58 thoughts on “Sunday Serendipity”

  1. Jack, thank you.  just the right touch for the final days of pols posturing as patriots while picking pockets of poor peons.

  2. Ivy, thanks for “the full Petri” post last thread. Actually because it is from a humorist, more eyes may see it without glazing over and it might touch more hearts and go viral. it deserves an encore:

    The Washington Post is not bothering to endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election. (Jeff Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin and the founder and executive chairman of Amazon and Amazon Web Services, also owns The Post.)
    We as a newspaper suddenly remembered, less than two weeks before the election, that we had a robust tradition 50 years ago of not telling anyone what to do with their vote for president. It is time we got back to those “roots,” I’m told!
    Roots are important, of course. As recently as the 1970s, The Post did not endorse a candidate for president. As recently as centuries ago, there was no Post and the country had a king! Go even further back, and the entire continent of North America was totally uninhabitable, and we were all spineless creatures who lived in the ocean, and certainly there were no Post subscribers. But if I were the paper, I would be a little embarrassed that it has fallen to me, the humor columnist, to make our presidential endorsement. I will spare you the suspense: I am endorsing Kamala Harris for president, because I like elections and want to keep having them. Let me tell you something. I am having a baby (It’s a boy!), and he is expected on Jan. 6, 2025 (It’s a … Proud Boy?). This is either slightly funny or not at all funny. This whole election, I have been lurching around, increasingly heavily pregnant, nauseated, unwieldy, full of the commingled hopes and terrors that come every time you are on the verge of introducing a new person to the world.
    Well, that world will look very different, depending on the outcome of November’s election, and I care which world my kid gets born into. I also live here myself. And I happen to care about the people who are already here, in this world. Come to think of it, I have a lot of reasons for caring how the election goes. I think it should be obvious that this is not an election for sitting out. The case for Donald Trump is “I erroneously think the economy used to be better? I know that he has made many ominous-sounding threats about mass deportations, going after his political enemies, shutting down the speech of those who disagree with him (especially media outlets), and that he wants to make things worse for almost every category of person — people with wombs, immigrants, transgender people, journalists, protesters, people of color — but … maybe he’ll forget.”
    “But maybe he’ll forget” is not enough to hang a country on!
    Embarrassingly enough, I like this country. But everything good about it has been the product of centuries of people who had no reason to hope for better but chose to believe that better things were possible, clawing their way uphill — protesting, marching, voting, and, yes, doing the work of journalism — to build this fragile thing called democracy. But to be fragile is not the same as to be perishable, as G.K. Chesterton wrote. Simply do not break a glass, and it will last a thousand years. Smash it, and it will not last an instant. Democracy is like that: fragile, but only if you shatter it. Trust is like that, too, as newspapers know.
    I’m just a humor columnist. I only know what’s happening because our actual journalists are out there reporting, knowing that their editors have their backs, that there’s no one too powerful to report on, that we would never pull a punch out of fear. That’s what our readers deserve and expect: that we are saying what we really think, reporting what we really see; that if we think Trump should not return to the White House and Harris would make a fine president, we’re going to be able to say so.
    That’s why I, the humor columnist, am endorsing Kamala Harris by myself!

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/10/26/washington-post-endorses-kamala-harris-satire/

  3. jon stewart like ms petri tries hard to get the tough message of alarm across in round about ways by humor

    Jon Stewart recaps all the latest surreal election news, as well as the GOP reaction to Trump’s “enemy within” claims. Michael Kosta handles Elon Musk’s million-dollar bribes, Republicans’s response to Trump being called a fascist, Tucker Carlson calling Trump “daddy,” and how voters are done with the 2024 election. #DailyShow #JonStewart #Trump

  7. Michelle Obama:

    “I hope you’ll forgive me if I’m a little frustrated that some of us are choosing to ignore Donald Trump’s gross incompetence while asking Kamala to dazzle us at every turn. I hope that you’ll forgive me if I’m a little angry that we are indifferent to his erratic behavior. His obvious mental decline. His history as a convicted felon. A known slumlord. A predator found liable for sexual abuse. All of this while we pick apart Kamala’s answers from interviews that he doesn’t even have the courage to do, y’all.”

  8. Are you better off today than four years ago?  Of course, and as a reminder I just opened the giant warehouse package of paper towels from mid-2020.  So many was inadvertent, just a problem with forgetting the yellow sticky note when out shopping for groceries at the local giant warehouse store.
     
    We only  need a few more days before the orange idiot can go off and do whatever, hopefully room temperature.

  10. “I will rescue every town across America that has been invaded and conquered,” [Trump] said Thursday in Las Vegas.

    Those towns weren’t invaded, they were abandoned in favor of newer neighborhoods in the suburbs with cul-de-sacs, and now immigrants are helping to populate the same urban periphery that YOUR immigrant grandparents populated

    the new modern American Rust Belt culture of proud ignorance makes all of the intellectual capital it develops want to leave it at the first opportunity, be glad someone wants to live there voluntarily

  12. Last year, the comedienne Judy Gold, had a theatrical show in New York called “Yes, I Can Say That.”  She gave heat to the PC and to fascists.  “When they come for the comedians, we are all in trouble,” as she said. 

    The two sides aren’t the same, though.  The left might cancel you, but it might be temporary or a different audience may be found for that type of humor.

    However, fascists have a sense of cruelty masquerading as humor, and they can never laugh at themselves, so the far right might censor a comedian with threat of loss of liberty, they might actually be jailed or even disappeared. 

    Fascism is no laughing matter. Project 2025 is note a joke book.

    The Harris/Walz rallies draw huge crowds, but they are preaching to the converted.

    I don’t know how we get through to everyone, of any gender, race or religious identity, to vote to save democracy and against living in a fascist state. Sadly, the media has mostly been complicit in ignoring the danger that is Putin’s puppet.

  13. i am going to have very high expectations for a Harris term if she gets, by the grace of God, a Democrat-controlled congress
     
    Codification of reproductive rights will be first in such a scenario, campaign finance and conduct reform had better come soon after
     
    🤞

    (and yes, i understand such a scenario is a long-shot and likely hinges on Jon Tester’s reelection which is not projected)

    imagine a Republican party that actually had to develop real policy and an interest in governing because of an broad electoral rebuke of their irresponsible candidates, next week. Let’s make it happen! 👏 👏 🇺🇸

  14. Jack, thanks for the Beauty in these beastly last days.

    Pat, you’re welcome, and thanks for the clean up and reprint of Sturge’s request. It’s a wonder Bezos let the column through. Maybe others will also speak out within the pages. If Bezos can’t tell the truth about Plumpty before the election, what would he do in the case he wins? I heard Liz Cheney cancelled her subscription.

  18. It would really have been super cool if when slump said that Hitler had done some good things if the general had asked him “What good things did he do?”

    Like that nimrod had a clue what hitler had done. Aside from the 6 million dead Jewish people and a war ravaged Europe.
     

  19. This from Erin Reed, a reporter on LGBTQA issues.  I had to explain to the Red Cross why I will not go to certain states, this is the primary reason.

    Fundamental civil rights and human dignity for Trans and Gender Diverse people of all ages collapse further in U.S. trumpism-dominated states, as the city of Odessa, Texas, enacts a vigilante “bounty hunter” law with criminal prosecution and civil liability of “no less than $10,000” for using restrooms in public facilities. This nightmare will almost certainly spread to right-wing state legislative agendas.

    [cross-posted to the International Trans Health forum]

    Just to be clear, these theo-fαsc¡st bathroom bans are a threat to TGD health, with direct medical consequences (including risk of hematuria and chronic kidney disease, as noted by the AMA) and implied invitation to anti-trans harrassment, assault, and worse. Modeled after Jim Crow racial persecution of past generations, these trumpism-era laws and ordinances are intended to fraudulenty incite public fear and to eradicate TGD participation from all aspects of human society.

    “The ordinance’s enforcement mechanisms are among the most extreme of any bathroom ban in the United States. Notably, it creates a private right to sue transgender individuals found in designated bathrooms… If the challenger succeeds, the transgender individual would be required to pay the cisgender complainant “no less than $10,000,” with no cap on the potential bounty.” —-journalist Erin Reed

     

  24. I’ve heard “Hitler did some good things” my whole life but the only thing I ever heard anyone name as a good thing he did was he made Volkswagens.   A regular Henry Ford.

  25. The numbers are right on my schedule. Polls in the field beginning last Sunday show undecideds and leaners breaking her way by as much as 10 pts above Trump. At this pace she gets a 5pt lead by Election Day and on target for my 319 EVs.

  26. As usual Black voters are coming home, realizing once again Republicans talk a lot but actually offer them nothing.

    Every election the GOP boasts about rising numbers but in the end they get the same high single digits they’ve posted since Goldwater.

  27. This gender gap is so troubling it bugs the hell out of me. Chris Matthews said the election is to be decided by the housewives of Bucks County.  Certainly more women must vote than ever before or we are going down in defeat.  Every single opinion speaker says we are in a dead heat. Nothing will surprise us .  If SCOTUS is to decide, well….

  30. ivy, 18 signed in on their disapproval

    https://wapo.st/3NGxSAh

    Opinion Post columnists respond
    The newspaper’s refusal to endorse a presidential candidate is a mistake.
    By 18 Post Opinions columnists
    October 25, 2024 at 6:50 p.m. EDT
    The Washington Post’s decision not to make an endorsement in the presidential campaign is a terrible mistake. It represents an abandonment of the fundamental editorial convictions of the newspaper that we love. This is a moment for the institution to be making clear its commitment to democratic values, the rule of law and international alliances, and the threat that Donald Trump poses to them — the precise points The Post made in endorsing Trump’s opponents in 2016 and 2020. There is no contradiction between The Post’s important role as an independent newspaper and its practice of making political endorsements, both as a matter of guidance to readers and as a statement of core beliefs. That has never been more true than in the current campaign. An independent newspaper might someday choose to back away from making presidential endorsements. But this isn’t the right moment, when one candidate is advocating positions that directly threaten freedom of the press and the values of the Constitution.
    [continues with names of who signed the above]

    plus see capehart’s
    https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/i-m-an-associate-editor-at-the-washington-post-the-non-endorsement-is-abominable-222778949613

  32. Pat, good start to the list of names, several missing that need to step up and do their thing. Remains to be seen if Bezus has some house-cleaning in mind. 

  34. Trump rally speaker: “There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico”

    Trump rally speaker: “And these Latinos, they love making babies too. Just know that. They do. They do. There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside. Just like they did to our country.”

  35. Disgusting.  I hope the media lets folks know. 

    They had a comedian, allegedly, say those things to give them some cover if they get any flack. JK. Not.

  37. https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/27/europe/georgia-election-russia-protests-intl-latam/index.html

    “In a dramatic show of unity, Georgia’s often fractured opposition gathered at the presidential palace in Tbilisi, standing shoulder to shoulder behind the president, Salome Zourabichvili, as she defiantly announced, “I do not recognize these elections. Recognizing them would be tantamount to legitimizing Russia’s takeover of Georgia … We cannot surrender our European future for the sake of future generations.” “We were not just witnesses but also victims of what can only be described as a Russian special operation – a new form of hybrid warfare waged against our people and our country.”
     

  39. The apologist in the house said the guy just didn’t know his geography; the garbage patch is in the Pacific.  I pointed out the horrible things being said about Latinos, and that it has nothing to do with the floating plastic.  They pretended to not understand.  

    ps – Seek help, JD. Seek help.

  40. I feel sick. About to head out to see the Broadway touring performance of Hadestown. Will seem like comic relief. 

  42. How many unvaccinated MAGAts are in MSG? 

    They will have to sage MSG before the next concert.

    Let’s hope this gets a lot of coverage on tomorrow’s evening news.

  43. it’s as if they made an effort to replicate the infamous 1939 nazi rally at MSG
     
    Not even casual racists would tell those shitty jokes they’re so offensive

  44. Chris Matthews said the election is to be decided by the housewives of Bucks County

    lol he literally says that every election 

  46. Maybe the Greatest Generation should’ve talked to their kids more about what they saw. 

  47. https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/25/tech/elon-musk-political-meetings-influence-dg/index.html
    “Over the past three years, Elon Musk has met dozens of times with presidents, prime ministers, lawmakers, government officials and political candidates from around the world.”
     
    “Known topics of conversation ranged from business opportunities for Musk’s companies to elections and policy issues such as trade, energy, education and population management, according to a CNN review of Musk’s meetings, calls and conversations with political figures around the world since August 2021.”
     
    “…his companies and deep pocketbook but also for his ability to impact the course of wars through his Starlink satellite service;his opinion on artificial intelligence, the next major wave of technology development; and his role in swaying public opinion through his platform, X.”
    “During a conference for Italy’s far-right Brothers of Italy party last year, Musk railed against “illegal immigration” and the “woke mind virus” that he said was gripping the US. Musk called it “evil” and warned of it moving to Italy.”
     
     
     

  48. Larry Sabato
    @LarrySabato
    I love historical documentaries. I’m currently watching one about the 1939 pro-Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden. Oh wait, it’s a live Trump rally! My bad.

  51. These seem like the death throes of a political movement, but only if you vote, and only if they lose

    …otherwise it will be the “Birth of a Nation”

    😑

  52. JD Vance’s alleged children are of partial non-“white” heritage, what the bleep is he doing preaching to nazis?
     
    What a rudderless schmuck

  53. The racist comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe, is Joe Rogan’s occasional co-host, fwiw, just so one can keep track of this crooked network of billionaires, b-list celebs, and pro-wrestling-turned-political goons

    i’d like to know when he was booked for the “show”. Last week when trump went on Rogan?

    (they’re not even clever racist jokes, the same shitty tropes they’ve been repeating for 100 years)

  57. This generation of right-leaning professional comedians grew up on the American shock humor of the ‘80s and 90’s and think that’s high-comedy with a total ignorance that such schtick wore itself out quickly (you can thank Dice Clay), and standards of humor are cultural and shift over time
     
    Racist comedy isn’t hip, it’s lazy

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