Home » Open thread 10/31/2024

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Open thread 10/31/2024 — 46 Comments

  1. At Tablet: “Brokensm: The real debate today isn’t between the left and right. It’s between those invested in our current institutions, and those who want to build anew.”
    ==
    Not buying.

  2. they want to destroy the institution, what comes after they don’t care, why is that so hard to get across (park mcdonald, explains some of this)

  3. What AD and miguel said.

    It’s “Tear down this wall [country]” all the way down the line.

    N.B. I like Alana Newhouse a lot but she’s letting her innate humanism getting the better of her in this piece.
    I.e., giving the Democratic Party—and its fellow travelers around the world—the benefit of the doubt is simply not sustainable at this point. The best that can be said about those decent people who claim to support them is that they’ve been successfully BRAINWASHED…the 24/7 HATRED being the drug used to do the deed so utterly and unfortunately well.

    Of course, THEY would say the same thing about Trump supporters, given the “Through the Lookinglass” world in which we currently…exist.

  4. Halloween already and I have not bought any candy corn. I’m really slipping. Since my wife no longer shops, if I don’t buy it, we won’t have any.

  5. So Bill Clinton goes to Michigan and speaks to an Arab-American group and essentially tells them that HAMAS F’d up on Oct 7 when they butchered Israelis and he goes on to say that because HAMAS hides behind civilians, it is Hamas’ fault that civilians in Gaza are getting killed.

    Don’t know – and don’t care – if his comments will help/hurt the CACKLER, but it’s not that often a demonkrat tells the truth and calls it like it is.

    Of course, conservative outlets are claiming (in their stupidity) , that Clinton is just trying to sand bag the CACKLER’S campaign and it’s part of an Obama vs Clinton “war.”
    The Clinton’s may not like Obama , but there is no way on earth that they would prefer to see Trump in office.

  6. Today is the anniversary of when the monk Martin Luther attached the 95 Thesis to the church door on October 31, 1517.

  7. Trump’s the master!

    I find Donald Trump and Elon Musk to be weird throwbacks to bygone eras, when giants like P.T. Barnum, Will Rogers, Thomas Edison and Howard Hughes roamed America.

    Refreshing.

  8. This is how to celebrate a victory!
    https://www.whittierdailynews.com/2024/10/30/police-hope-to-maintain-order-as-boisterous-dodgers-fans-celebrate-world-series-win/?utm_email=A4B2C4CF1452C4E43491634596&lctg=A4B2C4CF1452C4E43491634596&active=yesD&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Story+Button&utm_campaign=scng-wdn-breakingnews&utm_content=alert

    What would a loss precipitate, nuclear detonations?

    This speaks well to the “thin veneer of civilization” we have been warned about.

    Edit: Sorry, the article requires a subscription to read. My bad.

    The photo gives you the first thousand words, however.

  9. “The real debate today isn’t between the left and right. It’s between those invested in our current institutions, and those who want to build anew.”

    The real debate today is between globalism and national sovereignty, and between Wall St. and Main St– the investor class and the working class, or simply put Capital vs. Labor, or more simply put– tariffs.

  10. Phew—just back from 500 mile round-trip on new ME-709 bike. Florida Highway Patrol pulled humble me over for speeding but let me off with warning—THANK YOU FHP! 😉

    Still checking how the election is going. Still not rooting for Trump, but rooting against Harris.

    Already Telltale signs of Trump’s lack of Leadership Ability, but too early to start getting into them at this point. Let him get into Office again first…

    My Top 3 Betting Odds sites all have Trump in the sixties and Harris in the thirties, so humble me is looking for other Indicators as to how the election is going.

    Keep seeing good reports on what a good job Laura Trump (‘cochair of the Republican National Committee’) is and has been doing. Example:

    Our election integrity team received reports of thousands of duplicate ballots in Michigan.

    We immediately investigated and have CONFIRMED that it was a glitch in the system – these duplicates were not and WILL NOT BE COUNTED.

    We are on it and protecting the vote!

    Rasmussen Reports’ X site showed – ‘Michigan: One voter ID with 29 separate “votes” already.’ America, where it’s difficult to keep anything a secret, certainly ain’t going to keep secrets about ‘MASSIVE vote cheating’ from all the Wannabe Whistleblowers out there. I remember claims about vote cheating going on when JFK was elected—what’s that – like 64 years ago and not one credible Wannabe Whistleblower during all that time (?!?!?).

    Whilst at Rasmussen Reports’ X site – came across the Indicator I was looking for:

    “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

    INDEPENDENTS ONLY-
    No: 63%
    Yes: 32%
    Not Sure: 5%

    OK – now working with 63% of Independents saying they are NOT better off than they were “four years ago”. Quick search brought up this 6/30/2021 Pew article:

    Behind Biden’s 2020 Victory.

    Scroll down to ‘Party and ideology’ and it shows a chart. Independents didn’t like Hillary in 2016, but they went for Biden in 2020 @ 52% to Trump’s 43%.

    Ditto on the OK! New Indicator is showing Independents swing away from Kamala Harris…

  11. There is no way on earth Hillary Clinton would prefer to see Trump in office.

    Rufus T. Firefly:

    One would certainly think so.

    However, on our side we have the prominent NeverTrumpers, like William Kristol, who are endorsing and voting for Kamala Harris, which I interpret as personal animosity over political agreement.

    Politics is a blood sport.

  12. @huxley:which I interpret as personal animosity over political agreement.

    Pretty sure it’s money. If “personal animosity” motivated these people then why did W. Bush and Darth Cheney roll toward the people who called them Nazis and war criminals and perpetrators of crimes against humanity?

    Because it’s kayfabe. Bush, Cheney, and Kristol are all insiders. They know how this game works. Randy Savage doesn’t hate Ric Flair or Hulk Hogan, they all get paid by the same people. Witness Liz Cheney’s heel-face turn. Being the daughter of people they called a “war criminal” didn’t stop them from hiring Jenna Bush.

    The expression, politics as “show business for ugly people”, has been getting more and more true over the last thirty years. Not every politician of national standing is in on it, but enough of them are. They are connected with each other through marriage, having gone to the same schools, spending most of their time in the same cities, and the various side deals and non-public business opportunities they are in together.

  13. O.K., a longshot, but I’ll throw this out there.

    I’m feeling a vibe that we may be on the precipice of some positive change in this country. I (and others here) have written often about the shift from Carter to Reagan, “Malaise” to a “Shining City upon a hill.” Clinton, “There’s nothing wrong with America that can’t be fixed by what’s right with America.”

    Who would have thought, living in the culture of the ’70s, that the ’80’s and ’90s could happen? The hippies. “Tune in, turn on, drop out.” Race riots. Gas lines. Stifling inflation. “A Clockwork Orange.” “Planet of the Apes.” “Soylent Green.” “Easy Rider.” “Dirty Harry.” “The Deer Hunter.” “Apocalypse Now.” And on, and on… Music, movies, the economy, our politicians…

    America’s best days were behind her.

    The late ’80s and ’90s were not just about an economic surge, there was a huge, optimistic and patriotic shift in the culture. Compare “Rocky IV” with “Easy Rider.” Compare the James Brown single, “Living in America” from “Rocky IV” with “The Pusher” from “Easy Rider.” Compare early, ’80s MTV bands with ’70s bands. Late ’80s counter culture was still up for fun and making money.

    I see the green shoots of that attitude busting up out of the ground. Jon Stewart’s recent monologue about jokes at Trump’s Madison Square Garden event. SNL making fun of Kamala Harris. I see more and more young men acting like young men; goofy, irreverent and unafraid.

    And, I see Trump surrounded by some very impressive people/and/or people with immense reach; Vance, Ramaswamy, Gabbard, Musk, DeSantis, Carlson*, Rogan… Ramaswamy, Musk and DeSantis have the ability, connections and organizational skills necessary to make headway on draining the swamp and getting the budget under control.

    Reagan was a master communicator and skilled at getting around the main stream media. Musk, Carlson, Rogan, the Weinstein brothers, Dr. Peterson, the Daily Wire… all have big audiences and are skilled communicators at messaging. With those folks unleashed and unrestrained true change is possible. Very possible.

    And nothing succeeds like success. Eventually, all but the most ardent hippie got on board with the go-go ’80s, learned to code and wasn’t shy about being a greedy capitalist in the hot economy of the ’90s (paging our own huxley).

    It is not inevitable. But it is possible**. Thatcher, Pope JPII, Rush Limbaugh, George Lucas, Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel… I see similar people on stage or in the wings today. God, I hope so!

    *Like Trump, Carlson manages to p*ss off everyone at one time, or another, including people who support and help him, but he is the epitome of that late ’80s frat boy mentality that blossomed well into the ’90s.

    **I was sensing it in the air during Trump’s fist term. A change in attitude. People seeming more hopeful, bold, courageous. Then COVID19…

  14. huxley @ 1:49pm,

    I was alluding that Bill may actually want to see Trump win. Bill and Hill invited Trump to Chelsea’s wedding. Bill likely didn’t hate Trump, at least up until 2015, and one could see the two have a lot in common. And, maybe Bill appreciates that Trump gave Hillary her comeuppance. 😉

  15. Just checked the stats for Oklahoma. 130,530 absentee ballots were sent out and 68% have been returned. Rs have more ballots sent & returned than Ds In OK, the ballot has to be at the election board by 5pm on election day. So, if you don’t mail it, you can always walk it into the polling place.

    The in person early voting has been huge – There are only two places in OK County so the lines were long per the TV reports. In the 2020 election, 167,185 voted early. In 2022, there were 132,242 early votes. Yesterday, there were 80,237 voters with voting going on through Sat.

    The early voting breakdown is 65% Rs, 25% Ds, and 10% Independents. The registration info is 52% rs, 27% Ds and 20% Is.

    BTW, Trump won in 2020 – 65% to 32%

  16. Re: Rob Squad Reactions

    I’m a big fan of this 40-ish black married couple, Jay and Amber, in Oklahoma who do a reaction channel on YouTube. I’ve easily watched a hundred of their videos.

    It’s fun seeing these younger blacks, who hadn’t had much experience of white rock/pop or black R&B/soul, encounter those older songs and be changed by them.

    Jay and Amber have no deep musical knowledge, but they bring an innocent intelligence to the endeavor, as well as an overall message of good will. They have acquired a YouTube audience, similarly motivated. I enjoy them all.

    However, a week ago the music reaction videos stopped and Rob did a tearful solo video on the channel:

    –“HERE YOU GO….”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX48V6iFgBU

    It wasn’t good-bye. It seems something has happened while at the same time Jay has had some ongoing mental health issues — sounds like depression — going on.

    It’s been a week now and no further music reaction videos have appeared. Jay and Amber have been part of my life for several months. It’s weird to care about people I don’t really know, but that’s the way these things work.

    I know neo has listened to their videos on the Bee Gees.

    Best wishes to Jay and Amber.

  17. “Plant-based Reese’s”

    I was scratching my head, don’t chocolate and peanuts both come from plants? Then I realized oh, MILK chocolate!

    JFC

  18. Liz – good to know OK is in the bag!

    “Trump won in 2020 – 65% to 32%”

    If he did that well in 2020 he may get a Stalinist majority there this year, sorry I meant Hitler.

  19. With regard to riding bicycles:

    A long, long, time ago I used to have my classic English style girls’ bike, complete with the little wicker basket and bell in the front. I used to ride to work through a small “enlightened” village in Northern California. It was only about a mile trek and I travelled down the town’s main street. One payday night I stopped on the way home from work at my local, tiny, little “Irish”pub. Had a lovely evening with friends and when the pub closed I got on my bike and started riding home. The village was quiet–nothing open. Just me and the night, and a warm little smile. Because, it was dark, and I felt a ittle wobbly, I thought it might be safer to ride on the sidewalk. Casually pedaling my way home, when suddenly the shriek of a police car came from behind. The two officers of the law pulled up alongside the curb and threatened to give me a ticket for riding on the sidewalk! They were smiling and said, “it’s just a warning!” A few minutes later as I turned up my street I noticed that they had in fact followed me. I don’t think it was to give me a ticket, rather I think it was to see that I got safely home. We have lost so much!

    Second story about me and my bicycle. Several years earlier I had bought one of those new fangled, absolutely miraculous inventions–a child seat to attach to the back bumper of my bicycle. My curly haired little girl looked so cute sitting back there in her little metal chair. I was so happy to have her with me. The city council–same little town–voted the chair to be too dangerous and thus illegal. I was ticketed and did 20 hours of community service! I don’t know–maybe we haven’t lost anything! 🙂

  20. huxley:

    Yes, I noticed that about Jay and Amber, as well. They had always seemed quite lighthearted, too, and so it’s a reminder that we can’t always tell anything about what’s going on inside people.

    I’ve noticed before that it’s not unusual for successful YouTubers to burn out and feel they need to quit. It seems like an easy job but it’s not as easy as it looks, I think. The pace can be quite demanding. I think that Jay and Amber dropped 3 reaction videos a day. I mean, it’s not digging ditches, but the relentless public scrutiny can provide quite a bit of pressure.

  21. Yeah Miguel that video (2:49PM) is a real shocker lol

    The second one too, the guy looks like Farrakhan Jr.

  22. I’ve heard Youtubers talk about being a slave to the algorithmn and feeling like if they don’t produce a certain amount of content pretty regularly they’ll quickly fall behind in terms of the index. Depending on the type of content they’re producing, much of it can be quite demanding in terms of time. For every minute of content that a good Youtuber puts up, you have to assume its probably 10 minutes at least (and likely often much more) that’s put into production it in terms of general AV work like editing, sound, and creating/inserting any animations or captions or whatever. And that’s not including any writing in the case of something that’s a bit more formal in terms of presentation, or any other general planning and logistics ect. Obviously things like basic reaction videos are oestensibly unscripted and likley don’t require as much behind that scenes work, but I can only imagine what bigger channels like Veritasium or Joshua Weissman must have to do. For such channels it’s work on par with producing an episode of a Television show.

  23. [A YouTube channel] seems like an easy job but it’s not as easy as it looks, I think. The pace can be quite demanding.

    neo, Nonapod:

    I’m sure.

    Furthermore, I noticed Jay and Amber have expanded to movie reactions too, which had to increase the pressure. (I prefer their 8-10 minute snack-size song reactions.)

    If Jay’s problem is depression, it is a devilish affliction.

    I always thought Dick Cavett was a wonderful, confident talk show host, but in later years he confessed his depression and described how he felt like he was totally bombing in appearances which looked just fine from the outside.

  24. FOAF – yes, I think I can predict a Trump landslide in Oklahoma next week.

    I drove to the Edmond OK location to try to early vote and it was wild. I knew it was going to be crazy when I was at the stop light and the number of cars turning in was amazing.

    The voting is at Mitch Park, which has a multi-use center, a senior center, a huge YMCA where regional and state swim meets are held, walking trails, sports fields, a skatepark, etc. So lots of space to park and the lots were busy, people walking from the far reaches. I didn’t get close to see what the lines were like since I just turned around and went home.

    I checked the local news and they are saying that over 144,370 have voted in a day and a half. That is about 31% of the county registrations. And the news mentioned that there is a drive thru line for senior citizens. So, I might go back and try that. People are complaining that the election board should have set up more sites so that change may happen next time around. Adding sites should not be a problem if they use more of the regular polling places. I normally vote at a large church which has a multi-purpose room and plenty of parking.

    I may end up waiting until Tuesday since my precinct has about 2,110 people so the lines should not be that bad. Weather is going to be nice, sunny and cool. I’ll take leftover candy to share!

  25. Kate, and in how many systems do you carry a death sentence?

    I like that picture of candy corn. It’s a cute little bowlful. But I’ve never been keen on the little pumpkin ones. They’re cute enough, I guess, and in this case, they do provide some nice visual contrast.

  26. Neo: Happy Halloween ! Can you drop a link for your preferred candy corn selections for 2024 please?

  27. Aggie:

    I’m a classicist about candy corn: Brach’s and only Brach’s. Luckily it can be found just about anywhere.

  28. “…Mr. Cuban.”

    Kate, you may recall that he not so long ago described the MSM as being pro-Trump.

    He is not a well man.

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