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It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Joe Lieberman disappointingly reemerged to remind us that he’s still alive.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

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

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

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Daydream Believers

You are here: Home / Archives for Daydream Believers

We’ve Got To Do Better

by Cheryl Rofer|  January 26, 202112:41 pm| 222 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Daydream Believers

I received my first dose of the Moderna covid-19 vaccine yesterday. I’m incredibly grateful and find my free-floating anxiety much relieved. I have an appointment for the second dose. No more reaction than a sore arm so far.

But the method of getting it leaves much to be desired.

New Mexico has a vaccine registration website. If you’re in New Mexico and you haven’t signed up yet, do it now. I’ll wait.

I signed up early and got replies via email and text that I was registered, with my registration number. They added some things to the website and said if you didn’t fill them all out (not onerous), you wouldn’t be contacted. Fortunately, I kept checking and updated my registration.

And then I heard nothing. The state told local media that Group 1A, medical personnel and people in congregate living situations, were completed in early January. But I talked to a friend in a retirement community shortly after that, and she was just about to get her shot the next day.

Further, they were moving on to Group 1B, which should include me. But no notification. I complained on Twitter to tweets from Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and the New Mexico Department of Health. Letters to the editor from others in Group 1B started appearing in the Santa Fe New Mexican. The New Mexican ran a couple of stories about groups received their vaccine seemingly out of the stated order. They were deserving people – one group that feeds the homeless and teachers. Hard to disagree that they should get the vaccine.

The problem was the seeming disconnect between what we read or heard in the news and what we saw happening. Notification through the registration system what group we were in and an approximate date we might get the vaccine might have helped. But nada. I began to wonder if the registration meant anything at all.

Out of the blue, on Saturday night, I received a text and an email. I could sign up for an appointment! I ran to the computer and got my second choice of time, my priority criterion being AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. That was yesterday at noon.

Snow complicated my plans. I shoveled the driveway, and by eleven it and the uphill road out of my neighborhood were clear.

I expected to see something out of my childhood, updated. Entry personnel with computers to check my registration and appointment numbers. A socially-distanced line of seniors. Multiple vaccination stations, with personnel ready to inject. An area of socially-distanced chairs in which to wait to see whether there would be a reaction. I wondered where that would be at the supermarket, but maybe they had a large back room for meetings and such.

When I arrived, I looked for signs directing me to the vaccination area, but they weren’t there. The man cleaning carts told me it was at the pharmacy, down thataway.

That was it. The usual pharmacy area, enhanced with four chairs for making out the paperwork and sitting afterwards. The usual pharmacy staff, two people behind the counter that I could see, were doing their usual things, plus checking appointment numbers and handing out the paperwork that asked the same questions I had answered on the website. The signatures and paper were probably to absolve the supermarket of responsibility.

The tech called me to the back room and administered the shot. Yay!

There were about four or five of us. Four or five per half-hour. Any more throughput would have required more personnel. I think vaccinations were available for eight hours. That’s eighty people a day.

The population of Santa Fe is 84,000. The surrounding rural areas add up to 100,000. At eighty a day, that will take 1,050 days to vaccinate all of Santa Fe, more to include the surrounding areas. That’s three years. Let’s say that there were three vaccination clinics yesterday in Santa Fe – the state isn’t telling us how many there are. That’s still a year to go. And we don’t know whether the supply of vaccine will be there. Yesterday the Biden team said they didn’t know how much vaccine they had.

Joe Biden has brought a capable team in to manage the response to the pandemic. Because the Trump team would not cooperate during the transition, they are playing catch-up. Biden plans to use FEMA for the kind of vaccine clinic I was expecting to find. FEMA sounds enthusiastic about the assignment. The states depend on the feds for supply and information, both of which have been disappointing.

Delays are baked into the system, but let’s hope things speed up in the next few weeks.

We’ve Got To Do BetterPost + Comments (222)

Wheels Keep Turning

by ruemara|  March 1, 20202:36 am| 55 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, Open Threads, Daydream Believers, Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated?

I’m enjoying the heck out of the Biden win in SC. Based on current reporting, it seems to piss on a bunch of narratives. Like, “young black voters are VT Jesus’ base”. Nope, Joe won those. And, “turnout will be boosted because Bern is in the race”. Doesn’t seem to be happening in this reality. 

To me though, it’s amazing that Warren is not at least the close second. It makes no sense. She’s got the right combo of smarts with policies that means she’d be effective. Yet, no.  It’d be great if we dealt with misogyny & misogynoir on the left. Plus understood that pundits no longer report – they infect the left with doubt and elevate the loudest yet least effective voices in the room. Volume is not effectiveness. I am not a Warren supporter, for full disclosure. But I’m also not going to ignore a big, nasty elephant in the room.  We’re supposed to be better, more reasonable. Yet here we are. I won’t even remotely antagonize a Warren supporter for the disappointment they may feel right now. But I will say, there’s 1900+ delegates to be earned. We don’t know who will get them yet. Support who you think meets the criteria. Support the nom in the general. And get those downballot races worked out too. That’s where the real power is hiding. In honor of women running for office, here’s some  music to regroup to. There’s still a ton of delegates out there. Open thread for night owls. I’m going to try to get some sleep or something like it.

 

Wheels Keep TurningPost + Comments (55)

Election Year Open Thread: The Vast Mystery of Elizabeth Warren

by Anne Laurie|  February 24, 20206:28 pm| 252 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, A Woman's Place Is In The House, Open Threads, Warren for President 2020, Daydream Believers

To win, you moron. https://t.co/TkcgVQHBKg

— Julia Rosen (@juliarosen) February 24, 2020

I clicked the link, so you don’t have to. She’s picking on Mike Bloomberg! Doesn’t she know how much money he has?!?

… Beginning five days ago at the ninth presidential debate — this one in Las Vegas ahead of the state’s caucuses last Saturday — Warren has made it her mission to savage the billionaire businessman (and former mayor of New York City) at every turn.

“I’d like to talk about who we’re running against,” she said in that debate. “A billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians, and no I’m not talking about Donald Trump, I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.”

Which is a sick burn! And made some sense for Warren to do, because Bloomberg was surging in national polling and there was a concerted effort at that debate to slow him down! Except that Warren has kept it up, even in the wake of Sanders’ crushing victory in Nevada, a win that has made plain that he is now the favorite be the Democratic standard-bearer against President Donald Trump this fall.

Asked directly by reporters Sunday night whether Sanders is a risky nominee for the Democratic Party, Warren said this: “I think Michael Bloomberg is the riskiest candidate.” Interrupted by another reporter to note that the question was about Sanders, not Bloomberg, Warren replied “I heard you,” before continuing on in her attack against the former New York City mayor…

Why ignore a chance to attack the front-runner in favor of hitting someone who won’t even appear on the ballot until March 3? Especially what that front-runner is harvesting the very voting bloc — liberals — that Warren needs to start reclaiming if she wants to have a chance at relevance after finishing third, fourth and fourth in the first three votes of 2020?…

Because Cillizza is a sexist as well as a professional moron, he has two possible answers: Either Warren’s just out to destroy Bloomberg personally, because she hates rich people, like the nutty elitist Harvard professor lady-person she is; or else she’s “angling” to be Bernie Sanders’ vice president, because it’s her only chance of getting on the ballot. Hey, it’s not like she’s running a real campaign, is it?

Watching Chris ‘Mad Bitcher’ Cillizza swallow his own tongue, live & on camera, would absolutely make the celebration of Warren’s nomination even more joyful.

Warren, in a line that is probably also directed at Bernie Sanders:

"I am not in this fight to talk about change. I am in this fight to make change."

— Molly Hensley-Clancy (@mollyhc) February 23, 2020

FWIW I think Warren has cracked this code, if people would follow her lead. Her issue is *corruption* and the anti-corruption measures that have to go into effect to get things like health care/climate action.

That's agenda, but also a referendum. https://t.co/SLhsHiIO3b

— Mike Caulfield (@holden) February 23, 2020

Another heartwarmer (from a virology-related twitter feed, in case you’re wondering who science people stan):

This is one of the most heartwarming, real, sincere and fantastic personal endorsements of @ewarren I’ve read. It speaks to Warren’s unshakable values and the depth of her humanity—the small ways she recognizes peoples’ struggles and touches their lives.https://t.co/BJwdVVrEeN pic.twitter.com/ywlqpROPTm

— Jeff Yang (@originalspin) February 15, 2020

Extremely entertaining, but NSFW:

Elizabeth-Warren-dot-you-just-got-knocked-the-fuck-out-dot-org now redirects to Elizabeth Warren's campaign website https://t.co/xCbFJPXIrj

— ryan teague beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) February 24, 2020

I can definitely feel @ewarren’s debate momentum here in San Diego tonight.

Super Tuesday is right around the corner, and these folks are ready to dream big and fight hard. pic.twitter.com/3EqoLqfh7K

— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) February 23, 2020

Election Year Open Thread: The Vast Mystery of Elizabeth WarrenPost + Comments (252)

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Keep Hope Alive

by Anne Laurie|  February 18, 20205:48 am| 238 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Warren for President 2020, Daydream Believers

Eleven years ago today, near the bottom of the worst recession in generations, I signed the Recovery Act, paving the way for more than a decade of economic growth and the longest streak of job creation in American history. pic.twitter.com/BmdXrxUAUf

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 17, 2020

Meanwhile:

This is a remarkable accomplishment given the apparent law against mentioning Warren’s name in media coverage of presidential primaries. https://t.co/JOgjgbp3vG

— Jamison Foser (@jamisonfoser) February 17, 2020


(Yes, I too wish Harris was still in this race. We can dream… )

This weekend, I knocked 150 doors for @ewarren here in her hometown of Norman, Oklahoma. Some observations follow… 1/

— Ben Alpers ?? (@Ben_Alpers) February 17, 2020

Bernie supporters, including those who'd made up their minds for Sanders, were almost universally complimentary about Warren. And all were courteous. A heartening reminder that this website is not the real world and most Sanders supporters sound nothing like Bernie Twitter. 3/

— Ben Alpers ?? (@Ben_Alpers) February 17, 2020

I cannot recommend enough going door knocking for @ewarren. Not only do you get to know a place better (even if you've lived there for over two decades), it even makes you feel marginally better about this country. And it's the best way to help Warren win! 4/

— Ben Alpers ?? (@Ben_Alpers) February 17, 2020

I sheepishly said I had him listed as an independent. He said that's his registration but he always votes Republican. I thanked him for his time and walked away. But as I did, he came out of his door and thanked me for taking time to participate in the political process. 6/

— Ben Alpers ?? (@Ben_Alpers) February 17, 2020

That shouldn't be such an unusual occurrence. But in this moment of such heated anger between the parties, it really stuck with me. 7/7

— Ben Alpers ?? (@Ben_Alpers) February 17, 2020

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Keep Hope AlivePost + Comments (238)

Late Night Election Year Open Thread: Luring the #StillVotingYang Participants

by Anne Laurie|  February 15, 202011:48 pm| 111 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, Open Threads, Daydream Believers

The hashtag #StillVotingYang was at the top of Twitter’s ‘Trending Topics’ column when I was looking for coronavirus news last night. Given the hour, I assumed it was Russian bots and/or native trolls… but while that may have been the original spark, the idea seems to be popular with ‘real’ potential voters, now.

To tell the truth, a lot of these YangGangers sound like me aged 21, voting for John Anderson as a protest against Jimmy Carter’s refusal to defend pro-choice policies. Nobody owns my vote! Show my why I should vote for your candidate! If we won’t defend our positions, when will we ever see things change?

In my defense, I didn’t have the atrocities of the Reagan/Bush/Trump regimes to warn me how poor a tactic that would turn out to be. In their defense, a lot of these folks are drawing a distinction between the primaries and the general election, which is perfectly reasonable — the primaries are when policy differences should be fought out.

#StillVotingYang trends on Twitter as Andrew Yang supporters refuse to back Democrat rivals https://t.co/84CUKpdM7L

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) February 15, 2020

… Many tweeted using the hashtag to say they still believe his policies are what the U.S. needs now, while others remained unconvinced by the platforms offered by the remaining Democrats.

Yang, whose campaign promised that every eligible American would receive $1,000 a month as part of a Universal Basic Income, officially withdrew from the race just as the New Hampshire primaries were announced.

Yang finished in eighth position in New Hampshire, receiving just 2.8 percent of the vote, having finished sixth in Iowa with 1 percent.

“His democracy dollars policy is the only policy that brings the power of money in politics back to the people,” tweeted Leony Marks.

“#AmericaneedsYang because all the other candidates would just continue and play along with the old system of oppression.”

“No vote that is cast thoughtfully is wasted, and your candidate is not entitled to my vote. @AndrewYang earned my vote, your candidate will have to do the same if you want me to change my mind.”

Eric Quach tweeted: “TO BE CLEAR: #StillVotingYang ISN’T about voting @AndrewYang in the GENERAL election. IT’S about voting @AndrewYang in the Democratic PRIMARY election.

“If you want our vote, then you need to earn it & those who are attacking #YangGang, you definitely don’t deserve it.”…

However, others also used the hashtag to describe their dismay that Yang supporters aren’t now backing one of the other candidates still in the race in order to achieve the overall goal of removing President Donald Trump from the White House.

“If you’re #StillVotingYang, you clearly don’t give af about removing the single biggest threat to democracy this country has ever seen. Do us all a favor and open your eyes before you find yourself complicit in Trump’s reelection,” writer Jack Wallen tweeted.

“This #stillvotingyang has really cemented that we are too stupid a people to deserve anything but Donald Trump as our president for the rest of his life or until the country literally explodes, whichever comes first,” added author Ivan Brandon…

I know a lot of people assumed, when Yang officially dropped out, that of course his supporters would switch to Sanders, because ‘they have so much in common’. Quite a few people, not all of them Bernistas, said that Sanders would / should offer Yang the VP slot immediately. That… doesn’t seem to have happened. Seems like Buttigieg should be attractive to YangGangers, as well.

But of course what I’m hoping — especially at the Nevada caucuses — is that the Warren voters can persuade the YangGang, one by one, that Elizabeth has a plan for them, too, if they’re willing to look at it. She’s really good at motivating people, and I hope my fellow supporters in the Silver State can follow her lead.

LMFAO PPL REALLY THOUGHT AFTER YANG LEFT WE WOULD JUST GO AWAY

Its a whole new wave

There's a reason our gang still trends top 5 and other's dont

No one shuts us up

This is what happens when you dont play nice or treat our candidate fairly#StillVotingYang

— Andy #YangEvery4Years ? ♿?? (@DHotwheelz) February 15, 2020

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Late Night Election Year Open Thread: Luring the #StillVotingYang ParticipantsPost + Comments (111)

Second-Wave Feminism Open Thread: E! R! A! (A Sentimental Cheer)

by Anne Laurie|  January 15, 20204:52 pm| 162 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Women's Rights, Daydream Believers

JUST IN: Virginia lawmakers have approved a resolution ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment — becoming the 38th state of 38 required to do so.

— NPR (@NPR) January 15, 2020

Of course, nothing will happen while Trump & McConnell are in charge. That can be changed, too.

(I’m of the conviction that, when it comes to Chief Justice Roberts, one should remember Finley Peter Dunne’s wise words from the last Gilded Age: “The Constitution may or may not follow the flag, but the Supreme Court follows the Election returns.”)

? Both chambers of the Virginia legislature adopted the Equal Rights Amendment this morning.

Virginia becomes the 38th state to ratify the ERA, putting the amendment above the 3/4th threshold.

Dems just took control of VA government for the first time in 26 years last week.

— Taniel (@Taniel) January 15, 2020

Sets up a legal showdown, with the DOJ defending the position it's too late. https://t.co/zRmFSugnX5 pic.twitter.com/B8QvlPBlx6

— Taniel (@Taniel) January 15, 2020

Today is a huge day for women and the Equal Rights Amendment.

Please watch and share this viral doc by the great @KenBurns for some history on the ERA and why all eyes are on Virginia to be the last state needed to ratify the amendment. #ERANow pic.twitter.com/gbSZ9jeEl2

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) January 15, 2020

I want to send out a special tweet to @Senatorspearman who resurrected the Equal Rights Amendment. I love you, Pat. Thank you. https://t.co/x6RqJhKXTW

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) January 15, 2020

Second-Wave Feminism Open Thread: E! R! A! (A Sentimental Cheer)Post + Comments (162)

Monday Morning Open Thread: Be of Strong Heart

by Anne Laurie|  January 13, 20204:05 am| 96 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, Excellent Links, Open Threads, Warren for President 2020, Daydream Believers

Important piece that may end up applying to several states. Lot of down sides to the early states, but if it does moves the needle against Trump it’s a big help that the first three states are competitive. https://t.co/Rs8EbpA3HD

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) January 13, 2020

A year of hearing from the Democratic candidates who wish to replace Donald Trump in the White House has had an impact on Iowa voters, it seems. The recent Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom poll shows only 34% of registered Iowa voters would definitely vote to reelect Trump.

Another 44% is definitely set to vote for someone else, while 12% would consider a candidate other than Trump and 8% weren’t sure either way…

While the Register didn’t run head-to-head general election matchups among likely voters with Trump and a Democrat, the overall numbers here have to be concerning for Trump’s reelection prospects. The results also point to Iowa returning to its purple-state status after Trump’s nine-point victory here in 2016.

The movement would make sense given the barrage of TV ads run by Democrats in Iowa lambasting the President.

Although the Democratic candidates are aiming their message to caucus-goers in their own party, voters of all backgrounds are seeing the TV spots and even many of the online ads. As you can see in Starting Line’s latest caucus TV ad round-up, some candidates’ messaging has been focused mostly just on their own qualifications and policies, but many have taken direct aim at Trump…

Elizabeth Warren is the candidate best-positioned to unite and inspire the broadest coalition to beat Trump. And there’s no candidate working harder to do it.

??: @DMRegister pic.twitter.com/o09AENx710

— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) January 12, 2020

And there’s this endorsement from Will Bunch, at the Philadelphia Inquirer:

… My perceptions about what’s wrong with America and how to fix it are different than they were in 2016. I’ve had four years to absorb what Trump’s presidency says about us as a nation — and who has resisted Trump, and why. I’m still committed to the exact same political revolution. But I believe the candidate who will get us there is Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

I plan to vote for Warren on April 28 for two reasons. One is simple, the other a bit more abstract. For starters, the two-term Massachusetts senator has run the best campaign, pure and simple. Her accidental rallying cry was handed to her by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who blocked Warren’s principled stand against the nomination of unqualified Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the Senate floor and added, “Nevertheless, she persisted.”

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Monday Morning Open Thread: Be of Strong HeartPost + Comments (96)

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