Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

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

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Bark louder, little dog.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

This blog will pay for itself.

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

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

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

Their freedom requires your slavery.

A Senator Walker would also be an insult to reason, rationality, and decency.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / Friday Morning Open Thread: Seeking Balance

Friday Morning Open Thread: Seeking Balance

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======

If you prefer reading to listening, the Atlantic published a transcript of Schwarzenegger’s speech.

… Yet.

Reader Interactions

190Comments

  1. 1.

    bbleh

    … the New York Times has not interviewed people in a diner in Lima, Ohio taking issue with his policies or done a “but Putin supporters think Zelensky’s gone too far” think piece.

    Coming up after the break … Tucker Carlson asks hard-hitting questions about whether these people are being canceled.

  4. 4.

    satby

    A transcript really wouldn’t do justice to the kindness and passion in Schwarzenegger’s  message to the Russian people.

  5. 5.

    germy

    BREAKING: The Biden administration will allow more than 70,000 Afghans in the US to apply for temporary protected status, shielding them from deportation and allowing them to obtain work permits months after the Taliban took over their home country.

    Story soon.

    — Hamed Aleaziz (@Haleaziz) March 16, 2022

    Alhamdulillah. Refugees fleeing war in any part of the world deserve to be welcomed with open arms and open doors. Thank you @POTUS for taking this step. https://t.co/rBAskpuMbk

    — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 17, 2022

  6. 6.

    Matt McIrvin

    Schwarzenegger seems to have appointed himself Speaker-to-Reactionaries, on climate change, COVID, Trumpism and here. It’s a logical job for him because of his accumulated cachet, though I don’t know how effective he really is. I think a lot of American conservatives already see him as a discredited RINO.

  8. 8.

    Gin & Tonic

    At long last, my DIL has received her actual visa. She said her hands were shaking, but it’s the real thing. Green card will be sent once she actually enters the US (and pays the fee.)

  9. 9.

    NotMax

    Luck of the Irish? (Even though I’m not.)

    Brand spanking new Ford Maverick hybrid pick-up ordered last August arrived at the dealership on the 17th. Trip into town to spend 3½ hours at the dealer getting all the paperwork shipshape, signed and sealed and also take a short test drive,

    Final dealer prep, DMV docs, et cetera supposed to be completed in order for me to take possession of it on Monday.

    If you’ve only seen pix of the vehicle online, they don’t come close to showing how capacious the cab is in real life. Had over the weekend extracted the audio from several YouTube videos and converted some other music from CDs to mp3 (surprisingly easy-peasy to do) and plopped all those files on to a dongle-sized USB thumb drive to make sure they’d be recognized and would play on the audio system. Salesman who came along on the test drive was gobsmacked: “I had no idea that could be done!”

    First impression of how it handled on test drive? One word: delightful.

  10. 10.

    Geminid

    @Matt McIrvin: Schwarzenegger won’t persuade reactionaries on issues like climate change, but he can help solidify the majority of people who want the U.S. to act on the climate threat.

  16. 16.

    gene108

    Arnold has an ability to personally connect to WW2 in a way most Americans cannot.

    It ads weight to his convictions.

  20. 20.

    Tony Jay

    My son’s school is having a charity day today where the kids can pay £1 to wear their own clothes as long as they’re either red, blue or yellow. Not entirely sure what charity the red represents, but the blue and yellow is for Ukraine. Being the ethical little tyke he is, my boy has gone in wearing red, blue and yellow with £3 clutched in his sweaty little palm. He didn’t see why one of the charities should miss out.

    OTOH, I’ve discovered that, while he understands more or less what is going on with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (as in the general facts of the matter, not the twisted reasoning behind it) he has a little bit of a problem pronouncing the name of Ukraine’s President. So I’m hoping they don’t talk too much about it in class, otherwise he’s going to have to explain to his baffled teachers and classmates exactly who ‘Volodymyr Ze.. Ze.. Lasagne‘ is. Bless his little (yellow) socks.

  22. 22.

    Kalakal

    @Gin & Tonic: That’s wonderful. I came on a different visa to her (K1) and got a Red card within a couple of weeks, The actual  Green Card took a couple of years. Also I had to get married within 30 days of arrival :)

  23. 23.

    Jeffro

    @Elizabelle: I would love to see Arnold team up with Vicente Fox for some more truth-telling.

    Vincente Fox trolling trumpov so. hard. about his daddy issues was a highlight in an otherwise bleak four years.

  26. 26.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Kalakal: Well, you have to be married for two years before you’re eligible for the green card. Since they’ve been married for 2 1/2 years now, there should be no further delay.

  27. 27.

    mali muso

    So now that Netflix has brought back Servant of the People by popular request, I queued it up and watched the first episode last night.  It was both fascinating and a little eerie to see a younger Zelenskyy playing the role of everyman thrust into the role of President, not to mention the opening shots of a stunning evening view of Maidan Square.

  30. 30.

    oldgold

    During my sojourn in the sunny South, I have made too much fun of the cultural affectations of Naples – the affluent elephants’ graveyard along the sea. Today, I wish to make amends for this by saluting a local heartwarming familial custom practiced by the natives.

    Nightly, that’s 3:00 PM early bird time, I warily prowled the mean and gritty streets of Naples in search of the perfect Milk of Magnesia Martini. In every swanky saloon I visited there were well-heeled octogenarian Grandfathers dotingly dining alone with their Granddaughters. I salute this remarkable heartwarming display of family values.

     

    P

  31. 31.

    NotMax

    @oldgold

    Put in mind of Jack Klugman’s recollection of fellow actor Ed Begley Sr. showing up every day on the set of 12 Angry Men with a different “niece” clinging to his arm.

  32. 32.

    Kalakal

    @Gin & Tonic: yep, I had a fiancee visa. The Red Card & Social Security card were automatic, I could work legally etc. Getting the Green Card was no real hassle, just took time. Getting the K-1 was a hassle and took about 2 years. I think Immigration and Homeland Security have more photos of me than my mother did. I’m so happy for you all

  34. 34.

    Immanentize

    @Gin & Tonic: I have been hoping for this happy outcome. The relief must be like honey. Thick and sweet. Did someone else perhaps tear up as well? Get her to the US. Pass the hat for the fee.

  35. 35.

    Immanentize

    @NotMax: Sweeeet. I have to make a decision about a car. Getting an EV is almost impossible today (without that huge lag time).

    PS I put all my cds on an external drive via EAC into FLAC files which I can copy to a thumb drive or SD card (which many cars now take). It really improves the long trip groove.

  37. 37.

    sixthdoctor

    @satby: I saw a tweet (forget from whom) saying that it was a shame that Trump instead of Schwarzenegger was the right-wing celebrity Republicans rallied behind.

  38. 38.

    Kay

    More embarrassingly bad and dumb analysis from the cancel culture panic files:

    Sam Hoadley-Brill ? RIP CHARLES MILLS ?
    @deonteleologist
    · 3h
    The fucking New York Times does it again. The EDITORIAL BOARD for Christ’s sake.
    There is absolutely no such thing as a “fundamental right” to voice your opinions in public “without fear of being shamed or shunned.” This is lunacy.

    Over and over and over. I thought we hit peak cancel culture panic but apparently not.

  39. 39.

    narya

    Older Nephew is flying into town for work and wants to have dinner. He’s not vaxxed and won’t get it. I don’t want to be unmasked around him. Am I unreasonable? (As an aside, according to Younger Nephew, he’s apparently also gone down the RWNJ rabbit hole, though he hasn’t shared any of that with me.)

  41. 41.

    NotMax

    @Immanentize

    Howdy.

    Immp have plans for Spring Break? Hoping he’s gonna be extra special super careful if he does.

    And yes, all car orders are lagging months and months behind. Ford dealt another joker this week as the earthquake in Japan has temporarily put one the main plants they rely on for chips out of commission.

  46. 46.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Sam Hoadley-Brill ? RIP CHARLES MILLS ?
    @deonteleologist
    3h
    Kudos to them for putting this out there I guess. Now we know the reason they’re so panicked about “free speech” cases where it isn’t under threat: they don’t understand what it actually is.

  48. 48.

    Betty Cracker

    @Betty Cracker: The thing is, the NYT editorial board will interpret literally ANY reaction as validation of their righteousness. I was surprised they even bothered to allude to the actual free speech crisis created by red state officials in places like FL and TX, but they made it clear the Oberlin Student Council is still stalking across the land, Torquemada-like, terrorizing The People.

  49. 49.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Well there is a “What if?” with Arnold.  It’s weird to think a celebrity ambassador might have kept this mess from happening, but history is filled with dumber things.

  50. 50.

    Kay

    @Betty Cracker:

    The NYT has run 70 editorials this year that include the phrase “cancel culture”. The cancel culture panic merchants are the loudest and most published “silenced” people in history. No one else gets this kind of blanket coverage.

  53. 53.

    Frankensteinbeck

    the New York Times has not interviewed people in a diner in Lima, Ohio taking issue with his policies or done a “but Putin supporters think Zelensky’s gone too far” think piece.

    Worry not.  They did write a story about Hunter Biden paying his taxes, the investigation Trump ordered of him still not finding anything, and emails from Biden to other Ukrainian board members saying he wanted to make sure not to break American lobbying laws as if it was a story that Hunter Biden has been caught red-handed committing crimes but is likely to get off on a technicality.

  54. 54.

    Ken

    The Russian fast-food chain that Russian parliament’s speaker has proposed replace McDonalds has filed for this trademark.

    Oh, well, the war is over. Russia is about to be sued out of existence by McDonald’s team of copyright attorneys.

  56. 56.

    JMG

    @Betty Cracker: I interpret this editorial as being based on people who’re actually in the social circle of high-ranking Times officials criticizing the paper to their faces. Can’t have that. Or worse, children of same officials telling them they suck.

  57. 57.

    Immanentize

    @NotMax: Immp went to Big Bend for the first time this break. He is awed and amazed. And so few people, being outdoors, camping, etc. I hope COVID was his last thought.

  58. 58.

    Kay

    @Betty Cracker:

    That they publish this the same week of Putin’s rant about Russia is being “canceled” is just perfect.

    It was always poorly thought out, incoherent garbage that could be twisted any which way because it has no real grounding in anything and is mostly whining. Now it’s a joke.

  60. 60.

    Baud

    @Kay:

    How orgasmic would the NYT editorial board get if it comes out that cancel culture used a private email server?

     

    That is a rhetorical question.

  61. 61.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: That’s insane. So, if someone spouts pure Nazi or white supremacist propaganda, according to the NY Times they should be able to do that without fear of being “shunned or shamed”. I hope they’re getting dragged all over the internet for this idiotic editorial. Nothing about free speech implies that you are immune from criticism.

  62. 62.

    NeenerNeener

    I was reading a Primetimer Star Trek forum last night, and one of the posters was pissed off because Stacey Abrams had a 3 minute part at the end of the season finale, where she played the President of Earth. The poster was furious because “Star Trek is supposed to be for everybody” and using a living Democratic politician was definitely picking a side. She’s obviously forgotten or glossed over all the “Nazis bad, racism bad” plots in all the Star Trek variations since the original series debuted in the 60s. The forum moderators deleted the post because they don’t allow politics discussions to derail the forums and this post was going to start a fight for sure.

  64. 64.

    gene108

    @narya:

    Is it possible to meet him outdoors somewhere? Not necessarily dinner, but some place where you can sit and talk and be outdoors and a bit distanced.

  68. 68.

    Jeffro

    @Kay: people are hitting back nicely, though – it’s good to see!

    It’s almost like they understand that it’s okay to shame and shun the Times over this.  =)

  69. 69.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @gene108: Eh. I don’t see a need to problem-solve for the unvaccinated. The burden should be on them to rectify the situation or endure the consequences. For the responsibly vaccinated to do otherwise is enabling.

    And congrats to G&T and family!!!

  70. 70.

    narya

    @gene108: Yeah, I’m gonna see if that’s possible. It would be nice to see him, but I’m absolutely unwilling to meet indoors/unmasked.

  71. 71.

    Baud

    @Jeffro:

    people are hitting back nicely, though – it’s good to see! half the reason the NYT pulls this crap — Engagement!

     

    Fixed.

  73. 73.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    This is the perfect cancel culture story:

    A conservative federal appeals court judge on Thursday in an unusual email urged judges to think twice about hiring as clerks any Yale Law School students who protested a recent event hosted by the school’s chapter of the Federalist Society.

    That they didn’t see any problems with their cancel culture theory – that it was always and inevitably going to result in actual cancelling, means to me that they are morons. Am I allowed to say that? Or is that “shunning”?

  74. 74.

    Immanentize

    @eclare: It is. I remember, what 25 years ago? sitting on a high mountainside rock outcropping in the sun watching Bighorn Sheep wander about. I really must get back there myself.

  76. 76.

    Jeffro

    Btw if y’all have time, please check out Kevin Kruse’s tweet-thread today about Jan 6th defendant Brandon Fellows.  Fellows has just filed…something…in his own defense, and it is a HOOT.

  78. 78.

    Jeffro

    @Baud: so, they’re purposefully concern trolling for the clicks and ‘engagement’?

    I dunno.  I’m going with “they really are that uneducated and snowflake-sensitive” instead.

  81. 81.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Immanentize: Big Bend is high on our list of places to go. Next weekend we’re heading to Arches and Canyonlands for the first time. I’m researching hikes in those parks and recommendations are welcome! We’re staying in Moab and happily hike up to 10 miles (12 if really worth it) per day. Less mileage in exchange for great scenery is also fine. :)

  82. 82.

    Kay

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I thought the state laws banning certain speech that their ridiculous panic inspired might cause them to reflect a little on whether the original crusade had some logic and coherence problems and maybe they should rethink. But no. It has only made them dumber.

  83. 83.

    NotMax

    @Immanentize

    FYI.

    A record 581,000 travelers visited Big Bend National Park last year. Tourists are drawn to this prickly desert paradise in far West Texas for its majestic sunsets, spectacular hiking and camping, and remote location along the Rio Grande. Above all, visitors come seeking wilderness and solitude. To ensure that experience is preserved for future generations, a new advocacy group called Keep Big Bend Wild is pushing to give vast portions of the park the nation’s highest level of conservation protection: an official federal designation as a wilderness area.

    The designation would have virtually no impact on what travelers could do in the park or how outfitters operate there now, according to members of the group and the park’s superintendent, who supports the effort. But it would permanently prevent new infrastructure from popping up outside already developed park areas, protecting the rugged experience that one can get only from a few days of tromping through the Chisos Mountains alongside mountain lions and owls, or watching tarantulas scurry across the desert flats below. Source

  84. 84.

    laura

    @narya: Wouldn’t be me meeting with a family member who refuses to vax. Some might be willing to take that risk. Wouldn’t be me.

  85. 85.

    Captain C

    @Soprano2:

    I hope they’re getting dragged all over the internet for this idiotic editorial.

    I’m beginning to think Dean Baquet has a public humiliation fetish.  That, and this seems to be a case of “We’re your betters, you must respect us and not criticize us.  That’s the worst thing ever and against free speech!  Also, fuck your feelings and shut up, you snowflake!”

  86. 86.

    Kay

    southpaw
    @nycsouthpaw
    ·3h
    Bush, 2001: “I was able to get a sense of his soul; a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country.”
    Obama, 2014: “Putin has a different view on many of those issues [of basic freedom]”
    Trump, 2022: “Genius … very savvy”

    He doesn’t include Bill Clinton but Clinton had no use for Putin either.

    Just interesting that the two conservative Presidents were duped by him and the two liberals were not. Clinton got it in one- one meeting.

  88. 88.

    MazeDancer

    Nestle CEO refuses to pull out of Russia.

    Among the many Nestle brands is Purina. Which makes Fancy Feast. Which is what my cats will eat.

    Not looking forward to explaining geo-politics to my hungry cats.

  90. 90.

    Baud

    Maybe the NYT wants Bari Weiss back, and this is their way of standing outside her window with a boombox.

  91. 91.

    Kay

    Bush, 2001: “I was able to get a sense of his soul; a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country.”

    Trump’s slobbering over the manliness of Putin is embarassing, but Bush’s is arguably worse. Trump didn’t vouch for his character- Bush did.

  92. 92.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Thought of you last night. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra live-streamed their first choral concert under new music director Nathalie Stutzmann. Strauss Tod und Verklärung, and Mozart Requiem. They had planned the program months ago, of course, as a memorial to the millions of Covid dead. A couple of weeks ago, they turned it also into a memorial to the dead and displaced from the War on Ukraine. Before the Mozart, everyone stood and the orchestra and chorus performed the Ukrainian National Anthem. The entire program was incredibly moving and powerful.

    Not sure whether it’s going to be available for later viewing, but when I find out I’ll post a link. (I learned about it literally only minutes before it started, or I would have shared it in real time last night.)

  93. 93.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Thought of you last night. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra live-streamed their first choral concert under new music director Nathalie Stutzmann. Strauss Tod und Verklärung, and Mozart Requiem.

    They had planned the program months ago, of course, as a memorial to the millions of Covid dead. A couple of weeks ago, they turned it also into a memorial to the dead and displaced from the War on Ukraine. Before the Mozart, everyone stood and the orchestra and chorus performed the Ukrainian National Anthem. The entire program was incredibly moving and powerful.

    Not sure whether it’s going to be available for later viewing, but when I find out I’ll post a link. (I learned about it literally only minutes before it started, or I would have shared it in real time last night.)

  94. 94.

    dc

    @mali muso: ​  I have also started watching it. I love seeing the views of Kyiv. I know I am not getting all the jokes, even reading the subtitles carefully. I’m sure there are so many references that require deep cultural knowledge to get the jokes (and critiques). I watched the 2nd episode last night. It is shorter than the first one.​

  97. 97.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    They should bring her back. One editorial a week about “cancel culture” is not enough. It should be daily.

    A Cancel Culture Task Force. A congressional sub committee on whether 19 year olds are being disrespectful to middle aged “liberals”.

  98. 98.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    @Kay: Don’t forget the other (better) Clinton. Hillary got it, and Putin went to great lengths to keep her from the White House. Might not have worked, without all the help he received from useful idiots and domestic enemies like the NYT, the FBI, and Bernie Bros.

  102. 102.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Kay: Strange, I had always been told that it’s conservatives who are the hardheaded international realists and liberals who live in fantasyland. //

  103. 103.

    Calouste

    @Baud: It’s only canceling when it’s done to people with power and status. That’s what concerns the New York Times, people with power and status, specially people with unearned power and status, facing consequences for their actions. It’s the slippery slope, communism and guillotines will be next.

  104. 104.

    NotMax

    @dc

    Having watched a handful of Ukrainian series (including SotP while it was previously on Netflix some time ago) was struck by seeing the upholstered baffling on the inside of front doors apparently being the norm.

  107. 107.

    Anyway

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    I was in Moab last October and thoroughly enjoyed it. Go early to beat the crowds at the iconic Delicate Arch. Fisher Towers trail was a nice hike and not too crowded. Corona Arch isn’t far out of Moab – got there in time for sunrise – wow.

    Canyonlands was nice to visit but didn’t hike much there. Enjoyed the hiking at Capitol Reef NP.

  108. 108.

    VOR

    @sixthdoctor: Schwarzenegger is an immigrant, born in Austria, and therefore is not eligible to be US President under the US Constitution. Plus he committed the sin of making even feeble attempts to actually govern in California, something only a RINO would do.

  110. 110.

    Baud

    Hillary just interviewed the NYC and Boston mayors on her podcast.  I don’t do podcasts but thought others might be interested.

  112. 112.

    Kay

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    Putin didn’t try to flatter Clinton or Obama. I think he sees a genuine cultural commonality with US conservatives, or at least sees that as an opening. He’s right too. That’s the way in.

  113. 113.

    Calouste

    @Kay: If the FTNYT has a daily editorial about cancel culture, would that replace the daily opinion piece (70 by mid march is almost daily) about cancel culture or would it go alongside it?

  114. 114.

    JCJ

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Great news!  Is the requirement being married for two years or being in the US for two years?  My wife came here on a fiancee visa.  After we got married she got a temporary permanent resident visa with the green card coming two years later.  When she applied to be a US citizen one of the things that was required was a list of all the times she had been out of the US.  Because it had been nearly 20 years it took some sleuthing to try to get that info – I had to look at our old passports and try to read the old arrival stamps.

  115. 115.

    Anyway

    @Kay:

    Bill Clinton even mentioned to Yeltsin how shady Putin was.

    It’s one of the Democratic party’s achilles heel that “we” seem to memory-hole or put down our recent presidents. Both Bill C and Obama are treated horribly by the left and it keeps mainstream Dems from talking up their accomplishments,

  117. 117.

    O. Felix Culpa

     

    @Kay:  I can’t see Obama falling for flattery from the likes of Putin. TFG, on the other hand, would eat it up and beg for more. I agree with your assessment of conservatives being fertile ground for the manure that Putin was offering.

  120. 120.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Tech Note: the site is repeatedly freezing up this morning. I’ve never experienced that before. Android phone, Chrome.

  121. 121.

    Jay

    @NotMax:

    wood has an r.1 per inch as an insulated value. For a panelled wood door, r 2.5 at best. Upholster the inside of the door, you might get as high as r 5.

    here, south of Fort St.John, r 20 doors are code, north of Fort St.John, r 30.

  124. 124.

    satby

    @Ken: Oh, MANY will. And share it. Every single drop of water helps erode the rock. I believe Putin will lose control and be ousted. When is the question.

  126. 126.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    @narya:  Not unreasonable, but I understand it creates a difficult family situation for you. My niece and her husband (both unvaxxed) want to stop by and spend a night or two — in our home! — on their way back from a beach vacation. They haven’t seen us or my Mom (94) in almost 3 years and we would like to see them. But … risk. And if I say no, it will absolutely create hard feelings, and I don’t have that much family as it is.
    Best of luck to you in finding a safe path forward. Perhaps you could schedule a convenient case of bubonic plague or typhoid while your nephew is in town. Seriously, if you find a successful solution, please share if you can. Lots of families are in this situation as everyone rushes to return to “normal.”

  128. 128.

    Layer8Problem

    @Kay: Or make her the revamped FTFNYT “Public Editor,” tasked with scolding the public for their ill-informed misunderstanding of their place and their disrespectful attitude towards the “Newspaper of Record.”

  129. 129.

    Soprano2

    @SiubhanDuinne: Please do, I’d love to hear that. One thing the pandemic has done is make symphonies get better with streaming their concerts. That’s good for everyone.

  134. 134.

    Immanentize

    @White & Gold Purgatorian: Offer to pay for a room in a nearby hotel. If you have a 94 year old living with you, that is reason enough (vaxxed or not these days). I myself prefer that option to staying with relatives — so much less stressful for all.

  136. 136.

    Kay

    @Layer8Problem:

    I love newspapers. I buy three, the local paper – which the law office pays for because we use them for legal notices – it’s a monopoly so they charge outrageous rates for the listings- pretty sure lawyers are keeping them afloat – the Toledo Blade and the Washington Post. While the Washington Post is also too obessed with cancel culture they seem to have some normal people working there who include some other content.

    I read mostly non fiction. I’m the perfect newspaper customer. But I’m not buying that one.

  137. 137.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @White & Gold Purgatorian: I grew up in an abusive family situation, which informs my outlook. I couldn’t do much anything about it as a child, but as an adult, I had to take some hard, painful stands. That meant choosing my integrity and safety over the demands of family. I take a similar view of unvaccinated family members who demand we grant them hospitality without regard for the safety of their relatives whom they ostensibly value, but by their actions and inactions clearly do not. It’s a form of abuse, in my view, which demands that you be willing to endanger your health in order to accommodate them and retain them as “family.”  I know how hard drawing a line in the sand can be, so everyone has to make their own assessment of what’s best for them.

  138. 138.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: I think he sees a genuine cultural commonality with US conservatives, or at least sees that as an opening.

    American conservatives see countries like Russia and Hungary, where they still persecute gays and women and liberals, as the last bastion of how they want the world to be – white, male-dominated, Christian-dominated places where gays and feminists and minorities are terrified to rock the boat too much. They admire Putin for cracking down on those people.

  143. 143.

    Layer8Problem

    @Kay: I’m a techhead and spend too much time with my face in a screen and whacking away at a keyboard but my preference has always been for books and newsprint.  I’ve had a long-term thing for the Times, being a literate local paper with a decent crossword, but their national/political desk and op-ed section drove me around the bend over the last bunch of years.  My partner pays for the online version and I’ve finally convinced her the publisher and Baquet are fools.  The Washington Post, even with the current editor, would get my money first.

    And a quick thank-you for all your insightful commentary here.  It’s very much appreciated!

  144. 144.

    narya

    @White & Gold Purgatorian: I fudged, basically. He’s not staying in the city, but in Indiana, with an early Monday meeting and then flying out. I told him it just wouldn’t work out this time, so sorry, maybe next time. Didn’t say why (I DON’T HAVE DINNER INDOORS WITH UNVACCINATED FOLKS, YOU SELFISH DOLT), so we’ll see what happens. But if pressed, I absolutely would say that I don’t have dinner indoors with folks who aren’t vaccinated, because I don’t! I haven’t been going out to dinner at all, anyway; the only things I did were beer runs, last summer, when case rates were low and nearly every event had an outdoor space where we could distance.

    ETA: I’ve decided that I’m just going to explain what I do/do not do (“do not have dinner with unvaccinated folks”) rather than attack his choices. Small distinction, but important to me–I’m making choices for ME.

  145. 145.

    Kay

    Will Stancil
    @whstancil
    ·14m
    I think a lot of this is fancy writers trying to attach a structured, rational argument to the inchoate status threat generated when people who spent their whole life as highly respectable liberal intellectuals enter a space where they no longer get to set the terms of discussion

    I think that’s why it’s incoherent and so often contradictory. It’s a protection of status, not a protection of speech or debate.

  146. 146.

    Faithful Lurker

    @NotMax: This is late in the thread and I hope you don’t miss this. We picked up our Maverick yesterday. Love the idea about the thumb drive. Love the truck. We had to drive it the 30 miles from the dealer to our house, not having any experience with a hybrid car and it was very easy. We got the bright blue, it gets gloomy here in Western WA. Our first new car since 1982.

  147. 147.

    Kay

    @Layer8Problem:

    I think it’s easier for me because I don’t do crosswords and I don’t really care that much about cooking or food, but I could certainly understand buying those subjects, were I interested in them.

    I read their climate change coverage. I love the maps and I think it’s well presented for people who don’t really understand it, like me.

  150. 150.

    Kay

    Alex Burns
    @alexburnsNYT
    · 2h
    I see @SenatorSinema staff questioned our reporting on her gushing over election denier Andy Biggs
    Well, @jmartnyt and I have that comment on tape…
    What she said: “I love Andy Biggs. I know some people think he’s crazy, but that’s just cause they don’t know him”

    I think it would be easier if we all just accepted that both Manchin and Sinema are dishonest people. I don’t know how much more evidence one needs. It’s impossible to negotiate with liars. No one can do it.

  153. 153.

    Jay

    “One of the very horrific features of this Russian war is that the Russian troops are deliberately targeting and destroying agricultural machinery in Donetsk Oblast, and also near Chernihiv and Sumy,” Bobitski said. “They really pursue the scorched earth policy as far as [Ukraine’s] agricultural facilities are concerned.”

    Aside from the dangers farmers face because of bombings and missile attacks, Ukraine’s government claims Russian forces have dropped landmines from the air over a huge swath of agricultural area, rendering it unsafe.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-farmers-1.6387964

  154. 154.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: They’re all Cartman – “You will respect my AUTHORITAH” is what they think about the “peasants” who criticize them. Because of the internet they are no longer protected from this criticism, and it angers them to no end.

  155. 155.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Kay: Putin was playing to US conservatives even before Trump got back into politics. The line during the Obama years was that we needed someone more like Putin, “a strong President who loves his country.” The equation of cruelty and aggressiveness with “strength” is everywhere.

  156. 156.

    Captain C

    @Kay:

    What she said: “I love Andy Biggs. I know some people think he’s crazy, but that’s just cause they don’t know him”

    Perhaps Senator Umbridge is even farther gone than we suspect.

  157. 157.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Sebastian:

    That Schwarzenegger video is amazing. I would not be surprised if looking back that ends up being the thing that turned the tide of Russian opinion and action.

    I kind of doubt many people in Russia will even see it.

  159. 159.

    Origuy

    For those who don’t read Russian, the translation of the name of the new replacement for McDonald’s is Uncle Vanya, which of course is the name of a play by Chekhov. What it has to do with hamburgers, I don’t know.

  160. 160.

    Geminid

    @Matt McIrvin: They might. I don’t know how well the Russian government controls the internet, but Schwarzenegger is probably well known there so his video could get wide circulation if the government can’t suppress it.

  162. 162.

    sdhays

    @Kay: Bush ran in 2000 on standing up to China and Russia. He and his team were completely drunk on the idea of the US being the sole super power and the need to swing the big US dick around. That made them completely obvious to the machinations of al Qaeda. So when the Twin Towers were hit, they channelled all of their wrongness in a completely new and destructive direction and completely dropped any supposed concerns they had regarding Russia or China. They were “partners in the War on Terror”.

  163. 163.

    sdhays

    @Kay: This is the thing for me. I didn’t expect much of the Biden agenda to be passed with a Democratic majority hinging on those two. I just didn’t expect so much lying.

    You want to be moderate/maverick/conservative Senator – fine. That’s your right. But stop jerking your colleagues (and the rest of us) around.

  164. 164.

    Kayla Rudbek

    1. @Ken: trademark, not copyright! I don’t know whether McDonald’s is quite as litigious as Disney (whose IP lawyers are apparently nicknamed the Nazgûl by some trademark lawyers) but I would dearly love to see the Mouse take on Russia…
  165. 165.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @sdhays: Obama and the Clintons are all smart people. Bush and trump are both dumb people who think they’re smart, and you didn’t have to be a KGB mastermind (a Karla-trained hood! as Connie Sachs might say) to figure out how to manipulate them, trump especially.

  166. 166.

    Kay

    @sdhays:

    Exactly. And we have an easy comparison. The Right wing Democrats in the Senate chopped a lot of good stuff from the health care bill and contributed to making it wildly unpopular by the time it passed but they stated their objections. They used numbers and facts.

    No one can work with these two. They operate in bad faith. It’s an absolute waste of time. They lack character and you can’t fix that. While Sinema was meeting with Biden she was trashing him behind his back to her GOP donors. That won’t get better.

  167. 167.

    artem1s

    @Anyway: ​
     

    Ahnuld has memory of real live Nazis and fascism and doesn’t downplay the threat. It’s personal to him.

    Ahnuld has memory of real live Nazis because he was pals with actual war criminals. He continued to support Nazi war criminal Kurt Waldheim even after his atrocities came to light. No matter what his RINO status might be at the moment he’s just as much of a racists as the rest of the GOP and will always revert to his true ‘good German’ excuses if pressed.

  168. 168.

    Kay

    @sdhays:

    I don’t know how she’s valuable as a lobbyist. She screwed her colleagues -lied to them and hurt them in their re-elects-  and if they want a GOP lobbyist why not just hire a real one instead of this flake?

  169. 169.

    Geminid

    @Kay: My theory is that after 2024 Sinema will go for the big bucks and put out her own line of women’s apparel. She may already have trademarked “Maverick Sportswear.”

    “Mavericks. Tough enough for a triathalon. Stylish enough for Starbucks.”

  170. 170.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: More seriously, Sinema can be counted on to land on her feet. I’ve never seen an ex-Senator not make good money if they wanted to.

  171. 171.

    smith

    @Kay: ​
    But I’m not buying that one.

    I’ve never understood the sado-masochistic relationship between FTFNYT and its readers. RWNJ’s don’t read or subscribe to that rag — liberals and “liberals” do. But FTFNYT seems to exist largely to troll its own readership, and the readership rises up and gives them its lovely, lovely outrage on a silver platter with every Cletus Safari, cancel culture screed, or well-constructed sabotage of Democratic candidates. It’s such a weird co-dependency. Same goes for NPR.

  172. 172.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Geminid: sounds like she’s got an in with Andy Biggs, at least.

    More seriously, even Diaper Dave Vitter has carved out a successful career as a lobbyist, and his wife is I believe a federal judge. I wouldn’t underestimate the power of the club mentality of the Senate.

    Vitter, btw, works for Mercury Public Affairs, which is also the corporate overlord of Nina Turner’s lobby shop

  174. 174.

    Kay

    Zachary Petrizzo
    @ZTPetrizzo
    · 43m
    This morning, a trucker with The People’s Convoy on the main stage said: “What’s going to happen up here in DC: Black Lives Matter Street, we’re gonna take it back. All that paint’s coming off that street.” The trucker adds, “it’s gonna get tar and feathered.”

    Can’t even have a Black Lives Matter sign in a city they don’t live in. Because “free speech” is their issue.

    My. Ass.

  175. 175.

    burnspbesq

    @narya: 

    You would be perfectly within your rights to be indisposed. Permanently. Being family doesn’t give him the right to threaten your life.

  177. 177.

    Splitting Image

    @smith: 

    I’ve never understood the sado-masochistic relationship between FTFNYT and its readers. RWNJ’s don’t read or subscribe to that rag — liberals and “liberals” do. But FTFNYT seems to exist largely to troll its own readership, and the readership rises up and gives them its lovely, lovely outrage on a silver platter with every Cletus Safari, cancel culture screed, or well-constructed sabotage of Democratic candidates. It’s such a weird co-dependency. Same goes for NPR.

    The New York Times is really two newspapers under the same banner.

    The news section of the paper really does serve the interests of its readers, and it is where you will find all of the good reporting that the NYT frequently does.

    The editorial section of the paper is designed to be the “thought leader” for the entire country, and is directed at people who live in the exurbs if they live in the city at all, and who nodded in agreement when Jerry Falwell listed all of the groups who made New York deserve the terrorist attack in 2001.

    They are the ones who want to be told over and over how the City is overrun by rootless cosmopolitans and urban gangs, and how disconnected it is from real Americans, like the whites who fled the cities for the exurbs over the past few decades.

  178. 178.

    StringOnAStick

    @Sebastian:  Arnold posted again today, asking people to share his video via Telegram, since that is apparently a better way for it to get shared around into Russia.

  181. 181.

    SteveinPHX

    @NotMax: @NotMax: 
    Just saw this. Took delivery of a Maverick in early Dec. 2021(ordered in June 21). Got the towing pkg option. Delighted with the truck. Missus is happy also(It has air bags!). Donated my last truck (1989 w/ 330K on it) to public radio.
    For sound system test, I plugged in a USB drive with 3 CDs worth of Rolling Stones “Fully Finished Studio Outtakes” and drove around with a big shit-eating grin on my face!

  182. 182.

    Kalakal

    @Kayla Rudbek: They’re pretty litigous.

    They managed the longest libel case in UK history, the McLibel case which they won but cratered their reputation, made idiots of themselves in Scotland sueing a family fish and chip shop in Oban and for a sequel sued Ireland

    ( those pesky names beginning in Mc)

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49254551

    After they’re done with Russia I’d love to see the Mouse go after DeathSantis

  186. 186.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    @Immanentize:  Thanks. That is a good idea and definitely on my short list. The very suggestion will probably be interpreted as an insult, but not much we can do about that. I’ve already said they would need a negative Covid test on arrival before we do any socializing. No response yet. Meals can be outdoors unless the weather is bad. This would be easier if our political differences were smaller. We used to be very close but everyone has grown so touchy since 2016.

  188. 188.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    @O. Felix Culpa:  Thanks for your insight. This could definitely spiral off into a bad situation. My goal is to set reasonable conditions and communicate them in a non confrontational and friendly manner so we can enjoy some family time, without undue risk to Mom. My people skills are not great so it will probably blow up, but maybe we’ll get lucky.

  189. 189.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    @narya:  Sounds like you found a tactful way to say “Let’s wait for a better time.” The less personal explanation of what I do/do not do can take the sting out of a rejected invitation, for sure. I’m still telling friends “I do not eat out yet” and they’re ok with it. My husband traveled to see his family once last year and they all agreed in advance on protocols for the visit, which went smoothly, so it can be done.

  190. 190.

    Debbie(Aussie)

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I know I am extremely late to this post, but had to say WONDERFUL, CONGRATULATIONS. May her life with you son be filled with love an joy.

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