So I accidentally caused a shitstorm on my neighborhood Facebook page. Where no good deed goes unpunished.
We have a great business down the street, a Mexican grocery store with a taqueria. The owner has four stores in this area and has operated them for 20 years. I walked by this afternoon, and they were closed, with no signage. So I posted on the page, asking about the closure and if everything was okay with them. CUE THE RACIST FREAKS. A couple of helpful people linked to a local story indicating that some Latino-owned businesses were closing today in protest of raids on immigrants. But others decided that my post was where to get their xenophobia on. I invited them — politely — to suck my dick. (Not in exactly those words, but I thought it very loudly.)
Seeing Ken Martin (new Dem party chair) on Maddow, and, hooboy, he needs some practice speaking. I want to support him! But daaaamn; lots of word salad about the backs of working people, but I couldn’t follow him, honestly. Raskin, Omar, and Murphy have all been quite good: detailed, understandable, to the point. (I don’t want to Dem-bash.)
I’m taking sips of the news, though; lots of personal overwhelm.
The Senate confirmed Chris Wright to lead the U.S. Department of Energy on Monday, putting the former oil executive in a key position to help shape President Trump’s energy policies.
Democrats who voted in favor:
Michael Bennet Colo.
Ruben Gallego Ariz.
Margaret Wood Hassan N.H.
Martin Heinrich N.M.
John Hickenlooper Colo.
Ben Ray Luján N.M.
Jeanne Shaheen N.H.
Businesses nationwide are participating in ‘Day Without Immigrants,‘ closing their doors or giving employees paid time off on Monday in solidarity with the community targeted by President Donald Trump’s policies and to highlight their input to everyday society, according to reports.
CBS News reported that participants encourage people not to shop, go to school or work in their respective communities. on Feb. 3. The day follows Trump’s recent executive orders on immigration, including one that could end birthright citizenship, opposing the 14th Amendment. It also comes amid growing fears of ongoing raids from ICE, according to the report.
There were lots of protests and marches here in California.
@narya: Yeah, he said some good things, and I’ll cut him some slack because he probably hasn’t been called to do national TV appearances before, but I sure hope he realizes he needs some media training and practice ASAP, no matter how many other things are demanding his attention.
@eclare: Raskin, however, was AWESOME. “They are attempting a coup and we’re not going to allow it.” I also appreciated that he said that massive public protest would put us in danger, given the release of the J6 thugs, etc. Smart.
California lawmakers in the Assembly sent Gov. Gavin Newsom legislation he requested as part of a special session to bolster the state’s legal defenses and immigration services to fight President Donald Trump.
The measures passed on party-line votes, with Republicans attempting to force votes on changes to each proposal. The bills now head to Newsom for his signature.
. . .
The first piece of legislation, SBX1-1, allows the California Department of Justice to use $25 million on legal fights with the Trump administration. It also creates a website to track lawsuits between the state and the Trump administration. During President Trump’s first term, California sued the administration 123 times.
. . .
The other bill, SBX1-2, provides $25 million in grants to non-profit organizations that provide immigration-related legal services, especially for those facing eviction, intimate partner violence and wage theft.
Tomorrow evening I will lead a Zoom discussion of Cole Arthur Riley’s This Here Flesh, focusing on the chapters: Lament, Rage, Justice, and Repair. The sequence she lays out is critical. We first need to lament, before we can move to rage, because lament contains the notion of hope.
“Marocco was also allegedly photographed and filmed inside the Capitol building during the January 6 riots, according to volunteer activists who have posted a widely citedinvestigation. Marocco has not been charged with a crime.”
I had put in for SS to start, as I reached full age. Then, with the new work, I was thinking of rescinding and waiting until January 2026, which would let me avoid taxes on SS and get me a $200/month raise. But now I am really unsure what the best path is.
@Betty Cracker: As that dipshit from Texas (Rick Perry?) learned, the Dept of Energy doesn’t have much to do with oil. It’s the (former) Atomic Energy Commission and a little bit of other stuff.
@eclare: I saw the interview as well. Maybe he was just nervous on this platform but it asoestkrs test Dems have elected a process person , not a real leader. Apparently he knows how to work the refs but he needs to be behind the scenes doing what needs to be done. There’s needs to be someone else in front of the camera.
@Bill Arnold: Do you have a link for that list? I know that review panel meetings have been postponed while the program officers figure out what to do. I don’t expect individual panels to reject proposals based on forbidden words, but that won’t stop political appointees at a higher level from doing the shit canning themselves.
@Bill Arnold: whistling past the graveyard here, but I gotta laugh, “inequality” and “discriminator” are gonna rule out a bunch of math and stats proposals…
@Quinerly: I bought some interesting fruit mixers made local at a Xmas fair, my cocktail was vodka, pineapple hibiscus juice and a splash of Prosecco. It was delicious.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said late Monday that El Salvador’s president has offered to accept deportees from the U.S. of any nationality, including violent American criminals now imprisoned in the United States.
Contacted Premier David Eby with an idea that somebody brought up in the comments in one of the threads, (shout out if it was yours),
SuperBowl Sunday might be a little different this year because of “ruZZian” hackers taking down the Canadian energy grids, electrical and natural gas, that supply much of the US, just until the Game and Post Game is over.
I had my work laptop melt down a few months ago because of an IT department screwup, and thought I’d lost everything I was working on, but at the last minute we managed to recover it.
@narya: Yep. I had to stop watching, too depressing. Guess who is a stellar off-the-cuff communicator? That’s right… Ben Wikler. I want Martin to succeed but with all the talk that the DNC chair should be more visible/vocal it made much more sense to vote for Wikler. That, and the extremely effective organizing and results. Oh well.
I feel like it would be irresponsible of me not to wonder whether or not Elon’s favored DOGE boys became his favored DOGE boys because they’re the ones who earned him is Top 20 Diablo ranking. Don’t blame me, I’m just asking the question.
@Bill Arnold: If that’s accurate, it’s going to cause basically every single NSF grant and application to be flagged. NSF has, for years and years and years, required a ‘Broader impacts’ section in proposals, basically requiring applicants to detail how the proposed work will aid society at large, whether it is through direct impact, student training, public outreach, etc. etc. Those thoughtcrime words appear as boilerplate in many many NSF proposals.
Hmmm….nice flavors. Love Prosecco. I substitute it for Champagne in a French 75. (Let’s let that be our secret)
I just don’t drink vodka. I don’t think I have had a vodka drink in 30 plus years. Love classic gin cocktails. And Bloody Marys but do them or order them with gin. Gin Bloody is a very NOLA thing. Guess I picked it up there. Have some great craft gins for martinis, G&Ts, and my favorite summer cocktail “The St. Charles.”
Been learning and tasting a bit about the higher end tequilas. Not sure they are for me.
I truly try to avoid criticism of Dems (came very late to my decision about Biden stepping aside).
With that said….a little too much comradery coming out of CO for me on the Energy Sec.
“Colorado Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper, who has known Wright for years, acknowledged there are ample issues the pair disagree on, which has prompted ‘heated discussions’ on the federal government’s role in addressing climate change, in particular.
But Hickenlooper — who introduced Wright at his confirmation hearing — ultimately supported his confirmation Monday.”
“He genuinely listens. He gives honest answers. He has pledged he will follow the facts,” Hickenlooper told POLITICO.
Here’s an example of the form, from something my colleagues and I got funded a few years ago. This is one paragraph of the one-page summary.
Broader Impact
The PPMS system is designed for both flexibility and ease-of-use, making it an ideal platform for both demonstrating phenomena such as the quantum Hall Effect and as a teaching tool to introduce students to cryogenics, magnetism, and multi-modal measurement techniques. In partnership with the Institute for Quantum Information and Materials (IQIM), an NSF Physics Frontiers Center, this system will be available as a demonstration platform for visiting high school students and teachers and will allow teachers participating in extended research internship programs to perform cryogenic high-field measurements with only small amounts of training. It will enable undergraduates participating in the summer undergraduate research fellowship (SURF) program at Caltech, many of whom come from a diverse range of other colleges and universities across the US and globally, to both learn the techniques of low temperature measurements and further their research projects. The research enabled by this acquisition can also lead to technological advances in quantum information, new quantum and energy materials, and functionalized devices
Note the doubleplusungood ‘diverse’, which in this context just means ‘broad’.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the head of the DNC primarily a fundraiser and not generally looked to for messaging? It’s not exactly the same situation, but I recall that Steele being fairly bad on camera (sadly) did not stop him from being effective.
Oh….that clam juice with the tomato base….am I right?
You have given me ideas since I keep bottled clam juice around for cooking. Just a splash in a Gin Bloody. I do heavy on horseradish and a little extra lime. Being originally from NC, I’m more of a Texas Pete (NC developed and made, ignore the Texas in the name) chick than a Tabasco.
Elon Musk has an uncanny ability to sort out which of America’s rules are real. It turns out punishment from the National Labor Relations Board isn’t real, and punishment from NASA isn’t real and punishment from the FAA isn’t real. The Delaware Chancery Court is extremely real. Based on the past two weeks, the Delaware Chancery Court may be the only real thing in the entire American government.
@narya: Yes, I saw Martin on Maddow also and was also shocked about what a bad speaker he was. They picked him over Ben Wickler, who has been on tv a lot and speaks very well? I couldn’t even tell you what he said, except that he spoke very fast with a lot of buzzwords. I hope public speaking isn’t a big part of the job.
I keep a small jar of pickle juice in the fridge to lightly splash into Bloody Marys, along with coarse ground black pepper, Worcestershire and if am feeling really frisky, a dash of celery seed.
Musk and Trump/Project 2025 have attys who have been gaming this out for 4 years.
We will see some top notch lawyering. The Federalist Society has been training for this moment for 35 plus years. Won’t be that parking garage atty chick. Remember her?
And, the power grab….this is for reals. They are planning on never giving it up.
Hickenlooper is a fucking fool. They need to stop helping staff this administration that is illegally gutting our federal government. All it does is make them look complicit. It feeds into the uniparty/duopoly/both sides are the same stuff
It doesn’t matter if it won’t ultimately stop them or even significantly slow them down. The point is to not be complicit and draw attention to the public about what is happening, to be seen fighting, and be leaders.
All the “giving Republicans space” to vote against the really bad appointees is dumb and stupid. It’s a bad excuse. It’s already been shown to be a complete and total failure with Hegseth and the supposedly “good” ones like Rubio and the Treasury Secretary are negotiating an agreement with fucking El Salvador to house “violent” US citizens in their prisons and have let Musk have access to Treasury payment systems respectively
ETA: All that said, it’s good they did a press conference today on Musk’s fuckery. More of that
@Aggieric: I’m positive they’re the ones who were piloting his Path of Exiles character–at least until he ruined all of their hard work and got his character killed on stream.
@Martin: SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said late Monday that El Salvador’s president has offered to accept deportees from the U.S. of any nationality, including violent American criminals now imprisoned in the United States.
Neither here nor there but tonight I stumbled on once respected legal mind and professor Alan Dershowitz’s video channel. Yes, I know his involvement representing Trump and of the Epstein rumors. I still didn’t realize how nuts and down the rabbit hole he has gone. All in for RFK Jr.
I do everything I can to not live in a total bubble. Subject myself to the crazy side and to the “Trumpist Thinkers.” Dershowitz is no longer even pretending to be in the latter.
Bashing Caroline Kennedy……… Jimmy Carter. And grievances, complaints, and more grievances…..bonus whining about how he has been treated on Martha’s Vineyard.
Hang in there. Glad to see you get your voice back!!!!
Don’t leave us. Ask all the questions you want…… when you feel like you need to.
****
CO folks need to weigh in on Hickenlooper. I’m trying to process the upside to his votes. Right now just not understanding them, especially coming from CO.
@narya: had same reaction to Martin. He needs to slow TF down and not act like his actual life depends on his blurted word count. Since messaging is so very important, it was not his best foot forward. I hope he gets some practice.
I started SS at 63, got a job a couple months later and worked for 9 more years. My SS is now rather reasonable. Of course we have shitforbrains and his buddy, elon dumbass, to really, really attempt to screw up SS. We are blessed with 2 asshole dumbasses, both of whom want to fuck over the US economy, one of them thinking it will make him more money and one of them has more than enough money to be able to laugh at us trying to find an open soup kitchen. I hope he chokes on the poison mushrooms and eats his weight in dollar bills. Old, very used ones.
@Jay: The Salvadoran president (a reactionary who came from money, but who did manage to suppress the MS-21 gangs w/ brutal violence) just confirmed. Sending US citizens abroad for imprisonment is against the U.S. Constitution, AFAIK, but who knows w/ this SCOTUS.
Stock market nose dives at the start of the Monday session due to the new tariffs against Canada & Mexico, but then quickly recovers when they get delayed a month due to token symbolisms from Canada & Mexico. Anyone want to bet that those well connected to the Trump Administration are making a killing playing the market movements? & there will be such opportunities monthly, at least.
@Betty Cracker: I called mine yesterday first thing. Guess they weren’t listening. Phooey, Bennett and hick. Hope todays in person group visit is more fruitful. I’m not going, but my intentions are with there.
in my opinión, they need to just say no, until Elon is stopped.
Sending US citizens abroad for imprisonment is against the U.S. Constitution, AFAIK, but who knows w/ this SCOTUS.
If they confirm it’s actually legal (probably due to some 15th Century Inquisition precedent cited by Alito), if we ever get power back we know what we can do with the Shitty Six.
If you are married and can afford to, it’s a good strategy for the person with the highest potential social security benefit to hold off taking their benefit until age 70. When one of you dies, the survivor will get the higher benefit.
Sister Golden Bear
Henry absolutely has the right idea.
eclare
I love Henry with his stuffy! And he has ears, yay!
thruppence
OK, we should have a post to thread with cute doggies and dog beds
AJ of the Mustard Search and Rescue Team
I’m back in Toronto where I grew up. So many different feelings.
V grateful for the blog and the indefatiguable front pagers.
Scout211
Nice, comforting pic, WaterGirl. The past two weeks have been an exhausting year. We have to take comfort where and when we can.
Suzanne
So I accidentally caused a shitstorm on my neighborhood Facebook page. Where no good deed goes unpunished.
We have a great business down the street, a Mexican grocery store with a taqueria. The owner has four stores in this area and has operated them for 20 years. I walked by this afternoon, and they were closed, with no signage. So I posted on the page, asking about the closure and if everything was okay with them. CUE THE RACIST FREAKS. A couple of helpful people linked to a local story indicating that some Latino-owned businesses were closing today in protest of raids on immigrants. But others decided that my post was where to get their xenophobia on. I invited them — politely — to suck my dick. (Not in exactly those words, but I thought it very loudly.)
Steve LaBonne
Our two greyhounds and our cat got us through the pandemic and will get us through Dump.
eclare
@Suzanne:
Wut
Maybe quit FB?
narya
Seeing Ken Martin (new Dem party chair) on Maddow, and, hooboy, he needs some practice speaking. I want to support him! But daaaamn; lots of word salad about the backs of working people, but I couldn’t follow him, honestly. Raskin, Omar, and Murphy have all been quite good: detailed, understandable, to the point. (I don’t want to Dem-bash.)
I’m taking sips of the news, though; lots of personal overwhelm.
Betty Cracker
What the goddamn fucking hell?!?
NYT gift link via Bsky:
If I were in their states, I’d call.
J. Arthur Crank
Henry (pronounced en-er-rhee) is the bestest boy in the house. I think everyone can agree on that.
Suzanne
@eclare: All these people thinking that “Heritage Americans” includes them….. it does not! And some white people are going to be rudely awakened.
eclare
@narya:
I don’t watch Maddow, that is depressing.
Scout211
@Suzanne: Today was Day without immigrants.
There were lots of protests and marches here in California.
Scout211
Seconded.
I’m glad I never started.
Redshift
@narya: Yeah, he said some good things, and I’ll cut him some slack because he probably hasn’t been called to do national TV appearances before, but I sure hope he realizes he needs some media training and practice ASAP, no matter how many other things are demanding his attention.
narya
@eclare: Raskin, however, was AWESOME. “They are attempting a coup and we’re not going to allow it.” I also appreciated that he said that massive public protest would put us in danger, given the release of the J6 thugs, etc. Smart.
Quinerly
@narya:
I agree. I’m Dem PARTY to the core. Wasn’t impressed with his speaking tonight on TRMS. Hopefully he pulls it together.
In better news, LOD is fantastic tonight
And re sips….I made a stiff Manhattan after Martin finished. New fancy vermouth and craft rye.
Scout211
Some local news:
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — KCRA
. . .
. . .
narya
@Redshift: that was my thought too—that he needs some media coaching. Not by “consultants”—maybe Mayor Pete.
Redshift
Hi, Henry! My foster bunny Curry (available in a pet calendar near you!) got adopted yesterday, yay!
Quinerly
@Redshift: Rye.
THIS!!!!
RevRick
Tomorrow evening I will lead a Zoom discussion of Cole Arthur Riley’s This Here Flesh, focusing on the chapters: Lament, Rage, Justice, and Repair. The sequence she lays out is critical. We first need to lament, before we can move to rage, because lament contains the notion of hope.
Quinerly
Meet who Little Marco has put in charge of USAID.
“Marocco was also allegedly photographed and filmed inside the Capitol building during the January 6 riots, according to volunteer activists who have posted a widely cited investigation. Marocco has not been charged with a crime.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/01/peter-marocco-trump-usaid
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/usaid-personnel-told-stay-away-headquarters-elon-musks-shutdown-commen-rcna190405
narya
I had put in for SS to start, as I reached full age. Then, with the new work, I was thinking of rescinding and waiting until January 2026, which would let me avoid taxes on SS and get me a $200/month raise. But now I am really unsure what the best path is.
BlueGuitarist
O Henry!
Is there an easy way to scroll through the images, like the Ozark H today?
I recall some recent beautiful blues.
J. Arthur Crank
@Quinerly: Well, you can’t spell Marocco without Marco. The former seems like a real piece of work.
Bill Arnold
@Betty Cracker:
Here’s what is allegedly a not-complete list of forbidden terms that will, if used, get a NSF grant application rejected:
Chris Wright also has a list of forbidden words, related to global heating, although it is much shorter.
frosty
@Betty Cracker: As that dipshit from Texas (Rick Perry?) learned, the Dept of Energy doesn’t have much to do with oil. It’s the (former) Atomic Energy Commission and a little bit of other stuff.
IIRC.
dww44
@eclare: I saw the interview as well. Maybe he was just nervous on this platform but it asoestkrs test Dems have elected a process person , not a real leader. Apparently he knows how to work the refs but he needs to be behind the scenes doing what needs to be done. There’s needs to be someone else in front of the camera.
John S.
@Betty Cracker:
Thank goodness Sen. Cantwell didn’t vote to confirm another clown.
Sen. Gallego seems to have a serious problem voting for Trump nominees. He’s almost as bad as Sen. Fetterman.
J. Arthur Crank
@Bill Arnold: Do you have a link for that list? I know that review panel meetings have been postponed while the program officers figure out what to do. I don’t expect individual panels to reject proposals based on forbidden words, but that won’t stop political appointees at a higher level from doing the shit canning themselves.
Quinerly
@John S.:
WTF is going on with Gallego? I’m very disappointed.
Mark
@narya: When I reached full retirement age I started collecting my SS. I kept on working. The money is gushing in.
NotMax
Woo-hoo! Back in the saddle again.
With significant struggle and effort (don’t ask) disconnected the PC, lugged it to the vehicle and into friends’ computer shop in town.
Turned out it wasn’t a kaput hard drive as I and they presumed but a BIOS problem and resetting that seems to have brought everything back to life.
Quinerly
@J. Arthur Crank:
Cool that you caught the name thing. I did a double take when I read it.
Avalune
I work for a community college – gonna have to strip that out of our name I guess 😝
Lyrebird
@Bill Arnold: whistling past the graveyard here, but I gotta laugh, “inequality” and “discriminator” are gonna rule out a bunch of math and stats proposals…
(laughing to not cry or scream and wake the kids)
BlueGuitarist
@NotMax:
👍
Timill
@NotMax: So how is the backup going?
scav
@Lyrebird: Well, banning “trauma” is going to complicate a bit of medical research.
Jay
@Lyrebird:
don’t forget Binary, there goes Computer Science.
NotMax
@Timilll
Plan on doing a full backup to an external hard drive overnight while catching what passes for sleep.
J. Arthur Crank
@Quinerly: The writers of this timeline are just phoning it in right now. Can we have another writers strike?
Bostondreams
@J. Arthur Crank: https://bsky.app/profile/darbysaxbe.bsky.social/post/3lhcvn4hxwk2o
Sure Lurkalot
@Quinerly: I bought some interesting fruit mixers made local at a Xmas fair, my cocktail was vodka, pineapple hibiscus juice and a splash of Prosecco. It was delicious.
Kayla Rudbek
@Lyrebird:
@Bill Arnold: this is also going to knock out chemistry, biochemistry, medical, and physics articles
Gin & Tonic
@Quinerly:
Name names.
Martin
Pathway for exiling US citizens has now opened up.
Jay
Contacted Premier David Eby with an idea that somebody brought up in the comments in one of the threads, (shout out if it was yours),
SuperBowl Sunday might be a little different this year because of “ruZZian” hackers taking down the Canadian energy grids, electrical and natural gas, that supply much of the US, just until the Game and Post Game is over.
Jay
@Martin:
It’s lil’ Marco, so until the Salvadorians confirm with doc’s, take it for what it probably isn’t.
Redshift
@NotMax: Yay! What a relief.
I had my work laptop melt down a few months ago because of an IT department screwup, and thought I’d lost everything I was working on, but at the last minute we managed to recover it.
Bill Arnold
@J. Arthur Crank:
Here’s thread reader for a twitter thread:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1886584910967922973.htmlt is images.
Somebody in the replies put it in a google docs doc, and I deduped it, sorted it alphabetically, and put it in one paragraph.
I’m not sure I got the language; it could be that it is being used or also used to pull existing grants.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1886584910967922973.html
Note: I did a brief search earlier looking for confirmation, and did not find it.
BarcaChicago
@narya: Yep. I had to stop watching, too depressing. Guess who is a stellar off-the-cuff communicator? That’s right… Ben Wikler. I want Martin to succeed but with all the talk that the DNC chair should be more visible/vocal it made much more sense to vote for Wikler. That, and the extremely effective organizing and results. Oh well.
Lily
@Bill Arnold: thanks
Aggieric
I feel like it would be irresponsible of me not to wonder whether or not Elon’s favored DOGE boys became his favored DOGE boys because they’re the ones who earned him is Top 20 Diablo ranking. Don’t blame me, I’m just asking the question.
dmsilev
@Bill Arnold: If that’s accurate, it’s going to cause basically every single NSF grant and application to be flagged. NSF has, for years and years and years, required a ‘Broader impacts’ section in proposals, basically requiring applicants to detail how the proposed work will aid society at large, whether it is through direct impact, student training, public outreach, etc. etc. Those thoughtcrime words appear as boilerplate in many many NSF proposals.
Matt McIrvin
@Betty Cracker: Never been so glad I live three miles this side of the state line.
Quinerly
@Sure Lurkalot:
Hmmm….nice flavors. Love Prosecco. I substitute it for Champagne in a French 75. (Let’s let that be our secret)
I just don’t drink vodka. I don’t think I have had a vodka drink in 30 plus years. Love classic gin cocktails. And Bloody Marys but do them or order them with gin. Gin Bloody is a very NOLA thing. Guess I picked it up there. Have some great craft gins for martinis, G&Ts, and my favorite summer cocktail “The St. Charles.”
Been learning and tasting a bit about the higher end tequilas. Not sure they are for me.
John S.
@Quinerly:
I have no idea what he is thinking. I’m still trying to get some answers from Sen. Cantwell, but none of her offices wanted to answer the phone today.
Quinerly
Everyone’s favorite journalist Susan Glasser is shrill tonight. “We have to call out the lie.”
MSNBC
Quinerly
@dmsilev:
Fucking nightmare.
Kay
Good article about how immigrants groups are protecting one another
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-migrant-arrests-activist-campaign-20939aa5
CHICAGO—President Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda descended upon Chicago’s “Mexico of the Midwest” precisely one week after his inauguration.
Thor Heyerdahl
@Quinerly: Thanks for the gin bloody suggestion.
I’m going to try a Canuck variant with the gin Caesar.
Ohio Mom
@Betty Cracker: The upside to having only Republican Senators, I am never surprised. Always gobsmacked, but never surprised.
Martin
@Redshift: I mean, this isn’t some deputy assistant job – this is the head of the DNC. And we had multiple candidates that can bring in on TV.
Dem leadership needs to get their fucking act together.
Quinerly
@John S.:
I truly try to avoid criticism of Dems (came very late to my decision about Biden stepping aside).
With that said….a little too much comradery coming out of CO for me on the Energy Sec.
“Colorado Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper, who has known Wright for years, acknowledged there are ample issues the pair disagree on, which has prompted ‘heated discussions’ on the federal government’s role in addressing climate change, in particular.
But Hickenlooper — who introduced Wright at his confirmation hearing — ultimately supported his confirmation Monday.”
“He genuinely listens. He gives honest answers. He has pledged he will follow the facts,” Hickenlooper told POLITICO.
prostratedragon
Does Henry! realize what an important societal function he performs these days? Extra pats for him.
dmsilev
@Quinerly: Yeah, pretty much.
Here’s an example of the form, from something my colleagues and I got funded a few years ago. This is one paragraph of the one-page summary.
Note the doubleplusungood ‘diverse’, which in this context just means ‘broad’.
Jay
@Thor Heyerdahl:
Clamato?
TurnItOffAndOnAgain
@narya:
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the head of the DNC primarily a fundraiser and not generally looked to for messaging? It’s not exactly the same situation, but I recall that Steele being fairly bad on camera (sadly) did not stop him from being effective.
Quinerly
@Thor Heyerdahl:
Oh….that clam juice with the tomato base….am I right?
You have given me ideas since I keep bottled clam juice around for cooking. Just a splash in a Gin Bloody. I do heavy on horseradish and a little extra lime. Being originally from NC, I’m more of a Texas Pete (NC developed and made, ignore the Texas in the name) chick than a Tabasco.
Gin Bloody Caesar!
Thor Heyerdahl
@Jay: I will try French’s or Walter’s and fly the maple leaf
BarcaChicago
@Martin: Agreed. Hey, I know – maybe Ben Wikler can be Martin’s spokesperson? Sigh.
Quinerly
@Jay:
I think a bit different. My brain went straight there, though. Ugh. Clamato. Double ugh.
Then I backed up.
Basic tomato juice Bloody concoction…I do mine from scratch…now I’m doing a twist with Hatch, NM chiles….
will do a splash of clam juice…..desert chile meets clam.
I can dig.
Kay
Elon Musk has an uncanny ability to sort out which of America’s rules are real. It turns out punishment from the National Labor Relations Board isn’t real, and punishment from NASA isn’t real and punishment from the FAA isn’t real. The Delaware Chancery Court is extremely real. Based on the past two weeks, the Delaware Chancery Court may be the only real thing in the entire American government.
https://www.theverge.com/politics/605609/musk-trump-doge-takeover-crisis
Gretchen
@narya: Yes, I saw Martin on Maddow also and was also shocked about what a bad speaker he was. They picked him over Ben Wickler, who has been on tv a lot and speaks very well? I couldn’t even tell you what he said, except that he spoke very fast with a lot of buzzwords. I hope public speaking isn’t a big part of the job.
Quinerly
@Thor Heyerdahl:
Clamato…I just think immediately about that weird Mott’s brand.
We can do better.😉
My next brunch here in April, I can add a splash of clam juice. Will report back!
NotMax
@Quinerly
I keep a small jar of pickle juice in the fridge to lightly splash into Bloody Marys, along with coarse ground black pepper, Worcestershire and if am feeling really frisky, a dash of celery seed.
Quinerly
@Kay:
Musk and Trump/Project 2025 have attys who have been gaming this out for 4 years.
We will see some top notch lawyering. The Federalist Society has been training for this moment for 35 plus years. Won’t be that parking garage atty chick. Remember her?
And, the power grab….this is for reals. They are planning on never giving it up.
Quinerly
@NotMax:
I believe strongly in those frisky celery seeds. No salt needed.
Kidding aside….anything celery is pretty amazing to me. Great flavors when sautéed/cooked down.
Quinerly
Me thinks Musk might be getting a tad too much attention. Trump be jealous?
Snark aside…no country can survive on a roller coaster.
Who’s in charge?
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-hints-at-curbs-on-musks-powers-after-billionaire-shakes-up-washington-c84159b8?st=QPmtrx
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Quinerly:
Hickenlooper is a fucking fool. They need to stop helping staff this administration that is illegally gutting our federal government. All it does is make them look complicit. It feeds into the uniparty/duopoly/both sides are the same stuff
It doesn’t matter if it won’t ultimately stop them or even significantly slow them down. The point is to not be complicit and draw attention to the public about what is happening, to be seen fighting, and be leaders.
All the “giving Republicans space” to vote against the really bad appointees is dumb and stupid. It’s a bad excuse. It’s already been shown to be a complete and total failure with Hegseth and the supposedly “good” ones like Rubio and the Treasury Secretary are negotiating an agreement with fucking El Salvador to house “violent” US citizens in their prisons and have let Musk have access to Treasury payment systems respectively
ETA: All that said, it’s good they did a press conference today on Musk’s fuckery. More of that
NotMax
@Quinerly
Put in mind of somber Todd.
J. Arthur Crank
@Bill Arnold: Thanks!
Quinerly
@NotMax:
I don’t think I have heard or played that going on 30 plus years.
Very good. I actually put it on good speakers to get a better listen/handle on it tonight. TY.
I will admit that I am not a big Todd Rundgren fan. Can only name a half dozen songs, if that.
Thanks!
Darkrose
@Betty Cracker: I have been deeply unimpressed with Gallego so far. He doesn’t feel like much of an upgrade from Sinema.
Darkrose
@Aggieric: I’m positive they’re the ones who were piloting his Path of Exiles character–at least until he ruined all of their hard work and got his character killed on stream.
danielx
@Quinerly:
That may be the scariest part. They are acting like they are never going to have answer to anyone for anything, voters and elections be damned.
Darkrose
Confirmed 99-0.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
@Darkrose: Our very own Ribbentrop. Here’s hoping Marco’s career ends the same way.
NotMax
@Darkrose
Unanimous vote to get him out of the Senate?
//
Quinerly
Neither here nor there but tonight I stumbled on once respected legal mind and professor Alan Dershowitz’s video channel. Yes, I know his involvement representing Trump and of the Epstein rumors. I still didn’t realize how nuts and down the rabbit hole he has gone. All in for RFK Jr.
I do everything I can to not live in a total bubble. Subject myself to the crazy side and to the “Trumpist Thinkers.” Dershowitz is no longer even pretending to be in the latter.
Bashing Caroline Kennedy……… Jimmy Carter. And grievances, complaints, and more grievances…..bonus whining about how he has been treated on Martha’s Vineyard.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SuX4zIJOA6c&pp=ygUcZGVyc2hvd2lyeiBjYXJvbGluZSBrZW5uZWR5IA%3D%3D
Quinerly
@danielx:
Playing for keeps.
People must wake up NOW.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Quinerly:
Not really much of a fan either, but I always really liked his song The Want of a Nail
NotMax
@Quinerly
Rise Up.
The Sun has to push to get through
Whadda ya do
;)
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Bruce K in ATH-GR:
We can only hope
@NotMax:
I wish he could’ve gotten the treatment that guy with multiple names from New York got instead where he was expelled from Congress
Quinerly
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Hang in there. Glad to see you get your voice back!!!!
Don’t leave us. Ask all the questions you want…… when you feel like you need to.
****
CO folks need to weigh in on Hickenlooper. I’m trying to process the upside to his votes. Right now just not understanding them, especially coming from CO.
NotMax
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Very early Rundgren, A Beautiful Song.
Quinerly
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Will save for tomorrow AM. TY
Right now I’m deep into “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall.”
Dylan vs Russell
Hmmmm….that’s a hard choice. Such a perfect song.
Quinerly
@NotMax:
Heart emoji.
That one I know pretty well.
NotoriousJRT
@narya: had same reaction to Martin. He needs to slow TF down and not act like his actual life depends on his blurted word count. Since messaging is so very important, it was not his best foot forward. I hope he gets some practice.
NotMax
@Quinerly
Wonder how much the name of the group (and that album) was inspired by Lord Buckley.
Ruckus
@Scout211:
I stopped FB years ago, thought I’d miss it. I was wrong.
Not one iota.
Ruckus
@narya:
I started SS at 63, got a job a couple months later and worked for 9 more years. My SS is now rather reasonable. Of course we have shitforbrains and his buddy, elon dumbass, to really, really attempt to screw up SS. We are blessed with 2 asshole dumbasses, both of whom want to fuck over the US economy, one of them thinking it will make him more money and one of them has more than enough money to be able to laugh at us trying to find an open soup kitchen. I hope he chokes on the poison mushrooms and eats his weight in dollar bills. Old, very used ones.
NotMax
@Ruckus
Always thought that would make a fine name for a subcompact car.
The Nissan Iota.
:)
YY_Sima Qian
@Jay: The Salvadoran president (a reactionary who came from money, but who did manage to suppress the MS-21 gangs w/ brutal violence) just confirmed. Sending US citizens abroad for imprisonment is against the U.S. Constitution, AFAIK, but who knows w/ this SCOTUS.
YY_Sima Qian
Stock market nose dives at the start of the Monday session due to the new tariffs against Canada & Mexico, but then quickly recovers when they get delayed a month due to token symbolisms from Canada & Mexico. Anyone want to bet that those well connected to the Trump Administration are making a killing playing the market movements? & there will be such opportunities monthly, at least.
Baud
@YY_Sima Qian:
I said that was the plan when Trump on Saturday delayed the tariffs to Tuesday.
ColoradoGuy
@YY_Sima Qian: Classic pump and dump. Well, Trump learned at the knee of the master, Roy Cohn, mob lawyer and Nixon protege.
We’re seeing all the gangster moves from Trump, with additional Ketamine-fueled craziness from Elon and his teenage fan club.
Jackie
@Redshift:
He should call Buttigieg for coaching lessons!
I see Narya and I think alike! :)
Gloria DryGarden
@Betty Cracker: I called mine yesterday first thing. Guess they weren’t listening. Phooey, Bennett and hick. Hope todays in person group visit is more fruitful. I’m not going, but my intentions are with there.
in my opinión, they need to just say no, until Elon is stopped.
TheronWare
Hello Henry! BOOP!
Miss Bianca
@Quinerly: Hick’s’s a former gas and oil guy. That’s how he made his bank before he decided to start brewing beer and dabbling in politics.
Hoo boy. I really am going to have to call both my sad sack Senators every day now, aren’t I?
way2blue
Love seeing Henry snuggling with his ‘security’ buddy. Thanks for the photo.
Captain C
@YY_Sima Qian:
If they confirm it’s actually legal (probably due to some 15th Century Inquisition precedent cited by Alito), if we ever get power back we know what we can do with the Shitty Six.
dnfree
@Ruckus:
@narya:
If you are married and can afford to, it’s a good strategy for the person with the highest potential social security benefit to hold off taking their benefit until age 70. When one of you dies, the survivor will get the higher benefit.