Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

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

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

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

Good lord, these people are nuts.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

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

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

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

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

The willow is too close to the house.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

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

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Tuesday Morning Open Thread: T-Day Countdown

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: T-Day Countdown

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Some *very* happy Midwestern Thanksgiving gatherings…

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: T-Day Countdown 1

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: T-Day Countdown

Speaking of screwing things up…

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: T-Day Countdown 2

Reader Interactions

200Comments

  2. 2.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Thanksgiving… on the one hand, Blech. On the other, HOORAY! I can have a popular state park all to myself!​
    @Baud: ​ Heh.

  5. 5.

    narya

    My dad–a lifelong sheet metal union worker–always said that everyone didn’t have to be unionized, that unions raised everyone’s wages. He was right. That strike and those contracts make me very happy.

    @Baud: Love that shirt!

  6. 6.

    Kay

    Nate Cohn
    @Nate_Cohn
    Two things are true:
    — It’s a year before the election, so polls aren’t ‘predictive’
    — The voters know these candidates well, so what they say is worth taking seriously. Indeed, campaigns taking it seriously may even contribute to changing the numbers over the next years

    He means “taking me seriously”. I’m sorry they’re just too self centered and… precious for me. Their pissiness towards Biden, the pettiness, seems personal and unprofessional to me. I get that they don’t like the guy and think he should resign, drop out, whatever and be replaced by some generic “Independent”. I just don’t care.
    I actually love newspapers. I pefer to read rather than listen or watch. I subscribe to two of them. But they have to stop making this about themselves. They are WAY too out front. Step back and stop creating/controlling narrative.

  8. 8.

    Betty Cracker

    PSA: Here’s a link to a CBS News piece on a mysterious respiratory illness seen in dogs in several states. It doesn’t respond to antibiotics and can develop into severe pneumonia that is sometimes fatal. Vets suspect it’s contagious but don’t know for sure. Keep your furry pals safe!

  9. 9.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    Our DIL is cooking. I’m looking forward to going over there. It’ll just be the four of us, and luckily, we share the same politics. My DIL cried the night HRC lost the election.

  14. 14.

    Kay

    I think the NYTimes can’t now admit that there is a clear contrast between Biden on Trump on economic ideology (labor unions, in this example) because the NYTimes, more than any other outlet, sold the idea in 2016 that Trump was not Right wing ideologically. It’s why they use all that careful language around Trump’s position on abortion, although he has stated more than once that he backs abortion bans and criminal charges for women.

    They cannot admit that Trump is a Right winger. It wasn’t their original narrative and as we know they never, ever admit or correct an error.

    Biden runs good campaigns. Hopefully he’ll be able to inform the public on the policy differences between the two candidates – expecting political media to get better is a fools game. It ain’t gonna happen. The incentives in that industry are all wrong.

  15. 15.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @JPL: I’ve never been there. Most of my Arkie caving was east of I-49. I’ll have to make a point of visiting there.

  16. 16.

    Baud

    @Kay:

    The NYT is supported by liberal subscribers.  If they reported that Trump is a right winger, their liberal readers would expect content that would follow from that observation, and the NYT doesn’t want to provide that content.

  19. 19.

    raven

    We rent a house at the beach and the owner’s brother lives next door. We’ve always had just the two of us and the brother invited us for T-Day. Even though we already bought a small bird we don’t think we can refuse. As my bride often says “like oh well”!

  20. 20.

    NobodySpecial

    That Bernie Lomax quote irritates the living hell out of me, mostly because I lived with real food insecurity for most of my childhood and early adulthood. Sometimes you don’t have the extra to waste “fucking shit up.”

  21. 21.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    I maintain that if Donald Trump had come out of Arkansas or Minnesota he never would have been President. NY being a media center and Trump being a NY’er were absolutely central to this. It’s WHY they ignored or did not see his obvious racism, sexism and far Right views. They simply could not align those views with someone they “know” so they invented an alternate Donald Trump, one who is socially “liberal”. Remember- this is AFTER he took out a full page ad calling for the summary execution of AA teenagers.

  24. 24.

    Soprano2

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Evidently she’s never been around a teenager!

    We already had our Thanksgiving on Sunday because my niece and her husband are going to CA to celebrate with his family and my SIL is on call on Thursday. I don’t know what we’re going to do for the actual day. Probably try to find a restaurant that’s open. I think our pub is going to be open in the evening because by then people are ready to flee from their family. It’s busier than you’d think.

  25. 25.

    Scout211

    We know Musk filed his “thermonuclear” lawsuit against Media Matter for reporting facts that Elon didn’t like.

    But a young man who was targeted by right wing social media “investigations” and wrongly accused of being a neo-Nazi is suing Musk for getting involved and trumpeting those lies. Link.

    Ben Brody says his life was going fine. He had just finished college, stayed out of trouble, and was prepping for law school. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Elon Musk used his considerable social media clout to amplify an online mob’s misguided rants accusing the 22-year-old from California of being an undercover agent in a neo-Nazi group.

    The claim, Brody told CNN, was as bizarre as it was baseless.

    But the fact he bore a vague resemblance to a person allegedly in the group, that he was Jewish, and, that he once stated in a college fraternity profile posted online that he aspired to one day work for the government, was more than enough information for internet trolls to falsely conclude Brody was an undercover government agent (a “Fed”) planted inside the neo-Nazi group to make them look bad.

    For Brody, the fallout was immediate. Overnight, he became a central character in a story spun by people seeking to deny and downplay the actions of hate groups in the United States today.
    The lies and taunts, which Musk engaged with on social media, turned his life upside down, Brody said. At one point, he said, he and his mother had to flee their home for fear of being attacked.

    Now, he’s fighting back.

    Brody filed a defamation lawsuit last month against Musk, the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter. The suit seeks damages in excess of $1 million. Brody says he wants the billionaire to apologize and retract the false claims about him.

    Brody’s lawyer—who is the same attorney who successfully sued conspiracy theorist Alex Jones over his lies about the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre —said he hopes the suit will force one of the world’s richest and most powerful men to reckon with his careless and harmful online behavior.
    . . .
    The suit outlines how Musk has engaged with accounts that traffic in racism and antisemitism and lists instances in which he publicly shared or engaged with conspiracy theories – including last October when he shared false claims about the attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

    The suit alleges that in August after Musk was made aware through his lawyers about Brody’s case for defamation, Musk refused to delete his tweets.
    Bankston and his client said the lawsuit is about a lot more than money.

    “I just want to make things right,” Brody told CNN. “It’s not about vengeance. I’m not angry. It’s not resentment. I just want to make things right, to get an apology, so that this doesn’t happen again to anyone else.”

  29. 29.

    Kay

    I mentioned that we’re going to a funeral in Connecticut n Friday so skipping T-Day to drive on Thursday – which is fine- we want to be at the funeral, to show up for Susan – but it IS odd. This is the first time I’ll be just skipping the whole thing. 

  30. 30.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Baud:

    The NYT is supported by liberal subscribers.

    One of the many failures of my life is that I just cannot get my brother and his wife, who are fantastic human beings, to understand how much damage TFNYT does in the guise of being a “liberal” news outlet.

    Oh well.

  33. 33.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: I remember being told that TFG wouldn’t be that bad, because his social positions were closer to Democrats! I knew that was wrong, but a lot of people honestly believed it was true. Some of them still believe it because of reporting like what the Times does. It’s irresponsible – they should report what he actually says and does, not what they think what he says and does means!

  35. 35.

    Scout211

    @Kay: I maintain that if Donald Trump had come out of Arkansas or Minnesota he never would have been President

    You are probably right about that.  But in IMHO, NBC Entertainment division was more responsible for his presidency than the news media, with their creation of Trump as a larger-than-life, charismatic and powerful businessman.

    The NDAs prevented us from seeing the outtakes, which would have informed us all.  Those outtakes wouldn’t make a difference now, though.  His fans would never believe them to be real.

  37. 37.

    Kay

    @Scout211:

    I think these lawsuits are great. I cheered the Sandy Hook lawsuit, and this is the same damn thing.

    Right wing nuts have to stop bothering normal people. It’s outrageous. They need to leave people alone. Since you can’t get a protection order or some other legal remedy to just be left alone I think making them al hire lawyers and defend is an excellent idea.

  38. 38.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NobodySpecial: ​
    @Soprano2: ​

    Not arguing with your point (because I too have been there) but I’m all about experimenting with food. Food is a cheap adventure and a great way to get the different tastes of the world. And yes, it helps that I can afford the failed experiment from time to time.

  41. 41.

    Kay

    @Soprano2:

    Oh, sure. I remember when he was going to be a supporter of labor because, after all, he’s from NY! There’s labor unions in NY!

    Donald Triump hired Justice Scalia’s son to set labor rules. His labor policywasn’t just “Right” it was FAR Right. The NYTimes could not have been more wrong about him. But again. They had clues. He took out full page ads announcing his racism. They CHOSE not to see it.

  43. 43.

    Jeffro

    @Kay:NY being a media center and Trump being a NY’er were absolutely central to this. It’s WHY they ignored or did not see his obvious racism, sexism and far Right views. They simply could not align those views with someone they “know” so they invented an alternate Donald Trump, one who is socially “liberal”.

    True, and he also was a) one of the most famous (and supposedly rich) people in the world, and b) had played the parts of being a libertine, clown, and wrestling ‘heel’ for his whole life.  That’s an additional part of why they blew off his obvious fascist bent: “Donald?  He’s never been serious about anything.  It’s all an act.”  That’s where the whole stupid “take him literally but not seriously” or whatever came from.  No more.

  44. 44.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Kay: T-day lost it’s flavor for me when Peggy died, just wasn’t the same. When Ma got too old to feed the family I started a new tradition of my own and started doing ridge walks over the long wkend. Now I’m too old and decrepit for that so I have a new tradition of visiting popular state parks and unique geological features on T-day and Xmas. Usually, I have them all to myself.

  45. 45.

    Kay

    @mrmoshpotato:

    I think he can show damages to a jury. They harmed his ablity to find work. That can be assigned a value. He was also frantic- afraid he would never be hired again.

  46. 46.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Reposted from a thread that was inches from dead:

    So, uh, if anybody heard Musk threatened a ‘thermonuclear’ law suit against Media Matters, he did indeed file.  I’ve been reading lawyers on Bluesky go over it, which I’m not sure how to link.

    Summary:  It is unbelievably stupid.  It was filed in Texas based on ‘some of our viewers live there’ so he could judge shop two of the most radical judges, which will get the suit tossed right there.  His primary argument is that Twitter lost business (no evidence cited) because Media Matters as a progressive organization desires (no evidence cited) to make Twitter look bad.  They did this by setting account parameters that make explicitly Nazi content appear next to big corporation ads, but then pretended (no evidence cited except one edited, out of context quote that still doesn’t say it) that these are normal, random, common results.

    Fun details include that they sued the writer as well as Media Matters, then forgot to mention the writer anywhere else in the document.  If the suit is not instantly dismissed, defense will get to question the advertisers in discovery stuff like “So how much appearing next to swastikas and Hitler praise are you okay with?”  Media Matters can sue in California saying that the jurisdiction is wrong.

  47. 47.

    Scout211

    Newsom and DeSantis are really going to debate next week.

    Ugh.

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s televised debate against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will take place in Alpharetta, Georgia, next week.

    The swing state debate will air on Fox News Channel from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. PT on Thursday, Nov. 30. It’s being moderated by Sean Hannity and Fox News is billing the meeting of the two governors as “The Great Red Vs. Blue State Debate.”

    I hope Newsom gets in some good digs at DeSantis (and at Hannity), but I think this debate is just dumb.

  48. 48.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Soprano2: I can’t forget his comment that Mexico was sending us all their worst people when the sad truth is the ones who come here are from their best.

  49. 49.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Kay: I’m sure they can.  I just meant that $1 million is low balling it when it comes to rich, powerful trash like Melon Husk.

  50. 50.

    Kay

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Oh, that’s nice. My youngest is in Spain so it was going to be a quiet one anyway – I had invited just my middle son and the woman he’s seeing. They were really good about my cancelling.

  53. 53.

    Soprano2

    @Scout211: ITA with this. I think a lot of people thought they were voting for the Donald Trump character they saw on The Apprentice, not realizing it was a made-up person.

  54. 54.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Scout211:

    Newsom and DeSantis are really going to debate next week.

    Ugh.

    Given Pudding Fingers the Fascist the legitimacy he so craves.

    Ugh, indeed.

  55. 55.

    Soprano2

    @Kay: It was nuts how people were saying he was going to be different than the things he was saying out loud in public, and even then he was even worse than the things he was saying. I knew it was bad when he said “I alone can fix it”. I’ll never forget the Daily Show episode Trevor Noah did where he compared TFG to African dictators, and they were exactly the same except that TFG never wore a fake military uniform! It was chilling to see that TFG was using exactly the same words and phrases as the dictators. All of this was right out there in the open, but people like the staff of the major press outlets mostly refused to see it.

  56. 56.

    Matt McIrvin

    @narya: But that means there’s a free-rider/collective-action danger, right? If there’s not a big individual advantage to being unionized, employers can make the case that you’re spending union dues for nothing.

    I suppose that if the benefit from being unionized is still substantially larger, it’s harder to do the busting.

  57. 57.

    Jeffro

    Btw this is something one would think the media would fall all over themselves to cover: what’s trumpov mean by “final battle” in his increasingly unhinged rants this year?

    So, after the final battle…(to borrow from Hamilton)…what comes next?

    “[trump] went on to promise readers — supporters, mostly, because this was on the social media site he owns, Truth Social — that they, together, would “expel the warmongers from our government” and “drive out the globalists” and “cast out the Communists, Marxists, and Fascists” and, of course, “rout the Fake News Media.”

    That’s where my mind went next, understandably, with my kids in their car seats behind me: What does “routing” the media mean? What does it mean that the guy who will almost certainly be the Republican presidential nominee next year and has a very good chance of winning the election wants to “rout” me and my colleagues?

    Over and over, the same framing…

    Evangelical Americans are not uniformly Republican but are overwhelmingly so. They are also unusually receptive to Trump’s central campaign pitch that America’s best days are in the past. “Make America Great Again” sounds pretty good to a voting bloc in which three-quarters of members believe that the country has changed for the worse since the 1950s.

    So we arrive at the final battle. If your immediate point of reference for that phrase wasn’t to the Book of Revelation’s depiction of the apocalypse, you are probably not a Trump supporter. (A 2012 poll from PRRI found that the religious group most likely to say that the end times as predicted in Revelation would occur during their lives was evangelicals.)

    …The final battle, Trump would later tell his supporters, would once again set all of this right. By implication of its title, this is their last chance to fix what’s broken, to intervene in lieu of anticipation of a divine hand.

    Might just be rhetoric aimed at turnout. You’ll forgive me if I take it more seriously than that.

    Former president Donald J. Apocalyptic Death Cult.  Frequent examination of this topic might, just might help a few swing voters make the decision to, oh, keep our democracy.

  58. 58.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Soprano2: I think a lot of racist trash in this country loved that Dump was racist trash too.  (It’s not like he hid it while campaigning in 2016.)

    His garbage TV show definitely got him the name recognition, but he’s through and through white trash.  And his cult love that.

  59. 59.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, …

    Autism 101 :autism: :verified:
    @[email protected]

    Why do you need a label?

    “Because there is comfort in knowing you are a normal zebra, not a strange horse. Because you can’t find community with other zebras if you don’t know you belong. And because it is impossible for a zebra to be happy or healthy spending its life feeling like a failed horse.”

    q: @omgimautisticaf

    Learning the “why” didn’t change me, but finding a community of others like me who I can share things with and learn from has been helpful.

    #ActuallyAutistic @actuallyautistic

    Nov 21, 2023, 07:06

    Those oldsters that discovered that words have power were onto something.

    (via https://mastodon.social/explore )

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  60. 60.

    Soprano2

    @OzarkHillbilly: I think that’s one of their favorite conspiracy theories, that other countries empty their prisons and send all their criminals here, when the truth is that it’s mostly the hardest-working and hardiest people who make the effort to come here.

  62. 62.

    Soprano2

    @Jeffro: It’s been a constant problem that the press soft-pedals and softens the things he says instead of just telling us what he said and letting us decide what we think about it. At first I think they truly believed he couldn’t be serious, but by now they should know better but they’re still doing it!

  63. 63.

    Steeplejack

    @raven:

    The owner’s brother doesn’t own the 10-bedroom, 10-bath monstrosity, does he? I’m guessing he’s on the other side of you.

    Also, sorry to hear about your mobility problems. What’s going on with that (if it’s not a painful subject)?

  64. 64.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Jeffro:

    Former president Donald J. Apocalyptic Death Cult.  Frequent examination of this topic might, just might help a few swing voters make the decision to, oh, keep our democracy.

    It’s never really worked before–some things about Trump are novel, but this isn’t; appeals to the Apocalypse of Revelation have been a major part of the mainstream Republican pitch ever since Ronald Reagan. But we can dream.

  65. 65.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Matt McIrvin: ​ All the nonunion carpenters I knew realized their high wages were a result of our contracts. But they did not get as much $ as we did, none that I knew* got health insurance and they sure as shit didn’t get a pension.

    * I feel like I have to allow for the possibility that a nonunion contractor provided health insurance, however infinitesimal that possibility might be.

  67. 67.

    Betty Cracker

    @raven: If y’all would rather not go, I think you CAN politely decline! Thank him for his generous offer, but let him know you already purchased stuff for the meal and are looking forward to preparing it together. Maybe say you’ve got some family Zoom calls planned or something like that. (A little white lie is no sin in my book if it helps you squirm out of an unwanted social obligation without hurt feelings!)

  68. 68.

    Steeplejack

    @Kay:

    Also, I’m tired of New Yorkers still weighing in with “Oh, we knew Trump was a POS all along,” as if they’re taking credit for something. Well, you* didn’t do a goddamn thing about him for decades, so STFU.

    * You = state institutions—courts, regulatory bodies, tax authorities, news media, fawning “he’s such a colorful character” public.

  69. 69.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Soprano2: ​ Courageous, hard working, willing to sacrifice damned near anything just for a chance at a better life for them and their families. And they don’t whine about how unfair it all is.​

  71. 71.

    Steeplejack

    @Kay:

    Thursday might be the good day to be on the road, with everyone else presumably at their destinations (except for local traffic).

  72. 72.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: This rhetoric also ties into the Q-Anon belief about the coming “Storm.”

    Last year I saw a sign posted at a garden center in Elkton: “God is greater than the Storm.”

  73. 73.

    Betty Cracker

    @Scout211: I think the Newsom – DeSantis debate is dumb and pointless too. I’ve seen enough of Newsom on TV to be confident he can run circles around a humorless, lumpen prig like DeSantis, and I suppose Newsom believes it’s an opportunity to showcase the Forces of Light on the Channel of Darkness. But I see little upside and lots of potential downside.

  75. 75.

    sdhays

    @Scout211: I just want to make things right, to get an apology, so that this doesn’t happen again to anyone else.

    If damages aren’t denominated with a big B, I don’t see this lawsuit doing anything to curb Elmo from doing this again. Even then, I wouldn’t place any large bets on it stopping.

  78. 78.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Ocotillo: ​ Hmmm… Gonna have to disagree to this extent: I built a lot of truly idiotic shit in my life but it put food on the table, gas in my truck and electricity in my house and that was pretty meaningful to me. :-)

  80. 80.

    SFAW

    @Steeplejack: ​
     

    Well, you* didn’t do a goddamn thing about him for decades, so STFU.

    * You = state institutions—courts, regulatory bodies, tax authorities, news media, fawning “he’s such a colorful character” public.

    Well, when Cy Vance Jr. gets some campaign contribs from TFG-lovers, he somehow forgets to prosecute the asshole. I’m sure there’s no correlation.

  81. 81.

    narya

    @Matt McIrvin: Sure–and I think part of the decline in union membership was a result of that. But I think it works–and is working–in the opposite direction, too: people see Harbucks baristas and Amazonian workers strike and organize, they see fast food workers organizing, they see auto workers winning big contracts, and that makes it more possible for them to consider it as well.

    @OzarkHillbilly: My parents likely wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for the health insurance they got through my dad’s union.

  82. 82.

    Jackie

    From Semafor:

    David Weigel: “Democrats are fretting about President Biden’s weaker numbers with Black voters. The new messaging shop Blueprint has a solution: Keep talking about his record until these voters hear about it.”

    “In a new batch of polling, Blueprint found that Black voters, while overwhelmingly Democratic, have priorities and issue awareness much closer to swing voters. The vast majority want the president to bring down prices and raise wages, which the White House is already messaging; between 35% and 40% of Black voters aren’t aware of Biden policies designed to drive down drug prices and end junk fees, which are overwhelmingly popular.”

    EVERY VOTER should be treated as a swing voter IMHO. No one’s vote should ever be taken for granted.

  85. 85.

    Betty Cracker

    My sister and I are having TG with the North FL deplorati this year, with bonus drama due to a dumb spat between two family members that will likely come to a head during the gathering. Once we arrive, we’ll have to play a quick game of rock-paper-scissors to determine who is the designated driver. I like my chances. Bill claims I won 70% of the time when we used to play to see who had to change the baby’s diaper.

  86. 86.

    Fair Economist

    Newsom is debating to raise his status for a 2028 Presidential run. It will probably work, since he’s charismatic and DeSantis isn’t, and he will be able to say he can hold his own even on Fox.

  88. 88.

    Jackie

    @Scout211: I may or may not watch the “debate.” The entertainment factor of Newsom cutting Pudd’n Boots into tiny pieces with his sarcasm is tempting.

  90. 90.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Jeffro: Krusty Klown’s use of “the final battle” reminded me of “final solution.” Maybe that was because of his earlier use of the word “vermin.” But sure, apocalyptic battle makes more sense for an evangelical audience. Of course, could be both.

    BTW, do any of you know RW evangelicals personally? I do. The ones I know are some weirdly fucked-up people.

  91. 91.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @narya: ​ My union health insurance saved my youngest son’s leg and my financial well being. It also helped keep me breathing on one occasion.

  93. 93.

    Geminid

    Dolly Parton’s performance in Arlington, Texas will be the highlight of many Thanksgivings. I hear CBS is even staging a football game around it.

  95. 95.

    Soprano2

    @Chief Oshkosh: I’ve worked with some, but I’ve never had any as friends. I had a co-worker who said one of them told her that the wine in the Bible was OK and different than wine today, because in those times fruit didn’t actually ferment! She was totally serious when she said that, it’s what she’d been taught in church to justify why they could drink wine in the Bible but couldn’t drink it now. *shakes head….* I don’t know how they explained the drunkenness that the Bible talked about…

  98. 98.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Soprano2: ​I think that’s one of their favorite conspiracy theories, that other countries empty their prisons and send all their criminals here, when the truth is that it’s mostly the hardest-working and hardiest people who make the effort to come here.

    And like every conspiracy theory with legs, there’s a dollop of plausibility in it. Does anyone recall the Mariel boatlift of 1980, when it was widely asserted that Cuba was using the opportunity to empty their prisons and dump hardened criminals into the USA?

    A 1985 [Fort Lauderdale] Sun Sentinel magazine article claimed that out of the around 125,000 refugees that entered the United States, around 16,000 to 20,000 were estimated to be criminals. In a 1985 report around 350 to 400 Mariel Cubans were reported to inhabit Dade County jails on a typical day.

    Fidel Castro stated that those leaving in the Mariel boatlift were undesirable members of Cuban society. With Castro’s condemnation and reports that prisoners and mental health patients were leaving in the exodus it was believed by some that Marielitos were undesirable deviants. Opponents of then U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party would hail the Mariel boatlift as a failure of his administration.

    Fast forward from those attitudes and you get

    … Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior policy adviser Stephen Miller used the boatlift as evidence of the dangers of unchecked immigration.

    Because of course it is…//

  99. 99.

    arrieve

    @Soprano2:

    I think that’s one of their favorite conspiracy theories, that other countries empty their prisons and send all their criminals here, when the truth is that it’s mostly the hardest-working and hardiest people who make the effort to come here.

    I teach ESL to adult immigrants. I already had enormous respect for those who uprooted their lives to come–yes, often illegally, which makes it even harder–to a country that is not exactly welcoming, just for the chance at a better life, but getting to know so many of them is a privilege. They work hard, sometimes at multiple jobs, and still give up their Saturdays to learn English. And they are all so warm, funny, kind. I had a bad fall several weeks ago and fractured three ribs, but still managed to drag myself to class and the students were so solicitous. “Teacher, you need to sit down.” “Teacher, you need a coffee. I’ll go to Starbucks.”

    Every time I hear someone disparage immigrants, legal or otherwise, it fills me with rage. You know it’s people who don’t actually know any immigrants but who happily enjoy the benefits of all that behind the scenes cheap labor.

  101. 101.

    Nelle

    @narya: My dad fell into a category automatically denied entry into the US (the Red Scare of the 1920’s).  He and his family entered Canada.  All the older siblings remained there.  My grandfather, who was being hunted by Red soldiers and managed to escape a few years earlier, had gotten to the US and was allowed to bring his wife and minor children to Minnesota.  I always wished I was Canadian, like some of my cousins.

  102. 102.

    Betty Cracker

    @Chief Oshkosh: Yep — I’m related to lots of them and live among them. So many are weirdly fucked-up people that the ones who are not (and they do exist!) stand out.

  105. 105.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @3Sice:

    I-10 in L.A. has re-opened.

    They are looking for a “person of interest”.

    The person that is of most interest is the job boss on that rebuild. Put that person in charge of World Peace – they know how to get shit done!

  108. 108.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Nature photographer of the year 2023 – the winning images

    Some real winners here, hard to pick a favorite but I finally settled on – He Looks to the Heavens,

    Jacquie Matechuk says: ‘Spanning more than 8,000 km, the Andean mountain range occupies more than a quarter of the land surface in Ecuador. Rich in biodiversity, it’s also home to a unique species called the spectacled bear. Until planning this trip, I knew nothing about them. But as a certified bear guide, I was excited to expand my knowledge and understanding of a new species.’

    I wasn’t alone in picking that one.

  111. 111.

    Miss Bianca

    @Soprano2: I used to do the night shift on Thanksgiving when I worked in a bar, many years ago. Yep, I always had plenty of company by 9 pm. :)

  115. 115.

    Geminid

    It sounds like a busy evening in west Jerusalem. Acccrding to the Times of Israel, Israel’s 3-man War Cabinet will meet at 6pm local time, followed by a 7pm meeting of the larger Security Cabinet. Then the full Cabinet will meet at 8pm.

    On the agenda: approval of a temporary ceasefire and the exchange of 50 or more hostages held by Hamas for 200 or more prisoners held by Israel.

    I think Israel is 5 or 6 time zones ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

  118. 118.

    Old Man Shadow

    Do you think the New York Times (and the media in general) will ever have a “Oh, shit, guess we shouldn’t have focused on his age/her emails” moment before they’re being marched off to the showers by MAGAts?

    Or will they still be blaming Democrats for making Republicans go full Holocaust on America?

  119. 119.

    Nukular Biskits

    If Baud can always be first, I resolve to always being last.

    Flying back home today, SAN->GPT. My original reservation had me flying tomorrow but I managed to get the ticket changed to avoid the Holiday Rush.

    Have I ever mentioned how much I hate flying?

  120. 120.

    montanareddog

    @Betty Cracker: I am hoping that after the initial handshake, as Puddin’head turns to his lectern, Newsom ostentatiously stares at the back of Puddin’heads shoes, cocks his head and says “Nice lifts.”

  122. 122.

    Ruckus

    @Kay:

    The incentives in that industry are all wrong.

    The incentive is to sell fish wrap at a high price because they put written words on it. Personally I think that in many/most cases it actually lessens the value of the paper. And might stain the fish….

  124. 124.

    StringOnAStick

    @Chief Oshkosh: I’m related to a couple of RW evangelicals, and yes they are weirdly fucked up people.  One raised her kids strict Southern Baptist, all kids are in mainstream protestant religions or atheist.  The other is a low IQ Pentecostal; one kid became a meth addicted hooker, the rest all married gangbangers.  I avoid them all and they are one of the many reasons we moved away from CO.

    I’m going to have to deal with them soon because our father is on his way out, and the Pentecostal crew is looking at his passing as their one chance at a big financial score.  I’ve got news for them: Franklin Mint crap is worth a little more than nothing and he spent the rest of it, including the equity in the house, on his alcoholic sister.  I’ll be amazed if the remaining estate will be enough to cover my hotel and travel costs as I clear the place and get it sold to cover all the debt.

  125. 125.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Old Man Shadow: Or will they still be blaming Democrats for making Republicans go full Holocaust on America?

    MAGA will execute the last Democrat and make media executives watch, just to be sure they know their folly as they march to the gallows.

  126. 126.

    Soprano2

    @Old Man Shadow:  Or will they still be blaming Democrats for making Republicans go full Holocaust on America?

    This, always. They will never take responsibility for how they treated Hillary and TFG in 2016, or admit that it helped elect him. They were willing to take a chance on a man who said “I alone can fix it” because they hated the Clintons so much they couldn’t stand the thought of covering her presidency for 4 years. They wanted excitement and newness, and they sure got it.

  127. 127.

    cain

    @Kay:

    They cannot admit that Trump is a Right winger. It wasn’t their original narrative and as we know they never, ever admit or correct an error.

    Hey, they couldn’t admit Hitler was not a good guy either.

    @Baud:

    liberal subscribers should just find another paper for national political coverage. It almost seems prudent to switch to Al-Jazeera or some other external one that actually does its homework rather than these dumb ass articles from guest columnists that love fascism.

  128. 128.

    moonbat

    @Betty Cracker: I’m not so sure it is a pointless exercise. Before his campaign tanked, DeSantis was being touted to the public, donors, and the political press as “Trump w/o the baggage”, etc. I think we need to nip in the bud the idea that a non-Trump Trump is a viable/good idea for American politics. The more air that can be let out of these authoritarian governors with their national ambitions (I’m looking at you Abbott) the better. And the sooner the better too.

  129. 129.

    frosty

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: ​Nikki’s phrase reminds me of a boss (and company founder) who said this to one of my co-workers:

    “I will explain it to you and you WILL understand.”

    [Note: don’t ever work for a company founder. They’re crazy, even for a company of less than 20 employees.]​​​

  130. 130.

    Ruckus

    @Kay:

    I’m the last remaining in my immediate family, the cousins all live far away, so it’s just another day. I’ve skipped the whole thing for a number of years. Sun come up, sun go down, rinse repeat, hopefully for a long, long, long time.

  132. 132.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @cain: liberal subscribers should just find another paper for national political coverage.

    I’ve just chosen to minimize engagement, just enough to keep abreast of what’s happening generally; then seek primary sources.

    Sure, I don’t know as many details about most things anymore. But I trust what I know more. The contrast of what I see in a speech at a small public event or in a Congressional hearing versus what the media reports is stark. And it makes me more comfortable walking away from them.

    Last I checked no one was convinced by rote memorization of the last months’ events, anyway. And I’m definitely following close enough to know the generally good guys are still generally good and the abysmally bad guys are plumbing those depths ever further.

  134. 134.

    Jackie

    I know Cruz has at least two credible Dem opponents, Colin Allred being one, but who are the Democrats challenging Rick Scott?

    “A few weeks ago, very few Democrats were thinking about the Senate campaigns in Florida and Texas, the only credible offensive targets for the party in 2024,” The Messenger reports.

    “Then West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin retired, all but guaranteeing Democrats will lose the seat next year.”

    “That decision has ratcheted up the pressure and expected attention on the two top Democratic campaigns in Florida and Texas. Assuming Democrats lose West Virginia, the party will either need to protect all of its incumbents – including two in states that have elected Republicans to most other statewide positions – or oust Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas or Sen. Rick Scott in Florida to keep hold of the Senate in 2024.”

  135. 135.

    Bill Arnold

    @mrmoshpotato:

    I just meant that $1 million is low balling it when it comes to rich, powerful trash like Melon Husk.

    Real justice would be punishment involving similar damage to Mr. Musk’s life. If that means e.g. 40 billion dollars in fines and mysterious stalkers for the rest of his life, so be it.

  136. 136.

    catclub

    @Soprano2: ​
     

    They were willing to take a chance on a man who said “I alone can fix it” because they hated the Clintons so much they couldn’t stand the thought of covering her presidency for 4 years.

    I would reverse it. They hated Hillary so much they ignored the threat that Trump could be elected.

  139. 139.

    Soprano2

    @catclub: They didn’t take what TFG said in 2016 seriously – they knew him as a real estate guy and TV personality who was larger than life and constantly exaggerated. I think they honestly believed he was saying a lot of that stuff for show, and would never actually do any of it if he was elected. It’s why they felt safe torpedoing the hated Hillary Clinton. I think the thought of covering 4 years of her boring, competent administration filled them with dread, just like they can’t stand covering Biden’s accomplishments. They live for drama, to them that’s what’s interesting and it’s definitely what people read and engage with, so that’s how they cover everything.

  142. 142.

    catclub

    @frosty: “I will explain it to you and you WILL understand.”

     

    My grandfather was careful to ask “have I made myself clear”  rather than ‘you know’ or ‘do you understand’.  The onus was on him.

  143. 143.

    Bill Arnold

    @SFAW:

    Well, when Cy Vance Jr. gets some campaign contribs from TFG-lovers, he somehow forgets to prosecute the asshole. I’m sure there’s no correlation.

    There was also some cowardice.

  144. 144.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @StringOnAStick: I am sorry to hear about your father and the family situation. If the wackos think they are going to get a large inheritance, but they don’t, then they will blame any other family members who were responsible enough to try to act as executors or in some manner settle your father’s estate. If you know you’re not going to gain much more than years of having to deal with angry losers by being the responsible adult in the room, why do it? Let the state sort it out. Or better yet, announce that one of the wackos is in charge, and walk away.

  148. 148.

    Soprano2

    @StringOnAStick: Oh man that sucks. I talked to one of my best friends a couple of weeks ago. She told me she spent almost all of her retirement savings helping her son and his wife and 6-year-old stay in their apartment, because she lives in an over-55 place and can’t have the 6-year-old there. She said she knows it was a dumb thing to do, but she’s worried about their daughter plus she said she still sees her son as the 6-year-old who had already had six surgeries rather than as a man who needs to stand on his own feet. She said he’ll get a job and have it for a couple of weeks, then something happens and he quits. I told her she knows that the reason he does that is because he knows she’ll always bail him out. Well, she can’t do it anymore because she’s out of money and can’t even cover her own bills. She said he thinks she’s being mean, etc. Talk about a mess! I told her they’ll be OK, when he knows he can’t get bailed out things will probably change. He’s probably going to move in with his dad.

  149. 149.

    Bill Arnold

    @Chief Oshkosh:
    The most odious recent “Truth” ends with

    and we will FINISH THE JOB ONCE AND FOR ALL!

    There, “THE JOB” is the final solution of the problem of the existence of enemies of D.J. Trump.
    Mind you, Trump did not write that[1]; one of his fascist henchpeople/close associates did, and the intent included manipulating the emotions of anti-Trump people, so dancing to it in fear is, in part, being a puppet.

    [1] Truth Social “Truth” link – You Have Been Warned.

  150. 150.

    Old Man Shadow

    https://apnews.com/article/water-luxury-india-bhutan-greece-aaa020587961c992352c19116660cbbc

    If you want to get your rage quota for the day, this article from AP will do it as it contrasts the “Luxury water” market with how the poor increasingly have less access to water.

    How a company bought the land containing a mineral spring that used to provide water to nearby villages, fenced it off, and now bottles and sells it for $6 for one small bottle to the rich, which is a day’s wage to a laborer.

  151. 151.

    Soprano2

    @StringOnAStick: I also wanted to say that when people think they can get something for nothing, which is what an estate inheritance is, you find out the kind of person they really are. Sometimes it can be a shock. I don’t envy you at all – my mother’s estate still isn’t settled, and I was her only living child so I didn’t have anyone to argue with.

  153. 153.

    Brachiator

    Biden runs good campaigns. Hopefully he’ll be able to inform the public on the policy differences between the two candidates – expecting political media to get better is a fools game. It ain’t gonna happen. The incentives in that industry are all wrong.

    A recent Pew Research story indicates that people mainly get their news from the following sources:

    Facebook 30 percent

    YouTube 26 percent

    TikTok 14 percent

    I guess that NY Times stories get in there somewhere. But traditional mainstream media has largely been supplanted.

    The Democrats need to adjust for this in getting their views out.

  154. 154.

    Soprano2

    @Brachiator: Biden seems to have some good young people working for him, surely they understand this and will use it. The times when playing an ad on TV news over and over was the best way to advertise are gone.

  155. 155.

    Bupalos

    @Baud: it’s increasingly hard to follow this “the media contols the narrative and wants x…” stuff.  You’re going to have to help me with this iteration, where the NYT makes their money from liberals who are the bulk of their readers, but does so by refusing to provide them the content they prefer.

  157. 157.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Bupalos: The NYT keeps trying to expand their audience to conservatives.

    The whole flipside-of-tolerance thing I was talking about earlier also plays a role: a lot of liberals want to read things critical of liberalism, because they think that’s important to being openminded and unbiased, and conservatives want to read things critical of liberalism too, so crapping on liberals at least some of the time is appealing to both of them.

    The preferences of their owners probably also play a role.

  158. 158.

    Baud

    @Bupalos:

    Too many liberals prefer that content. Other liberals prefer other NYT content and are willing to look past how the domestic political desk reports the news. Others simply feel like the NYT is the best they can do because no one else is stepping up to the plate.

  159. 159.

    Geminid

    I don’t know if this a trend, but these days I read more about Democrats using billboards for messaging. These are obviously targeted at drivers, but the pictures are propagated through social media as well.

  161. 161.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: A lot of people also still get their news from network TV evening news shows.

    And I think a lot of people hear hourly radio teports. That is not that bad a source. Radio news does not supply a lot of depth, but ther is breadth over the course of a day which I think is valuable.

  162. 162.

    Brachiator

    @Soprano2:

    Biden seems to have some good young people working for him, surely they understand this and will use it. The times when playing an ad on TV news over and over was the best way to advertise are gone.

    Because ads can be turned off of YouTube and some other social media, the Democrats need to create effective short videos to get their message out.

    On YouTube, lefty activists and former Clinton administration official Robert Reich is good about this.

    On the right, the vile PragerU people use short video well.

    CNBC and MSNBC regularly get short video out, even more than CNN.

    Haven’t seen much from official Democrats.

  164. 164.

    Brachiator

    @Geminid:

    A lot of people also still get their news from network TV evening news shows.

    Pew Research story indicates that people up to age 39 get news from places like TikTok. Huge difference between them and people over age 50.

    The story has some great charts showing the differences.

  165. 165.

    Glidwrith

    @Betty Cracker: I am in favor of Newsom stomping on the turd at every opportunity. Upthread we have lots of people complaining that the Shitgibbon wasn’t properly covered for how much of a copraphagic bastard he is, so give Newsom the opportunity to scrape DeathSentence off his shoes on nationwide television.

  166. 166.

    cain

    @Betty Cracker:

    De Santis is desperate given that Nikki is kicking his ass in popularity. That’s gotta hurt that a non-white Indian woman is kicking his ass.

    Of course, if he gets punked by a liberal californian – he’s numbers are going to tank even more.

    I suppose he’ll do some rage shit and pass some asshole law in Florida to make himself feel better. Dick.

  168. 168.

    cain

    @narya:

    @Matt McIrvin: Sure–and I think part of the decline in union membership was a result of that. But I think it works–and is working–in the opposite direction, too: people see Harbucks baristas and Amazonian workers strike and organize, they see fast food workers organizing, they see auto workers winning big contracts, and that makes it more possible for them to consider it as well.

    I believe with all this AI shit – even software engineers who typically do not like being in a union should unionize. It’s time that we also make sure that silicon valley/startups stop fucking us over with their bullshit.

  169. 169.

    opiejeanne

    Our middle kid is hosting in Portland, OR, and wonder of wonders, my Jehovah’s Witness DIL is coming and bringing the kids. I guess she got tired of not being at family events that my son comes to, and figured out that we get together mostly on holidays. She asked for reassurances that there would be no praying at this event, which there usually is not other than Grace, rarely. (Don’t JWs say Grace at meals?) She has warned us not to count on them coming for Christmas.

    I’m bringing pies and brownies; baking a pie for our next door neighbors this afternoon, Wednesday is Baking Day.

  170. 170.

    Betty Cracker

    @moonbat: I hear you, but we’re coming up on what may be the highest stakes election any of us will ever see, and maybe elected Dems should be 100% focused on that. This debate is a sideshow, and staging it at Fox News with Hannity moderating is betting against the house.

    Newsom seems to be an able guy, but is he ready to discuss obscure issues cold that DeSantis has been briefed and coached on prior to the debate? I sure hope so, because those are the kind of dirty tricks you have to assume will happen.

  172. 172.

    cain

    @opiejeanne: I vaguely remember you talking about this situation some months back in regards to your DIL.

    how your son compartmentalizes these family situations I don’t know. I mean, not being able to bring his kids to a family gathering is just odd.

  173. 173.

    JaySinWA

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I expect Haley is right. Once it is explained to them they will “understand” all too well. Their understanding won’t be what she believes it will be. They will find creative and somewhat correct understandings for the Tic Tok ban.

  174. 174.

    Paul in KY

    @Soprano2: My mom, who legally immigrated from UK to US back in 50s and was evidently made to jump thru way too many hoops for her taste, has always railed against illegal immigration.

    I told her once: “I guess if we had been poor down in Mexico, we’d just have starved, rather than try and better ourselves.”

    She also has/had no concept of immigration quotas.

  175. 175.

    evodevo

    @Soprano2:  Yeah…we’ve got tenants living in my MIL’s old house like that – he can’t hold a job longer than a month, if that…they are paying us zero rent (he’s supposed to be doing maintenance and repair on the house in return, but not really doing that); she’s got mysterious health problems and can’t work (??), and earlier this year their drug-addict daughter moved in.  Well, my hubby has finally had it and told them he’s selling the house next March, and now they are in a tizzy…I’m expecting the blame game to start soon.  Some people just can’t function IRL …

  176. 176.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Ruckus: I’m in a similar situation, and while I’ve done Friendsgiving in the past, this year the person who was going to host came down with either flu or Covid.

    Thankfully, the deli at Whole Paycheck sells sliced turkey (real slices not sandwich slices) and I picked up some sides from their hot food bar. So I’m set.

  180. 180.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: I think the only upside here is for DeSantis. I’m not sure he is up to making much of the opportunity, but his team at least ought to be able to record a few “zingers” that might sound good in ads, with no requirement to provide context.

    I think a lot of Republicans are hungry for a candidate who can beat Trump. DeSantis is still probably the best one they’ve got. Sad.

  182. 182.

    Soprano2

    @evodevo: I’m sure this is an unpopular position here, but I think the long eviction pause during Covid is one reason rents are so high. I think some landlords raised rents on the tenants who were paying to compensate for the ones who weren’t that they couldn’t evict; everyone is paying for the eviction moratorium now.

  185. 185.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Soprano2:

    I knew it was bad when he said “I alone can fix it”.

    The next morning, when the person NPR Morning Edition picked to do their post-convention commentary didn’t even make mention of that (or the “LOCK HER UP!!! chants either), that was the last time I’ve listened to NPR.

    I’m still pissed at them about that: I was horrified by those words, and they didn’t even think it was worth mentioning.

  186. 186.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Soprano2:

    I’m sure this is an unpopular position here, but I think the long eviction pause during Covid is one reason rents are so high. I think some landlords raised rents on the tenants who were paying to compensate for the ones who weren’t that they couldn’t evict; everyone is paying for the eviction moratorium now.

    Maybe, but landlords can’t raise rents if their tenants can find cheaper rooms elsewhere.  There just isn’t enough housing to go around in a whole lot of places these days.  Supply and demand.

  188. 188.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @lowtechcyclist: Rents have been too high. A big part of the problem is the practice of home ownership itself.

    We know we need more affordable housing, but homeowners want the values of their homes kept high.  These are the same thing, and homeowners have and wield more power than renters, parent-dwellers, and the unhoused.

  189. 189.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @Soprano2:@NobodySpecial:

    Yes and no. I’ve been absolutely broke and completely screwed up something I was experimenting with in the kitchen. The difference between me and someone coming from a place of abundance is that I still ate it. I did learn though. Those failures made me a better cook.

  190. 190.

    Brachiator

    @Soprano2:

     I’m sure this is an unpopular position here, but I think the long eviction pause during Covid is one reason rents are so high. I think some landlords raised rents on the tenants who were paying to compensate for the ones who weren’t that they couldn’t evict; everyone is paying for the eviction moratorium now.

    The pandemic had major impact on the economy, including rents. But the situation might have been worse had people been pushed out of their apartments and risked greater exposure to the Covid virus as they moved to new housing.

    There was rent control in many California communities, but you also had people not paying rent at all, but who were also able to evade eviction.

    When pandemic restrictions eased all kinds of businesses tried to make up for lost revenues.

    So I think that some adjustment was inevitable. But this also added to the existing problem of a housing shortage.

    The sad thing is that for some on the right, not enough people died. And so, when the next pandemic occurs, there will be more resistance to any measures which might have an impact on the economy.

  191. 191.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: I agree that Haley would be a more dangerous opponent for Joe Biden. Some anti-Trump Republicans like Randy Mott are trying to rally others behind Haley, and they want to win next year. But Mott’s reason is her support for Ukraine and that position could hurt her among primary voters more than it helps.

    I just don’t see Haley getting the nomination, whereas I think DeSantis still might. But there is so much irrationality among this party’s voters that predictions are suspect. This is one of many reasons I’m glad I’m not Karl Rove.

  192. 192.

    Geminid

    The primary field for Abigail Spanberger’s 7th CD seat is starting to fill out. Retired Army Colonel Yevgeny Vindman announced last week, and last night three more candidates were introduced at a local Democratic dinner: state Senator Jeremy McPike and Delegates Elizabeth Guzman and Breanna Sewell. Ms. Sewell has formally anounced and the other two will soon. They all represent parts of the I-95 corridor where approximately two thirds of the district’s voters live.

    Last year Rep. Spanberger won the newly drawn 7th CD by a little over 4 points, but her opponent was not very strong. Republicans will go after the seat hard next year.

  193. 193.

    Mel

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Exactly!

    Just like they “understand” getting grounded the weekend of Prom, or “understand” getting pulled from extracurriculars until their grades improve. Uh-huh. Cheerful, grateful acceptance and cooperative attitudes will surely prevail!

    Has she never met a teenager?

  195. 195.

    Mel

    @lowtechcyclist: Limited supply of affordable housing is, imho, one of the  driving factors the upswing in prices in rental units and the buying market. It’s certainly been a big factor where I live.
    People are either forced upward to a higher price bracket than they can safely afford, or they are forced to apply for subsidized housing, or forced into unhoused living.
    There haven’t been any really accurate cost considered, market-based adjustments made to the qualifications for obtaining housing assistance, which means that many people who absolutely cannot afford the the new higher rents also don’t qualify for assistance b/c their income is “too high” by the older standards still being used. Likewise, there is such increased need for housing assistance as so many people have lost their previous rentals b/c of dramatic rent increases, that the waiting lists and times are long, long, long, causing people to go into more debt or fall through the safety net into frightening circumstances.

  196. 196.

    Dopey-o

    @Soprano2: We already had our Thanksgiving on Sunday because my niece and her husband are going to CA to celebrate with his family and my SIL is on call on Thursday. I don’t know what we’re going to do for the actual day. Probably try to find a restaurant that’s open.

    Find a nice Chinese restaurant, order Peking Duck, and have the head cut off. Just like in the movies.

  197. 197.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: So, next year there will be two open Democratic seats in Virginia and two more in Maryland. In that state, Rep. John Sarbanes is retiring and Rep. David Trone is running for the Senate. In Virginia, Rep. Jennifer is retiring for health reasons and Rep. Abigail Spanberger will not run for reelection in order to concentrate on a run for Governor in 2025.

    Trone won by 10% last year and Sarbanes has not drawn serious opposition for several cycles; these are two fairly “safe” seats.

    Wexton won by 6.5% and Spanberger by ~4.4%. Assuming they field good candidates, Democrats should hold both seats. The 7th CD election might be close though.

    So I think these primaries will be significant mainly in showing where the Democratic electorate stands.

  198. 198.

    StringOnAStick

    @cain: My dad’s sister is in assisted living in another state.  She constantly demands that he fly out and bust her out of the joint.  She can’t walk or even propel a wheelchair by herself because as an incredible snob, she feels that is beneath her. She is completely incontinent, can barely feed herself and is every nursing home employee’s worst nightmare because she is so mean and demanding.  My dad/her brother is too weak to fly anymore so she berates him for being “less than a man” and he just takes it; their family dynamics are incredibly toxic.

    My oldest sister is a retired nurse who has been getting him to doctor appointments, grocery shopping and house cleaning once a week, saying that according to the 10 commandments, this is “an honor” for her.  Now she’s says she’s having dementia issues.  The problem is she’s the executor so I see all this falling into my lap at some point and soon.

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