    Political reporting is like finance: we could quietly lobotomize 2/3 of the people “working” in it and instead get them doing something useful — picking up trash? repairing rail beds? fixing abandoned properties? — and not only would nobody would miss them but the world would be a better place.

  16. 16.

    JAFD

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    https://ospreypublishing.com/blog/tag/jackals/

    Have great weekend, irregardless.

  18. 18.

    West of the Rockies

    OT, but FSM I wish Zergnet would stop showing a picture of Trump cramming a forkful of food into his gaping pie hole.  That ad shows up a lot here.

  20. 20.

    Faithful Lurker

    I spent 30 years in Michigan. We called it lovingly Meijers Shitty Acres. No one calls it Meijer. We should be pleased that that is the only thing they can find fault with Biden.

  22. 22.

    Amir Khalid

    This is like that time whe VP Biden got criticised for speaking of “Bosniacs” — which turned out to be the correct way to refer to the people of Bosnia.

  24. 24.

    dexwood

    @Elizabelle: ​
     
    Too late to the last thread, but saw your dog toy request. My terrier/weasel cross can chew pieces off the fluff and tuff toys in about 3 minutes. No stuffing, true, but I still ended up taking small pieces away from him. He loves the Ruff Dawg Peanuts. They really hold up to his teeth and you can put treats inside them. They’re soft and flexible, but strong.

  25. 25.

    Juliet

    Grew up in western Michigan going to meijers thrifty acres or just meijers. Received my bachelor’s at MS U. What a dumb thing to criticize him for.

  29. 29.

    NotMax

    Michigander Rs also got their panties in a wad because he didn’t praise the height of the trees?

  34. 34.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    I lived in Ohio, and yes, it was “Meijer’s” for me – I saw it as an adjective of the implied noun. “I stopped by Meijer’s (store).”
    I knew of people were were a bit snobbish about it – they were probably hung up on “less” versus “fewer”, too – but I’m all but certain I remember TV ads speaking of great specials at your local “Meijers”.
    I worked at one for a while – my only union job so far. Of course, I was working two jobs and sleeping when I dared, so I don’t remember much difference between that and any other service job.​

  35. 35.

    Mezz

    @Mustang Bobby:

    That’s the official name of the store, and I’m pretty sure their advertising jingle included it in that specific phrasing — i.e. “… at Meijer Thrifty Acres … Why Pay More.”

    I worked at one for a winter when I was a kid, I lived in Michigan for 22 years. NOBODY every fucking said “I’m going to Meijer.” Because you’d sound like a clown. Still called it “Meijers” when I was there this summer.

    I agree though in general: great news dump.

  40. 40.

    satby

    Meijers. As it was originally Meijer’s xx. And I called the the reporter an ass on twitter for such inane dumbfuckery, because he lives there and knows that’s what everyone calls it.

    The cult of the savvy will kill us all.

  43. 43.

    Brachiator

    I’d like to see some flash polling on this. Technically, the President mispronounced Meijer by pluralizing it.

    I’d like to see some flash polling on “who gives a shit?”

  44. 44.

    Alison Rose

    Just found out that my parents’ GP finally has the vaccine, and they’ll both be getting their first shots on Monday! I’m really glad…the roll-out in our county has been a mess and it was so confusing figuring out if they were both eligible yet or not, and where to go if they were, and which locations even had appointments. Mom is 73, Dad will be 79 in a few months. They haven’t gone anywhere since March except the grocery store (where only my mom goes inside) and a few trips to the doctor’s office. But this will make me feel a lot more comfortable about that!

  45. 45.

    Mary G

    Vaccines are getting canceled all over because of deliveries not showing up due to weather. Disneyland in Orange County has been shut until Monday, possible longer, and Anaheim Convention Center, where I was re-routed to, may not open at all next week. I know it’s not “four weeks and not a minute longer,” but it still feels stressful.

  47. 47.

    mrmoshpotato

    What a refreshing (and pointless) thing to be debating!  I need green beans, sponges and salsa.  Time for a trip to Aldi.

  55. 55.

    RSA

    @tom: As a native Michigander, I will say that here all businesses that are named after people are referred to by their possessives: Meijer’s, Ford’s (I work at Ford’s), Kroger’s (I am going to Kroger’s to pick up some veggies), etc. It’s the way we roll.

    Nordstrom’s, here.

  56. 56.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Mary G: Did you get the Pfizer? If so…

    Two positive developments this week could potentially expand access to the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a time when nations around the world are trying to ramp up vaccinations.
    A study in Israel showed that the vaccine is robustly effective after the first shot, echoing what other research has shown for the AstraZeneca vaccine and raising the possibility that regulators in some countries could authorize delaying a second dose instead of giving both on the strict schedule of three weeks apart as tested in clinical trials.

  59. 59.

    mali muso

    Wow, if this is the best Friday news scandal our media betters can come up with, 2021 is shaping up to be pretty boring. And I love boring.

  62. 62.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Just One More Canuck: this is what she sounds like when she does that

    Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1 5h
    Jen Psaki on AF1: “I can assure you that with millions of people in Texas still suffering, we are not spending time, energy, or breath analyzing Sen. Cruz‘s whereabouts or his group chat.”

    (also a way of making sure that a good story on her non-reaction includes an explanation of the leaked group chat, which leak indicates Ted Cruz’s friends don’t like him either.)

  63. 63.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    Good (short) thread:

    Boebert is essentially the apogee of the Republican Party’s long transition from governing to being a financial institution that controls a secondary market in white grievance. And it turns out that’s much easier than governing!

    — Adam Weinstein (@AdamWeinstein) February 19, 2021

  64. 64.

    PPCLI

    @Amir Khalid: You’ve touched a nerve with me. I remember the smug face of Cokie Roberts on PBS (I think it was) after the Biden-Palin debate, while she said (roughly; I quote from memory) “If Sarah Palin had said “Bosniaks” people wouldn’t let her forget it.”)

    And of course, it Roberts didn’t know what the f*ck she was talking about, but that didn’t keep her from exercising the droit du villageur and smugly dismissing someone who did know what he was talking about.

    In fact, Roberts was wrong for a significant reason, that of course she couldn’t bother to ask about before blabbing. The people who live in Bosnia are called Bosnians. There are three principal religious groups: Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic and Muslim. There are three corresponding ethnicities: Serbians (overwhelmingly, but not universally, Orthodox), Croats (overwhelmingly, but not universally Catholic), and Bosniaks (Overwhelmingly but not universally Muslim).

    Since the parties to the negotiations were the different ethnic groups, it wouldn’t be correct to refer to the Bosniaks as “the Bosnian Muslims”, though many people did, somewhat inexactly.

    Since Biden was careful in his use of diplomatic language, since he had played a crucial role in the negotiations, he of course knew all of this. Roberts didn’t have a clue. But she couldn’t resist acting like the clever kid on the schoolyard, savvy villager wise to the ways of Washington.

    When I hear the name “Cokie Roberts” (RIP) I always think first of that infuriating moment.

  67. 67.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Amir Khalid:

    I will take this opportunity to repeat that “Czechia” is now the approved short name for the Czech Republic. I am trying to make it a thing.

  68. 68.

    Mary G

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I got the Moderna, but I’m sure it’ll be fine even if it’s a week or two late. Just a first world problem – housemate took the day off, I made other doctors’ appointments, really nothing compared to what people in Texas are going through.

  70. 70.

    PPCLI

    I look forward to reading Oosting’s Tweet if Biden ever visits NYC and refers to “Sixth Avenue”.

    “Well, aktually, its name is Avenue of the Americas”

  75. 75.

    Brachiator

    @Mary G:

    Vaccines are getting canceled all over because of deliveries not showing up due to weather. Disneyland in Orange County has been shut until Monday, possible longer, and Anaheim Convention Center, where I was re-routed to, may not open at all next week. I know it’s not “four weeks and not a minute longer,” but it still feels stressful.

    I am counting on a rollout of the vaccine to neighborhood pharmacies. But this too may be delayed.

    It is also curious that Kaiser has not received a larger allotment.

  81. 81.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Alison Rose: So cool! My folks had the same news: They’re getting the vaccine on Thursday.

    I’m really, really happy about it. They’ve been isolating (at my initial insistence) since mid-March of last year.

  86. 86.

    Don K

    @tom:  True. Forty-two years in the Detroit area here. The former paramount department store in Detroit, formally J.L. Hudson (later the Dayton-Hudson Department Store Company), was always Hudsons. The envelopes for credit-card payments were addressed to Hudson’s.

    Funny, but I’ve never heard anyone say they work at Chrysler’s. It’s only, “I work for Ford’s.” Joe had this one right – it’s Meijer’s, goddammit!

    Now if he had a meeting or a fundraiser on Lahser Road and called it “Lasher”, I’d call him an honorary Detroiter!

    P.S. It’s really not just Detroit. I grew up near Philadelphia, and the John Wanamaker department store was “Wanamaker’s”; Strawbridge & Clothier was “Strawbridge’s”. Even New Yorkers turned R.H. Macy into “Macy’s”, to the point where that’s what’s on the store now.

  87. 87.

    Ken

    Baud, I admire your effort, but I think you’ve got it backward. Rather than add the nineteenth letter to every word, the right-wing will more likely completely eliminate it from their repertoire, like in that lipogrammatic book by Mark Dunn, “Ella Minnow Pea.” Which now that I’ve tried it, I realize can be quite difficult. Good thing I didn’t pick ‘E’ or ‘T’.

  89. 89.

    Formica

    Born in Detroit; moved to SF in 1983. Kroger’s was for groceries, Meijer’s (Thrifty Acres, as noted above) was for most everything else. Always thought the “ij” was a “y” as a kid.

    Also too, clearly our Beltway Village Overlords are returning to their natural place as our betters, criticizing the President for using a local idiom correctly because it is ostensibly grammatically incorrect, which is why we must destroy Obamacare and stop taxing hardworking billionaires.

    Shorter:

    Trump: Storm the Capitol! Stolen election! Stop the steal!

    Village: What is the harm in humoring him for this little bit of time?

    Biden: Meijers!

    Village: IMPEACH!

  94. 94.

    zhena gogolia

    @MisterForkbeard:

    I don’t seem to be able to do a capital C-hacheck, even with my Czech keyboard, but the traditional name for the Bohemian part of Czechoslovakia was Cechy (with a hacheck on the first C), so I’ve always called it Czechia too.

  98. 98.

    TheOBP

    I don’t even know what a Meijer is, but here in Austin all the people I know buy their liquor at a chain called Twin Liquors, and everyone without fail calls it Twin’s

  106. 106.

    Brachiator

    @zhena gogolia:

    but the traditional name for the Bohemian part of Czechoslovakia was Cechy

    Hmm. “A Scandal is Cechy” is not quite as catchy as “A Scandal in Bohemia.”

  109. 109.

    Delk

    @zhena gogolia: I use the Polish keyboard everyday and sometimes forget to switch back to English and all my words are either marked with the red squiggle or auto corrected to some weird word. Lol

  116. 116.

    West of the Cascades

    Can’t wait for Glenn Kessler to give this Four Pinocchios. His and Politifact’s Safaris of Inanity over the last four weeks are insufferable.

  117. 117.

    Bobby Thomson

    Literally no one in Michigan says “Meijer.”  Fuckin’ coastal elitist carpetbaggers.

  118. 118.

    Brachiator

    @SFAW:

    At least you’re not using a reverse Polish keyboard.

    I thought I was using a reverse Polish keyboard, but I had to double Czech.

  119. 119.

    Emma from FL

    For twenty years I visited Grand Rapids for Thanksgiving. It was always Meijers. As in “damn it, it’s Wednesday night and we ran out of (each year it was something different). We gotta go to Meijers!”

  120. 120.

    Brachiator

    @NotMax:

    Would be easier for people to remember if they’d split into Czecho and Slovakia.

    I thought that Czecho was the forgotten Marx Brother.

  122. 122.

    Obvious Russian Troll

    I grew up in Michigan but moved out around the time they moved into my section of the burbs. For what it’s worth, I always heard it as Meijers. People add the “s” to a lot of store names like that.

    Having said that, this is like a milder version of the fucking tan suit bullshit.

  123. 123.

    aliasofwestgate

    @RSA:  i concur as a michigander myself. Though i’m now in Wisconsin, and even over here they call it ‘meijers’.  Because that’s the way the ads call it too.

  126. 126.

    something fabulous

    @mrmoshpotato:

    @Delk:

    What up, my Chicagoans?! Represent!

    I can’t remember for sure but I *think* my mom didn’t take it as far as “The A & P’s”– but always definitely with the “The.”

    And when we ultimately got Meijer’s (in The Niles :) , where my dad moved for assisted living), DEFINITELY with the possessive, always, even brand-new with no history.

  127. 127.

    NotMax

    @something fabulous

    When it came to supermarkets, NY had Bohack’s and Gristede’s and Waldbaum’s.

    Department stores? Nobody said they were going to E.J. Korvette, it was always Korvette’s.

    And might as well point out the book and the movie aren’t Breakfast at Tiffany.

    ;)

  128. 128.

    Butter Emails

    Born and raised in Michigan. Worked for Meijer 5 summers and holidays at the checkout lane. Always referred to it as Meijers as do probably 90% of people in Michigan. I’m assuming that will change now that this has become a partisan issue.

  130. 130.

    Dan

    It’s always Meijers… The reason is that the original name of the store was “Meijer’s Thrifty Acres”.  It was later shortened to “Meijers”.

  132. 132.

    jonas

    So was this like saying “Wegmans’ses” or something while visiting Central New York? What a foucks packs.

  133. 133.

    Ruckus

    @debbie:

    Lived in OH for 11 yrs, never heard anything but MeijerS.

    Never said it any different either, and it’s spelled out on the front of the building.

  134. 134.

    Ken

    So basically we’re agreed on the historical tidbit that virtually every store was named after its owner, so is X’s store?

  135. 135.

    Adam Geffen

    As a born and raised and current Michigander this is the best post ever. I do most of my grocery shopping at the Meijers on 8 mile (yes that 8 mile). And during my undergrad days grocery shopping was always 2am at Meijers. My roommates and I would all go together and load up on like a months worth of crappy food. ?

  137. 137.

    lige

    I can’t remember what I called it when I lived in Michiana.  I just thought of it as the place with good deals on produce that tried to make you go through self check with a double whammy of not having enough checkers and seemingly training the ones they had to go as slow as possible (not to mention the most convoluted inefficient checkstand I have ever seen).

  138. 138.

    Ida Slapter

    Lifelong Michigander. Meijers all the way!

    For those who wonder, it’s pronounced like Meyer. Frederick Meijer came from the West side of our Lower Peninsula, which was home to a lot of Dutch immigrants. Van Andel and DeVos (Amway founders) are also of Dutch descent. I’ll have to find a pic of their original Dutch boy (not the paint one!) logo.

    Also, a onetime boyfriend worked at Chryslers. We all shopped at Kmarts and Krogers too. I had never heard of Meijers until some of my friends went to Michigan State University in East Lansing. I came up to visit for the first time, and they took me to the Meijers Thrifty Acres in nearby Okemos as a special treat. The drinking age was 18 then, and I was dazzled by the liquor department alone!

  139. 139.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Kent: It’s quite possible Trump lost of the vote in the Nevada because he is insisted on pronouncing the state name in the stupid, Angelized East Coast  way and not the proper Spanish way then lecturing the locals about it.

  143. 143.

    Miss Bianca

    Fuck no. Ex-Michiganian here, and it’s always been Meijer’s. As in, Meijer’s Thrifty Acres, or Shifty Takers, or whatever stoner soubriquet takes your fancy. And yes, I miss Meijer’s and wish they were here (in CO).

  144. 144.

    JoeC

    When my in-laws used to live in Michigan, we would visit most Thanksgivings and part of the fun was to go to Meijer. We would usually buy goodies, ugly Christmas socks, wine, etc. It was always fun. I think they often referred to it as ‘Meijers’ but I may be wrong. The big store where I live is Wegmans, which was started by a ‘Wegman’, we often call it Wegs. Anyway, who cares ?

  145. 145.

    The Other Bob

    Michigander here.  We say “Meijers”.  Maybe I mean Meijer’s.  Not sure.  I never say “work at Fords” though.  I say Ford.  Not that I ever worked there, but have owed a couple.

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