Parties. pic.twitter.com/96Q2XNiJqA
— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) June 8, 2015
Barbara Bush (codename: "Tranquility") turns 90 today. In 1992 MCW explained in @VanityFair why she wasn't tranquil. http://t.co/TrPIKZOLPK
— Timothy Noah (@TimothyNoah1) June 8, 2015
No, I am never gonna just let it go. From the article:
Even Barbara Bush’s stepmother is afraid of her. Over the course of a half-hour interview, Willa Pierce, the South Carolina painter the First Lady’s widowed father married in 1952, hasn’t commented on anything much more controversial than her famous stepdaughter’s shoe size. But now, in a quavering voice, she is re-evaluating her decision to say anything at all.
“I could get in so much trouble if I said something she didn’t agree with,” the elderly widow says pleadingly. “Because you know how she is: she knows how she wants to appear to the world.”…
As the rich WASP version of Livia Soprano, if she were capable of being honest. She raised a litter of hellhounds, with very little help beyond genetics and a fat Rolodex from her slightly-less-repulsive but far-more-politically-powerful husband. And our suffering republic will never be rid of them…
George W. Bush charged $100k earlier this year to give a one-hour speech near Dallas for a homeless shelter. http://t.co/FajsFauPAP
— Timothy Noah (@TimothyNoah1) June 7, 2015
Deep Kennebunkport dive from @edatpost Check out pic – Jeb dons Cubs jacket as Poppy/W wear Rangers.
http://t.co/Vj1iXcJ12Y
— Paul Kane (@pkcapitol) June 6, 2015
Ed O’Keefe, professional Republican apologist strategist:
… The past month has brought into stark relief the fundamental dilemma posed by Bush’s lineage, even as his front-runner status fades. He repeatedly stumbled to answer questions about the now-unpopular Iraq war started by his brother and has been visibly conflicted about whether to embrace or play down the policies and reputations of his closest relatives…
But when asked last Tuesday by Fox News whether he’ll use his brother on the campaign trail, he said: “Absolutely. I will use my brother, my sister, every relative, every person I can.”…
Yeah, that’s the family motto, “I will use… every person I can.”
To be fair, they’ve put in a lot of work to make it the national GOP slogan, as well.
SiubhanDuinne
That family photo. It’s like Duggars, only with little brown ones.
Comrade Dread
Aristocrats are the same in any era and should always be greeted with pitchforks, torches, and guillotines.
+3
Cacti
All reasonable people can agree, it’s only wrong for Bill Clinton to make money giving speeches.
Aleta
Here’s Barbara pouring tea for her dog.
Speaking of dogs:
. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/modest-plutonian-proposal
Omnes Omnibus
@Comrade Dread: Would you say the same to Kennedy or Kerry/Heinz family photo?
@Cacti: Honestly and to be fair, It was wrong for Hillary to have made any money as well.
joel hanes
@Aleta:
The solar system lacks locales named after canine deities
MICKEY: Pluto! Pluto!
Comrade Dread
@Omnes Omnibus: If they’d be okay with a 90% income tax rate and a capital gains tax rate much higher than it is today, I’ll give them a pass.
NotMax
A Reagan thread and now a Bush family thread?
Yuckaroonie².
Mike J
@Omnes Omnibus: I think we can all agree it’s wrong for any Democrat anywhere at any time to do anything to make a living.
srv
41 and 45 make 43 look like a munchkin.
NotMax
@Aleta
Sirius-ly?
Omnes Omnibus
@Comrade Dread: I bow to you purity.
@Mike J: Hey, the Housemartins only paid themselves the amount paid by the dole. Why can’t all Dems imitate that?
VFX Lurker
@NotMax: As much as I love Sirius, it is outside of our solar system.
Omnes Omnibus
@NotMax: Star.
Valdivia
@Cacti: Can’t wait to see how their heads explode once Obama is out of office. I wonder it they will continue to focus on him as a source of outrage.
srv
And you people say Black Helicopters aren’t real.
Eschewing reality.
Tree With Water
I wonder how often GW-Cheney and the all the other conspirators visit VA hospitals? At all?
I particularly recall a reporter’s account of wounded GI’s in one such hospital, written during the first year or so of the War in Iraq. In the report, a soldier’s mother spoke of her envy of a double amputee’s wound as that soldier dragged himself down a corridor, for she deemed it a less debilitating wound than that which resulted in her son’s brain damage and blindness.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
Gather ’round children, and I will tell you a true tale of my dysfunctional family:
As I posted yesterday, my brother passed away at 6:30 am on Sunday morning. By 12:00 pm — less than 6 hours after the hospice nurse made the declaration of death — his estranged wife showed up at his house with a U-Haul, her new boyfriend, and three teenagers, ostensibly to pick up my nine-year-old’s niece’s belongings, which would barely have fit in the trunk of a sedan. I think she expected to start loading up the furniture but her helpers were not enthusiastic about the project, particularly since one of the teenagers was my 14-year-old niece, who was one of the bereaved children of the deceased. Also, my brother’s girlfriend’s cop friend was there and prevented estranged wifey from entering the house.
I arrived around 12:30 pm and I tell you, kiddies, my jaw fucking dropped. My brother’s body was not even cold, and she expected to back a U-Haul up to his girlfriend’s house and clean it out.
Culture of Truth
His campaign lit – pamphlets, pins, buttons, bumper stickers – will probably all say “JEB” which is ironic since that’s not his real name.
srv
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Ugh.
At my Aunt’s wake, her oldest son related to me he’d come home from arrangements that morning to find his little sister ransacking the closets and taking pictures of their mom’s stuff. She’d already been listing them on eBay.
There must be a word for this, probably German.
Culture of Truth
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Sorry to hear about your loss. And the other family issues.
greennotGreen
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Wow. Estranged wife has got some serious chutzpah! Or she’s a sociopath. Probably sociopath.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
Was that your jaw my jaw just knocked into? ‘Cause mine dropped to the floor too.
That’s just … it’s just so … yikes.
Condolences again, Mnem, not only on your brother’s passing but on the fresh grief being inflicted by the ex-wife. Does she have any legal rights? Can you get some kind of restraining order against her?
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@srv:
The thing that bothers me most is dragging the kids into it. Seriously, you’re going to tell your 14-year-old daughter WHOSE FATHER DIED LESS THAN 6 HOURS AGO to come with you to try and take his stuff? What the ever-loving fucking fuck!?
greennotGreen
@Mnemosyne (tablet): I hope your brother’s passing was peaceful. I’m sorry for your loss.
SiubhanDuinne
@srv:
They are real and they are laughing.
Valdivia
@Mnemosyne (tablet): no words. talk about narcissism.
@SiubhanDuinne: soon enough the credenza will appear :)
Elizabelle
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Horrorshow indeed. I am triply sorry for your niece now.
I wonder if such a bad example will be a teaching moment for the kids. Don’t try this. You could, but maybe you should not ….
How are you and your mom holding up?
Karen in GA
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Jesus Christ. I’m so sorry for your loss, and for the subsequent insanity.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@greennotGreen:
I say Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which is hard to distinguish from sociopathy. And she has three kids under 18 who are being thrown back into her custody.
The only semi-saving grace is that my brother signed a Power of Attorney over to my mom that overrides some of her spousal rights, so she has no say over things like the disposition of his remains. But as far as the kids go, we’re hosed until she does something bad enough to get her file with DCFS re-opened. Until that day comes, we’re watching her like fucking hawks.
Karen in GA
@Valdivia: Switching on the fax machine now.
Suzanne
@Mnemosyne (tablet): What. The. Fuck. That shit is craaaaaazy.
Suzanne
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Can you and your mom get frequent visitation with the kids, so that you can keep eyes on them and also be a sane influence?
opiejeanne
@Mnemosyne (tablet): I am so sorry for your loss, and now I’m grateful that my immediate family isn’t worse than they are, which seems pretty bad at times but isn’t a patch on what you just described.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Elizabelle:
We’re semi-okay. Ironically, the drama is keeping us from wallowing too much, but it will probably hit us hard later.
I’m hoping to see my youngest niece for a few minutes tomorrow because her mom is supposed to bring her and the 14 YO by for an appointment with a social worker/child grief counselor. If she doesn’t, it’s fucking being documented as non-cooperation.
Valdivia
@Karen in GA: :D
Aleta
@NotMax: Where did Ur-anus go?
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Suzanne:
Non-parents have zero rights. Our only hope is to stay on the semi-good side of the sociopath. I’m trying to be civil while blocking her from further mischief.
I have to go because my mom and I are roomies right now and the light from the iPad is keeping her awake. More later, and thanks to everyone for their condolences.
NotMax
@Omnes Omnibus — VFX Lurker
No sh*t. It’s still worth bending the parameters it for the joke.
/Kobayashi Maru humor interlude
Omnes Omnibus
THE. HELICOPTERS. ARE. NOT. LAUGHING!
NotMax
@Aleta
By Jupiter, just plopped right down into the driver’s seat of a Saturn, made an orbit around the Mercury dealer and then stopped to get a Mars bar.
srv
@Mnemosyne (tablet): I don’t know how to make at any easier for you, sorry for another horror story, but the lesson is – whatever you have to do for the kid. Evil will always drag the kid(s) into it.
On the other side of my family, cousin’s husband abandoned her and cleaned out her bank accounts. Bank foreclosed, she and her son moved in with friends. She had a cancer relapse. She was too ashamed to tell any of us until it was almost over.
When she was uncouncious and on deathbed, husband showed up and found out one of her brothers had been made executor. He stomped out, glared at her mom, and said “you will never see your grandson again.”
He showed up at the funeral sans their son. Her other brother had played the “good” guy trying to maintain contact for his nephew’s sake. Husband, at funeral, asks brother if he could tell his nephew his mom was gone. He hadn’t told his own son.
We all had to hug him and be friendly, whatever we had to do to try to maintain contact. My cousin punched a hole in his hotel room later.
Months of stroking that motherfucker – but the grandson comes every summer. Whatever it takes.
Tree With Water
@srv: That’s one scenario that I’m sure is all too common. Another scenario unfolded between two close family members in my clan, who were on the outs for years over what turned out to be a misunderstanding concerning an inheritance. I had only the vaguest understanding of their problem, and never realized its depth until after their reconciliation. But for the reconciliation, it would have proved an unalloyed tragedy for the both of them. It was sad enough as it was..
Valdivia
@Omnes Omnibus: That still manages to crack me up every single time.
Aleta
@Mnemosyne (tablet): With a power of attorney, perhaps your mother can have someone (such as an appraiser) document the household items. Then the estr. w’s removal attempts will be countered with documentation, and the kids’ interests protected. I know not much about that, but I do know the horror you describe, and how destructive. Over the years, taking the kids on vacations and sending them letters can help a lot. Horrible that the estranged w has your brother’s family trapped, since the kids are at stake. The worst. I’m sorry.
Aimai
@Mnemosyne (tablet): holy crap. Mnemo this story gets worse and worse. The most terrifying thing is imagining the vulnerable children left in her care. What, if anything, can be done to protect the children?
Aleta
@NotMax: There’s some kind of offer going on right now where you can get a free round trip around the Sun once a year for the rest of your life.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: How long ago was that? 3 years? 5 years? It seems like so long ago, and like yesterday.
Omnes Omnibus
@Valdivia: I so regret that that I only came upon it the next day. I merely played with the remains.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: It was a thing of beauty in real time. I wonder if it holds up well over time?
Bad form: I just asked two questions and now I am headed for bed.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: I think there is a link in the archives. I may be wrong, but if I am, i shouldn’t be.
Valdivia
@Omnes Omnibus: I saw the beginning of it then woke up to find the full epicness of it. I had ot put my coffee down until I was done reading it. Too much laughter.
@WaterGirl: good night!
srv
@Omnes Omnibus: I don’t know why Balloon Boy was not made a mascot here.
https://balloon-juice.com/2009/10/15/now-it-can-be-told/#comment-1403768
opiejeanne
@Omnes Omnibus: But I am.
Thank you to the people who pointed me toward that thread. It made great reading.
ruemara
This mini-bleg seems strangely appropriate for this thread. I try to do a little good thing from time to time for homeless shelters near me. I don’t ask for money, I’m asking for you to consider adding a little shopping for the homeless to your purchases.
Baud
@Mnemosyne (tablet): I’m sorry to hear about your brother.
sharl
Oh boy, Bobo is waxing all philosophical ‘n’ shit on BBC World. Good ‘get’ you guys!
lamh36
I think I posted this video last night, but if I didn’t…so needed something to smile about and cleanse that McKinney pool party video out of my head.
So check out this lil girl channeling Aretha Franklin, and try not to smile.
This lil girl is awesome and she’s doing Re-Re’s “Respect” proud!!
https://youtu.be/y9vto-eWPaY
Goblue72
It’s like looking at photos of Berchtesgaden.
sharl
Ah, memories from 2009 of Balloon Boy and laughing helicopters again, I see. The genesis of all that has already been linked upthread by srv at #53, but it was a follow-on group effort the next day by the creative commentariat here that truly germinated that seed to full, glorious flower. Steeplejack tracked all that stuff down a couple weeks ago.
Baud
@lamh36: Upstaging the other two!
Gian
@SiubhanDuinne:
uncles raided my grandfather’s house and unloaded what was honestly valuable 40s era furniture for a fraction of the worth. It was mass produced yes, but local, in the 30s and 40s by well paid workers in new England. Death, plus greed is bad.
when my wife’s uncle passed, same thing, she went to the funeral and the survivors were fighting over the very little property he left.
but really, stuff is in the end stuff. if you ask if I’d rather have a brother or a cousin, or a fucking piece of furniture, the answer should be obvious. I guess the human world needs it’s vultures and Tasmanian devils.
lamh36
@Baud: she totally is. I did feel bad for the girls but I think it pretty obvious why she in the lead middle and unlike the other girls she’s has the steps down.
Even with all her hamming, she never seemed to lose a step. I guessing she’s either a vet in the dance group or they had her be leader since she’s done so well
But ham or not I still can’t help but smile and I love her dad’s reaction (he’s filming I believe)
Baud
@lamh36:
Yeah, I think that one girl was giving her the evil eye.
Anne Laurie
@Baud: Aw, on the dubiousity scale, I’d grade that no higher than “hairy eyeball“…
Anne Laurie
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Condolences on your brother’s death, and the ensuing drama.
SRW1
@srv:
There must be a word for this, probably German.
Leichenfledderer.
To the Inglese also known as ghoul.
Kay
I hate the speech circuit for former pols. I just do. I think it’s gross.
I also think charitable foundations are out of control and have become completely opaque and undemocratic quasi-governmenal actors.
But if they’re all going to do it I’m glad they’re reporting on both sides.
Next they can delve into Jeb’s foundation, which is dedicated to privatizing public schools and lobbies your state government whether you are aware of it or not.
Kay
Can anyone think of a single instance where a former pol made news or broke new ground with a paid speech? Is anyone leaving these things saying “well, I had no idea what Bill Clinton thought about welfare reform prior to this evening!”
It’s just purely about the former pol and the influence and clout of the people who invite them.
evodevo
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Sorry to say – that situation is more common than you would believe….seen it several times among relatives/friends.
Bobby Thomson
@Culture of Truth: tell it to Ike.
raven
This pup had his eye on us this morning.
Kay
A Republican here was telling me yesterday that “I’ll know” the strategy when we find out if Buhs or Walker wins the primary.
If Bush wins, it will be a “centrist” election and if Walker wins it will be a “base” election. I told him I remember the 2004 Bush election and that was no “centrist” strategy.
So really it doesn’t matter. It’ll be a GOP base general election.
satby
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Late to the thread but just wanted to express my condolences on the passing of your brother. These ugly family things just exacerbate the wound. Glad you have some support in countering the evil ex, and as long as the kids know you’re out there and loving them they will wait until they are old enough to get out from under her thumb.
lurker dean
so sorry for your loss, mnem. those poor children :o(
rikyrah
BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
rikyrah
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
sorry about your loss.
Just let your niece know you’re there for her. You’re part of her village – always.
boatboy_srq
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Every family has one. My sister tried that with Mum’s stuff – and Mum was still breathing (and walking and talking, come to that).
The Pale Scot
Off James McMurty’s Aughts album;
dww44
@Kay:
@Kay:
@Kay:
So glad I returned to last night’s thread today. Otherwise I would have missed out on your always clear-eyed and unbiased observations of the political scene. As one who worries about our public schools with so many GOP’ers in control of our states, I doubly appreciate your insight there. Did not KNOW that about Jeb’s foundation.
Are you ever going to return to being a front pager?
Gian
@Kay:
Churchill had failed to get re-elected when he gave the iron curtain speech:
http://history1900s.about.com/od/churchillwinston/a/Iron-Curtain.htm
WaterGirl
@raven: That’s adorable!
CONGRATULATIONS!
@Mnemosyne (tablet): This shit happens all the time, if that helps. And I’m sure it doesn’t.
My mother’s sister had their parent’s house emptied out and sold off – including giving my grandfather’s entire gun collection to her son, who is a wanted felon (that’s how the guns get out there, kids!) by the time he stopped breathing. She in fact missed his death, as she was at her lawyer’s office trying to get a restraining order against my mother and her brother to prevent them from entering the parental house or taking an inventory.
Then there was my neighbor, whose estranged daughters simply broke into his house once he was toted off to a nursing home, piled all his shit into the garage, and were about to haul it off when the cops showed up. His next door neighbor had called them.
The cops, being cops, put the next-door neighbor in cuffs (3 hours, back of a cop car, dude was 78 at the time) when one of the felonious daughters claimed he’d hit her, and let them take all the stuff with them.
Mistakes were made.
At any rate, death brings out the very worst in families and that is a rule, not an exception.
Denali
What stories, these
J R in WV
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
My best friend’s Grandfather was 87 when he fell and his tractor ran over him! Broke a lot of bones in his chest, but he made it to the hospital, and so had a fighting chance. The next morning Joe (my friend) noticed that Grandfather’s herd of cattle were gone – 21 of them, prime beef, at the time they were worth a bundle.
He called his aunt, the most greedy member of the family, and told her that she wouldn’t be prosecuted for grand larceny if the cattle were home by dawn the next day. Sure enough, there they were as the sun rose over the family farm. His grandfather lived another 10 years, and sold those cattle for enough to pay his hospital bill – not what Aunt Peg had in mind at all!
So I’m not a bit surprised by the ex showing up to take what she could steal, just that she waited for him to die, really.
Sorry for your family to run smack into that much greed at such a painful moment! Best wishes for everyone but the ex!
shawn
There are real things to criticize President Bush and Governor Bush. Attacking their mother undercuts that fact. The same can be said for anybody who made a deal about Bill Clinton’s sex life or Barack Obama’s birthplace. I always thought anybody who attacked on anything other than the issues was basically saying, I don’t really know what I am talking about but please listen to me a la TMZ.
By the way, EVERY politician of every party has used many, most or all the people they can to be elected to whichever office. That’s what politicians do. I don’t know why I am constantly surprised when either side ignores their own group’s imperfections to scream about essentially identical imperfections in the other group while at the same time using the original screaming as evidence that the other side controls the media. One of the best things about President Obama is the fact the he isn’t a Bush or a Clinton.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Aleta:
I mentioned that to my brother’s girlfriend today, and she was not terribly receptive to the idea. She’s a cop, so she’s used to being able to walk into court and have things automatically go her way. She doesn’t seem to have any concept that it ain’t going to work like that in a civil court where she’s just another civilian.
SuperHrefna
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): Big hugs, what a nightmare. I’m so sorry for your loss and for this whole mess. In my family we had to play nice with a sibling’s psychopathic ex for the same reason and it was so hard. So very hard. The good thing for your nieces is that you are prepared for what is ahead. Hang in there for them. It will be hard but it will be worth it.
Tree With Water
“Attacking their mother undercuts that fact”.
Bingo. Babs has always struck me as a real piece of work. But she’s 90 years old, and I cannot bring myself to speak ill of her now. I feel exactly the same about Nancy Reagan. At this point, I wish for them both nothing but the best.
Elie
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
Sorry for your loss, M — Its a hard thing to lose a sibling…
Sorry also about the other sad goings on—
Another Holocene Human
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
I am terribly sorry to hear that. Best wishes. Feel terrible for those kids. NPD in a parent–subtle, painful, insidious.
psychobroad
@<a href="#comment-53@greennotGreen: 4230″>greennotG Nice to focus onthe brother and not the awful ex. Hopefully comforting to Mnemosyn.
brantl
@shawn: Sorry, Barbara Bush looked out on poor people, in misery, having lost what little they DID have, and sniffed that they were poor anyway, so wasn’t this a step up. In other words, the Mother Of All Douchebags, wrapped in douchebag imprinted wrapping paper, with an end-of-the-world Douchebag bow on top of it. I wish her AND Nancy Reagan, nothing but the worst, just as Karma, evening up. Cheney and all but one of his kin, too.