God bless you, girl:
LIVE from the DNC – @JackPosobiec: "How many abortions have you had?"
DNC Attendee: "I'm being paid by George Soros to have an abortion on stage." pic.twitter.com/AyQvgivtSI
— Human Events Daily (@humaneventslive) August 19, 2024
That’s the way to deal with these weird freaks.
I didn’t watch any of the RNC, so it’s hard to compare however they did their roll call of the states with the raucous, DJ-spinning roll call I’m watching now at the DNC. They just hit Idaho, and the DJ cued up “Private Idaho,” which is probably the only danceable song ever written about that place. What will it be for Michigan? Either Motown or Eminem, but I’m figuring it’s gotta be Motown. Whatever it is, this is pretty cool, although I loved the virtual roll call in 2020 and the calamari ninja from Rhode Island.
They should play this song for Rhode Island. Wouldn’t mix with the high-energy groove, but it’s definitely one of those only-song-written-about-it kind of places.
And now Michigan! And it’s Eminem after all.
Kamala is in Milwaukee tonight, running a similarly high-energy rally. Meanwhile, the orange menace was in Howell, Michigan this afternoon, where he took over a police station for a “press conference” of 150 journalists and 70 or so supporters. It was…not high-energy:
it's the second straight day where a sedated-sounding Trump has been ranting incoherently at an event (this time in Howell, Michigan) while people are forced to stand behind him for way too long. Note the complete lack of reaction to everything he says & the fact that he appears… pic.twitter.com/9iY7biRO7Z
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 20, 2024
We might pull this thing out after all. But keep the pedal to the floor all the way.
Not much more today, except to direct you to this very excellent essay by A.R. Moxon, taking apart J.D. Vance’s agreement with a podcaster that went like this:
In recent days we were reminded that back in 2020 the bestselling author, pretend hillbilly, future prospective vice president candidate, and full-time awkwardness enthusiast Jorts Decider “JD” Vance went on Eric Weinstein’s podcast, and nodded along with an out-of-pocket statement that the host made.
The statement was that raising grandchildren was “the whole purpose of the post-menopausal female.”
It’s a great piece, but here’s where it rang all the bells for me:
It might be a bit hard for Vance to dodge the rap, though, since he’s spent so much of his time in recent years agreeing with creeps who say creepy shit about women, and being a creep who says creepy shit about women in order to impress creeps who say creepy shit about women, and generally just acting like the kind of creepy little suck-up who calls women “females”–which is to say one of a whole passel of moist pallid online dudes who freebased Jordan Peterson throughout the 2010s and antisocialized themselves into treating relationships with women as a sort of transactional warfare between sexes, in which men are bold adventurers looking for sex and family, which are natural human connections they seem to view as video game achievements to be bestowed upon them if they enter the proper cheat code, in which women are hidden clay jars containing sex and family, to be discovered and then once found added to the inventories of adventuring men as acquisitions. A number of these creepy perverts got rich on tech or crypto or whatever, and they think their wealth makes them geniuses instead of just wealthy, and the ones who didn’t get rich through tech or crypto or whatever seem to think the wealth of the others conveys genius upon themselves, so now they go around talking about themselves as Alpha Chad masters of the universe, and speak of other human beings like they’re fodder for their whims, and generally sound do their very best to sound like eugenicist mad scientists in Victorian novels.
Egg-zackly. These people aren’t just weird, they’re dangerously weird.
And they’re only to Pennsylvania! But it’s very entertaining. So I’ll leave you here.
Suzanne said on August 20, 2024 at 9:03 pm
I read the Moxon piece a day or so ago (I posted a link in the comments yesterday, I think, but right before a new post went up). I keep wondering if Trump will dump him because he is adding nothing to the ticket except money. Lots of money. And maybe they are simply planning a violent takeover and just don’t care.
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Jeff Gill said on August 20, 2024 at 9:31 pm
Tony Evers, governor of Wisconsin, is 72 and sounded like it. I hope he’s okay. But really, Sean Astin for Indiana really locked down the night.
Still gonna stay up for Barack, which I did not do for Joe. Getting up to get into the school buildings by 7 am makes the scheduling of these a real bear.
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Sherri said on August 20, 2024 at 10:34 pm
I loved the Moxon piece, too. These guys are creepy weird. Richard “No, I’m not a Nazi Anymore, Honest” Hanania was tweeting today about Ella Emhoff, how the idea of having her as First Daughter was going to radicalize a lot of families. Because who wants their daughter to be happy successful 25 year old fashion designer
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Suzanne said on August 20, 2024 at 11:05 pm
Michelle Obama just spoke at the convention and wow. Incredible speech. Absolutely incredible!
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Dexter Friend said on August 21, 2024 at 12:35 am
The Obamas delivered as expected. It was a good night. Yep, Eminem for Michigan; that DJ was phenomenal, eh? I thought so.
Last night AOC and Rafael Warnock blew the roof off The United Center. Tonight’s speeches before the Obamas had to be recorded as the Guardians were in the process of beating the hated New York Yankees in The Bronx. Priorities.
Jen, Stephanie, Simone, the MSNBC ladies, were really blown away by Michelle Obama, and keep re-hashing her speech.
Time for the yearly eye exam and new glasses. I am going for progressive lenses finally.
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Jim said on August 21, 2024 at 5:25 am
In that video, why does Jacky have a mouth mask on ?
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nancy said on August 21, 2024 at 7:33 am
It’s a disguise! He’s wearing a keffiyeh, so he can “blend in” as “antifa.”
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David C said on August 21, 2024 at 6:17 am
Tony Evers definitely didn’t sound good last night. I hope he’s OK too. He’s been a great governor. He’s also a survivor of esophageal cancer ten years before he became governor. The five year survival rate is less than 50%. He’s managed to push Wisconsin forward in spite of the gerrymandered legislature. Sara Rodriguez is our Lt. Governor, should it come to that, and she outstanding too.
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Alan Stamm said on August 21, 2024 at 8:07 am
Love the sharp DNC interviewee telling Jacky: “You should probably study how female anatomy works.”
z – i – n – g !
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alex said on August 21, 2024 at 9:43 am
Gotta wonder if they have Trump on some kind of sedative to keep him from showing just how rattled he is. It doesn’t seem to be helping. I saw a brief network news clip of him yesterday (in which he pronounced Kamala correctly!) followed by “is a socialist Marxist communist” as if stringing all three of those words together makes her a triple threat or something.
What I’m enjoying most in these convention speeches is how the Dems are turning Trump’s insults right back on him. Michelle’s jab about the presidency being “one of those Black jobs” was the best line of the night.
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Jeff Borden said on August 21, 2024 at 9:51 am
I didn’t watch the RNC and haven’t seen much of the DNC including last night, where I was at Wrigley Field. But from the clips I’ve watched and stories I’ve read this morning, boy howdy, I really missed something special. What an astonishing turnaround for the Dems and what a kick in the groin for the QOP.
While the Dems are throwing a raucous, fun house party, the other side is pushing nothing but doom and gloom and pettiness. How petty? Some MAGAts showed up at a tRump rally carrying little plastic cups bearing a photo of Vance…the kind that might hold semen…ostensibly to mock Tim and Gwen Walz, who used IVF to have children. That’s some sick shit.
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Jason T. said on August 21, 2024 at 10:52 am
Oh my God, I didn’t watch the convention last night, but this morning Denise sat on a pencil that I left on the front seat of my car, and I said, “That’s because you’re from Pennsylvania,” and sang
Pencils come from Pencil-vania
Vests from Vest Virginia
And tents from Tent-a-see
And she was like, “is that a song?”
It’s going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day now.
Baader-Meinhof phenomenon at work.
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David C said on August 21, 2024 at 11:08 am
I hadn’t heard of Baader-Meinhof phenomenon before today. Once I read the description I thought, Oh yeah, I know what they mean.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion
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Jenine said on August 21, 2024 at 11:49 am
@Alex, I love to hear that DJT is saying her name often enough that he accidentally learned how to pronounce it correctly
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nancy said on August 21, 2024 at 12:00 pm
I first heard “Rhode Island is Famous for You” as the credits song on a good PBS documentary on a decent guy running for Congress there. It was called “Taking on the Kennedys,” and I recall it now as an early warning that the third generation of the family was fairly rotten. Plus, it’s sung by Blossom Dearie, beloved by my mother. I love cabaret music.
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Jason T. said on August 21, 2024 at 2:06 pm
IIRC, “Rhode Island is Famous for You” is from the Broadway musical, “Inside U.S.A.,” which was based on one of John Gunther’s travelogue books. I’ve read several of the books — “Inside Europe Today” and “Inside Russia Today” are pretty good snapshots of the Cold War era — but I found “Inside U.S.A.” (the book) a slog.
A contemporary review of “Inside U.S.A.” (the musical) called it “thoroughly unoriginal and unexhilarating.” Yikes.
According to Wikipedia, one other song from the show — “Haunted Heart,” about San Francisco — was a minor hit for both Perry Como and Jo Stafford.
Gunther is probably best remembered for “Death Be Not Proud,” a book about his teen-age son’s battle with an incurable brain tumor. If you ever need a good cry, that book will do it.
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Brandon said on August 21, 2024 at 3:31 pm
Kevin Vigilante lost to Patrick Kennedy. Newsweek reported that:
Vigilante has gone back to working with HIV-infected women (and crusading for human rights in Sudan), while the congressboy is expected to go after the U.S. Senate in the year 2000*. He’s up for re-election this year. So far, no one has volunteered to run against him.
(* [asterisk mine] Kennedy considered running against Lincoln Chaffee but decided to run for re-election.) He was also the first Generation X member of Congress.
On another Kennedy note, Robert Kennedy, Jr. is considering whether to keep running or drop out and endorse Trump.
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Dorothy said on August 21, 2024 at 7:48 pm
I had a meeting last night so I recorded the DNC and now that my granddaughter has been picked up, and I had my dinner, I’m loving the replay of last night’s roll call! This morning before my granddaughter got dropped off we watched the Obama’s speeches and boy oh BOY were they great! I sure hope that this fire and passion is going to translate to votes for the Dems all across the country. I can’t hardly wait for November.
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Deborah said on August 21, 2024 at 8:33 pm
OMG Jason, I read “Death Be Not Proud” eons ago, cried my eyes out. Haven’t thought of it in years. I recommend it if you’re in the mood for a good book and a good cry, which can be very cathartic.
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Peter said on August 21, 2024 at 9:27 pm
As if I needed any more proof that the wheels are off the GOP cart, Nobel Prize laureate Ron Johnson is claiming that Tim Walz is a Chinese agent because he chose his wedding day to coincide with the Tianamen Square massacre.
Crazy as it is on the surface, it’s even crazier when you think about it – why would someone who wants to be Chinese agent pick a date that the Chinese government was hoping you’d forget?
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alex said on August 22, 2024 at 12:08 am
Another feelgood night. I’m so glad I didn’t follow my doctor’s advice to turn off all political news and just resign myself to what seemed inevitable only a few months ago.
On a different note, my hubby’s coming home after a 20-day business trip. He’s been traveling all summer and wants to spend some time in the next few weeks in Put-In Bay before he takes off for the next jaunt. We’ve been wanting to explore it and now seems to be a good time.
It’s probably hard to get reservations around the upcoming holiday weekend, but does anyone have any recommendations on places to stay? Places to dine? Must-see attractions? Better to take your car to the island or not?
I’ve been doing some research online but finding myself overwhelmed with what’s advertised and frustrated with what’s not disclosed. So if anyone has some experience with the place I’d love to hear what you have to say.
We were also thinking about going to Hocking Hills if we can’t find suitable accommodations at Put-In Bay, so I’m open to suggestions there as well.
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Dexter Friend said on August 22, 2024 at 2:38 am
Oh man I adore Blossom Dearie’s voice in song. Nobody like her.
“Women, women, women!” That’s the cry I have heard on MSNBC as they know that’s simply the ticket. Women will vote in numbers never recorded before. Men, all races, are set and the rapist will win them. Youth vote, forget it, they never vote in numbers that change anything.
Harris will win because women will push her over the finish line by an eyelash ahead of the rapist. And then Trump will call on his armed zealots to what? Storm the White House this time?
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Dorothy said on August 22, 2024 at 8:35 am
Alex I wish I could help with info about those places but i’ve never been to either one. Now that school is back in session maybe they’ll be less crowded. But then again, there are lots of people who are thinking the same thing and maybe the crowds will not lessen. I have seen pictures of Hocking Hills and since we don’t live too far from there, we really need to go explore it a little. My husband has a stress fracture in his left knee, though, and has been hobbled a little bit since it was diagnosed. He’s wearing a brace and will likely need a replacment in the next year or two.
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Dave said on August 22, 2024 at 8:51 am
Alex, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to Put-in-Bay so all I can tell you is that when we did go there several times when we lived in Northern Ohio, we were much younger and would rent bicycles and ride around the island. All I remember is a winery, the Perry monument, and the Roundhouse Bar, you’ll see it, you can’t miss it. Sorry, not much help and don’t know what’s changed. I thought perhaps you are doing a bit of research but I did find this regarding cars:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g50874-i2701-k14428686-Car_vs_Cart-Put_in_Bay_Ohio.html
The same way with Hocking Hills, I visited there many times growing up, Old Man’s Cave and all, my parents loved to go there but I’ve not been there for probably most of fifty years now
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Jeff Gill said on August 22, 2024 at 9:34 am
Ray Bradbury was born today in 1920, and I pass this along from Ray Boomhower’s feed:
“If you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever turned out and sent rambling. You must write every single day of your life. You must read dreadful dumb books and glorious books, and let them wrestle in beautiful fights inside your head, vulgar one moment, brilliant the next. You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads. I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon you. May you live with hysteria, and out of it make fine stories—science fiction or otherwise. Which finally means, may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”
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Jeff Gill said on August 22, 2024 at 9:46 am
Oh, and some striking data analysis here (gift link):
https://wapo.st/4dTJw5T
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Suzanne said on August 22, 2024 at 11:54 am
The right is already mocking Tim Walz’s neurodivergent son for his unbridled emotion last night that shows how much he loves his dad.
These people are truly monsters.
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alex said on August 22, 2024 at 1:07 pm
The right has also been slagging on Emhoff’s daughter and peddling lewd innuendoes about the affection they showed one another on Tuesday night. Considering that Trump used to go on Howard Stern and talk about his own daughter as a sex object, it’s clear that these people are just plain weird.
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Jason T. said on August 22, 2024 at 1:21 pm
Alex:
The locals call Put-in-Bay “Disneyland for Drunks,” so it depends on your tolerance for that vibe. During the middle of the week, it’s family-friendly and charming. On the weekends, there are a lot of hard-drinking loudmouths.
We did take our car last time we were there; while trying to avoid a bunch of drunken seniors in golf carts, I accidentally ran into a wall at one of the wineries, causing minor damage to the wall and major damage to my ego (and I hadn’t even had anything to drink yet).
So you may want to leave the car on the mainland and rent a bike or a golf cart to get around the island.
Honestly, the last few times we’ve been to northern Ohio — most recently three weeks ago — we’ve stayed in Marblehead or Port Clinton. You can always take a day trip over to Put-in-Bay.
Marblehead has a Cape Cod vibe. Port Clinton is scruffy and working class. It’s a working fishing port, which means it has a certain fishy aroma. It’s very walkable, though, with lots of good places to eat.
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Jason T. said on August 22, 2024 at 1:27 pm
Suggestions on places to stay:
We like the OurGuest Inn in Port Clinton and the Lake Point Motel in Marblehead. The OurGuest could use some renovations but they have an in-ground pool and in-room hot tubs, and it’s clean (it’s just a little dated).
The Lake Point is very old-fashioned (think 1960s Holiday Inn) but well-maintained and literally a few feet from the shore.
There are the usual chains around as well, mostly along Route 163 in Port Clinton.
In Port Clinton, there are several good restaurants in the main business district, ranging from places you wear flip-flops and shorts to places where you dress up. We haven’t had a bad meal in any of them.
The local K of C and VFW also put on weekend events, like fish-fries and peach festivals.
Lakeside/Marblehead is mostly coffee shops and bars, but we also have never had a bad meal in any of them.
We’ve never stayed on Put-in-Bay, only visited. We have stayed on Pelee Island, which is on the Canadian side, and the accommodations were spartan; it’s very unpopulated.
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Deborah said on August 22, 2024 at 1:47 pm
I have steam coming out of my ears hearing that rightwingers are making fun of Walz’s neurodivergent son who was so excited about his dad last night. Assholes, what a bunch of complete and total monstrous assholes who need to lose big time.
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alex said on August 22, 2024 at 1:52 pm
Thanks Jason. I’m thinking we’ll probably do midweek. The hotel rates are cheaper then and if we do decide to take a car the wait for the ferry won’t be as long. I was reading that the advantage to taking a car is not having to carry cumbersome luggage like coolers, grills, etc. Perhaps I’ll look into Marblehead also. We just want a romantic getaway for sightseeing and fine dining.
Earlier this summer we found a scruffy place called Miller Beach on the Indiana Dunes inside the city of Gary proper, and it’s an unblighted and artsy little enclave where you can rent a nice house and make it your home base for hiking and biking and day tripping. The place has character.
ON EDIT: Pelee Island sounds cool. Someone recommended Long Point on the Canadian side as well and I’ve been looking into that too.
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tajalli said on August 22, 2024 at 1:56 pm
Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine is my absolute favorite of his. The love throughout is palpable.
Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg OH has a similar bitter sweet tone of coming of age.
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Heather said on August 22, 2024 at 2:17 pm
Miller Beach is great. I have a couple of friends who live there. One has a pool. Hmm, might be time to drop some hints to her about summer almost being over . . .
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Sherri said on August 22, 2024 at 2:34 pm
The new Covid vaccines were approved today, yay!
My pharmacy is spamming me to get my flu shot, sending me multiple texts, emails, and snail mail. It’s way too early to get a flu shot! Leave me alone, I’ll get one in October. The last time I got one in September my doctor fussed at me for getting it too early, I’m not going to get it in mid-August.
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Sherri said on August 22, 2024 at 2:42 pm
One of the things I was not prepared for as a parent of an adult child was that my child would genuinely want to spend time with me. I love my parents, but I don’t enjoy spending time with them; it’s stressful for me, and has been at least since I was a teenager. I’m sure it’s stressful for my parents as well.
So, yes, the authoritarian right-wingers lose their minds over Ella Emhoff and Gus Walz, who have been allowed to be themselves rather than just extensions and reflections of their parents, and exhibit genuine love and respect of their parents in return.
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Deborah said on August 22, 2024 at 4:13 pm
My niece who lives in Minneapolis emailed me that there is a one hour gap in the convention programing tonight and there is speculation that a surprise guest will be performing/speaking then. She said that the wild speculation is that it will be Taylor Swift and maybe with her boyfriend. LB and I were wondering if it could be Beyonce or even better BOTH Swift and Beyonce. Also Dolly Parton crossed our minds. I wondered if it would be a high powered medley of Republicans against Trump like Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Judge Luttig, Mike Pence (!) and who knows? Who do you think if anyone it will be, if this is even a real thing?
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susan said on August 22, 2024 at 4:45 pm
The Chicks will be doing the national anthem. I’m sure sick of that horrid song. I hope they can spice it up.
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alex said on August 22, 2024 at 4:47 pm
Heather, our mutual friend Celia was one of the people in my friend group who joined us at the Air B&B at Miller Beach. She was going to rent the same house again just this week and I’d hoped to go but had a conflict. Maybe we’ll get another chance yet this season.
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Deborah said on August 22, 2024 at 5:34 pm
We had 2 friends who had places at Miller Beach that we’ve been to a few times. One died and his widow sold out, and the other sold their place in Chicago and combined their finances from their Miller Beach place for a better place in Chicago than the one they had, because of their age. Their Miller Beach places were fine and a nice respite from Chicago but not my idea of a place to put a lot of money into. Yes, nice because near enough to the city instead of having to travel to a place like NM to get away, but not my cup of tea.
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Julie Robinson said on August 22, 2024 at 7:05 pm
Our Congressional Representative Maxwell Frost is supposed to speak tonight at 7, but it looks like they’re running behind. Again.
Most of the DiSantis endorsees lost in Tuesday’s primaries, and on school boards in particular. Locally, the common sense candidate defeated the Moms for Liberty candidate 68% to 32%. I’m fired up!
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Jeff Gill said on August 22, 2024 at 7:24 pm
Alex, Miller Beach also has some unique literary history to it, with Nelson Algren & Simone de Beauvoir at 6223 Forrest Avenue which still stands:
https://www.newcity.com/2009/05/19/this-particular-patch-nelson-algrens-indiana-getaway/
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Deborah said on August 22, 2024 at 9:05 pm
When we visited our friends in Miller Beach they said there was not much out there about Algren and de Beauvoir which surprised and disappointed me. Seemed like a missed opportunity for promotion of the community.
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alex said on August 22, 2024 at 11:49 pm
Jeff, one of our tour stops was Allgren & de Beauvoir’s fuckpad. The place is kind of overgrown and run down but there’s a park immediately next door dedicated to Allgren that looks quite well maintained and the views are gorgeous. Wish I could post photos here because I got some good ones.
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Jeff Gill said on August 23, 2024 at 8:09 am
My colleague in the next office down the hall asked “what’s so funny” when I laughed out loud at 8 am; I don’t know her well enough yet to read your first line out loud to her, so I just shouted over my shoulder “something on the internet” which sufficed.
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Deborah said on August 23, 2024 at 8:23 am
I watched the last night of the convention live, alas no surprise guests. Oh well, I heard some good speeches. Harris’s was a bit long. I love the balloon drop.
Harris’s little niece’s are cute, they did a little spot about how to say Kamala. They said think of a comma ( , ) and then la as in la la la.
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Deborah said on August 23, 2024 at 9:02 am
Watch this video about wealth distribution in the US. Not only is it mind blowing contentwise, it is also graphically stunning. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM Watch it to the end with the sound on, the narrator is excellent. And after all of that this video was made in 2012 so it’s even worse. Reality folks.
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Deborah said on August 23, 2024 at 9:43 am
Huh, goes to show how short my attention span has become, I just read that Harris gave one of the shortest acceptance speeches in history. Of course Trump’s was the longest.
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Jeff Borden said on August 23, 2024 at 12:35 pm
A friend of mine who lives in a swing state remains unconvinced of any “blue wave” this fall and believes the foolish and the ill-informed (not his exact phraseology) will return tRump to the Oval Office because prices, particularly groceries, remain high. Our trip to the supermarket Wednesday certainly confirmed many items are awfully expensive –$7 for a box of club crackers?– and Americans are known for voting with their wallets. But any reasonable assessment of tRump’s economy underscores it wasn’t so hot. . .and was in free fall when the coronavirus shut down the country. He discounts the idea reproductive rights and other issues favoring Dems will be enough.
Is he correct? Will the MAGAts triumph with their message of anger, envy, resentment and retribution? Or, has the tide turned? I live in a big, blue bubble and don’t hear the same kind of stuff I might if I resided in a swing state.
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Dorothy said on August 23, 2024 at 12:39 pm
Well I might need to buy more Harris/Walz shirts (so I can wear one every day) after the responses I got this morning at Meijer and Kroger. First two people were women around my age. The first one said “I like your shirt!” I said a big THANKS! Then I checked out, and when I was walking to my car, a woman at least 10 years older than me, parked next to my car, said “I’m really appreciating that shirt you have on!” And I smiled and said “And I’m appreciating your reaction to it!” We briefly spoke onthe topic since our cars were parked together and then she left with a smile and a wave.
Then I had to run across the road to Kroger and almost immediately I got smiles and “I like your shirt!” or a thumbs up from two people. THEN back in the meat section a stocky, short black guy was breezing past me and he said “That’s one amazing shirt you have on!” Needless to say I was delighted. And 10 minutes later as I circulated past the dairy section to get up to the cash registers, a man who looked like he was Pakistani or Indian smiled at me broadly and did a thumbs up. That man and the black guy were both Kroger employees. It made my heart sing that so many people commented. I also am realistic and know plenty of other people probably looked at me and bit their tongues to not say something nasty. But maybe it’s the afterglow of the DNC that was carrying me along today, and all the positivity made me feel really good.
Deborah when I was shopping two weeks ago for my Harris/Walz shirt on Amazon, there were TONS of images of the Comma + LA for hats and shirts. I decided I wanted a shirt with both names on it.
Just remembered another interaction at the doctor’s office last week. I had the shirt on for the first time. I went to sit in my seat after checking in and another patient said “I like your shirt!” And I glanced at him and said “And I love your hat!” He had on a Harris/Walz hat.
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Dexter Friend said on August 23, 2024 at 12:51 pm
The last CD I bought was The Dixie Chicks’ latest after the Bush43 dissing in Europe all those years ago. Natalie Maines has changed quite a bit in appearance but her pals have not. Their rendition of the anthem was fantastic. The Chicks.
I don’t trust any Republicans. I recall the message of “The Snake”, sung by Oscar Brown,Jr. , Al Green, and Johnny Rivers and many others. “…you knew damn well I was a snake before you let me in.” But there they were, claiming to be Americans over Republicans, and voting for Harris. There are so few of those , they are not swinging the election.
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Sherri said on August 23, 2024 at 2:03 pm
Not that low-information voters will understand it, but part of the reason for high grocery prices has been price-fixing, and the Biden administration has been going after illegal antitrust stronger than any administration in decades. Harris has already indicated that she’ll focus attention on grocery prices.
The DOJ today announced its case against RealPage, the automated collusion software that lets landlords price fix rents. The major reason the tech billionaires have turned so Trumpy is that they hate and fear Lina Khan, head of the FTC. I suspect that part of the impetus for skipping over Harris and having an open convention was to get someone friendlier to the big donor class who would rid them of that big thorn in their side.
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Jeff Gill said on August 23, 2024 at 3:11 pm
RFK Jr. is putting on quite a display of tomfoolery, bunkum, and balderdash.
He can’t be bought (as I suspect Trump can be and has been), so he’s got to be pushing his odd menu of irrational and scurrilous assertions in order to remain relevant and in the spotlight. I can’t believe he believes what he’s saying.
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Jeff Gill said on August 23, 2024 at 4:15 pm
“We just had a very nice endorsement from RFK,” Trump said. “We’re going to be talking about that … great guy, respected by everybody.”
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Jeff Borden said on August 23, 2024 at 5:45 pm
Well, hell, there goes the election with Mr. Brain Worm’s endorsement!
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Deborah said on August 23, 2024 at 5:56 pm
Who are these people who would have voted for RFKjr? What is their schtick? Will they really now vote for Trump? What did Trump promise to make RFKjr in his cabinet? Does he really think that if elected Trump will actually keep his promise? I have so many questions.
There were some repair guys at the Santa Fe condo today doing some work on the exterior stairs going to the upper level and that required doing lots of welding and a fuse blew, they were plugged in to the outlet outside of our unit. The problem is that when this building was built in 1983 it must have had a horrible electrician and the wiring is all over the map. When a fuse blows you have to check the fuse box of each unit because like today our bathroom and one of our bedrooms has no power but our fuse box doesn’t show a blown fuse and we tried them all. The next door unit also has a room without power but shows no blown fuse in their fuse box either. So we checked with the guy who lives upstairs from us and he says he’s not out of power in any room but he didn’t check his fuse box. There is one more unit that has tenants but they are at work and can’t check their fuse box until they get home this evening. We think our hot water heater is on that same circuit that blew but we’re not sure because there’s no plug because it’s hard wired and there is no light on it to indicate when it’s getting power. We think that it’s not on the same circuit as the blown fuse because when we turn on the hot water in the kitchen and bathroom the water gets very hot as usual, but we don’t know if that’s because the water in our 40 gallon tank just stays hot a very long time, it’s been 6 hours since the fuse blew. What a fricking pain this is. Eventually the condo association needs to hire an electrician to figure this stupidity out. They have talked about it for years but haven’t done anything about it yet. It’s one of those things that nobody does anything about because for most of the time everything works fine and there are other things that need to be fixed that are more critical. I’m surprised there hasn’t been an electrical fire yet. I can’t tell you how common these things are in New Mexico. People just shrug their shoulders, throw up their hands and say “it’s New Mexico”. Meanwhile we have battery powered candles in the bathroom, and we’ll be taking showers with only that light until the neighbors get home and check their fuse box.
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Deborah said on August 23, 2024 at 6:35 pm
As soon as I finished that comment the neighbor came home from work and fixed it, he had to look at all of our fuse boxes to figure out what the problem was. So we have power now and the assoc can ignore it until it eventually blows up or something.
I tried to find out more about RFKjr and then I figured out I really don’t care. At. All.
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Deborah said on August 23, 2024 at 8:38 pm
I’m obviously doing a lot scrolling these days, only now it’s hope scrolling instead of doom scrolling. Here’s a wonderful piece on Gus Walz https://charlotteclymer.substack.com/p/i-dont-feel-sorry-for-gus-walz?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=20529&post_id=148059444&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=joul&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
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alex said on August 23, 2024 at 10:25 pm
Kamala must be good for the markets. As of this evening my retirement assets have reached unprecedented new heights despite the fact I’m contributing nothing and taking out more than what had been my annual salary before I retired. And we supposedly just had a crash a few weeks ago.
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Dexter Friend said on August 24, 2024 at 7:13 am
Rebounding from a recent losing streak, the Guardians went into a losing streak, then won a few straight games, then began a win one-lose one streak. Fatigue is unavoidable. The bats go silent for days, then explode. It’s a slog, MLB. And so is a campaign. We are coming off the sugar-high of an incredible convention, and we are confident. But are the fence-sitters going to follow, can we sustain the enthusiasm? We know we must or we’ll have Trump back, and that cannot happen. This is why pols and political junkies are screaming at us to DO SOMETHING, to get the word out, to explain to folks who are jaded and hardened against politics that this election is so important all stops must be pulled and we must find our second wind and not let up , not on weekends, not during working hours, never at all until the polls close. Then we can collectively and figuratively pour a glass of Wild Turkey 101, light up a fine cigar, and watch state after state turn Blue. In reality, I’ll have a tumbler of straight diet soda but my JOY will be the same.
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Deborah said on August 24, 2024 at 10:36 am
Sitting at the kitchen table drinking my morning coffee, hear an explosion and the power in the area went out. *Shrugs* “hey, it’s New Mexico”.
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brian stouder said on August 24, 2024 at 11:48 am
Dex – next round’s on me! (got a cold case of Diet Pepsi in the fridge in the garage, callin’ my name!)
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Julie Robinson said on August 24, 2024 at 2:00 pm
If anyone else has been anxiously waiting for the latest Covid vaccine, I just signed us up to get it on Wednesday, at CVS. This has me seriously chuffed, because the following week we leave for two weeks in Europe. I’d like to have gotten it even earlier, but this will help. I feel like everyone I know has come home from Europe with Covid.
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Mark P said on August 24, 2024 at 2:12 pm
One of my cousins and her husband travel occasionally with large groups, like a church trip to Colorado where they traveled in tour buses, or a cruise. They seem to come home from those trips with Covid.
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David C said on August 24, 2024 at 2:43 pm
I thought I was going to lose my novid status just as the updated vaccine was available, but the tests were negative so it’s just a cold. I’ll have to wait until I’m better to get the vaccine but so few people keep up with Covid vaccinations I’ve never had a problem getting in.
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alex said on August 25, 2024 at 8:29 am
Still novid as far as I know, but it’s possible I’ve had the virus without any of the typical symptoms and some that are quite atypical. A couple of years ago, I had been prediabetic and stable on a regimen of Metformin and Trulicity. Almost overnight I became severely diabetic with blood sugar readings in the stratosphere and it took several months to bring it back under control with sliding-scale insulin at every meal. Now I’m on long-acting insulin daily and Mounjaro weekly. This episode was also accompanied by a new onset of brain fog which doesn’t seem to have completely lifted and it factored heavily in my decision to retire almost a year ago.
I’ve read that COVID is suspected in exacerbating diabetes. If that’s the case for me, I’m glad it wasn’t accompanied by pneumonia or respiratory problems.
In other news, we got reservations on the island for mid-week next week and we’re excited to get away for a little pre-holiday holiday. For Labor Day weekend we’ll just do the usual end-of-summer cookouts and boat rides at our own little slice of heaven with family and neighbors. And maybe I’ll get to enjoy it fully in the moment without that dread of another Trump Administration hanging over me and wringing the joy out of living.
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Jeff Borden said on August 25, 2024 at 12:33 pm
Ann Coulter? Aren’t her 15 minutes of fame long gone? She peaked while Clinton was president. I still remember her saying Paula Jones was her Rosa Parks. She’s still rocking the long blond hair and anorexic build at age 62. And she’s as ugly and hateful as ever. Must be that diet of bile and tripe, eh?
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alex said on August 25, 2024 at 3:24 pm
This morning a Trump/Vance sign appeared on one of my neighbor’s houses but by the time we returned from lunch it was gone. Maybe someone shamed them out of it. Or maybe they felt conflicted about advertising their politics in the first place. At any rate, glad to see it gone.
The neighborhood kids stole a big Trump banner from another house and burned it a couple of years ago. Since then those Trumpers have hung new banners, but only occasionally and only when they’re outside working in the yard.
I’m weighing whether to place my own yard sign.
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Deborah said on August 25, 2024 at 3:38 pm
Me too Alex, not a yard sign because we’re not allowed to have that at the condo and we have no yard in Chicago. The Chicago building doesn’t allow signs in windows or on unit doors either. I don’t want to put a bumper sticker on the car in NM because I don’t want the car keyed or vandalized. But I will wear a shirt or button, I didn’t for Biden because I was worried about personally physical violence but this time I feel like that is less of a worry. After seeing all the positiveness at the convention I feel like violence is less of a possibility. At least before the election, if Harris/Walz are elected then I may worry about violence again. Right now I’m feeling jubilant and optimistic which is rare for me. But I’m not going to get complacent, there is so much to still be done, donations to be made etc.
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Julie Robinson said on August 25, 2024 at 4:21 pm
Official Harris/Walz signs are $20 plus $17 for shipping, which seems pricey to me. Our yard already has signs for the local lefty candidates as well as wildlife sanctuary and welcoming everyone signs. No doubts how we vote, plus in our neighborhood it’s preaching to the choir.
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