President Biden is holding a press conference today; start time is 4pm Eastern. I realized as I was listening to yesterday’s press briefing that today will be President Biden’s 365th day in office, so that’s surely the reason for this event.
Let’s hope President Biden continues to call it as he sees it and doesn’t mince words to pacify the people who don’t want to hear the hard truth.
If this is like most press conferences, it will run a little late. Plus I’m putting this up 15 minutes early. In the meantime, perhaps you would like to play Argument Wars on the iCivics website, where you can argue a Supreme Court case.
In Argument Wars, you will try out your persuasive abilities by arguing a real Supreme Court case.
Ever tried to win a disagreement?
The other lawyer is your competition. Whoever uses the strongest arguments wins!
Cases include:
Bond v. United States
Brown v. Board of Education
Gideon v. Wainwright
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier
In Re Gault
Miranda v. Arizona
New Jersey v. T.L.O.
Snyder v. Phelps
Texas v. JohnsonPlay in Spanish and English!
There are currently 14 games on the website. I think I’ll put them up one at a time when I notice that we haven’t had a post in 4 or 5 hours.
Anyway… chat about whatever you want or try your hand at Argument Wars. They estimate that this one only takes 15 minutes.
Totally open thread. Talk about whatever you want.
WaterGirl
Joe Biden speaking now! On time!
Baud
You go, Joe!
SiubhanDuinne
This first part, pre-questioning, is probably a preview of his SOTU.
M31
Break up Big Meat!
Leto
Not sure who the first reporter is, but there’s a shuttle to the sun with a reserved seat for him.
Mousebumples
Apparently Manchin is speaking in the Senate at 430 eastern, so Biden may want to be sure his planned message isn’t made obsolete by whatever bombs Manchin has in mind…?
M31
debbie downer is up, ‘did you overpromise to America’?
who is this douchebag,
on second thought, who cares, fuck you douchebag
trollhattan
First question out of the gate: “Mister president, since you’re an abject failure in every conceivable way, how do you plan to resign?”
And they wonder why he doesn’t do more pressers.
trollhattan
@Mousebumples:
From the back of his yacht? Those are great optics for President Manchin.
SiubhanDuinne
@Leto:
@M31:
But Joe was prepared for the question, and he’s handling it well.
Betty Cracker
@Mousebumples: Or maybe Team Biden wanted to trample on that grandstanding shit-stain’s huffing and puffing.
M31
@SiubhanDuinne:
yup, nice quote about Sununu
Mousebumples
@trollhattan: ah, the logical fallacies inherent in that question. *sigh
Mousebumples
@Betty Cracker: yup. Either way, I suspect he’s “on time” to get his message out – either without revisions or, as a warning shot across the bow.
M31
I want him to say that the GOP is directly responsible for the vast majority of covid currently killing people, and it’s mostly white people dying, that would explode some heads
Leto
@SiubhanDuinne: no, I agree. Quoting Governor Sununu on why he didn’t run: because their plan was simple obstruction for years on end. That’s it. Nothing more. Stated, plainly, who’s at fault.
Second reporter can sit next to the first.
M31
who are these stupid dumbfucks?
‘your priorities blocked by your own party’
Leto
Reporter 2: your legislation sucks, why won’t you say that?
Biden: remember the two major bills I passed? Bigger than just about any other President in history?
Reporter 2: yes, but we’re going to focus on the suck.
SiubhanDuinne
@Leto:
Yes, who is she? She’s awful.
Mike in NC
The media can’t stop talking about inflation. It’s the new version of “Hillary’s emails” and is apparently much worse that trying to overthrow our democracy.
M31
“mitt romney never got a call!” FUCK YOU YOU DIPSHIT
these reporters are scum
stacib
@M31: And, what’s wrong with Mitt’s phone – it doesn’t make outgoing calls? He’s not in a cave somewhere – he knows what’s going on. If he wanted to be a “helper bee”, he wouldn’t be sitting on his ass complaining about Biden not calling him personally.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mousebumples:
¿Porqué…?, etc.
M31
@stacib:
yup, any GOP has the ability to be the center of attention at any time on this, but they won’t, wonder why
Kay
@stacib:
Mitt was all over the news saying he had a working group on voting rights including Manchin and Sinema. So where is their proposal?
M31
Joe being very fluent and smooth on Russia.
stacib
Every time I hear Putin, I think Pootin”. I’m so juvenile sometimes.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@Mike in NC: Inflation actually is a big issue for normies. For once, this is an example of reporters focusing on an issue the public cares about. I hope like Hell that Omicron burns itself out fast and the next variant isn’t strong enough to spread widely or do much damage. That is the only way we will end these supply chain disruptions that are upsetting the normies. If things feel like they are really getting back to normal, Biden’s popularity will go back up.
zhena gogolia
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: I just bought my week’s groceries. They cost exactly the same as a year ago.
ETA: But then I never watch TV news.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony:
Pretty much this. The Y/Y inflation was 7%, the highest since 1982. The Fed seems to be taking it seriously considering they’re planning on several rate hikes this year instead of 2023 like they’d originally planned
CaseyL
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: Gasoline prices have definitely gone up sharply. That’s a pain for people who need to drive a lot. But I’m hoping the prices will go down as supply chain issues smooth out.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@zhena gogolia: The amount of inflation varies pretty widely by region. Its high in some areas. When people who rarely if ever post political stuff on social media are grumbling about the grocery and gas bill, then this isn’t something you ignore.
M31
CBS dipshit now taking Mitch McConnell’s side
RinaX
As someone who has to drive teenagers all over for various activities, the higher gas prices are felt. Is inflation being hyped to the point where the media ignores most other things? Yes, but it’s definitely impacting people.
debbie
@Kay:
He’s too butt-hurt that Joe hasn’t called him to beg.
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
Some stuff’s even gone down a bit. Milk was 10 cents less than last week, for instance. This being Ohio, there’s no shortage of fresh produce, but there were plenty of empty spots in the treats section of Trader Joe’s.
Matt McIrvin
Mind you, the last time gas prices were this high was about 2018 and I don’t recall Trump getting a lot of crap about it, though Obama certainly did when they were even higher back around 2014, and Bush did when they were even higher than that back just before the 2008 crash. (One of the most bastardly political tactics I ever saw was people around 2010 trying to bash Obama for making gas prices go up relative to the level they were at just AFTER the crash.)
gvg
I still think the inflation is overhyped because we haven’t HAD any for so long. Its been decades of below what I was taught in business school was normal inflation. So now we have some a bit more in the “normal range” and part of that is because we had some deflation during the early shutdown because of the pandemic. Now we are having wages going up and that will also cause some inflation. It’s supposed to!
Not that it isn’t a problem, but it shouldn’t be as much as it seems because we have not really had much for a generation.
Baud
@Matt McIrvin:
Yeah. They’re higher than usual, but not extraordinarily high.
Starboard Tack
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: Gas prices are down ~10% around me in Denver over the last few weeks.
Baud
@gvg:
All those workers enjoying their new bargaining power are in for a rude awakening when the GOP gives power back to employers.
Matt McIrvin
@gvg: The scary thing about the 70s stagflation was that for a variety of reasons, for the longest time, it didn’t respond to the Fed cranking up interest rates higher and higher. (One reason may have been that until the end of the decade, people weren’t allowed to go to their bank and actually put their money in an account that would pay them some of that sweet high interest. So they were getting the shock but not the benefit of hedging against inflation by saving. Then the rules changed.)
Right now, we’re in a situation where the Fed hasn’t even gotten around to trying this yet, though they’re signaling that they will. But people are still freaked out that the 70s are back.
WaterGirl
@Leto: That guy asked the same bullshit question to Jen Psaki at yesterday’s press conference. He didn’t want an answer – he got one yesterday from Jen Psaki.
He was trying to make a statement.
Gin & Tonic
@CaseyL: I am paying less for gasoline now than I was in October.
M31
lol time to start some shit about Harris
lol Joe answers the question with 2 words
SiubhanDuinne
The inevitable “Are you going to dump Kamala” question. Surprised it took so long.
stacib
?Reporter?: “What do you say to those that were offended by your speech?”
Biden: They can kiss my entire ass!
Baud
@M31:
“Fuck you”?
Baud
@stacib:
Please tell me that’s a quote.
M31
@Baud: my Joe anger translator says yup
M31
“I didn’t say you WERE George Wallace and Bull Conner, but that you were voting on their side”
Old School
@Baud:
Paraphrase: “Are you happy with Kamala? And will she be your running mate in 2024?”
Biden: “Yes and Yes.”
MazeDancer
GOP are already screaming Mr. Biden invited Putin to invade. That a “minor incursion” into Ukraine was fine.
Yarrow
@zhena gogolia: Not in my neck of the woods. My grocery bill is much higher than it used to be and I’m buying pretty much the same stuff.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@gvg: My problem with inflation is that a large part of what’s driving it is people are buying record amounts of stuff. If demand is pushing prices higher, that means people have the money to buy stuff, which…is a good thing.
I realize it does suck for some folks to see prices go up but they’re going up in large part because people are spending money on stuff, which means they have money, which being the case, stop whining then because you’re doing OK. I don’t mind talking about inflation in the greater context of the economy but it shouldn’t and doesn’t have to be the sole and only focus of every story on the economy.
HeleninEire
Oh I have great news. Chris Cillizza (sp? – I don’t care) is twitting stupid stuff about the Biden news conference. He actually counted down the minutes “It’s been 12 minutes and Biden hasn’t answered any questions.”
JFC.
Well here’s my great news. I got myself a Twitter account a while ago not to Twit but because I want to read other’s twits.
Well. I just Twittered my first twat to Cillizza. It was: STFU.
Of course Twitter asked if I really, really wanted to say that.
STFU you too Twitter.
Thanks for the congrats!!
trollhattan
@Matt McIrvin:
I was taking university econ while it was happening under Ford. The prof, on showing us that inflation and unemployment could be manipulated to lower one by raising the other, would have to append the theory with “but, this does not describe what is occurring right now in the real world.”
Loved that class.
StringOnAStick
Every inflation story is failing to note that the 7% is year over year, and last year at this time the economy was barely up off the floor. Month to month might be more useful now.
Baud
@HeleninEire:
Good on you. Jesus, I’d kill myself if I had CC’s life.
Matt McIrvin
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
Well, what happens in an inflationary spiral is that people spend every penny they’ve got, even if they can’t really afford it, because they’re worried that their money will buy less tomorrow, and they don’t have any good way to hedge against that. That was one of the things that was going on in the 70s.
So it’s not necessarily a good sign that demand is robust. But I don’t see any signs that that is why people are buying now.
MagdaInBlack
@StringOnAStick: Thank You
Cermet
The Mars rover has found the strongest evidence to date that life has (at some time) created molecules using carbon; the samples were strongly enriched in Carbon-12 something that only life does here on Earth. Of course this isn’t iron-clad proof but it is a strong indicator – alternate ideas that don’t require life could explain it (but these are a bit of a stretch.)
See: https://www.livescience.com/mars-organics-curiosity-rover-possible-biosignature
mrmoshpotato
Good to see this is a bunch of “Why won’t
ObamaBiden lead?!” bullshit from the press.debbie
Who’s this asshole now?
StringOnAStick
@Matt McIrvin: It seems to me that people are buying more now not because they think their money will be worth less in the future, but because goods have been scarce and the goods themselves might not be available in the future, so if they can find them right now, they buy. I think supply chain issues are a whole lot more to blame than concern about one’s money being worth less in the future, especially with people young enough to have not lived through big inflation or stagflation before. The stock market yappers have been predicting the return of stagflation for many, many years and haven’t been right yet.
Gin & Tonic
@MazeDancer: What the fuck is a “minor incursion” when there was a major incursion 8 years ago?
Matt McIrvin
@trollhattan: Yeah, the Phillips curve broke, and it broke everyone’s brain. And it happened around the same time that rising crime and the Vietnam war convinced everyone that liberal governance as it had been known since World War II had failed. Kind of a perfect storm positioned to bring about Reaganism.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@Matt McIrvin: Yeah that is an issue with inflationary spirals but I agree that I don’t think we’re there yet. People are buying because they spent a lot of time not buying stuff over the past year and a half and then the dam broke. Once people have caught up on purchasing things will return to normal IMO. E.g. I didn’t get any work done on my house for a year or so then the vaccines came out and I felt safe having guys come in to work on stuff.
SiubhanDuinne
Oh Jesus F. Christ. Peter Douchey: “Why have you spent the entirety of your first year dragging the country, kicking and screaming, into socialism?”
(Slightly paraphrased.)
Leto
@SiubhanDuinne: strap him to the nose cone of the shuttle.
Matt McIrvin
@StringOnAStick: I think so too. I do think there’s a whole subculture of people of a certain age whose understanding of politics in some deep visceral sense is Jimmy Carter vs. Ronald Reagan 1980, over and over and over.
germy
Very true.
Baud
@germy:
Heh.
germy
debbie
@SiubhanDuinne:
Not as offensive as that Newsmax asshole.
StringOnAStick
The disruption to supply chains that we all know is happening right now from the massive numbers of people unable to work due to being sick with Omicron is going to give some media assholes on air orgasms when they get to report the bad data next month. Hopefully the rapid decline in Omicron infections will make it a short though sharp spike.
SiubhanDuinne
Smarmy Newsmax reporter: “Everybody thinks you’re mentally unfit. Even Politico says so! Why do you think that is?” (Paraphrased)
POTUS (grins and chuckles): “I have no idea. Next?” (Not paraphrased)
germy
HeleninEire
@Baud: I’m thinking that may be my ONLY twat going forward.
Gin & Tonic
OT, but I see Tucker Carlson will be broadcasting from Hungary again next week. Frat boy loves him some fascism, he does.
Baud
@HeleninEire:
Phrasing!
Matt McIrvin
There’s also an East Coast/West Coast thing going on–I get the impression that both inflation and supply-chain disruptions are WAY worse in the West than they are here in Massachusetts.
cain
@M31: We can’t say this in Florida because it makes white people uncomfortable.
Internationl_Mikey
@debbie: that was effin’ horrible. He gave them an answer that Newsmax will run with – “I have no idea…”. It was a proper, curt answer to a very disrespectful question, but it fits what Newsmax wants to say with absolutely no editing
HeleninEire
@Baud: ? ? ?
Matt McIrvin
@germy: I always grimace a little when I hear people talking about the judgment of history because I kind of assume that history in the future will be written by assholes and will be full of lies. At least, the popular history that the general public actually believes.
Starboard Tack
@HeleninEire:
That’s spelled “The Lizard”.
International_Mikey
I think he’s done a very good job of facing a pretty hostile press.
cain
So reporters are relishing the fact that they can give Biden “hard” questions cuz voting rights burned to the ground, huh? What a bunch of idiots. They should be concerned as well since they’ll just get stuck with GOP and gosh one party rule will really boring if we can’t smack Dems around. ?
RaflW
Even after this presser, and his recent speeches and so forth, I look forward (not at all) to some consigliere at the NYT to manage to still complain that Biden isn’t ‘accessible enough’
Because having TFG preen for the Covid briefings gave them content without having to, oh idunno, do any reporting.
Cacti
After two years of being a model citizen about Covid prevention, I’ve finally come down with it. Wife got it first. Probably from some unvaxxed arsehole fighting for their “constitutional right” to spread disease.
I have to say, if this is supposed to be the mild version, somebody has a very different definition of mild than I do.
I haven’t felt this sick in years.
RaflW
@Matt McIrvin: One of the reasons that the 1619 Project is so enraging to the right (and a share of non-right but still closet racist jerks), is IMO the heart of the saying “History belongs to the victors.”
If the worldview shifts to a 1619-style history becomes predominant, that indicates that who is winning, if you will, has changed drastically from our stale “the Pilgrims came in 1492 and soon after, benevolent Manifest Destiny spread o’r the land.”
Baud
@Cacti:
Maybe you have Delta rather than Omicron.
Old School
@Cacti: Sorry to hear that. I hope you and your wife fully recover soon.
Cacti
@Old School: Thanks. She’s on day 6 now, and looks to finally be on the mend.
I first started showing symptoms yesterday evening and am right in the middle of the worst of it. :-(
SiubhanDuinne
@Cacti:
Sorry to hear that. I hope you’re feeling much better very soon.
cain
@Cacti: Ugh, I’m so sorry – I hope you recover without any long term effects. I’m glad you are vaxxed!
My wife and her two kids all got sick too – for some reason me and her ex-husband didn’t get it.
cain
@Starboard Tack: But pronounced, ‘asshole’ I believe?
Matt McIrvin
@Baud: Omicron has made some people I know pretty miserable–you never can tell. Nobody who’s vaxxed and boosted has gone to the hospital but some of them have a terrible week. Others just get the sniffles or have no symptoms at all.
NotMax
(Barely a) teaser for Prime’s billion dollar Lord of the Rings series, expected to premiere in September, has dropped.
Peale
@Matt McIrvin: The last Politico article I read complaining about the supply chain issues was written a few days after they had a bit of drifting snow. In the Beltway, that is always going to lead to empty shelves. People panic with snow down that way. I am wondering where the shortages are. Maybe Biden is secretly stocking the shelves in blue states while allowing the red states to fight over cat food.
The measures put in place that create inflation are always more popular than those to combat inflation, and anything Biden would propose to take on the issue head on would scare the bejesus out of the electorate. Thankfully Omicron while horrible for hospitals doesn’t look like its going to demand another round of stimulus spending, because that isn’t happening with this Congress.
Matt McIrvin
@cain: I think a lot of people in political media really miss having Trump around–they saw his constant asshole behavior as exciting, an endless buffet of stories. Being obliged to kiss his ass was fine with them as long as the show kept running.
Remember all the media folk who made some version of the “Admit it–you’ll miss him” tweet when Trump was actually leaving? I kept thinking “no, YOU’LL miss him, I will not.”
Peale
@NotMax: So I’m assuming that there’s no actors in the series and they spent their wad manufacturing clouds and fire.
Ksmiami
@Mousebumples: fuck fuck fuck Manchin- kick his ass out of the party. Over him
NotMax
Good stuff, keep ’em coming.
StringOnAStick
@Matt McIrvin: I have a hideous drunken spoiled brat aunt who was a reporter her whole life, and she is exactly as you describe; the bigger the local asshole, the more she wanted to report on them. Nevada, of course.
RaflW
@Matt McIrvin: My partner’s colleague was so asymptomatic that her Covid was only detected because the colonoscopy she was scheduled for had a pre-op test.
Hope you bounce back swiftly, Cacti.
Baud
@Matt McIrvin:
Interesting. I’ve been lucky so far in avoiding it. We’ll see if that lasts before it burns itself out.
Ksmiami
@Cacti: my best friend vaxxed and boosted said same thing. Get better soon
Matt McIrvin
@Peale: The weekend before last, when I went to the grocery store, a bunch of weird random things were completely absent. The biggest one was chicken. There was no chicken at all.
I went back on Monday and a lot of that had already gotten better. With some things, you couldn’t get the specific brand you might want, but there was something.
And most of the chicken came in while I was watching. Before that, for some reason they only had huge supplies of chicken legs, and all the chicken areas had a thin layer of these packages of drumsticks spread over them.
Baud
@Matt McIrvin:
Their ratings were higher with Trump. They made bank.
p.a.
@Matt McIrvin: 1980 econ dept was only one on campus with Reagan signs prevalent, we had a discussion with, IIRC Wm Poole (GHWB later appointed him to St Louis Fed) among other profs and called out Laffer curve as utter bullshit, and the response (can’t remember who exactly) was, close to verbatim: well saying we’re going to bring on a recession to halt inflation is not a winning message.
I’ll never fucking forget that.
Nancy
Lotsa gotcha and Mr,.President didn’t let it throw him.
Definitely douchnozzle question about why he thinks a Politico (also douchey) poll says some number of people who want to answer doucheee questions, may have said he’s not right in the head. Meanwhile he patiently answered using subjects, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives in complete sentences.
Nancy
@Nancy: Could tfg (you know who I mean) have done that? How long before he’d have pouted and whined and left?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I was out and about and don’t know what the good general is referring to, but if I were Chuck Todd I’d be looking over my shoulder in DC-area buffet lines.
cain
@Matt McIrvin: the press made a lot of money from the outraged non-trumpers. Endless dicussions, accusations, it was the world’s greatest reality tv show.
RaflW
@Nancy: We don’t need the equivalent of kremlinologists to decode the gibberish if the president speaks in complete sentences & paragraphs.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@NotMax: Wow that was boring. And I’m a LOTR fan
Kay
@Mousebumples:
He vowed to protect the filibuster – it’s the only thing he has to talk about now. He’s killed every proposal for actual legislation, so no point in asking him about any of that.
A senate rule from 1975 is this grown man’s entire reason for being there.
Omnes Omnibus
@Dorothy A. Winsor: It doesn’t have to be interesting. It just needs to let people know it’s coming.
Kay
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
They think Republicans are going to win in 2022 so they’re ass kissing. It would be a genuine pleasure if that turns out to be a bad bet.
NotMax
@Dorothy A. Winsor
Yeah, there’s not much to it.
“Amazon promises two day delivery on all rings manufactured. Shipping to Mordor may take longer.”
/
Kay
@Mousebumples:
Sinema was scrolling through her phone as her fellow filibuster warrior vowed to fight to the end for a senate rule. It bores even her.
Peale
@Matt McIrvin: Yeah. Meat prices are a problem. Lordy, I had a recipe that called for ground lamb that I wanted to make and it was going for $18 per pound, which is about 33% higher than what I’m used to paying. So ground pork it was. Poultry is a problem that’s spilling over to the rest of the meat section.
These aren’t problems that can be ignored, but honestly, I’m not exactly certain what is to be done here. The food processing workers were hit very hard as essential workers and not a lot was done to improve their working conditions. They are opting out for other jobs and probably aren’t going to be coming back if they’ve found something better. Now, 3.9% unemployment with labor shortages would be the ideal time to loosen up on immigration, but….good luck with that. I’ll believe that we’re serious about solving that issue when I hear David Brooks write about how he’s encouraging his grandkids to consider moving to Iowa to help make sausages.
Edmund Dantes
https://twitter.com/andrew_chung_/status/1483939285632008195?s=21
tick tock
Scotus denied TFG latest bid to stop national archives from releasing docs.
https://twitter.com/andrew_chung_/status/1483940940846882818?s=21
Baud
@Edmund Dantes:
Wow. Good SCOTUS news. It shouldn’t be a surprising result, but with this court it is.
NotMax
Paper caper.
Doesn’t seem to be particularly problematic for the other 49 states, does it?
sab
@Cacti: Mild means you aren’t hospitalized due to Covid.
JMG
Local grocery stores in my neck of Mass. are well stocked, but deliveries aren’t arriving as often as previously scheduled. On Monday, produce section was quite sparse. On Tuesday morning, it had everything.
sab
@Peale: I wemt to the grocery today amd there was no catfood at all. So tje cats will either eat cat chow, deli meat lor doggie Alpo whether they like it or not.
I don’t blame Joe Biden. I blame 19 inches of snow.
Matt McIrvin
@JMG: Yeah, if you go on Sunday evening you’re likely to have a worse time finding stuff.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: They miss their Orange Piggy Bank.
Matt McIrvin
@sab: Around here the grocery stores sporadically run out of canned cat food but Petco has always still got it.
Matt McIrvin
@NotMax: Ken Blackwell will tell you how important it is to get the right weight of paper.
Steeplejack (phone)
@StringOnAStick:
We had this discussion on this very blog a month ago, with clips from Krugman maintaining that “Eek—7% inflation! ?” is somewhat fear-mongering. Something like 2.8% of that is the result of supply-chain issues caused by the highly unusual pandemic year. And there have been huge price rises in a few areas—e.g., used cars, meat—that have had outsized effects on the inflation rate.
Leto
@Kay: “Mr President, we keep saying that Republicans are going to win the midterms, we keep telling our viewers Republicans will win the midterms, we refuse to say anything other than Republicans will win the midterms, so why do you think Republicans will win the midterms?”
@NotMax: Maddow spoke a bit about this last night, specifically that some of TX’s largest counties are already denying essentially 50% of registration cards. Didn’t mention this ass sec’s “supply chain” response, but either way TX is doing exactly what they set out to do with all of their new voter restriction measures.
debbie
@Cacti:
Sorry to read this, and hope you’re past the worst very soon.
Omnes Omnibus
@sab: I want 19 inches of snow.
Matt McIrvin
@RaflW: I keep remembering the “Schoolhouse Rock” song “Elbow Room” about Manifest Destiny–they were literally singing about the pursuit of Lebensraum as if it were this uncontroversial thing, speculating about Moon colonization at the end as a continuation of the expanding frontier.
And I think the 1970s people who made “Schoolhouse Rock” saw themselves as generally progressive. It was probably the single cartoon that’s aged the worst.
RaflW
OMFG. Preening crybaby:
He’s a blue checkmark reporter for, uhhh, Real Clear News.
debbie
So James Rosen, the Newsmax jackass, also appears on my local Fox station’s (part of Sinclair) late night news. Aren’t Fox and Newsmax competitors? I’m confused.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: For some people, wages are going up at or more than inflation. Other people have not gotten a raise and inflation is taking a bite. It’s a supply chain issue. It should be temporary. That doesn’t mean it isn’t upsetting people now.
One thing Bill Clinton was good at was feeling people’s pain. Trump was good at yelling about stuff and shifting blame (though he didn’t do shit or did the absolute wrong things). In both cases the press amplified it and normies felt heard. Going after people who are taking advantage to up their prices is good. He just needs to amp up the noise about it.
CROAKER
@NotMax: Time to drop some dude’s jewelry into a furnace
Alexa “where is my ring?
Looking forward to some pre-history in the making … you cannot simply walk into Mordor trust me … tried a few times
NotMax
Long-ish read: wrapping a cloak of secrecy around Florideath.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: It was 8-1 with Thomas protecting his wife.
Joy in FL
@Cacti: I’m so sorry. I hope you and your wife will be ok.
Brachiator
@debbie:
No, they are more partners in crime, amping up right wing propaganda.
RaflW
@Matt McIrvin: My partner was preparing to preach a sermon about 5 or 6 months ago that, in part, led him down a Schoolhouse Rock rabbit hole.
His conclusion was that quite a bit of it was problematic, but indeed the Make Room one was worst.
(He has preached several times on authoritarianism. And, to be clear, as a problem. We know our evangelical Christian f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶s̶ neighbors are all too eager for it.)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Matt McIrvin:
Yeah, don’t get me started on Lolly and his fucking adverbs
(actually, I was thinking about the elbow room one the other day– Bill becoming a law led me down some rabbit holes of memory– and I agree with you.
NotMax
In a word, asshole.
TheflipPsyd
SCOTUS ruled no executive privilege for Trump. 8 to 1. He has to turn records and even if he were president he’d have to turn over records. Something to talk with Adam Schiff tonight:
ETA I see I am late yet again. Exciting news though
Geoduck
@Matt McIrvin: Here in WA state there are definite gaps on the shelves. One weird one is pasta noodles, my local store has all the other varieties of pasta, but no flat noodles.
MazeDancer
@sab: Do consider Chewy. (chewy.com) Cheaper prices. 1 to 2 day delivery.
debbie
@Matt McIrvin:
Yeah, well that did wonders for his political career. //
Matt McIrvin
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: And the people who are hit hardest by inflation are people on fixed incomes, like retirees.
Peale
@sab: You could make your own, but honestly I think this recipe looks more tasty than what I normally eat.
cain
@Brachiator: plenty of rubes to share.. besides they hop around to all the right wing sites. They love it.
Of course, most of them will likely get sick from covid.
Jay
Around here, pork and chicken are hard to get, expensive, eggs are rationed and expensive, winter vedge is expensive. Gas was rationed, now it’s just expensive.
That would be due to the floods and landslides destroying the highways, drowning the farms in the Fraser Valley and shutting down the pipelines.
A lot of Fraser Valley ag products are exported west and south.
At best, it will be a year and a half before the Fraser Valley will be producing the same volume and for some ag products, it might be as long as 5 years.
debbie
@Brachiator:
I’ll have to look for it next time, but I don’t think his affiliation is included in the chyron with his name.
Kay
@RaflW:
Wouldn’t you just think that and not write it and send it out?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Sure Lurkalot
America has been punch drunk on cheap goods for a very long time. Cheap goods based on cheap labor, because the betters’ profit margins are sacrosanct.
Why doesn’t any one ask about this? (From Informed Comment):
160 mn. Fell into Poverty during Pandemic as 10 Wealthiest Men doubled Wealth to $1.5 Trillion (Oxfam)
Jay
@Geoduck:
Durham wheat crops got slammed by the heat bubble. There is a pasta flour shortage.
Kay
@sab:
They also don’t have enough truckdrivers and truckdrivers (thankfully) are limited in how long a stretch they can work and how many hours, so they can’t just work them to death to make up for it.
Chief Oshkosh
@debbie:
You’re going to have to be by way more specific.
Scout211
PSA: If you need a rapid in-home test before your free ones are delivered, Costco has the Flo-flex brand back in stock right now. $47.99 for a box with 5 tests in it. Flo-flex.
They had them in stock a few days ago and then quickly sold out. They are currently back in stock. Delivery estimate for my address was January 24th.
bjacques
@Kay: I’m afraid to look. Did Manchin swear eternal fealty to the filibuster as it exists now or in general? Leaving conceivably room for a talking filibuster?
Throw me a bone here.
Mary G
@Cacti: I hope it works its way with you quickly and leaves no system for both you and Ms. C.
I just got off a phone visit with my primary MD. He’s usually one of those annoying always cheerful people, but today he was noticeably frazzled. He had been looking for a disability-useful imaging center that could handle a sitting chest Xray and I was right they were all moved to the hospitals, but STAY.AWAY.FROM.THE.HOSPITALS MARY.
I swear he almost broke into tears when I told him the pulmonologist listened and found nothing unusual and didn’t care if I got an Xray or not. His office is tiny, only 12 employees, and only 3 were there today, most of the rest working from home because they live with toddlers young and old or have preexisting conditions, etc. I don’t know how they can handle all the work and data that flows through there every minute of every day, but so far they are. So far.
Chief Oshkosh
@Baud: Always the optimist, eh Baud?
Soprano2
@trollhattan: I took econ in 1981 and 1982. Lots of “this has never happened before” and “here’s what usually happens”. Interest rates had never been that high before, and never have been again. What’s happening now is nothing like the 1970’s and early ’80’s.
Chief Oshkosh
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: For us old farts, could you translate that?
Gin & Tonic
@TheflipPsyd: Who was the 1?
Jay
@Kay:
At many ports they also only get paid when they have a cargo, ( piecework basically), not when they are sitting in a line up, waiting for a load, so a bunch have moved away from the ports to more long haul, (profitable) jobs.
debbie
@Chief Oshkosh:
Turns out it was Doocey. Still, an asshole.
Peale
@Jay: Yep. Lack of supplies to make food due to a drought in Canada + lots of people hoarded pasta in 2020 because it was something they could cook which meant supplies of durham had dwindled to begin with. So we’ll need to wait and hope the harvest is o.k. this year.
On the plus side, maybe we’ll rediscover the glory of dumplings while we wait and hope for September.
StringOnAStick
We had some empty shelves when the heavy snow at the first of the year closed the passes for a day. I was surprised how long that lingered though I think there is less than zero slack in the system right now due to shortages of people who can drive trucks and aren’t currently sick or have moved on to better jobs.
debbie
I didn’t like the implication that Biden needed to fire staff or that staff had failed him.
Another Scott
Biden did well. Most of the reporters I heard were horrible.
Dean Baker at CEPR – Is Europe’s inflation Joe Biden’s fault?
Isn’t everything??
I’m so old that I remember that inflation was “high” (getting close to 4%) after the housing bubble burst (causing the Great Recession). It then fell back into the (too low, below) 2% range. Things like that happen, and are totally normal, after huge disruptions to the economy.
Cheers,
Scott.
WhatsMyNym
@Jay:
Time to cross the border and go shopping.
Jay
@WhatsMyNym:
Nope. Ain’t crossing the border into Covid World. Ain’t spending the gas, hours in line ups, Covid status hassles, to save $0.51 CDN a pound on previously frozen chicken wings and “cheese like products”.
I go to work, (transit, same price as always) my Starbucks, ( walk, they say my name when I walk in), Safeway, ( walk), the Liquor Store, (walk) , Bosleys, ( cat fud, pine pellets, walk), and my Convenience Store, ( smokes, walk) where they also know be by name and know my order.
Covid life is a block around my apartment and 2 blocks around my work.
If I am feeling “adventurous”, there is great Chinese take out, Pho, Pizza, Mexican and Indian within a 1 block walk from home.
”No Farmers no Food” is big here, so we did our best to support Indian Farmers, and now to support our Farmers. All my pumps and Heavy Equipment is still out in the Valley, helping the repairs and recovery.
NotMax
@debbie
Psaki has mastered the art of treating him as an amuse-douche.
//
Matt McIrvin
@Sure Lurkalot: Cheap goods have been the counter to housing and education and health care being ruinously expensive. “You should be happy, you can get cheap gadgets we couldn’t even imagine 20 years ago!” And, yeah, that’s not nothing. I’ve been involved in producing some of them myself. But there’s a cost.
cain
@bjacques: If the fillibuster was a phallic symbol, he’d perform fellatio on it, in a way that porn filmmakers would pay him more than if he was a senator.
Matt McIrvin
@debbie: They want drama they can report on, like Jimmy Carter firing his Cabinet members.