Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Donald Trump, welcome to your everything, everywhere, all at once.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

Giving up is unforgivable. ~Joe Biden

The revolution will be supervised.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

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

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

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

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

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Washington Post’s Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

He imagines himself as The Big Bad, Who Is Universally Feared… instead of The Big Jagoff, Who Is Universally Mocked.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / The Universal Constant

The Universal Constant

by | 163 Comments

This post is in: 

Via commenter Kelly in Cole’s post below, some math from John Rogers:

27 percent never fails

First actual laugh I’ve had since Tuesday night, albeit a bitter laugh. I’ve got a pal who is despondent about the election coming over this evening. I’m going to order us curry and then set up my projector screen and force him to play The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for a while. Good for him to be taken care of, good for me to do some taking care of.

Not eating much. Lots of paid work on, which is a helpful distraction. Moving forward with various proactive practicalities. I’ve also convinced my family (the sane half, anyway) to move group chat and communication over to Signal from WhatsApp.

(P.S.: If you’re following Books of All Time, episode 19 will be out late on Friday. For obvious reasons.)

Reader Interactions

163Comments

  1. 1.

    ArchTeryx

    Doesn’t matter if I am first or not. I’ll be the first to be shipped to the camps, too. And there’s a brownshirt army living right next to me waiting to be activated.

    Maybe that’s why I am suddenly posting so much. If I suddenly go silent, that’s why.

  7. 7.

    Geminid

    It looks like two “Tossup” Congressional races in the Portland, Oregon area are falling the Democrats’ way. In Oregon’s 5th District, state Rep. Janelle Bynum leads Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer by 8,000 votes with 75% counted. This district extends from the southern Portland suburbs east to Bend.

    And on the Washington side of the Columbia River, freshman Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez leads challenger Joe Kent by almost 12,000 votes with 82% counted. Like Bynum’s Oregon 5th CD, Perez’s Washington 3rd CD has a large suburban component along with exurban/rural counties.

  8. 8.

    Betty Cracker

    I love “Books of All Time,” and so does Bill, who is not normally a big podcast guy. I’m taking a brief road trip today, so it will be an opportunity to catch up. Rose, thanks for the heads up about the latest episode drop time.

    About that road trip: I’m traveling about an hour each way to have lunch with my favorite aunt, as I frequently do. We were supposed to meet last week, but I had to cancel to take one of the dogs to the vet (he’s fine now). We rescheduled for today.

    My aunt is a funny, smart and fierce woman, a hardworking nurse who was like a second mother to my siblings and me growing up. She didn’t have an easy life for numerous reasons, but through steely determination, she made a good life for herself and served as an example to us.

    All my life she’s been there for me, giving me a place to land as a teen when things were bad with my parents, providing advice and encouragement, supporting me at every step. My recent illness hit her hard, and she’s been there for me during that too.

    But she’s also a right-winger, as are most voters in rural north central FL. She’s not a MAGA swag-wearing cultist, but I know she voted for the beast in 2016, and I assume she voted for that shambling, demented, gelatinous orange bag of liposuction clinic medical waste in 2020 and this year too.

    We rarely talk politics — the last time we discussed it was Thanksgiving 2016. She brought it up, and my unvarnished response hurt her feelings. I hope she doesn’t bring it up today because I’ll have a lot to say that she will find unpleasant to hear.

    I despise the orange beast to the depths of my soul and contemplate his return to power with horror for countless reasons. But I resent most keenly that the sumbitch revealed the poor judgment and character flaws of about half of my beloved family members. I really hate him for that.

  9. 9.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: My Eternal Student is a Portland resident and helped put Bynum over the top. At least someone in the family will have an election to celebrate. Yay!

  10. 10.

    Rose Judson

    @Geminid: Thank you so much for this tiny scrap of good news.

     

    @Betty Cracker: I’ve got an aunt who sounds a lot like yours, right down to the devastating political views. It’s so tricky and painful to navigate. I hope your visit goes as well as it possibly can.

  11. 11.

    Yutsano

    I threw myself into work today. Helping people solve problems with the IRS was calming especially since I could just sit at my desk and mumble out loud. I also did some overtime today. Then when I was done I got to tidying up some things around my room and just stayed busy until I made linguine with Calabrian salami, mushrooms, and lacinato kale. Now I can’t sleep because I’m having a nervous attack in my hands.

    Oh and I’m dreading who his Secretary of the Treasury will be.

  14. 14.

    Elizabelle

    @Yutsano:  No one good for SecTreasury.

    But good on you for the other good things you did today.  Hang in there.  Survive.  Resist, and thank you for what you do for those you serve.

  15. 15.

    Elizabelle

    @Betty Cracker:  Great comment Betty.  Hope you have a great visit with your aunt, who might be wise enough to STFU and realize what a grief this is for you and others.

    Your last sentence:

    I resent most keenly that the sumbitch revealed the poor judgment and character flaws of about half of my beloved family members. I really hate him for that.

    Yep.

  16. 16.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker:

     

    @Rose Judson: Janelle Bynum was born Janelle Sojourner Irick in Washington, D.C. and is 49 years old. After earning a degree in Electrical Engineering at Florida A&M, Bynum took a job with GM and then earned MBA at the University of Michigan.

    Bynum’s career eventually took her to Japan, but ~20 years ago she and her husband decided to return to the US so they could help out with her mother-in-law’s several Portland-area McDonald franchises. Then she got into politics and served six years in the Oregon legislature.

    So now it looks like Janelle Bynum is headed back to where she started out 49 years ago. She definitely took the long the long way around.

  18. 18.

    Quinerly

    @Elizabelle:

    Actually 10 inches. They are talking about a total of 44″ in  Las Vegas, New Mexico (the original Vegas) an hr north of me.

    JoJo back under the comforter. I am on such a crazy sleep schedule. Up at 2AM and eating some Green Chile Posole that I made Mon. Hope I can go get back to sleep.

    Have a pretty good day. Typing “wonderful” or “great” seems too weird.

  19. 19.

    Jay

    @rationalman:

    ULine was just the first search that came up. Sorry to hear they like so many others, are dirtbags.

    I used to work for 3M, you can buy it directly or through dozens of other retailers. It’s a good product, if you need to deal with bombs, break in’s or bullets.

  20. 20.

    Betty Cracker

    @Quinerly: Dang, that’s a lot of snow! Must be quite a shock for handsome Jojo.

    Trying to imagine how my yappy monsters would react to snow. They’re unlikely to ever encounter it, but they do dislike the morning frost we occasionally get in the depths of winter.

  22. 22.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Quinerly: I think we have a foot in Denver.
    supposed to get 6” on Friday. I’m not in the mood for shoveling, and there are things I needed to do out in the yard that aren’t done.

    I’ve been on upside down sleep timing for months, have not gotten it to shift back, terrible for the daytime things I need to handle.

    The land needs the moisture.

  23. 23.

    Quinerly

    @Betty Cracker:

    He doesn’t really freak. A Northern NM pup to his core. He does get cold very easily.  Loves his fleece, insulated puffer, and wool coats. When it is cold, he goes and looks at his basket with his attire.  His mama dresses him well. Yesterday was an in and out day. Coats on and off probably 15 times.

    When are you back in your place?

  25. 25.

    TBone

    I’ma need an anger translator today.  When I woke up, it was exactly like the day after a cherished love has died.  That blank, unholy feeling of loss was instantaneous.

    My rage has only just begun and I must find constructive ways of putting it to use fighting, so it doesn’t burn my skin off.

  27. 27.

    MagdaInBlack

    @TBone: That feeling, is exactly how I felt yesterday morning. And this one

    I told a friend it felt weirdly similar to the night my husband died

    @TBone:  When I saw that quote I wanted to vomit.

  29. 29.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: These two districts caught my attention because they are so similar demographically, and also in their recent political history.

    Up until 2022, both were represented by veteran politicians who might be considered “Centrists” within their respective Parties– Republican Jamie Herrera Butler in WA03 and Democrat Kurt “Fu*king” Schrader in OR05.

    Then Rep. Butler came in 3rd in her “jungle” primary after voting to impeach Trump, and Democrat Perez barely squeaked by Republican Joe Kent in November.

    Meanwhile, Oregon 5th CD Democrats decided “that Blue Dog don’t hunt,” and liberal activist Jaime McLeod-Skinner beat Schrader in their primary. McLeod-Skinner went on to lose a close election to Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

    But there may be some Law of Conservation of Blue Dogs in effect up there because when she got to Washington, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez promptly joined the Blue Dog Caucus.

  31. 31.

    TBone

    @MagdaInBlack: hugs.

    My battle against alcoholism, which is genetic, was so easily won years ago that it felt like just lazily rolling off a log.  Now I’m craving a drink first thing in the fucking morning and that has never happened to me ever ever ever before.

  33. 33.

    Quinerly

    @Gloria DryGarden:

    I forgot to put the floating heater in the koi pond. Must do that today. I am trying to finish up this kitchen cabinet update started 9/30. It has taken longer and I blanked out on yard stuff that didn’t get finished. Very impressed with the cabinet guy and his work. He owns the NHance (highly recommend this company) franchise for Northern NM. He does all the work himself so we have gotten to know each other pretty well since he has been here 6 hrs a day 3-4 days a week. I actuallyhave enjoyed learning the process. Stripped down and sanded all the finish off the old maple cabinet boxes, added crown and additional moldings, new panel doors milled in Utah. Then all stained to match the vigas and other exposed wood. It’s been a process and looks great. Less than a 1/4 the cost of new cabinets. He was supposed to be back today to put on all the hardware, but I am using the snow as an excuse to postpone. We have chatted politics a bit. He had had an argument a couple of weeks ago with his Harris supporting wife and son, who is in film school. Said he just couldn’t vote for either candidate, especially Harris. I am not mentally prepared to be around him or anyone today. Afraid I might start screaming or crying hysterically.

  36. 36.

    Elizabelle

    @Quinerly:  My sleep schedule is weird too.  Got enough; up in the early dark hours; just had scrambled eggs and English muffin.  Will see what the day brings.

    Will not be snow.

  37. 37.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Baud: From the article:

    “White nationalist Nick Fuentes posted, “Your body, my choice. Forever,” and gloated that men will now legally control women’s bodies. His post got at least 22,000 “likes.” Right-wing influencer Benny Johnson, previously funded by Russia, posted: “It is my honor to inform you that Project 2025 was real the whole time.”

  38. 38.

    Betty Cracker

    @Quinerly: We hope to return home within the next 10 days, but it depends on whether the river recedes enough to make our road passable. God, I hope it does. Living in town is driving all of us, dogs included, nuts. I miss my waterfowl.

  40. 40.

    Debbie(Aussie)

    Being late as usual, I need to ask has anyone been looking into the possibility of the turd cheating? He projected it through the entire campaign.

    i am devastated for all of you and know you will stand up in support of each other or do whatever else you are capable of. I have grown to love this country through this blog, full of caring, compassion and community with the occasional irascibility.

    i am off to hospital on Saturday for four weeks. It is a private psychiatric hospital where I will be having treatment for anxiety and depression, rTMS (Repeative Trans cranial Magnetic Stimulation). Good timing. Although mostly a lurker, I will be as I have for 15+ years reading every day. Keep me in your thoughts.

    you are all very special to me. I know that together you can accomplish a great deal.

    regards

    Deb

  41. 41.

    Betty Cracker

    @MagdaInBlack: Here’s hoping Fuentes shoots his own dick off while mishandling a firearm. With a .45 slug. Though I feel confident a .22 would be more than adequate to vaporize such a shriveled member.

  42. 42.

    MagdaInBlack

    @TBone: My battle was alcohol and sedatives, which ended in 2010, with no desire ever for either. But the cannabis dispensary god saw fit to place a block away has been, well…. a god send 😊🌻

  43. 43.

    TBone

    @Debbie(Aussie): some few USAians have raised that alarm (Brian Beutler is maybe where I saw first rumblings of that and telling Kamala to not concede yet, but I can’t really remember where I read it).  I know I feel cheated.

    But…decorum and norms.

    GAH!

  45. 45.

    TBone

    @MagdaInBlack: hallelujah and amen to that!  I’m on break because of recent overindulging but I might hafta rethink that again today.

    I’m so glad you overcame that horrible monster!!!

  47. 47.

    Geminid

    @Gloria DryGarden: I was also glad about Eugene Vindman. That election was a little too close for comfort, but I think now that Vindman has won that seat he’ll hang on to it. Republicans will try hard to unseat him in 2026 because he and his brother Alexander are considered arch-villains by Trump loyalists, so that will be a high profile contest.

    Demographic trends in the 7th CD ought to favor Democrats going forward. I live in the far southwest corner of the district, and even here the Yankees keep a’coming. Being one myself I don’t mind too much.

  49. 49.

    TBone

    @MagdaInBlack: yep, my rumpy neighbor was out giving the leaves in our public street a blowjob with not one, but TWO gas powered leaf blowers last evening, one in each hand now (a new development).  But when he saw me stand up, put my hands on my hips, and laser out my very best STINKEYE, he turned right around and stopped trying to decorate my front lawn with detritus.

    They are such pussies.  But this guy knows if he manages to knock me down (very doubtful), hubby will be standing right there with an open can ‘o whoopass.

  54. 54.

    lowtechcyclist

    @TBone:

    Just remember there’s nothing official or legally binding about a concession speech.  If evidence of cheating were to turn up, having made a concession speech wouldn’t affect her standing to challenge the results.

  56. 56.

    TBone

    @lowtechcyclist: 💙 I don’t want to appear as a conspiracy nut, and I cannot remember where I read that article yesterday damnit (it wasn’t Beutler). It has some good information and I should have saved it.

    Here is a keep the faith thread that looks ahead with clear eyes first.

    https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1854249669653565702.html

    I am joining my very local to me Episcopal church where gay people can marry and there are solar panels on the roof.  It is merely the first step in my plan to resist fiercely.

    I want “She was fearless.” on my tombstone.

  58. 58.

    TBone

    @Professor Bigfoot:

    HINKY

    HINKY

    HINKY

    There. I said it (again) and now I feel better.  I don’t expect others to follow that but it makes me feel better to vent out the bad and inhale some fresh, clean thought.  So thank you for attending my TED talk 😆

  60. 60.

    TBone

    @prostratedragon: ❤️

    I had a BF who wore a Union suit all winter, every winter.  I wish I had known it was originally ladies wear, so I could have razzed him about it!  He much preferred it to traditional long underwear and I don’t blame him, he was an “the old ways are best” guy and taught me a lot.  He was a tile and bricklayer/stone mason and he could make the most beautiful mosaic art…

  62. 62.

    WereBear

    @Betty Cracker:

    But I resent most keenly that the sumbitch revealed the poor judgment and character flaws of about half of my beloved family members. I really hate him for that.

    Likewise, it is very hard for me to think of them as Americans, now.

    Since they missed the WHOLE point.

  68. 68.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @rikyrah: Me too, and I haven’t shown a lot of ability to resist imparting unkind words on people for various types of political dipshittery.

    I had to leave work yesterday because I felt myself wanting to tee off on a couple coworkers, people I genuinely like talking to, because of the dumb shit I was hearing out of their mouths.

    Especially the “they’re all corrupt so it doesn’t matter” bullshit I was hearing from a young guy black man who voted for Trump.

    I’m really inclined to tell the “they’re all the same” crowd just not to show up from now on. If you really think there’s no difference, why don’t you leave the decision to the rest of us?

  69. 69.

    JPL

    @rikyrah: Same.

     

    Imagine signing up for DACA and waking up on Wednesday.   I feel so bad for those that signed up thinking that would protect them.

  70. 70.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @TBone: wishing you great success in all your endeavors for 5he resistance. We’re all lucky to have you.

    Rooting for you.

  71. 71.

    JMG

    Alice made a lovely dinner of chicken thighs baked over potatoes in a lemon-garlic sauce. Then I took two Benadryl and went to bed at 8:30. Much to my relief, I slept (didn’t Tuesday night). My anxiety panic of yesterday has been replaced by a kind of glum calm. Knowing myself, that’s a step on the road to ready to go at it again. Should be there by Thanksgiving. If the Republic can’t handle an old fart taking a couple weeks off to let it look after itself, we’re doomed anyway..

    Please note: I don’t think we’re necessarily doomed, not at all. But rest and refit are a necessary part of any arduous endeavor.

  72. 72.

    Geminid

    @Debbie(Aussie): I hope these weeks will be positive ones for you. My landlord Bill had lived with depression for a long time when he was treated through TMS a few years ago. Bill found it made a real difference.

  73. 73.

    narya

    I had held off ordering my last batch of free covid tests, but I just put in my order now . . .

  74. 74.

    JPL

    Southern schools have been cutting spending for public education for the last few decades, now with trump’s promise to do the same, girl sports will be on the chopping block.

  77. 77.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @Baud: Also “young guy black man”

    Like, autocorrect, make it make sense. Firstly, gay is a legitimate word. Also ‘u’ and ‘a’ are at opposite ends of the keyboard. Chrissakes.

  80. 80.

    narya

    Things I want before the orange shitstain is inaugurated: Biden commutes all federal death sentences and pardons as many (non-violent) people as possible, especially those convicted for pot. Biden pardons Hunter for anything and everything he has done before January 20, 2025. Jack Smith’s report is released and actually covered: I want ALL the details in there. (IIUC, this is happening.) As many federal judges confirmed as possible. That’s what I have right now–and if I can think of it, sitting in my sunroom, I’m sure Joe has thought of it.

  82. 82.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Quinerly: there were two young adults at a potluck Saturday, who said they couldn’t  vote for Harris or trump. When I said you must be watching Fox News to think and believe so poorl y of Harris. The guy said, he’s read up a lot of things, he’s very well informed. So I just gave up. But sheesh.

    it’s especially hard when someone seems a good person, then you find out how they’re voting and thinking.

  83. 83.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @narya: Biden should preemptively pardon anyone who wants to riot and burn retail facilities who participated in the fake crime wave stories the last two years.

  85. 85.

    Chris Johnson

    @TBone: Heh. I ditched Twitter and had been taking pains to delete fake followers and not see creeps like Fuentes etc, so I did not see what Heather saw.

    These people are fucking IDIOTS. ‘it is my honor to inform you that Project 2025 was real the whole time’??

    Jesus fuck on a BIKE.

    As near as I can tell, the Republican electorate was desperately avoiding even going to Trump rallies and going ‘na na na can’t hear you!’ at the top of their lungs, clinging to the army of pundits and media people who in turn were lying 24/7, on purpose and in an organized way, that NOOOOO all of that is filthy lib lies don’t listen, doesn’t it seem extreme, do you want to vote for left-wing extremists?

    Holy SHIT. They are throwing the entire basis for what could possibly be ‘kind of’ a democratic win, on the basis that if you fool the people hard enough they will legit vote for you, they are throwing it away.

    If you think that pivot is good for Republicans, then you think that they all agreed with what WE said Trump was, and wanted it, rather than going ‘na na na can’t heaaar you’. And if that was true they would have gone to his rallies, and it is shocking how many of them took pains to NOT go see him or listen to what he was saying! They needed NOT to hear.

    Thank you, TBone, for that link. I did not realize the Russia and Groyper guys were so up their own butts and such fools that they would think they had gotten an ideological mandate after running on ‘no actually all that stuff they’re saying is lies’.

    Holy SHIT. They think they can go ‘surprise! it was all true, and now you have to like it because you believed it was all liberal lies and they were actually telling the truth!’

    How much ketamine does it take to believe that telling a huge number of heavily armed, lied-to people that they were lied to, is a good idea? And yet some of them are doing that on day one.

    They’re supposed to MAINTAIN the kayfabe. They can’t make their shit work unless they maintain the kayfabe.

  86. 86.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @narya: and find a way to protect our intelligence workers, set things up differently. Because a. They’re in danger one mr leaky gets in, and b. Our allie# won’t be trusting us.

  87. 87.

    narya

    Also maybe, if it can be coordinated: Kagan and/or Sotomayor retire and Shumer confirms young justice(s). Also liked this piece by Amanda Marcotte (Slate)

    ETA: I’ve been supporting Bad-Ass Cross-stitch (Shannon Downey): she’s all about getting stabby with needle and thread and fabric.

  89. 89.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @TBone: i was gonna check, but got caught in the ukraine/ foreign policy affects from this election. Adams thread was quite informative.
    and i need to sleep, I’m up late again.

  90. 90.

    JPL

    @Baud: The repub ad that received so much attention was about a woman who is a 62 yr old grandmother who signed up for a community college team 12 years ago.   Yup, it wasn’t a high school team and my readjusting the photo, it made the girls  look shorter.   She was not a star player

  91. 91.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @narya: of course. Needs to be top secret.
    no idea his state secrets and high security stuff can be kept safe. That man would never ever pass a security clearance.

  92. 92.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    The only thing the Lincoln Project accomplished was to build themselves new beach homes using Dem donor money.

    I gots to say as a former intel officer, the national security implications of this election are dire.  Liz Cheney’s right about that (wrong about damn near everything else but spot on about that).

    Time to get up, dust off and continue the fight.

  93. 93.

    TBone

    @Chris Johnson: I wish the “like’ button I am slamming right now were real.

    Yours in service,

    TBone 💙

    Who will NEVER forget or forgive.  Fani resides in a special place in every heart emoji I’ve ever used.

  95. 95.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @JMG: if we aren’t doomed, you could explain why you think so and talk me and a few others off the ledge…

  96. 96.

    catclub

    @TBone: I would like to point out the difficulties of accepting a conspiracy theory of cheating.

    1. It was extremely widespread. But there is more than one type of voting machine.
    2. It did not switch any solid blue states.
    3. They got the latinos and blacks to answer the exit polls that they switched their votes to Trump.
    4. Trump got the same 71M he got last time.
  98. 98.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    One of the things I was looking forward to in a Harris victory was Trump being gone from the public stage. I wanted him out of my head. And I work up this morning thinking of him. I really take this.

  99. 99.

    prostratedragon

    @TBone:  That detail about union suits amused me too. Be funny to see what might happen if that became more widely known. On the other hand, I really admire craft.

  101. 101.

    The Audacity of Krope

    This was just the kick in the pants I needed to sell my balls to that wizard to join his sex cult.

  102. 102.

    lowtechcyclist

    @narya: ​

    Things I want before the orange shitstain is inaugurated: Biden commutes all federal death sentences and pardons as many (non-violent) people as possible, especially those convicted for pot. Biden pardons Hunter for anything and everything he has done before January 20, 2025. Jack Smith’s report is released and actually covered: I want ALL the details in there. (IIUC, this is happening.) As many federal judges confirmed as possible. That’s what I have right now–and if I can think of it, sitting in my sunroom, I’m sure Joe has thought of it.

    Sounds like a pretty good list to me.
    I’d add: massive arms shipments to Ukraine between now and January 20. So what if Congress hasn’t OK’d them? Executive action, baby. And have the limitations on their use against targets within Russia expire on January 20.​
     

    ETA:

    Also maybe, if it can be coordinated: Kagan and/or Sotomayor retire and Shumer confirms young justice(s).

    Yeah, this too.

  103. 103.

    Rose Judson

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: What you described is the single thing currently breaking through the fug of anxiety to make me really fucking pissed, oddly enough.

    Spoke to a cousin with a trans kid. They’re looking to get from their current red state to New York or Maryland, where LGBT rights were just enshrined in the state constitutions, and then GTFO of America. Can’t blame them. Not sure where they’d go, though. Scandinavia?

  104. 104.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @lowtechcyclist: And have the limitations on their use against targets within Russia expire on January 20.

    A nuclear holocaust would totally undo any benefit the rest of the biosphere will see from the end of human civilization. Let climate change do the job. It’s worth the wait for our furry woodland friends.

  105. 105.

    JMG

    @Gloria DryGarden: I think so because Trump is bound to alienate the swing voters he just won. If he was content to just play golf and let the status be quo, he could leave office as popular as Ike was in 1960. But his nature means he can’t, and the crackpot chorus he’s surrounded himself with won’t let him. So for the nonpolitical voter, the one who determines our destiny, there will be pictures of people looking perfectly innocent being roughed up and put in vans by ICE. Tariffs will mean the guacamole on their Chipotle order now costs $6 bucks extra. And sad to say, pictures of Russians entering Ukrainian cities and of terrified Ukrainian refugees on the roads out of their towns will be on TV, too. The nonpolitical voter won’t like any of that. They believe (otherwise why choose Trump) that politics doesn’t really have any effect on anything, except that the President is a wizard who controls all reality. And since they dismissed warnings about Trump’/’s authoritarian plans as the usual political bullshit, they are going to be shocked on those occasions when they learned they weren’t.

    TLDR: Trump and his allies will fuck up their new turn at bat because they will try to impose deeply unpopular policies that will offer the average person little if any reward.

  106. 106.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @JMG: there will be pictures of people looking perfectly innocent being roughed up and put in vans by ICE.

    You mean antifa?

  107. 107.

    Chris Johnson

    @catclub: I feel like part of the very weird decline in Dem turnout is down to cheating. Not sure it can all be chalked up to that, but I’m sure there was some of it, such as in places like Florida where they made a big point of refusing Fed oversight. Some places like that and Texas are pretty upfront about doing whatever they want.

    What clicked for me over the last couple days, was figuring out… look, I’ve got neighbors that I suspect are Trumpers. I spoke with them about my house painting, and they seemed… blissed out. Like Jesus came and they watched him walk out of the sky on rainbows. These are people who tried to give me clothing because they thought I was so poor I didn’t have any. But they were real happy.

    This is not cognitive dissonance. This is refusal even to see. They’ve been getting told by so much of the media that we’re the crazy ones, and they’re trying to be kind and forgiving but they just want to be safe and for good to prevail.

    Boy, did they fuck up.

    These are the people who, on some level, knew to NOT go to any of Trump’s rallies. On some level they know something is wrong but it’s easy to tell them it’s our fault. They’re sheep, they’re flickering dimly, they’re not very aware. They’re waking asleep. They’re dim herd animals.

    But the campaign had to lie to them to keep them calm and walking into the slaughterhouse (if you think they’re safe ‘cos they’re white fundie believers, check out the array of scams to strip them of every penny they own: they’re not safe at all)

    When people like that vote their beliefs and dreams, that’s democracy, not cheating. but THEY are cheated. It’s not false democracy but it’s a scam, it lacks legitimacy because those people had to be lied to for years and years, at great expense and effort.

    Now the Groypers and Russia ops seem to think it’s a great time to go ‘surprise! we were Hitler all along, no take backsies!’.

    WOOF. I wonder if those people have the sense to shut the fuck up. That’s the worst thing for them to be doing right now, and the best thing for us, just when we’re most powerless to do a thing, our literal enemies seem to want to break the kayfabe.

  108. 108.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @Gloria DryGarden: A long, difficult fight ahead with no guarantee of victory at the end isn’t the same as being doomed, as I see it. I’m looking around the internet and seeing a lot of people licking their wounds and gathering their strength. The author Ursula Vernon compared it to her cancer diagnosis, which she fought and apparently has conquered.

  109. 109.

    Gloria DryGarden

    “fill the sky with the light of a billion brilliant stars, the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service,”

    –  MVP Kamala Harris

  110. 110.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: ​
     

    One of the things I was looking forward to in a Harris victory was Trump being gone from the public stage. I wanted him out of my head.

    This. I know we were all looking forward to just not having to think about him anymore. Josh Marshall was talking about how people on our side were exhausted from the fight against Trump, and I emailed him to say it wasn’t just the fight we were exhausted from, it was his never-ending presence, whether he was in power or not: there was just never a time when he wasn’t at or near the top of the news.

    We were all longing for a respite from that at long last, and now we get another four years of it. It’s like getting to the end of a marathon, and finding they’ve tacked another ten miles onto the end of the course.

  111. 111.

    Mel

    @TBone: It is that same feeling, isn’t it? That unmoored, yawning emptiness.

    I’m trying to keep busy, but all I want to do is crawl under a blanket and sleep. Sleep doesn’t come, however. I’m going to try to make myself go outside a little today, call and check on my nieces and sister-in-law, get some food down.

    One step  at a time, we’ll push our way through this, even if we have to fucking crawl at first.

    Thank you for your strength and your wit and your courage.

  112. 112.

    JML

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Seriously. Having him GONE as the focal point for everything political would have been amazing. 4 more years of his narcissistic publicity hound insanity, cruelty, and incoherent lying is going to be painful.

    And since he doesn’t actually do the job, he won’t get ground down in the same way health-wise that other Presidents do now. They’ll keep propping him up for the full term…

  113. 113.

    JPL

    @JMG:  They’ll say it was Biden’s policy and the cult will believe him.

    btw Because of his policies, Social Security will start paying out more than it’s taking in.    It solves the housing crisis because older people are staying in their home longer.   They might have to sell because of cuts to Social Security.   That will be Biden’s fault also.

  115. 115.

    lowtechcyclist

    @The Audacity of Krope: ​
     

    A nuclear holocaust would totally undo any benefit the rest of the biosphere will see from the end of human civilization. Let climate change do the job. It’s worth the wait for our furry woodland friends.

    Why on earth would Putin start a nuclear war against the United States of Trump?

  116. 116.

    TBone

    @Mel: 💙

    And it is still true, no matter how old we are – it is always best to hold hands and stick together when going out into the world.

    – Robert Fulghum

  117. 117.

    Another Scott

    @JMG: +1

    I’m terrible at predictions, but there are lots more Never Trumpers than there were in 2016.  Competence in government still matters, finding competent people will be difficult, and TCFFG won’t be able to just post a blurt on his online platform and have it happen.

    E.g. GovExec.com:

    Homeland Security Department

    DHS, perhaps more than any other agency, sits at the center of Trump’s vision for government. He has promised mass deportations of undocumented immigrants on a scale never before seen in U.S. history. To do so, he will look to grow DHS’ immigration related agencies, deputize the National Guard and alter asylum policy to allow for more expedited removals. Trump has promised to hire 10,000 additional Border Patrol agents, saying he would ask Congress to approve a 10% across-the-board raise for all agents and implement recruitment and retention bonuses of $10,000 for new hires and existing staff. Reaching that goal could prove difficult, as Border Patrol has failed to keep pace with attrition in recent years despite offering incentives double or, in some cases, triple what Trump has proposed.

    (Emphasis added.)

    Yes, it will be bad. But we cannot obey in advance. There are lots of friction points in the government, and in society, and we must not make it easy for the monsters.

    Best wishes everyone,
    Scott.

  118. 118.

    Gloria DryGarden

    Re nick Fuentes and his quote in heathers letter, and actually a few other people, a story:

    As a teen

    I stayed with my moms cousin, who became a second mom of sorts to me. She was a feminist, often a lesbian, and worked in school psychology. She gave a card, that she said I could give to anyone who raped me. The card said

    “you’ve raped me. This card is chemically treated, and your dick will fall off on 7-10 days.”

    I’m giving us each a box of these virtual cards to use as needed for rapists , fuckers, and lying nation-destroying fuckery.

    I know, it’s just a dumb old fantasy. Not exactly schadenfreude, but here ya go, fafo. Esp, FO.

    what’s that quote “hell hath no fury like a ____ woman”

  121. 121.

    Chris Johnson

    @JML: Unpossible. The dude is obviously cooked and as President nobody is in any position to shut him up, perhaps not even Putin, though he will side with Putin on everything else and give all military secrets to Putin openly now because he can. Maybe he’ll call it a merger.

    They won’t be able to shut him up. It will have to be more of the same from the media sanewashing him, just as before: that part won’t change.

    I am not sure how easy the media will find it to sanewash Groyper and Russia op gloatings. Remember the main job of so many people has been to say ‘well, that’s probably not true’. They’ll have to pivot to ‘well naturally we wanted this all along and of course so does everybody want this’, as they’ll have no choice.

  122. 122.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Chris Johnson: ​
     

    Holy SHIT. They are throwing the entire basis for what could possibly be ‘kind of’ a democratic win, on the basis that if you fool the people hard enough they will legit vote for you, they are throwing it away.

    I suspect they believe that now that they’ve won the election, why should they care about democratic legitimacy? Trump’s won and the Supremes have said he can do whatever official acts he wants; why should it matter how he won?

    It’s still an open question. We’ll need to prove them wrong. Not sure yet how we go about doing that.

  123. 123.

    narya

    @Baud: Well, yes, but some of it is a response to FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt): the belief that, if I make THIS prediction, and prepare accordingly, then I can beat back FUD. Sitting with uncertainty, trying to figure out what’s the “next right thing” I can do, knowing I might choose wrong, is just fking hard. I mean, it’s ALL hard at this point, but uncertainty and fear make it all worse. But you likely know all of that.

  124. 124.

    JMG

    There were 10 countries in 2024 that held what we would regard as reasonably free and fair elections. In ALL of them the incumbent party was defeated, often much more badly than were the Democrats on Tuesday. This indicates that Trump and the GOP had little to do with their victory. It was part of a worldwide reaction to the pandemic and its aftermath.

    PS: I know Trump was President during the pandemic. That’s why he lost then, too. The trauma of that event and the economic disruption is caused has not been addressed, therefore it still exists.

  125. 125.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Going by my conversations with the normies at work, they were voting for a bunch of economic BS. As it been said that’s really the Covid.  Never mind Trump was president when the pandemic started, Biden was president when it ended, so that makes Covid Biden’s fault.  The hilariously bizarre thing about this election is Trump may have got re-elected for a disaster he created.

    The one thing that truly shocks me is how unaware so many people on the left are about anti-Black racism among Latinos.  I mean I live in deep blue, SF Bay Area California, land of all that hippe stuff, and South Oakland, California has had basically a race war between blacks and Latinos since god knows when, and in a fine example of Critical Race Theory in action, no one cares because it’s minority on minority violence.

    That point was drummed home to me last year when I had to dump a vendor because the supervisor at the site that company we were getting Liquid Nitrogen from was Hispanic, all his drivers were black,  and he would treat them like shit, so his drivers were demoralized and constantly calling in sick or quitting.

    While I am shocked, I was quite concerned about what would the Latino vote do over a black women, so I am not surprised it turned out like this.

  127. 127.

    dww44

    On my phone is a blurb from Apple News (I don’t subscribe)  “Today’s podcast: Inside Trumps winning message and Democrats play the blame game….i turn on tv and Morning Joe is doing just that…”Democrats need to figure out what they did wrong and why they lost so resoundingly if they’ve got the will to look in the rearview mirror. Dems have to meet the voters where they are. Everyone is timidly agreeing with him.  When Mika talks about all the disinformation that was out there…he replied then figure out how you surmount this.  He literally consigned the party to being in the hinterlands

  129. 129.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Baud: ​
     

    people love to assume their predictions are infallible.

    I’m trying to remember the last time I made a correct prediction. At this point, I think my predictions are infallibly wrong.

  130. 130.

    TBone

    @Chris Johnson: you just described a former BFF girlfriend who I now can no longer speak to because I know how she voted, despite my many very best efforts to the contrary.  I’ve known her since we were 13 y.o. and she is my DelCo doppelganger, only blonde.  I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive her, and I want to verbally tear her apart into little tiny pieces.  So I will maintain cease and desist, no contact, radio silence with her.  We used to gab for hours a day…

  131. 131.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Geminid:

    Not much need for Putin to start a nuclear war when he’s already smuggled the equivalent of a nuclear bomb into the White House.

    Indeed. He’s got no more need to start a nuclear war with the U.S. than he has with Belarus.

  132. 132.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @lowtechcyclist: Make enough predictions, and you’ll learn to be surprised when one comes true.

    For example, I had a feeling that the celebration of the New York Yankees being defeated in humiliating fashion was a bad omen, much as it was in 2004.

    I never said the surprise at being right would be a pleasant one.

  135. 135.

    Kay

    I have a friend who work(ed) for Sherrod Brown. I sent her a quick email just checking in how she is (out of a job) and she wrote back – “we can get together and commiserate when you return from your trip – like we did after the loss 20 years ago”

    2004. When we tried and failed to beat GWB in OH. I found that comforting – that she and I have been here before.

  136. 136.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @TBone: Know the feeling. I may be encountering some such people when I fly back home to visit my sweetheart over Christmas. I’m hoping the exposure is minimal, because there are two or three who I’d have to tell that I’m only seeing them because they’re family, because I wouldn’t choose them for friends.

  137. 137.

    JMG

    @dww44: Beltway SOP. The week after the election, all commentary is that the losing party is doomed to permanent minority status unless they make the changes recommended by the pundit. About five months after the 1964 election (now there was a landslide for you!), a respected Washington reporter published a book with the title “Is the Republican Party Dead?” Richard Nixon didn’t think so, and he was right.

  140. 140.

    gene108

    @Chris Johnson:

    As near as I can tell, the Republican electorate was desperately avoiding even going to Trump rallies and going ‘na na na can’t hear you!’ at the top of their lungs, clinging to the army of pundits and media people who in turn were lying 24/7, on purpose and in an organized way, that NOOOOO all of that is filthy lib lies don’t listen, doesn’t it seem extreme, do you want to vote for left-wing extremists?

    I am of the opinion anyone who votes Republican is almost totally committed to their policies and the personality of someone like Trump.

    They admire adultery, sexual assault, stiffing vendors, filing bankruptcy to stiff creditors, etc.

    They want billionaires to become trillionaires and run the planet.

    I give them no benefit of the doubt.

    Edit: They also want a national abortion ban, despite results in some state ballot measures, pollution, outdated interior technology in their products because the oligarchs and Republicans want to stifle competition with tariffs, etc. The black men and Hispanic men who voted for Trump want police reform undone, so when they’re victims of police brutality, their options at accountability will be limited. All Trump voters want all of it. They are adults. Do not give them the benefit of the doubt.

  141. 141.

    YY_Sima Qian

    It’s good to remember that the US is not in fact, all that exceptional:

    Democrats join 2024’s graveyard of incumbents
    Governments across the world are struggling in this period of economic and geopolitical turmoil
    John Burn-Murdoch 9 HOURS AGO

    The actual analysis in the FT article is pretty weak, but there is definitely an anti-incumbent wave as part of the ongoing rise in anti-establishment populism. In Poland, the UK & India the reactionaries were the establishment, but in the US, France & Portugal unfortunately it was the Center Left, Center & Left (respectively) that were in power.

  142. 142.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @Kay: 2004. I was working the Kerry campaign that year. Weirdly, I got interviewed by someone from the FTFNYT as to how I could square being a Kerry volunteer and a Yankees fan, especially with the Yankees-Red Sox series going on at the time. (I think I must have commented on a blog about it somewhere.)

    Then came the loss, the in-yo-face celebration, and the kicking of the losers while they were down.

    And then came the loss, the in-yo-face celebration, and the kicking of the losers while they were down.

    Been a Yankees fan since I was about ten. But I didn’t hate the Red Sox until 2004.

    And that year was when my feelings about the Republican Party crystallized, and I realized that I’d be dead and dust before I ever considered voting for a Republican again.

    Not after they embraced the schoolyard bullies.

  144. 144.

    Another Scott

    @Quinerly: Hang in there.

    Thanks for the N-Hance pointer.  Our kitchen has needed a makeover for about 30 years and we dread the process.  (We still have the original yellow push-button GE range from 1963…)

    Good luck!

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  145. 145.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR: ok, thx. Great analogy, and makes sense. Like fighting cancer. You fight, you do the things, you don’t know, but you do what you can. Takes bunches of courage.

    First thing is any way we can tear down the misinformation channels and get facts and non sanewashed even reporting.

  147. 147.

    Another Scott

    @YY_Sima Qian: Politics is slow.

    I think we’re still dealing with the results of the housing bubble bursting / Great Recession in the USA.  McConnell and the rest of the monsters knew they could take advantage of the near-depression by strangling the government response and making the recovery slower and spottier than it should have been.  That lead to the 2010 disaster for Democrats in the House, governors, and losses in Senate elections, that lead to more disillusionment by people who want to see progress, etc., etc.

    McConnell and the rest of the GQP have a lot to answer for, but the press has little interest in providing context for where we are now and why.

    tl;dr – Economic disasters lead to people demanding “simple” fixes – blaming government, blaming immigrants, blaming the “other”.  Republicans and right wingers everywhere know this. Even after the economy “recovers”, turning that mindset around is a very long process.

    Grr…,
    Scott.

  148. 148.

    Tazj

    I have been ruminating about the lower Democratic turnout as well, trying to make sense of it somehow. Symone Sanders has been discussing it on tv and social media.She brought up the constant negative ads Republicans were running in swings states that weren’t countered by Democrats while stating that neither she, nor anyone else knows the reason yet.

    Quinerly commented about an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer that interviewed a Democratic GOTV organizer who decided he wasn’t going to go all out and actually do his job because he felt the Harris campaign snubbed him and didn’t pay his organizers enough. Ridiculous.

    This man is a primarily a sports data nerd.
    Computer Cowboy@benbbaldwin

    ”There’s nothing Harris could have done because voters primarily care about their personal finances at the same time as being economically illiterate is kind of an unsatisfying conclusion but here we are.”

    Were there more Democratic votes in 2020 because more states allowed mail in ballots, making it so much easier to vote? Who knows? I’m still incredibly angry at those who voted for him and those who decided they couldn’t be bothered to vote for Harris.

  149. 149.

    frosty

    @JML: He’s already ground down – don’t forget his rally word salad. Although I agree with you it wasn’t from the stress of the Presidency.

  150. 150.

    Quinerly

    @Another Scott:  I am very impressed. I guess it all depends on the franchise in your area. I did a lot of research and all in all the parent company is free of complaints. I liked the idea of a franchisee under a parent company since was a big project with over 50 drawer faces and cabinet doors. And if you just want paint, cheaper and easier. A several layer process with doors, trims, drawer faces done off site in a painting/staining booth. None of this work is cheap. I wanted a quality job with someone I knew would be around and with a guarantee/warranty. All doors custom made to fit. Very quality 5 piece doors. Furniture quality.

    Plus, I wanted a specific stain match since open kitchen. I just don’t think painted would look right with style of the house. The old cabinets were a really yellow/light (ugly with the other wood) maple from 1993.

    Good luck. If you have more questions or need a referral thru the guy who is doing mine, get my email.

  151. 151.

    Quinerly

    @Tazj: thanks for the acknowledgement. I became very obsessed with exit polls and numbers yesterday.

    Seems the consensus is economic anxiety. The “lived economy.”

    Harris was saddled with Biden’s unfavorably. And millions of voters just don’t care about anything other than the price of eggs, cereal, and gas.

    And, there was no way Biden could have won. We were doomed 107 days ago. The voters will get what they voted for. Most of us will suffer.

  152. 152.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @TBone: so mote it be.
    i tell a story about the light of the stars… it’s not in print yet, it’s more an out loud story

  153. 153.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Quinerly: bunch of salient points were made on the Ukraine thread last night..  plus so much disinformation, folks weren’t hearing what we heard, fell for a bunch of lies.

  154. 154.

    YY_Sima Qian

    On the potential FP implications of Trumps election, from Ben Bland of the Chatham House in the UK (emphasis mine):

    Ben Bland
    @benjaminbland

    Some very initial thoughts about what a Trump victory might mean for Asia. Humans in their late 70s generally don’t change their core views and behaviours much. We know that, in foreign policy, Trump likes trade wars, is not keen on real wars, and has a zero-sum worldview.

    His approach to governing is chaotic & he embraces uncertainty as his MO. I see Trump & Trumpism as a symptom, more than a cause, of the US peaking as a superpower and turning inward. The trendlines trace back to the Obama administration and the failures in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    At the same time, Trump’s re-election is emblematic of, and is likely to accelerate the shift toward, a more contested, chaotic multipolar world.

    For China, the uncertainty of Trump 2.0, & the possibility of intensified trade & tech wars, will present short-term challenges. He has the propensity to make comments that will make the Chinese leadership extremely nervous, especially about red-line issues like Taiwan.

    But the medium-term enshitification of US global leadership is a big opportunity for Beijing to promote its own worldview and exploit cracks in the US alliance system. If you can’t get the America you want, it would be foolish not to take advantage of its own goals.

    Many non-US allies in Asia will be feeling relatively calm because they have long seen the US as a unilateral superpower that will do as it pleases anyway. In this view, Trump just says more openly what Washington has always done.

    Some, especially in India, will even see upside in Trump’s transactional nature. But Trump’s deep protectionist instincts, and the possible turbulence in US-China relations, could make life difficult for many states in Asia, especially those with trade-dependent economies.

    Those with the most to fear are US allies, in Asia and beyond, including here in the UK. We are hitched not just to US power but to the idea of US global leadership. On both fronts, we risk looking extremely exposed.

    As the US inward turn intensifies, rather than just cling to Washington, we need to think carefully about what kind of world we want & what costs we are willing to pay to uphold it. Rather than just wring our hands, we should remind ourselves that the world is what we make of it.

    In terms of reactions from Asia & Europe, I think that’s about right. However, like most analysts he is overly focused on Trump’s person & not enough on the likely radical members of his administration. Trump may be too much of a coward to be keen on real wars, many of his advisor will be. Trump got hoodwinked into assassinating Iranian general Suleimani in Iraq, by his über-hawk natsec advisors & CENTCOM.

  155. 155.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Here is William Matthews, also of Chatham House, on the potential impact to UK FP:

    William Matthews
    @WMatthewsChina

    Trump’s victory will undoubtedly impact the UK & other allies’ approach to China across the board. This will force hard choices but presents an opportunity for the UK & others to forge a more independent path, balancing ties with the US with the reality of China‘s global influence 1/7

    US defence guarantees through NATO at risk – for the UK, this will mean a push for higher defence spending & prioritising defence vs Russia over naval operations designed to deter China in the Indo-Pacific. China poses nat’l security threats to the UK but need not pose military ones 2/7

    In trying to influence China‘s priorities & preserve int’l rules in South China Sea & Indo-Pacific, this means increased diplomatic engagement in the region is a must. For the UK to navigate Chinese influence & Sino-US tensions building meaningful engagement in E & SE Asia will be critical 3/7

    Economically, ramping up US-China trade disputes will make allyshoring difficult, esp combined with potential blanket tariffs on all imports into the US. This could make closer UK economic engagement with China attractive, but this must be approached with an eye on the risks 4/7

    Other US allies face the same challenge – UK should seek to strengthen economic, security, & defence cooperation with them while allowing for but not relying on the US. Scope for coordination among democratic middle-powers on China strategy for econ & nat’l security 5/7

    Tension btwn the UK economic reliance on the US, supply chain reliance on China, & minimising effects of US-China trade war means serious thought is needed abt UK economic security in the long term, esp if US influence in the UK is mobilised vs China & vice-versa 6/7

    Ultimately these are all challenges which would have to be met eventually; Trump has just brought them forward. This should be treated as an opportunity to build a serious national strategy for UK in a world of increasing Chinese influence & US turning inward 7/7

    It is quite notable how quickly think tankers even in the UK are quickly pivoting toward more independent FP (which is probably healthy in the long term for both the US & Europe). Had Harris been elected, I think the rhetoric would be all about closer (but not total) alignment w/ the US on policy toward the PRC in the “Indo-Pacific”, so to ensure the US remain invested in European security.

  156. 156.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Quinerly: The long bout of high inflation due to COVID related supply chain disruptions was damaging. Biden’s resistance to austerity (per neoliberal orthodoxy) avoided a damaging artificial recession and kept employment high (a key Left objective), but at the cost of lengthening the period of high inflation because demand was not artificially suppressed to match the disrupted supply. That was a brave decision, but may have proved politically damaging, especially since a lot of the jobs created are in low economic security service sectors.

    Evidence:

    Lucas Chancel
    @lucas_chancel

    It’s the inflation, stupid.

    Well, talk about voting against one’s economic self-interest:

    Trump’s win could lead companies to push up prices. Here’s why.
    By Kate Gibson
    Edited By Anne Marie Lee
    Updated on: November 6, 2024 / 3:44 PM EST / CBS News

    & it has already moved beyond the hypothetical (emphasis mine):

    Stephanie Kelton
    @StephanieKelton

    In fact, some firms have already announced that they’re gearing up to raise prices preemptively because: (a) they can; (b) consumers have been primed to brace for higher prices due to tariffs. Another convenient cover for seller’s inflation.

  157. 157.

    Colleeniem

    @Another Scott: This was something I had a CPB officer tell me last year. They can’t recruit the number of agents they would “need to be effective”. I don’t doubt that eventually they will have to relax their standards for employment in order to increase their numbers, but this means…those less capable applicants will be inevitably making a mess of things. I don’t envy them, but the organization has become insanely partisan so I’m not empathetic either.

  158. 158.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Colleeniem: Isn’t the CBP & DHS in general already getting the dregs of the pool? Don’t they form the deepest of cesspools of proto-Fascists in the federal government? (Not saying every employee there is a proto-Fascist, but that is where the penetration is the deepest.)

  159. 159.

    Another Scott

    @Colleeniem: +1

    An extra $10k a year isn’t going to make someone pack up and live in the tiny town of Middle of Nowhere Desert, AZ if they’ve got other options.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  160. 160.

    Colleeniem

    @YY_Sima Qian: DHS is not yet all fascists all the way down; some agencies have the legacy to withstand that better than others, IMO. But that will be an extremely heavy lift to keep the CBP character from infecting the whole department, again IMO.

  161. 161.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Colleeniem: Thanks! Good reminder that the DHS is a relatively recent monstrosity cobbled together from dozens of agencies w/ much older institutional memory.

  162. 162.

    Quinerly

    @YY_Sima Qian:

    Thank you. I always read your comments when I can. Glad I jumped back here to catch this and your links. Will save for this afternoon. Much appreciated.

Comments are closed.