Robin Givhan, at the Washington Post — “One last holiday wish from the Biden White House” [gift link]
The mood of this year’s White House holiday decorations tilts between calm and chaos, between rooms that evoke peace on earth and good will toward men, and others that simply advise visitors to eat, drink and get in a good laugh whenever you can.
The decor is not so much a fantasyland of elves and flying reindeer, but a statement of stubborn good will and wishful thinking about the best that the season can inspire.
In the East Room, a canopy of glittering, metallic snowflakes float above trees trimmed in silver and white. Their bases are framed by silhouettes of American men, women and children all holding hands like a population of happy little Whos in Whoville. White paper doves signifying peace fly over the Cross Hall like a gust of optimism. Church bells and sleigh bells adorn the East Colonnade. And in the State Dining Room, thumb-size candy ice skaters make graceful loops in front of a gingerbread White House blanketed with snow drifts of royal icing. If there is any single message, in these decorations inspired by “A Season of Peace & Light,” it’s that no amount of cultural infighting, political partisanship or shriveled-heart meanness shall steal the Christmas spirit on the Bidens’ watch. Grinches be gone…
The planning for these decorations began months ago. Back then, no one could say whether democracy would be saved or America would be waiting to be made great again. Now, each room reads like an exclamation point on the issues and ideas that have animated the Bidens during their time in the White House — specifically the interests of the first lady. The longtime teacher enhanced the White House library with children’s books. Students created many of the decorations, including self-portraits, that adorn the trees in the State Dining Room. And children — and the young at heart — are the audience for the official White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room. The 18½ foot Fraser fir from North Carolina has been transformed into a carnival carousel with animals bobbing up and down on brass-colored poles.
The Gold Star tree, dedicated to the men and women of the military who have given their lives in service to the nation, is the first tree visitors see on a tour of the decorations. It reflects the first lady’s long-standing interest in military families. She and the president count themselves among their number, thanks to the service of their late son, Beau. This year, the tree is akin to an art installation, rather than something plucked from a forest. The memorial is constructed of six graduated stars, each representing a branch of the military, stacked one atop the other. With sunlight streaming in through the surrounding windows, the tree practically glows. Rather than stirring a feeling of solemnity, the tree exudes vibrancy and reminds visitors that the achievements, sacrifices and courage of these men and women are ever present. The gilded tree rebukes those who would suggest that there’s anything but honor and valor in their sacrifices…
The decorations are joyful. They delight. They reassure. They might even leave some adults a bit wide-eyed. It’s the White House after all. That warm, fuzzy feeling? Keep it close. The winter might be very, very long.
And also…
BBC: “Biden’s choice of Angola is significant – he is the first US president to visit the country, signalling a dramatic improvement in relations between the two nations. Angola was firmly in the political orbit of China and Russia after independence” https://t.co/5iGcBYwj0w
— Ben LaBolt (@WHCommsDir) December 3, 2024
A cordial reception was extended to US President Joe Biden in Angola. He is the first the first sitting head of state from America to visit the oil rich African state. Stay tuned to SABC news 404. pic.twitter.com/ff5O5UreBq
— SABC News (@SABCNews) December 3, 2024
Per the Associated Press, “Thousands cheer Biden’s arrival in Angola for his long-promised sub-Saharan Africa visit”:
… Biden’s three-day visit to Angola will focus largely on the Lobito Corridor railway redevelopment in Zambia, Congo and Angola. It aims to advance the U.S. presence in a region rich in the critical minerals used in batteries for electric vehicles, electronic devices and clean energy technologies.
Biden’s trip comes weeks before Republican Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20, finally delivering on Biden’s pledge to visit sub-Saharan Africa. On his way to Angola, he stopped in the Atlantic Ocean island nation of Cape Verde for a brief, closed-door meeting with Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva.
Biden plans to meet with Angolan President João Lourenço in the capital, Luanda, where crowds lined the streets for his arrival, and visit the National Slavery Museum. He also will travel to the Atlantic port city of Lobito for a look at the rail project. He will announce new developments on health, agribusiness and security, White House officials said…
The last U.S. president to visit sub-Saharan Africa was Barack Obama in 2015. Biden did attend a United Nations climate summit in Egypt in North Africa in 2022…
Lobito was made possible by some American diplomatic success in Angola that led to a Western consortium winning the bid for the project in 2022 ahead of Chinese competition, a surprise given Angola’s long and strong ties with Beijing.
The Biden administration accelerated American outreach to Angola, turning around what was an antagonistic relationship three decades ago when the U.S. armed anti-government rebels in Angola’s civil war. U.S.-Angola trade was $1.77 billion last year.
The visit will also draw attention to a perennial challenge for America’s value-based diplomacy in Africa. International rights groups have used Biden’s trip to criticize the Lourenço government’s authoritarian shift. Political opponents have been imprisoned and allegedly tortured, while laws have been passed that severely restrict freedoms, according to rights groups.
Jill Biden's final foreign trip as first lady will close with her and Trump at Notre Dame cathedral
— Associated Press ?? (@asssociatedpress.bsky.social) December 3, 2024 at 11:11 AM
Baud
I sure will. Even if Republicans don’t keep hold of the White House like they did during the Gilded Age, I’m not confident the quality of Dem presidents will improve.
MazeDancer
Missing Joe Biden will be a daily event. At least I have my Dark Brandon and Biden-Harris mugs.
And, yes, that was a PSA segue – just tried my new Insta Frother. Got it to use with oatmilk. And it works with that.
But cow’s milk? Made so much thick foam it exploded. So, gotta use less.
Couldn’t be easier. Put in milk. Push button.
The PSA part – for $30 bucks, makes a good gift for a lot of people.
Elizabelle
Love that they will see Notre Dame. Amazed all the work was completed in five years. Vive la France.
satby
@Baud: I will too, especially the compassion and decency of Joe and Jill Biden. Four years wasn’t enough.
Elizabelle
@Baud: ahead might be a combo 1918 pandemic/Great Depression. We could get a second — alright, third after Biden — FDR.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: You seem fatalistic, something I hadn’t seen before the November results.
He has been the best President since I came to the US which was in the mid 90s. Pushing out their own successful incumbent was an own goal by the Ds
Many white Ds also wanted him gone. So now welcome to apartheid America.
Suzanne
I am incredibly excited by the completion of the Notre Dame restoration work. From the pictures I’ve seen, it looks like they made stunning choices. That altar is just lovely. I’m so glad that Jill is going to get to see it.
Baud
@Elizabelle:
My predictions about the future are just as worthless as anyone else’s. But I’m not certain the party will get better in my lifetime, at least from my liberal perspective.
satby
@Elizabelle: of course it will be sullied by the presence of the convict; who decided to go just as a middle finger to everyone.
Soprano2
So, I’m seeing reports that TCFG might replace Hegseth with DeSantis for Defense Secretary. Not sure that’s an improvement.
Soprano2
@Elizabelle: I would love to see the new Notre Dame. Maybe someday….
Elizabelle
@satby: Ugh. Although. Europeans are good at the subtle diss.
Where is QE2 and her brooches when you need them?
schrodingers_cat
My set of 90 acrylic brush markers, drawing inks and the tabletop easel are on the way. Will be here tomorrow.
Baud
@Soprano2:
He wants DeSantis to appoint Lara Trump to Rubio’s seat
Elizabelle
@schrodingers_cat: Do an illuminated thank you note to President and Mrs. Biden!
Suzanne
@Elizabelle: Charles doesn’t look as good in bright green hats or diamonds.
This royal family is a big bummer, TBH.
WereBear
@Soprano2: Maybe he’s learned sex abuse is not something normal people “get over” not wanting around.
DeSantis is his own repellent.
WereBear
@Baud: Kamala Harris, AOC, and Jasmine Crockett are fantastic.
It’s the electorate that both sucks and blows.
Suzanne
@WereBear:
Well, yes.
Come sit by me, though.
Geminid
Looks like Rep. Andy Kim will be Senator Kim next week. Dan Helmy, who was appointed to replace tbe gilty Senator Menendez, is expected to resign Sunday so Governor Murphy can appoint Kim to serve as Senator for the remainder of this Congress. From this morning’s Politico Playbook.
Gin & Tonic
I’m just very disappointed that the 250th birthday celebration of the USA and the next Summer Olympics will have this country on display under the leadership of these clowns. What a face to put on for the world.
schrodingers_cat
@WereBear: You are forgetting Lauren Underwood. I guess because she doesn’t talk as much and is more focused on passing and writing legislation.
Soprano2
@Baud: Yeah, I know. I wonder, will any of the reporters who are wringing their hands about Joe pardoning Hunter even talk about how corrupt that is?
Soprano2
@schrodingers_cat: She is an underappreciated rep.
Leto
60 Minutes: Notre Dame rebuilt, reverently restored after 5 years (13 mins)
And thinking of Ozark with this one: 60 Minutes: The people who helped resurrect Notre Dame (6 mins)
WereBear
@schrodingers_cat: Oh, there are many who are ready to move into leadership. That is what we need.
catclub
Yes! Give them all timeshares on the frother!
Cheryl from Maryland
I’ll be seeing the Cathedral of Notre Dame next week. Free advance passes for us non-celebrities will be available after tomorrow. As a graduate student, I did many a paper on the 19th C British and French Gothic Revival (both painting and architecture), so I’m particularly pleased the spire, designed by Violet Le Duc, was reinstalled. As for Trump, Macron invited him — as witnessed by the Bastille Day events of the first Trump administration, Macron knows how to butter Trump up but give him nothing of substance.
WereBear
New Pro Tip:
Open Secrets
I will do my best to look up companies before I do business with them. Off my list (and this hurts, it’s the only place to buy clothes locally) Marshalls/TJ Max. Ace Hardware, but we have a good local place. Bali Bras, Hanes, GMC, Dairy Queen, GEICO (we will have to switch.)
Because if they are big donators (not even-donators) I don’t think they are practicing good business. So I will be getting BAD business, and I have had enough of that.
And GEICO drove up their rates and were not helpful about it.
Soprano2
I see that Mitch McConnell is howling in outrage because two Democratic-appointed judges are “unretiring” after the election of TCFG. He’s also “warning” two others not to do that. How can he think anyone takes that seriously at this point? Fuck him with a rusty pitchfork. Cry harder, asshole.
Gin & Tonic
Just saw a news flash that the CEO of United Healthcare has been shot and killed.
Maybe someone got tired of those Medicare Advantage open enrollment ads.
What, too soon?
Bruce K in ATH-GR
@Soprano2: He’s the sort of guy who I’d offer a cheese knife and a corkscrew and instructions on how he could use them to do it to himself.
WereBear
@Gin & Tonic: Never too soon.
Someone might have been turned down for life-saving healthcare… and has nothing to lose.
I know that company, too well. They must only hire psychopaths.
MazeDancer
Wasn’t sure whether to put this here or in the COVID thread, but, apparently, the CEO of United Healthcare has been shot, dead, in midtown Manhattan.
Some discussion of whether it was a targeted hit.
Not to go all unfeeling, but limiting the list to people upset by their insurance coverage should narrow the list of suspects considerably.
Steve LaBonne
@Soprano2: Good thing irony was already long dead.
prostratedragon
@Leto: It is to gasp — and that’s just on my little phone screen. Should I ever somehow get near Paris, that place will be a stop.
Gin & Tonic
@MazeDancer:
Coming out of a hotel on 54th St between 6th and 7th Aves at 7:00 am on a Wednesday, I guarantee this wasn’t random.
schrodingers_cat
@Soprano2: And she flipped a red district in 2018. So she has political skills as well.
NotMax
No hellscape Xmas decorations at the White House this year.
;)
Geminid
@schrodingers_cat: Representatives Lauren Underwood, Andy Kim and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are all members of the House Class of 2018. Kim and Underwood were two of the forty who beat Republican incumbents that year. So did Elissa Slotnik, Senator-elect fom Michigan.
There were a lot of talented Democrats in that House Class, including Interior Secretary Deb Haaland as well as Reps. Mikie Sherrill (NJ) and Abigail Spanberger (VA). This coming year both Sherril and Spanberger will be running for Governor in their respective states.
zhena gogolia
@satby: It sure wasn’t.
schrodingers_cat
@zhena gogolia: And I will always be salty about how some elected and/or prominent Ds treated their own President.
zhena gogolia
@Gin & Tonic: It’s nauseating. For some reason, although other consequences are much more dire, I keep getting stuck on the EMBARRASSMENT
Professor Bigfoot
White America has rejected the Democratic Party because they perceive it as the “Party of Negroes” and who needs uppity Negroes running the country, amirite?
So few Americans* are willing to grapple with the role of whiteness and white supremacy in this election and in the “cultural divide” so constantly decried.
*”In this country American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate.” -Toni Morrison
stinger
The White House decorations sound lovely and inspiring. Nothing in Givhan’s detailed descriptions substantiates her initial claim that any of them “[tilt] between calm and chaos”. What chaos??
Apparently the rules of 21st century journalism include “Must use alliteration. Must show contrast. Must use alliteration to show contrast. One side of the contrast must be negative.”
It’s not only headline writers who try to get eyeballs with language that is not borne out by the substance of the story.
Elizabelle
@Cheryl from Maryland: Yay! Spectacular.
Have never been inside Notre Dame. Goes on the two- year bucket list.
And I hope Soprano gets to see it, too!
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Leto:
Thanks for pointing this out. The best thing about the rebuild is that they’ve done it as it would have been done originally.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/americans-helping-rebuild-notre-dame-12th-century-tools-180979794/
One exception has been the stained glass:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/plans-to-modernize-notre-dames-stained-glass-windows-move-ahead-despite-heritage-experts-rejection-180985070/
catclub
even native-americans
zhena gogolia
@schrodingers_cat: Me too.
prostratedragon
@Geminid: Lauren Underwood winning that election in DuPage County, Hastert’s old seat, was roughly like a young black woman Democrat winning Waukesha. Since the 2020 remap it’s more of a + seat for Dems, though doesn’t look like the voters that were carved out are rushing back to the GOP.
NotMax
@Gin & Tonic
Serving Washington Cake at the detention camps?
“Only $2.50 a slice.”
//
YY_Sima Qian
If the South Korea media reporting is true, then Yoon was not doing the autogolpe as a PR stunt out of frustration w/ the opposition majority in the National Assembly obstructing his plans:
prostratedragon
Pitchbot:
Chief Oshkosh
@Gin & Tonic:
Not soon enough.
Steve LaBonne
Notre Dame of course is wonderful and a must see, but the Sainte-Chapelle should be even higher on your list if you’re in Paris (and it’s right nearby on the Île de la Cité). The stained glass in the upper chapel is one of the wonders of the world. Online photos can give you an idea, but only an idea.
schrodingers_cat
@Professor Bigfoot: Saying this is controversial. Its characterized as sniping. Even here. We speak but we get shouted down and our voices are unheard or if heard unheeded.
NotMax
@Gin & Tonic
Mid-season replacement program rushing into production, Patient of Interest.
//
stinger
@schrodingers_cat: Merry Christmas to all of us! (Assuming you make some of your art public!)
Layer8Problem
@Steve LaBonne: We just saw Sainte-Chapelle in September. It’s frickin’ gorgeous. If you’re going there, make a point of it. And no, photographs don’t cut it.
I had never been, partner had seen it years ago, pre-me. I had wanted to for years. Utterly worth it.
Elizabelle
@Steve LaBonne: That is what I visited! And it’s phenomenal. Skipped Notre Dame because feared crowds. But now, so happy to have her back. I was in Austria the night she caught fire. Devastating.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
Me too.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Disappointed doesn’t even begin to address how I feel. Betrayed is more like it. Betrayed by people I thought were allies.
karen marie
@MazeDancer: How many people are you frothing milk for? I just put an appropriate amount of milk for a cup of coffee in an empty mug, microwave it for 30 seconds, hit it with a stick blender, add coffee, et voila.
schrodingers_cat
@stinger: I will. I have been doing lots of experiments in my sketchbook.
NotMax
Marvelous closed captioning witnessed just now.
Dialogue: “It was the East India Company.”
CC: “It was the Beast India Company.”
;)
Another Scott
@Soprano2:
Official (pre-fire) virtual tour.
I assume they will eventually update it since the restoration.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
There are no allies. Only future enemies.
schrodingers_cat
@NotMax: They were helped by many Indians too. Just like many Rs are helping Russia.
karen marie
@Baud: Isn’t that she busy running the RNC into the ground?
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: I will make two exceptions, black people and Jewish people.
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
LGBT too. Their vote was very lopsided.
p.a.
Oh-oh. Small guy Napoleon complex. Boots.
Coworkers sitting around discussing workboots, Timberland, Carolina, late lamented Dunham etc and 5’2″ Gary dropped a great line: “Look at me, I have trouble finding boots that don’t have Battlestar Galactica printing on them.”
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Yes. Also the AAPI vote, which Harris won by a 38 point margin.
stinger
@schrodingers_cat:
Looking forward to them!
Still on X, or migrated to BlueSky? I’m good either way.
schrodingers_cat
@stinger: In the process of migrating. Right now I am lurking on both sites.
Elizabelle
Noticing emails from nonprofits today: we are still open for Giving Tuesday! Don’t recall as many last year.
People not opening their wallets? Maybe. I am sure watching every dollar, in a way I did not when confident we had President Biden.
YY_Sima Qian
On a different, but also heavy, note, Taiwanese writer Chiung Yao (Qiong Yao, 瓊瑤) just committed suicide. It seems that she wanted to go out on her own terms.
She has written dozens of romance novels, & her novels, as well as the 100+ TV & film adaptations based on the novels, form an integral part of the lived experiences of a couple of generations of people in the Chinese speaking world, & her cultural influence reached further into SE Asia, too. I have never been a fan of her novels, or the multitude of adaptations. Not my cup of tea. However, this is a big blow to hundreds of millions (possibly billion+) of people in the Sinosphere.
She left a lovely note behind (click through the link for the full note, translated into English):
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone 😊 😊 😊
Baud
@rikyrah:
Good morning.
stinger
@schrodingers_cat: [thumbs up] emoji
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
That’s good, but AAPI is probably too diverse a group to lump them all into the good column.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: The only ones that vote R are the Vietnamese from the data I have seen on the past 4 cycles or so.
South Asians have gone for Ds upwards of 70% in the past few cycles.
rikyrah
Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) posted at 10:26 PM on Tue, Dec 03, 2024:
Final House margin: 220R-215D, a Dem net gain of a single seat.
(https://x.com/Redistrict/status/1864164374350344349?t=Y4Oeub2jUOpzcUtNIRJOtw&s=03)
Doug
@Steve LaBonne: I always say that Sainte Chapelle is like walking around inside a sapphire.
NotMax
@schrodingers_cat
One. More. Time.
X spots the mark.
rikyrah
I will miss JoeyB and Dr.FLOTUS 🥺🥺
Elizabelle
@YY_Sima Qian: 86 is a good life. Actually a suicide, or more along the lines of euthanasia? (Am a proponent of the second. Humans deserve dignity.)
karen marie
@Soprano2: Oh, come on – the talking heads will say Biden pardoning his son forced Trump to get his daughter-in-law appointed to the senate. Also it’s Biden’s fault that four years ago Trump pardoned Kushner pere and now has no choice but to make him ambassador to France. I mean, of course it’s all Biden’s fault. As will be the collapse of the US economy in 18 months.
Soprano2
@schrodingers_cat: I don’t know, I said basically the same thing a couple of times and it was ignored. It’s true, though, what the Democratic Party would have to do to get the majority of white people back is to throw black people out of the party, at least IMHO.
PJ
@Gin & Tonic: the shame of it all
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
Interesting. Thanks.
Elizabelle
@rikyrah: Not shabby. Needed to be better, but that should be helpful in obstructing and protecting.
Soprano2
@Layer8Problem: Sacre Coeur is something to see, too. It looks like they took something from India and set it down on a hilltop in Paris. The view from the top is amazing!
Layer8Problem
@schrodingers_cat: Good people still can make bad decisions. It’s the utter certainty that irritates me, that there was not an iota of doubt. I spend a fair amount of time questioning my priors, perhaps to excess.
We’re not going to know what actually transpired until after January 20, when interviews of the current administration’s staffers become candid. Greater detail will come out with the memoirs.
Miss Bianca
@Leto: I’ve been gone for a while, so pardon me if this sounds gauche, but what happened to Ozark? :(
Elizabelle
@karen marie: You know, cynicism and despair like that just slaps right now. The MSM puts out enough garbage on their own.
MazeDancer
@karen marie:
Full confession, bought it to try to froth oatmilk. Because even though I am surrounded by as-cruelty-free-as-possible dairies, am concerned bird flu will get them.
Which will be sad because they are such excellent local, family businesses.
So, just me. But your method requires technique. And a bit more involvement than I might like. This is just push a button,
OTOH, your way might have easier clean up.
TBone
Looking for news on the United Healthcare CEO shooting, I clicked on a CNN link. Was IMMEDIATELY hijacked by a United Healthcare pop up advertisement for a Medicare Advantage Plan. (I don’t have my cell phone today so am not using Duck Duck Go). Cannot read the news without my privacy browser AAARRGGHH
schrodingers_cat
@NotMax: You can call me a mark, but I am not deleting my Twitter profile to get brownie points. Twitter is my source for news from India, BlueSky unfortunately has not yet replaced that. The Indian political party handles and the independent news sources I rely on are not yet on Bluesky.
Elizabelle
@Miss Bianca: Very sad to report he died a few months back. He was absent, and then his widow was in touch. Sounds like it was sudden.
Soprano2
@Another Scott: Oh, I saw it in 1980. I might have gone there in 1982, also, because my friend Amy was on that trip and she actually spoke French! That was helpful. We didn’t sing there though, we sang at St. Germain des Pres.
NotMax
@Miss Bianca
No longer amongst the living, sad to say.
Baud
@Miss Bianca:
@Elizabelle:
Steeplejack also passed away at around the same time.
Omnes Omnibus
@schrodingers_cat:
FWIW I think the main reason that you get push back is that the white commenters here have worked to try to elect the candidates who are trying to make the world a better place and are pissed off at the same group of white people that you are. It can hurt to be seen to be lumped in with them. And, yes, it is very much a marker of privilege to be concerned about hurt feelings when other people are actually in danger. But human nature is what it is, and I’ll admit that I am not immune to those feelings, however much I work on fighting them.
Also, and you may not be particularly aware of this, but there are times when you appear to have the diplomatic skills of a charging rhino. Just saying.
zhena gogolia
@Miss Bianca: Ozark passed away.
UncleEbeneezer
@Professor Bigfoot: It’s also the Mommy party that makes you eat your broccoli. Being the party of Black People and Women already puts the Dem Party at a huge disadvantage in a world of Racism/Misogyny.
Miss Bianca
@YY_Sima Qian: Wow. What a legacy. RIP.
rikyrah
ProPublica (@propublica) posted at 9:00 AM on Wed, Dec 04, 2024:
Asked if mass deportations would do harm to Florida’s agricultural industry, Roth said Trump would not actually engage in an indiscriminate mass deportation program.
Even if that did happen, “We’ll figure it out… We’ll get more.”
https://t.co/JjR3UcW2g9
(https://x.com/propublica/status/1864323780941664580?t=G21DGJ_Hh1p2FIDZPJqIWA&s=03)
Miss Bianca
@Elizabelle:
@Baud:
@NotMax:
@zhena gogolia:
Oh, noooo….and Steep, too? Quelle tristesse. :(
karen marie
@Gin & Tonic:
Yeah, they’re busy denying the claim for coverage.
Geminid
@prostratedragon: Rep. Underwood is part of a recent trend of Democrats nominating successful Black House candidates in majority White districts. Colin Allred (TX) and Jahanna Hayes (CT) were two others in 2018. That same year Lucy McBath (GA) won a plurality-White district just outside Atlanta.
The trend has continued with the election of Gabe Amo (RI) earlier this year in a special election and most recently, the election of Janelle Bynum in the Oregon 5th CD near Portland.
This is a positive development for Democrats. Our House caucus used to reflect the old patterns of segregation, with Black Democrats typically representing Black-majority districts only. Now it is a more diverse Party in a very essential way. I attribute this change to the example set by Barack Obama.
PJ
@schrodingers_cat: to paraphrase a Frenchman, it was worse than a betrayal, it was a blunder.
schrodingers_cat
@Omnes Omnibus: I know that. Being plain spoken is seen as refreshingly honest when a white man does it, but I am a rhino. I have been called worse.
Also I am pointing to stats not focusing on one person. And Ds haven’t won the white vote since LBJ signed the Civil Rights Legislation. Hurt feelings don’t change that fact.
WereBear
@MazeDancer:
How? Seriously.
Who hasn’t been tormented by their insurance company the moment they develop something complicated and potentially expensive?
People have died that way.
MazeDancer
@Gin & Tonic: While angry insuree does feel possible, so does disgruntled employee.
They had to know who the CEO was and the exact nature of his schedule,
Also, need to hire a pro kinda eliminates broke insuree. Unless United Healthcare screwed over the nonna of some made guy.
Omnes Omnibus
@schrodingers_cat: I wasn’t arguing with you.
zhena gogolia
@Miss Bianca: Yes, it’s been tough.
WereBear
@Gin & Tonic: On the way to an investment meeting.
Masked man, firearm, faded into the crowd.
Look at the people who died because of this corporation. I don’t think it’s a small number.
zhena gogolia
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m so fucking angry at white people, especially white women, and I am one. So sc’s comments resonate with me.
ETA: My normie friend is telling me (here in “blue” CT) that all her female friends are bombarding her with Trump triumphalism on Instagram and Facebook. She says, “Why do they send me this shit? They know I hate Trump.” I said, “Because they don’t care about other people. They enjoy hurting other people.”
schrodingers_cat
@Omnes Omnibus: Neither was I. I agree with what you are saying. I just have a different POV about it.
schrodingers_cat
@zhena gogolia: Welcome to my world. I feel the same about upper caste Indian women who lurve Modi.
Jackie
@Soprano2:
That’s after Pudd’n Boots replaces Lil Marco with DIL Lara?
NotMax
@schrodingers_cat
AFAIK Ownmates is a premier social media site in India. Twitter/X usage was a paltry blip of ~13 million in a country of over 1 billion.
PJ
@rikyrah: so much for another of Nancy Pelosi’s bets. Turns out counting votes in the House is a little different than counting votes across the country.
zhena gogolia
This morning I was saying, “So they didn’t want to look at the actual candidates and their policies.” (It would have taken about 15 minutes of googling to get a good sense of what the choice was.) “So fine. Sit home and watch television. BUT DON’T VOTE. LET THE GROWNUPS VOTE, OKAY?”
schrodingers_cat
@NotMax: It is used by politicians and newspeople and people who follow politics obsessively. It drives a lot of news coverage. It serves a purpose for me right now and so I am on it. I have some politicians and newspeople from ex-homestate who are mutuals and I get a good on the ground reporting on what is happening in Mumbai from them.
Elizabelle
@Baud: only consolation, and it’s ridiculously small, is that they were spared the return of The Felon.
WereBear
@NotMax: Not wrong.
karen marie
@MazeDancer: No technique! My mug is your giant container. A microwave is not rocket science. Do you not have a stick blender to make mayo and creamy soups?
Elizabelle
@Omnes Omnibus: Thank you. That is exactly it.
Dave
@zhena gogolia: It’s primarily that and a mix of evangelism and paternalism they want the target to realize how great he is and how silly they were to oppose this obviously great man.
It’s sickening in any iteration.
MazeDancer
@karen marie: Yes, I have two immersion blenders. Both remain in their boxes, unopened.
While I appreciate the suggestion, perhaps it will help others, but I now own the insta frother, it is quite small, it works well, and I am happy enough just pushing one button and waiting a couple minutes.
NotMax
One of those nights.
Sipping fourth double martini and nary a sign of a buzz.
;)
Soprano2
@rikyrah: Why do they keep saying that TCFG won’t do the things he said he would do?
zhena gogolia
@Dave: Our local slumlord has giant Trump signs in front of all his buildings. On the one next to the BigY, he has T R U M P spelled out in colored lights on the lawn, like a Christmas sign. The poor people who have to live in his apartments.
Dave
@zhena gogolia: I kinda had a bad feeling on election day when my moderately urban district had a noticeable number of the sort of low information white people who probably almost never vote in the relatively short line.
Hoped I was incorrect but unfortunately not so much. Those people really should stick to watching reality TV or whatever they normally do. Insane as it is to them he’s this messianic figure rolled up with FDR and Rambo and I’m just lost
Though at least we got rid of Brandon Williams a very weak consolation in all of this.
Steve LaBonne
@Dave: The only thing that makes me a little hopeful for the future is that I don’t think they have anybody else with anything like his incomprehensible charisma.
Gin & Tonic
@karen marie:
The comments I’ve seen on Twitter are *brutal.* “Did he have prior approval for the ambulance?” That sort of thing.
WereBear
@schrodingers_cat: I am also refreshingly honest.
I don’t think the blame is that simple. And no one saw this coming.
Biden’s polls were not about Biden. It was about the confused, stupid, unthinking electorate who couldn’t look up from Candy Crush to make big decisions about their lives.
I’m dragged into it with you. Have a little less scorn for your fellows, perhaps? I don’t think many of us Jackals are the problem.
NotMax
@karen marie
Immersion blender’s primary use hereabouts for mixing milk, powdered cheese*, a dollop of mustard and a drop or two of hot sauce for use in Instant Pot mac ‘n/ cheese.
*don’t pre-judge, some are quite palatable.
Dave
@Steve LaBonne: That has been my copium. And will be a very important question to see answered.
Is their anyone else that can appeal to these yahoo with that weird mix of bizarro charisma and authentic bullshitter that he has?
zhena gogolia
@WereBear: We saw the larger folly reflected here in the aftermath of Biden’s debate. It forever changed my view of “jackals.”
Steve LaBonne
@Omnes Omnibus: I have no such hurt feelings. I think white people largely suck, and I’m approximately as white as a ghost. Instead of finding comments that (accurately) attack us hurtful, I use them as a reminder to check my privilege.
schrodingers_cat
Check out my comments and the response I got just after Biden’s debate. It was not just me. Many of us saw this coming and we tried to warn you.
And what @zhena gogolia: said. And she and @satby and @FelixOCulpa also saw it. As did @Manyakitty and @rikyrah., @UncleEbeneezer, @Omnes too. I am sure I am forgetting some people.
Trying to restrict the conversation to BJ nyms.
Geminid
@Dave: What do you think of the Democrat who will replace Brandon Williams? I’m trying to learn what I can about our new Representatives.
Layer8Problem
@schrodingers_cat: Someone last night objected to being implicitly put in that group. Apparently saying White Cis Males did This Thing triggered him. I responded unsympathetically. He basically responded “fuck you”. So, delicate, possibly guilty, and can’t separate his identity from an entire group.
ETA And also looks to be a Bupalos and Martin stan.
NotMax
@Soprano2
That’s how they roll.
“He’s going to pivot to being presidential any day now>”
When flying pigs darken the skies.
schrodingers_cat
@Layer8Problem: Yeah I don’t go into a meltdown mode when someone points out the statistical fact that the most ardent Modi supporters are upper caste people.
BJP gets about 80% of the upper caste vote. So more than what Rs get from white people here.
Steve LaBonne
@schrodingers_cat: I am not 100% on either side of this question. On the one hand I did not think he should have run for reelection- he simply didn’t have the energy to both campaign and president. (Remember that under COVID conditions he was able to basically campaign from the White House.) On the other hand I was pretty sure forcing him out at such a late date would lead to nothing good. It’s greatly to Harris’s credit that she very nearly pulled it off, but here we are.
schrodingers_cat
@Steve LaBonne: Agreed. I don’t know whether he would have won. But he was our best chance.
Dave
@Geminid: Honestly I don’t have a great sense of him the distract tends to throw what I consider “Mika and Joe” candidates who would be moderate Republicans if we had anything like reasonable politics.
Maybe he’ll surprise me and be a more effective aggressive Rep than I expect but as long as he is a reliable vote and avoids going on TV as a pick-me reasonable Democrat I’ll be fine with him.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve LaBonne: I am not suggesting that everyone has that reaction. There is always a bit of a disconnect whenever people start talking about Big Data. Individuals say “I am more than a bit of data.”
schrodingers_cat
@Layer8Problem: Bupalos is a troll. So this new nym could also be a sockpuppet.
Geminid
@zhena gogolia: That sure was a weird night. The debate and the ensuing debate-about-the-debate really had the Jackals snarling and snapping at each other.
WereBear
@Layer8Problem: Plenty of white women let our demographic down, but I’m not upset about saying that. Because it’s true.
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus:
“I am not a number. I am a free man.”
#6
PJ
@schrodingers_cat: the “who could have forseen” is irritating. Millions of Democrats selected Biden to be the candidate in 2020 and 2024 largely because they believed he was the guy who could beat Trump.
Omnes Omnibus
@schrodingers_cat: Oh, and now I get left out of the list of Biden Remainers on the blog. Is this because I am a white man?
schrodingers_cat
@Omnes Omnibus: Added you in. Sorry for the oversight. As I said I am probably forgetting many more.
NotMax
@Gin & Tonic
1960s: Heroic stance.
2020’s: raucous laughter ensues.
//
Omnes Omnibus
@schrodingers_cat: Just messing with you.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Steve LaBonne:
Precisely. UncleEbeneezer this summer talked about “black spaces”. I’ve learned tons being a quiet, white dude who’s let into such spaces. Alas, I’m surrounded by a mass of white newcomers that while nominally progressive (in their minds), are the most racially tone deaf people I’ve encountered. And black people here see that and take note.
Professor Bigfoot
@schrodingers_cat: It’s the privilege of whiteness and patriarchy.
Even those white people ostensibly “on our side” have enormous blinders on, because to recognize this would make them have to confront their own white families which they will not do, ever.
schrodingers_cat
@Omnes Omnibus: You got me there!
schrodingers_cat
@Professor Bigfoot: Truth. Its very lonely. I have lived it and still am living it.
Professor Bigfoot
@schrodingers_cat: Good God, THIS.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at white people in general again the same way.
And as hard as I struggle not to let it become hate…
Soprano2
I see that Jared Moskowitz is joining the “Doge Caucus”, thus making it bipartisan. *spit* I guess this is a result of the big tent we have, but I hate that he did this because now the press will be able to “both sides” whatever suggestions they take from the Musk/Vivek whatever the hell is it and say they’re “bipartisan”. For some reason there are people on our side who can’t see the benefits of opposing crap like that.
oldgold
@schrodingers_cat: Not this crap again.
Biden had no chance of winning. Period! Fair or unfair, a clear majority of the American electorate disapproved of his presidency. Adding to that problem, he no longer possessed the requisite energy/skills to campaign effectively.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@schrodingers_cat: You share your feelings a lot. You’ve clearly and repeatedly expressed your views over many months. Your views are definitely not being shouted down or censored. While sometimes, there are trolls. Mostly, there are just some people who disagree with you and express their views too. Communities of people are not all going to agree on the same things.
schrodingers_cat
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: You are right. But we keep having these same conversations again and again. That’s why it feels like no one is listening.
And statements like, no one could have seen this coming?
Yeah no. That is not what happened.
I and many other Biden must not drop out people immediately switched their allegiance to KH when Biden endorsed her. That was not an accident we fell in line despite our reservations because we wanted her to win.
But postmortems after such a big blunder are necesssary and that’s why I am speaking now. Mute me if you think it is irrelevant. I have muted a lot of people here after the June debate.
Disagreements are fine. People on the otherside of this debate are not being told to stop the sniping by FPers. They have been feted as valuable commenters instead whose views need to be listened to.
Layer8Problem
@Geminid: It was the shutdown of all debate coming from that side, with very little “I might be wrong here”, perhaps none even. I figured panic in the first days after that debate was understandable; damnit, I was appalled as well. My running theory was “Bernie people? Maybe Warren people? Why so absolutely definite?” A number of people I thought of as dependable became fanatic about this.
YY_Sima Qian
@Elizabelle: Euthanasia is illegal in Taiwan, so she took her own life, but it was not an act of despair.
NotMax
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
“But nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee.”
:) (attempting to lighten the mood a skootch)
dc
@Soprano2:
What warn? Who the F is he to say anything to them?
Soprano2
@Professor Bigfoot: I don’t even know what to say about this. I try hard not to look at anyone specific as a member of a group rather than as an individual. I can’t say I always succeed but I do my best. I hope when you look at me, one who didn’t vote for TCFG, you don’t look at me with hatred just because my skin is white.
Geminid
@Dave: It was important to dig Brandon Williams out of that seat before he became embedded. State Senator Mannion’s 54-46% winning margin might keep Mannion from seeking a rematch.
Now Williams can spend more time on his 67-acre farm in Sennet, New York. Wikipedia tells me he and his wife concentrate on bees, lavender and truffles
Ed. I will also have a new Congressman next year, Eugene Vindman. He and Mannion will likely align politically as moderate Democrats.
Soprano2
@dc: I guess there are two other judges who were appointed by Democrats who say they’re going to retire but haven’t had anyone nominated to take their place yet. He’s saying they shouldn’t “unretire” also. It’s an empty threat, he can’t do anything to them. It’s just so breathtakingly hypocritical coming from him.
MazeDancer
@WereBear: Need the snark emoji.
My immediate, and not necessarily kind, reaction was angry insuree.
Geminid
@Layer8Problem: I stayed out of the debate for the most part, but I did push back on some of the “enemy within” talk. Communities that receive a shock– and the debate and its aftermath was a big shock to Democrats– often are consumed with a search for the enemy within. I thought that was harmful in this case.
Ohio Mom
@schrodingers_cat: Eh, not all Jews. About a quarter of us are very Republican. Many (but not all) are the super-Orthodox and too many of the big wigs in the organized community (boards and staff at national-level organizations and local Federations).
There is a Jewish Republican in my extended family (the other one died of Covid while in the hospital for sarcoidosis). Every family has its black sheep I suppose.
AKA The Man
@rikyrah: “Heck of a mandate for Trump” – NYTimes, definitely
billcoop4
On my adoptive side, I’m Mayflower and part Canuckian American white, and on my biological side, I’m descended from Confederate General and post-Civil War Mississippi Governor white (blech), and I cannot believe how utterly awful far too many white people are.
BC
schrodingers_cat
@Ohio Mom: There are about 25% of IndianAmericans who are Trump voters and Republicans so I feel you.
NotMax
@Geminid
Buckwheat and radishes?
:)
sixthdoctor
@MazeDancer: This paragraph from the Huffpost article on the Thompson shooting made me take notice (italics mine):
The Times reported the gunman apparently knew which door Thompson would enter and shot him several times from close distance. The CNBC added that the suspect, who is described as a white male dressed in black clothing, used a silencer.
If true, well, interesting to say the least…
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@schrodingers_cat: I think we keep having the same conversation because there is no resolution or easy answer. That it was a very close race even before the infamous debate points to deeper issues I think we haven’t done a good enough job recognizing or understanding. For the longest time, i felt like despite all the political backlash, we were winning the culture war and moving to a fairer world. It feels like that’s moved into reverse, almost overnight. How that happened isn’t about Biden or any single Democratic leader. That’s the post-mortem my mental energy is spent on.
schrodingers_cat
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: Thanks for sharing your perspective.
Shakti
@Soprano2:
Man must be running out of sycophants. He hated DeSantis, IIRC?
Still not understanding why Trump seems to be rifling through all the Florida state level politicians and the US. Senators and some of the US reps.
At this rate he’ll nominate my horrible rep for.. something based on her do-nothingness? Gunfluencing? Bad children’s books?
Jackie
@Soprano2: Jake Tapper interviewed Moskowitz on why he joined DOGE:
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/jake-tapper-asks-doge-caucus-democrat-why-are-you-getting-on-board-to-support-this/
I like Moskowitz and will have to do a “wait and see” position and go from there. I agree with him that it’s important to insure bipartisanship. Part of me wonders if it’s to torment MTG lol
WereBear
@Soprano2: WTF.
Soprano2
@schrodingers_cat: Try living where about 65% of them voted for the Orange Error, probably including most of the people I work with who voted. My mother was a big supporter, we had to agree to not talk about politics. If she brought it up I pushed back on her. One of the funniest things I found in her stuff was printouts from some right-winger “school” to educate you about liberals. It was the most stereotypical stuff, how liberals like all that weird classical music (definitely not true) while conservatives like the classics, crap like that. I think it was from Dennis Prager’s web site. It was weird, she knew better than that from personal experience.
Dave
@sixthdoctor: That’s some “Murder She Wrote” (my partner loves that show and will to this day binge it) kind of thing.
Very curious if it’s the obvious disgruntled individual who either had a claim rejected for them or a loved one or if it is something else.
Soprano2
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: I agree with this. I also think too many people (here and in punditland) are using the loss to confirm their prior beliefs about things, rather than waiting to see what the actual results are and then analyzing that. The Democrats didn’t win the House, but we did pick up a seat. TCFG had no coattails, so I think that should tell us something.
Dave
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: I continue return to the power of online propaganda that people swim in and algorithm’s that take them to it often before they even recognize the connection with politics.
Made worse by the general ossification that has overtaken many of our institutions.
Soprano2
@Jackie: I think, unless this goes differently than I think it will, that the only thing “bipartisanship” will do in this instance is seem to give a stamp of Democratic approval to the terrible, unpopular things they want to do. Sometimes it’s better to let the party who is advocating for unpopular things take all the blame for them if they actually do them.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus:
@schrodingers_cat:
I was one, too!
For the record, I remain sickened by the way the Democratic Party treated Joe Biden. Old or not, failings or not, he was the POTUS and I maintain that, if the Party had grown a collective spine and come out swinging ferociously on his behalf, he might still have lost, but the Party would have been stronger for it.
That’s the problem I see right now. The Republicans, no matter how depraved, how vicious, how incompetent and corrupt and completely unfit for office their candidate was, stuck with him and won. The Democrats, no matter how good, how competent, how principled, and how *necessary* their own candidate is or was, lose no opportunity to frag him. Or her. And that’s one of the reasons we lose. Because that kind of Hail Mary shit that all the top Democratic dogs insisted on? Didn’t look strong, or bold, or anything but weak. To me, anyway.
Fuck the Democrats. I’ll vote for Democratic candidates, because while I may be a fool, I’m not an idiot. But no more of my money, no more of my time, no more of my energy, will I spend at their behest.
WereBear
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: You said it far better than I.
Thanks.
Dave
@Jackie: Maybe that is one of the simple pleasures of life that he enjoys. And may consider Musk vulnerable to the sort of interpersonal interaction that seems to have so little impact in much of our politics.
I’ll take a wait and see approach and remember that a lot of people are going to make decisions I don’t agree wrong or right in the near future and it doesn’t necessarily mean they are corrupted or selling out. Though for some that will be true.
schrodingers_cat
@Miss Bianca: Sorry I missed you.
WaterGirl
@oldgold:
that is a definitive statement, but the truth is that we don’t KNOW that Biden had no chance of winning.
Were some people unhappy? Yes. They were unhappy about the choices. But that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have voted for Biden over Trump.
Because we cannot see alternate futures, we simply cannot know. Biden would not have been subject to the “I can’t bring myself to vote for a person of color and/or a female” vote that either voted for Trump or stayed home.
Geminid
@Soprano2: Replublican control of the House this year pretty much came down to the three North Carolina seats Republicans took by way of gerrymandering.
schrodingers_cat
@Miss Bianca: Yes same here. I am seriously thinking of registering as an independent. I can take the D ballot for the primaries and vote D. We’ll see. I am going to talk to the state level and local Ds to see where they are at.
WaterGirl
@schrodingers_cat: Steeplejack died in July, and Ozark died in September.
Some Very Sad News to Share
Sad News, We Have Lost Our Beloved OarzkHillbilly
zhena gogolia
@Miss Bianca: We are on the same page.
Jackie
No surprise that TCFG continues to reward his MAGAts who fell on their sword for him:
I can’t wait to see what positions are offered up to the soon-to-be pardoned J6 insurrectionists.
gene108
@Soprano2:
Mitch’s threat is ethics investigations and demanding they recuse themselves or be forced to recuse themselves from cases because they decided to unretire for partisan reasons.
Basically, Mitch threw out a blueprint for any conservatives that get an unfavorable ruling from one of these judges on how to appeal or how to demand a different judge.
I’m not sure how well it will work in practice.
PJ
@Soprano2: that’s not true. He picked up Casey, Brown, and Tester’s Senate seats (we were never going to win WV no matter what).
PJ
@oldgold: your belief that Biden couldn’t win is just that. Saying that a majority of the electorate rejected Biden is absolutely false. He won a majority of votes in 2020, and, because of people like you, the electorate was prevented from voting for him again.
Jeffro
I’m sure any number of pro wrestlers would fit the bill. President Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, anyone?
(hence my regular call for more requirements for federal office!)
Gin & Tonic
@sixthdoctor:
Shooter made his getaway on a bicycle. Very practical for weekday morning midtown Manhattan.
And, since it’s the NY Post and there are no more copy editors anywhere anyway, they write that he “peddled” away.
Jackie
@Dave: Moskowitz wants to get FEMA out of the Department of Homeland Security, because while he thinks the DHS is a good idea and still necessary, it’s become too big.
He also thinks FEMA needs to be a direct report to the White House like it was when it was originally created.
And, he thinks the Secret Service should be removed from DHS and also be a direct report to the White House.
Those are a few reasons Moskowitz justifies for joining DOGE.
We shall see… <shrug>
WaterGirl
@schrodingers_cat:
You are painting front-pagers with too broad a brush here.
Front-pagers were NOT all on the same side of the Biden-stay Biden-leave issue.
I do make comments asking people to not re-litigate the Biden issue because all it does is open wounds that are still raw, and it drives people away from Balloon Juice because it’s too painful.
No matter which side you’re on, it’s painful.
We cannot change the past.
Having the same argument over and over will not do anything to help us face what’s coming.
We need to all be on the side of doing the work to slow and stop what we can and to help the people who are most at risk. Having the same argument and pointing the same fingers again and again again does not help any of us.
Nor does it help in the effort to take back the House and/or the Senate to help slow the awfulness that is coming our way.
I think we have one shot – 2026 – at defending Democracy before we hit the point of no return.
Is there anyone here on BJ who cannot get behind the idea of Defending democracy?
Josie
@WaterGirl:
Thank you. I have strong feelings about the whole mess, but i choose not to comment about them. My reasoning is the same as yours. All our energy should be saved for moving forward.
Jackie
@WaterGirl: Well said, WG. I skip so many threads because they feel like Groundhog Day ad nauseam. I just want to scream 🎶Let it GO!🎶
Kay
I’m at a shopping mall in Grand Rapids Michigan on my back to Ohio from Up North and it took me 10 minutes to find parking – on a weekday afternoon.
I see the HORRENDOUS Biden economy is still humming along with the people who “can’t afford eggs” buying tons of useless shit!
The idea that I’m supposed to spend my time trying to “reach” these fucking morons is offensive. I only help people who help themselves.
Soprano2
@PJ: Yes, but two of those were going to be heavy lifts for us, especially Tester, and the Casey loss was extremely narrow. I think it’s safe to say TCFG had almost no coattails. Evidently a significant number of people voted for him and nothing else on their ballots.
Soprano2
@Kay: That’s the way I feel about the “struggling” people who spend $100 on Doordash (lots of that is fees and tips, too, which they wouldn’t have to pay if they would just go get the food themselves!). Of course, the TCFG supporters are crediting him winning the election with this, saying people just “feel better” now so they’re willing to spend money because they know he’s going to make everything better. Boy are they in for a rude shock.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Soprano2:
This piece dives into the numbers and suggests that yeah, at least in terms of Senate races, Felonious D had no coat tails:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/30/2289316/-The-Swing-States-2024-Split-Tickets-and-the-Disappearing-Biden-Voters?utm_campaign=spotlight
Enhanced Voting Techniques
And with that in mind, one of the reason why everyone is recommending subscribing to Talking Points Memo is because Josh Marshall did a deep dive into polling, and showed the pollsters didn’t know what they were doing and just making shit up. If anyone was reading Josh’s stuff, they perfectly well know it was possible Trump could win.
Barry
@karen marie: “Yeah, they’re busy denying the claim for coverage.”
Out of network shooting.
zhena gogolia
@Kay: I’m hearing about their monthlong trips to Italy.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
I find myself personal convinced the real reason the MSM is having this ragegasm over him pardoning his son is so they don’t have to report on Biden’s visit to Sub-Saharan Africa.
WaterGirl
How about being angry at the white women who vote Republican?
How about being angry at the white women in blue states who vote for the Republican candidate while at the same time voting to protect their own reproductive rights. That’s I’ve got mine, fuck you right there in plain sight.
But being angry at all white women? That’s fucking bullshit.
Even if that’s not convincing how about this?
Being angry at white women serves no purpose. Maybe we should be thinking about what we can fucking do instead of shivving one another?
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: We can’t fucking do anything.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: Really?
That’s giving up everything our country stands for without a fight.
That’s what you’re up for?
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: This election broke me.
suzanne
@WaterGirl: I will also note that the person who loves to talk about white women as a cohort loves to passive-aggressively snipe at any discussion of other cohorts. Note that older people voted Republican? That’s ageism. Note that college-educated people voted for Harris by a significant margin? That’s apparently “thinking that all Trump voters are unlettered”.
There’s important demographic trends that are worth discussing, IMO. Group behavior and social science are a thing. But what I just described above is bad faith and idiotic.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
That reminds me of something from July, about how many new people suddenly showed, claiming to be life time Democrats, but Biden has poor tonal quality, poor tonal quality is just a bridge to far and he must go. And those posters fucked off never to be seen again after Biden dropped out.
I would think that would give you front pagers are pause. If someone was using bots or trolls to play us, they can certainly do it again. Maybe, some posts about how propaganda works?
oldgold
@PJ: Yes, it is my belief. A belief I hold with the same certainty as a fervent Christian holding four aces in a game of 5 card stud.
Quinerly
@oldgold:
I’m with you on this one.
Geminid
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: A couple of those trolls got banned before they had a chance to leave on their own. I remember one who let slip that he intended to vote for Jill Stein, but that he might consider voting for Harris if Biden was dumped; a fairly obvious lie. A couple days later this “Thruster” guy dropped his mask entirely and got himself banned for talking about “Zionist” biological warfare labs on one of Silverman’s Ukraine threads.
That was a weird bunch. Some of them seemed to be in cahoots, like they knew each other from another forum and decided to come over here to stir up shit among the despised liberals.
Quinerly
@WaterGirl:
I am sure you realize that it’s mostly the same 2-3 commenters who feel the need to interject “Biden would have won” in almost every thread.
It’s tiredsome and frankly not productive or interesting. Borders on obnoxious. I don’t even understand the point. Much like in 2017, every thread was polluted with “the generals.” I’m so old that I seem to recall how patient Adam was with that period of time.
None of these commenters produce any data to back up this claim other than Biden won (without running a traditional campaign b/c of Covid) in 2020. Newsflash….candidates who can’t campaign rigorously, perform abysmally in debates, and never top 40% approval ratings don’t win elections.
Have a nice Christmas. I appreciate all you do here, Watergirl. Thank you.
schrodingers_cat
@WaterGirl: You have played favorites more than once and it did not just start after the debate.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Steve LaBonne: Enthusiastic second for seeing Sainte Chapelle – it is a spectacular jewel box and my favorite “monument” in Paris. On our first trip to Paris years ago, it was closed since the French monument workers were on strike (as they do), but they were still holding concerts there, so my first visit was even better than a regular visit, sitting for an hour +, listening to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and watching the sun set behind the fabulous Rose window.
Quinerly
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
I tend to agree with you.
My only issue with the pardon is I wish Biden had waited a few days. (And, yes, I am aware Hunter’s sentencing was coming up). The pardon has taken away from the coverage of Patel and Hegseth.
Madeleine
@A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan): Dead thread, but enthusiastic third for seeing the Sainte Chapelle. It’s glorious!
Quinerly
@WaterGirl:
TY for this comment. Someone needed to say it.
Quinerly
@suzanne: THIS!!!!!!
Quinerly
@schrodingers_cat:
Are we fucking 8 year olds now? Is WG our teacher or our mother?
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: Well it broke me, too, but I’ll be damned if I am going to stay broken. Fuck them.
WaterGirl
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Yes, it did.
Agree. Hence the changes in the comment / banning policy. If it’s clear that someone is here to disrupt, they can be gone without going through weeks of incremental steps.
Even if the intent isn’t to disrupt, but it’s disruptive anyway, same thing. They can be gone without going through weeks of incremental steps.
I will give that some thought, thanks for the suggestion.
Professor Bigfoot
@Soprano2: I don’t hate.
But I will never trust white people ever again.
I understand how white people were able to agree on the Compromise of 1877– white people will shake hands over the bodies of murdered Black people in order to keep the peace in your white families.
What you do to us doesn’t matter.
PJ
@Quinerly:
Newsflash: Donald Trump won in 2016 when he didn’t campaign vigorously, performed absymally in debates, and had a 36% approval rating. https://news.gallup.com/poll/322292/candidate-favorable-ratings-2016-low.aspx He also won in 2024 when he barely campaigned at all, performed abysmally in debates, and had a whopping 43.8% approval rating at the highest. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/favorability/donald-trump/
scav
@Quinerly: Don’t worry, none of us, rather like all nations on earth, ever live up to s_c’s exacting standards as is often explained to us.
dnfree
@schrodingers_cat: Lauren Underwood is one of my monthly donations, along with Sean Casten.
dnfree
@WaterGirl: Agreed. We can’t run the counterfactual where Biden stays in the race to see what happens, and there’s no point arguing among ourselves, since people understandably had different impressions of Biden’s appearance and status. Opinions aren’t facts.
Quinerly
@scav:
Thanks for my laugh on a very dead thread.
Gloria DryGarden
@Steve LaBonne: I’m still sore hat on my trip to Paris there was a strike. San chapelle was closed. The louvre was closed.
i feel sad every time, because our French teacher told us it was a place to behold. It appears amazing.
I have a thing w stained glass, light pouring through color in churches. In my mind it mixes with the sounds of choral singers and other beautiful music. Sad.
Im happy that others get to see it.