51 thoughts on “These Polls Are Freaky”

  2. speaking of freaky, throw in creepy and icky

    Ex-Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson claims Rudy Giuliani groped her on January 6 | US news | The Guardian

    […]
    Describing meeting with Giuliani backstage at Donald Trump’s speech near the White House before his supporters marched on Congress in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election, Hutchinson says the former New York mayor turned Trump lawyer put his hand “under my blazer, then my skirt”.
    “I feel his frozen fingers trail up my thigh,” she writes. “He tilts his chin up. The whites of his eyes look jaundiced. My eyes dart to [Trump adviser] John Eastman, who flashes a leering grin.
    “I fight against the tension in my muscles and recoil from Rudy’s grip … filled with rage, I storm through the tent, on yet another quest for Mark.”
    Mark Meadows, Trump’s final chief of staff, was Hutchinson’s White House boss. Hutchinson’s memoir, Enough, describes the now 27-year-old’s journey from Trump supporter to disenchantment, and her role as a key witness for the House January 6 committee. It will be published in the US next Tuesday. The Guardian obtained a copy.
    [continues]

  3. Didn’t all the polls forecast a Red Tsunami in the mid-terms?    Were there any polls saying otherwise?  If so, which ones? 
    The efficacy of polls has become suspect.  
    if they get a few polls here and there which turn out to be reliable, they use those to justify the rest of them which are as apt to be maybe as maybe not. in a Plains Tribe, the Medicine Man conjures up prophetic visions.  When they turn out to be true, they all dig it, but when they turn out to be off the mark, the visions are simply ignored and forgotten.   It’s been a long time but I remember reading about that in books by Dee Brown.

  4. Everyone who is not a MAGAt KNOWS what the deal is.  Somehow the polls don’t reach them. The oligarchs and their corporate media are working overtime to try and make people think there is a close “horse race” going on. .   “No Labels”. RFKJr, Green Party, etc….they are desperate because Democracy is coming to the USA. 

    And to Ukraine.

  5. no wonder current polls (if you believe them) show ties or worse for potus joe; media is hell bent on having a horse race, focusing in on the low hanging fruit spewing daily for easy consumption from the magaT in chief  and ignoring the positive efforts and achievements Joe continues to deliver.  example yesterday was the pitiful lack of coverage if any of 

    Biden’s new Climate Corps will train thousands of young people – The Washington Post

    President Biden on Wednesday announced an initiative to train more than 20,000 young people in skills crucial to combating climate change, such as installing solar panels, restoring coastal wetlands and retrofitting homes to be more energy-efficient.
    […]
    How will the Climate Corps work?
    As part of a recruitment push, the White House on Wednesday will launch a new website where Americans can sign up to learn more about the workforce training program. All participants in the program will be paid, administration officials said, although they declined to disclose specific salaries.
    The officials, who are closely monitoring the United Auto Workers’ ongoing strike against Detroit’s Big Three automakers, emphasized the program would help young people secure high-quality jobs after their training is complete.
    The administration “will specifically be focused on making sure that folks that are coming through this program have a pathway into good-paying union jobs,” White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi said on a Tuesday call with reporters previewing the announcement. “We’re very keenly focused on that.”
    Zaidi said the initiative could help train the next generation of electricians. The country faces a dire shortage of electricians, who are needed to install a host of climate-friendly technologies, including heat pumps, efficient air conditioners and electric car chargers.
    Biden’s push to transition to electric vehicles has become a key sticking point for the striking autoworkers, who fear the shift to EVs will mean fewer jobs and lower pay. The new initiative demonstrates that “green jobs can be good jobs,” said Trevor Dolan, industry and workforce policy lead at Evergreen Action, a climate advocacy group.
    Biden’s push to transition to electric vehicles has become a key sticking point for the striking autoworkers, who fear the shift to EVs will mean fewer jobs and lower pay. The new initiative demonstrates that “green jobs can be good jobs,” said Trevor Dolan, industry and workforce policy lead at Evergreen Action, a climate advocacy group.
    [continues]

  6. Robert Reich
    Never forget this: The GOP’s nonsensical culture war is meant to distract you from corporate corruption, worker oppression, and staggering wealth inequality.

  7. Victor Shi
    A huge shoutout to Democrats today who did such an amazing job pushing back against Republican nonsense & conspiracy theories during the Merrick Garland hearing. Democrats came ready to play, they brought the receipts, & stuck to the facts & truth. So proud to be on Team Blue.

  8. sorta sideways atta boy from editorial board in their

    Opinion | In Hunter Biden and other probes, Merrick Garland tries to rebuild DOJ – The Washington Post

    Merrick Garland has a tough job. He’s doing it about as well as anyone could.
    […]
    “The way to not interfere is to not investigate an investigation,” said Mr. Garland to questions about some of the probe’s specifics. He said he did not make the decisions that led to a Hunter Biden plea deal falling apart in July, or that allowed the statute of limitations to expire on some potential charges. His denials of wrongdoing are believable. Either Mr. Garland — a longtime trustworthy public servant who served as a well-regarded judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit — is lying to Congress under oath, exposing himself to criminal liability, or there is less than advertised to Republicans’ claims against Mr. Biden, Mr. Garland and the entire Justice Department.

  9. Speaking of Ukraine. 
    Al Franken’s guest is Anne Applebaum who gives her well-informed views on the war.  She lives in Poland so is very close to the situation.   

  10. Generic ballot polls in 2022 were pretty accurate, predicted Dems would keep Senate and Republicans win House. Don’t know about individual races. But that isn’t my point. A dozen polls can’t all be wrong. This race is clearly tied, and seems baked in. We cannot safely assume Biden will beat Trump. Don’t panic, Dems, but don’t blame the pollsters. Get to work!

  11. ms petri’s Opinion | The loss of the Senate dress code is the downfall of civilization – The Washington Post

    I staggered home, reeling. The world swam before me. There was a miasma before my eyes. I had to lie down in a dark room until it passed, and even then I was badly shaken. This is the end of civilization as we know it, I said. Sen. Dan Crenshaw (R-Tex.) wrote with other senators that what I saw “disrespects the institution we serve and the American families we represent.” He tweeted that it was “emblematic of a far greater problem spreading through society” and I could not have agreed with him more.
    People have been begging me: Tell me what you saw! What was it that was so horrible that 46 senators were moved to sign a strongly worded letter calling it shameful and expressing “supreme disappointment” and “resolute disapproval” of such a “misguided code”? Was it someone in a tie failing to renew the child tax credit, nearly doubling the number of children who must live in poverty? Was it someone in a tie pumping his fist in solidarity with insurrectionists? Was it someone in natty business attire failing to release his grip on power well past the date when this was warranted? Was it … Ted Cruz, just being himself? What was the thing that so haunted you?
    I will tell you: It was a senator on the floor in a sweatshirt! Do you not reel? Are you not aghast? I am several ghasts, myself!
    What was he doing? What does it matter what he was doing? What matters is how he was doing it: in informal wear!
    Do you not know that it is the how, not the what, that concerns us? Consider penguins! I never ask what they are up to because they are always so well dressed. But pigeons I consider inherently suspect, and I follow them closely at all times. Likewise with those charged with the making of laws. Shutdown, default — we are not concerned with this! Look at their clothes!
    This is how Rome fell! They stopped wearing suits on the floor of the Senate and let people just come to work wrapped in bedsheets. After that, it was pretty clear that the writing was on the wall. This is also why the Athenian democracy never got off the ground: no suits. Everyone was always swanning around in their open-toed shoes and short shorts. (I know that is not the technical term, but I am too upset to look up what it is.) Diogenes didn’t even wear short shorts; he just walked around in a barrel. Well, I mean, is it any wonder that we are not living in ancient Greece now?
    No, this cannot stand. We cannot just sit here and let public servants taunt us with their visible shins on the floor of Congress! We must take action. I propose the following, which ought to supplant any other business we are currently contemplating! Let’s discuss this! This is a serious matter, and these are serious suggestions:
    New Revised Dress Code:
    Senators must wear full business attire at all times unless they are asleep or in the shower, and even then they are strongly encouraged to do so, in case Senate business arises.

  12. John Fetterman is not required to wear a suit, but his body double must.
  13. Anyone proposing legislation that will ease burdens on the American taxpayer must wear three (3) suits.
  14. Senators may be excused from wearing suits if they dress in a costume that honors the top produce of their state: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D- R.I.) could, for instance, dress as calamari; Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) could be concealed inside an enormous cheese. The senator’s face should not be visible in this outfit and other senators will have to identify him or her using the clues provided by the costume and by any legislation the senator proposes, Masked Singer-style.
  15. Strict originalists who resist any limitations on the Second Amendment must wear the formal attire that matches the date of the most recent line of U. S. law that they admit as canon.
  16. Senators proposing legislation that will increase the number of children who live in poverty must do so wearing monocles and a top hat like Mr. Monopoly.
  17. A senator not wearing a full suit may be wrapped in a flag, provided the flag covers their sensual, taunting ankles.

    18. Exceptions to Dress Code:

    • Shirts are not required for members of peaceful tour groups who are patiently and politely interrupting Senate business to make certain that the candidate of their choice becomes the next president, but they must sport formal horns and face paint.
    • If it is Infrastructure Week you can wear a trucker hat.

    Obviously all this also goes for staffers! Dignity of work!

  21. As 2016 should have taught us, no safe assumptions. As posted the other night (maybe too late-night for east coasters) but bears repeating. Let’s change the “they’s” to “we’s.”
     
    “…In polls, Trump is running even with Biden because many Americans are unhappy with the economy, and most see Biden as old and tired. These people need to be reacquainted with the reality of Trump. 
    They need to be reminded how recklessly he makes decisions, how poorly he controls his impulses, how ruthlessly he lies, and how impervious he is to correction. They need to be reminded how callously he disregards his oath of office and how little he cares about anyone but himself. 
    They need to be reminded what a psychopath he is.”

  22. Yes…..keep the battle totally focused on THEM and on the Fascist desire for corruption and overthrowing elections.   
    Hold their feet to the fire.  From now to next November.   A constant barrage of truth.  

  23. I can’t tell you how depressing it is to me that after WW2 and the Cold War, America has to VOTE about whether or not to be Fascist.   Just like in Germany.  Again, it comes again. 
    Again with the Brown Shirts
    Decrying the Jews as they march along like a kindergarten class walking down the street on an outing with their teacher.
    Again.   Always the eternal Again.  
    They never let up.

  24. Sigh (again) – I very much dislike the feeling when learning that someone you think is old, very old, looks old, probably smells old, is younger than I am.  Bill Murray, actor.
     
    AH McCarthy declines President Zylensky request to address joint session of Congress.  I am sure that his boss puttie did not want that to happen.

  25. Their base support for both is 45% Where will the undecided/refused to answer 10% go?
    Given last month several polls had a question that ended up with over 50% saying no way no how were they voting for Trump, and an additional 10% saying they were worried. 
    That tells me that the 10% maybe leftists that are disappointed with Bidens policies and wish for some fairy god mother candidate but they are too uncertain who that savior might be, so when push comes to shove they will vote for Biden. Unless it looks like Biden is a shoe in, then they will vote Green party. 
    And that is the way Trump wins.
    Jack

  26. “Unless it looks like Biden is a shoe in, then they will vote Green party. 
    And that is the way Trump wins.”

    jack, deja vu all over again… just like what happened to hillary.  so many of the bernie crowd opted out for greener pastures.  voila drumpf’s disintegration of democracy began.

    sometimes being the underdog helps

  27. Maybe the Democrats need to be pointing out the obvious, Biden isn’t setting on the toilet at 3am rage tweeting. Thats what happens when you don’t exercise and forget to eat your fiber. It looks like we have 2 old men as our choices, The answer to the question “is Joe too old?” is to point that one out. So do we vote for the old guy who is fit active and engaged with the world or do we vote for the old guy who rage tweets at 3 in the morning because he is so constipated that he can’t take a crap. A man  who obviously sets on his wide ass all day and has a belly that is hanging over his belt. A candidate for a heart attack any day now.
    Jack

  29. Craig –  There must be a lot of folks who watch “Hogan’s Heroes” as instructional videos and be rooting for the Germans.  
    When I see pics from MAGAt rallies with young tRUMPers, I think that CPS should’ve removed those kids before it was too late.

     I also think that those, mostly boys, have access to guns and no conscience about using them.

  30. People get their politics from their peer groups, and outside of metropolitan liberal bubbles, the right-of-center (and beyond) are just reinforcing the same beliefs they had 3 years ago, no philosophical growth is happening in the ‘burbs

  32. Right-wing disinformationists are exploiting boutique social media to disseminate their propaganda, and it’s reaching the end-consumer in a casual way that makes them accept it unquestioningly.  Things like facebook groups and that racist nextdoor app, discord, tiktok etc…
     
    This focus on the MSM and what it instills and reinforces is missing at least half of the game.  it’s 2023, no one watches “meet the press” except boomers and politicos 

  35. Jack – there is one, often talked about, solution to the polls, sfb does a room temperature event.  Whether slipping on stairs, one of his known phobias, to choke and turn blue, to rage stroke out, to just no blood flow due to clogged everything, there are many possibilities because the former guy is a golf cart riding disaster.

  36. I think I need to lace my coffee with my drug of choice. Irish whisky and heavy cream.
    So if I die of a heart attack, it wasn’t an accident, I knew that cream would get me one of these days. But the risk is worth it.
    Jack

  37. How do you accidently OD. 

    …by thinking you’re taking a different drug, the article posits the person thought he was doing cocaine.
     
    BBC is amazing and apolitical, except maybe on Ukraine, because Brits across the political spectrum understand that Putin is a monster
     

  38. i get migraines, and recently someone offered me what they told me was generic imitrex they got from Mexico- it was a white unmarked tablet.  Voicing my concerns regarding potential contamination and lack of regulation, i politely declined and just took too many Advil, instead
     
    …but THAT is another way people “accidentally oversose”

  39. The BBC World Service is so amazing, that yesterday, a call-in show based around the climate-impacts of personal food-choices featured a brilliant question for an international listener:
     

    Is it more environmentally-responsible to eat organically-raised tomatoes wrapped in plastic or inorganically-raised tomatoes in no packaging?

    🤯
     
    Great stuff, highly recommend ✌️🇺🇦🫡🇺🇸

  40. Yea Bink that is what mamas tell themselves, I’m reminded of an aunt whose son was a bad alcoholic, it was always the bar and the liquor stores fault.
    Jack

  41. Good judgment Bink – who the hell knows what’s in an unmarked white pill from Mexico? While it may have escaped my notice, I haven’t heard of a brisk trade in Mexican Imitrex generics.  Chinese Fentanyl smuggled through Mexico – I have noticed talk about that.
    Family members tend to try and not see the failures of their kin – makes it easier to spend Thanksgiving together without having to deal with the guilt. It’s natural and unfortunate, but Jack has a point. Under the situation at issue there’s plenty of blame to go around. 

  42. And anyone who tells Mrs. P that Rupert is retiring at 92 – If she wants me to work another 20 years like he did I’m coming after you.

  43. poobah, of course it was just one polling org, but for the 2022 elections Marist (A tated at 538) saw a swing from Dems +3 in early October to Repubs +3 in early November in their polls running up to the midterms, and Marist tends to be pretty mainstream and among the top rated polls at fivethirtyeight.  
    Here’s the link to a fivethirtyeight analysis of the 21-22 pollsters and how they did.

  44. needlessly cruel is watching your wife in intense pain and nobody will do anything about it because they are all scared to give pain meds because this little shit and others like him overdosed.
    The BBC reporter has an obligation to the truth, and the truth is all he knows for certain is that the family believes it was accidental. Given my experience in that world that information may very well have come from the person who knowingly handed him the drug. A good friend of course.
    Odds are he was grabbing things by the handful and taking whatever anybody was handing him. 

  45. Pogo
    Along the border there is a brisk trade with Americans going to Mexico for cheaper drugs. With things such as insulin the difference in price is significant, the difference between $70 and $400 for the Lantus insulin. Before she got sick Mrs Jack and I were thinking about moving to South Texas, we thought it might pay just in my reduced cost of insulin. Reading up on it most of the drugs you buy in Mexico are the same ones you buy in your local CVS all made in the same factory.
    Jack

  46. Pogo
    I’ve been in full retirement now for a year and a half, life is good. It is why I can’t understand why someone Biden’s age isn’t taking it easy I’ve got my success stories, it is the kids problem now. 
    Having been there and done that and having the Tshirt, I do have a box of Tshirts, packed away and labeled “for when I’m in the nursing home”. Along that line last Christmas I passed out generous cash gifts to my local nieces and nephews. I told them it came with a string attached. when I was in the nursing home they had to stop by once a month and bring a pint of whisky and diet coke to mix it with. I got one niece to agree. So maybe life will continue to be good.
    Jack

  51. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/benedict-arnold-commits-treason?cmpid=email-hist-tdih-2023-0921-09212023&om_rid=d75621b537d5e32caee29175c2f9e621c9f96cbd410e06e6d57cc1294da0c1d7

    On September 21, 1780, during the American Revolution, American General Benedict Arnold meets with British Major John Andre to discuss handing over West Point to the British, in return for the promise of a large sum of money and a high position in the British army. The plot was foiled and Arnold, a former American hero, became synonymous with the word “traitor.”

  54. The Rupert retirement and eventual demise is interesting.  I would love to see the siblings support James instead of Lachlan.  Cable needs a straight news channel similar to the original CNN and now Britain’s Sky News.

     

  56. It is a Thursday, towards the final week of September 2023, and what we see is the failure of the American Experiment.  There is a complete and utter end of financing the government as the russian government has finally gotten enough of its agents in the congress of the United States. 
    Does that sound dour enough?

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