When a Harvard student introduces himself as student government VP, Biden says, “Isn’t it a bitch?”
Good old Joe. In other news, the unemployment rate dropped below six percent for the first time since the Great Recession, which was brought to you by Bush the Lesser. As Biden might say, “That’s a big fucking deal, man!”
The thread — she is open.
schrodinger's cat
Betty [email protected]
You should put up a photo of your pretty seal dog some time, haven’t seen her in a while.
retr2327
I’m guessing that’s supposed to be the “un” employment rate?
Wiseass commenters are also a bitch.
Karen in GA
Joe BIden can be an awesome mofo, can’t he?
In other news, Iggy is home from the vet. Unfortunately, his heartworm treatment was not without side effects.
PsiFighter37
Participation rate keeps dropping. Good that jobs are being added, but the long-term structural employment picture still looks grim, especially for the longer-term unemployed.
Of course, it’d be nice if the House felt any inclination at all to do their jobs and legislate, but of course we all know the GOP has no legitimate interest in creating jobs, despite all their yammering.
Betty Cracker
@retr2327: Fixed — thank you!
zmulls
With all the discontent about Hilary Clinton’s non-candidacy, Biden has a shot to be the alternative. I’m sure he’s thinking about it.
I’d vote for him in a heartbeat, despite the age factor. Ever since I read “What It Takes” I’ve been interested in him running again. Don’t agree with everything, and he is another friend of the banksters, but he’s got the goods.
Origuy
Newsmax headline: Russia Now Leads US in Nuclear Weapons. Not gonna click. So they can destroy us four times over to our three for them. Assuming anybody’s weapons still work.
Betty Cracker
@PsiFighter37: Agreed. While I can understand the Dems’ impulse to shout this good news from the rooftops — it really is an important achievement — I am also wary about making it a centerpiece of upcoming campaigns. A lot of us don’t feel very recovered. I’d like to see them keep emphasizing wealth inequality and noting that most of the gains have gone to the rich while the middle class is still losing ground because of structural issues, as you noted.
Gin & Tonic
I’m sure someone will accuse me of minimizing sexual abuse, but I couldn’t help noting in a news story yesterday about two female high school teachers in Louisiana who were accused of being involved in a threesome with a 16-year-old male student, that “according to the [Times-Picayune], the student allegedly couldn’t help but to tell all of his friends.” Yeah, you think?
Elmo
@Karen in GA: that is wrong, wrong on so many levels
Betty Cracker
@schrodinger’s cat: The challenge is to get a shot of her doing something besides laying on the couch! She is the sweetest critter ever, though. She loves me more than anything in the world, and if I’m gone for even a few minutes, she is so overjoyed to see me again she can’t contain herself.
Corner Stone
@Betty Cracker: I heard one talking head note that wages had not increased so this was the “sweet spot” for investors. Morning Joe was quick to agree. Wage pressure being held flat while unemployment drops sounds like an addition of a lot of shitty paying jobs.
Tone In DC
Joe does keep it real. Love that about him.
With news like this, coming at this time of year, the Senate may yet stay in the hands of the non-batshit insane.
Corner Stone
@Gin & Tonic: I saw that also and thought it would be drenched in the good old double standard contamination, but a lot of the commenters seemed pretty appalled, instead of titillated.
JPL
@Karen in GA: Hugs to Iggy.
PsiFighter37
@Corner Stone: It’s a coded way of saying that the jobs number was good, but there are enough underlying soft points that the Fed won’t hike rates sooner than anticipated. That’s what ‘investors’ are paying attention to.
Karen in GA
@Elmo: We’re pretty upset here, I don’t mind telling you. I’m thinking of suing the vet, but no idea how the case would go. Not a lot of precedent.
Mike J
And since someone will invariably ask, “but what about the u-6?”, it’s at 11.3, down from 12.0 last month and 13.1 a year ago.
Mnemosyne
I love Crazy Uncle Joe. Not sure how I’d feel about him being in charge of the whole shebang, but he’s a lot of fun as VP.
This weekend is packing to move, measuring the new place, and other fun moving-related events. These activities will take up pretty much the entire month of October. Feh.
Corner Stone
@Tone In DC: I hope to whatever deity may be giving the tiniest of fucks that the polling in Iowa is way, way off.
Hopefully the pollsters are all reaching crusty landline having evangelical seniors and not truly reaching the hip young things who are all going to vote D.
Unskew the vote!
Karen in GA
@JPL: Thanks. In reality, so far he seems resigned to life in his crate. Just hoping I can keep him that way for 29 more days.
Corner Stone
@PsiFighter37: Yes, that’s what the talking head went on to say as well.
Karen in GA
@Mnemosyne: Exhausting, but exciting!
CONGRATULATIONS!
@Gin & Tonic: I would have.
Kinda like the old joke about Viagra: “If you have an erection lasting more than 4 hours, call a doctor” – hell, if I have an erection lasting for more than 4 hours, I’m calling everybody!
Origuy
538 is reporting that there are a lot of new voters registering in Ferguson:
That’s about 1000 per city ward.
schrodinger's cat
@Tone In DC: Ssh, don’t you know the official Balloon Juice mantra, we are doomed and are all going to die, impeachment in November and so on. Every silver cloud has a black lining.
shelley
Love me some Joe. Not as much as Leslie Knope, but a lot.
gene108
@PsiFighter37:
I do wonder when someone is going to get around to figuring out how much of the drop is due to Baby Boomers retiring versus discouraged workers quitting the labor force.
There is not anything definitive I’ve read.
@zmulls:
It is interesting how much liberals have forgiven Biden for his past sins*, while never letting go of anything Hillary has done, either real or imagined, i.e. would do because…plug-in various reasons here…
* 1. Head of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings.
2. Support for the 2005 bankruptcy bill that made it harder to go into bankrutpcy and impossible to discharge student loan debt.
3. Voting for AUMF, back in 2002.
shortstop
@Origuy: Well, I deplore the decision of the perennially oppressed and abused to deal with it via exercise of their franchise. Seems like melodramatic overreaction to me.
schrodinger's cat
@gene108: I don’t think they have forgotten, if he is a serious candidate, everything you have stated will come up.
feebog
I love the HuffPo headline, they tout the drop in unemployment, and then at the bottom of their graph showing the drop, they say, what does it matter, labor force participation the lowest since forever. Actually, no. Between 1958 and 1969, as the baby boomer’s were growing up, the LFP was between 58 and 60% It started to climb in 1970, and reached a high of just over 67% in 2000. A baby boomer born in 1950, like my sister, will be turning 65 next year, and will have had at least 40 to 45 years of working life behind him/her. Not all the drop in the LFP is due to baby boomer retirement, but a very significant percentage is. Of course, that does not address the structural problem of guys like the Koch Brothers taking far too much of the economic pie over the past 40 years, and stashing a lot of it in the Caymans instead of re-investing it in the USA.
Davis X. Machina
@gene108: From voxeu.org Labor force participation rate drop-off due to age ,
Elizabelle
@Karen in GA:
Your schnauzer heart.
Good to hear Iggy has, uh, picked up a new skill.
ETA: I stayed with a friend with a mostly Schnauzer (small, but mighty) and loved to watch that little dog strut through his walks. Hear he misses me, but I miss him more!
shortstop
@gene108:
That one was huge. He made a goddamned ass of himself. He DID NOT GET IT and it was infuriating to watch him up there.
But I have forgiven him because he actually learned something and became very good on many women’s issues. It is possible to change, and he did. And I love his crazy amiable uncle shit as much as, and probably more than, the next person.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Karen in GA: I told Iggy to stick with the masters and listen to Johnny Cash, while ignoring the poppy pap some people now call “country.” But he ate my comment, just like he did the food bowl. He ate yesterday’s too.
shortstop
I was hoping to see Violet here this morning. Maybe we still will.
catclub
@PsiFighter37:
The Fed has said repeatedly, and forcefully, that they are watching employment numbers, which are still meh. Nonetheless, those ‘investors’ shit their pants every time something comes up which might influence the Fed to raise rates TODAY.
As a side note I saw this:
in this article: http://www.etf.com/sections/index-investor-corner/23416-swedroe-bonds-and-premiums.html
Dos that really mean that the interest rate on long term US government bonds was 28% + the zero term interest rate in 2011? I never saw that. Any idea what he really means?
Bobby B.
Joe Biden, proud creator of the Drug Czar position and the RAVE Act, For the children!
JustRuss
Tsk, tsk. How inappropriate of Mr Biden. Vice President Cheney never used such language(and in front of the children no less!), unless he was confronting an evil Democrat, who of course deserved it.
/wingnut
Karen in GA
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Iggy likes Johnny Cash.
@shortstop: Same here. Hoping she’s taking a head-clearing break, and starting to feel better.
Corner Stone
@feebog:
I guess this is one of the reasons I’ll never be filthy rich (the main other being I picked the wrong SES to get dropped into), but going from $4B to $40B net worth in just a few years would compel me to start divesting a lot of those funds into community building initiatives.
But I guess their ploy ultimately worked for them. They bought the people needing to be bought, and got the structural changes made to make the wealth increase possible. Practically inevitable.
Elizabelle
Watched the clip. Very funny.
Although: Young Cuomo comes off as an ass, and gets in a dig at Biden as well. He kind of ruins what’s otherwise a funny, irreverent segment.
Iowa Old Lady
I see a headline that will lead me to Boehner’s statement on the unemployment numbers. I haven’t read it yet. Let me see what I can predict:
“There are still too many people out of work. We Republicans have passed job bills the president won’t sign. We need leadership. Also too Isis-Ebola-Benghazi.”
Off to see how I did.
ETA: Wow. I was close.
Belafon
@schrodinger’s cat: Yes, but why aren’t we hearing it now, like we are with Clinton? I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to Biden, so I had forgotten that he was in Congress to vote on the AUMF.
Mike J
@Belafon: Because nobody thinks he’s running. If he were, you’d also hear a lot about how clean and articulate he is.
SiubhanDuinne
@shelley:
I’ve always had a weakness for the “happy warrior” breed of politician. I’ll bet Biden and Humphrey were a hoot during their few years together in the Senate.
zmulls
Yes, Biden chaired the Clarence Thomas hearings and that was a low point for the Senate, but he also chaired the Bork hearings you’ll remember. And Biden was both the chair of the Judiciary Committee and the Foreign Relations committee — he’s no dummy. The “Crazy Uncle Joe” thing is a creation of the media who loves a good personality story.
Yes, I dislike his friendship with the credit card companies and he blew it on the AUMF, but I don’t have a perfect candidate. Elizabeth Warren isn’t going to run so I can’t pull the lever for her.
Biden’s also the one who was pushing for an early partition of Iraq to avoid the sectarian strife we’re seeing now. Maybe it was as bad an idea as all the others, but he was thinking ahead.
A lot comes down to temperament and decision-making — who they will have around them and how they will handle the stuff we don’t know they’re going to have to handle. Again, read “What It Takes” by Richard Ben Cramer — just read the Biden chapters. He’s impressive.
It’s not that I have or haven’t “forgiven” Hilary Clinton for things. I was all ready to vote for her in the coming cycle, but every time she has opened her mouth she has either said something I dislike, or she has been ultra-careful about not saying anything at all, and I’m getting disheartened about the idea of her candidacy. I want someone who’s going to throw it out there a little — she was carefully bringing up the rear during Ferguson, an incident that really cried out for some national dialogue.
I’m still remembering the Health Care planning during the Clinton years, and one of the big problems was that she tried to cook up the plan in as much secrecy as possible — leave us alone and let the smart people figure it out syndrome — she wasn’t getting enough buy-in from the stakeholders. And keeping charlatans and leeches like Mark Penn around — it still baffles me.
I’m concerned about her war-hawkism and her corporatism and her penchant for surrounding herself with a very small circle of DLC operators. But I do admire the way she handled the SecofStage job. I”m still willing to be convinced, but I’ve not been happy with what I’ve seen (and not seen) since she left office.
Davis X. Machina
@zmulls: l
Yet I’ve heard the obverse of this very complaint made about the PPACA — “Why did did the White House even let the Senate touch it? Why didn’t they just deliver a HCR bill all wrapped up with a bow to Max Baucus’ office?”
Tone In DC
@Corner Stone:
Unskew the vote!
LULz.
I have a feeling some areas of Missouri will have higher than usual turnout next month. Despite what some brain donors might say about the motivation of the GOTV.
SiubhanDuinne
@shortstop:
“Motivational Biden” is a Facebook thing I follow because it’s just so damn much fun. Photos of Uncle Joe saying things like “You are awesome! Yes, YOU!” or “Hey, it’s Monday! Make it YOUR week!”
Matt McIrvin
@feebog: One big difference between today and the 1950s was that since women were artificially excluded from many paying jobs and married women from almost all paying jobs, the labor force participation rate for men was very high, between 80 and 90 percent. It’s been declining ever since those times, to somewhere a little below 70 percent today. The rise in the total consisted entirely of women entering the workforce.
Since around 2000, the participation rate has actually been declining for women as well (it topped out around 60 percent and never did get to parity with men, though it looks as if the disparity is still narrowing slightly).
schrodinger's cat
@zmulls: Her main problem is that she still thinks that we are in the 90s. I would also like to know the members of her economic team.
Karen in GA
@SiubhanDuinne: Oooh, I didn’t know about Motivational Biden. That sounds hilarious!
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@shortstop: I hope so also; she’s been on my mind since her comments yesterday.
@Karen in GA: I thought he did! Would you ask him to please stop eating my comments?
catclub
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The_Man_With_The_Disease
Tell it Mr. Pierce!
AA+ Bonds
I’m especially happy that our drone murderers are back hard at work murdering Arab kids, thanks to Obama. Thanks, Obama.
catclub
@schrodinger’s cat:
You have something against Robert Rubin? What could go wrong?
[I do not actually know if he is one of her advisors.]
schrodinger's cat
@catclub: Don’t forget, Larry Women can’t do math and science, Summers.
shortstop
@SiubhanDuinne: Love it! Thanks!
schrodinger's cat
What we need is someone like one of the Roosevelts running for President. Hell, even Teddy is more progressive than most Democrats who will run for President.
Hawes
If Hillary agreed to keep Diamond Joe on as her Veep, I’d be more excited for her candidacy.
Dee Loralei
I think Uncle Joe should be Veep for life. Love that man.
Aimai
@gene108: yup. Its like his entire history is forgiven and forgotten because he’s just do darned cute. He would be a dreadful president. Nice guy, engaging figurehead, mrs biden would be a great first lady but he would be a terrible president.
SiubhanDuinne
@Karen in GA:
It always makes me smile :-)
shortstop
@Aimai: My comments above notwithstanding, I really do not think he’s presidential timbre. I do admire the way he’s handled the thankless job of VP.
schrodinger's cat
@Aimai: And Hillary is going to be a wonderful President, based on what evidence exactly?
ETA: I am not saying that Biden is going to be wonderful but how can one predict how good a President one is going to be, before hand.
Roger Moore
@Mnemosyne:
I remember you saying you’re moving to Pasadena. Whereabouts in Pasadena?
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
Exactly. But, hey, maintaining the sweet spot for investors is what’s really important, right?
Are you still looking for a wok? I got this one back in April.
Tommy
@Dee Loralei: My dad worked for the DoD. One day he picked up the phone and Biden was on the other end. They got into a little bit of an argument. My father noted that paperwork he had to fill out for that call was epic. A senator doesn’t normally call somebody like my father. He then called back just to talk a few times. I will never forget that about him. Little stuff matters.
schrodinger's cat
@Steeplejack: I have the same wok,however it does not work very well with the electric stove that I have, so it is in the garage with the stuff I don’t use.
shortstop
@schrodinger’s cat: Not to speak for aimai, but you’re arguing against something she hasn’t said. I have yet to hear anyone here say “Hillary will be a wonderful president.” It’s quite possible to have concerns about both of them.
One can’t, not 100 percent. But one can and should draw some conclusions, positive and negative, from past behavior/actions. You’re drawing some negative conclusions based on H. Clinton’s history. We all drew them about Dubya. We’re all still drawing them about Paul, Romney, Cruz, etc. We don’t just throw someone in saying we can have no idea whatsoever what will happen so what the hell.
shortstop
@Tommy: What did they talk about on the return calls?
Steeplejack
@schrodinger’s cat:
What problem(s) did you have? I use mine on an electric stove (old-fashioned, not ceramic top).
Villago Delenda Est
@Corner Stone: This is why we need tumbrels.
Adam Smith would nod his head in sage agreement.
schrodinger's cat
@Steeplejack: My wok is too big for the burner, it just does not get as hot as I would like and as hot as it did get when I had a gas stove.
Mandalay
@gene108:
This. I’m sure he would top a poll of potential presidential candidates for likability, or the politician you most want to have a beer with, and I can’t help liking him myself.
I’m not sure he would be able to beat Clinton, or that he would even run against her, but I suspect that he might do even better than her in a presidential race. But he is scarily to the right of Clinton with respect to warmongering (as mclaren has repeatedly pointed out here), and he loves sucking banker cock just as much as Clinton.
All of which makes me appreciate that the guy running things right now is way better than either of them.
Tommy
@shortstop: His job. My father had a high security clearance. I don’t know what my father did. Never talked about it. Same with his conversations with Biden.
Villago Delenda Est
@shortstop: The closest thing we’ve ever had to a perfect President was FDR, and he was far from perfect. He had to ignore the blahs to get the Bourbons of the South to go along with his economic agenda, he insisted on balancing the budget which crippled the New Deal, and it took a crazy Austrian paperhanger to give his government spending to lift the economy real wings.
There are no Presidents who will do everything precisely the way any one of us wants him to do them…except, of course, us, And we’re not going to be installed into the Oval Office. I’ve got a better chance of being named Tsar of the all the Russias.
TooManyJens
@Villago Delenda Est:
And that guy put people in camps, FFS. That’s how far from perfect our Presidents are.
shortstop
@Tommy: Well, that’s no fun. Make up something, tell it convincingly and I promise to believe it.
gene108
@schrodinger’s cat:
Biden ran for President, for the first time, in either 1984 or 1988. I believe he ran again in 2008 for the nomination, and maybe 1992, I do not remember.
He’s never gotten very far in the primary process.
Whatever it takes to put together the kind of organization a Presidential candidate, and eventually President, is required to have in place, he has not been capable of doing it.
I do not think he would be a dreadful President. He maybe good.
He’s not a dumb guy. He has plenty of experience on political matters.
I just think his “snappy remarks” will not work well as President.
And the fact he’s tried and tried to be President, but has been found lacking, by the voters may lean into folks idea of is capability as President.
Steeplejack
@schrodinger’s cat:
That’s too bad. It is the best wok I have used. Did you find another one you like better?
schrodinger's cat
@Steeplejack: Actually, I use a Calaphalon one skillet for stir fries these days.
Tommy
@shortstop: LOL. That is not how I roll. I like to tell stories and if I had one I’d tell it. But I don’t. My father will tell you the story of him picking up the phone and Biden. But that is about it.
Keith G
@shortstop:
Au contraire. Joe seems to have the assortment of skills very useful to an American president. And since a thin Pope is said to follow a fat Pope, Joe’s gregarious leadership style might be a very welcome contrast to that of President Obama.
Yes Biden has flaws, but I get the impression that at this point in his life he is more aware of what those flaws are and what their implications will be then any other politician I’ve seen.
I think it’s time in the rotation of presidential leadership types for the emergence of another happy warrior, an intelligent and provocative popular-based, outgoing leader.
shortstop
@Villago Delenda Est: You got that right. A president progressive enough for my tastes cannot be elected in the United States of America. There simply aren’t enough voters who share my views. That’s how it is. I see my job as making sure we get Democrats elected and constantly pushing the ones we get in to embrace progressive values wherever humanly possible.
I’m too old and have been through too many elections to rationalize that withholding my support from Dems gets us anything but worse misery. It’s not going to spark a revolution. It’s not going to make America suddenly wake up to the error of its ways and apologize to us for its obtuseness (that’s classic control-freak thinking, btw). It’s going to get us a Supreme Court full of Sam Alitos, a Congress packed with smug white men who are willing to literally starve the poor and call it virtue, and a boatload of hard-to-undo legislation that makes all of our lives smaller and meaner.
I’ve cast presidential votes for Mike Dukakis and John Kerry, for cryin’ out loud. I’m not going to lose any sleep over the one(s) I cast for Hillary.
Betty Cracker
@schrodinger’s cat: Nothing works as well for cooking as a gas stove. That is one requirement I have if we ever move again: I want a gas stove, damn it!
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack: Hmmm, that looks like a good one and the reviews are generally consistent about why they like it. Is it really 22inches across the top? My current one is 14in so I wanted to make sure I’m not mistaking some part of the specs.
I haven’t bought a wok yet, so I’ll take a look thanks.
shortstop
@Keith G:
On that I agree with you. His ability to be self-deprecating — something that was either less apparent or less well developed when was younger — is one of the best things about him. Not just for his likability, but more importantly for a leader, for his ability to learn and change as new information is presented.
schrodinger's cat
@Betty Cracker: True, it will be the first on my wish list when we move.
catclub
@Mandalay:
I thought he was arguing for much less in Afghanistan, while Hillary and Obama were for more
(the first time around, in 2009).
shortstop
@Betty Cracker: Remember the kitchen we ripped up and replaced? We had to put in an electric stove because we’re in a high-rise and there are no gas lines. I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE IT. Trying to be more positive, but it just sucks after a lifetime of cooking with gas.
schrodinger's cat
@Corner Stone: Yeah it is pretty big and heavy. If you have a gas stove with a big burner, go for it.
Corner Stone
@Corner Stone: Ok, strike that because I’m an idiot. The 22in was for length, not bowl dimension.
Dumbass.
Corner Stone
@schrodinger’s cat: Yes, I do have good gas burners. Glorious, glorious gas!
I don’t know how anyone is inspired to try something creative/different on an electric stove. So demotivating.
Gas yesterday, gas today, and gas forever!
Tommy
@shortstop:
I started to canvass for Jerry Brown in 1992. Louisana. My first campaign. Not an easy thing. Not a single person I wanted to win in the primary got the nod. I have come to just understand I won’t elect the liberal I want, but I can try to get a Democrat elected.
shortstop
@Corner Stone: I’ve been reduced to changing up the way I creatively burn things on the stovetop. Motherfucking electric stove. We’ve lived here more than a year and I still can’t deal with it. Maybe it’ll get better.
ETA: On the plus side, the oven heats super evenly. There, I said something nice.
Trollhattan
@Mnemosyne:
Onion Joe debating Ted Cruz would be the best television, ever.
shortstop
@Trollhattan: In his Molly Hatchet t-shirt.
Not sure if Onion Joe really wore that or I added it in my mind.
Turgidson
@zmulls:
I think the Democrats need to agree on a rule that Biden is required to be the nominee if Paul “Zombie-Eyed Granny Starver” Ryan somehow grabs the GOP nomination, simply so that we can watch Biden give him repeated atomic wedgies in the debates.
Trollhattan
@Betty Cracker:
Anyone here ever use an induction stove? Love the nerd factor but have never seen one outside of a showroom, so have no idea what they’re like to live with, much less the limitations of only certain types of cookware. OTOH know quite a few folks who’ve burned the hell out of themselves on smooth glass electric stovetops, despite the “I’m Hot!” warning light.
Not in the market, just curious. Our stove is gas cooktop and electric convection oven combo. A darn good combo, as it turns out.
shortstop
@Trollhattan: That IS a good combo. We considered an induction cooktop when we remodeled, but it (and a lot of replacement cookware) was not in the budget. Since we were stuck with electric, we got a ceramic-topped one, so at least there aren’t the gross burners to deal with.
Trollhattan
@shortstop:
Very possible. Onion Joe live-Tweeted the veep debate and the final Tweet was a photo of a wood tabletop with “Pantera” carved into it, and a message along the lines of “I left a little souvenir.”
Between the Onion Joe Tweets and actual Joe mopping the floor with that snot, Ryan, I had one of the best evenings of my life.
Mnemosyne
@Roger Moore:
Actually, no, we passed on the Pasadena rental house and ended up in Burbank instead. It was a last-minute U-turn — we saw the Burbank place on Saturday and had our application ready on Sunday.
(If you know anyone looking for a nice rental house in Pasadena, it was near the corner of Orange Grove and Hill with all of the other bungalows. Very cute little house.)
feebog
@catclub
Your recollection is correct. Funny how some commenters throw out opinions with out any factual substance behind them.:
Bob In Portland
Any word on how much Biden’s son has made in the Ukraine from his gas deal?
gogol's wife
I am deeply ambivalent about both H. Clinton and J. Biden. I would crawl over glass to vote for either of them for president.
Turgidson
@feebog:
I think it’s the Iraq vote that gives Biden the hawk reputation.
At least he saw the sectarian strife coming and proposed that Iraq be partitioned so that each of the three groups could have regional autonomy. Not sure it would have solved most or all of the problems we’re now beset with, but it might have had some success if the local players bought in.
Betty Cracker
@shortstop: It’s so hard to control the cook top heat compared to gas, isn’t it? I end up holding the damn pan off the burner half the time. It sucks.
MomSense
@Trollhattan:
Joe debating Ryan was very entertaining. The best review of it was done by theawl.com They live blogged it with the sound muted. Their take on what they thought might have been happening was so funny.
catclub
http://pando.com/2014/10/02/the-war-nerd-islamic-state-is-sulking-on-the-edge-of-baghdad/
I think the war nerd is worth reading. A little over the top, at times, but seems to know his stuff – history mostly!
PaulW
GET READY FOR NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH!
I wanna see 50,000 words from each and every one of youse this November!
Ruckus
@zmulls:
I wonder if the difference between Hillary the first lady and Hillary the SoS or Senator might be they are jobs and the other isn’t. Not that she didn’t work at being first lady but that position doesn’t have any legal duties to the country. The other two do. So for me the question is did she learn anything new in those jobs? I’d bet she did. Was that enough to make her a president? I’m not convinced but I am convincible.
Doug r
@PsiFighter37: participation rate is staying roughly the same but the population is aging . The ACA means old folks don’t have to work at their jobs for so long anymore
Matt McIrvin
@Doug r: The paper Davis X. Machina linked to estimated that about half of the drop was from aging effects. Most of the rest was clearly the direct cyclical effect of the recession, and of the additional bad effect of people being unemployed for very long periods of time… but there was a residual bit they couldn’t account for, either because they underestimated one of the other effects or because something else is going on, which, curiously, seems to have only appeared over the past 12 months or so.
Ruckus
@Trollhattan:
I have used a halogen light cooktop. Works better than the old electric ring burners, not as good as gas. Can use any cookware but like all glass tops you have to be aware of the residual heat.
Matt McIrvin
@Doug r: …But if I had to guess, I’d say that you’re right, and the additional residual is the ACA: the people who didn’t want or need to work quitting their jobs because the only thing keeping them in the workforce was their need for health insurance. The time frame would match.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@PaulW: *salutes* Sir, yes sir!
Roger Moore
@Betty Cracker:
A gas stove has more flexibility, but induction is awesome when it works. It has better control than gas, more power than gas, and generates far less waste heat than gas- something I would expect you to appreciate in the summer. The big limitation is that it only works with flat bottomed pots that a magnet will stick to.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@Corner Stone:
No, it’s 14" across the top (actually 13¾"); 22-23" only if you’re including the handle. At the bottom it’s 6¼" across.
Roger Moore
@Trollhattan:
Yes, and I love it. You actually get similar or better control compared to gas. When you change the heat, it changes instantly the way it does with gas, but the controls are electronic so you can get a precise, repeatable setting rather than the imprecision from the mechanical knobs on a gas stove. The stove top doesn’t get very hot- it only heats up because there’s a hot pot sitting on it- so the risk of burns is lower. That also means food spatters don’t get hot enough to burn on, which works with the smooth top to make it a breeze to clean. Most of the energy goes directly into heating the pot, which means it’s actually faster to heat stuff up than even a very powerful gas stove and also means that there’s much less waste heat. It makes cooking in the summer a lot more fun, because the kitchen doesn’t turn into a furnace the moment I turn the stove on.
There are basically two disadvantages:
1) Limited selection of cookware. You’re stuck with iron and steel pots, and even the stainless ones have to be designed to work with induction. I’ve tried an induction plate to heat other kinds of cookware, but it’s an awful kludge.
2) You’re limited to flat-bottomed pots that sit directly on the cooking surface. I can’t use a round bottomed wok or my antique waffle iron.
JoyousMN
@Karen in GA:
I read your first sentence thinking you were talking about Biden. Read the second one, and figured prolly not. LOL
SWMBO
Lodge makes a cast iron wok (that is made in USA and preseasoned). It works on all stove tops according to Amazon. Buy insulated gloves or silicon pot holders to use it. Cast iron retains heat long after the stove cools. Wash with hot water (no soap) dry immediately to avoid rust. You can use any utensil with it and not worry about eating teflon or silverstone. Lodge has directions on how to reseason if needed.
Mike in dc
Joe Biden authored the Violence Against Women Act and was instrumental in getting it passed. Just throwing that out there since critics seem to forget that.