Monday's Most Active Threads

The most active thread yesterday was the thread about moving the inauguration inside that I discussed yesterday because it had also been the most active thread over the weekend. Skipping that thread, the next most active was titled "School Opening Predictions for Tuesday?" and posted in the "Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)" forum. This thread was started early Sunday by a poster concerned that if it snowed, as was predicted, staff would not be available on Monday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and, therefore, the snow might not get cleared before Tuesday. Therefore, the poster was asked what others predicted with regard to Montgomery County Public Schools opening today. Posters in this forum are beyond obsessed with weather-related school closures and delayed openings. I can't count the number of posters who posted at least a half-dozen times in the thread. But that's nothing compared to the numbers put up by others. One poster posted at least 30 times, another at least 60. But the winner, by some distance, was a poster who posted over 100 posts. That poster, to put it mildly, was not happy about the possibility of a closure or delayed opening because it would interfere with her job. This morning I even noticed a poster sock puppeting. The poster repeatedly posted the same question and then began answering her own question. I have no idea what she was hoping to accomplish, but she is currently experiencing a delay using DCUM that is significantly longer than the two-hour delay that MCPS ultimately decided upon. A threat of snow closing schools soon dissipated because there wasn’t very much snow. But that didn't stop the clamor among posters for closing or delaying school. These posters were worried about the cold and ice which they thought would make getting kids to school dangerous. As I have said in previous discussions of snow day threads, school systems can never win when it comes to decisions like this and will be criticized regardless of what they decide. In this thread, there were those like the 100-post poster who didn't seem willing to accept a delay or closure under any circumstances. Others didn't want to open schools if there were a square foot of ice anywhere in the county. The delay opening was criticized because no other area employers implemented such a measure. The thread also contained a lot of criticism of teachers as a result of the belief among many posters that teachers are lazy and want schools to be closed. There is actually no evidence that many teachers have such an attitude, and I ended up locking the thread after the teacher-bashing got out of hand.

Last July during the Republican National Convention, I wrote in one of these blog posts that "If there is any silver lining that our generally liberal-leaning audience might see in a second Trump administration, it is likely the revival of "The Trump Women and their Fashion Mishaps" thread, which is currently on part 3 but would easily be a mainstay of the most active list if the Trump women were to return to prominence." To show that I know our audience, on the first day of the second Trump Administration, the thread titled, "The Trump Women and their Fashion Mishaps - Part Three", posted in the "Beauty and Fashion" forum, was yesterday's second most active thread. The thread was actually started last March and has been active on and off since then, reaching 56 pages before yesterday. But yesterday the thread added over 20 additional pages. I would actually mark the revival of the thread to a post by the thread's original poster who returned to say, "We are BACK, baby!" and then reacted to a photo of Kellyanne Conway by saying, "This isn’t a dress, this is belly dancer regalia...It’s too much for the ice capades, even." The thread is supposed to be about fashion mishaps, but it frequently includes fashion choices that at least some posters applaud as well. For instance, Melania Trump's Inaugural Ball dress received quite a bit of praise, as did Ivanka Trump's. Part of the fun of these threads is watching posters try to decipher the messages they believe are being sent by fashion choices. While some posters are convinced that something as simple as a scarf is actually a statement about their view regarding marginal tax rates and carried interest, other posters are skeptical that the Trump women are really up to such endeavors. As one poster put it with regard to Melania, "Her hat looks dumb but I do not think she is trying to send any kind of message except ‘look at my hat.’" Sometimes, however, posters' interpretations sound somewhat plausible. For instance, in response to a picture of Melania standing next to cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump, wearing a dress with a stripe that wound around her, finally ending pointing at Donald, a poster wrote, "It looks like she’s wearing one of those tops that says ‘I’m with this Jacka$$’ and it’s pointing to him."

Next was a thread titled, "Biden pardons Fauci" and posted in the "Political Discussion" forum. The original poster embedded a tweet which itself contained an image of a White House press release announcing several preemptive pardons issued by then-President Joe Biden. Among those given such pardons was Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. The original poster asks why Biden would pardon Fauci if Fauci had done nothing wrong. Several posters suggest, as the original poster implies, that a pardon such as this would only be given if Fauci were indeed guilty of something. Therefore, a number of posters interpret this as an admission of guilt. Others argue that cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump has threatened revenge against Fauci and that, even if Fauci is completely innocent, he is likely to face considerable legal battles as a result of what could very well be drummed-up charges. Those who believe that Fauci served in good faith and provided a valuable service to the country do not believe that he deserves such a fate. Posters in this thread make a couple of good points. One poster writes that, "I think Fauci is a target of America’s unprocessed grief about Covid." I think that there is something to this. Many Americans remained traumatized by the COVID pandemic, angry about everything from school shutdowns to vaccines. One way they are working through that trauma is by looking for someone to blame, and Fauci is a convenient target. The MAGA movement is built on resentment, and a quest for revenge has been a central theme of Trump's. The MAGAs literally want to see blood, and Fauci's has been one of their favorite targets. Several MAGA posters in this thread are convinced that Fauci acted illegally and is guilty of crimes, though their allegations are generally not supported by facts. Some of these posters are convinced that the COVID virus is actually a product of Fauci's work, and one suggests that there "are millions dead possibly because of his work". What MAGAs are apparently hanging their hats on is testimony by Fauci to a Senate committee in which he denied that his agency had never funded "gain-of-function" research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. However, emails recovered later showed that Fauci had discussed possible gain-of-function research at that institute. MAGAs say that shows that Fauci lied, an allegation that the Republican-authored investigatory report doesn't even make. What Fauci appears to be discussing is research that was not funded by NIH or other U.S. entities. There are a number of similar nuances involved in this discussion that MAGAs appear either incapable or unwilling to admit. Instead, they simply seek vengeance. As such, the need for a preemptive pardon for Fauci is fairly obvious.

The final thread that I will discuss today was another one posted in the "Beauty and Fashion" forum. Titled, "Usha Vance - Fashion Thread", the original poster wonders whether Usha Vance, wife of Vice President J. D. Vance, will undergo "Trumpification" or will "remain her usual frumpy self". I received a number of reports suggesting that this thread should be combined with the Trump women thread, but given that it is currently 27 pages long, it makes sense to keep it as its own thread. Moreover, this is not the first thread about Usha Vance. The previous ones have been locked because they got out of hand. Posters have remarkably strong opinions about Vance. Many posters seem to identify with her and are more than willing to give her a break for not meeting the exact fashion standards of this forum's posters. Others, however, are not willing to cut her any slack whatsoever. As one poster writes, "it is not that difficult to prioritize fit and appropriate tailoring, especially when preparing for a long-planned public event." Another adds, "She just needs a stylist and someone to help her prep for official/formal events." Some posters find Vance to be attractive, some don't. But the main point of divisions seems to be those who see her as a working mom who dresses appropriately for an attorney. Many of these posters point out that she has no interest in being a fashion icon and does not try to act like one. Others, however, suggest that, like it or not, she is now in a high profile position that has higher expectations for fashion. What is notable about this thread is how posters can have such divergent opinions. For instance, in response to Vance's ball gown, one poster said, "She looks ridiculous". Another, however, wrote, "What? Ok, now it’s clear you’re simply so blinded by your politics...". Taking a more middle position, a third poster said, "It's okay. It's not fashionable but it's inoffensive. A little figure skater-y but that's a standard evening wear look." Still another poster was deep into the pro-Usha camps, saying, "Love the inaugural ball dress! She looks beautiful!" Obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and we shouldn't expect everyone to have the same opinion, but the spectrum of opinions in this regard is remarkable. Moreover, this is nothing compared to the opinions about Vance's hair.