Today in "I did not think the leopards will eat my face" https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/15/us/trump-immigrant-deportations-rome-georgia.html?unlocked_article_code=1.h04.i1xl._BwOwOJEOptI&smid=url-share
Marc Andreessen is a trumpist who is butt hurt that Biden's admin went hard against crypto because it correctly saw crypto as a scam and he is thin-skinned despite or because of his riches and how dare the internet not be nice to him like the lackeys at his VC fund.
Marc Elias called this bending the knee and he is correct. https://x.com/marceelias/status/1868081315150807522
Let's look at what Donnie the Populist is doing for rural voters who feel left behind, he is toying with privitizing the post office. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/trump-eyes-privatizing-u-s-postal-service-citing-financial-losses/
Good luck at getting mail or meds in rural Montana now.
Democrats need to let Republicans and voters know the consequences:
If Johnson wants to do something that’s good for America, shouldn’t Democrats lend him their support regardless of whether his own caucus backs him or not? Shouldn’t Democrats act responsibly even when Republicans won’t?
Surprisingly, there’s a correct answer here. And it comes, of all places, from the field of addiction recovery.
For the last two years, Democrats have thought they were acting in the country’s best interests by helping Republicans govern. They have not been. They meant well, but they have actually been protecting voters from the consequences of Republican dysfunction and enabling bad Republican behavior.
Republican politicians are now addicted to drama, outrage and “owning the libs.” When you shield addicts from the consequences of their actions, you’re not doing them any favors. All you are doing is enabling their addiction.
The same goes for their voters. Many are hooked on the political performance and continue to elect unserious, bomb-throwing zealots who pander on social media for the clicks and the television appearances. But Congress is not a reality television show. In real life, dysfunction has consequences.
The country won’t be on the road to recovery until it is allowed to experience those consequences. If that means giving free rein to the collection of clowns with flamethrowers that now passes for the Republican Party, so be it. Democrats should resist the urge to intervene when the inevitable happens and they set themselves on fire.
For the next two years, Democrats have no responsibility to govern. They should focus on politics instead and take a longer view of the country’s best interests. If, for example, House Democrats had allowed Republican dysfunction to shut down the government in September, they almost certainly would have won a House majority in November. A few weeks of furloughed workers and shuttered national parks would have been a small price to pay for an effective check against Donald Trump’s plans for an American autocracy. Democrats should be practicing tough love and allowing Republicans to inflict pain on themselves, even if that also inflicts some pain on the country.
Democrats are a multi-racial coalition and it is hard to come up with a solution on say how you help combat the long and disgraceful history of slavery, Jim Crow, and systematic racism without having people complain about how their kid as a marginally harder time getting into Lowell or Stuy
Meanwhile, people couldn't get their heads out of their butts long enough to realize they voted to make polio great again and our whole armchair and professional pundit apparatus is designed to say it is bad form to tell voters that their are consequences for their actions because that means less ad revenue and that means Mr. Pundit's wife doesn't get her kitchen remodel.
The only way to win with Trump is not to play. Playing with Trump and his cronies only leads to play stupid games, win stupid prizes. At best, you will be given an opportunity to pay tribute and protection money like tech is currently doing. Most likely, you will be thrown under the bus at some point and then have the bus rolled over you a few times for good measure.
Nah. People f’d around because they hated the price of eggs and gas and now I am subjected to numerous interviews daily of cognitive defenses on full fire with “Yeah I voted for Trump and his mass deportation plan will collapse my business but I don’t think he really means it.”
This is not the fault of Harris or the Democrats as much as everyone is addicted to Murc’s law. People have agency.
Welp, a bunch of universities announced to their foreign students especially their Asian students that they should try and get back to the U.S. before Trump is sworn in because they think there will be another travel ban and this time it could also include India and China.
Trump's team is also looking at making Chinese immigrants of "military age" their first priority for mass deportations,
So welcome to this round of "I never thought the leopard's would eat my face..."
I'm sure you will be screaming "why didn't Democrats stop this?" when Trump does all horrible stuff he said he would do and people took him neither seriously or literally.
"Trump’s Middle East Adviser Pick Is a Small-Time Truck Salesman
The lore around Massad Boulos, Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law, is that he is a billionaire dealmaker. Records show otherwise."
President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East adviser, Massad Boulos, has enjoyed a reputation as a billionaire mogul at the helm of a business that bears his family name.
Mr. Boulos has been profiled as a tycoon by the world’s media, telling a reporter in October that his company is worth billions. Mr. Trump called him a “highly respected leader in the business world, with extensive experience on the international scene.”
The president-elect even lavished what may be his highest praise: a “dealmaker.”
In fact, records show that Mr. Boulos has spent the past two decades selling trucks and heavy machinery in Nigeria for a company his father-in-law controls. He is chief executive of the company, SCOA Nigeria PLC, which made a profit of less than $66,000 last year, corporate filings show.
There is no indication in corporate documents that Mr. Boulos, a Lebanese-American whose son is married to Mr. Trump’s daughter Tiffany, is a man of significant wealth as a result of his businesses. The truck dealership is valued at about $865,000 at its current share price. Mr. Boulos’s stake, according to securities filings, is worth $1.53.
As for Boulos Enterprises, the company that has been called his family business in The Financial Times and elsewhere, a company officer there said it is owned by an unrelated Boulos family.
Mr. Boulos will advise on one of the world’s most complicated and conflict-wracked regions — a region that Mr. Boulos said this week that he has not visited in years. The advisory position does not require Senate approval.
Another thought is that Adam Schiff is stating that he doesn't think he committed any crimes and he doesn't need one. He is challenging Trump and co to bring it like Adam Kirtzenger did
It is time for another episode of What's Wrong with this Headline: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/us/politics/trump-perfumes-sneakers-licensing.html
"Trump Tests Ethical Boundaries With Branded Merch. (And All Sales Are Final.)
Everything around President-elect Donald J. Trump has become something to monetize, including a moment of comity with Jill Biden at Notre-Dame over the weekend."
I found coverage for this story in four places: The Jerusalem Post, The New York Post, Commentary, and The Daily Bruin. I trust the Daily Bruin most of all but it seems to largely monitor the coverage in the Jerusalem Post. I don't trust anything that comes from the NY Post because it is part of Murdoch's right-wing lets smear liberals with nutpicking empire and every time I see a story only covered there and in Jewish newspapers, I decry that it can be dismissed on those facts.
Student government is good but perhaps given them a lot of training first.
Krugman's last column for the times comparing when he started to now: What strikes me, looking back, is how optimistic many people, both here and in much of the Western world, were back then and the extent to which that optimism has been replaced by anger and resentment. And I’m not just talking about members of the working class who feel betrayed by elites; some of the angriest, most resentful people in America right now — people who seem very likely to have a lot of influence with the incoming Trump administration — are billionaires who don’t feel sufficiently admired.
It’s hard to convey just how good most Americans were feeling in 1999 and early 2000. Polls showed a level of satisfaction with the direction of the country that looks surreal by today’s standards. My sense of what happened in the 2000 election was that many Americans took peace and prosperity for granted, so they voted for the guy who seemed as if he’d be more fun to hang out with.
In Europe, too, things seemed to be going well. In particular, the introduction of the euro in 1999 was widely hailed as a step toward closer political as well as economic integration — toward a United States of Europe, if you like. Some of us ugly Americans had misgivings, but initially they weren’t widely shared.
Murdoch fails spectacularly in his bid to rewrite his irrevocable trust and keep Fox even more right wing: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/business/media/rupert-lachlan-murdoch-family-trust.html
The alleged suspect appears to have undergone some back surgery which changed him. Perhaps a lumbar-fusion surgery. I generally see this kind of surgery performed on much older people.
On “Open Mic for the week of 12/9/2024”
That's too kind.
"
Today in "I did not think the leopards will eat my face" https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/15/us/trump-immigrant-deportations-rome-georgia.html?unlocked_article_code=1.h04.i1xl._BwOwOJEOptI&smid=url-share
"
Marc Andreessen is a trumpist who is butt hurt that Biden's admin went hard against crypto because it correctly saw crypto as a scam and he is thin-skinned despite or because of his riches and how dare the internet not be nice to him like the lackeys at his VC fund.
Marc Elias called this bending the knee and he is correct. https://x.com/marceelias/status/1868081315150807522
"
Let's look at what Donnie the Populist is doing for rural voters who feel left behind, he is toying with privitizing the post office. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/trump-eyes-privatizing-u-s-postal-service-citing-financial-losses/
Good luck at getting mail or meds in rural Montana now.
"
ABC obeys in advance: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/14/politics/trump-abc-news-defamation-lawsuit-settle/index.html
"
Democrats need to let Republicans and voters know the consequences:
If Johnson wants to do something that’s good for America, shouldn’t Democrats lend him their support regardless of whether his own caucus backs him or not? Shouldn’t Democrats act responsibly even when Republicans won’t?
Surprisingly, there’s a correct answer here. And it comes, of all places, from the field of addiction recovery.
For the last two years, Democrats have thought they were acting in the country’s best interests by helping Republicans govern. They have not been. They meant well, but they have actually been protecting voters from the consequences of Republican dysfunction and enabling bad Republican behavior.
Republican politicians are now addicted to drama, outrage and “owning the libs.” When you shield addicts from the consequences of their actions, you’re not doing them any favors. All you are doing is enabling their addiction.
The same goes for their voters. Many are hooked on the political performance and continue to elect unserious, bomb-throwing zealots who pander on social media for the clicks and the television appearances. But Congress is not a reality television show. In real life, dysfunction has consequences.
The country won’t be on the road to recovery until it is allowed to experience those consequences. If that means giving free rein to the collection of clowns with flamethrowers that now passes for the Republican Party, so be it. Democrats should resist the urge to intervene when the inevitable happens and they set themselves on fire.
For the next two years, Democrats have no responsibility to govern. They should focus on politics instead and take a longer view of the country’s best interests. If, for example, House Democrats had allowed Republican dysfunction to shut down the government in September, they almost certainly would have won a House majority in November. A few weeks of furloughed workers and shuttered national parks would have been a small price to pay for an effective check against Donald Trump’s plans for an American autocracy. Democrats should be practicing tough love and allowing Republicans to inflict pain on themselves, even if that also inflicts some pain on the country.
"
That is sanewashing BS
On “Asian Voters Abandoned Democrats in Droves and Might Not be Coming Back”
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fdb79f7d170d824e164641206e52d1f9a45b86157531c04293fb209674ac8a9a.png
"
NIMBYism transcends race.
Democrats are a multi-racial coalition and it is hard to come up with a solution on say how you help combat the long and disgraceful history of slavery, Jim Crow, and systematic racism without having people complain about how their kid as a marginally harder time getting into Lowell or Stuy
Meanwhile, people couldn't get their heads out of their butts long enough to realize they voted to make polio great again and our whole armchair and professional pundit apparatus is designed to say it is bad form to tell voters that their are consequences for their actions because that means less ad revenue and that means Mr. Pundit's wife doesn't get her kitchen remodel.
I am angry
"
The only way to win with Trump is not to play. Playing with Trump and his cronies only leads to play stupid games, win stupid prizes. At best, you will be given an opportunity to pay tribute and protection money like tech is currently doing. Most likely, you will be thrown under the bus at some point and then have the bus rolled over you a few times for good measure.
"
Nah. People f’d around because they hated the price of eggs and gas and now I am subjected to numerous interviews daily of cognitive defenses on full fire with “Yeah I voted for Trump and his mass deportation plan will collapse my business but I don’t think he really means it.”
This is not the fault of Harris or the Democrats as much as everyone is addicted to Murc’s law. People have agency.
"
Welp, a bunch of universities announced to their foreign students especially their Asian students that they should try and get back to the U.S. before Trump is sworn in because they think there will be another travel ban and this time it could also include India and China.
Trump's team is also looking at making Chinese immigrants of "military age" their first priority for mass deportations,
So welcome to this round of "I never thought the leopard's would eat my face..."
I'm sure you will be screaming "why didn't Democrats stop this?" when Trump does all horrible stuff he said he would do and people took him neither seriously or literally.
On “Open Mic for the week of 12/9/2024”
Make Polio Great Again: RFK Jrs lawyer has petitioned the FDA to suspend approval for the Polio vaccine
"
Trump and Musk: Make Bank Runs Great Again: https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/trump-advisers-bank-regulations-fdic-efa761dc?st=nN2iCh
"
Today in lolsob:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/world/africa/trump-massad-boulos-middle-east.html?unlocked_article_code=1.g04.kvZk.eE-d0JxFTQec&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
"Trump’s Middle East Adviser Pick Is a Small-Time Truck Salesman
The lore around Massad Boulos, Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law, is that he is a billionaire dealmaker. Records show otherwise."
President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East adviser, Massad Boulos, has enjoyed a reputation as a billionaire mogul at the helm of a business that bears his family name.
Mr. Boulos has been profiled as a tycoon by the world’s media, telling a reporter in October that his company is worth billions. Mr. Trump called him a “highly respected leader in the business world, with extensive experience on the international scene.”
The president-elect even lavished what may be his highest praise: a “dealmaker.”
In fact, records show that Mr. Boulos has spent the past two decades selling trucks and heavy machinery in Nigeria for a company his father-in-law controls. He is chief executive of the company, SCOA Nigeria PLC, which made a profit of less than $66,000 last year, corporate filings show.
There is no indication in corporate documents that Mr. Boulos, a Lebanese-American whose son is married to Mr. Trump’s daughter Tiffany, is a man of significant wealth as a result of his businesses. The truck dealership is valued at about $865,000 at its current share price. Mr. Boulos’s stake, according to securities filings, is worth $1.53.
As for Boulos Enterprises, the company that has been called his family business in The Financial Times and elsewhere, a company officer there said it is owned by an unrelated Boulos family.
Mr. Boulos will advise on one of the world’s most complicated and conflict-wracked regions — a region that Mr. Boulos said this week that he has not visited in years. The advisory position does not require Senate approval.
"
Guess who is now saying it might be hard to lower grocery prices?
"
Another thought is that Adam Schiff is stating that he doesn't think he committed any crimes and he doesn't need one. He is challenging Trump and co to bring it like Adam Kirtzenger did
"
It is time for another episode of What's Wrong with this Headline: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/us/politics/trump-perfumes-sneakers-licensing.html
"Trump Tests Ethical Boundaries With Branded Merch. (And All Sales Are Final.)
Everything around President-elect Donald J. Trump has become something to monetize, including a moment of comity with Jill Biden at Notre-Dame over the weekend."
"
I found coverage for this story in four places: The Jerusalem Post, The New York Post, Commentary, and The Daily Bruin. I trust the Daily Bruin most of all but it seems to largely monitor the coverage in the Jerusalem Post. I don't trust anything that comes from the NY Post because it is part of Murdoch's right-wing lets smear liberals with nutpicking empire and every time I see a story only covered there and in Jewish newspapers, I decry that it can be dismissed on those facts.
Student government is good but perhaps given them a lot of training first.
On “From the New York Post: UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot outside Hilton hotel in Midtown in targeted attack: cops”
Beer!!!
On “Open Mic for the week of 12/9/2024”
Krugman's last column for the times comparing when he started to now: What strikes me, looking back, is how optimistic many people, both here and in much of the Western world, were back then and the extent to which that optimism has been replaced by anger and resentment. And I’m not just talking about members of the working class who feel betrayed by elites; some of the angriest, most resentful people in America right now — people who seem very likely to have a lot of influence with the incoming Trump administration — are billionaires who don’t feel sufficiently admired.
It’s hard to convey just how good most Americans were feeling in 1999 and early 2000. Polls showed a level of satisfaction with the direction of the country that looks surreal by today’s standards. My sense of what happened in the 2000 election was that many Americans took peace and prosperity for granted, so they voted for the guy who seemed as if he’d be more fun to hang out with.
In Europe, too, things seemed to be going well. In particular, the introduction of the euro in 1999 was widely hailed as a step toward closer political as well as economic integration — toward a United States of Europe, if you like. Some of us ugly Americans had misgivings, but initially they weren’t widely shared.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/opinion/elites-euro-social-media.html
"
Murdoch fails spectacularly in his bid to rewrite his irrevocable trust and keep Fox even more right wing: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/business/media/rupert-lachlan-murdoch-family-trust.html
On “From the New York Post: UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot outside Hilton hotel in Midtown in targeted attack: cops”
The alleged suspect appears to have undergone some back surgery which changed him. Perhaps a lumbar-fusion surgery. I generally see this kind of surgery performed on much older people.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/65e569077ad3392b126467fb04334e94b75c7bf4206fa1f0d2aca59e71152754.jpg
"
I think his politics are off the wall inchoate.
"
TIL that this classic line was apparently an improv and suggested by the actor's wife.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.