Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Bark louder, little dog.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

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

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

Let there be snark.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Be a wild strawberry.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

This blog will pay for itself.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Happy New Years

Happy New Years

by | 263 Comments

This post is in: 

Metaphors starting off the New Year STRONG:

A person uploaded video to X "showing what appears to be a Cybertruck engulfed in flames directly outside the lobby of the Trump Hotel" in Vegas

news3lv.com/news/local/v…

[image or embed]

— Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) January 1, 2025 at 10:41 AM

Well, this is certainly one way to ring in 2025.

A vehicle fire was reported outside of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas earlier this morning, and video taken at the scene apparently shows that a Tesla Cybertruck was involved.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal confirmed that police and fire officials are investigating a blaze that was first reported around 8:40 a.m. outside the hotel, which is located just off the Las Vegas Strip. Video taken from inside the hotel lobby shows a Cybertruck burning just outside the building’s doors. Las Vegas’ 8 News Now reports that the fire “started in or near the hotel valet area and was put out by firefighters.”

Tesla truck burning on fire in front of trump hotel

Watching sportsball, relaxing, and cooking pork and sauerkraut.

Reader Interactions

263Comments

  4. 4.

    lowtechcyclist

    @jowriter:

    I live a bit SE of DC, near the Chesapeake Bay.  We had one helluva storm yesterday, and DC must’ve gotten it just before we did.  I’d never seen lightning light up the (western) sky like that as the storm was coming on, and in a few minutes, we got hit by a hailstorm!

  6. 6.

    Elizabelle

    In between the burning Wankpanzer and lightning striking DC monuments, I am wondering “is this true?”  Certainly for the Tesla/Trump story.  Is that a genuine image?

    NYC had T storms last night too, right?

  10. 10.

    jowriter

    @Elizabelle: We had bad t-storms in NY, we are northern Westchester county, about 30 miles from NYC.  Fast moving and wild. Daughter says DC strikes on Capitol and Washington Monument happened.  Parkhomenko is pretty reliable in his postings.

  11. 11.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Elizabelle:

    It is true.  Uday or Quesay (I don’t know which one is whom) posted on Twitter thanking Las Vegas responders, etc.

  17. 17.

    TBone

    @TBone:

    Google searches for “vpn,” “virtual private network” and “browsers with vpn” surged in Florida after midnight, according to Google Trends. VPN services allow users to hide the location of their computer or mobile device, allowing them to see regionally-blocked material.

  18. 18.

    oldster

    At least one dead inside of the IncEl Camino.

    Less funny when there’s a fatality? We report: you deride.

  19. 19.

    Another Scott

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage: Ditto.

    Made me look.

    DW.com:

    “Don Jr. and Eric — behind their backs known to Trump insiders as Uday and Qusay, after the sons of Saddam Hussein — wondered if there couldn’t somehow be two parallel White House structures, one dedicated to their father’s big-picture views, personal appearance and salesmanship, and the other concerned with day-to-day management issues.”

    The two eventually became subjects of ridicule — not least because of Donald Jr.’s 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer in Trump Tower, a move Steven Bannon infamously dubbed “treasonous” in an interview with Wolff.

    HTH!!

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  22. 22.

    jowriter

    @oldster: That’s terrible.  They are awful looking vehicles and so odd that in the dark you can’t understand what’s coming at you on a narrow highway.  We have one in our neighborhood and it gives me shivers every time I encounter it on our twisty little exurban roads, especially at night.

  29. 29.

    Villago Delenda Est

    1. Go Ducks!

    2. FSM is trying to tell a couple of assholes something.

    3. Trading Places is today’s Wonkette New Year’s Matinee at 1600 EST 1300 PST you people in flyover country can figure out the rest.

  37. 37.

    Elizabelle

    Wow.  I believed the lightning strikes in DC.

    But the flaming Tesla, which turns out to be a fatal flaming Tesla — wow.  Had guessed that might be actual fake news.

    I wonder if it’s a murder or an accident.

  38. 38.

    scav

    @TBone: Technically, there’s also the human error involved in buying, selling, promoting and constructing the thing, but I went for the first-order low-hanging fruit.

  44. 44.

    Boris Rasputin (The Evil Twin)

    Wankpanzer explodes in front of a Dump hotel?

    I’m not much for omens, but it looks like 2025 is announcing itself loud and clear.

  47. 47.

    gene108

    @Baud:

    If you watch the video up top, you can hear what sounds like parts exploding off of it into the air while the car is burning.

    I’m not surprised if bystanders were injured and one died.

  49. 49.

    Soprano2

    I’ve got to take down the tree and other stuff today. I’m sure I’ll miss something, I always do. At least it’s sunny so I can do the outside stuff without freezing. There’s not much of it, thankfully. For the first time I have to find a way to dispose of the tree – we always burned it before.

  50. 50.

    prostratedragon

    @Villago Delenda Est:  Saw it last night as part of TCM’s NYE marathon. Still pretty funny. I guess the makers thought it would be a problem to say right out that Bobby and Louis were shortselling.

  51. 51.

    trollhattan

    @gene108:

    Listening to it has me thinking it was stuffed with commercial fireworks, esp. the whistling things.

    That flammable Li battery is housed in a metal case underneath.

  53. 53.

    Origuy

    A storm in Scotland forced Edinburgh to postpone its Hogmany (Scots for New Years Eve) outdoor celebration last night. Today is officially December 32 in Scotland.

    I went to a Hogmany dance last night despite having ilio-tibial band syndrome that’s kept me from dancing for two months. Did half the dances and iced my hip when I got home.

  55. 55.

    narya

    Baking off the last of the cannoli crisps: I modified a cannoli recipe by (a) adding some ground pistachios, (b) rolling it out into circles on top of which the filling can be piled, and (c) baking instead of frying. Also baking potatoes, which will be turned into gnocchi. Dinner is going to be gnocchi, venison/pork sausage, and some tomato sauce from the freezer. For last night’s appetizer, I made half of this recipe for cheesy pastry twists in a lovely design; didn’t have everything-bagel seasoning, so I used Penzey’s Sunny Paris instead. It was well worth the (not-very-extreme) effort.

  56. 56.

    Raven

    @Soprano2: I spent the day yesterday gathering collards, blackeyed peas, smoked turkey neck only to find she scheduled an event with her girlfriends at the airbnb! Popeyes her I come!

  57. 57.

    Honus

    Cole, that reference to pork and sauerkraut is like a letter from home.  Everyone down here in Virginia always asks if I’m making black-eyed peas.

  61. 61.

    trollhattan

    @TBone: After a sparkling NYE today we are shrouded in foggy murk, with the sun teasing a couple seconds every twenty minutes or so to remind “I exist.”

    Seems apt.

  62. 62.

    Geo Wilcox

    What do you expect when the first letters of the first three days of the year day spell out WTF?

  63. 63.

    TBone

    @Baud: yeah that person walking past the video taker, between them & the burning Deplorean, looked…too stupid to live much longer

  66. 66.

    tobie

    I have a neighbor who just bought one of these dumpster trucks. The car seems so unwieldy that he’s scarcely able to pull it out of his driveway without coming close to the mailbox or the drainage ditch. Who’d pay $80K or $90K for a car that has no road feel whatsoever and seems to be prone to spontaneous combustion? Never mind. I think I know the answer.

  67. 67.

    dm

    Here’s security camera footage of the Cybertruck exploding:

    mastodon.social/@BNONews/113754811836160887

    (hope that works)

    After seeing that footage, an early speculation I saw that the accident might be related to fireworks seems plausible to me.  Though lithium battery fires are really energetic as well.

    An early frame appears to show the flames starting to emerge from the wheel wells, however.

  80. 80.

    Princess

    Definitely fireworks in that trunk. Who knows what else was in there, or what the immediate cause was but the fireworks were unmistakable.

  83. 83.

    geg6

    Pork roast is in the oven with some kielbasa, sauerkraut, onions, apples and a little bit of brown sugar and maple syrup.  Potatoes are washed, ready to boil and mash with some butter and sour cream.  I bought some frozen Red Lobster biscuits on a whim and we’ll have those on the side.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony is on the tube tonight and I have yet to see it, so I think we’ll relax and watch that tonight and return to our Lincoln Lawyer viewing tomorrow.  I can’t believe I waited this long to watch it.

  86. 86.

    wenchacha

    @Honus: I don’t think I’ve made pork and sauerkraut for the family in a long time, but it is one of my faves, along with some dumplings in the kraut.

    This year it’s Wegmans rotisserie chicken with family. Traditions are great, though.

    Happy New Year!

  90. 90.

    Princess

    Now I’m seeing that the car was full of “firework-style mortars.” But Google doesn’t seem to think that’s a thing. Maybe a mistake for mortar-style fireworks?

    Elon is so concerned he’s changed his name back to Elon.

  91. 91.

    Another Scott

    @scav: Thanks.

    Yeah, energetic things, like lithium, don’t burn in ways we’re used to.  It’s too early to know what was in the CT from the videos we’re seeing.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  93. 93.

    mali muso

    We just popped our celebratory New Years bottle of prosecco, having not really had the energy or will to do so last night.  Had the requisite black eyed peas earlier today.  Here comes 2025 whether we like it or not. I’m hoping to keep hopelessness at bay this year by focusing on the things I can control.

  94. 94.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @Baud: power locks on the doors (which in my opinion is one of the stupidest ideas in automotive engineering, this is one area where you want a redundant system that doesn’t require power)

  96. 96.

    Kirk

    Larger lithium batteries tend to generate a few second of heavy smoke prior to ignition. This didn’t smoke first on any of the cameras I can find.

    On the other hand the initial explosion appears to start from under the vehicle where the batteries are.

    So i’ll be interested to see what the final decision is on origin of the explosion.

  97. 97.

    TerryC

    Last spring, our Chevy Trax with only 5000 miles on it spontaneously combusted and burned up in our driveway. The flames coming off of that vehicle look quite similar to me because of course, in both cases, there was a strong wind blowing the flames away. In our case, the entire engine compartment burned completely up.

    And no, the Trax is not an EV. The best we can figure out is that Red squirrels brought in a pile of nesting materials and placed them against a very particularly hot part of the engine compartment on a day with a strong, 20 mph, following wind.

    I really liked that car.

  99. 99.

    TBone

    @MagdaInBlack: no need to be jealous hahahaha!

    There is humoncular humongous dark cloud in the sky as the sun sets behind it, darkest I’ve seen. I wish you could see this! Purple black with twilight colors around it.

  100. 100.

    zhena gogolia

    I know, you’ve all explained it’s real, but that second picture in John’s post just has to be a meme. Please tell me it’s a meme.

  101. 101.

    TBone

    Making sour scream scrambled eggs with diced ham and crumbles of real Vermont cheddar from VT, and home fries with onion & chopped fresh rosemary.  Suppah!

  102. 102.

    raven

    Why do they call them terrorists?

    “We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible. We are aggressively running down every lead, including of those of his known associates,” Duncan said.

    Surveillance footage circulated among law enforcement also captured three men and a woman placing one of multiple improvised explosive devices in the French Quarter, according to a Louisiana State Police bulletin obtained by the Associated Press.

  104. 104.

    Baud

    @raven:

    I’ll be interested in seeing what happened. The IEDs didn’t go off and 3:30 in for morning is an odd time to stage an attack.

  105. 105.

    MagdaInBlack

    My trump voting body-tech gave each of us in the office (4 of us) a little sumthin’ for Christmas. I have used my MC gift card for sesame chicken, which should be arriving about 5 pm.

  106. 106.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    More on the Wankpanzer explosion:

    x.com/KyrstensCloset/status/1874557230118576541

    Non-intuitive door releases make perfect sense when somebody’s understandably in a panic.

    And per the link, it’s no wonder Musk wants to eliminate the consumer protection bureau.  I have no idea if that’s true but show me an industrialist (and their enabling trickle-down, Reaganomic supporters) who doesn’t want to get rid of annoying, pesky regulations that slow down profit making.

  109. 109.

    schrodingers_cat

    @zhena gogolia: Joe Biden was old and competent but boring. Now Americans are going to entertained 24/7  by a trainwreck in motion. The burning Tesla in front of the Trump hotel is the trailer of next season of Reality TV president.

    I guess in addition to voters who voted for T we have to thank Nancy Pelosi, the D elders who made this possible along with our prestige media.

  110. 110.

    NutmegAgain

    HNY, all!  The beans & rice came out really well. Let’s hope this is some kind of preview of good things possible in the year to come. Beans & bacon as augury.

  113. 113.

    Elizabelle

    I just did not a Wankpanzer exploding in front of a Trump branded hotel on my 2025 bingo card.  In Vegas, baby.

  115. 115.

    scav

    @Baud: It does all seem an ever so slightly stagey use of props — which, incidentally, also works as a method of producing terror with a clear, media-ready narrative.

  116. 116.

    NutmegAgain

    I’m in CT, we got Donder & Blitzen on the stroke of midnight. Heh. It shut down the neighborhood morons who think fireworks in the middle of the night are wicked cool. (Most dogs & many humans disagree.)

  117. 117.

    JoyceH

    What baffles me about the Tesla Cybertruck is – why is it called a truck? It’s not a truck!

  127. 127.

    Baud

    @raven:

    There were a lot of people out, obviously, but it seems like it would still have had a bigger impact during the day. But what do I know?

  129. 129.

    Captain C

    @JoyceH: It’s main market is wankers whose identity is tied up in owning a truck but don’t ever use their vehicle for actual truck purposes.

  130. 130.

    Ruckus

    @JoyceH:

    It does have a pickup type bed in the back. Now why would anyone buy one to use as a truck is beyond me, and I’ve owned a few pickups for business. But this thing is, what’s the word I’m looking for – oh yes – ridiculous. And just a tad overpriced. Most of the people I see driving a full sized pick up around SoCal have them jacked up and big wheels and tires. IOW they bought them and spent a few grand more buying wheels and tires. They drive around in them getting great gas milage, never having to worry about the weekly groceries overloading their vehicle…. Maybe they feel they need a jacked up truck to haul around their tiny junk. Who knows.

  131. 131.

    Suzanne

    It’s appearing that the Cybertruck fire was started by bombs, and apparently they’re investigating if it is linked to the NOLA attack.

  134. 134.

    Elizabelle

    @Baud:  Yeah.  Was concerned about that.  ABC ran that number a few hours ago; a local Democratic congressman was the source.

    Very sad.

  135. 135.

    Quinerly

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Big fan of Pres Joe Biden. But his messaging sucked. Plus, there will never be a good excuse for that abysmal debate performance. His team knew he was on a path to lose pre debate in a possible landslide. He didn’t change perceptions. We are lucky Kamala saved us from an embarrassing landslide.

    My hot take is we could have won had his ego not gotten in the way and he stepped aside after the midterms. Would have been a true hero. Unfortunately, now, it will take 40 years plus to rebuild that reputation.

    For your reading pleasure. Data.

    thebulwark.com/p/biden-world-harris-2024-race-against-trump-votecast-data

    Good piece.

    Condolences re your mom. Sorry about your father. Glad he he doing better

    Eta Nancy, George et al saved us from an real embarrassment. Reality is hard sometimes.

  137. 137.

    trollhattan

    @JoyceH:
    The US ranks vehicles by configuration, size, weight. Anything over 6,000 pounds is Class Two (pickups, vans, etc.) and because of its thumping weight, Cybertruck falls into Class 2b, along with the following:

    Class 2b, Light duty, 8,501–10,000 pounds (3,856–4,536 kg) — Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra 2500, Ford F-250, Nissan Titan XD, Ram 2500.

    They often have lower safety, equipment and mileage standards than Class One passenger cars.

  143. 143.

    scav

    There are so many actors with agendas — political and financial — and with access to bots and groupies to push narratives . . . caution seems to be a virtue.

  144. 144.

    Quinerly

    @Elizabelle:

    So one side can continually pick, pick and pick? And, pick???

    And no one is allowed to state DATA AND FACTS.

    Hear you loud and clear. Hope you hear me.

  145. 145.

    prostratedragon

    Picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille…🎶

    Well, there’s always the second half.

  147. 147.

    Elizabelle

    @Quinerly:  Definite double standard here, agreed.  But just leave it for now.  Besides which, falls into the category of “unknowable.”

  149. 149.

    trollhattan

    Vlad has a little extra energy today, realizing nobody remembers he shot down an airliner a couple weeks back. And it’s not even Jan 2.

  150. 150.

    Ksmiami

    @Quinerly: I totally agree that with Harris, the Dems over performed. Hence we have Senators Baldwin and Slotkin. She just didn’t have quite enough time and ffs, fire the DC messaging consultants- they suck

  151. 151.

    Quinerly

    @Melancholy Jaques:

    My excuse.. My trigger got fully tripped. Sick of it. Threads and threads go by. Same stuff/digs from about 3-4 seemingly delusional commenters who feel Biden got a rough deal and would have won. Rarely no push back.

    I decided to stick up for FACTS. I will be the villian. Pile on.

  152. 152.

    TBone

    Elno now xitting that it’s “confirmed” there was explosive used and his four-year-old-designed-it vehicle had no part in it.

    All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.

  160. 160.

    Miki

     

    @Quinerly: Self-awareness. It’s a thing. It wasn’t there. And that, to more than just me, said a lot. The debate proved it. 

    None of which means there wasn’t a shit ton of good that came out of the Biden Administration and the Democratic House and Senate ( WE did that.)  Absofuckinglutely no regrets, and tons of applause.

    But 2024 wasn’t about rewards (to steal from Nancy Smash). It was about the future.

    100 days wasn’t enough time to get it done. Not her fault.

  162. 162.

    zhena gogolia

    We will never know whether Biden could have won. No one knows. I don’t know, you don’t know, no one knows. He didn’t get to run. So we don’t know. (I’m done with this subject too, although I will defend his presidency to my last breath.)

  165. 165.

    trollhattan

    @zhena gogolia:

    What you said.

    Meanwhile, how was this even a question?

    “Pro-Palestinian groups in the U.S. are staring down a new challenge: Donald Trump and Republicans,” Politico reports.

    “The movement has tended to focus its efforts on who controls the White House and Democrats, whom its leaders view as more persuadable to soften support for Israel. But 15 months into the war in the Middle East, as the GOP trifecta prepares to control the White House and Congress, leaders in the movement find themselves with far less leverage — and much more to lose.”

  166. 166.

    Suzanne

    Now news sources are reporting that the explosion may have been fireworks, the truck was rented from Turo, and it is being investigated as possible terrorism?

    I heard that the NOLA vehicle was also rented from Turo? I’ve never heard of this service, but I rent trucks rarely.

  169. 169.

    Quinerly

    @zhena gogolia:

    Actually, he did get to run. And was doing a horrendous job at it and was losing. Badly. For 3 plus years.

    Not looking for an argument with you. I have always felt a kindred spirit with your comments pre July.

    Trumpers are famous for rewriting history. I just never want to be on a team that does that.

  172. 172.

    divF

    @Melancholy Jaques: Why ? Because SC is being an egregious asshole. She’s getting close to Kay territory, a commenter whom I used to like but who has gone over the edge, and consequently I have pied.

  173. 173.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @KatKapCC:

    Quinerly provided a link that analyzed polling to infer fairly convincingly that Biden likely would have lost badly and it was Harris/Walz that narrowed it to a narrow loss. They made up a lot of ground in a short period of time

  179. 179.

    KatKapCC

    @Quinerly: No, and I don’t know why you’re being so insufferable. My take is the same as Zhena’s. None of us is psychic. None of us knows for certain what would have happened in any other iteration of reality. He might have won, he might have lost. If instead of it being Harris who replaced him it had been Johnny Unbeatable, Johnny might have won and he might have lost. If Biden had kicked Trump’s ass at the debate, Biden still might have won or might have lost.

    NO ONE KNOWS ANYTHING FOR CERTAIN. And insisting that you do doesn’t make you sound smart like you seem to think. It makes you sound like a child.

  182. 182.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Other MJS: Someone one in another comment mentioned he has decided to be Elon again. I figured that meant he had dropped his ridiculous frog gladiator meme.

  183. 183.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Quinerly: Jesus fucking Christ, post fucking emoji if you want.  This passive-aggressive typing out descriptions of them is moronic.  Grow the fuck up.

  184. 184.

    Another Scott

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): OTOH, nobody knows the future.  And polling isn’t reality.

    Personally, I wish more people would use Cleek’s wonderful pie filter rather than deciding to go through these arguments yet again.  There’s no comment on this topic that is going to change anyone’s minds, AFAICS.  The horse is dead.

    YMMV.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  186. 186.

    schrodingers_cat

    Why have primary elections at all, if we are going to throw the results out based opinion polls.  Let’s let opinion polls and op-ed writers NYT decide everything. It will be cheaper too.

  187. 187.

    Steve in the ATL

    @KatKapCC:
     

    NO ONE KNOWS ANYTHING FOR CERTAIN.

    Technically true, it I would bet my life savings that Oregon’s football team will not win the national championship this year. Which is a shame, because (1) root for blue state teams over red state teams, and (2) fuck an OSU.

  188. 188.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Another Scott: Actually you are wrong there. We have set a very bad precedent that op-ed writers and opinion polls can decide when our nominee needs to step down.

    The horse may be dead but he/she will be reincarnated during the next primary season. Now that they have found that enough elected Ds can be bullied to turn on their own nominee.

    Happy New Year everyone.  I will bow out of this thread and not offend any more sensibilities.

    @zhena gogolia: As will I.

  190. 190.

    lowtechcyclist

    @JoyceH:

    What baffles me about the Tesla Cybertruck is – why is it called a truck? It’s not a truck!

    I guess they can’t market it as an oversized doorstop.

  192. 192.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Baud: I hear that the International Association of Abacus Users and Plow Horses Brotherhood are also contemplating strikes against the future.  Mennonites have agreed not to cross picket lines.

  200. 200.

    Quinerly

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    TY. I  was beginning to think no one read my links. Smiling, laughing, winking emojis.

    Honestly, I would rather leave it. Books will be written. The background and truth about 2020 will come out. A lot will eat a lot of crow on this, I suspect. I’m from the South. We talk a lot about eating crow.

    Like I said, my trigger got tripped….sick of Pelosi, et al being blamed/brought up in these threads as something akin to the antichrist. It’s childish to say but you are right …I didn’t start it.

    Time for some push back. I dipped in. Don’t spend my life here like some seem to do. But I have a voice. And I feel like I brought some fucking data.

    Plus…..Pelosi and Obama knew a lot more than random commenters on an obscure blog in July knew. I live in a world where I still defer to experts who do this for a living.

  201. 201.

    Barbara

    @lowtechcyclist: ​I don’t know why they call it a truck, but it’s probably being more honest than purveyors of minivans, which were built on truck platforms to escape car safety and fuel mileage requirements but were marketed as if they were cars.​

  204. 204.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Baud: two unrelated unions, but they may combine at some point like the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union.

    I sometimes forget that not everyone is a labor lawyer.  Which is just sad.

  210. 210.

    Another Scott

    @schrodingers_cat:

    We have set a very bad precedent that op-ed writers and opinion polls will decide when our nominee needs to step down.

    I disagree. Pundits are going to pundit, politicians are going to have opinions that they share with writers. Jimmy Carter told his aids that if Ted Kennedy ran against him he would “whip his ass” (and the talking head news people were overjoyed that they could report that the Sunday school teacher said a swear!!). There’s noting about the transition from Biden to Harris that’s some sort of dooming precedent.

    Horse’s mouth:

    You know, in recent weeks it’s become clear to me that I needed to unite my party in this critical endeavor. I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future all merited a second term, but nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy, and that includes personal ambition.

    So I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That’s the best way to unite our nation. I know there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life, but there’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices, and that time and place is now.

    Biden felt the party wasn’t behind him and there was too much division in the party. Not pundits, not op-ed writers, not polls against him – the party. It was his decision and he made it.

    IMHO, of course. YMMV.

    I’m glad your father is doing better. :-)

    Forward!!

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  213. 213.

    Quinerly

    @rikyrah:

    No. Stepped aside and announced that he would not run. The best time would have been after the midterms.

    Like I said…big Biden fan. I supported him in 1988. I always thought he would only run in 2020. He should have passed the re election torch in 2022.

  217. 217.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Baud:

    Where we’re going, we won’t need labor law.

    Without our unions and the ERA
    we will all have twice the jobs at half the pay

    -Si Kahn, “Government on Horseback” (originally written about Reagan)

  218. 218.

    Scout211

    CNN  is reporting that

    Fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel [were] used in Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside Las Vegas Trump Hotel

  220. 220.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Another Scott: Some of the party electeds gave in to the NYT bullying in form of Biden is old op-eds and opinion polling and Biden-is-old jokes of Bernie bro comedians. The CBC stood by Biden until he decided to drop out. Unlike fairweather Nancy and her minions in Congress.

  225. 225.

    Another Scott

    @schrodingers_cat: They are adults who have agency.  I’m sure they had people screaming at them for all kinds of reasons before July 2024 and were strong enough to do what they thought made sense before then.

    Sometimes things suck.  Sometimes things are unfair.  Sometimes we see disasters that others don’t see.

    Afterwards, we need to learn what we can from those times to try to make things better in the future.  But then move on, because we only have so much time and so much energy that we can devote to important and necessary tasks.

    My $0.02.

    Hang in there.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  226. 226.

    Almost Retired

    @Steve in the ATL:  And I am on the other side of you in the labor and employment law world.  While your goal is to restore the labor-management power balance the country enjoyed in the 1880s, mine is to drive every last job out of California with litigation and regulation.

  229. 229.

    Bill Arnold

    For spaceweather enthusiasts, Earth was hit today with a G4 geomagnetic storm, peaking noonish Eastern time. G2-G3 was expected. (Had some fun with all the solar data feeds!) Lots of flares in combination; a few X-class (one double flare) and a bunch of M-class.
    – 2025 is off to a good start. On Jan. 1st, auroras spilled across the Arctic Circle, spreading as far south as Mexico, Colorado and Arizona during an intense geomagnetic storm.
    – G4 (SEVERE) GEOMAGNETIC STORM ALERT THRESHOLD REACHED AT 1241 ET

  235. 235.

    Quinerly

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I’ll bite……why were Nancy….(and Obama….got to put him there) so “fairweather”? I mean reality tells us he wasn’t popular for over 3 years.  40% was about Biden’s max for 3 plus years of his presidency. Hard to win an election with that.

    You and select few here have free range throwing out this kinda crap….no data, no facts….just this emotional component that Biden was some sort of savior. (actually the only place I see it is here).

    So…..here’s a question for you…Why did Pelosi and OBAMA want Pres Biden to not run for re election? What did they know? Why did so many people who do this for a living think he should step aside?

    Would love to hear your thoughts.  A next level kinda thing.

    Winking emoji. Not holding my breath emoji.

  238. 238.

    Princess

    @divF: Yeah, I’m pieiing her again too. Not for the Biden counterfactuals — I was a Biden dead ended though in retrospect I realize now he was going to get crushed and we’d have lost even more senators. I’m mostly tired of her ignoring the very vocal anti-Biden Schiff, Warner, Schumer, not to mention Obama acting behind the scenes to push Biden out in order to focus all her ire on Nancy Pelosi. Gee, what makes Pelosi different from all those others? Anyway, I’m done listening to her yacking about it.

  239. 239.

    dnfree

    @schrodingers_cat: You know there are people here who disagree strongly with you, but you keep beating this drum in terms that make it appear you are stating facts, not your opinion.

    At the debate, Biden looked far from competent.  He wasn’t boring, he seemed befuddled.  That shouldn’t be ignored.  With months to go, what were the odds something like that or worse wouldn’t happen when it was too late to make a change?  Did you feel lucky?  I didn’t.

  240. 240.

    Gin & Tonic

    @mrmoshpotato: Actually my daughter did a Master’s there. Two years, and the one and only time she entered the football stadium was for commencement. Not a sportsball fan.

  242. 242.

    MomSense

    @Quinerly:

    Heres a question for you. Why did Biden’s campaign leadership call for a debate before the convention? Never happened before.

  248. 248.

    Quinerly

    @dnfree:

    I have to admit…political junkie that I am….I spent the summer up to the debate really not paying that much attention. High Desert gardening, never ending house guests, and hiking with JoJo las Orejas. Wasn’t following every little thing Handsome Joe did every day.

    Was devasted by the debate performance. The changes in Joe. Physical and mental. He was LOST and oftentimes not making sense.

    The only world I traffic in who thought he could have won this election is here. ….BJ…..And the same handful keep rewriting history with no data/no facts.

  249. 249.

    Miki

    @MomSense: Good question. I think they feared the worst but couldn’t act on the fear because that would be disloyal.

    The decision to side with loyalty was fatal, imo.

    The impulse to side with loyalty proves Biden’s lack of self awareness, and not for the first time.

  251. 251.

    mvr

    @Baud: I stayed at a hotel on that very corner in the Spring.  No, the night is much busier than the day.  There are people DJ-ing on competing corners of the street.  They have barriers that close off the streets and people walk in them at night.  It was loud in the hotel just from the street noise.

  255. 255.

    Quinerly

    @eemom:

    Hi there! Remember you from years ago. You were a riot late night when I lurked.

    Not as interesting now as you once were.

    Carry on, though! Happy NY.

  256. 256.

    eemom

    @Quinerly:

    Dunno if you are interesting now or ever were, but I do know you are insufferably smug on this particular thread.

    I suggest you read the article I linked.

Comments are closed.