The first thing I did this morning was to go to the State of Illinois website to pay my annual license fee since they sent me a reminder, and the year that I didn’t do it right away I eded up getting a ticket. (sigh)
Only after doing that did I remember the Economic Blackout. Not sure if paying the state a required technically counts for that, but I definitely might have waited if I had remembered before responding.
How’s everyone else doing on this front? Is there any reporting about it in the news?
It’s been one of those days, you know, when you get shit on by someone and it sets the tone for everything and just leaves you pissed and frustrated, so between that and dealing with pet insurance, I haven’t even had a chance to read anything here or even check the news.
Foreign Office Briefing: The Super-Special Relationship Lurches Onward
arrieve
Not checking the news is a good idea today.
Elizabelle
WG, you just stomped on Rose, probably accidentally.
And her post got overtaken by the insanity directed at Zelenskyy from Trump and Vance. On camera.
Maybe pull this one and bring it back later? Thanks.
Spanky
I bought bird seed from the local supply store.
fancycwabs
Looks like Speaker Johnson lives in a DC townhouse owned by a dude (Nashville auto magnate Lee Beaman) who notably hired a prostitute to teach his (now ex-) wife how to fuck better.
Percysowner
I had to break the boycott due to being out of milk and having a 2.5 year old who can’t LIVE without “milk in a pink cup” aka “pink milk”. I was able to go to a local store, but forgot my cash,so put it on my credit card. Plus I had 2 standing renewals post this morning. Other than that I’m good. I have a prescription that I am almost completely out of that is due to be picked up today, but I am going to hold off until tomorrow. From here on out, I have nothing that I have to buy today.
Old School
I didn’t go to the grocery store this morning like I typically do on Fridays. No idea if the number of shoppers are noticeably down or not.
sentient ai from the future
“through midnight on Feb 29”???
*checks divisibility of year 2025*
yeh uh….
Bruce K in ATH-GR
Well, I suppose I didn’t do much commerce today, but that was mostly because there was a general strike protesting the Tempe train disaster. It might even have made the BBC news.
French Onion Soup
Backing off chains and online purchases revealed a local, non chain, mom & pop, super high end pet food and supplies store. So we are going there. Their website looks good. Probably hosted on AWS sadly but that’s not avoidable now.
munira
There is no Feb. 29 this year but oh well.
mvr
I did buy a coffee from a local place with cash since I need it to function at work. But I’m not doing anything beyond that today. Made sure to pay a bill last night beforehand.
Spanky
@French Onion Soup:
Hard to avoid, and of course it’s transparent to both vendor and customer. But a whollllle lot of federal dollars goes to Bezos-as-a-service.
glc
My understanding (via a family member) is that local shopping *with cash* is a foreseen exception, possibly even welcomed.
M. Bouffant
Stocked up yesterday. Not planning on opening the front door except to get the mail. Turned off the ‘phone but have to watch spring training on the telly, & apparently I’m using the computer.
suzanne
I am traveling today, and thus not able to participate. I’ll catch up with a day of no transactions next week, probably Monday. I know it’s less effective when it’s not all on the same day, but it’s what I can do.
wonkie
I am not expecting the boycott to have a noticeable effect. I think this sort of thing has to be done repeatedly to sort of build up. That said, I am not using Amazon today–or ever except to buy books for my kindle. I’ve been boycotting Walmart for years. I have to buy food today but will get some of my purchases from smaller stores even though it will mean more stops. I will not use a credit card but will use my debit. I need to buy a lot of stamps from the PO because my postcards to WI are ready to send.
I live on an island about twenty-five miles from town so I try to only drive in once a week. Because of other commitments, I really have no choice except to go today.
French Onion Soup
@Spanky:
A ton of my job involves AWS and Azure. I view Microsoft as much less reprehensible than Amazon though. Morally and professionally. Out of all the tech companies they are the least bad. Including apple who’s iPhone antics are as much of a reason we are in this mess as anything Meta has done. But being the least bad of the big tech companies is being the least bad prince of demons.
Scott P.
The project seems to be a grift but one that has developed some internal momentum apart from the original organizer. It’s relatively harmless and could build solidarity but boycotts are only effective over time (the Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted over a year) and when tied to a specific action that is desired.
WaterGirl
@fancycwabs:
my eyes got big. seriously???
Spanky
@suzanne: Hey, those of us on Social Security are starting to cut back spending based on the increasing probability that it’ll go away, so today’s boycott and any future ones will probably get lost in the sauce of the general economic slowdown.
And from a local perspective 20 miles from DC, that spending contraction is going to also be from everyone who is a federal worker, contractor, or otherwise has federal payroll dollars flow through their hands. I.e. everybody in DC, MD, and Northern VA. The places Trump wants to hurt.
WaterGirl
@French Onion Soup: A grift? How so?
AM in NC
Delayed signing up for a ceramics class today because Square Space is the processor and also delayed getting COVID vax from Walgreens until tomorrow.
Hope the ceramics class is still available, but if not, still worth it.
Not tempted to purchase anything else.
Alce _e_ardillo
Pretty good I think, had to go to the market for essentials, milk, cheese, and bread, but I went to my local coop store instead of the mega supermarket and paid cash.
suzanne
@Spanky: Yeah, I hear you. I am fairly frugal as it is, but I am being more careful these days. And I’m not old enough for SS.
Mr. Mack
Seriously flat tire but I made it to Costco, where I purchased them. They fixed it of course, but I may have had a $1.50 hot dog and a Pepsi.
rikyrah
Since this is an Open Thread,
May I just shake my head in disgust at the Head of ICE saying that he was going to Boston and ‘ make an example out of them’.
Why won’t he just go to those Red States? They would be more than willing to give him those ‘ visuals’ of cruelty that he wants.
kindness
Haven’t bought anything. Sure would like to get a burrito. Is that cheating if it’s a family run place?
hitchhiker
Not buying anything is my SOP, so for me it’s fine. I expect this boycott will gather steam and find ways to become effective over time.
For example, the major offenders could each have their own day of the week. Empty Target Tuesday. Weak Walmart Wednesday. And so on, maybe.
I also know that Bezos doesn’t care if we all quit amazon prime, but I wondered if we couldn’t consolidate accounts anyway. I could keep mine, for example, and share my password with my adult kids so they can dump theirs. Of course you’d only do this with people you trust beyond anything, but it would be satisfying.
pacem appellant
I missed the CC blackout, but I did finally order my vitamins that I’ve been low on from an independent retailer. I had to call someone on the phone to do it, too! I’m so proud of me (I do not like talking on the phone), but they were nice and fixed the hyper-sensitive fraud-detection that was hanging up my online order.
pacem appellant
@Mr. Mack: Sounds essential to me.
A Ghost to Most
It’s interesting, but Zelensky’s meeting with Lumpy and Shady is the real news.
Captain C
@fancycwabs:
I’m reading this as “how to do those painful, degrading things I saw on porn (which I totally don’t watch) without complaining or screaming so loud you alarm the neighbors.” No wonder she divorced him.
Tinare
@sentient ai from the future: Thank you, I was like, what???
French Onion Soup
@wonkie:
Cutting apple out obviously ends our iTunes and app purchases. That’s a lot of money but as we have vinyl, CDs, and lossless audio sources iTunes is crappy quality anyways. Cutting Amazon hits a lot of movies we purchased that I don’t know if we can get the blu-rays for but if can it’s better quality as well. Moving to books from Kindle is interesting as well.
It’s eye opening to realize how deep these companies own you through the services you bought from them. Which are always crappier than owning the actual thing to start with. Rage inducing even.
cmorenc
I am in Grand Junction Co skiing today @local ski area Powderhorn – have season pass so not adding economic value – and so not in town observing whether it’s making any dent at the big grocery store (“City Market”,part of the old Kroger grocery )conglomerate. However, I seriously doubt the boycott is having more effect here than a pebble in the ocean. On the perverse upside, awareness of it here is likely so low that non-participation is not any significant sign of RW “FU – own the libs”. It might be more significant in Denver, a long, long way from here, but dunno.
French Onion Soup
@kindness:
I ate at a family run taco truck today. Same family also owns a Mexican restaurant. I’m giving mom and pops a pass they should could use the business.
Using Musk and Bezos stealing everyone’s money and government as a shop local movement would be great.
Fancycwabs
@WaterGirl: yep. All there in the propublica article: https://www.propublica.org/article/mike-johnson-evangelical-pastor-steve-berger-roommates
scav
This household is solid on the zip / nothing / zilch scale. Don’t know where or how mom found out about it but pizza night went right out the window. She loaded up on milk beforehand so nothing beckons.
OlFroth
At the school I work at, the lifeskills/special needs kids run a coffee shop. I figured it was OK to spend a dollar there for my morning cup of coffee. Other than that, I haven’t spent a penny.
trollhattan
@fancycwabs:
Answering the question, “Why is Beaman beamin’?”
BethanyAnne
I woke up early, and it was a good day and … I fell back asleep somehow. Didn’t have a back up alarm set, and managed to fuck up my scheduled log in at work, and I’m just hoping to still have a job.
TBone
I found a tiny bit of weed I’d stashed when my vape broke today (that said “cape” initially) so no money spent anywhere on anything for any reason!
Old Man Shadow
I’m not buying anything today, but I really don’t see the point unless they’re just getting people’s contact info to follow up with bigger actions.
Feels like the house is burning down and they’re asking us to kindly refrain from using the stove for an hour.
TBone
@BethanyAnne: oh I hate those FML days.
TBone
@Old Man Shadow: it’s, at least, a collective act of community we can take. Any purpose, no matter how small, is still a purpose.
Old Man Shadow
@BethanyAnne: Wishing you good luck.
If you’re a good employee and it’s your first time missing your start time without calling, a good manager will cut you some slack.
Even a bad manager will usually just chew you out because firing you and hiring and training a newbie to your skill level is a hassle.
Old Man Shadow
@TBone: Yeah, I guess.
I’ve been looking around today for local community political organizations to join. Sent out contact to two so far.
prostratedragon
I’m set for the weekend, I hope. But I did just throw a mite onto United24.
Cheryl from Maryland
Bought nothing and exchanged the names of local ethnic markets with a neighbor to support small businesses. Not just Asian or Hispanic, but also Polish, Ukrainian, Persian, Indonesian, and a Halal butcher. All have superior produce and protein to the local chains.
Lymie
Paid for a custom frame at the local shop, otherwise, nothing.
What’s with the “Midnight February 29” in the announcement?
Fair Economist
@French Onion Soup:
I very much suspect that’s part of the point of the boycott – learning alternatives.
raven
@TBone: I just got my medical herb card in Georgia and now I have to figure out if I want to buy some.
glc
@wonkie: Using the Kindle seems unwise. They are a lease, not a purchase. Their focus is on locking in the DRM in a way that wlll not allow you to move your books to another reader if they decide to discontinue the service in its current form. It’s a gamble.
As of February 26th they have locked down the existing transfer via download option as it made the files themselves accessible. I tried to exercise thie download option for my existing library beforehand, but as I don’t have a registered Kindle device (only apps) they did not permit that.
In other news, Skype will be discontinued by Microsoft in May.
JoyceH
Not to be that person but can we please have a thread on the Debacle in The Oval that we can actually post comments to?
rikyrah
Renee![]()
@PettyLupone
Honestly, trump did Zelensky a favor. Because he showed his whole hand (and ass) in that exchange leaving no doubt about what kind of page trump is on now. So other leaders can move about as they see fit with justification. America’s rep will suffer. Unfortunately.
12:46 PM · Feb 28, 2025
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2,827
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Fair Economist
I bought groceries for today on yesterday. I biked over to pick up a jacket I’d had fixed and normally I’d have eaten lunch nearby – but not today.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@JoyceH:
Yeah, and not one where the conclusion is this:
Kosh III
@WaterGirl:
my eyes got big. seriously???
Beaman is a vile ahole. I wouldn’t buy a used Yugo from him.
WaterGirl
@raven: Congratulations.
TBone
@raven: tomorrow!
Kosh III
@glc: Huh? So I can’t check out library books and read with Kindle?
French Onion Soup
@Cheryl from Maryland:
We have always done this. Mrs. Onion shops exclusively at the local Asian, Latino, and Lebanese stores most of the time. We also have mom and pop butchers, fish mongers, bakers, French and even German stores. They range from vastly cheaper than Whole Foods to more expensive but in all cases the quality is so much better we have no need to go to Whole Foods. Which is also full of the type of white people Mrs. Onion has long tolerated at work but is in no mood to put up with anymore. She has been on a personal strike for a time now and in a really foul mood.
I feel bad. She has a few Trumpers in her family and has been trying to make them understand MAGA hates them and it’s not working. Her side of the family is tearing itself apart over this. That stress is bleeding into our lives and I’m not sure how to deal with it other than realizing I’m not the one causing it.
BethanyAnne
@BethanyAnne: Job was understanding, and I’m still employed. *whew
Kosh III
Friday is my usual Kroger visit(quadruple points day) but I’ll wait until tomorrow.
WTFGhost
Alas, the blackout didn’t work with me. My wife needed to drive me to a compassionate and empathic pain doc. How do I know he was compassionate and empathic? He said so! (It was an EMG; it was less painful than I expected.
Was I then going to tell my wife that we shouldn’t get gas, or stop for breakfast? No – I have gotten lazy in my activism, using ziploc bags instead of plastic wrap, not recycling or composting all that I can, etc..
I hope the rest of you fare better. I feel a tiny bit like a Muslim who was so desperately thirsty, a drink was taken, and, sure, you can make up the fast on another day, and Allah is still pleased with your efforts, but, I bet you’d feel like a bit of an ass, that you couldn’t handle one lousy day before needing to break the fast.
prostratedragon
One way to buy local|small-scale:
The Black Farmers’ Index
zhena gogolia
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Don’t read those. Stick to the posts you can comment on.
French Onion Soup
@WTFGhost:
For bags I have a zipable solution for you. Silicone bags. Zip just fine and washable and no chance of leeching chemicals.
prostratedragon
@rikyrah: Wonder if Zelenskyy anticipated this in deciding to come.
Ohio Mom
I went grocery shopping yesterday just to use my “$10 off $150 of purchases” coupon that expires today.
I’m pretty much down to only buying food and other groceries (laundry soap, toilet paper, etc). I like shopping, it’s a past time. I especially love thrift stores But I am preparing for the economic crash that is on its way and for being worried about money the rest of my life.
FDRLincoln
I have to get a prescription, total expenditure will be $6. Other than that, no money spent today and probably not tomorrow.
Kosh III
@prostratedragon: There are a couple about an hour from me I’ll check those two next time I am going that way. We’ve got Amish nearby.
BTW, that’s a great choice(he’s hot!) for a front page.
FDRLincoln
Overall we have been only paying debt, buying groceries, meds, and household products since the election.
frosty
We failed, sort of. We were close to Costco today so we stopped and bought a few things. I hadn’t heard about the no credit cards though
Costco is one of the good guys, right?
prostratedragon
@Kosh III: 😉
zhena gogolia
@frosty: Yes.
Cheryl from Maryland
@French Onion Soup: have not been to Whole Foods for years since I found better alternatives for cheese and seafood.
WTFGhost
@French Onion Soup: I’m in awe of your method of stating the truth so eloquently.
@WaterGirl: Well, a man could talk, you know, to his partner, about what he likes, and what (she, in this case) likes, and trying to make it sound fun for both.
Or, there are couples counselors, and specialized sex counselors, which can improve communication, and, again, try to make things happymaking for everyone.
But, you know, “prostitute” comes to mind first for some guys.
@kindness: Bought with cash, from locals, is *good*. Avoiding the big companies is the big goal.
Ksmiami
@French Onion Soup: cut them out of your lives. Maga people are garbage. Sorry not sorry.
rikyrah
@prostratedragon:
thank you
rikyrah
@French Onion Soup:
let them go for your peace. At the very least, when you see horrific things happen, you can rage about them without mincing words. Mrs. Onion is allowed to feel her complete and valid rage. And not subject herself to those who will try and excuse the evil.
Anonymous at Work
Personally well-stocked for an extended try, some medications aside. Only big purchases would at food trucks or gas.
French Onion Soup
@Ksmiami:
To be crude about it I saw this in them over three years ago and it caused massive issues at home. She didn’t want to hear it or admit it and it nearly ended our relationship. I have not allowed them in our home, interacted with them, or spoken to them since. They know I hate their guts and they know I am glad they know I hate them. The sane ones are perfectly welcome and frequently visit with us especially the queer niece and they know fully well I will not go to their home either as their will be an altercation if the crazies are there and I am not above making it a physical one.
As for Mrs. Onion she has come around to where I am at and it is deeply painful to her. Yet they remain her blood relatives and they are struggling with medical issues so I am not going to give her advice or cause her more stress. She also knows that my entire family feels much the same as me except they will not talk to Mrs. Onion or her sane relatives or allow them over as long as they have anything to do with the Trumpers.
It’s a family schism and that sucks but I know where I stand on this. It is doubling confounding as my family fled Europe after the Holocaust so I am a first generation American and we are marked for death and some of her very dark skinned non native English speaking relatives cannot figure this mess out.
sab
@prostratedragon: And my town has one of them that sells honey downtown, and Cleveland has three that sell jerbs or honey.
Thanks for the link.
laura
You wouldn’t believe all the stuff I didn’t buy.
Glidwrith
@prostratedragon: Thank you!
Ben Cisco
Not one cent spent, and was glad to do it.
NotMax
Did not purchase anything today.
But that’s not unusual as haven’t purchased anything since February 9th.
frosty
@frosty: I should add that Costco here in Florida was doing a booming business this afternoon.
WaterGirl
@laura:
That’s too funny.
Gloria DryGarden
@fancycwabs: well, did she teach him a few skills as well? It goes both ways..
David Collier-Brown
@glc: I recommend Kobo: I can up, down, cross and side-load books, and most don’t have DRM
[Full disclosure: I did a contract for them one time, and really liked them. I may be biased in their favour]
MN Grubert
As an computer old-timer and hard core Open Source / Linux guy. it is super weird to agree with you about that.
cintibud
Pretty wound up today, coming out of lurkdom to mention some positive things for me to help me forget all the bad.
First, no money spent at all today. I realized I should have topped off my gas tank yesterday as my 35 cents off/Gal gas in kroger points expired today but that’s OK.
Also my wife and I met with a local group of activists Wed evening and we are finally doing something. Wrote postcards for the first time, for the Wisc Supreme Court race. Have a group and path now going forward.
Finally 100 bucks for Ukraine
David Collier-Brown
@wonkie:
A lot of this is to make the week-over-week receipts for Friday take a dive. That forces the accountants to say so, and report things like “if this happens a lot, it will _really_ cut into our gross”
Gloria DryGarden
@WaterGirl: seems the guy could have hired a therapist to assist the couple with their communication. Then they could, you know, tell each other what they want, learn how to generate enthusiasm w each other….
Teach a man to fish…
trollhattan
Guess I supported Big Smog (known liberal conspiracy against coal-rollin’) by getting my biennial inspection, the fees split between the State of California and my indy smog guys, who are FAST and who doesn’t love that even on a Friday afternoon?
Now I have to support Big DMV by sending in my tags fee.
Cars. And to think some folks love to hate on bicycles. No fees, never!
Timill
@glc: Moving books out of Kindle to a non-Amazon reader appears to be a solved problem. You need:
Kindle for PC 2.4.1 or earlier. (2.5 and later don’t yet work.)
Calibre (7.2.6 seems to be the current version)
DeDRM 10.0.9
KFX Input (2.20.0 seems the latest)
This combo seems to work for all the books I’ve tried so far.
stinger
@zhena gogolia:
Why would I read somebody who has pied me? Pied all of us?
Timill
@Timill: For K4PC 2.4.1 read 2.4.0. It seems to have sneakily updated itself when told not to… 2.4.0 books work fine.
Jager
@fancycwabs: Beman made her watch videos of a hooker servicing him. he called them training videos.
glc
@stinger: A lot of people don’t seem to know the answer to that question. On the other hand, a lot do.
KSinMA
@prostratedragon: Great website. Thanks!
Colette South
I did not leave the house today and bought nothing online. Tomorrow I will venture out and reload shampoo and beer.
glc
@Kosh III: Library is no problem.
At the worst you may get a notification to update the app – they’re blocking access from older versions that give you more rights.
All the books on Kindle are on temporary loan – but for a library book this is not an issue. The problem comes when people think they own the books they paid for.
I read library books on my Kindle regularly. I prefer other formats but the options vary. I also have about 320 books I paid for but do not own in my account, and I receive an occasional gift there. I disabled automatic updates but that doesn’t mean the books will remain if the license terms change. Things disappear occasionally for various reasons.
glc
@Timill: Prior to Feb. 26 it worked in some combinations, particularly if you had a registered Kindle (not necessarily in use). I deregistered mine when I scrapped it, long ago.
It was not working on mac. I tried the approach via Caliber and another via Kindle 1.3.1 – which was fully blocked by Amazon. I would assume Kindle for PC 2.4.1 had also been blocked by that point, for the same reasons – a little ahead of the officially announced date of Feb. 26.
Your information seems out of date. If not, it will be when Amazon notices. (The details are dull, highly variable, and much discussed on the internet.)
tam1MI
I had to go out to get dinner tonight, but I did my due diligence and went someplace that I knew gave 99% of their political donations to the Democratic Party. I also bought a ticket for an upcoming train on Amtrak, who gives 96% of their political donations to the Dems. So what money I spent today went to organizations that support the Democratic Party! :)
Timill
@glc: Well, it worked just now…
glc
@Timill: Sounds like anybody who hasn’t done that and uses a PC should give it a try, for now.
You sure you don’t have a registered Kindle in the associated device list?
glc
@Scott P.:
So I’ve heard. A small one – $100K is the figure I’ve heard. Worth noticing.
Given the absence of political leadership. there’s a gap to fill. Turbulent times ahead.
Chris T.
I had to pay for medical treatment. Relatively small amount (co-pay plus some antibiotics). Kind of urgent, needed to get it done, it’s not exactly life-threatening but it sure is painful.