Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Squeaker” McCarthy

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

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

After roe, women are no longer free.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

People are complicated. Love is not.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

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

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

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

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

T R E 4 5 O N

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

Republicans in disarray!

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2016 / Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Compare & Contrast

Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Compare & Contrast

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From The Hill article:

…. “I want young girls and boys to come here 10, 20, 100 years from now to know that women fought for equality,” he said at the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum in Washington. Obama designated the Capitol Hill site as a national monument to honor the women’s rights movement.

“I want them to be astonished there was ever a time when women were vastly outnumbered in the boardroom or in Congress, that there was ever a time when a woman had never sat in the Oval Office.”

Without mentioning the current presidential race, Obama said he does not know how long it will take for a woman to be elected. “But I know we are getting closer to that day because of the work of generations of active, committed citizens.”…

Obama and Biden are officially neutral in the hotly contested Democratic presidential primary between Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and aides made an effort to show they’re not tipping the scales in favor of Clinton.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Obama was making a “values statement” and not a comment on a specific candidate in his speech Tuesday.

“I think the president indicated in his remarks that the country is ready for that,” Earnest said when asked if Obama is ready for a female president. “But the candidates are going to be evaluated on their values and their priorities and their agenda.”…

Always keeping in mind that this is our actual opposition:

Reader Interactions

278Comments

  3. 3.

    RaflW

    The statement from Pitt is a bit confusing. So expect open-carry, but on sidewalks on the edge of campus? Are the Pitt police going to enforce the private property perimeter?

  5. 5.

    TheMightyTrowel

    @Eric U.: There’s nothing so sinister as the shadowed profile of a puppet rising up on a grassy knoll as the sun sets

  7. 7.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Hugh Hewitt says a Cruz-Rubio ticket would put Florida in play and could win Hispanics for the GOP. I’ve seen his name around for years, never paid much attention. Has he always been this stupid? He’s apparently now an MSNBC regular

  8. 8.

    PsiFighter37

    I was at a bowling event for work and bowled the highest I’ve ever gotten, by a long shot. Those shots of Tennessee Fire were magic for me.

    PF37 +8-10 – not as lit as a Bernie Bro but getting there

  9. 9.

    tastytone

    I want future kids “to be astonished” there was a time with no female president

    My wife and I were just saying this yesterday about our incoming female spawn (ETA 9/27/16)

  10. 10.

    Doug R

    All else being equal, she’s spreading the wealth to down ticket races. That goes a long way in the OFA universe. Plus she was his Secretary of State.

  12. 12.

    Adam L Silverman

    Its actually a bit more complicated than the tweet indicates. As the Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association indicates:

    While Pennsylvania has a specific law that requires a License To Carry Firearms for the concealed carry of a firearm, and the carry of firearms in vehicles, the law is silent on the legality of openly carrying a firearm in other situations, making it de-facto legal.

    There is however a law that requires a License To Carry Firearms to carry either way in “cities of the first class”, which as defined by law is only the city of Philadelphia.

    Also, you have to have a carry permit for transportation in your vehicle where the firearm isn’t secured for transportation separate from the carrier.

    Here’s Handgun Law’s info paper regarding open carry in Pennsylvania:
    http://www.handgunlaw.us/documents/PAChiefsAssocOpenCarryGuidance.pdf
    You’ll notice that schools are a prohibited location. While I can’t demonstrably prove it, I am relatively sure that this refers to K-12 education and mirrors the Federal Law on this matter. And it doesn’t apply to universities.

    And here’s the Statute pertaining to obtaining a carry permit in PA:
    http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=18&div=00.&chpt=061.&sctn=009.&subsctn=000.

  13. 13.

    geg6

    @RaflW:

    It’s pretty complicated with the way the campus is configured. It’s the Oakland section of the city of Pittsburgh, so the public spaces are either city or state controlled (including Soldiers and Sailors, which is not. Pitt building but is surrounded completely by university buildings). The University owns many but not all buildings on the “campus.” It’s an urban campus spread out over an urban neighborhood that also houses large government and private entities. More like NYU than Penn State.

  17. 17.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @PsiFighter37: Those shots of Tennessee Fire were magic for me.

    I don’t know what that is and I’m old enough not to care. Is it like Fireball?
    Jim, FL +20

    (pounds I’m trying to lose by the Fourth of July if not sooner, not drinks that I’ve had, doubly unfortunately)

    @Capri: Also, as Hewitt seems to think, that Trump is going to sit idly by offering his best wishes to the happy couple

  20. 20.

    Amaranthine RBG

    Oh my god! Open carry?!

    That’s crazy. It’s almost like they want to turn Pennsylvania into the sort of apocalyptic hellholes that permit open carry like Vermont.

  22. 22.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Most of the Hispanics in Florida aren’t Cuban-Americans anymore. And most of them have long memories of being looked down upon by the Cuban-Americans. And even among the Cuban-Americans the younger generations are much different politically and socially form their parents and grandparents.

    And all its going to take to derail Senator Cruz with the more hardcore, and older, Cuban-Americans in Florida will be ads highlighting the fact that his father fought with and was a support of Fidel Castro. Cruz’s father wasn’t a Bautista Batista supporter who fled ahead of the revolution, nor was he a Bautista Batista supporter that fought against and opposed the revolution. He was a Castro supporter who worked on behalf of the revolution. That’s not going to play well on Calle Ocho!

  23. 23.

    LAO

    @Adam L Silverman:

    There is however a law that requires a License To Carry Firearms to carry either way in “cities of the first class”, which as defined by law is only the city of Philadelphia.

    Having spent 4 years undergrad in Philadelphia, I find it difficult to believe anyone (or law) considers philly a city of the first class.

  24. 24.

    El Caganer

    That really sucks. Pittsburgh is a great town, and doesn’t need one of its universities overrun by armed goobers from central PA.

  25. 25.

    geg6

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Universities have the ability to prohibit firearms on campus. No firearms allowed on my campus, unless you are University or local/state police. Students have been expelled for trying to bring guns on campus. Been that way since the shootings at the Old Main lawn at Penn State many years ago.

  27. 27.

    dmsilev

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Has he [Hugh Hewitt] always been this stupid?

    Yes, afraid so. :

    HH: I’m sitting in the Empire State Building. Michael, I’m sitting in the Empire State Building, which has been in the past, and could be again, a target. Because in downtown Manhattan, it’s not comfortable, although it’s a lot safer than where you are, people always are three miles away from where the jihadis last spoke in America. So that’s…civilians have a stake in this. Although you are on the front line, this was the front line four and a half years ago.

    Bear in mind that he was talking to someone who was actually in Iraq at that moment.

  29. 29.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Amaranthine RBG: Pennsylvania is (State) Constitutional open carry except for Cities of the First Class and within vehicles. The only City of the First Class is Philadelphia. From the Pennsylvania Firearms Owners Association:

    There is however a law that requires a License To Carry Firearms to carry either way in “cities of the first class”, which as defined by law is only the city of Philadelphia.

    18 Pa.C.S. § 6108: Carrying firearms on public streets or public property in Philadelphia
    No person shall carry a firearm, rifle or shotgun at any time upon the public streets or upon any public property in a city of the first class unless:
    (1) such person is licensed to carry a firearm; or
    (2) such person is exempt from licensing under section 6106(b) of this title (relating to firearms not to be carried without a license).

    There are also exceptions for private property – as in private property owners can prohibit open or concealed carry on their premises. Also, portions Section 6108 of 18 PA CS are set to expire this year and next year. If I recall correctly before I moved out of PA in AUG 2014 these are changes to equalize open carry between everywhere else in the state and Philadelphia. There is also a preemption statute on the books passed under Governor Corbett that prohibits municipalities from enacting firearms regulations that are in opposition to the state laws regarding firearms.

  30. 30.

    Anne Laurie

    @Patricia Kayden:

    Open carry at Trump’s KKK rally. Alrighty then.

    Well, I have every reason to think that the Secret Service will not allow open-or-any-other carry at the rally venue itself. (And with good reason!)

    So the problem, if there is one, will be the less-forethoughtful, angriest Trump supporters who show up with their penis icons personal protection devices, only to get told to leave it in their cars or take themselves elsewhere. The university — quite reasonably — would rather not have enthusiastic Trump-rejecting student protestors get into arguments with armed Trumpniks who’ve just been told off by jackboot reps of Tha Gubmint. Or get students who aren’t paying close attention to the election news get caught in the crossfire!

  31. 31.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman: he didn’t say so explicitly, but I took HH to be saying it was LI’l Marco who would put FL in play, and pretty clearly saying Hispanics as a whole, around the country, who would be drawn to the ticket featuring two far right first-term under-45 Senators who have each held (IIRC, hard to keep track) every conceivable position on immigration short of having Mexico pay for The Wall, vowed to repeal Obamacare (which I think polling indicates is fairly popular among Hispanics and other ethnic groups with ties to countries where gov’t health care is not a novelty or a bogeyman), and for the older generation, one is an evangelical Protestant and the other is a notorious church-shopper.

  32. 32.

    geg6

    @El Caganer:

    The problem is that Soldiers and Sailors Memorial is not technically on campus at Pitt. Campus buildings surround it, but it is not a Pitt building. Nor are the grounds, streets, and sidewalks around it part of campus. It’s a campus spread out through an urban neighborhood full of public parks and spaces, in addition to private spaces unrelated to the Univesity.

  33. 33.

    Adam L Silverman

    @LAO: I lived there for a year, or rather in the burbs (Elkins Park) and another four and 1/2 in Carlisle west of Harrisburg. I understand your point exactly. I never really understood how that phrase was applied to Philadelphia, but its in the PA State Constitution. I do know that when they were passing the firearms preemption statutes in 2012 or 2013 a lot of it was focused on the fact that Pittsburgh and other cities, not of the First Class, had decided to establish local firearms regulations at odds with those of the state. And sections of 6108 sunset this year and next, which I think, if I’m recalling correctly, is going to make Philadelphia, despite being a City of the First Class, the same as every other municipality in regards to firearms.

  34. 34.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Major Major Major Major: “Dense, diverse, urban areas” you say. Good thing there are none of those in, say, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington, or Nevada or a few dozen other states that permit open carry. Think of the carnage that would fill the streets. I mean we all remember reading about the horrific violence caused by open carry advocates in the past few years.

    Won’t someone think of the children?

  36. 36.

    Redshift

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Has he always been this stupid?

    Short answer: yes. And since doublethink is a required skill for wingnuts, he (an open GOP partisan) was a moderator for GOP debates, but they whined about how mainstream journalists were too “liberal” to be fair moderators for Democratic debates.

  37. 37.

    Adam L Silverman

    @geg6: Thanks, I couldn’t remember how school was being defined in PA. Private universities always have the ability to restrict because its private property, I couldn’t remember if that also applied to the Penn State schools and Pitt.

  38. 38.

    Splitting Image

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Hugh Hewitt says a Cruz-Rubio ticket would put Florida in play and could win Hispanics for the GOP. I’ve seen his name around for years, never paid much attention. Has he always been this stupid? He’s apparently now an MSNBC regular

    Hewitt has a track record as bad as Bill Kristol’s. They are both always wrong even when they contradict each other, which is a very difficult thing to achieve.

  39. 39.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I don’t see Rubio helping here. Everyone has largely figured out he was an empty suit with little interest in anything but social climbing. This includes a lot of the Republicans in the state.

  41. 41.

    SarahT

    @LAO: Yo ! I grew up there and…okay. Point taken. But as a New Yorker of almost 40 years now, I still have a soft spot for good old Philthy

  44. 44.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus: completely o/t – you pointed me toward a link last night that wasn’t working, for some reason. Something to do with my Joe Strummer/Shane McGowan comparison. What was it, out of curiosity?

  45. 45.

    Redshift

    @Capri:

    I thought that guy was out of his mind. I don’t get why all the right wing think Hillary is going to be a weak candidate. Are they blowing smoke or do they really think that?

    An important characteristic of being a good BS artist is the ability to believe your own bullshit. If you sincerely believe it (at least at the time you’re saying it), it comes off more convincing, or so I’ve read.

    So yes, I think a lot of them really do believe this, just like they believe that Hillary being indicted is extremely likely. They’ve worked very hard to convince themselves.

  46. 46.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    NY Daily News endorses Clinton:

    They have in Clinton a superprepared warrior realist. They have in opponent Bernie Sanders a fantasist who’s at passionate war with reality.

    Subjected to meaningful scrutiny for the first time, the senator from Vermont proved utterly unprepared for the Oval Office while confirming that the central thrusts of his campaign are politically impossible.

    ♫♫
    If I can make it there
    I’ll make it anywhere
    It’s up to you
    New York, New York
    ♫♫

  48. 48.

    El Caganer

    @geg6: My cousin and her husband live only a couple of blocks from there. Glad neither of them is Trump-curious,

  50. 50.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Three-nineteen: I fixed your link. If you’re just going to put the link in – as in the http://… just copy and paste it in and hit return. If you put it in using the link button you get a dead link.

  51. 51.

    geg6

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Penn State, Pitt, Temple and Lincoln Universities have special status in PA. They are state-related, not state universities. This gives them a special designation somewhere between private and state-owned. It’s different from how other states do things, but wholely consistent with the crazy way PA does all its business.

  52. 52.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Omnes Omnibus: Is that because of those “dense, diverse” cities in Wisconsin?

    Do you, like Major 4, think that we’d all be better off if only scattered, white, rural folks could open carry? You know, because how those “dense, diverse” urban populations just can’t seem to control themselves?

  53. 53.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman: Simon Maloy ‏@ SimonMaloy 51m51 minutes ago
    Rubio’s entire life has comprised of people giving him things because he’s Marco Rubio
    lobbying is his destiny

  55. 55.

    Adam L Silverman

    @geg6: Yep, I taught at Temple for a year. So I’m tracking. First university I’ve ever worked at that had 10 foot high, spiked, iron gates all the way around campus with 24/7 manned entry ways with metal detectors. And metal detectors at the entries to every building and all the first floor stairwell doors were locked inside and outside.

  56. 56.

    LAO

    @SarahT: I kid (sorta, maybe, not really). I’m a lifelong New Yorker (except for 4 years). West Philly was a shit hole in the late 80s, early 90s. But other parts of the city, had some charm. And cheese steaks.

  57. 57.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus: ooh…thanks, I’ll look for it. I did give the Grosse Pointe Blank soundtrack a listen this morning, btw, whilst I was taking care of other business…dunno if I’d fall in with “best soundtrack ever” but definitely good enough to make me think about watching the movie again…

  58. 58.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I think the shine is off of that apple too. The best he’s likely to get is given a stake in someone’s management group of a hedge fund or a sinecure at a neo-Con think tank. He might be able to talk himself into a full time teaching gig at FIU, where he’s taught sort of an applied seminar on politics, but I can’t imagine even with the pressure to do this, that they’d be willing to do that. Especially because FIU’s president is a Jeb Bush functionary. Unless he’s retired than some other person is now the FIU president.

  63. 63.

    Eric U.

    @geg6: was there a shooting on the Old Main Lawn? I was here for the shootings on the HUB lawn. I walked past the bushes the shooter hid in almost every weekday. We were late that day, so I drove my wife to work first and then parked on the other side of campus. Just as well, I’m not good in a live shooter situation. My wife knew the student that disarmed the shooter.

    I’m resigned to a Trump rally here in State College. Penn State main campus is a magnet for people that hate us, want to beat up college students and rape the women. Not that I’m bitter or anything. But I have proposed closing off Rte 26 over the mountain starting at 5 on Fridays and stretching until some time on Sunday afternoon.

  65. 65.

    geg6

    @El Caganer:

    My undergrad alma mater is Pitt, so I know the area well. Plus I’ve never stopped going back. The Oakland area is a major health care and cultural area for the region, outside of all the universities located there. It’s not just Pitt, but CMU, Chatham, the Main Carnegie Library and the Carnegie Museum, two large city parks, the Phipps Conservatory plus Google, the UPMC hospitals and numerous restaurants, shops and art galleries. Most college campuses are not so integrated into the patchwork of an urban neighborhood.

  66. 66.

    Aqualad08

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Has he always been this stupid?

    Oh, G-d yes… the man who brought up “gay cupcakes” at three different GOP debates has always been locked in a monumental battle with relevance and basic comprehension skills for many an election cycle… but he’ll always show up the next day with that goofy, shit-eating grin…

  67. 67.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus: “Liquid Sky,” she said defiantly. “The Long Riders”. “O Brother, Where Art Thou.” “The Commitments” “Tous Les Matins du Monde”.

    ETA: Oh, and best of all: Robert Altman’s “Kansas City”.

  70. 70.

    SarahT

    @LAO: Philly will always be Philly, for better or worse, and that’s what’s cool about it, IMHO. Also, it’s not Florida, so there’s that ;)

  74. 74.

    geg6

    @Eric U.:

    No, you’re right, it was the HUB lawn. Which is not in any way similar to what it was then. The HUB is unrecognizable from what it was back then.

  75. 75.

    BruceFromOhio

    I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of database connections cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

    ETA:

    U of Pitt warns students that tomorrow’s Trump rally on campus will be open carry. What could possibly go wrong?

    Deposits on dorm rooms for Fall semester are late?

  76. 76.

    Adam L Silverman

    I think it is important to reiterate (or, perhaps, clarify) that the open carriers are not demonstrating to get open carried made legal in Pennsylvania. Rather, per what Al Giordano tweeted, they are demonstrating while open carry to demonstrate their commitment to the 2nd Amendment. They’re not trying to get the law changed, as was the case for the past several years in Texas. They’re basically just showing up armed to show up armed. And to make sure everyone knows they’re showing up armed to show up armed. Basically its an exercise of and in narcissism.

  77. 77.

    lamh36

    Evening peeps. I’m actually almost ready for bed, but before I do, just wanted to share that I went to a screening of The Jungle Book tonight. Me and the fam, includingM Maddie were “mobb deep” (as we say in NOLA)

    I really enjoyed the movie. As a fan of the original movie cartoon I was amazed at how I STILL knew the words to both Bare Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You. Idris Elba was AWESOME as Shere Kahn, Bill Murray was PERFECT as Baloo and new young actor Neel Sethi as Mowgli was FANTASTIC. All the voice actors was really good. Fair warning, we brought along Maddie and my other lil cousin Jazzy. The movie was 3D, so that made it probably a bit more glaring than it would in 2D. But they seemed to enjoy it, but there were parts that might be too much for some kids, Jasmine is 8, but she’s on the scarier side of 8, so she did flinch a bit here and there, but overall all she was good. Basically, you know your child, so if they are they the type to get scared easily, maybe just buy the carton rather than the live action. It was a solid A for me though. Definitely worth a view.

    Me and Maddie after the movie

  78. 78.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Steeplejack: Are you really bothered by them or being sarcastic? I can’t tell tonight. Also, I find the lilac quite soothing on the eyes.

  85. 85.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @TheMightyTrowel: I read that as:

    the shadowed profile of a Muppet rising up on a grassy knoll as the sun sets

    and was confused because I like, and don’t fear, Muppets, even in shadow.

    Clowns, however, creep me out more than many murderers of my acquaintance.

    PS – Omnes, from previous thread: My grad school (as I like to call it) best bud was an applied major in cello at IU. She recognized that she didn’t have the temperament to be a performer and is a tax and bankruptcy partner in MI. The composer still slings code and occassionally does an arrangement.

  86. 86.

    Adam L Silverman

    @lamh36: Did you find the way the animals talked strange/off putting? The only real criticism I’ve seen of the movie is from people who have seen the previews and clips and found that the way the mouths of the animals move/articulate in the CGI when they talk is somewhere between strange and disturbing. Just curious.

  90. 90.

    Miss Bianca

    @LAO: Humph, class of ’87 is not so far removed from all y’all and I fail to grok the mystique. But that’s what makes horse races, as my late mamma used to say…

  91. 91.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: Okay. I honestly don’t care one way or the other. It was just that I had color, then I was asked to pick one, then I was told I couldn’t have one, then Cole asked AL what she wanted as her color, and I figured I’d play aggrieved to see who I could get a rise out of. And then I got color again. I personally like the colors as I think it breaks up the page – there’s a lot of white a grey. But its really not a big deal either way.

  101. 101.

    Adam L Silverman

    @LAO: I was born and raised in Florida, so I kind of have to object at least once. I’m pretty sure, like the other several hundred thousand things crammed into it because we don’t have a statutory referendum process, only a constitutional referendum process, its in the state constitution.

  104. 104.

    SarahT

    @SarahT: Not to imply that you’re “Florida Man”. Wasn’t meant that way at all. Unless you’re currently tweaking your brains out while driving (pants-free, of course) a stolen tractor into a Jack-In-The-Box, I mean…

  105. 105.

    lamh36

    @Adam L Silverman: I did go into it remembering you saying that, but I also saw a 3D screening. So maybe the 3D aspect makes it different, but no, I didn’t notice anything too weird about the animals and CGI.

    Seeing it in 2D might be different though?

  107. 107.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    Bragging time: I got to meet Richard Sherman (who wrote most of those songs with his brother Robert) and have my picture taken with him. He was an absolute doll, just the nicest guy you could possibly meet.

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    “Straight to Hell” (the Alex Cox movie) has the best movie soundtrack ever. The movie sucks, but the soundtrack is amazing.

  113. 113.

    Mnemosyne

    For the night crowd: my biopsy went fine, and I almost certainly don’t have the worst case scenario, because my lymph nodes look good. Thank you again to everyone for all the support — we really do have an amazing group here.

    Also, applying ice packs to your boob at regular intervals is not as entertaining as one would think.

  114. 114.

    Adam L Silverman

    @BruceFromOhio: I am not arguing with you. I think this is stupid. Moreover, I think its part of a major mis-conceptualization of many of the 2nd Amendment maximalists/absolutists that if non-gun owners just see people going about their day to day business, doing normal and routine things while carrying, then they’ll be socialized to both the idea that every day (open) carry is normal and out of their fear of firearms and those that own and carry them.

    I think the people that hold this belief seriously misunderstand why people react negatively when they see others openly carrying.

  116. 116.

    Adam L Silverman

    @SarahT: We don’t have Jack-in-the-Boxes down here anymore (that I’m aware of). I can neither confirm nor deny the rest of that description.//

  117. 117.

    Adam L Silverman

    @LAO: My six hour shift is almost over and I can hand it off to one of the other native Floridians.

  123. 123.

    Sarah, Proud and Tall

    @Davebo:

    Life and work sort of overtook me, and I keep trying to come back but failing to keep up. Mind you, this election might just be enough to piss me off and make me post. I’m halfway through a post to tell you all what happened at the Shady Pines Primaries last week. I will try to do better…

  127. 127.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Amaranthine RBG:
    Well of course it’s crazy talk. Everyone knows rural, white folks are the kind, generous, thoughtful direct descendants of the g*d goven Founding Fathers.

    I’m not altogether up to speed on this things, so perhaps kindly Dr. Silverman (or Omnes or VDE, or whoever else I’ve forgotten) will weigh in, but as I understand it, the reason military installations prohibit any kind of carry on base is because

    widespread open or concealed carry is a recipe for disaster

  130. 130.

    A Humble Lurker

    You know, I’ll vote for Hills in the general, but as a member of the female sex I kind of resent the ‘we have to vote for her because first woman president’ thing. If milestones like that were what was important, we’d have voted for McCain to have our first female vice president and/or president when he croaked out of stress. If Hillary is such a fabulous candidate, her supporters should have more reasons I should vote for her beyond the fact that we share plumbing. Even just pointing out how shitty the Republican opposition is again would be more convincing for me.

  131. 131.

    magurakurin

    @Mike J:

    I just did my part and voted for Clinton about 25 times. Chrome Incognito makes freeping a breeze….ha ha ha.

  132. 132.

    Redshift

    I just got another email about Democracy Spring; is anyone else getting those? The whole concept is really bugging me. The description boils down to: list a bunch of awful things Republicans are doing, and then declare that the problem is “big money in politics.” Occasionally with a “look, here’s a conservative and an independent who are participating, too!”

    It seems to combine two of the most annoying features of our political culture: both sides do it, and street protests that make participants feel good, but don’t effectively apply pressure to anyone.

  137. 137.

    lamh36

    @Mnemosyne: Good to hear things went well.

    As for the songs for Jungle Book, I kind already figured, they HAD to at the very least sing Bare Necessities, but I was happily surprised that the sang King Louie’s song too.

    Now I know I’m biased, but mahn…Idris Elba as the voice of Shere Khan, was amazeballs. The guys just has a voice that resonates even without the visual of him. Bill Murray as Baloo, was perfect casting…and his voice work was awesome too. All the voice actors did really well, but Elba and Murray were stand outs.

    Also too, the young kid who played Mowgli really held his own against obvious blue screen animals and characters. He was fantastic.

  140. 140.

    Steve in the ATL

    @PsiFighter37:

    I was at a bowling event for work and bowled the highest I’ve ever gotten, by a long shot. Those shots of Tennessee Fire were magic for me.

    Bowling is tricky. You want to score well enough that you don’t look like an uncoordinated loser, but you don’t want to score so well that it appears that you are actually a skilled and practiced bowler.

  141. 141.

    Adam L Silverman

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): I’m sure Omnes has his own take, but the reason for it, as I understand it, is that a negligent discharge is a huge career stopper/ruiner in what is, essentially, a zero defect military. So no leader, at any level in the chain of command/various chains of command, within a garrison/home station environment is willing to risk his or her career that one of their Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and/or Marines won’t have a negligent discharge. This is combined with the fact that we are not formally at war, the existing Authorization for the Use of Military Force is limited to very specific places, and the military in their garrison/home station environments aren’t really operational even if they’re operational units. They’re either preparing for operations or transitioning back from being operational. That’s always been my take on it.

  143. 143.

    Mnemosyne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    It should win if only for “Evil Darling”. Unfortunately, that YouTube version sounds like it was transferred from the bottom of a toilet, but you can get the general idea.

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Tasty, as always, and only about 15 cars ahead of me at the drive-thru. That’s pretty good for In N Out.

    I forgot to look and see what the Bible reference on the wrapper was — you really have to know to look for it. They usually have something better than the standard “John 3:16.”

  145. 145.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Omnes Omnibus: You’re never “too white” for kick-ass, soulful R&B, my friend. What I always appreciated about the Beatles during their “madcap mop top” phase was that they were always upfront about their love for “race” music and the black musicians who influenced them. (P.S. And owning “Shaft” means “you can dig it”, and that you’re an honorary soul brother)

  146. 146.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Omnes Omnibus: Thanks for reminding me I need to order a cd of High, Low and In Between. I made a haiku for you last night in some thread; which one is not forgotten.

    Note to all : I was not yet in junior high school when that record was released.

  147. 147.

    Adam L Silverman

    @SarahT: Nope and nope. Honestly, the gators around here are what really worry me. Where I live is still partially cypress wetland and we’ve got gators. What was funny was that I spent four years at UF doing a doctorate and two on faculty as a post-doc and never saw a gator till the week before I left! I move to Elkins Park and several weeks later they have a gator walking across the Turnpike.

  151. 151.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @The Thin Black Duke: No, I meant that I was too white and was unconsciously ignoring music I should have recognized. One of the reasons the “Two Smoking Barrels” soundtrack is good is the James Brown and Junior Murvin tunes.

  153. 153.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Sarah, Proud and Tall: Yay! You’re here. And isn’t it an awfully light aubergine?
    Lately I’ve been telling people how I stole my nym from you (they asked, most of them).

    LAO – remind me to tell you court story involving “taupe” offsite. It features the other worthless eyewitness and is moderately comical.

  159. 159.

    Adam L Silverman

    @SarahT: I don’t think the gator was walking across the turnpike in Elkins Park. If I’m remembering it was out towards/past King of Prussia.

  161. 161.

    Adam L Silverman

    @NotMax: I thought it was a reference to my middle name. But that works too. I have to say that the best part of that show were cameo roles for the villains.

  162. 162.

    Mnemosyne

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    I didn’t entirely realize it until after he died, but David Bowie worked with Luther Vandross for his Young Americans album and made a lot of appearances on “Soul Train.” This clip from the show is especially cool because it starts with three minutes of a Q&A before he sings “Golden Years.” (Not sure why it has Korean (?) subtitles, but that adds a little extra coolness.)

    You can tell he’s REALLY high, though. This was when he was using cocaine heavily and shortly before he moved to Berlin to get clean.

  163. 163.

    Redshift

    @A Humble Lurker:
    a. Literally the only mention in this thread if a woman president included the statement that it was not about the current candidates.
    b. People are constantly pointing out reasons for voting for her (possibly one of the candidates with the most relevant experience ever, tough in dealing with Republicans – Benghazi!) and constantly pointing out how awful Republican opponents are. What possible reason could there be to not also point out that it would be historic? It would make add much sense as not mentioning that Obama’s candidacy was historic. You use the advantages you have.

  164. 164.

    burnspbesq

    @Mnemosyne:

    Also, applying ice packs to your boob at regular intervals is not as entertaining as one would think.

    I’m not sure I ever thought it would be entertaining.

    Glad to hear that it seems to have gone well.

  165. 165.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):

    IIRC something like 30 states permit open carry without a permit and 15 others allow wth permits. So that suggest that, perhaps, open carry does not lead to unrestrained carnage, especially when one considers that the few states that bar open carry, such as CA, NY, FL, IL are not exactly strangers to carnage.

  168. 168.

    NotMax

    @Adam L. Silverman Louie :)

    Trivia: Berle’s contract with ABC at the time paid him big bucks whether he had a show airing or not (and limited any appearances on other networks), so they were constantly finding ways to get him onto their programs. Thus the insistence to write up a character on Batman for him to play.

    (Last and only time I’ll do that with the link to your name, promise.)

  169. 169.

    inventor

    I think the sound track from “Atomic Cafe” has to be in the conversation. I mean who hasn’t sat around the campfire with good friends and sang “Jesus Hits Like an Atom Bomb”? Good times…

  172. 172.

    amk

    what’s all with the tinted fp’ers replies bs? ego trip? another teh awesome but totally useless bells & whistles of site ‘upgrade’ ?

  176. 176.

    Adam L Silverman

    @amk: Something that Alain was playing with. Unclear if it was at someone’s recommendation – including, but not necessarily limited to Cole’s.

  181. 181.

    Steeplejack

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I am serious. They’re not the end of the world, but they are a pointless geegaw that mars the look of the blog, which needs all the help it can get on that front.

  182. 182.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Major Major Major Major: So when you are talking about “dense, diverse” urban areas versus scattered, white rural populations, what exactly do you mean by “diverse”?

    Are you referring to the urban dwellers delight in polka music? Their “diverse” musical tastes? Is that it?

    @Omnes Omnibus: Go troll somewhere else Trolly Troll.

  187. 187.

    Adam L Silverman

    @NotMax: Nope. I work for and with the military. I’m not in it. And these days it would be digicam (digital cammo), which comes in either the green-grey with the pink overtones from the fire retardant coating it gets or the forest green-camel of the newer, not meant for the desert, Army digicam.

  189. 189.

    NotMax

    @Steeplejack

    Preach it, brother! Halle-freaking-lujah!

    If it must be so, having the color block highlight the nym only would be far, far preferable.

  190. 190.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Steeplejack: Again, I agree. The comments section here had always be a free fire zone with very few limits. Colors for FPers implies a special status in comments which, IMO, would limit discussion. It violates the ethos that Cole has established. I think it diminishes the blog.

  193. 193.

    Adam L Silverman

    @amk: You’re asking the wrong guy. They showed up last night in a pastel green, I asked if I could have claret (knowing there wouldn’t be a claret option) and got blue. Then they went away for everyone but Cole who got blue. Then he offered AL a color so I started bitching in comments just to see what would happen and lo and behold I got a color.

  196. 196.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Mnemosyne: I might be confused, but I think that’s the point Omnes was actually making. I could also be pouting that he didn’t like my little haiku.

    Jesus g*d somebody help me before I turn into a troll imitator with the repetitive shit.

  197. 197.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I’ve wondered about this

    Ashley KilloughVerified account
    ‏@ KilloughCNN
    Trump’s Twitter routine: He “shouts” out his tweets to the “young ladies” from his office, but after 7p, he “will always do it myself.”

    ETA:

    @NotMax: If it must be so, having the color block highlight the nym only would be far, far preferable.

    I vote for that version

  199. 199.

    Adam L Silverman

    @JanieM: I can never remember that he spelled it without the u. I know several people with that last name and they all have the u. Thanks for the info. I’ve fixed it.

  203. 203.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Adam L Silverman: Actually I think I meant escalating them, to be precise. And pedantic.

    Or didactic as an author wannabe of my acquaintance wrote in a short story with Elvis in the title.

  206. 206.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Major Major Major Major: And you’re the one responded with your thoughts about how Vermont is an in-apt point of comparison because of its scattered, white, rural population as compared to the “dense, diverse” urban areas like those where the open carry event is to take place.

    At which point, I noted that open carry is the rule, rather than the exception in all but 5 states so whatever point you were trying to draw was silly.

    So, tell us some more what you mean by “dense, diverse” environments that, in your mind, make them uniquely unsuited for open carry? Is it their diversity of food? Does ready access to Ethiopian and Pakistani food anger up the blood such that people can’t be trusted to have a big iron on their hip?

  207. 207.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    This makes me a little sad, though I guess Van Hollen is a decent enough sort, and that could be within the MOE

    Mark Murray ‏@ mmurraypolitics 6h6 hours ago
    NBC4/Marist poll of Maryland for Dem SEN race: Van Hollen 44%, Edwards 38%

  210. 210.

    Mnemosyne

    Damn it. I just found out that the picture of Daveed Diggs in the #Hamiltome isn’t just shirtless. He’s actually in his underwear.

    I guess I should have swung by the office to grab the book after all. Sigh.

  211. 211.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Amaranthine RBG: The more gun carrying people who live closer together, the more likely something bad is likely to happen. Try to twist this into something racist, We do see what you are trying to do. You just are kind of inept at it. Do keep working.

  212. 212.

    Adam L Silverman

    @NotMax: Sorry, its coyote and the darker forest green is the Marines’ digicam.

    Here’s the new Army Combat Uniform:
    http://www.popularairsoft.com/files/imagesmore/ocp_01.jpg

    The Marines have gone to a woodland green with brown and black digicam utility – their version of the ACU
    http://media.defense.gov/2008/Jan/19/250358/640/360/0/080119-M-0000G-000.jpg

    You can see the two different ones at the link above. In some of the just issued ones some of my USMC colleagues would wear – as in hadn’t seen a lot of washing yet or a lot of heavy use (there wasn’t a lot of ACU or utility uniform wear at USAWC. Usually Class Bs or civilian alternative – suit and tie) – the brown was almost the same deep camel color as my camel hair coat. Its almost a caramel.

  214. 214.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Major Major Major Major: Oh, I understand, when you wrote:

    Dense, diverse urban areas being the same in every way as places with scattered, white, rural populations.

    you mean to say that “dense, diverse, urban areas” are the same as scattered, white rural populations as regards their suitability for open carry. You were not being sarcastic. Got it.

    Now that we have that straight, what exactly do you mean by “dense, diverse, urban” areas? Is it their diversity of goods available in their haberdasheries as compared to the bland uniformity of the Wal-Marts? That the kind of “diversity” you’re talking about?

  215. 215.

    Mnemosyne

    @Amaranthine RBG:

    As I pointed out with the map above, you’re totally right: white people in rural and open carry states are killing each other at much higher rates than the diverse people in diverse states. Open carry states are much more dangerous than states that don’t have open carry.

    What, you thought no one was going to double-check your bullshit about open carry states having lower homicide rates?

  221. 221.

    Major Major Major Major

    Kind of a one-trick pony on our troll tonight. I was hoping for better.

    @Amaranthine RBG: 1. Pittsburgh is dense and diverse in basically every possible way except latitude and longitude. Probably even in regards to McCartney/Lennon.
    2. Vermont is neither unless you count a wide GPS coordinate span as diversity.

    I’m not the one who brought up Vermont. You know what’s about the size of Vermont, more diverse, pretty dense, and is bristling with guns? Tel Aviv. I was there in November. It’s pretty safe!

    You picked Vermont.

  223. 223.

    Mnemosyne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    He certainly seems incapable of responding to the statistics showing that open carry states are more dangerous than non-open carry states, doesn’t he?

  228. 228.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Steeplejack: I don’t know. I’ve never worked for the Marine Corps. I’ve worked with a number of Marines in joint assignments. None of them have ever made that face that I’m aware of. At least not in my presence.

  231. 231.

    Steeplejack

    For those who care, an all-time classic episode of The Venture Bros. is coming up at 1:00 a.m. EDT on the Cartoon Network: “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Dean.” I think this is the one with that obscure malady “testicular torsion.”

  232. 232.

    Adam L Silverman

    @NotMax: I lived in Central PA for four and half years. I’ve lived in Arkansas, Georgia, and three different parts of Florida. I am no longer amazed by what people will apply camouflage to as a fashion statement/element of design.

  235. 235.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    Oooh, I just found out that I get a medal with my award. They’re going to mail it to me since I won’t be going to the award ceremony.

    I’ll have to brush up on etiquette for wearing one’s medal in public.

  236. 236.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Major Major Major Major: And Israel has been traditionally somewhat tough in regard to getting a carry permit. Which is why the current Knesset has been tripping over itself pulling in different directions over whether to loosen the requirements or make it easier given the rash of knife attacks that started last year. There is also a limit on the amount of ammo one may purchase if one has a carry permit. Its currently capped at 50 rounds total. That’s not even enough to maintain proficiency by going to a range and practicing once or twice a month.

    This is all separate from all the IDF personnel toting their guns around with them everywhere they go on and off duty.

  242. 242.

    Mnemosyne

    @Steeplejack:

    I don’t want to mention the name of the magazine (hey, I was single at the time), but I once read a hilarious article by a guy who landed in a French hospital with kidney stones whose doctor demonstrated to a group of medical students what a torsion would look like by using him as a live model. He was in so much pain from the kidney stones that the additional pain barely registered.

  243. 243.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym: That is so exciting. I think a tiara is ruled out – unless it’s a tiara event – but I defer to Omnes on that question.

    Congratulations, and enjoy the ceremony.

  248. 248.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Tissue Thin PseudonymNever mind my unresponsive reply above. I’m posting at an hour beyond which I’m capable of coherence.

    Congratulations are sincere, however.

  250. 250.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: What do I do with the lapel pin one? I’ve got the full size, the mini, the ribbon, and a lapel pin that’s a skosh smaller than the medallion on the mini-medal? Do I wear it as a lapel pin? I usually stick a lapel pin of where I’m currently assigned. This is my Outstanding (Army) Civilian Service medal.

    It didn’t come with instructions!!!

  251. 251.

    Mnemosyne

    Charlotte has decided that it’s bedtime, and I’d better go along with it or she’ll keep making those polysyllabic meows all night. Good night!

  256. 256.

    Origuy

    Cole’s link to the Intercept at the top of the last thread led me to this story:

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that her government, while being fully committed to the principle of free speech, is considering a request from Turkey to file criminal charges against the host of a late-night television show on the state broadcaster, ZDF. His alleged crime? Joking about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s thin skin by reading examples of actual slanderous statements about him, in the form of a poem.

    German satirist Jan Böhmermann also had this hilarious bit on his show about Germany being the nice guys who took in Syrian refugees.

  257. 257.

    Msb

    Great news about the Sewell-Belmont house. It was the headquarters of the American women’s party. When I visited it had a great exhibition about Alice Paul’s militant suffragists, plus a permanent collection of historical objects connected with American feminists such as Anthony and Stanton. Good on the President (as usual).

  259. 259.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: No worries, I’m getting ready to rack out myself. I know what to do with the full size medal – it gets framed with the certificate. I know what to do with the ribbon. And I know what to do with the mini-medal, it was the lapel pin looking thing that I never could quite figure out what to do with.

  260. 260.

    cckids

    @Amaranthine RBG:

    Won’t someone think of the children?

    If you take 30 seconds with the Google, you can find that the children (especially toddlers) are doing quite a lot of the shooting, in open carry states & elsewhere. Responsible gun owners, my ass.

  261. 261.

    Anne Laurie

    @magurakurin: Blush-pink is very on trend at the moment, if you must know.

    Also, I was trying to find some kind of joke in the Hatsuyume eggplant/aubergine trope, but apparently the Japanese aren’t really sure about that one themselves!

  263. 263.

    Anne Laurie

    @Steeplejack:

    I think this is the one with that obscure malady “testicular torsion.”

    No longer quite that obscure; it was a subplot on an episode of Code Black just a couple months ago.

  264. 264.

    A Humble Lurker

    a. Literally the only mention in this thread if a woman president included the statement that it was not about the current candidates.

    I was talking about the article that the thread starter posted. And Obama didn’t have to mention Hillary by name for everybody to know who he was talking about. There aren’t exactly a wide variety of women who are as close to the office as she is right now.

    b. People are constantly pointing out reasons for voting for her (possibly one of the candidates with the most relevant experience ever, tough in dealing with Republicans – Benghazi!) and constantly pointing out how awful Republican opponents are. What possible reason could there be to not also point out that it would be historic? It would make add much sense as not mentioning that Obama’s candidacy was historic. You use the advantages you have.

    To other people, sure. But nobody here needs to be convinced that a qualified woman president is something that needs to happen. I just think it’d be more effective to quote things like the Daily News interview that magurakurin mentioned, because while I’d like a woman president, if I thought Hilary couldn’t do the job her having a vagina wouldn’t sway me.

  266. 266.

    Anne Laurie

    @NotMax: Well, your screenshot looks like my screen — Adam’s eggplant is quite distinguishable, but my pink is barely a tint.

    @A Humble Lurker:

    I just think it’d be more effective to quote things like the Daily News interview that magurakurin mentioned

    See my next post, above!

  267. 267.

    NotMax

    @anne Lauire

    Barely a tint to you, rectangular splotch of Pepto-Bismol to others. Looks like an inflamed tonsil on a large screen monitor.

    You want barely a tinge of pink, ask Alain to use color #FFF0F5.

  270. 270.

    Paul in KY

    @Adam L Silverman: I find any ‘live action’ of animals talking like people to be ‘strange’. All the way back to the days of the talking horse that always said ‘Wilbur’.

Comments are closed.