(Don’t judge me, but I have a stockpile of Obama & Family photos I saved over the years)
In my effort to find more positive thoughts while taking a week for myself, a friend posted this for me and I found it helpful. It’s David Brooks, so I’m sorry for that – I couldn’t get through the remainder of the article because, well, Brooks. This was 2007 (emphasis mine):
Out of the blue I asked, “Have you ever read Reinhold Niebuhr?”
Obama’s tone changed. “I love him. He’s one of my favorite philosophers.”
So I asked, What do you take away from him?
“I take away,” Obama answered in a rush of words, “the compelling idea that there’s serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn’t use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away … the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard, and not swinging from naïve idealism to bitter realism.”
So for today, I’ll stay away from cynicism.
Open thread.
Bonus: Snowy Ducks
Jim, Foolish Literalist
early days, nobody’s really campaigning yet, who knows what will happen, blah blah blah…. but
Gelfling 545
OMG. when I clicked on the duck link and saw something on skewers I got a bit concerned. Fortunately, the actual duck pics are adorable.
The Midnight Lurker
Barack! Come back, Barack! Barack!
smintheus
James Comey is another fan of Niebuhr. I find him rather slipshod and arbitrary in his ideas, a bit of warmed over Burke.
schrodingers_cat
Thank You for this thread. Wallowing in despair is not my style.
Frankensteinbeck
Important: The ACLU says that the SCOTUS did not allow Trump’s transgender ban to go through. There is a third hold that is untouched.
EDIT – Fixed my paraphrasia.
Gelfling 545
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I think there are going to be tradeoffs. Someone like Biden might bring in more I and even R votes while someone like Harris would bring out more D’s. Good to know that, barring the unforseen, we have a good range of choices. And if, dog help us, it comes down to any of them or Sanders, pray we get the real Dem.
smintheus
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Plus 60% want to see Trump indicted if Mueller finds he committed crimes, and a plurality already want Trump impeached.
catclub
Buried the lede.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I know Mario Cuomo had bullshit in his record, but I gotta think he’d be embarrassed to see what his offspring have become (context here is fifth rate twitter troll Wohl The Father going Birther on Kamala Harris, who was born in Oakland, California)
“no proof either way”
The Midnight Lurker
Everyone… and I mean everyone, should read The Destiny and Nature of Man.
I’m still reading it after all these years.
P.S. – Comey should check out the Cliff Notes.
Fair Economist
I will judge you for having a collection of Obama pics:
You have good taste and foresight.
(Slams gavel)
Litlebritdifrnt
Jacob Wohl (remember him) has gone full on birther on Kamala Harris claiming (incorrectly) that she cannot run for POTUS because her parents weren’t naturalized citizen when she was born. Total bullshit of course because she was born in CA.
Dog Mom
So glad that you still have Snowy Ducks to give!
OzarkHillbilly
Better stay away from the news, too.
Fair Economist
@Gelfling 545: That poll shows there aren’t meaningful tradeoffs. 41% will vote for Trump. 53% will vote for the Dem unless there is something really wrong with them. The shortfalls are people who don’t know a candidate being cautious.
TaMara (HFG)
@catclub: It was a last minute thought. My bad.
Rusty
My favorite quote from Niebuhr, “therefore we must be saved by hope.
Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.”
That has often saved me from cynicism.
eric
@Rusty: From Camus (my hero): “I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain. One always finds one’s burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself, forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
Rusty
Damn editor, it won’t let me fix the quote:
Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope.
Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.
Amir Khalid
@Litlebritdifrnt:
Wohl’s ilk made shit up about Obama’s eligibility too. And they’ll make shit like this up about any Democratic candidate with even the faintest whiff of foreignness about her.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Interesting how Obama sort of indirectly predicted the internet/purity left’s reaction to his presidency, because they lack a Schoolhouse Rock-level of understanding how the US gov’t works
donnah
TaMara, I bought the Pete Souza book with his collection of Obama photos. When I get discouraged and depressed by the Daily Trump, I pick it up and skim through the wonderful pictures of Obama and his family and the men and women who used to hold this country in their hands and hearts.
I also got Souza’s book, Shade, which compares Obama’s events compared to Trump tweets. There’s stark contrast between the two, of course. And while it reminds me of better times, it’s also a sad reminder of what we’re up against now.
I’m holding out hope for better times and a better president.
TaMara (HFG)
@Rusty: I love that.
trollhattan
Brooks certainly overcame his brief period of being impressed with then-Senator Obama, didn’t he?
Brachiator
I don’t pay a great deal of attention to the Oscar ceremonies, but the list of the various films nominated does confirm that 2018 was a damned good year for movies. From popcorn superhero flicks, like Black Panther, to the yearningly sumptuous and sad If Beale Street Could Talk, mainstream to indie, there is something for everyone this year. I was also glad to see RBG in the mix for Best Documentary.
I actually saw Incredibles 2 twice. The first time I just rolled with the storytelling and action, and enjoyed seeing the gang back together again. The second time I focused on the 60s futuro animated production design, the jazzy score, and the deliberate replication of cinematic techniques (especially lighting and shadows). And of course Edna Mode and Jack Jack are hilarious.
So, I sez to meeself, that’s it. Disney/Pixar has done it again. Best animated film of the year. And then, late in the year, I was blown away by Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse, which has won the Golden Globes, the Producers Guild Award and a slew of other prizes, and is just freaking remarkably creative in every way possible. Plus it has one of the best, and most moving, tributes in its cameo to the late Marvel Mastermind Stan Lee.
I’d also like to single out for praise the delightful, wicked, and slightly odd historical drama The Favourite. I think it may have stolen some of the thunder from the more traditional, solid and well-acted Mary Queen of Scots.
If you haven’t seen many of these films, give them a chance when they pop up on your favorite streaming service.
Burnspbesq
@eric:
Amen. The enduring takeaway from Camus.
Mnemosyne
@Litlebritdifrnt:
We didn’t need any additional proof that the whole “birther” thing was racist to the core, but nice of Wohl to re-confirm that. “California? That’s not part of the US! And I bet her mother made a secret trip back to India that there’s no record of!”
Brachiator
@The Midnight Lurker:
Why?
@Litlebritdifrnt:
Plus, she has a Kenyan birth certificate! Joe Biden and AOC, also born in Kenya. Man, these right wing stooges are so predictable.
Who is Jacob Wohl? Apart from being an idiot.
Dorothy A. Winsor
It’s turning icy here and Mr DAW got in a fender bender on his way home from the barber shop. I told him he needed to find a dog and pet it. That’s what we all should do.
Sab
Weird day yesterday, digging out from 15″ of snow. Took my car out for a short trip and got stuck turning into my street on the way home. I had forgotten to put the little snow shovel back into my trunk this winter, so I set about digging the car out with the ice scraper. I was digging away for about fifteen minutes when a neighbor came out with a snow shovel and did a better job of digging. A couple of minutes later another neighbor (whom I had never met before) came by with her 8 year old daughter in tow. We all dug for a bit, then I got in my car, the two women and the 8 year old girl pushed me and I was on my way.
I came back later with my own actual snow shovel and dug out the entrance to the street so that other neighbors wouldn’t get stuck.
Envigorating, and all girls.
david
Twitter is now well into DAY FOUR of “teenager did a crass and detestable thing”,
and the virtual lynch mob has still not been satiated.
I understand Ted Koppel may come out of retirement if this continues much longer.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Sab: What a nice neighborly event.
SFAW
How did they taste?
Mnemosyne
@Brachiator:
Spider-Man is going to win All The Things, and it deserves to.
I ended up liking Bohemian Rhapsody more than I expected, and Rami Malek was really excellent as Freddie Mercury. Juicers will be happy to know that the film highlights Mercury’s love for his cats, which are featured in several scenes.
HeleninEire
Almost home. 5 more days.
catclub
@Mnemosyne:
you probably know better than I. I was more meh, on it.
SFAW
@smintheus:
What did the crosstabs show re: people who want Trump to be stripped of all the property he “owns,” without cancelling his debts, and then cast into the Slough of Despond with his only possession being a photo of Nancy Pelosi being sworn in as President of the USA? I bet it’s a larger number than one might guess.
schrodingers_cat
New recruit from St. Petersburg sighted.
schrodingers_cat
@Mnemosyne: Same here! I remember when Freddie passed away there was a debate among the Parsi community in Mumbai whether to allow his last rites to be performed at the Parsi Tower of Silence in Mumbai. They were proud of him (he was after all a prodigal son who made good) and many were also unhappy because he did his best to get away from his Parsi roots.
Martin
@Gelfling 545: Democrats don’t win by trying to convert I and R votes. They win by turning out D votes. Right now Harris is Democrats best prospect. We’ll see if that holds up.
Brachiator
@Mnemosyne:
Yep. Really good, sensitive performance. Also loved him in the concert scenes. I’m very happy for the film’s success.
Ha! An interesting little detail.
Martin
@Brachiator: Was Oakland even part of the US in the 60s?
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@schrodingers_cat:
He ain’t new. He’s been around before. He’s already been in my pie filter for months.
Brachiator
@Martin:
Why not both?
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
I prefer philosophers like Daniel Dennett or Karl Popper.
James E Powell
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The NYT will never accept those numbers for the Democratic candidates. They will promote Republican bullshit scandals or make up some troubling shadows and clouds on their own. First thing we do, let’s kill the NYT!
Martin
@Brachiator: Primaries generally exclude the ability to do both. My point is that if you have to choose, turn out your constituencies. If you can convert, then great, but that’s mainly a negative space exercise. That is, Dems have less control over whether those voters convert than Trump does. Converters are rarely won, they’re almost always lost. See John’s conversion as a good example of this. His initial take on Dems were that they were less evil than the GOP was at the time, but he was hardly racing toward progressive positions. That came a bit later, after he stopped buying the GOP line on Dem positions.
germy
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/22/joni-ernst-donald-trump-vice-president-turned-down
Litlebritdifrnt
@Amir Khalid: Persactly, hmmm I wonder what Harris and Obama have in common, let me think about it :)
raven
@germy: A boy named Gail!
germy
@raven: “It’s okay if you’re a republican.”
Brachiator
@Martin:
Well, as we know from Gertrude Stein’s explication of quantum uncertainty, Oakland is both in and not in the US.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@germy:
Can Ernst really look herself in the mirror and believe that being Donald Trump’s VP would have been an opportunity given the last 2 years? It’s been non-stop chaos and I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump would have been an absolute pig to her.
Then again, doesn’t she have experience with pigs?
lurker dean
JFC – the today show is having the covington kid on. just one dishonest reason article and they’ve all flipped to the bad guys being the black guys and the native american guy. mother fucking fuck, we have a lot of fucking racists in this country.
https://twitter.com/SavannahGuthrie/status/1087786191531974656
JPL
@germy: I think that Gail will be able to tell us more about Joni.
Tony P.
I am a guaranteed vote for the Democrat in 2020. Even if the Republicans run somebody other than He, Trump.
In the primary, I will give my vote to the candidate who does the best job of attacking the loathsome Mitch McConnell. Attacks on fellow Democrats will lose my (primary) vote.
Meanwhile, I want some enterprising capitalist to print up a few million “TRUCK FUMP” bumper stickers. Niebuhr, Camus, and that crowd are all right, but Rev. Spooner is MY idea of a philosopher.
–TP
Salty Sam
Although I know better, but because I have read Neibuhr (and like some facets of his philosophy), I clicked over to Brooks’ column to see what BHO’s take on him was. This
stopped me in my tracks. Only so much time in the day, I’m not wasting any more on Brooks’ BS.
This is hardly an original thought, but JEEZ-us what a wanker.
Raven
@JPL: He’s puttin her bidness in the street!
https://localtvwhotv.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/gail-ernst-afidavit.pdf
Frankensteinbeck
@Brachiator:
The goals are incompatible. We’re in a situation now where Republicans are separate from Democrats at a fundamental value level, where things we see as evil they see as good, and vice versa. Attempts to win Republican voters and Republican leaners will only depress the Democratic vote. There is a mushy middle, the people Comey influenced in fact, but the biggest successes have been from motivating the large block of liberal-leaning voters who normally don’t bother to vote. That was 2018 in a nutshell.
Raven
@lurker dean: If you can figure out a way to sympathize with “those balck guys” you got issues.
schrodingers_cat
@germy: I remember the fawning interview Judy Woodruff did with Ernst, when Ernst was running for the senate.
trollhattan
@schrodingers_cat:
They’re not sending their best.
As y’all dig out of your icy hells, hopeful news on CA’s snowpack, which has risen to 115% of normal for the date and 61% of the average season total (to be determined May 1). Big improvement over last year but no guarantee of a “full” water year, since there’s a lot of precedent for it to just…stop snowing for the rest of the winter.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@lurker dean:
From what I understand, the Black Israelites were the instigators and Nathan Phillips was trying to defuse the situation. Of course, given the video of the Covington boys harassing girls walking along the street, it’s possible they could have started the entire thing.
rikyrah
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Tell it, ABL??
Oh no you don’t. You don’t get to blame this on Twitter or people making assumptions about what you said.
You said “the longer there is no proof either way” like you couldn’t look on google and figure out FOR YOURSELF that she was born in Oakland and therefore eligible. https://t.co/ZYC19Q179P
— Imani Gandy (@AngryBlackLady) January 22, 2019
Litlebritdifrnt
Reaching out to Steve in ATL or anyone else in Atlanta. We lost the immigration appeal for my husband which means he has to go back to the States to reapply. Seeing as there is a British Consulate in Atlanta we figure that is the best place for him to go. Need recommendations for a) cheap accomodation near the Consulate (133 Peachtree Street), then cheap long term accomodation with Metro links for a long term stay. We think the approval time will be 60 days. Husband is hoping to get a part time job while he is over there so any help with that will be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.
chris
@lurker dean: FFS
trollhattan
@schrodingers_cat:
What did Judy Woodruff’s face look like when she told of Ernst proudly describing castrating hogs?
Brachiator
@Martin:
We’re both Californians, right? So, you should know better. The electorate is not purely binary, Democrats vs Republicans. There are real Independents, people who are not Republicans in hiding, and former Republicans who are repulsed by Trump and the mainstream GOP. Trump, and to a lesser degree Sanders, also appealed to people who had not voted for a number of years.
Every freaking analysis shows that Obama peeled away people who previously voted for Republican candidates. And if things come down to the swing states again, the Democratic Party candidate may have to attract some disaffected voters.
But we don’t have to worry about this election piffle stuff for some months.
germy
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
Sure. She’d be a heartbeat away from the presidency, and the last two years have probably convinced her she could have been a possible Gerald Ford (except in her more daring fantasies she thinks she could even win a second term). But that goshdarn husband ruined it all for her.
trollhattan
@chris:
Odds of Trump offering the ringleader RGB’s SCOTUS seat?
Ladies and germs, your new RW heroes!
trollhattan
@Brachiator:
IIRC “decline-to-state” now outnumber CA registered Republicans. Ain’t no other state that can claim that mantle.
germy
@JPL:
Republicans don’t do “amicable”
schrodingers_cat
@trollhattan: A benevolent smile, reserved only for the Republicans.
lurker dean
good lord, even balloon juice has sided with the poor innocent white children. because 3-5 black people were being assholes, the children were justified in intimidation and outright racism. got it.
Salty Sam
@germy:
…or if your last name is Snotes…
chris
@trollhattan: Sorta hoping that Ingraham is having a fever dream. If she isn’t all bets are off.
trollhattan
@lurker dean:
Whatchoo talkin’ about, Willis?
chris
@lurker dean: Um, what? Where?
Brachiator
@chris:
Well, that didn’t take long.
Is Trump going to serve them leftover hamberders?
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@chris:
They’re always the victims. It’s so disgusting.
germy
@Brachiator: I’m not seeing that being reported anywhere else.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@germy:
I know, odds are good Trump would have sexually assaulted her. I think she dodged a bullet.
trollhattan
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
“Smart” move wearing those damn hats. Their congressional rep–and Covington grad–was on this a.m. defending them to the hilt and blaming everybody else. Everybody. Wanted to kill my radio.
germy
I was surprised to see a new season of Doc Martin. We caught a brand new episode last Saturday, to our delight.
chris
@germy: Got it from Daniel Dale’s twitter.
ETA: It is a fever dream or a box of wine over the limit! See Adam’s comment #16 in the next thread.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I didn’t register as a Democrat until we moved to Iowa. Michigan primaries were open, so I didn’t need to declare until I went to my first caucus, where I registered as a D at the door. Mind you, with the exception of Milliken for governor, I always voted D. I assume sophisticated pollsters knew what I was doing, so I wouldn’t be considered an Ind. voter.
Brachiator
@trollhattan:
The California Republican Party is almost as dead as the parrot in that Monty Python skit. Putting it into context (and their misery makes me happy).
And yet party officials may elect a Trumper to be party chairman when they get together in February.
But again, it is not entirely happy news for either party.
In California, unaffiliated voters tend to side with Democrats because of their policies, but clearly here, there is a big chunk of people who are not totally in love with either party.
lurker dean
@Raven: if you’ve decided the white boys were good guys, you’ve got issues.
Brachiator
@germy:
I hope it’s not true. But either way, Fox News is going to continue to make hay of the story. And Trump will see the Fox News version and eat it up, ’cause that’s where he goes for his daily briefing.
FelonyGovt
@lurker dean: I don’t think that’s what he said.
germy
@Brachiator: Sometimes they make stuff up on Fox, hoping trump will see… and make it reality.
Imagine if we had a Balloon-Juice president! Some Democrat who follows Cole on Twitter and reads every post for ideas. Silverman, Cracker, Laurie.
He could even appear in comments, like Doug! to share recipes or pet photos.
That’s the reality limbaugh and coulter and hannity are living.
raven
@Litlebritdifrnt: That’s in the Georgia Pacific Building right by the Peachtree Center Transit Station. That means he can look in any direction from downtown. I hope it’s not within the next two weeks because Atlanta is going to be a mess with the Superbowl. Rents are pretty high anywhere decent but it also depends on what he fonds for work and where that is.
raven
@lurker dean: And I don’t, but those fuckers were assholes.
germy
Ingraham is now backing away from her reporting, saying that “White House now seems to be in flux” and that the meeting would happen “after shutdown.”
germy
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article224889035.html
Harry Hamid
Cool, now ask the same question to Trump.
Ohio Mom
@Litlebritdifrnt: if I were you, I’d send my plea to Adam or Anne Laurie and ask if it could be a front-paged as a post.
Lots of people who could potentially help are going to miss your comment in this thread. And you and hubby deserve all the help you can get!
The way I was able to contact the front pagers was through the search icon/magnifying glass. I typed in “contact a front pager” and the rest was self-explanatory.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Ohio Mom
@chris: I think we could have had a pool on that, when do the Covington boys get invited to the White House, that was inevitable.
Bet they’re served something better than cold fast food.
germy
@Ohio Mom: Not if Trump has to pay for it out of his own pocket, like last time.
Mnemosyne
@schrodingers_cat:
I felt like they dealt with that pretty well in the film and showed why he might have felt he needed to deny/conceal his Parsi roots to be successful in England, which was still pretty prejudiced against anyone from a non-white former colony. Plus, of course, there were vanishingly few religions that were accepting of homosexuality at the time, including Zoroastrianism, so that would be another reason for him to feel alienated from his roots. I felt like they did a pretty good job of showing him becoming reconciled with his family at the end (though of course it was all dramatized and fictionalized).
@Brachiator:
He actually would leave the TV for his cats to watch his TV appearances, as shown in the film. ?
I also liked that they went the route of showing that all of the members of the band had ideas and contributed and that it wasn’t a one-man show. That’s where a lot of music biographies fall down on the job. It focused on him because he had the most dramatic life, but it wasn’t about him being an oppressed genius forced to drag the rest of them along as usually shown.
catclub
@Raven: yowza!
FlipYrWhig
Lo and behold…
https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/flatview?cuecard=52817&fbclid=IwAR2zJLkJsRj5Uhu1hPF7GbizPI3AQj70S8ZzLBm8MZUNuAof2SjP1eMHzB4
Source:
NBC Today Show
Creator:
Meredith Vieira
Event Date:
04/07/2011
Air/Publish Date:
04/07/2011
germy
Look who’s being interviewed on NBC!
Elizabelle
@germy: NBC. They’re horrible. Have warned you again and again. NBC is going after the Fox crowd, but trying to hide their attempt.
They are gonna whitewash that white kid. Who is not wearing his MAGA Kid hat in the interview.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@germy:
Baud wept.
JustRuss
Small potatoes, and dunking on Brooks is beyond cliche, but still….”rush of words”? From Obama? Discussing philosophy? I just don’t see it. Brooks needed a synonym for “said”, and that’s the first thing that came up in his Thesaurus for Hacks app.
Burnspbesq
@Martin:
What could be more American than Hell’s Angels and Black Panthers?