Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Books are my comfort food!

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Peak wingnut was a lie.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Let me file that under fuck it.

Let there be snark.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

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

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Second rate reporter says what?

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / Friday Night Open Thread: Madam Vice President At Alpha Kappa Alpha

Friday Night Open Thread: Madam Vice President At Alpha Kappa Alpha

by | 117 Comments

This post is in: ,

(Note: This was a draft of a post I was working on for later this weekend. But since FYWP gave y’all a chance to voice your opinions… well, there will be other chances to use the rest of that material… )

During the Obama Years, there used to be a category here for KMBA — Kiss My Black A***. We may need to revive that one…

Reader Interactions

117Comments

  1. 1.

    feebog

    Biden was on fire tonight in Detroit.  I think there is a backlash forming from the grassroots up against the MSM trying to make a bad debate night into way more than it was.  Polls are beginning to move in Biden’s direction as well.  Kamala Harris was my first choice in 2020 and I was thrilled when she was named to the ticket.  But it’s Biden’s decision and he has clearly made it.  The press and the chattering class can just shut the fuck up.

  2. 2.

    Ishiyama

    Biden to the big dollar donors: “I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy me love!”​

  3. 3.

    Scout211

    Thanks AL!  I hoped we’d get a clip from her AKA speech in one of your posts.

    Good gawd, VP Harris is an amazing speaker.  And all those supporters on record.  Imagine that, actual voters and not anonymous whispered voices.

    I ❤️ our MVP.

  4. 4.

    mvr

    I’m nervous, but not about either of their (Biden’s or Harris’s) ability to do the job. Just about when/if the press/naysayers/nervous Ds will stop undermining the President and Harris. I know that the nervous folks have a mixture of motives, many of them not corrupt or illegitimate. But the folks who speak as though they know how voters will react and how things will turn out on the basis of an uninspiring performance in a debate really don’t encourage my trust — either of their judgement or in many cases about their motives.

    I’m confident that Harris would be an excellent president. And that is why I am not worried about Biden finishing his term.  She was one of my two favorites in 2016 and is smart as a whip as we all can see. I’m also confident that she could run a mean (in a good sense) campaign and will whether as VP nominee or presidential candidate.

    But I’m not happy about the actions of may other Democratic players or the press which seems to be out of its depth and not doing its job.

    PS: So to calm my nerves I saw the Four Directions counter on the sidebar and went and made a contribution.

  5. 5.

    SiubhanDuinne

    This is on the shallow side, but I need to say* that I really love MVP in that dusty pink pantsuit. It’s a beautiful shade. I know pink and green are AKA’s official colours, and it’s fun to see all the variations their members wear, but I’ve never been a fan of the bright Pepto-Bismol shade of pink. But Kamala’s outfit is gorgeous. Makes me wish she would break out of the dark neutrals more often. It’s fun to see her play with the crayons now and then :-)

    *I said something similar in a much earlier thread when rikyrah posted a clip from MVP’s speech, but it was a dead thread.

  7. 7.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @feebog:

    I think there is a backlash forming from the grassroots up against the MSM trying to make a bad debate night into way more than it was.

    I do too. Finally ventured into the comments section of yet another WaPo demand for him to stand down, and the overwhelming majority (of the ones I saw) were backing Biden and really angry with the media. Glad to see that kind of resistance.

  9. 9.

    moonbat

    Christopher Bouzy posted those interviews over on Spoutible earlier, along with some other real world data that contradicts “The Narrative” ™ the chattering classes have been trying to shove down our throats the last couple of weeks.

    It is inspiring to see real people/voters weighing in on this controversy on the side of sanity.

  10. 10.

    guachi

    Biden hasn’t led by enough in aggregate national polling by enough to win the Electoral College at any point this year but the “Shark Week” dig at Trump tonight in Detroit was good and relevant to Trump being an idiot.

  12. 12.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @mvr:
    Well, after watching Joe’s rally in Detroit, I’m feeling a great deal more optimistic than I have since the debate. My fear hasn’t been at all about Joe’s ability. It’s a fear that this relentless pressure and rumour and downright lying on the part of the MSM will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I do hope that things like the support of the good people in Detroit, and the large number of individual small-donor supporters, will reassure both wobbly Congressional Dems and the big-money donors.

  13. 13.

    Suzanne

    New York writer Ginger McKnight-Chavers told us, “It could be a cardboard cut out.” She didn’t care, as long as the Democratic candidate could beat Trump.

    I like this lady.

  18. 18.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @rikyrah:

    The AKA website Wikipedia entry says the colours officially are Salmon Pink and Apple Green. “Salmon” and “Apple” seem to be open to some interpretation, but I agree with you, looking at the pictures and the different ways to wear those two colours.

    Yeah, MVP’s suit was perfectly tailored and fit her — and the occasion — beautifully.

  19. 19.

    Mowgli

    Does anyone remember that there is a perfect term for this time that was coined long ago?

    It’s the Silly Season. And with how hot this Summer is, along with the general madness of the modern MSM, maybe it’s particularly bad this time.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silly_season

    This, too, shall pass.

  21. 21.

    Ishiyama

    @Mowgli: ​
     

    Does anyone remember that there is a perfect term for this time that was coined long ago?

    It’s the Silly Season.

    I said as much several days ago – the Silly Season didn’t used to start until August.

  23. 23.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    When We Vote, We Win.

    Loyal-Dems-But white “progressives” take note of what happened tonight.  That’s the base of the Party talking.

    The base of the *Democratic* party isn’t taking this shit.  My neighbors, Hispanic on two sides and African American to the rear-side (it’s how the lots are arranged in my formerly redlined neighborhood) who have all been here for decades are far more “all in” than the equivocating, self-professed white progressives that have moved here from some lily-white, NPR burb in the last dozen years.  They don’t need “Biden/Harris” signs out front to show their support.

  24. 24.

    Jackie

    Reposting from earlier thread, ‘cause this is hilarious!

    BAHAHAHAAA! Stephen Miller is freaking out!

    The more Americans learn about the Heritage Foundation’s authoritarian Project 2025 initiative, the more they dislike it. That may be why both former President Donald Trump and groups allied with him are now trying to keep it at arm’s length.

    According to ABC News, America First Legal — which is led by Trump’s top immigration adviser, Stephen Miller— has reached out to Project 2025 and asked to be removed from its list of advisory board members. The network reported that the group was listed among the other groups collaborating with Heritage on Project 2025 as recently as Thursday.

    “I have zero involvement with Project 2025. Zero. None. I made an advice video a long while back for students. I have no involvement with the project whatsoever,” Miller told ABC.

    https://www.rawstory.com/stephen-miller-distances-project-2025/

  27. 27.

    BarcaChicago

    So….this lede from a NYer article happened to cross my FB and IG threads, and it made me laugh out loud. It reads like a parody, but alas, it is not. It does seem deranged in its perspective. It was piled on by readers in both threads, and reading those responses is hilarious and satisfying.

    I bring you….. hurt fee fees media!

    “After a wave of intense scrutiny, President Joe Biden and his campaign have begun to target the media, and many of his supporters have followed suit. “This may very well be the right strategic move for a candidate who will need to ward off leaks and endure close analyses of every video clip he appears in going forward,” Jay Caspian Kang writes in his latest column. “But it’s also deeply cynical and erodes confidence in a free press that keeps powerful people in check.”

    https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/joe-bidens-cynical-turn-against-the-press?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dhfacebook&utm_content=null

  28. 28.

    MinuteMan

    It would be the perfect crime: dump the incumbent, severely damage the Democratic Party’s image and then stick Harris in to take the fall: then it’s tax cuts and fascism for everyone (well, not the tax cut part).

  29. 29.

    Lyrebird

    @BarcaChicago: I am glad the commenters did pile on!

    Tr-mp calls reporters enemys of the people,

    Biden calls on reporters to do their jobs.

    One of these counts as targeting the media, the other does not.

  30. 30.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @rikyrah:

    Oh, I missed that. That is huge. I rarely look at People Mag these days (you know you’ve aged out of the target readership demographic when you don’t recognise a single photograph) but I’ll look for that issue. Very happy to know some of the big circulation pop culture publications are paying attention to P2025 and A47.

  31. 31.

    Jackie

    The news just keeps getting better!

    Donald Trump late Friday evening complained about fellow Republicans purportedly responsible for the failure of a bill that would defund the various prosecutions of the former president.

    Trump took to Truth Social, saying he got the heads up from Georgia’s right wing Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) that the effort to suspend funding for Trump’s criminal cases had failed due to Republicans. Trump faces numerous local and federal criminal cases, and has already been convicted of 34 felonies in the state of New York.

    “Just heard from Great Congressman Andrew Clyde of Georgia that the Amendment to Defund the Prosecution of a Presidential Candidate prior to November’s Election did not pass, 26-25,” Trump complained. “It lost by only one vote, because one Republican, Mike Simpson of Idaho, stupidly voted NO, and two ‘Republicans,’ David Valadao of California and Dan Newhouse* of Washington, the only two remaining Impeachers in the House of President Donald J. Trump, didn’t show up to vote.”

    He continued:

    “They must have had more important things to do.”

    “Also, Mike Garcia of California, David Joyce of Ohio, and Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, didn’t show up to vote. Thanks very much, fellas, for your great support!”

    https://www.rawstory.com/trump-lashes-out-bill-failure-defund-prosecutions/

    *Dan Newhouse is my congressman.

    It’s funny; I emailed him a few days ago reminding him that he was on TCFG’s enemy’s list and did he REALLY want to vote him back into the WH? 😁

  32. 32.

    JaneE

    The Democratic party top tier turning on president Biden is ideal for media news.  Legislation that builds towards the future and may help slow down the climate change disaster, legislation that may help people save money or executive action that may make life a little easier for former students – no drama really after you ignore the GOP opposing everything just like always.

    Maybe a lot of Democrats in Congress and the party leaders were concerned, but few if any Democratic voters are that eager to dump the most effective president since JFK/LBJ.

    Not Black, but what they said.

  37. 37.

    Chet Murthy

    @rikyrah: Soooo damn true.  I remember seeing him in _Malcolm X_.  Oof.  I thought to myself: “this is a myth in the making”. Denzel.  Denzel.

  38. 38.

    Ishiyama

    @Redshift: ​
     

    @Ishiyama: I know the big money is useful, but I can’t help thinking, some big donors reportedly “pulling back” and small donations surging is… not a bad thing?

    Small donations are what being loved gets you. Large donations are what being bought feels like.

  39. 39.

    cain

    @PatD: yes the centrist assholes. We see them. The Republican lite people. They don’t like all this stuff against rich people.

    It’s actually good because we know who they are and know they are possible Sinema types.

  40. 40.

    Splitting Image

    @PatD:

    It’s actually the white Dem moderates who are pressuring Biden to drop out of the race. The types who are most sensitive to elite donors.

    I’m actually comfortable with the thought that serious progressives have learnt the value of party loyalty and are making themselves more valuable to the coalition than the remaining old rich white guys.

    The fact that almost the first name I heard as a replacement was Joe Manchin was just the perfect encapsulation of the whole movement. “An Old White Guy For All the Other Old White Guys”.

  41. 41.

    rikyrah

     

    The New York Times is the #VichyPress (@Needle_of_Arya) posted at 11:00 PM on Fri, Jul 12, 2024:

    This entire “Pass the Torch” movement is so racist.

     

    It’s nothing more than a white-to-white and a white-for-white conversation among white people who want to “pass the torch”” to someone white in the next generation.

     

    The brown/Black/Asian/indigenous generation is *right there*.

    (https://x.com/Needle_of_Arya/status/1811974002010648603?t=w4-wvj5iPcyM-4FUFmRVHg&s=03)

  42. 42.

    Chet Murthy

    @Splitting Image: “the first name I heard as a replacement was Joe Manchin”

    Really?  Really?  Oof!  Just *oof*!  Back when all this madness started, I said that if Joe withdrew, then Joe Fucking Mansion would throw his hat into the ring, and it’d be a downward spiral from there.  Just a horrorshow.  Little did I know that they were already bandying his name about: last I’d heard, Mansion was saying that Granpa Joe was the nominee and anything else was madness.  But I guess things have moved on.  Grrrrrr.

    I remain convinced that if Granpa Joe withdraws, we’re *fucked*.

  45. 45.

    guachi

    Fresh off of his Detroit speech Biden should go to west Michigan along the shores of Lake Michigan. Be visible, do local press, hold a rally. Go to Holland, South Haven, Petoskey and Traverse City. It’s beautiful and a great place for campaigning in a must-win state.

  46. 46.

    CaseyL

    @Ishiyama: ​

    It’s the Monies. The Monies have taken over everything, and now they think they own the Democratic Party. (And way too many Democrats are happy to be owned.)

    I hate having to depend on rich people, because they are Rich before they are anything else.

    Their political policy preferences are just that: preferences. Not moral or ethical issues they’ll go to the wall for.

    Protecting their wealth and status is their priority rather than a “preference.” They’v turned on Biden/Harris because Biden/Harris has made it a point and policy to empower the non-rich.

  48. 48.

    Trivia Man

    Ive been boycotting the right  wing megaphone called CNN… but i made an exception tonight and clicked to read their bit on MVP and the AKA Boule. Good, positive story snd i hope it gets enough traffic to bring more like it.
    CNN Delenda est

  49. 49.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @BarcaChicago:I bring you….. hurt fee fees media!

    “After a wave of intense scrutiny, President Joe Biden and his campaign have begun to target the media, and many of his supporters have followed suit. “

    Good, that means there is a boycott going now against these infotainment hacks.  People are starting to figure it out.

  50. 50.

    BR

    Just had a chance to watch Biden in Detroit — that was some classic Biden, in fine form. He really seems energized by people doubting him.

    I think we need to put exceptional grassroots pressure on the moderate Dems who are walking sideways away from him.

  52. 52.

    Chet Murthy

    @Jay: A-fuckin-men.  I know that if they quit, I will still be here, with *grim fucking determination*.  But I really, really, really do hope that they stick with it, and bring us all home.

    Granpa Joe was at the bottom of my list of “credible Presidential candidates” in 2020.  Never, Never, NEVER have I been so happy to have been SO FUCKING WRONG.  Just as I have been SO DAMN IMPRESSED with what he’s done for our country, I am completely convinced that if he withdraws, we’re fucked, fucked, fucked.

    And I am equally convinced that the reason all these richies are so damn against him, is that they can see that he’s turning our country against the rich, and towards the middle class, reshaping our economy to help the rest of America.

    Granpa Joe is gonna save our country, if we can just all stay true and support him to do it!

  53. 53.

    wjca

    @Ishiyama: the Silly Season didn’t used to start until August.

    And schools didn’t used to start until after Labor Day.  Things are generally happening earlier.

  54. 54.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @rikyrah: Who ever it is, they dumb beyond belief because the moment for their little coup has clearly passed. I note the name “Andrew Yang”  comes in that thread you linked to, so it’s dumb beyond belief then.

  55. 55.

    guachi

    @BR:

    He really seems energized by people doubting him.

    Looks like the correct response after Biden’s disastrous debate was to tell him he sucked rather than pretend everything was good.

  56. 56.

    wjca

    @Archon: This is the center and our new center-right allies not named Jennifer Rubin. 

    Hey, Jenifer Rubin isn’t the only center-right person who thinks Biden should be nominated.  And that he is, by far, the best candidate to beat Trump.  She may be the highest profile, but she is not alone.

  57. 57.

    Doc Sardonic

    These bastards have done gone and got Joe’s Irish up…. Don’t know if Joe speaks the mother tongue, but if he gets going and slips into the Gaelic, it’s on. I expect that if more comes out that Obama is tacitly involved in this, since Clooney clued him in and he didn’t nip it in the bud, Joe may read Obama from the book.

  59. 59.

    Ishiyama

    “Neoliberalism” sounds much more comfortable than “laissez faire capitalism”, just as “privatization” sounds better than “tax farming”, but the differences are minor and the similarities numerous.

  60. 60.

    guachi

    @Doc Sardonic:

    Since criticizing rather than praising Biden seems to be the only thing that works with Biden then people will have to keep criticizing him from now until the election. Biden couldn’t rouse himself with the thought of Trump being President. It required people directly criticizing him and threatening his run for president. That is not encouraging.

  61. 61.

    Doc Sardonic

    @BR: I wish I had your confidence in that, Obama should have told Clooney that even though we are friends, you go through with this I’ll be in the crowd with my hammer and nail apron for your crucifixion.

  63. 63.

    Chet Murthy

    @guachi: oh puh-leez.  Joe came out of retirement to Save Us From Trump.  The idea that he doesn’t see his role is preventing Trump from being reinstalled is …. absurd.

  64. 64.

    Jay

    @Doc Sardonic:

    And Obama has said,…………………………………….. zip.

    All we “have” is anonamous “claims” from presstitutes, the same ones faking quotes.

  65. 65.

    guachi

    @Chet Murthy: I’m not the one claiming that Biden is mad because people threatened his run for the presidency. That’s what people in this thread and all over the internet are saying. Biden is energized because of calls for him to withdraw. It’s not Trump that has him mad; it’s the 85% of America that thinks he’s too old.

  66. 66.

    Doc Sardonic

    @guachi: You have to understand people of Irish, Scottish and Welch descent, kindness is a default setting. Joe is well aware of who and what Trump is and is very much focused on the danger. What he did not expect was the criticism and out right dismissal from his fellow Democrats, for 20 bad minutes at a debate, including some that he called friend. That stung and rightly pissed him off, so yeah he is now focused, because there is one thing that Gaelic people do well, we will hold and grind with a grudge.

  69. 69.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Archon: Don’t make me post my list of about twenty, prominent Progressives who have been signal-boosting this shit all along.  It’s been a group effort and they don’t get a pass.

  71. 71.

    Chet Murthy

    It’s an open thread, so I’ll exercise the liberty of going off-topic, only b/c I can’t help myself.  Has anybody watched _Monsieur Spade_ ?  The story is that Sam Spade retired to Southern France (long story) and, well, murders start happening there.  I’m sure the story is wickedly delicious, but the thing that hooked me after -one- episode (of six) is …. the cimenatography of France.  It’s just …. OH DAMN SO LOVELY.   Just amazing.  I so wanna jump thru the screen to be there.  It’s set in 1961, so sure, it’s not modern.  But wow, so lovely.

    I’m sure the story is great stuff!  Really, I am!  But honestly, I was sold by the cinematography.

    OK,  I’m done.

  72. 72.

    Eolirin

    @UncleEbeneezer: Very few progressives holding ejected office have been on the dump Biden train.

    The members of congress willing to go on the record have overwhelmingly been moderates.

    But yeah, the press adjacent progressives are a different story.

  74. 74.

    Jay

    @Doc Sardonic:

    There is nothing former President Barak Obama, could say that would shut the presstitutes up, or the Tonya Harding Dems.

    Did you know that the Biden/Harris ticket is going to be replaced by a Michelle Obama/Hillary Clinton ticket at the Conventions because of the rules aboot the swimsuit competition?

    It’s not The Silly Season for the FTMSM and FTPundits, it’s the “Stupid Season”.

  75. 75.

    Hamlet of Melnibone

    @Doc Sardonic:

    I wouldn’t take any of the reporting on Obama and Clooney at face value.  The people writing these articles aren’t writing them in good faith- I’m not going to assume anonymous sources are being truthful.  Heck, at this point I’m not confident that sources for a lot of this reporting are actually real.

    I have a hard time buying that Obama is trying to undermine Biden. It’s just shit-stirring, IMO.

  79. 79.

    Chet Murthy

    @Jay: Ehh, de gustibus and all that.  All good.  I had the same reaction to the Branagh Wallander series.  I honestly prefer the acting in the Swedish series with Krister Henriksson, but whoever they got for the cinematography for the UK series …. well, he fucking -loved- the Swedish countryside.  I mean, I could eat that countryside with a spoon, it was so lovely!

  80. 80.

    Jay

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    Please do, and state if they are Reps, Senators, from where, or if they are just failed candidates or Dead Bird Site “pundits” and claimed “consultants”.

    I mean, I told Canada’s Mini-me and the Con’s to FOAD, so technically, that makes me a “consultant”,……………….. right?

  81. 81.

    Ishiyama

    I recognize the anti-Biden tactic as something that we used to see in consciousness raising groups in the 1970s; the term we had for it was “mau-mau ing”. Relentless attacks on your target, on false premises, repeated until all other discussion is overwhelmed. By Trotskyite wreckers.

  82. 82.

    Jay

    @Chet Murthy:

    Sweden is mostly rocks, trees and lakes. A spork might be better than a spoon, if you prison sharpen the edges.

    The cinematography of Spade was great, the mood was great, the set dec was great, but I had no interest in watching 40 episodes to find out who over watered Mme. Kirkland’s roses and why they were planted over a mass grave of Nazi’s, which was telegraphed in the first episode.

  83. 83.

    guachi

    @Doc Sardonic:

    What he did not expect was the criticism and out right dismissal from his fellow Democrats, for 20 bad minutes at a debate, including some that he called friend. That stung and rightly pissed him off

    He wasn’t bothered by his obvious dogshit debate performance that he didn’t even bother to watch. Rather, he was bothered by people criticizing his dogshit debate performance. If Biden didn’t realize his debate performance was dogshit but, instead, needed criticism from the media, fellow Democrats, and overwhelming calls to congressmen to tell him to withdraw (Cori Bush said it was 100% withdraw. Another said 30:1 withdraw) then Biden is incompetent

    How on earth did Biden not expect criticism for his terrible debate performance in an unprecedented debate he specifically asked for that was designed to quell doubts about his abilities?

    You are not making Biden look good here.

  84. 84.

    Archon

    Too many polls came out that didn’t fit the narrative, for the media obsessed with polls that made their Biden attacks unsustainable. The question now is how the donors play this because rich people aren’t used to being told their instincts were wrong. The fact they are basically blackmailing Democrats suggests that.

  85. 85.

    NotMax

    @Chet Murthy

    re: M. Spade – tried it, did not care for it.

    re: Wallander the Swedish series is a gem. The Branagh version, like all things he’s done for some years now, is there to promote Branagh. A pale and painful imitation for those who viewed the original.

    Ever seen the Australian one season series Wild Boys? The way the scenery is presented is stunning; positively cinematic. Rollicking good story to boot. All 13 episodes available on Prime, and also are up on YouTuibe.

  86. 86.

    Jay

    @Archon:

    Allegedly,………. reported by the same “pundits” already caught making shit up and selective editing,……..

    so?

    Over $475 campaign million dollars in donations in the first 10 days of July.

  87. 87.

    guachi

    @Archon: The fact they are basically blackmailing Democrats suggests that.

    Democrats are not owed the money of donors. It is not blackmail if people don’t give you their money willingly when they don’t like what you’re doing.

    I’m not sure how “not giving money” is some kind of horrible threat.

  89. 89.

    guachi

    @Jay: He probably would. And he’d probably write it in a Supreme Court decision for all of us to see, too.

  90. 90.

    LanceThruster

    Lost an extensive recounting of why I’d support Harris but it’s gone. Even considering, she’s got my vote if they pull the plug on Plugs McGirk.

  92. 92.

    Jay

    @guachi:

    The Alito one would be lit, something about the English Crown, Jewish Bankers, pogroms and the 1st Crusade, blah, blah, blah.

  93. 93.

    Jay

    @guachi:

    The Alito one would be lit, something about the English Crown, Jewish Bankers, pogroms and the 1st Crusade, blah, blah, blah.

  95. 95.

    Tom Q

    @Chet Murthy: ​
     Agreed. The greatest sin Biden has committed, in the eyes of The Rich, is proving once again that Keynesian economics work…negating a 40-year crusade to persuade the populace (despite repeated evidence to the contrary) that supply side is the only viable economic theory.

  96. 96.

    NotMax

    @Tom Q

    That supply side sprang from the brow of a schlub named Laffer is proof the gods love themselves a hearty smirk.

  97. 97.

    MagdaInBlack

    @NotMax: Drawn on a cocktail napkin, as I recall?  I’ve often thought the idea sprang from a few gin soaked olives.

    ( please say my memory is correct on this)

  100. 100.

    Aussie Sheila

    Been running around in the car all day. Heard Biden’s speech in Detroit on our national news radio.
    Effing great!

    I cheered in the car.

    Go Biden

    Go Kamala

    Give ‘em hell!

  102. 102.

    Tony Jay

    So we’ve officially reached the “They hate us for our freedoms” part of the corporate media’s Get Biden Month?

    It was inevitable, but great to see. Hope they choke on their hole.

  104. 104.

    prostratedragon

    @MagdaInBlack:
    @Chet Murthy:
    The legendary version has wonderful details:

    The Laffer curve was popularized in the United States with policymakers following an afternoon meeting with Ford Administration officials Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld in 1974, in which Arthur Laffer reportedly sketched the curve on a napkin to illustrate his argument. The term “Laffer curve” was coined by Jude Wanniski, who was also present at the meeting. The basic concept was not new; Laffer himself notes antecedents in the writings of the 14th-century social philosopher Ibn Khaldun and others.

    The supply side school in general traces back to “Say’s Law” — if you make it, they wil come — from the late 18th century, which of course Keynes argued against.

  107. 107.

    prostratedragon

    A contro fraudster’s dream: banking proposal in Project 2025:

    Project 2025 would “restructure the outdated and cumbersome financial regulatory system” by supporting legislation to merge prudential bank regulators including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Fed’s bank regulation arm.

    “Banking law remains stuck in the 1930s regarding which functions financial companies should perform,” according to the policy document, in a section attributed in part to Stephen Moore, Trump’s former nominee for the Fed Board, who’s now a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. “It was never a good idea either to restrict banks to taking deposits and making loans or to prevent investment banks from taking deposits.”

    Policymakers should also create new charters for financial companies “that eliminate activity restrictions and reduce regulations in return for straightforward higher equity risk-retention standards,” according to the document. Congress should also repeal the parts of Dodd-Frank that created and empowered the Financial Stability Oversight Council, and return Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government conservatorship, the policy blueprint says.

    Some of the plan’s most systemic changes would happen at the Fed. Project 2025 would severely curtail the power of the Fed by restricting the central bank’s mandate to exclude full employment[*]. Any bank policy at the Fed would focus on “maintaining bank capital adequacy,” and elected officials should “clamp down on the Fed’s incorporation” of environmental, social and governance policies, “including by amending its financial stability mandate.”

    * The Fed is required, under the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978 and its amendments, to act according to full employment and broader economic stability policies of the federal governnent. The P2025 proposals would repeal that and prioritize supporting the capital position of the banks — i.e. would prioritize supporting control fraud, in effect.

  111. 111.

    Eyeroller

    @prostratedragon: ​The Laffer curve (indeed first sketched on a cocktail napkin) was about tax rates and revenues. If the tax rate is zero, the revenue is zero. If the tax rate is 100%, the revenue is zero because nobody has any money to pay the taxes. Therefore there is one unique ideal tax rate that maximizes revenue!! And of course it should be close to zero.

    Just to be clear, one can fit an infinite number of curves through two points on a line. (The line itself is unique–two points determine a line–but you need way more than two points to fit a higher-order curve.)

  112. 112.

    artem1s

    @Doc Sardonic: I won’t believe Obama is involved in this until he holds a presser himself, standing next to Joe, and says the words himself. No way he shivs Joe by going behind his back.

    It does seem likely that this is part of the attempt to discredit Joe and Obama’s relationship so Black voters will turn on Joe.

  113. 113.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @artem1s:

    I agree that Obama would not shiv Joe. Both of them are too decent to do something like that. I’m sure that if Obama had concerns he would communicate them directly to Joe.

    Your thought that this whisper campaign was an attempt to alienate Black voters makes sense. I’m grateful that Black voters have more sense and loyalty than the whisperers credited them with!

    I’m also glad that this attempted coup by the media and elite donors is being foiled by regular folks, and that Joe and Kamala are standing strong. The voters will have their say in November.

  114. 114.

    cmorenc

    On July 10 while I was on a connecting flight through DFW, I saw what looked like the AF1 or AF2 plane parked near, but out away from the gates at one of the terminals, and wondered what was up with that – Harris speaking at the AKA convention is confirmation and explanation.  Curiously, no one was visible around the plane attending or guarding it, despite abundant commercial passenger airline traffic taxiing around it and the usual airline service vehicles intermittently whizzing around within 50 or so yards of it.  Despite that, it’s unlikely the Secret Service was asleep at the switch and lurking around somewhere nearby, such that any unauthorized service vehicle who attempted to approach any closer to it would have been quickly corralled and disabused of that notion.  At least I hope so.

  115. 115.

    Gvg

    @Ishiyama: big donations are fast. Small donations that add up mean more in votes. I have noticed that all the self funded millionaires that don’t get any significant small support always lose their races. Being able to afford ads and workers does not automatically mean a win, but it can fool you into thinking you can. On the other hand big donors can get you started. It’s good to have a mix. But don’t forget, the goal is votes.

  116. 116.

    mvr

    @Chet Murthy: Haven’t seen it but as a Hammett fan I might try to find it on your say so.

    That said, most book versions of sequels by folks other than Hammett or Chandler to Spade or Marlow have been disappointing. So I will keep my expectations down.

    Thanks, though, for the rec.

  117. 117.

    chemiclord

    Gee, ain’t it interesting that when you invest in peddling bullshit narratives long enough, the general population stops believing you when you try to peddle bullshit narratives?

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