Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

He really is that stupid.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

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

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

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

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Thanks for reminding me that Van Jones needs to be slapped.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

In my day, never was longer.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

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

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

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

No one could have predicted…

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

You are here: Home / Civil Rights / Monday Morning Open Thread: Vice-President Harris Went to Nashville

Monday Morning Open Thread: Vice-President Harris Went to Nashville

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Per the AP:

… Harris received wild applause and several standing ovations as she told a crowd at Nashville’s historically Black Fisk University that the so-called Tennessee Three — ousted Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson and a third Democrat, Gloria Johnson, who avoided expulsion by a single vote — were being, in her words, silenced and stifled for standing up for the lives of schoolchildren.

“Let’s understand the underlying issue is about fighting for the safety of our children,” Harris said. “It’s been years now where they are taught to read and write and hide in a closet and be quiet if there’s a mass shooter at their school, where our children, who have God’s capacity to learn and lead, who go to school in fear.”

She called for background checks, red flag laws and restrictions on assault rifles.

“Let’s not fall for the false choice — either you’re in favor of the Second Amendment or you want reasonable gun safety laws,” Harris said. “We can and should do both.”…

Ahead of the event, students and others were lined up down the block, hoping to enter the school’s Memorial Chapel. Inside several young Black women wore sweaters with the initials for Alpha Kappa Alpha, a Black sorority that Harris belonged to.

“It’s exciting to see someone from my organization doing great and amazing things,” said one of them, Jasmyn Thrash.

Nashville Metro Councilperson Zulfat Suara addressed the crowd before Harris arrived, saying the expulsions “tell us exactly what we need to know about how the state views young Black men” standing up for what they believe. Evoking the city’s civil rights history, she said, “Just like John Lewis and Diane Nash did many years ago, we too will resist.”…


Per the local Tennessean:

… After addressing Thursday’s events and the Tennessee Three, Harris concluded her remarks with a message for the whole audience.

“Your voices are part of the conscience of our country. When we need in these moments in time people who have something in them that is about empathy, about care, about a sense of responsibility for their brother and sister,” Harris said. “We need you all.”

Bookending her speech, Harris returned to civil rights leaders Diane Nash and John Lewis, saying they started as young leaders just like those in the audience.

Especially with the push for gun reform, Harris said it’s a pivotal moment for young leaders to step up.

“We will not be defeated, we will not be deterred, we will not throw up our hands when it’s time to roll up our sleeves,” Harris said, drawing deafening applause as she reached the end of her remarks.

She concluded, “We will speak with truth, we will speak about freedom and justice, and we will march on.”…

Side note from the Washington Post:

… Before Harris’s meeting, President Biden spoke to the three Democrats in a conference call, the White House said. Per the White House, Biden invited the three lawmakers to the White House “in the near future” and thanked them “for their leadership in seeking to ban assault weapons and standing up for our democratic values.”…

Politico isn’t sure whether to be impressed or appalled [bolding theirs]:

BEHIND THE SCENES — On Friday morning just after 7 a.m., VP KAMALA HARRIS told her chief of staff LORRAINE VOLES that she wanted to go to Tennessee and show her support for the two legislators who were expelled from the state House the previous evening for mounting a demonstration in favor of gun control from the chamber floor.

The idea for a visit wasn’t exactly a surprise. The VP had been checking in with senior staff as the situation heated up and asked them to keep her updated.

But what was a surprise was the turnaround: Harris wanted to go that afternoon.

Trips for the VP have complex logistical and security concerns. They typically take days, if not weeks, to pull together. Harris was giving her staff hours.

“If you think of the speed in which a vote was taken to expel them, [Harris felt] sending a signal that we have their backs quickly was just as important,” a senior aide to the VP tells Playbook. “I don’t think there could have been a stronger signal than to immediately go.”…

Still, there were the questions of where Harris would make this speech, and to whom.

Fortunately for the White House, they had someone they trust in Nashville: Former Biden comms aide TJ DUCKLO is currently the chief comms officer and senior adviser to Nashville Mayor JOHN COOPER. Leaning on the mayor’s office, the White House was able to quickly secure a venue at Fisk University and build out a crowd of roughly 700 at the HBCU.

Worth noting: Although some conservative commentators have criticized Harris for not meeting with the families affected by last month’s shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School, a White House aide tells Playbook that the families were invited, and that they “offered blessings” but ultimately couldn’t make it…

Coda:

Reader Interactions

160Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    Her visit must have triggered the wingnuts, lefty haters, Russian bots or some combination of the three, because there was a briefly popular reddit post slamming her with the standard canned talking points.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    we will not throw up our hands when it’s time to roll up our sleeves,

    That’s a good line.

  3. 3.

    Geminid

    Vice President Harrris will likely stay in Washington this week, as President Biden will be out of town. On Tuesday he’ll attend ceremonies in Belfast commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to attend as well

    Later, President Biden has other events scheduled in Ireland. He will deliver a public address Friday at Saint Muredoch’s Cathedral, in County Mayo.

  4. 4.

    Mousebumples

    Good morning, everyone!

    I don’t have a postcard campaign to push, so I’ll leave it at that for now, haha.

  6. 6.

    Geminid

    A report from Al Jazeera regarding the Yemen peace talks indicates that so far, so good. There is even a picture from Sanaa of the Saudi Ambassador and the Houthi leader giving each other a hug. “Awww.”

    The talks are in parallel to the UN’s efforts. They are expected to take a while. The first steps involve an easing of blockades on Houthi controlled ports and the Sanaa airport, plus some prisoner exchanges.

  7. 7.

    trnc

    It’s time to stop sacrificing children at the altar of a corrupt interpretation of the 2nd amendment.

  8. 8.

    Mousebumples

    @Baud: it looks to be warm here today.

    My 3 yo has her first swimming lesson in about a year tonight. (took a break just before the baby was born since the logistics were making my brain spin) Joined the Y a few weeks ago, and we’ve already been to the pool a few times. And “baby” (now 1 yo!) has his first swim lessons on Thursday. Hopefully we can wear them out so they sleep soundly!

  9. 9.

    trnc

    @Geminid: Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to attend as well.

    I wonder if DT will ever be invited to anything by a foreign leader again. Putin seems a little busy to throw parties. Maybe Orban.

  11. 11.

    Geminid

    @trnc: Washington state just passed a comprehensive assault weapons ban. We’ll see of it holds up in the courts. So far the six gun safety laws Virginia’s General Assembly passed in early 2020 have withstood challenges

  14. 14.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: The Omanis are mediating the talks between the Saudis and Houthis. The Kingdom of Oman has played a diplomatic role in other regional disputes as well.

  15. 15.

    Geminid

    @Baud: Many people assume that this Supreme Court will strike down any and all meaningful gun safety legislation. I’m not so sure.

  22. 22.

    mrmoshpotato

    @eclare:

    let me swim and play in a pool all day so I would be asleep by 7 pm. 

    And more shriveled than the raisin! 😁

  23. 23.

    Warblewarble

    The timid will not be thanked. The slave and enslaved media have tried to undercut Kamala Harris,  so much so that there have been whisperings that she should be replaced as Bidens’s running mate. Some who see themselves as “centerists’ , who were not active in civil rights and voting struggles, have been halfhearted, serious mistake. Young people, particularly those who have lived in the shadow of the gun man, whose schooling has meant shooter drills and worse are  crying out and are receptive to leadership. Seize the day.

  25. 25.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: WaPo published a guest essay today by Bill Clinton about the Good Friday peace talks. I read somewhere that there are two small towns in Ireland that are making preparations in hopes that Biden will swing by during his visit. His father’s people came from one of the towns and his mother’s the other. IIRC, both seemed resigned to the idea that he might not visit either one since he’s a very busy guy.

  27. 27.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: I hope President Biden gets some free time Wednesday and Thursday just to hang out, maybe visit those villages. He’ll have plenty on his desk when he gets back to the White House

  28. 28.

    Anyway

    @Baud:

    Didn’t the SC(R)OTUS six already “cancel” New York state’s  gun control law?  D states need to keep pushing but the one passed by the NY legislature was ruled unconstitutional iIRC.

  29. 29.

    OzarkHillbilly

    A 78-year-old woman with two past bank robbery convictions faces new charges after allegedly carrying out a heist in Missouri during which she handed a teller a note that said “I didn’t mean to scare you”.

    Bonnie Gooch has been jailed on a $25,000 bond after she was charged with one count of stealing or attempting to steal from a financial institution in the holdup last Wednesday in Pleasant Hill, the Kansas City Star reported.

    Gooch was convicted of robbing a California bank in 1977 and one in the Kansas City suburb of Lee’s Summit in 2020. Her probation over the second heist ended in November 2021.
    ……………………………
    Prosecutors said she smelled strongly of alcohol when officers stopped her less than 2 miles (3.2km) away, with cash scattered on the car’s floor. She was “very stern” with officers.

    “It’s just sad,” said Pleasant Hill’s police chief, Tommy Wright, adding that the suspect had no diagnosed ailments.

    Misery is not about to be outdone by Floriduh.

  30. 30.

    Geminid

    @Anyway: Yes, the Supreme Court struck down a long standing New York law restricting concealed(?) carry permits. So far it’s not clear how widely the reasoning applies, since there was an element of discretion in the permitting process that the majority objected to.

  33. 33.

    Denali5

    I keep hoping Tennessee students will stage a statewide strike to protest the idiocy of the Tennessee Legislature. We are reaching Viet Nam  levels of division in this country.

  35. 35.

    lowtechcyclist

    Off topic, but someone on Twitter posted this definition from the Urban Dictionary, and it’s a classic:

    schrödinger’s douchebag

    One who makes douchebag statements, particularly sexist, racist or otherwise bigoted ones, then decides whether they were “just joking” or dead serious based on whether other people in the group approve or not.

  36. 36.

    Geminid

    @Baud: There are a lot of Gooches in Virginia. There’s even a Goochland County, named after Sir William Gooch. He was the Lt. Governor of Virginia from 1725 to 1747, and ran the show because the nominal Governors stayed home.

  38. 38.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @lowtechcyclist: There is no such thing as “off topic” in an open thread. You can post anything you want.

    Oh yeah, as to that definition, all too true and all too f’n funny.

  41. 41.

    Denali5

    @Baud,

    Thank you for the link. I somehow missed this. And nothing has changed. Do we not love our children?

  42. 42.

    Mousebumples

    @eclare: Haha, yes! 7pm is bedtime anyhow, but she can read/look at books after that time, if she wants. Less protests when she’s tired.

    @sab: We’re all pretty fair skinned, and I figure the indoor Y pool will be a better summertime option vs the community/outdoor pools.

  44. 44.

    Anne Laurie

    @Betty Cracker: I read somewhere that there are two small towns in Ireland that are making preparations in hopes that Biden will swing by during his visit. His father’s people came from one of the towns and his mother’s the other. IIRC, both seemed resigned to the idea that he might not visit either one since he’s a very busy guy.

    That’s the true Irish spirit — always hope (and make plans), but never expect.

    (Of course, there are those who say that talking about how much you don’t expect your fondest wishes to be gr)anted is just another form of passive-aggressive insistence… )

  45. 45.

    lowtechcyclist

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    There is no such thing as “off topic” in an open thread. You can post anything you want.

    I know, but I’m still gonna say that if I post something that’s totally unconnected to any of the ongoing conversations in a thread.

  46. 46.

    MisterDancer

    @Baud: Yep. All this is because the GOP in TN is scared of having the kids spark a popular uprising, essentially, to save their own lives. To let them borrow from my own fears — Kid Lives Matter.

    and in the “what are they scared of” category: I can’t recall where I found this gem, maybe DKos, but — unsurprisingly to all — a local TN station did some digging last year. Turns out the TN lege has been breaking it’s own rules in favor of GOP initiatives for years, at least:

    In the Tennessee House of Representatives, an exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation discovered they also ignore the rules they don’t like.

    Those questionable practices allow the state’s Republican supermajority to introduce dramatic changes in legislation with no public notice. They can also kill bills they don’t like without anyone knowing who did it.

    Again, no shock, but these MFers don’t like this light being cast on them while they do the dirty in the halls of power.

    That just means we gotta keep talking about them MORE.

  49. 49.

    sab

    @Mousebumples: Yes. Ours was an outdoor pool in Florida.

    ETA Back then the only sunscreen was a strip of white zinc oxide cream across the nose. Almost every kid wore it.

  50. 50.

    MisterDancer

    @JWR: The Drug War was good business for some, and great press for the “Crime-Fightin’ GOP”, even as it devastated the Black community (among many others).

    I wish I was more shocked that some of the worst in that group want to bring War rhetoric back into the conversation. I wish, too, I didn’t think they’d drop real bombs on Mexico, given power and half a chance.

  52. 52.

    Betty Cracker

    We had Easter dinner yesterday with my MIL, various aunties, uncles and family friends — the first time we’ve attended a larger-scale holiday dinner since the pandemic started. There was nothing left of the butter lamb except the head, which I suggested should be mounted on a butter dish and propped up in the fridge like a hunting trophy

    ETA: One interesting thing to note politically — everyone was trashing DeSantis, including people I would classify as small-c conservatives. They were particularly disgusted with the David statue incident and book banning.

  53. 53.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Mousebumples:”Good morning, everyone!

    I don’t have a postcard campaign to push, so I’ll leave it at that for now, haha.
    ”
     Good morning!

    PostcardsToVoters.org has a campaign underway: writing to Democrats in FL who vote by mail, to remind them to renew for 2023-2024.

    Someone smarter than me said, “‘Red’ states are actually voter-suppression states”, so I’m rolling up my sleeves in honor of Diane Nash. First batch of FL postcards goes out today!

  55. 55.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Warblewarble: I love it when new commenters who may or may not be trolls, come in and rewrite history.

    The red rose left  have had it in for Kamala since she announced her candidacy. Calling her a cop and Copmala.

    Its mostly black women (and some immigrant women) who have had Kamala’s back. Not the dudebro left.

  56. 56.

    chickweed

    As a (lurking) fan of Balloon Juice for many years, I’m here to say I hope some of you (cough-*Betty Cracker* *Anne Laurie* *but really *everyone*-cough) will consider checking out Mastodon.  I’ve been posting there since Oct, ’22 and can only say “come on in, the water’s fine!”  If anyone’s interested, here’s one of many links on how to get started:https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-get-started-use-mastodon/.   If you want to get an idea of what it’s like, here’s my link: https://mastodon.social/@earthchild

    I’m not a techie, but to me, the interface feels intuitive and user-friendly.

    There’s even a way to embed Mastodon links on a website ;-) https://fedi.tips/how-to-embed-mastodon-posts-on-a-website/

    Love,

    chickweed (still a lurker on Balloon Juice)

  59. 59.

    evodevo

    @Baud: Given that I am acquainted with several Gooches in KY, and there are also a lot in West VA, I am not at all surprised at the antics of this particular Gooch LOL

  60. 60.

    Geminid

    @H.E.Wolf: Our mutual favorite Xochitl Torres Small is making some news as Agriculture Undersecretary for Rural Xevlopment. Last week the former New Mexico Congresswoman and new Washington Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez spoke at an event about a new broadband initiative in Gluesenkamp Perez’s rural/exurban district.

    And the Senate Agriculture Committee should be meeting soon to consider Ms. Torres Small’s nomination to be Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. Senator John Fetterman should be back for that

  64. 64.

    Mousebumples

    @H.E.Wolf: Good point! I should pay it forward, to other states, in thanks for all the out of staters who wrote to Wisconsin for last week’s election!

  65. 65.

    Baud

    @eclare:

    IIRC Raven once said after the first comment every thread is an open thread.

    Only if the first comment is “First!”

  66. 66.

    Brachiator

    @Geminid:

    On Tuesday he’ll attend ceremonies in Belfast commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to attend as well.

    It is ironic that hard core BREXIT supporters in the UK Conservative government don’t seem to realize how important the Good Friday Agreement is to Biden and to Congress.

    It will also be interesting to see if the Northern Ireland unionist party, the DUP come around and help form a government.

  67. 67.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Geminid:”@H.E.Wolf: Our mutual favorite Xochitl Torres Small is making some news as Agriculture Undersecretary for Rural Development. […]”
     Wooooo!!! Great news – thanks for passing along the info! Fingers crossed for the nomination to Deputy Secretary….

  68. 68.

    Baud

    @Betty Cracker:

    There was nothing left of the butter lamb except the head, which I suggested should be mounted on a butter dish and propped up in the fridge like a hunting trophy

    You wouldn’t happen to be related to Donald Trump, Jr.?

     

     

    @Betty Cracker:

     everyone was trashing DeSantis, including people I would classify as small-c conservatives. They were particularly disgusted with the David statue incident and book banning.

    Wow.  And I’m happy for you.  You must have been dancing on the inside.

  69. 69.

    Geminid

    @WereBear: My good friend Debbie’s Ma was Sicilian and her Dad Irish. Debbie grew up in Medford, Massachusetts and I think the town motto must have been “Blow it Out Your Ass, Buddy!”

  70. 70.

    Steve in the ATL

    I missed the earlier thread, but did anyone post a reminder that Jonah Goldberg’s mother used to fellate LBJ?

    She didn’t quite follow raven’s direction regarding LBJ, but close enough!

  72. 72.

    Geminid

    @H.E.Wolf: I think Xochitl Tores Small will have an easy path to confirmation. Just about everybody, from ag industry groups to conservation outfits, approves of her promotion to Deputy Secretary. Torres Small could be the next Agriculture Secretary, and she’s still only 38 years old.

  73. 73.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Mousebumples: ​
     Their “FL Vote By Mail” campaign is done county-by-county, starting with counties that have the highest number of Democrats.

    I’ve learned a lot by looking up the cities and towns I’m writing to (thank you, Wikipedia). Armchair travel. :-)

  74. 74.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: When the first person made critical remarks, I braced myself to hear a defense and to remain calm in my response, but no defense ever came!

    They trashed the dumb culture war bullshit, jeered at DeSantis for getting outwitted by Mickey Mouse, marveled at the stupidity of an allegedly pro-business governor attacking the state’s largest employer, and agreed with my comments about the erosion of K-12 education and the ongoing vandalism on the state university system!

    Now, these were my husband’s relatives and their friends. That side of the family are generally good old Great Lakes-region, union-supporting Dems, and I don’t think any of them voted for Trump. But there were folks there whom I suspect were Mittens curious in 2012, and DeSantis has lost them.

    It would have been far more surprising if my Trumpy Florida relatives had turned on DeSantis, but I think what happened is Pudd’n Boots has gone so far to try to appease people like my FL relatives that he’s completely lost normies. We’ve speculated about that here before, and I heard the anecdata with my own ears yesterday.

  75. 75.

    JWR

    @MisterDancer: It’s just so weird the speed with which all these whack(off) “policies” have seemingly moved from the fringes to the mainstream of the party. And it seems to be accelerating by the hour.

  76. 76.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @WereBear: I read recently that there has been a severe drop off in the numbers of rich fucks buying there way into New Zealand due to a small change in the “investment” requirements. Before they were able to satisfy the requirements by buying ultra safe New Zealand govt bonds, but now they have to invest the money into tangible on the ground projects. You know, things that might not actually work out.​

    eta: New Zealand loses appeal to rich foreigners as investor visa numbers plunge.

  77. 77.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Betty Cracker: This is interesting.

    We’ve been working on a sort of folk understanding that DeSantis basically can’t overreach at this point, at least not for Florida voters, because he was already behaving like a demagogic tyrant before his last election and was apparently massively rewarded for it. Maybe he found the line.

    This, of course, doesn’t mean they won’t regard any Democrat as worse, but it’s something.

    I keep thinking of an old Maureen Dowd column after some Democratic victory or other–maybe it was Obama in 2008–where she made some remark like “when the Democrats overreach (they always do)…” and it just struck me as so insane, as if she lived in a world where liberals were the wild-eyed loonies just aching to go too far.

  81. 81.

    MisterDancer

    @JWR: It’s just so weird the speed with which all these whack(off) “policies” have seemingly moved from the fringes to the mainstream of the party. And it seems to be accelerating by the hour.

    I submit that if you think of it more like them reverting to the mean(ness) of Jim Crow, a lot of this crap has a better framework for analysis.

  82. 82.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    “But if we have to take on actual risk for the rewards of just being wealthy, that’s not fair!”

  86. 86.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @zhena gogolia:

    Damn – that took some WORK to get the linguistic patter down.

    He nailed it.

    Was Jeremy Irons the original voice actor for the cartoon?

  87. 87.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    BTW – shooting event in downtown Louisville at a bank location next to Slugger Field (AAA park). Nine shot, shooter down, police officer shot. Current story is 25 YO white male texted friend that he was going to kill everyone in the bank.

    Details developing, he was obviously a good guy with a gun until he wasn’t. It’s also too early to politicize, thoughts ‘n prayers, can’t prohibit access to the law abiding, yadda yadda.

  88. 88.

    Steeplejack

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    More than 30 [🙀] Norwegian billionaires and multimillionaires left Norway in 2022, according to research by the newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv. This was more than the total number of super-rich people who left the country during the previous 13 years, it added. Even more super-rich individuals are expected to leave this year because of the increase in wealth tax in November, costing the government tens of millions lost tax receipts.

    Thank you for this bombshell story, Guardian “wealth correspondent.” Fuck those Norwegian mini-moguls. The “most taxed” one and supposedly the fourth richest, quoted in the article, is worth about $1.86 billion. He is estimated to have paid about $142 million in taxes since 2008, which works out to about 0.5% of his net worth every year. But, yeah, compared to U.S. billionaires he’s paying through the nose. And those vicious tax people made him move from beautiful frozen Norway to miserable sun-drenched Lugano in Switzerland. Sucks to be you, bro’.

  90. 90.

    Geminid

    @H.E.Wolf:

     

    @Geminid: Rep. Gabe Vasquez, who now holds the Congressional seat Xochitle Torres Small held 2019-2021, is also 38 years old. E&E News had a writeup of Vasquez last December13 titled, “NM Green plans to follow moderate path in House.” The headline called Vasquez a “Green” because he is an environmentalist, but he’s not a member of that trifling Green Party.

    Vasquez’s predecessor (and presumptive 2024 opponent) Yvette Harrell was all in for the fossil fuel industry, while Vasquez says he will take a more balanced approach. The Permian Basin extends into the southeast corner of his district, and is a major source of jobs as well as revenue for the state. Vasquez’s former boss, Senator Martin Heinrich, said that Vasquez’s win was a boon for “pragmatism and working class values.”

    I liked what Mr. Vasquez told the E&E reporter about political ambition:

        “I’m here for a reason. One of my lines in the campaign was that I have a dog and a truck and a house. I got nothing to gain, nothing to lose.”

  91. 91.

    Yutsano

    @H.E.Wolf: ​

    Someone smarter than me said, “‘Red’ states are actually voter-suppression states”

    I can’t remember where I saw the statistic now, but only 44% of eligible Texas voters voted in 2022. That’s horrific. Texas is very much a voter suppressed state. I wonder if a massive postcard push could do things there…

  92. 92.

    narya

    @MisterDancer: A couple of years ago I caught a PBS show, “Driving While Black.” (Unless I’m conflating it with another show, it also detailed, among other things, how building the interstates destroyed black communities.) Since seeing that, your suggested framework has been uppermost in my mind for SO many things. It’s obvious. I will also add that the show, and a four-part series on Reconstruction really helped my (much-more-normie) friend see these things clearly, too. We were also appalled at ourselves, that we didn’t know these things–but that also helped us see how what WE were taught, decades ago, simply erased the lives and experiences and oppression of black folks.

  93. 93.

    Betty Cracker

    @Matt McIrvin: Florida is a red state and I think it’s important to acknowledge that baseline reality. But there are a couple of ways to interpret DeSantis’s blow-out 2022 win.

    1) You can conclude the state is as red as MS, AL, TN, AK, etc., or 2) you can look at FL as a red-leaning state that could be competitive if you address the voter suppression issue (getting worse in the current legislative session!) and Dem turnout problem.

    I think #2 is closer to the truth.

  94. 94.

    karen marie

    “Let’s not fall for the false choice — either you’re in favor of the Second Amendment or you want reasonable gun safety laws,” Harris said. “We can and should do both.”…

    Now I am pissed, and anyone who’s tired of gun deaths should be too.

    WHY IS OUR DEMOCRATS NOT LEARNING.

    Right there in that statement Harris adopts the insane rightwing – and relatively recent – misinterpretation of the fucking Second Amendment that has gotten us here.

    SHE’S A FUCKING LAWYER, A FORMER PROSECUTOR WHO SHOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH THE LEGAL HISTORY.

  97. 97.

    Betty Cracker

    @karen marie: I think you’re reading something into her remarks that’s not there. She’s saying you can be in favor of the 2A (implied: as interpreted by non-insane people) and support gun safety laws at the same time. That’s true! Wingnut framing is that you either have the current free-for-all or repeal the 2A. That’s bullshit!

  98. 98.

    Another Scott

    @OzarkHillbilly: @Steeplejack:

    +1

    I think “multi-millionaires” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.

    Google tells me that there are 236,000 millionaires in Norway. While most of that number is likely in the 1-few M range, it’s still a lot of people. “More than 30” is nothing.

    “Oooh. We can’t be mean to the rich people by making them help pay for society or they’ll take their ball and leave.” Same as it ever was. And wrong. Societies prosper when the masses prosper. Catering to those who buy $50-500M yachts is the road to feudalism.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  99. 99.

    jonas

    The idea that approval of pharmaceuticals now rests in the hands of unelected, crackpot judges making arguments about “standing” and “women’s safety” that are so risible they might have been lifted from The Onion is outrageous. And now Idaho officially believes that being asked to wear a mask during a pandemic is the worst kind of oppression imaginable, but state police pulling you over and forcing you to take a pregnancy test before driving over the line to Washington is just good government. Roger that.

    I hope this kind of shit is an electoral albatross across the backs of the Republican party for all eternity.

  102. 102.

    Evinfuilt

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    They should have had an exit tax for the super-wealthy. If you’re moving a large amount of money out of the country, there should be a cost. Then they can decide if a 1% tax rate is really worth it, if they are going to get hit for 10 or 20% fee for taking your money and running (after taking advantage of their own country for years.)

    Then again, it sounds like most of them are still working in Norway, just not physically. So maybe they should find out that they are still being taxed while living in Switzerland.

  103. 103.

    Kosh III

    Tonight there will be a special session of Metro Nashville Council.  Over half the CMs have expressed support for re-appointing Justin Jones.

  107. 107.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: And speak of the Devil! The Las Cruces Bulletin says that former Rep. Yvette Harrell and Squeaker Kraven McCarthy will hold an “Announcement Rally” this afternoon, at the Heritage Farm and Ranch Museum in Las Cruces.

    Harrell lost the race for an open 2nd CD seat to Xochitl Torres Small in 2018, then came back to unseat Torres Small in 2020. With a little help from Democratic redistricters in Santa Fe, Gabe Vasquez beat Harrell by less than 2000 votes last November.

  108. 108.

    JWR

    @MisterDancer:

    I submit that if you think of it more like them reverting to the mean(ness) of Jim Crow, a lot of this crap has a better framework for analysis.

    Great point! But you know, I remember feeling much as I currently do about the Rs, which was and is repulsed, as far back as Reagan, (and don’t even get me started on Bush the Bigger), so this reversion to meanness has been going on for quite some time. It just seems to be reaching terminal velocity much more quickly these days, as if they’re just beginning to feel the event horizon slip slip slippin’ away.

  109. 109.

    rikyrah

    @schrodingers_cat:

    The red rose left  have had it in for Kamala since she announced her candidacy. Calling her a cop and Copmala.

    Its mostly black women (and some immigrant women) who have had Kamala’s back. Not the dudebro left.

     

    No lie told

  111. 111.

    Geminid

    @karen marie: A lot of people consider the Heller decision inimical to gun safety legislation, but plenty of gun control laws have been upheld since.

    Personally, I thought that Scalia’s majority opinion in Heller was essentially supportive of regulation by government of an individual right to possess firearms. I’ve got no problem with Vice President Harris affirming that framework.

  112. 112.

    Betty Cracker

    @karen marie: I don’t have any context aside from what’s quoted in the OP, but going on that (and what Harris, Biden and 99% of Dems have said about this issue countless times), I disagree with your interpretation. They’ve directly said multiple times that we need to ban A5-15s, high-capacity mags, implement red flag laws, etc., all of which directly contradicts a maximalist interpretation of 2A.

  113. 113.

    lowtechcyclist

    @karen marie:

    SHE’S A FUCKING LAWYER, A FORMER PROSECUTOR WHO SHOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH THE LEGAL HISTORY.

    She’s a lawyer, so she can’t say she’s against part of the Constitution.

    Sales of assault weapons were banned from 1994 to 2004, and the Second Amendment wasn’t a problem.  It might be now, only because it’s being interpreted differently.  You can be for the Second Amendment, but against how it’s been reinterpreted starting with Heller.

    Me, I’m against the Second Amendment altogether, but I’m a private citizen who doesn’t have to worry about public reaction if I said that.

  115. 115.

    rikyrah

    @Betty Cracker:

    There are some red states.

    And, then there are some voter suppressed states that are red.

     

    Florida might be red-leaning, but, you’ll never convince me that disenfranchising 1.7 million voters (ex-felons who have completed their time in prison) doesn’t make a difference.

     

    Permanent former felon disenfranchisement IS VOTER SUPPRESSION.

  116. 116.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    I watched Harris’ speech over the weekend and it’s stuck with me. I was impressed. Her passion is necessary to meet this moment.

  117. 117.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Yutsano: I think a lot of the point of these shock-and-awe anti-democratic maneuvers that have been happening in various reddish states is to convince the opposition that voting is pointless (and possibly dangerous), because they’ll just nullify the result anyway and maybe arrest your voters.

    Sometimes it outrages people enough that they turn out in response and it backfires. But I think in places like Texas and Florida, which by the numbers aren’t even the reddest states in the union, a lot of the Democratic base has learned helplessness.

  118. 118.

    JWR

    @Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg:

    “But if we have to take on actual risk for the rewards of just being wealthy, that’s not fair!”

    And of course they say they’re just trying to create jobs and now they can’t afford to do that anymore, (boo hoo, woe is us!) There was talk in the overnight thread about the necessary psychopathy of the ultra wealthy, and I think this proves the point.

  121. 121.

    Matt McIrvin

    @lowtechcyclist: I keep thinking about Warren Burger’s “fraud” statement about the Second Amendment on PBS all those years ago. He said that (1) that if he were in charge there wouldn’t have even been a Second Amendment, but (2) that the conservative take on it that had become standard was an outright fraud, citing the “well-regulated militia” clause as a thing that was obviously being ignored. And this guy was generally considered a pillar of modern conservatism.

    I saw someone the other day arguing that the militia clause didn’t say what liberals thought it did, that the militia was the whole of the people and that “well-regulated” meant “proficient–you’re proficient with your gun”. But it doesn’t seem to me like these numbnuts are even proficient; is it “proficient” to post pictures of yourself aiming your pistol at your dick to wind people up? I don’t think it is.

  122. 122.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I saw someone the other day arguing that the militia clause didn’t say what liberals thought it did, that the militia was the whole of the people and that “well-regulated” meant “proficient–you’re proficient with your gun”. But it doesn’t seem to me like these numbnuts are even proficient; is it “proficient” to post pictures of yourself aiming your pistol at your dick to wind people up? I don’t think it is.

    Not to mention, the use of ‘militia’ in the Second Amendment should be construed to be consistent with its use in Article I, Section 8.

  123. 123.

    schrodingers_cat

    I posted this in the dead thread

    OT: BJers who work with water based media, how do you make your travel palettes , according to color or according to the medium.

    For example do you put all your greens (watercolor, gouache, acrylics) together or all watercolors together?

  124. 124.

    geg6

    @karen marie: ​
     
    Have to agree with Betty here. My first read agreed with her and I’ve now gone back to read it again and it still reads the same to me.

  126. 126.

    Betty Cracker

    @lowtechcyclist: Personally, I’m in favor of full repeal too, but that’s never gonna happen in our lifetimes.

    I’m trying to figure out what Harris said in that speech that’s a departure from what elected Democrats have been saying for years. Not seeing anything, but maybe I’ve missed something…

  128. 128.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Can you spot the difference?

    The Missouri Senate passed two separate tax relief bills Thursday as part of a bipartisan compromise effort.

    SB 143, sponsored by Sen. Doug Beck, D-Affton, is a combination of tax credits and exemptions pushed for by Democrats. The bill raises the tax credit limit for food pantry donations, exempts diapers and feminine hygiene products from sales tax and gives tax credits for consumers buying groceries in food deserts.

    SB 131 is sponsored by Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville. The bill removes state and local sales tax on firearms and ammunition. The bill also offers a state tax credit to sellers of firearms and ammunition equal to the federal tax on the sale of those items.

    So no, both parties are not the same.

  130. 130.

    artem1s

    @trnc: ​

    It’s time to stop sacrificing children at the altar of a corrupt interpretation of the 2nd amendment.

    Big Assault Rifle is running the same playlist Big Tobacco ran back in the 70’s and 80’s when they were using the first amendment and state’s rights as a shield so they could keep the profits rolling in despite their products being a legal means of committing murder. They had a number of politicians (and grifters – NASCAR, Limbaugh, etc) on both sides of the aisle in their pocket who relied on them to get elected (and other bribes perks). One of the downsides of the AG and DOJ being tied up with TFG’s many, many crimes is their time is limited to build federal cases against the gun lobbyists. The Sandyhook decision is going to have an effect on future civil suits. But I’m really hoping for is that Big Insurance decides it’s in their best interests to limit their liability when it comes to covering parties that insist on collecting weapons of mass destruction. And maybe Homeland can also pull their heads out of their asses and start pursuing cases against and limiting the arsenals of domestic terrorists. Big Tobacco looked invincible for several decades but then the dam burst and viola, no more spewing toxic poisons in public spaces.

  131. 131.

    Brachiator

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    SB 131 is sponsored by Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville. The bill removes state and local sales tax on firearms and ammunition. The bill also offers a state tax credit to sellers of firearms and ammunition equal to the federal tax on the sale of those items.

    This is almost unbelievable. Sad. I hope it doesn’t pass.

  133. 133.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Brachiator: ​ It will. The state house is every bit as republican as the state senate and the the Gov will sign it with great flourish.

  134. 134.

    Denali5

    @Schrodinger’s_cat

    I am a traditionalist. Watercolors are separate from acrylics, etc. Painting while traveling is difficult but rewarding. Just like watercolor en plein air is challenging because of wind, bugs, and set up.

  135. 135.

    OzarkHillbilly

    More stupidity from the Missouri Lege:

    A Senate committee heard proposed legislation Wednesday that would enshrine the role of county sheriff’s departments into the state constitution.
    The resolution, Senate Joint Resolution 42, was introduced to the Senate Committee on General Laws by Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby. If enacted into law, it would make it impossible for a sheriff’s department to be shut down and would assert the sheriff’s authority over state and federal jurisdiction. As a ballot measure, the resolution first has to pass through the House and Senate before being sent to the voters.

    Surrounded by sheriffs from around the state at a press conference, Carter said the bill was partly a response to the weaponization of the legal system. Earlier, during the committee hearing, she was unable to name any examples of sheriff’s departments in Missouri being targeted. Justifications given for the bill also include the threat of federal overreach, a point echoed by the majority of sheriffs and supporters of the bill.

    “We are able to stand in the gap as the only elected law enforcement official in the state. That we stand against the things that are overreach of our government,” said Osage County Sheriff Michael Bonham.

    What these government overreaches are remained vague throughout both the committee hearing and press conference, revolving around protecting the civil liberties of citizens.

    These are the same people who want to give classes on patriotism.

  136. 136.

    Another Scott

    @rikyrah: +1

    We know, and the GQP knows, that they cannot win fair elections in many/most of these newly “red” states.  That’s why they are putting up so many barriers to fair voting.

    We need uniform national rules, which means federal action, which means large enough Democratic majorities in Washington.  Yes, it also means actions at the state and local levels, but when the playing field is so tilted in favor of the crazies, only federal action can reverse it quickly.

    We can’t give up on “red” states, because many/most of them are not really “red”.  Another pandemic or similar monkeywrench could change things quickly.

    Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  138. 138.

    Warblewarble

    For dubious reasons far too many people are sniping at Kamala Harris, Young people know that gun culture is a deadly curse. They know that “thoughts and prayers” and 2nd amendment absolutism , will lead to a piling up of corpses . This shit must end, it is going to be a tough fight, Harris is here for the fight.

  141. 141.

    Mike in NC

    These tax breaks on guns and ammo are basically a fixture of red states. In South Carolina they have at least one or two tax-free holidays each year so people can run out and stock up.

  143. 143.

    UncleEbeneezer

    —TW: Transphobia—

    Transgender Influencer, Dylan Mulvaney, sure is living rent-free in the heads of Conservatives, Transphobes and TERFs.  After shooting up Bud Light cans with machine guns, now the bigots want to boycott Nike because Nike decided to…checks notes…use a popular, young, attractive person to promote their athletic wear, OMG, the horror!!!:

    Her personalised Bud Light can saw right-wing snowflakes promising to boycott the beer company, with musician Kid Rock even filming himself shooting a bunch of Bud Lights in a viral tantrum video.

    And then, when Mulvaney shared a paid partnership post on Instagram where she wears a pair of Nike Women’s leggings and sports bra, the transphobic hatred became even more intense.

    Right-wing news outlets pounced on the story, with GB News running a segment on Thursday (6 April) that misgendered Mulvaney and featured Olympian Sharron Davies slamming Nike for partnering with a trans woman.

    Davies wasted no time in praising World Athletics and Swim England for imposing bans on trans athletes and criticising Mulvaney – who is not a professional athlete and has never professed to be one – for looking “un-athletic” in her Instagram ad.

    Republican and former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner – who is also a trans woman – even got in on the act, sharing her “outrage” at Nike’s “woke” antics on Twitter.

  146. 146.

    laura

    @schrodingers_cat: travel palettes according to media. I really appreciate the small containers that you can pop the little watercolor rectangles into and I break the brush handles so they’re small enough to fit inside. That along with the water brushes is my current jam. I also keep the acrylic paints, acrylic brush pens, pastels and pencils seperate if for no other reason than to minimize time spent locating them. Humble brag- my California Poppies design is in contention for a maker space building our mural class will be painting at Sac City College. I’ve warned spouse and friends that if it’s selected, I’ll be insufferable for a couple of days.

  149. 149.

    cain

    @UncleEbeneezer: Gonna be rough for the TERF and anti-LGBTQ+ crowd given that most of us don’t give a shit about their outrage and neither do the companies.

    I shudder to think what kind of laws these assholes will pass if they get a hold of the federal govt.

  151. 151.

    lowtechcyclist

    @OzarkHillbilly: If that passes, I guess MO really will have ‘constitutional sheriffs.’

    (Never have grokked how the right can use that phrase when there’s not a damned thing about sheriffs in the U.S. Constitution.)

    But good luck to them with the “would assert the sheriff’s authority over…federal jurisdiction” part.  Like changing your state constitution can do that.

  152. 152.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @cain: Just look at the laws in Russia and I think you get a pretty good window into their legislative fantasy.

  154. 154.

    Joseph Patrick Lurker

    @cain:

    The next law will require members of Congress to publicly offer much deeper and more heartfelt thoughts and prayers following all future mass shootings

  155. 155.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Yutsano“I can’t remember where I saw the statistic now, but only 44% of eligible Texas voters voted in 2022. That’s horrific. Texas is very much a voter suppressed state. I wonder if a massive postcard push could do things there…”​
     That would be awesome, wouldn’t it? As a former Texan, I’d participate.

    Postcards to Voters is prioritizing FL because of the one-step process to sign up for FL Vote By Mail, and a commitment from the FL Democratic Party to provide up-to-date voter addresses.

    Other states have more roadblocks in place, so it’s harder to have an impact… but every little bit helps!

  156. 156.

    PaulWartenberg

    Kamala Harris is going to have to swing by Louisville today, they just had a mass shooting at a bank killing 4 people and wounding 8 more (the mass murderer is also dead).

    We’re at the point where the *guns* are not the problem, but the GODDAMNED *GUN NUTS* who won’t give up their addiction to their False Idol of Death. >:-(

  158. 158.

    Gvg

    It’s occurred to me that the reason TN didn’t expel the white woman was trying to split the coalition. Treat part of the party better than the rest so they won’t fight quite as hard while you eliminate a part, then turn your attention to the next other to eliminate. I was thinking about that quote on how the first the Natzi’s came for ….and I did not protest because I wasn’t, and also how how the captains of industry tried to defeat labor and sometimes succeeded by splitting ethnic groups especially white and black.

    They hate so many, I hope we are wise enough to stick together.

  159. 159.

    Aj

    I was happy to see the Fisk speech. I wish she always spoke like that. It would boost her popularity.

  160. 160.

    RaflW

    Late to this, and what I say isn’t a dig on VP Harris who I very much appreciate going on this trip. The GOP is insane and it needs to be highlighted.

    But. I am at the point where I have no problem personally saying I’m not in favor of the Second Amendment. It is flawed. The language is too easily misused and it needs to be corrected or repealed.

    The US Constitution and it’s amendments are a very important set of concepts, but they are not infallible and it is not a sacred, unalterable thing. Far too many people are dying by gun, and a lot of them are children.

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