Talk about anything you want in the comments.
ADDED: The main reason I am averting my eyes is that I don't want exposure to all the favorable, flattering media. The media were so awful to Trump, whatever he did. The sudden shift to bathing Biden in sunlight just feels so wrong to me. It seems sappy and patronizing. But I hope Biden does well, and I'll be giving him a chance. Just don't expect me to blog the details. As ever, I will blog what interests me, and I'll be looking for things that feel fresh and different.
AND: I'll quote this NYT headline because — after what I just wrote — it feels like humor (unintended humor): "For Many Across America, a Sigh of Relief as a New Era Begins/'I feel lighter,' said a woman in Chicago. For many in an exhausted, divided nation, the inauguration was a sea change, not just a transition." I don't know about the "many," but for me, there is no sighing, I'm not exhausted, and I feel exactly the same weight.
"Sea change" — is it a sea change? The phrase is Shakespeare's — from a description of a dead man, lost at sea:
Full fathom five thy father lies,Of his bones are coral made;Those are pearls that were his eyes;Nothing of him that doth fade,But doth suffer a sea-changeInto something rich and strange.Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell.
The inauguration was a sea change?
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282 comments:
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Vastly more attractive than Hillary. Granted not a high bar to get over. I don't loathe Kamala the way I do Hillary but give me time I'm working on it.
And yes Dr Jill and Kamala are going to be portrayed as glorious shining lights for all who identify as female to emulate and adore. That is the way of it.
I read Sotomayor mispronounced Kamala's name today when swearing her in. Ha ha.
To be fair, Joe, Melania is of course very hot, but if I met the three of them (Melania, Tulsi, and Kamala) in a dark bar and, in an instant, had to choose which one to concentrate on first, it would be Tulsi.
I would regret it later (Melania would have been the right choice), but that is how it would have happened.
Not a lot young or middle-aged women read these comment threads, but for those who do, let me be clear ---- if you, a young or middle-aged woman, walked into a bar, and saw Trump, Gabbard's husband, and Tulsi's husband sitting at a table, you would have no interest at all in any of them. So don't judge me ---- I am the one who is finding beauty in this world.
"but the one or two law firms who Trump reached out to were cowardly, and quickly refused.
Unless you understand that, you know nothing about the way the swamp works."
I understand that you make a lot of statements without providing any documentary links to back them up.
i also understand that someone who has a reputation for not paying their legal bills is going to have a hard time finding a decent lawyer.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/01/trump-doesnt-want-to-pay-stiff-giuliani-legal-fees.html
It's been a down day but get a grip. I expect that the price of gas will go up, that there will be more immigrants and that taxes will go higher. I don't, however, anticipate re-education camps and endless rule by a Democratic President and Congress. If Biden's policies don't work out, people in sufficient numbers will not vote for him or for his Congress....Rome wasn't destroyed in a day. Rome had emperors like Caligula and Nero and still it took hundreds of years for it to fall. Biden is a spent force and, even in his most vital years, was phlegmatic and ineffectual. He's not Lenin or Robespierre. You lived through Obama. You will live through Biden.
I doubt John Henry would be upset if Meade took the $15 and burned it.
Mutaman - I am not your research assistant.
Look it up.
Mutaman, do you really think that " a fear of not being paid" was the reason a law firm with super good connections to all the rich people in this country refused to take on President Trump as a client?
Do you know that most of those law firms reject about half of the Yale Law people who want to work for them?
It ain't about money with those creeps.
and I don't "make statements", I explain how the world works.
Not a subtle difference.
Massive waves of idiot Californians and other blue-staters have been infesting traditionally red states like the cancer they are.
And, kids being indoctrinated in high school right now will be voting democrat in four years. Red staters have allowed their schools to be taken over by leftists while placing blame for turning blue on escaping Californians.
If that happens, or even if the Repubs take only one house of Congress, the country will be OK.
Abso-fucking-lutely delusional. Forty years since the Reagan revolution, 26 years since the Gingrich revolution, what has the GOP conserved? The most salient effect of the policies they championed is a more unequal, divided America with an even wealthier and more powerful super-class that dominates American political and cultural institutions. Whether it was Clinton, Bush, Obama, or Trump, they've done just fine. And they're going to do just fine under Biden. The Republicans have spent 40 years fighting a culture war while simultaneously enriching and empowering those on the cultural left.
I feel like this post should get the 'civility bullshit' tag. IMHO
@stephen cooper:
I would regret it later (Melania would have been the right choice), but that is how it would have happened.
Melania seems like a total dead fish lay. Tulsi is a Hindu, is adept at Yogic asanas, and could very well be familiar with Tantric practices. You wouldn't regret it later.
I hardly feel "humiliated" Ken. I made a bet, I lost and I paid up promptly.
How is that humiliating?
I also owe my daughter $5 but won't pay that until I get home from flatland IA in 3-4 weeks.
Should I feel humiliated by that, too?
Not getting your thinking here.
John Henry
Did Kamala's husband sleep his way to the top? Soon to be First Gentleman(or something).
Will he be as active as Michelle was?
Will Kamala butt heads with the still powerful Obama women?
Remember, Roseann Barr canceled for making a joke about Valarie Jarrett.
Twitter, Facebook shut out Trump the day after Michelle publicly said Trump should be shut down.
Will Joe or Kamala start a war to prove what a serious President they are? For street cred?
Thee Godfather said...
History teaches that the Republicans should take both Houses in 2022. If that happens, or even if the Repubs take only one house of Congress, the country will be OK. If the Prophets of Doom are correct, and we face one-party rule until 2024, I think we'll be in for a rocky ride for awhile.
Don give short shrift to the Supreme Court. 6-3 for protecting the 1st and 2nd Amendment. I think we're good - thanks to Cocaine Mitch for having the courage to push forward on Justice Amy's nomination. We now know what would probably have happened if he had waited until after the election.
I think that one legacy of President Trump that should hopefully find support on both sides of the aisle is the end to Brutalism Architecture in Federal buildings going forward. If President Biden wants the unity he spoke about in his inauguration he should champion the anti-Brutalism effort spearheaded by President Trump's administration. I'm partial to the Neo-Classical style, but as long as they avoid Brutalism we should be ok.
The left has been waging the culture war relentlessly since the 60s, so much so that aplurality of America no longer believe in american principles, every institution we believed in has been made toxic every aberration has beem mainstreamed.
The 1619 project couldnt have gotten purchase without this marathon through the institutions. Which has left them hollow.
Abso-fucking-lutely delusional. Forty years since the Reagan revolution, 26 years since the Gingrich revolution, what has the GOP conserved?
As a non-gun-owning gun nut I will say that broadly speaking Republicans/the right have been very successful in protecting gun rights and expanding them over the last 40 years or so. First by getting state after state to liberalize their concealed carry and gun owning laws, and then more recently in the courts over the last 15 years or so. DC v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago are incredibly important cases. Republicans and the right in general have been incredibly inept in fighting the culture wars. Breitbart was the first person, or at least first person of public note to get that politics is downstream of culture. The right needs to work on establishing their own media structures, with particular emphasis on the art and entertainment side. The right has seemingly completely ceded the area of more high-minded art to the left. The right needs to treat art and entertainment as important if not more important than news.
I hear Chris Wallace felt a tingle up his leg.
Wrong direction. Piss down his leg. He just realized what he wrought.
Ted Wheeler, mayor of Portland, could have dealt with antifa four years ago, even two years ago. All it would have taken is some back bone, but Ol' Todd Whalen (As Markley, Van Camp and Robinson call him) doesn't have any. Like most Democrats.
John Henry
You thought that Trump would be inaugurated. That is some kind of delusional stupidity. It’s even stupider than Krugman's prediction about the stock market that insty has used for years to humiliate Krugman. Chuck pinned you down so you couldn’t just memory hole it.
I already congratulated you on taking your medicine with no extra fuss.
"He's not Lenin or Robespierre."
He isn't either of those- he is Paul Von Hindenburg.
I predict school shootings come back big and soon, with lots of perps wearing MAGA hats.
A lot of the thanks for the state of today goes to Ross Perot.
Ross Perot was the result of Reagan's choice of VP.
Melania seems like a total dead fish lay.
And I suppose you're simply fabulous!
"Rome had emperors like Caligula and Nero and still it took hundreds of years for it to fall."
That's the spirit! America in constant decline for the next couple of centuries.
Ross Perot was the result of Ross Perot.
"And, kids being indoctrinated in high school right now will be voting democrat in four years. Red staters have allowed their schools to be taken over by leftists while placing blame for turning blue on escaping Californians."
Smartest thing lefties ever did (along with taking over the media and Hollywood) was taking over education and running it like re-education camps.
They don't even hide it anymore, and parents are too afraid to push back for fear of getting cancelled or worse.
"The most salient effect of the policies they championed is a more unequal, divided America with an even wealthier and more powerful super-class that dominates American political and cultural institutions. Whether it was Clinton, Bush, Obama, or Trump, they've done just fine. And they're going to do just fine under Biden. The Republicans have spent 40 years fighting a culture war while simultaneously enriching and empowering those on the cultural left."
Unequal? Bullshit. The richest people in America are all lefties. Even if you're not a leftie you can still make a lot of money in this country. But you need to work at it. You end up with what you put in.
The problem is, the Republicans have NOT spent any time fighting the culture wars. That's why we have 6-year-olds declaring their trans status and parents cheering them on and parading them around to get brownie points on social media.
Where the fuck have you been?
Please enlighten us about what Republicans have done to move the needle in the culture war.
Farmer
A car hurtles down a twisty mountain road. Your argument is that it doesn’t matter if the driver uses the brakes, since it will still be going along the same road.
In the saying popularized by Glenn Reynolds (not sure who coined it): "You may not be interested in the Gleichschaltung, but the Gleichschaltung is interested in you."
I’m glad the Trump thing is over. And, I was among his strongest supporters.
I never got so invested in a pol before, and I’m never going to get that invested again. It’s just not worth it.
Surprised to see so many commenters convinced that Althouse was a Trump supporter. She was just one of the few among the intellectual, professional class who gave him a fair hearing and a fair shake.
@Sprezzatura
Althouse was not a Trump supporter.
Clear out your brain from you own incessant dumb jabber and think about that.
"Althouse was not a Trump supporter."
Correct...she was a college professor in a liberal school in an ultra-liberal town for many years.
If she had any conservative leanings she wouldn't have lasted 2 weeks.
As nice as she seems to be (and I think she is very nice) Zebras don't change their stripes.
Chances that the bezos or the carlos slims will underatans something slim and none.
https://thefederalist.com/2021/01/20/reshaped-by-the-trump-era-our-institutions-will-hobble-into-the-biden-administration/
@Sprezzatura,
You have reading comprehension problems.
Althouse literally and on an almost daily basis said in writing that she didn’t support Trump, and she called him “weird” almost daily.
I’ve been reading her blog since its inception.
Althouse didn’t write that, so what’s your point?
In re the Charlottesville thing, Althouse did what a lawyer does, which was to vet the actual text of the President’s remarks, word for word.
From that text, she concluded that the characterization of Trump’s remarks as supporting racists and Nazis was false.
Althouse does what is called close textual analysis of what people actually say. She’s a lawyer.
You’re just a goofball ranger.
@Joe Smith:
Unequal? Bullshit. The richest people in America are all lefties.
Since the neoliberal reforms of the late 1970s and the 1980s, a larger share of economic growth has gone to those at the top of the income distribution, while the size of the middle class has shrunk. That the rich tend to be on the cultural left is exactly my point.
The problem is, the Republicans have NOT spent any time fighting the culture wars. That's why we have 6-year-olds declaring their trans status and parents cheering them on and parading them around to get brownie points on social media.
Where the fuck have you been?
Please enlighten us about what Republicans have done to move the needle in the culture war.
That the Republicans have been losing the culture war for 40 years is what I said. White evangelicals have become a major base of support for the Republican Party because of its support for socially conservative causes, with abortion being one of the more prominent examples.
My point is that pursuing cultural conservatism and economic libertarianism is contradictory and self-defeating.
Its morning in America. 25,000 NG are now singing "I'd sing to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony" and giving everyone cokes. McConnell and Schumer have disclosed they are secret Gay lovers. The Never Trumpers and the Liberal/Left are now Best friends forever.
Its a glorious new world. Finally, the orange man and his evil 74 million followers are gone and we can get back to unlimited globalism, open borders, and wars in the middle east.
@Ken B:
Farmer
A car hurtles down a twisty mountain road. Your argument is that it doesn’t matter if the driver uses the brakes, since it will still be going along the same road.
No, my argument is a car hurtles towards a brick wall, and the passengers are arguing over the radio presets.
@Sprezzatura
That’s your opinion.
I have no clue what Unite the Right is or what they intend to do.
Althouse never once posted her opinion of Unite the Right. She simply vetted Trump’s remarks verbatim. She didn’t attempt to conclude anything about Unite the Right or the motives and goals of any organization.
Neither did Scott Adams to my knowledge.
Untangle your brain. I understand that you have a goal, which is to discredit an organization and fight against its goals, whatever you think they are. Althouse and Adams never commented upon that organization or its goals.
You’re trying the traditional “guilt by association” tactic here, which you think is extremely convincing, but it isn’t.
So you think that Trump is guilty by association with Unite the Right.
That’s BS.
You’re a very confused person, and you’re jabbering nonsense, Sprezzatura.
Althouse was not and is not a Trump supporter.
The fact that she vetted Trump’s speech and found no evidence of racism or support for racism doesn’t equal support for David Duke. Nor does it suggest that she supported the rally or even thought it was a good idea.
Give yourself a break. You’re out of your league in dealing with Althouse.
When you read Althouse, confine your remarks about what she writes to the words she actually writes. I know this is difficult to do. And, I mean this sincerely. I learned close textual reading and analysis in college literature courses, and later in computer programming courses. It’s a difficult skill. You don’t have this skill. You’re all over the place, and you’re confusing your desire to achieve specific political goals with understanding in reality what specific people said and did.
so I think it was bad for DJT to make excuses for (and praise as very fine people) the folks that went to Jason Kessler’s rally.
But I bet you think it's just fine for the Democrats to praise, encourage and allow all of the BLM and Antifa violence all summer long, and then bail out the rioters that weren't immediately released.
This is what Trump delusion looks like.
The pretend to be above it all crowd, gathers in DC to celebrate the triumphant return of corruption to the government with all the celebritries who spewed the most hate and vileness for the last 4 years Who cares about the regular, little people????......... Congratulations. We are witnessing ignorance and elitism on a grand scale...
"To heal, we must remember. It’s hard sometimes to remember, but that’s how we heal. It’s important to do that as a nation. That’s why we’re here today. Between sundown and dusk, let us shine the lights in the darkness, along the sacred pool of reflection, and remember all whom we lost."
Biden has lost his marbles.
An appeal for unity and call for healing is just platitudes. I'm not paying much attention to political goings on, though I will note that the media coverage of Biden/Harris I've bumped into the last few days is sickly sweet, fawning even. My hope is that he governs as incompetently as I expect him to do and damages as little as possible. I fear the economy will revert to its pre-Trump moribund condition. My other hope is that these comments will revert to a, mostly, serious discussion of the post's topic.
Having moved recently I've got plenty to occupy my time. Completing the move in process, getting rid of all the spent packing materials, meeting the neighbors, figuring out the new local community, and, excitedly, getting back into my hobbies.
John Henry.
Let's be realistic here. You lost a bet to the smartest guy on the short bus. The second smartest guy is wiggling and giggling in his seat. He might pee his pants..
Biden quote:
"To heal, we must remember. It’s hard sometimes to remember, but that’s how we heal. It’s important to do that as a nation. That’s why we’re here today. Between sundown and dusk, let us shine the lights in the darkness, along the sacred pool of reflection, and remember all whom we lost."
Hypocrisy. His party was willing to sacrifice people's jobs, health (due to limits on access to treatment for non-COVID-related conditions), and mental well-being, all as a political stunt to get Trump by any means necessary.
Now I see a morning news report that kids as young as 5 years old are (according to the reporter) being brought to emergency rooms for mental health issues. And of course, here in our new home state of PA, there is an app called "Safe2Say" that allows people to submit tips if they see someone who appears to be stressed out. Potential for misuse? I'll withhold judgment for now, but I wont be surprised if it ends up being another tool for surveillance.
Joe Biden's EOs today, he claims, will change the course of the pandemic and combat climate change. Oh boy.
Reporter to WH press secretary Jen (Winni)pesaukee: "Will the president change the color scheme on Air Force One?"
Expect more hard hitting questions like this for the next four years.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/01/good-question-wh-press-sec-asked-biden-will-change-paint-air-force-one-video/
"I know he needs monitoring, but that doesn't make it my job."
I thought you were making it your job. Holding Biden to his "I'll be for everyone" crap.
Wimmen!
I watched until Air Force One went wheels up at Andrews and clicked off.
I have no interest in the asterisk Presidency*
Well, thank goodness we weren’t treated to another insane poem about dinosaur poo, like the one Maya Angelou did at Clinton’s inauguration.
I am reading seed catalogues, better set up the grow house this weekend. Purple Cherokee is my crack. Why bother with anything else?
Abigail Shrier
"On day 1, Biden unilaterally eviscerates women's sports. Any educational institution that receives federal funding must admit biologically-male athletes to women's teams, women's scholarships, etc."
Lately I feel more and more like Candide, turning inward on my life, my family, my faith, and turning away from the noise.
Especially media coverage of DC swamp dwellers which is a gigantic waste of our precious time; this has become crystal clear these last few years.
I think we let overly emotional election performance/signaling get out of control with Obama, Obama, Clinton's loss. Even the "Bush will create camps to kill us all" performances weren't as grating as the "The lights in DC are like Biden's arms outstretched to embrace the nation."
Journalists should be embarrassed but the nonsense their colleagues published and posted over the last few days.
Unfortunately, doing well for Biden includes flooding the country with criminal illegal aliens, creating a permanent Democrat majority using illegals already here, and financially, academically, and socially persecuting half the legal population as klansmen (cis-klanswomen?) while ripping free speech apart like a twelve-year old’s hymen in an Afghani hut or Rotherham housing complex. Of which saying so is soon to be officially hate speech. We must defend the right rapists, not the incorrect victims.
I completely agree that taking as many breaks as possible from boluses of political spectacle is healthy and good. But avoiding too much of the unpleasant other things that actually happened today at Biden’s desk is less a choice than a betrayal of those who can’t avoid the consequences descending on them. This will not end well.
I'm curious as to why you folks think Joe picked Kamala. My thought is that decision came from further up the chain of command. That she didn't even make it to the primaries doesn't seem to bother people in any way. A future president who couldn't find her way to the semi-finals? C'mon man!
Jeff Brokaw @6:45 AM, I am torn between dropping out and joining the battle. If I thought there was any hope of our being left alone to tend our gardens, the choice would be easier.
I so agree with you, Althouse.
You'll be needing a tag for "unity bullshit".
Joe picked Kammy because it absolves him of his white supremacy and misogyny. White mans original sins.
"I'm curious as to why you folks think Joe picked Kamala."
-- Because he knew that "first X VP" news stories would guarantee a load of votes, and she was able to be more openly far on the left than he was to reassure the far left that Biden, like most politicians, would come home after pretending to be moderate for the general.
So I followed the link and read the article that details how President Trump is not paying for Giuliani's legal work.
Trump has instructed aides not to pay Giuliani’s legal fees, two officials said,
Here is the proof. From Slate, quoting WaPoo.
Yep, two officials. But its worse than that. It is two official who don't even get elevated to the lofty position of "Close to the Oval Office"
In short a story based on zero evidence.
Exactly what we expect for leftist lying to advance a narrative.
Every single time I follow these leftists links I find a fabricated story.
Woke up to a cold sweat imagining the still pictures taken of our new senile in chief and sidekick in chucks as they bumble about some world crisis in the WH situation room.
TA observes: You'll be needing a tag for "unity bullshit".
Yep. The best we can hope for is detente and we know the PTB won't be content with that.
Is it true, just hearing that Bezos has just offered the Biden admin. it’s services (Amazon)to deliver the vaccine ?
If true it’s fucking evil.
A future president who couldn't find her way to the semi-finals? C'mon man!
She couldn't make the cut to make the tournament field. She dropped out before a single vote could be cast in the Iowa Caucus. She was not enough of a politician to even find funding to make the primary. She had nothing any person wanted. She's like Rachel Dozel. A fake minority. Watching the news reader get all tongue tied, attempting to read what was written for them, cramming a bunch of verbage into the lists of 'firsts' she supposedly represents.
If you believe the first South Asian, is a real thing of note...you might be a racist.
I know it’s the thing lately to make us all care more about the transgender people than ourselves. To wit, we’re supposed to ignore our innate identification skills and use preferred pronouns. However, I am very disappointed that Harris is on board with allowing biological men in women’s sports. That basically kills the whole purpose of women’s sports.
The inmates really are running the asylum.
I’m just happy that Professor Althouse has survived the Qanon, white supremacist, Proud Boy riots.
Ann: "I don't want exposure to all the favorable, flattering media..."
Warning, SF Chronicle: EU SIGHS WITH RELIEF AS BIDEN ENTERS WHITE HOUSE.
That EU, man, there's nothing they can't do.
Evasive. Would like to see the tiniest bit of regret for the support you gave Trump. OK, maybe "more than he deserved" is it.
Thanks, Anna, A wonderfully succinct post that says it all.. Biden's "Bathed in Sunlight" vs. Trump's vilification from the get-go. And your attitude for the future is about as good as it gets.
We can do this together - barf. For four years it was like an Ali / Frazier fight. Now it feels like the Spartans at Thermopolie.
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