Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

We’re not going back!

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

I also would like a pony to improve my balloon juice experience.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Consistently wrong since 2002

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

It’s a new day. Light all those Biden polls of young people on fire and throw away the ashes.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

“Joe Biden deserved better than he got from some folks in his own party.”

I was promised a recession.

Another missed opportunity for Jamie Dimon to just shut the fuck up.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

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

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

Everybody saw this coming.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Changing of the Stars

Changing of the Stars

by | 78 Comments

This post is in: 

In a post this morning, I challenged BJ peeps to write an ode to Biden, an ode to Kamala, an ode to Walz. Or a poem, a rhyme, a limerick, a story.

We got some good ones!

On The Road - BillinGlendaleCA - The Milky Way Reimagined. 6
Photo by BillinGlendaleCA

Here’s something thoughtful from Damien that I wanted to share tonight.

Changing of the Stars

Folding quietly, unable to sustain but afraid to fall
A colossal success, the faded sun reviewed its work
Warmth, light, energy, its burn had fueled lives it would never know
Unwilling to abandon the lives its work had nurtured
The sun would not, could not, see its fading
It would not, could not, see the footman with its coat
Arrived and patient, the fearful rush of time implacable
Fear. Fear imperceptible in the lives it saved
Fear of what might come once the sun took on the coat of eternity
Fear readied the sun for darkest collapse
Its love would kill the very lives it wished to save
A maw of malevolent nothing on prowling periphery
Accepting of its own time passing, the sun, the star, fought back
In the only way it could anymore
It gave up its dream of a few more years
To sacrifice for new energy
A bigger star
A stronger light to fight the bitter blackness
The sun gave up its place
For a super nova

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

78Comments

  4. 4.

    WaterGirl

    I am heading for bed, but I want to remind everyone that this is an open thread, so talk about whatever you want.  :-)  Even if that is totally unrelated to the beautiful poem up top.

  8. 8.

    Bupalos

    I appreciate the work, Repect that.

    To me, Democrats are the ones that don’t write poems about leaders. And Our leaders are the ones that don’t want poems written about them.

    the rock star rallies we’re creating right now are about US. They’re awesome because WE are awesome. And the people up in front are a kind of amalgamation. Entities that bow to humanity and derive their dignity from that act, rather than asking humanity to bow to them.

  11. 11.

    The Golux

    I’ve been thinking over the past several days that someone (Subaru Diane?) needs to come up with alternate lyrics for Summertime, Summertime by the Jamies.  Here’s my attempt:

    It’s Kamela, Kamela, Kam Kam Kamela
    Kamela, Kamela, Kam Kam Kamela
    Kamela, Kamela, Kam Kam Kamela
    Kamela, Kamela, Kam Kam Kamela
    Ka-a-amela time!

    Well no more right-wing bigotry
    And no phony religiosity
    And no more damn misogyny
    Because it’s Ka-amela time!

    Suggestions welcome.

  15. 15.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @The Golux:

    Ooh, I like that a lot! I’m in bed for the night, but might play with putting in a verse or two tomorrow. Though I don’t know why I should — you’re on a roll!

    ETA: I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I do love your nym. The 13 Clocks is one of my all-time favorite books.

  17. 17.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    My daughter’s family live with me and our bedtime ritual is me reading to the twins [boy and girl, IVF]. We happen to be on a Wrinkle in Time.

    Damien’s poem calls to mind Mrs. Whatsit and her fight against the Black Thing. An apt coincidence.

  18. 18.

    The Dark Avenger

    “In a surprising move, Azathoth, the Crawling Nuclear Chaos who slumbers at the center of the Universe, issued a press release about his disappointment with Donald Trump in failing to bring terror, death and global annihilation to the world. Thru his spokesentity and Messenger of the Old Ones Nyarlathotep, he had to admit that the stars were in fact, not right, and further stated that JD Vance will pay dearly for his incompetence.”

  20. 20.

    PsiFighter37

    90 days to go. I hope the Dem speechwriters are cooking up new stuff, because the DNC speeches are being done now (and hopefully different from current stump speeches), and they should be more reactive in real time to Vance’s latest stupidity or Trump’s odd absence (along with everything else).

  26. 26.

    Lyrebird

    Thank you Damien, a beautiful poem.
    I saw that this morning  and didn’t have time – was hoping WaterGirl might do this very thing!
    Didn’t predict the great Bill in Glendale illustration to go with.

    @No One of Consequence: hee hee hee.​
     

    @KatKapCC: ​
      Oh, I like that too!

  27. 27.

    4D*hiker

    This is a wonderful poem capturing the emotions and dynamics of those dark three weeks in July—-grief, anger, fear, betrayal, humiliation, humility, resignation, acceptance, courage, and, ultimately, sacrificial love, pride, and hope.

    Love the complementary photo, too. Another artist at work.

  29. 29.

    Ishiyama

    Higgledy Piggledy

    Biden our President

    didn’t have energy

    to keep fighting Trump

    Calling on Kamala,

    Coincidentally

    Tossing the Trump campaign

    into the dump.

  30. 30.

    JCNZ

    @VeniceRiley‘s comment on August 6: “Walz is the guy that would have been our father and grandfather had they not been captured by the full on right wing media onslaught psychological warfare. He’s the man we all lost to them. He will draw a lot more than anyone thinks. I about sobbed watching him.”

    Heather Cox Richardson in her column today: “A number of observers are saying that part of the genius of the Walz pick is that he seems to many people to be the dad and grandfather stolen away by the right-wing rage machine…” [email protected]

    What a time to be alive! 😂

  37. 37.

    The Golux

    @SiubhanDuinne:

     

    The 13 Clocks is one of my all-time favorite books.

    Alas, I have neither an indescribable hat, nor a describable beard.

    I think Thurber used those words as a tweak to Harold Ross, the New Yorker founder and editor-in-chief, who hated writers using the word “indescribable”.

  47. 47.

    KatKapCC

    @karen marie: She spends most of the time doing choreographed dance routines that involve a lot of leg movement. She can’t do that stuff wearing jeans. Beyoncé often wears similar garments. They need maximum ease of movement.

  48. 48.

    Damien

    Oh my gosh, I just came back to BJ from dinner to see my poem on the front page! Thank you so very much for the kind words everyone, and I’m honored to be highlighted by WaterGirl alongside the incredible BillinGlendale’s photo. Truly not something I ever expected, and it made my whole day.

    I felt today the reality that all the things that seem to us eternal eventually fade, becoming new fixtures for someone else to call immortal; Joe Biden is the last of the Boomer presidents, and it’s hard to believe that’s possible.

  50. 50.

    Citizen Alan

    I swear to God. There is not enough Wellbutrin and Clonazapane to get me through this election season  if they start Swift-Boating Tim Walz.

  51. 51.

    Chet Murthy

    @SFAW: Omigod.  He’s drawing dead.  He can’t survive as the VP nominee, he just *can’t* …. can he?

  53. 53.

    NotMax

    The little ones should all be abed by now, so here goes. Very quickly dashed off.

    A fellow who now goes by Vance
    Gave furniture more than a glance
    “That couch is so svelte”
    He thought to himself
    While stirrings occurred in his pants
    .

  54. 54.

    SFAW

    @Citizen Alan:
    Better stock up, since they’ve already started (as I expect you know).
    One of Karl Rove’s go-to moves was attacking/ratfucking an opponent’s strengths. Let’s hope the Dems have figured out how to do a scorched-earth response, since they’ve had 20 years since the original Swift Boating.​

    ETA: What name was Vance using when he was in Iraq? [ETA2: Hamel, apparently. He seems to have changed his last name around the time he was writing “Cletus Elegy.”]

  57. 57.

    NotMax

    @SFAW

    And on the steps of a -police station.

    Which public servant signed off on closing down access within and making that a political platform?

  58. 58.

    SFAW

    @NotMax:
    Well, given the size of the “rally,” it’s not clear there were enough people to block the doors. “Hey, buddy, can you get out of the way? I need to go file a theft report.” Probably more of the MSM than actual supporters there.​

    ETA: Distinguishing between professed supporters, and stealth supporters (i.e., MSM), of course.

  59. 59.

    NotMax

    @SFAW

    From what I’ve seen the gaggle of flags and phalanx of uniformed officers effectively blocked ingress.

  60. 60.

    SFAW

    @NotMax:

    I think the bigger deterrent would have been citizens saying “Eww, I have to walk near that couchfucker? Ewwww!”

  61. 61.

    Jay

    @knally:

    Funny how a quick application of law and order, coupled with Antifa showing up, and swift justice*, has an quelling effect on Nazi’s.

    *the first guy charged, less than 3 days after his riot participation, was arraigned, tried in front of a jury, convicted and sentenced to 3 years in jail. no parole.

  62. 62.

    SFAW

    @SFAW:

    Relative to Swift Boating:

    “JV Pance thinks he can trash-talk someone who was in the service for 24 years, when Pance’s only claim to fame (re: military) was doing some shitty PR work in the Public Affairs unit in Iraq after Desert Storm? The unit which made the Iraqis hate us more at the end than they did when Desert Storm started? Well OK then.”

  63. 63.

    Yutsano

    I had typed this earlier but stupid touchpad erased it before I could send it.

    I made some bomb ass spaghetti con aglio e olio tonight. I got to see two beautiful works of art. I’m going from cautiously optimistic to just plain optimistic. Not there yet but getting there. I think we might even hit the trifecta.

  71. 71.

    MomSense

    @JCNZ:
    I saw that!!! I know this was a tough process for most here, but we really needed to make a change.  Now we can feel what it’s like when we have enthusiasm on our side and we can see the results of voter engagement.  The conversation has completely shifted to optimism and what is possible.

  73. 73.

    Liminal Owl

    @Ishiyama: ooh, that’s excellent too. (And I’m always a sucker for double dactyls. I blame early exposure to NY Magazine competitions. ) (Outdated now, but last year I was trying to write one for Cassidy Hutchinson.)

  78. 78.

    Anyway

    Bravo Damien! it’s lovely – I missed it when it was first posted – thanks WG for highlighting

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