Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

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

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

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

In my day, never was longer.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

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

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

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

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

I really should read my own blog.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

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

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

You are here: Home / Politics / Wednesday Afternoon Open Thread & Jake Sullivan Briefing

Wednesday Afternoon Open Thread & Jake Sullivan Briefing

by | 186 Comments

This post is in: ,

I know it’s twitter, but please take a minute to watch this video, or go find it on MSNBC and watch it there.  It’s quite heartening, and we can all use more of that.

Auto Draft 94

h/t Manyakitty on the briefing.

Oh, and a quick reminder that the Ukraine raffle goes until 5 pm Eastern this evening.  Check out previous posts for details.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

186Comments

  6. 6.

    TBone

    Reminder:  they’re always fukn terrified.  It’s what makes a bully a coward.  I say make ’em spit their Chiclets every time!  Come up SWINGIN’! And singin’!

  12. 12.

    pthomas745

    Harold Rosenberg’s twitter feed is the reason to keep looking at Twitter.  Rosenberg has made these same exact points for the last 4 years.  He predicted the dreaded “red wave” in 2022 was a media fantasy.

  18. 18.

    Anonymous At Work

    R+7.5 to D+7.8 is a 15-point swing to Democrats.  Any R+14 district can be up for grabs.  Any R+14 race cannot be taken for granted by either party.

  20. 20.

    WaterGirl

    @Alison Rose: I am running behind on the video, but I just heard Jake say that he had “offered” a gang of 8 briefing and that it’s scheduled for tomorrow, and he was surprised to hear that they had discussed that publicly.

    So maybe no crisis – just the administration hoping to sway the traitorous republicans with (I know!)  information?

  21. 21.

    Citizen Dave

    I want to play poker with this Turner guy.  You want to “call on Biden”?, then just call him on the damn telephone.

  23. 23.

    Alison Rose

    @WaterGirl: Yeah, he seemed pretty ticked that Turner got out over his skis on this. And I do wonder if Turner is exaggerating it a little? Because again, if it were so dire, wouldn’t the admin be moving faster? I don’t know…I’m just tired of being scared all the damn time.

  24. 24.

    Albatrossity

    It’s great to flip that district, but it has some unique parameters this time around. One of them is Santos. Being completely embarrassed by your last representative is not going to be the case in every district. Nevertheless, I HOPE that at least some GOP reps are terrified. I wish all of them were!

  25. 25.

    TBone

    @Citizen Dave: you just reminded me of this.

    https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-11-20/edward-norton-donald-trump-poker

    thread. “We’re seeing 1) a tactical delay of the transition to buy time for coverup & evidence suppression 2) above all, a desperate endgame which is to create enough chaos & anxiety about peaceful transfer of power, & fear of irreparable damage to the system, that he can cut a Nixon-style deal in exchange for finally conceding. But he doesn’t have the cards. His bluff after ‘the flop’ has been called in court.”

  26. 26.

    Dangerman

    Any flip as it regards the Reichers works for me.

    Also, Trump should be spanked (non Stormy edition) by the Judge on Friday.

    After the USSC tells Trump to get fucked, the media is going to have to fap harder to keep this election close.

  28. 28.

    Indycat32

    According to CNN Turner said it’s related to Russia, is “very sensitive” and he’s made it available to all members. What could possibly go wrong.

  30. 30.

    TBone

    Another lesson about playing poker: the guy at the table with the money from daddy doesn’t care if he wins or loses.  It’s about being at the table with the “big” boys.

  31. 31.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    I was wondering what FTFNYT’s “take” would be on last night’s special election but then good ole DougJ provided the info:

    Democrats won last night’s special election in NY-3. So how come it feels like they lost?

    Democrat electoral opportunities even bleaker with no new House seats to win until November.

    Analysis | Given the outsized spending by Democrats and the lingering stain of George Santos, it’s arguable that the NY-3 special election was really a Republican victory. by Nate Cohn

  33. 33.

    MattF

    I love the way all the ‘savvy’ political commentators are straining for a way to make this bad for Dems. Or, maybe neutral. It’s, they say, NEUTRAL, dammit NEUTRAL. Ha ha ha.

  34. 34.

    cain

    @Anonymous At Work:

    A lot of that is that ‘busybodies’ are inserting themselves and causing a raucous at every stage inserting themselves and their child god king into everything.

    If there is one thing we as a country cannot stand – it is busybodies. Every law these GOPers have been putting in place is giving MAGA the power to insert themselves into other people’s lives when it is none of their business.

  35. 35.

    cain

    @Alison Rose: Shit, let’s hope it isn’t a Muslim threat. That will give the GOP and Trump a way to make a lot of noise.

    Of course, if it is a white threat – they don’t call that a threat, amiriite? More of people expressing their freedom.

  36. 36.

    Baud

    @cain:

    Yeah, one the things Republicans have historically been good at is convincing regularly folks that we were the busybodies because we want to regulate corporations and give women and minorities legal rights.

  40. 40.

    cain

    @Baud: Indeed. But more than that – the laws that are being passed is not helping anybody. Other than taxes, the GOP platform doesn’t really have much of anything other than telling you to be afraid of change.

  45. 45.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Dangerman: ​ 

    That’s what I’m seeing.

    the national security threat is a “highly concerning and destabilizing” Russian capability

    That sounds like nukes?

  46. 46.

    Marcopolo

    @Anonymous At Work: sorry to put a bit of a damper on ya, but NY-03 was won by Biden in 2020 by about the same margin as Souizzi (sp) last night (2022 was really bad for D’s in NY).  So this election was a bit more of reverting to the mean than anything else.  Districts that are R +15 are not in the same class. But it does support the idea that any R in a seat where Biden won the district in 2020 (17 now & like 5 are in NY) are terrified out the wazzoo & it is likely we will flip a good number of them.  And we only need 4 wins to flip the House atm.

  47. 47.

    trollhattan

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage:

    Heh. Slight correction to one of the fake headlines: Kevin McCarthy’s seat is coming up–not super soon so the seat remains vacant in the meantime: win-win.

    No, it will not flip. Heaviest +R district in the state so net benefit for it remaining unfilled as long as possible.

  48. 48.

    Kay

    This is good, I thought. It’s about the author’s father – 

     I am sick writing those words. I write them because I know I am not alone. I know many of us lost parents and siblings and grandparents and friends to Trumpism. It’s a sad state of affairs and we may as well talk about it, because even though Trump has been out of office for three years, he’s never gone away. We still suffer the loss of our relationships.

  51. 51.

    smith

    @Marcopolo: Saw some analysis last night discussing the changes in that district between 2020 and 2022. The boundaries were redrawn between those two elections in a way that tilted it more towards the Rs. It was not at all a slam dunk that a Dem would do as well now as Biden did in 2020.

  56. 56.

    Fake Irishman

     

    @Anonymous At Work:

     

    Not quite. That district is D+2 on the partisan voting index, which means it votes about two points to the left of the nation as a whole as averaged across the last two presidential elections (Hillary won by 2.1 in 2016 and Joe won by about 4.5 which means the district is “expected” elect a Dem by about 5-5.5 points. 2022 was a disastrous underperformance. But still, an eight-point win is maybe a 2-4 point overperformance. Apply that to Biden 2024 nationwide margins (illustrative tho risky) and, well, we win NC and maybe Florida and make things really interesting in Texas. We also would expect be competitive in any district in the R +5 to +7 range or friendlier.

    Just remember that’s assuming nothing shifts asymmetrically between districts.

    Bottom line: it’s an encouraging result for taking back the majority, perhaps by a decent margin, but there are lots of moving parts. This isn’t going to be 1936 or 1964.

  57. 57.

    Fake Irishman

    @smith:

    yeah, but we have partisan data at the precinct level that let’s us calculate PVI base on the district’s current configuration.

  58. 58.

    Shalimar

    @WaterGirl: Mike Turner says it is a significant threat that should be declassified so he can talk about it.  Which means Republicans think they can use it for political advantage.  I agree with you.  Anyone thinking that way should not be briefed on these issues.

  59. 59.

    Alison Rose

    We have lost a true giant in American history:

    William Post, a businessman who was credited with a significant role in inventing Pop-Tarts, a classic American snack and cultural touchstone with an enticing sweetness and simplicity, died on Feb. 10 in Grand Rapids, Mich. He was 96.

    His death was confirmed by his son, Dan Post, who said his father had died of heart failure in a senior living community.

    Mr. Post led the bakery plant that developed the first Pop-Tarts for Kellogg’s in 1964, his son said. The snack quickly became a popular treat for many people in the United States, including Mr. Post’s children, who were among the first taste testers.

    Today, billions of Pop-Tarts are sold each year, according to Kellogg’s. They have also been depicted on murals, showcased in museums and parodied by “Saturday Night Live.” And later this year, they will star in “Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story,” a farcical chronicle of the 1960s race to win the breakfast-pastry wars, directed by the comedian (and Pop-Tarts enthusiast) Jerry Seinfeld.

    Unfrosted strawberry is the best and I will brook no argument on this 🍓

  60. 60.

    Shalimar

    @Fake Irishman: It is not the same district as it was in 2016 and 2020.  Redistricting for 2022 moved it a little more Republican at the margins.  In addition, Nassau county is dominated by Republicans in local offices to a degree that it has not been in decades.  +2D sounds like a reflection of the current makeup, which means Suozzi overperformed expectations by 5-6 points.  Which is excellent but not overwhelming.

  66. 66.

    trnc

    @Alison Rose: It was quite the tightwire act to have Pop-Tarts in the house without our young child (at the time) bugging us about them. You don’t want to know which flavor.

  68. 68.

    Manyakitty

    @WaterGirl: agreed. I was just wondering if it had something to do with trump’s bizarre screed against Adam Schiff last night, but he’s not even on the Intelligence Committee any more. Then again, that wouldn’t necessarily register amongst the brain worms and rot in his head.

  69. 69.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Fake Irishman:

    This isn’t going to be 1936 or 1964.

    Ain’t that the truth.  The only way I ever see that happening in what’s left of my lifetime would be under an authoritative regime, kinda like various strong men run elections and get 99% of the vote.

    I always tell myself that can’t happen here because our system is so big and so distributed, plus there’s still a lot of “us” around to contest shit.

    But then I never thought a) the Orange Fart Cloud would be elected, and b) I’d see some dumbass carrying the American Swastika, aka the stars and bars flag, in the Capitol Rotunda.

  71. 71.

    trollhattan

    @Alison Rose: Too many magma burns from overtoasted filling for me to have had an affinity for the things. Now Hostess Fruit Pies (apple and cherry) now we’re talkin’ kid treats.

    Still, heck of a legacy there.

    What’s today’s bike count?

  72. 72.

    trollhattan

    @HumboldtBlue: Wow, that’s great.

    Vote suppression remains the most in-your-face attempted theft of democracy the Republicans commit with practically zero blowback. Remain astonished we seem to roll with it.

    Recollect a quote of Coathanger from her pre-SCOTUS times that voting “is a privilege, not a right.”

  73. 73.

    Citizen Alan

    @Kay:

    My mother and father were both born in the 1930s and lived on a farm in rural North Mississippi. They both died within the last decade in their mid-eighties. By all rights, they should have been MAGAs. So I thank God every day that they were never caught up in the Fox madhouse. That they never became deranged with hatred like so many of their generation and the two generations that followed them. That, after I politely but firmly asked my father to never use the N-word in my presence, he never did again and (unless my mother was lying to me) voted for Obama twice.

    If Satan were a cable tv station, it would be Fox News.

  76. 76.

    Jay C

    @Manyakitty:

    A quick Google showed me that there had been a televised debate in SF by the “big 4” CA senatorial candidates (Schiff, Porter, Lee and Garvey) in which Rep. Schiff dumped on TFG – calling him a threat to democracy (accurately, IMO), so that was what probably prodded Trump to excrete that inane post. Loony-tunes as usual.

  81. 81.

    Quiltingfool

    Very OT:  Had the taxes done today and that went well, so no complaints!

    I do have a grievance.  My local JoAnn is closing down in a month.  This is where I buy my thread (I’m picky about thread) and I can score okay fabric at a reasonable price.  I also buy sewing notions and whatnot.  The closest JoAnn is either Jefferson City or Springfield – and Springfield is closer for me.  I am sad for the ladies who work there, they are really good folk.

    Anyway, I bought a bunch of fabric and thread today.  The manager and I were talking about the store closing and I asked her if the new Hobby Lobby (spit) might have had something to do with it.  She didn’t think so, but she did tell me she knew a gal that worked at Hobby Hell, and was told there is a strong cult vibe for the workers, that you must share in the owners’ political/religious beliefs.

    We will be able to ice skate in Hell before I’d ever spent a nickel at Hobby Lobby.  I hate the damned owners – they are misogynistic assholes who probably funded ISIS when they bought looted antiquities for their bible “museum.”  Fucking fascists.  (Tell us how you REALLY feel, lol!)

    End of rant.  Can’t control lots of things, but the cat has food, I’ve got pretty fabric to make raffle blocks, taxes are done, so I’m going to celebrate the good.

  82. 82.

    Geminid

    @Fake Irishman: I’m not sure that the Partisan Voting Index references national results. I think it is district-specific, saying that in the case of NY03 for instance, the electorate gives Democrats a 2 point advantage. They derive this number from weighing recent election results for the district.

    Redrawn districts are analysed using past results in its constituent precincts. When Cook’s determines the PVI for the redrawn Virginia 7th CD, they weigh the 2022 midterm result together with the results 2020 races and 2021 (Governor) race in the various precincts that form the new 7th.

    At least, I think that’s how people come up with these district ratings.

  83. 83.

    suzanne

    @Alison Rose:

    Unfrosted strawberry is the best and I will brook no argument on this 🍓 

    Because I was born in 1980 and therefore exhibit the worst qualities of both Gen X and Millennials….. teenage Suzanne of course had a zine. It was called “Strawberry with Frosting”, for my favorite pop tart that I ate for breakfast daily.

  84. 84.

    thruppence

    Just got my primary ballot in the mail, so Yay! I get to vote for Biden again. Also has Phillips and Williamson and five delusional people I’ve never heard of before.

  86. 86.

    JPL

    @Baud: Could Tucker be the source?   The timing seems right!  Remember there was that great statesman who said that she could see Russia from her house.  Putin might want to reclaim Alaska.

  87. 87.

    topclimber

    @Shalimar: You are also looking at a special election. GOP voters tend to turn out in greater proportion then Dems. That is particularly true of a County where much of the vaunted Republican machine of the Reagan to Shrub years is still intact.

    So a six point advantage vs. expectation is probably even better than it sounds.

  88. 88.

    Alison Rose

    @trollhattan: Back to three!! Additional Bike and Yet Another Bike had disappeared for a day or so but now they’re back!

    So now my thinking is: Original Bike has been permanently abandoned, and two tenants saw this and both felt bad for it, so instead of keeping their bikes inside their apartments, decided to start chaining them up outside with Original Bike to keep it company. But these tenants actually use their bikes so they might go away here and there, but they will always come back to Original Bike’s side, so it knows it has friends in this cold world.

    If I sound like a nutjob, I blame it on being a shut-in for two years now.

  92. 92.

    Jeffro

    @Dangerman:Also, Trump should be spanked (non Stormy edition) by the Judge on Friday.

    oh geez that’s right…gotta get to the store and stock up tomorrow!

    do we have a pool going as to how much trumpov’s going to have to cough up?

  96. 96.

    smith

    @HumboldtBlue: the national security threat is a “highly concerning and destabilizing” Russian capability

    What puzzles me about this is Republicans pushing to publicize information that apparently carries the subtext, “Be very afraid of Russia,” in the context of TFG’s recent invitation to Putin to invade all of Europe. Since the GQP doesn’t do either principles or policy I assume this is motivated by politics. How does this help them when their standard bearer is so publicly cozying up to the force we should be very afraid of?

  98. 98.

    Alison Rose

    @smith: Maybe there are Repubs who want to support the bill, but they don’t wanna make their Dear Leader mad, so they want to put “big scary russia news” out there to give them cover?

  99. 99.

    Jeffro

    @Kay: I read stuff like that and I’m grateful that while my RWNJ family members are many not-good things when it comes to their politics, they’re not actually crazy.

  100. 100.

    brendancalling

    @trnc: Me too, and I read and comment at LGM on the regular. One of the few blogs I still read (LGM, BJ, Political Wire, occasionally DK for Ukraine coverage, and Comics Curmudgeon).

  101. 101.

    HumboldtBlue

    @smith: ​ 

    I assume this is motivated by politics.

    Rather safe assumption. I suspect it has to do with Hunter’s laptop, I mean, that’s still a thing, right?

  102. 102.

    Soprano2

    @HumboldtBlue: OMG, that was so funny! I’ve got a co-worker who thinks Kelce is a no-talent thug who only got a chance because of his brother. I try not to judge people by how they were in college.

  103. 103.

    smith

    @Alison Rose: That could be, and if true would be encouraging for a number of reasons, not just for getting Ukraine funded, but also because it shows at least some of them are realistically terrified of November.

  106. 106.

    Geminid

    @Jay C: I was looking at Politico Playbook this morning and was surprised to see that California’s Senate primary is less than 3 weeks away. Time sure flies!

  108. 108.

    Bill Arnold

    @smith:

    What puzzles me about this is Republicans pushing to publicize information that apparently carries the subtext, “Be very afraid of Russia,”

    It’s a specific Republican, Mike Turner. Wikipedia says he’s a member of the House Baltic Caucus which means he has an interest in that area.

  109. 109.

    Ironcity

    @Alison Rose: I have a horse that would argue the brown sugar cinnamon is the best.  But he will do about anything for Goldfish (crackers, not real fish) .

  110. 110.

    geg6

    @HumboldtBlue: ​

    Weeeeeeell, depends on where in PA they are talking to people. Believe me, lots and lots and lots of Pennsylvanians are dumb as rocks.

    ETA: Obviously, Bucks County is NOT one of those places.

  111. 111.

    Alison Rose

    @Ironcity: Jeez, I haven’t had Goldfish crackers in like…probably 20 years. Since my brother’s kids were little and I would share their snacks. I kinda want some now but I have a feeling they wouldn’t taste as good to me now…

  112. 112.

    Geminid

    @Citizen Alan: Have you read John Grisham’s The Painted House? It’s about about a family living on a northern Mississippi farm post-WWII. It’s pretty good; not your typical Gresham legal thriller.

  114. 114.

    TBone

    @geg6: yesterday you chided me for disparaging polish donuts right after I’d finished clobbering a heart-shaped jelly donut here in Central PA.  I do not disparage any food, especially polish donuts 😆 you musta replied to the wrong jackal.

  115. 115.

    geg6

    @Alison Rose:

    I get Goldfish every now and then for an office snack.  They are still as delicious as ever.  However, DO NOT get the extra cheesy or other flavored ones; just get the original.  The others are definitely not as good.

  116. 116.

    geg6

    @TBone:

    Musta replied to the wrong person.  Whomever it was was talking about Shrove Tuesday in PA being a day to eat nasty donuts.  I’m not huge on donuts, but paczki are 1) not donuts and 2) delicious enough that around here, we call Shrove Tuesday Paczki Tuesday.

  117. 117.

    Kay

    @Jeffro:

    I have two eldery clients who came to me for advance planning – seemingly the nicest people – quiet, polite. It was complicated and we met several times. I once walked them out of the office towards their truck and painted in white paint on the back window of the pick up was “fuck Biden”. I was just shocked.

  118. 118.

    JAFD

    @TBone: ​
     My father told me when I went off to college ..
    “Never play cards for money with anyone who doesn’t have to work for a living.”
    Some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten.

  120. 120.

    Quiltingfool

    Please consider buying a raffle ticket to help our brothers and sisters in Ukraine!  I don’t have the raffle blocks done, but will start on them as soon as I can; matter of fact, I bought some fabric today with the blocks in mind.

    Slava Ukraini!  Glory to Ukraine!

  123. 123.

    Geminid

    @Bill Arnold: Rep. Turner just got back from leading a small Congressional delegation to Kyiv. I doubt if he heard this information there, though.

    Turner’s a Ukraine hawk, so maybe he’s trying to scare up support for a Ukraine aid vote with news about a new Russian hypersonic missile or something of that sort.

  124. 124.

    Bupalos

    @smith: The big scary secret is that Russia “wants” to deploy nukes in space as anti-satelite weapons.

    This isn’t misinformation, but it’s definitely a near neighbor to misinformation. Republicans wanting to talk about this publically are just feeding Putin’s stunningly irreaponsible nuclear sabre rattling. Putin does that so that we self-deter in providing Ukraine aid. It works.

  127. 127.

    Matt McIrvin

    @topclimber: I recall Dave Wasserman speculating that maybe that’s reversed now, and Democrats do better in low-turnout elections because they’re more energized about voting.

    Which on the one hand would make this a weaker indication, but on the other hand it’s definitely the side I would want to be on.

  129. 129.

    Soprano2

    So we were just talking about polling – well, I just got polled for our local school board election! It was kind of cool. I couldn’t tell which candidate or group was doing it until the end, when they asked me about two statements and whether they’d make me more or less likely to vote for a certain candidate. I almost didn’t answer the phone, but these days I have to answer even numbers I don’t recognize.

  131. 131.

    Suzanne

    @Kay: Someone spray painted “FUCK BIDEN” on the slide at the playground in our neighborhood park in 2020. Nice people.

    According to the NYT, my neighborhood is 75% Democratic. That 25% really causes problems.

  133. 133.

    smith

    @Matt McIrvin: I think one factor is that Dems may be better at banking early votes; it’s a standard part of GOTV. The GQP is hampered in doing the same because of its mixed messaging on anything that makes voting easier: vote by mail, early voting, expanding opportunities to register. They’ve been trying to scare their voters about the supposed dangers of these things, so you can’t be surprised that those same voters might be reluctant to use them.

  136. 136.

    JCJ

    @Alison Rose:

    I hope he was well enough to enjoy the beauty of the Pop Tarts Bowl college football game this past year.  I have no idea who played, but I enjoyed the videos of the mascot and all the hoopla

  137. 137.

    Bill Arnold

    @Bupalos:
    Just to save people searching:
    Republican warning of ‘national security threat’ is about Russia wanting nuke in space: Sources – Lawmakers said the issue is serious but shouldn’t cause immediate alarm. (John Parkinson and Adam Carlson, February 14, 2024)
    I’m not sure what Mike Turner’s agenda is in this case. It could be anti-Russia/pro-Ukraine. Certainly nuclear weapons in space would be a huge deal, and destabilizing, and a very bad move.
    “Front Towards Enemy”
    (https link)

  139. 139.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @HumboldtBlue: ​
     

    The naval part of the war never ceases to dredge up memories of my past life. I hadn’t thought of a Ropucha Class landing ship since probably 1990 at the latest. We used to have the Defense Attaches go to Gdansk and try to photograph them being outfitted.

  141. 141.

    Jeffro

    @Kay: wow.  That would throw me off a bit!

    I have two pro-Biden magnets on my car at the moment.  One says “GIVE TEACHERS A RAISE” and the other says “PROUD PUBLIC SCHOOL FAMILY” with ‘JoeBiden.com’ in teeny-tiny letters at the bottom of each.  I can’t imagine driving around with the F-bomb on the back of my car.  My parents raised me better, I guess.

  148. 148.

    JWR

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage: I was wondering what FTFNYT’s “take” would be on last night’s special election…

    @MattF: I love the way all the ‘savvy’ political commentators are straining for a way to make this bad for Dems.

    I just watched one of those CNN video shorts, this one with Jeff Zeleny, and he said that the election in NY was a clear sign to Dems that it doesn’t matter where in the country you live, immigration will bite you in the ass. Not sure how that worked last night, but whatevs. ;)

  151. 151.

    ...now I try to be amused

    @HumboldtBlue: The Ukrainians sank the Caesar Kunikov 81 years to the day after her namesake, a naval infantry officer, was killed fighting in the “Little Land” near Novorossisk. How’s that for symbolism.

  152. 152.

    Eyeroller

    @WhatsMyNym: They’re not a fabric store, they don’t sell cloth from bolts.  Now I’m worried about my local Joann’s.  Fabric stores have been struggling for years now and Joann’s is about the last one standing.  And even they don’t sell a lot of apparel cloth of reasonable quality and variety.  It’s mostly fabric suitable for quilts, which is of course what Quiltingfool wants.

  155. 155.

    MomSense

    @Quiltingfool:

    Damn.  I’m worried about my local Joann’s.  It looks like they aren’t really restocking it.  I hope they don’t close it.  I don’t buy yarn there often but I do buy fabric, thread, buttons, beads, etc.  And the employees are so nice and have been there for years.

  156. 156.

    Kay

    @Jeffro:

    I have a pro public school t shirt I bought at a pro public school political event in Austin TX.

    They were just so nice – we talked about our grandchildren. Their grandchildren are in middle and high school so after my walk outside with them I’m thinking “they see this weird, obsessively hateful profanity on your truck?”

    I thought about that with the birthers, too. I would see a clip of them screaming something hateful and I would think “that is someone’s mother and/or grandmother, on video, forever”

    Like the photos of the white people screaming at that AA American children during bussing. There are people who look at those photos and go “there’s grandma, when she was younger!”

  158. 158.

    raven

    Shot’s fired at after the KC Super Bowl Rally.

     

    Several people were shot in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday, after revelers gathered to celebrate with a parade and rally for the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win, according to police.
    The shooting took place west of Union Station, near the garage, as Chiefs fans were leaving, officials said.
    Two armed people have been detained, according to Kansas City police.

  160. 160.

    Eduardo

    @Kay: Just read it.  Heart-breaking and so true.  So many of my friends that I know for a fact are (were) good people have been transformed by Trumpism.  I don’t want to give up on their friendship but of course the friendships have already suffered and the good times are never really good.  What rest is our common history and our mutual desire to not let go of each other.

    But I know damn well it all will end if this demagogue wins again and hate is turbo-charged and physical violence stops being the territory of the Proud Boys kind of gang.  (I promise you it will happen.)

  165. 165.

    NotMax

    @Yutsano

    Flew Alaska Airlines exactly once. Horrid experience all around, capped off by the rudest, snottiest flight attendants this side of Air DeSade.

  166. 166.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Albatrossity:

    It’s great to flip that district, but it has some unique parameters this time around. One of them is Santos. Being completely embarrassed by your last representative is not going to be the case in every district.

    While I agree Santos was an embarrassment to some voters, some Republicans are mad about his expulsion.

    Some in the House GOP are turning their ire on the Republicans who voted to expel George Santos, as their slim majority just got even smaller with Democrat Tom Suozzi flipping his seat tonight.
    One GOP lawmaker said their Republican colleagues who led the charge to expel Santos “owe Republicans everywhere an apology and $10 million.”

    Meanwhile, GOP Rep. Troy Nehls also expressed anger over the situation.

    “Until Republicans learn they need to get into the slop with the pigs we will continue to lose elections. We should have never brought the Santos vote to the floor,” Nehls told CNN.

    They will never believe their voters cared about Santos lying about everything in his life and grifting everyone. He was a vote, goddammit! Like their “self-assessment” after Romney’s 2012 loss to have more appeal to women and minorities…nah, let’s do the opposite!

  167. 167.

    Geminid

    @JWR: Last night Tom Bonior said that “Immigration backfired, especially in the context of their [Republicans’] legislative failure.” Tom Suozzi reportedly hammered Pilip and her party hard on how they tanked their own compromise.

    Suozzi treated the immigration issue as a real problem, which it is. Arizona Rep. (and Senate candidate) Reuben Gallego does also, saying that:

       Arizona and its border communities have faced unprecedented challenges managing the humanitarian and security crises on Arizona’s southern border.

    Now Congress has a chance to act.

    Rep. Gallego firmly supported President Biden’s border security and humanitarian proposals, and the above is from his statement after the Lankford/Murphy compromise was presented. I think that is a sound approach because while Republicans are exagerrating the problems, this is not just a matter of hype.

  172. 172.

    cain

    @Alison Rose: But its’ the Dems that the media wags their fingers at when it comes to ‘tone’.

    These guys are out there ‘loud and proud’ – with their cheap flag covered clothes, with ‘fuck’ and hate language festooned around them.

  173. 173.

    NotMax

    @Yutsano

    Someplace in the depths of a drawer sits a half-used booklet of coupons for the late, lamented Mid Pacific Air.

    Turboprop YS-11s on inter-island hops.

  174. 174.

    smith

    @Quiltingfool: JoAnn has an online site where you can order their products. Might not be satisfactory for fabric that you’d like to see and touch, but if you know what you want in thread you can probably get it that way.

  176. 176.

    Geminid

    @Sure Lurkalot: I was chasing comments about the special election on Twitter last night. George Santos was getting his licks in, so I looked at his Twitter heading and got a good laugh:

          George Santos    [Picture]

    Culture commentator at large. Former Congressman #NY03. Bridging the gap between culture and politics for GenZ.

    I think Santos will be going to prison before too long, but he’ll get out and when Santos does I bet he lands on his feet.

    In the meantime, I hope Santos and Sam Bankman-Fried share a prison cell. It would be like The Odd Couple! Throw in Robert Menendez and it could be one hell of a sitcom.

  177. 177.

    Eyeroller

    @prostratedragon: When I sew I mostly sew knits, so I have used knitfabric.com and they’re OK but only sell in half-yard increments.  Amazon bought fabric.com but it’s tedious to try to find something I might like.  And it’s really nice to be able to handle the fabric before purchasing it.

  180. 180.

    prostratedragon

    Eyeroller@177: Yes, that last would be an issue apart from very standard things. But if feasible, an annual trip to Chicago … ?

  181. 181.

    Karen H

    @Quiltingfool:

    Missouri Star Quilt Company has an amazing inventory of quality quilting fabrics. They do online orders although that’s not ideal because seeing and touching  fabric is so important

  182. 182.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @WaterGirl: Yep. Just saying which country is involved is valuable to that country and others. It’s not rocket science

    ETA: Well, maybe the security threat involves rocket science. But it’s not rocket science to figure out the you should keep your fucking mouth shut about Go8-level briefs.

  184. 184.

    WaterGirl

    PSA:  If you donated to the Ukraine thermometer before 5pm Eastern today, it’s not too late to send me the email letting me know which quilts you want raffle tickets for.

  185. 185.

    EarthWindFire

    @Kay: Jess Piper is very thoughtful and brave. I gladly donated to her state house campaign knowing full well she would lose. I’m sorry about her dad. I wish I were surprised.

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