Friday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Friday, December 29, 2023
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30 comments
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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Maine disqualifies Trump from presidential primary ballot, citing insurrection clause
FWIW, I’m not sure that the Haley/Slavery thing is the epic fail it’s being made out to be. I wonder if she was attempting to use a Trump technique (one he no longer uses), where he would say something outrageously as a signal to the racist part of his base and then, when challenged, attack the press for misinterpreting what he said. This allowed him to show solidarity with his racist base (who don’t really give a sh*t about the backpedal because, “Hey, that’s the way to pwn the libtards! I do it all the time!”) while simultaneously giving an out to his fans who were at least mildly uncomfortable with his racism (“Hey, he’s clumsy in the way he speaks because he’s so real and genuine and the press never give him a break.”)
If that’s what Haley was attempting (which, IMO, it was) then sure, she didn’t pull it off as well as Trump used to, but in my mind the jury is still out whether it was a net gain for her or not. Remember, she’s not just running for President, she also has to maintain her support in South Carolina.
@MarkedMan: The big failing here is that Trump’s base won’t look at Nikky Haley and say themselves “hey, he’s just like me”. Misogyny will destroy that technique with anybody but a blustering loudmouth white guy with more privilege than empathy.
I’m not so sure about that first part. I mean sure, she’s campaigning for the presidency but does she actually think the GOP is going to vote for a woman of color in the WH? What’s her real game?
@Tony W: I get what you’re saying but remember that Haley is a non-WASP governor of a State in the Deep South. She has put together and managed a weird coalition of people of color and un-redeemed Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy for her whole political life. While she occasionally refers to herself as an Indian American, as far as I know she has never thrown her lot in with Hispanics or African Americans in any meaningful way. Her route to success has been signaling to the racists that while she may not be one them (a WASP), she is definitely not one of THOSE (Hispanic/AA/non-Christian), but doing so with plausible deniability so as to get at least some of the minority vote.
@OzarkHillbilly: Hey, in a couple of generations Southerners have gone from lynching Irish Catholics to embracing them as worthy additions to the Supreme Court, or as politicians who can be voted for in a pinch. Indian Americans can be next and at the very least, Haley likely believes that is possible.
Haley is doing the best job of all the Republican first-loser contingent (i.e. the ones in the race for second place) of positioning herself to step in if Trump finally implodes while preserving her long term viability.
When trump finally implodes (and he will, win or lose it’s just a matter of before the election or after) I suspect the GOP will self immolate and it will be some time* before they can put forth a candidate the base will accept and can actually get elected.
* I’m not gonna venture a time frame, could be damn near anything
@OzarkHillbilly:
He may die before he implodes. Like his namesake did in a bunker at the end of WWII in Europe. Or like Stalin, Mao, and others.
The cartel replies: Mexico: 14 kidnapped from village that rose up and killed cartel members
Also too, some good news on the climate change front: Uruguay’s green power revolution: rapid shift to wind shows the world how it’s done
Here I thought Americans were the “can do” people.
I like bread. I like freshly-baked bread. I go out of my way to walk to the bakery about four blocks away. It is both kinda hippy dippy organic and a bit punk DIY. They bake good bread I enjoy. Good folks, all around.
My problem is wastage. I absolutely hate food wastage. I cannot eat what they sell in size and portioned as a person living alone can easily eat before some goes wonky/moldy. I portion it into usable sized chunks in a freezer bag and chuck it into the freezer except for what I need today.
I am super careful about how I touch fresh, no preservatives bread. Only touch what you use now. Use the packaging to not touch the rest of the loaf. It will induce a mold bloom.
What micro-organisms or fungi are on my fingertips that enable/encourage mold bloom on bread so rapidly? I bathe daily.
I do buy bread from the supermarket. I am not a hipster snob. Notably, a certain brand of raisin bread. A certain brand of seeded rye bread I like for roast beef sandwiches. That stuff keeps for weeks maybe months, I swear. That’s kinda spooky. Bread shouldn’t keep that long. What preservatives are in it?
The Pennsylvania legislature has apparently voted, 103-1oo, to pass a resolution recognizing 2023 as “The Taylor Swift Era.”
@CSK: Pennsylvania doesn’t have any real problems that could use some fixing?
@OzarkHillbilly:
One of the naysayers pointed that out, rather tartly.
No, we are practically perfect in every way so we have plenty of time to give native daughter Taylor her due attention.
Steve
I kinda loved the dead spot between pre-Christmas and New Year’s when I was working. The time when nothing happens and everything chills out. I saved my vacation time for late summer, early autumn when I got the most personal value out of it.
I used to work that stretch of time almost every year. Not religious so not put out. No family I wanted to interact with. Folks with family concerns really wanted that stretch off, and I had no problem covering. It’s damn easy – nothing happens.
Literally nothing happens beyond maintaining basic operations. All the bosses are gone. The phone never rings. No meetings. No e-mails.
I used the time to knock C level tasks off my to-do list. It’s two weeks with no pointless, agenda-less meetings. I mostly wandered around and checked in with folks. I made friends and good professional contacts just by stopping by and saying “hi”.
In Corporate America, nothing happens between December 15 and January 2. It’s dead time and skeleton crews.
A building that hosts several thousand workers on an average weekday had several dozen. At one point I was the senior person in the building and that was terrifying. I was the boss.
Christmas Day is as dead as dead can be. I hung out with the person manning the server room most of the day one year. We played chess. She kicked my butt hard.
@CSK: Aren’t eras usually considerably longer than 365 days? Or even 730?
@de stijl:
We once left a package of Villagio hamburger buns in the microwave of our cottage when we winterized it. When we opened up in the spring we found them, still there. No mold at all and they still felt fresh. None of us were brave enough for a taste test. Or brave enough to read the ingredients to see just what was in them.
@de stijl: I know, right? It’s worthy of an attempt at a Yogi Berraism: The week between Christmas and New Years is a great time to work because nobody’s working.
Not really worthy of the Yogi, though.
@Just nutha ignint cracker:
Yeah, I always thought that, too. Perhaps eras move more quickly nowadays.
On the other hand, somebody probably thought it was a cute play on Swift’s Eras Tour.
Taylor’s tour is called Eras. We will support our native daughter’s efforts to define time however she wishes (remembering that she needs to pay her state income tax on time).
Steve
Just FTR, I couldn’t identify any Swift song if I heard it. State legislatures seem to pretty commonly pay homage to residents who have been pretty successful. At least in her case I think she has been pretty good about promoting or supporting PA institutions like the Eagles instead of going totally Hollywood, at least until she started hanging with that evil Travis.
Steve
@OzarkHillbilly:
Considering she was born in Reading, PA, this is essentially “Lookit our Home Girl! We got more than coal here!” And ten minutes of legislating gets free mentions in 50 states.
@steve:
Same.
I know some of her songs, maybe three. If I hear a song and you tell me it’s Swift, I’ll accept it. Other singers I don’t particularly care for, I can usually recognize; like Adele or Katy Perry.
@Jay L Gischer:
Germans have a phrase for the period between Christmas and New Year’s – zwischen den jahren. Between the years. Apt.
It’s a non-space, the out-of-time week, even though it is functionally almost two weeks. Nothing happens. Maybe a bit of family drama caused by too much physical proximity with troublesome relatives you can only stomach for so long.
Dead time for the professional class. Busy time for working folks.
@steve:
I would recognize a few of her songs, mostly from a decade ago. She’s a pretty decent songwriter. Not my sweetspot, but she is pretty damn good at what she’s good at. Good for her.
It was a pro forma five minute deal for the Pennsylvania legislators. No big deal. I’ve got no problem with that inconsequential fluff decree. Plus, I’ve heard Swifties are utterly ruthless when somebody disses their girl. They are not to be fucked with.
I heard she was dating a dude from the KC Chiefs and some folks think that’s a big deal and think they they have input into their relationship.
1. I don’t care. Why would I care?
2. It’s nobody’s business but their’s so STFU.
I don’t understand celebrity worship – it’s alien to me.
@CSK: To show you how disconnected to all things Swiftie I am, that thought never crossed my mind. At all.
@steve: The only thing Taylor Swift has ever sung that I recognized as being something she sang is that dreadful rendition the George Michael “Last Christmas…” song in her little 12-year-old child voice. Eewwww!
@Just nutha ignint cracker:
I’m kind of sick of seeing stories about her every…single…day on the news. Otherwise I’d have never heard of her.
The utterly joyous thing about dead week is that I got to control my own to-do list. I could go in with a plan and actually execute it. The phone didn’t ring every five fucking minutes. My task list and priorities didn’t get reset hourly. I didn’t have four hours of pointless meetings daily mist of which could have been avoided with an e-mail. It was blessed relief. I could actually do things.
It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you’re not interrupted. That was why I went to contract work where you are brought on to do a proscribed set of tasks. Didn’t always work out ideally, but the money was way better. It did involve constant travel, though.
Week 5 of Hell Week was supposed to be the climax for the season, with fewer projects coming in January. We were supposed to have been finished by Thursday, not too late. The surprise project dumped on our heads changed things. Yesterday I left at 1 am (I suppose that’s too early rather than too late?), and I was lucky; others finished around 4 am.
Today we’re awaiting answers from the questions meeting on the unwelcome project. We’re still advancing, but every so often we get to a screeching halt over some unresolved matter. Worse, the manager in charge planned a trip for New Years, and he’s determined not to miss it. So, no question of finishing tomorrow (the project is due on Tuesday Jan 2nd).
The one major PITA of this job, is the many, many, many times something comes up in a hurry and way too late. Like this project, or some customer who needs something urgent for tomorrow at 9 am, but sends their request around 7 pm.
Even the three day weekend won’t be enough rest. I may use up a vacation day and take next Friday off.