What I'm Thankful For
[I have to begin here with a short program note. There will be no new column tomorrow or Friday. I may rouse myself from the tryptophan haze to post a re-run on Friday, but as of now, no promises. Regular columns will resume on Monday. Have a happy weekend, everyone!]
Since it's Thanksgiving-eve (or, at least, Thanksgiving-afternoon-before), I thought the most appropriate thing to write about today would be all the things I am thankful for. So here's my list of things which -- even after the most bizarre year anyone alive has ever seen in America -- I am still very thankful for, in no particular order.
Ready? Here goes.
I am thankful for...
...the continued health of all my friends and family. Nobody I personally know has died as a result of the pandemic. My heart also goes out to everyone who (sadly) cannot make the same claim.
...every doctor and every nurse and every ambulance driver and every emergency medical technician and every epidemiologist who has tirelessly worked as hard as they could all year long on all of our behalf -- even when the president of the United States called them liars, called them thieves, called them idiots, and did everything he could to undermine their efforts at every possible turn.
...the 79 million-plus voters who elected Joseph Robinette Biden Junior president.
...in particular, the voters of Philadelphia, and of Bucks County, and of all the other suburban Philadelphia counties who, when their votes were finally counted, put Biden over the top in a dramatic way which could not be reversed. When I attended the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, I met a guy from Bucks County who was not a big fan of either Hillary or Bernie, and he wistfully told me four years ago: "I wish Joe Biden would have run -- he'd be winning this thing easily...." Turns out, he was prophetically right, so I'd like to personally thank him and all his fellow Philly metro area voters for proving it beyond a shadow of a doubt.
...the Republican guy on the Michigan State Board of Canvassers who did his duty in the face of incredible political pressure from within his own party.
...the Republican secretary of state of Georgia, who also did his job in the face of an unbelievable amount of political pressure.
...Stacey Abrams, for signing up so many hundreds of thousands of new Georgia voters that they achieved the dream of flipping the state from red to blue. Her contribution to this effort simply cannot be overstated. Thank you, Stacey!
...all the civil servants involved with the election process and counting and certifying the votes. Never before was the spotlight put so brightly upon them, and they came through with flying colors.
...the Fox News decision desk, for calling Arizona before anyone else did -- and who were ultimately proven right, in the end.
...Rudy Giuliani (no, really!) for turning Donald Trump's legal team into an absolute joke of a clown show of a fiasco. Oh, which reminds me...
...Four Seasons Total Landscaping, who will go down in history as the answer to a 2020 trivia question ("Where did the symbolic end to Donald Trump's presidency happen? Hint: it was right next to a sex shop, across the street from a crematorium, and down the road from a prison...").
...all the late-night comics who have helped me (and tens of millions of others) stay sane throughout the last four years.
...Alec Baldwin in particular, for really getting under Trump's thin skin on Saturday Night Live.
...toilet paper being once again readily available on the shelves of my local store. What was up with all that nonsense anyway? I mean, seriously, folks....
...Zoom, for allowing so many people to keep and perform their jobs remotely.
...all the states who loosened up their mail-in and early voting laws to help cope with the pandemic. The old restrictions were outdated and unnecessary, and this should really be a permanent change, because it makes it a LOT easier for people to exercise their franchise.
...all the celebrities and regular folks who got behind to push the greatest "Get out and vote!" effort ever seen in this country. In other words, when you turn on your television and see Cheech and Chong urging you to go vote, you know this isn't another everyday run-of-the-mill election.
...the Lincoln Project. 'Nuff said. Nice work, guys!
...all the other thousands of Republican party stalwarts who either signed their name to a letter endorsing Biden, wrote a tell-all book about Trump's woeful inadequacy in the job, spoke out forcefully on television against a second Trump term, or who in any other way helped defeat Trump. This effort was unprecedented in my lifetime -- when else have so many from one political party desperately urged the public to vote for the other party's candidate for president, after all? Who in their right mind would ever have thought they'd see John Bolton telling people to vote for the Democrat, for Pete's sake?
...Donald Trump's complete inability to get much of anything through Congress, even when Republicans held both houses. This forced him to issue a flood of executive orders, and what should make us all really thankful is that Biden can reverse all of them just as easily.
...the fact that the rest of the world will not be laughing at us (or, even worse, pitying us) for the next four years.
...Dianne Feinstein, who has finally realized that she is too old for a Senate leadership position.
...Alex Trebek, who will indeed be missed. Requiescat In Pace
...and, of course, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, for winning.
And more than anything else, I am thankful that our four-year-long national nightmare is about to end. It feels like we're all waking up to a bright, new day, doesn't it? A great weight is about to be lifted from us all, and normal life can resume once again.
In fact, the perfect closing note here is to echo (pun intended) the lyrics from a rather-underappreciated Pink Floyd song. The epic song (it's over 23 minutes long, if you've got the time to listen to it) takes you through turmoil, a dream sequence, and then waking up from it all the next morning. Which is why I'm ending today's list with the final lyrics from "Echoes" (off of the album Meddle):
Cloudless everyday
You fall upon my waking eyes
Inviting and inciting me to rise
And through the window in the wall
Come streaming in on sunlight wings
A million bright ambassadors of morningAnd no one sings me lullabies
And no one makes me close my eyes
So I throw the windows wide
And call to you across the sky
Hope everyone wakes up tomorrow in precisely this optimistic and positive a mood.
Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
That's a great list, Chris - have a wonderful Thanksgiving and relaxing few days away from here! :)
[6] of previous thread:
I think by passing the Senate version you put the Repugs between a rock and a hard place. Either piss off the confederates or starve the military.
I don't think the military is at risk of going hungry. It will get its pork one way or another, with at most a slight delay. But some will go to Democratic districts and contractors, that would go to Republican ones if they would just let go of the Confederate names.
Of course, I also have no faith that the House will pass the Senate version in the first place.
DWS: It would be interesting to see this game unfold. You have pointed out a strategy I did not see where by the Dems could out fox the Master Fox. But of course they are not likely to do that, in fact the most likely scenario is that they will simply decide not to play and give Trump what he wants, and rely on Biden to undo it latter.
Thanks right back at you for such an inspiring list.
I would also thank whoever the heck resecured the nation against Russian attempts to sway the election. I don't know what happened, but it's one topic I simply haven't heard about this Fall, compared to four years ago, and it can't be because Putin became a nice guy.
Have a happy holiday with friends and family, Chris and everyone who reads this.
Firing Squads, Really? This man is truly a genius, for this will light up Twitter like a klieg light. If only this talent could be put toward some useful task, say persuading people to wear masks. Now that would be something to be thankful for.
John M from Ct. -
Oh, yeah, I forgot the cyber guy that got fired for telling the truth. I think he was primarily responsible for what you bring up.
He really deserves our thanks, too, on two levels: for protecting us, and for not lying about it afterwards!
:-)
Happy Turkey Day, everyone!
-CW
My Thanksgiving wishes to family and friends include everyone here, whether I usually agree with you or not. (Canadians, too.)
I will be even more thankful when the children still separated from their families at the border are restored to them. Catherine Rampell in the WaPo gives the number as 666--the mark of the beast if ever there was one.
Will be thinking of all of you on this Thanksgiving Day! Wishing you much better days ahead ... take very good care and be safe!
I'm NOT thankful for our own personal pet Trump here in Ontario, Doug (the Plug) Ford. In what can only be described as a mental breakdown, our much-ballyhooed premier thought it would be a stroke of genius to hire an American consulting firm to navigate us through this pandemic!
It's true enough, we are at the tender mercies of someone who thinks the American pandemic model was so effective that is was worth mimicking.
Let that sink in. Fuck me.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/auditor-slams-ontario-for-sidelining-public-health-experts-in-covid-19-response/ar-BB1bmDSC?ocid=msedgntp
Thankfully (which I am), we here in our south-eastern neck of the woods sought our own path. Our municipal leaders chose the advice of the medical community of Queens University and enacted strict public mediation right off the hop, weeks before 'The plug' got a chance to set his terms.
Happy thingy, my furry friends. Remain safe, take no wooden nickels, and above all else...never pat a burning dog.
LL&P
I'm (ever so slightly) thankful that we have a conservative over-the-hill venal Democrat president, in place of the egomaniacal incompetent all-round asshole of a Republican, so dumb he thinks the Chinese pay the import taxes on what we buy from them.
How in gawd's name could one NOT be (ever so slightly)thankful??
venal?
To be clear and for the record, Biden is the polar opposite of Trump and venal. Ahem. And, conservative is a meaningless descriptive. Heh.
does anyone know whether or not joe is venal? there's no evidence of it; every accusation of him taking or offering a bribe appears to have been either directed at his family or manufactured from whole cloth. pretty much every politician who wants to make the big-time needs to compromise themselves on some level, but as much as is possible, biden appears to be on the up and up.
Stucki seems to like to use the word "venal" to describe Biden. It would be interesting to hear his definition. The two most powerful Republicans (Fat Donny and McConnell) are as venal as it gets, yet he seems to focus on Biden. Maybe he thinks all politicians are venal, but that would make using the word as useless as using the word "conservative".
Death Harris,
Accepting donations to run a campaign is by definition not a bride. Calling it one is just your optional delusion.
Stucki,
so dumb he thinks the Chinese pay the import taxes on what we buy from them
We don't know what he thinks. We only know what he says and he lies a lot. It much more likely that he thinks Republicans will believe him when he says that the Chinese pay the import taxes on what we buy from them. He's probably right about that since they aren't complaining about having to pay them.
Death Harris,
I do consider it a legal bribe.
A legal bribe is not a bribe, but it if were, it would be at $199 the same as it would be at $201.
Don,
You love using that quote, "nothing fundamental will change" but, you always quote Biden out of context.
Do you know the context of this quote?
Context changes its meaning, utterly. :)
does anyone know whether or not joe is venal?
do you want me to answer that?
I hope we won't be debating this fine point for the next eight years. Sheesh.
I know, I know, Joshua, you answered it already. Heh.
I go a little crazy whenever I see venal and Biden in the same sentence. :)
Especially in one of your sentences, Joshua ...
ahem.
LizM,
you always quote Biden out of context.
Do you know the context of this quote?
By posing that question, you have taken giving the benefit of the doubt way, way too far.
You asked that question to a person who would absurdly argue that, not only is Biden venal, but that he can be bribed for $2K.
. . . and that's a $2K campaign donation, not $2K to put in the freezer.
By posing that question, you have taken giving the benefit of the doubt way, way too far.
Sorry. Should know better. But, I go crazy ...
Can I just say to Don, STOP using quotes you know nothing about!!
Okay. okay. I know. I'm done.
I thought I put up with reading that quote here, in silence, for quite a long time. You might want to congratulate me, or something ... :)
Humph.
Frumpty Trumpty shat on us all.
Frumpty Trumpty had a bad fall.
All the bum's lying and all the bum's men
couldn't make Trumpty a POTUS again.
JFC [17]
I'm using the term (venal/venality) in the sense of being eager to benefit financially from whatever political power he's ever possessed, something at which he has been spectacularly successful.
And yeah, I suppose realistically appraised, I'd say that is a trait shared by almost all politicians.
In the specific cases of "Fat Donny and McConnell", I'd go more with simple "greedy", which admittedly ain't that far different.
Still, the wrong sense.
When someone betrays a public trust in exchange for money received, that's a bribe -- even if it's allowed by some loophole in the law.
The main question, imo at least, is the degree to which politicians betray public trust in exchange for campaign contributions. For the most part, they don't.
The campaign finance system doesn't work well. It allows too much influence for too small an amount of big money. But being wrong is not the same as betrayal. It's cheaper and more reliable to find a true believer in an ideology that favors your interests, and fund their campaign, than it is to find someone whose true position is well aligned with the public interest, and pay them to go against their principles.
There's a secondary question: insofar as campaign contributions do corrupt office-holders, do they fit the other part of the definition? That's also a "no". Campaign contributions don't normally flow to the office-holder. They're a cost of staying in office, not an emolument received for being in office.
Here's the most context I've found so far, for "nothing will fundamentally change":
"You know, what I’ve found is rich people are just as patriotic as poor people. Not a joke. I mean, we may not want to demonize anybody who has made money. The truth of the matter is, you all, you all know, you all know in your gut what has to be done. We can disagree in the margins but the truth of the matter is it’s all within our wheelhouse and nobody has to be punished. No one’s standard of living will change, nothing would fundamentally change. Because when we have income inequality as large as we have in the United States today, it brews and ferments political discord and basic revolution. [...] It allows demagogues to step in and say the reason where we are is because of the other, the other. You’re not the other. I need you very badly. I hope if I win this nomination, I won’t let you down.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/06/19/bidens-comments-about-segregationists-rich-are-deeply-problematic/
That page has a link, but it's to a tweet that only quotes the same amount.
Well, Dan, that was a private fundraiser, number one. Which means that the quotes coming out of if may not be completely accurate and you probably won't find a transcript. Number two, anyone who knows Biden and is the least bit familiar with the way he speaks, knows that the last part - "I need you very badly. I hope if I win this nomination, I won't let you down" - doesn't sound at all like something Biden would say and, in any event, it doesn't even sound right.
My only point is that I've heard Biden speak about income inequality many times. I know he does not attack the billionaire class because, well, it's just not his style to attack any group. When he speaks to a group of the top income earners in the country he's going say the same thing to them as he would to a labour meeting - they are not the enemy and they can bear a tax increase very nicely and nothing will fundamentally change in their lives. Well, of course, not! It's like telling both groups the sky is blue on a lovely clear day.
It is obvious to me that the political columnist in the link you provided knows very little about Biden and I'm sure he got quite a lot wrong with regard to what Biden said at this fundraiser.
But, you know what? It doesn't matter anymore because everyone will now have the opportunity to see how Biden operates. I no longer feel the urge or need to defend him. Truth be known, I feel a bit liberated! :)
dsws [40] -
Don't know why what you wrote reminded me of this, but hey, 'tis the season...
From "The Pause Of Mr. Claus" by Arlo Guthrie (introductory spoken story):
But that's not why I want to dedicate the song to the FBI.
During these hard days and hard weeks, everybody always
has it bad once in a while. You know, you have a bad time of it, and you always have a friend who says "Hey man, you ain't got it that bad. Look at that guy." And you at that guy, and he's got it worse than you. And it makes you feel better that there's somebody that's got it worse than you.
But think of the last guy. For one minute, think of the last guy. Nobody's got it worse than that guy. Nobody in the whole world. That guy...he's so alone in the world that he doesn't even have a street to lay in for a truck to run him over. He's out there with nothin'. Nothin's happenin' for that cat.
And all that he has to do to create a little excitement in his own life is to bum a dime from somewhere, call up the FBI. Say "FBl?", they say "Yes", say "I dig Uncle Ho and Chairman Mao and their friends are comin' over for dinner" [click] Hang up the phone.
And within two minutes, and not two minutes from when he
hangs up the phone, but two minutes from when he first put the dime in, they got 30,000 feet of tape rollin'; files on tape; pictures, movies, dramas, actions on tape. But then they send out a half a million people all over the entire world, the globe, they find out all they can about this guy.
'Cause there's a number of questions involved in the guy. I mean, if he was the last guy in the world, how'd he get a dime to call the FBI? There are plenty of people that aren't the last guys that can't get dimes. He comes along and he gets a dime!
I mean, if he had to bum a dime to call the FBI, how was he gonna serve dinner for all of those people? How could the last guy make dinner for all those people. And if he could make dinner, and was gonna make dinner, then why did he call the FBI?
They find out all of those questions within two minutes. And that's a great thing about America. I mean, this is the only country in the world...l mean, well, it's not the only country in the world that could find stuff out in two minutes, but it's the only country in the world that would take two minutes for that guy.
Other countries would say "Hey, he's the last guy...screw him", you know? But in America, there is no discrimination, and there is no hypocrisy,'cause they'll get anybody. And that's a wonderful thing about America.
Heh.
-CW
@don,
let's imagine for a moment that somebody really did start a popular movement and succeeded in convincing millions of people of both parties to support only candidates who gave less than 500 dollars. would your reaction be:
a - thrilled that someone accomplished a goal near and dear to your heart
b - encouraged, but not yet satisfied because a 500 dollar donor is still "big money"
c - pissed off because someone else got the credit for "your" idea
d - pie
as long as unicorns continue to fart rainbows inside your head, you won't understand what's going on in the rest of the world, i.e. what most other individuals consider "real."
“Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable — the art of the next best”
~otto von bismarck
EM
You sell Biden short. You need to review his political lifetime record, not just his 2020 campaign speeches. He's a bona fide conservative, maybe not a gung-ho con, but definitely a right-of-center one.
@crs,
biden is a pragmatist; he tries to figure out where the country is going and does his best to get there first. so if he's center-right, than likely so are we.
nypoet22 [45]
Bravo! Nailed it! I’m guessing “C” is the true answer.
-Russ
CRS,
I haven't really paid much attention, if any, to Biden's 2020 campaign speeches. But, I have followed his career since about 1987, so ...
I think we need to move away from the left-wing/right-wing, conservative/liberal political scales because they represent a tired, old way of thinking.
The new paradigm involves an exciting and more relevant up-wing/down-wing axis with up-wing leaders characterized by such traits as future-oriented thinking and the ability to put new technology to use on a grand or small scale to solve problems, meet challenges and move society forward to the cutting edge and beyond.
I'm looking forward to seeing just how far along the up-wing axis Biden and his administration will go!
Okay, just got home from work and I'm hungry.
But, here's a tune to start off our little CW Sunday Night Music Festival and Dance Party ... just 'cause. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImVMnI_qCGg&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0r25Mp1nRoi7RVn4-sFPiEHwcHomQ2PL52ETZEdcVouf8uTBs8G4c-R4c
This is a gem of a demo recorded in 1976 by what became PRiSM - Ron Tabak Era and it's entitled 'Don't Let Me Find Out' featuring Tabak's brillian vocals.
Eventually, I'll read the instructions on how to post fancy links. Ahem.
And, here is another Prism rarity ... the climate apocalypse song off of their debut album, released in 1977... Take Me To The Kaptin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAdBXo39Ysw
Now, time for me to sit back and put up my feet and enjoy everyone's selections for the rest of the evening!
It's been fifty years since George Harrison released his All Things Must Pass album and My Sweet Lord is my all-time favourite former Beatle tune ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmEfkosNNxI
So, it's an all-Canada evening, then ... that's great 'cause, I like to rock! Some like it hot, baby, I like it, you like it. I like to rock!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlcY_enzwmI&list=RDngm3ZBTlAXc&index=9
It's really hard to get enough April Wine,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG7QeJu1n-Y&list=RDngm3ZBTlAXc&index=4
FYI
In December, if it's Wednesday night, then it's Classic Albums Live performing Beatles albums, cut for cut, note for note, live from the Empire Theatre in Bellville, Ontario - physical distanced seating for up to 50 people and, of course, live streaming the whole show!
Don't miss Revolver, Rubber Soul and the White Album and, to round the month out, Christmas with John Lennon!
This tune from Canada's own TRIUMPH, always used to rub me the wrong way for some reason but, now, I love, love, love Lay It On The Line ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCWj8Nz5DUg
From Canada's west coast, Trooper ... We're Here For A Good Time (not a long time)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-_d79xN45U&list=RD0-_d79xN45U&start_radio=1&t=6
Let's raise a little hell with Trooper!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG_brDZoLAs
Hey, wait a minute. Who do you think you are, comin' on, comin' on like you're some kind of movie star ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBBfq2PNJTs&list=RDsBBfq2PNJTs&start_radio=1&t=2
Here they come, the boys in the bright white sportscar ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWxIfGJ2mwA&list=RDsBBfq2PNJTs&index=11
And, here's another fine Canadian rock band, Harlequin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_x6ZPGh-qE&list=RDsBBfq2PNJTs&index=27
I'd like to end with a tune that is just one testament to the power of music.
Here's James Blunt performing Good-bye, My Lover.
well, he's not Canadian but he is from the mother country. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7merqKCuWg
How about a James Blunt encore before we call it a night,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUDyDIEbc8Q
@liz,
you said something about having a blunt before bed?
would that help?
possibly.
because, you know, the scotch and soda cabinet is dry.
i'm more about the rittenhouse rye and tea with honey.
and when i do have scotch, it's single malt neat or on the rocks.
me, too.
lately, though, nighty-night tea is doing the trick, thanks to the catnip component. ahem. guess it has the opposite effect on humans as it does on cats. heh.
couldn't resist, in a weak state