Press sec Jen Psaki makes her return to the White House briefing room after testing positive for COVID-19.
"I had mild symptoms…I remain incredibly grateful for the vaccine." https://t.co/IWjQoGsxRt pic.twitter.com/7zZZwQT4B5
— ABC News (@ABC) November 12, 2021
Glad to see the @PressSec back in fine form. #PsakiBomb https://t.co/mzaiM9Fnym
— Alan Bennett Ilagan (@alanilagan) November 12, 2021
Choices, choices…
The White House is planning a big ceremony for President Joe Biden's signing of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, but it is unclear how many Republican lawmakers will attend https://t.co/qFTf6JyQr1 pic.twitter.com/2MWJx57nRz
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 13, 2021
WaterGirl
I am glad to see this about The Return of Jen Psaki. I wanted to put up something about Jen’s return yesterday, but I didn’t have the energy.
Possible lesson here: Always wait a day and perhaps someone will do it for you?
jeffreyw
Her briefings should be called Fresh Air but I’m told that one is taken.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
I live every day by that principle.
debbie
Wonder how Fox and Doocey felt seeing her back and better than ever?
Chacal Charles Calthrop
Why can’t Biden celebrate by getting a cat? The promised White House cat is long overdue
WaterGirl
@Baud: Ha!
Did you see my request yesterday that you send me 30 or so Baud quips and comments that I could post as needed while you are away on your trip? :-)
Omnes Omnibus
@Chacal Charles Calthrop: They’ve been following WaterGirl’s wait a day plan.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
I responded in that thread.
jeffreyw
@Baud: How can we miss you if you won’t go away?
WaterGirl
@debbie: Jen sounded a bit breathless in those short video clips. I had the press briefing queued up yesterday but haven’t watched it yet. I hope she is not breathless because of Covid. (worried big Jen Psaki fan)
WaterGirl
@Baud: I missed it! sigh
debbie
@WaterGirl:
It seemed to me like she paused so her words could catch up with her. She could be a bit out of practice.
Baud
@jeffreyw:
Will you miss me if I go away?
laura
@Baud: Take your time going and please hurry back.
WaterGirl
@Baud: Okay, I found it.
Answer: “umm, no”.
Rut roh.
OzarkHillbilly
I can answer that question: None, zero, zip, nada.
Baud
You don’t have Baud to kick around any more, because, gentlemen, this is my last thread.
Maybe.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Probably, but don’t worry, we’ll reload.
Another Scott
Good, good.
In other news, … RollCall:
It’s crazy that the accounting for the CBO estimates has to be done this way, but it’s good that they’re finally cracking down on these abuses by people like Rmoney ($250+M in these things, IIRC) and Thiel ($billions in these things, IIRC)…
Cheers,
Scott.
Ken
REPORTER: (starts to ask stupid question, suddenly bursts into flames and is consumed to ashes in seconds)
PSAKI: “On a personal note, my mild bout of COVID has had some unusual side-effects…”
jackmac
@OzarkHillbilly: But GOP representatives will be quite visible for groundbreaking ceremonies on big projects in their districts. “Look what I got for you,” they’ll claim.
debbie
@Baud:
Shared only in jest.
germy
I missed Jen P., but Karine Jean-Pierre did a great job in her absence.
I’m glad to see Ms. P. back in action.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: Good point.
OzarkHillbilly
@jackmac: Gua-run-fucking-teed.
germy
Good to see Fox News focused on the important issues of the day:
debbie
@jackmac:
Or, like McConnell, voting for the legislation but loudly refusing to show up for the signing ceremony.
germy
@debbie:
He claims he has other things to do that day but, honestly, how much time does it take for him to ask his donors for money? Isn’t that his primary function?
zhena gogolia
@Ken: The stupidest question ever was asked by a certain Peter Alexander: What is Biden going to do about people chanting “Let’s go, Brandon”? After all, he promised to increase civility in our public discourse.
germy
@zhena gogolia:
Peter Alexander. That boy ain’t right. Many times I’ve seen him report bad news and then he gives a little smile, as if to say “wasn’t my report awesome?”
germy
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
“Lead by example. Next question.”
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: I will. You and a handful of other commenters are my one of my main reasons to stop by here.
karen marie
@Chacal Charles Calthrop: I got a kitten two months ago. They are A LOT of work. Even a cat, when new to the house, requires a lot of attention. If the Bidens got a cat, all we’d hear about is “why are taxpayers paying someone to take care of their cat.”
James E Powell
I respect & admire Jen Psaki, but it’s a shame her talents have to be spent dealing with those assholes. Our political press/media are ridiculous.
jeffreyw
@Baud: Not if you post kitteh pics.
raven
@Baud: You ain’t goin nowhere. . .
with Earl Scruggs. . .
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
I’m surprised nobody commented on this Yarrow comment in response to debbie’s “the kids are all right” on Betty C’s thread below:
Yarrow:
Maybe. Maybe not.
Is this is as bad as it seems?
bluegirlfromwyo
Really? Didn’t see you sign on to it…what every local Dem committee response should be.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Baud:
Of course Baud!
Benw
@WaterGirl: The Return of the Jen Psaki… when do we get to the part with Ewoks?
debbie
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
IANE, but I would bet that if Youngkin follows the other GOP governors’ policies, even partially, that support could very well evaporate.
bluegirlfromwyo
@zhena gogolia: Like Jen’s dumb enough to fall into that trap. You know if Joe said a word about it, cries of canceling free speech would follow.
WaterGirl
@Benw: Isn’t the Doocey spawn part of that?
Ruckus
@WaterGirl:
Not in my lifetime……
And yes it is good to see her back in operation, kicking ass and taking names.
James E Powell
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Gen Z appear to get 100% of their information about the world from various social media sources.
Ruckus
@OzarkHillbilly:
Is that the names of the four or is it the sum of their total intelligence?
Benw
@WaterGirl: you mean one of the evil people whose ass the Ewoks have to kick!?
YUB NUB
Major Major Major Major
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): the way they phrased the platforms was skewed, but also this is an accurate summary of the candidates’ messaging which brings us back to my theory that our statements on this topic are garbage.
Like, remove CRT and you have “parents should have a say in their children’s education” vs “no they shouldn’t”
mrmoshpotato
Will it be +0 or -0? So unclear!
Nelle
@bluegirlfromwyo: i think we should organize to show up at groundbreaking with signs or banners that say “Rep R voted against funding this project.” We may need to dress like clowns in order to get media attention.
Amir Khalid
@zhena gogolia:
Psaki should read a statement from the President: “I’m not sure who this Brandon guy is, but it’s great that he’s got so many people cheering him on.”
OzarkHillbilly
@Ruckus: Yes.
Soprano2
@OzarkHillbilly: I think the ones who aren’t running for re-election will show up, and maybe one or two from swing districts. Otherwise, they’ll be cowards.
James E Powell
@Major Major Major Major:
Agree that McAuliffe’s response was a major and likely fatal error. But we are still in search of the most effective way to counteract these racist campaigns.
Youngkin’s milder words were cover for the press/media, so they wouldn’t call him out on it. Everybody knew exactly what the message was and everybody responded as expected.
M31
“I thought they were chanting “Arrest Bannon””
–Joe Biden, probably
SpaceUnit
Somebody needs to check on Betty C. The Gators are down 35 -28 to the fricking Samford Bulldogs and it’s only halfway thru the 2nd quarter. There’s almost no tackling in this game.
trollhattan
“Infrastructuresigningpalooza, Starring Diamond Joe Biden and sponsored by Redimix. Redimix, if you’re ready for infrastructure, you’re ready for Redimix.”
SpaceUnit
42 to 28 now. This game is nuts.
trollhattan
@zhena gogolia: Okay, that really is stupid, like a zen koan crafted by a second grader. Second prize: “how come I can’t smell my boogers when they’re in my nose?”
eclare
@Amir Khalid: Hahaha…perfect response!
West of the Rockies
Totally OT, but it’s horse shit that the Alabama U football team (#2 in the nation) is playing unranked New Mexico State. It’s 42-3 in the second quarter.
Why don’t you play a team that presents even a vague challenge, Alabama? So sick of southern football teams.
mrmoshpotato
@SpaceUnit: Short gator arms apparently can’t wrap up a bulldog.
mrmoshpotato
@West of the Rockies: 49-3 now.
eclare
@West of the Rockies: New Mexico State is doing it for the $. Don’t just blame Bama.
SpaceUnit
@mrmoshpotato:
Apparently not. Also Florida canned their defensive coordinator last week.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: That’s pretty much what she said.
zhena gogolia
@Major Major Major Major: Louis Menand has a good article in the New Yorker about how all the gen stuff is b.s.
mrmoshpotato
@SpaceUnit: Oops.
eclare
@zhena gogolia: It’s a granfalloon. A proud and meaningless association of human beings.
Omnes Omnibus
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Of course, it is.
Major Major Major Major
@zhena gogolia: I generally agree that ‘generations’ are overblown, but it’s also ludicrous to suggest that there won’t be different shared experiences among a cohort that had Instagram in middle school, a wildly different environment for sexual minorities, legal weed, different drug epidemics, etc. etc.
I mean just look at the teen sex and drug use stats, they’re worlds different, surely this affects people.
Age cohorts are real and there are meaningful differences between the generations at the same stages in their life.
At any rate, this has little to do with the topic of discussion? Even if it’s just an age cohort effect, these people will be in that cohort for a decade.
West of the Rockies
@eclare:
I wonder how much New Mexico State gets paid (and how they spend it). What lessons do the players get from this? Seems like a ritual sacrifice that won’t really make them feel better about themselves
My main point is that if Alabama (or Clemson, Auburn, etc.) Is so great, why don’t they play a team that is more challenging?
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Omnes Omnibus:
Are you being sarcastic or sincere? It’s an honest question because sometimes it’s hard to tell with anybody on the intertubes sometimes
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Major Major Major Major:
So you’re saying it was mostly Terry Mac’s putting his foot in his mouth?
UncleEbeneezer
@James E Powell: The biggest change in polling in VA happened after Afghanistan. Not anything CRT related. We need to fight this BS but we still don’t know if it was decisive in VA. Even in school board races it wasn’t a sure winner for the GOP.
eclare
@West of the Rockies: According to the Google, New Mexico State will make at least $1.7M for playing Bama. I don’t disagree with your other points, my only comment was don’t just blame Bama
There are not enough Auburns for a season. And conference play limits out of conference games. GA and Bama will probably meet for the SEC championship, that will be the test.
Omnes Omnibus
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I am at a loss as to how to answer that. You have been interacting with me on this site for several years. What do you think?
Dorothy A. Winsor
My county has just been moved back into “heavy transmission” territory. This feels endless. Maybe I was too optimistic to register for an in-person convention in February
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@debbie:
We can only hope
@James E Powell:
I thought about that. There’s plenty of RW garbage that gets shoveled to people my age and younger on the internet via algorithms, like on YouTube. I always worried that bullshit like “SJW’s want to ruin video games” and “cancel culture” were worryingly prevalent on various internet platforms (suggesting this was a popular opinion) and minds were being poisoned with propaganda
trollhattan
@West of the Rockies: Supposedly those are money games for the victim du jour, split of the gate receipts and teevee revenue, or somesuch.
Recall my freshman year at my tiny university for their season opener the football team traveled to Seattle to play the then Mighty Huskies a solid five miles from my family home.
Anyway, the expected slaughter went down and so did the starting QB with a broken leg and there went the season. Some tuneup game.
They eventually ditched football entirely as the giant resource sink it is and joined the WCC which, except for BYU has no football. Speaking of, BYU is tired of all these pipsqueak schools and are ditching WCC for one of the Bigs (10, 12, 80? I forget) in two years.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Omnes Omnibus:
Well, if I had to guess, I would assume it’s sarcasm because you’re a very optimistic person who doesn’t like “doom and gloom” talk or trying to “talk people off the ledge”. Also, you do tend to be sarcastic a lot of the time.
I didn’t mean any offense. I just wasn’t 100% sure in this time
ETA: and I’m guessing you were also joking in your reply
SpaceUnit
@eclare:
Yeah, the schools don’t make their own schedules.
Also, a lot of the coaches for the powerhouse teams don’t really like getting matched up with the nobodies. It doesn’t really help their rankings very much and risks their players getting lax and sloppy.
eclare
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I know, it’s an endless cycle. Numbers get better, people relax on masks. Numbers inevitably go back up, masks come back. Rinse, repeat.
eclare
@SpaceUnit: And of course always the risk of injuries.
SpaceUnit
@eclare:
Right. Nobody wants to lose their star QB in a meaningless game against some podunk college.
ETA: And of course if you somehow manage to lose you’ll drop in the rankings like a stone.
Major Major Major Major
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): he did himself no favors on this issue and I totally understand why a cohort with weak party ties (and zero context for this culture war repeat) would find it unconvincing.
eclare
@SpaceUnit: Yep. There is no upside to playing a podunk college and plenty of downside, as Florida is discovering
Ken
Because he refused to get vaccinated, or because he announced that he had been vaccinated?
JoyceH
@Chacal Charles Calthrop:
I tense up a bit at the thought of introducing Major to a kitten.
SpaceUnit
@Ken:
Ha. Good question. Actually I don’t think it was vax related.
Chacal Charles Caltrop
@Ken: doesn’t that question describe the current COVID response in a nutshell?
raven
@SpaceUnit: That is totally wrong, schools don’t make their conference schedules but they do make their non-conference matchups. In the SEC coaches know they have to play the bunnies, playing 12 games against quality opponents would result in a severe physical toll but they do need the revenue of home games. We (#1 UGA) have played UAB and have Charleston Southern next week.
raven
@Ken: No, it’s because Todd Grantham sucks as does “The Quarterback Whisperer” Dan Mullen but he won’t fire himself. The Gators (sorry Betty) are awful, they quit last year and they are quitting again.
SpaceUnit
@raven:
I stand corrected. Thanks.
raven
@SpaceUnit: Sure, it’s what I do!(not correct people but focus on College Football)
James E Powell
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
I’m just going by what I hear from my students. Sometimes I am shocked by what they insist is true.
Ken
@Chacal Charles Caltrop: Emphasis on “nut”.
James E Powell
@SpaceUnit:
Alabama lost to an unranked team, but never dropped lower than 5th in the AP poll. They were ranked 2nd in the first CFP poll.
SpaceUnit
@James E Powell:
Yeah but . . . it’s Alabama.
I should have said that you risk a big drop.
Fair Economist
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
The standard of basing public policy on the current *rate* of transmission rather than the *change* in transmission (ie R0) dooms us to endless flipflopping. Set policy to get R0 of .95 in winter (or summer for some Southern states) and just leave it there.
Jackie
@Soprano2: All House Reps are up for re-election. Every two years.
Major Major Major Major
So happy I’m boostered back to 95% efficacy in time to visit the family in Colorado and then have a safe winter wave in NYC.
dopey-o
Psaki should announce that Biden will invite Brandon to the White House to test drive his electric Corvette the day it arrives.
Picture this photo op: Brandon behind the wheel, Biden in shotgun. Biden slaps the roof and shouts “Let’s go, Brandon!” They burn rubber down the driveway as the SS looks on in horror.
raven
@James E Powell: And Michigan lost to Michigan State and stayed above them in the rankings.
OzarkHillbilly
And hurt.
eta: not to beat a dead horse.
eclare
@raven: I went to UT and am a Vol fan. Please go easy on us!
Major Major Major Major
Speaking of Colorado, the best gov in the country has decided to hell with the FDA, boosters for all!
raven
@eclare: One of my buddies lives in Memphis and is Vol and he got all mouthy with me this morning.
SpaceUnit
@dopey-o:
That would be awesome. I’m not really sure what this Brandon dude’s politics are though.
jonas
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
We tend to assume that college grads and Twitter are representative of Gen Z. Only about a 30-40% go to college and of course we all know how representative Twitter is of anything. That means that you have a ton of working-class twenty-somethings whose social attitudes are largely reflective of the broader population of non-college-educated workers. Not surprising that the white ones in particular would get riled up by the right wing caricature of CRT.
eclare
@raven: I’m in Memphis too…I am not getting mouthy!
raven
@eclare: I hear ya.
mrmoshpotato
@raven:
Let’s be accurate.
ETA – Go Terrapins! And go Boilermakers! And go Dawgs!
James E Powell
@raven:
Not in the AP. Michigan State went up to 3, Michigan dropped to 7.
The CFP came out after they both lost; I’m inferring the CFP ranked Michigan higher because they lost to a higher ranked team.
raven
@James E Powell: There is one poll that means anything,.
J R in WV
@raven:
Fixed that for ya! It’s a game, folks!
. ;~)
James E Powell
@raven:
Is that when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name?
Seriously, though, I wonder what CFP rankings means for the teams outside of playoff contention.
trollhattan
@SpaceUnit: Last time Brandon voted was in support of legalizing weed in Brandon’s state.
Benw
Let’s go Jackets!
trollhattan
@Benw: Onward, you trousers!
Sure Lurkalot
@Major Major Major Major: You can’t be serious. Cases climbing steadily for a month to #3 in the nation. No action. A few days ago his toolbox included calling FEMA, shuffling patients around and Regeneron, to be followed by canceling elective surgeries and rationing care.
In addition to relaxing booster qualifiers (which is anecdotally happening everywhere), he’s pumping Regeneron like a common Ron DeSantis and begging for 500 beds.
Mask or vaccine mandates…no.
Life saving treatments and increasing hospital capacity are good things but preventing illness from running amok over your population may be a better first step. Your toolbox shouldn’t be 90% reaction.
Major Major Major Major
@Sure Lurkalot: I assume you hold Governor Whitmer in similar contempt then. Also, there’s a lot more to being governor than the last two months’ COVID policies.
James E Powell
My Beloved Buckeyes. Five possessions, five TDs.
debbie
@James E Powell:
Plenty of time for them to screw that up, unfortunately.
Sure Lurkalot
@Major Major Major Major: Last month or so, the half-billionaire was calling for the end of the state income tax, which is already a flat and not progressive tax.
Would Whitmer float a canard like that with a Democratic trifecta?
Miss Bianca
@Major Major Major Major: If “the best gov in the country” would direct the Colorado Department of Education to stop fucking around and actually apply mask and vaccine mandates for all the schools in the state, I would be more inclined to agree with your assessment.
ETA: Actually, I am curious to know why you would call him that, if you’re dismissing COVID response as a criterion. I live here and while I think he’s been pretty good, I don’t feel inclined to toss a ton of bouquets around about him.
germy
Mallard Filmore
@Major Major Major Major:
McAuliffe: “Done. I already did that. There is no Critical Race Theory being taught in K-12”
It is tough for the GOP to call bullshit on this without also admitting CRT is not being taught in K-12.
Mallard Filmore
@mrmoshpotato:
NO! It is NOT zero. That is a slander against the patriotic GOP! Our count will be Almost One.
Benw
@trollhattan: haha
germy
Matt
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Not really; being young doesn’t magically make a fundie-church-going redneck somehow have good politics.
Omnes Omnibus
@germy: Trigger warning next time?
germy
Is Tony Jay around? He might like this:
James E Powell
@germy:
Good one. Took me a second.
dimmsdale
@James E Powell: Agreed, although I think it’s a shame OUR (the public’s) attention has to be eaten up by all those mean-girl, ostentatiously “tough” but inane questions. Jen actually is a model of the kind of behavior I wish I could adopt when confronting right-wing brainlessness and viciousness: a smile, a loving but pitying look, and a response that, when it doesn’t knock the questioner on his/her keister, puts him/her irrefutably in his/her place. I think Doocey the Younger actually performs a service for us in prompting her to demonstrate this over and over again.
zhena gogolia
@germy: Hahaha
Tony Jay
@germy:
I am. I do.
Misspelling or no, its true dat.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Baud: Oh, the rumors true you will be upgraded to Meta Baud?
Ken
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: That’s Mega Baud. The Bauds from each of the six continents are going to meet and combine, like in 80% of all anime cartoons. Well, at least the ones that get shown in the U.S.