Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

So many bastards, so little time.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

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

No one could have predicted…

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

The willow is too close to the house.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / Monday Morning Open Thread: Happy May Day!

Monday Morning Open Thread: Happy May Day!

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Monday Morning Open Thread: Happy May Day

I’m gonna focus on beseeching Murphy the Trickster God to manifest a more positive month than the last couple have been for me. Or at least, to focus on me getting outside during this afternoon’s predicted sunny break between two days of torrential downpours and another several days of intermittent showers, just to see how the mess of half-finished potted arrangements and draggled transplants in my front yard are holding up…


… Priorities USA, according to plans first shared with POLITICO, will also announce its overall investment target of $75 million for the 2024 presidential cycle — $5 million more than its 2020 target. The group will use the money to reach voters in key battleground states including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Most of the money will be used for online advertising, but the super PAC will also direct funds toward training Democratic organizers on digital campaign skills, its fellowship program and also its voting rights push, as the group continues to invest in voter protection litigation before the next election…

Founded in 2011, Priorities USA is among the Democratic Party’s largest political action committees. But it won’t be the only one supporting Biden, or the main one for that. Future Forward, which already has been running TV ads, will likely be Biden’s primary outside spending apparatus, though American Bridge and others are also expected to have a share in the campaign’s portfolio.

There was also some uncertainty about the role Biden-allied Building Back Together might play after the 2022 election. But instead of paid media campaigns, BBT will focus on coordinating among Democratic groups to highlight the Biden administration’s efforts to implement the president’s agenda.

Grace note on the big weekend event…

Reader Interactions

186Comments

  5. 5.

    lowtechcyclist

    Hooray, hooray, it’s the first of May!

    But at least around here in southern Maryland, it’s a bit chilly for the second line.

  9. 9.

    Lapassionara

    I hear you, Anne Laurie. Around here, May 1 is the day when we can start planting annuals, but yesterday was chilly and blustery, and I can’t imagine that the soil temperature is ok for planting, given the cool weather we’ve been having.

  11. 11.

    Geminid

    While most people are following the Turkish election with keen interest, I guess others could use an update.

    May 14 is election day in Turkiye, but expatriate Turks started voting Saturday. There are 1.5 million Turkish citizens in Germany, and Germany has allowed 18 voting sites, up from 15 the last election.

    The Kurdish HDP party is calling on followers to vote for opposition leader Kemel Kilcdoraglu. Ten years ago Kilicdoraglu’s CHP party opposed President Erdogan’s ceasefire talks with the Kurdish PKK separatist party, but Kilicdoraglu has since transformed the CHP into a more liberal proponent of Kurdish rights.

    A stomach bug knocked Erdogan off the campaign trail for 3 days, but he appeared Saturday at an Istanbul aerospace trade show, looking fit in a red windbreaker.

    Polls have showed a close race, with most giving Kilicdoraglu a narrow lead after the substantial “undecided” vote is distributed proportionally. A recent survey sponsored by Al Monitor, a fairly objective Middle East news outfit, found a virtual dead heat: 45.2% for Erdogan, and 49.9% for Kilicdoraglu. A couple minor candidates will likely hold the leader below 50% on May 14, in which case there will be a runoff held May 28.

  14. 14.

    MomSense

    The wind was howling last night and this morning there are lots of branches down.  I had put the deck furniture outside and it’s all lying on the ground like stranded turtles.
    Back to the work grind.
    I am so happy that the Biden Harris admin has some fight in them.  I love that they have embraced Dark Brandon.  I’m looking forward to Harris slaying as she confidently walks the tarmac when campaign season is underway.

  16. 16.

    SFAW

    To which billionaire is Chatham Harrison referring?

    Oh, right, the same “billionaire” (perhaps in lira) who is also “smarter” than all his advisors, is more “athletic” than Rafer Johnson in his prime, was a more successful “businessman” than John D. Rockefeller, etc.

  18. 18.

    Anne Laurie

    @SFAW: To which billionaire is Chatham Harrison referring?

    AFAICT, Elon Musk, who cannot run for U.S. president because he was born in South Africa (and thank Murphy for that small favor!).

  19. 19.

    SFAW

    @MomSense: ​
     
    Went upstairs last night to hear a drip-drip-drip on the ceiling in the bathroom. Started off at around two minutes between drips, later was about 15 second between.
    Great.
    The roof is maybe 20 years old — no, I don’t recall if the shingles are 20-year, 25-year, 30-year, or what — I would think this shouldn’t be happening, but …

  20. 20.

    Baud

    @Geminid:

    I’m not a huge Erdogan fan, but I really don’t want to have to try to spell Kilicdoraglu going forward.

  21. 21.

    MomSense

    @SFAW:

    Damn.  That sucks.  I’m rapidly approaching replace roof time and the winter snow thaw freeze cycle we’ve been in isn’t helping.

  22. 22.

    SFAW

    @Anne Laurie:

    I should have been more clear: I was referring to his “Remembering what happened the last time a president torched a billionaire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” comment.

    I was just pointing out that TFG was as much “a billionaire” as I am “handsome” or “thin.” I would be amazed to learn that TFG was ever an actual billionaire.

  24. 24.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @SFAW:
    @MomSense:

    We finally replaced our roof 2 (3?) yrs ago, and it was a great relief. Architectural shingles (40 year guarantee) on 9/12 and 12/12 pitches (steep), suffice it to say the roof will outlive me by several decades.

  25. 25.

    The Thin Black Duke

    I’d be willing to bet that DeSantis couldn’t tell a joke if you pointed a gun at his head.

  26. 26.

    Low Key Swagger

    Quick hit to thank B. Cracker for tweeting about “The Diplomat”.  Wow is it good.  Razor sharp dialogue, Sorkin-esque, at times, but without the neediness.  On Netflix.

  27. 27.

    Low Key Swagger

    @OzarkHillbilly: How do you feel about ridge vents?  It’s all the rage here and I replaced my roof last year and they all (the contractors) included it in their bids, so I have them.

  29. 29.

    Geminid

    @sdhays: I could not say. Judging from the lack of discussion of this question in Turkish and regional news media, my guess is that it’s probable Erdogan would not contest a loss.

    Erdogan is 69 and apparently in good health, so he can work on a comeback 5 years from now. By temperament, Erdogan is actually well suited to an opposition role. He loves to gripe.

  31. 31.

    Joey Maloney

    Hooray, hooray, the first of May, Outdoor sex begins today!

    Good morning to North America.

  32. 32.

    Mousebumples

    Good morning, all. I don’t think the Wisconsin weather got the message that it’s May. I’m seeing a snowy/sleety mix out the window…

  34. 34.

    Betty Cracker

    @Low Key Swagger: The dialogue is first rate! My hubby isn’t much of a TV binger, but a rainy weekend kept us indoors, so we ended up finishing the season and are now sad we have to wait for season 2.

  36. 36.

    Jeffro

    You might be tired of hearing me talk about it. But we’re finally going to make the super-wealthy [AND BIG CORPORATIONS] pay their fair share. And, under my economic plan, no one earning less than $400,000 a year will see their taxes go up a single penny.

    Actually, I’m not tired of hearing this at all, Mr. President.  I just added a little ‘extra’ there for ya.

  38. 38.

    sdhays

    @Geminid: I hope you’re right. Obviously, the people of Turkey don’t deserve it, but there are a lot of people outside Turkey who also don’t need political instability there.

  39. 39.

    Jeffro

    Btw despite the both-sidesy nature of the headline, this article seems to note pretty widespread support for Biden and an understanding of the threat that trumpov II would pose to our country.

    So hey, May, we’re off to a good start!

    Although Donald J. Trump has been out of office more than two years, receding as an all-consuming figure to many Americans, to Margot Copeland, a political independent, he looms as overwhelmingly as ever. She would just as urgently oppose Mr. Trump in a 2024 rematch with President Biden as she did the last time.

    “I’ll get to the polls and get everybody out to the polls too,” said Ms. Copeland, a 67-year-old retiree who said she was aghast at the possible return to office of the 45th president. “It’s very important that Trump does not get back in.”

    In interviews last week with independents who voted for Mr. Biden, most praised his accomplishments and supported his re-election, some enthusiastically.

    Independent Biden voters in Arizona said that the economy was certainly a concern, including $5 local gasoline prices and in some cases their own stressed finances. But most Biden voters did not blame the president for persistently high inflation, which they said was largely beyond White House control.

    Many passionately agreed with Mr. Biden, as he said in his kickoff re-election video, that the Republican Party has been taken over by the far-right, or as Mr. Biden labeled them “MAGA extremists.”

    “The entire Republican Party went so far to the right,” said Sheri Schreckengost, 61, a legal assistant and political middle-of-the-roader, who in the past sometimes voted for Republicans. “Donald Trump changed all that for me,” she said. “The way things are now, there’s no way I’d vote for a Republican.”

     

    Of course there is the odd “independent” or two who’s quoted as wanting to vote third-party, as if that will somehow solve their problems.  But there always will be, and for once, That Paper didn’t make them seem like anything other than the outlier randos that they are.

  42. 42.

    gvg

    It’s not exactly on topic but I found this little tidbit from the WSJ news brief to be interesting “The Air National Guard plays an outsize drone role.
    The Guard, once viewed largely as a reserve force, now provides half of the Air Force’s targeting analysis and flies more than a third of its global MQ-9 Reaper drone missions, according to data provided by officials to WSJ. Its role in operating drones and supporting Ramstein Air Base in Germany in processing data focused on the Russian military and its invasion of Ukraine helps explain why the installation where accused leaker Airman Jack Teixeira served had access to Ukraine-related secrets.”

    I get the online WSJ free as a University employee benefit, a few other news sources too. This results in an email daily with 10 top stories 1 paragraph ledes. I usually don’t click over, but I do watch the overall trends of the stories. Sometimes they pick up on details I don’t see in other news sources.

  43. 43.

    OzarkHillbilly

    US freight rail companies nearly spurred a nationwide railroad strike last fall by refusing to grant paid sick days, but in a surprise move welcomed by workers, those railroads have recently granted paid sick days to almost half their workforce.

    After being roundly criticized for not offering paid sick days, the leading rail companies – BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific – have granted many of their 93,000 workers four paid sick days a year through labor negotiations, with an option of taking three more paid sick days from personal days.

    “We’re very happy about this. We’ve been trying to get this for decades,” said Artie Maratea, president of the Transportation Communications Union. “It was public pressure and political pressure that got them to come to the table.”

    When Joe Biden and Congress enacted legislation in December that blocked a threatened freight rail strike, many workers angrily faulted Biden for not ensuring that the legislation also guaranteed paid sick days. But since then, union officials says, members of the Biden administration, including Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, who stepped down on 11 March, lobbied the railroads, telling them it was wrong not to grant paid sick days.

    “We’ve made a lot of progress,” said Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, the main US labor federation. “This is being done the right way. Each railroad is negotiating with each of its individual unions on this.”

    I was one of those carping at the Biden Admin for their heavy handedness on that issue, so I am happy to hear that they continued pushing for it until it got done. I am assuming that the half of RR work force that don’t yet have sick days are still in negotiations.

  44. 44.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Matt McIrvin: Every day is outdoor sex day, you just have to do it right. Unless you’re an old like me, than you’re lucky to do it at all.

  45. 45.

    Soprano2

    Good morning, everyone. My concert went well yesterday, so that was good. “Sea Symphony” is by Vaughn Williams, not Britten – I got my British composers mixed up yesterday! I know better…..(hangs head in shame). I wish I could hear it, but they don’t usually post the performances online because of rights issues, although I think this work is old enough that it’s in the public domain. They tried streaming the performances, but had problems because they were unable to stream anything they had to buy the broadcast rights for because it’s expensive, so I think they stopped.  It’s funny – you spend many, many  hours preparing for a performance, and then in an hour it’s over! Seems strange, like it should last longer.

  46. 46.

    cain

    @Anne Laurie:

    Remember when the GOP wanted to change the rules so that Arnold Schwarzenegger could run for president?

    Trust me these assholes will change any rules for the sake of political power.

  49. 49.

    Geminid

    @sdhays: I never paid much attention to Turkiye and its politics until the war in Ukraine. It’s a very important country strategically, tied with Germany as the second most populous NATO member at 85 million, with the alliance’s second largest army and third largest air force. Turkiye’s power in the western Black Sea made possible the grain deal whereby Ukraine has exported more than 25 million tons of grain and sunflower seeds.

    Turkiye’s dual role in this war has angered a lot of Ukraine’s proponents. It’s military contributions to Ukraine tend to be overlooked though, as they are not publicized. Stijn Mitzer of Oryx was well aware of Turkiye’s continued economic ties with Russia when he wrote the article titled “The Stalwart Ally: Turkiye’s Arms Deliveries to Ukraine,” Oryx Nov.24, 2022. It’s a very interesting piece.

  50. 50.

    OzarkHillbilly

    A federal judge overseeing a bankruptcy filing from the US’s second-oldest Roman Catholic archdiocese has recused himself from the case amid scrutiny of his donations to the church as well as his close professional relationship with an attorney representing archdiocesan affiliates in insurance disputes.

    Greg Guidry, who was appointed to the judicial bench at New Orleans’s federal courthouse by the Donald Trump White House in 2019, issued an order after 8pm on Friday recusing himself from a role handling appeals in a contentious bankruptcy involving nearly 500 clergy sexual abuse victims.

    Seeing as I was complaining about this asshole last week it seems only right that I should acknowledge the fact that he has finally done what he should have done a long, long time ago. Now to void all of his rulings in this case….

    BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…. Sometimes I just crack me up.

  54. 54.

    Betty Cracker

    For all its many, many faults, one good thing about Florida is a long growing season. My husband is an avid gardener, and we’ve had homegrown cherry tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, squash, etc., for weeks now. But today is the red-letter day in spring when one of the full-size tomatoes is finally ripe enough to eat. Behold the size of this glorious specimen!

    Large tomato next to a stick of butter

  56. 56.

    Ken

    @brantl: Not as much of a burn as “In light of reports of erratic management, including ones implicating it in the recent launch failure in Texas, I am ordering a review of NASA’s contracts with SpaceX.”

  57. 57.

    Nelle

    @Jeffro: It strikes me that these “independents” should be pushed to identify what is good for the country, not who they “like.”  They seem to approach choosing a president as a matter of personal choice, like choosing a breakfast cereal, instead of the larger issue of the common good.

  58. 58.

    zhena gogolia

    @Betty Cracker: MMM. I’m jealous.

    The NYT has an article about Joe Biden’s age in every single issue. Not a word about TFG’s age. They actually did a rundown of how each of his bodily systems might break down by the end of his second term.

  59. 59.

    NotMax

    @Nelle

    Is the Mar-a-lago brunch buffet stocked with mock-up boxes of Wheaties with Dolt 45’s picture on them?

    Inquiring minds….   //

  60. 60.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Betty Cracker:  Braggart.

    eta: I’d ad a “stick tongue out” emoji with a spit filled “Pbththththththth…” but I don’t speak emoji.

  61. 61.

    Betty

    @Nelle: Jay Rosen has been pushing the media on this, emphasizing the importance of what are the stakes versus who is winning the horse race. If only the media would take this advice to heart, the country would be better off.

  62. 62.

    Jeffro

    @Nelle: It’d be a good way to interview them, true.

    “Tell me about what you value, what you feel would be best for the country, the policies you want to see.”

    “Ok, so having noted all of that – which of the following candidates best exemplifies those values?”

    Another thing that would be helpful would be if more Americans (and our blessed “independents” in particular) could be helped to understand that they’re able to do a wide range of things besides just voting for president every four years.

    (and that voting 3rd party just to protest something or express disgruntlement accomplishes diddly/squat – nobody will know, nobody will care)

  65. 65.

    Jeffro

    If folks are interested, this is a good piece (link ‘gifted’) about what a disaster the GA GOP has become due to trump/MAGA lunacy, and how Gov Brian Kemp is working around them to essentially replace their functions.

    Maybe this is how the trump GOP withers and dies, state by state: somewhat-sane Rs just stop participating and build their own organizations?

    What happens when the leadership of a political party becomes so extreme, so out of touch with its voters, that it alienates many of its own activists and elected officials? And what happens when some of those officials set up a parallel infrastructure that lets them circumvent the party for campaign essentials such as fund-raising and voter turnout? At what point does this party become mostly a bastion of wingnuts, spiraling into chaos and irrelevance?

    No need to waste time guessing. Just cast your eyes upon Georgia, one of the nation’s electoral battlegrounds, where the state Republican Party has gone so far down the MAGA rabbit hole that many of its officeholders — including Gov. Brian Kemp, who romped to re-election last year despite being targeted for removal by Donald Trump — are steering clear of it as if it’s their gassy grandpa at Sunday supper*.

     

    *Betty, here is a kindred spirit to your spit-take-tastic turns of phrase!  ;)

  66. 66.

    RandomMonster

    International workers of the world, unite! Happy May Day you bunch of commie jackals.

  68. 68.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Joey Maloney:

    Hooray, hooray, the first of May, Outdoor sex begins today!

    Not around here, unless you like having sex in 55-degree weather!

  73. 73.

    NotMax

    @Betty Cracker

    Reminded of a memorable cartoon from The New Yorker.

    Harried. sullen management type in his office, elbows propped on the desk, head in his hands. Thought balloon:

    Lordy.
    Lordy.
    Lordy.
    Lordy.
    Lunch!

  75. 75.

    Jeffro

    Maybe Becoming President Takes More Than Being a Dick – LOL

    Something to consider, GOP!

    The success of Donald Trump, an asshole who became president, created a fallacy: Americans want an asshole as their president. This misapprehension greatly appeals, of course, to assholes, especially those in public office, who seem happy to drop their traditional practice of pretending to be nicer than they really are in favor of doubling down on being dicks.

    In truth, Trump’s appeal is, or was, probably based less on just being an asshole than in getting America’s large share of angry, aging, conservative, mostly white people to feel “this asshole is on my side,” plus occasionally being funny.

  78. 78.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jeffro: Interesting piece — thanks for sharing it! This caveat seems important:

    The [Trumpist party officials vs. Kemp] clash also made clear that Republican candidates, or at least popular incumbents, don’t much need the party apparatus anymore.

    I wonder how an alternative system to bypass the MAGA zealots will hold up for nonincumbents? How it will do the work of building a bench at lower levels, etc.?

    The article says Kemp is setting himself up as an independent political power center, which makes sense as long as he’ll be appearing on future ballots or working with folks who are, but that scheme sounds like a recipe for endless corruption beyond that.

  79. 79.

    lowtechcyclist

    @zhena gogolia:

    The NYT has an article about Joe Biden’s age in every single issue. Not a word about TFG’s age. They actually did a rundown of how each of his bodily systems might break down by the end of his second term.

    That’s freakin’ crazy.  Biden is only three and a half years older than Trump, and it’s pretty obvious that Biden’s in way better shape for his age than Trump is for his age.  So that should more than cancel out any supposed age issue.

    And then when you add in the fact that electing Trump would be a huge disaster anyway…

  81. 81.

    narya

    Back before I was severanced, I was deciding between April 1 (April Fools’ Day) and May 1 (workers of the world unite!) to give my notice.

  83. 83.

    Jeffro

    @Betty Cracker:I wonder how an alternative system to bypass the MAGA zealots will hold up for nonincumbents? How it will do the work of building a bench at lower levels, etc.?

    I feel like this would involve Charles Koch (and similarly inclined GOP billionaires) redirecting the firehose of $$$ away from trumpist state Republican parties (where necessary) and setting up farm teams, comms, candidate training, etc.

    I’d think this would drain the state GOPs of most everyone but the loony Q-core, so the new networks would have folks who probably have some experience in these kinds of support roles, they just a) don’t want to be part of the trump cult anymore but b) still want to make a living.

    It’ll be interesting to watch.  May it be a long and expensive undertaking for them!

  87. 87.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jeffro: I share your hope that it will be a long and expensive undertaking! Ultimately, a country with a two-party system needs two parties that are interesting in boring stuff like governance, so I want Repubs to get better. But first I want them to howl in the political wilderness for a generation as penance. ;-)

  88. 88.

    Leto

    @gvg: I’ve spoken about this before, but this is a workaround to having a larger active duty force. They’re not trained as well, you don’t have to pay them as much, and they’re an overall shittier quality product. But hey, you keep your mission going however you can.

  90. 90.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @lowtechcyclist: I’ve been listening to Andrew Hickey’s excellent podcast A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs. The single most surprising story I’ve encountered so far involves Neil Young, who bounced around after meeting Stephen Stills but wound up in Toronto, from where he would make runs down to NYC and Detroit for gigs. At this point I will issue a *SPOILER ALERT* for anyone who wants to get the story from the podcast. Stop reading here.

    Anyway, Young then joined a band that signed to Motown Records. Neil Young on Motown is incongruous enough, but the band featured a black lead singer and some or all of the members of what would become Steppenwolf.

    They played some shows and made some recordings, never released, for Motown, but then the front man, who was from Buffalo, got arrested for desertion while they were playing a show in the Midwest. He’d fled to Canada to avoid the Vietnam draft, and that was the end of that iteration of the band. Young left for LA and wound up forming Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills. Other band members had success with Steppenwolf. But, most surprisingly, this was not the last heard from the front man whose name was…Rick James. Neil Young and Steppenwolf, and Rick James were, briefly, in a band together. I mean, Young and Steppenwolf kind of make sense but I did not see the connection with Rick James coming.

  91. 91.

    pieceofpeace

    Anne Laurie, I hope this month is better, if not thrilling!, for you and more of the same in following months.  Especially with good weather for that re-freshing morning bit of sun-blue sky glow.  May you soar with however you’re thriving.

    You provide so much here.

    Thank you.

  93. 93.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: Establishment Republicans like Kemp may plan on retaking their state apparatus at a future date. Some of those insurgent tea party cranks will lose interest when they keep losing. A lot of them were never very civic minded to begin with, and these could revert to their former apathy.

    In the meantime, Kemp and company will do what Nevada Democrats did when the DSA took over the state organization in 2021- work around them.

  94. 94.

    rikyrah

    uh huh

    uh huh

     

    Portia  McGonagal portiamcgonagal1619 on Insta (@PortiaMcGonagal) tweeted at 8:03 AM on Fri, Apr 28, 2023:
    “Strict new abortion restrictions failed to advance in two conservative-dominated legislatures on Thursday, signaling a mounting fear among some Republicans that abortion bans could lead to political backlash.”

    Gifted link so everyone can read: https://t.co/JYp7BAJznj
    (https://twitter.com/PortiaMcGonagal/status/1651935256302477313?t=hcS4IiSA_VBfD2qXVntVeg&s=03)

  98. 98.

    twbrandt

    @Jeffro: A similar sort of thing is happening here in Michigan. The state GOP elected a lunatic as party chair. Kristine Karamo is an abortion opposing election denier who lost her bid for Secretary of State by 14 points and still hasn’t conceded. She has frozen out traditional deep-pocketed GOP donors like the DeVos family, former chair Ron Weiser, and others, and has alienated a lot of elected officials. It will be interesting (for certain values of interesting) to see where the Michigan GOP is headed, and if a parallel structure emerges.

  99. 99.

    lowtechcyclist

    @RandomMonster:

    International workers of the world

    The Department of Redundancy Department applauds!

    And JFTR, the Wobblies were the Industrial Workers of the World.

  100. 100.

    rikyrah

    When I was growing up, and Mama wanted to save a little money, she sent me to the store for ‘ salt pork’ when she didn’t want to pay for hamhocks.

    NIKKINOW2 2.0 (@CundiffVanessa) tweeted at 3:17 PM on Thu, Apr 27, 2023:
    We fry fatback and eat it with greens, breakfast etc.

    Fatback is $.99 per pound. When they slap a “pork belly” label on it then fatback is $8.99 per pound. I grew up in the largest pork producing state. I will never buy gentrified fatback.
    (https://twitter.com/CundiffVanessa/status/1651682005887664128?t=guEckM5HdNF-jbGH8v4-2w&s=03)

  101. 101.

    cain

    @lowtechcyclist: It’s because as president there is really nothing to both sides on. So the only thing they can comment on is his age and do some speculation. They have literally turn into the Daily Mail except instead of royals it’s gonna be about Biden.

  103. 103.

    JPL

    Kemp will probably run against Ossoff.    Greene might want the opportunity to take on Ossoff though.

  104. 104.

    cain

    @Jeffro: They are going to have to lose some elections though before there is supremacy since it will be splitting the vote. Plus, the primaries are still strongly MAGA.

    Their real problem is that all those extremist laws on women, transgender, and what not is really showing the true colors. You can’t keep talking about freedom when you’re actively taking rights away from people.

    Then there is that new budget that takes benefits from children, veterans, and everyone else. What demographic have they not pissed off? Hell even their primary demographic – rich ass millionaires (let’s face it, it’s not even the $500k plus people) are probably not gonna be happy especially if they decide to create a crises and the world reacts by shopping for a different currency.

  106. 106.

    Geminid

    @JPL: Kemp might pass on a Senate run in 2026, and go for the big prize in 2028. He’ll have to choose one or the other.

  107. 107.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: Is the NV party still a shit-show? Seems like I read somewhere fairly recently that things are still fraught there. I think you’re right, but there are costs when zealots take over an organization like that.

  109. 109.

    Suzanne

    @zhena gogolia:

    Not a word about TFG’s age. They actually did a rundown of how each of his bodily systems might break down by the end of his second term. 

    Again, I would find their attacks on Biden’s age more compelling (not necessarily correct, but at least reasonable) if the GOP wasn’t then pushing Trump, who is just a hair younger, and so embarrassingly out of physical and cognitive shape that he needed a golf cart to haul him around, and he can’t speak in a sentence.

    Do you think they fear an accusation of fat-shaming if someone points out Trump’s terrible diet and lack of exercise? Donnie Two-Scoops isn’t taking care of himself.

    And I say all of this as someone who would prefer if Biden were 20 years younger. But he isn’t. Okay. No situation is ever perfect.

  110. 110.

    Quinerly

    @rikyrah:

    “Streak of lean, streak of fat.”

    I still cook with salt pork, especially with collards and other greens…at least I did in NC and St. Louis. Haven’t looked for any in New Mexico yet. I kinda stopped on ham hocks a few years back. Always cut/butchered oddly in St Louis imo but correctly at the local Piggly Wiggly where I grew up in NC…my mom would still buy them there when I would go back

  111. 111.

    Soprano2

    @zhena gogolia: They should look at relative age – how well someone has taken care of themselves, what diet they have, how much they exercise, and so on. I’m sure TFG is older than Biden under that kind of measurement.

  112. 112.

    Kristine

    @Mousebumples: Snow showers possible here in NE Illinois, though I haven’t seen them yet and I’m hoping they don’t materialize. Light rain falling now, with some wind and chill.

    I wish it would warm up. Not to 80F like it did a few weeks ago. Just normal Spring, 60s and sunny.

  114. 114.

    rikyrah

    @cain:

     

    They are going to have to lose some elections though before there is supremacy since it will be splitting the vote. Plus, the primaries are still strongly MAGA.

     

    THIS!

     

    Nobody is forcing the GOP Primary voter to vote for lunatics. They are doing that all on their own.

  116. 116.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: A slate led by a Nevada state Representative trounced the DSA folks at the March State Commitee meeting. The state Rep was endorsed by Nevada’s Democratic Congressional delegation as well as the major labor unions.

    The lefty party Chairman had pissed off everybody by then, including the local DSA chapter. Some researcher even reached back in her past to find a felony bad check conviction from when she was living in Florida under a different name.

  117. 117.

    Leto

    @Soprano2: honestly surprised the fat bastard hasn’t dropped dead, but spiteful people tend to live decades longer. All to our detriment.

  120. 120.

    rikyrah

    @zhena gogolia:

    The NYT has an article about Joe Biden’s age in every single issue. Not a word about TFG’s age. They actually did a rundown of how each of his bodily systems might break down by the end of his second term

     

    They want this to become ‘ but her emails’.

  121. 121.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    I’m not a big art guy, but around here it’s hard to avoid exposure to the Wyeths, especially Andrew Wyeth. So gradually I’ve gotten to be a Wyeth fan.

    So May Day always makes me think of this one, one of my favorites. So much here under the surface.

  122. 122.

    Scout211

    My sister just sent me a cool pic of Falcon Heavy lighting up the sky over Orlando from last night.

    What could I say but, “Whoa . . heavy, man!”

  123. 123.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: ​

    Have so far resisted turning the heat back on.

    I’m trying to decide whether my little tomato seedlings will be OK if I put them in the ground while the nights are still in the 40s. Also when it’s time to put the sunflowers in. I love starting things from seeds, but I always seem to get this wrong.

  125. 125.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Soprano2: Oh definitely. Biden is in very good shape for his age. He can easily get up from a kneeling position. TFG…probably would need help doing that. I’ve been on a nostalgia trip watching old Mary Tyler Moore show episodes since they popped up on Amazon Prime. I was too young to get any of the humor when it was on but the opening credits montage/theme song is one of my earliest television memories.

    Everyone looks soooo old for their age in that show. The Ed Asner character is supposed to be 45 years old in the first season. He looks, like, 64. The guys Mary and Rhoda date all look way older than their 20s, even 30s. Probably all the alcohol, cigarettes and sun exposure. I’m not saying 80 or so isn’t pretty old but it’s not as old as it used to be for people that led a reasonably healthy lifestyle up to that point.

  127. 127.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @JML: The band was called The Mynah Birds (I’d forgotten the name). Even more surprising is that they were signed by Motown…Neil Young and Steppenwolf are both hell and gone from anything Motown ever put out. At least the Motown stuff that I’m familiar with, which is a lot, because I grew up in MI and always loved most of the classic Motown artists.

  129. 129.

    cain

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    Not to toot my own horn or anything  – but at 53 (54 in a few weeks) – I’m always taken aback by how old people looked at my age back in the 80s and 90s. I mean like frail old.

    I can do pretty much do whatever I was doing in my 20s and 30s for the most part. There are of course aging signs, eyesight, and I just got hearing aids. So it’s all kinda relative I suppose – but most people still think I’m in my early to mid 40s.

  131. 131.

    Old School

    @JML:

    Ok, the Neil Young, Rick James, and Steppenwolf connection is one I had never heard before. That’s amazing.

    While the songs by The Mynah Birds weren’t released at the time, they have been in the years since.

    It’s My Time

    Go On and Cry

  132. 132.

    Scout211

    Since I am a child of the 60s (see #122) I was reminiscing with my sister on our May Day experiences from our childhood. We used to gather wild flowers and leave them on our neighbors’ front porches after ringing their doorbell and shouting “Happy May Day!”

    That kind of activity is not even conceivable in the current era. (See Cole’s thread from last night). Sigh. The times, they have a’ changed.

  138. 138.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @cain: I’m the same age as you and am regularly playing soccer with my 9 year old adopted son. Like, full on sprinting is a thing I still do. It takes me longer to get up to top speed than it used to and I’m sure my top speed is a touch slower than it was in my 20s, but most of what I did in my 20s I can still do, and not THAT much less well.

  143. 143.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Jeffro: The problem is that there are enough asshole-lovers to effectively control the GOP and its’ Primary.  The GOP is effectively now a hostage to that 27% or so who are the worst people on Earth.

  148. 148.

    Jeffro

    @UncleEbeneezer: yup, they sure are…until enough of the semi-sane Rs either move to these ‘parallel’ state parties or get their acts together and retake the regular parties.

    It’ll be interesting to see how the ‘semi-sane’ state GOP/parallel parties coalesce and make a national coalition, and whether or not the trump-nuts do the same thing.

    As always, just rooting for RWNJ injuries!

  149. 149.

    Anyway

     

    The NYT has an article about Joe Biden’s age in every single issue. Not a word about TFG’s age. They actually did a rundown of how each of his bodily systems might break down by the end of his second term

    The (make that another) thing that pisses me off is the absolute bad faith when it comes to asking questions about D office-holders. Clinton (both), Obama, Biden have all been so transparent about medical and financial records — Cheetolini just frank out ignored that and where was the FTFNYT’s concerns then? He even found a crooked medic to stretch the truth about his weight and medical history and they barely touched that story. But when it comes to D candidates no amount of info is enough. Fuck ’em.

  150. 150.

    Jeffro

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I think the RWNJs both a) felt that they really had majority support, even if slight, and b) whatever protests or energy the pro-choice side had would have would be negligible.

    (both of these would be byproducts of living in a right-wing bubble, of course…OOPS)

    ETA: or what Thin Black Duke said at #147 while I was typing. =)

    Now the real-world electoral effects are kicking in, and they know they’re heading for more than a few ass-kickings.  Karma, baby!

  151. 151.

    Anyway

    @Jeffro:

    My fear is that even if the RW splits between insane and semi-sane factions they are UNITED in their hatred of the center – “If you’re not with us, you’re with the terrorists’ as Dubya used to say. Plus these happen in states with extreme gerrymandering and capture of the state supreme court by RW nutjobs — taking advantage of their split is not straightforward. I hope it happens but seeing what’s going on in NC is very depressing TBH.

    Still, yay for PA, WI, MN, MI, IL – you give this cynical person some hope…

  153. 153.

    rikyrah

    @cain:

     

    I will never get over the side by side of Paul Rudd and Wilfred Brimley when he was cast in the movie Cocoon.

    They are the SAME AGE.

  154. 154.

    bluefoot

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: ​
      Neil Young and Motown definitely feels incongruous.

    Years ago, a friend of mine came across an EP of Jimi Hendrix before he was Hendrix (so to speak) doing surfer music. It was really, really weird – Beach Boys-type music but you could tell it was Hendrix. Talk about cognitive dissonance.

  156. 156.

    rikyrah

    @The Moar You Know:

    shit yourselves in fear, GOP.  Your evangelical base will shank you in the back forever if you back down on this.  Normie voters will desert you if you don’t.

    They did this to themselves and I am here to watch.

    It’s like they think there’s a middle ground between taking away body autonomy from half the country.

    No, Dear, there is no middle ground.

  157. 157.

    trollhattan

    @Anyway: Did you know Joe Brandon keeps his actual age concealed in a server in his garage? It’s true, you could look it up.

  158. 158.

    rikyrah

    @Jeffro:

    Now the real-world electoral effects are kicking in, and they know they’re heading for more than a few ass-kickings.  Karma, baby!

     

    Everyday, we hear a nightmare story of the effects of their laws.

     

    They want to tamp down and hide the rest of their agenda (birth control and no-fault divorce are next) until after the 2024 election.

  159. 159.

    trollhattan

    @Anyway: ​Maybe add “ride bike to AF1” just for the laffs.

    How about “shift vintage Corvette into first gear and get underway without stalling”?

  160. 160.

    narya

    @Jeffro: I think they also thought that any blowback would be limited and temporary, that women would somehow forget that women had been stripped of bodily autonomy. I think, given their lack of any science-based information, they did not realize how many women’s lives would be in danger–women who would not choose abortion for an unwanted pregnancy, but who would NEED an abortion for a non-viable pregnancy. Many of us (a) knew this all along and (b) think it’s nobody’s damn business what we choose, but that did not penetrate the bubble that you all are discussing.

  162. 162.

    BeautifulPlumage

    A late “good morning” from the west coast.

    Loving these convos, especially the Mynah Birds.

  163. 163.

    Jeffro

    Two other good pieces if folks are interested:

    The GOP Can’t Lay a Glove on Biden, So Their “Argument” Is That Voting Biden = Voting For Harris, ‘Cause Joe Will Keel Over Any Day Now.

    Which is just dumb for so many reasons (I disagree that the “political payoffs are obvious”) but oh well – please proceed, GQP!

    President Biden’s formal announcement that he seeks reelection has led to a boom in pieces on what role Vice President Harris will play, and an explosion of conservative commentary that 2024 is just as much a referendum on her as it is about the candidate at the top of the ticket.

    Harris appears prominently and frequently in the president’s official launch video — not just at Biden’s side, but on her own. There’s nothing especially surprising there. She’s the sitting vice president and his running mate. It would have been weird if she had been absent.

    In some ways, what’s going on over in the GOP is more interesting, even if the political payoffs are pretty obvious.

     

    Why Are So Many Shootings Going On?  It All Goes Back to Americans Being (Made to Feel) Fearful.

    As usual, conservative media is getting Americans killed:

    Experts blame a cocktail of factors: the easy availability of guns, misconceptions around stand-your-ground laws, the marketing of firearms for self-defense — and a growing sense among Americans, particularly Republicans, that safety in their backyard is deteriorating.

    Since 2020, the share of Republicans who said that crime is rising in their community has jumped from 38 percent to 73 percent, according to the latest Gallup numbers from last fall. Among Democrats, that same concern climbed only 5 percentage points to 42 percent, marking the widest partisan perception gap since the polling firm first asked the question a half-century ago.
    Reality is more complicated. A Washington Post crime analysis of 80 major police departments’ records found that reported violence across the country in 2022 was lower than the five-year average.

  164. 164.

    AlaskaReader

    This is your reminder that Republican voters are every bit as corrupt and depraved as are the people they elect.

    …and those imaginary ‘breakaway Republicans’?

    Still Republicans, they built the foundation Trump sits atop.

    They have no redeeming value

    We need to remove every single one of them from our government.

  165. 165.

    Geminid

    @bluefoot: I listened to an oldies radio show once where the host played some songs Paul Simon recorded a couple years before he made it big with Art Garfunkle. It was rockabilly.

  168. 168.

    Kay

    @Anyway:

    The (make that another) thing that pisses me off is the absolute bad faith when it comes to asking questions about D office-holders. Clinton (both), Obama, Biden have all been so transparent about medical and financial records

    Agree. There’s no reward at all for playing by the rules. In fact, media have set this up so there’s a disincentive for transparency. They’ve really contributed to corruption.

    Just Clinton alone- the hours and hours of voluntary testimony, the complete reporting on the Clinton Foundation and disclosure on the emails. It made not one bit of difference. They attacked her exactly as if she had done no transparency or explanation at all.
    It isn’t supposed to work like that. They reward bad actors and punish rule and norm followers.

  169. 169.

    Gravenstone

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: I had heard that Young and James were briefly band mates, but not the whole background of the affair. Music in the 60’s was weird and wild to start with. I mean, what other decade could (briefly) produce the concert pairing of Jimi Hendrix and the Monkees?

  171. 171.

    rikyrah

    @narya:

    I think they also thought that any blowback would be limited and temporary, that women would somehow forget that women had been stripped of bodily autonomy.

     

    THIS.

    Or, that none of us have daughters, sisters, nieces who would be affected and THAT WOULD PISS US OFF??

     

    It’s inconceivable that Peanut would have FEWER RIGHTS THAN ME?

     

    Like that wouldn’t push me into a rage? A low simmering, never going away because the moment I think about it my blood pressure goes up rage?

  172. 172.

    Kay

    @Anyway:

    They did it to Obama too. The Obama Administration, squeaky clean as they were, created increased transparency requirements for themselves around appointments. Political media immediately punished them by creating fake scandals around everything that was revealed voluntarily without ever mentioning that the only reason the public had access to so much information was because the Obama Administration required it, when no other President had.

    No President will ever do it again. They’ve turned “transparency” into “something only suckers do”.

    They make government worse. Dirtier. More opaque. Their incentive and ethical structure is all fucked up. It’s a bad business.

  173. 173.

    jonas

    @SFAW: ​
     

    I was just pointing out that TFG was as much “a billionaire” as I am “handsome” or “thin.” I would be amazed to learn that TFG was ever an actual billionaire.

    If you assigned fairly optimistic valuations to his entire real estate portfolio pre-pandemic, TFG was worth probably a couple of billion — making him still relatively small potatoes in the world of NYC’s mega-rich. Problem is, NYC commercial real estate is in the shitter now and you’re seeing landlords desperately trying to renegotiate mortgages, or find other tenants to take over their leases for big haircuts. If he had to mark his properties to market right now, he’s probably worth 20% less than he was 5 years ago. And the Trump Org still has to answer for their decades-long scheme of valuing their properties at one price for loans and then low-balling them again for the tax assessor. Letitia James could very well take him to the cleaners for that, not only making him cough up tens, if not hundreds, of millions in penalties, but basically putting the Trump Org out of business in NY.

  174. 174.

    RandomMonster

    @lowtechcyclist: Good catch! I think I was just conflating the fact that May Day is also known as “International Workers Day” with the Karl Marx quote. I’ll head off to my reeducation camp now…

  175. 175.

    narya

    @rikyrah: Like that wouldn’t push me into a rage? A low simmering, never going away because the moment I think about it my blood pressure goes up rage?

    Raging right along with you . . . and VOTING. That’s the other thing they underestimated. I think a lot of folks kinda half-ass voting, but this got people OUT OF THEIR CHAIRS and into voting booths, and I hope it continues that way.

  176. 176.

    jonas

    @twbrandt: ​
      I’ve been reading about Karano and what’s going on with the Michigan GOP recently. Dear Lord, Karano makes Kari Lake look grounded and reasonable.

    Rooting for injuries, of course.

  177. 177.

    Jeffro

    I think the RWNJs both a) felt that they really had majority support, even if slight, and b) whatever protests or energy the pro-choice side had would have would be negligible.

    (both of these would be byproducts of living in a right-wing bubble, of course…OOPS)

    Just returning to this for a sec (the last part) this is all part and parcel of them living in their own bubble, so constantly lied to, so easily manipulated.

    Heck in that second article I noted above, about all the shootings and all their fear, it says it plainly: RWNJs’ own media is out of line with reality, even on crime, and it’s getting people killed.

    Why did a 65-year-old man kill a 20-year-old woman who had accidentally pulled into his Upstate New York driveway? Why did an 84-year-old man fire two bullets into a 16-year-old boy who had mistakenly knocked on his door in Kansas City? Why did a 43-year-old man in South Florida allegedly shoot at a 19-year-old Instacart delivery driver and his 18-year-old girlfriend who had arrived at the wrong address?

    Experts blame a cocktail of factors: the easy availability of guns, misconceptions around stand-your-ground laws, the marketing of firearms for self-defense — and a growing sense among Americans, particularly Republicans, that safety in their backyard is deteriorating.

    Since 2020, the share of Republicans who said that crime is rising in their community has jumped from 38 percent to 73 percent, according to the latest Gallup numbers.  Among Democrats, that same concern climbed only 5 percentage points to 42 percent, marking the widest partisan perception gap since the polling firm first asked the question a half-century ago.
    Reality is more complicated. A Washington Post crime analysis of 80 major police departments’ records found that reported violence across the country in 2022 was lower than the five-year average…
    The perception that life is getting more dangerous has spread on the right as GOP leaders and pundits repeatedly argued, without evidence, that immigrants and protesters are jeopardizing American peace. Conservative news channels have devoted more airtime to violence than their center- and left-leaning competitors: Over the past three years, for instance, Fox News anchors and guests spotlighted crime 79 percent more often than those on MSNBC and twice as much as voices on CNN…

    Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old White man, told officers he was “scared to death” earlier this month when he shot Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old Black boy who had been looking for his siblings and knocked on his door in Kansas City.

    “It’s the paranoia and fear,” said Lester’s 28-year-old grandson, Klint Ludwig. “It was the 24-hour news cycle — Fox News, OAN, all that stuff — pushing the civil division. Everybody is just so scared all the time.”

  178. 178.

    JML

    @Jeffro: Let’s be honest here: they’re trying to put Kamala Harris up front to rile up the racists. Every time they call her “extreme”, “liberal”, or “dangerous” what they really mean is “black”. Same old nasty racist playbook Lee Atwater taught them.

  180. 180.

    sdhays

    @Jeffro:

    The perception that life is getting more dangerous…

    Life sure feels more dangerous to me. One political party in this country is hell-bent on arming and radicalizing criminals and criminal-minded (people who fantasize about killing other people) people. And watering down murder so that people think they can get away with (and increasingly do).

    My son will start public school next year, and he’ll start getting shooter drills, something I never had to face.

    Women in a large number of states can’t get basic medical care, so they’re waiting to start dying in parking lots before they can get care.

    The Republican Party is literally a threat to public safety, and it’s scary.

  181. 181.

    Soprano2

    @Jeffro: I call this “Nextdoor brain”, where they spend so much time reading about those scary people walking down their street on Nextdoor that they think every person they don’t know is a criminal ready to attack and rob them.

  182. 182.

    JWR

    @bluefoot:

    Years ago, a friend of mine came across an EP of Jimi Hendrix before he was Hendrix (so to speak) doing surfer music.

    Maybe from when he was an Isley Brother? He did some absolutely killer rhythm guitar during his time with them.

  183. 183.

    Jeffro

    @Soprano2: it’s a good phrase, I like it!

    Their choice of “news” – whether we’re talking about Fox or Nextdoor or whatever – is driving all this insanity.

    I’m not sure how we fix it.  “Americans need to focus on data not anecdotes” doesn’t quite work for a bumper sticker.

  184. 184.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I think they’re still living in the Roe-era reality that abortion only turns out their side so turning up the heat on that is always a win. They may have heard that it’s changed but they didn’t feel yet that it’s changed.

  185. 185.

    Matt McIrvin

    @sdhays: I say sometimes that I understand perfectly how they feel because that’s how I feel about them.

  186. 186.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @bluefoot: @Geminid: Yup and yup. Those are both covered in this podcast. If you’ve ever seen This Is Spinal Tap and they show footage of the band in their former early Kinks garage rock iteration (“Gimme Some Money) or the folk rock iteration (“Listen to What the Flower People Say”)…it’s played for laughs but SO MANY of the people Hickey covers went through a couple of those metamorphoses before finding the right style, at just the right time, that turned them into stars.

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