Blimey, I didn’t realize Biden’s first news conference would be a daytime event! I’d assumed it would be held after my workday so I could pay closer attention to the proceedings, but it’s scheduled to start at 1:15 PM ET. Will no one think of the working bloggers? Anyhoo, here’s a CSPAN YouTube channel live feed:
In the meantime, what in the wide world of fuck is this?
Meghan McCain: "We’ve only had one Asian American host co-host host this show. Does that mean one of us should be leaving because there’s not enough representation? We're talking about — is identity politics more important than the qualifications for the job?" pic.twitter.com/0nN1ilB9Nn
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) March 24, 2021
I’m not talking about the absurdity of a nepotism hire whining about people using their “identity” to get jobs. I recommend Stephen Robinson’s take-down of that foolishness over at Wonkette. I mean the ‘do, which is most emphatically a don’t.
I am a middle-aged woman who dresses like a slovenly 10-year-old boy, so I usually keep my fashion and hair styling opinions to myself. But one can’t help wonder why someone is deploying hairstyles that evoke Worf from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” onto the melon of Meghan McCain.
Open thread.
Baud
Can we vote on who leaves?
MisterForkbeard
I’ve been ASSURED that today’s press conference is the most important thing in the nation, on par with the Iranian Hostage Crisis and our several most recent wars combined. We can only thank God and our media that this is finally being attended to.
More seriously though, does anyone expect anything actually useful here or just press assholes waiting for him to stutter before they declare “this will feed speculation on the right that Biden is an incompetent dementia patient” followed quickly by “Is President Biden in his right mind” 24/7 media coverage?
Joe Falco
@Baud:
I think ancient Greeks had the right idea on dealing with people too annoying to be around.
Baud
It’s ok. Somewhere there’s a 10 year old boy that dresses like a middle aged woman.
FelonyGovt
Her hairdresser HATES her.
Amir Khalid
I know almost nothing about The View, and I’ve only ever seen brief snippets of it. The POW’s Daughter aside, is it worth watching?
Cheryl Rofer
My question is why Meghan McCain wants to look that way.
MattF
So, facing the prospect of a RW frame-by-frame deconstruction of this news conference, I will cook an omelet.
SiubhanDuinne
@MisterForkbeard:
I honestly can’t remember the last time a Presidential press conference was preceded by such breathless, extended, overhyped media commentary. Jeebus. If Biden had announced two weeks ago that he’d be descending from the mountaintop at 1:15pm with a couple of stone tablets in hand, the Village could not have been more anticipatory.
dmsilev
I mean, what are Megan McCain’s qualifications for that job? Or any job, really? Beyond “My father was a POW (not many people know this) and a Senator”.
M31
@SiubhanDuinne: if Biden had announced it, it would be ho-hum, but since they forced Biden to do it, well, they showed him didn’t they
SiubhanDuinne
@Amir Khalid:
No (from my extremely limited exposure to the show).
Hildebrand
The worst thing about this press conference will be the avalanche of jaw-droppingly stupid and inane questions. All this build-up and the press will deliver pure knavery – and then have the audacity to say that ‘Biden didn’t break much new ground today and seemed dismissive of our questions.’
JPL
@Amir Khalid: It’s a talk show that highlights issues of the day. They are able to attract good guests, and politicians. That being said McCain is intolerable and I won’t watch it unless Kamala, Joe, Hillary or someone else that I admire is on.
germy
Shots in arms, but some arms are reluctant:
Ruckus
Most of us can find things to worry about. A rather large percentage of us manage to find things that actually fucking matter. Conservatives seem only to be able to find ignorant, stupid shit to whine, piss and moan about. I’d say that makes them about 3 years old emotionally, but that’s degrading to 3 year olds. And a bunch of them do this while dressed/coiffed like morons from outer space.
SiubhanDuinne
Huh. I thought he (well, the WH, anyway) did announce it well in advance. Like ten days ago. But you’re right that the Village did a victory lap because it was only their
baying at the moonpolite request that persuaded him to meet with them.germy
James E Powell
@Cheryl Rofer:
Theory: She wants people to make fun of her hair so she can go into a rage about how she’s being attacked for her appearance.
dmsilev
@germy: Maybe the “free donut a day” offer might be attractive?
lollipopguild
@Cheryl Rofer: She has apparently decided that these hair styles are a “good’ look for her.??????
Ruckus
@Hildebrand:
Most of their questions have the consistency of over cooked mush, and are about as intelligent as a bowl of it.
M31
there needs to be someone in the room with a blown-up rubber glove on a big stick, and they hit any reporter that uses any of these phrases:
•crisis at the border
•the previous president
•anything about dog bites
•are you running in 2024
Ruckus
@lollipopguild:
Well take a look at the brain under that, and really, doesn’t the hair match?
Rand Careaga
McCain’s hissy fit reminds me of a widely-circulated tale of another well-connected scion, “Bloody Bill” Kristol. The story has more than a whiff of apocrypha about it, but here goes:
dmsilev
@M31: Nah. Punishment should be “That’s a stupid question. You’re in time-out for a month.”
That hits them where it hurts.
Turgidson
So he’s already ten minutes late? The Beltway gossip gas bags already have their fucking lede.
Just Chuck
The hair is still smarter than the wearer.
dmsilev
OK, it’s live now.
Edit: New vaccination goal of 200 million in the first 100 days. We’re actually already on pace for that even without any additional rate increases.
burnspbesq
Apologies if this was covered earlier, but the British media are having way too much fun with the story of last weekend’s surprise raid by Italian paramilitary police on a factory that was packaging the AstraZeneca vaccine. Apparently some EU bureaucrats believed that millions of doses were being unlawfully diverted to the UK, but it turned out that they were going to the COVAX coalition of poor counties, because a different set ofEU bureaucrats hasn’t approved the output of the Dutch factory where the stuff was made for distribution within the EU.
Hilarious.
Bluegirlfromwyo
@germy: Kathy didn’t answer the obvious question: is she still her dental hygienist?
My hairdresser informed me that she isn’t getting vaccinated. She got informed that she’s my former hairdresser.
BruceFromOhio
Megan who?
sab
@dmsilev: She does have an undergraduate art history degree.
geg6
@Cheryl Rofer:
Sort of like why is she married and propagating with serial plagiarist Ben Domenech? She has terrible taste.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I can’t remember where I read, so big FWIW, but somebody said NutMegs is the biggest eyeball-draw for that show since Rosie O’Donnell used to fight with the shouty and incoherent birther-woman who was married to a failed RW QB. Even people who don’t like her like that she “fights”, is the theory. I don’t get that. To me, she’s a middle-aged spoiled brat whose prayer to be granted the self-confidence of a mediocre white man who was born on third base was granted. She makes the trump spawn look self-aware.
I know she often goes off on late-term abortion, to the rage of, you know, doctors. ABC should really be shamed for letting Princess Budweiser, Daughter of John McCain, to pontificate unchallenged about medicine with only a couple of aging ex-standups to argue against her.
Cheryl Rofer
germy
M31
“Pretty big deal — it got passed”
left out the ‘fucking’ but that’ll do
burnspbesq
@germy:
FTFY.
SiubhanDuinne
He’s doing fine so far. “I was elected to solve problems, not create division.”
Leto
@sab: isn’t there an adult living facility that could hire this finger paint artist? Maybe a glue factory that needs an olfactory tester? Not sure she’s qualified for either, but it’d be more productive use of our time.
Hildebrand
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I sometimes wonder if it’s the train-wreck aspect – people just want to gawk at a disaster as it unfolds. I mean, she will say something completely idiotic and then Whoopi will shut her down or give everyone a new reaction gif.
oldster
Rule #3 in the Guy Book of Rules is:
never talk about women’s hair. Unless it’s your partner’s hair in which case
Rule #4: “it looks great, honey!”
Which is all to say: thank you, Betty, for giving a voice to the voiceless.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
This country will be in much better shape once rich white right wingers are not considered entertaining.
SiubhanDuinne
@M31:
You know he was thinking it, though!
Cheryl Rofer
Biden is good at this.
Leto
@oldster: I’ll agree with Betty and compliment her Klingon cosplay. Very spot on.
Joe Falco
@James E Powell:
That’s not a bad theory. I remember one of the local Limbaugh clones in the Atlanta area would sometimes devote a segment on their radio show to something inane such as misquoted movie lines, have callers tune in to argue about it then use the arguments as some kind of proof that most Americans are too stupid or distracted to care about the “real” problems facing this country. These RW “entertainers” stir the pot because that’s how they keep themselves on the air when they know they have no other talents or abilities to justify their paychecks.
BruceFromOhio
Finally, what Psaki couldn’t say, President Biden lays it out: the problems at the border are not new, and TFG made it worse.
germy
dmsilev
@Cheryl Rofer: Back of the envelope:
130 million doses administered so far. 20 million prior to Biden taking office, so 110 in his term so far. 90 million to reach the goal, in about 37 days. That means an average rate of 2.43 million/day would be needed. And, that’s roughly where we are right now (2.49 million/day). So, it’s a safe promise to make, even without depending on further production increases.
germy
Cheryl Rofer
zhena gogolia
@Cheryl Rofer:
Oh, I’m glad to hear you say that. I do not have any time to stop and pay attention to this until later this evening. I like your one-sentence summary.
germy
Benw
@germy: Michael is always on point
MisterForkbeard
@SiubhanDuinne: The questions from the media were super weird: “What is he doing to prepare himself for this momentous occasion?”, etc.
Our media are terrible.
BruceFromOhio
And I remember yet again why I actively despise the American media and it’s reflexive habits.
Leto
@Cheryl Rofer:
Electing competent, moral people to do the job. A+
brendancalling
@lollipopguild: Atrios was nattering on about Meggles yesterday, so I will repeat myself.
I used to work at Raw Story, and part of my job was covering “The View,” which meant waiting for Meggles to say something obnoxious, which we’d mine for hate-clicks. That was the ONLY reason. I have no idea why people care what this talentless, lazy woman, who has no political power and will never run for office, thinks.
As for the hair and makeup, Meggles is clearly channeling Divine’s role as Babs Johnson from Pink Flamingos.
Cameron
@Cheryl Rofer: If you were married to Fauxy Pantload, how would you look?
dmsilev
@Leto:
Boy, that “Biden is a doddering senile wreck” strategy really has aged well, hasn’t it?
Baud
@Cheryl Rofer:
We need to stop being nervous. Sooner or later, there will be some misstatement that the media will seize on, but we just have to push past it. Biden had proven himself plenty.
SiubhanDuinne
@sab:
As opposed to her college-dropout husband.
(ETA, and utterly irrelevant: Just 30 seconds ago it started raining like a sumbish here. Lightning, thunder, and a downpour you wouldn’t believe. Also really dark.)
Cheryl Rofer
Man, he has all the facts right at hand. Filling out the story on the border. 5000 additional beds at Fort Bliss is a big piece of news if the reporters care to use it.
Sabonis15
@FelonyGovt: It’s an Ethiopian style of braiding. it isn’t done that well because of her hair texture, but it’s sadly amusing when people without knowledge criticize people without knowledge.
germy
From previous thread:
Gozer
@dmsilev: She’s “very” qualified.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1374748360788312077
M31
lol did he just say ‘when I came to the Senate 120 years ago’
Jim, Foolish Literalist
From Betty’s Wonkette link:
MEGS: We’re going to a place where even if people need money or are qualified to get into Ivy League (schools), race and gender is more important than your skill qualifications, the content of your character. It is not what Martin Luther King Jr. preached.
I started to type, “she thinks she got into Columbia on her grades”…. but off course she does. Referring to college admissions criteria as “your skill qualifications” tells us something about how heavily her, um, “skill qualifications” weighed in her admission. Somehow this Gawker link about an unedited “column” that got accidentally (or “accidentally”) published, survives. The phrase “year poignant” has stayed with me for more than a decade now.
dmsilev
@M31: Yep. Good to see he hasn’t lost his sense of humor.
SiubhanDuinne
@MisterForkbeard:
Exactly. Just abfuckingsurd. .
geg6
He’s doing just fine. On everything. Such a relief to listen to him after TFG.
I love when he says “Here’s the deal…” and then just tells it like it is.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Baud: and keep pointing out that not only did The Former Guy recommend drinking Lysol and injecting bleach, but also that the last Republican President who speak a sentence of unscripted and even remotely coherent English was Richard Nixon.
M31
immigration, filibuster, filibuster, immigration
cool, there are no other issues, good to know
stacib
O/T As I’ve mentioned before, I work for a pharma company in Illinois. Today, they brought in the National Guard and a ton of other folks to do vaccinations. They started about 8:00 this morning. As of right now, they’ve probably seen fewer than 30 people (on a site that has in excess of 900).
M31
oh man, Biden is playing the decency card? that is cold
Served
This framing that Biden having a perception as being “nice” is responsible for Honduran mothers sending their children unaccompanied?? What on earth
Leto
@dmsilev: like a reheated fish dish in the workplace microwave.
Gin & Tonic
@geg6: I’ll drop a turd in the punchbowl. There have been more moments than I’m comfortable with when he sounded confused or hesitant, as if he lost his train of thought. “Better than TFG” is an awfully low bar.
leeleeFL
@FelonyGovt: And who could blame him/her?
Meghan McCain has moments of smartness blooming in the midst of a vast scene of BS. Much like her Father, she can only handle a good thought now and then. Then, we head back to horse hockey to fertilize her BS garden
Cheryl Rofer
@Served: Biden is doing an outstanding job of reframing it into “How desperate is the situation when a mother does that?” and saying he wants to do something about that.
Leto
@germy: @geg6: Dana Carvey and Steven Colbert were talking about the “hook” needed to begin an impression. For Dana it was that: “here’s the deal…”. I agree with that tweet: Carrey’s impression was just terrible. Was too Ace Ventura. Both Dana and Colbert get it right without being obnoxious.
dmsilev
That was Biden’s “man, what a stupid fucking question” response.
geg6
@Gin & Tonic:
Well, that’s not quite the bar I set, but I get your point. His hesitations don’t bother me, as I know many stutterers who do the same.
Cameron
@M31: At long last, do they have no decency?
Just One More Canuck
An attempt at Flock of Seagulls hair?
KrackenJack
@burnspbesq: AZ’s vaccine is accursed. Between self-inflicted wounds and the intersection of EU Brexit politics, it’s been one damn thing after another. Now every problem is news-worthy.
James E Powell
@germy:
That’s what I’m saying.
Cheryl Rofer
He is actually using TFG’s name
MisterForkbeard
@Leto: I’m already hearing caterwauling about how his good performance is just because everything here is scripted/telepromptered, etc.
Sigh.
BruceFromOhio
I’m so glad there is only one topic today, these poor journalists can’t seem to handle any other topics.
Brachiator
@Amir Khalid:
It’s daytime tv infotainment. A diversion, like a game show.
It’s okay if you like that sort of thing. But it is not meant to be much of anything.
M31
OMG Migrants at the border again, IT’S NOT A CRISIS
Jesus H. Christ in a chicken basket our media is a useless turdpile
Benw
@Served : remember when the American President said that traumatizing helpless children was done on purpose and was in fact the point of his immigration policy? Our press was sure fine with that.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@stacib: I’m stunned
Old School
So which networks are actually carrying the press conference? Or was it drastically important, but not enough to interrupt regular programming?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Gin & Tonic:
I’ll agree with that, and there’s a reason this is in the early afternoon, from my experience dealing with seniors who have moments (see also the Mueller testimony that started at 8:30 in the morning). But as long as he and the people around him recognize those limitations and work around them, I’ll pretend not to notice them.
StringOnAStick
Betty, you and I must be connected somehow because the first thing I thought when I saw that ‘do was Star Trek, TNG.
MattF
@germy: So, she thinks she’s a poster?
MisterForkbeard
@M31: I have conservative ‘friends’ who are yelling about Democrats “failing at everything” right now.
This is what happens when your brain rots from too much conservative news.
M31
lol “what is your red line on N Korea” — translation “please commit, Mr. President, to something firm we can blame you for later for not doing even though it’s not under your control”
BruceFromOhio
@Old School: I’m catching it on CNBC. Looks like CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS are carrying it.
Leto
@MisterForkbeard: “Would you look at that? He’s not even hanging on the podium! His posture is TOO GOOD! He has core muscles! What the hell?!?!”
M31
Joe calling new state voting restrictions as “sick” and “unAmerican”
GOOD
dmsilev
Republican vote suppression efforts are “sick” and “despicable” and “makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle”.
Cue the GOP fainting couch and pearl-grasping.
JustRuss
I wonder if I could get Meghan to front my Flock of Seagulls tribute band
Edit: I see Canuck beat me to it.
Leto
We’re, what, 2 months in to this admin and we just got our first question on: are you planning on running for re-election? Because your predecessor set up an immediate grift fund; so? Jfc…
Baud
@dmsilev:
Oh great, know some wingnut named Him Eagle is going to run for Congress.
narya
@stacib:
Dang. I have a friend who is 61, no med conditions, so not “eligible,” but would love to get a vax. Are you near Chicago? Will you vax him? He doesn’t want to elbow anyone out of the way!
Leto
@JustRuss: Friday is band tribute day. Stay tuned.
Brachiator
@MisterForkbeard:
I know what you mean. I didn’t watch the press conference and have avoided reading stories about why Biden should have a press conference.
He is doing his job.
But these dopes just want to have an excuse to talk about him and indulge in empty speculation and nonsense meandering.
It’s crazy. Press conferences with the Orange Beast were a waste of time. Turns out the White House press corps and Trump were made for each other. Both equally vacuous.
M31
OMG he said he was running in 2024, that must mean he’s not running
or that he is running and going to slip Kamala Harris in against our will
or something something Hilary Clinton
trollhattan
The “The View” lineup is as simple as this: when Matt Hasselbeck’s sister-in-law left/was shoved from the show their ratings slumped. McCain came on board and they shot up again. People watching Their Shows love conflict.
–The end
dmsilev
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Can someone slap this reporter with a large wet fish?
Baud
@dmsilev:
Isn’t that supposed to be the Vice President’s job?
laura
Has anyone asked about the cat?
sdhays
Meghan McCain’s statement is all the more unbelievable when you consider that the whole point of a show like The View (which I admittedly have never seen beyond the odd YouTube clip) is having representatives of different viewpoints to have an interesting discussion. Even setting aside McCain being the daughter of a famous Senator and Presidential candidate, she is there to provide some kind of perspective to the discussion – “Presentable Republican”. If she left the show, they would replace her with another white conservative woman (more’s the pity). She just doesn’t think that the perspective of an Asian American would be valuable.
She is so tediously stupid and non-self-aware, the conservative answer to Paris Hilton (and I realize that Paris Hilton’s persona is a mostly an act). I don’t know how anyone can watch her, let alone pay her to be on the TeeVee.
Leto
@M31: next person asks the same thing, asks if Harris will be on the ticket… “Well it seems like you don’t have any important questions to ask, so I’m going back to work. Later, Jack!”
trollhattan
@M31:
IIRC by this time in his lone term TFG had already begun campaigning for term 2, as the grift demands. I don’t blame Biden for presuming he’ll run again because the organization and funding will require a lot of effort. And if he doesn’t, then he doesn’t.
Or, he’s copying DiFi.
cain
It’s funny that on this thread McCain has equal attention to Biden. Heh. I don’t really care about Meghan at all. Just who she married is enough to tell me enough about her.
Did anybody ask Biden about his dogs yet? What about that shit head from Fox News, Doocy?
Cheryl Rofer
MOAR ARE YOU RUNNING IN 2024? AND WILL HARRIS BE YOUR VICE PRESIDENT? AND WILL TRUMP BE THE REPUBICAN CANDIDATE?
stinger
Loving Joe’s answers. Especially about running again. And being offended at the implication that he’s “fine” with children in cages. And all of it, really. Giving lessons in history, in politics, in reality.
StringOnAStick
@germy: I wish Kathy had gotten it right, but dental assistants do NOT do cleanings, only a licensed, registered dental hygienist can legally do so (except in Alabama). An RDH has educational requirements before they can sit for a board exam, has to maintain a license, liability insurance and in most states have continuing education requirements in order to keep that license. A dental assistant can just be someone off the street and trained by the dentist or a few weeks at a for profit college. The big dental chains get busted once in awhile having assistants do cleanings, which is one reason those places usually suck; the aggressive and expensive overtreatment for $ is the other since you might win the “dentist needs another root canal and crown to make their monthly quota” contest.
M31
time to start the rumor that Harris is off the ticket and Major is on
Baud
So I’m actually unable to watch live? I expected the question about his running again. Are they really asking if Kamala will be on the ticket?
M31
@Baud: yes
and the follow up was ‘do you expect Trump to be your opponent’
and Biden responded ‘look, I don’t even know if there will be a Republican party, do you?’
lol
BruceFromOhio
Nice stern lecture following yet another stupid fucking gotcha question. Take note, journos – this is why there aren’t more pressers, your questions suck.
Old School
@Baud: Yes. He was asked whether Harris would be his running mate and whether he expected to face Trump.
leeleeFL
@Cheryl Rofer: I don’t know if there will be a Republican Party! I might feast on that for a bit! DELICIOUS!
Cheryl Rofer
@Baud: Yes. And whether Trump will be his opponent.
Biden gives a heartfelt reponse about why he ran. If the reporters had any shame, this response would evoke it.
ETA: With a bit of “Oh man, I don’t know the future. Do you?”
BruceFromOhio
@Baud:
Try this? https://go.cnn.com/?stream=cnn
PJ
@Baud: Not just if Kamala will be on the ticket, but if Trump will be running against him again. Biden responded that, not only does he not think about Trump and have no idea, but (to the reporter) do you have any idea who will be in the Republican Party four years from now? (The reporter did not respond.)
Baud
@M31:
@Old School:
@Cheryl Rofer:
I get why they mention Trump, for the clicks. But where the fuck did the “Kamala may not be on the ticket” idea come from? It’ll like they all got high last night when coming up with questions to ask.
WaterGirl
With that hairstyle, perhaps she’s going for Bride of Ming the Merciless?
Baud
@BruceFromOhio: Thanks. I can’t watch because I’m actually supposed to be working. LOL.
geg6
@Baud:
There’s been a virtual waterfall of stupid questions. Handsome Joe has handled them all well, especially when he shows his irritation with the stupid.
Served
@germy: This must be circulating on Facebook, because I have heard similar things from people, specifically about reproductive side effects in young men.
Cheryl Rofer
@geg6: His facial expressions have been interesting. He’s restrained, but the really bad questions do get a reaction.
OTOH, and I know facial expressions are part of Sign, the interpreter’s expressions are almost a Biden emotion translator. Nice to watch the two together.
gwangung
@Served: Which goddam stupid….it’s the VIRUS that lowers your virility, not the vaccine.
mrmoshpotato
@BruceFromOhio: Hmmm….to watch morons get roasted by Joe, you have to watch morons. Decisions decisions.
Served
Over a year into a pandemic that is still killing people across the country and you are asking about an election that’s over 3 years away? That should be a ticket to the unemployment office.
dmsilev
Off topic, but since there are a lot of California peeps here:
PJ
@Served:
As many others here have remarked, it’s all about creating a “gotcha” moment to be discussed by pundits and other “journalists”. It’s rarely about gaining substantive information about policy.
Baud
@Served:
Decision 2024: It’s cheaper than news gathering.
cain
@M31:
The press needs a crises that they can focus on – they made a lot of money in the past 4 years so they gotta continue that revenue – and for that they need a lot of crises.
Not sure why COVID is not a crises they can focus on – too boring I guess.
geg6
@dmsilev:
Did I fleetingly see a poll the other day showing that the recall is probably not going to happen? Or did I dream that?
Old School
@Baud:
I interpreted it as “Will Kamala be primarying you?”, but I could be wrong.
mrmoshpotato
@Served:
Fixed.
geg6
@Baud:
Decision 2024: It’s easier than news gathering.
cain
@Cheryl Rofer:
He should suggest that Huntsman will be the GOP candidate. That will fuck shit up.
p.a.
Has Joe managed a one-handed drink of water in the presser?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
posting this only because you know the Ultimate Concern Troll was looking for something, and he has a reach in the Village far beyond any relation to any actual talent or achievement or insight
Baud
@Old School:
I guess we’re lucky that they haven’t gone full wingnut and started asking about what precautions Biden is taking to prevent being murdered by KH.
Eljai
@dmsilev: Woohoo! I’ve been checking everyday to see if I qualify yet.
Cheryl Rofer
Numbers and numbers on infrastructure!
Of course, he is reading some of them from a small notebook, so points off for that. //
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Another excellent nominee for the rotating tag.
Baud
@Cheryl Rofer: Hey, it’s not a teleprompter. Ten points to Bidendor!
mrmoshpotato
@cain:
The assclown children are bored with COVID. Maybe if people burst into flames as they died…
gwangung
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Mr. Sullivan.
trollhattan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Sully is now a self-declared expert on mental decline? Good to know.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Cheryl Rofer:
Chuck Todd in the next fifteen minutes: “I am wondering if some people aren’t wondering if Biden isn’t underoverprepared”
mrmoshpotato
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Oh look. Garbage from Andrew Sullivan! :)
trollhattan
@p.a.:
I cannot wait until he tackles that forever ramp at West Point.
Baud
@trollhattan: We should replace Frist! with Sully!
James E Powell
Uh oh. BIDEN SLAMS BRITS!!!
bemused
Meghan is a hot mess. All wound up like a clock. Maybe she should try yoga.
TriassicSands
Biden is doing a good job. It is critical to avoid gaffes, since they would become the story and not the substance of what he’s saying. So far, he’s done very well. Perhaps age has slowed him down so that his mouth doesn’t get so far ahead of his brain. Whatever, he’s coming across to me as more thoughtful as president than he was in years past.
Naturally, he faces some inane questions. “Are you planning on running in 2024?” “Do you expect to run against Trump?” “Will Harris be your running mate?” Sheesh. He’s been in office a couple of months and the most important question a reporter could come up with is about his intentions for 2024. Biden is an old man. He may not even be alive in 2024 — that happens to people his age. I can’t imagine why any reporter would think those are questions worth asking two months into a presidential term. Biden was polite in his response.
I like this quiet, calm, “low energy” Biden far more than his younger presentations. He strikes me as having finally grown into the job.
Eljai
A majority of the immigration questions sounded like they were put through the GOP-framing simulator first.
PJ
@James E Powell:
Americo-Monarchists are gonna be mad!
mrmoshpotato
@trollhattan: Moonwalk down the ramp, Joe! While drinking two glasses of water!
Baud
So it sounds like Biden somehow managed to turn “let’s not be cruel to children” into a positive?
Good.
Turgidson
@Eljai: That’s because they were. So, so irritating.
Biden did a really good job rejecting or ignoring the frames and discussing the actual human element of the situation, I thought.
narya
@p.a.: I was thinking this morning that he should, in fact, drink water during this thing.
Elie
I’m so proud of him! He is prepared, centered, confident of what he knows and what he and his team want to do. You could hear a mouse shit on cotton on how he quieted these folks. Oh they tried — but he was ready and not at all stressed. YAY — You are MY old man, Mr President… They can kiss your ass!
debbie
Mara Liason: “What stood out to me was how well he did.” Asshole.
Mike in NC
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: In fairness to the Orange Clown, he recommended drinking bleach and injecting Lysol, not the other way around.
StringOnAStick
When we got vaccinated yesterday, the person setting our next appointments said “wait, something weird just happened” . Next, “oh a bunch more appointments just opened up” , so that’s some anecdata from Oregon.
trollhattan
Not watching, is there an indication the press miss being called fake news, accused of asking stupid questions, having their education questioned?
Because they gladly ate that shit up for four long years.
Has anybody asked him about wasting time with golf or jetting off to the exotic foreign land called Hawaii?
Baud
@Mike in NC:
That should go on his headstone.
MisterForkbeard
@trollhattan: Biden SHOULD be telling them they’re asking stupid questions. Even a “you guys were all screaming for a formal press conference and that’s what you want to ask? Okay then.” would be great.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@brendancalling:
I’m STILL banned from the comments section at Raw Story in part for hate trolling on whichever one of you kept posting up inanities from Russell Brand as being deeply meaningful slams that nailed some conservative shibboleth to the wall. I was also unkind about paens to the wisdom of Glenn Greenwald, and mocked repeated devotions to the wisdom of Noam Chomsky as “Noam who?”
Good times, lol…..
Betty Cracker
@trollhattan: Yep. She’s human click-bait. End of story.
@TriassicSands: I got pulled away from my TV viewing by work, so I am not watching live — glad to hear he’s doing well! :)
FWIW, I argued in the morning thread that asking Biden about 2024 is legit since he’s the oldest POTUS ever, but I don’t think anyone agreed with me. :) I do think asking about Harris on the ticket is kinda dumb.
mrmoshpotato
@Eljai:
Definitely picked from a list of GOP
talking pointsbullshit.Baud
Sounds like, as a result of this press conference, Biden will be giving Psaki a big raise.
Turgidson
@TriassicSands:
I also get the sense that now that he’s achieved his long-held goal of winning the presidency, combined with getting up there in age, he is no longer trying to impress people every time he speaks in public, which was sort of the impression I had of him as a senator. He also doesn’t owe anyone any favors, etc. I think that shift started while he was VP – being in the no-drama Obama orbit probably had some effect on his style. He seems to sincerely want to just do the work, and the vanity aspect doesn’t matter to him anymore, at least not nearly as much.
Doc Sardonic
@bemused: Maybe she needs a good, sound, high quality boffing.
Cheryl Rofer
Even Maggie
mrmoshpotato
@debbie: Oh good lord! After 4 years of yellicopter asshole? These fuckers.
James E Powell
CNN’s post-game is all about Biden’s failure to handle the humanitarian crisis at the border and how they are ‘hiding behind’ COVID precautions.
StringOnAStick
@Doc Sardonic: Have you seen the idiot she’s married to? Not possible.
Baud
@Cheryl Rofer:
Et tu, Maggie? #whitehousepresscorps
lurkypants
I think she’s pissed off The Gays, but she’s too stupid to know it (and probably has no shade detector). And if that is an Ethiopian braiding style, that raises its own set of issues.
HumboldtBlue
This website is broken.
Elie
@James E Powell:
Oh there will be some grousing, but “The Old Man” was in charge and they will have to take whatever crumbs he gives them to chew on. He at different points, was giving them a real lesson in moral leadership such as they have not received in quite a while. His views on managing the border were totally righteous and un-arguable unless you just want to argue the issue. I think he is way on top of things and way smarter than he is given credit for….
Doc Sardonic
@StringOnAStick: Yes….that’s why I focused on the word needs. To paraphrase the Stones, she can’t get no satisfaction, she ain’t got no guy with action.
Ken
@James E Powell: Were the CNN panelists all doing their analysis from their basement studios? That seems fairly common among the “COVID’s no big deal” crowd.
Ken
“No. I have spoken to Senators McConnell, Rubio, Graham, Romney, and Cruz, and they have made it clear that the Republican party is taking steps to end their Donald Trump problem.”
MisterForkbeard
@James E Powell: Seriously? I mean, it’s what I expected.
Biden answered the question thoroughly: Surge started last august, as a result of Covid. Trump admin dismantled most of the infrastructure. We’ve added additional beds and capacity, trying to get everything going as fast as we can but Covid presents a problem. Working on resolving the real driver of this, which is unrest in home countries that causes refugee surges. Etc.
This is basically the Hillary Emails thing. The press has their narrative and they’re refusing to change it even when they’ve been forcefully debunked multiple times.
mrmoshpotato
@Ken:
Maybe they’re all vaccinated – and selfish assholes, so “I’m vaccinated. What’s the big deal?”
PST
@narya: Illinois is quickly expanding the class of persons eligible for vaccination. I believe that on Monday there will many newly eligible based on occupation, then on April 12 everyone in Illinois will be eligible except in Chicago itself. The local NBC station has a good, up-to-date summary here.
Baud
@Ken: Haha. Biden needs a snark translator.
JMG
The reporters didn’t ask Biden questions about covid because they can’t be heroically (in their own minds) adversarial about it. They know any such question would just let Biden recite positive statistics about vaccinations. Can’t have that. They didn’t ask follow up gun control questions which could have put Biden on a legitimate spot because they’re not that good at their jobs.
PJ
@Turgidson:
He mentioned his respect for fate, and not knowing what it would bring. I would venture that, in addition to just being older, and being well aware of how much time he may have on this earth, losing his son and seeing this country brought down by Trump and the Republicans has lowered his tolerance for bullshit and increased his sense of urgency about just getting the job done.
Suzanne
I’m confident that Meghan McCain got her job by being qualified. Yeah, that’s it.
TriassicSands
@Betty Cracker:
@Turgidson:
I’ve been following Biden for decades and I’ve never liked him. But I agree with Turgidson and I’ll repeat my earlier observation that Biden seems to finally have grown into the job.
I agree. His ego has always gotten in the way in the past. It was even evident in the debates when I got the impression that Biden considered Obama merely a supportive figure in Biden’s achievements.
A reporter for the Post just observed that Biden showed he could get through a press conference, handle questions, and not commit errors that would require “clean-up tomorrow.” The bombast of Trump was completely absent. In its place was a serious person dealing with difficult problems facing an irresponsible, dishonest opposition. Someone up to the job, but who needs help.
Miss Bianca
@Baud:
I’m not sure why that delighted me so much – but definitely planning to steal it!
Jeffro
@M31:
Do you have a bug planted in my RWNJ dad’s living room?
LOL
Geminid
@germy: There are a some good writers at The Root, and Michael Harriot is one of the best. Harriot is often passionately serious, but he can be very funny when he wants to be. His send up of Costco’s bucket of mac-n-cheese is hilarious.
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
Never change, BC.
raven
@TriassicSands:
I got the impression that Biden considered Obama merely a supportive figure in Biden’s achievements.
Say what???
Ken
He’s a self-declared expert on a lot of things, why not that? Though it’s possible he has some personal experience with it.
Glory b
@FelonyGovt: Yep, I saw the same opinion on Twitter, “Clearly, the hair and makeup people hate her and are laughing everytime she goes on stage.”
UncleEbeneezer
@Cheryl Rofer: LA County’s Covid health updates have some really great sign-language interpreters. They would be very expressive and sometimes funny with their facial expressions. I remember watching one in the early days of the pandemic when I had to visit a doctor’s office (and was pretty paranoid about the risk). They gave me many smiles as I sat in that waiting room.
cain
@trollhattan:
Perhaps he speaks from personal experience?
Betty Cracker
Phone alert from WaPo: “Netanyahu has no clear path to remain prime minister.” I’ll believe that when that he slinks out of office to face well-deserved corruption charges, but this day keeps getting better!
Soprano2
I’ve got friends who think that Biden putting Harris in charge of getting the border issues taken care of means “The Plan” is advancing, and just you wait in a few months he’ll resign and Harris will take over because “ObamaPelosiSchumer” (not Hillary though, that confuses me) are actually pulling the strings and how could his family allow that? I asked one of them exactly what they think “ObamaPelosiSchumer” are doing that Biden wouldn’t do? *shakes head* This is just like all the conspiracy theories that Trump would soon step aside and Pence would become president.
JPL
@Betty Cracker: sad Bless his heart.
BigJimSlade
@Cheryl Rofer: I think why MM wants to look that way is a mix of, “Hey, look at me!” and daring liberals to call her out for looking like a buffoon so conservatives can get all huffy about liberals judging women by their appearance. Then she could play the aggrieved victim of online bullying and hatred, too!
mrmoshpotato
@Geminid:
When you say bucket… *looks up article* ??
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Blog favorite Maggie Haberman sniffs out a grand conspiracy based on two tweets, one of which is almost word-for-word her own critique of the press conference.
The funny part: The O’Bros fairly regularly defend “Maggie” against the excesses of her twitter critics.
Wyatt Salamanca
Chris Wallace is annoyed at Biden:
h/t https://www.mediaite.com/biden/chris-wallace-calls-out-joe-bidens-briefing-book-i-have-never-seen-a-president-reading-talking-points/
Also too: FUCK Chris Wallace and all the stupid motherfucking assholes who asked questions at this presser.
The entire White House press corps is worth considerably less than a warm bucket of urine
JoyceH
That’s what I thought last time. I totally don’t grok parliamentary systems.
I missed the press conference because I had a dental appointment. Went quite smoothly, but the issue was front teeth, so my nose is still numb.
Nice thing about getting out more is getting more hair compliments. I’ve changed hair colors, from pink to purple. And I predict that the ‘colors not found in nature’ hair will soon become adopted by the retiree set. It’s easier when you start with white hair, don’t have to bleach it first. Plus, we’re the hippie generation, and while our clothes were colorful, our hair was boring, long and straight and parted in the middle. It’s TIME we had some fun with our hair!
MisterForkbeard
@Betty Cracker: I mean, he’ll just keep running elections until he gets 61 seats. Unless something changes, they’re going to need a new election and he’s just going to run again.
James E Powell
The Q&A on Biden running for re-election now sets up questions for all future press conferences:
“Given the failures of [bipartisanship or some legislation or whatever], are you still running for re-election?”
James E Powell
CNN panel declares that Biden can’t be like FDR and therefore is a failure.
That’s it. I’m done with cable shows. Somebody, please destroy these people.
mrmoshpotato
@James E Powell:
What aspect of FDR’s 12-year presidency do these slapdicks want?
Baud
@James E Powell: Man, Japanese Americans are going to be quite unhappy.
Glory b
@dmsilev: There is a hilarious piece of video on Twitter that consists of a huge number of clips of Megan McCain saying “my father” on The View.
M31
@mrmoshpotato: I’d be up for some trials and hangings for Nazi leaders
oh wait, FDR was dead by then, but he really did a lot to bring it about
Glory b
raven
@Soprano2: It’s just like why in the fuck do you have friends like that?
JoyceH
@Glory b:
Middle-aged? Well, bless your heart!
LurkerNoLonger
@mrmoshpotato: I thought it would have been funny if Biden walked in with a boom box, set it on the podium, pushed play and blasted a sfx tape of helicopter blades whooshing while I he took questions.
dww44
@JoyceH:
@JoyceH:
LOL. Hippy Hair was indeed boring. I came from that era, although I was bit older than most hippies, I did always think the hair styles were the least colorful aspect of that era. Plus, so many of them just looked to dirty. Would love to see your purple hair.
WaterGirl
I love that Biden hijacked so many of their stupidly framed questions and talked about things he thinks are important, related to the subject matter of the questions. The border, China, infrastructure, science.
Good for you, Joe. You gave them their stupid press conference, and you didn’t let the foolishness of their framing dictate your answers.
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
Did they ask Biden who’s going to win March Madness?
dmsilev
@James E Powell:
Biden’s old enough to have been vaccinated for polio, so that rules out being like FDR right there.
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
Damn it! I was shorting Dresden on the Robinhood app
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@dmsilev: I’m a bit younger than Biden, and I clearly remember getting the sugar cube in 1962 in 6th grade.
Jeffro
I’m dying just picturing that, thanks! =)
jonas
So the WH press corps whines for weeks that Biden hasn’t held a press conference and it’s vital that the president speak to the media, yada yada. And when he does, they ask the stupidest motherfucking questions imaginable. He should just hold town hall-style events from now on where regular voters can ask questions and leave these “professional” media idiots out of it entirely. They beclowned themselves covering TFG, and then still can’t do their jobs now that he’s gone.
JoyceH
@A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan):
Was that for polio? We got the thing that left the circular mark on your arm.
stacib
@narya: I just checked and there are 40 slots for today for unused vaccine, and maybe some tomorrow. The company has opened it to first come, first serve. I’ll send an email to WaterGirl with my cell. Text me if you’re interested. We are located in Melrose Park.
Doc Sardonic
@JoyceH: sugar cube was polio. Air gun thing was measles I believe, or the old school multiple sticks that left the round circle scar.
WaterGirl
@stacib: @narya:
I forwarded Staci’s contact info to narya.
The Thin Black Duke
Why should I care about what nonsense the empty talking heads of mainstream news are babbling about? They were useless during the Trump administration, they’re going to be useless during Biden’s term in office, they’ve been useless for as long as I can remember. The older I get, the less patient I am with wasting what time I have left getting pissed off at these gutless parasites. They are what they are, and it’s foolish to expect anything else at this point.
smith
@Doc Sardonic:
Pretty sure that was for smallpox. I don’t think there was a measles vax until later.
ETA: looks like the first measles vax was in 1963, followed by an improved version in 1968.
Tenar Arha
@Wyatt Salamanca: I “love” how he compares a former actor, who probably lost the ability to memorize, & plausibly paraphrase & return to his talking points, later than most people with Alzheimer’s, to a man who’s spent his whole life working around his stutter. Good lord CW is an utter a-hole.
ETA the quotes = sarcasm
JoyceH
@Doc Sardonic:
I just googled it – the circular mark was the smallpox vaccine. They stopped vaccinating for smallpox in 1972.
I know I didn’t get a measles vaccine, because I got the measles before that was even invented. (Also mumps, also chicken pox, all in second grade.)
Ken
@Doc Sardonic: Wasn’t the multiple-sticks thing for tuberculosis? Measles was a shot when I got it (the 60s).
smith
@Tenar Arha:
Reagan famously relied on 3×5 note cards. Not that it helped much. He was good with set pieces but his unscripted speaking was often garbled word salad, in the great Republican tradition.
Elie
Alls I care is that he did fine.. they also know he did. I could care if they pick nits. Old Man is IN CHARGE and HE DON CARE about your bullshit so whine and grumble or whatever.
Brachiator
@Doc Sardonic:
I forget how young some folks are, and how much time has gone by.
I still have my round scar from the smallpox vaccine.
There was an old superman comic from the 70s or early 80s where a powerful being claimed to have been a time traveler from the past. Superman figures out that the person is a fake because they have a scar from a smallpox vaccine on their arm.
opiejeanne
@smith: It was smallpox. I got mine when I was a baby, in the early 50s, and the first one didn’t take so they did it again. I’ve got a big scar.
There was a story at the time that some mothers had their daughters vaccinated on the inside of the arm, so the scar wouldn’t show, so they could be in beauty pageants when they were older.
Bluegirlfromwyo
@Wyatt Salamanca: Wait…you mean President Joe Biden read from the book of information on foreign policy especially prepared for the president and answered questions based on the information?
Definitely the end of the republic. So glad Chris Wallace is on the beat. ?
trollhattan
@mrmoshpotato:
“Two months into Joe Biden’s twelve-year reign, Joe Biden’s biggest accomplishment so far is not being Herbert Hoover. Suppose that will have to do.”
Brachiator
@James E Powell:
What, did Biden not do well enough in the Swimsuit competition?
So, press conferences are now irrelevant drivel, followed by an empty exercise in punditry.
Who needs them?
It is so telling that the media is not even trying to elevate their journalistic game after the waste land of the Trump years.
different-church-lady
Same energy.
smith
The “Biden is senile” hype is the media echoing GQP projection, same as it ever was. There have been three R presidents in my lifetime whose cognitive limitations and/or deterioration were blindingly obvious while they were in office: Reagan, Bush the Lesser, and TFG. And after the fact we learned that in the last days of his presidency, Nixon became dangerously unbalanced. Contrast and compare with Clinton and Obama. Joe is much more like the latter two, and not just in his politics.
StringOnAStick
@JoyceH: I got measles and mumps at the same time in kindergarten; there’s a large blank spot in my memory of that event. I don’t remember getting sick but I do remember the first time I got up and ate something when I started getting better. I suspect that’s why I’m 6″ shorter than all my siblings, because that was seriously sick.
stinger
@JoyceH: I’ve been waiting for decades to be a Q-tip, and now that it’s time, apparently all three features — white tennies, a shiny “track suit”, and short white hair — are out of style!
different-church-lady
@LurkerNoLonger:
Same energy.
geg6
@raven:
Yeah. That’s kinda nuts.
James E Powell
@smith:
Is Reagan the reason Republican elected officials adopted the word salad as their primary means of speaking?
different-church-lady
Villagers: “Biden won’t hold press conferences!!”
Biden: [Holds press conference]
Villagers: “Biden won’t hold press conferences EXACTLY THE WAY I WANT THEM!!!”
Tenar Arha
@smith: [chuckle] I forgot re the notecards, it’s not just that it was a while ago, I was too young to vote in the early 80’s & wouldn’t have noticed him using them bc I wasn’t paying that close attention.
Weird to look back now to when I knew politics was important, but also I just wasn’t that interested because “what could I do” ran so deep in sheltered suburbia. Not exactly many teenagers reading the newspaper & paying attention to the nightly news everyday. (That would have made me even less cool in high school than I was).
smith
@James E Powell:
He certainly showed them they could get away with it.
Catherine D.
Nope, air gun thing was smallpox. My pediatrician vaccinated on the inside of the arm, so my scar is barely visible.
James E Powell
@Brachiator:
And another thing. Right after they all started complaining about no press conference on their social media, they were slammed in responses with people pointing out that “You are just going to ask stupid & silly questions!”
You would think that might goad them into trying to come up with something that wasn’t stupid & silly, but if you did, you would be wrong.
James E Powell
My twitter trends says “Biden snubbed Peter Doocy!!!”
I really hope it was deliberate.
KrackenJack
@dmsilev:
I wish the states would stop increasing the eligible pool faster than the actual vaccine supply. It’s still virtually impossible to get appointments for the existing cohorts. What’s happening is each provider is putting their own restrictions in place to manage demand. E.g. Only providing shots to employment-risk individuals or 50 and above with co-morbidities.
It doesn’t get any more shots in arms and it creates a panic-buying atmosphere. How many millions of wasted person-hours are going into the chase and how much cynicism does it create?
John Revolta
I seem to recall Republicans screaming FDR was a failure all through the ’30s, when they weren’t stonewalling and tearing down his programs.
RobertB
@StringOnAStick: My dental story, it being every bit as important as the press conference. Due to periodontal issues because I was dumb in my youth (remember, floss!), I have to get cleanings more often. My old dentist would always recommend antibiotics applied under the gum line using what looked like the world’s scariest hypodermic needle. It wasn’t painful, but was rough on the wallet because my insurance didn’t cover it. So about three years ago, they’re recommending a new antibiotic wash treatment. I look this up before pulling the trigger, and it turns out that the impetus for this new treatment is that the antibiotics under the gums don’t work – your saliva washes it out about as fast as possible. And this wasn’t new to dentistry – probably why the insurer wouldn’t spring for it.
So I changed dentists, and his attitude for my dental health is, “You have a history, but you’re doing fine.” No cutting-edge boat payment extraction techniques required.
RobertB
@Catherine D.: In the Army you’d get air guns on the left and right shoulders simultaneously, and smallpox was a little jab with a needle that reminded me of a tuberculosis test. They must’ve forgot the Super Soldier serum, though.
Captain C
@James E Powell: That and if they were straight up about their intentions they’d lose enough votes to be a permanent minority.
OGLiberal
@trollhattan: You mean “Tim Hasselbeck’s wife”. No respect. The man played for 8 teams in 7 seasons – including the Berlin Thunder!
Uncle Cosmo
Fixed that for you! :^D
Falling Diphthong
Lovely piece on the presser from Jennifer Rubin:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/03/25/biden-excels-his-first-news-conference-media-embarrass-themselves/
Doc Sardonic
Yep, I was incorrect it was smallpox. Don’t know why I associated measles with the airgun.
OGLiberal
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I assuming he didn’t mention critical race theory or do anything that even sniffed of “canceling” somebody – that would have had Sully screaming “worse than Trump!”
bemused senior
@Gin & Tonic: You correctly characterized your own comment. I don’t know what you could possibly be referring to. Better be more specific when making comments like this.
Peale
@TriassicSands: The road to 2024 starts now
karen marie
@Joe Falco: Ten years is not nearly long enough. I suggest Ms. Meghan “who funds the federalist?” McCain is a good candidate for being shot into the sun.
Ken
Triggers an images of Doocy bouncing up and down with his hand raised, going “Ooh! Ooh! Me! Call on me!”
Another Scott
@dmsilev: Hey now, don’t be picking on Jane Galt.
She might quit.
And then what will you do? Huh??!
Cheers,
Scott.
Another Scott
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I don’t think it’s that, myself.
My J can have conversations like that.
It’s having a brain working too fast.
There were times in the early debates when Joe was acting like he drank a case of Red Bull before it started. Trying to jamb too many thoughts in too few sentences.
He’s fine. He’s better when he slows down, and he’ll do so after he has a few of these in the history books.
I really, really liked his comment that the USA used to (in the ’60s) spend 2% of GDP on basic research and now we spend 0.7%. Basic research is vital work (like many of the other things that the government should be doing) that the private sector that only cares about the next quarterly report doesn’t do any more. Some things take 30 years of work to figure out, and we don’t know what we’ll find along the way, and only governments can fund it. We won’t get back to 2% quickly, but we need to get on the way towards it.
Cheers,
Scott.
OGLiberal
@JoyceH: My daughter is from China and she has what looks like that smallpox vaccination scar. She was born in 2007 – not enough documentation to tell if she got it or not. I think it was well off the WHO “required/suggested” list by 2007 but can’t think of anything else it could be. I remember my parents’ scars and it looks the same.
karen marie
Very sad – Jessica Walter has died. I did not know until I saw it on the twitters but she got her big break playing the lead in Clint Eastwood’s “Play Misty For Me” (1971).
That led me to this – Sarah Vaughan singing “Misty” in Sweden, in 1964. Gorgeous.
Kayla Rudbek
@Served: it’s *getting* COVID that causes problems with male fertility and erectile dysfunction (damage to the blood vessels in the penis). However, if you want to get a Darwin Award…
trollhattan
@OGLiberal:
Heh. A Superbowl appearance makes it more relatable.
I honestly forget Matty had a brother playing at the same time.
J R in WV
Betty Cracker says:
And I say I have always been extremely into tom-boy types, hippy chicks, etc, etc. So we should probably never get together, as we are both happily married to our current spouses.
But if we do……. ;~)
Ruckus
@Doc Sardonic:
The big roundish scar was the smallpox vaccine, of it’s day. The polio vaccines, there were two, a sugar cube and a shot, both came out about the same time, in 1954. One was a live weakened virus vaccine and the other was a dead virus one.