Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

In after Baud. Damn.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

Consistently wrong since 2002

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

Bark louder, little dog.

The revolution will be supervised.

You are here: Home / Politics / Letter, Translated (and Mostly Open Thread)

Letter, Translated (and Mostly Open Thread)

by | 117 Comments

This post is in: ,

You know how if all you talk about is your recent break-up or how awful your job is, people who were sympathetic at first don’t want to spend as much time with you?

Well, Biden – in his letter yesterday – told everyone to shut the fuck up and move on.  And I say everyone, and not just his detractors, but also his supporters, because he’s fucking running for President!   And when you run for president, you have to talk about your record and why you’re better than the other guy.

It’s so basic, it feels dumb to even have to write it.  But here we are.

I know it sounds crazy, but how about if we (the collective we, not every single person we) stop helping the other side kneecap our President?

In any case, President Biden now has his own anger translator!

Joey Jobs was so impressed with Tony Jay’s work on the NYT images this weekend, that Joe asked Tony Jay if he would translate yesterday’s letter.  (I understand that Joe may look to others, too, as the occasional arrises.)

(If you click the image, you can enlarge it in your browser.  Hoping for a higher resolution version soon.)

Having brought up the topic, I’m sure we’ll talk about the letter, but for this thread, let’s not talk about the recent breakup and how awful your job is, or what a big asshole your co-worker is.

Okay?

(Mostly) Open Thread

Reader Interactions

117Comments

  1. 1.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    I can’t picture the utility of the eggplant. Usually my advice in that regard involves a serrated steak knife and a corkscrew.

  3. 3.

    Elizabelle

    You couldn’t hold this a bit? AL’s post is only an hour old, and we have a good discussion underway there.  Why ragefarm so early?

  4. 4.

    SFAW

    Did you know that Sleepy Joe Brandon was approximately 45 seconds OLDER at the end of that rant than he was at the start of it? That’s enough for me to vote for someone else, preferably someone like Johnny Unbeatable.

  6. 6.

    stacib

    Open thread – a question to the pet owners of dogs and cats.  My co-worker gave his sister a six-month old pup.  She already has a cat that’s been with her for seven years.  Upon introduction, the puppy tried to play with the cat, and she was having none of it and beat up on the dog.  Now, the dog wants to chase and “get back his lick”.  Is there any hope for these two animals to ever co-exist, or is it a done deal since they’ve already had one fight?

  7. 7.

    Jeffro

    (via Biden/Harris 2024 on Twitter):

    video of Pennsylvania voter: “The bottom line is, I’m going with Joey Jobs over Donnie-Do-Nothing any day of the week”

    WIN

  8. 8.

    NotMax

    A smidgen of positive news which escaped my notice over the weekend.

    Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian has called for “cooperation, empathy and trust” after being declared the winner of Iran’s runoff presidential election Saturday. The win for reformists is a turn from the hard-line presidency of Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in May.

    Pezeshkian bested hard-liner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country’s mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic. Source

  10. 10.

    WaterGirl

    @Elizabelle: also, I’ve never heard the term rage farm but I am not trying to get people enraged. I’m trying to suggest that maybe we talk about something else.

  13. 13.

    HinTN

    @stacib: The puppy will learn who is the boss and they will be fine. That dynamic has played out here with good results for happy coexistence.

  16. 16.

    Mike in Pasadena

    Last night near bedtime i made the mistake of reading a story on Republicans Congress demanding Biden’s doctors testify before Comer. The comments were all from Republicans pretending to be Democrats telling Biden to step aside. They can all go fuck themselves with ripe eggplants and their attempts at disquise.

  17. 17.

    WaterGirl

    @Nukular Biskits: thanks for the reminder! We’re trying to figure out who’s going to fund what and where to ship the stamps and we have a few more days before the rates go up so we’re good. But if you haven’t heard anything from me by Thursday please ping me again.

    Darn clients, they think they should get their work completed in their timeframe! :-)

  18. 18.

    kindness

    Jon Stewart was abominable last night.  Spent 18 minutes ‘questioning’ Joe’s suitability and 1 minute hand waving Trump’s continuing fascism.  I was appalled.

  22. 22.

    Mike E

    @kindness: it is sooo early though…all this bs and concern trolling now only serves to contrast later on when they have egg on their faces. And TURD still has to navigate a ramp to the election which will be a bridge too far, just you wait.

  23. 23.

    stacib

    @HinTN: Any ideas on how to make them friendly with each other?  The sister wants both animals to have free run of the house, and right now, she’s keeping the dog in the basement and the cat in her bedroom to keep them separated.

  24. 24.

    WaterGirl

    If anyone’s interested.

    Having a meeting tomorrow with a potential new group that works with youth. If it pans out, I hope to be able to say more in a day or two.

    Also looking to talk with an Asian group that looks promising. They are in North Carolina.

    Also have 3 possible irons in the fire for Nevada.

    if there is it from here to leave it all on the field, this is definitely that year!

    Four Directions is still working on finding a match for us for Wisconsin.

  25. 25.

    Belafon

    @SFAW: Whenever people (seriously) talk about Biden’s age I point out that Trump is now older than Biden was when he became president.

  28. 28.

    kindness

    @stacib: Time.  It just takes time.  Have the both of them in the same room with you and draw a line at what’s OK & what isn’t.  They’ll be ignoring each other in no time.

  29. 29.

    Belafon

    @kindness: Stewart has become the very thing he cautioned against: a media that considers itself more important than the subject it is covering.

  30. 30.

    Scout211

    TBH, I am kind of confused about the guidelines for this thread.  Breakups?  Awful jobs?  Apologies if this comment violates the guidelines.

    Some good links for this morning:

    ProPublica and CBS with an investigative story on how Texas is funding anti-abortion non-profits with tax dollars and very little to no oversight.  Many of non-profits are making money through fraud.

    Margaret Sullivan in The Guardian reminds us that she was a very good ombudsman back in the day.  She reminds the media, “What about Trump?”

    Tom Nichols in The Atlantic highlights the double standard in the media reporting on Trump and Biden.  (This one I haven’t read since there is a paywall, but the snippet before the paywall looks good)

    Law Dork lets us know what the Project 2025 plans are for the Justice Department.

  31. 31.

    jimmiraybob

    @WaterGirl: ​
      “…maybe we talk about something else.”
    National Parks? Love em? Hate em? Wanna keep them going? Wanna turn them into private lands?

    I was impressed a couple of years ago when I stayed at a NP camp gound in Jackson Hole and found out the level of cooperation between the parks and native tribes in hammering out a more realistic narrative and ownership. I vote keep em.

    I’m gonna follow up later this summer.

  33. 33.

    Fair Economist

    Besides the fact that Biden has the whip hand here (the delegates and the money) and is willing to use it, we can’t replace Biden because it would be for a lie. It was reasonable to question Biden’s fitness right after the debate, but Biden has answered the question decisively, with over a dozen unscripted public appearances, multiple executive orders, and participation in an international conference. He is absolutely capable of being the President – the best President of out lives, IMO – proven by the fact that he continues to do it. Yes, there are others who would present better on a debate stage, but that doesn’t matter. It would be profoundly dishonest to get him to step down for incompetence when he is so manifestly competent, and all his supporters know it.

  35. 35.

    NaijaGal

    @WaterGirl: I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to find a message warning about Project 2025 on one of my high school WhatsApp groups (for those of us who now live and vote in the US).

    We rarely ever talk politics. I think Taraji P. Henson’s spotlight on it has reached people who otherwise wouldn’t be aware, and this group of naturalized immigrant women is definitely paying attention and cognizant of the danger to them and their families.

  36. 36.

    TBone

    Great information to chew on today:

    …In other words, it is likely if we see Republicans in charge of Congress or the White House starting next January. Even without repealing the ACA, Republican control will allow current law to stand, which will dramatically increase the ranks of the uninsured. Current law is what both CMS and CBO use when projecting the future of insurance coverage.

    As National Economy Council deputy director Daniel Hornung said in a speech to the Washington Center for Equitable Growth earlier this week,

    “President Biden expanded the premium tax credits, which lifted health insurance coverage to record  levels across demographic groups. The expansion will lapse without congressional action by fall 2025; making it permanent is at the top of President Biden’s agenda.”

    https://angrybearblog.com/2024/07/health-care-spending-to-rise-despite-more-uninsured#more-152011

  37. 37.

    jimmiraybob

    @Scout211: “…Project 2025 plans are for the Justice Department?”

    Before I read the article I will take a stab at it.  Answer: Own it.

    That being said, I have a Law Dork article to accompany morning coffee.  Thanks for the pointer.

  38. 38.

    WaterGirl

    @Elizabelle: 3/4 of the front pagers here step on other posts within minutes or pre-Bigfoot a post that was previously scheduled for a certain time.

    I am not one of those front pagers, so I find your calling me out for posting an hour after someone very peculiar.

    Twice, no less!

  39. 39.

    Math Guy

    Well, we just finished a major landscaping project at home. We could have hired a pro to do the job for a couple thousand dollars (at least), but instead did it ourselves over the course of five or six weeks. Since we are both teachers with the summer off, we had the time to do this. Our cost: $500 and a few six packs of beer.

  41. 41.

    WaterGirl

    @NaijaGal: your news makes me very happy!  I wonder if there’s a way that each of us could stick our necks out and post some thing like that in a place that’s not necessarily political.

    seems like maybe that could have a lot of impact.

  42. 42.

    Elizabelle

    @WaterGirl: You know what you did.  Cole can post whenever he wants.  You have been stepping specifically on Anne Laurie’s posts and timeslots for a while.

    This post is not breaking news.

  47. 47.

    lowtechcyclist

    Wild raspberry season is over here in southern Maryland, but it should be in full swing in counties either side of the MD-PA border by now, so folks up there who like raspberries should keep their eyes open!

    Just made myself a raspberry cobbler with the last of the berries in the fridge (and damn, it’s good!), along with a peach cobbler for my wife who doesn’t like raspberries. I’ve frozen enough raspberries for four more cobblers, which I can bake as the mood strikes.

  48. 48.

    Mike E

    @NaijaGal: 👍

    @TBone: I truly believe all this overt kneecapping business has pissed off folks to the point that the red districts are starting to get nervous about insurgent Dems overcoming their built-in advantage. I didn’t see how here in NC the loss of three seats could be avoided but now I am slowly coming to believe in a French/UK Labour scenario, as outlandish as that sounds. Fuggem. Let them keep scoring own goals but we have to continue pounding them.

  50. 50.

    WaterGirl

    @Math Guy: I thought for sure you were gonna say it ended up costing you more than a few tire at the professionals! ;-)

    instead, you saved a ton of money and you can feel really good about what you accomplished. I call that a win!

  51. 51.

    Kristine

    @Scout211:

    Tom Nichols in The Atlantic highlights the double standard in the media reporting on Trump and Biden. (This one I haven’t read since there is a paywall, but the snippet before the paywall looks good)

    Figures they’d have stories like that *after* I dumped them. The week prior, I couldn’t even stand to read the headlines in the notification banners.

    They’re still toast. I sub’d to Smithsonian and Scientific American instead.

  52. 52.

    TBone

    @Mike E: fucking A.

    🎶 Don’t stop believing!

    I am corny.

    ETA I am still celebrating with France and the U.K. as antidotes to the bullshit storm.

  53. 53.

    rikyrah

    Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) posted at 3:30 PM on Mon, Jul 08, 2024:

    Rep. @JasmineForUS: I don’t have time to play games. We need to know what’s at stake. In Texas, we have a state legislature that wants to institute the death penalty for women seeking abortions. I need to know that the Democrats will have control of the House, Senate, and White House because if we don’t Republicans are going to try and institute a nationwide abortion ban. We’ve got to do better and we have got to focus on the prize. We can’t have all these antics

    … https://t.co/uyheOh9CPr
    (https://x.com/BidenHQ/status/1810411120089268487?s=02)

  54. 54.

    rikyrah

    Mark Jacob (@MarkJacob16) posted at 0:35 PM on Mon, Jul 08, 2024:
    Will major media help Trump pretend to be moderate on abortion? He said he was “very pro-choice” in 1999, switched to “pro-life” by 2011, then appointed the justices who overturned abortion rights, and now casts himself as a moderate. It’s a con game. 1/4

     

    Mark Jacob (@MarkJacob16) posted at 0:38 PM on Mon, Jul 08, 2024:
    Republicans have a long tradition of lying about abortion. The justices who overturned abortion rights said at their confirmation hearings that Roe was “the law of the land” and “settled as a precedent of the Supreme Court.” Then they took it away. 2/4

     

     

    Mark Jacob (@MarkJacob16) posted at 0:41 PM on Mon, Jul 08, 2024:
    There’s a little-known scheme to severely restrict abortion nationwide without a new law. It would be a literal interpretation of the Comstock Act, a long-ignored 1873 law banning the mailing of abortion materials. If Trump wins, they’ll enforce it. 3/4

    Mark Jacob (@MarkJacob16) posted at 0:43 PM on Mon, Jul 08, 2024:
    Asked in April about the Comstock Act, Trump said: “I will be making a statement on that over the next 14 days.”
    We’re still waiting.
    Trump has cut a deal with religious extremists to steal women’s right to control their bodies. Don’t be fooled. 4/4 https://t.co/rKbJc2LSp2
    (https://x.com/MarkJacob16/status/1810369066613547089?s=02)

  55. 55.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    Mission Statement:

    “The election is about saving US democracy. Who’s gonna do that, the old guy who’s character and record are pretty awesome or the convicted rapist and 34 Felonies Dude who hobnobbed with with a pedophile pimp?

    And Dobbs.”

    Everything one says or does should always go back to the mission statement.

    I saw another really succinct statement that says it all:

    “One Candidate is an old man.”

    “The Other Candidate is an old *mad* man.”

    “Who would you prefer?”

  56. 56.

    JaySinWA

    @WaterGirl:

    Having a meeting tomorrow with a potential new group that works with youth. If it pans out, I hope to be able to say more in a day or two.

    Do we need a “Just say no to youth ministers” PSA? /s

  57. 57.

    eclare

    @stacib:

    That’s a tough one.  I’ve had multiple dogs and cats, and usually once the cat beats up on the dog, the dog fears the cat.  So I don’t know.

  59. 59.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Belafon:

    Whenever people (seriously) talk about Biden’s age I point out that Trump is now older than Biden was when he became president.

    Nitpick: that won’t be true for about another five weeks. (Biden’s older by 3 years + 206 days.)

    Say it anyway even now, because it will still work to shut them up.

  60. 60.

    TBone

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage: did someone say madman? 😁

    🎶 the O.G.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YwWVE84OEIA

    Screaming at the window
    Watch me die another day
    Hopeless situation
    Endless price I have to pay

    Sanity now it’s beyond me
    There’s no choice

    Diary of a madman
    Walk the line again today
    Entries of confusion
    Dear diary, I’m here to stay

    Manic depression befriends me
    Hear his voice
    Sanity now it’s beyond me
    There’s no choice

    A sickened mind and spirit
    The mirror tells me lies
    Could I mistake myself for someone
    Who lives behind my eyes?
    Will he escape my soul
    Or will he live in me?
    Is he trying to get out
    Or trying to enter me?

    Voices in the darkness
    Scream away my mental health
    Can I ask a question
    To help me save me from myself?

    Enemies fill up the pages
    Are they me?
    Monday ’til Sunday in stages
    Set me free, oh…

  62. 62.

    scav

    @Math Guy: Ah, c’mon, details!  Hardscaping? Mulching? Cool new plants (in which case, mire details!)  Destructo gardening has a real charm all its own.

  67. 67.

    WaterGirl

    @Kristine: Perhaps they are having those stories this week AFTER you dumped them  because you and a zillion people dumped them.

    They need to stay dumped for a good long while until they remember what journalism is.

    (not yelling at you, yelling at them)

  68. 68.

    zhena gogolia

    @Fair Economist: Good comment.

    ETA: I like the term “whip hand.” Having a husband who understands power better than I do helps me. “He’s the president. He’s not giving that up.” When I go, “But Adam Schiff,” he goes, “Adam Schiff and everyone else in DC thinks, ‘But why aren’t I the President?’ That’s where it all comes from.”

  69. 69.

    TheflipPsyd

    @Kristine: Tom Nichols is not a friend — which you probably know already. I appreciate that he is on Biden’s side — temporarily. But, I have no time for him anymore — even if he is a cat lover — since he said that he wants to go back to “smoke filled rooms” when a party decides to pick a presidential candidate.

    A possible topic — northern hemisphere is going to have a double asteroid shower in late July, peaking on 7/30.  And, best viewing should be around midnight.  I missed the planet parade a week ago since it was so early in the morning.

  72. 72.

    lowtechcyclist

    @rikyrah:

    Biden wasn’t even in DC. the majority of the times the doctor visited the White House. But Ed O’Keefe and the NY Times knows this because they reported on Biden’s whereabouts on the days the doctor visited the White House:

    Not to mention, how hard is it to check the dates of the Parkinson doctor’s visits against the President’s calendar? You don’t need to be a fancy-pants FTFNYT reporter to do that – anyone can.

    They’re flunking Basic Reporting 101.

  75. 75.

    stacib

    @eclare: She’s trying that now, but only the dog is crated.  Now, the cat is slow-strolling by the dog’s cage and driving the dog insane.  It’s almost funny how the cat now knows it has the upper hand, and is now making the most of it’s freedom.

  76. 76.

    raven

    @WaterGirl: So you posted an hour after AL and the next post, referencing my favorite person, goes up an hour after. . .where’s the outrage?

  77. 77.

    KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))

    @stacib: Our situation was different – full-grown, though tiny, dog, and 2 kittens. The dog lived on the second floor (afraid of stairs) and the kittens had the run of the house. They got to be friends as they were fed next to, but seperated from, each other. The kittens were fed on top a low bookcase, and the dog on the floor below and nearby. Eating together seems to serve the same social purpose with animals as with people; it brings them together. The kittens also enjoyed watching nightly games of fetch with the dog, but never tried to interfere (the toy was too big for them). It helped them to figure out how he played. He never did really figure them out, but as they grew up they were 2-3 times bigger than him and smarter than him, so it worked out.

  79. 79.

    Math Guy

    @scav: Raked and leveled about 250 square feet below the deck, laid ground barrier, bordered with interlocking bricks, planted 7 rhododendrons, 7 juniper shrubs, placed 20 steppers, then hauled in 48 bags of river rock (8 bags at a time) from a local big box store. The plants actually went in first, last summer, to make certain that they would flourish in that part of the yard and survive a Minnesota winter. No one can see this from the street. It is only visible to us and one neighbor, but it makes the view from our patio a lot nicer and I have less lawn to mow. Next year we will put in a retaining wall and plant some ornamental trees and put in a strawberry bed. (We are starting to harvest fruit from the blueberry bushes we planted last year.) Slowly, but surely, and with a lot of work, we will make this a better house than it was when we bought it. That is the Democratic Way.

  80. 80.

    KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))

    @kindness: Yeah, I can’t watch Stewart anymore. He hasn’t been funny for several years. He’s just a little too self righteous, self important, and sure of his opinions for my taste.

  81. 81.

    Jackie

    @Elizabelle: I have no problem toggling between multiple posts.

    Do we really have to have a debate about this?

    OT, I see JD Vance’s facial hair is a VP problem 😳😂

  82. 82.

    Eolirin

    @Belafon: Stewart rails against that but because he has never, and will never, consider himself media he’s able to do his politics are dirty and I’m above it all shtick without feeling any contradiction at all.

    He’s always considered himself only a comedian and nothing more. It’s how he’s handled every critique of what he does. I’m just telling jokes I’m not actually important.

    It’s not true, though, even if it should be. 

    See also my rant from a few days ago about how all of this is very stupid.

    That we have comedians like Stewart and Oliver filling in spaces that our news media is completely falling down on is a huge problem, because they’re not running news programs (even if Oliver does legitimately good and important work the way his show is set up). That we so easily conflate them, and that they’re frequently doing more than the news to report on things (especially Oliver), is a failure not just of our media, but also of our culture.

    We should not be accepting a state of affairs in which the vitally important task of informing people of what’s going on in the world is delegated to comedy shows.

  83. 83.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jackie: ​
     

    NATO’s original purpose was containment of the Soviet Union’s expansionist desires. Now it needs to reaffirm that purpose, only with respect to Russia proper.

    Of course, if Trump is elected, the U.S. will effectively switch sides.

  86. 86.

    KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))

    @TheflipPsyd: Tom Nichols is a Republican. He’s a Never Trumper Republican, but he’s still a Republican, with all the classism and top-down power structure that entails. He’s said a lot of anti-Trump things, which has lulled a lot of people (including me!) into thinking he’s strictly a Democratic ally. He’s not. He’s only an anti-Trump ally.

  88. 88.

    Eolirin

    @Lynn Dee: Honestly I don’t think he really went both sides, he was there the whole time really, I think the changing environment just made it more obvious and annoying.

  89. 89.

    scav

    @Math Guy: Ahhhhhhhh, all the fun stuff.  New green things, the weight training of hauling bags / bulk around, and the promise of less repetitive, fiddly care later (weeding mostly, some people do adore mowing).  Enjoy that fruit and the view.  Thanks!  (Oh, and I’d always add bulbs.  Low maintenance, color when most needed..  But that’s my mania.) Thanks again.

  90. 90.

    Eolirin

    @KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager)): Some people do change over time, especially once they’re not in the cult anymore. Jen Rubin is a good example. So is Cole. :p

    I’m not saying Nichols is there yet, mind, just don’t be so absolute in the rejection. We should hope people part of the way there get the rest of the way.

  93. 93.

    rikyrah

    digby (@digby56) posted at 11:48 PM on Mon, Jul 08, 2024:
    If Biden stays in, the Dems & the media who are hugely invested in his withdrawal w/likely spend the next 4 months subtly undermining him to justify their position. Many won’t know they’re doing it but the need to say “I told you so” often subconsciously leads people to do that.
    (https://x.com/digby56/status/1810536378742263960?s=02)

  94. 94.

    Fair Economist

    @Eolirin:

    Some people do change over time, especially once they’re not in the cult anymore. Jen Rubin is a good example. So is Cole. :p

    And even when they don’t, you often want to deal with people you don’t like. That’s how human politics (in the broad sense) works. Sometimes bad people do good things. Sometimes good people do bad things. Sometimes it’s even more complicated – bad people doing good things for bad reasons, like the Sawdi peace plan for Palestine. We have to keep pushing to make things better, taking every chance we can get.

  95. 95.

    Bugboy

    @kindness: “The Problem With Jon Stewart” says everything that can be said about post-Daily Show Jon Stewart.  Seems like someone was huffing their own farts when they came up with that show title, or maybe they just hate Jon Stewart?

  96. 96.

    wjca

    @jimmiraybob: National Parks? Love em? Hate em?

    The Grand Canyon is famous.  And awesome.  But for stunning scenery, Bryce Canyon has it beat six ways from Sunday.

  97. 97.

    Lynn Dee

    @Eolirin:  That might be true.

    On Stewart, though, since I don’t watch him, I didn’t see his “rant” of the other night. Curious, I went back and watched it. Or part of it.

    And I have to say I agreed with the first part as to what we actually saw during the debate, and I didn’t have a problem with him saying that. I also agreed with him about the “STFU, bedwetters” folks. I’ve been shocked by that response, and surprised to find what appears to be so much of it in online spaces. So that’s become just one more thing I’m now ignoring, along with the media, pundits, etc. Finally, imo, Biden did what he needed to do yesterday to show he can get his campaign to the finish line. I’m still worried, but that’s the way campaigns are these days (at least in this country when it comes to electing a president). I do hope his team will be more careful about his vulnerabilities going forward than they apparently were with the debate.

    Back to Stewart, though: Where he started to lose me was when he stated the problem was whether Biden could do the job in a 2nd term. I didn’t really care about that: First, I never thought he couldn’t, and second, my concern was whether he could win and keep Trump out. (And as I said, I’m satisfied on that point.)

    But where Stewart really lost me was when he started off on four months being plenty of time to do whatever needed to be done, look how short a time the UK and France needed for their elections, and how long it took to manage D-Day(!!!), etc. I stopped listening at that point. He can still offer a good take on what’s going on (at least on occasion), but as to what we should do in response going forward — that’s just not his thing. Unfortunately he’s smug enough to think it is his thing. So back to not watching him …

  98. 98.

    LanceThruster

    Another image that would be rather effective would be the desk piled high with bowls ice cream, the tip of his nose with a blob of vanilla from trying to maneuver his cone to his mouth, an AR-15 to one side, and him bellowing (focus groups seem to have determined people like the feisty, shouty Biden), “I’m not going anywhere, you cocka-roaches!”

    “We just have to keep up the charade that he’s not impaired for the rubes.”

    Turns out that they consider us all rubes.

    “Sure he’s addled, but he really hasn’t been running things for some time anyways.”

    Joe’s last stand is not the flex they want to make it out to be.

    If he truly wants to secure his legacy, he should use those immunity powers right away and go full Caligula and round up the SCOTUS, waterboard them at Gitmo till they confess they lied at their confirmation hearings. Take one for the team, Joe. Even if convicted, how much time could he serve reaaly? And a diminished capacity defense would be a no-brainer.

    And if democracy is truly at stake and not just some election year hyperbole, them martial law and suspension of tge election temporarily until the situation stabilizes is not without precedent. Aren’t elections on hold in Ukraine currently? That may seem extreme, but these are perilous times, and it would demonstrate just how much risk is involved in ceding that much power to a single individual. And if you throw in the dangers of mental instability, you have established in a concrete manner exactly what this ruling entails. Maybe enough to get them to recant, but if nothing else, forestall this acceleration into fascism like we were witnessing a slow-motion car crash. When they’ve stacked the deck this much, Marques of Queensbury rules don’t apply, as far as I’m concerned. The utter miscalculations by the Dem leadership for the last few cycles put us in this position. It’s unlikely at this point to be able to vote our way out of it.

    Rust never sleeps.

  99. 99.

    wjca

    @WaterGirl: So what might we be talking about today if there had been no debate?

    Not certain we would be, all things considered.  But there’d be a lot higher probability that the Epstein info, especially regarding Trump, would be getting a lot more play.  The press normally loves salacious.

  100. 100.

    Theflippsyd

    @Fair Economist: I will accept Nichols’ help — he has a large platform. The enemy of my enemy, and all that. But his framing is an elitist conservative framing, not a democratic framing. His comments and articles (or at least the ones I’ve read) have not  acknowledged that Trump is the result of Republican policy — Trump isn’t an anomaly, Trump IS the culmination of Republican policy and the Republican platform. Contrast that with Jen Rubin — who can acknowledge that the current fascist train the US is on is the fault of the Republicans.

    Tom Nichols and many of the never-trumpers do not have/ don’t seem to recognize the importance of cultural humility. They automatically assume that if they are joining a group, then they immediately should have elite and decision-making positions in that group.

    So, welcome to all the “Tom Nichols” who’ve joined the fight for democracy, but I remain skeptical of the good faith of any who think they “know better” than the people who have been fighting for small d democracy a lot longer than they have.

  102. 102.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @kindness:

    Welcome to the real Jon Stewart. He has always sucked and I will never understand why some people like him. He a sort of Dennis Miller comic, funny for some people who have poor taste in humor.

    He’s so bad that good writers can barely save him.

  103. 103.

    Another Scott

    For folks like me who didn’t see Biden’s letter to Democrats yet, APNews.com:

    (Make sure to scroll down and read the whole thing.)

    […]

    More importantly, we have an economic vision to run on that soundly beats Trump and the MAGA Republicans. They are siding with the wealthy and the big corporations and we are siding with the working people of America. It wasn’t an isolated moment for Trump to stand at Mar-A-Lago and tell the oil industry they should give him $1 billion and he will do whatever they want.

    That’s whose side Trump and the MAGA Republicans are on. Trump and the MAGA Republicans want another $5 trillion in tax cuts for rich people so they can cut Social Security and Medicare. We will never let that happen. Its trickle-down economics on steroids. We know the way to build the economy is from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down. We are finally going to make the rich and big corporations pay their fair share of taxes in this country. The MAGA party is also still determined to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which could throw 45 million Americans off their coverage. We will never let that happen either. Trump got rich denying rental housing to Black people. We have a plan to build 2 million new housing units in America. They want to let Big Pharma charge as much as they want again. What do you think America’s seniors will think when they know Trump and the MAGA Republicans want to take away their $35 insulin — as well as the $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription costs we Democrats just got them? Or what do you think American families are going to think when they find out Trump and the MAGA Republicans want to hit them with a new $2,500 national sales tax on all the imported products they buy.

    We are the ones lowering costs for families — from health care to prescription drugs to student debt to housing. We are the ones protecting Social Security and Medicare. Everything they’re proposing raises costs for most Americans — except their tax cuts which will go to the rich.

    We are protecting the freedoms of Americans. Trump and the MAGA Republicans are taking them away. They have already for the first time in history taken away a fundamental freedom from the American people by overturning Roe v. Wade. They have decided politicians should make the most personal of decisions that should be made by women and their doctors and those closest to them. They have already said they won’t stop there — and are going after everything from contraception to IVF to the right to marry who you love. And they have made it clear they will ban abortion nationwide. We will let none of that happen. I have made it clear that if Kamala and I are reelected, and the nation elects a Democratic House and Senate, we will make Roe v. Wade the law of the land again. We are the ones who will bring real Supreme Court reform; Donald Trump and his majority want more of the same from the Court, and the chance to add to the right-wing majority they built by subverting the norms and principles of the nomination and confirmation process.

    And we are standing up for American democracy. After January 6th, Trump has proven that he is unfit to ever hold the office of President. We can never allow him anywhere near that office again. And we never will.

    My fellow Democrats — we have the record, the vision, and the fundamental commitment to America’s freedoms and our Democracy to win.

    […]

    (Emphasis added.)

    AOC made a big point about housing costs in her her recent endorsement comments. I think they both recognize it will resonate. Deservedly so.

    Those monsters have a history. Reminding voters of their history – and what they plan to do beyond that – is well worth the effort, while also talking about what our team has done and will do.

    Worth a click.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  107. 107.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @lowtechcyclist:

    We have home raspberries and have pulled 2 1/2 gallons out of about 22 square feet of space. I estimate there is about another gallon left, maybe a bit more.

    The smell of home grown raspberries cooking away makes your mouth water. Raspberry shakes kick ass. Also. Too!

  108. 108.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @rikyrah:

    That’s an excellent point! The presstitutes like to both sides everything but this? Hmmmm…

    I would say that is a huge perception problem for our “both sides except this” media.

  109. 109.

    LanceThruster

    When George S. asked Biden about what if this controversy results in him losing, Biden’s response was, “As long as I know I tried my best.”

    How about if we give him his participation trophy now?

    The question of who benefits most is where the current split resides. I take it on good faith that we all want what’s best for ourselves and our country, and in a person with some commitment to the collective, those things usually overlap pretty substantially.  There are those that could give a damn about anyone else where the personal gains are everything. And there’s even those exceptional individuals who are willing to do with a little less so that those with virtually nothing can have a bit more. The rugged individualist will continually worry about the moral hazards of “free stuff” ignoring how much the system is geared to channel free stuff to the connected almost as if that was its primary purpose.

    Otherwise, why would public tax dollars be used to subsidize wealthy sports franchise owners in building expensive stadiums in leagues operating as monopolies that somewhere down the line also become expensive white elephants quite often? Jobs, civic pride, the threats of teams going elsewhere, the utility of multi-use facilities? Great. The billionaires can still pick up the tab. Whether for sports arenas or construction Olympic facilities, the overall benefits are often rather limited, many local jobs associated are low wage and/or temporary/seasonal, and municipalities quite regularly bargain away potential revenue generators like the parking concessions and the like, but they also end up picking up the tab for cyclic traffic congestion and related effects. There’s advantages to the tax base, but I also remember my surprise learning that there was an element in the whole sports franchise enterprise that’s considered non-profit if I’m not mistaken.

    But as an outsider and one who has long since stopped caring much about big money spectator sports, I’m convinced that the most coveted benefit isn’t so much to the surrounding community (that’s just how it’s sold to get approved), but the perks the local politicians reap. It helps to be entrenched considering the timescale involved in these projects, like a local political dynasty. The appeal of private sky boxes for rubbing elbows with the elite and schmoozing with the powerful is undeniable, and the ego boost in showing off one’s connections to have these access to these luxurious boxes is their very reason for existing. Many sports facilities were considered obsolete primarily due to their lacking the luxury boxes the elite have come to expect.

    Political cliques operate on the same connections to power, sometimes with personnel interchangeable and sometimes loyalties more specialized in not wanting to work for or with those whose particular agenda was something they really couldn’t get behind. And others are just hired guns whose services go to the highest bidder. Those throwing their lot in with the Hillary camp were certain they backed the right horse, expecting to ride her coattails to bigger and better things as they were part of the machinery at their apex in the halls of power withba good four years at least to make their mark. A day after the election, updating their resumes knowing they were about to embark on a new employment search.

    In the question of Biden’s staying on (to “finish the job” as they always put it), I’ve no doubt the needs and wants of his team come into play. These are the people who helped him get the position, and perform the functions of office once in. I take it on good faith that all of them want what’s best for the country, and their party winning would part of that, as would winning with their guy.  There are undeniably those within his camp that feel that the current condition of their guy (one that the best anyone can hope for is that it stabilizes because the expectation from the symptoms of aging are generally not a trajectory of continued improvement over time), indicates to them that the best chance of winning is no longer with Biden.

    This should certainly be given additional weight as they see first hand his condition the rest of us are not privy to. What about the ones also around him all the time who support his decision to stay on? They must feel he’s still the best option to retain the White House. Is it because they don’t see what concerns the others, or because they feel they can keep it sufficiently under wraps long enough to win? There might even be a few who don’t care but just want to keep their job knowing a replacement candidate would have a new team come in. But they all agree keeping Trump out is the main thing.

    As for Joe himself, you generally have a certain type of personality to seek higher office in the first place and ego certainly plays a part in that. I take it on good faith that Joe also wants what’s best for the country, with the occasional need to do what’s best for Joe, because in the long run that will be what’s best for the country and the country’s interests.

    To show just how important and often counterintuitive that can be, note that currently it’s the interests of Joe, the country, and the country’s interests (not necessarily in that order but who the hell knows?) to be complicit in genocide, war crimes, use of banned weapons (white phosphorus being particularly gruesome to contemplate), the slaughter of innocents, their starvation, deprivation, oppression, intimidation, abuse (all the aforementionedtaking a particularly horrific toll on children and babies – the images the stuff of nightmares), and forced relocation and even illegal annexation of stolen Palestinian land.

    (A quick aside… the protesters condemned almost immediately as anti-Semitic by Biden when clashes erupted at a Los Angeles synagogue were actually protesting that the synagogue was hosting a seminar on purchasing newly available property in Gaza, but even my local news never mentioned that part in their coverage. I also saw violent Zionist supporters draw first blood breaking one protester”s nose as LAPD stood right next to the guy who got hit and did nothing, one courageous woman tugging at the cop’s sleeve to direct his attention to the guy still punching people as he grudgingingly took a few steps to wave the guy away… mind you, not arrest him for the assault he had just witnessed him commit, but kind of a mild “OK, knock it off now”)

    These acts against the Palestinians are made possible by our money and weapons that we continue to provide “no matter what” as Joe boasted (was he fully aware of what that ultimately entailed? None of his stated red lines resulted in any change of merit), while they are shielded from consequences by his administration by blocking any sanctions, oversight, or condemnation from other institutions and governing bodies because [reasons].

    This is part of the best that Joe wants to do for our country (the goodest in fact) and Joe’s ego is one that’s absolutely convinced that not only is he the one most capable of doing what’s best for this country, at this point he’s convinced he the only one in a position to do what’s best for this country, and all other options need to be rejected as not in the country’s best interest.

    He’s stated that he’s not listening to anybody else in that regard as far as dropping out of the race… not his party, not voters, not the media.. and his ego is such that the voice of God will still result in him arguing to the contrary so there’s that.

    While any of those positions are debatable, as long as he’s still got the job, it’s still his call to make. It is hoped that ego doesn’t result in a fatally flawed decision making process, nor there be any sort of impairment that were cause of the decision made in a manner incapable of accurately assessing the situation and responding correctly and in a timely enough manner to be effective.

    I think they both have the potential to prevent responding successfully. Decline in cognitive abilities for obvious reasons, and ego, because anyone who has witnessed an aging relative or loved one come to grips with their limitations, they are fiercely adamant that they can still do the things the things they used to, and become increasingly angry (at themselves, those around them, the new reality and life itself) and frustrated as it becomes painfully evident that is no longer the case. A podcast rogram I watched the other day reminded my how as more and more cognizance is lost, the ever shrinking core is still there and you see the same mannerisms and such as they interact with a world around them that grows more confusing.

    So from my perspective, testy Joe isn’t a sign that he’s primed and on his game so not to worry… Joe has always been a bit of a bully and that comes out when he gets angry about being challenged. Just look at some of his more more contentious interactions (“I don’t work for you, pal!” “Why, why, why, why, why, why? Calm down there!” and other examples). These traits will still be exhibited in decline, of that I have no doubt. He’s probably put his “lying dog-faced pony soldier” line away, but his other cliches pop up frequently and act as fillers as he gathers his thoughts.

    As far as questions about his memory, his entire career involves what were termed gaffes that dealt with various elements that could be generously described as “misremembering”. These included his academic record, meeting historic figures and participating in pivotal historic events, and even votes he’s made as Senator. “My word as a Biden” always makes me chuckle. Joe tells many stories whose veracity comes into question, some debunked outright or shown at least that some elements are not possible. The details often change, sometimes rather substantially, and even debunked ones can be resurrected from time to time. At the post debate rally where he forcefully declared,  “I know how to tell the truth!” also made me chuckle as the accusations flew back and forth at the debate, the narrative being pushed by the campaign is that there was only one liar on that stage.

    The fallback position in pinning down any  of the whoppers Joe has told is a selection from “all politicians lie, the lies are not as bad, not, as much, not about things as important, that was a long time ago, misremembered… and the one size fits all, always at the ready… “Do you want Trump to win?” I don’t think that even the most loyal and supportive Biden voter, if they were being honest, would claim that Joe never lies.

    Let’s all hope his ego is not compelling him to lie about his ability to do the job (which includes the job of getting reelected), and his brain function is such that a risk/benefits analysis of the various options is done with the absolute greatest probability of success. I’d also add that I hope his campaign stops gaslighting us already, but I’m not expecting miracles.

  110. 110.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @eclare:

    This. I never let new pets loose into a new home where there are other pets. There is always a caged intro and careful introductions, beginning boundaries established and such. Anyone expecting to cold drop one animal into a established home for other pets is going to have problems.

    They’re like kids with teeth and claws. They need a steady hand and moderating influence. It takes a bit of time and work to integrate a new pet into an existing pet family but it’s worth it.

  111. 111.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @stacib:

    Good. You don’t cage the home pets, you control the introduction of the new pet with a cage. The established pets may think you are favoring the new kid in locking them up (changing their routine) and this can cause further trouble down the road.

  112. 112.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @rikyrah:

    Yup. This is the new emails. It’s going to be a real fight to win with the big money media and Tonya Harding Democrats doing all they can to kneecap Biden and Harris.

    They want to be proven right and they are going to do the dirty work in the hopes they can say “I told you so!”. We need to kneecap the kneecappers.

  113. 113.

    No One You Know

    @WaterGirl: Awesone. I take it that this also covers Mousebumple’s offer?

    I love the smell of organization in the afternoon!

  115. 115.

    ema

    @LanceThruster:

    Dude:

    1) Brevity, embrace it!

    2) He’s stated that he’s not listening to anybody else in that regard as far as dropping out of the race… not his party, not voters, not the media.. and his ego is such that the voice of God will still result in him arguing to the contrary so there’s that. (emphasis mine)

    Produce the quote, and the party and voters data.

    3) These traits will still be exhibited in decline, of that I have no doubt.

    First, define decline, enumerate the medical diagnostic criteria, give a review of the literature and your clinical experience. Then, and only then, should you continue to abstain from kibitzing about medical conditions. That’s not how medical diagnosis works.

  116. 116.

    WaterGirl

    @No One You Know: We have more people needing $ for stamps than Mousebumples could possibly cover.

    We have a few days left before stamp prices go up, so we need to move kinda fast.

    Nukular Biscuits is going to cover some, so if anyone else wants to send me email with an offer to fund postcard stamps, go for it.

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