58 thoughts on “What A Team”

  2. about the thread topic, NYTimes critic’s review by Poniewozik:

    A Biden-Obama Reunion Pitches a Campaign as Comfort-Food TV
    The polished video, business-casual and unsurprising, offered voters a show that wouldn’t raise their blood pressure.

    The coronavirus pandemic has been a boom time for TV reunions: “30 Rock,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Community” and more. On Thursday, the Joseph R. Biden campaign premiered a reunion of the West Wing — not the NBC drama, but the previous, pointedly low-drama presidential administration.
    “President Obama and Vice President Biden: A Socially Distanced Conversation,” at just over 15 minutes, did not break the internet, or even dent it. It did not unveil new proposals or arguments. Instead, beginning with the two former partners stepping out of gleaming SUVs in masks but no ties, it traded in the currency of quarantine-era TV: nostalgia.
    In teasers released on Wednesday, Mr. Biden and Barack Obama criticized — though not by name — President Trump as having little empathy and less sense of responsibility. “This guy,” Mr. Biden said, “ran by deliberately dividing people from the moment that he came down that escalator.”
    The preview led to early buzz that the reunited duo was out to “troll” the Troller-in-Chief. The full video, however, was mostly collegial, relaxed, chill. Compared with the pro-wrestling standards of the current presidency, or the electric oratory of Mr. Obama’s campaigns, it was even boring.
    Which, oddly, was the most interesting thing about it. The reunion’s reliable, the-adults-are-in-the-room placidity suggests how the Biden campaign might counter the agitating theatrics of his opponent.
    […]
    The Biden-Obama vibe, on the other hand, was business-conference casual, from the chummy tenor of the conversation to the tasteful furnishings and tchotchkes of the meeting room. (Framed American flag, boxing gloves in glass case, hefty books on end tables.) It felt a little like a stage discussion at a big-ticket ideas festival, with its talk about investment and partnership and listening to the experts.
    That’s not the sort of thing that gets anyone worked up. But then again, that seemed to be the message of this video, which promised to restore a bygone tone and reset the country’s blood pressure.
    Imagine, it said: You could be watching this show instead. Or even better: You could be blissfully ignoring it.

  5. The plans are mostly Elizabeth Warren’s but, yeah, President Biden does have them.   I still hope she’s the Veep. 
    In Texas, they are more worried about getting football practice started, than school or the health of the kids.   Some schools will start practice right after Labor Day, even though in-class instruction is tentatively scheduled for the end of September.   Yee and haw.

  9. jamie, an aussie story for you from the guardian:

    In the Northern Territory, they are recommending one small saltwater crocodile, or 10 footballs. At Cairns airport in far north Queensland, the ruler of choice is the 1.5 metre wide, and potentially deadly, cassowary.
    As coronavirus cases rise in Victoria and New South Wales, Australians are being reminded to maintain social distancing, wear masks in crowded place, and practice good hygiene, to prevent the spread.
    A campaign from Amsant, the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory, showcases a series of uniquely Territorian ways of marking out the space. It’s the equivalent of 10 footballs, or six boomerangs, or five sea turtles, or one small saltie.
    At the University of Sydney’s veterinary teaching hospital, as Guardian Australia revealed in May, they use the motto: “Keep four koalas of space between you and others”.
    In Queensland, the cassowary – whose claws are 12.5cm long – is the reminder of choice at Cairns airport. A few hundred kilometres south, at the Townsville campus of James Cook University, you need two of the smaller, and as far as we know non-lethal, bush turkey.
    At the Hotel Hollywood in Sydney, a large yellow sign proclaims patrons should stay at least one adult kangaroo apart.
    [continues]

    Amsant flyer

  10. contest time!  come up with similar social distancing measures for usa.

     

    USA social distance example – 1 bald eagle wings aspanned

  14. Masked, tied down and covered in a thick horse blanket.
     
    Not everyone can claim to be Finnish, one thing that distinguishes Finns from British (also in gene pool) are last names.  Tell me you would not die for a great-5times-grandmother whose maiden name is Pyykkönen.

  15. bad vibes for the ‘ville this weekend

    louisville courier journal:

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A far-right militia group is calling for members to come to Louisville on Saturday in response to a planned armed march by the NFAC (Not F***ing Around Coalition), a Black militia.
    In a Facebook video posted on Tuesday, a user named Michael Malinconico said the Three Percenters militia will have “boots on the ground to assist and security on this situation.”
    “We are asking for an all call-out … to assist in countering NFAC,” Malinconico said.
    And in the Facebook group Kentucky Security Force III%, the page shared a video on Wednesday from the national III% Security Force group of a man criticizing the NFAC. Above the shared video, the post reads, “See you Saturday.”
    It’s unclear what the Kentucky Three Percenters plan to do on Saturday or how many people will arrive in Louisville. Patsy Bush, the state secretary of the Kentucky 3 Percenters, declined to comment, saying “I’m not at liberty to speak about it at this point.”
    The Three Percenter posts come after John Fitzgerald “Jay” Johnson, the self-proclaimed grand master and founder of the NFAC, announced in a video posted on Sunday that the group plans to gather in an armed formation Saturday to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by police.
    “Understand the seriousness of this situation,” said Johnson, who goes by the name The Real Grandmaster Jay. “Breonna Taylor was murdered in her home. … We gotta go in on this one.”
    The militia made waves July 4 when roughly 1,000 members marched in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where there is a mountainside carving of Confederate leaders Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson. Authorities said the event was peaceful, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
    Johnson told Louisville city leaders in a phone call last week that he conservatively estimates 5,000 to 6,000 members of the NFAC will show up in Louisville.
    […]
    In an interview with The Courier Journal on Tuesday, Councilman James said he is “not a big fan of people carrying weapons while they’re protesting or marching through the city, no matter who they are.” He added that the group has marched peacefully previously, and that he is more worried about counterprotesters and “one person that does one stupid thing, and then we have a problem.”
    The Three Percenters stirred controversy in late May when the local group’s president, Terry Bush, hoisted an effigy of Gov. Andy Beshear from a tree at the Kentucky Capitol during a “Patriot Day 2nd Amendment Rally.”
    The militia also came to Louisville in July 2018 to hold a counterprotest against a group demonstrating against federal immigration policies.
    The Three Percenters – Original Facebook page says it is a “national organization made up of patriotic citizens who love their country, their freedoms, and their liberty. We are committed to standing against and exposing corruption and injustice.”
    USA TODAY haspreviously reported that members of the group were involved in the violent protests following a deadly neo-Nazi rally in 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the national group issued a stand-down order in response to it. The Washington Post also reported the group took steps to disassociate itself from the racism at the rally. 

    [continues]

  17. patd & BiD, no, I haven’t read Petri and didn’t see Corey’s post, but am circling back to both.  What  saw was the Lincoln project ad with Kraftwerk music inserted.    Back after I go check out Corey’s post and Petri’s piece.  (And do a little work so Mrs. P doesn’t fire me … wait, that might be a good thing … I could get some work done around the house if I could get away from the office).

  18. A note about the “payroll taxes” that the greedy old perverts are always trying to cut.  Besides underfunding Social Security and Medicare, it is a split payment.  The business pays half and you pay half.  Cutting Social Security payments means reducing how much the business is paying, in other words, a tax cut to businesses and starving their grandparents, all in one swift move.

  19. OK now I’m laughing at Corey’s post and Petri’s piece.  R.E.M.  LOL.  The last 3 lines of Petri’s piece sum it up nicely.

  22. Seems the First Amendment actually exists in some of the Federal Courtrooms of this nation.

    A U.S. district judge on Thursday ordered federal officers in Portland, Ore., from arresting and using force against journalists and legal observers at the demonstrations there.

    The order came as the federal uses of force in Portland have drawn nationwide scrutiny for days, with video footage and accounts of U.S. officers in military gear using tear gas and shoving demonstrators into vans on that city’s streets. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was also tear-gassed by federal agents after meeting with demonstrators.

    In the order Thursday, U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon wrote that federal officers are barred “from arresting, threatening to arrest, or using physical force” against anyone they know is a journalist or legal observer unless they have probable cause the person in question committed a crime.

    Simon also said that as part of the order, journalists and legal observers will be exempt from orders to disperse and should not be arrested for ignoring such orders.
    …

    Kudos to Judge Michael Simon for doing a bit of the thump tRump boogie.

  23. And it was inevitable, wasn’t it – that Fauci and his family would be targeted by Lardius’ deranged worshipers?

    As Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, helps to navigate the United States through its turbulent response to the coronavirus pandemic, his critics are targeting him with not only hate mail but death threats, he said on a Friday episode of CNN’s “The Axe Files.”

    “It’s really a magnitude different now,” Fauci said, seeming somewhat bewildered by the level of vitriol. “Serious threats against me, against my family … my daughters, my wife — I mean, really? Is this the United States of America?”

    Fauci now has a personal security detail assigned to him. Security around Fauci first increased in April after he faced a wave of threats as well as “unwelcome communication from fervent admirers,” The Post reported at the time.

    Host David Axelrod noted that Fauci is no stranger to public health criticism; having done pioneering work on the AIDS crisis in the ’80s and ’90s, Fauci recalled protesters coming to his New York home and people writing letters calling him a “gay lover” and questioning why he would spend his time on the issue.

    Fauci said he understands that people’s livelihoods have been hurt by shutdown measures, but called some of the reactions disturbing.

    “As much as people inappropriately, I think, make me somewhat of a hero — and I’m not a hero, I’m just doing my job — there are people who get really angry at thinking I’m interfering with their life because I’m pushing a public-health agenda,” Fauci said.

    Elect a clown, expect a circus; elect a criminal, expect crimes.

  27. Swedes were uncomfortable with the doctors’ orders to maintain a 2 meter separation.  In normal times they maintain 3 meter separation.

  31. Hey guys. Pam here posting some difficult news. Colon cancer has returned for Travis. This time it’s stage 4.
    I won’t go into details because as you know Travis is pretty private about certain things like his health. I can tell you that it hasn’t been easy. He was diagnosed in early May, but even before that he was starting to lose weight and strength.
    He’s had 3 rounds of chemo so far. He’s had to skip one because of acute side effects. It’s grim and it’s difficult. But Travis is in good spirits so far – with obviously the occasional rotten day when we both just throw up our hands and say fuck this bitch.
    Anyway, that’s the scoop from Arizona. We’ll check in as things progress. We haven’t been able to really keep up with posts. As we get side effects management under better control, maybe Travis will stop by occasionally. He has trouble concentrating for any real length of time, so we’re just occupying ourselves with Food Network and HGTV. That kind of programming soothes him.
    Hope you all are well.

  33. pam, thank you for keeping us posted on travis.  please let him know a lot of caring thoughts and hugs are being sent his way.

  34. He’s gonna drop out if polls don’t change, and forever claim he would have won. Trump: “The best day in my life in terms of business and life and everything was the day before I announced I was running for president. Everything was good…Now I’m really glad I did but I was treated very unfairly.”

  36. Pam thank you for the update.
    Travis lots of good thoughts your way and Pam an equal measure for you as it is not easy being the care giver.
    A big hug for both of you and hope for the best
    Jack

  37. Pam

    Our kindest thoughts for Travis.  Let him know how deeply we care.  As always glad to have his thoughts on all issues when he feels up to the conversation.  Hugs for you both.

    Jamie

  38. Nothing I can say beyond sending my best to Travis.  Hope he pulls through and does so with dispatch.  
     
    Well the Fox polls today for Lardius in MI, MN and PA are more of the same – Biden by 9, 13 and 11 respectively.

  39. Travis and Pam…  best wishes…  lots of hugs and love going your way.   You must keep up your spirits.  Travis… your beloved Dodgers now have Mookie Betts…  enjoy watching him.

  41. Travis has told tale of your legend, Pam.  Best wishes to him.

    ✌️❤️🇺🇸

    (this post does not count as hiatus violation)

  43. I am not a listener of current music , but I do want to listen and enjoy.  Much of what I hear when I am at a store or restaurant (pre-pandemic) all sounds the same.  I have very little knowledge of Taylor Swift and her music even though I am sure I have heard it by way of visiting places where it is played.
     
    She has released another album which is getting interesting reviews.  It is a change from her previous music.  The reviews all read like she is growing up and presenting adult music.  As a Boomer I think of the Bee Gees in the sixties and then becoming heavy hitters in the seventies disco music.  That is if you move from bubble gum music to disco is a change.
     
    As I stated earlier, I have no musical abilities but I do like to listen to music.  I also purchase vinyl albums if they are analog recorded.  If it is a digital recorded to analog it is like listening to a bad brake on a train.  So if I am spending the money to buy a vinyl record I do not want to waste my money.

  44. I like Laurie Lightfoot mayor of chicago. Her background is perfect for these times especially her experience in police reform 

  47. Tony, while I don’t wish it on anyone, OK, maybe from time to time, couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. I love irony. 

  48. craig, my 1st thought was he’s pulling out/abdicating the throne when he cancelled the jacksonville opportunity for his anointment speech in front of thousands.   just a matter of time if more dastardly deeds start seeping out publically in stuff like the cohen tell-all book, the ghislaine documents, SDNY’s tax case and deutsche bank records.   he’ll work a plea deal, a pardon or something similar before he drops the mic.   

  49. politico:

    A federal judge on Friday criticized the Trump administration for a confusing and sluggish response to the Supreme Court’s decision last month invalidating the administration’s attempt to rescind the Obama-era program protecting so-called Dreamers.
    During a telephone hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Grimm said he was troubled that the Department of Homeland Security’s website has yet to be updated to account for the high court’s ruling on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA.
    Grimm also expressed concern about the government’s admission that some new DACA applicants have received letters in recent weeks saying their applications were denied because DHS isn’t accepting new applicants, even though the Supreme Court ordered the agency to return to the status quo in 2017, when it was accepting new applications.
    Immigrant rights advocates are threatening to move to hold the government in contempt for defying the Supreme Court’s ruling and ensuing orders from other courts.
    “That is a problem,” the judge said. “As for the inaccuracy on the website, that has to change and that should be able to change very quickly. … It creates a feeling and a belief that the agency is disregarding binding decisions by appellate and the Supreme Court.”
    “There is a cost for not having these things clarified and the plaintiffs have borne the lion’s share of that cost thus far,” Grimm added.

    [continues]

  54. I wouldn’t want Trumpity in MY neighborhood!  Now his jackboot thugs are in cities. It’s so Orwellian! Who the hell are the suburban housewives?  That’s like the 1950’s.  And he’s talking to Putin again.  Putin will be emperor forever now.
     
    I’ve been screaming about totalitarianism for years, since 1/20/16 in fact. And there’s pathetic crickets from ANY repubes in congress. Haven’t even heard Romney on this.
     
    Someone should interview some of those jackboot thugs  and find out if they like gassing and bludgeoning innocent people in Portland.  I wonder how cruel and depraved they actually are. 
     
    This is so brown shirt Hitler-like. “And then they came for me.”
     
    Now is the time for people to be disillusioned by OUR government.
     
    And in the meantime there’s a freakin’ pandemic.

  55. Isn’t it interesting that the mentally ill orange bucket of lard cancelled his big RNC bash due to Covid, but he wants little kids to huddle together in schools. 

  57. I think it’s appropriate for the protestors to put on red baseball caps (preferably not commie Chinese made) and pretend to be trumpsters for the cameras. The goons will have to give up or be portrayed as bashing the friends of putin’s bitch. That might give trump a brain hemorrhage.
     
    A few yellow snake flags would also be a nice touch. And, maybe someone dressed up as a Revolutionary War character – preferably a big fat Hessian with an orange face. 

Comments are closed.