Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

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

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

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

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

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

Usually wrong but never in doubt

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Bark louder, little dog.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

This fight is for everything.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

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

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / TGIFriday Morning Open Thread: Another Long Week, Almost Over

TGIFriday Morning Open Thread: Another Long Week, Almost Over

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  2. 2.

    The Moar You Know

    Biden is a dealmaker.  He always was, and a good one, even if some of what he got passed wasn’t to my taste.  He knows how to deal with egomaniacs, because if there’s one place on Earth where there’s an excess of them, it’s the United States Senate.

    If he can get anything out of the GOP house he will.

  5. 5.

    lowtechcyclist

    Good morning back atcha!

    “Let’s start treating each other with respect. That’s what Kevin and I are going to do. Not a joke, we had a good meeting yesterday,” Biden at prayer breakfast says of @SpeakerMcCarthy. “It doesn’t mean we’ve got to agree. Fight like hell. But let’s treat each other with respect”

    Our President is a mensch.

  8. 8.

    lowtechcyclist

    @WereBear: The problem is, to the extent people pay attention, they do so either through the mainstream media, which tells them neither side is better than the other, or through the right wing media, which tells them the libs are commies who want to groom their children for unspeakable acts.

  9. 9.

    eclare

    Does anyone have a link to an article to describe this balloon, like how big it is?  I heard one of the reasons the US did want to shoot it down was because how big its debris field would be.  How big is this MF?

  10. 10.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    He seems to be good at bringing attention to the recalcitrant assholery of the other side, by simple and obvious contrast. Makes it difficult to “both sides”.

    Not impossible, and I know our MSM can keep that going a long time. But difficult. And it makes their own tortured comparisons more obvious as well.

  13. 13.

    artem1s

    “It doesn’t mean we’ve got to agree. Fight like hell. But let’s treat each other with respect”

    Luv this guy. he’s straight up trolling them now. The MAGAt caucus is gonna eat Qevin alive for playing nice with Brandon. TFG is gonna have a social media melt down and demand Qevin fly down right now and kiss his orange ass.

  15. 15.

    Baud

    IMHO Biden has successfully made No Drama Obama a quality shared by the entire Executive Branch, the Democratic Party, and much of the voting public. Just do the work, one day at a time.  Hopefully that’s what voters in 2024 will reward.

  16. 16.

    Amir Khalid

    I’m still concerned that Biden showing respect to Kevin might be like casting pearls before swine.

  19. 19.

    Math Guy

    I am looking forward to Biden’s state of the union address. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say about the Republican House Caucus and McCarthy in particular. A few well-chosen remarks could trigger some interesting dynamics between McCarthy and Q-crowd.

  21. 21.

    UncleEbeneezer

    BREAKING: THREAD: LORDY, THERE ARE TAPES: Trump campaign guy: “Here’s the deal: Comms is going to continue to fan the flame & get the word out about Democrats trying to steal this election. We’ll do whatever they need. Just be on standby if there’s any stunts we need to pull.” 1/

    “Say what you want, our operation turned out Republican or DJT supporters. Democrats have got 20,000 more than us, out of Dane County and other shenanigans in Milwaukee, Green Bay and Dane. There’s a lot that people can learn from this campaign.” 2/

    At one point, the operatives laugh over needing “more Black voices for Trump.” Iverson also references their efforts to engage with Black voters. “We ever talk to Black people before? I don’t think so,” he said, eliciting laughter from others in the room. 3/

  22. 22.

    Redshift

    Morning everyone!

    I suspect Biden also grasps that when you’re in a negotiating with someone whose entire argument is in bad faith, “let’s treat each other with respect and put of cards in the table” is a way to let people discover the bad faith in their own who wouldn’t accept it if he just pointed it out (like pundits and less politically engaged voters.)

    “Tell me what you spending you want to cut” exposes the fact that they don’t really care about spending, just about Democrats putting their names on politically unpopular cuts.

  28. 28.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @UncleEbeneezer:  and other shenanigans

    Or what we call coming out to voting.  Jesus, these fucking people.  Shenanigans?  People voted.  You lost.  Fucking deal with it.*

    *Also, I am proud that I was a small part of getting 80% of Dane County voters to the polls.

  29. 29.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Spanky:

    Movin’ to Montana soon

    Gonna watch that Chinese spy balloon

    **applause

  30. 30.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Spanky: Yeah, I missed that. I never was a Frank Zappa fan. He had a few I liked but most of his stuff just missed the mark with me.

  31. 31.

    lowtechcyclist

    @eclare:

    How big is this MF?

    I heard that the tech stuff occupied a volume about the size of three buses.

    But there’s a LOT of empty space in eastern Montana and western Dakota.

    (Yes, I know there’s two Dakotas, but there damn well shouldn’t be!)

  33. 33.

    lowtechcyclist

    @OzarkHillbilly: I wouldn’t consider myself a big Zappa fan, pretty much all the Zappa I’ve ever heard is off the Strictly Commercial album.  But I enjoy what he’s got on there.  (Which includes “Montana.”)

  34. 34.

    brendancalling

    It has been a long week. On Tuesday, one of my co-teachers nearly broke down in tears discussing Tyre Nichols. Also on Tuesday, one of my students essentially committed simple assault against me—no one was hurt, but boy oh boy that kid was making threats that in ordinary circumstances would have landed him in jail, and then court. And now he’s in trouble up to his neck—he’d be in more trouble, but he’s special ed w/ emotional issues.

    On Thursday, during 6th period I had to deal with a kid who was repeatedly making homophobic statements at the top of his lungs, just to draw attention to himself. Well, he got his attention—but I don’t think he likes it. If kid one is in trouble up to his neck, kid two is in trouble up to his eyeballs—and he doesn’t have “special ed w/emotional issues” as an excuse. He’s just a bully and a homophobic asshole, and I came down on him like a ton of bricks.

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I think I’ll play some Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and Big Bopper during my last class today.

  38. 38.

    NotMax

    Missed this nugget of non-goodness the other day (WaPo link).

    Students arrived in some Florida public school classrooms this month to find their teachers’ bookshelves wrapped in paper — or entirely barren of books — after district officials launched a review of the texts’ appropriateness under a new state law.

    School officials in at least two counties, Manatee and Duval, have directed teachers this month to remove or wrap up their classroom libraries, according to records obtained by The Washington Post. The removals come in response to fresh guidance issued by the Florida Department of Education in mid-January, after the State Board of Education ruled that a law restricting the books a district may possess applies not only to schoolwide libraries but to teachers’ classroom collections, too.

    …Books must be approved by a qualified school media specialist, who must undergo a state retraining on book collection. The Education Department did not publish that training until January, leaving school librarians across Florida unable to order books for more than a year. Source

  42. 42.

    lowtechcyclist

    @NotMax:

    Missed this nugget of non-goodness the other day (WaPo link).

    Commissar DeSantis and his minions will tell the schools what content is politically acceptable, and what isn’t.

    I hope the national news shows what those covered/empty shelves look like.  Have a camera panning over them, and show that on the news.  So everyone can see what life would be like under President DeSantis, since states’ rights go out the window when they’re in charge.

  46. 46.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @NotMax: I try to imagine what my DIL’s kindergarten classroom would look like if she had to follow those rules. There are literally scores of books in her room, and she changes them out regularly with books she has at home. The colorful covers are meant to call to the students. One of her most important goals is to make them love books. What are the chances a state-appointed media specialist would have time approve any of those books?

  49. 49.

    kalakal

    On a personal note I just got some important medical news.

    Just over 4 years ago I was stung by a paper wasp and experienced cardio-vascular collapse due to severe anaphylactic shock. By the time a nice EMT shoved a load of epinephrine into me my vital signs were coma level and I would almost certainly have died. Epinephrine is the most amazing stuff, it’s the ultimate kick starter.

    Since then I’ve been on a course of treatment which involves having injections of massive amounts of wasp & hornet venom every few weeks to build up my tolerance. The catch is the course us 5 years and they don’t test to see if it’s working for 5 years. My allergist felt I was doing really well so I had the tests early and today was the result!

    And it’s worked really well😁😁😁😁😁😁

    The scale runs from 0 to 17.5*

    my allergist reckons not to worry if its less than .7 and start to really worry above 3.5

    Hornets I can now sneer at allergywise. On the other hand hornet venom does hurt and they hang around in gangs so maybe I’ll only sneer quietly.

    Paper Wasps which put me in hospital I was at 4.4 and I’m now down to 0.35. Pah! I sneer at them too;

    Yellow Jackets I was at 17.7 am now at 2.2

    Ok, needs work but way, way down

    And my MAST cells have freaked out by repeated doses of venom.

    I was hoping I’d be able to stop the venom shots but will probably have to complete the 5 year course but now I’m basically in the position of take claritin/ benedryl etc and I’ll be fine.

    This is great for me! I love gardening walking etc and have been spending the last few years practically hiding inside, anxiously scanning for small flying objects whenever outside, I can’t relax outside I’ve always got to be watching. It’s not fun gardening in wasp proof gear in Florida.

    I feel such a sense of relief today

    *the scale actually goes to a 100 but above 17.5 it becomes academic. It’s on the level of “Was the victim hit by a fully loaded freight train or by one that was running half empty?”

  59. 59.

    Suzanne

    Apparently the Chinese government is calling the spy balloon a “civilian airship”, which makes it sound like Mario has to pass through it to defeat Bowser.

  63. 63.

    Suzanne

    The NYT is spinning the huge gains in the pace of hiring in January as bad news because the Fed is trying to fight inflation. WTF.

  65. 65.

    Betty Cracker

    @kalakal: Whoa, what a scary experience! I am glad you’re now able to sneer at venomous insects, of which there are so many in America’s Wang.

  67. 67.

    Kay

     

    I think they’re worried about how it looks in Florida because Corcoran said teachers were exaggerating. The pictures are powerful, IMO and book banners are not actually popular in the US.

    Public school teachers are mostly women so of course they can’t be trusted to describe their work or their classrooms or read and interpret orders from far Right men in Florida. Hysterical females again. Probably also “woke”. Wokedy woke woke. On the Oberlin student council, if you know what I mean.

  68. 68.

    Anyway

    WaPo headline “US added 517,000 jobs last month in astonishing labor market growth”

    “The unemployment rate dropped to 3.4 percent, reaching a new longtime low, despite widespread tech layoffs.”

  69. 69.

    WaterGirl

    @kalakal: I am so excited for you!!!!!

    I have no idea what this means, though.

    And my MAST cells have freaked out by repeated doses of venom.

    That doesn’t sound like good news, but I am clueless on this, so am probably wrong.

  70. 70.

    Kay

    @Suzanne:

    They’re married to this narrative and youknow how stodgy they are- once they settle on a narrative they cling to it for months until one of the more daring among them sticks their head up.

    They should do a diner trip to the rustbelt. Manufacturing is booming. Maybe this recession is just where they live.

  71. 71.

    Baud

    @Suzanne:

    The NYT is spinning the huge gains in the pace of hiring in January as bad news because the Fed is trying to fight inflation it makes Biden look good.

  72. 72.

    Kelly

    This is a better Friday than last Friday. Mom woke up with her left hand about 1/3 the strength of her right. I drove her to the local ER where the condition cleared up on it’s own after a couple hours. Cleared up between CT cans. A quick CT scan when we arrived, blood test to see if she could tolerate contrast, another CT scan with contrast. Diagnosis: Transient Ischemic Attack which is sorta like a minor temporary stroke. No lasting harm. Since she takes aspirin for her arthritis no further treatment. Drove her to six appointments prior to the ER trip have been about Pressure Ulcers commonly called bedsores on her left foot. Wound care specialist is puzzled because she not really sedentary for 86. We spent a couple weeks worried her blood circulation was a problem which added to the stroke symptoms pucker factor. Monday a vascular specialist examined her and all the tests. While her circulation isn’t great he says it’s good enough. She will need regular professional dressing of the wounds until they heal. Probably will take a few months. The wounds are much better having been professionally dressed 6 times in three weeks. I carried her from the car to her house after the first appointment and now she can get around on her own with a cane. Must keep pressure off the wounds which since they’re tender she was doing that. Wearing her slides. No antibiotics needed. All the check in nurses are surprised she’s 86 and not taking any prescriptions.

    Also drove Mrs Kelly to a Mohs surgery on her forehead and 2 follow up appointments.

    Chauffeured nine medical appointments in January, whew. Everyone’s much better now.

  74. 74.

    kalakal

    @WaterGirl:

    Thank you 😀😀

    Oops! You’re right, there is a very important NOT missing in that sentence

    Should be

    And my MAST cells have NOT freaked out by repeated doses of venom.

  77. 77.

    rikyrah

    200,000 student-loan borrowers will be ‘severely harmed’ if a judge rules in favor of 3 companies who want to block them from getting $6 billion in debt relief, a new legal filing says

    Story by [email protected] 

    A group of student-loan borrowers who believe they were defrauded by their schools responded to the companies that want to block them from getting long-awaited debt relief.
    In January, two for-profit higher-education companies — Lincoln Educational Services Corp. and American National University — and Everglades College, Inc., a nonprofit, filed notices to appeal federal Judge William Alsup’s November decision to give 200,000 student-loan borrowers $6 billion in debt relief and requested that he put a stay on that relief as the appeals process plays out. Some of the borrowers who were set to see debt forgiveness attended colleges run by those companies, which were among many named in the November settlement.

    While President Joe Biden’s Education Department agreed to the settlement and Alsup signed off on it, the three companies filed an appeal claiming they were not given “due process” after being included in the settlement, saying that they “will immediately suffer the stigma of having all BD claims against them summarily granted—without any administrative process, judicial factfinding, or reasoned decision on the merits.”
    Last week, the plaintiffs in the case filed an opposition to the request to the stay the relief, writing in the legal filing that the companies would not be harmed if the borrowers get relief, but the borrowers would be “severely harmed” if the process was paused.
    “They have already waited years for the resolution of their borrower defense (‘BD’) applications, some of which have been pending since 2015,” the filing said. “The loans that would be discharged under the Settlement continue to shadow them, affecting their credit, their livelihoods, their mental health, and countless other aspects of their lives. One hundred and forty-four borrowers have submitted declarations attesting to the harm a stay would cause them.”

    200,000 student-loan borrowers will be ‘severely harmed’ if a judge rules in favor of 3 companies who want to block them from getting $6 billion in debt relief, a new legal filing says (msn.com)

  79. 79.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Kelly: Wow, never a dull moment for you. My wife had a Transient Ischemic Attack and it scared her half to death. On the plus side, that’s when she quit smoking.

  80. 80.

    kalakal

    @Betty Cracker:

    I know, the little buggers don’t even hibernate in winter so  I don’t get a break! And they just love all the overhanging eaves on all those ranch houses.

    Florida, if the gators don’t get you, the architecture will

  81. 81.

    NotMax

    @Betty Cracker

    One of the duties when I began working at a big ad agency in the distant past was to disappear into a designated windowless little room, shut the door and fiddle with the Wang.

    (Early brand of word processor, for the young’uns. Came preloaded with the game Space Aliens as well! Door shut ’cause the industrial size rackety tractor feed printer was so clamorous.)

  83. 83.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @kalakal: I was swarmed by hornets on Isle Royale when I was 8.  I have had a thing about stinging insects ever since.  I was finally stung again, by an ordinary bee, when I was about 45 and was pleased to discover that I did not immediately die.

  84. 84.

    Geo Wilcox

    @kalakal: Yikes. Too bad they don’t have anything like that to work on mosquito bites. I have to cover myself head to toe all spring summer and fall to prevent being bite (or stabbed). If I don’t, I get sick and have huge welts where ever they bite me plus I itch for a week and then have a small bump where they got me.

    This also keeps the bees, wasps, hornets, and other biting things well away from being able to get me.

  86. 86.

    Jeffro

    @Redshift:

    I suspect Biden also grasps that when you’re in a negotiating with someone whose entire argument is in bad faith, “let’s treat each other with respect and put of cards in the table” is a way to let people discover the bad faith in their own who wouldn’t accept it if he just pointed it out (like pundits and less politically engaged voters.)

    “Tell me what you spending you want to cut” exposes the fact that they don’t really care about spending, just about Democrats putting their names on politically unpopular cuts.

    Yup.

    I think I saw this phrased in a couple of places as, “House Republicans took a hostage (the debt ceiling) without knowing what their demands are”.  That’s not quite true – they went down this path with one goal: to somehow put the screws to the goddamn libs Democrats.

  88. 88.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Baud:

    DAMN YOU, ECONOMY! WHY WON’T YOU RECEDE!–NYT.

    And inflation is down too – they’re gonna have to actually work to figure out something to blame Biden for.  Poor babies.

  89. 89.

    Kay

    Matthew Yglesias
    @mattyglesias
    ·Feb 2
    It’s a free country but be aware that every time you write or post about Ron DeSantis mucking around with an obscure small college rather than his record on Medicare and Medicaid you are doing what his political team wants you to be doing.

    I’d be embarrassed too if I were one of the ninnies who decided “cancel culture” was the biggest threat in the world and jumped on this dumb bandwagon and promoted a panic. I too would want to pretend DeSantis is not using state power to silence speech were I part of that, but I think Americans don’t like book banners, so Democrats should not take advice from the anti-woke ninnies.
    These are the same people who said Biden shouldn’t run on, um, DEMOCRACY because Americans are too dumb and shallow to care about that and care only about Medicare co pays.

  91. 91.

    Kay

    Ron DeSantis mucking around with an obscure small college

    Say the people who have spent the last 4 years ginning up terror about the Oberlin cafeteria and impolite Yale law students.
    I guess the plan is to pretend the attacks on speech in public schools aren’t happening.

  92. 92.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Kelly: They are definitely under rated. I’m at the age where nothing happening is the singular recipe for a good day.

  93. 93.

    stinger

    @NotMax: Ahem.

     

    Nobody commenting on the Day-O video, with Bob Dylan who apparently never heard the song before and doesn’t know the chorus or even the tune and certainly isn’t having fun?

  97. 97.

    Jeffro

    Btw I see that trumpov “TOTALLY” disagrees with Our Kevin as to whether or not Ashli Babbitt was murdered.

    Kevin: “The officer did his job”

    trumpov: “”I totally disagree with the Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, in that the Police Officer ‘Thug,’ who has had a very checkered past to begin with, was not just ‘doing his job’ when he shot and killed Great Patriot Ashli Babbitt at point blank range,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

    “Despite trying to keep him anonymous, shielded, and protected, this MISFIT proudly showed up on NBC Fake Nightly News ‘bragging’ about the killing. He was not a hero but a COWARD, who wanted to show how tough he was. ASHLI BABBITT WAS MURDERED!!!”

     

    I’m sure they’ll work it all out…

  98. 98.

    Scout211

    @Baud: How big is that in football fields?

     

    Since I am assuming that this is a very serious question, I did my own research on the google and found the answer to your very serious question. I found the answer on the internet, since my degrees were in the social sciences and we don’t do math. Or maybe I don’t do math.  Ever.

    a football field is 57,600 square feet

    an average bus is 300 square feet.

    3 buses are 900 square feet

    3 buses are 1.5626% of a football field.

    So now you know. Maybe. Who knows, I don’t do math!

  99. 99.

    RaflW

    @lowtechcyclist:

    “Let’s start treating each other with respect…”

    Our President is a mensch.

    Indeed, Joe is a good guy!

    He also knows that most all of the moveable middle voters are absolutely sick of the performative (and real) oppositional bullshit from the GOP.

    There’s been a lot of times in my life when I’ve worried that Democrats give in too easily. But I think Biden is treating McCarthy the way he’d treat Putin or the North Koreans. Deservedly.

  100. 100.

    Geminid

    @Kay:

    The diner was not as crowded as last time. Sandra, the waitress, said “A lot of those folks got jobs now that pay is better. They’ll be in for lunch, though.” But can this anecdotal evidence be trusted?

    Especially when inflation is still, “out of control,” says retired machinist Drew. “Waffles, eggs, bacon, toast, fried apples and biscuits with sausage gravy used to be 8 dollars and nowadays its 9! Now I only eat here when I know a reporter’s gonna show up. Otherwise, it’s Denny’s for me.”

  101. 101.

    Jeffro

    @Baud:

    @lowtechcyclist:

    NYT newsroom: “Inflation down.  Gas prices down.  Used-car prices down. Unemployment down.  Somebody…ANYBODY…is the price of anything going up?  Celery?  Muscle cream?  Dog leashes?  ARRRRGGGHHH!!!”

    I’m sure Alexandra Petri is already on it: “In Search Of…Shitty Biden News”

  104. 104.

    NotMax

    @eclare

    Sturgeon’s Law is a universal constant.
    :)

    Noticed that streaming services have (rightfully, IMHO) moved from listing titles as “reality shows,” instead opting for “unscripted shows.”

  111. 111.

    Kelly

    @Scout211: Football fields are a unit of area. School busses are a unit of volume. I don’t understand why the journalist did not use the standard journalistic unit of volume the Olympic swimming pool.

  118. 118.

    kalakal

    @Scout211:

    You missed out the standard British Meteorological unit of  area – the Wales.

    As in “The storm, nearly half the size of Wales, is expected to …”.

    If they need more they go for the Belgium*

    *1.477 Wales

  119. 119.

    Jeffro

    @NotMax: I saw a couple of funny memes about the price of eggs.

    I think the best one was a rapper with a big gold chain around his neck, and – instead of a gold dollar sign pendant or whatever – he had a carton of eggs attached to the chain.  =)

  121. 121.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    No one has to tell Democrats to talk about health care. Are these people at all familiar with Democrats?

    Every fucking cycle “they need to talk about health care!” They will. They always do. Constantly. They’ll have a minute or two to discuss the anti woke movement’s penchant for book banning and state supression of speech.

  123. 123.

    narya

    @stinger: I was about to make the same observation! That is a really fun video snippet.  I love watching talented people have fun, especially when it’s spontaneous.

  129. 129.

    Baud

    @Kay:

    It reminds me of that anecdote from 2016 when some idiot Dem supposedly said that he wished Hillary would stop talking about “bathrooms” when she in fact hadn’t been talking about bathrooms.

  130. 130.

    Spanky

    Egg farmers are dealing with the largest outbreak of avian flu in US history.  They’ve had to, um, drastically reduce their flocks.

    And I don’t really want to know where millions of infected, snuffed chickens end up.

  137. 137.

    Kay

    @different-church-lady:

    I don’t read LGM so don’t get the reference. It’s too cluttered visually  and I think all the little badges and things are weird as hell. Why do they need all those badges? Are they 7 years old?

  138. 138.

    stinger

    @narya: I’m amazed at the harmony! You’d think all those “superstars” would want to hog the lead, but instead it’s full, accurate harmonizing.

  140. 140.

    trollhattan

    Dark Brandon not done screwing up our economy.

    Jobs growth surged in the US in January, defying fears that the economy is heading for a downturn.

    Employers added 517,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said.That was far more than expected, pushing the unemployment rate down to 3.4% – the lowest rate since 1969.

    Analysts are struggling to figure out what is happening in the world’s largest economy, which is being buffeted by a mix of higher borrowing costs and rising prices.

    Compare and contrast with Brexited UK under the Tories.

  141. 141.

    Kelly

    @Scout211: Well a big school bus in feet must be about 8x12x45=4320 cu feet so 3 school buses is 12960 cu feet. To have a real feel for that volume I need to convert to cords of firewood so that’s about 101 cords of firewood. That’s big pile of firewood!

  147. 147.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Immanentize: Happy, as always, to see the Mothers references here. I recall seeing them at the Orpheum during that period. Camped out all night to get tickets, back when you could do that sort of thing, so we had really good seats.

    RIP Frank, a genius gone much too soon.

  148. 148.

    Baud

    Florida continues to shine.

    These Florida brothers ran one of the largest opioid ‘pill mills’ in US history. The FBI says it was linked to thousands of deaths

  150. 150.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I always try to remember I’m not a typical voter, but this guy sounds like a fuckin’ goober to typical voters, doesn’t he? like you get home from the coffee place or the hardware store or wherever in your town or neighborhood and you say, “Yeah, crazy Larry was down there talking about Wuhan”

    Aaron Rupar @atrupar
    “Did that balloon take off from Wuhan?” — James Comer on Fox News

  155. 155.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus: I, on the other hand, discovered to my dismay that I am allergic to bee stings, after my friend Alison decided I should be a keeper to her honey bees, since I brew mead and all…

    No, thank you, honey bees – I respect you down to your tiny little toes, and I love your product too, but I am staying the hell away from your spaces.

  156. 156.

    Kelly

    Around here the great chicken controversy is confined animal feeding operations. Turns out even Trumpy rural folks don’t want 10’s of thousands of meat chickens in the neighborhood. Seems Oregon has the least restrictive CAFO rules on the left coast.

    Three gigantic CAFO’s are planned about 10 miles west of here. The shrink government small enough to drown it in a bathtub folks are supporting a CAFO regulation bill in the legislative hopper. Long overdue.

  158. 158.

    zhena gogolia

    @Suzanne: That was great. I love the one where she’s standing near Melania and makes Melania look really good (never thought I’d say that).

  161. 161.

    brendancalling

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: They hadn’t, but one knew “American Pie” from their parents/the radio (one kid said that was his mom’s favorite song). So I explained that’s what McLean was talking about when he sang about “the day the music died.”

    @eclare: It’s a steady job. I really don’t enjoy it (too many demands, I hate getting up early) but it almost pays the bills. The kid who freaked out on me didn’t make me as angry as the homophobe. I look forward to making his life miserable for the rest of the year (he is a bully and an all-around awful person).

    @NotMax: I L’ed OL at that one. I regularly expose them to my taste in music. Earlier this week it was Television after Tom Verlaine died, and a few weeks ago it was all-Dolly/all-day, on Ms. Parton’s birthday. They didn’t know who she was.

    @Nancy: I usually ask for sympathy, but respect is good too, lol.

  162. 162.

    frosty

    @Gin & Tonic: I saw the Mothers in 71 touring for the Live at Fillmore album. Great show! Phlo and Eddie were the best!

    I had a HS friend who saw the Turtles in the 60s and was surprised at how “rude” they were. Of course, Phlo and Eddie were their singers.

  163. 163.

    kalakal

    @Omnes Omnibus: It’s odd how allergies work, been stung by bees, no problem at all, doesn’t even really hurt me*. Never had any concern about insects, been stung, bitten loads of times, no problems except itchiness. .Then after nearly 60 years one stupid wasp and I’m in hospital

    * I get your worry, hornets hurt

  169. 169.

    Kay

    See, but this is too late because they told them the economy sucked for the last two years so they missed two booming years. This is not useful information at this point. It’s 24 months late. We were getting more timely information back when they were actually setting type.

    @byHeatherLong JUST IN: The US economy gained an astonishing 517,000 jobs in January – much better than expected. Unemployment rate: 3.4% –> Lowest in decades. Wages: +4.4% for past year (up 0.3% in January) Bottom line: This is NOT an economy in recession

  171. 171.

    HinTN

    @Jackie: I only just discovered John Lewis Way when we walked from 3rd and Lindsley (a music club) where we parked early to Husk for a truly fine dining experience. It doesn’t surprise me that our goober legislators got their knickers in a twist about this. (There are plenty of other “normally named” streets they could desecrate.)

  172. 172.

    kalakal

    @WaterGirl: Oh I am. Mast cells are a type of white blood cell, they do a lot of different things but have a huge effect on your immune system. Very, very rarely the treatment I’ve had can mess them up and then you’ve really got problems

  173. 173.

    HinTN

    @frosty:

    Are you ready for Flo and Eddy?

    I was pretty astonished that the Turtles could so wonderfully become the Fluorescent Leech and Eddy. That band was fabulous!

  174. 174.

    Ken

    @Kay: I am amused — or disgusted, or some weird blend of the two (German probably has a word for it) — by twitterers who post things like that: “@byHeatherLong JUST IN”. There are many variants, like “BREAKING” or “NOW REPORTING”.

    Are they trying to convince us that they’ve done some hard-hitting investigative reporting, without which these facts would never have come to light, rather than quoting the Commerce Department’s monthly announcement?

  175. 175.

    StringOnAStick

    @NotMax: The price of eggs has everything to do with how bird flu a few months ago required destruction of a lot of chickens, including those being raised to become egg layers.  But telling that part of the story would require the media to remember that this in fact happened, so, you know…

  180. 180.

    Kelly

    @WaterGirl: Much relieved. I’ll have ongoing medical organizing duty for Mom. She said she let her foot get so bad because she didn’t have the energy to make an appointment and is glad to have me deal with it. I’d been worried about her foot but she’s always been very, very independent. Took all three of my siblings and Mrs Kelly to convince her the sores needed professional care. Now she’s satisfied to leave it to me.

  181. 181.

    eclare

    @Kelly:   Best of luck to you and your mom.  It seems good that you can take over appt scheduling, so you can make sure appts are convenient for you both.

  182. 182.

    Ruckus

    @Amir Khalid:

    It’s not like it, IT IS casting pearls before swine.

    But it’s the best that can be done with the least. And Kevin is the least. He works hard at being the least. He works so hard at it, everyone knows he’s the least. Even the idiots on his side know he’s the least. OK, there is quite a group of the least on his side of the aisle but he’s the least of the least.

  183. 183.

    Almost Retired

    When Biden says “not a joke,” is he referring to Kevin?  Because I don’t agree at all……

  184. 184.

    Ruckus

    @danielx:

    I’d bet that treating Kevin with respect is more of a chore than cleaning up cow shit at a dairy. And yes we had a dairy next to the first elementary school I attended. Got to watch – and smell – cows shitting next to the playground, through the chain link fence that separated us from the cows. Good times.

  188. 188.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @WereBear: If I was an alien, I’d disguise myself as a Q-Anon supporter. That way if I dressed or spoke in ways that seemed odd to humans, no one would think anything of it.

  190. 190.

    Ruckus

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Do you really think that death santos is going to hire any a state-appointed media specialists? That any actually exist? That any actually will ever exist?

    Because I don’t. That would require spending money. That would require having a segment of government that cost money to define the job, hire dumb asses to not do the actual work when they can just have the janitors take away all the books. It’s much stupider, but easier and cheaper, and if there is one thing that death santos is it’s cheap fuck stupid.

  191. 191.

    Geminid

    I ran into a good interview of new Washington Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in Politico. It’s titled “She Fixes Cars. Can She Fix Congress’s Elitism Problem?

    Link:

    https://www.politico.com/2023/01/19/marie-gluesenkamp-perez-democrats-middle-class-00078215

    The subtitle is, “Marie Gluesenkamp Perez thinks Democrats have a big problem relating to the middle class. Because they’re not part of it.”

    Doggone link doesn’t work. I’ll try again in another comment.

  193. 193.

    Ruckus

    @kalakal:

    I’d say ouch, because I’ve been close to there. Also allergic to stings. Found out at 7 yrs old, also got a shot, because after about 2 hrs I had lime green stuff oozing out of my first sting. My parents freaked out and took me to hospital where I got the shot. I still can’t sleep on my right side because I got stung in the hip and the sting was over 66 yrs ago. At least now it doesn’t hurt to touch the area, only to put weight on it for more than 20-30 minutes. Used to be less than seconds. I’ve never been through the tolerance testing, that didn’t exist way back then, as far as I know.

  194. 194.

    Ruckus

    @Kay:

    Maybe this recession is just where they live.

    Well they do live in their tiny little minds, in their tiny little heads, where it’s always dark and scary. So I’d agree, it’s just in their heads.

    Tiny, tiny, ignorant, closed little minds.

  195. 195.

    UncleEbeneezer

    For anyone not watching The Last of US on HBO, you can still watch last week’s episode “A Long, Long Time” as a stand-alone, even without knowing anything about the series.  There is no gore and it’s one of the most moving hours of television in recent years focussing on an unexpected loving relationship in a post-apocalyptic setting.  It’s a real tear-jerker, and it pissed off a whole lot of homophobes, which is always nice.

  196. 196.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: I’d say it does

    Marie Gluesenkamp Perez: It feels like the Democratic Party, especially wealthy leadership in the Democratic Party, has taken it upon themselves to be champions of the poorest of the poor. And I think that’s great, but I think that it has left a lot of people in the middle class feeling like people don’t understand the issues we’re facing. I think it’s left unaddressed a lot of really critical things that are not glamorous, lionized issues, but that beat the hell out of people’s will to persist. The indignity of supply chain problems. Catalytic converter theft. Bad infrastructure. Shit roads.

    I just want more tradespeople in Congress. I run into people here, I’m like, “Oh, your bio says you’re a small business owner. What’s your business?” They’re like “Oh, we have a family real estate brokerage firm.” Oh, okay. Sure. Yeah, technically, you have less than 500 employees. So you are a small business.

    she sounds overall like a Biden Democrat. I wonder if she would agree with that

  197. 197.

    Old School

    @Baud:

    Hmm. I’d be curious if you think that subtitle accurately reflects her views.

    I’d guess she’d disagree with the implied “all Democrats.”

    Natalie Fertig: You’re part of a 200-plus person Democratic caucus. How do you see yourself creating an understanding of the middle class in that caucus and getting middle-class laws passed?

    Marie Gluesenkamp Perez: It feels like the Democratic Party, especially wealthy leadership in the Democratic Party, has taken it upon themselves to be champions of the poorest of the poor. And I think that’s great, but I think that it has left a lot of people in the middle class feeling like people don’t understand the issues we’re facing. I think it’s left unaddressed a lot of really critical things that are not glamorous, lionized issues, but that beat the hell out of people’s will to persist. The indignity of supply chain problems. Catalytic converter theft. Bad infrastructure. Shit roads.

    Fertig: I’m laughing at the catalytic converter theft, because I feel like that’s like all my dad was talking about when I was home over the summer.

    Gluesenkamp Perez: Oh, yeah. I replaced hundreds of catalytic converters last year. It’s like $40 worth of platinum, and it’s a $1,300 repair. That just eviscerated so many people’s emergency funds all across the district.

    Fertig: Crime was something that so many people [in District 3] talked about, and is something that you talked about. Why do you think that was an important issue in this election?

    Gluesenkamp Perez: It’s relevant to our lives. I had my [shop] windows broken four times last year. So yeah, I’m pissed off. I’m going to talk about it, you know? It’s a grind, and it gets expensive and demoralizing. I think that for a lot of people that sort of live in these silos, they are not as cognizant of it. And I think maybe that’s why it was not more of a campaign issue for more people.

    Fertig: What do you mean by people living in silos?

    Gluesenkamp Perez: A lot of candidates are self-funded people with trust funds.

    Fertig: I see that, too. Like, what is it like to pay student loans? Even amongst my colleagues here in D.C. — not everyone has the same experiences.

    Gluesenkamp Perez: Yeah. Like, “It’s a banana, Michael, what could it cost? $20?”

  199. 199.

    different-church-lady

    @Kay: The reference (or joke, as it were) is that when those guys get a chew-toy in their mouths there’s going to be nothing left of the thing. And they are all over that university thing. It’s not that it isn’t worth blogging about, it’s that they not only get into subject ruts, they actively dig ruts and then lower lounge furniture and dorm fridges into the things.

    As for the badges, yes, they’re silly but they do have one useful purpose: you can quickly tell the difference between regular community commenters and newbie trolls. Like, one of them is for 500 comments, and if they’ve tolerated you for that long you’re probably not there to disrupt. (I am relatively new over there, and somehow they tolerate me even though a heavy percentage of my comments are snarking on the front pagers).

  200. 200.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: I was about to write that I will be very sad if that headline reflects her views.  Sounds like something a Republican would say.

    edit: I guess anything taken out of context can sound bad.

  201. 201.

    Geminid

    @Baud: It’s a short article that’s well worth reading. The subtitle is of course supplied by Politico, and it may be too broadly stated.

    But that said, it reflects mine. I have thought that the professional and upper middle class that is influential in my part of Virginia does not neccesarily understand middle class and working class concerns. It’s not like upper middle class people don’t necessarily understand these concerns, because I know some who do. There are not enough, though.

  202. 202.

    trollhattan

    In western water news: moar.

    Heavy snow will fall over the Tahoe region Saturday night, causing travel delays and “extremely difficult mountain travel.” Roughly 6 to 15 inches of snow is anticipated to drop in areas above 4,000 feet, according to the weather service, while areas above 6,000 feet could see 15 to 30 inches. Ridge-top gusts of 70 to 100 mph are also predicted out of the southwest. At lower elevation, 40 mph winds may create waves of 2 to 4 feet in Lake Tahoe, according to a National Weather service press release.
    Due to high winds, possibilities of wind damage and power outages are expected for the greater Tahoe area. The National Weather Service is advising residents and travelers to prepare home and car emergency kits. A 10 to 15% chance of thunderstorms on Sunday along the Sierra crest is also anticipated.

    Keeping in mind we’ve received the most snow for the date than any year since the mid-90s, even moar snow helps assure that an early, dry spring will not send us back into drought. Cautious yay.

  203. 203.

    prostratedragon

    @Geminid: I had to find it by a search, but when copied the link, it was exactly what you pasted. I had the same question as Baud, and from a scan I’d say that it does. Maybe I should read more closely later.

  204. 204.

    eclare

    @UncleEbeneezer:   Thank you for the recommendation  I have HBO, but I am gore adverse.  I heard this episode was an amazing episode of TV, glad I can watch it.  On the list.

  207. 207.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: Why don’t you read the article? Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez’s victory was unexpected, and she flipped the kind of district Democrats need to flip more of. She has something to say in several areas.

  210. 210.

    Ruckus

    @dave319:

    There are situations in life where one has to display respect even when there is none to be found. The military is an example. Some/even many of the people higher up than you do earn respect. My experience is that the number that earn it is smaller than the number that require/demand it. Being president is another.

    Of course Biden is displaying respect for the office held not necessary the person holding it.

  211. 211.

    prostratedragon

    @Geminid:  She’s more general with that characterization of the party than I think is accurate. Interesting to see how things evolve.

  212. 212.

    different-church-lady

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: ​
     

    Bad infrastructure. Shit roads.

    Right, like if only Biden would stop ignoring infrastructure by constantly talking about infrastructure and getting behind infrastructure initiatives… [DOPE SLAP]

  214. 214.

    Baud

    @Geminid:

    Sounds like she doesn’t get into what she thinks the GOP’s secret is. They never seems to be viewed as out of touch no matter how they behave, except by committed Dems.

    I’m of course glad she won, and I hope she has constructive ideas about how to improve the party.

  216. 216.

    different-church-lady

    @Baud: ​
     

    They [the GOP] never seem to be viewed as out of touch no matter how they behave

    Sparrows and curtain rods, now and forever.

  223. 223.

    eclare

    @Geminid:   My ex had his catalytic converter stolen from a truck in our driveway.  Is it devastating?  It wasn’t to us, we had insurance and money.  Was it a grind?  Yes.  Just, really, I got to deal with this now?

  225. 225.

    WaterGirl

    @eclare: If it’s true that a really high percentage of people are just one $400 emergency away from being totally screwed…

    then a stolen catalytic converter would be way more than a pain in the ass to them.

  227. 227.

    Baud

    Two better criticisms of Dems:

    1. Too many still use academic sounding language to make their case.
    2. A reticence to broach topics that could divide the party.
  228. 228.

    Geminid

    She wasn’t doing a comprehensive overview of the two parties. She was critiquing her own. That’s done all the time here, and hearing it from a newly elected  Congresswoman in a purple district is not a bad thing.

    As for infrastructure, she aligns with Biden in this area. But I keep saying that the Infrastructure was underrated because it was, and one of the reasons was that a lot of Democrats don’t get it because they are interested in issues in the abstract, and do not care about the practical as much as they should.

  229. 229.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @Old School:

    Catalytic converter theft is a big deal in the St. Louis metro area too. People who can’t afford garages are more likely to be victims of it. Of course, car theft in general has been going up here. It makes a lot of people angry and the GOP use that as a wedge issue. I’m glad she’s talking about it.

  230. 230.

    eclare

    @WaterGirl:   Yes.  I think the repair was around $1k?  I can’t remember his insurance situation and what it paid for.

    But even if the $ is not a big deal, you have to call police, deal with insurance, deal with a car shop.  All for a crime worth $40, prob for drugs.

    I know the FTFNYT went overboard in talking about crime, but in some places it is very real. And I realize this is a local issue, not fed.

  233. 233.

    Baud

    @Geminid:

    and one of the reasons was that a lot of Democrats don’t get it because they are interested in issues in the abstract, and do not care about the practical as much as they should.

     
    To the extent that’s true, I think it’s more a function of being in a safe district vs. a purple district. It’s easier for safe district people to think about more abstract themes.

  234. 234.

    different-church-lady

    @Geminid: ​
      I think they do care about the practical, but they just don’t know how to explain anything using the language of the practical. It’s wonk mode all the time.

  235. 235.

    Geminid

    @eclare: You can pay for collision and theft insurance. A lot of people can only afford liability insurance. Gluesenkamp’s point is that Democratic elected are in the same boat as you, which is fine as long as they understand the concerns of those who aren’t, in this and in other areas.

  236. 236.

    different-church-lady

    We need to go up several layers: the reason the middle class feels squeezed is that we’re all locked in to what amounts to an economic arms race. Everyone is trying to squeeze a little bit more out of everyone else, and that feedback loop is accelerating. It’s not about what individual businesses or people are doing, it’s about a basic problem with capitalism that’s getting worse.

  237. 237.

    Geminid

    @Baud: This is true. But if Democrats want a solid majority they need to better understand the concerns of middle and working class people in purple districts. Reps. Sharice Davids and Jason Crow do because they have to.

  238. 238.

    Anyway

    @Old School:

    Gluesenkamp Perez: A lot of candidates are self-funded people with trust funds.

    Ugh!

    Fertig: I see that, too. Like, what is it like to pay student loans? Even amongst my colleagues here in D.C. — not everyone has the same experiences.

    Gluesenkamp Perez: Yeah. Like, “It’s a banana, Michael, what could it cost? $20?”

    Broad brush much?

  239. 239.

    Baud

    @Geminid:

    This part is just a GOP trope.

    Fertig: What do you mean by people living in silos?

    Gluesenkamp Perez: A lot of candidates are self-funded people with trust funds.

    Fertig: I see that, too. Like, what is it like to pay student loans? Even amongst my colleagues here in D.C. — not everyone has the same experiences.

    Gluesenkamp Perez: Yeah. Like, “It’s a banana, Michael, what could it cost? $20?”

     

    I get why the Dems are a little shy on crime — it divides the party, especially get tough talk.

    She’s really calling people trust fund babies and using student loans as example against Dems?

  244. 244.

    Anyway

    @Baud:

    She’s really calling people trust fund babies and using student loans as example against Dems?

    Not any people – she was talking about her Dem colleagues in the House and then extended it to “candidates” …

  245. 245.

    Geminid

    @Baud: Like I said, she was giving an interview, not writing an analysis of the Democratic party. I thought she had some valid things to say that were worth putting out there, and worth hearing. I bet her colleagues understood what she was getting at.

  251. 251.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I think a lot of the reason Gleusenkamp-Perez and people here are indirectly talking past each other is the gap between the on-line/activist Dems and Dem voters, the average BJ conversation being much closer to the former. It’s one of the many moments I wish I could link to transcripts of Jon Favreau’s Wilderness podcast, interviews of (mostly) Dem voters who are not political junkies.

    I guess I could just say: Everybody remembers the 2020 primary, right?

  253. 253.

    Geminid

    @Baud: You can always take the helpful parts for what they are worth and disregard what you feel is not. I often have to do this with interviews.

    It’s not like she’s about to go on a Republican talk show to make these points, or they’re going to be cited by Republicans arguing that Democrats are elitists.

  255. 255.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @brendancalling:

    The site I can’t deal with that’s devolved into self-parody is Eschaton, IMO.

    way back in 2009, it was an article of faith over there that Sonia Sotomayor was a sleeper pro-life nominee, because Barack Obama was a crypto-Republican.

  256. 256.

    Baud

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I just want Dems, regardless of ideology, to learn to communicate their ideas and suggestions without resorting to traditional clichés and stereotypes that we are trying to convince voters are not accurate (as a general matter).

  257. 257.

    Baud

    @Baud:

    IMHO, when you reinforce a stereotype, it becomes that much harder later on to persuade people that the stereotype is a thing of the past.

  258. 258.

    WaterGirl

    @Geminid: I totally get where she’s coming from, and I admire her.  I also think it’s unfortunate that she stepped on Democrats right out of the gate with some of her remarks.

    I’m sure it takes time to learn how to handle all the attention she’s getting.

  259. 259.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: @Baud:

    I agree with Baud and Baud!

    She’s young, she’s new, she’s getting a ton of media attention, and she’s probably not very experienced with that.

    So I can forgive her un-artful way of expressing that.  She seems like a smart cookie, and I”ll bet she’s a fast learner.

  260. 260.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: Maybe Alaska’s Mary Peltola will school Ms. Glusenkamp Perez. Next time the Politico reporter might find her talking about the values of Fish, Family, and Freedom and how they relate to the Right to Repair.

  261. 261.

    Origuy

    @trollhattan: What we have to watch out for is a warm rain high up in the watershed that melts the snow too quickly. That causes the Central Valley to flood and all that water to flow out to the ocean, after devastating Marysville and Yuba City, again.

  263. 263.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Baud: If it was easy to figure out how to win strong majorities in purple states, we would have done it already.  It’s not.  Their voters are often

    • all over the place on which issues matter most to them (and sometimes lie to pollsters)

    • care more about identity than policies

    • buy into GOP hysteria about Crime, Inflation, Limited Govt and Anti-Dem propaganda

    And just generally don’t pay that much attention or even HAVE passionate feelings for any particular issue.

    Dems already do tons of polling, focus groups etc., asking these voters exactly what they care about and craft their messaging accordingly.  They build campaigns on it.  And sometimes it makes no damn difference.  Voters are nowhere near as rational or predictable as we wish they were.

    These constant attempts to always blame Dems for not understanding swing voters better seem really naive about the complexity and difficulty of actually winning these voters in the real world.

  264. 264.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: The Wilderness is a perfect example of how hard it is to find that One Weird Trick messaging that will get a majority of voters.  I can’t even listen to it because the things the focus group members say, just make me want to smash things.

  265. 265.

    Geminid

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    I’m not sure what “naive” and “constant efforts to blame Democrats for not winning swing districts” you are talking about here. Seems like a straw man to me, an easy pitch to hit for distance.

    Maybe looking at real world candidates who flipped red seats can be instructive. That’s one reason I brought up the Gluesenkamp Perez interview, imperfect as it was. I’m not saying she’s some sort of political genius, but I don’t think she just got lucky either. A deeper dive into the mechanics of her victory would be worthwhile.

    Forty Democrats flipped red districts in 2018 and I think there may be lessons in their campaigns too. Maybe especially in the campaigns of Colin Allred (IL), Lucy McBath (GA) and Lauren Underwood (IL), African Americans who flipped majority white districts.

    Sharice Davids flipped a red seat in 2018, held it in 2020, and won it again last year despite the efforts of Republican redistricters. There is worthwhile information to be had from the Ksnsas 3rd CD, I think.

    I’m not saying we will develop some powerful key from these races, but empirical evidence beats theory any day of the week, and that’s where I would start.

  266. 266.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Geminid: Katie Hill flipped a district in 2018.  We helped fundraise, canvass and write postcards for her.  Seat flipped after she resigned from scandal.  Christy Smith ran in 2022 and it was considered the most flippable district in the country.  I canvassed and saw the campaign in action and saw the feedback they were getting from swing voters on what they cared most about.  Crime, Inflation and then about a dozen other issues.  They were all over the place and there was no single message/issue or even handful of such that would work for all of them.  Her campaign spent a bunch on internal polling and thought they had very good info and crafted their message accordingly.  But their opponent spent a TON on negative ads including a huge billboard overlooking a major freeway.  She got destroyed.  I repeat, if you think there is a simple One Weird Trick message that magically wins in districts like this, yes, you are incredibly naive, bordering on clueless.  These districts are very hard to win consistently, for a reason.  Shit is complicated.

  267. 267.

    Geminid

    @UncleEbeneezer: A honest reading of the comment you pretend to be responding to would show I did not say there was One Wierd Trick that magically wins districts. Neither do any other of my comments on this thread.

    Once again you setting up a straw man in order to label me “hopelessly naive” and “clueless.” I know you said “If” but the rest of comment shows that qualification was not meant seriously. 

    I also  could pretend to win arguments by putting words in someone elses mouth, but what would be the point? I have standards even if you do not.

Comments are closed.