Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When I was faster i was always behind.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Let me file that under fuck it.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

People are complicated. Love is not.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

We can show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

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Soonergrunt wrote at Balloon Juice from 2011-16.
He now pokes his head in from time to time.

Twitter: @soonergrunt

Soonergrunt

Evening open thread

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We haven’t had snow around these parts until yesterday morning, we got up and there was a couple inches of fresh snow on the ground. It stayed all day, so we had a white Christmas. Got up this morning, and it was raining, so all the snow got washed away.
Some people like it that way, but if I could get several feet of snow, I’d prefer that.
It keeps the idiots down.

Christmas happened, and we all got pretty much what we wanted. We’re an easy bunch. Freddie got gourmet dog biscuits and a sweater because of course he did.
My wife bought a Cure 81 spiral-cut ham, and I smoked it. Yes it was already cooked, but we smoked it low with cherry wood and a glaze made from brown sugar, honey and the drippings. Turned out really nice. I’m getting better at this smoking thing all the time, and yes, I realize I’m a walking stereotype, but it was either smoking meats or becoming an expert in one battle of the civil war or ww2, and I get hungry now and again so that’s the way I went.
Our negotiations with the agency are on hold for the holidays. We’ll hit it hard when we come back and while I strongly suspect the incoming administration will force the agency to cut a bunch of stuff out, we’ll wrap them up in paper for as long as we can because what else can we do?
Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer happens to be the only Republican that my union, American Federation of Government Employees, endorsed the last election. She has a history of supporting organized labor and supporting civil servants. I wonder how long she’ll last in Trump’s admin, and I wonder what’s going to happen. I honestly don’t think the GOP-controlled Senate would confim her.
Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, 52, graduated from Texas A&M University with an undergraduate degree in agricultural development before completing law school at the University of Texas. She served as domestic policy chief during Trump’s first term, a portfolio that included agricultural policy. After leaving the White House, she became president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. Rollins, in an interview earlier this year, called Trump an “amazing boss.” 
I find that last bit ominous.
We’re going to California for a week here in a couple days.  Looking forward to it.

How did everybody make out for Christmas?

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It looks like I’ll have a not-shitty Christmas after all

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So after President-Elect Musk blew up the Continuing Resolution deal, and the Placeholder-Elect Trump jumped in a couple hours later, it looked like I was going to be furloughed over Christmas again.
The last time around, 35 days in 2018/19, I took a big chunk out of my savings to make two mortgage payments, 2 gas payments, 2 electricity payments, four car payments, groceries and so on, so that the auto-debits didn’t blow us up. It took almost a year to replace all that in the savings account–which, admittedly, was made easier to an extent by not being able to travel anywhere or really do anything because Trump fucked up the COVID response.
I want the Dems to make things as hard for the GOP as possible, and I think one way to do that is let them keep ratfucking each other. But of course, I and a lot of other people would have gotten hurt.
As it is, they partially appeased Musk and Trump by taking away money for pediatric cancer research. Because of course they did.
I seem to recall something about Trump and pediatric cancer hospitals in the past.
It seems that letting sick kids die is his thing.
We spent this week in contract negotiations cleaning up areas where we had not settled articles earlier, so we didn’t break new ground, but we did fix some holes so we’ll be in good shape to startup again after the holidays. 
I just cut out a whole paragraph here because while I think you guys are interested, and there’s nothing illegal about telling you what’s happening, I think it’s probably prudent to not get into details.
President Biden gave everybody in Federal service Christmas eve as a paid day off. Our current secretary, Tom Vilsack, likes to give out 2 hours here, 4 hours there, and occasionally a full day.  He did that when he was Obama’s SecAg, too. His successor/predecessor, Sonny Perdue never did that stuff and neither did Trump. I’m going to miss it.
What does everybody have on tap for the week?
Oh, and Freddie wants to show off his new flannel sweater.

It looks like I'll have a not-shitty Christmas after all 5 It looks like I'll have a not-shitty Christmas after all 6

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SOLIDARITY FOREVER FOR THE UNION MAKES US STRONG!

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So we’re negotiating our Collective Bargaining Agreement with the agency.
The rhythm is Tuesdays we flip a coin to decide which party’s team leads, submitting contract articles and explaining, and the other party’s team responds with our articles and explanation. Then we question each other, and then begin to build an article both sides can agree to.
On Thursdays, the lead is reversed.
It’s about as fun as it sounds.
Some articles are boilerplate. This is the Bargaining Unit. This is the management. This is the union. These are the rights and responsibilities of all the parties.
Those things are restatements of statutory language and prior practices. They gotta be in there, and for the most part everyone on both sides agrees to the substance.
Now we’re into the nitty gritty this week.
How is the contract enforced, how does the union operate within the context of the agency’s mission? Who is responsible for what things, and why?
We spent all day Tuesday this week arguing about the meaning of the word “shall” and where it belonged in one particular sentence. Today we covered a lot of ground until we got to the article the agency submitted that would render the union impotent with the stroke of a pen.
Yeah. Not adopting that one. We’re going to be arguing that one again on Tuesday next. We submitted our proposal, which doesn’t read anything like their proposal and we’ll see what they say.

The agency reps, from the Labor Relations team, are not bad or evil people. They’re trying to get the best deal they can for the agency and protect the agency’s perogatives. I try very hard for myself and my team to not let this become personal, while we are trying very hard to secure our Employees’ rights.

Please also consider this an open thread.

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Freddie, the Greatest Rescue Dog in the World

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Today is the 2nd Anniversary of Freddie coming home from the Rescue. He was so thin and his fur so matted and he was sick, and we got him for a $100 donation instead of the usual fee of $400 they charge people in our income bracket because they said the vet bills would be horrible, and we honestly didn’t think he’d make it but we thought we’d give him a home for as long as we could, and it turned out wonderfully (moreso for us than him, I suspect).
He still gets coughing fits (he had kennel cough when we got him) occasionally, and he still hides food sometimes, but my wife can’t sit for more than two minutes without him snuggling up to her.
Owning a pet is not for everyone, but it’s the right thing for us.
If you are thinking about getting a pet, please get a Rescue.
Freddie, the Greatest Rescue Dog in the WorldFreddie, the Greatest Rescue Dog in the World 1Freddie, the Greatest Rescue Dog in the World 2Freddie, the Greatest Rescue Dog in the World 3 Freddie, the Greatest Rescue Dog in the World 4

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Open Thread

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Good evening, everybody.
I hope to be around these parts more often.
And honestly, it’s mainly for me, but I hope that you all get something out of it.
Sometimes you just gotta scream into the void.
But sometimes you need to hear from others that you’re not alone.
So quick update–

I’ve dropped Twitter. You can find me, well here more often, and on Bluesky: soonergrunt.bsky.social

The union local is doing well. Membership isn’t where I’d like, but that will probably always be the case. We’re working now to convince more people that membership is in their best interests.
We’re also negotiating our Collective Bargaining Agreement with the agency. Shitty timing that, but it can’t be helped. We’ll get the best deal we can for our bargaining unit, and we’ll continue to support the unit and the agency’s mission.
I bought a new truck. 2024 Ford Ranger. Probably good that I bought it now because it will be too expensive in a year.
If you’re considering any capital or large purchases, there’s probably one more interest rate drop on the near horizon, but after he gets in office, all bets are off.
Soonerson and Soonerdaughter are both doing well, in job and college respectively. They’re both smarter than I am, which IS a brag, even if it’s not saying much.
Soonerwife works HR for a non-profit here in UT and she’s loving it.
Going up to Park City tomorrow for a drive in the mountains, some hiking, and to get away from social media and turn my phone off.
What are your plans? Anyone else have a long weekend?

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The Fight Never Ends

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Same thing I said to my kids 8 years ago:
We are engaged in a fight to make our communities, our country, and our world better.
The fight was never ours to win and damn sure never ours to surrender. We fight. Over and over, and over again to the end of our days, and our children and grandchildren after us.
So take the day to mourn and weep without shame if you need to. It’s human.
But you get ONE day. Because the fight doesn’t ever stop, and we need you back in the line.

 

Oh, and literally EVERY WORD John said here: https://balloon-juice.com/2024/11/06/some-post-loss-decorum/

The Fight Never EndsPost + Comments (94)

Open thread, elections, Trump arrested, and some union stuff. Bonus Freddie

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Well, Trump finally got indicted and arrested. We’ll see what becomes of it, but if the last several years have taught us anything at all, it’s to be patient and keep our expectations low.

The Liberal won the Chicago Mayoral race and the fake moderate lost. The Chicago PD Police union claims that 800 to 1000 members may quit. I say that’s a good start.
The Wisconsin State Supreme Court election is complete, and the Liberal Janet Protasiewicz won. Her opponent’s concession speech is one for the ages.

Christ, what an asshole.

Thanks to Joe Biden’s rejiggering of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, I am now, as of yesterday morning, DONE with student loan repayment.
We took student loans when we were both in school and had first one, then two kids and I wanted to keep the apartment heated and my kids fed and my GI Bill, helpful as it was, wasn’t cutting it year-round. After years of Navient lying to me about my loans and program eligibility, it all gets wiped away in a year after my previous payments were counted. And they’re going to refund 38 payments. I made 158 when 120 qualifies for forgiveness. So it’s going to save me about 26K, and about 11K back.
Frankly, we need to do this for everybody, public servant or no. Trying to better oneself and one’s lot in life shouldn’t lead to a lifetime of indebtedness before one even begins and there are people who are retiring after 30 years in the workforce and still owing college debt.
I don’t care where you come from, or what your level of education is, or what your trade is. If you can’t see how morally wrong and destructive that is, then I don’t even want to know you.
Seriously, the guy who works 30 years or more and still owes college debt? That would have been me. I can’t say enough how light feel now that weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Our union, American Federation of Government Employees Local 4016 is doing very well. Four months after recognition, we’re up to 100 dues-paying members, and we haven’t even done our first real membership drive yet.
When I’m asked by people why we have a union and why we think people should join the union, my answer is that a majority of the workforce that was asked voted for one, so THEY think they need a union, and people are coming to us every day. We’re preparing now to bargain our master agreement. We know we won’t get everything we want, but we’ll sure do our damndest to take care of our 954 member bargaining unit. We have members in every state in the union, and every US territory.

Lastly, Freddie is a real pain sometimes. Lucky for him that he’s so damn cute.

Open thread, elections, Trump arrested, and some union stuff. Bonus FreddiePost + Comments (76)