Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

A Senator Walker would also be an insult to reason, rationality, and decency.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Second rate reporter says what?

It’s the corruption, stupid.

You cannot shame the shameless.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Consistently wrong since 2002

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

Infrastructure week. at last.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2016 / Friday Evening Open Thread: Math Is Hard

Friday Evening Open Thread: Math Is Hard

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… or maybe gastritis is rampant at Meet the Press. Snark, fortunately, is a renewable resource!

Apart from cheap jokes, what’s on the agenda for the start of the weekend?

Reader Interactions

96Comments

  3. 3.

    beltane

    So the Democratic party looks like America and the Republican party looks like the Villages.

  5. 5.

    Germy Shoemangler

    I was going to attempt a three-fifths Dred Scott joke about the 1% Black Republicans, but it’s been a long day and I’m too tired.

  6. 6.

    Violet

    Chuck Todd is dumb.

    This from the article made me laugh, though:

    47% blame both sides equally.

    Uh huh.

  7. 7.

    Calouste

    94.6% White, 5.7% Hispanic, 0.7% Black. Adds up to 100%, and properly rounded adds up to 102%. Nothing there. Note that the numbers for the Dems add up to 99%.

    What is there, is that according to those stats the ~5% of the population that is Asian and the ~2% of the population that is native American/Hawaiian etc., doesn’t vote at all. Or more like, doesn’t count at all.

  8. 8.

    SFAW

    @Baud:

    So the GOP is more diverse than Meet the Press’s audience.

    But not as smart. At least, not as long as Culture of Truth is watching.

  9. 9.

    Violet

    From the actual article:

    Democrats: 62% white, 25% African American, 12% Latino

    Republicans: 95% white, 6% Latino, 1% black

    Why are Democrats listed as African American and Republican as black? Or are those somehow different categories?

  10. 10.

    Germy Shoemangler

    What’s this I see on SALON?

    Someone at the NYPD has been editing Eric Garner’s Wikipedia page

    Wikipedia entries for several high-profile victims of police brutality and misconduct have been edited by computers from the New York Police Department’s network, according to Capital New York. The entries include descriptions of the death of Eric Garner, Sean Bell and Amadou Diallo, as well as general entries on stop-and-frisk and other NYPD controversies.

    “The matter is under internal review,” said NYPD spokesperson, Det. Cheryl Crispin, in an email to Capital New York.

    The edits all improve the legitimacy of police actions. For instance, on the “Death of Eric Garner” Wikipedia entry, “Garner raised both his arms in the air” was changed to “Garner flailed his arms about as he spoke,” and the sentence “Garner, who was considerably larger than any of the officers, continued to struggle with them,” was added.

  11. 11.

    lamh36

    Do yourselves a favor and check out the clips on YouTube from President Obama’s visit to the Jimmy Kimmel show.

    Watching it, I’m reminded of all the other interviews outside of the beltway that Obama and Michelle and Biden have done and I wonder how the next Pres/VP or Prez spouse will compare. I suspect that whoever wins, GOP or Dem, that the Obama era of multi-media platforms will be no more and we’ll go back the days when the President only spoke with WHPC or beltway media.

    IDK, but I’ll be sad to see a President reaching out to voters and US folk outside of beltway.

    Jimmy Kimmel Asks President Barack Obama About His Daily Life

  12. 12.

    SFAW

    @Violet:

    Why are Democrats listed as African American and Republican as black?

    Rethugs don’t believe in using the descriptor “African-American,” and they thought “Ni-CLANG” might not be received as well by the one black guy in the party. It’s their latest attempt at outreach.

  13. 13.

    Wag

    Further down the piece from MTP is the gem that Dems outperform the GOP in percentage with a college degree or grad school degree by 10 percent, 55% to 45%

  14. 14.

    Poopyman

    @NotMax:

    Also too, why Latino rather than Hispanic?

    Because Latinas are strictly verboten, not that there are any who would vote Republican, anyhow.

  16. 16.

    Mike in NC

    @Violet: Maybe the 1% of Republicans who are called “black” are really just white people who’ve been dead for a very long time.

  17. 17.

    Steeplejack

    @Calouste:

    94.6% White, 5.7% Hispanic, 0.7% Black. Adds up to 100% [. . .].

    Uh, no. That adds up to 101.0%.

    94 + 5 = 99, and 0.6 + 0.7 + 0.7 = 2.0.
    99 + 2 = 101.

  18. 18.

    Wag

    @Poopyman:

    Latinos are Cuban, Hispanics are Mexican?

    Latinos are less threatening. They might be Italian or southern French as those languages are based on Latin, too.

  19. 19.

    Violet

    So how’s little Chuckie Toddler doing with Meet the Press? Not that great:

    ABC’s This Week beat NBC’s Meet the Press in the news demo for the February sweep – the first time that’s happened in 22 years.

    And for last week:

    CBS’ “Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer” was the the top-rated public affairs program on March 8 in total viewers. However, ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” rebounded to win the key A25-54 demo after finishing third last week.

    “Face the Nation” was up+10 in total viewers but down -15% in the demo compared to the same day last year. “This Week” was down -13% in viewers and down -19% in the demo despite the win. NBC’s “Meet the Press with Chuck Todd” finished third in both categories, down -5% in viewers and -16% in the demo.

    He made the show even dumber than it was before. The semicircle desk with all the people on it looks just like every other cable news chat show on every hour of every day during the week. There’s no meeting of any press unless it’s all of them meeting each other. Again.

  22. 22.

    Pogonip

    What is the difference between Latino and Hispanic, if any? Our local Spanish speakers are “Mexicanos.”. I think I’ve heard the word “Latino” used once.

  25. 25.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    Meet the Press FOUND Megan McArdle’s “special” calculator, just in time for Pi-Day!

    That’s like the absolute most useful thing they’ve ever done in their existence, times 3.14!

  27. 27.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @Woodrowfan: Balloon-Juice comments are an antidote to depressing youtube comments.

    The Balloon-Juice commentariat gives me hope. If I read only youtube comments I’d curl up in my cat’s food dish.

  28. 28.

    Turgidson

    @Violet:

    Ha. Chuckles can’t even beat Schieffer. A guy who is old enough to be, as Charles Pierce might say, “former Council of Trent Correspondent” and hasn’t asked a Republican a challenging question since Watergate. (oh wait that’s all of them – Russert’s little gotcha question parlor game doesn’t count)

  29. 29.

    Pogonip

    @Poopyman: “Latinos” is grammatically correct. That’s how Spanish works. If there are 19 women and 1 man on a bus, they are “los pasajeros,” and not until the guy gets off do they become “las pasajeras.”.

    The other day Listverse had an article about a language with 200+ genders. I’d hate to see the acronym.

    FY Autocorrect must not speak Spanish. It wanted to change “pasajeros” to “paeans row.”

  30. 30.

    Original Lee

    So apparently the wingnuts are just getting around to looking at the photos from the Selma Jubilee March, and they noticed that there aren’t any U.S. flags in the photo ops. The original marchers carried LOTS of American flags, so clearly the Kenyan ursurper is less patriotic than even MLK Jr.!!!!

    I did Google photos of the march, and found a FEW flags, but it is totally true that there aren’t that many evident. I wonder why.

  31. 31.

    JPL

    @Germy Shoemangler: The AJC.com comments are awful. You can go to the food page and find out that the problem with food in Atlanta is the blacks and Obama. I wonder about news sites that have a comment section without a moderator. Geez.. just do away with the comments.

  32. 32.

    cokane

    some latinos are white and some are black (less significant here), which explains the 102%

  33. 33.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @Pogonip: I disabled “auto-correct” the day it turned “shout out” into “shoot out” in one of my comments…. I think that was the last straw for me.

    it reminded me of the famous typo “Don, give up the ship” vs. “Don’t give up the ship”

  34. 34.

    Matt McIrvin

    I’d point out that “Latino” is not really a racial designation and could easily overlap with the other categories, but the D numbers suggest that that’s not what it’s going for.

  35. 35.

    NotMax

    @Original Lee

    Because the ‘Merkin Flag is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican party?

    (Remembering G. H. W. Bush’s photo-op at a flag factory.)

  37. 37.

    Gin & Tonic

    @SFAW: Oh how fondly I remember the Cuban Chinese restaurants in Jackson Heights back in the day. I think they’ve all died out; haven’t been back there in forever.

  38. 38.

    Original Lee

    @NotMax: I was thinking that maybe it had something to do with security for the event. I would have thought, with all the organizing for this thing, that somebody would have looked at photos of the original and realized that flags needed to be there, too.

  39. 39.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @JPL: My local media has the same comments. Why are conservatives compelled to shit all over comments sections everywhere?

    There was a story about a four-year-old boy who was hit by a garbage truck. The boy was holding his mother’s hand. The commenters didn’t notice that part of the story, and immediately assumed the mother was negligent. “Lock up the mother!” “Where was the mother?” Mother & son weren’t white, so the commenters pooped all over the tragic story.

  44. 44.

    jl

    @lamh36:

    What, no love for Jill Biden?
    First Second lady to talk about ‘under the beltway’ of the veep!

    Jill Biden: ‘I’ve Seen Joe Up Close’
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXo_Olpj6GE

    But I agree, may be a long time before we have a first four who communicate so well with the normal public, and held in such contempt by the VSP in GOP and media.

  45. 45.

    SFAW

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Not to mention 14th Street in the Village. (A few blocks from Ray’s or Original Ray’s or The Real Ray’s or No Shit We’re Really Ray’s)

  47. 47.

    Mike J

    @Pogonip:

    FY Autocorrect must not speak Spanish. It wanted to change “pasajeros” to “paeans row.”

    Somebody should release a spanglish dictionary for the firefox spellcheck.

  48. 48.

    SFAW

    @Gin & Tonic:

    First time I saw a Cuban Chinese restaurant (in the Village, around 14th, as I mentioned above), I thought it was some kind of joke. (This was way before the whole “Let’s combine the most incompatible cuisines and call it Fusion” kick of the ’80s or ’90s; I think it was the mid-1970s) my cousin’s ex (with whom I was walking when I saw it) explained it to me.

    Every so often, I mention it in conversation, people generally give me the three-headed-stare, until I explain.

  49. 49.

    SFAW

    @Baud:

    That’s how they practice their governing skills.

    Assumes facts not in evidence.

    I think you meant “ruling skills.” Although “skills” does imply at least some level of competence. Nihilism, on the other hand, does not. So maybe I’m wrong, too.

  51. 51.

    Steeplejack

    @Calouste:

    I apologize myself. Had an irritating couple of days, and for some reason this hit my “someone is wrong on the Internet” button. Also, former copyeditor syndrome. As Betty Cracker said, once you’ve done it you can’t not do it.

  52. 52.

    jl

    @SFAW: I thought the Vietnamese-Cajun restaurant I heard about in New Orleans was a joke too. But it wasn’t, and the food was good and interesting, so glad it was a real thing.

  54. 54.

    SFAW

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Ah, but is it The Original Ray’s? Or a pretender?

    Thank FSM that there isn’t a Katz’s and Famous Katz’s and The Original Katz’s and The Real Katz’s as well. it would just get too confusing.

  55. 55.

    SFAW

    @Steeplejack:
    STOP IT, just STOP IT! My brain can handle only so many versions of Ray’s, before it a-splodes.

    ETA: And you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for pi(e).

  56. 56.

    Mike in NC

    @SFAW: When we lived in Falls Church, VA there was a nearby Indian-Italian restaurant. Not sure we ever had the courage to visit, but there were some nice Italian restaurants in the vicinity operated by Pakistanis.

  58. 58.

    Gin & Tonic

    @jl: Fusion is the way of the culinary world, and that’s a good thing. How did the Vietnamese get to the banh mi (the world’s second-greatest sandwich)? The French colonialists and their baguette.

  62. 62.

    Roger Moore

    @NotMax:

    Also too, why Latino rather than Hispanic?

    There seems to be some argument about which term is preferable. A quick search says that “Hispanic” is used more often in the East and by people of Caribbean or South American background, while “Latino” is more common in the West and is more popular among people of Central American and Mexican background. I think there’s also an argument that “Latino” is more inclusive, since “Hispanic” refers specifically to Spain and Spanish-speaking people, while “Latino” would also include Portuguese speakers from Brazil.

  67. 67.

    Ruckus

    @SFAW:
    It’s 4 black guys. Colin Powell, Ben Carson, Clarence Thomas and the guy I saw walking in Marin county with a McCain sweatshirt on before the election. I didn’t know to laugh, cry or scream when I saw it. Maybe he did it on a dare.

  68. 68.

    The Other Chuck

    Hey, thought I’d pop back in for a bit. A few weeks ago, I decided I had enough of the tech world, so I quit my job, moved out of San Francisco, and decided I’d go nomad, maybe buy an RV and see the country, maybe even get around to seeing some of you vitrolic pack of snarl–er, I mean fine people.

    The grand tour of the country will probably have to wait a year or two til after I head to some overseas spots I’ve been wanting to check out first. Ought to give me some stories to tell too, I hope.

    42 is a pretty good age to retire, I think. Obviously I’m going to have to get a job sooner or later to bolster my savings, but overall I think I’m pretty much done with the whole “career” business. It’s a magical world, Hobbes ol’ buddy. Let’s go exploring.

  69. 69.

    SFAW

    @Ruckus:

    It’s 4 black guys. Colin Powell, Ben Carson, Clarence Thomas and the guy I saw walking

    You forgot Poland J.C. Watts!

  71. 71.

    SFAW

    @The Other Chuck:

    42 is a pretty good age to retire, I think.

    Bastard.

    Congrats, I hope retirement is as enjoyable as you hope it to be. I mean, you’re still a bastard for retiring at that age, but I hope you’re a happy bastard.

  73. 73.

    Kent

    @cokane:

    Yes exactly. Some Latinos are white (Cameron Diaz, Marco Rubio) and others are black (Zoe Saldana, Mariano Rivera). The categories are not mutually exclusive and so don’t need to add up to 100.

  74. 74.

    Ruckus

    @SFAW:
    Unfortunately there are probably a handful more around somewhere. Us old white idijits don’t have a lock on stupidity. We just practice more.

  75. 75.

    Roger Moore

    @Gin & Tonic:

    The Reuben. It is Platonically perfect in every respect.

    I agree about the Reuben being the greatest sandwich, but that comes with a considerable caveat: execution. The ideal Reuben may beat the ideal version of any other sandwich, but versions that approach that ideal are unfortunately rare. The Reuben is always my default order at any restaurant that serves one, largely because I’m always on the hunt for a great Reuben, and I’m always on the hunt because it’s such rare prey. You not only need to have excellent versions of all the ingredients, but you need to get them in the right proportions and manage to serve it before the moisture from the sauerkraut makes the bread get soggy. It must be the hardest of the classic sandwiches to get right.

  76. 76.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Roger Moore: Absolutely true. I also hunt for it at every opportunity, and am often disappointed.

    The worst Reuben in the entire history of Western civilization can be found at the Cincinnati airport, BTW. In case you’re ever there.

  77. 77.

    Ruckus

    @The Other Chuck:
    I agree with @SFAW: Enjoy. And be glad that you are able to explore and enjoy. I’m not the only one one here to be north of 65 and still working, not because I want to but because I’d rather not live in a 7th floor walk up single with a bath down the hall. You know like Elwood Blues.

  83. 83.

    Ruckus

    @jl:
    That’s not a very good list. First the order is all wrong. Second, some of those are not that good at all. It is subjective of course, so subjectively I reject that as a top 50 ruling.

    ETA or what Omnes said.

  84. 84.

    Mike in NC

    @Gin & Tonic: All airport food is deplorable. You can get a stale $8 turkey wrap and a $3 bottle of Coke at most. Even worse than most movie theaters for ripping you off.

  85. 85.

    Roger Moore

    @jl:

    This list says Reuben is only number 4.

    That list would be easier to believe if they didn’t show a Rachel when they’re talking about a Reuben.

  86. 86.

    jl

    I don’t see at all how a list of the best 50 sandwiches known to man written by someone I never heard of before, and that I found on the internet could ever be wrong, in even the slightest detail.

    And I never heard of a Rachel sandwich. What is that supposed to be?

  87. 87.

    Roger Moore

    @jl:

    And I never heard of a Rachel sandwich. What is that supposed to be?

    A Rachel is like a Reuben, but with pastrami instead of corned beef, and coleslaw instead of sauerkraut. The sandwich in that picture has coleslaw in it, which makes it a Rachel, not a Reuben.

  88. 88.

    jl

    @Roger Moore: Thanks. Rachel sounds better than a Reuben. If I see on in deli I’ll try it. I suspect making that kind of sandwich is beyond my skill.

  89. 89.

    SFAW

    A cheesesteak at # 1? What a joke.

    At least they had the good sense not to make it a Philly cheesesteak.

  92. 92.

    Ben Lehman

    “Latino” refers to people from Latin America. “Hispanic” refers to people from Spanish speaking countries.

    My Spanish cousins are Hispanic, but not Latino. Generally speaking, in America racial divisions, we care about “Latino.” Spaniards are just regular white folks.

  93. 93.

    Bill Murray

    @jl: That giant Arby’s in COLONIAL HEIGHTS, VA now sells both a Reuben and a Rachel. I believe they were getting some guff about how their sandwiches should cut out the gay stuff and have a real marriage of flavor

  94. 94.

    Sherparick

    I would like to be the psychiatrist for those 5% of Republicans who call themselves “liberal.” That or their S&M master.

  95. 95.

    Sherparick

    @Violet: That is because MSM has been doing the “Both Sides Trope” since Reagan, so one is constantly being told “Both Sides” you believe “Both Sides.” (The story is a perfect example, pairing Hilary’s e-mail kerfuffle with the Tom Cottonmouth Cotton and his Republican Senate colleagues sending their little war mongering, negotiations sabotaging missive to the Ayatollah.

  96. 96.

    Luthe

    @Mike in NC: This is not necessarily true. I had the absolute best gelato of my life at the Venice (Italy) airport. Like, so good I practically needed a smoke and a shower afterward. Reasonably priced, too.

    (Horribly late to the thread, but I needed to share.)

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