Shouldn’t we be comparing Joe Biden to George Washington?
“I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree.”
~ George Washington
“I found these classified documents in my office, and I wanted to notify you immediately.”
~ Joseph R. Biden
Open thread.
bbleh
I’m still ok comparing him WITH Trump.
Trump: was asked for documents, stonewalled and prevaricated, was subpoenaed, turned over fewer than a third of them, was asked again, claimed a thorough search had been conducted, evidently moved documents around in the meantime, had his club searched and was shown to be holding over a hundred more, and then (quoting Colbert) claimed he declassified them all with the power of his mind.
Biden: was never asked, discovered them all on his own, notified all the appropriate agencies immediately, and has never claimed there wasn’t a problem.
It ain’t the crime; it’s the coverup.
BruceFromOhio
I have this illusion in my head that this was a method to demonstrate once and for all that there is no ‘liberal media,’ using a clear-as-day distinction between Dems and GQP.
WaterGirl
@bbleh: I’m not talking about the people who pay attention and are discerning when they take in the news.
I’m suggesting this comparison for the people who mostly just take in the sound bites.
kalakal
Oddly enough the circumstances of Biden’s hanging on to a few documents will probably go down better with the public. Who hasn’t moved and in the kerfuffle ended up with boxes of ‘stuff I need to sort out, oh sod just shove them in garage/loft/ spare room, I’ll get to them’ and then forgot all about them ?
Trump on the other hand knew all along, accessed them all along & lied about it
trollhattan
It took Russian missiles knocking down a 9-story apartment building in Ukraine to shove Biden docs off the top of the BBC News webpage–it’s now right below, illustrated with a Biden grumpy face photo and flanked by Iran executing a British citizen and Lisa-Marie’s burial.
They are all making this into Hillary’s email server, which one in a thousand people can explain even today.
And why is that execution not the top story, everywhere? Iran is floundering and the only thing they can think of in response is killing people publicly, because reasons.
Amir Khalid
TFG has actually said that he’s a better President than Lincoln or Washington (coincidentally, the only previous POTUSes he can name from memory). If Biden is comparable to Washington, and TFG is better than Washington, then logically we must conclude that TFG is better than Biden.
Benw
Jorge Washingtub?
Lapassionara
@kalakal: I’m thinking most people aren’t seeing that distinction. A friend said yesterday, “so Biden had top secret documents.” Where did she hear that? As far as I know, these were classified docs, or at least some of them were. At what level we do not know. So, to the regular folks, this looks just like what Trump did.
Another Scott
Good idea. Except the cherry tree story is a myth. ;-)
I haven’t kept up with the drip-drip of supposed details, but I think people have to remember that there are 3 levels of “classified” and lots of nuances beyond that. And the rules get modified over time, and some things are automatically declassified (on the date given when the information was classified) and some not. And then there’s Controlled Unclassified Information and all the rules about that. This stuff is complicated with lots of moving parts.
Garland’s announcement of appointment of a Special Counsel only mentions “classification markings”, not the level.
Yup, Biden, or someone, messed up in handling these things. But he did the right and legal thing once they were found. Unlike that other guy.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@kalakal:
Yeah, to be honest, I think this helps us in the long run. But only if we’re strong about it.
@Lapassionara:
There’s reporting that one of the documents was top secret. I’ll wait for confirmation. But I think the only people who will be moved by this are people who want to be moved by it.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Yup, it’s hard to argue with people who only kind of absorb news, rather than read past the third paragraph. I do that myself on some stories, TBH.
I’ve been thinking lately of Jon Favreau’s Wilderness podcast. It offered good if frustrating insights into how people who see politics as a forest rather than trees, as we oddballs do. And I have no solutions to offer, but they’re where politics starts.
WaterGirl
@kalakal: Not only that, but if what I read is true – that some of the classified documents were mixed in with papers about funeral arrangements for Beau – who isn’t scattered when they have just had a terrible loss and their brain is screaming in the background Beau is gone, my son is gone?
trollhattan
In our ongoing experiments with altering the boring, old climate, winter in the West continues apace.
I liked things back in the day when we didn’t get all our rain and snow during a single three-week stretch.
WaterGirl
@Another Scott:
For the people I am talking about reaching, that matters not at all.
Steeplejack
@Lapassionara:
I think normies filter it down, or receive it filtered down, to the most basic level: “both sides.” It’s like how they don’t think that the GQP is crazy obstructionist or that Manchinema is blocking everyone else, it’s “partisan gridlock.”
@Another Scott:
“I think people have to remember [. . .].” They will do no such thing. Both sides!
Mike in NC
Putin’s Puppet frequently boasted that he accomplished more than all of the 44 guys who preceded him. Of course, none of them also wore a girdle, a diaper, and 2″ lifts in their shoes.
FelonyGovt
Only tangentially related, there’s an article in this morning’s LA Times (yes, I still get a physical newspaper, get off my lawn) with a photo of the Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona. I sure couldn’t have told you before that who the current Education Secretary is, or what he looks like. Contrast that with TFG’s maladaministration, where we knew every one of the miscreants.
Scout211
@trollhattan: we have already had 4 momentary power outages so far this morning.
Look out! A line of severe weather is headed toward Sacramento.
Right now we do have power here, but can barely see outside due to the heavy rain and strong winds.
It’s going to be a long day.
mrmoshpotato
@trollhattan:
I imagine Soda Springs agrees from what I’ve seen on YouTube.
mrmoshpotato
@Mike in NC: Nor were any of them traitors, though George Warcriminal Bush belongs in the dock at the ICC.
Doug R
I’m still not convinced those documents weren’t planted.
Secret Service has been so honest and forthcoming in the recent past after all.
Scout211
Make that 5.
Ohio Mom
What Another Scott said. Lay people just repeat the phrase “top secret” because that’s the phrase they’ve heard, probably from cartons and spy movies.
They have no idea about the many levels of classified information, that some classified material is downright silly (news articles?), that there are plenty of porous aspects to the whole system. Once when Ohio Dad was working on a government contract involving computer controls for military helicopters, he realized he had access to real time troop movements in Iraq. Oops! (He didn’t look).
Betty Cracker
@Lapassionara: Here’s an excerpt from a January 9 CNN report about the documents found in the private office:
IIRC, the documents the FBI seized from Trump had dozens of TS/SCI files. The only good thing that might come out of this mess is if the government reforms the way it classifies documents and tracks the most sensitive stuff. It appears the current methods leave intel assets vulnerable to getting misplaced (Biden) or being exploited by bad actors (Trump).
Lapassionara
So, my phone just told me that additional classified documents were found in Biden’s home. Are these more docs, or are they the docs already found.
maybe Putin is getting help.
Bill Hicks
Citizen Alan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The whole thing is just despair inducing. It turns out that George Orwell was painfully naive, because he thought the fastest government would actually have to completely take over the media. Turns out you get the exact same result from having the pro fascist oligarchs simply buy the media outright, and no one seems to have a problem with it.
Rebels Dad
I graduated college in 2007. I had a lot of student loan debt (don’t remember the exact figure) but my new job was public sector, so I signed up for the PSLF. Over the next 15 years, due to economic and chronic health conditions, I had periods where 1) I wasn’t employed, 2) the job at the time was private sector, and 3) I couldn’t afford payments and my loans were in deferment. Fortunately from 2015-2022 I worked at a college so some of those payments were counted towards my PSLF even during the COVID forbearance. My balance eventually became over $100k and I honestly believed I would die still owing these loans. I was hopeful the Biden-Harris administration would help me in some way but I was prepared for disappointment.
Fast forward to last week. I log into my student loan lender portal to see when my next payment is due. My loans aren’t showing up. So I call the lender. They tell me that in November 2022 they requested a direct discharge of my loans from the Department of Education, and the DOE agreed.
Y’all…MY LOANS ARE GONE. FORGIVEN. I got the official letter in the mail the other day. I still can’t believe that this day is here. I’m Airbnb hopping and literally counting pennies to eat, but $100,000 IN LOANS IS GONE.
Thanks, Biden.
Voting fucking matters.
NotMax
As it’s open thread, something lighter to chew over that’s been rattling around the cranium.
Can Elmer Fudd use Alexa?
:)
Immanentize
@trollhattan: Was there ever such a time?
It Never Rains in Southern California
Citizen Alan
@NotMax: I’ve never considered getting an Alexa. Given the complete inability of my smartphone to comprehend my Southern dialect, I can’t imagine Alexa would be worthwhile.
Rebels Dad
@Scout211: Those aren’t power outages, they’re your electric provider helping you save money during these trying economic times!
:-)
Steeplejack
@Rebels Dad:
Congratulations! 💸
CaseyL
@Rebels Dad: That’s great news – and what a huge relief it must be!
Immanentize
@Rebels Dad: Woot!!
Lapassionara
@Betty Cracker: to me, the private office is different from the garage. I can understand Biden having some SCIF docs in his private office, but having them in the garage just seems lackadaisical.
Percysowner
@Rebels Dad:
Congrats on the loan freedom! I hope everyone covered by Biden’s order can get that as well.
My son-in-law applied to have his remaining loans cleared, he’s been a public employee for more than 10 years. It would be a big weight off if/when it comes through.
And YES voting does matter.
Rebels Dad
@NotMax: “Hey Siri, pwease kill the wabbit”
“One moment…now playing ‘White Rabbit’ by Jefferson Airplane”
“OOO that’s not what I meant!”
“…now playing ‘Little Bunny Foo Foo’ on Apple Music”
Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg
Disgusting obit:
https://mortuary.org/obituaries/michael-haight
The backstory:
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/utah-father-michael-haight-kills-110700436.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADe3ZdBPk7BXrUXiTDArKA9OYFfGwrTCVqZ2n-4OAZGMx_Cvpd5H433Sqtx-b4UL7q7auolsl78kz59of4tARcAtFCCVJpo4r4BfmDLw80bCWMCZE9wzSR8zobRS7YEsflGWBlVpQQ5zVJyvznSecccamy0vI6qm45ga9wWWUShU
Guessing his mom commissioned it.
Lapassionara
@Rebels Dad: hooray!
Scout211
@Rebels Dad: Wow! Thanks for sharing your good news. It’s nice to hear something so positive this morning.
Congratulations!
(And now 6 momentary power outages this morning). ☹️
jeffreyw
It’s Caturday
Immanentize
I may need to find an apartment and leave my home of 20 years plus in about two months because — it may be sold to very eager beaver buyers. I am not sure I can do this so fast. But if they want me out by mid-March, well, everything has a price, no?
different-church-lady
We live in a very stupid country.
Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg
@NotMax:
Probably a lot better than Porky Pig….
RandomMonster
“Embattled Young George Washington Forced to Admit Arbor Vandalism After Hours of Silence”
different-church-lady
@kalakal:
It’s more like finding a library book you never returned.
And then returning it.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: Yikes on the weather.
All you California peeps, take care of yourselves.
different-church-lady
@NotMax:
I’ve never used Alexa, but isn’t part of setting up things like that training the voice recognition on your way of saying the key word?
Steeplejack
@jeffreyw:
“Why mug haz black cat? I not like.”
WaterGirl
@Lapassionara: I know of 3 different sets so far, if that helps any.
Phylllis
@Doug R: There’s a part of me that hates that I think that as well.
different-church-lady
@BruceFromOhio:
Oh that’s no illusion, it’s just that it happened by accident.
kalakal
@different-church-lady: That’s a great analogy. As a librarian it should have occurred to me lol!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Immanentize: That sounds stressful
Ohio Mom
@Immanentize: Twice in my life I’ve had the luxury of packing movers. It’s amazing how quickly a household can be boxed up when the people doing the boxing up have no emotional connections to the stuff they are boxing up.
Steeplejack
@Immanentize:
Hey, it just puts you that much closer to your bucolic lakeside retreat. Progress!
I hope you’ve already started decluttering. 😬
Jim, Foolish Literalist
O’Bro Dan Pfeiffer said on Thursday’s podcast that he was part of the vetting team for nominees need Senate confirmation in Obama’s second term, and mishandling of classified information– somebody left a file out on their desk over night, or accidentally took home the wrong file– was pretty common for people who handle it as part of their day jobs
WaterGirl
@jeffreyw: Sweet, beautiful kitty!
HumboldtBlue
@trollhattan:
It’s definitely raining up here.
different-church-lady
@Baud:
Which means they won’t be moved at all, in a political sense, because they’re already right where they want to be.
WaterGirl
@Immanentize: Wowser!
Immanentize
@Ohio Mom: This is my hope. But it means I will be probably moving stuff I ought to toss? I am stressed. I hate my real estate agent.
Lapassionara
@WaterGirl: thanks.
NotMax
@Immanentize
Amazon sells curtain rods.
The sparrows are up to you.
:)
Seriously, while on the one hand uprooting is never easy, there’s nothing quite like realizing you’ve unpacked the last carton and are finally able to put your feet up to survey the new digs.
different-church-lady
Can we please stick to the point: TRUMP WOULDN’T GIVE THEM BACK. That’s the fuckin’ issue.
James E Powell
All this is just noise & nonsense with little consequence. These stories don’t persuade any voters, they are just litmus tests for who voters like.
In 2010-2012, a person being angry about Obamacare was just an indicator that the person did not like a president who was black. In 2016, being upset about e-mails was just an indicator that the person was not going to vote for That Woman or maybe any woman. Now, if someone is all whipped up about Biden’s documents, it means they don’t like, never did, never will.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Since this is an open thread…
The Washington Post was going on about how Mary Taylor Greene (the blonde one in the GOP House oil wrestling match) is now a party insider and Squeaker McCarthy is frequently seen talking to her. And I am thinking, sure, Greene’s mote note worthy position is she is a blonde, like my sister and going by observations of my sister’s interaction with men over years I am sure Squeaker McCarthy is focus on Greene’s opinions and totally NOT agreeing with everything she says in the hopes of getting in her pants. I mean, McCarthy such is noted deeper thinker, the philosopher king of the house, totally NOT walking pile of animal instincts dressed as a homo sapiens.
dww44
@Lapassionara:
Exactly. Just came across my news feed that more classified documents have been found at his Wilmington home. My sister, who’s a Dem, but not a strong one, is always looking for reasons for Biden to step down at the end of his term. She texted that news release 3 minutes after it came out. We both are a bit younger than Biden and thought he was too old for the office from the outset. First it was the Afghanistan withdrawal, for which she’s never forgiven him, and now it’s this years late discovery of classified documents.
Sorry to disagree with some here, but this trickle trickle does not help Biden and it therefore does not help us Democrats.
Immanentize
@Steeplejack: I have already given the “Friends of the Medford Library” over 800 books. They will get another 500? I will keep roughly 1000? My book habit was clearly out of control. Vinyl packed. I have most of my CDs ripped on an external drive. Should the library get them also?
But, trust me, I am not a horder!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: My FBI friend says it does happen with agents too. When you realize you’ve done it, you report yourself so they can assess what damage might have been done, and it probably goes on your record
Immanentize
@NotMax: Back in Central New York house needs heating source this Spring. Then your tenure can begin.
different-church-lady
No. I should get them.
Josie
@Immanentize: You can do this. I went through something similar–twice. The first time I downsized from a four bedroom to a two bedroom after 30 years. The second time I moved 250 miles away.
Order lots of boxes from Amazon,not too big to pick up and move when necessary. Go through room by room and separate things to move from things to toss. Get really serious about tossing. You won’t be sorry.
Think about the positive. You are getting ready to remake your life and have a great adventure.
BruceFromOhio
@Rebels Dad: Excellent news! As one who worked for years to pay off my loans, POWER TO YOU!! Best part is, you get to take a deep breath and decide what you WANT to do next without that ball & chain.
Immanentize
@different-church-lady: As I said, everything has a price! Send me your address — it’s about 1K of CDs which are HEAVY. I will mail them if you will buy the postage. Or just drive east and pick them up.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
doesn’t help, and the drip-drip-drip is always bad, but:
I don’t think outside of the Let’sGoBrandon types, most people don’t have the kind of skeptical view (if not chip on their shoulder) toward him they did toward Hillary Clinton.
I think the House Republican freak show is gonna blow everything else off the front pages
as to how it plays into the trump charges, as a non-lawyer I can imagine this being offered as a defense in a trial, and I don’t know how that plays into Jack Smith’s thinking. And yes I know it shouldn’t, but it’s pointless to get wrapped around the axle of Should. The only thing more dangerous than an un-indicted trump is an acquitted trump, IMHO.
ETA: Shorter me: let’s see where all this is in a month or so
Miss Bianca
@dww44: your concern is noted.
NotMax
@Immanentize
Of course not, that’s only for Mongols.
:)
BruceFromOhio
@NotMax:
Alexa, where’s dat wascally wabbit?
Immanentize
I am panicking but the written offer is not yet in my hands…. And as they say, “there is oft a slip twixt cup and lip.”
Is it cocktail hour yet?
mrmoshpotato
@Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg: “I’m sorry. But what was all that crap before That’s All Folks?”
WaterGirl
@Immanentize: No on giving the the CDs away.
Immanentize
@NotMax: And I am certainly not “Hodor!”
One of my students had a great GoT t-shirt that had printed on the front:
“Hodor”
— Hodor
Geoduck
@trollhattan: That’s better than the main CNN.com page, which currently doesn’t even mention the missile attack or the execution. Multiple articles about the Biden documents, and confirming that Lisa Marie Presley is still dead.
Immanentize
@WaterGirl: do you want some?
NotMax
Currently hooked on watching Amsterdam Vice on MHz Choice. Good stuff. Only eight episodes so will be able to breeze through it with alacrity.
No disrespect intended regarding the Dutch, but the city sure does seem to have a surfeit of whores. Which would , come to think of it, be an edgy garage band name.
Ohio Mom
@Immanentize: So you move some stuff into a storage locker and go through it later. I think a lot of people do that. Just don’t leave it there for years and years.
MomSense
@Immanentize:
My great aunt loved that expression.
I say have a cocktail!
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Yeah, it’s been like a week. It’s pretty clear that after the first batch was discovered, Biden did the responsible thing and told his people to check everywhere else. Sounds like the news reports makes it’s seem like these are all random discoveries.
Baud
@Geoduck:
First Franco and now her? Damn.
WaterGirl
@Immanentize: No. But hard drives fail, and a collection like that would be hard to replace. And you’re a music lover.
The Immp may want them at some point, too.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Baud: doctors report his condition is “stable.”
MomSense
@Immanentize:
Having moved someone out of a home they had been in for almost 60 years – it will always end up a scramble in the last two months. You start going through things carefully in the beginning and by end you are throwing things in boxes and bags just to get them out. You can deal with the stuff – the emotions are the tough part.
Kelly
This
trollhattan
@Immanentize:
If you decide to donate the CDs, make sure to first copy that hard drive set to a second drive. If the drives happen to be Seagate brand, make two copies. Trust me….
ETA–also make sure you’ve exported to a lossless file format not, say, MP3.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@trollhattan: yes, always make backups. Check them every so often.
FelonyGovt
Yet another email from Katie Porter “I’m running for Senate!” I’m not even on her mailing list, and it’s been one or two emails every day since she announced.
Captain C
Unlike a lot of shit that the press and Republicans are easily able to obfuscate and both-sides, this is actually easy to explain with an analogy:
You left your wallet at Biden’s place. When he finds it two days later, he calls you, tells you, and asks what the most convenient way to get it back to you is.
Trump crashed a party at your place. He was seen to walk out with your wallet. You call him several times and he refuses to give you the wallet. You go to (small claims?) court, the court says he has to give the wallet back, and whatever required officer goes to his place and retrieves the wallet, as Trump howls that it’s actually his wallet. When you get it back, you see that some cash, credit cards, and other docs are missing.
NotMax
@NotMax
While it’s a gritty drama, ought to mention the primary character’s surname is De Cock.
And yes, everyone within the show makes fun of it. Especially when a situation arises where he has to spell it out.
Omnes Omnibus
@different-church-lady: We are humans. Any country we inhabit is stupid in its own way.
Lapassionara
@dww44: sorry to disagree with you, re the age issue. I think everyone ages differently. We have been saying that 60 is the new 40, and guess what, it has been. So maybe 80 is the new 60. I’m willing to evaluate the person, without labeling the person with an automatic disqualification.
Tony Jay
@mrmoshpotato:
To be strictly accurate quite a few of those 44 actually were traitors, but since it was the kind of treason that prospered…
Captain C
@Captain C: Also just now saw this on my Facebook feed from a friend. Works just as well:
“I check out some library books, forgot I had them, return them the second I find them.
vs.
I steal the books, deny having them, then return some, claim them all returned, ask people to hide the books, ignore subpoenas, and force a search to find the books.”
As a librarian, I can see the latter happening if they were rare or otherwise valuable enough books.
lowtechcyclist
@Rebels Dad:
What great news!! So great, not to have that hanging over your head anymore.
Damn straight it does!
jeffreyw
“That kitty sits my lap
and you do not.”
Geminid
@FelonyGovt: I think Porter is starting out with $7 million left over from her House campaign. Adam Schiff has a similar amount left in his campaign coffers.
But California is an expensive place to run statewide.
dww44
@Lapassionara: As one who is very close in age to Biden, I honestly do not think he should be President another 4 years after 2024…..ages 83 thru 86. I know that my endurance and energy levels are not what they were and I look at some of the octogenarians we have in the Senate. He should step aside and do it in plenty of time for Democratic candidates to sort themselves out.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Rebels Dad: Congrats! What good news
WaterGirl
@FelonyGovt: As I tell my pets when they try to get me up at 5 am, or they try to convince me that dinnertime is at 4 pm…
Of course, for my pets I say it in a chipper tone of voice. :-)
Immanentize
@trollhattan: They are all in FLAC format. Second backup good!
Immanentize
@WaterGirl: The Immp has already put in dibs on the vinyl collection.
Kelly
@Immanentize: I had my home of 15 years sell way faster than expected quite some years ago. Like you I fortunately had a house in the country already. Getting rid of some stuff was comically easy. Under the basement steps was a pile of boxes of stuff I’d never unpacked when I moved in! The last few days before the movers were due some of my family descended on my home and we randomly stuffed things in boxes which ended up stacked in the new garage.
J R in WV
Watergirl, this is fantastic:
Thanks so much for this, and for all you do for this tiny online community! You are a gemstone shining in the sunlight!! . . . ;~)
Now Ima gonna read all the other comments…
karen marie
@Ohio Mom: My parents had company-paid moving packers for one of many cross-country moves. In addition to everything else, they carefully packed the kitchen garbage.
Immanentize
@Captain C: The second one sounds like a rather long running sub-plot on Married with Children in which Al Bundy’s grade school librarian tracks him down for not returning a book. Hilarity ensues.
PS I was watching the first season of the original Miami Vice (as one does) and the episode heavy — a deep cover FBI agent who went rogue — was well played by the guy who ended up as Al Bundy.
PPS now that I reflect, the found documents issue is a Goofus and Gallant story from Highlights.
NotMax
@Immanentize
Dole them out periodically. As a college student, he’s used to semi-vinyls.
:)
delphinium
@Rebels Dad:
Congrats-that is awesome news!
@Immanentize:
Hope everything starts to come together and it gets easier to pack up items soon-and yes, have that drink! I’ve moved over 30 times so far, but since most of those were from apartment to apartment, much easier to put out anything I didn’t want to take with me on the curb. And it was usually gone within an hour or less.
Geminid
@Immanentize: When you get to where you know what you will keep, don’t hesitate to bring in professional packers. The peak moving season is a few months away and a moving company might be willing to put a couple packers on your premises on an hourly contract, even if they don’t (yet) have the moving contract. You would need to keep out items neccesary in the short term.
Professional packers are very good at what they do, and fun to watch in action. Just keep a marker handy to note “room” or “storage.”
Good luck! Moving’s never easy; I hope yours isn’t too tough.
different-church-lady
@Omnes Omnibus: Some are more equal than others.
Lapassionara
@dww44: I’m close in age to Biden. I’m probably older than you.
I have argued before very quick thinking judges who were much older than Biden at the time. I’m saying don’t leap to conclusions about his future.
different-church-lady
@Immanentize: If I drive east I’m in the Atlantic Ocean ;-)
karen marie
@Immanentize: I recommend making an inventory of the contents of each box as it’s packed and numbering each box. This helps two ways: you can easily find your spoons and you know if a box is missing and what’s in it.
The best place to get moving boxes is UHaul. They’re both cheaper and better for the purpose than, say, Home Depot boxes. You can buy packs of multiple box sizes, returning what you don’t use. Don’t skip buying packing paper, and use lots of it. Dishes are broken by compression – lots of paper and smaller boxes are the way to go.
gene108
@Lapassionara:
If we have to explain the difference between what President Biden did versus what TFG did, we’ve pretty much lost the battle over the narrative.
Very few people can sit through an explanation longer than two sentences, without tuning out. Basically, if convincing someone takes more time than an elevator pitch, the odds are against someone being convinced.
jeffreyw
@WaterGirl: Homer’s besties are all doggies.
Baud
@gene108:
Elevator pitch response:
“Did he try to keep them?”
Immanentize
@different-church-lady: And there is a problem with that?
I thought you were west of beantown. Drive northish? Bring G&T? I have things for all.
realbtl
At 74 I sometimes dream about college when I could throw everything I owned into my ’69 Beetle and be outta here in under 20 minutes. Then I look around my office at the 7 guitars and 3 amps and say “maybe not.”
Another Scott
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Obligatory Bad Lip Reading:
One of the huge benefits of the House not having a Speaker for so long was C-SPAN having control over the cameras. I hope that is restored.
Cheers,
Scott.
livewyre
@dww44: As a fellow Democrat, I too am gravely concerned that his insistence on looking for additional documents to return to the archives is a political misstep that shows that he is simply too old and sleepy to serve as President, and that he and Harris should immediately resign to allow the Speaker of the House to take over. This may seem like an overreaction but it’s the only way to resolve such a blunder as nominating someone so old in the first place. Did I mention old? Also, sleepy, too.
ETA: [Not intended as a factual statement, exceptions may apply, UN-altered reproduction, etc.]
Omnes Omnibus
@gene108: If we don’t counter their argument, we have ceded it to them. Found and and returned vs found and claimed they were his. Not complicated. If people don’t understand that, then they don’t want to understand. That is a completely different issue.
raven
@livewyre: You’re an asshole.
dww44
@Lapassionara: But, I’m not leaping to conclusions, I’m making my own decisions based on my own personal life experiences and my observations of people aging. Having a President in office, with all the pressures that come with it, who would be charting new territory for age of an acting President, is not something I would like to see. I’ve watched Biden when he steps away from podiums and the like. He has very much slowed down from where he was as Vice-President. And, that pace is likely to accelerate.
Immanentize
@Geminid:
@karen marie:
@Kelly:
Thank All for the advice. I know it can be done — pro packers are key! I will also follow Marie Kondo and set all nostalgia items to the side and throw them out at the end. Or move them.
Omnes Omnibus
@raven: Adjust your snarkmeter.
NotMax
@karen marie
Yup, U-Haul has a variety of sizes at not too unreasonable a cost. Might be worth a trip to a location in the suburbs rather than the city proper for better choices.
Dunno if it’s a thing elsewhere but Ace hardware here sells used cartons (originally holding stuff they’ve received) at a buck a pop. Luck of the draw as to which sizes might be available on any given day.
Another Scott
@Captain C: Yup.
People don’t cheer for Potter at the end of It’s a Wonderful Life.
Cheers,
Scott.
Immanentize
@raven: If I ever run for office, I am hiring you as my comms director. Name your price.
Also, instead of “no comment” you could just say, “gone fishin”
Starfish
@Lapassionara: While I was exercising this morning, I was listening to The Sisters in Law podcast, and it did a really nice job with covering this issue.
Here is the episode.
Omnes Omnibus
@Captain C: And what the hell is that on the picture of your niece?
skerry
@Kelly: This and also, Trump had 11000 documents for 200,000 pages. Biden has 6 documents with 20 pages (so far). Per Washington Post
livewyre
@raven: No, just sleepy. Disclaimer added.
JMG
Joe Biden has been at senior level of the US government (Senator, VP, POTUS) for 45 of the last 49 years. How many pieces of paper have passed through his various offices in that time. One Amazon warehouse full? Two warehouses? More? If he inadvertently has classified documents from the Spanish-American War it wouldn’t surprise me. This whole thing reminds me of the last scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark, when they’re putting the crate with the ark in a vast room with countless other crates. Safest place for it. Like any big organization and many households, the US is drowning in its own effluvia. Small wonder Biden’s aides couldn’t differentiate all the crud from actual classified material.
Shalimar
@trollhattan: I lived in San Diego for a few years. Most of the rainfall for the year was always in the first 10 weeks. They jokingly called it the rainy month even though it was a little longer than that.
Lapassionara
@Starfish: thank you.
Another Scott
@Lapassionara: +1
I’m roughly the same age as Nixon was when he resigned (he was 61). I like to think that I do not look anywhere near that old!!
Cheers,
Scott.
Barbara
@Immanentize: We bought a house from the man who basically built it, two years after his wife died, and we were determined that it be empty unless we specifically agreed to keep something. After a week of trying to help, his son hired a service called “movemymom.com” to take over. I doubt if you need that kind of help, but they had a system that seemed really useful, with color coded post-its to designate items to keep, store, give away (with designated recipient) and throw away. Everyone helping had the code and knew what to do so things could get to where they needed continuously.
FelonyGovt
@Barbara: My cousin on Long Island has built a thriving business doing just that kind of thing- helping older folks, or the children of deceased older folks, pack up and move. The fact that she was already in her 70’s when she started it probably helped
ETA not in any way implying that our Immanetize is an older folk!!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Another Scott: Thursday was the anniversary of the debut of All In the Family. Carroll O’Connor was 46.
JAFD
@Immanentize: Having moved out and then back in in the past five months, you have my sympathies. Meself, am wondering if there’s some organization who’d connect me with a couple of strong young people who’d want to do good deed for a senior citizen, moving couple of pieces of furniture to where they should be …
JoyceH
I always had professional movers – of course, I was in the military so didn’t have to pay for it, so long as I kept under the weight limits. One move, three movers came to pack me out, and they didn’t bring enough boxes for the books (which tend to go in smaller boxes because they’re heavy), and had to pack the books in larger boxes. The guys spread out through the house packing stuff, but they kept having little get togethers to talk about who was doing the most work. I overheard of one them say, “I had to pack that HELL HOLE of a library!”
Geminid
@JAFD: It’s a slow time in the moving biz, and a moving company could send a couple people easily. They’ll have done this thousands of times before. It might cost more than freelancers since they’ll be pros.
WaterGirl
@jeffreyw: That picture makes me teary every time I see it. So much love.
James E Powell
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I agree, let’s wait & see.
But my fear is that the political press will put Biden’s documents on one side & every wrong thing Trump did on the other & find the two to be of more or less equal size.
That’s what they did with Hillary Clinton’s emails. Trump lied? Her emails. Trump went bankrupt? Her emails. Trump bragged about sexual assaults? Her mails. And so on & so on.
Miss Bianca
@dww44: Imma gonna put this to you in terms that *maybe* you’ll understand. Ready?
THE ENTIRE COUNTRY WILL BE BETTER OFF BY FAR IF BIDEN RUNS AGAIN AND DIES IN OFFICE THAN IT WILL BE IF WE TRY TO REPLACE HIM WITH “SOMEONE YOUNGER/SEXIER/MORE THIS MORE THAT” PRIOR TO 2024.
That is all. Thank you.
narya
@Rebels Dad: Honestly? That brought tears to my eyes on your behalf. I paid off all of my loans–but they were much lower (I am old, so had access to better loans and lower interest rates), and they never reached $100k, even after grad school. I am SO GLAD this worked out for you!! Now if it would only work for my ex-team-member . . .
James E Powell
@Miss Bianca:
Totally agree. Can’t understand how this is not obvious.
kalakal
@Miss Bianca: Thank you
Kelly
@realbtl: Moved from my last dorm room in college to my first apartment after graduating in a VW Rabbit. Moved from my last apartment to my first house in one trip with my Nissan pickup and a friend’s Dodge van. When I retired I hired movers to take my stuff from my home in town to the new place in the country. They showed up with a semi and filled it about 2/3s full.
jonas
@Lapassionara:
From what I can tell, they have found misplaced documents in three locations: an office in Philadelphia where Biden worked after he was VP; his home office in Delaware; and in a storage cabinet or something in his garage. I think they’re still running the garage discovery as another “more docs discovered!” headline.
Ohio Mom
@JAFD: When I’ve needed to move small amounts of large things — a friend gave me a single bed she didn’t need anymore to put in my spare room, I found a sofa on FB Marketplace, that sort of thing — I have gone to my neighborhood furniture consignment store and asked whose name they give to their customers.
I have found several very nice and reasonably priced local movers that way.
Kelly
@trollhattan: Catching up on the California weather news I just read a tweet that Lake Oroville is at 93% of plan for this time of year. It was followed by flood of comments about how much water is being let past the dam by people that apparently were born after Oroville Dam almost washed away in 2017.
trollhattan
@skerry: Lock him up!
(“Him” in this case, subject to discussion.)
jonas
@jonas: Correction — the Biden Center office was in DC, not Philadelphia. My mistake.
Citizen Alan
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Honestly, I don’t think that Speaker McGimp is attracted to MTG so much as terrified of her.
Baud
@Miss Bianca:
Baud! 20
24!28!Subsole
@livewyre:
@raven:
And that’s my job, bucko!
Lapassionara
@Miss Bianca: well put!
I don’t want to have to start collecting examples, but I have seen very sharp 88 year old people in action in a professional setting. Don’t preemptively rule him out.
Lapassionara
@jonas: thank you
Subsole
@James E Powell:
This. This is the danger.
It doesn’t matter how crazy the GOP gets. It’ll never come up. Drowned in a sea of shadowy hints of suspicious conjecture. Buttery emails all over again.
I knew the media would deliberately eff this up again. Just like Iraq, just like 2016. Wastrel bastards…
Subsole
@Miss Bianca: No no, I think he’s right: Kamala should be President. Dude’s got a point there.
Because let’s be real: if Biden steps aside, that’s who’s getting the nomination.
artem1s
Amen. Also, there is a built in solution that should be enacted long before anyone should demand the Dems go looking around for an alternate candidate. VP Harris was chosen and elected for this purpose. She was chosen based on her ability to assume the office should it be necessary. Anytime someone suggests Biden should not run and the Dems should pick someone else, the IMMEDIATE response should be there already is a replacement ready, I voted for her because I wanted her in place should something happen to Biden. Any suggestion that the VP not assume the office is a clue the argument about Joe’s age isn’t being made in good faith.
Citizen Alan
@Lapassionara: Literally my greatest fear, the terror that sometimes keeps me up at night, is the thought of living into my eighties. Because I watched first my father and then my mother die at 85 and 87, after years of infirmity and months of being completely bedridden, barely able to communicate, and utterly dependent upon others for literally everything up to and including wiping their own asses. If I make it to 70 (or earlier if my health goes south), I’m liquidating everything, traveling around Europe until the money runs out, and then going to Amsterdam, where I will go out in a massive cocaine binge.
That said, I’m pretty sure Joe Biden is physically healthier than I am right now at 53. Not that you will ever persuade a Republican of that, because his Infirmity is now an article of religious faith among them.
WaterGirl
@Subsole:
Wow, I don’t think that’s true at all.
karen marie
@NotMax: Used boxes are for pikers, esp at $1 a pop. You can get new boxes from UHaul in the same price range and they’re far more reliable. When packing a house of 20 years, it’s a lot of boxes. Uniform stacking is essential
Plus time is money. You’d have to sift through whatever boxes they have to find the useful ones. My life is not that long.
Citizen Alan
@Another Scott: Republicans do. I feel sure of it. I imagine most republicans who watch that movie sneering at the end as George Bailey is dependent upon charity from his neighbors. Meanwhile old man Potter still has that $10,000 in cash that he can do with as he wishes.
Mel
@Rebels Dad: So very thrilled for you!! This brought me to (happy!) tears!
Citizen Alan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I had no idea he was that young. Carroll O’Connor was one of those people who always looked so much older than he actually was. Which perhaps explains his longevity as an actor.
Sister Golden Bear
@Kelly: A number of other dams in California are intentionally being left below capacity so they can handle potential flooding later in the wet season. It’s standard procedure.
Mel
@FelonyGovt: Here, too.
I’m all in for Katie, but perhaps there needs to be a whiteboard moment about pacing versus pestering for some overzealous youngsters on her team?
Dangerman
I’m fine comparing Biden to Trump if he did anything wrong. First, we indict Trump. Sorry, Donald, Biden can’t get indicted. President, ya know. In fact, I hope Biden pardons himself just to piss you off.
Another Scott
Meanwhile, about that debt ceiling thing… Dean Baker at CEPR:
Interesting.
Sec. Yellen said we’ll hit the existing limit around January 19, and the usual cash-management trickery will put default off until the drop dead date sometime in June.
Cheers,
Scott.
Kirk
@karen marie: Minor disagreement:
Dishes are broken by flexing, not by compression. A professional packer in the US will use a dishpack. That’s a heavier (paper/layer) box that stands about a meter tall. They’ll use lots of paper. If appropriate to the size of dish they’ll use a subdivider. I’ll note that in four summers of packing neither I nor any of the pros with whom I worked used the subdividers. While I can’t speak for the customers, in the years since when I’ve packed a dish-pack, I’ve never lost a glass or crystal dish.
Yes, nostalgia matter. I can (or could – been four years now since the last time) pack a friend or family member’s house in half to a third of the time I could pack my own. The memories get in the way, especially if you know you have to downsize.
FelonyGovt
@Mel: Exactly. I’m kind of on the fence about her, enjoy her intelligence and media savvy, have found her tone deaf in some respects- but this is too much too soon. She risks pissing people off.
Jackie
@Scout211: Maybe this is the gods telling you NOT to watch the game?
😉💚🏈💙
Geminid
One nice thing about professional packers (if you can afford them) is they bring the right boxes- book boxes, “dish packs,” medium and large boxes, wardrobe boxes with v-profile racks to hang clothes on, larger flat boxes for pictures. Plus stacks of packing paper for breakables or to pad out lamp shades etc., and packing tape, markers, “fragile” stickers etc.
They are experienced and adept, and used to working with shippers (customers). They’re actually a joy to see in action.
Baud
@Geminid:
Much better than throwing everything into garbage bags.
Ruckus
@different-church-lady:
We live in a very stupid country.
Not really, any country with humans in it is going to have a segment in the group of the very stupid. Just because they are so obvious in some places more than others doesn’t mean that those other places don’t have a similar percentage of the very stupid people.
Jackie
@Betty Cracker: Maybe for security’s sake, outgoing presidents/VPs should have their offices packed up under NARA supervision.
In TFG’s situation it wouldn’t have mattered much as he willfully and deliberately stole Top Secret documents.
But in the normal routine transfer of power, NARA supervision would benefit the innocent.
JMG
@Another Scott: The simplest way for Biden to deal with the debt ceiling is to cite the 14th Amendment, state that he does not recognize the ceiling as constitutional, tell the House GOP to go to hell and keep on with business as usual.
Ruckus
@HumboldtBlue:
I live on the eastern side of the San Gabriel Valley, about 3 miles south of the edge of Angeles National Forest and it’s raining here but not all that heavy. Yet. Been raining for 3-4 hrs. Pretty much rain over the next 4 days.
Subsole
@WaterGirl:
Why so?
lowtechcyclist
@Immanentize:
Many of the Kids These Days are really into vinyl. Shortly before the pandemic, I gave away a box of maybe 50 albums to a twentysomething co-worker. Nothing exceptional was in the box, mostly second or third tier stuff like the Grass Roots, but he was delighted.
And there’s this girl my teenage son is starting to spend a bit of time with. She’s into vinyl, and mentioned that she likes Elton John and Billy Joel. So I fished out Elton John’s 11-17-70 album from the depths of my collection, listened to it one last time, and gave it to the kiddo so he could give it to the girl for Christmas. I figure I’ve had fifty years to enjoy it, now it’s her turn.
Kelly
@Sister Golden Bear: Yes indeed. Nearby Detroit Oregon Reservoir has failed to fill several times in the last 10~15 years much to the consternation of local recreation businesses. The Corps of Engineers patiently explains each time that flood control is the number one priority and it’s operation model is based over 100 years of weather records.
I believe the failed to fill years are the result of climate change that very few of the concerned citizens believe in. Between 1954 when Detroit Dam was completed and the early 2000’s the reservoir filled on schedule every year. I also believe the changes are happening too fast and the data is inadequate for the Corp to incorporate into their models.
Geminid
@WaterGirl: If Joe Biden were to announce he’s retiring, there certanly would be a contested primary. But I think most influential Democratic politicians would rally behind the Vice President and she would win the nomination with essentially the same coalition that carried Obama and Biden.
I think a lot of the people agitating for a Biden retirement never wanted him in the first place, and see a contested primary as a chance to redo the 2020 primaries, perhaps with new candidates standing in for the ones they’d hoped would win last time.
This ignores the biggest advantage political scientists have found for incumbents in general elections: they do not go through a costly and divisive primary.
I think of how Republican candidates and affiliated PACs will likely spend a billion dollars in their 2024 primaries. And when they are over, Republicans probably won’t be singing “Kumbaya,” either.
So as long as Joe Biden does not suffer a setback in his health, I agree with political scientist and campaign practitioner Rachel Bitecofer:
Nelle
Amusing (to me, at least) is that when we moved from New Zealand, we were moved by Crown Relocations. When, five months later, our goods arrived at our new place in Lawrence, KS, the truck was Mayflower.
persistentillusion
@Citizen Alan: I share your fear, Citizen Alan. My parents lived into their late 90s as had my father’s grand-parents. Quality of life in my parents’ case was in negative numbers for the last 4-5 years of life.
The plus of fearing to live to extreme age is that it justifies retaining some bad habits.
The Thin Black Duke
I’m tired of people who expect Democrats to be MOTHERFUCKING PERFECT ALL THE GODDAMNED TIME as the GOP pours kerosene on what’s left of the Constitution.
kalakal
@The Thin Black Duke: Couldn’t agree more
SiubhanDuinne
@FelonyGovt:
Yup. I started out very excited that she was running, but in a matter of mere days she’s managed to piss me off with the incessant emails begging for funds.
Baud
@The Thin Black Duke: Dems are squeamish, and then they attack the party leadership for not having balls. Story as old as time.
James E Powell
@Omnes Omnibus:
Completely agree with you. Every word.
But serious question, how many voters are not already locked into a position on this?
Ruckus
@Ruckus:
This is a normal storm. Look up January 1969 LA storm. Pictures of the LA river – full. That is a hell of a lot of water falling out of the sky. If you don’t think so look for pictures of the LA river when empty. I’ve seen rain. I’ve seen 50 ft waves in the Atlantic and rain – for days on end. The LA river full is still stunning.
Scout211
Local update. The power has been out for several hours. There is a break in the rain and wind so the generator is doing it’s thing and we have water (we’re on a well) and the heat and the fridge are running. So it’s all
goodnot horrible. I guess no 49er game for me.James E Powell
@Citizen Alan:
See also, Jack Warden.
Skepticat
True dat! I’m in the daunting process of moving, and I admit the clincher for choosing this place was that it has a big barn with a two-car garage. At the moment, I’m trying to find deeds for my Bahamian property so I can get a waiver of duty and stamp tax on rebuilding materials, and it is not going well. In my next life, I’m going to be organized. And have servants.
Subsole
@The Thin Black Duke:
Yep.
You cannot even call it a double standard. For a double standard, the GOP would have to be held to a standard…
Ruckus
@Immanentize:
I’m building a new bookcase for my books. And an entertainment center for equipment, LPs, CDs, DVDs.
But I’m not a hoarder. NO I AM NOT! I’m NOT I tells ya!
trollhattan
@Sister Golden Bear:
Yes, indeed. Here, for example, is the graph showing Folsom Reservoir ops. Folsom is on the American River, which can very quickly overwhelm its ~1 million acre-foot capacity, as we nearly experienced in 1986.
Every regulated reservoir has something similar.![]()
lowtechcyclist
@Miss Bianca:
No, thank you. Because that totally nails it.
@artem1s:
Damned straight. Also, Job 1 is to win in 2024. Biden as incumbent President is going to have an overwhelming likelihood of winning re-election, much more so than any non-incumbent Dem. If his physical or mental health goes south after that, like you said, that’s what we voted for Kamala Harris for.
zhena gogolia
@lowtechcyclist: Yes. People are so stupid.
lowtechcyclist
@Another Scott:
I’m just wondering about the logistics of this. While a fair quantity of Treasury bills is being bought and sold all the time, which is how we know their market value, can the Treasury just call them all in, and say, “we’re buying your T-bill at the market price right now, no you can’t hang onto it until maturity”?
Because I’m assuming that a lot of those T-bills are just sitting in a lot of people’s brokerage accounts, like the T-bills my mother had in her Morgan Stanley account when she died.
The Treasury would have to be able to do this at scale to make a difference. It would take them buying $100B of T-bills with that 1% interest rate to reduce the debt by $15B, and in the context of our government, $15B ain’t much.
So unless either there are several hundreds of billions of T-bills being traded at all times, or unless they can pull something like eminent domain on the T-bills that aren’t on the market, it won’t make much of a difference.
Also, once the Treasury starts scooping up those $1000 T-bills for $850, their price is going to go up. Supply and demand.
Ruckus
@dww44:
As someone not that far behind Joe Biden age wise I would normally agree. However he still rides a bike, he’s still active, and he still speaks the way he has most of his adult life. Do I wish he was younger? Sure and he might do that as well, however we are where we are and if he runs next round I’ll vote for him, as long as there are no health changes before then. I know people in their 90s who are smart, alert, capable. I know people in their 50s who are none of those things. I’m going with my gut and my eyes and ears. He’s a better president than many I’ve seen in my lifetime, far better than some of them and I’m not going to judge him on only one aspect, especially an aspect that has a different effect on different people.
J R in WV
@Rebels Dad:
Congratulations~!!~ That is wonderful news for you, and all of us — direct infusion of cash money into the economy, also too! So glad for you !!
smedley the uncertain
@Betty Cracker: awaiting a corroborating source. If TS/SCI, it would be blaring from the MAGAt mouth pieces by now.
Craig
@WaterGirl: for cases like this I look at Amazon S3 Glacier storage. You pay like $.00099/GB up to the first 50TB per month. They ding you for down loading, but for something like 1000 CDs that are already ripped and on a hard drive you’re really just protecting against catastrophe. 1000 CDs is a lot of physical space.
Craig
@Immanentize: I’d also use a checksum backup manager like Hedge to make sure that you’re actually getting all of the bits in the right places.
Another Scott
@lowtechcyclist: Dean is usually pretty careful. I assume he’s looked into how this might work in practice.
SIFMA.org:
(Emphasis added.)
$600B daily trades gives lots of room for action.
Yes, the price of these bonds/bills would go up, and that would make this tactic less effective than it might appear. But I think federal payments requiring debt are “lumpy” (some big payments come at certain times). A few weeks gained by this tactic might be important.
But it would be nice, and save lots of people a bunch of work and aggravation, and save the country money, if we didn’t have to go through this every time the GQP gains a majority…
eta: Google tells me that T-Bills cannot be called.
Grr…,
Scott.
J R in WV
@SiubhanDuinne:
Do you guys not go to the unsubscribe link? Always works for me, so far.
raven
@Omnes Omnibus: What is it the kids say? Mea Culpa.
lowtechcyclist
@Another Scott:
Yeah, that’s a lot of T-bills. I’m starting to think this might work, not just for an extra month or two, but for a bit longer. Ideally until September 2024 – make them vote to destroy the economy as election season starts.
Of course, the T-bills being traded on any given day will have a mix of interest rates. The best ones, the ones with face value $1000 that are trading at $850, were issued before the Fed started jacking interest rates, but are still several years away from their maturity date when they can be redeemed for the face value. There’s a sweet spot there.
But it’s likely to be a pretty big sweet spot. The Fed got serious about raising interest rates only a year ago, roughly, and interest rates were scraping zero for a long time before that. So there are going to be plenty of 10-year T-bills that were issued in the past 5 years but not the past year, and even if they’re not all trading at $850, they’re not going to be far above it.
I certainly don’t see a reason the Fed couldn’t lower the nominal debt by hundreds of billions of dollars this way over the course of a couple months of concerted action.
Ruckus
@Subsole:
In the last presidential primary I voted for Kamala. But in the actual election Biden was the candidate and I voted for him. After seeing how he is as president, I will vote for him again if he runs, which I suspect he will. I’ve known people older than him who are also in excellent health and mental capabilities but he’s proven himself in front of over 300 million people. He’s better at 80 than SFB has ever been a day, or even an hour in his entire fucking life.
brantl
@Geoduck: Lisa Marie Pressley is still dead should be a rotating tag line, as a quote from Generalissimo Francisco Franco’s zombie ghost.
brantl
@dww44: If she didn’t forgive Biden for Afghanistan, she didn’t pay any attention to what Donny Doll-Hands GAVE the Taliban.
Citizen Alan
@brantl: If Biden had thrown out Trump’s deal and kept us in Afghanistan, every single person who bitched about the withdrawal would have screamed that it proved the Dems are the real warmongers and he’d have been blamed for every subsequent death. If we’d left Afghanistan under Shitgibbon and everything had happened exactly the same, all the media assholes and MAGA morons who are complaining about the withdrawal would be screaming that Shitgibbon deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. Except it wouldn’t have happened the same because Shitgibbon would have ordered that those 80k or whatever Afghan refugees be left behind today. And still none of those blood-gargling psychopaths in the media (I’m talking about you Peter Baker and your demonic wife) would have cared.
dww44
@Miss Bianca: As I’ve been away for several hours taking care of regular life duties and just now came back to discover that you apparently like to talk down to others who disagree with your take on Biden’s suitability to run for a second term. You can disagree with me, as I certainly disagree with you, but the inference that I don’t “understand “your superior take on this matter is, frankly, insulting and undermines your own ability to sway others to your opinion, whatever the subject being discussed.
WaterGirl
@Subsole: I think if Biden didn’t run, there would be several people throwing their hat in the ring. Add racism and misogyny into the mix, and I think it’s highly possible that Kamala Harris would not get the nomination.
I don’t think people see it as a done deal at all.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: Thanks for the update!
Rebels Dad
@BruceFromOhio: Thank you! It’s funny you say that, because I’ve had that ball and chain for 17 years now and…what’s next? The past year has ended up being a purge for me, first of an abusive sibling, my toxic hometown, losing my best friend Rebel, Airbnb hopping, and now this. I suddenly feel like I’m 18yo again (but with the backache of a 44yo, of course.) It’s liberating but also a little scary. Right now I’m working a part-time job as a dishwasher just to pay for necessities while I figure/scope out my next move. I’ve long thought of being an ESL teacher in some place like Chile or Romania; then again Kyiv is calling my name, too. I’ve studied French, Spanish, Russian, and Italian but Spanish has been the only one I’ve ever been able to use on a regular basis. Maybe it’s time for that to change…? (Although I won’t be going to Russia anytime soon of course, as an American and a gay man I think that would be terribly foolish for quite a while.)