To adapt to the Horrors,* I’m oscillating between two media consumption poles. I tune everything out completely for a while and spend most of my free time on the porch or in the yard, observing the waterfowl and other critters or reading escapist books. Then I’ll dive in and read about the Horrors or listen to podcasts outlining the carnage until I’m too horrified to continue, so I revert to a media blackout again.
Over the weekend, I read and heard some speculation in the vein of why Trump is doing A and what motivates Musk to do B and why Vance is gobbling knob C, etc. It occurred to me that I’m sick and fucking tired of plumbing the depths of those sociopaths’ abnormal psychology to try to figure out how to anticipate and prepare for further Horrors. It’s a small thing, my personal weariness of the spectacle, but I’ve never been more over anything in my entire goddamn life. And we’re only three weeks in.
Sigh.
Open thread.
*Thanks, Rose!
Baud
It’s why the media wanted him back.
Elizabelle
Trying not to let The Felon or Elon live rent-free in my head; giving them as little attention as possible, although hearing about the outrages via osmosis.
Keeping an ear out for actual on the ground protests. Not in DC today, but if I were able to be up there, Elizabeth Warren and others are rallying at the CFPB.
Fuck Trump and the ignoramuses he rode in on.
FDRLincoln
Today’s phone call was to my GOP Kansas senators about RFK Jr’s nomination. As usual, straight to a full voice mail box for Senator Marshall (150% Fascist, Chaotic Evil). They never answer.
Staffer for Senator Moran (90% fascist, Lawful Evil) answered and politely took down my message about how horribly unsuited RFK Jr is to the HHS job, my concern about his attitude towards vaccines and basic science. Staffer told me that Moran has yet to make a decision about RFK Jr. Which means nothing; Moran often makes noises about not supporting some horrible GOP policy but always votes for them anyway. At least his staff answers the phone though.
Tomorrow’s calls will be about Kash Patel. Gotta pace myself.
Elizabelle
@Baud: And why we should avoid their clickbait as much as possible.
Really limit clicking on the outrage stuff.
frosty
I’m with you on all of that. I’m also sick and tired of looking at their faces whenever I venture onto a real news site.
Time to call my new R Senator instead.
Jacqueline Squid Onassis
I’m with you on this. I’ve been advocating that we pay no attention to what these people say and instead just fight back against what they do. Nothing Dollar Store Mussolini says actually means anything. He’ll say whatever weird shit occurs to him and he will never stop the flood of shit from his rat-hole.
And so I never listen to him or read about anything that he’s said because that, like day trading, is a sucker’s game.
Old School
I’m trying to not to get too far towards either poll. But I hope your method works for you!
Baud
Via reddit, real news
FDRLincoln
I’ve also had to back off constant news consumption for my mental health.
Still making daily phone calls, though. My family situation precludes taking part in protests most of the time, so calling Congress and donating money to the ACLU is about the best I can do right now.
Michael Bersin
My third set of images from Saturday’s protest rally and march in Kansas City:
“My parents fought for my future, now I will fight for theirs”
The last image broke my heart.
suzanne
One of the things I have been ruminating on is how so many people love seeing the performance of the presidency. FFOTUS turns it into an absolute car crash. But people rubberneck at car crashes.
I share your fatigue.
Elizabelle
@FDRLincoln: Many thanks for what you’re doing.
I am happily and safely ensconced in Blue Virginia.
Do you all think it would do any good to write to and call the relatively sane red state Senators? Maybe write them some heartfelt letters about the shame they will bring upon themselves if they do not stop this damage and power grab.
Trying to remember Lobo’s slogan, something about dishonor lives on.
It is true, and that might have an effect.
Jeffro
Mrs. Fro and I have taken to calling our Dem Senators (Kaine and Warner) frequently but we also call our MAGA Representative (McGuire) to remind him that he has an oath to our Constitution to uphold and remind him that it’s up to Congress – NOT some billionaire foreigner – to decide what gets funded and what payments go through.
It helps.
Also a reminder to all: any day that you’re not thinking about this insanity ALL DAY LONG is a victory!
Betty Cracker
We may be about to see whether the rule of law is still a thing…
tobie
I received a disgusting reply from my reichwinger representative to my letter regarding the NIH. It was a form letter praising Trump and the self-less Elon–working without pay!–for cutting all the waste, fraud and abuse in the federal govt. I’m keeping these letters for a future Hall of Shame.
Still, I’ll write and call and be a thorn in in his office’s side. It’s not much and if I weren’t worried about losing my job and taking care of my mother I’d be out protesting. It’s time to revive my knitting and sewing. I need some soothing hobbies and knitting is as relaxing as meditation or yoga for me. Different strokes for difft folks, I guess.
Old School
@Betty Cracker: Well, we were going to reach this point at some time. Might as well do it now.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
The psychological profiles are just stupid. I don’t care. It would be nice if the ‘analysts’ bothered to tell us more information on likely consequences and help us follow the money. It’s not like that isn’t the only thing that Trump and his people really care about besides staying out of jail.
JoyceH
@Jacqueline Squid Onassis: I have to disagree. Trump simply saying that we’re going to own Gaza is extraordinarily dangerous, whether he makes any move to make it happen or not. It destabilizes the whole Middle East – we could easily start to see protests and violence just based on his moronic statements. If King Abdullah of Jordan gets overthrown and killed, Trump killed him. He’s making it mighty hard for our allies in the region to stay in power. And his deeply ignorant blathering about Treasuries could crash the market. The guy’s a menace. I would have thought that even some Republicans who haven’t gone full MAGA could see that. He’s crazy and he’s going to get crazier.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@tobie: Working without pay but not without profit
FDRLincoln
@Betty Cracker: Well, there it is. We’ll know within a week if we still have a Republic.
If they continue to violate court orders and the Court can’t find a way to enforce it, then the Constitution is no longer in effect and extra-constitutional means will be necessary to restore it.
AM in NC
@Michael Bersin: Thank you for posting these. Solidarity.
Hildebrand
@Baud: Yep. Profit over principle.
Over the weekend I was blocked by Karen Tumulty on BlueSky. She was whinging about the hoi polloi having the temerity to call on the legacy media to do better, and I suggested that she, and too many others like her, are exactly what got us into this mess, all because Trump gets them clicks and views.
sab
@tobie: If you are having anger or frustration issues, perhaps a hobby involving two long pointed medal objects isn’t such a good idea.
//.
Suzanne
@JoyceH:
Yeah. Looks like the ceasefire may be over and Hamas is suspending the hostage release.
No One of Consequence
Take heart Betty. Your observations and musings help a lot of people. More than you know. Take solace in the the possibility that you are here for a purpose at this time, despite the conditions of our surroundings and events of the present.
The strategy is to overwhelm. The tactic is gishgallop writ large. They WANT to throw shit in the fan, because they’re swine and don’t give one whit about the smell, or even if they are standing in front of it.
Its beyond obvious at this point that Cheeto Benito doesn’t care how he looks, or he DOES care and thinks that his efforts appear normal or appealing. By displaying a deep and open contempt for the philosophical concept of The Truth, they are (I believe) neoCamus’ians. Hunter said when things get weird, the weird turn pro. Well, things are absurd. That’s so far off of the weird map, I’m no longer sure laws of navigation apply.
We must help them to become the most ridiculous versions of themselves. They are well on the way, without any help at all. So perhaps, if your feeling tired or rundown, strap on a bemused grin and realize that you recognize ridiculousness. Help others to see it too. Hopefully, we can get enough eyes open, or at least paying attention, and these clowns will do their own demise for us.
Is this not the way Carlin tried to point out to us? Granted, he was a little less rosy on the species in general, but it is the ridiculousness and the observations I hold onto.
Positive thoughts your way,
-NOoC
edited to correct grammar and word choice
Elizabelle
@Hildebrand: In honor of the late and much missed Villago Delenda Est:
Fuck Karen Tumulty. As a Villager, she deserves a low tumbrel number.
May it arrive to carry her away soon.
They ALL brought this down on our heads.
Kosh III
@Elizabelle: “shame they will bring upon themselves”
What shame? To quote JR Ewing “Once you give up your integrity the rest is a piece of cake” followed by his evil laugh.
AM in NC
@FDRLincoln: Yes. And that scares the hell out of me. Why the Healthcare vigilante killing didn’t scare these fatherfuckers into stopping this shit is beyond me. Guess they think stochastic terrorism only goes one way?
Who the fuck wants an out of control, lawless, and violent society?
Guess they think their Pinkerton’s will protect them. I doubt it.
frosty
@tobie: Knitting is good. You need to practice for when the tumbrels roll by.
A Ghost to Most
Since we have been dealing with this for 40 years with our relatives, it’s just another fucking chapter.
Redshift
I agree, especially because too much of the speculation amounts to sanewashing, trying to come to with some explanation of what they’re trying to do that makes sense, instead of accepting that any plan to “respond” to something that was a pack of lies in the first place is never going to make sense.
tobie
@sab: Hadn’t thought of that. Thanks for pointing out the potential danger. I could always clean grout with a toothbrush as my weapon of choice. it’s tedious but that may be good for my weary soul and frayed nerves.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
@FDRLincoln: It seems to me that this is a perfect time for whoever’s named as a defendant to get one of those orders saying “you are hereby ordered to appear before this Court and show cause why you should not be held in criminal contempt (PS: bring toothbrushes and fresh underwear)”, and then when the judge doesn’t buy it, he/she should order the court bailiffs to take the defendants into custody for contempt of court, by force if necessary.
Captain C
@JoyceH:
There’s your problem. There are no meaningful non-MAGA Republicans left.
tobie
I just read: 22 states sue NIH over 15% cap on indirect expenses.
https://bsky.app/profile/joshgerstein.bsky.social/post/3lhtm6m5t5k2q
I’ll check downstairs if this is posted on David Anderson’s thread
ETA These are the 22 states: MA, MI, IL, AZ, CA, CT, CO, DE, HI, ME, MD, MN, NJ, NY, NV, NM, NC, OR, RI, VT, WA & WI.
opiejeanne
@Hildebrand: Good for you. Too bad she can’t take the heat.
Geminid
I will reprise Elizabeth Warren’s warning from this morning’s post:
Senator Warren seemed to speaking of Americans in general, but I hope the warning resonates with Democrats, and they as much as possible avoid letting Trump’s assault on democracy “divide, distract and demoralize” them by way of intra-party grievances and fights.
We’ll get our chance for that in next year’s Congressional primaries, which is when these arguments will be made to and decided by Democratic voters. In the meantime, we have Governor’s and legislative races in Virginia and New Jersey to win.
cmorenc
@No One of Consequence: You advocate making Trump / Musk : MAGAs ridiculous. You know who else was so ridiculous as to be a cartoonish unintentional self-caricature? Adolph Hitler. Consider that the reason the many “Downfall” bunker scene caricatures are so hilarious is because it portrays Hitler morphing into hyperbolic Donald Duck mode as he recognizes his inescapable defeat. Hitler’s hyperbolic mannerisms are not nearly so amusing in clips of his Nuremberg rallies as he was consolidating his power toward malign ends, and at that contemporary time, it was not such a sure thing he would not succeed in imposing his malevolent madness on all of Europe.
Trump is still at the US equivalent of the Nuremberg rallies stage, and the antics of Judge Cannon and SCOTUS short-circuited us from getting to the “Downfall” stage with Trump.
Elizabelle
@Kosh III: Do you know that for sure?
JR Ewing is a fictional character. Some of these red state Senators are Foghorn Leghorns, to be sure, but there are no doubt some reachable ones, and we should find them.
We cannot do this with Democratic Senators alone. Give them some backup; I am sure many are privately talking with their “esteemed colleagues.”
matt
@Hildebrand: They could do a better job and silence the criticism if they don’t like it. Public facing jobs can be hard for sensitive snowflakes.
Elizabelle
@cmorenc: When journalist William Shirer was forced to leave Germany in 1940, he thought it was a big possibility Germany would win. They seemed to be in a strong position.
At that time. Before Hitler overreached. (He was even warned against invading Poland, but Russia ….)
opiejeanne
@tobie: Nah, the knitting needles are good, and make a halfway decent weapon if you need one. I’ve been sewing a lot but it’s hard to get someone under the sewing machine needle if I needed to defend myself.
I’m also rereading books that I enjoyed several years ago. Just finished Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series last week, started on Craig Johnson’s Longmire books a couple of days ago.
MomSense
@tobie:
Now is a good time to freshen up the intarsia skills. We will have a lot of names to knit.
No One of Consequence
@cmorenc: Fair enough. So, if comedy is not a weapon of utilization, do you have a means/method/musings of fighting? I’m all ears.
Geminid
@Captain C: That may be true of Republicans now, but what about the Independents who voted for Trump last November? Trump couldn’t have won without them.
Neither could have Democratic Senators Tammy Baldwin, Jacky Rosen, Ruben Gallego and Elissa Slotkin, or Governor Josh Stein and Attorney General Jeff Jackson in North Carolina.
The Independent vote decides elections in a lot of states, and that is where Republicans are vulnerable.
sab
@tobie: One of my cats cut into my knitting. Attacking yarn. He also has serious issues with the dog’s very long rope leash.
tobie
@MomSense: Absolutely. I’m a continental knitter but am trying to learn English knitting so I can breeze through color knitting. We’ve got work to do!
TBone
So much to say, too little time today.
sab
@tobie: I think I do English knitting. Does continental knitting use two needles like English? I can’t get youtube anymore, and descriptions of continental don’t even sound like knitting. What am I missing?
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@FDRLincoln:
Based on our talks with Bennet’s and Hick’s staffers last week, those daily calls, even if they’re to awful Senators like yours, is having an impact.
Might be long term because obviously none of them are gonna change how they vote for things like the Kabinet Klown Kar, but they seem to think it impacts how things are discussed internally amongst Senators.
Beats the hell outta me but any friction we can provide can’t hurt.
sab
@sab: Looking more, it seems like continental would be easier on my stressed right shoulder. Move the left paw more and the right paw less.
cmorenc
@No One of Consequence: I didn’t mean to be a total downer on the value of ridicule as a tool to undermine Donald Trump. But it is a valid critique that it is a relatively weak tool against a malevolent force like Trump or Hitler until they make a major stumble with collateral damage beyond just the most immediately affected. Applies to not just malevolent leaders like Trump – but benign leaders like Biden in the aftermath of the messy Afghan withdrawal. That event made RW caricatures of Biden as incompetent, albeit undeserved, stick with enough of the public to undermine his traction and doom his reelection chances. Ridicule will begin to stick to Trump as the effects of his fuckups-in-progress begin to visibly and tangibly stick in the experience and mindscape of more and more of the electorate.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Elizabelle:
When it comes to Villagers and tumbrel numbers, we’re either gonna need to up production or make each one big enough to accommodate two.
Getting blocked on a social media account by the targets of criticism is a badge of honor.
And do we have any more details on the passing of VDE?
sab
@Hildebrand: What has she done wrong currently? She was pretty awesome when Obamacare was being voted on. She has autistic brother who is out functioning in the world but occassionally needs help with decisions
In my reading experience ( not current) Tumulty was not one of the bad guys in MSM.
scav
@sab: The different styles vary rather in which hand holds the working yarn and how its tensioned — I’m sure of the first, less so of the second. There’s also the variable of picking and throwing but that’s really getting into the weeds which factors in somehow.Some find one method or another easier for colorwork, or maybe even combine them so as to handle the two working yarns but it seems people’s hands are different enough that what works best for person a is not what works for person b.
sab
@sab: I remember Tumulty from when Time Magazine made their reporters post on Swampland. The men were terrible at it. Thin skins. They mostly bailed. Some left the profession. Tumulty just dug in and tried to respond professionally (accurate and courteous.) She was pretty good at that. Plus her actual reporting work was good.
frosty
@tobie: Looks like PA is going the way of Ohio. We have an R AG now.
sab
@frosty: When you have an R AG you have no AG at all. They aren’t defending anything or enforcing anything. They are trying to score points for future campaigns for higher office,
Betty Cracker
@sab: Yep. My shitty former R AG just got catapulted into the Senate to replace Lil’ Marco. The shitty R gov is replacing her with his own chief of staff. They’re all jockeying like mad to kiss Trump’s ass.
Kosh III
@Elizabelle: Just listen to Sen. Marsha Blackburn for 2 minutes. Vicious media whore with no scruples. She’s been around for 30 years.
My Rep is Scott DesJarlais, MD. Ran in 2010 on full throated anti-abortion pre-MAGA. In 2012 we learned he held a gun to his wife’s head once, he coerced his mistress to get an abortion–and gets reelected every year.
tobie
@frosty: How disheartening. PA has always had a rust belt feel. It is a lot like Ohio and some parts are even remind me of Appalachia. Good luck to you. I hope the situation improves.
tobie
@sab: Continental uses two needles. You hold the yarn in your left hand, not your right. It’s called picking, as opposed to throwing. I find it quite efficient in terms of movement.
sab
@tobie: I am inspired to learn it (even without youtube.)
Thanks. I have known about multiple knitting styles for decades, but just didn’t learn about them. My right flipper is tired. Now is the time to learn.
sab
@tobie: PA and OH do have an Appalachian feel because they are Appalachian. Big parts of them anyway.
ETA Whenever our candidates go bonkers I remember the other half of their constituency.
I get furious, but you go with the voters you have, not the voters you want.
MomSense
@tobie:
Oh cool! When I do stranded knitting I hold the dominant color in my left hand (continental) and background color in my right (English). If I am using three colors in one row I put a second color in my left hand. My gauge is a little tighter when I knit English style.
A Ghost to Most
Turn it into art.
Sally
@MomSense: Don’t mention that word, intarsia. I still wake in a cold sweat thinking of the cardigan I knitted for my son. Never again – it’s back to fairisle for me!
Other MJS
@tobie:
So do bank robbers.
Tehanu
@No One of Consequence:
What he said. Betty, you certainly help me know I’m not alone.
Kayla Rudbek
@sab: there are two common phrases/jokes/truths in the knitting community: “I knit so that I do not kill people” (which even had/has its own group on Ravelry, seems to be fairly inactive at the moment) and “you have two eyes, I have two needle points”. The cross-stitch and embroidery community instead seems to go with “this is proof that I have patience to stab something 10,000 times”
Kayla Rudbek
@MomSense: can’t we use Morse code knit/purl or seed stitch for the names instead?
The Unmitigated Gaul
@Elizabelle: “The Felon or Elon” – that is GREAT!😂
The Unmitigated Gaul
@tobie: “I’m keeping these letters for a future Hall of Shame.”
A Wall of Shame (digital or otherwise) is a brilliant idea. People who align themselves to any degree with The Felon and Elon should know their names will live in infamy.
The Unmitigated Gaul
@Captain C: “We live in a time of the most extraordinary cowardice.” (Joy Reed, talking about Medgar Evers’ widow).