The sushi was delicious, if you’re wondering. This particular bar/restaurant has a “takeover Tuesday” every week, when guest chefs come in and do something new and different. It’s a cool idea, imperfectly executed, in that the regular kitchen staff and the waitstaff just take the night off. So it’s not just a new menu, it’s new servers and, well, anarchy of a sort. The place was full when I arrived, angling for seating for four. There were no rules about sections or seating, just take whatever you can grab. A six-top arrived five minutes after me and had their eyes on the same table.
(Guess who was sitting at the table, which could have comfortably accommodated five? One guy, working on a laptop, drinking a beer. I tried to displace him through my thought beams.)
Readers, I had to bigfoot the six-top, and readers, I felt bad about it. But when there are no rules, you make up your own.
This new dining culture in Detroit is simultaneously wonderful and baffling. The food is so much better than it was when we arrived, it hardly bears mentioning. But as we saw about a million times on “Top Chef,” just because you can put a great meal on the table doesn’t mean you know how to run a restaurant, and that lesson is harder to learn. Lots of the new places don’t take reservations and many don’t have phones. Nothing like making your way to the hot new place and discovering there’s a 90-minute wait. I have a young friend who sets aside Friday as date night with his girlfriend, and I rely on him for intel on whether I can even get near a hot new place. Lately we find them when they’re only lukewarm; we were delighted to get immediate seating at one farm-to-table something-or-other a few months ago, and the food was quite good. A week later we heard it was on its last legs and would likely close within a month. (It remains open.)
But that sushi was great. Had a pancake something-or-other, and a noodle thingie, and some rolls, and some sashimi, and some vegetable tempura. That’s the other thing about the new dining scene — there are robust vegetarian and vegan options everywhere, and while I’m neither, it’s nice to have someone paying attention to the vegetables, because they’re damn tasty. I recall my last meal at a local chain that’s often recommended by people who live in the ‘burbs. “Sooooo good!” they enthuse. It isn’t, but it has a lot of locations, it’s Italian, and we happened to be in one of their neighborhoods when we were hungry and it was open. I didn’t want a pasta pile or cheese explosion, so I ordered something from the heart-healthy, light menu, a lentil or bean thing I thought might include tomatoes and some Mediterranean seasonings. Utterly devoid of any seasonings, much less Mediterranean ones, it tasted like the gruel they serve on a hospital cardiac ward, dished up by Nurse Ratched. I put down my fork after a few bites and declared I would never, ever spend another dollar in this shithole, or any other of their other locations, and I haven’t, and I won’t.
I can put up with a lot of hipster bullshit when I remember the old alternative.
So! Bill’s speech last night! I didn’t last through it, but I heard the opening, and as he got into the groove, I could tell the old dog still had it. His voice is diminished, his body is diminished, but it’s going to take a lot more to put him down, and he’s a long way from down. So Rachel got her knickers in a twist because he said he “met a girl?” Oh, girl, please. And here I thought you had a sense of humor, or at least perspective. Whatever.
Tonight is POTUS, of course. By the time you read this, he’ll be on Marine One or Limo One or maybe kicking it in his jammies in a nice Philly hotel suite. So tell me how it went, ’cause I won’t see these comments until Thursday morning. As I write this, Gabby Giffords has just given her speech, and oh my. That woman.
So I’m settling in for the rest of it. Have some bloggage:
Jill Stein is just awful.
The incomprehensible mystery of the Clintons’ marriage.
Tonight’s non-convention activity: Reading more Susan Faludi, and trying to decide whether we should refinance the house. Woo, adulting! Have a great Thursday, all.
Dexter said on July 28, 2016 at 1:08 am
Biden had ’em eating out of his hand, Kaine seemed to present himself as a modern-day Abe Lincoln, workin’ in his daddy’s machine and welding shop, and taking those skill to Honduras to teach same skills to the Hondurans. (Things did get out of hand, remember? I was amazed that Kaine said so much about it, since Clinton is the one who propped up the coup that turned into murdering butchers.) https://www.thenation.com/article/eat-pray-starve-what-tim-kaine-didnt-learn-during-his-time-in-honduras/
Parties don’t matter at all anymore: Kaine proudly emphasized his father-in-law is or was a Republican, which I have no problem with, but hey…along that line, what the fuck was Bloomberg doing there? He kept making sure we knew he was once a Republican, then a Democrat, then an Independent, he kept saying how he agrees and disagrees with people on both sides of the aisle, and said in so many words that is the American way, a far cry from what the President tod us to do: vote straight Democrat, local, state, national.
So why was this billionaire, who Lawrence O’Donnell & crew said was somewhere between 10 to one hundred times richer than Donald Trump, speaking at the peoples’ convention, the party of the hard working men and women (and the Hollywood entertainment moguls, yeah…)? My wife said this was to show Independents a beacon to follow. Bloomberg seemed to be saying he disagreed a lot with HRC, but Trump is a trainwreck. It just did not make any sense to me…what, he buy podium time?
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David C. said on July 28, 2016 at 5:30 am
Utterly devoid of any seasonings, much less Mediterranean ones, it tasted like the gruel they serve on a hospital cardiac ward, dished up by Nurse Ratched.
It’s for this that I look in every day.
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Suzanne said on July 28, 2016 at 6:21 am
A friend of mine’s son-in-law works for Bloomberg in NYC. He tells my friend that Bloomberg is a great guy to work for. Ditto a friend of my kid’s ex-love interest. When I hear that someone like him is good to his employees, I take note. And I figure he’s had enough dealings with Trump to know a rat when he sees one.
I went to bed mid-way through Tim Kaine’s speech. He started out kinda bland and then got fired up! He spoke lovingly about his wife and family and his faith and again I wondered which party is the one that is all about family values?.
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adrianne said on July 28, 2016 at 7:23 am
POTUS killed it, as usual. People, realize what a treasure Obama was. And also realize that his full-throated backing of Hillary means something.
I was OK with Bloomberg speaking, mainly because he got to deliver this riposte to The Donald: “Trump says he wants to run the nation like he’s running his business? God help us. I am a New Yorker, and I know a con when I see one.”
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alex said on July 28, 2016 at 8:04 am
In defense of cardiac wards, I must say that the food I received when I was a patient in one five years ago was quite acceptable, and great care was taken to emphasize that a healthy diet doesn’t have to suck. I wish restaurants would prepare “heart healthy” meals as efficaciously as the hospital. Recently I ordered a chef’s salad with blackened salmon. The dried-out, freezer-burned block of fish had the consistency of styrofoam and it stank to high heaven.
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beb said on July 28, 2016 at 8:55 am
One commenter has suggested that by using the phrase I met a girl” Bill C. was using his horndog reputation to humanize Hillary. She’s not just some nerdy wonk, she was a human being that so intrigued Bill that he pursued her and has stayed married to her for 40 years.
I ended up watching a good portion of the evening speeches. Gabby Giffords short speech was a reminder that dying from gun violence is not always the worst fate. Joe Biden was better than expected. He knows how to work an audience. Bloomberg was, yes, an oddity for appearing at the convention but as has been suggested he’s a touchstone for independents who might be thinking of voting for Trump. The man’s a con. I’ve been lukewarm to outright cold towards Tim Kaine and the start of his speech didn’t help but as he warmed up and got into his hard-working blue-collar background, then his service in Honduras he really impressed me. I’m sure conservatives are going to chide him about throwing so much Spanish into his speech. I don’t speak Spanish but Kaine slipping so easily between English and Spanish, and never faltering over pronunciation proves that he is fluent in Spanish, unlike some *cough* W *cough*
But the night went to the (new) Big Dog: BHO. A powerful speech, some clever lines about looking like a kid just 12 years ago when he made his first convention speech, and delivery that … They could use that speech in a master-class on public speaking. I felt like chanting (as the Canadians did) “Four More Years!”
Then i went to bed. Now I’m at work and wishing I was still home in bed…
Sometime between the Republican and Democratic conventions some reporter suggested that conventions should be limited to just two days. One day for the platform and one day for the nomination. There speaks a reporter tried of having to hunt down stories. Conventions are for reporters. They aren’t for the nominees, either. they for the delegates who get to come together with other like-minded people to schmooze, net-work, plan for the future. The speeches are nice (and how often do you get to hear the POTUS speak directly to you?) but it’s everything else going on that makes the conventions so important, and their length crucial.
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Randy said on July 28, 2016 at 9:09 am
“Gabby Giffords short speech was a reminder that dying from gun violence is not always the worst fate.”
Oh, did you mean that?
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nancy said on July 28, 2016 at 9:18 am
Holy shit was POTUS’ speech amazing. He keeps finding new gears.
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Deborah said on July 28, 2016 at 9:34 am
One nice thing about being on mountain time is that we’re 2 hours earlier than eastern time so the convention was over at 10 something rather than after midnight. And yes Obama’s speech was fantastic. Biden and Kaine were convincing. I hope people who needed to hear that were watching.
Today is a travel day, ugh. I should be back in Chicago before Hillary speaks if all goes well.
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Jolene said on July 28, 2016 at 9:45 am
Bloomberg was there to encourage independents and non-crazy Republicans to vote for Hillary. Take a look at his speech; he says so explicitly. His presence may also have been a message to businesspeople to speak out or, at least, to rethink their traditional allegiance to Republicans.
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Bitter Scribe said on July 28, 2016 at 10:21 am
Obama’s speech was incredible. So I switched over to Fox News to see how they could possibly snark on it, and they didn’t disappoint: Hugh Somebody, the guy who gets hysterical whenever someone carries a Mexican flag down a street (don’t feel like looking up his last name), griped about how Obama “loves the first person singular.” Yeah, that uppity n—–, talking like he was the president or something.
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nancy said on July 28, 2016 at 11:01 am
That was likely Hugh Hewitt, a basic right-wing scold from the B-line of talk-radio guys — which is to say, if the bigger talk station has Rush, Hannity, etc., the second-tier one gets guys like Hewitt. Just a weenie. Loves Jimbo Lileks, of course.
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Jolene said on July 28, 2016 at 10:31 am
Wow, is there anyone who loves the first person singular more than Trump? Referring to the horrible mess he claims America is in, he said, “I alone can fix it,” an outrageous statement.
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Dorothy said on July 28, 2016 at 10:38 am
Can’t hardly wait for tonight, Chelsea introducing her mum, and then seeing/hearing Hillary. I’m positively thrilled by this stuff, and am fervently hoping she wins the election. I am an early to bed/early to rise person, so it was pushing it for me to listen through Tim Kaine’s speech. I recorded POTUS’s speech and turned it on at 5:30 this morning. I had tears in my eyes, and was smiling for so much of it.
Did you see Donald Dumpy Drawers talking about Kaine? He kept referring to what a terrible governor of New Jersey he was. (Yes I know the governor of Jersey has a similar sounding name – Kean.) HOW is this idiot the nominee for the President?! I wish I had a magic wand to point at him and permanently shut his stupid mouth.
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Bob (Not Greene) said on July 28, 2016 at 10:40 am
Bitter Scribe, I don’t know what speech that Fox dude was listening to. Obama repeatedly emphasized that no one person could accomplish anything, including him. “We” was a main tenant of the damn speech. Of course, we’ve all become used to that; these people live in an alternate reality where Obama will declare martial law the day before inauguration day and name himself dictator for life. If that speech didn’t encapsulate for you what being an American means, then you really don’t want to live in America. You’re a peasant looking to the lord of the manor to tell you what to do.
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Deborah said on July 28, 2016 at 10:48 am
TPM has a headline up that Marco Rubio says that Trump will improve as he settles into his role. CAN YOU BELEIVE THAT? Come on, saying that your candidate isn’t even ready for office, when in the history of the US has anyone said that about their candidate before? This is so unacceptable it isn’t even funny. Not in the least.
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Jeff Borden said on July 28, 2016 at 11:06 am
I’ve been deeply troubled by presidential candidates in the past, but tRump is the first one who truly scares the shit out of me. I know everyone talks shit about “leaving the country” when someone they dislike is elected, but his election might well lead us to think about getting out for awhile. He will not see himself as a president, a leader who must engage in the day-to-day of governing. He will see himself as an emperor, a modern day Caesar and he will have the vast powers of the presidency to help make that happen. Checks and balances? Please. With this Congress? Martial law? A national state of emergency? Who knows that this asshole might do if the mood strikes him. He’s already expressed admiration for bloodthirsty dictators from North Korea to Russia. He clearly admires their ability to move unfettered by the niceties of legitimate governance. He is a genuine menace to American democracy.
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Jolene said on July 28, 2016 at 11:44 am
Deborah, there have been numerous Republican officials who have excused Trump’s outrageous statements saying that this is his first political campaign. Since when is being president of the United States an entry-level job?
Barack Obama was a young man with relatively little experience, but, at least, he understood how the political game is played–not just in the sense of being an effective campaigner, but in the sense of knowing American history, understanding key constitutional ideas such as freedom of religion and the separation of powers, and speaking cautiously about foreign affairs.
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adrianne said on July 28, 2016 at 12:06 pm
Yes, when I hear anyone defend Trump, I can only say, “What part of threat to the Republic don’t you understand?” He is truly dangerous. The only thing more dangerous are the morons and racists who will vote for him.
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Sherri said on July 28, 2016 at 12:29 pm
Obama was great, of course, but I also loved Sharon Belkofer, who intro’ed the video of the President. Her story of being inspired by her second Presidential hug to run for school board at 73 was great, setting the civics lesson that Obama delivered in his speech, which as you can guess, was near and dear to my heart.
Bloomberg did exactly what he was there to do: speak less to the room, but to educated Republicans and independents who are horrified by Trump but condition to distrust Hillary. “Trump really is as bad as you think, I trust Hillary, you can, too.”
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Sherri said on July 28, 2016 at 1:01 pm
The thing about incremental change, it feels slow at the time, but if you keep at it, you get to some pretty good places: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/07/obamas-success-only-beginning-to-come-into-view.html
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Scout said on July 28, 2016 at 1:08 pm
Bloomberg’s speech was powerful in that he was a pragmatic letting other pragmatists know that it’s ok to vote for sanity over party affiliation. I think he did the job he was there to do.
I missed Kaine and intend to watch his speech online today, but I did get to see BHO and I just can never say enough about how he moves me, about how he makes me want to be a better person. Of course the haters will hate because he shows them all up for the petty, small minded bullies that they are.
The Giant Toddler is now walking back his Russian email stuff from yesterday, saying he was just being sarcastic. When even he realizes he needs to retract, you know it was bad. I think his whole schtick in making those comments was to try to get back in the spotlight during Hillary’s prom. I hope that has been a spectacular mis-fire that will dog him for the rest of the days of his tiresome campaign. And as someone up-thread pointed out – who the hell goes for the top job as their first entry into politics? What is “sad” is the dumbstupid Republicans who are so brain damaged they can’t see and/or won’t admit the folly of it. And speaking of unelected know-nothings who try for the top job, Jill Stein is a piece of work. What a mess. Even Bernie disavows her, and yet some of his more idiotic dudebros are all in for her because she’s not Hillary. God, these people.
Gabby is an inspiration and she fights every day for an end to gun violence. For her courage and conviction and continued fight, I am very glad she didn’t die and whoever said death would have been better – no.
Uncle Joe brought it. He was charming and tough all at once. He would have been a great candidate, as many of the talking heads made sure to point out, but since he wasn’t be glad he’s a powerful surrogate for Hills.
I am just really feeling up right now. The DNC is hitting all the right notes, even despite the spoiled brats trying to ruin it. Apparently the “fart-in” is on for tonight.
I’ll step off now… but leave you with some humor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq6RELErOo4
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beb said on July 28, 2016 at 1:13 pm
Randy @7. I love to read. As such, going blind in my old age would rob me of any joy in life. I’d rather dead than blind. But that’s just me. Your mileage may vary.
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Sherri said on July 28, 2016 at 2:03 pm
Alexandra Pelosi has a documentary airing August 1 on money in politics. She tried to interview the top 100 political donors to find out why they gave. Sounds interesting.
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a47098/alexandra-pelosi-interview-meet-the-donors
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Sherri said on July 28, 2016 at 2:16 pm
Is Bibi regretting that address to Congress now? http://prospect.org/article/wait-next-president-netanyahu-decides-he-prefers-one
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Sue said on July 28, 2016 at 2:31 pm
beb and Randy, one of my best friends was in a horrific car crash caused by an uninsured drunk driver. She is married to a manipulative and psychologically abusive man whose business failed even after he took the money from a fundraiser for her and used it to prop up the business, and tied to him because she is no longer able to survive on her own. She goes to work in multiple kinds of pain every day, because of course, no settlement and no money from a young man who lost all incentive to work when the court required garnishment of his wages as a small way to make her whole.
She has confessed to me that she wishes that the doctors and nurses hadn’t tried so hard to save her life that first night. She wishes she had died.
I have a feeling that Gabby might disagree with beb but I won’t judge anyone who prefers death to the aftermath of a devastating life event.
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Jolene said on July 28, 2016 at 2:36 pm
Beb,many people–both sighted and visually impaired–find pleasure in audiobooks.
Whenever I see Gabby Gifford and Mark Kelly on TV, I am simultaneously impressed and heartbroken. Before the shooting, she was an attractive, intelligent, and vivacious. She was athletic and outgoing, well-liked by people in her community and by both Rs and Ds in Congress. According to Mark, they had talked of having a child. Then everything changed. She was no longer the woman she had been, and he found himself with a wife who could never again be the woman he married.
Both of them would have been spared some kinds of suffering if she had died, but they seem to have found meaning in their struggle. None of us can know what their private life is like, but, in public, they do not seem depressed. Instead, they are striving to make life better for us all. It’d be hard not to honor that.
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Jolene said on July 28, 2016 at 3:07 pm
i’ve always been fascinated by complex operations. For instance, I find it intriguing to think about things like airports, where so many activities have to be coordinated: ground transportation, security check-ins, baggage handling, deliveries to stores and restaurants, waste management, and more. And then there’s actually putting people on planes and managing take-offs and landings.
The more I look at this convention, the more impressed I am about what they’re pulling off: the stagecraft, the selection of non-headline speakers, the performers, the coordination of surrogates to speak on camera before the evening program, the division of rhetorical labor reflected in the various speeches, etc., etc. it’d be interesting for some enterprising reporter to do a story about what goes on behind the scenes–not just during the event, but in the months leading up to it.
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brian stouder said on July 28, 2016 at 3:11 pm
Jolene – Huzzah!
And Sherri’s link at 24 is tremendously good.
After last night’s tv show, I feel like the dark clouds are parting a bit, and the sun is threatening to come back out.
Between the Donald’s almost literal assault on NATO (NATO??!! wtf??) and his flatly incredible denial of his tax returns, not to mention his delusional views about the US military (about which he seems to know essentially nothing) and his Stockholm Syndrome(?) man-crush on Vlad Putin –
I begin to think good sense will win out on November 8.
Our daughter turned 18 today (Casa’s tonight, baby!), and the stakes seem all the higher, to me
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Sherri said on July 28, 2016 at 3:21 pm
Jolene, it’s especially striking how well-managed the staging of this convention is compares to last week’s tire fire. I read some reporters complaining about the security and logistical procedures for them being worse than the RNC, but as a show, the DNC has been very effective at conveying its message.
John Scalzi has things to say about Hillary: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2016/07/28/hillary-clinton-considered-in-herself/
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brian stouder said on July 28, 2016 at 3:45 pm
Scalzi article: four stars!
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Jolene said on July 28, 2016 at 4:33 pm
i saw a tweet complaining about logistics too. The one I saw was complaining about transportation from the convention site to the reporter’s hotel. Also, the weather has been beastly hot.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on July 28, 2016 at 4:42 pm
“Trump will improve as he settles into his role…”
I can only think of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man in the Ghostbusters reboot when reading those words of Mario’s.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on July 28, 2016 at 4:52 pm
By the way, encouraging news across the pond about viable financial models for news organizations in the wilderness of “free”:
http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2016/07/28/times-editor-john-witherow-how-its-paywall-paying-and-why-he-thinks-guardian-will
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Jolene said on July 28, 2016 at 5:09 pm
Since Jon Stewart left, many people have been disappointed in The Daily Show, but Trevor Noah has been mostly very good at these conventions.* if you’re looking for free indoor entertainment this weekend, you might want to check them out his shows online or through OnDemand.
*i actually think he’s been getting better all along. He seems to be making it more his own, so we are seeing a bit more of the passion that gave Stewart’s comedy its bite. He’s not in that league yet, but there’s hope.
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Deborah said on July 28, 2016 at 5:40 pm
At the airport in Albuquerque and Jeff tmmo I’ve never seen so many scouts before. Usually I see a few of them but this time there are hundreds. On their way back home mostly.
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David C. said on July 28, 2016 at 5:45 pm
Tell us what you really think Dan. Probably more than the copyright gods would approve of, but a good rant can’t be abridged. And Pheasant?
Dan Savage on Jill Stein: Just No.
CALLER: Hi my name is Pheasant and I live in Kansas. My question is, why — you guys talk a lot about politics — I would love to hear you guys talk about third party politics: Independent Party, the Green Party, and the Libertarian Party.
I’m a huge Green Party supporter; I’m voting for Jill Stein. And I realize that people say that if you vote for these, it’s just a wasted vote, it’s a vote for Republicans.
But I also feel we need to start sending a message to Washington and to our political leaders that we’re sick and tired of this two party system and candidates who are controlled by corporations and special interest groups. And they can’t piss off their donors, you know, because they buy the votes.
So I’m just wondering why you guys never talk about it because I think Jill Stein — she’s a member of the Green Party — she’s amazing. And for the people that bitch and moan about… Hillary didn’t always support gay rights, and Bernie didn’t always support this… I agree with you Dan, I think it’s ridiculous how — that people can change. That’s what we want, we try to get people — hey, stop being a homophobic asshole, hey stop being a racist prick. But you know the Green Party has never changed. They’ve always supported gay rights, equality for all, the environment…
DAN SAVAGE: Alright, blah blah blah. Sorry I had to stop you. Yeah, let’s talk about the Green Party for just a moment, or third parties, getting a third party movement off the ground here in this country. Because we are sick of the two party system!
Here’s how you fucking do that: you run people not just for fucking president every four fucking years.
I have a problem with the Greens, I have a problem with the Libertarians. I have a problem with these fake, attention seeking, grandstanding Green/Libertarian party candidates who pop up every four years, like mushrooms in shit, saying that they’re building a third party. And those of us who don’t have a home in the Republican Party, don’t have a home in the Democratic Party, can’t get behind every Democratic position or Republican position, should gravitate toward these third parties. And help build a third party movement by every four fucking years voting for one of these assholes like Jill fucking Stein, who I’m sure is a lovely person, she’s only an asshole in this aspect.
If you’re interested in building a third party, a viable third party, you don’t start with president. You don’t start by running someone for fucking president.
Where are the Green Party candidates for city councils? For county councils? For state legislatures? For state assessor? For state insurance commissioner? For governor? For fucking dogcatcher? I would be SO willing to vote for Green Party candidates who are starting at the bottom, grassroots, bottom up, building a third party, a viable third party.
You don’t do that by trotting out the reanimated corpse of Ralph fucking Nader every four fucking years. Or his doppelgänger, whoever it is now, Jill Stein and some asshole-to-be-named four years from now. You start by running grassroots, local campaigns. And there’ve been — and I’m sure we’re going hear from lots of people out there listening — there have been a couple of Green Party candidates who’ve run in other races here and there across the country. But no sustained effort to build a Green Party nationally. Just this griping, bullshitty, grandstanding, fault-finding, purity-testing, holier than thou-ing, that we are all subjected to every four fucking years by the Green Party candidate.
And the folks, including you caller — and I love you and I respect you and we’re having this debate and I’m not treating you with kid gloves because I respect you — who are fooled by them, who are sucked into this bullshit, who are tricked by these grandstanding, attention-seeking, bullshit-spewing charlatans, into wasting your vote.
Which is what you are going to do, I’m sorry to say, to circle back to the top of your call. You are essentially, if you’re voting for Jill Stein, helping to potentially elect Donald J. Trump president of these United States. Which would be a catastrophe.
Which is what some people say that they want. People supported Ralph Nader in 2000 and said there was no difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush, therefore we could all afford to throw our votes away, protest-style, on Ralph Nader, who had no hope of getting elected, because there was no difference between Bush and Gore.
These same people, at the same time, said that George Bush was so manifestly obviously terrible that he would bring the revolution if he got himself elected somehow. They didn’t say this about Gore, he wouldn’t bring the revolution. They’re exactly the same, exactly as awful, but one would bring the revolution and one wouldn’t. Which means they weren’t exactly the same and they weren’t equally awful.
And we’re hearing the same thing now about Hillary and Donald. That they’re both equally awful. They’re both equally terrible, corrupt two party system, fuck it, fuck it, fuck it. Fuck them both, fuck both their houses! Vote for Jill Stein!
And if Donald should get elected, oh he’s so terrible, so much worse than the equally awful Hillary Clinton, that his election will bring the revolution.
It’s bullshit.
The revolution did not come in 2000 when George W. Bush got close enough to winning to steal the White House. It will not come if Donald J. Trump gets his ass elected.
Disaster will come. And the people who’ll suffer are not going to be the pasty white Green Party supporters — pasty white Jill Stein and her pasty white supporters. The people who’ll suffer are going to be people of color. People of minority faiths. Queer people. Women.
Don’t do it. Don’t throw your vote away on Jill Stein/vote for, bankshot-style, Donald Trump.
And if you want to build a viable third party, more power to you. I could see myself voting for a Green Party candidate for president in 25 years, after I’ve seen Green Party candidates getting elected to state legislatures, getting elected to governorships, getting elected to Congress. Then you can run some legitimate motherfucker for president.
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Jolene said on July 28, 2016 at 5:57 pm
You Ohioans will be seeing your senior senator speak tonight, another bit of strategic programming. He’ll be the second to last speaker before Hillary. Tonight’s schedule here.
Some big-time military endorsements tonight too.
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Sherri said on July 28, 2016 at 6:08 pm
The Green Party responded to Dan Savage’s rant. Dad Savage responded: http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2016/07/22/24376309/how-green-is-her-bullshit-an-uncharacteristically-brief-response-to-the-green-partys-spokespersons-dishonest-response-to-my-podcast-rant
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Sherri said on July 28, 2016 at 6:11 pm
Dan Savage has been sick of Busters for quite a while, much to the dismay of the people who comment on The Stranger web site. Dan Savage doesn’t give a fuck about that, and continues to bait them: http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2016/07/26/24394396/a-conversation-with-a-bernieorbuster-about-dinner
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Sherri said on July 28, 2016 at 6:15 pm
Like many newspapers, when Hillary Clinton was nominated, the Seattle Times ran a banner headline about it (“Clinton Makes History With Formal Nomination”), but the photograph underneath was of Bill Clinton, not Hillary, because Hillary had not been at the convention in person that night. Unlike many other newspapers, the Seattle Times apologized pretty quickly online after catching some flak, and apologized in print on Wednesday. Kudos to the Times.
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Sherri said on July 28, 2016 at 6:32 pm
Scott Adams tweets “If experience is necessary for being president, name a political topic I can’t master in one hour under the tutelage of top experts.”
Finding stupid things Scott Adams says is easy, but I’ve know way too many men who believe this. In fact, “Name a topic I can’t master in one hour under the tutelage of top experts” sums up a lot of them.
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Sue said on July 28, 2016 at 6:46 pm
Master to whose satisfaction? And who gets to pick the top experts?
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Jolene said on July 28, 2016 at 7:10 pm
Here’s a behind-the-scenes story re speechwriting t the convention. Nicely done!
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Sherri said on July 28, 2016 at 7:47 pm
Governing is boring, which is why Hillary will be good at it: http://www.vox.com/2016/7/28/12308198/hillary-clinton-speech-dnc
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Sherri said on July 28, 2016 at 8:42 pm
I didn’t watch as much of the RNC, but has Reagan been mentioned more in a positive way at the DNC than the RNC?
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Sherri said on July 28, 2016 at 9:10 pm
Rev. Barber with a blistering sermon. He’s the founder of Moral Mondays.
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adrianne said on July 28, 2016 at 9:11 pm
Preach it, Rev. Barber!
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Sherri said on July 28, 2016 at 9:19 pm
Khizr Khan just as powerful as Rev. Barber, and that’s incredible.
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adrianne said on July 28, 2016 at 9:27 pm
OMG, Mr. Khan is making me cry.
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Sherri said on July 28, 2016 at 9:32 pm
Damn, Jeff(tmmo), after Gen. Allen’s speech, I’m wondering if the Marines take middle-aged women.
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alex said on July 28, 2016 at 11:49 pm
Well, she was a bit stiff when she started off and then about midway through started hitting her stride, but never as dynamic as some of the other speakers this week, like her husband or the Obamas. It’s surprising considering the valedictory speech she gave at Wellesley in 1969. You’d think she’d be very practiced and comfortable by now, but she obviously has some stage fright. I don’t hold it against her.
Had a chat with a millennial tonight who has decided she’s in the “I don’t like either option” camp and is opting out of voting. I get some sense that she’s beleaguered by peer pressure or maybe has been bamboozled into believing Hillary’s as big of a pig as the Donald, but I can’t tell. Lot of people taking this attitude. But then we live in an impolite society in these parts.
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Sherri said on July 29, 2016 at 12:19 am
Any millennial I encounter who’s not registered or not voting, I just smile and say, oh, you’re happy letting senior citizens make the decisions for you?
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on July 29, 2016 at 12:38 am
I am just so pleased and proud to be a friend and colleague of Rev. Dr. William Barber II, better known tonight as the preacher with the defibrillator at the DNC, praying that the Lord “revive us again!” Just beautiful.
Now, if we can get him to take care of his health….
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Jolene said on July 29, 2016 at 12:50 am
Great line, Sherri!
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Deborah said on July 29, 2016 at 1:00 am
I’m proud to be with her. I watched her speech mostly in the taxi from the airport on my iPhone. I thought she was great. Could she have been better? Of course, she had hard acts to follow, Obama is one of the best there has ever been. She was radiant.
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Sherri said on July 29, 2016 at 2:40 am
Hillary will never be the orator Obama is, but she did a fine job tonight. I was joking with my husband before the speech started that the way the whole convention had been managed, it might be a 45 minute speech, because Obama spoke for 44 minutes and Bill spoke for 42. But the real theme of the whole convention was we’re going to be who we are, and we’re not going to apologize for it anymore, so Hillary gave a Hillary speech, leaving no policy stone unturned. Hilz gonna Hilz, people, that’s the way it’s gonna be.
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David C. said on July 29, 2016 at 6:09 am
Matthew Yglesias often leaves me irritated, but lately he’s been knocking it out of the park. This, I think, captures Hillary perfectly.
http://www.vox.com/2016/7/28/12308198/hillary-clinton-speech-dnc
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St Bitch said on July 29, 2016 at 7:34 am
“Hilz gonna Hilz, people, that’s the way it’s gonna be.”
As usual, Sherri, what I was gonna say, only you say it better.
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Suzanne said on July 29, 2016 at 7:44 am
Chelsea’s introduction of her mom was a bit much. I didn’t think it humanized her because it veered way to far into the “my mom is nearly perfect in every way” but that’s how it goes at these things. Then when her mom did come out, in her white suit of power, and gave her a big mom hug, the look on both their faces made me get tears in my eyes.
And may God bless Mr & Mrs Khan as well as the immigrant soldier who had lost his leg (don’t remember his name)!
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Jolene said on July 29, 2016 at 8:09 am
Here’s a PolitiFact article that tells the backstory re Khizr Khan’s son. Click the embedded links for a Washington Post story about him when he died and another about his family a year after his death.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on July 29, 2016 at 8:46 am
I can’t post this on my feed, but I told my wife it’s a useful piece of perspective as I go into a Friday that has me thinking about the relative merits of applying for a bartender job at a Jimmy Buffett restaurant:
https://twitter.com/_youhadonejob1/status/758986712999538689
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nancy said on July 29, 2016 at 9:36 am
Jeff, one column by Bob Greene I really enjoyed was one he wrote for Esquire, when he visited the Trojan factory. A lot of the workers were women like Maria.
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Jenine said on July 29, 2016 at 10:23 am
Thanks David C for the rant!
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basset said on July 29, 2016 at 12:34 pm
Nancy, I remember that column… he had a line in there, “…these woman woukd make really good dates.”
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