• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

“woke” is the new caravan.

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

In after Baud. Damn.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

“A king is only a king if we bow down.” – Rev. William Barber

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / 2024 Primaries / Monday Morning Open Thread: President Biden Goes to Maui

Monday Morning Open Thread: President Biden Goes to Maui

by Anne Laurie|  August 21, 20236:41 am| 140 Comments

This post is in: 2024 Primaries, Climate Change, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republicans in Disarray!

FacebookTweetEmail

Biden heading to Maui to meet with wildfire survivors https://t.co/Svw6dqlnYQ pic.twitter.com/uF7kNvWwG6

— Reuters (@Reuters) August 21, 2023

President Joe Biden’s duty as consoler-in-chief will be put to the test on Monday when he visits Maui, nearly two weeks after wildfires swept through the Hawaiian island and killed more than 100 people.

Biden will pause his vacation in Lake Tahoe to fly from Reno, Nevada, to Maui, where he and first lady Jill Biden will take a helicopter tour of the burned-out areas.

They will then visit the devastated Lahaina community to see the wildfire damage firsthand and receive a briefing from state and local officials.

After the tour, Biden will make remarks “paying respects to the lives lost and reflecting on the tragic, lasting impacts of these wildfires on survivors and the community,” a White House official said…

… Biden has been leading a “whole of government” effort to help Hawaii recover. Biden himself said he did not want to travel to Maui until he was assured that he would not interfere with emergency response efforts.

On Monday, he will announce the appointment of FEMA Region 9 administrator Bob Fenton as the chief federal response coordinator to oversee a long-term federal recovery effort, the White House official said.

Biden also will meet emergency responders, survivors and community members, the official said.

“I will do everything in my power to help Maui recover and rebuild from this tragedy,” Biden said in a statement on Sunday. “And throughout our efforts, we are focused on respecting sacred lands, cultures, and traditions.”…

Amid concerns by displaced Lahaina residents that developers will seek to buy them out, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said on Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” show that Biden will reassure the residents that they will be in control of how they rebuild.

All the criticisms about Biden, no matter the topic, are about optics. I love how Biden ignores his critics, does the heavy lifting, and delivers results. Be it delivering sick days to the rail strikers or disaster relief to Maui. He has shown himself to be a hard hat President.

— simpleplan90s (@simpleplan90s) August 21, 2023


You know who else has been awesome? My amazing senator @brianschatz. On the ground in Maui. Helpful. Kind. Empathetic. 100% responsive. Everything you want in your senator. Mahalo nui loa.https://t.co/SZ9NTwSzgV

— HawaiiDelilah™ 🟦 #MauiStrong (@HawaiiDelilah) August 21, 2023

Lured by jobs, a laid-back lifestyle and gorgeous scenery, immigrants had flocked to Lahaina from all over the world. But after fires leveled the town, some foreign-born workers perished, and many lost everything in the inferno, including documents.. https://t.co/mrz0pXyy7S

— The Associated Press (@AP) August 21, 2023

Meanwhile, the Disloyal Opposition:
Monday Morning Open Thread:  Keep On Keeping On

(Clay Jones via GoComics.com)

 

Disaster tourism.

No better than that kid who traveled to Syria or the multitude of people who decide they're going to show the "Truth about North Korea". https://t.co/EJjRUdhl7p

— Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ (@padresj) August 20, 2023

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: «On The Road - Albatrossity - Spring and summer birds in Flyover Country - The Brown Birds On The Road – Albatrossity – Spring and summer birds in Flyover Country – The Brown Birds
Next Post: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words (Open Thread) »

Reader Interactions

140Comments

  1. 1.

    Jeffro

    August 21, 2023 at 6:44 am

    Meanwhile, speaking of “disaster tourism”, Chris Sununu implores the GOP to dodge the impending mother of all train wrecks: a trump nomination

    Rooting for many, many injuries here

    This week, Republican primary candidates for president will have a chance to make their case before a national audience — with or without Donald Trump on the debate stage. To win, they must break free of Mr. Trump’s drama, step out of his shadow, go on offense, attack, and present their case. Then they need to see if they can catch fire this fall — and if they can’t, they need to step aside, because winnowing down the field of candidates is the single best chance to stop Mr. Trump. Too much is at stake for us to have wishful candidacies. While the other Republican candidates are running to save America, Mr. Trump is running to save himself.

    Candidates on the debate stage should not be afraid to attack Donald Trump. While it’s true that Mr. Trump has an iron grip on more than 30 percent of the electorate, the other 60 percent or so is open to moving forward with a new nominee. Mr. Trump’s shortcomings hardly need reciting. Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis, and Vivek Ramaswamy — candidates with compelling stories, records and polling — must show voters they are willing to take on Mr. Trump, show a spark, and not just defend him in absentia. Chris Christie, who has done great work exposing Mr. Trump’s weaknesses, must broaden his message and show voters that he is more than the anti-Trump candidate.

    If Mr. Trump is the Republican nominee for president in 2024, Republicans will lose up and down the ballot. According to a recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, nearly two-thirds of Americans say they would likely not support Mr. Trump in 2024 — not even Jimmy Carter had re-election numbers that bleak. Every candidate with an (R) next to their name, from school board to the statehouse, will be left to answer for the electoral albatross at the top of the ticket…

    This is why Mr. Trump must face a smaller field. It is only then that his path to victory shrinks. Leaders within the Republican Party — governors, senators, donors and media influencers — have an obligation to help narrow the field.

    At a minimum, any candidate who does not make the stage for the first two debates must drop out.

    Anyone who is polling in the low single digits by Christmas must acknowledge that their efforts have fallen short.

    After the results from Iowa come in, it is paramount that the field must shrink, before the New Hampshire primary, to the top three or four.

    Candidates who have essentially been running for years, and who have seen little movement in the polls especially in the early states, are particularly in focus. This fall, if their numbers have not improved, tough conversations between donors and their candidates need to happen.

     

    That ‘albatross’ part, Chris, is actually the plan here.  =)

    ETA: also frist!  And happy Monday, folks!

  2. 2.

    Baud

    August 21, 2023 at 6:48 am

    confronted by angry residents while live on Steve Bannon’s show, who said he is exploiting them for politics and using up precious resources.

    I’m glad to hear about this. I wish more people were liberal, but you don’t have to be liberal to appreciate how offensive the right is these days.

  3. 3.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    August 21, 2023 at 6:50 am

    and yet when Dump wins the nomination Sununu will endorse the convict

  4. 4.

    Baud

    August 21, 2023 at 7:04 am

    @Jeffro:

    tough conversations between donors and their candidates need to happen.

     

    Can you imagine the freak out if a Dem governor had written that about our primary?

  5. 5.

    Princess

    August 21, 2023 at 7:12 am

    Sununu seems to think Trump’s convictions are a problem even though Peter Baker and the NYT think they’re just a yawnsville bore.

  6. 6.

    Jerzy Russian

    August 21, 2023 at 7:13 am

    I am not aware of all Internet Traditions, and as a consequence I don’t know what “the truth about North Korea” is.  Can anyone help me out here?

  7. 7.

    Baud

    August 21, 2023 at 7:16 am

    @Princess:

    They’re both trying to save the Republican party in their own way.

  8. 8.

    Argiope

    August 21, 2023 at 7:16 am

    I’m stating to develop a theory absent much evidence that a lot of Republicans are secretly okay with Biden, and would rather ride or die for Trump for the identity and grievance fuel than actually win the election.  I guess we’ll see.

  9. 9.

    hueyplong

    August 21, 2023 at 7:20 am

    @Argiope: It’s tempting but usually mistaken to anthropomorphize Republicans. Scorpions ain’t human.

  10. 10.

    Trivia Man

    August 21, 2023 at 7:22 am

    Great journalism skills, Steve.

    I don’t know if I’m safe!

    Scrambles while in fear for his life. (Or being scowled at)

    Steve:

    Lots if silent air. Most of the other RWNJ performance artists are much quicker to confront. I was expecting the kid to ask the angry resident about hunter’s laptop or about why Biden isn’t in Hawaii yet.

  11. 11.

    Suzanne

    August 21, 2023 at 7:26 am

    @Argiope: and would rather ride or die for Trump for the identity and grievance fuel than actually win the election

    See, I think they all absolutely know that Trump is toxic, terrible, etc….. And they want someone else to be the one to take him out so they can swoop in and get the MAGAts. But they know being That Person means they will lose.

    Which is why I think they all secretly love Chris Christie.

  12. 12.

    M31

    August 21, 2023 at 7:33 am

    @Jeffro: “Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis, and Vivek Ramaswamy — candidates with compelling stories, records and polling”

    HAHAHAHAHAHHHA

    HAHAHAHAHHAHAH

  13. 13.

    Baud

    August 21, 2023 at 7:34 am

    @M31:

    Nickie Haley has to be feeling a little disappointment.

  14. 14.

    Suzanne

    August 21, 2023 at 7:37 am

    @Baud: I hope she’s feeling a lot of disappointment. She is Not A Factor.

  15. 15.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    August 21, 2023 at 7:42 am

    Thank god college football comes back this weekend to distract me.

    Wolverines!

  16. 16.

    Baud

    August 21, 2023 at 7:43 am

    @Suzanne:

    Is she the only woman running on their side?

    I wouldn’t be surprised if over half the Dem field in 2028 will be women, and many of them definitely will be leading contenders.

  17. 17.

    hueyplong

    August 21, 2023 at 7:43 am

    “Self-aware” isn’t a descriptor that comes to mind when you see Haley’s name in print. People less addicted to Schadenfreude would probably avert their eyes.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    August 21, 2023 at 7:45 am

    Even with Christie though, is his criticism of Trump that Trump did bad things, or simply that Trump is toxic and creates distractions.

  19. 19.

    Ken

    August 21, 2023 at 7:45 am

    @M31: He didn’t say compellingly good. Disasters are compelling in their own way.

  20. 20.

    bbleh

    August 21, 2023 at 7:46 am

    Biden Ignores Media Criticism
    Focuses On Delivering Aid
    Will Ignoring Media Doom His Campaign?
    A media panel discussion

  21. 21.

    eversor

    August 21, 2023 at 7:49 am

    @Argiope:

    There’s a large portion of the Christian vote that actively hates the GOP establishment.  Their gripes are the GOPs economics priorities and that the GOP has failed to stop all sorts of stuff from the sexual revolution to gay marriage to trans issues.   They are trying to burn down their own party and build a proper theocratic party in it’s place.

  22. 22.

    Suzanne

    August 21, 2023 at 7:50 am

    @Baud: She’s the only woman whose name we recognize. I’m sure there’s some county supervisor somewhere who says she’s running.

    I saw it posited by some pundit — cannot remember who or where — that the first woman president would be a Republican. The logic was that liberal or Democratic women are invariably seen as radicals and that’s too hard for Americans to cope with. A Republican woman wouldn’t be seen like that. I saw this many years ago, pre-Trump, so obviously the whole landscape is different.

    But it has stuck with me, because I had never thought of it that way, and it deeply scares me to think that that is accurate.

  23. 23.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    August 21, 2023 at 7:51 am

    @bbleh: Will Ignoring Media Doom Doom His Campaign?

     

    /fixed

  24. 24.

    Baud

    August 21, 2023 at 7:52 am

    @Suzanne:

    They used to say the same thing about the first black president.  Maybe if Colin Powell had run in 2000, they would have been right.  But probably not.

    ETA: For a minute in 2016, there was a possibility of the GOP having the first Hispanic president.

  25. 25.

    OzarkHillbilly

    August 21, 2023 at 7:52 am

    @Suzanne: Neither are Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis, or Vivek Ramaswamy. Well, DeSantis is a rounding error, I guess that counts for something.

  26. 26.

    bbleh

    August 21, 2023 at 7:53 am

    @eversor: I don’t know if the real fundie types are trying to “build” anything.  The grift artists who prey on them are willing to slap something together that keeps the gravy train rolling, but I think the vast majority of them are focused on tearing down everything they don’t like (which is a lot), after which they expect Jesus to come swooping in on a heavenly trapeze and loft them all to heaven.

  27. 27.

    Baud

    August 21, 2023 at 7:54 am

    @bbleh:

    they expect Jesus to come swooping in on a heavenly trapeze and loft them all to heaven

     
    I wish he would already. Talk about a win-win.

  28. 28.

    OzarkHillbilly

    August 21, 2023 at 7:56 am

    @bbleh: Will Ignoring Media Doom His Campaign?

    Forget the panel, in a normal election the answer would be “yes”. With trump in it tho… It’s anybody’s guess.

  29. 29.

    catclub

    August 21, 2023 at 7:56 am

    @Suzanne: The logic was that liberal or Democratic women are invariably seen as radicals and that’s too hard for Americans to cope with.

     

    Except Hillary Clinton was seen as too ‘establishment’ by both Democrats and republicans. The offending quality will vary depending on circumstances.

  30. 30.

    hueyplong

    August 21, 2023 at 7:57 am

    They talk about judging the quick and the dead as though that would go well for them.

  31. 31.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    August 21, 2023 at 7:57 am

    @M31: Ha, he discarded Pence from the narrative

  32. 32.

    OzarkHillbilly

    August 21, 2023 at 7:58 am

    @Suzanne: I think Dobbs has changed the math. How much, I have no idea.

  33. 33.

    Suzanne

    August 21, 2023 at 7:59 am

    @bbleh: There’s a swath of social conservatives like Sohrab Ahmari, who are not evangelical but are Catholic (and some Orthodox), who are absolutely trying to build an “integralist” political force. They are finding some evangelicals who are also willing to hop on the train.

    (“Integralist” is their nice way of saying “combining church and state”.)

  34. 34.

    rikyrah

    August 21, 2023 at 8:03 am

    Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊

  35. 35.

    Suzanne

    August 21, 2023 at 8:03 am

    @catclub:

    Except Hillary Clinton was seen as too ‘establishment’ by both Democrats and republicans. The offending quality will vary depending on circumstances.

    Women can never win. When she was FLOTUS, she was definitely crapped on for being supposedly a radical feminist, and a bad mom who was too into her career, and all that shit. And then you’re right, she was apparently too much part of the “establishment” later in her life.

    None of this has any internal logic.

  36. 36.

    Baud

    August 21, 2023 at 8:04 am

    @rikyrah:

    Good morning.

  37. 37.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    August 21, 2023 at 8:08 am

    @Baud: I was thinking the same thing – that people were saying back in 2000 or so that the first black President would be a Republican. I think it was even brought up in a Bloom County strip.

    That was, of course, before Barack Obama burst onto the scene with his 2004 Democratic Convention speech, which left me thinking: “in twenty years or so, this guy is going to be President.”

    Nostradamus I ain’t.

  38. 38.

    Anyway

    August 21, 2023 at 8:09 am

    @Jeffro:

    If Mr. Trump is the Republican nominee for president in 2024, Republicans will lose up and down the ballot.

    Spaghetti Monster, make it so…(all appendages crossed)

  39. 39.

    JPL

    August 21, 2023 at 8:11 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Because it didn’t help Abrams against Kemp, I worry about that.    GA is different though because they atill have two republican parties.

  40. 40.

    gene108

    August 21, 2023 at 8:12 am

    @Suzanne:

    When she was FLOTUS, she was definitely crapped on for being supposedly a radical feminist, and a bad mom who was too into her career, and all that shit.

    I remember the 1992 campaign and the shock of her having career outside of supporting her husband’s political career. The MSM, IIRC, were on this angle. It so shocked the sensibilities of how D.C. politics work.

  41. 41.

    M31

    August 21, 2023 at 8:14 am

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: @M31: Ha, he discarded Pence from the narrative

    hahaahah I didn’t even notice that Pence didn’t get noticed.

    So compelling, that Pence.

  42. 42.

    catclub

    August 21, 2023 at 8:18 am

    @Suzanne: (“Integralist” is their nice way of saying “combining church and state”.)

     

    and not as domineeringly Christian as “Dominionist”, but thats what they mean. Government under the church. Not exactly sharing.

  43. 43.

    evodevo

    August 21, 2023 at 8:19 am

    @Jerzy Russian: Something, something Workers Paradise in comparison with the racist West something something…the guy will be feted and kept in isolation  as a prime piece of propaganda, and then participating in a spy trade years later (or gulaged like they were in the USSR in the old days).

    https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2013/07/24/205121529/for-american-defectors-to-russia-an-unhappy-history

  44. 44.

    Suzanne

    August 21, 2023 at 8:20 am

    @gene108: I was 12 in 1992, and it made such an impression on me.  I am the only child of a single mom (Chelsea Clinton is almost exactly my age) who obviously had a job. And the abuse HRC took at the time for all of those things made me realize that conservatives hated me and my family and my mother.

  45. 45.

    Suzanne

    August 21, 2023 at 8:21 am

    @catclub:

    and not as domineeringly Christian as “Dominionist”, but thats what they mean. Government under the church. Not exactly sharing. 

    100% correct.
    Integralism would have a more Catholic flavor! More funny hats! It’s totally different. Shhhhh.

  46. 46.

    bbleh

    August 21, 2023 at 8:25 am

    @Suzanne: I’d guess they are, or are close cousins of, Dominionists (among whom is Bill Barr!), and yes they figure on sticking around and very much intend to take over.

    ETA: aha, you & catclub beat me to it.  And Dr Google tells me Integralism is now considered a form of Dominionism but is much older than the other flavors.  So I guess that would make Barr an Integralist.

  47. 47.

    LiminalOwl

    August 21, 2023 at 8:26 am

    @Suzanne: This.  I will forever remember a Greyhound trip in the summer of 2016, in which I ended up on a busload of screaming Bernie Bros on their way to the Democratic convention. Argued with one briefly before coming to my senses and saying “let’s agree to disagree,” but had to ignore him the rest of the trip.

  48. 48.

    Betty Cracker

    August 21, 2023 at 8:35 am

    I rarely watch the Sunday shows, but this weekend I was doing the subtropical version of spring cleaning, and I thought, “How can I make this activity even shittier?” and turned on CNN.

    Larry Hogan and David Axelrod were on, and Hogan is all wrapped up in the No Labels scam. Apparently that ratfuck outfit has vowed to run a third party candidacy — maybe with Hogan or a similar squish at the top of the ticket — if Trump and Biden are the nominees again.

    The host and Axelrod both jumped on Hogan, saying No Labels would be a spoiler and reelect Trump if they did that, which is supposedly a scenario No Labels wants to avoid. But Hogan blithely denied that possibility and claimed No Labels would siphon votes equally from both tickets, which is bullshit.

    It really made me want to fire up the old sun cannon and stuff Hogan in there along with Mark Penn and his horrible wife, whose name I’ve forgotten, for a solar vacation. If this democracy fails, it will be as much on assholes like that than on the fascists.

  49. 49.

    LiminalOwl

    August 21, 2023 at 8:36 am

    @Suzanne: “Ultramontanism” is a less-nice term for the specifically Roman Catholic variant of Dominionism.  Of course, though it originally meant regarding papal authority as supreme over the secular government, modern ultramontanist types generally ignore papal teachings when the latter challenge RWNJ political truisms.  (And I have Opinions about Mel Gibson…)

  50. 50.

    Suzanne

    August 21, 2023 at 8:39 am

    @LiminalOwl: My BIL is a big Bernie loyalist. He absolutely voted for HRC and Biden, but he made many of the familiar grumblings about it both times. I don’t care — a vote counts just the same if you’re happy or salty about it.

    I get more annoyed how he, like, sees everything in these competitive terms. One time, I shared an article on my FB about Andrew Cuomo showing up in my hometown (when he was still in office) to do a ribbon-cutting at a new affordable housing project. And he wrote to me to helpfully inform me to absolutely make sure I knew that Andrew Cuomo sucked. I was like, “BRUH. STOP. IDGAF about Andrew Cuomo, but I care about my town. I didn’t share that to praise the guy.”

  51. 51.

    Baud

    August 21, 2023 at 8:39 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    Agree completely.  But we shouldn’t forget the other half of the pincer move — Cornell West and the Greens.

  52. 52.

    Anyway

    August 21, 2023 at 8:42 am

    I saw some clickbait that HRC’s interview with Maddow got blockbuster ratings for MSNBC. Granted it was during the wait for Dump’s indictment details but still — MSNBC, get a clue. Time-box the non-stop Rethug primary inane chatter.

  53. 53.

    LiminalOwl

    August 21, 2023 at 8:43 am

    @Suzanne: oh, I’m fine—well, moderately OK—with Bernie loyalists who vote for the Democrats when it counts. These guys were screaming at me about how they would NEVER vote for conservative, establishment HRC—so vituperative that I’m sure sone of them voted for Trump in November.
    (And much sympathy to you re: the 1992 misogyny.)

  54. 54.

    Omnes Omnibus

    August 21, 2023 at 8:44 am

    @Betty Cracker: ​
      Nancy Jacobson.

  55. 55.

    Betty Cracker

    August 21, 2023 at 8:55 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: Thank you. I’d put an evil swamp witch curse on her to suffer a lifetime of misery, but since she’s married to Mark Penn, she’s got that covered already.

  56. 56.

    RevRick

    August 21, 2023 at 8:56 am

    Meanwhile, in the unimportant, boring Biden news, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports blockbuster news about unemployment rates, with 26 states at or below 3% in July — for the third straight month. And only Texas, California, and Nevada are above 4%, which historically has been considered full employment.

    But let’s let that light be hidden under a bushel basket.

  57. 57.

    Soprano2

    August 21, 2023 at 8:57 am

    @Suzanne: It’s like the same people saying both Biden is too old to run for re-election, and we love Bernie and wish he were president.

    ETA – We met a young man from Lahaina while we were in St. Louis this weekend – he was a manager at Maggie O’Brien’s, where we ate after the Saturday night game. He said he cried for a week after the fire – everything he knew there is gone, his home and his school and everything else. He said his family is safe, scattered around the islands with other relatives. I told him how sorry I was for his loss, and that I was glad all of his family was safe. I also said it was ironic that he’s here, since my experience with Maui was that most of the people there are from somewhere else! I’m sure NotMax will correct me if I’m wrong, but it sure seemed to me that most of the people I met who lived there didn’t come from Hawaii, but from other countries or the mainland USA.

    Today is my husband’s dr appointment where we find out the results of his MRI and the neuropsych exam. I’m both dreading and welcoming it. I don’t want a diagnosis, because that makes his memory loss problem more real, but I need a diagnosis so I have a name for what we’re dealing with. I have no idea what his reaction to the news will be; my guess is that he’ll say everything is being blown out of proportion. Trust me, it’s not.

  58. 58.

    bbleh

    August 21, 2023 at 9:01 am

    @Baud: dibs on Cornel West and the Greens for a band name!

  59. 59.

    WaterGirl

    August 21, 2023 at 9:07 am

    I have no clue who the Disaster tourism guy being interviewed by Bannon is.  How would the guy who’s yelling at him even know who he is?

    Someone please tell me who it is so I know who mock and despise?

  60. 60.

    Betty Cracker

    August 21, 2023 at 9:12 am

    @Baud: Maybe I’m off base, but I can’t see Cornel West getting much traction. Jill Stein wasn’t a serious person either, but she was a handy protest vote for lots of people who won’t have the same excuse to be disgruntled this time around.

  61. 61.

    Jeffro

    August 21, 2023 at 9:14 am

    @Baud: Can you imagine the freak out if a Dem governor had written that about our primary?

    I know, right??

    He’s GIVING AWAY THE WHOLE GAME (on the GOP side, anyway)

  62. 62.

    Jeffro

    August 21, 2023 at 9:16 am

    @M31: “…candidate with compelling stories, records, and polling”

    HAHAHAHAHAHHHA

    HAHAHAHAHHAHAH

     

    Oh I know, I know.  Things like that ought to come with an eyeroll warning.  Mine nearly got stuck!

  63. 63.

    jonas

    August 21, 2023 at 9:16 am

    @RevRick: 26 states at or below 3% in July

    Which essentially means that anyone who wants work can find something. In my area, I’m still seeing restaurants and other businesses with curtailed hours and/or services because they simply can’t find employees. The government needs to start getting work permits into the hands of all those asylum seekers. They’re not all just manual laborers — a lot of the Venezuelans in particular are educated workers who could do a lot of different things.

  64. 64.

    Doug R

    August 21, 2023 at 9:17 am

    Why does the right wing rage machine always seem to come back to Russia?

     Pro-Moscow voices tried to steer Ohio train disaster debate

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Soon after a train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals in Ohio last month, anonymous pro-Russian accounts started spreading misleading claims and anti-American propaganda about it on Twitter, using Elon Musk’s new verification system to expand their reach while creating the illusion of credibility.

    The accounts, which parroted Kremlin talking points on myriad topics, claimed without evidence that authorities in Ohio were lying about the true impact of the chemical spill. The accounts spread fearmongering posts that preyed on legitimate concerns about pollution and health effects and compared the response to the derailment with America’s support for Ukraine following its invasion by Russia.

    Some of the claims pushed by the pro-Russian accounts were verifiably false, such as the suggestion that the news media had covered up the disaster or that environmental scientists traveling to the site had been killed in a plane crash. But most were more speculative, seemingly designed to stoke fear or distrust. Examples include unverified maps showing widespread pollution, posts predicting an increase in fatal cancers and others about unconfirmed mass animal die-offs.

  65. 65.

    topclimber

    August 21, 2023 at 9:18 am

    @Soprano2:  Hang in there.

  66. 66.

    Baud

    August 21, 2023 at 9:19 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    I don’t know if either No Labels or Cornell West will get any traction.  At this point, all I can do is judge them by their apparent intent.

  67. 67.

    sdhays

    August 21, 2023 at 9:20 am

    @Suzanne: They said the same thing about the first black President. Thatcher made them happy and they have decided that’s “the way things are”, even if it’s another country and 40 years ago.

  68. 68.

    eversor

    August 21, 2023 at 9:22 am

    @Suzanne:

    It’s called National Conservatism and has support from people who do not give one whit what Christians think as well.  Such as Peter Theil, Marco Rubio, and Josh Hawley and it’s an international movement.

    The basic idea of this is first right wing economic orthodoxy full stop.  Second is that the nations laws, culture, and government, should be alligned with it’s majority religion (ie Christianity) and then shit tons of government give outs to Christians while stripping non Christians, or Christians that don’t follow all the socially conservative parts liberals pretend (well lie their asses off) don’t exist.

    It’s not a fringe movement by any stretch.  It has support from the majority of GOP base voters and the majority of Christians, but you know those are the same thing!

    They are going to get it to.  Because too many people keep coming up with excuses to keep Christianity or flat out lying that it isn’t exactly what it is on the social/sexual/gender side of things.  So at best they are actively supporting this, at worst they are lying that they don’t and screwing us all.  So until Christianity is gone and spat on we are truly fucked.

  69. 69.

    jonas

    August 21, 2023 at 9:22 am

    @Betty Cracker: I tend to agree. If Biden/Harris were running as neoliberal centrists calling for lower capital gains taxes or something, I could see the attraction of a more progressive ticket running to their left. But what progressive priority haven’t they either 1. championed and pushed through or 2. at least tried to address as much as possible given the political realities on the ground (e.g. student loan forgiveness)?

    The only thing the far lefties seem to oppose Biden on is that we shouldn’t be supporting Ukraine, because, you know, war is icky and we should show Putin the power of love instead or something, but fuck that shit.

  70. 70.

    Scout211

    August 21, 2023 at 9:28 am

    @Soprano2: Today is my husband’s dr appointment where we find out the results of his MRI and the neuropsych exam. I’m both dreading and welcoming it

    Again, I feel you because I was there last month. The diagnosis might come as a shock at first.  At least it did for me (even though I knew it was coming).  But it’s also a starting point, with a treatment plan.  And that part feels positive and even a little hopeful.

    Good luck today.

  71. 71.

    Frankensteinbeck

    August 21, 2023 at 9:29 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’d put an evil swamp witch curse on her

    I’m glad to see you embracing this lifestyle.  Please teach your alligators to sing musical numbers so that visitors are properly warned.

  72. 72.

    zhena gogolia

    August 21, 2023 at 9:29 am

    @Baud: CORNEL WEST

  73. 73.

    Omnes Omnibus

    August 21, 2023 at 9:32 am

    @Soprano2: ​
      You have my sympathy. Hopefully putting a name to it will allow you two to take the best measures to handle it.

  74. 74.

    eclare

    August 21, 2023 at 9:35 am

    @Soprano2:

    Best wishes on the dr appt today.  The diagnosis must be so hard to hear, as patient and caregiver.  Hopefully there are some new treatments that help.

  75. 75.

    Soprano2

    August 21, 2023 at 9:37 am

    @Scout211: I hope there’s some kind of plan. My perception of these things so far is “there isn’t anything we can do except monitor the decline, here’s a list of resources, good luck”. Oh, and “here’s a support group that meets every month, you’re welcome to come”. Maybe I will go to some of these meetings once I know what’s happening with him.

  76. 76.

    Steeplejack

    August 21, 2023 at 9:38 am

    Re those Post snippets in the Ian Millhiser tweet: I am appalled that the Post is still flogging that “insensitive Biden said ‘no comment’ about Maui” trope. If you Google “Biden ‘no comment’ Rehoboth” you get a ton of articles criticizing Biden, most from the usual right-wing sites but quite a few from the mainstream press. It’s an accepted “fact” now.

    What they omit is that the “no comment” thing originated from a single pool reporter, Rob Crilly of the British (right-wing) Daily Mail tabloid, who admitted that he didn’t hear what Biden said from a distance but was given the quote by (unnamed) “lip readers.” Talk about fake news.

  77. 77.

    Roger Moore

    August 21, 2023 at 9:39 am

    @Suzanne:

    I saw it posited by some pundit — cannot remember who or where — that the first woman president would be a Republican. The logic was that liberal or Democratic women are invariably seen as radicals and that’s too hard for Americans to cope with. A Republican woman wouldn’t be seen like that.

    I remember a slightly different argument.  The argument I’ve heard was roughly that sure the Democrats would nominate a woman (or a Black, or whatever) candidate before the Republicans, but that candidate would inevitably be an affirmative action hire.  When the Republicans finally got around to finding a (whatever) candidate, it would because they had actually earned the nomination.  It was a very Republican argument that accepted a lot of Republican talking points as if they were just inevitably true.

  78. 78.

    eclare

    August 21, 2023 at 9:40 am

    @Steeplejack:

    Wow.  Thanks for that info, I thought the “no comment” comment had more evidence behind it.

  79. 79.

    Ben Cisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️

    August 21, 2023 at 9:45 am

    @Soprano2: Hoping that the appointment brings some clarity and a way forward.

  80. 80.

    Suzanne

    August 21, 2023 at 9:46 am

    @Soprano2: Hugs and best wishes for a good appointment. I find limbo to be really difficult, so I sympathize.

  81. 81.

    martha

    August 21, 2023 at 9:47 am

    @Soprano2: I’m so sorry for what you’re going through, we’ve been on that road with my mom and my wonderful FIL. In our experience, we did get more help than “here are some pamphlets, good luck”. I know there are new medications that can help slow things down (they were just being offered 15 years ago, so…). And I will say, having a specific diagnosis did help us understand what was happening, even though it hurt looking at the future.

  82. 82.

    Soprano2

    August 21, 2023 at 9:52 am

    @martha: Thanks, it’s mostly my fears talking there I think. My biggest fear is having to deal with this alone. I have no idea how my husband or his family is going to react to whatever the diagnosis is. My therapist insisted that I think about what I was going to do for myself after this appointment, because everything I told her was about my husband. LOL I’m so wrapped up in thinking about what to do for him that I don’t think about how I need things too.

  83. 83.

    narya

    August 21, 2023 at 9:53 am

    @Soprano2: And if it’s helpful to you, there’s always the jackaltariat here to support you . . .

  84. 84.

    JML

    August 21, 2023 at 9:59 am

    I have to laugh at the idea that Biden will in any way be tested as “consoler-in-chief” in Maui. While I’m sure that this will be difficult and draining for him personally, Joe Biden understands grief and loss in a way that few modern presidents have and certainly weren’t willing to share. Combine that with the fact that Joe Biden genuinely likes and is interested in people and I expect that basically everyone he comes into contact with on this trip will feel cared for and heard, and possibly uplifted.

    Biden’s probably better suited to this and just better at it than any post-WWII president. (Clinton was great at it too, but gets some small demerits for the the fact that part of what made him good at it was it was always filling his own need to have people around him at all times) Here’s how I’d rank them as “consoler-in-chief”: Biden, Clinton, Reagan, Carter, LBJ, Obama, Truman, W, Eisenhower, Ford, Kennedy, GHWB, Nixon, Trump. (and I say this as someone who despises Reagan)

  85. 85.

    Geminid

    August 21, 2023 at 10:03 am

    @Doug R: Stew Peters, producer of the anti-vax movie Died Suddenly, got on the E. Palestine bandwagon with a widely propogated tweet that started, “What the hell is going in East Palestine?”

    It got all over. There’s an Iranian military tech commenter I follow sometimes, and right in the middle of his discussion of Iranian low-band radar vs. stealthy Israeli F-35s was Stew Peters asking , “What the hell is going on in East Palestine?”

    Then, about a week later, Rep. Ro “The Clueless” Khanna’s account retweeted, “What the hell is going on in East Palestine?” I don’t think he (or his staffers) knew about Peters’ anti-vax background but commenters sure filled him in quickly.

    I sometimes wonder whether Ro Khanna really is a dummie or just acts like one.

  86. 86.

    bbleh

    August 21, 2023 at 10:05 am

    @Soprano2: a valuable insight! Having been a caregiver for a demented parent for several years, it took me a while to realize that caregivers need to care for themselves too.  You can’t provide care if you’re burned out.

    And as to relatives, don’t feel shy about making polite demands.  Too often relatives tend to tiptoe away and leave it to someone else.  There’s nothing wrong with asking them to contribute time and/or money, eg for a caretaker from an agency, which translates to time off for you.

    Sorry to hear about this.  It isn’t easy for either of you.

  87. 87.

    Roger Moore

    August 21, 2023 at 10:06 am

    @jonas:

    If Biden/Harris were running as neoliberal centrists calling for lower capital gains taxes or something, I could see the attraction of a more progressive ticket running to their left.

    I think the thing the leftists are running on is that Biden and Harris haven’t governed as liberally as they ran, and this is supposed to be a sign they’re a bunch of sellouts.  The best part is this same criticism can be leveled at any candidate who actually has to govern, so the cosplay Socialists will always be able to use it against the Democrats without ever having to fear it being used against them.

  88. 88.

    kalakal

    August 21, 2023 at 10:07 am

    @Soprano2: best wishes for the Dr appointment

  89. 89.

    gvg

    August 21, 2023 at 10:10 am

    @M31: Pence isn’t really that against Trump and he excused way too much before the end. I know Trump fans don’t see it that way but if you are really saying get rid of Trump, I don’t think I would recommend Pence.

  90. 90.

    Suzanne

    August 21, 2023 at 10:12 am

    @bbleh:

    And as to relatives, don’t feel shy about making polite demands.  Too often relatives tend to tiptoe away and leave it to someone else.  There’s nothing wrong with asking them to contribute time and/or money, eg for a caretaker from an agency, which translates to time off for you.

    Or, they’re happy to tell you UR DOIN IT RONG, but make themselves really scarce when they could actually be helpful.

    One of my golden rules of life is — with the one exception of communication with elected officials — I never criticize anyone’s effort at anything unless I am willing to do it myself.

  91. 91.

    gvg

    August 21, 2023 at 10:16 am

    @Suzanne: Yes. Hillary seemed normal to me, ordinary. My mother was a teacher who worked happily. My dad had a lot to do with my being a feminist too, because of his disdain of other men’s attitudes. I was not deprived by mom working.

    Their attacks on Hillary were very revealing and I never forgot it.

  92. 92.

    UncleEbeneezer

    August 21, 2023 at 10:18 am

    @Suzanne: They just can’t quit the nut-jobs!  They need them and they know it.  It’s a story as old as The John Birch Society.

  93. 93.

    rikyrah

    August 21, 2023 at 10:19 am

    I love that second tweet about 46 being a ‘ hard hat ‘ President.

    That’s the Scranton in him.

  94. 94.

    frosty

    August 21, 2023 at 10:19 am

    @M31: That was my immediate reaction to those three in that sentence. It is to laugh!

  95. 95.

    rikyrah

    August 21, 2023 at 10:20 am

    Anyone crack up after that judge issued the ruling that AI can’t be copyrighted?

    BWA AH AH AH AH AHA HA HA HA HA HA HA

  96. 96.

    Miss Bianca

    August 21, 2023 at 10:24 am

    @rikyrah: I’m not sure I cracked up, but a fist pump or two and a “YEEEAAAH!” might have been had. :)

    Somewhere on FB there was a post that resonated with me, that we should stop referring to “AI” software and call it what it is: “plagiarism software.” It can’t create, it can only copy – sometimes spookily well, sometimes hilariously badly.

  97. 97.

    Roger Moore

    August 21, 2023 at 10:26 am

    @rikyrah:

    Anyone crack up after that judge issued the ruling that AI can’t be copyrighted?

    I’m not the tiniest bit surprised.  This was the expected result.  There have been earlier cases (e.g. the selfie-taking monkey) that said only humans are capable of authorship under copyright law, so extending it to AI is totally unsurprising.

  98. 98.

    UncleEbeneezer

    August 21, 2023 at 10:27 am

    @Suzanne: Hillary earned that “establishment” knock by doing and achieving things no woman had before.  How dare she!!!…

  99. 99.

    narya

    August 21, 2023 at 10:27 am

    @rikyrah: [waves hand in the air] You know there will be more fighting over it, but I love to see this.

    Also, I was thinking about the mifepristone decision–that will be in the next court term, which means the opinion will be out in time for the 2024 elections. I think it’s gonna be useful for us–even if they uphold the use overall, if they keep the restrictions currently in place (having to do w/ the window it can be used, IIUC), that will drive the vote.

  100. 100.

    eclare

    August 21, 2023 at 10:31 am

    @Miss Bianca:

    Interesting point of view, I don’t know much about AI but I tend to agree.  And I definitely agreed with that judge’s decision.

    The only time I can think of AI creating something was when those idiot attorneys in NY used AI to research a case.  AI literally made up cases that the attorneys used before a judge.  Oopsie!

    I guess someone was too arrogant or cheap to do a LexisNexis search.

  101. 101.

    rikyrah

    August 21, 2023 at 10:31 am

    @Suzanne:

    Women can never win. When she was FLOTUS, she was definitely crapped on for being supposedly a radical feminist, and a bad mom who was too into her career, and all that shit. And then you’re right, she was apparently too much part of the “establishment” later in her life.

     

    They never liked that Hillary was her own person.

    Hillary has been one of the most consistent political people we have ever had in public life.

    ‘ Establishment’, IMO, is code for, ‘ too many Black people support her’.

    After all, who is the Democratic ‘Establishment’, if not Black people.

     

    I love that picture of Black Church Mothers, with ‘ Establishment’ underneath.

     

    Will NEVER forget the writings, post 2016, that Hillary should just go away and knit.

     

    While they had no problem with Willard becoming the Senator from UTAH. No mention of the 2 time presidential loser ‘ going away.’

  102. 102.

    Mike in Pasadena

    August 21, 2023 at 10:35 am

    5.4 inches of rain from Hilary, more than 3 inches last night. It is still sprinkling. Windy last night, but not high winds. I am  about 8.5 miles from downtown Los Angeles. I have lived in So Cal most of my seventy years and never seen much more than a trace of rain in August.

    Now, back to Maui, which is more significant.

  103. 103.

    Suzanne

    August 21, 2023 at 10:37 am

    @UncleEbeneezer: She also got called “establishment” because she fought her way into The Room Where it Happens. She was successful.

    I understand the suspicion of power…. But also, you can’t get shit done without it.

  104. 104.

    UncleEbeneezer

    August 21, 2023 at 10:37 am

    @Soprano2: My FIL, who just past away in hospice, was having a lot of mental confusion, loss of memory etc.  But he went for all the tests etc., and the ruling was that he probably had some dementia but not enough to diagnose Alzheimers or other degenerative diseases.  He would also have some days where he was fairly lucid.  All of which is to say that sadly, sometimes it’s not easy to pin-point exactly what is going on even by the experts.  We just spent two years forever in search of answers on what was going wrong with first Mom-in-law, then Dad.  Most of that time we never really had solid answers, even at the very end.  It’s a hard and super-frustrating situation to navigate.  Wishing you the best.

  105. 105.

    Roger Moore

    August 21, 2023 at 10:40 am

    @Miss Bianca:

    I like the description of large language models as ultra-fancy autocomplete.  It isn’t 100% correct, but it gets enough of the essence to make it understandable to laypeople.  It also explains some of the phenomena you see, where the AI gets completely sidetracked after a while and starts spinning obvious nonsense.  When it starts from a human prompt, it can use that human prompt to stay on track conversationally, but only for a limited amount of conversation.  The more it talks, the more it’s responding to its own talk and not to what the human said, so it wanders off topic.  It needs the human prompt for regulation.

  106. 106.

    rikyrah

    August 21, 2023 at 10:41 am

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch:

    and yet when Dump wins the nomination Sununu will endorse the convict

     

    uh huh

    uh huh

  107. 107.

    WaterGirl

    August 21, 2023 at 10:42 am

    @rikyrah: Yes!  That’s gonna put a dent in the race to AI, I think.  I certainly hope so.

  108. 108.

    Jeffro

    August 21, 2023 at 10:42 am

    fellow Virginians, rejoice: Fleece Vest Glenn’s stealth campaign to keep GOP parents and sucker low-info voters fired up just might end up biting him in the ass this November.

    Youngkin “retools” message for the fall campaign

    Some voters in the Republican base have noticed Youngkin’s shifting rhetoric and don’t like it. Stacy Langton, a self-described “ultra-MAGA” Republican from Fairfax once featured in a Youngkin campaign ad crusading against sexually explicit books in schools, said she worries that he’s watering down his approach to woo voters.

    “Everybody has a collective eye-roll every time they hear him say ‘parents matter’ because it just is starting to sound very politician,” she said.

    Democrats attack Youngkin as being cynical, pointing out that they have sought more education funding than Republicans and that Youngkin has rolled back protections for transgender youths and purged the term “racial equity” from school policy guidance.

    The Parents Matter agenda “focuses on dividing people and leads to policies like book censorship [and] attacks on teachers,” said Del. Schuyler T. VanValkenburg (D-Henrico), a high school civics teacher running for a state Senate seat against incumbent Sen. Siobhan S. Dunnavant (R-Henrico). Youngkin hosted Dunnavant at a Parents Matter event in August.

    Man, you almost have to feel for GOP candidates…the “war on woke” is fading quickly, their base wants its fundie paradise that they were promised, and now even this “retooled” parents’ BS is folding no one.
    And waiting in the wings from some young enterprising reporter are two deadly questions for any GOP pol from county dogcatcher on up:

    1. What are your views on reproductive rights?
    2. What’s your view on trumpov’s 90+ felony indictments?
  109. 109.

    rikyrah

    August 21, 2023 at 10:42 am

    @Suzanne:

    See, I think they all absolutely know that Trump is toxic, terrible, etc….. And they want someone else to be the one to take him out so they can swoop in and get the MAGAts. But they know being That Person means they will lose.

     

    brave ones, all.

  110. 110.

    rikyrah

    August 21, 2023 at 10:45 am

    @Soprano2:

    Prayers for both of you.

  111. 111.

    UncleEbeneezer

    August 21, 2023 at 10:46 am

    @rikyrah:

    “They never liked that Hillary was her own person.”

    PREACH!

  112. 112.

    Yarrow

    August 21, 2023 at 10:47 am

    @Soprano2: A friend’s mother has dementia. Apparently they’ve ruled out Alzheimer’s through some brain scans. She’s on a medication to slow the progression and it seems to be working well. I know it doesn’t stop it but it has given her a lot more fairly good years.

    I’m sure you know and have done all this, but just in case –  make sure his medication list is thoroughly checked to be certain something there isn’t conflicting with something else and making things worse. Also, UTIs in seniors frequently go undiagnosed and a major sign is confusion. Not that this is what’s going on in your husband’s case but it’s always good to rule it out in case it’s adding to any issue. Or if things suddenly get worse.

    Sending good thoughts.

  113. 113.

    UncleEbeneezer

    August 21, 2023 at 10:48 am

    @Mike in Pasadena: We had a big tree limb drop in our yard, but that’s because it’s a dead tree.  Honestly, I’m surprised because winds never even got enough that I could hear them.

  114. 114.

    Ken

    August 21, 2023 at 10:51 am

    @rikyrah: I was happy on behalf of the striking writers and actors. It sounds like the studios are free push ahead with their dream of movies created completely with AI-generated scripts and AI-generated voice and images — but they’d be generously donating those to the public domain without copright?

    (Though I’m sure Disney has assigned a bunch of lawyers to making damn sure this doesn’t cover computer-generated animation. They may even pull a few off the effort to crush DeSantis.)

  115. 115.

    Trivia Man

    August 21, 2023 at 10:51 am

    @WaterGirl: re: Bannon and his “ace reporter” – no idea who it is, I suspect it’s just some schlub who idolizes Bannon. Clearly SB has fallen from his lofty perch and so ANY fan is welcomed to help him create “content“. Funny to see a clip with the host just sitting mute, not even an attempt to provide commentary. IMHO it looks like he has completely lost a huge portion of his mental processing capacity.

    It reminds of the stretch when Rush* was 100% deaf and had to hold off commenting while he waited for a written transcription of caller comments. (Gotta admire the hubris – host the most popular radio show on air, solo, when you can’t hear a single spoken word.)

    *expanded commentary deleted

  116. 116.

    sdhays

    August 21, 2023 at 10:52 am

    @Jeffro:

    Everybody has a collective eye-roll every time they hear him say ‘parents matter’ because it just is starting to sound very politician,

    …”Parents matter” is just about the most politician phrasing ever. What a dipshit.

    And, of course, the Orwellian “Parents Matter agenda” is really the “Nobody Matters – Only ME!!” agenda, since it’s about handing over decisions to the loudest, nastiest, most obnoxious people – who might not even be parents in a locality.

  117. 117.

    UncleEbeneezer

    August 21, 2023 at 10:53 am

    @Suzanne: The whole “Establishment” thing is such bullshit and sophomoric.  And yes, it’s always disproportionately applied to Dems, especially Women and Black candidates.  Government is a sprawling, complicated system.  I WANT candidates who have experience and knowledge of how it works.  Biden is a perfect example.  His experience is paying off, for all of us, big time as he expertly manages things in tricky and difficult times.  His handling of Covid, Ukraine, Inflation, Judges etc., all with only a narrow Dem margin in the Senate has been masterful.

  118. 118.

    lowtechcyclist

    August 21, 2023 at 10:54 am

    @Baud:

    I wish he would already. Talk about a win-win.

    Indeed! I’ve been saying for years what a great thing it would be, if everyone who believes in the Rapture got Raptured.  I wouldn’t give a damn where Jesus takes them or does with them, so long as Jesus got them the fuck out of our way.

  119. 119.

    UncleEbeneezer

    August 21, 2023 at 10:58 am

    @sdhays: Parents Matter is just the new Parents Rights, a reverse-speak sentiment that goes back to the freakout of white parents in reaction to Brown V. Board of Education, bussing (as well as Evolution, Sex Ed) etc.  It always reminds me of this.

  120. 120.

    Jeffro

    August 21, 2023 at 10:59 am

    @lowtechcyclist: I wouldn’t give a damn where Jesus takes them or does with them, so long as Jesus got them the fuck out of our way.

    I’d say we were separated at birth…but y’all have already heard the horror stories about my fam…so I’m just going to (ironically enough) go with “AMEN!”

  121. 121.

    Ken

    August 21, 2023 at 11:00 am

    @Roger Moore: The more AI talks, the more it’s responding to its own talk

    So we have created something that’s indistinguishable from a human!

  122. 122.

    Sure Lurkalot

    August 21, 2023 at 11:03 am

    @Soprano2: Good luck with the appointment and I hope you get the guidance you need. It appears from the comments that many juicers have been through this with their loved ones and this community will be there for you.

  123. 123.

    lowtechcyclist

    August 21, 2023 at 11:03 am

    @Suzanne:

    (“Integralist” is their nice way of saying “combining church and state”.)

    I guess they all feel their church will be the one to run the government once they’re combined.

  124. 124.

    Suzanne

    August 21, 2023 at 11:09 am

    @UncleEbeneezer: Agreed. Experience and competence and knowing how to push on the levers of power are just as critical to achieving goals as alignment on political position.

  125. 125.

    Suzanne

    August 21, 2023 at 11:10 am

    @lowtechcyclist: Integralism is largely a Catholic thing. So the leader will be the Pope. Not this one, tho, of course. LAWL.

  126. 126.

    tam1MI

    August 21, 2023 at 11:10 am

    @Baud: I wouldn’t be surprised if over half the Dem field in 2028 will be women, and many of them definitely will be leading contenders.

    I don’t think we’ll see a serious female contender for the damn nomination for presidents again in our lifetime. We are just two snake bit over what happened to Hillary in 2016. Something I will never ever forgive Bernie Sanders for.

  127. 127.

    RevRick

    August 21, 2023 at 11:11 am

    @jonas: Oh, yes, this just screams open the doors to immigration. But GOP bigotry won’t let that happen.

  128. 128.

    Ken

    August 21, 2023 at 11:12 am

    @lowtechcyclist: Most flavors of Rapture theology hold that there will be a period after it, of as much as a thousand years, where those left behind will undergo great suffering. (Usually this is described with a certain amount of gloating.)

    I’m imagining the rapturees coming back after a thousand years to find a pristine Earth restored to ecological health, empty of human presence but for a big sign, “Thanks for getting out of the way — we colonized the galaxy.”

  129. 129.

    rikyrah

    August 21, 2023 at 11:12 am

    @Suzanne:

    I saw it posited by some pundit — cannot remember who or where — that the first woman president would be a Republican. The logic was that liberal or Democratic women are invariably seen as radicals and that’s too hard for Americans to cope with

     

    A woman OK with stripping other women of Body autonomy..

    And, every advancement this country has made since Brown v Board?

    Yeah, ok…they can go for it.

  130. 130.

    Soprano2

    August 21, 2023 at 11:13 am

    @Yarrow: This doctor, who is a gerentologist, looked at his meds and said they were fine and he should continue them. I did research that a little bit, but didn’t find anything obvious, plus his pharmacists are good so I’d think they would say something. As for UTI, no obvious symptoms and nothing from him about pain or burning, but I know some illnesses can cause this. I’ve wondered if part of it could be a lingering symptom of Covid. The MRI scan indicated a past stroke we knew nothing about; I’ll be interested to see what he says about that. His father had strokes, so it’s not a surprise.

  131. 131.

    Sure Lurkalot

    August 21, 2023 at 11:14 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    Apparently that ratfuck outfit has vowed to run a third party candidacy — maybe with Hogan or a similar squish at the top of the ticket — if Trump and Biden are the nominees again.

    Something something whispers in my ear that this is just as much or even more about Kamala Harris.

    On the main topic of the Bidens’ trip to Maui, I hope the people of Maui feel the kindness and compassion the Bidens have for their fellow human beings. I’m sure the press will be their awful lying selves and I hope their inevitable attempt to both sides this comes of as ludicrous as it is.

  132. 132.

    Omnes Omnibus

    August 21, 2023 at 11:16 am

    @tam1MI: Harris and Whitmer.  Both should be serious contenders of they choose to run.

  133. 133.

    rikyrah

    August 21, 2023 at 11:17 am

    2RawTooReal (@2RawTooReal) posted at 6:52 AM on Mon, Aug 21, 2023:
    How do you expect Cornell west to pay off your student loan debt when he wouldn’t even pay child support? But it’s OK cuz President Biden gotcha covered. https://t.co/ZeZ04QjRC7
    (https://twitter.com/2RawTooReal/status/1693591980566061456?t=l8QGjAia9e3o0tAusEwTcA&s=03)

  134. 134.

    rikyrah

    August 21, 2023 at 11:20 am

    They are just ghoulish people.

    Kenny BooYah! 🖖🏾 (@KwikWarren) posted at 6:24 AM on Mon, Aug 21, 2023:
    Republicans desperately want Joe Biden to disown his own got damn son…so they can attack him for disowning his own got damn son.
    (https://twitter.com/KwikWarren/status/1693584738974335218?t=64xBI_X2LO7jPtgs112h1Q&s=03)

  135. 135.

    rikyrah

    August 21, 2023 at 11:22 am

    Hope  (@HopeisaBison) posted at 8:40 PM on Sun, Aug 20, 2023:
    Y’all see our VP hitting her stride now?

    Welllll… she actually hit it the day she took office and started turning her plans on public health equity, maternal health, small businesses, environmental justice, universal broadband, cybersecurity, and more into #BidenHarris policy. https://t.co/RSUaDz8CZe
    (https://twitter.com/HopeisaBison/status/1693437940423131373?t=2jnR2HNIFLc-ztV8DjBYPA&s=03)

  136. 136.

    Suzanne

    August 21, 2023 at 11:28 am

    This is worth reading, in a spirit of knowing your enemy:
    What Is Integralism? The Catholic movement that wants to use government power in the name of public morality.

    Traditional conservatism, says Vermeule, is content to act “defensively” within the procedural rules of the liberal order. By contrast, common good constitutionalism represents an “illiberal legalism” openly willing to “legislate morality.” Forget about limited government and judicial restraint. Instead, use strong government to bring about a new religious and moral order. In a theological flourish, Vermeule suggests that “The vast bureaucracy created by liberalism … may, by the invisible hand of Providence,” be turned to new ends.

    Still, the reintegration of Church and State seems like a dream without a strategy to make it real. Not so, Vermeule insists. Neo-integralists do not need anything close to a majority. Purposeful and determined integralists must come to occupy “strategic positions within the shell of the liberal order.” Their goal must be to seize the commanding heights of the administrative state. Once there, they can work with an equally purposeful and determined chief executive to bring about outcomes that majorities would not have endorsed at the ballot box.

  137. 137.

    Mel

    August 21, 2023 at 11:49 am

    @Suzanne: This.
    So many of them were also the same misogynistic monsters tormenting Chelsea Clinton for simply being a kid who looked like a typical, normal kid (braces, the usual awkward middle-school phase stuff).

    It does my heart good to see photos and interviews of Hilary and Chelsea together: two brilliant, accomplished, successful, compassionate women (who also happen to be gorgeous and stylish), with such a strong mother-daughter bond.

    Hilary talks about her own mother with such love and deep admiration. Great parenting in action, generationally!

  138. 138.

    rikyrah

    August 21, 2023 at 12:27 pm

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    @sdhays: Parents Matter

     

    WHITE Parents Matter.

    Those others..notsomuch

  139. 139.

    Tenar Arha

    August 21, 2023 at 12:44 pm

    @rikyrah: Head nodding yep, yep, yep. That’s of course their tell: all the parents who do want their kids to read widely and deeply, to have access to any of the books or historical information these people want to ban are told point blank their opinions don’t matter. Not if, gd forbid, one of their precious babies might be ‘uncomfortable’ or even learn to see anyone else’s POV.

  140. 140.

    karen marie

    August 21, 2023 at 6:00 pm

    @Baud: BUT HE WAS SKEEREED!

    Poor baby can’t find a safe space.

    Astonishing really that these guys can’t hear themselves.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - BarcaChicago  - Off the Gunflint Trail/Boundary Waters 8
Image by BarcaChicago (7/11/25)

World Central Kitchen

Donate

Recent Comments

  • The Audacity of Krope on Friday Afternoon Distraction Open Thread: Get the Passport Stamped with All the Right Signals… (Jul 11, 2025 @ 8:14pm)
  • satby on Fox News Friday Open Thread (Jul 11, 2025 @ 8:11pm)
  • Eyeroller on Fox News Friday Open Thread (Jul 11, 2025 @ 8:09pm)
  • Jackie on Fox News Friday Open Thread (Jul 11, 2025 @ 8:09pm)
  • The Audacity of Krope on Fox News Friday Open Thread (Jul 11, 2025 @ 8:08pm)

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
No Kings Protests June 14 2025

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

Feeling Defeated?  If We Give Up, It's Game Over

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!