Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

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

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Let there be snark.

He really is that stupid.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

When I was faster i was always behind.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

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

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

I really should read my own blog.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

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

You are here: Home / Civil Rights / Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Onwards & Upwards

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Onwards & Upwards

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  4. 4.

    mali muso

    Good morning! The sun is shining, it’s my last official day in the office until 2023.  I gotta burn up some vacation time that will expire at the end of the year.  Not a bad problem to have, even if I still will end up doing a few work things via email from home.

  5. 5.

    Betty Cracker

    I haven’t seen any stats on it lately, but from where I sit, it sure looks like there’s been a dramatic spike in antisemitic acts and speech over the last couple of years. Good to see the admin take steps to address that.

  6. 6.

    gene108

    Cher’s mom, Georgia Holt, passed away yesterday at 96.

    Really shocked. I didn’t realize Cher’s mom would still be alive, since Cher’s in her mid-70’s.

  7. 7.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Betty Cracker: it sure looks like there’s been a dramatic spike in antisemitic acts and speech over the last couple of years

    Gee… Whatever would make you think that?

  8. 8.

    OzarkHillbilly

    From that AP piece up above:

    MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A nonprofit group that became a point of controversy for distributing hundreds of millions of dollars in election grants during the 2020 presidential campaign is releasing a fresh round of money to local election offices, including in states where Republican lawmakers tried to ban the practice.

    “Only oligarchs have those kind of free speech rights!”

  10. 10.

    CaseyL

    Good morning, everyone!  I woke up way too early, and decided to put a log on the fire because it’s cozy and cheerful.

    There are many things I should do today, while WFH.  Most of them involve housework, though, so it’s even odds whether they get done.  One of those things is to call a dishwasher repair person.  Washing dishes by hand is perhaps the most peaceful house chore there is, but I want my dishwasher back!

  12. 12.

    narya

    Good morning! last day of work is Thursday–and I’m hauling equipment back that day, so it’s not even a full day. So glad they didn’t take me up on my offer to stay into February; I don’t think I could have managed that.

  14. 14.

    lowtechcyclist

    Wow – office occupancy is down by half since 2019??  It was one thing for it to be way down at the height of the pandemic, but I’d have expected it to be more like it used to be by now.  Maybe this will be permanent.

    It’s a shame that they can’t just convert a whole bunch of office buildings into residential, but Suzanne has explained why it just isn’t that easy, and I believe her.  It’s her field, and she knows what she’s talking about.

  15. 15.

    Miss Bianca

    Is it shallow of me that I’m chortling over that image of Fetterman in his hoodie looking all Grumpy Gus next to all the other Senators who are, if not dressed up, at least looking a bit more business-casual and smiling for the camera?

    For some reason, it’s tickling me immensely.

  16. 16.

    Ken

    Biden is creating an inter-agency group on antisemitism & Islamophobia after more than 125 members of Congress called for it last week.

    Clumsy phrasing; it could be read that 125 members of Congress called for antisemitism.

    Er, that’s not the actual story, is it?

  17. 17.

    Miss Bianca

    @OzarkHillbilly: “They want to BOOST Democratic turnout! Every right-thinking person knows that the point of spending money on elections is to SUPPRESS Democratic turnout!”

  18. 18.

    CaseyL

    @raven: Leach apparently was never vaccinated (he played so coy on the question I assume he didn’t get the jab), and may have gotten Covid.

    Cardiovascular issues are a known long-term effect of Covid.

  19. 19.

    lowtechcyclist

    @narya:

    Good morning! last day of work is Thursday–and I’m hauling equipment back that day, so it’s not even a full day. So glad they didn’t take me up on my offer to stay into February; I don’t think I could have managed that.

    Yay!!!

    My wife is retiring at the end of April.  We’re both Federal employees, and there were a bunch of benefits that would have kicked in if she could have hung in there until she turned 60 in late 2024.  But the job was driving her crazy, and I kept telling her that we could afford for her to retire sooner.  She finally believed me, thank goodness.

  20. 20.

    Starfish

    @lowtechcyclist: All the genius corporate leaders decided “Hey, we can save money with these open office floor plans” that spread disease and broke everyone’s concentration. Guess what? Everyone hated it.

    Imagine having walls, and then having cubicle walls because real walls cost money. Then imagine having no walls at all and having to listen to the person next to you every single day.

  21. 21.

    Leto

    @Betty Cracker: there definitely has been. Read this article from WaPo and there’s a connection: How a Trump-allied group fighting ‘anti-white bigotry’ beats Biden in court; America First Legal was founded last year by Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s immigrant family separation policy

    I fear anything that this group produces will be treated similar to the DHS report, produced back in 2012, that stated white supremacists were targeting law enforcement/military personnel for recruitment (which is still true). Doesn’t mean the work shouldn’t be done, just don’t know how effective that will be.

  22. 22.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @lowtechcyclist:
    My intention was to retire at 57 but when I was able to transfer to Denver, that delayed things.
    Then The Plague Times began and it was dumb to leave because the gig was just too good with full time from home.  By this point, I’m just under a year from 62 and that’s when the pension calculation changes significantly, so it’s gut it out until this time next year.​

  23. 23.

    Ken

    @Starfish: On the plus side, once they’ve told employees “just set up your laptop on any available desk”, it gets harder to argue that the desk can’t be at home. Even the “team building” and “meeting” arguments get weakened, when your team is scattered across three floors of open-plan offices and meet by zoom because there aren’t enough conference rooms.

  24. 24.

    Suzanne

    @lowtechcyclist:

    It’s a shame that they can’t just convert a whole bunch of office buildings into residential, but Suzanne has explained why it just isn’t that easy, and I believe her.  It’s her field, and she knows what she’s talking about. 

    Awww why thank you.
    There was a good piece in Slate yesterday that explained it well for normies. Essentially: it’s not financially feasible in most places for most developers.

    Adaptive reuse (converting one building type to another) is pretty difficult to do, especially from a financial perspective. Tearing down and rebuilding is easier and often more cost-effective.

  25. 25.

    CaseyL

    @narya:

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Yay for retirement!

    One thing I’ve noticed about new retirees is how so many of them, a few months in, become depressed and bored, and a lot of them get into trouble.  I think it’s because they no longer have an ordinary routine structure to their days.  Even if they didn’t like their jobs, it was still something that got them out of bed, out of the house, and something to do all day.

    I’ve observed, in myself, a certain lack of structure when not working, whether it’s reading all day or hanging out online.  When I retire (knock wood), I’ll remind myself to replace the daily grind with a daily something to organize my days around.

    So – just a word to the wise.  Be alert for signs you need to make sure there is still some kind of quotidian structure to your days – and enjoy the hell out of your retirement!

  27. 27.

    Soprano2

    Nothing in that tweet about how part of the reason office occupancy is down is probably that companies are saving money, not that “people didn’t like going to the office”. I get so, so tired of the idea that everyone hates to go to work where other people are, that we all want to sit in our individual houses everywhere and work without ever seeing another co-worker except on a computer screen. I personally think that’s not that good for most of us. Ask any teacher how much kids lost the past two years when it comes to socialization. Heck, just look at how the average person acts these days to see how much of the “social graces” we’ve lost since Covid hit. Lots of people just aren’t like that. I would hate working at home! These days when I leave a message or send a text I honestly don’t expect a reply back, because people think ignoring you is telling you something.

  28. 28.

    Scout211

    As we all know in politics, it’s not what they say, but what they actually do, that matters. However, this statement from DiFi is disappointing.

    WASHINGTON — 

    Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Monday she has every intention of serving the remainder of her Senate term and is still deliberating whether to retire in 2024.

     

    The latest comments from California’s senior senator echo what she has previously said on the topic. But coming with just two years left on her term, they may finally close the door on any lingering speculation that she would step down earlier and allow Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint a temporary replacement.

     

    At 89, Feinstein is the oldest sitting senator, and in recent years concerns have grown that she may no longer have the stamina and mental sharpness for the job.

     

    In a brief interview Monday evening, Feinstein said she was committed and looking forward to finishing this term.

  29. 29.

    Suzanne

    @Ken:

    Even the “team building” and “meeting” arguments get weakened, when your team is scattered across three floors of open-plan offices and meet by zoom because there aren’t enough conference rooms. 

    In my case, it’s hard to argue that we need to be in person when we’re having client meetings remotely anyway. And the fees to our consultants are lower because we don’t need to include as much travel time.

    And most of the people in my office don’t even really go eat lunch in any sort of break room (they go out, or eat at their desks while working), so the whole “quick talk around the water cooler” nonsense is…..nonsense.

    The consensus around this — based on what I am seeing from corporate real estate developers — is that the office of the future is 25%-33% smaller, with fewer workstations, workstations become “hoteling” or unassigned, and more space dedicate to conference rooms. And the conference rooms are of more variety in size, furniture, technology outfit, formality, etc.

  30. 30.

    Suzanne

    @Soprano2: Lots of people hate the commute part. I wouldn’t mind working in an office more than I do….but fuck, losing two hours a day is ludicrous.

    The satisfaction level of open offices (workstations, cubicles, and all the various permutations) is really bad, though. Has been for years. There’s a lot of data on this and they endure because they’re cheap to build and operate.

  32. 32.

    kindness

    @Scout211: DiFi sucks but she isn’t going to run again.  And even if she tried, she’d lose the primary.  This is California.  We have a really good group waiting to move up the ranks.  It’s become too apparent that her staff is the only thing making her appear coherent.  Ego can be a terrible drug.

  33. 33.

    Math Guy

    @lowtechcyclist: My wife and I left our teaching jobs two years earlier than we had planned partly for the same reasons: the jobs were stressing us out and we realized that we could actually afford to retire this year. One of the best decisions we made. Enjoy yourselves!

  34. 34.

    Lyrebird

    @CaseyL: You just reminded me of something else I should think about.  I do not have much for retirement.  I also make little enough money that it might cost the family half as much to buy me out of my job for a year compared to hiring a full time home health aide for an aging parent.  My salary is bad, but it does come with some retirement contributions.  My head hurts.

  35. 35.

    Soprano2

    @Starfish:Then imagine having no walls at all and having to listen to the person next to you every single day.

    That was the first office I worked in during the 1980’s. We begged and begged for partitions because it was so hard to talk on the phone, but he wouldn’t get them because he thought we wanted them so we could goof off. At least we each had our own desks.

  37. 37.

    CindyH

    @CaseyL: A counter-anecdote – I have many (6) friends and (9) former colleagues who have retired and every single one is loving it.  Some had very structured plans, others not so much.  But they all love it and recommend it!

  38. 38.

    Alison Rose

    Also, for my California jackals, the Newsoms will be inducting this years honorees into the CA Hall of Fame tonight at 7, if you wanna watch.

    List includes: Lynda Carter, Megan Rapinoe, Arlie Russell Hochschild, Roy Choi, Alonzo King, Peggy Fleming, Ed Ruscha, Linda Ronstadt, Steven Chu, Barbara Morgan, Los Tigres del Norte

  39. 39.

    Alison Rose

    @kindness: Why are you so sure she’d lose? She won the 2018 primary with over 44% of the vote. The runner-up got 12%. Granted, she’s obviously less fit for the job now than she was then, but she was already showing signs of needing to step down back then and voters didn’t care.

  40. 40.

    narya

    @lowtechcyclist: @comrade scotts agenda of rage: @CaseyL: @rikyrah: @Math Guy: @Lyrebird:

    Thank you all! I started a spreadsheet–MULTIPLE spreadsheets–a year or so ago, trying to figure out what it would take. I wanted to stay till July 2023 (Medicare eligibility) but decided that was just too awful. I slowly sold off stuff (a few shares of something, life insurance) and have been paying off the mortgage (that’s final on Friday morning!). I had already decided to leave by April Fool’s Day ’23, but they’re cutting people and offered severance, and i was all OVER that; I can make it work, according to the spreadsheets. I definitely have some projects that will take some time, and I will keep exercising–probably increase that, actually, to improve strength, flexibility, and balance–and I suspect that the lack of stress will improve my creativity. That had deserted me, thanks to this job, but I’m finding that I’m already thinking about writing and needlework again.

  41. 41.

    OzarkHillbilly

    A Michigan army veteran who turned his life around with a bike shop died in a crash while delivering free bikes to children in Florida affected by Hurricane Ian, his family said.

    Steven Pringle, 57, was killed in Punta Gorda, Florida, on 23 November, a few weeks after a profile in the Detroit Free Press described how his passion for fixing bikes had touched many people in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

    “One lady said, ‘We couldn’t afford a bicycle, and your father gave my son a bicycle.’ I was really blown away at the impact that he had,” Pringle’s son, Jason Pringle, told the Free Press last week.
    ………………………….
    Pringle earlier this year told the newspaper that he had been in despair, eating poorly and living in a camper when he had an awakening while praying the Catholic rosary. It eventually turned into Build a Bicycle | Bicycle Therapy, a shop in Kingsford where he fixed bikes, sold new ones and gave many away.

    “I’ve had people in the beginning who told me, ‘You donate too much,’” Pringle said. “But the more we donate, the more that comes back at the end of the day. I don’t need money. What am I gonna do with it, collect it and save it?”

    Very sad.

  42. 42.

    Layer8Problem

    @Starfish:  Years ago I had my own office.  With a door.  An absolute treat.  Had a window, had a door that closed.

    The next job, share an office with someone.  The job following that, share with two.  Then cubicles.  And finally open plan.  “Silicon Valley does this!  Now we all get to mingle, interact, innovate!  You’re all going to be thinking outside the envelope!”  Thank you Mr. Senior Vice President.

    That’s when I got my first pair of noise-canceling headphones, along with everyone else who hadn’t purchased those yet.

  43. 43.

    John S.

    @Soprano2:

    Different strokes for different folks.

    I work in fintech and spend more than half my days on Teams meetings with people all over the world. Sitting in an office while doing that doesn’t “enhance” my work experience.

  45. 45.

    PAM Dirac

    @CaseyL:

    I think it’s because they no longer have an ordinary routine structure to their days.

    I had a harder time than I thought with that. I have plenty that I want to do, but when you don’t have something that you have to do, it does get a bit chaotic. Why you sit around reading BJ for a few hours and al of a sudden it’s “to late” to start cooking that nice dinner you were thinking of. :-) I also started getting a bit sleep deprived when our dog would get me up at 4 in the morning. It took me a surprisingly long time to realize that I don’t have to be up at 5:30 anymore and I can go back to sleep for hours if I want. Funny how certain patterns get so ingrained that you jut follow them, even when things change.

  46. 46.

    lowtechcyclist

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage:

    My intention was to retire at 57 but when I was able to transfer to Denver, that delayed things.
    Then The Plague Times began and it was dumb to leave because the gig was just too good with full time from home.  By this point, I’m just under a year from 62 and that’s when the pension calculation changes significantly, so it’s gut it out until this time next year.​

    From what I’ve heard, it works better for most couples if they stagger their retirement at least a bit, so that one person can have some time to figure out what they’re doing with themselves before the other one calls it quits.  So that’s what we’re doing – like you, I’m calling it quits this time next year.

    @CaseyL:

    One thing I’ve noticed about new retirees is how so many of them, a few months in, become depressed and bored, and a lot of them get into trouble.  I think it’s because they no longer have an ordinary routine structure to their days.  Even if they didn’t like their jobs, it was still something that got them out of bed, out of the house, and something to do all day.

    Well, it’s been nearly three years since our jobs have gotten my wife and me out of the house.  And I’ll confess I spend a lot of my theoretical work day doing other stuff – like right now.

    The effect of not commuting is weird: it adds 45 minutes of spare time at either end of the work day, but it’s not really enough to do much with.  As a result, I wind up doing more just sitting around now than I did when I was commuting.  I think having whole days available will give me the room to actually DO some things with my spare time at last.  I certainly plan on doing a lot more bicycling, just for starters.

  47. 47.

    Josie

    @CaseyL: ​
     I’ve been retired for a long time now, and I can attest to the fact that there is nothing like an anxious dog for getting you up in the morning. Especially now that I don’t have a yard, and I have to get dressed to take him out.

  48. 48.

    Betty Cracker

    @Soprano2: My guess is the need for facetime varies greatly by individual. I’ve been working from home full time since 2007, and it suits me, but I’ve always been kind of a lone wolf.

    It was weird when folks I work with started working from home too. I could see them going through the stages of office separation I’d experienced more than a dozen years before. :)

  49. 49.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    And in other news the Satanic Temple won the right to have holiday display in the statehouse in Illinois:

    “The sculpture — crowdsourced by temple members and workshopped into fruition, Minister Adam said — is a mirrored base holding a leather-bound copy of “On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres,” written by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543 and including once-rebellious thoughts on astronomy that later become controversial among theologians. Circling its base is a snake, crocheted by a Satanist, winding upward and resting its head inside of the open book, which is also surrounded by crocheted apples.”

    Satanic temple of Illinois wins right to holiday display

  50. 50.

    Math Guy

    @narya: Good for you! My wife is the queen of spreadsheets and had this figured out years ago. For us the biggest bump was that we had to sell our house (in a deep red crazy state) and buy a house in Minnesota, but it worked. I have time to read and I’ve started writing; she works part-time at an elementary school just enough to get insurance and doesn’t have to take work home with her. We’re both sleeping better than we have for years. The cats are happy.

  51. 51.

    Layer8Problem

    @Soprano2:  There was a book called Peopleware by Tom DeMarco and Tim Lister which I read way back in the 90s, pointing out that for programmers and people of that ilk with the thinking and the concentrating and the flow and all that, you really wanted them not interrupted and actively thinking, for good solid productivity reasons.  Anyway, it advocated having one person/one office in a perfect world, or at least a couple in one office.  With a door.  No manager I ever brought it up with took it seriously.

  53. 53.

    OzarkHillbilly

    In 35 years I never got to work from home and I think it is the rankest form of discrimination that other people are allowed to!

    s//

  56. 56.

    PAM Dirac

    @Layer8Problem:

    Years ago I had my own office. With a door. An absolute treat. Had a window, had a door that closed.

    The last 3-4 years of my career I had offices in two places and both were corner offices with windows. Luxury! Too bad my boss’s boss was kind of a jerk, I might have stayed a few more years. Maybe they just wanted the offices.

  57. 57.

    rikyrah

    Anyone from Virginia want to explain this to someone from outside of the state?

    Sam Shirazi (@samshirazim) tweeted at 10:31 AM on Mon, Dec 12, 2022:
    We have a date for the Special Election in VA-4

    It will be Tuesday February 21

    There will be early voting so the parties will have to select nominees quickly

    There will not be a state run primary, and the parties will announce details of selection process soon
    (https://twitter.com/samshirazim/status/1602340289338916865?t=dCgS_ySFSZ2Nx7K-yTdaew&s=03)

  58. 58.

    Alison Rose

    @Elizabelle: I’m actually not. I think there’s a chance she might eventually realize (or her people might make her realize) that she shouldn’t run again, but if she does, for a lot of people in this state, it’s just automatic to select her on their ballot. Yes, a lot has changed, but her name recognition hasn’t. Plus, a LOT of people are barely keyed in to politics at all and probably have no idea how old she is.

  60. 60.

    Alison Rose

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yeah. The next highest Democrat in the primary came in 8th with 2.2% of the vote, and was no one I’d ever heard of. I think part of the issue is that other well-known Dems in the state don’t want to challenge her even if they think she definitely shouldn’t be running.

  62. 62.

    Captain C

    @Layer8Problem:

    The next job, share an office with someone.  The job following that, share with two.  Then cubicles.  And finally open plan.  “Silicon Valley does this!  Now we all get to mingle, interact, innovate!  You’re all going to be thinking outside the envelope!”  Thank you Mr. Senior Vice President.

    No doubt soon followed by:

    Bosses:  “Hey!  Why are you all socializing?  Get back to work!”

    Employees:  “Nah, we’re just mingling, interacting, and innovating, just like you said in those emails.”

  63. 63.

    Suzanne

    @lowtechcyclist:

    The effect of not commuting is weird: it adds 45 minutes of spare time at either end of the work day, but it’s not really enough to do much with. 

    Not my experience……I sleep a bit later and get the kid out the door to school in the morning, work out and shower at lunchtime, and then go to yoga after work. It is my favorite thing.

  65. 65.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @Soprano2: That isn’t my experience. Most of my coworkers prefer to work from home most of the time. Some moved further out because they had the option of working from home.

  67. 67.

    Layer8Problem

    About ten years ago I had about a year or so working from home, before Zoom and all that, and having all my daytime interactions be emails and the occasional phone had me getting a mite squirrelly.  I found myself grabbing the laptop and relocating to coffeehouses and bars with WiFi just for the human contact.

  68. 68.

    Betty Cracker

    @rikyrah: The NYT political desk has always been terrible, but that article was egregiously shallow and misleading even for them. I’m not sure if Musk has a strategy to use Twitter to become a Rupert Murdoch for the digital age or if he’s free-balling to feed his massive ego, Trump-style. Maybe both. But dog help us if it’s the former because credulous choads like Peters will pave the way.

  69. 69.

    Layer8Problem

    @Captain C:  “Nah, we’re just mingling, interacting, and innovating, just like you said in those emails.”

    Yeah, we got the sense things weren’t going the way quite the way they wanted, prompting a memo banning Nerf weaponry.

  72. 72.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’m not sure if Musk has a strategy to use Twitter to become a Rupert Murdoch for the digital age or if he’s free-balling to feed his massive ego, Trump-style.

    That’s Kara Swisher’s latest theory, or “rumination”, as she puts it. He wants to turn twitter into the next Fox News.

    Kara Swisher @karaswisher

    So tomorrow on @pivotpod, I posit a theory about why Musk has become so performative with his right-wing dog whistle tweets on Fauci, libs, wokeness, as well as his pushing out the Twitter Files as if he were Woodward & Bernstein: Maybe he’s building a new kind of media company.

    If he has a plan, he’s doing a helluva job of covering it up by masquerading as somebody in free-fall

  73. 73.

    Soprano2

    @John S.: Different strokes for different folks.

    Yes, which is my point exactly. All of the tweets and stories make it sound like everyone 1) wants to work at home and 2) can work at home. I know some people love it, but they should at least admit that some people can’t and some people hate it!

  74. 74.

    Soprano2

    @PAM Dirac: I heard someone say that the worst thing in retirement is “tomorrow”, as in “I can always do that tomorrow”. It happened to my husband, he had all these plans to do stuff that somehow never actually got done.

  75. 75.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Soprano2: Carolyn Maloney was quoted as saying something about the impressive funerals sitting MoC get. I’m willing to accept that she was making some kind of joke when she said it, but I think there’s something to the idea that these ancient Senators want to die in office so they get to lie in the Rotunda (or wherever)

  76. 76.

    Soprano2

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I guess, but why don’t they want to spend that time with their grandkids and great-grandkids instead? Seems better and more productive to me when you’re 89. I actually suspect it’s because they don’t want to admit that she has some kind of dementia.

  77. 77.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Huh. Swisher seems to chronically overestimate Beluga Boy, so now I distrust my own speculation. ;-)

    Musk claims user engagement is through the roof, but he’s a liar with an interest in pushing that narrative, so who knows. Even if true, it’s plausible the growth is due to fascists, white supremacists, Nazis, Trumpers (but I repeat myself), etc., migrating to Twitter from their off-brand digital sewers now that Musk has put out the batshit signal.

    Someone on Mastodon said they’ve had another huge uptick in signups since the weekend, which could indicate more people are quitting Twitter due to Musk’s increasingly Q-infused antics.

    The question is will MSM journalists, government officials, etc., who’ve made the platform a communications hub continue to use it even as hate speech and hard-right disinformation campaigns proliferate around them?

    If not, Musk will have spent $44B to turn Twitter into Gab. But if they do stay, swimming in that ecosystem might inject more toxic right-wing garbage into mainstream discourse.

  78. 78.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Starfish: ​Imagine having walls, and then having cubicle walls because real walls cost money. Then imagine having no walls at all and having to listen to the person next to you every single day.

    Ain’t gotsa ‘magine. When I joined Westinghouse as a Senior Engineer in 1982 my first desk was in a typical “bullpen” (smallish by Circle-Bar-Dubya standards): ~30 of us in a big room). My row of desks-facing-desks with no dividers between was occupied by the DP contract employees I’d been assigned to manage (having left my prior job on the “assurance” promised me I’d never be asked to do DP management again, hah). Across from me sat the senior contractor – we both knew I didn’t know what I was doing, but somehow things worked out…​​

  79. 79.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Another Scott:

    Holy shit, that’s soon.

    As Blue Virginia points out, this House seat is a safe Dem seat, so whoever wins the ‘firehouse primary’ (wtf is that, in practical terms? and fuck Youngkin for not having a state-run primary!) is likely to hold that seat for decades.

    With the election not until Feb. 21, what’s the hurry? Even with early voting, you’d think they could hold off on the primary until January at least.

  80. 80.

    Elizabelle

    @rikyrah:   The late Don McEachin’s district is a surefire Democratic win.

    So, the election will be decided in the primary.  Which is to be held eight days from now.  Candidates are just announcing in the last day or two.

    McEachin’s funeral was December 7; he had died on November 28.

    Haven’t looked into the matter, but I wonder if CRT Youngkin could have scheduled the primary a little later.  Given that it’s in the midst of a holiday season

    ETA:  It would make an enormous difference to schedule the primary for January 21.  But maybe Virginia state law constrains it.

  81. 81.

    sdhays

    @Betty Cracker: Not to mention, simple engagement numbers (and for all we know, they’re just wrong because something has broken and they don’t know it yet – or Elmu is lying, of course) don’t pay any bills, especially if it’s mostly super toxic “engagement”. And whatever “strategy” Musky is farting out on any given day doesn’t really have any ideas around making money.

    It really seems to me that the Musk Melon is envious of Trump and wants to be like him. He’s not a Trump supporter so much, he wants to be Donny. He’s turning Twitter into his own Truth Social.

  83. 83.

    Elizabelle

    @lowtechcyclist:   I know.  I am curious about the parameters.  What was the range of dates CRT Youngkin was working with?

    Looks sketchy to me, but who knows.

    And rest in grace, Donald McEachin.  He was my Congressman (for one term; got redistricted out of Abigail Spanberger’s district; as did she, with her family home and childrens’ schools).  Mr. McEachin was a very good man.

  86. 86.

    Paul in KY

    @Soprano2: I had colleagues back in the 1980s who were in that situation. Being transferred in to their unit was like being sent to the Russian Front.

  89. 89.

    El Muneco

    @Layer8Problem: One of the reasons that software development still has such high buy-in to full-time WFH is that a lot of – possibly most – departments didn’t see a dropoff in productivity during COVID. Just the opposite, for many or most.

    In fact, the gaming industry, which had been so paranoid about WFH due to paranoia over IP that all the mandated perpetual crunch overtime had to be in-house (devs couldn’t even take a thumb drive home to code from there if they had a fridge thought).

     

    Then COVID hit and they were forced to adapt. And it turned out that, despite the fear and loathing, people still put in the necessary time even without a manager over their shoulder, and while they did lose some team synergy, the undisturbed time more than made up for it. So even they are relaxed about it now.

  91. 91.

    J R in WV

    @CaseyL:

    So – just a word to the wise. Be alert for signs you need to make sure there is still some kind of quotidian structure to your days – and enjoy the hell out of your retirement!

    My most regular task now is to make sure Balloon Juice is still fully operational, and that I post at least a little bit on the most interesting threads, even if I’m LAST MOST often. Hardly ever first, also too…..      ;~)

  92. 92.

    J R in WV

    @Suzanne:

    The satisfaction level of open offices (workstations, cubicles, and all the various permutations) is really bad, though. Has been for years. There’s a lot of data on this and they endure because they’re cheap to build and operate.

    My state agency [Dept of Env Protection, I was in the IT shop] I worked for fortunately got grants to build a new consolidated office building. They built a traditional office building with offices. Good sized offices with two staffers per room. I was mgt and had my own office to manage from.

    I was able to retire pretty early, WV counted my time in the Navy, and I worked for the state quite a bit over the years, so at 58 I was outta there. Naps became an important part of my life!!

    Anyway, really glad to hear about other jackals getting to the golden goal — I expect you guys to comment a lot more once you aren’t working for the Man any more!

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