Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

The next time the wall wtreet journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Measure Goodness By What We Embrace

Measure Goodness By What We Embrace

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I was going to post some political stuff, but it can wait for another day. For now, enjoy the most dignified and beautiful First Family ever. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise, seeing who their parents are, but the Obama girls are beautiful, graceful and quite possibly smarter than their parents.

Took Bixby for a nice hike, surprisingly not a lot of mud considering all the snow we had last week. My car appreciated that. Here he is in his Bunny Ears if you missed it earlier.

Watched Chocolat and resisted the urge to melt down all the chocolate in the house to make pagan statues and drinking chocolate. Have a quiet evening planned.

On a more serious note, coverage of the Pakistan bombing can be found here, it sounds like it was a lot of children. I await the Facebook tributes and the nightly news anchors reporting from the blast site. It will no doubt be a long wait.

How are you wrapping up your Sunday? Open thread…

Reader Interactions

209Comments

  1. 1.

    Joseph Nobles

    I did see the Eiffel Tower lit in Pakistan’s flag colors. And Trump says only he can solve the problem, so attention is being paid.

  3. 3.

    prob50

    Every time I see or hear about Obama and his family I just have to shake my head at all the Republican gibberish about “Obama The Usurper” and all his Destroy America ploys. I’m 66 and I don’t think there has been a more truly dedicated family man to occupy the WH in my lifetime. He’s decided to stay in Washington after
    his term is up so his daughter doesn’t have to change schools.

  4. 4.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    I asked last night, but I’ll try again. Does anyone here want to do a book review? I’ll end you a free ebook copy of Becoming Phoebe if you’ll read it and, if you like it, post a review to Amazon.

  6. 6.

    SFAW

    @Joseph Nobles:

    And Trump says only he can solve the problem, so attention is being paid.

    Yeah, he’s going to make a great deal with them, such a good deal like you never heard before, and only he can do it, because he knows how to make deals.

    What I want to know is: what’s the deal he’s going to cut with the RNC, to give the nom to someone else? Exclusive naming rights if the Rethugs take the White House, soon to be know as the “Trump House of Deals Like You Wouldn’t Believe”?

    It is unfortunate that such a high percentage of voters actually believes his bullshit.

  7. 7.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    The most dignified and gracious first family of my lifetime. Such an example for all of us.

    @raven: Indeed!!

    On the “holiday” note, I was just so glad to read that your grilling troubles this year were concluded without serious injury. You’re right that Cole is a piker.

  8. 8.

    SFAW

    @prob50:

    Every time I see or hear about Obama and his family I just have to shake my head at all the Republican gibberish about “Obama The Usurper” and all his Destroy America ploys.

    Agreed.

  9. 9.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    @prob50: Before the end of the summer it will be spun as a plot by Obama to subvert the election and stay in the White House.

  11. 11.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    Sensible shoes, also too. Yup, whoever comes after them will be a dramatic change. We’re going to miss them in so many ways.

    (I was going to post something smarmy about the new Mrs. Trump in a water bed in the Lincoln Bedroom for a GQ photo shoot, but thought better of it…)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  12. 12.

    LAO

    I can’t figure out how the Obamas always look so natural in family photographs, there’s no artifice and they appear to genuinely like each other.

    My family has never figured this out. We always look like we are 1 minute away from a full out brawl (including the children).

    It’s really nice.

  15. 15.

    dr. bloor

    @LAO:

    I can’t figure out how the Obamas always look so natural in family photographs, there’s no artifice and they appear to genuinely like each other.

    Occam’s razor would suggest that it’s because they genuinely like each other and have little use for artifice.

  16. 16.

    SFAW

    @The Ancient Randonneur:

    Before the end of the summer it will be spun as a plot by Obama to subvert the election and stay in the White House.

    For one so Ancient, you are a bit naive optimistic. It’s already started. OK, so they haven’t started on the “subvert the election” thing yet, but that’s only because Glenn Beck and Alex Jones are not yet back from their tryst time off.

  22. 22.

    cmorenc

    One of the Obama girls (Sasha?) closely resembles her mother Michelle, and the other (Malia?) closely resembles her dad, except that she’s better-looking than her dad. As a dad with two daughters myself, we have the same divide in facial resemblance of reach respective daughter. My older daughter is me re-incarnated as a girl, except a MUCH improved version thereof. Maybe the same will prove true for Obama and Malia.

  23. 23.

    ruemara

    Tidying up to drive over to my Zumba instructor’s house and eat Easter dinner. Part of a nefarious plot to keep me fat and therefore always needing to workout. Like how my kickboxing teacher keeps bringing plates of cookies.

  27. 27.

    Baud

    @dr. bloor:

    I can’t figure out how the Obamas always look so natural in family photographs, there’s no artifice and they appear to genuinely like each other.

    Occam’s razor would suggest that it’s because they genuinely like each other and have little use for artifice.

    They really don’t share American values, do they?

  33. 33.

    PST

    I agree about the Obamas, but just in the interest of fairness, I would have to add that the Bush 43 nuclear family, not the extended family but just W when he was with his wife and daughters, seemed normal and attractive too. Laura Bush struck me as gracious and rather non-political. The girls stood up to public scrutiny with good humor, including a Horrors! College student orders cocktail! moment.

  38. 38.

    lollipopguild

    A nice picture of The Secret Terrorist Mooslim who is going to kill us all in our beds while we sleep right after he takes all of our guns and his wife forces us to eat a healthy meal. Then its off to the Fat Farm/Internment camp/Reeducation camp.

  40. 40.

    dr. bloor

    @PST:

    Laura Bush struck me as gracious and rather non-political.

    That’s not all Laura Bush struck.

    I guess I’ll disagree with you on this. Always seemed to me to be cardboard cutouts of what the American Family was supposed to be, right down to the accessory ranch purchased before Shrub’s ascension by the SCOTUS and then sold right after he left office.

  41. 41.

    trollhattan

    @cmorenc:
    Malia has a future as a Major Heartbreaker, should she choose to do so. Just sayin’.

    The funny thing for both will be telling potential beaus: “Maybe we can go out, first you need to talk to my dad.”

  42. 42.

    Ruckus

    When foreigners tell you that all americans are fat ugly slobs, all you have to do to change their minds is show them this. Four people who look better than fine, who really are genuinely good people. This gives me hope that as bad as it seems we are some days, here is positive proof that we can be better. We voted in large numbers for this man to be standing on that lawn, because he and we deserved that.

  43. 43.

    Soylent Green

    Screw term limits. Let’s give Barack Obama another couple of terms, and a nice Democratic majority to go with them. Are you with me, America? Repeal the 22nd!

  44. 44.

    trollhattan

    @dr. bloor:
    Laura seemed smarter, so there’s that. Betty Ford was my fave first lady until Michelle, now I just don’t know.

  45. 45.

    hitchhiker

    Malia is just spectacularly photogenic. Jeebus!

    I want a third term. It sucks that this is not an option BUT there’s going to be decades of benefitting from having this family in our world — writing, organizing, speaking, whatever. I cannot wait to read Obama’s next book.

  48. 48.

    normal liberal

    @Litlebritdifrnt:
    Am I correct in interpreting estate agent speak that the bedroom is in the basement/cellar? ‘Cause if so, holy claustrophobia, Batman. The building’s adorable, though.

  50. 50.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Nothing wrong with this, and nobody has actually claimed otherwise, but there seems to be an assumption that the Obama family photo is current. In fact, it is from Easter 2015.

    I checked it out only because the recent pictures of Sasha at the state dinner for Justin Trudeau a couple of weeks ago showed her almost as tall as her mother, and in the picture above she isn’t.

    I love Pete Souza’s work! I hope he publishes a volume, or several volumes, of White House behind-the-scenes photographs when he and the Obamas have left the WH next year.

  53. 53.

    Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)

    @trollhattan:
    sorry but they all to go some to catch up to Mrs. Roosevelt. But those were different times and while I give full credit to Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Obama is certainly #1 within my lifetime

    edit – I hate typing on my phone

  55. 55.

    prob50

    @PST: @PST:

    but just W when he was with his wife and daughters, seemed normal and attractive too

    Except the W himself was such a spoiled, clueless, lying dick. In my book any due one might give him for his family relationship is diminished by his immersing us in the Iraq fiasco because he wanted to be thought of and remembered as a “War President” (his words). A great people have paid (and will continue to pay) a steep and terrible price for Mr. Bush’s vanity war.

  58. 58.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    @evap: Thanks. Out of curiosity, did you buy the ebook or the print version? I ask because a few people who ordered the print version said that it took Amazon several weeks to ship, but it looks like they actually have it in their warehouse now, and I’m trying to find out how long it takes them to ship.

    On the other hand, I actually make more money from the ebook, so it’s good either way.

  59. 59.

    TaMara (BHF)

    @SiubhanDuinne: Well of course THIS president would commit a fraud by posting this photo today, passing it off as their 2016 photo. LOL. Guess they were too busy rubbing elbows with those Cuban communists to take a new photo.

    Or it took 39 tries to corral the dogs the last time, so they decided not to attempt it again this year.

  60. 60.

    benw

    What an eggstremely awesome first family. America shell miss them. It sucks that’s all for these yolks in the White House hen Obama’s term is oval.

  61. 61.

    raven

    There are plenty of right wingers focusing on Pakistan, especially the Christian angle.

    LAHORE/ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) – A suicide bomber killed at least 65 people, mostly women and children, at a park in Lahore on Sunday in an attack claimed by a Pakistani Taliban faction which said it had targeted Christians.

  62. 62.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    @TaMara (BHF): Much appreciated.

    A lot of Amazon’s algorithms, like recommending books to people and whether or not they stock it or just order copies as needed, hav e the number of reviews as an important element as well as the average star rating. So reviews don’t need to be long; just a sentence saying that you read it and liked it is sufficient to really help, though if you want to say more, feel free.

    Meanwhile, once I get through the Buffy Season 9 & 10 comic books, I plan to sit down with the stuff I’ve bought from other friends, like Iowa Old Lady, to read them and post reviews. I’m just really, really hooked on Buffy right now. The crash when I run out of things to read is going to be epic.

  63. 63.

    dedc79

    Cacti, if you’re around. Remember just a few months ago when you called a $15/hr minimum wage a pipe dream and said that Sanders and his supporters were crazy to think it possible? Ahem:

    SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 27 (Reuters) – California lawmakers and union leaders have reached a tentative deal to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 over six years that could avert a campaign to bring the issue to voters, two California newspapers reported on Sunday, citing unnamed sources.

    The deal, if passed in the state legislature and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, would add to a wave of minimum wage increases at the state level in the United States, where the federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 an hour for more than six years.

  64. 64.

    Paul W.

    OK, so the Obama’s look great… but those dogs are so damn CUTE!

    Bo looks like such a regal gentleman, and he’s lived every second of Obama’s term. What a looking good boy!

  65. 65.

    JMG

    Forget health care and Wall Street reform. Obama was President when his children were teenagers and they are not tied into knots with self-consciousness. That’s really amazing.
    PS: Also Malia might go to my alma mater, Wesleyan.

  66. 66.

    pluky

    @Baud: As the owner of three Porties, every time I see pictures of the Obama’s dogs a little green monster in me goes, “yours could look like that too, you know.” To which I respond, “Yeah, if I had a groomer and trainer on staff.”

  67. 67.

    Chyron HR

    @dedc79:

    Remember just a few months ago when you BLASPHEMED AGAINST THE GREAT ONE?!

    Probably not, I mean I doubt they spent every single day since then obsessing about it the way you apparently did.

  68. 68.

    MazeDancer

    Perfectly beautiful people. Perfectly dazzlingly cherry blossoms. And perfect pups.

    How hard is it to repeal the 22nd amendment really fast?

    @hitchhiker:

    I cannot wait to read Obama’s next book.

    Going to be the biggest advance in publishing history, for sure. Mr. Obama is a terrific writer. But the library sales, alone, will be astronomical.

    @JMG:

    PS: Also Malia might go to my alma mater, Wesleyan.

    Lin-Manuel Miranda makes it seem like going any where else, these days, makes no sense. Everything one reads makes it sound like Liberal Creative Heaven.

  69. 69.

    chopper

    @dedc79:

    I think he was arguing the pipe dream aspect was the idea of implementing it at the federal level across the board (as opposed to state by state).

  70. 70.

    Cacti

    @dedc79:

    Cacti, if you’re around. Remember just a few months ago when you called a $15/hr minimum wage a pipe dream and said that Sanders and his supporters were crazy to think it possible? Ahem:

    Hey, that’s great.

    How many other states?

  71. 71.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @SiubhanDuinne: Sasha is getting almost as tall as Michelle! I won’t be surprised if Malia is as tall as – or taller than – Pres. Obama.

    I am going to miss having that family in the White House. The dogs look wonderful, but it’s a little sad to see the gray around Bo’s muzzle.

  72. 72.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Paul W.:

    Bo looks like such a regal gentleman, and he’s lived every second of Obama’s term. What a looking good boy!

    Remember the day that Obama was named Nobel Peace Prize winner, and the girls came rushing into his bedroom that morning and he was sure they were going to congratulate him, but the only thing they wanted to talk about was that it was Bo’s birthday! LOL.

  73. 73.

    Origuy

    @Litlebritdifrnt: A one-bedroom next door to a prison?

    Actually, I understand Her Majesty no longer keeps prisoners in Lancaster Castle; I was there four years ago. I’m surprised it’s not listed as a historic building.

  76. 76.

    MomSense

    Aww, gorgeous family. Bo and BO are both much grayer than when they first moved to the White House.

    I’m sick about Pakistan.

  77. 77.

    Zinsky

    For some reason (glutton for punishment?), I have been venturing on to right-wing comment boards lately, to engage the enemy head-on. And it is truly amazing the visceral hatred that you encounter for not only Barack Obama, but Michelle and their daughters too! I suppose it has a lot to do with the color of their skin, but they accuse him of being a “tyrant” (huh?), “lawless” (double huh??), and miscellaneous nonsense about “wrecking the economy” and “confiscating guns”, both of which are demonstrably and objectively false. When I ask them to provide even one example of how Obama is a tyrant, they either launch into a barrage of personal insults and name-calling or fall back into the gun confiscation nonsense. When I then point out not one single gun has been confiscated under Obama the cycle repeats itself. It is truly bizarre and scary because these people are like they are in some kind of trance where reality doesn’t matter. Thanks for posting this to remind sane people of what a truly decent man Obama is and what a lovely family he has.

  78. 78.

    Cacti

    @chopper:

    I think he was arguing the pipe dream aspect was the idea of implementing it at the federal level across the board (as opposed to state by state).

    I’ve now seen the error of my mistake.

    The GOP House majority will be deeply moved by what CA state legislature is doing.

  80. 80.

    redshirt

    @Zinsky: That’s one my my favorite hobbies. The Right Wing mind is such a terrible, fascinating, twisted realm. It’s like visiting an alternative reality. Like Sci-Fi. And yet, these people vote and help not only shape America, but the world (for the worse). Strange.

  83. 83.

    trollhattan

    @srv:
    Here’s the great news: Trump could run against my toaster oven in the general and will still lose. Keep rogering that pullet, Republicans!

  84. 84.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @dedc79: Yep, people who get excited about tiny, incremental changes tend to end up with only tiny, incremental changes.

    A minimum wage of basically, 30K a year will make a huge difference in people’s lives.

  85. 85.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    @SiubhanDuinne: I thought.the pic looked familiar and I thought Sasha didn’t have her braces on anymore. I’m really going to miss the Obamas. It doesn’t matter if its Clinton or Trump, I can guarantee they’re both going to be drama filled with a shitload of self-serving leaks from admin insiders.

  86. 86.

    amk

    a lovely and graceful family. perfect for a ‘white house’.

    has the troll’s head essploded yet?

  87. 87.

    Ben Cisco

    @Zinsky: There’s a passage about looking overly long into the abyss that you may wish to keep in mind…

    That said, I posted a link to an article referenced in an earlier thread about supporting the Dem noninee on the Twitter machine, and got a smartassed quip from a (supposed) Bernie supporter. Quick check of his mentions found him calling the president “Barry” and bitching about missing funerals and going to Cuba.

    It’s like the trolls aren’t even trying now.

  88. 88.

    gogol's wife

    @Ben Cisco:

    Yeah, that was cold.

    Beautiful picture. I can’t stand that he won’t be president any more. He’s a great man.

  89. 89.

    PsiFighter37

    It sucks that we’ve got a little less than 10 months of them left in the White House. I’m only 30 years old, and I have no doubt that this will be the best presidency / president I will have gotten a chance to vote for in my lifetime. Call me pessimistic.

  91. 91.

    dedc79

    @Cacti:

    I’ve now seen the error of my mistake.

    The GOP House majority will be deeply moved by what CA state legislature is doing.

    1) Over 1 in 10 americans live in California, so this is a big step toward a national minimum wage that approaches a living wage.

    2) Part of your argument was that a national minimum wage of $15/hr was unrealistic given that even the more progressive states don’t have one. I and others pointed out that some were in the process of adopting them and that a number of major cities had already done so.

  92. 92.

    Zinsky

    @Iowa Old Lady: @Ben Cisco: Call me quixotic, but like Obama himself, I keep believing that if we only engage these right-wing knuckle-heads directly, can we beat down this collective madness that has turned American politics into such a poisonous swamp. I liken it to de-programming cult members. We have to find the magic elixir to flush the poisonous bile out of the right-wing spleen.

  98. 98.

    Tom

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Well, they do say that the presidency does age one…

    Anyway, I used to have a crush on Rosalyn Carter. Her husband was the first president I voted for. (I turned 18 in 1976. Yes, I’m old.)

    I’m in love with Michelle, however. Smart, funny and beautiful – – a killer combination.

  99. 99.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @dedc79: Yes, people who want to minimize this might want to reflect on the fact that this is kind of like the whole country of Canada raising its minimum wage to $15/hr because, you know, there are more people in Cali than Canada

  100. 100.

    CaseyL

    @Cacti: Well, Seattle passed an initiative to raise the minimum wage to $15 over a multi-year period about a year ago. If municipalities count…

  101. 101.

    dogwood

    @Zinsky:
    Why would you be surprsed? That’s what political partisans do. Earlier in this thread someone had the gall to assert that George W’s family seemed pretty normal, and that Laura was gracious. He/ she was shot down immediately. One of W daughters is a big supporter of the ACA and works in public health. That tells me that political indoctrination was not part of George and Laura’s parenting style. And that is definitely something I can respect in anyone, even my political adversaries.

  102. 102.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @SiubhanDuinne: That reminds me of an interview he did on a talk show (Conan O’Brien?) when he’d just been elected the 99th most senior senator of the US. He mentioned that kids were great at reminding you you’re just regular folks. He talked about how at dinner they all talk about their days and when asked about his, as he begins to answer, Sasha responds “boring.” It cracked me up. It’s worth looking for, but I’m not up for doing it myself tonight.

  104. 104.

    Ben Cisco

    @Zinsky: Yup, that’s quixotic all right. You’re looking to change the minds of those who are against me because I look like me, who are against the president because he looks like he does, and are scared enough of both of us to condone the police assassination of unarmed men, women, and children who look like me. There’s no dancing around it.

  107. 107.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Tom: Hey, hey, hey – watch with the “old” stuff, will you? I meant to mention earlier that the Carters seemed very much a regular family who truly enjoyed one another.

  108. 108.

    burnspbesq

    @Amaranthine RBG:

    A minimum wage of basically, 30K a year will make a huge difference in people’s lives.

    Not in California. Still not enough. Not even remotely.

  111. 111.

    eemom

    @PsiFighter37:

    I’m only 30 years old, and I have no doubt that this will be the best presidency / president I will have gotten a chance to vote for in my lifetime. Call me pessimistic.

    Hell, it could be worse. I’m only 100 years old, and REALLY have no doubt, whereas you are merely pessimistic.

  118. 118.

    Mike J

    @Ruckus:

    When foreigners tell you that all americans are fat ugly slobs, all you have to do to change their minds is show them this.

    Nine out of ten times, just hold up a mirror, at least in Engerland or Germany.,

  119. 119.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Ben Cisco: I had a lovely Easter weekend and my aunt sent the leftover salmon dip home with me. So I had to do it – you teed it up on purpose, right?

  121. 121.

    Mike J

    @CaseyL:

    Well, Seattle passed an initiative to raise the minimum wage to $15 over a multi-year period about a year ago. If municipalities count…

    WHile I was inline for the Clinton rally I was asked to sign the petition to make it statewide about three dozen times.

  123. 123.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @eemom: Thank you very much for the explanation of Orthodox Easter timing. I knew there were different calendar, of course, but did not know that Pascha was always after Pesach.

    @Omnes Omnibus: I didn’t think he said anything, since he was dead.*

    * I am a worse woman.

  125. 125.

    The Dangerman

    @John Cole:

    …knowing he wont be President next year.

    I agree. Perhaps a quick change in the appropriate amendment is in order and we can go for a 3rd term (oh, man, that would piss Hillary off something fierce; she wants to be President soooooooooooo bad).

    ETA: Everyone running for President WANTS to be President but Hillary has taken in to an entirely new level.

  126. 126.

    Heliopause

    @Ruckus:

    Well, no, we’re not literally all fat slobs. Those damned foreigners, always generalizing about Americans…

  132. 132.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @trollhattan: I always thought Pickles was better than the Shrubb deserved till I saw the death glare she gave Joseph Lowery during Coretta Scott King’s funeral. He married his mother.

    The daughters do seem to have turned out better than could have been expected.

  134. 134.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    I spent Easter morning and afternoon getting some new pics. I revisited Franklin Canyon(Andy Griffith Show opening credits) with the new IR camera. Upper Franklin Reservoir. On the way up Coldwater Canyon Road I was behind the 0.01% in a Tesla and was followed by the 0.00001% in a Rolls. The Rolls driver gave me plenty of room behind my 30yo VW. After that, on to the Nike Base, which involved a short unplanned hike.

  138. 138.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    This was lost in the hub-bub over the Tango.

    In Argentina, Obama laid a wreath in memory of the 30,000 murdered by Pinochet and apologized for the role the US played.

  141. 141.

    redshirt

    @Gin & Tonic: Yeah, people, but she’s the President’s daughter and I’m sure a smart cookie, so why go to a safety school? She could probably get into any Uni anywhere, so why not Harvard? Or for a twist, Cambridge? I mean, if she wants to slum it up, at least Brown for Gods sake.

  143. 143.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @redshirt: You are kind of an asshole (and a huge snob). Why not a school where she feels comfortable and happy?

    ETA: with the snob comment.

  144. 144.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Omnes Omnibus: I think one is really fucking lunar, and the other one is based on an idealized approximation of the moon phases that is easier to compute.

    Edit: It appears the Jewish calendar is computed as well… but the precise computation is probably different.

  145. 145.

    Gin & Tonic

    @redshirt: Brown’s not slumming. And not everybody wants to go to Harvard, even people who get in. You probably won’t go to Wesleyan if you want to become an electrical engineer, but for some (really capable) people it’s the right choice, and by no means a safety.

  148. 148.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Matt McIrvin: You are correct, of course. Yet I am a BA, Gov’t; JD, Law, and she is a BA, Poli.Sci: Ph.D, Poli, Sci. We are not really math or astronomy people..

  149. 149.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Gallup Poll — March 27 — President Obama Ratings

    Approve………..53%
    Disapprove…..44%

    But, but…. baseball game! But, but….. Tango! But, but…… Brussels!

    ***

    Gallup Poll — April 6, 2008 — President Bush Ratings

    Approve………..28%
    Disapprove…..67%

    But, but… a nice guy you’d like to have a beer with! But, but…… he kept us safe!

  152. 152.

    dmsilev

    @redshirt: The biggest advantage of a “prestige” school like Harvard (for undergrad, grad is different) is networking opportunities. That’s not something which a daughter of a President will lack in, so why bother?

  153. 153.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Omnes Omnibus: If I understand, you are now trying to discern the relationship of Passover and Protestant (or non-Orthodox Catholic) Easter. That Easter is the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Pesach, Passover, is a specific period of dates in a Hebrew (lunar) month that I believe starts with an N. It is also, I believe, after the vernal equinox. I need to defer to someoe Jewish about that. Passover overlaps with (P+n-OC) Easter depending on when the first post-equinox full moon happens, since (P+n-OC) Easter is the first Sunday after that.

    Since Orthodox Easter, Pascha, must follow Pesach, so how much later it is than (P+n-OC) Easter depends on when Passover falls in a given year.

    the Orthodox is also complicated by using a calendar that went out of fashion over 400 years ago.

    (emphasized word added by Bella Q)

  157. 157.

    Cacti

    @dedc79:

    Over 1 in 10 americans live in California, so this is a big step toward a national minimum wage that approaches a living wage.

    2) Part of your argument was that a national minimum wage of $15/hr was unrealistic given that even the more progressive states don’t have one. I and others pointed out that some were in the process of adopting them and that a number of major cities had already done so.

    “Some were in the process of adopting them” implies more than one. One is in the process of adopting one. Hey, good for them. It’s actually starting somewhere.

    Now, if you can plausibly explain how this leads to House Republicans adopting a $15/hour minimum wage under a hypothetical Sanders Presidency, that isn’t wholly dependent on Green Lanternism…

    I’ll kiss your ass in a public location of your choice, and declare to onlookers that it smells like roses.

  162. 162.

    Cacti

    @CaseyL:

    Well, Seattle passed an initiative to raise the minimum wage to $15 over a multi-year period about a year ago. If municipalities count…

    To echo what Mike J said, a fellow was gathering signatures prior to my local caucus to petition the state leg to raise it to $13.50 statewide.

    Right now, the GOP controls the state senate, so if we can get that changed, maybe it could happen.

  163. 163.

    Prescott Cactus

    @redshirt:

    Stanford, then? Sigh….

    Mission accomplished (no banner). Yale or U of Texas. Follow the Bush twins. What could go wrong.

  164. 164.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    @satby: Absolutely. You did get a complete copy, right? You phrased that a little oddly, so I want to make sure. Otherwise, no, you don’t need to have purchased it at Amazon to be able to give a review.

  166. 166.

    Mike J

    Watching The Big Short right now. Brilliant piece of film making. Everybody watching it is going to be convinced the film agrees with their personal outlook.

  167. 167.

    Adam L Silverman

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): This is close enough for government work, so I’m not going to really add anything.

    The Hebrew/Judaic calender is a solar adjusted lunar calendar. In comparison to what we’re used to with the Gregorian calendar its on a three year wobble. This is different than the Hijra (Islamic) calendar, which is a pure lunar one.

    Here’s the primer:
    http://www.jewfaq.org/calendar.htm

    The Julian (Orthodox Christian) calendar is, as you’ve indicated based on the calendar used in the Eastern empire. It was abandoned in the West in the 830s when Pope Gregory had the new calendar we use today created.

    Oh and if anyone cares, she should go to Emory. Everyone knows Harvard is just the Emory of the North!

    I’m going back to my Spider-Man cartoon.

  172. 172.

    redshirt

    The mullet is actually practical. It can keep bugs off the back of your neck but doesn’t get in your eyes or interfere with glasses.

  174. 174.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Omnes Omnibus: Related is the term that’s confusing me. Sometimes P & E overlap; this year they do not. Passover is always a set period (30 days?) after Purim. So depending on how the Hebrew months fall in a given secular calendar year, Passover is earlier or later. Again, actual Jewish people should correct me.

    @Adam L Silverman: But I’m having so much fun embarrassing myself – and confusing Omnes – about Spring holidays here.

  177. 177.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Omnes Omnibus: Does this mean you weren’t asking me about my undergrad earlier? If so, never mind. Though I am pleased to note the full ride to grad school (what I call it lately, for those who may not know which letter(s) come before the D in my degree).

  178. 178.

    starscream

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: I imagine a lot of people are experiencing a “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” feeling now that Obama’s time in the White House is almost up. Especially compared to some of the clowns applying for his job.

  179. 179.

    Adam L Silverman

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Here’s the short course. The Jewish/Hebrew calendar is based on aligning three things: A single day, a single month, and a single year. So the calendar is a solar adjusted lunar calendar. The major difference between the Hebrew and Gregorian calendars is that the latter has standardized the length of a month to either 28, 30, or 31 days. The Hebrew calendar doesn’t do that. It has leap months, not a leap day. So while a single day is 24 hours (give or take) and a single year is 365 days (give or take), the length of the months are lunar and vary more than the standard ones in the Gregorian calendar.

  180. 180.

    Cacti

    @starscream:

    I imagine a lot of people are experiencing a “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” feeling now that Obama’s time in the White House is almost up. Especially compared to some of the clowns applying for his job.

    BHO is the first White House occupant of my lifetime that I think of as “my” President, rather than just “the” President.

    Nobody waiting in the wings gives me the same feeling.

  182. 182.

    redshirt

    @Cacti: Same. He’s the one and only politician I’ve worked for, that I put a bumper sticker on for, that I bought and wore shirts, that I talked with people when they asked me or insulted me for my tshirts and stickers. I love the man and think he’s one of the Greats in history and his example will be an influence for the world going forward.

    PS I’ve never felt this way about any other politician, not even remotely close.

    I’ve read his books. That might be a big part of it, as I feel I “know” him way more than other politicians.

  184. 184.

    A Dawg Called Panda

    @redshirt: Is it at least slightly disturbing, do you think, that during the last year of his Presidency, the race to replace him has motivated a hither-to-unseen brand of racial populism, both on the left and the right?

    Very bizarre.

  186. 186.

    Nate Dawg

    So I can’t use a new nym to avoid without triggering the moderation filter?

    @redshirt: Is it at least slightly disturbing, do you think, that during the last year of his Presidency, the race to replace him has motivated a hither-to-unseen brand of racial populism, both on the left and the right?

    Very bizarre.

  187. 187.

    WarMunchkin

    @starscream: On the bright side, he’ll be what the rest of us strive to be. Kennedy wasn’t nearly as successful, Johnson may have had the Great Society, but he escalated Vietnam. Carter was a one-termer, Clinton had a sex scandal. All of these Presidents were either sane or great in their own ways, but Barack is the only Democratic President in who knows how long that propped up a big gigantic lighthouse to guide us and figure out what a President should be, and that light shines way brighter than Reagan ever will.

  188. 188.

    WarMunchkin

    @A Dawg Called Panda: Are we calling Sanders-ism unseen? IIRC it’s pretty much standard New Deal liberalism. Hell, I remember John Edwards saying the same thing in 2004, even. Wasn’t old enough in ’92.

  189. 189.

    Elie

    @Nate Dawg:

    I can’t figure it either. Alls I know is that this president will leave a lasting impression on me of the importance of competent governance, how important it is to be resilient in accomplishing your goals and most of all an example of enormous poise, grace and integrity under pressure… He is by far the most impressive political figure that I have known of in my lifetime, and I bet many other people’s as well. We were lucky to have him but I truly believe that his service to us will not end at the end of his term — that he may have an even more important and unexpected leadership role for us later. Whatever, he will truly always be my hero for these reasons and many others.

  190. 190.

    Nate Dawg

    @WarMunchkin: The movement is different than Edwards (which was insigificant, and not a movement at all really) and similar candidates in the past (Dennis Kuchinich, anyone?)

    Yes, it is new territory for a Socialist to run as a Democrat and rack up 40%+ votes by bashing the popular President and his popular Secretary of State. That the crowds are nearly all white, and he does abysmally with PoC, makes it a rather strange white-liberal-movement. Much more white than Edwards campaign was, I believe, and much, much, MUCH more so than Barack Obama’s or Hillary Clinton’s are and were.

  193. 193.

    Mnemosyne

    @efgoldman:

    Plus, the initial point that gogol’s wife was making was that Wesleyan is becoming known as the school you go to if you want to work on Broadway, which seems to have completely flown over redshirt’s head.

    USC is not the best school for everything, but if you want to be a film major, it’s the #1 place to go. Sounds like Wesleyan is making a similar reputation for itself when it comes to live theater — not acting, but writing and directing it (Tommy Kail is also a graduate).

  195. 195.

    Ruckus

    @redshirt:
    She should go where she wants to go. It’s her life and choice, not yours nor even her mom or dad’s. Even if it’s a community college.

  196. 196.

    akryan

    OT, but I just turned on Meet the Press, because I’m some sort of masochist, and of course it goes straight to Trump. What the fuck.

  197. 197.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    @akryan: what did you expect? MTP is a freak show and there is no bigger freak than Trump. Of course they’re going to cover some one setting himself on fire.

  198. 198.

    Pinksnapdragon

    @CaseyL: @Amaranthine RBG: I believe that within the last week or two the governor of Oregon also signed a bill raising the minimum wage to $15 in Portland and other large cities, but permitting a somewhat lower minimum in the more rural parts of the state.

  199. 199.

    Sloane Ranger

    @SFAW: It’s more than this. Someone tweeted Washington Journal yesterday to say they expected President Obama to use some crisis to declare martial law and cancel the election.

  201. 201.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Sloane Ranger: Of course, some of W’s people were actually talking to the press about the possibility of postponing the 2004 election… :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  204. 204.

    Paul in KY

    @PST: Was surprised Jenna stayed mostly on very good behavior. Not-Jenna seemed to be more low key, so I figured she would stay off the gossip pages.

  208. 208.

    low-tech cyclist

    @dedc79:

    Remember just a few months ago when you called a $15/hr minimum wage a pipe dream and said that Sanders and his supporters were crazy to think it possible?

    I’m not Cacti, but I think it’s silly to say, “see, a $15 minimum wage is possible” because it’ll happen in California in 2023.

    Because nobody’s arguing that the national minimum wage won’t reach $15 EVAR; sure it will. But comparing California in 2023 with the U.S. in 2016 is apples and oranges.

  209. 209.

    low-tech cyclist

    Damn, that’s a great photo. You know, just for starters, Barack Obama is always going to be the coolest guy in the room, in every room he walks into for the rest of his life. And on top of that, the lucky bastard is married to the intelligent, accomplished, and drop-dead gorgeous Michelle Obama. If it gets any better than that, please tell me how.

    And those girls are growing up to be damn good-looking themselves, and probably every bit as smart as their parents.

    I believe the dogs are Portuguese water dogs.

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