Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

T R E 4 5 O N

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

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

A tremendous foreign policy asset… to all of our adversaries.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Republicans do not trust women.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

Giving up is unforgivable.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

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

Consistently wrong since 2002

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Olympics Open Thread

Olympics Open Thread

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I went to the gym early today so I could my track time and swimming time in before the opening ceremony, and I am sitting here working and watching that stream. I just can not get over how much white America LOVES Snoop Dogg. Just can’t get enough of him. My mother has loved Snoop since at least 1999- “He’s so cool and so smooth and fun” and one of the highlights of her life was having Snoop do a guest appearance on the tv show Monk. He’s literally the golden retriever of human beings everyone gets so excited to see him and makes EVERYONE smile.

Someone get him up on stage at the DNC.

Also at the grocery today I saw a pickup truck with “FJB,” “Let’s go Brandon,” “Joe Gotta Go” and various other stickers and I thought to myself “How sad, dude is going to need to get a whole new personality now.”

Reader Interactions

142Comments

  1. 1.

    cain

    That your mom loves Snoop is kind of blowing my mind. :D

    ETA Trump America is going to have to get all kinds of new signs. But they haven’t found the right meme yet

    ETA I have nothing to say about the olympics.

  3. 3.

    John Cole

    @cain: My mother has always been cool- she was fraternity advisor for the football fraternity on campus for a decade or more and all of her students call her Dr. Cool instead of Dr. Cole.

  7. 7.

    kindness

    It’s funny because our side did a pretty good job of re-branding ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ and the Dark Brandon memes.

  9. 9.

    rikyrah

    @cain:

    ETA Trump America is going to have to get all kinds of new signs. But they haven’t found the right meme yet

     

    Our side must choose to Uno Reverse whatever they come up with.

  11. 11.

    PaulWartenberg

    personal tidbit, my nephew Drew is interning at the NASA aviation program in Langley VA starting mid-August and be there for a full year, so to any BJers in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Williamsburg area, please behave while he’s there.

  13. 13.

    Almost Retired

    The flotilla of athletes on boats was very cool.  How we gonna top that when the Olympics come here to Los Angeles?  Athletes on flatbed trucks parading down the 405 seems less romantic.

  14. 14.

    JaySinWA

    @rikyrah: They seem to be pushing “DEI must die”. Maybe if they couch it in some clever language it can be reversed, but the dog whistle era may just be over.

  20. 20.

    Jess

    Also at the grocery today I saw a pickup truck with “FJB,” “Let’s go Brandon,” “Joe Gotta Go” and various other stickers and I thought to myself “How sad, dude is going to need to get a whole new personality now.”

    I’m still chuckling over the one I saw with a sticker on one end of the bumper that read “America. Love it or Leave it” … and a Confederate flag sticker on the other.

  22. 22.

    Almost Retired

    I have to admit that Le Marseillais sounds much better when you’re trying to drown out Germans singing “Der Wacht am Rhein.”  But still the best national anthem!!

  26. 26.

    Almost Retired

    @raven:  We’re you there?  I was outside working security for the Olympic Village at USC.  I couldn’t afford tickets, although the torch relay ran past my apartment in Hermosa Beach.

  29. 29.

    raven

    @Almost Retired: Yes, I was just getting ready to move the Georgia. When the Russians pulled out they had a “ticket fair” at the Forum and my brother and I both called my mom in Hawthorne and had her go there and buy anything she could. We were in the second row for Edwin Moses Gold run, went to basketball, soccer, boxing and got hammered with the Aussie swim team! Wasn’t there a beer garden at the Olympic Village?

  30. 30.

    TaMara

    @John Cole: Not surprised your mom is so cool.

    And totally shallow, that Tony guy, Paris Olympic 2024 President? Oooolala!

    Okay, crawling back into my hole to work then Game Night! tonight with friends. I made a tangy mac salad with fresh garden veggies.

  31. 31.

    Almost Retired

    @raven: There was indeed a beer garden, and it was well-patronized by athletes.  And by the temporary minimum wage security staff….

  33. 33.

    bbleh

    I thought to myself “How sad, dude is going to need to get a whole new personality now.”  @rikyrah:

    They’ll do what they’re told to do, by Fox, by their Facebook / X / TruthSocial / whatever hive, by their like-thinking friends and relatives.

    It’s not WHAT they (profess to) believe; it’s THAT they (profess to) believe it.  It’s about BELONGING, and dividing the world into who Belongs and who is Other.

    It IS kinda funny to see them scrambling like confused ants right now tho …

  34. 34.

    Fraud Guy

    Got a bill in change a couple of days ago that had been stamped F J B.  Stopped by the bank to exchange it, and the elderly female teller said “some people never grow up”.

  36. 36.

    No One of Consequence

    Ho Lee Shit. Have you guys been served up the latest Trump 2024 ad featuring Vance, the folding table with snacks, and the luxuriously-upholstered RED LEATHER chair?

    The mind, it … wow. The fail is approaching epic levels at this point. Mein Gott!

    How long before the PorkRindSyndicate yoinks this jamoke off the ticket?

    -NOoC

  37. 37.

    HumboldtBlue

    Hell, even Fox News is no longer a safe space for the fat orange traitor.

    Rep. Jason Crow: Trump is afraid. I’m a combat veteran and I know fear and fatigue when I see it and he is acting tired and afraid here. I know he has a hard time staying awake. He fell asleep repeatedly at his own convention. Someone needs to wake him up and let him know, it’s on

  39. 39.

    rikyrah

    @Almost Retired:

    The flotilla of athletes on boats was very cool.  How we gonna top that when the Olympics come here to Los Angeles?  Athletes on flatbed trucks parading down the 405 seems less romantic.

    That 1984 opening ceremony with all the pianos playing Gershwin is still a classic Olympics moment.

  44. 44.

    sixthdoctor

    I wonder how NBC will handle this Gojira performance tonight…

    My heavy metal heart is so happy right now. 🤘🥹🤘#Gojira didn’t dial it down at all — they just unleashed fury and *crushed it* with the eyes and ears of the world upon them. https://t.co/rkTtOVyoul
    — Sen. Danica Roem (@pwcdanica) July 26, 2024

  46. 46.

    HumboldtBlue

    @eclare: ​ 

    It really is, the setting on the river could not be more perfect.

    Serena Williams has seven gold medals, got-damn.

  49. 49.

    bbleh

    @p.a.: @WereBear: as has been fairly widely reported, they are working on monkeywrenching that process every step of the way, starting at the precinct level, in some places with the active support of local and state election officials.  I expect ultimately they will try to hang it up sufficiently to throw the election either to the Supreme Court or — possibly at the direction of the SC — to the House.

    We need to SWAMP them at the polls.  There can’t be ANY doubt by late night / early morning who won.  I fear that’s the ONLY way we’re gonna keep them from manipulating the system against us.

    (I have fantasies of Joe With No Fks Left To Give sending in federalized National Guard to ensure the integrity of the process and politely shoving out of the way any local yokels who try to muck it up.  Official Presidential duty after all, ensuring the integrity of a federal election — entirely immune!)

  52. 52.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @kindness: I’ve heard a bunch of people in the media, mostly Republican strategists but also James Carville…saying this is as good as it’s going to get for the Harris campaign. IDK though…seems like when it comes to the republican strategists there’s a desperate flop-sweat whiff of desperation. Like they know this may be Trump’s highpoint, not hers. I think there’s a better than even chance that for the rest of the campaign he’s going to be wrongfooted, out-hustled, out-fundraised, out-volunteered, out-organized, out-messaged and eventually out-polled and out-voted. Nothing is in the bag and it’s still early but the enthusiasm is off the charts. I could be wrong…it’s early and things could go sideways but the start is very encouraging.

    It’s like everyone was waiting for some cathartic event to shake off the doom and malaise and get energized. It SUCKS that Biden stepping aside was that event. He deserved better from America. The first campaign I could vote in was GHW Bush v. Dukakis. Bush literally coasted to victory saying nothing except he’d just stay the course and not rock the boat. And he coasted to victory. Given where the country is Biden should have been able to do the same, especially considering the progress since the dumpster fire of a disaster that was 2020. But here we are, breaking records signing up new volunteers and breaking fundraising records. The important thing at this point is WIN THIS ELECTION AND RUN UP THE SCORE IF POSSIBLE.

    I will say that I’m a little relieved Joe Biden will not be facing a second term. I’m not saying he’s too old, especially considering the alternative, and the way it all went down sucked and was all kinds of wrong. But there’s no denying he has aged considerably…at the start of his administration his gait was that of a normal  adult and he looked young and spry for his age. Sometime in the past year that all changed…his voice got softer, his face looked older, he developed an old man shuffle instead of a normal gait. The presidency ages people like no other job (TCFG is a bit of an exception because he never took the job seriously). Another four years may have taken a serious toll. I hope he enjoys the rest of his days riding his bike, cruising in his vet, eating ice cream, and gazing at the ocean in his happy place in Rehoboth Beach.

  55. 55.

    trollhattan

    Loving this crazy hours-long Paris show. Great mix of culture and history and whimsy. Might match my all-time favorite opening ceremony: Barcelona.

  56. 56.

    Martin

    I know California is a shithole, but ¼ of our Olympic delegation are from California. Something must be okay here.

  58. 58.

    pat

    DEI

    Duly Elected Official

    DEI

    Definitely Earned It

     

    Love it!  Make a bumper sticker and I’m going to get one!

  59. 59.

    p.a.

    @bbleh: (I have fantasies of Joe With No Fks Left To Give sending in federalized National Guard to ensure the integrity of the process and politely shoving out of the way any local yokels who try to muck it up.  Official Presidential duty after all, ensuring the integrity of a federal election — entirely immune!)

     

     

     

    Yes.  And just for shits & giggles pardoning Hunter (after the election: don’t give ’em any ammunition.)  And special prosecutor SCOTUS corruption.

  62. 62.

    Mike E

    @p.a.: Yes, she’d be only the 2nd VP to do so after George HW Bush did it in 1989.

    @WereBear: There’s no (R) in complaining but there should be, its all they do.

  63. 63.

    bbleh

    @BR: “here is free stuff put out for me by volunteers.  It’s crap.”

    What a warm, wonderful human being!  And what an inspiring leader!  Someone you want as a role-model for your children and grandchildren, not to mention an example to the world of the finest your country has to offer.

  69. 69.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @rikyrah: DEI isn’t happening…Trump dicktripped that into irrelevance by backing out of the debate. Like if her only qualification is her ethnicity why is he afraid to debate her? It just doesn’t play.

    Ditto the “soft on crime” attack…a convicted felon and found liable for sexual assault, who has surrounded him with a bunch of associates who have gone to jail, and is promising to pardon hundreds of criminals including a bunch who attacked police officers? Another opportunity for the Harris team to break out the boy isn’t this a weird and definitely stupid line of attack coming from a guy like that?

    IDK if there’s a “California Liberal” angle that might work but they definitely are failing so far to find anything that works.

  71. 71.

    dnfree

    I was out and about this week and saw a man with a “Let’s Go Brandon”/FJB shirt, and I surprised myself by saying “Hey, your shirt’s outdated!”  Fortunately he took it well and said he had a new shirt in his truck (might have been lying).  But it made me laugh to think that he’s probably got several shirts that are no longer relevant.

  79. 79.

    Martin

    But supporters of a ban got a boost from former President Donald Trump this week when, appearing on “Fox & Friends,” he advocated for congressional action and “a one-year jail sentence if you do anything to desecrate the American flag.”

    Like flying it upside-down, Donald? Wearing it as clothing, Donald?

  80. 80.

    Martin

    @bbleh: I like how Vance has to go out of his way to point out the campaign isn’t charging him for the Mt Dew.

  81. 81.

    Eyeroller

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:  Joe’s problem wasn’t really his age, though that was a factor and we’re very ageist (and ableist) overall.  Slowing down between age 75-80 or so is pretty normal and doesn’t mean much in terms of the ability to do the job as long as it’s within bounds of healthy for the age. That’s why they have staff, after all. But Nancy Pelosi, age 84, is running for another term.  Some Representative age 87 is running for another term and he’s currently hospitalized with pneumonia and in very bad shape.  Those are just some of the Democrats; Chuck Grassley, whose tweets at least suggest confusion if not outright dementia, was re-elected at 88 to a six-year term.

    But Biden was unfairly blamed for the aftershocks of the pandemic.  That was partly because people are idiots who blame the leader for anything that goes wrong, but only a few partisans will credit the leader for things going right.  This is pretty much universal, it’s not just American, but we seem particularly stupid about it.  But post-pandemic leaders around the world were unpopular. That’s why there were rumors that some “senior Democrats” didn’t want Harris since she was part of this unpopular administration.  Luckily Joe seems to have taken all the blame.

    And of course another major factor was the relentlessly negative media coverage for nearly all of his term, but especially after the Afghanistan withdrawal.  Funny that now, after he’s dropped out, all of a sudden they’re writing stories about how great the Biden economy is, when for 2+ years all we ever heard about was the price of aaiiigggs and gaasssoline and the pain of families who couldn’t afford their groceries.

  85. 85.

    BR

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: ​
    The NYT will create a media firestorm between now and the election over some random innocuous video of Harris from a decade ago. They’ll just be asking questions. And discussing concerns. And wondering if Harris can overcome the negative narrative that came out of nowhere. I’m positive there will be saturation coverage.

    I am, though, fairly confident that they blew it — they had their one at bat with Biden, and few on our side are going to pay attention to saturation coverage attacking Harris.

  86. 86.

    swiftfox

    Sorry to rain, but I remember him doing ads for the Girls Gone Wild videos that were on before I hit the road for work.  Not a fan.

  87. 87.

    Trivia Man

    @p.a.: Yes. It was painful to watch Gore preside over his stolen victory. Especially when several congress people stood to object. He sadly had to rule them out of order because not even one senator wanted to investigate. There could have possibly been an avenue to dig deeper into florida and that would have flipped. Later investigations showed he did get more votes.

  90. 90.

    matt

    I for one am really enjoying the new rules of discourse where you can make all kinds of age related attacks on Trump without worrying if they’re over the line. Have you seen his weird throat wattle thing?

  91. 91.

    Eyeroller

    @BR: I’m hoping they don’t have time to create a Narrative about her before the election.  Assuming she wins, they’ll dig until they find something, but I hope we can be prepared to counter this time.

    I’ll repeat what I saw at Will Stancil’s Xitter about emailz and oooldd: THEY CAN DO THIS TO ANY DEMOCRAT (shouty all-caps his).  We need to start figuring out how to push back rather than going into the defensive crouch.

  92. 92.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Martin: If you desecrate the grim black-on-black or black-and-blue versions of the flag, is that OK? Or are those desecrations to begin with?

  93. 93.

    Eyeroller

    @Gin & Tonic:  Sorry. But the issue is really the problems Democrats in general have to face in our environment, especially our media environment.  The FTFNYT is already casting around for negatives about Harris.

  96. 96.

    Miki

    @rikyrah: I did not remember that. All 84 pianists were men, to represent Gershwin. Dog forbid we should bend the frame a bit ….

    I suppose we should be grateful they didn’t use 24 clarinets to play the introduction ….

  100. 100.

    Eyeroller

    @Ivan X:  Oh yes, but I really wish all those people (of age over say 70-75 or so) would retire.  They seem to think they’re immortal, or just believe dying in office is how they want to go out.

  101. 101.

    Ivan X

    @Gin & Tonic: Probably not for a bit, it’s been less than a week, and there’s a lot of emotions going on. It’s just very top of mind. I mean, I wouldn’t one fucking respite thread either, but I imagine it will ease off pretty soon.

  103. 103.

    Eyeroller

    @Gin & Tonic: It says open thread, not just Olympics.  Since I don’t care about the Olympics and other people brought it up, I just responded.

  105. 105.

    prostratedragon

    @trollhattan:  That archer was really something, no? The NHS tribute in London was pretty good, too. And were they the first to bring the assets of the city into the presentation? Paris has noe turned thst up go 11.

  106. 106.

    Matt McIrvin

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    I’ve heard a bunch of people in the media, mostly Republican strategists but also James Carville…saying this is as good as it’s going to get for the Harris campaign. IDK though…seems like when it comes to the republican strategists there’s a desperate flop-sweat whiff of desperation.

    They might be right! We might be going down! God knows, there are powerful forces Harris is working against and we all know what they are. If America is too damn racist and sexist to elect someone like her, that’s the breaks and there’s not a lot we can do about it. We could end up shocked and disappointed in November just like in 2016, everything seeming basically OK and then it all falls apart.

    Here’s the difference, though: we’re going down swinging and fighting, not this sort of depressed sleepwalk into doom. I know everyone here was ready to do the work, but it was awfully hard to convince other people to come along. I have to believe that even if Trump gets back in and is ten times as bad as he was before, that’s going to affect outcomes later.

    Sometime in the past year that all changed…his voice got softer, his face looked older, he developed an old man shuffle instead of a normal gait. The presidency ages people like no other job (TCFG is a bit of an exception because he never took the job seriously).

    He’s also just at an age where time often catches up with you fast, and it happens differently for everyone. I’ve heard it argued that the presidency actually doesn’t age anyone at an unusual rate–if anything, they benefit from having the best medical care available, and a lot of cosmetic help if they want it–it’s just that the President is someone who is in the public eye all the time, and is at least middle-aged rather than youthful, and we see the normal aging process happening to a degree that we don’t notice with most people.

  107. 107.

    Martin

    @Matt McIrvin: Yep. Thin blue line is also a desecration of the flag. Using it in advertising is against the flag code. Hanging another flag at the same height, such as a Trump flag is against the code, etc.

    Almost every instance when the GOP fly the flag where the Dems refrain is against the code.

  109. 109.

    VeniceRiley

    So nice to watch opening ceremonies commercial free and minimal commentary over here. Thanks BBC! But the rain, man. It was all very … french. Celine, though. If you watched that documentary, you know. It was like watching Freddie sing Barcelona, knowing this was a last great stroke of genius.

    SUPER EXCITED about Harris and I still have my primary t-shirt. The fundraising numbers are so grass roots amazing. Convention is going to be LIT!

  110. 110.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Almost Retired: so, boats on the seine, I didn’t watch yet.

    Did the athletes on boats go by the Statue of Liberty there on the river? It’s cool. I’d forgotten, that France gave us our big statue, and that they had one too..then I did the tourist river trip, and voilà, there it was..

  111. 111.

    Eyeroller

    @Matt McIrvin: Perhaps I shouldn’t respond, but I think this is correct, that it’s just more noticeable with the President.  Even with Obama there were comments about how he’d gone so much more gray-haired over his Presidency, even though that was normal at his age.

  113. 113.

    Leto

    4 U.S. Code § 7 – Position and manner of display

    If people would like to know how you actually display the flag in relation to other flags, here you go. I’ve done this for so long that I know it by heart, but in the absolute simplest terms: Nothing flies higher than our flag. If it’s multiple poles, then they fly at equal height. Same pole? It’s the top flag. When raising or lowering multiple flags, it’s first up and last down. Multi-state? It’s at center prominence and typically slightly higher. Equal in height is fine, as long as it’s center prominence. Multi-national? Equal height, but on the left.

    I mean, the Supreme Court said most of this is protected 1st Amendment speech and I’m fine by that. But I do get a bit eye twitchy when people start displaying them. And I pay absolutely no attention to the fake patriot asswipes. They never had patriotism to begin with, and when you point out that they’re disrespecting the flag (like I have), they mumble “freedom” and other bullshit. Fuck’em.

  114. 114.

    Eyeroller

    @Gin & Tonic: I’m not trying to “win,” but there is an Olympics thread below and I did not participate in that.  Maybe the blog should separate topics more rather than having so many “open threads.”  I know one thing that sort of turned me off about Eschaton (Atrios’ blog) was that everything was an open thread.  On the other hand, the way things get pushed down in Web browsers makes it hard to have new topics that don’t obscure the older ones.

  115. 115.

    JML

    I’ve caught some of the Olympic soccer…and so far it’s not as compelling as World Cup or Euros for me? I wonder if it shouldn’t be the U-21 competition.

  116. 116.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Gin & Tonic: I guess I brought it up but I’m not going to engage further. I didn’t mean that post to be primarily about Biden’s age and don’t really want to discuss it further. I just hope he has a fun and enjoys himself in his post-presidency.

  118. 118.

    HeleninEire

    I have a great Snoop story. Maybe 30?? years ago Snoop (and his whole crew) showed up in a Red Lobster on Long Island, NY where I was raised. My brother…bless him now that he’s gone…was a waiter at that Red Lobster. Snoop approached my brother and said “These boys are idiots…sorry, just ignore their shit.” 😆 My brother who was the coolest kindest person on earth said “no worries.”

    Snoop tipped my brother $500.

  119. 119.

    trollhattan

    @prostratedragon: If I were one of the LA ’28 organizer’s I’d be wearing an ice pack on my aching noggin right now. 11 is right, Paris les killed this and I’ll never forget it.

    You’re right about London as well. The Queen was a pretty nice girl. :-) (The backstory of how she amazed the film team by being all in with the bit is a treat.)

  120. 120.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Leto: The Flag Code, like the Pirate Code, is more guidelines than enforceable rules, but if someone is going to start huffing and puffing about prosecuting people for violating them, I figure those people had better know what the rules are and not blatantly violate them themselves. They usually don’t. Where they usually fall short is that the rules are as much about exploiting a national symbol cheaply for personal gain as about being mean to ‘Murica.

  122. 122.

    HumboldtBlue

    @JML: ​ 

    It’s the only way to have the sport in the Olympics. The calendar is already far too packed, players are playing more than 60 games a season and with expansion for both the Champions League and the World Cup, which means more matches played, there just isn’t a way to get the best players in the world into the games.

    In fact, players unions and football associations from the top 5 leagues in Europe have already filed complaints about FIFA wanting to add more matches to the calendar.

  123. 123.

    trollhattan

    @JML: Men or women? Women’s tournament should be hammer and tongs, and entertaining. And the hosts happen to be quite good.

    18-player squads do present a very different matchups and strategies. World Cup squads are 23.

  124. 124.

    Leto

    @Matt McIrvin: Yup. I mean, we in the military take it super fucking serious, and we absolutely don’t give a shit about your 1st Amendment rights if you try to wear a flag themed piece of apparel. (I can’t say that for all unit/squadrons/etc, just the ones I was a part of, but I’m comfortable generalizing that) But yeah, most of the people who want to try to implement flag burning crimes, or similar things, are themselves just ultra hypocrites about most of this shit. Ain’t got time for that shit. Take your fake ass patriotism to North Korea, you worthless asswipes.

  126. 126.

    Leto

    @JML: I’d be down for that. I realize that basketball is just a perennial NBA all-star game for us, but having squads of u-21 for men/women’s soccer would be really good. I guess I just remember the amateur status of the Olympics and kinda wish some of that would come back.

  128. 128.

    Elizabelle

    @trollhattan:  I loved QE2 and her corgis and James Bond.  Very well done.

    Gonna sign up for peacock.🦚🦚🦚. I would hope I will be able to watch everything that happened, after fact?  Def want to see the opening ceremonies.  J’aime Paris!  🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🥐🥐🥐

  129. 129.

    Elizabelle

    @Geminid:  they might be susceptible to that.  They have an inkling of Papa’s actual wealth and cash flow.  Lol.

  130. 130.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Jackie: And that’s with basically nothing happening except for Harris stepping into the presumptive-nominee role. We haven’t had the convention, or the VP pick, or any of that stuff yet.

  133. 133.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Eyeroller: Like I’ve said before, I think much of the country associates the COVID pandemic by now with Biden rather than with Trump, because it didn’t really hit them so hard (or at least they didn’t think so) until Biden was in. In the Northeast Corridor, where I live, the bodies piled up in spring 2020 while Trump claimed it would be gone by Easter, but those are all deep-blue states anyway.

    Economically, the COVID recession was worst while Trump was in office, but there was a bipartisan relief package that mitigated the worst of it… and Trump’s signature was on all the checks, convincing many people that Trump had paid for them out of his own pocket. And when the delayed effects of that and the supply-chain disruptions and everything else rippled out across the economy, Biden was holding the bag.

  134. 134.

    Jess

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Here’s the difference, though: we’re going down swinging and fighting, not this sort of depressed sleepwalk into doom.

    Yes, that’s what I was thinking as well. The Dems are typically good people, but that means they tend to lack the will to fight to the death. Their fighting spirit is one thing I do respect about the right. I think we’ll need them around if we ever get invaded by the giant bug from outer space.

  136. 136.

    Sister Golden Bear

    You may think you’re metal… but have you ever been French death metal legends Gojira performing at the castle where Maria Antoinette was executed—accompanied by a group of headless aristocrats in the windows.

    Just the French people reminding the world that yes, they murdered the fuck out of the monarchy and no, they are not sorry about it.

    Watch every full of metal awesomeness second of it here. (Sorry for the Xitter link, but I haven’t been able to find it on YouTube.)

  138. 138.

    Eyeroller

    @Matt McIrvin: If I may make such a comment, I, a pretty smart person (PhD Physics) always have to remind myself that Biden took office in 2021.  All of 2020 is on Trump.  Yet people think that Biden was President in 2020, just as so many think Obama was President in 2008.

  139. 139.

    tam1MI

    Just sat down to watch the prime time airing of the Opening Ceremonies, since I couldn’t watch them while I was working.  What do I have to look forward to?

  142. 142.

    pluky

    @Leto: Army brat can cosign deep respect for the flag as part of the culture. By the time I entered elementary school it was reflexive to stop whatever I was doing around sunset at the cannon blast, followed by the call to colors. One turned to face the direction where the garrison flag flew, and did not move until the bugle ceased playing.

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