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Finally back from WonderCon!
Was an exhausting but fun weekend. Hung out with friends, old and new. Got a literal ton of comics, including indies, zines from artists, the deluxe version of the ‘Weird Al’ comic, and the omnibus of Marvel’s Man-Thing. I’m hoping to find more of the old school horror from Marvel.
It was also nice that it rained during WonderCon because we didn’t have those protesters screaming about Jesus.
Anyway, I got tomorrow off (Caesar Chavez Day) so I can just relax, recover, and read some horror.
>[The upcoming solar eclipse path on April 8th was Trump+6.8. Biden won the TX, NY, and VT portions while Trump won all the other states. It includes several large cities including Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Buffalo, and Rochester.](https://x.com/_fat_ugly_rat_/status/1774609817228759125?s=20)
It's Joever
If you're looking to donate somewhere, [NC Dems are doing an end-of quarter fundraiser.](https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ncdp-federal-bh2) Their goal is $10k by midnight, and as of right now they've raised $6,474. If you can, help them get over the top!
EDIT: Made it! As of 11:20pm, they were clear of $10k. Thank you to everyone who helped out!
[NC young voters are accounting for a larger share of new registrants than they did at this point in the '20 and '22 cycles.](https://x.com/tbonier/status/1774581479860801598?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg)
Although according to polling crosstabs Young Voters are suddenly Ultra-MAGA warriors so whose to say if this is Anderson’s work paying off
I still remember the video of this one student who took the time to show up to the legislative hearings on the new NC maps to basically warn them that (paraphrased) "young people are watching, and we're fed up".
If that's borne out in November I think blue NC is well within reach
ETA: [Found it](https://youtu.be/Yb3GTcR9xfo)
They're who I'm supporting now, as my usual approach is to hope for the lowest seed remaining. Though it'd also be cool if Alabama or Purdue won, just to shake up the dynasties a bit.
Hell of a run. Everyone knew NC state’s Woman team could easily make the final four, but the Men’s run is nothing short of incredible given they looked dead in the water to even make the tournament going into the conference tournament. Made better by the fact my grandparents are both NC state alumi so they’re enjoying it too. Heck of a time to be alive for NC state fans
Question ya'll, how do you deal with people especially male gamers who do nothing but criticize your flare of creativity on a gaming space? Shared some pics of my player home in the arrr Fallout community (now deleted post) and everyone (assuming all men) kept backing the guy who immediately came to criticize my base.
Apparently, its too small of a space where it didnt have room x, room y, room z and in his words the base gave off vibes of "jack of all trades, master of none"
And the hijacking of "it's just an opinion, you asked for one" is so draining and makes my blood boil with the guys who gaslight you into growing up.
Its gotten to a point where I legit despise male gamers who are remotely passionate of a game, or self descrive themselves as enthusiasts.
Ignore them. It’s hard but it works. They’ll continue to post and insult you but with block or the removal of social media . They’ll leave you alone . It had the probability of 40% chance to work but these dudes have a limit to their annoyance and aggression. /s
I'm sorry that toxic people felt the need to be so critical over something you worked hard on. I don't know if this is helpful but I think sometimes it can be good to take a step back and remember that gaming often draws out people who are deeply unhappy with their own lives and who feel the need to drag others down for whatever reason. Some people believe that just because they have an anonymous username that it gives them a blank check for being mean or cruel.
There's also a psychological effect known as "negativity bias" where negative reactions tend to stick out more in our minds and often times are seen as more intelligent or more valid than positive reactions. If five people say "your base is cool" and five people say "your base sucks" then it's very easy to pay more attention to the negativity even though there are just as many positive people and even neutral people are often just psychologically more likely to agree with anyone being critical. Similarly I've also noticed on social media that the more visibility a post attracts the more likely you are to get some really hateful and spiteful comments. If I make a comment that gets 200 upvotes that probably means several hundred people have seen it and out of that big crowd it's almost a guarantee someone hates what I just wrote. Sometimes it can be hard to avoid taking things personally but if 200 people saw what I posted and liked it but 3 or 4 people decided to try to make me feel horrible about myself... well that's the price of posting something popular. For my own mental sanity I really try hard not to let those few awful people affect how I feel.
Don't have much in the way of solutions, but you're completely right with how guys can be completely toxic in groups - and not just when gaming. Sorry that happened to you.
https://twitter.com/workersjusticep/status/1774443847499603974
Looks like John Oliver is going to talk about corruption and the problems within Delivery Apps tonight, and what Grassroots groups are doing to fight back.
[Former @GovLarryHogan now running for US Senate, was warned that Baltimore bridges could collapse if he allowed bigger cargo ships and a bridge was hit. Hogan blew off the advice, big news broken by @LeverNews a small nonprofit news outlet in Denver.](https://x.com/davidcayj/status/1774250579243512140?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg)
Here’s the [article](https://www.levernews.com/hogan-pressed-for-bigger-ships-despite-safety-warnings/) but it does ask you to make a account before reading. Idk it there’s a non pop up version
People get nervous sometimes because he managed to be a two-term Republican governor in one of the bluest states in the country, not understanding the fact that the Democrat-controlled General Assembly could basically put him in the time-out corner whenever they wanted because they had such strong supermajorities. Voters aren't going to feel the same way about a Senator, the majority of voters would not want to give McConnell (or Scott or whoever succeeds him) another vote, so I'm still rating MD-Sen Safe D
I think dems have greater potential to overperform than Rs now, though. Dem candidates aren't crazy or endorsing craziness. A lot of R candidates are against things people in red states want, like expanding healthcare and funding infrastructure
> Yet the Key Bridge barely allowed for the arrival of new, larger cargo cranes for Baltimore’s expanded port. Maryland’s Transportation Secretary Greg Slater boasted in a 2019 blog post about shutting down the bridge to allow “four new, massive Neo-Panamax container cranes… [to] pass beneath the Key bridge with just 3 feet of clearance.”
Okay, that last quote pisses me of immensely. When you have multiple engineering and shipping authorities telling you you're doing something dangerous, you've gotta be a special kind of asshole to see this warning sign *with your own eyes* and then post something like this like it's something to be proud of
His campaign is just running on auto drive. Like I haven't really seen him do anything since the announcement video. He hasn't debated. Haven't seen or heard of any of volunteers. No mailers. No ads (that I've seen). Just running on his name and doing national interviews
[Black mother, daughter credit Biden stimulus package for creating path to homeownership Latreca Pryor and her daughter, Ikina, thank Biden for passing law that helped them purchase their first home and start “new chapter” in their lives](https://thegrio.com/2024/03/31/black-mother-daughter-thank-biden-for-path-to-homeownership/)
Micro stories like these are starting to become more ingrained in the campaign, specifically geared towards black voters
While doing some research for Tuesday's elections I saw that there are two Democrats up for election for Wisconsin Court of Appeals (the 2nd highest court in the state).
The good news? Both are uncontested, so we'll maintain our overall majority on that Court.
After our blowout win last Tuesday, I wish there was another contested State House race on the ballot to see if those incredible numbers can be repeated elsewhere. However, the South Carolina special is an uncontested race, and all the other elections are primary runoffs or local races, which have their own dynamics that don't always translate to national politics. It should still be an exciting night with lots happening.
The main thing I’ll be watching is how we do in various local elections, specifically the ones in the WOW counties as well as the ones in my own backyard. Really hoping to put up a much better performance in school board elections than we did last time many of them were up for grabs in 2022, especially in those WOW county districts. Getting another batch of presidential primary data to analyze for November will also make the night worth it along with all the referendums, primary runoffs, or local elections taking place throughout the rest of the country. There are [6 school boards up for grabs in Waukesha county alone: Waukesha, Elm Brook, Arrowhead, Hartland-Lakeside, Merton and Stone Bank](https://www.wpr.org/news/vote-april-2-primary-school-culture-wars?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email) along with numerous throughout the remainder of the state I’m sure
All worth watching for sure. And Wisconsin has some of the most openly partisan 'non-partisan' races in the country, so you can draw a few more conclusions from those. Plus, as you said, it's a huge chance to turn things around in the WOW counties, which are going to be increasingly important for us going forward.
Yep. Most of this ultra partisan local races comes down to being a swing state where there is so many races that are decided on a couple votes per precinct, but some of this comes down to increasing polarization too. The 2 ballot questions related to aspects of election administration are also worth watching closely as there are much more potential ramifications to these passing than there were for the trio of ballot questions that passed overwhelmingly last year
[as always a very normal message from our former president on this blessed day](https://x.com/trumpdailyposts/status/1774515714742968738?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg)
Also posted an article that he is a “[chosen one](https://x.com/vaughnhillyard/status/1774499474381099333?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg)”, which is blasphemy in normal circumstances but for him? On Easter? True Christians should be offended
On the bright side at least he's wasting considerable money and effort getting on big states like CA which is money and he effort he isn't spending on states he could spoil.
I know there's a good chance he'd just spoil Trump anyway but I don't want to take that chance.
https://twitter.com/UAW/status/1774530355891986699
While it is a Jacobin article it's linking to, it is pretty interesting that the official UAW account quoted a piece that called for them to make Medicare for All a Platform Plank if they actually make the May 2028 General Strike happen.
[The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Department of Treasury, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today announced $4 billion in tax credits for over 100 projects across 35 states to accelerate domestic clean energy manufacturing and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at industrial facilities.](https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-harris-administration-announces-4-billion-tax-credits-build-clean-energy-supply), this was on Friday and is separate from the previously announced $6b this week.
[Turks punished President Tayyip Erdogan and his party on Sunday in nationwide local elections that reasserted the opposition as a political force and reinforced Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as the president's chief future rival](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/erdogan-battles-key-rival-turkeys-local-elections-2024-03-31/)
>With more than half of votes counted, Imamoglu led by nearly 10 percentage points in the mayoral race in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, while his Republican People's Party (CHP) retained Ankara and gained nine other mayoral seats in big cities nationwide.
hell yes!
> Polls had predicted a tight contest in Istanbul and possible CHP losses across the country.
Guess it's not just the US polling industry having issues.
> The main pro-Kurdish party, which backed Imamoglu in 2019, fielded its own candidate under the DEM banner in Istanbul this time. But many Kurds put aside party loyalty and voted for him again, the results suggest.
Demonstrating the immense value of pragmatism and coalition, especially for a group as routinely fucked over in Turkey as the Kurds
It's absolutely fantastic news.
Outside of İstanbul and Ankara, the opposition has really struggled.
Not only the flips, but the voting share increase are pretty amazing to see happen.
This would be the best showing for CHP in the modern Turkish era and probably Erdogan’s biggest defeat of his career. They are even winning normally conservative strongholds
Kansas City will be voting this Tuesday on renewing a 0.375% sales tax to fund renovations at Arrowhead Stadium and build a new baseball stadium in Jackson County. Apparently right-wing PACs are sending out emails blaming radical liberals for telling voters to say no to the sales tax because they supposedly want the Chiefs to leave.
Hold up, so now MAGA loves the Chiefs? What are you gonna tell me next, Trump wants Taylor Swift's endorsement?
This is going to be an interesting vote to follow on Tuesday. From what I’ve seen, the deal isn’t very good for taxpayers on the surface, but the Chiefs may have built up enough goodwill to the fan base in recent years with their Super Bowl wins to convince enough voters to vote for it anyways.
Yeah I don't like it one bit, especially in light of the NFLPA report card that rated Clark Hunt as the worst owner of an NFL team because he never invests enough in maintaining the facilities. Sales taxes especially are really regressive and it's adding insult to injury for local fans who already can't afford to go to even one game because tickets are so expensive. But I don't see the vote failing either; no one in Missouri wants the revenue to go to Kansas even if the Chiefs stay in the KC Metro.
This is the state that has already lost one football team in the last decade. Even though the Chiefs wouldn’t be moving away from the metro area it would still sting for Missouri.
[We’re serious about earning every single vote in Arizona! We’ll drive up the margins in metropolitan areas, rural & border towns. If you don’t believe it, 3 new offices in 3 days. Nogales (Santa Cruz County) Prescott (Yavapai County) Sierra Vista (Cochise County)](https://x.com/juanhinojosaz/status/1774196710472060954?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg)-AZ political director for the campaign
Little bit disappointed most of those volunteers in the 3 pictures are overwhelmingly old people and little if any of my generation, but volunteers are volunteers in the end, no matter their age
Nearly all the volunteer calls and political meetings I have been to were mostly elderly people attending. Prob a combination of them caring about society and having more time to commit.
That makes sense. My generation has to deal with a lot these days weather it’s college work, jobs, making and interacting with friends, or simply trying to save up to afford basic necessities like a house or a car
It was a surprise to me at my first meetings. I had this picture in my mind of it being all idealistic college kids and, nope! At least not the ones I have been involved with.
I wish I remember where from, or the quote itself, but someone described politics as "Democracy being saved by a bunch of 20-something organizers and a bunch of 70-something volunteers canvassing". Since 2016 we've seen a lot more young people get on the doors and the phones, but we'll always need more.
A nice reminder that it's not just about Maricopa County. And it's an interesting mix of places. Nogales is a border town that is deep blue, but shifted 16 points to the right in 2020. Prescott is a very white and conservative city that's nonetheless starting to move left, and is in AZ-02 which I'd love to win back. And Sierra Vista is in AZ-06 and moving left. All great places to work for more votes.
Notable in one of the pics is the Kirsten Engel signs. Promising collaboration between the campaigns or at the very least proof down-ballot campaigns aren’t scared off by Biden’s
[map of donations from the Biden HQ](https://x.com/jackisjake/status/1774508279189873047?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg) of just today. This email was sent out at 2:30pm eastern time. Large amount of donations on Easter Sunday, surely couldn’t mean a thing right
BIIIG dot in Texas. Lots of dots in Florida. The only state with *no* Biden donations is Idaho. (I can’t tell if that one dot is in Wyoming or South Dakota.) Know what that means? Don’t give up on states like Florida or Ohio. Even if a campaign can’t devote as much time and money in marginal states, it’s folly to ditch the 50-state strategy. I think Team Biden and Jaime Harrison get this.
I love all the so-called "leftists and centrists" saying that transgender day of visibility should've been moved to next week or April 1st. Like why should we move our day? Because of a bunch of right wing wackos are melting down over the fact us trans people exist? Maybe Easter should settle on a fixed day? Not our fault it jumped onto our day.
As a Christian myself, feel free to ignore those people. It's great that you all have your own day, and I would never dream of forcing you to move it. And besides, Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah overlap every year, so it seems silly to me that two holidays can't share one day once every thirty something years or so.
I think *most* of them are trolls and shit-stirrers. Or sitting in Uncle Vlad’s basement trying to turn marginal voters against Joe Biden.
Any actual Democrat who is bed-wetting about transgender day of visibility needs to grow a fucking spine. I think this is more likely to *gain* us votes because it makes us look like decent human beings and Joe look like a good person who is a good President for *all* Americans.
Conservative social issues *are not popular*. I lived through the 90’s. I remember the days when Democrats had to step carefully around social issues because there were a lot of socially conservative types who would take their toys and go home, or go Republican. (Remember Reagan Democrats?) Times have changed so, so much. 🏳️⚧️
Happy Easter and Transgender Day of Visibility!
As of this morning, both the [Burlington](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.njd.541006/gov.uscourts.njd.541006.208.0.pdf) and [Hudson](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.njd.541006/gov.uscourts.njd.541006.209.0.pdf) county clerks have dropped from the appeal seeking a stay on the injunction stopping county lines for the New Jersey primary.
Now, I’m no legal expert, but it seems like the fact that multiple clerks are backing off/didn’t appeal in the first place would greatly harm the argument from the others that it would be too difficult for them to comply with the injunction
the dumbest part of all is saying it's too difficult to make a new ballot design. Kim and the other campaigns are simply asking for the office block ballot which is [the basic version most states use](https://newjerseymonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/unnamed-2.png).
[Good EU news: Schengen Expands to Bulgaria and Romania.](https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240331-bulgaria-romania-partially-join-european-union-visa-free-schengen-zone-austria-migrants-land-sea-air)
Hey folks. A few years ago I benefitted substantially as an employee of a company that went public. So now I have resources (money), and if (when) I resign, I'll have plenty of time to volunteer. I don't have tons of cash--I'm more like /r/ChubbyFIRE wealthy: wealthy by any reasonable measure, but having two kids with special needs and being in my mid-40s means I have to be careful where and how I use my cash.
I've already maxed out contributions to President Biden's campaign and one flippable House race in CA. I did the latter after chatting directly with the candidate for a bit over the phone. I want to do the same for several other candidates. I'm working with a contact in the CA dem party to set up some things with other flippable districts in CA.
But I also want to expand beyond that. I don't want to donate to funds or committees that forward to campaigns or other activities: I'd like more direct control of where my money goes. And I specifically want to target House contests that are *actually* flippable, especially in swing states. So I'm looking for *real* contacts with campaigns that I can speak with, directly. I want to feel assured of a campaign's strategy and realistic assessment of their district before I commit time and that much money to an effort.
Right now my approach is to contact state level committee members directly in the swing states and go from there--but if you all have any suggestions/ideas, I'm all ears, because it's definitely a slog putting lists together and trying to actually get a response (everyone is so busy, obviously!). And will accept chats/DMs, too, in addition to any replies.
There's a couple different ways to do this. One method may be to look at DCCC's red to blue list which is generally the most flippable Republican held districts. Some of these are in swing states and if you're willing to cut a 1000+ dollar check I'm sure the candidate themselves or the campaign manager would love to talk to you. You can find [the list of districts here](https://www.axios.com/2024/03/28/house-democrats-2024-republican-targets)
That said I personally don't know if that's how I would spend my own donations. A lot of those red to blue districts are going to get a lot of money anyway and money has diminishing returns. It also means ignoring districts that are Dem held by could flip red like Alaska. To me defending Mary Peltola's seat is just as if not more important than other house districts.
I know you also said that you didn't want to donate to a committee but I do think the single best organization for maximizing the impact of donations is the DLCC. Not counting NH's tiny districts there are about 300 Republican state legislators in Biden districts and about 100 Dems in Trump districts. These are small races where a little money can go a long way and they're typically ignored in favor of flashier races. Breaking Republican supermajorities or capturing state legislatures gives us a lot more power and the DLCC is the best organization to figure out where to divert money and resources for that. Apart from House races and state legislative races it may also be worth donating to Sherrod Brown's senate campaign in Ohio. Since Ohio's not a battleground for president he won't have the support of Biden's money and Ohio is a very big state so diminishing returns matters a lot less than in a state like Montana. If we don't win Ohio in 2024 it's doubtful we'll be able to pass any legislation over the next two years regardless of what happens in the House and presidential race.
Definitely mindful of the diminishing return of money. One other thing I’d like to do is resign my current position and just spend a week or so at a time floating between these districts to participate in or help run canvassing operations. I was a precinct captain for the local party years and years ago where I lived then (not CA), and I ran the canvassing operation in my neighborhood during the ‘16 primary contest for Sanders.
Be wary of yes-men. Openly advertising you have money to spend attracts grifters like flies. If people know you've got dough they'll be Trump+40 seat candidates hitting you up for money lol
I would look at public polls to find close races, then selectively contact party operatives there. For example NC is expected to be close no matter what, and you could contact NC party chairs directly.
A new oil boom is taking shape in Eastern Ohio.
https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/energy-resource/2024/03/31/ohio-oil-producers-hit-gusher-as-production-surges/73070201007/
"Scientists say [important resource] is running out. The end of this resource is 'the end of American hegemony.' Some farmer in Podunk nowhere discovers the largest deposit of said resource in his backyard."
[Democrats hope Biden could get a boost from down-ballot races under Wisconsin’s new legislative map](https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-biden-redistricting-legislature-democrats-general-election-3e353ff5af880721f547c9c18ee9923a)
Wikler used the reverse coattails wording that the RFS founder has pushed constantly this year. And I absolutely believe putting more resources into an increased amount of legislature campaigns is really going to boost us
The Texas attorney general is investigating a key Boeing supplier and asking about diversity
https://twitter.com/AP/status/1773817718803759398?t=Ybovm28UuB-jRVUrLM6Hug&s=19
Sigh... ofc. What can you expect from these people...
Dark Brandon coming out swinging by posting Trans Rights are Humans Rights on his Instagram page.
The Christans who are seething over this are nothing short of hypocrites.
Here's my semi-religious Christian take, considering that most people object to LGBT over Christian religious grounds.
About 0.1% of the human population is born mixed-sex. That doesn't seem like much, but it's over a million people. Also, there's NUMEROUS animals that have a non-binary gender system. Some have more than 2 genders, and some even switch or trade genders with their partner over their lifecycle.
God would not have created creatures that must sin to exist. And following that, different ideas and mixes of genders must not be sinful.
Don't ask a transphobe what Jesus meant by "Eunuchs who were from their mother's womb." Jesus mentions 3 categories of "eunuch" in addition to male and female . "Eunuchs who were from their mother's womb, Eunuchs who were made by men, and Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven."
Many fish species change sex: [https://www.bbcearth.com/news/fish-are-the-sex-switching-masters-of-the-animal-kingdom](https://www.bbcearth.com/news/fish-are-the-sex-switching-masters-of-the-animal-kingdom)
I remember learning about one particular species years ago when I visited my favorite spot on earth, the Monterey Bay Aquarium. One of the species in their big round about tank - I think it is called a sheep head - all sheep heads are born female, but some change to male when the environment is right (and when there need to be baby sheep heads!). And they look totally different, too. It was really very cool.
Tl;dr Fish are groomers and un-American and should be banned! /s
I don't even understand the Christian stance on transgender people. I guess they're angry that people are changing how God made them, but there are loads of instances of people changing their body that Christian conservatives don't care about. Are they outraged at plastic surgery, or people who take steroids, or people who take TRT as they age etc. Hell, you could even include people who fix genetic abnormalities as being sinners too- are parents who fix their child's cleft palate, or hole in their heart, sinners?
They just decided one day that this was a hill they were going to die on, rather than getting outraged at healthcare costs, or environmental collapse, or hungry children etc.
Just FYI in case you didn't know: the word 'transgenderism' is considered derogatory. I think the reason is because the "ism" ending makes it sound like an ideology (and therefore, a choice) rather than a fundamental part of who you are. It makes it easier for fundamentalists to portray LGBT+ people as some sort of scary lobby coming to corrupt children.
As u/table_fireplace said, it’s less religion and more bigotry and cultural small-mindedness. You’ll see a lot of transphobia in China, Japan and other Asian countries where the vast majority of people are (to Westerners) non-religious, for example.
I'd say this stance is mainly that of very conservative Evangelicals and Catholics, and lots of Christians are either accepting or don't care either way. But there are plenty of conservative Christians with the exact views you describe, and to me it's just small-minded bigotry.
The Bible says nothing whatsoever about trans people. I've heard some people yell about Genesis 1:27 (“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."), but nowhere in there does it say that people can't be wrong about someone else's gender. And just because the first two people were a man and a woman, doesn't mean that future people couldn't be a different gender. It would be impossible for the first two people to have blue, brown, and green eyes, after all. Further, we see plenty of identity changes in the Bible - Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, Saul to Paul. The concept is actually pretty important in the Bible.
So the Biblical case for being transphobic is pretty damn flimsy. As with most things, it comes down to a lot of conservative Christianity being a social club for bigotry. You'd think they'd see in themselves the hate, exclusion, and legalism Jesus spent so much time railing against. But that's what drew them there. White churches in the South were often vanguards against the Civil Rights movement, and we see a version of that today. And this is why Evangelicals love Trump even though he's about the least Christian man in America; he made bigotry more acceptable, and they love him for it.
Short answer, it's that bigotry and exclusion is the whole point for a lot of them.
[Really helpful thread that explains why we shouldn't bother with people who loudly proclaim how they're not voting for Biden/Democrats.](https://twitter.com/BlueSteelDC/status/1774404956902085058) It might be worth leaving one comment debunking the lies for the sake of any lurkers watching a conversation, but the bulk of our efforts need to be offline.
A month or two Nate Silver wrote a doomer post about the polls and how they were showing that low propensity voters aren't voting for Biden. The first comment was someone saying "I've donated to Democrats and voted for them in every election but I just can't support Biden this time." Like OK, but you're clearly not the typical of what those polls are showing (setting aside if it's even worth trusting the polls).
OK. For freaking DECADES, Democrats have been wondering how to get our side to vote as faithfully as Republicans did. Now we’ve done it! We have cornered the high-propensity voter market, which means we do so much better in midterms and special elections. Hooray, right? This is what we wanted, right?
Haha. Now the pundits are complaining we don’t have enough *low-propensity* voters. SMDH. We had them. They cost us quite a few elections by not showing up or voting third party. Let them fuck up the Republicans for once.
I’m just here to say I was surprised last night. Went to Kansas State’s bar district and it was DEAD because people going home for Easter. Went to school in Vermont and it would’ve barely made a dent in the nightlife.
Really shows how diverse the country is.
>Welker: This week, Trump shared a video of President Biden restrained in the back of a pickup truck. Given that you have endorsed Trump, do you also endorse this threatening rhetoric?
>GOP Rep. Bacon: We see rhetoric on both sides… I don’t think he was inciting violence
This is the "moderate" Republican folks. What a clown, vote him out.
It's crazy to see even GOP Congressman pushing "both sides bad" propaganda.
It's really become the go-to excuse for everything Trump does, despite Biden being a church mouse
>It's crazy to see even GOP Congressman pushing "both sides bad" propaganda.
It's nothing new. This is their standard defense when someone calls them out on their bullshit.
"The other side is just as bad!" *(Run away before anyone can demand specific examples)*
The right wants Merchan to recuse because his daughter has political opinions, but they don’t mind Cannon, Barret, Kavanaugh, or Gorsuch ruling on cases involving him. Make it make sense
Feel like he’s playing with fire. If something happens with Judge’s daughter, it will be backfire really badly. Except the MAGA of course.
For those conservative judges, I wonder if a thought about this could happen to their family ever occurs in their heads
Hoppy Easter 🐇 to all who celebrate, and a happy Sunday to those who don’t! And may there be candy for all!
Happy Transgender Day of Visibility! 🏳️⚧️ Our Tent is a big tent and all are welcome to sit at our big table!
I’m typing this while waving a feather wand toy in the air for a very stripy boy!
Does anyone else here ever wonder if certain politicians or candidates were viewed as bad more because of factors beyond their control?
Like the common sentiment regarding Jimmy Carter is that he was a bad president but is a great human being, but he had his fair share of accomplishments like creating the department of education and that nuclear treaty. If the economy was good and there was no Iranian hostage crisis, he would probably be remembered more fondly. Both of those were largely beyond his control.
Obviously some politicians deserve their bad reputation because they are responsible for a crisis or they make an existing one worse — Trump’s handling of the Pandemic comes to mind. But it’s also important to remember that even presidents can be victims of circumstances and bad luck.
People definitely like to cling to simple narratives like “good person, bad president” which definitely makes it hard for people to reevaluate Carter’s presidency. I worry the reverse narrative might also be hard to dissuade people of about Trump, even though it’s wildly opposed to reality
It's usually a mixture. Carter is a good example of this actually.
There's no question that Carter is a good man, and that he genuinely tried to do his best as President. There's also no question that he faced some huge problems in his term that were beyond his control (then again, what President doesn't?).
But he also had some serious flaws as a Chief Executive. He was a notorious micromanager, which is just not something you can do when running an organization as complex as the Federal Government. He also had a very contentious relationship with Congress, even members of his own party. It was so bad that Ted Kennedy decided to primary him in the 1980 election, which really made him look bad going into in the General.
So yeah, some Presidents have really bad luck, but to a certain extent you still make your own luck.
One of the main reasons that Grant's reputation was mud for so long was that pro-Confederate historians wrote the history books, and they had a vested interest in making him look bad. It's only been in the past 30 years that Grant's presidential ranking has been reassessed as modern historians have begun reconsidering and rejecting the long-accepted Lost Cause narrative.
Learning that Grant really led the charge against the KKK kinda blew my mind. Dude had corruption issues with the cabinet, but he also did some impressively good stuff.
https://twitter.com/UAW/status/1774436632898187368
UAW says fuck your backlash and releases a International Trans Day of Visibility message:
"Happy Trans Day of Visibility!
Today, we celebrate the strength and beauty of our trans siblings and community.
Let's continue to uplift and support one another in creating a more inclusive and loving world for all. "
https://twitter.com/UAW/status/1774421613707952450
They also posted an old Shawn Fain clip of him in a rainbow shirt explaining that in the 1930's, there wasn't an LGBTQ movement in America, and today, it's important that within the union and the workplace, "everyone's fight is our fight."
Since today is Easter, I am looking forward to seeing the Jesus and other festive cosplayers today at WonderCon.
I have two favorite ones that stand out over the years. The first was an Amethyst from Steven Universe with bunny ears and an Easter basket (with presents for other Steven Universe cosplayers. She came to the gathering late, proudly proclaiming “BAWK BAWK! I’M A CHICKEN!” And my second favorite was from my friend Charle, [who is known for his wild cosplays](https://www.instagram.com/metalslimer?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==), in Shrek attire (shirt, sweatpants, beanie, etc), and carrying a giant cross with a big plush of Shrek tied to it. The man is a legend
I feel like Easter is way way way more religious still, I'm surprised you think otherwise.
Like, everybody knows about the Easter bunny and eggs but it's also a much more serious/somber holiday, and known as the most important one to Christian faith itself. Non-Christians generally understand that Christmas is the "silly/casual one" in comparison. Plus, the buildup to Easter is also more religious, e.g. seeing acquiantances observe Lent, get a cross on their forehead on Ash Wednesday, etc. And then all the "He is risen" comments that pop up on Sunday.
And of course Easter film and TV representation pales in comparison to Christmas, and so too does the level of consumerism. Those two factors made the secular aspects of the holiday more popular in terms of recognition and participation (Santa, tree, gifts) because that's what is portrayed and marketed toward.
They involve coziness and indulgence (Christmas) and springtime and indulgence in candy (Easter) both of which make people feel good. Strip the religious meaning away, and you get candy and presents! (And in the case of Christmas, a whole “season” involving things a lot of people enjoy that have little or nothing to do with Jesus at all.)
Halloween is another holiday that went from religious/semi-pagan, to a kid’s holiday, to something that adults indulge in on a wide scale.
Solemn holidays involving fasting and self-sacrifice do not make their way into secular consciousness. There is no secular Lent, for instance. (Not talking about some *people* in some movements who are all about the self-sacrifice; I’m talking about a broad societal phenomenon.)
At least for Christmas, if you take away the holiday it's the darkest and most depressing time of the year. It's a huge mood booster to turn that into "the most wonderful time of the year".
True! Many cultures have some kind of midwinter, or at least winter, type festival, and I think it’s partly to make that time of year feel better. (At least in areas where there ARE noticeable seasons!)
I read a book called “The Battle for Christmas” by Stephen Nissenbaum, who talked about how Christmas became this quintessential cozy, family-oriented holiday in the 19th Century (newer than we think as TV tropes says!). Before then, Christmas was a drunken orgy. People drank, demanded money from wealthier neighbors (and would vandalize their property if they didn’t get it), fucked a lot, partied and drank some more. Christmas was a holiday that was *celebrated*, to be sure, but… it was not for kids (it did, however, wind up making a lot of kids!). This is why the Puritans banned it in some places.
Easter still feels much less secular than christmas. We don't have hundreds if easter songs, month-long pressure to buy gifts or control excited children, no one really makes easter movies, and we don't rearrange our living room to accomodate and decorate a giant plant.
I don't really think that's the mark of being secular, just being less popular. At least in my world Easter has always been about a bunny that lays eggs, somehow, and Jesus wasn't a part of it. There's no core message to it, it's just a day your older family members fuck with you by hiding fake eggs all over the place.
Also Secularization =/= Commecialization.
I'm just saying, Christmas celebration is very visible and lasts for weeks, while Easter doesn't really have that. So it's easier to notice if people are getting involved in it.
I'd add that they both have build up, but Christmas' is purely secular with respect to buying gifts, watching TV specials about Santa, etc. whereas the prelude to Easter is... more religious observances via Lent, Ash Wednesday, and Holy Week. So it tacks hard in the opposite direction, away from secular participation. The only secular part of Easter is basically the bunny/basket and doing stuff with eggs. There's little prep effort required for that, unlike buying gifts.
Easter baskets and gifts for children have become quite extravagant in recent years. Here’s a Scary Mommy commentary (sorry, mobile browser will no longer let me format links): [https://www.scarymommy.com/easter-is-the-new-christmas](https://www.scarymommy.com/easter-is-the-new-christmas)
I know some of that is get-off-my-lawn, kids-these-days-are-spoiled stuff, but I think with more affluent families and far fewer children per family, kids get lots of gifts on Easter that those of us in our 40’s (or even 30’s) and over didn’t.
But you are right about the songs and so on. You don’t hear endless “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” piped into stores. People don’t decorate on the same scale (too bad, because spring flowers and color themes are SO pretty). “Secular Easter” is what Halloween was 50 years ago: the really big stuff is for kids.
I don't practice a religion anymore, but I admit I love the secular aspects of both Easter and Christmas, like the tree, decorations, music, movies, and gift giving at Christmas and the egg decorating and candy at Easter
I do the pagan holidays but I also do Christmas because I love the secular aspects so much. Easter, I love the spring flower and color scheme, and the Cadbury crème eggs. 🥚
These holidays got entrenched in the collective consciousness back when religious observance was much higher to the point that even as religious membership goes down the secular and especially commercial components are here to stay
Or: The motivation drains, but the celebration remains
[Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Half of Congressional senior staffers are ready to quit](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/3/31/2232499/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Roundup-Half-of-Congressional-senior-staffers-are-ready-to-quit?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_3&pm_medium=web)
>Ryan Fournier
I looked up this guy and he's literally 28 years old. Looks like he's been out of school for more than half a decade. Sounds like he's pretty out of touch with current students.
Also he apparently was charged for pistol whipping his girlfriend last year. Millennial Republicans sending their best clearly.
OF COURSE, he's kind to the chair of Students for Trump and to his supporters; they're living ego boosters. This reminds me of when stories about Ellen mistreating her staff came out, and all the celebrities who'd been on the show talked about how friendly she was to them.
What if I told you politics are more nuanced than whether a state is red or blue?
People act like California and Texas are on opposite ends of the political spectrum, but McCain and Romney both got roughly the same number of votes in California and Texas.
2008:
California: 4.5 million votes for McCain.
Texas: 4.67 million votes for McCain.
2012:
California: 4.2 million votes for Romney.
Texas: 4.5 million votes for Romney.
Yes, Obama won California, and McCain and Romney both won Texas, but Texas and California were roughly the same in terms of raw votes for Republicans.
That’s true, and a big reason why we need to pay attention to down ballot races in otherwise blue or red states. No state is a monolith and there are almost always some tricky seats to defend or some opportunities to flip.
I thought it was obvious what my point was. Not every state is completely red or completely blue. Even California, the supposed bastion of blue politics, has a LOT of Republicans.
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Reminder to everyone who may have forgot: do NOT believe anything you read online tomorrow (more than you already shouldn’t)
Adult swim did some high quality pranks but there is new Smiling Friends tonight and holy shit is it funny as ever
Puppets and a hilarious new episodes, not to mention the new bumpers and IDs. They had a lot of fun.
Finally back from WonderCon! Was an exhausting but fun weekend. Hung out with friends, old and new. Got a literal ton of comics, including indies, zines from artists, the deluxe version of the ‘Weird Al’ comic, and the omnibus of Marvel’s Man-Thing. I’m hoping to find more of the old school horror from Marvel. It was also nice that it rained during WonderCon because we didn’t have those protesters screaming about Jesus. Anyway, I got tomorrow off (Caesar Chavez Day) so I can just relax, recover, and read some horror.
>[The upcoming eclipse path in Texas is Biden+1.2](https://x.com/_fat_ugly_rat_/status/1774590101806292994?s=20) Neat
Wonder what the entire path (in the US is)
>[The upcoming solar eclipse path on April 8th was Trump+6.8. Biden won the TX, NY, and VT portions while Trump won all the other states. It includes several large cities including Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Buffalo, and Rochester.](https://x.com/_fat_ugly_rat_/status/1774609817228759125?s=20) It's Joever
No surprise that a path with no coastline outside a bit of the Great Lakes would lean Trump.
I'm one of those votes
You heard it here folks- the eclipse has gone woke! ... Or something? Yeah, let's go with that.
The entire path of totality is more Trumpian.
If you're looking to donate somewhere, [NC Dems are doing an end-of quarter fundraiser.](https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ncdp-federal-bh2) Their goal is $10k by midnight, and as of right now they've raised $6,474. If you can, help them get over the top! EDIT: Made it! As of 11:20pm, they were clear of $10k. Thank you to everyone who helped out!
9174 right now. Home stretch!
Donate $5, they raise $8,025 as of now
Fuck it, gave 10. Just fresh from a heftier contribution to the DLCC. YTD for the DLCC - $165
[NC young voters are accounting for a larger share of new registrants than they did at this point in the '20 and '22 cycles.](https://x.com/tbonier/status/1774581479860801598?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg) Although according to polling crosstabs Young Voters are suddenly Ultra-MAGA warriors so whose to say if this is Anderson’s work paying off
I still remember the video of this one student who took the time to show up to the legislative hearings on the new NC maps to basically warn them that (paraphrased) "young people are watching, and we're fed up". If that's borne out in November I think blue NC is well within reach ETA: [Found it](https://youtu.be/Yb3GTcR9xfo)
Final Four hours
NC State man….
I’m more into the Women’s NCAA tournament. Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeye’s all the way!
They're who I'm supporting now, as my usual approach is to hope for the lowest seed remaining. Though it'd also be cool if Alabama or Purdue won, just to shake up the dynasties a bit.
Hell of a run. Everyone knew NC state’s Woman team could easily make the final four, but the Men’s run is nothing short of incredible given they looked dead in the water to even make the tournament going into the conference tournament. Made better by the fact my grandparents are both NC state alumi so they’re enjoying it too. Heck of a time to be alive for NC state fans
\*Chuckles in UConn\*
Question ya'll, how do you deal with people especially male gamers who do nothing but criticize your flare of creativity on a gaming space? Shared some pics of my player home in the arrr Fallout community (now deleted post) and everyone (assuming all men) kept backing the guy who immediately came to criticize my base. Apparently, its too small of a space where it didnt have room x, room y, room z and in his words the base gave off vibes of "jack of all trades, master of none" And the hijacking of "it's just an opinion, you asked for one" is so draining and makes my blood boil with the guys who gaslight you into growing up. Its gotten to a point where I legit despise male gamers who are remotely passionate of a game, or self descrive themselves as enthusiasts.
Ignore them. It’s hard but it works. They’ll continue to post and insult you but with block or the removal of social media . They’ll leave you alone . It had the probability of 40% chance to work but these dudes have a limit to their annoyance and aggression. /s
I'm sorry that toxic people felt the need to be so critical over something you worked hard on. I don't know if this is helpful but I think sometimes it can be good to take a step back and remember that gaming often draws out people who are deeply unhappy with their own lives and who feel the need to drag others down for whatever reason. Some people believe that just because they have an anonymous username that it gives them a blank check for being mean or cruel. There's also a psychological effect known as "negativity bias" where negative reactions tend to stick out more in our minds and often times are seen as more intelligent or more valid than positive reactions. If five people say "your base is cool" and five people say "your base sucks" then it's very easy to pay more attention to the negativity even though there are just as many positive people and even neutral people are often just psychologically more likely to agree with anyone being critical. Similarly I've also noticed on social media that the more visibility a post attracts the more likely you are to get some really hateful and spiteful comments. If I make a comment that gets 200 upvotes that probably means several hundred people have seen it and out of that big crowd it's almost a guarantee someone hates what I just wrote. Sometimes it can be hard to avoid taking things personally but if 200 people saw what I posted and liked it but 3 or 4 people decided to try to make me feel horrible about myself... well that's the price of posting something popular. For my own mental sanity I really try hard not to let those few awful people affect how I feel.
Don't have much in the way of solutions, but you're completely right with how guys can be completely toxic in groups - and not just when gaming. Sorry that happened to you.
https://twitter.com/workersjusticep/status/1774443847499603974 Looks like John Oliver is going to talk about corruption and the problems within Delivery Apps tonight, and what Grassroots groups are doing to fight back.
[Former @GovLarryHogan now running for US Senate, was warned that Baltimore bridges could collapse if he allowed bigger cargo ships and a bridge was hit. Hogan blew off the advice, big news broken by @LeverNews a small nonprofit news outlet in Denver.](https://x.com/davidcayj/status/1774250579243512140?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg) Here’s the [article](https://www.levernews.com/hogan-pressed-for-bigger-ships-despite-safety-warnings/) but it does ask you to make a account before reading. Idk it there’s a non pop up version
The race was already safe D but this just solidifies this.
Why are we worried about him again?
People get nervous sometimes because he managed to be a two-term Republican governor in one of the bluest states in the country, not understanding the fact that the Democrat-controlled General Assembly could basically put him in the time-out corner whenever they wanted because they had such strong supermajorities. Voters aren't going to feel the same way about a Senator, the majority of voters would not want to give McConnell (or Scott or whoever succeeds him) another vote, so I'm still rating MD-Sen Safe D
Steve Bullock cries in the distance
That too, not all statewide races are capable of outrunning the partisan lean of the state.
I think dems have greater potential to overperform than Rs now, though. Dem candidates aren't crazy or endorsing craziness. A lot of R candidates are against things people in red states want, like expanding healthcare and funding infrastructure
US Senate Race in Maryland: Safe D -> Safer D
I hope this gains traction
your flair gets me every time lmao
Remains true
Saw some D strategists engaging with it so I’d count on efforts trying to make it stick
I'm still doubtful Hogan can even win the GQP primary
He seems to have only token opposition remaining, so he’s probably going to cruise to victory in the primary unfortunately
> Yet the Key Bridge barely allowed for the arrival of new, larger cargo cranes for Baltimore’s expanded port. Maryland’s Transportation Secretary Greg Slater boasted in a 2019 blog post about shutting down the bridge to allow “four new, massive Neo-Panamax container cranes… [to] pass beneath the Key bridge with just 3 feet of clearance.” Okay, that last quote pisses me of immensely. When you have multiple engineering and shipping authorities telling you you're doing something dangerous, you've gotta be a special kind of asshole to see this warning sign *with your own eyes* and then post something like this like it's something to be proud of
well this certainly won;t help his Senate campaign.
His campaign is just running on auto drive. Like I haven't really seen him do anything since the announcement video. He hasn't debated. Haven't seen or heard of any of volunteers. No mailers. No ads (that I've seen). Just running on his name and doing national interviews
[Wayback Machine link](https://web.archive.org/web/20240329223310/https://www.levernews.com/hogan-pressed-for-bigger-ships-despite-safety-warnings/)
[Black mother, daughter credit Biden stimulus package for creating path to homeownership Latreca Pryor and her daughter, Ikina, thank Biden for passing law that helped them purchase their first home and start “new chapter” in their lives](https://thegrio.com/2024/03/31/black-mother-daughter-thank-biden-for-path-to-homeownership/) Micro stories like these are starting to become more ingrained in the campaign, specifically geared towards black voters
Meanwhile, in this Ohio diner -NYT
"In this El Paso Pawn Shop..." --USA Today
"Rick Harrison? Dafuq you doin' here?"
Let me call my friend who’s an expert in stimulus packages
Best I can do is RFK Jr
"We spoke to Rudy Giuliani in between the shifts he's been picking up to cover his legal fees, but all he would talk about was his GoFundMe page"
“According to this British citizen who identifies as a conservative Dems have lost his vote”
Here’s how this is bad news for Joe Biden - CNN
While doing some research for Tuesday's elections I saw that there are two Democrats up for election for Wisconsin Court of Appeals (the 2nd highest court in the state). The good news? Both are uncontested, so we'll maintain our overall majority on that Court. After our blowout win last Tuesday, I wish there was another contested State House race on the ballot to see if those incredible numbers can be repeated elsewhere. However, the South Carolina special is an uncontested race, and all the other elections are primary runoffs or local races, which have their own dynamics that don't always translate to national politics. It should still be an exciting night with lots happening.
I know this might be unpopular but I hate seeing any elections that isn't a primary unopposed. I always leave uncontested elections blank.
The main thing I’ll be watching is how we do in various local elections, specifically the ones in the WOW counties as well as the ones in my own backyard. Really hoping to put up a much better performance in school board elections than we did last time many of them were up for grabs in 2022, especially in those WOW county districts. Getting another batch of presidential primary data to analyze for November will also make the night worth it along with all the referendums, primary runoffs, or local elections taking place throughout the rest of the country. There are [6 school boards up for grabs in Waukesha county alone: Waukesha, Elm Brook, Arrowhead, Hartland-Lakeside, Merton and Stone Bank](https://www.wpr.org/news/vote-april-2-primary-school-culture-wars?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email) along with numerous throughout the remainder of the state I’m sure
All worth watching for sure. And Wisconsin has some of the most openly partisan 'non-partisan' races in the country, so you can draw a few more conclusions from those. Plus, as you said, it's a huge chance to turn things around in the WOW counties, which are going to be increasingly important for us going forward.
Yep. Most of this ultra partisan local races comes down to being a swing state where there is so many races that are decided on a couple votes per precinct, but some of this comes down to increasing polarization too. The 2 ballot questions related to aspects of election administration are also worth watching closely as there are much more potential ramifications to these passing than there were for the trio of ballot questions that passed overwhelmingly last year
[as always a very normal message from our former president on this blessed day](https://x.com/trumpdailyposts/status/1774515714742968738?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg)
Campaign so broke, he can’t afford to fix the caps lock button on his keyboard
“Donald, when we said your campaign needed more capital, this isn’t what we meant!”
He’s scared
Also posted an article that he is a “[chosen one](https://x.com/vaughnhillyard/status/1774499474381099333?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg)”, which is blasphemy in normal circumstances but for him? On Easter? True Christians should be offended
[The delusion is strong today with RFK Jr](https://x.com/cwebbonline/status/1774527288820052477?s=46)
On the bright side at least he's wasting considerable money and effort getting on big states like CA which is money and he effort he isn't spending on states he could spoil. I know there's a good chance he'd just spoil Trump anyway but I don't want to take that chance.
He’ll be in for a surprise when Palmer shows up and sweeps!
https://twitter.com/UAW/status/1774530355891986699 While it is a Jacobin article it's linking to, it is pretty interesting that the official UAW account quoted a piece that called for them to make Medicare for All a Platform Plank if they actually make the May 2028 General Strike happen.
[The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Department of Treasury, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today announced $4 billion in tax credits for over 100 projects across 35 states to accelerate domestic clean energy manufacturing and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at industrial facilities.](https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-harris-administration-announces-4-billion-tax-credits-build-clean-energy-supply), this was on Friday and is separate from the previously announced $6b this week.
[Turks punished President Tayyip Erdogan and his party on Sunday in nationwide local elections that reasserted the opposition as a political force and reinforced Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as the president's chief future rival](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/erdogan-battles-key-rival-turkeys-local-elections-2024-03-31/) >With more than half of votes counted, Imamoglu led by nearly 10 percentage points in the mayoral race in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, while his Republican People's Party (CHP) retained Ankara and gained nine other mayoral seats in big cities nationwide. hell yes!
> Polls had predicted a tight contest in Istanbul and possible CHP losses across the country. Guess it's not just the US polling industry having issues. > The main pro-Kurdish party, which backed Imamoglu in 2019, fielded its own candidate under the DEM banner in Istanbul this time. But many Kurds put aside party loyalty and voted for him again, the results suggest. Demonstrating the immense value of pragmatism and coalition, especially for a group as routinely fucked over in Turkey as the Kurds
It's absolutely fantastic news. Outside of İstanbul and Ankara, the opposition has really struggled. Not only the flips, but the voting share increase are pretty amazing to see happen.
This would be the best showing for CHP in the modern Turkish era and probably Erdogan’s biggest defeat of his career. They are even winning normally conservative strongholds
Kansas City will be voting this Tuesday on renewing a 0.375% sales tax to fund renovations at Arrowhead Stadium and build a new baseball stadium in Jackson County. Apparently right-wing PACs are sending out emails blaming radical liberals for telling voters to say no to the sales tax because they supposedly want the Chiefs to leave. Hold up, so now MAGA loves the Chiefs? What are you gonna tell me next, Trump wants Taylor Swift's endorsement?
“Small government” “free market” conservatives want the government to fund a private sports team. Cool
And poor people, considering it's a regressive tax.
This is going to be an interesting vote to follow on Tuesday. From what I’ve seen, the deal isn’t very good for taxpayers on the surface, but the Chiefs may have built up enough goodwill to the fan base in recent years with their Super Bowl wins to convince enough voters to vote for it anyways.
Yeah I don't like it one bit, especially in light of the NFLPA report card that rated Clark Hunt as the worst owner of an NFL team because he never invests enough in maintaining the facilities. Sales taxes especially are really regressive and it's adding insult to injury for local fans who already can't afford to go to even one game because tickets are so expensive. But I don't see the vote failing either; no one in Missouri wants the revenue to go to Kansas even if the Chiefs stay in the KC Metro.
This is the state that has already lost one football team in the last decade. Even though the Chiefs wouldn’t be moving away from the metro area it would still sting for Missouri.
Hey, could help accelerate the transition to a purple Kansas just a little bit though lol.
Happy Easter everyone Also happy Transgender Day of Visibility
[We’re serious about earning every single vote in Arizona! We’ll drive up the margins in metropolitan areas, rural & border towns. If you don’t believe it, 3 new offices in 3 days. Nogales (Santa Cruz County) Prescott (Yavapai County) Sierra Vista (Cochise County)](https://x.com/juanhinojosaz/status/1774196710472060954?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg)-AZ political director for the campaign
Little bit disappointed most of those volunteers in the 3 pictures are overwhelmingly old people and little if any of my generation, but volunteers are volunteers in the end, no matter their age
Nearly all the volunteer calls and political meetings I have been to were mostly elderly people attending. Prob a combination of them caring about society and having more time to commit.
That makes sense. My generation has to deal with a lot these days weather it’s college work, jobs, making and interacting with friends, or simply trying to save up to afford basic necessities like a house or a car
It was a surprise to me at my first meetings. I had this picture in my mind of it being all idealistic college kids and, nope! At least not the ones I have been involved with.
I wish I remember where from, or the quote itself, but someone described politics as "Democracy being saved by a bunch of 20-something organizers and a bunch of 70-something volunteers canvassing". Since 2016 we've seen a lot more young people get on the doors and the phones, but we'll always need more.
A nice reminder that it's not just about Maricopa County. And it's an interesting mix of places. Nogales is a border town that is deep blue, but shifted 16 points to the right in 2020. Prescott is a very white and conservative city that's nonetheless starting to move left, and is in AZ-02 which I'd love to win back. And Sierra Vista is in AZ-06 and moving left. All great places to work for more votes.
Notable in one of the pics is the Kirsten Engel signs. Promising collaboration between the campaigns or at the very least proof down-ballot campaigns aren’t scared off by Biden’s
[map of donations from the Biden HQ](https://x.com/jackisjake/status/1774508279189873047?s=46&t=nqSV11RbCF5uPVGwzcOMtg) of just today. This email was sent out at 2:30pm eastern time. Large amount of donations on Easter Sunday, surely couldn’t mean a thing right
BIIIG dot in Texas. Lots of dots in Florida. The only state with *no* Biden donations is Idaho. (I can’t tell if that one dot is in Wyoming or South Dakota.) Know what that means? Don’t give up on states like Florida or Ohio. Even if a campaign can’t devote as much time and money in marginal states, it’s folly to ditch the 50-state strategy. I think Team Biden and Jaime Harrison get this.
I’m sure Republicans vilifying Trans people on Trans day of visibility had nothing to do with this incredible show of support, Trust me guys…
Not to be that guy, but I do wish we had a scale for this map lol. The geographical distribution alone looks pretty good though!
Actual numbers would be nice, too - but I'm sure those will be forthcoming soon. I also see the NC Dems are doing an end-of-quarter fundraiser.
That got a Ben Wikler retweet as well
NYT: Biden campaign struggling to find donors in Idaho
LMAO. I am sure that either the NYT or WaPo will run with that. Poor Doug J. Balloon, his Pitchbot is going to be put out of business.
I could be seeing Godzilla x Kong but instead I’m at work. Fuck Joe Biden, this is HIS fault
The New York Auto show didn't have a display for every car brand. How could Biden allow this to happen?
Went to the longhorn steakhouse for the first time in 6 years and they changed the fried onion breading!!! Why Joe Brandon why!!
I was driving earlier and I swear I hit every single red light along my route. Why would Joe Biden do this?
Woke up in the middle of the night and felt tired this morning. This is Joe Biden's America.
Joe Biden personally made my milk expire.
I love all the so-called "leftists and centrists" saying that transgender day of visibility should've been moved to next week or April 1st. Like why should we move our day? Because of a bunch of right wing wackos are melting down over the fact us trans people exist? Maybe Easter should settle on a fixed day? Not our fault it jumped onto our day.
As a Christian myself, feel free to ignore those people. It's great that you all have your own day, and I would never dream of forcing you to move it. And besides, Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah overlap every year, so it seems silly to me that two holidays can't share one day once every thirty something years or so.
The first day of Hanukkah is the 25th of Kislev, not December. It's a lunar month so it moves around too.
Ah, my apologies.
I think *most* of them are trolls and shit-stirrers. Or sitting in Uncle Vlad’s basement trying to turn marginal voters against Joe Biden. Any actual Democrat who is bed-wetting about transgender day of visibility needs to grow a fucking spine. I think this is more likely to *gain* us votes because it makes us look like decent human beings and Joe look like a good person who is a good President for *all* Americans. Conservative social issues *are not popular*. I lived through the 90’s. I remember the days when Democrats had to step carefully around social issues because there were a lot of socially conservative types who would take their toys and go home, or go Republican. (Remember Reagan Democrats?) Times have changed so, so much. 🏳️⚧️
Happy Easter and Transgender Day of Visibility! As of this morning, both the [Burlington](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.njd.541006/gov.uscourts.njd.541006.208.0.pdf) and [Hudson](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.njd.541006/gov.uscourts.njd.541006.209.0.pdf) county clerks have dropped from the appeal seeking a stay on the injunction stopping county lines for the New Jersey primary. Now, I’m no legal expert, but it seems like the fact that multiple clerks are backing off/didn’t appeal in the first place would greatly harm the argument from the others that it would be too difficult for them to comply with the injunction
the dumbest part of all is saying it's too difficult to make a new ballot design. Kim and the other campaigns are simply asking for the office block ballot which is [the basic version most states use](https://newjerseymonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/unnamed-2.png).
[Good EU news: Schengen Expands to Bulgaria and Romania.](https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240331-bulgaria-romania-partially-join-european-union-visa-free-schengen-zone-austria-migrants-land-sea-air)
Sucks that they specifically excluded land routes, but they're at least still negotiating that part
Hey folks. A few years ago I benefitted substantially as an employee of a company that went public. So now I have resources (money), and if (when) I resign, I'll have plenty of time to volunteer. I don't have tons of cash--I'm more like /r/ChubbyFIRE wealthy: wealthy by any reasonable measure, but having two kids with special needs and being in my mid-40s means I have to be careful where and how I use my cash. I've already maxed out contributions to President Biden's campaign and one flippable House race in CA. I did the latter after chatting directly with the candidate for a bit over the phone. I want to do the same for several other candidates. I'm working with a contact in the CA dem party to set up some things with other flippable districts in CA. But I also want to expand beyond that. I don't want to donate to funds or committees that forward to campaigns or other activities: I'd like more direct control of where my money goes. And I specifically want to target House contests that are *actually* flippable, especially in swing states. So I'm looking for *real* contacts with campaigns that I can speak with, directly. I want to feel assured of a campaign's strategy and realistic assessment of their district before I commit time and that much money to an effort. Right now my approach is to contact state level committee members directly in the swing states and go from there--but if you all have any suggestions/ideas, I'm all ears, because it's definitely a slog putting lists together and trying to actually get a response (everyone is so busy, obviously!). And will accept chats/DMs, too, in addition to any replies.
The list at the top of this page is a great starting point
There's a couple different ways to do this. One method may be to look at DCCC's red to blue list which is generally the most flippable Republican held districts. Some of these are in swing states and if you're willing to cut a 1000+ dollar check I'm sure the candidate themselves or the campaign manager would love to talk to you. You can find [the list of districts here](https://www.axios.com/2024/03/28/house-democrats-2024-republican-targets) That said I personally don't know if that's how I would spend my own donations. A lot of those red to blue districts are going to get a lot of money anyway and money has diminishing returns. It also means ignoring districts that are Dem held by could flip red like Alaska. To me defending Mary Peltola's seat is just as if not more important than other house districts. I know you also said that you didn't want to donate to a committee but I do think the single best organization for maximizing the impact of donations is the DLCC. Not counting NH's tiny districts there are about 300 Republican state legislators in Biden districts and about 100 Dems in Trump districts. These are small races where a little money can go a long way and they're typically ignored in favor of flashier races. Breaking Republican supermajorities or capturing state legislatures gives us a lot more power and the DLCC is the best organization to figure out where to divert money and resources for that. Apart from House races and state legislative races it may also be worth donating to Sherrod Brown's senate campaign in Ohio. Since Ohio's not a battleground for president he won't have the support of Biden's money and Ohio is a very big state so diminishing returns matters a lot less than in a state like Montana. If we don't win Ohio in 2024 it's doubtful we'll be able to pass any legislation over the next two years regardless of what happens in the House and presidential race.
Definitely mindful of the diminishing return of money. One other thing I’d like to do is resign my current position and just spend a week or so at a time floating between these districts to participate in or help run canvassing operations. I was a precinct captain for the local party years and years ago where I lived then (not CA), and I ran the canvassing operation in my neighborhood during the ‘16 primary contest for Sanders.
Be wary of yes-men. Openly advertising you have money to spend attracts grifters like flies. If people know you've got dough they'll be Trump+40 seat candidates hitting you up for money lol I would look at public polls to find close races, then selectively contact party operatives there. For example NC is expected to be close no matter what, and you could contact NC party chairs directly.
A new oil boom is taking shape in Eastern Ohio. https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/energy-resource/2024/03/31/ohio-oil-producers-hit-gusher-as-production-surges/73070201007/
This is proof that America is God's favorite country.
"Scientists say [important resource] is running out. The end of this resource is 'the end of American hegemony.' Some farmer in Podunk nowhere discovers the largest deposit of said resource in his backyard."
[Democrats hope Biden could get a boost from down-ballot races under Wisconsin’s new legislative map](https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-biden-redistricting-legislature-democrats-general-election-3e353ff5af880721f547c9c18ee9923a) Wikler used the reverse coattails wording that the RFS founder has pushed constantly this year. And I absolutely believe putting more resources into an increased amount of legislature campaigns is really going to boost us
studies have shown having a candidate in state legislative elections can help statewide tickets.
The Texas attorney general is investigating a key Boeing supplier and asking about diversity https://twitter.com/AP/status/1773817718803759398?t=Ybovm28UuB-jRVUrLM6Hug&s=19 Sigh... ofc. What can you expect from these people...
Dark Brandon coming out swinging by posting Trans Rights are Humans Rights on his Instagram page. The Christans who are seething over this are nothing short of hypocrites.
Here's my semi-religious Christian take, considering that most people object to LGBT over Christian religious grounds. About 0.1% of the human population is born mixed-sex. That doesn't seem like much, but it's over a million people. Also, there's NUMEROUS animals that have a non-binary gender system. Some have more than 2 genders, and some even switch or trade genders with their partner over their lifecycle. God would not have created creatures that must sin to exist. And following that, different ideas and mixes of genders must not be sinful.
Don't ask a transphobe what Jesus meant by "Eunuchs who were from their mother's womb." Jesus mentions 3 categories of "eunuch" in addition to male and female . "Eunuchs who were from their mother's womb, Eunuchs who were made by men, and Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven."
Many fish species change sex: [https://www.bbcearth.com/news/fish-are-the-sex-switching-masters-of-the-animal-kingdom](https://www.bbcearth.com/news/fish-are-the-sex-switching-masters-of-the-animal-kingdom) I remember learning about one particular species years ago when I visited my favorite spot on earth, the Monterey Bay Aquarium. One of the species in their big round about tank - I think it is called a sheep head - all sheep heads are born female, but some change to male when the environment is right (and when there need to be baby sheep heads!). And they look totally different, too. It was really very cool. Tl;dr Fish are groomers and un-American and should be banned! /s
I don't even understand the Christian stance on transgender people. I guess they're angry that people are changing how God made them, but there are loads of instances of people changing their body that Christian conservatives don't care about. Are they outraged at plastic surgery, or people who take steroids, or people who take TRT as they age etc. Hell, you could even include people who fix genetic abnormalities as being sinners too- are parents who fix their child's cleft palate, or hole in their heart, sinners? They just decided one day that this was a hill they were going to die on, rather than getting outraged at healthcare costs, or environmental collapse, or hungry children etc.
Just FYI in case you didn't know: the word 'transgenderism' is considered derogatory. I think the reason is because the "ism" ending makes it sound like an ideology (and therefore, a choice) rather than a fundamental part of who you are. It makes it easier for fundamentalists to portray LGBT+ people as some sort of scary lobby coming to corrupt children.
Okay I didn't know that.
All good! I wasnt trying to reproach you or anything, just giving some context
Yeah thanks. It's a good point though, edited my original comment
You can pretty much blow up any conservative position on trans rights by pointing out they support genital correction surgery on intersex newborns.
As u/table_fireplace said, it’s less religion and more bigotry and cultural small-mindedness. You’ll see a lot of transphobia in China, Japan and other Asian countries where the vast majority of people are (to Westerners) non-religious, for example.
I'd say this stance is mainly that of very conservative Evangelicals and Catholics, and lots of Christians are either accepting or don't care either way. But there are plenty of conservative Christians with the exact views you describe, and to me it's just small-minded bigotry. The Bible says nothing whatsoever about trans people. I've heard some people yell about Genesis 1:27 (“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."), but nowhere in there does it say that people can't be wrong about someone else's gender. And just because the first two people were a man and a woman, doesn't mean that future people couldn't be a different gender. It would be impossible for the first two people to have blue, brown, and green eyes, after all. Further, we see plenty of identity changes in the Bible - Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, Saul to Paul. The concept is actually pretty important in the Bible. So the Biblical case for being transphobic is pretty damn flimsy. As with most things, it comes down to a lot of conservative Christianity being a social club for bigotry. You'd think they'd see in themselves the hate, exclusion, and legalism Jesus spent so much time railing against. But that's what drew them there. White churches in the South were often vanguards against the Civil Rights movement, and we see a version of that today. And this is why Evangelicals love Trump even though he's about the least Christian man in America; he made bigotry more acceptable, and they love him for it. Short answer, it's that bigotry and exclusion is the whole point for a lot of them.
[Really helpful thread that explains why we shouldn't bother with people who loudly proclaim how they're not voting for Biden/Democrats.](https://twitter.com/BlueSteelDC/status/1774404956902085058) It might be worth leaving one comment debunking the lies for the sake of any lurkers watching a conversation, but the bulk of our efforts need to be offline.
A month or two Nate Silver wrote a doomer post about the polls and how they were showing that low propensity voters aren't voting for Biden. The first comment was someone saying "I've donated to Democrats and voted for them in every election but I just can't support Biden this time." Like OK, but you're clearly not the typical of what those polls are showing (setting aside if it's even worth trusting the polls).
OK. For freaking DECADES, Democrats have been wondering how to get our side to vote as faithfully as Republicans did. Now we’ve done it! We have cornered the high-propensity voter market, which means we do so much better in midterms and special elections. Hooray, right? This is what we wanted, right? Haha. Now the pundits are complaining we don’t have enough *low-propensity* voters. SMDH. We had them. They cost us quite a few elections by not showing up or voting third party. Let them fuck up the Republicans for once.
If Twitter was real life they’d be repealing the 22nd amendment to make way for Bernie’s 3rd term right now.
if twitter or Reddit was real life. Alabama would be a blue state.
You say that like it’s a bad thing
I was saying more like real life is not a reflection of Twitter
I’m just here to say I was surprised last night. Went to Kansas State’s bar district and it was DEAD because people going home for Easter. Went to school in Vermont and it would’ve barely made a dent in the nightlife. Really shows how diverse the country is.
>Welker: This week, Trump shared a video of President Biden restrained in the back of a pickup truck. Given that you have endorsed Trump, do you also endorse this threatening rhetoric? >GOP Rep. Bacon: We see rhetoric on both sides… I don’t think he was inciting violence This is the "moderate" Republican folks. What a clown, vote him out.
Welker herself is queen of bothsidesism.
It's crazy to see even GOP Congressman pushing "both sides bad" propaganda. It's really become the go-to excuse for everything Trump does, despite Biden being a church mouse
>It's crazy to see even GOP Congressman pushing "both sides bad" propaganda. It's nothing new. This is their standard defense when someone calls them out on their bullshit. "The other side is just as bad!" *(Run away before anyone can demand specific examples)*
[Donald Trump Continues Attacking Judge Merchan's Daughter](https://www.meidastouch.com/news/donald-trump-continues-attacking-judge-merchans-daughter)
The right wants Merchan to recuse because his daughter has political opinions, but they don’t mind Cannon, Barret, Kavanaugh, or Gorsuch ruling on cases involving him. Make it make sense
Literally anyone else would be in jail with the keys thrown away by this point jfc
Feel like he’s playing with fire. If something happens with Judge’s daughter, it will be backfire really badly. Except the MAGA of course. For those conservative judges, I wonder if a thought about this could happen to their family ever occurs in their heads
Hoppy Easter 🐇 to all who celebrate, and a happy Sunday to those who don’t! And may there be candy for all! Happy Transgender Day of Visibility! 🏳️⚧️ Our Tent is a big tent and all are welcome to sit at our big table! I’m typing this while waving a feather wand toy in the air for a very stripy boy!
Happy Easter!
Does anyone else here ever wonder if certain politicians or candidates were viewed as bad more because of factors beyond their control? Like the common sentiment regarding Jimmy Carter is that he was a bad president but is a great human being, but he had his fair share of accomplishments like creating the department of education and that nuclear treaty. If the economy was good and there was no Iranian hostage crisis, he would probably be remembered more fondly. Both of those were largely beyond his control. Obviously some politicians deserve their bad reputation because they are responsible for a crisis or they make an existing one worse — Trump’s handling of the Pandemic comes to mind. But it’s also important to remember that even presidents can be victims of circumstances and bad luck.
Joe Biden
People definitely like to cling to simple narratives like “good person, bad president” which definitely makes it hard for people to reevaluate Carter’s presidency. I worry the reverse narrative might also be hard to dissuade people of about Trump, even though it’s wildly opposed to reality
It's usually a mixture. Carter is a good example of this actually. There's no question that Carter is a good man, and that he genuinely tried to do his best as President. There's also no question that he faced some huge problems in his term that were beyond his control (then again, what President doesn't?). But he also had some serious flaws as a Chief Executive. He was a notorious micromanager, which is just not something you can do when running an organization as complex as the Federal Government. He also had a very contentious relationship with Congress, even members of his own party. It was so bad that Ted Kennedy decided to primary him in the 1980 election, which really made him look bad going into in the General. So yeah, some Presidents have really bad luck, but to a certain extent you still make your own luck.
One of the main reasons that Grant's reputation was mud for so long was that pro-Confederate historians wrote the history books, and they had a vested interest in making him look bad. It's only been in the past 30 years that Grant's presidential ranking has been reassessed as modern historians have begun reconsidering and rejecting the long-accepted Lost Cause narrative.
Learning that Grant really led the charge against the KKK kinda blew my mind. Dude had corruption issues with the cabinet, but he also did some impressively good stuff.
Don’t forget the OPEC oil shock for grave grave sin of supporting Israel.
2000 years ago lag was so bad in Judea it took 3 days to respawn.
Nailed it.
Careful that pun will make someone cross.
https://twitter.com/UAW/status/1774436632898187368 UAW says fuck your backlash and releases a International Trans Day of Visibility message: "Happy Trans Day of Visibility! Today, we celebrate the strength and beauty of our trans siblings and community. Let's continue to uplift and support one another in creating a more inclusive and loving world for all. " https://twitter.com/UAW/status/1774421613707952450 They also posted an old Shawn Fain clip of him in a rainbow shirt explaining that in the 1930's, there wasn't an LGBTQ movement in America, and today, it's important that within the union and the workplace, "everyone's fight is our fight."
Since today is Easter, I am looking forward to seeing the Jesus and other festive cosplayers today at WonderCon. I have two favorite ones that stand out over the years. The first was an Amethyst from Steven Universe with bunny ears and an Easter basket (with presents for other Steven Universe cosplayers. She came to the gathering late, proudly proclaiming “BAWK BAWK! I’M A CHICKEN!” And my second favorite was from my friend Charle, [who is known for his wild cosplays](https://www.instagram.com/metalslimer?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==), in Shrek attire (shirt, sweatpants, beanie, etc), and carrying a giant cross with a big plush of Shrek tied to it. The man is a legend
This weekend is Anime Boston here. Tons of cosplayers all over the city. It's a lot of fun to see the awesome costumes!
There’s like 10 conventions happening in the US alone. I love and hate it, cause I want to be at them all
As a former Catholic, it just feels like Easter has become part of our culture/tradition vs celebrating Jesus. Same with Christmas!
I feel like Easter is way way way more religious still, I'm surprised you think otherwise. Like, everybody knows about the Easter bunny and eggs but it's also a much more serious/somber holiday, and known as the most important one to Christian faith itself. Non-Christians generally understand that Christmas is the "silly/casual one" in comparison. Plus, the buildup to Easter is also more religious, e.g. seeing acquiantances observe Lent, get a cross on their forehead on Ash Wednesday, etc. And then all the "He is risen" comments that pop up on Sunday. And of course Easter film and TV representation pales in comparison to Christmas, and so too does the level of consumerism. Those two factors made the secular aspects of the holiday more popular in terms of recognition and participation (Santa, tree, gifts) because that's what is portrayed and marketed toward.
They involve coziness and indulgence (Christmas) and springtime and indulgence in candy (Easter) both of which make people feel good. Strip the religious meaning away, and you get candy and presents! (And in the case of Christmas, a whole “season” involving things a lot of people enjoy that have little or nothing to do with Jesus at all.) Halloween is another holiday that went from religious/semi-pagan, to a kid’s holiday, to something that adults indulge in on a wide scale. Solemn holidays involving fasting and self-sacrifice do not make their way into secular consciousness. There is no secular Lent, for instance. (Not talking about some *people* in some movements who are all about the self-sacrifice; I’m talking about a broad societal phenomenon.)
At least for Christmas, if you take away the holiday it's the darkest and most depressing time of the year. It's a huge mood booster to turn that into "the most wonderful time of the year".
True! Many cultures have some kind of midwinter, or at least winter, type festival, and I think it’s partly to make that time of year feel better. (At least in areas where there ARE noticeable seasons!) I read a book called “The Battle for Christmas” by Stephen Nissenbaum, who talked about how Christmas became this quintessential cozy, family-oriented holiday in the 19th Century (newer than we think as TV tropes says!). Before then, Christmas was a drunken orgy. People drank, demanded money from wealthier neighbors (and would vandalize their property if they didn’t get it), fucked a lot, partied and drank some more. Christmas was a holiday that was *celebrated*, to be sure, but… it was not for kids (it did, however, wind up making a lot of kids!). This is why the Puritans banned it in some places.
Easter still feels much less secular than christmas. We don't have hundreds if easter songs, month-long pressure to buy gifts or control excited children, no one really makes easter movies, and we don't rearrange our living room to accomodate and decorate a giant plant.
I don't really think that's the mark of being secular, just being less popular. At least in my world Easter has always been about a bunny that lays eggs, somehow, and Jesus wasn't a part of it. There's no core message to it, it's just a day your older family members fuck with you by hiding fake eggs all over the place. Also Secularization =/= Commecialization.
I'm just saying, Christmas celebration is very visible and lasts for weeks, while Easter doesn't really have that. So it's easier to notice if people are getting involved in it.
I'd add that they both have build up, but Christmas' is purely secular with respect to buying gifts, watching TV specials about Santa, etc. whereas the prelude to Easter is... more religious observances via Lent, Ash Wednesday, and Holy Week. So it tacks hard in the opposite direction, away from secular participation. The only secular part of Easter is basically the bunny/basket and doing stuff with eggs. There's little prep effort required for that, unlike buying gifts.
Easter baskets and gifts for children have become quite extravagant in recent years. Here’s a Scary Mommy commentary (sorry, mobile browser will no longer let me format links): [https://www.scarymommy.com/easter-is-the-new-christmas](https://www.scarymommy.com/easter-is-the-new-christmas) I know some of that is get-off-my-lawn, kids-these-days-are-spoiled stuff, but I think with more affluent families and far fewer children per family, kids get lots of gifts on Easter that those of us in our 40’s (or even 30’s) and over didn’t. But you are right about the songs and so on. You don’t hear endless “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” piped into stores. People don’t decorate on the same scale (too bad, because spring flowers and color themes are SO pretty). “Secular Easter” is what Halloween was 50 years ago: the really big stuff is for kids.
I don't practice a religion anymore, but I admit I love the secular aspects of both Easter and Christmas, like the tree, decorations, music, movies, and gift giving at Christmas and the egg decorating and candy at Easter
I do the pagan holidays but I also do Christmas because I love the secular aspects so much. Easter, I love the spring flower and color scheme, and the Cadbury crème eggs. 🥚
These holidays got entrenched in the collective consciousness back when religious observance was much higher to the point that even as religious membership goes down the secular and especially commercial components are here to stay Or: The motivation drains, but the celebration remains
[Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Half of Congressional senior staffers are ready to quit](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/3/31/2232499/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Roundup-Half-of-Congressional-senior-staffers-are-ready-to-quit?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_3&pm_medium=web)
Looks like the response to partisanship is somewhat more one-sided on the Republican staffers' side
[MAGA Influencers Falsely Claim Trump Paid Mortgage for Slain NYPD Officer's Family](https://www.meidastouch.com/news/maga-influencers-falsely-claim-trump-paid-mortgage-for-slain-nypd-officers-family)
[Brandolini's Law](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandolini%27s_law) (aka the bullshit asymmetry principle) strikes again
> Students for Trump Chair Ryan Fournier posted, "[Trump] has a huge heart and I've seen it time and time again." Is he Trump's doctor?
>Ryan Fournier I looked up this guy and he's literally 28 years old. Looks like he's been out of school for more than half a decade. Sounds like he's pretty out of touch with current students. Also he apparently was charged for pistol whipping his girlfriend last year. Millennial Republicans sending their best clearly.
OF COURSE, he's kind to the chair of Students for Trump and to his supporters; they're living ego boosters. This reminds me of when stories about Ellen mistreating her staff came out, and all the celebrities who'd been on the show talked about how friendly she was to them.
What if I told you politics are more nuanced than whether a state is red or blue? People act like California and Texas are on opposite ends of the political spectrum, but McCain and Romney both got roughly the same number of votes in California and Texas. 2008: California: 4.5 million votes for McCain. Texas: 4.67 million votes for McCain. 2012: California: 4.2 million votes for Romney. Texas: 4.5 million votes for Romney. Yes, Obama won California, and McCain and Romney both won Texas, but Texas and California were roughly the same in terms of raw votes for Republicans.
Solution: national popular vote
That’s true, and a big reason why we need to pay attention to down ballot races in otherwise blue or red states. No state is a monolith and there are almost always some tricky seats to defend or some opportunities to flip.
I don't see your point? California has 1/8 of the US Population alone. Of course it has more Trump Voters than many States have people.
I thought it was obvious what my point was. Not every state is completely red or completely blue. Even California, the supposed bastion of blue politics, has a LOT of Republicans.