US Politics February 2019: This is one of the great losers of all time.

Some amazing defenses of Northam on a gay politics blog (loaded with Hillary zealots) include, literally, "1984 was a different time."

If anything, it was worse in 1984 because the civil rights movement was not ancient history.

The other thing: it was Northram's medical school yearbook when the dude was 25.

I love how Republicans assume all high school/college kids went through "racially offensive costume" phases, and not, y'know, just them

"Come on, who hasn't thrown on a Klan hood for a laugh?"

Who even knew med school yearbooks were a thing?

I think they're more of a vanity thing? The craziest aspect of the story is that he concedes he's either the one in blackface or the one in the Klan robe, but he doesn't know which one. Because, you know, it could have been either. Depends on what day of the week it was. M-W-F, blackface. S-Tu-Thurs-Sat, Klan robe.

Common snide response I've seen:

Conservatives: Oh, this guy's a racist, but because he's a Dem you're OK with it?!
Dems: No, we're not, we think he should resign.
Conservatives: ... Oh.
Dems: Now what are you going to do about Steve King, or Trump?
Conservatives: ...

lol

Ralph Northam Should Not Resign Over a 35 Old Picture. He Should Resign Because He Supports Infanticide. https://t.co/0Lv1hMKMuq

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) February 2, 2019

the year Revenge of the Nerds came out

― Οuτις

I get the larger point but, um, RotN is not exactly a landmark of wokeness. One of the rapiest "comedies" ever iirc.

I think that is the larger point

in fairness it was two years before Soul Man

NEWS: Northam is calling Va Dems and telling them that’s *not* him in the yearbook photo and he will make a statement this afternoon to say the same. In other words, he is NOT quitting as of right now.

Story TK

— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) February 2, 2019

Worst case scenario, he's lying.
Best case scenario, he's got at least two racist knuckle-walkers he considers good enough friends to post their picture on his medical school yearbook page.

Jesus, dude, walk away.

then why did he already apologize? did he think it MIGHT have been him but he couldn't remember?

Nice, the Shaggy defense

I don't get it -- he acknowledged yesterday he was one of the two people in the photo?

The narcissism of politicians never ceases to amaze me.

jus resign and go away

Deep down, he just wants to be the Dem Kavanaugh.

Shoulda kept better calendars then...

To see Max mocked by Neera Tanden is not a bad thing but a good thing

So this just happened at my airport. Obv no way of knowing why he did it but sure not getting paid for weeks didn't help. Horrifying:

https://www.local10.com/news/florida/security-issue-at-orlando-airport-halts-flights-officials-say

jfc

it's as if the material conditions of life have some bearing on mental health

they can be exacerbating

A Transportation Security Administration agent was killed Saturday morning after jumping from a hotel balcony into the atrium of Orlando International Airport, authorities said.

was killed? uh, no. this person died and in the most public way they could possibly choose. presumably this TSA agent thought the public needed to witness it and to acknowledge their humanity and their extreme distress.

"If anything, it was worse in 1984 because the civil rights movement was not ancient history."

1984 was a different time for some things, mainly gay rights (I'm constantly surprised by homophobic jokes in things like Friends which to me isn't even very old) but it certainly wasn't for fucking racism. When did Gimmie a Break run the Joey Lawrence singing Mammy episode? Everyone knew blackface was wrong in the early 80's. Gimmie a break!

(except for, apparently, Ted Danson)

Also, regardless of how good a Gov this guy is, you can't really walk this shit back after apologizing for it. What a dummy. Resign.

as noted upthread, his replacement is actually a big improvement, so yeah there's no downside to him resigning.

1984 was not 1884 and even if it was no one wants a reanimated confederate corpse for a liberal governor

RotN was, intentionally and by design, as racist, homophobic, and misogynist as could be. I was just throwing it out as context for 1984

what's RotN?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mRG2oAQhso

revenge of the nerds: the two towers

As cited upthread, "Revenge of the Nerds".

Here’s a video that was running on mtv in 1983
https://youtu.be/OG3PnQ3tgzY

what a talent show!

I’m surprised I was alive in the 80s. It seems like an extraordinarily different kind of amoral civilization

But ohhh, the coke

Your grandparents probably supported eugenic sterilizations.

Moral progress in the last 70 years has proceeded faster than at any other period. It's the silver lining of the apotheosis of opposing elements in Nazism and similar nationalisms of the early 20th century.

^at least in Western democracies. Which accounts for the allegiance/mentorship of reactionary elements with the worst in Russia, Uganda, etc...

A Transportation Security Administration agent was killed Saturday morning after jumping from a hotel balcony into the atrium of Orlando International Airport, authorities said.

was killed? uh, no. this person died and in the most public way they could possibly choose. presumably this TSA agent thought the public needed to witness it and to acknowledge their humanity and their extreme distress.

How sure are you that the floor of the airport wasn't from Mexico?

I’m surprised I was alive in the 80s.

I thought you said you were 29.

That's why he's surprised.

mathperson

I'm 29 and was alive in the 80s

Intetesting that McConnell is leaking this ahead of time
https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/mcconnell-privately-cautioned-trump-about-emergency-declaration-on-border-wall/2019/02/01/5ff1262c-2646-11e9-81fd-b7b05d5bed90_story.html?utm_term=.c4287bf1480b

Which signals he cant keep his caucus in line and would be willing to bring something to the floor to appease them/confront Trump

29yos were alive in a single "eighty" unless we can agree that life begins at conception

“I did not shoot the sherif. How can I be so sure? Because I have such a vivid memory of shooting the deputy.”

— Tim Stanley (@timothy_stanley) February 2, 2019

'Willful Ignorance.' Inside President Trump's Troubled Intelligence Briefings

In the wake of President Donald Trump’s renewed attacks on the U.S. intelligence community this week, senior intelligence briefers are breaking two years of silence to warn that the President is endangering American security with what they say is a stubborn disregard for their assessments.

Citing multiple in-person episodes, these intelligence officials say Trump displays what one called “willful ignorance” when presented with analyses generated by America’s $81 billion-a-year intelligence services. The officials, who include analysts who prepare Trump’s briefs and the briefers themselves, describe futile attempts to keep his attention by using visual aids, confining some briefing points to two or three sentences, and repeating his name and title as frequently as possible.

What is most troubling, say these officials and others in government and on Capitol Hill who have been briefed on the episodes, are Trump’s angry reactions when he is given information that contradicts positions he has taken or beliefs he holds. Two intelligence officers even reported that they have been warned to avoid giving the President intelligence assessments that contradict stances he has taken in public.

I was alive in 89

Trump needs to be removed from office. If a democratic president was displaying this behavior, i don’t think the party would enable it.

lmao Northam's wife prevents him from actually moonwalking at press conference to prove he was a fan of Michael Jackson, presumably to justify blackface

so he says he's not in the photo, but he did wear blackface in med school

well, that's very different