I think folks see/hope for a gay Obama.

If Pete in 2024/8 focuses on a message for all, that treats people as aspiring to do better on their own talents and skills, and shaping a government that lets people do that, as opposed to patiently waiting for government to solve all their problems, or hoping government beats down all the wrong-thinkers, or that elections can be rioted against if they come out the wrong way.

The alternative is more navel gazing about how racist we all are, defunding the police, forgiving criminals, letting everyone in, and forcing trans women onto HS sports teams.

That doesn't work with Whites, and it seems actual POC as opposed to Twitter POC don't seem to like it much either, if we take 2020 and 2021's election results in mind.

Because the alternative, to me, is letting the crowds of 1/6 take over. But that isn't enough for many people. Fulminating about how dumn they all are won't exactly work, either. So we have to focus on the legitimate grievances and concerns of the people.

Anonymous wrote:My booster was free to me.

And yes, I will never understand the "i would rather be treated for an illness than just avoid getting sick in the first place" but that is the intellect and rationale of the modern GOP.

It was free to me, too, but I figure someone, somewhere along the line gave Big Pharma $50.

For some reason, the vaccine skeptics have decided they'd rather hit up taxpayers and insurance companies an extra $450 or $4,950. I suppose eventually we'll run into some real money. But the thing is, we can't do a thing about vaccine skeptics outside the US.

I don't understand their willingness to subject themselves to experimental treatments, but I guess they're convinced the 1.5 billion plus people that've gotten a vaccine will regret it Any Day Now.

I still wish I had enhanced 5G, though. That'd have been cool.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Down 650 points today, but don't you worry another 3 trillion of fiscal spending will take care of it.

The Dow was down on concerns over Omicron. If everyone would get vaccinated, it would help mitigate any economic impact. But since the GOP refuses writ large to do so, people like you don't get to complain about paper market losses.



BTW, how much is the market up since Jan 20? Or to use Trump's metric, since November 6, 2020?

We can't force people in other countries to get vaccinated. We also can't do anything about the immuno-compromised in other countries, which (from the most preliminary research) it seems Omicron (and other variants) can thrive.

At this point, the focus needs to be on post-infection treatment, which for some reason, the vaccine skeptics seem eager to take. If people want to give Big Pharma $5k for some monoclonal antibodies or $500 for some pills, instead of the $50 I gave Big Pharma for the booster I got Monday, why is it so important that I stop them?

This will be more palatable to SCOTUS.

Roberts will be eager to engineer a compromise of some sort - maybe a Casey-plus.

Texas, I suspect, the Court is terrified of how this tactic will be used, and may be trying to write an opinion that slams the door on this tactic being used by ANYONE, say Illinois or Massachusetts to further liberal pet causes or other conservative states pulling a Texas. Texas goes beyond just abortion. It goes into the very fabric of the relationship between citizens and the State.

Anonymous wrote:Burning books is certainly a bad choice of words. We don't want to burn any books in the USA, but limiting what books are available to kids in schools is not unreasonable. Books should be age appropriate, and kids should not be forced or indoctrinated into politically charged ideologies.

However, I would also argue that Big Tech censorship is the modern day equivalent of book burning. It's convenient to claim you are only censoring "misinformation" and "hate speech" - But who gets to determine this? Sometimes Democrats will call a political opinion "hate speech" simply because it is a position held by most white conservatives. Sometimes they will call facts "misinformation" for bizarre reasons. For example, someone posting a personal bad reaction to a vaccine will get hit with a "misinformation" label stating that vaccines are extremely safe. The fact that vaccines are usually safe does not make someone's personal experience "misinformation". The truth is the truth. Of course the Wuhan lab leak theory was called "hate speech" until investigations revealed that it might possibly be true.

I could go on and on, but the point is censorship is bad and prevents us from openly sharing ideas and arriving at the truth.

So checking out books under false pretenses and then burning them allows us to arrive at the truth, how, exactly?

I'd be surprised if Cox broke 30% and he'd lose Frederick, AA, Howard, and Baltimore - probably by double digits - in the process. He might have trouble breaking double digits in Prince George's and topping 15% in Montgomery.

Schulz is playing a bit of footsie with the Trump crowd a la Youngkin, but in a primary, the base wants what the base wants.

Steele has the best chance to take on Hogan's mantle. He should win if Schulz drops out.

Has Ficker ever come out as a Trumper? His website looks straight outta 1999.

You'd think the myth that there's this hidden group of folks who'd only vote if someone sufficiently progressive enough ran would've been squashed in MD-Gov 2018. Or 2020, in which Republicans STILL gained seats in the House and held the Senate.

It's not just saying White people suck. It's also saying White people have always sucked and that there's nothing that can be done about it. Again, this may not be the precise message they're intending to send - but it gets received as such. Any disagreement? Oh, you're just having White Fragility. Examine your privilege some more.

You've got White Americans, who watched the Cosby Show in the 1980s, and elected Obama in the 2000s, being told their nation is irrevocably racist. Can you fault them for being at least a little confused, if not angry?

If we need to hear out the legitimate grievances of Black people for whom the promise of America is imperfectly realized, it makes sense to lend a non-condescending ear to the legitimate grievances of White people for whom the promise of America is imperfectly realized. But at the same time, pretending it's 1952 with regards to race relations - how is that helping?

It may not be actual Democratic *leaders* (outside of the Squad) saying these things, but more likely the wider Democratic "blob" (basically Salon/HuffPost/other LW media, LW Twitter folks, and the such.

Republicans helped Dems a with 1/6, but not enough to still keep winning. Maybe the 1/6 rioters canceled out the long hot summer of 2020 and the damage they did Dems.

I had plenty of otherwise liberal, otherwise non-criminal friends on my FB feed excusing the post-Floyd riots. But it wasn't their homes and businesses getting smashed by the rioters - what turns out to have been regular criminals, far-right agitators, and far-left folks who'd been destroying stuff since 1999. Of course you had plenty of right-wingers who were quick to equalize suburban moms protesting police malfeasance with Chavistas and the KKK.

I wonder how many Republicans ripping Biden a new one over the price of gas kept on voting Republican in 2006 and 2008 despite gas prices being over $3 a gallon then.

The economy is a big thing, there's always some number that is going to go your way.

horses are to women what boats are to men

or a certain subset of the top 30-40% in SES thereof

Does she seem to have some idea of how much you use in a given month, and a goal for each sort of supply? Or does she simply buy what's on sale, without regard to rate of use, or whether you'd actually use it or not?

Unlike 19:21, I don't feel like taking my chance with canned goods well past their expiration dates, although I might let a month or two after the expiration slide if it's not leaking or bulging (the bulging is the really bad sign).

(Best by generally means you've got a bit of wiggle room, but consume by means you need to eat it by the date listed.)

Even better if Larla and La-a are in the same class.

No, wait, there really appears to be people named Larla.

Anonymous wrote:

BlueFredneck wrote:Abolishing or severely restricting private gun ownership isn't the road to victory in Texas. Beto loses by mid double digits. Ted Cruz wasn't likable and he was in a blue wave year.

A red wave is coming up. The only thing preventing 80 seats from flipping in the House is the lingering memory of 1/6. For many folks that cancels (heh) out the things with which they disagree with the Democrats.

I remember the likes of you predicting a red wave in 2018 and 2020 too. I'll take your predictions with less than a grain of salt. Also Beto losing Texas wouldn't be a red wave - it's status quo.

Republicans, historically, should take back the House and the Senate in the midterms. It's what is to be expected. I don't look forward to it but I don't control history. We'll see if y'all improve your chances by cutting that idiot Trump loose or if you really want to lose as much as possible by keeping on hewing to him. Youngkin should teach you a lesson - that you're better off with Trump out of the picture. Let's see if you idiots learn that lesson.

Anyone predicting a red wave in 2018 was a damned fool. Ditto 2020, although I did underestimate Trump's remaining reservoirs of support.

Keeping things blue will be the lingering memory of 1/6. Youngkin's victory need not be compared to that of Northam - rather that of McDonnell. In the absence of 1/6, Youngkin wins by double digits and takes back Loudoun at a minimum.

Making things red will be The Economy (if things stay as-is.)

Sadly, it seems employing large numbers of people at low wages is something to which we have grown overly fond of. Democrats' solution of just giving money to people might have prevented the ship from sinking but people don't like being crowded on the lifeboats.

The key is breaking our addiction to ultra-low wage labor, both here and abroad, and allowing people with associate's degrees and HS diplomas only career paths that involve some degree of honor and financial security (and Lord no, this isn't some hackneyed call to "join the trades.") But that will involve inconvenience for many, as we're culturally conditioned to believe that front-line retail and caring occupation workers are somehow "less than".

laobaixing means "the common people" in Chinese. Kind of odd use of phrasing here.

Rittenhouse seems like he was spoiling for a fight. You don't cross state lines well-armed to the gills to "protect" a city you (I could be wrong) have no direct connection with unless you're hoping to score some bear. (I'm assuming WI isn't a duty to retreat sort of state.)

The people he shot seemed like standard issue "antifa" thugs, one of whom seemed to act on his liking of teenage girls a little too much, and seemed equally eager for a fight.

Ideally, they could spend some of their jail time together and away from regular people of liberal and conservative persuasions.

Anonymous wrote:Will the likely 2022 red wave take Maryland?

Which of these things do you think are likely to happen? Not necessarily what you hope will or won’t happen, but what do you predict?

A. Maryland elects a centrist Republican Governor like Hogan
B. Maryland elects a right wing Republican like Youngkin
C. Hogan defeats Van Hollen
D. Another R defeats Van Hollen
E. Republicans gain a seat with redistricting
F. Republicans flip a seat regardless of redistricting
G. Frederick, Anne Arundel, and/or Howard County flips back to red
H. Montgomery County replaces Elrich with a centrist like Blair
I. Montgomery County replaces Elrich with a Republican
J. State senate loses supermajority
K. MoCo elects a Republican to something somewhere

A is entirely possible. Thing is, has Steele officially entered yet? He's really running out of runway.

B probably not, unless said regular right winger is running against someone hard left with other baggage. Schulz seems to be filling that role. Dan Cox if he sneaks to the nomination loses 70-30 against a Franchot and 60-40 against a Ben Jealous clone. Schulz loses 55-45 to Franchot and may win a squeaker 51-49 against a Ben Jealous clone. Key is whether she dabbles too much in the Trumpism.

C Hogan's the best hope the GOP has. Klacik might be able to make it a 60-30 race (there's some perennial candidates floating around per Wikipedia.) Hogan has been making noise like he wants a bigger stage after he leaves office.

D Rutherford or Steele, maybe. So far none of the declared candidates even has a Wikipedia page. (Dunno if Rutherford said "no Governor" or "no more electoral politics"). For Steele I can see the appeal of being the Republican's version of Joe Manchin as opposed to being the vetoing machine in Annapolis.

E The MD legislature is looking to pitch a shutout. You'd have to carve a district that is only the northern counties from Garrett to Carroll, with possibly a chunk of Damascus or Glenelg if you must hit up Montgomery or Howard to fill out the population.

F Possible that MD-06 flips but isn't most of the growth in the Frederick-Urbana-Clarksville corridor?

G You listed the order they'd flip back.

H Entirely possible. On the other hand, it's not like Elrich has been making students march through Silver Spring singing the Internationale. It helps if you have someone running to Elrich's left and/or the GOP stays silent for the election.

I This is dead girl/live boy territory veering into dead boy/decomposing girl. You'd need a centrist Dem, a regular Republican (if you took Ficker's opinions out of Ficker, and put them into an appealing story), and a "disappointed Green" running to Elrich's left.

J Quite possible. Sen-3 (Ron Young's seat) is coming open and it'd be one of the first to flip.

K 1 (hugs the Potomac from Poolesville to Bethesda) and 2 (everything north/west of Germantown) have had Republicans this millennium. Not sure which of the two incumbents there are weaker, and I can see a Republican winning if he runs on actual local issues, doesn't scream about "TAXPAYERS", and the Democrat is a loon looking to relive the glory days of the 1980s era Berkeley City Council.