Those of you who follow me on BlueSky know that I had zero patience for the strategy of “I’ll work with Trump on things we agree on” strategy that Bernie and Ro Khanna (more from Ro but certainly Bernie did it), with, I assume, the conclusion that “*shocked face* Trump didn’t do it”. That was dumb.
But this video is 7 minutes of straightforward Democratic response to Trump’s inaugural message. It’s good, and worth watching. It also has a message of hope at the end.
AOC calls him “tio” (uncle). I have a few tios that I normally don’t listen to, but when they’re right, they’re right. Tio got it this time.
Baud
I can’t watch but happy to hear it’s good. The Senate Dems put him in charge of outreach, I believe.
Baud
I see some subreddits are starting to ban links to X.
Suzanne
@Baud: That’s a good role for Bernie’s strengths. He’s very straightforward and unpretentious, and that has a lot of appeal.
I will also note that Fetterman merely cosplays at that working-man schtick (Carhartt hoodie and gym shorts to the inauguration, JFC).
Old School
I guess it’s all in the framing.
Bernie Sanders list of things that we need to do in the next four years will still result in *shocked face* – Trump didn’t do it.
ChrisSherbak
It all sounds good – but I daresay MAGA doesn’t care about climate change, income inequality, or campaign finance reform. Interesting he frames it as “trade” union not just union. (Or maybe that’s his age talking?) Also, what BERNIE didn’t talk about was the cost of eggs and gas, ostensibly the reason for Trump’s win. He also left out any mention of abortion or civil rights. But I guess you gotta talk to people where they are.
SpaceUnit
Welp, I sure as hell wasn’t going to watch trump’s speech yesterday so I’ll take his word for what was and wasn’t said.
Oh, but Kamala campaigned on everything Bernie suggested and um . . . here we are.
Baud
/r/IBEW continues to rock
Darkrose
@Baud: Yup. /r/ffxiv is considering it, apparently.
waspuppet
Couple of weeks ago, Timothy Snyder laid out the case for a shadow Cabinet. I think that’s great, but even moreso I think we need a shadow president.
That is essentially what Trump did: He was out there every single day saying “If I were president, you wouldn’t be having these problems.” Of course he’s subliterate and manages to be simultaneously a toddler AND senile, so he didn’t have any specific reasons for the things he said.
But we need someone out there every day saying “Well, Donald Trump and Elon Musk sure fucked THAT one up, didn’t they? If they had any idea what they were doing, they’d (actual Democratic solution).” Harris is the logical choice; if she doesn’t want to do it, Sanders seems as good as anyone. But it’s got to be someone.
Baud
@waspuppet:
Ahem.
Starfish (she/her)
@ChrisSherbak: How long do you think the gulf coast is going to be stuck at home with their weird snow storm? Snow in Houston. Snow in New Orleans.
Raoul Paste
@Baud: Subtle
Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)
One thing I really wanted to hear was applying value to trades. We have too few electricians and plumbers and carpenters – indeed we have far too few of almost everything – and there is still this focus on university education and degrees when we’re churning out more accountants and analysts who come out saddled with student debt (and yes I did hear him talk about free higher education, but we need blue collar workers now and ending usurious tuitions won’t fill the skilled trade gap). We still need to build things, and to repair things, and perform all the other tasks you can’t do from behind a computer or from a corner office. And trades make decent salaries: far above service jobs whose growth for decades have been the lament of the center-left. If we want a more successful next generation, there’s one obvious path and nobody talks about it.
And one other thing I would like to hear from SOMEONE on our side is how the GQP has abandoned and betrayed the GI Bill that spawned the post-WW2 boom. We gave the tools for success to one generation, and let it carry on to the one directly after them – and to no other generation since. That is a total abdication of duty. Somebody should call that out on the national stage.
Ohio Mom
@waspuppet: The logical choice would be someone who could run in four years. So not Harris or Bernie, sorry to say I think we need a white, straight male.
Because you want people to say, “Wow, he really makes sense,” and then when he runs, he has name recognition and a reputation as a smart cookie.
A critique from Harris in particular would come off as sour grapes.
Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)
@ChrisSherbak: MAGA positively delights in climate change. The ones not welcoming it as a sign their Messiah* is imminent are chortling about extinction events making the libs cry. Income inequality is what they want because they think they are the ones getting more, and there’s nobody in their hermetically-sealed propaganda bubble telling them anything different who isn’t promptly shoved out.
Steve LaBonne
@Ohio Mom: The trouble with that is that a lot of Democrats think they should be the next candidate. So such a spokesperson pretty much can’t be a potential candidate because the others wouldn’t tolerate that. One of the many respects in which a presidential system is worse then a parliamentary system is that it presents the party out of power with serious obstacles to mounting effective opposition.
Starfish (she/her)
@Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq): I pray that these mofos get raptured so I don’t have to tolerate their nonsense. 🙏
matt
@Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq): I saw an article where some Republican was gloating that we’d never build another windmill in America again.
John S.
@Suzanne:
Jimmy Kimmel had a great line about Fetterman last night:
Sandler of course is well known for keeping it casual.
Suzanne
@John S.: Fetterman wore a suit when Bibi Netanyahu came to visit.
Quinerly
@Baud:
More fall out around the salute. Folks, schools, groups leaving X. International.
apnews.com/article/musk-gesture-salute-antisemitism-0070dae53c7a73397b104ae645877535
John S.
@Suzanne:
Of course he did.
Baud
@Quinerly:
Between that and all the social media censorship, some people may finally waking up. The question is whether they’ll stay woke.
John S.
@Quinerly:
If actual Nazis think he made the fascist salute, who is the ADL to claim otherwise?
ETA: And this tidbit was especially gut wrenching from that article.
I mentioned this the other day, but these people can fuck all the way off blaming Musk’s bullshit on autism.
Quinerly
@matt:
And, 1000’s and 1000’s of them in very Red Oklahoma and Texas. Texas alone has 15,000 and generates close to 30% of wind energy in the country. I have driven by many of these areas. Miles and miles and miles. “Texas Wind Belt.”
energybot.com/blog/biggest-wind-farms-in-texas.html
Another Scott
@waspuppet: Bernie isn’t a Democrat.
:-/
Best wishes,
Scott.
TONYG
@Suzanne: Gym shorts in that cold weather? Jesus. As an old geezer, one thing that annoys me is seeing middle aged guys wearing shorts in freezing weather.
Quinerly
@Baud:
Let me consult my neighbor’s chickens. #of eggs and prices. We all know everything depends on the price of eggs.
lowtechcyclist
@Starfish (she/her):
Pensacola, too. Headed towards Betty C, perhaps?
Barbecue Swinger
@Quinerly: My husband and I drove from Houston to Palo Duro Canyon a few years ago, and I was stunned at the number of wind turbines in that part of Texas. Like you said, miles and miles of them. Yes, some Texans are not going to be happy with a turbine ban.
Leto
@Starfish (she/her): my mother sent me a clip of highway 90 in Biloxi covered. Hopefully poster NuclearBuscuits is doing well.
Quinerly
@Suzanne:
Fetterman is on my shit list for a lot of reasons. Plus, he looked like a complete fool yesterday. The hoodie looked like he slept in it. Shorts all baggy and ill fitting. Ridiculous. Embarrassing.
Leto
@lowtechcyclist: it’s already there if it is. My parents are currently in Bonifay, FL and they already have 3” with more on the way. Hope everyone just stays inside.
Jager
@Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq):
My 26 year old grandson is the youngest plumbing contractor in Santa Cruz County. He dropped out of college after 2 years, started his apprenticeship, once he was licensed he went back to school at night, took some construction management courses. He works his ass off, 6 and 7 days a week, he makes excellent money and carries zero debt. His work truck is paid for and his other car is a classic Mercedes coupe.
He and his lovely girlfriend went to Europe for 2 weeks last year, planning another trip this year, He surfs, rock climbs, is a camping and hiking fool.
We’re proud of him!
Starfish (she/her)
@Leto: Nukular Biskits says he is missing it because he is on a work trip. I wonder how Mrs. Biskits is holding down the fort.
Leto
@Barbecue Swinger: fuck’em.
And with that, class is starting.
Gretchen
One of Trump’s first-day actions was to overturn Biden’s limits on Medicare prescription drug costs – that was his first-day priority, to make things cost more for seniors. Will the cost-of-eggs people care?
I’m curious if, when one of the released violent criminals like Proud Boy Stewart Rhodes kills someone if it will get as much outrage as Lakin Riley’s murder by an immigrant. After all, it will have been absolutely predictable that a violent criminal will still be violent, and it will be directly traceable to Trump releasing them, not some vague « open border » claim.
Rhode’s ex-wife says Rhodes has always had a « kill list », and that she, one of her daughters who testified against him, and Nancy Pelosi are at the top of the list. They were so relieved when he got 18 years, but now he’s out. thehill.com/policy/4957905-stewart-rhodess-ex-wife-son-say-they-fear-for-their-safety-if-trump-pardo…
Suzanne
@Quinerly: He wears that shit like Sinema wore her poodle skirts.
My neighborhood Facebook page is, of course, where all the (hilarious) drama happens. Someone who is funny is on there right now making a lot of jokes about gas prices and pointing out that eggs were supposed to be 99 cents by now!
Starfish (she/her)
@Gretchen: Someone shared a screenshot from X from AmericanShaman thanking Trump for his pardon and saying he was going out to buy guns. I am not on X so I can’t double check, but if it is real, 🤦🏻♀️
ArchTeryx
@Suzanne: Looks like Fetterman was a crypto Republican all along. Hardly the first time one of those managed to fool people into thinking they deserved the “D” next to their name. (*ahem*Kyrsten Sinema).
Primary the bastard when the time comes. In the meantime, I hope he switches parties. Because I guarantee you he won’t win an R primary.
Harrison Wesley
@John S.: Autistic, autarchic,…. whatever.
TBone
Bernie Sanders put shoulder to grindstone and shifted the Overton Window largely by himself (not solely, I said largely) in a very short period of time and, for that and other things, he has my gratitude.
This video is spot on.
Quaker in a Basement
Maybe I’m kidding myself, but I take that attitude as a starting position. Trump made lots of noise about doing things to help poor and middle class America. Taking the position that those are good ambitions doesn’t require anyone to believe he’s actually going to follow through on those promises. It only means that Dems agree that there are economic issues that desperately need to be addressed.
There will be plenty of time to point out that Trump didn’t mean it when he made those promises. I think Bernie is getting started on that message today.
Quinerly
@Barbecue Swinger:
Love Palo Duro Canyon. Loathe Texas.
I really didn’t have a clue about the number of turbines just in Oklahoma and Texas (stumbled on a bunch of them in Southern AZ a year ago. That was surprising) until I started driving back roads/different routes thru Oklahoma and Texas from St. Louis to New Mexico. Before I moved here permanently, I would pick different areas to cross the border into NM. (Probably the only traveler who sought out Clovis, Portales, and Hobbs, NM but that’s a story for another day. Definitely not “The Land of Enchantment” over there)
You saw some of the biggest wind farms. But small ones are all over in the middle of nowhere. All providing jobs, etc in the communities. I tend to stop a lot when curious and ask questions. As much as I dislike Texas and Oklahoma, I have had interesting chats over bad coffee in country store like settings with locals about wind farms and the communities. A lot of money is being pumped back in these areas. They love wind power.
Josie
@Leto: That is exactly what we are doing in Houston. The city has told us to stay off the roads today and tomorrow. We are not prepared (3 ploughs for the whole city) to deal with this kind of weather. My son won’t even let me take the dog out since he is afraid I will slip and fall on the ice. Thank goodness for the computer and good books.
The reason the grid is holding up is due to wind and solar that has been added since the last bad freeze. I dare any of those morons to try to take that away from us.
Barbecue Swinger
@Leto: Yep. The finding out is about to begin.
Quaker in a Basement
@ArchTeryx: Still rather have him than “Doctor” Oz.
different-church-lady
We’re in for four years of people being outraged and nobody doing anything about it.
TBone
@Quaker in a Basement: me too!
ArchTeryx
@Quaker in a Basement: Well, yes. Even crypto Republicans are better than actual fascists. Then, we’re about to get “Doctor” Oz anyway, aren’t we?
Another Scott
ObOpenThread? Phys.org:
It’s a horrible disease. It took our Colleen (GSD+border collie) and our Sophie (BMD, GSP, Dachshund, etc.), and my SIL’s husky mix. Here’s hoping this research pans out and leads to an effective treatment, for canines and humans alike!, soon.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Manyakitty
@Baud: good. Hope that gains momentum.
Suzanne
@ArchTeryx: So, I have explained here before….. Kyrsten Sinema sucks, and everyone in Arizona knew it. For years. She isn’t just terrible politically, she basically played dirty tricks on fellow Democrats to win primaries. The Dem Party backed her because she managed to put together a winning coalition when Arizona was redder than it is now, and they were sick of losing elections. Dems really, really struggled statewide there, for a long time. AZ still has a significant GOP registration advantage.
Fetterman is a bit of a different case. But I suspect that the recent election has changed his view of the PA electorate, and he wants to win reelection.
Manyakitty
@Suzanne: at this point, I’m surprised he wasn’t wearing knee pads. What a disappointment he turned out to be. Gonna be a hoot when trump deports Gisele. (Rage face emoji)
Quinerly
@Starfish (she/her):
Just saw it on MSNBC. I am always very Shaman curious and interested. An old friend and classmate of mine at Saint Louis University School of Law was the Shaman freak’s first attorney.
Al Watkins was a good friend of mine in school and for a few years after we graduated. I have no idea what happened to him mentally and why he started taking some of his cases. He is a publicity whore. He also represented the gun waving, lawyer couple….the McCloskeys in St. Louis. This reminds me….need to Google Al and send a couple of emails. I’m now curious about what he is up to. Second or third marriage to a chick 30 years younger a few years ago. He was all over CNN a few years ago. Just not my same, old friend, for sure
Edited to add…Al in 2022 on his representation of the Shaman freak.
stlpr.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2022-01-06/al-watkins-on-fighting-for-the-qanon-shaman-theres-met…
And this is wild. I don’t even know my old friend anymore.
kwstllaw.com/reverend-lord
Manyakitty
@Ohio Mom: just like all of trump’s criticism, yet here we are. (I don’t necessarily disagree with you. Just so so bitter right now)
Ruckus
@Ohio Mom:
A critique from Harris in particular would come off as sour grapes.
She seems far more than smart enough to get that.
Shitforbrains is going to fuck up. First he will likely not listen to anyone, even the people that are supposed to be there to help him. But of course he seems to only see people as competition. (And yes he’s placed himself so far off the grounded place he should be, that no matter what anyone says – he’s likely to see them as competition)
Suzanne
@Quaker in a Basement: We’re going to have Dr. Oz heading up CMS, and Fetterman said he’s going to vote for him.
Manyakitty
@Jager: that’s the way to make it happen! More people need to follow that kind of path.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Suzanne:
So, he’ll throw away everything he supposedly believed in and vote for people and things he knows are wrong just to win reelection? He’s selling his soul for power. I hope he’s primaried
Ruckus
@Quinerly:
I left it some time ago. A few years ago.
So I can’t tell if it’s better or worse but I’d highly suspect far worse. One of the reasons was because it was getting bad when I left and just seemed to not be worth the time. Now I know I was correct when I left.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Suzanne:
Is there any evidence that PA constituents have complained to his office about this and other things? If there was, would he publicly ignore it?
geg6
Ugh, no thanks. Just the thought of him ever being right makes me feel as ill as yesterday’s debacle does. I didn’t watch that either. It still made me ill.
Suzanne
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
I mean, I am telling you what I suspect. I can’t tell you what’s in his heart. But he would not be the first politician who put career first.
As for whether or not PA residents are calling Fetterman’s office about his Dr. Oz vote, I have seen no reporting on that.
Geminid
@Barbecue Swinger: A few years ago I drove I-20 through west Texas and was impressed by the number of wind turbines i saw. They were lined up on low ridges about 15 miles apart and below them were oil pumps and an occasional rig drilling a new well. There were cattle grazing among them; I was seeing three stages of Texas’s economic history at once.
When I got to New Mexico there were hardly any wind generators at all. This wss3 despite the windiest weather I’d ever experienced while camping. The wind at Santa Rosa Lake State Park made the winds at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina seem like gentle zephyrs!
But that was the year New Mexico Democrats passed the clean energy package that Governor Michelle Luhan Grisham.had made the centerpiece of her 2018 campaign.
New Mexico Republicans had wasted the state’s huge potential for wind and solar power generation, but now the state was going to start catching up with Texas.
Besides smaller projects, the SunZia wind project in Lincoln, Tarrant and Otero(?) Counties will be the largest project of its kind in North America. It will be complemented by a transmission line that will supply power to Arizona and Southern California.
New Mexico Democrats have really made a difference in this area. One payoff will be the shuttering of the Four Corners coal generation plant early in the next decade. Back in the 1960s, astronauts could see the smoke plume that plant put out from space.
geg6
@Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq):
What the hell are you talking about? The Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) is an awesomely sweet deal. The old GI Bill (Chapter 30) sucked donkey dicks but the new one is excellent. Tuition paid, $1000 for books plus a housing allowance, in addition to being able to transfer benefits to dependents. Even the old dependents benefits (Chapter 35) for dependents of deceased or disabled veterans is chump change comparatively. You have no idea what you are talking about. I worked to get those benefits to vets and families for 26 years, so I’ve dealt with all of those and all the other VA educational benefits and will tell you that current GI Bill benefits are the best that have ever been.
Starfish (she/her)
@Quinerly: Why is there a tattoo portion to that legal website?
raven
@Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq):
and let it carry on to the one directly after them
Are you fucking kidding me?
Quinerly
@Ruckus:
I never was on it or Twitter. I was Twitter curious at the start up but was so incredibly busy with work at that time really never had the time. I’m to a point now that X, et al have all passed me by. Limited time and attention span now.
Jack Dorsey was from St. Louis. I never knew him but his baby brother, Drew Dorsey, lived in my old inner city neighborhood of Soulard. Drew (and dad) hung out in one of my old after work watering holes in the neighborhood. I always enjoyed hanging with those 2 and hearing about Jack starting up Twitter…I guess 20 years ago. I was clueless about what Tweeting would become and they might have been even more clueless. Drew (had had a pretty severe head injury. I think a motorcycle accident. Some brain damage) and the dad were just regular guys. So proud of Jack back then. All before Jack Dorsey got so weird. Dad drifted away. Drew was always at the bar. Last saw Drew in 2022. Unfortunately, he tragically died about a year or so ago. Up until about 10 years ago, Jack Dorsey was back in St. Louis often….doing a lot of community stuff, visiting with small businesses….when Square was starting up. Probably more than 10 years ago now that I think about it. Local Catholic boy who hit the big time for sure.
raven
@geg6: And mine sucked. I got the same dollar amount as my old man did when he got out.
Starfish (she/her)
@Quinerly: That’s interesting. Jack is another one who is such a big weirdo that it is hard to think of him as a human person.
Ksmiami
@Suzanne: then he’s a worthless weathervane…
geg6
@raven:
You had the Chapter 30. That was the Vietnam era GI Bill, which (as mentioned in my comment above) sucked donkey dicks. I was a certifying official when 9/11 happened and was working with Post 9/11 GI Bill the minute it was enacted. I had students who had one or the other just because of the timing of their service (Gulf War v Iraq/Afghanistan). The disparity between Chapter 30 and Chapter 33 was massive. I really felt bad for the Gulf War vets.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Suzanne:
I get what you’re saying, you’re saying what you suspect.
I think Fetterman is an evil man who is willing to work with evil people for the sake of his political career and he needs to pay a price for it. He should be primaried
RevRick
@Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq): The conservative/reactionary mindset is based in hierarchies of race, class and gender, and a significant chunk will insist that it’s divinely ordained. So while everything Bernie says about various economic injustices is true, they are seeing everything through cultural lenses. And this even extends to our relationship to the natural world. They see dominion not in terms of care, but in terms of exploitation.
Unfortunately for the rest of us enough ill-informed “vibes” voters supported his Felon47’s return that we now face a horror show. We have to pray that his incompetence exceeds his grasp.
Already, his pardons for the January 6th thugs has placed several swing district Representatives and Senators in a squeeze of having to defend the indefensible. Which puts them on the wrong foot to start.
Quinerly
@Starfish (she/her):
The entire site is weird. The other main partner (Mark) was a good friend of mine too. He was always rather conventional. He has early retired because of health…I think Parkinsons. Mark was already a great guy and perfectly sane.
Watkins was always a loose cannon in class and “out there.” And FEARLESS. I’m just shocked he is now pushing this “Reverend Lord” on his legal site. That and the tattoo….New to me.
Don’t know how far you got into his site. He did help to bring Gov Greitens down.
lowtechcyclist
@Steve LaBonne:
True. So a ‘shadow President’ needs to be someone who is popular in the party and can represent it well, but who doesn’t see themself as a future President.
I’ve got an idea: how about Tim Walz?
Suzanne
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I don’t know if he’s “evil”. I think a lot of politicians are self-interested.
Quinerly
@Starfish (she/her):
Like I said…never met Jack. Thought a lot of Drew and the dad. Drew never bragged about Jack after everything took off. More like “my brother came home to visit.” I mean we are talking 15-20 years ago.
Had a friend who owned and still owns a bakery in South St. Louis. Whenever Square was being launched or taking off, Jack came to her bakery and they did a little segment for local media. She always spoke highly of him because of that. Jack Dorsey was a St. Louis boy….until he wasn’t.
different-church-lady
@John S.: “Autism made me a Nazi” is a hell of a take.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Suzanne:
No, he’s evil. Anybody is who is willing to work with someone who did this:
The Trump admin wants to erase them from existence, a literal genocide, and he’s more than willing to help them staff the admin with corrupt, evil people who will do Trump’s bidding without question
ArchTeryx
@Suzanne: And being Republican Lite is going to do a damn bit of good when a real Republican runs against him? Ds always seem to fall into that trap no matter how many of them get booted from office by Rs. That shit may work in a House district, but if the statewide electorate is going Trumpy, he’s going to lose no matter what. Didn’t we just go through this parade with Manchin?
gene108
On Bernie’s video: One thing I’ve learned is the average American voter doesn’t give a flying fuck about the less fortunate. Trying to address homelessness is important, but it’s not going to get many votes.
There’s no clear way to lower rents or force the construction of affordable housing at the federal level. It’d be great if Democrats had a realistic plan on these issues, but they don’t.
Losing the protections of the ACA is a real tangible threat to voters. Losing Social Security and Medicare benefits is a real tangible threat to voters.
People might care about what Republicans do regarding existing programs. I think that’s the only leverage Democrats have regarding policy.
geg6
@geg6:
There was also a huge disparity between the Chapter 33 recipients and the Reserve/Guard benefit (Chapter 1606) that didn’t seem to matter until the Shrub started calling up Reserve and Guard units for active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. They were not considered in the Chapter 33 legislation (because no one foresaw the use the Bushies put them to) and so they had to create a new benefit for them (the members who served active duty tours overseas), Chapter 1607. It basically gave them the same benefits as Chapter 33 if they served in active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. But that was several years in and the average Chapter 1606 benefit was about 2 to 3 hundred dollars a month while enrolled and that’s it. Lots of reservists and guard members who served active duty got screwed until that legislation got passed.
different-church-lady
@Quinerly: TRUMP WAS PRESIDENT FOR FIVE HOURS AND THE COST OF GAS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD WENT UP 16 CENTS!!!!
(True, actually…)
Quinerly
@Geminid:
And I still haven’t made it to The Comet. Would be a short day trip since I now live near Lamy.😉
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@ArchTeryx:
And honestly, I think it’s too soon to see where PA’s electorate is. Fetterman and Sharpiro were only elected in 2022, quite handily, and Shapiro remains very popular in PA. It could just be the Trump effect and he won’t be around forever
different-church-lady
@Gretchen:
As long as they cost even more for the black family in the next cardboard box over, no.
Geminid
@Suzanne: I thought Fetterman agreed to wear a suit on the Senate floor in September of 2023, and he has since then. At least, that is what I found when I looked it up yesterday, after someone posted a picture of him in a suit and tie at Trump’s inauguration. I’d seen the picture of him arriving in shorts and a hoodie so he must have changed.
The person posting the picture of him was snarking:”Haw haw, he’ll wear a suit for Trump!” It was similar to one I saw claiming he wore a suit for Netanyahu’s speech, as if this was unusual and he’d dressed up for the occasion.
If it’s true that Fetterman has worn a suit on the Senate floor since he agreed to in September, 2023 that was just so much baseless character assasination.
gene108
@ChrisSherbak:
The issue is whether non-MAGA voters care enough about those issues to out vote Republicans. From recent elections, I think a lot of would be voters no longer feel their vote will matter regarding the direction the country takes regarding those issues.
Republicans are awful, but Democrats don’t have one weird trick to solve everything, so people get disillusioned.
Suzanne
@ArchTeryx:
I think overall style, aesthetics, whatever you want to call it, has more to do with how people are voting these days. Policy doesn’t matter to many people, maybe most people.
I want to note that I am describing what I perceive, not what I want.
Quinerly
@different-church-lady:
6 degrees here. I haven’t left the house since music in Madrid, NM on Sat. Gas could be $5 on Santo Domingo Pueblo and I wouldn’t know. I am going to check on these pedigreed chickens next door.
Been mainlining too much news, Trump, and BJ….tomorrow, I’m on the move. Hang in there.
For the most part, you always crack me up.😈
John S.
@different-church-lady:
Isn’t it though? Especially after the attempt to seize on the “Roman salute” and then use that to explain it away.
These people think everyone is stupid, and they’re not entirely wrong based on the overall media coverage.
different-church-lady
@Quaker in a Basement: It’s all about matchups, ain’t it?
John S.
@Quinerly:
Safe travels wherever you’re going.
Starfish (she/her)
@different-church-lady: That mess did not work for James Damore.
ArchTeryx
@Suzanne: Right. But I’ve seen one “rotating villain” in the Senate after another with a D after their name since the Gingrich years, and starting with W, they all started getting voted out in favor of Rs. The last batch watered down the ACA severely, got zero Republican votes, and every single one was voted out in 2010. A real R beats a Republican Lite every single time now, if it’s a Republican electorate. Either stand by your party, change parties, or resign as far as I’m concerned.
Manchin and Sinema are now gone. Fetterman needs to buy a clue, badly, become an R, or resign. AFAIAC, there’s no more room for DINOs. “Which side are you on?” is the only question that matters to me any more.
Suzanne
@Geminid: I saw this piece with pictures of Fetterman at the Inauguration, in the Rotunda, wearing shorts and hoodie. I don’t know if he changed later, but he appeared in the Capitol in this outfit.
He wears suits sometimes, as you noted, so dressing like a slob for official functions is a choice at this point.
Geminid
@Quinerly: Blue Hole is another nice place to visit in Santa Rosa. Its a sinkhole, and is a popular destination for divers; a quiet spot when those crazy cave divers aren’t around.
Santa Rosa is a gritty town, but it’s got a nice stone library. Santa Rosa Lake State Park is nothing special, and I think it probably would have been better to have left tge Pecos River undamned. But that part of New Mexico was so dirt-poor they were glad their Congress-people could get the money.
I like it for camping though. The tent sites are on a ridge and there’s an 8 mile horse trsil behind them. It’s a loop, so as long as I stayed inside I could wander around and not lost.
Geminid
@Suzanne: I know Fetterman appeared in shorts and a hoodie earlier and I said so.
But there was a picture of Fetterman in a suit and tie later in the day. It was posted by someone hostile to him, and for that reason I don’t think it was faked.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Suzanne:
I hope my comment at 81 didn’t come across as hostile and directed at you, because I didn’t mean it to be towards you, but towards Fetterman.
Suzanne
@Geminid: Well, I refused to watch that shitshow yesterday as it happened, and I caught up on details later. So it is entirely possible that he changed later, but it does appear that he wore his Carhartt getup for the formal part of the event.
As he wears a suit to other official Senate functions, including the Netanyahu speech, it does seem like this was a specific choice. If he wanted to show disrespect to FFOTUS, seems like it would have been better just not to go.
Rocks
Where he’s wrong? If he hadn’t been such an asshole in 2016 we would have had President Hillary Clinton. Thanks for nothing, Bernie.
Quinerly
@John S.:
That made me laugh. Nowhere exotic tomorrow…..just shower, dress, drive into Santa Fe since I haven’t done really of that since Sat. I usually hibernate for 2-3 days when big news events hit since the luxury of early retirement. The cold and ice made it easier. Haven’t even trekked to the mailbox.
Think it’s a “Tiny’s Restaurant and Lounge ” and the Bob Dylan movie day. Tiny’s is an old school Santa Fe “dive” with great red chile. I think “A Complete Unknown” leaves the Crown Violet after Thursday. Big Dylan fan here.
Hang in there. Catch you on a thread in a few days.
glory b
But I thought everything Schumer did was terrible!
Now, Bernie is saying the same thing! He’ll work with Trump too.
Bernie was head of outreach during the last session, as I recall, more of his beloved young people voted Republican. Does he have an explanation for what happened?
How does he propose to realistically expect to convincingly reach out and tell people to vote for a party he won’t join himself?
Has he ever explained how he managed to hire one of Paul Manafort’s partners as his campaign manager?
Why he kept campaigning long after he had a chance to win, calling Hillary corrupt?
why, when she challenged him to name one corrupt thing she did, he never gave any details?
He GAVE the “Hillary Corrupt!” message to Trump. Many times Trump said, “I didn’t say it Bernie did!”
And OF COURSE the old white guy gets huzzahs for talking about the exact same thing the black lady said during the campaign. with everybody acting like it’s all brand new.
Believe it or not, black women have seen this play before, and we didn’t like the ending (apologies to Taylor Swift).
glory b
@Rocks: Exactly.
Ben Cisco
@glory b: Yup.
Quinerly
@Geminid:
I saw him in real time because I did watch that shitshow. When I saw him he was in shorts and a hoodie looking like a bum walking around the Rotunda.
irishstar.com/news/us-news/hakeem-jeffries-outfit-inauguration-fetterman-34521125
Quinerly
@Suzanne:
What I want to know is why I only recently learned Keith Olberman was involved in a relationship with Sinema? Did you know this and not tell us? (Winking emojis in many colors with some red devil emojis randomly thrown in).
I have lost all respect for him….Laura Ingraham, Sinema, and Olivia Nuzzi. He’s dead to me.
Quinerly
@Gretchen:
That scum Rhodes was been all over tv today. Yale law graduate. You know who else is Yale law?
Vance
Sen Hawley (fist pump Missouri)
(Yep, time for me to leave my house.)
Suzanne
@Quinerly: I did not know that. Ew. That’s a whole list of crazy right there. Indicates something gross about him.
Queen of Lurkers
@Barbecue Swinger: We get our electricity as 100% wind in a suburb of a big Texas city. We made this choice more than 15 years ago. Close to 30% of Texas’ electricity is wind power.
Geminid
@Suzanne: Look, I really don’t care what the fuck John Fetterman wears. But I ran into someone on social who posted a picture of him in a suit and a tie who said that he had dressed up specially for Trump.
So I looked up Fetterman’s dress practices and I came upon a story in a Pennsylvania political journal that recounted how Fetterman agreed in September of 2023 to wear a suit and tie on the Senate floor.
And then I ran into someone saying he wore a suit for Netanyahu’s appearance, the implication being that he had dressed up specially for Netanyahu. The poster was “pro-Palestinian.” He hated Fetterman because of his position on the Gaza war and he wanted others to hate him also.
I never liked Fetterman back when he ran in 2022, and I said so here several times during that primary. People didn’t want hear it either, because they’d built a cult of personality around him (like they’re building this anti-Fetterman cult now). I thought Progressives were looking at “fool’s gold,” and it turns out they were.
But I think the two socisl media posters I talk about above– not you– were intentionally misleading their audience, and I hate that shit.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Suzanne:
I’m genuinely sorry if I said something wrong. I was just really angry about the Trump EOs
Quinerly
@Suzanne:
Just between you and me. (Winking emojis, many colors.) I had a little crush on him a few years ago. My reputation will be tarnished if this gets out. Keep it on the downlow. Let’s never mention it again. (More winking and dancing/wide eyed emojis)
Geminid
@Quinerly: Well, it sounds like some anti-Fetterman guy was trying pull the wool over his readers’ eyes by showing a picture from another occasion, and he fooled me too.
The irony here is that some of the same people did the same things to Connor Lamb in 2022 that they’re doing to Fetterman now, and for the same reasons.
But I wonder how Pennsylvanians rate John Fetterman as to job approval, especially Pennsylvania Democrats. This is just a matter of curiosity unless and until he runs again in 2028. I don’t think he will; this is not a healty man.
Quinerly
@Geminid:
Check out this.
newsweek.com/john-fetterman-team-responds-picture-janaury-6-lectern-guy-2018333
anitamargarita
@Quinerly:
I think that every household that can should keep at least two hens. They eat all sort of leftovers and scraps, pay you back in eggs and high-nitrogen manure.
Bupalos
@SpaceUnit: She absolutely did not campaign on everything he said. Practically none of it in fact.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Bupalos:
She did, actually. I vividly remember it. And Sanders is a backstabbing traitor who shit all over Biden and Dems after the election loss, saying they never tried helping working people, when his administration and Congress did a lot to do so. He had the fucking gall to praise Trump’s pledge to reduce credit card fees or interest when Biden had already done so via EO/rule making and it had been struck down by some GOP federal judge.
Biden gave him a lot privileges while he was president and was basically his only friend in the Senate when he was still a Senator. The guy’s a creep
Bupalos
He’s wicked. Of the devil. Possessed by demons.
Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)
@geg6: What I mean is that the make-the-middle-class-stronger engine that drove the 50s, 60s and early 70s has been abandoned in favor of neoliberalism, supply-side and other nonsensical “economics.” OF COURSE military recruits are getting a good deal. But the widespread delivery of the original, that boosted WW2 veterans, is gone, and there’s nothing there to replace it. That is part of what drives MAGA: the vague recollection of how things used to be better coupled with a complete misunderstanding of what made those things better – and who took those things away.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Bupalos:
Be a smartass. You know what I meant. And evil people exist. Trump is one of them. Musk is one of them. Fetterman, imo, is one of them. He’s willing to help staff the administration of a fascist with people will do his bidding without question. A fascist who just purged nearly all federal websites of references to LGBTQ and HIV and is actively trying to purge those people from public life. I’d say that’s pretty evil. And I know he’s not the only one, so don’t think I’m singling him out
Bupalos
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Erm, no. She and Biden rather studiously avoided at least half of Bernie’s list there, and pedaled the rest in whatever dulcet tones would keep our ace in the hole Liz Cheney on board.
But if you have her talking about income inequality or healthcare as a human right I’d like to see it. save all the moralized betrayal backstabbing blah blah and just post that.
Bupalos
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I know what you meant and I think it’s stupid. Fetterman isn’t “evil” and this moralized purity politics where we spend all day sorting sheep and goats is why we lose. Not my favorite politician but calling him “evil” is just silly.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Bupalos:
Funny, I recall you praising Biden and his economic policies back when. Was that a load of bullshit that you didn’t believe?
And seriously, the Liz Cheney shit? That was a small fucking part of the campaign that is not even worth mentioning.
“Moralized betrayal backstabbing”? He is a fucking backstabber who has never been able to expand his voting base to attract the people he would need to win a national contest, so he tears other people down. I don’t understand how you can just dismiss the example I gave where he shit on Biden and then fucking praised Trump for promising to do something Biden had already done but was blocked by a Republican federal judge after the election! He just did it to grandstand, like he always does!
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Bupalos:
OK. Fine, I won’t call him evil. How about collaborator, is that better?
And I find it mighty interesting how you didn’t address my bringing up the Trump’s administration’s actions at attempting to erase LGBTQ people. You don’t think that’s evil? You don’t think willing to vote for cabinet members that will enthusiastically carry out that agenda is evil?
Gloria DryGarden
Thanks, mistermix for posting Bernie’s video here. He doesn’t do his demagogue thing. He gets right to the point, names his points, gets in, gets out. Short and sweet, spot on. The things trump never mentioned in his speech, but that are foremost in everyone’s minds. Healthcare, affordable housing, wealth gap.
I saw it earlier on YouTube and then on BlueSky ; it was good. And by creating an appropriate focus, while pointing out that FFOTUS didn’t. I gave me a more hopeful point of view.
even if y’all don’t like Bernie, I recommend this one.
brantl
@ChrisSherbak: The reason to call them trade unions, Is because trade unions teach people a trade, i.e. apprenticeship programs which we need a lot more of this country to elevate people’s wages.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@geg6: thank you. I was in 1980 to 2000 and yeah that eras GI bill sucked. Thank you for what you did for the post 9/11 vets
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@brantl: of course it would be nice if some of the trades were less of an old boys club…
glory b
@Bupalos: Harris Calls for Nations to Join in Fighting Financial Inequality
nickdag
Where he’s wrong is that this is all policy focused and not emotional. We need to call out the depravity of Trump and Republicans. We need to engage people emotionally. This speech by Sanders felt like the same strategy that we’ve always done, and the same strategy that has gotten us here.
nickdag
@waspuppet: Yes, yes, yes to shadow president and Harris leading that