Just nine more sleeps till the start of the Paris Olympics!
From Biles to Sha'Carri, Team USA packed with star power heading into Olympic Games https://t.co/eZYtZWNPVT
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 15, 2024
Absolutely true. The same, however, cannot be said of Yale. https://t.co/8IFIxvdCNU
— Always Be Historicizing đ„ (@ThatHoberekGuy) July 15, 2024
Incase yâall were wondering â @KatherineJeanes has done it again(!) #ncpol pic.twitter.com/nqgUvrt2cR
— Anderson Claytonâïž (@abreezeclayton) July 15, 2024
Speaking of J.D. Vance shifty-eyed critters wearing too much eyeliner…
You could just post these same pictures with âholy shit look how badly raccoons fucked up this cybertruckâ https://t.co/7SaMtMkLjs
— evan loves worf (@esjesjesj) July 13, 2024
Raccoons: If not dumpster fren, why dumpster-fren-shaped?
Per Yahoo, “Cybertruck No Match for the Fury of Hungry Raccoons”:
Fury of the Small
An unlucky owner of a Tesla Cybertruck had an unfortunate incident with a daring horde of procyonids while on a camping trip.In a post on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum, the owner showed off pictures of the vehicle’s tonneau cover, which was covered in adorable muddy paw prints.
“Raccoons tried to enter vault overnight while camping in Minnesota!” the user wrote, using Tesla’s overly optimistic marketing term for an enclosed truck bed.
The animals â or possibly just one animal, to be fair â really put some effort into the attempted heist, gnawing apart the cover’s trim piece and leaving massive holes â damage that’ll likely take a lot of time and money to fix, given Tesla’s track record.
Besides, wasn’t this vehicle meant to be rugged enough to survive a dystopian hellscape and even the surface of Mars?…
I used to joke that I'd challenge any political journalist in America to a high-stakes poker game but I've changed my mind; I will give $100 to any of them who can verify they know the toy still exists when I put it under the blanket. https://t.co/TgUFiuUCti
— James Palmer (@BeijingPalmer) July 15, 2024
Always remember, we need to save some panic for after Labor Day, when the normies start paying attention to politics:
A lot of people across the political spectrum are going to be like “oh shit it’s actually happening, like an election” on about Oct. 18 or so.
â cai (@AnneNotation) July 15, 2024
Democrats are having trouble energizing the base. But guess what? So are Republicans. The news is just trying to hide that part.
People are dooming within their own parties because they’ve felt the dropoff of engagement. But it’s a dropoff of engagement on *politics*. That’s what I’m saying. That’s why we don’t know anything.
Like sorry but someone tried to shoot Trump in the fucking head and if I didn’t post here and Tumblr I wouldn’t have even known. Even in Portland you’d normally have someone waving a flag over the interstate or something.
“Trump’s voters are maximally engaged!!!!!” I don’t know, dude, ARE they?
Nobody’s engaged!! That’s why it’s all so fucked and weird!!
Across the country, people see political news stories and go “ugh” and then scroll down to find out what 94 year old Columbo guest star has recently passed away.
On The Road – arrieve – Olympia, Greece
pabadger
Frist?
lowtechcyclist
I may have to get one of those t-shirts.
Lord knows I have too many interesting t-shirts already, but I still think I’m gonna have to get one.
SomeRandomGuy
Reminder: Trump couldn’t fill Temple’s basketball arena. Those saying there’s low engagement are correct, and it *is* affecting Rs too. Now, we have Rs blaming the head of the Secret Service for not being a white man.
Don’t let Republican triumphalism scare you – triumphalism, rooted in the assumption of deep seated bigotry, is the only weapon they have
SomeRandomGuy
@pabadger: Sub par lawmaker. Any other questions?
japa21
Good morning
Suzanne
Anecdotally, I see far, far less Trump merch than I did in previous election cycles. Which is, at the very least, an aesthetic improvement.
cmorenc
Someone took their Cybertruck on a camping trip? That’s the kind of person who made that choice only because their other car, a Hummer, was in the shop for service when their vacation trip to Yellowstone was scheduled.
moonbat
Still relishing the way Biden took Holt to the woodshed last night. God bless him.
Dorothy A. Winsor
In about an hour, I’m driving myself to the hospital to get a scar lasered off my left eye. It’s supposed to be a minor procedure. I can drive there and back. I can eat and drink, etc. But you know, it’s my eye and they’ll be pointing a laser at it. A friend had to have this done too, and she said it was no big deal. I’ll probably feel that way afterwards too.
Balconesfault
@Suzanne: I noticed that this spring driving around rural Kansas for work.
In the past a lot of Trump signage. Now I tend to see the signage a lot more in upper class suburban neighborhoods. A lot of rural voters seem tired of him.
Not that they’ll vote for Biden, but their over the top defense of Trump has dulled.
Uncle Jeffy
We ainât getting helped by the shrieking about Bidenâs age. Heâs old? So is Drumpf and heâs no picture of health in any sense.
cmorenc
@Suzanne:
My observation as well – Nearly every one of the very few Trump signs I’ve seen both here in Raleigh and out in Grand Junction, Colorado (where my daughter lives) have continuously been up since 2020, and I have yet to see anyone in 2024 wearing a MAGA hat or shirt in public, outside of videos of Trump rallies.
OTOH, not seeing many public Biden / Democratic supporter signs up either.
Balconesfault
Leaving next Tuesday for Paris, will be on the banks of the Seine for the opening ceremonies, at Versailles for the dressage on Saturday morning… Then a drive to Slovenia to visit cousins for a few days, and back to Paris where I have tickets for some of the track events (plus whatever tickets people are selling cheap on the resale market that last week .. bring on the Bulgaria Ecuador volleyball match!).
SiubhanDuinne
@moonbat:
I went to bed very early and didnât see any of it. Will have to poke around and find it. If he took LH to the woodshed, it should be tasty with my morning coffee.
zhena gogolia
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Good luck!
TBone
Yesterday IDGAF about
PenceVance. Everything just made me tired except hammering out counter messaging. Today I found this deep dive (long read worth 20 minutes) and that’s all the time I’m ever gonna spend on that fucking guy.From 2023 and very germane:
https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-45/politics/j-d-vance-changes-the-subject-2/
PS there are currently no rethug campaign signs in my neck of the woods of central PA. None.
Suzanne
@SomeRandomGuy: One thing I was thinking about on my run this morningâŠ.. I think the electorate is slightly different (in degree, not in kind) from 2016 and 2020. I observe a bit more, not sure kind of how to describeâŠ..more uniting, more consolidation of identity for toxic white dudes. The manosphere. The Andrew Tate and Joe Rogan guys. I donât know if I would say that there is more misogyny, because I think that there has always been a lot. But it seems much lessâŠ. Polite? More insulting-on-purpose?
SomeRandomGuy
@Uncle Jeffy: Seriously, was that a cattle call for age-whiners? Frankly, I like the bit I saw about how Tim Scott is all “It’s a MIRACLE! GOD must have saved Trump, because an inexperienced shooter shooting wide IS NOT POSSIBLE! Thank *GOODNESS* there were other bodies to suck up those bullets that God had to prevent from hitting Trump, or the bullets could have ricocheted and hurt someone *important*!”
Soprano2
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I understand the nervousness. I get nervous when anything has to be done to my eyes, too. Good luck, I hope it goes well.
JAFD
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Good Luck, and Relax. Thot that way, myself, before my cataract removal operations.
Soprano2
@SomeRandomGuy: I want to ask the people who think God saved TCFG why he killed that other guy. Why did anyone have to die? Why didn’t God prevent the young man from doing it in the first place?
SiubhanDuinne
@Balconesfault:
Sounds like a wonderful trip! Bon voyage and have fun!
Anne Laurie
Defensive?
Overreacting to their recent loss(es) of status?
oldster
That raccoon ended the weather-proofness of the âvaultâ on that POS, and the next rain is going to start the process of rusting way down inside the chassis.
TBone
@Anne Laurie: pwning the libs.
pabadger
@TBone: I too am in Central PA!
oldgold
The Lester Holt interview with Biden that aired last night was really awful. Biden saying something about targeting Trump at a private fund raiser is seen as somehow inciting Trumpâs shooter and the equivalent to 8 years of Trimpâs outrageous public rhetoric.
TBone
@oldster: that’ll teach ’em not to store dog food in the car.
Princess
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Solidarity. Anything to do with my eyes freaks me out. Iâm sure youâll be fine.
SomeRandomGuy
@Suzanne: That’s something I feel is a semi-sorta-positive sign. There are a lot of Republicans who think their bigotry is a plus, because it is for Trump, but, they don’t realize it’s self-limiting.
No one who isn’t hateful likes watching hate. Even those who like watching hate might think “…hold on, a green stick fracture for a protestor is just fine, but THAT was over-the-top!” or even, “that’s the kind of behavior that gives us bigots a bad name!”
The most dangerous people are the ones who can hate and keep it hidden behind the right levels of deceit, but I don’t think there are enough such people, which means the fight is going to get even uglier and nastier, but it’s why I’m confident Joe Biden will win.
Hate will show; it will repulse people. I have to believe that, because the alternative is, what? Emigrating?
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Balconesfault: That sounds wonderful!
TBone
@pabadger: đđ have you seen any rethug campaign signs? We have one but it doesn’t count because it’s from 2020 or before and has had duct tape over Pence’s name since J6 and the homeowner has let their garden overgrow, completely obliterating almost the entire sign đ
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone đ đ đ
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Clearly bad news for Biden then.
Well the Serious people are telling us all these voters who’ve been showing up to these obscure special elections just vote blue because they are outraged over shit the SCOTUS are going to say “but Biden is too old,I just can’t”.
SomeRandomGuy
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Random thought – if it was sufficiently scary, they’d probably do it under sedation, or allow that option.
So it probably won’t be too scary, if they didn’t discuss it in depth with you. (That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be nervous – this is how I’d *counter* my nervousness.)
TBone
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: a lifetime motto of mine is “never take anyone too seriously.” Especially the Very Serious People!
Nazis are, of course, the exception.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Anne Laurie:Â Young, in-closet conservative gay men telling their family it’s the women’s fault for them being virgins at age thirty.
Another Scott
Over the weekend, I looked at the C-Span clip of TCFFG’s rally. While I haven’t seen it mentioned much anywhere, he was rambling about “millions and millions” of people “who don’t belong here”, talking about the “crime” they cause, etc. Othering in dangerous ways, as he does.
It continues to be the big theme for him.
The Brennan Center has a good article (from May) debunking the stupid arguments.
They’ve also got good articles on other topics, like how voting rights and abortion rights are tied together.
It can seem like a lost cause sometimes, but fighting against lizard-brained fear-inducing arguments with rational facts and logic (as part of the fight) is important. Keep the Brennan Center bookmarked, and support them (as I do) when you can.
Cheers,
Scott.
Argiope
@lowtechcyclist: I also love that shirt and, like my rainbow Y’ALL, am wondering just how Appalachian I need to be to pull it off. I’m a third gen raised in the north, but go to the hills every summer for the reunion hundreds attend, all descendants of one couple with 15 children starting in 1920. One featured a group shirt saying “Whole Lotta Hillbillies, Whole Lotta Fun”. But I don’t say you’uns, so I’m not sure. Identity is a funny thing.
Starfish
@Balconesfault: For the dressage? I did not know that Mitt Romney was a commenter on this blog.
2012 was a simpler time when a candidate garnered controversy for liking fancy dancing horses.
Another Scott
@Balconesfault: AngryBlackLady (Twitter version) was just over in France for her 50th birthday. It looks like the weather was perfect and she seemed to have a great time.
I hope you do as well!
Cheers,
Scott.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
That is no accident, “targeting” is most likely a word the focus group of the targeted demographic reacted negatively too.
Ohio Mom
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I also had that done, if what you are doing is a post-cataract surgery thing. It was a breeze. Iâd forgotten Iâd had it until the ophthalmologist mentioned she might have to do the other eye in the next year or two.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Thanks for the good wishes, everyone. I’m off.
OzarkHillbilly
Those Chinese donât miss a trick.
WaterGirl
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Easy to feel that way once it’s OVER!
satby
@Dorothy A. Winsor: good luck!
Boris Rasputin (the evil twin)
. D. Vance? trump screwed up again. He should’ve picked another up and coming man, someone with integrity, a man of his word. A perfect match, if you will. George Santos!
Another Scott
@oldgold: IIRC, the offensive word was “bull’s eye”.
You know, like the center of a dart board.
Something something both sides!!1
[ groucho-roll-eyes.gif ]
Cheers,
Scott.
moonbat
@SiubhanDuinne: He did an excellent job of pointing out the press’ hypocrisy in only covering his poor performance and not pointing out all of Trumps lies during the debate. Then when Holt tried to make it sounds like he was ‘trying to get back into the swing of things’ Biden reminded him that he had done 22 campaign events since the debate.
Just google “I’m on the horse. Where have you been?”
WaterGirl
@Balconesfault: Paris!
Hope you will take lots of pictures and share them with us in On the Road!
Starfish
@Anne Laurie: With all the different identities that everyone is carrying around, it is really hard for boys looking for positive male identity when the only thing anyone says about men is related to misogyny. So either they accept misogyny as male identity, or they look for something else. But we have not defined that something else for them very well so they are going to Jordan Peterson and Andrew Tate to find their male identities.
There are a bunch of “steroids are not so bad and get you pumped up quick” YouTubers in the 18-25 range out in the world.
TBone
I live in the Allegheny section of the Appalachian Mountains. I am part redneck and part DelCo (which is frequently the exact same thing). If I walk past my next door neighbors’ house, an expansive view of the mountains is my reward. In DelCo, we’d go the highest point where we could see the Philly skyline of skyscrapers. Raised in the country every summer as a child, family farm in Tioga County dates waaaay back, bought a ramshackle cabin on Penns Creek in 1995 and actually moved in to live in it in 2015 in a spectacular act of
stupiditybravery. No running water, only source of heat a 1920s era Heatrola coal & wood stove. Vance can bite my white woman ass.Eyeroller
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I assume this is for scar tissue on the lens capsule after cataract surgery. I’ve had it done; it’s completely straightforward and takes a couple of minutes.
zhena gogolia
@moonbat: They are so disrespectful. They never treated Drumpf this way.
Miss Bianca
@Balconesfault: Olympic-level Dressage and Versailles…le sigh. “Jel”, as they say in Ghosts.
TBone
@Starfish: also, Youth Pastors play an outsized role where I live. Rumpy neighbors’ second of three sons is ultra religious and way into body building. Like a proper Aryan.
Eyeroller
@SomeRandomGuy: Nope, you need to be conscious to stay steady. This procedure is done sitting up.
OzarkHillbilly
More sciencey news:
Uh ohâŠ
Pretty cool. Iâd like to stick around long enough to see it.
prostratedragon
@Suzanne:Â The golden sneakers killed off the whole market.
TBone
@OzarkHillbilly: you goin’ somewhere? Nooooo!
moonbat
@zhena gogolia: I think it is in part because Biden gives off the kindly grandpa vibe (and also has a D behind his name), but I think Joe disabused them of that notion last night. He fired back and reminded him at the end that politics is about policies. Said something to the effect of, “Next time you have me on why don’t we talk about policies.”
JML
As a Teamster, I’m still vaguely furious at O’Brien speaking at the RNC. I understand the idea behind it: go into the enemy’s house with a pro-worker message and see if you can move the needle…but fucking hell, these scumbags think that anyone who works for a wage is a sucker to be fleeced. Every single policy they push harms people who work for a wage, wrecks their retirements, and screws them over so the dragons can grow their hoards. Occasionally, a few GOPers will say they support workers (like supporting the prevailing wage acts, raising the minimum wage, etc), but they will always find a reason to vote against it. Always.
They can’t be trusted, they will not support workers, so you can’t give any of your membership an excuse to vote for them. And that’s where O’Brien has failed, and I’m going to tell my Local exactly that and every leader in the international I can find.
OzarkHillbilly
@TBone: I’ve been abusing my body for 66 years and I get daily reminders of that fact.
stinger
@SomeRandomGuy: đ
stinger
@Dorothy A. Winsor:Â â
That does not sound ideal. But they know what they’re doing — it’s not like kids in their backyard pointing a laser at an airliner cockpit. I hope.
TBone
@OzarkHillbilly: well so does Keith Richards! (and me). I hope you find blessed comfort and live to see that asteroid!
Suzanne
@Anne Laurie: Oh, absolutely. It feels more⊠maybe coherent is the right wordâŠ. this year.
Susan Faludi points outâŠ. Thereâs always a backlash.
TBone
@JML: đȘđđ
caphilldcne
Iâm in Day 3 of COVID struggling to rest and stay positive. (I donât feel terrible. Sore throat, cough, minor fever at times). Was watering but the city (DC) sent some guys to fix the tripping hazard bricks out front of my neighbors. Water was pooling where they needed to work so I shut it off. The city also is sending teams to fix the alley next week. Everyone complains about them but theyâve always been relatively responsive and eventually get around to doing what they say to do. Iâm thankful for them. Also maybe 8 yeas ago they put trees into tree boxes that were vacant for years. More shade. I was feeling really negative today. This positive post and the city guys really turned me around. Thanks!
Another Scott
@JML: Supposedly JD makes noises about supporting the lower middle class and workers and so forth. And a few years ago, there was some half-hearted push by a few GQPers to say that Democrats were the party of the overlords and the GQP was the part of the little-guy. So, it’s good that he brought up those issues and made them think about them.
Of course, the GQP lies about everything, so nothing can be taken at face value.
But Democrats continuing to get the message out that – “hey, did you like Sean’s speech? – were actually doing the work to make the country better for the other 99%” is one that they have to continue to push.
Ultimately, we need as many votes as we can get. Large majorities make all sorts of good things possible – and enable people who want more and faster to protest inside the tent when necessary. I’m not going to bash Sean for going there and speaking. I will encourage him, though, to get the Teamsters out to actually support those things that he claims to be advocating for.
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
RSA
Wow, Minnesota raccoons go camping… More technologically sophisticated than our local fauna.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@moonbat:
Biden pushed back well on Holt’s typical corporate media angle. Biden is so disarming with things like the “God Bless You.” when he’s saying, in a much more polite way, what most of us who scrutinize the media but we comment on it in NSFW language.â
WaterGirl
@moonbat:
I love that!
Joe’s anger translator: Fuck you, you hack! Â I thought you might know how to conduct an interview.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@JML:
Thanks for that perspective; nice to see we have organized labor in here. My eyebrow raise was significant when I saw he was speaking there.
Almost nobody can enter that kind of arena and pull it off. Sec Pete can but not many others.
TBone
OMG I just found a meme of Dotard wearing the dog Cone of Shame around his neck to prevent him from abusing his new “wound.” You can barely see the ear bandage through the plastic cone. I spit my covfefe and wish I could share it here!!! It’s a very well done Photoshop đ
ETA I just emailed it to WG
Tony Jay
Thereâs a very pertinent reason the Fraternity of Corporate Media Outlets are currently going flat-out, balls to the wall, crazy like a brain-damaged fox with rabies and a case of itchy ringworm, X-Treme Action, 110% effort, hair on permanent fire, loopy-loo in defence of Stench and the Party of Hench, and itâs not because theyâre in the slightest bit confident of their electoral popularity.
Please snark accordingly.
TBone
@Tony Jay: yours in service,
TBone
WaterGirl
@caphilldcne: Sorry to hear you have Covid. Â I think even if you’re feeling not terrible it’s best to rest and not do much physically. Hoping for a mild case for you and a quick recovery.
TBone
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: the proper use is
“Gawd love ya!”
đ
TBone
@caphilldcne:
@WaterGirl:
WG is exactly correct, and I speak from experience.
Take it easy! Recovering demands rest and I hope you make a complete recovery.
Geminid
@Tony Jay: I see Jeremy Corbin made his way back to Parliament as an Independent. I do not share Corbyn’s political views but I was still pleased to see this.
SiubhanDuinne
@TBone:
Ooh, cannot WAIT to see that!!
TBone
@SiubhanDuinne: it’s SO fabulous! đđ I hope WG shares it with everyone.
It is perfection – a perfect Gag Order!
I have texted it to my nationwide contacts already.
đ¶â ZZ Top
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3_Ayrc7RqjA
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Olympics have been much on my mind recently actually. I wake up to sports fanhood every four years at Olympic time (and to a lesser extent in the off years for the winter olympics). I realized a couple of Olympics ago that the network coverage style of “let’s only watch finals, and then only in events where there’s an American with a good chance of winning a medal” didn’t appeal to me.
I learned I like the stories that start in the early rounds. The surprises on which favorites don’t make the cut and which unexpected people do. And this year I realized I wanted to watch Olympic trials, primarily track & field and gymnastics. So I saw Simone Biles do her thing but also heard about the injuries she’s fighting, but I also saw a number of people going to Paris who were definite outsiders. When the actual Olympics start, I’m going to pick and choose a few events and as much as possible watch them from start to finish. Even if there’s not an American.
I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by the women’s gymnastics. I always liked the men’s game better because of the maturity and strength of the athletes. The version of women’s gymnastics of decades ago with 12 year olds or anorexic girls with the bodies of 12 year olds did not appeal. But the sport today, exemplified by Simone Biles but she has many peers, is totally different. The strength moves are astonishing and to be that kind of athlete they have to actually be grownups with grownup women’s bodies, and it’s a completely different sport.
Cacti
Speaking of bright side, there is no bright side. The latest YouGov polls show Biden down in every swing state and lower than before the debate.
Circlin’ the drain with Biden. đ„
SomeRandomGuy
@JML: I saw, in one article about it, that he did it both because a lot of rank-and-file Teamsters are Republicans, and, he’d promised greater rank-and-file engagement.
In a world controlled by evidence, that would be sufficient, but, we have Republican Very Serious People insisting that it matters whether or not Trump knew he lost, just because of all the states certifying the vote counts, certifying Joe Biden”s victory, certifying electors for Joe Biden, and sending them to Washington to be counted.
Their argument is, literally, “we shouldn’t judge Trump harshly, because he just might not know his ass from a hole in the ground. He can’t figure out even basic reality. He listens to people, and maybe voices in his head, and comes away cray-cray. WHY ARE YOU PERSECUTING THIS POOR MAN RATHER THAN WANTING HIM TO BE PRESIDENT?”
So I also understand your feelings entirely. Republicans will pretend to love anyone who is willing to vote for them, and I suspect the Teamsters are the undesired prom date the Republicans plan to ditch at the punch bowl.
SiubhanDuinne
@moonbat:
Thatâs an awesome reply and demonstrates a quick wit. Ainât nothinâ wrong with Joeâs brain.
Tony Jay
@Geminid:
I remain confident that as soon as British Historyâs Greatest Monster has shuffled off this mortal coil, the rabid jellyfish we call âthe UK News Mediaâ will somehow all spontaneously realise that they âforgotâ to cover the underhanded and downright evil way the âLabour Togetherâ vipers set about destroying Corbyn and condemning Britain to another seven years of Tory rule.
But until then, theyâll continue to pretend they believe the rubbish they printed about the man and bide their time. Plenty of profit to be leeched out of the country with the assistance of Starmerâs Crew before the next election.
brendancalling
I’m having trouble looking on the bright side.
It’s been a very difficult couple of weeks.
Harrison Wesley
@prostratedragon: I actually saw somebody wearing a pair of them a few days ago at the bus stop. Bald white guy with a pot belly. Cut a very striking figure, and not in a good way.
TBone
Hmmm. Troll again, or simply Eeyore? My Spidey senses are atingle đ
No, I will not tell the dick joke that’s sitting on the tip of my tongue đ
TBone
@Harrison Wesley: oh I wish you’d taken a pic so we could all point and laugh!
Jim Appleton
@Suzanne: Also here in Hood River County Oregon, where the biggest buffoon still has Trump Pence flags aflyin.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@OzarkHillbilly: Oh cool. Apophis was the darling of people who like to predict the end of the world, so I heard about it from a lot of panicked young people on internet forums who were afraid it was about to kill them. This was when it was first discovered and they thought it might have a close flyby but not enough data to predict with great confidence.
Still it did prompt somebody at NASA to do the math on how to deflect it. A very modest amount of solar sail on the surface would create enough pressure as it went around the sun, just from light pressure, to safely deflect it should it be on a collision course with Earth.
This was all pre-2012, when “OMG the Mayans predicted the world would end in 2012” became the thing to worry about.
Every time I hear one of those internet panics about every single astronomical event, I think sadly about “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”, how the 19th-century hero was able to wow the ignorant peasants by predicting an eclipse, and how 1000 years after, we are now back to being the ignorant peasants who panic every time there’s an eclipse.
narya
@brendancalling: I’m sorry; come sit on my back porch and look at the nasturtiums (nasturtia?) and I’ll make a beverage of your choice.
OzarkHillbilly
@brendancalling:
Take a vacay from the news.
TBone
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: I love that you know the classics.
Belafon
@oldgold:
Biden: We’re going to beat Trump in November!
Media: Is Biden trying to have Trump hurt?
Bupalos
@SiubhanDuinne: weâre thoroughly into blue dress/gold dress territory with these things. Lots of people will like that he was aggressive. Lots of people are concerned that he bails out on half the sentences halfway through. Seems to me more than once he started in something, paused at a word he wasnât coming up with, decided he couldnât land the thought, and just shifted to a rote phrase.
The Thin Black Duke
Colin’s back.
brendancalling
OTOH, today I get my inaugural colonoscopy! I have spent the past 24 hours flushing my poop-chute, and in just a couple of hours, I will be sedated, a doctor will be exploring my innards with a endoscope camera. Did you know you can get one used for under $3,000 on Ebay? You do now!
The best part of the prep was when I went downstairs at 6:15 AM to have my second glassful of the morning, only to drop the glass (which shattered on the floor) and knock over the pitcher of remaining prep-juice. So, that meant I had to drive to the nearest CVS (we have a 24-hour one nearby) to get more prep-juice. Hooray!
Anyway, it’s been an experienceâand to be honest, one that has yet to live up to the hype. I was led to believe I’d need a stack of books in the bathroom, that I’d be on the can all day, that it would be (as my drummer put it) “an event.” This has been the biggest disappointment since “Ishtar” or (perhaps more aptly) “Waterworld.”
WereBear
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Never feels that way BEFORE. My best!
lowtechcyclist
@TBone:Â â
Or “bless your heart.”
caphilldcne
@WaterGirl: thanks WG. And Tbone! Yep, mainly resting today!
UncleEbeneezer
@moonbat: Part of me wonders if the best thing Biden could do, the next time a journalist wants to question to his mental fitness, is to give a long elaborate, complex explanation of all the ways the journalist could go fuck themselves. Â I’m not suggesting he actually do that, to be clear, but it’s what I’d love to see!
Belafon
@WaterGirl: NBC: “Biden refuses to engage in questions asked, instead tries to change to an unrelated topic. Is this a sign he’s too old?”
UncleEbeneezer
@brendancalling: You’re lucky. Â My prep was terrible. Â Luckily the procedure itself is easy and in a few hours you get to have normal food again. Â Good luck.
MinuteMan
@OzarkHillbilly:Â âAsteroid defense like this is a huge waste of money. All that’s needed is to give Felonius Gunk a star map and a Sharpie!
tam1MI
The air is rushing out of the Coup D’etat balloon…
OzarkHillbilly
@brendancalling: Oh joy of joys! A hint: Don’t clench your butt cheeks.
Bupalos
Hey thereâs this global movement of backlash against immigrants sweeping the globe, destabilizing governments. I think Iâll escape it by emigrating!
RandomMonster
Laying here waiting for a colonoscopy procedure and somehow thatâs still better than catching glimpses of JD Vance on the internet.
Jeffro
@tam1MI: you should have seen the look on Kasie Hunt’s face on CNN this morning when the Dem congressman from Ohio she was interviewing told her “no, I’m not going to call for Biden to drop out”(!)
(he had done an interview with her just last week and told her he’d be back to do another segment after returning home to talk with his constituents about this and other weighty matters)
You could just visibly see her slump. I LOL’d. =)
I think they (House Dems) have gotten the message: Biden has been a great president, and to make a change now would ensure catastrophe up and down the ticket. We are RIDIN WITH BIDEN, baby!
OzarkHillbilly
Today in misogyny: Tasmanian judge allegedly assaulted partner after seeing funny photo from her colleague, court hears
It gets worse, of course.
Woman wins payout after boss coughed in her face during Covid pandemic
Just a couple of stand up guys.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@brendancalling:
@RandomMonster: TMI department. You are warned.
Steve Martin and Martin Short have both joked a fair amount in interviews about how they gather every other year at Steve Martin’s house, with Tom Hanks as well, and have a “colonoscopy prep party” where they all go through the prep together.
Mousebumples
Suburban WI report – still have some Trump signs and flags (including 1 that says DON’T BLAME ME, I VOTED FOR TRUMP… I blame him for 2017-2020 chaos everytime I drive by). I see more signs for local GOP races vs Trump (eg Hovde, local State Senate/Assembly races).
Not many Biden/Harris signs – though there are a few. I also see Black Lives Matter, In This House… (love is love, etc.), and similar signs around.
I think my area is moving from red to purple as some older people move out and younger families move in. I’m guessing my R leaning State Assembly seats will still be held by a Republican, but we’ll see! Gotta GOTV.
Eolirin
@Bupalos: That’s his stutter not a sign of cognitive decline though. The ableist bullshit is even more infuriating than the ageism.
Captain C
@Belafon: NBC: “Biden attempts to divert questions about his advanced, decrepit age by talking about policy and the differences between him and his sexy, glorious opponent. Totally neutral interviewer disappointed.”
Mousebumples
@Jeffro: thanks for the update! (not watching cable news) Hope your Froette is doing well in Milwaukee this week!
Captain C
@tam1MI: They’re lucky he’s not vindictive. Otherwise, “Hey, all those infrastructure improvements you wanted? They’re all going to the surrounding districts represented by people who aren’t bedwetting defectors.”
tam1MI
There is a reason Biden laughed straight into Lester Holt’s ratfucking face.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@Cacti:
Sit on a cactus.
Jeffro
@Mousebumples: thank you very much for the good wishes! She is having a blast with her fellow students and they are being careful. They had press passes for an event yesterday and they made sure to keep those put away until they were to the door of the event…put them back away as they were exiting.
I think she is going to turn out to be even worse of a political junkie than her dad, which is really saying something(!)
Bupalos
@Jeffro: This is consistent with Ezra Kleinâs claim. That almost all the pols believe we need a different candidate, but most are deciding not to stick their heads up because itâs too risky to be a target for wrath.
The party is split. The easiest thing to do is lay low.
Jeffro
@tam1MI: reality is sinking in…our blessed media really ARE going to have to report on Biden-Trump, the whole way through.
No made up ‘West Wing’ shit, no fairy tales, no breathless coverage of some sort of silly 48-hour mini-convention.
We want Joe and Kamala, and these dipshits better start reporting that!
They’d also better get serious about the contrasts here.
Eolirin
@Bupalos: It’s consistent with the data that our base voters don’t want to replace Biden.
Omnes Omnibus
@Bupalos:Â â
The horse is dead. Please stop beating it.
Jinchi
To the pundits who expect Trump to gain empathy for victims of violence after his near-death experience, Iâd like to point out that he nearly died of Covid, and came back believing he was Superman.
SomeRandomGuy
@Bupalos: “Without using the word ‘rhetorical question’, I will attempt to prove I’m entirely unclear on the very concept of rhetoric, much less the use of the ‘question mark’.”
WereBear
@Tony Jay: You know how to soothe a gal.
Belafon
@brendancalling:
I’m an optimist, and yet not really a “look on the bright side” kind of person. Instead, I just remember all those long stretches where I’ve had it tougher than now, and all those people who’ve had it tougher than me, and those who will have it tougher than me if I don’t do my part. So I just plan for the next thing.
Bupalos
@Eolirin: Of course his stutter plays into it. The tools he uses to control it are taking up more and more of his lowered cognitive capacity and more frequently overloading that capacity. 4 years ago it was noticeable but smooth. 8 years ago it was practically invisible. The problem is a candidate who canât do effective campaign communication. The average poster here can do a better job of taking Holtâs hostile and unfair questions and turning them to a positive.
rikyrah
@Dorothy A. Winsor: prayers for you that everything goes fine.
tam1MI
Which is in itself a retreat from the Coup D’Etat Caucus’s earlier position that the vast majority of Dems agreed with them. Finally, reality is breaking through to them.
rikyrah
@Balconesfault:
sounds divine :)
M31
detailed descriptions of colonoscopy prep
info about JD Vance
“they’re the same picture.jpg”
Belafon
@Bupalos: Weird. He went home, heard from his constituents, and your feel is that he’s just hiding?
rikyrah
Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) posted at 7:15 AM on Tue, Jul 16, 2024:
It’s hard to confront the fact that, with Trump-Vance, we’re facing a full-on authoritarian movement.
Yes, Vance is an opportunist. But lots of politicians are opportunists. Vance is something new: As VP, Vance would be a committed apparatchik in the service of authoritarianism.
(https://x.com/BillKristol/status/1813185748914315639?t=ZiE818CxDmc8aFSO4B8qiw&s=03)
Another Scott
My
precious!!shoes!!Nitter (Twitter version)
Cheers,
Scott.
Jeffro
right??
He lost an election and decided that the right response was…to overturn the election.
He got impeached once and it changed his behavior in office not one bit.
He got impeached for J6, very narrowly avoiding becoming our first president to be removed from office/banned from holding office again and his response is…to call the J6ers “patriots” and “hostages”
He learns nothing, he changes in no way (except to double down on his malice), and I’m 110% sure that he believes he really has been saved for some higher purpose.
Eyeroller
Hmm, more pie. I predicted further meltdowns if Trump got convention bumps, which are normal and generally transient (and of course being “shot” probably got him a bump).
Whether Biden wins or loses, for the rest of my life I will be convinced that the actual damage came from turncoat, panicky Dems trashing their own incumbent President, and bringing his whole legacy into question. Like the supposed “senior Democrat” weeping about how Biden’s legacy would be to “destroy our party.”
As to Trump’s ear, I forced myself to look at a picture and there’s just no way he was even grazed by a rifle bullet. Those injuries were really minor. Flying debris, sure, completely believable. (IOW no, I don’t believe it was faked.)
rikyrah
scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) posted at 6:49 AM on Tue, Jul 16, 2024:
The last three weeks, not to mention the last three days, should remove any doubt from anyone’s mind that the media is in the tank for Trump and is going to do all they can to help him win. I’m not talking Fox or Newsmax, I mean NYT, Washington Post, CNN, and yes, even MSNBC
(https://x.com/scarylawyerguy/status/1813179196346114414?t=wOuEPMFRVpnoWGYIbXOLkQ&s=03)
TBone
@lowtechcyclist: in my experience, “bless your heart” is more of a southern thing, while “God luv ya” is a Yankee’s way of saying “you jerk” – I learned the blessing in Texas but heard “gawd luv ya, no one else will” here on the East Coast exclusively. YMMV, as always. The “no one else will” part is always left unsaid.
Bupalos
@tam1MI: weâll, itâs paired with a claim that the non âcoupâ caucus took that stance early because they consider Trump less of a threat to them than angry dems. They arenât âpanickingâ because they donât think Biden losing is such a big deal.
Ezraâs claim, not mine. Sounds credible given Nancyâs behavior.
Old Man Shadow
The people who don’t want Biden, don’t want Harris either. She’s already on the ticket and is the backup in the event Joe Biden is unable to fulfill his presidential duties. She is already running for president.
What they want is a magic candidate who doesn’t exist who can somehow come in late, get over the resignations of the President and Vice President and win the electoral college by 200 votes and it’s not going to happen.
Things are going to be tight and it will come down to people who start paying attention to politics in October to save the Republic.
TBone
@caphilldcne: Smart. Intelligent. Loving yourself is not always the easiest thing – but it’s always the best thing.
Mousebumples
@Jeffro: like father like daughter!
TBone
@RandomMonster: đ
SomeRandomGuy
@Eolirin: Yes, and a key point is, what the stutter affects is the specifics of taking thoughts in your head, translating them into words, and speaking those words, all at the same time. It plays nearly no role in day to day functioning.
I get why people want to make his stutter out to be a big deal, but it takes a kind of ass to concern troll how hateful stereotypes play out. “Hey, let me shit on Biden; it’s not that I *want* to shit on Biden – whoops, have to be careful to aim my ass just right – I mean, I really hate this. Whoops. Hon, I think I need another enema! Anyway, I really hate doing this, but I feel you need to know people are going to do this, so I figured I’d come in here, and do a live demo.”
Kind of an ass, and not much else, one might say.
TBone
@Eolirin: thank you.
Bupalos
@rikyrah: I agree with this. It has me feeling a lot less confident about the built in divisions and ineptitude of a potential second Trump administration. Thiel is buying his way in. Heâs a fucking psycho, with an actual ideology.
TBone
@Jeffro: ER bleed-outs have already begun. But I like your style!
TBone
@Jinchi: one of my life’s most sincere disappointments, and one for which I’ll never succeed in dredging up forgiveness.
Trivia Man
@TBone: My biggest example of âstaircase witâ where i missed my chance to âbless your heartâ someone. Big, yankee white guy in a tie dye. Visiting Nashville, went to a grocery store. Two older ladies blocking the entrance chatting. My âexcuse meâ and âdo you mind?â Got a grudging few steps each time⊠but still blocking. Once they finally cleared out a âbless your heartâ would have been perfect!
But it took me 4 steps to remember that and it was too late. I bet the cultural appropriation would have rocked their world.
TBone
@Another Scott: FINALLY WE HAVE PROOF! đđâĄ
Geminid
Some conservatives panned the Convention’s opening night. An Al diMartino posted:
DiMartino posted a clip of Kirkpatrick’s speec and corrected his date: it was at the 184 convention.
Heath Mayo’s Twitter heading says he is “Christian. Conservative. Lawyer” and his timeline supports this. Mayo posted:
Nathan Wood responded:
I am sceptical of Wood’s plan for 2026, but it’s the sentiment and not the analysis that I thought significant.
Starfish
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: They worked on fixing women’s gymnastics so that it was not a child abuse factory, and even after that, there were monsters like Larry Nassar. Women’s figure skating has some work to do.
Tony Jay
@WereBear:
Itâs true, though, isnât it? Theyâre not acting like this because they âknow somethingâ we donât. Theyâre not even acting like this because they donât know what theyâre doing.
Theyâre acting like this because they know what we all know. Stench is a grotesque creep who repulses a majority of people, including millions of Republican voters, and heâs up against an incumbent President with a record of accomplishments and a lot of experience. Theyâre panicking and throwing everything at the wall hoping something sticks.
But Stench remains the Democratic Partyâs best asset.
danielx
@Old Man Shadow:
Yep, Johnny Unbeatable is just waiting his moment.
rikyrah
Christopher Webb
@cwebbonline
Have you noticed the silence? Members of Congress calling for Biden to step aside have stopped dead in their tracks. And itâs because of us. They realized airing dirty laundry in public was backfiring. This analysis lays it out.
https://x.com/cwebbonline/status/1813055232194277768
Bupalos
@SomeRandomGuy: I understand thatâs the prevalent feeling here. It would be nice if folks could credit that some people honestly feel campaigning to be president and being president are two different things that right now are VERY different. For those of us unconvinced that there is a theory of victory here, itâs just as maddening to hear what we see as damaging denial as it is for you to hear what you think is treachery or âuseful idiotâ or whatever.
tam1MI
Yesterday I shared my experiences over the weekend with some friends who I described as “More Left Than Me” (i.e., enthusiastic Bernie supporters who became unenthusiastic Biden voters) and how they all said they were still going to vote for Biden. But boy howdy, did the vibe change when it came to Harris. All of a sudden, every ugly allegation that had been flung at her when she ran in 2020 came out on the table and the end consensus was, “We can’t vote for her, she’s completely unqualified!”. It was sad and sobering to hear.
Omnes Omnibus
@Bupalos: I believe that you believe it. I also think that you are wrong.
rikyrah
chris evans
@notcapnamerica
There is something really fucked up happening at MSNBC and itâs coming from the top
9:17 AM · Jul 15, 2024
Scarborough talking about yesterday’s calamity
chris evans
@notcapnamerica
Like I said:
https://x.com/notcapnamerica/status/1813194118790627639
TBone
@Trivia Man: awww, I frequently miss my mark until afterwards IRL as well – you’re so right that that would have been perfect!
rikyrah
Meridith McGraw
@meridithmcgraw
A video of Trumpâs call with RFK Jr. was leaked â Trump talks about vaccines, tells RFK Jr. doing something with him would be âbig,â mentioned his call with Biden and said the bullet was like âthe worldâs largest mosquito.â
RFK Jr apologized for the leak.
https://x.com/meridithmcgraw/status/1813201574518288387
TBone
@Tony Jay: đŻ
rikyrah
Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) posted at 7:10 AM on Tue, Jul 16, 2024:
One reason JD Vance was chosen: He is one of the Republican Party’s most vocal critic of U.S. aid to Ukraine and has called on Ukraine to cede territory to achieve peace with Russia.
(https://x.com/kylegriffin1/status/1813184501704437987?t=7Kmy7LvNi6GjwEv6_c3snQ&s=03)
rikyrah
Melanie D’Arrigo (@DarrigoMelanie) posted at 6:51 AM on Tue, Jul 16, 2024:
J.D. Vance wants to track pregnant people through their medical records to ensure they arenât having abortions.
How Project 2025 of him.
https://t.co/pe7qSP35xB
(https://x.com/DarrigoMelanie/status/1813179530514710913?t=1dwCD5RHNnp0OvyU1nNSIA&s=03)
rikyrah
I remember
NR_Garrett (@NR_Garrett) posted at 6:17 AM on Tue, Jul 16, 2024:
Remember how the media CLAMORED FOR DAYS to get a comment from Biden neurologist yet they’re now COMPLETELY disinterested in hearing from Trump medical personnel about his injuries from shooting
(https://x.com/NR_Garrett/status/1813171206884896860?t=QSglhW0T-om1fxMOh8MNHg&s=03)
Starfish
@rikyrah: J. D. Vance was chosen because he comes with Peter Thiel’s money. Trump wants a Vice President that comes with a good dowery.
rikyrah
Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) posted at 6:06 PM on Mon, Jul 15, 2024:
I will NEVER be onboard with the government or a group of white Christian nationalist men having the final word on what a real family is. I was raised by a single mom, and we were/are a family.
PROJECT 2025
(Page 316)
âThe next secretary should also reverse the Biden Administrationâs focus on ââLGBTQ+ equity,â subsidizing single-motherhood, disincentivizing work, and penalizing marriage,â replacing such policies with those encouraging marriage, work, motherhood, fatherhood.â
https://t.co/8xr7AtRxfT
(https://x.com/cwebbonline/status/1812987034069573943?t=pOkZCswNfj8L1ns-3j4UCg&s=03)
rikyrah
because, of course
Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) posted at 5:05 PM on Mon, Jul 15, 2024:
NEW: The Trump campaign and RNC are suing to block voter registration at the Veterans Affairs agency.
https://t.co/ztQoAH5LXx
(https://x.com/marceelias/status/1812971769319551441?t=kCjdM9WJMhEAPtPyfgVYZA&s=03)
Bupalos
@Omnes Omnibus: which is cool. I may well be wrong. None of us know, these are uncharted waters.
I would like to hear more folks that see the theory of victory speak for it. It seems to me it kind of includes âno one is paying attention yetâ but frequently folks are also simultaneously saying that online chatter from us coup plotters is causing existential campaign damage.
Geminid
@rikyrah: Vance is on tape saying all kinds of stupid, patriarchal shit, and tossing fat pitches for attack ads. Evidently, Vance likes to hear himself talk but as they say, “loose lips sink ships.”
rikyrah
BWA HA HA HA HA AH HA
serenity nowÂ![]()
 (@MissesDread) posted at 0:25 AM on Tue, Jul 16, 2024:
If President Joe showed up at the Democratic convention with a sanitary pad taped to his face while he took a narcolepsy nap, the mainstream media would shit themselves then start flinging the shit everywhere, at each other, at their own cameras, like deranged monkeys.
(https://x.com/MissesDread/status/1813082573394092288?t=34p7M9uCo5DhkJeS-hD31w&s=03)
tam1MI
@Bupalos: I disagree with you about your take on Biden, but I do appreciate how you are presenting your arguments in a reasoned and respectful manner. It makes it much easier to respond in kind.
SiubhanDuinne
@Another Scott:
I donât care who you are, that there is some funny shit!
The Thin Black Duke
@Omnes Omnibus: I not longer believe that he’s arguing in good faith anymore.
rikyrah
Sophia A. Nelson (@IAmSophiaNelson) posted at 8:53 PM on Mon, Jul 15, 2024:
#VanJones is just off the rails. Voice cracking again. Feeling emotion for #DonaldTrump the almost slain hero who dodged the glass shattering bullet across his ear. And yet, NO doctor will brief the people, or share his prognosis or what actually happened. I am so over this crap.
(https://x.com/IAmSophiaNelson/status/1813029078859194696?t=OybA_hxHGyhizEUV0XE7rQ&s=03)
zhena gogolia
@The Thin Black Duke: I don’t either.
Omnes Omnibus
@Bupalos: Honestly, have you considered that the discussion you seem to want to have is one that doesn’t actually interest anyone else? And, as a result, trying to insist that we have it is annoying people? IOW you are trying to make fetch happen.
rikyrah
Melanie D’Arrigo (@DarrigoMelanie) posted at 7:55 PM on Mon, Jul 15, 2024:
The legal max a person can donate to a candidate is $3300.
But, when billionaires like Elon Musk exploit our broken campaign finance laws to donate $45 million a month to a candidate, weâre no longer a democracy and itâs no longer an election â itâs an oligarchy and an auction. https://t.co/pBQmG5J9z1
(https://x.com/DarrigoMelanie/status/1813014533767586065?t=feFBpL1-y-k_zfGF6yzVvQ&s=03)
Jeffro
@rikyrah: this is a really excellent clip that explains a LOT – thank you for sharing!
rikyrah
call me a conspiracy theorist…ok..
But, once again..
Split screen Reagan’s attempted assassination with that mess in PA
……………………….
Sons of Killmonger & Disciple of Dark Brandon (@2Strong2Silence) posted at 5:44 AM on Tue, Jul 16, 2024:
One more time: This is what every single security professional that has done this for years has been saying.
(https://x.com/2Strong2Silence/status/1813162846982660581?t=LeIJVu8beDbKHJrNdsymPg&s=03)
TBone
An open letter to President Biden I’d sign on to
https://crooksandliars.com/2024/07/president-biden-keep-pressure-trump-and
Ruth Ben-Ghiat and the false calls for unity (plus much more at link)
Tara Setmayer
Kirk
@Bupalos: The problem is I’ve seen no credible suggestion within the framework of laws, regulations, (party) rules, and time for successfully replacing Joe that ends in that person being president.
Lots of money is not the answer, though it helps. It won’t buy the state of Ohio putting the democratic party’s nomination on the ballot, for example. (I know. Trump’s already likely to win Ohio. But it’s an easy example of the multiple issues not resolvable by just money.)
Soprano2
@Bupalos: The time to have that discussion was a year ago, or two years ago, not 4 months before the election! That’s my whole gripe with these people, that if they thought there should be another candidate the drumbeat should have begun a long time ago. I can’t believe they just started thinking this the past month if it’s truly what they believe.
SiubhanDuinne
@Eyeroller:
Has there been any kind of medical report yet, either from the hospital where he was taken or from his own doctor?
My memory of 1981 is that there were prompt and fairly frequent briefings from Reaganâs medical team. I havenât seen or heard a single official word on TCFFGâs injuries.
TBone
@Soprano2: it’s a psyop. As always, there are quislings to run with it.
Trivia Man
@Another Scott: good point – the benefit will be pushing the idea that ONLY democrats will push those ideas.
It was very entertaining to have the split screen – fathead looked like a dog who wandered into a calculus class. Trying to look wise and tough but terrified because he had bo idea what to do. Should i smile? Nod? Scowl? He isnt smart enough to know which points support him. So eventually he just started side conversation with whichever kid that was next to him.
Jeffro
@rikyrah: love it!
The media…heck, everyone…needs to realize: we are just one “I ORDERED THE CODE RED” moment (ie, one big slip from trump) away from winning this thing bigly.
(We can’t count on it, of course, we gotta turn out, but still)
He’ll probably talk about himself in messianic terms at the end of the RNC, and that will turn off lots of our blessed ‘independents’. As well as remind Dems exactly who we’re dealing with her.
But leaked calls? Him offering Crazy RFK Jr something in exchange for a public endorsement (which would reinforce to suburban parents that a) there’s no difference between trump and RFK Jr, and b) they both want to eliminate ALL vaccine mandates?
Hell, even him admitting he got hit by flying glass and not a bullet would take some of the wind out of their lying sails.
Bupalos
@Omnes Omnibus: posting opinions is not insisting others engage with it or have a conversation. Thatâs pretty silly.
I will peace out here, Iâll agree this isnât productive and isnât what the folks still engaging want.
SomeRandomGuy
@TBone: I do feel obligated to point out that “bless his/her heart,” and even “god luv ya” have overtones of frank speech about someone who is beloved. “My brother, well, he’s a Trump supporter, bless his heart, so we don’t talk much these days.”
Or, someone might say “Trump is foul mouthed, bless his heart, but his policies are good for the country!”
A cop who had his share of brawls might arrest the local young shitstirrer thinking “you’re just too dumb to walk away from a fight, god luv ya.” Oftentimes thought emphatically and empathically, when the cop was once too stupid to walk away from a fight.
It’s true that it’s also a fine tradition to be able to show your real anger by “well bless your little heart!” Still, this kind of “blessing” is an acknowledgment that people are complicated, and few people you love are paragons of virtue and goodness.
Eyeroller
@SiubhanDuinne: No, and when asked why not they just shrug and say “HIPAA.” Which is true, the patient has to sign releases, but that’s the case for Biden as well and it didn’t stop the media from screaming for medical records beyond what he has already released and demanding he take more tests.
Soprano2
Come sit by me, QFT. I still want to know who the idiot Dems were who were texting their panic to a reporter. Texting each other in a panic I get, but sending that to a reporter who was going to go on TV right after the debate was political malpractice.
Trivia Man
@Another Scott: Also, he makes a good point that he wants to get the message out to ANY audience who will give him a microphone snd a TV slot. IMHO he could have been much more explicit about âright to workâ BS and dialed back the token ass kissing of âa tough guyâ, but personally i give it a solid B.
TBone
@SomeRandomGuy: it’s the love your neighborly way of cussing them. Very sweetly.
Cheryl from Maryland
@brendancalling: Colonscopy prep used to be that way. Â My husband would go on a wonton soup diet for two days before he started the prep to make the experience less traumatic.
Geminid
@Kirk: We need Biden on the Ohio ballot if only to give Sherrod Brown a fighting chance to win his Senate reelection.
Eyeroller
@rikyrah: I really wonder who leaked that. It was obviously taken by somebody in the room, but it could have been sent to a lot of people.
We really need to get people talking about this.
tam1MI
@Soprano2: Then there was the ratfucking media insisting that Biden should be replaced based on “internal polls” they wouldn’t show us and “sources” that they wouldn’t say who they were.
RaflW
It seems like the thing many of us want most is a return to normalcy. I get that ‘normal’ was quite shitty for lots of people. I don’t want that. But I mean, a return to not having to worry constantly that a jackass is f**ing with our lives. No Drama Obama was a thing, because GW Bush was frankly a pretty crap president.
Sure he seems like a masterclass of brains compared to the following GOP president, but the track record of these guys sucks.
“Re-elect Joe Biden so you can ignore politics for the next four years” is a pretty solid argument to make, IMO.
TBone
A great backgrounder on Congressional authority and where the ability to appoint Special Counsel comes from:
https://www.wonkette.com/p/everyone-agrees-judge-aileen-cannons
Soprano2
This is true, of course. What I also think is true is that it was unhelpful to the Democratic ticket and Democrats in general for the party to engage in a two week effort of stabbing their presidential candidate in the back and the front over a poor debate performance. Think how “normie” voters must have perceived this. People want to vote for candidates who are resolute and sure in their positions. What did it look like to have a bunch of people running around with their hair on fire 5 months before the election screaming “We need a new presidential candidate, but not that candidate’s VP, someone else”? That’s not a good look.
The Thin Black Duke
By the way, Joe’s appearances after the infamous “OH MY GOD, WE’RE DOOMED” debate have been strong, on point and smart. But the MSM don’t give a fuck.
Captain C
@rikyrah: I mean, that would almost be worth it if they did it on live TV.
Kay
I see this all the time and it ignores the last 20 years of Democrats and liberals expanding ballot access. Early and mail vote starts 45 days prior to the election and in 2020 +/- 50% voted early or by mail – perhaps pandemic related but the projection is it will again be +/- 50%. 50% of a national vote share is a lot of people. We do not have 4 months.
UncleEbeneezer
TBone
ON topic!
https://digbysblog.net/2024/07/16/dont-worry-get-busy-winning/
cintibud
@Jeffro: Who was the Ohio congressman? I’m wondering if my messages to Greg Landsman had any effec
ETA – it was! Link to the Hill:https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4774797-greg-landsman-trump-shooting-overtook-biden-fitness-conversations/
Princess
@rikyrah: Seems pretty obvious to me they abandoned the single news feed when they realized the shooter was a Republican and they couldnât run wall to wall âbloodthirsty liberalsâ coverage.
rikyrah
@Starfish:
I don’t disagree
schrodingers_cat
@The Thin Black Duke: They are all in on Klan Rule that the Republican party wants to impose.
RaflW
@Mousebumples: I drove from Minocqua to the Twin Cities yesterday. 100+ miles of rural, two-lane blacktop, very Trumpy north central Wisconsin.
Not a ton of Trump signs, but literally not a single Biden one. Lots of signs for the various GOP state assembly seats.
The standout was a really dumpy looking house east of Rice Lake, WI that had the proverbial junker cars scattered all over the unkempt front yard, featured a “Fuck Biden” flag in the TRump colors and graphics, tied between two trees.
Poor white trash. Classic “I’ll take less benefits if Black people can suffer even more” idiocy.
Trivia Man
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: In 1996 i was so excited for the Olympics. On a radio contest i won a free subscription to the full cable package – 3 channels 24/7 for the full games.
I was stoked for EVERYTHING! Badminton qualifying rounds! Field Hockey! Every sport and every country!
Turns out it was much more limited. I think it was  one of nothing but track and field⊠with about 8 hours of real content shown 3x.
Maybe another if just boxing and one of all the mainstream sports. Still hugely american centric and tons of the extended back story stuff that  has very little interest for me.
2 stars, huge disappointment
Jackie
Donât know if this has already been posted – but for any of us wondering if the GQP might be willing to discuss stronger gun laws after TCFGâs assassination attempt – we can stop wondering:
SomeRandomGuy
@Bupalos: Dude – are you under the mistaken perception that you’re engaged in any form of discussion? You’re shitposting.
UncleEbeneezer
@RaflW: A comedian I was listening to yesterday noted (paraphrase) “There’s a lot of regular people who really don’t wanna go back to having a President who trolls the nation by announcing major changes to policy on Twitter, while sitting on the toilet, just to be an asshole.”
Freemark
@TBone: saw one large one near Rt 30 and Sherman in York but still way less overall than 2020.
UncleEbeneezer
@TBone: For some people “winning” is getting attention by reminding everyone how much they really don’t want to vote for Biden. Â That’s all this has ever been, imo.
schrodingers_cat
@UncleEbeneezer: The same people who had been sealioning about Gaza, calling Biden old, and pooh-poohing the Biden economy have found a new excuse to trash Biden
Harrison Wesley
Colonoscopy…..rebellion within the Democratic ranks……why, I think there needs to be a separate “poo & coup” post.
zhena gogolia
@schrodingers_cat: It’s really tiresome. I just get myself into a good mood and then see one of those comments, and I’m down for another hour.
schrodingers_cat
@zhena gogolia: I have muted 20 BJers shit posting about Biden. I occassionally toggle to see if they are posting anything interesting to release them from the pie safe.
WereBear
Apparently the hardliners wanted Vivek. Seriously! That’s what they are saying!
No one likes Vance. If Pence was a “screen absence,” then Vance has inverse charisma.
Mike E
@SiubhanDuinne: tbf Bloody Shirtwaist isn’t a sitting president like Reagan was, that sonofabitch.
Kay
We’re between 5 and 7 points behind in swing states. Biden is underperforming every single Democrat in Congress. Those are facts. The Democratic Party can either behave like they actually believe this a pivotal election and replace Bidne with Harris or we can all pretend none of this is happening.
At the very least it gives us a shot to hold a majority somewhere in Congress, because Biden is not yet dragging down our congressional candidates, but he will.
You’re in a burning building. Please jump out the window instead of staying inside it. Try Harris. I’m begging.
schrodingers_cat
@WereBear: He may be nuttier than a fruit cake but he is too dark to be a VP in the white supremacist Republican party of today.
MAGAs have already started saying shitty racist things about Usha Vance, who clerked for John Roberts and is also a Yale Law School grad.
Eyeroller
@Mike E:Â â I don’t think even sitting Presidents are required to release medical info, it’s just customary. We recall that Trump released “reports” filled with ludicrously obvious lies (remember we were called “Girthers” for not believing the claim by Drunk Ronny “Johnson” about his BMI).
MIKE S
Without comment:
Mike E
@Eyeroller: good point which speaks to the fact that Turd shirks all conventions, standards and personal obligations.â
SomeRandomGuy
@Kay: Let me ask a probing question here.
Has any candidate come back from this big of a deficit, *ever*?
If yes, why are you suggesting a completely unprecedented change, to deal with a problem that is *entirely* old?
If no, come back with numbers, and you’ll be making a point. Right now, you’re just begging people to believe something that really is quite stupid – do something super-unprecedented to deal with a common problem.
Belafon
@Kay: If those people are polled, they’re already in the decided camp. That leaves undecideds.
Soprano2
@Kay: I think both things are true. The more engaged voters will probably vote early, while the less engaged ones will wait. We have to think about both groups.
UncleEbeneezer
@The Thin Black Duke: The people who have been so wrong about this don’t have a very good track record of admitting they were wrong about anything else. Â Most will just move on to other reasons to bash Biden/Dems and act like this shit-storm never happened, and that they had no role in causing it.
NotMax
Are we sure J.D. doesn’t stand for Just Deplorable?
//
Soprano2
@zhena gogolia: I have found that pie can be your friend if you let it.
SiubhanDuinne
@schrodingers_cat:
Funny. You prompted me to peek into my own pie safe. Itâs 21 for me, all but one since the debate. I venture to guess we have a lot of overlap. đ
Mike E
BTW vampire troll will never leave when you keep inviting it to these threads by responding to it.
Belafon
@Kay: That’s odd. I’m seeing polls with Biden ahead in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
Eyeroller
@MIKE S: Assuming that Trump’s election is “inevitable” and behaving accordingly (like, apparently, some Congressional Ds) is “obeying in advance.”
The wingnuts keep comparing him to Teddy Roosevelt, who really did get hit with a bullet that was slowed by items in his pocket (that would not have been possible with a rifle even of the time, but the assailant used a handgun). Teddy lost the election.
schrodingers_cat
@SiubhanDuinne: Yeah I had 2 in there before the debate
Gaza sealion has been singing the same tune for about 6 months now. This is just the new verse.
Old School
@Kay: What percentage of voters do you think will vote for Harris for President, but not Harris for Vice President?
Belafon
@Jackie: Because you can conceal an AR-15.
Jackie
@SiubhanDuinne: Medical report:
âTCFG was rushed to nearest hospital, where qualified medical staff cleaned off the dried blood off his face and ear. Applied ointment on his ear tip and slapped a bandage on it. At TCFGâs insistence, medical staff replaced the bandage with a much YUUGER one, and released him to go home.â
Does that sound about right?
Soprano2
@Kay: So Biden has said he’s not going. How are Democrats supposed to force him out at this point? I mean, I get the frustration if you honestly think that’s what should happen, but how can it happen at this point? Plus, I have yet to see any evidence that Harris polls better than Biden does, and we both know she has her own downsides she’d have to swim upstream against.
Mike E
@SiubhanDuinne: I’m at 24, I just remove a few long inactive nyms and put one fool back in the pantry…a couple were returned after I had let them out on “good behavior” but they were relentless assholes before the whole Biden must go fuckery.
SiubhanDuinne
@Eyeroller:
Did you see that Ronny apparently claimed his nephew was injured in Saturdayâs shooting? He didnât specify what kind of injury (and said nephew was fine) so Iâm thinking maybe somebody panicking to exit the stands stepped on his toes or something. But I expect both uncle and nephew will dine out on that story for months.
NotMax
Speaking off the upcoming Olympics, pools heated by the internet.
M31
@Jackie:Â â
they only had Elmo bandaids and he really wanted Cookie Monster so had a tantrum
lol p.s. the only bandaids I have right now are Jane Austen bandaids, for some reason
SiubhanDuinne
@Jackie:
Hahaha, at last I can relax in the sure and certain knowledge heâs getting the best of care.
Harrison Wesley
@Belafon: “Is that an AR-15 you’re packin’ or do you have a wooden leg?”
Trivia Man
@Eyeroller: Shattered teleprompter bits is the likely cause. That enormous bandage is 100% so nobody can see how minor it is.
Another Scott
@Kay: Polls don’t vote.
Hang in there.
Cheers,
Scott.
3Sice
@Trivia Man:
Could just be an abrasion from when the SS took him to the floor and piled on him.
Kay
@SomeRandomGuy:
It’s not a common problem. He’s at 38% approval. He’s underperforming in every poll, and it’s getting worse. I watched the Holt interview- I watch all of his appearances. You-all have changed the measure. You’ve decided to give a D- performance an A, but it won’t matter. You can do this grade inflation on Twitter. You can do it on a blog. Where you can’t do it is with voters. No one thinks a President who can barely sit for an interview is doing well.
He said during that interview that ” no one” has done more for Palestinians than Joe Biden. This is insulting to the public. No one, no one, believes that. Because it’s delusional.
I still hold some faint hope Pelosi may step up. Apparenntly no one else in the party leadership has the balls.
That’s WHY you were winning specials and referendums. Because Biden wasn’t on the ballot for those.
Trivia Man
@rikyrah: Orban visits Putin then Trump. A day later JD Vance. đ§
MIKE S
@Eyeroller: I’m assuming nothing, just pointing out how similar things really are. Our electoral system enables this. Trump got 46% of the vote twice and won one of those. Now he has the courts in his pocket.
zhena gogolia
@Soprano2: Not to mention 14 million of us voted for Biden.
SiubhanDuinne
@M31:
I once had a box of totally cool, like way groovy, super colorful, psychedelic Band-Aids. I should have bought more before they were discontinued.
Balconesfault
@Miss Bianca: The soon to be Mrs. Balconesfault is a big fashion fan … when picking tickets from my lottery slot last September I got those for her đ€
NotMax
@M31
It’s bacon!
;)
zhena gogolia
Trump will declare a two-state solution and cut off aid to Israel on Day One. Let all of us who care about the Palestinians keep shitting on Biden as hard as we can!
WereBear
@schrodingers_cat: Of course! They simply pretend otherwise.
CaseyL
There are a few commenters here I will be looking at funny from now on.
There are a few commenters here who previously amassed a big pile of goodwill and trust over the years who have, for me – let me emphasize this is my opinion – been steadily eroding that pile over the last few BJ piefights (for me, the most horribly illuminating were the brawls that broke out during the transgender comment threads), and are now taking a backhoe to what’s left.
It’s very strange, to have once trusted someone’s opinion and then not to trust anymore. It makes me wonder about the insights they offered before; were they actually valid insights, or not? Have to rethink it all.
I mean: It should be a reality check, when a trusted voice says something I intensely disagree with. Could they be correct?. And I do try to do that. But some of those bridges got burned down some time back.
I remind myself that I’ve said some pretty bad things, hopefully not too often, and am probably in a few pie filters myself.
UncleEbeneezer
@Mike E: 26 here! Â I learned a long time ago that my instincts on who is arguing in good faith and worth listening to and who is not, are usually correct. Â Keeping trolls around (whether they are well-meaning or not) never actually makes my experience better. Â Also, ever notice how trolls so frequently screech about Echo Chambers, Silos etc., and have such principled opposition to blocking/pie-filtering/ignoring etc.? Â It’s almost like they know they will be some of the first people likely to get blocked/ignored.
Soprano2
@SiubhanDuinne: I’ve only got a couple in there, it’s the ones who are Johnny One Note posters and never post about anything else.
SomeRandomGuy
That’s an amazing statistical analysis. It’s missing one thing: actual statistics. And, the kindest thing I can say is, you are talking out of your ass, because if you knew what you were talking about, you’d have come with statistics in the first place.
You’re sure he can’t win, because something something low poll/low approval, BUT YOU HAVE NOTHING BUT FEAR TO SUPPORT YOUR ARGUMENT.
That’s why I think you’re a fool and a coward, letting your fear drive your worldview until you can’t respond to the real world, just your fear.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@zhena gogolia: Seems unlikely.
SiubhanDuinne
@CaseyL:
Well, youâre certainly not in mine!
Ishiyama
Broken flying glass is no joke, either! But I do not doubt that it was a bullet, from the photos of the injury. Glass would either be stuck in the wound, or would have left a straight line slash.
As for what to say to offensive jerks, “Take a Flying F- at a Rolling Doughnut” was the go-to insult of my youth. “Peppery and to the point!”
Kay
@Another Scott:
I went to the Ohio Dems convention. It’s bad. Quoting snappy “polls don’t vote” quips at me isn’t responsive.
I’m volunteering for both Brown (OH) and Elissa Slotkin (MI). They’re both doing very well and have been outperforming Biden well prior to that debate.
But I’ve delivered my warning and now I’ll push off. I know there isn’t any stomach for any of this here.
Soprano2
@zhena gogolia: Well I didn’t because I couldn’t, we had some kind of weird caucus here.
Eyeroller
@MIKE S: We are all too aware of that, but writing things like “Trump’s election looks inevitable now” is defeatist. It is demoralizing to Biden supporters, who have already been shat on by a lot of their electeds and heard a lot of rumors from “senior Democratic officials” whoever the hell those are.
M31
actually I think Trump’s bandaid looks like a big silica gel (DO NOT EAT) packet
somebody backstage at the RNC was eating dried seaweed snacks or something and slapped it on there when Trumpy had his I NEED MOAR MANLY BANDAID tantrum
rikyrah
BWA HA HA HA AH AH AHH A
Sons of Killmonger & Disciple of Dark Brandon (@2Strong2Silence) posted at 5:51 AM on Tue, Jul 16, 2024:
Good morning: Van Jones & Lester Holt.
IYKYK:Â https://t.co/qAq6KOjphX
(https://x.com/2Strong2Silence/status/1813164499446231482?t=J79SeC2S9BUTC3Vce7kfLw&s=03)
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@UncleEbeneezer:
Yup. We had people here claiming one particular state would never, ever, ever go blue. When it did in 2020, they subsequently attributed it to a “rounding error.”
rikyrah
(((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) posted at 7:51 AM on Wed, Jul 03, 2024:
As I explained on Joy Reid’s MSNBC show on Tuesday: Project 2025 is the GOP’s version of “Mein Kampf.” The difference is that Mein Kampf was only 700 pages, Project 2025 is 900 pages. Let’s be clear: The goal of Project 2025 is to control every part of our lives. https://t.co/pAzKJan5I6
(https://x.com/DeanObeidallah/status/1808483797702225937?t=300s73HjET7YMBGapWGD5g&s=03)
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Kay: Work product. End of story.
rikyrah
Marvin Sapp InTheSkreets/Marvin Gaye InTheSheets (@groove_sdc) posted at 9:30 AM on Tue, Jul 16, 2024:
Twitter is pushing right-wing accounts and ads onto our timelines.
Elon Musty endorsed Trump and is giving his PAC $45 million a month.
Facebook is removing articles criticizing Trump.
The media is demanding Biden dropout.
A weak party doesnât need this much resistance.
(https://x.com/groove_sdc/status/1813219766640710109?t=Knrzn6eFm3ymCAWpooEgQQ&s=03)
Martin
Biden putting two proposals forward to lower housing costs. One, retracting tax credits to landlords that raise rent more than 5%. This begs the question why landlords are getting tax credits in the first place, and why that wasn’t capped at inflation or 5% whichever is lower. The other is using federal lands for below-market rate housing, which I’ve suggested before.
One thing that has helped in parts of CA are state agencies repurposing land for housing. BART has done this in a few places, putting housing up where BART had parking lots in the past. Some cities like Vegas are pretty much collared by federal land that the city has expanded out to reach. And there’s a ton of other federal land that people tend to not think about. The USPS is usually sitting on a lot of land in urban areas that it relied on for mail processing, parking of vehicles, potential expansion and so on. Other agencies often have land in urban areas that it’s not using. Because it’s federal it’s not necessarily subject to local zoning requirements, and the feds can turn the land over to HUD to operate as below market rate housing or to partner up with a developer and sell to the public.
I don’t expect either of these to go anywhere substantial, because I still see Democrats loyalties split between meeting housing needs and protecting homeowner equity. Plus it would require overt validation for cities, which democrats are still loathe to do. But it’s a start.
rikyrah
Cari Golden
@caridiva
Joy Reid just told us we are watching the wholesale purchase of the American experiment by two billionaires from South Africa: Peter Theil and Elon Musk. Sheâs absolutely right.
11:39 PM · Jul 15, 2024
https://x.com/caridiva/status/1813071055650725996
TBone
@UncleEbeneezer: đđ
CaseyL
@SiubhanDuinne:Â â<
Thank you!â
And you're not in mine :)
TBone
@Freemark: that’s Rump country, right? One sign, just the one, is a major improvement, no?
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@rikyrah: The legacy of colonialism just keeps coming back to bite us.
TBone
All aboard!
https://www.jefftiedrich.com/p/donald-trump-is-still-a-menace-to
Kirk
@Kay: I’ll say the same thing I did to Bupalos above @Kirk:
What’s your plan that gets around/over those things??
CaseyL
@UncleEbeneezer:Â â
Excellent point, and reassuring in a back-handed way.
High previous error rate = low confidence in current prognostications.
TBone
@rikyrah: grrrrrrrr
My hackles are up. đ€Ź
E
@Bupalos: your peace out was one comment too late for me. Pied. Just not worth reading it over and over.
Jackie
@Martin: In spite of hands wringing here and âout there,â Old, decrepit Joe just keeps on prezidenting.
Itâs truly remarkable!
TBone
@NotMax: or
Jagoff Dickwomble
Trivia Man
@3Sice: He grabbed his ear pretty quick, I grant he likely got nicked by debris. Iâm not a gun person so i have no idea if a bullet can just nick the tiniest tip of the ear like that but color me skeptical.
japa21
@Kay:
Kay, I normally have high respect for your opinions, but this is downright silly. Those are not the 2 options. You forget “Getting out there and making sure Biden wins”. Which would be the absolute best choice.
Eyeroller
@Ishiyama: Getting grazed by a bullet the size of a rifle bullet traveling at close to Mach 3 would shred the delicate skin there, not just cause some bleeding. You would not necessarily be able to see the glass; it would not necessarily have embedded itself because it would be traveling pretty damn fast as well, and/or it’s too small to show up well in a photo from a distance. Plus if it’s shards it would be like lots of little knives, not one big one. I don’t know a lot about guns but I can see that even though the usual round for an AR-15 seems to be pretty small for a rifle projectile, it is still big, and rifle bullets carry considerably more kinetic energy than handgun bullets. People think of “grazing injuries” in terms of TV/movies and handguns.
lowtechcyclist
@Bupalos:Â â
I’m glad we have a trained neurologist (or whatever the proper specialty is) here who is able to remotely diagnose that his increased difficulty in dealing with his stutter is due to “his lowered cognitive capacity.”
Bupalos, you are so full of shit, it’s leaking out your fingers, onto your keyboard, and into the comment boxes here. You need to consult an ophthalmologist because you can’t see shit when it’s right in front of you.
SomeRandomGuy
@CaseyL: This is a perfect encapsulation of why I explain that “bless his/her heart” has both the “I say I am angry” and “I love him/her, but…”. People are complicated, and some differences catch us by surprise, and it helps to remember, for your own sake, that you love the person you’re speaking to.
“Love” might be a bit too strong sometimes, of course :-). In my 20s, I was a not-too-obnoxious Christian who thought love was wonderful and could conquer all, so I use the word a bit more freely than some.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@MIKE S:
I too am not assuming any inevitability of Felonious D’s election, in fact I’m one of the more vocal people saying that the opposite.
But yeah, as Godwin as it has been, the historic echoes from 30s Germany in terms of electoral process and outcomes are noticeable.
TBone
@NotMax: wow. We don’t need heated pools in the summertime where I live. I didn’t watch the whole video though, yet. Maybe pre-summer practicing/training?
Old School
@Martin:
Made me curious, so I looked it up.
The proposal deals with accelerated depreciation (which is a tax benefit and not a tax credit to be pedantic.)
Kay
@japa21:
You want me to tell Democrats who work 40 hours a week to get out there on the weekends for Biden when Biden is at his beach house?
No. I won’t do it. You let me know when he starts running a campaign instead of screaming at Democrats it’s their fault he’s losing. As of now, I’m volunteering for Brown and Slotkin, who bust ass.
S Cerevisiae
@Bupalos: I just remember summer of 1988, Dukakis was up by double digits in all the polls and I thought he was a shoe in at the time. The MAGAts shouldnât be so arrogantly confident.
rikyrah
The Biden Accomplishments Guy
@What46HasDone
Trump had time to call RFK Jr. but not the widow of the guy who was killed at his rally.
Last edited9:47 AM · Jul 16, 2024
https://x.com/What46HasDone/status/1813223858893168800
E
Our canvassing campaign has shifted to GOTV so our script is different now. We simply go to D households and ask them if they will be voting in this local, August election. They look at me like I am insane. I have people say things like âAre you fucking kidding me?â Or break out in laughter and say âOh *I am voting* alright!!â I know this is bubble-derived anecdata but I can assure you there is energy there. We will see on August 1. I am simultaneously panicked for my country and its people and hopeful that we are going to come through this okay.
if I were not out canvassing a few nights a week I would be marinating in fear and doom right now.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Kay: I’d like you to act like the votes of Democrats who voted for Biden matter. I’d like you not to assist the media in reprising January 6 through elite Democrats and donors. I’d like you to understand that the main argument from Biden’s only passable primary contender was that Biden was too old and it flipped with voters…hard.
LNNVA
@Kay: This is so true. Virginia starts its early voting on Sept. 20th.
Princess
@Soprano2: Not to mention that it isnât clear this would be an easy transition to make. If Biden is genuinely incapacitated weâd have to do it but I could easily see RFK jr for instance suing because he entered the Dem primary in good faith and then they threw out the rules and replaced the winning candidate. If we have to replace Biden with Harris, then we have to but I see no reason to invite chaos. If people like Dems at all itâs because we are anti-chaos in the face of Trump chaos.
My fear of Biden was always that heâd die or become incapacitated some time between now and inauguration. Thatâs our worse case and it is what was behind the good faith freak out that he might have dementia after the debate (as opposed to the bad faith freak out from the NYT etc. A lot of people on here want to dismiss the good faith freak out but thatâs wrong.) But he doesnât have dementia, he has no cognitive decline; his stutter is causing him more problems and heâs not going to be able to campaign like heâs sixty. Itâs a problem but not sufficient to gamble on replacing him. And replacing him because of low polls in JulyâŠthatâs crazy. Nut up.
scav
It’s so amazing to find all the totally inerrant omniscient people with faultless understanding of the true meaning of all results, polls, inner motivations, whims and lizard entrails we have assembled here. Â And they’re so generous about never ever shutting up about their talents.
TBone
@Old School: thank! That’s a great start!
rikyrah
Nate Silver
@NateSilver538
I mean Jaime Harrison and the DNC are blatantly lying about this (Ohio changed its law so there’s no reason to nominate Biden early) but the good news is that there very much will be consequences if they force Biden’s nomination thru and he loses. https://nytimes.com/2024/07/16/us/politics/dnc-biden-nominee.html
……………………………………………
Jaime Harrison
@harrisonjaime
Nate⊠you can call me a lot of things but a liar is definitely not one of them.
I know you THINK you know every thing but class is now truly in session.
Pull up a chair:
* The DNC started this process in May in response to the OH Secretary of State stating that our convention was after their deadline and no waiver would be provided
*The current law in OH requires certification by Aug 7 to ensure a presidential candidate is on the ballot for November
*Gov. DeWine signed into law on 6/2 a bill delaying the deadline until Sept 6
*Under the OH constitution the new law doesnât take effect until 90 days after enactment which is 9/1
* Therefore the August 7th deadline will still be in place⊠giving rise to litigation and/or GOP games to create more hurdles and road blocks So if we did nothing, then from August 7th- September 6th, we would not be in compliance with the OH law.
To not have a presidential candidate on a state ballot would have enormous consequences and impacts on turnout for all races on the ballot. So you can definitely take that risk and other chances when you Chair a party⊠I however will not.
https://x.com/harrisonjaime/status/1813241706990473389
Old School
@Kay:
Sure. Biden is running a campaign and he’s not screaming at Democrats it’s their fault.
Glad to help.
Spanky
And so it goes:
NotMax
@LNNVA
Two days (FSM willing) after Dolt 45’s sentencing.
Soprano2
@Kay: I just listened to the whole unedited interview on YouTube. Maybe it passed so fast I missed it, but I didn’t hear Biden say anything about the Palestinians.
I thought he sounded fine, there were a few places where he changed course in the middle of an answer like pretty much everyone does from time to time. He was giving Holt some crap, I thought that was funny. In the early part of the interview Holt was trying really hard to get BIden to say he would quit criticizing TCFG in harsh terms, but Biden didn’t take that bait.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
It’s great that no more House Dems have decided to join the Tonya Harding Dems club since the last one, the nice entitled white lady serving her first term in a D+14 district here in CO (CO-7) did so 4 days ago.
And yet, CNN (specifically John King) is still milking it’s “sources”:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/15/politics/private-efforts-biden-step-aside/index.html
SiubhanDuinne
Thereâs a verdict in the Menendez case. Hasnât been announced yet but if youâre interested you might want to check your favourite news source.
TBone
I just contemplated pie for the first time ever here at BJ.
I am usually adept at ignoring bullshit when necessary or when I don’t feel like toying with a fool (my cat’s paws
itchtwitch sometimes when bait presents itself).cain
@tam1MI: But of course, those folks who decided to say something are going to get challenged when they run for re-election. The base should not forget. Get rid of these centrist Dems and replace with progressives.
ETA – I noticed on the first link – they had Jim Himes asking him to bow out. Jim Himes has a lot of ties to Wall Street it looks like. So of course, it makes perfect sense that he would be trying to do what wall street wants. Jim can go fuck himself.
Jackie
This is BS!đ€Ź
The vote needs to be done as scheduled and force Biden skeptics to put up or shut up.
zhena gogolia
@Old School: đđ
lowtechcyclist
@TBone:Â â
Huh. Grew up in the DC area, spent 5 years in Connecticut, lived in Maryland the past 25 years (IOW, Yankee parts of the country), but I’d have never heard “God luv ya” if Biden didn’t use it. (And even then wouldn’t have heard it if he wasn’t President.) Maybe it’s just a PA/DE/NJ thing?
But yeah, “Bless your heart” is a Southernism (I’m a Yankee, but my wife’s from central Florida, and I can use expressions like ‘might could’ like a native), and it’s more “what an idiot” than “what a jerk,” on the whole. E.g. “He couldn’t find his ass with both hands and a map, bless his heart.”â
japa21
@Kay:Â â
No, I am asking you to recognize that’s it’s not “Replace Biden with Harris or we lose”. I want you to recognize that winning with Biden is possible.
A) He is running a campaign. Maybe not exactly to your liking, but he is out there actively campaigning. And don’t bring up the beach house crap.
B) Please provide me a cite where 1) he says he is losing and 2) he’s screaming at Democrats and blaming them for his losing (even though there might be some legitimacy to that.
zhena gogolia
@Spanky: The word “devout” is normally used for religious belief, not political party affiliation.
cain
@Jackie: Axios has been on the forefront of the “Rid Biden” campaign and has been getting all kinds of innuendo and rumors from the Democratic caucus.
TBone
@Jackie: dictated by Pooty, transcribed by Skinema or Tulsi Gabbard.
NotMax
@Jackie
“That trick never works.”
– Rocket J. Squirrel
;)
Kirk
All, I want to point out that while I disagree with Kay’s statements that we need to dump Biden, she’s not wrong to be concerned based on polls.
That’s kind of a key point, that “based on polls”. Biden is ~4-5 points lower in overall favorability than Trump and that’s not a good position for successful re-election. It’s in the sort of range HW Bush had when Clinton was nominated.
My first counterpoint is that “get rid of Biden” is a Mencken solution. You know – clear, simple, and wrong. My basis for that is the statement I keep making that it’s TOO LATE to switch horses by him stepping down.
At the same time I have two positive counterpoints
In multiple threads here, and in a lot of other places, it’s been observed that the polls have been badly underestimating the Democratic value. The red wave wasn’t. The abortion issues in Kansas and Ohio (among others) were doomed. Why is this trend being ignored by so many here? Well, it is fuzzy and there’s still no good validation of how much difference it makes. That makes it a faith issue, not a data issue. But for me, I have faith that there’s at least a 5 point error in the various polls.
Second and more solidly there’s the GOTV. Political conventional wisdom is that a good vs a bad ground game is worth a LOT – how much depends on who you’re asking, but that it exists is solid. And basically Biden’s team and the Democrats have a large, experienced, and motivated one while the Republicans are working on having one.
Is it a matter of concern that Biden’s not doing so well in the polls? Yes. Is it time to dump Biden? In my opinion, no. Let’s ride this horse to the end, and do our best to ensure that the end is victory.
Bupalos
@Kirk: I donât think the conversation is one we can realistically have here. People feel like this is their home and weâre crapping on the carpet even discussing it. Weâre all frightened by what weâre facing and thatâs a time when a need for âhomeâ gets all the stringer. I take that seriously.
I wonder if we could have a special segregated thread so people donât have to âpieâ everyone, where maybe some of the folks not turning it to 11 could see what others are thinking without these accusations and destruction of trust?
Manyakitty
@narya: I am loaded with nasturtiums. Been picking the flowers and drying them, but they’re not very pretty. Any other suggestions?
Mike E
@Spanky: these spiteful people have no honor or class and I wouldn’t turn my back on them let alone occupy the same space if I can help it (especially with all the open carry going on in that crowd).
zhena gogolia
@Jackie: Axios needs to be nuked from orbit.
TBone
@lowtechcyclist: like a “pole turtle” or “I’m fixing to (do something)” are Southern staples – maybe “gawd luv ya” is as local as “youse guys” or yinz. I haven’t heard it outside of PA or used by a young.
Omnes Omnibus
@Kay: You know that he has been holding rallies, doing interviews, and otherwise campaigning. Â Pretending otherwise is dishonest.
Mike E
@Kirk: the mainstream media are doing everything they can to elevate and elect the Orange Menace, and that includes pushing polls. Simple.
WereBear
@Manyakitty: If you really want to “nasturium like a pro” you can dip them in sugar syrup to glaze them at their peak.
My favorite is to fill them with cream cheese.
TBone
@zhena gogolia: đ
NotMax
@Manyakitty
There are recipes.
TBone
@NotMax: đ
TBone
đŁ Once again, with more feeling this time!
(Polls are included)
https://digbysblog.net/2024/07/16/dont-worry-get-busy-winning/
lowtechcyclist
@tam1MI:Â â
That had to be particularly painful to hear from people you actually like. With strangers or casual acquaintances, you can go “well fuck those assholes’ but with people you like well enough to hang out with…ouch.
WereBear
For the record, the wife of the heroic guy who died protecting his family said she felt no ill will towards Biden, only the shooter.
And no, Trump hasn’t called her.
Westyny
@Kay: Biden has made over 20 appearances since the debate and as far as I know hasnât screamed at anybody.  I have really appreciated your takes on Ohio politics, but I think youâre  losing perspective, here.
Soprano2
@Spanky: She’s an ungracious ass, which seems to be pretty typical of MAGA voters.
UncleEbeneezer
@scav: It’s so amazing to find so many here who found the common-sense response of “How bout we wait and see before we freak the fuck out and do something incredibly stupid” so offensive and downright oppressive to their incessant need to bash the most successful and progressive President in most of our lifetimes. Â Especially given the history of the 2000 and 2016 elections giving us crystal-clear examples of how this all works.
Eyeroller
@TBone: Nevada does this nearly every election. It’s always a nailbiter. No guarantees, but usually it comes through on the backs of service workers in Las Vegas and to a lesser extent Reno.
Eyeroller
@Soprano2: âI’m sure nobody will be surprised to learn that her late husband was exactly what we’d expect a Trump-humper to be–based on his Twitter/X he was a racist, Putin-loving POS. But he seems to have been genuinely good and loving to his family and friends and he didn’t deserve to die. But apparently God deflected the bullet to save Trump but let it go into Corey. How ’bout God stop shooters from shooting anybody at all? He never seems to think of that, though it appears he had several opportunities in this case.
Kirk
@lowtechcyclist:
This nation has a misogyny problem that is only made worse (and more obvious) when it intersects the race problem we also have.
I cannot help but think that one of the reasons Biden’s age is such a topic is because “OMG, President Harris is a possibility?”
WereBear
@Kirk: Yup.
TBone
@Eyeroller: that article mostly focuses on our GOTV infrastructure and our other advantages. Polls are mentioned almost in passing, but with the way the wind is blowing on this thread, I wanted to highlight that section. It’s a morale booster!
God bless the service workers, the SEIU, and all of our Dems!
Princess
@Kirk: Exactly. I donât agree with the âignore the pollsâ people or the unskewers. Clearly it would be better to be doing better. My own view is that polling is brokenâŠbut we donât know in which direction. Biden could just as easily be doing worse as better. But tossing him over polls feels like exchanging a cow for a handful of magic beans.
TBone
@Princess: đâïž
SiubhanDuinne
Whole string of guilty verdicts in Menendez case.
rikyrah
which was THE POINT all along:
philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) posted at 7:23 AM on Tue, Jul 16, 2024:
Arizona, the model for voucher programs across the country, has spent so much money paying private schoolers’ tuition that it’s now facing hundreds of millions in budget cuts to critical state programs and projects https://t.co/E0SRB2IfZN
(https://x.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/1813187770011054411?s=03)
MisterForkbeard
@Bupalos: I’m a lot less willing to hang out here when there’s constant DOOMing or describing things like Biden saying “I’m staying in and I’ve got the delegates – stop talking about this now because it’s making the general election harder” as “throwing a fit” or “angrily yelling at Democrats”.
Don’t wanna see my friends fight. And I don’t like the framing towards Biden at all. I’ve seen people describe Biden not wanting to step down as “misogynist” and it just seems completely nuts.
But basically, if I see too much fighting on this I just disconnect from the blog. I did this for ~2 weeks after the debate. And given the large drop in ratings for traditionally ‘neutral’ media who are glee-bombing the democrats with dooooooom, I’m not alone in that feeling.
Starfish
@UncleEbeneezer: That’s not what happened here. There are people in this thread bragging about how many other commenters they have blocked.
Old School
@Bupalos:
I think the conversation of what we’d like to see the Biden campaign doing better can certainly be had. The conversation of “Why can’t you all see Biden needs to step down?” is the tiresome one.
CaseyL
@SiubhanDuinne:Â â
I think he’s been found guilty on all counts.
Wonder if he’ll appeal to SCOTUS: “Those were gratuities, not bribes!” – and find out that reasoning only applies to Republicans.
MisterForkbeard
@Eyeroller: She seems awful. And in pain. But awful.
Is it crazy that she describes her husband as a “devout republican” who wouldn’t want her to talk to Biden? It’s super weird. It sounds like he worshipped Republicans, and that he decided who she’d be allowed to talk to.
Eyeroller
@Princess: 538-sans-NateS takes things like that into account in its forecast, and Biden keeps rising slowly.
I also saw some media types, including “liberals” like Jonathan Chait, are straight-up making fun of Biden’s stutter now. In case anybody wondered what they are.
MisterForkbeard
@rikyrah: Nate Silver is such a weasel
Manyakitty
@The Thin Black Duke: the MSM has demonstrated its irrelevance. Not sure if or when we’ll see it return.
Soprano2
@Jackie: At this point I think it’s Axios that’s on a jihad against Biden. It seems like most of the articles about this originate there.
Geminid
GILTY!
Menendez convicted on 16 bribery charges.
CaseyL
OK, so Menendez will need to be sentenced. He will file an appeal.
I doubt the appeal will be heard or decided before the election.
Hopefully, the people of NJ have been paying attention, and will vote for the actual Democrat, not the corrupt bag of shite running as an “Independent” (if he actually completed that filing, I’m not sure).
Soprano2
This is pretty much where I am. I understand all the concerns about Biden – shit, in the Holt interview Biden said he understands people’s concerns. I didn’t hear any screaming or blaming Democrats for the polling, either. He admitted that he had a bad performance in the debate and said that’s on him alone.
I have to say I especially get tired of the people who still insist on thinking Biden has some kind of dementia. NO ONE who has dementia that the casual observer could detect could do the interviews, press conference, and rallies Biden has done since the debate. Ask any one of us on this board who have personal, up close experience with it. I keep having to tell my husband that TCFG was shot at on Saturday, because every time he sees something on the news about it he asks me when it happened!
UncleEbeneezer
THIS!
Eyeroller
@CaseyL: Unfortunately the “actual Democrat” was one of the first on the “Dump Biden” train, but still they gotta vote for him.
Geminid
@CaseyL: Menendez was running something like 5% in the polls, and that was before this verdict.
Captain C
@Geminid: If the appeal goes to the Supreme Court, at minimum Thomas and Alito will rule that unless there’s a monocle and a bag of money with a dollar sign on it, it’s not bribery and therefore legal.
(edited for spelling)
cain
I’m committed with the Dem candidates we have. I think the media has a narrative.
I don’t see how you can change your entire set of people running and then be able to capture the so called independent thinking – if they are more interested in MAGA – who would you put? I mean, as a party we’ve been continuing to move back to what we were in the 70s.
Ultimately, if we want to get out of this hole, we’re going to have to do the engagement. I think we need to do more postcards, and knock on doors in these swing states.
They have racism and white grievance on their side. Look at how little effort they need for these poll numbers. Isn’t that remarkable? 2016 was the same way, hardly any effort, and the polls made Hillary look good – I remember laughing all the way thinking we got it in the bag. Trump’s rallys aren’t that well attended compared to Joe’s. Large squishy middle?
Just trying to break down the fears of Kay and others. I know Ohio is a crazy place and she’s seeing a lot of shit going on there. Perhaps, Ohio is still a lost case, but does that apply to the other states?
Mai Naem mobile
@zhena gogolia: one of the main finance guys behind Axios is the son of the guy who bought CNN.
CaseyL
@Eyeroller:Â â
Shit. Oh, well. Like you say, gotta vote for the backstabbing bastard anyway. We need that Senate seat.
UncleEbeneezer
@Soprano2: I called one of my students by the name of one of my other students, just last night. Â I also slipped on a few words when explaining a tricky, technical concept about the racket swing-path (tennis). Â Get the fainting couch!! Â I must have dementia at 50 years old!
Manyakitty
@cintibud: GOOD.
Manyakitty
@schrodingers_cat: there’s always an excuse with them. Truly pathetic.
tam1MI
Hell, he just got done presiding over an important summit with other world leaders! For a bunch of people who’s main argument is “We all saw it”, they sure seem to want us to not see things we all saw!
hueyplong
@Captain C: I’ve got a crisp 20 that says Alito is fine with monacle-wearing, cash bag-dispensing being Constitutionally protected speech.
Kathleen
@Jeffro: Do you know who congress person from Ohio was? Male or Female? Thanks! I’m curious to know if it was mine.
Jackie
@zhena gogolia: Axios isnât the problem, in this instance; the idiotic pearl clutching Dems who wrote and are distributing the letter ARE THE PROBLEM.
Axios is just reporting the letter – as will all media. Axios was just first.
Mai Naem mobile
@Princess: the GOP have no problems supporting a guy who’s got some obvious psych and/or cognitive decline issues(+legal issues but put that aside) but the Dems can’t get behind an incumbent with a great record who obviously does not have any cognitive issues.
Princess
@Soprano2: Yes. As Iâve mentioned, my Mum has dementia, and I recently spent a lot of time with her. No fââg way does Biden have dementia.
Interestingly, she is with it enough to realize how important this election is (and sheâs not American). She kept saying, how can people not realize that SCOTUS alone is a good reason to vote Biden?
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Eyeroller: That’s exactly what it was, and it turned out to be quick and easy. I was afraid they’d use one of those things that looks like an eyelash curler to hold my eye open, but nope. It was a lot like what happens at the eyedoctor’s office
Captain C
@hueyplong: That’ll be the next case.
Mai Naem mobile
@SiubhanDuinne: wouldn’t Schumer schedule a vote to eject Menendez when the Senate comes back into town?
catclub
@TBone:Â â
All the GOP money has been spent on bribing Clarence Thomas and defense lawyers.
Ruckus
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
I’ve had laser eye surgery as well.
Actually about the easiest, least uncomfortable surgical situation I’ve ever had. Because it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. And it worked extremely well on top of that. Always a plus with any surgery.
Manyakitty
@Kay: my god. You might actually be worse than the press about this. Exhausting.
Geminid
@Captain C: My fantasy scenario is that the Qataris burned Menendez. They and the Turks are thick as thieves, and Menendez has long been a thorn in Turkiye’s side.* I can see the Qataris handing the Turkish M.I.T. Director an envelope and telling him, “…glad to be of help. And oh yeah, our friend in Cairo says to give him a call.”
* When Menendez was indicted, Turkish journalist Ragip Soylu shitposted, “US authorities have charged Greek and Armenian lobbyist and Senator Robert Menendez with bribery.”
Eyeroller
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I seem to recall my primary ophthalmologist used a speculum on me for that procedure (not trusting me to keep the eye open sufficiently steadily) but I’m used to it so it doesn’t bother me. But maybe he didn’t.
Renie
@cain:Â Just got this today from Postcards to Swing States:
Ksmiami
@Manyakitty: theyâre great in salads or cooked
UncleEbeneezer
@lowtechcyclist: AG and Senator of the 6th largest economy on Earth and 4 years as VP…how the hell is that unqualified? Â Sounds pretty freaking racist to me.
Captain C
@Geminid: I’m glad he got nailed. And your scenario would be quite amusing.
catclub
@Geminid: excellent misspelling!
Sister Golden Bear
@japa21:
This. Absolutely this.
CaseyL
@Mai Naem mobile:
Not unless you want the GOP Minority Leader to be there with bells on trying to get the GOP declared the majority party.
Current Senate makeup:
47 Dems
49 GOP
4 Independents who caucus with the Democrats
I don’t want to mess with that count AT ALL.
narya
@Manyakitty: The blooms will turn into seeds, if you let them (and the birds don’t get them)–I let mine dry rather than pick them green, if I can. And then you have seeds for next year!
Theoretically, you can eat them, but I don’t know enough about that to advise. Personally, I just love seeing the riot of orange and yellow. I’m also about to plant some more, so I have blooms into the fall; they’ll keep blooming til it frosts, basically.
Harrison Wesley
@TBone: “Yinz?” “Yinzer?” Damn. Need to grab myself a Primanti’s and a six of Iron City and get down.
Manyakitty
@WereBear: ooooh, that sounds lovely.
Gloria DryGarden
@Manyakitty: eat them on salad or stir fry. Bright Peppery taste. . The buds are a bit like capers.
Wonderful tough plant.
Manyakitty
@NotMax: cool!
gvg
@Kay: Polling I have seen puts Harris behind Biden and she was doing so badly she dropped out before the primaries. She is not the magic cure you want to believe.
We still have an electorate that is seeded through with soft bigotry as well as hard. You have always been so adamant about how much misogyny there is in society. Why have you suddenly forgotten?
And then there is the fear of gambling. We look around and calculate who we think the most other people will vote for that is acceptable, or least objectionable, and that is who we pick, not our personal favorite, not when it is so dangerous.
Biden has done it before. No one else has. Biden put together a coalition and has gotten a lot through Congress too. Harris has helped him, but she has not built up the kind of connections he has.
Gloria DryGarden
@Ksmiami: thatâs funny, I just said nearly the same thing.
CaseyL
@Renie:
Sigh. Still waiting on mine. They sent me an email saying my package was on the way, but the USPS site says only a label has been created.
Postcards to Swing States says there can be a 3 day gap between when the tracking number is assigned and the status catches up, but it’s been more than 3 days, even if we’re talking business days rather than calendar days.
I sent PCtSS an email yesterday asking for an update; haven’t heard back from them.
SomeRandomGuy
@Bupalos: Have you ever considered, just for a moment, that maybe you *are* crapping on the floor, without directly intending to do so, and therefore, maybe you should modify your approach.
As I said earlier, all I see is shitposting. “OMG Biden is going to lose!” Do you have any reasonable solution to the problem you raised? No. You want to do something extremely unreasonable.
Worse, you have been deliberately insulting to Biden, claiming, incorrectly, that he is in cognitive decline. If you had to live my life for ten days, you’d understand why that makes me so indescribably furious. I am a genius – I get little credit for that because I was born that way. But because of my CFS, I had to figure out bullshit that no one else has to, and all the while, had to deal with people telling me I was not in pain, and everything was fine.
Just this past year, I’ve developed a stutter, because some of the pains that course through my body (constantly, mind you) are now interfering with an activity that’s so trivial, most people don’t have any idea how complicated it is.
My cognitive ability is undiminished. But dicks like you treat me like an imbecile if you see I’m having a hard time forming words, because, again, HORRIBLE PAIN.
My problem isn’t Biden’s. But it makes your mockery of his stutter *unspeakably* ugly to me, because I know exactly how bigoted you are being.
Manyakitty
@Geminid: lol
đ°
Ruckus
@Balconesfault:
but their over the top defense of Trump has dulled.
Well, SFB being the whatever the hell it is that he is, one should expect that being a very selfish asshole doesn’t actually play well with most people when the band aid is ripped off and they get to see who and what he really is. And how as a “politician” he actually only supports himself and not one other human being on the planet. He’s not protective of anyone but HIM. He’s not a positive in any way. He is a very selfish ass who believes in nothing but that he deserves all the money, oh yeah and any and all power he can get.
He does NOTHING for anyone but himself. He’s not a good follower, let alone any kind of leader whatsoever.
Soprano2
@Bupalos: I think it’s fruitless and counterproductive to discuss something that isn’t going to happen. It’s dispiriting.
CaseyL
Whoa. I was wrong about how Schumer would respond to Menendez’ conviction. H/T Laffy on Mastodon:
Putting a spotlight on Democrats being the Party of integrity is good, but I still worry about the numbers.
john b
EDIT: what’s the point?.
Mike S
@Eyeroller: tHEY NEED TO GET USED TO IT LIKE i DID DECADES AGO.
Soprano2
I’ve been saying for months now that 95% of the concern about Biden’s age is actually about Harris. I wonder if some of the big donors realized, after the debate, that Biden could actually die in office during his second term and that would give us President Harris, which caused them to freak the fuck out and start calling Dems saying “You have to get Biden off the ticket, we need someone new and fresh, and no not Harris, someone else”.
Manyakitty
@Ksmiami: I never thought of cooking them.
Bill Arnold
@Another Scott:
Oh, good. Wondered if there was video of the lifts. There is now video evidence that he lies about his height.
For clarity for everyone, from the tweet linked by the tweet:
Ksmiami
@RaflW: I know a lot of semi rural Dems who never put up signs for their own safety.
The Lodger
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: Joe is just a bit too Northern to give Holt the full “Bless your heart.”
Suzanne
@Kirk:
Iâm never going to say that racism and misogyny are not factors. But I do think that some subset of people are really afraid of Biden visibly â or invisibly â declining in office. Iâve been listening to some focus group podcasts, so please note that this is anecdotalâŠ.. but over and over again, comments are made about “taking the car keys away from Dad”. This is an experience that lots of people have had in their own families, and itâs scary and stressful and emotional AF. I have said before, I think people are bringing a lot of their own experiences with aging loved ones to this discussion, which makes it incredibly emotional. Plenty of people have seen their aging loved ones be in some degree of denial about lost capacity, and sometimes that has bad consequences. People are bringing this stress to this issue.
I also think that there is some fear that, should Biden lose his capability, there might be this, like, shadowy effort by his wife or his closest staffers to conceal that. A la Edith Wilson, Nancy Reagan, JFK hiding Addison’s Disease, and a fucken West Wing storyline. Yes, I am sure that this is bullshit, but hearing about how Hunter Biden is in close meetings at the White House encouraging his dad to “stand strong” or whatever is the kind of thing that plants enough of a goddamn seed in people’s minds.
I realize that everyone is sick of me talking about “undecided voters’ concerns”, but if we are going to genuinely talk to and persuade people, you have to know where theyâre coming from, and hear them, and have a meaningful response.
Ksmiami
@Manyakitty: they are a delicacy among top chefs fyi
Soprano2
@rikyrah: Yes, this is exactly the result they want.
Manyakitty
@narya: I’ve been deadheading, too. If they’ll go to seed, that stops now.
Thanks for the tip!
Manyakitty
@Gloria DryGarden: and so pretty and cheerful!
TBone
@catclub: đđ
M31
deleted
Ksmiami
@Suzanne: I respond with Project 25 and the fact that the US has a system and chain of command for replacing Presidents. We donât have one for replacing dictators
Eyeroller
@Mike S: No need to shout, but you’re right, Dems have long had a defeatist attitude. Every time it seems some of the electeds try to stand up, a bunch of cowards do the crab-bucket routine to try to pull them back down into the usual defensive crouch. (How’s that for a lot of mixed metaphors.)
Ruckus
@cain:
Does that innuendo and the rumors all come from one or two people? Or is it so widespread that others can hear it as well? This is a process, this running for office and there are always many that for one reason or another want to put up roadblocks. It’s humanity and politics, and it’s often difficult to tell which is in charge.
stinger
@Dorothy A. Winsor:Â â
Glad you’re back and all’s well!
Geminid
@Mai Naem mobile:
@Mai Naem mobile: That’s a tricky one. What if Republicans vote no on expulsion? They’re cynical enough. Then Schumer will have pissed Menendez off and Schumer needs that vote.
This might get referred to the Ethics Committee, and become moot in early January.
cain
I’m very motivated to have the biggest political upset for the media and maga come November.
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@RSA: Â It was a family reunion in the country, out at Uncle Bud & Aunt Marthaâs place. They were happy to give the young folks a taste of the joys of country lifeâthings like robbing corn cribs & plundering campsites. Itâs a change from looting suburban birdfeeders & garbage cans.
Soprano2
@CaseyL: Is that a state where someone would be appointed to the seat? That’s usually how Senate seats work. New Jersey’s governor is a Democrat, so he would appoint another Democrat to fill out the remainder of the term.
Suzanne
@Ksmiami:
So I donât know how convincing that is. Most people know Trump’s agenda, even if they haven’t heard of “Project 2025” specifically, and thus, if they are swingy or despondent, I doubt that this is new info to get them into our camp. (Which, by all means, talk about it, because itâs importantâŠâŠ but if one’s concern is about decline in office, this isnât really reassuring on that front.)
And again, there is some history of Presidents being infirm and covering it up, with the help of people who weren’t elected to anything. The chain of command didnât work in those cases. I can see how that is incredibly concerning to people.
Again, fear-based response. But fear is a big factor in how people make decisions!
Harrison Wesley
@Geminid: True. The Turtle still nests in the Senate, and it would definitely be his style to pull something like that.
rikyrah
@CaseyL:
why not?
Omnes Omnibus
@Suzanne: A son standing by his father who has been standing by him is suspect now? Â I think itâs simply normal.
Eyeroller
@Suzanne: They don’t the agenda, they really don’t. The media has long made Trump seem considerably more “moderate” than he is. And he didn’t do a lot of that agenda during his term.
tam1MI
Worth noting here… Remember how she was all GAZA GAZA GAZA GENOCIDE JOE GAZA GAZA GAZA here not too long ago? Well, in Michigan, a state where she claims to be concentrating her efforts, there is a candidate who is campaigning on Gaza. His name is Salim Al-Shatel. He is part of an overall effort by Arab-Americans to get more pro- Palestinian voices into Congress. In other words, as a candidate he is right up Kay’s alley.
And she is not lifting a finger for him.
Soprano2
@Suzanne: In these focus groups do they ever ask question like that about TCFG, because it seems that would be an equally valid worry to have about him.
I get it, I’ve had that experience in my own family with my grandfather as well as the recent experience with my husband, but it seems these are people who are basing this solely on seeing Biden’s debate performance and drawing the conclusion that he obviously has cognitive impairment. That’s what we have to address.
ETA – One of my co-workers told me earlier today that he doesn’t think that kid actually shot at TCFG, that he was set up and someone else did it. *sigh* I didn’t want to ask him who he thought actually did it, but maybe I will later on. This is exactly the kind of thing that will circulate like wildfire if they can’t figure out what the motive for the shooting was.
CaseyL
@Soprano2:Â â
I believe so, but Menendez has to either resign or be expelled first. He won’t do the first, and the Senate may not cooperate in doing the second.
The GOP will achieve heights of fuckery seldom seen – like, offer great benefits if Menendez switches parties. Or push a Majority Leader vote, and have Menendez (and, possibly, Manchin/Sinema) vote for the GOP.
Juju.
@Kirk: Itâs the Iâll vote for a woman for president, just not that woman.
SiubhanDuinne
@Eyeroller:
If it had been a bullet, wouldnât his hearing have been affected, at least temporarily? I donât know
enoughanything about physics, so perhaps not. If thereâs an acoustician or otorhinolarygologist in the house, maybe they could weigh in.Eyeroller
@Omnes Omnibus: Biden’s ability to talk at length on foreign policy and Chinese trade policy (even with some stuttering) with nobody around him whispering in his ear, is never going to convince some people.  Nothing he does is ever going to convince some people.
Suzanne
@Omnes Omnibus: A son who has no formal role in the campaign or the White House staff, and who’s got a recent felony conviction, being in work-related meetings? I think that’s not a fantastic look.
Eyeroller
@SiubhanDuinne: It would very likely have burst his eardrum even if it just “grazed” his ear. I’ve had a ruptured eardrum and it’s noticeable. The shock wave alone, never mind the bullet itself, would probably be enough to blow his eardrum to smithereens. And that requires surgery to fix.
Soprano2
@Suzanne: I think I would respond with my personal experience with dementia, and encourage them to look up the other interviews and rallies Biden has done since the debate. I’d say “we all misspeak from time to time, I’m sure you’ve done it, but that’s different than not being able to remember what happened yesterday at all”. But that’s just me since I can speak from personal experience.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mai Naem mobile:
Heâs already requested that Menendez step down. I guess Bobâs response will be a factor in Schumerâs next move.
O. Felix Culpa
@Kay:
Are you auditioning for a pundit job? ‘Cause now you’re just making shit up and omitting significant known facts. I don’t doubt that things look bad in red county Ohio, or even in Ohio generally. We were never going to win that state at the presidential level in the first place. The best outcome, as you know, is to reelect Brown (and thank you for working for his campaign).
If we’re looking at anecdata from personal encounters at local Democratic events, NM holds strong for Biden. Only 5 electoral votes, but still. Perhaps it’s similar in other blue to purple states? Most polls that I’ve seen recently have Biden and the Felon within one or two points of each other. So a determined party and well-organized GOTV effort gives us a fighting chance to win. I’ll go with that over guaranteed convention chaos, any day.
Suzanne
@Eyeroller: Iâll have to take your word for it. Most of the people Iâve been talking to fall into either the “double hater” category, or are just fairly checked out altogether.
I’ve been blasting info about Project 2025 on my personal social media. I hope some of that penetrates.
SomeRandomGuy
@Soprano2: In one sense, you’re right. In normal times, that’s what she’d be.
Her husband might have hated Biden. Why? Well, Republicans have been insisting that everything he does ins horrible, horrible, stuff, and he’s brain dead, and… well, if *she* had died, would *he* have accepted the President’s call?
She might have decided that, no, he wouldn’t have, and felt it was honoring his memory to refuse to speak to him.
Politics ain’t beanbag, as the saying goes, but when lies and fears and hate get so thick that a brief chat with THE PRESIDENT isn’t at least an experience to have had? That’s not good.
Like, you can’t exactly *complain* that Rs try to get entire stadiums chanting “Fuck Joe Biden” in rot-wingnut[1], but, people should see how dangerous it is. Republicans are drooling because they’ve managed to drum up such hate for Biden that he’s often underwater in approval ratings. It’s like, they can’t see how having every Republican hate, and possibly, hamstring, Biden might be bad for the country.
[1] reference to rot-13.
SiubhanDuinne
@Eyeroller:
Well thatâs kind of what I was thinking, but not based on anything solid. It just seems a great deal more likely than not. Thanks for the prompt response.
Eyeroller
@SiubhanDuinne: I’ve had a lot of boring meetings today.
Omnes Omnibus
@Suzanne: Okay. Â We clearly arenât going to agree on this. Â I know you said that you are worried about Biden because you are risk averse, but it seems to me that replacing Biden at this point in the process is the riskier option. Â I also think it is a bad idea in general, but, if you are interested in minimizing risk, it is particularly bad.
rikyrah
@Kirk:
Bingo.
Biden is so old because Kamala is so Black.
Renie
@CaseyL: Same for me. I requested 200. Guess they are doing the larger quantities first.
Suzanne
@Soprano2:
I donât know the answer to your first question, because I know that I am hearing snippets in the format in which I am listening. I have actually been, in my past life, a witness to multiple focus groups, and there are typically scripted questions, but there are also opportunities for unscripted commentary. So who knows.
I agree with your second point very much. It is difficult, once people have locked in on an idea, to change that. I just want to make the point that there’s a swath of people â and we need some of them to vote for Biden â who are worried or despondent. Rightly or wrongly, doesnât really matterâŠ.. the issue is there. And if we want to be effective messengers for Biden, we can muster up the cognitive empathy to hear them.
Suzanne
@Omnes Omnibus: I agree with you on thatâŠ. I think replacing Biden at this point is a no-go. I think it causes more problems than it solves.
Gretchen
@Kay: Weâre all scared and trying to think of the best way out of this. But the current polls arenât definitive. Remember how enormously popular Hillary Clinton was as SOS? She polled at 68% favorable just before she joined the 2015 primaries. Then she faced all the attacks and lost 30 points. Good polling of Harris means nothing before months of attack ads about her background, past, family, early political life, and lots of videos of her laughing calling her a frivolous lightweight. A good part of the polling on Biden is due to the relentless attacks of the last 3 weeks. He would improve if everyone got behind him, and thatâs the only choice right now.
Juju.
@Princess: My mother has dementia as well. Â She doesnât want Trump to become president. Not president again. When I tell her he was president once already, she say something like, really, youâd think Iâd remember that. Â No one who has dementia could answer questions the way Biden has done every day, and even during the debate. Â Her language skills are still mostly fluid or fluent, but when she gets tired she slurs and babbles to a point I have no idea what sheâs talking about.
UncleEbeneezer
The reason Hunter is telling him to stand strong is because he knows the attacks are complete, rat-fucking bullshit. How about we counter with THAT narrative?
Sister Golden Bear
@Soprano2:
Game over! Game over man!
Geminid
@tam1MI: Salim l-Shatel ran for state representative in 2022 and came in third in a 3-way race, with 14%. He called RFK Junior’s podcasts “a solid listen when compared to mormal news networks.” Al-Shatel also opposes aid to Ukraine.
Kay’s got better things to do than help this guy. And you know what? She’s doing them.
Suzanne
@UncleEbeneezer: Sure, counter with that narrative. That motivates partisans. If you’re talking to a partisan, say that. If youâre talking to a squishâŠ..maybe say something else? Maybe try to find what motivates them and respond accordingly?
Omnes Omnibus
@Suzanne: Not everyone is suited to being a messenger to  squishy voters.  I know I wouldnât be so I donât volunteer to do that.  I think that the same may be true of many commenters here.
Manyakitty
@tam1MI: I’ve heard that name, but not much else. Then again, I live in Ohio.
zhena gogolia
@SomeRandomGuy: Thank you.
zhena gogolia
@cain: YEAH!
Citizen Alan
@Ksmiami: My father literally begged me not to keep a Obama sign in my yard in 2008. I kept it up (and still have it!) but I was nervous enough not to put up any signs in 2012.
tam1MI
@Suzanne: I don’t know has happened in other people’s families, but I know a bunch of people that had to fight off s*** bag, siblings or other horrible relatives who were trying to railroad elderly relatives into nursing homes by claiming that they had dementia or were senile when they were clearly not. It was all couched as,” concern” for said relative, but the real reason was because the s*** bag relatives wanted to get their hands on the elderly persons property and or money. When people talk about taking away the car keys, I would bring up that, and say that that is also a thing that people have experienced.
Manyakitty
@Geminid: ah, that explains why I haven’t heard much more about him. Probably best if it stays that way.
Harrison Wesley
@Omnes Omnibus: It sort of makes sense for somebody who wants to force “HUNTER BIDEN! OMG!” back into the news.
Citizen Alan
@Suzanne:Â That “taking the keys away from Grandpa” argument pisses me off because we’re not looking to hire Biden as our collective chauffeur. (And I suspect Biden, being a former Senator and VP, probably hasn’t driven himself in years anyway). We’re hiring him to sit behind a desk in a comfy chair and make decisions that affect the entire nation and the entire world based on his intelligence, his wisdom, and his experience all accumulated over decades. I see nothing that makes me doubt he can do the job he is actually seeking instead of this “sexy action-star President” that stupid people seem to want.
And Harrison Ford and Morgan Freeman are probably too old to be President at this point too.
Omnes Omnibus
I am now in it for the TBogg.
tam1MI
Fine by me, I’m not too thrilled with him either. I’m just wondering why she spent weeks on end screaming at everybody about the issue, only to turn her back on the politician who, you know, AGREES WITH HER 100% ON THIS ISSUE SHE SAID WAS SO DAMN IMPORTANT!
Sister Golden Bear
@Soprano2:
I can’t find the article at the moment, but there was a recent focus group or survey* that found that while respondents were concerned about Biden’s age, they were far more concerned about Trump’s lying/lack of morality (I don’t remember the exact wording).
The takeaway was we need to hammer on Trump’s liabilities. Which isn’t mutually exclusive with acknowledging Biden’s age. I.e. “Yes at times Biden sounds like an old man, but Trump lies non-stop and sounds like a delusional madman.”
Plus hammering Project 2025. Given how quickly Trump was distancing himself from it, they know it’s toxic to voters.
*No I don’t remember if there mention of whether people were asked about Trump’s age.
Citizen Alan
@Eyeroller:Â Part of it has been that the Forces of Evil have been on the unrelenting march against us since Tricky Dick won in 1968. I was born in August of 1969, and there has never been a moment of my life when the GOP wasn’t trying to make America worse and succeeding more often than it failed. A 46-year long cold Civil War against an implacable fascist death cult is understandably draining on the soul.
I do wish people who whine about the Clintons and ‘triangulation’ would give some thought to what it was like in 1992 after the GOP had control of the executive branch for 20 out of the last 24 years.
O. Felix Culpa
@Omnes Omnibus:
I’ll join you.
moonbat
@rikyrah:Â â
Go, Mr. Harrison!!!
Geminid
@Manyakitty: That’s the western Michigan seat that Hilary Scholten flipped in 2022, on her second try. This district was Republican for many decades before.
So then Scholton joined the stampede, and now some people want to put her on their shit-lists. That’s fine, but my take is that if Biden wins this won’t matter to people like it does right now.
And if Joe Biden loses, we’ll have much bigger tasks than purging “disloyal” Democrats. In any event, I think people would do better to postpone their purge until 2026.
Suzanne
@tam1MI: I’m sure that happens. Itâs terrible.
I grew up living with my grandparents. Both of them started getting really sick when I was 12. My grandfather absolutely maintained all his mental faculties, but was losing reaction time, walking more hunched over, etc etc etc. When I was 15, he caused a car accident and totaled his car, thank FSM he didnât hurt anyone. He took the insurance payout and had his car fixed, because he was so scared of losing his freedom. (Despite his children’s pleas to stop driving.) Then got in another wreck before he finally relented. More recently, my FIL developed epilepsy and was sneaking out to drive, and then my MIL would find out after the fact and they would fight. He was having seizures and injuring himself. It was a constant stressor until he passed.
Omnes Omnibus
@Citizen Alan: Buck up, little camper. Â Black and indigenous people have been dealing with it for hundreds of years before you were born.
Citizen Alan
@Soprano2: If he didn’t leave a manifesto, we will never know. I think he was a troubled kid who wanted to die by suicide by cop and in the most ostentatious manner possible. And I stand by my belief that he didn’t even want to kill Trump but just shoot at him because he was MAGA and thought “surviving an assassination attempt” would put him over the top.
Sister Golden Bear
@Omnes Omnibus: Happy to help further the cause. /s
Omnes Omnibus
@Sister Golden Bear: One has to have goals.
moonbat
@Manyakitty: Nasturtiums are good in salads.
Suzanne
@Omnes Omnibus:
Sure, fine. But, likeâŠ. when we talk about “getting to work!”, what do we think we mean?! We donât win without winning some squishes, and without getting some Trump-leaning squishes to stay home. The partisans are mostly on board already, due to negative partisanship.
Old School
@Citizen Alan:
I’ve seen no mention of one. And I did see a report that nothing out of the ordinary turned up in his recent online activity.
tam1MI
Actually, I must remove her name from my shit-list. It turns out that, like more than a few Dems who were tagged as “joining the stampede”, she was misquoted on that topic. What she actually said was words to the effect of, “I would personally prefer that Biden would step aside, but it is ultimately his choice to make”. Which doesn’t exactly make her a Profile in Courage, but it is a long way from a strong call for him to be ousted.
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: please stop saying things like this. It makes me very uncomfortable to agree with you on anything.
Elizabelle
@Omnes Omnibus: Thank you. Â Straightforward response, and I think it is accurate.
Sister Golden Bear
@Omnes Omnibus: That’s why I’ve been telling people that I’ll only panic when Black women panic.
Seriously â and this isn’t aimed at Citizen Alan â there was a good thread on either BlueSky or Xitter where a Black woman observed that the Biden panic was being led by white (cis het) folks who weren’t used to facing existential threats.
Whereas for Black folks, Indigenous folks, LGBTQ+ it’s another day ending in “y.” As a mayosapien myself, I obviously don’t have the centuries of experience that other groups have, plus being perceived as a cis het man in the “before” years meant I did experience passing privilege that mitigated the existential threats. But as I’ve posted about, recent years have given me up close and personal experience with it.
Citizen Alan
@Omnes Omnibus: Oh I know. 53 years living in North Mississippi, remember? I have angrily told racist assholes who mock “white privilege” that I am the son of a truck driver and the grandson of a sharecropper. And I am still man enough to admit that I have had advantages in my life that would have been inconceivable to any POC who had been born in the same area I was on the same day .
Geminid
@tam1MI: Look, I disagree with Kay on many aspects of this conflict and we’ve had it out a few times because of that. I wouldn’t say she’s been screaming about Gaza for weeks on end though. Kay talks about a lot of topics here and Gaza is only one of them. She argues very vehemently because she cares a lot about the problems there, and they are urgent problems. I’d say this is more a matter of forcefulness and not frequency.
Eunicecycle
@SomeRandomGuy: truthfully if I were in a position that a President Trump called me, I might not take that call. My dad died right before Trump was elected and I was so glad the letter I got from the VA was signed by Barack Obama.
Soprano2
@Suzanne: I think one thing to do is learn more about what Project 2025 says about several different issues, then address one of them and say “If you want to know more you can look it up online, but this is what the TCFG administration is planning to do on issue “x”. I would also do what I have said I would do, which is to address it head on and tell them there is no way a person with severe cognitive problems could do the series of interviews and rallies Biden has done since the debate. Then encourage them to look some of them up online for themselves, and to watch the complete thing, not the snippets that news sites want to show you. Most of them are easy to find on YouTube. I think it has to be a 1-2 message – here’s why I think Biden is still OK, and here’s what TCFG wants to do on issue “x”, plus you could add here’s what Biden wants to do on issue “x”. I guess it depends on how in-depth you want to get with someone.
Sister Golden Bear
@Omnes Omnibus:Â I aim to please… only two more comments
Suzanne
@Citizen Alan: I agree that the “take the keys away” thing is a bit of a tortured metaphor, but it sticks out in people’s minds because it’s a threshold. My experiences with aging family members is that decline is slow and there are “good days and bad days” and it all feels like a long seasonâŠ.. and that moment really sticks out for people because one day, the binary choice has to be made and itâs hard.
Omnes Omnibus
@Suzanne: I donât know. Â Maybe the people who are good at talking to squished should talk to them. Â You know, like the introverts who volunteer to write cards or do data entry. Division of labor. Â When I do canvassing, I do get out the vote stuff reaching out to Dems. Â I donât volunteer to reach out to iffy people. Â Busy people who are on our side and can use a reminder to vote and to remember to vote for the down tickets races are more my speed.
ETA. Â TBogg!
schrodingers_cat
How long is this pointless debate going to continue?
Soprano2
Thought I’d drop a link to this here. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/on-not-being-pathetic It’s called “On Not Being Pathetic”.
Sister Golden Bear
@Soprano2:
Admittedly my IRL and social media friends are generally liberal, but that’s what I’ve been doing on the Book of Faces â despite Zuck’s best attempted to memory hole Project 2025.
(Seriously, I’ve gotten multiple posts removed with warnings that I’m violating rules, although thankfully the removals have been quickly been overturn once I appeal. But FB clearly has bots keying in on anything that mentions Project 2025.)
Sister Golden Bear
@schrodingers_cat: Until Biden is inaugurated in January. If we’re lucky.
Omnes Omnibus
@schrodingers_cat: We got the TBogg.
Suzanne
@Omnes Omnibus: Absolutely agree. All of us have our strengths and itâs great to do what you’re most effective at. Itâs all important.
Omnes Omnibus
@Suzanne: Then what are you arguing about?
Elizabelle
I am guessing that whatever cyberwarfare against Biden that is going around is targeted at young adults. Â Who donât have the knowledgebase to spot the false notes. Â But who then report the gist back to those they know IRL.
Go after this yearâs âwhy should I care about the Supreme courtâ contingent. Â And Jebus, is the media in the tank for Republicans. Â You canât miss it.
The Los Angeles Times has not gone crazy, unlike Nepo Babyâs FTF NY Vichy Times, and the Bezos WaPost.
(Interesting. Â The WaPost commenters are settling back down. Â For now.)
Geminid
@Citizen Alan: Have you read John Grisham’s A Painted House? That’s about a family of sharecroppers in north Mississipi. Seems like it is set around in the early 1950s.
I really enjoyed it, partly because it was about half as long as his legal thrillers. A lot less tense as well.
japa21
@Omnes Omnibus:Â â
Can we get a double TBogg?
tam1MI
You are correct, and my beef isn’t even with Kay here. I am just sick and tired of people who are supposed to be on our side trying to nullify our votes
O. Felix Culpa
@japa21:
Now you’re getting greedy. :)
Suzanne
@Omnes Omnibus: I hate the attitude of dismissal. The idea that some people are easily manipulated and their concerns are dumb. The idea that someone has an issue, it’s important to them, and the response they get is that theyâre silly to be concerned about it.
I hate this for a lot of reasons (condescending, unempathetic), but primarily I hate it because it doesnât fucking work. There is a metric fuck-ton of research about how to listen and talk to people and how to be persuasive and how to effectively message to people. All of it starts with meeting people where they are.
ETA: And if I was to draw big general brushstrokesâŠ. I would note that this is a communication style more typical of men.
E.
@Suzanne: As a person with very little money but plenty of energy and no fear of canvassing I would add that people who donât have those things I listed can donate money like you mean it. I mean to smaller campaigns too. Research them, ask friends in swing states who good down ballot candidates are. Maybe one of them will be employing me.
Manyakitty
@Omnes Omnibus: winning!
lowtechcyclist
@Kay:Â â
I don’t know where you’re getting your numbers, but FiveThirtyEight shows MI as lean Biden, NC as lean Trump, and the other five as tossups. And overall it gives Biden a 53% chance of winning, with a median 276-262 EC win.
IOW, we’re not in a burning building. Calm down.
(This is actually the first time in forever that I’ve looked them up, because keeping an eye on the day-to-day or even week-to-week changes is a waste of time AFAIAC. Eyes on the prizes, as Another Scott frequently reminds us. But since your numbers were dramatically worse than any others I’ve seen, and I couldn’t keep track of where I’d seen them anyway because I’m not paying attention to the short-term ups and downs, going to FiveThirtyEight seemed like the simplest route, and they’re likely as good as anyone else.)â
Manyakitty
@Geminid: reasonable, as usual. Thanks for the background.
Eyeroller
@Soprano2: I’m going to shout like MikeS up at 414
JESUS CHRIST WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR PARTY
Steve in the ATL
@Eyeroller:Â â
Now THAT discussion might get to us to a Double TBogg!
Eyeroller
@Steve in the ATL:Â âDid you look at Soprano2’s link to Josh Marshall’s essay? He was, as usual, on the nose.
lowtechcyclist
@UncleEbeneezer:Â â
Oh, hell yeah, and sexist too. But it’s been said so many times by so many of us that I thought maybe to think this time about how it felt for Tam1MI to be hearing this crap from friends rather than from random acquaintances.
tam1MI
@Eyeroller: I am seriously starting to wonder if the whole Dump Biden thing wasn’t a false flag operation by the Biden campaign to harden support for him.
Renie
So I’m more of a lurker around here so my opinion may not matter much. I don’t understand the objective of the posters who constantly post negative Biden stuff. What do they want us to do? They don’t give any remedies on how to help just doom. Do they think if I contact my senator, Chuck Schumer, he is really going to care what I think? IMO all these postings do is create fear in others. That’s not helpful at all. If the posters want to post something ONCE about it, go ahead but please stop with the constant posting in every thread.
SomeRandomGuy
@Citizen Alan: I will continue to maintain that it’s certainly possible that he wanted to kill the man who was wrecking the Republican Party by any objective, honorable, measure.
Remember, just because 85% of idiots think Trump is the Chosen One, 15% is a lot of non-idiots, given the total sample size. So: Some Republicans understand the threat Trump poses to Democracy.
One of those might think they could save the party by killing him. Or, I grant – a suicidal Maga might have decided to go out in a blaze of glory. Thing is, Trump is still being Trump, and he thinks being shot at is the greatest thing EVAH, and he’s going to blow it.
I mean, Democrats can see that Trump is a bad person, and might hope he chokes on his next fast food meal, no, not really (we’d feel horrible if it happened) but, not *not* really (we understand why someone would say it). We can see he’s a singularly dangerous person, because every guard rail that was supposed to stop him melted on his approach.
Why do people assume *NO* Republicans can be equally prescient? I mean, cowardly, grossly negligent in their duty to help protect the republic, but… those charges of cowardice and dereliction of duty only stand because we know damn well some of them know *exactly* how bad this situation is.
And… a Republican has heard for years and years about the tree of liberty’s necessary fluid intake.
I’m not saying I suspect this *is* his motive. It’s simply internally consistent, and reminds everyone that *Trump is very obviously a criminal through and through; the Republicans aren’t believing the smoke blown up their collective asses (that’s one hell of a veterinarian’s bill!); they’re just plain lying. As usual.
hotshoe
@Omnes Omnibus:Â â
Well, the thing is not just that “Biden can’t win, fergodsakes do something else” is wrong — it’s that it’s pointless.
Not a single one of those doomsters has come up with any acceptable candidate nor plausible mechanism to replace Biden. We know it is legally possible today (until the nominating convention, maybe, and assuming that reactionary ReThugs don’t sue in any case) but we also know it’s not practical and it is guaranteed to destroy the Dems. So what is the goddamn point of continuing to make comments about how we’re doomed if we rally around Handsome Old Joe? It’s just pointless. Ugh. I hate pointless people.
I think climate change has broken people. Knowing the sea level rise and heat domes and wildfires are beyond our control … I get it, really I do, I’m depressed all the time.
But the thing is, that makes it all the more important to focus on what’s positive, what’s achievable, what’s practical, whatever we can fix, not endlessly complaining about what we don’t think will work.â
Kathleen
@tam1MI: I have had that same thought.
Ruckus
@Soprano2:
I’ve dealt with Alzheimers in a parent and while that is not straight dementia it has parallels, and saw this in a grandparent in their late 80s. Parent started out asking questions that made no sense with the current discussion, and then started giving answers to completely different questions than the one asked. It grew worse till one day a question was asked and no words could be formed. Parent spent their last 5 yrs never making a sound, didn’t know how any longer. Grandparent similar but a much shorter time frame.
Ruckus
@rikyrah:
B-I-N-G-O
Clear as a bell and accurate as a Swiss watch. (Rather old saying, seems rather appropriate)