US Election 2020 : Part 4

November 6, 2020 6:45 PM

It’s the final count-down! As the last few battleground states try to wrap up counting their ballots from various tranches, pots and buckets, the weary nation watches with glazed eyes as former Vice President Joe Biden seems poised on the edge of the verge of the precipice of the brink of reaching the 270 Electoral Vote threshold needed to win the Presidency. With the second election thread passing 1500 comments and starting to bog down, (previous FPP here), this post is to give some relief to MeFi servers and mobile devices everywhere. May they, and all of us, get to rest soon. [edit to add: collaborative "Neverending Tuesday MF Mix" on spotify via cyndigo]
posted by darkstar (712 comments total)

Obligatory (SLYT)
posted by ipsative at 6:50 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

It feels only right that I follow a fast moving, rolling-over-into-another-one every-couple-of-days mega thread this week. Thank you for these.
posted by Brainy at 6:50 PM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

I want to hear Biden talk, but I don't want to watch horrible news tv, waiting for it. I am trusting all of you to let me know when to tune in.
posted by meese at 6:50 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

*Sigh*

Good luck. We're all counting on us.
posted by mrgoat at 6:51 PM on November 6, 2020 [45 favorites]

It's still Tuesday night, right?
posted by perhapses at 6:51 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

I picked the wrong week to stop checking Metafilter
posted by glaucon at 6:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [80 favorites]

No joke, I heard an announcer mention that today was Friday and I was genuinely shocked.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 6:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [34 favorites]

Fine, for those of you who are Tom Petty fans, here's your hold music while we wait.
posted by PhineasGage at 6:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada: Call me!
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Has someone put together a nice Youtube playlist for all these "waiting/on the edge/any moment now/hoping for the best" songs that keep being shared?
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

It's Tuesday November 57th
posted by saturday_morning at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2020 [61 favorites]

It's been Tuesday since March
posted by tzikeh at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2020 [53 favorites]

It's still Tuesday, 94 o'clock.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2020 [28 favorites]

We were all prepared for this to take awhile. There will be court battles but I think it's clear what the final result will be. A friend of mine who is more clued in than I said on Tuesday that he expected the next Tuesday to be the final, final call. He predicted Pennsylvania would take the longest but after all challenges etc, that next week it will be decisively over. As much as I'm yearning for an answer NOW, I can live with that since it's the result I wanted.
posted by chaz at 6:53 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

So just to be clear, the Airplane! has landed, we're all agreed on how to properly mispronounce various U.S. city names, and both progressive and institutional coalitions within the Democratic Party are destined to reconcile their differences and form a unified front against Ivanka/C'thulhu 2024, yes?

And don't call me Maeby.
posted by Riki tiki at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2020 [33 favorites]

[Reminder that you can join us in the "some politics is local" thread to discuss city, county, state, and House of Representatives election results and context. And of course you can suggest regionally appropriate celebratory desserts to make in the "Take a break" MetaTalk thread which would also be a good place for sharing music recommendations.]
posted by brainwane at 6:54 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

If you want celebration music, I highly recommend this morning’s “Morning Show” on Seattle’s independent KEXP. Everything from Marvin Gaye to The Violent Femmes.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 6:56 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

I didn't have a drinking problem before Tuesday, but now. pours scotch on head
posted by calamari kid at 6:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [26 favorites]

The counting will continue until morale improves.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 6:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [70 favorites]

> WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE CALL THIS FUCKING ELECTION THIS IS KILLING ME

Or at least more Gritty memes?
posted by sebastienbailard at 6:58 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Anticipation - Carly Simon
The Waiting - Tom Petty
The Final Countdown - Europe
Waiting on a Friend - Rolling Stone

What others?
posted by PhineasGage at 6:58 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Metafilter: Don't call me Tuesday until I count on us.
posted by gwydapllew at 6:58 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I mean, Biden is the president-elect. The only thing we are waiting for is his speech acknowledging this, and the major networks saying it. But it’s a forgone conclusion.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 6:58 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Based on the exit polls, about 7% of voters are Republicans who are worried the votes won't be counted accurately, and about 4% of voters are Democrats who are worried the votes won't be counted accurately.
posted by clawsoon at 6:58 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Waiting - The Suburbs
posted by Windopaene at 6:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

It's still Tuesday night, right?

From the year that brought you “Six Months of April,” welcome to “Tuesday, Part 3.”
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:00 PM on November 6, 2020 [17 favorites]

As for comedies, we should have picked Groundhog's Day. (Set in Pennsylvania)
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:00 PM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

I've dealt with my nervous energy the last few days by churning out bespoke memes for that subreddit that we cleaned up; enjoy:

Live look at the Nevada vote count

Rush transcript of the President's statement on the election

The best teeth in the game

I just want Georgia to notice me

Take a state, Mr. Biden

That damn Biden. He's so hot right now.
posted by Rhaomi at 7:00 PM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

Boston - Don't Look Back
posted by perhapses at 7:00 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I want to hear Biden talk, but I don't want to watch horrible news tv, waiting for it. I am trusting all of you to let me know when to tune in.

PBS has 6-7k people waiting in dead silence since at least 6pm. Come join us, in doing other stuff while it's queued up on our Rokus and then forgetting about it and shitting yourself awake when it starts blasting at 1am
posted by mcrandello at 7:01 PM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Can someone talk to me about those provisionals in PA? Could use a hug
posted by glaucon at 7:01 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Fugazi - Waiting Room.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:03 PM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

coalitions within the Democratic Party are destined to reconcile their differences and form a unified front against Ivanka/C'thulhu 2024, yes?

Already getting signatures for AOC/Gritty.
posted by sexyrobot at 7:03 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Biden's supposed to be on at 10:30 eastern
posted by joeyh at 7:03 PM on November 6, 2020

Ambiguity Song
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:03 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Rocket No. 9 - Sun Ra Arkestra (the version on their new album)

Dance to it and send love energy to Philadelphia for delivering us!
posted by marlys at 7:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Can someone talk to me about those provisionals in PA? Could use a hug

There's a good write-up about why they probably shouldn't be a worry here on fivethirtyeight. Scroll down to the 8:27pm post.
posted by daisyace at 7:08 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Touching back to the "I thought I'd be more conservative, not less, as I aged" discussion, I recall when there was a "fiscally conservative, socially liberal" branch in the Republican party, and rather thought that would be where I'd end up. The goal being to keep taxes reasonable for services, and abortion legal. And over time, my personal radar grew to include BLM, immigrants rights and gay marriage as a gov't right regardless of what the various churches said. But IMO that all has been stripped away from the Republican party as it stands today. I don't see myself in that party at all and I don't know why there are those who continue to think that branch does still exist and will come back if they vote for Republican, regardless of the candidate.

Instead I'm part of the "I can't believe I'm still out here protesting" camp.
posted by beaning at 7:08 PM on November 6, 2020 [31 favorites]

Where's everyone watching the live speech? I've got a Bloomberg YouTube link that's live currently, but I don't see an 'official' stream on Biden's page.
posted by bcd at 7:09 PM on November 6, 2020

Biden's supposed to be on at 10:30 eastern

What day though, Monedsday the 134th? Seriously though, what's the source?
posted by cashman at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

All the Time in the World - The Apartments
posted by perhapses at 7:13 PM on November 6, 2020

Seen on Tumblr: "this is the point the berenstein and berenstain universes are reconverging"
posted by tzikeh at 7:14 PM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

Live in Philly, "Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough."
posted by PhineasGage at 7:14 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Single yt playlist of videos in my history the past 3 days

Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated (Official Music Video)

Insane Clown Posse & John Kickjazz - Fuck Your Rebel Flag (Prod. by Chuck Miller & ICP) (1991)

Casino (2/10) Movie CLIP - The Count Room (1995) HD

Animal House - All Is Well!

Airplane- Calm Down, Get ahold of yourself!

The Godfather: Part 2 (1/8) Movie CLIP - My Offer is Nothing (1974) HD

DJ Snake, Lil Jon - Turn Down for What

The Roots - Dynamite!

Lil Jon - Snap Yo Fingers (Official Music Video)

John Philip Sousa Grave Ceremony - 165th Birthday
United States Marine Band

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead

The Wiz (6/8) Movie CLIP - Everybody Rejoice (1978) HD
posted by mikelieman at 7:15 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

Cox cable seems to be having significant network lagging/throttling issues here in Phoenix. Possibly due to inordinately high internet use for some reason.
posted by darkstar at 7:15 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I recall when there was a "fiscally conservative, socially liberal" branch in the Republican party,

That combination traditionally means people who want there to be good schools but don’t want to pay taxes for there to be good schools.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2020 [40 favorites]

I Am Waiting The Rolling Stones
So Tired, Tired of Waiting by the Kinks
posted by Rash at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

I have been politely tweet-heckling GOP apologists three nights running. I might have an addiction issue here.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Source: The guardian live thread, which is literally also posting time killing songs.
posted by joeyh at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

(Also, a typo in my FPP: I referenced the “second thread“ that had passed 1500 comments, but obviously the previous thread was the “third” thread. This thread being the “fourth“ thread, aka “Shirley”.)
posted by darkstar at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Militia invasion of US city Philadelphia fails, due to lack of preparation by fascists for behavior of ordinary Philadelphia inhabitants.
posted by clawsoon at 7:19 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Compared with the video stream attached to the Wapo live thread which for no apparent reason has been explaining quantile regression on an electronic white board, with graphs.

News getting punchy
posted by joeyh at 7:19 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Source: The guardian live thread

Awesome, thanks.
posted by cashman at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2020

Probably linked at some point in one of the last three threads, but:

Can Biden call into Fox and Friends and just laugh

--Sarah Cooper on Twitter
posted by tzikeh at 7:20 PM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

oh oh Philly could be declared a sanctuary city by Tump
posted by robbyrobs at 7:21 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I'd be lying if I said I was a big Billy Joel fan but Stop In Nevada feels right tonight
posted by philip-random at 7:21 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

If you want celebration music, I highly recommend this morning’s “Morning Show” on Seattle’s independent KEXP. Everything from Marvin Gaye to The Violent Femmes.

Thanks for the rec -- listening and enjoying now.
posted by kjnet at 7:23 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

The Violent Femmes' "Add It Up", "Gone Daddy Gone"
posted by riverlife at 7:24 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

One hopes this is the final finale.
posted by swift at 7:25 PM on November 6, 2020

I like James Taylor and his song about people lining up to shake Nixon's hand
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Newt Gingrich Demands Bill Barr Arrest Election Workers
Newt Gingrich and Sean Hannity with more dangerous, desperate rhetoric hoping the Pennsylvania legislature will break the law and steal the election for Trump.
posted by robbyrobs at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

maybe one day more, for one more day.
posted by 20 year lurk at 7:26 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

oh oh Philly could be declared a sanctuary city by Tump

Ok, but, and hear me out here... I have a slight feeling that Philly overall... Hmm. How do I put this. Isn't going to take jack fucking shit from trump.
posted by mrgoat at 7:27 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Where's everyone watching the live speech? I've got a Bloomberg YouTube link that's live currently, but I don't see an 'official' stream on Biden's page.

Link to this one:

BLOOMBERG

also quiet (has a live mic for some reason but no yakking). Video is on, some guy out there primping the flags, very relaxing watch.
posted by mcrandello at 7:27 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

130,000 votes remain uncounted in Kern County, California. The get out the vote movement got out 330,000 votes, where they broke the record last year with 250,000. So they were supposed to post an update today, but haven't, and this is the home turf of Kevin McCarthy, vs Kim Mangione, who out raised anyone who has ever run against him, she is an Engineer, ex military, mom, and patiently waiting for the vote. Then there is TJ Cox, needing the votes to beat Valadao, but the county left all the Republican wins up, when there are so many uncounted ballots. So it is annoying as some candidates are lawyering up and getting ready to demand a recount, when they haven't even finished the first count. It is not great. Then, there is my little race, where only 10,000 of 48,420 votes have been counted, they estimate a 75% vote rate. So a lot of votes, like 20,000+ of them are still uncounted. Anyway, i didn't expect a win, but I worked like I did, I ran a really low key campaign. I am just bad at waiting for resolution.
posted by Oyéah at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2020 [24 favorites]

I like James Taylor and his song about people lining up to shake Nixon's hand

That came to mind for me when this goofball had COVID and did his little out of the hospital tour around Walter Reed. I'm 50/50 on possibly going to the WH, should he lose, and leading a group singalong of the opening verse with as many people as I can gather.
posted by cashman at 7:28 PM on November 6, 2020

I've got Green Day's Waiting running through my head.

Dawning of a new era
Calling, don't let it catch you falling
Ready or not at all
So close enough to taste it
Almost, I can embrace this
Feeling, on the tip of my tongue
posted by pianissimo at 7:29 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

+------------------------------+
|                              |
|         Intermission         |
|                              |
+------------------------------+

posted by mazola at 7:29 PM on November 6, 2020 [36 favorites]

So apparently Tucker is claiming that Biden/Harris will make us drink Starbucks every day.

I have nothing left to say, except that 4 years ago we could have had taco trucks, Tucker.
posted by nubs at 7:30 PM on November 6, 2020 [39 favorites]

Reading the above the fold intro by darkstar to the "Star Wars (Main Title)" theme and imaging it as glowing yellow font scrolling into the distance really set the tone for the Biden-Harris Prime Time.
posted by rubatan at 7:31 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I'm wondering if the hold on calling the election is due to legit concerns about maga hat riots. White supremacists are our biggest security threat....
posted by Dashy at 7:32 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Now I have that intermission music from Holy Grail in my head.
posted by wordless reply at 7:32 PM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

I recall when there was a "fiscally conservative, socially liberal" branch in the Republican party,

That combination traditionally means people who want there to be good schools but don’t want to pay taxes for there to be good schools.

Hmm, it may be one of those phrases that doesn't cross regions or generations well. Going back to the 60's through this year, my small town of origin has never met a school referendum it didn't support and the schools have the national-level quality metrics to prove it. Education was actually my route out of there and continues to be for many there. But where I live now definitely saw "good schools" as part of the "white flight" and shift to private schools--which at its inception, imo, was really more about fleeing racial integration than fleeing taxes.
posted by beaning at 7:33 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Apparently Kamala Harris will be there but will not be speaking tonight
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 7:34 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Living on the Edge -- Aerosmith.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:34 PM on November 6, 2020

I recall when there was a "fiscally conservative, socially liberal" branch in the Republican party,

They're called Libertarians and now that pot is legal in more and more states they've lost one of their major tentpoles.
posted by tzikeh at 7:34 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Since it's the birthplace of Stevie Wonder, who turned 70 earlier this year (and who did a GOTV drive-through concert on Belle Isle at the end of October), and since we lost John Prine earlier this year to COVID-19, how about John Prine and Mac Wiseman doing Saginaw, Michigan (Saginaw went Dem in what was otherwise a sea of red, notwithstanding the mighty Wayne County and Detroit, Kent, Washtenaw, Ingham, Oakland, Leelanau and -- last but not least -- Marquette counties, thereby redeeming certain Yoopers).
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:36 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Studies have statistically shown that there's less chance of an incident if you do it at the end of the week.
posted by mcrandello at 7:36 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Where is Trump? No tweets?
posted by robbyrobs at 7:36 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Car on a Hill, Joni Mitchell
posted by Spathe Cadet at 7:36 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Someone made a movie! Forgive me if posted before.
posted by vrakatar at 7:36 PM on November 6, 2020

Love you all, but please include a link or at least a citation when sharing the latest intel.
posted by PhineasGage at 7:38 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

(Mods, thank you for letting us have this punch-drunk silliness with riffing and lots of pointless derails intermixed with actual news and discussion. I know it might not be sustainable long-term but it feels really good right now, like a part of a return to normalcy. Hope you guys are all holding up okay too.)
posted by biogeo at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2020 [65 favorites]

Is this thing outside? In the dark? And there's been no call. I don't like this. He should just speak tomorrow or wait until at least one state gets called/finalized.
posted by cashman at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2020

Even fascist Bolsonaro Turns on Trump : 'Trump's not most important person in world'...

posted by robbyrobs at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

CNN broadcast getting more numbers from PA

2436 for Biden

733 for Trump

[edit: sorry no link since this is live tv]
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

i’m signing off for the night but if you’re wondering how Philly is going after nearly 12 hours straight of dancing in the street, the crowd is leaving the Philly convention center by ... dancing its way home
posted by mstokes650 at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

The thing about being a newly minted POTUS is you should look a little more decisive than TV producers (so i think he should speak).
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2020

Hear hear in praising the mods! Excellent work this week. Thank you so much for making this community a home.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2020 [22 favorites]

My first sentence for Joe: "Yes, we stole this election because we stole the hearts and minds of the American people with a vision of a better future for everyone."
posted by perhapses at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Thank you so much, mods. This has gotten me through this entire week with the news, kindness and just general thoughtfulness of everyone here.

Now keep it up. We’re all counting on you.
posted by glaucon at 7:42 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

A drive-in potus acceptance(??) speech is the aposthesis of americana, especially with all those pickups up front.

Looks to be the motorcade coming in now.
posted by joeyh at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

meese, Biden just got to the Chase Center and is probably speaking soon.
posted by cashman at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I think the remaining states are just too scared of becoming the object of a Trump rant and so are going to wait till everyone is done counting and they'll just blurt their answers out together in unison.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 7:43 PM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

Looks to be the motorcade coming in now.

That looked very official.
posted by mikelieman at 7:44 PM on November 6, 2020

Don't say anything stupid, Joe.

We're all counting on you.
posted by tzikeh at 7:44 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Even Laura Ingraham knows it's over.
posted by PhineasGage at 7:45 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

vrakatar it was in the other thread, but its hard to keep up. I'm still waiting for somebody to do on of those with the rocky II training montage, seems appropriate considering the votes are coming from Philadelphia.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 7:46 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I think the remaining states are being very cautious to not make a small clerical error, thereby enabling SCOTUS to overturn the will of the people.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:46 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I think the remaining states are just too scared of becoming the object of a Trump rant and so are going to wait till everyone is done counting and they'll just blurt their answers out together in unison.

Similar "scared kids of abusive dad" vibe from the networks after they saw what happened to their older sisterFox calling Arizona.

Source: growing up as oldest child of abusive father
posted by medusa at 7:47 PM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

If you want a whole playlist in one, there’s DJ Earworm’s Mashional Anthem, a heady and deeply nuanced gumbo of 50 songs about the States.

But maybe hold off, because it might be less than eight minutes before the networks...[Sunglasses pull]...cut to the Chase

...Center
posted by armeowda at 7:47 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

I think the remaining states are being very cautious to not make a small clerical error, thereby enabling SCOTUS to overturn the will of the people.

(That's my real thinking as well.)
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 7:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

C-SPAN > Joe Biden speech
posted by cenoxo at 7:49 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

It's starting!
posted by cashman at 7:49 PM on November 6, 2020

Biden is speaking now
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 7:49 PM on November 6, 2020

Hearing Laura Ingraham talk directly to Trump is like the grossest thing I've ever seen.
posted by valkane at 7:51 PM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

medusa: Source: growing up as oldest child of abusive father

I am too, and now it happened to us all over again in our adulthood. I wouldn't be surprised if Democrats are, years from now, mass diagnosed with C-PTSD due to the non-stop barrage of verbal and emotional abuse heaped on us by the President of the United States from 2016-2020.

I have C-PTSD thanks to my father and I mean this sincerely. This comment is in no way intended to minimize anyone's pain.
posted by tzikeh at 7:51 PM on November 6, 2020 [24 favorites]

YTMN, Joe
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 7:51 PM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Faux News anchor asking why 45 didn’t have his legal eagles lined up to fight an outcome they “knew was going to happen”? So they knew that Biden would win, or they knew that 45 would cry about it? Which is it?

The guy never considered any outcome other than a complete victory because that’s how he thinks. In his head putting cash into lawyers to save him if he didn’t win is loser thinking and a waste of money. Fox can spin it however they want but it’s not making it true.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:51 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

This is part of why the count in NV is taking so long.
posted by JustAnotherPerson at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [34 favorites]

YTMN, Joe

He's got the Juice.
posted by cashman at 7:52 PM on November 6, 2020

Omg, this is what it feels like to have a grown up in charge.

I... I had forgotten.
posted by meese at 7:53 PM on November 6, 2020 [53 favorites]

That "we may be opponents, but we're not enemies" reads better to me in context, when it's clear he's talking to individuals who voted for Trump, not Trump and his cronies.

Certainly a good speech. A shame it isn't quite a victory speech yet.
posted by bcd at 7:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

Motherfucker speaks like a president.
posted by bondcliff at 7:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [24 favorites]

This is what a President is supposed to sound and act like.
posted by darkstar at 7:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [21 favorites]

Where I'm at:

The Wrens - This Boy is Exhausted
posted by gwint at 7:58 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

It was pretty fucking awesome.
posted by valkane at 7:58 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

That was a good speech.
posted by medusa at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

That sounded pretty much like a victory speech except they acknowledged that it hasn't been called yet. I'm curious what the speech will be like after it's called. I'm sure the speechwriter is annoyed to have to write a new victory speech. Does Biden write his own speeches?
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

And he's right: we're doing it, we're proving democracy works.
posted by meese at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Kamala Harris has such striking eyes. Even in a mask she's super-expressive.

I let my 11-year-old (who haaaaaaaaates Trump so much) get back up out of bed to watch Biden's speech; he's been really stressed. I feel so unequal to parenting in this moment, especially when right-wing loons make threats or Trump goes on TV and tells astonishing lies about thinking he won and everything feels so dangerous. I'm scared, and I don't know what's going to happen, and I don't know what my kids will remember about this election in 20 years. But, God willing, at least I'll soon be able to point to a president who behaves with some dignity and acts like we are ALL Americans, even those who disagree with him. Instead of constantly explaining to my impressionable children that, yes, our president is a bully and a jerk and a gigantic fucking liar, and no, his behavior isn't normal.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [65 favorites]

I had tucked the need to have a president who speaks calmly and coherently and reassuringly way, way down deep inside. It was such a relief to let it out and not be disappointed.
posted by donnagirl at 8:00 PM on November 6, 2020 [29 favorites]

That's a great point, NotTheRedBaron. Do you keep taking out favorite lines and saving them for the next night?
posted by bcd at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

“That’s the job.”

This is the way.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2020 [39 favorites]

Eyebrows McGee, your child will grow up understanding how important it is to be engaged and that the fight can be won. You're doing a great job parenting in this moment.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2020 [21 favorites]

Reports that Allegheny has sent their poll workers home for the evening. We probably won't get a call tonight.
posted by cyndigo at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

As a child of an angry, verbally abusive father, all of this "trying to avoid further angering Trump supporters" makes sense but is also very triggering. This video of angry Trump supporters yelling obscenities at a reporter in Nevada just made me cry, despite my happiness at the vote count.
posted by kjnet at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2020 [27 favorites]

"This is a President whom I could tolerate watching give a speech" is such a low bar. And yet here we are.
posted by medusa at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2020 [36 favorites]

The guy never considered any outcome other than a complete victory because that’s how he thinks. In his head putting cash into lawyers to save him if he didn’t win is loser thinking and a waste of money.

Hope this is okay, caution live frogs. I thought you may have missed the edit window.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:03 PM on November 6, 2020

That speech felt like ASMR in comparison to Trump speeches. In a good way.
posted by instamatic at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

Good summary of the issues delaying the call in each state.

It says it's from yesterday but talks about Friday evening numbers so now I'm even less sure now that I know what day it is.
posted by Dojie at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Certainly a good speech. A shame it isn't quite a victory speech yet.

The between-the-lines takeaway for me was "You can see I'm tired. But I'm willing to wait for this to fully work out like a functional adult before I make grand pronouncements."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:04 PM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

Shot:

@rickhasen: If you give money to Trump's recount/postelection litigation efforts, half of that money will go towards retiring his campaign debt instead, per the fine print.

Chaser:

@rickhasen: Meanwhile, per @bykowicz, the first $142,000(!) you give to the Biden recount fund goes to the DNC, and the next $2,800 to Biden.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:05 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Yup, that was good. Biden's no virtuoso like Obama, but that was a good, competent speech to hit all of the required notes for the moment. Yes, we're waiting for the process to finish, but we know we've won and we're getting started with the next steps. The president leads all Americans, not just their own party. There's a lot of problems facing us but we can solve them together. We'll be back tomorrow.

Note also his repeated use of the word "we," not only the "we" of inclusive rhetoric (we Americans) but the more specific "we" of him and Harris. I think Biden truly wants Kamala Harris to be his legacy gift to the country, since at the very least he won't be running for a second term. I will not be at all surprised if he ends up giving her a head start on the presidency before 2024.
posted by biogeo at 8:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [36 favorites]

Eyebrows McGee thank you for that. I struggle as a parent too. I try to remind myself to let my kids see my fear because I know it’s important. But it’s surprisingly hard to achieve.
posted by maniabug at 8:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

@JenniferJJacobs: BREAKING: Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has the coronavirus. Meadows informed a close circle of advisers after the election.
posted by gwint at 8:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

I feel like rescuers just found me with their flashlights and put a blanket around my shoulders, after a long-ass four years.

I’m not safely home yet, but suddenly it feels like I could make it back.
posted by armeowda at 8:07 PM on November 6, 2020 [80 favorites]

I think it's a safe bet we aren't getting anything more official tonight. They'd have waited a bit longer for the speech if there was any chance of that. It's time to see how cute Baby Yoda is this week (prediction, very cute) and call it a night. Sleep well, friends.
posted by bcd at 8:07 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

That's the first time since 2016, that I felt like the country could turn away from the dark, fascist path we were put on.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 8:07 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

medusa: "This is a President whom I could tolerate watching give a speech" is such a low bar. And yet here we are.

"Because I'm tired of it. Year after year after year after year, having to choose between the lesser of who cares! Of trying to get myself excited about a candidate who can speak in complete sentences. Of setting the bar so low, I can hardly look at it.

They say a good man can't get elected president. I don't believe that."
posted by tzikeh at 8:08 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

WEAR A MASK, JOE!!!!
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:09 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

This is definitely feeling like the end of the Neverending Story. We screamed a new name out the window and we're going to rebuild after the Nothing destroyed almost all of Fantasia.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

Hope is a good thing: it’s nice to have some again.

Keep those abacuses clicking!
posted by cenoxo at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

>we're proving democracy works

just wanna say that if Biden in fact gets the EVs the map now says he should an immense psychic weight that has been on me since 2004 will be vaporized -- that the electronic voting machines we have now are different to those of the past 20-odd years and CAN'T be monkeyed with like I feared (and wouldn't-surprise-me-they-were-in-2016).

Those Diebold machines were just horrid, no proper paper trail, just some bytes on a memory card telling the election staff who got how many votes.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

> I'm sure the speechwriter is annoyed to have to write a new victory speech. Does Biden write his own speeches?

Looks like it's a mixture of extemporalizing and giving a draft to speechwriters who then hash it out with him.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-often-defined-by-words-faces-his-biggest-and-strangest-speech-yet/2020/08/15/341e709e-de42-11ea-809e-b8be57ba616e_story.html

Less tragically, it has long been a running joke that among the most challenging jobs in American politics is writing a speech for Biden. He is allergic to following a teleprompter, frequently veers from the prepared text and can walk himself into verbal cul-de-sacs. He stops abruptly mid-sentence and says, “Well, anyway.”

“My job,” said Matt Teper, who was one of Biden’s longest-serving speechwriters, “was trying to script the most famously unscripted man in politics.”

When Biden was vice president, his staffers sought to use a teleprompter to keep him on message. But the military officers who ran the machine would often find it challenging to keep up. Once, it unexpectedly rebooted toward the end of a speech, forcing Biden to ad-lib while his speechwriter at the time, Dylan Loewe, frantically retyped the ending to him in real time.

“When it was over, I thought he’d be mad,” Loewe recounted. “But he came over and high-fived me and said, ‘That was the most fun I’ve had all day.’ ”

Loewe added: “Some of his worst moments have happened when he’s veered off script. But most of his best moments have happened that way, too.”

Biden gets heavily invested in the text, according to current and former speechwriters. Not one to sit at a computer to type out the lines himself, he will sometimes write out ideas longhand. But more often, he dictates his thoughts, and then heavily edits the drafts of the speechwriters — a process that continues sometimes up until the words are coming out of his mouth.

posted by sebastienbailard at 8:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [24 favorites]

@Eyebrows Mcgee: I don't have kids myself but have shared your post above with everyone I know who does. Thanks!
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has coronavirus, CNN is reporting.
posted by Rumple at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2020

CBC has called it for Biden.
posted by cmfletcher at 8:14 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

CBC praying their obnoxious neighbor on the floor below gets evicted and nice people move in.

They just want some good sleep, eh?
posted by glaucon at 8:17 PM on November 6, 2020 [22 favorites]

(jumps into frame) And the CDC's called it for Meadows! (jumps out of frame)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:17 PM on November 6, 2020 [72 favorites]

Wow, Canada must feel like a frustrated parent dealing with a child. "Here, just let me do it!"
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 8:17 PM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

That CBC gauge is weird. They have shown both candidates go over 270 during the course of the election and it is separate from calling it.
posted by mazola at 8:18 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

But seriously I hope Mark is ok and has a nice retirement in obscurity
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:18 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Trump's gotta be eating his own liver after watching that.
posted by valkane at 8:19 PM on November 6, 2020

I'm starting to get kind of pissed. We are going to have the first WOC VP EVER and we should be celebrating that in the street! And in a normal time we would. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous all week and we just elected our first WOC VP! That's fucking amazing! There should be BBQs and dancing and happiness and instead I'm sitting here nervously waiting for every new report on vote counts. After 2016 I honestly had given up hope of ever seeing a woman president in my lifetime and now we are one step closer and it should be the greatest, happiest time. It should be the polar opposite of the absolute devastating pit of horror and despair I felt after Clinton lost. And this stupid, entitled manbaby has ruined that for us, just like he ruins everything he touches. And I feel like he's ruined it a little for Kamala Harris as well, and it just really pisses me off.
posted by triggerfinger at 8:19 PM on November 6, 2020 [56 favorites]

It was ruined. But someday, she will unruin it.
posted by notoriety public at 8:21 PM on November 6, 2020 [26 favorites]

As an ex constituent of Mark Meadows, I want to assure you, RobotVoodooPower, that he would not return good wishes and I would not recommend wasting yours on him. I hope he has a nice jail cell waiting, myself, just like his orange boss.
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:21 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

On top of that, there are many thousands of people who didn't get to live to see this.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 8:22 PM on November 6, 2020 [37 favorites]

I think we're finally getting in that part of the 2020 season where the writers are finally turning it around for the heroes of the show.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 8:22 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

No, the CBC has not called it.
posted by Ahmad Khani at 8:23 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Joey Weiser: Complain about the pacing of this election if you want, but they gotta do it like this or else it will catch up to the manga
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 8:23 PM on November 6, 2020 [26 favorites]

On top of that, there are many thousands of people who didn't get to live to see this.

This right here. And we've got some smug-ass politicians up here in Canada who are trying to turn our situation into yours. Here's to turning this whole fucking thing around.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:24 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

So this is what it feels like to have a real president, again.
posted by valkane at 8:24 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has coronavirus,

that's one way to get off a sinking ship
posted by philip-random at 8:25 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

"I'd be lying if I said I was a big Billy Joel fan but Stop In Nevada feels right tonight"
Hunh, because I would go with Somewhere Along the Line .
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 8:26 PM on November 6, 2020

Just having some fun here - here's my contribution to the playlist
posted by Gyre,Gimble,Wabe, Esq. at 8:27 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm having a really good time!

I give the speech a solid B, Bplus, but it very well may have been the hardest speech to give since WW2. I winced and felt for him when he stumbled on his words, cuz to the other side, that is evidence of "dementia", and I really loved his call for calm/appeal to the other side. He kept it simple and strove for lofty rhetoric, almost pulled both off.

Imagine being in the room trying to decide what he ought say on a night like tonight. Gravitas required.
posted by vrakatar at 8:32 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

I'm just imagining a future point in which Trump is stumbling around, showing Biden the White House, and Biden keeps saying "I've been here, man." and Trump keeps saying "Here's where I keep my golf clubs, and here's the button that brings you a diet coke."
posted by valkane at 8:32 PM on November 6, 2020 [24 favorites]

that's one way to get off a sinking ship

I could see the entire staff calling in sick just to get away from Trump for a couple of weeks. It must be emotionally exhausting propping up the fragile man-baby's ego day after day as he rages like a loon.
posted by JackFlash at 8:32 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

we've got some smug-ass politicians up here in Canada who are trying to turn our situation into yours.

And here I was just looking at that CBC article and saw where the entire province of British Columbia has fewer COVID cases than my county here in TN has. What's it like having at least some adults in the room?
posted by haileris23 at 8:33 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

There is so much work to do. So much that was left undone in 2016. So much that needs to be repaired before we can even get to addressing the urgent crises that were already in front of us. Transitioning to an energy economy that doesn't destroy our climate. Dismantling systems of exploitative capitalism and replacing them with new, democratic structures. High-quality, comprehensive, universal, state-funded healthcare. Creating good jobs doing meaningful work with on-the-job training and advancement. Regulating markets to end destructive and pointless boom-and-bust cycles. Reforming a broken and unjust system of criminal law and punishment, and replacing paramilitary policing with community-based solutions. Proper representation of and legal protections for indigenous peoples. Proper financial compensation or reparations for the descendants of enslaved people.

And now we have to bring a raging pandemic under control. Root out layers of corruption that have infested our government. Restore basic systems for implementing our democracy. Replace experienced and talented personnel who were driven out of the civil service. Find a way to deal with a judiciary that has been compromised by anti-government zealots. Find a way to deal with a radicalized population that is heavily armed and believes their political opponents literally drink the blood of infants.

There is so much work to do, and we're still going to be fighting the Republicans every goddamned step to get it done. But for the first time in four years... I have hope.
posted by biogeo at 8:33 PM on November 6, 2020 [36 favorites]

And this one too! Woot backwards RED STATE dance party!!!! (blue voter in a red state to be clear)
posted by Gyre,Gimble,Wabe, Esq. at 8:34 PM on November 6, 2020

"I'd be lying if I said I was a big Billy Joel fan but Stop In Nevada feels right tonight"

'We Didn't Start the Fire' but it is just screaming. Screaming forever.
posted by logicpunk at 8:35 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

I’m waiting through the middle just to see how it will end.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2020

See, I think this song is more appropriate, if we're doing songs.
posted by valkane at 8:40 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

And I feel like he's ruined it a little for Kamala Harris as well, and it just really pisses me off.

Something tells me Kamala Harris is going to enjoy celebrating her incredible achievement by overseeing the investigation and prosecution of the Trumps and their cronies. Oh I hope.
posted by biogeo at 8:41 PM on November 6, 2020 [48 favorites]

"It must be emotionally exhausting propping up the fragile man-baby's ego day after day as he rages like a loon."

"Buy the ticket, take the ride." - Hunter S. Thompson
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 8:43 PM on November 6, 2020 [21 favorites]

Kamala Harris will be just fine.
posted by elwoodwiles at 8:44 PM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

If politics is a muscle then Joe has old man strength. You can tell he's old and tired, yet bulging with sinews of reassurance and persuasion sculpted out of sheer habituation.
posted by dmh at 8:44 PM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

Olivia Nuzzi says that "Mark Meadows and the White House went to great lengths to keep his diagnosis a secret."
posted by reductiondesign at 8:44 PM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

Playlist is collaborative — add away!
posted by cyndigo at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Is Trump's election night party going to be another super-spreader event?
posted by JackFlash at 8:46 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

God fucking imagine if Hunter S Thompson saw this.

I feel like All Gas, No Brakes is a Gen Z equivalent but there’s nothing like Mr Thompson
posted by glaucon at 8:46 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

Well that guy seems like he would make a much better president. We should have like an election or something.

BREAKING: Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has the coronavirus. Meadows informed a close circle of advisers after the election.

Ok, so... If you're going to inform people... Maybe they shouldn't be in a close... You know what I don't think Mark is reading all the memos.
posted by sexyrobot at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Surely, Leonard Cohen's Democracy is Coming to the USA.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

Meanwhile, Also in Philly <-for those who do not twitter - Trump & fascist-defaced USA flags waving, and dancing
to "Killing In The Name"
posted by onehalfjunco at 8:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Something from the last thread:

Trump is racing to raise money for an “official election defense fund.” But the fine print on the solicitations tells a different story: Half -- or more -- of any contribution will be used to retire debt from his re-election campaign. ⁦

Lindsey Graham announced he donated $500,000 dollars to this fund, which, while there are other GOPers who have been supporting the "defense fund", half a million dollars is a stunning amount (esp. since he was crying poverty on Fox news just two weeks ago). The only reason I can think of that he would do this is because if Trump leaves office, there is the potential that any kind of investigation could implicate Graham in some way of something pretty bad. There has to be some bad kompromat on Lindsey.
posted by triggerfinger at 8:49 PM on November 6, 2020 [37 favorites]

Jennifer Jacobs (Bloomberg) reports "at least FOUR other White House aides currently have coronavirus".
posted by reductiondesign at 8:53 PM on November 6, 2020 [9 favorites]

Graham screams “Kompromat” based on his actions
posted by glaucon at 8:53 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Paywall aside, this headline feels way overdue: "For Donald Trump, it seems to be all over but the crying"
posted by mce at 8:54 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

Welcome to the latest episode of "Who's better at learning from mistakes: the Trump adminstration or my dog?"

Winner: my dog
posted by medusa at 8:54 PM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

God fucking imagine if Hunter S Thompson saw this.

"Well, I'm old enough to have seen Nixon fuck-off to San Clemente. And now I get to see Trump fuck-off to Mar-a-Lago. This rat-bastard one-term sleaze-fest is finally over. And I have to say, I am at peace. Selah."
posted by valkane at 8:58 PM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

He couldn't make it through GWB. He would have lost it with Trump.

And been totally right.
posted by Windopaene at 9:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

What's it like having at least some adults in the room?

Oh, don't worry; we're about to find out again. Finally.
posted by CommonSense at 9:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

There has to be some bad kompromat on Lindsey.

Will we all live long enough to see this kompromat come to light? I really, sincerely hope so. Also, the pee tapes.
posted by ipsative at 9:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

Lindsey Graham announced he donated $500,000 dollars to this fund, which, while there are other GOPers who have been supporting the "defense fund", half a million dollars is a stunning amount (esp. since he was crying poverty on Fox news just two weeks ago). The only reason I can think of that he would do this is because if Trump leaves office, there is the potential that any kind of investigation could implicate Graham in some way of something pretty bad. There has to be some bad kompromat on Lindsey.

Surprised not surprised. I'm not even sure if the money's so much to help keep Trump in office as it is to keep his mouth shut once he's out of office. (Like Trump won't just take the money, then turn around and Reveal Bad Stuff about Graham to help his own ass and/or for spite).
posted by gtrwolf at 9:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

I signed up for spotify to add to the music but could not figure out how to add to the playlist? hope me?
posted by vrakatar at 9:07 PM on November 6, 2020

(Like Trump won't just take the money, then turn around and Reveal Bad Stuff about Graham to help his own ass and/or for spite).

Oh my God... could Trump actually become a source of real dirt on all of the GOP players?

This is a possibility I had not considered.
posted by tzikeh at 9:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

The problem is that it would be next to impossible to know what's true.
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 9:11 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

I move on him like a ..... I just keep counting! And when it's a democracy they let you do it!
posted by valkane at 9:12 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

True or not: It would not really matter. What would matter is that Trump is spewing it and that's effective enough on its own.

We'd all be like, "muahaha, GOP. You've created this monster!"
posted by ipsative at 9:12 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

The problem is that it would be next to impossible to know what's true.

If Donny's got real dirt, he's got proof somewhere. It's only the fake dirt he doesn't have proof for.
posted by tzikeh at 9:12 PM on November 6, 2020

Trump backers tricked into joining ‘Gay Communists for Socialism’ on Facebook
Thousands of Donald Trump supporters have unwittingly found themselves in a Facebook group called “Gay Communists for Socialism”, after being tricked by its creators into joining what they thought was a pro-Trump election group.

Winning!
posted by dmh at 9:15 PM on November 6, 2020 [19 favorites]

Mr. Meadows has often doubted that masks work and has refused to wear one because he says he’s tested so often.

in addition to all his activities at the White House, Meadows held meetings with @VP and @jaredkushner on Wednesday at Trump campaign HQ.
posted by valkane at 9:16 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

This is definitely feeling like the end of the Neverending Story.

"Mr. Simpson, this is the most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since my suit against the film The Neverending Story."
posted by kirkaracha at 9:16 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

I'm sitting here reading about Lindsey Graham in this thread when I spy an article on Politico. Get this, Lindsey Graham thinks Biden deserves a cabinet.

He's quoted in the article talking about how Biden has a great relationship with South Carolina senators and how he'll work with Biden, blah blah blah. Not that I don't think Biden isn't capable of deal-making from what I've read about his role in the Obama administration, but just how duplicitous is Graham? Donating half a million dollars to Trump's bogus fund while talking about compromise at the same time. Ridiculous.
posted by alouts at 9:17 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Hearing Biden acknowledge the number of deaths, and then stop to explain what it means, the sheer weight of it, of empty seats at kitchen tables... Jesus. It’s been so long since we’ve had someone who spoke like a human being at that podium. Someone who could acknowledge without demeaning, who could be there and offer comfort, not bile.

This is going to take some time to get used to, but I’m looking forward to it.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:17 PM on November 6, 2020 [53 favorites]

Last night I had a tough time winding down to go to sleep, and part of what I did to wind down was to read about the letter an outgoing President traditionally leaves their successor, and watch Obama's 2004 DNC speech, the one about how there's no Red America and Blue America, just the United States of America. And then today I watched McCain's 2008 concession speech and just now I watched Biden's speech. And the way I've been summing all this up when talking to my spouse is "NORMS!!!!" Like, oh my goodness, the relief and the joy I feel when I am reassured that the people at the top of my elected government obey the norms, reify them, say the ritual things that we say to remind each other that E Pluribus Unum, we're all in this together, we count all the votes, the President represents EVERYONE including people who voted for a different candidate, politics is to solve problems and civility is better than warfare, the outgoing President or a losing candidate explicitly says they support the winner .... just, norms. I love them, I clasp them close to my chest.

Then, just now, my spouse asked if I was going to, like, come to bed at a reasonable hour, and I said, would that support norms? And we came to an understanding that democratic norms do benefit from each person going to bed at a reasonable hour and getting enough sleep, so they can get up and be the change, etc., Barack Obama would want me to get enough sleep and sustain healthy habits, etc.

Which is to say: brushing my teeth and heading to bed now.
posted by brainwane at 9:18 PM on November 6, 2020 [52 favorites]

> Muβandra @ammit_

> Can anyone explain to this confused Italian living in the US what is up with Philadelphia and Gritty?? Is he their daimon?
> 8:15 AM · Nov 6, 2020·Twitter for Android

Eduardo García-Molina @eduardo_garcmol · 15h

Replying to
@ammit_
I believe he’s the manifestation of their city as a god, like Roma.

posted by sebastienbailard at 9:19 PM on November 6, 2020 [102 favorites]

Hearing Biden acknowledge the number of deaths, and then stop to explain what it means, the sheer weight of it, of empty seats at kitchen tables...

Hearing him tear up at "I know what that loss feels like" when I know he's lost a wife, a daughter, and a son did me in. It's so nice to hear a human being speaking sentences but it can be intense.
posted by mmoncur at 9:22 PM on November 6, 2020 [23 favorites]

that is an accurate description of Gritty, yes
posted by DoctorFedora at 9:22 PM on November 6, 2020 [21 favorites]

Hearing Biden acknowledge the number of deaths, and then stop to explain what it means, the sheer weight of it, of empty seats at kitchen tables... Jesus. It’s been so long since we’ve had someone who spoke like a human being at that podium. Someone who could acknowledge without demeaning, who could be there and offer comfort, not bile.

Trump mocked Biden during the debates about the missing people at the kitchen table.
posted by leonard horner at 9:23 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

Yeah, I should probably get some sleep as well. I'll probably just watch a little bit of my favorite movie, Alien. It's the story of how no one will listen to the one woman who makes sense, and then she kills the threat.

What's that? Kamala Harris? I'll sleep soundly tonight.
posted by valkane at 9:23 PM on November 6, 2020 [22 favorites]

Harris looked like a badass, with her mask on, nodding at Biden's speech...
posted by Windopaene at 9:26 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

My dream scenario lately has been the one where it all comes down to exactly one vote.. for Biden. And the delivery guy drives up with a box. "Hey man I was just supposed to deliver this here at this time" and it's a jack-in-the-box and out pops Putin/the Riddler with a card that reads 'will YOU take my vote?' alternating with the one where this scruffy guy comes out of the crowd and hits the (current) president with a hammer and green goo comes out and also a lot of weird eggs and mitch mcconnell is also full of eggs and the guy turns out to be Jesus, and he turns out to be really cool and he explains that it's an invasion from space hell and they snuck in by hiding their entry burn behind that comet a few months back and we have to go kill bug monsters but its all hot and sexy like starship troopers and maybe we fall in love with someone we've known since like middle school or something.
But in all probability, the next time the (current) president addresses the nation he will probably cry, throw a temper tantrum, and possibly even poop himself. And I honestly don't know which scenario is weirder.
posted by sexyrobot at 9:27 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

Sorry! Here’s the link to add to the playlist!
posted by cyndigo at 9:27 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm grateful for the stream of good news over these last couple days, but I'm not quite ready to celebrate yet. Maybe once John Oliver gets to smash the We Got Him button for real.
posted by EatTheWeek at 9:31 PM on November 6, 2020 [21 favorites]

It's Forever Tuesday in Forever April.

And I feel like he's ruined it a little for Kamala Harris as well, and it just really pisses me off.

It was ruined. But someday, she will unruin it.

Although I do feel a bit like the first sentiment, I note she's staying in the background even with Biden. I think the Dems are emphasizing that he's the president, but at some point she, who has a certain natural charisma, will get some time in the sun.

I've tried to keep myself busy with misc. volunteer activities the past few days.

But after celebrating this morning when I read the one organization had made The unofficial call, by tonight I'd finally had it with the lack of anything else, official or not. (As has everyone from Mary Trump to Alexander Vindman, per their Twitter feeds.)

But I've noticed something the past few days. I just need to get my daily soothing dose of seeing and/ or hearing from the two Grownups, and I calm down. We have almost escaped from our narcissistic abuser, folks, and we're going to get to hang out with a better class of people.
posted by NorthernLite at 9:31 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

You know Trump isn't going to do the letter-to-the-incoming-president thing.

If I were Obama, I'd write one and get one of my friends in the White House custodial staff or something to sneak it onto the desk during the inauguration.
posted by biogeo at 9:32 PM on November 6, 2020 [55 favorites]

Well, if we manage to get to a 50/50 Senate, she’ll have plenty of time in the sun right from the get-go.
posted by mach at 9:34 PM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

https://twitter.com/Olivianuzzi/status/1324944102287405056 Olivia Nuzzi @Olivianuzzi


Mark Meadows, who has tested positive for COVID-19, was in the White House Residence on election night huddled around Donald Trump alongside Ivanka, Jared, Don Jr., and other family members and senior staffers.

-

NEW: I’m told that Mark Meadows, who rarely wears a face mask, was not wearing a face mask in the White House Residence on Election Night.

-

NEW: I’m told that Mark Meadows and the White House went to great lengths to keep his diagnosis a secret. This is despite alleged contact tracing efforts. My source says: “It’s fucked up.”

-

This is not the first time the White House has tried to keep a coronavirus outbreak a secret from people who work in the White House and might have contracted the virus from the official who tested positive.

-

NEW: I’m told that even senior White House staffers who had direct contact with Mark Meadows this week learned about his coronavirus diagnosis when the media reported it.

-

Not the first time senior white house staff has learned about their exposure to the coronavirus from @JenniferJJacobs

cue the usual memes about fuckers in a zombie movie getting bitten and hiding it.
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:41 PM on November 6, 2020 [40 favorites]

I realize this comment is buried deep here, but maybe someone can chime in. And the someone I have in mind is the one person who admitted she was a republican back in all those endless threads four Novembers ago. Are you still around? Would you care to write up your thoughts for us? Did you contribute to or support the lincoln project this time? Or were you happy to vote T/P this time?

I know so few conservatives these days, mostly of the pro-Israel stripe who are fine looking the other way when it comes to any other issue (including, it would seem, Charlottesville & the border separations, two issues you would think would touch many a Jewish nerve with the subtlety of a taser), that I'm genuinely curious what goes through your minds.
posted by morspin at 9:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

You know Trump isn't going to do the letter-to-the-incoming-president thing.

Would you read it if he did? I'm pretty sure I would throw it away unopened.
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 9:53 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

You are thinking of user corb. She is still active on the site.
posted by notoriety public at 9:55 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

DAER MISTER BYDON,

I AM TAKEING MY BALL AND GOING HOM. U WILL BEE SORY

NOT YOU'RE FREND,

DONALD TRUMP

P. S. NOW U HAV COOTIES
posted by mmoncur at 9:56 PM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

I extremely doubt Corb voted for Trump in any capacity.
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 9:58 PM on November 6, 2020 [46 favorites]

A little late to seeing Biden’s speech, but I was struck by just how simple it was. In the best way. It is so simple to display empathy, it is so simple to acknowledge systemic racism in a non-sneering manner, it is so simple to show grief at nearly a quarter million preventable deaths. And it shouldn’t have been so striking, but here we are. It was an actual relief to hear. I am still not counting any electoral chickens until they actually hatch, but it turns out, I needed that moment.
posted by Hopeful and Cynical at 9:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

The Election Night Integrity Project has Biden with 290 electoral votes, pulled from AP data.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:01 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

I didn’t say that, and I certainly hope not. But she was the one that morspin was asking about, I’m almost entirely sure. Four years later, i still remember reading corb’s posts from the inside of the Republican mindset, and explaining why she was still there. Clearly and cogently, and nakedly vulnerable and honest in this very hostile environment. I was humbled.
posted by notoriety public at 10:02 PM on November 6, 2020 [35 favorites]

Oh, so sorry, notoriety public, I was responding to morpsin! Adding on to your identifying of corb with my two cents.

I remember how heartbreaking her dispatches were from the last-minute attempt to oust Trump at the 2016 convention. She'd never vote for that man.
posted by a power-tie-wearing she-capitalist at 10:05 PM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

And I hope corb will be along to say hello in a bit, but I most clearly remember her going to the Republican convention as a Never Trumper, specifically to push back against Trump, and her reports of how physically frightening it was. If I recall correctly, corb has spent significant time serving in the US military and knows more about facing dangerous situations that I do. There was some horrifying fascist something going down at that convention. We were worried for her.

corb is one of my favorite people here on Metafilter. I'm always glad when I see her here, being an invaluable part of this community.
posted by kristi at 10:06 PM on November 6, 2020 [84 favorites]

Can they have one of those deep disinfecting cleaning crews at the WH during the inauguration? Jill and Joe should skip the morning meeting in that germ factory for their own safety.
posted by gladly at 10:07 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

corb rules. seriously stand-up human being. the dialog in 2016, so good.
posted by j_curiouser at 10:07 PM on November 6, 2020 [21 favorites]

Apparently there's a new Twitter who those who don't like Twitter's policies on certain Tweets. I can't tell who Parler is aimed at. Based on the call to action image of a white woman in overalls in a cornfield, I'm guessing it is trying to reach microblogging farmers?
posted by geoff. at 10:08 PM on November 6, 2020

Hopeful and Cynical: A little late to seeing Biden’s speech, but I was struck by just how simple it was. In the best way. It is so simple to display empathy, it is so simple to acknowledge systemic racism in a non-sneering manner, it is so simple to show grief at nearly a quarter million preventable deaths. And it shouldn’t have been so striking, but here we are.

It was a good speech. I just wish they hadn't included the bit about "unity" being the goal--they surely didn't need to. Look, half of the U.S. lives in a completely alternate universe with no resemblance to reality. They are demonstrably terrible people. Unity is never going to happen, and we shouldn't waste time, energy, or money on unity. Work for the common good, the common good, the common good. That's it.

(I did like that, instead of the usual "May God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America," he finished with "May God bless you, and may God protect our troops." Not that I'm a fan of the military-industrial complex, but that had to have been an extra-special dig at Trump's "suckers and losers" costing him the military vote, so kudos to the writers and Biden for that.)
posted by tzikeh at 10:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Dear Joe
The horror! The horror!
Regards, DJT
posted by thatwhichfalls at 10:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

... Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi has (sort of) called it - from her email newsletter:

The American People Have Spoken

... On Tuesday, the American people made their choice clear at the ballot box. Joe Biden’s election will be historic, propelled by the votes of a record-shattering 74 million Americans – the most votes ever received by a presidential ticket in American history.

Our Democratic House Majority, working in partnership with the Democratic White House, will now have the opportunity to deliver extraordinary progress. Together, we will continue to deliver on our successful For The People agenda: lower health care costs, bigger paychecks by building green infrastructure and cleaner government. Ours will be a government that fights for the people’s interest, not the special interests – championing progress for seniors, veterans, immigrants, LGBTQ Americans, women, young people and frontline communities.

Now, we must remain patient as votes are tallied and races are called, and we must remain absolutely committed to ensuring that every American voter has a say in their democracy.

I hope her optimism is matched by dual victories in Georgia run-offs ... but for tonight, I'll take that optimism.
posted by kristi at 10:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Can I also say that I have been waiting for this moment right now? I am not kidding that I have been waiting for the opportunity to acknowledge the impression corb made on me back then.
posted by notoriety public at 10:10 PM on November 6, 2020 [10 favorites]

Parler is Conservative Twitter. They're already living in their own universe, so they'll need their own social media. Just one more way for them to completely break from reality.
posted by tzikeh at 10:11 PM on November 6, 2020

Per Wikipedia, "Parler has a significant user base of Trump supporters, conservatives, and Saudi nationalists. Posts on the website often contain far-right content, antisemitism, and conspiracy theories."
posted by reductiondesign at 10:13 PM on November 6, 2020

we shouldn't waste time, energy, or money on unity. Work for the common good, the common good, the common good.

This equation is solving for me. Check your math.
posted by leonard horner at 10:16 PM on November 6, 2020 [2 favorites]

Mod note: Hey, friends, corb has been commenting in these election threads and will most likely show up to share her thoughts here, but let's please step away from discussing another member who is not present. Thanks.
posted by taz (staff) at 10:16 PM on November 6, 2020 [42 favorites]

leonard horner: This equation is solving for me. Check your math.

No. We work for the common good--good for us and good for them--while they do not and never will. We continue to find ways to improve everyone's lives--ours and theirs--while they will not and never have.

I said what I said.
posted by tzikeh at 10:22 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Right, it was corb I was thinking of -- hope she's doing well.

I've written and deleted a dozen paragraphs of conservatism, the kind I encountered back in university right at the end of the Great Compression (1978, when Carter gave up whatever progressive agenda he had), and the unhinged kind right now. And I realized I don't get it, and am going back to my bubble (which currently includes reading a few books, fiction and non-), on what happened in the Balkans in the 90s, because America now reminds me of that).

Also, no one here's mentioned it, but if Biden holds Arizona and those other states, he'll end up with the same # of EVs as DT did in 2016, "a landslide the likes of which no one has ever seen.
posted by morspin at 10:28 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

I'll probably just watch a little bit of my favorite movie, Alien. It's the story of how no one will listen to the one woman who makes sense, and then she kills the threat.

That reminds me of one of my favorite movies, Aliens. It's the story of how no one will listen to the one woman who makes sense, and then she kills the threat.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:29 PM on November 6, 2020 [12 favorites]

A comment in an earlier thread said that McConnell was signaling interest in some kind of modest stimulus deal after the election, but before January. Which, if true, is only because he’s in a tight spot right now.

Because, as the commenter noted, all Pelosi and Biden have to do is come to an agreement on a $3 Trillion stimulus/relief package that includes sending actual checks to people, along with all the other things that are desperately needed right now. McConnell can balk at it, in which case every Georgian — Republican, Democrat, and Independent — has an immediate financial incentive to vote for the two Dems in the Georgia Special Elections.

Pelosi has no incentive to negotiate a smaller relief bill. “Okay, Mitch, we’ll see how the citizens of Georgia feel about it on January 5th.”

That old quote by Benjamin Franklin goes “When the people find that they can vote themselves money that will herald the end of the republic.” Republicans have been doing exactly that to enrich their wealthy friends for a long time, while simultaneously using the sentiment as a cudgel to stymie welfare initiatives to serve those who actually need it. I think it’s time to play hardball, and make it work for the good guys again.
posted by darkstar at 10:30 PM on November 6, 2020 [50 favorites]

Parler is french for talk. From the get go it sound fishy, too much emphasis on "free speech", that just sounds like a cover for borderline (or not borderline) hate speech.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 10:30 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

All Along The Watchtower needs to be on that playlist ...

(said the joker to the thief)

for there are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us stop talkin' falsely now
The hour's getting late
posted by philip-random at 10:35 PM on November 6, 2020 [4 favorites]

DONALD TRUMP

P. S. NOW U HAV COOTIES

In seriousness, though, it is a stark reminder that the White House will have to disinfected for a deadly biohazard deliberately invited in by the previous occupant.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

The American electorate agrees on most everything related to what government should do for us. We only disagree on whether government should do it for all of us. - Tressie McMillan Cottem

posted by j_curiouser at 10:42 PM on November 6, 2020 [32 favorites]

Given that the news is so much better than it was on Tuesday we really should be playing The Final Countdown in a Major Key.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:44 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

Whats the deal with the Dems depth of talent? I remember when the GoP won in 2016 they were woefully unprepared to fill all the positions they were required to (did they in the end?)
It'll be interesting to see how the transition period goes. Might even be interesting to see how the Dems clean-house - is there anyone untainted by the current administration that performed in a way which aligned to accepted norms of good governance? The early section of Dune where they deep-clean the city of Harkonnens comes to mind.
posted by phigmov at 10:44 PM on November 6, 2020

I reckon most of us here have a pretty good idea of what the Lindsey Graham kompromat consists of and when it is ultimately revealed it will make the man seem more sympathetic rather than less. Of course, we're not his base....
posted by St. Oops at 10:45 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

it will make the man seem more sympathetic rather than less

Not to some of us.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

I think you need more imagination, there's lots of illegal things Graham could have gotten up to rather than just being in the closet.
posted by benzenedream at 10:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

Republicans Want to Stop Starting or Start Stopping the Ballot Count

As we head into the third day of the American Idol Election Extravaganza, members of the Republican party are bitterly divided over how best to obstruct a free and fair election. It seems no one filled out the Doodle poll labeled 'Coup planning meeting' and, well, here we are. The issue is votes, and whether they should be counted or not counted or counted but then uncounted or discounted with a coupon...Enraged by even the whiff of justice or fairness, Trump-supporting protestors descended upon the Maricopa County Election Department where they started chanting 'Count the votes' at a building where they were actually counting the votes, they had been counting the votes, and they would continue counting the votes.
...
Meanwhile across town: as mail-in votes from largely Black areas started to be counted in Michigan and the numbers turned in Biden's favor, another swarm of Trump supporters descended upon the Detroit Department of Elections screaming 'Stop the count!' At that point, Biden was already ahead so stopping the count would have just given him the electoral votes he eventually earned outright at a faster pace. So, one could argue these ravening masses were just interested in efficiency.
...
The goal of the protests are all ostensibly the same: figuring out how to give Trump the win. None of them seem to have grasped the easiest possible solution: getting more people to vote for Donald Trump than Joe Biden, particularly in swing states. I think it was on the agenda at the Coup Planning Meeting, but again, the Doodle poll was ignored. The thing is, the goal is the same but the methods are all cattywampus. Stop the count, don't stop the count, put the count down flip it and reverse it. There are so many mixed-up messages here; who is their comms director, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler?

posted by kirkaracha at 10:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

Some scary stuff here (sorry if this was already posted I did quickly search for it):

Our Most Vulnerable Election

What happens if the U.S. election is contested?

'Dueling electors' pose risk of U.S. vote deadlock

Fresh Air: 'Atlantic' Writer Says Current Election Is A 'Stress Test' Of American Democracy

One thing I'm wondering is what if the GOP is able to tie up three states (say PA, GA, and either MI or AZ or NV or WI) in the courts until January 6, keeping Biden below 270? Would it go to the House vote (1 vote per state, favoring GOP), or would they just wait for the situations to be resolved - which possibly could lead to both Biden and Trump preparing their own inaugurations? Or would SCOTUS have to decide what to do next?
posted by Golden Eternity at 10:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [1 favorite]

biogeo > You know Trump isn't going to do the letter-to-the-incoming-president thing.

...and perhaps the concession speech thing, transition thing, watch Biden get sworn in thing, listen to Biden speech thing, inauguration crowd size thing, and greet the Bidens on the White House steps thing, et al. Trump’s a sore loser, the BEST sore loser ever.

The thing is, Trump can’t stand losers, but he can’t get away from himself. See the recent video interview with his niece Mary L. Trump (WP bio), “If he thinks he’s going down, he’s going to try and take the rest of us down with him.”

H/T night_train in the previous thread.
posted by cenoxo at 10:52 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Surely someone has added “Standing on the Verge of Gettin’ It On” by Parliament to the list?
posted by argybarg at 10:55 PM on November 6, 2020 [5 favorites]

Lose already you fascist democracy-destroying narcissistic sociopath piece of shit!
posted by neon909 at 10:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [15 favorites]

Fresh Air: 'Atlantic' Writer Says Current Election Is A 'Stress Test' Of American Democracy

and here I thought that was the last four f***ing years.
posted by philip-random at 10:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [8 favorites]

FOX News sounding like a hostage negotiator trying to talk Trump down in a segment that seems addressed directly to him. With so much flattery it's making Mike Pence blush.
posted by straight at 10:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

there's lots of illegal things Graham could have gotten up to

While I'm curious where that poor man's mystery $500k came from, for instance, that's the kind of corruption that has been normalized across the aisle. But being gay is still a deadly sin where he comes from, though. Look at how hard he worked to sell the right-wing brand of Southern politics when talking about the court, about the "place" Black people have in his version of society, and about women during his campaign. Gay people (who are out) are not and will never be part of the club he has sold his soul to join and proselytize for. He knows that lesson by heart.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 11:02 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

Politico aren't exactly burying the lede right now.

The election that broke the Republican Party

By lashing themselves to the president’s desperate conspiracies of fraud, GOP officials have undermined their own legitimacy.

posted by philip-random at 11:03 PM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

Is that going to be a thing in the Georgia runoffs? Forcing the two R candidates to either align with or stand up against Trump’s current rhetoric?
posted by nat at 11:14 PM on November 6, 2020

mary trump: his children will remain loyal to him "as long as it is expedient to be loyal to him." ha!
posted by 20 year lurk at 11:17 PM on November 6, 2020 [3 favorites]

yeah, it'll be dodgy. they need trump voters, but if [ha] trump loses, their turnout is expected to fall. of those who will vote, are there more plain ole conservatives or more facists. shrug.
posted by j_curiouser at 11:18 PM on November 6, 2020

This is definitely feeling like the end of the Neverending Story. We screamed a new name out the window and we're going to rebuild after the Nothing destroyed almost all of Fantasia.

so this analogy is extra interesting because the movie of the Neverending Story stopped about halfway through the book & a big theme of the second half (rot13 for maximum spoiler avoidance) vf gur qnatre bs sbetrggvat gur cnfg
posted by taquito sunrise at 11:19 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

In case anyone doesn't have the stomach to watch the Ingraham clip but still wants to know what she said, here's a transcription:

"If and when it's time to accept an unfavourable outcome in this election - and we hope it never comes - but if and when that does happen, President Trump needs to do it with the same grace and composure he demonstrated at that town hall with Savannah Guthrie. So many people remarked about his tone and presence, exactly what he needs. Now, losing, especially when you believe the process wasn't fair, it's a gut punch. And I'm not conceding anything tonight, by the way! But losing, if that's what happens, it's awful."

"But President Trump's legacy will only become more significant if he focuses on moving the country forward. And then? The *love* and *respect* his supporters feel for him, it's only gonna grow stronger, and his legacy more historically significant. The media knows he'll be a GOP kingmaker for 2022 and 2024, no *doubt*. They know he's a political hero to tens of millions of Americans. And they wanna take that from him too!"

[plays a montage of MSNBC and CNN clips of people criticising Trump's conspiracy theorising about voter fraud]

"They're still on the racist thing, even though he expanded support among minority voters! These people are absolute buffoons. Trump should make them all eat their own words. But more importantly, he should do it for the voters, and those who expect their leaders to accept the will of the people. And to all you patriots who supported President Trump, stand tall and be proud of your efforts - and his. It was all worth it. We all helped re-shape the national conversation: on China, on immigration, on trade, and political correctness, et cetera, et cetera."

"We don't have time to bury our heads in crying towels. There are two senate races to win in order to hold the senate. There's money to be raised, speeches to be written and delivered, ads to be made, and ballot canvassing events to be organised."

"The 2020 presidential election will be studied for decades and even centuries to come. Historians will note that in this election, Biden and the left were propped up by a fortune from big businesses who are angry with a president who stood up for the average American. But history will also show that at a time when so many intellectuals had given up on this country, Donald Trump and his supporters showed that the American dream still inspires tens of millions, and that billions of dollars worth of propaganda could not persuade us to abandon the faith. And for myself, I'm confident that our vision of this country will eventually prevail. And that's the angle."

.

So ... that's Rupert Murdoch telling Donald Trump to concede, right? We can all see that. Ingraham wraps it up in as much flattery as she possibly can (because everyone at that network knows that's the only way Trump can ever take his medicine), but that's the core message. She talks at other points in the hour about the various court challenges Republicans are mounting, but never once actually talks like she expects them to be able to change the result of the election. The message they want Trump to hear is, "You've lost and you need to concede - but when you do, you'll still be loved. You'll be a kingmaker! That sounds nice, right? People will still have to come and kiss your ring. We'll keep treating you like a hero. It'll be okay. Just concede."

Once Trump isn't president anymore, though, it's hard to imagine him continuing being the type of unquestioned hero on Fox he's been the last four years. Fox seems to be betting that they can transition into a non-Trump-dominated era without losing *too many* of the hardcore Trump cultists. The monologue was also directed partly at them, after all ("to all you patriots who supported President Trump, stand tall and be proud of your efforts"). But what's crucial about that sentence is the past tense.

"Supported."

Fox is moving on from Donald Trump.
posted by Rumpled at 11:20 PM on November 6, 2020 [20 favorites]

Some scary stuff here (sorry if this was already posted I did quickly search for it)

Ulysses S. Grant on Robert E. Lee,

Oh, I am heartily tired of hearing about what Lee is going to do. Some of you always seem to think he is suddenly going to turn a double somersault, and land in our rear and on both of our flanks at the same time. Go back to your command, and try to think what we are going to do ourselves, instead of what Lee is going to do.

Sure, IMPOTUS wants to do all kinds of shady shit. He's not able to do it. His appointee judges are already laughing his bullshit cases out of court. He's a dead man walking.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:30 PM on November 6, 2020 [41 favorites]

> Parler is Conservative Twitter. They're already living in their own universe, so they'll need their own social media. Just one more way for them to completely break from reality.

Damn it, Miéville's The City & the City isn't an aspirational goal!
posted by Fiberoptic Zebroid and The Hypnagogic Jerks at 11:31 PM on November 6, 2020 [13 favorites]

JFC that Laura Ingraham bullshit is some seriously delusional, alternate-reality propaganda.

I’m all for unity, but I am at a loss to discern any practical way to be politically “unified” with people who might actually believe what she’s saying. It’s incomprehensible how they could be so passionately detached from fact.

We are very much living in completely perpendicular dimensions of reality, with the only point of intersection in our dimensions being this shared country we both occupy.
posted by darkstar at 11:32 PM on November 6, 2020 [7 favorites]

President Trump needs to do it with the same grace and composure he demonstrated at that town hall with Savannah Guthrie.

Assumes grace and composure not in evidence.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:33 PM on November 6, 2020 [11 favorites]

I'm not a regular Ingraham viewer. It really sounded like she was explaining naptime using the kindergarden-teacher voice.
posted by sebastienbailard at 11:34 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

With so much flattery it's making Mike Pence blush.

Yeah but he blushes at the sight of an ankle...



...on a claw foot bath tub.
posted by loquacious at 11:34 PM on November 6, 2020 [14 favorites]

Quick question: how soon can we replace Betsy DeVos?

[edited to add: I really want our schools to improve education on information literacy]
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 11:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [17 favorites]

I’m all for unity, but I am at a loss to discern any practical way to be politically “unified” with people who are so passionately detached from fact.

You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.

-- Daniel Patrick Moynihan
posted by kirkaracha at 11:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

GOP hack journalist Matthew Sheffield is baring his soul / running for the hills:

As a former conservative activist and journalist, it has been so frustrating to see my former compatriots spreading wild and unchecked claims about "voter fraud."
posted by Rumple at 11:48 PM on November 6, 2020 [18 favorites]

That thread by Sheffield was kind of fascinating. So the R’s are as craven, blind, willfully despicable as O always thought. Ok. Thanks for the heads up.
posted by From Bklyn at 11:57 PM on November 6, 2020 [6 favorites]

NYT: Biden's margin in GA up to 7,248.
posted by reductiondesign at 11:59 PM on November 6, 2020 [20 favorites]

Year 7248: Luxury Gay Space Communism is formally established in the United States.
posted by mmoncur at 12:14 AM on November 7, 2020 [43 favorites]

> has refused to wear [a mask] because he says he’s tested so often

*screams*
posted by runcifex at 12:14 AM on November 7, 2020 [10 favorites]

Please cover your mouth and nose when screaming
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 12:24 AM on November 7, 2020 [20 favorites]

The Guardian says that "Trump will no longer receive special Twitter treatment if he loses election". The "special treatment" refers to "Twitter’s policy around newsworthiness [protecting] certain people – such as elected officials with more than 250,000 followers – from having their accounts suspended or banned for rule infractions that would otherwise lead to severe penalties."

For the sake of preserving the ignominious history and possibly for the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library, someone got to start archiving his tweets in a durable manner.
posted by runcifex at 12:38 AM on November 7, 2020 [11 favorites]

So Trump in his "Democrats are rigging the election" speech and now Ingraham are both accusing the Dems of being in the pockets of big donors. Is this based on anything beyond having successful fundraising efforts? Did GOP donors dry up? Or is it just aspersion caring for its own sake?
posted by Sparx at 12:43 AM on November 7, 2020

Like everything else, it's projection.
posted by ZaphodB at 12:45 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

Wow, I had not noticed before that Wikipedia has a separate article on each quarter of the Trump Presidency. Good job, Wikipedians. A thousand years from now when the various QAnon-descended sects start discussing “the historicity of Trump” these will be a valuable resource.

(Was there a science fiction novel someone mentioned on MeFi in the before times which had Trump as a historical figure? I could have sworn that someone brought this up and the quote from the book referred to him as "Tr7mp" or something like that, but I'm getting no hits here and the noise from people spelling his name random ways makes general internet searches useless.)
posted by XMLicious at 12:52 AM on November 7, 2020 [10 favorites]

XML : I don't know about that, but in the late 80s there was Ronald Grump on Sesame Street

(yes I found out about his start, and later reboots - even as Joe Pesci - on Sesame Street from a fascinating twitter thread, so all credit due to them)
posted by revmitcz at 1:03 AM on November 7, 2020 [10 favorites]

Wow, I had not noticed before that Wikipedia has a separate article on each quarter of the Trump Presidency

I remember him saying he was going to take inauguration weekend off and have Monday be the first day of his administration and thinking, "motherfucker, this is not a 9-to-5."
posted by kirkaracha at 1:08 AM on November 7, 2020 [11 favorites]

Just took the dog out for a walk at 2am, because what is days and hours? Had an epiphany about vote counting as my dog tried to rip my arm off and chase a deer who lunged out of the darkness - we can just scan all the votes, batch them into lots, and upload them into Seesaw as assignments for K-5 remote students. Upload them at 2:43pm and request they be done by 8am the next day.

Because all the awesome hard working Nannies / home educators / WFH frizzled parents would miraculously find a way to get that shit done. Where all my WFH Seesaw parents at?

I may be a few drinks in.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 1:27 AM on November 7, 2020 [34 favorites]

What others?

maybe a little more suited to the earlier phase of these megathreads but: The Overload - Talking Heads.

(has someone made a playlist somewhere of all these?)
posted by progosk at 1:30 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

sorry, only just saw someone has!
posted by progosk at 1:40 AM on November 7, 2020

If we are doing Talking Heads what about "Lifetime Piling Up"?
posted by jadepearl at 1:44 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

I've been waiting for tomorrow (all of my life)-The The
posted by newpotato at 1:49 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

(shame Spotify can’t encompass the one version of Fugazi’s Waiting Room that really nails this moment...)
posted by progosk at 1:54 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

Watching as a very concerned observer from Australia. I will admit to crying during Biden’s speech, right about “duty of care” moment. It’s going to be weird being able to respect the President of the United States again.

You guys got this, thank you from this part of the world. I’m hoping Biden will hold our arsehole PM over the coals of whatever remains of the Paris agreement
posted by arha at 1:59 AM on November 7, 2020 [12 favorites]

How quickly can the US reenter the Paris Agreement? Does that have to go through Congress?
posted by NotTheRedBaron at 2:02 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Over at Fox News it's like that part of the Wake when the family finally takes it on board that Finnegan's dead and they've had a few drinks but they're not yet drunk.

The fall (bababadalgha​raghtakam​minarronn​konnbronn​tonnerronn​tuonnthunn​trovarrh​ounawnska​wntoohooho​ordenen​thurnuk!) of a once wallstrait oldparr
posted by chavenet at 2:08 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Appears the virus is voting too
posted by chavenet at 2:11 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers
posted by DoctorFedora at 2:17 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

When you are playing on your phone and realize you just walked into your Dad's interview.

Note that the PA AG has given the (Muppets) Count doll and tiny postal van pride of place on the center of the bookcase.

I wonder how many AG's are waiting until Trump loses his pardoning powers to lay charges.
posted by sebastienbailard at 2:18 AM on November 7, 2020 [31 favorites]

We just have one last thing to say to Trump...
posted by mosessis at 2:32 AM on November 7, 2020 [22 favorites]

In the run up, my friend P in Massachusetts maxxed out her credit card giving money "where dems had a shout at winning". I emailed this morning "You've been awful quiet; are you holding your breath until you turn blue?"
posted by BobTheScientist at 2:35 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Speaking of counting: We have endured 126 Scaramuccis, and counting.

I am really looking forward to stopping this count.
posted by mosk at 2:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

I really didn’t think Donnie would put this much effort into foreplay. I’m all hot and bothered and ready for this climax. It’s going to be a big one.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 2:49 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Mod note: Added the collaborative spotify mix to the post.
posted by taz (staff) at 2:58 AM on November 7, 2020 [16 favorites]

Speaking of counting: We have endured 126 Scaramuccis, and counting.

Scaramucci was on CNN earlier tonight and he sounded reasonable and intelligent. That's how much the bar has been lowered by Trump...
posted by mmoncur at 3:03 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

How do I get a song onto this playlist? Wanna add Songs:Ohia John Henry Split My Heart

Take the heaviest hammer you got, hit this one out of the park!
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:05 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Don't worry, worked it out.
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:07 AM on November 7, 2020

Biden Did, Indeed, Get More Votes Than Obama, FactCheck.org, Katie Busch, November 6, 2020:

The votes are still being counted and the results are unofficial, but former Vice President Joe Biden already has surpassed former President Barack Obama’s record of 69.4 million votes in 2008. But conservative personalities on social media falsely dismiss that achievement as “a damn lie.”
...
The 2020 presidential election inspired a record number of voters. More than 146 million votes had been counted by early Nov. 6 — far surpassing the previous high of 136.7 million votes cast in the 2016 election.

The number of votes that Biden has amassed has already made history. By Nov. 6, more than 73 million ballots had been counted for Biden, which exceeds the previous record of 69.4 million votes that Obama won in 2008...

Full story and sources in the article.
posted by cenoxo at 3:23 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

XML : I don't know about that, but in the late 80s there was Ronald Grump on Sesame Street

28 seconds in: "Why, you're the grouch who built a swamp in a day!"
posted by trig at 3:23 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

They're called Libertarians and now that pot is legal in more and more states they've lost one of their major tentpoles.

Now that pot is moot, the standard unflattering-yet-not-entirely-inaccurate stereotype of Libertarians appears to have become an unseemly obsession with age-of-consent laws.
posted by acb at 3:31 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

OK, so turnout is so high that both candidates have surpassed the previous record for the winning candidate? Well that sounds like a good start. Even more next time, please.
posted by inexorably_forward at 3:34 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

Hard to find a good mix, but added an anthem probably unknown to our USian friends:

Am I ever gonna see your face again?

Crowd: no way, get fucked, fuck off!

(AFAIK, a spontaneous tradition that just happened)
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:42 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

Even with the good news from the last 24 hours, I still have a healthy case of, “Can’t sleep, clown will eat me.”
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [28 favorites]

My theme song for this election would have to be The Torture Never Stops .
posted by TedW at 4:06 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

Abehammerb Lincoln, I feel like I could get that tattooed on my arm as a reminder that political apathy can bring very bad things. I hope to be more involved going forward.
posted by InkaLomax at 4:09 AM on November 7, 2020

“By the way, you look good in that big black coat” Janey Godley offers to break the news gently to her pal Donald.
posted by rongorongo at 4:10 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

What Happens If US Presidential Candidates Don’t Concede? For starters, acknowledging defeat isn't a constitutional requirement., Snopes, Jessica Lee, 11/6/2020:

In the aftermath of the 2020 U.S. presidential election — as a handful of key states determined whether the country’s popular vote went in favor of U.S. President Donald Trump or Democratic rival Joe Biden — social media users questioned what would happen if a losing candidate did not concede to the winner. According to news reports, no losing candidate has refused to concede in modern American history.

Voters concerns were, in part, fueled by Trump suggesting that he wouldn’t accept the race’s outcome if he loses, and by the lawsuits his campaign filed attacking the integrity of ballot counting in key battleground states.

As of this writing on Nov. 6, neither candidate had secured the plurality of the popular vote in a handful of states by most statisticians’ standards, a step in the election process that triggers a series of constitutionally mandated procedures before the next presidential term officially begins.

....we explain sections of the Constitution, federal statutes, and state laws that govern the outcomes of presidential elections should candidates contest the results of the popular vote....

More details in the article.
posted by cenoxo at 4:11 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Wouldn't it be great if Obama returned to the White House as part of Biden's transition team? Or even in a Cabinet position? Not only would this make Trump's head explode, it would also neatly bracket off his whole Presidency as no more than a horrible aberration.
posted by Paul Slade at 4:16 AM on November 7, 2020 [30 favorites]

From a colleague :

How is Trump like a pumpkin?

He's orange, round, and gets thrown out in early November.

posted by basalganglia at 4:19 AM on November 7, 2020 [18 favorites]

Paul Slade: Or Michelle Obama, if she wants it. She, like most first ladies, got short shrift and was kind of treated like a clothes horse for eight years. Which, she has great dress sense! But also a great mind!

Now I'm imagining a cabinet full of people of color and queer people and immigrants... And maybe one token white guy as like Energy Secretary or something.
posted by basalganglia at 4:25 AM on November 7, 2020 [24 favorites]

For the sake of preserving the ignominious history and possibly for the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library, someone got to start archiving his tweets in a durable manner.

See thetrumparchive.com.

Additionally, The Daily Show produced an entire Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library, which is obviously not a true archive, but actually wound up being a pretty good museum exhibit when I went to it at SXSW 2019. Like, yes it was funny, but also it was actually informative? Anyway, the researchers for that must have had their sources.

(Also, the staff outside drumming up business were wearing t-shirts that said “Donald J. Trump” in big letters, and “The Daily Show” in much smaller letters. At first glance, I thought they were Trump campaigners, and tried to dodge the woman who approached me. Then my brain actually processed what she was saying.)
posted by snowmentality at 4:29 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

Not related at all but this book is both great and has a great title.

Infinite Tuesday by Michael Nesmith
posted by freakazoid at 4:35 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Over Macho Grande?
posted by LURK at 4:51 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

following this from Europe, still catching up and haven’t watched Biden’s speech yet, but just wanted to share this from yesterday, from the awesome Parker Molloy of Media Matters:

Biden should give a victory speech and end it by strongly implying that he’s Q.

I can imagine it now. “Folks... The storm is literally, no joke, I’m serious, upon us. But we must trust the plan. Because where we go one, we go all. God bless the United States of America and God bless the troops.”

posted by bitteschoen at 4:51 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

It looks pretty clear who we have to thank for turning Arizona blue. and why.

Ya'ah'teeh MFs indeed!
posted by Dojie at 4:53 AM on November 7, 2020 [65 favorites]

Is the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library the edifice which is meant to have “THIS IS NOT A PLACE OF HONOR” inscribed prominently at its entrance?
posted by acb at 4:56 AM on November 7, 2020 [28 favorites]

Is the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library the edifice which is meant to have “THIS IS NOT A PLACE OF HONOR” inscribed prominently at its entrance?


It's too good not to quote.

This place is a message… and part of a system of messages… pay attention to it! Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful culture.

This place is not a place of honor…no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here… nothing valued is here.

What is here is dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.

The danger is in a particular location… it increases toward a center… the center of danger is here… of a particular size and shape, and below us.

The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours.

posted by mmoncur at 4:59 AM on November 7, 2020 [40 favorites]

It looks pretty clear who we have to thank for turning Arizona blue. and why.

Don't forget Boney McBonespur's enmity against John McCain, who actually went to war.

And Cindy McCain, his widow, throwing her hat in against the snivelling war coward.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:02 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Wow, I had not noticed before that Wikipedia has a separate article on each quarter of the Trump Presidency

I remember him saying he was going to take inauguration weekend off and have Monday be the first day of his administration and thinking, "motherfucker, this is not a 9-to-5."

I went and read the Q1 2017 one, just to recall how far we have come and what we were thinking “surely this” about at the beginning. I had totally forgotten that KellyAnne Conway coined “alternative facts” on January 22nd, the second full day of the administration. Wikipedia notes that it caused a 95-fold spike in the sales of the novel 1984.

Make Orwell Great Again.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:14 AM on November 7, 2020 [11 favorites]

Trump Dumps 3 Agency Leaders In Wake Of Election

This includes Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration.
posted by MrVisible at 5:29 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Armed men arrested in Philadelphia near convention center. Found on them or in their silver Hummer: handguns, automatic weapons, lots of ammunition, and a box of fake ballots.

Oh, and some QAnon merchandise. Of course.
posted by mmoncur at 5:36 AM on November 7, 2020 [19 favorites]

Just make sure their trial is held in an admiralty court, with gold fringe on the flag.
posted by chavenet at 5:38 AM on November 7, 2020 [25 favorites]

Re: DJT Presidential Library. Is the old Taj Mahal in AC still empty? Because that’s exactly the image I have for the library.

Re: Parler. A former friend, who I unfriended a month or so ago, put out a call to her “like-minded friends” (Trumpers, virus hoaxers) to join her there. Apparently spurred by the new fact-check tags being put on the FB and Twitter accounts of said like-minded friends. That told me all I needed to know.
posted by sundrop at 5:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

Just plonking this here, because it's a great quote, which I feels sums up the entire four woeful and wasted years of the neverending useless bollocks that was Trump misadminstration:

“Just as the reign of the dinosaurs was cut short to their great surprise, this government may just be a thin, greasy layer in the core sample of future political scientists."
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:44 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

Can they have one of those deep disinfecting cleaning crews at the WH during the inauguration? Jill and Joe should skip the morning meeting in that germ factory for their own safety.

Biden may want to stay away from the White House until everything has been swept for listening devices. Remember the Russian photographer incident shortly after Trump took the office?
posted by mookoz at 5:50 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

put out a call to her “like-minded friends”

... Sheeple.. sheeple who need sheeple.. 🎶
posted by sexyrobot at 5:51 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Although I sure would love Republicans to lose their Senate majority, I am enjoying that this is turning out to be a referendum on Trump and Trump alone. That just means the country as a whole hasn't become any less conservative. But America seems to have rejected Trump himself, and that makes me feel good. Yay America.
posted by wondermouse at 5:52 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

89% turnout of registered voters on Navajo nation is just stunning. Before the election I caught this NPR story on how much more challenging it is to vote there, including and perhaps especially by mail: "If they miss the mail-in ballot deadline the drop box is 100 miles away in Flagstaff. And in November, dirt roads can become muddy and impassable." Kudos to every activist who was a part of making this happen.
posted by deludingmyself at 5:53 AM on November 7, 2020 [88 favorites]

This version from Zappa Plays Zappa is my favourite rendition of The Torture Never Stops.

They do a great job with Son Of Orange County / More Trouble Every Day as well. All seem fairly apposite right now.

I recommend turning all of these performances up really fucking loud.
posted by flabdablet at 5:55 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

handguns, automatic weapons, lots of ammunition, and a box of fake ballots.

I'm sure the Trumpers on my feed who are so very deeply concerned about election fraud will be discussing this any minute now. But first they just have three or four more videos to post of election workers and journalists doing their jobs as clear proof that the Dems are cheating.

. . . Any minute now . . .
posted by Dojie at 6:01 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

Aaron Blake on Trump's assertion that Biden is only ahead in Pennsylvania due to the votes which arrived after 8pm Tuesday.

Actual facts:

Ballots postmarked by Election Day but received through Friday in PA are, in fact, legal. State Supreme Court said so and SCOTUS declined to intervene.

Also, PA's SoS says these aren't even included in the current count, which Trump trails by nearly 29,000 votes.

One other key point: PA officials say these ballots are in the thousands but not tens of thousands. In other words, this wouldn't "easily change the result." It's well shy of the margin right now.

To the extent this is Trump's fixation, he's wasting his time.

WaPo link.
posted by MattWPBS at 6:02 AM on November 7, 2020 [15 favorites]

Okay, I just want to emphasize that we have a President who's deeply in debt to various really shady characters, who has deep ties to some of the worst dictators in the world, who's just lost an election, and he's just fired the head of the National Nuclear Security Agency.

I'm pretty convinced that some advanced American nuclear armaments are going to be showing up on the arch-villain equivalent of Ebay sometime soon.
posted by MrVisible at 6:07 AM on November 7, 2020 [18 favorites]

Given the gangs of paramilitary LARPers roaming around, I guess we need to add the Talking Heads' "Life During Wartime" to our playlist.
posted by PhineasGage at 6:18 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

To the extent this is Trump's fixation, he's wasting his time.

It would be extremely on-brand for a Trumpist conspiracy theory to center on allegedly "illegal" ballots that were a) legal, b) never counted and c) wouldn't have mattered.

[But I imagine there are some local races where these ballots could be very consequential indeed, so I hope they do actually get counted.]
posted by Not A Thing at 6:19 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Is the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library the edifice which is meant to have “THIS IS NOT A PLACE OF HONOR” inscribed prominently at its entrance?

How about "PAYING OVERDUE FINES IS FOR SUCKERS"?
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 6:26 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

538 shared a tweet that says Allegheny will report more results late morning or early afternoon. Doing the math on the numbers from that tweet, that batch should add more than 28K to Biden's PA lead, bringing it to around 57K. If we haven't gotten our network calls by then, maybe that's when we will!
posted by daisyace at 6:39 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

Not A Thing: "To the extent this is Trump's fixation, he's wasting his time."

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. --Napoleon Bonaparte
posted by chavenet at 6:42 AM on November 7, 2020 [13 favorites]

Heard about Houston? Heard about Detroit?
Heard about Pittsburgh, P. A.?

Counting resumes in Allegheny County!

I miss Pittsburgh.
posted by glaucon at 6:48 AM on November 7, 2020 [15 favorites]

Surely this batch of ballots...
posted by GhostintheMachine at 6:49 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

538 shared a tweet that says Allegheny will report more results late morning or early afternoon. Doing the math on the numbers from that tweet, that batch should add more than 28K to Biden's PA lead, bringing it to around 57K. If we haven't gotten our network calls by then, maybe that's when we will!

I get +22,300 net.

Source for anyone who wants to check my math:

"Allegheny County Executive says they have 20-23K mail-in ballots left to count, which have been trending 80/20 toward Biden.

Also have an additional 17K provisional ballots to count, have been trending 75/25 Biden."
posted by justkevin at 6:52 AM on November 7, 2020

Actual facts:

As ever, the communication of these is not the purpose of Trump's utterances
posted by thelonius at 6:53 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

triggerfinger: I'm starting to get kind of pissed. We are going to have the first WOC VP EVER and we should be celebrating that in the street! And in a normal time we would. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous all week and we just elected our first WOC VP! That's fucking amazing! There should be BBQs and dancing and happiness and instead I'm sitting here nervously waiting for every new report on vote counts.

Philadelphia road trip, anyone?
posted by clawsoon at 6:54 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

I'm pretty convinced that some advanced American nuclear armaments are going to be showing up on the arch-villain equivalent of Ebay sometime soon.

I'm guessing that they're bringing Rick "D in Meats" Perry back for a reunion tour.
posted by ensign_ricky at 6:56 AM on November 7, 2020

Is the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library the edifice which is meant to have “THIS IS NOT A PLACE OF HONOR” inscribed prominently at its entrance?

How about "PAYING OVERDUE FINES IS FOR SUCKERS"?
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 6:26 AM on November 7 [3 favorites]

How about "RETURNING BOOKS IS FOR SUCKERS"?
posted by Epixonti at 6:57 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Armed men arrested in Philadelphia near convention center. Found on them or in their silver Hummer: handguns, automatic weapons, lots of ammunition, and a box of fake ballots.

Oh, and some QAnon merchandise. Of course.
posted by mmoncur at 5:36 AM on November 7 [4 favorites +] [!]

Philadelphia people and fans of AETV's Parking Wars should go to this article and look at the fine art in the middle of it that is a photo of a QAnon hat on the dashboard and a parking violation in the wiper. It brought a tear to my eye.
posted by WeekendJen at 6:59 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

alouts: Not that I don't think Biden isn't capable of deal-making from what I've read about his role in the Obama administration, but just how duplicitous is Graham? Donating half a million dollars to Trump's bogus fund while talking about compromise at the same time. Ridiculous.

Graham didn't have any problem doing a 180 on Trump before, when he went from not having power to having power, didn't he?
posted by clawsoon at 7:03 AM on November 7, 2020

BAH GAWD THAT'S GRITTY'S MUSIC!!!
posted by tonycpsu at 7:03 AM on November 7, 2020 [10 favorites]

Whoops, thanks for the correction, justkevin! Still hopeful that your correctly calculated net will be enough for them to call it!
posted by daisyace at 7:09 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

That’s was pretty great, tonycpsu, but I feel like they should’ve used Georgia instead of Michigan.

Georgia deserves a whole heap of love.
posted by oddman at 7:10 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

I'm headed over to take some photos in Philly at lunch.
posted by cmfletcher at 7:24 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

I've been awake and caffeinated and watching CNN for about 5 minutes now, and I've already heard like fifteen variations on the phrase "...which is a lie, by the way..."
posted by invincible summer at 7:26 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

Stacey Abrams deserves a Cabinet post.
posted by box at 7:26 AM on November 7, 2020 [18 favorites]

I really wish the idea that Politician X is saying certain things you don’t like because someone else is holding kompromat over them would go away. This implies they are reasonable people who are only behaving this way under duress.

No.

They are behaving this way because they’re terrible people. Lindsey Graham donated $500k to Trump because he wants everyone to know what team he’s on. He may be morally compromised but that is entirely his own doing. He deserves no out from us.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 7:28 AM on November 7, 2020 [27 favorites]

Make sure you visit the landscape center, I guess? Or avoid, possibly.

Big press conference today in Philadelphia at Four Seasons Total Landscaping — 11:30am!

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1325087011464749056?s=19
posted by miratime at 7:28 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Maybe Trump be persuaded to take that portrait of Andrew Jackson he was so fond of posing in front of and have to shame walk form the blue wall on the East coast through the Trail of Tears through Trump country till he hits the blue wall on the West coast. That would be a nice concession gesture.
posted by effluvia at 7:32 AM on November 7, 2020

Americans lost 138 million hours of sleep on election night,
posted by philip-random at 7:36 AM on November 7, 2020 [9 favorites]

Four Seasons Total Landscaping

Where We Mow One, We Mow All.
posted by delfin at 7:37 AM on November 7, 2020 [23 favorites]

It is 178,000 uncounted votes in Kern County, there is a distinct possibility we are hearing the last quackings of the lame duck, Kevin McCarthy.
posted by Oyéah at 7:40 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

Americans lost 138 million hours of sleep on election night,

If you make it election nights, half of those are me.
posted by srboisvert at 7:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [13 favorites]

Trump has told people he has no plans to concede even if his path to victory is blocked, CNN, Kevin Liptak & Kaitlan Collins; Updated 7:25 PM ET, Fri November 6, 2020.

How Donald Trump is *already* laying the groundwork for 2024, CNN, Chris Cillizza; Updated 9:55 AM ET, Fri November 6, 2020.
posted by cenoxo at 7:45 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Just listened to Fox for a minute and they dissected the 3000 Nevada votes that the Trump campaign claimed to be non-residents, and most when they reviewed the actual names, they were mostly military overseas and students.

If Fox had any real evidence it would certainly blast their channel, but with six electoral votes to go Fox may be the first network to declare the Biden victory! (yes, lovely lol's)
posted by sammyo at 7:47 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Took my dog for a run with this thread's playlist just now. Cathartic. I'd been enjoying Twitter's game last night of naming various media that have (fictionally) called the race for Biden already. (Highlights For Children. Cat Fancy. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.) My contribution this morning: this lamp pole in my neighborhood has called the race for Biden.
posted by deludingmyself at 7:49 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

So what you’re saying is Republicans are directly trying to not count military votes? I would like that blasted from the loudspeakers of the White House military barracks and to the pilots of Marine One.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:52 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

How Donald Trump is *already* laying the groundwork for 2024, CNN, Chris Cillizza; Updated 9:55 AM ET, Fri November 6, 2020.
posted by cenoxo at 11:45 PM on November 7 [+] [!]

I hope they spend the next four years squabbling and grifting each other into oblivion.

If Fox had any real evidence it would certainly blast their channel, but with six electoral votes to go Fox may be the first network to declare the Biden victory! (yes, lovely lol's)
posted by sammyo at 11:47 PM on November 7 [+] [!]

Economic Times (India): Is Rupert Murdoch dumping Donald Trump?

Looks like it's already starting. Article is one of a few I've seen pointing out that Fox, New York Post, and other Murdoch properties seem to be encouraging Trump to go out with some dignity.

I hope it shatters the whole Republican alliance.
posted by saysthis at 7:56 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

It is 178,000 uncounted votes in Kern County, there is a distinct possibility we are hearing the last quackings of the lame duck, Kevin McCarthy.

I have been wondering about this. An awful lot of races were called really early even though there are lots of votes left uncounted, on the assumption that the late votes would come in line with the early votes. That assumption might be really, really wrong this year, for many seats in many places.
posted by notoriety public at 7:58 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

but with six electoral votes to go Fox may be the first network to declare the Biden victory!

fair + balanced
posted by philip-random at 8:05 AM on November 7, 2020

I'm wondering, if the PA result was not the last gasp of this election, would it have been called already? Like say, if it was sitting like this on Tuesday night, wouldn't they have called it for Biden?
posted by patternocker at 8:07 AM on November 7, 2020

Numbers just posted in Maricopa County, AZ. Trump gains 7,000 and Biden’s lead shrinks in AZ to 20,000 votes.

More ballots to count, and it will be close, but commenters are saying they are not really expecting there to be enough outstanding Trump votes to overcome Biden’s lead.
posted by darkstar at 8:07 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Bangor (Maine) Daily News Calls it for Biden Small town paper that does a consistently very good job.
posted by theora55 at 8:07 AM on November 7, 2020 [10 favorites]

Also, they recently ran an article on how to cook squirrel.
posted by theora55 at 8:08 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

It's still very strange that Arizona was the one state of the last batch that Fox called on election night. It may wind up being the closest of all the states.
posted by argybarg at 8:08 AM on November 7, 2020

I'm confused about Arizona. The analysts keep saying that Trump isn't getting the %'s he needs to overtake Biden. But those percents keep exceeding the ~57% that the scraper shows he needs. Are the non-Maricopa counties that are left expected to be much harder for Trump or what?
posted by daisyace at 8:12 AM on November 7, 2020

Was there bad or missing info about Arizona in regards to how many votes hadn't been counted or where they were from? It seems like calls and predictions got overly confident for Arizona and then now all the other states are being super cautious in response.
posted by WeekendJen at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2020

like out of an episode of Better Call Saul: this is where the Trump campaign has called a press conference, at a landscaping company near an adult book store
posted by bitteschoen at 8:15 AM on November 7, 2020 [9 favorites]

I'm wondering, if the PA result was not the last gasp of this election, would it have been called already? Like say, if it was sitting like this on Tuesday night, wouldn't they have called it for Biden?

They didn't call WI until they had finished counting (and then only described it as an apparent projection) because the margin was tight. It's 0.6 in favour of Biden. So I think they're probably keeping the same standards.

It's still very strange that Arizona was the one state of the last batch that Fox called on election night. It may wind up being the closest of all the states.

It seems clear that it was a premature call and the others were right not to make it. the trend is very close to the level Trump needs although with each large block it's above or below. While it does still look like it may be going to Biden and NV isn't reporting their count quickly, AP and Fox don't need to walk it back. But I suspect they are anxious.
posted by plonkee at 8:16 AM on November 7, 2020

I'm envisioning him stepping up to the microphone in front of the help wanted sign, looking across at the adult book store.

Long pause.

"I confefe."
posted by joeyh at 8:19 AM on November 7, 2020 [12 favorites]

at a landscaping company near an adult book store

Some poor bastard just picked the worst morning in the history of humanity to visit the adult bookstore
posted by ominous_paws at 8:21 AM on November 7, 2020 [30 favorites]

at a landscaping company near an adult book store

the plot thins
posted by philip-random at 8:24 AM on November 7, 2020 [16 favorites]

CNN Projects Biden!
posted by daisyace at 8:25 AM on November 7, 2020 [32 favorites]

CNN calls race for Biden
posted by Clustercuss at 8:25 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

CNN calls PA for Biden
posted by sporkwort at 8:25 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

CNN just called Pennsylvania for Biden, and thus the presidency
posted by achrise at 8:25 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

CNN Just Called it for Biden! at > 30k lead.
posted by zengargoyle at 8:25 AM on November 7, 2020 [13 favorites]

MSNBC has just called for Biden! Let the dancing begin!
posted by kinnakeet at 8:25 AM on November 7, 2020 [15 favorites]

CNN CALLS IT!
posted by JimInLoganSquare at 8:26 AM on November 7, 2020 [12 favorites]

CNN called it!! YEAH!!
posted by bitteschoen at 8:26 AM on November 7, 2020 [11 favorites]

Oh shit, that bookstore is right down the street from my old house. For some reason when it said Four Seasons, I assume they meant somewhere around the Four Seasons hotel downtown.

That is a totally strange area to have a press conference. It's like a forgoten dilapidated ex industrial pocket under I95's shadow.
posted by WeekendJen at 8:26 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by cooker girl at 8:27 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

Y'all, y'all, in the spirit of national release and relief, I'm just indulging some idle daydreams. . . but the talk of giving Obama a cabinent position got me thinking. . .

What if Hilary Clinton, J.D. from Yale, was made Attorney General. And what if DoJ opened an investigation into Donald Trump's criming. And what if she threw the fucking book at him. What if she locked him up?
posted by os tuberoes at 8:27 AM on November 7, 2020 [47 favorites]

Ouch, press conference ambush commences. He's going to love this.
posted by SometimeNextMonth at 8:27 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

AP too
posted by flabdablet at 8:28 AM on November 7, 2020 [15 favorites]

i didn't expect to cry, but here i am.
posted by Ruki at 8:28 AM on November 7, 2020 [21 favorites]

Yes - it’s been called by the AP!
posted by inflatablekiwi at 8:28 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

OMG.
O.M.G.
OOOMMMMGGG!!!!
posted by invincible summer at 8:28 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by marimeko at 8:28 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

THANK. GOD.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:28 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

CBS too!

Piling on, now. Let’s get this done!
posted by darkstar at 8:28 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

YOU'RE
FIRED!

posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 8:29 AM on November 7, 2020 [27 favorites]

EVERYONE is calling it. Thank you Pennsylvania!
posted by bearwife at 8:29 AM on November 7, 2020 [16 favorites]

(Continues stubbornly watching the ABCNews map)
posted by maxwelton at 8:29 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

AP is calling it too - from the Guardian liveblog: Joe Biden beats Donald Trump to win US election
Joe Biden has won the presidency by clinching Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes, the AP has just announced.

and the tweet from AP
BREAKING: Joe Biden wins Pennsylvania. at 11:25 a.m. EST.
posted by bitteschoen at 8:29 AM on November 7, 2020 [13 favorites]

HOLY SHIT!!
posted by kimberussell at 8:29 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

It's all over -- Biden is President Elect. Pennsylvania just reported.
posted by y2karl at 8:30 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

First calls I saw were CNBC and BBC.
posted by bearwife at 8:30 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Today should be a day for celebration!
posted by mcstayinskool at 8:30 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

Fuck. Yeah.

Biden is problematic, a Republican Senate and Supreme Court majority is terrifying, things aren't settled, the fight has just begun, really, but.. today, looks like the good guys win one.
posted by Alterscape at 8:30 AM on November 7, 2020 [18 favorites]

CNN has even deployed the blink tags for BIDEN WINS!
posted by penguin pie at 8:30 AM on November 7, 2020 [12 favorites]

There is cheering erupting outside the window in my Brooklyn apartment and I REALLY REALLY REALLY WISH I didn't have a broken knee because i want to be down on the streets now
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:30 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

Looking up where that landscaping company is, it’s one of the few parts of Philly that has pockets of Trump support. Dude picked it not only for the fake fancy name, but also because he’s scared of all the dancing Gritties and mailboxes in Center City. What a pathetic little man baby.
posted by ActionPopulated at 8:30 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

WOOHOOOOOOO!!!
posted by WidgetAlley at 8:31 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

*collapses*
posted by Happy Dave at 8:32 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKK YYYYYYYEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:32 AM on November 7, 2020 [13 favorites]

yes old Tacony and Mayfair white people are a little butt hurt about more POC moving in, saying crime is going up, even though crime stats show it's false.
posted by WeekendJen at 8:32 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

I just wanted to tell you all good luck, we're all done counting you.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 8:32 AM on November 7, 2020 [57 favorites]

Hooray Biden (says my 8 year old)
posted by christy at 8:33 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

I have cried so many times this year. This is the first time that it felt good.
posted by gwydapllew at 8:33 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

Shouting and dancing in the streets here.
posted by PhineasGage at 8:33 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Say the line, Donald!
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 8:33 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Thank fuck. Fingers crossed for and hearts steeled against what comes next.
posted by Ouverture at 8:33 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

PARTY TIME!
posted by bondcliff at 8:34 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Brooklyn Celebrating loudly here!
posted by Liquidwolf at 8:34 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Don't forget to breathe.
posted by guiseroom at 8:34 AM on November 7, 2020

PHILLLLLYYYYYY represent

i wish i could go out in the streets and celebrate but immune suppressed means nahhhhh even tho it would be outside but I will be out there with my fellow philly peeps in spirit

this jawn was stressful af
posted by lazaruslong at 8:34 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

Looking up where that landscaping company is, it’s one of the few parts of Philly that has pockets of Trump support.

But why go there at all?
posted by Thorzdad at 8:34 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

I heard screaming outside and I was really concerned b/c my wife just left for a walk with our baby. I rushed to the window and I heard my wife say "Did they call it?"

The screaming continued. "YEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!"
posted by hydrophonic at 8:34 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

Where will the meltdown be televised?
posted by WeekendJen at 8:34 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Van Jones crying on CNN... wow....
posted by Pendragon at 8:34 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

The timing is interesting. we learn that the majors called it at the same time Trump is supposed to be speaking. I know this seems funny, but you think maybe Trump learned this and wants to steal the thunder in some awful, Trumpy way?

Yay Joe and Kamala! I can finally rest now.
posted by sundrop at 8:35 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Yesssssss!!!! Great sigh of relief across the universe.
posted by valetta at 8:35 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

How it started: There is a very real possibility we have a made for Hollywoood moment when the world’s press starts filtering out of this press conference because the race has been called. 11:03 am from Richard Hall of The Independent waiting to be let in to Four Seasons Total Landscaping.

How it's going: News filtering through here that the race has been called. Some press are leaving. 11:28 am, still waiting outside.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:35 AM on November 7, 2020 [10 favorites]

Not waiting: Biden transition team at work amid limbo, Associated Press, Will Weissert, 11/7/2020:

• Longtime Biden aide Ted Kaufman is leading efforts to ensure the former vice president can begin building out a government in anticipation of a victory. Kaufman is a former senator from Delaware who was appointed to fill the seat vacated when Biden was elected vice president. He also worked on Barack Obama’s transition team in 2008, and helped write legislation formalizing the presidential transition process.
• The Biden team is moving forward but can’t tackle all that needs to be accomplished; President Donald Trump continues to claim without evidence that the election is being stolen from him.
• Clay Johnson, who headed [George W.] Bush’s transition team, said Biden’s advisers “can’t wait to be sure that the president-elect really is the president-elect. They have to hurry up and move forward.
• Biden’s campaign has refused to comment on the transition process. His closest advisers say the top priority will be announcing a White House chief of staff, then assembling the pieces needed to tackle the coronavirus.
• A president gets 4,000 appointees, and more than 1,200 of them must be confirmed by the Senate. That could be a challenge for Biden since the Senate may well remain controlled by the Republicans.
• The transition process formally starts once the General Service Administration determines the winner based on all available facts. That’s vague enough guidance that Trump could pressure the agency’s director to stall. It’s also unclear if the president would meet personally with Biden.

Given Trump’s outspoken belief (it’s not a lie to him) that the election is being stolen, he may choose not to cooperate with Biden at all during the transition. Not that it would make any difference to Trump, but is he legally bound to cooperate? It seems there are many informal customs and norms that Trump could deliberately ignore to harm Biden’s efforts.
posted by cenoxo at 8:36 AM on November 7, 2020 [11 favorites]

I am so happy for you!!!!!!
And more Power to you all for the coming months
Love and hugs from Vienna, Austria.
posted by 15L06 at 8:36 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

A hearty a-fucking-1 from here in the UK.

Glad you guys have managed to 'stop the count', but without the second O.
posted by MattWPBS at 8:36 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

Just learned about Biden’s victory from a brass band driving down Connecticut Ave in DC.
posted by chrisulonic at 8:36 AM on November 7, 2020 [31 favorites]

Can we get legislation or an executive order or something which states any future president who wants to play golf pays for it on their own fucking dime, secret service, helicopters, motorcades and all? How many hot meals for kids were spent so dumbshit could feel like a winner, cheating at golf? [Edited for gender in pronoun.]
posted by maxwelton at 8:36 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

A brief balcony celebration is taking over downtown Toronto.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:37 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

So is Fox News waiting for the landscaping video to finish or is Murdoch on the shitter and unavailable or what
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:37 AM on November 7, 2020

I’m going outside now to post my American flag.

It feels like we’ve just liberated the country from an occupying army.
posted by darkstar at 8:38 AM on November 7, 2020 [28 favorites]

YAAAAAYYYYY! I love you all!!!!!
posted by HotToddy at 8:38 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

> How it's going: News filtering through here that the race has been called. Some press are leaving. 11:28 am, still waiting outside.

Today is the day Donald Trump finally became irrelevant.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:38 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Yeeeeessssssss we're so excited we're ordering two separate takeaways. Gonna give the cats some extra food, see if we can find some party hats.
posted by stillnocturnal at 8:38 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Fox has a "Biden projected President elect" chyron up
posted by joeyh at 8:39 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

It is immensely satisfying to click the link on Trump's last tweet. (the BY A LOT one.)
posted by Ruki at 8:39 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Surely this.
posted by sexyrobot at 8:39 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

I just went to wake my 12 year old with the news. His first question: Is Trump going to prison?
posted by danielleh at 8:39 AM on November 7, 2020 [26 favorites]

To quote Toumani Diabate again: "Welcome back, America. We missed you."
posted by Paul Slade at 8:39 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

Incredible news! They are releasing a remastered Mass Effect trilogy next year!

Oh, and Biden is going to be president.
posted by slimepuppy at 8:39 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

Putting out our flag too.
posted by bearwife at 8:39 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Le monde and O globo reporting Joe Biden is elected President of the United States.
posted by os tuberoes at 8:39 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

And I hereby 'umbly suggest this be the last track on our shared playlist: "Hallelujah"!
posted by PhineasGage at 8:40 AM on November 7, 2020 [12 favorites]

On the topic of when to celebrate Harris, did you know that traditionally there is a whole, big, day-long event for celebrating election results, known as "Inauguration Day", typically held in mid-late January after the official Electoral College vote when the election has been completely and officially^* certified with no possible additional hitches or challenges?

* Did you also know that tv news networks have no actual role in certifying elections? I am glad that their educated-opinion pronouncement is causing relief from stress for many of my fellow Mefites, however!
posted by eviemath at 8:40 AM on November 7, 2020 [9 favorites]

YAY
posted by anadem at 8:40 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Yub nub!

eee chop yub nub!

ah toe meet toe pee-chee keene

g'noop dock fling oh ah!
posted by leotrotsky at 8:40 AM on November 7, 2020 [24 favorites]

(Correction: I think I have a local news channel here not fox. Streaming.)
posted by joeyh at 8:40 AM on November 7, 2020

California just hit the nine million mark for Biden, according to the Decision Desk tally. And to think we only have two senators to vote for... ha, ha, ha....sob.
posted by effluvia at 8:40 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

Bye-bye Donald!!! We won't miss you. From: Canada.
posted by fourpotatoes at 8:41 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Some Trump campaign dickhead on Fox is still wittering on about electoral fraud and "legal" votes and Trump being followed by twins everywhere he goes (transparency and accountability). They're still showing 264-214 too.
posted by flabdablet at 8:41 AM on November 7, 2020

FOX News projects Biden will win PA and NV and "has electoral votes to win presidency".
posted by Diskeater at 8:41 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Impeached one term president Donald Trump
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:41 AM on November 7, 2020 [40 favorites]

Exactly how is the election certified? Who does this?
posted by cenoxo at 8:42 AM on November 7, 2020

I appreciate and love you all so much. I never said much during that long national nightmare, but I read all the election threads then and now. It was this site that kept me going when I wanted to hide in a cave. Thank you from the depths of my soul. WE DID IT!!!!!!!
posted by _Mona_ at 8:42 AM on November 7, 2020 [10 favorites]

TRUMP'S FIRED!!!!
posted by erattacorrige at 8:42 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Jesus god. Getting rid of Trump won't solve all or even most of our problems but it will definitely free up capacity.We'll have a functioning CDC again, god willing at least the worst of the immigration abuses will be rolled back, the constant "announce a new persecution when I need to juice things with the base" tweets will stop. What a hellish four years this has been, and frankly even a 10%-less-hellish situation is going to feel wonderful in comparison.
posted by Frowner at 8:42 AM on November 7, 2020 [40 favorites]

Surely THIS.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 8:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [41 favorites]

Ahhaha people celebrating in CAPE TOWN hahaha
posted by runcifex at 8:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [12 favorites]

Anyone else crying? I'm happy crying.
posted by Tarumba at 8:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [15 favorites]

Fuck yeah!
posted by mosk at 8:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Impeached one term president Donald Trump

...indicted, imprisoned, etc.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

To comply with the timeline of the Electoral College process, all states must reach certified results for presidential and vice-presidential races by December 14 — the day electors cast their ballots. The electoral votes will be counted in a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [13 favorites]

cenoxo:

Would it shock you to know it's complicated?
posted by argybarg at 8:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

It feels like we’ve just taken back the country from an occupying army.

It's closer to the worst parts of the occupying army have been temporarily defeated, but the underlying conditions that brought them to such power are still there and must still be vanquished.

Celebrations are absolutely in order, but now is not the time to turn the proverbial swords back into plowshares.
posted by Ouverture at 8:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [16 favorites]

I'm in the UK and thought I was just invested in this as an observer but I'm watching CNN and sobbing now. Watching Van Jones in tears as he explained what this means to his as a black man, a parent, a citizen, a human being, but it was absolutely incredible.

Congratulations to you all, and especially to all of you who have worked so hard to make this happen. The silver lining of a close race is knowing that the work you did mattered.

Also -

The timing is interesting. we learn that the majors called it at the same time Trump is supposed to be speaking. I know this seems funny, but you think maybe Trump learned this and wants to steal the thunder in some awful, Trumpy way?

I honestly assumed the opposite - that they were building to call it sometime soon, and when they saw his timing, figured they'd schedule it right against him. The ultimate 'switch the camera off' moment.
posted by penguin pie at 8:43 AM on November 7, 2020 [18 favorites]

Congrats on getting of... whatever that was neighbors ! Very happy for you all.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 8:44 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

from Vox’s Aaron Rupar, this is the clip of Van Jones crying with relief on CNN - and this is the clip of Wolf Blitzer announcing CNN’s projection
posted by bitteschoen at 8:44 AM on November 7, 2020 [24 favorites]

NYC is SCREAMING
posted by prefpara at 8:44 AM on November 7, 2020 [20 favorites]

FINALLY. THANK GOD.

I have not posted in any of these election threads this week, but I read every single post, and you all kept me sane. Thank you for the fantastic distraction during this nightmare. And now we celebrate!
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 8:44 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

Today was the day Joe Biden finally became president
posted by zachlipton at 8:44 AM on November 7, 2020 [22 favorites]

Joy, just so much joy right now.
posted by lepus at 8:45 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Impeached one term president Donald Trump

I'm holding out for 'disgraced former head of the Trump crime family'.
posted by verstegan at 8:45 AM on November 7, 2020 [25 favorites]

...and there goes Fox.

So that would appear to be that.
posted by flabdablet at 8:45 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Whoa, just heard actual neighborhood fireworks
posted by PhineasGage at 8:45 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Fifty-fifty chance that Giuliani, Bondi and Lewandowski take in their suddenly-emptying audience at this landscaping-shop presser, shrug and go get a roast pork at DiNic's instead.
posted by delfin at 8:46 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

Bye Don!
posted by Cardinal Fang at 8:46 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

This has been like listening to your neighbour scream through the walls while they spend several days passing a kidney stone.

You did the work. There's plenty more ahead, but be good to yourself and take a moment.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:46 AM on November 7, 2020 [13 favorites]

Fox says he's golfing right now. Because of course he is.
posted by flabdablet at 8:46 AM on November 7, 2020 [9 favorites]

Link to Twitter screenshot of Drudge Report front page (it's worth it).
posted by MattWPBS at 8:47 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

For the final track, I'd favor Peter Gabriel's "It Is Accomplished"
posted by achrise at 8:47 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Mass WOOHOOings confirmed in Minneapolis and Seattle!!!
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:48 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

To have heads of the cabinet who actually believe in science again will be such a relief. To not have to worry about which armed country the president pissed off in an overnight tweetstorm, wow.
posted by kimberussell at 8:48 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

I never do this, ever, but I'm watching Fox, enjoying them explaining why Biden was the US choice.
posted by bearwife at 8:48 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Could... could this fever dream really, maybe, possibly be staring to be over?
posted by archagon at 8:48 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

I’m in Branson, MO. It’s time to shop for an American flag at the local Dixie Rebel Flag shop in person and tell them exactly what I’m celebrating.

Hold my Tripel.
posted by HyperBlue at 8:48 AM on November 7, 2020 [21 favorites]

I just want to say good luck we’re all counting on us.
posted by esquandolad at 8:49 AM on November 7, 2020 [12 favorites]

So happy. Thank all of you. We did it.
posted by swift at 8:49 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Can confirm that people are shouting "Wooo" and banging on pots and pans in DC. Finally daring to let myself hope that we can get this fucker out of the White House. I probably won't really believe it until they're swearing Biden in on some level, and that's just a start to a long hard process.

Tomorrow we have work to do, but today I think we can actually breathe a little easier.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:49 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

Seen on Twitter: Joe Biden evicts elderly, financially troubled COVID survivor from inner-city public housing.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:50 AM on November 7, 2020 [61 favorites]

Now, all we have to do is hold our breaths over the next two months and hope he doesn’t take out his wrath on the entire planet. It’s gonna be a deluge of executive orders right up to the innauguration.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:50 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

I love when I wake up in the morning and Joe Biden is president!!
posted by triggerfinger at 8:51 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

Old school: Happy days are here again! Everything’s coming up roses! (That’s the current playlist in my head.)
posted by anshuman at 8:51 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Let the door hit you on the way out!
posted by piyushnz at 8:51 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Celebration
Celebrate
Celebrate
Celebration Day
posted by philip-random at 8:52 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Dancing in the Street
posted by biogeo at 8:52 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

PLAY IT LOUD!
Lizzo: Good as Hell!
posted by sexyrobot at 8:52 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

Thorzdad:

I've had the same fear. And yet ... my instinct says he'll fire everyone in his inner circle, go golfing, pardon a bunch of thugs, and do nothing else. He's so fundamentally inept and lazy I don't even think he'll be capable of active damage (just passive, which is plenty).
posted by argybarg at 8:52 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Fox is so eager they called NV for Biden too!
posted by Dojie at 8:52 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

46!!!
posted by gt2 at 8:53 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Hellbound Glory - Get Your Shit And Go
posted by delfin at 8:54 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

I can finally favorite this thread.
posted by gwint at 8:54 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Trump campaign is releasing a statement denying Biden won and vowing ongoing litigation. Fox announcer interrupted his reading to note their most recent legal loss. And that they really don't have a legal team together yet.

Classy. But doomed to miserable failure.
posted by bearwife at 8:54 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

This post needs a potus46 tag.
posted by tonycpsu at 8:54 AM on November 7, 2020 [31 favorites]

from Vox’s Aaron Rupar, this is the clip of Van Jones crying with relief on CNN

But Van, I thought you said Trump was presidential during his first SOTU.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 8:55 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

One More: Johnny Nash - I Can See Clearly Now


It's gonna be a bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day
posted by mikelieman at 8:56 AM on November 7, 2020 [12 favorites]

Exactly how is the election certified? Who does this?

Here you go (pdf)
posted by thelonius at 8:56 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Flush that turd on November 7th doesn’t quite have the same ring to it but I’ll take it!
posted by piyushnz at 8:56 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

Spontaneous screaming and celebration here in very blue St Petersburg! As someone who has a life threatening preexisting condition I’m breathing just a little easier and ready to donate to the Dem’s senate campaigns in GA!
posted by photoslob at 8:57 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

Nate Silver, in his last blog post before the election, said Trump's chances of winning were around 1 in 10. Which is near the likelihood of there being a rainy day in Los Angeles. I took that potential very seriously, and so held off celebrating until until all the major outlets have called it, which they have. All major outlets have called the race for Biden.

On a rainy day in Los Angeles.
posted by tclark at 8:58 AM on November 7, 2020 [72 favorites]

Biden just tweeted his victory acknowledgement and it's great.
posted by bearwife at 8:59 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

Here's a fact checking live tweet of Giuliani giving some fraudulent statements to a depleted number of press who still care, outside Four Seasons Landscaping.

BBC literally switched to it for about a second, then just went back to Black Lives Matter plaza outside The White House.
posted by MattWPBS at 8:59 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

This is the 1945 explosion of the Nuremberg swastika. Enjoy!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:59 AM on November 7, 2020 [16 favorites]

Piyushnz, technically, we did flush the turd on November 3rd. We just didn't know enough numbers until November 7.
posted by Alterscape at 9:00 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Woooooo hooooooo!!!!!!
posted by Gray Duck at 9:00 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Fireworks going off outside, here - in Dundee, Scotland.
posted by offog at 9:00 AM on November 7, 2020 [25 favorites]

I had really been hoping the Times would play its crossword jingle when the front page headline finally turned over.
posted by wreckingball at 9:00 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

"HAIR" - "AQUARIUS"
posted by mikelieman at 9:01 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

I didn't want to acknowledge that "I'll Call B4 I Cum" was stuck in my head and is now playing at full volume — but I think my subconscious is right.
posted by argybarg at 9:01 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

GRITTY 2024
posted by lazaruslong at 9:02 AM on November 7, 2020 [13 favorites]

I've been watching Ghouliani filling his diaper over on cspan for the last few minutes and knowing that it doesn't matter anymore makes this an entirely different experience.
posted by phunniemee at 9:03 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

I suspect the Trump grift is now about to go to 11, or to 12 from 11, anyway. I would not be at all surprised if he doesn't spend a single remaining day at the white house, instead staying at Trump properties to rack up the last few million. He's going to need it.

(I thought W was pretty awful, spending what seemed like half his presidency on vacation on his ranch, but Trump exceeded that in spades.)
posted by maxwelton at 9:03 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

Congratulations and Thank You from Berlin/Germany.
posted by romanb at 9:03 AM on November 7, 2020 [13 favorites]

"We're gonna be all right."
posted by emmet at 9:03 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

I know a lot of people are worried about what Trump will do in the lame duck session, but I think he will slink off to Mar-A-Lago for golf this weekend and never return. Too much work for this bad boy. I'm just glad he doesn't have a dog named Checkers.
posted by effluvia at 9:03 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Congratulations and Thank You from Edmonton/Canada.
posted by mazola at 9:04 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

spending what seemed like half his presidency on vacation on his ranch

Maybe if Trump had spent more time clearing brush and less time golfing, we'd be looking at a very different result today.
posted by thelonius at 9:05 AM on November 7, 2020

Congratulations! We'll be uncorking our champagne up here in Canada.
posted by exolstice at 9:05 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Statement by President-elect Joe Biden:

I am honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and Vice President-elect Harris.

In the fact of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of Americans voted. Proving once again, that democracy beats deep in the heart of America.

With the campaign over, it's time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation.

It's time for America to unite. And to heal.

We are the United States of America. And there's nothing we can't do, if we do it together.

posted by glonous keming at 9:05 AM on November 7, 2020 [22 favorites]

I WANT TO WOO. I WANT TO GO OUT IN THE STREETS AND WOO!

... But I'm thinking, here in Maricopa County, might not be the best choice.
posted by meese at 9:05 AM on November 7, 2020 [9 favorites]

This post needs a potus46 tag.


Done, plus “BidenWins!!!”
posted by darkstar at 9:05 AM on November 7, 2020 [9 favorites]

I know a lot of people are worried about what Trump will do in the lame duck session, but

I've said it more than once. This is all going to end with Trump on the run. It will be a TV show.
posted by philip-random at 9:05 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Celebrations are absolutely in order, but now is not the time to turn the proverbial swords back into plowshares.

Don't worry buddy. No one thinks it is.
posted by biogeo at 9:05 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

Congratulations! Also I admit y’all managed to get me to finally watch Airplane
posted by dhruva at 9:06 AM on November 7, 2020 [22 favorites]

Update, Richard Hall's livetweeting of Giuliani has come to an end.

I came to Four Seasons Total Landscaping to see if the president’s lawyers would offer any evidence of the fraud they have been alleging. They haven’t. So I’m leaving.

posted by MattWPBS at 9:06 AM on November 7, 2020 [17 favorites]

Seriously looking forward to the moment when mandatory drinking of Starbucks every day finally becomes the law of the land.
posted by invincible summer at 9:07 AM on November 7, 2020 [11 favorites]

Yes, the "remember to never fully be happy" Gregorian chorus is really not helpful right now.
posted by argybarg at 9:07 AM on November 7, 2020 [37 favorites]

I feel like there was a lot of fear (there was in this household) of reactionary violence in the event of a Biden win. I don't want to jinx it, but it looks like that's not going to happen? Except for the noise about lawsuits, it looks like the Trump camp is collectively slinking off with their tail between their legs. Trump may be making mouth noises still, but it looks like a lot of his erstwhile followers are allergic to the low-energy loser vibe.
posted by jackbishop at 9:07 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

So what are the current odds that Biden will actually be 47 because Trump will resign in order to have Pence pardon him last minute?
posted by vuron at 9:08 AM on November 7, 2020 [9 favorites]

The parade of poll watchers being trotted up to say that some pens look very similar are all being told by Giuliani to take their masks off and then shake his hand, while he perches a foot away from them the whole time like a breathy vulture. Will the lawn & garden be the next superspreader event?
posted by phunniemee at 9:08 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

I am still going to be obsessed wondering if it was supposed to be at the Four Seasons Hotel, which is a mile from the Convention Center, and what progression of grabassitude caused it to be held 20 minutes out of town.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:08 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

I'm watching WGN's coverage and their legal expert basically said if you wanted to mount a serious legal challenge you need to get the guys who were in charge of Bush v. Gore. I paraphrase, "I don't think Rudy Guiliani is going to cut it."
posted by Constance Mirabella at 9:09 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

America the Beautiful - Ray Charles
posted by biogeo at 9:09 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

I repeat, time for the Victory Dance!
posted by y2karl at 9:09 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

bearwife: “Biden just tweeted his victory acknowledgement and it's great.”

It really is great. It brought a tear to my eye to see something that made me think of Langston Hughes’ Let America Be America Again.

offog: “Fireworks going off outside, here - in Dundee, Scotland.”

However, this? This set me to sobbing.
posted by ob1quixote at 9:09 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

So, I am as glad as anyone and this thread is likely to move fast and away from any discussion of this, but the Politico article that philip-random linked to earlier, The Election That Broke the Republican Party, is very good and very useful for documenting which Republicans have acted which ways. That is important because I think Republicans have positioned Trump as their fall guy as they replace the veneer of respectability over the party that he ripped off (all those enraged Trumpists accusing Fox News of being socialist puppets? they like that Republicans have been the party of overt white supremacist fascism). They cannot be allowed to. There is enough evidence in their various attempts to break US democracy to call that a coup. All of them are complicit, most of them have been active participants, very few of them distanced themselves from any of this and most of those have either played the role of Official Party Dissenter (which acts to enable the authoritarian dynamic by having the appearance of opposition without the reality) or have only distanced themselves very suddenly and half-assedly (such as McConnell's statement; he was all aboard the fascism train until Republicans flubbed it by waiting too long and sending out Trump, who can't deliver a statement with even pretend conviction and was so terrified he just gave off the stench of failure at what was to be the moment of declaring victory).

Celebrate right now, but stay vigilant and don't forget.
posted by Lonnrot at 9:10 AM on November 7, 2020 [40 favorites]

> Seriously looking forward to the moment when mandatory drinking of Starbucks every day finally becomes the law of the land.

Hear that knock at the door? That's Nevada, with 328.2M iced coffees.
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:10 AM on November 7, 2020 [24 favorites]

We did it!

Now the real work begins. We have to purge the rot that is Trumpism.
posted by Gelatin at 9:10 AM on November 7, 2020 [13 favorites]

I came to Four Seasons Total Landscaping to see if the president’s lawyers would offer any evidence of the fraud they have been alleging. They haven’t. So I’m leaving.

Was it ever made clear why they did this at a landscaping company? Was the owner involved somehow? So bizarre.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:10 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Hell yes! This weekend, we celebrate, but I’m gonna need you to keep that same energy on Monday and start fighting for those two seats in Georgia
posted by KGMoney at 9:11 AM on November 7, 2020 [18 favorites]

but I think he will slink off to Mar-A-Lago for golf this weekend and never return.

Nah, McConnell & Stephen Miller are going to bully him back into "working" because they desperately need some messaging to drive turnout for the January Georgia Senate runoffs. And to jam through any last minute appointments/rule changes/legislation. If all he does is sullenly scrawl his name in Sharpie on whatever they put in front of him, that's all they need.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:11 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

For those of you wishing to uncork a fine vintage of schadenfreude...

Owner of 'Trump Unity Bridge,' a roving shrine to Trump, arrested in Detroit for riding dirty:

Though it was festooned with Blue Lives Matter flags, the "Trump Unity Bridge" — a sort of Mad Max-esque roving shrine to President Donald Trump that is the creation of Michigan man Rob Cortis — was impounded in Detroit on Friday. Cortis was also arrested by Detroit Police.

Apparently Cortis was riding dirty.

According to WWJ's Vickie Thomas, the Trump Unity Bridge had an invalid license plate, and Cortis, of Livonia, had an outstanding warrant for his arrest from Canton for a charge of disturbing the peace. Police warned him on Wednesday not to return to Detroit, which was captured by photographer Rusty Young and shared with Metro Times.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:11 AM on November 7, 2020 [12 favorites]

This reminds me of nothing so much as the time we had a crooked property manager at my block of flats.

When he was finally ousted and replaced by a decent company, there was a few days of rage from him, firing flyers into all our mailboxes threatening legal action, posters on doors etc, his anger was palpable and it felt like he'd never leave - then he realised it was over for him, he gave up and fucked off and was never heard of again.

I mean, Trump feels like him both in terms of the pattern of behaviour ('is ousted, rages, threatens legal action, fails, collapses and disappears') and the gravity. He's no more than a jumped up crooked property manager and getting about as much attention.
posted by penguin pie at 9:12 AM on November 7, 2020 [13 favorites]

Wow. My Marine uncle who’s voted Republican since Reagan just told the family, “Time to hold a military tribunal to prosecute Trump for treason with Russia. And then hang him.”

Holy shit, Uncle Pat! We need to have some beers.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:12 AM on November 7, 2020 [86 favorites]

Someone get Steve Kornacki back into his hibernation pod. We've kept him out way longer than the manufacturer recommends!
posted by cmfletcher at 9:13 AM on November 7, 2020 [11 favorites]

whew. What a relief.
posted by bluesky43 at 9:14 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Was it ever made clear why they did this at a landscaping company? Was the owner involved somehow? So bizarre.

Supposedly that's at least an area of Philly that went Trump? (And we all realize that Trump himself initially Tweeted just "Four Seasons" and then had to clarify that it wasn't at the fancy hotel, yeah?) But otherwise I got nothin'.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:14 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

I just can't wait to hear the Democratic speaker lineup for the runoffs in Georgia.
posted by effluvia at 9:15 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Hillary Clinton’s congratulatory tweet is excellent (if bittersweet).

“It's a history-making ticket, a repudiation of Trump, and a new page for America.”
posted by darkstar at 9:16 AM on November 7, 2020 [26 favorites]

I was thinking early this morning about a website that does a formal accounting of the previous admin's sins, the perpetrators, and the proposed resolution. lookforwardbutalsobackward.com maybe?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:16 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

This thread has been incredibly sustaining for me this week, and if you can I hope you’ll join me in keeping MetaFilter itself sustained with a monthly donation.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:16 AM on November 7, 2020 [33 favorites]

I feel like I've been holding my breath for four years.
posted by gamera at 9:16 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

Sweet - Fox On The Run
posted by flabdablet at 9:16 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

It's going to be a tough day for Donnie having to sit listening to Biden's inaugural speech while looking across a bigger crowd than he's ever seen before.
posted by JackFlash at 9:16 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

And Nevada has just gone blue.
posted by acb at 9:17 AM on November 7, 2020 [15 favorites]

jackbishop: I am still worried about reactionary violence, but not nearly as much as I was before the week began. I think if Republicans had acted differently and more decisively, things could have gone very badly this week. They flubbed it, though, and for whatever reason this one time the media stepped up and presented Trump as the lying, whiny, sulky, stupid manchild that he actually is, which sucked enormous amounts of air out of the whole thing.

Middle-term, I am still very worried. Short-term, I think we may have lucked out this time. It may be too early to tell, but fingers crossed. This week has gone much better than I thought it would.
posted by Lonnrot at 9:17 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

The Trump presidency is going to be a Scorcese movie, isn't it?
posted by mazola at 9:18 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

“Shanna, the Trumpists bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting into. I say, let 'em crash.”
posted by mosk at 9:18 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

Seriously looking forward to the moment when mandatory drinking of Starbucks every day finally becomes the law of the land.

As an adopted New Englander, this will be a disaster. Dunkin all the way. It's one of the few things I will miss about the place when we make it back to California.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 9:18 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Okay, so the landscaping was a rebuke of California for not vacuuming the forests, and the Four Seasons Hotel was a reminder that Winter is Coming.
posted by effluvia at 9:18 AM on November 7, 2020

The Trump presidency is going to be a Scorcese movie, isn't it?

Coen Brothers, I think.
posted by acb at 9:19 AM on November 7, 2020 [32 favorites]

Yeah, let’s not do the huge crowd thing. Coronavirus will be a running fight starting in 70 or so days. We know shit wont happen before then.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:19 AM on November 7, 2020 [11 favorites]

As long as the taco trucks on every corner have good coffee (and tea), we’ll be fine.
posted by darkstar at 9:19 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

Was Trump planning on a presser? I want to see him whimper.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:19 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Rick Santorum being taken to task on CNN now is great. Fuck this country needs a truth and reconciliation session.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:20 AM on November 7, 2020 [15 favorites]

Bunch of happy folks watching TV while waiting for their orders at my local Dunkin Donuts today.
posted by biogeo at 9:20 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

And there's a new (faster loading for now) election celebration thread over here.
posted by PhineasGage at 9:21 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Was it ever made clear why they did this at a landscaping company?

because whoever was tasked to set it up was pissed off, sick to death of days, weeks, months of exhausting and toxic bullshit. And he'd probably visited Fantasy Island Adult Books recently, maybe to pick something up for his boss. So fuck it, nobody was looking over his shoulder for a while, he set it up.
posted by philip-random at 9:21 AM on November 7, 2020 [10 favorites]

And celebration honking outside!
posted by biogeo at 9:22 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Here's my contribution to the playlist:

Peter Gabriel "It Is Accomplished"
posted by oakroom at 9:22 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

man this makes my story about biden handling my yo-yo once much more compelling
posted by logicpunk at 9:22 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

The Real Dark Souls starts here
posted by sainttoad at 9:23 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Was it ever made clear why they did this at a landscaping company?

"Yo, Ghouls, I need you and a coupla boys to go to a quarry for a meet. Smooth as silk, get me?"
posted by No Robots at 9:24 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Yeah, let’s not do the huge crowd thing. Coronavirus will be a running fight starting in 70 or so days. We know shit wont happen before then.

I've been wondering about that. Can even a President-Elect Biden start to get some good done on COVID by signaling what his admin is going to do? Start applying pressure on states to increase restrictions?
posted by gurple at 9:24 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

And there's a new (faster loading for now) election celebration thread over here.


My work here is done.

See you in the celebration thread, y’all!
posted by darkstar at 9:27 AM on November 7, 2020 [12 favorites]

Can even a President-Elect Biden start to get some good done on COVID by signaling what his admin is going to do?

Scoop: Biden to announce COVID-19 task force Monday
posted by philip-random at 9:27 AM on November 7, 2020 [34 favorites]

Can even a President-Elect Biden start to get some good done on COVID by signaling what his admin is going to do?

He can encourage states and possibly federal orgs to ignore anything short of a direct, absolute order from P45 or the Senate, and instead focus on getting people healthy. He can't create more money, but knowing they'll have future support could inspire people to do the jobs they want to do instead of trying to do them around the edges of appeasing the presidont's mood. Knowing they would be re-hired if fired could help.

If he played dirty, which he doesn't, he could make it known that he'll throw around pardons for violating existing laws that he's going to remove.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:28 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

I think the deplatforming of the "herd immunity experts" in Trump's orbit will make a difference in peoples' behavior. I hope.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:29 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

I just want to tell us all good luck. We're all counting on us.
posted by Justinian at 9:29 AM on November 7, 2020 [12 favorites]

So what are the current odds that Biden will actually be 47 because Trump will resign in order to have Pence pardon him last minute?

Can Trump be pardoned for crimes that he has yet to be charged with?
posted by hydrophonic at 9:29 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Fuck yeah! Thanks to everyone in these threads for being awesome!!
posted by Dr. Send at 9:29 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Above all, I'm just really happy for Leslie Knope.
posted by penguin pie at 9:31 AM on November 7, 2020 [17 favorites]

Biden’s ready to start his pandemic response immediately
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:32 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

So what are the current odds that Biden will actually be 47 because Trump will resign in order to have Pence pardon him last minute?
To pardon somebody, that person first needs to have been accused of a crime. Not a cert by January.
(And congtats America from Scotland. Am imagining the length of all those 44 threads printed out. There has been a long and painful path. )
posted by rongorongo at 9:32 AM on November 7, 2020

So what are the current odds that Biden will actually be 47 because Trump will resign in order to have Pence pardon him last minute?
How beautiful would it be if Trump resigned, expecting a pardon, and then Pence was like, "Haha, fuck you, you're screwed."
posted by xedrik at 9:33 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

COVFEFE.
posted by srboisvert at 9:33 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

So fuck it, nobody was looking over his shoulder for a while, he set it up.

and ummm, shame on me for assuming it was guy.
posted by philip-random at 9:34 AM on November 7, 2020

The current pres is supposed to speak after Giuliani I think.. Newt Gingrich fully on team "it was stolen". Charge him with election interference as well.
posted by sexyrobot at 9:36 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

To pardon somebody, that person first needs to have been accused of a crime. Not a cert by January.

Ford pardoned Nixon with no specific charges pending.
posted by mr_roboto at 9:36 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

Living in America - James Brown
posted by linux at 9:36 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Can Trump be pardoned for crimes that he has yet to be charged with?

Yes, but he can't be pardoned for crimes he hasn't committed yet. One of the "gotchas" of a pardon is putting the recipient on the stand, where he can't take the 5th because he's got immunity - and then lying becomes perjury.

Experts are divided on whether he can pardon himself. (Which I suppose means, "that question goes to SCOTUS.")
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:36 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

CNN: "We're not going to read you Trump's statement because it's full of false information... He is the one spreading fake news right now."

I mean that's great, four years earlier would have been greater, but we'll take it, I guess.
posted by penguin pie at 9:37 AM on November 7, 2020 [42 favorites]

Don't worry buddy. No one thinks it is.

When people in this very thread say "I can finally rest now.", I take them at their word.
posted by Ouverture at 9:39 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

46 > 45. Because Maths.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:40 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

resting != giving up. Even activists are allowed to rest for chrissakes. Give it a minute.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:44 AM on November 7, 2020 [52 favorites]

Someone please add "Hit the Road, Jack" to the playlist, because I'm not able to make that happen for some reason!
posted by taz at 9:45 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

I am still catching up to what the fuck was the deal with Ghouliani et al. at a random mob-front landscaping company outside Philly? What was that ???

And now I don't even care.
posted by Dashy at 9:46 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

When people in this very thread say "I can finally rest now.", I take them at their word.

I love you all today but to quote the new President, will you shut up, man?

Seriously, people are finally taking a breath and fuck yeah you can take them at their word that the rest they’re looking forward to is literal physical rest, after days of anxious news-scrolling. It doesn’t mean they’re going to rest on their laurels and be politically passive just because they’re celebrating and relaxing, ffs! Are you Glenn Greenwald in incognito?
posted by bitteschoen at 9:48 AM on November 7, 2020 [43 favorites]

This Sister Act meme is incredible and makes me cry every time I watch it.

Such sweet relief. I am so hopeful. Love you all!
posted by sucre at 9:49 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

I’ve been lurking for more than a decade here, and the equivalent of these threads in 2016 is what helped me get through that night.

These threads over the last few days have been invaluable for my mental health. I’m so thankful to all of you and the mods.

It feels very inadequate but I just chipped in some more money to fund MeFi. Easily the best money I’ve spent all week.

Here’s a link that takes you to the funding page, if anyone else feels so inclined.

(mods: the link you return to after a PayPal donation 404s, goes to a .cfm page instead of .mefi)
posted by stumbling at 9:49 AM on November 7, 2020 [10 favorites]

Dangerously unstable, listing badly, and holed below the waterline, nobody knows how the hell von Tromp got into this position in the first place.
posted by rongorongo at 9:50 AM on November 7, 2020

Omg Giuliani is slaying me right now. I am watching the wheels kind of slowly click together in his head as he realized that what he just described was basically a lawsuit at the federal and state level against basically the entire government. By himself. And then someone asked a question about concession and he was all how can we do that when there are 600,000(!omg) ballots we find questionable. *Slaps forehead, busts out laughing.
tmz 4 seasons landscaping livestream. Slaying me. Hilarious 🤣 #clowns
posted by sexyrobot at 9:52 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Hey guys I've been teaching all morning -- is there any news?
posted by tzikeh at 9:54 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Just saw someone on Twitter having a hissy fit that they "don't want to live in this nation where our GREAT PRESIDENT TRUMP is getting ROBBED! This is absolutely the final straw, my KIDS ARE IN DANGER and I won't live in this nation another day! I'M MOVING TO ALASKA AND FINALLY LEAVING THE USA!!!"

Heh.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:58 AM on November 7, 2020 [16 favorites]

"We have a very strong circumstantial case." -rudy g. That's a quote.

BWAAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! #CLOWN!
posted by sexyrobot at 9:58 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Hey guys I've been teaching all morning -- is there any news?

Yes! We all need to buy new t-shirts that say:

45
86d
posted by taz at 9:59 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Bleating and babbling, we fell on his neck with a scream
posted by flabdablet at 10:00 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

I'm annoyed at the number of "This Tweet is Unavailable to You" errors I'm seeing. Could people please quote tweets, or at least give context about them? (Apparently this is a common Twitter thing, esp for logged-out people.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:01 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Dave Chappelle on SNL tonight live
posted by robbyrobs at 10:02 AM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

i get that error every time. refresh clears it up for me.
posted by 20 year lurk at 10:03 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

Apparently this is a common Twitter thing, esp for logged-out people

Just refreshing the page has always worked for me.
posted by flabdablet at 10:04 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

‘Na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye’: Massive crowd surrounds White House after Trump defeated by Biden
posted by robbyrobs at 10:13 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

For the appropriate music collection: Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland, played by the Presidents Own US Marine Band. (SLYT)
posted by plonkee at 10:13 AM on November 7, 2020 [9 favorites]

Turntables, Janelle Monáe
posted by Spathe Cadet at 10:14 AM on November 7, 2020 [13 favorites]

I'm really glad for you all that this went down without significant violence. I was really expecting shootings and physical voter suppression during the election and violence and riots after.

The only downer here is that Trump is going to be able to claim a bigger inauguration crowd than Biden and not be lying for once. Hopefully having lost his twitter account he'll have drifted into extreme right wing radio obscurity by then.
posted by Mitheral at 10:16 AM on November 7, 2020

Make America Great Again? We just did that today
posted by robbyrobs at 10:17 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

EmpressCallipygos: "Just saw someone on Twitter having a hissy fit that they "don't want to live in this nation where our GREAT PRESIDENT TRUMP is getting ROBBED! This is absolutely the final straw, my KIDS ARE IN DANGER and I won't live in this nation another day! I'M MOVING TO ALASKA AND FINALLY LEAVING THE USA!!!""

Bi den
posted by chavenet at 10:20 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

Sometimes - Sheenagh Pugh

Sometimes things don't go, after all,
from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,
sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

A people sometimes will step back from war;
elect an honest man, decide they care
enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.

Sometimes our best efforts do not go
amiss, sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
that seemed hard frozen: may it happen for you.
posted by penguin pie at 10:20 AM on November 7, 2020 [20 favorites]

Dave Chappelle on SNL tonight live

He hosted the first SNL after the last election, I guess they planned it this way.
posted by Liquidwolf at 10:20 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

I’d give anything to be in NYC or DC today! Celebrations in Oklahoma (where I am visiting family) are subdued, at best, but my heart is still full!
posted by double bubble at 10:22 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

Goodbye small hands
Goodbye small heart
posted by miles per flower at 10:23 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

America the Beautiful - Ray Charles yt

the ghost of Woody Guthrie gave me a nudge, asked me cue up This Land Is Your Land
posted by philip-random at 10:24 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

Don't go OUT and celebrate. Numbers are crazy. Call everybody!
posted by sexyrobot at 10:25 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

the ghost of Woody Guthrie gave me a nudge, asked me cue up This Land Is Your Land

The ghost of Sharon Jones gave me a nudge, asked me cue up This Land Is Your Land.
posted by MonkeyToes at 10:28 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

The wild mushroom I foraged this afternoon with my oldest (chanterelles, horn of plenty, wood urchin, pinkmottle woodwax and a few grey knights) needed cleaning, so I missed the AP call - what an amazingly satisfying conclusion to the agonizing four years and this absurd electoral limbo. It’s quite clear that there’s immense work ahead, to repair all the specific (and historic) damage. We’ll be rooting for you all, and hopefully righting mothership Earth together, from here on out...
posted by progosk at 10:29 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

...and The Mavericks remind us all: It's a Brand New Day!
posted by MonkeyToes at 10:30 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Speaking of Woody Guthrie :
All You Fascists Bound to Lose
posted by pilibeen at 10:32 AM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

Omg that debacle at the 4 seasons (landscaping) is too much. It's literally filmed in front of a pulldown garage door. I think they're all out of money. Like for real.. isn't this whole 'sue the country' lawsuit grift just to pay back the campaign?.. and isn't he (according to NYT iirc) heavily invested (via the foundation/main company) in his own campaign? Like for real I think he might be BROKE too.
posted by sexyrobot at 10:37 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

Wingnuts Now Ready For Us To Throw Them In The Gulags, As We Have So Long Dreamed
posted by robbyrobs at 10:38 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

In a legal sense, nothing has changed from this morning.

An important PR victory has occurred. And, since Trump and his inner circle don't actually understand how the US government works and operate exclusively on the PR/social level, this is significant. Having now all of the major TV news networks willing to publicly express confidence that Biden will be the next president significantly undermines Trump's social reach, as well as his administration's ability to affect foreign policy. Having major new outlets willing to describe Trump's lies directly as lies is also huge. This is definitely something worth celebrating, and I begrudge no one taking the weekend to do so.

While Trump, his kids, and the other grifters and hacks in most of his inner circle don't understand that legally nothing has changed today, some important people do: namely, McConnel and Barr. I know that many folks here on Metafilter have some sense of this, from the questions that folks have asked about what elements of transition to a new presidency are norms versus legal requirements. These are important questions to be asking and details to be paying attention to. I know that most of you celebrating today fully understand this, and will remain on the lookout for what sort of harms can still occur before Biden and Harris take office on January 20, 2021. I know most of you wish for facts and reality to matter more than they seem to have mattered under Trump - I do too, which is part of why I worry about the seeming popular misunderstanding of the election being "called" as in formally decided today. It's important to understand exactly what power the Trump administration and current Senate still have, to know what potential harms we still face before January 20. I hear, and am strongly encouraged by, the commitment many of you have made to working on the runoff Senate seats in Georgia after we take this moment to celebrate. This will be very important work, but sadly not our only work in the coming two months.

Definitely take this weekend to celebrate, because an important and significant PR victory has been won today. But also please continue our acknowledgements that democracy is about we, the people. Some of the celebratory wording makes me worry that we want to abdicate some of our power, to let the major TV networks decide when elections are completed and who the winner is, rather than us and our elected representatives. Some of the celebratory wording - particularly, about Biden sounding like an "adult" and that being a relief - makes me worry that while we reject the idea of wanting a stongman daddy in charge of us, we would be happy with a kindly daddy instead, rather than no daddy and being in charge of ourselves in a truly democratic manner. Some of the wording sounds to me like what I heard when Obama was first elected, when large numbers of people de-mobilized after the election instead of continuing to exert pressure on the Obama administration once it was inaugurated to follow up on campaign promises (closing Guantanamo? better immigration policies? decreasing some of the unilateral power of the Executive and reversing some of the provisions of the Patriot Act?). This time around, I am more hopefully because I see the many, many people involved in ongoing community organizing who understand both the potential and limitations of electoral organizing, who understand the need to apply continued pressure as well as how to do so, and who are committed to that ongoing work. Let us celebrate today's battle, because celebrating your incremental wins is crucial in any social movement; but let's celebrate that hard work that all of us have done, and will continue to do, that has led to the social/PR victory and change in how the major news and TV networks report on and treat Trump that we are celebrating today.
posted by eviemath at 10:45 AM on November 7, 2020 [20 favorites]

Well, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work fixing all the shit that’s been broken. Congrats gang, I’m really proud of us.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:45 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

Could people please quote tweets, or at least give context about them?

Because also Twitter sucks and I don't want to give them traffic.
posted by medusa at 10:48 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

Country to Donnie: Erykah Badu - Tyrone
posted by ctmf at 10:53 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

In case anyone else, like me, has been wondering why it suddenly got kind of quiet in here: Biden victory thread.
posted by penguin pie at 10:58 AM on November 7, 2020 [9 favorites]

From National Treasure Chuck Tingle:
Upset Tromp Supporter Pounded In The Butt By His Search For Meaning Now That His Bigoted Cult Leader Has Been Voted Out
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:02 AM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

I don't know what the precise amount of time is that should be allowed to elapse between the announcement of good news and the hectoring of people for being too celebratory about what may be an incremental step toward the desired end state, but I'm pretty sure it's measured in days and not hours. The very same arguments being used to support dire warnings about the dangers of being too happy about this can be turned right around at those doing the lecturing. Take your own advice and save your energy for the fights ahead -- including against those you deem to be not sufficiently conflicted about Biden's win.
posted by tonycpsu at 11:02 AM on November 7, 2020 [20 favorites]

Christ for President

The only way
We could ever beat
These crooked politician men
Is to cast the moneychangers
Out of the temple
Put the carpenter in
With a job and pension for young and old
We will make hallelujah ring
Every year we waste enough
To feed the ones who starve
We build our civilization up
And we shoot it down with wars
posted by Rumple at 11:04 AM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

Hey, uh, anyone know what's going to happen to Space Force now?
posted by meese at 11:05 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Fireworks going off outside, here - in Dundee, Scotland.

I’d just like to note that a lot of Scots ended up in Pennsylvania, and found purchase there in the landscape as one that mirrored their former home. In fact, the Allegheny Mountains and the Scottish Highlands were once the same mountain chain when Pangea was doing it’s thing.

So, enjoy the celebration in Dundee. Some of your neighbors likely have kin in PA that pushed this over the top for Biden.
posted by glaucon at 11:07 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Meanwhile at the landscaping company beside the dildo shop the orange thing turns up announcing he is about to become the first compostable ex-president of the US, as he is turned into flower food while screaming, the dying Edmund in King Lear style, that his heart remains crooked.
posted by runcifex at 11:07 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Hey, uh, anyone know what's going to happen to Space Force now?

Reports are it has been renewed for a second season. I know it got a lukewarm reception, but I kind of liked it as a dramedy, rather than a straight-up comedy -

Oh.
posted by nubs at 11:08 AM on November 7, 2020 [10 favorites]

Hey, uh, anyone know what's going to happen to Space Force now?

Steve Carell will be dealing with a sane off-screen president in season 2?
posted by Clever User Name at 11:09 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

God willing Vulture will post an exhaustive oral history of this four seasons thing. I want books on it. I'll go back to grad school and do my dissertation on it.
posted by Think_Long at 11:11 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

I can only speak for myself, but I am not planning to back off over the next four years. I am looking forward to being more energized to keep doing it, to keep contacting my (reliably Democratic) congresspeople, and also to keep looking for more ways to be better and more involved.

In 2016, I was a mostly checked-out liberal. I always voted, but I rarely did more than that. In 2016, I started phone banking for Clinton.

When the 2016 election was stolen by the unjust existence of the electoral college, I learned to keep fighting, keep calling. But it was hard. For much of 2017, I made calls when I could, donated when I could, but it was really hard to push myself to fight against the evil of that administration.

I am, frankly, having a hard time celebrating, right now, being too wary (hypervigilant?) to relax until Biden and Harris have been in office for six months or so. But to my worried co-MeFites, please understand that "relax" to me doesn't mean backing off, doing less; it means having the energy and the hope and the momentum to do more, contribute more, find more local and diverse ways to make the country and the world better for everyone.

It feels better to build than to put out the terrifying fire, and I'm looking forward to rebuilding, for everyone.
posted by kristi at 11:14 AM on November 7, 2020 [15 favorites]

Good job. I’m glad we (they) were counting [on] us.
posted by meinvt at 11:18 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

I don't know what the precise amount of time is that should be allowed to elapse between the announcement of good news and the hectoring of people for being too celebratory about what may be an incremental step toward the desired end state, but I'm pretty sure it's measured in days and not hours. The very same arguments being used to support dire warnings about the dangers of being too happy about this can be turned right around at those doing the lecturing. Take your own advice and save your energy for the fights ahead -- including against those you deem to be not sufficiently conflicted about Biden's win.

Maybe this wasn't directed at my comment, but in case it was: I'm not arguing that people are being too celebratory. I'm arguing that a few people seem to be celebrating the wrong thing. The danger I speak of moving forward is not in being too happy, but in not understanding the actual situation and what the actually relevant next steps are, so that our energy may be applied effectively when we do get back to work after taking this time to celebrate.
posted by eviemath at 11:21 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Just kicked in a donation to MeFi. Thanks for the reminder, stumbling.

I've run out of favorites again today, but assume I am favoriting you all. Thank you for being here through the past four years.
posted by darkstar at 11:22 AM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

I don't know what the precise amount of time is that should be allowed to elapse between the announcement of good news and the hectoring of people for being too celebratory about what may be an incremental step toward the desired end state, but I'm pretty sure it's measured in days and not hours.

Yes, am waiting till Monday morning. After that, time to volunteer in Georgia!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:32 AM on November 7, 2020 [7 favorites]

May we live in uninteresting times.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 12:04 PM on November 7, 2020 [14 favorites]

Congratulations to all Americans who worked in ways small or large to make today (and a better tomorrow) possible.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:09 PM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

Seriously. My only hope for this election was to vote Trump out, and it happened.
posted by rhizome at 12:14 PM on November 7, 2020

I’ll celebrate this any damned way, and for any damned reason, that I want to.
posted by argybarg at 12:18 PM on November 7, 2020 [12 favorites]

We won we won we won we won
The world turned upside down
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:24 PM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

Oh, and there is mounting evidence that Trump had asked his staff to hold today's press conference at the Four Seasons HOTEL in Philadelphia, and that their selection of the Four Seasons Landscaping facility was simply an enormous mistake that they decided to be all "We meant to do that" about.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:41 PM on November 7, 2020 [19 favorites]

Second layer: it was done on purpose. Nobody makes that mistake. And so they intentionally sabotaged the press conference, fully intending to act like it was a mistake, knowing that they would then be asked to play it off like they meant to do that, which they did.

As a card-carrying deep state civil servant, that totally sounds like a thing I would do. What are they going to do, fire me from the Trump administration?
posted by ctmf at 12:51 PM on November 7, 2020 [6 favorites]

The Trump presidency is going to be a Scorcese movie, isn't it?

Surely, Oliver Stone. Straight to vid, if we are lucky.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 12:53 PM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Schadenfreude is an ugly trait,
To enjoy another’s ill-starred fate,
In the ses of life we’re all worm-tossed
And yet …ha ha ha ha ha, you lost!
-From Brian Bilston
posted by rongorongo at 1:33 PM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

Once we get to the data deep dive stage (which has to wait until, uh, all the data is counted) I want to see a lot of attention paid to the Native vote. I'm seeing maps of Arizona where the blue vote areas directly overlay the Native reservations in the state. The Tohono Oodham reservation specifically got a lot of actual grief and hardship because of the border wall project, so that's an explanation ... But it looks like every single res in the state activated against Trump, AND many of the reservations in other states, including states on the other side of the country. Apparently there should be more information on http://www.nativevote.org/ although I'm having trouble navigating it on mobile.

My impression has always been that Native people have a lot of disdain for electoral and party politics, for historically grounded very good reasons. So I really want to find out a) is that true, b) was there a change this year, and c) did it affect these swing states. And I want political people to notice that and pay attention. If electoral politics can serve Native interests that might be a good change.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 1:59 PM on November 7, 2020 [11 favorites]

I don't know what the precise amount of time is that should be allowed to elapse between the announcement of good news and the hectoring of people for being too celebratory about what may be an incremental step toward the desired end state, but I'm pretty sure it's measured in days and not hours. The very same arguments being used to support dire warnings about the dangers of being too happy about this can be turned right around at those doing the lecturing. Take your own advice and save your energy for the fights ahead -- including against those you deem to be not sufficiently conflicted about Biden's win.

The more I think about this comment, the more upset about it I get. tonycpsu, in general I quite respect your comments and contributions to Metafilter, but you're really wrong here. This isn't the celebration thread. I (and others who are a bit more measured in jubilation) didn't post my comment there - I'm not an asshole. This is the general election thread (part 4), which is exactly the right place to point out that tv networks "calling" the election has zero bearing on the actual election results, and to express concern over popular misconception about this. It's exactly this misconception that the Trump campaign was trying (fortunately unsuccessfully) to exploit in their claims about the election being "stolen". It's entirely relevant to the general election thread to express concern that some peoples' reaction to the tv network move furthers that misconception. We've had plenty of critique (and defense) of the various decisions that news outlets have made in covering the election so far, why should this particular step be any different? And, not being the celebration thread, everyone's varied emotional reactions to today's news (or "news") are equally valid in this general election thread. I strongly urge you to reconsider you "allowed" elapsed time framing in particular, and your comment overall.
posted by eviemath at 2:24 PM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Ain't this some Debbie Downer ish?
posted by haileris23 at 2:29 PM on November 7, 2020

Ain't this some Debbie Downer ish?

tonycpsu's comment has gotten me a bit down when I was feeling a little happier/more hopefully previously, yeah. :( Although I don't think that's a good reason to object to it in the context of this specific thread.
posted by eviemath at 2:47 PM on November 7, 2020

FYI, those "I'm leaving the country for [insert random bizarre place here]" / "my kids are scared" tweets are bot copypasta.
posted by confluency at 2:55 PM on November 7, 2020 [8 favorites]

Speaking of those who want to move north...

A local moving company had 2 ads in the papers...

https://www.petitpetitgamin.com/2020/11/05/le-clan-panneton-fait-une-publicite-pour-rire-de-donald-trump/

One parodying Trump and offering their services for the Trumpists wanting to move north (which is a weird thing to consider they probably combust instantly when setting foot in Canada from all our socialism) and the other offering their services for a certain move that’ll happen out of the WH.

(Sorry it’s in French)

On edit: they received threats from the local Trumpists... WTFF.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 3:06 PM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

The following banner has been appearing this afternoon on satellite CNN Breaking News: “Biden To Address Nation As President-Elect At 8PM ET”.

I’m not seeing a C-SPAN video link yet, will keep checking.
posted by cenoxo at 3:27 PM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

There are a lot of things in my brain right now.
I am cynical and leftist and shit talk Biden, and there's time to do that in the future. For now, I am happy, and rejoicing that this shitstain of humanity has been forced out.

I keep thinking - what happens when this narcissist loses so publicly. I know the reality is he refuses to believe until dragged out kicking and screaming and in his mind it will STILL be a conspiracy.

I just wish his narcissism had enough of a fracture that he did the honorable thing, lock himself in the oval office (which is what Vanity Fair implied he'd do), and "Follow His Leader" (as an infamous Antifa street art shows).

But he won't.

It's so glorious to see so many people honking and joyously uproarious happy.

I will let my cynicism and angst and all the rest come back over the next few days.

The only thing I wonder.

Would he launch nukes? Would he be so desparate and needy to attempt such a thing? And if he did, what authority is there to prevent such a thing.

Also - people be safe, there are a lot of angry Trump people who believe it was fraud and theft, and they have guns and have run people over. We can be happy, but this is a mere tiny blip on the battlefield. The political war has been dominated in the sky (Supreme Court) and on one Flank (The Senate). I don't believe we will win the senate, Georgia's runoffs have a split right-wing presence in both of them.

But for now. I'm happy. I'm relieved. I am angrily denouncing and yelling at the people on twitter who now pretend we need to sing kumbayah and be gracious to fascists who put kids in cages.

We ARE being gracious. A lack of grace would be something along the lines of Ceaucescu or Hitler for the crimes against humanity perpetrated by this regime. A lack of grace would be sending him to the International Criminal Tribunal. Letting the SDNY pursue some charges is the graceful thing.

(Also? to be really graceful, he should be allowed to keep his Twitter account, but only under the name "@LoserDonald" - that's being fair, generous even).
posted by symbioid at 3:27 PM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

> The more I think about this comment, the more upset about it I get. tonycpsu, in general I quite respect your comments and contributions to Metafilter, but you're really wrong here.

I value your contributions here greatly as well, so it gives me no joy to know that my comment has caused you such grief.

> This isn't the celebration thread. I (and others who are a bit more measured in jubilation) didn't post my comment there - I'm not an asshole.

This may have become the non-celebration thread among the two currently active Presidential election threads, but it was certainly still feeling like a celebration thread at the time I refreshed my Recent Activity page. I was reading and posting in both at that time, and seeing celebratory posts in both in my recent activity page in both threads. Scrolling back now, I can see that the intervals between posts were starting to get a bit longer, but right before I posted, people were linking to celebratory YouTube songs and Chuck Tingle titles, so I think we can at least both agree that there's no clean break when a new thread goes up, and that the transition to celebrating in the newer thread wasn't explicit at that time, and has only become obvious with the passing hours.

> This is the general election thread (part 4), which is exactly the right place to point out that tv networks "calling" the election has zero bearing on the actual election results, and to express concern over popular misconception about this.

That's one argument you made, yes, and it's one I could quibble with the finer points on some other time. My problem was with your second paragraph, where you went far beyond that narrow point into a more general don't let your guard down / hold their feet to the fire argument, citing Obama, Gitmo, etc. That's what made it read to me like a pivot from a technical point about who decides elections into a moral argument calling into question whether people who were celebrating are going to be too deferential to a "daddy" candidate (your word).

Seeing that line of argumentation connected your comment to a number of others over the past several days of people pre-emptively warning others to not be too excited because Biden's not progressive enough, or the Senate is going to block everything, or whatever the case may be -- all concerns I share, mind you. In my response, I chose not to quote you, not just to avoid singling you out, but also to make it a more general comment against an undercurrent of posts conflating being happy about the end of Trump with support of or insufficient opposition to all of the bad things that insufficiently progressive Presidents have done.

Look, Biden was *not my guy* in the primaries. I think of the candidates who polled more than low single digits, the only ones I liked less were Mayo Pete, Bloomberg, and Tulsi. But the delta between where we are now under Trump's policies and where we'll be if Biden simply stops doing those evil things and begins to unwind them is *massive*. Yes, there will be so much work to do in order to push the Biden administration and the 117th Congress, but a bunch of people being happy a mere two hours after the race is called is not a sign that everyone is going to abandon the cause.

Jumping in so soon after the call to complain about people "celebrating the wrong thing" just seemed like a really bad reading of the room that could make people feel bad for feeling good, and while your added context helps explain some of it, I don't think I was wrong to ask for some more time so people could just commune and virtually hug and talk about how happy and relieved they are. That's the kind of content I need right now, but if folks want to use this thread as a venue for more skeptical / forward-looking arguments, I'll simply unfollow it and join you all in the next one. Either way, I will hold you personally in high regard for all of the insightful things you've said over the years I've known you.
posted by tonycpsu at 3:55 PM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

I know people like to say particular groups are responsible for the victory and certainly some organizers deserve credit but frankly Biden's victory is the product of every single person who voted for Biden. That's kind of the point of democracy. It's the victory of 70+ million Americans.
posted by srboisvert at 3:55 PM on November 7, 2020 [11 favorites]

If like me you missed the link to the new post: https://www.metafilter.com/189320/Biden
posted by cashman at 3:57 PM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

symbioid > Would he launch nukes? Would he be so desparate and needy to attempt such a thing? And if he did, what authority is there to prevent such a thing.

Can the president launch a nuclear strike on his own? [video with transcript], PBS News Hour, Judy Woodruff, 8/24/2017. It’s not like the President can impulsively push a button any time he wants. There are many military, intelligence, and government personnel involved with investigating, recommending, and executing such a monumental decision.
posted by cenoxo at 4:11 PM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

There's a new post up, and I'll put this there too, but there's also more work to be done in the next few days, for people who have the energy. There's local races that are very tight, where ballot curing could matter. NC and AZ still have ballot curing needed. GA of course has two upcoming Senate runoffs.

Here are upcoming events doing ballot curing in NC (NC ballot curing deadline: Thursday Nov 12, 5pm)
https://www.mobilize.us/nc2020victory/

For AZ ballot curing (available through Tuesday Nov 10), here's a roundup:

In person ballot curing, in AZ, Pima county:
https://pimadems.org/2020cure/
On the same page, scroll down for events in Phoenix, Marydale, Mesa, and Scottsdale.

For people who are not in AZ itself, or for people who cannot do in-person socially distanced canvassing, there's phonebanking: https://norcalblue.org/event/az-voter-protection-ballot-cure-phone-textbanks-with-together-for-2020/all/

It'd be great if people could respond in the new post with links to other states with close elections that need ballot curing; there very well might be on-the-ground mefites who can help.
posted by nat at 4:40 PM on November 7, 2020 [5 favorites]

Some of the celebratory wording - particularly, about Biden sounding like an "adult" and that being a relief - makes me worry that while we reject the idea of wanting a strongman daddy in charge of us, we would be happy with a kindly daddy instead, rather than no daddy and being in charge of ourselves in a truly democratic manner.

I wouldn't worry. The best thing about having an adult as president is that this means that the president understands that he is the president - an elected official with a job to do - rather than any kind of National Daddy.

That's what I'm happy about when I think about having an adult in the Oval Office again, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that way, especially in this community.

As for celebrating when the Press calls it vs celebrating when the deed is actually done: I don't think Fox, in particular, would have called it unless their numbers people convinced the C suite that they had absolutely no choice. The likelihood that the process will now play out in any way that doesn't eject Trump from the White House strikes me as very very low, and I think that this is worth a certain degree of jubilation.

And here's the thing: there was never any point trying to hold Trump's feet to the fire on policy because he never gave a shit about policy. All he ever cared about was looking good to the Fox audience. Now that there will be an adult in the Oval Office, there is once again some chance of persuading the USA to slow down the rate at which it's been petulantly smashing holes through the bottom of our collective lifeboat.

I dunno. Maybe it will learn to pick up a bucket and get baling before I die. But there was no chance it was gonna do that while Trump stayed in charge of handing out the axes.
posted by flabdablet at 6:32 PM on November 7, 2020 [9 favorites]

Some of the celebratory wording - particularly, about Biden sounding like an "adult" and that being a relief - makes me worry that while we reject the idea of wanting a strongman daddy in charge of us, we would be happy with a kindly daddy instead, rather than no daddy and being in charge of ourselves in a truly democratic manner.

This is bizarre. I have never once in my life conflated the word "adult" with the word "daddy." Most adults are not daddies. Kamala Harris is an adult, is she a daddy? People are using "adult" to mean a responsible person. When people say Biden sounds like an adult, they are contrasting it with sounding like a child, or a toddler, or a baby. It used to be that during a presidential election you would start hearing the word "gravitas" all over the place. I haven't heard the word "gravitas" in four years. But what do I know?
posted by GCU Experiencing A Significant Gravitas Shortfall at 7:41 PM on November 7, 2020 [23 favorites]

I'm watching some of the celebrations, are these wifi light-sabres? They all change colour in synchrony. Does anyone know about this? It's pretty cool. I must know what the magic is!
posted by adept256 at 7:52 PM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

There is a new celebratory front page post.
posted by theora55 at 7:54 PM on November 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

I don't want to add any negativity to the Biden 46 post, but I've got a really bad feeling about how McConnell won't make the congratulatory call that the Majority Leader always makes. And the rumblings I'm seeing from the right are still parroting the "count the legal votes" misdirection - along with the (I think) super dangerous statement that 'we won't allow the media to determine the election.' I'm assuming they're all waiting for Trump to concede, but I don't see anyone putting his feet to the fire, and the longer this goes on, the more it feels like we could still be in trouble.
posted by Mchelly at 4:52 AM on November 8, 2020 [5 favorites]

He's going to leave. But the GOP's core message will continue to be "Democrats cheat at elections and also shouldn't be allowed to vote" for the foreseeable.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:00 AM on November 8, 2020 [1 favorite]

Demonization and obstruction will still be the order of the day, I just hope Biden actually knows this by now. I wonder how much kompromat there is on the rest of the RNC by now. Mitch got his aluminum plant and Oleg Deripaska probably has dirt on him.
posted by benzenedream at 7:29 PM on November 8, 2020 [1 favorite]

Man Featured at Giuliani Press Conference is a Convicted Sex Offender (Politico)

That would be Daryl Brooks, who, in addition to the sex offender thing, was arrested in 2008 for failure to pay $70,000 in child support to three different women.
posted by box at 7:23 AM on November 9, 2020 [1 favorite]

More clowns from the clown car come forth. Giulani once more stands in the spotlight. And more meaning is given to the concept of You Can't Make This Stuff Up!
posted by y2karl at 10:30 AM on November 9, 2020 [1 favorite]

Couple more things about Brooks (New Jersey Globe, Daily Beast, New York Daily News)

At various times, he's run for office as a Libertarian, a Green, part of the Poor People's Campaign, and the Reform Party. rarely getting more than 1% of the vote. He also worked for a third-party group supporting Hillary Clinton in 2016. The Daily News piece has some red hot takes from Reed Gusciora, the mayor of Trenton, NJ:

“We all know Daryl. He claimed to be a community activist, but doesn’t have many followers.”

Gusciora called it “scary” that Trump would rely on someone with Brooks’ record to bolster claims about election fraud — and derided Giuliani for what he called a shameless political stunt.

“This falls in line with the Borat legal defense fund,” Gusciora said, referring to Giuliani being pranked by comedian Sasha Baron Cohen for his new movie. “It’s scary that you have someone like Rudy Giuliani in the position that he is in.”

“He couldn’t find the Four Seasons hotel, but he sure found Daryl Brooks,” Gusciora said. “That says it all.”

posted by box at 11:48 AM on November 9, 2020 [3 favorites]

Meanwhile some dude in the program VRChat created a copy of the Four Seasons Garden shop so that people with furry avatars could cavort about in it expressly to freak trump out.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:12 PM on November 9, 2020 [3 favorites]

@DonaldJTrumpJr: 70 million pissed off republicans and not one city burned to the ground.

JFC dude, get a grip. Your Father's whole shtick is firing people (lately by leaving them on a runway somewhere far from home). No city burned to the ground when any of those firings happened either.

PS: no city "burned to the ground" during the BLM protests. Razing towns during protests/riots is more a white supremacist thing.
posted by Mitheral at 1:17 PM on November 9, 2020 [3 favorites]

Meanwhile the fascists carry on.
US to send asylum seekers home to Cameroon despite 'death plane' warnings
Move by the Trump administration comes despite reports that other deportees have gone missing since being repatriated
posted by adamvasco at 1:42 PM on November 9, 2020 [1 favorite]

So Trump is suing to prevent Pennsylvania from certifying their results. McConnell backs his refusal to concede.

I had a good weekend, but Monday is a snap back to reality.
posted by nubs at 3:57 PM on November 9, 2020 [4 favorites]