Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

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

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Fight them, without becoming them!

“A king is only a king if we bow down.” – Rev. William Barber

American history and black history cannot be separated.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

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

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

When we show up, we win.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2016 / Saturday Funnies Open Thread: Trump’s Not For Dumping

Saturday Funnies Open Thread: Trump’s Not For Dumping

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trump cat swallows gop elephant toles

(Tom Toles via GoComics.com)
.

There’s something in the conservatives’ favorite book about falling into the pit one has dug… The Washington Post, company paper for the town where the monopoly industry is politics, reports:

A secretive group of Republican operatives and conservative leaders convened Thursday morning for more than three hours to discuss ways to unite the right against Donald Trump, with a presentation about the feasibility of mounting a third-party challenge as well as extensive deliberations about whether a coalition of anti-Trump forces could prevent the billionaire mogul from securing the party’s presidential nomination at the July convention in Cleveland.

“It’s certainly not too late,” Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) said as he left the session. “You could get another party on the ballot. A candidate could be picked as late as August…”…

At Esquire, Mr. Charles P. Pierce disagrees:

… What influence do these people truly believe they have? If their alternative is Tailgunner Ted Cruz, an oleaginous and friendless theocrat with a very serious political messiah complex, how dare they decide that He, Trump is outside the mainstream? If their alternative is not Cruz, then what in the hell do they think they’re about, anyway?

The notion of a Third Way candidate in Cleveland is patently absurd. For one thing, the threat of a Trump uprising is not an idle one, especially if he shows up with north of 1000 delegates. Second, what makes them think that Cruz will get out of the way for, say, Paul Ryan or, worse, Willard Romney? Even if you accept the notion that He, Trump is not the perfect manifestation of the conservative prion disease afflicting the Republicans, and I don’t for a moment accept that, you cannot deny that Cruz is an even more perfect product of the Party’s madness. After all, he will show up with a boatload of votes fairly won over the previous seven months, a legitimate claim to be the party’s second choice, and his profound belief that the Deity has marked him to lead this nation to Canaan. Who’s going to tell him he’s wrong? Quin Hillyer? And is there any doubt that both He, Trump and the Tailgunner are greasy enough to enter into an ad hoc alliance to blow the whole thing sky high if they don’t get what they want?…

Ed Kilgore, at NYMag, is even more dismissive of the “GOP Cabal”:

… This and many accounts of schemes to rig the convention against Trump — or otherwise keep him out of the White House through means other than beating him in the primaries — generally suffer from an extreme overvaluation of the ability of Republicans to reach and execute a complex coordinated strategy. If they had that capacity, would 17 people have run for president in this cycle? Would it have taken the Establishment so long to settle on a candidate that it basically did not matter? Does anyone in particular really strike you as having the power to “broker” a brokered convention, and if so, what have they been waiting for?

Some seem to put faith in the Republican National Committee and Reince Priebus to orchestrate things to a successful conclusion. And it’s true the RNC may not have a “putative” nominee telling him and the quadrennial army of convention volunteers exactly what to do every moment of the day leading up to and through the convention. But that doesn’t mean the party hacks will be free to do what they want. No, any surviving candidates, including presumably Trump and Cruz, will demand input on every single decision, no matter how minor. There will be no “private,” much less “secret” meetings at which deals go down; there will instead exist the special transparency imposed on people who don’t trust each other at all.

Right now, the only people who look likely to head to Cleveland knowing exactly what they want and being able to communicate with each other without fearing an imminent knife in the back are the candidates and their loyal retainers, for whom the elevation of their lord and god to the nomination is not just the first but the only consideration. Everyone else may well look as feckless as the conservative revolutionaries who sounded like a threat to Trump until it became apparent they couldn’t find their butts with both hands…

Politico found someone (admittedly, a self-professed Democrat) to run the numbers and deduce that “At this point in the race, it would be very hard, if not nearly impossible, to qualify a third party or independent candidate in enough states to come close to winning 270 electoral votes.”

And the Guardian has the lowest blow of all: “Who can stop Trump? Republicans may have little choice but to vote Clinton”.
***********
Apart from sweet, sweet schadenfreude, what’s on the agenda for the day?

Reader Interactions

242Comments

  2. 2.

    OzarkHillbilly

    “I will obviously have to bone up on all the rules.”
    And how to rig them.

    Dynamic Scoring ™ !!!!!!

  3. 3.

    Punchy

    There exists not a better adjective anywhere to describe Cruz than “oleaginous”. It is perfect beyond all compare…

  4. 4.

    Derelict

    No matter how horrified they are at Trump, no matter how much they wish he’d just go away, they are stuck with him. Worse–much, much worse for them–they will be forced to admit that Trump really and truly does represent the Republican Party: Racist, aggressively ignorant, devoted to self-serving nihilism.

  5. 5.

    raven

    “Donald Trump’s vitriolic attacks against Megyn Kelly and his extreme, sick obsession with her is beneath the dignity of a presidential candidate who wants to occupy the highest office in the land,” the network said in its statement.

  7. 7.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    I really hope the disaffected Republicans do not vote for Clinton. I hope they stay home & do not vote at all! That would be best for the nation as it it would deny votes to every other Republican running. That might make a huge difference in the well being of the nation.

  9. 9.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    @raven:
    Sarah Potomac scored 15 minutes into OT to send Minnesota into the National Championship Game against Boston College
    NCAA makes posting the video difficult so you’ll just have to take my word for it, great goal!

  10. 10.

    bystander

    Rude Pundit has a new post up about Trump. As much as I enjoy the savage humor, I’m getting to the point that I find nothing humorous about Trump.

    Just saw the clip of the reporter asking Sanders if he would be willing to run as VP with Clinton. I guess showing Sanders cut the guy off is an effort to show Sanders in a moment of ill temper. I see a dumbass reporter who might as well be asking Sanders what furry animal he’d like to dress up as, if he were into that sort of thing.

  11. 11.

    AnonPhenom

    Donald Trump is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life.

  16. 16.

    Amir Khalid

    For the life of me, I can’t imagine any Republican willing to become the nominee just to lose to Hillary in eight months time. It would have to be someone who didn’t want to be President, but is prepared for the job if a fluke occurs and he finds himself elected; who doesn’t fear the wrath (or ridicule) of a man who has unexpectedly become the most powerful person in the party; and who doesn’t mind that his political career will most likely end with this campaign I believe that’s a null set.

  20. 20.

    Keith P.

    At this point in the race, it would be very hard, if not nearly impossible, to qualify a third party or independent candidate in enough states to come close to winning 270 electoral votes

    There was never a point in the race where this would happen. A third party candidate is just a way to take credit for the GOP losing. “Oh, Hillary won? Well, that’s what you get for *forcing* us to run a third party candidate.”

  21. 21.

    amk

    gop, the elephant, is really the ugly toad caught between the rock and spreading wild fire. may they become french food.

  23. 23.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    @BillinGlendaleCA:
    Yeah, I am expecting Drumpf to make the worlds largest pivot once the nomination is sewn up and Fox will be the fulcrum. They will fall in line and do their part if for no other reason than to try and prevent the total meltdown I am praying for

  24. 24.

    Davebo

    Having convinced a significant portion of the public that indeed government doesn’t work they now move on to the task of convincing them that the GOP doesn’t work.

    They are good at that at least.

  30. 30.

    Raven

    @Baud: This charming and versatile Americanism vividly expresses a false dilemma or, taken more literally, a choice between two undesirable courses of action. It is sometimes rendered “spit, shit or go blind”.

    The intended meaning is normally evident from context and can be an indication of shock, fury, perplexity, ecstasy, cluelessness, incompetence, dilemma, a Catch-22 situation or any combination of these. For example:

    1. Rage

    “Was he angry? Yes he was angry. He couldn’t decide whether to shit or go blind.”

    2. Orgasm

    “It was so good I didn’t know whether to shit or go blind.”

    3. Ignorance/Exasperation

    A : “How was your exam?” B : “Great. I didn’t know whether to shit or go blind.”

    “I saw him sitting there with his new router. He obviously didn’t know whether to shit or go blind.

  31. 31.

    Baud

    @Raven:

    You are a master idiomator, Raven.

    So as applied to Fox, does it refer to the rage, orgasm, or ignorance/exasperation?

  32. 32.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Baud: My dad used to say that too.

    ETA: One of the other ones from my dad: “He could fuck up a steel ball with a rubber band”.

  34. 34.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Aged Great Lakes lock could cripple US steel industry and hit manufacturing jobs

    Now the transportation network that connects manufacturers with the raw materials they need may be hanging by a thread, suggests a Department of Homeland Security report unearthed by the Detroit Free Press. The report focuses on the economic impacts of a shutdown of the nearly 50-year-old Poe Lock – a vital waterway transportation link for huge cargo ships that carry raw materials and supplies back and forth across the Great Lakes – and says that a six-month closure of the lock could cost America 11 million jobs, crippling automakers and other manufacturers in the process.

    “The Soo Locks represent a critical link in the steel supply chain, giving them a disproportionate influence on vehicle manufacturing and the entire steel industry,” Karl Brauer, an analyst at Kelley Blue Book, an automotive industry research firm, said.
    ……..

    Few locks are more vital than Poe Lock, the largest among the four US army corps of engineers-operated Soo Locks, which connect Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes. The water level in Lake Superior is more than 20ft higher than Lake Huron, and requires the use of locks to move ships from one lake to the other without having to encounter a treacherous mile of rapids between the two. At 1,200ft long, 100ft wide and 32ft deep, Poe is the only lock along that section of the St Marys river that can accommodate the dozen massive lake freighters that can each carry nearly 70,000 tons of iron ore from mine to mill.

    Michigan legislators have been pushing for the federal government to replace the lock, but so far, the best that’s come through is a tentative cost-benefit study.

    Congress authorized a new Poe-sized lock in 1986, but when work finally began in 2009, the cost estimate for the project had risen to $580m. Funding never materialized.

    Because…. Tax cuts fix everything.

  35. 35.

    Chris

    @Derelict:

    No matter how horrified they are at Trump, no matter how much they wish he’d just go away, they are stuck with him. Worse–much, much worse for them–they will be forced to admit that Trump really and truly does represent the Republican Party: Racist, aggressively ignorant, devoted to self-serving nihilism.

    And no matte how horrified they are at Trump, they’ll obediently pull the lever in November, because they just hate us that much.

  36. 36.

    Chris

    @bystander:

    Rude Pundit has a new post up about Trump. As much as I enjoy the savage humor, I’m getting to the point that I find nothing humorous about Trump.

    I’ll be at that point in the general. As long as he’s tearing the Republican establishment to shreds, I’ll find it impossible not to be entertained.

  38. 38.

    Central Planning

    @Raven:

    The intended meaning is normally evident from context and can be an indication of shock, fury, perplexity, ecstasy, cluelessness, incompetence, dilemma, a Catch-22 situation or any combination of these. For example:

    1. Rage

    “Was he angry? Yes he was angry. He couldn’t decide whether to shit or go blind.”

    2. Orgasm

    “It was so good I didn’t know whether to shit or go blind.”

    3. Ignorance/Exasperation

    A : “How was your exam?” B : “Great. I didn’t know whether to shit or go blind.”

    “That’s some catch, that Catch-22,” he observed.

    “It’s the best there is,” Doc Daneeka replied.

  40. 40.

    Chris

    @Amir Khalid:

    For the life of me, I can’t imagine any Republican willing to become the nominee just to lose to Hillary in eight months time. It would have to be someone who didn’t want to be President, but is prepared for the job if a fluke occurs and he finds himself elected; who doesn’t fear the wrath (or ridicule) of a man who has unexpectedly become the most powerful person in the party; and who doesn’t mind that his political career will most likely end with this campaign I believe that’s a null set.

    So, it would require someone who’s not a self-absorbed prick who puts his own benefit ahead of the country’s. In other words, someone who’s not a Republican politician.

  41. 41.

    hueyplong

    All I ask is the creation of mass, intense intraparty grudges that are honed to the point at which one set of Republicans substitutes the other set of Republicans for ISIL in its daily spleen-venting. Two factions so evenly if asymmetrically matched that Fox News isn’t sure what to do and commits several strategic errors in backing one horse or the other in various news cycles.

    All to the end that the GOP and Fox News are both discredited in the eyes of their own loyalists.

    With the net result being a two term Hitlery presidency with both houses of Congress and a 7-2 split on the Supreme Court taking a hard look at the phrase “A well regulated militia being necessary….”

    It’s a modest hope.

  42. 42.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Keith P.: Yes, I’ve always figured the point of a third-party run wouldn’t be to actually win; it’d be, at best, a face-saving self-destruct button, pressed in the hope that a humiliating loss for Trump would keep Trumpism from becoming the permanent identity of the Republican Party.

    But how many Republicans are actually willing to go along with that?

  47. 47.

    Percysowner

    Rachel Maddow had a great segment on last night about the 2012 Republican convention and how the Rand Paul delegates fought to use the rules to get him nominated http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show . There actually were, well maybe not riots, but physical fights where people got injured. Since it was Ron Paul and a minority group, the Republicans managed to keep the whole thing out of the national media so no one knew. Trump is Trump and it would not be kept out of the media this time. The Republicans have quite a dilemma on their hands. But basically, Trump’s if I go in with the most delegates and don’t get the nomination there will be riots, is less of a threat and more of a larger replay of 2012.

  51. 51.

    Hope

    raven and iowa old lady any chance of a meet-up sometime over the summer? I don’t comment often, but read BJ daily (hourly actually). I’m returning to the state in May Cheers Hope

  53. 53.

    bemused

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    For years I’ve heard Republican voters loudly complaining about the debt and deficits but only during Democratic rule. Many economists have analyzed Trump and Cruz tax plans as vague on details as they are and conclude both would cost $10 to $12 trillion over ten years. Crickets from their supporters.

  57. 57.

    Baud

    @Hope:

    read BJ daily (hourly actually).

    I have one of those plastic drinking birds that hits F5 on my computer keyboard every 5 seconds.

    BTW, raven lives in Georgia.

  58. 58.

    satby

    Totally not doing politics today, I have 40 of these to make for a baby shower. And 40 bath bombs to match. The hostess wanted a nautical theme and aqua instad of baby blue, I’m pretty pleased with how they came out. But it’ll take me most of the weekend to finish.

  63. 63.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Cook moved 10 House seats towards Democrats based on Trump or Cruz as the nominee. It doesn’t mean they “lean Democrat”- it means they move over a space away from “solid Republican”:

    Among the types of seats Democratic strategists believe Trump or Cruz could put into play are: 1) high-Hispanic districts, 2) high-education districts and 3) high-income districts. There’s no doubt Trump or Cruz could cause Republicans huge problems in heavily Latino districts, including CA-10, CA-21, CA-25, CO-06, FL-26, NV-03, NV-04 and TX-23. And the heavier the drag from the top of the ticket, the more expensive these types of seats will be to defend.
    Of the ten seats where our ratings are changing this week, three have high Latino shares and three are full of high-income moderates.

  64. 64.

    MattF

    I think Pierce has it right– how do you dump Der Trump without getting Cruz? No can do. And note that Cruz has veered to the absolute rightmost extreme throughout this campaign. Not a positive omen for the general election.

  70. 70.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    @Baud:
    I assume it is too late to stop him. Right now Crudz would have to win 80-some percent of all remaining delegates to top Drumpf, Kasich needs 110%. I don’t know what the two together would need to prevent anyone from a majority but I don’t see the Gov getting many, if any, more and the Senator is not winning that many either.

  71. 71.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    The thing is, Trump does okay with ALL categories of GOP voters. A lot of this “Trump is the downscale candidate of stupid people” is defensive on the part of GOP elites. They don’t want to admit he has pretty broad appeal among their voters. That broad appeal doesn’t save them in House districts that are heavily Latino and/or high income but Democrats still have to pay attention to it in certain states for a national election so they have to be prepared to defend until they know more and they don’t have that much time.

    The Trump support is weird. I feel like he under-performed in this county and the vast majority of GOP voters here are working class. Obviously we had Kasich so that skewed it, but his voters are supposed to be so incredibly passionate. It’s hard to tell because Trump’s such an incredible bullshitter and media are always ready to latch onto the latest Great White Hope.

  72. 72.

    Tim C.

    @Chris: Yes. Exactly. I know this is an imperfect analogy and I don’t think I’ve ever gone Godwin before, but the situation isn’t all that different from German elections in 1933. That election was a four-way brawl between Communists, Social Democrats, a conservative and mostly Catholic “Center” party and Mustache man’s group of brownshirts. The Communists viewed the social democrats as corrupt sellouts, and the more moderate. but still very conservative Center party hated the Social Democrats so very much that they refused to enter into any kind of coalition with them even when mustache man was clearly bonkers and dangerous.

    History doesn’t repeat itself, but it sure as hell rhymes.

  75. 75.

    bemused

    Wingnut radio talk show host Jason Lewis is running for MN Rep John Kline’s seat. Lewis is a piece of work. After he announced he was running, he “clarified” his 2011 audiobook doubts about civil rights, LGBT marriage and abolishing slavery saying it’s the same as when people say if you are against gay marriage, don’t marry gay and “if you don’t want to own a slave, don’t. But don’t tell other people they can’t.”

  76. 76.

    rikyrah

    At first, this “we will choose at the convention talk” was amusing. I didn’t think that they were serious. The GOP voters support that clown..they really are going to tell those voters to take a hike?

  79. 79.

    Baud

    @Kay: I agree. The hard thing about running against Trump is that he’s completely unpredictable, which makes his support completely unpredictable. It’ll be like wrestling a greased pig.

  80. 80.

    MattF

    @Kay: I think ‘Trump-curious’ is a real thing. The prime difficulty is that once you start paying attention, in the “Do I actually want this guy to be President?” sense, the negatives start to go ‘way upward. For example, you notice his dogwhistles to the white supremacy crowd. Not a positive. Also, not to be ignored, you suddenly lose 64% of your friends. And no non-white person wants to be in your immediate vicinity.

  82. 82.

    Ken

    I hope everyone’s remembering to forward that Washington Post report to all their wingnut relatives and Facebook connections, especially any that happen to live in Rep. Franks’ district. It might be helpful to remove the WaPo attribution – just say “Trent Franks, Erick Ericksssson, and a bunch of other Republicans are conspiring to prevent Trump from winning.”

  83. 83.

    Baud

    @rikyrah:

    The GOP voters support that clown..they really are going to tell those voters to take a hike?

    Right. I’m pretty vocal about supporting our nominee once the primary is over. But the one scenario where I would have been sympathetic to dissenters is if the superdelegates had overturned the clear result of the primaries (which was a concern raised early on by Bernie supporters).

    If Trump supporters show up after the GOP has cut the rug out from under them, then that’s proof positive that they are serfs for life.

  86. 86.

    MattF

    @Baud: I disagree. There are lots of very wealthy people in NY, NJ, and CT– Der Trump doesn’t stand out quite so much, and making financial judgements is part of everyday life. Yeah, the percentage of idiots is independent of income level, but I don’t see Trump having any particular advantage beyond that.

  87. 87.

    PST

    Frank Gaffney is obviously a madman. Just when you think Trump vs. Cruz could not get more horrifying, one of them always has a surprise for us. .

  88. 88.

    Baud

    @MattF: You think they’ll go for Kasich? I don’t see Cruz as being appealing to that crowd. We’ll see, but I tend to put more weight on Trump’s local celebrity status, and the fact that he is “one of them” compared to the others.

  89. 89.

    JMG

    @Kay: Trump is cable news’ greatest gravy train, so I expect massive and massively favorable coverage will be ordered from on high, not just on Fox, either. But no matter what they tell pollsters (we watch the news a lot!), ratings show cable news networks draw very small audiences. Now if Rachael Ray gets on board with Trump, there could be a problem.

  90. 90.

    Kay

    @MattF:

    Sadly, the dog whistling would have no negative effects among GOP voters here. Most of them probably agree with Trump that it’s all “political correctness”. I don’t know why they’re not running to vote for him, but it isn’t that.

    We had a county commissioner primary that kind of tracked the “insurgent v establishment” national race. It was blue collar “small businessman” who is really just shady- every business venture he has here is questionable at best- versus a long time elected who is extremely respectable. The establishment crushed the insurgent but it was a question for a while! I was thinking “they might elect an actual criminal”.

  92. 92.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @JMG:

    Trump is cable news’ greatest gravy train, so I expect massive and massively favorable coverage will be ordered from on high, not just on Fox, either.

    The coverage doesn’t have to be favorable to get eyes. Trump is the train wreck you can’t take your eyes off. Why else do we spend so much time talking about him here.

  93. 93.

    Chris

    @Tim C.:

    One of the more depressing things about modern American politics is that I totally recognize the mindset that made so many Good Germans team up with the Nazis.

  95. 95.

    magurakurin

    @Baud:

    which was a concern raised early on by Bernie supporters

    Didn’t you get the memo? That’s not a concern anymore, it’s a victory strategy.

    then that’s proof positive that they are serfs for life.

    Americans, while occasionally willing to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry F. Scott Fitzgerald

  96. 96.

    Kay

    @JMG:

    The longing they have to find the Reagan Democrats is incredible. I thought it would dissipate after 30 years and with a new crop of pundits but it doesn’t go away. There really is a frame that says there are “real” voters and then a bunch of “interest groups” and it centers around white men. They are the voters all other voters are compared to- the standard and then the deviations from the standard, which are everyone else.

    You see how strange clinging to this is in GOP vote share. Reagan got 67% of white voters and won a landslide. Romney got 70% and lost. It doesn’t matter. They’re still considered the gold standard for candidates to capture. They don’t even have to win.

  97. 97.

    Shalimar

    Pierce and Kilgore are both overlooking the one person in the GOP with the skill and insane supporters to steal the nomination from Trump: Ron Paul.

    A brawl between Trump, Cruz and Paul supporters would be the fight of the century. Cleveland would get the best ratings in conventions history.

  99. 99.

    eric

    in less than four days, I move from my long time chicago base of operations to boston. I still get to fly back to chicago one week a month for work, but remote working will be my new thing. Hope there is a Boston meet up in the near(ish) future. I have family there so I am not without resources, but it would be nice to meet more nice folks to get settled in.

    eric

  101. 101.

    MattF

    @efgoldman: He denies it, of course, but I do think that outflanking his opponents is a basic part of Cruz’s overall strategy. “No enemies to my right!”

  102. 102.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Baud: Yup.

    At this point, I think all the “contested convention” and “run a third party” stuff is just to try to stay in the news and to keep any non-insane GOP candidates and voters from just throwing up their hands and tuning out the election news for the rest of the year.

    “That’s it – I’m done.”

    They know a contested convention won’t give them a good result, and the 3rd party stuff is a pipe dream because so many deadlines have already passed.

    If I had to bet, I would say:

    1) Trump will win the GOP nomination. There won’t be a bloodbath in Cleveland. There will be a half-hearted show of unity, ala Kennedy’s show-up-on-the-stage-and-wave pouting in 1980. Ala Christie’s let-me-tell-you-how-great-I-am speech endorsing Rmoney in 2012.

    2) The party will try their best to trash Hillary and rile up Teabaggers against Democrats while hardly mentioning Trump. And/Or flailing madly to clear the Etch-a-Sketch and pretending that nothing Donnie said before July 2016 was ever said.

    3) Voter repression efforts will switch into overdrive.

    They’re not going to give up and let Hillary and the rest of Team D win by default. They’ll fight for every position, even if they have to pretend Donnie doesn’t exist.

    We shouldn’t get complacent. Even if Donnie implodes, there are too many people who depend on access to elected officials for their power, influence, and paychecks. They’ll continue to fight to win everywhere they can.

    I think Hillary knows this, but I want her and her team to really pound on the whole GOP and destroy the brand. It’s necessary to have a decent chance of getting things done in the next ~ 15 years (redistricting, SCOTUS, etc., etc.).

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  104. 104.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @satby: Pretty! You make such wonderful stuff. They care and affection you put into your work really shows.

    Enjoy your weekend!

    Cheers,
    Scot.

  105. 105.

    JMG

    @Kay: The cable news “pundits” and for that matter many leading newspaper columnists have life tenure Harvard professors can only envy. David Gergen, Gloria Borger, Chris Matthews, they’ve all been on for multiple decades. For them, it’s always 1982 because that’s when they stopped thinking. Actors leave hit shows all the time, but these folks never leave their sweet gigs and never try out any new material.

  107. 107.

    rikyrah

    @Kay:
    Tell the truth, Kay.
    Willard ran a successful Southern Strategy campaign in 2012-and it didn’t even matter. President Obama beat him like he stole something.

  108. 108.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @eric:

    Boston Juicers are great! I met a bunch of them a couple of years ago on a visit, and hope to again when I’m there in late(ish) April. If you’re there at the same time, it would make things even more fun!

    P.S. Hope your move is safe and smooth.

  109. 109.

    ThresherK

    @bystander: That’s right up there with the reporter asking the Baylor hoops player “How did your team get outrebounded by Yale?”

  111. 111.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    @eric:

    Welcome to Boston! We are overdue for another meet-up – Anne Laurie, make it happen!

  117. 117.

    satby

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne: Jealous! I really loved Boston when I was there for work years ago.

    I’m talking to my sister today about my mom, seems she’s doing worse and my sister thinks she needs to be in assisted living. I’m taking the girls in two weeks on our road trip south to see her and the situation for myself, but now I have to wonder about uprooting my life to move closer if my mom will be in a home anyway. Ugh, dementia is a terrible thing for any family to go through.

  122. 122.

    ThresherK

    @satby: @satby: Geez, those are too nice to eat or wash with.

    I keed. I know you make soap. But it’s a lot easier to eat a fancy chocolate (it’s chocolate) than to watch a premium art-soap melt before my eyes one handwashing at a time.

  123. 123.

    The Pale Scot

    @Derelict:

    Trump really and truly does represent the Republican Party: Racist, aggressively ignorant, devoted to self-serving nihilism.

    The GOP has d/evolved into Ian Paisley’s DUP,

    • Catholics taking to Dr King and marching for civil rights are “traitors and terrorists”

    One of those convicted for the killings said after his arrest “I am terribly sorry I ever heard of that man Paisley or decided to follow him”

    • Anti-ecumenical; any attempt to reach common ground with anyone who thinks differently is soft and stupid.

    • Completely oblivious to to the notion that other people beside you have rights and privileges.

    All the DUP did was forestall negotiations for 3 decades, which allowed for the creation of IRA and UDA splinter groups led by bloody minded nut jobs.

    Edited for clarity

  125. 125.

    Germy

    @Iowa Old Lady: ABC News is also the home of Jon Karl, whose smirk graces my TV every time he tells me about the tough road all democratic candidates everywhere face.

  129. 129.

    Germy

    Moms Mabley:

    “Somebody asked me, ‘What is it like being married to an old man?’ I said, ‘Honey. I don’t know what to say. The best I can explain it, it’s just like trying to push a car up a hill with a rope.”

  132. 132.

    Citizen_X

    @kindness: That story is an absolutely picture-perfect illustration of a) what a piece of shit Trump is, and b) what a badass Keith (and all the Stones) is.

  135. 135.

    satby

    @ThresherK: There’s always another one to enjoy. But I understand; until I made them I used to hoard them until the scent was gone, which defeats the purpose of enjoying them. These are guest sized so under $3, and it’s going to last longer than a latte. We deserve to treat ourselves!

  139. 139.

    AkaDad

    Those traiterous Republicans cant stop the Donald. Trump is inevitable like death, taxes, war, pestilence,and wrath.

  140. 140.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @debbie: A buddy of mine and I always talked about making the trip to Memphis to see Muddy Waters. One of the holes in my life that I never did.

  142. 142.

    satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: No good alternatives for sure. 10 days ago though, my sister was insisting we needed to respect my mother’s wishes to stay alone in her own condo when I asked if she needed a live in caregiver (obviously meaning me). I think my sister is just feeling overwhelmed and my timeline needs to accelerate by a month. Was going in July, now will plan on mid June after the last of my girls leaves.

  143. 143.

    satby

    @debbie: (et all) Growing up in Chicago meant growing up with some of the blues greats playing in the little clubs around town. It’s in our blood. The Blues Brothers wasn’t just a comedy, it was a homage to the blues legends.

  144. 144.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    I live in the next town over from the one Northern Iowa is in. People will be talking about nothing else today.

    Well, that and corn.

  147. 147.

    BruceFromOhio

    Republicans may have little choice but to vote Clinton

    Dems should *never* count on such fairy tales. Republicans will swallow their pride, abandon all hope and conscious thought, and line up behind Il Douche with waving fists and angry shouts before a single one would fill in the bubble next to Hils. And it cuts both ways – I think the Republican leadership is casting about for its own unicorns and rainbows looking for a way out of this fine mess it has made.

    Smart money puts a bazillion ads in front of every House District and Senate race punishing Republicans for a 13% approval rating of the Legislature, blocking the Supreme Court nomination process, and fucking up the budget. Sure, it will never convince the knuckle-dragging mouth breathers of anything, but it can by-Gaia make life an exercise in abject misery for the two-bit ratfuck criminals trying to burn the place down, and just maybe snatch some seats back.

    The ferret circus that passes for the Republican National Convention is going to be tearing up the front yard, so it will be hard to miss the antics.Personally I’m looking for Ted Strickland to knock off Rob Portman if enough Ohio Republicans stay home on election day. And that’s how its going to work: the diehards won’t switch sides, but they might abstain if the ferrets go feral.

  148. 148.

    Peale

    So why doesn’t the billionaire elite just pay each delegate 100k to switch? Since the party is technically private, only party rules probably prevent bribery. Just pay the delegates and pay the body that enforces the rules.

    Just asking…for a friend.

  152. 152.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @satby: Taking care of oldsters with cognition problems is terribly draining. If you do feel you have to take on most of the responsibility yourself, make sure you find a way to take time for yourself, too.

    J’s parents lived with us for over 5 years. Her mother had Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Her father had scoliosis and eventually needed a feeding tube due to aspiration issues. We both worked full time, so we had daytime and nighttime in-home health aids. We were happy to do it, and were able to afford it, but it takes its toll – especially the lack of quiet and lack of privacy. He died at 88 before we had to choose whether to move him into a home. She got to be too stiff and frail for a single aid to be able to care for her, so we had no choice but to move her into a nursing home. Even then, J visited her an hour or two every day after work to try to keep her active and healthy and to make sure the nurses didn’t mix up her meds, etc., etc., and longer on the weekends. :-/ She died at 90.

    It’s hard.

    Try to be clear-headed about the choices you make. Don’t sacrifice yourself excessively – we can only do so much until medicine figures out how to conquer these brain diseases.

    Your mom will always be with you.

    Best of luck. Hang in there!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  153. 153.

    James E Powell

    @raven:

    Champaign-Urbana or Urbana-Champaign? Which one and why?

    For most of my life I only heard the former, then found people corrected me with the latter. What happened?

  154. 154.

    RaflW

    Republicans couldn’t even handle Katrina, what makes them think they can fend off Trump? The party long ago forgot how to do anything except preen, grift, and push the fear-button. Those are not stills to execute a complex strategy. As is obvious, too, from their frequent pantsing by Obama.

  155. 155.

    Emma

    @satby: Please do not feel guilty about having to do it. Before my mother passed away 2 weeks ago something threw her from early symptoms into full-blown dementia. It was the most terrifying thing I have ever seen. She developed sundown syndrome, which made her totally uncontrollable at night, and trying to restrain her from hurting herself only made matters worse. During the day she was a bit better, but her paranoia about food and medication made it almost impossible to put anything in her mouth. Nobody, and I mean nobody, without specialized training could have handled her.

    You and your sister might get lucky and your mother may have a more peaceful version of the disease but be aware she might need round-the-clock care anyway.

  157. 157.

    Mobile Grumpy Code Monkey

    Attending the Travis County Democratic Precinct and County Convention in Austin. The Texas Democratic Women’s Caucus just finished up their program.

    Lots of Berniacs here.

    First time doing one of these things. Texas didn’t do the two-step this year (primary + caucus), so the county convention is open to anyone who voted Democrat in the primary.

  160. 160.

    Peter

    I am fully erect at the possibility of a contested election, regardless of the outcome. Remember the bizarre Eastwood Chair at the 2012 convention? Imagine that effect, magnified by a hundred.

  163. 163.

    bemused

    @satby:

    A couple of years ago we heard a beautiful story on This American Life, Magic Words, about a couple who were Improv Actors taking care of her mother with Alzheimer disease. Mom was still talking at the time and the couple discovered that Improv conversation with Mom made her laugh and she enjoyed it. For instance, Mom said there were monkeys outside the window and son-in-law would riff on that vs saying there were no monkeys. When Mom didn’t speak as much, the son-in-law was able to calm her, get her to bed easier than anyone else.

  165. 165.

    satby

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: Thanks Scott. I do know it’s draining and sometimes miserable, end of life isn’t easy for many of us. My mom’s dementia turns out to be related to her heart and circulation issues, which are factors for how long she may live. My sister and I just put together a plan a (mom to test out an assisted living place), plan b (me assuming caregiver if mom refuses plan a), and plan c (me cleaning and clearing out her condo if she’s in care or passes away). We just need to roll with what happens, because it seems this may be her last year with us. It’s hard, but it’s life; and it’s our turn to care for her.

  166. 166.

    Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class

    Everything you ever needed to know about Ted Cruz:

    In His High School Yearbook, Ted Cruz Is A Creepy Biblical Mime

    The yearbook photo taken depicts another one of Cruz’s creepy roles in high school, as a biblical mime, supposedly depicting the first man, Adam. In an interview with the Daily Dot, the photographer of the yearbook photo, Mark Neath, could not recall taking the photo, but did remember Cruz’s strange life aspirations.

    “I do distinctly remember him boasting that he would become president one day,” Neath wrote to the Daily Dot. “That’s my greatest memory of him, in fact, since that was a pretty unusual life ambition for a high school student.”

    There’s a photograph that will never be unseen.

    His early life is positive proof that my educational experience in a blue-collar Catholic all male high school (with the frequent pecking order fistfights, mockery and the frequent put downs and beat downs of guys with the mindset, interests and weird worldviews of Ted Cruz) was a far more socially adaptable method of adolescent rearing.

    He needed to be mocked and beaten daily, and would have likely become a more decent adult. That he wasn’t is a burden that now weights down all of us.

  168. 168.

    Chyron HR

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    True, but on that day the ranks of ex-Republicans will grow. Not about to venture a guess by how much.

    I believe “three sizes” is traditional.

  170. 170.

    Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class

    I’ll add this – he doesn’t carry his fat like a man. I’ve always carried extra weight (am now down to within 30 of a body ideal, but was a genuine disgusting fatbody up to a couple of years ago), but he’s pear shaped with little teeny never developed forearms. Between that and his oleaginous face, he’s physically repulsive, like a junior Harkonnen.

  171. 171.

    satby

    @Emma: Emma, deepest condolences on your mother’s passing. Even when it’s a blessing that they’ve been released, it’s hard. So sorry for your loss.

    I have been trained because I went to nursing school in college and have home health aid experience, but it’s still very difficult and different when it’s your own parent. Assisted living may improve her quality of life for what time is left, we’re just working with a very stubborn and independent lady here.

  172. 172.

    MomSense

    @Germy:

    I do think they almost married but I’m not sure how it played out. He was definitely in love with her and wanted to marry her.

  175. 175.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    @bemused:
    Jason Lewis is a perfect replacement for John Kline. Self-serving, nasty, ignorant and proud of it. The votets of the district were stupid enough to re-elect Kline several times so I expect Lewis is in for an extended payday.

  177. 177.

    MomSense

    @satby:

    I’m sorry you and your sister are going through this. It is just so tough. Please be good to yourself.

  178. 178.

    Mobile Grumpy Code Monkey

    Congressman Lloyd Doggett just threw a pile of red meat (okay, tofurkey) to the crowd. But he also cautioned against being complacent. Just because we know Trump and Cruz are horrible, that doesn’t mean they can’t win.

    And like he says, once you get out of Travis County you’re in deep red territory. Once a candidate is picked (Hills or Bern), we all need to support that candidate.

  179. 179.

    BruceFromOhio

    @Central Planning: Canada Iguana! What a swell little town! Nicely done, I hope you enjoy it there. I do worry that the monstrosity that was built down by the park on the lake is gonna totally mess with the feng shui of the place.

    @Mobile Grumpy Code Monkey: That’s an easy choice. Since the start of the ride, I’ve been really happy to vote for either Sanders or Clinton, and fervently desire a combined ticket, either way. Contrast with the Klown Kar Kalvacade Shitshow Parade of Fail that makes up the opposition, and its an easy choice to make.

  182. 182.

    bemused

    @Schlemazel (parmesan rancor):

    Jason doesn’t seem to have any filter on his mouth. A rightwing radio talk show host will have years of disgusting statements for Dems to hammer him with. But you’re right, he will only get punished for that depending on the type of voters in the district.

  183. 183.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @bemused: I wanted to throttle my little sister when in answer to my father’s queery, “Where’s Mother?” she said, “At the hospital Dad, remember?” The explosion of anger bordering on violence at never having been told this momentous news, and my later semi-calm dressing down got it thru to her that the correct answer to that question is always, “At the store Pop. She’ll be home soon.” even if he asked just a half hour/15 mins/5 secs ago.

    It was a hard lesson for me to learn too. Later, when I would go to visit him at the home, I learned to never say “Goodbye, Pop.” or give him a hug goodbye or any such parting ritual. Much easier for him (not for me, guilt was all I ever felt at that moment of “abandonment”) to just say, “I have to go the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” and disappear, sure in the knowledge that within just a few minutes he would forget that I had been there.

  184. 184.

    Emma

    @satby: Thank you. It was a release for her, as whatever triggered the dementia also triggered a succession of serious physical problems. We’re tilting between being happy that she’s (probably, YMMV) happy and missing her terribly.

    I’m glad you and your sister have worked out plans. It does help. We were caught totally by surprise. Not advisable for anyone. My sister and I are still exhausted.

  185. 185.

    Immanentize

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    I think Hillary knows this, but I want her and her team to really pound on the whole GOP and destroy the brand. It’s necessary to have a decent chance of getting things done in the next ~ 15 years (redistricting, SCOTUS, etc., etc.).

    I was pitching this strategy two years ago (running up to the 2016 midterms). But all the pols told me how it was impossible, that the Republican Party was too strong, that we needed two strong parties, yadda yadda yadda. I still think the opportunity exists to make a lot of people become embarrassed to admit they are a Republican (step one) because it is the party of racists and women haters. Then step two is make them openly reject the party at cocktail parties and at work. Can you imagine how far along we would be if we started this in 2015 with this mess/gift on side team red as the final proof point?

    I hope people with marketing skill and money in the dem side step in to make the republican party toxic. But I doubt they will. Queensbury rules and all.

  186. 186.

    Mobile Grumpy Code Monkey

    Had a brief “BER-NIE” vs. “HILL-A-RY” shout-off, but everyone’s behaving now.

  187. 187.

    Luthe

    @Baud: No, Trump will do poorly in NY, NJ, and CT because everyone in the tri-state area is constantly exposed to what an asshole he is, up close and personal. You can’t have home-field advantage if you’ve pissed off the entire home crowd.

  189. 189.

    feebog

    The only question at this point is whether the talking yam will get 1237 delegates before the convention. Rachel Maddow had a couple segments last week that revealed just how much rat fucking is already going on behind the scenes. Trump may go in thinking he has 1237 and fall short on the first ballot. Delegates may theoretically be bound on the first ballot, but there may some sleepers who cast their first ballot for someone else. Plus, if Trump falls short of 1237, does he have the floor organization to convince uncommitted delegates to cast their votes for him? Doubt it.

  190. 190.

    JPL

    @Luthe: That’s my thinking. Kasich should be able to pick-up more delegates than Cruz though. That’s why I found it surprising that some on jumping on the Cruz bandwagon.

  191. 191.

    JPL

    @satby: What wonderful shower gifts and I can say with authority now, your work is beautiful.
    I’m so sorry about your mom and I hope you find all the comments helpful.

  193. 193.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    @satby:

    Been there, done that, got the t shirt. My mother had Alzheimer’s for about 12 years, the last two were hell. I would never have let a pet of mine endure what she did. Never. ever. ever.

    I love your soaps. You’re truly gifted, and I wish you all kinds of success. By the way, having my mother’s ordeal to share with a sister and brother, I’m glad I have two daughters, who witnessed what it takes.

  195. 195.

    Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class

    @MomSense:

    Stick arms, grandiosity, and a personality that would create problems for him to get laid in a really downscale whorehouse.

  197. 197.

    Gin & Tonic

    @satby: There is no easy path. If it’s not already too late, make sure you have advance directives in place, in writing, and clearly understood by all. It’s not a panacea, but it helps.

  198. 198.

    Shortribs

    @Luthe:

    No, Trump will do poorly in NY, NJ, and CT because everyone in the tri-state area is constantly exposed to what an asshole he is

    You may be underestimating how many outright assholes there are in the tri state area. I think he’ll clean up in those states.

  199. 199.

    debbie

    @satby:

    Every month or so, there’s a news item about elder abuse. I don’t understand how people can do that (usually) to their own blood.

  200. 200.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @eric:

    If Saturday the 23rd is a good date for Boston peeps, it would work well for me (I have a BSO concert on the 21st, Passover Seder on the 22nd, and Boston Philarmonic concert on the 24th). Apart from those events, I’m somewhat flexible. I’ll be tossing all this to Anne Laurie, BJ Meetup Organizer extraordinaire.

  201. 201.

    ruemara

    @Baud: You misunderestimate how despised Trump is in NYC, and derided in the neighbouring villages. He has name recognition, just not sure if it’s an advantage for him.

  205. 205.

    Eric U.

    I keep trying to convince my family that if I’m suffering from severe dementia they should figure out a way to let me die. People don’t want to hear it. It’s too bad that at that point the dementia sufferer has so little left that making that decision isn’t really possible.

  206. 206.

    Mobile Grumpy Code Monkey

    Berniacs aren’t happy that all the committee co-chairs are Hillbots, and just introduced a resolution to rejigger the committees to guarantee equal representation, even though it’s about 3-1 Hillbots to Berniacs.

  208. 208.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @satby:

    Thanks! One of these times I’m sure to be in wherever you are (Michigam, Chicago, Florida….) and will hope to have the pleasure of meeting you!

    And may I just add, at risk of sounding like a come-lately echo, that your soaps are absolutely beautiful, and that you have my very sincere sympathies and good wishes on coping with your mother’s situation.

  209. 209.

    Matt

    So, hypothetical question: if there were somehow enough sane GOPers left to scrape together a plurality of delegates, could they vote “NOBODY”? As in, “our party has failed to provide any prospective nominees that aren’t so stupid and/or crazy that they would endanger the country by taking office so we decline to nominate anyone”?

    To be certain, it would be utter political suicide for the delegates involved; but they’re all firm believers in “watering the Tree O’ Liberty”, right?

  211. 211.

    Aleta

    @satby: Went through a similar time. 600 miles away, very hard.

    The best part was finding things I could do with or for her that she enjoyed. She had a different dementia than Alz, though she was often treated the same as, which increased her stress. Her stress level had a big influence on how her mind was functioning. (No big surprise, right.) So it was interesting and surprising to find things that she could still do, and see how that would relieve her stress. One of the simplest was folding clean laundry, basically towels. At one point I found she could still play a game like Parcheesi where she just had to roll the dice and count spaces. This was great because it was social, too. (I even hired a friend to play it with her a few times a week.)

    Keeping the spirit of improvisation alive helped a lot, because solutions would last for a while and then the situation would change. As others mentioned, it also helped me enter into her stories instead of feel a need to correct her.

    Wishing you the best, and sending support.

  213. 213.

    Ruckus

    @satby:
    Good luck. We had to do this with my dad, Alzheimer’s. We found a wonderful home for him, when he finally passed the 2 Vietnamese sisters that owned it came to the funeral and cried their eyes out. They really liked their clients and treated them with respect and care. I will be eternally grateful to them.

  214. 214.

    Elie

    @satby:

    My greetings and best wishes to you. You will never regret being close to her through this time… Its rough though. You will do the right thing…. Its really good to involve your children.

  215. 215.

    Ruckus

    @JPL:
    They really are all so appallingly the same so making the choice of 2nd place over 3rd place really isn’t that difficult. I sometimes wonder if republicans actually like the people they elect or if they just hate everyone else more.

  216. 216.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Tripod: $500M is a de Kooning and a Pollock, or a couple of weeks gross for a popular movie. It’s really not that much money these days – especially for something that moves mountains of water and is expected to last 50 years or more.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  217. 217.

    Ruckus

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne:
    Been there, done that, got the t shirt. My mother had Alzheimer’s for about 12 years, the last two were hell. I would never have let a pet of mine endure what she did. Never. ever. ever.
    Dad started showing signs 20 yrs out. At the time I didn’t know what I was looking at and there was no getting him help anyway, that long ago. We were lucky to find such a good place for him, it was his second. The first would only have people up to a certain stage, after that they wanted to move them to their different facility for taking care of advanced cases. Which we could not come close to affording. The small home we found was run by some amazing folks and gave him as good a life as someone suffering from this could have. But I still agree with your take, making someone live through this till every body part fails is hell on earth and most of us treat our pets better. Don’t really know the answer though, even in assisted states (OR, CA) one must be of sound mind, and these poor souls are not.

  218. 218.

    BBA

    @OzarkHillbilly: Manufacturing is so 20th century. Why waste money keeping a dying industry alive, when for a fraction of the cost we can ship the jobs to Asia and pass the savings on to…uh…let me get back to you on that.

    This is decline-of-empires stuff. Shades of Honorius telling the Romans in Britain that he couldn’t help them, so they should take care of themselves.

  219. 219.

    Ruckus

    @debbie:
    I don’t understand it either but I do know that people suffering from Alzheimer’s or even straight dementia can be very hard to handle and especially live with. Sure if it’s bad for us it has to be worse for them. My dad, with less than a year to live, didn’t know my name so it was like he was meeting me for the first time, every visit and would shake my hand. He would almost break my hand with his grip, every time. And yet he needed help to stand up. They really aren’t in charge of their own bodies or minds in any way.
    Back to the point, it’s frustrating, it’s scary, it’s frightening, it’s horrible. And that’s for us. I can’t imagine what it’s like for them. I don’t of course condone the abuse but we are still animals and we have to learn not to strike out at those things that we think run counter to our own fears. Some of us haven’t learned that. For all the advancing we think we’ve done as humans, I don’t think we are all that far along in the task.

  220. 220.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: Oh and another thing…

    A pet peeve of mine these days is stories that take the 30-50 year cost of something and cite that big scary number as the “cost” of a bridge, a school, a pension system, or whatever.

    When someone who makes $70k a year buys a $300k house, they aren’t suddenly bankrupted because the 30 year cost of the mortgage is $600k.

    I’m sure the $580M cost of the lock replacement included the interest costs over 30-50 years. Just as the OMG the Chicago and Illinois pension costs are eleventy billion dollars!!11 do. Often interest costs are half the project costs, and considering how low interest rates are now, there are few better places for the public to invest than infrastructure right now.

    Just as in buying a house, what matters on these pension and infrastructure things is the annual cost and the ability of the people to handle ups and downs in the economy. And sensible managers who don’t think that 10-15% annual returns due to a bubble in the market are permanent and mean that contributions can be cut back or that the “surplus” can be spent elsewhere.

    /rant off

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  221. 221.

    eemom

    Going through the Alzheimers thing with my mother too. Right now, even as I type.

    When she’s home in her apartment in NYC, she keeps telling my sister, who lives nearby, and me, every day and every night, that she doesn’t want to live alone anymore. So we’ve agreed to take turns having her live with us when my sister moves to Florida later this year. Now she says she doesn’t want that either.

    Plus, she’s been staying here in my house for the last week, we’ve all been nice to her, there’s been no issues — and she just told my sister she “heard something” and wants to go home. When she gets back home she’s going to start whining to both of us day and night about not wanting to live alone again.

    And she’s still in the “moderate” stage.

  222. 222.

    Kathleen

    @satby: The older I get the more I realize how easily and unconsciously I can sabotage myself with guilt and “shoulda woulda coulda’s”. Being good to one’s self is not as intuitive or easy as one would think.

  223. 223.

    arielibra

    @Baud: Maybe. I’m from Jersey and every single person I know, of whatever political persuasion, absolutely hates Trump.

  224. 224.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Luthe: The few Republican primary polls that have been taken in those states show Trump with an enormous lead. Remember, these are the Republicans in those very blue states. They are not the median voter. So far, Trump’s best primary state has been Massachusetts.

  225. 225.

    Ruckus

    @eemom:
    @Kathleen:
    A very hard part of dementia/Alzheimer’s care is taking care of those who have to give up their lives and selves to assist someone with the disease. If you are at all a reasonable person you will feel guilt that you aren’t doing enough. But there is almost never enough. It is helpful to remember that you have needs as well and that not accounting for them makes it much harder. A proper facility has people working on shifts, they get to go home, if you are the care giver, you are likely doing it 100% of the time. And almost no one can do it, 100% of the time. It’s too stressful, too time and effort consuming. Even if you can find and pay a good assistant, they will not be there 100% of the time, but you will be. And because it is so difficult and time consuming, your income potential will suffer, which for most makes things far worse. It’s a tough gig, we tried it for a while and failed. It’s too personal, too difficult to watch your loved one go through this, every minute of every day. Like hired caregivers you have to take it in bits and pieces and give your self a break. Doing everything you can is probably different that doing everything you’d like. And yet some manage. Humans still astound me on a regular basis, both the good and the bad.

  226. 226.

    SFAW

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I worked with a superintendent once who described a crew of electricians as working like “a monkey fvcking a football.”

    I believe the proper conjugation of that phrase is “like 12 monkeys fucking a football.”

    Think of it this way: something can’t be a clusterfuck if there’s no cluster, and one is not a cluster. (Well, except for Trump, because of his yuuuugeness.)

  227. 227.

    SFAW

    @arielibra:

    every single person I know, of whatever political persuasion, absolutely hates Trump.

    Why do you hate America?

    I’m from Jersey

    Oh, that’s why.

  228. 228.

    Cermet

    @SFAW: I’m from amerika – I hate anyone who doesn’t think amerika isn’t exceptional – I even hate me for saying anyone would think that amerika isn’t exceptional!

  231. 231.

    Ruckus

    @satby:
    We do have a great community. And part of a great community is making the hard stuff just a bit easier for those who come behind. I have a friend who works with a lady in FL specifically on dementia care. How to do it and how to survive it. But to me the one thing that struck me over the 20 yrs of watching my dad was they are like infants, except they don’t grow, learn and get better. They are infants in reverse. First they need assistance, small things, then more and more, then they can’t feed themselves or go out by themselves because they can’t remember where they live. Then they can’t remember to use the bathroom and have to be changed and cleaned. Then they can’t remember to eat. And all this time they know that something isn’t right but they don’t know what it is. They get frustrated beyond belief. But they aren’t infants who can cry and be comforted. They are full grown adults with strength and weight that makes everything more difficult. And they are your parents/siblings and that adds a layer that is unbelievable. The nights are the worst. I think the rest allows what little normalcy they have left in their brains to sort of have some presence. And it scares, frightens – no terrifies them, so some of them scream out.

    It really is hell on earth. If you really, really, really don’t like someone, wish Alzheimer’s on them. But just remember they aren’t the only ones that will suffer.

  232. 232.

    Ruckus

    @Ruckus:
    I’m sorry if this seems harsh but I’m like quite a few others here. I’ve seen and lived this close up for a long time. A friend helped me by telling me about his absolutely sweet, never a bad word, kind mother, who turned into a swearing, horrible person in front of her children. My dad didn’t go there and not everyone does but it is possible and probable that their personality will change. I think it helps to hear the horrible side up front, it becomes less of a surprise and you know a bit of what to expect.

  233. 233.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Ruckus: Very well said.

    It is like childhood in reverse, but also (as you say) much worse. The person you knew and loved slowly disappears but their body remains. It’s a cruel disease and must be terrifying (at least at times) for those who go through it.

    This RadioLab segment on the “Bus to Nowhere” in Germany is touching and enlightening. But facilities like that are far too rare, and there are often times when one can’t “humor them” enough. Old people (like anyone) can be really stubborn at times. ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  234. 234.

    Ruckus

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
    It’s a cruel disease and must be terrifying (at least at times) for those who go through it.
    It is, on both sides, the cared for and the care givers pay dearly for going through this. I’m now the age where my dad started showing the first signs of Alzheimer’s and I constantly look for those early signs in myself. I really, really didn’t like seeing others go through with this, I’m far more apprehensive about going through it myself. Today there are some promising things at least being investigated as helping if not curing and early starting on that is one key.

  235. 235.

    catclub

    @Chris:

    One of the more depressing things about modern American politics is that I totally recognize the mindset that made so many Good Germans team up with the Nazis.

    I have no idea what mindset I would have if the unemployment rate was 47%. That is what it was in Germany in 1933. I will wait until we are in a desperate economic crisis of that order before I start to worry about the mindset.

  236. 236.

    Grumpy Code Monkey

    Finally done with the county convention, and I am a delegate to the state convention! Well, so is everyone else in my district. We had more delegate slots available than people who showed up, so everyone who showed up is a delegate to the state convention.

    Some disappointing behavior from the Berniacs. The convention was obviously scheduled during SXSW and Spring Break specifically to disenfranchise Sanders supporters (never mind the Texas Democratic Party scheduling rule that was in place well before Sanders entered the race). There was a motion to forego precinct-level caucusing since everyone who showed up was automatically a delegate, and the Berniacs were convinced it was a move to deprive Bernie of delegates.

    Now, some of the concern was merited; it’s likely not everyone at the county convention will make it to the state convention, and if not all of one side’s delegates make it to the convention, and other side has an excess, then those votes go to the other side. However, ballots were available to nominate alternates, all of which was patiently explained. But, some people were insistent on being persecuted.

    So, when there was a call for unity between Hillbots and Berniacs, one of the Berniacs yelled out “Too late!”

    Some fun, some boredom, some outright woo on parade.

  238. 238.

    lol chikinburd

    @satby: I’m so sorry to hear this about your mother (and that I read this topic so late to be able to say this). My mom may have been headed in the same direction before she died. She had advance directives in place and wore a Do Not Resuscitate bracelet, though her fears were mostly of the agony with which her own mother died after breaking her hip.

    Lost a friend to FTD in their forties, so yeah, dementia is another thing we need to find and beat the hell out of.

    @Emma: You’re in my thoughts as well. So sorry for your loss, and for having to go through all that beforehand.

  239. 239.

    Tripod

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    There’s no fucking iron ore left. The high quality stuff ran out in the Eisenhower Administration. That’s why the American side finally acquiesced to the Seaway. To get ore from Quebec. Bye-bye Buffalo.

    They are grinding up rock in the North Country and doing horrible things to the environment to extract enough ore to be usable, but even those deposits are running out, it’s swing market stuff, and completely not price competitive with the big raw ore exporters like Australia and Brazil.

    There are only 12 1000′ ore ships, and that’s all there ever will be. They are lake locked – The Welland Canal is the controlling factor for ship size on the lakes. If the producers can’t take a 200′ hit per shipment (and use the same lock as the Canadian grain fleet) they are well and truly fucked anyway. They’ve already mothballed one 1000′ lock at Soo – not enough traffic.

    Somebody should tell that moron at the Guardian that 2/3 of all US steel industry raw materials input is scrap. Electric arc is what killed Sparrows Point, Bethlehem, South Chicago….

  240. 240.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Tripod: Ah, well that’s different then. ;-)

    Thanks for the education. I appreciate it.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

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