• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

People are complicated. Love is not.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

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

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

No Justins, No Peace

I really should read my own blog.

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Mobile Menu

  • Winnable House Races
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Balloon Juice 2023 Pet Calendar (coming soon)
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • War in Ukraine
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • 2021-22 Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Politics / Politicans / Best President Ever / Tuesday Morning Open Thread: #StupidSOBGate!

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: #StupidSOBGate!

by Anne Laurie|  January 25, 20227:29 am| 196 Comments

This post is in: Best President Ever, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Our Failed Media Experiment

FacebookTweetEmail

Oh my heavens the President said a SWEAR!…

Biden calls Fox News reporter Peter Doocy a "stupid son of a b—-" https://t.co/N1t3oy4HSu (video via @quicktake) pic.twitter.com/BuRsKeJm9P

— Bloomberg (@business) January 24, 2022

Biden crossed a line when he called the otherwise unemployable son of the guy who hosts Fox & Friends a stupid son of a bitch. Hard to see how he comes back from this. Also the aforementioned host is one of those inflatable guys that flaps around outside of car dealerships.

— David Roth (@david_j_roth) January 24, 2022

Of course, President Biden chose to be the bigger person, because he was schooled by nuns & Jesuits…

Doocy tells Hannity that Biden "cleared the air” with him and that they had a nice call. Doocy says Biden told him "it's nothing personal pal" and that they talked about moving forward. Doocy says he appreciated Biden reaching out.

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 25, 2022

Fun for all parties — us normies get to snicker about Doocy, and Young Peter’s colleagues and supporters get to clutch their pearls so hard they cut off their own airways.

Not only is everybody perfectly well aware that Peter Doocy is a stupid son of a bitch, it's funny to go back to when the Fox party line was uncritical worship of George W. Bush https://t.co/976G9Jpwj5

— Scott Lemieux (@LemieuxLGM) January 25, 2022

imagine having a meltdown because the president called the failson nepotism fox news hire a stupid son of a bitch and pretending that doocy's question was a good one and that there was a good way to answer it in the moment

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) January 24, 2022

Biden rarely drops curses, but when he does it's a Doocy.

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) January 25, 2022

I wouldn’t assume he does https://t.co/Oa49YydizA

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) January 25, 2022

This made me laugh. https://t.co/psCQHgHfyZ

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) January 25, 2022

What Biden said was profane, unnecessary and unpresidential.

He should’ve just called Fox a “shithole network” and told the Secret Service to “grab him by the Doocy”

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) January 25, 2022

pic.twitter.com/BTPZDbfobB

— Bruce the Rock n Roll Hellcat (@HellcatBruce) January 25, 2022

also, imagine that you pretend to sincerely believe that biden giving a serious and detailed answer on inflation would actually have broken through the wall of noise that is our national political media class

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) January 24, 2022

[trump says literally anything that comes into his head]media: he is plain spoken and, dare I say it, funny. Regular People appreciate this

[biden gets fed up with dumb questions]media: this coarse behavior will turn off a lo of voters. https://t.co/iqGaVaz1yC

— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) January 25, 2022

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Monday / Tuesday, Jan. 24-25
Next Post: Optimal single state & insurer strategy under ARPA subsidies Single 40 year old Premium Spreads Silver plans Kent county Delaware 2020-2022. Smaller silver gaps.»

Reader Interactions

196Comments

  1. 1.

    germy

    January 25, 2022 at 7:33 am

    Quick reminder of how the media covered George W. Bush calling a NYT reporter a "major league asshole." pic.twitter.com/XYvBB5qblF

    — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) January 25, 2022

    Meanwhile…
    Don Jr. is holding up well under pressure.

    Don Jr. is on another bender. The pressure must be getting to him. His deranged, slurred, unnatural, speech is clearly drug fueled. pic.twitter.com/4QBth83fDj

    — Mystery Solvent (@MysterySolvent) January 23, 2022

  2. 2.

    Nicole

    January 25, 2022 at 7:35 am

    If Biden had switched out “stupid” for “dumb,” he could have just claimed he was just quoting Harry Truman and comparing Doocy to Gen. MacArthur.

  3. 3.

    germy

    January 25, 2022 at 7:38 am

    Glem (of course) called Biden’s remark “an assault on the freedom of the press”

    I really try to avoid talking about this guy (since attention is what he craves most) but this is just too funny pic.twitter.com/IHYG0mwU9I

    — jason wilson (@jason_a_w) January 25, 2022

    However,

    That time when Glenn Greenwald ridiculed Ben Jacobs after being assaulted by Rep. Gianforte. pic.twitter.com/p7lT1ZEXjh

    — Gus (@Gus_802) November 10, 2019

  4. 4.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    January 25, 2022 at 7:42 am

    @germy:

    Don Jr. sounds like he’s doing an impression of zhena gogolia’s Trump impression guy. (Blanking on the name.)

  5. 5.

    germy

    January 25, 2022 at 7:44 am

    @Steeplejack (phone):

    One of the replies:

    this video is patently incredible. he's doing a deranged, unconscious imitation of his dad and it rules. https://t.co/eM0VLnui0P

    — K. Thor Jensen (@kthorjensen) January 24, 2022

  6. 6.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 25, 2022 at 7:49 am

    Biden calls Fox News reporter Peter Doocy a “stupid son of a b—-“

    An accurate assessment.

  7. 7.

    debbie

    January 25, 2022 at 7:49 am

    clutch their pearls so hard they cut off their own airways

    Make it so!

  8. 8.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    January 25, 2022 at 7:54 am

    So the press isn’t an enemy of the people anymore? I’m having trouble keeping up.

    High of 11 degrees today. Low of -10.

  9. 9.

    RepubAnon

    January 25, 2022 at 7:56 am

    When the next Republican administration sends all reporters that don’t work for Rupert Murdock to prison, the last report will be how this is almost as bad as Joe Biden calling Peter Doocy a naughty word.

  10. 10.

    Steeplejack

    January 25, 2022 at 7:57 am

    @germy:

    Checks out.

  11. 11.

    Benw

    January 25, 2022 at 7:57 am

    This is so unprecedential

  12. 12.

    Math Guy

    January 25, 2022 at 7:58 am

    “Let’s go Doocey!”

  13. 13.

    NotMax

    January 25, 2022 at 7:58 am

    Couple of items which caught the eye.

    Item the first.

    Retired Pope Benedict XVI has admitted to giving false testimony in a German sex abuse case. Source

    Item the second.

    Washington’s so-called “rendition program,” under which suspected Islamist militants from conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq were spirited to jails outside U.S. jurisdiction, remains shrouded in secrecy.

    But the European Court of Human Rights has confirmed the 10-room building, in a pine forest of the village of Antaviliai outside Vilnius, was used by the CIA to hold terrorist suspects from 2005-2006.

    The Lithuanian government’s real estate fund, which handles assets no longer needed by the state, is preparing to offer the barn to the market at a yet-to-be-decided price. Source

  14. 14.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 7:59 am

    Cursing someone out is considered a masculine trait, so it’s more “newsworthy” and scandalous when someone in the mommy party does it.

    We are supposed to be demure, dammit.

  15. 15.

    Wakeshift

    January 25, 2022 at 8:01 am

    … a .22 caliber mind in a .45 caliber world.

     

    That was old school, Mr. President.

  16. 16.

    germy

    January 25, 2022 at 8:03 am

    @Steeplejack:

    According to Trump’s communications person Don Jr. “doesn’t drink & the only drug he’s addicted to is Red Bull.” pic.twitter.com/Iag93ewoWa

    — Mystery Solvent (@MysterySolvent) January 25, 2022

    “I note the derogatory rumors concerning the use of alcoholic stimulants and lavish living. It is the penalty of greatness.”
    (W.C. Fields)

  17. 17.

    Steeplejack

    January 25, 2022 at 8:04 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Brr! Balmy 34° here in NoVA, going up to 45°. Yee-haw.

  18. 18.

    Anne Laurie

    January 25, 2022 at 8:05 am

    @debbie: I figure they accidentally choke themselves, then their fingers slip off the pearls, so they come back to consciousness & start again.  A series of self-induced mini-aneuryms would explain some of their goldfish memories, yes?

  19. 19.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 8:09 am

    It is a dumb question because it’s a fake question. If Doocy wants to say that inflation will harm Democrats in the midterms he just say it instead of dishonestly posing it as a question. Fox media celebrities make campaign statements all the time- no need to add a question mark.

    Doocy asked the president if he would “take questions about inflation” as a White House event on Biden administration efforts against inflation was wrapping up.

    Do you think inflation is a political liability ahead of the midterms?” Doocy asked.

    No one has to pretend this is journalism, or honest, or in any way intended to inform the public. They can do it, but I don’t have to go along with it to avoid hurting their feelings.

  20. 20.

    snoey

    January 25, 2022 at 8:09 am

    @germy:

    That doesn’t deny a “non addictive” relationship with the nose candy.

  21. 21.

    Steeplejack

    January 25, 2022 at 8:11 am

    @7Veritas4: “One dude at Fox News gets called out and suddenly there are no more migrant caravans or empty grocery shelves in America.”

  22. 22.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    January 25, 2022 at 8:11 am

    @snoey: The guy just found out that dear old Dad told their lawyer to arrange things so he goes to prison rather than his sister. That’s probably worth a snort or two

  23. 23.

    prostratedragon

    January 25, 2022 at 8:13 am

    Last night Medi Hassan gave us a montage of occasions when  TFG called someone a son of a bitch, to uproarious applause.

  24. 24.

    NotMax

    January 25, 2022 at 8:13 am

    @Steeplejack

    Low 50s immediately outside the abode during the predawn hours Sunday night. Brass gecko weather.

  25. 25.

    Geminid

    January 25, 2022 at 8:13 am

    There was some discussion here yesterday about ex-Congressman Jim Renacci’s primary challenge to Ohio Governor Mike Dewine. Politico wasn’t going to let a cutting-edge blog get but so far ahead of it, so this morning they put up an article about the race, “Trump conquered Ohio. Now his followers want the Governorship.”

    One item: Renacci is going hard after Trump’s endorsement, and to that end has hired the flamboyant Brad Parscale. A sticking point is that Trump holds Renacci’s 2018 loss to Sherrod Brown against him. Renacci was the only Ohio Republican to lose a statewide office that year, and Brown’s victory wasn’t even close.

  26. 26.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 8:17 am

    @Geminid:

    Can you link to the article? I want to see if they mention Blystone.

  27. 27.

    prostratedragon

    January 25, 2022 at 8:19 am

    Chicago Lake shore, from Sunday. All’s well.

  28. 28.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 8:20 am

    The saddest part about this attack on the free press is the public still doesn’t know if Joe Biden thinks inflation is a liability in the midterms.

  29. 29.

    prostratedragon

    January 25, 2022 at 8:20 am

    @Geminid:
    the flamboyant Brad Parscale
    Have we hit some kind of transition point for you?

  30. 30.

    Ken

    January 25, 2022 at 8:21 am

    @Steeplejack: Remember how long the burning Christmas tree distracted them?

  31. 31.

    Geminid

    January 25, 2022 at 8:22 am

    @Kay: I’m sorry, this digital dinosaur does not link. The article is featured on Politico’s front page, though. Blystone is mentioned, but in passing.

  32. 32.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 25, 2022 at 8:26 am

    @Steeplejack:Brr! Balmy 34° here in NoVA, going up to 45°. Yee-haw.

    About the same over here by the Chesapeake.  Better than it’s been, though, aside from the gray skies.

  33. 33.

    Steeplejack

    January 25, 2022 at 8:27 am

    @NotMax:

    Condolences. That must have frozen your kola nuts.

  34. 34.

    rikyrah

    January 25, 2022 at 8:27 am

    Good Morning Everyone ???

  35. 35.

    rikyrah

    January 25, 2022 at 8:28 am

    46 did that on purpose ????

  36. 36.

    Steeplejack

    January 25, 2022 at 8:29 am

    @Kay:

    Here you go.

  37. 37.

    rikyrah

    January 25, 2022 at 8:29 am

    The video was taken by the anti-mask guy. Did he really think that it made the librarian look bad???

     

    PatriotTakes ?? (@patriottakes) tweeted at 8:29 PM on Mon, Jan 24, 2022:
    Illinois librarian holds her ground as an antimasker films himself throwing a tantrum after being asked to wear a mask. https://t.co/kyJwRjEfIi
    (https://twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1485801992157114372?t=GdrN1o54s60rPgPHMZENKw&s=03)

  38. 38.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 8:30 am

    @Geminid:

    A sticking point is that Trump holds Renacci’s 2018 loss to Sherrod Brown against him.

    Says Donald Trump. Who lost his 2020 re-elect to Joe Biden. At least Renacci wasn’t an incumbent.

    Donald Trump has managed to make political reporters treat him like he won the 2020 race. There was and is no hint in any of the coverage of Trump that he is a one term President who LOST his reelect, which ordinarily would be the most important measure of him as a politician.

  39. 39.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 25, 2022 at 8:30 am

    @prostratedragon: I’ve seen those before. Nature is wondrous.

  40. 40.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 8:30 am

    @rikyrah:

    Good morning.

  41. 41.

    rikyrah

    January 25, 2022 at 8:30 am

    Been wondering

     

    Why didn’t Google Meet take off?

    I have never used it during this pandemic.

     

    Teams and Zoom, yes.

    Google Meet?

    No.??

  42. 42.

    Steeplejack

    January 25, 2022 at 8:32 am

    @rikyrah:

    Good morning! ?

  43. 43.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 8:32 am

    @germy:

    Junior sounds and looks like one of those “lemme ‘splain why Marty Schottenheimer was a better coach than Bill Belichick ever will be” guys you run into in a sports bar, after he’s had about 10 boilermakers. Holy shit.

     

    And, because my life is empty before my AM caffeine dose(s): is “son of a bitch” truly a “swear”? I’m an old fart, so “swear” to me means a “curse word” (e.g., F-bomb) or “cuss” (e.g., “damn”), but not an accurate naming of a stupid son of a bitch. Maybe I’m just too hidebound in my thinking.

  44. 44.

    different-church-lady

    January 25, 2022 at 8:32 am

    Has he apologized for torching th Fox Christmas tree yet?

  45. 45.

    Geminid

    January 25, 2022 at 8:33 am

    @Geminid: There was another interesting item this morning, in Politico Playbook. Connecticut hedge fund manager David McCormick has packed his carpetbag and will travel today to the Lehigh Valley for his first Pennsylvania Senate rally. Texas Senator Ted Cruz will be a featured speaker.

  46. 46.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 25, 2022 at 8:36 am

    @Geminid: Nothing says “Loser” like an endorsement from Ted “Runaway to Cancun” Cruz.

  47. 47.

    NotMax

    January 25, 2022 at 8:36 am

    FYI.

    A cruise ship that was supposed to dock in Miami has instead sailed to the Bahamas, after a U.S. judge granted an order to seize the vessel as part of a lawsuit over millions of dollars in unpaid fuel.

    Cruise trackers show Crystal Symphony currently docked in the Bahamian island of Bimini.

    Passengers were taken by ferry to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday.
    [snip]
    “Suspending operations will provide Crystal’s management team with an opportunity to evaluate the current state of business and examine various options moving forward,” the company said in a statement earlier this week. Source

    Call me naive, but how about the option of paying your effin’ bills?

  48. 48.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 8:36 am

    @Geminid:

    Weaver — who noted that Renacci’s internal poll didn’t include Blystone — said he is working for another pro-DeWine outside group this cycle, but declined to name it.

    Blystone is popular in rural areas and Renacci isn’t, so they split the Trumpist vote, which is good for DeWine but one Trumpist would be better than two for Democrats.

  49. 49.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 8:37 am

    @Steeplejack:

    Thank you.

  50. 50.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 25, 2022 at 8:39 am

    @Kay:

    Do you think it’s a liability?

  51. 51.

    satby

    January 25, 2022 at 8:39 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: it’s going to get to be a high of 20° here, but it’s snowing again, with another 1-2 inches expected on top of the 6 inches of snow already on the ground. Tonight the bitter cold moves in for us too.

  52. 52.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 8:39 am

    @Geminid:

    What I find most impressive about the GOP cult is not that their elites have been able to radicalize the base, but that they have managed to get the base to worship highly educated extremely wealthy pansy ass financiar types as their cult leaders.

    Say what you will about Nixon and Reagan, they had respectable backgrounds.

  53. 53.

    Ken

    January 25, 2022 at 8:41 am

    @NotMax: How nice, a cruise ship story that doesn’t involve disease and/or filth.

  54. 54.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 8:41 am

    @Kay:

    Donald Trump has managed to make political reporters treat him like he won the 2020 race.

    Well, as every red-blooded Real ‘Murican knows, he actually did, but the Lamestream Media have been engaged in repeating the Big Lie that Sleepy Joe “won,” in order to fool the sheeple.

    Et cetera

  55. 55.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 8:42 am

    @NotMax:

    The company is in bankruptcy, I believe.

  56. 56.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 8:43 am

    @NotMax:

    Call me naive, but how about the option of paying your effin’ bills?

    How un-president*ial.

  57. 57.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 8:43 am

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    What, inflation? Yes. Honestly, though? I think the inflation fight is about something else. It’s about a change in economic approach where Biden and Democrats pumped supports to the bottom to prop up the economy rather than pumping supports to the top, so conservatives and media are campaigning against a change in US economic policy as much as “inflation”. At base it’s ideological. Inflation is a downside of the bottom up approach. But I enthusiastically and firmly support the bottom up approach, so I hope that side (the liberal side) wins the argument.

  58. 58.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 8:44 am

    @Baud:

    The company is in Bankruptcy, I believe.

    Which state is that in?

  59. 59.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 8:45 am

    @SFAW:

    I believe it’s in another country.

  60. 60.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 8:46 am

    @SFAW:

    He pulled it off politically, if not in reality. They never mention the single most important stat in his political career, which is that he lost his re-elect. It’s unprecedented. They treat him like a two term President who was termed out. He didn’t earn that.

  61. 61.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 8:47 am

    @Kay:

    Agreed 100%.  My biggest concern is that a lot of the beneficiaries of that approach are taking it for granted, so we’ll get the downside about none of the upside.

    We’ll see though.

  62. 62.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 8:47 am

    @Baud:

    highly educated extremely wealthy pansy ass financiar types as their cult leaders.

    Who would they be? Because TFG doesn’t fit that description. [Actually being sort-of serious. Don’t know what got into me.]

  63. 63.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 25, 2022 at 8:48 am

    @Baud:

    Apparently the Bahamas.

  64. 64.

    Ken

    January 25, 2022 at 8:49 am

    @SFAW: Now you have me wondering if the flag-of-convenience nations also insist the company incorporate in their country. From a check of the wikipedia article it sounds like they don’t.

  65. 65.

    Soprano2

    January 25, 2022 at 8:49 am

    @Kay: This isn’t surprising; he got the press to treat him differently than any other candidate or president when it comes to pretty much everything else, so why not in defeat also?

  66. 66.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 8:50 am

    @SFAW:

    I think be does, except maybe not technically a financiar, although a real estate developer is worse, perhaps.

    Recently, Glenn Youngkin in VA.

  67. 67.

    satby

    January 25, 2022 at 8:50 am

    @prostratedragon: We have them on this side of the lake too! Don’t know if this will work, but Joshua Nowicki has good shots of them on his public FB page. Unfortunately not on his personal pages where he sells his work.

  68. 68.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 8:50 am

    @Baud:

    On this and on Afghanistan I really do blame the Left. They’re fucking dopes. This was the most liberal approach to the economy in my adult life and they just fucking MISSED the opportunity to sell it. Slept thru it. Were whining about eviction trees so didn’t see the forest.

    They’re morons. With friends like them working people don’t need enemies. I kept thinking “oh, they’ll see what’s going on here, that this is an ideological battle” but they never did.

  69. 69.

    Starfish

    January 25, 2022 at 8:51 am

    Have we ever seen a President attack and malign the free press like Joe Biden has??
    — Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) January 24, 2022

    You mean as, say, the “enemies of the people?” After which a gunman entered a newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland and murdered five people? I have a vague memory of that happening, yes. https://t.co/Vq5ihcFaGs
    — David Simon (@AoDespair) January 25, 2022

  70. 70.

    Chief Oshkosh

    January 25, 2022 at 8:51 am

    @Ken: Hey, now there’s a strategy. Just feed Fux Snooze stories that they think will play with their shithead audience, distracting them from what we’re really doing.

    You know, things like improving the lives of every American that isn’t a billionaire.

  71. 71.

    prostratedragon

    January 25, 2022 at 8:51 am

    @rikyrah: That first person camera is hilarious. Didn’t turn on the sound because I’ve heard quite enough whining lately, but the camera movement makes it absolutely clear what’s going on.

  72. 72.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 8:52 am

    @Baud:

    I tend to agree with that assessment. I hope there are some loud Dem voices (figuratively) screaming persistently about all the great things President Biden has done (or tried to do) for them. It may end up not making any difference, but if they don’t at least try hard, we’ll never know.

  73. 73.

    Wakeshift

    January 25, 2022 at 8:53 am

    @rikyrah:

    Probably because Google Meet is 3x as many syllables:

    ”I’ll send you an invite to a Google Me…

    We’ll just Zoom.”

    //

  74. 74.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 8:54 am

    @Kay:

    Yeah, but not just them.  Are regular workers making the connection?  I don’t see any gains. If workers prefer low wages and lower inflation, then the GOP will hand it to them.

  75. 75.

    prostratedragon

    January 25, 2022 at 8:54 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:  Weather folks around here are watching it like it’s never happened before, so in a couple more days we should see some interesting evolutions — forecast -5 tonight should speed things up.

  76. 76.

    Soprano2

    January 25, 2022 at 8:54 am

    @SFAW: What shocks me are the people who will tell a reporter that TFG is still actually president! I know people can fool themselves, but how can they fool themselves that much? I saw one say that to Jordan Klepper, who in his usual quick fashion then asked didn’t that mean Afghanistan was TFG’s fault? They guy said “Uh, no”, which reveals I have no idea what.

  77. 77.

    germy

    January 25, 2022 at 8:54 am

    Let’s not be too hasty with the 300 a month for poor kids, says, uh, Charles Nelson III of Harvard https://t.co/v9uTc4Q024 pic.twitter.com/Mx5t1d7d2r

    — Aviva Shen (@avivash) January 25, 2022

    Thurston Howell III says “Let’s not be hasty with these entitlements…”

  78. 78.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 8:55 am

    @Baud:

    TFG ain’t “highly educated,” nor is he “extremely wealthy,” nor is he a “financial type” (unless grifters are now somehow “financial types.”)

    But outside of that …

  79. 79.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 8:56 am

    @SFAW:

    I thought he had a graduate degree in business.

    ETA: And he is extremely wealthy even if he’s not as wealthy as he says.

  80. 80.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 8:57 am

    @Soprano2:

    Had I the skills, I’d create a Venn Diagram showing the overlap  between “morons” and “RWMFs/Trumpists.”

    Hint: it would resemble a circle.

  81. 81.

    Wapiti

    January 25, 2022 at 8:58 am

    @SFAW: I think that the line might be drawn between vulgarity and profanity. Calling someone an SOB is vulgar, lower class stuff. Saying, “My God, you’re stupid!” is profane.

    Vulgar includes all of the words for body parts and their uses.

    Profanity includes the archaic stuff like “God’s Wounds!”, sometimes shortened to “Zounds!”

    I’m not sure where the use of “Cheesy Rice” fits.

  82. 82.

    Soprano2

    January 25, 2022 at 9:01 am

    @Kay: I agree, this was a Bernie Sanders-type approach to what to do in an economic turndown, and instead of promoting how many people it helped they kept whining about how Biden won’t do something with student loan debt he never said he was going to do (something I think he shouldn’t do, there are better ways to fix that problem), complaining about how the pandemic unemployment had to end and why aren’t they extending the eviction moratorium forever? If you just listened to the online extreme left people you’d think Biden and Democrats just left people to fend for themselves. It’s like they can’t stand success when their type of approach is tried if it isn’t done by the right person

    As for Afghanistan, yeah that should have been touted as doing what the American people have wanted for years, but I think that was harder because it was so messy. They really didn’t know how fast the Afghan government would collapse; they thought they had a lot more time to get people out.

  83. 83.

    Steeplejack

    January 25, 2022 at 9:01 am

    @Kay:

    What you said, plus all of the inflation screechers omit the fact that the inflation we currently have is largely the result of the unprecedented annus horribilis of COVID.

  84. 84.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 9:01 am

    @Baud:

    He has a Bachelor’s degree from Penn/Wharton. He might have been granted honorary degrees from various places, but did not earn anything else. [Not clear he “earned” his Bachelor’s. No, not implying anything, just thinking that his whole life has been him cheating.]

    ETA: And we don’t know how wealthy he is, because honest, accurate financial data have never been released. [Also, and it’s just a personal idiosyncrasy: I don’t consider a net worth of $50 M to be “extremely wealthy.” Maybe (for me) it has something to do with percentiles?]

  85. 85.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 25, 2022 at 9:02 am

    @SFAW: Wait a minute, isn’t “financial type” another way of saying “grifter”?

  86. 86.

    NotMax

    January 25, 2022 at 9:02 am

    @rikyrah

    The roster of the Google graveyard approacheth the length of Marley’s chains.

  87. 87.

    prostratedragon

    January 25, 2022 at 9:02 am

    @Baud:  Bachelor only.
    (Can’t express how much it hurt me to type those letters in to wpedia to check. But be it known that I understand.)

  88. 88.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 9:03 am

    @SFAW:

    Ok, thanks. I thought that degree was a graduate level one.  Still college though, and not a place like Liberty U.

  89. 89.

    Subsole

    January 25, 2022 at 9:04 am

    @Kay:

    That’s because they’re trying to bring him back for round 2.

    The press likes Republicans, and wants them to win.

  90. 90.

    Soprano2

    January 25, 2022 at 9:04 am

    We had a high of 61 yesterday; this morning it was 11 when I got up. I wish it would just get cold and stay cold, this whipsawing is worse than it being cold all the time. You can’t get acclimated to the cold this way.

  91. 91.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    January 25, 2022 at 9:05 am

    @Baud: I don’t think TFG has a graduate degree. He took classes in Wharton’s undergrad program.

  92. 92.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 9:06 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Well, in Trump-speak it is, but in this plane of reality …

  93. 93.

    Soprano2

    January 25, 2022 at 9:06 am

    @Subsole: I think they like TFG because he would talk to them all the time (never mind that it was incomprehensible babble), and he made them a shit ton of money. They brush off the “enemy of the people” rhetoric and threats to put them in jail as not really serious.

  94. 94.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 25, 2022 at 9:07 am

    @SFAW: Obviously, you haven’t read as much Michael Lewis as I have.

  95. 95.

    prostratedragon

    January 25, 2022 at 9:08 am

    @satby:  Wow. Got no joy from the fbook link, but searched his name for images and, to repeat, wow!

  96. 96.

    Geminid

    January 25, 2022 at 9:08 am

    @Kay: The article emphasized that Trump is very concerned about his own won/loss record as an endorser. Another Politico article last week reported that he is considering endorsing two candidates in some primaries. This is partly because the several candidates are hiring different trump-hacks. So Kimberly Guilfoyle lobbies Trump to endorse her candidate, while  Corey Lewandowski tells Trump to endorse his. Trump is too lazy to do his own vetting and he doesn’t know who to trust. But he’s also vain and fears that a losing endorsee will reflect on him. So he could hedge his bets by endorsing two.

    But any story coming out of Trump-world is suspect. It’s likely a product of rivalry and backstabbing among his henchmen. That crowd would make a den of vipers blush.

  97. 97.

    satby

    January 25, 2022 at 9:12 am

    @prostratedragon: oh, too bad, because he does some great videos, and the one of the undulating pancake ice is hypnotic. Like our own photography master (waves at Billin), Nowicki is self taught.

  98. 98.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 9:12 am

    @Baud:

    Look, I realize you need to be contrarian, but his entry into Penn was not exactly on his merits as a brilliant student. [To be more clear, I believe it’s been documented that Fred threw a lot of money at Penn. Right around the time Little Donnie was applying, coincidentally.]

    I will confess, I do not know whether he truly did his own work, and enough of it to graduate. But one (possibly apocryphal) story had a professor, some years afterward, saying that Little Donnie was the stupidest student he’d ever had.

  99. 99.

    Butter Emails!

    January 25, 2022 at 9:14 am

    @Kay:

    The inflation isn’t caused by Biden’s policies. It’s just the one bad mark on a stellar economic performance. Wages are increasing, unemployment is plummetting, GDP and the stock market are increasing. So it gets focused on like the “disappointing” job numbers that end up being phenomenal once they get revised up the next month or the empty shelves which with the exception of frozen dough are no emptier than usual.

    Food price increases are being driven by pandemic related worker shortages as well as employees leaving for better jobs. I expect that a crackdown on immigration and undocumented immigrants is also starting to bare its poisonous fruit.  There’s also food products where supply was reduced during the pandemic due to lack of demand which haven’t been able to recover yet.

    Automobiles and other manufactured goods even when produced domestically are being impacted by shortages in components produced abroad due to Covid illnesses and or lockdowns. This is coupled with a spike in domestic demand due to the strength and speed of our recovery.

    Gas prices are rising as demand rises during the recovery. This is something we’ve seen play out in all the recent boom and bust cycles. You would think people would have caught on by now. The rise is exacerbated by the reluctance of your friendly neighborhood petrostates to raise production which is sort of understandable given the holes blown in their budgets when they practically had to give it away early in the pandemic.

  100. 100.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 9:14 am

    @SFAW:

    I wasn’t talking about his personal intelligence level.  I was referring to the existence of his degree (which I wrongly assumed was a graduate degree.)

  101. 101.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 9:14 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I read “Liar’s Poker,” albeit many years ago, but that’s it.

  102. 102.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 9:15 am

    @Butter Emails!:

    Stock market has been down a little lately, but it’s still solid.

  103. 103.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 25, 2022 at 9:16 am

    Wisconsin health care workers will be allowed to start new jobs at Ascension after judge dismisses temporary restraining order

    APPLETON – Seven health care workers will be able to start their new jobs at Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton after a judge dismissed a temporary restraining order Monday that was barring them from doing so at the request of their former employer, ThedaCare.

    Outagamie County Circuit Court Judge Mark McGinnis ruled that ThedaCare’s arguments were not enough to uphold the injunction.

    McGinnis said he signed the initial restraining order Friday because of the gravity of the situation that ThedaCare laid out in their complaint. Wisconsin statute says the court should give “substantial weight” to any adverse impact on public safety when deciding what to require in the order.

    Lawyers for ThedaCare had argued the region would be in danger of not having health care for severely injured patients or people who had suffered strokes if the seven employees moved to Ascension for their Monday start date.

    But after Monday’s hearing, McGinnis said ThedaCare could rely on alternate staffing solutions it already is pursuing to preserve care, including cross-training employees who do similar jobs at ThedaCare’s Appleton hospital.

    The broader case, in which ThedaCare argues that Ascension inappropriately group-recruited these employees, will go forward in court, but the employees are free to begin their new jobs on Tuesday. A lawyer for ThedaCare said the seven employees would be compensated for Monday’s missed work at the higher wage they would have had if they’d started as planned at Ascension.

    I guess even indentured servants have rights in Wisconsin.

  104. 104.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 9:17 am

    @Baud:

    (which I wrongly assumed was a graduate degree.)

    Yeah, lots of people — myself included — heard “Wharton,” and they assumed B-school (as in MBA-level). I learned that it was only undergrad (re: TFG) back in who-knows-when.

     

    ETA: Re: his “personal intelligence” and Penn: there’s a philosophical discussion to be had re: whether getting into Penn as a “financial legacy” student (meaning daddy bought him a slot) is that different from going to Liberty U., or Upper-Lower Junior College, based on one’s “merits” as a student. And as I indicated earlier, morbid curiosity re: whether he actually did his own work, or Fred paid others to do Donnie’s school work.

  105. 105.

    NotMax

    January 25, 2022 at 9:18 am

    Watched The Good Liar yesterday. Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen, two old pros playing cat and mouse – what’s not to like?

  106. 106.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 9:20 am

    @Steeplejack:

    Biden and the Democrats pushed more economic supports to the bottom and middle than any other country did. Stimulus, enhanced unemployment, PPP, restaurant relief, child tax credit enhancements – it was an experiment in a more liberal economic approach and rather than defend it- because this is a long term shft they want- piously liberal and Lefty commentators and pundits ignored the big picture and tediously (and boringly) nitpicked. Poor and working class people shouldn’t rely on the Left. They’re lousy, self absorbed and clueless advocates. They lose because they deserve to lose.

    50% reduction in child poverty. There’s a (single) study out that saw brain changes in really low income children because of the money Biden and Democrats distributed directly to the those families. Liberals and Lefties should have been out every day defending it.

  107. 107.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 25, 2022 at 9:22 am

    @SFAW: I haven’t read everything he’s ever written, but I highly recommend the “Big Short” and “Flash Boys”. One of these days I gotta get “The New New Thing”.

  108. 108.

    Butter Emails!

    January 25, 2022 at 9:22 am

    @Baud:

    Stock market is way up from when he took office. The current doldrums are in part due to failure of BBB which had been factored into a lot of economic growth models.

  109. 109.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 25, 2022 at 9:24 am

    @SFAW: One of his professors said he was “the dumbest son of a bitch” he’d ever had as a student.

  110. 110.

    Subsole

    January 25, 2022 at 9:26 am

     

     

    @Soprano2: I can see that for Trump. But…

    Why then the fawning love affair with Youngkin, or JD Vance? Or that ridiculous little noodle in a necktie called Paul Ryan?

    Why do they tear ever muscle in their bodies trying to find a bold new blue eyed wonder boy who’s gonna save the GOP, every couple years?

    This is well past a business calculation. These people – or at the very least the folks who sign their paychecks – are lying to themselves in a very consistent and specific manner.

    This is an emotional need, on their part.

  111. 111.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 9:26 am

    @Butter Emails!:

    Inflation, too, and the perceived/expected Fed response. [No, I don’t want to rat-hole this into an inflation discussion. However, I think it would be helpful if someone made a graph showing the current price increases overlaid on where they would have been without 1-2 years of price flatness due to the Trump Pandemic.]

  112. 112.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 9:28 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Yeah, I remember reading that. Sadly, that prof has passed away, so it’s now only a second-hand account.

  113. 113.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 9:28 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    My daughter is a PA and they’re in high demand in her area right now. She was approached by a recruiter to leave her current job and go to another, so she went to the facility that was hiring, spend a day there following and looking around and decided against it. She had met with a doc so she emailed doc and copied recruiter turning down offer. Busy doc emailed recruiter, inadvertently copying my daughter “what does she want!? Call her” Everyone hiring right now is that doctor :)

  114. 114.

    NotMax

    January 25, 2022 at 9:28 am

    @Subsole

    There can be only one. Until another comes along.

    //

  115. 115.

    Obvious Russian Troll

    January 25, 2022 at 9:30 am

    @NotMax: While I’m still not entirely clear about the relationship between Hangouts and Meet (same code base? different code base? neither would surprise me), Hangouts was a buggy mess. At one point I ran into a bug where audio would work for everyone but one person in the call. It was consistent and really frustrating and led us to drop it.

    I don’t think it got better with Meet. Google has never been good at focusing on products outside their core expertise even when they have something that could be competitive (leading to the graveyard you pointed out).

  116. 116.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 9:32 am

    @Kay:

    My wife and daughter work at the same community hospital. The patient census has been at or near 100 percent of capacity for months, and they’re both stretched thin.

  117. 117.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 9:33 am

    @NotMax:

    There can be only one.

    I wonder what would happen to them if they ran into Connor MacLeod

  118. 118.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 25, 2022 at 9:34 am

    @SFAW: Which is still better than trump’s mouth. Hearsay beats flat out lies any day.

  119. 119.

    JMG

    January 25, 2022 at 9:35 am

    In 1950, the Washington Post ran a review of a piano and singing recital by Margaret Truman, the President’s daughter. It was unfavorable. Harry Truman’s response was to send a LETTER to the critic, which while containing no swears, did state that if Truman ever met the guy, he’d break his nose, give him a black eye, and kick him in the groin. The national response, to the extent there was any, was a big laugh. Truman, BTW, did not apologize.

  120. 120.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 25, 2022 at 9:35 am

    @Kay: Cool, she should work it as hard as she can: “I want the moon, the stars…”

  121. 121.

    Subsole

    January 25, 2022 at 9:36 am

    @Kay: I’ve read those online socialistas.

    Bold of you to assume they are advocating for (or indeed care a whit for) anything but an increase in clout and income for online socialists.

    Seriously. If you took half the people Bernie platformed and cleared their loans – just theirs, no one else’s – they’d be marching in the streets with tiki torches and chanting about Jews.

    The fact those soulless, glassy-eyed absolute scumfuck mercenaries think they are in any way better than the imaginary capitalists living in their heads is astounding.

    Imagine those taintwipes staffing a presidential cabinet…we dodged like, at least five bullets in 2020.

  122. 122.

    geg6

    January 25, 2022 at 9:37 am

    @Baud:
    Pretty sure that was an undergrad degree.​
     
    And a disgrace on the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

  123. 123.

    Soprano2

    January 25, 2022 at 9:39 am

    @Kay: 50% reduction in child poverty. There’s a (single) study out that saw brain changes in really low income children because of the money Biden and Democrats distributed directly to the those families. Liberals and Lefties should have been out every day defending it.

    But Kay, Biden didn’t forgive their $50,000 student loan debt so in their minds he really didn’t do anything. *rolleyes* They have the dumbest attitude toward political stuff that if you don’t get everything you want you didn’t get anything, and should complain incessantly about what you didn’t get rather than championing what you did, because they really think that’s how you get what you want. You notice that regular Democrats do tout a lot of this every chance they get, but that’s boring so the press doesn’t pay that much attention to it.

  124. 124.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 9:39 am

    @SFAW:

    The main reason she won’t switch is she loves her daycare and the new job would make staying there impractical. They stayed open all thru the pandemic specifically to serve “essential workers” – taking a huge hit because half the kids weren’t there, which I hope (and assume) they mitigated with federal supports or they would be out of business- and she really seems to see them as people who went thru this with her and her daughter.

  125. 125.

    geg6

    January 25, 2022 at 9:42 am

    @SFAW: ​
     
    Plus, he didn’t make it in on his first try. He was a transfer student. Now, transfer students are generally great, but most of the ones I deal with are not transferring because they couldn’t get in here in the first place. They usually had a bad fit/experience at the previous school or went to community college the first two years to save money.

  126. 126.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 9:46 am

    Matthew A. Seligman
    @Matt_Seligman
    ·2h
    ECA reform *is* tackling election subversion. The vulnerabilities in the ECA are a primary mechanism for election subversion, *especially* by state officials. It doesn’t solve everything, but it solves a whole lot.

    People keep saying this but it isn’t true. They can’t just state that “ECA reform” fixes it. There is no Republican “ECA reform” on the table. They have said some things! That’s certainly true! Some vague murmering by Susan Collins. But insisting there is some kind of “GOP/Manchin/Sinema compromise that exists is just not true.
    ECA reform might help but since they don’t know what would be in it, they don’t know.

  127. 127.

    Cliosfanboy

    January 25, 2022 at 9:48 am

    @JMG: I thought he didn’t mail it, and the letter was found in Truman’s papers later.  (I may mis-remember)

  128. 128.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 9:48 am

    @Soprano2:

    This is more profound than their stupidity on not seeing that Obamacare was a big win for poor people just on the expansion of Medicaid alone. That was just healthcare. This is the whole economic ideology of the last 40 years. It’s supposedly their reason for being. To just…miss it? Good Lord. Might want to find some new advocates.

  129. 129.

    debbie

    January 25, 2022 at 9:50 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    The poor dears!

  130. 130.

    satby

    January 25, 2022 at 9:53 am

    @SFAW: last week Kevin Drum charted the inflation trends; not exactly what you’re asking for, but close maybe?

  131. 131.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 9:54 am

    Matthew A. Seligman
    @Matt_Seligman
    Fellow
    @YaleLawSch

    The Fellow at Yale Law School hasn’t seen the electoral law act reforms Republicans + Manchin and Sinema propose or would support, but would like you to know they “fix” the overturning elections problem.

  132. 132.

    Geminid

    January 25, 2022 at 9:57 am

    @Soprano2: The student loan debate will heat up again this Spring. I believe the moratorium was extended to May 1. There was a lot going on as the old moratorium was about to expire, and the question may be more fully examined this time around.

    I read that Eric Swallwell has drafted a law that would give some relief through interest rate reduction. There may be other partial reforms proposed.

  133. 133.

    NotMax

    January 25, 2022 at 9:57 am

    @JMG

    The other Margaret Truman.

    :)

  134. 134.

    Ohio Mom

    January 25, 2022 at 9:57 am

    @satby: Those photos of the ice formations on the Michigan beach are astonishing.

    It’s hard to remember when you are ensconced in your cozy suburban ranch house how weird a planet we live on. Thank you for the reminder.9

  135. 135.

    Anonymous At Work

    January 25, 2022 at 9:58 am

    Best comparison I can find is that Peter Doocey is what would happen if Jimmy Carter worked for Fox News and Billy Carter’s most bumbling offspring needed a job.

  136. 136.

    Peale

    January 25, 2022 at 10:01 am

    Correct response from Biden would have been “I understand that inflation is a problem, so I’m doing everything I can to combat the issues. Which is why I’m ordering the Marines to invade Argentina tomorrow to take any durum wheat they have, so that you’ll have pasta again by May.”

  137. 137.

    Gin & Tonic

    January 25, 2022 at 10:01 am

    JP Morgan has withdrawn from/closed out all its positions in Russian currency.

  138. 138.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 10:03 am

    Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Angus King are set to spearhead an ECA reform bill. And a growing bipartisan group of lawmakers, which is led by Manchin and GOP Sen. Susan Collins, is also working on the issue separately. Senators in this group are also considering the inclusion of more funding for elections and federal protections against harassment and intimidation of election workers in what would potentially be a bipartisan package.

    Do the two most full of shit performance artists in their respective Parties “working on” something or other make you confident either will come through?
    The truth is there’s only one real proposal for reforming the electoral count act and it’s exclusively Democratic senators.
    Manchin and Collins said some things. We know what that means- nothing. Political reporters will cover what Manchin and Collins say because they are determined to find good faith where there is none, but as you know it means absolutely nothing.

  139. 139.

    Another Scott

    January 25, 2022 at 10:03 am

    One for Geminid – Blue Virginia.US – Rep Bob Good gets a primary opponent

    Hard to tell if hard TFG-ism with a whispered kinder face will actually sell to them. It’s good that there will be a battle though. (Kinda like I expected – too many people think that they are entitled to be next and won’t sit back.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  140. 140.

    satby

    January 25, 2022 at 10:05 am

    @Ohio Mom: The sand ice sculptured by the wind? They are!

    I love the lake shore in winter (tbh, all the time) and I saw that often. Also in summer, smaller ones form under beach pebbles which hold the sand under them in place during windy days while the surrounding sand blows away. It’s a different beach every day. I lived close to where Nowicki photographs, my exchange girls were in school a mile from that beach. I miss being able to just get there in 10 minutes for a beach walk. Now it’s a 45 minute drive.

  141. 141.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 10:07 am

    @Geminid:

    I bet Democrats are worried about cratering with young people though, and they are cratering with young people. They better figure out why that is, not just for the midterms but for longer term viability of the Party. I don’t think ignoring it is the best approach. Something is going on there.

  142. 142.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 10:07 am

    @Geminid:

    I bet Democrats are worried about cratering with young people though, and they are cratering with young people. They better figure out why that is, not just for the midterms but for longer term viability of the Party. I don’t think ignoring it is the best approach. Something is going on there.

  143. 143.

    germy

    January 25, 2022 at 10:07 am

    Biden rarely drops curses, but when he does it's a Doocy.

    — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) January 25, 2022

  144. 144.

    Jeffro

    January 25, 2022 at 10:10 am

    I went to bed a little early last night and woke up to find out that

    1) Apparently, centrist super-moderate Republican Glenn Youngkin is going to have a ‘tip line’ where concerned parents can report sketchy behavior/teaching/CRT! Coming from their young us’ public school teachers.  One of our state senators is having a field day about how well that’s gonna go (aka, “snitches get k-pop” ?)

    2) That same centrist super-moderate Republican was all-in on promoting DEI when he was CEO of the Carlyle Group, calling it a ‘must’ and a ‘competitive advantage’.  Even offered to match donations to the Southern Poverty Law Center(!)

    Media, oh media, wherefore are thou?

    (and where are they re: Youngkin’s kids attending a private, mask-mandatory school…in Maryland???)

  145. 145.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 25, 2022 at 10:10 am

    @Cliosfanboy:

    The music critic in question was a man named Paul Hume. Decades later, I worked with his daughter at the Atlanta Opera. And that was going on 40 years ago!

  146. 146.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 10:10 am

    For all I know Manchin and Collins are “working on” electoral reform act reforms specifically to block any progress on a reform of the electoral count act. That would be much more in keeping with their actions than “good faith”. The pie in the sky view is they intend to do something productive. That’s the long shot.

  147. 147.

    Geminid

    January 25, 2022 at 10:11 am

    @Kay: A lot of the people on the left just want political power. They will ignore policies that help real people if these policies have been implemented by their adversary, and their adversary is the moderate/liberal Democratic coalition.

  148. 148.

    NotMax

    January 25, 2022 at 10:11 am

    @germy

    Semi-obligatory.

    ;)

  149. 149.

    SFAW

    January 25, 2022 at 10:14 am

    @satby: Thanks for the link, but you’re right, it’s not really what I’m looking for. I guess what I want is something showing where prices would be had inflation been “normal”/typical during the pandemic (instead of flat/negative for some portion of it), and comparing that to where they actually are today.

    Of course, considering how supply chain constraints are (perhaps) a key driver of inflation, it may be a moot issue. But it might still show that Commodity X would have been at, say, $150 had historical trends been followed, vs. $160 in the current situation.

  150. 150.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 10:15 am

    @Geminid:

    But “policies” aren’t the issue here. What they needed to do was look past “policies” and recognize that there was a brief window for a shift Left in the whole economic frame we’ve operated under since the 1980s and Biden and Democrats took the opening. They should have been hooting and hollering and cheering from the sidelines. Income supports! To the bottom and middle! Go team!

    Instead, they did exactly what they have done since 1993. They just didn’t see it.

  151. 151.

    JML

    January 25, 2022 at 10:15 am

    The infuriating thing about the inflation discussion is the price hikes that have people upset aren’t about inflation at all: they’re about supply chain. My grocery bill isn’t up significantly because of inflation, it’s because meat packing plants are struggling (mostly because of their own greed and inhumane behavior, but the effects are shortages and higher prices). My home heating bill isn’t up because of inflation, it’s because Texas couldn’t be bothered to insulate their pipelines and suddenly there’s a massive run on natural gas, and the energy companies are trying to pay off the the massive additional costs they incurred last Feb.

    That’s what people are cranky about from an economic perspective, not %$@#%$^$#^$# inflation. But now we have the bobos from FauxNews trying to make every economic thing inflation (which they can blame on Biden) and the rubes are going to buy it.

  152. 152.

    Jeffro

    January 25, 2022 at 10:16 am

    @Another Scott: Bob Good is such a prick, I can see this primary challenge happening.  Especially if this new guy is backed by a lot of R dark money, which I suspect he is.  Especially if Good starts getting dragged into 1/6 hearings and stuff, which I suspect he will.

    The new guy is the Koch’s backup plan for keeping the district, methinks.

  153. 153.

    artem1s

    January 25, 2022 at 10:18 am

    I predict his not-swear (more politically incorrect than a swear IMO) will endear him to his voters. The same way calling out ZEGS on his ‘malarkey’ in the VP debates energized the base. Ryan was never the same after Joe took him down a notch. It won’t register with most people but those who demand POTUS give them rainbow ponies via executive orders will probably eat it up.

  154. 154.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 10:18 am

    @JML:

    It isn’t just Fox though. They cover nothing else in the economy BUT inflation. It’s “but her emails” level skewing.

  155. 155.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 25, 2022 at 10:19 am

    @Kay: A nice thing about not reading Twitter is that I am no longer exposed on an hourly basis to the people who consider student loan forgiveness the be-all and end-all of progressive economics.

    (I am ALL FOR student loan forgiveness! But the tunnel vision is excruciating. The idea that if they aren’t given student loan forgiveness, everything a Democrat says is a neolib lie.)

  156. 156.

    Geminid

    January 25, 2022 at 10:24 am

    @Kay: Oh, I certainly wouldn’t ignore the student debt problem. I want to find out more about it: who has debt, how young people who don’t have it feel about cancellation. That’s why I look forward to all this geting hashed out, and compromises developed, and with a better plan to move deal with more general problems of higher education.

    In the meantime, though, I hope the advocates of student debt cancellation put some energy into the fight for universal Pre-K. That’s not dead yet, and it would do a lot of good in the long run, not just for one group but for all of us.

  157. 157.

    marklar

    January 25, 2022 at 10:27 am

    @germy: Just gonna defend Charles Nelson here for a second.

    This is probably “selectively quoting” by the FTFNYT.  I had Chuck as a teacher in grad school years ago for a seminar on how early childhood stress affects brain development and cognitive function.

    He’s definitely an ally in this, or he wouldn’t have been brought in as a consultant.

    I’m willing to bet his concern is with the scientific rigor of the conclusion regarding the study.  He’s completely correct that we should not conclude behavioral changes from neurological changes until we have the opportunity to actually measure the behaviors.  As such, we need to be careful to say that the extra $300/month has been shown to improve cognitive function– that’s a premature conclusion.  Likely true, but not yet proven, and as such not something you should hang your hat on.

    OTOH, that $300/month has been proven to decrease poverty, increase food security, provide more parent-child interaction, increase comfort (all things that will invariably improve cognition down the road), and we can make a strong case for extension for the benefits based on what is proven.

    Just my 2 Canadian cents (worth about 1.6 Yankee cents)

  158. 158.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 25, 2022 at 10:33 am

    @Kay: I would start by comparing it to 18-30 YOs’ support for Obama in early 2010, or Clinton in ’94, so see if there isn’t some pattern of support dropping off as the poetry of campaigns turns to the prose of governing.

    One of the reasons I’m consistently unimpressed with politicians who I’m told speak to young people is what they tell young people is frequently bullshit, overselling possibilities and dumbing down the realities of politics.

  159. 159.

    Geminid

    January 25, 2022 at 10:39 am

    @Another Scott: Well, I’m still interested in the 5th District, and most of my friends still live there. But I am now ten miles into the new 7th District, which will be represented by Abigail Spanberger once the primary and general election are over.

    It’s hard for me to imagine this Moy guy winning a primary against Bob Good, though. Good’s a Liberty University man, and their network should bring out enough 5th District bible thumpers to win a caucus and convention nomination. And Good’s really mean, and the tea party cranks like that.

  160. 160.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 10:42 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Biden has really tanked with them. I don’t think Democrats should rely on past performance trends as much as they have in the past. I think a lot of unpredecented stuff is going on, and they need to really open it up and take a fresh look. I think broadly. I’m more afraid of conventional analysis in an uncertain envrionment than I am of making a mistake by experimenting.

    I want them to look at it. Fresh eyes. Resist the urge to say this is the dip we always see and find out what it is they’re watching and listening to and saying. Embrace the uncertainty! :)

  161. 161.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 10:46 am

    @Kay:

    I’d love for them to be able to figure it out, but my guess is that young people are more inclined to be contrarian, despite our efforts for them to be more ideologically committed.

  162. 162.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 10:47 am

    @Geminid:

    Student debt is maybe the cause of the Democrats young people problem. I don’t know that it is, but I would bet they know they have a young people problem.

    They don’t identify as Democrats and young conservatives DO identify as Republicans, and that’s a problem. They identify as liberals! They say they are more liberal than the generation prior and I think that’s true. But Democrats didn’t make the sale to make them Democrats, and they have to.

  163. 163.

    JWR

    January 25, 2022 at 10:48 am

    RIP, kind sir.

    Drummer Charlie Watts, Rolling Stones backbone, dies at 80

  164. 164.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 10:49 am

    @JWR:

    Wait, again?

  165. 165.

    JWR

    January 25, 2022 at 10:51 am

    Good gravy. On NBC this morning, That Hoda person “reported” the Biden hot-mic incident by saying he’d been caught “swearing” on a live mic. Kelly O’Donnal added that Biden had grown frustrated at all the Ukraine questions when he wanted to talk about the economy, but when Doocy asked a question about “economics”, Biden made that nasty remark. I forget which adjective she used to describe what he said, but it made it sound much more serious than it actually was..

    Both of those women take Peter Doocy seriously. (This is my shocked face being shocked.)

  166. 166.

    Mike in NC

    January 25, 2022 at 10:51 am

    Joe shouldn’t have apologized to the imbecile Doocey. It lets him look like an actual journalist instead of a FOX News hack.

  167. 167.

    Miss Bianca

    January 25, 2022 at 10:52 am

    @rikyrah: Because Google Meet kinda sucks, from my perspective. Only one group that I cover uses it for their virtual access, and I find it murky in terms of both sound and video.

  168. 168.

    JWR

    January 25, 2022 at 10:52 am

    @Baud: Oh good lord. Sorry, everybody. Dunno how I got that so wrong. Now back to lurking. It’s safer. ;)

  169. 169.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 10:53 am

    @Baud:

    Party committed. They’re already ideologically committed. We assume the last jump, from “liberal” to “Democratic voter” but they don’t, so we shouldn’t. They don’t identify as Democrats. A lot of them will say it “I’m not really.. or I’m not”, FTF, normal people not uber connected Lefties. I would suggest Democrats think of it as “our voters in the last election”. Them.

  170. 170.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 10:59 am

    @Kay:

    I don’t know if they’re ideologically committed.  It’s easy to mouth the words, but that doesn’t signal commitment to me.

    Young conservatives want to defeat the liberalism in the system, so they have no problem identifying as Republicans.

    Young liberals, I think, want to defeat the political system and there’s no way around the fact that Dems are part of the political system.

    I think we’re stuck.  Not optimistic on finding a solution, but doesn’t mean we don’t try.

  171. 171.

    Soprano2

    January 25, 2022 at 11:04 am

    @Kay: Well, Kay, most of them didn’t benefit from it personally, so they were mad. That’s the only explanation I can come up with for their total failure to tout the success of the ideology they’ve been pushing for the past 20 years. Oh, and their favored leader didn’t spearhead it, so there’s that too.

  172. 172.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 11:06 am

    @Baud:

    Democrats don’t do as much Party building as Republicans do. The events, the star speakers, the whole thing. Republicans have some kind of regional or national Party building event at least once a month. It’s like a weak muscle. For decades Democrats outsourced it to labor unions and then they outsourced it to liberal orgs. They have to do it themselves or they’re going to have fractious, self interested groups all sparring for a piece of The Democrats. They haven’t integrated it into any cohesive whole, and Republicans have.

  173. 173.

    Soprano2

    January 25, 2022 at 11:08 am

    @Geminid: I believe there are ways to reform the student loan program, and ways to help people who are struggling with student loan debt now, but I think $50,000 of “loan forgiveness” is a bad idea. Who do they think is going to loan money ever again if this happens? I think a combination of fixing programs that were supposed to forgive loans in exchange for working at certain kinds of jobs, which is already in progress, interest rate reform, expanding Pell Grants, and allowing discharge of student loan debt under bankruptcy with conditions is a much better way to fix the problem than waving a magic wand and forgiving debt for people who already took it out. What about future loan recipients? Maybe we should fix things so people don’t feel like they need massive loan forgiveness.

  174. 174.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 11:08 am

    @Kay:

    Ok, fair.  I think everyone agrees that one easy and non-controversial thing Dems can improve on is outreach and organization.

  175. 175.

    Geminid

    January 25, 2022 at 11:11 am

    @Baud: Young voters may have particular issues that are especially salient to them, but they are affected by the economy like everyone else. I don’t think there has been a better time to enter the work force in decades. So one good way to appeal to young people might be to identify this economy as a Democratic achievement, and identify Republicans as a threat to a good economy. These arguments can be made to voters of all ages, ethnicities, and gender.

  176. 176.

    JML

    January 25, 2022 at 11:15 am

    @Soprano2: Not wrong. Properly funding public higher education so people have a choice as well would be better long-term; while I have sympathy for people struggling with student loan debt…I have less sympathy for the person who racked up $100K in debt because they chose to go to a very expensive school and took 6 years to graduate. And I don’t think the for-profit schools should get let off the hook for their bad behavior in stripping people dry, either, ands to some extent that’s what cancelling student debt does.

    What cancelling student debt doesn’t do is fix things going forward at all, just resets it for the next generation to get screwed by schools with a high price tag and a big loan model. It also keeps higher education elitist, where many people never see it as even an option (when it could be) because they see the sticker price and assume “no way can I make this happen”.

  177. 177.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 11:20 am

    Rachel Cohen is a really good education reporter and something of a contrarian in that she doesn’t follow the herd.

    Here’s her take on Democrats and public schools in the midterms- rosier than the herd:

    If you’ve read any national news stories over the past few months about the political implications of pandemic-induced school closures, you’ve likely come across Brian Stryker’s name. He’s become the go-to source for reporters and commentators—particularly those at The New York Times. The paper ran a Q&A with him in early December titled, “A Pollster’s Warning to Democrats: ‘We Have a Problem.’” His work has been cited in subsequent op-eds of The New York Times and was featured prominently in a recent Times piece built around the idea that more omicron-induced school closures urged by teachers’ unions could spell disaster for Democrats next fall.

    Cohen was the reporter who noticed that the polling of white parents and AA and Latino parents diverged on covid mitigation efforts, and it really did diverge, yet the white parent polling was the only polling presented. She’s rigorous.

  178. 178.

    Baud

    January 25, 2022 at 11:25 am

    @Geminid:

    Hopefully, that’s all it’ll take.  Sometimes I can’t help but feel we burn a lot of energy chasing the “cool kids” at the risk of ignoring everyone else.

    Most likely a gross oversimplification, but what isn’t these days?

  179. 179.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 11:26 am

    @Geminid:

    Party building isn’t done 3 months before an election. That’s organizing. Party building is where you bring your voters into the Party – where you’re not asking them for anything but instead giving them something – an event, a roster of speakers, a chance to meet other Democrats.

    To organize them you have to first bring them in. They’re not Democrats. Making the first approach “come work for free for Democrats” is just not how it’s done.

  180. 180.

    cain

    January 25, 2022 at 11:30 am

    @NotMax:

    Real Estate Agent: “This is just a lovely place, which such an interesting past!”

    House seeker: “Wait a minute, is that… blood?”

    Real Estate Agent: “Oh silly! Let’s move upstairs, the master bedroom is such a delight!”

  181. 181.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 11:39 am

    @Geminid:

    Democrats raise the same amount of money that Republicans do. I mean, it varies but there’s no structural inequity. It’s fair to ask them why their only Party contact with their voters from the last cycle comes 3 months before they need them the next cycle. There’s an entire missed step in there. It’s not an effective organization, and members and donors should ask that it be improved. Not by Joe Biden. Not his job.

  182. 182.

    Lacuna Synecdoche

    January 25, 2022 at 11:40 am

    Some people say that calling Pete Doocy a “son of a bitch” wasn’t fair to his mom, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Doocy’s mom the President was referring to.

  183. 183.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 25, 2022 at 11:50 am

    @Kay: in all the drama of the race for DNC chair a few years ago, all the candidates including eventual winner Tom Perez pledged to spend money on grassroots party building, specifically by paying young organizers to build up parties on the local level. I don’t know what became of those efforts.

  184. 184.

    Geminid

    January 25, 2022 at 11:52 am

    @Baud: It’s just one avenue of appeal to young voters, and we might use others to good effect. But the economy argument has a broad audience.

    I am reminded of how at times the discussion here was about, how do we appeal to Latino working class and middle class voters? I considered the Latinos I’ve worked with and live among and thought, they want what every thinking person wants: good jobs with good pay, decent health care, and opportunities for education and upward mobility for themselves and their children. That is what Democrats need to offer to everyone, although the outreach may need to be judiciously targeted to reach particular groups.

    And then there is always the path of negative partisanship: demonizing Republicans the way they try to demonize Democrats. The Republican Party is a threat to many things young people hold dear, and maybe they can be made to feel it. “Threat-Emotion-Stakes” framing, as StrikePac’s Rachel Bitecofer puts it.

  185. 185.

    Geminid

    January 25, 2022 at 11:57 am

    @Kay: I wish that New Mexico commenter O.Felix Culpa was around for this discussion. They have done a lot of political outreach to young people in their state, and would have some good practical suggestions on this question

    Now, that could be a good guest post!

  186. 186.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 11:57 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I don’t get it. For years Daily Kos had a kind of national convention and Democrats went to that, but it’s not the same thing. You can’t just outsource the work of building a political Party to loosely or tightly affiliated groups, and if you do you shouldn’t be surprised when they’re not “loyal”. Loyal to what?

    They don’t even have to go local. Hold a giant, rabidly partisan get together like Republicans do. Call it whatever you want. Make some kind of contact with them where it doesn’t involve demanding something from them. How much could it possibly cost? A million dollars annually? It’s chump change in terms of the total they raise.

  187. 187.

    Kay

    January 25, 2022 at 12:03 pm

    In a big win for Michigan, General Motors will invest $7 billion in four manufacturing facilities, making the state the “hub” of electric vehicle development and manufacturing.GM said Tuesday it will spend $2.6 billion to build a new battery factory in the Lansing area and $4 billion to convert its existing factory in Orion Township to make electric pickups. It will also spend about half a billion dollars to make upgrades to its two existing vehicle assembly plants in Lansing.

    Biden should go take credit for this with the two Democratic senators, the D reps and the governor. Trump would. Obama would.
    They can also claim credit for the giant chip facility going up in Ohio, but it’s less effective because we only have one D senator.

  188. 188.

    zhena gogolia

    January 25, 2022 at 12:03 pm

    @Steeplejack (phone): JL Cauvin. It’s one of Cauvin’s most brilliant impressions.

  189. 189.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 25, 2022 at 12:06 pm

    Oh Jim Banks…

    You stupid son of a bitch.

  190. 190.

    Brantl

    January 25, 2022 at 12:30 pm

    Why did he bother to call this moron back? I don’t get that, unless it was to say, “It’s really nothing personal, I really do think you, and most of Fox News, are stupid SOBs.” , other than that, why?

  191. 191.

    Ken

    January 25, 2022 at 1:29 pm

    @Chief Oshkosh: I can see the planning meetings now.

    “Okay, so on Tuesday we’ve got the announcement that the ‘Michelin Man’ will have a new gender-neutral look. That should get us through Thursday, maybe even the weekend if it turns out Carlson was fapping off to that one too. Then we’ve got the NYC streets department lined up to replace the signage in front of the Fox building with the new high-contrast design….”

  192. 192.

    Soprano2

    January 25, 2022 at 1:30 pm

    @Jeffro: The press thinks Republican hypocrisy is boring, plus Republicans don’t care that their politicians are hypocrites. Democrats should be making hay out of this, anyhow.

  193. 193.

    Soprano2

    January 25, 2022 at 1:37 pm

    @JML: What cancelling student debt doesn’t do is fix things going forward at all, just resets it for the next generation to get screwed by schools with a high price tag and a big loan model. It also keeps higher education elitist, where many people never see it as even an option (when it could be) because they see the sticker price and assume “no way can I make this happen”.

    This, all of it. The “cancel student debt” people are in the end selfish unless they’re advocating a bunch of other things that would fix the situation for the future. I’ve seen people saying the federal government should make higher ed more affordable, but I don’t know how they do that when higher ed is a private and state-based system.

  194. 194.

    Geminid

    January 25, 2022 at 2:09 pm

    @Soprano2: I would like to see the advocates of cancelling college debt fight for universal pre-K and free community college. I guess some do. But some seem to focus only on this single issue that helps a narrower range of people, not all of whom even need the help.

    A few people just use it as a wedge issue to tear down Democrats. If Joe Biden cancelled student debt today, these bad faith critics would be pushing a different reason to disparage Democrats tomorrow.

    These are a couple reasons that I am skeptical of this cause that go beyond the merits. I’m trying to keep an open mind, though. That’s one reason I hope this issue gets thoroughly debated this Spring.

  195. 195.

    Just One More Canuck

    January 25, 2022 at 3:09 pm

    @Geminid: Isn’t there a single Republican who actually lives in Pennsylvania willing to run for Senate? Even if it’s just to grift.

  196. 196.

    Geminid

    January 25, 2022 at 4:09 pm

    @Just One More Canuck: I think there are a couple people running who live there. McCormick did grow up near Pittsburg, and he probably has bought a house there already. He may have waited to announce until he did.

    Dr. Oz is a special case. He’s not only from New Jersey, but he also holds Turkish citizenship in addition to American. I have a hunch Oz’s opponents will not let that fact slip by unnoticed.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Political Action

Postcard Writing Information

Recent Comments

  • Eunicecycle on Monday Morning Open Thread: Let’s F**king Go! (Sep 25, 2023 @ 8:53am)
  • OzarkHillbilly on Monday Morning Open Thread: Let’s F**king Go! (Sep 25, 2023 @ 8:52am)
  • Baud on Monday Morning Open Thread: Let’s F**king Go! (Sep 25, 2023 @ 8:50am)
  • Baud on Monday Morning Open Thread: Let’s F**king Go! (Sep 25, 2023 @ 8:49am)
  • Soprano2 on Monday Morning Open Thread: Let’s F**king Go! (Sep 25, 2023 @ 8:46am)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
We All Need A Little Kindness
What Has Biden Done for You Lately?

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Talk of Meetups – Meetup Planning

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
TaMara
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Join the Fight!

Join the Fight Signup Form
All Join the Fight Posts

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Cole & Friends Learn Español

Introductory Post
Cole & Friends Learn Español

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!