39 seconds long and MRA/GG creeps have been ranting about it for seven hours. Beautiful https://t.co/dYQDdlWgVS
— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) September 11, 2015
Speaking of sad clowns, the two Republican “conservative family-value Christian” Michigan representatives who got caught “forming their own legislative coalition” after the male partner concocted a bizarre gay-sex blackmail story to cover his tracks, are no longer in office. Per the Detroit Free Press:
LANSING — It took 14 hours, two failed votes and a day full of drama, but at 3:12 a.m. Friday, state Rep. Todd Courser resigned from his state House seat, and an hour later, Rep. Cindy Gamrat was expelled on a 91-12 vote, ending a controversial sex and cover-up scandal that has rocked Lansing for the last month.
“I felt is was the appropriate thing to do. I put everybody through a whole bunch, my family, constituents and the people in this room,” Courser said. “You go 14-15 hours later, they would have been doing a third vote. I felt they were just going to go until they got their answer.
“It’s an unfortunate chapter where we’re at, but it’s time to turn a page and go in a different direction and obviously heal, in my own house and in this body as well,” he said. “It’s been hell.”…
Gamrat decided to stick it out and asked her colleagues to censure, rather than expel her.
“I firmly believe in restoration and redemption,” she said.” I have done everything I can to redeem this situation and I’m sincerely sorry for what this has caused. I still believe my actions warrant censure, but not expulsion.”.
Her colleagues disagreed, voting 91-12 to expel her with five Democrats declining to vote on the matter…
Many Democrats said, while they found the actions of Courser and Gamrat “disgusting and despicable,” they wouldn’t vote on the measure because of the process that was used to get to an expulsion. They wanted more information on what Speaker of the House Kevin Cotter, R-Mt. Pleasant knew and when he found out about the affair and bizarre cover-up engineered by Courser and Gamrat. They wanted to hear from two staffers — Ben Graham and Keith Allard — about the process they went through to reveal the cover-up to Republican leadership…
“The oath that we all take is the sole protection against an unjust expulsion,” said state Rep. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, chairman of the special committee that voted 4-0 earlier Thursday to expel both members. “They have both admitted their guilt. They both agreed to the damage they’ve done. And neither can offer a reasonable argument that they’re being honest now, or the disdain they have shown to this body and its members is the outlier and not the norm.”…
The resignation and expulsion capped a day of drama for the two lawmakers and the entire Legislature. Republicans held the board open for more than seven hours, waiting for the Democrats who chose not to vote to change their mind. They invoked “Rule 32,” which requires members to stay in their seats indefinitely. They repeatedly ran down the list of Democratic members who weren’t voting to ask if they changed their mind. When the first vote failed 67-14, with 26 Democrats not voting and two Democrats absent, they tried again; reconsidering the vote and keeping the board open with the hopes that they could come up with the necessary 73 votes…
The scandal swirling around Courser and Gamrat had been rumored for months, but burst onto the public scene last month when audio recordings surfaced and revealed that Courser had asked his staff to send an anonymous, “false flag” e-mail that he had written, saying he was addicted to drugs and pornography, and paid for sex with men outside a Lansing bar. His staff refused to participate in the attempt to make it appear that Courser was the victim of a smear campaign and to downplay the affair he was having with Gamrat. But the e-mail still was widely sent around Lansing…
Much more detail at the link.
At least they cited “Rule 32”, not “Rule 34“. Also, I think naming the chair of the special ethics committee “Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan” would’ve been rejected by an experienced editor.
***********
Apart from all the clowns, what’s on the agenda for the day?
OzarkHillbilly
Somebody was asking yester morn if there was anything new about the Phoenix sniper. Probably old news by now but ask and receive:
Phoenix highway shootings: one man detained for questioning
Reading the article, the operation has much more of a Richard Jewell feel to it than it does an Eric Rudolph vibe.
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone. Going swimming and will be running errands this morning.
Baud
Expelled for adultery? That seems wrong.
OzarkHillbilly
So many stone throwing Conservative Christians, so many glass houses.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
That’s not much.
Baud
@Baud:
Oh, nevermind. I forgot about the cover-up. That was awful.
OzarkHillbilly
Plane passenger woke, stood, urinated on others and went back to sleep
Something tells me this guy never actually woke up. A buddy of mine “sleep pees”. It has caused him great embarrassment a time or 2 over the years. Like the time he was spending the night in a sleeping bag on a friends floor. He rolled up out of the sleeping bag, whipped it out and began to pee… On their brand new just installed that day white carpet. And that was when the lady of the house walked in.
J R in WV
Where on earth did you find that little video? And how do we know that the red pill addicts are going off over this piece of fluff? I mean, I can see why they would, if they had to pay attention to it, but it’s just a joke, kinda.
And those two nutjobs in the MI lege, WOW that was weird.
And Kim Davis, seems to have been a holy roller from birth, still out messing around with multiple guys, married or not makes no difference… pregnant by other guy while married to another guy!
Locally we have a saying about weird local news: “As the Holler Churns!?” but nothing as weird as these! Well, not often anyhow.
I didn’t see a sign of evidence in that Phoenix shooter story. Now how many white SUVs are there in the county, like 125,000 or so? It can take a long time to catch someone who acts at random, even with all the cops in Maricopa County.
Maybe Shurif Joe Spanish Name can ketch him?
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Next to nothing.
@Baud: No, that was hilarious.
JPL
@OzarkHillbilly: What a strange story. He was charged with offensive littering and criminal mischief. I assume the offensive littering charge is because of the urine. The evidence will be destroyed by court date.
Amir Khalid
@OzarkHillbilly:
I did that once myself, when I was seven. Never since then.
ETA: In the comments on that story, there’s quite a bit of speculation that he was sleepwalking.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
Was the female legislator involved in the cover-up? The article makes it seem like it was the guy’s idea. If all she did was commit adultery, she should not have been removed.
Elmo
I’m excited – my wife and I are meeting up with Hilzoy later this morning to attend a dog adoption event. Not to adopt a dog this time – at least not likely – but as a get to know you outing and get her looking at breeds, sizes, local rescues etc.
I’ll report back after!
Geeno
@Baud: I think everyone just wanted her gone, and this was their chance. Notice how few of the process concerned Democrats abstained for her vote. She was just really unpopular with her colleagues.
MattF
@Baud: Well I agree, but the political optics are peculiar. Force the man to resign for adultery and then censure the woman?
Baud
@Geeno:
I don’t shed tears for Republicans who are eaten by their own. But I’ve always believed adultery was a private issue, so, based on what I know, I oppose this in principle. That said, on to more interesting matters.
Baud
Does the GG in the tweet stand for Glenn Greenwald? Is there some story there between GG and misogyny? The MRA reference, I understand.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: I don’t know. Been a while since I read anything about it. Personally I find the idea of policing morality abhorrent on any level. Whatever they did, it isn’t a crime which makes it between them and their families. The ‘cover up’, if you can call it that, I put right up there with Bill’s “That depends on what your definition of ‘is’ is.”
People who mess around on their spouses lie***. Water is wet.
*** All politicians lie. They promise things they can’t deliver and say they didn’t do things they did. So who are these jackasses to play purity police?
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
Generally agree. But, IMHO, this cover up is worse because it invoked prejudice against gays to some extent.
WereBear
@OzarkHillbilly: Ambien is known to do this. And worse.
Steeplejack
@Baud:
I think it’s Gamer Gate. Hard to follow all the “inside baseball” references, I agree.
ETA: But as president you’ll have people to take care of this for you.
Punchy
Whats it say about Michigan repubs that they essentially failed to expel the man (2 votes short) who clearly was the ringleader, but had votes aplenty to bounce the chick?
WereBear
@OzarkHillbilly: AM bee in sleeping drug is known to do this. And worse.
Which is why when a doctor offered it for sleep I said no way.
bemused
Evidently clown standards are slipping. Grifter Glenn Beck and grifter Sarah Palin both appeared at anti-Iran deal “protest” wednesday. Beck lambasted Palin on his show saying he is “honestly” embarrassed he once supported her, she is a clown and he doesn’t know who she is anymore.
Hilarious coming from Beck who said in a 2009 NYT interview that he was a rodeo clown and it takes great skill.
WereBear
@Elmo: it’s great she has such help. I love going with friends, and often bring friends with me to such events.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud:
The funny part about that is that only someone locked into the Con Chris closet would find it a slur.
WereBear
@Punchy: Excellent excellent point.
Today is about recovery from yesterday’s work of driving around farm country looking for bike routes. Found some, took pictures, all is good.
WereBear
Peculiar behavior on a certain sleep drug.
http://thebertshow.com/ambien-horror-stories-one-woman-painted-her-porch-purple-and-another-jumped-15-feet-down-off-hers/
Shakezula
Wow. I didn’t understand the full scope of this cluster of fucks and it looks like the investigation will continue – due to insistence by Democrats.
If they hadn’t tried to pressure staff into participating in the weird “I’m being smeared by queers!” scheme (and staff hadn’t said no and complained), this would not be a story. And I thought I read that this is the second time Courser made up a fake smear about himself for fun and political profit?
@Baud: Gamer Gater. If you don’t know, you probably don’t wanna.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud:
This is why you’re not a Republican.
OzarkHillbilly
@WereBear: In my buddy’s case, I think it’s beer that has that effect on him. ;-)
@bemused:
It does take great skill, and no small amount of courage. A rodeo clown’s #1 job is to keep bull riders from getting stomped to sh!t by 1500 lb of really pissed off animal that just wants to crush something. Making the crowd laugh is just a side gig.
SFAW
I’m kind of annoyed that Todd Courser (R-Wickdipper Falls) had to resign, when it was, clearly, ENTIRELY the fault of that brazen hussy, Cindy Gamrat (R-Trampsville), who lured that poor innocent boy with a combination of feminine wiles, sluttiness, and feminine wiles.
Fortunately, marital fidelity counselors Newtie Gingrich and Kim Davis are flying to Michigan to offer their help and advice. (Of course, if Newtie pisses on the other passengers, it will be because he is fully awake, and merely expressing his disdain for anyone not as smart as he thinks he is.)
But, not being aware of all Interthing traditions — what is the “red pill”?
Kay
@Baud:
I know you didn’t follow it but it is impossible to feel sorry for these two. You got the feeling they absolutely love the drama, both of them.
For weeks like this, this crazy grandiose behavior. You end up wondering how two egos that big fit in one motel room.
Shakezula
@OzarkHillbilly: The stereotype of the promiscuous gay man (with a drug and porn addiction) having sex behind a bar is a slur.
Baud
@Steeplejack:
@Shakezula:
Thanks. I’ve heard of GamerGate, and that makes more sense than Greenwald.
Matt McIrvin
@J R in WV:
If it exists, they’ll go off over it. They are the most sensitive fragile snowflakes in the universe.
bemused
@OzarkHillbilly:
Perhaps Beck admitting he was a radio clown would have been too honest.
Baud
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Oh my, that is so far down the list of why I’m not a Republican, it might was well not be on the list.
@Kay:
I don’t feel sorry for them in the least.
Shakezula
From The Matrix.
[Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen The Matrix and since it has Keanu Reeves, why would you? But anyway]
It’s a term used by Men’s Rights Activists to describe themselves. But instead of realizing the real world is run by evil creatures who use humans as batteries, the MRA realizes the real world is run by evil women who control and abuse men (often by refusing to have sex with them) WHILE (and here’s the sneaky part) pretending to be all helpless and stuff.
Think anti-Semitic conspiracy theory with women in place of Jewish people.
scav
I thought there was extensive collusion between the two – they’d essentially made their two offices into one and shared staff, despite their districts being rather distant. Then I think they both fired staff that didn’t cooperate in sending out the rumors (after giving them raises a month or so prior?).
I’d rather bet the disparity of votes had a bit of “Oh, so you think you’re in charge of telling us what the appropriate sanction is?!” with a little “Can we finally get this over with and get to bed?” added in.
Baud
@Steeplejack:
I pledge to the American people that, as president, I will not have sex with a Republican and blame it on the gays to cover it up. No other candidate on either side has made that promise.
Baud! 2016.
OzarkHillbilly
@Shakezula: Yes it is. But that’s not what he was saying, is it? I heard it was just supposed to be the generic gay sex rendezvous rumor.
debbie
@bemused:
Except yesterday, he apologized for calling Palin a clown. Then, after a break for a (zillion) ads, he apologized to clowns.
Can’t imagine what’s going on in the background.
Schlemazel
MN has a deal like MI in that 2 “upstanding Christian” Republican legislators got caught in a rural park with their hands in each others pants. They are claiming they just got together to swap paper work (the Appalachian Trail being too far from here to hike) and a case of police misconduct. It has gotten little attention yet but I have hopes for the fall session.
BTW, she is the wife of an assembly of God minister so the congregation has anew myth to believe
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/09/02/family-values-lawmakers-caught-making-out-with-pants-down-in-a-car-call-police-officer-a-liar/
OzarkHillbilly
@Shakezula: The things I learn here…
Wag
@J R in WV:
Arpaio is an Italian last name
Good thing for sheriff Joe that America has grown up and accepted Italians as white. When my mother was born in Colorado in 1940 her birth certificate read Race of mother: White. Race of father: Italian.
Central Planning
@SFAW:
Hedley Lamarr: you said feminine wiles twice
SFAW: I like feminine wiles
SFAW
@Shakezula:
Thanks for the tip, still had to look it up, but you narrowed it enough for Teh Google.
But it seems to me that the Rethugs are big into the blue pill.
And: Baud! 2016
Schlemazel
@Baud:
YOU HAVE MY VOTE!
Hell, I might cacus for you just on that pledge alone. No sex with any Republican should be the law of the land.
RSA
@OzarkHillbilly:
It was a little more specific, as you can hear in a recording. Courser wanted the email (which I think he said was already written) to describe his having paid another man for sex outside a nightclub, and to make him out as being a “bisexual porn-addicted sexual deviant”.
Mustang Bobby
@OzarkHillbilly: To quote Stuart Pawson, people who live in glass houses should not host orgies.
Schlemazel
@Punchy:
Part of that was the Dems not voting. They sat back and watched the goopers eat each other (and not in the fun way). He was dead meat once the Dems decided to play along so he fell on his sword (and not the fun one). She claims she had a deal that was censure only if she confessed. If she did it serves her right for trusting Republicans!
D58826
WELL that didn’t take long. Kim Davis is back in court asking that she be allowed to resume refusing marriage licenses to people that GOD doesn’t approve of. She claims that since the original plaintiffs have gotten their licenses she should be free to discriminate against every one else. I guess her word to the federal judge doesn’t count for much since God is whispering in her ear.
Germy Shoemangler
@Mustang Bobby:
There’s a saying that goes, ‘People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.’ OK. How about, ‘Nobody should throw stones’? That’s crappy behavior. My policy is, ‘No stone throwing regardless of housing situation.’
– Demetri Martin
scav
@scav: ETA golly do they come up with comperlicated ways to organize a vote in MI. Nice little mind-bender to get the brain working in the morning. “pleasepleaseplease democrats vote on this so it can all tidily be over for us and you’re not allowed to leave your seats.” or something like that. Hi-Ho! Coffee’s away!
OzarkHillbilly
@Central Planning: Actually, he said ‘feminine wiles’ 3 times… Or did he say ‘sluttiness’ 3 times? I get so confused with Republican definitions.
Kay
@Schlemazel:
She definitely got the raw end of the deal but she should have realized that her plea was the cover they needed to expel under the rules since they apparently take an oath not to expel without just cause (which is probably good or they’d be expelling political opponents constantly). She handed “cause” to them. She didn’t bother to figure out the process, what they need, which is probably not a great thing in a legislator. Its part of “me, me, me” IMO.
OzarkHillbilly
@RSA:
Myself, I think anyone who could dream up this scheme probably IS a “bisexual porn-addicted sexual deviant”.
On the more serious side, thanx for the clarification.
NobodySpecial
Surprised no one’s talking about the Labour election in the UK.
Schlemazel
@scav:
I’d like to think that the Dems got some concessions out of it but they probably didn’t. Whenever the GOP come, hat in hand, begging the Dems to extricate the GOP from a briar patch of their own making the first real should always be “what’s in it for us?”
Zinsky
I read about this on Daily Kos. Bizarre. Those conservative Republicans sure have good “family values”, don’t they? Here in Minnesota we had a somewhat similar incident, where a male and female State Representative (conservative Republicans married to someone else, of course) were caught making out in a state park by a police officer. She had her top off and the police office cited them for lewd behavior. They did what all conservatives who advocate for “personal accountability ” would do – blamed the policeman. I shit you not. I would link to it, but my iPad is acting funny…
Peale
@OzarkHillbilly: to me they crossed the line when he demanded that his employees assist him. Especially trying to make one help him with the blackmail story. That would get you fired at my company rather quickly.
Hillary Rettig
Tomorrow is the first Grand Rapids Veg Festival. Lots of great speakers, great food, etc. I’ll be tabling for Vegan Kalamazoo, and would love to meet any juicers who stop by. http://grvegfest.com/
Shakezula
@OzarkHillbilly:
What he did is right up top:
But even if it were a more generic accusation, “HALP! HALP! SOMEONE CALLED ME A GAAAAAY!” would be homophobic be cause he’s playing on the fact he and his constituents believe being gay is deviant behavior.
Also worth considering: the first (or first known) time he ran a fake accusation con, he accused himself of being a child molester.
J R in WV
@Baud:
GG = GamerGate, an explosion of hatred of women in gaming.
scav
@Schlemazel: The kurfuffle seems to have dragged it back onto the front page and they got the MI state police and AG investigation amendments, so enough counted it a win.
OzarkHillbilly
So anyway, this happened in a Louisiana courtroom this week:
Nowhere is this struggle more apparent than in a recent declaration by Louisiana’s attorneys that there are 2,000 family planning providers ready to accommodate new patients. A federal judge, reviewing the list in an early September court hearing, found hundreds of entries for specialists such as ophthalmologists; nursing homes caregivers; dentists; ear, nose, and throat doctors; and even cosmetic surgeons.
“It strikes me as extremely odd that you have a dermatologist, an audiologist, a dentist who are billing for family planning services,” said the judge, John deGravelles, who will determine in the next week whether it is legal for the state to end Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid contracts. “But that is what you’re representing to the court? You’re telling me that they can provide family planning and related services?”
His harsh questioning sent the state back to the drawing board. On Tuesday, the state’s attorneys acknowledged that the dentists and other specialists didn’t belong on the list. They filed a pared-down version that lists just 29 health care providers.
Schlemazel
@Kay:
She claims she had a deal but it seems doubtful to me since she had participated in the same shady crap he had. If one went they both had to. It looks to me that he resigned to end the party’s embarrassment. Maybe she had a deal for censure only but she screwed up, she trusted the word of a Republican. My guess is either there never was a deal or she chose to misunderstand it.
Schlemazel
@Zinsky:
I beat you to it about 10 comments up
Germy Shoemangler
@Shakezula: What is it with repubs and false flags?
Schlemazel
@NobodySpecial:
I had not read the news yet. I stop here first to build courage for what is coming!
The Labour win is HUGE! Not just a win but a big, big, win for the left most government in a very long time. Pasta, how I hope this is a sign that the Thatcher/Reagan fever has broken in the UK and will do the same here soon
gelfling545
@Baud: I believe it is as well but trying to coerce his staff into spreading false information calls for some strong action. Then there’s having no more sense than a chicken but if that was a cause for removal there’s be no more Republicans in office.
dmbeaster
@D58826: It’s a litigation strategy by the jerks using her case to cause havoc. The theory is that each individual has to litigate for the license – blanket orders are allegedly wrong. So make it so burdensome to get one, and maybe they’ll go away.
tybee
@NobodySpecial:
being too lazy on a sat’dy to go look it up, what did happen in UK politics?
Shakezula
@D58826: Jesus Christ. I’m not really surprised, but I will say to all the people who hit the fainting couch over the fact this privileged, abusive, steaming turd of a human being was put in jail for a few days:
SSSSSSSPBBHBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBTTTTT!!!
That goes twice for the ones who think she’s some poor little hick being manipulated by crafty lawyers.
Elizabelle
Good morning all. Rainy and grey here in NoVA. Not a great Saturday for many, maybe, but I am thrilled cuz have LOTS to do in the house today.
Here’s an earworm: Yo ho ho, and a bottle of rum.
Caught first minutes of Treasure Island on TCM (Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper; director was Victor Fleming). Didn’t have the time to watch, and looking at the seafarers’ costumes and inn, you could just about smell that set.
You’re welcome.
OzarkHillbilly
@Shakezula: Yeah, RSA helped clarify for me too. Thanx.
But as to
I repeat, only a Christian conservative (and other homophobes) would find it a slur. The rest of us would go, “Ya think?” or “No.” or “Why thankyou.” or…
Schlemazel
@tybee:
Huge Labour win
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/12/jeremy-corbyn-wins-labour-party-leadership-election
NotMax
@OzarkHillbilly
Guessing that would drop to a dozen or less once those who are currently retired, are diploma mill recipients or are unlicensed ministry workers are picked out.
WereBear
Oh, Republicans. They just won’t change, except for the worse.
Peale
@dmbeaster: yep. I figured making it so that the gays have to sue and hire a lawyer each time they want to marry would be the next step here. Those mean gays and their petty sissy crybaby lawsuits is where they want to head.
J R in WV
@Wag:
Wow, Italian has it’s own race? Wow! The things you learn in B-J land.
Must confess, I stay out of Phoenix, have driven through once this century so far, on the way to Flagstaff to visit Grand Canyon, which was more grand than the name can describe. So I try to ignore Sheriff Joe the best I can, and wasn’t actually sure how to spel [sic] his last name.
I think the expulsion/resignation was because of all the fol-de-rol around their affair, rather than punishment of the adultery itself. The icing on the cake was more toxic than the cake itself, in other words.
But who can peer into the minds of the Republican leadership? The paradox beyond philosophy… “Not I…” he said !!
Peale
@NotMax: the number who take Medicaid is most likely 0.
SFAW
@Shakezula:
It ain’t “theory” if the Joooos really do run the world.
It didn’t start in the US with President Abie Lincohen, but he brought it to the fore. And don’t forget
Polandthe Rothschilds!D58826
@Shakezula: She just wants to get her 15 minutes of fame renewed for a second season. She did turn down thew Oath Keepers and they are leaving town so the chance of a violent confrontation has gone down a couple of notches.
Elizabelle
The Grey Lady, the NYTimes just now: blurb on web front page re Labour victory:
Got that? Conservative or Tory is “centrist”**, and they’re talking “hard left” although they never talk about “hard right” or “radical right” in the US in their political reporting.
(** And I get that David Cameron conservative is not much like our whackadoodles here; the Brits seem a lot more intelligent politically than we do. Maybe parliament and multiple parties is the way to go. They’re miles ahead in not wasting billions of dollars on permanent campaigning.)
beltane
@Schlemazel: Jeremy Corbyn’s win is a BFD indeed.
Mike J
@Elizabelle: It was a Labour election, it’s not a Labour victory. Everybody running was a member of the Labour party, they were running to be the head of the party.
beltane
@Elizabelle: David Cameron’s type of conservatism may not resemble our religious variety of whackdoodle conservatism, but is every bit as evil on economic issues as Scott Walker, etc.
shell
Wow, Todd Courser used every cliche in the ‘okay, now lets all forget this ever happened’ book.
‘turn the page’, ‘healing, ‘restoration and redemption.’..
Howd he forget the ‘seeking closure’ one?
Elizabelle
@Mike J: Yes, that’s true.
Wondering how much watching the debacle in Greece and Germany’s response inspired voters in the UK.
beltane
@Mike J: One of the issues in the Labour election was that not one of Corbyn’s opponents voted against Cameron’s punitive welfare program. Apparently, “centrist” equals “not opposing Conservative policy”.
Gimlet
@Elizabelle:
December 4, 2008
Since the election, conservatives have consoled themselves with the idea that Obama may have won, but America is still a “center-right nation.”
Shakezula
@OzarkHillbilly: That only works if you ignore intent and the way gay people are viewed by significant portions of society, especially Republicans.
Shakezula
@D58826: Oh well, she can have them from a jail cell.
shell
@D58826: Waiting for the judge to say “What part of ‘do your fucking job or quit’ don’t you understand?”
Randy P
@Wag: I’m working my way slowly through Ta-nehisi Coates’ “Between the World and Me” and he makes the point repeatedly that “whiteness” is an artificial and ever- changing construct. Irish didn’t used to be white either.
Slowly, not because it isn’t well-written (it is of course) but because of the depth of the emotions. I need to take it in small doses.
scav
And they’ve got Tom Watson as deputy leader, so that might increase the interest. That man seems to be dogged in the instances where I’ve ran across him during my periodic binges into issues (ah my phone-hacking days . . . ) on that side of the puddle. Don’t know much about the full whirl, but will admit to a general glee and stomping on any remnants of Blair and derivatives.
Schlemazel
@Mike J:
I tried to edit my comment to indicate that but fywp ate it.
I still see this as a big deal and a real break from the past. Akin to Sanders getting the nod instead of Clinton. A shift left and away from centrist half hearted liberalism
Gimlet
Almost a third of Americans could imagine supporting a military coup against their own government, according to a new poll.
They found that 43% of Republicans would support a military coup in certain instances, while only 20% of Democrats and 29% of independents would.
The overall numbers increased when participants were “asked whether they would hypothetically support the military stepping in to take control from a civilian government which is beginning to violate the constitution”. 43% said yes to this, and 29% said no.
Abraham Wyner, director of the undergraduate program in statistics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, said that online polls were “worse than just about any other way you can put together a poll” because they were prone to selection bias, meaning proper randomization was not achieved and the sample was not representative of the population – since people can choose to participate.
Schlemazel
@Randy P:
“White” used to mean Anglo-Saxon and northern European. Even Eastern Europeans were out. But it probably got hard to recruit new believers so the KKK drew the circle a bit bigger. Hell, as a kid Catholics were outside that circle, now many of them man the ramparts to keep the circle pure.
Race is an artificial construct designed to serve the power structure, and it works.
scav
OK, can I at least get the link through of he who cannot be mentioned as Deputy Leader? Testing ……
ETA Huzzah! Because HeWhoCannotBeNamed also seems rather grounded and dogged during the few times I ran across him during UK obsessions (agh, my phone-hacking days …….) and stomping on remnants of Toady Blairism and -itis brings joy to me, even without understanding the full minutiae of UK politics.
PIGL
@beltane: yes, the Brits managed to distill away the superfluous, distracts lifestyle bullshit and retain only the pure spirit of neo-liberalism.
Baud
@Schlemazel:
Apparently the new Labour leadership won’t face national elections until 2020.
Schlemazel
@Baud:
DAMN! I didn’t know that, I assumed sooner, much sooner
Steeplejack (phone)
El Rey is running the Stephen King miniseries The Stand at noon EDT and again at 8:00 tonight..
Amir Khalid
@Baud:
@Schlemazel:
Well, they just had a general election in Britain in May.
Baud
@Schlemazel:
I may have gotten bad information. Worth confirming.
gogol's wife
Has anyone discussed the fact that Freddie de Boer made it into this week’s NYTimes Sunday magazine? The issue is devoted to “college” (not university, of course, because who cares about that?). All the articles look stultifyingly dull, de Boer’s included (on the corporatization of higher education). I thought, as someone who teaches in a college, that I would be ready to read it from cover to cover, but I flipped through and didn’t see a single article of interest. I’ll try it again later when I have more time.
Doug R
@Schlemazel: Alberta turned orange (Social Democrat) after about 40 years of solid Conservative rule. Prime Minister Harper’s riding in Calgary is ALL Orange seats now Provincially. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
Bruuuuce
Robert Reich speaks today on FB about the Labour leadership election, and his thoughts were what I thought when I read about it:
There’s been an important parallel in recent years between what’s happened to the Democratic Party in America and to Britain’s Labour Party. In the 1990s, for example, Bill Clinton’s “New Democrat” triangulation toward America’s political center was mirrored in Tony Blair’s “New Labour” movement toward a so-called “Third Way.” So it’s interesting to note that Jeremy Corbyn was today elected leader of the British Labour Party in a surprising landslide — the rough equivalent of gaining the Democratic nomination for president.
You might call Corbyn the Bernie Sanders of British politics. He began as an outsider; the initial odds of his winning were around 100 to 1. But he packed rallies and halls, where he gave speeches to gatherings that spilled over into the streets. He spoke of reversing Britain’s widening inequality, and he inspired a huge following. After his win today he said the message was the people are “fed up with the injustice and the inequality” of Britain, and that the Labour Party needed to reject the New Labour era of Tony Blair and become a “movement” to ensure “everyone has a decent place in society.”
If he’s suggesting (correctly) that we have a real chance to see President Sanders, then all I can say is “from his pixels to His Noodly Appendages” :-)
OzarkHillbilly
@Shakezula:
I’m not ignoring them, I actually acknowledged them and their existence, but they are by far a minority in this country. Don’t know the latest #s but last I saw something like 60+% of Americans are in favor of gay marriage with like 30% against it. That means that a significant # of Republicans are in favor of gay marriage. It is not a stretch to imagine that an additional # of Republicans would not find being called ‘gay’ an insult.
All of which is not to say that the homophobes in the world aren’t dangerous delusional idiots, they are. But it is to say exactly what I did say, which is that only the Christian Cons and other homophobes would find it a slur. The rest of us wouldn’t.
Baud
@Bruuuuce:
There’s certainly a real chance. But Labour hasn’t won jack in any UK election yet. And the parallels are not exactly the same, since we have Obama in the White House and the Democrats controlled the Senate until the 2014 elections.
Schlemazel
@Amir Khalid:
I remember that but thought I had read these was something again in ’17. Not as great as I had hoped for but still good news
Doug R
@Schlemazel: I don’t think Clinton is a centrist so much as she thinks EVERYONE deserves the same rights and a fair shot. I think that is what centrists and radicals both shoot for, centrists just do it incrementally so the changes stick.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Elizabelle: It really is an amazing story there. The spin on things (“The UK is already growing fast…” – like 1.7% or so annual GDP growth is “fast”). Like Blair’s brand of New Labour is the obvious solution to Labour’s current problems. Like Miliband’s crushing defeat shows that being Tory-lite is the way to go rather than showing that he was an incompetent campaigner with flawed ideas about how to win an election.
(sigh).
It looks like I’ll have to try to find another source for national and international political coverage…
Cheers,
Scott.
Mike in NC
@Gimlet:
“Instances” obviously meaning if a Democrat was wrongly elected. This was a popular subject after Obama was first elected, judging from the emails and Facebook notifications I started to get. Must have originated in the Wingnut Wurlitzer (FOX/Beck/Limbaugh).
Bruuuuce
@Baud: I think what he’s really saying is that the mood of both countries has turned uglier toward centrists, flim-flamming right-wingers, and career politicians, and that these men, perceived as outsiders, are appealing to a growing and more vocal than ever slice of the the populace. You’re right; these were only leadership elections for Labour, and not actual national elections. Still, add that to the growing awareness and popularity of Senator Sanders, and there’s reason to hope. even while popping corn to watch the Republican Klown Kar.
Peale
@OzarkHillbilly: I think you’re missing the point of the plot. The point was to make an outrageous claim against him that he could easily refute so that when someone made a more plausible accusation (he was having an affair), he could point to the outrageous claim and get away with the affair by claiming he had enemies. I think this whole thing was concocted to convince his wife that he wasn’t having an affair.
BruceFromOhio
Scott Benson has created some pretty amazing stuff in that medium. Thanks for sharing.
trollhattan
@OzarkHillbilly:
From 2,000 to 29? That would be pretty embarrassing if any of them were capable of embarrassment.
brendancalling
@OzarkHillbilly: I had a roadie who did that, black out drunk, in our tour van. Not cool.
Doug R
@Amir Khalid: Most Parlimentary democracies, they have to call an election within 5 years, but the Prime Minister can call one anytime. Some places the tradition is every 3 years, if the winds are right, say if the Prime Minister or Premier sees disarray in the Opposition or a bad turn in the economy, it could be as little as 18 months.
RSA
@gogol’s wife:
Thanks for the pointer! Freddie’s article describes a university environment that seems very distant from my own, which seems strange, given that they’re both large land grant universities. As sometimes happens with my reading of his writing, I’m not sure how general the observations are.
For what it’s worth, I thought the robotics article was interesting.
Omnes Omnibus
@RSA: Link no work. You fix.
Schlemazel
@Doug R:
I’d disagree, like Bill’s I expect her administration would include gems like welfare reform and the war on certain drugs used certain ways. It will be a mixed bag. I understand that may be the best we can do in 2016 but I can’t pretend it is anything other than centrist given today’s definition
Gimlet
@Doug R:
Wiki
The Third Way moderates. They’ve increased their clout since the Dems’ neoliberal exploits since the 90s, aren’t that different from their Blue Dog colleagues, and are roughly equivalent to the British New Labour. Represented by the New Democrat Coalition (an affiliate of the now-defunct Democratic Leadership Council):
The Clintons, Andrew Cuomo, Dianne Feinstein, Al Gore, Martin O’Malley, Joe Lieberman (independent since 2006), Harry Reid, Barack Obama[9], Debbie Wasserman-Schultz
Don K
@Baud:
Yabbut, when would prejudice against gays matter to MI Republicans? Well, maybe being vocal about it. Republicans’ entire business model in MI is built on unspoken prejudice against gays, so as not to scare off the “moderate voters” (“Representative Gobblemash is a family-values representative”). The right audience gets the dog-whistle, and the average tolerant suburban voter doesn’t.
Amir Khalid
@Doug R:
I know. I live in a country with a parliamentary government. It’s five years in Britain just as it is in Malaysia. Unless a crisis of some sort forces his hand, Cameron is not going to call the next GE until the five years are up.
Zinsky
@Schlemazel: My bad. Sometimes it gets a little tedious reading about dog adoptions, etc.
OzarkHillbilly
@Peale: No, I’m not missing the point of the plot. Just as war is politics by another means, this is also politics by another means. Remember Swift Boat Veterans for Truth? Smearing Kerry a man who actually went to war, so that their 2 draft dodging* candidates could get a pass?
When it comes to politicians of both parties** and politics in general, I am very cynical and can not remember the last time any of them did something that actually shocked me. Mostly I just laugh at them, it isn’t worth getting angry.
*and Yeah, W’s getting into the NG was dodging the draft. Back in the 60’s NG stood for ‘Not Going’, and being politically connected was the only way to insure getting in.
**I vote Dem exclusively because I far prefer their policies, not because I would trust any of them in a bar fight.
Baud
@Gimlet:
Oh well, if wikipedia lumps them all together, who am I to argue?
Schlemazel
@RSA:
Freddie needs to interview more cabbies and spend more time at Applebee’s salad bar so that he can draw an even more Brooksian picture or a reality that only exists in the Boers mind.
Gimlet
@Baud: You forgot the sarcasm tag.
Schlemazel
@Zinsky:
Not a problem. I just wanted to save you from having to dig it out.
Anoniminous
@Amir Khalid:
Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 a snap election can only be held if the government loses a Confidence vote or a 2/3 majority of parliament is in favor.
Amir Khalid
@Anoniminous:
And only in a crisis would the Tory government lose a vote of confidence, or a 2/3 majority in parliament vote for a GE.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Omnes Omnibus:
I fix: “University Inc.”
Baud
@Gimlet:
I thought it was presumed for my comments.
Uncle Cosmo
@Wag: Being of 100% Italian extrication, I recall (with some embarrassment) a joke told by someone in my larger-than-some-counties extended fambly many decades ago when I was a lad:
Ethnic victimization much? Va afferare.
(o/t: The first couple times I was in Prague my head was on a swivel because in the tourist area every third shop seemed to have a sign that read Dárky, Which, it turns out, is Czech for “gifts.” A little thing like a čárka can mean oh-so-much…)
Anoniminous
Rupert Murdoch has bought the National Geographic for $725 million.
Anoniminous
@Amir Khalid:
It is possible — since there’s no Law of the Universe preventing it — Cameron would go to the country by having some Tory MPs vote to dissolve. I can’t imagine why he and they would … but never say never in politics! :-)
schrodinger's cat
What’s the deal with NYT constantly berating Corbyn.
Peale
@Mike in NC: the difference is probably in the number of circumstances a coup would be acceptable as well. Congress refusing to defund planned parenthood-nope. I couldn’t support that coup. President openly saying that the Russians are too wimpy to fire nuclear missiles back at us, so let’s drop bombs on Moscow over the Crimean issue…yeah. I might look the other way if the generals took over. Yeah, I guess one never knows how coups will end, but I could see some very unusual circumstances where I might not want to wait around for removal following the normal processes.
BruceFromOhio
@Anoniminous: Climate-change-denying content being generated in 3…2 ..
Gimlet
@schrodinger’s cat:
They recently changed their guiding principle from from “All the news that fits” to “Fair and Balanced”.
Kay
RSA
@Omnes Omnibus:
Oops. Sorry about that. This link should work.
Baud
@Kay:
Trump would never cancel a speech at the last minute like that. He’s someone you can count on. Not like Walker.
Tenar Darell
@OzarkHillbilly: hey, does that mean that Louisiana has no more doctors available for f*cks to give?
/sorry, not sorry (it is to joke badly or scream at the insanity)
Another Holocene Human
@Schlemazel: I thought the Dems game was to keep it in the news, in which case, mission accomplished.
Another Holocene Human
I read most of the Wonkette thread on this before coming here. It was hilarious, and from what the Michiganders on the thread posted, no, they were not “expelled for adultery”.
The way each of them is utterly full of themselves is, however, classic.
Fair Economist
@Baud: It’s not guaranteed that the UK won’t have elections until 2020. The Conservative majority is only 7 seats so they might lose enough seats over the next few years that the government falls before then.
Chris
@Schlemazel:
Wasn’t the “Anglo-Saxon” part always optional? Roosevelts were Dutch, Rockefellers and Kochs were German, but that didn’t keep them out of the club. I thought you were basically in the clear as long as you checked the “white” and “Protestant” boxes. (Which, of course, the Irish, South Europeans and East Europeans did not).
Another Holocene Human
@Zinsky:
It’s funny, scratch a white wingnut, they think cops are evil and liars, unless they’re confronting a Black person, then anything they do/say is 110% credible.
On that theme, there’s a great essay on Jezebel right now about “Free, White, and 21”. Mnemosyne probably is familiar with a lot of that but I wasn’t. Mind. Blown.
Chris
@Gimlet:
There was noise about this on right wing blogs soon after Obama’s election and especially after the ACA passed. With comparisons explicitly drawn to Pinochet in Chile. (Remember, most right wingers still think that was an act of heroism).
Baud
@Fair Economist:
Thanks. Didn’t realize how thin their majority was.
Another Holocene Human
@OzarkHillbilly: From 2000 to 29.
eta: guess the judge wasn’t bought
Baud
It must have pained the NYT to publish this story.
So how did they compensate?
Relevance? SAME DAY, people!
Another Holocene Human
@Schlemazel: Thanks for the tip:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/12/jeremy-corbyn-wins-labour-party-leadership-election
kaBOOM!
I’m amazed that Labour was able to come back from that sell-out New Labour neoliberal crap. (All the wars + austerity at home.) Good for them. I hope this is a shot in the arm and Canada is next.
I hope UKiP was collectively pissing their pants late last night and has a hell of a hangover.
Hm, I almost want to listen to that rightwing BBC markets broadcast just to hear that quaver in their voices.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack (phone): @RSA: Thanks.
karen marie
@Baud: This was much more than simple adultery. Don’t you read Wonkette?
Another Holocene Human
@Elizabelle: David Cameron isn’t like our whackadoodles, no. David Cameron is like Mitt Romney, but with less of a personality disorder.
And the UK does have a scary “hard right” who have reorganized and gotten increasingly strident since the start of the Great Recession.
But it’s okay, NYT has always styled elective wars “centrist” and “moderate”. The tide has gone out and it turns out only a tiny minority of Americans hold such views and they don’t, in fact, control which party wins elections.
Baud
@karen marie:
No, I don’t. But I’m gathering that fact from the comments here.
Cervantes
@Another Holocene Human:
Good luck to Corbyn. He’s going to need it: already eight Labour front-benchers — members of the shadow cabinet — have resigned, one while Corbyn was still speaking to celebrate his victory.
Cervantes
@Elizabelle:
To be fair, Corbyn was only elected party leader, not Prime Minister, so when they say he’s going to reverse “centrist policies,” they’re talking mostly about Tony Blair’s legacy within the party.
pamelabrown53
@Baud:
#FeelingtheBaud. Who’s your veep?
Baud
@pamelabrown53:
People seem to like Biden as Veep. Maybe I’ll stick with him.
Bruuuuce
@Baud: Choose Michelle Obama. I guarantee that if you win, you won’t be assassinated by a crazed right-winger :-D
Mike J
@Cervantes:
He was a member of a group that called for military resistance among Iraqis. Hard to call it a “peace” group when they’re calling for the death of British soldiers.
Baud
@Bruuuuce:
Good thinking. You’re now my chief political strategist. Do a good job, and one day you’ll have a sweet contract as a political expert for a cable news network.
Another Holocene Human
@Mike J: dammit!
Another Holocene Human
@Schlemazel:
And by “Northern Europeans” they didn’t mean Finns or Poles.
JPL
@Anoniminous: This is Mike Luckovich’s take on the purchase. LInk
Cervantes
@Anoniminous:
To be clear: he’s bought a 73% stake in the magazine and TV properties, not in the Society.
Anoniminous
@JPL:
All I see is a black screen. Behind a paywall?
Baud
@Anoniminous: It worked for me.
Another Holocene Human
@Doug R:
Awesome.
JPL
@Anoniminous: If you ago to ajc.com there is a link on the right hand side about half way down for Luckovich.
Give it a second to load..
http://www.ajc.com/gallery/news/opinion/best-luckovich-sept-2015/gCWjz/
Anoniminous
@Cervantes:
So there won’t be any impact when the National Geographic cable station runs “Climate Science: Threat or Menace” 24/7 and the magazine has lead articles on “How Climate Scientists Scam the Public.”
Glad we cleared that up.
(I’m more than a wee bit upset.)
Baud
@Anoniminous:
“The Ten Best Things About Living in WaterWorld that the Liberal Media Won’t Tell You.”
Cervantes
@Mike J:
He was on the steering committee of a group called “Stop the War” which in 2003 called for “resistance against the occupation forces with all legitimate means, including military struggle.”
Does that mean “Stop the War” was not a “peace group” in your eyes? I guess so.
I have no idea what you thought of Bush’s invasion but I can tell you that Corbyn thought it was an illegitimate, even criminal, act. Given this view, his calling for resistance against the invasion was hardly surprising. Impolitic, maybe, but not a huge surprise.
Another Holocene Human
@Schlemazel: Huh, I feel like the winds have shifted. I would not expect a Democratic leader to be advancing any war on drugs stuff at all at this point. Their position the last several years has been radio silence, while the activists get the air time. The GOP has been too busy appeasing their rabid constituencies to care and law enforcement is not united on this issue by any means.
Anoniminous
@JPL:
Got it using Google Fu.
Good one
joel hanes
@Peale:
The number who provide effective means of birth control instead of abstinence and anti-abortion propaganda is probably in the single digits, too
Cervantes
@Anoniminous:
You do realize that Fox and the NGS have already been TV partners for nearly two decades, yes?
I don’t like it, either.
SRW1
@Schlemazel:
The Brexit referendum is/was supposed to happen in 2017, though Cameron is now talking about end of 2016.
pamelabrown53
@Baud:
Biden’s a great choice. He’ll have your back while providing the “common man” touch for those times when you get too elitist.
“FeeltheBaud! 2016!
Another Holocene Human
@Uncle Cosmo: cognate for latin verb dare, to give?
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Anoniminous: You may have to turn off your adblocker temporarily. It’s some kind of flash-like thing hiding the bitmap.
Cheers,
Scott.
Bruuuuce
@Baud: Cool. Always wanted to Press the Meat.
No, wait. Strike that; reverse it [/Wonka]
Another Holocene Human
@Chris: Dutch and Northern German puts you in the Anglo-Saxon sphere if you look at modern/industrial era Britain. The Netherlands, I guess because they were Protestant and an important trading partner, became like a proxy part of their world, and from the 18th century on their kings were from Hanover. (George I spent so much time in his palace in Hanover, Germany he actually died there, and was buried there.) This would go back to William and Mary, Mary was in the royal line, William was Dutch but accepted, unlike previous SPANISH spouses to British monarchs, and then Anne, who failed to produce a living heir meaning that the next in line was the Electress of Hanover. And the British people were okay with that.
Not saying there wasn’t more to that, but there was, maybe is, a core US old money elite who were English/Anglo-phile and cultivated the same preferences and prejudices of their English ruling classes cousins. (If they weren’t related, they made it so through intermarriage.)
SRW1
@Baud:
While you’re crowd-sourcing your team, what other positions are open?
Another Holocene Human
Okay, it says open thread. I now have a glass cooktop, a Whirlpool if that matters. Because of my wife’s cooking habits (she makes dinner, I’m not complaining) there’s a lot of burnt on crap. I am using WEIMAN scouring powder (shaddup, it’s allcaps on the bottle) but it’s not all coming off and I’m fantasizing about taking a wet razor to the thing.
Suggestions?
pamelabrown53
@Another Holocene Human:
I’m not as knowledgeable as you about British history but I thought the problems were due to the Spanish loyalty to the pope?
P.S. I always use a razor blade on my glass cook top. I just focus on the difficult spots so as not to unnecessarily scratch the cook top.
ThresherK (GPad)
That video, with the music choices andfleeting collages of imagery, has more than a touch of Dadaism. (Except in intent, as it is pointed and makes the point wonderfully.)
Also, autocorrect tried to change Dadaism to Sadism on me. Way to ruin my reputation, autocorrect!
Anoniminous
@Cervantes:
Yes I did. Difference is he didn’t have editorial control. Now he does.
Doug R
@Schlemazel: http://www.vox.com/2015/9/4/9261359/hillary-clinton-drug-abuse
sukabi
@Baud: think the GG is for gamer gate. Thought the mra was supposed to be nra, so not sure what that is.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Another Holocene Human:
Barkeeper’s Friend. Widely available. There are also a couple of gentle scrubbing products specifically for glass cooktops. They will magically appear to you in the grocery store now that you have that cooktop.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Another Holocene Human:
Also, I found that sponging with really hot water helped a lot to break up any gunk.
Steeplejack (phone)
@sukabi:
Men’s rights advocates/activists.
Elizabelle
@Steeplejack (phone): Yeah, I was going to recommend boiling water, a cloth to cover it until it cools a bit, scrape, and then Bartender’s Friend.
Not a fan of solid cooktops.
Do people actually choose them, or they’re there when there’s not a gas line for the stove?
sukabi
@Kay: they didn’t fit in a motel room, it was the backseat of a car, where they were ticked by a cop.
Ruckus
@Bruuuuce:
Good at the job already!
Steeplejack (phone)
@Elizabelle:
I liked the ceramic cooktop in my previous apartment. Beats the hell out of the old electric coil unit I have now. It got hot quickly and held temperature very well. And extra counter space when not using the range.
Another Holocene Human
@Steeplejack (phone): okay, really hot water is achievable. on it.
Another Holocene Human
Any industrial chemists in the house? Can Bon Ami (“Hasn’t scratched yet!”) substitute for Barkeeper’s Friend?
I take it they’re roughly similar products. I have Bon Ami in the house right now b/c my mother used to swear by it for her Le Creuset pot and other delicate dishes.
Another Holocene Human
@Steeplejack (phone): See above, I picked up such product and gunk is coming off but somehow I can’t seem to finish the job.
joel hanes
glass cooktop … a lot of burnt on crap
If the crap is still greasy, sudsy ammonia is very effective.
Cover the problem with a soaked rag, turn on the vent, open the windows, wait half an hour.
If the crap is carbonized, you may need to use oven cleaner.
Steel wool or an SOS pad is the next escalation.
Do NOT use a “green scrubby” — the synthetic abrasive is harder than glass or steel, and will scratch.
Do NOT use Comet, ditto.
sukabi
@NotMax: it would probably shrink further than that (probably to 0), if the judge were to personally ask the remainders if they would be providing the same services as PP for the same cost to patients as PP does.
sukabi
@Another Holocene Human: my favorite cleanser is baking soda… a generous amount and a damp sponge works on most things without scratching. Might have to let some things soak, soften for a bit, but works great
Another Holocene Human
@pamelabrown53: They were Catholics, yeah, but the “popery” stuff came later.
And I’m only lately informed about that stuff. Managed to avoid most of it in school. I took IB History and our text interpreted all of world history (needless to say Asia and Africa and most of the Americas got short shrift) through the lens of the French Revolution. That took a lot of emphasis off of Great Britain (although I do recall being bored by the English Civil War, happily our instructor didn’t give a f*ck about that and it wasn’t on the test … he preferred the Thirty Years War, also, minutiae of religious movements).
Elizabelle
@Steeplejack (phone): WWJCD?
What would Julia Child do?
She’d probably be OK with more than we’d assume. She seemed like a fun person.
Another Holocene Human
@joel hanes: steel wool? the Internet seems to be 3 to 1 against that
NotMax
@Another Holocene Human
Give the baking soda method a go. May have to repeat the process a second time.
If necessary, can carefully use a scraper* on stubborn or rough areas while the baking soda paste is still on.
After done cleaning, use a little of the Weiman stuff to help the cooktop resist future spills somewhat.
*Some places recommend a razor blade, but obviously that can pit or scratch the surface unless one is extremely fastidious. Takes a little longer as it uses a smaller tool (and may snap if too much pressure applied so keep a spare or two around), but using a knife from a plastic cutlery set as a scraper has worked if one has the patience. Cut the rounded end off the knife with scissors and use that now flat end to carefully scrape/push the stubborn bits off, keeping the blade of the plastic knife as close to parallel with the cooktop as possible. Test this push/scrape method on a small spot first to see if if mars the cooktop in any way before tackling the whole stained/burnt on area.
Origuy
@Another Holocene Human:
Most were. A lot of Scots and some English preferred the Stuarts over the Orange and Hanoverians, hence the Jacobite Rebellion. The Union of the Parliaments hadn’t occurred when when William took over and the Scottish Parliament didn’t get a vote in the matter.
Another Holocene Human
@Origuy: Yes, fair enough.
joel hanes
@Another Holocene Human:
Then error on the side of caution and don’t use it.
But I spent years cleaning aquarium glass with it, and never saw a scratch or clouding from microscratches.
Maybe cooktops use a softer glass, or maybe I’m FOS.
Cervantes
@Another Holocene Human:
They’re quite different. Barkeeper’s Friend is oxalic acid. Bon Ami is essentially feldspar, which is relatively inert.
Cervantes
@Elizabelle:
She was almost all fun in later life — but also had a bit of a serious side when she was younger, during the War.
NotMax
@joel hanes
Steel wool and the type of tempered glass used for cooktops don’t play well together at all.
Same goes for the standard green scrubby sponges (at least in my book). There are less abrasive scrubby sponges which I prefer, though of course YMMV.
Uncle Cosmo
@Another Holocene Human: I’d think so. I have the queen of Cesky-Anglicky dictionaries but it doesn’t include etymology. I may check ;^D with a friend in Prague who could consult his sources…
Cervantes
@Anoniminous:
I agree, but as with the WSJ — where the reporting is still good (as opposed to the editorial voice which was insane long before he came along) — it’s not clear he will abuse that power. If he destroys the brand, then he destroys the brand.
Overall, however, as I said: I don’t like the fact of the transaction, either.
NotMax
@Another Holocene Human
Household tip to help stop water from boiling over when cooking pasta, thus avoiding at least that type of future staining.
Pour a little cooking oil onto a paper towel and coat the inside of the pot with the oil, from the top to ½ inch or so down, before putting water in the pot.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
Speaking of Wonkette. ICYMI, Wonkette takes the NY Times to task for being stupid about quoting a sentence one of her “mommyblog” stories.
It would be nice to know what’s going on with the Times these days… :-/
Cheers,
Scott.
RSA
@Another Holocene Human:
You’re not alone in this. I’m glad to see all the suggestions. Thanks, everyone! I’m going to try Barkeeper’s Friend.
@Elizabelle:
That was me. Got tired of a crappy old electric coil stove, but getting a gas line would have been impractical.
Germy Shoemangler
@Another Holocene Human: My wife keeps a few of those things that come with products in plastic bags. I don’t know what they’re called, they are used instead of twist ties. Little flat plastic things. She uses them to gently scrape gunk off pans and other surfaces. They also make good guitar picks.
NotMax
@RSA
To restore the surface sheen after cleaning, try sponging with some diluted vinegar or lemon juice and wiping dry with a clean cloth.
NotMax
@Germy Shoemangler
Bread bag tabs? Good idea. Also great for identifying the jungle of wires we all now have attached to our tech equipment. Write on them with a Sharpie and snap onto the appropriate wire.
Germy Shoemangler
@NotMax: Bread bag tabs have a million uses. They just suck as bag tabs. They never work for me once they come off the first time. I hope Obama isn’t coming for our twist ties.
My wife uses them in the garden to label various plantings. They’re also good for marking the end of a masking tape roll.
NotMax
@Germy Shoemangler
We’ll always have clothespins.
:)
Germy Shoemangler
@NotMax: That’s what they said about Paris.
Goblue72
@beltane: Corbyn represents the Labour wing of the Labour Party.
Problem with the Blairites is that their natural constituency are the Lib-Dems.
RSA
@NotMax:
Cool, thanks. I’ll try that, too.
gogol's wife
@Uncle Cosmo:
I have a feeling it’s a common Indo-European root, not borrowed by Czech from Latin. Russian uses the same root for giving gifts.
Cervantes
@gogol’s wife:
Yes, and that ancient root is dehrom (offering, gift), a word used by Proto-Indo-Europeans (whom we used to call Aryans).
Mnemosyne (tablet)
I suspect this thread has already strayed far off the original topic, but I read a fascinating (though VERY long) post a few weeks ago that most of the guys in the PUA (pick-up artist) world show strong signs of being codependents who are trying to act like people with personality disorders:
http://therawness.com/reader-letters-1-part-4/
I disagree with most of the writer’s “evolutionary psychology” babble, but I think he’s onto something with PUAs, codependency, and cluster B (personality) disorders, and I suspect it can be extended to to MRAs as well. They are very damaged people.
Matt McIrvin
@Peale: It’s like Belle Waring said about the ticking-bomb scenario: You can always come with with some hypothetical in which, yes, you should torture a toddler to death because aliens convinced you they would blow up the whole Earth if you didn’t. It doesn’t necessarily mean this is a thing you want explicitly on the table.
WaterGirl
@Another Holocene Human: It may be too late for you to see this, but I recommend using a plastic scraper. Here’s what I use:
https://www.pamperedchef.com/shop/Cleaning/Cleaning+Tools/Pan+Scraper+Set/2610
I originally got mine from pampered chef when it originally came with a pizza stone. You can also buy them from kitchen stores or the dollar store, but I like prefer the original. Also, if you have a tough spot, wet a thick paper towel and let it sit on the spot to loosen it up a little.
Pro tip: clean the top after every use and it’s not difficult to clean at all. I use a cream scrub by Ecover
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: I LOVE my glass cooktop. You would have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands.
mclaren
What’s MRA/GG?
Methycillin resistant…anthrax? Glenn Greenwald?
???
ShadeTail
@mclaren: “Men’s Rights Activists”/”Gamer Gate”. Basically, a load of misogynist assholes with very delicate little egos. They like to pretend that they’re martyrs because it’s no longer socially acceptable for men to openly treat women like trash.
On a related note, that brief 40 second video is *awesome*.