Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

Come on, man.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

When we show up, we win.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

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

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Also, are you sure you want people to rate your comments?

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

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

Monday Night Open Thread

by | 186 Comments

This post is in: 

I am so very relieved to hear the VP selection has been made because the usual idiots on twitter are turning this into a contentious litmus test, with loud proclamations about something whatever candidate they don’t like has done wrong. Here’s where I stand- I’m fine with any of them, I’d really like Tim Walz, but if she chose cancer as her running mate I would still low crawl over broken glass while naked to get to the polls to vote for Kamala, and this is in a red state where she won’t even crack 40%. So anyone with a purity test can go fuck themselves.

Breyana’s parents are at their cabin, so she is here tonight. We are making tacos and watching movies.

I’ll have more when I am inspired. Feel like the House of Dragons finale was anti-climactic.

*** Update ***

I remember what I wanted to ask. Will the google decision loosen their stranglehold on online advertising?

Reader Interactions

186Comments

  1. 1.

    dmsilev

    Now that I know that both Mark Penn and Nate Silver have decreed that the choice must be Shapiro, I’m afraid I have no option but to be whole-heartedly on Team Walz. Although, Team Anyone Who Hasn’t Fucked a Couch is definitely an option.

  3. 3.

    Steve LaBonne

    @dmsilev: I just won’t have any idea what to think until Axelrod weighs in. Until then I’ll try not to be irrationally enthusiastic.

  6. 6.

    Suzanne

    I SAW MY FIRST CYBERTRUCK TODAY!!!

    We are out on the Outer Banks for a few days. Pulled into the parking area at the beach, got out of the car, and started walking with a group of about 20 others down the pathway over the dunes. Then a Cybertruck came, driving off the beach down the path, headed back the way we came.

    The entire group started laughing uproariously. Absolutely fucken ridiculous.

  8. 8.

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

    I’m Team Walz, but I’ll take Shapiro. I’ve been told by my betters on my TEEVEE that it’s down to those two. Hell, I’ll take JD’s spurned couch if that’s what she decides (she never would). I’m anxious as a kid on Christmas eve, but I’m willing to wait a day.

  11. 11.

    BR

    It’s encouraging to see the BBC and the UK government describing their riots as terrorism and “far right thuggery”. They aren’t mincing words, and they aren’t doing what the US press does by privileging right wing behavior.

  13. 13.

    Leto

    @Suzanne: I saw my first one back in June at the air show here. The light reflecting off the thing is what made me notice it. Jesus was it ugly. Avalune and I had a good laugh at it.

  14. 14.

    kindness

    HOD was anti-climactic.  Especially when compared to GOT’s season endings.

    The litmus test people want the attention stipulating their purity among the rest of us.  Fuck them if they refuse to see the big picture.  I can debate policy but I can’t debate with someone else’s ego.

  15. 15.

    dmsilev

    @Suzanne: There’s at least one person around here who owns one of the things, because I see it once every several days. It …doesn’t improve with repeated exposure.

  16. 16.

    Gvg

    There is a Camellia named Irrationally exuberant. It is beautiful and I want it. Sort of off topic…it blooms about 5 different variations at the same time on the same bush.

  17. 17.

    pacem appellant

    Inanimate Carbon Rod. Or Walz. Or Shapiro. Or Beshear. Or Buttigieg. I could go on, but the important thing is to get Harris elected in November. Let’s do this!

  18. 18.

    BR

    @schrodingers_cat:

    My understanding of the UK situation is that using a stabbing as a pretext, some far right influencers whipped up a hatestorm online attacking immigrants and sent mobs to attack mosques and locations that asylum seekers were being housed. And then a bit of everything else — they burned down libraries, stores, looted, attacked police, etc. Lots of good-hearted folks have started turning out to counter them, and the UK is cracking down hard on the far right as it should. They’re even freeing up space in jails by accelerating release of low level offenders.

  19. 19.

    geg6

    I don’t care who it is except I really want to keep my governor.  There is no question that I’m voting for her.

    Since I haven’t been around much, I haven’t seen if anyone has mentioned streaming The Decameron.  I’ve heard some talk about it on one of my podcasts.  They noted that it’s not a very faithful version but that it was great fun.  It’s crazy to remember this but I had a world lit class in high school with a very cool teacher with a terrible name, Ms. Crabbe.  One of the books we read that year was The Decameron.  Pretty shocking when I look back but it was the 70s and things were very permissive in my little corner of suburbia.  I enjoyed that class very much.

    Anyway, just wondering if anyone has seen any of it because I really need a second opinion before I commit.  Tony Hale is one of the stars and I loved him in Veep.

  25. 25.

    narya

    @Suzanne: in May, my friend said “I saw this really weird vehicle” and I pulled up a pic of a CT and said “This?” It WAS, and he laughed and laughed.

  28. 28.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    I’m on Team “I don’t care who she picks and the arguments about it are tiresome”. Go Kamala! Just win, baby!

  31. 31.

    JaySinWA

    @BR: Weird, this BBC article describes it as violent protests.

    Two nights of violent protest in English towns this week, following the knife attack in Southport, reveal how today’s far-right is organising in the UK.
    A BBC analysis of activity on mainstream social media and in smaller public groups shows a clear pattern of influencers driving a message for people to gather for protests, but there is no single organising force at work.

    It even does a “not all protesters” line.

    Not everyone attending these protests or posting about the Southport attacks holds fringe views, supports rioting or has links to far-right groups. The protests also appeared to draw in people concerned about violent crime or misled by the misinformation that the attack was linked to illegal immigration.

    You must be seeing one with a different point of view.

    This one does show a potential future for riots here and elsewhere spawned by false reports and fueled by “influencers”.  Like our January 6 manifested across a country.

  32. 32.

    KatKapCC

    @geg6: Slate used to have an advice column for questions about school and such, and it was teachers answering. One of them was named Matthew Dicks. I think he taught 5th grade. I was like…with a name like that, I would not have chosen a career that involves constant contact with kids. How do you even get the giggles to stop?

  33. 33.

    hueyplong

    @Suzanne: I saw my first cybertruck, and then my second, in Seattle last week. My daughter said racoons have been clawing at them in Seattle because they think they’re dumpsters.

  34. 34.

    Ken

    @dmsilev: [The cybertruck] …doesn’t improve with repeated exposure.

    Yeah, there are warnings about that in the user’s manual. Basically don’t expose it to rain, snow, tar, grease, or dust, and if you do, wash it immediately, but don’t wash it in direct sunlight, and if you use a car wash remember to put it in car wash mode first.

  40. 40.

    Leto

    @KatKapCC: the chaplain assigned to our squadron was a Major. Major Dicks. Yes, we giggled way more than we should have, but he was such a nice guy. Always had a good dad joke, always liked to laugh. But yeah, just unfortunate name rank combo there.

  41. 41.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    @Suzanne:  My one and only sighting so far was on the way to Corolla in the OBX 3 weeks ago.  I wonder if it was the same one.  : )

    I had to listen to my stupid rich surgeon BIL proclaim later in the week that he wanted one.  Ugh.

  44. 44.

    Momentary

    @schrodingers_cat:  What is happening in the UK is pretty much the exact same as the USA’s January 6.  Their side lost the election, they have demagogues encouraging them on social media, and they’re using the Southport stabbings as an excuse to have a giant violent tantrum.  And much like January 6, when they’re arrested and facing a judge and prison time they get all tearful and shocked that there are real consequences.

    I’d also note that this is almost all in England and Belfast.  They tried it on for Cardiff but it came to nothing, and there’s been none in Scotland.

  45. 45.

    TBone

    Our best neighbor, POC Danielle who is employed with Susquehanna U, came outside shouting with joy, completely unperturbed with my evening musical choices.  Wish I could remember the playlist 😋 j.k. it’s been Ladies Night at Chez President Harris!

    🎶

    https://youtu.be/qlywcuw-1TU

  46. 46.

    karen marie

    @BR:   I can’t speak for the motivation of the people at the BBC but had Conservatives not lost the election, you can be sure they would not be calling it “far right thuggery.”

    Elections have consequences.

  48. 48.

    karen marie

    @geg6:  Where is it?  I haven’t even heard about it.

    Meh.  I just watched a trailer.  The Great is much better.  I doesn’t look worth paying for Netflix even for one month.

  49. 49.

    Lyrebird

    @schrodingers_cat: I saw that there’s been a coup in Bangladesh, which is probably not great news, but that’s all I know.

    Will you have internet while you’re away, or are you going to take a break?  (yes those are not a complete set of alternatives)

    Either way I hope you have a wonderful trip & look forward to hearing your observations of how things are.

  50. 50.

    NotMax

    @MomSense

    It was on an episode of Big Brother* where a prize for a contest among the househamsters was an Aztek. Became quickly obvious they were all trying their darndest to lose.

    *Friend who was hooked on it in its early years used to swing by and insist we watch it together. Test of friendship, that.

  51. 51.

    Suzanne

    @geg6: Mr. Suzanne and the Spawns have seen a few in Allegheny County! I had just missed out, I guess!

    It looked so ridiculous, out there with the other trucks and SUVs and stuff on the beach. LAWLLLLL.

  52. 52.

    Another Scott

    @Suzanne: We saw one while we were walking on the Freedom Trail in Boston a few days ago.  J said, “What is that??”  I said it’s Musk’s stupid CyberTruck.  She said “It looks stupid, who would be stupid enough to buy such a thing?”  Someone with more money than sense…

    :-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  54. 54.

    Kent

    @Suzanne:

    I SAW MY FIRST CYBERTRUCK TODAY!!!

    We are out on the Outer Banks for a few days. Pulled into the parking area at the beach, got out of the car, and started walking with a group of about 20 others down the pathway over the dunes. Then a Cybertruck came, driving off the beach down the path, headed back the way we came.

    The entire group started laughing uproariously. Absolutely fucken ridiculous.

    I live in Camas WA which is an affluent suburb of Portland so I see a few around here.  One turned up at my daughter’s HS this spring.  Seriously, some kid got one from Dad to drive to HS.  Or maybe the Dad got one and was too embarrassed to drive it himself.  That’s a possibility too.  My daughter said he was already a douche and the Cyber truck didn’t help.  It made him worse and most definitely only achieved laughs from the girls, not the admiring stares he wanted

    What is surprising when you see one in the wild is (1) how damn big they are, and (2) how crude they actually are.

  55. 55.

    ColoradoGuy

    @Momentary: Melon Husk, who is largely responsible for this … and he knew what he was doing … acting on Putin’s request. I hope the Labour government prosecutes this enemy agent.

  56. 56.

    Jay

    @schrodingers_cat:

    In Bangladesh, the protests were started over Civil Service quota’s being changed. The quickest path into the Middle Class there for a University Student, is to “win” a Civil Service job. Every minority and majority has an assigned quota. Everybody had their quota’s reduced, except for the group that supported Pakistan in the Civil War, ( and committed acts of genocide). They got theirs increased.

    The Government restored the previous quota’s, but not before the protests had reached critical mass, and dozens of protestors had been killed and hundreds injured by Police and Military.

    By the time the Government caved, the protests had grown to include more issues than the quota system and in general, frustration with a Party that has “ruled” Bangladesh for the last 15 years with a heavy hand.

    The protests grew, and now, the President has resigned and fled to India and the Government is promising a “Government of National Unity”, which of course, few believe will happen.

  58. 58.

    Another Scott

    @schrodingers_cat: As I understand #1:

    Students were worried about their job prospects and started protesting against the large fraction of government jobs reserved for people with connections to the battle for independence.

    Government cracked down on the protesters, killing several.

    Protests got larger, students upped their demands.  More protesters killed.

    Students began demanding that the PM (who has been in office for 15 years and is the daughter of a previous PM) resign.  More protesters killed.

    It came to a head today.  She’s gone – fled to India.

    Corrections welcome.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  61. 61.

    Geminid

    @Lyrebird: It sounds like there was a popular uprising in Bangladesh. The President fled to India in an Army helicopter., and crowds pillaged her palace.

  65. 65.

    peter

    @Suzanne: I saw one in NoVA last week. You really have to see it in person to appreciate what a cheap-looking POS it is. I couldn’t see inside to see who was driving, but if I were inside I would be grateful for the anonymity. I was expecting Gadsden Flag license plates but it was just normal VA tags.

  66. 66.

    Suzanne

    I will also note that there was another ridiculous car in the parking lot: a Jeep with two huge flags, one MAGA flag in perfect condition, and the other, a totally tattered American flag. Priorities are obvious.

  67. 67.

    Jackie

    I just watched a montage of Kamala’s debating chops from when she was running for senator all the way up to her debate with Pence on the Ari Melber show. (Look for the clip on YouTube!)

    Ain’t no way no how TCFG will debate her. He’ll invent every excuse in the book – including having Covid – to avoid going toe to toe with Prosecutor/AG Kamala.

  68. 68.

    BR

    @peter:

    Sadly I see them everywhere here in California. It looks even worse from the back than I could have imagined — like a lego dumpster.

  69. 69.

    jowriter

    @hueyplong:  Thank you. I was trying to think of what they remind me of.  Here in NY exurbia I’ve seen one parked in town and then occasionally on the road.  It is a very cheap-looking vehicle.

  70. 70.

    cain

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Not sure but /r/GenZ has Gen Zs taking the credit for the Bangladesh thing. Unfortunately, people are pointing out that extremists are trying to take over or the army will take over.

    I was making the point that this is why revolution is not great – it’s chaotic and not orderly. You have no control who gets power. There won’t be a constitutional convention.

    Voting is the only way to affect change.

  71. 71.

    Geoduck

    Evidently there are a couple of Cybertrucks in my WA state town, but I haven’t crossed paths with any of them yet. And yes, I’d like to see one in person, once.

    We’re having our mail-in primary this week, with a thousand people running for governor since Jay Inslee is stepping down. Hopefully he’ll get tapped for a job by Harris if he wants it, he’d be great as head of the EPA. I voted for the front-running Democrat, fairly confident he’ll do the usual ritual stomping of whoever the GOPers hork up.

    Nationally, put me in the Walz camp also, but of course I’ll vote for Harris/Shapiro.

  72. 72.

    Salty Sam

    @Suzanne:    I SAW MY FIRST CYBERTRUCK ... Absolutely fucken ridiculous.

    Indeed.   I live just off the main road that goes out of Austin to the Tesla plant out east of town, so I see a LOT of those monstrosities, maybe 3-4 times a week.  They don’t surprise me anymore, I just shake my head, and hope the driver sees me doing so.

    But last week is saw a first-  some idiot bought one of those things to use as his work vehicle.  He had either a wrap or a paint job, lime green/chartreuse with his business name in block letters.  It was a pressure washing business, so he needs to haul his tools around.  But here’s the capper- his tools barely fit in the cargo space, and the handles were all sticking out hodge-podge!  It was one of the most pathetically ridiculous things I’ve ever seen.

  74. 74.

    Jay

    Saw a video a couple of days ago, of a “Car Guy”, tearing apart a Incel Camino,

    with his bare hands, trim, (glued on), mirrors, (glued on), bumpers, (glued on), fenders, (glued on), etc.

  76. 76.

    cain

    @Baud: The Brits should issue something to drag his ass into court. They don’t have a 1st amendment and trying to encourage a riot should definitely be a crime. If he steps foot in the UK he should be arrested.

  77. 77.

    Old School

    @kindness:

    HOD was anti-climactic.  Especially when compared to GOT’s season endings.

    My recollection is that GOT’s penultimate season episodes were the action packed ones, so last night’s episode was what I was expecting – moving things in position for next season.

  78. 78.

    Baud

    @cain:

    Voting is the only way to affect change.

     
    It’s not the only way. It’s just vastly superior to the others.

  79. 79.

    Princess

    @geg6: Havent seen it but I say go for it. I think a less faithful version — or more, one faithful to the spirit even if not faithful to the letter — could be worth seeing.

    I want you to keep your governor too. I feel like PA needs him to keep doing what he’s doing.

  82. 82.

    lamh47

    I liked Beshear…hey could still be him…

    All the reporting says Walz or Shapiro.  I saw Walz with Amy Klobaucher for a fundraiser tonight and I will say Walz did look more “groomed” than usual so that that as you will.  Of the two, I do like what I’ve seen of Walz.

    But whoever she picks, I’ll be fine with.

    The usual suspect will rant and rage, but whatever.

  83. 83.

    Kay

    Elizabeth Warren is doing a great job promoting Harris on the Progressives for Harris call. She led with “we worked shoulder to shoulder after the financial crisis”. They’ll love that.

  84. 84.

    Lyrebird

    @Gvg: Wow!  I hope you’re going to grow it outdoors… oh sorry, I am thinking of gardenias I think…  OK wow, that sounds gorgeous, and I am glad it’s not the one with the fragrance that can knock you out at 6 paces.  Unless that’s what you want, of course – your garden!!

  86. 86.

    206inKY

    Definitely will be all-in for whoever she picks. The Biden disaster may have normalized the idea of late-game course corrections, but that was a singular situation in American history. There’s no turning back on the VP choice once it’s made—Harris has clearly gamed out the implications of whoever she chooses.

  87. 87.

    Another Scott

    @Salty Sam: I saw a Tesla Model S in Boston that had what I assume was a wrap – all very shiny chrome (like chrome plated plastic).  Jarring.

    People are weird.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  88. 88.

    Lyrebird

    @Geminid: Thanks Geminid!  I had heard that it’s been volatile for a while, but I will admit it’s more often off my radar than on.

  89. 89.

    BR

    For the most low information voters, Harris/Kelly

    For the political strategy junkies, Harris/Shapiro

    For the good government technocrats, Harris/Buttigieg

    For the Pennsyltucky / Western NC vote, Harris/Beshear

    For the business moderates, Harris/Pritzker

  92. 92.

    Nukular Biskits

    Ref Cybertrucks:

    I’ve seen a few in the wild.  And, given the choice between:

    • A brand-spanking new Cybertruck ;
    • My 2002 F150 with 353K miles, rust, a Passive Anti-Theft System (PATS) that intermittently refuses to let it start, no A/C and a huge battle scar down the entire length of the passenger side.

    I’ll take the F150 with all four tires flat and no gas.

  96. 96.

    Anonymous At Work

    I remember what I wanted to ask. Will the google decision loosen their stranglehold on online advertising?

    In 10-15 years after Google finishes its appeals process and if it still lost at every step. Or in 3-5 years if Wyden and Warren can pass real antitrust reform.

  98. 98.

    Another Scott

    southpaw
    ‪@nycsouthpaw.bsky.social
    ‬
    It is helpful as a news consumer to know the two categories, otoh. You can use them to determine whether Roop Raj, the host of Let It Rip on Detroit’s local Fox station, is likely to have the inside track on Kamala Harris’s VP selection process.

    Sign-in Required

    Labeled by the author. Learn more.
    Aug 5, 2024 at 4:51 PM

    Hey, there’s a chance!! (0:32)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  99. 99.

    brendancalling

    @KatKapCC: One of our football coaches in high school was Mr. Hole, whose first name was Richard. And yes, he went by “Dick.”

  100. 100.

    Kent

    @BR:

    For the most low information voters, Harris/Kelly

    For the political strategy junkies, Harris/Shapiro

    For the good government technocrats, Harris/Buttigieg

    For the Pennsyltucky / Western NC vote, Harris/Beshear

    For the business moderates, Harris/Pritzker

     

    And what kind of voters go for Walz?  Everyone else?

  103. 103.

    Kay

    Head of Chicago Teachers Union – says we should win for “power”. People don’t say that enough.

  105. 105.

    Princess

    @BR: Pritzker is the most progressive governor in the country so I don’t know what you’re talking about with that “business moderate” stuff.

    But if that’s the vibe he gives off, then he’s Harris’s best choice for VP: business moderate in the street; progressive hero as the Veep.

  106. 106.

    realbtl

    I hope hope hope the Cybertruck I see sometimes in our small MT town drives through the winter. Sanded and salted roads should be interesting a few months later.

  107. 107.

    David 🐝KHive🐝 Koch

    Shapiro has some devastating skeletons:  he once wore a tan suit during a heat wave and sings Nickleback during karaoke, but worst of all he leaves the toilet seat up.

  108. 108.

    Ken

    @Baud: CyberTruck: The truck people can’t stop talking about! #CorporateSpin

    You’re not far off, except the corporation doesn’t have to do any work; the victims owners do it for them. It’s a weird form of Stockholm Syndrome, where owner reports of problems always start out “Love my new Cybertruck!” — followed by a horror story of pieces falling off, or the computer bricking itself, or the frame breaking in two. (All from actual reports, by the way.)

  112. 112.

    BC in Illinois

    I’ve been watching “Comics for Kamala.”

    Not good at all. Very rough, almost amateur.

    After 20 minutes, I muted it during Nick Offerman.

    I don’t know how much longer I’ll keep checking back on it.

  114. 114.

    SatanicPanic

    @Ken: of course they are going to say they love their cybertruck, they don’t want to look like a fool for buying a cybertruck.

  116. 116.

    Kay

    Sorry – GA state rep. Now is MI rep. I didn’t know Michigan Arab Americans became more Democratic in response to anti Arab discrimination after 9/11 – makes sense though.

  121. 121.

    karen marie

    @lamh47:   He says “he is the son of Fidel Castro.”  Then someone prompts him to say “could be.”

    Jesus Christ on a crutch.

    Very low energy.  He looks and sounds like he badly wants a nap.

  123. 123.

    Kay

    @BR:

    Oh, I’m sorry. It’s Progressives for Harris. A zoom. They’re talking about how to bring back Uncommitted voters – the primary voters who formally voted Uncommitted as a protest.

    Sean Fain is up now. Says Harris was on a UAW picket line in 2019. Didn’t know that either.

  124. 124.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @BC in Illinois: My wife jumped on the Cat Moms 4 Kamala call last night and it was pretty rough too, compared to the White Dudes For Harris call that I attended, which was surprisingly smooth and professional.

  125. 125.

    Another Scott

    Moderation??!  For 2 links??!  Some gremlins seem to be in FYWP tonight.

    Help??  (#122)

    Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  127. 127.

    Suzanne

    @Ken: I’m sure they want others to be impressed by it, but, like…. It’s ugly. I don’t care if you’re loaded if you have bad taste! (Nonspecific you.)

    It was a windy day, too. I doubt that finish would hold up well to having sand blow all over it.

  128. 128.

    DougL

    Hey all! Favor to ask. Am going to Lisbon and Madrid in a couple of weeks. Mainly a lurker but regular reader and I know we have lots of well traveled folks at balloon juice. Would be grateful for any suggestions/recommendations of great places to visit or eat at in either city. Especially interested in things to see/do that I wouldn’t find on a 30 minute google search (did that). And of course always need restaurant suggestions. Appreciate any and all information. Thanks for sharing!

  130. 130.

    BR

    @DougL: ​

    In Madrid, you might check out the parks at and around the Egyptian tomb (Temple of Debod). Some nice views and nice plazas in that vicinity.

  133. 133.

    tam1MI

    Remember how when all those Dems were going in front of cameras and saying that Biden should drop out and it was assumed that Nancy Pelosi had orchestrated the whole thing?

    She says no.

    [quote]”No, I wasn’t the leader of any pressure [campaign],” Pelosi told CBS. “Let me say things that I didn’t do: I didn’t call one person. I did not call one person. I could always say to him, ‘I never called anybody.'”[/quote]

    This can be read one of 3 ways:

    1.  Occam’s Razor:  She is telling the truth.  She didn’t have anything to do with the pressure campaign to force Biden out.
    2.  She is telling a carefully curated version of the truth.  Like, “Yeah, I didn’t call anybody… because I spoke to them all in person”
    3.   She is lying through her teeth Because Reasons.

    I vote for #1.

  134. 134.

    206inKY

    I’m not sure I’ve seen any actual criticisms of any of the candidates on here (except Shapiro, and even he has great strengths too). The Democratic bench is truly an embarrassment of riches, Republicans are going to be screwed throughout the 2030s if we can land this plane.

  137. 137.

    Wave Function Collapse

    @Kent:

    I live in Camas WA

    No offense, but I really hope your first name is not Joe.

    (typing this in Hazel Dell)

  139. 139.

    Princess

    @DougL: I love Casa Mingo in Madrid. It’s a classic roast chicken and cider joint, not expensive or touristy. I’d also go to Taberna Angel Sierra in Chuecs for a vermut, and polish that off with dinner at Vegeviana.

  140. 140.

    206inKY

    @UncleEbeneezer: The idea of Harris as president until 2032 makes me unspeakably happy. I don’t think I fully registered that we could be looking at 8 years.

  141. 141.

    Jay

    @lamh47:

    @karen marie:

    Sundowning Don-Old is just recycling a Wingnut CT thing from the same era as Birtherism’s early days.

    Shows how out of it he is to “feature” Trudeau in his whinge,…

  142. 142.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Anyone else watching Women In Blue (Las Azules) on AppleTV?  It’s a pretty good period series (1970’s) about when Mexico first started allowing women to join the the police force.  It has a similar vibe to Good Girls Revolt.  Feminist, uplifting, a bit cheesy at times, interesting story but the style of the costumes and sets are great.  Not must-see tv, but if you like that time period and Mexico, totally worth watching.

  143. 143.

    Starfish

    @geg6: I am watching it. Bless the person who did the musical stuff for this picking the perfect gothy GenX songs for exactly the right moment.

  144. 144.

    M31

    @BR: brat summer is on the grill, Harris/Walz

    brat summer is on the grill, with turkey dogs for the vegetarians, Harris/Walz

  145. 145.

    Princess

    @Princess: Okay, the Trudeau Castro Trump story is fake. I’m not seeing it in any reports of the interview (which sounded pretty weird even without Trudeau).

  146. 146.

    tam1MI

    @BR:

    For the most low information voters, Harris/Kelly

    For the political strategy junkies, Harris/Shapiro

    For the good government technocrats, Harris/Buttigieg

    For the Pennsyltucky / Western NC vote, Harris/Beshear

    For the business moderates, Harris/Pritzker

    For Balloon Juice, Harris/Baud!  ;)

  147. 147.

    karen marie

    @tam1MI: I was very surprised at all the hate toward Pelosi by people who claim to be/appear to be Democrats.  Given the long history of ratfucking by Republicans – in general and specifically toward her – I figured I was going to give her the benefit of the doubt on what role – if any – she played in the push to get Biden to step aside.

     

    #NancySmash is an American hero.

  150. 150.

    karen marie

    @Princess:  ABC News a good enough source?

    In a conversation with streamer and influencer Adin Ross, former [president] Trump brought up an old, false theory that former Cuban President Fidel Castro is the father of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

    “They say he’s the son of Fidel Castro and could be. Anything is possible in this world,” he said, before saying that Trudeau has become more progressive and that a conservative candidate would be able to defeat him.

    The Canadian government has denied this story in the past. Trudeau’s parents never visited Cuba until several years after Trudeau was born.

    The comment may come across as an insult of a critical national ally. Relations between the U.S. and Canada faced moments of tension during the Trump administration after the former president suggested new tariffs against Canada and he and top aides assailed Trudeau as a “weak” and “dishonest.”

     

  154. 154.

    Matt McIrvin

    @DougL: There’s a joint called La Mi Venta that has its seating in a sort of cellar below street level about a block from the Royal Palace of Madrid. Delicious. Wonderful grilled fish. (The Royal Palace itself is a spectacular thing to see.)

    Also, the museum restaurant of the Reina Sofia Museum has slow service but is actually amazingly good.

    When I was there, there was a terrible heat wave in progress that made it hard to do much outside, but we still walked around Retiro Park a little and it was a beautiful place with some art museums right in the park.

  155. 155.

    Ken

    @Jay: If irony weren’t dead, I’d say that it’s ironic how Trump manages to screw up interviews with friendly media, given all the railing he does about the unfair media.

  161. 161.

    wjca

    @tam1MI: For Balloon Juice, Harris/Baud!

    And we will all be shocked, shocked, when “Baud” turns out to be the nym of the guy she actually picks.

  163. 163.

    WaterGirl

    @DougL: You might think about copying your comment and adding it to one of the On the Road threads in the morning.  There are lots of well-traveled folks in those threads.

  165. 165.

    kalakal

    @BR: Starmer before he went into politics was Director of Public Prosecutions. In 2011 there was widespread rioting after the police shooting of a Mark Duggan in Tottenham. Think of the fury over over George Floyd’s murder plus right wing racist nutjobs joining in to inflame it as only they can. The tories weren’t doing a great job of handling it ( not surprising given the man on the spot* was Boris Johnson as Lord Mayor of London) The police made 3,000 arrests nationwide in the first 3 days alone and the courts were collapsing under the strain. Starmer stepped in by prioritizing rapid prosecutions over going for long sentences and restarted a stalled criminal justice system. He’s probably going to do the same here

    Fun fact, he’s a fellow alumni of mine.

    Depressing fact he graduated 3 years after me . Now that makes me feel old**

    * By on the spot I mean he was on holiday

    ** AFAIK I never met him

  167. 167.

    M31

    @dnfree: ​
     
    there’s a video (from last year, so not a product of the veepstakes) where he goes to the MN state fair with his daughter and makes a joke about turkey dogs being the vegetarian corn dog option

    lol she got him to go on a super scary ride, though, so probs they’re even

    a pretty adorable video

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S233kqP0ak8

  168. 168.

    JaySinWA

    @M31: Text of the relevant section for people who don’t ‘Tube.

    Walz: “We’re gonna get some food. Corndog?”
    Daughter: “I’m vegetarian.”
    W: “Turkey then.”
    D: “Turkey’s meat.”
    W: “Not in Minnesota, turkey’s special”

    Dad joke.

  169. 169.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @M31: his daughter should have told him that she wanted one of Sara’s Tipsy Pies instead (they have some vegan options). I’m going to miss going to the Minnesota State Fair with my mom this year, as I would fly in and we’d go together. I’d download the State Fair app beforehand and search for all the vegan food to make sure that I could find something to accommodate my allergies.

    Now my parents have moved to Indiana so we will have to figure out a different mother-daughter thing.  Maybe I can get her to come out to the East Coast for the Maryland or Virginia State Fair, or the Maryland Alpaca Festival in November. Although it may turn into an outing with my sibling and my godson as well…

  171. 171.

    OGLiberal

    @pacem appellant: I have seen 4 in about 2 months – Virginia, Maryland, Nashville (a black one!) and Northeast PA.  That’s probably 10 percent of those sold.  What a stupid vehicle but I’m sure the techbros who own them think it really pisses off the library’s.  No, idiots, your idiocy gives us pleasure.

  173. 173.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @JaySinWA: Homer: Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.  Lisa, honey, are you saying you’re never going to eat any animal again?  What about bacon?

    Lisa: No.

    Homer: Ham?

    Lisa: No.

    Homer: Pork chops?

    Lisa: Dad!  Those all come from the same animal!

    Homer: Oh, yeah, right, Lisa.  A wonderful, magical animal.

  176. 176.

    DougL

    @WaterGirl:  That’s what I’ll do. Thanks! And apologies for a) multiple posts and b) tardy responses to all. I got pulled away to deal with real life. ;)

  177. 177.

    Kayla Rudbek

    And the Indiana State Fair has to list in its vendor rules, no Confederate flags and swastikas. I don’t even recall seeing that for the Maryland or Virginia State Fair competition rules, and I just went and read the vendor rules for the Maryland and Virginia state fairs, and no specific callouts that Confederate flags and swastikas are banned (although it seems to be implied in Virginia’s vendor rules).  So I think trying to get mom to the East Coast might be better…

  178. 178.

    sdhays

    @lamh47: This is why they were focusing on Biden. It was a tell. It was all about inoculating Trump. Any report of Trump’s decline would then just be treated as a retort rather than an issue in its own right.

    It’s a great example of the lie the media tells themselves about the righteousness of their “both sides” framing since, at worst, it was a grand opportunity for the media to both sides the hell out of two old and aging candidates. Instead, they focused on one, for months. The one that had slowed down, not the one with noticeable signs of “not being all there”.

  179. 179.

    I gotta get out of this place

    @Suzanne: I saw a Tesla truck couple of weeks ago. It looked like mashed sardine can with wheels to me. Not very shiny. Absolutely no rear view vision in that tiny back window. All I thought was: this is who buys swampland in Florida.

  180. 180.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @sdhays: Broderism is an insidious malignant disease that has destroyed journalism in the United States at the national level.  My nym, again and again.

  181. 181.

    Peale

    @I gotta get out of this place: I’ve been seeing more of them.  Looking at them, the matte finish makes them look like old beater cars. And their length and width makes it look like an old man’s car, not a futuristic evolution. It’s like a 1978 Buick LeSabre mated with a 1977 Buick Century. It’s for old men who miss the mid-70s boats.  My dad had a LeSabre. I had to learn to drive in it. I do not miss it. But probably a lot of guys over 60 are like “hell yeah! does it come with a Vinyl roof?

  182. 182.

    sdhays

    @Villago Delenda Est: Broderism would have been better than what they gave us. The one time where Broderism might have been somewhat justified, they put their thumb on the scale for the wrong guy.

    That they even aspire to Broderism is a lie.

  183. 183.

    artem1s

    @Kent: ​ 

    And what kind of voters go for Walz? Everyone else?

    Harris/Walz for the pragmatic who care that shit actually gets done after the election. That Biden’s legacy is fulfilled and Harris’ promise is realized. A VEEP Goodhair landslide doesn’t do much good if they spend the next 4 years kneecapping their boss and acting like a know it all.

  185. 185.

    SFAW

    @Peale: ​
     

    But probably a lot of guys over 60 are like “hell yeah! does it come with a Vinyl roof?”

    Only the guys who, thinking they’re fashionistas, still wear leisure suits.

  186. 186.

    TBone

    @UncleEbeneezer: I like that word, delulu.  I’m not participating in VP Bingo except to try (try!) to correct the record on Governor Shapiro regarding public education because I live in PA.

    Patience and perseverance, steady as she goes!

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