Chit-Chat: The Feels

[fastiller]

35 minutes ago, tres bien said:

Trump doesn’t have a clue.

Everyday he’s going to slap tariffs on Canada and Mexico in a week or tomorrow or whenever the wind blows the right way 

The latest is we’re putting tariffs on them on Tuesday! 

Uh huh

Remember: Infrastructure Week, coming in two weeks.  Always in two weeks.

35 minutes ago, tres bien said:

Trump doesn’t have a clue.

Everyday he’s going to slap tariffs on Canada and Mexico in a week or tomorrow or whenever the wind blows the right way 

The latest is we’re putting tariffs on them on Tuesday! 

Uh huh

Remember: Infrastructure Week, coming in two weeks.  Always in two weeks.

[bluegirl147]

7 minutes ago, fastiller said:

Remember: Infrastructure Week, coming in two weeks.  Always in two weeks.

 

Still waiting for his concept of a plan for health care.

[ProudMary]

6 hours ago, tres bien said:

Senator Chris Murphy (D CT) is not attending the State of the Union. 

He said it will be a MAGA rally not a serious speech 

There will probably be others  

Chris Murphy is one of my favorite elected Democrats, but I STRONGLY disagree with him here. Boycotting this faux-SOTU is definitely NOT the answer.

The Democrats should not cede that floor! They should be in that chamber, wearing light blue and yellow ribbons or Ukrainian flag lapel pins. 🇺🇦 (I wouldn't mind seeing a few Canadian flag lapel pins either. 🇨🇦) A rotation of Democrats should shout out "You're lying" for every single lie DJT tells. I don't know if signs are allowed on the floor of the House chamber, but even if they're prohibited, the Dems should find ways to smuggle them in under jackets. Boo him repeatedly, as the GOP did to Obama and Biden. 

Bring fired federal workers as guests. Get loud! Throw sand in the gears. Throw DJT off his game. We can't be in that chamber. Show the fuck up for us!

[nokat]

21 hours ago, suomi said:

Hitler knows what time it is.

 

This is both funny and scary. I love at the end where actor Hitler is told he does have some similarities with Trump, and he says "piss off."

[bluegirl147]

38 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

Bring fired federal workers as guests.

Any bets on who Trump will invite as a guest?  One year he brought Rush Limbaugh. The Tate brothers? January 6ers?  Returning to the scene of the crime.

[ProudMary]

12 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

They are! From the NY Times Mach 2, 2025.

I sincerely hope so, but just bringing the fired federal workers with them, while a good start, is insufficient if they don't also make "good trouble" as the late, great Congressman Lewis used to tell us. 

I want the House floor tomorrow night to be chaotic. To hell with dignity and decorum. 

[tres bien]

Nancy Pelosi is attending. I wish she’d bring a faux copy of his speech and tear it up page by page ala 2020

[peacheslatour]

8 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

I sincerely hope so, but just bringing the fired federal workers with them, while a good start, is insufficient if they don't also make "good trouble" as the late, great Congressman Lewis used to tell us. 

I want the House floor tomorrow night to be chaotic. To hell with dignity and decorum. 

Do we really want to devolve into this?

 

[ProudMary]

4 minutes ago, tres bien said:

Nancy Pelosi is attending. I wish she’d bring a faux copy of his speech and tear it up page by page ala 2020

I'm D-O-N-E with Nancy Pelosi, and I'm someone who defended her for a long time, but her getting the Democrats to vote for Rep. Gerry Connolly, a 74 year old with a cancer diagnosis, over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was a bridge too far for me. She needs to retire. I don't need any symbolic gestures from her. As the old saying from the 1960s goes, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

[bluegirl147]

3 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

I'm D-O-N-E with Nancy Pelosi, and I'm someone who defended her for a long time, but her getting the Democrats to vote for Rep. Gerry Connolly, a 74 year old with a cancer diagnosis, over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was a bridge too far for me. She needs to retire. I don't need any symbolic gestures from her. As the old saying from the 1960s goes, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

I have also defended Pelosi and I do think she accomplished a lot but yeah it's time for her to go.  Fresh blood is essential for the Democratic party to not only survive but thrive.  

[ProudMary]

17 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Do we really want to devolve into this?

I didn't used to, but desperate times call for desperate measures. You don't bring a pocket knife to a gunfight. We're in the process of losing our democracy. I think it's way past time for the Democrats to break a few rules.

The Republicans threw decorum out the window over 15 years ago, on Nov. 9, 2009 when Joe Wilson yelled "You lie" at President Obama during a speech before Congress. It's only escalated from there. Fifteen plus years of the Democrats sitting back and "playing by the rules" while the Republicans shit on them has gotten us where we are now. The line in the sand is way behind us. 

 

Edited Monday at 07:17 PM by ProudMary
Fixed "threw"

[fastiller]

10 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

I'm D-O-N-E with Nancy Pelosi, and I'm someone who defended her for a long time, but her getting the Democrats to vote for Rep. Gerry Connolly, a 74 year old with a cancer diagnosis, over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was a bridge too far for me. She needs to retire. I don't need any symbolic gestures from her. As the old saying from the 1960s goes, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

 

5 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

I have also defended Pelosi and I do think she accomplished a lot but yeah it's time for her to go.  Fresh blood is essential for the Democratic party to not only survive but thrive.  

THIRD!  Same.  So much same. AOC; Crockett; Frost need to be given leadership roles in the House, along with a few others.  Jeffries needs to get on this quick fast.

[bluegirl147]

2 minutes ago, fastiller said:

 

THIRD!  Same.  So much same. AOC; Crockett; Frost need to be given leadership roles in the House, along with a few others.  Jeffries needs to get on this quick fast.

Yes with Republicans attacking DEI the Democratic party needs to show they are welcoming of diversity, equality and inclusion. It's doesn't have to be "identity politics".  It just needs to be we are representative of everyone. Not just rich white people.

[peacheslatour]

2 minutes ago, fastiller said:

 

THIRD!  Same.  So much same. AOC; Crockett; Frost need to be given leadership roles in the House, along with a few others.  Jeffries needs to get on this quick fast.

I'd so much rather have someone like Pete Buttigeige in the House. He can talk circles around MAGA idiots.

[ProudMary]

I'm in a red state and my House Rep. is a Republican. A neighboring district has a prominent Democratic representative. I just called their office with my feelings on what the Dems should do regarding tomorrow night's speech and had a very good conversation with the young woman on the phone. She claims that the Congressman has been in meetings all day about what they're going to do at the speech tomorrow night. She was not aware of Dems saying they were planning not to attend. 

If you have Democratic Senators or House members, please pick up the phone and call them. Exercise your 1st Amendment right to petition your government. Tell them to be our voice! Not all of us can be in the streets, but we can all pick up the phone!

[tres bien]

I’m no fan of Pelosi and ripped into her on this board right after she threw AOC under the bus 

I was pissed that the democrats keep hanging on to the old guard and was even angry that  Rep Rose DeLauro is the ranking member of house appropriations committee and Hakeem Jeffries has to defer to her about the pending budget. FFS she’s 82.
I think there was more than one poster that disagreed with me when I posted that these  older members don’t have a stake in the future that the younger representatives do. They’ve served their districts well but JMO the democrats need to recruit young candidates

 

Edited Monday at 07:56 PM by tres bien

[PRgal]

5 minutes ago, tres bien said:

I’m no fan of Pelosi and ripped into her on this board right after she threw AOC under the bus 

I was pissed that the democrats keep hanging on to the old guard and was even angry that  Rep Rose DeLauro is the ranking member of house appropriations committee and Hakeem Jeffries has to defer to her about the pending budget. FFS she’s 82. Are young members ever going to be in charge of anything!

The older generation wants to hold on to power for as long as they can!  That's why it's hard to for GenXers and Millennials to be in charge of things, sadly.

[tres bien]

If anyone cares Bobby Jr’s top spokesperson at HHS quit today after two weeks on the job 

Evidently he clashed with Jr’s response over the growing measles outbreak in Texas 

[Ohiopirate02]

2 minutes ago, tres bien said:

If anyone cares Bobby Jr’s top spokesperson at HHS quit today after two weeks on the job 

Evidently he clashed with Jr’s response over the growing measles outbreak in Texas 

Now I am wondering (not enough to actually research this BTW) whether the person who quit did so because Bobby Jr. did not go far enough and strongly encourage vaccinations without any caveat or if the person quit because how dare Bobby Jr. even suggest people get vaccines? With the clusterfuck that is HHS with Bobby Jr. at the head, it could really go either way.

[peacheslatour]

3 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Now I am wondering (not enough to actually research this BTW) whether the person who quit did so because Bobby Jr. did not go far enough and strongly encourage vaccinations without any caveat or if the person quit because how dare Bobby Jr. even suggest people get vaccines? With the clusterfuck that is HHS with Bobby Jr. at the head, it could really go either way.

That was my first thought as well. Is the guy even more of an anti-vax whackjob than Jr. and quit because his boss backtracked?

[mostlylurking]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Do we really want to devolve into this?

We already have. Sometimes, you gotta get down in the mud with the pigs. I think it’s disgusting that so many politicians are lamenting what’s happening now from their perch on supposed higher ground. Get in there and fight with the street dogs.

Normally I wouldn’t say these things, but we are in desperate times.  And as much as I’ve always admired Nancy Pelosi (ripping up that speech was EPIC) she’s become delusional. After the election she made every excuse in the book instead of just taking the loss and figuring out where to go from there.  The rules have changed. Republicans get this. Dems need to catch up. 

[bluegirl147]

25 minutes ago, tres bien said:

I think there was more than one poster that disagreed with me when I posted that these  older members don’t have a stake in the future that the younger representatives do. They’ve served their districts well but JMO the democrats need to recruit young candidates

Yes. Do we think young voters want to vote Republican?  Republican policies do not align with most young people's beliefs.  They want to vote for people they think represents them and what they want.  And I'm sorry but that is not some eighty year old Congressperson. 

22 minutes ago, PRgal said:

The older generation wants to hold on to power for as long as they can!  That's why it's hard to for GenXers and Millennials to be in charge of things, sadly.

This is true. I'm Gen X and there are people who don't know there is a generation between Boomers and Millennials. After President Obama I thought OK now we will get someone from my generation. Nope didn't happen.  And now we have Gen Zers being elected to Congress. And good for them but yeah Boomers have definitely stayed at the party too long.  And I say this as someone who likes Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren. 

8 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Now I am wondering (not enough to actually research this BTW) whether the person who quit did so because Bobby Jr. did not go far enough and strongly encourage vaccinations without any caveat or if the person quit because how dare Bobby Jr. even suggest people get vaccines? With the clusterfuck that is HHS with Bobby Jr. at the head, it could really go either way.

My first thought it was because Kennedy wasn't being anti vax enough anymore. But like you said WTF knows.

 

[Dimity]

13 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

This is true. I'm Gen X and there are people who don't know there is a generation between Boomers and Millennials.

And they ignore, or are unaware that Boomers encompass almost 20 years.  Boomers coming in at the tag end of the Baby Boom have way more in common with Gen X, and arguably are not "too old" to be in politics.

Incidentally the elderly politicians I keep hearing about that are considered to be out of touch and ready to be put out to pasture are 80 and above and technically aren't boomers at all.

Edited Monday at 08:31 PM by Dimity

[mostlylurking]

13 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

22 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

My first thought it was because Kennedy wasn't being anti vax enough anymore. But like you said WTF knows.

This is what I’m thinking too which is why RFK Jr. is pretty much in an impossible position. He’s too out there for the status quo but he’s not wacky enough for the anti vax community. 

[tearknee]

The youngest [undisputed] Xers are about to turn 50 next year for 1977-83 is Xennial.

 

50 is still old to a Millennial or Z, let alone Alpha. 54 is the median age for a U.S. President. You have to be 25 to stand for the House, 30 to stand for the Senate and 35 for POTUS and VPOTUS.

7 minutes ago, Dimity said:

And they ignore, or are unaware that Boomers encompass almost 20 years.  Boomers coming in at the tag end of the Baby Boom have way more in common with Gen X, and arguably are not "too old" to be in politics.

Incidentally the elderly politicians I keep hearing about that are considered to be out of touch and ready to be put out to pasture are 80 and above and technically aren't boomers at all.

Warren is a boomer, as were Hillary and Bill.

[Dimity]

Lord knows I am no fan of Ontario Premier Doug Ford (this is what is called a classic understatement) but if he follows through on what he claims he will do if Herr Trump imposes tariffs I'll, well I'll never vote for him, but I'll give him a hearty round of applause for standing up and being counted.

Ford doubles down on threat to cut off energy to U.S. amid spectre of trade war

[tres bien]

3 minutes ago, mostlylurking said:

This is what I’m thinking too which is why RFK Jr. is pretty much in an impossible position. He’s too out there for the status quo but he’s not wacky enough for the anti vax community. 

From Politico: Bobby Jr has no government experience and minimal health policymaking track record 

That’s laughable. He doesn’t know what he’s doing and it doesn’t need to be said but he’s over his head to our detriment 

[Anela]

https://stateofthepeople.media/

Quote

 

A 24-hour livestream where we will center the truth

"For months, our congressional leaders have defined this era as “the end of democracy.”

If that’s true, then why are they treating the State of the Union like business as usual?

The Trump administration will use this night to rewrite reality—downplaying the harm they’ve caused and deflecting from the real crises facing our communities. Meanwhile, too many elected officials will sit quietly, giving the spectacle legitimacy. We’re here to challenge that."

 

 

Edited Monday at 08:43 PM by Anela

[Dimity]

1 minute ago, tres bien said:

That’s laughable. He doesn’t know what he’s doing and it doesn’t need to be said but he’s over his head to our detriment 

In all sincerity, are any of Trump's picks any better?  Rubio I guess technically...

[Notabug]

11 minutes ago, tearknee said:

The youngest [undisputed] Xers are about to turn 50 next year for 1977-83 is Xennial.

 

50 is still old to a Millennial or Z, let alone Alpha. 54 is the median age for a U.S. President. You have to be 25 to stand for the House, 30 to stand for the Senate and 35 for POTUS and VPOTUS.

Warren is a boomer, as were Hillary and Bill.

I'm a boomer, but that generation lasted a long, long time; from 1946-1964.  The oldest boomers are pretty elderly, but a significant number are in their early to mid 60's which is not too old to serve in Congress, IMO.  I am 67, almost 68 myself and still working.

Gen X starts in 1965 and runs to around 1980; so several years shorter than the Boomers and, because of much lower birth rates, a much smaller cohort.

Millennials were born from about 1980-2000 and, once again, many fewer in that category than in the Boomers.

Millenials are the youngest generation that have mostly reached the age where they could run for president.

Edited Monday at 08:49 PM by Notabug

[Dimity]

4 minutes ago, Notabug said:

I'm a boomer, but that generation lasted a long, long time; from 1946-1964.

Exactly.  This generational thing is pretty fuzzy when all's said and done.  Saying "hey boomer" seems to me to be used against anyone you think is old enough to be your mom, let alone your grandmother.  I'm the tail end of the boom but my husband has a much older sister who was born in '47.  The only thing we have in common is liking the Beatles (and my jealousy of her having actually been to a concert of theirs knows no bounds).

9 minutes ago, Notabug said:

The oldest boomers are pretty elderly, but a significant number are in their early to mid 60's which is not too old to serve in Congress, IMO. 

And  not to old to care about what is happening in the world and what could happen if fascism goes unchecked!

[bluegirl147]

I mean no offense to any generation but we need new people in Congress.  We  have people who have been there longer than some of their colleagues in Congress have been alive. It wasn't meant to be a lifetime career. And it sure wasn't meant to be a way to become rich.  Whether its the  bribes campaign contributions or lobbyist gifts or the flat out insider trading there is corruption on both sides and it is killing us as a country.

[lookeyloo]

34 minutes ago, Dimity said:

And they ignore, or are unaware that Boomers encompass almost 20 years.  Boomers coming in at the tag end of the Baby Boom have way more in common with Gen X, and arguably are not "too old" to be in politics.

Incidentally the elderly politicians I keep hearing about that are considered to be out of touch and ready to be put out to pasture are 80 and above and technically aren't boomers at all.

I am 81.  We are the silent generation.

[MostlyContent]

3 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

I mean no offense to any generation but we need new people in Congress.  We  have people who have been there longer than some of their colleagues in Congress have been alive. It wasn't meant to be a lifetime career. And it sure wasn't meant to be a way to become rich.  Whether its the  bribes campaign contributions or lobbyist gifts or the flat out insider trading there is corruption on both sides and it is killing us as a country.

I think we'd all love term limits, right?  Maybe 4 terms in the House and 2 terms in the Senate, and then go home.  That's 20 years of 'service'.  See ya!  

[Dimity]

2 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

We  have people who have been there longer than some of their colleagues in Congress have been alive. It wasn't meant to be a lifetime career.

We have the same issue here in Canada.  We have the leader of the Cons who has never worked at any job outside politics.  Got elected for the first time in 2004 and 21 years later, at age 45,  is still hanging in there and, god help us all, if he keeps getting elected we might have him around for another 40 years or more.

[fastiller]

4 minutes ago, MostlyContent said:

I think we'd all love term limits, right?  Maybe 4 terms in the House and 2 terms in the Senate, and then go home.  That's 20 years of 'service'.  See ya!  

PREACH!!!! I've wanted this for as long as I've been politically engaged.  I've had people say 'elections are the term limits', but incumbency is  seriously powerful in keeping people from even being challenged.

[Dimity]

18 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I learned about the massacre from my parents - my dad used to play "Ohio" sometimes and he and my mom talked about hearing of the massacre on the news when it happened and everything. I'm trying to remember if we learned about it in school - I want to say my high school AP history class might've touched on it? 

Speaking of "Ohio" and the Silent Generation (which wasn't always so silent thankfully)

Neil Young to play a free concert in Ukraine

Keep on rocking in the free world, Neil!

@lookeyloo commented:

Quote

I am 81.  We are the silent generation.

This is the generation that I think many today assume are the Boomers - not exactly.  This is the generation that inspired the boomers, in music and literature just to name two fields near and dear to many of us. 

Edited Monday at 09:33 PM by Dimity

[Milk-Eyed Mender]

From independent reporter @atrupar on Bluesky:

Sen.Tuberville, AL (appearing on Newsmax): "Zelenskyy's gonna play hardball, but you know what? He's not even in the game. It's gonna be Putin and President Trump and the people on our side that will end up making this decision for the future of Ukraine."

The cruelty of of today's GOP takes my breath away. 

Edited Monday at 09:54 PM by Milk-Eyed Mender
Corrected Newsday to Newsmax

[bluegirl147]

5 minutes ago, fastiller said:

PREACH!!!! I've wanted this for as long as I've been politically engaged.  I've had people say 'elections are the term limits', but incumbency is  seriously powerful in keeping people from even being challenged.

And now with legalized bribery thanks to Citizen's United it costs an astronomical sum just to run a House campaign. Grassroots campaigns rarely work nowadays. 

2 minutes ago, Milk-Eyed Mender said:

From independent reporter @atrupar on Bluesky:

Sen.Tuberville, AL (appearing on Newsday): "Zelenskyy's gonna play hardball, but you know what? He's not even in the game. It's gonna be Putin and President Trump and the people on our side that will end up making this decision for the future of Ukraine."

The cruelty of of today's GOP takes my breath away. 

And who exactly is on our side?

[tres bien]

Trump basically threatened to oust Zelensky today 

“That person won’t be around very long if he doesn’t change his tune “

[Dimity]

13 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

And who exactly is on our side?

North Korea...yeah....

[Milk-Eyed Mender]

57 minutes ago, mostlylurking said:

This is what I’m thinking too which is why RFK Jr. is pretty much in an impossible position. He’s too out there for the status quo but he’s not wacky enough for the anti vax community. 

"Out there" and "whacky" are too benign. The guy drove his wife to suicide, drove around with a dead bear cub in his vehicle, removed the head of a dead whale via chainsaw and threw living creatures into a blender as meal prep for his snake. He's a cold-blooded psychopath. Which reminds me: what the hell is wrong with Cheryl Hines?

[tearknee]

53 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

I am 81.  We are the silent generation.

No war stories to tell (part of what makes them "silent" according to that seminal generations book.

[Absolom]

1 hour ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Now I am wondering (not enough to actually research this BTW) whether the person who quit did so because Bobby Jr. did not go far enough and strongly encourage vaccinations without any caveat or if the person quit because how dare Bobby Jr. even suggest people get vaccines? With the clusterfuck that is HHS Bobby Jr. at the head, it could really go either way.

Good points to ponder.

1 minute ago, tearknee said:

No war stories to tell (part of what makes them "silent" according to that seminal generations book.

Just Viet Nam.

[tearknee]

44 minutes ago, fastiller said:

PREACH!!!! I've wanted this for as long as I've been politically engaged.  I've had people say 'elections are the term limits', but incumbency is  seriously powerful in keeping people from even being challenged.

Carl Hayden and Strom - their states needed their seniority, no pun intended.

[peacheslatour]

17 minutes ago, tearknee said:

Carl Hayden and Strom - their states needed their seniority, no pun intended.

Washington state had a couple of Senators I'd never want to term limit. They built up a lot of clout in the Senate and did fantastic things for this state.

[tearknee]

Congress term limited the president but not themselves or SCOTUS.

[lookeyloo]

45 minutes ago, tearknee said:

No war stories to tell (part of what makes them "silent" according to that seminal generations book.

I did listen to my parents talk about the depression and my father was on the front lines in Italy during WW2 so there was that. The depression stories affected them and our daily lives more than the war did although I think my father had PTSD before it was renamed from shell shock. 

[Dimity]

2 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

I did listen to my parents talk about the depression and my father was on the front lines in Italy during WW2 so there was that.

My parents were of the Silent Generation and living through the Depression and WWII affected them but not unlike the baby boomer  those born in 1928 had a different childhood to those born in 1945! 

If we want to break it down to war - 1928ers were in Korea, 1945ers went to Vietnam.  I may be wrong but I think Gen X may be the first generation that didn't see many of their cohorts drafted and sent off to fight.

[peacheslatour]

6 minutes ago, Dimity said:

My parents were of the Silent Generation and living through the Depression and WWII affected them but not unlike the baby boomer  those born in 1928 had a different childhood to those born in 1945! 

If we want to break it down to war - 1928ers were in Korea, 1945ers went to Vietnam.  I may be wrong but I think Gen X may be the first generation that didn't see many of their cohorts drafted and sent off to fight.

My parents were born in the mid thirties. My dad went to Korea with the Air Force as a translator after the USAF sent him to Yale to learn Chinese. He transported prisoners of war. They were Republicans of the "cloth coat" variety until Watergate when they both swore off the R's forever. They both proudly voted for Obama and my widowed dad was super excited to vote for Hillary.