Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

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

I really should read my own blog.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Cancel the cowardly WaPo and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, it’s door #2)

Celebrate the fucking wins.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Motown is Joe-Town!

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Monday Morning Open Thread: Another Monday, Another Show

Monday Morning Open Thread: Another Monday, Another Show

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News of the state funeral:

Somebody’s little Republican heart is breaking:

Next question: Will Charles send an invitation to the Obamas? (His mum certainly would have, and I assume his protocol office would consider it mandatory. We’ll see!)

But I’d bet a whole box of store-bought cookies that the last Oval Office occupant won’t be invited — if there’s anything to the rumor that TFG was airlifted to DC last night for medical attention, it may be his handlers thought he’d had an infarction when no oversized, gold-inlaid card was personally delivered in advance of President Biden’s announcement.)

Tiger Beat on the Potomac Thames has some details:

This sounds very much like something Charles would ask for, and also something that he does not really expect to happen. (Australia’s leader seems to have been the first to publicly point out the difficulties.) Old habits die hard, and he’s been failing to get people to agree to his climate goals for at least forty years.

He may be able to impose a bus ride, at least for the representatives of smaller, less powerful countries…


(No doubt being as thoughtful among the leaders as he’s famously been at humbler wakes for the last several decades. And it’s not as though President ‘Amtrak Joe’ Biden is a stranger to what might be deemed public transit. But the Secret Service are unlikely to agree to such exposure, IMO.)


(Much) more here:

… Leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern have already confirmed they will attend the funeral, which Buckingham Palace announced Saturday will be held on September 19, at 11 a.m. at Westminster Abbey.

The historic church, with capacity for 2,000 people, was the setting for Queen Elizabeth’s marriage to Prince Philip in 1947, and for all but two British coronations since 1066.

Also likely to attend the funeral are Japan’s Emperor Naruhito — who may travel alongside Empress Masako and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida — Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and French President Emmanuel Macron, among many more…

The most notable — albeit unsurprising — absence will be that of Russian President Vladimir Putin, after the Kremlin said his attendance is not an option. In gossipy diplomatic circles, just as important as who’s coming is simply who is receiving an invitation, with embassy officials eager to discover whether Chinese President Xi Jinping will be offered the chance to attend…

Reader Interactions

111Comments

  2. 2.

    Baud

    I’m not going to predict how the election will turn out, but the right wing retreat from being proud about their abortion views is something to see. Abortion is murder, but that’s ok if it means winning elections, I guess.

    And good on Hillary for her on-point message.

  6. 6.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    Tapper is upset they didn’t invite Dump.

    The difference is Mandela’s service was held in a 95,000 seat stadium.

  9. 9.

    lowtechcyclist

    My mom died at the beginning of the month (no need for condolences, she would have been 96 next month and was deep into dementia, it’s a blessing really), and we’d already scheduled her burial for the 19th at 11am before QE2 died.  Mom was a serious Anglophile, and would have gotten a kick out of that, back when she was still in possession of her faculties.

    Of course, since we’re 5 time zones west of London, she and the late Queen aren’t actually having their respective services at the same time, but my sisters and I are still amused by it.

  11. 11.

    rikyrah

    I have spent the last day and a half 😪😪😪, watching these videos.

     

    This thread😪😪😪😪

     

    Lai💔 (@normanination4) tweeted at 5:31 PM on Sun, Sep 11, 2022:
    As I stroll on TikTok, I keep seeing parents video their children reacting to The Little Mermaid trailer. So instead of focusing so much on the negative, I thought I’d show a thread of the little black kids who are excited to see their favorite princess look like them.
    (https://twitter.com/normanination4/status/1569091173305974785?s=02)

  18. 18.

    rikyrah

    @Baud:

    Hillary has always been on message.

    And, yes, phucking ridiculous😠 watching these GOPers scrub their websites on Abortion…. Like folks don’t have screenshots. And video of you talking about how much you wanted Roe overturned.😠😠

  19. 19.

    brantl

    I’m sure Joe would happily ride the bus, if th SS would allow it, which they most definitely won’t.

  25. 25.

    Amir Khalid

    Seeing the world’s leaders scrambling for invitations to the Queen’s funeral might not sit too well with schrodingers_cat.

    ETA: But the Queen was one of Britain’s longest-serving, best, and most consequential ambassadors.

  26. 26.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: ​
     * Mandela’s funeral service led to one of Pete Souza’s greatest photos (link) which led to a scandal of Tan Suit – Mustard on Cheeseburger proportions

    The media’s grievances have been stated strongly, with AP Vice President and Director of Photography Santiago Lyon calling White House provided pictures “visual press releases” that amount to little more than “propaganda.”

    Can you imagine: a dazzling photo by an incredible photographer led to this kind of jealousy, as well as bitching and moaning.

  27. 27.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    “Do you think it’s fair that Jill Biden was invited but Melania was snubbed?”

    Come on- it’s an ultra exclusive party and that’s all it is.

  33. 33.

    Betty Cracker

    @Kay: Yes! I heard TFG released a treacly paean to his deep and abiding friendship with the Queen on his knock-off Twitter. The cokehead son’s grotesque girlfriend tweeted condolences to her “friend” Charles III, who, whatever his faults, could probably be counted on to recoil from the presumption from such a ghastly person if he had any idea who she was, which he probably does not…

  35. 35.

    Kay

    @Betty Cracker:

    They all worship the Queen on the Right.

    Too, Betty, I don’t care what anyone says – if they had wanted to invite the Trumps they could have.

    It’s a snub.

  39. 39.

    Spanky

    Joe: “C’mon, everybody! ‘The wheels on the bus go round and round …'”.

    Any word on whether Modi was invited and whether he accepted?

  42. 42.

    germy shoemangler

    36 or so hours past Pfizer bivalent booster and flu shot double whammy. Slept a bunch over weekend, had a sore injection site for a day. No big deal. Had big reactions to the earlier COVID shots, expected worse. Highly recommend getting your shots while both are in stock! Do it!

    — Xeni (@xeni) September 11, 2022

    I got the updated covid booster and flu shot last Friday.

    Funny story: an old dude tried to cut ahead of me in line.

    I showed up 15 minutes before my appointment, filled out the paperwork, answered all the questions I’d already answered online when I made the appointment. Then I sat down to wait.

    The old dude shows up about ten minutes later, does the same thing. Four people ahead of me, waiting for their boosters.

    Finally, my name is called. I get up, wave to the nurse and I approach the vaccination room. The old dude jumps up and tries to walk into the room. Nurse says “Germy* is next up” and the old dude says “I don’t know where he is” while he tries to get past her.

    I walk around the old dude to get into the tiny vaccination room. The woman was pissed. She said “I’ve seen a lot of bad behavior, but that one really made me mad.”

     

    *balloon-juice nym substituted for my real name for the purposes of this anecdote.

  47. 47.

    Kay

    Amanda Marcotte
    @AmandaMarcotte
    ·1h
    The NYT story of Hasidic schools is really a portend of what Republicans want for the entire country: To replace genuine education with religious instruction that keeps children from growing into adults capable of independent thought.

    I like Amanda Marcotte but it is more than a “portend”. It’s here. They’ve lifted almost all regulation and oversight of “voucher schools” in Ohio and they are ALL religious schools. Fly by night junk – they opened one here two years prior to covid and then it closed over a weekend- just gone. The public schools of course had to then accomodate 108 new students immediately.
    I toured a commericial property my client was going to buy – a real dump- my client wanted it for utilities access behind it. During the tour I found out if had been a charter school for children with autism. Just horrifying – ceiling tiles hanging, water damage all over, this fire trap configuration of a hallway.
    They need to speak to experts on public schools, who have been following this for a decade.

  48. 48.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @germy shoemangler: I was in a hurry, ok? And it would have cost you only a few minutes. Also I thought they called my name.

    Seriously I can’t figure out what was the point in trying to jump such a short line. How much of his life has he lost if he waits his turn?

    We get jabbed this afternoon. And are meeting people for dinner 24 hrs later. Here’s hoping for an uneventful reaction, if any.

  50. 50.

    Geminid

    Biden Blitzes Beantown!

    This morning President Biden will fly to Boston and arrive at Logan Airport 11:20am. At 12:45pm he’ll deliver remarks on the Infrastructure Bill. The bill included money for capital investment in mass transit and airports, and Logan will get its share.

    Then at 4pm, the President will speak at the JFK Library about the “Cancer Moonshot” initiative. He will also sign an executive order today intended to enhance coordination of cancer research.

    At 6pm Biden will attend a DNC reception. He’s due back at the White House at 9:05pm.

    And don’t forget the Motor City! On Wednesday Joe Biden will speak about electric cars at the Detroit Auto Show.

    From Politico Playbook.

  51. 51.

    germy shoemangler

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    I was wondering if he had some early stage dementia or something.  His behavior while waiting had been… odd.

    He walked into the Employees Only pharmacy area.  That’s something I’ve never seen a customer do.  It’s against every rule. They had to shoo him out.  Then he got up and walked a close circle around someone else who was standing while waiting.

    I sort of noticed him before the actual incident.  A strange old dude.

  52. 52.

    oldgold

    The Short-Fingered Vulgarian was. disqualified from any consideration of an invite to the Queen’s funeral by this gross social faux pas. Trumpelthinskin was photographed arriving at DC’s Dulles Airport last night, 6 days after Labor Day, wearing white shoes!

  53. 53.

    Betty Cracker

    From The Daily Beast:

    The Times of London reported: “Questions have been asked in the US over whether Donald Trump will be invited but British sources have scotched the idea that he could accompany the US delegation and said there would not be space for Biden’s predecessors…”

    Trump was seen by some as making a clear pitch to get an invite when he wrote on Truth Social that meeting the queen was, “the most extraordinary honor of my life.”

    Lumpy must be fuming! Maybe he’ll fly to his dump in Scotland and do a fake memorial service.

  54. 54.

    Amir Khalid

    A quick update or two on my former neighbour Najib Razak: he has been trying out a new delaying tactic with his current 1MBD-related trial: claiming hypertension and some kind of “stomach illness” that requires hospital treatment. Sounds like the kind of excuse I used to make as a kid when I didn’t want to go to school.

    The Sultan of Selangor has had it proclaimed that Najib and his wife Rosmah are to stripped of the titles (Datuk Seri and Datin Seri, respectively) awarded them by that state. Along with the Sultan’s admonition that a royal pardon should only be granted in accordance with the law, this is a hint that the Malay Rulers are not inclined to approve of a pardon.

  55. 55.

    Ken

    for all but two British coronations since 1066.

    Google says Edward V and Edward VIII, for those who (like me) suffer terribly when presented with trivia like this.

    Edward V was deposed by Richard III, and possibly murdered. Edward VIII abdicated when it became clear he couldn’t wed Wallis Simpson. So neither had a coronation ceremony.

  58. 58.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: Republicans keep trying to expand charters in MO, but so far they are still only allowed in St. Louis and Kansas City. My understanding is that some of the not-for-profit charters can be pretty good, that it’s the for-profit ones that are usually the nightmares. If they had stuck to only allowing not-for-profit they might have been good, but of course Republicans couldn’t resist allowing their donors to get more of the government’s money while providing little or no actual services to children.

  59. 59.

    Baud

    @Amir Khalid:

    A quick update or two on my former neighbour Najib Razak: he has been trying out a new delaying tactic with his current 1MBD-related trial: claiming hypertension and some kind of “stomach illness” that requires hospital treatment.

    Amateur.  He needs to file a motion for a special master.

  60. 60.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker:

    British sources have scotched the idea that he could accompany the US delegation and said there would not be space for Biden’s predecessors…”

    The only thing better would be if the Obamas were invited as the Queen’s personal friends, rather than Biden’s predecessors.

  61. 61.

    Soprano2

    My college choirs sang in Westminster Abbey, twice, right up there by the altar. It was an amazing experience, the sound in there is sublime (although St. Paul’s Cathedral was actually cooler, we sang right underneath the dome). We got to assemble in a room called the Jerusalem Chamber, which is not open to the public, and we got a tour of the place. When hubby & I went to England in 2006 we toured it, and I discovered that they have no public bathrooms (at least they didn’t then!). When I asked where the toilets were, the worker pointed across the street! I’m imagining many port-a-potties lined up somewhere for the funeral guests. LOL

  64. 64.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Kay: You doubters just wait till he shows us the actual Certificate of Secret Knighthood he got, written and signed by the Queen in sharpie.

    And his funeral invitation, also written and signed by the Queen in sharpie.

  65. 65.

    Ken

    I have to agree with Southpaw: “You should not under any circumstances solicit the public to name a mission to Uranus.”

    Especially, as the replies note, an orbiter and probe mission.

  66. 66.

    kalakal

    @Spanky: I’d be astonished if he wasn’t

    He’s already given a strong hint he’d go, reminiscing about how much he liked her when they met and how she showed him the wedding present she got from Gandhi

  67. 67.

    jonas

    @brantl: ​
      I’m sure saying everyone has to ride together on a bus was one surefire way of making sure Trump didn’t ask for an invite.

  68. 68.

    jonas

    @Geminid: Funny, they forgot to work in 4-6 hours of “executive time” for him to sit in the WH residence watching cable news and shitposting.

  70. 70.

    RandomMonster

    @Betty Cracker: Maybe he’ll fly to his dump in Scotland and do a fake memorial service.

    ”I have offered to bury Her Majesty on first hole green of my beautiful Scottish resort, which she told me was her favorite resort in the whole world.”

  71. 71.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Betty Cracker:

    Lumpy must be fuming!

    It’s not like he liked the Queen or showed any signs he was enjoying the visit last time, but it’s a huge, public “I’m still president!” thing.

    The jackass still just calls himself 45th president rather than ‘former’ and puts the Presidential Seal on his correspondence.  It’s sad.  It’s just sad.  What a pathetic, insecure little man.

  72. 72.

    kalakal

    I can’t even begin to imagine what the security is going to be like. Many years ago I was working in Huddersfield when Her Maj paid a visit.

    As well as lots of ordinary police there was a lot of people so heavily armed they’d have given a panzer division pause for thought but the really fun bit was how the place was flooded with BT ( British Telecom) vans and all the extremely fit and tough looking men in their 20s wandering around in BT repair person overalls with large tool bags. I resolved there and then never to dispute my phone bill. if that’s what BT’s repair people looked like I’d hate to meet their debt collectors.

  73. 73.

    gvg

    @brantl: I wouldn’t like it either. As a citizen, I don’t want my President killed. I wouldn’t even like it if Trump or Bush were because of the chances of that making a martyr of them or whitewashing their reputations. I am sorry about the carbon footprint, but we will cut back more in some other place.

  75. 75.

    Matt McIrvin

    @germy shoemangler: My daughter and I got flu shots and bivalent COVID boosters at 10 PM last night–probably should have waited another day to get a more convenient time slot, but I wanted to get it over with. The CVS was deserted at that time of night so there wasn’t any wait for the shots. I woke up feeling a little kicked in the head this morning and my shoulders are sore, but my daughter apparently got up and got to school without significant issues.

  77. 77.

    PST

    @Steve in the ATL: No, but I should have. I was up early in a kind of stupor when the post came up, and after no one had commented for five minutes or so, I did, even though I had nothing to say. Much like I have nothing to say now, except it sure is cold in Chicago today. I realize that I lost so much weight over the summer that I no longer have long pants that fit.

  80. 80.

    WaterGirl

    I wonder if Putin’s announcement is along the lines of “you can’t fire me, I quit”.  A preemptive move to avoid the possibility that he would not be invited.

    Not clicking on Politico because of the new ownership.

  81. 81.

    Gin & Tonic

    Joke out of Ukraine this morning: Putin has announced that while he will not be attending Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, he plans to meet with her in person shortly.

  82. 82.

    artem1s

    The Bush Crime family already set precedent for excluding TFG from a high profile funeral where current and former POTUS typically get invited when they told the SITTING POTUS not to show up for one their family funerals (Barb I think but might have been Poppy). After Jan 6 no security detail in their right mind would want that potential for violence to become a thing at a state funeral. And he’s not getting invited to a lot of international state functions now that the DOJ found Top Secret docs at MAL.I don’t recall if Nixon was equally shunned after he resigned. But at least he wouldn’t have been excluded for security reasons. Sheesh.​

  85. 85.

    Matt McIrvin

    @zhena gogolia: My impression from some of the earlier rounds of boosters was that the antibody buildup from a booster happens much more rapidly than with the initial shots, because your immune system is already primed to respond to those protein spikes. Maybe within a couple of days.

    The fact that this one is bivalent with a new spike recipe in there might complicate things; I’m not sure.

  87. 87.

    zhena gogolia

    @cain: I don’t know, I saw somebody authoritative say that they wouldn’t be inviting delegations because there isn’t room for it.

  88. 88.

    James E Powell

    Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised by this, but thirty years after I first heard of them, it turns out I like & admire Hillary Clinton much more than Bill Clinton

    And the “Who would you rather have dinner with?” is not even close.

  90. 90.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Baud: ​
      Good god. Well, they did the best they could with what they had. There are an awful lot of assumptions posing as logical conclusions and the less said about eliding over relevant facts the better.

  94. 94.

    Baud

    @James E Powell:

    Agreed.  But I give Bill some props for staying in the background and giving Hillary a chance to shine, as she has.  He obviously has not been a good husband to her, but a lot of arrogant men would not have been able to emotionally handle seeing their SO steal the spotlight like that.

  95. 95.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Baud: That’s why they won’t do it, I’m afraid. Indications are that the Queen really liked Barack, but inviting him and not Trump would be a huge insult* to Trump and a diplomatic problem if Trump assumes the presidency again.

    *For most people, this would just be an acknowledgement that Obama was a little closer than they are. Trump would see it as purposeful disrespect, and he would take it out on England.

  97. 97.

    Ruckus

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Understand about your mom, my dad passed 21 yrs ago after about 15 yrs with Alzheimers. Had my arm around him when he went, and as much as almost no one wants to lose their parents, I have to say that dad suffered a lot, dementia is not a fun way to go, but in a way I was and still am glad his suffering was over.

  100. 100.

    J R in WV

    100?

     

    Trump is DC in his “golf clothes” — what could be going on there? Arrested this morning? Going to pray for QE II at the DC cathedral? Planning a diplomatic trip to Moscow?

    ETA: A little luck, fast typing, boom, a centennial post!!! Whoot!!   ;~)

  101. 101.

    Ruckus

    @Kay:

    Any odds that the queen changed her will that SFB was not to be allowed in the country on the day of the funeral, or left an order that he was not to be within a thousand miles of her casket. Ever?

  102. 102.

    Soprano2

    @Ruckus: Went through the same thing with my grandfather on my mother’s side. It was a blessing when he died. You mourn along the way as you lose the person you knew.

  103. 103.

    rikyrah

    @Soprano2:

    the Charter School scam has hit a brick wall.

    they have saturated the easy pickings – Urban areas. And now, they have an actual RECORD, which means that they can be voted up or down based upon their own performance.

     

    the growth areas left are those SUBURBAN areas where PEOPLE SPECIFICALLY MOVED TO BECAUSE THEY WERE WILLING TO PAY THEIR TAXES FOR GOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

     

    You can’t come in and con people who pay their taxes SPECIFICALLY FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT….

  104. 104.

    Paul in KY

    @lowtechcyclist: My mom turned 96 back in January. She was born in Warrington & got a kick out of outliving QE II.  She was raised poor & isn’t much of a royalist at all.

    She is beginning to fade herself.

  105. 105.

    different-church-lady

    @Kay: I still want Biden to bring all the ex-presidents and first ladies so they can all snub Trump at a funeral again.

  106. 106.

    Paul in KY

    @Ken: Edward V was surely murdered by Richard III, who had complete control of him & his brother.

    His guilty silence on all things Edward V after that damns him.

  107. 107.

    VOR

    @MisterForkbeard: Look, I think people need to stop pre-emptively cringing about TFG’s responses. He’s going to attack anyway, it’s just who he is.

    There is a significant size problem. The facility seats 2000 people. There are probably >100 countries who will send someone. Per Wikipedia, there are 650 members of the House of Commons and 756 members of the House of Lords. That’s 1406 people right there, not counting spouses, assistants, or security.

    We currently have 5 living ex-Presidents (Carter, Clinton, Bush, Obama, TFG) plus a sitting President. IMHO, the US is unlikely to get 12 seats for Presidents/ex-Presidents.

    So yeah, my bet is the official delegation is just Joe and Jill. It is possible Barack and Michelle are invited as personal guests, but none of the other ex-Presidents. TFG will pitch a giant hissy fit and throw his cheeseburger at the wall.

  108. 108.

    VOR

    @rikyrah: I personally vote to raise my taxes on every proposed school levy. I think every dollar spent on education is $10 saved on police and prisons.

    But IMHO you are dreaming if you think suburban people in general are in favor of spending more on education. All the older Fox News watchers no longer have children in the school system so they don’t see the point in paying taxes to educate other people’s kids. And they are convinced there is massive corruption and wasteful spending.

  109. 109.

    J R in WV

    So I watched the shaky video of Trump arrivingb at Dulles on his tiny private jet. I wonder if he has in hand a subpoena to meet with a Grand Jury in DC this week? A serious proposal for the quick flight to DC yesterday.

    No need to confer with lawyers, as he intends to 5th Amendment everything including his name and address, assuming he can remember an address… what a clownish goon!

  110. 110.

    Matt McIrvin

    @VOR: I was just watching a therapist on YouTube talking about how narcissists ruin special occasions and are impossible on their own birthdays due to their need to be the center of attention and dump on other people. She emphasizes that it’s impossible to make this not happen by appeasing them. You live with it or you cut them out.

  111. 111.

    sukabi

    if it hasn’t already been said…bussing foreign heads of state to the Queen’s funeral will be a security NIGHTMARE. and a provide a tempting target….

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