Next Tuesday, we won’t waste a second in responding to Trump’s steam of lies at the State of the Union.
I’m not attending in person. Instead I’m partnering w @moveon.org to provide live real time response. Join us to learn the truth about the billionaire seizure of our government.— Chris Murphy (@chrismurphyct.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 3:31 PM
I don’t think I can bear to sit through tonight’s debacle, even at the pinhole-camera remove of reading media liveblogs. Can a sundowning Trump even navigate the long aisle to the podium, especially with his legislatorial fans baying and groping at him? Maybe he can take a cue from his beloved musicals and be borne aloft on a gilded palanquin by six or eight burly SecSer agents… that’s the kind of visual for which he hungers.
We know he’ll lie, because that’s what he does. We know there will be ‘tremendous content’ attempts to shock, horrify, and defile everything America is supposed to stand for. No doubt memos have gone out mandating every eligible Republican be planted in their seat, preferably well before the cameras start rolling. (Let’s hope none of them are sufficiently inspired by the spirit of Mardi Gras — and I very much include Coach Tuberville in this — to flash their tits at the cameras.) We know that Democratic attendance will be much spottier, for reasons. I’m wishing Elissa Slotkin the best in her rebuttal speech, and assume I’ll be able to post it by this time tomorrow.
Some are saying Democrats shouldn't attend Donald Trump's State of the Union.
I disagree.
They should attend. And the minute he starts speaking, start getting up, one-by-one, and solemnly leave the chamber.
It will be all anyone talks about the next day. And will drive Donald crazy.— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social) March 2, 2025 at 9:54 PM
this is fine, as far as it goes, i can understand not wanting to leave the entire chamber to trump, especially if he shits the bed, but i think more highly of the ones doing town halls instead, if i'm being honest.
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) March 3, 2025 at 7:48 PM
he's likely going to announce that he's ending the DOE, it would be better optics not to have an entire chamber of cheers for that, to the degree anyone will be watching, which no one will.
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) March 3, 2025 at 7:50 PM
that said, if you're not going, you'd best be doing a fucking town hall or something
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) March 3, 2025 at 7:54 PM
we're in "no good choices" land at this point, people have to understand that.
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) March 3, 2025 at 7:48 PM
You can be “strong, determined and dignified” and still engage in a meaningful protest of a corrupt, lawless, un-American regime, which is what I was suggesting last week.
Treating this speech, this president, and this regime as normal only normalizes their wanton abnormality.— Stephen Schwartz (@atomicanalyst.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 8:42 PM
I have a better idea. www.offmessage.net/p/boycott-th…
— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 9:32 AM
FTR, I don’t think Dems should treat this as a normal SOTU. I also don’t think they should all boycott. I think leadership should go, & maybe 20 or so smart combative members unafraid to heckle. [People like Jim McGovern] And they should all be wearing the Ukrainian colors.
As for everyone else…— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 4:16 PM
…if possible they should be in their districts doing a town hall & doing whatever they can to get local TV & radio.
— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 4:17 PM
But NO Democrat should be standing on the aisle waiting to shake any of their hands.
And no Democrat should go because they promised someone would be their guest in the gallery & don’t want to tell the guest it ain’t happening.— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Amid all the whining about Dems that largely ignores what role particular Dems play, it is quite significant that Murray, Senate Appropriations Ranking and so the one in discussions about making Trump follow the law to get $$, is doing this.
— emptywheel (@emptywheel.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 7:42 PM
When we had a real State of the Union pic.twitter.com/PVBQJVrZY1
— Sibylle (@AHaschi) March 3, 2025
On The Road – ema – Suit Up!
lowtechcyclist
And all of them with tears in their eyes, saying “thank you, sir, for this great honor!
ETA: Good morning.
Baud
I wish I were smart enough to give political advice, but I’m not.
@lowtechcyclist:
Good morning.
NotMax
Diversionary watch.
But am it art?
;)
TBone
Some Paul Simon lyrical apropos mood music
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UFlV_opGzk8
Nukular Biskits
Good mornin’, y’all. Took another day off to do more yardwork.
Baud
Via reddit, I just learned that Spotify is a European company. Some Europeans are boycotting it because it donated to Trump’s inauguration.
Baud
@Nukular Biskits:
Good morning. I’ve given my yard back to nature.
Kayla Rudbek
And I am starting to send resumes out again, thanks to this maladministration.
matt
Will he announce the new Axis alliance tonight?
NotMax
Where will Elon be seated? Complete with ball cap, no doubt.
Kayla Rudbek
@Nukular Biskits: I don’t know if you saw my reply to you about the big contractors being targeted for cuts. https://federalnewsnetwork.com/acquisition-policy/2025/02/gsa-tells-agencies-to-target-top-10-consulting-firms-for-cuts/
Baud
TBone
@TBone:
montanareddog
@Baud: Yup. Not all the scavenger tech-bros are based in the US. Europe has its share, too.
NotMax
That’s what golf carts are for.
//
lowtechcyclist
@Kayla Rudbek:
Boy, that shows so much insight into what these contractors do and why it might not be necessary!
sentient ai from the future
so tesla is still dropping like a rock, and thats probably a good thing. unfortunately it is a very large rock with its own gravitational pull and is bringing a lot of other stuff with it.
Betty Cracker
I don’t plan to watch it either, but maybe I’ll have a glass or three of bourbon and change my mind.
I like Sen. Murphy’s framing: “billionaire seizure of our government.” He’ll run for president in 2028, is my guess. Assuming elections are still a thing then.
Sen. Murray’s statement bears repeating:
Good for her.
Because I’m more football hooligan than politician, I kinda hope some of our more fiery reps do show up and heckle the demented orange shitbag. There’s no dignity left in this shit-show anyway.
TBone
@NotMax: that narrator is, um, not receptive. It AM art.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@NotMax: I hope he falls down the steps
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
A lot of people will be running in 2028. Probably more than 2020.
ETA: I hope the first debate question for all the candidates is, why haven’t you fixed everything yet?
NotMax
@sentient ai from the future
Self-driving train wreck.
//
New Deal democrat
There are no “good” options for Democrats tonight, but unequivocally the *worst* option is to sit there politely as if this is a normal SOTU Address.
I like the idea of one Democrat leaving each time T—-p tells a lie. And if he engages from the podium (100% chance he will) reply in 12 words that 1 D will leave for every lie he tells. That way the audience will be watching for each exit. And then D’s should hold an ongoing press conference in the hallway.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
Time for the Full Donkey Moon.
Josie
I’m so excited. Because of the Fairness Act, my income has doubled. The money landed in my bank account overnight. It is the social security money from my late husband’s account that was denied me for years because my teacher retirement money made me too rich to receive social security. ;-) It’s been a long time coming, and hopefully Musk doesn’t manage to screw it up. I almost feel guilty for having good news in the middle of all the chaos.
Betty Cracker
@Baud: The first one who runs on nationalizing Musk’s businesses and deporting him to South Africa for lying about his immigration status will have my primary vote.
TBone
@Josie: CONGRATULATIONS 🎉
Bask in it, no guilt is necessary! You deserve every single penny!
eclare
I’m not watching. Planning to call my D rep to find out if he’s attending, I could see him skip it.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
Everyone loves the idea of nationalization, but if nationalization means paying cash to the stockholders. If Musk’s businesses are still overinflated in four years, I don’t want to do that. (Tesla may not be though, the way it’s heading.)
ETA: I think a lot of people think nationalization means taking it over for free.
eclare
@lowtechcyclist:
Just drive a fucking golf cart down the aisle. Or one of those scooters.
sentient ai from the future
@Dorothy A. Winsor: …into a prison cell. or the roof of an esso station.
Betty
It gets harder every day to cope with staying on top of the news. So much damage, so hard to reverse. I want more Democrats expressing their righteous anger all the time everywhere. It’s pretty much their only weapon and they have to maximize its use.
Nukular Biskits
I’ve seen probably a hundred different takes on what Democrats should do tonight and I think all have merit.
I already know a number are not going to attend and several are going to hold their own town hall meetings. I think that’s a good idea, FWIW.
But, having said that, I do think that those who do choose to attend should be agreed to take whatever action they decide upon and commit to it 100%. And, in that case, I like Betty Bowers’ idea of every single one walking out in succession throughout the torrent of lies, not saying a single word.
TBone
@Baud: nominated
Nukular Biskits
@Baud:
When did that become a prerequisite?
eclare
@Baud:
Steeplejack’s brother and his family moved to London last summer. He was born there, so I don’t think he had any issues getting citizenship or at least Leave to Remain.
I got nowhere to go, my ancestors were here in the 1800’s.
NotMax
@Baud
Lone Star state will buy a majority ownership position, rename it Texla.
//
montanareddog
Polish Cold war hero Lech Walesa ‘disgusted’ by Trump’s meeting with Ukraine’s president Zelensky
Nukular Biskits
@Baud:
LOL! Don’t think I don’t entertain that option on occasion.
In my earlier life, I had 6 acres I maintained, with a garden, flower beds, 1/2 acre pond. During spring & summer, my entire weekends were taken up with yard & garden maintenance.
I’ve since downsized to a large lot in a subdivision but I have to have something to do outside or Ms. Biskits would kill me.
eclare
@Josie:
Feel good! Congratulations!
Nukular Biskits
@Kayla Rudbek:
I think I did see it in passing.
If that’s in reference to my corp thinking all these gov’t employee firings are somehow a business opportunity, yeah, I agree that’s pollyannish thinking.
Nukular Biskits
@New Deal democrat:
THIS.
NotMax
Repeated from earlier.
In better news, a big hand for the little Ghost.
For those who don’t care to watch a video, print summary.
RandomMonster
I half-expect Dump to announce we’re pulling out of NATO immediately.
Jackie
@RandomMonster:
I fully expect it.
Ben Cisco
Good morning!
Will not be watching the Felon, but will instead be watching the State of Our Union with Roland S. Martin.
Betty Cracker
@Baud: The U.S. government relies on SpaceX, and Musk’s ownership allowed him to infringe on U.S. foreign policy during the Biden admin, so yeah, maybe it’s worth nationalizing?
I’m not a lawyer or expert on how this shit works. But no single person should have that much power, and nobody should be allowed to use their vast wealth to buy our government.
Whoever articulates that, hopefully in a way that is free of the legal/procedural mistakes found in my ignorant ramblings in a blog comment section, gets my vote.
sentient ai from the future
@RandomMonster: prompting the EU to say
“you can’t quit, YOURE FIRED”
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Josie: I’m so happy for you!
TBone
@Ben Cisco: that’s awesome
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
I can see Space X. I don’t know that it’s overvalued, and there are definitely national security concerns.
Not sure what to do about wealthy right wingers buying government. Musk never hid his support for Trump during the election and there was no public revulsion to it. Maybe that’ll change now that people get to see what it really means.
Ohio Mom
@Nukular Biskits: I don’t pretend to know what aproach would be most effective. I also thought of having at least one Dem leave at each lie. I don’t like the idea of zero Democrats in attendance at the start because that looks like we ceded everything to do with governing to the Republicans.
I still wish Democrats had consulted with theater and movie directors. This is their speciality, using blocking and movement (and costuming) to underline a story, and they know how to bring an audience along to what they want them to see and understand. Even not too smart audiences. Oh well.
TBone
@Nukular Biskits: hubby runs the vacuum cleaner instead of a leaf blower and he’s, therefore, sexy as hell. Dishpan hands is also never a bad look on a man.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZR_U5cekGw
Professor Bigfoot
@Baud: I’m smart enough to give political advice, but I’m wise enough not to.
”Far better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to lay hands to keyboard and remove all doubt!”
The Thin Black Duke
@RandomMonster: Damn you. That’s not out the realm of possibility, unfortunately.
Nukular Biskits
@TBone:
Ms. Biskits is retired military and kicks me out of the kitchen.
sentient ai from the future
@Baud: i dont follow this stuff much, but it seems to me that its unlikely starlink would have been approved by regulators at all without spacex beig a large contractor to begin with. it seems like the maintainence/decommissioning is gonna be a headache once things start aging out. shit doesnt stay new and shiny forever.
Waldo
@Betty Cracker: Do we have an extradition treaty with Mars? Cuz once he’s done burning shit to the ground, he’s not going to have many better options.
TBone
@Professor Bigfoot: #4 is for you, my BJ hubby
Another Scott
I think Jeffries is right. Each member has to figure out their own path tonight, while they come together to act in unison on important votes. I won’t be watching the non-SOTU or the live blogging. (How many remember anything about 47’s earlier similar speeches??).
Meanwhile, Google has finally deactivated UBlock Origin in Chrome (for me, anyway). I’ve seen lots of recent complaints about Firefox’s updated privacy policy. FF still works with UBO. I really don’t want to change browsers at this point, lock-in is a real thing, but I hate ads and stuff even more. Yet another First World Problem…
Grr…
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
dww44
@Nukular Biskits: Re tonight’s speech in the People’s House I think Democrats not showing up cedes the space that rightfully belongs to them and could be viewed as giving in to the evilness of this administration.
Showing up wearing yellow and blue armbands and sitting as a group and having an agreed upon reaction to the lies..,a collective loud “No” or a well timed exit to make clear their opposition would make our opposition clearer. Sadly I don’t think the leadership has the imagination to step out of their comfort zones, which is what the times demand.
Professor Bigfoot
@Kayla Rudbek: Wishing you all the luck in the galaxy. It always sucks to be in that position, and under these circumstances it’s gotta doubly do so.
Ohio Mom
@eclare: My grandparents were all from the Austrian-Hungarian empire. If the Republicans succeed in modeling this country after Orban, I’ll be where I would have been if they never left (assuming they all survived the Holocaust, a big assumption but this is really an allegory of a comment).
Oh, and I could move to Israel, haha. Never.
I’ve already come to terms this is where I am staying, for better or worse.
Nukular Biskits
@Another Scott:
I’m not a Luddite, although I do play one on TV.
Can you explain that? Seriously, I’m not tracking.
TBone
@Nukular Biskits: oh, I would listen up too!
Nukular Biskits
@dww44:
Originally, I thought it would be a good idea for no Democrats to attend.
I’ve since changed my mind. I think those not attending should be holding town halls or the like. Those in attendance should including senior leadership, wearing Ukrainian colors and, like Miss Bowers said, start exiting the chamber one at a time as soon as Trump takes the podium.
Theflippsyd
FWIW, I sent this letter to my Senators and Representative. Although Delaware is very blue, they are all very much the moderate, bipartisan, reach across the aisle type. So I tried to play to that in the email:
I am requesting and pleading that not only do you not attend Trump’s address tomorrow evening but also that you try to persuade your fellow Democratic colleagues not to attend the address either. The United States of America may not last as a constitutional republic much longer. Trump, Vance and Musk’s actions have changed the course of our country.
I know there is a Republican majority in the House, the Senate, the presidency, and the Supreme Court. I understand that you and your Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate have few viable paths to stop what Trump, Vance and the unelected Musk have been doing for the past six weeks.
I strongly believe, like you and your colleagues, in the democratic values enumerated in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. I am in despair at the state of our country. I am watching the elimination of government programs that made this country and the world a safer place. I am sickened by the eradication of the contributions of people of color and women. I know the paths legislatively to stop the fall to fascism are few. I do believe that any person who does not agree with what is happening in this country must stand up for those who are being targeted. [Those who speak with a voice are speaking for the voiceless].
So, I ask that as my elected representative, that you take a stand. Your lack of attendance removes the audience, the attention, the ability of a bully to assert his power over other individuals. The lack of a Democratic presence shows that these are not normal times. The speech that will be given tomorrow will proclaim the greatness of that individual. Your presence would give credence to those statements.
Timothy Snyder has written at great lengths about fascism and the importance of “not obeying in advance.” With everything that has happened since the inauguration, holding fast to an unwritten norm that attendance is required is obeying in advance. Please consider that the lack of Democratic Senators and Representatives communicate to Democratic voters that you are fighting for our founding values – that the United States is not an elected monarchy but has three co-equal branches of government.
sentient ai from the future
@Another Scott: i found this link via the infosec.exchange mastodon to be exceedingly helpful
Professor Bigfoot
@Josie: PLEASE don’t— we all have to seize on every speck of joy we can in the coming days— hell, years.
Good for you, I wish you joy of your victory!
Jackie
Welp:
TBone
@sentient ai from the future: excellent eye!
TBone
@Jackie:
Glory b
I read that some Democratic members have invited laid off federal employees as their guests this evening.
HinTN
@Another Scott: I’ve taken up with DuckDuckGo and I’m pretty happy with it on my ancient android. I never liked FireFox on the phone but for sure love it on the laptop.
TBone
@Glory b: I hope they dress for the job.
The Thin Black Duke
@Baud: Unfortunately too many people in America see themselves as “temporary embarrassed millionaires”, so their mindset is that putting restrictions on the endless avarice of oligarchs would prevent them from acquiring their own fortune. But, as George Carlin memorably said, “There’s a club and you ain’t in it.”
Another Scott
@Nukular Biskits: Google changed the “manifest” that defines how ad blockers work in the Chrome browser from “V2” to “V3”. V3 doesn’t permit ad blockers to work as effectively, so more stuff that Google approves gets through. Since Google makes their money on on-line ads, this is not surprising – they want their monies.
E.g. ArsTechnica
Ublock Origin is a very, very popular ad blocker for Chrome and Firefox. It uses the V2 manifest stuff and cannot be made to work equivalently well with V3. (There is an attempt to port some of the functionality over to V3, but I don’t plan to try it.)
Firefox recently updated their privacy policy saying that they can potentially use more of your data (and outraging many online privacy advocates). I haven’t looked into it carefully; I’ve only scanned the headlines.
HTH a little.
Best wishes,
Scott.
lowtechcyclist
@NotMax:
Firefly Aerospace, huh?
You can’t take the sky from me. 🙂
Spanky
@Josie: You deserve to feel great, so do!
My only advice is to get the money out of any account the government has access to, toot sweet. Where they can put in, melon can steal back out.
Another Scott
@sentient ai from the future: Thanks for the pointer. Looks good.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Baud
@The Thin Black Duke:
100%
There’s always someone else to blame, and it doesn’t matter who, as long as it’s easy.
Elizabelle
@Josie: Tipping a coffee mug to you, Josie. Good news is good news. Agree with Prof Bigfoot; we need to celebrate all of it.
Betty Cracker
@Theflippsyd: Well done. I’m not 100% convinced boycotting the address is the way to go; as someone said above, there are no good choices here. But you made a sound argument and conveyed the sense of urgency these times require, so kudos.
Another Scott
@HinTN: 👍
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Theflippsyd
@Betty Cracker: Thanks — I actually wish I had thought/seen the option of leaving 1 at a time with each lie. I just want them to do something. Not just sit there.
Josie
Thanks to all for sharing my good news. The advice about moving the money to another account sounds like a good one. I love this place.
Quiltingfool
@TBone: “No woman ever shot a man while he was doing the dishes.”
Jeffro
it’s a little funny…I was thinking about the ‘Betty Bowers’ approach while I was out on my morning walk…
whatever they do, I hope they don’t just sit there
I told Mrs. Fro that I think we’re probably a month or two away from trumpov having one or more Democratic elected officials arrested (for what, I have no idea – and neither does he right now)
Call those Congressmen, folks. They’re the only ones who can put a stop to this, if anyone can.
NotMax
@HinTN
Ever tried Firefox Focus for Android?
Love child of Firefox and Tor.
eclare
@Ohio Mom:
Same here.
Geminid
I’m interested in seeing how House Democrats handle this event. I’ll pay particular attention to Eugene Vindman, because he represents the Virginia 7th CD where I live, and I voted for him.
However, I did not vote for Rep. Vindman with the notion that I was going to tell him how to do his job. I watched Vindman throughout the campaign, and he impressed me as someone who would do the best job he could, through the ways and means he saw most fit.
My basic attitude is: Eugene Vindman doesn’t tell me how to lay out a patio, and I don’t decide how Eugene Vindman should deal with Trump’s speech. I’m not saying anyone else should take that attitude, just that I do.
Gloria DryGarden
@Theflippsyd:
watergirl, here’s another letter for the collection of samples. #67.
Betty Cracker
@Theflippsyd: Treating it as business as usual would be actively harmful, IMO.
eclare
@The Thin Black Duke:
George Carlin was a freaking genius about a lot of things.
Elizabelle
@Theflippsyd: Excellent letter. And ended on a strong note:
eclare
@Quiltingfool:
Words of wisdom.
Gin & Tonic
I’m looking forward to tomorrow morning’s thread when everyone can say that whatever the Democrats turn out to have done tonight, it was wrong.
Jackie
@Jeffro:
AOC is already in their crosshairs. Democratic✔️ Female✔️ Non Caucasian✔️ Mouthy✔️✔️
Baud
I hope Dems make jacking off arm motions throughout the speech.
Denali5
@Ohio Mom:
If the Republicans succeed in modeling this country after Orban, we will be paying to use dirty toilets, experiencing 30-40% inflation, and having no social security to rely on after retirement. There will be health care, but outside of Budapest the hospitals will be grim and understaffed because the doctors have left for Germany for better pay. Noticeable improvements like new bridges and parks have been paid for by the EU. That won’t be happening in the future. The only people that are well off, strangely enough, are family and friends of Orban.
Ask me how I know.
eclare
@Jackie:
That DC attorney (Ed Martin?) has accused Schumer of threatening him and called for an investigation.
Betty Cracker
@Geminid: If you were laying out a patio for Vindman rather than yourself, his input would matter, right? The way he does his job affects you. If you trust him to handle that without your input, fine, but my point is the situations aren’t analogous. We have a stake in how our reps do their jobs, and thus it’s not minding someone else’s business instead of our own to have and share opinions on it.
oldgold
Remember when Senator Joni Ernst did an about face on Hegseth? It was somewhat surprising given her advocacy for ending sexual exploitation of women in the military service.
Well, it appears she was in a bit of a sexual pickle involving a military man. That was being hidden at the time. Now it is out. She is up in ‘26.
https://www.rawstory.com/joni-ernst-2671259331/
Elizabelle
Timothy Snyder will be Red Wine & Blue’s guest on a free Zoom tonight, 7:30 to 8:30. (And then scoot right over to the Chris Murphy-Brian Schatz et al Zoom that begins at 8:15! Details in AL’s post above.)
The Real State of the Union.
https://redwine-blue.zoom.us/meeting/register/XKtQq0dOTJ-92GniqI0Wew
Elizabelle
@Gin & Tonic: You know somebody will! Jackal disease.
The Thin Black Duke
@eclare: Carlin was that rare breed of comedian who, like Richard Pryor and Bill Hicks, got better as he got older. When other comedians stop paying attention to what’s going on, they get left behind and turn into Grumpy Old Comics yelling at those damned kids to get off his stage. For example, Bill Mahr.
Nukular Biskits
@Another Scott:
Thanks for the primer!
Matt McIrvin
@The Thin Black Duke: I never liked Carlin’s insistence that voting was just buying into a bad system and nobody should do it.
The Thin Black Duke
@Gin & Tonic: It’s better to do it “wrong” than to do nothing at all because at least there’s the possibility of learning from the misstep.
Nukular Biskits
@Baud:
DAMN YOU, BAUD! I snorted coffee out my nose because of that!
Nukular Biskits
@oldgold:
“sexual pickle” could be interpreted in a variety of ways there …
eclare
Huh. Just called my rep’s office, and the staffer said that he wasn’t allowed to give out any information about my rep’s location this evening.
But Patty Murray and Chris Murphy have…
Geminid
@Jeffro: I’ve seen a lot of right-wingers on social media calling for Rep. Eugene Vindman and his brother Alexander to be arrested and tried for treason, on account of their role in Trump’s first Impeachment. They also propose various other charges, including support for Ukraine where Vindman was born, and a catch-all accusation of Congressing while Jewish.
Theflippsyd
@Elizabelle: Thanks for the heads up — I registered.
The Thin Black Duke
@Matt McIrvin: Unfortunately, although he was insightful in so many ways, Carlin was also speaking from the perspective of a rich white man who was somewhat insulated from the blowback of his boneheaded statement. I hated his insistence of referring to Native Americans as “Indians”. Nobody’s perfect.
WereBear
He should do it WWF style. Since he can’t do dignified, and I’ll bet that goes even when he’s dead, which won’t come soon enough but I imagine at a TERRIBLE time.
It’s his pattern. Pattern crimes, all of them.
Elizabelle
@Theflippsyd: See you there! They’re a good group.
Glory b
@Jackie: No, they don’t want to make a martyr of her.
I have the unpopular opinion that they secretly are okay with her, at times, she’s voted with them more than Democrats, she’s made statements about actually being a socialist and I’ve heard that they use photos of her with the Revolutionary Communists at a long ago protest to make all of us boogeymen.
eclare
Also Colbert is live tonight at 11:35 EST or whenever he gets delayed to because you know FFOTUS will go long to report on the joint session. Secretary Pete is the guest.
Elizabelle
I see no reason any of us need subject ourselves to a minute of The Felon, unless we choose to/are gluttons for punishment.
He demands an audience and attention. Deny him.
Jackie
@oldgold: MEN:
eclare
@Elizabelle:
I’m watching Colbert’s recap, that’s all I can take.
sentient ai from the future
@oldgold: rawstory is garbage, but you dont have to rely on them for a source either, because propublica gots you.
eclare
@Jackie:
Whoa.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Josie:
Take the wins when and where you personally get them.
Congrats.
Glory b
@Geminid: Fun fact: the Vindman twins appear as kids with their grandmother in the old Ken Burns PBS documentary on the Statue of Liberty.
Fair Economist
There’s not much point in boycotting. Voters watching won’t notice somebody not there. Heckling or walking out could be useful.
Ben Cisco
@TBone: Agreed. Actually looking forward to it.
Betty Cracker
Please enjoy this WankPanzer getting roundly booed:
Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg
@Baud:
I want him to start shouting at people for heckling him during the speech. He has a single playbook – that of the narcissist, and will melt in a puddle of incoherent goo when mocked, and stomping off won’t be possible.
Professor Bigfoot
@Jackie: I suspect that, had the Polity Project existed before CRA64, the US government wouldn’t have made the grade then, either.
In a way, erasing CRA64 and VRA65 is the very point of Trumpism, isn’t it?
Spanky
@Jackie: Probably at the same time, and I mean at. the. same. time.
Professor Bigfoot
@Glory b: It’s no coincidence that she presents as an attractive white woman, is it?
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Glory b:
Source on AOC voting with Republicans more than Dems?
Elizabelle
Carl Dean, Dolly Parton’s husband, died yesterday at age 82. Condolences to the family. Dolly is the best. She and Carl were married almost 60 years.
Baud
@Glory b:
I don’t think she voted with Republicans. But I’d be surprised if they actually come after her. I think she’s the last person they want to make into a martyr.
Fair Economist
@sentient ai from the future:
What else is Tesla bringing down? The rest of the stock market is going down because of Trump shenanigans.
danielx
Can’t watch Felonious Orange tonight.
Or ever. At this point the sound of his voice, never mind the sight of his bloated face, causes a physical reaction and not a pleasant one.
TBone
@TBone: to dust you shall return (my most detested household chore).
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Professor Bigfoot:
She presents to me as a Latina woman
tobie
I don’t have any magic answers about what Dems should do but when I read stuff like this my blood boils.
Dems in safe seats should be doing townhalls in Republican districts. Staff can produce fact sheets about what the Trump cuts mean for the local economy. In some cases it may not be safe for a Dem to do a townhall. If so, forego the district. Still, we need to get out and figure out if there’s a country to save or if a plurality of Americans have become juvenile and rancid shock-jocks like Noem whose only passion besides cruelty to immigrants are her regular botox treatments.
Professor Bigfoot
@Elizabelle: That sucks– there was a good, successful man in his own right who supported and backed his uber-successful wife; quietly, in the background where the attentive spouse is SUPPOSED to be.
Condolences to Dolly, their family, and may his memory be a blessing.
Matt McIrvin
@Elizabelle: Aw, man.
I was just watching a video about things that unite all Americans, and one of the commenters mentioned Dolly Parton.
TBone
@Quiltingfool: I have that on a refrigerator magnet! Happy wife, happy life hahaha!
WereBear
@Baud: OMG. Pearls would hit the floor.
Elizabelle
@Professor Bigfoot: No drama Carl and Dolly. And Dolly (and Carl, through her) gave so much to support literacy and vaccines.
Before the internets, I doubted Carl actually existed. How could anyone stay that private?
sentient ai from the future
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): seems that claim is mis or disinformation. see here. we seem to be getting more of that lately.
Elizabelle
@tobie: As long as she is not shooting Canadian or American dogs, or any dogs she finds at the border.
Kristi Noem is only doing that to annoy you. Ignore her.
sentient ai from the future
@Fair Economist: market-cap-weighted indices. the overall investor sentiment is also not isolated to specific stocks. yes, *rump is doing this, but musk is part and parcel of that.
Baud
@Elizabelle:
Agree. Just use it as an example of how we’re better than they are and move on. No one cares how we feel IMHO.
Elizabelle
@sentient ai from the future: That’s interesting. And, since the claim came from glory b, no doubt in good faith, someone is targeting POC spaces with mis/disinformation like that.
Divide and conquer.
Do not take everything we see at face value. A lot of it is false.
RaflW
@sentient ai from the future: It occurred to me the other day that it may soon be time for Germany to say “You have 24 hours to evacuate Ramstein Air Base. You have abrogated multiple terms of your land leases and any assets you can’t grab and run with by noon tomorrow become the property of NATO, which no longer includes YOU.”
I know that’s bananas. But everything is broken, upside down, and being twisted into knots of shit. So why not this?
*People in the DoD hospital at Ramstein can make an orderly departure on humanitarian grounds.
eclare
@Elizabelle:
I saw that yesterday. Condolences to Dolly and all who loved and knew him.
TBone
@Glory b: that is a fun fact.
TBone
That’s my cue 🎶 #152
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cI4q5EiNKQU
Shakti
Mood music: Caramelldansen on a nuclear siren
I feel so so child who grew up during the Cold War. This is hilarious.
More info (Bad Apple) channel owner Superluck77lol explains:
Jeffro
in other, funnier times, I’d hope that at least one of them would bring a couple small sofa cushions and keep them displayed in their lap
or that they all go overboard with orange spray tan
eclare
@Elizabelle:
I read somewhere that he hadn’t been seen in public in five years. The article didn’t say he was sick, just very private. Of course I’m sure their home is lovely, and they have assistants to run errands, but five years seems extreme.
Betty Cracker
@Elizabelle: I don’t agree stuff like that should be ignored. It’s a threat to another country’s sovereignty by a powerful official in the U.S. government. Heard some talk about Canada bringing Trump’s threats to take over Canada to the UN. I hope they do (or did). That body should take the matter up and condemn the U.S. for threatening a sovereign neighbor. Ditto the garbage about taking over Greenland.
Jeffro
@Elizabelle: agreed
I can’t watch, because I’ll grind my teeth to powder. Or stroke out.
TBone
I won’t be satisfied until they make a siren sound like the gnashing of their teeth
eclare
@Jeffro:
My rep showed up at some Congressional hearing with a bucket of KFC. Either someone called him a chicken or he called someone a chicken, I can’t remember.
sentient ai from the future
@Elizabelle: marginalized communities are in general extremely suceptible to “theyre all the same”/”a pox on both their houses” propaganda, for what should be obvious reasons.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Most analysts in the EV community, at least before Tesla’s Yurp (Germany) sales numbers hit for Feb were attributing sales drop to a stale product line, time of year (which didn’t make sense as such sales comparisons were for the same month or months last year) and significantly increased availability of EVs from other car makers at similar price points.
That was a discussion about sales, not stock prices. And the analyst consensus was it was really hard to pin a metric on Edolph’s shenanigans translating into reduced sales.
However, stock price is a whole different ball o’ wax where such public behavior and actions can impact stock price and as people are seeing, that’s happened. Mind you, Tesla stock dropped 25% in Nov/Dec 2023 and rebounded just fine.
But after the latest, albeit partial, sales picture in Yurp from Feb, analysts this week are now saying it’s impossible to not link Edolph’s public crapola with both the sales nosedive and stock price decline.
Shakti
I am not watching SoTU, god speed — b/c for the last three months I’ve just been reacting to this asshole.
If they are smart, the Democrats will do as much as possible to get away from the ‘watch the stupid speech’ ‘counter speech’ format. B/c it doesn’t serve them in the best of times, and is fatal now.
In years of this, I’ve never seen a counter SOTU I’ve liked or thought was good.
MarkB
My Representative, Don Beyer (D-VA) told a phone-in town hall last night that he will not attend. GOOD.
catclub
I thought today that before this is over he will be giving military aid to Russia.
Betty Cracker
@eclare: I saw a documentary about Dolly Parton fairly recently, can’t remember which streaming service. Lily Tomlin was interviewed, and she said she loved to hang out with Dolly and Carl at home because both were such lovely people. I got the impression they didn’t let many people into their circle as a couple, i.e., Dolly has her own celebrity friendships that are separate, a life he wasn’t part of.
sentient ai from the future
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: live by the
degenerate gamblerretail investor enthusiasm, die by the same. at least, one can hope.Glory b
@Professor Bigfoot: Nope.
I’ve said it before, if AOC was a 200 lb dark skinned black woman, she wouldn’t be anywhere near the fan favorite she is, and her thin to nonexistent legislative accomplishments would make her irrelevant.
I also question the conventional wisdom that she is so inspiring to young voters as well.
eclare
@Shakti:
Good points. There is no upside to giving a counter-speech. Either you do fine and no one pays attention, or you humiliate yourself like Rubio and are remembered for the wrong reasons.
All potential downside.
catclub
Does anyone have a preferred charity for Ukraine support?
How about this one: Ukraine Aid,
9215 Jeffery Rd
Great Falls, VA 22066
run by one person ( effectively, sounds like former foreign service
officer) but high charity navigator rating.
Hildebrand
Tonight, the Dems, harkening back to the 2010 World Cup, should blow vuvuzelas throughout the speech. Start right at, ‘Mr. Speaker’, and just take turns throughout.
eclare
@Betty Cracker:
Makes sense. Was it Here I Am? That’s on Netflix.
Professor Bigfoot
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Yes, that’s who she IS and I don’t deny that– but she looks like a “pretty white girl” to me, and I’m sure the incelcamino drivers will find her acceptable in ways that other Democratic women will never be.
eclare
@Hildebrand:
Perfect! Gawd those things are annoying.
Ramalama
@Josie: YAY!
I learned that Biden made this happen – at Christmastime – where I had some aunts express similar can-this-be-true glee. And then I got into an argument with a high school friend claiming that this was double-dipping. I don’t know how working a second job and getting ‘taxed’ more than someone else can be considered double-dipping. Can anyone help me better refute the friend other than ‘nuh uh’?
MarkB
@Quiltingfool:
OTOH–“He ran into my knife. He ran into my knife 10 times…”
MarkB
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
really. Sounds like BS to me, unless they’re counting things like voting on new Post Office names.
frosty
I’ve got nowhere to go either, mine were here before that. If you go back far enough my family is descended from undocumented immigrants.
kirbster
My fantasy for tonight’s SOTU would be a loud vuvuzela sound played each time Trump lies, with no one being able to pinpoint the source.
Basilisc
Democrats should attend. And, at strategic moments, they should laugh. Laugh, laugh, laugh some more. As the guy starts to deliver applause lines, laugh. Not after the big lines, since that would be drowned out by Republican cheering, but during – just pre-emptively laugh.
These guys don’t mind hate – they welcome it actually – but they can’t handle ridicule.
MarkB
@Ramalama:
They were two separate accounts paid into by different people. That’s not double-dipping any more than my wife and I each collecting Social Security.
Double-dipping is one person collecting two different payments from the same place, such as a federal employee collecting two retirement payments from Uncle Sam for two different jobs held by the same person.
MarkB
@kirbster:
I read that as “vulva sound’ and was very confused for a sec.
Professor Bigfoot
@Quiltingfool: Then I’m safe as houses; ‘cause it feels like I’m in front of that goddamn sink all the time!
Gin & Tonic
@catclub: Adam Silverman published a list of recommended charities near the top of his post last night.
Ohio Mom
@Denali5: How do you know? A couple of weeks ago I was trying to google “What life in Hungary is like” this week it was Argentina. I asked Adam for a post on what we could expect life would be like and he said he’s thinking about it.
All I can come up with is that I’ll be poor. And cold on the winter (I hate being cold).
I went to the mall on Sunday because Ohio Son needed a new wrist watch, found a nice enough one for $30. (I already am not a big spender.)
It was crowded and lots of people were carrying shopping bags full of their purchases. All I could think was, these people are in for a very rude surprise. You can’t eat what you buy at Sephora (lots of Sephora bags but we were in that wing).
catclub
@Baud: Is SpaceX a Public Company? SpaceX is not a public company; it is still privately owned.
So valuation? It all depends on how the owners feel that day.
French Onion Soup
@Glory b:
She’s popular with younger voters because she’s a Sanders style progressive with a focus on economic issues who plays video games and has a good social media game.
Of course being good looking helps. But not being a part of the establishment or Clinton and Obama machines is critical though.
catclub
@Gin & Tonic: thanks!
Ramalama
@Elizabelle: Canada is now in a trade war with its closest neighbor/neighbour for no reason at all. The free trade agreement that Trump negotiated down and signed from last time has been made null and void. Just because. And now Canada is headed for a steep recession.
Normally I’d agree with the ignore the trolls but normalizing annexing another country by these assholes is not to be ignored.
I can’t tell you how many – maybe every single person I come across – people in Quebec and Ontario are ready to fight in every sense of the word. Friends on the West coast, too.
Canadian hockey fans booing the American anthem at the start of the games is only the beginning.
YY_Sima Qian
@Jackie: Jeez. I think people have been discounting just how rotten the US military has become.
Josie
@Ramalama:
In my case, my husband paid into social security for 40 years. I paid into teacher retirement for 30 years which was not federal (Texas). I should have been able to receive survivor benefits after he passed but could not due to my pension from teacher retirement. It was an offset created by Reagan to save money on the backs of survivors, probably mostly widows, who had paid into another system.
YY_Sima Qian
@Basilisc: I think that is the right strategy: ridicule, emasculate, defenestrate.
TBone
‘Tis Pancakes Tuesday for those who celebrate (Shrove). I love pancakes and wish I had time and wherewithal to make latkes.
I have never before celebrated Pancakes Tuesday or Ash Wednesday.
Flapjacks!
TBone
@MarkB: that’s a queef. I used to troll Donold’s Fascistbook page in the Before Times, calling him Captain Queef relentlessly.
Ramalama
@Glory b: Would it be better if AOC were ugly? Missing a few teeth?
Also, why is your nym linked to a non-working url?
YY_Sima Qian
A month ago, I would have considered the below the fevered imaginations of kooky conspiracists. Now, I have to entertain them seriously:
Betty Cracker
@eclare: May have been that one. I don’t remember the title.
TBone
@TBone:
🎶🤘 Mood music
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HNcJGWQsz1Q
rebelsdad
@Ohio Mom: Seconded. Mom’s family came here from England in 1614, and Dad’s also came from there but in 1849. I got nowhere else to go. Plus I’m too poor to move across town much less across the ocean. I’m gonna have to stand my ground here in Florida whether I like it or not.
Gloria DryGarden
@eclare:Pete B? Surely not “secretary” Pete h?
Betty Cracker
@YY_Sima Qian: It sounds crazy. It is crazy. But sadly, we can no longer discount such craziness.
rebelsdad
@Josie: This is awesome! I am so happy to hear this.
Ramalama
@MarkB: I’m trying to remember the argument. It was her saying it wasn’t fair that she and I work for not-government to pay into SS for 40 years have one stream of income. But for ‘those people’ who worked for the govt for 30 years and then another 10 for White Hen, or 7-11, or Wal-Mart, they get a second stream of income. Basically now that I type this out, she, a well-to-do person, is making the case for a commie approach, a one-payment scheme fits all, right?
Ramalama
@Josie: Wow. Offset. Saint Ronald Reagan, dead, but still reaching out as a complete asshole to hurt all the wrong people.
Ohio Mom
@Josie: “It was an offset created by Reagan to save money on the backs of survivors, probably mostly widows, who had paid into another system.”
Oh. Another shitty gift from Reagan.
Geminid
@Betty Cracker: I guess I would better have said, “build a patio.” if I was doing a patio for Eugene Vindman, I’d design it the way he wanted and the general layout is certainly part of that. There’d be a plan view and a couple elevations drawn on graph paper and some corner stakes for him to sign off on.
But after that, I would not let him micro-manage the construction; as in, what end to start from, at what height to stretch a layout string, how much to excavate before dropping back and starting the paving, how best to shift a stone etc. I’ve had customers try that and it did not advance the project one iota, just created a lot needless stress for both of us.
The job of U.S. Representative is very different from a patio project, but I think this principal still applies.
I have also made a point of finding out as much as I can about the 215 House Democrats. Collectively, and with very few exceptions individually, they impress me as a capable and dedicated bunch. In equine terms, they’re not a minority of thorobred horses along with so many rented mules.
That latter view seems to be a common attitude among segments within the Democratic chattering class of which we all are a part here. We are amateur strategists, and I think many see themselvese as pundits who know better than the actual practitioners who Democrats have chosen to represent them.
It’s like people are driving themselves and each other crazy with back-seat driving. It’s like riding a bus navigating a curvy mountain descent with half the passengers telling each other and the driver about when and how hard to apply the brakes, and how wide or tight to take the turns, and how we’re fucked anyway because we didn’t take some shortcut ten miles back.
I happen to believe we have a capable set of drivers in Jeffries, Clark and Aguilar, and rest of the leadership team our Representives voted in last November, sfter the election.. Those 215 Democrats have shown unity so far, and I think that’s because they also have confidence in their leadership, or at least understand this is a bad time for hashing out intra-party conflicts.
And that’s despite a lot of influencers– and I’m not talking here about people on this forum– actively trying to undermine confidence and sow division among Democrats.
frosty
@TBone:
You’re in Central PA? You should be celebrating Fastnacht Day!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fastnacht_(Pennsylvania_Dutch)
eclare
@Gloria DryGarden:
Sorry! Yes, Secretary Pete B. Colbert would never have Hegseth on. Ever.
Elizabelle
@Ramalama: I am so sorry that the morons of our country have endangered your great country to the north. Booing is good.
The Felon and Elon’s effect on our mutual economies is no laughing matter. Despite the clowns (Noem) they have put in place, they can do a lot of harm.
It’s only been 43 days.
Since our worlds got turned upside down. By a criminal for whom morons and crooks voted.
YY_Sima Qian
A day after TSMC announced plans to invest US$ 100B in the US building capacity for the most advanced semiconductors, as well as an R&D center, the Trump Administration is firing 40% of the CHIPS Act program office responsible for disbursing CHIPS money.
Basilisc
Another idea: those members who do attend should silently hold signs with photos of the capitol police officers killed & wounded on Jan 6. Maybe also some signs with the FBI agents who were demoted for doing their jobs investigating Trump/Russia. Idea is to show which party actually sides with law enforcement. Slotkin can lead off her response by mentioning this.
Another Scott
@sentient ai from the future:
TSLA is still up 42% over the last 12 months.
It’s got a long way to fall before many will feel any pain at all.
:-/
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
YY_Sima Qian
The PRC is not going to trade tariff for tariff, since it runs a large trade surplus with/ the US. The response will be asymmetrical, perhaps squeezing the enormous profits US MNCs make from selling into the Chinese market or using China as the major manufacturing platform. Starting w/ “a few monkeys to scare the chickens”, but eventually getting to Apple & Tesla if the trade war gets that far. Xi will also want to preserve the space for a “grand bargain” that Trump seems to want.
Of course, since I work for a US MNC w/ huge China exposure, these developments leave me feeling quite precarious.
Soprano2
@tobie: It makes her look childish, that’s how most of these people seem to be to me.
Soprano2
@Hildebrand: Oh lord that would be funny! 🤣🤣🤣 Blow them every time he tells a lie; that would be almost continuous.
Betty Cracker
@Geminid: I agree micro-managing is a better analogy. I hear you about the backseat driver bus passengers too, but I don’t think our reps are as beleaguered as the driver in that scenario. Maybe it’s more like a remote-controlled bus where an operator can hear the conversation but only faintly.
I think it’s healthy for people to pay close attention and express their views, including on the performance of reps in their party. Like any of us, sometimes they need a fire lit under their asses. We’ll disagree on when that match is called for, and that’s okay.
Ocotillo
@Betty Cracker: It won’t be long and Combover Caligula will be throwing the UN out of New York. Anticipate that and be ready to move it to Monteal
UncleEbeneezer
@French Onion Soup: She’s popular because she shits on Dems just enough to tickle their BothSides™ impulses. And they are in complete denial of the fact that if she can only get away with that because she is in a deep-blue district.
Chief Oshkosh
Probably a dead thread, but I agree that the Dems have GOT to continue, and greatly accelerate, performative politics to highlight how NONE of this is normal. Stop pretending as though your being normal is some virtue. Be ABBEY NORMAL!!
My favorite suggestion is the one where Dems all show up, then walk out one at a time. And do it dressed in black, wearing black arm bands.
buildanewsky
It seems to me that the most important thing is to make as much social media noise as possible while Trump is speaking. So, town halls are far more important than patronizing El Lardo’s address. I particularly like what Murphy and others are doing this evening. If the readers of this blog amplify this in their own circles (however big they are), then we’ll be pushing out the alternative narrative EVEN BEFORE THE SPEECH IS OVER. This is what Republicans do well; we can do better, if we try.
Gloria DryGarden
@eclare: i didn’t think so. But last night his gu3st was “Melania” . I think it was cate blanchett. Pretty darn funny, better than most.
RaflW
@YY_Sima Qian: “@provisionalidea
Trump precipitating a domestic agricultural crisis via tariffs only raises my concern he will take emergency measures to seize Canadian assets and territory”
I know there’s only 40M Canadians where there are 340M US-ers, but 1) I do not see civil society in Canada just going along with this, nor do I 2) see the US Military engaging in a war of conquest in Canada with any enthusiasm.
I know there’s a big propaganda effort under way about ’51st state’ and how Canada has ‘wronged’ us over fentanyl. But we’ve been peaceful friends and neighbors for as long as anyone alive in the US can remember.
Canada fought alongside us in Afghanistan and took 159 fatalities in that effort.
It would be shatteringly discordant to attempt to take them over. I’m not saying Trump + his horrific henchmen aren’t thinking about it. But that it would fail, or the losses in the effort would be catastrophic.
WaterGirl
@buildanewsky: I just saw your comment and approved it, but no one else will have seen it.
It’s an excellent comment, and since no one likely saw it but me, I would like to suggest that you copy & paste it into a more current thread.
Welcome!
Gloria DryGarden
@Geminid: i think this is a really great point. This and your discussion with Betty cracker, seems v useful. I feel like a curtain has been lifted. I’m going to take some free time to read all the suggested letters and phone scripts people have used.
that seems more effective than arguing here and making representatives wrong. It’s great to let our reps know what we think and want. And it’s great to avoid tearing them, and each o5her apart with back seat driving.
is this topic front page worthy, do you think?
Gloria DryGarden
@Basilisc: i like it.