Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

In my day, never was longer.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Not all heroes wear capes.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

75% of people clapping liked the show!

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

He really is that stupid.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Chicken Scratch (Open Thread)

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103Comments

  2. 2.

    ThresherK

    The heat’s been turned on at the request of my wife.

    Cats are (re)discovering the winter comforter on our bed. My wife’s tabby, who goes on the bed because “mommy is there” a bit, now is sore that the other cat is encroaching on “his” turf.

  4. 4.

    jl

    Thnx for chix pix. Glad they got some good grubs. Cracker is a gracious and merciful mistress of the chickens.

    Edit: there is something very calming and soothing about watching happy chickens browsing around for chicken goodies and emitting satisfied clucks.

    At first glance I thought that the red spotted chicken at the upper left had bee trained to rake for grubs and i was very impressed. We could never get our chickens to work like that.

  5. 5.

    divF

    I’m on an airplane to DC. Thank FSM for internet in the air!

    “Here, have some grubs, ohhh, these are very tender baby worms cooked in holy corn oil.”

    ETA: also watching the Guardian liveblog of the Canadian elections.

  7. 7.

    frosty

    Via Booman, quote from the WaPo:

    By 59-29 percent, more Americans say Republicans’ disagreement in selecting a House speaker is a sign of dysfunction rather than reflecting healthy debate within the party, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

    There’s that number again!

  8. 8.

    redshirt

    @efgoldman: Same here, but I’m not turning on my heat till 11/1 at the earliest.

    I woke up to 58.5 in my kitchen this morning. But there was sun all day, and with sun I ended the day at 67.

  9. 9.

    David Koch

    ABC News/Washington Post Poll — Oct 15-18, 2015

    Obama Job Rating

    Approve…………….51%
    Disapprove…………45%

    At this point in his presidency, George W Bush had 29% approval and 68% disapproval rating.

  10. 10.

    Jeffro

    hey, Jim Webb is thinking about running as an independent…oh wait, excuse me, Independent:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/10/19/jim-webb-may-be-contemplating-running-as-an-independent-instead-of-as-a-democrat/

    Go for it, Jim! You’ll pull about .01% of the vote away from Hillary, a like amount away from the GOP nominee, and leave your reputation pretty much in tatters. Can’t wait to hear what part of the Dem platform you had a problem with…hmmm…

  13. 13.

    srv

    If only America had listened to Trump 15 years ago:

    In 2000, 19 months before Sept. 11, 2001, Donald Trump wrote extensively of the terrorism threat the United States was facing.

    Trump, who at the time was considering a presidential bid on the Reform Party ticket, went so far as to say that an attack on a major U.S. city was not just a probability, but an inevitability.

    “I really am convinced we’re in danger of the sort of terrorist attacks that will make the bombing of the Trade Center look like kids playing with firecrackers,” wrote Trump in his 2000 book, The America We Deserve. “No sensible analyst rejects this possibility, and plenty of them, like me, are not wondering if but when it will happen.”

    Trump even mentions Osama bin Laden by name, in a criticism of an American foreign policy that too quickly jumps from one crisis to the next.

    We can’t afford to make that mistake again.

  14. 14.

    Patricia Kayden

    @David Koch: This is great news for Secretary Clinton or Senator Sanders. President Obama’s approval rating should be in the upper 50s. He’s been an awesome President. Don’t know how he keeps so calm given his odious opponents.

  16. 16.

    redshirt

    Many years ago I spent an October in a cabin in the woods with no sun or heat or insulation and it was cold and brutal and I was frozen.

    My current residence is super insulated and has 100% sun and the difference is enormous. I’m still comfortable.

  17. 17.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Jeffro: I was ecstatic when Webb beat Macaca Allen for the Senate seat in Virginia but I don’t think he has any political future. Why he’s running for President is beyond me. Betty’s chickens have more of a chance of winning than he does.

  18. 18.

    srv

    Trump was warning us while Jebito was giving Atta a driver’s license:

    In the days after the 2001 attacks, news broke that most of the 9/11 hijackers carried driver’s licenses or identification cards issued by Florida’s department of motor vehicles — an agency controlled by Bush
    …
    Mohammed Atta lived in Delray Beach and rented an airplane. He had been stopped a few months before 9/11 by Florida law enforcement officials, and was told to appear in court the next month. However, he was not arrested and, the Times wrote, “deputies never learned that Atta reportedly was on a U.S. government ‘watch list’ of people tied to terrorist activity.” The newspaper also noted that while Atta tried and failed to get a driver’s license at one Florida facility, he was able to get one later at another facility.

  21. 21.

    Patricia Kayden

    @WereBear: Thankfully, I don’t anticipate that he’ll take away any votes from the Democratic Presidential candidate next November. I think we’ve all learned from Nader 2000.

  23. 23.

    Archon

    @WereBear:

    An independent Webb could potentially hurt the Democrats in a close race in Virginia, but overall I think he gets more votes from Republican leaners then Democratic leaners.

    I still would be surprised however if he got over 1 percent of the vote.

  24. 24.

    Jeffro

    @efgoldman: Harold who?

    j/k

    Seriously, I know he has no reputation or national recognition to speak of but what an egomaniac. “I’m polling at near 0%…therefore the focus on Hillary and Bernie is evidence that the whole process is rigged…the solution is to run as an Independent, even though I have no personal war chest, no sugar daddy, and (apparently) next to zero supporters.”

    Hey Jim, all those Reagan Democrats you thought you were gonna get? I’ve got news for you, they’re all Republicans and have been for two decades. I’d rather have Michael Steele than you in the party. I’d almost rather have David Brooks…ok, wait, that was just me being emotional…never mind about Brooks.

  26. 26.

    Poopyman

    @srv:

    We can’t afford to make that mistake again.

    Damn right! You won’t catch me reading a book by Donald Trump.

  27. 27.

    Origuy

    It would be good to have a thread for the Canadian elections, but they won’t heat up until the polls close in the Eastern time zone. I found this:

    Voting hours across Canada (all times local):

    Newfoundland Time: 8:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
    Atlantic Time: 8:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
    Eastern Time: 9:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
    Central Time*: 8:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
    Mountain Time*: 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
    Pacific Time: 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

    How sensible!

  29. 29.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Hey, Canadians! Bernard Valcourt has lost his seat! Much loathed among Canada’s Aboriginal communities, so my First Nations friends are already celebrating.

    This is going to be a verrrry interesting evening.

  31. 31.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    I really hope I’m not going to get a frickin’ migraine every damn time it rains this winter, because I’m already tired of it. I’m hoping that it’s the push-pull from dry-and-90 to raining and back to sunny-and-90 within a few hours that’s causing the headaches.

  32. 32.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Origuy:

    Apparently for the first time, Canada has dropped that rule about not reporting any results until the last polls closed in the West. Very sensible acknowledgement that in today’s social media environment local outcomes can’t possibly be kept a secret.

  33. 33.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Ugh, I can’t believe MSNBC fired half their contract players just to give that hack Michael Steel more airtime. I think he has tears in his eyes talking about Bush and 9/11.

  38. 38.

    mdblanche

    @schrodinger’s cat: The Liberals are winning almost every seat in Atlantic Canada. That was expected but the margins are higher than expected.

    ETA: And now they’re leading in every seat in the region.

  39. 39.

    srv

    And you people thought Bush was a clown:

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. military personnel rammed into the gate of a medical aid group’s hospital in Afghanistan last week to enter the grounds of the building hit in a U.S. air strike earlier this month, a Pentagon spokesman said on Monday.

    Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, said in a statement on Friday that a U.S. tank had entered the grounds of its hospital in Kunduz without permission, damaging the compound, destroying potential evidence, and distressing its staff.

    Department of Defense spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said on Monday that the vehicle in question was not a U.S. tank, but rather an Afghan tracked vehicle transporting a U.S. team on Oct. 15 to conduct an inspection to determine the structural integrity of the building.

    The team mistakenly believed there were no MSF personnel at the site, and rammed into the gate to gain access to the compound, Davis said.

  43. 43.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Most recent I saw from Oct 17 (Oct 6 in parens, and sorry cannot post link or image of graph):

    Liberals 44 (29)
    Tories 22 (26)
    NDP 8 (11)

    The upward trajectory of the Grits in the past few days has been quite stunning.

  54. 54.

    Shana

    @Patricia Kayden: With you on that one. He supposedly didn’t run for reelection because he didn’t like being in the Senate. How in hell he thinks being President would be easier or better is beyond me. He’s also lousy on the campaign trail. Saw him a couple of times during the campaign and he was visibly uncomfortable. Couldn’t even bring himself to ask for campaign funds. In someone’s living room in front of about 50 people.

  55. 55.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Can’t remember where our various Canadians are located, but in case anyone here lives in or near Owen Sound (Georgian Bay/Bruce Peninsula), my cousin Dave Carr is anchoring local election coverage on Rogers. Big guy with a full beard and an affable manner.*

    (ETA: *Which makes him sound a bit like Santa Claus)

  56. 56.

    divF

    @PaulW:
    It looks like the Liberals are running the table in the Maritimes and Newfoundland. The last riding that was leaning Conservative in NB just flipped to a Liberal win, according to the Toronto Star.

    ETA: Oops, it flipped back again. But it is only one out of 32.

  57. 57.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Schaden your freude

    ‏@ writerknowles
    Chris Christie in 10th place, polling at 1% in new NBC/WSJ poll. Ouch.

    Somewhere Mika Brzezinski is quoting Pauline Kael, but probably doesn’t know it.

  64. 64.

    Patricia Kayden

    @David Koch: Yes. If the Liberals sweep Ontario and Quebec, they should be golden. It’s going to be a long night for a Conservatives.

  69. 69.

    Redshift

    @Roger Moore: There’s no need to worry about a Nader scenario. I live in Virginia, and Webb just has no significant following to build on.

    He had a big enough group of passionate supporters to sway a Democratic Senate primary, where the initial candidate was perceived as being a corporate tool. They supported him because they wanted someone more progressive, they moved on to candidates like Obama, and now he’s spent this campaign pissing on people like then.

    Also, Webb hates campaigning and he hates fundraising, so he’ll never even have a Nader level campaign, even in Virginia.

  71. 71.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone):

    Anne clearly has ADHD

    Oooh, an entirely new way of reading LMM, the Patty books, the Patty Fairfield books, the Maida series…..

    Aren’t I just going to have fun this winter on my annual trawl through childhood favorites!

  73. 73.

    Redshift

    @schrodinger’s cat: Damned if I know. He’s a successful author (from before he was a politician), so I don’t think it’s that.

    I suspect he’s been convinced (by people like Mudcat Saunders) that there’s a constituency for a conservative Democrat, and that he can bring people together.

    Honestly, when he spoke last year at a local campaign event, his main message was about economic justice, and how Democrats should be able to make that issue their own. If he was actually talking about that, he might be doing slightly better.

  74. 74.

    beltane

    Word is that the Conservatives are in the process of getting “obliterated” in Canada. Although I live 30 miles south of the border, this makes me very, very happy. Wingnut tears are sweet no matter where they flow.

  75. 75.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I just sent a message (en français) to a French-Canadian friend. In it, I used the word vraiment.

    Autocorrect insisted on turning “vraiment” into “crabmeat.”

  76. 76.

    schrodinger's cat

    @efgoldman: I don’t actually care, I am just mildly curious. He seems so curmudgeonly and cranky, and not a people’s person. Why then subject oneself to all the meet and greet and mingling that running for President requires.

  78. 78.

    Peale

    I don’t know if I can accept ‘ridings’ as a political term. How it differs from a district, I’ll never know.

  79. 79.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @schrodinger’s cat: 1 shot whiskey

    Old Granddad?

    Good lord. TRMS has a poll showing Martin O’Malley has fallen to statistical zero with Lessig and Chafee. That to me is as big a surprise as any in this weird-ass election cycle. I’d think he would be at least between 5 and 10%

  81. 81.

    Peale

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: it’s gotta hurt. Biden isn’t running, didn’t go to the debate, and didn’t lose any ground. At least o’malley appears to be playing the game. It’s like coming in fourth in the all star ballot to two over the hill stars batting .255 and the player who’s been on the DL since April.

  84. 84.

    PurpleGirl

    @Origuy: I have a number of acquaintances who live in the British Columbia and they are decidedly conservative, of the American personal responsibility cult type. Individualism to the utmost. One in particular thinks an American-style medical system would be preferred to what Canada has now.

  85. 85.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @efgoldman: On paper, he’s a great candidate, all his positions and a lot of his moves as governor of MD (decent sized, southern(ish) state) seemed like they should have made him the hero to the D-Kos crowd (what I know of them, I haven’t looked at that site much in the last five years or so). Young-ish compared to Clinton.

    @David Koch: As a Wire fan I was brought up short when I heard he was the model for Tommy Carcetti, and even more so when I found out how well founded that (apparently) was. Like you I find him pretty charisma free. I haven’t heard his Obama criticism, but I have found his criticism of HRC pretty hollow, considering none of it bothered him in ’08 when he assumed he might be her Veep pick.

  88. 88.

    David Koch

    BREAKING CBC: TRUDEAU WINS IN LANDSLIDE

    Justin Trudeau to become 23rd Prime Minster of Canada

  91. 91.

    mdblanche

    @David Koch: I’m sure Obama will be privately thrilled to finally be able to meet with a Canadian Prime Minister who won’t be trying to sell him a pipeline.

  94. 94.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @mdblanche:

    OTOH, Obama and Trudeau are diametrically opposed on TPP. But in general, the relationship should warm up considerably over the frosty tenor of the last few Harper years.

    HEAVE STEVE!
    SCARPER, HARPER!

  97. 97.

    J R in WV

    @David Koch:

    Any Democrat who disses President Obama while running for office deserves what he is about to get. In business it would be fired, in politics it’s LOSER !!

    Obama is even better than President Clinton was, and Clinton did pretty well with the hatred he had to put up with. I never understood why the Republicans hated him so hard, it was almost like the racist hatred they have shown President Obama.

    I guess it was because no Democrat is really eligible for the presidency to a real republican, you think?

    But pretending Clinton’s affair/lies about said affair was High Crimes was just sad. And the American people saw it for what it was and supported their popular president.

    I suspect that’s all that has kept them from impeaching President Obama, the history of how their attempt at ending President Clinton’s wound up.

  100. 100.

    FlyingToaster

    @Jeffro: The Democratic Party platform does not acknowledge the superiority of Scots-Irish Appalachia. Which is what he wants to be president of.

  101. 101.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @David Koch:

    Margaret Trudeau is in the rare company of Abigail Adams and (spit!) Barbara Bush in being the wife of one national leader and the mother of another.

    You’ll thank me one day when you’re playing (Canadian-invented) Trivial Pursuit, or (Canadian-hosted) Jeopardy!

  102. 102.

    Cervantes

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Margaret Trudeau is in the rare company of Abigail Adams and (spit!) Barbara Bush in being the wife of one national leader and the mother of another.

    Hester Pitt (UK), Kamala Nehru (India), Begum Nusrat Ispahani (Pakistan), Rahah Noah (Malaysia), Kwa Geok Choo (Singapore), Aniseh al-Assad (Syria) — and others, and assorted queens world-wide and throughout history, too, if you want to count them!

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