That was my first thought about Steve Bannon ‘encouraging’ RFK Jr. to declare himself a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, and I wasn’t alone:
RFK Jr. is clearly being paid by Biden to split the crystal healing vote & ruin Marianne Williamson's chances https://t.co/tOdVCt4QBc
— chatham harrison is tending his garden (@chathamharrison) April 5, 2023
#Failson be failing, yet again:
… Kennedy, a nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of his slain brother Robert F. Kennedy, was once a bestselling author and environmental lawyer who worked on issues such as clean water.
But more than 15 years ago, he became fixated on a belief that vaccines are not safe. He emerged as one of the leading voices in the anti-vaccine movement, and his work has been described by public health experts and even members of his own family as misleading and dangerous.
Kennedy had been long involved in the anti-vaccine movement, but the effort intensified after the COVID-19 pandemic and development of the COVID-19 vaccine.
His anti-vaccine charity, Children’s Health Defense, prospered during the pandemic, with revenues more than doubling in 2020 to $6.8 million, according to filings made with charity regulators.
His organization has targeted false claims at groups that may be more prone to distrust the vaccine, including mothers and Black Americans, experts have said, which could have resulted in deaths during the pandemic.
Kennedy released a book in 2021, “The Real Anthony Fauci,” in which he accused the U.S.’s top infectious disease doctor of assisting in “a historic coup d’etat against Western democracy” and promoted unproven COVID-19 treatments such as ivermectin, which is meant to treat parasites, and the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.
His push against the COVID-19 vaccine has linked him at times with anti-democratic figures and groups. Kennedy has appeared at events pushing the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and with people who cheered or downplayed the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
A photo posted on Instagram showed Kennedy backstage at a July 2021 Reawaken America event with former President Donald Trump’s ally Roger Stone, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and anti-vaccine profiteer Charlene Bollinger. All three have promoted the lie about the 2020 election being stolen…
Kennedy has repeatedly invoked Nazis and the Holocaust when talking about measures aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19, such as mask requirements and vaccine mandates. He has sometimes apologized for those comments, including when he suggested that people in 2022 had it worse than Anne Frank, the teenager who died in a Nazi concentration camp after hiding with her family in a secret annex in an Amsterdam house for two years…
His sister Kerry Kennedy, who runs Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the international rights group founded by their mother, Ethel, said her brother has at times removed some of the content at her request.
She told the Associated Press in a 2021 interview her brother is “completely wrong on this issue and very dangerous.”
BREAKING: Former chief Trump strategist Steve Bannon spent months encouraging rabid anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run against President Biden in the 2024 election. Bannon hoped that RFK Jr. could serve as a "useful chaos agent,” while his well-known name could spread… pic.twitter.com/escpWnBFir
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) April 6, 2023
RFK Jr. with Mike Flynn & Roger Stone. Hope this picture helps you….get the picture. pic.twitter.com/0tk3cIcOQs
— Jack Hopkins (@thejackhopkins) April 6, 2023
i am as worried as anyone about what happens if we lose, but the spectre of dark brandon scything down all of these weirdo hanger-on freaks without even mentioning them once by name is appealing https://t.co/25Igfn9yXo
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) April 5, 2023
of course, it's steve bannon, so we might end up with four months of NYT columns about how joe biden has moved too far left for the crystals and horse paste brigade and what that Says About The Party
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) April 5, 2023
The guy has one trick and the trick would be a lot more effective if Bannon actually understood anything at all about the democratic base. Remember the brief Ye campaign that Bannon thought would siphon Black votes? https://t.co/PHXS4aijQx
— your himbo boyfriend (@swolecialism) April 6, 2023
Jake Tapper: "Anti-vaccine quack RFK Jr. has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for president as a Democrat… Kennedy is such a healthcare menace, in 2019, even his cousins wrote an op-ed criticizing his anti-science views on life-saving vaccines." pic.twitter.com/8c6SmAlXNo
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) April 5, 2023
RFK Jr. is not a viable Democratic candidate. He's full Q Anon on science. I wrote about him here. RFK Jr. is capitalizing on his family name. MAGAs love him. Don't be fooled just because he's running as a Democrat. He is not his father. https://t.co/lwMk59z5c1
— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) April 6, 2023
Imagine being a Kennedy, announcing that you are running for President, and everyone laughing.
— Dean Hacker (@dhacker615) April 6, 2023
bbleh
Meanwhile the Tennessee House has voted to expel 2 of 3 members who participated in a protest vote.
Entirely coincidentally, the 2 are Black men and the 1 is a White woman.
This has been News Of The Entirely Predictable. We now return you to regularly scheduled programming.
SpaceUnit
Also the dude has one of the most off-putting voices you’ll ever hear.
Quinerly
@SpaceUnit:
I think he has the voice condition that Diane Rehm has. Can’t think what it is called.
Gwangung
@bbleh: With more “useful” synonyms for “uppity” than you can shake a stick at.
Quinerly
@bbleh:
Been listening to this all afternoon. Supposedly she wasn’t removed because of her “calm demeanor.”
raven
@Quinerly:
spasmodic dysphonia like Collins?
SpaceUnit
@Quinerly:
I didn’t know it was a medical condition. Now I feel sort of guilty for pointing it out.
I am a bad person.
Quinerly
@Gwangung:
Tennessee was the birthplace of the KKK.
Quinerly
@raven: yes.
Jackie
@Gwangung: Justin Jones was actually called an uppity Negro on the floor today.
President Biden is pissed.
Quinerly
Here’s how it went down.
https://www.alternet.org/uppity-expelled-tennessee-democrat-racism/
raven
@SpaceUnit: Fuck it, he’s an asshole.
SpaceUnit
@raven:
Okay.
Major Major Major Major
He’s an intriguing candidate but I just can’t support him until I hear more about his views on 5G…
NaijaGal
@bbleh: And here is Johnson’s take on why she wasn’t expelled:
Baud
Both Parties Struggle with Unconventional Candidates — Tomorrow’s Pitchbot
Jackie
@Jackie: Missed edit window. Got it wrong. Quinerly has the actual story.
Quinerly
@SpaceUnit:
You’re good. I heard he was an asshole.
Danielx
Bannon showing his boomer ass…the Kennedy name has no particular magic these days. Kind of like pushing for a Ralph Nader or Joe Lieberman candidacy. Both guys being among a select group of pols: people who honest Dems wouldn’t piss on if they were on fire.
Edit: so okay, it’s not that select.
different-church-lady
There are days when I’m convinced the only thing human beings are truly good at is making other human beings crazy.
different-church-lady
@bbleh: They’re not even trying to hide it anymore.
different-church-lady
@Major Major Major Major:
Pretty sure he’s against it.
Another Scott
@Danielx: I’m a Pat Paulsen man, myself.
Cheers,
Scott.
Quinerly
Good LA Times piece (paywall). Looks like most of this Thomas news is old news.
It was 2004 when the Los Angeles Times disclosed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had accepted expensive gifts and private plane trips paid for by Harlan Crow, a wealthy Texas real estate investor and a prominent Republican donor.
The gifts included a Bible that once belonged to abolitionist Frederick Douglass — a gift Thomas valued at $19,000 — and a bust of Abraham Lincoln valued at $15,000.
“I just knew he was a fan of Frederick Douglass, and I saw that item come available at an auction and I bought it for him,” Crow explained at the time.
He also flew Thomas on his personal plane to Northern California to be his guest at the Bohemian Grove, which held all-male retreats for government and business leaders.
Thomas refused to comment on the article, but it had an impact: Thomas appears to have continued accepting free trips from his wealthy friend. But he stopped disclosing them.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-04-06/the-times-reported-about-justice-thomas-gifts-20-years-ago-after-he-just-stopped-disclosi
Jackie
President Biden’s remarks on Tennessee representatives expulsions:
“Three kids and three officials gunned down in yet another mass shooting. And what are GOP officials focused on? Punishing lawmakers who joined thousands of peaceful protesters calling for action. It’s shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent.”
https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-politics/president-biden-comments-on-expulsions-of-tennessee-democratic-representatives/amp/
different-church-lady
Like there’s a single anti-vaxer anywhere in the country that was going to vote for Biden?
bbleh
@different-church-lady: Or rather
Jackie
@different-church-lady: Nah… he’ll take votes from TFG. Or, from that other Florida guy ;)
different-church-lady
A tale of two headlines
WaPo:
Boston.com:
different-church-lady
And while I’m venting and +0.5…
Apparently we live in a country where everyone has $40,000 for an SUV, but coming up with $4 for a dozen eggs is an impossible hardship.
I just fucking hate everything.
bbleh
@different-church-lady: Oooh ooh INFLATION COMING TO EET US IN OUR BEDZ!!11 but also EEEEK EEEK INTEREST RATES BANK CRASH RECESSION AIYYEEEE!!!
Also too, lots of people having jobs and being given raises that are actually above inflation is entirely unacceptable and must be stopped at once! On that we can ALL agree.
Steeplejack
@Danielx:
Bannon is just a chaos agent. He pushed Ye’s bullshit candidacy in 2020, and there’s no boomer connection there at all. Bannon just wants to fuck up the Democrats.
Dan B
@different-church-lady: My guess is the people whining about the cost of eggs are not the working poor who are truly impacted.
prostratedragon
@Quinerly: By one vote I think, just to make sure we get the message. Probably chosen by lots.
bbleh
@Steeplejack: I think he’s more devoted to chaos than fucking up Dems. I think Trump — as in so many other things — was just a convenient vehicle.
One wonders how someone with advantages like his can end up being such a nihilist. But not for long. Let him rot.
Suzanne
Does anyone still give even half a shit about the Kennedys?
I feel like, if you asked anyone under 35, they would say, “Who?”.
Steve in the ATL
@Suzanne: I still listen to “holiday in Cambodia”.
what? Wrong Kennedys?
Bunter
@Dan B:
You are so right, at least in my experience. Amusingly enough, I was walking home with a friend whose salary and rent I know and she was complaining about the price of eggs, which I was going to buy shortly thereafter. She’s not the working poor; she’s not rich (we live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and are single without roommates) but $4 for a dozen eggs is not going to make any sort of dent in her checking account. And the people at my office??? Dear lord God, how I’m still employed amazes me.
bbleh
@Steve in the ATL:
Dibs on … I dunno, a band name or something. Except there’s already been the Dead Kennedys so been done. I dunno. Something. A bad sitcom maybe?
Steeplejack
@bbleh:
Well, pursuing chaos means attacking Democrats. The Republicans are already chaotic and fucked up on their own.
Mike in NC
@Dan B: Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) is very concerned about the price of eggs. Not too concerned, however, about the January 6 coup attempt in which he was a ringleader.
Steeplejack
@Steve in the ATL:
We’re talking about Kennedys who are still alive.
Steve in the ATL
@bbleh: tribute band
bbleh
@Steeplejack: Lol touché. I do appreciate how Republicans In Disarray has so quickly become a Thing.
The feckless and the reckless. (Premiered here many posts ago.)
geg6
@Suzanne:
Yes, this.
NotMax
RFK Senior worked as a member of Joe McCarthy’s team when that odious blot on the Senate was ascendant.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Another Scott
@different-church-lady:
Not everything.
Hang in there.
Cheers,
Scott.
SpaceUnit
@Steve in the ATL:
My fav Dead Kennedys song is Too Drunk to Fuck.
Because I’m like thirteen years old.
NotMax
@Major Major Major Major
OT, but you may find this of more than passing interest.
Steve in the ATL
@SpaceUnit: agree, but I was waiting until Balloon Juice After Dark to post it!
cliosfanboy
Did the repubs in Tennessee actually use the word “uppity” or did they did out their Thesaurus to dance around it?
BlueGuitarist
@Quinerly:
more:
Expelled Tennessee state rep. Justin Jones quoting MLK and Jeremiah 6:14 to explain “no justice, no peace”
https://mobile.twitter.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/1644063474778099716
TN rep. (and former Barbara Lee intern) Justin Jones on no expulsion of admitted child molester, and others
https://mobile.twitter.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/1644057153928413184
RSA
“Chaos agent” sounds so much cooler than “rich deluded dipshit.”
SpaceUnit
@Steve in the ATL:
My bad.
citizen dave
@bbleh: How about Cheryl Hines starring in Curb Your Kennedy?
The song Holiday in Cambodia played some role in my traveling there a few years ago. A classic.
Princess
@NotMax: RFK senior was expelled from his boarding school for bullying. He held a smaller kid out an upper story window by his legs. I’ve always thought that if he had lived we might have discovered he was an earlier John Edwards — someone who knew the right words and could say them well.
prostratedragon
Jazz musicians telling a guy what they think: “Fables of Faubus,” Charles Mingus.
different-church-lady
Ah, WaPo headline writers, this is more like it:
different-church-lady
@prostratedragon:
“I got a gun, you got a gun, all God’s children got guns…”
(Mingus ad libbing during a concert in France)
bbleh
@different-church-lady: subhed notes that they are Black and the 1 is White. Which is just librul media bias because of course that had nothing to do with it.
frosty
@Princess: I was pissed at RFK in ’68. He waited until McCarthy had opened up the opposition lane then jumped in with the Kennedy name and took it over.
prostratedragon
@different-church-lady: Heh, was that another “Faubus,” or an “A-bomb?”
Quinerly
Lawrence O’Donnell is on fire tonight.
Dan B
@prostratedragon: I heard Otval Faubus speak in our little town of Batesville, AR. He warned us that if the Republican got elected “He’d take away the dole.”
different-church-lady
@prostratedragon: I gotta look it up. It’s on a release called “The Great Concert of Charles Mingus”. He was introducing a tune, but I forget which one.
There’s also a fantastic documentary from 1968, where the filmmaker asks him to say his Pledge of Allegiance, and it starts, “I pledge allegiance to the flag. The white flag…”
Dude did not pull his punches.
Just found the CD: he might have been introducing Meditations On Integration.
NotMax
Another report from the ground on Tuesday. A snippet:
;)
The Moar You Know
Bannon just looks worse and worse every time I see a pic of the guy. Don’t know how that’s possible.
Also, RFK Sr. was a piece of shit who was forgiven by virtue of being shot by an even bigger piece of shit. His kid is arguably worse.
Suzanne
@RSA:
I remember when some sales rep handed me his business card and his job title was “Director of Influence”. It feels like that.
Mallard Filmore
@Another Scott:
“I’ve upped my standards, so up yours.”
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@bbleh:
In my and many others’ experiences, wages haven’t been keeping up with inflation at all.
I belong to a grocery union. 5 years ago, I was making $8.55/hr and today I make $12.85/hr. Originally under the contract I was only going to make $11.50, up from $10.40 as of 2 years ago, then went to $12.50 in 2022 thanks to raises from the employer. Will get a $0.35 raise later this year. I have to pay $8.24 in dues every paycheck. I do have health insurance through the union, but because I’m technically part-time, the only reason I get it is because I average over 30 hours/week to qualify for ACA Full-Time. We get a crappy pension that only pays $10 per earned credit (years worked). So if someone worked 30 years, they’d only get $300/month. No COLA either, AFAIK.
If unions are so great, why are we so underpaid? For reference, the contract was negotiated in mid-2021. It pisses me off that new hires still only make $11.25 to start and that my union is just fine with that, taking $8.24 out of my every paycheck
People working at the non-union Wally World make more than I do to start!
different-church-lady
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
I find it so amazing that anyone thought corporate America was going to let us keep that extra income.
prostratedragon
@different-church-lady: Thanks, will look into that one. I know I’ve feard parts of it. (And why in the world would an interviewer ask him to say the pledge? Can’t think of a context where that isn’t nauseatingly condescending.)
NotMax
@Mallard Filmore
Or, alternatively….
:)
different-church-lady
@prostratedragon:
It was a set-up: he was giving Mingus the opportunity to do his version.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@NotMax:
@Princess:
Never knew this about RFK. I always thought he was a Good Guy peacenik who would’ve ended the war in Vietnam if he had won. At least, that’s the popular version of RFK I’ve read about
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@different-church-lady:
I’m mad at my employer, but I’m also mad at my union for not doing more for us. I’d call up my union rep to vent my spleen, tell him I think he’s utterly useless, and ask him how it’s possible that non-union workers at WalMart make more money than I do after working for 5 years at the same place. I’d do it if not for the fact his wife works in our store and might make things awkward
Another Scott
@different-church-lady:
Horse’s mouth – ED.gov:
We know from our own David Anderson’s work that the feds do pay attention to and do address thoughtful comments.
Cheers,
Scott.
Quinerly
@NotMax:
You can add this to the collection of freaks. St. Charles, Missouri (outside of St. Louis)
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/news/rep-nick-schroer-lustfully-depicts-trumps-rippling-pecs-3978781
When taste in porn and politicians collide.
different-church-lady
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): We have a system that is designed to move money upward. Inflation was inevitable, because it’s a corporate duty to keep the frogs just below the boiling point, but not a degree cooler.
ETA: Goku, you might have deleted the passage I was responding to while I was composing my response?
NotMax
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
On the other side of the coin, as Attorney General he was a stalwart proxy for JFK in using the leverage of the federal government in defending civil rights.
anitamargarita
@Suzanne:
I got over the Kennedy “mystique” after Ted primaried Carter, helping to usher in the Reagan era
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@anitamargarita:
Didn’t Carter also dabble in some deregulation in the late 70s?
different-church-lady
@different-church-lady:
OK, WaPo, you’re tip-toe’ing towards fixing this mess:
OLD: Biden administration says schools may bar trans athletes from some competitive teams
REVISED: Biden administration says schools may bar trans athletes from some teams, but disallows blanket bans
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@different-church-lady:
I did, sorry. Well-trodden ground I’ve discussed here before.
different-church-lady
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
It’s cool. Just didn’t want it to seem like I was doing a non sequitur.
different-church-lady
Nutrition question: if you’re getting over a cold, and the drink is more orange juice than rum, it’s healthy, right?
Obvious Russian Troll
@Suzanne: I’m 55 and I don’t give a shit about the Kennedys. Ted is the only one I remember as a politician, and I only vaguely remember him running for President.
I remember JFK Jr for his magazine and RFK Jr for–well, pretty much just the antivax bullshit.
Suzanne
@anitamargarita: I just don’t think that anybody cares about them anymore. It’s like caring deeply about Studebakers. They’re just common rich people now.
Poe Larity
I’m still wondering why my 5G reception is so bad after being chipped so many times.
Suzanne
@Obvious Russian Troll: Agreed.
We’re as far out from the Kennedy assassination now as that event was from the McKinley assassination. I know everyone stanned the Kennedys for a while, but I also have zero give a damn.
I liked Carolyn’s style.
different-church-lady
@Poe Larity:
I went for the $100 Costco gift card, but I still haven’t figure out how to get the damn thing out of my arm.
Mallard Filmore
@NotMax: A beautiful picture.
Jackie
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Why don’t you apply at Walmart, then?
Serious question.
Dopey-o
My Linkedin profile lists my occupation as “Disaster Facilitator”.
Steve in the ATL
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
I love it when union members do my job for me!
Major Major Major Major
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): yeah, inflation is very real and pretty bad, I don’t get why people are still doing denialism… the cost of eggs doubling is super noticeable, and everybody already spent their raises on a used car (that doubled in price before they bought) and rent that went up 50%. My real wages have pretty much stayed steady despite some impressive-sounding raises.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in the ATL: @SpaceUnit: Here you go. I classed it up a little ‘cuz they are French.
guachi
MSNBC was great basically all evening. Guest after guest were on fire. Elie Mystal exploded at the BS reasoning of Rs who voted not to expel the White woman.
And I lived his line about how Rs are so racist they’d shoot their foot off it meant they’d hit a Black man.
Liverpoolrules
His father and his uncle are one of main reasons I became a Democrat, a Marine and went into government service. Screw him and Steve Bannon. What a waste.
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: c’est bon, ça!
citizen dave
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): airline (pricing, not safety) deregulation in 1978. Wholesale natural gas also.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Jackie:
Good question. Wal-Mart has a Reputation, if you know what I mean. The other reason is that I’d lose my seniority and have to start at the bottom again. That’s worth it if you’re a highly educated/skilled professional with experience.
I’ve been trying to get a promotion into management the last 6 months or so.
I interviewed for an assistant Team Lead position for the new Curbside a few months ago, apparently interviewed well for it, but lost out to another guy who left a few months later; the position has gone un-filled since and I think they might let it go unfilled for now.
I got an email from the recruiter (Katie) who was doing the hiring for the new Curbside department and the store, offering a “Leadership position” as part of the Team Leader Development Program. I didn’t know it was for a specific position at a Curbside as she never specified. I get a phone interview with her. At the end, she asks me if I have any questions. I reply I don’t. Cue the next few weeks of having to chase after this recruiter to set up a virtual interview, including getting my department manager involved to get an answer from this lady. I finally get the interview, think as long as I just be myself, I’ll do fine. Interviewer asks me what department I’m interviewing for, I say Front End Lead, as that was what I truly wanted. I thought the interview was just for the Development Program itself. I ended up bombing the interview as I had a hard time coming up with answers to the questions and let my nervousness show.
A week later, another recruiter (Terri) calls me at work on my cell phone to follow up, says that the original one had left the company, and that she was taking over. She asks me why I told the interviewer I was applying for Front-End Lead instead of Curbside Team Lead, when that was what the paperwork said, sounding like she thought I was idiot. I explained that I didn’t know that I had to specifically apply for a position, that I thought it was just a generic interview for the TLDP. She said she’d see what she could do about a Front End position and she’d call me in a few days. 2 weeks go by and crickets. I call her back to follow-up on Wednesday afternoon and have to leave a message. Never got a call back from her.
I’m too afraid to tell my boss about it because this has happened two times in a row a recruiter has apparently ghosted me. At that point, it starts to look bad on my part
I can handle not getting a promotion, but what really gets me is people evidently lying to my face. What was so hard about a 5-10 min conversation telling me I’m not ready/not right for this role? It’s unprofessional, callous, and frankly cowardly to just leave someone hanging like I was. How am I supposed to improve if don’t get feedback, either?
I probably should have prepared better for the interview and had more/better questions, but is it too much to ask for a little honesty?
Major Major Major Major
@citizen dave: don’t forget breweries!
prostratedragon
@guachi: LO’D featured some great civic preaching from Justin Pearson on the floor, with some fiery follow-up by Martin Frost. It’s getting stirred up.
Omnes Omnibus
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Many cultures avoid directly saying no. That includes many corporate cultures. You might need to learn to read your company’s way of saying things.
SpaceUnit
@Omnes Omnibus:
Awesome. That was crazy fun.
Omnes Omnibus
@SpaceUnit: If you aren’t familiar with the band, you should definitely check out some of their other stuff.
Bill Arnold
@RSA:
One could wonder whether Bannon read N. Spinrad’s mostly-forgettable 1967 novel Agent of Chaos and took the philosophical bits to heart.
His chaos-fu is much weaker than he thinks. (Chaos feedback loops can be very useful tools, to be clear, but dangerous.)
different-church-lady
@Major Major Major Major:
My point was people could buy a shitload of eggs at $4 a dozen if they didn’t insist they needed $40,000 worth of SUV just to go pick them up.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Omnes Omnibus:
A lie by omission is still a lie in my book. And it comes across as cowardly too. I deserved an explanation. If I was an HR person, I would never purposely ghost someone I interviewed. It’s terrible behavior. The whole experience fucked with my self-esteem.
How am I supposed to improve if I don’t know exactly what I did wrong?
These people I dealt with didn’t give one damn about my dreams or what I want to accomplish. They have to be aware of what we make. Our wages are terrible and this was a way for me to start earning a living wage
This isn’t directed at you and I understand what you’re saying, I guess. I still feel I was owed some honesty, even if it was done in a constructive criticism way. I could learn how to do better next time, y’know? I mean, the second recruiter wouldn’t even return my call, how is that right?
This question goes for others: based on my description, I screwed up pretty bad, right? Do you think it’s appropriate for a recruiter to ghost someone with no explanation?
SpaceUnit
@Omnes Omnibus:
I will. Seems like my kind of vibe. Thanks.
Omnes Omnibus
@SpaceUnit:
As Another Scott always says, happy to help.
Omnes Omnibus
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): The thing is, it sounds like you already know what you can do to improve.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@different-church-lady:
I would say that $40K vehicles means that they are poor…lol! We have emotional support trucks rolling around here that cost over $100K and the only thing they’ll ever carry is their owner’s fragile ego.
Ksmiami
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): No offense, but with those wages it sounds like you live in a crappy – read Republican – run state. I mean even here in NM, grocery stores are paying 15 plus an hour to start. My advice is to apply to other areas- there are lots of jobs out there. I know it sounds curt or rude, but on every measure of well being, the red states are a cesspool and will shorten your life.
Omnes Omnibus
Here’s something you can do about the TN Dems who got ousted. I just donated.
Steve in the ATL
@Ksmiami: @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Ksmiami is correct. Grocery business is extremely low margin. You want to work in a high margin industry.
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: please stop being helpful and friendly. It’s freaking me out.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in the ATL: Meth?
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in the ATL: I may have nefarious ulterior motives. Does that help?
Steve in the ATL
@SpaceUnit: for all his many, many, many flaws, Omnes has excellent musical taste.
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: yes, thanks
@Omnes Omnibus: I’d go with fentanyl these days
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in the ATL:
The third many hurt.
James E Powell
@anitamargarita:
He & his rabid followers put on a display at the anomalous “Mid Term Convention” in Memphis that was an embarrassment and a disgrace. It was all about his ego.
For some reason neither he nor his supporters understood that after Chappaquiddick he could never be president.
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: then my work here is done!
Jackie
@Omnes Omnibus: Thanks! Hopefully this will get Front Paged!
different-church-lady
@SpaceUnit:
I would say “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” is more appropriate for these times.
satby
This is going to sound mean, but you’re asking for constructive feedback and I used to hire and screen prospective hires all the time. It’s not their job or mandate to care about your dreams. They were hired to fill specific jobs the corporation needs filled, period. Any time you interview for any position, you need to focus on their goal, not yours. Remember what questions you had trouble with and come up with an answer for next time, always focused on what you can do for the company.
Edit: and if you don’t make the cut, you’ll know by the silence. They seldom call to say “sorry, you didn’t get the job.”
frosty
@Odie Hugh Manatee: Emotional Support Trucks! I am stealing that for whenever the opportunity arises. Most excellent description!
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@satby:
Decent advice, but the interview was Feb 17th. I never wrote the specific questions down and can’t really remember them now. I remember being asked to go into detail about a time I had to problem solve and literally couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head at the time. I recall my answers being pretty lame though. I’ll have to read up on interviewing. Thank you for the feedback
But here’s the thing. I was already on the phone with this woman in a follow up call. She could’ve just told me right then and there it wasn’t going to work instead of flat out lying to me. She just wanted me off the phone so she could wash her hands of it. I have my doubts about whether that first recruiter really “left the company” too. It pisses me off that I got treated that way.
If I were ever hiring someone, I would never treat them how I was treated.
Kent
I gotta think that the expulsion of these two black state reps in TN will MASSIVELY backfire on the state GOP.
Before expulsion they were powerless minority backbenchers who’s votes were essentially meaningless.
What I hope and expect is that this will catapult them into national prominence. Biden should invite them to the White House and do a big show and tell press conference of some sort. Schumer should invite them to the Senate and hold some hearing on anti-democratic tendencies in the statehouses and give them a national forum. Maddow and all the other liberal-leaning shows should have them on. There are a thousand ways that the national Democratic Party can elevate them and take care of them and antagonize the TN GOP gun-thumping racists. And if they aren’t re-instated there are plenty of national positions they could be offered.
Major Major Major Major
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): getting ghosted by recruiters really sucks but in my experience I’d say it happens about a third of the time? Agree that it’s unprofessional but it’s also apparently totally acceptable.
BruceFromOhio
NYTimes Pitchbot you readin dis
Major Major Major Major
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
There are some question prototypes you’ll almost certainly hear a lot and this is one of them. Also “tell me about a time you had a bad relationship with a coworke, and as you’ve already identified “do you have any questions for me”
Recommend jotting down some notes in advance for these. Probably a good Dummies book out there on the topic.
Omnes Omnibus
@Major Major Major Major:
This guy does a pretty good job of explaining how to answer job interview questions.
Shalimar
@Obvious Russian Troll: RFK, Jr. had a radio show on Air America 18 years ago with Pensacola environmental lawyer Mike Papantonio, before his anti-vax shit started. He was less of a nut at the time, but his voice still made him unlistenable. It isn’t his fault, but I still don’t see how he thinks he is competitive in politics sounding like that. If he wasn’t RFK’s son, he wouldn’t have had 99% of the opportunities he has.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@frosty: Wankpanzer is also descriptive. Check out the Wankpanzer on twitter when you’re bored…
Aussie Sheila
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
I get why you are angry and you are right. And I get the resentment at paying dues when the shop up the road are getting the same, even better wages and conditions as you .
But here’s the ineffable thing. The shop owners up the road are paying a premium to keep your union out of their workplace.
If your workplace ceases being union, they won’t have that incentive, and their wages and conditions will sink faster than you can say ‘right to work’. That’s how it works. Unionised workplaces hold up the sky for everyone, union or not.
As to a union that doesn’t do much? I hear you. Make good trouble, plenty of it. Sometimes the battle has to be won at home before it can be won everywhere else.
Raise hell about a lousy union, but never, ever give up your rights at work .
Aussie Sheila
@Kent:
This exactly. I just started watching the news re the Tennessee three about three hours ago. Midnight your time.
This is an incredible opportunity for the Dems. Of course the key issue is gun violence in the US and the death and trauma it visits on everyone, especially children. But this issue is visceral for everyone-parents, their children and sane people everywhere.
In my country a gun massacre at a tourist resort in the late 1990s resulted in the toughest gun laws ever seen in this country, and a gun buy back system that resulted in the destruction of hundreds of thousand of weapons.
The Party carrying out this program of tough gun laws was our Liberal Party and its partner in government, the National Party, even more conservative and right wing.
To this day, it is the one and only thing people across the political spectrum give either Party credit for. Even I will concede that it was a blessing that the then PM John Howard and his Deputy PM Tim Fisher did what they did and that their action has saved many lives in this country.
Keep going. Gun violence scares every sane person. Make the republicans pay a big, very big political price for their fealty to the NRA instead of towards their constituents.
bjacques
@Bill Arnold: probably dead thread, but it didn’t pass the notice of those who read Agent Of Chaos that the titular character was one Boris Johnson.
And many voters were born after Bobby Kennedy was assassinated, a somewhat smaller number after MTV had a rightwing host named Kennedy, and a few have even become adults since the Dead Kennedys sued Jello Biafra.
Gvg
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I am sure there are courses yo7 could take about interviewing and reading people, corporate culture etc, but before you remake your life based on this, consider that other people, even bosses and senior people screw up, don’t know what they are doing, sometimes they are faking it, or forget or are bad at their job.
Kathleen
JML
@Aussie Sheila: also, if you’re unhappy with what your union is or isn’t doing for you, get involved! Become a steward. Get on the negotiating team. Becomes an officer. Unions are run by members.
lige
I think he’s just jealous his late cousin is the Q messiah. I get it too – he’s still alive and shares about half of their world view.