Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

After roe, women are no longer free.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

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

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

No one could have predicted…

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

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

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

You cannot shame the shameless.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

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

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

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Let there be snark.

T R E 4 5 O N

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

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

You are here: Home / Elections / 2022 Elections / Friday Evening Open Thread: Joe Biden, In His Element

Friday Evening Open Thread: Joe Biden, In His Element

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God bless the man! (as he would say)

Best quality backup, too:

DougJ may have started a trend…

Reader Interactions

139Comments

  1. 1.

    Chief Oshkosh

    Hm. That last sentence. “And we’ll make sure that nobody has the opportunity to steal an election again.”

    WTF does that mean? Who stole an election? Shrub way back in dinosaur times?

  2. 2.

    OzarkHillbilly

    I’m at a roadside diner in rural Michigan, and the question on most people’s minds is: “Why does Joe Biden keep getting popular things accomplished?” For many here, it seems selfish, and they say they’re fed up with it.

    Heh.

  3. 3.

    Roger Moore

    DougJ may have started a trend…

    Definitely.  It’s not everywhere yet, but there is definitely a movement on Twitter for people to create NYT Pitchbot-style headlines as a way of mocking the way the media covers things.  More people have noticed how the news media slants things.  If I had more time, I might make an NPR pitchbot…

  7. 7.

    different-church-lady

    we must be stronger, more determined, & more committed to saving American than the MAGA Republicans are to destroying America

    I’m so effin’ glad he’s being very clear about the battle lines. It’s not hyperbole, and we can no longer pretend these are reasonable differences of opinion about policy. This Democracy vs. a fascist cult of personality, no exaggeration.

  8. 8.

    Feathers

    I must admit one of the things I’m enjoying most is watching the whining left complaining that “$10k isn’t enough! Whaddabout This!?!” only for the reveal that “this” is covered when the fine print is read. First was, interest doesn’t accrue if you are making your monthly payments, then it’s $20K for Pell Grants. The latest I saw is that there is a list of predatory institutions, many of them trade schools, for which 100% of loans will be forgiven, even if you previously applied for forgiveness and were turned down.

    It is truly glorious.

  9. 9.

    different-church-lady

    @Roger Moore:

    there is definitely a movement on Twitter for people to create NYT Pitchbot-style headlines as a way of mocking the way the media covers things.

    Yeah, I mean, even the NYTs has been in on it since the beginning.

  17. 17.

    HumboldtBlue

    We are watching a political master at work. If you had told me in January 2020 Joe and gotten any of these measures passed, I would have eaten my hat, and he’s far from done. If we get him the Senate and keep the house, imagine what comes next.

  18. 18.

    Starfish

    @Feathers: If you paid any loan money after March 2020, you can ask them to give it back, and you don’t have to pay until the new deadline when loan payments start again.

  19. 19.

    Baud

    Warren tweet

    “Senator McConnell graduated from a school that cost $330 a year,” Warren wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “Today it costs over $12,000. McConnell has done nothing to fix it — and is irate that the President is stepping up to help millions of working Americans drowning in debt. He can spare us the lectures on fairness.”

  23. 23.

    topclimber

    Does universal pre-K include fetuses? This might be a way to get even the MAGATs aboard!

  24. 24.

    Suzanne

    Why doesn’t anyone ask me my opinion of Biden’s presidency while I’m at a salad place?

  25. 25.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @WaterGirl: The context was voting rights and process irregularities, not foreign interference (which I think did occur, with Russia leading the misinformation and destabilization to help Trump).

  29. 29.

    BlueGuitarist

    Is the parable of the workers in the vineyard relevant to the whining about student loan relief?

  30. 30.

    Baud

    @BlueGuitarist:

    No, the only parts of the Bible that are relevant involve cutting taxes and hating gays.

    ETA: Just looked it up and I think the workers have a legit beef.  They should have unionized.

  34. 34.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Alison Rose 💙🌻💛: The point is that JOE, the current election winner, implied that a recent election was stolen. Just seems like a weird sentiment in that context with that speaker.

    But, let me go all Dark Brandon on you and WG:

    I said what I said – deal with it!

     

    ;)

  36. 36.

    Geminid

    @Feathers:  I was interested in reactions to Biden’s student loan initiative on the more organized left, so I checked out the twitter account of Justice Democrats spokesman Walid Shaheed as well as the internet magazine I call Common Screams. They both took a positive approach, claiming credit for Biden’s actions while calling for more debt relief in the future. I think Biden’s approach was too sound for them to use the “crumbs” complaint individual lefties have employed.

  40. 40.

    CarolPW

    @Chief Oshkosh: He said “the opportunity” to steal an election, which XPOTUS attempted. Because of republican collusion in a coup attempt (abetted by some of our media), it came much closer to success than anyone could have imagined. I believe that is what Biden meant.

  41. 41.

    HumboldtBlue

    @geg6: ​ 

    The Phillies are currently spanking what appears to be the Pirates’ Triple-A team 5-0 bottom of the second. The Buccos are terrible.

  42. 42.

    WaterGirl

    @Alison Rose 💙🌻💛: Ha!

    I was intending to type Russians, but my fingers apparently typed Republicans.  I suppose my fingers can be forgiven for that – there’s not much daylight between Russians and Republicans.

    I really wonder if the whole Republican-Russian connection is finally going to come out, including the Rs (Republicans) who are funded by the other Rs (Russians)..

  43. 43.

    Calouste

    @Suzanne: Tip off the NYT that you’re a Republican operative masquerading as a disgruntled leftie. Not only will they come interview you, they’ll even pick up the check.

  45. 45.

    geg6

    @HumboldtBlue:

    They have been terrible for the last thirty years (excluding a few years when Cutch was super and had somewhat of a team behind him).  I’m used to it.  If I go to a game, it’s to eat great ballpark food, enjoy one of the most beautiful ballparks in the nation and people watch.  The bring your dog games are always fun.  The Buccos?  Not so much.

  48. 48.

    eversor

    I have like 5k of a private loan to pay off but I’m still glad others got fixed on this issue.

  51. 51.

    WaterGirl

    We still have $695 of Balloon Juice angel match money for donations to Four Directions Nevada.

    I will watch this post for comments if anyone makes a donation and wants to be 6x matched.

  57. 57.

    Lyrebird

    @WaterGirl: ​
     

    On fire, agreed. Love to watch.

    Love to see the crowd behind him too. Passionate for what many of us cherish about America, not there for a cult or a payout, and not out to go commit political violence against dissenters, the press, etc.

    I got a fundraising email about the Flippable Five: Barnes, Beasley, Demings, Fetterman, and Ryan.

    YES.
    And Crist’s speech was fantastic, too. I do not love him like I love POTUS, but he clearly sees the needs of the day.

  59. 59.

    WaterGirl

    @Lyrebird: Is there a link to the Crist speech you are referring to?  I have been working most of the day and haven’t kept up.

    It’s a good thing I met my deadline for my client this afternoon BEFORE I looked at BJ and saw the news about the redacted release.  It would have been hard to keep working after that!

  64. 64.

    Urza

    @WaterGirl: It may have started with just that one congressman and TFG, but I bet by now more than half would at least be willing to take Russian funding and assistance.  Only question is can Russia afford it with the sanctions, or conversely, can they afford not to get the Rs back in power so the sanctions can be lifted.

  66. 66.

    HumboldtBlue

    NEW: Redacted DOJ affidavit says FBI wanted to seal the document because “the FBI has not yet identified all potential criminal confederates not located all evidence related to its investigation”

    Never great to see your unredacted name in a search warrant affidavit.

    To borrow from Eric Hirschman, “I’m going to give you the best free legal advice you’re ever getting in your life. Get a great F’ing criminal defense lawyer – you’re going to need it.”

  67. 67.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Lyrebird: I watched Crist on Nicolle Wallace the other day, and I definitely got the impression that he’s figured that if DeSantis is gonna be trump, Crist is gonna run as Biden. Running for the soul of Florida. Be interesting to see how it works out

  73. 73.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Baud:

    Yeah, he has, and I get the sense that the whole “I’m the asshole telling like it is and not giving a shit what the people think” DeSantis is playing has pretty much turned off everyone who is not a Trump backer. It’s so utterly off-putting.

    Also: I can’t believe he posted this

  74. 74.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @BlueGuitarist:

    Boy, I remember seeing that in real time, 16 years ago. I adored Stephen’s “Better Know a District” segment. And OMG, with an earnest look and a little smile, he fucking eviscerated then-Rep. Westmoreland. Just brutal.

  75. 75.

    Scout211

    @HumboldtBlue: Yeah, Kash Patel made himself a witness to the crime when he publicly stated that yes, the documents were there but the magic wand made them all unclassified.

    Like my friend who is an attorney tells me, “I can tell you this now, because now it’s public record.”  Kash went on Breitbart and any media that would have him to pitch his version of the declassification and admitted F-POTUS had classified documents. No need to redact his name because his statement is now public record.

    These people are idiots.

  79. 79.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Be still, my heart. Drop-fucking-dead GORGEOUS, he was.

    Intelligence and humour are huge turn-ons. He has always had those attributes in abundance.

  81. 81.

    Citizen Alan

    @Chief Oshkosh:

    I took it to refer to the TWO elections in the last 22 years in which the decisive popular vote-getter lost in the Electoral College due to some very sketchy things happened in a couple of very close states.

  84. 84.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Since it’s an open thread — and in hopes that phones are on the table, avoiding sticky beer spills — I just wanted to wave to NotMax and anybody who made it to the BJ meetup at Bryant Park. Hope you Jackals are having a fine old time!

  85. 85.

    Another Scott

    ICYMI, sometimes Twitter lawyers should resist the urge and just not argue with law professors from Cal. If they don’t want to be pantsed, that is.

    Thread

    Judge Kerr is on the bench pic.twitter.com/oxHaALNHvm

    — Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley) August 27, 2022

    Nice.

    (via nycsouthpaw)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  86. 86.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I’m still waiting for my RWNJ flat-earth-believing brother to explain gravity to me. Also the seasons. And sunrise-sunset. And why the Northern and Southern Hemispheres have entirely different night skies.

  93. 93.

    Scout211

    Brad Moss at The Daily Beast.

    I have finally seen enough. Donald Trump will be indicted by a federal grand jury.

    You heard me right: I believe Trump will actually be indicted for a criminal offense. Even with all its redactions, the probable cause affidavit published today by the magistrate judge in Florida makes clear to me three essential points:

    1) Trump was in unauthorized possession of national defense information, namely properly marked classified documents.

    (2) He was put on notice by the U.S. Government that he was not permitted to retain those documents at Mar-a-Lago.

    (3) He continued to maintain possession of the documents (and allegedly undertook efforts to conceal them in different places throughout the property) up until the FBI finally executed a search warrant earlier this month.

  94. 94.

    JAFD

    @SiubhanDuinne: And a fine old time we did have.  Sorry you (and everyone of the jackaltariat who would have liked to come) couldn’t be there.

    Early tonight am crashing, pictures will send to WaterGirl tomorrow when energy points restored.

    Have great weekend, and stay well, everyone !

  98. 98.

    James E Powell

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I get the sense that the whole “I’m the asshole telling like it is and not giving a shit what the people think” DeSantis is playing has pretty much turned off everyone who is not a Trump backer.

    Yes, but we need a majority. (h/t Adlai Stevenson)

  100. 100.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Scout211: and he’s still under threat of indictment for 1/6 (incitement? seditious conspiracy?) and the fake electors case?

  102. 102.

    Another Scott

    @SiubhanDuinne: It’s not about evidence, of course.

    PhysicsWorld:

    Landrum thinks this conspiracy mentality is linked to science denial and a susceptibility to believing deceptive claims on social media (Politics and the Life Sciences 38 193). No longer the domain of a “foil-hat-wearing fringe”, she believes those with a conspiracy mentality have lost the ability to judge when to trust and when to be a sceptic. Their lack of trust in authority includes not just scientists but scientific bodies such as NASA, all of whom (they think) are part of a massive conspiracy to prevent the flat-Earth truth being revealed. “[They] view the world through this really dark filter where [they] assume that all authorities and institutions and corporations are just there to exploit you.”

    McIntyre adds that the flat-Earthers he interacted with each believed a selection of conspiracy theories, including that governments control the weather and that chem-trails from aeroplanes consist of chemical or biological agents. “The only one I found that they all believed,” he says, “was that we hadn’t gone to the Moon. If you offer them back evidence, like the view of the Earth from the Moon, they say it’s fake.” Indeed, many flat-Earthers are more invested in the idea of a conspiracy than in providing a workable model of a flat Earth.

    “You know, dear RWNJ brother, you’re right and you’ve been right all along. I wasn’t able to tell you until my contract expired on my most recent birthday, but now I can. You have to swear to secrecy though. Swear? Ok.

    [deep breath]

    “Yes, the Earth is flat. Yes, there’s a huge conspiracy. But it’s a bigger conspiracy than you imagine.

    “You see, the conspiracy is directed by NASA and George Soros. But, you see, they’re actually behind the Flat Earth Theory, not the public face that they present!  It’s too involved to explain right now, but I promise I will the next time I see you.

    “These people you talk with on FB that claim to be Flat Earthers? About half of them actually work for NASA with grants from Soros. The Real Flat Earthers don’t hang out there.  The Real Flat Earthers know better to waste their time there…”

    //

    (sigh)

    Don’t trust authority!  But listen to me!!1  I thought we outgrew all that stuff in the 1960s.  ;-)

    “Dear RWNJ brother, how do you know that these people you hang out with aren’t part of the conspiracy, hmm???!”

    Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  103. 103.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Scout211: ​
     

    I’ll believe it when it actually happens, but it’s good to see Moss making basically the same one I’ve been making: #1, his initial removal of documents from the White House, could have been inadvertent. Once put on notice (#2), his continued unwillingness to relinquish the docs (#3) was by definition intentional.

    But I’m all for AG Garland & Co. to take their time and get it right. Even when you come for the ex-king, you best not miss.

  104. 104.

    kalakal

    @Lyrebird: I heard an interview with Crist on WUSF today. It was really good. Sharp, focused, appealing to everyone except full blown Magas. Such a contrast to the miserable, whiny, mean spirited DeathSantis. Crist does the likeable, happy chappy well because that’s what he is. I’ve met him a couple of times and he comes across as genuinely interested as people

  108. 108.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Layer8Problem:

    It’s heartbreaking. We’re having what amounts to the same fight, but on a different topic, at the moment. He’s telling me to get my head out of the sand. I’m trying to decide if it would advance either the tone or the substance of the conversation if I were to respond “Get your head out of your ass!”

  114. 114.

    WaterGirl

    @Another Scott: Clever!  And thank you!

    With all the matching, that’s $690!!!

    One of these days I will figure out the pattern for the dollar amounts you choose.  If you tell me they are random, I will be disappointed. :-)

  116. 116.

    Layer8Problem

    @SiubhanDuinne:  If there’s a basic regard between each other, certain subjects can be avoided.  If there’s wilful parading of the ridiculous or hateful in spite of one’s own forbearance it becomes a demonstration of their outright contempt.  It took me years to admit that yes, a family member can honestly be a bastard.  But it still hurts to think it.

  124. 124.

    jonas

    @HumboldtBlue: ​
     

    Also: I can’t believe he posted this

    Aw, c’mon. When the feds raided my place last year because I had stolen some top secret natsec documents, it took a lot off my mind to poke a little fun at the redacted affidavit. My lawyer was also an idiot and I repeatedly mocked and threatened the judge overseeing the case. If anyone is wondering, yes, you can send new socks and clean underwear in their original packaging to Mr. Jonas, Prisoner nr. 12345-6789, Cell Block B, Florence, CO.

  127. 127.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Ken: It’s not really their fault with all their blood rushing to their heads all the time.  It take a toll.

  131. 131.

    WaterGirl

    We have $495 left in angel match money that helps multiply your money 6x.

    Closing the laptop for the night, but I’ll check back in the morning.

    Thanks everybody!

  132. 132.

    Steeplejack

    @Chief Oshkosh:
    I took Biden’s statement—“And we’ll make sure that nobody has the opportunity to steal an election again”—to be emphasizing that they had the opportunity to steal an election and that this would be forestalled.​

  138. 138.

    Matt McIrvin

    @SiubhanDuinne: The flat earthers have ad hoc, superficial explanations for all that stuff. They don’t fit together into a coherent picture of the world. If you ask about the holes in those explanations they just throw out more explanations like them. The rabbit hole just goes down forever.

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