The Trump era continues to be comedy gold for Saturday Night Live. Last night’s opening segment totally nails one of the more amusing Trump apologists, Scottie Nell Hughes, and mocks Trump’s leering comments about his own daughter:
Meanwhile, over at the NYT, Maureen Dowd manages to get Trump to admit it was a mistake to retweet the Heidi Cruz photo and perhaps allow that his campaign manager should have apologized to the Brietbart reporter he yanked around.
Dowd is way more fair to Trump than she is to Hillary Clinton. That shouldn’t surprise anyone who is familiar with Dowd’s oeuvre.
Anyhoo, discuss whatever!
WereBear
I’d worry Trump is losing ground with these shenanigans, but then I remember his fans.
Germy
My wife had a simple diagnostic test last month (the one you’re supposed to have when you turn 50) and they gave her versed. Now she’s complaining about forgetting things.
I wish they hadn’t given that to her, because she’s always been somewhat absent-minded, and I worry about her health. Why do they insist on these memory-erasing twilight drugs?
Another Holocene Human
Is anybody researching why there are so many more passenger rail crashes recently? The Palmetto crashed in the NEC, two backhoe operators killed. (Why were they on live, HSR tracks?)
I suspect it’s the last 30+ years of bullshit, people hold jobs less time with less power and less pay, so there is much, much less focus on worker safety (and safety of the public suffers as well). Industry old timers tell me there used to be armies of workers on the railroad. With automation, they’ve cut back. I feel like we’ve had a lifetime of ugly crashes in only a ten year period.
Another Holocene Human
My own employer says safety is part of its mission, but that is a dirty lie.
Another Holocene Human
@WereBear: Never mind SNL, Trump said loads of stupid shit today alone. He never pays a price for this.
Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)
@Germy:
WTever-lovinF? why on earth would they do that?
p.a.
@Another Holocene Human: Also too, Amtrak= liberal/Yurp/s0kialism= cut funding. (all passenger rail= liberalyurps0kialism)
Zippity
@Another Holocene Human: I’ve come to believe that Trump supporters overriding motivation is “Fuck you-you can’t tell me what to do!” The more the “establishment and elite” (meaning anyone they think is smarter than they are) try to reason with them, the more they dig in their heels and put their fingers in their ears and say, “la la la, I can’t hear you!”
Schlemazel (parmesan rancor)
@Another Holocene Human:
Years ago I worked on a loading dock, we got a lot of safety lectures & posters and constant reminders about safety. We had to sign a form saying we had gotten all of that. Then, when the work needed to be done we were expected to ignore safe & go for faster. Of course people got hurt. When they got hurt it was always pointed out that they didn’t follow the rules they agreed they had been told to follow for safety. Naturally sticking to those rules would have meant management would have been on your back & you probably would not have stayed employed. I have seen similar everywhere I worked and assume this is the case everywhere. Legally they cover themselves and it takes a lot of people standing up saying this is wrong to even get noticed.
Betty Cracker
@WereBear: I’ve worried about it too since I think he’s the most beatable Repub and could actually help us have a huge win in down-ticket races. But you’re right; if he can hang on to the 27%, which is a much greater share of the Republican base than it is of the general population, he’s got this thang…
dr. bloor
@Germy: That really shouldn’t be happening from a single exposure (I assume you’re talking about sedation prior to a colonscopy). Particularly if she had a prior history of being absent-minded, you might want to think about consulting with a neurologist to check out her memory and executive functioning capacities.
Matt McIrvin
@Another Holocene Human: Are passenger rail crashes actually up in the past decade? What statistics I’ve been able to find say the opposite. There may have been a very small uptick in just the past few years; 2012 seems to have been an unusually crash-free year.
This article from last year seems to indicate an increase in Amtrak crashes from the 1980s up to about 2000-2001, which were particularly bad, and a decrease since then.
…Ah, but further down, they show that passenger injuries have been increasing, and say the explanation is probably just that ridership is up.
Big Ol Hound
@Zippity: Exactly. I know a few Trump fans and the standard reply “fuck the politicians” he tells it like it is.
JMG
I believe the core of Trump’s appeal is simple. His voters believe that when he’s elected, they’ll be free to be just as big an asshole as he is to everyone. He’s the candidate for people worth avoiding in everyday life.
Mike R
@JMG: That has to be one of the most accurate assessments ever, good job.
Brachiator
Great SNL clip. “I’m crazy. And crazy don’t break.” Priceless.
And Kate McKinnon is about the only thing that makes me want to see the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot. In this clip, she is a delight as the incredulous interviewer.
@Zippity:
I think you miss something here. The GOP establishment has exploited their base without doing anything for them. And they don’t try to reason with them. They worry about their disobedience and increasing refusal to passively accept lies and empty promises.
Trump, for all his silliness, exposed them, and they don’t know what to do about it.
Elizabelle
Good (windy) morning, all. In happier news, Beverly Cleary is in the news, and not an obit. She turns 100 on April 12. She will eat carrot cake.
WaPost:
[Beverly was born on a farm; moving to Portland, OR came as a shock to her.]
Happy Birthday (soon), Beverly Cleary. I feel sorry for what she’s seeing on CNN these days. Moar crosswords and reading, perhaps.
WereBear
@JMG: And talk about people who don’t understand how anything works: Trump fans have got to be first percentile.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
That nice Bernie fella blamed his wife’s schedule for not releasing 8 years of tax returns on Jake Tapper’s show. So he and Trump are the last two holdouts. #FeeltheBullshit.
Matt McIrvin
…The stats in that other article exclude railroad-crossing vehicle collisions: here’s a table of those. Looks like collisions were decreasing until about 2009 and the numbers have been pretty flat since then.
debbie
@WereBear:
Don’t worry, he’s got this. An aol headline this morning announced Trump’s fearful there will be a second recession. That’ll keep his minions glued to his hip.
WereBear
@Elizabelle: I adored those books, and I still remember iconic moments from them.
Like Ramona, I learned that if I want something, I might have to make a great big noisy fuss!
Fair Economist
@Germy:
So the doctors can screw up without consequences.
Versed haze does tend to improve over a couple of months.
Zippity
@Brachiator: I 100% agree with your comment. These are people who would be helped by the democratic agenda, but can’t bring themselves to join them. They don’t have the capacity (or desire) to understand cause and effect-and just want some that says they’ll fix it.
Mike in NC
If you’re in a supermarket checkout line, note that Drumpf’s ugly mug is on the cover of this week’s People magazine. Evidently none of the vile Duggar clan were available for a photo-op.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
That’s a real person? I assumed that was a blonde twist on that bug-eyed Katrina Whatsits who might get litigious
Iowa Old Lady
@debbie: When are we going to hear what the DC Madam’s records show? If it’s Trump, no one will care. If it’s Cruz, they will, though I suppose he could tearfully confess his sins with his wife by his side.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@WereBear: Trump can win by losing, and part of me still thinks that’s what he wants: an excuse to burn the whole thing down and go back to Mar-a-Lago. The Max Bialystok theory.
Baud
@Betty Cracker: I’m growing increasingly convinced that the GOP bigshots will deny Trump the nomination in some way. Trump will go ballistic, but I don’t think the party leaders will care.
@JMG: In other words, the same reason GOP base voters have always voted Republican.
Another Holocene Human
@Matt McIrvin: Not just Amtrak but other carriers. MetroNorth didn’t have significant incidents for years and then a bunch in a row. And in the last few years there have been ugly incidents with HSR (operator error) worldwide.
I do remember a little about the 1990s. Some very ugly Amtrak crashes but from what I recall their most infamous crashes weren’t their fault at all. (CSX also caused two horrible crashes on MARC in the 1990s because THEY SUCK.) But when something happens on the NEC (as far as I can make out), you gotta wonder. How did those folks get access to be there in the path of a train?
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Brachiator: I think the GOP establishment thinks that they haven’t exactly been lying to their voters, it’s that they live in such a bubble that they don’t know what their voters actually want.
Remember Cantor’s Labor Day tweet?
I don’t think that Cantor was clever enough to think that he could somehow fool the rubes with such a stupid remark, I think he really believed it because he never actually bothered to talk with and understand working people. Him losing his primary to David Brat only confirmed that, though it has been spun the other way. If you can’t get a reasonable number of normal working people to support you, then the insane fringe will take over.
Cheers,
Scott.
dr. bloor
@Fair Economist:
If you believe this, perhaps you should encourage him to consult with an attorney to make sure the appropriate standards of care were met.
Otherwise, you’re just trolling.
Another Holocene Human
@Elizabelle: My maternal grandmother also worked as a servant (charwoman, mostly) to help pay for college.
You can’t pay college expenses on minimum wage today. (My gm did have a scholarship, or she wouldn’t have been able to go at all. But, you know, even rent, books, etc are sky high.)
ETA: equipment/lab fees–fees are insane at state schools now–gm did Chemistry so just figure
Wag
@Germy:
I suspect the medication that you’re talking about is Versed. Versed is a rapidly metabolized benzodiazepine related to Ativan, Valium, and Xanax. Versed is gone from the body in a couple of hours. from a medical standpoint there is no way that the dose of Versed given for a colonoscopy would cause sudden and progressive memory issues. I would urge you to call bract your wife’s doctor and discuss other causes of her memory issues. Blaming a long ago metabolized medication is too simplistic.
debbie
@Iowa Old Lady:
If it were Trump, I think we’d know by now.
Chris
Toured the national monuments in DC yesterday for the first time in years.
Random forgotten goodies:
The Lincoln Memorial features the Gettysburg address and one of his inaugural speeches, including this: “Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged.” Oh, Abe. You would’ve loved the age of trolling, and fit right in.
The MLK memorial: so happy they included at least a few internationalist and anti-Vietnam-War quotes. Glad that wasn’t whitewashed.
The Thomas Jefferson memorial: first, this. “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?” Well yes, Tommy. They totally can. Thanks for asking! But then, this: “We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy, as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.” … okay, sustained. It’s a nice little moment in the middle of all these memorials; implicit message, “yeah, even we founding fathers weren’t perfect. It’s okay if you don’t like everything about us; you’re allowed to improve on our shit!”
Still, the FDR and Vietnam remain the two best memorials in my book.
Another Holocene Human
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: In the original version, Max and
MoritzLeo get their just desserts, putting on shows in prison. Now you have me wanting a Donald Trump perp walk.Roger Moore
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
That’s actually not true. Clinton is the only one who’s released her whole tax returns. Kasich and Cruz have released their 1040s but not all the associated forms that go with them. A 1040 by itself is a bare summary of the taxes; all the real shenanigans (e.g. what deductions you’re itemizing) are on the detailed forms.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
Flipping channels on the TV, nothing’s on. Ended up stopping on FS1 and seeing the last 10-15 minutes of a Bundesliga soccer match. Some black team against some white team. Score was 2-0 with white seemingly unable to keep the ball on the other side of half-field. Black pressing, pressing, pressing.
Suddenly white scores.
Score changes to 3-0.
Weird.
It’s 5-0 now with 2+ minutes to go.
Just goes to show that one shouldn’t assume a team is winning based on field position.
Cheers,
Scott.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@Roger Moore:
Oh, so just the dishonest sell out has been transparent. Thanks for the info. Also try to imagine Barack throwing Michelle under the bus like Sanders did to his wife. PROTIP: you can’t.
Chris
@JMG:
That might just be the comment of this election season.
Brachiator
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
It’s a bit of both. They lie to their voters that low taxes for the rich will sprout jobs for everyone. And they clearly believe their own BS, especially the idea that they are the only legitimate political party, and that only they should ever be allowed to govern.
But they also promised that they would defeat Obama and restore a Reaganesque paradise. Instead, gay married Mexican Chinese Muslims are coming across the border and stealing their jobs.
I had almost forgotten about this. What a train wreck. But of course, in GOP fantasy land there are no workers, only small businesses and corporations staffed by fairies and unicorns.
bystander
That SNL skit defines unfunny.
Fair Economist
@dr. bloor:
A *sedative* drug can have medical value. An *amnesiac* drug is only useful for coverups. There are lots of perfectly good sedative drugs to use. Wanting to brain-wipe a patient indicates something is up.
The drug companies currently claim Versed has no longer-term medical problems by the clever device of not studying it, and claiming there’s “no evidence”. My mom, too, got brainfried by Versed. They gave it too her when she went hysterical as my father was dying, and for months she couldn’t remember anything. She’d eat dinner with me, having an extensive conversation, and then half an hour later ask if I’d eaten dinner yet. My family was talking about institutionalizing her, which would have been problematic because apart from not be able to remember whether she’d eaten breakfast, done the laundry, been to the store, etc., she was fine – her personality and judgement were unaffected.
Fortunately the problem regressed over the next 4 months or so although she’s never recovered to where she was.
On top of the medium-term damage, some people report permanent damage. And how many people have some permanent damage but don’t notice it? Until there’s studies looking at whether Versed use is associated with Alzheimer’s or other dementias, you’d be crazy to let somebody use it on you.
ruemara
I’m not feeling too -freude-y. Fellow humans are disappointing me by even remotely considering this mam worthy of the presidency. Plus a few other candidates has my disappointment up.
Hard accept that hate is such a valuable tool, even though the evidence is right there.
Wag
Oh crap. Moderation. I used trade names for sim
Commonly abused medication in a reply to Germy’s assertion that midazolam caused long term memory issues. Please release me.
Chris
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
I think Republican elites thought they and their voters were on the same page, and they had some justification for that – in all the recent elections, the establishment candidate was the one who got the majority of the votes (Romney, McCain, Dubya, Bob Dole, George H. W). Helped make them all complacent and comfortable – and not thinking too deeply about what expectations the voters might have from them in exchange for their votes.
Baud
@ruemara:
I’m sorry.
.
.
Seriously, I sort of feeling the same.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Another Holocene Human: Now you’ve given me an earworm of “Prisoners of Love”
Amir Khalid
“The uploader has not made this video available in your country.”
I haz a sad.
smith
Another reason Trump has the asshole vote is because his supporters are used to being assholes without any consequences. Trump is “telling it like it is” the same way they do at the local bar or down at the VFW hall. They vent, the other guys nod, and that’s it. They have no clue that a president’s words have consequences and no understanding why the rest of the world is looking on this election with increasing alarm.
jacy
@Germy:
If they haven’t done a metabolic panel lately — get one done. I had the same problem, and it ended being due to a calcium imbalance. Wasn’t incredibly high, but it was high enough over time that it was affecting cognitive function. I had a moderate hyperplasia of the parathryroid, so had 90% of it removed. It’s not terribly common, but it is terribly underdiagnosed, especially for women who just crossed the 50 mark.
Best wishes for finding what’s wrong — that’s a scary, scary feeling.
Mike J
@jacy: There was just a story in, was it The Atlantic? about parathyroid. Gary Shandling had a problem with his.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Versed: very useful. Keep patients from freaking out and hurting themselves during colonoscopies and endoscopies. Given to hundreds of thousands of people a year. Somehow the majority do just fine.
Had it three times. I remember everything, including my babbling stupid shit about the antiseptic the doc was using. Does make me quite incoherent. But I remember every second of my colonoscopy.
I can only conclude people who’ve had long-term problems with it have an underlying cognitive problem and that the symptoms, which were always there, get noticed more afterwards.
jacy
@Mike J:
Once mine was diagnosed, I was amazed at how many people I met who had the same type of problem. One of the things is it’s so freaking hard to get in to see an endocrinologist that a lot of people go undiagnosed. I was lucky in that my oncologist is a really, really sharp guy and he pre-diagnosed it first and got me into see an endocrinologist. Still took 4 month, tons of imaging tests, and two exploratory surgeries to get it fixed. But once it was fixed, it was like night and day almost immediately.
Denali
@Smith,
This.
dr. bloor
@Fair Economist: So thank you for your non-response response. You’re willing to talk a big game right up to having it judged by people who actually know something about determining medical malpractice.
I’m sure Germy will find your anecdata to be very helpful.
gene108
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
The famous Lee Atwater quote on the Southern Strategy, wherein he states “You’re getting so abstract now [that] you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites” has not fully materialized for whites over the last 15 years.
By all appearances, to many whites, the whites are getting hurt worse than the blacks, because rural areas are in decline, while urban areas are on the upswing.
Plus there’s a black man in the White House, with his black family.
Therefore it is no surprise many Republican voters feel betrayed by the Party.
Republican leaders may be out of touch, but it is due to losing sight of the fact their policies now seem to, for many whites, hurt them more than the blacks, and not because of blind obedience to “job creators” that Cantor tweeted about over the interests of labor.
They GOP could still continue praising “job creators” over labor, and their base would not care, as long as blacks were clearly worse off than poor white people.
Fair Economist
@CONGRATULATIONS!:
Wait, so since you’re one of the lucky few who don’t get their memories brain-fried by Versed over the short term, those who find the (normal) short term effect persists must have something already wrong with them? Is there an award for nonsequitur of the day?
There are plenty of other sedatives perfectly good at keeping patients from “freaking out” that don’t have powerful and unknown effects on memory (the mechanism of action on memory is not understood, including why some have minimal effects.)
Gin & Tonic
@bystander: Indeed.
Gin & Tonic
@Amir Khalid: Don’t. You now have five more useful minutes today than I do.
Brachiator
I get tired of unthinking conventional wisdom. I’ve been reading that “Batman v Superman” is critic proof because of its $160 million plus opening weekend, and the false idea that only critics “hate the film.” This is sometimes true of films with big fan bases, but Bats also had a big chunk of advance ticket sales. Opening weekend was guaranteed no matter how good the movie was.
However, the Friday box office was down 81 percent over last week, and even adjusting for Thursday night receipts, this is not good. And many diehard fans have been disappointed as well as many critics. Worse, the movie may not be appropriate for young children (even though the marketing pitches toys and stuff to them). The movie will still be a success overall (hey, you get to see the DC trinity on screen for the first time), but not nearly what DC expected.
And the main point is that movie fans are not as dumb as critics (and movie studios) want to believe.
This may apply to politics as well. Trump’s main brief was promising to kickstart the economy, kick out Mexicans and kick ass in the Middle East. He seemed to make shit up to mollify religious conservatives.
His recent remarks on abortion insulted women. But the GOP has been insulting women for decades. Still, Trump’s insane statements here and his weirdly feeble attempts to walk it back not only impacts GOP women, but also religious conservatives who want their politicians to be God fearing and woman punishing.
So, the question is, will this socially conservative and religious segment of Trump supporters abandon him and jump over to Cruz? And will this significantly slow what was previously a strong march to at least a commanding plurality of delegate votes?
GOP voters are dumb, but even they have standards. And it is notable that the abortion fiasco is the first time that Trump didn’t insist that everything was just wonderful and the people love him and how about his meaty steaks. The next round of primaries could be very interesting.
NonyNony
@Iowa Old Lady:
What if its Clinton? (Nah – if it were Clinton we’d already have heard about it) or Sanders? (Also doubtful but might actually raise support if true!)
The FSM doesn’t love me enough for it to turn out to be Kasich, but man I would love for it to turn out to be Kasich. I really don’t want him winning that Senate seat from Brown in 2 years…
Hungry Joe
Re Beverly Cleary: It was fascinating to watch Ramona, who started out in a small role (Beezus’ pesky little sis), take over the show and become Cleary’s most memorable character. Cleary of course gets full credit, but it’s almost as if Ramona was sitting in her consciousness, biding her time, then broke out and RAN. Love, love, love Beverly Cleary. A great American writer.
gogol's wife
@Mike in NC:
True, but it’s a pretty unflattering shot (unlike the full glam picture of him with his whole family that they used a few months ago). I haven’t had time to read it, but the Editor’s Note made it sound as if it wouldn’t be a puff piece.
I know, here I am debating the journalistic ethics of People.
Baud
@NonyNony:
Which Clinton?
I can’t see either the premise or the conclusion being true.
Honus
@Schlemazel (parmesan rancor): oh, you mean like a union or something ?
ThresherK
“The Mouse and the Motorcycle” was a favorite of mine.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Baud: Some randos* on twitter are suggesting that Anonymous has named Ted Cruz, but I’m gonna take that with a very large grain of salt till we see some proof.
*including this guy
ETA: @ThresherK: Shazam! that’s a flashback.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: If I had to put down money, I’d put it on Cruz.
Mike J
@Baud: Is Baud’s campaign going to have to make a statement on this story? Rumor has it his perverted fetish was sipping coffee with a beautiful woman while they read the New Yorker together.
Chris
@Brachiator:
I have a much higher tolerance for crappy action movies than I probably should, and I ain’t going to see BvS.
Gex
@gene108: And of course the implication of Atwater’s quote is that the GOP is bad for everyone, but worse for blacks. Which I believe is still the case. However the white revanchist vote has voted for that option for so long now that all the benefits of the New Deal have been whittled away from the white middle and working class. They’re finally noticing the effects. And since they firmly bought into the concept of trickle down economics, they can only assume now that they are the only ones who are suffering and that suffering is due to blacks and immigrants and queers. They have no clue they did this to themselves.
Disgruntled former Baud supporter
@Hungry Joe: I loved reading Ramona, Henry Huggins, The Mouse and The Motorcycle, and others throughout elementary school. Cleary’s characters were always so realistic and believable, and their perspectives shaped the stories. So happy to hear that she is still enjoying life here in beautiful Oregon!
Baud
@Mike J:
That does sound lovely.
trollhattan
@Elizabelle:
Whoa, I had no idea she is still with us and gratifyingly, still with it. Her books were charming, I wonder how they hold up?
Brachiator
@CONGRATULATIONS!:
Then you are an outlier. From the description of the drug’s side effects:
The less common side effect: “A small minority of patients feel agitated, hyperactive or combative when taking Versed, rather than the anxiety relief and relaxation that is intended.”
Are you a doctor or medical researcher who has specifically studied this and related medications? Otherwise, I don’t see how you could reasonably make any conclusion about the drug or its effects.
Trapped in Ohio
@srv:
Wake up sheeple!++×#○
smith
I see that somebody is trying to do the Lysistrata thing vis a vis Trump’s misogyny. As the article points out, women already in relationships with Trump supporters may not be particularly moved, since they already know their sweetie is an asshole, but it could help maintain awareness among other voters of how anti-woman Trump and the whole GOP really are. I think his flailing on abortion has already accomplished some of that, forcing people who don’t want to think about the implications of the anti-choice position to face what the real consequences of repealing Roe would be.
DivF
@Mike J: sounds like Woody Allen’s “Whore of Mensa”.
trollhattan
@bystander:
If by “unfunny” you mean “terrifyingly close to verbatim quotes” then yes, unfunny it is.
Gelfling545
@jacy: another issue could be malabsorption of essential nutrients which can become an issue as we age. I’ m currently injecting B12 daily to taper off to weekly and getting iron “infused” at the hospital once a week for 4 weeks. Fogginess & inattention greatly reduced after 3rd injection. Sleeping better too.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@trollhattan: I didn’t think it was gut-busting hilarious, but it wasn’t the worst thing SNL has done, or even did last night. I thought the funniest line of the night was Vanessa Bayer’s (sp?) “anything for screen time!”
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I find this all too believable
Xenos
@srv:
Learn how to read. Then go back to sleep.
Your cites do not support your argument. Either you are a simpleton or you assume everybody here is one.
Brachiator
@Iowa Old Lady:
Despite all the tease, I would really be surprised if all the records were released. The rich and powerful tend to make sure that their privacy is not violated, especially when it comes to brothels.
Trapped in Ohio
@srv:
Well, clearly the answer is to elect Big Daddy Drumpf to nuke those nasty towlheads all the way to Allah and put the ones already here in concentration camps to be ‘relocated’. “Trust me. We’re going to have the yuugest camps this side of Auschwitz. The gas chambers will even be plated gold.” And don’t bring up FDR as some kind example of hypocrisy on my part; it was wrong then and it’s still wrong.
Wake up sheeple!!
Trapped in Ohio
@srv:
Well clearly electing Big Daddy Drumpf is the answer. He’ll nuke those rag heads all the way to Allah. Amirite?
Ella inNew Mexico
@Germy:
As an RN in ICU, I’m very familiar with its use, both for long term sedation in ventilated patients and for very short-term situations, such as for procedures and seizure activity. In small doses, it is safe and rarely causes any prolonged side effects.
The small doses of Versed that she would have received under what we call “moderate sedation” should NOT be effecting her this long, unless she is elderly or has a kidney or liver dysfunction that slows her clearance of the drug from her system. I would expect memory issues in most of my patients sedated for days with continuous infusions or who had other underlying cognitive problems, or rarely, if they had a period of prolonged oxygen deprivation during the procedure–which is highly unlikely because an RN must continuously monitor the patient when these meds are used. Something else is going on, and I agree with dr.bloor she needs to be checked out for either a neurological, cardiovascular or other issue thats impacting her.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Did she cut in line or cut off his balls?
Brachiator
@srv:
What is Trump going to do to keep these millionaires out? America should be safe for home grown plutocrats.
Also, if “wealth creators” want to come to the US, isn’t that a good thing?
Your links don’t help any point you think you are making.
dogwood
@Brachiator:
I hope none of the records are released. The lawyer in this case is a real sleaze bag. Remember the crazy guy Larry Sinclair who claimed he had sex and did drugs with Obama? Well, he was Sinclair’s lawyer and promoter as well.
Iowa Old Lady
I personally am glad to have no memory of my colonoscopy.
cleek
my wife’s had a couple instances where sedation has left her dizzy and foggy for weeks.
Mike J
@DivF: For those who haven’t read it.
Villago Delenda Est
My favorite Ramona moment: when Henry wrote to Sheriff Bob and got him on TV to tell Ramona to stop interfering with Henry’s Journal deliveries. Then suddenly Henry had another problem: a fangrrl.
lollipopguild
@Mike J: Baud can read?
Elie
I listened to CNN interview Bernie this morning. He refused to disavow anything his surrogates say and continued the rumor munging attitude that has recently characterized him. Those who support him for his high mindedness should be a little concerned if not embarrassed. I think he has passed the stage where he was just trying to make a statement with his candidacy to winning by any means possible. Yes, he is trying to hurt Hillary and therefore the next primary results will be very important in determining whether we see more of this from him or not. My contempt for him is growing where I was just not a fan before.
Villago Delenda Est
@Brachiator: Not making a point. Just being the Drumpf of Balloon Juice. The shortest of all short fingered vulgarians.
Mike J
@lollipopguild: He knows the trick of looking at the cartoons and using, “Christ, what an asshole” for every caption.
Baud
@srv:
Outsourcing pays. Why does Trump want to stop it?
@lollipopguild:
With my stature, I have people who read to me.
WereBear
Isn’t it the same thing to some?
Amir Khalid
@Iowa Old Lady:
Of the two colonoscopies I’ve had, I can remember one but not the other. They must have put me under for that one. The one I do remember wasn’t the worst medical experience I’ve ever had.
Villago Delenda Est
@Amir Khalid: The prep for a colonoscopy is by far more of a PITA than the procedure itself. In my experience, that was an absolute breeze.
raven
@Amir Khalid: When I severed my ulnar nerve last year the doc said I need the surgery to repair it quickly. I said “OK but I’m going the the beach the day after and I’m fishin”! I drove 2/3 of the way to Topsail Beach and then my bride took over. I don’t remember anything but she said I seemed normal.
lollipopguild
@Baud: I should have known. I apologize for my error Your Highness.
LAO
@Brachiator:
@dogwood:
Not only is Sinclair a scum bag, he should not be in possession of that document. IIRC, he was fired by the DC Madame. Ethically, he is not entitled to hold on to information obtained by or for a former client. If he wasn’t already disbarred, releasing this info would be cause for disbarment.
Uncle Cosmo
@Elie: Bernie was offered the starring role of a lifetime: Democratic-Socialist Moses in The Twenty-Seven Amendments, leading his people out of Egypt as the Red-state Sea parted. But the grifters running (ruining?) his campaign have bamboozled him into holding out for Pharaoh–& it ain’t gonna end well.
scav
@srv: Funny thing about short term management “styles”. Booms exist between the busts and bankruptcies. But hey! it snowed yesterday and somebody earned a buck, so climate change isn’t real and the business man is an inerrant genius in all possible endeavors and has big hands!
Mnemosyne
@Germy:
What dr. bloor said. If it makes you guys freak out a little less, one of the less serious things it could be is post-menopausal ADHD (which they now know is largely a memory problem), which is something researchers have only recently started writing about, but a neurologist would be able to do all of the proper testing.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@LAO: I know nothing about the law or the internets, but I was wondering if the whole Anonymous thing wasn’t a way of releasing it and claiming it was hacked. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo would do it that way.
and IIRC according to Rachel Maddow’s run down last week, his license was suspended for three years
Uncle Cosmo
@Villago Delenda Est: Absolutely. Schedule your next one for the morning after a costume party, & once you’ve started the day-before prep you can go to the shindig dressed as a sluice gate on the Grand Coulee Dam.
Cacti
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
You mean after months of the Bernfeelers prattling on about Hillary releasing her speech transcripts…
Jesus of Burlington hasn’t even released his taxes?
Aghast, I am.
patroclus
@Elie: I don’t agree. He somewhat separated himself from Rosario Dawson’s comments about the e-mail non-troversy and said he wasn’t going to make an issue out of it and he admitted that both his and Hillary’s campaigns have accepted contributions from individuals that work in the energy industry. And he was thus far less pointed about his criticisms than his surrogates and on-line supporters. (On the other hand, by not running a campaign in which his supporters and surrogates are on the same page as the campaign does come off as a little two-faced).
For me, the definition of “hurting Hillary” is whether his attacks can be used by Republicans against her once the primary season is over. His criticisms (accepting contributions from people who work in American businesses) don’t really, in my view, meet that definition; his surrogates and supporters attacks, however, do. He’s walking a fine line which he usually doesn’t cross over, but his surrogates and supporters do.
Elie
@Cacti:
But he said not to worry cause there is nothing there and nothing has changed. Ok — got it.
Like Uncle Cosmo said upstring, he has gotten his head turned around though his personality probably would enjoy damaging Hillary to make himself more righteous… He is very much a narcissist and there are probably some interesting stories about him over the years… Like Nader… the self righteousness is an end in itself and feels good. Persecution might make him feel even better.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@patroclus: I’ve come to despise him, but I will say he gets genuinely irritated by focus on process and campaigning. But I would suggest to him, if here were listening: that if you don’t want people to ask about your surrogates and your rhetoric…. Stop. Fucking. Harping. On. The Fucking. Speeches. Talk about why we need to break up the banks, not just regulating. Stop calling Cinton the Whore of Goldman Sachs.
LAO
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I stand corrected re: his being disbarred. As usual, Ms Maddow is correct. But if he leaks this info (especially after going through the courts seeking permission to do so) he will be disbarred. The attorney-client privilege is sacrosanct. (There are a few exceptions, which I will not geek out and explain because none of them apply). And it has to be because lawyers can’t do their jobs unless clients are forthright with us. In return, clients have to be assured that their secrets are safe, even when the professional relationship ends.
It may work in a fictional world, but as a criminal defense attorney – our obligation is not to society but to our clients, both current and past. No doubt this is one of the many reasons we are generally considered to be scumbags.
On a lighter note, there’s baseball on! Yay, opening day!
Elie
@patroclus:
Sorry — your surrogates are your campaign. If the buck doesn’t stop with him, who should it stop at? Is this how he would run his administration? Nope, I didn’t hear the interview like you did. I saw a guy trying to have it both ways.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I think Hilary feels the same way. I watched her interview with Rachel, and Hillary was much more animated and enthused talking about policy than about the primary process.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@LAO: sounds like he’s a true crank and either thinks he won’t get disbarred, or doesn’t care. I don’t know if the fancy Montgomery Blair pedigree comes with a trust fund.
And go [all posters insert name of preferred sports ball team engaging in competition today]!
Baud
My surrogates are top shelf.
gene108
@Chris:
I like comic book movies. I think Greenlantern was underrated.
I thought Batman versus Superman sucked.
Bad acting, bad direction, bad script, etc.
Save your money.
Cacti
@Elie:
It was a howler when Susan Sarandon said that Bernie has no ego (during her vote for Trump) interview.
Dude refers to himself in the third person. You can see his ego from outer space.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Baud: if you make me Commerce Secretary (I figure that’s the closest to a ghost post in the cabinet), I’lll go on the Maddow show and say I’d vote for Harold Stassen’s rotting corpse before notBaud. If you can get me on the Maddow show.
smith
Funny — I’ve seen speculation that Trump’s reluctance to release his full taxes is because he doesn’t want his supporters to see how little he actually makes. I wonder if Bernie’s reluctance is because he’d rather we didn’t find out how much he actually makes?
Elie
As for Trump, he is right on time with my “prediction”. He is wobbling and the wobble will increase. He is tired and getting more tired. His thinking is worsening and will become worse yet. Sooner or later he is gonna let a big one get out that will definitely seal the impression that he is truly incompetent to be running for president, much less becoming president. He is NOT Burlesconi, who while narcissistic, was not as unhinged. More chaos ahead….
dogwood
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The fact that Maddow is hawking this story tells me a lot about how much she has willingly become a part of the problem. Her best role was as a guest where she could use her intelligence and quick thinking skills to add some good liberal balance to a panel of conventional wisdom parrots. Hosting her own show, you get too much DC Madam stuff.
Elie
@smith:
Its also who/where the dough has come from, is my guess… The so called “sources of income”, some of which might be embarrassing.
Mike J
OK, we can pack up the Democratic party now. No need for it. The RNC has hired a guy to talk to black people. Obviously they’ve solved the problem of racism.
Baud
@Cacti:
Baud! doesn’t hold that against him.
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
It would help if you had a list of big shots who frequent DC prostitutes.
dogwood
@LAO:
The lawyer is Blair Silbey. Larry Sinclair was his repulsive client.
Mike J
@Elie:
A check for $300 from Ted Cruz for that one night? Cruz’s fetish is being scolded by a socialist.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Elie: I hit mute when he comes on my TV, even though I do have a persistent fascination with the way he talks, at once so simplistic and grandiose, incoherent yet almost always managing to hit his marks for the howler monkeys…. but does he still seem to be having fun? The guy who tormented Jeb right out of the race was having more fun than a cat in his prime with a fat, terrified mouse (I admit my view may be skewed that contempt for Jeb is probably the only taste Trump and I share).
redshirt
@Elie: Your lips to Pasta’s ears. Hopefully Trump’s meltdown happens after a bitterly contested convention and it’s too late to turn back.
debbie
@Mike J:
Googling around for more on your story, but had to stop from laughing too much at statements like this:
Cacti
@smith:
I think that could have something to do with it.
I think it might also show that he and the missus aren’t particularly generous with their charitable giving.
Kathleen
@Elizabelle: Elizabelle, thanks so much for the link! I shared it on Facebook and tagged my daughter to make sure she would read it. She absolutely loved reading Cleary’s books when she was growing up (Judy Blume’s as well).
LAO
@dogwood: I knew I should of googled and not relied on my memory. Correction noted.
NonyNony
@gene108:
Everything I’ve read so far said that the acting was decent, but that the script gave the actors nothing to work with and the direction almost went out of its way to make it hard for the actors to act. Did you have a different impression?
When I saw Man of Steel I thought that both Amy Adams and Henry Cavill were doing their best to work with what they were given, but what they were given was just awful (unlike Michael Shannon and Russell Crowe – both of whom I thought just gave up and were phoning in their performances for most of the movie).
Watching “Watchmen” and “Man of Steel” was enough of a warning to me to stay away from “Batman v. Superman” until the reviews, and the reviews pretty much confirmed my expectations.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Id’ be stunned if there’s anything at all in BS’s taxes filings. I suspect it’s just one more rite he thinks is silly so he thinks he can blow it off.
@dogwood: Larry Sinclair who said Obama was his lover? That guy?
Huh, maybe Bubba is the mystery name in the files
I still like Maddow, and I admit this is kind of a fun story to me, but I agree she’s giving it too much time and attention. Ditto the Alabama gov thing, though I suspect it’s the “traditional values!” rhetoric from this clown that makes that story seem like more than gossip to her. To me, rightwing hypocrite caught with his pants down is dog-bites-man, and since he’ll be succeeded by someone with a near identical ideology, I can’t get that worked up about it.
NR
@Elie:
So you’re going to blame Hillary for Gloria Steinem insulting thousands of young women by saying that young women who support Sanders are only doing it to meet boys, right? Or does this “let’s hold people responsible for what other people say” standard of yours only apply to Sanders?
Iowa Old Lady
@srv: That’s heart-stoppingly terrible.
Cacti
Sanders campaign attempts to retroactively steal the Clark County, NV caucus, with an assist from the local Bernfeeler DNC credentialing chair:
Back story at link
Video at link
Elie
@redshirt:
I think others are starting to question his mental competence..
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum
though there is not yet a complete acceptance that he is for sure, ” around the bend”. Question: Are his lies just the manipulations of a narcissist or something else? He is becoming more and more tired and his inability to deal with all the many questions from so many sources coming at him is not just “shoot from the hip”.
I had to put in the URL since putting in the link to a word did not work.
Roger Moore
@Cacti:
Yeah, it’s a pretty stark comparison. Trump has released nothing, claiming he can’t because he’s being audited. The claim he can’t because he’s being audited is bullshit, but at least he’s admitting that he isn’t releasing anything. Kasich, Cruz, and Sanders have released 7, 4, and 1 year respectively, but only of their 1040, not of their complete return; that’s a lame way of pretending to be transparent while actually not revealing all the details. In contrast, Clinton has years of her complete tax returns on her campaign website, and she and Bill have been releasing their complete returns since before he won the presidency, so they have at least 25 years of records available for scrutiny. One of those candidates is being open, and the others are not.
Roger Moore
@Baud:
As opposed to the well “surrogates”.
Elie
@NR:
Yes. Hillary had to take responsibility for that. And yes, it hurt her campaign for a while.
BTW, how do you think that works when the person is President? Unless the person is fired or resigns, the President takes the fall.
scav
@Iowa Old Lady: It’s the short-term focus, rather like a those venture capitalists that swoop in, buy a company, load it with a lot of loans, drive it into the ground and swoop out before bankruptcy, having raked up all the cash. It’s oure modern capitalism, and the US has a lot of assets to strip. I always thought one business SOP fashion to raise cash / cut the burn rate is to sell off the financially negative states. Or, rather, lease them to foreign nations. The Leasing-nation gets to set the business-regulations, environmental and wage regulations (combo of state’s rights and cash=voice & votes) and take over state management (shinking govt! and getting it in the hands of the holy businessmen) and thus theoretically does all the job-creatin boot-strapping etc blah blah magic. Benefit for the leasing nation is lowered transport costs and they get to slap a “Made-in-USA” label on the products. Mississippi, Owned by Mitsubishippi.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@dr. bloor: Thank you. As I often mention, IANAMD*, and even I know Versed is a completely appropriate standard of care for such a diagnostic test. People have different recovery rates from any kind of anesthesia, FWIW (note disclaimer in preceding sentence).
Funny – to some perhaps – Versed story. I had a surgery once, performed by a doc who did his own surgery. In pre-op, the nurse asked me who was there with me that my doc should report to afterwards; I told her no one was, but he should call my parents with the report of survival. I was pretty well out after the Versed. Next thing I know, my doc is tapping my shoulder
Doc: Bella, What’s your parents” phone number?
Bella: Shit,(? recollection 2o years on, but completely plausible)man – I’ve already have Versed and you expect me to be coherent?
Doc: (patiently but probably while rolling his eyes) You’re always coherent, Bella. (now sounding slightly impatient). What’s your parents’ phone number?
I must have recited it correctly because my mother later said “your doctor sounded very nice when he called after your surgery.”
He and I laughed about that whole series of events at my last visit. The kind of thing that can happen in a 30 year doc/pt relationship.
* I will not (in this thread) discuss any other graduate degrees I may or may not hold.
Elie
@NR:
And Steinem also apologized as did Marilyn Albright. Who made her do that do you think? Did Bernie ask Saranwrap or Dawson to apologize? Nope.
Parmenides
I think we have to be a little clear on how this whole Hillary vs Bernie plays to the normals. Bernie Sanders gets about 1/100th the press that Trump does, and random internet guy gets none. Bernie keeps making process arguments against Hillary and Hillary is annoyed with the implication. No one who isn’t obsessed with campaigns cares. And because it isn’t being shoved in the their face like Trump they won’t know much about it. Thus, Bernie isn’t hurting Hillary in the general. If he was then all the crap that Hillary’s campaign threw at Obama in 08 would have done something and it didn’t.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Elie: I’ve pointed to this before, but I think if you compare his September 2001 interview with a German TV channel (11:39) with anything he’s said in the last 6-9+ months, it’s easy to draw the (serious) conclusion that he’s suffering from some form of dementia.
I think Drum’s right that it’s getting worse. It’s not surprising that as the stakes rise he becomes less able to handle the scrutiny.
Just my $0.02. IANAphysician.
Cheers,
Scott.
patroclus
Well, yes and no on the surrogates are your campaign argument. They should be, but if they aren’t, it’s an indication that you aren’t running a particularly well-disciplined campaign. Which, to me, indicates that you wouldn’t run a particularly disciplined administration. Which argues – clearly – for Hillary this time. She’s run a remarkably well-disciplined campaign this time, which is a sign of strength.
Back in 2008, she didn’t – her surrogates wandered off the reservation all the time and Obama’s didn’t. That’s one of the reasons why I was pro-Obama then and and pro-Hillary this time.
What’s remarkable to me is that, so far, she has almost completely resisted the temptation to go negative on Bernie in any significant way. Which she’s certainly capable of, but which she’s been resisting. That, again, is a sign of strength to me. I’ve been very impressed by her campaign this time.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Wag: This. As was previously noted by someone who knows about such things. Or perhaps a couple of people with the background, training, and experience to offer an informed explanation.
Germy, I’m sorry to hear your wife noting memory issues. IANAMD, so I have little advice to offer. I’ll note my memory degraded slightly in my early-ish 50s, but I have some neuro issues that could be more responsible than general decline due to age.
lgerard
I love how Republicans are so concerned about Trump ruining their convention
but are totally unconcerned about his ruining the country
Elie
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
Yes, I see the difference. Amazingly, however, he wore suits with shit tailoring then as now! Man, he is so rich and yet he has the worst fitting suits! They don’t fit him in the shoulders! Not important but its surprising to me….
lollipopguild
@Roger Moore: Bottom shelf surrogates are on sale 2 for the price of 1.
Kathleen
@lollipopguild: Maybe Baud could get a “surrogate” deal on Groupon?
scav
Speaking of modern capitalism and strong-arm national govenment, Pute-Pute-Putie is apparently having a bit of fun: Revealed: the $2bn offshore trail that leads to Vladimir Putin.
lollipopguild
@scav: This is exactly what Trump will do when he takes over as our GodEmperor. You put this perfectly!
debbie
@patroclus:
Define significant. That viral video of her jabbing her finger at the Greenpeace protestor and complaining about Sanders’ lies seems significant to me.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Elie: I think he wears such huge jackets in an attempt to hide his giant gut. Notice that one never sees him without it…
I’m sure his clothes cost a fortune – the tailoring is very deliberate.
Cheers,
Scott.
lollipopguild
@lgerard: It is the GOP’s job to destroy the country, and so far they are on task.
patroclus
@debbie: Significant = paid political advertising/major component of stump speech. Insignificant = rope-line out-take.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@LAO: Fuck opening day, now that it’s been ruined by MLB changing the proper tradition of the first game of the season. Not that I’m bitter. :)
Mnemosyne
@Fair Economist:
Wait, what? I freely admit that I am not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to substitute Versed for Valium.
That’s where your malpractice is, not in giving it to people for their colonoscopies or other medical procedures. Jesus.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@debbie: Not everyone can maintain the Buhdda-like calm and equanimity of St Bernard of Willsee
Villago Delenda Est
@srv: Short term stupidity. Pretty much what I expect from morans like The Donald, and you.
debbie
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
Dementia, or maybe just very, very tired from the grueling schedule?
One side bitches about pantsuits; the other about chintzy suit tailoring.
You know, there are comments in this and other threads that I’d expect from RWNJs. Democrats are supposed to be better than this.
debbie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Neither can claim Buddha-like calm. That’s the point.
Mnemosyne
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
Yes, but it doesn’t matter how much Trump spends on his suits because Hillary spent
$600$1200one million dollars! on her cut, color, and highlights, which means that any appearance-related expenses by any male candidate are completely irrelevant and can’t even be spoken of.Keith G
@debbie:
Well to you….
But in the world of political discourse as we have known it, that was barely a tap and certainly nothing that raises to the label of “attack”.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@patroclus: How about an April 2, 2016 e-mail from Jeff Weaver?
“Hillary is bought by a small number of millionaires and billionaires” is the clear message. That’s not “negative”?
Bernie’s campaign knows they’re continuing to feed the “She’s Corrupt™” meme. They’re not trying to hide it. It would be nice if more people would recognize that Bernie is playing politics and that he’s not some pure and “invincible” (as one fan put it) savior who can only lose via some Corrupt™ process (not due to actual lack of votes)…
My $0.02.
Cheers,
Scott.
Mnemosyne
@debbie:
I can’t remember, were you around for Highlightgate a couple of days ago? Apparently Hillary’s hairstyling expenditures tell us something deep and important about her priorities as a candidate and her values as a politician. Hence the reason why several of us are pointing out that no one ever bothers to examine the appearance-related expenses of the male candidates.
Brachiator
@Elie:
Neither Sarandon nor Dawson are surrogrates. They are not connected to or work for the Sanders campaign. They have no need to seek Sanders advice for their statements, nor can he make them apologize.
Steinem isn’t quite a surrogate. But she is one of the most notable and respected representatives of the feminist movement. Her remarks were beneath her, and sounded like someone who cared more about Hillary Clinton than all women.
Albright is a surrogate. She knows HRC and has a vested interest in and contacts with the campaign.
dogwood
@Elie:
I don’t think your surrogates are your campaign necessarily, but I do believe surrogates take cues from the candidate concerning what will and won’t fly. Every candidate has surrogates who say dumb stuff. When Palin was named there were Dems on tv talking about her pregnant teenage daughter. Obama was on camera within the hour putting and end to that. I know what Bernie’s political beliefs are, but I don’t know what his personal values are. I’ve seen nothing in this campaign that suggests Bernie is even a remotely self-aware individual. I fear his presidency would be a giant cluster fvck. You know Jimmy Carter’s presidency didn’t have problems simply because of republicans, or liberal democrats like Teddy Kennedy opposing him. He had problems with the executive branch and his West Wing staff. He was a classic micro-manager who didn’t trust anyone to do his or her job. Democrats don’t like to admit it, and he’s been a good ex-president, but as president he was a bit of a sanctimonious prick.
gene108
@NonyNony:
I don’t know where to begiin.
I am not enough of a film connoisseur to tell the difference between bad acting versus bad script.
The whole film was just bad.
The pacing, in the beginning, was so slow I got bored and wanted to wander around the theater lobby looking at movie posters to amuse myself.
There was no real coherent reason other than forcing plot elements that Batman and Superman should be rivals.
Or why Alexander “Lex” Luther learned all the secrets he did.
Or why Wonder Woman was mucking about Metropolis and Gotham, which apparently are neighboring cities like Oakland and San Francisco.
It was awful, incoherent and boring.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Brachiator: Point of order:
I thought a “campaign surrogate” was anyone that the campaign associated with in some way or other and made some statement picked up by the press. Someone on a stage making a speech or introduction for a candidate would fit in that definition for me.
Weaver wouldn’t be a surrogate (he is the campaign as long as Bernie employs him), but Dawson would – to my way of thinking, anyway.
Not that it matters one way or another when it comes to the number of delegates he gets, of course… Just something to discuss on a Sunday afternoon.
Cheers,
Scott.
Elie
@debbie:
Ok, I’ll own it. I can make trivial observations about people who are running for office and want my vote. But then I am a petty person who finds appearance to be important at some level. People like yourself who are so much better than me need to waste their time with commenting on how lowly “others” like myself can drop so low. Of course, only high minded people such as yourself should be allowed to comment here.
Mnemosyne
@Brachiator:
I think you have it backwards — surrogates are the people who do NOT work for the candidate. If they work for the candidate, they’re campaign representatives, not surrogates.
Kathleen
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): In my heart, Opening Day is and will always be the first Reds game. Unless they have another lousy season, then I waffle and waiver, for I am known to be a fair weather fan. (Have still not recovered from the heartbreak and betrayal of 2012 because I’m Irish and I hold a grudge).
gene108
@Mnemosyne:
The article our bloghost linked to was from the NY Post, a Murroch owned rag, whose relationship to the truth is suspect.
If we are relying on NY Post for news, we might as well go all in and base posts on Breitbart News and Info Wars.
In short, the “facts” about the story are suspect due to the source.
Walker
@NonyNony
Zack Synder decided from the very beginning that he wanted the famous confrontation scene from The Dark Night Returns. He also wanted the most famous scene from the Death of Superman.
The rest of the movie is written to reach those two scenes and to fit them together, somehow. However, it is poorly written with no motivation at all. The characters all drink stupid juice. As a result, these famous scenes lose all of their emotional power, negating their entire purpose.
The best review of why the movie is bad is Rob Bricken’s spoiler review.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@debbie: My comments were in response to someone pointing to Drum’s recent post. Though I’ve brought up the video before, I don’t believe I’ve harped on it here.
As I said, I think there’s something [wrong] with his brain and given evidence for why I’ve felt that way. I don’t think tiredness explains things like his abortion comments back and forth over the past few days.
A candidate’s health, mental faculties, obesity, etc., seem to be worth talking about to me. Trump takes great pride in his appearance and wealth. It’s not unfair to use his own measuring stick against him.
YMMV. :-)
Cheers,
Scott.
Elie
@Brachiator:
The point was that both people who made statements seemingly on behalf of the candidate, or as advocates for that candidate, apologized. Thanks for the other corrections.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
Does anyone here suspect that Trump’s refusal to release tax information is the one (I that I suspect that ) Romney had – that repatriation of foreign accounts during the amnesty period would show? Or is the current fashion, if you will, to expect candidates to release only a few years’ returns prior to election year?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
My memory’s not that clear, but it sounds right to me. Just a couple of months ago he popped off about foreign policy (Syria, I think), implying that if Obama were as smart as JC, this would all be resolved by now. Not uncommon among those who were in/close to/thought they should be in the Oval Office. Chuck Schemer’s blather of last year about how Obama should have waited on HCR; Walter Mondale of all people successfully reminding some reporters he’s alive to make remarks about teleprompters, proving that old men with too much time on their hands all eventually turn to FoxNews (Jimmy should invite him down to a Habitat site). Bill Clinton probably has a mock up of the Situation Room in the basement in Chappaqua where he conducts meetings with cardboard cut-outs of his old team, like Kramer with the Merv Griffin set.
Anya
Why did I think Charles Barkley was a retrograde? He’s on CNN talking about his disappointments and political views. I was pleasantly surprised that he’s agianst the North Carolina’s anti-LGBT bill.
debbie
@Mnemosyne:
Oh, believe me, I remember it. Men are pigs and not just in politics. I get ticked whenever I hear another RWNJ make fun of her pantsuits (and recently, they’ve taken to accusing her of wearing a wig), but then to hear a woman making fun of Trump’s suits lowers the bar we’re all supposed to be above.
Along the same line, if a man said what Madeline Albright said, there would be storms of outrage. The faint chiding I’ve heard from other women is just more of the same: women doing to women what men would do to women.
All I can say is when Baud takes over, his first act better be to shorten the campaign season.
Keith G
@Elie:
Why….just…just why?
Surrogates? Really?
There is enough differences about policy as well as differences in the ideas mechanics of governance between these two that we shouldn’t have to waste time on the likely most superficial aspects of this campaign.
The name calling that goes on here as well as the reliance on the most trivial of argumentation is thin gruel.
I know this is Balloon Juice, but it would be better if we could up the game around here a bit.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Anya: In the pre-Bush years, he was Republican. He liked to tell the story about his mom yelling at him for voting R: “They’re just for the rich people!” “Mom, I’m really, really rich”.
at least he admitted it, didn’t pretend James Madison visited him in his sleep like Kelsey Grammer
Mnemosyne
@gene108:
You know that, and I know that, but there were people here who were seriously arguing that Hillary’s hairdressing expenses say something deep and true about her as a person and a candidate, and they were continuing to keep it up as late as yesterday. It’s ridiculous.
Elie
@debbie:
I skipped by your comment on Trumps possible dementia in my comment. Trump’s behavior under stress — his comments are not trivial and to me betray more than tiredness. I think its an open question which I have brought up before on other threads. His mental state is central to competency. All the candidates are getting tired. Few have the memory lapses and poor ability to organize their thoughts to the extent Trump has. Of course we will see how this holds up, but its not a trivial, throw away comment.
debbie
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
Nah, I think his problem is that he’s an as*hole. Plain and simple.
If you have an hour, you might want to listen to this week’s Harry Scherer’s Le Show. It’s devoted to an interview with David Cay Johnston’s thorough researching of Trump. After listening to it, you might agree with me.
Cacti
@Brachiator:
Rubbish.
Did Rosario Dawson introduce Sanders because she just happened to be in the neighborhood?
And if not as a surrogate, what was the purpose of Sarandon’s presence at the Nevada Caucuses, since she’s not a registered Nevada voter?
Elie
@Keith G:
Well Keith, you and debbie are just so much better than me, I guess. Glad to have you guys preachin the right way to us lower caliber folk. Tsk tsk tsk, the commenters these days — just not up to standards in the past.
Anya
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: He sounded like he voted for Clinton and Obama. He said he likes John Kasich which makes me side eye him. How can you talk about economic disadvantaging of the poor and then in the next sentence say you like Kasich. He said the current candidates (HRC and Sanders) don’t inspire him the way Obama and Clinton inspired him.
Mnemosyne
@debbie:
I totally disagree (obviously). You can’t point out a double standard without applying the standard to show how ridiculous it is. And the fact that the Highlightgate pushers have been totally silent when I specifically asked them about Trump’s appearance-related expenses only shows that they know they’re applying a double standard.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@debbie: I’ve just received an urgent email from counsel for pigs. I’ve discovered that she both reads Balloon Juice and has my email address. As you might imagine, a retraction of and an apology for your unfortunate and defamatory comparison will be appreciated.
debbie
@Mnemosyne:
Agreed. That’s what they do, and it’s wrong. I’m just saying we shouldn’t.
Mnemosyne
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:
George Clooney is a strong Democrat who has been talking about retiring from acting so he can follow in Al Franken’s footsteps and run for senator from his own home state of Kentucky. Are we really supposed to make him into the enemy now? And is making millions from your acting, writing, and directing work morally the same as Romney making millions from laying people off and gutting companies?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Anya: I’m surprised Barkley voted for Bubba, I thought those were his prime Republican days.
Kasich, with a lot of media help, has done a good job of selling himself as a moderate, and he did expand Medicare, but as I like to say he was Paul Ryan when Paul Ryan was finishing Atlas Shrugged for the first time. One reason I don’t fear him as a GE candidate is that he not only believes he can and should undo the New Deal, he thinks he can sell it. Ryan is canny and slippery enough to run away from his own budget. And from what I gather the Republican establishment hates Kasich as much as the media establishment loves him.
Anya
The longer this campaign goes the more Sanders loses me. I was planning of voting for him in the NY primary but I am not only going to vote for HRC but I am also volunteering for her campaign.
debbie
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):
Okay, then they’re stink bugs.
Eric U.
I have been resisting installing greasemonkey and troll-be-gone for quite some time, but if this shit keeps up after California, I’mna give up.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Anya: I write it off to the fact that he’s still really rich and often forgets that most people are not. And in fact, many of them are frightfully poor. I’ll give anybody side eye for commenting about Kasich positively.
Keith G
@Elie: Well that one way to interpret it, but that would not be accurate.
It was not intended as a dig at you. It was a sign of the frustration caused by the fact that often comments veer into inane areas. The space between Sanders and Clinton is rich with important topics begging for attention. Yet, there are folks concerned with Berniebros or whatever the mirrored topic is.
So when the typing turns to Saradon, Dawson, Albright and Steinem, I think time is being wasted.
When my mother used to used that ploy, I would gingerly chide her that she really wasn’t making much of a point – as I stood beyond the reach of her Irish backhand.
Baud
I hope the media doesn’t find out how much I paid for my Brazilian….
Totes worth it though.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Anya: for a long time I said I would vote for Clinton but not donate. Two months ago I was still thinking that way. I made my first donation on the 31st and I’m gonna sign up for a regular monthly contribution. Negative partisanship is a helluva thing. I’m pretty much counting on it this year.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Kasich expanded medicare solely to cover state budget issues – shockingly caused by GOP voodoo economics. Didn’t stop me from working my ass off to help get it done, and I’m glad he leaned on the right people to make it happen, but I’m not at all fooled about why he did. There was no humanitarian impulse behind it whatsoever. And I’m stealing ALEC when Paul Ryan was still reading Atlas Shrugged for the first time.
@debbie: Perfect! Counsel for pigs and I both thank you. And I will also use that, with appropriate credit.
Mnemosyne
@debbie:
I’m not sure how else you make it obvious that Highlightgate is ridiculous, though.
dogwood
@Anya:
For a lot of people voting is like that. They need to be inspired to get motivated because they aren’t really interested in issues.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
.
That makes sense, it was kind of surprising. I’m sure you’ve heard that story about how he yelled at the owner of the AZ Cardinals (?) when she criticized him for that. He said something about “I don’t know about you lady, but I’m a Christian!” Apparently a lot of Republicans have been told they’re not as good a _____ as John Kasich. Another sign of media love, perhaps, that more of those stories aren’t floating around.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Jamelle Bouie has really drawn some morons to his twitter today…
So….
Feathers
@Germy: If she’s always been absent-minded, you should probably consider whether or not she has been living with an undiagnosed case of ADHD. I wasn’t diagnosed until I was nearly 50. It wasn’t seen as something women had until fairly recently. Also, as mentioned above, estrogen is protective in terms of memory and cognitive functioning (part of the reason why women get post-partum depression, without other depressive history). I know that the hormone shifts at the onset of menopause can worsen ADHD symptoms.
That is where I would start. Also, sometimes just knowing that something can cause a problem can make the problem worse. My father swears, and I agree, that my mother’s worrying about the effects of not getting a good nights sleep are at this point causing more problems than her occasional short sleep nights.
J R in WV
@Xenos:
OH, very good. I was trying to write this, but couldn’t make it short and good like you have.
Thanks!
Elie
@Keith G:
Bernie or rather celebrity people who support Bernie and make high visibility statements or appearances have more responsibility. You are saying there are more important things, true. But the candidate himself aint talking about it and hasn’t apparently talked to the high profile people he has hired or volunteer for him to ask them to say such and such? They just can say or do what they want and gosh, you know, its up to THEM? Hey, if he wants to talk policy, he can turn his interviews to that at any time. If he wants his reps, volunteers or whatever you want to call them, to say specific policy points instead of throwing shade, well, he could do that. But he didn’t. So maybe the reason we are not discussing policy differences may be because he is taking his campaign to another place also.
Feathers
@Another Holocene Human: There is also the fact that rare things make the news. When train crashes were more frequent, they didn’t make the national news. Also, the news media ride the Eastern corridor train service all the time, so anything happening there is a major freakout.
If it’s on the news, it probably isn’t something you really need to worry about too much. That said, my brother works for a subway system, and he makes me promise not to ride in the first or last car on any rail transport. Not that there is real danger, just that if something goes wrong, that is the worst place to be.
lollipopguild
@debbie: The lawyer for the stink bugs is on line 1.
ruemara
@Baud: As a Baud surrogate, I encourage everyone to vote Baud. A vote for Baud is a vote for freedom, justice, chocolate marshmallow Peeps and kittens. Hillary is both a communist and a randian corporatist. Vote Baud!
lollipopguild
@Baud: Bikini wax?
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Oh he’s a totally sanctimonious Xtianist. Not a supporter of many of the policies I’m given to understand the man named Jesus promoted, but Kasich is loud and proud that he’s a “Christian.”
I may have mentioned that up close (~15 feet, which is of course closer than I’d prefer) he looks really old and worn out.
As much fun as I’m having here, I may have to step out to read a script to Mr. Q, who’s doing some VO work for a medical lecturer in Canada. This week’s clinical case studies feature T3N2M0 HER2/neu- negative adenocarcinomas. For some reason, he needs some assistance with pronunciation of words like some of those above. As well as costodiaphragmatic and pleurodisis, among others. They all seem pretty straightforward to me!
The guy likes his work enough that he preferred to wait until some technical recording issues were addressed than hire someone else, so apparently I’ve coached him well. I’m going to put a profile up for myself and also audition for some audiobook narrations, since I have professional announcing experience. But enough about me. I hope everyone has a delightful afternoon.
J R in WV
@Elie:
Both your link on the word others and the url you posted seem to work the same. So, no. You did make it work OK. No offense! It does work, tho.
;-)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Apparently Ted Cruz’s killer laugh line in WI is “Now if you look at the Democrats, they’re trying to choose between a wild-eyed socialist”… pause with douchey, self-congratulatory grin to let everyone know The Funny is coming…. “and Bernie Sanders”
Bernie’s comedy hook is increasingly belabored sarcasm about The Speeches.
dogwood
@Feathers:
Worrying about sleep is extremely stressful. I have never functioned well on minimal sleep. It was never a problem until I hit my mid-50’s and started getting hampered a bit by the family curse of arthritis and the typical problems that plague women of that age. There isn’t anything government could do to improve my quality of life that would ever be as effective as being able to sleep like a teenager once a week.
dedc79
@scav: John Le Carre’s novel “Our Kind of Traitor” is looking more and more like non-fiction.
dogwood
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Bernie isn’t a funny guy.
Brachiator
@Mnemosyne:
Albright does not work for HRC, but obviously has connections to the candidate and the candidate’s staff.
Dawson and Sarandon are ultimately overly enthusiastic celebrity supporters.
It’s not that different from back in Hamilton’s day.
J R in WV
@Anya:
Good for you!
I’m voting for (and contributing to) Hillary, but our primary is in May, and I very seriously hope all is firmly settled in Hillary’s favor by then!
Davebo
@dogwood:
I’m very close with someone that experienced the same issue and it turned out to be a thyroid issue. With the right medication (albeit expensive) the issue was resolved.
StellaB
@Fair Economist: I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your father. Your mother’s memory problems are classic symptoms of both poor sleep and grieving. It’s doubtful that a dose of a short acting IV benzodiazepine would have an effect after more than 24 hours. She must have been very, very upset to have received IV medication as it was.
Mrs. Germy needs to find out what’s really behind her memory issues and not assume that the problem is a dose of long-gone medication.
StellaB
@dogwood: I fixed the post-menopausal sleep problem with a magic little patch. It took about a week to start sleeping again, but those first few days of catch up sleep were glorious.
Elie
@J R in WV:
Hmmm — I didn’t see it highlighted like the link worked…
Elie
@StellaB:
Good advice. Seconded here, for what its worth, Germy.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Mnemosyne: I’m not sure who you mean by “we” in your reply.
Just to be clear, I was quoting an e-mail I got from Jeff Weaver – Bernie’s campaign manager.
I like George. I liked his father (Nick Clooney – a news anchor, etc., in Cincinnati). I liked his aunt Rosemary. I like George even though he seems to have sold his soul to Nestle’ (based on seeing his picture hocking coffee everywhere when we were in Switzerland last year). ;-)
As we all (even Jeff Weaver) know, millionaires are limited to the same campaign contributions as everyone else – $2700. There are higher limits for parties, etc., and they can always set up their own PAC, also too. But Weaver pointing to Hillary having a fundraiser with George (another millionaire™, BTW, Jeff) isn’t evidence that she’s Corrupt™.
Jeff can only insinuate that Hillary is Corrupt™ because he knows there’s no evidence that she actually is corrupt. Since so many Bernie supporters have bought into the meme, he’s apparently going to keep doing it until the end…
My $0.02.
Cheers,
Scott.
(Who still hasn’t given any money to HRC yet.)
Roger Moore
I’m surprised that nobody has raised the biggest single strike against Sanders, and one that should completely disqualify him among the Juiceitariat: lack of pets. How can anyone consider voting for somebody who refuses to have pets?
Elie
@Roger Moore:
To be fair, Obama did not get Bo until they were in the WH
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@StellaB: I have advised my docs that they will peel that patch off my cold, dead, corpse and I got no fucks to give about data regarding how longs women should use such assistance.
Ghost of Joe Liebling's Dog
@BellaQ (if you happen to see this):
I’d be very interested in learning how people get started in voice-over work … if that’s suitable fodder for an open thread and if you wouldn’t mind sharing some advice.
(Or if email wd be a better bet, I’m Joes Dog at the mail of G.)
Thanks, either way!
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Ghost of Joe Liebling’s Dog: Underscore or single word. Will shoot you (a message!).
eemom
@Roger Moore:
He has a solid record on animal issues though, I haz been told.
Amaranthine RBG
@Roger Moore: Better not to have pets if you can’t take care of them responsibly: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_(dog)
Mnemosyne
@Feathers:
I didn’t get properly diagnosed with ADHD until I was 43, so that’s the reason I thought of it. I read a really interesting book about the emotional dimension of ADHD that had a chapter about the menopause/ADHD connection, but I can’t remember the title right now. I think there are a couple more of us late diagnosis ladies here — it’s becoming fairly common for doctors to look closely at the parents when a kid is diagnosed with ADHD and that’s one way that a lot of women in their 40s are getting newly diagnosed.
chopper
@Amaranthine RBG:
eh? what’s buddy’s story supposed to be an example of, according to that article?
Ghost of Joe Liebling's Dog
@BellaQ
Just the one word — JoesDog — that should reach me. And thanks!
Origuy
Hypothyroidism can also affect memory, particularly causing aphasia. Have someone with sudden memory loss get their thyroid levels tested.
Dog Dawg
Has anyone seen the lapel pin the Trump campaign workers wear? The weird triangle thing ?
I don’t know what to make of it but it’s bizarre.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Dog Dawg: Apparently it helps to identify Trump people from the riff-raff.
HTH.
Cheers,
Scott.