Yeah, I kind of like the V-8 idea (if you're going to be doing a tomato-inclusive stock). I would surely miss the onions, though, but like Jaybird I'd compromise within a relationship.
Nice to see some new names around here, both as bylines and in the comments. Welcome!
It's not for me to tell conservatives what they think. At most, it's for me to see what they do when they have power or influence. If a refocus back on abstract principles helps fashion a coherent governing agenda and muffles the Outrage Of The Day Machine (or the basic governing principle of Cleek's Law) then great! I don't have to necessarily agree with the principles or the agenda to welcome such an entry into the public discourse.
I fear, though, that the kind of sober, serious discussion of organizing ideological principles and then coalescing them into policy ideas practical to implement in the real world is never, ever going to be able to compete with the fun and profitability of Getting Folks Mad At Stuff (and Not Caring If It's Intellectually Dishonest).
Let us pray that the "No really we don't want Trump again" Republicans really are hovering around 40% like these polls suggest and after she loses the primary, enough of those "No really we don't want Trump again" Republicans mean it enough to stay home or vote for a third party. It is too much to ask that they vote for Biden, of course, these are Republicans after all. But they can direct their vote elsewhere and deny Trump the Presidency that way.
Well, Trump demonstrated the lie behind "momentum" and "winning by exceeding expectations" back in 2016. (These were lies before that.) Particularly in the Republican party where most primaries are winner-take-all, the prize is convention delegates, not momentum or even campaign donations.
What he’s learned is that he had the wrong group of people around him (Pence for example) when he was in office the first time. No more hiring for talent, it will be loyalty to him personally.
Loyalty is a virtue only to the extent that the person who whom loyalty is given is virtuous. When a person invokes the virtue of loyalty, they will soon thereafter (perhaps in the same sentence) ask that you do something that you should know represents the opposite of virtue. This is what loyalty means to Trump. E.g., "Mike Pence isn't our friend anymore."
It's irrelevant because we have an actual instance of Trump, as President and after, attempting to thwart democracy and hold on to power illegally. He's used a sustained pattern of bold, oft-repeated lies and right out there in front of everyone set in motion actual political violence aimed at those who stood in his way with his hands ju-u-u-u-u-ust above the mud.
And for some reason a large number of people dismiss it. Perhaps for some because it's just too horrific to accept so waving it away is a form of emotional self-defense. (I think that describes you.) There are also those who dismiss it because they wanted it to succeed, and this too is a horrific reality to accept.
So yeah, the pee tape was probably never real and even if it is, who cares anymore? There's something much more important to worry about.
The path described in the OP seems plausible enough to me -- Haley needs to edge DeSantis out and then wait for Trump to be somehow disqualified out of the race.* At that point, she's the Last Candidate Standing.
It's a play she might as well make now, because come 2028, she'll have been out of any public office, appointed or elective, for ten years. Her moment will surely have passed.
Unlike the OP I think a VP slot might be available on the same logic that Reagan used to offer the running mate spot to George HW Bush: it's how to unify the party. Obviously she doesn't get to do anything consequential in Second Trump Administration as punishment for her campaign rhetoric, but if anything happens to the 45th/47th President, she inherits The Precious.
* Do any of the charges against Trump carry legal disqualification from Federal office as a penalty? Such crimes exist but I don't know if any of the charges Trump faces do.
Of course the Italian ancestors are groaning at this but it looks super good. Now, if it's me, I might chop up them sausages you've grilled up so beautifully, pop them in the mixing bowl too, and then take an immersion blender to it, producing a uniform sauce with the meat mixed in. Not Bolognese sauce, but a nifty twist on a simple Americano meat sauce (aka "gravy").
Alsotoo grilling the tomatoes looks like a great way to make that smoky, rich salsa that I like on tortilla chips: grill the tomatoes and the jalapenos and the onions first, then mix them all up with salt, garlic, cilantro, etc.
Doesn't a boycott also involve urging other people to emulate your refrain-from-purchasing behavior? It's one thing for me to say "I will not buy [x product] from [y company] because of [z grievance]" but it's something else for me to say, "Hey Chip, you shouldn't buy [x product] from [y company] because of [z grievance]. Just like I'm doing." (Or is it?)
1. I want to be the nominee in 2028.
2. I am not afraid of FOX News or Sean Hannity or Ron DeSantis so I should be the nominee in 2028.
3. I have AMAZING hair. Gaze upon it. Glory in it.
[R4-5] I offer these as additional evidence in support of a proposition that I know (from having become quite tipsy with him many times in the past and discussing this) Our Tod and I are in complete agreement upon.
Debates are bad.
They are bad for finding the truth. They are bad for testing the superiority of one proposition over the other. They are bad for persuasion (they polarize it). That's because debates are not about these things. They're about winning the debate.
This is proof of it. Both of those clips were chosen because you're supposed to say "oooooooh, got him!" at the end of each clip. Are these really great points? Gavin Newsom's father-in-law likes living in Florida. So the F what? Doesn't tell us much about California. DeSantis is 40 points behind Trump. So the F what? Doesn't tell us much about Florida.
Which Governor you think "won" the debate is very likely to be the Governor whose partisan alignment is closer to your own. The debate much more likely cemented your opinion than it changed it. You probably don't know any more about the challenges of governing a state after the debate than you did before it.
Debate fails to educate. Debate fails to change minds. Debate fails to test propositions to anything more than slogans. Debate is a wan, aged fire that generates some heat but very little light.
Random observation: I kind of like the overall GOP debate structure: have many debates (getting the candidates and the party brand on TV and out to the public), eliminating candidates one by one, based on polling and fundraising, until there's only a small number left. Before the primaries. This is a good strategy for making primaries less bruising and disunifying and producing a candidate who will be most likely to appeal to the mainstream. It's too bad that Trump isn't playing ball with it, but Trump disrupts everything.
The Democrats don't have a Trump problem (or rather, they don't have the same kind of Trump problem mainstream Republicans do). I think I'd like to see the Democrats adopt a similar sort of pre-primary debate regimen in 2028.
I was unaware of social media backlash on the part of anyone regarding Ms. Carter's funeral. I'm very glad I missed it. Would that the OP's observations about people using the canvas of a funeral to pronounce whatever thing that they already believed to be true were untrue -- but as we've observed with high-publicity mass shootings, those emotionally-wrought events also are used to prove "I was right all along," which is true even of diametrically opposed points of view. I suspect this is simply an ugly facet of human nature and there is no solution to it.
There are states that have Death With Dignity laws. There are hoops to jump through before you can invoke them. I don't know how life insurance companies feel about them. But they exist for precisely this purpose because it isn't about money if it comes to such a point.
May it be many years before you have a need to confront such issues for yourself, and I wish you ample strength in supporting your parents through these difficult final phases of life.
On “Open Mic for the week of 1/1/2024”
Wondering about the experience of seeing American Fiction, starring Jeffrey Wright double-featured with Sorry to Bother You.
On “Weekend Plans Post: Beef Stew and a Knife you Need”
Good gods in Asgard above how many people is she cooking for?
"
Yeah, I kind of like the V-8 idea (if you're going to be doing a tomato-inclusive stock). I would surely miss the onions, though, but like Jaybird I'd compromise within a relationship.
On “Conservatives Should Know What They’re Conserving”
Nice to see some new names around here, both as bylines and in the comments. Welcome!
It's not for me to tell conservatives what they think. At most, it's for me to see what they do when they have power or influence. If a refocus back on abstract principles helps fashion a coherent governing agenda and muffles the Outrage Of The Day Machine (or the basic governing principle of Cleek's Law) then great! I don't have to necessarily agree with the principles or the agenda to welcome such an entry into the public discourse.
I fear, though, that the kind of sober, serious discussion of organizing ideological principles and then coalescing them into policy ideas practical to implement in the real world is never, ever going to be able to compete with the fun and profitability of Getting Folks Mad At Stuff (and Not Caring If It's Intellectually Dishonest).
On “Sloshing Is Not Surging: Adventures In Nikki Haley Polling”
Let us pray that the "No really we don't want Trump again" Republicans really are hovering around 40% like these polls suggest and after she loses the primary, enough of those "No really we don't want Trump again" Republicans mean it enough to stay home or vote for a third party. It is too much to ask that they vote for Biden, of course, these are Republicans after all. But they can direct their vote elsewhere and deny Trump the Presidency that way.
On “The Penny Farthing”
A special edition of Clare Briggs: the penny-farthing or "ordinary" bicycle has long been a symbol of this website.
On “Iowa, Where Political Narratives Go To Die, Gussies Up For Funerals”
Like an annoyingly-trained parrot, I squawk once again, "Brrrraaaw! Debates are bad. Brrraw!"
"
Well, Trump demonstrated the lie behind "momentum" and "winning by exceeding expectations" back in 2016. (These were lies before that.) Particularly in the Republican party where most primaries are winner-take-all, the prize is convention delegates, not momentum or even campaign donations.
On “Trump’s Authoritarian Tells”
What he’s learned is that he had the wrong group of people around him (Pence for example) when he was in office the first time. No more hiring for talent, it will be loyalty to him personally.
Loyalty is a virtue only to the extent that the person who whom loyalty is given is virtuous. When a person invokes the virtue of loyalty, they will soon thereafter (perhaps in the same sentence) ask that you do something that you should know represents the opposite of virtue. This is what loyalty means to Trump. E.g., "Mike Pence isn't our friend anymore."
"
To be sure. The pee tape is irrelevant now.
It's irrelevant because we have an actual instance of Trump, as President and after, attempting to thwart democracy and hold on to power illegally. He's used a sustained pattern of bold, oft-repeated lies and right out there in front of everyone set in motion actual political violence aimed at those who stood in his way with his hands ju-u-u-u-u-ust above the mud.
And for some reason a large number of people dismiss it. Perhaps for some because it's just too horrific to accept so waving it away is a form of emotional self-defense. (I think that describes you.) There are also those who dismiss it because they wanted it to succeed, and this too is a horrific reality to accept.
So yeah, the pee tape was probably never real and even if it is, who cares anymore? There's something much more important to worry about.
On “Open Mic for the week of 12/4/2023”
He's not writing that law.
"
Only if he can keep his hand on the spigot of all that sweet, sweet oil money.
On “The Fourth Republican Debate Is The One To Watch”
Credit where it's due -- Vivek has lasted a lot longer in this process than I thought he would.
Also note: it's six weeks until the Iowa Caucuses.
And finally, your periodic grumpy reminder: debates are bad. We've been over this, recently, so I won't re-iterate the reasons why debates are bad.
On “Open Mic for the week of 12/4/2023”
Gasp. How could one think such a thing.
On “What is Nikki Haley’s Strategy?”
The path described in the OP seems plausible enough to me -- Haley needs to edge DeSantis out and then wait for Trump to be somehow disqualified out of the race.* At that point, she's the Last Candidate Standing.
It's a play she might as well make now, because come 2028, she'll have been out of any public office, appointed or elective, for ten years. Her moment will surely have passed.
Unlike the OP I think a VP slot might be available on the same logic that Reagan used to offer the running mate spot to George HW Bush: it's how to unify the party. Obviously she doesn't get to do anything consequential in Second Trump Administration as punishment for her campaign rhetoric, but if anything happens to the 45th/47th President, she inherits The Precious.
* Do any of the charges against Trump carry legal disqualification from Federal office as a penalty? Such crimes exist but I don't know if any of the charges Trump faces do.
On “Farrah Fawcett and Grilled Spaghetti Sauce”
Of course the Italian ancestors are groaning at this but it looks super good. Now, if it's me, I might chop up them sausages you've grilled up so beautifully, pop them in the mixing bowl too, and then take an immersion blender to it, producing a uniform sauce with the meat mixed in. Not Bolognese sauce, but a nifty twist on a simple Americano meat sauce (aka "gravy").
Alsotoo grilling the tomatoes looks like a great way to make that smoky, rich salsa that I like on tortilla chips: grill the tomatoes and the jalapenos and the onions first, then mix them all up with salt, garlic, cilantro, etc.
Many thanks for this one, Ben!
On “Rule of Tod Video Roundup”
R7 -- you can tell this isn't a Portland singles bar because none of them are wearing peacoats.
"
Maybe we could say Jude Law's character in GATTACA was "bespoke," but Ethan Hawke's character, like people in real life, are merely "unique."
"
Doesn't a boycott also involve urging other people to emulate your refrain-from-purchasing behavior? It's one thing for me to say "I will not buy [x product] from [y company] because of [z grievance]" but it's something else for me to say, "Hey Chip, you shouldn't buy [x product] from [y company] because of [z grievance]. Just like I'm doing." (Or is it?)
"
He had three reasons:
1. I want to be the nominee in 2028.
2. I am not afraid of FOX News or Sean Hannity or Ron DeSantis so I should be the nominee in 2028.
3. I have AMAZING hair. Gaze upon it. Glory in it.
"
[R4-5] I offer these as additional evidence in support of a proposition that I know (from having become quite tipsy with him many times in the past and discussing this) Our Tod and I are in complete agreement upon.
Debates are bad.
They are bad for finding the truth. They are bad for testing the superiority of one proposition over the other. They are bad for persuasion (they polarize it). That's because debates are not about these things. They're about winning the debate.
This is proof of it. Both of those clips were chosen because you're supposed to say "oooooooh, got him!" at the end of each clip. Are these really great points? Gavin Newsom's father-in-law likes living in Florida. So the F what? Doesn't tell us much about California. DeSantis is 40 points behind Trump. So the F what? Doesn't tell us much about Florida.
Which Governor you think "won" the debate is very likely to be the Governor whose partisan alignment is closer to your own. The debate much more likely cemented your opinion than it changed it. You probably don't know any more about the challenges of governing a state after the debate than you did before it.
Debate fails to educate. Debate fails to change minds. Debate fails to test propositions to anything more than slogans. Debate is a wan, aged fire that generates some heat but very little light.
On “Open Mic for the week of 11/27/2023”
Random observation: I kind of like the overall GOP debate structure: have many debates (getting the candidates and the party brand on TV and out to the public), eliminating candidates one by one, based on polling and fundraising, until there's only a small number left. Before the primaries. This is a good strategy for making primaries less bruising and disunifying and producing a candidate who will be most likely to appeal to the mainstream. It's too bad that Trump isn't playing ball with it, but Trump disrupts everything.
The Democrats don't have a Trump problem (or rather, they don't have the same kind of Trump problem mainstream Republicans do). I think I'd like to see the Democrats adopt a similar sort of pre-primary debate regimen in 2028.
On “We Should Talk More About Dying, Cause You Will”
I was unaware of social media backlash on the part of anyone regarding Ms. Carter's funeral. I'm very glad I missed it. Would that the OP's observations about people using the canvas of a funeral to pronounce whatever thing that they already believed to be true were untrue -- but as we've observed with high-publicity mass shootings, those emotionally-wrought events also are used to prove "I was right all along," which is true even of diametrically opposed points of view. I suspect this is simply an ugly facet of human nature and there is no solution to it.
"
There are states that have Death With Dignity laws. There are hoops to jump through before you can invoke them. I don't know how life insurance companies feel about them. But they exist for precisely this purpose because it isn't about money if it comes to such a point.
May it be many years before you have a need to confront such issues for yourself, and I wish you ample strength in supporting your parents through these difficult final phases of life.
On “Napoleon And The Spasmodic Lamb Chop of Destiny”
Coming soon: The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte in Real Time, a 52-year series.