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You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / Monday Evening Open Thread: Let’s Take the Wins & Keep Moving Ahead

Monday Evening Open Thread: Let’s Take the Wins & Keep Moving Ahead

by Anne Laurie|  July 12, 20216:46 pm| 113 Comments

This post is in: Biden Administration in Action, C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

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yeah they got a bunch of stars to come on and then they won, it was dope as shit. https://t.co/Mo8y80KA5W

— World Famous Art Thief (@CalmSporting) July 11, 2021

I liked it better than the 2020 RNC, though. pic.twitter.com/xDDKBUYL2N

— Father Flanagan (@FatherFlanagan1) July 11, 2021

Reminder that Child Tax Credit payments are going out this week and every single republican in Congress voted against you getting one. pic.twitter.com/Jp3ADq76qv

— Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) July 12, 2021

There's serious talk of a significant Medicare expansion that really could pass and you don't hear a drip of organized outrage about it. Just all Facebook and Fox-fueled culture war.

An unparalleled gift to a broad legislative agenda if we could only press for it. https://t.co/G7vQeV5JcA

— zeddy (@Zeddary) July 12, 2021

We just had the July 4 recess, and as far as I can tell (send me examples if I'm wrong), the only drama at a congressional town hall was Katie Porter's opponent bringing people to heckle (and brawl). https://t.co/xnxMTS5PA0

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) July 12, 2021

*right now

Anyway, might be different if the House and Senate were demanding the Critical Race Theory for Pre-K bill or something. But they've been focused on an economic agenda and there hasn't been much effective mobilization against it, or interest in doing so.

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) July 12, 2021

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Previous Post: « Mortality Is Unfun to Think About
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Reader Interactions

113Comments

  1. 1.

    cain

    July 12, 2021 at 6:52 pm

    GOP freakout on everything – same day different year.

    BTW anybody see the English captain of Euro 2020 tell fans to piss off after they made a bunch of racist comments about the 3 black lads on the team? Good stuff – https://twitter.com/HKane/status/1414639048031805441

    ETA – I tried to time it for #2 – but I failed. :(

  2. 2.

    Baud

    July 12, 2021 at 6:54 pm

    Anyway, might be different if the House and Senate were demanding the Critical Race Theory for Pre-K bill or something

     

    They’re not? What was the point of voting then?

  3. 3.

    germy

    July 12, 2021 at 6:55 pm

    Stunned by the amazing progress that capitalist private-sector efficiency is bestowing on us pic.twitter.com/vvGKSUTpUA

    — Jim Caris (@jimcaris) July 12, 2021

  4. 4.

    MisterForkbeard

    July 12, 2021 at 6:58 pm

    Interestingly, some of my right-wing acquaintances are having a really hard time getting angry. Oh, they still manage it. But the bleating about Cancel Culture (SO two months ago) and Critical Race Theory are such obvious reaches and bullshit that it’s just getting performative whining. They’re having a really hard time with Biden and the Democratic agenda, so they’re just making up their own. But it’s so obviously wrong that they can’t get their hearts into it.

  5. 5.

    cain

    July 12, 2021 at 7:00 pm

    My girlfriend (actually she’s gonna be my fiancee in two weeks, yay me!!) is probably going to be on the list of people to oppose on CRT by these organized groups. She was on an equity summit earlier this year and the video got leaked and now you can bet that names are being collected.

    After that, various schools have been approaching her for new positions opening up on policy. She accepted one of them (and I think it was literally written for her) She will be doing policy work focused on equity. The school system is committed to it, so hopefully when the right wing oppositions happens they will be prepared.

  6. 6.

    Baud

    July 12, 2021 at 7:02 pm

    @cain:

    Congrats!

  7. 7.

    dmsilev

    July 12, 2021 at 7:02 pm

    A big difference between now and 2009 is that… the President is not Near.

    In terms of conservative freakouts, that matters. I mean, sure, they can rant and rave about Madame Vice President, but the magic just isn’t there this time round.

  8. 8.

    cain

    July 12, 2021 at 7:03 pm

    @MisterForkbeard:

    They have probably jumped the shark if they have to work to get outraged instead of taking a geritol and taking a nap.

    Eventually, they’ll have to start being angry about fluoride in the water.

  9. 9.

    sab

    July 12, 2021 at 7:04 pm

    Very OT: My pets have fleas ( bigly.) I gave the infested dog a yummy monthly pill, and now his fleas are stumbling off of him.

    So we decided to do the cats. Our three old guys were laid back about it. So we tried the young guy. He was shocked until we gave him treats. I was amazed we survived. The girls are lurking behind furniture, glaring at us with angry eyes. No reasoning with them since we let the little guy move in. So okay, go ahead and scratch your brains out, you angry girls.

    ETA : I am actually a feminist, but girl cats  defeat me.

  10. 10.

    cain

    July 12, 2021 at 7:05 pm

    @Baud: Thank you! It’s kind of wierd – I only met her end of April – lol. I’m somewhat cynical on relationships – meaning I believe you have to work towards making an amicable relationship. I didn’t expect this. Part of me is still rolling their eyes at me. :D

  11. 11.

    Baud

    July 12, 2021 at 7:07 pm

    @cain:

    Does she know your a jackal?

    ETA: FWIW, it’s better if she doesn’t.

  12. 12.

    germy

    July 12, 2021 at 7:09 pm

    @sab:

    Revolution makes single dose drops that you administer on the back of the cat’s neck (or head, wherever they can’t reach) and it lasts for a month.

  13. 13.

    germy

    July 12, 2021 at 7:12 pm

    Youngkin declines debate in part over moderator Woodruff

    By SARAH RANKIN

    RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin’s campaign announced Monday that the political newcomer would not debate Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe at a perennial event hosted by the Virginia Bar Association, in part because of the journalist moderator.

    https://wnyt.com/politics/youngkin-declines-debate-in-part-over-moderator-woodruff/6169112/?cat=661

    The Snooze Hour lady??

  14. 14.

    Mike in NC

    July 12, 2021 at 7:12 pm

    This guy running against Rep. Porter is just another GQP fascist.

  15. 15.

    Baud

    July 12, 2021 at 7:15 pm

    @germy:

    Biden did a debate with Chris Wallace as moderator.

  16. 16.

    germy

    July 12, 2021 at 7:16 pm

    Branson wore sunglasses to space.

  17. 17.

    sab

    July 12, 2021 at 7:17 pm

    @cain: I hoped you asked her before you told us. Been following you for years in BJ comments. Yay y’all.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    July 12, 2021 at 7:17 pm

     

    @Baud:

    Your =  you’re.

  19. 19.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    July 12, 2021 at 7:18 pm

    A big difference between now and 2009 is that… well, look at it this way. Have you seen any protests of a bill being debated in Congress?

    Moreover, there have been no protests or anger against Uncle Joe. Which shows 2009 was a freak out over loss of white supremacy coupled with astroturf demonstrations.

  20. 20.

    Jeffro

    July 12, 2021 at 7:18 pm

    @MisterForkbeard:

    @cain: great article here about how Loudoun County VA makes sense – unfortunately – in many ways as a major flash point for the blessed ‘CRT’ debate.

    Shorter:

    • wealthy parents who are media- and politics-savvy getting all wound up (article literally says ‘people with the time and money for sustained advocacy’!)
    • the area is a former hotbed of resistance to integration (and even the Confederacy)…it’s one of the communities that filled in its pools (a la Heather McGhee’s THE SUM OF US) rather than integrate…but it’s been rapidly becoming more diverse just like the rest of VA.
    • Fox News is hyping the SHIT out of CRT – 1800+ mentions in 2021!  That’s about 30 mentions a day.  It’s like “CARAVANZZZ!!” on steroids.
  21. 21.

    MomSense

    July 12, 2021 at 7:19 pm

    I fucking loathe Frank Luntz.  That Ava be been said, the conversation Andy Slavitt had with him on his podcast The Bubble was excellent.

  22. 22.

    Jeffro

    July 12, 2021 at 7:21 pm

    @germy: yes…she apparently donated to Haiti relief?  (not kidding, that was the reason)

    Youngkin keeps trying to run this stealth campaign for as long as possible; meanwhile, trumpov keeps loudly and publicly endorsing him.  I give it about another 5 minutes before McAuliffe starts in on “Hey Glenn!  Why won’t you enthusiastically accept president* trumpov’s endorsement?  He LOVES you, big guy!”

  23. 23.

    Martin

    July 12, 2021 at 7:21 pm

    @Mike in NC: It’ll be interesting how this incident plays out, but like the rest of the country we have this decreasing population growing increasingly radical. The radicalism is dangerous, as we saw, but I think Porter is pretty safe if the GOP can’t put up a  proper candidate. The RNCC didn’t even support her opponent last election. Guessing the same will happen in 22.

  24. 24.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 12, 2021 at 7:23 pm

    @Baud: Sure, but he didn’t get the coveted #2 comment.

  25. 25.

    debbie

    July 12, 2021 at 7:24 pm

    @Mike in NC:

    And yet, it was a Porter supporter who got a citation.

  26. 26.

    mrmoshpotato

    July 12, 2021 at 7:24 pm

    @germy:

    The Snooze Hour lady?? 

    Yes.  Guess Youngkin is askeered of her.  Is Youngkin high?

  27. 27.

    prostratedragon

    July 12, 2021 at 7:25 pm

    @MomSense:  Isn’t auto”correct” wonderful?

  28. 28.

    Gvg

    July 12, 2021 at 7:25 pm

    @David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch: I count the insurrection as a protest against Biden, so I don’t agree.

  29. 29.

    Baud

    July 12, 2021 at 7:26 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    He doesn’t want to get asked difficult questions like “Who won the 2020 election?”

  30. 30.

    mrmoshpotato

    July 12, 2021 at 7:27 pm

    @Jeffro:

    I give it about another 5 minutes before McAuliffe starts in on “Hey Glenn!  Why won’t you enthusiastically accept president* trumpov’s endorsement?  He LOVES you, big guy!” 

    BWHAHAHAHAHA!

  31. 31.

    Mary G

    July 12, 2021 at 7:30 pm

    @Mike in NC: It says a lot that they haven’t put in a real candidate yet – must have internal polling that says spending money against her would be wasted. She’s fundraising like crazy from soccer moms who all recognize the asshole who ruins a get together for everybody else there.

    Attention jackals in Santa Monica area:

    Vote Riders is having a letter writing party to meet their goal of contacting 30,000 Texas voters who need help obtaining proper ID.

    Date: Thursday, July 22
    Time: 4 p.m. PDT, 6 p.m. CT
    Place: VoteRiders
    171 Pier Avenue #313
    Santa Monica, California 90405
    844-338-8743
    [email protected]

    It’s encouraging to see how much work is being done more than a year ahead of the election; it’s always seemed like the Democrats don’t get into gear until Labor Day of election year.

  32. 32.

    Elizabelle

    July 12, 2021 at 7:31 pm

    @germy:

    the [Youngkin] campaign took issue with a $250 charitable donation Woodruff made over a decade ago to Clinton Foundation earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. McAuliffe is a close friend and ally of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

    … Sara Just, the executive producer of “NewsHour,” tweeted that the criticism of Woodruff was “outrageous” and that the donation was in response to a bipartisan call from both Clinton and former President George W. Bush for relief assistance.

    … Woodruff’s donation to the earthquake relief effort, which a PBS ombudsman has previously called a ” mistake,” [Excuse me, ombudsman??] has been the subject of reporting by Fox News and Breitbart in recent days.

    After the initial disclosure of her donation in 2015, Woodruff said on the air that her gift was part of a joint fundraising effort called the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, Politico has previously reported.

    The devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake in 2010 left a death toll ranging from around 100,000 to more than 300,000 people.

  33. 33.

    dmsilev

    July 12, 2021 at 7:31 pm

    @Jeffro:

     I give it about another 5 minutes before McAuliffe starts in on “Hey Glenn!  Why won’t you enthusiastically accept president* trumpov’s endorsement?  He LOVES you, big guy!”

    McAuliffe seems to be on the job already:

    Donald Trump, a failed and unpopular one-term President, just can't accept the fact that the people of Virginia rejected him TWICE. So he's back to his 2020 election LIES. Donald, are you brave enough to come to Virginia to campaign for Glenn? Third time's a charm. pic.twitter.com/5BOrwLm8YH— Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) July 12, 2021

  34. 34.

    mrmoshpotato

    July 12, 2021 at 7:32 pm

    @Baud: “Well, ummmm, the winner won the 2020 election.”

  35. 35.

    Steeplejack

    July 12, 2021 at 7:33 pm

    Maybe the Republicans aren’t “mobilizing” against legislation because they think McConnell will kill everything in the Senate.

  36. 36.

    NotMax

    July 12, 2021 at 7:35 pm

    @Baud

    “I refuse to engage in hypotheticals.”

    //

  37. 37.

    Elizabelle

    July 12, 2021 at 7:36 pm

    @MomSense:   Was this the podcast?

    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-bubble-with-andy-slavitt-our-shot/id1504128553?i=1000528582480
    The Unvaccinated and Taking on Marjorie Taylor Greene (with Frank Luntz)In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt: Our Shot

    Andy’s conversation with famed conservative pollster Frank Luntz about the unvaccinated and the political games of the GOP takes an unpredictable and emotional turn. Whatever your incoming impressions of Luntz, the rawness of the conversation helps us see the dilemma of the unvaccinated in a new light – and gives real tips on how to have difficult conversations. You’ll hear the inside story of what really went down in the White House as Andy and team began the effort to reach the unvaccinated. Dr. Lisa talks to “on the fence” citizens in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and we hear Andy express his anger at the dangerous latest efforts of Marjorie Taylor Greene to thwart public safety using fear.

  38. 38.

    germy

    July 12, 2021 at 7:36 pm

    I don’t like TV commercials, but these “Dr. Rick” ones always give me a chuckle.  The ones where he trains young homeowners not to become their parents:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhSPs9sIUss&list=PL-TXSFxFLp5EEXP7t3za41LMSv_E_ZNlg&index=1

  39. 39.

    Frank Wilhoit

    July 12, 2021 at 7:37 pm

    @sab: Victor Ultimate Flea Traps.  They are miraculous.  The fleas would rather get in the traps than stay on the animals.  One for every room, two or three for big rooms.  We had fleas so bad last year that we actually made the call to a rescue to take the cats, which would have broken their hearts as well as ours.  Fortunately the rescue could not be arsed to call us back and then we found out about the traps.  The problem stopped like a switch and this year there has not been a single flea.  Act quickly.  (btw in case it’s not obvious, nothing else worked at all.)

  40. 40.

    Geminid

    July 12, 2021 at 7:38 pm

    @Baud: And Youngkin doesn’t want to answer questions on women’s reproductive rights and gun safety. He’s trying to soft peddle his positions where he is on the wrong side of public opinion. Youngkin admits as much in some remarks to a conservative group that were leaked.

  41. 41.

    germy

    July 12, 2021 at 7:40 pm

    @Frank Wilhoit:

    Do the cats get into the flea traps?  Our cat goes after anything new in the room.

  42. 42.

    Craig

    July 12, 2021 at 7:42 pm

    @MomSense: I worked with Frank Luntz for a couple of days a few years ago. I will say he was honest about his views, and encouraged debate. He said ” If you think I’m full of shit, fine, say that and we can talk about why”. When I said “Frank, that’s bullshit” he was genuinely interested in why. He’s a very effective communicator, slick as an eel. Don’t agree with him at all, but it was interesting to see him ply his propaganda trade.

  43. 43.

    NotMax

    July 12, 2021 at 7:43 pm

    @Frank Wilhoit

    Can we begin a Kickstarter to prod them to make ones that work for attracting Republicans?

    :)

  44. 44.

    Steve in the ATL

    July 12, 2021 at 7:43 pm

    Judy woodruff is a traditional republican, but the nut jobs think she’s a hippie Marxist critical race theorist because she’s a never trumper.

    They are, of course, idiots.

  45. 45.

    Frank Wilhoit

    July 12, 2021 at 7:44 pm

    @germy: The traps are only about 2.5″ high.  They have a round base, ~6″ diameter, with flypaper (fleapaper?).  Then there is a dome over that supported by four struts and a xmas-tree light in the middle: it has to be incandescent, 7 watts, to get the right temperature.  The temperature is what does the magic, and that is why it won’t work to try to improvise something sorta-kinda like them, as you can find instructions for in lots of places.  You’ll need extra flypaper sheets and some extra lightbulbs, all of which is of course available from everybody’s [least] favorite mail-order retailer.

  46. 46.

    germy

    July 12, 2021 at 7:45 pm

    @Craig:

    It seems  Luntz lets his freak flag fly on the Fox network, where he complains about socialism, etc.

    When he’s on NBC with Chuck Todd, he plays the part of the impartial info gatherer.

  47. 47.

    Frank Wilhoit

    July 12, 2021 at 7:45 pm

    @NotMax: Republicans consist of negative energy; nothing attracts them except each other.

  48. 48.

    oclib

    July 12, 2021 at 7:45 pm

    @germy:

    Colonel Pogue wore a Seiko chronograph on a NASA Skylab mission in `73.  It’s now referred to as the Seiko Pogue and worth some bucks.  I have one very similar to it and made about the same time (`71).  The only real difference is that the Pogue has a yellow face while mine has a blue face.

    No idea what brand Branson’s sunglasses are, but you might see a spike in value if the brand name gets out….

  49. 49.

    Steve in the ATL

    July 12, 2021 at 7:45 pm

    @Frank Wilhoit: we tried these years ago and they actually worked. Thank god, with two dogs and four cats back then.

  50. 50.

    Geminid

    July 12, 2021 at 7:46 pm

    @dmsilev: McAuliffe is baiting trump. He wants trump to come to Virginia and campaign for Youngkin. I think Youngkin does not want this. But given trump’s hunger for the spotlight, can Youngkin keep him away?

  51. 51.

    Jeffro

    July 12, 2021 at 7:46 pm

    @dmsilev: LOL

    McAuliffe is going to ‘slip’ and call trumpov a p**** before Labor Day, I’m sure.

    I do hope he bothers to take the time to outline how he’ll continue the progress that the VA legislature and Gov Northam have made, in between noting the trumpov endorsements of Youngkin every 10 minutes.

  52. 52.

    Kathleen

    July 12, 2021 at 7:48 pm

    @David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch: Not so much on the Right anyway.

  53. 53.

    Martin

    July 12, 2021 at 7:49 pm

    Except for students with special health needs, all K-12 students in CA will be required to wear masks on campus – indoors and out. Schools and bus drivers will have masks for students if needed. Schools are encouraged to space students if possible.

    Getting a health exemption in CA is no longer easy. There are no religious exemptions.

  54. 54.

    Kathleen

    July 12, 2021 at 7:53 pm

    @germy: God I love those commercials. My daughter works for Progressive and I swear they had focus groups with their employees to get material on the goofy things their parents do because I resemble so many of those remarks!

  55. 55.

    Elizabelle

    July 12, 2021 at 7:53 pm

    @Frank Wilhoit:   I don’t even have pets right now ;-(. , much less fleas, but filing that info about the Victor traps away.  Thank you very much.

  56. 56.

    dmsilev

    July 12, 2021 at 7:53 pm

    @Martin: I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that roughly 30 seconds after the FDA grants non-emergency use authorizations, most of the California school districts will mandate vaccinations for both students and staff.

  57. 57.

    Steve in the ATL

    July 12, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    @Martin:

     

    There are no religious exemptions.

    Which is precisely why god is raining hellfire on your state right now.

    Or, possibly, you know, climate change.

  58. 58.

    Craig

    July 12, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    @oclib: watches are so weird. If you enter “captain willard” in google you’ll get a bunch of links about the Seiko watch Martin Sheen wore in Apocalypse Now cause it’s been a fetish of watch heads for years. I discovered that randomly a couple of weeks ago while looking for a movie quote.

  59. 59.

    PaulB

    July 12, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    “Have you seen any protests of a bill being debated in Congress?”

    Yeah, the definition of “infrastructure” occupied far too much time, as did, “The Democrats are trying to stack the deck such that they always win!!!” So, while I take his point, he’s not really correct.

  60. 60.

    MisterForkbeard

    July 12, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    @Martin: This makes me happy. I’ve got two kids under 10, and they can’t get vaccinated yet for obvious reasons.

    Glad that kids will be protected from the assholes who won’t vax, at least until they can get their own shots. And the state CAN require the vaccinations once it gets (full) approval.

  61. 61.

    Adam L Silverman

    July 12, 2021 at 7:56 pm

    @cain: 90 Day Fiance: Balloon Juice Edition… What could go wrong?//

    More seriously, congratulations.

  62. 62.

    germy

    July 12, 2021 at 7:56 pm

    @Kathleen:

    There’s stuff in the youtube videos I linked to that I’ve never seen on TV.

    I love when he asks them to open a PDF file, and they all back away.

    And when he takes them to the airport and asks to see their tickets… and they all wave big paper tickets  (instead of holding up their phones)

  63. 63.

    Kay

    July 12, 2021 at 7:57 pm

    @Jeffro:

    It’s less of a “flashpoint” and more like arson. This the Koch-funded CRT panic org that started it all. Pretty sophisticated for a rag tag group of “moms”. 

    Notice the number of Right wing Virginians on the board. They targeted Virginia, probably for exactly the reasons you listed. That’s headquarters.

  64. 64.

    Adam L Silverman

    July 12, 2021 at 7:59 pm

    @Martin: The issue is whether next time one of her opponents supporters decides to show up while taking his 2nd Amendment rights out for some exercise.

  65. 65.

    Mallard Filmore

    July 12, 2021 at 8:01 pm

    @sab:

     

    So we decided to do the cats.

    When my cat had fleas, well one flea, I bought 4 cat flea collars and dropped them around the house where he normally sleeps.

  66. 66.

    cain

    July 12, 2021 at 8:04 pm

    @Baud: She doesn’t! But I think she’s still gonna keep me regardless – lol!

  67. 67.

    Adam L Silverman

    July 12, 2021 at 8:05 pm

    @Kay: Actually this is who started it:

    Monday Evening Open Thread:  Let's Take the Wins & Keep Moving Ahead

    Here’s the rundown of how a failed local Republican candidate and conservative activist weaponized CRT for his financial benefit:

    https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/how-a-conservative-activist-invented-the-conflict-over-critical-race-theory

  68. 68.

    cain

    July 12, 2021 at 8:06 pm

    @sab: It was sort of a mutual decision. :-) She’s got a ring and everything :-)

  69. 69.

    cain

    July 12, 2021 at 8:07 pm

    @Jeffro:

    Consultants say that it is a ratings winner! Thanks for the link! :-)

     

    ETA: Woot woot – 69! I’m a flower child!

  70. 70.

    Kathleen

    July 12, 2021 at 8:07 pm

    @germy: I love those too! But they’re all so funny. Actors are pitch perfect. And like I said, I see myself so much in those (“No one cares what time you got up”)

  71. 71.

    mrmoshpotato

    July 12, 2021 at 8:07 pm

    @Kathleen:

    God I love those commercials. My daughter works for Progressive and I swear they had focus groups with their employees to get material on the goofy things their parents do because I resemble so many of those remarks! 

    That gave me a good laugh. :)

  72. 72.

    dnfree

    July 12, 2021 at 8:08 pm

    @germy: I have written angry emails to PBS about Woodruff. All too often her version of being nonpartisan is to let right-wing guests talk  over her, while asking pointed questions in a hostile tone of more liberal guests. She values her centrist reputation all right.  She’d be easy on the Republican.
    She’s past her prime and should resign.

  73. 73.

    Kathleen

    July 12, 2021 at 8:09 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: As good as if not better than sitcoms and I’m biting my keyboard to refrain from saying “sitcoms aren’t as good as they used to be”.

  74. 74.

    Geminid

    July 12, 2021 at 8:10 pm

    @Jeffro: A lot of “movement” conservatives and Republicans ended up in Loudon County back in its exurban days. One of them, “the Lovettsville Lady,” runs a conservative internet rag. She was a good friend of mine at Annandale High, and I was a little surprised when I saw she was editing “The Bull Elephant.”

    Now Loudon has filled up with normies, and they helped turn the 10th Congressional District blue. It will stay blue. With the radicals calling the shots in the local and state party, people like Barbara Comstock and predecessor Frank Wolf could never be nominated now.

  75. 75.

    germy

    July 12, 2021 at 8:12 pm

    @dnfree:   …let right-wing guests talk  over her, while asking pointed questions in a hostile tone of more liberal guests.

    I’ve noticed that.  One reason I stopped watching.

  76. 76.

    MisterForkbeard

    July 12, 2021 at 8:12 pm

    @cain: I love it when relationships just work. Most of my relationships were carefully built and we took our time.

    When I started dating my wife, we actually moved in together 3 months later. My lease was up, and… when you know, you know. I was sure I was going to marry her 1 month in, and she felt the same way. She actually asked me not to propose until we’d been together for a year, so that she’d get less side-eye from her family when she accepted.

    Congratulations to you and FutureMsCain.  It looks like you guys have a beautiful future ahead of you.

  77. 77.

    NotMax

    July 12, 2021 at 8:15 pm

    Anyone happen see anything timely at all about the fired Social Security official and his pledge to return to work today?

  78. 78.

    germy

    July 12, 2021 at 8:18 pm

    @NotMax:

    https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/12/politics/social-security-administrator-biden/index.html

  79. 79.

    NotMax

    July 12, 2021 at 8:18 pm

    @Kathleen

    Sitcoms are more plentiful than they used to be. Sturgeon’s Law, though, has not been repealed.

    ;)

  80. 80.

    cain

    July 12, 2021 at 8:22 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Thank you! :-) Hopefully nothing will go wrong :-)

  81. 81.

    dnfree

    July 12, 2021 at 8:23 pm

    @germy: they have some very good younger hosts.  I’m waiting for one or more of them to take over.  But it seems Judy won’t retire.

  82. 82.

    cain

    July 12, 2021 at 8:27 pm

    @MisterForkbeard:

    When I started dating my wife, we actually moved in together 3 months later. My lease was up, and… when you know, you know. I was sure I was going to marry her 1 month in, and she felt the same way. She actually asked me not to propose until we’d been together for a year, so that she’d get less side-eye from her family when she accepted.

    Thank you – yeah, when you know, you know. Such a strange feeling all the same. But yeah, engagement and don’t get married next year. Although I did tell my fiancee to do a background check on me so that her friends don’t get overly worried. :-)

  83. 83.

    NotMax

    July 12, 2021 at 8:27 pm

    @germy

    Thanks, but that says nothing about what transpired today when (or if) he tried to get in.

  84. 84.

    Kathleen

    July 12, 2021 at 8:27 pm

    @NotMax:  That’s for sure!

  85. 85.

    Madeleine

    July 12, 2021 at 8:30 pm

    I’m working on Michigan Taking Action, trying to identify state/local groups whom we might be able to help. I’ve run into a stonewall called Facebook. Most local/state organizations direct me to facebook not to, for example, a webpage. I haven’t ever joined, but yesterday I gave in and signed up with facebook Almost immediately my account was disabled. It seems, based on an email time-stamped at 4:40 pm Sunday, 11 July, I had changed my email address at 8:40 pm on Sunday, 11 July. I didn’t change my email address while I was setting up the account or trying to complete my profile (probably because the account was already disabled). And I don’t have access to a time machine.

    If anyone has an idea how I could fix this, please please respond at the Michigan Taking Action site shown under Do Something in the right sidebar. I can’t find a way to communicate with facebook in order to straighten out the problem.

  86. 86.

    germy

    July 12, 2021 at 8:33 pm

    @NotMax:

    He’ll be locked out when he tries to log into his work computer.

  87. 87.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    July 12, 2021 at 8:37 pm

    @NotMax: “ACCESS DENIED”

  88. 88.

    Spanky

    July 12, 2021 at 8:38 pm

    @NotMax: I’m guessing the Help Desk still has him on hold.

    “Your call is important to us …”

  89. 89.

    burnspbesq

    July 12, 2021 at 8:39 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    I was in an email group with Youngkin’s father (who was an outstanding basketball player at Duke in the late 1950s) for a couple of decades before he passed. In terms of attitudes toward women, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

  90. 90.

    Suzanne

    July 12, 2021 at 8:50 pm

    @cain:

    (actually she’s gonna be my fiancee in two weeks, yay me!!) 

    Does she know that?
    Congrats…. I’d love to hear how the proposal goes.

  91. 91.

    MisterForkbeard

    July 12, 2021 at 8:53 pm

    @NotMax: His “return to work” was just going to be trying to log on from his computer at home. Not very dramatic, unless something changed.

  92. 92.

    Mary G

    July 12, 2021 at 8:58 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Gun-toting’s not going to go over well here in the newly Socialist Orange Co. in the State of Open Carry, Are You Crazy,  CA. There are of course, many loopholes, but the OC Sheriff prefers his guys be the only armed people at public gatherings.

  93. 93.

    cain

    July 12, 2021 at 8:58 pm

    @Suzanne:
    She knows, it’s a mutually joint decision :D – we’re Indian, we don’t really have the whole ‘proposal thing’ as a formality thing – both of us came from arranged marriages so.. Although I think hers might be personally worse than mine was.
    We’re doing a low level engagement ceremony for each family. :-)​

    ETA thank you :)

    ETAA : I was her first date she ever had and well I guess I’m the last date she ever had :D

  94. 94.

    Mary G

    July 12, 2021 at 9:04 pm

    Thread. Burger King employees take back their power:

    The kitchen was understaffed, w/ employees having to work 50-60 hr weeks. The kitchen also had no air conditioning, reaching over 90 degrees. A worker was hospitalized for dehydration. Her boss said she was being a "baby." They all quit. https://t.co/Sx2tu9JcoW— Jeff Schuhrke (@JeffSchuhrke) July 12, 2021

  95. 95.

    Suzanne

    July 12, 2021 at 9:04 pm

    @cain: Oh cool!

    I hate surprise proposals in public places. So glad y’all worked it out together.

    And yes. When you know, you know. I know marriage is work, and that’s certainly true, but compatibility shouldn’t be that much work, I think.

  96. 96.

    trollhattan

    July 12, 2021 at 9:06 pm

    @debbie:

    Guessing that was baked in.

    These things aren’t funny in the least; Gabby Giffords seems a distant memory, only it wasn’t so long ago.

  97. 97.

    Keith P.

    July 12, 2021 at 9:10 pm

    @Mary G: Where was OSHA in this?

  98. 98.

    Mary G

    July 12, 2021 at 9:13 pm

    Deciding to cut bait and pass a Dem only bill – good. Probably the first hour was nagging Manchin and Sinema to name the ten Rs they say they can get.

    For those curious, the Senate Dems – WH meeting on reconciliation is officially into its second hour.— Tony Romm (@TonyRomm) July 13, 2021

  99. 99.

    debbie

    July 12, 2021 at 9:16 pm

    @germy:

    On This American Life, Luntz interviewed a group of vax-hesitant Republicans to get an understanding of their thought process. He was not at all what we would see from him on Fox.

  100. 100.

    Anne Laurie

    July 12, 2021 at 9:17 pm

    @cain: Cool!  Congratulations to you both.

    (Spousal Unit & I both lived together — in a post-college group house — for a year *before* we got involved.  So we already knew what the other one looked like coming out of the bathroom the morning after a long night, or getting frustrated at the end of a long day.  Both of us grew up in dysfunctional families, so knowing the worst turned out to be reassuring.

    Of course, we didn’t formalize the relationship for another 15 years after that, but it was the 1970s/80s…)

  101. 101.

    Frankensteinbeck

    July 12, 2021 at 9:18 pm

    @Kay: and @Adam L Silverman:

    Together you make my point for me.  Conservatives throw shit against the wall until something sticks.  CRT stuck.  From their perspective, it’s a fantastic hate slogan.  It’s an excuse to be really, really, directly racist, purging anything but white supremacist dogma from their public systems and especially schools.  Anyone with even moderate racism issues – so, everyone Republican – feels full of fire hating on it.  Everyone gleefully jumped on that band wagon the instant they heard about it, from the people who delude themselves into thinking they’re masterminds, to the think tanks, down to the random asshole who makes every PTA meeting Hell.

  102. 102.

    debbie

    July 12, 2021 at 9:22 pm

    @Mary G:

    The GOP is having all kinds of fun with Manchin and Sinema. ?

  103. 103.

    PsiFighter37

    July 12, 2021 at 9:22 pm

    @Mary G: I would hope that Democrats are figuring out how to use reconciliation assuming the bipartisan infrastructure bill gets through the Senate (my hunch is that despite McConnell’s protestations, there will be enough gravy on the train to get more Republicans on board), but that they are also planning a reconciliation bill that includes stuff that would go in the bipartisan bill, but beyond it as well. I hope Manchin and Sinema can wrap their heads around the fact that if the GOP passes on concessions, make it as Democratic-friendly / useful from a political standpoint as possible, just as is being done with the 1/6 commission.

  104. 104.

    PsiFighter37

    July 12, 2021 at 9:24 pm

    @debbie: “Our constitution was set up to protect who? Minority rights, not the majority rights.”

    Funny that Santorum says that, because he and his party sure as hell don’t act that way when it comes to the rights of minorities in this country.

  105. 105.

    Steeplejack

    July 12, 2021 at 9:25 pm

    @germy:

    “They just sell candles and they’re making overhead?!”

  106. 106.

    S. Cerevisiae

    July 12, 2021 at 9:50 pm

    Is anyone else enjoying the heck out of the judge turning the kraken into calamari? Disbar the lot of them.

  107. 107.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    July 12, 2021 at 9:54 pm

    @David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch: the total collapse of the Bush admin in 2007 was a bit sudden, after years of it looking like the Right had won the culture war, so a lot easier for the conservative to convince themselves Obama cheated.

    This time around, Trump cheated and he was a miserable failure and lost and they hate Turtle so much they tried to lynch him.

  108. 108.

    debbie

    July 12, 2021 at 9:59 pm

    @PsiFighter37:

    Doubt he ever thought about that. //

  109. 109.

    Uncle Cosmo

    July 12, 2021 at 10:00 pm

    @germy: Gagarin’s historic ride was far more challenging than Branson’s Cosmic-Kabuki in Burt Rutan’s loathsome monstrosity, which since first I saw it I have mocked as SpaceShipNone because it ain’t a “spaceship,” it’s a fucking joke. Getting back to earth safely from 100 km[1] (after a crappy 3-4 minutes of microgravity with no space[2] to enjoy it) and a top speed of maybe 3000 mph is no big thing and requires no exotic technology (the X-15 had a titanium skin, but so did the decidedly earthbound SR-71). Getting Gagarin back down safely from orbital velocity (5 times faster) was a major feat, and one the US had only recently learned how to do for unmanned  H-bomb-carrying nose cones[3].

    The real challenge for anyone who wants to enable routine affordable space travel is what I proposed years ago as the Y-Prize:

    $10M to the first group or commercial entity that sends 3 humans into orbit in a space vehicle, returns them to earth safely, and repeats the feat within 3 weeks using the same crew vehicle.

    And I would’ve accepted a throwaway rocket for either or both flights; the important part is reusable safe return from orbit. Something no one managed until the Space Shmatte Shuttle in 1981 – and we still managed to lose 2 of them (along with 14 astronauts) in 135 orbital missions, a crash rate no aircraft operator would tolerate.

    Blue Origins sort of has the right idea – even though Bezos’s ride will be no more groundbreaking than Alan Shepard’s in 1961, and even though he’s effectively paid the bloated space boondogglers at Blockhead-Moron and Nutthrob-Gremlin to build the hardware for him. He’s aiming for orbit eventually, and sometime this century the “New Glenn” may get there.

    Whatever his personal failings, Musk has homed in on the fundamental requirements: Fully-reusable orbital transportation using readily-available and relatively cheap fuels to drive the cost per safe, dependable launch down to an affordable level. Then leverage that to expand Bob Zubrin’s Mars Direct concept[4] and get human boots on the gritty red ground of Mars. With deep pockets and a vision, he’s willing to move fast and break his test vehicles, turning them out rapidly and fixing problems on the fly to get where he aches to go. JMO, but I vastly prefer his bazillions going toward that dream[5] than to bankroll the Global Oligarchy Putsch that so many bazillionaires are drooling over.

    = = = = =

    [1] The boundary of “space” was set at 100 km long ago for no better reason than NASA wanted to be able to qualify its X-15 pilots (who, remember, also got a huge assist from a B-52 mothership) as “astronauts.” 

    [2] Pun unintended but I except the reward ;^) on behalf of my subconscious.

    [3] Which, NB, only had to get its unmanned far-more-rugged-than-living-flesh payload down on its target in uber-destructive functional condition once.

    [4] Zubrin has been welcomed to the SpaceX fold and seems utterly happy with Musk striving to make real their shared dream.

    [5] So long as he’s not throwing his $$$ around to screw people or throwing public safety under the bus. Most of the howwibuw howwibuw things he’s been accused of are IMHO down in the ground clutter.

  110. 110.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    July 12, 2021 at 10:11 pm

    @sab: ​
      Which pill and brand are you using?

  111. 111.

    Kay

    July 12, 2021 at 10:11 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    They didn’t just throw it against the wall though. They started a well-funded, professional “parent group” and they stacked it with board members from Virginia. They invested in it and they planned it. Now, I don’t know if it’s going to work or not but they’re not just sifting thru attempts and hoping one sticks. It’s a planned campaign funded by one of their biggest donors.

    I don’t think anyone has to be afraid of them but we do need what I consider a realistic assessment of what they’re doing.

  112. 112.

    Soprano2

    July 12, 2021 at 11:19 pm

    My honestly not-otherwise-crazy female co-worker is convinced that “they” put Biden in the presidency and Harris in the vice-presidency because “they” know Biden is senile, so in a few months “they” can declare Biden incompetent and make Harris president. (She can’t define who “they” are.) This is all necessary because “they” know the American people would never vote for Harris for president, but she’s who “they” really wanted all along (oh, and Harris is “insane”). She’s convinced the voters didn’t really vote for Biden; the shadowy “they” cheated to make sure this would all happen.  I think this is a pretty common belief around here. They only know a few people who voted for Biden, so in their eyes it’s not possible that he fairly got more votes than TFG. It’s nutty, but they cannot admit that their candidate lost. ETA – these people have no idea how hard it actually is to remove a president from office.

  113. 113.

    evodevo

    July 13, 2021 at 8:33 am

    @Soprano2: ​
      Yep…that’s the MAGAt consensus around here in rural KY and even my otherwise smart niece who married a libertarian subscribes to…(you can bet we had a falling out in Jan over that shit – haven’t spoken twice since then…) – don’t know how you dig that kind of stuff out of their brains – seems lodged permanently…nothing rational about it.

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