What a sour mood I find myself in on this…Tuesday. Too much work to do, and the temperature is spiking at close to 90, even as we speak. I was going to take a bike ride, but decided to have a Campari spritz instead.
Don’t feel much better. But it would probably be worse if it made the world better, right?
Anyway, I feel like I’m forgetting the lesson I learned in newspapers, i.e., never say it can’t get any worse, because it always can, and does. After the weekend, I could hardly believe Trump could go lower, but what am I saying? The bottom of the barrel can always be scraped a little more. Monday’s disgusting display, followed by this:
My Admin has done more for the Black Community than any President since Abraham Lincoln. Passed Opportunity Zones with @SenatorTimScott, guaranteed funding for HBCU’s, School Choice, passed Criminal Justice Reform, lowest Black unemployment, poverty, and crime rates in history…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2020
And I’m sure more is to come. Five more months of more. Maybe four more years after that.
But Monday. Watching Ivanka in her stilettos and fucking million-dollar purse – what do you need to buy between the White House and the church behind it that you needed to tote that little accessory along, hon? The press secretary in her toy-soldier outfit. And of course the president, who handles a Bible like he’s never seen one before. And the fellow travelers in the churches. Every one, every single one… I’m out of words, at least polite ones. Or even stern ones.
And then, this. Before my eyes resolved what I was looking at, I thought these were ants or something, being gassed by an exterminator. But no: American citizens.
And every time some shithead like Jimmy Lileks wrings hands over buildings, or windows, or whatever, I just want to scream.
So I need to stay off certain parts of the internet for a bit. Do my work and let the rest go by.
You lovely people, on the other hand, are great. So carry on.
Maria said on June 2, 2020 at 7:39 pm
Just read Robin Givens’ piece in the Washington Post and learned that Ivanka’s big white handbag held the Bible, so Daddy didn’t have to carry it over himself from the White House.
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Charlotte said on June 2, 2020 at 7:43 pm
This guy cheered me up today — first of all, his scarf game is terrific, and secondly — he kept deflecting all the attention onto the protesters he sheltered, talking about how smart and engaged they were, and how brave. And the cloak-and-dagger pizza delivery: https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a32742452/rahul-dubey-dc-black-lives-matter-protesters-shelter/
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Jenny Derringer said on June 2, 2020 at 8:17 pm
He’s never read a book, let alone the Bible.
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LAMary said on June 2, 2020 at 9:03 pm
I’m avoiding conversations with relatives. It wouldn’t go well and I don’t need that noise right now. Something good…my son the roadie merch guy got a job. It’s related to his previous gig but no long haul tours.
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Dexter Friend said on June 2, 2020 at 9:37 pm
I still felt a rush of happiness in all the chaos to see my old friend and former correspodent (back in the paper-envelope-stamp days), Dave Cole, a Detroit activist, streaming on The Freep feed, in front of a crowd of protesters, with his take on judges, racism, water shut-off in Detroit, and other issues. Quite a surprise to see him still in action; I knew him when he a UAW Committeeman in Detroit. https://www.facebook.com/detroitfreepress/videos/563827134334971/?comment_id=867643513646807
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Peter said on June 2, 2020 at 9:48 pm
Maybe we just need a little light humor in these troubling times – so here goes:
Why did the chicken cross the road?
So he can get his photo taken in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church!
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Heather said on June 2, 2020 at 10:03 pm
My “favorite” part of that photo op is when a reporter asked if that was a family bible, and dummy said, “It’s *A* bible.”
I was holding up pretty well until today and it all kinda caught up with me. It’s hard to go through a global pandemic/lockdown/isolation plus the rise of a fascist state when you live alone.
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LAMary said on June 2, 2020 at 10:16 pm
Heather, I’m in a house with two people who don’t like each other. They both complain to me about the other one. I’ve been hiding a lot.
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Deborah said on June 2, 2020 at 11:09 pm
After my early morning freak out I decided to send my right wing sister a birthday greeting, she turned 71 today. I haven’t communicated with her in maybe 2 years because of things she’s said about LB and healthcare. It was a big mistake, she’s an awful person I’ve realized now and it’s heartbreaking, adding to my anxiety.
The whole Trump bible story is so clueless, so tone deaf, so wrong. What is with these people? So clearly, transparently fraudulent. Mind blowing.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on June 2, 2020 at 11:19 pm
I’m also tempted to stay off of certain parts of the internet as well, but then I run across things like Rod Dreher noting that Trump stood “in front of a church flashing a Bible like a gang sign to get conservative Christians in line.” Flashing the Bible like a gang sign is exactly what the Orange Idiot did.
Here in Newark, Ohio we had a protest rally tonight that broke down at the end . . . into dancing. Black Lives Matter demonstrators embraced All Lives Matter sign holders, Ohio Patriot Militia members were asked to join in a dance-off a la Guardians and Chris Pratt (and danced about as well), and we all took a turn around the courthouse with hope and sorrow mingled, but it still returned to dancing at the end. Police officers and soon to retire chief and sheriff’s deputies along with the sheriff himself all mingled with the crowd which was organized and convened and led from the mic by youth.
I actually came home with a smile under my mask.
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Deborah said on June 2, 2020 at 11:28 pm
Yesterday was my husband’s 73rd birthday and we made a strawberry rhubarb pie that we have nearly 3/4 left. It was good but LB made a big meal that we had before that. I made the pie which was had with vanilla ice cream. My husband leaves for his rental car trip back to the Midwest to attend to his ailing uncle so I won’t be going back to Abiquiu for a couple of weeks except to water plants out there.
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Deborah said on June 2, 2020 at 11:38 pm
I forgot to say that in NM Valerie Plame seems to have lost the primary for the US representative seat to replace Ben Ray Lujan who is running for the Dem seat in the senate to replace Sen Udall who is retiring. The Hispanic woman who so far seems to have won is fine with me. I liked Plame and hoped she’d win but oh well. I vote in Chicago so it wasn’t my fight.
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Dexter Friend said on June 3, 2020 at 3:04 am
Damn it, a typo…the former GM Committeeman I met 40 years ago and saw on the Freep live-feed yesterday was Dave Sole, not Cole.
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ROGirl said on June 3, 2020 at 6:01 am
I’m pessimistic by nature, or maybe realistic, and I don’t have any doubts that things will get worse. He will go much, much lower because his depths are bottomless.
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Linda said on June 3, 2020 at 6:11 am
Meanwhile, press coverage has been interesting at Gannett newspapers: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/Saturdays-protests-were-big-news-why-did-these-gannett-newspapers-push-them-off-the-front-page/2020/06/02/888aadc8-a4e0-11ea-b619-3f9133bbb482_story.html
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David C said on June 3, 2020 at 6:22 am
I’m so happy to be working from home this week. I don’t have to the hear all the BS from my wingnut, gun-nut coworkers. I usually have my earbuds in so I don’t hear much but I hear enough to raise my blood pressure. It’s good to be home.
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Suzanne said on June 3, 2020 at 6:42 am
You take good news where you can. Racist Steve King of Iowa lost his primary
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/politics/steve-king-iowa-primary-election/index.html
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Alan Stamm said on June 3, 2020 at 7:36 am
“…he posed stern-faced, holding up a Bible that his daughter pulled out of her $1,540 MaxMara bag.” — The New York Times, sticking a shiv
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Mark P said on June 3, 2020 at 8:44 am
Trump obviously doesn’t know what’s in the Bible or how people use it. He held it up like a talisman: “Look at me! Me holding magic book! Much good juju!”
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ROGirl said on June 3, 2020 at 8:45 am
A huge tree branch came down across the street, and it is currently suspended 20 feet in the air on top of some wires that run from one side of the street to the other. It pulled a transformer from the nearby pole. My power stayed on, but the branch shifted and pulled some wires down, and power finally went out. Cops came, one is still out there. There’s caution tape across the foot of my driveway. Waiting for dte. At least I will miss my remote meeting today.
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Suzanne said on June 3, 2020 at 9:04 am
The fact that Ivanka carried the Bible in her very expensive handbag will not deter evangelicals one bit. Prosperity Gospel at its finest. They believe wealth is a sign that you are following God in the way that He wishes. God, in their world view, wants us all to have good, prosperous lives. This is why they disdain the poor so much because their poverty is proof that their faith is suspect and their lives are not godly. Trump may seem to live an immoral life, but he says a few of the right things (Abortion is bad! Christians are good! Muslims are bad!) and his wealth & power are proof that God has looked kindly on him. The Bible, for evangelicals, truly is much more of a magic book than a guidebook for living a life of meaning, morality, and metaphysical connection. Use it correctly, say the right things, see the secret meanings in it, and your life will be one of health, wealth, and earthly blessings.
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Bitter Scribe said on June 3, 2020 at 9:52 am
Let’s not forget, the only reason this ridiculously thin-skinned man even wanted to cross the street and speak is because he got slagged for hiding in the White House bunker.
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susan said on June 3, 2020 at 10:02 am
bitter scribe @22-
I saw a banner in the background of a photo of protestors: BUNKERBITCH!
My new sobriquet of FatNixon.
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Julie Robinson said on June 3, 2020 at 11:31 am
The Washington Post called some evangelical leaders and incredibly, this naked ploy has worked. They were thrilled with the image of POTUS in front of a church, holding a Bible. So the next day he tried it again with a Catholic shrine. The stench of hypocrisy wafts over the entire nation.
After my panic attack night before last, I kept the news off, watched some silly Schitt’s Creek, and focused on helping others by sewing masks again. It helped–I slept for six straight hours last night, which is a record any night. Now I have to figure out how to engage in some news and still sleep. Oh, and eliminate the pain in the pit of my stomach.
It looks like the despicable Stephen King of Iowa has been primaried; let’s hope his replacement is better. Locally, perpetual candidate/stoner Tommy Schrader has 20% of the vote in his primary, running as a Democrat. Oy veh!
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nancy said on June 3, 2020 at 11:33 am
As for that shrine stunt: The photos of Melania yesterday — the only Catholic in the bunch, at least nominally so — made her look particularly out of it. Like she had a Xanax for breakfast, lunch and snack.
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Sherri said on June 3, 2020 at 11:37 am
Never mind that the church Trump posed in front of is one those same evangelicals wouldn’t cross the threshold of because they don’t believe those liberal Episcopalians are really even Christian…
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Julie Robinson said on June 3, 2020 at 11:51 am
Well, how else is she gonna get through this? No sympathy for her, only for their young son.
The shrine is run by the notably rightist Knights of Columbus, but even they spoke out against its use as a photo prop, noting that John Paul II would not have condoned tear gas, etc.
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Connie said on June 3, 2020 at 11:55 am
So I live on a quiet dead end street with nine houses. The big old house on the corner is the original house on the property and is in seriously bad shape. It is about to be torn down and two new houses built in its place.
When I left this a.m. I was surprised to see the property roped off and about twenty county sheriff police cars parked in the yard, with two signs that said police training. When I came back there were officers in camo in the yard. Not deputy uniforms, camo. With guns.
Our friend in the other corner house across the street is the neighbor who always knows the details. He told my husband that it was training for serving warrants. Our township supervisor is a former deputy and he volunteers properties like this for training. They did live shooter training in the old library before they tore it down.
Anyway, just wanted to say, seeing that military look in my own quiet neighborhood on this sunny June morning did not sit well with me.
And we are now discussing what the big bang we just heard was. Hubby says flash grenade.
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Jakash said on June 3, 2020 at 12:32 pm
Well, Suzanne, you take proof of hypocrisy where you can. People can believe what they want. The Bible is certainly open to many interpretations. But those who read the Gospels and somehow conclude that the takeaway is that we’re supposed to seek financial prosperity and that being rich is a sign that we’re good are poor readers, at a minimum… Of course, that’s obvious and you know it better than I. But pulling a Bible (“a” Bible, not “his”, needless to say) out of a $1500 purse to flash it like a gang sign, as memorably referenced by Jeff (tmmo), is such a marvelous, succinct representation of the charlatanism at the heart of this criminal administration that it should be savored by all.
There were a few options, but “BunkerBitch” seemed to be the winner among at least 3 hashtags trending on Twitter the other day to describe Cadet Bone-Spurs and his visit to the nether regions. Now that he’s claiming that he was just “inspecting” the bunker, it’s roaring back.
When Il Douché is getting counsel from Pat Robertson about what’s “cool”, he may have a problem. https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1267891912910012417
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ROGirl said on June 3, 2020 at 1:23 pm
Bunker Bitch has my vote.
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beb said on June 3, 2020 at 5:07 pm
I’m partial to #bunkerbaby myself.
I got an application for absentee ballots in the mail today. We’ve never had trouble voting at the polling station but I like the convenience of mail-in voting.
I was reading about Georgia’s new voting machines. It’s a touch-screen computer that prints a barcode for the candidate you voted for, or at least think you voted for since the barcode is not human-readable. And the new system costs about twice as much as just marking and counting paper ballots. But you have to pay through the nose if you want to disenfranchise Blacks and steal elections. It think it is within the power of Congress to mandate paper ballots for Federal elections, even if they can’t for state and local elections. Might be a good idea for the next Democratic Congress to do so.
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Jeff Borden said on June 3, 2020 at 5:35 pm
ROGirl,
Sadly, you’re correct. As the Orange King grows madder (mentally and emotionally), his depravity will keep pace with his madness. Assuming he is defeated –for the first time in my life I wonder if we will have November elections under this regime and, if so, if they will be honest– just imagine what he will do between Election Day and the inauguration of the new president. The vandalism he and his GOP sycophants will wreak on our nation may well be beyond our imagination.
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Deborah said on June 3, 2020 at 8:42 pm
So here’s one of the mentally bizarre claims my right wing sister had accused us of: that Jeffery Epstein attend our wedding in Abiquiu. Seriously she claims that she remembers someone who looked like Epstein and his pimp girlfriend who she recognized from her attendance at the wedding in 2000. And that she remembers us having a conversation then of being at his house or gallery having dolls hanging from the ceiling. I kid you not my sister asked me about this after I wished her a happy birthday this weekend. Obviously this is someone who is having severe mental problems. What does one even do with this? I’ve tried giving rational info to her about this issue but I’m way out of my pay grade in this situation. Just wow.
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LAMary said on June 3, 2020 at 9:26 pm
That is pretty bizarre, Deborah. I had a conversation with my sister in law yesterday and she was confusing the time line on a few events, but I let it ride. None of it was important enough to dispute. The Jeffrey Epstein thing would make me reconsider how often I planned on speaking to that person in the future.
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Julie Robinson said on June 3, 2020 at 9:29 pm
Jeff B, your thought about the November elections was the cause of my panic attack in the middle of the night. Monday night showed he’ll stop at nothing, and no one will stop him.
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alex said on June 3, 2020 at 9:36 pm
Deborah, if it was me in this situation I’d probably fuck with her and say, “And don’t you remember? Donald Trump was there too. They brought cocaine and prostitutes and we all had a fabulous little private party before the nuptials. Sorry we didn’t invite you but we didn’t think you’d approve.”
Glad to see Jim Mattis is calling out Trump’s bullshit.
And heartened to see that polls show more people support the protests than don’t, and that little places like Huntington and Van Wert are now having protests along with Minneapolis and LA the rest.
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LAMary said on June 3, 2020 at 9:40 pm
Oh joy. Covid 19, looting, and we just had a 5.1 earthquake. Epicenter was in Ridgecrest where there wer some big quakes last July. About 90 miles from downtown LA. Update. 5.5 quake. Enough to have my chair rocking side to side.
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beb said on June 3, 2020 at 9:48 pm
How does that line go….
“If this van’s rocking,
It’s probably a 5.5 richter earthquake…
Hmmm. It doesn’t scan right.
Glad to hear that you’re OK.
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susan said on June 3, 2020 at 11:36 pm
Alex, The whole world is protesting in the streets, and it’s a beautiful sight to see. Maybe things will finally change in this country. Keith Ellison took a good first step today.
Although, the cynic in me remembers marching in Seattle in February 2003 against the Iraq invasion, along with 50,000 of my closest friends. Along with millions around the world, protesting the American invasion in Iraq. And marching in Boston in 1970 after the Kent State massacre; and against the war in Vietnam. Fat lot of good all that did. Well, maybe the Vietnam war marches did have an effect, but only to move the war-mongering into more clandestine and undemocratic schemes.
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Sherri said on June 4, 2020 at 12:22 am
I’m really on the edge right now, trying to avoid ripping anybody’s head off. I think I’m going to have to take a couple of days and just binge-watch something mindless, because I’ve got a 4 hour Zoom meeting on Saturday that is a board meeting/racial equity training. (It was scheduled over eight months ago, originally as an all day retreat, but then the world exploded.)
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Dexter Friend said on June 4, 2020 at 2:43 am
susan, I was back-talking my teachers about Vietnam when I was 15. I was thrown into the US Army at age 19 and sent to Vietnam at age 21, returning to immediately join John Kerry’s Vietnam Veterans Against the War, going to more demonstrations and rallies than I can recall, and founding the Fort Wayne chapter along with a Quaker named Phil D. Then the air war really geared up, culminating at its zenith during Christmas, 1972, with the targeted destruction by B-52s of Bach Mai Children’s Hospital in Hanoi. So you are right, demonstrations did not end the war, and only when a collective weary Congress finally cut funding did it end ingloriously in soon-to-be-named Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon. But we helped wear down their spirit and they caved and plugged the seive of dollars to the military. And the war was over. Having a fucking maniac in The White House and a lackey group in control of the Senate today makes us nervous. Just the one example that Senator Duckworth was incensed over, the using of helicopter rotor wash to knock down city street trees and drive people hard straight down into the concrete walkways was a criminal misuse of force by the USA military. Mattis finally spoke up, way too late as I see it, as did President Obama. Those damn Senators who would not convict via impeachment and are silent about Trump’s cavalry charge into Lafayette Park, smoking out (now we are told some soldiers gassed the demonstrators too)peaceful groups there, so Trump could hold a Bible …well, they can go to hell; this craziness seemingly cannot be stopped; we don’t do a coup .
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LAMary said on June 4, 2020 at 8:20 am
I was almost banned from walking in my high school graduation because a friend and I had distributed draft counseling information to our fellow students. The assistant principal of the high school found that very offensive but someone higher up told him to back off. Not sure who. I’m pretty sure it was more about avoiding controversy than about free speech or sympathy to our cause.
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Suzanne said on June 4, 2020 at 9:05 am
Deborah, that conversation with your sister sounds awful. I am hearing more and more people spout crazy conspiracy stuff. A woman I know (through work connections) last week posted on Facebook some video of Obama, supposedly from Germany because, you know, YouTube took down the original English version because they don’t want you to know, with Obama talking about the Bilderbergers, the New World Order, and God knows what else. I ran into this same woman a few weeks ago and she was blathering on about Bill Gates wanting to microchip everyone, population control, etc. Thing is, she’s intelligent, a financial planner, has kids who are succeeding in college, hard working, all of that.
My son has a coworker who wanted to show him a video proving that Michelle Obama is a man. Again, an otherwise decent person who believes this garbage.
I don’t understand the willingness to believe this bizarre stuff and I never will.
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Randy said on June 4, 2020 at 9:24 am
I can’t prove it, but I suspect November 2020 will be much like November 2020 for James Lileks:
Exhausted, yet enriched after another day of creating strawman arguments, Lileks pours a Maker’s Mark, consults with a small cigar, surveys the idyllic beauty that is the grounds of his beloved Jasperwood, and then votes for Trump, again, this time by mail-in ballot.
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Deborah said on June 4, 2020 at 10:39 am
My bizarre sister even described the outfits that supposedly Epstein and his companion were wearing, she said expensive western clothing and that they looked bored and left early. And I could tell by the way she described everything that she wasn’t buying my denial. It was very strange. I’m afraid she might have dementia. My husband thinks I shouldn’t communicate with her anymore, that she’s dangerous. I won’t be communicating with her very much that’s for sure. It’s unsettling.
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St Bitch said on June 4, 2020 at 11:38 am
Your sister’s delusions do sound like dementia, Deborah; in which case she’s more of a danger to herself, if untreated. Is there anyone close to her that could get her diagnosed?
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Julie Robinson said on June 4, 2020 at 11:59 am
Just wondering the same thing, Deborah. She sounds like she needs medical attention. Any idea what meds she’s taking?
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Suzanne said on June 4, 2020 at 12:00 pm
Looking for opinions from this smart, wise bunch on the credibility of this thread:
https://twitter.com/blakesmustache/status/1268535418137595905
If true, whoa!
Twitter owner lists himself as “Lawyer who follows Trump-Russia and applies deductive reasoning. Beware of Russian Active Measures.”
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Sherri said on June 4, 2020 at 12:14 pm
The latest virus denialist talking point is funny how the virus became less serious as soon as liberal protests became a thing. See, we should have never shut down!
I’m so tired of it all. Someone I used to serve with as worship leader at church tried to pick a fight with me on FB when I made a comment on our priest’s post. I wasn’t replying to anyone, I just said what I thought, and he said that I must condone violence. I tried to explain myself again, and he said that I had an obvious anti-police bias. Then I did reply sarcastically as to his completely objective, unbiased view, and he totally lost it, started listing everything he’d ever done for people of color and told me it would take a lifetime for me to catch up to him in diversity. (Though we served together as worship leaders, I doubt he even knew my name, and probably wouldn’t remember my face. I was good friends with most of the other worship leaders, but he seldom acknowledged my existence.)
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Julie Robinson said on June 4, 2020 at 12:38 pm
Sounds like someone has a big case of white fragility going on there. I’ve been reading How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi as part of a discussion group I’m in. He makes the point that saying you are color blind or color neutral is just an excuse for not changing your thinking/acting. It’s hard reading and hard work.
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Heather said on June 4, 2020 at 12:50 pm
If you have to bring up all your black friends or everything you’ve ever done for POC in an argument, it’s not a good sign that you’re an effective ally.
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LAMary said on June 4, 2020 at 1:13 pm
Intriguing, Suzanne. It would make me happy if that’s true, but I don’t know. I put nothing past Trump, Barr, or any the enablers. The fact that Burr was the only senator they ended up really going after is interesting. I wondered about that when I heard it.
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Sherri said on June 4, 2020 at 1:50 pm
Oh, no question, it’s a raging case of white fragility. My husband reminded me that there are many people at that church who aren’t like that, which is true, but as we continued to discuss the church, he expressed his disappointment with the church’s timidity around social justice, I pointed out that it was because of the white fragility of people like the man I discussed, plus a few other key men who hold disproportionate influence. That’s why I stopped going after the election, though I’m still connected. I could see it all so clearly, and I just couldn’t spend my energy there.
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Sherri said on June 4, 2020 at 2:24 pm
I read the transcript of Zuck talking to employees at FB, and I read the open letter to Zuck from early employees. As always, whenever I read anything from Zuck, I’m struck by how shallow his thinking is. He’s clearly not stupid, but he has no depth, either. He’s also seldom very clear in his presentation; he talks and writes in word salad.
By contrast, the open letter was so much clearer and deeper and engaged. It was amazing reading Zuck first, then the other. Sure, Zuck’s was a transcript of spoken remarks, but even so, they should have been prepared remarks, when you’re addressing 25000 employees.
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Deborah said on June 4, 2020 at 3:23 pm
I must have typed my email address wrong in the last comment I made, I’m in moderation. Basically I just said that I contacted my niece after that scary exchange with her mother, so hopefully my sister will get the help she needs. I am close to this niece, she has had some issues in her life and I’ve been more sympathetic with those than her own mother. My niece is married to a farmer in Minnesota, for a while there I was afraid she and her husband were Trump supporters but now I’m not sure from what she has said on FB.
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Deborah said on June 4, 2020 at 4:44 pm
I’ve been wanting to comment about this for a while but I haven’t thought it through deeply enough yet (my brain is getting more and more dysfunctional these days), this whole making the country work by having businessmen (and I do mean MEN) run everything trope is troubling (obviously), I’d love to get your input on this or if you have links to suggest I’d greatly appreciate it. Basically corporations and businesses in general are not democracies and there seem to be thoughts out there that are beginning to surface, or anyway at least to my conscientiousness are beginning to surface, from rightwingers who espouse this as the way to run the country as well. If you run a business effectively in an undemocratic way that’s an OK way to run a country too, with the added benefit in their minds, of being theocracies too, as they believe to restore decency and good to the populace. George Will (yeah I know) recently wrote an article about this in the Atlantic, he said that rightwing “intellectuals” are espousing this theory (Will thinks it’s completely wrong fwiw). After reading this article it explains Billy Barr to a T. This is amazing when you read it, that there are people (conservatives!) in this country who are moving in this direction, they’re people with extensive power and they are definitely moving away from the constitution and our ongoing experiment of democracy in the US. I think that Sarah Kedzior (spelling?) has been saying this for years and it’s happening right under our noses. Thoughts?
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Heather said on June 4, 2020 at 5:22 pm
Mark Zuckerberg is an argument for taking some humanities courses and finishing your undergrad degree.
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beb said on June 4, 2020 at 6:20 pm
Julie @35 – I’m sorry that you have panic attacks about the election. I suspect a lot of us are. Just remember, day or night, NN.C is your lifeline.
Sherri @40 – Would getting a punching bag help to work off some of that aggression? I always hated meetings and was luck to mostly avoid them. Your Sat. conference sounds vital and important but full of people not getting the point. Good luck on Sat. and what I said to Julie about nn.c
Deborah #56 – We’re seeing what happens when the government is run like a business (Trump). It’s rather a disaster at everything except funneling money to the 1%. Why so many men buy into this way of thinking is because they imagine themselves as part of the ruling class and not “useful took” peons.
It’s amazing the number of people (and even more reporters who make up such a small part of any crowd) who have been hit in the face/lost an eye from rubber bullets and pepper balls. It’s almost like cops are disregarding instructions about aiming for the feet and are aiming for the head. It’s almost like cops see themselves as the thugs. Thanks #bunkerbaby.
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Deborah said on June 4, 2020 at 6:30 pm
I found this very interesting and enlightening, an interview with Maryanne Williamson and Anand Giridharadas (I probably spelled both of their names wrong) from his show ‘A Seat at the Table’ on Vice TV https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDCMUCWF0PiUvUi3Jma2oFgaiX2w&v=ojkPxrJOZsg&feature=emb_rel_end Say what you will about Williamson (and for that matter Giridharadas) but I found this very hopeful, especially what Williamson says in the last few minutes. We will get through this like other generations have when they were facing horrible issues as we are and even worse. We will prevail. We have to.
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Sherri said on June 4, 2020 at 6:38 pm
Deborah, white conservative evangelicals are very authoritarian in their world view – the whole “husband is the head of the family as Christ is the head of the church” idea. If you push them just a bit, it’s not hard to get to white supremacy, either.
Beb, I finally have been able to get a barbell and some plates, so at least I can start some heavier lifting. I had ordered a squat rack, which would have enabled me to do almost everything, but UPS lost part of the shipment, so I’m still waiting for some pieces of that so I can do more. But I will be doing some deadlifting tomorrow before I go into my meeting on Saturday.
Which will be full of people who are all well meaning, but on very different points of their journeys. It’s a very diverse group.
In particular, there are some white men who don’t always get that their dispassionate thought experiment might be a deeply emotional trauma for someone else.
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LAMary said on June 4, 2020 at 8:46 pm
I understand that the problem with rubber bullets is they are aimed down, as instructed, but bounce up. They can go high enough to hit someone in the face.
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Sherri said on June 4, 2020 at 8:58 pm
LAMary, they’re *supposed* to be aimed down at the ground, so they will bounce up and hit people on the legs. There is video of police clearly not doing this, though, but instead aiming directly at protestors and journalists.
A friend sent me the following meme and it made me laugh: If you could cure COVID19 by sacrificing just 1 human, who would it be and why did you choose Trump?
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Suzanne said on June 4, 2020 at 9:09 pm
Deborah @56, it’s not your imagination. If you have Netflix, watch The Family. Even better, read the book by Jeff Sharlet. It’s really tied up in the prosperity gospel & Christian nationalism. This is God’s chosen nation and He puts people in high positions to make that happen, men who have proven that they have pleased God, their prosperity being the proof.
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LAMary said on June 4, 2020 at 9:30 pm
Supposed is the key word. I was just reading about the ten foot high black fencing being installed around the White House. I’m really getting tired of all this winning we’re doing.
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Sherri said on June 4, 2020 at 10:02 pm
Trump finally has his wall.
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beb said on June 4, 2020 at 10:41 pm
Sherri @62. If I had been drinking pop when I read about your mene my spit-take would have gone across the room!
The headline from Raw Sttory tonight reads:
Bishop who criticized Trump gets blocked from accessing her church — thanks to new White House border wall
Which reminded me of the recent Supreme Court decision that sequestering orders are not religious discrimination because these orders apply to all large gatherings. This was a 5-4 decision with Roberts joining the liberals. The other four (and especially Kavanaugh seem to thing that Churches are exempt from all laws. So I wonder how the court would feel that Trump has ordered the blocking of access to St. Johns. His security detail have moved barriers a quarter-mile (I think) from the White House perimeter. Considering that the White House perimeter had not been penetrated prior to this it seems excessive and is clearly infering with the conduct of religion at that church!
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David C said on June 5, 2020 at 5:50 am
Funny how quickly they were able to find protective equipment for him but not health care workers. Is it tRump brand fencing?
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LAMary said on June 5, 2020 at 10:50 am
tRump Fencing. People are saying they’ve never seen anything like it. In the history of the world there’s never been fencing this beautiful. The fencing is perfect. I hear from people all the time. They tell me, why don’t you get credit for this terrific fencing. It’s huge.
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Suzanne said on June 5, 2020 at 11:26 am
LAMary, LOL! He would also say, “A man came up to me, a big, burly man with tears in his eyes and said Sir, why don’t you get credit for this terrific fencing? It’s huge. It’s the best I have ever seen. Thank you, Sir.”
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Sherri said on June 5, 2020 at 11:37 am
Republican internal polling must be really bad for some Senators to start being a little more critical. Grassley actually put a hold on a couple of Trump nominations! I’m sure he’ll cave quickly, but still.
Rand Paul continues to uphold his own special brand of racist principles, though.
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Jeff Borden said on June 5, 2020 at 12:18 pm
The preznit, bragging about a surprising rebound in jobs, today exclaimed he was hopeful George Floyd was looking down from heaven –where he was sent courtesy of four murdering racist cops– and thrilled about the rising economy, adding, “It’s a great day!”
November or a massive heart attack can’t come soon enough.
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LAMary said on June 5, 2020 at 1:49 pm
It’s not just Trump who’s tone deaf and asinine.
https://tinyurl.com/yblsh22f
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Sherri said on June 5, 2020 at 2:14 pm
LAMary, Tim Eyman is a grifter who’s been making money running anti-tax initiatives in Washington for decades. I told the story and shared the video of him getting caught stealing an office chair in an Office Depot last year.
He’s the definition of tone deaf and asinine, and has been doing it long before Trump ever thought about running for office.
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Sherri said on June 5, 2020 at 2:17 pm
Apparently, a local gun shop owner stirred up a local vigilante mob on Facebook to protect the community from invading Antifa hordes, and found a multiracial family camping to terrorize.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/multiracial-family-harassed-accused-of-being-antifa-during-camping-trip-in-clallam-county/
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LAMary said on June 5, 2020 at 2:28 pm
Another ugly video. No one dies or needs hospitalization in this one, but it’s bad.
https://tinyurl.com/y6wzppac
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