I’m having an Unsubscribe party for myself this week. My inbox was a stew of misery, even with most posts going to their proper folders on Gmail. I figured it would end after the election, but it didn’t — I even got fundraising emails after the campaigns, with STAY INFORMED in the subject line, that sort of thing. I didn’t hesitate. Every candidate I sent money to this cycle lost, and I’m not inclined to stay informed about their activities. I’m replying STOP to end text contacts. I’m just done. Uncle.
The ones that gave me the best feeling were Axios, a.m. and p.m. I still get the Axios Detroit newsletter, but it’s about one eyeroll away from getting shitcanned, too. Fortunately it isn’t run by the same people who are now giving the president-elect the Strange New Respect treatment. Take a moment and tell us why you’re leaving, Axios begged. Because I’m sick of you polishing Trump’s knob, I wrote in the designated box. What could we do to keep you? Stop polishing Trump’s knob. And with that, I hit Unsubscribe with grim satisfaction.
Somehow I got on some right-wing mailing lists, on my other account. They all sold my address to their friends, too. I used to get some amusement out of seeing how they whip up the proles, but ultimately it wasn’t worth it. They all use the same Unsubscribe reply: Hate to see you go! Fuck off, assholes.
Needless to say, I dropped Amazon Prime.
I’ll be off Twitter soon enough. Find me on BlueSky at @nderringer. I have to stay on Facebook for my social-media work, but I’m trying to go dark there, too. (I may fail.)
Along with Unsubscribe, I’m also doing a limited number of paid subs, too. There’s Roy Edroso on Substack, although I think he comps me. He shouldn’t, because he brings me real pleasure and I’d gladly pay. I don’t pay for Eric Zorn, only because his paid content is all Chicago-oriented and would be wasted on me, but if you’re a Chicagoan, consider it. I like his Thursday newsletter because it’s amusing and topical. My friend Jimmy is on Substack, doing daily short fiction; I pay because he’s an artist and I sometimes attend his monthly writing workshop. I just subscribed to Caryn Rose, a freelancer who specializes in rock ‘n’ roll, because I’m so out of touch and should be in better touch. There are a couple of others.
You might see this as turning inward, and you might be right. I’m just trying to preserve my sanity in an insane time. How insane? Have you met our incoming secretary of defense?
Maybe I should start a paid service, called You Voted For This. A few bucks a year gets you an email sent to three addresses of your choice — friends, parents, colleagues, whatever. Once a week I will round up the horrors of the last seven days and mail them to the people you can no longer stand to speak to: Hi! Did you know the incoming secretary of defense just had his third child with an affair partner, is going through his second divorce and lies like a rug? Now you do! And he’s going to be in charge of the Pentagon!
Oh, well. Enough for now. Join me in the high point of the week: Figuring out why my vacuum lost its suction, via deductive reasoning. Answer: The head piece was clogged with schmutz. Later, gators.
Jeff Gill said on November 13, 2024 at 10:37 am
Re: clogs & Pigpen & destiny . . . Alfred Russel Wallace in 1898 on “The Importance of Dust” which puts it all into perspective.
https://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/S547.htm
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Heather said on November 13, 2024 at 10:41 am
Don’t forget that Pete Hegseth was barred from Biden’s inauguration for a tattoo associated with Christian extremism! I just think he has strong “killed by his own troops” vibes.
The way I’m dealing with all this is to make popcorn. If it’s all going to burn, I’m going to enjoy watching the people who voted for this go down with me. Clearly trying to be a good person means nothing, so I’m going full petty b**ch.
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Nancy F. said on November 13, 2024 at 10:49 am
I would gladly pay for a subscription to You Voted for This.
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jcburns said on November 13, 2024 at 11:33 am
It’s always the schmutz.
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alex said on November 13, 2024 at 11:44 am
I was still getting blasted with texts after the election asking for money and I’ve pretty much unsubscribed to all of those.
But today I got a weird text purporting to be from U.S. Customs. It came from an Ontario area code. It said that I have a USPS package being detained due to an invalid zip code address and it gave me a link to the USPS web site’s tracking page, where I was instructed to update my name and address information. Then it took me to a USPS page wanting my credit card information where it said the USPS would need to “collect some fees” in order to redeliver my package, “lump sum .03.”
I’m not expecting any packages from anywhere except some clothing I ordered which is being delivered by UPS and for which I have a tracking number.
I’m going to go to the post office later and ask someone there if this looks legit. I’m wondering if scammers have somehow figured out how to use the USPS web site to commit fraud on people.
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Dexter Friend said on November 13, 2024 at 11:53 am
FREE LINK to Wall Street Journal exclusive..
https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trump-draft-executive-order-would-create-board-to-purge-generals-7ebaa606?st=5AGvn7&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
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basset said on November 13, 2024 at 12:12 pm
Continuing the “retired hawger” comment from yesterday… Norman Blake’s “Green Light On The Southern” might be of interest:
https://youtu.be/YKIC24PMh2s?si=jj2Umw-zW-o-_SBe
Ex-Chessie System trackman myself, wasn’t there for long though.
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Bob (not Greene) said on November 13, 2024 at 12:18 pm
Alex, there is no way that’s legit.
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Scout said on November 13, 2024 at 12:26 pm
alex, I get those all the time. They’re a scam. Delete and report junk.
I read Heather Cox Richardson and Jeff Tiedrich on substack. I deleted all Zuck platforms and am only at Bluesky as @scoutto.bsky.social
I might create a new Insta account just for pics of cats and kids, NO POLITICS.
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Jeff Borden said on November 13, 2024 at 12:30 pm
We should take our small pleasures where we can. Alex Jones, the inhuman sludge worm who made the lives of Sandy Hook parents a living hell, is watching and sobbing as all his assets are sold in a bankruptcy auction. Perhaps he and Rudy Ghouliani, who also fucked around and found out after slurring two Georgia election workers, can share a tent in a homeless encampment.
BTW, the Pulitzer Prize-winning economist, Paul Krugman, is foreshadowing all the pain MAGAts will feel because of tariffs and deportations. Higher food prices. Higher housing prices. Higher everything. We can only hope aviation fuel is exempted from the stable genius’ plan.
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nancy said on November 13, 2024 at 12:43 pm
Alex, no fucking way is that legit. Email and phones are easily spoofed. And an Ontario area code? Please.
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alex said on November 13, 2024 at 12:49 pm
I reported it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and forwarded them a copy.
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Heather said on November 13, 2024 at 12:50 pm
I get those USPS texts sometimes. I usually respond with “lol” or “nice try.”
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Sherri said on November 13, 2024 at 1:47 pm
I also get those USPS texts; I just click “report junk and delete”.
In immovable force meets irresistible object news, what happens when germophobe Donald Trump has to shake the hand of never washes his hands because he doesn’t believe in germs Pete Hegseth?
Jeff Sharlett has started reading Hegseth’s book, and has a thread on the introduction and chapter 1: https://bsky.app/profile/jeffsharlet.bsky.social/post/3lastm4o3u22e
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Jeff Borden said on November 13, 2024 at 1:54 pm
Cadet Bone Spurs is making moves on the military with his plans for a “warrior board” to assess three- and four-star generals for their “effectiveness and leadership skills.” And the TV personality he’s selected as Secretary of Defense is a defender of waterboarding and a foe of prosecuting war crimes. Word is the only black member –Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr.– is likely to be cashiered for comments in the wake of the George Floyd murder that didn’t square with the MAGAts. And, don’t forget, he’s black. . .so he’s clearly a DEI hire to tRump.
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David C said on November 13, 2024 at 1:54 pm
Good luck Trump if you think you’re going to fuck with generals. They didn’t get to be generals without knowing how do dispose of stupid assholes like him.
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Sherri said on November 13, 2024 at 1:55 pm
I’m wondering how long the Elon-Trump alliance can possibly last. They are so much alike: extreme narcissists who are absolutely certain they are the smartest people in any room, can only be reasoned with in one in one situations, very hard to talk out of their gut reaction, and need public adulation. If Musk starts getting more attention than Trump, Trump will dump him, and if Elon doesn’t get the credit he thinks he’s due, will he turn on Trump?
Elon doesn’t have any underlying beliefs to keep him from turning on Trump, like Bannon did. Elon only believes in himself.
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Brandon said on November 13, 2024 at 3:27 pm
Who remembers this Breakfast Club social-media meme? It’s still accurate, except that TikTok can replace Tumblr.
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Heather said on November 13, 2024 at 3:44 pm
Matt Gaetz is the pick for Attorney General. Well, he does know a lot about committing crimes, I guess.
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Deborah said on November 13, 2024 at 4:00 pm
Matt Gaetz???!!! Nooooooooooo.
At least Thune got the vote for Senate speaker, thank god it’s not Rick Scott.
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Sherri said on November 13, 2024 at 4:07 pm
These so-called geniuses….
When I was in grad school, a bunch of us used to play pickup softball regularly. We would divide into teams by choosing a digit of our SSNs, and odds were one team, evens another team. That worked pretty well as a random number generator, as long as you don’t use the first digit, which is geographically based and decidedly not random.
Vivek Ramaswamy has a bright idea for reducing the federal government. Day 1, he’ll get rid of everyone whose SSN ends with an odd number. Day two, he’ll get rid of everyone whose SSN starts with an odd number, because super genius Vivek doesn’t know enough about government to know that SSNs are geographically assigned.
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Deborah said on November 13, 2024 at 4:21 pm
Alex, I get those all of the time too. The first time I was puzzled because I hadn’t ordered anything that I could think of before I realized it was a scam, I didn’t respond at all, thank god. My latest one is from “Uber” that someone used a different device to order a ride, they included a link to click on etc, I didn’t click because it seemed scammy.
This new cabinet will be like the inmates running the asylum. It is absolutely laughable, if it weren’t dangerous. Honestly it’s so ridiculous it’s probably not even dangerous anymore. This will be the biggest shit show ever.
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susan said on November 13, 2024 at 4:26 pm
Sherri @ 21 — Yep, that’s why when I need to contact Social Security for whatever reason, I end up speaking with someone in Chicago, because I got my SS# while a kid in Cincinnati. (I live in Washington State.) And that number is also used for when you get your SS check each month. That’s why my brothers and I get our SS checks on the same day, even though we none of us have lived in Cincinnati since the 1960s, and we live in three widely different areas of the country.
Trump’s appointments are on par with his own genius.
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Jeff Borden said on November 13, 2024 at 4:47 pm
Yeeesh. This version of Lumpy’s crew is gonna be soooo awful. Pedo Gaetz as A.G.? Of course.
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susan said on November 13, 2024 at 5:26 pm
At least [s]Kari [f]Lake was bound up and put in the dumpster.
One down. Out of thousands….
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Deborah said on November 13, 2024 at 5:40 pm
I think Biden needs to pardon Hunter. Soon.
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Sherri said on November 13, 2024 at 5:58 pm
Remember QAnon? Remember Pizzagate? Ridiculous conspiracy theories right-wingers had that Democrats were a big pedophile ring?
Turns out right-wingers weren’t upset about the pedophile part, just the Democrat part.
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Heather said on November 13, 2024 at 6:55 pm
Sherri, their accusations are always confessions.
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Peter said on November 14, 2024 at 2:25 am
Sherri and Susan – When my Mom passed away, the funeral home asked for her SS number, and when my Dad said it, they said it had to be wrong – even when he gave them a copy of her card, they said nobody would get a number like that.
When I took my Dad to the Social Security office to claim the death benefit, the employee asked for her number, which starts “600-” and he said “did she work for the Burlington out of Aurora?” She did – when they arrived in the US she got a job cleaning trains out of the Burlington yard in Aurora, Illinois. It turns out that the 600 series was reserved for railroad workers who would have been part of the Railroad Retirement Board prior to 1950; they are also assigned geographically, starting from Chicago, then alphabetically, so the Burlington yard in Aurora got 600.
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Dorothy said on November 14, 2024 at 7:46 am
Alex if you didn’t already delete that text you might want to consider doing a screen grab of it and letting your local police know about it. I mean there’s no way anyone can shut down those stupid con artists but if they can pass it up the chain to a higher agency, I think sometimes the evidence is helpful. Here in Grove City our police have a Facebook page and there’ve been a few times that I contacted them via Facebook messenger which is not really public. In September there was a car in the parking lot of our swimming pool in our community that was abandoned. You could see piles of mail inside it, and the license plate had expired in March or April (they call them ‘tags’ here in Ohio which always makes me laugh. We didn’t call them that in Pennsylvania.) About the car – our HOA had to post a sign about cars being towed if they are left for a specific amount of time before they could tow it. So after that sign went up, and then the time passed, they towed it. A former resident of our division walked away from the car – and possibly their house. Rumors flew, but the car is gone now. The police were helpful in suggesting this path for getting the car towed.
Susan I was told at the Social Security office closest to my house that your checks come to you based on the day of the month when your birthday is. My husband’s is the tenth of a month, and mine is the 31st of a month. I get my check deposited on or around the 25th of each month, and Mike gets his two weeks before I do. We are both Pittsburgh natives so our SS#s start with a one.
I am sort of amazed at how many people are feeling like we are – I cannot watch the news anymore. I catch up on local news and then mute it or change the channel anytime there are reports about the new administration etc. I quit Twitter on Wednesday morning last week and have been scrolling Threads. I joined BlueSky but was at a quilting retreat for 2.5 days and just got home yesterday afternoon. So I wasn’t spending much time online. But on Threads it’s crazy how so many people are expressing the way I’ve felt, too. I just cannot listen to any analysis, opinions, details, etc. when it comes to the election results. I’m not burying my head in the sand, I’ll keep informed, but my head literally feels like it’s going to explode anytime I hear his voice or hear stories about the new administration. For my mental well being I need distance. A LOT of distance. It’s like I have PTSD, I swear. I don’t mean to trivialize that condition but I think it shares common symptoms.
The retreat was a wonderful way to step away from the crazy and emesh myself in creating a new piece, and laugh and meet new friends and catch up with old friends. And four women who came to the retreat with members of our guild decided they enjoyed themselves so much that they paid dues and became members, too. That’s a terrific vote of confidence for how we made them feel, I guess. Nothing like sewing together, laughing a lot and finding things in common to ground you. And politics were off topic. No one said so out loud but everyone seemed to realize it was verboten.
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Icarus said on November 14, 2024 at 9:26 am
If the Dept of Education goes, my son loses his IEP and my kids lose their gifted program. Thanks, MAGA. I won’t go so far as to wish death for those who voted for Trump, but I am anxious to read their obituaries.
I may have shared this story before: One NYE, someone added me to a group text of a Filipino family. Presumably, the intended person’s number was similar to mine. I assumed the texts would die down when the New Year arrived, but no, they kept it going until Easter.
I finally chimed in “Oh no, dinner will be half an hour late and Jesus is gonna hate us” (or something like that) and I got dropped like a hot potato.
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alex said on November 14, 2024 at 9:35 am
Dorothy, I did a screen grab of the fake but convincing USPS web page and forwarded it to the postal inspectors. I also did a virus scan on my computer and it turned up trojan malware.
I’m cautiously optimistic that the Senate isn’t going to give Trump everything he wants, especially not such grossly unserious appointees as have been named so far, and certainly not limitless recess appointment powers. I take it as a good sign that the Senate resisted Trump’s efforts to install Rick Scott as their majority leader. So that’s my glass-half-full two-cents’-worth for today.
Last night dining at the bar rail of a local establishment, I was taken aback at the dramatics of a group of patrons who were all going berserk over the subject of trans athletes. I mean these folks were foaming at the mouth and gesticulating with their fists as if they had some personal stake in it. I didn’t realize the subject had so much power to agitate.
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Jeff Gill said on November 14, 2024 at 9:49 am
Alex, things aren’t how they used to be. There’s apparently no more upsetting thought out there.
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ROGirl said on November 14, 2024 at 10:09 am
I find myself changing channels and muting the news too, although no one can escape the fact that the guy who schtupped underage girls is trumps choice for AG.
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Jeff Borden said on November 14, 2024 at 10:17 am
Hah! The Onion bought Infowars in the bankruptcy auction. How appropriate.
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Sherri said on November 14, 2024 at 11:32 am
Jeff, there’s one more upsetting thought: equal pay for women in sports. Remember the outrage over the USWNT’s quest to get paid on par with the men, led by Trump?
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Dexter Friend said on November 14, 2024 at 11:49 am
Outspoken GOP Matt Gaetz Critic Flip-Flops After Attorney General News: ‘I Completely Trust Trump’s Decision-Making’
Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin admits that he and the Florida rep, who’s still under an ethics probe, “have had their differences”.
Above from The Wrap.
Today I saw Markwayne telling how Gaetz, in he halls, bragged of serially banging teenage girls, crushing E.D. pills, chasing them with energy drinks “so I can go all night.”
This Republican conglomerate of scum covers the truth when truth is needed, to please Trump. Gaetz is a full rapist in many states that have 18 for a legal sex with consent age.So as today’s memes show, a rapist sends a rapist to scrutiny by The Senate. No fucking goddam way will Gaetz be approved…right?
Tulsi Gabbard is a correspondent of Assad and she adores Putin. She is to be in charge of Intelligence. This will pass muster with the politicians. This is how it is in 2024.
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Suzanne said on November 14, 2024 at 12:58 pm
No optimism here. The GOP Congress will flail their arms, shake their heads, express some disappointment with the cabinet picks, but will happily OK all of them. It’s their way. Not a spine amongst them.
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Brandon said on November 14, 2024 at 1:18 pm
To those who are leaving Twitter for other sites: Are you migrating your content to your new sites?
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Jeff Gill said on November 14, 2024 at 1:34 pm
If that can be done, I have no idea how to do it. I admit to trying on Bluesky to find most of the accounts I’ve valued on Xwitter; for all its increasing flaws, there have been many really enjoyable & informative accounts there. But a critical mass of them are now off X and on Bluesky (just my POV).
But migrating content? No idea how to do that.
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Sherri said on November 14, 2024 at 2:12 pm
I left Twitter quite a while ago, first for Mastodon, then for Bluesky, and have watched several waves of people coming to Bluesky, as Elon did various things to Twitter. This feels like the biggest, and the final straw for many people.
Brandon, I have not tried to migrate my content fro, Twitter, but this link explains a way: https://lifehacker.com/tech/use-porto-to-upload-all-your-old-tweets-to-bluesky
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Sherri said on November 14, 2024 at 2:38 pm
Right-wingers hate trans people, particularly trans women, because they’re afraid of looking like a fool. They’re afraid they might be attracted to one.
So, trans people should be outlawed, because they might go into the wrong bathroom and attack our women, but buying a beauty pageant so you can go into the dressing room and watch all the contestants change clothes is just normal male behavior, and to be celebrated.
They just want to make sure that when they grab that pussy, they don’t accidentally encounter something else…
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David C said on November 14, 2024 at 2:58 pm
Our IT department regularly sends phishing simulations for training purposes. So many of them are so ridiculous, like the CEO needs us to buy and send him gift cards and he would reimburse. I thought nobody would fall for that, but they did.
I don’t see any point in sending scams to the police. They don’t do anything if your house is burgled beyond giving you a report number for the insurance. For scams, they may send out a press release if they reach a certain level. Other than that, thoughts and prayers at best.
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Dorothy said on November 14, 2024 at 3:14 pm
I’m sorry you feel that way, David, about police response to burgled homes. I knew a couple people who had things returned to them when a burglary ring was broken up. It’s been awhile but I distinctly remember being fascinated and impressed by their stories. It seems a given that many burglaries are not solved, but I’d never claim that ‘they don’t do anything.’
In the 90’s I was a police secretary as a fill in when the regular one was on maternity leave and most of the guys I worked with were really great at their jobs. The chief was a jerk and he wasn’t the chief for long if memory serves.
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Jeff Borden said on November 14, 2024 at 4:16 pm
Brainworm Bobby to be Secretary of HHS. Didn’t health care in the U.S. couldn’t get more insane? You were wrong.
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Sherri said on November 14, 2024 at 4:40 pm
The one good thing Trump accomplished during the pandemic was to get a vaccine out. That won’t happen if the next pandemic occurs on his watch.
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Jeff Borden said on November 14, 2024 at 4:56 pm
Oh, Sherri, grow up. Sure, we’ll all be croaking from avian bird flu, but eggs and gasoline will be sooooo much cheaper. Gotta keep your eye on the important things.
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Sherri said on November 14, 2024 at 5:40 pm
Of course, the eggs will be full of salmonella, but they’ll be soooo cheap!!!
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Sherri said on November 14, 2024 at 5:54 pm
House Republicans are trying to keep the report confidential, but it’s not much of a secret that Gaetz paid for sex with an underage girl.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-testified-house-ethics-committee-gaetz-sex-17/story?id=115867555
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Sherri said on November 14, 2024 at 7:39 pm
Actually, the price of eggs will go up, but now that price will be cheap. Because the Dear Leader said it was so.
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Julie Robinson said on November 14, 2024 at 7:48 pm
The paper here in Orlando has covered the Gaetz allegations extensively and there’s no doubts about his guilt. The problem has been getting the charges to stick to him. A couple of his sleazy friends have taken plea deals to testify against him and it’s super skeevy stuff. Think Jeffrey Epstein.
Also, I have to eat crow about RFK,Jr. I am so sorry that I was wrong.
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David C said on November 14, 2024 at 7:59 pm
I know the plural of anecdote isn’t data, Dorothy, but I’ve known two people who have had break-ins in the past five years and in both cases the police showed up, but only looked at the door that was jimmied, gave them report numbers, and that was the last they heard from them. I had my credit card number stolen by probably the most stupid crooks ever. They ordered a bunch of stuff and had it sent to my house. They obviously planned to take it off our porch when it was delivered. I told the officer this and he said “It sounds like it. If you catch them give us a call”. So it was sitting on a tee for the cops and they whiffed. So I really have no trust that they actually care about most crime.
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Sherri said on November 14, 2024 at 8:06 pm
RFKJr must be another piece of Trump’s affordable housing policy. If the problem is not enough housing, but you don’t want to build more, then you need fewer people. Part 1 is mass deportation, so I guess part 2 is killing off the people who remain.
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Deborah said on November 14, 2024 at 8:18 pm
What is with Musk and “X”, does he think that it’s just so cool? I mean he changed Twitter to X, which barely anyone acknowledges, like me they still call it Twitter. Then he has SpaceX. And he has several children named variations on X. It’s weird, and dorky, I don’t get it.
Nancy, I finally had some time to listen to Kate’s interview on that podcast and it’s very impressive. She’s a young woman with a head on her shoulders, a lot of talent and her nose to the grindstone. She’s going places for sure. Kudos to you and Alan for raising her right.
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Mark P said on November 15, 2024 at 12:35 am
Some of you may remember that I have had a blog and on one or two occasions mentioned a post. I haven’t felt like posting for a long time. I made a practice of avoiding politics, but now the spirit has moved me, and I am posting something political. We have talked about this subject before. Feel free to view the post or not (active at 1:00 am 15 November). The title is pretty much the beginning and the end: Bye bye Five Eyes.
As usual, my user name is the link.
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Deborah said on November 15, 2024 at 3:36 am
I don’t see a link Mark P?
Edit: I found it, clicked on your user name.Duh.
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alex said on November 15, 2024 at 11:43 am
I didn’t realize you had a blog, Mark P. Or a misadventure with lawn mowing. Perhaps I’ll be more careful in the future when blazing through the tall brush with my John Deere.
I’m still gobsmacked that the Mar-a-Lago documents case wasn’t more quickly and aggressively prosecuted. It’s not much of a leap to assume that Trump was selling classified information. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were put to death for sharing classified information and they weren’t even lining their pockets, fer Chrissake.
I hope that the Senate will stand up to Trump and insist on competent nominees for important posts, even if they’re right-wing assholes. Doug Burgum for Interior Secretary is the only one I’ve seen so far who doesn’t look like a complete nonstarter. And he’s a climate denier in the pocket of Big Oil.
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Dexter Friend said on November 15, 2024 at 11:58 am
Our Girlfriend, sez them there…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2_eL8t8D9Y&t=23s
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Suzanne said on November 15, 2024 at 12:09 pm
I have been following Sarah Kendzior for several years. This is depressing but she has studied authoritarian states and been right all along.
https://sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/the-end-of-days-inn
“I know what to expect, in terms of the big picture, for Trump’s second term. I know they want to turn all of America into the End of Days Inn. I know that while they’re trying to destroy the US, they will also be engaged in foreign atrocities, and that the tactics used abroad will be used on us.
Because we do not matter — not as Americans, not to them. We never did.
But we matter to each other as human beings. And in this country where the worst plans are openly announced and followed, there is still room for surprise.”
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Dexter Friend said on November 15, 2024 at 12:11 pm
The shit has hit the fan.
Kash Patel FBI DIRECTOR!!! Eliminating it might have been a better choice.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kash_Patel
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tajalli said on November 15, 2024 at 12:33 pm
Deborah, simply think of it as Xitter with the X pronounced in the Chinese fashion, “Sh”. Quite apt.
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beb said on November 15, 2024 at 12:36 pm
Alex@5 – I’ve gotten a couple of those messages from the “USPS” about invalid zip codes. This a scam. The first thing to ask yourself is how does the post office have my email account name since the PO does not email activity. Secondly, if the zip code is invalid how do they know that it’s for me? And in the case of an invalid zip code they would return it to sender, not ask the recipient to give them information. Finally the thing to do is examine the email address of the sender. Does it look like a legitimate PO account? Phishing keeps getting cleverer. When in doubt, delete.
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Schtreaky said on November 15, 2024 at 12:46 pm
My wife and I have been doing the same retrenchment for sanity and recharging purposes. I’ve been a long-time lurker here and have enjoyed reading your posts. I’m glad you’ve moved over to Bluesky. I’ve joined your followers there and look forward more of your insights — and swearing. We’re definitely going to need more swearing in our future.
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Sherri said on November 15, 2024 at 12:47 pm
All the appointments are arsonists at the fire department level. I’ve read some pundits speculating that maybe the Gaetz nomination was a sacrificial lamb, a nomination that Senate Republicans could reject to show their independence, but I don’t know why anyone would think that. That’s not how Trump operates. He doesn’t leave anything on the table for anyone else, it all belongs to him. You’re either loyal to him, or you’re the enemy, so he wouldn’t want Senate Republicans to show any independence, he’d want them to bend the knee.
The only bar these nominees have to meet is sufficient loyalty to Trump, and demonstrated willingness to do his bidding and defend him vigorously without overshadowing him in any way.
Of course, Kash Patel for FBI director. Trump hates the FBI. Who raided Mar-a-lago? The FBI! He wants to destroy the FBI, they’ve never supported him like the Border Patrol has.
Trump intends this time to be King Donald, able to deploy his government as he sees fit to destroy his enemies.
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David C said on November 15, 2024 at 1:15 pm
Trump is a stupid person who thinks he’s a smart person. He seems determined to make the military bend to his will. Joseph McCarthy tried to do the same thing. It didn’t end well for McCarthy and it won’t end well for Trump. It won’t be any fun for the Rs to sack a bunch of generals without show trials. The generals will cut them to shreds.
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Heather said on November 15, 2024 at 3:11 pm
And now Mike Johnson doesn’t want to release the ethics committee’s (presumably damning) report on Gaetz. And yet this is the party that is so concerned about men creeping on minors and sex trafficking, right?
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brian stouder said on November 15, 2024 at 3:31 pm
Seems to be – We’re glue and you’re tougher; whatever we say bounces off you and makes us suffer
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Deborah said on November 15, 2024 at 4:48 pm
Here’s a gift link to the NYT by Masha Gessen, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/15/opinion/donald-trump-orban-putin.html?unlocked_article_code=1.aE4.aUQI.ASFTmfqN5CU2&smid=url-share AS if Trump or his crony oligarchs care about this country one iota. Personally I believe Sarah Kedzior from Suzanne’s link. These billionaires could not give one flying fuck about the US of A. It’s all about what they can grift from this opportunity. Period.
I’m going to be cursing a lot in the next few years, sorry.
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Suzanne said on November 15, 2024 at 5:19 pm
Since Reagan, the right has not been shy about wanting to shrink the federal government enough to drown it in the bathtub. So, I don’t understand why so many pundits are surprised at what we have now. The right has never wanted to govern but destroy.
As Gessen writes in the opinion piece linked by Deborah:
“It [Project 2025] is not a blueprint for coherent legislative change, but it is a blueprint still: a blueprint for trampling the system of government as it is currently constituted, a blueprint of destruction.”
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Deborah said on November 15, 2024 at 5:40 pm
Here’s a question: when the media mentions the gap between college people and non-college people politically are they talking about people who have no college or some college? Where is the dividing line? The reason I ask is because LB didn’t end up getting a degree and a lot of her friends are in the same boat, they went to college for a few years, some close to graduating before they quit for various reasons, mostly financial. Is there an easy answer to this? Are they talking about college graduates vs high school graduates with no college? Or what? Curious.
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Jakash said on November 15, 2024 at 6:54 pm
Yeah, Suzanne, they’ve long wanted the government to be small enough to drown in a bathtub. They could never quite get there until they latched on to the guy whose cult is so craven that he famously could shoot somebody in the middle of Fifth Avenue. As I said a while back, these days he could shoot one of THEM in the middle of 5th Ave. and the person being shot would be honored.
The amazing, disappointing, tragic thing is how many people who are supposedly reasonable have aided and abetted the cultists because they care more about the price of eggs and what they perceive as the scary, creepy possibility of a trans person in the bathroom than they care about having a competent government.
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Sherri said on November 15, 2024 at 7:22 pm
I never forget this LBJ quote:
“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.”
It’s not polite to admit it, but white supremacy is underneath a lot of what goes on in America.
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Mark P said on November 16, 2024 at 12:52 am
You’re right, Sherri. Slavery poisoned American culture, apparently permanently.
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Deborah said on November 16, 2024 at 8:08 am
Here’s an interesting statistic for all the car enthusiasts who comment here https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a62919131/tesla-has-highest-fatal-accident-rate-of-all-auto-brands-study/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rdt&utm_medium=email&date=111524&utm_campaign=nl37500867&GID=b94e38cef8ce03c2b8e2621f2a3fecf8b2592fdd35b2cad888d7993009168b9c&OO=&utm_term=TEST-%20NEW%20TEST%20-%20Sending%20List%20-%20AM%20180D%20Clicks%2C%20NON%20AM%2090D%20Opens%2C%20Both%20Subbed%20Last%2030D
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alex said on November 16, 2024 at 9:52 am
So the incoming lieutenant governor is already barking orders at Indiana University. Stop the presses indeed.
https://www.wane.com/news/indiana/iu-student-newspaper-responds-to-lt-governor-elect-beckwiths-public-rebuke/
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basset said on November 16, 2024 at 10:12 am
Is there a way to hear the Kate interview without installing yet another unfamiliar app? You never know what all is attached to em…
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alex said on November 16, 2024 at 11:13 am
Basset, I didn’t have to download any app when I listened to it. I just pressed the green arrow on the web site and it played audio.
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Sherri said on November 16, 2024 at 2:22 pm
More of our supergeniuses: the Musk-Ramaswamy plan is to cut $2 trillion dollars.
The discretionary spending part of the federal budget is $1.7 trillion, and half of that is defense spending.
Even if you wipe out all of that (say good bye to the FAA, our aviator friend!), you’d still have to start cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP to get anywhere near $2 trillion.
https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-of-the-federal-budget-is-discretionary-spending/
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Sherri said on November 16, 2024 at 2:36 pm
The problem with a fascist state is not that they will do everything they say, it’s that they will try to do much of what they will say, and you don’t know what they will destroy in the process. How large of a brain drain are we going to see from the career civil servants in the federal government who decide they just don’t want to live with 4 more years of insanity? And, as is always the case, it’s the best people who have the most options who walk away.
To say nothing of the people who will be afraid to seek government assistance because they’ll be afraid of being deported, regardless of their status. Or how much of that government assistance will remain. Trust me when I say churches and nonprofits are not ready to take up the slack. I know how much of the budget the local nonprofit community services agency gets from donations and how much from the federal government, and it’s not close.
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Sherri said on November 16, 2024 at 4:03 pm
“For those bewildered by why so many Americans apparently voted against the values of liberal democracy, Balint Magyar has a useful formulation. “Liberal democracy,” he says, “offers moral constraints without problem-solving” — a lot of rules, not a lot of change — while “populism offers problem-solving without moral constraints.” Magyar, a scholar of autocracy, isn’t interested in calling Donald Trump a fascist. He sees the president-elect’s appeal in terms of something more primal: “Trump promises that you don’t have to think about other people.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/15/opinion/donald-trump-orban-putin.html?unlocked_article_code=1.aU4.-wqC.3iiqhGZt8hIm&smid=url-share
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Charlie said on November 16, 2024 at 8:09 pm
Deborah at 70: That is an interesting question. I work in student services at City Colleges Chicago and our office is about 60% bachelor’s degrees and 40% some college. I know the “some college” people feel more frustrated and underpaid than the folks with BAs. This weekend I’m applying for a transfer to a job the requires a BA. If I get the job I get a small raise and better benefits. I have a coworker who would be a better fit for this job (he establishes a connection with student must faster than me) but he only has an associate degree so he is not eligible. People who have almost made it can feel the most frustration.
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