Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

People are complicated. Love is not.

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

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

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Petty moves from a petty man.

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

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

People are weird.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / Sunday Morning Open Thread: Lazy Sunday Morning

Sunday Morning Open Thread: Lazy Sunday Morning

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Sunday Morning Open Thread: Lazy Sunday Morning

(Clay Bennett via GoComics.com)

 
Some would call it cat libel, but some cats really *are* deliberately destructive little bastids — the orange traffic cone in our household would absolutely vote Republican, if he had thumbs and a fake ID.

Small treat for fans of holiday decorating:

This is in New Hampshire, where Biden is notoriously *not* on the (illegitimate under current rules) primary ballot:

Reader Interactions

144Comments

  6. 6.

    Memory Pallas

    I’ve started thinking that maybe there should be Biden rallies – or perhaps Democracy rallies. Something in a venue with admission, entertainment, security – maybe a certain amount of open mike where people stood up and and said why they treasure democracy and don’t want to live in a dictatorship. I would go. I would consider going, like, monthly, and traveling around the country as though following the Grateful Dead.
    Does anyone else think this should happen?
    Does anyone else have any idea how to make this happen?

  9. 9.

    Chief Oshkosh

    I had a Republican cat once. Mean as hell everyday and twice on Sunday. Had three legs and a bad attitude. Used to beat up the neighborhood golden retriever. We finally got him into therapy. Turned out he had a deep-seated fear of donkeys. Once he came to understand that elephants and donkeys are not what the political parties are actually composed of, he became an Independent and got involved in local politics. Of course it was all a scam. He just wanted to hang out with the fat cats and mooch treats.

  12. 12.

    different-church-lady

    would absolutely vote Republican multiple times, if he had thumbs and a fake ID.

  13. 13.

    NotMax

    First world problem.

    And the beat goes on. One item ordered via Amazon on Black Friday sale supposed to arrive yesterday. The tracking page now suddenly reads as follows:

    Arriving December 21
    Originally expected December 2

    C’est la vie. ;)

  17. 17.

    Derelict

    Compare the White House holiday decorations under the Bidens to the black Christmas trees Malignia installed.

  18. 18.

    J. Arthur Crank

    Big’s full name is “Big Fucking”, but they generally only use their first name, sort of like Adele or Madonna.

  19. 19.

    O. Felix Culpa

    The Biden Xmas decorations are lovely, but none so memorable (perhaps not in the best way) as Melania’s murder trees.

  24. 24.

    rikyrah

    Look at those White House Christmas decorations. Full of happiness and cheer. Not a Christmas nightmare anywhere in sight.😒😒😒

  25. 25.

    Andrew Abshier

    Back in 2004, I had a calico cat and was living in Sarasota, Florida.  We had a hurricane coming in so I took in my yard signs for Democratic candidates.  I was working in another room when I heard kitty screaming and commotion.  I went out and found my yard signs down with claw marks in them!

    After that my cat’s name was Cali, The Republican Cat!

  26. 26.

    Suzanne

    So it rained last night, and will continue to do so for most of the day. New puppy (Coco, we made it official) is showing significant reticence to going outside. We want you to poop outside, puppy!

  29. 29.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Suzanne:

    Heh, my old puppy is also reticent about going outside in the rain. (Which is to say, he becomes a refusenik.)  Can’t wholly blame the puppers, though. I too prefer indoor plumbing and its comforts.

  32. 32.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @frosty: Speaking of that word, we all joke about Melanie’s “Christmas in Hell” decor, but that phone call where she’s complaining to a friend about having to do “Fucking Christmas” was perhaps her most genuine. Almost likable.

  33. 33.

    RevRick

    Humble bragging here: our church, St. John’s UCC, Allentown, has established a Green Team to lead us in a year-long process of becoming a Creation Justice Church. The process is divided into quarters: the first being education and theological groundwork; the second, an inventory of what we as a church and individually are doing; the third, taking action; and the fourth, expanding our reach through larger connections. I kicked things off with some factoids in our weekly announcements, beginning with Svante Arrhenius’ paper on the greenhouse gas effect of carbon dioxide in 1896. I preached a sermon on the enormity of the challenge ahead and the need for hope. In January, our pastor will preach a month-long sermon series “For All Creation Sing!”, and we will distribute a 60-day challenge of prayers, Scripture readings and reflections to members and friends focusing on care of creation.
    We are looking forward to Bill McKibben’s national Zoom presentation on Earth Day.

  36. 36.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Scout211: I was mightily impressed when he had to do George Santos doing an Elton John impression.

    We just watched that this morning. Which got us talking about Lorne Michaels and SNL over the years. Which somehow took me down a rabbit hole of famous people who’d flunked their SNL auditions.

  37. 37.

    NotMax

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym

    SNL passed its sell-by date somewhere around 1982.

    Full disclosure: Friend was a page at NBC and would sneak us in to (both) tapings, then the gang would truck across the street to Hurley’s for the afterparty.

  38. 38.

    WaterGirl

    @Suzanne: When my cocker spaniel was a puppy, she knew she had to poop outside. We had so much rain for a couple of days that we were starting to wonder if we should build an ark.

    Arrow waited until she couldn’t wait anymore, she scratched to go out, I opened the door to the front porch – she took one step out, turned around so that her front paws were in the house and her back paws were (technically) outside, and immediately pooped.

    It was hard to be mad at her.  Who’s a good girl!

  41. 41.

    WaterGirl

    @Suzanne: I feel you.  In 2018 I had my niece’s two 4-month-old pups here for 10 days.  I had to take them out all the fucking time because that’s what you do when they are little.

    It rained every day for the entire 10 days they were with me.  So much mud everywhere!

    But they were adorable and we all bonded.  It’s amazing how pups stay bonded with people they met when they were little, no matter how infrequently we see them.

  44. 44.

    NotMax

    where Biden is notoriously *not* on the (illegitimate under current rules) primary ballot:

    Notoriously? More like rightfully.

  45. 45.

    Tony Jay

    You have to admit, Prenuptia Pinchface might not have provided the executive mansion with a traditional Christmas look, but her Trees of Sorrow, Blood and Bone diorama hit all the right warning notes for what a Trump White House was going to be about.

    So there’s that.

  46. 46.

    NotMax

    Perhaps I’m just jaded. Well into episode 4 of Slow Horses, which is promoted as being comedic. Fail to have discovered a scintilla of humor thus far.

  47. 47.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, …

    Laffy
    @[email protected]

    Never fails. I posted what I thought was a positive apolitical news item. It did get some hopeful, interesting feedback but 1st had to wade thru all the “Pfft! Reject! I know better than anyone” replies.

    Is it really that big a part of human nature to have to knee-jerk challenge everything?

    I won’t reiterate story bc I don’t want to have to rehash.

    Btw, when I raise this, it’s not about “no criticism or debate!” but about GRATUITOUS criticism/bicker. I learn from criticism, not negativity.

    Dec 03, 2023, 09:56

    Nominated.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  49. 49.

    Josie

    The picture of the cat and the Christmas tree brought back a fond memory. We came home from a Christmas party to find our beautifully decorated tree on the ground just like in that picture. The cat was asleep on the couch and pleaded total innocence. After that we tied up every Christmas tree to the railings on the circular staircase with fishing line.

  50. 50.

    NotMax

    @

    Another Scott

    knee-jerk challenge everything

    Seen Fox’s recent anti-Biden screed?

    “Real me don’t drink through a straw. Straws are for women and children.”

    (Not making this up.)

  52. 52.

    trollhattan

    Today is the California International Marathon. It has already started and I’d go downtown to watch the finish, but the runners have used up all the energy in the region and so, I am insufficiently motivated. Maybe I should go back to bed.

  55. 55.

    Soprano2

    That video of the White House Christmas decorations was nice, thanks for posting it. I still can’t believe all the Republican “traditionalists” didn’t criticize Meliania’s “Christmas in Hell” decorations. They sure would if a Democratic First Lady decorated like that.

    We got our Christmas tree yesterday, we’ll decorate it today. My famously Christmas tree worshipping husband, who usually can’t wait to get a tree and is pestering me about it on the day after Thanksgiving, said to me on that day “I’m not sure I even want a tree this year, something doesn’t feel right”.😪 I think it’s an affect of the disease. It has to be, my mouth almost literally dropped open when he said it. This man complains when I take the tree down on January 1st! If we could leave it up all year he would have me do that. (It’s a real tree). This is such a  pernicious disease, you never know when something is going to change. It’s yet another reminder that things are different now.

  57. 57.

    Geminid

    I ran into a good clean energy story on Canary Media titled, “Portugal just ran on 100% renewables 6 days in a row.”

       Portugal produced more than enough renewable power to serve all its customers from October 31 to November 6.

    Portugal’s longest such period had been 2 days, but steady deployment of wind generators and very windy weather enabled this result despite low output from photovoltaic cells on a account of rain. Consumers had lower costs because the natural gas plants which usually supplement renewable sources were idled.

    Hydro power accounts for around 40% of Poertugal”s generating capacity. They intend to add more hydro, solar and wind power capacity, and are planning some large battery installations.

  58. 58.

    Another Scott

    @Soprano2: I picked up a “dwarf Alberta Spruce” at Lowe’s a weekend ago.  Comes with some wired tiny red globes (but was bound up fairly tightly, so we cut most of the wire off and hung the globes separately).  It’s maybe 2 feet high, comes in a metal pot with drainage, and supposedly gets to 4-feet high and 4-feet wide, so I’ll be able to find a place for it in the backyard in the early spring without worrying that it will take over.

    Short strands of LED lights are really cheap now, they even have some that run off batteries.

    Maybe something like that would cheer the guy up?

    Good luck!  Hang in there.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  59. 59.

    Soprano2

    @rikyrah: That was interesting, and doesn’t surprise me at all. They think their kids should always be on top no matter what.  I wonder if the opposite would also be true – would Asian parents leave a system if too many white people moved there because they think it would “dumb down ” the school. I think as people we have to fight against the tendency to want to huddle in homogeneous groups because the primitive part of our brain thinks it’s safer. It does put the lie to a lot of what white people say about schools, though.

  61. 61.

    kalakal

    I quite liked the “Hieronymus Bosch at his jolliest” vibe Melamine brought to Christmas.

    On a personal note we go back to the no longer flooded library on monday. When we reopen to the public is a different question. A sensible answer would be January.

    Got to see the endodontic surgeon friday, lesion far too big to do surgery, root canal now scheduled for next friday. He thinks the teeth are basically ok but there is a nasty infection/abcess to deal with. The good news is the antibiotics really kicked in Saturday, the right side of my face is no longer huge compared to the left and, currently, I no longer want to smash my face with a brick and am not getting close to maxing out a selection of NSAIDs. Long may this continue

  62. 62.

    Soprano2

    @WaterGirl: I hope so, he was happy once we got it up yesterday. It’s so jarring when a thing that’s always been true isn’t true anymore. I just assumed we’d get the tree after Thanksgiving because we always do. I think there was one year it was raining so much we had to wait.

  64. 64.

    Suzanne

    @WaterGirl: I had a cocker spaniel, years ago, who had severe allergies. Including to grass. We would take her out to potty, and she knew she was supposed to get in the grass. So she’d put her front paws in the grass and then drop a turd on the sidewalk.

  66. 66.

    StringOnAStick

    @kalakal: I’m glad the antibiotics are working.  When the infection is raging like that, the local anaesthetic can’t work as well, it’s an issue with the pH of the infected area interacting with that of the local anaesthetic, so you want the infection under control before they treat the issue for that reason alone, aside from the other reasons.

  67. 67.

    Geminid

    @Another Scott: Magdi Jacobs (aka Mangy Jay) had a varistion of this complaint:

       The linguistic parsing that occurs on this site would cause all communication to break down in real life. It’s like in a quest for one-upsmanship, people’s ability to make inferences or engage in other sociolinguistic reasoning just melts right out of their ears.

    I thought Jacobs hit the nail on the head when she identified the “quest for one-upmanship” as a general probem.

    Ms. Jacobs went on to provide an example:

       My new favorite phenomenon is the policing of modal verbs, e.g. “might, can, will, may.”

    Someone to me: “I would replace ‘may’ in this tweet with ‘will,’ perhaps delete ‘may’ altogether.”

    Me: “I would put your head in a toilet, but we can’t always get what we want, can we?”

     

  68. 68.

    Kristine Smith

    My pup Gaby didn’t look like an outdoor dog, but was she ever. Rain. snow, whatever—she wanted her walks. I’d let her out on rainy days to do her business and next thing I knew she was curled up in the middle of the yard sleeping.

  69. 69.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @kalakal: Sorry you’re going through that. I suffered a long weekend with an infection, trying to use topical numbing drops to dull the pain. Monday morning I saw the dentist and got prescribed antibiotics and a root canal. It’s a glorious thing when the antibiotics kick in. The root canal itself a couple days later was no big deal, not really a different experience from a filling, just a little longer because they had to go through a crown.

  70. 70.

    Another Scott

    @Suzanne: Some neighbors down the street seem to do puppy / adolescent fostering.  Every dog they have, they train to poop / pee in the middle of the street.  They pick up after it, but it’s the weirdest thing…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  71. 71.

    Scout211

    @Soprano2: This is such a  pernicious disease, you never know when something is going to change. It’s yet another reminder that things are different now.

    As always, I feel you.  It’s like a super slow grieving process. ☹️ One day at a time is all we can do to deal with it.

    Mr. Scout is uncomfortable when the daily schedule and structure of his life changes, even slightly.  He does best when every day is exactly the same as the day before.  That may be what Mr. Soprano2 is reacting to.  The day to day change feels uncomfortable to him and the past history is not really available to his brain right now.

    My two cents? If you want a tree, go ahead and get one but take each step (getting the tree, putting up the decorations) very slowly so he can get comfortable with each change.

    Also, thank you for sharing your experience here.  It helps me a lot.

  72. 72.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: Correction: hydro power provides around 30% of Portugal’s generating capacity, not 40%.

    Actually, in 2022 it was 36% of installed power generation capacity, and 23% of total power generation. A dry year.

  74. 74.

    Anoniminous

    @Memory Pallas: ​ Open mike at a political rally is a bad idea. You’ve got no control over who speaks, what they say, and how long they stand there saying it. At best it’s boringly pointless. At worst you get TV reports “Democrats at a recent meeting supported forced abortions on white people” or something similar.​

  76. 76.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Geminid: You might could use “might could” instead.

    A lot of southernisms grate on me, but I had a boss from South Carolina who used that construction a lot, and it kind of grew on me. Or maybe I should say it kind of fascinates me, makes me ponder the mysteries of linguistics.

  77. 77.

    Anyway

    @Soprano2:

    Hope he’ll enjoy it and boost his spirits once the tree is all decorated.

    I usually put up outdoor lights and enjoy seeing them when I get in after work in the dark but not feeling it yet this year. The dreary weather this weekend isn’t helping either. Bah humbug…

  78. 78.

    Another Scott

    @Eunicecycle: Iknorite??  Plus, dogs often need smells to get going.  Asphalt isn’t exactly what they are used to smelling.

    Dunno…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  82. 82.

    NotMax

    Now that it’s rainy season and ground vegetation has metamorphosed from brown to green, did the first mowing since August yesterday. Only the troublesome/overgrown sections, not the entire property.

    Gawd, I loathe yard work.

  83. 83.

    Josie

    @WaterGirl: Oh yes. There were many broken ornaments strewn among the fallen branches. That was the year I began searching for and even making unbreakable ornaments, which actually stood me in good stead later when I had three boys in succession.

  85. 85.

    Baud

    @Anoniminous:

    At worst you get TV reports “Democrats at a recent meeting supported forced abortions on white people”

     

    Great, now I gotta remove a bumper sticker.

  86. 86.

    Salty Sam .

    @Josie: The picture of the cat and the Christmas tree brought back a fond memory. We came home from a Christmas party to find our beautifully decorated tree on the ground…

    Oh, we’re telling these stories now?       Once long ago, in the young adult phase of my life, I stopped by a buddy’s house to wish him and his wife Season’s Greetings.  We visited for a bit, and then he and I walked up to a local pub and had a few.  Quite a few.

    When we returned quite a bit later, we discovered his wife had been busy putting up and decorating a beautiful Christmas tree.  Buddy and I poured a nightcap and sat admiring her work.  He was almost moved to tears, reflecting on how lucky he was to have such a wife, who would put up with his bullshit and STILL do something as nice as this tree before us.

    As he studied the work of art, he noticed something “not quite right” near the top- the star was out of alignment, or something.  He scooched his chair closer to the tree, and started to climb up to fix it… You know where this is headed, yes?

    The last thing I saw as I beat a retreat through the front door was him on hands and knees, scooping up shattered ornaments from the fallen tree, as his wife emerged from the bedroom with a sleepy-eyed look of horror on her face.

    Sad to say, that was the last Christmas they celebrated as a married couple…

  89. 89.

    Scout211

    Re: Pets and Christmas trees.

    The next door neighbors at our first home had a Springer Spaniel and an ornery cat.  After one disastrous “Christmas of destruction,” they hung their Christmas tree every year upside-down from the ceiling.  It was quite a sight.

  90. 90.

    Salty Sam .

    @Josie:   meh, the marriage was doomed before this incident- the tree was just one of several “final straws”.  Now that I think back, he and I had burst into drunken laughter when the tree first went down.  Then the magnitude of the horror set in…

  91. 91.

    zhena gogolia

    Dionne Warwick, Barry Gibb, and Renee Fleming on the same stage — my head might explode from joy!

    ETA: literally (for Hugh Bonneville)

  92. 92.

    Jeffro

    @Percysowner: I’m still confused as to why a Biden-trump rematch is a nightmare with these people.

    trump is a nightmare.  Biden has been kicking ass for years now.

  93. 93.

    WaterGirl

    @Soprano2: I’m sure that every day is holds a land mine where you realize that one more thing is gone – things you took for granted after knowing your husband for a very long time.

    I can only imagine how hard that must be.  And day after day after day, that has to wear you down.

    Sending good thoughts and a prayer to the universe to send an unlimited supply of grace your way.

  96. 96.

    trollhattan

    @Eunicecycle: ​
    Reminds one of photo sets showing Obama and Reagan wearing…gasp…TAN SUITS.

    Also, too, propping presidential feet on the president’s desk.

  97. 97.

    zhena gogolia

    @Jeffro: That’s what kills me. It’s the constant refrain in the NYT. It’s TRUMP we don’t want to see again. BIDEN is the incumbent president who’s done a great job. We’d like to see him with a worthy opponent, but they don’t exist in the Rethug Party.

  100. 100.

    Chris T.

    @Geminid:

    Actually, in 2022 it was 36% of installed power generation capacity, and 23% of total power generation. A dry year.

    Yes, the pros talk about both “nameplate capacity” (a sort of speed-of-light, we’ll-never-produce-more-than number) and actual production, which is always* lower. The ratio of actual to nameplate is the “capacity factor”, a number less than 1.0. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nameplate_capacity

    *”What, never?  … What, always?”

  102. 102.

    Jeffro

    You know, it’s strange but I can’t find a single article on Fox News – not one – about that Florida GOP chair being charged with the sexual assault of his and his Moms4Liberty-founding’s wife’s paramour.

    Not a peep.  Weird, huh?  Normally every third article on their website is some ridiculously salacious thing from somewhere.

  103. 103.

    WaterGirl

    @Josie: Yikes, the broken ornaments are the worst part!

    Most of my ornaments are hand-blown glass.  After year one with the kitties, I bought some new ornaments for the bottom few inches of the tree.  They got to bat the christmas tree ornaments that hand bells on them, and they left the good stuff alone.

    I love the christmas photo that frosty sent in one year for the Holidays when we were kids series for On the Road.  frosty has a twin, and – at least in this photo – his mom had put a fence up around the tree.  Smart mom!

  104. 104.

    Jackie

    Re the smug kitty next to the downed Xmas tree: We always put our tree in a corner and used fishing line tied around mid-trunk and anchored to a discreet 🪝 in the wall behind the tree. It works beautifully and the tiny hole is only visible if you know it’s there the other 11 1/2 months.

    Eta We also hang little tinkling tattletale bells randomly on the lower branches

  107. 107.

    Memory Pallas

    @Anoniminous: ​ Perhaps more heavily pre-curated “open mike” but who would do the curating? Meanwhile, doesn’t anyone know a concert promoter or Bob Geldoff type who could step up?​​

  110. 110.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Scout211:

    Open thread? The SNL cold open last night was all George Santos and it was a little long, but fun. Bowen Yang was [chef’s kiss]. 

    That song parody was genius!

  111. 111.

    Juju

    @NotMax: Jesse Watters needs some counseling. Seriously. That is such a peevish complaint from a peevish man. I bet there’s a picture of Jesse Watters drinking his chocolate milk through a straw somewhere.

  112. 112.

    Brachiator

    @NotMax:

    “Real men don’t drink through a straw. Straws are for women and children.”

    I think this Fox News idiot is taking the idea of a”straw man” a bit too literally.

    Figuratively speaking.

  114. 114.

    CaseyL

    RWers are perpetual tantrum-throwing children.  I cannot get out of my mind that guy (can’t remember where this was) on the floor in a supermarket or Target or something, having a Major Meltdown because the store required him to put on a mask.  On the floor, screaming, pulling the mask up and down his face. I mean, literally a 5-year old’s tantrum.

    In other news, I screwed up my sweet little 3-qt instant pot.  Started pouring black beans into it without the inner pot being there.  I did the YouTube thing, found a DIY on how to take off the bottom, did all the stuff, got the beans out and the instant pot reassembled… but now it won’t turn on.

    Opened it up again and found a blue wire unconnected to anything.  BUT! It wasn’t one of the wires I disconnected.  There is no obvious place to connect it.  Maybe the blue wire I did disconnect also held that one down?  But the photos I took beforehand don’t show that; unfortunately, they don’t NOT show that – the business end of the stray blue wire is curled out of sight altogether.

    This is upsetting, not least because the 3-qt ones are hard to find these days.  I did find one on a local resale site and have put in an offer.

  115. 115.

    BeautifulPlumage

    Some would call it cat libel, but some cats really *are* deliberately destructive little bastids — the orange traffic cone in our household would absolutely vote Republican, if he had thumbs and a fake ID.

    THIS is why I love this blog. Plus all the great comments (so far – haven’t read through yet. Now back to a lazy morning with fresh coffee and a purring kitty to scritch while I enjoy the wit & wisdom of BJ).

  116. 116.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, … Reuters.com:

    LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Keir Starmer, leader of Britain’s main opposition Labour Party, has praised former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a deeply unpopular figure among many Labour supporters, as he seeks to woo Conservative voters before an election expected next year.

    Starmer, whose left-wing party is ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives by some 20 points in opinion polls, is seeking to cement that advantage by broadening Labour’s appeal to attract voters who have spurned the party in national elections over the past 13 years.

    Thatcher, dubbed the “Iron Lady” by the UK press at the time, was Britain’s Conservative leader from 1979 to 1990. She was an extremely divisive figure, hailed by some but loathed by many on the left for crushing trade unions and privatizing swathes of British industry. She died in 2013.

    “Every moment of meaningful change in modern British politics begins with the realisation that politics must act in service of the British people, rather than dictating to them,” Starmer wrote in an article for the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

    “Margaret Thatcher sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism,” he wrote, while also paying tribute to former Labour premiers Tony Blair and Clement Attlee.

    While his message was designed to appeal to traditional Conservatives, it was also an attempt to distance himself from the politics of former Labour leader, veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn, who in 2019 led the party to its worst defeat since the 1930s.

    After hailing Thatcher, Starmer wrote that Labour had “changed dramatically in the last three years”.

    “I think the public will see this for what it is,” Health minister Victoria Atkins told Sky News.

    “Don’t forget he wasn’t appealing to Margaret Thatcher’s entrepreneurial spirit when he was courting votes from the hard left,” she said. “And I suspect the great lady herself would view a man who is trying to ride on the coattails of her success with the following words: ‘No, no, no’.”

    JFC!

    Starmer really is a 5th columnist, isn’t he??

    Grr…,
    Scott.

  117. 117.

    Mike S. (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    @Suzanne: We always used a large golf umbrella. When our dogs were young they only cared about keeping their face dry. Their backend getting wet didn’t seem to matter.

  119. 119.

    Villago Delenda Est

    1. “Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree, your ornaments are history!”
    2. Fuck New Hampshire. Over and over again. Nuke Dixville Notch off the face of the Earth.

  123. 123.

    Brachiator

    @Another Scott:

    “Margaret Thatcher sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism,” he wrote, while also paying tribute to former Labour premiers Tony Blair and Clement Attlee.

    Is this really praising Thatcher? Starmer’s opinion piece appears in the pro Tory Telegraph, which otherwise is going to do all it can to defeat Labour.

    And much like the Bernie bros and others here, there are leftists who believe that it is a sin to try to pursue wavering Tory voters.

  127. 127.

    Tony Jay

    @Betty Cracker:

    I thank you.

    @Another Scott:

    Saw it. Nothing that jelly-spined little turdette does surprises me any more. Going to the Torygraph to wax lyrical about that evil bitch is entirely on brand. This isn’t “Obama saying Reagan was consequential”, this is a Labour Party leader at the end of four and a half decades of a murderous class war that has all but destroyed the country dropping to his knees and saying she was right and every single Labour voter since 1979 was wrong.

    Anyone who wants to soft-soap this ugly trolling as “appealing to Tory voters” is delusional, and I think I gave my opinion about that brand of nonsense in yesterday’s morning thread.

    Unless they’d be happy with Biden “appealing  to Republican voters” by praising Reagan for standing up for American values against those unpatriotic Demofags and Commie sympathisers? Yeah? No? Whatever. SMDH

  128. 128.

    Brachiator

    @Baud:

    It’d be like Biden praising Reaganomics.  Stamer probably went a little too far.

    Again, Starmer did not praise Thatcher.

    A very good short commentary on this.

  129. 129.

    mostlygray

    Two of my cats have thumbs, Merle would never vote for a republican and the other is yet to be determined but I’m seeing young anarchist but he’s leaning towards the good side. Neither has voter id though.

  130. 130.

    Soprano2

    @Scout211: You should join the Alzheimer’s Spouse Journal and Support Group if you’re on Facebook. They’ve helped me already. You have to answer some questions, but I have no doubt they’d let you in and I think it would help. You don’t feel so alone.

    What I’ve noticed is that after the weekend when I’m home he’s more alert and active, he’ll be up and doing something when I come home from work. By Thursday he’s usually still asleep in bed or on the couch when i come home. Makes me feel a little guilty, but I can’t quit my job unless it’s absolutely necessary.

  131. 131.

    Brachiator

    @Tony Jay:

    Unless they’d be happy with Biden “appealing  to Republican voters” by praising Reagan for standing up for American values against those unpatriotic Demofags and Commie sympathisers?

    There were lefties here who wet their knickers over Biden talking about reaching out to the Republicans and bipartisanship.

    Didn’t have a goddam thing to do with Biden’s policies or how he governed.

  132. 132.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    Oh boy.

    Honoring Queen Latifah violates the Constitution’s prohibition on confirming titles of nobility. Which is exactly why Obama never officially recognized Prince.

  133. 133.

    dnfree

    @NotMax: We are very glad we quit Slow Horses after the first two seasons.  We just read a review yesterday that said the new season is “nonstop violence”.

    The supposed humor mostly seemed to consist of putdowns and meanness.  Everyone seemed to have secrets of an unsavory nature.

  134. 134.

    Tony Jay

    @Brachiator:

    Because those are two different and unconnected things, and we have two different people talking about those two different and unconnected things. I don’t give a shit what bought and paid for faux-Left shitstirrers pretend to be outraged about. No one should.

    Biden didn’t praise Reagan for doing something only delusional wingnuts pretend he did. And he wouldn’t, because that would run counter to the policies he wanted to pursue and outrage the Party he wanted to unite.

    Starmer did just praise Thatcher for doing something only delusional Tories pretend she did. And that’s entirely in synch with the policies he says he wants to pursue while outraging the Party he’s said he wants to divide.

    Different things. Unconnected. Leading to different reactions.

    ETA – I’m done arguing this point, because there’s nothing to argue about. I’m going to bask in todays football results and panic over getting ready for Christmas.

  135. 135.

    dnfree

    @Another Scott: Yesterday I was reminded why I seldom comment  here when I said I was pleased to have been included in an electoral-vote item.  Balloon-Juice commenters pointed out perceived flaws in my comment and one wound up telling me “Fuck you”.

  137. 137.

    Scout211

    @Soprano2: You should join the Alzheimer’s Spouse Journal and Support Group if you’re on Facebook.

    Thanks.  I am not on any social media but I am looking around locally for something.

  139. 139.

    Another Scott

    @Brachiator: Thanks for the pointer.

    Firstly, me thinks he doth protest too much.

    Here’s Starmer’s piece.

    Voters have been betrayed on Brexit and immigration. I stand ready to deliver

    My party extends the hand of friendship to those who voted for the Tories but feel let down by their failure to act

    [ Did he write the headline? Maybe not, but it seems to be a fair summary. ]

    […]

    That sense of a once great country now set on a path of decline has been sharpened by our political culture. The vast majority of the public don’t think about Westminster much. Why would they? At a time when people are looking for answers to the deep challenges of our age, they see a politics too large in its hectoring and interfering, too small in its ambition and ability. In these difficult conditions, the current Government resembles nothing so much as the sinking Mary Rose: overburdened, incompetently handled, plunging into the depths.

    Every moment of meaningful change in modern British politics begins with the realisation that politics must act in service of the British people, rather than dictating to them. Margaret Thatcher sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism. Tony Blair reimagined a stale, outdated Labour Party into one that could seize the optimism of the late 90s. A century ago, Clement Attlee wrote that Labour must be a party of duty and patriotism, not abstract theory. To build a “New Jerusalem” meant first casting off the mind-forged manacles. That lesson is as true today as it was then.

    It is in this sense of public service that Labour has changed dramatically in the last three years. The course of shock therapy we gave our party had one purpose: to ensure that we were once again rooted in the priorities, the concerns and the dreams of ordinary British people. To put country before party.

    It’s pablum.

    A “sense of […] path of decline”?? The numbers are damning.

    He’s attacking his own party and sucking up to the Tories because he wants their votes over his own party’s. He hardly had any sensible opposition at all to Boris and the Tories, other than their horrible policies were being incompetently implemented.

    “Vote for me, I’ll implement horrible policies competently!!1”

    :-/

    FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  140. 140.

    CaseyL

    About the only Starmer-slammer I listen to is Charlie Stross – and even then, he lives in Scotland and is, I think, more Socialist than Labour in his politics.

    If Starmer is trying to reach out to Tory voters, hearing Corbynites call him a traitor is probably more helpful than not.

  141. 141.

    Another Scott

    @CaseyL: Sure, but what will it do to people on Labour’s side??

    IPSOS.com:

    Optimism on the UK economy

    55% expect the economy to worsen in the next 12 months (unchanged from September). 21% expect it to improve (+1) and 20% say it will stay the same (-3). 5% don’t know (+3), leaving the October 2023 Ipsos Economic Optimism Index at -34, an improvement of 1 point over September.

    […]

    Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer approval ratings

    Our latest Political Pulse release of 9 November shows that for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, 22% are favourable towards him (-2 from September), and 51% are unfavourable (-1). For Keir Starmer 28% are favourable (no change from September) and 42% are unfavourable (no change from September).

    Given those 2 sets of numbers, it seems like malpractice not to hammer the economy hard every minute of the day, and spend time talking about real policies to make things better. And not spend much effort – at – all – in the losing battle of trying to convince Tories that he’s a new nu gnu Labour leader (especially when he knows it will infuriate a big part of his own party).

    But, hey, I’m just a dog on the internet.

    :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  143. 143.

    ColoradoGuy

    One of the striking differences between Tories and Republicans is that both parties in the US are very pro-growth and pro-technology, while the Tories, particularly after Maggie Thatcher, are quite willing to burn down the entire economy so long as furthers class warfare. It’s pretty audacious to de-industrialize the entire nation just to wipe out labor unions. More recently, a decade of forced austerity, followed by Brexit, locks in long-term decline and mass poverty. Which has been the obvious goal all along.

    By contrast, what animates the GOP is racism, misogyny, theocracy, and endless Culture War … hatred in it’s rawest and crudest KKK form. The GOP and the Tories are becoming more alike, though, with the GOP setting aside the universally held American growth mantra in favor of raw fascism … as seen in Florida, for example.

    And the Tories are getting infected with US-style open racism, along with the centuries-old Class War. If the Tories and the GOP got everything they wanted, the UK would end up like southern Italy, while the USA would become a sleek Nazi state, and a menace to the entire world.

  144. 144.

    grandmaBear

    @Soprano2: this is probably a dead thread, but I would suggest Christmas music, especially classic carols. My mother (who was usually anti- organized religion) used to ask to go to the hospital chapel on Sundays so she could sing along with the hymns. I play in a ukulele group that performs for people in assisted living & nursing homes. They love the live music and we encourage them to sing along. Lots of tunes from their childhoods or teen years are popular.

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