Wednesday Morning What The F**k Just Happened?

Hey, who else is up and around after 4-5 hours of melatonin-induced sleep, interrupted by various household pets coming in demanding food and to be let out because they are oblivious to what happened last night.

I’m typing this up Wednesday morning, (because no matter that we’re on the verge of America’s experiment with democracy coming to a crashing halt, we need the #content), with the AP having called the Presidential race for Donald Trump, a 34-time felon, a person twice found civilly liable for sexual assault, and a man responsible for a violent coup attempt four years ago.

On the plus side, we likely don’t have to worry about a violent coup this time around.  Not like the Democrats could organize a united effort like that even if they were inclined to.

The GOP also grabbed control of the Senate.  I don’t know about the House.  The Democrats might have taken that back, they also might not have.  Frankly I’m not inclined to look it up right now.  I can’t do anything about it anyway.

I am fortunate enough to live in Deep Blue Connecticut, and for that matter one of the bluer towns in this fine state.

The right-winger running to represent me in the State House lost by a mere 66%.  It looks like the State Senate candidate will win as well, even though she kind of sucks.  She and the GOP candidate, (who really does suck), are currently separated by 400 votes, but it doesn’t look like the UConn student vote has been counted yet, and that is not going to go Republican.  Fingers crossed, I guess.

Connecticut sent a Democrat back to the Senate, (this one in his 50’s, which is like a toddler in that group), and all 5 Democratic representatives back.  And we voted for Harris by, last I saw, 8%+.

In short, Connecticut did its part.

The country, however, largely did not.  Why is that?

We all have our guesses:  Kamala Harris simply isn’t a very good candidate.  Joe Biden should never have run for more than one-term, and his unwillingness to step down until an absolutely disastrous debate performance forced the issue hamstrung the Democrats and resulted in the aforementioned not-very-good candidate being declared the candidate.  Harris started out with a bang, then squandered that by listening to the usual consultants who brought you successful candidates like Hilary Clinton, ignored her base and swung to the right to try to get Republicans, who already have their own party.

All of those are fine ideas.  Some might even be true.  But I think the overriding reason is simply this:  This is what we are as a country right now.  Looking at things in the best possible light we as a country are, at least a noticeable majority anyway, willing to overlook a dangerously flawed individual and put him in power because it might mean a few more bucks in the paycheck.  In the worst possible light, and sadly I think this is at least as much the case, a majority of us voted for Trump and the GOP because he gives them permission to be their worst selves.

So what now?  I can only speak for myself, and I’m not going to commit to anything in a moment of anger and frustration, but I think I’m going to pull way back.  I think I’m pretty much done with things at the national level.  America is simply not where I am right now, I don’t like it, it doesn’t affect me, (again, straight, white, male), and I’m tired of banging my head into things just for shit like this to happen because Connecticut has 7 electoral votes and more people than both Dakotas, Wyoming, and Montana combined, but there’s 12 electoral votes in those four states, so fuck me.

I’ll still vote, but I’m not getting emotionally invested in the results.  I’m going to focus my time, energy, and money very locally.  Town and state, local charities, things that directly affect me and mine.  I’m also going to cut way back on social media.

That and really rooting that a certain someone has a massive heart attack in the very, very, very near future.

Your reactions in the comments.

 

 

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BugEyedBoo

This is what I just don’t understand: Trump had 3M fewer votes than 2020, but Harris had 15M fewer! And this was spread out across the board: sex, race, and age. I know kicking Biden to the curb left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths, but it caused a 20% (not getting out the calculator) drop? I dunno.

SonOfSpam

Yeah, the part of my brain trying to make sense of it wonders about shenanigans, but the sad angry brain (most of it today) says we just suck that bad.

Misogyny and racism is a powerful one-two punch.

ballsofsteelandfury

I don’t think it was racism and misogyny. I did NOT want to vote for Harris. She had a bad record in LA and she was anointed, not voted for. That pissed me off. I still voted, but I could see how many people would decide to just not vote.

When these are our options, what’s the point?

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Doktor Zymm

That whole ‘anointed’ argument has always seemed pretty silly to me. As long as they go through the process to get a candidate on the ballot parties can pick that candidate however they want.

Voting for party candidates in primaries is relatively new and I’m NPP anyway (yes I know I can request whichever primary ballot I want in CA) so there’s no reason to expect parties to take my opinion into account in what is essentially an internal party process.

The real problem here is the 2 party system. We need all that fundraising, organizing, and admin support to actually run a reasonable presidential campaign nowadays, but the price for all that apparati is getting boxed in as far as candidate choice and policy positions

ballsofsteelandfury

Anointed in the sense that she was picked in the back room of the Democratic Party Headquarters. None of the other candidates that went through the primary process had a shot after they decided Biden was out.

Doktor Zymm

Right, but that’s the party’s prerogative. Candidates were picked that way all the time back in the day, it’s basically the definition of a contested convention

Doktor Zymm

It’s also what the electoral college was originally meant to be, though now we’ve just turned it into a weighted popularity contest

ballsofsteelandfury

You’re right but that still left a bad taste in people’s mouths. And I think that led to voter apathy. If one’s vote in the primary was meaningless (btw, I’m independent, so I don’t care about primaries but that’s besides the point), why should one bother to vote in the general?

Doktor Zymm

No Party Preference ftw!
(either acronym meaning works here)

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

I viewed Biden dropping out almost like him having died after the nomination had already happened – the normal process was for the VP to take the spot on the top of the ticket. And from the way everyone coalesced around Harris I assumed the grumbling about her being “anointed” was driven primarily by the right wing for the purpose of sowing dissent. It looks like I was wrong, though.

ballsofsteelandfury

The name Marianne Williamson was never spoken after the debate. Neither was Dean Phillips.

Those were the only two people that got votes besides Biden in the primaries.

It was like they didn’t exist.

Doktor Zymm

Uncommitted got quite a few delegates but they weren’t acknowledged at all

ballsofsteelandfury

Well, he tends to have a temper when he’s drunk. Oh wait. Uncommitted!

Brick Meathook

Until Biden had his debate disaster, the only talk about Harris among Democratic leadership was how to get rid of her. She was considered a liability. Then Biden has to back out and suddenly Harris is presented as some kind of messiah, and that didn’t fool anyone except people who wanted to believe it.

ballsofsteelandfury

EXACTLY!

Brick Meathook

The more you keep blaming misogyny & racism the less you will understand why Trump won, and therefore you’ll never fix the real problem. Trump was very beatable; look how close it was. Trump didn’t beat them as much as the Democrats lost this election. There was no surprise here.

Doktor Zymm

No one has ever changed their minds on who to vote for because someone called them a racist or a misogynist. I don’t know why we even mention it. Everyone knows.

Last edited 43 minutes ago by Doktor Zymm
Gatoraids

Squandered enthusiasm from convention by staying quiet for 3 months , then used last month to tie to grabbing Republicans like Chaney. Couldnt/wouldnt allowed to distance self from Biden or even Trump by this strategy. Sen dems even losing outperformed this across the board except for the sunken place of Florida.

ballsofsteelandfury

He got pushed out. I’m sure he’s cackling and rolling a blunt right now.

Redshirt

(Hourglass Curser appears for one second)

Horatio: “I CAN’T WORK UNDER THESE CONDITIONS!”

Sharkbait

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Sharkbait

Replace Fortnite with Contractors VR or Arizona Sunshine and that’s me.

Downfield Matriculator

Reading all this after the last few months has been my biennial reminder that Will Rogers had it about right:

“I’m not a member of any organized political party…. I’m a Democrat.”

Redshirt

Okay, with all due respect to our impending doom. let’s get back to serious business.

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Doktor Zymm

Is that a squirrel in a tiny cowboy hat?

Redshirt

“Boy, I hate to be that country!”

Joe B., Washington, DC, reading about last night’s election result

Senor Weaselo

Looks like bad news for the… Ited States of America.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Hey how long do you think it’s going to be before the new administration’s FDA makes rohypnol available over-the-counter? Asking for a friend (who I plan to meet for drinks later).

BrettFavresColonoscopy

Isn’t the traffic to Balls from you just awful?

BeefReeferLives

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Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Ever since the war in Ukraine started, I’ve kept a Chrome tab open with updates about what’s happening. I just closed it, because I can no longer bear to watch.

SonOfSpam

Yeah, it’s gonna be tragic.

Sharkbait

I can’t wait for us to pull out of NATO and start arming the Russians

SonOfSpam

And the Iranians!

Maybe give Kim Jong Un an Iron Dome!

Fuck, this is fucking terrible.

blaxabbath

You have made this point before. It is still valid.

Good thing the first worlders can afford the pleasures of Mr Musk’s AI.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

You don’t think the Category 7 hypercanes will provide enough rainfall?

blaxabbath

I’m going to the islands where the billionaires are bringing infrastructure.

SonOfSpam

First off, I agree with Horatio; Kamala did what she could, but I don’t think it mattered. We got what we wanted. So now we deal with it.

Second, I apologize in my stupid irrational confidence yesterday. I really thought “we’re not THAT dumb and shitty” without taking into account that I know a lot of people, friends and family, in my blue state who ARE that dumb and shitty. So of course there are plenty of those nationwide.

Finally, at least Steve Garvey lost.

SonOfSpam

My daughter is about to earn her teaching credential and a Masters and will start adulting for real soon. She cried most of the night. I have no idea what to tell her, other than do your best, and while she student-teaches (in a brown-people area), try to be upbeat as possible to those kids whose lives are about to get worse. Thanks in part to their fathers.

Today sucks.

blaxabbath

“Thanks to their fathers? How could that be possib —

Oh wait — you said brown part of town; not black part.

Budup CHING.”

– Tony Hinchcliffe

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

I’m guessing 90% of the moderators for social media sites just noped the hell out after last night.

BeefReeferLives

I wonder if Joe has called George Clooney to congratulate him yet…

blaxabbath

Banner

Redshirt

Kamala Harris fell into the same trap Thomas Dewey did in 1948. She was told her opponent was unpopular and all she had to do was speak in platitudes, don’t risk pissing anyone off and you’ll win.

It didn’t work then; it didn’t work now.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

I’m sure enough for both of us – none of that mattered. Any mistakes the Harris campaign made were not the kind of mistakes that cost them the election. Even had Biden stepped aside early and the party had gone through a normal primary process, the results would have been the same as 1968 – a fractured party limping to a drubbing at the polls. Sometimes the tides of history are too great to withstand.

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BeefReeferLives

“It’s the misogyny, stupid”

BeefReeferLives

(not calling anyone stupid, just paraphrasing James Carville)

Redshirt

(nervously chuckles; looking around defensively) Yeah, me as well.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

I mean, yes, but if it were someone else (other than Whitmer) it would have been some other reason. If it had been Josh Shapiro it would have been Israel/Palestine. If it had been Gavin Newsom it would have been the rest of America’s perception of California as a socialist hellscape. All of these are cover for the unvanquishable perception that Republicans are better for the economy.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

…because anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of history…

If only Trump’s greatest supporters had been snakes instead of…you know, the other guys, maybe Americans would have actually perceived his movement as dangerous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdf_XdDwc-o

ballsofsteelandfury

Dude, that’s just history. That’s ALWAYS been the strategy.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Connecticut sent a Democrat back to the Senate, (this one in his 50’s, which is like a toddler in that group)

That fellow happens to be a former high school two-classes-above-mate of mine (and tennis team teammate) He’s always been a good dude, I hope he isn’t one of the first against the wall in the purge.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

It’s not an unreasonable expectation; the Trump administration will absolutely sell out every other economic fundamental to make sure that line keeps going up.

Gatoraids

yeah that and putting social security into crypto NFT scams

BrettFavresColonoscopy

Hey I’m sure all the crypto bros donating to Trump and other GOP candidates were doing it purely out of the goodness of their hearts

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Really looking forward to the U.S. Treasury being used to bail out bitcoin holders when people finally realize that NOBODY IS GOING TO SPEND AN INTENTIONALLY DEFLATIONARY FUCKING CURRENCY.

yeah right

Countdown protocol initiated.

Doktor Zymm

Another bright side! I was thinking about our upcoming energy crisis and it reminded me to run the dishwasher during the day!

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Really looking forward to climate change denial becoming the official policy of the U.S. government. The upside is that the Confederate states are the ones who are really going to take it on the chin.

blaxabbath

Kamala said all along Trump is a threat to the country. I’ll see her as just another lying politician if she certifies this election in the Senate.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Said ceritification (artist’s conception):

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BrettFavresColonoscopy

I’m out of the country now and the reaction in the UK so far has been shock and pity. Personally, I’m going to do my best to repress my feelings and then eventually decide if I want to channel them into democracy reform (eg gerrymandering, campaign finance, etc) or just say fuck you all and spend as much time on the road as possible.

blaxabbath

And bad teeth.

Sharkbait
Dunstan

I’m going with a more selfish version of Horatio’s philosophy. I’m going to join the majority of Americans in the attitude of “fuck you, I got mine.”

I’m not going to follow the news of Trump hiring the worst possible people in his administration. Fuck you, I got mine, doesn’t affect me. When Trump orders the DOJ to dismiss the cases against him, and the courts order a stay of all state court proceedings, I’ll shrug. Fuck you, I got mine, doesn’t affect me. When Trump’s DOJ opens investigations of Hunter and Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Jack Smith, Adam Schiff, and whoever else they’re pissed off at, I’ll shrug. That’s a shame, but fuck you, I got mine, doesn’t affect me.

I’m going to keep my head down, save for retirement, and get the fuck out of this shithole country of nasty people.

blaxabbath

Come to Hawaii!

Doktor Zymm

I’m just adjusting my financial planning, I don’t wanna get stuck in the underclass when hyperinflation hits

Senor Weaselo

Any ideas? I should talk to my financial person but the pittance I put into my Roth and life insurance isn’t going to do it. I do have an amout in terms of keeping my powder dry, a lot of it was in terms of getting to August where my car insurance would finally start to drop.

Doktor Zymm

I’m gonna try to make money off the initial boost, then gradually move some money into TIPS or I-bonds. Also might look at foreign bonds middle of next year, and options hedges.
Short term, contemplating taking out a personal loan to invest for the next 6 months

Doktor Zymm

TIPS stands for treasury inflation protected securities btw, I bonds are similar

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Which in itself is an excellent investment, because it can provide tremendous returns in the form of serving as a secure base while holding distant cities for ransom.

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Doktor Zymm

Not to mention the free geothermal power!

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

ELI MANNING: And adding an extra level of versimilitude* to the game of…

OLIVIA MANNING: ELISHA NELSON MANNING YOU GET DOWN FROM THERE IMMEDIATELY!

*one of last week’s vocabulary words

Doktor Zymm

And if you’re expecting an inflationary economy it makes sense to borrow/spend now both because prices will go up and because the interest rate you’re likely to get on a loan won’t keep up with inflation so you repay less in real terms.

Also keep in mind that this is not without risk, especially borrowing to invest

BrettFavresColonoscopy

Eh, I wouldn’t be surprised if he politicizes the Fed first, but hey, what do I know? None of us know anything!

Doktor Zymm

It’s definitely on his list, though hard to know timelines

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

The timeline is pretty straightforward: it’ll happen as soon as he needs a scapegoat for something that has gone wrong.

Game Time Decision

Going to start accepting applications to rent out my spare bedroom.
Hit me up if you’re interested and what you bring to the table.

WCS

Minor nobility and knowledge of Yinzerness?

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Game Time Decision

yes, but how many kids?
The 911 stories you and Mrs GTD can share would be crazy

Sharkbait

Booze?

WCS

I tried that last time. It didn’t work so well.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

I have some small experience brewing beer, which I believe gives me an edge over Sharkbait because eventually his supply will run out. Pick me, pick me!

blaxabbath

“You got a futon?”

-48

BrettFavresColonoscopy

Too soon

Doktor Zymm

My take:
There’s quite a body of academic research on taste-based discrimination vs statistical discrimination.

Taste-based discrimination is discriminating because you gain utility from the discrimination itself, i.e. you enjoy hurting people in groups you don’t like

Statistical discrimination is discriminating because you think it’s advantageous to do so. Pricing groceries higher in minority neighborhoods is an example, people do this because they know it’s a grocery desert and people will pay more rather than because they want to hurt the people in those neighborhoods.

While there’s some of both, empirically there is way more statistical discrimination, and that’s what I’m seeing in the Trump victory.

The only ignorance I’m referring to is economic ignorance. People stupidly believe that they’ll benefit from his policies. Harris made progress on economic issues, but that’s one area where she never polled ahead.

People aren’t ignorant of the fact they’ll be hurting people, and that makes them shitty, but that’s not the main motivator, being stupid about the economy is.

Doktor Zymm

Don’t worry, we’ll repost any decent memes and cat pictures here

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

From the bits and pieces I’ve read before I too tune out of national politics entirely, Democratic voters simply did not show up. I really can’t quite fathom that level of apathy from women (and sympathetic men) when their right to privacy is at stake (really looking forward to the new administration’s FDA declaring RU-486, the morning after pill, *and* most basic forms of birth control illegal), but I guess I’m about to find out, because a fat lot of good caring about it did for me.

I do wonder if the ACA is finally going to get repealed – that actually will affect me personally. Should that happen – and it probably will – I hope that California creates something to replace it with.

BugEyedBoo

Yes. Fewer Trump voters showed up, and a lot fewer voters showed up for Harris.

ACA will probably get repealed if the House doesn’t go Democratic. The Republican party tried to do it in the last Trump administration, with McCain being the only reason it happened then.

BugEyedBoo

*didn’t happen. I’m running on fumes.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

“Hey come on man don’t bogart those fumes. Pass it around!” – Todd Marinovich

BugEyedBoo

.

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Doktor Zymm

I’m not super sure on this one, it’s not the big issue it used to be and it’s turned out to be really popular in a lot of red states. I suspect they just quietly never mention it again

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Or maybe they just repeal it in blue states.

2Pack

Ciao tutti

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ballsofsteelandfury

Love it!

ballsofsteelandfury

Having been born in a third world country, let me try to shed a little light on this. The saying in this country is that “all politics are local”. That’s probably a polite way of saying what I’m going to say: The vast majority of the world runs like the Mafia. As long as everyone gets their cut (“the trains run on time”), everyone goes along and no one cares.

Vegas is a perfect example of this. When the Mafia ran it, everything was cheap, people had fun, and there were no issues. People could win money (but not too much) and go home happy. Now that the Mafia is gone, Vegas is crazy expensive and it’s impossible to win anything.

People in the US are sick and tired of not getting their cut. They are paying higher prices while corporations keep getting record profits and not passing the benefits down to them. All under the same people that are telling them Trump is evil.

No one gives a shit about principles when they’re not getting their piece of the pie.

Last edited 6 hours ago by ballsofsteelandfury
WCS

It’s incredibly simple to deflect and shake a set of shiny keys in front of the electorate.

Come up with a couple of scary sounding buzz words, say it long and loud enough, and boom.

People will forget in four minutes, let alone four years, that getting pissed on and being told it’s life-giving horse tranquilizer is gospel.

blaxabbath

My grandma was in Vegas for many years — was dealer when she was younger. She lamented how bad (in the 90’s) the casinos has gotten since the mob left. It used to be clean. It used to be controlled. It was a good time and, best she could tell, she and her friends managed to never cross the mob while enjoying their offerings.

But then Disney came to town and all reason went out the window…..

Sharkbait

Massachusetts did it’s thing too. Though for some inexplicable reason, the only statewide ballot initiative that is still too close to call is the one allowing Uber/Lyft drivers to unionize. That blows my mind.

Not as much as at the national level, but you’re extremely right. This is where we’re at right now and I’m at a loss for words.

WCS

I genuinely think this country does not want a woman President.

Whether or not that statement is ever actually spoken out loud is a different story, but good ol’ fashioned sexism made a difference.

From the very limited info available, this seems to be a factor. Maybe not the factor, but it played a role.

ballsofsteelandfury

I’m laughing my ass off that MEXICO has a woman president and the US won’t have one for decades, if ever.

ballsofsteelandfury

Which has always been corrupt, so that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

blaxabbath

Deep Elite Conneticut, you mean….

blaxabbath

Southwest Connecticut (2029)

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