Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

They don’t have outfits that big. nor codpieces that small.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

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

He really is that stupid.

The willow is too close to the house.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

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

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

When I was faster i was always behind.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

This blog will pay for itself.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

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Wednesday Morning Open Thread

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195Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    Gurner Group founder Tim Gurner tells the Financial Review Property Summit workers have become “arrogant” since COVID and “We’ve got to kill that attitude.”

    I appreciate the honesty. And I know which party Mr. Gurner will be supporting to achieve that end.

    What will workers do?

  5. 5.

    Baud

    The Today Show report on the impeachment inquiry wasn’t what we’d like to see, but it wasn’t bad.  They even showed the Fetterman clip.

    Apparently, even Tuberville acknowledged that this was going nowhere in the Senate.

  7. 7.

    Baud

    As a reminder, the Trump tax cuts start to expire in the next presidential term. That was necessary to comply with reconciliation rules.  If people really want to stick it to the rich, they need to come out and vote blue.

  10. 10.

    twbrandt

    Gurner Group founder Tim Gurner tells the Financial Review Property Summit workers have become “arrogant” since COVID and “We’ve got to kill that attitude.”

    Damn peasants need to learn to grovel again.

  14. 14.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Fuck Gurner with a rusty farm implement.

    eta: or better yet make him work the back of a McDonald’s for the rest of his miserable life.

  23. 23.

    Feathers

    I think it’s time to talk about the minimum wage. If the minimum wage were a living wage, we wouldn’t be having to subsidize shitty employers through all these social spending programs.

    Companies that can’t pay a living wage don’t have a viable business model and need to close to make way for those that do.

  24. 24.

    Baud

    @Feathers:

    Well, Sinema will be gone in 2025, but we still have Senate Republicans to deal with.  Many blue states have already raised the minimum wage, so it’s more of a red state problem.

  25. 25.

    Scout211

    I live in a red county and all my neighbors are nice neighbors, but definitely not Democrats.  I helped one of my neighbors navigate through her Medicare enrollment process (they are not very online) and got her set up with a navigator to help her choose a part D that covered her Xarelto.  They were very appreciative.

    A few days ago I saw her husband while we were on our walk.  I told him the good news about Xarelto being on the first group of drugs requiring price negotiation in the Inflation Reduction Act Biden signed into law.  Oh my!  That put the poor man in an obvious state of conflict.  The fact that Biden and the Democrats passed a law that they personally would benefit from was obviously quite painful for him to accept.  LOL

    Hey, it was just a friendly neighborly chat.  I do my part.  😊

  28. 28.

    AM in NC

    Two comments:

    1. I hope Tim Gurner gets everything he deserves for his disgusting comments, and is publicly harassed wherever he goes, especially by restaurant workers at the nice places you know he believes it’s his due to patronize (and I DO mean patronize).
    2. As a former business owner who employed 50 people, I 100-% know that Lincoln was right: “Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. “

    Want to call me a “job-creator”?  Fine, whatever, but then you should be required to call all employees “profit producers”.  Without labor there is ZERO profit.    These douche-bros have completely lost the plot.

  30. 30.

    OverTwistWillie

    The GOP doesn’t care about Trump. They are just desperate for the goobers to turnout and vote R down ballot.

    That Reagan coalition is broken, but they’re gonna keep flogging it, because change is hard, and Kevin McCarthy is dumb and spineless in equal measure.

  31. 31.

    Geminid

    @Tony G: Boebert makes Greene look like Margaret Thatcher. She really is deficient as a politician. I expect that Greene will make it into the next Congress, but I have my doubts about Boebert even tbough the Colorado 3rd CD should be a safe seat. Now that she nearly lost it, an ambitious Republican may take her out in the primary.

  32. 32.

    Brachiator

    @Baud:

    As a reminder, the Trump tax cuts start to expire in the next presidential term.

    Not quite. Many corporate tax breaks were made permanent.

    When 2025 draws to a close, so will many of the sweeping Trump-era GOP tax breaks established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017. While the legislation made some tax cuts to corporate profit permanent, lowered individual tax rates will expire on Dec. 31, 2025, and will revert to pre-TCJA levels.

    The Republicans will argue for spending reductions to deal with any deficit that Trump created with his tax cuts. The Democrats will have to fight to protect lower income workers and to deal with corporate tax breaks.

  33. 33.

    Kay

    We’re gearing up locally for the womens rights referendum in Ohio. It is not at all a given it passes, IMO, just reality – this is a red state. Some of the county Democratic orgs are buying pre-printed post cards to send to voters – a recognition that postcards are pretty effective, I think. My county is not buying them, we’re putting that money towards (the dreaded) yard signs. I wish I could talk people out of loving yard signs but I cannot so we’re giving the people what they want.

  34. 34.

    OverTwistWillie

    @Baud:

    It is killing the free media ecosystem that has grown up around the NFL, but I guess Goodell and Co. are too greedy and short sighted to consider it.

    Don’t worry, we can sell it to the Saudis when it all goes pear shaped…

  35. 35.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    @AM in NC: I have put that Lincoln quotation up in places like Twitter and elsewhere online, and the results are always interesting.
    But it’s true, every word.

  37. 37.

    p.a.

    If Hunter/Joe Biden were smart enough to have committed their “crimes” in locker rooms, showers, bathrooms, they’re safe from impeachment while Gym Jordan is on the job.

  40. 40.

    Kay

    Columbia University — where Robert Hadden spent his entire medical career — has never fully accounted for its role in allowing a predator to operate unchecked for decades. To date, more than 245 patients have alleged that Hadden abused them, which by itself could make him one of the most prolific sexual assailants in New York history. But the total number of victims may be far higher. On any given day during his two decades of practice at Columbia, Hadden saw 25 to 40 patients. Tens of thousands came under his care. A baby girl he delivered grew up to be a teenager he allegedly assaulted.
    Hadden, 65, was sentenced in July to 20 years in federal prison — the result of a long, arduous process that Columbia often undermined. One of the country’s most acclaimed private universities was deeply involved in containing, deflecting and distancing itself from the scandal at every step.

    I think I’m hard to shock but this story is shocking. It wasn’t just Columbia that covered it up – the NYC DA’s office made a plea deal that was just outrageously lenient, so much so that Hadden only went to prison after FEDERAL prosecutors stepped in.
    NYC has a real problem with protecting powerful people from consequences. Epstein, Trump and now this creep. There should be a federal investigation into their prosecutors office to see if this systemic, decades long corruption has been remedied.

  41. 41.

    Soprano2

    @Baud: Some people think there will never be an actual impeachment, just a constant investigation. I think there are even odds on that.

  44. 44.

    Brachiator

    Our expanded Child Tax Credit helped cut child poverty by nearly half, but Congressional Republicans allowed it to expire.

    Also, there weren’t 50 senators willing to support its extension. And the main holdout was Sen. Joe Manchin.

  45. 45.

    Soprano2

    @AM in NC: It’s even more basic than that – the customers are the actual job creators, because without customers there would be no jobs!

    ETA – trust me, the people who work at the restaurants that Gurner guy frequents already know what kind of prick he is, and probably secretly treat him accordingly. It all depends on how well he tips.

  46. 46.

    Betty Cracker

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: TaMara posted about it in the wee hours and included embedded video. There was no sound but Boebert looked drunk. Also, her date carried her handbag on the whole ejection march out of the venue and into the street!

    I was impressed by the handbag thing because, on the perhaps two occasions in 26 years I’ve asked my hubby to hold my handbag for like one second, he looked as if I’d asked him to put on a tutu and go perform Dance of the Cygnets from Swan Lake in the front yard.

  49. 49.

    artem1s

    @different-church-lady: ​ 

    If he thinks workers are too arrogant he can just not hire any.

    Of course he can’t imagine the reason his current employees are so ‘unproductive’ is that he has to hire low quality because high quality workers have options that don’t include having to work for an asshole. And if any quality people still left at his crappy company he’s not going to have to wait long for them for them to leave after they see this. They will be out of there as fast as they can. There are plenty of sycophants in the world, they just are very good at doing much of anything else except sucking up.

  50. 50.

    JWR

    Acyn
    @Acyn 13h
    Jeffries: When Donald Trump says jump, extreme MAGA Republicans say how high…
    Sep 12, 2023

    Just last night I was trying to remember the anchorman who, shortly after 9/11, said something similar about Shrub on live TV. I think was Dan Rather doing the high jump. Ah, good times. :(

  51. 51.

    BlueGuitarist

    @NotMax:

     

    lyric in The Curly Shuffle song/video posted above at 12

    Well me and my friends we all love to seeComedy classics on late night TV

  52. 52.

    Brachiator

    @Baud:

    Some are not permanent though.

    Here’s what is set to expire. None of these are corporate tax breaks. Some affect high income individuals.

    Along with large, permanent tax cuts to corporate profits, the TCJA lowered individual tax rates by restructuring the tax brackets, almost doubled the standard deduction from $13,000 to $24,000, decoupled the income threshold for capital gains taxes from ordinary income tax brackets to benefit higher-income taxpayers and effectively doubled the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption (from $5.6 million to $11.2 million). All these “non-permanent” changes, however, are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025 — at which point they will revert to pre-TCJA levels.

  57. 57.

    catclub

    @Brachiator: ​
     

    And the main holdout was Sen. Joe Manchin.

    No, Not a single GOP senator could be bothered to vote for it, and also 1 Democratic Senator, Joe Manchin.

  58. 58.

    cain

    @Scout211: Definitely keep doing it – we know our failed media isn’t going to or the news sources that they listen to. They’ll be back tomorrow with Fox talking points! :D

  59. 59.

    tobie

    US inflation rose to 3.7% in August. The two biggest drivers are gas and food prices. Take those two out and inflation fell but that’s small comfort to consumers who are feeling it at the pump and in the supermarket. Saudi Arabia is cutting fuel production to drive up prices to help Republicans in the election. Oh my, the forces we are going to have to fight.in the next election are formidable.

  60. 60.

    CliosFanBoy

    @Betty Cracker:

      She’s drunk as hell. He figures if he’s nice, he’d get laid.

    I don’t mind (too much) holding my wife’s purse. It’s like when we were younger, and I picked up “feminine hygiene products” for her at the store. As far as I was concerned, I was waving a big red flag to single guys, “I GOT A WOMAN! Why don’t you? Loser!”

    But, I’m never sure exactly HOW to hold the purse. Do I hold it by the straps like a grocery bag? Do I tuck it under my arm? And what the hell does she have in here anyway, bricks?

  61. 61.

    cain

    @Geminid: I suspect that is exactly what’s going to happen. The money train though is going to come to a abrupt halt and everyone will be let out. Her husband is going to lose that cushy job of his as well.

  62. 62.

    Soprano2

    @tobie: Geez, gas here went from $3.17 to $3.89 in three days due to some kind of refinery problem in the area that serves the Midwest states.

  63. 63.

    Tony Jay

    OT but blackly hilarious.

    Today’s FTF Guardian features a front-page article about a recently published report into how much of a complete and utter fuck-up the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of Antisemitism has been, just as everyone who wasn’t a lobbyist for the Israeli Far-Right warned it would be, since many of the UK’s Universities were pressurised into adopting it by Tory Government threats to their funding.

    Even the guy who wrote it argued that the definition’s terms were so vague that it was open to abuse by partisan ratfuckers who just wanted to stamp out any discussion of Israel’s human right’s violations, and so it has proven, with not one of the 40 cases brought against bodies or individuals over the last two years for violating the IHRA definition turning out to have any validity.

    What’s ‘funny’ about it is that the FTFGuardian fails (utterly unsurprisingly) to mention anywhere in its article that the FTFGuardian itself ran a sustained front-page campaign throughout the whole of 2018 insisting that the UK Labour Party simply HAD to adopt the IHRA definition into its Party rules, smearing anyone who had a problem with the IHRA definition as either an antisemite or a fellow-traveller with antisemites, and deliberately blacking-out out the opinions of the wide range of academics, legal experts and prominent FOS advocates who opposed the adoption of the IHRA definition in favour of giving acres of space to anyone, be they right-wing Labour MPs, paid mouthpieces for pro-Israeli bodies, or big-mouthed Twitter-troll ‘celebrities’, who was willing to equate discomfort with the IHRA definition’s well-known failings with anti-Jewish extremism.

    Just don’t mention it. Like it didn’t happen. Down the memory hole it goes. After all, it served its purpose.

    Wankers.

  65. 65.

    cain

    @Frankensteinbeck: I’m wondering if Fox will mistakenly put a (D) after Trump’s name – an age old trick they’ve done in the past to others. I’m not sure if that is going to pan out this time – surely his supporters aren’t going to turn and say ‘well he’s always been a democrat!”

  68. 68.

    CliosFanBoy

    @CliosFanBoy: (Rummages through purse). How many old Kleenix are in here anyway? How old is this gum? Ohhh, here’s my extra set of car keys. There’s the missing screwdriver from my set. Ah, tickets for the Reds/Nats game we saw in July. Oh, jackpot! A peanut from that game (crunch, crunch, crunch). Why are there a bunch of pennies in here? I haven’t seen her use cash since before the pandemic…

  69. 69.

    Yarrow

    Holy cow, that Tim Gurner clip is kind of amazing. They’re usually better at not saying the quiet part out loud to quite that extent.

  74. 74.

    Tim Ellis

    1. I had no idea who Jeffries was before he became speaker but he’s been impressing me nonstop since. He’s spot-on; the “moderate” Republicans make their noises but they all bend the knee at the end of the day.
  75. 75.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Tony G:

    The competition between Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene for “craziest female House member” continues. Place your bet through Draft Kings! 

    If you’re in Chicago, you can go down to Wrigley Field and the shithouse that block has become.

    Oh, and, I’m surprised they haven’t renamed the Addison red line stop to DraftKings.

    The Ricketts are whores.

  77. 77.

    Jeffro

    Guys…guyyyyyyyys…Very Serious Pundit Person David Ignatius must not have anything burning up the wires from his CIA contacts this week, so he of course had to weigh in on the 2024 presidential race and the most important thing he could think of was…oh you know it…tell President Biden to bow out.

    These people, I swear…

    Biden has had a remarkable string of wins. He defeated President Donald Trump in the 2020 election; he led a Democratic rebuff of Trump’s acolytes in the 2022 midterms; his Justice Department has systematically prosecuted the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection that Trump championed and, now, through special counsel Jack Smith, the department is bringing Trump himself to justice.

    What I admire most about President Biden is that in a polarized nation, he has governed from the center out, as he promised in his victory speech. With an unexpectedly steady hand, he passed some of the most important domestic legislation in recent decades. In foreign policy, he managed the delicate balance of helping Ukraine fight Russia without getting America itself into a war. In sum, he has been a successful and effective president.

    BUT
    -there’s a possibility Biden might not beat trump (so let’s focus on that, rather than trump’s many crimes and/or the need to get rid of the Electoral College and/or deal with the damage Citizens United is doing, etc etc)
    AND
    -did y’all know that VP Harris is not universally beloved?

    Biden would carry two big liabilities into a 2024 campaign. He would be 82 when he began a second term. According to a recent Associated Press-NORC poll, 77 percent of the public, including 69 percent of Democrats, think he’s too old to be effective for four more years. Biden’s age isn’t just a Fox News trope; it’s been the subject of dinner-table conversations across America this summer.
    Because of their concerns about Biden’s age, voters would sensibly focus on his presumptive running mate, Harris. She is less popular than Biden, with a 39.5 percent approval rating, according to polling website FiveThirtyEight. Harris has many laudable qualities, but the simple fact is that she has failed to gain traction in the country or even within her own party.

    So to recap: this highly successful President should step aside just because he’s older, his VP has ‘failed to gain traction’ with the public at large (just like all VPs do at this stage of the cycle), and I, David Ignatius, would rather fret and whine about all of this than spend my valuable column space asking the GOP when, if ever, it is going to have some standards.  Or noting that trump is a mere three years younger than President Biden – and completely deranged to boot.

  79. 79.

    SiubhanDuinne

    O/T, but haven’t seen it mentioned in the comments: They apparently caught that escaped murderer in PA. He’s now in custody. Good.

    ***
    I see Betty Cracker mentioned it at #72 above. Sorry I missed the comment on my first scrolling.

  80. 80.

    cain

    @Betty Cracker: haha – I volunteer to take my wive’s handbag. For me it’s no different than any other bag. The problem is that I tend to play with it which means I start twirling it around and spinning it. Sometimes I’ll hoist it on my shoulder – my wife stops me though if I start trying showing it off by modeling. :-) I’m not particularly worried about looking effeminate.

  81. 81.

    Jeffro

    Btw it looks like the White House (along with Jeffries, etc) have decided to start ‘working the refs’ in the media and hammering it home that the House Freedumb Caucus has absolutely no merit in its impeachment inquiry

    (Frankly, just a quick political cartoon showing trump pulling McCarthy’s strings would have the same effect, but whatever.  I’m glad they’re fighting back!)

  82. 82.

    Soprano2

    @Betty Cracker: I’m sure all the people in that area are breathing a huge sigh of relief. I wouldn’t blame them for sleeping with a weapon near their bed as long as that guy was at large.

  83. 83.

    wjca

    @cain: I’m wondering if Fox will mistakenly put a (D) after Trump’s name – an age old trick they’ve done in the past to others.

    No doubt they will be shocked if some of their low-information voter audience turn out to be cultists.  To the point of following their god-king in this, too — meaning they then vote D all the way down the ballot.

  84. 84.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @cain: My wife gives me dirty looks whenever we grocery shop together. “Stop dancing with the cart!” I just can’t help myself.

  86. 86.

    Betty Cracker

    @Soprano2: Did you read/see the story about when he broke into a house where the family was asleep upstairs? Scary stuff! The dad “armed” himself with a picture frame and flipped the lights on and off as a signal he was awake and aware of the escapee’s presence. The escapee flipped the lights downstairs on and off as a signal that he got the message, then skedaddled. Whew!

  87. 87.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @lowtechcyclist:

    “Where’s my serfs?” – Tim Gurner

    Exactly my thought when I read this yesterday. If only we could send him back to the Middle Ages…I’d pick mid 14th century.

  88. 88.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Soprano2: A few years back we had an escapee running around the hills and hollers around our place. I saw more cops in those 4 days than I had in all the years before and after. I also went out to start my wife’s car every morning. One of the very few times I felt the need to carry.

  89. 89.

    Suzanne

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    eta: or better yet make him work the back of a McDonald’s for the rest of his miserable life. 

    No, make him work up front, where he can deal with verbal abuse and threats of violence.

  90. 90.

    Yarrow

    @Betty Cracker:  Everyone in that area has to be really relieved. That video of him crabwalking up the wall was crazy. And the guard in the tower idly scrolling his phone when they guy escaped. It’s like something out of a comedy movie with inept prison guards.

  93. 93.

    Trivia Man

    Grandma Bobo was heard to say “I’m on the Board!!!” but also “I didn’t know photos weren’t allowed”. Some “patron of the arts” she is

  95. 95.

    Yarrow

    @Suzanne:  Will also accept him working the night shift at a gas station, on a hospital cleaning crew, roofing in the south in the summer, or cable/internet customer service.

  96. 96.

    Suzanne

    @OzarkHillbilly: The fryers are generally pretty close to the front, and that’s the grossest part. I usually worked the drive-thru or the front counter, and “dropping fries” was part of those stations.

  99. 99.

    Trivia Man

    @OzarkHillbilly: I like to ride the cart in the parking lot. Costco has the sturdiest carts for speed! I had to stop riding at Festival after I discovered my weight could break the weak plastic where I stand.

  102. 102.

    Geminid

    @CliosFanBoy: I don’t know about the GED history, I just remember reading that she passed her GED exam in the months before the 2020 election.

    Boebert parleyed notoriety from her resistance to Covid rules into a primary challenge to the veteran Republican incumbent. He may have taken her too lightly. At least, when she beat him by 7 points, he had a couple hundred thousand dollars in his campaign treasury that he evidently was saving for the general election. Boebert had some obvious personal issues he could have attacked her on, but maybe he thought he could get by without angering her supporters.

    Boebert went on to carry the Colorado 3rd CD by 6 points that year, same as Trump. But even though redistricting was thought to have added Republican voters to the 3rd, she won by less than a thousand votes last year. That must have rung alarm bells among Republicans in Colorado and natioonwide, and it seems likely they will try to get a better nominee if they can.

  103. 103.

    Ken

    @Sure Lurkalot: I think I saw that on Futurama once.  Does the time machine malfunction and only send him back to 19th century Britain, where he is arrested and deported to Australia, where he founds the Gurner line and becomes his own great-great-grandfather?

  104. 104.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Suzanne: I was a fry cook back in my misspent youth. Getting spattered with hot grease was a daily occurrence but that was nothing compared to the wonderful aroma I left with after work. A shower never felt so good.

  105. 105.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jeffro: I was kind of surprised Ignatius went there. He said (paraphrasing!) people falsely assume changing horsemen mid-apocalypse would weaken Democrats going into a critical election but then fails to make a convincing case on why they’re wrong.

  106. 106.

    Suzanne

    @eclare: Yeah, I remember. The way the McD’s that I worked at did it, the grill people did the burgers, including the fried chicken and fish parties. They also usually did the McNuggets. The serving staff (counter and drive-thru) were responsible for the French fries and the drinks, milkshakes, ice cream, etc. I worked there in pre-McFlurry days.

  107. 107.

    cain

    @CliosFanBoy: I’d go a step further – I know the importance of having feminine hygiene projects. Periods can happen at any time – so even if you’re a single – it’s probably good to have some of those products at home in case your female friends show up. Keep it in the bathroom.

  109. 109.

    matt

    My company has some sympathy with Gurner – the dumb top management folks recently demanded that everyone companywide attend their 8 am all hands meetings in office, even in remote offices like mine (so they can see all the happy, collaborating employees crowded together – makes them feel good).

  111. 111.

    Ken

    @Suzanne: They also usually did the McNuggets.

    Out of morbid curiosity, how are McNuggets done?

    I had the impression a fryer was involved, but you said the grill staff does them. For that matter I thought the crispy chicken and fish filets also went in a fryer.

  113. 113.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: David Ignatius is a decent diplomatic and national security correspondent, with some good sources. But it seems like every-f*cking-body wants to be a political pundit these days, regardless of aptitude.

    I think Ignatius would do better to stick to his day job. If he wants to pontificate on electoral politics, he can always make up a cute name and join a political blog.

  114. 114.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @cain: Yeah I don’t see any big deal about carrying even my wife’s most girly handbags unless it’s for hours, then I’d rather just use a back-pack so I don’t have to carry anything.

  115. 115.

    Jeffro

    @Betty Cracker: I like how he’s terrified (and rightly so) of another trump presidency, aka the last American presidency, and his solution is…to bang on the Democrats.

    Not to focus on the complete inability of the GOP to rid themselves of this grotesque buffoon.

    Not to focus on the issues and where each party stands.

    Not to focus on the stakes for the country.

    But to lazily go for the ‘Biden is Old!’ crap.

    ugh to the ugh power

  116. 116.

    SFAW

    @Suzanne: ​

    No, make him work up front, where he can deal with verbal abuse and threats of violence.

    I must be weird: when I saw this line, my “mind” immediately heard Peter Dinklage’s voice saying “Bronn, the next time Ser Meryn Tim speaks …”

  117. 117.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Shorter Ignatius: Tom Brady might NOT lead a touch-down drive so instead we should let some other QB play the final possession.  PS- I am not a crank…

  118. 118.

    zhena gogolia

    @Jeffro: I threw my NYT across the room last night, for the third time this week. Headline about Biden’s G20: “Big trip for 80-year-old President.”

  119. 119.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid: OT but here’s a piece right along what you have been noting all year: Virginia is turning into a haven for abortion-seeking women from all across the south.

    All the more reason Dems must win in VA this November

    What’s happening: Border-hopping patients are highly motivated to travel to get care in the face of state bans, the abortion-rights research group said.

     

    Zoom in: Virginia is the only southern state that hasn’t banned or restricted abortion since the fall of Roe.

    • The institute estimated the number of abortions increased 60% here in the first half of the year.

    Why it matters: Anti-abortion politicians across the country are increasing efforts to hinder travel for out-of-state abortions and pushing for a national ban.

    • The prospect of a national ban became a major topic and divided candidates at the first GOP presidential debate despite evidence that it’s a losing position with voters.

    Here’s hoping Dems nationwide lean into pointing out the ‘travel ban’ insanity as a logical extension for GOP politicians favoring state-by-state restrictions

  120. 120.

    Suzanne

    @Ken: The McNuggets and the Filet-o-Fish and whatever they call the chicken sandwiches now are fried, yes. The grill staff operated the grills, the bun toasters, and one set of the fryers, and they assembled the various sandwiches, The frontline staff are drive-thru and counter, and they do the drinks, assemble and pack the orders, but also operated the second set of fryers.

  122. 122.

    eversor

    @Jeffro:

    Honestly I think Harris is a dead fish in this and shouldn’t be brought up.  We generally don’t elect a VP after a double presidential term.  Hence warm bucket of piss job.  We have plenty of great options out that far so Harris electability (and I don’t think she can win a general) is a none fucking issue.  If I had to gamble on it for my money Gretchen Whitmer is where it’s at.  Who knows how this will play out 2028 is going to be brutal.  But the issue is 2024.

    For 2024 we all know it’s going to be Biden vs Trump all over again sans someone having a heart attack.  And for all the old nonsense Biden is a pretty fit and active 80.  I’ve known plenty of them who kept going like rock stars till they just fucking dropped dead out of the blue.   Trump is a mentally ill almost 80 who’s a flabby sack of shit and eats like crap.

    The attacks on Bidens speech are also odd, and to me offensive.   I had a few TBIs during my life and I’ll off and on start sluring for maybe half an hour and get my words garbled.  It’s not fun.   Then people ask you if you are OK or drunk after and trying to explain what happened just sucks.  No, I’m fine, not intoxicated either.   I have a disability and I put that on my job application.  I am entirely coherent but at times this just fucking happens.  Biden does slur and stammer but he powers through it.   Which is how I do it.  I know enough about my disability to see it when I see and there is nothing wrong with him mentally.  At times your body just disconnects!  At first you feel bad and ashamed about it, but then you reach “fuck it!” level where you just power through it and wait for your nerves to reboot and then move on.

    Which is all to say I don’t think the old attack or Harris in 2028 attack will work.  A guy who fucks up his speech yet is an avid bike rider is not suffering from issues.   Harris is super qualified but is going to face a rough primary from very good other options.  These aren’t issues.  This huffing your own farts.

  123. 123.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Jeffro: A lot of people just can’t handle the fact that it’s going to be a close election (from Electoral College perspective).  It shouldn’t be, and we all agree.  But it is what it is.  This is the country/voters we have etc.  Ignatius, like so many others, is scared (for good reason) and grasping for One Weird Trick that will somehow save us from MAGA/Trumpism.  They just can’t accept the truth that there is no OWT to get us out of this.  And there is NO EVIDENCE that Bernie Sanders or Liz Warren or Pete Buttigieg or whoever would do any better against Trump.  NONE.  Biden is the only one who has actually done it.

  124. 124.

    Jeffro

    @UncleEbeneezer: and the crazy thing is, he acknowledges right. up. front. that President Biden already beat trump last time!

    “So, Joe…don’t spoil that stunning victory by, um, going for another victory.”

    The eyes, they cannot roll fast enough here.

  129. 129.

    LiminalOwl

    @Betty Cracker:

    @eclare: You will, I hope, be impressed to know that my spouse has offered to carry my handbag, almost every time we go out, for years.   And since my diagnosis of major shoulder issues last month, he has insisted on doing so!

  130. 130.

    Jeffg166

    @Scout211: I inform my 88 year old neighbor about what Biden is doing for him. It’s always a surprise to him it is happening living in his rightwing bubble.

  131. 131.

    FelonyGovt

    Excellent column by Michael Hiltzik in this morning’s LA Times lamenting the fatuous media “both sides” coverage and the ridiculous harping on Biden’s (but not Trump’s) age.

  133. 133.

    Betty Cracker

    @matt:

    the ‘incumbency isn’t real’ argument. every bit as valid as ‘birds aren’t real’.

    Bingo. He’s not wrong that Biden’s age is a real issue for millions of voters — what data we have confirms this. He’s under no obligation to focus instead on how much Repubs suck; that’s a topic that deserves a shitload of focus, but it’s also legit to explore Biden’s deficits as a candidate too, IMO.

    The question is, can Ignatius make an argument that the age issue wipes out the incumbency advantage? He identifies this standard himself and then fails to meet it. So what’s the point of the column?

  136. 136.

    John S.

    @Scout211:

    My neighbors are a very nice elderly couple in their 80s. Unfortunately, their living room faces my side yard and when I am doing yard work, I can see they are watching Fox News all day long.

    I can’t compete with that.

  137. 137.

    Alison Rose

    Gurner Group founder Tim Gurner tells the Financial Review Property Summit workers have become “arrogant” since COVID and “We’ve got to kill that attitude.”

    I know something else we could kill, Timmy boy.

  138. 138.

    frosty

    @Betty Cracker: ​Thanks for the info BC, this is the first place I heard that he’d been caught*. I can open the doors for the breeze now (who am I kidding, I kept them open during the day anyway – he was on the wrong side of the Suskie.)

    * Full Service Blog indeed!​​​

  139. 139.

    LiminalOwl

    @Betty Cracker: Did you perchance see the interview ewith his mom? I rarely hold parents to account for the misdeeds of their grown children, but I’ll make an exception here.

    (failed attempt at blockquote follows)

    In the case of his ex-girlfriend, Mr. Cavalcante was convicted of stabbing her nearly 40 times in front of her children.

    “Did it happen? It happened,” Ms. Cavalcante said. “But it happened because of the stranglehold she put on him, the stance she took with him.”

    She added: “It wasn’t femicide. He had to, he had no other choice.”

  140. 140.

    Steeplejack

    @tobie:

    My brother, who immerses himself in the cable “business” channels, said some of the “reliable” commenters (his word) are starting to talk about a “soft recession” next year. Plus the Saudis seem intent on pushing gas prices over the $4.00 psychological barrier. Headwinds!

  142. 142.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Suzanne: Worked at McD’s for 3 months in the 70’s, about when the Egg McMuffin and quarter pounders were introduced.  Working the front counter, we had to add up the cost of the order BY HAND. The ability to do that quickly was part of the interview.

    The French fry station was separate from the counter and sort of a promotion. I think I got the smell off me by now.  The shake area was bad too as they were “real” with soda fountain stick spinners and there was a lot of drippage so that one smelled like a sick baby after the shift.

    Good times.

  144. 144.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Betty Cracker: He could also point out that the age issue is bullshit and there are numerous arguments we can all make to convince others of that.

    “Old Biden Still INFINITELY Better Than Trump (Or Any Republican) At ANY Age” would be a perfectly click-bait headline that also happens to be entirely true.  He could write that!  He could push others in his sphere to write that.  When are we gonna start seeing that narrative pushed relentlessly?

  145. 145.

    Jeffro

    @UncleEbeneezer:They just can’t accept the truth that there is no OWT to get us out of this.  And there is NO EVIDENCE that Bernie Sanders or Liz Warren or Pete Buttigieg or whoever would do any better against Trump.  NONE.  Biden is the only one who has actually done it.

    110% this.

    He did it, he’s had a successful presidency, and he has all the advantages of incumbency.  Oh, also the advantage of NOT being a complete fuck-up like trump (the one-term loooooooser) was.

    It’s amazing, though.  “We’re scared of trump, so we’re going to train our fire on…his opponent.”

    He can go back to writing about natsec issues any ol’ time…

  146. 146.

    Dangerman

    Gurner Group founder Tim Gurner tells the Financial Review Property Summit workers have become “arrogant” since COVID and “We’ve got to kill that attitude.”

    Ron White claims you can’t fix stupid; sure you can. It’s called a vasectomy. Get that ignorance out of the gene pool.

  147. 147.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Jeffro: It drives me nuts too.

    Rod, of TheBlackGuyWhoTips podcast had a proper response:

    “Biden should lose the most reliable democratic voting base for no real reason in an unprecedented fashion for no real reason.”

  148. 148.

    MisterDancer

    @Jeffro: He can go back to writing about natsec issues any ol’ time

    As someone who struggles to post here on anything like a regular basis, I kind of get the need to churn out work if it’s you’re paid job. But yeah, there’s too many “pundits” who are too willing — for whatever reason — to get out over their skis.

  149. 149.

    hueyplong

    It seems like if you’re going to start a wave of articles about how one of the two absolutely-going-to-be-nominated candidates should drop out, you’d focus on the narcissistic criminal who combined those less than stellar attributes with abject incompetence in office.

    This just doesn’t seem hard.

  151. 151.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Brachiator:

    Also, there weren’t 50 senators willing to support its extension. And the main Democratic holdout was Sen. Joe Manchin.

    FTFY. There were 50 GOP holdouts who shouldn’t escape calumny.

  152. 152.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Betty Cracker:

    I was impressed by the handbag thing because, on the perhaps two occasions in 26 years I’ve asked my hubby to hold my handbag for like one second, he looked as if I’d asked him to put on a tutu and go perform Dance of the Cygnets from Swan Lake in the front yard.

    Jeez. It’s not like it has cooties or anything.

    Not only have I carried her purse when needed, I’ve bought feminine hygiene products for my wife.  Seem to have survived the experience with my manhood intact. ;-)

    What impressed me was how the bodice (if that’s the right word) of her dress managed to stay on, with her boobs having all but popped out of it.

  153. 153.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: There are pundits who are committed to sabotaging Democrats, but I don’t count Ignatius among them. I think he’s just wrong and has written a poorly argued column.

  157. 157.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @hueyplong: Also, the reality is that Biden rides a damn bike EVERY DAY and is mentally sharp as a tack and as far as I know, has no major health issues.  This isn’t RBG in 2015 with cancer.  I have no reason to believe Biden won’t live to 84 and even if he doesn’t, there is a great, young VP Harris who I’m certain can do the job just as well.

  158. 158.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Sure Lurkalot:

    Exactly my thought when I read this yesterday. If only we could send him back to the Middle Ages…I’d pick mid 14th century.

    Just in time for the Black Death, I presume?

    No cites to offer, but I’ve read that the working people who survived that plague were also in a position to demand better compensation and working conditions, and did exactly that.

  159. 159.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Dangerman:

    Ron White claims you can’t fix stupid; sure you can. It’s called a vasectomy. Get that ignorance out of the gene pool.

    Guillotines work as well. Clowns like that one are oh-so lucky I’m not king.

  160. 160.

    cain

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    @cain: My wife gives me dirty looks whenever we grocery shop together. “Stop dancing with the cart!” I just can’t help myself.

    My wife always yells at me, “you’re all BOYS! Grow up!!”

  164. 164.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @lowtechcyclist: I just started helping coach a team of teenage girls and I’ve been meaning to buy a kit with feminine-hygiene products to keep in my tennis bag in case any of them ever has a sudden need (because I know from my wife and other women, that those things happen and can be really hard for girls/women).  There are several I can order from Amazon.  My biggest problem is figuring out how to let the girls know it’s there if they ever need it without making them super-uncomfortable.  I’ll probably just tell one of the girls I have the best rapport with and tell her to spread the word that it’s there if they ever need it.  They can just grab it discreetly and run off to the bathroom, no need to even ask etc.

    I bought an Aggretsuko backpack (based on a Japanese anime Red Panda character from a series we enjoy) that has a fluffy tail hanging off the back, for my wife.  Now I usually insist on being the one to carry it.  If we get a Barbie backpack, we’ll probably have to fight over it.

  165. 165.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jeffro:

    I like how he’s terrified (and rightly so) of another trump presidency, aka the last American presidency, and his solution is…to bang on the Democrats.

    Not to focus on the complete inability of the GOP to rid themselves of this grotesque buffoon.

    Only Democrats have agency.

  166. 166.

    cain

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Wasn’t that but the summer after I turned 18 – I worked at McDonald’s and goddam – I got so many burns and what not. I wanted to work the front line not the grill – I think I know why that didn’t happen even though I didn’t understand then!

    Also, some asshole smacked my hand with a filet fish because I got the special order wrong (he was a mcdonalds manager). That could have been assault (dude was studying to be a lawyer) I didn’t do anything but everyone came up to me and told me how angry they were it happened and that I should have slugged him.

  167. 167.

    Alison Rose

    @UncleEbeneezer: Definitely a good idea for teens, especially, because most of them are probably not on birth control yet, and without that, in the first few years of menstruation it can be very unpredictable. It might come on the same day three months in a row, then the next month it’s a week late or something, next month it starts after three weeks, etc. Thank you for doing that!

  172. 172.

    Mai Naem mobile >

    @OzarkHillbilly: Since Gurner is the ‘if millennials stopped eating avocado toast and lattes everyday they could afford to buy a house’ guy his penance  should be  working  at the busiest most understaffed Starbucks in the world forevah!

  174. 174.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Alison Rose: I mentioned it on FB page and all my friends who are AFAB were like “OMG, YES PLEASE!!”  It was pretty eye-opening and a big reminder of how easy it is for this stuff to get overlooked, especially by Cisgender Men.

  175. 175.

    cain

    @lowtechcyclist:

    What impressed me was how the bodice (if that’s the right word) of her dress managed to stay on, with her boobs having all but popped out of it.

    Surprised you are coherent enough to think – I sometimes revert to some low based person when I stare at my wife’s bodice. Luckily she doesn’t mind.

  177. 177.

    cain

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    Indeed – it’s also something we should teach our boys that young and mature women have this and it’s a kind act to keep that around.

    Also, the onset of periods can be even triggered by emotional trauma (or not have a period because of emotional trauma) so if you’re not regular – it’s unpredictable when it shows up again. So if you’re hosting a party or gathering make sure that stuff is around!

  178. 178.

    Jeffro

    @lowtechcyclist:Only Democrats have agency.

    Dang it, there I go forgetting again…

    LOL

    I see that some podcasting nimrod named Josh Barro (used to be an R, now nominally a D) is calling for Biden to replace Harris with Whitmer.  So they all clearly need more to do in PunditLand this week.  Ugh.

  180. 180.

    Alison Rose

    @UncleEbeneezer: And then on the opposite end we had the NASA dudes asking Sally Ride if 100 tampons would be enough for two weeks in space. Like, kudos to them for thinking about it, but man, what a bad reflection on public health education and/or men’s ability to actually understand periods :

    Also, and I’m sure you know, but one thing to keep in mind is sometimes you can feel like ABSOLUTE HAMMERED SHIT on your period, so if anyone seems a bit slow or sluggish, it could well be because a very angry creature is currently trying to claw its way out of her uterus and despite having slept ten hours, she still feels like she’s about to slip into a coma.

  181. 181.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @cain: This is more for when we are out on court which is a good couple hundred yards from the school/bathroom.  The school bathroom probably has stuff too (this is a very liberal part of CA) but this is just in case they need something else or if we are at a different school for matches etc.

  182. 182.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Alison Rose: Oh I know that.  I’ve known several women who have absolutely devastating periods.  So I learned that truth years ago, and try to remember that any one of my students could be in that category too.

  184. 184.

    eversor

    @Betty Cracker:

    As a guy e I don’t like to hold the bag.   The reason is simple. That bag is private her territory.  I am not to look in it, root through it, or do other things.  Also not to move it.  Even when she keeps putting it on my desk!  If I do anything of these things the wrath of god happens.  So being asked to hold this…. two thousand dollar monster, is like being handed a live bomb to me.

    I can be sent to go buy feminine prodcuts though, or more bags.

    For a lot of us taking money from dad’s wallet on offer was completely OK, looking into mom’s purse was not.  This continues later.  So don’t hand me a bag.

  185. 185.

    Alison Rose

    @UncleEbeneezer: It’s always nice to find men who are kind about it rather than mocking. If I were a wizard, I’d make every cis dude experience one full menstrual cycle just so they could understand what it actually feels like and hopefully stop making their “on the rag” jokes any time a woman is upset about something.

  186. 186.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Old School: This is for emergencies and to have on-hand wherever I happen to be coaching.  Sometimes (like tonight) that’s at other locations which may only have port-a-potties or public park restrooms.

  187. 187.

    cain

    @Alison Rose:

    I actually had a frank discussion about periods, hormones and mood changes because of periods with my 23 year old colleague and asked her that to let me know if during those times that I’m triggering so that I can regulate my behavior.

  189. 189.

    Ken

    @Alison Rose: we had the NASA dudes asking Sally Ride if 100 tampons would be enough for two weeks in space.

    I might give them a partial pass, if there wasn’t any data on menstruation in space at that time. Heaven knows every other body function behaves weirdly.

  192. 192.

    lowtechcyclist

    @eversor:

    We generally don’t elect a VP after a double presidential term.

    We’ve got a small sample space problem here, but still, let’s take a look.

    In the post-WWII era, we’ve had exactly 6 persons elected to 2 terms as President: Ike, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, Bush II, and Obama.

    Their veeps were Nixon, Ford, Bush I, Gore, Cheney, and Biden.  All but Gore and Cheney became President, and Gore had the election all but stolen from him, while Cheney had no intention of running; he was more into being the power behind the throne.

    Now, if we’re asking how many veeps became President upon completion of their running mate’s second term, that drops Nixon/Ford since Nixon didn’t complete that term.  So Ike, Reagan, Clinton, Bush II, and Obama.  Three of their veeps ran to immediately succeed them: Nixon, Bush I, and Gore.  (Would have been four if Beau Biden hadn’t died when he did, which is why only three data points.)  Bush I won, Nixon lost by a hairsbreadth, and Gore had it stolen from him.  I wouldn’t draw a lot of conclusions from that.

  193. 193.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Kay: I wish I could talk people out of loving yard signs but I cannot so we’re giving the people what they want.

    Speaking as someone who worked in and ran some local political campaigns a couple of generations ago, it was pretty clear even then (when messaging options were far fewer) that you need lawn signs, but you don’t need many.

    If you don’t have any, your potential supporters get very antsy – “Geez, am I the only person who intends to vote for this candidate? Am I throwing my vote away?” – and you could lose them.

    But if the campaign can manage even 6-8% of the number of signs the (probably far better funded) opposition puts up, that’s enough to reassure your supporters that they aren’t alone.

    Same for bumpersnickers. Same (BTW) for folks handing out stuff to people going into a polling place. I’ve seen campaigns with a dozen workers at each site, but all you really need is one. Again, the idea is not to persuade anyone but to keep those already persuaded – or already considering your candidate – from wavering because they think they’re all alone.

    Our shoestring campaigns never planted more than 10% as many lawn signs as the opposition in any neighborhood, and we never had more than 1 or 2 people handing out our candidate’s election-day material at any polling place – but we did goddamned well when all the votes were tabulated. (Didn’t win them all but won enough, and came a damsite closer in others than we had any right to.)

  194. 194.

    Brachiator

    @Betty Cracker:

    Thread is probably dead and buried, but I just wanted to throw this in.

    I was impressed by the handbag thing because, on the perhaps two occasions in 26 years I’ve asked my hubby to hold my handbag for like one second, he looked as if I’d asked him to put on a tutu and go perform Dance of the Cygnets from Swan Lake in the front yard.

    Never had a problem with this. On a couple of occasions, asking me to hold the handbag, or even just handing it over and expecting me to take it, was like a gesture of trust and intimacy.

    It’s one of the little signals between couples that announce, signal and reinforce connection.

  195. 195.

    Tim Ellis

    @Uncle Cosmo: Can confirm – the primary value of lawn signs is just signaling to supporters (and prospective supporters) that they are not alone (and secondary purpose is to just let low-info voters know an election is in fact happening).

    There is some evidence that lawn signs lead to an increase in turnout generally and also specifically for candidates with lawn signs vs those without: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261379415002310

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