Please please please oh god please run on unelected tech billionaire creeps telling you your life has to be worse for abstract reasons. I want President Gallego to come in with 60 senators. https://t.co/YuXBuHZhsj
— Shadow Of The Nerdtree (@agraybee) November 22, 2024
the media repeatedly framed the election as "social issues vs lower grocery prices" and now that trump and muskites are in power they reveal their actual agenda is "we can get by with less" and collective sacrifice. bait and switch!
— Michael Tae Sweeney (@mtsw.bsky.social) November 22, 2024 at 2:10 PM
jason calacanis one of elon musk's hangers-on fascist buddies
— Michael Tae Sweeney (@mtsw.bsky.social) November 22, 2024 at 2:13 PM
conservative ideology in a nutshell: *you* get austerity and unemployment, *I* get a free government bailout when my magic beans investment goes pear shaped
— ryan cooper (@ryanlcooper.com) November 22, 2024 at 2:25 PM
They are really fucking stupid, though. They just might try.
— Clean Observer (@hammbear2024.bsky.social) November 22, 2024 at 2:41 PM
very funny that Trump put Elon in charge of a government 'department' with no statutory powers, no budget, and no employees, and he's on Twitter talking about which public officials he'll order arrested pic.twitter.com/HOoLizNCmf
— The Great El Wokismo (@canderaid) November 25, 2024
The push to fire Government workers is actually a scam designed to funnel even more money to government contractors and management consulting. The dirty secret of "smaller government" is that it benefits management consulting firms. The works still has to get done, but with 40% overhead.
— Jon B. Wolfsthal ?? (@jonatomic.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 10:41 AM
I mean, look at the trial run results…
So Musk's genius cost cutting has led Twitter's market value to drop 80%. Genius. https://t.co/7zJ17RPN2R
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) November 25, 2024
Elon Musk is a DEI hire. They literally created a fantasy government department for him.
— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) November 24, 2024
https://t.co/0cOxUwfBbX pic.twitter.com/qCGHiJUk2A
— Bakari Sellers (@Bakari_Sellers) November 22, 2024
Yes, Mr. Musk sir, please cancel the F-35 program after you end social security and Medicare as we know it. I’m begging you. Please do this. Maybe abolish the Marine Corps and McDonald’s while you’re at it. Lick that third rail. It tastes like chocolate.
— Starfish Who Can’t Think Something Witty (@irhottakes.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 6:17 PM
comrade scotts agenda of rage
I’ve said this repeatedly based on decades of experience: “reducing” the federal workforce means a greater increase in contracting…with much higher costs.
Per the link above, it’s a scam.
Rusty
“Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate” made me spit up my coffee, in a good way!
Baud
Still an open question whether DOGE will be financed with taxpayer money.
M31
so telling that Musk goes to ‘air force pilots get laid’ and says drones can do it better (“but I can’t get laid” is the subtext lol)
they really want fem-bots from westworld to be real, but I’m pretty sure that it didn’t work out that well in the end for the fem-bot clients
SpaceUnit
At this point I no longer have faith in American voters to figure anything out, no matter how bad things get for them.
They’re just going to keep jamming that fork into the wall socket and blaming Dems for the pain.
Miki
Finally. An unapologetically legit job for folks with Oppositional Personality Disorder.
Sand + Gears = Resistance.
West of the Rockies
@SpaceUnit:
And Democrats will continue to receive blame because they are so unbelievably rude in reminding the willful idiots that they are idiotic.
“We’re not stupid and bigoted! We just have economic anxiety!”
Chris T.
@West of the Rockies:
We’re told not to say that to them, that it just entrenches them further.
They’re still stupid and racist and misogynist, we’re just not allowed to say so.
Chief Oshkosh
@West of the Rockies: About the most effective way to respond to this is “Well, the American people voted for this. I guess some people will benefit from [the train wreck being discussed] more than others.”
This avoids directly calling the recipient stupid and bigoted, which just gets them mad, but does make them feel like a loser.
Which is good.
Baud
I wish enough of us got mad when they insult us.
matt
they’re LEADING with shared sacrifice, lol.
SamR
As part of the drive to “get by with less,” I’d like Calacanis to specify how much less he needs than the 100 million he is currently worth.
Baud
I can’t blame billionaires for believing Americans will fall for whatever they say because half already do.
Ksmiami
Guillotines and tumbrels
JetsamPool
I was under the impression that these folks intended to replace the government services they cut with nothing. As in, oops, we can’t process your taxes because we shut down half the servers at the IRS and fired 80% of the workforce. Repeat for other agencies/departments/etc.
Ukai
@Chief Oshkosh: I’ll have to remember that one. Thanks!
Betsy
Fragile untested white male is fragile and untested
WaterGirl
well, I can see that this has a very good chance of being an ugly, defeatist thread. that’s a sure way to make sure that the worst happens.
danielx
With Elon at the helm it’s a guaranteed clusterfuck.
But hey, HE doesn’t have to get re-elected. Assuming, of course, the orange beast doesn’t declare himself president for life a la Vladimir Putin or Robert Mugabe. Both of whom ran or are running their countries’ economies over the high side and into the Grand Canyon.
Chief Oshkosh
@matt:
And they are not explaining the shared benefit. Hell, shared sacrificing during WWII was BARELY shared and BARELY sacrificing compared to most other countries directly involved.
What is the big pay-off for all the planned “shared” sacrifice? They can’t even make a good case for decreasing the debt, and even if they could, what great mass of citizens actually understands national debt, or deficit, much less cares about it enough to sacrifice a even one thin dime for it?
Chief Oshkosh
@Ukai: I stole it from another jackal.
Scout211
Boris Epshteyn is under investigation for running a pay-for-play scheme for Trump appointments.
CNN web archive version.
. . .
Grifters gonna grift. Ephsteyn’s not going anywhere, but at least he got caught.
Jeffro
in all fairness to the tech bros/MAGAts (what’s the difference?)…they already sold their own FoxBubble audience on many, many things that weren’t true:
They know they have a significant ‘audience’ of home-grown North Koreans…why *wouldn’t* they try to push the limits of belief?
Jeffro
saving this for future use, thank you verra much!
Dangerman
What did his voters expect? If he’s wearing oversize shoes and a red ball on his nose, chances are good he’s a clown.
Me, it’s all about Thanksgiving for a few days. Closest I’m getting to politics is making sure there is a scoop of Ice Cream next to that slice of pumpkin pie (i.e. “Remember the a la Mode”).
Jeffro
If it helps, I get mad enough for five replacement-level Dems at the most borderline of MAGA insults.
#ForceMultiplerFro
danielx
Moderation?!???
Leto
You’re talking about Halliburton and KBR, right? We already had the trial run, we know how it went. This is the full implementation.
prostratedragon
@WaterGirl:
Would a dance from 13th century Venice brighten things? (Gets going after a slow intro.)
Starfish (she/her)
@Baud: DOGE will be financed by selling NFTs of bored apes. Unfortunately, the bored apes have lost much value.
different-church-lady
Excuse me Jason, what is this thing I supposedly want again?
Scout211
True. But there are no emojis! LOL.
I personally am trying to stay engaged but skip over the ugly and the defeatist.
WaterGirl
@danielx: Guessing that you either changed your email or that you are commenting from a new device?
Harrison Wesley
@Starfish (she/her): That’s why they’re planning on unionizing.
different-church-lady
Now me, personally, I think it’s great that they’re telling everyone how they’re going to fuck everything up months before they actually get the chance.
cain
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
They pay their corrupt buddies the money who don’t do a lot of work and everything is more expensive.
How fun.
Leto
@Dangerman: I bought a pecan pie and apple crumble pie today. Absolutely did not forget to get a good quality vanilla bean ice cream for them. It’s gonna be a good turkey day.
different-church-lady
@Starfish (she/her):
Wapiti
@Chief Oshkosh: It’s like a gold mine, the way gain and pain is distributed. Some rich guy gets the gold and everyone else gets the shaft.
opiejeanne
I blocked “God” on bluesky today. He was pushing Nina Turner as a good source of information about why the election was lost, and announced that he was a Bernie Bro. This is godpod, so not The Tweet of God. That account never smirked about being truly progressive, as opposed to a liberal.
OT, but we finally got heat in our house today, after a week without it. The power went out during the “bomb cyclone” on Tuesday night, came back on Friday but we couldn’t get the heater to run. I kept hearing that no repairman could even look at it before Wednesday. Today I found someone who came a couple of hours after I called, installed a new capacitor, and we have heat. I swear, I am too darned old to enjoy the camping in the snow lifestyle. The temp at 9am was 59F indoors.
different-church-lady
@opiejeanne: I’m so old I can remember when Bluesky was going to be a liberal paradise!
opiejeanne
@different-church-lady: Austerity for thee but not for he.
lowtechcyclist
@Leto:
What’s a good quality vanilla bean ice cream these days? Breyer’s used to be my go-to, before the bean counters took it over.
opiejeanne
@Dangerman: Me too, and I am choosing, joy for now. The turkey is being dry-brined in the fridge for the next 3 days, I need to process a pumpkin from the garden for pie, and I need to find the stash of gingersnaps for the pumpkin pie crust.
Martin
Is he behind bars? No? Then he wasn’t caught. Like all of the other Trump adjacent crimes, we’re going to let them run around free, continuing to do their crimes until they get pardoned.
If you catch someone stealing your car – they go to jail which at least has the immediate effect of stopping them stealing cars.
We really need to rip the blindfold and scales off of every lady justice in the country. It’s about as respectful to the country as a statue of a benevolent slaveholder.
satby
@Baud: I got you covered friend. I get mad enough for two or three extra folks. And I say what I think.
Leto
@lowtechcyclist: I’ve found the Tillamook brand to be pretty tasty. It’s actually hard to find a just vanilla ice cream. Breyer’s is still there, but like you said, just not that great anymore.
TBone
@lowtechcyclist: Ben and Jerry’s and Turkey Hill won best vanilla ice cream on ATK but I prefer Haagen Dazs.
Breyers is inedible in any flavor.
ATK stated that vanilla “flecks” are not a good sign – they are ground from beans already used in making extract/other products. They said vanilla extract gives a much better flavor in ice cream. As does less air.
Miki
@Chief Oshkosh: Exactly. And exactly where I’m going. Transphobia like homophobia like misogyny like racism like antisemitism, etc., etc., etc. If you are that, you are ignorant. If you stay there, if you close down and refuse to learn, you are exactly that – transphobic, homophobic, misogynistic, antisemitic, etc., etc., etc.
Doug R
@M31:
IIRC, 2nd season had Dolores on horseback firing a rifle at “clients”
Leto
@opiejeanne: so I’m doing my traditional liquid brine, but this year two changes: 1) adding herbs to the brine and 2) injecting the breast meat (I bought a bird with just breast meat) with that flavored brine. This will be a combination of Alton Brown’s long established turkey recipe that I’ve used for the past, damn near, 30 years but combined with Brian Langerstrom’s variation to it (brine injection). I tried a few different styles the past few years, and was told: we miss that really good turkey. Got it.
opiejeanne
@different-church-lady: Yeah, last week. Today it seems to be absolutely FULL of idjits like this. Heck, Threads and Twitter were a better place to be online.
I can only take so much despair right now, and being without heat for a week made me focus on things other than the pending horror, but I am aware of what’s going on.That’s why I started going to the very liberal Bear Creek UMC two weeks ago, and it’s providing me with community that I needed. The pastor is kind of hilarious, and everyone seems glad to know me. (They don’t know me yet, that may change)
The musicians are a delight and the pianist wants to find a piece for 4 hands for the two of us, but I’m not sure I can still play. My hands are very stiff, partly from arthritis and lack of practice. Someone asked if they had heard me singing harmony during a hymn, and I should have told her that I wasn’t doing it on purpose (I don’t know the hymns they’re using and I don’t have access to the scores yet). I may have to join the choir in self defense.
Leto
@TBone: Yeah, Turkey Hill has some good flavors. I have a Turkey Hill convenience store just a few mins away, I should check them out again.
dmsilev
@lowtechcyclist:
Ironically, bean counting is actually helpful in making vanilla ice cream.
opiejeanne
@Leto: I watched Alton Brown’s “Danger Birds” series of short videos, all about the three most ridiculous ways to cook a turkey. My favorite was the Norwegians coating the bird in molten glass. I know the Icelanders are using the cooling lava to cook a number of things, but they’d probably roast a puffin rather than a turkey.
Geminid
@opiejeanne: I’m not surpised to hear that about Nina Turner. It’s like that whole Bernie crowd has come back out with a common theme song:
And it is a lot like 2017 now.
I can think of one difference though. There seems to be a much higher level of animus towards that crowd on the part of Democrats.
opiejeanne
@Geminid: Yeah, and I was plenty damned mad in 2017.
Princess
@Scout211: The Epshteyn story has all the hallmarks of half of Trumpwotld already at war with the other half of Trumpworld and I welcome the news that the knives are already out. It’s journalistic malpractice however to run the story as it is and not point out the bigger story, which is the internal conflict. I smell a journalist who wants to cultivate Trump sources and who in return is willing to be their stenographer.
danielx
@WaterGirl:
Neither one from what I can tell. And surely ‘clusterfuck’ isn’t triggering moderation or BJ has certainly changed its standards.
Soapdish
About a decade ago we were having issues with our furnace as well. Got down to 45ºF in the house that night. :-)
Scout211
It’s a long news story and there was some of that in the reporting that wasn’t in my excerpt. Granted, it was a side note but it was covered.
Soapdish
Has anyone here tried the mayo rub on turkey?
https://www.foodandwine.com/cooking-techniques/mad-genius-tips-mayo-turkey
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Princess: Well, there’s this [11/23 Sharp elbows and raised voices: Inside Trump’s bumpy transition] (WaPo gift link)
It seems Musk and Epshteyn don’t get along.
lowtechcyclist
@Leto:
@TBone:
Thanks for your suggestions! I’ll keep an eye out for Tillamook, I don’t recall having seen that brand. And I love Turkey Hill’s Double Dunker flavor; maybe I’ll see how their vanilla bean is.
jowriter
@TBone:Van Leeuwen makes excellent vanilla ice cream. Pricey, but Thanksgiving worthy.
moonbat
@Princess: The story is important for other reasons too. I know people keep saying “Don’t focus on Trump the person but instead on his policies” but I think that once it becomes clearer that 45 is non compos mentis the 64 billion dollar question is going to be “Who is actually minding the store?”
If Epshteyn is cutting deals on his own behalf and not his boss’ my guess is, it’s him.
My (admittedly faint) hope is that the cultists will be upset if they realize their idol is not actually running things. It’s high time to spread some of this political disillusion around.
danielx
His transition team has just now noticed that he channels whatever he heard from whomever he spoke with last, whether or not that conflicts with what the previous person he spoke with said? Get with the program, people! Your guy has the attention span of an Irish setter on meth! Deal with it!
Jay
@opiejeanne:
BlueSky is being flooded by Nazi’s and Trolls because there are almost no Libtards or Media on The Dead Bird Site, so the only people they can fight with and insult are each other, (which they are doing).
So the block feature is getting a good work out.
cain
@moonbat:
there will be a lot of “give trump a chance, the dems have really fucked everything up, he’s trying to fix it” for the first 8 months or so.
I’m wondering if the press will concern troll about inflation like they did with Biden? I suspect that with bird flu epidemic the price of eggs are going to be soar but they’ll also have a cover for that.
If there is one thing that right winger media outfit has – it’s the ability to make excuses for Trump. It’s why nobody can remember what the fuck he did his first term.
p.a.
Lyrics time.
“And when we ask them how much should we give,
They only answer more More MORE…”
Republican voters:
“Living is easy with eyes closed,
Misunderstanding all you see…”
Leto
@opiejeanne: I haven’t seen that series, and that sounds a little crazy!
@lowtechcyclist: I know Tillamook is a Pacific NW brand, and they do cheese and butter as well. Let us know if you what you find!
Steve LaBonne
Who is going to tell that mental and moral degenerate Calcanis that Bill Clinton balanced the budget and then Greenspan and Bush decided that was a terrible idea and “fixed” it?
Nelle
@Soapdish:This reminds me of New Zealand in the winter. No central heating and single pane windows. Regularly in the 30’s, sometimes below. I wore a knit hat to bed and in the daytime, wore fingerless gloves when reading or crocheting and used a portable room heater. I used to note that, inside, I was warmer in Fairbanks, Alaska (central heating and triple-pane windows) at -30 than in more temperate center of NZ’s North Island.
trollhattan
Self-driving Model 3 to self-driving F-35—SMOP! He’ll have this nailed by March.
Kayla Rudbek
@Martin: apparently in Germany the statues of Lady Justice do not have blindfolds on. I’m not sure how old that iconography is but it was that way back in the 1970s…
Chief Oshkosh
@moonbat:
The people who are really going to rule are the people who put JD Vance and Mike Johnson in place. Full stop. It’s why Vance has not been participating – he (rather, Thiel) doesn’t want to be anywhere near the several train wrecks that are coming down the tracks. Johnson similarly has tried to stay out of it all.
Trump soaks up all the media attention while the truly evil sharpsters are getting what they want.
WaterGirl
@dmsilev: What chocolate cake are you making this year? If you have told us about it, I have missed it.
WaterGirl
@danielx: Well, you were in moderation not SPAM, so if nothing is new, I don’t know what happened.
trollhattan
Area man late entry into Trump cabinet sweepstakes.
Man, Eureka Union School District was this close to snagging a real winner.
Avalune
@SpaceUnit: I worry about that too – every time we think ok yeah we have to let it get really bad to teach them a lesson. I have little faith they can put the two and two together.
Lyrebird
@opiejeanne: I’m so glad you’re finding some like minds and likeable musicians! Your smile really lit up that Proof Of Life photo I saw recently, and you and Mr. Opie Jeanne deserve allll the nice frenz.
Kristine
@Jeffro: It is a good line
WaterGirl
@Avalune: A lot of voters are downright ignorant or gullible and lacking discernment.
Repeatedly having to downgrade your view of many fellow citizens is not, shall we say, ideal.
Avalune
Yeah yeah turkey. I’m looking forward to the béchamel yummy mac and cheese. Just pass the whole tray over here I’m good.
Sanjeevs
@trollhattan: Another low level pawn
Thanks Garland.
Avalune
@WaterGirl: no, it isn’t. I’m not trying to be defeatist and I’m not cheering on let it get awful so they can seeeee. It’s just all bad and I’m doing my best over here.
Leto
@Avalune: Between you and the boy… why am I cooking anything else
Edit: she really has been talking non-stop about this mac’n’cheese for the past week. I got all the stuff today for it, found the four cheeses I need, and yeah, it’ll be darn good.
Avalune
@Leto: That’s an excellent question. Haha! You well know I’ve been eating my weight in emotional support Mac n cheese. I like what I like man. We’ll enjoy the rest of it too – that’s just the bit I’m most looking forward to.
Betty
@SamR: Based on the billionaire response to a slight increase on their taxes, I would say this sacrifice isn’t intended to include them.
SpaceUnit
@Avalune:
They won’t. Over the last twenty days I’ve had to accept the fact that I’m living in a society that is functionally Illiterate and impervious to reason or logic.
I can’t see a future.
Jay
@Avalune:
Does it have a cheese crust on the edges?
Betty
@Geminid: Yes. I started receiving emails from the Bernie people last week. Quickly unsubscribed. I guess they think Democrats still see Bernie as a viable alternative.
Steve LaBonne
@WaterGirl: You mean people googling “did Biden drop out” on November 5 wasn’t a sign of intelligence?
karen marie
@SamR: I hate to break it to you but Calcanis might have access to and/or control 100 million but he’s not “currently worth” shit.
I don’t understand how the jamokes who voted for this shit show did not understand that anything that doesn’t benefit Trump and Musk and their wrecking crews was going to be treated as expendable.
karen marie
@WaterGirl: YOU’RE NO FUN! I haven’t laughed this hard in a while.
These stupid motherfuckers are about to enter the FO stage, and I’m here for it. I don’t care if I have to eat cat food in my last years because the motherfuckers are going to find out how incredibly stupid and wrong they are and always have been. I don’t even care if they acknowledge it.
karen marie
@Scout211: So what, he got caught. It’s not like he’s going to suffer any repercussions. This is how Trump and his people do business. The only sin – and clearly Trump’s crowd doesn’t even see it as a sin given Epshteyn’s not going to suffer any repercussions – was doing it where people not bound by an NDA could see it.
karen marie
@TBone: Can I sit with you? I too am a fan of Haagen Dazs ice cream. Vanilla is my go-to flavor since I discovered how really nice it is with a drizzle of a good quality local honey.
Central Planning
“We can get by with less” means we are raising taxes on billionaires?
opiejeanne
@Soapdish: It was 45 indoors at one point during the power outage. We had the heater for a few hours on Friday night, and it brought the temp up to 70 before conking out. It’s not fun.
opiejeanne
@Leto: YouTube has the Danger Birds series. Each episode is under 5 minutes, IIRC.
opiejeanne
@Nelle: I couldn’t live like that any more, I’m too old. We used to have a little cabin in the mountains and on a visit to it one year it took 24 hours for the wall furnace and the fireplace to bring the temp up into the 60s. I was a lot younger then and we all coped.
Roberto el oso
@Scout211: regarding Epshteyn’s removal: “…it does not appear the transition team will heed that recommendation…”
No doubt a friendly whisper on a phone call from Moscow suggesting that Epshteyn remain in place was all it took.
jefft452
@Chris T.: Call them stupid and bigoted
THEY WILL NEVER VOTE D ANYWAY
Do not pander to them, it just makes you look hapless and weak to those who might vote D
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Guys, take the lesson from Trump’s latest break up to heart, the way to your special love’s heart is with Surface to Air Missiles.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@karen marie: What Epshteyn got caught at was being Putin’s proxy in Trump world while Putin isn’t going along with Trump’s awesome plan to end the Russo-Ukrainian war.
Kathleen
@Geminid: It’s about time.