Here’s a fresh new open thread for you all.
The Congress has passed a clean Continuing Resolution, so the government won’t shut down until December 11, when they’re going to have another fight over raising the national debt limit.
My new agency is, for the most part, a pretty good gig. I do love taking long drives to support people in the field who are doing important work protecting our natural resources. There’s a couple of things I’m not liking, but I won’t go into that. If everything were perfect all the time, life wouldn’t be an adventure, would it?
Elizabelle
Evening, soonergrunt. Great to see you posting here more.
Made a small contribution to Bernie tonight, and half of that to Hillary. We are talking microcontributions. And then one to the National Park Foundation.
I feel good.
Gin & Tonic
If you’re going to be living in the SLC area for the winter, you have to learn to ski.
JCJ
Hope all goes well for you. I hope you like the mountains. How far is it to Zion and Arches?
Mike E
Did they try to vote to defund PP, anyway? I wasn’t watching, just curious.
Soonergrunt
@Gin & Tonic: I skied a lot as a kid. Haven’t in a long time. A lot of the seasonal employees here are ski instructors in the winter.
@JCJ: It’s a few hours to the national parks. There are 5 national parks and monuments here, in addition to the national forests. It’s very beautiful here.
Gin & Tonic
@Soonergrunt: Sounds like it’s time to take it back up. Alta is one of my favorite places on this planet.
Right to Rise
So the latest in the Jeb campaign is that his poll numbers will move in two weeks or less thanks to a massive, downright Olympian TV ad buy in Iowa and New Hampshire. The Boston TV market was a special target, so for those of you in the Boston Metro, don’t touch that dial!
His poll numbers need to move through this buy, and they will. I absolutely promise it.
He has the money.
He has the name.
He has the patience.
He’s Bush.
To all y’all haters, Jeb has one message: It’s All About the Benjamins, Baby!.
dedc79
Probably shouldn’t have been surprised by this, but I was:
BillinGlendaleCA
@Soonergrunt: Teton and Yellowstone, while not in state, are not that far away(Teton’s probably closer than Zion).
ETA: Good to see ya back here Soonergrunt.
Doug R
Just remember you ain’t that far from the grand canyon and Vegas.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Cacti
With his Kinsley gaffe about the Benghazi Select Committee being about Hillary’s poll numbers, I’m thinking winger radio host Mark Levin had a point about Congressman McCarthy…
He’s Eric Cantor minus 10 IQ points.
JPL
@Soonergrunt: I know you left Oklahoma behind, but do you have any opinion about why the Governor issued a stay in execution for Glossip? It does seem as though there are questions about his guilt. I know she said it was because of the drugs being used, but I wonder if there is more to that.
Right to Rise
@Cacti:
Inside baseball. No swing voter in Ohio gives so much as a flying rat’s ass.
Omnes Omnibus
@Right to Rise: Ever been to Ohio?
JCJ
@Right to Rise:
Marquette University most recent poll (their polls have been the gold standard in Wisconsin)
Looking good, RtR!
amk
@Right to Rise:
all those benjamins still couldn’t buy a double digit poll number, baybee. waiting for the inevitable dumbya 3.0 donors’ panic attack 2.0.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I actually hope the weird troll is right about Jeb?, and I’m pretty sure I just heard Michael Steel make the same arguments about Bush’s cash and organizational advantages. From “free stuff” to “I’m a Bush!”, I think Jeb? might turn out to be a bigger disaster than Willard
JCJ
@Omnes Omnibus:
I saw you posted in the last thread about the Marquette poll. Perhaps you are right – Ron Johnson’s team is nervous. I hope so. Interesting that the poll numbers for Feingold are similar to the ones from April after the intervening poll showed a closer race.
Omnes Omnibus
@JCJ: Are you seeing a lot of Bernie stickers in your neck of the woods?
Right to Rise
@Omnes Omnibus:
I have a sister-in-law that lives just outside of Cleveland. Little place called Avon Lake.
amk
@JCJ:
but in suffolk poll, dumbya 3.0 is at 8% !!!
#jebmentum
BillinGlendaleCA
@Right to Rise:
Sure that’s a positive?
Omnes Omnibus
@JCJ: To me, it is looking like the current thing is generic Dem 50% and generic GOP 35% overall.
dedc79
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Agree that Jeb winning the nomination, however unlikely it looks at the moment, would probably be great for the Democrats. A whole bunch of “conservatives” would either stay home or vote third party.
Omnes Omnibus
@Right to Rise: So the answer is no?
Right to Rise
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Among donor/GOP circles? Yep!
In the general, #HeKeptUsSafe will suffice to neutralized any negatives. Just bring up the warm-fuzzies about the arm around the firefighter, the bullhorn, the police badge held solemnly before Congress…
Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.
beltane
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Willard is not an unintelligent man and was a vulture capitalist in his own right. Take away all the free stuff he’s been given his whole life and Jebbie would have a hard time surviving in the real world.
Right to Rise
@Omnes Omnibus:
I implied from the context that the answer is “yes”, numbnuts. Did you fail 9th grade English?
Right to Rise
@beltane:
Continue “misunderestimating” Jeb. I remember what happened the last time you did that to a Bush.
redshirt
I really like the idea of a line of BRINKS TRUCKS backing up into Jeb!’s driveway. Really symbolizes the American republic in 2015.
ThresherK (GPad)
@Soonergrunt: If you read novels, ever tried Nevada Barr’s series of Anna Pigeon mysteries? The author was an NPS ranger and also really knows how to write people.
Right to Rise
@redshirt:
And you are from where?
JPL
@Right to Rise: He’ll keep us safe just like his brother. Since his brother had warnings about planes being used as bombs, you would have thought he would tell the airlines to lock the darn doors. Laissez Faire and top down economics don’t work. You discuss me because you want 300 million of us to fall into the same trap. How do you sleep at night.
Omnes Omnibus
@Right to Rise: No, you avoided a direct answer and stated a vague connection to the state. The reasonable interpretation was a no.
SiubhanDuinne
@Right to Rise:
Whatever happened to “BRINKS. TRUCKS.” ???
Right to Rise
@JPL:
Perception is Reality.
Perception…is…Reality.
Soonergrunt
@JPL: I honestly don’t know. This particular governor has never shown too much concern for the guilt or innocence of the condemned.
It could be about the drug like she’s saying. The last thing she needs is another botched execution, that would result in the OK Court of Criminal Appeals or the federal district court to block executions in Oklahoma.
Right to Rise
@Omnes Omnibus:
Then you probably failed high school English.
Either that or your in-laws hate you so you never bother to visit them.
Maybe both?
You really fail at responding to me on that point, FWIW. You should have shouted RACIST!!!!!! when I mentioned Avon Lake.
Cacti
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Jeb is the smarts of his brother with the charm of his old man.
JPL
@Right to Rise: The amount that you are being paid is not worth it.
Let’s talk about Benghazi.
Soonergrunt
@ThresherK (GPad): I’ll have to check it out.
Ken
@Right to Rise:
Again, are you sure you want everyone to be thinking about the last Bush administration? The Republicans didn’t even invite him to the last convention.
Right to Rise
@SiubhanDuinne:
Oh, they’re coming on in.
They’re coming, and coming fast.
We’re talking Scrooge McDuck money.
Right to Rise
@JPL:
What McCarthy said is inside baseball.
What matters is perception.
Remember: perception is reality.
beltane
R2R has a point. Around half the country would vote for a blow up doll running as a Republican. Jeb happens to be very much like a blow up doll, only more prone to gaffes.
Omnes Omnibus
@Right to Rise: Not your best effort. Try again.
Right to Rise
@Omnes Omnibus:
Still no race card?
Fail.
rikyrah
Good to see you, SoonerG
JPL
@Ken: At least the Koch brothers are honest about what they want. Calvin Coolidge was great. There was no Social Security. There was no Medicaid or Medicare. Children could help their parents out because there was no child labor laws. Wahoo.
R2R makes me ill. Normally, I can ignore his two class system, but not tonight.
redshirt
@Right to Rise:
BRINKS! Inc.
amk
@beltane:
blow-up doll with a hole is more like it. needs constant pumping in of benjamins to stay upright.
redshirt
What’s going on with McCarthy? I just came back to this world and I see people talking about it.
Right to Rise
@redshirt:
Canada? Australia? UK?
Either way your country is going in the right (pun intended!) direction.
America is the leftist outlier. But not for long!
SoupCatcher
@ThresherK (GPad):
I enjoyed many of the Anna Pigeon books but, after a certain point, got tired of the amount of abuse Barr puts her through.
The settings of the books, however, were consistently great.
Cacti
@redshirt:
He accidentally admitted on Hannity that the Benghazi Select Committee’s purpose is to damage Hillary Clinton politically.
JPL
@Right to Rise: You really are a fucking idiot.
redshirt
@Right to Rise:
Countries are the past. The future is the multinational global corporation.
Right to Rise
@JPL:
[citation needed]
redshirt
@Cacti:
Thanks. So liberals will go “See!” and that will be the end of it.
Omnes Omnibus
@Right to Rise: Dude, you are the one trying to bring race into the conversation. I simply asked if you had been to OH. You could have said yes or no. Instead, you made a bizarre attempt to cause me to call you a racist by mentioning Avon Lake. Weird.
Right to Rise
@redshirt:
Damn skippy.
JCJ
@Omnes Omnibus:
A few. I complimented a lady in the parking lot at Target the other day on her Bernie sticker. I never see Hillary stickers. Probably the stickers I have seen the most are Ben Carson. Waukesha County – the Wingnut Capital of Wisconsin!
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: Mike McCarthy is a fantastic coach. Oh wait, not that McCarthy? Never mind.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus:
He’s OK. Better M-Sat than on Sunday though. Rodgers should have more than 1 title so far.
Omnes Omnibus
@JCJ: Quite a few Bernie stickers around here, but I am in the People’s Republic. I also see quite a few Ready for Hillary ones.
Right to Rise
@Omnes Omnibus:
My in-law really does live in Avon Lake.
But it’s also an easy troll to get you to play the race card. Most liberals would fall for it since they’re obsessed with race.
That’s the reaction I was expecting. Too bad you’re not the Tai-Naie….Tai-Na, Tai-Ni—-Kashi-Bar or whatever his name is school of Leftism.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@redshirt: yeah, but… less than two weeks before HRC is scheduled to testify for the Gowdy committee, McCarthy just wrote the opening statements for every Dem on that committee
Roger Moore
@Soonergrunt:
Which is to say that there are 5 National Parks (Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches) plus a bunch of National Monuments (Cedar Breaks, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Natural Bridges, Rainbow Bridge, Colorado, and Dinosaur off the top of my head). There also the National Forests, some very interesting BLM lands (e.g. Fantasy Canyon and Fischer Towers), and some random other National Lands like Golden Spike National Historic Site. And then there are all the state parks; I would highly recommend Goblin Valley, for instance.
scav
@amk: Air Dancers with Blowers! Infallible! Especially when green. Watch it rise!
chopper
@Right to Rise:
switch to decaf.
redshirt
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Yeah, and it will mean something to us, but the media will barely cover it I’m sure, in order to maintain multiple “narratives”.
Does any more than 2-5% of the American population not only know what’s going on in Congress, but understand it? I’m convinced this calculus is baked into Republican actions. They know a vast majority don’t know/don’t care, so everything is allowed. And when Dems try anything similar, they howl and activate the OUTRAGE NETWORK and send a ton of smoke into the air.
Right to Rise
@chopper:
LOL.
My work is done here.
G’night folks.
amk
@Right to Rise:
the canook lefties are beating the crap out of cons by 2-1, you ignoramus hick.
beltane
@chopper: And I was just about to tell him to go get a cup of coffee. He sounds drunk tonight. Oh wait, wouldn’t coffee just make him a wide-awake drunk? Yeah, decaf is a better option.
Roger Moore
@beltane:
Better than Walker, who was much closer to a ventriloquist’s dummy for the Koch brothers.
redshirt
Who’s trolling who?
Omnes Omnibus
@Right to Rise: Your shift is over? Okay.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus:
srv is clocking in.
Cacti
@Roger Moore:
I never saw what made some fellow Dems so fearful of Walker.
His lazy eye and Friar Tuck hair alone pretty much guaranteed he’d never be POTUS. Superficial certainly, but also true.
redshirt
HOW ‘BOUT DEM SOX?!
Soonergrunt
@Roger Moore: I’m copying that post as a list of things to do.
Omnes Omnibus
@Cacti: Hey, I live in the state that he is fucking over, and I said again and again that he was not ready for prime time.
JCJ
@Cacti:
I always figured he was dumber than GW Bush which would be considered a plus in the Republican primaries, then he would receive endless fluffing by the national media just as he had here in Wisconsin, similar to the fluffing Bush had – would like to have a beer with, etc. The real contest it seems is which one is dumber, Jeb…? or Walker?
BillinGlendaleCA
@Soonergrunt: If you head down to Zion or places down south, a stop at the old territorial state house in Fillmore is worth it.
JCJ
@Omnes Omnibus:
The Milwaukee newspaper had an article about state highway projects being put on hold due to lack of funding, including the work on the Verona Road interchange on the Beltline. That is already a mess. Now they might just leave it like that? The damage to the state from this assclown will be long lasting.
redshirt
@JCJ: But Wisconsin voters seem to approve of it.
What’s missing?
David Fud
@Right to Rise: Would love to see what you could come up with to achieve a Genius grant. My perception of you is that you aren’t intellectually capable of holding Coates’ hat, whether you can remember his name or not. Deal. With. That. Reality.
Omnes Omnibus
@JCJ: Jesus, that thing is a fucking mess. You can’t just leave it like that. Fucking incompetent.
@redshirt: I have posted and talked about this and JCJ referenced it. The GOP is not currently popular in WI.
JCJ
@redshirt:
Good question. Prior to the governor’s election in 2014 commenter Vida Loca wrote about the lack of enthusiasm for the Democratic nominee, Mary Burke. Unfortunately that may have been accurate as she received 1,121,555 votes while Barack Obama received 1,620,985 votes in 2012. Meanwhile Walker got 1,259,162 votes while Mitt Romney had 1,407,966 votes in 2012.
cmorenc
@Gin & Tonic:
YES! If I was forced to pick one and no other place to ski for the rest of my life, Alta would win hands down. The mountain, the snow, the vibe, the scenery. And it’s located literally in the outskirts of Salt Lake City itself, unlike the distance of even the closest good resort in Colorado from Denver (A-Basin and the Breckenridge/Keystone complex)
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus:
I’ll believe it when you “De-Republicanize”. Believe me, I understand. Maine is arguably a 60% Dem state and yet we’ve been hijacked by purestrain crazy.
redshirt
@efgoldman: You believe in the Sox yet? If they keep the Yanks out of the playoffs I call this season a success.
JCJ
@Omnes Omnibus:
Here is a link to the article.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/dot-puts-breaks-on-5-major-road-project-in-budget-crunch-b99586812z1-329959171.html
What is really ridiculous is for some reason there is a two year project rebuilding State Road 67 from I-94 into Oconomowoc. I drive on that road once or twice a week. No one in the area thought it needed to be redone. I wonder if this is some favor to Kleefisch. The money for that project should absolutely be diverted to Madison or the Fox Valley to finish those projects.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: I don’t really care when you will believe what, but WI is really the poster child for different electorates in presidential vs non-presidential years. It’s been years since the state has gone for an R in the presidential and we elected a left-wing lesbian over a respected ex-governor in the 2012 senate race. If you want to talk about the state, know something about it.
benw
Hi Soonergrunt! Glad things are going well. I found out today that my contract was extended for 6 months, when I was only expecting 3, so that’s awesome. It’s like extra innings baseball but with a paycheck! Have fun exploring some of the beautiful country around you.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus: Cheese? Packers? Walker recall election? That’s all I got.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: You make my point.
redshirt
@efgoldman:
You only root for a team when they win?
As a lifelong Sox fan, for shame. Your fandom is BUILT on the premise of rooting for someone that will never win. Don’t give that up just because we’ve dominated baseball since 2004.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus: I win!
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: If you want to believe that, have a nice time.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m probing the boundaries of your sense of humor, or lack thereof.
redshirt
@efgoldman:
They’ve legit been one of the best teams in baseball since August 1. They have a dynamic core of young stars that could fuel the team for 5-8 years. They’ve got all the money in the world and the intention of spending it. Brand new baseball operations staff (essentially now the Tiger’s ex-staff) with the best minor league system in baseball.
Get David Price and a few bullpen arms and this team is legit to compete for the World Series next year.
redshirt
@efgoldman:
Which goes to my point. Maine only got taken over by wingnuts because of a strong 3rd party. What’s Wisconsin’s excuse?
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: It’s been covered in a number of threads, including some explanation in this one…. Including those FPed by VidaLoca. I am not here to provide a remedial tutorial.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus:
Your sense of humor? Hmm. I must be missing it.
redshirt
@efgoldman: I know your woe.
I also only listen on the radio, which makes it seem more innocent. The Orsillo thing seemed pathetic, but I’ve not watched them on tv in many years, so…
But you’re behind the times friend. They sent Ramirez home, fired the GM, the coach will most likely get “promoted” upstairs. It’s a new team and I hope you join back up in the spring.
Miller was a huge mistake, but it happens. I think Cherington sucked at the big league level and we’ve moved on.
They might have the best outfield in baseball right now, and they’ve been playing exciting baseball for 2 months.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: More importantly, I’ve been funny and even witty on occasion, but, for god’s sake, people need to give me something to work with. A Mainer? Fuck, it’s like working with a Yooper. You’ve only the accent to use.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus:
LOL. That’s more like it.
But don’t judge my state unless you know it!
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: Lobster, closed mills, forests, resentment, weird French-Canadian communities, and places like Kennebunkport?
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus: We have LL Bean and Stephen King too. Also, so goes Maine, so goes the Nation.
Also too, weirdly, the true home of the Bush Clan.
Roger Moore
@Soonergrunt:
I can’t personally vouch for all of them. I haven’t visited Rainbow Bridge or Natural Bridges, and I’ve spent very little time in Cedar Breaks. But I will say that some of the sites on that list that don’t qualify for National Park, or even National Monument, status have been some of the most fun to visit. Goblin Valley and Fantasy Canyon (also contains pictures from Spiral Jetty, Dinosaur, and Flaming Gorge) can be a lot more fun to visit because they have so many fewer restrictions than the National Parks. You’re allowed to wander around off trail without people getting on your case. The same is true for much of Grand Staircase-Escalante. They’re also a lot less busy, which is getting to be a serious problem at the most popular National Parks.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: It’s not like I missed the zeitgeist.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
It would not surprise me to learn that King conceived Pennywise the It Clown after accidentally seeing Barbara Bush swallow lobster rolls on the coast
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus:
True. And cheese and Packers doesn’t cover it for you?
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: No. And you know that. Unless you are a dipshit? Are you a dipshit? Just asking.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus:@Omnes Omnibus:
Lighten up, Francis.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: And the trap closes. Dipshit.
LanceThruster
Watching this now. What a remarkable man.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus:
Trap. Haha.
Denali
@Ommes,
You were right(about Walker).